Chapter 11

Hermione threw caution to the wind and ran up the rocky slope where the yell echoed. She came to a perilous halt at the opening of a cave. There was a ball of light suspended in the middle of the air illuminating everything in the cave. Hermione stared wide eyed at the thirty five foot beast in front of her. The dragon had yellow glowing eyes that showed a kind of ferociousness she'd never seen. It had black ridges on its back and brown textures along its scales. Draco tried to throw a restraining charm at the dragon but it swung out its tail.

Hermione stood in terror only letting her breath out in a harsh wave when Draco dodged the attack. A breath of fire went at the Marquess who was trying to make sure Draco was fine. Hermione threw out a shielding charm watching the flames lick around the invisible wall. The Marquess didn't even seem to notice what was going on. She threw out a restraining charm of her own that the dragon seemed to swing away from.

Hermione caught a glimpse of ebony from the light. The oval shape in a nest made her feel fear more for what they were doing. "Draco!" she yelled out, "It has eggs."

She heard him curse as he kept moving around the cave; dodging rocks fire and tail. The dragon gave a terrifying shriek that filled the cave. Covering her ears she fell crouched to the ground as the rocks rumbled from the vibration. She had a deafening ring in both ears when she was able to stand again. She felt cool air on the back of her neck, throwing her hair forward into her face again. Pebbles skipped along the rocky floor past her boots. Turning around with her wand up another beast sat in the cave entrance way.

"Bloody hell and damnation!" She dove out of the way of flames rolling in the path she was just in. She felt something dig into her side and hands as she came to a skidding crash into the cave wall. Shaking her head she tried to get rid of the disoriented feeling making her dizzy. Something warm and wet trickled down the side of her face but she couldn't seem to hold onto a thought.

She felt herself being scooped up into strong arms holding her against a very masculine chest. That person ordered her to wrap her arms around their neck. She complied not knowing what else to do. All she knew was she had a devil of a headache. Slowly she started to get her wits about her. Draco was running past flames with her securely against his chest. She shouted for him to stop, the Marquess was trapped in a corner. The outcome looked as if it would be deadly.

Wiggling from his grip she threw a charm at the dragon. It immediately stopped and seemed rooted to the spot. She threw another one so that the Marquess wouldn't be hit by fire. She was feeling victorious until she felt herself being propelled away. It happened so fast. She heard the Marchioness yell as she was slammed back. She watched it with deathly slowness.

She forgot about the second dragon in her confusion. How could she forget so vital even with a head injury? Horrified eyes took in the scene; Draco getting clipped in the shoulder by a fang. Blood started to pour down his snowy white shirt and she swayed. He didn't crumple like she expected him to. The Marchioness threw a hex at the dragon stopping it mid bite. Hermione crawled until she could stand up and run to his side.

Draco was deathly pale and swayed like a pendulum. "Damnit, you insufferable man, what have you done?" she cried, "That should have been me!"

His eyes started to droop but he held them open long enough for a slurred murmur, "Never to be you, Hermione, never."

He started to drop to the ground. Hermione reached out and wrapped her arms about his body trying to support his weight. The best that she could do was fall with him and catch most of the weight herself. She smacked his cheeks and yelled at him. Closing her eyes she disapparated them back to the Abernathy's country estate in his bedroom. She immediately set about charms so no one could see his room, nor would come near it.

It wasn't long before the Abernathy's were next to her.

"What can we do?" Asked the Marchioness grey faced.

"I need you to make sure his valet doesn't look for him." Hermione set about pulling things from her reticule that she would need.

The Marquess removed Draco's shirt and started to examine the wound. "Mayhap I should contact my friend. I have never heard of anyone surviving something like this before."

Hermione set up the cauldron in the fire and started pulling out ingredients she would need, telling the Marchioness others she needed her to disapparate to find.

"That's because they didn't have me there. He will not die, not today. I will not let him. The man is too stubborn and too stupid to know when to anyhow." Hermione said.

She began to start cutting up monkshood. She realized that she was crying. Her hand started to shake but she stopped to take a deep breath to steady it. She needed to be quick and precise if she was going to save Draco. She had a very small window if he were to live to see another day. Quickly she cut and shaved down ingredients the Marchioness brought her. She mixed in certain ones together and waited while she turned the potion clockwise and then counter clockwise for a certain amount of time.

Draco started to thrash in his bed in pain. His breathing was rapid. Hermione felt his clammy head and knew that a fever was starting to set in. The Marquess restrained him to the bed, making sure he didn't thrash around causing more problems than what he had. His wound needed to be cleaned with hot water and a balm rubbed in before she could magically close it up.

While the potion for the poison simmered she began making the paste that would go onto the wound for healing and also getting the rest of the poison out. She instructed the Marchioness in how she needed things cut or smashed in a bowl. They made a thick yellow paste that smelt sweet. Hermione never had a squeamish stomach but she couldn't seem to get close to Draco without feeling like her stomach was dropping out.

She gently rubbed the paste on and watched as the bleeding started to stop. He had lost a lot more than she thought was safe. His face remained a sickly pale grey with sweat coating around his hairline. She started an incantation that would shut his wound while the Marquess helped hold him. The Marchioness took over stirring the potion while Hermione put a fresh bandage over his arm.

They could hear the servants start to stir down stairs. Maids, chambermaids, valets and footman hurried about the house getting it ready for the guests when they arose. Hermione blocked out that sound working as diligently as she possibly could. She moved over to the fireplace and took a vial of the purple boiling potion. She had the Marquess support Draco's head while she forced the liquid down his throat.

"He needs a small vial every four hours." Hermione informed them. "He is going to have a hell of a fever and hallucinations until the poison is completely gone. He cannot be left alone."

"Let me stay with him, dear, and you go lay down for a bit." The Marchioness said.

Hermione shook her brown curls. "I prefer to stay with him myself. I'm the one who caused this and I feel like I should be the one to do this. We just need you to make our excuses. Tell them he had a riding accident, something. I'll create a disillusion spell over him."

The Marquess nodded his ascent. "We will do whatever you need done. Please let me know as soon as something goes wrong. My wife and I shall go make your excuses."

Hermione fell onto an uncomfortable chair next to Draco's bed. She felt the wariness and abuse deep in her bones. She wasn't worried about herself, however. Draco was nowhere in the clear yet. He still had the look of death lingering. She laid her head on one of his pillows and breathed in his musky scent. Tears welled on her long lashes. She couldn't lose him this way. She couldn't carry that kind of guilt with her.

As she blinked away a tear that slid down her smooth cheek a glimmer caught her eye. Her breath caught as she noticed scales shining on his sheets. Jumping up she ran to her forgotten reticule on the table next to the fireplace and pulled out another vial. She carefully scooped them up and held it towards the light. They were quite beautiful when you got that close to them.

She heard movement outside of the doorway when she remembered her clothing. She knew she looked a horrid mess. The door was just opening when she muttered a spell to change her clothes back to what she had on.

Fine red hair peeped through the door first. A gasp and pink skirts rustled through to Draco's bed. "Oh, I just didn't believe it!" Lady Victoria intoned.

Hermione stiffened immediately. "May I ask what you are doing here?"

The girl looked up from Draco's bedside with a haughty look good enough for a Queen. "I was checking on my beloved. What are you doing here?"

Hermione grit her teeth. "I am here to take care of my cousin. You oughtn't be here."

"Nor should you, cousin or not." The redhead intoned.

"You may leave now. He needs rest. He has a fever and is quite delirious at the moment." Hermione ran a cool wash cloth over his forehead.

Lady Victoria was giving her the most hostile looks she'd ever received. "Which is more reason why I should be taking care of him. Should I pay you for your services?"

Hermione had had enough. She threw down the washcloth in the basin and swung on the redhead. "Get out of here, get out now. If you do not leave on your own accord I shall remove you myself and I swear you will not like it one bit."

Lady Victoria took a step back at the menacing look on her face. "Fine, you mend him all you like, but know he won't be happy with you. I've already told you he is mine."

"Have him when he is mended then, you twit, but leave!" she thundered.

The door slammed in a flurry of skirts. Hermione sat back down in the uncomfortable chair and reached for one of Draco's hands. She could easily make her situation more desirable but she knew she wouldn't. She felt like this whole ordeal were her fault. If she had stayed back like told, or not have ever of gone when Draco said he didn't want her to.

She put him danger. So she sat with him for two days leaving only long enough to appease the other guests at short meals or giving them memories of her being around when she wasn't. She made sure that she forced the thick purple potion down his throat every four hours. Eventually the fevers and delusions went away.

She would talk to him. She wasn't sure he could hear but she recanted stories of her childhood. She read to him from books she found in the library. At night she would lay her head on his pillow next to his head and sleep holding his hand.

That's exactly how he found her the next day. She was slumped over in her chair looking rather uncomfortable with his hand firmly grasped in hers. At first he had no idea what was going on until he moved just a fraction. His breath caught and he felt like he wouldn't be able to take another breath ever again the pain was so great. He took small shallow breaths until he could get it under control. She didn't seem to notice. She had rather large shadows under her eyes, her skin was paler than normal. Her hair was in such disarray he wandered at it.

He was so thirsty, but he didn't want to wake her. He noticed the bandage on his shoulder and looked at the dried blood and whatever the yellow stuff was. His memory came back of him pushing Hermione away from the dragon coming at her from the back. He not saying his spell fast enough and a fang clipping his shoulder He was sure he had her to thank for being alive.

He gave the smallest squeeze of her hand. It was enough to wake her. She sat up disoriented at first looking around her. Her gaze lit on him and she seemed to remember all that happened. Her face lit up making her tired features more prominent.

"Good you're up. I was beginning to think you were never going to stir. No matter, I'm sure you are thirsty and hungry." She moved away before he could get a word in edge wise. She brought him a cup of water and some purple looking sludge. She eyed warily as she handed him it first.

It was probably one of the most vile things he had ever had. He tried to chug down the water but Hermione pulled it away. "You don't want to get sick off of water. Let me summon some food for you."

She got up and pulled the bell rope next to his bed. It wasn't long before his valet came rushing into the room with a relieved look on his face. She had a hell of a time keeping the meddling man out.

"His Grace would like something light, but filling. Perhaps some broth and a bit of bread?" She asked.

The Valet bowed and was out before Draco got a word in edge wise.

"Perhaps I wanted something heavier." Draco sounded hoarse.

"Well you shan't have it, you'll make yourself ill. I didn't nurse you back to make you sick." Hermione informed him.

"Since you're the one that made me ill perhaps it doesn't matter." He shot back irritably.

Hermione slowly straightened and turned pain filled eyes to him. "I did not mean for that to happen. Perhaps it best someone else looks after you now. It wasn't proper for me to begin with and it certainly isn't now."

He didn't get a chance to apologize she had already swept out of the room. He felt horrible since the last word left his mouth. He hated himself more than he ever had in that moment. The hurt she held was so great it could fell a man. The man being himself; he tried to get his valet to bring her back but all he got was a message telling him Lady Victoria would be more than willing to sit by his side waiting with bated breath for him to recover.

A few guests trickled in and out of his room to make sure he was doing well after being thrown from his horse who was spooked by something he didn't see; and what rotten luck for him to strike a fence of all things.

He had no idea where the ludicrous story came from but he credited it to Hermione. It would be several more days before he could get out of this prison and out of bed. He cursed himself every second he was there. He wanted to hunt her down and apologize, to get on one knee and tell her how stupid he was. He wanted to do the things he knew he never would do. He would never humiliate a person. He could never love someone that much.

So instead for the next few days he laid there dreaming of things that would never come to pass. He dreamt of things he had longed for in his heart. He was held captivated and prisoner by a force that you couldn't break because sometimes the unseeing is the most damning.

Two chapter for you today! I'll try to write the next one later after I get some sleep and get my day started. Happy readings!