Magic in the abyss
Draco sat on a table while Granger poured alcohol on his feet. He hissed, but she kept cleaning. She started rubbing the salve on his feet, and he felt the sting ease.
“You would’ve made a good healer, Granger,” he said with relief.
“I thought about it, but I had just spent the past 7 years taking care of people. I was burnt out. I wanted a job that if I wanted to see no one for long periods, I could do it.”
“You know, I took your advice with my mother this past weekend.”
“You did? How?” She was confused by the sudden change of topic.
He was running off post orgasm euphoria. “I told her I was seeing someone to get her off my back.”
“Oh yeah. Did you say who?” Her face was starting to flush.
“No. But if she checks the doodles from my old Hogwarts parchments, she would get some ideas.”
“Why would that give her ideas?” She asked in confusion.
“Because the margins will sport several ‘DM+HG’ scattered about.”
She chuckled, to Draco’s relief. “Ah so you were crushing on me. No boy dedicates that much time to a girl for no reason. Even for insults.”
He winced. “Sorry again for all that. It killed me to do it.”
She smiled. “Water under the bridge. Especially with whatever we are now.”
“And what are we exactly?” He really didn’t care, but he could tell she wanted to discuss it.
“Well, I was thinking-”
Her words were cut off by a blaring alarm. It was jarring, and they both jumped. Before they could take a step, the door to the medward closed. Draco heard it seal shut.
“Uh Granger, what’s going on?”
Her face paled. “I think there’s been a structure breach and the lab is on lock down.”
“Ok let’s think. Did you hear or see anything that would indicate a breach?”
“No, but that’s what the sirens and doors would suggest.”
“Alright next issue, how do we get out?”
“Well, if water is flooding a pod, we should be fine to open the door with the emergency release. If it’s flooding the hall, it will flood in here too.”
“Ok, so how do we know between the two?”
“We don’t.”
Draco sat back down on the table and started thinking. “Why don’t we send a patronus to Theo? He can get us help!”
Hermione grabbed at her pockets while Draco reached for his. Neither of them had their wand. “Well that’s less than ideal,” she said.
“Alright, plan B. You said someone comes on Fridays to pick up our work. Today is Friday. They’ll come, see we’re on lock down, and help us out.”
Granger looked sheepish. “He won’t be coming today. I sent a message yesterday telling him not to come. I didn’t want the ministry to know we were going to Loch Morar.”
Draco hung his head. “Ok, plan C. You said someone comes on Mondays too. We’ll be hungry, but we’ll still be fine on Monday. They can help us.”
As if in response to his words, water started seeping in from around the door. It started at the bottom, but he noticed that it also started to flow in from the sides. “Well bollocks,” he said.
The water was coming in quickly. The entire floor was covered almost immediately. “Wait, that's not supposed to happen. The pod doors are supposed to be waterproof.” A look of confusion and panic had taken over her face.
“Well clearly the ministry skimped out on this part. Now we’re both going to drown. Fuck!”
“How far do you think it is to the lab?” She asked. Draco could tell that she was crafting a plan. The water was to their ankles.
“I don’t know. 200 meters maybe. Why?”
She ignored him. “And how far is it to the apparition point from the lab?”
“About 200 meters with the big turn in the middle. What is this about?”
“We have a scuba suit here. I’m thinking you should wear it and pull me to get our wands and then to the apparition point.”
Draco stared at her like she’d grown a second head. “One problem with that, Granger. You drown in that shit plan.”
“You’re a healer. You can bring me back. Besides, it’s only about 400 meters. You’re a strong swimmer. I can hold my breath for about 3 minutes. I should only be without oxygen for about 7 minutes. The water is cold, so I shouldn’t lose brain function. I saw it in a movie with my dad once, it’s the best plan we have.”
“You’re basing a plan where you die on a muggle movie?!” He felt his voice crack with a rising panic attack. “Besides, it’s notoriously hard to resuscitate drowned victims.”
Her face was set. “Well, why is it hard? Talk it out.”
“How are you being so rational about this?!” He was screaming. Her face didn’t change, so he started talking. “I can never get the water out of the lungs because it doesn’t respond to accio.”
“Ok. You’re going to try remoqua and see if that helps. What else?”
He bit his lip and continued. “I can never get an IV placed due to the patient’s cold temperature.”
She walked over to a cabinet and began pulling things out. The water was up to their knees. It was freezing. She walked back over to him, in her hands were the supplies to start an IV. “Start one now and secure it with tape. That way you don’t waste time trying.”
“Granger, please don’t make me do this. Why don’t you wear the scuba suit and pull me. Or even better, we can share it and take turns breathing.” He was almost in tears.
“We can’t share it because it’s a full mask, instead of a mouth piece. The first time we’d swap it would fill with water and be useless. And I’m not going to wear it because I’m a dreadful swimmer. You said it yourself. This swim will probably take you 10-12 minutes tops. It would take me 20. That’s way too long. Plus, you’re a healer. You know how to bring me back, not the other way around.”
The water was up their waist, and he noticed her teeth started chattering. Part of his brain told him this was their best chance, but the majority was screaming that any chance of her dying wasn’t worth it.
His tears pooled and fell freely, and he reached for her hand. He kissed it and turned it over. He prepped the crease of her arm and placed an IV with ease. She sucked air through her teeth when the needle pierced skin, but said nothing. He secured it with extra tape.
He basically had to swim to the scuba gear at this point. The water was up to their chests. She helped him get everything secured in place. Last second, they secured her to him with a length of cord. With their waists tied together, they swam to the emergency release.
She was crying, but her teeth were chattering so hard it made the tears scatter. Draco could tell she was terrified, but was trying to be brave. He moved the mask down over his face, feeling it click into place and oxygen started flowing in.
“Earlier I asked what we were, and you didn’t get to answer. Well, this better work, because I think I’m in love with you Hermione.” Her eyes grew wide and he pulled the emergency release. Before she could say a word, water flooded what was left of the pod.