If Granger and Theo were the top students in their year, Draco was the next best. The months of training over the summer with Nott Snr and Theo had given him a steady hand and also some skills in healing since the boys would leave the dungeon every night limping from unblocked curses and bleeding from powerful slicing hexes sent firing towards them from Theo’s father. He took a deep breath and muttered "Diffindo. " Sweeping his wand down the thickest vine wrapped so tight around her throat the skin was visibly throbbing beneath his touch. He cut the vine on the side of her neck just under her ear in case his spell went too deep. His heart beat loudly in his chest, but his strong hands were steady and they grasped some of her bushy brown hair to push it out of the way. His fingers slid through the strands of silk like merpeople skimming through the surrounding water of the black lake. His body felt hot and tingly where the strands remained entangled in his fingers but his brain had no time to wonder about this new sensation. "Diffindo " he whispered again, the next vine shrivelled up in an instant, black goo poured from the slice as it collapsed into an empty tube. "Diffindo " he repeated the process six more times, tugging the dead vines away as they were sliced open at his wand tip.