Perfectly in Pieces

Chapter 46: Hermione

No trigger warnings. After the last chapter, I thought we would need a bit of a break.

All rights are reserved to J. K. Rowling.
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The hex hits her in the back, and she tries to stop her face from colliding with the chair but it's too late. She feels the rubbed raw skin of her cheek split open against the metal arm on her way down.

"Shit, you okay Hermione?"

She wipes the blood onto her forearm, and hisses as the sting of the sweat and blood combine into the rashed and irritated areas covering her entire body.  Standing up quickly, she turns and casts a stupefy that Ginny barely dodges.

She is out of practice.

Dueling was never her strongest area. Hermione knew every spell by heart, but the instinctual adrenaline-filled reactions that sometimes were called for within battle's were something she had to work to be at the same level as Harry or Ron. And she hasn't fought with a wand in almost a year.

"Seriously Hermione, I think we should stop. You are actually beginning to worry me, and we both know that takes a lot to..."

Hermione casts a jelly leg jinx that gets Ginny this time. The redhead falls to the ground of the balcony, but keeps her body angled towards her, successfully casting a hex that Hermione lowers to the ground to avoid. By the time she is rising, Ginny is as well.

Both women are breathing heavily, drenched in sweat and dirt. They had been at it for almost an hour. The muscles of Hermione's arms and legs are beginning to shake and scream with exhaustion and pain from going so long without being used to this extent.

Burn me. Burn it all. Burn it all away.

She loves the pain. Needs the ache. Needs to feel...

"Petrificus Totalus!" She yells, and this time Ginny doesn't move quick enough, slumping to the ground, hitting her arm off the small table on the balcony.

"Expelliarmus!" The gingers wand flies into her hand, and Hermione jumps on top of the girl petrified on the ground, and places her wand at her neck.

"I win." Hermione takes in a few large gulps of air before rising, and casting the counterspell. "Best out of 11?"

She tosses her wand back at Ginny who is examining the growing welt on her upper arm from her collision with the table.

"Teddy is going to have your head for thi- fuck!"

Ginny barely rolls out of the way of the jinx coming at her. The woman disappears behind the settee, and Hermione ducks and runs behind the object in the way.

"Hermione, for Merlin's sake you have to..."

"Stupefy!"

"Bloody hell..." Ginny places a shield charm just in time, backing up quickly as Hermione continues to advance.

"Vibrosura!"

She yells.

Ginny blocks.

"Quasso!"

She screams.

Ginny shields.

"Infligo!"

Her voice cracks.

The spell flies to the right, not even close to Ginny.

"Acc...ido!"

Nothing comes from her wand that is shaking uncontrollably out in front of her. But more noises keep escaping her lips.