Disclaimer: I do not own the characters mentioned below. This is just for fun, and I'm, obviously, not making any money off of it.

That's the Way

Scabior had planned to nab a bottle or two of whiskey, but with his eyes swollen and red he looked a bit like a crack-head and he was suspect just walking into the store. Feeling the eyes of the clerk burn holes in his back, Scabior left and decided to head to the bar. He would have to pay for his drinks, but he could deal with that - he didn't want to deal with the police. Especially today. Scabior knew a question about his eyes would come up - and he very much doubted they would believe that a girl "accidentally" pepper sprayed him. Not to mention his record... No, it was all just a better idea to buy his drinks and forget about the residual pain. Scabior sighed and knocked back another shot of Jack. A portly man gave Scabior a look out of the corner of his eye, having heard the sigh and let out a guffaw.

"Well then, what happened to you, young fellow?" Scabior looked over at him, wondering at the 'young fellow' comment, but didn't snap about it. A wry smile twisted his lips and he traced a finger around the edge of his shot glass.
"Havin' a bit of bad luck today. Tried to compliment a woman and got pepper sprayed." Scabior shook his head and then looked back at the man. He stared at Scabior, as if he had misheard - and then laughed again, his belly shaking with the force of it. Scabior brushed a stray red hair out of his face and nodded his head as the man continued to laugh. He had completely expected this reaction.

"I guess that's the way it goes, eh? Pepper sprayed!" The man continued to chortle and Scabior rolled his eyes, reaching up to rub the left one - only to freeze and lower his hand. The remainder of his time with Hermione had been spent treating his new ailment - and though he was in fiery pain, Scabior had still enjoyed every moment of it.

o0o

Blinking rapidly, Scabior lifted his hand, ready to wipe away the welling tears, only to have his hand slapped back down to his side. He swiftly turned towards Hermione, eyes squinting as he tried to make her out and gave her a great frown. "Ya know, this really hurts, I just need ta-"

"No. You need to stop touching it, it'll only make it worse," she answered promptly, pulling on his other arm to get him walking again. Scabior's frown stayed plastered to his face and he turned his head away, slowly lifting his hand to try and touch his face - which was immediately slapped down again. Scabior was sorely tempted to stomp his foot, but knew he would make a silly sight. He was a grown man, not a toddler having a tantrum.

"Listen here now, beautiful, the-" He had barely begun to speak when Hermione let out a great, dramatic sigh and pulled him along again.

"No. I already told you, if you want your eyes to recover quickly, you need to stop touching them - and you also need to stop calling me 'beautiful', my name is Hermione." She stopped him, knocking on a near-by door. Scabior would have replied, she liked to be in charge, didn't she? - but the door opened and Hermione began speaking rapidly.

"Hello Mrs. Pomfrey! I'm awfully sorry, but this man needs a bit of help. Uh - it seems that I mistakenly used pepper spray on him and-" Hermione's voice wavered and Scabior felt a smile try and ripple across his face. She felt guilty, which he could well use to his advantage.

"Good heavens! Really, Hermione! Of all the students I would have thought that you would think before you acted," the nurse continued on her tirade as she led Scabior and Hermione inside and sat Scabior down in a hard folding chair. He could hear the nurse opening and closing a fridge and then running water into a bowl or bucket. Hermione stood near-by, he could still smell that sweet perfume, but she didn't say anything, though it sounded as if she were fidgeting. "Now, here we are. Unfortunately, sir, this will be rather uncomfortable, here now, hold this beneath your face and keep your eyes open - we're going to need to spray a bit of milk-" Scabior started, the surprise obvious on his face and crumpled the small hand-towel the nurse had given him.

"Milk? Yer about to spray milk into my eyes?" He could sense, though not see, the exasperation from both of the women in the room and Scabior scowled. "Just keep your eyes open, please," the nurse told him, tilting back his head and using a spray bottle to spray the milk in his eyes. Scabior cursed - amidst Mrs. Pomfrey's mutterings about doing so in front of ladies - but was pleasantly surprised when the burning began to lessen. A tenseness he hadn't noticed in his shoulders seemed to ease out and he let loose a small, relieved sigh. The milk streamed down his face and dripped into the hand-towel while Scabior tried to blink and clear his vision. It didn't help very much, but he was still happier than he had been moments ago.

"Now, that was the easy part, pat your eyes please - yes, now I'm going to have to wash the skin around eyes - and your hands as well. The oil residue left there could very easily be moved into your eyes if you touch them now." Scabior scowled again, because he just knew that Hermione was giving him a smug little smile. It took about twenty minutes, and his eyes were still burning - but now he could see and Mrs. Pomfrey assured him that if he kept his hands away, his eyes should be feeling much better within the hour. Scabior glanced at Hermione, who had a straight, almost stoic look on her face, but he noticed her hands twisting and knew she still felt guilty. Scabior just barely kept himself from smiling.

"Alright now, off with the both of you - they'll be locking the gates soon and I really do need to get home." Mrs. Pomfrey ushered the both of them out of her office and closed the door behind them. Scabior was still blinking, but happily turned to Hermione, looking down and giving her a debonair smile. Hermione's expression didn't change much, but her eyebrows rose a hint.

"So, do ya need someone to walk ya home?" Scabior asked as politely as he could, but Hermione suddenly looked annoyed. She shook her head quickly, shifting her bag on her shoulders and gave him a quick once-over. Scabior pursed his lips and looked away, towards a row of lockers, mind running a mile a minute.
"Seein' as you were the one who pepper sprayed me - maybe ya would like to walk me home, eh?" Scabior fully smiled again and turned back to her, only to find her gone. He looked around quickly and could see her hurrying towards the school exit, brown curls bouncing against her shoulders. He didn't think he would be able to follow her now without a repeat performance - and this time she wouldn't believe him or have a handy nurse around to treat his eyes. Scabior cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted into them.

"I'll take that as a no this time! But ya still owe me yer number for insurance purposes!" He could see her back straighten, as if she wanted to turn around and tell him off - but she continued on with her quick pace, quickly leaving him behind. Scabior took a deep breath and could still catch a whiff of sweet vanilla. Shoving his hands in his pockets, he strolled out of the school, thinking fondly of a bit of hard liquor to ease the left over pain. Other than the burning eyes, it had been... Well, horrendous, yet enjoyable, and Hermione Granger was sure a beauty. Another little shiver went through him and Scabior couldn't help but sigh. He wasn't sure he could help himself, he wasn't always such an idiot. He also knew that he shouldn't come back tomorrow. Or ever. Scabior also didn't know if he cared to do the right thing.

A tumbler of whiskey would be just the thing to clear his thoughts.

A/N: Yes, that is one of the ways you treat eyes that have been pepper sprayed, though I don't know how different it would be if you say, went to the hospital, or were taken in by the police because you had been pepper sprayed when trying to mug someone. *shrugs* This is turning into something epic in my head.. And here I thought it would be something short and silly.