Chapter Thirty-Three:
24 Preludes, Op 28:No15 in D-Flat Major (Raindrops) by Chopin
February 23, 2000
"Good morning, Draconis! Thought you'd never see my pretty face again, did ya!" Theo's all smiles as he hobbles to the other side of Draco. He pulls a chair over, settling into it and situating his bulky cast so it's more comfortable.
Draco lands a menacing look in his direction that doesn't quite look as terrifying while he's lying in a hospital bed.
"Who. Told. You." He bites out, grinding his teeth and trying to sit up. Hermione's hand flies to his chest, forcing him to lie back down.
"Our dear friend Hermione, of course." Theo leans back in the chair, going to place his hands behind his head in a nonchalant way, and finding his left arm missing. There's a moment of panic on his face before he catches up, remembering, realising and settling back into the chair with a strangled laugh.
Her chest clenches at the instant when Theo forgot he's missing his arm. She chews her lip, looking away from the two of them.
"Only my mother calls me Draconis," He mutters with a roll of his eyes, letting a big gust of air out of his nose. He looks like a petulant child in his hospital cot.
He reaches out a strong hand, much stronger than he had been three days ago when Pomfrey knocked him out. His fingers tangle into her hair, forcing her to look at him.
"I thought I was going to lose you," She says bluntly, eyes locking onto his.
Theo's lip twitches before creeping into a crooked grin, "We all knew I would pull through. I'm far too stubborn to let someone kill me." He's aiming to cheer her up, to make her smile.
She's been sitting at Draco's bedside for the last three days, worried he wouldn't wake up, listening to Theo's antics. Watching him and Neville together, her heart clenching every time Theo struggled.
He leans back into the chair again, the picture of carefree, when one of his legs gives out. Theo falls with a scream and the sound of Pomfrey's boots on the tile fills the empty wing.
"Theodore! If you break that damn leg of yours doing something stupid I will be livid!" Pomfrey whips around the corner of the privacy curtain, spying Theo on the floor before grabbing him by the back of his hospital gown. "You're going to stay in this bed until Neville gets here to help you on a walk."
Madame Pomfrey drags a hobbling Theo out, leaving Hermione and Draco alone for the first time since they were in Wales.
His hand is still tangled in her hair when he pulls her in, placing his chapped lips on hers. She can feel herself welling up, starting to choke on the tears as he pulls her in closer.
Climbing into the little cot, she places her head on his shoulder, moulding her entire body to his, memorising the way he feels. Relishing in the closeness, the feeling of his arms around her.
"I thought you were going to die."
"I thought I was going to die…" He plays with her hair absently, as if admitting this to her is not a big deal for him. "It's funny, I thought I was going to die in that house but the instant you were there I knew I had to try to get through it."
She places her hand on his chest, watching it rise and fall in a steady, even rhythm.
"I was worried you were giving up on me."
"Near the end, I really thought about giving up… not on you, never on you, but just… giving up. I thought it was going to be the end, lying on the greenhouse table with you in my arms. I made peace with it." She clenches the hand she has on his chest, nails biting into her palms, the pain distracting her from the sadness. "Then Pomfrey showed up and regrew my skin. Do you know how painful that is?!" He scoffs in an apathetic tone.
"Are you in pain now? Do you want me to get something for you?" His arm clamps tighter around her shoulders when she tries to get up.
"Of course I'm in pain, but I don't want you to leave." She can feel his hand shaking as he grips her tightly. "Gods I'm so thirsty I could drink the entirety of the Black Lake. Apparently that's a side effect of blood loss, severe dehydration." His tone is even, steady, like he's citing something from a muggle textbook.
"I don't think the squid would like it if you drank the whole Black Lake," She whispers, lightening the mood, allowing him to dictate what he wants to talk about.
He lies there for a while, staring at the ceiling and twirling the end of one of her curls in his hand. Hermione is waiting, wanting to ask him what he's thinking.
"I never thought I would be here." Draco's voice sounds almost hoarse, a whisper in her hair.
"In the hospital wing?"
"No. Alive." She furrows her brows, not fully understanding. "I never thought I would make it past sixth year." Hermione wants to ask why, but she knows, she understands.
"You were worried Voldemort would kill you," She whispers and his hand stills for a second, thinking, before he continues to wind the curl around his finger.
"I was terrified of losing. Losing control, losing myself, my family, my friends. I never thought I would have to set foot in this school again after what I did. I tried so hard to push everyone away, to save them from what I had to do." He takes a shuddering breath and she waits for him to continue, placing reassuring pressure on his chest. "I didn't want to do any of it. That night, before the battle of the astronomy tower…I was there because I was going to kill myself. It started out as a joke, as a coping mechanism, but there I was standing at the railing…"
Draco sounds aloof, like this is something he's wanted to get off his chest for ages, he just didn't know how.
"If you knew what was going to happen, would you do it all again?" She whispers, settling into his shoulder, melting into him, gripping the sheets.
"Is the outcome still the same?" She nods, "Without a second thought. I would go through it all again to end up with you." Resolute, without question.
Draco is asleep leaving Hermione to pace anxiously before giving in and sitting with Theo. Part of her feels terrible for barging onto the grounds and just expecting everyone to help her, she feels embarrassed. Grateful, but embarrassed of her assumption that McGonagall would assist in her almost failed rescue mission.
She knew they could seek asylum here, but is unsure of how long it will last.
"Ah! Come to help me hobble around then." Theo gives a bright smile the second Neville pulls the curtain back, snapping his book shut with a dull thud, no bookmark in sight.
"'Mione, would you like to come with us?" Neville asks, stirring her from her anxious spiral. She nods, standing, closing her eyes as her vision tunnels, she can feel the back of the chair against her legs, sitting back down before she topples over.
Neville has her by the elbow, steadying her, holding her so she doesn't fall once again.
"I see we're going to make a stop in the Great Hall before we do our lap of the castle." She sees Theo nodding excitedly, swinging his legs over the side of the cot with little grace. Grabbing for his crutch Neville helps him to stand.
Their pace is slow as Theo struggles with his balance, they're not even out of the hospital wing when Theo tosses his crutch.
"That's it to hell with the crutch, Neville, help me please we'll get there faster." Hermione watches as a scarlet blush appears across Neville's cheeks.
She smiles, falling back a few paces to observe them. Theo has his arm around Neville's shoulers, talking up a storm as he stumbles. Neville is all ears, nodding, showing he's listening, his eyes never leaving Theo.
"...Pomfrey said it's healed but I can't put weight on it for the next two weeks since she's never healed a bone broken from the Cruciatus. Can you believe it? Broke my leg with a sodding torture curse—" A few of the students milling around in the hallway stop to gawk, recoiling at the word Cruciatus.
"So you're staying in the hospital wing for the next two weeks?" Hermione can't help, but hear the excitement in Neville's voice.
"Merlin, I hope not those cots are dreadful. I wonder if McGonagall would let Draco and I bunk in the Slytherin dorms like old times." Neville lets out a snort of a laugh. "I don't think that's an obscene request, thank you!" Theo tuts snarling at the group of students and causing them to scatter.
They're almost at the Great Hall when Hermione sees Harry standing at the entrance speaking with a group of Gryffindors. He's wearing his Auror uniform, his hair a lot more unruly than usual. When he looks up, she sees the purple bruising around his eyes. A feeling of dread claws at her insides.
Something else has happened.
Neville and Theo stop next to her, both of them staring at Harry before turning to her.
"You two go ahead, I'll catch up." She waves them off.
Neville levels her with a stern look, "You're coming to the Great Hall after you speak to Harry. You have to eat something 'Mione." She nods lightly, knowing that she probably wouldn't be able to eat even if Harry weren't here, but now she only wants to know why Harry is here.
"I'll save you some sausage," Theo snarks, trying to limp off as Neville jabs his ribs. "Oi, those aren't broken and I'd like to keep it that way…" their conversation dies off as they get farther from her.
Harry crosses the hall, at a brisk walk before breaking into a sprint. She meets him halfway, colliding into a break neck hug. He holds her for dear life and she can feel him shaking, his chest heaving.
He's crying quietly, burying his face into her hair, his hands grasping at her.
"That house…" She can do nothing but cling to him as he regains his composure, "that house…we must have gotten there right after you apparated here."
"How did you know we were here?"
"Neville, Hagrid, Merlin, even McGonagall sent an owl. They all said the same thing, that you're all safe just in rough shape." Harry pulls away, catching his breath, taking his glasses off to wipe the tears away with the back of his hand.
"How's Ginny? Does Ginny know I'm safe?" He nods.
"I filled her in, she's been staying at Grimmauld Place with Luna and Melody. Crookshanks is mad, he won't come out from under your bed, I think he knows something is wrong."
"Did Narcissa go? To the house? Did she see?" She's rapidly firing the questions after being held up in the castle for three days. McGonagall and Pomfrey wouldn't let her see the papers, forbidding her to read the news. Probably trying to save her psyche, to attempt to keep her calm while Draco and Theo heal.
"She did, she's on her way now. I had to get security clearance from Kingsley since she set off an alarm the second she set foot into the Zabini residence. Hermione, we barely managed to get out of there." She can't imagine the Aurors that must have descended on the mansion to a hysteric Narcissa.
"What happened to Mrs. Zabini?" Her fists are clenched as Harry directs them to a bench against the wall. "What happened to Blaise? Is he okay? Is he in St. Mungo's?" She doesn't like the look Harry is giving her, the way his mouth forms a hard line, the way his eyes soften before looking to his feet.
"'Mione, Blaise is dead."