Hermione had been half-asleep for nearly three hours. Prior she had gathered a bunch of leaves to lie her head on and did her best to find comfort while curled up in between the roots of the large tree. The little bit of fire she had made had since simmered to glimmering ashes. The cold was beginning to set it and Hermione could feel it in her bones.
Hermione's pure exhaustion was the only reason for her attempt at sleep. The noises, or lack of, of the forest unsettled her. Every once and a while there'd be a small branch snap. Or a crinkle of leaves in the distance. The wind would rustle the branches and she wondered how alone she really was. She could be surrounded by life and wouldn't know it.
She felt as if she was actually sleeping with one eye open. She knew she was dozing at some points because she was having vivid dreams of the horrific sight of Draco split open in front of her.
She could taste the iron on her lips from where her blood covered hand had cupped over her mouth in shock.The pale man had become even more pale. He looked blue, a deep blue that meant nothing but death. She thought it was her fault. The look on his face was blank. She was confused at the lack of emotion on his face after nearly being split in two. Sure, he had been unconscious but even in the beginning his face was still so straight. So blank. Draco's face didn't even waver when he was near death. It didn't waver even when he was catching her in the middle of the air. His ego still stood firm even when he had physically been split.
She was dreaming of the moment she had attempted to hold the bleeding man together. Pressing her body against his. How the blood that soaked through her jumper was warm. She began having flashbacks of grabbing his wand and straddling him. Only this time the bleeding man wasn't Draco.
It was Ron.
"Hello Mione." The dream Ron had spoke to her with blood stained teeth. Hermione dropped the wand and stood quickly in shock nearly screaming.
"Let me die." Ron garbled again. Blood rattling in the back of his throat. Smiling a sinister smile while he dug his hands into his open wound and seemed to pull it apart more. Hermione screamed. The room had become dark. Blood was everywhere.
It's just a dream. Wake up.
The bleeding and mangled body of Ron Weasley began to stand in front of Hermione. Only now they were back in their old dorm in Hogwarts. His blood and insides slipped out of him and hit the ground with a splash as he stood. Ron's eyes were no longer blue. The whites of eyes had been overcome with a black shade. He appeared demonic.
"Wouldn't that be best Mione? Hm? If I was dead?" He stepped towards Hermione. Hermione found herself stuck. She could not speak, she could not move. She watched as Ron approached her, stepping over his own intestines to get closer.
"Then, kill me Hermione." He whispered as he neared her face. The dream had become so real Hermione thought she could smell his cologne. The dream Ron grabbed a mug shard off the counter. The same one she had used to defend herself. He shoved it to her neck and yelled with an unfamiliar deep voice.
"KILL ME HERMIONE!"
WAKE UP!
Hermione jolted awake. Overwhelmed by the darkness of the forrest as she came to. She began smoothing out her body with her hands to be sure she was completely unharmed. She kept swiveling her head to be sure she was alone. Taking moments where she held her breath to be sure she heard no one. Again, the silence of the forest only disturbed her but at least the snapping and crinkling had stopped. Her heart felt as if it was nearly beating out of her chest.
She calmed her breathing before situating herself as comfortable as she could against the white oak behind her. Her nose had felt like a piece of ice attached to her face and her lips felt numb. She pulled her sleeves over her hands and nuzzled her chin into her chest. She was thankful for the mane of hair she still had left and used it to warm her ears and neck.
Silence was broken and after hearing a loud sound come from behind her she jumped to her feet and was preparing to either fight or run. She didn't have a chance to decide which because her breath was caught in her throat when she discovered the blonde man from her nightmare. He had fallen on his face seemingly from the sky. He had landed right behind the tree Hermione had been resting on.
"Oh my fucking Gods." Draco groaned out as he held his abdomen in pain. It felt as if he reopened all his wounds. The lack of blood confirmed otherwise.
Hermione stood frozen unsure what to do.
Draco could barely make out her figure in the moonlight as he tried to collect himself.
"Do not-" he had to let out a huff in between his words.
"-move" Draco spit a few more obscenities before attempting to stand. He placed both hands firmly on the ground but found he only had enough strength to make it to his knees.
Hermione still stood frozen. Mouth slightly agape. She thought the only reasonable explanation for this was she was still dreaming.
She stepped back cautiously breaking a small branch in the process. Draco still sat on his knees trying to regain his strength.
"No, do not move." He huffed out before blowing his messy blonde hair from his eyes.
His voice was too familiar to Hermione. She realized this wasn't a dream. Also, Draco was not like his friend. This was not a rescue mission.
She didn't hesitate once she came to this realization. She turned and began to run as hard as she could. She nearly tripped over several roots and branches that laid in her way.
Her adrenaline was pumping and she couldn't hear anything but her heart beat. She could hear Draco's voice behind her. She pushed harder. The cold air bit her face.
She wasn't sure how far she had made it before her legs were tangled together by ropes. The ropes had snaked up her body and tightened around her shoulders. She had no time to prepare for the fall. Her cheekbone met the hard ground with a crack. She was sure her face had literally just been broken. She hissed and shut her eyes tightly from the pain.
Her heartbeat was still echoing in her ears and her breathing was rapid and sharp. The tight ropes around her body hurt but nothing compared to her cheek. She didn't even bother to struggle against the ropes. She had a feeling that if she did they would only become tighter. So she laid there and waited. She tried to control her breathing and calm herself.
Her panic was finally settling and she realized she had been waiting for longer than expected. Hermione became confused and blew her curls from her eyes to get a better view. Her vision was blurry and the darkness didn't help but she noticed a tall lean figure leaning against a tree not far behind her.
Draco used what he could of his magic to keep Hermione from running. Between that and finally managing to make it to his feet, he felt as if any moment was his last.
Hermione could hear Draco's breathing and it did not sound good. She felt strange, knowing that Draco wasn't in the best health made her less afraid. She couldn't hold up her head anymore so she settled with having to shove her nose into the ground. She laid there feeling almost awkward hearing Draco trying to catch his breath for what seemed like almost ten minutes.
"I told you not to run. Why can't you just listen?" Draco huffed out still trying to catch his breath and collect himself. His chest was on fire and he felt like someone had taken a dagger to his abdomen. He was furious.
"What part of this hasn't made you realize you are not getting away?" Draco was beginning to realize all the pain he has gone through for the particular witch bound on the ground just in front of him.
"I am SICK of you." Draco finally was able to take a step towards her. Hermione kept her face pressed to the ground and for a moment Draco thought she was knocked out.
He limped over to the witch to grab the back of the binds and flipped her over to face him. The movement nearly made him lose his balance and fall over.
As soon as Hermione's face was revealed her lips were thinned and her eyes were slanted with hatred. Her hair laid over her face messily.
She spit in Draco's face and he just didn't have the energy to react. He slowly wiped the spit from his cheek and neck.
"Don't make this hard. I'm so tired of this being hard." He grunted at her, clearly frustrated. Hermione laid there with the same face.
Draco leaned over to hold his abdomen. He thought with time after his apparation that his condition would improve but it only seemed to get worse. All Hermione could see was his outline and pale blonde hair in the moonlight but she could definitely tell something was wrong with the man. Draco fell to his knees again.
Hermione quickly became annoyed with the wizard and shifted slightly as she laid there awkwardly waiting for him to do something, anything. The ground was not comfortable and her face was throbbing. The lack of sleep and her current situation boiled a rage in her gut.
"Honestly? You couldn't find a better man for the job? You were stupid enough to apparate so soon after nearly being splinched in half? And I'm supposed to believe you have any intelligence left? Pathetic!" Hermione shouted at the hunched over man. She noticed his pale head move. Probably to look at her with disgust like he used to in school.
"What happened to you Malfoy? Huh? Did your great Lord torture you too many times and now all you have is a hollow head? Honestly?! You have me here tied up and how do you plan on getting me back? Huh?" Draco's silence was unlike him but Hermione continued.
"You plan on apparating us both so you can finally finish the deed and end your life? Is my capture worth that much to you?! You men have completely lost your minds for an inhuman wizard who doesn't even value your lives!" Hermione was running out of breath during the last sentence and realized her chest was heaving beneath the tight binds.
She did her best to calm down again and she moved her neck to look at the man who was now clearly passed out beside her. Hermione panicked, not because she was worried about him, but because she was afraid if he died there she would too. Also, being tied up in the middle of the forest that already frightened her made matters worse.
Hermione watched his body closely for any sign that he was alive. A small grunt of pain confirmed it. His breathing was becoming harsher as he fell deeper into his sleep. Hermione relaxed her head and steadied her gaze on the starry night.
Why am I even afraid of dying?
Hermione nearly wanted to laugh at her current situation. She thought about how she wasn't going to survive no matter what she did. If it be by starvation, thirst, or at the hands of men who despise her. Hermione's body was becoming numb under the tight grasp of the binds. Her breaths became harder and harder to take.
Hermione was blowing more curls from her face when she heard the rustle. She quickly panicked and her breath caught. She swiveled her head as much as possible to find the source of the noise. Then it happened again. To her left. She looked over and past Draco's unconscious body to see at least five pairs of yellow glowing eyes staring at her through the trees. The moonlight barely silhouetted their bodies. The dark deep gnarls and low growls confirmed what they were. She didn't need sunlight to recognize a pack of wolves.
Hermione panicked first attempting an escape from her binds, her theory proved right; the more she moved the tighter they became. She kept her eyes on the approaching glowing eyes.
"Malfoy! Wake up Malfoy!" Hermione screamed desperately at the still sleeping man beside her.
The glowing eyes were now revealing shimmers of white teeth with saliva glittering in the moonlight. The growls stabbing needles through her bones.
"Malfoy! PLEASE! Malfoy wake up!" Hermione was feeling tears prick her eyes as fear became contentment with her fate. She felt absolutely sick thinking about it, but she almost hoped they'd go for Draco's near lifeless body first so she had more time to come up with a plan. The thought made her moral compass hiss and she immediately regretted ever thinking such a thing.
"Malfoy! Malfoy please!" Her last effort to wake the man as Hermione watched the first wolf step into view. His snarl almost made it seem like he was smiling at Hermione. As if someone had his dinner hot and ready to go.
Hermione screamed at the top of her lungs as she slammed her eyes shut preparing her for the fate she was doomed to have. Except a few moments passed by that didn't seem right. Then a few more. She opened her eyes and found that a lunging wolf was frozen mid air as it was leaping at Draco's body. All the other wolves were seemingly stuck as well. One that Hermione never even seen was coming from her right side. Mouth wide open only two feet from her head. The wolf's saliva being the only thing moving as it dripped from its mouth.
Hermione gaped at the sight before noticing the slightest movement from Draco. His hand collapsed to the ground. His breathing sounded worse. Hermione felt her binds begin to unravel around her. She quickly removed them and stood. She examined the wolves surrounding them and couldn't help but to find it fascinating. She has never seen such magic. A few grunts were coming from Draco. She was nearly about to turn and run, but her moral compass was hissing again.
Hermione couldn't leave him here to die.