"Ominis, I've got Salem" Alec yells out, the water rushing down his body as he climbs through the gap in the stone, Salem's still motionless body in his arms as he shakes his head, the wet strands blocking his view. One arm extended, he grabs Ominis by the shoulder and apparates the three of them to the gates of Hogwarts grounds, then uses the floo powder to get them to the hospital wing. It agitates him that apparition is prohibited at Hogwarts, causing much more stress as he tries to save Salem.
"Madam Blainey" Ominis yells out, unaware of her whereabouts. "We need help"
The woman stumbles out of her office puzzled, only to find the three wet students, two of them covered in blood, and one half dead.
"Quick, Salem's been cursed" Alec yells out, placing Salem on one of the empty beds.
At once Madam Blainey orders one of the other nurses to call for Professor Sharp and a second to assist her. Together they clean the blood off Salem's face and body, inspect for wounds and give them healing potions, use spells and try to figure out what to do with the student.
"What is this?" Professor Sharp enters the Hospital wing, his eyes on Ominis, who is drenched, not only with water, but Salem's blood, and Alec, who stands beside the bed, his hand on Salem's as the nurses do all they can to help.
His eyes fixated on the angry Professor, Alec releases Salem's hand from his grip and steps forward. "The-, the blood drowning curse, Sir. I reversed it, but Sa-" His voice cracks, the smell of metal lingering in his nose as he wipes his cheek, watching the red streaks on his hands wash away with the water that drips from his head, "Salem was close to death when-"
"The blood drowning curse?" Professor Sharp rushes to the bed, eyeing the blood that vanishes as the nurses move their wands over the body, "and how did one of our students get cursed, may I ask?"
"Poachers" Ominis states, he takes a deep breath and tells Professor Sharp all he knows before leaning closer to Salem, his hand on the cold one that rests on the bed. "You promised" he whispers, his head dropped onto his arm.
Salem's POV:
Awoken by a nerve wrenching snore to your left, your eyes wander to the tall Slytherin in bed with you, the blanket all the way to his nose. A smile hushes to your lips as you watch Ominis sleep, the eyes closed, the mouth ajar. Like in trance, you snuggle closer in the tiny hospital bed, your hand against his chest as he continues sleeping.
As you place your head before his chest, he pulls you closer to him, the head resting on yours as he continues sleeping.
"Hasn't left your side in days, Dragonfighter" a tired voice mumbles from behind you. "Glad you're alive" Alec places his hand on your arm, sighing as he leans onto his knees, the arms shaking as his glance lowers. "I thought I lost you"
The fingers caressing his face, you turn your body, the muscles contracting as you move, feeling frozen and burnt all the same, but you force through the pain, looking at Alec the soft green eyes raised to meet yours. "Thank you, Alec. I owe you my life, and Ominis's as well" Leant onto your arm, you grunt, coughing as Alec's hand reaches underneath your torso to help you sit up. The back against the head pillow, you smile at the sight of his hair tied back, letting you see the entire face, exhausted and pale. The moustache grown thicker and darker, the fuss around his chin turned into a proper beard, although trimmed short, it frames his face in such a nice way.
Dressed in casual clothes, the robe over his back to keep him warm, you notice some marks on his arms from where he has rested on the chair. "Have you been here all night?" you ask, moving closer to him.
"The night, the day before that, and the other days too" A sleepy voice states from behind your back, a warm hand gripping yours, pressing it again, and another time, and you return the favour, a tear rolling down your cheek, leaving a dark spot on the blue bedsheets. "You promised"
"I am so sorry"
A relieved smile to his lips, Alec pats you on the shoulder, then rises from his spot. Without another word, he walks out of the hospital wing and along the corridors, back to the common room and into his dorm where Atticus, Akira and Alex, greet him.
***
The body trembling, his clothes wet and covered in blood, Alec stumbled into the dorm, unable to speak as Atticus and Alex tried to console him. Only 8undertsnaindg Salem and blood, as they stared at the red smears on Alec's cheeks.
At once, Atticus stormed off to the hospital wing where Madam Blainey demanded he return another time, but Atticus refused to leave until he was told what had happened. After knowing the story from Ominis, he returned to the dorm where he sent a fire message and rushed outside, into the dark night.
Standing in the dark of the old ruins as Ominis has told him where it all started, Atticus waits, the hood pulled over his head.
Still men gather more spiders, some cussing as they clear out the dead bodies, others chuckling as they watch the spider's legs tremble, the liquid spilling from their abdomen.
"Abominations" A dark figure hisses behind Atticus, the long scar on the right of his face shimmering in the light of fire that the poachers ignore.
On the other side of the cave entrance, another shadow peels from the dark, the face hidden behind the flames, but when a poacher spots them and casts a spell, bright red and yellow light shoots through the night, hitting the poachers until they lay still on the ground.
More men storm out the cave, protecting their liquid gold as one of the poachers has called it, but they too fall to the power of the three dark figures that strike down one man after the other, tearing them limb from limb, just as the poachers have done so some of the spiders.
Growls reach Atticus's ear as a giant wolf emerges from behind, jumping over his back as it attacks a man, the crooked grin vanishing when the giant creature rips into his neck, the walls splattered with blood, staining the stone ground crimson red.
Deeper into the cave they wander, another wolf emerging when one of the poachers strikes at them with a terrible spell, Atticus wincing in pain as he drops to his knees, the fingers gripping the rock he fell onto. His fingers turned white from the force as he jacks up, the hand extended forming runes in the air that turn into a swirl of fire, engulfing the men before him.
Cries of pain, the shouting of men, it echoes from the walls, joined by the screeches of spiders that dropped from their imprisonment and paralysis attack the men as well. Their fangs digging into the backs of poachers too occupied with Atticus and the others to realise the danger behind their backs, the screams erupting as the spiders tear apart their skin, leaving behind a bloody mess that turns into a river of red, rushing along the tunnel, deeper as the path lowers into another hall.
Howling the wolves move forward, through the tunnels, ripping apart the men that attack. Three wolves against a hoard of poachers, but as they reach the plateau, Atticus stares in terror.
The ashes and charred remains of dozens of poachers, a broken wand, scorched walls and ground, at the sight of it all Atticus growls. Amidst it all, a puddle of blood so big it could fill a lake, flaps of skin and muscle, broken bones, charred or still with small flames hissing on top of them swimming in the lake of red, and at the other end of the plateau stand more poachers. And as if not a single of them had been harmed, the cave fills. From all sides more poachers approach, but the three strike them down with such force, it leaves not a single living being behind. The spiders, tortured beyond help, their lifeless bodies dropped all around, the venom and other liquids in bottles stacked to be carried off, the three stroll through the cave, blasting it to pieces.
Through the first tunnel towards the ledge where Salem killed the men and Alec torched the rest, the three come to a stand before the massive puddle of dark blood, the red dripping down the crevices and mixing into the dark water.
"You said our little Morningstar is still alive?" One of the tall figures inspects the blood on the ground, spread out so far, almost the entire plateau is painted crimson. "Better keep it that way. We're counting on you"
"I have done all I can. It is not as easy-"
"You think it is for us? We are hunted, and still we came" The dark eyes glisten in the light of Atticus's wand. The scar that reaches from the hairline of silk black hair, through the eyebrow and the eye, leaving it blind, close to the lip and ending at the chin, shimmering silver, "We are risking everything"
The eyes lingering on the taller figure before him, Atticus clenches his jaw. "Don't you think I know that? But you cannot use Salem, not like that"
"We might not have a choice. You do not know how close we are to war?" The second shadow approaches, waving the wand to make the blood vanish, then lifts it up to remove any stains from the walls and causes the tunnel to collapse as well. "Your little Morningstar's powers may be the only chance we've got. If it comes down to it, you have to prepare them for battle" A confirming nod at the cleaned up cliff, without a trace of Salem's blood, he spins to the others. "We were never here" his cold, deep voice lingers in the air as the walls around collapse, cracking, the stones dropping into the river, water splashing up, drowned by the debris that rushes down.
"You have to keep quiet for now, if anyone finds them, we are all doomed"
***
Tired, the red prints on his face from where he had leant his head onto the hand, Alec drops into his bed, Alex and Akira whispering as they sit on one bed while Atticus is nowhere in sight. "Salem is awake" Alec sighs, the head pillow pressed to his face as he rolls onto his back, "They're alive" he chuckles, staring at the dark ceiling above.
"Thank Merlin, I cannot hear you whine about that any longer. Besides, gaunt has not left their side either. You'd think that means something"
"Shut it, Loxley" Atticus hisses, entering the dorm, the clothes dirty and drenched as he tosses them over a chair and prepares for bed as well. "Salem has saved your boyfriend here plenty of times, and losing them would be horrible for all of us, so quit it"
***
A deep whisper in your head, joined by a whistling and some cracking as if stone broke apart, your eyes open into the light that falls through the curtains onto your bed.
Stretching your arms, you sit up, the early morning sun warming your face. The pressure on your chest pains you, but at the sight of Ominis rising from his slumber, you chuckle. "Good morning, sleepy head" Your fingers brush over his head to straighten the hair, but your eyes widen at the sight of dried blood on your hand. Scratching the skin below your nose, you mumble a spell to clean your face and hand, then smile at Ominis.
"Good morning, Salem" His arms wrap around you before realising that there are more people in the room.
"Well, I best hope you two did not break any rules. You are not permitted to be in one bed" Madam Blainey presses her fists against her hips gesturing Ominis to get off the bed.
Snickering, you nudge Ominis, telling him to get up as Madam Blainey is extending her arm to pull him off the bed.
A soft smile on his face, Ominis drops out of bed and holds out his hand for you to take. "I only wanted to make sure Salem is well, it appeared nightmares occurred during their sleep"
Your face drops at the sound of his words, nightmares. You do not recall them now, but you've had them for a while, ever since Sebastian saved you after the Quidditch match. "I am feeling much better now, may I go to my dorm, please?"
Madam Blainey eyes you, biting her lip as she sighs and nods. "You may, but I expect you to return the day after tomorrow for a check-up"
"Yes Madam" Your hand reaches out for Ominis to drag him with you, down the stairs and out of anyone's sight without another word.
At the bottom of the first flight of stairs, you study his expression. Although you still feel drained, every step hurting as your bones threaten to break, you stand straight your arms gripping Ominis. "I am sorry for scaring you this much. I promise, I am well" Still, you walk on instead of using floo powder, the swirling while jumping between places would make you too nauseated.
Walking beside you, down the next flight of stairs, Ominis does not speak a word. It takes him until the common room to open his mouth. "I miss him too, you know. I fear he is lost after Anne passed, but we cannot help him with that"
Taken aback by his words, you lean against the wall, watching as the giant snake appears out of the ground giving sight to the entrance of the common room. "How did you-"
"You said his name in your sleep"
"Oh-"
Following Ominis into the common room, you bite your tongue, wanting to say something, but you fear it might not further the situation. "I will get some more rest, see you at breakfast?"
"Of course" Ominis states, one foot before the other, the arms held out, "If I find my way"
Your smile drops as you realise his wand has gone. At once, your hand gets a hold of his, leading him to his dorm. "I will fetch you when the sun has risen, and after class, may you join me to Hogsmead to get you a new wand?"
"I will, Salem, but please only Hogsmead"
"Promise" You give Ominis a hug before opening the door for him to walk to his bed, "Sleep well"
how close we are to war, the words linger in your mind as your body drops onto the soft mattress, your back cracking when it touches the bedsheets, the weight pushing you down.