Sodalis

Chapter 12

Draco watched as his mother and Madam Pomfrey worked to wrap Granger in blankets with warming charms. His mother was seated at the top of the bed with the bushy haired girl's head in her lap with her fingers on the girl's temples. He didn't know what she was doing and his mother would likely not answer. Draco learned long ago that his mother was a powerful witch that hid the fact due to her life in pureblood society. Ever the elegant wife and doting mother, but unlike her sister, she did not see their upbringing as the only and best way to live. But to keep her family and her son safe, she played her part. When his mother began sweating and grimacing he grew worried.

"Malfoy, what is your mum doing?" Potter asked, looking confused but keeping away from the bed as the two women helped his best friend. Draco could see the love in the Chosen One's eyes, the intensity of which surprised him. An ounce of pity appeared at the futileness of the boy's feelings for the bonded muggleborn.

"Honestly, not a clue but she's definitely trying to help her," Draco felt the crawling and sandy quality of his mother's magic spread from the bed and into the room. A glance at Potter told him that he felt it too. Before anything more could be said the doors of the infirmary burst open with Lupin levitating his godfather into one of the beds. Draco cringed at the bloody, broken, and twitching heap that was the man he had always admired.

Madam Pomfrey rushed to his side, followed by Professor McGonagall and the Headmaster. Privacy screens were pulled around them as they got to work. The lack of noise told him that there were silencing charms up and he was grateful for that. The sounds of bones being reset and healing enchantments being chanted would be too much to bear knowing that it was his godfather suffering. He turned back to his Mother and found Black hovering nearby.

"Harry, what is she doing?" Black's eyes looked upon his mother with suspicion.

"I am funneling my magic into her core," His mother bit out through gritted teeth, her eyes still closed in concentration.

"Mum! You can't do that!" Draco knew there were rules, conditions that must be met to share your magical core with someone else.

"Draco, your godfather is going to survive because of this girl and I will not let her die! Both of them have barely recovered from the initial bonding, but my core is completely intact. I will not give her enough to drain me, but if I don't, she will die." Draco took a deep breath to calm himself. He trusted his mother. But if he knew anything about magical core sharing, Granger was going to end up with another bond if even the slightest thing should go wrong.

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Severus wavered in and out of consciousness. First, he was being levitated and the dark night sky looked down upon him. Then, they were in the cold halls of the castle. He could not hear the hurried footsteps he expected but he knew at least two other people were nearby. The next time he saw anything was with his back against the familiar cushion of a hospital wing bed. The high ceiling of the room was blurry and at the edges he could see Dumbledore, Minerva, and Poppy.

The relief was enough to override the pain. But it only lasted a moment as he reached out for the bond and found a weak, lukewarm thread. Hermione? He tried to send his magic out to touch hers but felt it bounce back at him. Severus tried again but couldn't collect enough magic to direct it at the bond. The damage to his body was too much, causing his magic to redirect towards healing. I'm draining her core.

The realization came at the same moment that an aftershock from the Cruciatus racked his body. His eyes closed and he focused on the sounds of Poppy crying as she worked, Minerva cursing under her breath, and Dumbledore whispering an incantation. Severus shut out the physical reactions and willed the world to go silent. He did not want to survive if it killed Hermione. He hadn't even had a chance to free her from this blasted bond, the prison of her own making.