« SECTUMSEMPRA »
Both Harry and Anastasia had agreed to not speak about their sincere conversation in the Astronomy Tower to either of their friends. That's why the next day Hermione glared them with quizzically eyes while Ron glanced from his food to the angered Lavender across the room.
As Hermione scolded Ron, the brunette furiously pinched her fork in her lunch as her eyes scanned the room in search of the blonde boy who seriously needed to be scolded. Harry chuckled when he noticed how destroyed the food was and nudged her.
"Tell me how I broke up with Lavender again." The ginger turned to see Hermione and then at his friends. Confusion adorned his facial expressions.
Anastasia, Harry and Hermione stared at each other in silence. Maybe it was a pair of glances between the three, but those looks shared more meaning than the actual words Hermione was preparing herself to say.
"Well," She began, looking at the book in her hands. "She came to visit you to the hospital. And you... talked." Hermione glanced at her friends and then at Ron several times, her eyebrows were furrowed lightly as she spoke. "I don't believe it was a particularly long conversation." She ended with a deep sigh.
"Don't get me wrong." Ron began, rather quickly. "I'm bloody thrilled to be shot of hers. She seems a bit—" He glared at Lavender once more and continued, "Put out."
In silence, the four teenagers turned to see the angered Lavender, who was, in fact, murdering her food just like Anastasia was doing a few moments back. The blonde girl clenched her teeth when she noticed the quartet looking at her, so they turned back with an awkward silence embracing them.
"Yes, uhm—" Anastasia began, playing with her food. "She does, isn't she?" She finished, rapidly turning her face to give Lavender one last glance.
"You say you don't remember anything from that night. Anything at all?" Hermione questioned, hidden hope in her voice as the words were spoken.
Harry and Anastasia quickly looked at each other and then back at their friend. The emerald-eyed girl smiled sadly as she saw her friend desperately trying to make Ron to remember what happened that day, anything.
"There is something." Ron said, his eyes were lost in nothing as he talked. That made illusion to linger in Hermione's eyes. "It can't be. I was completely boggled, didn't I?" The boy said, eyeing his friends with raised eyebrows.
Anastasia watched the illusion turn into disappointment in Hermione's eyes. The girl sighed deeply and looked down at her food with sadness. Harry noticed his friend sudden change of mood and sent her a reassuring half-smile.
"Right. Boggled." Hermione sadly muttered, looking away.
Hermione's eyes traveled over the Great Hall and stopped abruptly in a small group of girls walking down the small aisle between the tables. Anastasia seemed to notice because she discretely turned her head to watch Katie Bell and her friends chatting.
"Harry." Both Hermione and Anastasia said, gaining their friend's attention.
"That's Katie Bell." Anastasia whispered, locking eyes with her friend.
Like a lightning bolt, Harry jumped up from his seat and took the potions book in his right hand. The determination had taken over his actions as Anastasia watched him confidently walk to the group of girls.
They were quite far; it was unable for the trio to hear their conversation. Ron muttered a low 'bloody hell' while Anastasia observed the scene carefully, her eyes never leaving the teenagers talking.
The emerald-eyed girl watched Katie's eyes lift off from Harry's and connected with something (or someone) in the other side of the room. In silence, Anastasia followed her eyes only to meet a blonde head in the end of the corridor, Draco seemed surprised and scared by the looks Harry was sending him. The girl watched as the boy turned around and quickly jogged out of the room.
Anastasia dropped her fork and jumped out of her seat, trailing behind Harry without him noticing.
As she paced behind the two teenagers, she couldn't stop herself from feeling her heart beating fast in her ribcage, it felt like it rose her skin and it would be out of her body any second. Sweat started to take over her small hands as she turned the corner, where she saw Harry following Draco inside the boys' lavatories.
The girl groaned with annoyance and leaned her body in the stone wall, waiting for some sort of signal that she had to get in there. Inside her head, she knew a sanguinary, horrible war would take place but she couldn't just barge into the boys' lavatories.
In silence, she interlaced her own fingers and threw her head back with closed eyes. Her fingers were slightly trembling but she didn't mind, the sudden sound of spells being thrown made her instantly stand still and be alerted. Her pale hand reached the wand from her knee sock and raised it with a frown.
"Sectumsempra!" Anastasia froze when she heard those words leave Harry's lips.
The girl recognized the spell from his famous potion books. She had read it once she playfully stole it from him after one Quidditch practice. Her mind replayed the words of the use of the spell like a record machine.
Anastasia suspected it could be a dark spell, and her questions were answered when she barged into the room and found Draco laying unconsciously in the flooded floor with blood all over his face and body. His wand was nowhere in sight and Harry watched the boy with wide eyes.
"Draco." The girl shook him, now she knew she was having a major breakdown because she couldn't grasp her wand correctly. "Please, wake up." She whispered, letting the desperation take over her. "Don't leave me."
The boy watched as she stupidly muttered healing spells, that were clearly not working due to her lack of calm. It was almost like she was losing her mind and Harry wanted to say something, but he felt like he was frozen in the place.
"Draco, please wake up." Anastasia cried, resting her forehead in his blooded chest. Now her hands were red just like the blood in the blonde boy's features.
Harry snapped out of his shock when his eyes caught the sight of Snape walking inside the room with an amused expression in his usual expressionless features. Boys started to peer in and gasp at both scenes, Draco unconscious and a girl inside the boys' lavatories.
"Draco," Anastasia whispered, holding the boy's hand as Snape kneeled down next to him.
Anastasia felt the lump in her throat slowly guiding her actions and allowing the tears to leave her eyes. With desperate movements, she tried to prove herself Draco was okay, she had her hands wrapped around his with tightness and shook him several times.
"Vulnera Sanentur." The man spoke with his usual emotionless features back. With the tip of his wand, he whispered the healing spells Anastasia failed to say. "Vulnera Sanetur." He said once more and soon enough the blood had disappeared.
"Draco?" Anastasia sniffed, shaking the boy with frantic movements.
"I'm afraid he's still unconscious, Miss Rosier." Snape stood up, glancing down at the pair. "He will need to be taken to the hospital wing. I ask Mister Zabini and Goyle to take him."
The emerald-eyed girl nodded rigorously and cupped Draco's face in her still stained and red hands. Her thumb caressed his cheek softly as she admired him with a half-smile.
"Ann—Oh, shit." Blaise entered into the dark room that was now flooded with red water. "What the hell happened here?" He questioned, kneeling down next to the girl.
"We need to take him to the hospital wing." Anastasia shakily muttered as she stood up from the wet floor, cleaning her tears with the back of her hand.
The girl silently watched as the two tall boys lifted Draco and practically carried him out of the boys' lavatories with groans on how heavy he was. She stood there for a moment and searched for his wand that he probably dropped when he fell.
With a sigh, she kneeled down and took it in her hand. Glancing everywhere as she slowly walked out of the boys' lavatories.
As she walked through the halls in search of the hospital wing, the students that walked past her eyed her with questioning looks and whispering between each other. Of course they had the right, Anastasia looked like she had battled the First Wizarding War alone.
"Annie," She was suddenly stopped by Harry, who wore a guilt mark in his face. "I'm really sorry about—"
"It's alright, Harry." Anastasia nodded, sending him a reassuring half-smile. "I know you didn't know what would have happened to him." She patted his shoulder. "I don't blame you."
"I want you to know that I'm really sorry. I—I felt so wrong when I saw you there crying for him." Harry stuttered. "I'm sorry you had to be there when it happened"
"It's fine." She hugged him tight to let him know nothing changed. "I have to go, though." Anastasia placed a string of hair behind her ear. "I have to check up on him."
"Alright." Harry nodded. "I'm sorry."
"Stop apologizing, boy." Anastasia let out a shaky chuckle. "I told you it was fine."
She turned around and walked to the hospital wing where she knew Draco would be impatiently waiting for her.
▲ △ ▲
Draco woke up with a strange warmth in his hands. Slowly, he opened his eyes and blinked a few times to let his eyes adjust to the darkness of the room he was in. He tried to sit straight, but something and someone stopped him from doing so.
He quietly groaned with discomfort when he felt a pain in his chest and every inch of his body. Closing his eyes, he rested his head in the pillow before he noticed a brown head resting in the edge of the bed and small fingers interlaced with his long, thin ones.
A small crept into his features when he noticed Anastasia slowly waking up from her uncomfortable sleep. She yawned one last time and straightened up with her eyes still closed, but her hand never left his.
"Draco." She gasped when she noticed the boy silently admiring her with a half-smile. "You are awake."
"What happened to you?" A wave of worry flashed through his face as he cupped her face in his hands, but instantly yanked them away when he felt pain again.
"Are you alright?" Anastasia instantly asked, already stood up with an alarmed look in her green eyes. "I'm calling Madam Pomfrey." She turned to leave but Draco took her hand to stop her.
"I'm alright." He smiled.
"Are you sure?" She narrowed her eyes with suspicious but relaxed when Draco nodded. "Fine." She sighed and took a seat in the same chair again.
"You look like a mess." The blonde boy said truthfully and Anastasia glanced down to see her appearance.
"Oh, this?" She chuckled lightly. "It's nothing."
"I hope Potter didn't hurt you too." Draco growled but Anastasia pulled him back to bed with a faint smile.
"You know he wouldn't" She smiled, looking at the boy with sweetness. A small silence fell upon the pair as they looked at each other with adoration. "I was worried sick." Anastasia finally said, looking down at her hands.
"I'm sorry you had to witness that," Draco mumbled, holding his hand in hers to comfort her. "And I'm sorry for making you unhappy."
"You're not making me unhappy, Draco." The brunette sighed, dropping her hands to her lap. "What is happening right now is frightening me. Don't take it personal." The boy smiled. "Although I'm kind of angry at you."
"What did I do now?" He questioned, his eyebrows knitted together as he looked at the girl.
"Don't act so innocent, Draco Malfoy." She sneered, crossing her arms over he chest. "Ron could've died." Realisation flashed over his facial expression as he pursed his lips together.
"Well it's not my fault he was being a nosey little git." Anastasia sent him a dirty look which caused him to remain silent.
"He could've died." She insisted, gaining an eye roll from the blonde boy.
"But he didn't." Draco snapped, looking directly at her emerald eyes.
"Honestly, Draco, sometimes I don't understand you." The girl scolded him, sitting straight in the uncomfortable chair next to his bed. "You apologise and tell me you love me but you keep acting like a childish git." The boy would be lying if he said her outburst didn't startled him.
"Excuse me?" He frowned, sitting straight and forgetting about the pain in his chest as he did so. "Whose side are you in?" He seemed angry, but Anastasia was furious.
"Not in yours, of course." She stood up, ignoring his hard glare on her. "I think you need to sleep, Draco. You're being awfully irritating." With that, she turned around to walk out of the hospital wing.
Ignoring the bone wrecking pain in his body, Draco jumped down from his bed and made his way behind the fuming girl who seemed oblivious to the boy following her.
"I love you, Rosie, but—" He tried to hold her hand, but she yanked it away with a frown. Anastasia spun in her heels to meet the pained boy.
"I love you too, Draco. And I'm willing to be with you but I'm afraid I can't if you keep thinking that killing an innocent man is the greatest thing to do." Draco pursed his lips together with anger. "What happened to you? I barely recognise you."
"Well, you left me." He snapped, looking down at her.
"Well, you deserved it." She snapped back. "Go back to your bed. I know it hurts." The girl pointed at him.
"You are the one hurting me, Anastasia." Draco sent her a stern look. "And yet I still love you."