Half-Blood Princess Book Six

Chapter 15 - Lost

Third-Person POV

After Draco's wounds had closed, Snape carries the boy to the infirmary, with Tilly following very closely behind. Madam Pomfrey lays Draco in a bed, gets him comfortable while he's still asleep, and brings a chair for Tilly to sit on. The two adults have a quick conversation, both agreeing that Tilly should change clothes as she has lots of blood on her. Snape slowly approaches his daughter, lightly resting his hand on her shoulder.

"Pumpkin, do you want to go change clothes and maybe have a quick shower?" Tilly snaps out of her trance and frowns at her Dad, confused why he asks her, but the second she looks at her lap, she jumps from her seat and panics.

"This is his blood! I'm covered in it! Oh, Merlin," Tilly breath quickens, and for the first time in many years, the winds start to change, rain pours down, and every last ray of light disappears from the skies; Tilly's emotions had become too much for her.

"Honey, it alright." Snape holds Tilly, still looking into her eyes. "Go to your dorm-"

"No, I can't go there. Draco's room is there too." Tilly snaps, not wanting to face their room, with Draco in this state.

"Ok, ok. How about Hermione? She will have some spare clothes; you can just use a spell to clean your robe and tie and get a new shirt. Please have a shower; you need to take a minute for yourself." Tilly nods but looks back at Draco, holding his hand. "I'll be right here with him, and I won't leave until you come back," Snape reassures Tilly as she kisses Draco then leaves.

Walking through the hallways like a zombie, Tilly gains very odd, confused, pitiful and shocked expressions as she makes her way to the Gryffindor Common Rooms. Harry is sitting on the couch with a few other students, including Hermione, Ron, and Ginny, retelling everything.

"Harry, I'm sure Tilly will forgive you eventually; she's your sister," Ron says, trying to help his friend.

"You didn't see her face. Or hear what she said." Harry sighs, "She looked at me with such hate and disdain. Her words dripped with anger and pain. She loves him; I always knew that I just did realise how much she loved him." Harry rubs his eyes. "She warned me, and I didn't listen. Now I don't have a sister."

"That's a bit far, even if she did say that. Once Malfoy's better, it'll be fine." Harry shakes his head, not believing anything his friends said.

Tilly opens the door, walking through and going over to Hermione, not carrying about all the eyes on her.

"Tills, your covered in-," Hermione says, standing up, shocked by the amount of blood.

"I know," Tilly says, sounding like her Dad. "I need to borrow a shirt and have a shower quickly. If that's alright." Hermione nods, walking Tilly upstairs to hers and Ginny's room, letting her take a shirt and have a shower, while Hermione uses magic to clean her Slytherin coloured clothes, which she can't get from Hermione. Harry sits back down, shoving his head in his hands.

"She hates me. She didn't even acknowledge me."

"She only looked at Hermione, mate, calm down," Ron says to his stressed best friend.

Tilly turns on the hot water, allowing it to steam up the room. Looking into the mirror, Tilly sees what she can only say is a shell of herself. Her eyes red and puffy from crying, her skin stain in places where Draco blood had dried, her cheeks are having a light covering of salt from her tears with the still there. Her body wouldn't stop shaking as she replays the scene in her head. Taking a breath, she steps in hot water, not caring about the burning feeling on parts of her, only wanting the water to wash away the pain she feels. Looking down at her feet, she can see the blood mix into the water and disappear down the drain. Tilly tries to slow down her breathing but is unable and breaks down. Her sobs were echoing through the bathroom as she slides down the bathroom wall. Sitting under the water as it cascades down her face, Tilly feels numb, as if nothing can hurt her more than when she thought she lost Draco.