Hi, guys! I'm updating a super short chapter in celebration of cancelled school! There's snow outside! And where I live, snow only happens once a year, and never a month a part, but now we've gotten two snows in just as many months. It's so weird! I'm also celebrating the ending of this fanfiction. It's not done yet, and there are plenty more updates to look forward to, but I'm writing one of the final chapters. It was so much fun to write, and I thank everyone who's reading for your continued support!

We pick up exactly where we left off. Draco heard Dean and Seamus say that "Lightning has struck the Burrows." Draco figures that "Lightning" must be Harry Potter's code-name, but he keeps the information to himself until Bellatrix tortures it out of him. Now he has to deal with the aftermath.

Disclaimer: I own nothing!

Chapter Twenty-six

I was in a library. One of my father's libraries at that. Lucius never enjoyed reading fiction, so there was bound to be something to help me in these books.

I scanned the spines of the books resting on the shelves and found nothing until I searched higher up on the shelves.

Far out of my reach was a book about healing spells. I was too weak to get to it unless I used my wand.

I glanced around me and found it lying several feet away from me. I turned towards the chair I was leaning against and placed my uninjured arm on the cushion. I leaned towards it and tried to push myself up, but white-hot bolt of pain forced me back down. I slipped on the slick floor and fell onto my back. I groaned as my bleeding arm pulsed and burned as it hit the floorboards.

I craned my neck around as far as I could, hissing as the wound in my neck stretched and stung. I spotted my wand, carefully turned onto my stomach and used my good arm to pull myself towards it. My legs refused to work properly, so I was entirely dependent on one arm, which quickly began to ache and burn.

Whatever Bellatrix did to me must have been more than just a Cruciatus Curse.

After what felt like an eternity, my fingertips finally grazed the handle of my wand, and I instantly dragged it towards me, flooding with relief.

I pushed myself onto my back, short of breath and sweating, somehow even more exhausted than I was before. I had to wait several minutes before I could gather the strength to lift my wand towards the book I spotted ealier and mutter "Accio". Once it had floated within arm's reach, I instantly lowered my wand arm back to the floor, the book clattering down with me.

I had to rest for several minutes before I could use my shaking limbs to force myself to sit up. I crossed my legs and dragged the book into my lap and flipped it open to the table of contents, skimming over the chapters. There was one about healing deep wounds, so I turned the pages until I found the chapter and pleaded that I would be able to understand what it said.

The spell was "Vulnera Sanentur." A faint memory came to the forefront of my mind from when Snape saved my life in the lavatory after Potter and I fought. Wasn't that the spell that Snape used?

It didn't matter. Even if it wasn't, it would still help me.

Following the book's instructions, I carefully cleared the loose fabric out of the way of the gash on my arm and held the tip of my wand above it. I muttered the spell over and over again, slowly waving my wand over the gash. The blood dripping down my arm slowly retreated back into the cut, and the slit in my skin gradually sealed itself, leaving a thin, deep line where the injury used to be. The site of the wound still throbbed, but the pain had lessened significantly, and I was more awake than before.

I glanced down at the book and skimmed over the page, making sure I cast the spell correctly. It said that there shouldn't even be a scar left from the wound, but I got it close enough. A footnote on the page said that less practiced spell casters might leave a scar. At least I did it correctly.

As for the cut on my neck, it didn't seem too deep. That area is highly sensitive, so Bellatrix couldn't have cut me too deeply without slitting my throat. Maybe just a bandage?

I quickly flipped back to the table of contents and scanned it for something similar to what I had in mind. Eventually, I found the "Episkey" spell that could be used to heal minor injuries like split lips or small broken bones. As I followed the followed the book's instructions, the tip of my wand glowed a pale blue. I brought the glowing instrument near where I thought the wound on my neck was and after I held it there for a moment or two, whispered, "Episkey." It didn't even take a second for something to slither out of my wand and onto my neck, gently placing itself over the cut. Once the glow faded from the tip of my wand, I lowered it to the floor and carefully prodded the site of the cut. I found that the wound had healed over, skin replacing blood.

These spells were...light. They filled me with energy rather than making sick to my stomach. It was an odd feeling.

Hope you guys enjoyed, and see you on Saturday for Chapter 27!