Where I Found You

The aftermath of the incident was evident on Harry's face. He tried to hide it behind a mask of indifference as if that would make it not so obvious how terrified he truly felt inside. No one had heard of that spell before. It was merely one of those words written in Harry's Advanced Potion Making book. Sectumsempra, it said, with an arrow pointing to its usage, "for enemies". And Draco was his enemy, there was no doubt about that. 

But he never once gave a thought as to what that spell meant, using it for the first time on his enemy. If he was his enemy, then why did that bother him so much? Draco probably wouldn't think as much as he did if he hurt Harry. But that sight was something so horrible that no one would actually wish it upon their enemies. 

"Harry?" A hand on his hand, and the warmth spreading through him when it touched his skin. "You have to let it go," said Ginny. 

Her closeness was sudden even for someone like Ginny. She had always been bold with boys but Harry was her first crush after all. Hermione couldn't help but wonder if she neglected her friends or simply didn't realise they were getting closer, or maybe she was just trying to comfort him, nothing romantic behind her intentions.

"I.." he started. He wasn't sure what to say. His hands were shaking and so many thoughts were running through his mind, but he was unable to string them together into coherent sentences. "I didn't... it said..."

"I know you didn't mean to hurt him, Harry," said Hermione and clenched her jaw. "I don't want to say I told you so but... you have to get rid of it. We don't know what else is in that book and we shouldn't risk anything more."

Harry lifted his head to look at her face, his eyes fell to her bloodied hands, the reminder of what he had done and looked down, nodding. "I know."

"How are we going to do it?" Ron looked around for answers. 

Ginny stood up, holding her hand in front of Harry. "Give it to me," Harry looked at her hand and then at her face before giving her the book. "Come, I have a place in mind."

Harry glanced at his friends before standing up as well, leaving Ron and Hermione behind. They both looked at each other, seemingly unaware of what had happened, and Harry walked alongside Ginny until they reached the door and walked outside. Only then Hermione noticed Ron's discomfort, his leg bouncing from nervousness. "What's wrong?"

He stopped bouncing his leg when he realised she was watching him. "Uh..." he puffed out his cheeks. "How— how bad was it?"

Hermione blinked, surprised by the question. She knew the answer already, didn't she? But it didn't mean she wanted to be reminded of it every few seconds. She looked away, trying to ignore the memory's pain.

"It was bad."

Ron nodded slowly, his eyes shifting from her face to her arm, and winced. "You should get that looked."

Hermione flinched at his comment, feeling a cold sensation crawling down her spine. She shook her head. "It's fine-"

"Hermione," he said with a tone that left absolutely no room for argument. "You can't walk around with an open wound, it will get infected."

He was worried, it was written all over his face. One of his friends was dealing with something he could not help with already and he wanted to at least help the other.

Hermione swallowed. He was right— she was being foolish not thinking about her health just because she didn't want to face Draco. Her mind was in a haze when her feet carried her outside, only registering the cold when the air hit her skin. Her eyes lowered to her hand, blood was dried between her fingers but she wasn't feeling any pain. The more she looked at her hand the more she realised she could no longer ignore what happened. Harry hurt Draco and Draco didn't even do anything to protect himself, he was entirely distracted looking at Hermione's wound, maybe blaming himself too much for it.

—

"Sectumsempra!" 

The sound of the curse ripped through the air, a deafening crack echoing around the small chamber as it bounced off of the bathroom tiles and died down in an instant. The spell hit its target and he fell to his knees before being completely crushed into the ground by the invisible force holding him there. 

Harry's face went white as he took a few steps toward him. "I...I, I didn't mean to... I didn't..."

He stopped moving, frozen on the spot as he tried to process what had just happened. 

Only then, Hermione turned around and saw the horrifying scene before her. Draco was continuously getting cut by an invisible blade that was steadily slicing through the flesh of his chest, blood dripping from every wound that opened. He should have been screaming in pain but he was just lying motionless on the floor with tears streaming down his cheeks only letting out short breaths every time he got cut. It looked like he was trying not to make any sound, like he had accepted what happened to him, not even yelling at Harry, just crying silently. His eyes were shut tight and lips pressed against each other tightly in an effort to suppress the sounds that were escaping. 

Seeing the pool of blood gathering underneath the young man's body pulled her out of her state of shock.

"What the hell did you do?!"

She yelled at Harry and immediately ran over to kneel next to Draco and grabbed his hand in hers. Harry stood there helplessly, staring at the scene in front of him while Hermione was desperately trying to heal Draco, whose wounds were already starting to open up again. 

Why wasn't it working? She cast every healing spell that she knew and still got nothing.

"Ferula."

The bandages wrapped around his wounds and stopped the bleeding for a second before getting sliced again. There had to be something else. They needed someone else.

Her eyes went wide. "Harry!" She called out to her friend who was still standing there, frozen in place. "Go get Snape, he's sworn to protect him. Only he can help Draco." Without any hesitation, Harry nodded and quickly made his way up to Snape's office to get him. 

Hermione's hands were shaking. She kept casting spells on the cuts while trying to cover up some of the wounds with her free hand. The thought of him dying here in this room, right here in front of her was unbearable. The sound of crying seemed to echo louder when he held her hand and looked at her for a moment, but it wasn't him that was crying, it was her.

"I'm...ugh...I'm," he grunted, his breathing heavy.

"Stop talking."

"Sorry."

They spoke at the same time. 

She could swear her heart stopped beating for a second as she held up her wand to his chest without thinking. "Spiritus..." she pointed it back to herself. "Vincio."

Her voice broke in the middle of the chant and what followed after was her own sobbing as the pain started spreading through her body as well. She couldn't stop the bleeding, but at least she could ease some of his pain by taking it away from him, even if it meant hurting herself. Her hands went to her chest and her abdomen, looking for any sign of his cuts but there weren't any, just the pain. Suddenly, the sound of hurried footsteps outside reached them. A second later, Snape burst inside the door, his panicked face has never felt so relieving and she tightened her grip on Draco's hand, to tell him that he wasn't alone. She was right there.

"He's lost too much blood, Professor, I tried everything but I can't stop the bleeding," she panted, unable to look him straight in the eye. The tears continued streaming down her face as she tried to cast another spell that didn't work.

"Go to your tower, Ms. Granger," he sighed and kneeled down beside Draco, glancing at their hands before looking back at her again. "I have this under control."

Hermione wasn't threatened by him. Normally she would leave because of how terrified he looked but she knew he could take care of Draco, he was sworn to protect him. So, she let go of his hand, stood up, and left the two alone although she didn't want to. Snape looked at her once before focusing on the boy who was laying on the floor and pointed his wand at Draco's chest. The last thing she saw was Draco's blood coming back to his body. That sight has to be impossible even by magical standards but the absence of the pain in her chest was all she needed to know. He was going to be okay.

-

She stopped in front of the Hospital Wing, took a deep breath, and stepped inside, her hand still on the doorframe. It wasn't hard to spot two Slytherins sitting by the end of a bed, both of them looking at the patient with worry in their eyes. Half of his body was hidden by the curtain, only his legs visible. She didn't need to see Draco's face to know that it was him.

Her entrance had caught the attention of Blaise who had been reading a book. He looked up from where he was seated and the other one turned around, his eyes widening when he spotted her.

"You!" He jumped to his feet, causing the blanket on the bed to flutter slightly. "What are you doing here? Why are you here?"

"Theo wait!" Blaise called out when Theo started walking forward, not taking his eyes off her.

But he ignored him and stopped right in front of her, staring down at her accusingly.

"Why are you here?" He repeated. Blaise ran after him and put his hand on Theo's shoulder, like an anchor grounding him. "I'm not going to do anything," he sent his friend a quick stare and then focused back on Hermione. "Blaise said you were looking for Draco the last time he saw you. What did you do to him?"

She bit her bottom lip to keep herself from crying and she knew her cheeks were probably bright red. They didn't know what happened, she couldn't blame them for their reaction. But how could he even ask her that question? Did he really think she could hurt him that much on purpose? "I came here for myself," she finally said, keeping her gaze lowered as tears pricked her eyes. 

Theo looked at her face first and then her body, noticing the cut on her clothes at the same time as Blaise did. The latter gasped audibly behind him. "What the hell happened? Come quickly," he grabbed her hand and pulled her towards Draco's bed and stopped two beds before his. "Sit here while I get Madam Pomfrey, okay?"

His words were so soft and gentle, having someone look after her made her want to fall apart. It was overwhelming. She nodded mutely and sat patiently on the bed near Draco, while Blaise left them alone. It wasn't that bad of a cut. A little long and shallow. It didn't hurt either. Her eyes stayed fixed on her lap as she waited. There wasn't anyone except Theo and sleeping Draco. The silence in the room was suffocating her and she was scared to look up at him. Not because of him, but because of what she would find, she feared seeing that anger and hurt in his eyes.

Moments later, Madam Pomfrey bustled into the room and immediately examined a cut and then cast a quick Diagnostic Spell before asking what happened. Hermione was hesitant to answer and quickly glanced at Draco's bed before looking back at Madam Pomfrey and shaking her head. The other two caught her glance too and shared another look between themselves.

Madam Pomfrey cleaned and bandaged the cut and gave her a Pain Relief Potion even though she said she didn't feel any pain and looked between the three and decided to leave the youngsters alone. Blaise immediately grabbed a chair and pulled it over to her side of the bed. Theo stood awkwardly behind him, hands shoved inside his pockets and not making a sound. 

"Do you want to tell me what happened?" Blaise asked quietly and pointed to her arm.

She shook her head and shrugged. "It's not that big of a deal, honestly, it was an accident."

Theo raised an eyebrow at that. "That doesn't make it 'not that big of a deal'. It was a curse," he said and paused to take a deep breath before continuing. "I thought you two weren't duelling anymore."

"How do you know that?" She raised her head to look at him, startled.

"Blaise mentioned it once," he looked over briefly at his friend. "He also told me that you were looking for Draco... now, tell us what did you to him."

Hermione hesitated again and then sighed loudly, rubbing her hands through her hair as if trying to force it into submission. Telling him that she didn't do this to him was going to anger him more. "Look, I know how bad he looks, but he really is okay. He's going to be fine, trust me."

"Trust you?" His tone was incredulous. "You're the reason he's in this state—"

"How can you be so sure that I did it?"

"He kept saying your name!"

Hermione blinked, unsure whether she actually heard correctly. "He— he did?"

"Yes, and now you will tell us exactly what happened."

Blaise didn't meet her eyes but it seemed like he wanted to hear what happened as much as Theo did. She opened her mouth and closed it several times, searching for an appropriate way to explain everything without giving anything away. Finally, she settled on leaving out the parts they wouldn't like.

"I can't tell you exactly what happened but he was in a horrible state... I tried my best to help but the curse wouldn't let me..." She swallowed and tried not to cry in front of them. "Snape came just in time and healed his wounds, I don't know how but even his blood returned to his body—"

"His blood? How much of it are you talking about?" Theo interrupted, obviously concerned about his friend. Hermione's heart ached at his tone, he really seemed to care about Draco.

"I don't know what you were told but it was like his body was getting sliced by itself. There was blood everywhere," she shuddered. "I tried to help him, I cast all the healing spells, tried to bandage his wounds but none of it worked and I had a crazy idea that maybe... maybe at least I could lessen his pain—"

"Lessen how?" Blaise asked this time. Her lips trembled but no words came out. He knew they were bonded once before but she wasn't sure how he would react this time. She couldn't lie to him, he was too observant, and he would notice something was wrong.

"Hermione..." Blaise pressed. "What did you do?"

"I..." Her mind went blank. "I bonded him to myself."

"Bonded him?!" Theo exclaimed and looked at Blaise, who was silently staring at the girl. He rubbed his eyes tiredly. 

"Vinculus Fidei?" Blaise asked.

"Yes."

"What?" Theo cut in. "The one you two would always do? How does she know?"

"Draco taught her.“ Blaise answered.

He wasn't surprised this time, only a hint of annoyance lingering in his voice. "Why?"

"The same reason why Potter showed me the Patronus Charm, but I think this was a bit more than that... You knew you would feel it too, right?" Blaise turned to Hermione.

She nodded slowly, remembering how much it hurt when she completed the spell. She closed her eyes tightly and took a deep breath. "That was the only thing that I could think of, I don't know if it actually lessened his pain but he seemed a bit... better."

When she opened her eyes, she found Theo not glaring but with rather wide eyes and shock plastered across his face. He seemed unable to say a word for which she was grateful.

Blaise nodded slowly, seemingly processing the information he had been given in. "I never heard anything like that... we can't be sure if it worked until he wakes up but..." he met her eyes. "Thank you."

"I'm sorry," Theo whispered softly, his eyes fixed on the ground. "When Snape came and told us that Draco was in the Hospital Wing, we came rushing here as fast as possible and then we heard him saying your name... I thought that it was you... I didn't think you helped him, I'm sorry."

She shook her head and smiled softly. "No, it's okay. I would've done the same for my friends as well… This may sound weird but, you three remind me of Harry, Ron, and myself a bit."

Theo scoffed before raising his eyebrows, smirking. "We are the cooler trio, Granger."

"Really?" The sides of her mouth lifted slightly upwards, forming a little grin.

"Oh, yes. You should hang out with us more if you want to see who's better," he laughed and nudged Blaise teasingly. "And maybe you'll tell us why the hell were you searching for Draco in the first place."

Her smile died as her eyes met with Blaise's teasing ones. The atmosphere around her suddenly became so tense despite the two laughing men.

"I..."

"I think I know why," Blaise smirked while Theo stayed unaware and stared at them both in confusion.

"Why?" 

Hermione breathed as the color slowly drained from her face. She gulped and glanced at Blaise before turning to Theo again.

"I don't know what he's talking about." 

"Of course, you don't," he muttered quietly under his breath and crossed his arms over his chest, still smirking slightly. "I wonder why you would do such a selfless thing for someone you hate? I'm not even sure at this point, do you hate him, Hermione?" 

"I... No." Hermione replied quickly. "I don't hate him."

"Then why?" Theo started to become suspicious of the situation. "I don't understand, are you close or something?"

She didn't answer right away, she just looked between them and then down at her feet. "I wouldn't exactly say close... that's not important right now. I didn't harm him and he's okay now."

"Right," Theo nodded and glanced over at Draco. "He's sleeping like a baby anyway, isn't he?"

"Yes," Blaise answered, his eyes not leaving Hermione. "We can go now, Theo, Hermione is here after all, right?"

"I..." She looked between the two of them and swallowed. Blaise was looking at her as if he was daring her to leave. "I should probably rest."

"Exactly!" Blaise smirked once again and she understood what he meant by that. She wasn't going to rest in here, she was thinking of going to her own bed!

Hermione watched as the other two got up and made their way towards the door. Blaise nudged Theo to leave when he protested to stay. "Bye Granger, get well soon!" He said and followed Blaise out of the room, who was closing the door behind them. 

As soon as they left, the room was suddenly filled with silence. She came down off the bed and began walking towards Draco's bed. She didn't know what she was expecting but he seemed to be resting peacefully. She pulled one of the chairs next to his bed quietly and sat down; she couldn't help but stare at him, taking every detail in. His tousled hair, his slightly parted lips, the soft rise and fall of his chest... she hadn't seen him sleeping before but it was ridiculous how innocent he looked at that moment. She could imagine the line forming between his eyebrows when he was mad at something or the way his lips quirked ever so slightly when he was teasing her. She would get mad at him but she found this little detail incredibly cute.

Hermione glanced down at his hand that lay still beside his side, his Slytherin ring shining in the dim light. It was beautiful, she realized, she had never taken a closer look at it before. As she kept looking at his hand, she felt her own fingers begin to move on their own accord and brushing lightly against the cold metal. Her finger traced the snake figure before slowly gliding past it and hesitantly making contact with his skin. She was holding the same hands not too long ago, why did it strange to do it again? Her heart pounded with excitement, she didn't want to know how would it be if he was awake. Since when did Draco Malfoy manage to get a hold of her senses so much that he didn't even need to raise a finger to make her heart beat faster?

"I'm sorry," she muttered suddenly. "Harry... he didn't mean to hurt you. He is terrified of what he did, and it's... it's so messed up, I know. I told him not to use spells he didn't know about but that's exactly what he did today, I'm really, really sorry on his behalf." Her eyes started to sting but she ignored it. She caressed his hand, feeling each finger gently and moved her fingers through his, making circles with her thumb. 

This is how it always was with them. She would get nervous at first, but then she would realize how calm and peaceful it all felt. This was everything she was against and at the same time everything she wanted. She could no longer deny it anymore. It was true. She was falling, falling for him even harder. There was no getting back, only forward. And if she was going to fall deeper, she had to talk to him. Talk to him and ask how he felt about her because if what Blaise said was true, then her feelings were not one-sided. 

She held his hand tightly and leaned her head down on the bed. "I know it hurt so badly, you didn't deserve that, I'm so sorry..." She sighed deeply and raised her head, his eyes were still closed. "I tried to lessen the pain but I don't even know if it worked. When you wake up, find me tomorrow, okay? Or I'll come and see you, tell me it worked... Harry isn't bad, Draco... and neither are you. I hope you can forgive him."

She bit her lip, let go of his hand, and stood up to leave. After a few seconds, she turned around and glanced at him over her shoulders one last time before she left the Hospital Wing, walking towards the Gryffindor Tower as fast as she could. 

What she didn't know was that Draco was listening to her all along, trying not to react at all to her touch, to her words. It wasn't easy, his other hand was squeezing tightly into a fist. How was he supposed to do what he had to do after hearing all that from her? She was going to wait for him tomorrow, to tell her that her spell worked, but he couldn't, could he? She believed he wasn't bad and wanted him to forgive Potter. He was going to kill Dumbledore, how could she ask him to forgive her friend or tell him that he was not bad when he actually was? Could she still hold his hand again? For a second thought, he didn't want to face her ever again, he could not take it. He once found something so precious in her eyes, he didn't believe it at first but it was real, so real. She trusted him. How, he didn't know, but he wasn't someone she despised being around with anymore. She kissed him back... he wouldn't be able to live with himself if she hated him. But she was going to eventually and the best thing he could do was to stay far away from her, for both of their sakes.