Hermione was waiting nervously in the room. She'd opted for a small, magical surgical room but it gave her just enough space to move around. She had enlarged a potion bottle to the size of a giant pot. She also have four spare wands, good wands, that Ollivander had made for her when she explained to him what she was trying to do. She went over the spell in her head over and over and over. She knew it, she thought. She knew exactly what to do, what to say, and have it be successful. She also had Draco, she thought a smile blooming on her face. He would be there for her if she needed anything. She could do this, she told herself. She could absolutely do this.
As Hermione finished pumping herself up, the door to the room opened and Greg floated in accompanied by Erin and Draco.
"Hi," Hermione said with a smile as the magical stretcher stopped and Greg was moved onto the surgical table. "How are you?"
"About to be a lot better I hope," Greg replied returning her smile.
"Do you need anything else?" Erin asked. "I can stay if you'd like."
"That's alright," Hermione told her then changed her mind. "Actually, stay, just in case we need more of something or need an extra hand. You don't mind running and getting supplies if that's what we need do you?"
"Not at all," Erin answered. "I'm happy to help in any way I can. Just be sure to mention I was #1 supply runner when you publish."
Hermione laughed in response and returned her attention to Greg. She noticed he'd dressed in a muggle t-shirt and pajama pants. "If you want to take off your shirt, we can do this," Hermione told him.
Greg removed his shirt and handed it to Draco. Draco set the shirt aside. Hermione moved to his right side and Draco moved to his left. Hermione picked up a wand and looked at Draco uncertainly.
"I love you," he mouthed and Hermione smiled.
"Greg, I'm going to restrain you so you don't hurt yourself, okay?" Hermione said. "If you feel any pain you can shout or do whatever you need to do. This is going to hurt."
"Okay," Greg replied. "I'm ready."
Hermione waved her wand and restraints spring from the table and wrapped themselves securely around Greg's arms, legs, head, and torso.
"Okay, I'm going to start," Hermione said.
She took a deep breath in then out. She raised the wand and places it against the scan on Greg's chest.
"Exsugo Cruciatus."
At her words black smoke began to move from the wound into her wand and Greg began to groan.
"Greg, talk to Draco, what's going on?"
"Hurts," Greg grunted.
"Where?" Draco asked.
"Chest," he managed and groaned again.
"That must mean it's working," Hermione said quickly, focusing her energy on the spell as the smoke began to cause the wand to shake. Hermione quickly expelled the smoke into the giant pot. As soon as she stopped, Greg's groaning stopped as well.
"I'm going to go again," Hermione told Goyle. "Ready?"
Goyle nodded and Hermione repeated the spell, this time pushing more of her magic behind it. Greg again moaned and, before the wand could explode, Hermione ended the spell and expelled the smoke. She repeated this five more times, each time waiting until she could feel the want was going to explode before stopping the spell.
"Greg, tell me how you feel," she requested.
"The same," Goyle replied with a sad smile. "Exactly the same."
Hermione tried again but this time, before cutting of the spell, an idea hit her.
"Draco," Hermione said calmly. "Pick up a wand."
"What?" Draco asked in disbelief.
"Draco, the wand I am holding is going to explode in a minute," She said in the same calm tone. "I don't want to break the stream of the spell. I think breaking the stream of the spell is why it isn't working as effectively as I know it can. This is a strong curse so I think it needs constant pulling. I need you to pick it up."
"Hermione, you can't be serious," Draco replied, looking at her as if she was crazy. "This is your procedure, your research."
"Draco, it's ours," Hermione told him. "We're working together."
"I can't," Draco tried to say but the wand began to crack. "Hermione, I don't think I can do this."
"Pick up the wand!" Hermione and Greg shouted at him at the same time.
Draco grabbed the wand and pointed it at the mark on Greg's chest.
"Exsugo Cruciatus."
The black smoke shot into Draco's wand and Hermione stopped the spell with hers. Hermione managed to expel the smoke in a black sludge form and toss the wand away before it exploded.
Draco moved to look up and Hermione snapped at him. "Draco, focus."
He immediately focused on Greg and watched as the smoke continued to pour out of his friend and into the wand.
"Erin," Hermione said, looking away from Greg. "I need you to go to the cadaver basement lab, bring every single wand that's there."
"Absolutely," Erin said and rushed out of the room.
"Hermione," Draco called and she turned her attention back to him in time to see the wand beginning to shake.
She quickly grabbed a wand from the table and held it on the mark. "You need to hold on as long as you can," Hermione told him. "We have to make these wands last until Erin gets back."
"It's only going to be a couple of minutes," Draco told her. "I can...feel the wand filling up."
"Tell me right before it explodes," she instructed then turned to Greg. "Talk to me. What do you feel?"
"Pain in my chest," he gasped out. "The worst I've ever felt."
"Okay, hang in there," she told him.
She thought for a moment and another idea idea formed.
"Hermione, now," Draco snapped. "The wand."
Hermione focused back in and started the spell just as Draco dropped the wand into the large potion bottle. The wand exploded but the contents remained in the bottle. Just then Erin came rushing back in, a large bag in her hands.
"I grabbed them all," she wheezed, out of breath from having run the entire time. "And this better work, the boss is pissed you're using them all."
"It's already working," Hermione said. "Erin, stand next to me."
Erin moved to do what she said.
"I need you to talk to Greg," Hermione instructed. "Get a quick quill, anything he says gets written down."
"Done," Erin replied. She quickly grabbed a quick quill and parchment from a drawer at the far end of the room and returned to Greg's side. She began to speak to him in a low voice and Hermione tuned them out.
"Draco, I have an idea," she said. "I'm going to stop the spell before this wand fills, before it even has a chance to explode. I want you to start BEFORE I stop. I'm going to expel what's here and then, start again, right before you have to stop."
"That means there's probably going to be overlap in our magic, right?" He asked. "Are you sure?"
"We're pulling out wisps of it," Hermione said shaking her head. "It's not enough, we need to do it together."
"Staggered though, right?" Draco asked. "So the stream of the spell never stops."
"Exactly," Hermione replied beaming at him. "Okay, let's do it now, ready?"
"Yes," Draco told her. He placed his wand on the mark and began the spell. Hermione quickly ended hers and emptied the wand. She then moved her wand back to the mark and cast the spell. Greg began to scream as the black sludge they'd only seem expelled began to pour from his body into their wands.
"Greg, talk to Erin," Hermione shouted over his screams.
"Hurts. Everywhere," he screamed. "Feel pulling."
"I need you to hang in there," Hermione shouted. "This means it's working."
Hermione then looked to Draco. "The wands are filling up twice as fast?"
"Yes," he replied. "I can already feel this one straining."
"Take it to the breaking point now," Hermione instructed. "We need to get as much out continuously as possible."
"Okay," Draco replied. "This one has to go."
"Quickly," Hermione told him. "As quickly as you can."
And he did just that. Within seconds he had the wand emptied and, when it didn't explode, back on the mark and began the spell again. When Hermione's wand filled, she did the same. They moved back and forth, Erin speaking quietly to Greg as he screamed in pain, Hermione and Draco using all of their energy to focus on the spell.
"Greg, how do you feel?" Hermione shouted to be heard over his screams.
"I...can't...," he started to say before his eyes rolled back into his head.
"Shit, shit, shit," Draco shouted, nearly allowing the spell to stop. "Hermione, is he dead?"
"Draco, focus!" Hermione shouted back. "Erin, find me a pulse."
Erin quickly checked his vitals and exclaimed, "he's alive! Pulse is strong."
"He just passed out from the pain, Draco," Hermione told him. "We need to keep going."
She looked at him pleadingly as he stared at his unconscious friend. "Draco, I need you," she said quietly.
Draco's eyes snapped to hers and he gave her a nod. "Let's finish this."
After twenty minutes of alternating back and forth between the two of them, Greg began to stir and Hermione noticed something.
"Draco, it's taking longer for the wands to fill up," she said excitedly. "It's weakening."
At that, Greg's eyes fluttered open.
"Mate, tell Erin how you feel," Draco told Greg.
"I think I'm going numb," he said hoarsely. "Less pain, less pulling."
"Good, good," Hermione mumbled.
Then Draco had an idea.
"Use your wand," he said, looking at Hermione with excitement. "Use your own wand."
"What?" Hermione asked.
"We have been using wands that aren't ours," Draco replied. "The strongest magic you can produce comes from your own wand. I don't have mine but you have yours."
Hermione thought for a moment then realized he was right.
"Okay," she said. "After this next one, I'll use mine. I wish we had yours. Or even just a better wand than these practice ones."
"Use mine," Erin volunteered and Draco looked at her in shock.
"Are you sure?" Hermione asked her friend. "No one shares wands."
"To save someone's life, you do," Erin replied and held out her wand to Draco. "Use it."
Draco looked at Hermione uncertainly but cry from Greg had him taking it from her hand. He immediately felt the magic in the wand shift, trying to tune to his.
"Draco, your wand is going to explode," Hermione said drawing his attention back. He quickly ended the spell, emptied the wand, then held Erin's wand to the mark. He cast the spell and nearly staggered back as the black sludge came ripping from Greg's chests. Greg began to scream again and Hermione quickly ended her spell, emptied the wand, then started with her own. The black sludge was pouring out of Greg, whipping into their wands at lightening speed. Greg screamed and tried to fight against the restraints.
"He's going to pass out from the pain again," Erin shouted. "You need to give him something."
"We can't," Hermione told her. "We don't know what would happen."
"My wand is full," Draco announced and quickly ended the spell. Greg's screams lessened immediately but Draco started the spell again and they resumed. Hermione then emptied her wand and they went back to pulling the curse from his body. Then all of a sudden, there was a high pitched screech and the black sludge stopped.
"Empty your wand, NOW," Hermione directed and they both did. She looked at Greg, who was covered in sweat and panting.
"Tell me what you feel," Hermione requested.
"I feel…" he started to say then passed out again.
"Granger, what the hell?" Draco asked.
"I think that was it," Hermione said in disbelief. "I think that was all of it. Let's cast it one more time to be sure."
Together they cast the spell but nothing happened. Greg began to bleed from the open mark on his chest and Hermione quickly healed it.
"Did it work?" Erin asked.
"We won't know for sure until he wakes up," Hermione told her. "Can you take him back to his room? I'll call Luna to monitor him."
"No need," Erin replied. "I ran into her when I was getting the wands and she was on her way up there to check on the others since she knew you were here and didn't know how long you would be."
"Great," Hermione replied relieved. "Thank you for helping us."
"My pleasure," Erin answered with smile. "I'll make sure he gets back safely."
Draco handed Erin her wand and Erin levitated Greg out of the room. Alone, Hermione looked around the room and sat on the ground. Draco moved around the table and sat down next to her. She slipped her hand in his and rested her head on his shoulder.
"Do you think it worked?" she asked quietly.
"I think that giant bottle of sludge is a good indication that it did," Draco told her, giving her a kiss on top of her head.
"I guess we'll wait and see how Greg feels when he wakes up," Hermione replied, then she looked up at the clock on the wall. "Merlin it's been hours!"
"Let's get showered and changed," Draco said, rising and pulling her up with him. "Then we can come back and see how he's doing."
"Good idea," Hermione answered smiling at him.
They turned to walk out of the room and the doors flew open and two Aurors Hermione had never seen before came barreling through, wands raised. Hermione and Draco looked at them in surprise.
"Draco Malfoy?" the large one said.
"Yes?" Draco replied.
"You're under arrest for violation of the terms of your rehabilitation," the shorter one shouted. "Illegal use of another wizard's wand. You're coming with us."
A/N: So I wrote this story about six months ago, at least, so as I was uploading it, I was reading back through it. I forgot I wrote this ending to the chapter so when I read it, I went "for fucks sake, really?" and then I realized I was reading my own story. I guess I just don't like easy endings.