A/N Another chapter! I'm pumped, this is really so much fun. I love posting these stories, and I will have another chapter out by tomorrow I think, I just need to type it out. If you're being patient, thank you, if not... well, that's okay too.

The gloomy light of the hospital wing was not what woke Hermione up soon after she had been left carefully in a bed. A dream was what woke her. She had been among a group of people whose names had escaped her, but somehow she had the feeling of knowing them. The room she was in was very crowded, but then people started leaving. As the people kept filing out, she was unable to move from her position in the middle of the table in the room. Eventually everyone had left the room, and she was left there in the center of the huge room, utterly alone. The feeling of loss overwhelmed her, and as it did, a sharp pain in her shoulder woke her.

"Well Miss Granger, you gave us all quite a scare, how are you feeling?" A kind looking woman smiled down at her, and Hermione gazed emptily back up at her from the bed.

"W-w-where am I? What's going on? Who are you?" Her eyes flashed, confusion overcoming her and she felt totally helpless.

"It's okay Miss Granger. Just drink this." The woman handed Hermione a glass filled with water- like liquid, "just drink this."

Hermione glanced at it with suspicion, but when the nurse nodded at her convincingly, she took a deep breath and lifted it to her lips. She closed her eyes and grimaced when the smooth potion slid down her throat. Almost instantly she felt sluggish, and her senses slowed down. As she handed the potion back to the medi- witch, she marveled in how slow her arm moved. It seemed like hours, not seconds later that her arm returned to lay next to her body on the bed. The medi- witch smiled at her fondly, and then bustled away into another room.

Hermione felt her lips curl into a pleased smile as the pain that has woken her simply melted away. It was almost as if the pain was an outer shell of ice on her upper back, and now it was literally dripping off of her. But so slowly that it tickled and she giggled at the sensation. She was looking across the room at a wall hanging of an enchanted image of the Hogwarts crest when she heard from far away, a voice clearing itself.

It took her another eternity to bring her gaze back to where the nurse had been standing only a few moments before. Her eyes fell on a tall girl that stood before her, a pretty redhead with dark, troubled, deep brown eyes. Hermione stared at her for a long time before she realized that she was not the only person at her bedside. Behind the teenaged girl, was a man that simply towered over her. His broad shoulders dwarfed the young girl, and Hermione drew back in slow motion and gasped at her recognition. He had been the last person to leave her all alone in her dream, all alone in that huge room. She remembered how reluctant he had looked, how completely heart broken to have left her in that cold, empty room. Then without warning, the potion took its final effects and Hermione slipped into unconsciousness.

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Harry felt his heart leap into his mouth when Hermione had gasped at the sight of him, but when she had passed out he could feel himself blink helplessly, fighting back the tears. He was absolutely terrified. There was no other word for this, the woman he loved was gone, out of his reach forever, and he had just caused her shock, just before she passed out. A voice broke into his thoughts.

"Professor? What happened to her? Is she going to be okay? I swear I didn't do anything to her…" Ellen's voice broke off, unsure if she should keep talking. She looked up at her handsome Professor and Headmaster, praying for something that would clue her into what she should do next.

Happy snapped out of his thoughts and gazed at the girl that stood before him. He took a deep breath and then let himself smile at her, but they both knew it was strained. "Its going to be fine Ellen, don't worry. Professor Granger must have had a panic attack. It's very lucky that you found her when you did. Thank you." He smiled again, this time a bit more warmly, at the girl that was nearly as bright as the woman that was lying before him. "Can you tell me again exactly what happened?"

Ellen breathed a sigh of relief. She looked up at him gratefully, and then repeated the same think she had said before. "I left breakfast early because I had a small… disagreement there. I was walking around the halls and I didn't know where I should go. So I decided to go to the library to get some quiet time to think." She paused, and Harry smiled wider, reassuring her. Ellen took another deep breath and continued.

"When I opened the door, I hear her; she was crying and yelling out, so I took my wand out." Another pause. "I remember thinking something was really wrong because I found books scattered on the floor. Actually, I tripped on one. Then she kept getting louder, so I kept going. When I saw it was her, I really didn't know what to do. I'm ashamed to admit it," at this she blushed and looked at her feet, "but I was scared and didn't know what to do. I was scared of her; she was looking in my direction, but right through me.

"I charmed a paper in out in search of the nearest person of authority, but it must have been intercepted immediately and sent on a different course because it took about ten minutes for anyone to come. And instead of one of the professors like I had expected, it was a man I have never seen before."

Harry looked at her inquisitively, and searched her face. "Can you describe him to the best of your ability?"

Ellen bit her lower lip, thinking. "I was pretty dazed the whole time, but I think I can tell you a little. I remember that he raced in, barely looked at me, and was next to her before I could even think. His hands, they shook when he took her pulse, and he lifted her up really easily. She didn't seem to look at him either, more like through him, like with me. His hair…" She narrowed her eyes in concentration. "His hair was long. Not like long, but grown out, and very messy. He was really tall, maybe as tall as you or a tiny bit taller."

Harry nodded, and put one hand on her shoulder. "Do you remember any other defining features? Clothing, eye color, tone of voice? Anything you can tell me will help."

Ellen's eyes flickered back and forth and then she spoke. "He sounded… a lot like you. Not in tone of voice or anything, but it commanded authority. I didn't even think to question what he told me to do until after he left. His clothes?" She took a breath. "They were dark, not new, but not old and tattered. Everything about him just demanded cooperation and obedience. He was in control the second he walked into the room, and uh, well uh…" She looked at Harry and blushed deeply.

"Go on," Harry prodded.

"Well, he was um, not bad looking… if yeah, you get my drift. And he must have been in his early twenties, and he seemed to be just around your age."

Harry smiled at her, and then at Hermione. He looked back at Ellen, and his smile had turned sad. "I can't tell you how much of a help you and than man were, she would have been much worse off if she had been found any later. Are you late for any classes right now? I could write you out a pass so you don't get in any trouble."

"Sure, thanks that would be great. I'm late for my Sixth Year potions class, and my partners helpless without me."

Harry grinned, remembering his days back in potions and how everyone was hopeless without help from Hermione at one time or another. He grabbed a piece of parchment out of the pockets of his robe, and scrawled a quick message on it. "Don't worry, old' Slughorn should accept this with no problems. I was only his best student in the years he taught my classmates and me."

Ellen smiled back up at the man and took the note. She didn't look back as she rushed out of the Hospital Wing, grabbing her bag on the way. When she reached her potions classroom, the door opened much more heavily, and she walked forward hesitantly until she reached the teachers desk. Professor Slughorn was easily the oldest teacher in the school, and Ellen had to repeat his name four times before he opened his sleepy eyes. She handed him the note quickly, and retreated to her desk as his old eyes struggled to read the Headmasters untidy scrawl.

Owen elbowed her and mouthed the words 'where were you?' Ellen pointed snatched his parchment and wrote on it: I was with the Headmaster. Owen looked at her and then smiled easily. Then he gestured at the cauldron beside him and wrote: HELP ME, in large letters. Ellen couldn't stifle her small giggle, and promptly took control.