𝐄𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐖𝐚𝐢𝐭

Chapter 17: "I just fell in love, didn't I ?"

Harry sat in the midst of the close knit circle as his companions anxiously held their breaths.

As soon as the shallow whisper was heard, Draco hurried to sit beside and quickly supplied support to Harry's body.

With a worried and vexed face, Hermione asked, "Harry, was it the him again?"

Still groggy and in pain, Harry shakily answered, "Yes. He is searching for something. Searching so desperately as if his life depended on it. Something that a man named Gregorwitch had but was stolen from him"

From behind Harry, Draco's gentle but forceful voice uttered, "Leave it for later. Rest for now and don't think too much"

Hermione promptly stopped asking, smartly giving Harry some space. Around them, complex emotions flashed in the six pairs of eyes. All of them were curious as to what Harry saw and who was this Gregorwitch ? Even with the questions in their heads, the silence outside prevailed. They all clearly knew that if it was something worth knowing they would naturally be informed sooner or later.

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Hermione sat beside the weak but conscious Pansy in the tent. They had quickly transferred Harry and Pansy in the two available tents. While Draco looked after Harry in the next tent, Hermione was asked by him to look after Pansy. Even if Draco didn't ask her, she would have come by herself anyway.

Draco had worked quickly, leaving close to no internal or external wounds on Pansy, only severe weakness.

Hermione's hazel eyes scrunched in worry and guilt as she looked at the petite girl who was laying in front of her. Her hand came forward as if wanting to soothe her brows which were frowning due to discomfort. But soon stopped just a hair's breadth away from the pale cheeks.

The curse which hit Pansy was a dark curse, designed to give a painful and abrupt death to the victim by suffocation. This curse was no less evil than the 'Avada kedabra' itself. Atleast, the book in her lap said so.

According to the book, Pansy should have died by now. But she didn't. Hermione was sure that the curse had hit Pansy and that she should be affected. But it seemed as if something blocked and held off the curse. Something that was inside Pansy.

Her curiosity gnawed at her heart but was drowned by guilt and worry. Afterall, it was for her that Pansy was injured. She remembered the moment when the bright light of the curse was coming her way. At that time, she had frozen from the shock and fear. And then suddenly a figure blocked her sight as it took the curse with a pained shout.

Hermione vividly remembered the heavy blue of Pansy's eyes as they shone with reassurance that she was safe but soon dimmed with the pain.

And Hermione also vividly remembered how she forgot this within just 10 minutes of it happening.

How could she so easily forget her? Was she such a selfish and uncaring character? Did a person's life mean so little to her? Did Pansy's life mean so little to her? Was Pansy so easily disposable to her?

Even if she desperately wanted to deceive herself, Hermione knew that she couldn't. In her heart, she knew that- yes, It is true.

She is such a despicable person. She knows that no one in this world is an angel. Even she isn't such a pure saint.

But this realisation didn't diminish the guilt and regret. Just like she was a little cruel to those who didn't matter to her, she also wasn't ungrateful to those who did help her.