Chapter Eight - End of it All

The air in the hospital room was thick with steam and sweat when they entered. It appeared last attempts were being made to sweat the sickness out of Ginny. Everyone was gathered around the small bed, all in black, all looking solemn. Hermione felt her temper rise;

"Oh for goodness sake!" She exclaimed, "She's not dead yet. What the hell do you think you're all doing? Mrs Weasley I really would expect better of you!"

Molly Weasley lowered her eyes;

"She worsened over night. She hasn't got long left Hermione; maybe and hour, two at most. There's nothing more we can do."

"The potion won't be ready for another four hours." Hermione groaned.

Mrs Weasley began sobbing;

"There's nothing left for us to do." She wept, and Ron placed a comforting arm around her.

Hermione stared at the older witch, her feelings of fear ebbing away to be replaced with anger and determination. She stuck her chin out proudly and stalked from the room.

"I'm not going to lose her Draco." Hermione told him as he entered the lab seconds after her. Already she was stirring the potion and simultaneously searching through books. "There has to be something else."

"Don't you think Snape would have told us if there was?" Draco pointed out, attempting to be the voce of reason.

"Perhaps." Hermione mused, "But perhaps he didn't tell me everything, under the assumption I was able to figure it out for myself."

"And risk Ginny's life?"

"It's Snape." Hermione answered simply, fingering the key around her neck.

"The key!" Draco exclaimed.

"This? The one Snape gave me?"

"Yes. What else was in the cupboard?"

Hermione unlooped the key from around her neck and opened the large, private cupboard of Professor S. Snape. Draco peered over her shoulder, observing the array of bottles, vials and notebooks that greeted them.

"Where do we start?" Draco moaned.

"Anywhere." Hermione answered, grabbing a notebook. "We have less time than we thought. We can't use any more rapid aging as it will overpower the potion, making it useless so there must be something else in here somewhere. Start looking."

Draco pulled a face but grabbed a handful of vials and two notebooks. He sniffed and tested each of the vials in turn, using various potion methods and chants. They were all useless; a truth serum, wolfsbane, a suspicious yellow substance, anti-aging potion and, surprisingly, a love potion. Draco stifled a giggle at this illegal find, causing Hermione to throw him a dirty look.

"Sorry." He muttered, blowing her a kiss.

The search continued for over and hour until an exasperated Hermione threw the notebook she was looking through across the room and glared at the clock.

"This is no use!" She screamed. "We can't do it. She's gone. We've got nothing!"

Draco said nothing but flooed the hospital wing in order to see how Ginny was doing. He emerged some minutes later;

"Ginny's deteriorating fast." He said.

"I bloody know that!" Hermione snapped, eyes flashing.

"Well then you should also know that the more time we spend arguing and ranting, the more chance there is of us loosing her." Draco pointed out.

Hermione opened her mouth to protest but, thinking better of it, closed it once more, picking up the discarded notebook. Once again the pair fell into silence as they searched.

Fifteen minutes passed.

Half an hour.

Forty-five minutes.

"I think I've got it." Draco said suddenly, "I don't know why I didn't think of it before."

"What?"

"Dark magic. It's all right here. The exact charm we need to cause the potion."

"Can we do it? Is it dangerous? Will it harm Ginny?"

"I can do it easily, with your help. It shouldn't be too dangerous as we would just be asking for help and no the charm to the potion won't harm Ginny at all. If it works she will be saved if it doesn't it won't do her any harm but it will mean..."

Hermione nodded, understanding and not wanting to voice their fears at what would happen if they failed;

"Well we've nothing to loose at this stage" she stated, rising form her seat.

Draco nodded and raised his arms to the ceiling, clutching his wand tightly. Hermione felt the same winds rise up that had been conjured to protect her and Draco. She firmly stood her ground as she saw the Dark magic of long ago fill every part of Draco.

He spoke, calm and clear above the roaring of the unnatural winds;

"Father Darkness and Mother Mysterious,
I call upon you once more in my hour of need.
Speed the time that controls us.
For time is an illusion that we need not.
Allow me more of what I am not worthy
And consent to give me what I call for."

A roll of thunder form far above, a blast of green lightening and it was over. Hermione looked at Draco;

"Did it work?"

"There's only one way to check. Come on." Draco said, pouring the potion into a large vial.

It was an hour and fifty five minutes since they had left the hospital wing. If they were lucky Ginny would still be with them, if not then all their efforts would have gone to waste.

Hermione and Draco raced through the halls, up stairs and through corridors, pushing students and teachers alike out of their way.

They reached the hospital wing hot and breathless. Draco pushed open the door and they entered.

"Is she?" Hermione asked, refusing to ask the question wholly.

"She's going Hermione." Bill said, stepping forward. "Ron's saying good bye now."

Hermione raced to Ginny's bed along with Draco and pulled the curtains aside.

"Hermione." Ron said indignantly. "I'm busy."

"Get out Ron." Hermione ordered.

"I'm..."

"Get out and we may save her."

Ron obediently moved, allowing Hermione and Draco past. Hermione took the vial from Draco and poured the thick liquid into a beaker. She then placed the beaker against Ginny's thin, pale lips.

"Drink Ginny." Hermione whispered.

There was no response from Ginny. Her breaths came short and shallow, barely coming at all.

"Please drink Ginny." Hermione pleaded, tilting the beaker further so the liquid wet Ginny's lips, trickling into her mouth and down her throat.

"You'll choke her." Mrs Weasley called out.

"She's trying to save her." Draco called back, a reassuring hand on Hermione's shoulder.

They sat and waited.

Ginny's body gave a jolt and she sat bolt upright, gasping for air as waves of purple streamed into her body, refilling her essence until she could hold no more. Her thin frame fell onto the pillow once more.

"Has it worked?" Fred asked tentatively.

Hermione clasped Ginny's hand, whispering her friends name with tears streaming down her face.

"Please Ginny. Please come back. Please Ginny. Please"

Ginny's eyes fluttered open to her surroundings.

"I'm back." She whispered, her voice hoarse and strained.

The screaming and cheering was unbearable. Hermione and Draco were enveloped into bear hugs by everyone as they attempted to deliver their potion to the other patients. Hermione was shocked and pleased to receive a short smile from Snape as he swallowed his share of the cure.

"Can we go now?" Hermione asked Draco.

"Had enough?"

"Yes. I want us to be alone."

Draco nodded and the pair left the hospital wing, only to run into a beaming Dumbledore;

"Ah, I was hoping to run into you two. I received a rather cheery message that the potion worked?"

"It did Sir, yes." Draco answered.

"Splendid, splendid. I was just on my way to inform the Weasley's of the sender of the illness."

"Have they been caught?"

"Indeed they have Miss Granger. It seems the dispatcher of the horrible illness our patients have had to endure was none other than Bellatrix Lestrange's husband. I was unaware he had escaped capture during the battle, but it appears he set up home in France where he immediately began cooking up a plan to dispose of the powerful witch who had lost him his wife. He was caught this morning by French Ministry officials after neighbours reported a strange purple stream of light around his house."

"Ginny's essence." Draco muttered.

"Yes Mr Malfoy. It seems that Mr Lestrange had forgotten the essence of the drained will search for the person who drained it, assuming they need it more. Clever thing's essences."

"Yes Sir." Hermione and Draco nodded, grinning as the Headmaster wandered towards the hospital wing, humming to himself.

"Well Miss Granger." Draco grinned, "What will you do with yourself now there are no more adventures to be had?"

"I have a feeling my life will never be without adventure." Hermione responded.

"Only if I can keep it that way." Draco smiled, swooping her into his arms to give her the first of many kisses to come.

THE END