A/N: I'M SO SORRY GUYS. I've been mega crazy busy, so I haven't been able to do anything besides school stuff. I'll work on updating much more often though. Hopefully you haven't all abandoned me. Enjoy!

Chapter 13

"I think we should go back into the town." Hermione suggested over breakfast.

"It's too dangerous." Draco told her.

"We have to. There's so much magic here. If the Death Eaters are here too then there must be something important about it." Hermione persisted.

"You're not strong enough. Plus, we probably just stumbled across the same town at the same time." Draco reasoned.

"Peter Pettigrew's grave is here. It's not just some random town!"

"That doesn't take away from the fact that you're too weak to go."

"No I'm not! I'm fine."

"Okay go walk to the kitchen and back." Draco insisted, knowing full well that she couldn't. Hermione looked at the kitchen disdainfully. Slowly she began to stand up, the pain that she was trying to hide was evident on her face and she quickly sat back down. She looked defeated.

"Exactly. How do you propose you battle Death Eater's in that condition Hermione?" Draco challenged. Hermione smiled at the use of her first name. She still wasn't used to him calling her that.

"Fine. But we're not leaving. Give me a few days to rest, then we're going. I won't let this go." She persisted. Draco looked at her and knew that even if he wanted to he couldn't make her move on. Plus, he realized that there was a chance that this town could be the one. He didn't want to potentially pass over a town that could end this whole ordeal.

"I suppose you're right." Draco admitted. Hermione raised her eyebrows.

"Did you just admit to being wrong?" She exclaimed.

"Yes… I guess I did. What of it?"

"Draco Malfoy… admitting to a mudblood being right over him! I never thought I'd see the day." Hermione said. Draco cringed when she called herself a mudblood. He hated when she called herself that. But he wasn't in a position to say anything, because he had called her that for years.

"Well there's a first time for everyone to be wrong I guess." He joked. Hermione laughed, but her laugh quickly turned into a grimace.

"What's wrong?" Draco asked, worried about her obvious discomfort.

"Laughing. It hurts." Hermione told him. Draco smiled sympathetically. "It will for a while. Do you want anything to help the pain?"

"No I'll be fine." Hermione said, still wincing.

"Are you sure?" Draco asked, looking concerned. When had be grown to have concern for people? Especially muggle-borns…

"I'm sure. Thanks." Hermione told him. She paused for a minute. "Draco?"

"Yes?"

"Why are you suddenly so caring? I mean, look at how far we've come. It almost doesn't seem natural." Hermione commented.

"I don't know. I guess I got to know you a little better, and I realized that you're really not all that bad- even if you are a know-it-all bookworm." He teased. Hermione let out a small chuckle and winced slightly.

"It's just crazy that we've gotten to the point were you'd look after me, and I'd let you. And where we can tease each other. If some one had told me that even a month ago, I would have laughed in their face." Hermione said.

"It is almost unbelievable. I guess we were able to put our difference and the past aside. I don't know. I never really thought about it, I guess it just kind of happened."

"Speaking of our differences… are they still differences? Do you still hate muggle-borns?" Hermione asked tentatively. Now that they were quasi-friends she actually almost cared what he thought about her. Almost. Draco sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

"I don't know Hermione, I really don't. I mean, it's hard to undo almost two decades worth of it being driven into my brain. But you're making me question it all. You're not like the mudbloods that I've been trained to hate." Draco told her. As soon as he said it, he realized his mistake. And he was so angry at himself for his slip. Hermione's face darkened a little, but she didn't seem to be furious yet.

"But I'm still a mud blood." She stated.

"Hermione, I didn't mean it like that." He tried to explain. It was pointless though. If his thoughts had really changed, he wouldn't have used that word.

"There's only one meaning to the word Malfoy." She said, resorting back to his last name. Draco winced at the coldness of her voice.

"It's what they've always been called to me. I'm sorry Hermione. I really didn't mean to." Draco pleaded.

"They've? I'm one of them Malfoy. Stop pushing me out of that category because you and I both know my bloodline. I'm not ashamed of it."

"Mud blood for me was always just so negative, and I don't see you in a negative light anymore."

"But you see muggle-borns in a negative light still. And I'm one of them. So what's the difference?" Draco knew that what she said was true. He didn't know how to get out what he was trying to say. He didn't even really understand it himself.

"I guess you're the exception."

"No I'm not Draco." Hermione said, softening a little bit. She knew that he was telling the truth, but it still hurt. "I'm just like every other muggle born. And we're just like every other witch and wizard."

"I'm trying to see you for the person you are, not your blood status. I forgot about it until you brought it up. I'm sorry Hermione. Please forgive me. I don't want to fight with you. It's just not something I can help." He pleaded. Hermione sighed.

"I know. I just wish it was."

"Can we please just not talk about this? Screw blood status. Right now it's just us. Let's leave it at that and just see each other for the person." He proposed. Hermione considered this. Why could he ignore blood status when it was just them? Why not infront of other people? He was embarrassed by her, that's why. On top of that, blood is a part of her person. So it did matter. Although, she really did was to be able to put it all behind them.

"My blood is a part of me Draco. You'll have to come to accept that eventually. But yes. I prefer it when we aren't fighting." She told him. "Seeing as we have no one but-"

Draco looked up when her sentence cut off. Hermiones eyes were rolled into the back of her head, blood starting to trail out of her mouth, as well as foam and she had started convulsing. She looked absolutely terrifying. And he had no idea what to do.

"Hermione! Hermione look at me!" yelled Draco franctically. He didn't know what to do. He didn't know any healing spells advanced enough to help her. He didn't know of any potions to help. That was it! Potions- a bezoar! That might work, even if it wasn't a poison. He rushed to the kitchen and started frantically searching through the potions cabinet in search of a bezoar. Why did there have to be so many potions? Finally he reached the back of the cabinet. There they were, 2 bezoars. He almost laughed with relief as he grabbed them and rushed back to Hermione. He forced open her mouth and shoved in the bezoar. Draco waited nervously, hoping for some sign to tell him if it was working or not. Finally she opened her eyes.

"Hermione! Oh thank god it worked." He breathed. Hermione still looked disoriented and not quite herself.

"Wh-what happened?" she asked shakily.

"It was terrible. You just started shaking and bleeding and your eyes were rolling back. I thought you were going to die. I didn't know what to do so I shoved a bezoar down your throat." He told her. Her brow furrowed as she tried to figure it out.

"That's not supposed to happen after Sectum Sempra. Maybe it was another curse. Or maybe they altered it. Either way, the bezoar was temporary. It only truly works for potions. It's temporary for anything else." She told him calmly. Draco went white. What in Merlin's name was he supposed to do? He wasn't a healer, and she wasn't strong enough to apperate.

"Hermione… what do I do? How can I fix this?

"I don't know. Go into my bag. There should be a book on healing in there. Find the diagnostic spell and follow the instructions. Then based on that diagnosis, go into the index and try to find the spell to heal it. I'm not sure how much longer I'll last, so try to work quickly." She said with a hint of nervousness in her voice. He didn't understand how she could possibly be so calm when she could potentially die. He was a nervous wreck, although he tried not to show it.

"Okay." He said, rummaging through Hermione's never ending bag. He was pulling book after book after book out. "Ah-ha! Got it."

"Finally." She muttered. He shot her a look, and then scoured it for the diagnostic spell. Finally he found the one he was looking for.

"Sorry about this." He said, as he pulled Hermione's top up to her chest.

"Draco it's just my stomache." She said rolling her eyes.

"Well I don't know! With you…" He trailed off, hoping she got what he was trying to say. She was such a prude in school that he was almost positive no one had seen her remotely naked.

"I'm not that prude, self-conscious little girl anymore." She said as if reading his mind. "Just get on with the spell."

"Egritudo." He muttered as he waved his wand over Hermione's abdomen. He waited a minute, and slowly different parts of her abdomen started to glow different colours. His eyes widened as he realized how extensive her injuries were. He looked at the colour index to see what each meant.

"Slightly punctured lung. Broken rib. Internal bleeding. Your stomach is filling with fluid. Your stomach muscles are severed as well." He told her, but her eyes had already started rolling back into her head. She hadn't quite gone yet, but it was clear that she fighting to stay alert.

"Fuck." Draco said, rapidly flipping to the index. He scanned the summary for each spell as fast as he could. He decided to heal her broken rib last, as it was the least threatening, and her lung first. Finally he found the spell he was looking for.

"Sana pulmonis." He said, pointing his wand in the direction of her lungs. He watched nervously, waiting for the glowing to fade. Finally, slowly, the blue glow coming from her lungs faded until it disappeared completely. Draco let a sigh of relief, then plunged back into the book. He looked up briefly to see how Hermione was doing. Her eyes were rolled back, and she was bleeding out of her mouth again, but her breathing wasn't as labored as it was the last time and she wasn't convulsing or foaming this time. He found the next spell quite quickly now that he knew the layout of the book and index.

"Prohibere interno cruenti." He said, pointing his wand at the red glow coming from her abdomen. Again he looked on nervously as the red slowly faded away. He let out another relieved sigh before glancing up at Hermione. The blood was still dripping out of her mouth, but it didn't look as if there was anymore coming. Again, he dove into the book searching for a way to stop the fluid rising in her stomach. If he didn't find anything soon, she could potentially drown.

"Devium effercio." He said, pointing his wand at her stomach yet again. This time it took a little bit longer to work. He watched nervously as the green glow shrunk until it eventually left all together. He was about to turn the page back to the index when he noticed a bolded section that he had missed.

This spell is a general spell. It only gets rid of a fluid. It will do nothing to stop the potentially harmful effects that the fluid might have. It would be wise to extract some of the fluid incase it was a poison, and then find the anti-poison for it.

"Bloody hell." Draco muttered to himself. He should have read the whole page. What if there was some poison in her stomach? Now there was nothing that he could do.

"What?" He nearly jumped at the sound of another voice. He looked up, to see that Hermione was awake again. He was so relieved to see that he had succeeded yet again that he hugged her. Hermione was so stunned and… happy, that she barely even noticed the pain as he squeezed her tightly. She was even more stunned to find that it felt nice to have him hugging her. It felt… right.

"Ouch." She found herself saying as he squeezed too tightly.

"Oh! I'm sorry." He said jumping back. Hermione smiled.

"It's fine. Just my rib I think." She told him.

"I guess I was just so relieved that-"

"Draco you don't have to explain yourself for hugging me." She laughed. Draco blushed a little. Hermione found that rather cute, although she was still surprised that he was even capable of feeling embarrassed.

"It's just, well I'm not really a hugging person." He explained.

"I know. But in the mean time… my rib and abdomen." She reminded him.

"Oh right!" He said, picking up the book and immersing himself in it to escape the awkwardness.

"Figere musculus." He said, pointing at her stomach and yet again watching the purple glow fade. Hermione smiled, relieved to be okay.

"Skele-grow should do for the rib." She offered, knowing that all that magic must be tiring both mentally and emotionally on Draco, as they weren't particularly easy spells to do. Draco nodded and headed back over to the cabinet where the potions were kept. He stared as he saw the mess that he had created in his efforts to find a bezoar. There were bottles thrown about the cabinet and the floor. He was amazed at how many potions that the tent was stocked with- more that he knew existed. Too lazy to pick them up manually, he flicked his wand and they all zoomed back into their rightful places.

"accio Skele-grow." He said, and the potion flew out of the cabinet and into his hand. He grinned, and then mentally hit himself for his stupidity at not having just used accio to get the bezoar early.

"Here you go." He said, offering the potion to her. She took off the cap and poured the correct amount into the cap, and then into her mouth, grimacing at the taste.

"Thank you," She said, handing the bottle back. Now she was wincing in pain as the skele-grow did its job. He took the bottle back and put on another pot of tea.

"So when I woke up, you weren't pleased about something. What was it?" She asked. Draco looked at her in confusion, then shook his head as he remembered. He had been so pleased that she was okay that it completely slipped his mind.

"The book, it said that if the fluid was a poison, then it wouldn't have stopped the effects of the poison. I didn't take any of the fluid out, so I don't even know what it was." He said nervously. Hermione just laughed, confusing Draco even further.

"You shoved a bezoar down my throat Draco. That would have gotten rid of any magical properties in a potion. All that would be left is the liquid. There's nothing to worry about." She assured him. For the zillionth time that day, Draco let out a sigh of relief.

"Hermione, what do you think the spell was?" He asked.

"I don't know. I didn't hear him say it. It looked like sectum Sempra, but clearly it was different. I don't know if it was a different spell all together, or if maybe they modified it. Or maybe I got hit with a bunch of different spells. Or maybe I just ran into things. That could explain the broken rib and the potentially punctured lung." She offered.

"Hermione, I've never heard of a spell that could place a potion in your stomach. I've seen spells put animals inside of people. I've seen them turn people inside out even, but I've never seen that." He said worriedly.

"We don't know it was a poison." She offered. He noticed a tinge of sadness in her eyes. For a minute it confused him. Then he realized she was probably sad about all the awful things that he's seen.

"You were convulsing and foaming the first time, but after the bezoar you weren't. I'd say it was."

"Then maybe it was. Maybe they're getting smarter or discovering different types of magic." Hermione said nonchalantly. How could she be so blasé about all of this?

"If they're getting smarter then that's a problem for us. The ones I know that are left aren't smart enough to figure out how to do that. They must have recruited some pretty powerful people Hermione, and that's a massive problem. And what do you mean different types of magic?" He asked. He had never heard of different types of magic. As far as he was concerned, magic was magic.

"There are different areas of magic. For example, the Indians have their own branch, as do the Egyptians and so on. All the basics are the same, but they just have different branches for different things and some different ways of doing things. It's kind of hard to explain. I don't really know much about it myself, as you have to be from there to really know it. Or at least have a native teach it to you." She told him.

"How do you know this?"

"I'm Hermione Granger. How do you think I know it?" Draco was left scrambling for some kind of a comeback, even though what Hermione said wasn't offensive, he felt the need to prove his intelligence. Call it pureblood pride perhaps. Luckily for him, he was saved by a familiar hooting sound.

"Hedwig! Go get him Draco, please?" She pleaded. Draco, seeing the excitement and happiness all over her face, knew that he couldn't deny her.

A/N: So yeah, hopefully you enjoyed it. Hopefully none of you know too many languages because my spells are incredibly unoriginal. oops! Please please review and let me know what you think! Any suggestions would be just lovely as well :) I'm also kinda running out of ideas on where to go, so leave suggestions for that too please please! xoxooxoxo