“I don’t think you’re allowed to do that in here,” He says, finally, whehrough half a pak as are sure to be littering the ground outside, falling onto uing muggles. “Seems like a hazard.”
& disgusting, atually. It smelled, and eve to leave the wihe smoke would stay. “That’s funny, Drao.” She stared at him over the taziied for the first time how muh heavier her make up had gotten. Still pretty, but now she was making it notieable, like glitteriwist and turn was her version of armor. “But I don’t remember asking.”
Penelope heks in on him personally, and Luo show him the &o the Quibbler (she had takehe abseher, ao some ih Hermione and Ginny, it was hing of an aademi marvel, printing all kinds of things about new spells and medial advas as oures that aren’t atually that ger the magazi in front of him and asking for his advie . “Hagrid’s a respeted breeder now? Of what?”
“Bst es,” She answered, looking up fr on his dark mark, so now that instead of a s looked like it itting out mouthfuls of flower petals. “They’ve beome quite pypt.”
Lee Jor omes for an interview, whih Drao says no to, ao eat his way through the pile of hs on Drao’s bedside table. Dean and Seamus show up to pop in and wish him well, but leave too fast for a real oion. Even Ginny drops in, holding a squawking Teddy on her hip and dropping him into Drao’s arms the first has, iming that she’s too tired to do so for eve.
&oo, even though he doesn’t talk, just sits in that same hair and stares, oasionally answering when Drao asks him a diret questions, but that’s alright. Drao likes the quiet.
It’s the third day before Hermione shows up, her hair pulled bak into a braid that was already starting to fall out. She doesn’t say anythio the room with her hand spread aross her ribs, and Drao was reminded of everyoions of how sore she was. “Hey.” He soots bak into the bed sainst the headboard. “How are you feeling?”
“Oh, Drao,” She says, moving her hao over her mouth and staring at him, eyes wide. He barely has time to think about how easily she ries before she is bursting out in tears, sinking down into the hair beside his bed and bawling into her ha hithihat reminded him of how muh it must hurt her to breathe. “I’m sorry—” She shook her hands out in frohat might alm her down, wini. “I promised I wouldn’t do this, I told myself, I said, he doeshis, Hermioing in to have a , but—” She lets herself look at him again and bursts ihis time wheezing with the effort of ontinuing to take ihs. “Oh, Drao.”
&upid not to have expeted this. “Hermione.” He holds an arm out to her but she is too far away t a bri up from the bed. It would just hurt too muh, ay sure the effort would make her burst intain. “It’s not your fault.”
“How ould it not be?” She wailed, and the volume makes him wine. “You only got hurt beause I was too stupid to ening.”
“Why would you have expeted anythio happen?” Drao demanded, his own voie limbing and bely higher pithed. “We were iry of Magi!”
“It’s hey’ve stopped bad things from happening before!” She shot bak, and this was familiar, easy. “They’re all terrible at their jobs, holy.”
& was derisive, and funny, and then Drao was ughing and ould hough it hurt. After a moment of wathing him, Hermio a smallest twith of the lips. “Yht, aren’t you?” She asked, when it was all over and he had almed himself down. “I would feel terrible if you weren’t alright.”
“I’m fi. Everythihey wouldn’t heal him any further, a droppihough he was tired and would rather sleep, whih made him feel like an awful person, aioo drink tasted awful. “Be better if Harry dropped in, though.”
&ill hado say hello. Every time he heard the door opened, he looks up expeting to see him and is disappointed all ain. At this rate, he better be oming up with a very good exuse as to why he hasn’t bee.
“Harry’s…” She hesitated, aell she was deiding whih side to go with— Dra Harry’s trust. “He’s gettihing done, Drao. Something we all should have taken are of, a long time ago.”
&hing important?”
Hermiohing him with sad eyes. “He thinks so.”
&ant than me?”
“Oh, Drao. I don’t thihing Harry fiant than you, tely.” Hermioood up with another wihered her bag over her sh down to give him a hug before she leaves. “I expet that’s part of the reason he’s doing it.”
All in all, by the time the evening healer omes in to give him his te night potion that sends him off into a dreamless sleep, he’s grateful.
Whe is dark, but he is ertain that there is someohing him.
“Hello?” He fumbles for his wand oable and only sueeds in knoking it to the floor. “Who’s there?”
&he light fres on and Drao omes fae to fae with the st perso he would see sitting vigil at his bedside—Ro’s only me.”