The Cruellest Dream Is Reality

Chapter Two.
Awake.

When her wand began to beep the witch on duty had been flipping through the latest copy of Witches Weekly catching up on all the latest gossip, she shut the magazine and waved her wand in the air, one quick swish from left to right, and a number appeared in the air: 413. In an instant she knew whose room it was, everyone knew whose room it was, as everyone knew Hermione Granger. She hurtled down the corridor and flung open Hermione's door, the last time her wand had begun to beep it was because the patient had stopped breathing so she knew that she had to get there as quickly as possible but what she found was even more shocking than she had thought it would be. Miss Granger was awake! Something everyone had silently given up hope on but still wished would happen.

"Miss Granger." She addressed the woman quietly feeling rather star struck, it took her a couple of seconds before she was able to speak again, "Miss Granger you are in St Mungo's hospital, I'm Nurse Stevens, you were brought here after you were injured in the battle, do you remember?"

"Erm…yes." Hermione croaked her voice was sore and hard to use, as it was so out of practise. "Yes I remember, is Harry here? Is he ok? And Ron and Ginny, do you know what happened to them?"

As thoughts of her friends flooded her head she struggled to sit up wanting to get out of bed and go and find them.

"Miss Granger, please sit down!" Nurse Stevens said firmly, "I assure you you're friends are perfectly healthy."

"And the battle? Is it over? Did Harry win?" Hermione asked as she allowed the Nurse to push her gently back down on to the pillows.

"The battle is long over and yes He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was defeated. Now Miss Granger you must listen, I'm very sorry to tell you but you've been in a coma, you were brought in here five years ago and you've been asleep ever since."

"What?" Hermione whispered, "Five years?"

"I'm very sorry Miss Granger." Nurse Stevens, "Now I must go and inform the doctor, I'll be back soon."

Hermione sat in complete silence as the doctor appeared and began to perform tests to check she was healthy and then she was able to mumble out a few names when the nurse asked her if there was anyone she wanted contacting. And then she was alone.

Five years.

Last time she had been conscious she had still been in her teens, still had the whole of her life ahead of her, and now she found herself suddenly in her mid-twenties, a large proportion of her youth ripped from her.

Harry was asleep when the letter arrived; it was very late, or extremely early depending on how you were to look at it. With a groan he opened his eyes and lay for several seconds before it became clear what it was that had roused him from his dream: the large snowy owl tapping impatiently at the window with its sharp beak. He ripped back the blankets, wincing as the cold air hit him, and crossed the room to open the window and allow the owl to enter. In its beak was firmly clasped a piece of rolled up parchment, the wax seal was stamped with a mark the he knew very well.

"Harry what is it?" Ginny asked as she sat up and rubbed her eyes free of sleep.

"A letter from Saint Mungo's." He replied, his brow crinkled in anxiety as he broke the dark green wax seal and unfolded the piece of thick parchment.

With trembling hands he glanced down at the letter dreading the contents as he began to read.

"What does it say?" She asked.

Harry said nothing, he was too busy reading the letter again; not able to take in what it said. Ginny, propped up on one elbow, watched him read it waiting impatiently for him to finish, longing to know what it telling him but biting her tongue to stop all the awaiting questions from spilling out every five seconds.

"Well? What does it say?" She prompted as he lowered the letter letting his arm fall to hang loosely at his side.

Harry looked up, face white and emotionless, "It's Hermione. She's woken up. Hermione's awake!"

Ginny's hand flew to her mouth as she sucked in a sharp gasp; she leapt out of her side of the bed and crossed the room to take the letter from his hand so she could look at it for herself.

"So what are we going to do?" She asked him when she too had finished reading it.

"We are going to go and see her." He said with a slight shrug as he grabbed a t-shirt and pulled it over his head. With a small sigh Ginny began to clothe herself too.

At around the same time, both Ron Weasley and Mr and Mrs Granger were reading the very same letter. Ron had been staying at his parent's for the night and was quick to share the news.

"Mum!" Ron yelled and Molly Weasley rushed into the room, worried by the desperation in his tone.

"Ronald what is it? What's wrong?" She asked.

"She's awake Mum! Hermione's awake."

"Oh Merlin!" She shrieked and rushed forward, bending down to hug her son from where he was sat at the kitchen table. "And to think if you hadn't stayed tonight I wouldn't have known until the morning!"

She pulled out her wand and pointed it at the fireplace, green flames sprung up inside of it, "Off you go then." She told him as she picked up his coat and helped him into it.

"I am twenty-four years old mother, stop treating me like I'm still a child, I can look after myself." He sighed, getting sick of his mothers continual fussing and inability to realise that he could look after himself, he shook her off and put the jacket on himself before making his way over to the flames.

Once in the fireplace, green flames tickling him he looked back to Molly, and as his way of saying sorry said, "Are you not coming mum?"

"No love," She smiled at her youngest son, "You go on now and tell her that I'll come on visit her later."

Ron, however, knew that his mother was simply dying to go and see Hermione as soon as she possibly could, but would not go that night for fear of having to talk to her only daughter. For the past two years Ginny and Molly had spoken very little following a blazing row the two women had had.

This had unsettled the family a great deal as had the incident with Percy, the son who was never spoken of, but to Molly her falling out with Ginny was worse as she was the only girl and was the baby in the family. At first Ron had believed that his mother and sister would patch things up, but now he wasn't sure the reconciliation would ever happen, as he had sided with his mother and couldn't see her backing down on the argument any time soon.

With a sigh Ron focused his mind instead on his destination and stated clearly and slowly "St Mungo's Hospital."

"Jane! Jane!" Thomas Granger yelled as he bounded up the wooden stairs, taking two at a time, "Jane!"

"Tom, it's the middle of the night, I was asleep." His wife grumbled as he came into their bedroom and flicked on the light switch. "What could possibly be so important that it couldn't wait until the morning?"

"Your daughter is what. Hermione's awake!" He declared happily.

A silence followed this statement for a few moments before Jane burst into tear of joy, and the emotions that she had been holding in for the past fives year were let out.

"Come on Sweetheart, you get dressed and I'll get the car, if we set off now we'll be there by the morning." Tom said ushering her out of bed and towards her wardrobe.

"Make sure you send on owl back to tell them we're on our way," Jane called to him down the stairs, "I want our baby to know that we're coming."

While all the hustle and bustle was going on Hermione sat alone, unaware that her loved ones were on the way, tears rolled down her cheeks. After the doctor had seen her a therapist had entered her room and told her that she would feel odd to start with as to her it would feel like no time had passed but once she got back into a normal routine she would start to feel better. The only thing that was offering her any hope was the object that she was holding in her hand. Her engagement ring, to her it had been only several hours since Harry had happily slipped it onto her finger, but now she realised she had had a longer engagement then some people had had marriages. She was holding a mirror in her other hand gazing into it attempting to reacquaint herself with herself.

The door opened and a nurse walked in, "Miss Granger? Mr Potter and Miss Weasley have just arrived would you like me to send them in?"

Hermione nodded and quickly wiped the tears from her face, she fidgeted around sitting up a little straighter and gazing expectantly at the door waiting for it to open again and her best friends to walk in. she could see them in her head, their face, hear their voices. But when they walked in she was shocked. The people she remembered had been children, the people stood before her now, they were adults; they were people she did not know.

"Hermione!" Harry breathed in wonder, looking into the eyes he had almost forgotten they had been closed for so long.

"Harry! Ginny!" The tense shock was broken when she heard Harry speak, the voice still the same as it ever was, he was still the man she loved she told herself firmly as she focused on his eyes, they were exactly the same as the last time she had gazed into them.

So quickly he could barely be seen to move Harry crossed the room from where he had been standing by the doorway and to Hermione's side where he promptly threw his arms around her.

"I've missed you so much." He sobbed into her hair.

Wordlessly she soothed him by stroking his hair like she had done whenever he had gotten agitated in the past, it was easy for her to slip back into her role of girlfriend. It was a habit that he hadn't forgotten and sent him hurtling back into the past.

"Ginny you look so much like your mother!" Hermione said turning her attention to her other friend in the room while Harry recalled his memories.

An awkward look was passed between Ginny and Harry but no comment was made about it.

"It's good to hear your voice again Hermione." Ginny told her, also stepping forward for a hug.

"So fill me in! I've been told all about The Battle, although I'll want to hear that from you too at some point, but tell me what's been going on with your lives since then." Hermione prompted, but was met with a stony silence. Both of her friends' faces were slightly flushed. "What? Come on guys tell me, what's happened?"

She began to panic, thinking the very worse. Her eyes then clocked the glistening diamond ring on Ginny's left hand, the fact that Harry reached for Ginny's hand before either of them spoke and the look of shame on both of their faces; it then all fell into place.

"No! Please tell me I'm crazy! You can't be – but I – He – You!" Hermione stuttered, not even able to say it as the tears filled her eyes.

"Let me explain Hermione." Harry said soothingly, but merely made Hermione wail in agony as her worst beliefs were confirmed.