Fiendfyre
"But this is our ungodly hour"
The Fray - Ungodly Hour
"Seven?" Blaise repeated, managing to lock his gaze with Ginny's even though they were running as fast as they could up the stairs. "Voldemort split his soul into seven pieces?"
"I know" Ginny panted, stopping to catch her breath for a moment. "It's mental. Anyway, last time I spoke to Harry he and Luna were about to head off to see if they could find the Grey Lady that you mentioned earlier..."
"Well, even if they actually do find her I wouldn't expect her to tell them anything" Blaise pointed out, hands on his knees as he stood next to her. "I've heard she doesn't trust anyone"
Ginny bit her lip, thinking about the fact that she hadn't yet told Blaise that there was an even bigger problem.
"It doesn't really matter whether they find the diadem or not..." she mumbled and as he gave her a confused look she added:
"Unless they have something to destroy it with. Ron and Hermione were going to look for something but... I don't know"
She fell silent and Blaise didn't say anything, either. Ginny got the feeling that they were both thinking about the same thing; how hopeless the whole situation seemed at the moment, even though they were now together.
"How did they destroy the other ones, then?"
"The sword of Gryffindor, but Griphook the goblin took it"
Blaise stared at her. After a long silence he admitted:
"I'm lost"
Ginny gave him a fake smile, grimacing before saying:
"Well, welcome to my world. Confusion is what you get once you get involved with the Golden Trio..."
She was interrupted by a loud BANG coming from upstairs and it was all it took for the two of them to take off again. Minutes later they reached the Entrance Hall where people were still running around like crazy. Blaise almost ran right into Tonks who started gaping as her gaze wandered off to his and Ginny's intertwined hands.
"Ginny..." she started and then, Ginny noticed that she was not alone.
Most of the Order were standing right behind her, wands at the ready, and as Ginny accidentally met her mother's gaze she could tell that the latter wanted an explanation.
"Ginevra what's the meaning of this?" Mrs Weasley asked sharply and Ginny, who felt her face going red at the mention of her real name, glared back at her.
"Don't call me that! And we can talk about this later"
She nodded towards Blaise who looked uncomfortable, to say the least, and then dragged him towards the other end of the room. They hurried up another couple of stairs but that didn't seem to stop him from snickering.
"Ginevra?" he asked and Ginny gave him the same murderous glare she'd given her mother seconds earlier. "That's your name?"
It was funny how something like this could still matter, when they could all be seconds away from getting killed. Perhaps it was a way to pretend like it didn't happen. Like everything was still the same. Normal. All right.
"Oh shut up Zabini" she said.
Soon they both stopped again, this time because of the sight that met them outside one of the castle windows. Ginny felt a sting of pain in her heart as she realized that the quidditch pitch was on fire and as she looked up she could see that the shield covering the sky was constantly under the attack of spells, hexes and curses.
It was a reminder of the fact that time was running out.
"We have to find Malfoy" she said to Blaise, without taking her eyes off the sky. "Before he finds Harry"
"Yeah... Except we have no idea where he is" Blaise replied bitterly but Ginny interrupted him:
"Come on, think! You're his best friend, you if anyone should know where he'd go to find his worst enemy..."
Blaise was silent for a moment and Ginny could tell from the look on his face that he was really trying to figure it out. It was a lucky thing this certain corridor was practically deserted, otherwise it probably would have been a lot harder to concentrate.
"Well, when it comes to threatening and perhaps even attack someone he wouldn't want to cause a scene"
Ginny had to stop herself from raising her eyebrows in surprise. From what she'd always known, Draco Malfoy loved attention. Wasn't that the reason why he was jealous with Harry in the first place? But perhaps this was different. Perhaps he didn't want people to think that he was evil and uncaring. Perhaps he'd changed.
Blaise continued:
"So he'd probably choose a place where not too many people come, perhaps even a place not all people know about..."
"The Room of Requirement"
Ginny couldn't tell exactly where the idea came from, but the minute she'd spoken the words she knew that she was right. She found it hard to keep the eagerness out of her voice when she informed him of her theory.
"He spent a lot of time in there last year, didn't he? So he knows exactly how the room works and what questions he has to ask to get what he wants! And he knows about DA and that Harry has spent a lot of time in there, too. Wouldn't it be the perfect place to try to get his wand back without having people coming to Harry's rescue?"
It wasn't until she'd finished that she realized how fast she'd spoken but judging from the small smile on Blaise's face he'd managed to keep up.
"You're a genius"
There was another loud sound, but more like a BOOM this time. Ginny's smile grew even wider as she turned to look out the window again.
"Neville did it" she informed Blaise, feeling immensely proud of her friend. "They blew up the tunnel"
"But Voldemort is still getting closer" Blaise reminded her quietly. "The shield is about to break"
Ginny nodded slightly.
"I know"
She could see from the corner of her eye how Blaise's eyes widened as he took a step closer to the window. He opened and closed his mouth several times before he managed to ask the question:
"Is that... Is that giants?"
Now that he said it, Ginny was surprised that she hadn't noticed them earlier. The giants were many, too many to count, and the bare sight of the strength they obviously possessed was terrifying.
"We have to hurry" she said, not recognizing her own voice.
It seemed like running was all they did this night and once they'd changed directions it didn't take long before they met Neville who looked surprisingly happy and alive, considering everything that was going on.
"Oh, hello Ginny! Zabini!"
The way he actually smiled at Blaise, who merely raised his eyebrows in return, was what made Ginny worry. She furrowed at her friend.
"Uhm... Are you all right, Neville? That thing you did with the tunnel was amazing..."
"Yeah I'm all right!"
Neville was shouting, perhaps so they'd hear him. They'd reached a hallway that was full of students running around like crazy, screaming and talking to each other with wands at the ready.
"I feel like I can... spit fire!"
Ginny and Blaise exchanged a quick glance. Neville barely seemed to notice and continued:
"You haven't seen Luna, have you?"
Ginny shook her head.
"No, I thought she was with Harry... Why?"
"I'm crazy about her! Might as well tell her now, since we'll probably all be dead by dawn!"
Before they had time to say anything else Neville had disappeared, but his words still hang in the air above them like a heavy rain cloud. Ginny and Blaise's gazes locked but right as he opened his mouth, obviously about to say something, she shook her head.
"No" she said firmly. "Whatever you were about to say, don't. We'll be all right. You and I are not going to die. Not today, and not any time soon. Okay?"
She had to believe it. If she didn't, Neville's words might as well be true. And she couldn't bring herself to think that.
"Now come on"
How do you make a time line haha
Ginny couldn't believe their luck. Thanks to the fact that Crabbe and Goyle were both really slow, Blaise managed to grab ahold of the door leading into the Room of Requirement before it closed behind them.
As Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle made their way further into the room, Ginny and Blaise stayed hidden behind a corner. From what Ginny could tell, the room was full of different objects in all shapes and sizes. In fact, some of it looked like rubbish. Who had put it all in here?
Her thoughts were interrupted as she could make out Malfoy's voice from inside the room:
"Well well... What brings you here, Potter?"
Ginny froze. Harry was already here, and anyone could figure out that this would not end well. As she locked her gaze with Blaise's she knew that he was thinking the same thing, but still moved his finger to his lips to motion for her to stay quiet.
Harry replied, sounding surprisingly calm:
"I could ask you the same thing"
Was he alone or was someone with him? If they were three against one, she and Blaise would have to interfere...
"You have something of mine" Malfoy said and Ginny could hear that he tried his best to sound intimidating. "Something I want back"
There was a short silence.
"What's wrong with the one you have?"
They were obviously talking about wands and if Ginny knew Harry right, he was not going to give Malfoy's up without a proper fight...
"It's my mother's" Malfoy explained cooly. "It's powerful but it's still not the same thing, you know?"
There was another silence. Ginny turned her head to look at Blaise again. She wanted to ask him what he thought they should do. This conversation was bound to lead to a duel and she didn't want Harry to get hurt, or worse. In fact, that couldn't happen now. The whole wizarding world needed him, even if they didn't know it.
But if she uttered a single word Harry, Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle would all know that she and Blaise were here...
"Why didn't you tell Bellatrix?"
Ginny furrowed. What did Harry mean by that? Leaning slightly forward she could make out the look on Malfoy's face. Apparently, this question was not at all what he'd expected. Harry continued:
"You knew it was me. Why didn't you tell her?"
Malfoy had protected Harry from Bellatrix? Why would he do that? The thoughts were spinning through Ginny's head, but it all stopped as Crabbe spoke up for the first time:
"Come on Draco, kill him!"
Out of pure instinct, Ginny grabbed Blaise's arm. This was it. Her heart pounded furiously inside her chest. Of course, Harry was a very skilled wizard but could he really take on the three of them all by himself?
"KILL HIM!"
"No!"
Perhaps it was a mistake to shout, but it was too late to do anything about it now. Ginny looked at Blaise again, and tried to tell him without using words why she'd done it.
They wouldn't have hesitated.
She didn't doubt it for a second. Crabbe and Goyle were both crazy and Malfoy couldn't be trusted, either...
The Room of Requirement had fallen completely silent and as she and Blaise stepped out, Ginny noticed that Harry was not alone. Ron and Hermione were both with him, eyes widening as they spotted the two newcomers. Ron had the Marauder's Map in his hand and gave Blaise an angry glare before exclaiming:
"Ginny! What are you doing here? And why are you with him?"
But there was no time to react. It came as a shock to Ginny when Hermione was the one to take the first step:
"EXPELLIARMUS!"
The duel started, and it was rougher than anything Ginny had ever experienced before. There were different colours of light everywhere and whilst trying to defend herself from curses and spells coming mostly from Crabbe and Goyle, she tried to keep an eye on Blaise and her friends to make sure that they were all doing all right.
"Let's go for the mudblood!" Crabbe roared, he'd obviously made Hermione his special victim for the evening. "AVADA KEDAVRA!"
The spell missed and was not even close to hitting Hermione, but it was all enough to make Ron lose it. With his wand held high he started chasing after Crabbe and Goyle who, surprisingly enough, looked quite intimidated and started running.
"THAT'S MY GIRLFRIEND YOU NUMPTIES!"
The three of them disappeared around a corner, leaving Hermione with a pleased look on her face and Ginny wondering exactly when the two of them had become a couple.
"THERE IT IS!"
Her thoughts were interrupted by Harry's cry and it wasn't hard to understand what he was going after; on the head of what looked like an old statue was a diadem. Probably Ravenclaw's. The horcrux they needed to destroy Voldemort.
However, Malfoy also seemed to realize that whatever Harry was going after was important, and so he hurried after him. Ginny and Blaise were both close behind, running as fast as they could to stop their friends from doing anything stupid.
"DRACO, LET HIM HAVE IT!" Blaise roared. "HE NEEDS IT TO KILL VOLDEMORT!"
Malfoy didn't turn around but called back:
"NO! NOT UNTIL THAT DICK GIVES ME MY WAND BACK!"
But it all stopped the second Harry put his hand on the diadem and pulled it off the statue. For Ron was back, screaming like never before right as Ginny could feel the room getting extremely hot...
"GOYLE SET THE BLOODY PLACE ON FIRE!"
Blaise's point of view
It seemed almost like a miracle, but somehow Blaise managed to get out of the room within seconds. He coughed violently, turning around to face Ginny and make sure that she hadn't been hit by the cursed fire Goyle had conjured. But she was nowhere to be seen.
He froze.
Only a second later the Golden Trio appeared in the doorway, all riding on broomsticks that they'd apparently managed to find inside the room. Blaise had to swallow several times before he managed to pose the question that seemed to have gotten stuck in his throat:
"Where's Ginny?"
Ron's eyes narrowed.
"I could ask you the same question..."
"THERE'S NO TIME TO ARGUE ABOUT THIS NOW WEASLEY, WHERE IS SHE?!"
"I DON'T KNOW! SHE WAS RIGHT NEXT TO US AND THEN..."
"She's still in there"
Blaise couldn't think. Couldn't breathe. She was still in there, with the fire. And so was Draco. His best friend. So even if he was in no state to think clear, he had to. It was now or never.
Without a word he snatched one of the broomsticks from Hermione and mounted it.
"Hey! What do you think you're doing?" Ron asked angrily and Blaise spared him one last glance.
"I'm saving your sister" he hissed. "You're free to thank me later"
And he took off. The Room of Requirement was now so hot he found it hard to keep his eyes open and Blaise tried his best not to focus on all objects that were now burning up, silently praying that none of them was Ginny or Draco...
"THERE!"
He hadn't noticed that Harry and Ron were both by his side and as he looked the way Harry pointed he saw them. Ginny, Draco, Crabbe and Goyle were all standing on what looked like a pile of different pieces of furniture. They climbed higher and higher up, and the fire was spreading...
"IF WE DIE FOR THEM NOW HARRY, I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!" Ron bellowed, obviously thinking that Blaise already had his sister covered.
Blaise leaned forward on his broomstick so it'd go even faster, and yet it felt like an eternity before he, Harry and Ron reached them. He ignored the fire and the pain it might cause him as he flew as close as he could, managing to grab Ginny's hand and pull her onto his broom.
At the very same moment Harry managed to grab ahold of Draco and it wasn't until then that Blaise realized the problem. A broomstick could carry two persons, but not three...
"We're one... too... many"
It was remarkable how Ginny's voice carried even though she was coughing like never before.
"I know" Blaise replied, right as Goyle heaved himself onto Ron's broomstick.
"NO!"
It was Draco who screamed and Blaise felt a sting of pain inside as he realized why. He and Crabbe had never been friends, but nobody deserved a death like this... The chair Crabbe stood on broke and before any of them could do anything he'd fallen right into the fire.
"THERE'S NOTHING WE CAN DO!" Harry roared, bringing Blaise back to reality. "GO!"
"AQUAMENTI!"
Ginny had somehow regained some of her strength and the water her wand conjured made the flight out of the room a little bit easier. It didn't take long before they had almost reached the exit. Then, Harry threw the diadem back in and right as they'd all flewn out of the room its inside seemed to explode. And Blaise knew. Ravenclaw's diadem was gone.
He helped Ginny off the broomstick and supported her weight, seeing as she was still coughing violently.
"Are you okay?" he asked worriedly, gently putting his hand on her back.
As she nodded he allowed himself to take a quick glance at Draco and Goyle. Draco looked right at him, shaking his head as he mumbled:
"Crabbe... He's dead..."
"There's nothing we can do about that now, is there?" Goyle asked and Blaise was actually shocked that he didn't seem even the slightest bothered. "Come on Draco, we have to get out of here. You'll get your wand some other time"
Blaise's and Draco's gazes locked for a second, but then the latter seemed to agree with Goyle. They were done here. As soon as they'd taken off Ron called after them:
"YEAH, DON'T BOTHER TO THANK US FOR SAVING YOUR LIVES, IDIOTS!"
Then, the hallway fell silent again. Blaise had gone back to making sure that Ginny was still all right, forcing himself not to think about what would have happened if they hadn't managed to get her out...
"Thank you" she whispered, burying her face in his shoulder. "I thought... I thought we were going to..."
She drifted off and Blaise could tell from the way her body was shaking that she was still terrified, and that she was trying her best not to start crying. He wrapped his arms around her and mumbled:
"I'm so sorry, I thought you were right behind me..."
"No". He could feel her shaking her head fiercly. "Don't apologize. You saved my life. Again"
Blaise grabbed Ginny's shoulders gently and thereby forced her to look at him. He managed to give her a small smirk.
"Well I had to, didn't I? Seeing as you'd already decided that none of us was going to die today"
She smiled back, but the short moment of happiness was over when Ron asked:
"Why were you even in there, Ginny? I thought mum told you to go home! It's dangerous here and..."
The look on Ginny's face almost made Blaise flinch. Sure he'd seen her look angry before, but this... This was pure fury.
"Is that so?" she asked icily, causing Ron to actually back a step or two. "You and mum had a nice little chat about me returning to the Burrow, did you? Thought I'd be safe there?"
Judging from the looks on Harry's and Hermione's faces they didn't want anything to do with this and Blaise had a feeling they knew perfectly well how this would end if Ginny lost it completely...
"Well..." Ron started, clearing his throat uncomfortably. "We both thought that..."
"Stop interfering with my life!" Ginny exclaimed, raising her voice. "I'm only one year younger than you, one! What makes you think you can come back here after all this time and tell me what to do?"
She said the last part looking at Harry and Hermione as well, and Blaise felt like he was in the wrong place at the wrong time. This was obviously something between Ginny and the Golden Trio and he had nothing to do with it as long as Ron didn't bring up...
"Well, you're obviously not capable of taking care of yourself yet! That fire could have killed you..."
"Ron..." Hermione muttered but her voice was drowned as Ginny laughed in disbelief.
"You really are thick sometimes, do you know that? I only went in there to prevent Malfoy from hurting Harry, I had no idea you and Hermione were with him! And Malfoy had made it perfectly clear that he wanted his wand back so..."
"He'd made it perfectly clear?" Ron repeated, raising his eyebrows at his sister. "You know how that sounds? It sounds as if he actually told you in person, as if you talk to him..."
Blaise felt like saying something, anything, to stop Ron from doing this. But what would that be? It was obvious what Ron was getting at and there was nothing he could do about it... Besides, he didn't know what Ginny wanted her brother to know. She had to get through this fight on her own.
Ron continued, raising his voice as well:
"But I guess that's what happens when you suddenly start hanging out with people like them!"
For the first time, he turned to look at Blaise who simply glared back. Ginny took a step closer to her brother and Blaise could see that she was still clutching her wand tightly.
"That's not even what this is about so leave him out of it! This is about you not accepting the fact that I'm old enough to make my own decisions and that you don't get to babysit me..."
"IT HAS EVERYTHING TO DO WITH HIM!" Ron exclaimed, pointing at Blaise and yet talking about him as if he weren't even present. "WE'RE TRYING TO FINISH OFF YOU-KNOW-WHO HERE AND YOU'RE FRATERNIZING WITH THE ENEMY!"
To Blaise's great surprise, Ginny actually laughed.
"Are you listening to yourself right now? Voldemort is as close to breaking into Hogwarts as he's ever been and yet you're referring to Blaise as 'the enemy'?"
"I DON'T WANT YOU ANYWHERE NEAR HIM!"
"RON!"
Even Hermione had raised her voice now but Ron didn't seem to care. He continued:
"Of all people at this school, why? Why did you have to choose..."
"BECAUSE I'M IN LOVE WITH HIM!"
The hallway fell completely silent and Blaise was pretty sure he was not the only one who didn't even hear all the sounds coming from all around the castle. He wanted to disappear when he saw the looks Harry, Ron and Hermione all gave him. And yet he wanted to wrap his arms around Ginny again and hold her like there was no tomorrow.
Because hearing her say that meant more than anything else. It was everything.
Ron still had his mouth open, staring at his sister as if he'd never seen her before. Ginny, however, sounded perfectly calm as she continued:
"I'm sorry if that's not what any of you had expected or wanted for me..." She cast a quick glance at Harry. "... But it's the truth. And we don't have time for this now"
She brushed off her robes and was just about to grab Blaise's hand again and leave when the weirdest thing happened. Suddenly, Harry seemed to lose his balance and sat down, leaning against the wall. Ron and Hermione both hurried forward and Blaise couldn't help asking:
"What's happening?"
"It's Voldemort" Hermione said, without taking her eyes off her friend. "It happens more often these days... He's not supposed to let him in!"
"Let him in?" Blaise repeated, furrowing at Ginny. "What does she mean, 'let him in'?"
"Harry has a certain connection to Voldemort..." Ginny replied quietly and Blaise snorted.
"Right. 'The Chosen One'..."
"No, not like that" Ginny shook her head. "It's more. Sometimes he... He can see what's inside Voldemort's mind. What he's thinking"
Blaise was at a loss for words for a moment but then said:
"But that... that can be useful, right?"
"Yes but it can also be very dangerous. It's what led us to the Department of Mysteries that night when Sirius died..."
"It's the snake"
Harry seemed to have regained his ability to communicate and he soon added:
"She's the last one. The last horcrux"
Blaise could see how Ron and Hermione exchanged a quick glance with Ginny before Ron turned to look at his best friend again, his eyes now shining with determination.
"Then think, Harry. Let him in, just this once. Try to find out where he is. We can put an end to this"
Harry closed his eyes. Blaise looked at him, losing track of how long time that passed by. And then:
"I know where he is"
Ginny's point of view
As soon as Harry, Ron and Hermione had taken off towards the Shrieking Shack steps could be heard from somewhere around a corner.
"BLAISE!"
Ginny and Blaise both turned around quickly, spotting Tracey and Millicent Bulstrode heading towards them. It only took Ginny a second to realize that Tracey was wounded; Millicent was supporting her and she grimaced as if she were in pain. Blaise hurried over to them, Ginny close behind.
"What happened?" she asked and Millicent replied, with her dark voice:
"The shield is broken, they're here... I don't think they meant to hurt Tracey, someone just shot a spell in the wrong direction..."
"Well, whatever spell that was it must have caused a lot of bleeding" Blaise interrupted her, examining the wound on Tracey's leg.
There was blood everywhere, her tights were torn and Ginny had to look away every now and then so she wouldn't be sick. However, Blaise handled it perfectly fine and looked Tracey in the eye as he said:
"Hey... You're going to be fine. But you need someone to take a look at that, I think Madam Pomfrey is in the Great Hall"
As they made their way towards the Great Hall Ginny got it confirmed by meeting Blaise's gaze that he was just as stressed as she was. If they were unlucky, they'd run into some of Voldemort's supporters on their way to the Great Hall and that probably wouldn't end very well for Tracey. Actually, Ginny had come to care for the Slytherin girl. She was the one who'd helped her find Blaise that evening when they'd first kissed up in the Astronomy Tower. Tracey never seemed to judge and it was obvious that she was one of the few people Blaise actually trusted.
"Did you lose Pansy and Daphne?" Blaise asked Tracey, probably mostly to take her mind off the wound and how much it hurt.
Tracey nodded bitterly.
"Once I'd gotten hurt they took off, I think they were just scared... I was lucky Millicent found me"
"I guess one shouldn't expect more from the two of them..." Blaise started but was interrupted by an ice cold voice Ginny recognized too well by now.
"Speak for yourself, Blaise"
Pansy and Daphne were back and still, none of them seemed the slightest bothered about the fact that their friend was seriously injured. But that was not the worst part. Behind the two girls were three full grown death eaters that Ginny had never seen before, but that didn't make them any less terrifying.
"The girls told us you're one of those slytherins who's chosen the wrong side" the tallest of the three death eaters said, nodding towards Blaise who gently pushed Tracey away so she'd leave the scene.
"That's their words, not mine"
"Please..." Millicent started and Ginny was surprised to find that she actually sounded... caring as she nodded towards Tracey. "She's hurt, we just want to get her to the Great Hall..."
Another death eater sighed tiredly, rolling his eyes at Millicent.
"I'm not interested in the girl, I just want to make sure the boy gets a proper punishment for being a traitor..."
"PETRIFICUS TOTALUS!"
The death eater was not prepared for Blaise's spell and landed on the floor a second later, completely stiff. The other two raised their wands and soon, Tracey sitting on the floor covering her face with her hands, the duel had begun. Ginny shot spells in all directions, barely noticing when she hit someone and when she missed. Then, after what seemed like only seconds, she heard Neville's voice:
"WHAT DID WE MISS?"
Madison was by his side and soon they'd both joined in. Ginny disarmed Pansy right as she asked her friend:
"WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?"
"HERE AND THERE!" Madison replied, ducking from a spell cast by one of the death eaters. "YOU?"
Ginny thought about everything she wished to tell her about what had just happened inside the Room of Requirement. But all of that would have to wait.
"SAME!"
"GINNY!"
Out of nowhere came Bill, Fleur and Mr Weasley, all wands at the ready. Her father gently pushed Ginny aside and said:
"We'll take over here now, try and hide some place safe!"
Ginny opened her mouth to retort and inform him that she was doing perfectly fine, but was interrupted by Blaise who came towards her, Tracey limping by his side. She looked even weaker than before and it was obvious to anyone that if Blaise hadn't been holding onto her, she wouldn't have been able to walk at all.
"I have to take her to Madam Pomfrey" Blaise said through clenched teeth, nodding towards Tracey without dropping Ginny's gaze. "Now"
"I'll come with you..."
"No" Blaise shook his head firmly and then took a moment to look at Neville and Madison who were still fighting.
More death eaters had arrived at the scene and Ginny knew that they needed her help...
"Your friends need you. I'll meet you in the Great Hall later"
She knew it was nothing but the truth, and yet it hurt so bad not to be able to tell when she'd see him again. If she'd see him again.
Don't think like that, Ginny reminded herself. You can't think like that.
Ignoring everything that was happening around them for a moment, she grabbed Blaise's face and placed a gentle kiss on his lips. Then, she looked away only so it'd be somewhat easier to let go.
"Be careful" she whispered and he nodded slightly, gently squeezing her hand.
"You too"