Cessation ⌁ Draco Malfoy [3/4] ✔

35

"You have fought valiantly," the cold voice of Voldemort reached every pair of ears. "Lord Voldemort knows how to value bravery. Yet you have sustained heavy losses. If you continue to resist me, you will all die, one by one. I do not wish this to happen. Every drop of magical blood spilled is a loss and a waste. 

"Lord Voldemort is merciful. I command my forces to retreat immediately.

"You have one hour. Dispose of your dead with dignity. Treat your injured. 

"I speak now, Harry Potter, directly to you. You have permitted your friends to die for you rather than face me yourself. I shall wait for one hour in the Forbidden Forest. If, at the end of that house, you have not come to me, have not given yourself up, then battle recommences. This time, I shall enter the fray myself, Harry Potter, and I shall find you. I shall punish every man, woman and child who has tried to conceal you from me. One hour."

Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger began to frantically shake their heads at the Potter boy. 

"Don't listen to him," Ron said. 

"It'll be all right," Hermione added wildly. "Let's-- let's get back to the castle, if he's gone to the Forest we'll need to think of a new plan."

As the trio reached the castle, they all realised how unnaturally quiet it was. It was utter and absolute chaos not many minutes ago, the lights of spells and bangs and screams were all gone. Blood stained the stone floor in trails and splatters, part of the banisters had been blown away, and bits of the castle were in crumbles on the floor. 

Harry stopped in the doorway of the Great Hall as Ron led the way. The house tables had disappeared, in its place a crowd of injured, dead, and grieving people. The Weasley family was surrounding the body of Fred Weasley, who had fallen at the doing of Augustus Rookwood. Harry's hand containing the contents of Severus Snapes memories began to shake and he couldn't get it to stop, not even as a scream from behind him made him spin around. 

Ernie Macmillan and Neville Longbottom were at either end of a drenched body, carrying it at such a pace it was a surprise neither of them tripped over their own feet. Harry's mouth went dry and he almost dropped what he was holding. Madam Pomfrey hurried down off her platform of the injured and used her wand to levitate the body of Emma Baranov up onto a space where, hopefully, she could save her life. Draco Malfoy stood quickly from the corner of the hall. Goyle stayed down on the floor by Malfoys feet in the shadows. 

"She -- she was in the lake," Ernie said quickly as Madam Pomfrey kneeled by Emma. "I saw her get thrown in -- ice -- there was ice -- it iced over...Dementors...I couldn't --"

Neville's hand reached up to Ernie's shoulder and squeezed, guiding him to a spot in the Great Hall, muttering comforting things to him surely. 

"Harry--"

Hermione was cut off as Harry took off up towards the platform, kneeling down on the opposite side of Madam Pomfrey, startling the poor woman. As she whispered an incantation, lighting the tip of wand with a pale, blue light that looked almost like crystals, Harry wasted no time in pressing on Emmas chest. Emmas mouth was purple and her skin paler than usual. 

"Potter!" Madam Pomfrey cried, pushing his hands away from Emmas chest, but he threw her hands off his and continued to press on his sisters chest, harder and harder. 

"Come on, Emma!" He shouted. 

"Potter!" Madam Pomfrey said once again, using a spell to push the boy back. 

The nurse used this time to slowly guide her wand from Emmas navel all the way up to her chest. She did this over and over to the point Harry began to lose hope, cried out, and ran out of the Hall with nothing but his wand and Snapes memories. Hermione threw her hand over her mouth and buried her face in Rons chest, his eyes faraway, staring at the body of his older brother. 

"What can I do?" a voice pressed, and Madam Pomfrey looked up into the grey eyes of Draco Malfoy. The boy was clearly shaken up. 

"This takes time, Mr Malfoy," the nurse said in a hushed whisper. Another healer approached, knocking Draco out of the way and using her wand to do exactly what Madam Pomfrey was doing. "She needs air...now, Mr Malfoy."

The healer with Madam Pomfrey pointed her wand at Emmas chest, and a yellow light began to grow bigger and bigger. Draco quickly pinched Emmas nostrils and put his mouth over hers, blowing. He wasn't sure exactly how he was supposed to do this, but he knew that if he was doing something wrong Madam Pomfrey would have said something by now. He came back up, his eyes trailing all over Emmas face. Her mouth was still unnaturally coloured and he couldn't help but brush his eyes over the freckles on her face, each freckle he counted, the more his eyes began to water. 

"She should have woken by now," Madam Pomfrey continued to talk, although it sounded as though it was to herself, "who knows how long she was in that water... This should work, it will..."

Madam Pomfrey used her wand to do what the other healer was doing, and two wands together grew a yellow light so big and bright it began to blind Draco. Madam Pomfrey looked up at him and nodded, and he understood. He leaned down again, pinching the lifeless girls nostrils and pressing his mouth to her cold one, blowing. 

A loud gasp echoed throughout the hall and Draco jumped back onto his bottom, breathing heavily. Emma coughed and sputtered water everywhere... so, so much water it was no wonder she was unconscious for so long. Madam Pomfrey was talking quietly to her, but she pushed the nurse out of the way and tried sitting up, only to fall back down. Draco quickly put his hands under head and the girl flinched, her blue eyes slowly fluttering up to meet his. 

Emmas face began to contort with what looked like pain and grief, and she pushed herself up into his chest and hugged him as best she could. Draco cradled her as she cried, relief spreading through his entire body like the warmth of a blanket on a cold day, ignoring the commotion of Madam Pomfrey telling Ernie Macmillan to back up and leave Emma to recover.