Her eyelids fluttered open and the room slowly came into focus. There was something cold against her forehead and she wasn't in pain any more.
"How long have I been out?" she asked groggily, rubbing her eyes.
"About an hour." He was kneeling on the floor next to her holding a cold compress to her forehead. "The damage was pretty bad. Seven broken ribs, a broken ankle, a considerable bump on the head and a very nasty burn." She winced slightly as she tried to move. "Easy. You probably shouldn't move for a while." His hand stroked up and down her side which, up until about half an hour ago, had been a messy burn. She could see his sleeves were rolled up and his hands bloodstained. Glancing down, she could see a pile of similarly stained towels on the floor. The sheets beneath her also told the tale of her injuries. Despite the fact that she did not want to move, she pulled herself up into a sitting position and wrapped a sheet around herself.
"You saved my life," she finally said. "Saved our lives. Why?"
"Watching you die once was painful enough."
"You're hurt." She said quietly after several moments silence, noticing the cut marring his cheek and the bruises on his face and wrist.
"I'm fine." He shrugged, pulling his sleeve down to try and conceal the bruise.
"Come here." She beckoned with her finger. He got up and sat down near her, being careful avoid all the areas he had just healed. Taking one of the bottles that were lying on the floor, she poured a liberal amount of green liquid into her palm. Holding his injured arm close to her chest, she gently worked the lotion into his skin, over the harsh purple bruises. She held his arm there for quite some time after the lotion had soaked in, pushing her lips to his fingers as if they were something precious. She rubbed some more of the lotion over the slight bruising to his face before turning her attention to his cheek.
Reaching for her wand, she traced it along the cut, although not before rubbing in a few drops of the stinging yellow liquid. He grimaced and tried to pull away.
"That hurt!" he complained as it healed, leaving no clue that it had ever been there.
"Ahem," she gave a false cough, "might I please request some perspective." She asked, setting her wand back down. He managed to see the funny side and pulled her gently to him, stroking his hands up and down her sides and through her hair.
"What are you doing here?" she asked him wearily as she held onto his shoulders. "You shouldn't be here of all places." As much as she wanted him to stay, she knew that he would have to flee if he wished to remain free. Or, as free as a person could be in his situation.
"I have until morning at least." He shrugged. "It's not like I didn't make preparations. I couldn't just leave you like that though."
"Good Merlin!" she exclaimed, clapping a hand to her mouth, "Did the esteemed Lucius Malfoy just admit to caring for another apart from himself?" she teased him, but he did not seem to see the funny side. "My friends would have helped me; you are just risking your neck." She buried her face in her hands; she could not think of any way this could end well.
"Get some rest." He pulled away from her and stalked angrily out of the room.
After a few minutes of uncertainty over what to do, she gingerly swung her legs over the edge of the bed, testing how well they held her weight, before walking over to the large wardrobe. She pulled on the first nightie and dressing gown that she came to and followed him.
She found him standing before one of the windows in his study, gazing out at the spectacular setting that he was soon to leave for a long time. He did not know what to say to her; he was so glad that she was alive and a part of him was tempted to forget the consequences and stay with her. Another part, however, told him that it would be altogether better if he just disappeared. He knew the difficult situation this would put her in should his plan come into effect. It would also not reflect well on a soon-to-be-celebrated war hero if she was caught clandestinely meeting with a fugitive Death Eater. He was so caught up in his thoughts that he did not notice the girl that stepped into the room. Walking slowly over, she stood before him and gently reached out to touch his arm.
"I didn't mean to upset you," she said in a small voice, "but I just don't want you risking everything for me. You should be running as far and as fast as you can." He marvelled at how fragile, yet how strong she looked; her face pale in the ghostly moonlight, swathed in a large dressing gown of midnight blue. Her eyes; open wide and gazing at him with an innocence she no longer possessed, an innocence he had taken, were underlined with a much deeper wisdom and strength that many older wizards yearned for.
"I know, but I couldn't leave you. Not like that." his voice cracked slightly, his arms reaching out and pulling her close. She allowed him to hold her tight; not complaining about the way it hurt her bruises, savouring the intimacy of the moment that she never thought they would share. "Besides, what do you think you are doing standing up?" he asked her after a few moments with a concerned, but playful, smirk. Carefully, but nonetheless exuberantly, he swept her up into his arms; burying his face in the gentle curve of her neck. She wrapped her arms around his neck as he carried her, running her fingers through the silky strands of his hair and inhaling his unique scent.
Back in the bedroom, the remnants of his efforts had been cleared away and the sheets changed to cream and emerald green with an ornate silk and velvet coverlet. Setting her back on her feet, he motioned for her to wait a moment as he threw the covers back before turning back around to face her.
Despite the burning passion he felt, he took it slowly; wanting to prolong the moment for as long as possible, and also for fear of doing her more harm. He slipped the robe off her shoulders as they kissed; his hands running across the silky soft skin that had, merely an hour ago, been an assortment of vicious burns. His lips trailed over her jaw, her neck, her collarbone; to him every part of her was deliciously perfect. Similarly, she ran her fingers through his hair; urging him on whenever he made to pull away. Lifting her up once again, he laid her down before crawling in next to her; his hands continuing the exploration of the silky material that enticingly covered her body.
He was gentle with her due to her injuries but he was no less impassioned with the young woman before him. He did not bother with removing her negligee, pushing it up around her waist instead. She was also responding with surprising fervour after all she had just been through; her hands deftly undoing the buttons of his shirt.
Once they had spent what was left of their energy, they lay together; his arms wrapped around her waist, his head resting on her chest. Her hands gently stroked through his hair
"I'll have to leave in the morning." He knew he had to despite the desperate urge to stay with her.
"I know." She said softly in the darkness.
"But I'll look after you, I promise." She sighed and gently turned his head so he looked at her. Shifting her position slightly, she slid down next to him and touched her lips to his, their foreheads touching and her arms wrapping round his neck. As they settled down to sleep, exhaustion finally overcoming their weary bodies; she let his arms envelop her, feeling, for the first time since they had discovered the last Horcrux, safe.