Disclaimer, the story and it's characters are not mine, but I surely wish it was! Kudos to the owner, Jk Rowling. This disclaimer is the same for all the chapters in this story so it will be the only one.
This story is set in Hermione's sixth year, but she is considered of age from her use of the time turners in third year. It has the rating M for a reason, but not until later chapters, so consider yourself warned. There is a slash pairing in later chapters, I wont tell who but if this offends you I suppose you don't really care who the characters are. There are references to drug use (imagined by some very foolish Gryfindors), but nothing graphic at all. There could be mild cursing, but not excessive. There is mentions of people being killed and even a few scenes from raids.
Now that all the disclosures are finished, on to the story!
Hermione threw a giant snowball at her comrades in arms grinning when it hit it's target with a satisfying thump. She ducked down behind the snow wall she had built just barely missing a flying snowball that whistled over the top of the hill before hitting the tree behind her and bursting apart. They had been at it for hours now and her fingers were so numb from the cold that she barely managed to scrape together another snowball to throw in retaliation to the opposing team that consisted of Ronald and Neville.
She had Harry on her team thankfully so they weren't completely failing, but she wasn't too vain to admit that he was pulling most of the weight between the two of them. He gave her a playful grin that would make lesser girls melt and managed to make his numb fingers work to form a perfect snowball. He chucked it over the wall dodging the onslaught of snowballs. She knew it hit it's target when she heard a pained 'ow' from the opposing team.
"Should we check to see if he's okay?" She asked all the while making more snowballs to throw over.
"Naw, he's fine. He deserved it, the last one he hit me with had ice it it." Harry said sounding more light hearted than she had seen him in weeks. Voldemort had gone into hiding and there had been a tense silence over the wizarding world that was almost worse than all out war. No one knew what he was up to or what his next move would be exempt him, and maybe Snape, but if he knew he certainly wasn't telling.
She threw several snowballs over in succession hoping one would find their target, but all of her messy snowballs fell short breaking apart midair.
"Bugger it. How about I hide and you throw." She complained. He chuckled at her and started replacing their arsenal since the skies didn't have snowballs in them for the moment.
"How about I make them and you throw them?" He asked starting a pile of perfect snowballs and placing them by her side. He brushed some of the snow off his glasses with his sweatshirt which made the glasses snowier than before.
"You got something...there." She said teasingly motioning to his entire body. He laughed and shoved her playfully.
"Oh shove off you're hardly cleaner than I am." He said teasingly looking up when a snowball whizzed past. He gave her a mock serious look.
"The war continues my lady, shall we retaliate." He said offering her the snowball. She saluted him.
"Of course captain, your orders are my command." She took the offered snowball and chucked it over the hill missing Ron's bright red hair by inches when he ducked under. She grabbed another snowball and paused for a moment waiting for Ron to jump back up, but Nevile popped up and threw the snowball before she had a chance to react. The icy ball hit her square in the face and she squeaked falling back ungracefully into the snow.
"Hermione!" Harry shouted forgetting the snow ball fight and by he was by her side in an instance looking worried. She groaned and sat up rubbing her forehead where it had hit her wincing at her sensitive skin.
"I'm fine, it just shocked me is all." She assured him shifting to get all the way up, but he held her back. Her smile faltered when Ron and Neville came over looking just as worried.
"What?" She asked self-consciously worrying that she had an ugly bruise or something. Harry muttered something and conjured a cloth with an expert flick and held the fabric to her nose.
"I have a bloody nose?" She asked leaning back to see more blood on the material then she had expected.
"Let's get her the infirmary." Ron said not waiting for her to respond, but putting an arm under her and lifting her easily. Harry put his arm on her other side, and they practically carried her, taking her up to the castle quickly.
"I'm fine, it's just a little bit of a nose bleed." She said embarrassed at having been practically carried by the two boys with the whole school to see. Neville was walking in front of them and looked back at her worriedly. She sighed in frustration, her breath tickling the material Harry had plugged up to her nose with his free arm.
"It certainly won't hurt to have Madame Pomfrey to check you out, just in case." Harry said soothingly looking slightly paler than normal. Hermione wanted to snap at them that she could walk herself up to the infirmary herself, but refrained since they were just trying to be helpful.
"Mate, the rag is already..."
"I know." Harry said cutting Ron off sharply. By the time they actually got to the infirmary she was starting to lean a bit on the boys, and wasn't so embarrassed at the having been practically carrying her up.
"What happened?" Madame Pomfrey asked as soon as they came through the doors. She groaned when she saw who Madame Pomfrey had been taking care of. A very pleased looking Malfoy was sitting on one of the beds, smirking at having gotten some awesome blackmail from her pathetic entrance.
"We were having a snowball fight, and a snowball hit her on the head." Harry said as they were rushed to a bed where the boys set her down on carefully.
"Does your nose hurt dear? You had to have broken it for it to be bleeding this bad." Madame Pomfrey asked pushing away Harry's hand. She closed her eyes to push back the nausea she got at the sight of the red drenched material that Harry had been holding to her nose.
"No, it feels fine." She insisted opening her eyes after she was sure she wouldn't be sick. Both of the boys waited silently on the bed across from her while Madame Pomfrey fiddled with her nose trying to assure its unbroken status. When that didn't hold any answers to the broken nose, she ran her wand over Hermione chanting hurried diagnostic spells that she couldn't quite catch. When the mediwitch was done she leaned back and frowned as if it was a deeply troubling puzzle.
"It was probably just from the impact, I was hit pretty hard." Hermione fussed not liking having everyone looking at her so seriously.
"I have been hit in the head plenty of times by things harder than a snowball, and I never had a nosebleed than bad." Harry said conjuring another handkerchief and handing it to her since her nosebleed had yet to slow down. She took the handkerchief solemnly realizing she would be in the infirmary for a while.
"I think it would be best for me to do some tests, just to make sure everything is alright. It is most likely nothing, but I want to be sure." Made Pomfrey said after a moment and hurried off to gather what she presumed to be the test supplies.
"Great. Just bloody great." Hermione mumbled frustrated. She had a potions practical to study for tonight, she couldn't afford to spend all day here.
"Just relax and let her do her job okay Mionie?" Ron asked her laying a hand her her shoulder. He was worried, but she had the strange feeling it had to do more with their potions practical than her.
"Fine." She agreed reluctantly leaning against the white pillow, frowning when she realized the bed faced Malfoy's bed, who was watching her deal with the nosebleed with amusement. She was sure it would be in the headlines tomorrow.
Gryffindor princess has nosebleed after snowball fight with dimwitted friends.
She sighed.
"Madame Pomfrey will take care of me, you guys can go I'm sure this will take a while." She said with more than a hint of a grumble. Ron nodded agreeing easily to this.
"Alrite, well you get better soon Mionie." He said giving her a kiss on the cheek despite their slytherin company.
"Bye." She said feeling herself flush so she kept her eyes on her remaining bedside companion.
"You can go, really." She insisted with a wry smile. Harry snorted at this and kissed her hand that he had yet to let go of since Madame Pomfrey had left.
"I know, I am just worried is all, can't a best friend be worried?" He asked sitting down beside her, his genuine concern wiping out the hurt she had felt at Ron's severe lack of concern.
"Yes, of course, but someone might take it the wrong way." She said softly so the other occupant of the room wouldn't hear them. Harry had developed a crush on Malfoy last year and had never quite gotten over it. He was never foolish enough to make a move on the cocky Slytherin, but she knew Harry still felt for the blond who didn't return his affections.
"Oh let him." Harry said with a small chuckle and he brushed some of the stray hairs out of his brilliant green eyes. He had always been a strong person, but the last few years had made him confident, and he had developed emotionally in a way that Ron hadn't. He was still a little temperamental of course, but he had also mellowed out significantly.
"Oh how sweet, the two most nauseating gryffindors are finally getting together. What a little tramp you are Granger, just going from one boy to the next are we?" Malfoy asked with a sneer seeming a little too offended by the display. She smiled sweetly at him despite his harsh words.
"Yes, well at least I get some action Malfoy. When was the last time you went out?" She asked through the rag that was covering her nose making her sound muffled. He got the point however and blushed deciding to finally look out a window instead of at her.
"Alrite, that's enough." Madame Pomfrey said coming back in with her arms full of supplies to torment Hermione with. Hermione groaned and flopped back on the bed dejectedly. All this just for a snowball? Really?
"Out with you, I'll have someone come find you when she is done." She said firmly to Harry who pouted.
"But.."
"No buts young man, you need to leave so I can start work on your friend." She said cutting him off with a glare. Harry sighed, but let go of her hand giving it a final kiss.
"Bye Hermione, i'll see you later okay?" He said giving her an encouraging smile trying to lighten her mood. She gave him a weak smile in return and watched him leave.
"Let's start then." Madame Pomfrey said pulling out a potion that was a sickly green color. She winced and took a deep breath preparing herself for the onslaught of vile tests.
Next chapter, Hermione finds out what's causing her strange symptoms and has to decide what she would be willing to do to save herself.
Teaser- "Do you think it will work?" She asked surprised at how even the question came out. He hesitated, whether unwilling to crush her dreams, or face the wrath of Madame Pomfrey who was giving him an icy look, she wasn't sure.
"No."