The first thing I was aware of was the cold, hard ground beneath me.

I shivered as my eyelids fluttered open. Darkness pressed down on me, suffocating me.

But then, slowly, my eyes adjusted. I was lying on my back in what appeared to be a dank, dark cellar. I tried moving, but pain seared across my stomach preventing me from doing so, and then I remembered.

I turned my head, blinking as my eyes tried to focus on the unmoving figure slumped on the floor, just mere feet away from me. Theodore Nott.

With great effort, I heaved myself up to a sitting position, my stomach screaming in protest as I did so. A sudden rush of metallic filled my mouth and it took me a moment to realise that I had sunk my teeth into my tongue out of the sheer agony of what I was experiencing.

Shakily, I pulled up the torn fabric of my blood-soaked shirt to reveal a long, raw, freshly healed wound stretched across the width of my stomach. Hang in there, Red.

The second cloaked figure had to have been Blaise. And as far as I could see, he had gone.

Something glinted out of the corner of my blinking eye - it was the Time-Turner. Blaise must have forgotten to take it - that or he had left it behind on purpose. This was my chance. But I was in so much fucking pain and my wand was nowhere to be seen.

Focusing solely on the Time-Turner which was placed on the table at the other side of the room, I gritted my teeth and hauled myself onto my feet, releasing a low growl of pain from the back of my throat.

Staggering, I managed to stumble over to the table, grabbing the offending artefact in my hand. My relief was short lived, however, as the once unmoving body of Theodore Nott started to stir on the ground next to me.

I spied his wand next to his head and, without thinking, I threw my body on top of his, grappling his wand in the hand that wasn't clutching The Time-Turner, and Disapparated the fuck out of there.

*****

As soon as we landed, Ministry Officials descended upon us, grabbing Theodore from my grasp, immediately binding him in handcuffs as I charged him for being in possession of an illegal artefact.

"You're fucking dead, Potter!" He screamed as he was dragged away to the holding cells.

"Are you okay, Miss Potter?" A kindly witch whose name I couldn't remember asked me. Concern filled her eyes as she took in my bloody, sorry state. "Can I call a Healer for you?"

I shook my head dazedly, just wanting to get back to my office so I could inform Hermione about the Time-Turner. Well, brag to, to be more accurate.

I kept my head down, trying to avoid the funny looks people kept throwing at me, shrugging off their concern as I tripped and stumbled across the floor of the Auror department. When I thankfully, finally reached my office, I fell heavily through the door, breathlessly placing the Time-Turner in my pocket.

It was at that point I passed out.

*****

"OW!"

Something was repeatedly hitting my head. I groggily opened my eyes to discover it was my office door. Someone was trying to get in and I was blocking the way.

"What the fuck, Potter?"

I looked up to see Draco's head appear around the door, his eyes going instantly wide with horror as they landed down at my crumpled form.

"What's the matter?" I heard Hermione's bodiless voice coming from behind him. "Why isn't she letting us in?"

I dragged myself out of the way as Draco, closely followed by Hermione, came bursting in.

"What the fuck happened?!" He cried as he threw himself down by my side and hastily tried to pull me up into his lap.

I gasped out in pain, the wound across my stomach screaming in protest.

"Jesus, Etta!" Draco spluttered as his hand flew to my bloodied shirt, lifting it up to reveal my freshly healed gash.

His eyes widened in horror and his pale face slowly turned green at the recognition of the scar etched deeply into my skin. "He- he used the Sectumpsempa Curse on you?!"

"Not Nott... there was another." Something prevented me from sharing my suspicions that it had been Blaise. Besides - I didn't trust that Draco wouldn't storm off and try to kill him.

"I told you not to go alone!" Hermione shook, looking utterly frazzled. "I called Draco the moment I was informed about Nott's arrest. They said you were hurt but were refusing medical treatment."

"It's fine, just a little scratch. Besides, I got it though." I couldn't help but boast, twisting myself around to reach into my pocket for the Time-Turner, wincing as I did so.

Hermione's face instantly lit up as she snatched it up off my outstretched hand, eyes widening greedily.

"Is it genuine? Does it work? It's not just an Hour-Reversal Turner - it goes back further?" She asked, turning it around in her hands in awe.

Draco let out a sudden, angry hiss. "She nearly died trying to get that for you - she is lying here on her office floor covered in blood and all you give a fuck about is whether the god damned thing works!"

"Draco!" I gasped, looking up at him in horror, as Hermione stared at him speechlessly.

"I'm not sorry, Etta," Draco said, his eyes flashing angrily, "I won't have you treated like you're disposable."

"Draco's right," Hermione jumped in, before I could argue on her behalf. "That was tactless of me, but I do care, of course I do. Look, Albus and Scorpius are perfectly fine with Ron right now, so why don't you take Etta home, Draco, and look after her, spend some time together. The boys can stay at ours for as long as you need."

I looked up at Draco, startled. "Scorpius is with Albus?"

He nodded. "Don't hate me, but as soon as Granger mentioned you were hurt, I had to come, Etta. Scorpius didn't mind. Not when I explained."

I swallowed, wondering apprehensively how my son was taking it. No doubt I was going to pay greatly for this later.

"Take her home, Draco," Hermione repeated, leaning down to press a small bottle of something into his hand. "Get some Dittany on her wounds and make sure she rests."

"My-my wand," I gasped, gritting my teeth in agony as Draco attempted to help me to my feet, "I lost it in Nott's cellar."

"Don't worry about that, I'll sort it," Hermione said briskly, "just let Draco take care of you."

I'm fairly sure I had not imagined the glint in her eye.

*****

"This might sting a bit."

I gasped, my body arching violently as Draco dripped the Dittany onto my wound. He grabbed my hand in his, clasping his fingers tightly around mine.

"I'm sorry," he kept murmuring low and urgently in my ear as I continued to cry out, my body jerking as he never let go of my hand, "not much longer now, just hold on."

When at last, he had finished, he climbed up onto the bed beside me, tenderly pushing my hair away from my sweaty brow as his eyes gazed lovingly down at me.

"Thank you," I whispered breathlessly, lifting a hand to dance my fingertips lightly against his cheek, scarcely believing that he was here with me.

"I've missed you, Etta," Draco murmured, closing his eyes as he gently nuzzled his face against my hand. "I've missed you so fucking much."

Not being able to resist him, I slid my hand around the back of his neck and pulled him down to me, catching his lips in mine.

He immediately responded, a longing groan rumbling in the back of his throat as he kissed me sweetly yet urgently. Fuck, he tasted and felt so good. I wanted more of him; I wanted every single thing he could offer.

Our hands began to roam, the caressing turning quickly into hungry groping as our kissing intensified. I tugged at his clothes, trying to free his shirt, wanting so much to feel his skin against mine.

Only when my hand slipped under the fabric and my fingers flitted against the smooth skin across his taut abdomen, did he grab my wrist, immediately halting proceedings.

"Shit, Etta," he growled, his eyes dark and swirling, "I'm supposed to be looking after you."

"You are..." I grinned coyly, bucking my hips up so that my thigh brushed against the hardness straining in his trousers.

He sucked in a sudden sharp inward hiss between his teeth as his eyes momentarily fluttered upwards.

"Don't do that. I'm not going to have sex with you whilst you need to recover."

"Spoilsport." I poked my tongue out at him.

A faint flicker of amusement flitted over his face, before it fell, his eyes suddenly looking pained. "You could have died today... I- I couldn't bear it if anything happened to you, Etta."

"I didn't, I'm here," I reassured him as I cupped his face. He gave a heavy sigh, resting his forehead down against mine. I could feel his heart racing beneath his chest as the weight of his body pushed down on me.

"I love you, Etta," he murmured. "I hate not being with you. I should be here with you, looking after you."

"No, you should be at home with Scorp, looking after him." I said sternly but not unkindly. "The anniversary of his mother's death is coming up. It's going to be a difficult enough time for him without forcing our relationship on him."

"We do have one, don't we?" Draco asked, a look of fear flashing in his eyes. "Please tell me we do. I can't bear the thought that after everything, we can't be together."

"Of course," I breathed, my heart fluttering at the intensity of his words. "Draco, I love you. I just think we need to tread carefully around the boys." And then, suddenly remembering that the boys were currently together at Ron and Hermione's, I added, "God, I just hope Albus isn't being a little shit to Scorp."

Draco's face fell, a sneer remarkably like Albus's curling at his lip. "He hasn't been giving you grief, has he? Honestly, I did not like the way he spoke to you at the train station. I know it's not my place to say, that I haven't been around to bring him up, but you don't deserve to be spoken to like that by anyone."

"He's fine," I reassured him, even though I thought he was anything but. "I can handle him, Draco. Scorp needs to be your priority right now."

"Actually, I have strict instructions from the Minister for Magic herself to make you my current priority," he murmured, dipping his head to kiss the corner of my mouth. "So, get some rest and let me look after you. I'm sure Scorpius is glad of the break from me."

He crawled off me, promising to be back with a herbal tea. When he returned, I was already half asleep. I was faintly aware of him climbing back on the bed with me, gathering me in his arms as I finally succumbed to the land of nod.

*****