A tuft of thick brown hair swung as Hermione turned and surveyed the area behind her. It was Ron who had playfully tugged at her, Hermione looked disapprovingly at him, trying hard to hide the smile towing at the corners of her lips, "Ronald!" She hissed, and then turned back to the one lying ahead of her unconsciously on the white sheets of the hospital bed, her patient.
"have I not made myself clear about disturbing me while I'm in the ward?" She expertly pointed her wand at the patient`s chest, a slow streak of bluish white light erupted from it and penetrated into the body.
"but I was missing you." Ron said sulkily, and walked up to stand beside her, staring down at the person`s face thoughtfully, "isn`t he the one who was under the imperius curse?" it was admirable how Ron seemed to remember all of her patient`s faces and their causes too for that matter. Hermione nodded.
"let him rest, come and grab a bite with me." He urged, wrapping his arm on her lean shoulders.
"I can`t Ron," Hermione said, falling short of making her voice sound sharp, "the recess hasn`t started yet."
Ron looked down at his wrist watch, he had finally figured out how to tell time on that muggle thing, "only ten minutes." He said, dragging her by her arm, "came on, you work too hard." Hermione tried to protest but she was in no position to struggle out of Ron`s grip. He pulled her, although it was not so much of a pull, just a gentle tug since Hermione had given up on the protesting, all the way out of the ward, the other healers were filing out too. It seemed as though only Hermione had to stick up to her patients till the small badge on her chest started buzzing as an indication that the official break had started.
It had only been two weeks since Voldemort`s fall, two weeks since they had all been desperately trying to embrace normality of life, trying to get over the past and hold on to what was the after math of the war had to offer. Ron worked in the law department, admitting that he had always found it to be interesting although he never regarded any rules in school. Harry had been immediately taken up as an aurror, since many of the deatheaters were running loose, crazed by their precious dark lord`s fall, while Hermione`s position as a qualified healer had been established quite strongly too. It had almost become a daily ritual for the trio to meet for the tea breaks and let the burden of the day`s work waste away as they chatted. Getting out of the controlled environment of the ward, Ron loosened his grip on her arm and said, "it's about time you started taking off a little earlier."
"there`s a time for everything, Ron." Hermione sighed, walking through the corridor with Ron, he didn't reply. They crossed the main hall, walking pass and side along many attendants, some patients and healers. A few heads turned to them as they walked, Hermione smiled at the recognizable faces while just turned away from the unknown ones. They reached the elevator and stepped in, along with several others, some of them were the healers` assistants holding files of the patients. The lift descended, pausing at different levels to drop some of its occupants and taking some others in. As they reached the main exit, the only ones other than them were two of the other healers, Hermione hadn`t seen them before since they might have been working on some department other than hers and she barely came out of her ward except for with Ron or Harry when they came to get her for the breaks. She was heading the newly opened ward, 'war woes' it dealt especially with the casualties that had taken place during the war. Some of the patients had been in fatally severe conditions when brought in and the numbers were increasing day by day as the ministry swept across the war-influenced areas, but with great relief Hermione could recall that none of her patients had perished. Each one was saved, maybe because of the fact that she put extra effort in saving them, like they were one of her closest relation. Her badge started vibrating, telling her that her break had officially begun, that gave her an odd sense of relief that she hadn`t left the building before formally been allowed to.
Stepping out into the bright sunlight, Hermione couldn`t help but extend her hand to shield her eyes. They walked up to the apparition area and waited since a few others were ahead of them. As the way cleared, Ron stepped forward and disappeared out of her sight, not before giving her a slight grin. There was no need to tell her where they`d meet since they always spent their breaks at the 'luminous leisure.' Harry had suggested it, because it was probably few of the places where not many people came walking up to him and started interrogating him or asked for autographs, it offered some privacy. Picturing the slightly shabby glass windows and the big door of the inn, Hermione closed her eyes, concentrated and disappeared with a small crack.
Ron was waiting for her at the entrance; he looked at her admiringly with a glint in his eyes, "what Ron?" She asked edgily, feeling uncomfortable under his blue eyes.
"have I told you lately how much I love you?" Ron took a step towards her and took her hand in his, never breaking the eye contact.
"you don`t need to say it." Hermione rolled her eyes, smiling timidly. She walked with him through the threshold of the door. They immediately found Harry sitting at the table at the corner of the room, that table was where they sat everyday so almost every regular visitor knew it as their table. They walked up to him, who looked up at them upon hearing them approach and smiled, avoiding looking at their locked hands.
His two friends had been recently announced as a couple and Harry knew Ron was doing all in his place to prove it. Although Harry doubted if they had done anything more than hold hands in public and tease each other.
"Hi." He greeted.
"hey mate." Ron let go of Hermione`s hand and patted Harry`s back before seating himself on a chair next to him. Hermione occupied a seat at his other side.
"I didn`t see you leave for the ministry this morning, Harry." Hermione said, a bit of concern in her eyes as she watched her friend.
"yeah, about that…" Harry ran a hand through his hair, remembering how he had snuck up to Ginny`s room earlier that day, it had been only a brush of lips when Harry thought it was too much for him to take and walked out, deciding to go to work early and avoid any uneasy conversation with his friends. "I had loads to do."
Hermione nodded understandingly while Ron just stared at him, "don`t you dare become like her too, work`s not that important."
"Then what is?" Hermione asked distractedly, waving her hand in the air to get the attention of a waiter.
Ron beckoned her question off and shouted to the waiter who had caught her attention, "the usual!"
Ron walked Hermione through the corridor that led to her ward after the break, she had been going on about how she had taken an extra ten minutes when she stopped in mid-sentence locating Lawrence Diglude walking up to them from ahead. She immediately straightened up and released Ron`s hand, he was her senior and had a respectable air around him which didn`t have openings for his subordinates holding hands with their partners in his presence.
He stopped near her and looked at her through his thin glasses, "where were you Miss Granger?"
Hermione`s cheeks flushed at realizing that he must have been referring to the time before the break, before she could reply, however, Diglude spotted Ron standing at her side and gave an accepting nod, saving her the trouble.
Ron smiled gratefully at the man and then said, once sure that he wouldn`t give Hermione a hard time because of him, "excuse me then. Bye Hermione." He added in an undertone and turned around to leave.
Once they were alone Diglude gestured for her to follow him in his office.
"Miss Granger," he sat himself down on his chair and waved for her to the same but Hermione felt more comfortable with the standing, "I thought I should inform you that the ministry is going on an expedition to one of the newly discovered war affiliated areas, I am having doubts that there maybe some new entries in your ward."
There was a short pause after which Hermione assured, "I will go through the preparations as soon as I can, sir."
Diglude nodded, "that`s all."
Lets go back… back to the beginning.
I`m a soldier, wounded up so I must give up the fight, there`s nothing more for me, lead me away, or leave me lying here.
It's a new world, it's a new start, its alive with the beating of a young heart.
Hermione finds herself struggling to fit in the spinning globe of normality after the war, she is a qualified healer, has a relationship with Ron... everything is going on perfectly well... till she finds a dying patient in her hands, what if that patient is a Malfoy, and what if he becomes the reason for the relationship between her and Ron to seem tasteless??