Chapter Eight

May 13, 2009

"Well, you almost had me fooled/Told me that I was nothing without you

Oh, but after everything you've done/I can thank you for how strong I have become

'Cause you brought the flames and you put me through hell/I had to learn how to fight for myself

And we both know all the truth I could tell/I'll just say this is "I wish you farewell"

Praying by Kesha

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The pull at his navel made Draco feel as though he was being twisted inside out and then they popped into being in the reception area for St Mungo's emergency. He'd been here before with his mum a few times before she had passed. The place smelled the same.

Hermione gripped his waist and then vomited all over the tile, blood still all over her face.

"We need a healer!" Draco yelled immediately, for the first time in years attempting to get attention instead of hiding from it. "Please! Auror Granger has been injured!"

Those were like the magic words that opened the floodgates of assistance. Healers came running and two orderlies levitated Hermione onto a stretcher, upon which she immediately leaned over the side and vomited again. One of the healers vanished all the vomit and quickly followed the stretcher into a nearby room.

Draco started to follow and then a healer put her hand on his arm, said something to him, and he looked at the young woman and could see that she was moving her mouth, but he couldn't understand what she was saying. He nodded confusedly and then she began to swim in his vision.

Then Draco Malfoy fainted.

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Draco came to awareness and he was in a hospital room and there was noise again, so that was a good sign. He pulled himself up in the bed and found Theo asleep in the chair next to it, snoring softly, his brown curls wild and a little line of drool coming from the edge of his mouth. Draco had to adjust the blanket over his lap a bit, because that made him think of those dreams.

He still couldn't believe the level of eroticism that his unconscious mind was capable of. It was a little embarrassing really.

At least Theo had managed to get away from Astoria. Draco's body stiffened at the thought of his wife, she had been utterly deranged the way she'd been duelling bloody Aurors in the villa. The things she'd been yelling had been unhinged. She was going to be so angry with him, he felt his lip tremble at the thought of what she was going to do to him when he went home. It was sure to be terrible.

A glass of water and a pitcher was on his side table, he attempted to pick it up but his hand was shaking badly and he spilled it all over himself.

"Oh bloody hell," Draco cursed involuntarily.

"You're awake," Theo jolted upright, "Thank Salazar Draco, you gave us quite a scare."

"Theo, do you mind casting a drying charm for me, I'm soaked." Draco clenched his jaw at having to make the request, but Theo did it without even commenting about it.

The door opened and there was Hermione with the light behind her making her glow like a Veela. The two cups of coffee in her hands and the shriek she let out made her still look significantly less ethereal, but still lovely in Draco's eyes.

"Hey love. Look who is finally awake," Theo smiled, pointing his hand in Draco's direction.

"You make it sound like I've been asleep for ages," Draco groused.

"Almost a week," Hermione replied, handing off Theo's coffee. "The healers were concerned that you might not wake up at all with how depleted your magical core was."

"Not exactly depleted," Theo replied.

"A week?" Draco exhaled, "I was unconscious for a week?"

Hermione nodded, "I should probably go get a healer, but it'll be a huge fuss. Why don't we just be together - the three of us - for a bit."

She took Draco's hand, "We know that Astoria had you imprisoned in that house in Crete."

"She took my wand. My wandless magic wasn't responding anymore," Draco lied, inventing things that might make sense to Hermione and Theo.

Hermione shook her head and squeezed his hand.

"She was giving you power restraining potions, Draco," Theo said, "and the House elves confessed to helping her add them to your food. They also admitted that she had them procuring dark artefacts that would drain your magic."

"The cufflinks," Draco gasped.

"Amongst other things," Hermione replied, tears threatening, her lashes wet as she met his eyes.

"She kept telling me that I was no better than a squib, but she was the one doing that to me?" Tears began to pour down Draco's cheeks, "she was the one?"

Theo gripped his shoulder trying to comfort Draco. "Draco, she's gone. She," he bit his lip, "She tried to kill Potter and failed. Potter finished her and its a bit of an international incident, or it was until all the dark artefacts that she had hidden in the villa were found and the House elves' testimony was fact checked. All the potions were found at the Manor and some particularly dodgy potion dealer showed up this morning to sell Astoria more."

"She must have failed to mention that she was taking you out of the country to murder you," Hermione hissed, "I really would have liked to kill the bitch myself."

Draco struggled to deal with all the conflicting emotions that were flying faster and faster through him like a quidditch game in a storm. He was relieved that she was gone, so angry that she had hurt him like this, that she had convinced him he deserved it, that she had isolated him from everyone who had ever cared about him.

But the most painful part was that she had tried to strip him of his magic, of who he was, merely as another tool to cripple and devastate him.

Draco began to sob loudly and then felt arms wrap around him.

Hermione.

Theo.

They were here for him. He felt his magic reaching out for theirs and the warmth of theirs responding.

"We're here, Draco," Theo whispered into his neck.

"We're here," Hermione repeated, "And you will never be alone again. We swear."

Draco sobbed harder, until tears soaked Hermione's shoulder and Theo too was crying, but they never let go, not until Draco's well of tears ran dry.