Running Scared

I Was There

"HERMIONE, MOVE." She barely had time to react before she crashed into the wall from the force of his push. She turned back to him, shaking the cobwebs from her mind, and screamed in horror as he engaged the venomous pet python of Lord Voldemort. Hermione's fear rose to sheer dread when she realized he wouldn't draw his wand quick enough before the snake could strike.

"BOMBARDA," Hermione yelled, watching as the spell missed the snake by a hair's breadth and crashed into the wall behind it, sending debris scattering across the room. She readied herself to cast another spell only to watch as the snake clamped its massive jaw down on her best friend's neck, spilling blood on the floor and injecting him with venom.

"HARRY." She fired off all manner of curses and jinxes hoping to pry the snake off of her best friend and stop it from coiling itself around him. When one of her spells, a blasting curse, finally connected and severed the snake's body in half, she rolled to Harry's body and apparated him out of the area.

No sooner had they crashed into the woods of The Forest of Dean than Hermione pulled Harry to his feet and dragged him to the tent. It was nearby, she knew, but the distance felt endless as Harry let out a bone-chilling scream and began shivering down to his bones. The venom was working its way through his body and time was of the essence.

Hermione fought against the screaming and scrambling Harry before using every last bit of her strength to throw him onto his cot in their tent. Before he could claw his way off of it, she muttered, "incacercous," and watched as thick ropes bound themselves around her best friend. His movement now impeded, Harry howled into the night as the poison ran deep into his body. Every last one of his nerves felt as if it was on fire as his telltale lightning bolt scar seared it's way through his forehead. Blood dripped off of his neck, staining the white sheets of the cot into a dark maroon.

When Harry's screams finally ceased, Hermione grew even more worried. He dropped off into unconsciousness in an instant after his screams stopped tearing through the tent and the witch knew she had to work fast. With trembling hands, Hermione severed Slytherin's locket from around his neck and searched in her bag for dittany, a magical healing plant. She found the little green herb and crushed it into a tiny paste before spreading it across the snake bite on Harry's neck in quick succession.

Almost immediately, the wound from the bite closed as fresh skin grew over it but the work was still not done. She knew the poison was still coursing through his veins making her search in her bag for a flushing draught. Finding the white liquid in a small vial, Hermione poured it down Harry's throat and sat him up to help him swallow. He did not regain consciousness through all of this thus forcing her to rub his neck and back to aid his ingestion.

Once she was sure he had taken the liquid, Hermione allowed herself to sag in relief before the overwhelming weight of realization crashed down on her shoulders, forcing her to lay her head at Harry's side. She came mere moments away from losing her best friend, her rock, the man who stood by her side for nearly seven years now. She had chosen to stay with him when her other friend, and one time crush, abandoned them. She promised to help Harry in anyway she could and she failed miserably.

The witch knew sleep was nothing more than a hopeful wish at this time. Really, what was the point in sleeping when her friend was unconscious and toeing the line between life and death? Every now and then, he would twitch and mumble something incoherent before settling back into a restless and fitful slumber. Her heart ached as his face scrunched up in pain and his teeth clenched even in his unconscious state.

Almost without her command, Hermione reached up and brushed his fringes away to reveal his pulsing scar. His hair was matted with sweat and his forehead bore a light shine under the candle light from the generous amount of sweat that poured out of his body. The potion was doing its job and flushing any unwanted substances out of his body.