The Light

Chapter 76- The Dragon

Chapter 76- The Dragon

"HERMIONE!"

Hermione shot up.

The room was swathed in shadows but through the veil, she could just make someone out. Their face was looming close to hers and their hands were on her shoulders.

"Avery?" She murmured. Her entire body throbbed and she felt like sleep still had her in its clutches.

A small smile played at his lips. "Yeah, Granger. Yeah, it's me."

She couldn't properly explain the relief that overwhelmed her. It was like she could breathe freely for the first time in years. He pulled back her blanket (she was in a bed. When had she gone to bed?) and helped swing her round so her toes were touching the floor. Avery's face was right in front of her; the only thing she could see.

"Can you walk?" He asked. If she was being perfectly candid, Hermione couldn't even think properly but she sucked her lips in and tried to stand up. The way she fell into him answered his question and he lifted both her legs back onto the bed with a sharp intake of air through his pursed lips. Her head fell back onto the pillow and her eyes flickered closed once more. She felt feverish, slipping between hot and cold, sleep and awake.

"I want a funeral," Hermione murmured.

Avery huffed a laugh. "For yourself or...? Cause I plan on getting us both out of this alive-"

"For Regulus."

This made him stop slightly, but not for long and he looked at her. His dark eyes were steady and Hermione found it strange that the darkness of his eyes was different to the darkness she had been trapped in. "Okay," he said, nodding slightly. "We'll have a funeral."

This appeased her and she let Avery slip an arm around her waist and another under her legs before he lifted her up.

"I can walk," Hermione told him in annoyance but she was muzzy and Avery just scoffed.

"Alright, darling. Is your ego blocking out the fact you just fell onto me a second ago?"

She didn't reply and Avery hoisted her higher up, adjusting his grip on her so she could lean against him. He carried her away from the bed and towards the open door, slipping out into the corridor.

"What are you doing here, Avery?" Hermione asked him, and her words nearly slurred together. He shushed her. Through her haze, the only steady thing was his face and she stared at it with hope that her fragmented world would piece itself together around him.

Avery frowned. "I guess you could say I'm saving you."

She mulled this over for a moment as they turned a corner. She had no idea where he was taking her and she knew she probably should care but she couldn't. Everything was fuzzy.

"I thought George was the hero," Hermione murmured groggily. "Not the dragon." She looked up at him. "Shouldn't you be a knight in shining armour?"

Avery looked as though he wasn't sure whether to be flattered or offended. He didn't even spare her a glance however and continued walking. He said, "Hermione, I hate to be the one to break it to you but the world is not made up of dragons and knights. Sometimes, it's the knights that breathe fire and the dragons that save the princess-"

"Queen," she slurred.

"What?"

"If I'm in the story, I want to be a queen," Hermione told him sleepily.