Hermione Malfoy

XXXXIV

Pansy, Ginny, and Hermione stood at a taller table next to one of the hedges. Hermione gave a small wave to Narcissa, seeing her a few yards away at another standing table.

The party had died down by a lot but there were still quite a few people dancing inside the ballroom as she could see through the glass doors they had just come through. Outside on the other hand were only four groups of people as far as she could see. Luna and Cho sat on the fountain behind them, talking and stealing small touches as they tested the waters.

The air was crisp against her skin but nothing compared to what it would have been had Narcissa not put a warming charm on the gardens.

Ginny and Pansy gawked over Pansy's ring as unease set in Hermione's stomach. Before she had a chance to turn around from her friends, the world spun around her.

Time stopped as the red light from the curse Hermione knew all too well shot across the gardens. Screams erupted through the garden as the two girls dropped to the floor.

Hermione and Ginny writhed in pain, screams ripping through their throats. Pansy's hands came up to her mouth as she watched in horror, her eyes hazing as they filled with tears.

Pain coursed through every inch of their bodies as the spell tore through them. The shattered glass around them pricking their skin felt like feathers compared to the immeasurable agony the cruciatus curse caused.

The initial screams and commotion could be heard from the kitchens where Draco, Blaise, and Harry stood. Their whiskey filled tumblers shattered against the floor as they ran for the door to the gardens, forgetting they were holding them in the first place. Draco's heart sank to his stomach as he heard Hermione's screams through their ring bond.

Simultaneously, Narcissa spun  her hands causing chains to wrap around the two men who stood on the side of the gardens closest to the doors. The chains wrapped around their body, their wands snapping in the process, making the curse finally break contact with Hermione and Ginny.

Harry, Draco, and Blaise burst through the doors to the gardens just in time to see the curse break and the girls lie limp on the floor.  They ran over to their women, thanking merlin that Narcissa was out there to stop them.

Draco dropped to the ground in front of Hermione, looking frantically at her face to see if she was alive. Her eyes fluttered open as he pulled her into his arms, cradling her head on his lap, holding one of her hands in his. "You're alive," he sighed. "Hermione, you're going to be okay. I've got you baby." Draco rambled as he looked up at his mother.

"Get them in the outhouse. NOW." Narcissa nodded as head of security and her took them to the out house.

He looked back down at Hermione in his arms as she tried to look around. "Ginny..." was all she said as Draco pulled her back down to keep her from moving. "Harry's got her." Draco said, looking up to see Harry holding a sobbing Ginny.

"Love stop moving." Hermione shook her head as she tried to get up once again, convulsing in pain. She dropped her head back down onto his lap, tears now streaming down her cheeks. "She's never been hit by Crucio before.... I have, is she okay?"

Draco nodded, wiping away Hermione's tears. "You're both going to be okay, I promise baby."

The pain coursing through her body seemed to settle down as Hermione started to feel the centralized pain in various spots across her body. Looking down at her stomach, she moved her blood soaked hand to find a shard of glass embedded in her stomach.

When Hermione had fallen to the ground, she landed on her shattered champagne glass. A large peice had cut through her dress and impaled her stomach. The pain that coursed through her from the curse had covered the pain from the gash. Now looking at her black glove dripping in red blood, she looked up at Draco. "D-draco."