Left Behind 3: Curses

Watching Over Hermione

Happy Monday everyone. I hope you had a lovely weekend.

-

Harry stood over Hermione's body, down at the woman who had been his best friend for years and had always seemed to be there in his times of need to get him out of trouble.

Now here she was in trouble and he was powerless to help.

She looked so pale and fragile, nothing like the strong woman he knew. Her body was covered in small black veins reminding him why she wasn't moving, why she might never wake up.

Draco did this too her, Harry clenched his fists.

Draco who had tortured her, he hurt her...probably...raped her. Harry didn't want to think about that. He didn't want to think about any of that.

He wanted to kill the Slytherin boy.

At the same time seeing what Ron had done...felt wrong.

if Ron hadn't cursed him...

Harry took off his glasses for a moment and rubbed his face.

If Ron hadn't cursed Draco then Hermione wouldn't be on deaths door now.

How had Ron learned a spell that no one else seemed to recognize and was tapered-supposedly-to kill only Deatheaters anyways?

And how had Draco managed to make it jump to Hermione?

Harry sighed and sat down.

He took hold of Hermione's hand gently and rubbed his thumb across the top of her fingers.

"You can get through this 'Mione," he said emphatically. "If anyone can I am sure you can."

Harry's thoughts turned to Draco once more when he noted how thin her fingers were. Hermione had never had much extra weight on her, but now she was all but a ghost laying there in front of him.

Had Draco starved her too?

Harry shook his head. He had thought the Slytherin Boy was getting better, that maybe after the astronomy tower Draco had turned over a new leaf.

You were wrong, he told himself, you were so wrong.

But he knew it was you at the manor...another voice whispered to him.

Draco hadn't turned them over.

Why help them then and now turn back to the dark?

What was the point?

Harry shook his head in disgust as he thought of the photograph that had come days after they had left without Hermione.

The image of Draco standing behind and holding up a bruised and bloody Hermione was forever burned into Harry's mind.

Harry would never forget that.

He could never forgive that.

And now this... He looked down again and paused.

Something was different...

Hadn't the veins been all the way up her cheek?

He leaned down to inspect them closer.

"Harry," a voice came from behind him and Mrs. Weasley stepping into the room.

"Yes Mrs. Weasley?" he asked straightening and turning to the older woman.

"You need to eat," she said and held out a plate of breakfast for him.

Harry blinked and his stomach growled loudly in response as if his body had just figured out that he hadn't eaten in the last day.