Would You Like A Hand?

10 | but

Flipendo, Draco wanted to say, but as his spell missed, Hermione whirled around and tried to jump out of the way as soon as she saw her assailant.

A little too late, the man managed to scratch her - Draco only knew because he saw fresh blood bloom on her stomach where she hadn't had time to pull her shirt down.

He heard her hiss is pain and then she was trying to whack the dead man with a clothes hanger.

He incarcerated the man and then shot an Incendio to burn him away. The undead man fell to the side, the ropes too tightly wound around him to be able to move.

It didn't scream once.

It didn't make a single noise.

Hermione quickly lowered herself into a sitting position on the floor. Immediately, Draco went to her to check on her.

"I'm okay," she mumbled to herself repeatedly as he approached. Her eyes were shut tight, her hands over her wound, covered in splashes of blood. She sat stiffly.

"Let me see," Draco put a hand on her shoulder cautiously and gestured for her to lie down.

Shakily, the girl moved her hands away, but stayed sitting.

A fairly long slice ran horizontally starting from just above her belly button to her right side. While it didn't look life threatening, it was deeper than Draco had imagined.

An Episkey can't fix this, he thought.

Reaching up to the nearest shelf, he grabbed a few shirts and held one to her gash. The first shirt soaked through fairly quickly, but the second was not so bad.

She rambled to him, "His bone was poking out of his arm and it was broken so the sharp end scratched me and I think I saw that he was missing his tongue 'cause it looked like he was trying to scream but I don't really know if he just couldn't shut his mouth or something and I think he came from the change rooms 'cause I forgot to check those-"

He let her talk as he pressed the cotton shirts against her and tried to think.

They couldn't stay in the mall like this, but he didn't want to move her too far. The bleeding looked slightly better now that he was putting some pressure on the wound, but it wouldn't solve the problem.

Hermione put a hand over his to get his attention. "My bag."

His head snapped up and then around to look for her little knapsack.

It was on the ground under a rack of clothes, probably left there while she was changing. Leaving her to hold the shirt against herself, he moved to bring the bag closer. The injured girl steadily told him, "Potion. Somewhere in the middle."

Wiping his hands on a nearby shirt, he looked through the knapsack. There were two small plastic containers, presumably transferred from their original glass ones to prevent breakage. One held a red liquid that Draco recognized as a blood-replenishing potion. The other was a pale purple with a messily-written label on it that read Murtlap Essence.

"Where did you get these?" he asked incredulously.

"Give me the murtlap essence," Hermione ignored him and gave him further instructions to help her apply the solution on her wound.

Carefully, he followed along and - as she asked - sparingly spread some of the purple liquid over her injury.

She gritted her teeth in pain, but didn't make any noises other than to tell him what to do next.

When he was done, he replaced the lid on the container, taking note that there was barely enough liquid left for a small injury.

"Are you okay?" Draco asked as he put the little bottle away. It seemed like a meaningless question - what was okay in their world? - but he'd meant to ask if she was feeling any better... preferably enough to move about.

"It just stings from the murtlap," she bit out. He decided she was not okay enough to move, and that she wasn't just feeling the sting.

Looking around, he was about to suggest making a stronghold out of the store or leaving the mall. Hermione spoke up before he could, though.

"Let's just get this over with. We're here anyway. I can make it for today, so let's just grab our clothes and go find other things."

He stared at her for a moment, trying to process her plan. She still wanted to explore the mall? Even in her current state?

"You're kidding," he found himself blurting out.

"No."

Her answer was immediate and final.

Sighing exasperatedly, he muttered, "How have you not killed yourself yet?"

Even though she likely heard him, she offered no response. Instead, she reach for a nearby summer dress and made a makeshift bandage out of it, wrapping it around herself to cover the wound. Draco reached out to help her tie it down.

Afterwards, she tried to get up, shutting her eyes and clenching her jaw in obvious pain.

He wanted to tell her to stop, she was going to kill herself, he couldn't let the brightest witch of their age die... but he found himself silenced by her sheer willpower.

He found himself frozen, watching as she (gracefully?) pulled herself up, pulled herself together, and took a steadying breath.

Hermione stood up straight, looked him right in the eye, resolved, determined, and decisive: "Let's go."

-

end note: in Christmas and New Year's spirit, there will be a double update this week. I'm planning on posting a new chapter within the next three days, so look out for it!

On a different note, what have you guys been thinking of the story so far? What do you think of Draco and Hermione's personalities? Is the story too slow or fast? Did you like a certain scene? Let me know!

Lastly, please consider giving a vote if you enjoy the chapters! :)