Hermione stayed by the door for another ten minutes after Malfoy left, foolishly hoping that he might come back. He didn't. She went back to the living room, picked up the two empty bottles – one for each of them – and threw them in the trash while putting the one still full bottle back where Malfoy had taken it from. Mipsy offered to do it all herself or at least help, but Hermione wanted to do it on her own – it helped to clear her mind and didn't let her panic.
She went to her bedroom, knowing fully she wasn't going to fall asleep, not when Malfoy was with Voldemort, at Voldemort's mercy, but she still wanted to change into clean clothes while she waited for him. She took off her blouse that was now ripped apart which she fixed with a simple sewing charm, and changed into a simple tee she wore last time when she was lounging on the sofa with her mum in front of the TV. She missed those times and the tee brought her some comfort. She went back to the living room where they had been drinking and sat down back on the ground in front of the fire to wait for him.
Sometime later Hermione fell asleep. She opened her eyes and she saw that the weather was foggy outside, but she could still tell it was midday. She called out for Malfoy, but Mipsy said he hadn't come back yet. Dread filled Hermione but she tried to tell herself that Voldemort probably gave Malfoy some job to do, that's why he wasn't coming back. The whole day she waited anxiously. Mipsy offered her food and drink, but Hermione refused it all – she wouldn't be able to swallow a thing until Malfoy's home.
It was evening again, and Hermione spun in anxious circles around the living room, biting her nails and the skin around them until her fingers bled. Just then, she heard a slumping sound as if someone had hit something in the lobby which made her suspicious because Malfoy never made any sounds when Apparating home – he knew how to leave and show back up silently as a ghost.
Hermione ran to the lobby, her instinct taking over. And there she saw him, Malfoy, standing in the middle of the space, looking just as he did when he left. Hermione relaxed before dread filled her once more this time with extreme ferocity as she realized something wasn't right. He wasn't just like he was before. Hermione took in his black robes, his mask, and everything seemed the same, but his feet stood unsteadily on the ground, his body leaning to the left abnormally, and the wand he held in his gloved hand shook.
With that same trembling hand, Malfoy took off the mask and Hermione saw his face – ashy, sweaty, the blueish shadows under his eyes even deeper. His face expressed no emotions as if he was still in Voldemort's presence, trying to hide all his thoughts and feelings from him, showing only his cold-blooded and unfeeling façade.
Hermione went to him, taking him by the shoulders softly. "What happened to you?" she asked, her voice vulnerable like an open wound.
Malfoy hissed and groaned as he tried to straighten up when she held him tighter, feeling his muscles tremble under her fingers. "I'm fine, Granger," he gritted through his teeth. "Stop worrying." His words came out slurred, distorted by his agony.
He started walking but he almost lost his footing, so Hermione rushed to his side and forced him to lean on her.
"You're obviously not fine," Hermione stated while taking him to one of the chambers on the ground floor because she doubted he was able to climb the stairs in such condition. She had to forcefully sit him down on a sittee while he tried to fight her but was too weak to do anything, only scowling at her when she did sit him down. "Tell me what happened," she demanded. "Where were you hurt?"
He snarled at her like a wounded animal fearing more pain. "I'll deal with it myself, Granger. Leave me be."
Hermione could tell he was about to lose consciousness, so she rushed to ask, "Does You-Know-Who know about the Horcrux?"
"He knows the cup has been destroyed."
"Does he know you did it?"
"That's what he wanted to figure out."
She flinched. "Did he use Cruciatus on you?"
"Doesn't work on me anymore."
Hermione's guts twisted inside. "Where?" she whispered.
Malfoys stared at her defiantly for a moment, then answered, "My back."
Hermione took off his cloak, trying to keep her hands from shaking, then his shirt, and he let her do that, bowing his head and gritting his teeth from the pain. She should've told him not to close his eyes because the moment he did, his whole body gave out, slumping forward onto her. Hermione was unable to hold all of his dead weight, so he fell with his front facing the ground and his back was revealed to her.
Hermione had never seen anything like that. In history books, yes, but not in real life, not in all the wartime years she spent as a Healer, treating people from curses of dark magic.
Malfoy's back was all sliced with runes carved into his skin – the cuts were deep, still bleeding, and filled with dark magic that made the blood seem black. She gasped, reaching out her hand, but she couldn't touch him, she couldn't do anything. She sensed the darkest of magic all around him, and the smell of rotting flesh hit her—his flesh.
She stood there for a minute, astounded, unmoving, unable to tear her eyes away from the incisions on his back but also unable to start doing anything. He's unconscious, he's in horrific pain, those runic curses will eat him alive from the inside if you do nothing to heal it. You must get yourself together and treat him or else he dies.
Hermione shook herself out of shock, taking her wand. Step by step, do it step by step, don't let panic take over. He's your patient, just like any other, you must save him, you mustn't think of what will happen if you lose him. Firstly, she positioned his body on the ground so he lay there more comfortably; she couldn't move him without risking doing more harm, so she will have to do it all here. She kneeled beside his body and did the first-aid charm while calling out for Mipsy.
A pop. The elf's frightened eyes moved to her Master, but she said nothing.
"Mipsy, I need you to get to Hogwarts and bring a Healer named Cho Chang back with you. I need her help to heal your Master," she said, knowing that the elf must be able to Apparate in and out of Hogwarts because she wasn't human. Mipsy watched her, listening closely, then nodded. "They might not believe I'm sending an elf on my behalf, so I will also deliver the message with my Patronus." She thought of the time she, Harry and Ron sat in the Gryffindor common room bothered with nothing but their homework, laughing at something she couldn't recall. "Expecto Patronum." Her dragon appeared, its wise eyes focused on her. "This message is for Cho Chang," she said to the dragon. "Cho, something happened, and I need you to help me with it. If you're willing, bring all the healing potions you have on your hand. The matter is urgent. The elf Mipsy will Apparate you to the Manor where I'll be waiting for you. Trust her to deliver you safely. Please, come."
After the message, Mipsy left with a pop, and the dragon evaporated. Hermione turned her focus back to Malfoy, performing a few first-aid spells to stop the bleeding, although it did little help. She prayed to all the gods that Cho would show up, otherwise she didn't know what she would do.
When she was about to lose all hope that anyone might show up to help her out, she heard a pop.
"I brought Miss Cho Chang, Missis," she heard Mipsy say.
Hermione turned and saw Cho, clad in a white shirt and light blue skirt which Hermione knew would soon be sullied. She had a bag in her hands which Hermione guessed held medical potions.
"Hermione…" Cho spoke out, her widened eyes going from Hermione to Malfoy's destroyed flesh. "Circe's spells…." she cursed under her breath.
"Thank you so much for coming," Hermione choked out.
"Harry said you would never send a house elf, so they were all a bit suspicious. And when we listened to your message, Harry said that your Patronus is an otter, so this must be a trick. But I thought, who else could call out for me on your behalf…" Cho explained, kneeling beside Hermione next to Malfoy's body.
"My Patronus used to be an otter, but now it's a dragon," Hermione said with a shaky voice.
Cho's eyes filled with understanding as she looked down at Malfoy. "What happened?" she asked, staring at the runes in disbelief.
"You-Know-Who hurt him. That's all I got before he collapsed. I did the first aid, but it didn't help much."
Cho frowned, inspecting the runic curses. She took out Blood Replenishing potion from her bag, forcing Malfoy's mouth open and feeding it to him. His eyelids fluttered but he didn't wake. That was only for the better.
Hermione asked Mipsy to bring all the Blood Replenishing potion they had in the laboratory of the Manor. The elf did so.
Hermione told Cho, "This seems to be something like an Aversion curse." Aversion curses involved carving runes into the skin of the victim to create an aversion to a specific object or idea. It was used to create fear or hatred in the victim towards a particular group or individual. Hermione believed that's how Voldemort tortured him to get Malfoy to kill his parents – it was an ancient and sadistic curse, banned more than a thousand years ago. "But he didn't seem to hate anything, so maybe it's not it?"
"It could also be Maledictus," Cho countered. "I've never seen anything like that, but this looks similar to the book descriptions." Hermione could see the resemblance. Maledictus also involved rune carving to inflict a curse that caused one to slowly transform into a beast or other monstrous creature.
Hermione shivered when she imagined Malfoy turning into a beast, eating her alive.
"God, I hope not…" Hermione prayed.
Cho looked at her sympathetically. "Don't worry, we will figure this out. He will live," she stated, then looked down at her patient. "Crurisnerva," Cho whispered, holding her wand above the rune wounds. Hermione noticed the swelling of the runes lessened, although they still bled.
"What else can we do?" Hermione asked, trembling.
Cho turned to her, "Remember that spell we came up with to stop the bleeding? We'll both need to cast it for it to work properly."
Hermione nodded, getting her wand ready. "Sanguinostasis," they both said as one a few times, noticing the angry runic marks get duller.
Cho told Hermione to feed more of the Blood Replenishing potion that Mipsy brought to Malfoy, while she spoke more spells, "Auravulnus…" This one was oftentimes used to heal wounds that had been caused by dark magic or cursed objects. The spell created a pulsing blue light that spread through Malfoy's back, repairing tissues. "Profundereparo…" Used to heal deep tissue damage caused by dark spells. A pulsing green light shot from Cho's wand and spread through the injuries. "Venenorecura…" Since they both weren't sure what exactly was in those wounds, Cho conjured a spell used to heal the effects of poison or venom, that could be caused by poisonous or cursed objects. The spells seemed to help tremendously – the bleeding stopped, the runes no longer seemed red and angry, and the skin around the incision seemed to start healing.
After feeding three more vials of Blood Replenishing potion and a vial of Essence of Murlap, Hermione asked Cho to repeat those spells and show her how to cast them properly. Cho did, and they spoke the healing charms a few more times until Cho was satisfied with the result. Malfoy's back was still ruined, and the runes would clearly leave awful scars for the rest of his life, but Hermione breathed out shakily, relaxing slightly when she was sure there was no more danger for him to die.
They both leaned back on their heels; Hermione brushed Malfoy's white hair with her fingers softly while Cho watched her face, thinking of something.
"This is a hideous ancient spell, and it won't heal that easily," Cho warned. "You'll have to take these steps every day until at least most of the damage is out." Hermione nodded, her eyes still on Malfoy. "You care about him," she stated.
There were just the two of them. Malfoy was unconscious and Hermione still felt taken aback by what happened. So, naturally, she nodded.
"He will be alright," Cho assured her.
Hermione lifted her head, her eyes filled with tears. "Thank you so much for helping me," she whispered. "I wouldn't have done all of this by myself."
"Don't thank me. I will always help you out." Hermione smiled sadly. "How did it happen?" Cho asked.
Hermione told her about Hufflepuff's cup, about how she and Malfoy went to Bellatrix's vault to retrieve it, and what happened to them there. She skipped the drinking and making out part, finishing with the conversation she and Malfoy had right before he blacked out.
"You think it was a punishment?" Cho asked, frowning.
"I don't know," Hermione admitted. "I hope not. But there is no other explanation for such abhorrent torture."
Malfoy groaned, moving his limbs and trying to sit up.
"Hey, no, no, don't do that," Hermione rushed to caress his head softly. "It's alright, you're safe, but you need to stay down for a little more, okay?"
Malfoy settled down, his cheek to the ground, looking at her with glazed eyes. "Hermione?" he slurred out, not fully conscious, but her voice seemed to calm him down.
"Yes, it's me. I brought my friend here to help me heal you, you will soon feel a lot better," she told him softly, still caressing his head. He seemed to like her touch because he closed her eyes when she resumed stroking.
"He wanted to—wanted to know—what I was doing in—Bella's vault—I said—gift for my—wife—" he garbled, eager to explain. "He—asked—about the cup—but he found nothing—in my head—occluded—"
"Hey, you don't need to speak, please, save your strength," Hermione whispered to him.
Cho watched them both, her expression a mix of puzzlement and resigned compassion, a sort of pity.
"He searched for you—in my mind—I'll never show him—he'll never get to you—unless I'm destroyed—and there's none—left of me—he won't get to you—"
"I'm safe," Hermione spoke, not understanding his words, but hoping that the knowledge of them both being secure would help ease his anxiety. "You didn't tell him anything and he doesn't know we destroyed the Horcrux, so it's okay, you just need to heal."
Finally, Malfoy mumbled something incoherent, then his eyes closed, and his body relaxed, unconscious once more. Hermione sighed in relief.
Cho stood up. "Well, I'll be going, they'll want to know what happened here." She gave Hermione a pointed look. "I won't tell them about the venom, but Harry will want to know about the Horcrux."
Hermione nodded. "Yes, tell him it's been done. Successfully." Hermione will bear the fruit of that success for the rest of her life seeing the runes on Malfoy's back.
Cho nodded. They said their goodbyes. Mipsy appeared and took Cho back to Hogwarts.
Hermione spent the rest of the night kneeling beside Malfoy's sleeping form, softly speaking healing spells.