Draco gritted his teeth against the pain, the wounds stinging like fire. The pain didn't matter though. Ron was gone. He had given up, maddened by Draco's taunts. The fool didn't deserve Hermione if that was all it took to make him tuck tail and run. As much as he'd love to continue to wallow in his joy, he had a far bigger problem to consider. He was bleeding out on the ground outside the cabin, unable to move. Ron's spell had had its desired effect and if Draco didn't get help soon, he wouldn't survive to gloat much longer.

The seconds ticked by and Draco began to lose hope as the blood continued to flow. He had trouble keeping his thoughts clear, and it was difficult to keep his eyes open. Perhaps it would be best just to rest. Just to sleep a little bit. In the back of his mind, he knew that he was going into shock, and that to give in to his desire to sleep would mean the end of him, but it was so hard to fight. Such a pity he finally managed to catch Hermione's attention only to have it end like this.

Hermione.

The thought was enough to shake him. He wasn't giving up. Not now. Not when everything he desired was within reach. There was no way he was going to let Ron win. Summoning all of his strength, he yelled as loud as he could, praying Hermione, or anybody really, would hear him. In his state however, the loudest he could yell was barely above normal speaking range for anybody else. He continued to yell, holding his palms over his stomach, trying desperately to staunch the bleeding as much as possible.

Hermione opened her eyes to an empty room. For a moment she hoped to herself that the sight of Ron had been a dream. Highly unlikely, but a girl could wish. Swinging her legs around her, she put her feet gingerly on the floor, testing them before shifting her weight onto them. They felt rather weak, but good enough to walk on if she didn't rush herself.

"Draco? Ron?" she called, moving out of the room and finding herself disturbed at the lack of response. Finding no sign of them in the rest of the cabin, she moved to the front door when she finally heard him.

"Help," Draco called weakly, white as a ghost, a thin sheath of sweat covering his face. The ground around him was soaked red with blood. Horrified, Hermione cried out and stumbled towards him, tears beginning to fall from her eyes.

"Draco!" she cried, "What happened? Who did this to you?"

Draco didn't respond, only closed his eyes, the strain of holding out for help taking its toll. Hermione reached for her wand, not finding it. It was on the table in her room, but if she went back for it, Draco might not survive. She began looking around his body desperately, feeling a small moment of relief when she found what she sought. His wand.

"Vulnera Sanetur" she sobbed, running the tip of his wand over the wound. The flow of blood slowed considerably, but the cut was deep. Repeating the incantation, she watched the flesh beginning to mend itself, tears spilling off her face and onto his body. A third time sealed the wound entirely, but there would be a scar. She knew there was a potion that could help with that but for the life of her she couldn't remember what it was, and cosmetic appearance was the least of her worries. While the wound was closed, Draco had still lost a great deal of blood and would require care.

A loud crack echoed through the air, and Hermione looked up to find Harry standing there.

"Oh my god," he said, his face white. "He really did it". Ron had returned in such a fury that it took several minutes to calm him down enough to get anything out of him. Ron had raged so that it had taken several more minutes to understand what had happened. Horrified, he realized that Ron could very well have murdered Draco and left Hermione alone and defenseless. Angering Ron further, he apparated on the spot, hoping he could get to Draco in time to save him and prevent Ron from becoming a murderer. Angry as he may have been at that moment, he never would have forgiven himself, especially if harm came to Hermione because of it, and Hermione was his main concern regardless.

"I've already sealed the wound," Hermione whispered. "But he's lost a great deal of blood. I can't get him in the cabin by myself Harry."

Harry nodded and picked the unconscious man up and carried him into the cabin, Hermione following behind.

"Lay him on the bed here", she instructed, directing him to Draco's room. "I'll fetch my wand".

Harry stared at Draco's body, noting the angry red mark across his chest where Ron's curse had split him open. He was sick with disgust for Ron and pity for Draco. The feeling didn't sit well with him at all. Most of all he felt himself fill with anger with Hermione. How could she have put them all in this position? She of all people knew how emotional Ron could be, and to break his heart, with Draco of all people, was horrifying. He wanted to rage at her, but watching her tear streaked face as she returned with her wand, stopped the words short.

"Aguamenti," she whispered, water flowing from the tip of her wand into a wash basin. Her shoulders were shaking, but neither she nor Harry knew if it was from her sobbing, or from the trembling that had overtaken her body. Soaking a rag with the water, she began to wash the blood from Draco's body.

"Hermione" Harry began, not sure what to say, how to ask.

"It's my fault Harry," she interrupted, her voice thick with tears. "This is my fault."

"What happened? When Ron got back, he was screaming about you betraying him and that the two of you were over. It took a while for him to tell me he had cursed Draco, and I came straightaway."

Hermione stifled a sob and nodded her head, keeping her eyes focused on Draco's body as the guilt threatened to drown her.

"He's right. I did. He demanded I leave, but I'm not well enough. I tried to tell him I wasn't well enough! He just kept screaming and demanding an answer, but I couldn't' give him one. Why couldn't I just give him one Harry?" She dropped the rag and buried her face in her hands, sobs racking her frame now. "This is my fault. All of it"

"No, it's not," Draco whispered weakly from the bed, his eyes now open and glazed with pain. "You did nothing wrong. Weasel-bee let his jealousy get the better of him. I'll give him credit. I didn't know he had this in him."

"I did," Harry said quietly. When Ron had told him what he did, he didn't doubt him at all. Ron was capable of almost anything when he was that angry. While Ron could be kind, and gentle, funny and genuinely caring, he also had a darker side filled with insecurity, jealousy and anger. Deep in Harry's heart, he knew that Ron had crossed a line. This wasn't a pouting fit of jealousy, this was practically attempted murder. Harry would never be able to look at Ron quite the same way, and that same knowledge told him that Hermione wouldn't be able to either.

There was no doubt in anybody's mind at that point. Whatever holds Ron had had on Hermione, whatever there had been between the two of them was gone with a single curse. While Ron's intent may have been to kill Draco, what he had killed instead was the bond he had shared with the woman he loved.

While Harry and Hermione mourned the death of the Golden Trio, knowing things would never be the same between the three of them, Draco rejoiced. Now there was nothing stopping him from realizing all of his dreams.