Can't run from time

Grindlewald Pt2

"You'll regret it Riddle..." he laughed menacingly. 

"Will I?" Tom said back, eyes red and full of hate. 

"CRUCIO" Tom shouted, momentarily pushing grindlewald, giving him enough time to grab Hermione.

"Tom, we need to—" She tried to warn him, but her voice faltered as one of the dementors descended upon her. Cold fingers seemed to reach inside her, clawing at her soul.

Tom picked her up and sprinted through the forest, the dementors following behind. Just as the castle was in sight, Tom tripped, causing both of them to fall to the ground.

The dementors circled around them, and Tom watched as Hermione began slipping away.

"NO.!!!!" he screamed.

"Expecto Patronum!" Tom's voice rang out, but no light emerged. He gritted his teeth, fury and shame burning in his eyes. He couldn't produce a Patronus. Hermione's vision blurred, and she felt herself slipping, slipping...

She glanced to the side and saw that Tom had fallen, the dementor sucking his soul away.

She reached deep into the warmth that still burned inside—the flicker of every moment she'd spent with Ron and Harry. The happiness she'd felt when she was with them. Every time they had fought.. together.. for what was right. She smiled as the warmth flooded her veins.

"EXPECTO PATRONUM!" Her voice cracked, but the spell exploded around them. A brilliant silver otter erupted from her wand, sweeping through the air, scattering the dementors away. Light, hope, and life surged back into her veins. She stumbled forward, catching Tom as he sank to his knees.

Tom shivered. For the first time she saw fear in his eyes. "You saved me," he whispered.

"We need to go." She slipped her arm under his shoulder, pulling him to his feet. Together, they stumbled toward the castle. Tom's body was heavy, his steps small and wobbly, but he leaned on her, his pride forgotten momentarily.

----

 The night blazed with flashes of light and bursts of energy. Grindelwald and Dumbledore were locked in a furious duel, their magic shaking the ground. The sky itself seemed to shatter and reform with every strike. "ALBUS! YOUVE LOST YOUR TOUCH.. LOSING ARIANA MADE YOU WEAk" Grindlewald cackled. Dumbledore snarled fighting back harder in silence. "OOOH LOOKS LIKE I HIT A NERVE.."

Hermione forced herself to stop turning around and looking back to the forest.. She had to believe Dumbledore would win—he had to. Abraxas, limping and pale, had already reached the safety of the castle. She and Tom pressed on, the path blurring as exhaustion clawed at them.They reached the edge of the castle grounds when Hermione's knees buckled. I've become so weak. I thought id be used to this by now she thought. Tom caught her, his hands surprisingly gentle. "You're not weak," he murmured, as if reading her mind. "Not to me."

Back in the castle, the teachers tended to their wounds. The Great Hall became a refuge once more. Hermione watched, numb, as Dumbledore returned, victorious but weary. Grindelwald was gone, taken to Azkaban, but the scars of the battle lingered.

Tom stayed at her side, silently. For days, Tom seemed to have lost his spark. He was quiet, but exreamly protective, not letting Hermione out of arms reach at any point. And Abraxas hadn't said a word to her. Then, late one night, Hermione found him in their room, eyes fixed on a flickering candle.

"Teach me," he said abruptly.

She frowned. "Teach you what?" she said softly. "Tom, come back to bed.." she said, moving toward him and putting her hand on his shoulder. 

"To cast a Patronus." His jaw was set, but there was vulnerability in his eyes. "I... need to know."

She hesitated, "tom, come on. what's the matter?" 

She stroked his cheek but he moved her hands away. "I- I couldn't save you...I could have lost you.. I-" he stopped as Hermione cupped his face once more. She kissed him softly then nodded.

She spent the next couple of evenings teaching him. It wasn't an easy lesson. His first attempts were awfully embarrassing for him. Then it moved to empty bursts of light, hollow and cold. "Think of something that makes you truly happy," she urged.

"I don't have such things," he spat. "Nothing at all."

"There has to be something.. it can be anything that makes you feel happy, a place, a memory, a time, a person, even an object if you have to. Just one thing that makes you feel complete," she said softly.

"It doesn't have to be a memory?" he frowned.."thats not what I read..?"

"no tom. the textbooks aren't good at representing this spell. but I learnt it from a very close friend. Just think of something...or someone"

Silence stretched between them. He closed his eyes. When he opened them, there was a faint glow. Not a Patronus, but a beginning. 

"well done!It's not much but it's a start! What did you think of?" She smiled

"you"