AN: Thanks again for such a wonderful response. I'm thrilled that you guys are enjoying my little story. And guess what! You are getting a new chapter about a day early! Please do enjoy it and let me know what you think. I know a lot of you have been waiting for this one. Special thank you to my alpha reader: LaDeeDaa and beta reader: astrangefan who are vital to my process.

Separatium Sanguinius

Hermione took a deep breath through her nose as she gradually woke from what had been an excellent night's sleep. Her hazy mind slowly joined her body and her eyes opened, blinking the echoes of sleep away as she joined the land of the living.

She smiled against Draco's chest as the memories of the night before came back to her at once. It was probably not the best thing that she'd slept in his bed. Surely Padma, Ron, and Harry would have a lot to say about it. But as her naked body was nestled against Draco, she couldn't bring herself to care. Hopefully, they'd wait until after she'd bled herself out to chastise her for her impropriety.

"Morning," Draco said, looking down at her, his voice husky with sleep. Her stomach swooped as she remembered, vividly, his eyes upon her as he made her come.

She smiled up at him. "Morning," she replied. She sat up slowly, stretching her arms over her head, the blanket falling around her waist. Draco's eyes swept over her instantly, and she blushed under his gaze.

"Where did that come from?" he asked, pointing to the very scar he'd licked and kissed the night before.

"Oh," Hermione said, blushing again as she reached to lift the blanket around her shoulders instinctively. Draco stopped her and shook his head.

"No, leave it. Don't hide," he said, and she let the blanket lie, opening herself up to his scrutiny.

"Dolohov cursed me Fifth Year in the Department of Mysteries," she said. "I'm not sure what the curse was. It's lucky he cast it nonverbally or I'm told it would have killed me."

Draco's eyes followed the line of the scar, his gaze intense, before looking back up at her. "He's in Azkaban, you know."

"I know," Hermione said, feeling the intensity of Draco's inspection.

Draco appeared to be thinking very hard as he continued to stare at the scar. Then, with a deep breath he looked back up at her face, his features relaxing. Hermione leaned down and kissed him softly on the lips.

"I haven't a clue what time it is, but since Harry isn't screaming about the timeline, I assume it is early," Hermione said with a grin. She reached over the side of the bed to fetch her wand where she'd dropped it the night before and cast the Tempus charm.

Seven o'clock.

"Think I can sneak out of here without anyone seeing?" she asked.

"I suggest you put your clothes back on first just in case," Draco replied with a lazy grin.

Hermione huffed and began looking around for her clothes. "You did make a chore out of it," she pointed out after a moment seeing that her clothes looked like they'd literally been thrown in opposite directions on purpose.

"I admit, I didn't want you to be able to easily put them back on," Draco said, sitting up and kissing her shoulder.

"Accio knickers," Hermione whispered, and she sighed with relief when her underwear zoomed into her hand.

"Pity," Draco said, a soft chuckle escaping him as he leaned back against his pillows.

Hermione made quick work of redressing before kissing him once on the cheek and cancelling the silencing and privacy charms she'd set the night before. Poking her head out from behind one of the curtains, she let out a breath when she saw that all the other beds had their curtains closed.

Slowly, quietly, she crept from the bed and onto the common room floor.

"Going somewhere?" Padma's voice nearly gave her a heart attack. She clutched her chest and let out a harsh breath.

"Merlin, Pads!" she cried.

Padma just laughed. "Your secret is safe with me," she assured. "Harry is in McGonagall's Office - never knew you didn't make it to bed last night. Ron is in the kitchens. We only just arrived about a quarter hour ago. Theo is reading in his bed."

Hermione blushed but was also deeply relieved. She had exactly one thing she wanted to focus on and that was the counter-curse ritual. Certainly, she did not want to talk about her late-night activities with Draco.

"I'm going to shower," she said rather than comment on the knowing smirk playing at Padma's lips. The raven-haired Healer nodded and went back to the parchment she'd been inspecting before Hermione began her walk of shame.

In the shower, it was impossible for Hermione to not think about the night before. It had been so long since she'd had sex. Even if he didn't want to cross that bridge with her entirely, the effects of her orgasm still left a dull, pleasurable ache in the muscles of her thighs. She felt his fingerprints on her hips and smiled.

She allowed herself to feel the giddy emotions of lust and attraction while she washed her body, but as she moved onto shampooing the mess of hair, tangled from sleeping with it down, she refocused her mind on the task before her. It would be a challenging day.

When she returned to the Common Room, all the occupants were assembled around the desks, a large platter of food between them. Ron had already begun to pile a plate full, and Draco was selecting a green apple from the massive pile of fruit.

"Here," Padma said, waving Hermione over. "I've done a lot of reading and I want you to eat this," she said, making a plate for Hermione. Hermione smiled at her friend as she watched the witch select foods that were high in iron and fibre.

"I want you to finish everything and drink two glasses of water and one glass of juice. No coffee. No tea," Padma instructed.

"Is that wise?" Ron said, over a mouthful of danish. "Hermione without caffeine?"

Hermione rolled her eyes. "I'll be fine, Ronald. So long as you don't annoy me."

"We're doomed," Harry quipped.

Theo chuckled. Draco said nothing but he did pull a seat out for her next to him.

"Theo, I'd like you to drink at least three glasses of water this morning. It's not likely you'll lose much blood, but I'd rather you be hydrated than not."

Theo nodded and began drinking the glass of water she set before him.

"Not going to make me a plate?" Ron pouted.

"You've eaten half the platter," Padma said, dismissively.

"Growing boy," Ron muttered around a slice of bacon.

Ron was on Dark Energy duty for the morning, Padma was in the Hospital Wing with Madam Pomfrey, and Theo and Draco were taking their showers leaving Hermione and Harry alone.

"Hermione," Harry started, toying with a thread coming from the arm of the chair he sat upon next to the fire.

"Hmm?" she asked, staring into the flames.

"Are you absolutely sure you want to do this?"

Hermione tore her eyes away from the fire and looked into Harry's. "I'm very sure, Harry," she replied. "It's no use lying to you. I care for Theo and Draco a great deal. I don't know how it happened. Being with them, completely, for these weeks - we've bonded. I know you don't mind me befriending Theo. I think even you and Ron would enjoy Theo's company after knowing him for ten minutes. But you aren't really asking me about the ritual, are you?"

"Hermione, he got Bill attacked. He wanted to be a Death Eater. He hated you. He called you…" Harry began, unwilling to finish the slur.

"Harry, I know what he's done. I'm not deluded. I know that at one point, he'd have rather eaten a Blast-Ended Skrewt than touch me. I know that at one point, if we'd shown up in his Drawing Room - Bellatrix demanding he identify us - he wouldn't have hesitated. But he did hesitate. He's not the same boy who enjoyed our pain. He's not perfect. He's no saint. I know that. If you knew what he's been through - Harry, I'm just asking you to keep an open mind with Draco."

"I am trying, Hermione," Harry said. "I remember when I cursed him. I wanted to hurt him. I wanted to kill him. But when he lay there, bleeding out, I felt so wrong - so vile. It was what I wanted, and I hated it. Once I'd cursed him, I wanted nothing more than to undo it."

Hermione silently listened as Harry admitted to her feelings he'd never before admitted.

"The regret I had wasn't even undone by his actions in letting the Death Eaters in - disarming Dumbledore. I still felt guilt. I still think about how I'd almost killed him."

"Harry, I can't speak for Draco, but - I think he felt something similar. When he was young it was ego, jealousy, petulant entitlement that ruled him. He was a bigot from the crib, and he was an insufferable child because his parents created a world where he was the centre. The way that you had fame, respect, and you didn't even ask for it - didn't even want it. He hated you for it. I'm sure he still does for reasons he can barely articulate. But once things got real, once his father was imprisoned, a murderer moved into his home, and he was tasked with actually hurting people - it was like you realizing the full weight of your actions and being horrified." Hermione surmised.

"It's why he didn't sell us out. He, no matter what his personal biases, couldn't bring himself to be the cause of our deaths. He's had five years of torturous solitude to think about nothing but his mistakes. He's not a different person. He's the same person, but his values and priorities are completely different. There is nothing he wouldn't do to protect those he loves. When he was a boy, he prioritised himself. Now, he prioritises the people he cares about."

"It's not that I don't see that," Harry admitted. "When Theo is in pain, Malfoy becomes visibly upset. His insistence on your safety - I know it's not an act. I just can't understand it."

"Maybe you don't need to," Hermione said with a shrug. "I don't understand any of this and I'm in the middle of it. I'm just asking you to trust me. Trust my judgement."

"I do, Hermione. I do trust you. But I can't lie to you and say I'm willing to risk your life and health for them."

"Trust me. Trust Padma and Madam Pomfrey," Hermione reiterated.

"You haven't really given me a choice," Harry finally said, bis tone lighter now. "If Malfoy is part of your life, he is, inevitably, a part of mine."

Hermione smiled at Harry, tears stinging the corners of her eyes.

"Would have been nice if you decided to fight for someone who wasn't such a bellend."

Hermione snorted a laugh at that.

"A wheelchair? Honestly!" Hermione grumbled over her portion of steak and kidney pie. Theo had already been moved to the Hospital Wing, for Madam Pomfrey to observe and get ready for the ritual. Ron had gone with him to help McGonagall move Dumbledore and Snape's portraits into place.

"Hermione, there is every likelihood that you'll be too weak to walk after the procedure," Padma answered patiently. "Humour me and get your arse in it."

Hermione muttered under her breath but did what she was told, swallowing down the rest of her tall glass of water. "Now, we have a bit of a tricky set-up in the Hospital," she continued.

"The dampeners," Hermione said with a nod. "I have to be able to perform the countercurse but also allow for the Muggle monitoring."

"Exactly," Padma said. "We do this at St. Mungos in a special ward. It allows some measure of Magic from the Healers but dampens all other magic. You will be the only person with the ability to cast spells inside the boundary," Padma explained. "Which is why I'm going to put in your intravenous tube here. I don't know how to insert one without magic."

Herimone felt the first flutterings of nerves in her stomach but nodded. A very small part of her was scared, but a bigger part of her was determined and even excited to see Theo free from the Dark Magic cursing his body.

Draco's knee was bouncing up and down as he played with his fingers nervously. Harry put a calming hand on Hermione's shoulder and squeezed. She smiled up at her friend, grateful for his silent strength.

"Okay, let's do this," Hermione said, pulling off her sweater to expose her bare arms. She'd chosen a vest and comfortable pants to make access to her veins easier. She sat with a 'humph' in the Muggle wheelchair and extended her arm to Padma.

Draco looked at her intensely and she gave him a reassuring smile he did not return. He looked more tense than she'd ever seen him. Padma used her wand to locate a good vein. When she found it, she silently reached for the hollow needle and, with a deep breath, placed the tip against Hermione's skin. With a whispered incantation, the needle punctured her arm and settled into the vein. Padma made quick work of taping the attached cannula down.

Draco swallowed hard. "That's normal. It went alright?" he asked Padma.

"Perfectly unremarkable," Padma said with a smile. "Harry, push that metal stand over here," she instructed. Harry let go of Hermione's shoulder and did as he was told.

"What's that?" Draco asked.

"It's a solution kind of like salt water. It's designed to flush wounds and hydrate. I can also administer Muggle meds through it," Padma explained patiently. "For now, we'll be using it until it's time to replace this back with a blood bag."

Draco nodded, but he looked dazed and a little sick.

Padma used her wand to double check the IV and ensure the flow was correct. Hermione took a deep breath and smiled. "Feels like it always does," she assured her friend.

"You've had this before?" Draco asked, surprised.

"A few times. It's quite normal in Muggle medicine," Hermione explained.

Draco looked sceptical but said nothing.

"Shall we?" Padma asked Hermione who quickly nodded. The flutter of nerves picked up again as Padma hooked her IV to the wheelchair and Harry began to push her to the portrait hole which opened magically to make way for the wide chair.

Her fingers were cold, and she knew that was a combination of nerves and the fluid. She pressed them between her thighs and took several deep breaths. The foursome was silent as they made their way down the steps of the tower which had been magically converted to ramps to make way for the wheelchair. Hermione thought idly how strange it was that she'd never seen physically disabled students at Hogwarts. She made a mental note to read more about the topic of physical disability in the Wizarding world.

When they arrived at the Hospital Wing, Madam Pomfrey was waiting for them with a nervous Theo lying on a bed in the centre of the room. McGonagall stood to one side, near the head of his bed while Dumbledore and Snape's portraits were set up on two aisles behind the bed and out of the way.

There was a chair by Theo's bed as well as a second bed that Hermione knew was for her should she become too weak to sit up. She smiled as she saw how meticulously organised the supplies were laid out. Madam Pomfrey and Padma had outdone themselves. There were two sets of Muggle vital monitors, a blood warmer, all operating properly on electricity showing the dampeners were working well enough to sustain Muggle tech.

"How did you get electricity up here, by the way?" she asked, turning to Harry who had been in charge of that part of the plan.

Dumbledore was the one who answered, though. "Electricity options have existed at Hogwarts for over fifty years. For obvious reasons, they are rarely ever used, but I admit that I was impressed by the novelty of certain Muggle items and had the Headmaster's office wired ages ago. From there, it was a matter of extending wires to the Hospital Wing."

"It's a good thing too," said Harry. "Initially, I thought I'd have to confund a muggle to wire the place."

Hermione was glad Harry hadn't had to do that – especially since she wasn't even sure it would work. The last thing she wanted was for anyone to have to cast more Unforgivables.

"Come on, up you come, Miss Granger," Madam Pomfrey said with a kind smile, patting the chair next to Theo. Padma helped her arrange herself so that she was not tangled in the tubes of her IV and Harry, Ron, and Draco took seats on the beds to the far wall.

Padma unhooked her IV bag from the wheelchair and back to the long metal stand following her over to the chair next to Theo.

"Before you sit, dear," Madam Pomfrey held up various electrode patches to monitor her vitals. "Turn 'round boys, if you please," she said in her no-nonsense way. Hermione smirked. Every man in that room save Theo had seen her stark naked at least once. You didn't camp in the woods for six months and not catch each other in the nude from time to time.

With smirks of their own, Harry, Ron, and Draco turned their heads to the wall while Theo covered his eyes with his right hand. Madam Pomfrey made quick work of lifting Hermione's shirt and affixing the stickers to all the relevant parts of her chest and under her left breast.

"Very good," the healer declared and the men made themselves comfortable once more. Hermione took a deep calming breath, centering herself as she sat in the chair. Both Madam Pomfrey, McGonagall, and Padma moved back to give her room to work.

Hermione gently reached out and touched Theo's left arm. He hissed for a moment but then stared back at her with wide eyes. "It stings, but barely," he said.

"Good," she said, smiling. "That's good."

She pulled her wand and a sharp knife from her trouser pocket, and with shaky hands placed them on the bed next to him. "When I begin, I can't give you any potion. I have no way of knowing how it will interact with the ritual," Hermione explained. She suddenly felt very nervous and needed to state obvious facts as a way of calming herself.

Theo nodded. His Adam's apple bobbed, and she could see he was nervous as well. "Just do it," he said. "Don't warn me."

"Very well," Hermione replied, smiling with what she hoped was a comforting smile. She took another breath and looked up and over to the men in her life, all sitting tensely on the edge of hospital beds, none of them seeming to let out a breath as they watched.

You can do this.

Taking the knife in her hand, she picked up Theo's left forearm and, without warning, dragged the knife across the ugly Dark Mark from the top of the skull down to the tip of the snake tongue.

Theo jerked away, but she held fast as he gritted his teeth and moaned in pain. She quickly moved the knife to her own wrist, pressing the tip to it and cutting a horizontal slash across the vein. There was a gasp somewhere in the room, but she couldn't be sure from where it came.

She let out a short yelp before immediately moving her wound over the gaping cut in Theo's arm. She dropped the bloody knife to the floor and reached for her wand.

Between shuddering breaths, Hermione pointed the wand at their joined wounds and began to chant. "Sanguine abscissa; et debit solvitium."

"In one breath, Miss Granger," Snape corrected in a tense voice from his portrait.

"Give her a moment…" Dumbledore chided.

"No!" Hermione grunted. "Let him speak freely."

"It has to be done in one breath," Snape continued.

Hermione grunted her understanding, her hand feeling as if pins and needles were exploding out of it. She took her eyes from her aching wrist and focused herself, clutching Theo's bedsheets in the process. He immediately reached over and grabbed her hand, his black, concerned eyes meeting hers as she looked up at him.

With a nod she surged forward. Louder and in one breath, "Sanguine abscissa; et debit solvitium. Sanguine abscissa; et debit solvitium." She felt the blood drain faster from her arm as her magic crackled inside her veins.

Her blood was spilling down the side of Theo's bed and coating the floor. She heard someone gag but her focus was absolute. "Pads," she said weakly. "Prepare the first bag."

But Padma was already moving into action as Hermione continued to whisper the counter spell. "Sanguine abscissa; et debit solvitium. Sanguine abscissa; et debit solvitium."

It was like a prayer on her lips as she leaned forward, resting her forehead against Theo's pale, clammy arm.

"Merlin, look…" it was Ron's voice, for sure. Her head darted up to look at him and he pointed at Theo. She looked back at the man in the bed and saw the black swirls moving.

"Sanguine abscissa; et debit solvitium." she repeated and watched as the inky, black webbing seemed to flow back from up his arm, ever so slowly to their point of origin.

"It's working," Harry said. "I can't believe it."

"Can she stop now?" That was definitely Draco, but Hermione was determined to tune them all out. Her sole focus was watching every bit of the evil that had hijacked Theo leave his body.

"Sanguine abscissa; et debit solvitium."

"Hermione, I want to move you to the bed." Padma said after she finished hanging the first back of blood. "You are going to feel faint soon and I don't want you to fall."

Hermione nodded absently, her entire focus on Theo. Her arm hurt, but it wasn't more than she could handle. She did feel a bit light-headed. Perhaps they should have started the transfusion sooner.

The blood was flowing from her arm fast, fast enough to be concerning but she pressed on. It was working. "I need some help," she heard Padma say from behind her. "I can't lift her without magic."

There was shuffling then two pairs of strong arms were lifting her from the chair. "Don't break contact!" Hermione cried as Harry held her in his arms and Draco moved her bed closer to Theo's, kicking the chair away in the process. Harry and Draco laid her gently onto the bed and she was able to stay right by Theo's side.

"Ah!" Theo gasped. It was the first sound of pain since she'd cut him open, and she looked up at his face. His eyes were clenched shut as pain etched itself across his features.

"Hold on, Theo!" she encouraged. "Sanguine abscissa; et debit solvitium."

The blood was coating them both, she was losing it fast now, but the black webbing was not yet gone.

A little more.

"Padma, another bag," Hermione heard Madam Pomfrey order, the matriarch's voice tense.

"She's losing too much blood," she could hear Harry protest. "The new blood isn't keeping pace. We have to stop this."

"No!" she cried. "Sanguine abscissa; et debit solvitium."

"I'm fine." Whether she was or wasn't she didn't really know. Her brain was feeling fuzzy. She heard her heart monitor increase its beating.

The webbing was nearing the Mark now.

Just a bit longer.

She knew she could hold out. Whatever blood it took, they could replenish. Her vision doubled and she wasn't sure if it was the lack of blood or real when she saw the black smoke begin to lift out of the gaping wound on Theo's arm, but his scream of pain indicated it was probably the latter.

"Increase the flow," Pomfrey instructed. "She needs more, faster."

Hermione couldn't even feel her arm anymore. "Sanguine.. abscissa; et… debit… solvitium," she panted out through laborious breaths. It felt like someone was sitting on her chest.

"Stop this!" someone cried, but she couldn't make out who.

She turned toward Theo weakly but couldn't get her eyes to focus. Was it still working? "Sanguine abscissa…solvitium."

Then her world went dark.

Cold.

"Mr. Malfoy, if you are going to shout, you'll have to leave…"

"You had absolutely no idea what you were doing!"

"Oi, Malfoy. Let's take a walk."

Black.

Shivering.

Hermione's head hurt and she felt unreasonably cold when she opened her eyes to a very dark Hospital Wing. Her hand felt pinned down, she tried to move her fingers.

She heard a gasp. "Hermione!" the hushed whisper of Draco Malfoy made her sigh with relief.

"How is Theo?" she asked. Her lips were terribly dry, and her head began to pound as she spoke. Looking down she could see that someone had cleaned her of all the blood.

Thank Merlin.

Draco ignored her question, moving his hands to her face and looking her over with a worried eye. "You almost died," he said, his voice verging on angry.

Hermione doubted that. She'd always known fainting was a likely outcome. "Draco," she said again. "What about Theo?"

"It worked," he said, his tone resigned. "After you nearly died, you bled out for nearly five more minutes and in that time the entire curse was lifted. He doesn't have so much as a scar left."

Hermione closed her eyes and breathed in a deep, relieved breath. "Oh, thank Merlin," she sobbed, the weight of the entire ordeal finally sliding off her shoulders. "He's free…" she whispered to herself, grateful sobs wracking her body. She felt Draco lift her arm and press her fingers to his lips.

"It wasn't worth it," he said. "I care for Theo. I wanted him free, but not at the cost of you."

"But it didn't come at the cost of me," Hermione noted. "I'm here."

"You were dead," he said. "Passed out cold - that bloody machine setting off more alarms than Mundungus Fletcher at a Jewellery Shop."

"Draco, I wasn't dead. I fainted. The ritual takes blood faster than it can be put in. We knew this was a possibility. I'm weak. I need some potions and an iron infusion, then I'll be good as new," Hermione promised.

"You can't make me go through that," Draco said, squeezing her hand. "You can't make me watch as you…I'm not worth it, Hermione."

Hermione was too tired, too weak to have the same argument over again. "You said that you'd do it if Theo's was a success. I'm here and he's free from that curse. Are you going to tell me now it was all a lie?"

"Don't you understand," Draco pleaded. "If you die because of me…"

"I'm not going to die. You are being so selfish, Draco," she said with an exhausted huff.

"You keep saying that you can't live with this, and you can't live with that. I can't live in a world where you suffer and die at the hands of a bad decision you made as a mere boy!" Hermione hissed.

"I will gather my strength, I will wait until Padma and Madam Pomfrey say it's safe, and then I'm getting that vile curse out of you," she insisted. "Now get in this bed and let me go back to sleep."

Draco sniffed up what suspiciously sounded like tears before doing as she asked, nestling into her side as he watched her drift back into sleep.