The Girl Who Hid | ✓

|125| Splinched

"Oh no, oh no, oh no," I panicked as I shot up from the ground. Harry, Ron, and Hermione were also sprawled out on the forest floor. Glancing to each of them, I looked to make sure they were okay; Ron wasn't.

"Ron!" I shouted and crawled over to him.

Hermione heard me and quickly came over as well. Ron's entire left side was drenched in blood, his face a grayish-white color. The Polyjuice Potion was wearing off now: Ron was halfway between Cattermole and himself in appearance, his air turning redder and redder as his face drained of the little color it had left.

"What's happened to him?" I heard Harry ask behind me.

"Splinched," Hermione and I said.

Hermione started to pull at Ron's sleeve where the blood was the darkest. Tearing Ron's shirt, Hermione revealed a great chunk of flesh was missing, scooped cleanly away as though by a knife, from his upper arm.

"Harry, quickly, in my bag, there's a small bottle labeled 'Essence of Dittany' that Hermione's brought," I commanded.

Turning, I saw Harry stand up and scramble to where Hermione had landed. He looked like he was searching through everything in the bag besides what we needed.

"Quickly, Harry!" I shouted at him.

"Accio Dittany!" Harry shouted at the bag with his wand in hand. Harry threw the small brown bottle at me, which I caught, and handed it to Hermione who has attended a now unconscious Ron.

"He's fainted," said Hermione, who was also rather pale; she no longer looked like Mafalda, though her hair was still gray in places. "Unstopper it for me, Maisey, my hands are shaking."

My hands were just as shaky, watching Hermione try to fix an unconscious Ron. Using my teeth, I wrenched the stopper off the little bottle and handed it back to her. Hermione took it and poured three drops of the potion onto the bleeding wound. Greenish smoke billowed upward and when it had cleared, I saw that the bleeding had stopped and the wound looked almost nonexistent.

"Wow," said Harry.

"It's all I feel safe doing," said Hermione shakily. "There are spells that would put him completely right, but I daren't try in case I do them wrong and cause more damage... He's lost so much blood already..."

"How did he get hurt? I mean" — Harry shook his head— "why are we here? I thought we were going back to Grimmauld Place?"

"Harry, I don't think we're going to be able to go back there," I said sadly, feeling the tears well in my eyes.

"What d'you —?"

"As we Disapparated, Yaxley caught hold of me and I couldn't get rid of him, he was too strong, and he was still holding on when we arrived at Grimmauld Place, and then— well, I think he must have seen the door, and thought we were stopping there, so he slackened his grip and I managed to shake him off and I brought us here instead!"

"But then, where's he? Hang on... You don't mean he's at Grimmauld Place? He can't get in there?"

Begrudgingly I nodded, the tears in my eyes threatening to fall.

"Harry, I think he can. I— I forced him to let go with a Revulsion Jinx, but I'd already taken him inside the Fidelius Charm's protection. Since Dumbledore died, we're Secret-Keepers, so I've given him the secret, haven't I?"

"Maisey," Hermione breathed.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry!"

"Don't be stupid, it's not your fault!" She reassured me.