Heartbreak

By: marbleandtoast

AN: Yes, I know I should be writing a new chapter to "Kiss" but I was reading a different story and the one came to me and don't leave me alone. This one is going be a long one and a bit personal. Sigh. So bare with me Starting with T and may change to M. Thanks Bola for reading this over and for being there for me. You, too Aslin. Lol Now on to the story..

St. Mungo's

Minerva is slowly walking down a hallway at St. Mungo's. She is trying to get a hang of walking with a walking stick. She refuses to use a cane. They refuse to let her leave until she learns how to regain her strength and mobility after her Stunner injury. She curses Umbridge under her breath for bringing those Aurors into the school grounds as she stumbles a little.

They have placed her in the private sector of St. Mungo's, which is set aside for Hogwarts students and faculty. The colors are light green or yellow with splashes of red and green accents throughout the room. The hallways are still the lime greenish coloring of St. Mungo's and still smell sterile like a hospital, though. The Founders of Hogwarts left funding aside for hospitals. They had foreseen that there would be a need for them.

As Minerva stabilizes herself with the walking stick, she notices that Madam Pomfrey is in the wing. She straightens her back up as much as it will allow her. She exclaims, "Poppy? What are you doing here? You usually don't check on me until later in the day."

Madam Pomfrey turns toward Minerva upon hearing her voice. "Oh, Minerva, I see that you are up and walking. You should try to get some rest." Madam Pomfrey tries to hurry her back up the hall.

"Poppy! What in blazes do you think you are doing?" screeches Minerva as she forces Poppy to stop pushing her, "Who is here that you don't want me to see?" Minerva McGonagall is truly too perceptible for her own good, Poppy considers.

Poppy sighs and says with a cringe, "Hermione Granger."

"WHAT? Let me see her. I demand you take me to her. She is one of my cubs," demands Minerva. Poppy looks at Minerva and sees the concern in her teal green eyes, so she unwillingly shows her where Hermione is staying in the wing. She somehow knows that her longtime friend won't back down until she does anyway. "Why is she here in the first place?"

"I don't have all the facts yet, but she was helping Harry Potter in the Department of Mysteries. She and four others went with him." She raises her hands before Minerva can interject. "I will tell you what I know, but I don't know why they went there either."

"Who else was there with them? I would imagine Ronald Weasley, correct?" asks Minerva.

"Yes, along with Neville Longbottom, Ginevra Weasley and Luna Lovegood," Poppy states. Minerva's right eyebrow disappears into her hairline. "Yes, you heard me right, and they did admirably against a dozen Death Eaters. They even helped capture a few of them."

"What?" sputters Minerva. "They went against Death Eaters?! I think you need to start from the beginning with what you know." Minerva turns towards the door that they are approaching, "No wait. Please tell me what is wrong with Miss Granger first," she says as she sees her through the window of the door.

"Hermione was hit by a curse from Dolohov or so Potter says. He said it was a purple flaming one, which was cast silently." She hears Minerva gasp at the description of the curse. "I had to bring her here because her injuries were the most critical of all of them. Mr. Potter said that she had silenced the Death Eater right before he cast it. It went diagonally across her front cavity, which created a mess on her internal organs. She also cracked some of her ribs from crashing into a bookcase just before the curse hit her. I was able to heal those right away to help her breathe better."

"Thank Merlin for your quick actions, Poppy. Who knows what would have happened to her if you weren't at the infirmary when they came in."

"She isn't out of the woods yet, Minerva," she says as she steps into Hermione's room, which has pale yellow walls with blue accents.

Minerva's breath hitches at the sight of Hermione laying there on the bed. Hermione's skin is pale white and bruises show on her face and arms from the battle. She is saddened to see the scarring on a lovely young lady, who shouldn't be worrying about fighting Death Eaters but about her grades, boys and a social life. Sigh. "She looks awfully pale, Poppy."

"The next few hours will be telling for her and her body's recovery." Minerva stumbles a little bit at those words. Poppy quickly grabs her elbow and guides her to a chair in the room. "Are you okay, Min? Do you need to go back to your room and lie down?"

"No, I am fine. Just a little shocked." As she says this, they hear a slight moan coming from the bed. "Miss Granger? Can you hear me? Please wake up, Miss Granger."

Madam Pomfrey whips out her wand to run quick diagnostic tests to check her lungs and internal organs like her liver and kidneys. Her brow furrows deeper than Minerva's seen in many years. "Hmm… will have to keep an eye on this," she mutters softly; then speaks at a normal tone, "Miss Granger? Please try to open your eyes for me."

Hermione Granger's eyes flutter open and quickly shut again due to the lighting of the room. She slowly turns her head towards the voices that she was hearing, even though she couldn't hear what or who they were talking about. She seemed to recognize the voices, though… "Where am I?" Hermione croaks out with her dry mouth. "Water, please."

Poppy moves over to the bedside table to get her some water and hands it to her. "Here, you go, my child. Sip it slowly, and to answer your question, you are at St. Mungo's Hogwarts' ward," the older witch firmly states. Hermione nods her head as she takes a sip.

Did I just hear Professor McGonagall?