𝐂𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐒𝐞𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐬 [Harry James Potter]

Chapter 25: Temperance

Temperance
Trigger warnings: Gore

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Harry opened his eyes and was dazzled by gold and green: he had no idea what had happened, he only knew that he was lying on what seemed to be leaves and twigs. Struggling to draw breath into lungs that felt flattened, he blinked and realized that the gaudy glare was sunlight streaming though a canopy of leaves far above him.

He met Hermione, also on her hands and knees, at Ron’s head.

The moment his eyes fell upon Ron, all other concerns fled Harry’s mind, for blood drenched the whole of Ron’s left side and his face stood out, greyish-white, against the leaf-strewn earth. The Polyjuice Potion was wearing off now: Ron was halfway between Cattermole and himself in appearance, his hair turning redder and redder as his face drained of the little colour it had left.

“What’s happened to him?”

“Splinched,” said Hermione, her fingers already busy at Ron’s sleeve, where the blood was wettest and darkest.

Harry watched, horrified, as she tore open Ron’s shirt. He had always thought of Splinching as something comical, but this ... His insides crawled unpleasantly as Hermione laid bare Ron’s upper arm, where a great chunk of flesh was missing, scooped cleanly away as though by a knife.

“Harry, quickly, in my bag, there’s a small bottle labelled ‘Essence of Dittany’- ”

Harry was too busy looking for the white haired witch of whom he had lost his grip on before he heard a gut twisting scream come from behind one of the large trees.

“Vera!” Harry called out to her in worry and trepidation.

Harry paled as he found her covered in crimson liquid. She had been impaled through her right thigh by a sharp root of a tree. She must have fallen on it when they landed from apparation.

Harry immediately put pressure around the wound at the sight of the blood gushing from her thigh. Her short pencil skirt was torn and her high heels had been flung off. Her attire obviously belonged to the woman whom she'd been disguised as, she must have had the same idea as Ron, Harry, and Hermione.

“Hermione!” Harry roared in desperation, Vera’s eyes had started to slowly roll back from the loss of blood.

Hermione froze as she approached them with a bottle of Dittany in hand, she had managed to heal Ron enough to get his missing flesh back and stop the bleeding.

“Oh my God, it's so bad!” Hermione tried applying a few drops around the stake that currently remained embedded into Vera’s thigh.

“On the contrary, love, I look amazing in red.” Vera incoherently mumbled softly as her eyes slowly shut themselves in exhaustion.