Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

Songs of Regret	By : RavieSnake Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Draco/Hermione Views: 76454 -:- Recommendations : 5 -:- Currently Reading : 17
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters from it. I also hold no rights to any of the songs mentioned. I make no money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 35
- 36
- 37
A/N: Thank you to ALL who read, rate and review! And whoever recommended my story on dramioneasks on tumblr… you are AWESOME.
@Victoria: Draco’s Mark isn’t causing his nose bleed. That’s an interesting concept…but alas, I’m afraid my plot is not that twisty. His nose simply bleeds when he does the body control because it puts so much stress on his own body.
@moodysavage: Draco performs the contraceptive charm wandlessly so that’s why Snape and Dumbledore didn’t see it in his wand’s spell list. Thank you for reading!
Small warning: This chapter contains graphic injuries.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"I really need to invest some money in hair product companies. Merlin above, love, how much shampoo do you go through in a week?" Draco asked with a chuckle as he attempted to plait Hermione's unruly curls. Hermione shrugged and then winced as Draco caught his finger in a knot.

"You should know. You're the one that's been washing my hair for the past month," she replied. "You washed it just last night."
Draco grinned. "Indeed I did. I love soaping you up."
Hermione sighed and Draco tugged on the end of her finished braid to signal that he was done.
"There," he said satisfactorily as she turned around to face him, "now you'll be able to fly without it all getting in your face."
"Thank you," she said quietly, looking to the tiled floor of their room. Draco lifted her chin with his healed left hand.
"Not nervous are you?" he asked.
"About the game? Perhaps a bit," she admitted, "About tomorrow though…? I'm..."
Draco cut her off, "Tomorrow is tomorrow and today is today and today we have a Quidditch game to play."
Hermione tried to force a brave smile but it faltered quickly and she looked back at the floor. Draco pulled her into a hug.
"Everything will be fine,” he said, kissing the top of her head.
“You can’t promise that,” Hermione said miserably, “Not when you’re going to be meeting with that monster. Not after what Severus said you’d be expected to do.”
Draco sighed heavily and squeezed tight. “We’ll get through it.”
“I still don’t understand why we have to wait until Christmas holiday to destroy the horcruxes,” Hermione whined, “or why Albus refuses to explain the plans in detail without Harry.”
“I don’t know, but Potter’s so close. One more week of lessons and I think he’ll be good to at least find out about the plans. I wasn’t able to crack him once last lesson about Red. He’s getting good.”
“That doesn’t help us now,” Hermione sighed, “not when the meeting is tomorrow. That gives us no time.”
“I know,” Draco said quietly, “there is nothing more that we can do about it right now, so we are not going to worry about it right now. At this moment I just want to admire you in this uniform.” He released her from his arms and stepped back to look her over.
“Beautiful,” he said smiling at her. “Gods, I wish I could cheer for you properly.”
Hermione finally smiled back at him. “I wish I could cheer for you too,” she replied, admiring his green Seeker attire.
“Next year we’ll be able to,” Draco said optimistically. Hermione raised an eyebrow at him.
“You want to come back next year? I thought we agreed to sit the N.E.W.T.s as soon as the war’s over and skip seventh year.”
Draco shrugged. “I suppose it will depend on how long this all takes, but…I don’t know. To have a chance to relive seventh year without death threats and torture and to be able to actually just enjoy ourselves and be teenagers? I think I want that.”
Hermione looked at him adoringly. “Yeah,” she said softly, “I think I want that too.”
“Albus will probably make us Head Boy and Girl,” Draco said with a playful grin, “So you know what that means…”
“Shared, private living quarters?” Hermione beamed up at him. Draco nodded.
“And no curfew and extra Hogsmeade visits,” he said, wrapping her in another hug.
Hermione buried her face in his chest and gave a happy hum at the prospect of such a future. “I love you,” she whispered.
Draco lifted her face again and gazed down at her. “I love you too…more than anything, and no matter what.” He leaned down and kissed her gently. He pulled back and ran a thumb over her cheek before moving his hand to her ear to lightly finger one of the diamond studs he’d given to her for her birthday. Hermione lifted her hand to his and squeezed his fingers gently.
“We’d better get down to breakfast before anyone starts to wonder,” she said reluctantly. Draco nodded and released her.
“You ready then?” he asked, giving her a final once over. Hermione gave a half shrug.
“I don’t know. I can’t shake this feeling like a storm is coming,” she replied worriedly.
“There’s no storm. It’s perfect Quidditch weather today.”
“That’s not what I meant.”
Draco took her hand in his and squeezed it. “I know,” he said quietly, “Please try not to think about it.”
She squeezed back and they walked hand in hand through the curtain of their bedroom. When they came to the oak door Draco kissed Hermione once more and then gave her a light spank when she turned to pull the door open.
“See you on the pitch, love,” he said with an encouraging smile. Hermione simply nodded and disappeared into the hall.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Is this going to be an issue for either of you?” Harry asked Hermione very seriously as they walked together toward the pitch. “I’ve got Demelza as a back-up if you don’t feel comfortable playing against him.”
“I wouldn’t miss this,” she answered, moving her broom to rest over her shoulder. “Believe me, we are perfectly fine with competing against each other. It’s not like this is the first time we’ve been on opposing sides.”
“True,” Harry said hesitantly, “I just want to be sure that you’re not going to be too distracted. I…I don’t want to keep you from playing your first game, but…”
Hermione bumped his shoulder. “I assure you, Mr. Captain, sir, that I will not have any problem trying to score as many goals as possible against those green gits. And I trust you to handle my Falcon appropriately.”
Harry gave her a lopsided grin and bumped her back. “Alright then,” he relented, “See you in the air.” With that he jogged away from her to meet Madam Hooch in the center of the pitch. Hermione paused at the edge of the field and looked up in awe.
The stands were packed and the anxious nerves she’d tried to suppress until that point came full force. She swallowed hard and tentatively made her way over to Katie and Ginny who were already waiting in their starting positions on the ground.
“You ready to kick some Slytherin arse,” Ginny smiled at her as she took her spot.
“Not sure…when do I stop feeling like I’m about to be sick?” Hermione asked with a hand to her stomach. Ginny and Katie both chuckled.
“About ten minutes after the match ends,” Katie answered. “Don’t worry. That’s normal. You’re gonna be great.”
Hermione puffed a shaky breath, but smiled back. She mounted her broom and looked over her shoulder at Ron who was mounting his behind her near the goal posts. He winked at her and she faced forward again just as Draco stepped up to meet Harry and Madam Hooch. He dared a glance at her and Hermione felt an eerie tingle in her spine.
“I’m scared,” Hermione signaled quickly. Draco held his stern game-face but answered back.
“You’ll be fine.”
“Something bad coming. I can feel it,” Hermione signed frantically. Draco frowned slightly but was unable to answer as Harry reached forward to shake his hand.
“I love you,” Draco signed the moment he released Harry’s hand. “Just be safe.”
Hermione rubbed her nose and then settled over her broom. Her heart was hammering painfully against her chest, but she closed her eyes and took several calming breaths as Madam Hooch prepared the balls for release. The moment Madam Hooch whistled signaling the start, Hermione shot her eyes open and kicked herself into the air. She hovered a moment to calm herself and watched as Ginny snagged the quaffle from the air.
Ginny gave a signal to Katie and Hermione to follow and took off toward the goal hoops. Hermione leaned forward on her broom and caught up to her. She sped alongside her, eyes darting from the quaffle in Ginny’s arm to straight ahead and then to Katie and to Ginny again. She could hear Luna’s voice echoing around them as she made her commentary, but she couldn’t make out the words over the shouts from the crowd and the whoosh of the wind in her ears or the yelled directions from the other players.
Hermione’s brain was on overload. This was so much more intense than practice.
A bludger suddenly flew right in front of her face and Hermione veered tightly to avoid the collision and then watched as the ball continued on its path toward Ginny.
“Gin! Watch out!” Hermione cried out. Ginny looked over and her eyes widened. She quickly tossed the quaffle to Katie, expecting to be hit, but at the last second one of the Gryffindor Beaters came swooping down and pelted the bludger into the distance.
“Thanks Jimmy!” Ginny called to him. Jimmy gave a hasty salute as he took off again.
Breath ragged from the near-miss, Hermione stalled in the air to collect herself as Ginny shot off to assist Katie who was nearing the goals. A flurry of green robes of a Slytherin Chaser zoomed past her and Hermione snapped back into focus to race after them. She quickly scanned the area near the goal as she caught up to Zabini to see Katie hurl the quaffle and score.
Hermione whooped just as Zabini growled in frustration and purposely slammed into her side.
“Outta my way, Mudblood!” he yelled as he caught the quaffle the Slytherin Keeper tossed at him. Hermione glared at him and turned sharply to chase after him. She spotted Ginny coming up on his other side and smirked at the signal she gave her.
Hermione nodded and then swooped down to fly just beneath Zabini. She then jerked upward and punched her hand at the quaffle tucked loosely into the crook of his arm. The quaffle shot up just as Ginny flew over him and she snatched it from the air.
The crowd erupted at the move and Hermione felt herself simultaneously relax and tense at the adrenaline surge from the sound of the shouts and boos and Professor McGonagall’s voice booming a play-by-play over Luna’s airy rambling.
With her rush of energy, Hermione leaned forward on her broom and raced full speed toward the goals. She pulled up to them just as Ginny was sandwiched in between the other two Slytherin Chasers. Ginny lofted the quaffle at her and Hermione caught it and then swiftly threw it through the open goal hoop in front of her.
Hermione sat on her broom, temporarily stunned by her first official goal, and then pulled around at Katie’s and Ginny’s voices cheering her. She grinned widely at them and then flew off to join them in going after the Slytherins that now had the quaffle. She saw Katie give the signal to fly right and as she went to do so had to pull to an abrupt stop as streaks of green and red blew past her toward the ground. She looked down and felt her heart flip at the sight of Draco and Harry neck and neck, hands outstretched both reaching for the snitch zooming ahead of them.
“Come on babe,” she thought excitedly as she looked down at them.
“HERMIONE! LOOK OUT!”
Hermione looked up sharply at the sound of Jimmy screaming at her and…
**WHAM**
Her head snapped back with a sickening crack as a bludger hit her square in the face. The blinding pain caused her to lose her grip and she toppled backwards off her broom as she lost consciousness.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Draco hovered above the pitch and grinned ear to ear as he watched Hermione dip below Zabini and then pop the quaffle from his grip into Ginny’s waiting hands.
“Impressive,” he whispered to himself as he tore his eyes from the scene to search again for the snitch. He rapidly scanned the air around him, briefly narrowing his eyes at Harry who was also hovering nearby and swiveling his head at any sign of movement.
Suddenly there was a glint of gold to Draco’s left and he immediately focused on it to see the snitch flitting about only a few arm lengths away. His eyes widened in excitement and he tore after it. Just as he was about to snatch it from the air, a bludger came pelting toward him and he was forced to veer.
“Damn it!” he cursed as he leveled back out and lost sight of the snitch. He looked around again and saw Harry eagerly watching the goal hoops at the other end of the pitch. Draco followed his gaze and spotted Hermione just as she sent the quaffle soaring through a hoop.
“Atta girl,” he said quietly. He stared down at her proudly, but his attention quickly shifted as he saw Harry dive out the corner of his eye. Draco took off after him and saw that the snitch was zooming downward mere centimeters from Harry’s fingers.
“Oh no you don’t!” Draco called after him as he leaned hard on his broom to speed past him. He stretched out his right hand as far as he could as he bumped sides with Harry.
“Shove off, Malfoy!” Harry growled at him as they vied for the prize. Draco gripped his broom as tightly as he could with his left hand and made a small lunge. His fingers brushed over the tiny golden ball just as he heard someone scream Hermione’s name and then a collective gasp of horror echoed from the crowd in the stands. Forgetting the snitch, Draco looked up just in time to see a body dressed in red fall on top of him.
The next moment was a flurry of confusion and pain as Draco felt a sharp pop in his back with the impact of the body falling onto him. He cried out in agony as his legs and hips went numb and he began to slip off his broom. The limp body that had managed to balance over his back began to slip with him and he felt his heart clench over the pain tightening around his body like a band when he caught sight of a brown braid and the ‘GRANG’ that was visible to him on the back of the body’s robes just as it started to fall.
Draco instinctively reached for Hermione and with his lightning quick reflexes was able to grab onto her wrist just before she slipped entirely free. The added weight, however, pulled his legs over his broom’s handle and he managed to stop from falling only by keeping his left hand grasped tight on it.
He screamed as he hung suspended from his broom by his left hand, Hermione suspended from his right. Excruciating pain radiated from his middle back as he attempted to move his legs and found them useless. He finally looked down then at Hermione dangling by her wrist in his grip.
Draco let out an anguished sob at the sight of her blood soaked face and neck. Her head rolled back at a seemingly unnatural angle and for a moment he thought the worst. He felt his chest constrict tightly and eyed the distance to the ground as his grip loosened on his broom.
Just before he released, Hermione spluttered a cough. Draco immediately retightened his grip and let a relieved breath escape him just as Harry and Ginny came swooping in and pulled Hermione onto Harry’s broom over his lap.
“We’ve got her,” Harry said when Draco didn’t let go of her wrist. “We’ve got her.”
Draco gave Harry a desperate look, but released her and watched Harry and Ginny fly downward with her just as Theodore Nott came to hover beside him.
“Drake! Drake, you okay?” Theo shouted in concern.
“Can’t…can’t move my legs,” Draco ground out as another wave of pain shot up his spine. Theo gave him a grim look, but nodded and positioned his broom beneath him.
“Blaise!! Give me a hand! He’s hurt!” Theo hollered at Zabini who had stalled to watch the scene with everyone else. Zabini instantly flew over and the two boys grabbed ahold of Draco and slowly lowered him between them to the ground.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Draco’s fists gripped at the sheets as he closed his eyes against the pain that was continuing to radiate through his back. He lay flat in the hospital bed and tried to focus his attention to the voices speaking around him.
“It doesn’t matter that Potter caught it, Draco touched it first! The Flesh Memory charm confirmed we won,” Berrow’s angry voice shouted across the hospital wing.
“Your Beater nearly killed two people!” Ron’s irate voice shouted back. “You should’ve been disqualified!”
“On what grounds!? It was a fair hit!”
“I’ll give you a fair hit, you slimy Slytherin piece of…”
“What is the meaning of this!?” Madam Pomfrey nearly shrieked as she bustled out from her office to find the Gryffindor and Slytherin Quidditch teams still dressed in their uniforms and ready to go to blows in the middle of the wing.
“Gryffie babies are sore they lost,” Goyle taunted, sticking out a pudgy tongue at Ron.
“You nearly killed your own Seeker!” Jimmy shot back.
Goyle rolled his eyes. “He’s fine.”
“His back is broken,” Theo hissed at him from Draco’s bedside.
“Yeah, only because that stupid Mudblood bitch fell on him!” Goyle snapped, pointing harshly at the bed where Hermione was lying still unconscious.
Madam Pomfrey spluttered in outraged shock and Ron lunged forward, held back only by Ginny and Harry grabbing onto his robes. The other Slytherins laughed at the display and the rest of the Gryffindors snarled insults back at them.
“I never!” the mediwitch yelled looking between them all. “Enough of this. Enough! In all my years…detentions! Detentions for the lot of you.”
“Well, if we’ve already got detentions,” Jimmy shrugged and threw himself at Goyle. The two fell to the ground in a tumble and the room erupted again in shouting.
“Stop,” Draco called miserably from his bed. “Please stop.”
“Knock it off!” Theo yelled at his teammates. “Knock it…”
“Draco…”
The room suddenly went silent and Jimmy halted his fist mid-punch at the sound of Hermione’s raspy voice. All heads turned to look at her.
“Draco…want Draco…” Hermione moaned from her bed. Ron shrugged off Ginny and Harry and bolted to her side.
“Hermione,” he said gently, picking up her hand. Eyes still closed, she turned her head towards him.
“Draco,” she said again. Ron rubbed her hand and glanced up to see the Slytherins and other Gryffindors all looking at her curiously. He gave Harry and Ginny a desperate look and they shrugged at him helplessly as Hermione continued to moan.
“Why does she keep saying my name?” Draco forced himself to call out, scrunching his face up in pain to hide the relief of hearing her voice.
“Because Goyle gave her brain damage,” Ritchie Coote, the other Gryffindor Beater, answered him cynically as he watched Jimmy shove off of the offending Slytherin to stand.
“That’s enough,” Madam Pomfrey said, finally gaining some control. “Out! All of you, out NOW so I can tend to my patients.”
Harry, Ginny and Ron remained next to Hermione’s bed and Theo at Draco’s as the others reluctantly trudged toward the door. Madam Pomfrey raised her eyebrows at them.
“I said ALL of you.”
“I’m not leaving until she wakes up completely,” Ron said seriously. Madam Pomfrey looked at him sternly.
“Mr. Weasley, unless you would like another deten…”
“Is there a problem, Poppy?” Professor McGonagall’s demanding voice interrupted as she, Snape and Dumbledore came through the door past the exiting Quidditch players. Madam Pomfrey waved a hand around at the four remaining students.
“They’re refusing to leave,” she answered with a huff, “and these two are in significant need of healing.” She nodded at Draco and then Hermione. All three professors raised their eyebrows at the lingering students and Snape was the first to respond.
“Mr. Nott?” he said in a low warning tone. Theo blanched and bowed his head.
“I was just about to leave, sir,” he replied at once. He glanced back at Draco. “Sorry mate. I’ll uh…visit you later,” he whispered. Draco merely nodded against the mattress and Theo swiftly made his way out the door. The professors all watched him go then turned their attention to Harry, Ginny and Ron.
Ginny tugged at Harry’s hand. “Let’s go,” she said quietly to him as she tried to avoid the harsh stares from Snape and McGonagall. Harry gave a sad look to Hermione and then Draco before nodding and starting for the door. When Ron still remained, Harry gave another look back.
“Ron, mate…” he called out gently. Ron looked up at him and shook his head. Hermione groaned and Ron immediately turned back to her.
“Draco…” Hermione sighed again.
“He’s here,” Ron said soothingly, still clutching her hand. “He’s okay…just, please wake up. Wake up, Mione.”
“Mr. Weasley,” McGonagall said kindly, walking to his side and placing a hand to his shoulder, “I will alert you as soon as…”
“I don’t care how many detentions you need to give me,” Ron interrupted, giving the professor a resolute glare, “I AM STAYING.”
Professor McGonagall opened her mouth to respond when Dumbledore stepped forward. “It’s quite alright, Minerva. He may stay.”
Ron gave him a small, grateful smile and the Headmaster glanced back at Harry and Ginny and nodded at them to go. Ginny tugged at Harry’s hand again and they quietly left the wing. As soon as they exited, Dumbledore turned back to Madam Pomfrey.
“Have their conditions improved, Poppy?” he asked, looking sorrowfully at Hermione’s swollen face.
Madam Pomfrey pursed her lips grimly and motioned to Hermione first. “The concussion is the same. She’ll simply need a few days’ rest to recover from that. And her face…I’ve performed several Episkeys and administered a round of Skele-Gro so far. She’s going to need several more of each. The bludger impact nearly shattered the maxilla. I can regrow her teeth once the bone has fully mended.”
A quiet sob came from Draco’s bed and Ron and the adults all turned to see Draco covering his face with his hands.
“What about the boy?” McGonagall asked delicately as Snape quickly strode to Draco’s side. Madam Pomfrey sighed heavily.
“I realigned the dislocated vertebrae easily enough, but his spinal cord…” she glanced up at Snape. “You know what nerve regenerative potions are like, Severus,” she said forebodingly. Snape furrowed his brow and looked back down at Draco who was still crying behind his hands.
“I think it would be best to transfer him to St. Mungos,” Madam Pomfrey added, looking then to Dumbledore, “They’ll have a specialist there that will be better able to manage his pa…”
“NO!” Draco suddenly blurted out. “No…no hospitals.”
“Mr. Malfoy,” the mediwitch tried again, “you will be much better off if…”
“No,” Draco ground out again as he gritted his teeth, “you fix me here or you don’t fix me.” He turned a look of desperation up at Snape. Snape pursed his lips and nodded once before returning his gaze to Madam Pomfrey.
“I’ll retrieve some Vitanervosa from my stores. I should have enough for the full six doses,” he said.
“Albus,” McGonagall said aghast, “you can’t possibly allow him to undergo such a treatment here. Surely his parents wouldn’t want to risk…”
“He is his own guardian, Minerva,” Dumbledore sighed wearily.
“But he’s only sixt…”
“Narcissa Malfoy owled me his emancipation documentation just under a month ago. He is lawfully an adult,” Dumbledore explained calmly.
“Well, then surely his father…”
“Is incarcerated,” Snape added flatly. There was a tense silence then as the two women looked helplessly at each other while Snape gave Dumbledore an apprehensive glance. Ron looked between the troubled adults and couldn’t help himself from asking.
“What’s the big deal about nerve regeneration potions?”
All four adults looked at him.
“Nerve regenerative potions are highly susceptible to counteraction,” Madam Pomfrey explained regrettably, “and they have rather nasty side effects which include heightened pain.”
Ron looked confused. “So…just give him a pain potion.”
Snape shook his head in utter contempt. “What part of ‘highly susceptible to counteraction’ did you not understand, Weasley? He can ingest nothing in conjunction with the nerve potions if they’re to work.”
“So you’re going to give him a potion that will increase his pain without being able to give him any pain relief?” Ron asked with a frown. Snape simply rolled his eyes as Madam Pomfrey nodded slightly.
“He can have pain reducing spells only. But even those’ll have to be done with the utmost caution and they won’t be very effective.”
“Which is why he should be monitored in a hospital,” McGonagall insisted. “The pain will be excruciating.”
“How long does the treatment take?” Ron asked with a sickly look back at Draco.
“One dose, every eight hours…for two days,” Madam Pomfrey answered gravely.
“Draco…” Hermione’s hoarse voice called out again. “Draco…don’t go…”
“I’m here. I’m staying here,” Draco choked out and tried to lift himself up to see her. He gasped in pain and laid back again.
“Do not move,” Snape warned, squeezing a hand to Draco’s shoulder. “You’ll risk more damage.”
“I want to see her,” he nearly whimpered. Snape looked him hard in the eyes.
“No you don’t,” he thought to him regretfully. Draco covered his face with his hands again and McGonagall raised a severe eyebrow. She looked first at Draco, then Hermione and then at Ron.
“Mr. Weasley?” she said coaxingly. “Is there anything we should know about these two?”
Ron shrunk in on himself slightly and glanced fearfully at Dumbledore. The Headmaster nodded at him permissively.
“Uh…” Ron said, rubbing his shoulder uncomfortably, “they, uh…are sorta… dating.”
McGonagall looked like she’d been Stunned. “Dating?” she asked in disbelief.
“Yes, you old bag,” Draco spat through another wave of pain. Ron snorted and Snape shot Draco a reproachful glare, but McGonagall didn’t seem to register the insult as she continued to look bewildered.
“Severus,” she said turning to Snape sharply, “were you aware of this?”
Snape looked at her blandly. “I’m afraid I rather lack the time to follow the capricious, adolescent fancies of my students, Minerva. At any rate I fail to see its relevance to the current situation at hand.”
She pursed her lips at him. “Well, it’s relevant to him,” she said forcefully, pointing at Draco. “Relevant enough that he thinks it’s worth risking his ability to walk to stay here with her. I’m surprised at you, Severus…encouraging such a foolish decision. It’s irresponsible and…”
“And it’s Draco’s decision,” Dumbledore intervened. He looked to Snape. “The potion, if you would please, Severus.”
Snape nodded and immediately left the wing for his stores.
“Albus,” McGonagall all but pleaded, “surely you can’t agree that he should stay here simply becau…”
“They are fated, Minerva,” Dumbledore interrupted. McGonagall snapped her mouth shut and a brief, tense silence followed the statement as she and Madam Pomfrey simply blinked at him.
“You…you can’t mean…How could…how could you possibly know…” McGonagall stammered.
“They came to me,” Dumbledore answered calmly. “They sought me out to assist them in hiding their connection. I’m sure you can appreciate their reluctance to make their relationship public in the current social climate?”
“But fated?” she confirmed dismally. At Dumbledore’s nod Madam Pomfrey pulled her wand.
“Mr. Weasley,” she said urgently, “please step back while I move the bed.”
Ron moved, but looked panicked. “Why? Where are you taking her?”
“Minerva,” Madam Pomfrey said, ignoring Ron and motioning for the professor to assist her, “help me move her next to him. Quickly.”
“But Poppy…”
“Now, please,” the mediwitch said more insistently. McGonagall furrowed her brow a bit, but pulled her wand and moved the empty bed to Draco’s right down enough to make room for Hermione’s.
“In their weakened states, even perceived distance can be harmful. Close proximity is key for the healing of fated pairs,” Madam Pomfrey stated matter-of-factly as she smoothly spelled the bed with Hermione still unconscious in it into the space. Draco turned his head as the bed settled into place and what he saw made his chest burn.
“Jesus,” he cried, a loud sob following the word as his eyes scanned over Hermione’s bruised and swollen face.
“She will be just fine, Mr. Malfoy,” Madam Pomfrey soothed. “I promise you.”
Draco continued to sniffle as he gazed at her sadly. “This is my fault,” he said miserably, “she tried to warn me.”
“Me too,” Ron whispered with a troubled look.
“Nonsense,” McGonagall said sternly, “this was an accident. Not the first Quidditch casualties we’ve had and they surely won’t be the last.”
Neither Ron nor Draco looked convinced with the professor’s declaration but didn’t respond as Snape came back into the room carrying a small wooden box. He walked to the table beside Draco’s bed and set it down gently. Madam Pomfrey hurried over to stand next to him as he carefully opened the box to reveal six small, round bottles.
Snape’s face was fixed in concentration as he set aside the box lid and lifted one of the bottles. The others all watched him silently as he held it up to the light and squinted at it appraisingly. With an approving nod he handed the bottle to the mediwitch. She took it from him and turned a concerned face to her patient.
“This potion is called Vitanervosa,” she explained, holding the bottle out for Draco to see. He shifted his eyes to it as she continued. “Its main use is the regeneration and healing of nerve cells. As stated earlier you will require six full bottles over the next two days to repair your severed spinal cord. You will not be able to ingest anything while you are receiving treatment. Now I must warn you that this potion has two significant side effects.”
She paused with a questioning look to make sure Draco was paying attention. He nodded at her and she inhaled deeply.
“The first side effect you will experience,” she went on, “is full-body, seizure-like tremors. These will be quite painful. The second side effect is travelling tingling, numbness and pain. These side effects are transitory, yet are severe in their intensity. They have been described as being similar to the sensation of a mild Cruciatus. Do you understand what I’ve just told you?”
Draco’s throat bobbed as he swallowed hard, but he nodded. Madam Pomfrey unstoppered the bottle.
“Mr. Malfoy, as you are your own guardian I need to hear your explicit consent before I administer this treatment,” she stated professionally. “Do you wish to ingest Vitanervosa potion for the purpose of healing your spinal cord?”
Draco eyed the bottled in her hands and then looked to each of the people in the room. McGonagall looked like she’d swallowed something bitter, Dumbledore gave him a weak smile and a nod, and Ron looked dumbstruck as he stood beside the once again quietly sleeping Hermione. Draco lastly looked up at Snape.
“Sev?” he thought anxiously. A brief glimpse of sympathy flashed behind Snape’s eyes as he pursed his lips.
“Do it now. The Dark Lord does not easily accept excuses for nonattendance,” he answered mentally.
“Will I be healed by the meeting tomorrow?”
“Mr. Malf…” Madam Pomfrey started at Draco’s silence. Snape interrupted her.
“How will the healing progress?” he asked seriously.
Madam Pomfrey looked to Draco. “You will regain feeling in your hips after the first two doses. After three doses, you’ll be able to sit…though it will still be most painful. After five doses, you will regain full feeling in your legs and feet. After the full six doses you will be able to walk. Some people require the use of a walking aid such as a cane even after the treatment, though you are young enough yet that it’s possible you may avoid that.”
Draco immediately thought of his father but pushed the image of a carved walking stick from his mind as he realized he’d still be paralyzed when he was expected to be at the officers’ meeting.
“Will the Dark Lord find it acceptable that I can at least sit if you carry me there?” Draco thought, looking back at Snape.
“I don’t know,” Snape answered honestly. Draco closed his eyes and took a giant breath.
“Give me the damn potion,” he hastily answered out loud. Madam Pomfrey gave one last questioning glance over her shoulder at Dumbledore. He gave her a sad nod and she pushed the bottle into Draco’s hand.
“Bottoms up,” she said. Draco looked at the puce green liquid and then lifted his head slightly to down it in several large gulps. He lowered his hand and braced himself. When nothing happened he frowned at the mediwitch that was already performing a series of carefully placed pain relief spells on him.
“I feel the same,” he said.
“You won’t in about an hour,” she replied significantly as she finished the last spell. “These won’t hold long or be very strong, but I’ll check on you every hour or so to reapply them as best I can. That is, of course, if you don’t lose consciousness first.”
She took the empty bottle from Draco’s hand as he settled his head back against the bed.
“Poppy, Minerva, Severus,” Dumbledore spoke up as Madam Pomfrey carefully closed the potion box, “a word…privately…if you’d be so kind.”
He motioned toward Madam Pomfrey’s office and they all started for the small room. Dumbledore conjured a chair between Hermione’s and Draco’s beds for Ron with a wink as he past him.
“I do trust that you’ll behave appropriately in our absence?” the Headmaster asked the redhead with his usual twinkle back.
Ron sat and looked first to Draco and then Hermione. “Yes, sir,” he said, picking up Hermione’s hand again. Dumbledore nodded approvingly and then disappeared into the office behind the others.
Draco turned his head to look at Ron. “Weasley?”
Ron turned and raised a brow at him. “What?”
“If you ever tell anyone that I cried, I will kill you.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"We...Weasley...?"
Ron startled slightly from his sleepy watch over Hermione at the sound of Draco's strangled voice breaking the silence they’d been in for the two hours since he’d taken the potion. He looked over at him. "Yeah?"
"T...talk...talk to m...me," Draco shook with the effort it took to speak through the pain coursing through his body. Ron didn't say anything for a moment and Draco tried to turn his head towards him, but stopped almost immediately.
"Fuck!" he cried out and exhaled a shaky breath. He closed his eyes and tears leaked down his temples to the mattress. Ron stared at him looking lost.
"What...what do you want me to say?" he asked. Draco's lip trembled as he cringed against another wave of pain.
"An...any...thing."
Ron still didn't say anything and Draco opened his eyes and whimpered. "Please..." he pleaded.
"Okay," Ron said uncomfortably. "Uh...um..."
Draco cried out in agony again and Ron stood and turned to call for Madam Pomfrey.
"No," Draco called out. "Don't want...just n…need...dis...distraction."
Ron looked at Draco uncertainly for a moment but then sat back down. "Why are you torturing yourself like this? Why not just go to hospital?" he asked seriously.
“Have to stay here,” Draco answered as he tried to remember Snape’s pain management techniques. He glared at a spot on the ceiling and took several large steady breaths.
“You’re being stupid,” Ron shook his head a little disapprovingly. Draco shifted his eyes to glare at him.
“Fuck you, Weasleaaaahhh!” he roared as a massive tremor seized his nerves. Ron watched as Draco writhed through it and finally stilled, breathing raggedly.
“You know this is karma, right?” Ron said coolly. “For being such a massive fucking prick?”
Draco laughed despite the pain. "You are a piece of work, you...aahh...know that?" he barely finished as another tremor wracked him.
"I'm a piece of work?" Ron asked angrily. "You’re the one that's made Hermione cry almost every day for the past five years and thinks that now, just because of some freak connection, you are somehow worthy of her. You're a creepy git. You don't deserve to even look at her. You..."
"I know," Draco managed to reply through his cringing to cut Ron off from his rant. Ron blinked at him a moment.
"What do you mean, ‘you know’?"
Draco grunted as he forced himself to turn his sweating head to stare Ron directly in the face. "I know...I know I don't deserve her. But...but she...aaahh!" His hands grabbed at the mattress as he tried to brace himself against the unrelenting effects of the potion. He shut his eyes tight as tears involuntarily seeped from their edges. "This...this pain...is nothing to wha…what I feeeahh...feel when I think... about how I hur...hurt her," he added through increasingly labored breaths. Ron twisted his lip in thought as he watched Draco wheeze.
"What is Hermione's Patronus form?" he asked after a minute. Draco opened his eyes at the question.
"What?”
"What is it?" Ron demanded lightly. Draco furrowed his brow a bit.
"An otter. Why?”
"She show it to you?"
"Yes," Draco answered with a hint of a smirk. “Mine took a few…few swats at it, though.”
Ron narrowed his eyes. “What do you mean?”
“My Patronus…it swatted at hers.”
“You can cast a Patronus?” Ron asked doubtfully.
“Yes,” Draco answered shortly, “it’s a snow leopard.”
Ron’s mouth fell open slightly before he snapped it shut and shook his head. “You would have a Patronus like that.”
“Regal and majestic?” Draco smirked wider before wincing again.
“Pretentious,” Ron said, his own smirk tugging lightly at his lips.
“That’s a big…a big word for you, Weasel. I’m…impressed.”
“Fuck you,” Ron said, shaking his head again. Draco quirked an eyebrow at the teasing sound of Ron’s words.
“Anyway…least it’s not…something lame… like a dog,” he said.
Ron leaned back in his chair and smiled. “Merlin, I hate you,” he said.
“I hate you too,” Draco sighed as he looked back at the ceiling. Another intense wave of pain suddenly tore through him and he arched off the bed, eyes shut tight and mouth open in a silent scream. Just when he thought he could take no more, he felt a hand firmly grasp his. His eyes shot open to see Ron standing beside him with a steely expression.
Both men stared at each other for a moment and Draco squeezed Ron’s hand back. Ron nodded at him and Draco shut his eyes again as he held on to him and struggled for breath.
“We…Weas…Weasl…promi..ise…” Draco choked out as he trembled violently. Ron braced himself as Draco pulled at him for support.
“Fuck, man,” Ron said with an anxious cringe, “just let me get Madam…”
“No…please…just…aaahhh!” he growled against the pain. He opened his eyes again and stared determinedly at Ron. “Promise me…if…if I die…you…you’ll…have kids.”
Ron looked at Draco in utter bafflement. “Malfoy, what in the bloody…”
“Astoria too…”
“Pain’s makin’ him barmy,” Ron muttered to himself. Draco shook his head rapidly.
“Just...just promise…if I die…”
“You’re not gonna…”
“Just promise!!!” Draco nearly screamed.
“Okay, okay. I promise I’ll have kids,” Ron said hurriedly. Draco relaxed a little against the bed and closed his eyes once more.
“As…tor…ia…too,” he trailed off quietly, as his grip on Ron’s hand loosened and he finally lost consciousness.
- 35
- 36
- 37
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

Songs of Regret