CHAPTER 17

The wicked imagery of Draco kissing Hermione goodbye burned through Ron's mind as the rhythmic ticking of the clock filled the empty spaces of the apartment. He sat unmoving in the chair, growing more impatient with each tick. At long last he heard the turning of the key in the door. "About bloody time Hermione," he all but growled. He regretted it a moment after when he saw Hermione step back away from him, but then realisation dawned on her.

"Ron!" she gasped holding her chest. "Sweet Merlin! You scared me half to death!"

"Where have you been?" he asked, the anger seeping into his voice. Hermione seemed to notice this, and frowned as she flicked the switch and the room was cast into light.

"I was at work." She said simply still confused by his sudden appearance in her home. "Ron… what are you doing here?"

His anger quickly dissipated, knowing this was his chance, "I came to talk to you Hermione.

"What about?" she asked, kicking off her shoes and walking into the kitchen. Ron followed her into the kitchen, and she noticed he looked rather nervous, now that his temper had been given the time to cool. She brought out two cups and placed them in the counter before flicking the kettle on. The slow hum of the kettle filled the silence of her kitchen. Ron fidgeted as she set about making two cups of tea. It was only when she had placed a cup in front of him, did she speak. "Is everything alright Ron?"

"That's just it Hermione," he said reaching towards her, "I don't know what sort of trouble you've got yourself in but I can help. Just tell me and I'll do whatever I ca –"

"Ron what are you going on about?" she questioned as she started pulling things out from the fridge to make the dinner she had planned. "What makes you think I'm in any sort of trouble?"

"Mione, Malfoy's obviously got you into some serious trouble. And I know you'd feel bad to walk away now, but maybe you should while you still can. No one's going to judge you, after all it is the Malfoy's and I reckon they never had much chance anyway."

"Ron!" Hermione cried in shock. Dropping the knife onto the counter she walked to where Ron stood at the entrance of the kitchen. "How could …no how dare you say something so selfish and pigheaded!" she all but yelled, "Ron, a little boy's life is in danger and I've promised Draco that I would do everything in my power to save him. Now I am sorry if you can't understand this at the moment but I –"

"Danger?" Ron questioned angrily. Hearing Hermione refer to Malfoy as Draco was just as bad as seeing their disgusting behaviour in Diagon Alley, "He didn't look very sick to me. Perhaps if you stopped giving him ice cream he wouldn't be so sick." Ron snapped.

Realisation dawned on Hermione as she grasped at Ron's words. He had been the one following her earlier today. She hadn't been imagining it. It was Ron she felt in the shadows watching her every move. "Ron, you were following me today weren't you?" She asked feeling the need to hear it from him. She didn't want to believe he would do such a thing but sometimes Ron's rage made him do stupid things.

"I …I was only looking out for you Hermione."

"Oh Ron! no…Ron!" she cried running her hands over her face.

"I wouldn't have needed to!" he continued feeling the need to explain himself, "I came to see you at work but Malfoy got there before me and I heard you two talking and I just wanted to make sure he didn't hurt you ….Mione!" he called as she walked away from him.

Leaning against the cool surface of the fridge, Hermione reminded her to take even calming breaths, "So…following me around Diagon Alley was your way of …what protecting me?"

"Exactly!" Ron smiled, relieved that she finally understood him. He walked towards her and stopped in front of her. Hermione realised that Ron was very much taller than her, and she had picked the wrong appliance to lean to for support. He took hold of one of her hands in his. There was nowhere to go, nowhere else to move. "Mione, I made a mistake. I got angry because you were helping the Malfoy's."

"And now you're not?"

"No, now I'm here to help you."

"You are?" she questioned in deep disbelief.

"Yes. Like I said before Mione, I know you're too proud to admit when you're in trouble, but that's okay. It's just me. Look, I still love you Hermione and I made a mistake, I was too quick to end what we had over something as stupid as Malfoy. And I know you still love me, so we can make this wor –"

"No, Ron you were right. We don't love each in that way for us to work." She said gently, "You're my best friend Ron but I can't love you like that. And you don't love me either. Not in the way that counts …this wouldn't have worked Ron you know –"

"That's a lie!" Ron screamed pulling his hand back and punching it forward. Hermione felt the air tickle her cheek as it rushed up against Ron's fist. Hermione had managed to move an inch before his fist collided with the cold hard surface of the fridge. Hermione stood still, weighing her options. She didn't want to enrage Ron any further, her wand was in her cloak that she had thrown over the couch as she came in. "We can still be together Mione," he said slipping into a much quieter voice, "All you have to do is leave Malfoy and his dangerous problems to somebody else."

"Ron I can't. It's …it's my case," she said in an almost whisper.

"You're lying again Hermione!" he screamed, "Gallivanting around Diagon Alley with his son attached to you for all the world to see…how is that part of your case!" he asked yanking at her hand.

She gasped, "Ronald Weasley! Let go of my hand!"

"Allowing Malfoy to touch you and kiss you! How is that part of your case?!" his grip tightened as her protests fell on deaf ears.

"RON!" she yelled, "let go! You're hurting me!"

As Ron registered her words, he dropped her hand as if it hand burned him. Looking deeply ashamed, he took a step back and ran his hands over his face. She rubbed her wrists but didn't move as she stood watching her friend trying to rein control over his temper. "Ron," she began quietly, "I think you should leave."

"NO." He said looking at her with stern eyes, "We're going to talk and you're going to realise that you still love me and that we can work." As he spoke he moved towards her slowly and she grew slightly nervous. She knew Ron would never intentionally hurt her but that didn't mean she was completely comfortable with his current jealous rage.

"Ron, why do you keep pushing this?" she asked gathering some of her legendary Gryffindor courage, "We've already been through this, what more do you want from me?"

"You! I want you!" he yelled. "You're mine Hermione. Always and only mine." The fierceness in his voice as he replied immobilised her for a moment as she tried to remember this was her friend. Just her friend and he would never hurt her.

"It doesn't work like that Ron," she said in an even tone and pushed herself off the fridge, walking back to the counter. Ron grabbed her left hand as he spun her around, causing her right hand to flail out and hit against the counter top. The knife she had placed down earlier in the counter jumped against the disturbance of her hand on the counter and flew towards the floor, slicing her right hand as it went down. Hermione cried out as she felt the knife cut through her flesh and felt something warm run down her hand. She yanked her arm free from Ron's hold as she looked at him with angry eyes.

"Mione! Shit! I'm so sorry, here wait I'll get –"

"Don't worry," she snapped, "I've got it." She grabbed a kitchen towel and wrapped it around her hand. She walked out of the kitchen towards her cloak to grab her wand, "Please just leave Ron."

"Hermione," he called desperately.

"Now Ron."

"This isn't the end." He said as if he hadn't heard her, "This isn't how it ends for us."

"But it is. I don't love you like you want me to Ron. Please understand tha –"

"NO! You only love Malfoy." Ron spat venomously, his anger growing again. "Getting all chummy with a death eater these days. What happened to you Hermione? I thought you were smarter than that? Aren't you suppose to be the brightest witch and all that shit? Can't you see that you and Malfoy will end badly? Just save yourself that heartache Hermione. Malfoy and that son of his don't deserve you. Not even a little bit…"

"Stop! Just Stop it Ron!" Hermione cried angrily. "You have no idea what you're talking about! Things are different now! The war is over and its time you learnt to get over these petty childhood rivalries! I can't believe we keep having the same argument!"

"We wouldn't need to if you just listened to me!" he argued back. "Just walk away from them Hermione!"

"I'm afraid that is just not an option Ron. I don't know what more I can say to get you to understand that. I think its best if you leave. Now" She said coldly. As she turned and walked away, she didn't see that her dismissal had sent Ron over the edge. He grabbed the teacup off the counter and sent it flying across the room in pure rage. It landed near Hermione's feet with a surprisingly loud CRASH as tiny shards flew onto her bare feet.

"Why do you keep doing this to us?" Ron asked angrily, but Hermione sensed he wasn't really talking to her. She looked down and saw the tea had moved to sit around her foot. Leaning back ever so slightly she tried to reach for her wand. She slipped her hand into the cloak that hung over the couch. She had managed to get her fingers around the wood and pull it up when Ron chose to focus his attention back on her. He seemed to realise what she had been trying to do. Before she could react, he had taken to long strides towards her and pulled her arm out of the cloak. Her grip on her wand didn't slacken though as Ron held her in a firm grip, his fingers digging into her arm. "You gonna hex me Mione?" he asked, "Don't you trust me?"

"Ron," she murmured, but he didn't seem to be paying attention.

"I love you," he said softly running his hand through her hair, "Why don't understand that."

She couldn't hold her tears back, but Ron was beginning to scare her. "I'm sorry" she whispered before bring her wand up and aiming a stinging hex at Ron's leg. He growled in pain and released her. As Ron was momentarily distracted Hermione turned at headed for the fireplace. She had barely made it across the lounge when she felt Ron's hand close around her wrist before he yanked her back, his hand still around hers. Hermione felt her feet do an awkward dance with the rug before it slipped from under her. She felt herself go down as Ron's hand slipped from around hers. Her fall was disturbed as she collided with the small table that sat in the middle of the lounge. She heard the vase fall to the ground as she collided with the table. A sharp pain shot through her head as she tumbled to the floor. The blow to the head, and sickly oozing sensation of blood slowly running down her neck rendered Hermione dizzy and disorientated. She tried to focus on Ron's voice as she heard him swear loudly and watched as his shoes moved towards her but suddenly the colours were mixing together and her vision became blurred. Hermione felt her wand digging into her side but found she was unable to get her body to respond to her commands. The pain from her head wound was becoming unbearable, but along with the cut on her hand and the fact that it was still bleeding became too much for Hermione's body to handle. She felt the darkness close around her and fought to stay away from it as she felt Ron kneel beside her. He was speaking but she couldn't register the words as she fought to stay conscious. Hermione felt herself becoming increasingly tired and she tried to fight off the darkness but it was no use. The pain was too much, and as she watched Ron move out of her sight she finally allowed herself to be swallowed by the echoing darkness.

After spending the day with Hermione in Diagon Alley, Draco had arrived back home with a sleeping Scorpius in his arms. He didn't get very far though as he noticed his mother sitting on one of the comfortable couches waiting for him. She leisurely flipped through the magazine in her lap and looked up with a warm smile when she saw her son and grandson. Narcissa walked over to them and gently took Scorpius from his father's arm.

"Hello dear," she said affectionately as Draco kissed her on the cheek.

"Hello mother," Draco said as he took a seat watching his mother place Scorpius gently on the couch and move the cushions around him. "What brings you here today?"

"Do I need a reason to see my son and grandson?" she asked watching her grandson sleep.

"No, I suppose not."

"I don't think I've ever seen him so tired before," Narcissa said smiling, "What did you two get up too? I hope you didn't over do it. You know he's not to well dear and I – "

"Relax, mum." Draco said chuckling slightly much to Narcissa's surprise. "We were out with Hermione."

"Oh… and?" She asked with deep curiosity.

"Yes, I quite enjoyed Diagon Alley today," Draco laughed, not giving his mother the information he knew she wanted.

Narcissa sat shocked for a moment, as she took in the man before her. It had been too long since Draco was so carefree. Since he was allowed to joke and laugh at his own will. This jovial man in front of her was such a welcome change to the worried and deeply stressed man her son had become. She was glad that he was being given the chance to be happy again. Not only was Hermione Granger going to save her grandson, she was saving her son as well. Though she wondered if the clever little witch knew that herself. Pressing her delicate lips together to hide the gleeful smile she could feel coming now, she tried her best to scowl at her son, "How is Miss Granger? I take it from Scorpius' current state he must have had great fun with her today." She said laughing.

"She's well, and yes Scorp had a great time today." He replied with a fond smile thinking back to earlier in the day. "What?" he asked after he noticed his mother looking at him with an unnerving smile.

"Oh nothing dear," she replied all too cheery for his liking.

"Mother whatever you are planning, I beg you please don't. Plea –"

The fireplace roared to life and out stepped Pansy dusting soot of her wonderfully violet robes. "Draco!" she greeted with a brilliant grin.

"Hey Pans," he replied as she walked through and sat beside Draco. "What brings you here today?"

"Well actually it's your mother I was looking for. Tully said I would probably find you here." She said turning to the older Malfoy, "It's about the designs from the Paris range. But that can wait I suppose."

Narcissa nodded and called for Ippy to bring them some tea. "When will you be seeing Miss Granger again?" she asked looking to Draco.

"Tonight, she's invited Scorp and I over for dinner." He said accepting the tea from Ippy.

"Well then I guess you can ask her to join us for breakfast this weekend…at the manor if she wouldn't mind?"

"I'm sure she wouldn't mind it, but I'll ask her if she is free this weekend." Draco said after a moments thought.

"Wonderful! Pansy you're welcome to join us my dear."

"Thank you Narcissa, that sounds wonderful." She said, then looking at Draco her eyes narrowed slightly and huffed, "You still haven't explained yourself!"

Sighing Draco knew he owed her an explanation, "What do you want to know Pans?" he asked.

"Everything."

Quirking an eyebrow at her he set his cup on the table and started explaining everything that had happened with Scorpius. He told her about moving back to Britain so that he could find a way to help his son and about Hermione becoming his healer and vowing to help them. Pansy listened intently never once interrupting him.

"So where does Blaise's ex –stepfather come into all of this?" Pansy asked curiously after listening to Draco's story.

"Well he's practically a dark arts specialist."

"You think Scorpius is being affected by dark magic?" she asked worried.

"We know he is." Draco said with a heavy heart. "It's a curse of some sort."

"Draco! You never told me this!" his mother admonished.

"We don't know what sort of curse it is. Adrian's spell merely gave us the ability to identify that it is dark magic making Scorp sick."

"So what do we do now?" Pansy asked.

"Well Hermione said she would keep consulting with Adrian. But until we know more we can only make sure he doesn't get any worse."

"Draco, you should have told me." Pansy said quietly, "I would have come back sooner."

Draco regarded his friend with a kind smile, "There's nothing you could have done Pans. I know how much your fashion label means to you. I couldn't have pulled you away from that without truly knowing what was wrong with Scorp. Besides, Blaise only recently found out too."

"Even so, being a godmother means being there for him," noticing the curious expression on her friend's face she explained, "I wasn't always a good friend to you Draco, and I've made so many bad choices in my life …I just want this to be the one thing that I do well, without screwing it up somehow." She finished quietly not looking at him.

Feeling immensely guilty for making Pansy feel like she had failed as a godmother, Draco reached over to his friend, "I named you my son's godmother because despite what you might like to believe you were a very good friend to me. And I knew that I could trust you with something as important as Scorpius. I didn't tell you because…well because I didn't know how to. I'm sorry, this is my fault."

"It's alright Draco," she smiled, accepting his apology, and then a mischievous smile crept up, "But if you really want to make it up to me, you can start by telling me all about you and Granger."

Rolling his eyes at her antics Draco didn't respond. "Oh yes Draco," his mother added, "I would love to hear this as well." Looking from his mother to his friend, he groaned at their very Slytherin like smiles.

"There's not much to tell really," he said running his fingers through his hair.

"That's bloody unlikely," Pansy snorted in a very undignified way.

"Fine, I'm sure Blaise had already told you about my date with Hermione." Draco said looking at Pansy who nodded and waved her hand in telling him to get the exciting part. "Well obviously it went well. We talked, and she knows about Astoria and our time in Paris and …we've agreed to take things slow." He finished.

Pansy gave him a deadpan look at his lack of details and even Narcissa had to smile into her teacup at her son's stubbornness to divulge any details. "I've gathered that much Draco," Pansy sighed dramatically.

"Taking things slow means there's not much to tell because nothing has really happened Pansy." Draco replied avoiding the urge to roll his eyes at his friend's dramatics again.

"Well I wouldn't say nothing's happened," Blaise joked as he walked down the stairs. "There was that time you pinned her to the fridge and practically snogged the life out of her." Blaise looked gleeful at the pink tinge that emerged on Draco's cheek as his mother and Pansy gaped at him.

"And there was that other time in your office and before we left for Russia, and when we were in Russia…you remember that one? Your son and I were building a snowman and you and Granger was frolicking in the sno–" Blaise ducked as Draco threw one of the cushions at him.

"We weren't frolicking, and that was your fault." Draco said matter-of-factly, "If you hadn't thrown that snow ball then –"

"Don't blame me mate," Blaise laughed, "It's your fault you can't keep your hands off her."

Pansy's shock gave way to her laughing hysterically while his mother responded with a laugh of her own, "Well I would have to agree with Blaise there dear. That doesn't sound like nothing…"

While his friends were laughing at her son getting all flustered, which seemed to be a first for him, she laughed because she realised that the son she thought she had lost to the war was slowly coming back to her. Draco was opening up more and more each day and Narcissa didn't have to think too long to guess who might be responsible for that.

Draco didn't have to suffer much longer though, as Scorpius began to squirm on the couch and attention was taken off him. The little blonde squirmed and wriggled before finally pushing himself up and rubbing the sleep from his eye. Still yawning he saw his family sitting around talking. His dad, and grandma Cissa, uncle Blaise and even his favourite aunt Pansy, but he didn't see his Mione. Still hazy from his nap, he felt his grandmother pick him up and allowed himself to be placed in her lap.

"Hello dear," she said softly moving his hair away from his face. "Did you have a nice nap?" He simply nodded and curled further into her embrace.

"Dad, where's …Mio- Mione?" Scorpius asked through a yawn. Draco ignored the three sets of smirks that came at him as he answered, "She had to go back to work Scorp. But said that she will see you tonight."

"Really?"

"Yes really. She's invited us for dinner tonight." Draco explained.

Scorpius grinned and said nothing, but then after a moment addressed his father again. "Dad?"

"Yes son?"

"Do you think I could take my book with me? So that Mione can finish reading it to me?"

"I think that's a great idea mate." Draco looked up at the clock and saw that he had been sitting with his mother and friends longer than he realised. "Scorp lets get you cleaned up."

"But why?" the little boy whined.

"Because you're all sticky and smelly" Draco answered with a look of feigned disgust at his son's current condition. Scorpius shook his head stubbornly as Draco got up walked towards him.

"no! no! no! ….noooo!" Scorpius whined as Draco picked him up from Narcissa's lap.

"Scorp, what will Hermione think if you're looking all dirty?" Draco reasoned.

Scorpius thought about this for a moment and then gasped, "I won't be her favourite patient anymore!" Everyone laughed as Draco moved towards the stairs with his son, "Bye Grandma Cissa!" Scorpius called and threw a kiss over his father's shoulder to his grandmother.

"And what about me?" Pansy pouted. Scorpius wriggled and Draco consented and put him down and waited at the bottom of the stairs. Scorpius ran to Pansy, throwing his tiny arms around her. She picked him up and hugged him close before kissing his cheek gently. "Ooh Scorp! You're dad's right …you're all smelly!" she teased wrinkling her nose. Scorpius giggled before running back to his father and the two climbed the stairs disappearing from sight.

However the occupants in the lounge didn't move. "Do you think he knows yet?" Pansy asked them.

"Who?" Blaise asked.

"Draco."

"Oh…yes, Wait…no …what doesn't he know?" Blaise asked in confusion.

"That he's pretty much in love with Granger." Pansy said rolling her eyes at Blaise.

"Oh that! No I'm pretty certain he doesn't know that yet." Blaise answered casually. "It took him forever to finally admit that he liked her ….like really liked her. He'll realise it…eventually."

"I would hope its sooner," Narcissa commented, "It would be a shame to see what they could potentially have go to ruin because he's too stubborn to realise something so utterly obvious."

"Yes, Draco can be rather stubborn," Blaise said, "but I think he's met his match in that department. If anything, I think its Hermione that's holding back."

"You don't think its because of what happened during the war do you? I would hate for the mistakes we ma –"

"No, Narcissa. It's nothing like that." Blaise said placating her fears, "It's got nothing to do with the war. It's more to do with Hermione thinking of how her relationship with Draco would affect Scorpius in the long run."

"How the bloody hell do you know all this?" Pansy questioned.

"Well I am his best mate…and I do happen to live here."

As Pansy and Blaise bickered between themselves, Narcissa thought about what Blaise had just told her. She didn't want to interfere with Draco's life, but she didn't want to see him miss out on what could be the best thing to ever happen to him and Scorpius. Blaise and Pansy stopped their banter as Draco and Scorpius reappeared. Draco had changed his shirt for a dark navy blue and Scorpius had insisted on wearing his Quidditch jersey, despite it being a little too big for him. Pansy had helped Scorpius put his shoes on and just before they could disappear into the green flames Narcissa called out to Draco, "Don't forget to invite Miss Granger for breakfast at the manor this weekend!"

As Draco stepped out of the fireplace into the dimly lit room of Hermione's apartment, he knew something was wrong. He placed Scorpius down on the ground beside him and reached for his wand. Walking slowly further in to the apartment, Draco noticed what looked like a broken teacup with its contents splashed on the floor. His grip on his wand tighten but he didn't get very far as he heard Scorpius cry out behind him.

"Mione!" Scorpius called rushing to the figure lying hidden from view. Draco followed and saw her lying there, her face blocked as some of her brown locks fell onto her face. The rest of her hair, he noticed, sat in an alarming amount of blood. Quickly, he brushed the hair away from her face and called out to her. "Hermione?" he whispered as he gently reached out to her unconscious form. "Hermione?" he said this time taking hold of her face in his hands, as he did so he felt her hair mattered and wet against his hands. Pulling his hand away he saw it stained red. Hearing a whimper beside him, he saw Scorpius kneeling beside Hermione's right hand, tearing running down his face.

"Dad Mione's hurt." He murmured in a small voice. Looking down to where his son was pointing he saw the blood soaked towel wrapped around her arm. Swearing under his breath he tried his best not to panic as he took in how badly hurt Hermione looked. Draco grew very nervous about taking Hermione to St. Mungo's. Something about taking Hermione in her current state made Draco uncomfortable. But he wasn't about to leave her either. He heard Scorpius sniff and reached for his son.

"It's okay mate." He said trying to sound reassuring, "We're not going to let anything happen to her. You're going to help me aren't you?" he asked trying to distract Scorpius away from the bloodied Hermione. Scorpius nodded but didn't take his eyes away from Hermione's face. "Good. Okay here's what you're going to do…" he said looking around hoping that a way out of this mess would come to him. "Okay…uh…here's what we're going to do. Uh…I'm going to floo Blaise and you're …you're going to go over there." He said motioning to where Hermione kept all her coats and scarves, "and you're going to get one of Mione's scarves so we can make her head better okay?" Scorpius looked at his father with scared silver eyes but nodded and in a matter of minutes both Malfoy's were across the room, rushing to save Hermione's life.

In two quick strides Draco was back at the fireplace, throwing floo powder down, he stuck his head through and was relieved to see that the lounge was as he had left it with his mother, Blaise and Pansy still there.

"Draco!" Narcissa called shocked. "What are you –"

"Hermione's been hurt," he said cutting straight to the point, "It looks pretty bad. She's lost a lot of blood…and Scorp's really scared. I don't want to take her to St. Mungo's but I can't leave her here and I can't travel with her and Scorp–"

"Draco! Slow down mate. Look I'll be right there. Nothing's going to happen to Hermione." He said not wasting any time.

Without another word, Draco pulled back from the floo network and rushed back over to Hermione. Scorpius had come back holding multiple scarves in his hand. "I didn't know which one she wanted," he said sounding deeply scared and lost.

"It's okay son. Any one will do." Draco answered softly as he took one of the scarves and brought it to the wound on Hermione's head. He heard the floo come alive and felt Scorpius inch closer to him, before they saw Blaise stepping out. He saw them in an instant and was at their side no sooner.

"Bloody hell Draco she doesn't look so good," he said kneeling down. Ignoring the panicked glare Draco sent him way he continued, "What are we going to do?"

"I don't know…" Draco answered hesitantly looking at Hermione. "But we need to move quickly"

"Not to St. Mungo's?" Blaise questioned. Draco shook his head, "Why? Draco look at all this blood, she needs a healer. I really think that we –"

"No we can't take her there. What if this was Astoria's doing? We can't leave her unprotected at St, Mungo's."

"So home then?" Blaise asked.

"Yeah," Draco answered picking Hermione up gently. Her bloodied head falling against his shoulder, "Get Scorp," he told Blaise before walking towards the fireplace.

"Draco, it could be dangerous to take her through the floo network… especially with that head wound…"Blaise said picking up a terrified Scorpius.

" I'll apparate straight home…you take Scorp through the floo." Draco said as he kneeled beside Hermione, pushing the blood stained hair away from her face. Blaise wasted no time in moving towards the fireplace, with Scorpius safely in his arms. Calling for home, Draco watched as they disappeared in a green flame. No sooner had they vanished, Draco gently picked Hermione up in his arms, her head falling against his shoulder as he thought about home and felt the familiar tug at the navel. He landed within the confines of his bedroom, stumbling a bit with Hermione in his arms. Loud gasps stole attention from Hermione for a moment as he saw Pansy and his mother already in the room.

"Where's Scorp?" he asked placing Hermione down on the bed.

"With Ippy, don't worry dear he's alright." Narcissa spoke instantly, walking to stand beside the bed, "What in heavens name happened to her Draco?"

"I…I don't know…" he answered hesitantly, "Where's Blaise?"

"He went to get help," Pansy answered not moving from the entrance, her eyes focused on the limp figure in Draco's bed. His silver pillows becoming quickly stained with red, Draco swore and Pansy tore her eyes away to see the blonde frantically searching for a way to stop the bleeding, realising the bloodied scarf was doing little to stop the blood.

His mother stilled his hands and for a moment there was silence expect for Draco muttering harshly under his breath. Pansy strained her ears for a moment as she tried to hear what Draco was saying. Her eyes grew in size when she finally heard it.

"I'm …I'm so sorry. I'm sorry. This is my fault. Mione… Mione," he whispered not caring that he had an audience. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." He held her small hand in his, his head bowed as his blonde hair fell into his face. But Pansy didn't need to see his face to know just how heartbroken her friend was. Before she could muster the sense to move forward to her friend Blaise came tearing through the room with a blonde of his own in tow.

"Blaise! Where have you been….Lovegood?" Draco questioned in confusion as he saw the person standing next to Blaise. "What is she doing here?"

"She's here to help us. I figured going to Mungo's wouldn't be the smartest thing." He said as Luna walked towards Hermione without invitation. Draco tightened his hold on Hermione's hands and did not move from her side despite Luna's expectant looks. "Draco, mate she can help." Blaise said softly, "We don't have much time Draco, look at her!" That seemed to jar him from his doubts but only for a moment. Slowly he moved his hands away from hers as moved away as Luna started working on Hermione. She had gotten more ghostly pale and as Luna loved the scarf away from Hermione's head, Draco turned away.

Instead he turned and faced Blaise. "Blaise, please explain to me how Lovegood is going to be able to help Hermione?" he asked running a hand through his already dishevelled hair.

"She's a trained healer," Blaise answered noting the shocked expression Draco had, "She just had no intention of actually becoming one. Don't worry mate. Hermione is in good hands."

Draco merely nodded and looked back over to where Luna stood muttering spells over Hermione. Wisps of colour moved around her head and hand as Luna expertly started cleaning the wounds.

"Draco," his mother called gently as she placed a soft hand on his shoulder, "What happened?"

"I don't know…" he answered sounding frustrated, "We got there and found her on the floor in her own blood…I couldn't take her to Mungo's. Mum…what if this was Astoria?"

"We don't know that yet," Narcissa said trying ton placate her son. "And it was not your fault" she added knowing he was no doubt blaming himself for Hermione's current state.

"But –"

"No Draco, your mother is right," Blaise said firmly, "You can't blame yourself for this. But you can worry about all of that later, for now we need to know of she's going to be okay." At this he looked up at Luna who was fastening a bandage of a nasty looking cut on Hermione's hand.

As if sensing his eyes on her Luna answered without looking up, "She's going to be alright Draco," drawing the attention of worried looking man, "Her head wound was pretty nasty. That was some fall she took. But I've managed to clean it up and stop the bleeding. No doubt she's going to have some serious headaches over the next few days. I would suggest that she get plenty of bed rest and avoid moving around much."

"And that?" Draco asked looking over at Hermione's bandaged hand.

"She'll be left with nothing but a scar," Luna answered softly. They lapsed into silence as Luna worked and as she was pulling her medial supplies she spoke, "Blaise is right Draco," she said softly shocking Draco, "This wasn't you fault. She's going to be awfully disorientated when she wakes up…make sure you're here when she does." With that she walked away from the bed giving Draco a small smile and walked towards Blaise.

"When…uh when will she wake up?" he asked.

Luna threw a soft smile at him before she answered, "I can't say. It all depends on her right now."

Draco nodded and walked towards the bed again. He looked over his shoulder to thank her but saw Blaise giving the young witch a gentle kiss on the cheek before she walked out of the room. He looked back to the bed where he saw Hermione laying beneath the covers. She looked slightly better; no doubt Luna had given her some blood replenishing potions. Noticing movement out of the corner of his eyes, he saw Pansy move hesitantly with a tray in her hands.

"I thought we'd clean her up a bit," she said answering his silent question. She motioned to the dried red that ran down her neck and chest. Draco nodded in thanks and took the tray from her. "I'll go check on Scorpius," Pansy said before leaving the room quietly.

Draco took the small towel that was on the tray and dipped it into the hot water. He ran the towel along her shoulders cleaning the blood away returning her skin to its beautiful state. He paid no attention to his mother and Blaise as they stood behind him talking in hushed whispers. He returned the towel to the water and watched as the clear water changed colour. He brought it back to Hermione's body this time running it over the base of her neck. Finally he brought the towel up to her face but his hand hesitated. He saw the tale end of the plaster Luna had placed at the back of Hermione's head. It ran down the back of her neck and crept over her shoulder. Her hair was pushed away from her face and fanned out on the pillow. The red marks on her face were startling against her now pale complexion. His hand wavered for a second before he gently brought the warm towel to her face. As he wiped away the last remnants from her face, he hadn't heard Pansy re-enter. He did feel the bed dip and before anyone could stop him, Scorpius was crawling towards Hermione. Pansy took the towel from Draco's hand and moved the tray off the bed and Draco watched his son inch closer to Hermione. "I didn't know what else to do," Pansy said, "He was really upset."

Draco nodded "Careful son," he said reaching over and picking the boy up and placing Scorpius in his lap.

Scorpius didn't say anything for a while as he took in Hermione's current state. "Is Mione going to die dad?" he asked in a small voice.

"No son," he answered quickly "I would do everything to prevent that."

Scorpius merely nodded and then crawled towards Hermione. Draco attempted to stop him but seeing the scared look on the little boy's face, he didn't have the heart to pull him away. Instead he helped Scorpius as he settled beside Hermione's side. He placed himself in the small gap between her uninjured hand and her body. His small hand curled itself around her midsection and he placed his head on her stomach looking at his father with wide grey eyes. Sighing Draco ran his finger through Scorpius' hair. He took Hermione's injured hand and gently held it in his. Looking around he saw that Blaise and Pansy had seated themselves in the couches closest to the window while his mother sat on the other end of the bed.

"You…uh don't have to stay," Draco said quietly.

"Of course we do," his mother replied. She looked at the sleeping girl with worry and then at her grandson who clung to Hermione as if his life depended on it, which was truer than she liked. "There's no place we'd rather be dear."

Draco looked at his mother then at his friends and saw the same determined looks in their faces. He looked back at Hermione, "Come back to us Mione," he whispered gently bringing the bandaged hand to his lips. He placed a gentle kiss and waited for her to wake.

A/N: Hello dearies! I do apologize for wait on this chapter.

Thank you to everyone that has followed, favourited and taken the time to review this story. I appreciate that you have taken the time to do so, and i always look forward to hearing what you all think about this story! So please do REVIEW! Please don't think i have given up on this story because i can promise you i haven't!

I cannot end without saying thank you to my dear Katy, who was a great help with the development of this chapter early on!

Cheers!

xoxo

Immortal Dragon Empress