She would have been rendered speechless by his covering her body with his own if this had been any other circumstance. But as it stood, she and Malfoy had been through two disasters together, and the fear reached its pinnacle as she thought that this was truly it. As her hand came around to rest on his back, she pulled him toward her - could feel him tense up, and she reached into her pocket.

And then everything went black.

But...it wasn't that she had lost consciousness. She blinked multiple times to make sure that hadn't happened. But, no, she could still breathe. Still was able to feel him pressed against her. Her chest heaving as she took deep breaths, she managed to wriggle her hand out of her pocket.

"Lumos." she breathed.

Their surroundings were illuminated immediately and Rowan was able to see what had saved them from being crushed. The wall coming toward them had hit the bed and made a triangle as it collapsed in one slab on the bed with them tented inside. As this sunk in, Rowan let out a gasp of relief, and let her head fall back onto the floor as a sob of relief tore through her. "We're okay." She breathed, her hand coming up to rest on the back of his head. "We're alright, Malfoy."

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   Raphael Malfoy

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He'd buried his face into Yaxley's shoulder soon enough that he didn't notice when everything went dark around them. His eyes squeezed shut, he was only aware that he was still alive by the feeling of his own body shaking and the tight squeeze of Yaxley's around around his back. He couldn't even be sure if he was stressed or completely calm; in the moments waiting for it all to be over his mind had gone blank of any thoughts and instinct had kicked in, trying to identify any abnormal sensations or pain.

But there was none. The only sensations were the feeling over his heartbeat, of her heaving chest under his, the sound of her sob and the touch of her hand drifting up his back and into his hair. He couldn't relax at first—wouldn't relax, as if in lifting his head he would be greeted with a pain he wasn't currently feeling, or faced with a bloodied or mutilated Yaxley under him. Only when he heard the words We're okay, Malfoy leave her lips did he dare lift his head, and even then it was only enough that he could see the outline of her ear and feel the brush of her hair against his cheekbones. One arm was still pinned under her, and he did his best to move it out though it was difficult given their position.

At a loss for words, Raphael let his head drop back against her shoulder, his nose brushing up against the exposed skin of her neck. "I've had enough for today," he said, startled by how unlike himself he sounded. He sounded hoarse, like the wind had just been knocked out of him. His only consolation was the lack of noise; it seemed that the wind had stopped around them as had the rain.

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set by lady <3

With the gleam of her wand illuminating the dark cave they'd been encased in, Rowan let out another sound of relief as she felt her whole body relax. She stared up above them as tears pricked at her eyes. They were alright. They weren't going to be crushed to death. As that thought ran through her mind, she felt her breathing slow down. Felt him lift off of her, only to feel the tug of his arm at her back, pinned underneath her body. She moved to arc her body so he could get his arm from underneath her, but instead felt his breath at her neck.

It was then that she froze as a shiver coursed its way down her spine. Thank Merlin he spoke, for she wasn't sure if she would have been able to make a sound. "I would have had enough for a lifetime if this weren't my profession." She breathed, her breath shallow as she forced herself to focus on their surroundings above them.

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With her help he was able to wiggle his arm free, but he didn't make any immediate effort to move. He was certain that doing so would use up the last energy in his body, as the moments spent on the floor had been enough for his body to realize how much it had been through in the last ten minutes, and now the aches and the soreness were setting in.

"Time to get a new job, then," he mumbled, quietly but certainly loud enough to hear given their proximity. Finally, after thirty seconds or so of trying to convince himself, he finally shifted off her and realized just how close they'd come to peril. He stared at the broken wall above their body, blinked, and immediately turned towards Yaxley, looking for a distraction from the severity of it.

"Do you think we could apparate from here? Or would a blasting spell work?" he asked with a hoarse chuckle. It wasn't funny, but it was easier to cope with humor than to give into the tears.

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set by lady <3

She laughed. Though she could hear the sarcasm slicked in his voice, Rowan still responded with a shake of her head. "I'm not sure I could give that up, even if it meant a lifetime of peace away from disasters." As close as they had come, Rowan was surprised by how willing she was to return to work. Even if she did want a few days' rest after this.

As he turned toward her, she could see the shock written plain across his face as he tried to process what had just happened. Immediately, Rowan felt the shards of panic slowly dissipate as she felt her training kick in, and she shoved the memory of feeling his breath against her bare skin out of her mind. "It's either blasting through the wall and one of us casts a shield to protect us from the debris, or we risk apparating and get caught in whatever waits outside." she replied, averting her gaze again to run through the possibilities in her mind.

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How anyone could love a job like hers he wasn't sure. All the damage, destruction, pain and misery—it would have been too much for him, and he didn't feel ashamed to admit it. When looking at the wall he imagined the hundreds of people she probably came in contact with who were much worse off for him, some injured and some dying.

They would have to escape, but the thought of having to once again risk peril after what had happened moments ago was too much for him to handle. He closed his eyes and focused on his breathing, but there was no stopping his emotions this time; when he opened his eyes they ere glassy and full of tears that threatened to escape. His attempts to avoid her gaze were fruitless given how close their heads were.

"I trust you more with the shield," he said simply, his voice thick.

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set by lady <3

She’d expected him to respond quicker, and when he didn’t, she glanced back at him. ”Malfoy?” Rowan breathed softly, not having to speak very loudly for how closed in they were. When he opened his eyes, she was shocked to see tears welling in his eyes. Well - shocked perhaps wasn’t the right word. But despite him having not had any training in disasters, from the ones she’d been in with him (a good one too many if you asked her) he held himself well. Better than she would have expected of him.

But that still didn’t mean he was cut out for things like this. Honestly, if she was asking the hard questions, Rowan had to wonder if this was truly something that she was well suited for given her near-death count.

His voice brought her out of her thoughts, and she pressed her lips together as she registered the tension in his voice. Her free hand came up and hovered around his back as she struggled with the urge to comfort him. Eventually she rested her hand on him. ”It’ll be alright.” She replied, though she had absolutely no right to claim it would be so. They were trapped under a section of the wall that had come down. She was quite literally, hardly in the position to make promises.

”On three.” She said, willing her voice to sound steady as she raised her wand to cast a shield. ”One. Two…three.”

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Feeling her hand on his back he look at her, but he couldn't speak. Doing so would give the tears a reason to escape, as anything he said was likely to expose him for the coward he was acting like. He didn't want to be like this—even less so in front of her, for some reason. Instead he nodded, grateful that she had given instructions rather than questions. He fished his wand out of his pocket and held it up, at least comforted by the fact that a failed blasting charm wouldn't be the end of the world for them. Probably.

His spell lit up and before he could really register what was happening, the fallen wall was blasted into pieces, and Raphael's eyes shut once again.

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set by lady <3

She had to keep her eyes open because of the blast. The timing was important, she knew. Too soon and Malfoy's spell would ricochet back onto them. Too late and they would be buried in stone. As she held her wand, she tried to keep it steady, but it shook. She gripped it harder as fear prickled at her mind.

Once she counted down, the light extinguished and she saw the spell fly from Malfoy's wand. Thankfully the spell temporarily illuminated the space, and she saw it hit the rock above them. "Protego!" She whispered, her voice shaking as the spell left her wand.

She held her wand aloft, and soon enough the rocks and debris slammed onto the shield. Rowan flinched and she couldn't help the yelp that emitted from her as they waited for the rocks to fall around them.

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Finally, it was over. Well and truly over. It had to be over, because he wasn't sure he could take much more; his heart was pounding and if he so much as spoke before taking numerous deep breaths he was sure he would burst into tears in the most unmanly display he'd ever made. So he pulled himself up into a sitting position, his eyes focused on the debris around them, and for one long moment took deep breaths until he felt the pulsating in his neck and feet dissipate and the glassiness vanish from his eyes.

Only then did he turn to Yaxley, his face white as parchment yet relieved. He opened his mouth to say something, but he found himself lost for words. He pressed his lips shut and stared at her, unspeaking but communicating the gratitude and relief he couldn't speak.

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set by lady <3

She lay there, her heart pounding in her chest as they waited for the rocks to finish falling. Rowan found herself closing her eyes and slowly counting in her head. She made it to 10 when there was only the faintest trickle of rocks that could be heard tumbling down the pile around them. Her hand shook as the spell disappeared and it was mercifully over.

She met his gaze as he sat up and she eased up into a sitting position, mirroring him. Her gaze raked over the piles of rocks and walls around them, her expression disbelieving. She soon locked eyes with him, still breathing heavily as she processed what they'd escaped again.

Rowan swallowed, her eyes darting around them again, and she held a hand to her stomach, willing her breathing to calm down. "We're okay." she whispered breathlessly. Despite how she was nodding her head in confirmation, she still had a hard time believing it was truly over.

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Not for the first time even today but definitely for the first time consciously he felt the desire to pull her into a hug, which seemed absurd when he looked at the bigger picture though he knew it was likely a need to hold and be held. He'd had a similar reaction when he'd returned home from the shipwreck in the spring and had held onto Angeline without wanting to let go—but it was much more acceptable to hug one's sister than one's not-enemy-but-not-friend.

Finally he convinced himself to let go of the desire and pushed off the floor and into a standing position. He surveyed the scene; one of the walls was entirely missing, exposing the outside world to them. It was still windy, but on any other day he wouldn't have considered it out of the norm. The clouds had gone, as had the rain, and the sun even peeked out from behind the very natural, nonmagical clouds.

"We are," he sighed, nodding. They were okay. They would be.

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set by lady <3