WILDFLOWER, hermione granger.

xiii. shine a light on her

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XIII. SHINE A LIGHT ON HER
thirteen

       INSTEAD OF SITTING AT THE GRYFFINDOR TABLE LIKE IVY ALWAYS DID, SHE MADE HER WAY TO THE SLYTHERIN TABLE—WHERE SHE HADN'T SAT IN MONTHS. And then, she stopped in front of her brother, who looked rather surprised that she was talking to him again after weeks of ignoring him. "I need to talk to you," Her gaze drifts coldly at Parkinson, who shrunk under her stare. "Alone."

She remembers faintly from a book—a potion that links the drinker's life to someone else. And well... Ivy had a hunch.

"Okay," Draco says quietly, not meeting her eyes as he slowly stood, though when he looked over her shoulder, his face goes ashen. Ivy furrowed her brows, and looked past her, to find that Katie Bell had finally returned.

Before she could respond, Draco pushed past her roughly, mumbling incoherently. Ivy's eyes flashed with concern as she hurried after him. Split seconds later, Harry hurtled after them.

Draco bursts into the bathroom, his hands clutching either side of the sink, his white-blond head bowed as he heaved with sobs.

Ivy stormed in, "Tell me what's wrong. Did he threaten you? Do something? Did he hurt you? Draco, tell me," She says softly, placing a hand on his wrist. "I'm your twin. Maybe—Maybe I can help you."

"No one can help me," Draco sobbed. His whole body was shaking. "I can't do it... I can't... It won't work... and unless I do it soon... he says he'll kill you, and me."

She felt the hot burn of anger unfold in her chest as she witnesses her twin actually cry. Ivy's eyes hardened, "What'd he make you do? Draco, tell me! I can't lose you too, I—"

Draco wheeled around, drawing his wand when he sees Harry staring at him over his shoulder. Instinctively, Harry pulled out his own. Draco's hex missed Harry by inches, shattering the lamp on the wall beside him—Harry threw himself sideways, and flicked his wand, but Draco blocked the jinx and raised his wand for another—

"No! No! Stop it!" Ivy snapped, her voice echoing loudly around the tiled room. "Stop! STOP!"

"Get the hell out of here, Ivy!" Draco snarled, pushing her out of the way.

There was a loud bang and the bin behind Harry exploded—Harry attempted a Leg-Locker Curse that backfired off the wall behind Draco's ear and smashed the cistern behind Ivy, who tried to interfere—water poured everywhere and Harry slipped as Malfoy, his face contorted, cried, "Cruci—"

"I said stop!" Ivy shouted, pushing Draco's arm to redirect its target. Where the fuck was her wand when she needed it?

"SECTUMSEMPRA!" Harry bellowed from the floor, waving his wand wildly.

Blood spurted from Ivy's back and chest as though she had been slashed with an invisible sword. She staggered backward and collapsed onto the waterlogged floor with a great splash, Draco being overcome with pain, his wand falling from his right hand.

The twins collapse, the same phantom blood appearing on Draco's shirt where Ivy'd been injured.

"No—" Harry choked out. Slipping and staggering, Harry got to his feet and plunged toward the Malfoy twins, Ivy's face was now shining scarlet, her white hands scrabbling at her blood-soaked chest. "No—I didn't—"