Chapter Nine
Blue Blood
(A/N: Kill me later, I've been really busy and havent had much time for writing, but I hope you like it. Let me know what you think!)
As much as she dreaded going back the next day, she knew it was inevitable. She told Lupin nothing about the night's events because after all, what difference would ask Malfoy whether or not he had ever loved anyone before, do to affect the war? Nothing, that's what. So, she had kept her mouth shut when Lupin had asked her if anything new had happened. She had just continued brewing the Animagus potion that was only a month in. She mentioned nothing about the window that had, as soon as she arrived back at the cabin, turned a pitch black, so menacing it could not even storm. She wondered briefly why it seemed so brutal, so unforgiving. It was silly to think of it as a living thing, but that was what it seemed like. Maybe it would get better, though that was certainly doubtful. She also wondered about the pills she had seen Draco taking, as there were several of them rolling about on the tray that the elves provided him every evening. It was sad that all she ever did was make him mad, but part of her wondered why she thought that in the first place. After all, he was almost a murderer. Though, he had threatened to kill many people in his time, but he had never actually carried out his threats. Maybe today would be the day when he finally used his extensive knowledge in the dark arts to do her in.
Alas, she pushed these thoughts out of her mind and grabbed the massive Axminster rug and Moody's old invisibility cloak and took flight towards the Malfoy manor.
When she arrived, she had already made up her mind not to mention what she had asked him the night before and hopefully, but not likely, he had already forgotten. Reluctant to go as she was, she grabbed the large Axminster rug and invisibility cloak. She tucked her journal into her small backpack along with her4 favorite onyx quill and set off into the night once again. She vaguely wondered why she even bothered to bring Moody's invisibility cloak anymore since Malfoy knew she came every night anyway. She was however surprised that he hadn't told, as far as she knew, anyone about her nightly visits. Then again, he might just be waiting for the right time to strike. 'Here's to another night of hell', she thought to herself as the Malfoy manor came into view. Tonight was the night of Lupins transformation, so she more than likely wouldn't be seeing him in the morning. She wondered where he would be going, and hoped that he got away from everyone the best he could.
She stopped her train of thought when she had finally arrived at the mansion. She made her way directly towards Malfoy's room, but when she got to the window, no pale head was sticking out like it usually was, waiting to torment her. In fact, Hermione found herself anxious as to why he wasn't there; she glanced around her room and didn't see him. 'Where could he be?' she thought as she flew around to the other side of his room to better see through the other windows. This was when she saw him. Lying in a pool of some bluish liquid, Malfoy was laying near his open dresser. No one seemed to know that anything was wrong with him at all, as even Lucius would probably have a doctor come and see what was wrong with his one heir. Though, perhaps Lucius was the one who caused him to be lying there, clearly unconscious in the first place. The windows were wide open, as if Malfoy had just sent his owl out into the night sky and then dropped to the ground of his own accord. Hermione flung off the invisibility cloak and watched as it fell gracefully to the Earth some 3 stories below her as she flew straight into Malfoy's room, the sides of the large rug tugging at the open window frame.
She looked around for any reason as to why he would have been in this situation and tried to discern how much blood had been lost, if any. This was when she noticed that there didn't seem to be any blood anywhere, only this bluish liquid. The strange thing was that there were gashes on his arms and his legs, but the liquid seemed to be trailing out of the cuts. Could this have been Malfoy's blood, and if so, why was it blue? Without a second thought, she knew he had to get some sort of medical attention, even if it was by her. She picked up his blue stained clothes and placed him on the right side of the rug.
"Scourgify," she cried at the mess in the middle of the room, and with a flick of her wand, the white carpet was immaculate once again. Before she took flight through the open window, she laid pillows under his bed sheets, in hopes that it might make the house elves believe that he was still asleep. She knew it would never fool Lucius but by some random stroke of luck, he wouldn't come in that morning, or perhaps she would already be back by the morning. However, he had quite obviously lost a lot of... whatever this substance was and she wasn't entirely certain if this was endangering his health. She willed herself to stop thinking about stupid things. The fact was, she had only been thinking for maybe 5 seconds, but it seemed like she had wasted too much time already, and she didn't even know how long he had been lying there in the first place. When she was sure that she had done everything she possibly could have, she set off.
She went as quickly as she could, keeping hold of him and not falling off herself. When she arrived at her cabin, she realized that Lupin wasn't anywhere in the cabin due to his transformation. Of all the luck. She was losing time and it seemed that he wasn't breathing as much as before. She thrust the door open carelessly and brought him into her own room and laid him on her bed. A swift glance to the faux-window shook her slightly, as it was completely stark white, no emotion whatsoever. She quickly summoned gauze and took off his shirt, only to find thick gashes on both his stomach and his back. Some so deep they cut into the muscles, which were also tined blue. She was unable to comprehend why anything seeping out if him was any color but red. Running to the levorotary, she looked for any kind of potion that would help her. She recognized a bright pink, sticky substance that Lupin had told her would cure cuts and abrasions, though it was only recommended for shallow ones.
"This will have to do for now," she said out loud, and scurried back to Malfoy. The gauze around his arms and legs seemed to be holding, but the bandages wrapped around his midsection and his back were already soaked through. She quickly unwrapped all of his bandages and applied the thick, pungent potion onto his less grievous wounds. Right before she went to apply the remainder of the potion on the large gashes on his torso; she froze.
'Why was she even helping him in the first place; she thought. What fresh hell had overcome her where she had basically broken into his house and brought the enemy across her own border? Hadn't she said no sooner than a few weeks ago that she would like nothing more than to see him dead. She would have relished in the sight of him lying in his strange blue blood, but how was she here, caring for his wounds like he was a real human being? This was ridiculous!'
"You're fraternizing with the enemy!" Ron would have said, turning more red than his hair.
Oh the humiliation! If he died, they would all know she had been trying to save a would-be murderer; a follower of the most feared wizard in the last century himself! If he lived, however, he would surely make fun of her and berate her for it. Never grateful, that one. It was impossible for him to apologize or to thank anyone for anything, of that she was certain. But, then again, this young man, lying in front of her was dying and did she really need that on her conscience, at the very least? Suppose she fixed him up enough that she knew he would live, but get him back to his house where, when found, he would be pampered and fussed over...
Fine, then she would help, but only because she grew up with some sort of morals, and out of pure curiosity as to his peculiar wounds. She summoned an empty vile out of nowhere and filled it with the blue substance. When she had set it aside, she set to work.
While the small cuts on his arms and legs had healed almost immediately, the large, deeper ones proved to be significantly more challenging. The sticky substance stuck to her fingers and slowly caked up, making it more and more difficult to move them and get into the bottle. She made due with what she had, but it still took several hours longer than expected due to the lack of equipment she had to work with. When the substance was completely used up and all the wounds were covered the best they could be, she rewrapped his wounds and set off with Malfoy floating behind her gently. For the first time, he looked peaceful, his face was relaxed and his breathing was returning to normal. He only looked this calm when he slept, and even then sometimes nightmares plagued him.
She traveled at a steady pace towards his house, and wrapped the invisibility cloak around them both to ensure that Master Malfoy wasn't waiting in his room, had suspected anything, though it was just now dawn. She dropped him off in his bed and turned away swiftly, making sure to leave no trace of her behind. She willed herself not to do it, but she still turned around and took one last glance at the tyrant, fast asleep in a bed fit for a king.
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