“beyond wandpoint” 122b by gingerbred
“11 13f Thurs - Out 1” Part 2
Slytherins: Draco Malfoy, Theo Nott, Blaise Zabini, Vincent Crabbe, Gregory Goyle, Daphne Greengrass, Harper Hutchinson, Ella Wilkins, Astoria Greengrass, Tomasina Touchstone
Mentioned briefly: Slytherins: Millicent Bulstrode, Alberta Runcorn, Aaron Avery, Sheldon Shafiq, Torsten Touchstone, Bartholomew Burke, Akira Murakami, Ravenclaws: Morag MacDougal, Others: Madam Lyssandra
Originally Published: 2020-06-10 on LJ / DW
Chapter: 122 part 2
The original version of this chapter exceeded livejournal's maximum post length. It's been split in two parts.
THIS CHAPTER IS A TWO-PARTER.
**SCROLL DOWN AND READ THE OTHER PART FIRST**. (122a LJ / DW)
Ella removes the stopper from the Wit-Sharpening Potion, cautiously pocketing the cork so it doesn't accidentally fall on the floor, her own brush with it has made her a little more mindful of the dangers. She rises carefully. The Protego works adequately, but it's far from the most stable as platforms go, and the slight wobble when she shifts now makes her nervous. More so, given that Draco is no longer beside her to catch her if something goes wrong again. Still, she thinks, glancing towards the boys, Harper needs the help more than she does, and she may be trying to make up for knocking Vince out of play. That had rather been all her own fault.
Once she's standing, she edges closer yet to Theo, half holding onto him for support and then gently opens his mouth and begins to pour the Potion down his throat. Slow going and careful massaging get him to swallow enough that it soon shows some effects. Theo begins to blink.
"Theo?" She prompts softly.
"Nmmh," he replies. Or perhaps moans. It's difficult to tell. She'll probably need to try again to test that theory.
"Can you swallow on your own? You really should try to get the rest of the Potion into you, because I'd like to give you the Blood Replenisher next..." And of course that would be easier if he were able to cooperate.
"Nmmmm." Well it's still not clear if that's his response or simply from pain. She's hoping Draco's Icing Charm is doing its job, and Theo is no longer experiencing much discomfort. She can't imagine with a wound like his that it would be remotely good otherwise, but then that probably helped explain his state of shock, didn't it?
She gets more of the Potion into him, but doesn't see quite the expected results. With a sinking feeling she decides blood loss is presumably part of the problem, and follows up with the other Potion. It works, which is something of a mixed blessing. She sort of preferred the idea that Theo couldn't handle the situation to the reality that he's just that injured. As he comes to himself, his whimpers turning briefly to moans, she applies another Icing Charm to his foot and hopes that helps. It quiets his moans some anyway.
Ella nibbles her lip in hesitation, and then bites the bitterroot. Quietly she asks him if he'd like them to send for the Head. He blinks a little as though confused and she looks about for help, meeting Daphne's eyes. Daph nods in understanding, after yesterday... Of course that seems like a rotten idea. But then if Theo is really that hurt, she isn't sure they have any other option.
Draco looks up sharply at the sixth year's question, considerations about the castle's Imperviusness momentarily forgotten. He and the other seventh years would disagree with the proposed plan of action most vigorously, but their opinions aren't being sought anymore.
While Daphne shouldn't like to imagine the Head's reaction, she agrees with Ella, the decision should probably be Theo's to make. "Theo? If you'd like, we'll go get Professor Snape," Daph assures him. "It's completely up to you."
Theo begins to try to focus. It probably shouldn't come as a surprise that he responds better to Daph. They've been friends since they were in nappies. Daphne was loud enough for Vince and Blaise to hear, and they grow quiet in their bickering over the Beater's now tattered uniform, a bit nervous what their roommate might say. Ordinarily, to be honest, they'd try to put the screws to him, because this most likely isn't in their communal interest. Right now, however, dependent on help from the others, they find themselves uncomfortably biting their tongues. Tori may just have grinned to witness it. As a whole, people have begun deriving a good deal of pleasure from their discomfort.
Still a little woolly, Theo silently looks to Draco for advice. The Seeker definitely has his preferences, of course he does - the last thing he wants to do is fetch Severus - but he also has a healthy amount of guilt towards his friend and a decent read on the room, and so he cocks his head fractionally, his shoulders raising in an almost imperceptible shrug. It's down to Theo, he has to decide this for himself.
Given he'd been part of the problem just yesterday morning, Theo really doesn't want to push his luck with the Professor again. He can still hear him, 'Nott, will I need to speak to you later?' No, of course not Professor, just waste your valuable time and your magic on me again, if you'd be so kind...
For all Draco's reassurances that Theo isn't to blame for... whatever happened Friday, he has yet to hear anything like it from the man himself. No, going purely by their interactions since... If there's any way to avoid calling the Head for help, he would very much like to try. He shakes his head 'no' almost purely from the strength of that conviction. He really hasn't got a lot more at the moment to draw on. If Ella had a little more experience, she'd have seen about getting a Girding Potion into him as well. But he's responsive, which is a darn sight better than moments ago. All in all, not a bad result for an untrained sixth year.
"Alright then," Ella pulls herself together. She's got this. "Theo, I'm going to tighten the Protego around your foot to use it to apply pressure." She Tergeos the blood in the little bowl, because chances are good her attempt to do that will cause it to overflow, and beyond reasonable concerns for morale, the mess, or even the aesthetics of the matter, that's really not a good idea with the cursed floor as a factor. "Is the Protego yours?" He nods. "Can you loosen control and let me guide it?" He nods again, and she tries to apply a Shield Charm of her own, but it resists. There's a chance he's still too affected by the shock... Unless...
"Draco, did you have a Protego on his foot?" She calls out.
The blond simply nods, Harper's Privacy Charm still in effect. He looks a touch apologetic, and Ella can imagine why. Ordinarily he wouldn't automatically call Theo's skills into question - the more alert should notice his magic had held up even now - but the situation was decidedly extreme. Better safe than sorry where his friend was concerned. Draco had had a lot to see to at once when things went pear shaped, and he hadn't been certain he'd have been able to get to Theo in time if his own spell had failed.
"Just loosen your hold on it so I can shape it would you?" Ella requests. It's a little like relaxing an overly stiff muscle and takes a moment of concentration, but they've sorted it soon enough. "Thank you."
His eyes tick briefly to her at that. 'Thank you.' It was polite and almost automatic. Very Ella, really. And so incongruous after the Carnivorous Capsaicin. They have so many years of shared history, if he can tap into that more often, Draco has a bit of a hope things could get back to normal... Well, until they see Severus or Granger and it all goes to hell again. But surely there's at least a hint of an opportunity there... He pushes the thought to the back of his mind, now isn't the time or the place, and goes back to looking about the room, chasing the idea he'd had...
Ella is confident she has the Protego under control, applying pressure, but still far shy of a tourniquet. She honestly just isn't confident enough to do so, and sincerely hopes there's no need. And that's what potions are for, isn't it? But she'll tighten the Shield Charm when they're ready to move. First she needs to get more of the Wit and Blood Replenisher into him, probably lots more of the latter.
That's as simple as asking Tomasina to supply it.
Draco finishes looking around the room and then points to the lump of shower curtain in the corner, his idea finally coalescing. "When it all went wrong and he got... stuck there, Gregory initially tried to cover himself with the curtain..." Despite the situation, Harper can't help a small smirk, because Gregory is the least physically modest of the team. By far. "And the curtain in turn became stuck to his...
"That...
"The black stuff." Harper knows what he means, it was hardly in question. Well, except for the fraction of a moment when Harper feared Draco was trying to refer to Gregory's Prince Albert before he found the right words. 'Black' and 'stuff'. Not eloquent, but he gets his point across.
"The problem is that... stuff started to absorb the curtain." That gets him some raised brows, and Harper makes a mental note to ask Akira about that, because it was definitely news to him. "And the stuff seemed to be spreading, increasing, like it was feeding off of it, so I Diffindoed the rest of the curtain and got rid of it." He waves again at the corner. "Now maybe that's because its charms had lost integrity from the... whatever it is. Stuff. But possibly..."
"No, no, not at all. We can manipulate the curtains," Harper immediately offers. As Firsties, Sheldon had notoriously employed one of the charms his family used to decorate his little sister's room to cover the curtains on Aaron's bed in dancing unicorns and rainbows. Aaron had had to suffer with them for the better portion of the term, often complaining the cavorting unicorns kept him awake at night, until Sheldon eventually lost a wager and was forced to undo his work.
No, they were capable of changing the curtains alright.
Encouraged, Draco explains his hope that the tile similarly isn't as Imperviused to change as the stones of the castle are. "It's just like the curtains. They're not original like the flagstones of the floor or the blocks of the walls..." It made sense. The lavs had obviously been retrofitted, presumably more than once over the centuries. Who knew what spells had been employed at the time? Or hadn't, as the case may be. "I imagine the tiles might yield if we try..." Draco pauses to consider what exactly they'd want to try. This is new territory.
"A Bombardo?" Harper looks very uncertain just at the thought.
"Maybe a Reducto," Draco suggests.
"And you didn't want to remove part of his hand..." Harper replies softly, letting out a nervous huff of discomfort. "Can you even do that that precisely?" Harper never questions that Draco will do whatever they ultimately decide is necessary.
"Worst case, as you said, Pomfrey regrows his hand..." It's matter of fact. Draco looks grim, and Harper pales. Every now and again he gets these hints that Draco's life is very different to his own in ways most fail to consider. It's easy to think the incredibly rich boy with two obviously doting parents had things so much easier than he did, and when he first started school, Harper had been sure of it, too. Over the years, though, he'd come to think that wasn't necessarily true. At the latest after Mr. Malfoy was sent to Azkaban, Harper was pretty certain about that in fact. And at some point along the line, he'd come to believe that despite a proclivity for gobsmackingly extravagant gifts, Draco's father was probably more accurately proud than doting, and stricter than Harper's by far.
When Harper had made the suggestion about Gregory's hand initially, it had been purely a matter of problem solving. Rational, theoretical and very distanced from the reality of the execution beyond a question of which spell to use. Something about Draco's expression gives him the feeling the boy is visualising it, and worse, that he has the experience to draw from to do so.
"We don't have much choice anyway," Draco says, "because I think the stuff is spreading to absorb the tiles, too. Thankfully more slowly..."
"It's probably to do with converting the mass; curtain is thinner," Harper replies, reflexively, busy trying not to picture what can go wrong, which is sort of pointless as he's about to see it one way or another. "We should ask him," he objects, suddenly balking now that the point of no return has almost been reached, and perhaps inspired by Ella's handling of Theo. "We could still go get the Head."
Draco understands the boy's hesitation, but then Harper has no idea, none at all, what the seventh years' lives have been like these past few years, not since the Dark Lord returned. Draco knows of a certainty, Gregory won't wish to inconvenience Severus for this. Vaguely he remembers the time before the Death Eaters, and he can sort of see why Harper might think that's called for. And Merlin knows, they'd gotten into this mess precisely over issues of consent. Maybe he's no longer in a position to judge...
He ends the House Privacy Charm keeping him and Harper from being heard, and then Gregory's as well and explains what they plan to do. When he's done, he asks the Beater quite simply, "Or we could call the Head for you. It's up to you." If he sound a little like Daphne, it probably isn't coincidence; it should sit well with Harper.
Gregory's throat is hoarse from the screaming earlier, and he has to swallow before he can speak, and still the response is nearly instant. "Gods no!" He shakes his head vehemently in reply. "After yesterday?" The Head would reduce the lot of them to cauldron fodder. He shakes his head again.
"There you have it," Draco replies, a little relieved to know he hasn't completely lost touch with reality. Their reality, anyway.
Harper chuffs nervously, takes a deep breath and responds, "Alright, you'll cast, and I'll pull him free." From the station he's taken up in the shower, he's better positioned to do so anyhow. If he doesn't look pleased at the prospect, it's only reasonable. "I'll make sure to keep his hand within the shower, in case there's any bleeding..." The last thing they need is something else getting on the floor, and the circular forms of the Protegos don't lend themselves to covering the edges well at all.
"And his foot?" Draco asks.
"I'll hold him steady while you cast Petrificus and then Mobilicorpus him up and off it."
"Merlin, tell me you're going to do it quickly," Gregory sounds duly worried.
Draco nods. "I promise." More quietly, so the others won't overhear, he adds, "Do you want a Stupefy?"
Gregory considers and shakes his head, "No, but maybe you could put the Privacy Charm on again before you do it?" Draco places a reassuring hand on Gregory's Wheeze-free shoulder and nods again sympathetically. It's nice that the Beater still has some pride left. After the abuse they've taken in recent years... Pride has often been a luxury they couldn't afford.
Harper tries to ignore Gregory's reasons for not wanting to be heard, but he can draw his own conclusions; this should hurt. "Why is there only the one spike anyway?" He asks Draco lowly. Everywhere else he looks on the floor, worryingly there seem to be so many more.
"I think Theo got off a Protego in time to prevent any more from appearing." And he's maintaining it under the current circumstances... Merlin. Nott is a lot tougher than people give him credit for, because that is very difficult to do. But then things like Theo's fit at the moment, or the one from yesterday morning... News of that had a way of making the rounds and giving people altogether the wrong impression.
"So are we ready?" Draco asks them.
"Just a minute," Gregory interrupts, not entirely because he's playing for time, although he certainly isn't adverse to putting off the inevitable at the moment either. "I just, I wanted to say thanks, Harper," he hurries to tell him before they can begin and he won't be able to anymore, anxious to let him know how much he appreciates the help. He'd hadn't failed to notice none of the other boys are here, not even any of their teammates. Of course some of that will have been down to timing, but even still... Gregory has a bad feeling with the way things have been going lately that not everyone would have been willing to help. And when it comes right down to it, Harper is probably a good part of the reason the girls were assisting them, too. "I really owe you one."
Harper nods, a little uncomfortable with Gregory's obvious sincerity. It doesn't help matters at all that Harper himself had encouraged the rest of the boys to take steps to avenge the Head for... whatever the seventh years had done that led to his bonding. Even if Harper had argued for waiting until after the match, he knows this had all just been a question of time and feels sure he was partially to blame. And between Theo's and Gregory's injuries, things had definitely gone too far.
"Yeah, I guess you do," he finally replies, really not eager to acknowledge the boy's gratitude under the circumstances, but almost equally eager for the others not to wonder why not. And then he gets an idea, "If you don't need them back, can I have the towels?"
"The towels?"
Harper nods at the two towel walkways still running through the room. "The towels," he confirms. "When we're done with them. I think they'll make nice runners for our flat."
Draco nearly laughs, because it's absurd. They'd been parchment not long before, and if Harper had really cared, he could have learnt the magic himself... Gregory, however, understands. Daph does nice work, and Harper... well cloth really isn't his strong suit, as his workout kit shows. Gregory gets that. Goodness knows, he'd had to ask Theo to Transfigure toilet paper for him only this morning, so who is he to judge? He also understands that the Hutchinsons haven't got much. If Harper wants the towels, as far as Gregory's concerned, the matter is settled.
"They're all yours," he replies simply, happy to be able to do something to repay the debt. Not, of course, that he'd done much to create the towels... It had been Theo's parchment, Theo's Transfiguration, and then Daphne's on top of that, but Theo had gifted them to him, and the gesture counted for something, as Harper had known it would. Which isn't to say the sixth year won't be perfectly happy to use them in their hallway at home. "Or did you have any claim on them, Daph?" Gregory thinks to ask.
"They weren't mine," she answers quickly, thrilled that they might do some good and mentally beginning to reproach herself for not making them more elaborate. Perhaps before Harper sends them home, she can do a little more work on them, thicken them up, add to the pattern, possibly make them more robust... If he means to use them as floor coverings, conceivably a non-slip underside - she's read about those - or possibly a modified Sticking Charm... Well, if he's willing to accept her contribution, that is. Maybe she can couch it as practice and he'll be more amenable...
"Then they're yours," Gregory repeats with a small smile. Finances were pretty tight for Vince's family too since the arrests in the Department of Mysteries fifth year, so Gregory has learnt a thing or two about frugality since then by association. This was a better solution by far than the inevitable Finite would have been.
"I'm ready if you are," he tells Draco, now feeling a little better about things, not that it should last. A twitch of the blond's wand and Gregory's Privacy Charm is back in place. Harper tries not to wince at the thought. He grabs the boy's arm, prepared to pull for all his might, as Draco levels the smallest imaginable Reductor Curse at the tile to which Gregory's hand is glued.
There's a 'bang' followed by a 'crack', and in a spot of nearly unprecedented luck this morning, the tile splits in two and breaks from the wall. Harper strains to catch Gregory's weight, as the task shifts in an instant from pulling him free to holding him up as the boy pitches forward towards Draco and that thrice damned floor. It's almost more than Harper can handle, and his brow beads with sweat.
"Alright then, the foot." Draco announces. "You keep holding him steady," he addresses Harper. "I'll Mobilicorpus him... Just watch where you touch him," he obviously means the Wheeze. Tomasina may have giggled another 'Oo er!' from the doorway where she's standing next to Daphne. Draco's thoughts are withering, but he doesn't spare her a second glance. It says everything about Harper's state that he doesn't even notice the interjection this time. "Don't get any of that stuff on you." Encouraged by their success, he doesn't even wait for Harper's reply. A 'Petrificus' immediately followed by a 'Mobilicorpus' and Draco's Charm lifts the Beater quickly off the spike, and then begins to lower him to the shower's edge until Harper's exertions are practically all that is keeping him from falling face first onto the cursed floor.
They can all see that Gregory must be screaming, but Draco's Privacy Charm quite naturally holds and they can't hear a thing. Which doesn't mean the sight isn't sobering. Refocusing. Even for Tomasina, it washes any residual amusement away. This isn't about a naked boy, however fit. This is a housemate, suffering.
It's a stark contrast to the sound of Vince just a little before. That had been pain, pain and nothing more, pain that they all knew would pass. This... This was a real injury, a substantial one, and a perfectly legitimate reaction to the suffering caused in turn by trying to deal with the situation.
Now rather ashamed of her giggle just moments before and a little desperate to help, without really thinking, Tomasina Depulsos a Calming Draught towards the boys, only realising how foolish that was when Daph's panicked, "Watch out!" alerts Draco to the incoming projectile. His well honed Seeker's reflexes luckily have him snatching the phial out of the air before it can hit anyone - or worse, the floor - as Harper tries to position the Beater somewhat precariously in the shower. If Gregory isn't quite able to support his own weight under the circumstances, that isn't remotely unreasonable.
Draco immediately sets to administering the Draught, and true to its name Gregory begins to settle. It's not much actual comfort, everyone except for Gregory knew perfectly well it wouldn't do too much for the pain except make him care less about it, and Gregory himself is now also only too aware of that fact. It proves a lot like an evening with too many glasses of Ogden's, although probably more like being squiffy than cabbaged. Right now, he'll take what he can get. Merlin's blighted bollocks...
Draco kindly applies another Icing Charm. Gregory gives him a grateful nod, and taking it as a sign things are sort of managed now, Draco ends the Beater's Privacy Charm.
Harper grunts at the load he's bearing. He has just long enough to be embarrassed by the noise and to hope Gregory doesn't take offence (although it reveals plenty about his shape that that was his thought) when there's a stabbing pain in his gut and things begin to get fuzzy. Fast. He fumbles, his grip slipping as everything goes grey...
NOTE TO SELF: CROSSPOST FAIL. Published on LJ and imported to DW.
Slytherins: Draco Malfoy, Theo Nott, Blaise Zabini, Vincent Crabbe, Gregory Goyle, Daphne Greengrass, Harper Hutchinson, Ella Wilkins, Astoria Greengrass, Tomasina Touchstone
Mentioned briefly: Slytherins: Millicent Bulstrode, Alberta Runcorn, Aaron Avery, Sheldon Shafiq, Torsten Touchstone, Bartholomew Burke, Akira Murakami, Ravenclaws: Morag MacDougal, Others: Madam Lyssandra
Originally Published: 2020-06-10 on LJ / DW
Chapter: 122 part 2
The original version of this chapter exceeded livejournal's maximum post length. It's been split in two parts.
THIS CHAPTER IS A TWO-PARTER.
**SCROLL DOWN AND READ THE OTHER PART FIRST**. (122a LJ / DW)
Ella removes the stopper from the Wit-Sharpening Potion, cautiously pocketing the cork so it doesn't accidentally fall on the floor, her own brush with it has made her a little more mindful of the dangers. She rises carefully. The Protego works adequately, but it's far from the most stable as platforms go, and the slight wobble when she shifts now makes her nervous. More so, given that Draco is no longer beside her to catch her if something goes wrong again. Still, she thinks, glancing towards the boys, Harper needs the help more than she does, and she may be trying to make up for knocking Vince out of play. That had rather been all her own fault.
Once she's standing, she edges closer yet to Theo, half holding onto him for support and then gently opens his mouth and begins to pour the Potion down his throat. Slow going and careful massaging get him to swallow enough that it soon shows some effects. Theo begins to blink.
"Theo?" She prompts softly.
"Nmmh," he replies. Or perhaps moans. It's difficult to tell. She'll probably need to try again to test that theory.
"Can you swallow on your own? You really should try to get the rest of the Potion into you, because I'd like to give you the Blood Replenisher next..." And of course that would be easier if he were able to cooperate.
"Nmmmm." Well it's still not clear if that's his response or simply from pain. She's hoping Draco's Icing Charm is doing its job, and Theo is no longer experiencing much discomfort. She can't imagine with a wound like his that it would be remotely good otherwise, but then that probably helped explain his state of shock, didn't it?
She gets more of the Potion into him, but doesn't see quite the expected results. With a sinking feeling she decides blood loss is presumably part of the problem, and follows up with the other Potion. It works, which is something of a mixed blessing. She sort of preferred the idea that Theo couldn't handle the situation to the reality that he's just that injured. As he comes to himself, his whimpers turning briefly to moans, she applies another Icing Charm to his foot and hopes that helps. It quiets his moans some anyway.
Ella nibbles her lip in hesitation, and then bites the bitterroot. Quietly she asks him if he'd like them to send for the Head. He blinks a little as though confused and she looks about for help, meeting Daphne's eyes. Daph nods in understanding, after yesterday... Of course that seems like a rotten idea. But then if Theo is really that hurt, she isn't sure they have any other option.
Draco looks up sharply at the sixth year's question, considerations about the castle's Imperviusness momentarily forgotten. He and the other seventh years would disagree with the proposed plan of action most vigorously, but their opinions aren't being sought anymore.
While Daphne shouldn't like to imagine the Head's reaction, she agrees with Ella, the decision should probably be Theo's to make. "Theo? If you'd like, we'll go get Professor Snape," Daph assures him. "It's completely up to you."
Theo begins to try to focus. It probably shouldn't come as a surprise that he responds better to Daph. They've been friends since they were in nappies. Daphne was loud enough for Vince and Blaise to hear, and they grow quiet in their bickering over the Beater's now tattered uniform, a bit nervous what their roommate might say. Ordinarily, to be honest, they'd try to put the screws to him, because this most likely isn't in their communal interest. Right now, however, dependent on help from the others, they find themselves uncomfortably biting their tongues. Tori may just have grinned to witness it. As a whole, people have begun deriving a good deal of pleasure from their discomfort.
Still a little woolly, Theo silently looks to Draco for advice. The Seeker definitely has his preferences, of course he does - the last thing he wants to do is fetch Severus - but he also has a healthy amount of guilt towards his friend and a decent read on the room, and so he cocks his head fractionally, his shoulders raising in an almost imperceptible shrug. It's down to Theo, he has to decide this for himself.
Given he'd been part of the problem just yesterday morning, Theo really doesn't want to push his luck with the Professor again. He can still hear him, 'Nott, will I need to speak to you later?' No, of course not Professor, just waste your valuable time and your magic on me again, if you'd be so kind...
For all Draco's reassurances that Theo isn't to blame for... whatever happened Friday, he has yet to hear anything like it from the man himself. No, going purely by their interactions since... If there's any way to avoid calling the Head for help, he would very much like to try. He shakes his head 'no' almost purely from the strength of that conviction. He really hasn't got a lot more at the moment to draw on. If Ella had a little more experience, she'd have seen about getting a Girding Potion into him as well. But he's responsive, which is a darn sight better than moments ago. All in all, not a bad result for an untrained sixth year.
"Alright then," Ella pulls herself together. She's got this. "Theo, I'm going to tighten the Protego around your foot to use it to apply pressure." She Tergeos the blood in the little bowl, because chances are good her attempt to do that will cause it to overflow, and beyond reasonable concerns for morale, the mess, or even the aesthetics of the matter, that's really not a good idea with the cursed floor as a factor. "Is the Protego yours?" He nods. "Can you loosen control and let me guide it?" He nods again, and she tries to apply a Shield Charm of her own, but it resists. There's a chance he's still too affected by the shock... Unless...
"Draco, did you have a Protego on his foot?" She calls out.
The blond simply nods, Harper's Privacy Charm still in effect. He looks a touch apologetic, and Ella can imagine why. Ordinarily he wouldn't automatically call Theo's skills into question - the more alert should notice his magic had held up even now - but the situation was decidedly extreme. Better safe than sorry where his friend was concerned. Draco had had a lot to see to at once when things went pear shaped, and he hadn't been certain he'd have been able to get to Theo in time if his own spell had failed.
"Just loosen your hold on it so I can shape it would you?" Ella requests. It's a little like relaxing an overly stiff muscle and takes a moment of concentration, but they've sorted it soon enough. "Thank you."
His eyes tick briefly to her at that. 'Thank you.' It was polite and almost automatic. Very Ella, really. And so incongruous after the Carnivorous Capsaicin. They have so many years of shared history, if he can tap into that more often, Draco has a bit of a hope things could get back to normal... Well, until they see Severus or Granger and it all goes to hell again. But surely there's at least a hint of an opportunity there... He pushes the thought to the back of his mind, now isn't the time or the place, and goes back to looking about the room, chasing the idea he'd had...
Ella is confident she has the Protego under control, applying pressure, but still far shy of a tourniquet. She honestly just isn't confident enough to do so, and sincerely hopes there's no need. And that's what potions are for, isn't it? But she'll tighten the Shield Charm when they're ready to move. First she needs to get more of the Wit and Blood Replenisher into him, probably lots more of the latter.
That's as simple as asking Tomasina to supply it.
Draco finishes looking around the room and then points to the lump of shower curtain in the corner, his idea finally coalescing. "When it all went wrong and he got... stuck there, Gregory initially tried to cover himself with the curtain..." Despite the situation, Harper can't help a small smirk, because Gregory is the least physically modest of the team. By far. "And the curtain in turn became stuck to his...
"That...
"The black stuff." Harper knows what he means, it was hardly in question. Well, except for the fraction of a moment when Harper feared Draco was trying to refer to Gregory's Prince Albert before he found the right words. 'Black' and 'stuff'. Not eloquent, but he gets his point across.
"The problem is that... stuff started to absorb the curtain." That gets him some raised brows, and Harper makes a mental note to ask Akira about that, because it was definitely news to him. "And the stuff seemed to be spreading, increasing, like it was feeding off of it, so I Diffindoed the rest of the curtain and got rid of it." He waves again at the corner. "Now maybe that's because its charms had lost integrity from the... whatever it is. Stuff. But possibly..."
"No, no, not at all. We can manipulate the curtains," Harper immediately offers. As Firsties, Sheldon had notoriously employed one of the charms his family used to decorate his little sister's room to cover the curtains on Aaron's bed in dancing unicorns and rainbows. Aaron had had to suffer with them for the better portion of the term, often complaining the cavorting unicorns kept him awake at night, until Sheldon eventually lost a wager and was forced to undo his work.
No, they were capable of changing the curtains alright.
Encouraged, Draco explains his hope that the tile similarly isn't as Imperviused to change as the stones of the castle are. "It's just like the curtains. They're not original like the flagstones of the floor or the blocks of the walls..." It made sense. The lavs had obviously been retrofitted, presumably more than once over the centuries. Who knew what spells had been employed at the time? Or hadn't, as the case may be. "I imagine the tiles might yield if we try..." Draco pauses to consider what exactly they'd want to try. This is new territory.
"A Bombardo?" Harper looks very uncertain just at the thought.
"Maybe a Reducto," Draco suggests.
"And you didn't want to remove part of his hand..." Harper replies softly, letting out a nervous huff of discomfort. "Can you even do that that precisely?" Harper never questions that Draco will do whatever they ultimately decide is necessary.
"Worst case, as you said, Pomfrey regrows his hand..." It's matter of fact. Draco looks grim, and Harper pales. Every now and again he gets these hints that Draco's life is very different to his own in ways most fail to consider. It's easy to think the incredibly rich boy with two obviously doting parents had things so much easier than he did, and when he first started school, Harper had been sure of it, too. Over the years, though, he'd come to think that wasn't necessarily true. At the latest after Mr. Malfoy was sent to Azkaban, Harper was pretty certain about that in fact. And at some point along the line, he'd come to believe that despite a proclivity for gobsmackingly extravagant gifts, Draco's father was probably more accurately proud than doting, and stricter than Harper's by far.
When Harper had made the suggestion about Gregory's hand initially, it had been purely a matter of problem solving. Rational, theoretical and very distanced from the reality of the execution beyond a question of which spell to use. Something about Draco's expression gives him the feeling the boy is visualising it, and worse, that he has the experience to draw from to do so.
"We don't have much choice anyway," Draco says, "because I think the stuff is spreading to absorb the tiles, too. Thankfully more slowly..."
"It's probably to do with converting the mass; curtain is thinner," Harper replies, reflexively, busy trying not to picture what can go wrong, which is sort of pointless as he's about to see it one way or another. "We should ask him," he objects, suddenly balking now that the point of no return has almost been reached, and perhaps inspired by Ella's handling of Theo. "We could still go get the Head."
Draco understands the boy's hesitation, but then Harper has no idea, none at all, what the seventh years' lives have been like these past few years, not since the Dark Lord returned. Draco knows of a certainty, Gregory won't wish to inconvenience Severus for this. Vaguely he remembers the time before the Death Eaters, and he can sort of see why Harper might think that's called for. And Merlin knows, they'd gotten into this mess precisely over issues of consent. Maybe he's no longer in a position to judge...
He ends the House Privacy Charm keeping him and Harper from being heard, and then Gregory's as well and explains what they plan to do. When he's done, he asks the Beater quite simply, "Or we could call the Head for you. It's up to you." If he sound a little like Daphne, it probably isn't coincidence; it should sit well with Harper.
Gregory's throat is hoarse from the screaming earlier, and he has to swallow before he can speak, and still the response is nearly instant. "Gods no!" He shakes his head vehemently in reply. "After yesterday?" The Head would reduce the lot of them to cauldron fodder. He shakes his head again.
"There you have it," Draco replies, a little relieved to know he hasn't completely lost touch with reality. Their reality, anyway.
Harper chuffs nervously, takes a deep breath and responds, "Alright, you'll cast, and I'll pull him free." From the station he's taken up in the shower, he's better positioned to do so anyhow. If he doesn't look pleased at the prospect, it's only reasonable. "I'll make sure to keep his hand within the shower, in case there's any bleeding..." The last thing they need is something else getting on the floor, and the circular forms of the Protegos don't lend themselves to covering the edges well at all.
"And his foot?" Draco asks.
"I'll hold him steady while you cast Petrificus and then Mobilicorpus him up and off it."
"Merlin, tell me you're going to do it quickly," Gregory sounds duly worried.
Draco nods. "I promise." More quietly, so the others won't overhear, he adds, "Do you want a Stupefy?"
Gregory considers and shakes his head, "No, but maybe you could put the Privacy Charm on again before you do it?" Draco places a reassuring hand on Gregory's Wheeze-free shoulder and nods again sympathetically. It's nice that the Beater still has some pride left. After the abuse they've taken in recent years... Pride has often been a luxury they couldn't afford.
Harper tries to ignore Gregory's reasons for not wanting to be heard, but he can draw his own conclusions; this should hurt. "Why is there only the one spike anyway?" He asks Draco lowly. Everywhere else he looks on the floor, worryingly there seem to be so many more.
"I think Theo got off a Protego in time to prevent any more from appearing." And he's maintaining it under the current circumstances... Merlin. Nott is a lot tougher than people give him credit for, because that is very difficult to do. But then things like Theo's fit at the moment, or the one from yesterday morning... News of that had a way of making the rounds and giving people altogether the wrong impression.
"So are we ready?" Draco asks them.
"Just a minute," Gregory interrupts, not entirely because he's playing for time, although he certainly isn't adverse to putting off the inevitable at the moment either. "I just, I wanted to say thanks, Harper," he hurries to tell him before they can begin and he won't be able to anymore, anxious to let him know how much he appreciates the help. He'd hadn't failed to notice none of the other boys are here, not even any of their teammates. Of course some of that will have been down to timing, but even still... Gregory has a bad feeling with the way things have been going lately that not everyone would have been willing to help. And when it comes right down to it, Harper is probably a good part of the reason the girls were assisting them, too. "I really owe you one."
Harper nods, a little uncomfortable with Gregory's obvious sincerity. It doesn't help matters at all that Harper himself had encouraged the rest of the boys to take steps to avenge the Head for... whatever the seventh years had done that led to his bonding. Even if Harper had argued for waiting until after the match, he knows this had all just been a question of time and feels sure he was partially to blame. And between Theo's and Gregory's injuries, things had definitely gone too far.
"Yeah, I guess you do," he finally replies, really not eager to acknowledge the boy's gratitude under the circumstances, but almost equally eager for the others not to wonder why not. And then he gets an idea, "If you don't need them back, can I have the towels?"
"The towels?"
Harper nods at the two towel walkways still running through the room. "The towels," he confirms. "When we're done with them. I think they'll make nice runners for our flat."
Draco nearly laughs, because it's absurd. They'd been parchment not long before, and if Harper had really cared, he could have learnt the magic himself... Gregory, however, understands. Daph does nice work, and Harper... well cloth really isn't his strong suit, as his workout kit shows. Gregory gets that. Goodness knows, he'd had to ask Theo to Transfigure toilet paper for him only this morning, so who is he to judge? He also understands that the Hutchinsons haven't got much. If Harper wants the towels, as far as Gregory's concerned, the matter is settled.
"They're all yours," he replies simply, happy to be able to do something to repay the debt. Not, of course, that he'd done much to create the towels... It had been Theo's parchment, Theo's Transfiguration, and then Daphne's on top of that, but Theo had gifted them to him, and the gesture counted for something, as Harper had known it would. Which isn't to say the sixth year won't be perfectly happy to use them in their hallway at home. "Or did you have any claim on them, Daph?" Gregory thinks to ask.
"They weren't mine," she answers quickly, thrilled that they might do some good and mentally beginning to reproach herself for not making them more elaborate. Perhaps before Harper sends them home, she can do a little more work on them, thicken them up, add to the pattern, possibly make them more robust... If he means to use them as floor coverings, conceivably a non-slip underside - she's read about those - or possibly a modified Sticking Charm... Well, if he's willing to accept her contribution, that is. Maybe she can couch it as practice and he'll be more amenable...
"Then they're yours," Gregory repeats with a small smile. Finances were pretty tight for Vince's family too since the arrests in the Department of Mysteries fifth year, so Gregory has learnt a thing or two about frugality since then by association. This was a better solution by far than the inevitable Finite would have been.
"I'm ready if you are," he tells Draco, now feeling a little better about things, not that it should last. A twitch of the blond's wand and Gregory's Privacy Charm is back in place. Harper tries not to wince at the thought. He grabs the boy's arm, prepared to pull for all his might, as Draco levels the smallest imaginable Reductor Curse at the tile to which Gregory's hand is glued.
There's a 'bang' followed by a 'crack', and in a spot of nearly unprecedented luck this morning, the tile splits in two and breaks from the wall. Harper strains to catch Gregory's weight, as the task shifts in an instant from pulling him free to holding him up as the boy pitches forward towards Draco and that thrice damned floor. It's almost more than Harper can handle, and his brow beads with sweat.
"Alright then, the foot." Draco announces. "You keep holding him steady," he addresses Harper. "I'll Mobilicorpus him... Just watch where you touch him," he obviously means the Wheeze. Tomasina may have giggled another 'Oo er!' from the doorway where she's standing next to Daphne. Draco's thoughts are withering, but he doesn't spare her a second glance. It says everything about Harper's state that he doesn't even notice the interjection this time. "Don't get any of that stuff on you." Encouraged by their success, he doesn't even wait for Harper's reply. A 'Petrificus' immediately followed by a 'Mobilicorpus' and Draco's Charm lifts the Beater quickly off the spike, and then begins to lower him to the shower's edge until Harper's exertions are practically all that is keeping him from falling face first onto the cursed floor.
They can all see that Gregory must be screaming, but Draco's Privacy Charm quite naturally holds and they can't hear a thing. Which doesn't mean the sight isn't sobering. Refocusing. Even for Tomasina, it washes any residual amusement away. This isn't about a naked boy, however fit. This is a housemate, suffering.
It's a stark contrast to the sound of Vince just a little before. That had been pain, pain and nothing more, pain that they all knew would pass. This... This was a real injury, a substantial one, and a perfectly legitimate reaction to the suffering caused in turn by trying to deal with the situation.
Now rather ashamed of her giggle just moments before and a little desperate to help, without really thinking, Tomasina Depulsos a Calming Draught towards the boys, only realising how foolish that was when Daph's panicked, "Watch out!" alerts Draco to the incoming projectile. His well honed Seeker's reflexes luckily have him snatching the phial out of the air before it can hit anyone - or worse, the floor - as Harper tries to position the Beater somewhat precariously in the shower. If Gregory isn't quite able to support his own weight under the circumstances, that isn't remotely unreasonable.
Draco immediately sets to administering the Draught, and true to its name Gregory begins to settle. It's not much actual comfort, everyone except for Gregory knew perfectly well it wouldn't do too much for the pain except make him care less about it, and Gregory himself is now also only too aware of that fact. It proves a lot like an evening with too many glasses of Ogden's, although probably more like being squiffy than cabbaged. Right now, he'll take what he can get. Merlin's blighted bollocks...
Draco kindly applies another Icing Charm. Gregory gives him a grateful nod, and taking it as a sign things are sort of managed now, Draco ends the Beater's Privacy Charm.
Harper grunts at the load he's bearing. He has just long enough to be embarrassed by the noise and to hope Gregory doesn't take offence (although it reveals plenty about his shape that that was his thought) when there's a stabbing pain in his gut and things begin to get fuzzy. Fast. He fumbles, his grip slipping as everything goes grey...
NOTE TO SELF: CROSSPOST FAIL. Published on LJ and imported to DW.