Draco sat beside Victor's bed, staring at his brother's pale face. He'd been there a long time, barely speaking, hands clenched tightly in his lap.
"It is time to wake up, brother," he said quietly, voice unsteady.
"Didn't you always say you wanted to live a long life and spend it being lazy? You said you wouldn't die so easily."
He swallowed hard, looking away for a moment, refusing to let the tears fall. "So don't break your word now." His fists tightened again.
"You can't just leave me here to deal with everything by myself."
The words died off after that. His anger slowly gave way to exhaustion as he looked back at Victor. Their parents had already been notified and were on their way to Hogwarts.
Hermione stayed beside the bed, holding Victor's cold hand in both of hers.
Tears slipped down her cheeks as she stared at him, wishing more than anything he'd simply open his eyes and complain about everyone making such a fuss.
The doors to the hospital wing opened again. Fleur stepped inside.
She stopped when she saw him lying motionless. For once she had nothing to say — her expression fell, and she walked closer quietly.
She'd grown rather fond of him over the past few months, even if neither of them had ever properly talked about it. Seeing him like this hurt more than she expected.
Hermione suddenly froze.
She'd felt something beneath her fingers. A faint movement.
She held her breath.
Then she heard it.
Thump.
Her eyes widened.
Thump.
Her fingers tightened around his hand. "Huh?"
She leaned in and pressed her ear to his chest.
There it was again. A heartbeat. Slow, faint, but unmistakable.
Hermione jerked upright. "He's alive."
Everyone turned toward her.
"What?" Harry asked.
She barely heard him, eyes locked on Victor. "His heart... I can hear his heart!"
Draco was up and at the bed instantly. Before anyone could say another word, Victor's chest suddenly rose. He sucked in a sharp breath. His eyes flew open.
Everyone froze.
Victor blinked several times, staring at the ceiling, trying to work out where he was.
Then Hermione threw her arms around him. "I thought I lost you!"
He winced. "Ow... Hermione..."
She pulled back at once, tears still running. "You're alive."
He looked around at everyone staring at him. "Why does everyone look like they've seen a ghost?"
Ron let out a breath he seemed to have been holding for minutes. Draco just stared at his brother, stunned. Fleur covered her mouth, eyes filling with relief. Harry couldn't stop staring.
"What happened?" Victor asked.
They explained — nearly three hours had passed since Harry and Victor returned.
The whole time, everyone had believed him dead. Madam Pomfrey had checked repeatedly; no heartbeat, no breathing, until a few moments ago.
Victor listened quietly, still piecing it together.
I really dodged a bullet.
He remembered the graveyard — grabbing Harry, touching the Cup, the Killing Curse hitting them just as the Portkey activated. Then everything had gone blank.
So the curse really did hit me. He frowned. Then how the hell am I alive?
His mind went back to the Forbidden Forest, to Moody hitting him with the Cruciatus, to the moment he'd unconsciously triggered Astral Projection and separated his consciousness from his body.
Maybe I did the same thing this time. He looked down at his hands. Maybe when Voldemort fired the curse, my body took the hit, but my subconscious triggered Astral Projection before it could actually kill me.
That would explain why his body had stopped functioning while his consciousness had somehow stayed intact.
If my soul wasn't fully inside my body when the curse hit... maybe that's why I survived.
He still wasn't certain. There was no way to know whether Astral Projection had actually saved him, or whether something else entirely had happened when the Portkey activated.
But for now, he wasn't going to complain. He was alive. That was enough.
***
One by one, the others eventually left the hospital wing. Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Fleur were sent away after Madam Pomfrey insisted Victor needed rest, leaving only Draco sitting beside the bed.
Victor studied his brother for a moment, noticing the wetness around his eyes. "Draco, is that tears I'm seeing?"
Draco wiped his face quickly, looking away. "Yeah. My tears. Wasted on you now that you're back to being a jerk."
Victor sighed tiredly. "Good to see you too."
Draco looked at him a moment, his expression turning more serious. "You should visit Luna."
"Huh? What happened to her?"
"She passed out when she heard the news," Draco said. "She thought you were dead."
Victor's expression shifted. "She's still unconscious?"
"Last I heard, yes."
Victor stared at the ceiling. Great. I wake up from being dead and immediately find out I've caused half the people I know to collapse.
He started pushing himself up.
Draco frowned instantly. "Don't even think about getting out of bed."
"I'm not going anywhere."
"Good."
Victor looked at him. "Yet."
*****
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