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Chapter 26
I watch the water blow past me in a blur as we travel the West Highland Line toward a place that no longer exists. The mountains rise on either side as we descend into the valley, their presence a humbling reminder that we are all young and small and insignificant. The train thunders ahead as the viaduct extends below us, curves around the ten story drop to the slope of the basin below.
I glance at Malfoy, who has sat in silence for the majority of the morning, staring out the same window. A few times I stop myself from asking him why we're going. A few times I resist the urge to reach out and take his hand. Tell him he will be okay.
A few times, he glances over at me as though he has something he wants to say.
…
Hermione dropped the last of the mushrooms into Luna's satchel absently as she watched Nott direct Ron and Neville to disassemble the fire pit. He bent down to collect the knives that they had successfully transfigured from some of the sharper rocks they'd found around the clearing, sticking one of the blades into a belt loop on his trousers. He picked up some matches and put them into his back pocket, looking around, checking if they'd gotten everything. His gaze fell on Hermione, who was still observing him.
She swallowed, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. She gave him a faint smile when he began to make his way over. His jacket was undone and flapped in the wind, flattening his shirt against his abdomen. His long hair swirled about his head and amidst its chaos, she could see him giving her a small smirk. He stopped before her and offered her a knife, handle first, winking when she reached for it.
"It's the right decision" she said.
Nott raised an eyebrow. "We'll see, I suppose," he said.
Hermione nodded. "We'll be safe there."
Nott looked on at her sympathetically. "If you say so."
Her gaze drifted from his face and she caught a glimpse of Malfoy draping shoes over Luna while looking in their direction. She sighed. "I have to talk to you, Theo," she said, glancing back up at him.
Nott held her gaze for a few moments, his smile slipping momentarily before he was able to recover it. He eyed Malfoy who was now barking out orders at Harry. Harry appeared to be ignoring him. Nott squinted when he looked back at her. "He finally made his move, did he?" he said.
Hermione stared at him mutely.
Nott nodded, pursing his lips. His mouth shifted sideways and he went to run his hand through his hair before realizing he was still holding three knives. He dropped them into the snow, blades down, and rubbed the back of his head, his eyes still surveying her face. "This is what you want?"
Hermione opened her mouth but no words came out. She closed it again. She shut her eyes briefly, blocking out the distraction of his face. "I don't know," she said, shaking her head. She blinked up at him. "I don't know what's happening. I hate his guts, most of the time."
Nott scoffed but it came out as a laugh. "Yeah, that's evident," he said.
"I just," Hermione began again. "I don't want to hurt you. And I don't really know what you and I are – or aren't."
Nott continued watching her. "What we are is up to you," he said. "So, I guess you have to figure out what you want."
Hermione sighed. "I don't want to come between you and him."
Nott's smile softened. "We'll recover."
…
"I hate him," he says.
I nod. I hate him too, sort of. "Do you hate Luna?" I ask.
We stand at the precipice of what used to be the most prestigious wizarding school in Europe. But Hogwarts is no more. Hogwarts is gone.
Malfoy stoops down to place a branch of flowers near the edge of the forest. They're bright red, arranged like hanging bells, and they nearly drown in the tall grass, so Malfoy flattens the area with his boot.
He straightens and shuffles his feet, crushing tiny pebbles into the earth with the bottom of his shoe. "No," he says quietly. He can't bear to look up, so he examines the ground, keeping his hands in his pockets awkwardly.
I look out at the vast expanse of barely contained vegetation that's engulfing the ruins of the castle. The grounds have become a wild entanglement of vines and thorns and roots that seem to be growing above ground. There's a plaque nearby, designating the site as one of the major posts of the Second Wizarding War, as well as the location of the two battles that took place there.
Hogwarts was never rebuilt.
…
Harry eyed Hermione suspiciously when she made her way past him to join Malfoy in the back of their party. He glanced over his shoulder as Hermione slowed her pace to match Malfoy's and the two of them fell behind. Harry seemed to have slowed as well, letting Ginny go ahead of him while he hung back, waiting for Hermione and Malfoy to catch up.
"Potter, can you walk any slower?" Malfoy called, coming to a full stop when he and Hermione reached Harry.
Harry narrowed his eyes at him but didn't say anything. His gaze drifted momentarily over Hermione's face before he turned and began to walk once more.
Hermione stalled for a few moments while Harry moved out of earshot. Then, she turned to face Malfoy, who was waiting for her to begin walking again. "I am angry," she whispered.
"Tell me about it," Malfoy replied, shaking his head. "It's like he's trying to get on my nerves. I don't know how you can stand him."
"I'm not angry at Harry," Hermione hissed.
"Oh?" Malfoy raised his eyebrows, looking over at her with mild amusement. "Are you sure? Because he annoys the bloody hell out of me."
"Do you know who annoys the bloody hell out of me?" She watched the corners of Malfoy's lips turn upward ever so slightly and it made her want to slap his face.
"I can take a guess," he said in a drawl.
"What the hell were you thinking?" Hermione whispered, gripping his shoulder to stop him from walking.
Malfoy watched their troupe slowly shrink in the distance. Then, he licked his lips with a smirk and looked back at her. The corners of his eyes creased as he squinted into the sun through the bare branches of the trees. "I was thinking," he said quietly, stepping closer to her so that she could hear the low timbre of his voice resonate in his throat. "That I wanted you." His eyes bore into hers uncomfortably. "And I usually get what I want."
She blinked. "Well, that was neither the time nor the place," she replied heatedly without backing away.
Malfoy leaned closer still. "It didn't seem like you minded."
"I minded."
Malfoy watched her thoughtfully. "I can stop," he said, his face taking on a more serious expression.
"Can you?" she said skeptically.
Malfoy closed his eyes briefly and let out a small chuckle. "I can try."
"Try then," she said. She began to walk again, leaving Malfoy trailing slowly in her wake.
When they caught up with the rest of the party, Harry turned back and gave Hermione a look.
"Is everything alright?" he said.
Hermione nodded without responding.
"Potter, if you walk any slower, we'd all be going backwards," Malfoy muttered grumpily, tramping over a bank of snow to get around him and Hermione.
"Some of us are injured," Harry bit back, moodily eyeing the back of Malfoy's head as the latter went ahead.
"And still they're going faster than you," Malfoy remarked, turning his head so that Harry could see the ridicule on his face.
"I am bringing up the rear," Harry retorted aggressively. "If we're so aggravating, why'd you bother coming back for us?" Harry asked irritably.
"Wasn't my idea." Malfoy gave him an insincere smirk.
"How about you both shut up?" Hermione gave them each a withering glare.
Malfoy looked like he was about to make another snide comment when his eyes widened suddenly and he grabbed Harry by the lapels of his jacket and pulled him sideways, practically throwing him into a mound of snow. Hermione whipped around the see a dark mass descending to the ground right where Harry had been standing. The moment before it made contact, she was yanked from the spot and flung sideways, right on top of Harry. She turned to see Malfoy pulling out his wand just as the formless darkness crashed down at his feet, its force sending him flying backward into Ron. Together, he and Ron tumbled back, landing in a heap at Ginny's feet. Ginny was instinctively shielding her stomach with her hands.
Hermione looked back at the place where she and Harry had been standing. The form that had struck the ground was slowly gliding away and, now that it was not obscured by the turmoil of shock and movement, she could discern the individual glistening scales making up what looked like a black, spiked tail.
In terror, her eyes followed its leisurely slither. She gripped Harry's arm when she saw the creature it belonged to. Harry sprang up, sticking his wand outward.
"Harry," Hermione breathed, clutching at his trouser leg. "Nobody has ever gone up against a Chimaera and won."
To her left, Nott crept up cautiously toward them and eyed Harry. "Nobody's even gone up against Harry Potter and won," Nott said. He smiled at them grimly. "Isn't that right, Potter?" he said. He took one of the blades out of his belt and tossed it to Harry. Then he turned to face the Chimaera, holding up his own knife in his left hand, and his wand in his right.
"Right," Harry said to her right. She saw him step forward out of the corner of her eye.
She began to rise to her feet slowly, afraid to make any sudden movements, watching the creature beat at the ground with its hoof. The lower branches of the trees around them rustled with every strike. The Chimaera bared its teeth, and every now and then it made a low growl that shook the air around them. A fog hung around its face, mercifully obscuring its glowing eyes. The air was thick and stunk of something putrid; it made Hermione's head spin.
"Granger doesn't have a wand!" Malfoy called from behind them.
In an instant, he was next to her.
"Stay back," he said, stepping in front of her between Nott and Harry. Hermione looked over across the trampled bit of snow to see Neville and Luna with their wands out, poised for a fight. Behind them, Ron stood with Ginny at his back.
There were eight of them. Seven wands. And one Chimaera.
…
We spend the train ride back to London in silence. After all, what is there to talk about? I look out at the rolling hills on the one side, green and grassy and occasionally dotted with sheep. To my left, I see the white-capped waves breaking on the cliffs along the coast. Malfoy reads the paper.
I want to ask him why he'd brought me, but his behaviour at our destination had been my answer. He didn't want to go alone. It makes me sick that he had no one else to bring.
"It was a beautiful flower," I say. "The one you left behind."
He looks up with his eyes and catches my gaze for a moment. Then he looks back at his paper. "It's a Bleeding Heart," he says. "I have two bushes in the garden. Planted them after the war." He shrugs. "Seemed fitting."
I watch his eyes scan the page he's reading. His eyebrows contract and he gives the paper a shake, straightening out the pages, before refocusing his attention on what he's just read. He narrows his eyes, then he drops the paper to his lap and looks up at me. His jaw tightens as he folds the paper back up and tosses it onto the seat next to him.
"What is it?" I say.
Malfoy stares at me. "Nothing," he says, then he turns to face the window. But the face reflected in the glass is just a mask. Behind it, in the curling clouds darkening his eyes, I see the storm.
I follow his gaze, watch the darkness descend upon the world.
A bolt of lightning splits the greying sky.
…
Hermione felt the absence of her wand like a missing limb. Malfoy, Nott, and Harry had formed a wall in front of her, while Neville, Luna, and Ron barricaded Ginny. Hermione watched the beast rearing up as it prepared to charge, her mind cycling through the various facts she knew about Chimaeras.
Suddenly, the Chimaera's mouth snapped open, and it let out a thunderous roar. Hermione jumped and Malfoy's hand flew behind to find her, as Harry discharged the first spell.
"Stupify!" Harry bellowed, aiming at the Chimaera.
The spell ricocheted off the creature and hit a nearby tree, cracking its trunk.
"Harry!" Hermione hissed. "Dragons are impervious to spells and that thing is part dragon!"
Harry glanced back at her in confusion. "Then how are we supposed to fight it?"
Hermione looked over Malfoy's shoulder at the beast, again baring its teeth and snarling. "Well, for starters, don't waste your energy shooting random spells," she said. "If it bounces off, it might hit one of us instead."
Malfoy glanced back at her and then raised his eyebrows at Harry.
"So, what would you have us do?" Harry whispered feverishly. "Not use our wands?"
Hermione tried to block out his agitated speech.
"What are we doing, Hermione?" Nott said under his breath as the creature slowly began to advance.
"Let me think," Hermione said in frustration.
"There might not be time for that kind of luxury," Malfoy said, grabbing her by the waist and pulling her out of the way as the Chimaera charged them. Nott and Harry dispersed while she and Malfoy took cover behind a tree. "Are you done thinking?" Malfoy looked down at her with a hopeful expression.
"I think so," she said quietly.
She peered around the trunk as the Chimaera came to a halt about ten meters out and began to turn around. "Aim for the eyes!" she called. "It's the only part of its body that a spell could penetrate."
Collectively, they began throwing curses at the creature, but it dodged every single one.
"It's too fast," Nott called, aiming a Conjunctivitis spell at the Chimaera and missing.
The Chimaera's tail swept across the path and uprooted Ron, Neville, and Luna, and the three of them went flying into the trees. Ginny now stood unprotected on the other side.
"Ginny!" Harry cried. He lunged forward but Nott grabbed a hold of his jacket.
"It won't let you pass!" Nott yelled.
Harry shoved Nott off, shouting, "What do you suggest?"
Nott looked over at Ron and Neville, both lying very far and very still. Near them, buried deep in a mound of snow, lay Oliver's broom. He glanced back over at Harry. "Fly," he said. Then, he called out, "Accio broom!"
The broom hovered in the air and Harry jumped up onto it at a run, just as the Chimaera began to charge at Ginny. It moved quickly, but Harry was faster. He swooped down and grabbed Ginny moments before the creature's jaws snapped closed around her. Ginny screamed, her legs still dangling off the side of the broom, as Harry soared above the beast's back. She clambered onto the broom behind Harry, wrapping her arms around his body and clutching at his chest. Harry let out a breath and hung his head. He wiped at his face before turning back to witness Hermione and Malfoy launching George's spears at the Chimera's side. They did little to slow the creature and, if anything, seemed to aggravate it more. Nott was still aiming blinding spells at its eyes.
"Ginny!" Harry yelled over his shoulder. "Grab those rocks down there when I land!"
He and Ginny collected as many boulders as they could carry before flying back up into the air. They began hurling the rocks at the Chimaera's back.
The largest of the rocks broke against the Chimaera and it whined, rearing on its hind legs in anger. It began to shake its mane and trample the ground in a frenzy as Ginny and Harry rained more boulders over its head.
Harry saw Malfoy trying to sneak up behind it to collect some of the spears, but the creature's tail was flying wildly. Without a second thought, Harry dove down and hooked his arm under Malfoy's shoulder, lifting him off the ground just as the beast's tail swung outward. The broom struggled to lift all three bodies quickly enough, and the black barbs of the tail grazed Malfoy's stomach as Harry carried him away. Malfoy cried out in pain when Harry brought him down next to Hermione.
Malfoy's head dropped to the ground and he groaned as Hermione dropped to her knees at his side. She began to tear at his clothes, ripping the material away to inspect his injury.
"There's no time for that, Hermione!" Harry yelled amidst the indignant rumble of the earth as the Chimaera hammered its hooves into the frozen ground.
"He'll bleed out, Harry!" Hermione cried.
"Grab his wand and defend yourself, Hermione!" Harry roared, collecting more boulders to attack with.
Hermione glanced back at Malfoy in a panic. There were two large gashes in his abdomen and blood was spilling freely from his body and spreading through the snow.
Malfoy chuckled slightly before groaning again and closing his eyes. "It was a good plan, Hermione."
Hermione shook her head. "It's not over," she choked out.
He let out a shallow breath. "You're down to half your army," he whispered. "What's next?"
Hermione clutched his hand when he began to shiver. She clenched her teeth so that they wouldn't chatter and watched him gasp for breath through the haze of her own tears. "It's not over," she said levelly.
She stood, looking over at Nott, who was waving his wand in a flourish to lift the snow from the ground. It spun around the creature, obscuring it from view, and she heard its outraged roar from behind the whiteout. Harry was in the air again, trying to exhaust the beast with his aerial attack. Ginny was shooting spells at the cracked tree trunk in an attempt to bring it down over the animal.
But Nott's blizzard was short-lived, and Harry's boulders only served to aggravate the Chimera. Ginny's tree fell in the wrong direction.
Hermione wavered for a moment, watching the creature swing its tail in a fury, watching its glowing eyes flash with ferocity.
The Chimaera had two eyes. And Nott had not managed to hit either one. The Chimaera was too fast for Nott. But … but Harry Potter was faster.
"Harry!" she cried, her voice hoarse with terror.
He looked down at her from above.
"Harry, we can't win!"
He dropped another boulder at the Chimaera and swooped down toward Hermione. "What?"
"We can't win," she repeated. "But I know who can."
"Who?"
"The Acromantulas."
Harry furrowed his eyebrows for a moment, before he understood what she was planning.
"Do you remember where their nest is?" she asked desperately, as Ginny arrived at his side.
"They might not be there anymore, Hermione," he said. "They were driven out by the Death Eaters during the battle."
"Something tells me they were strong enough to take it back," Hermione said. "And you have to find it, Harry."
"I'm not leaving you lot." Harry shook his head.
Ginny watched Hermione steadily and then set her jaw, turning to look at Harry. "If you don't go, then we're all dead, Harry," she said firmly.
"It's the only way, Harry," Hermione pleaded.
"Hermione, you're asking me to draw out a colony of enormous spiders! They're worse than the Chimaera!" Harry exclaimed.
"I'm banking on it," she replied.
…
"What's with the body art?" I say as Theo pulls his shirt over his head.
His dark eyes peek out over the neck of the shirt and he narrows them, slipping his arms through the sleeves and pressing the material to his form as it falls over his sculpted abs. He lowers his head, pointedly looking at his leather jacket. Finally, he picks it up and tosses it over his arm. He's wearing his pensive expression, the one that indicates he's barely listening to me because he's navigating his own thoughts.
"Do they have any meaning?" I ask.
He looks up at me and, for a moment, I get the sense that he doesn't quite know how to respond. "How did you do that?" he says levelly, as though he's trying to keep it together for my sake.
I glance down at my palm where a reddish imprint of his knot remains, as if I'd been branded.
"I didn't do anything," I say.
"Do you really believe that?" he says.
I shake my head. "You're obsessed," I reply.
"Right." Nott chuckles lightly. "Not the first time I've heard that one."
I stare at him angrily. "I can't do magic, alright? I've no idea why your tattoo burned me! Your guess is as good as mine."
He watches me quietly, his expression not betraying much of anything.
"What?" I say. "What are you thinking?"
His jaw shifts sideways and he blinks away.
"You have a theory, don't you?" I press.
When he looks back at me, his gaze is different. He looks confused and frightened. Without uttering another word, he moves past me toward the front door.
I don't intend to stop him but, just as he's about to close the door behind himself, he looks back up at me and says, "I have them so I never forget."
I glance over my shoulder to gauge the sincerity of his words, because his tone remains unemotional as usual.
"What I did to her."
…
"Hermione!" Nott bellowed.
Hermione dropped Malfoy's arms and whipped her head around. The next moment, she was struck across the neck with the blunt side of the Chimaera's coarse tail. She didn't even have enough breath to scream as she fell to the ground beside Malfoy.
She could feel her throat swelling as she wheezed. She blinked at Malfoy's sweating face. He was looking over at her with tears in his eyes.
"We should've stayed at the Wiggentrees," he croaked.
She gasped in reply, clutching at her throat as it constricted further.
Malfoy took her by the hand. He squeezed her fingers in his. "Cheer up, Granger," he rasped, closing his eyes. "Potter will come through," he said. "You'll see. He always does."
Hermione stared at his shuddering lips as they slowly turned a darker shade of blue.
"Malfoy," Hermione breathed, the sound scraping painfully in her throat. "Malfoy," she said louder, shaking his hand. The fingers that had clutched hers were falling away, and Malfoy kept his eyes shut. "Draco!" she tried to yell, but her voice came out as a raspy whisper. "Draco, wake up!" she pleaded, tears burning her cheeks. If she could move, she would get up and shake him awake. "Draco!" she screamed. But the scream wasn't a scream at all.
Hermione could still hear Nott and Ginny firing curses at the Chimaera.
"Hermione!" Nott called out to her. "Hermione, are you alright?"
"Come quick, Theo!" Hermione called in a whisper that was instantly drowned out by the wind. "Theo, come help him, Theo!" Hermione cried silently. "He's dying, Theo!"
But Nott either couldn't hear her or couldn't make it around the Chimaera to get to her.
Slowly, Hermione rolled to her side, leaning over Malfoy unsteadily. His skin was cold to the touch and his lips had stopped shivering. She dropped her head onto his chest, unable to hold it up any longer. Her face sunk into his body as she turned to watch Nott and Ginny holding off the Chimaera with brief blinding bombs to keep it from moving closer.
Behind the Chimera, Ron and Neville were back on their feet. Neville seemed worse off than Ron, barely able to keep himself upright. Ron was skirting the creature, shooting curses at the Chimera's hoofs. Suddenly, the Chimera started dancing and Hermione realized what Ron was doing. She let out a small chuckle, admiring her friend's brilliance.
Ron had frozen the ground beneath the beast and now it was slipping with every step, unable to keep its footing to charge.
Taking advantage of the Chimera's temporary impediment, Nott sent a cluster of knives at its head. The creature reared up and shook out its mane. A stream of blood flowed from its left eye as one of Nott's blades stuck.
Hermione breathed out. One down. One to go.
The heat of Malfoy's blood trickling down her neck terrified her but she couldn't lift her head. She placed her hand over his chest, her fingers closing around the fabric of his torn shirt. It was saturated with blood, but she clutched it in her hand anyway.
Nott looked exhausted and seemed to be slowing down. Ginny was out of breath and had doubled over. Ron was running the long way around to get to Ginny.
Suddenly, the Chimaera leaped up into the trees, disappearing for a moment before pouncing out of the mist at a disoriented Nott. It hit him sideways and pinned him to the ground with its giant hoof. Hermione winced when she heard the cracking of bones.
Nott cried out before going silent.
"Theo!" Hermione croaked. She sobbed into Malfoy's bloody stomach.
Then, just as the ground juddered with the Chimaera's roar, Hermione could feel a different kind of vibration coming up through the earth. It sounded like – hundreds of enormous spider legs. Her eyes darted upward just as Harry descended toward them, an army of colossal spiders charging in his wake.
The Chimaera looked up and snarled, rearing up and releasing its hold on Nott. Harry swooped down and pulled on Nott's arm, dragging him out of the Chimaera's path as it prepared to attack the advancing spiders.
Nott was able to heave himself up on his good arm and stand up, as Harry went to tend to Ginny. Nott hobbled over to Hermione and Malfoy and squatted down beside them.
"Is he alive?" Nott said roughly, pushing Hermione's head off Malfoy's stomach.
Hermione rolled over again. "I don't know," she choked through her tears. "I don't know."
Nott stuck two fingers in the groove under Malfoy's jaw. He let out a frustrated sigh and picked up Malfoy's arm to check for a pulse in his wrist. Then, he brought Malfoy's limp hand to his forehead, breathing out steadily. "There's a pulse," he said quietly, and Hermione could hear the relief in his voice.
"There is?" Hermione gasped.
"We've got to get him out of here," Nott said resolutely.
…
I reach for the paper the moment he steps out of the cabin. Furiously, I flip through it, scanning the words in the bottom right quadrant of every page – where Malfoy had been reading when all of a sudden he'd stopped. Nothing catches my eye at first, and I go back to the beginning to try again. The second riffle proves more fruitful.
At the top of the third page, there's a photograph of Theodore Nott with the caption: "The Mind, the Myth, and the Madman". In the picture, Nott is continuously bringing a hand up to the camera lens, obscuring his own disgruntled expression.
I quickly skim the first couple of sentences, making a mental note to pick up a copy of the Daily Prophet on my way home. The first sentence reads: "How one of the most notable neuro-healers of our time fell into disgrace. This is the story of Dr. Theodore Nott and how he lost his mind while studying yours."
I hear footsteps behind the door and quickly close the paper. But not before I catch a glimpse of something in the bottom right quadrant. I slide the closed paper onto Malfoy's bench and lean back into my seat, the afterimage of Ginny Weasley's flaming hair spiraling around her face burning in my mind. Of course, the paper isn't coloured, but I would recognize her eyes anywhere. My heart begins to hammer in my chest, my knee starts to jerk. I look up as Malfoy enters the cabin and smile.
I need to read that story.
…
The vertigo sent her reeling every time she took the liberty of moving her eyes. From Nott to Harry and then back to Nott.
"He's dying, isn't he?" Harry was saying. He didn't seem overly distraught. It nauseated Hermione.
She lifted her arm unsteadily and dropped it over Malfoy's chest, grasping at his jacket and shaking it vehemently. "Malfoy," she hissed – because that was the highest volume her voice could conjure.
Nott's hand closed around her fingers and he eyed her gravely. His gaze sent a tremor through her body. He looked afraid. Hermione shook Malfoy harder, screaming without sound.
Ron arrived shortly after, crouching right above Hermione's head. "Why aren't we running?" he said, out of breath. "Oh shit," he added upon seeing Malfoy's still form spilling dark blood into the trampled, already bloodied snow.
Hermione began to lift herself off the ground. First onto her elbow, then into a sitting position. Parts of her were numb. Other parts felt like they were on fire. There was a strange weakness in her left hand and she tried to form a fist. Her hand juddered violently and her attempt failed. She shook it out and glanced up at Malfoy's pale face.
"We can't move him," Harry said.
"Well, we can't leave him here," Ron said.
Nott let out a sigh. "Harry's right. If we move him, he'll die."
"If we stay here, we'll all die." It was Ginny. She was standing behind Ron, helping Neville support a beat-up Luna.
"We can't stay," Nott said, looking up at the Chimaera just as it ripped apart another one of the larger Acromantulas, while the smaller spiders spun webs around its legs. The Chimaera kicked at them, throwing them off and tearing at the web.
Hermione's head spun watching the spiders in action. Her thoughts were sticking together like webs and she fought against the disorder in her mind.
Spiders tickled her ears and the needles of their little feet trampled across the skin of her neck. They crowded her throat on their way in, nearly choking her.
Spiders trickled through her, leaving behind a chaos of web she would inevitably have to pull apart. The thought filled her stomach with acid. She swallowed bile, watching Malfoy grow whiter as the rest of them discussed leaving him behind.
He wouldn't leave any of them behind. Then again, it was nothing they hadn't done before.
She gulped again, suppressing her mounting nausea, and tried to speak.
Spiders trickled out of her mouth instead of words. She closed her eyes, breathing in through her nose. Ron said something about nothing. Ginny agreed.
Spiders crawled into her nasal cavity, occupied her head.
She pulled at the tangle of web.
They could not move Malfoy.
The web fused her fingers. She tried to move her left hand but all it did was shake.
They could not stay.
She used her right arm to slice through the mess of web.
They would not leave him.
Her eyes were sealed shut.
"We have to seal his wound," Nott said behind the darkness of her eyelids.
She tore her eyes back open. She stared at Nott as he frantically filtered through the spells he knew that might accomplish the task. There were none.
"Clean the wound," Hermione whispered.
Ron looked over at her. "What's that?"
"Clean the wound," she repeated. "And seal it shut with the Acromantulas' web."
Nott stared at her. "It's certainly unconventional," he said, "but I dare say that it might just work."
Hermione nodded tiredly, her eyes shifting to Harry's face and sending her into a deep, disorienting spell of vertigo.
"Hermione!" Harry exclaimed, catching her shoulder before she could fall over. "Are you alright?"
"She was hit in the neck and the back of the head," Nott said, flushing out Malfoy's gash with water from his wand. "Looks like she might have a concussion. Hopefully no nerve damage," he added.
Hermione looked down at her trembling left hand.
…
"I have something for you," I say. "Something that might interest you."
My mother doesn't respond.
I drop the Daily Prophet on her desk crossly. When she doesn't even bother to look at it, I put my hand on it roughly and open it up for her. I flip through until I find what I'm looking for. Then, I slide it over for her to see.
…
"Can you stand?" Neville offered Hermione a hand.
Hermione took Neville's hand and leaned into him as he helped her up. Her head dropped into the curve of his neck, unable to hold itself upright. They began to follow Nott and Harry, who were carrying Malfoy away.
Ron and Ginny were helping a slow-paced Luna catch up to the others.
Once a safe distance away, Nott turned back to assess the damages they took.
He glanced over Neville's shoulder. "How much did we have to leave behind?" he said.
"The pot," Neville replied solemnly.
Nott glanced at him with a small smile that he concealed by tightening his lips. "Anything else?"
"The spears. Half of them at least," Ginny said, Oliver's broom resting on her shoulder.
"The mushrooms are gone," Luna added warily. "They were in my sack and I don't know where I dropped it."
"All the shoes," Neville continued.
"At least three of the blankets, if not more," Ron said grudgingly.
Nott nodded. "It's alright," he said. "We're all alive. Which is a miracle if you ask me." He eyed Hermione wearily.
"We won't need as many blankets," Hermione said hoarsely. "Not if we set up camp right by the hot spring."
"There's a hot spring?" Neville exclaimed. "What are we standing around here for?"
With a wide grin, he started walking again. Nott smirked at Hermione as she and Neville went ahead to take the lead.
…
"Ginny never had the baby," I say as the countryside becomes a blur in my peripheral vision. I swallow when he gives me a hard look. He knows I've seen the paper. He lowers his gaze and studies his shoes in silence.
"They're just rumours," he says, lifting the paper and tossing it at me. His mouth is a fine line and he turns away from me in disgust, looking back out at the fields interspersed with the occasional forest in the distance.
I bite into my lip, regretting ever looking at the paper. Draco Malfoy has never spoken to me like this before. "I just – the picture," I say, flipping to the page where I'd seen her twist away from the camera, hiding her face behind a wall of straight hair. "Could it be her?"
Malfoy fixes me with a stern expression. "I watched her die," he says levelly. "I saw Ginny Weasley die."
His tone sends a shiver through me. I lay the paper aside and reach for his hand, studying the pain twisted into his features. I squeeze his fingers gently. And I remind myself: Draco Malfoy is a liar.
…
"This is…" Luna stared up at the glowing particles speckled across the darkness overhead. "Magical," she said, smiling. She lowered her gaze and looked at Hermione. "I've never seen anything like it – and I've seen a lot," she added.
Hermione gave her a feeble smile. "I know what you mean," she said softly, barely able to hear herself.
Harry and Nott set Malfoy down on a blanket Ron had laid down right by the water. The heat coming off the hot spring misted over Harry's spectacles and he removed them and wiped them on his shirt. He then put them back on and promptly sighed in exasperation, taking them off again and staring at the lenses. His shirt had made them filthier.
Nott tapped his wand on the frame and gave Harry a tight smile. Harry nodded warily and replaced the spectacles on his face. He gave Hermione a grim expression and stalked off. Hermione caught up with him as he made his way up the overhang toward Luna and Neville.
"I'm about finished saving Slytherins," Harry said roughly as Hermione took a hold of his arm to slow him down.
"What are you talking about?" she said. "Where is this coming from?"
Harry stared at her. "What's going on with the two of you?"
Hermione shook her head slowly. "I beg your pardon?" she said.
"You heard me, Hermione," he said. "You're off with him for three days and you come back best friends?"
Hermione scoffed. "Far from it –"
"I don't trust him, Hermione," Harry said firmly. "Something is off, I can feel it. I don't trust him."
"Isn't it a little late for that?" Hermione said. "I mean, like it or not, we're sort of in this together."
Harry gazed with suspicion at Nott, who was helping lift Malfoy into a sitting position. He'd lost a lot of blood, so Nott was adamant on getting him to drink water. "They were Death Eaters to the end, Hermione. How do we know they're not still?"
Hermione stared at Harry. "Don't you think they would've given us up by now if they were?"
Harry shook his head. "Something's not right," he said. "Nott's hiding something."
Hermione tried to turn her head to look over at Nott, but her neck seized up and she clutched at it, crying out. Harry caught her as she crumbled.
"Are you alright?" he said. "Come, sit down, Hermione." He led her along the ledge to a few flat rocks jutting out from the slope around the water and helped her down.
Hermione felt the dizziness attack once more and she lowered herself unsteadily onto the rock. She looked across the placid water to the place where Malfoy sat with Nott. His shirt was off and there was a thick layer of Acromantula web wrapped around his torso. He was staring blankly into the green waters of the lake, gripping the sack of water Nott had given him with both hands. His blond hair was plastered to his face in sweaty strands and there were dark bags hanging below his colourless eyes.
"What is that?" Harry said suddenly, staring into the water.
"What's what?" she said, turning her head slowly so as not to aggravate her vertigo, and squinting into the darkness that spread, formless, beneath the surface of the water. She blinked several times, trying to make out what it was that obscured the deeper end of the pool. In the shadows, it appeared everchanging, moving as a wave, as a black cloud.
Harry rose to his feet beside her just as one of the glow worms hanging dreamily over the water broke through the darkness, producing a momentary spill of light that cast the shadow below the surface in a bright red –
"Ginny!" Harry bellowed. Without removing any of his clothes, he dove into the lake.
…
I am looking at the vase on my mother's desk. I am looking at the branch in the water.
"Pretty," I say, when she doesn't react to the newspaper.
She lifts her eyes to look at me.
"Where'd you get it?"
Her lips tighten. "The market."
I nod. "I've never seen anything like it."
I am a liar. Like he is a liar. Like she is a liar.
"It's called a Bleeding Heart," she says, running a finger along the teardrops hanging underneath the small flowers along the plant.
I sink into the chair across from her, watching her eyes to see if they might fill with tears. They don't. She hasn't any left. "Sounds painful," I say quietly.
She looks back at me and smiles sadly. "It is."
