A/N: Sorry for the delay, things have been crazy (I got married, yay!) Not yet currently beta'd, so pardon any mistakes. I hope ya'll enjoy.

Disclaimer: The characters and canon situations in the following story belong solely to JK Rowling, Scholastic and WB. I am not making any money from the publishing or writing of this story.

Chapter Two

Hermione's eyes widened in shock. "Theo? Malfoy?" Lowering her wand, she stepped aside. "Bring him in, " she said quickly, shaking herself out of her shock.

Theo struggled, but half-carried, half-dragged Draco into the small apartment. "Where?"

"Bring him to my bed," Hermione instructed. She closed the door and warded it shut before leading Theo to her bedroom. Once there, she helped Theo put Draco on her bed. Her hands were shaking, as the mere sight of Draco was giving her flashbacks to the final battle.

"What the fuck happened?" she asked, bossily pushing Theo out of the way so she could get a better look at Draco. She used her wand to vanish his shirt. There was a deep cut on his chest, and Hermione's eyes widened… She knew what caused that mark…

"Hermione, please, I don't know what to do," Theo begged, his eyes brimming with tears. "I couldn't get the bleeding to stop - it all happened so fast. I knew that you'd be able to help us with your Healer training."

"Theo, this… this is dark magic."

"Just please, stop the bleeding. Don't let Draco die." Theo was trembling uncontrollably.

Taking a deep breath to steady her own nerves, Hermione nodded. "Go to my cabinet in the bathroom. Grab a Blood-Replenishing Potion, a Sleeping Draught, the Essence of Dittany, the Murtlap Essence, and my Wound Cleaning Potion. The room across the hall."

Theo nodded. He dashed to the room mentioned.

Hermione's hands continued to shake. She pushed thoughts of him from her mind as she needed to focus on Draco. Her best bet was to use the potions she told Theo to grab and Snape's healing incantations. She could see the previous scar from where Harry had cursed Draco back in their sixth year. This wound would also scar… she knew there was no removing it.

"Here you go," Theo said, carefully placing all the potions on the bed. "What can I do?"

"Give him the Sleeping Draught first; we need him to stay unconscious while I heal him," Hermione instructed. Grabbing the Wound Cleaning Potion, she carefully poured it on Draco's wound. That would help sterilise it somewhat before she began the healing process.

She watched Theo coax the Sleeping Draught down his throat. "Give him the Blood Replenishing Potion next… he's lost a lot of blood." It was clear from Draco's paler than usual complexion that he had lost a lot of blood.

Raising her wand, she began to trace the wound, chanting softly, "Vulnera Sanentur." She could feel Theo's gaze on her. She repeated the incantation two more times, her hands shaking more and more each time. When she was finished, she watched as she wound began to heal itself finally.

She took the Essence of Dittany and poured it over the wound, being more than generous with the amount of potion she used. Hands still shaking, she then grabbed the Murtlap Essence and poured it on as well.

She saw Theo's confused look and took a deep breath. "Both are necessary. The wound will scar regardless, and the effects of the curse are still unknown. I've done the best I can… Draco will live."

Using her wand, she syphoned all traces of blood from Draco's body and his remaining clothing. The wound was still red and raw, but it would heal.

Hermione turned to Theo, "We should let him rest." She tiredly left the bedroom and made her way to her sofa. She sat down on it, ignoring the way her body ached.

"Why are you so jittery?" Theo asked, sitting next to her on the sofa. When she looked away, he frowned. "I saw how you trembled the entire time. You were nervous about something, but it was more than that."

"I take Dreamless Sleep at night," Hermione snapped.

"So your body is protesting being awake," Theo surmised.

She looked at him and grabbed her wand. "Let me heal your eye."

Theo reached over, grabbing her wand and forcing her to lower it. "Leave it for now. You're clearly exhausted, and I know you spent a lot of magical energy healing Draco."

Hermione didn't fight him. She let out a shaky breath.

"Thank you for that, of course," Theo said softly. "I'm sorry to show up announced… I wasn't sure where to go."

"You don't have to thank me," Hermione countered. "I wouldn't have turned you away."

"I know you wouldn't, but most would have," Theo said somberly. He looked away from her, his cheeks turning red.

Hermione knew that Theo was right. The war was long over, but many still held prejudice over most Pureblood families. She knew that the Malfoy family was particularly being hated against because Draco and Narcissa had not faced any charges, and Lucius would likely be out of Azkaban within the next five years. There's no guarantee that someone else would have helped Draco as quickly as she had.

"You knew exactly what to do," Theo continued. "Your healing skills… well, it's clear you found your calling."

"Mmmm," Hermione murmured, looking down at her hands. They were shaking still, and the nerves she had previously pushed away were coming through.

"Have you finished your training? Or are you still working as an apprentice under a master?" Theo asked.

"I thought he was dead," she murmured quietly.

Theo looked at her in confusion. "Draco? No, I know he looked bad, but it wasn't that bad, was it?" When Hermione seemed frozen with a vacant expression on her face, he looked at her in concern. "Hermione?"

Hermione looked at Theo, fear on her face. She could fear the tears prick the corners of her eyes and she momentarily hated herself for feeling so weak. She hated that just thinking of him filled her with that intense fear. That the mere thought churned her stomach and made the scar on her chest ache in pain.

"It was him, wasn't it?"

"Hermione?" Theo reached out in concern, but his hand fell flat at her answer.

"Dolohov," she whispered.