Disclaimer: I must not tell lies! I'm not J.K. Rowling, and I do not own any part of Harry Potter.
Ron Weasley hardly dared to breathe as he pulled the invisibility cloak from Harry Potter's trunk, trying not to wake his sleeping friend. Harry wouldn't mind if he borrowed the cloak for a little while, would he?
Ron lifted the cloak over his head and grabbed his wand from his bedside table. He crept from the dormitory and tiptoed through the common room out into the corridor.
"Lumos," he whispered, and his wand tip ignited. Ron held the wand up and carefully walked down the corridors until he reached the hospital wing.
After making sure Madam Pomfrey was nowhere in sight, he made his way through the rows of beds to the last one. There she was: Hermione Granger, cold and still, unaware of his presence.
"Hey, Hermione," Ron said softly as he took off the invisibility cloak. He gripped her hand in his, but he might as well have been holding a piece of marble, her skin was so hard. "How are you?" he asked, and then shook his head. "What am I saying? You're obviously not well. You can't even answer me."
Ron settled himself in a chair beside Hermione's bed. "I had a great day," he went on, as if he wasn't talking to a Petrified person. "I got an E on my Transfiguration essay, and you know how tough McGonagall grades our work. Then again, maybe you don't know, since you always get O's."
Ron's mouth curved into a half-smile. "I bet when you wake up you'll go crazy over how much class you've missed." If you ever wake up, he added in his head. He brushed a tear from his face and tried to grin again. "I'd fill you in, but you know me, I never take good notes. I need you to help me."
Ron's voice cracked, and another tear slipped down his cheek. It was no good. He hated looking at Hermione's glassy, unseeing eyes, her stiff body. "I need you, Hermione," he repeated. "Not just for homework and stuff like that, but as a friend."
The tears were falling freely now. "What if the monster killed you?" Ron croaked. "What would I do without you? In less than two years of knowing you, I already can't imagine what life would be like if you were gone."
Ron took a deep, shuddering breath, attempting to compose himself. "I – I'm sure the mandrakes will mature soon, and – and then you'll be back to normal," he said, more to convince himself than Hermione. "They'll stop the monster too, so this will never happen again."
A small ray of sunshine came through the window, landing on the floor. Ron gasped, realizing what time it was. "Sorry, Hermione, I have to go before someone notices I'm gone!" he said hurriedly. He squeezed her fingers. "I'll come back later with Harry, okay?" With that, Ron threw the invisibility cloak back over his head, picked up his wand, and ran from the hospital wing.
Author's Note: Hope you liked it! Sorry if the ending is kind of bad, I never know how to finish one-shots.