Marcus sent over Falcon support gear: a jersey, a ball cap and a scarf that she donned just before the game. She was wearing her favorite jeans and a white turtleneck underneath to match the gray of the Falcons jersey. Her hair was braided in two longs plaits making her resemble either a little girl or a Native American gone array.
She grabbed her game blanket and was all ready to go when Pucey and Blaise showed up (her usual escorts to such things) to get her.
She hadn't seen Marcus since the breakfast though they had been owling back and forth; she was excited to see him play.
Adrian chuckled when he saw her and Blaise smirked, "What?" she asked already having an idea.
Adrian shook his head and Blaise answered, "You look cute." He said as they walked out the door, clicked it shut and apperated on the spot.
***
When the players were introduced Puddlemere came out with their usual barrage of loud music, fireworks and acrobatics on the brooms. Marcus and his team, who were hovering nearby waiting for their introduction, watched the competition wow the crowd with their field entry.
The music changed and the announcer welcomed the Falmouth Falcons. This team was similar to the last as the crowd roared with excitement.
Marcus was a focused man, especially on the field, and didn't like theatrics so he just zoomed by on his broom. He saw her immediately and smiled to himself when he observed she was wearing the items he sent over… including the ball cap. She was huddled in between Pucey and Blaise. They were all sharing a blanket. A seemingly random thought entered his mind when he saw them; he wondered if she had been with either of them… or both. He was well aware of his almost brother's penchant for pretty witches and Blaise was no different. In fact, Marcus knew that the two often hunted together.
He didn't like the idea that she had lain with them, so he put it out of his mind and listened to the announcer introduce the Falcons newest player.
"Give a big welcome, Falcon Fans, to Falmouths newest player MARCUS FLINT! The best chaser in the league!"
Crowd goes wild.
Hermione and her snuggle buddies jumped up shouting and wooing and clapping. Blaise and Adrian shared an amused look. They hadn't seen her this happy since… well since…
The game started and Marcus took control of the ball early making a goal.
"YES!" Hermione shouted punching the air.
"Such an eager fan." Draco remarked from behind them also amused at his friends' apparent happiness.
Harry, Blaise and Adrian chuckled, "Just trying to be supportive." She quipped.
"ah ha." Harry replied, "supportive."
"I cheered for you when you played." She reminded.
"I don't remember you being this… what's the word I'm looking for…" he mused
"Wanton?" Blaise supplied laughing when she smacked him.
"No, enthusiastic. I don't remember you being this enthusiastic when you cheered for me… or Ron for that matter." Harry added teasing her.
"Such a big word Harry, Do you need me to heal you or can you cope with the head ache that word surely produced." She said sarcastically.
They all laughed, even Harry; she knew that they knew that she knew he was right; she hadn't ever been this enthusiastic.
The game went on with them cheering and Marcus scoring two more goals; and then it happened. A collision.
Marcus and Oliver Wood. They both went down just as a broom carrying a man with red robes flew out of nowhere in their direction.
After a few moments of the crowd roar dying down and Hermione chewing on her lower lip trying to look over the railing the announcer spoke.
"Is there a licensed healer in the house?" he asked.
Hermione waved her hand and shot a spark into the air from her wand. Two players flew to her immediately and helped her onto one of their brooms. She hated flying, but right now her focus was on the task at hand. She vaguely registered the announcer's next words.
"That was Hermione Granger Folks!"
Flashes instantly went off causing her to close her eyes and wait for them to land.
"This way Miss Granger." It was the healer in red robes urging her along.
"Is there only one healer?" she asked thinking it strange as most teams had their own healers in addition to the local establishment hosting the game posting a healer on call.
"We're short staffed and I'm new." He said rather sheepishly, "I wasn't … well, they look pretty bad and I didn't want to take the chance of doing more harm than good, you know?"
She pursed her lips and walked inside the quiet room.
They were lying down, each on separate gurneys – they looked like they were sleeping, "Did you run a diagnostic spell?" she asked.
He cleared his throat, "N… no. I just knocked them out so they wouldn't move."
She looked up at him sharply and then back down to her patients. When she was done she looked at him, "Go get Harry Potter, Draco Malfoy, Blaise Zabini and Adrian Pucey. They are sittin…"
"No need we're here." Draco said from the door way.
She looked worried, thought Harry.
She took a deep breath, "Oliver has broken his back and some other key bones as well as having a concussion." Then she looked over at Marcus, "Marcus has internal bleeding; it's severe. He must have been hit head on with the end of the broom. I need… I'll have to…" she said willing herself to be calm.
"We know." Blaise said quietly and walked in the room fully to stand near her without touching her.
She nodded and pulled up Oliver's sleeve so she was touching his skin and then looked over to Marcus taking his hand gently.
She closed her eyes and breathed deeply; clearing her mind and feeling each wave of power wash over her.
Her hair started to crackle and then she started to glow; a bright light making everyone in the room to squint their eyes.
Her chanting could be heard as a murmur. Draco was outside the door looking in and watching the second hand on his watch tick slowly by, they couldn't leave her in this state for long or she could be harmed.
Hermione was a natural healer, some say gifted by the Goddess Airmid herself. Hermione didn't tell many people and had only just discovered it during the final battle at Hogwarts. She watched her best friend in the entire universe die and when she ran over to him; they glowed and she watched as her best friend awoke… before she passed out and didn't wake up for two weeks.
She went into healing because it seemed like the natural order of things, but came to quickly realize that being an emotional person she was unable to protect herself from the almost constant heart ache involved in healing naturally.
It was the children, one in particular, which had been injured…, by his parents of all people. He was so sweet; she fell in love with him while he stayed in the hospital.
She wasn't able to save him. He died after ten days of working on him, laughing with him, crying with him and soothing him. She was crushed and quit shortly thereafter.
She didn't advertise her ability, but periodically St. Mungo's would send her a case and she would take it healing what she could.
Blaise, Draco, Adrian and Harry were there to make sure she didn't over do it, to catch her when she fell and then take her home to recover.
"Time." Draco called.
Harry moved forward, "Hermione, it's time" he said softly. Nothing, "Hermione." He called out a little louder.
"Why doesn't he just touch her or something?" the young healer asked.
Draco looked at him, "do you know anything about natural healers?" he asked.
The younger shook his head, "if someone touches them while they are healing all the bad stuff moves through them and into you." Draco instructed trying to break it down into laymen's terms… the healer didn't look too bright.
"Hermione, it's time." Harry said in an authoritative tone. This time Hermione breathed deeply ending her chanting and her eyes fluttered under her lids.
She opened them and lifted her hands from Marcus and Oliver. Blaise caught her when she started to fall and picked her up cradling her tired body.
"They need to be taken to St. Mungo's. The bleeding stopped, his back should be fine and their concussions are healed, but they had other minor injuries I couldn't get to." She said weakly before passing out.
"We'll take her home. You go with Marcus." Draco told Adrian.
Pucey nodded and watched them walk away.
***
It was dark and cold. He couldn't feel the searing pain like before; it was fading away. He needed to wake up he thought.
He was shivering and couldn't hear anything. He tried to move, but his body wasn't listening to him.
Why wasn't anybody there?
He didn't know how long he had been there in the cold silence, but he could see a light some distance away. It was coming closer to him and he began to feel warm… all over.
The light was much closer now and he could make out its structure. Small, bright… Hermione. She had come to get him. He was relieved that she had come back for him. he wasn't sure where he was, but he must have knocked his head or something.
She reached out to him. He reached back, but it wasn't his arm, it was a blurred version of energy that resembled his arm.
When he looked up at her, she had turned into the blurred version of energy resembling Hermione.
The two touched and bounced off of each other like ocean waves crashing against the rocks, coating the gray stones with water and salt.
He could smell her now, the soft feminine scent he smelled the other night on their date.
All too soon she was gone and he could hear murmuring and felt a little pain in his leg, but nothing he couldn't handle.
"Hermione?" Marcus croaked.
"She just left." Adrian answered.
"But she was here, right? I wasn't imagining things? Did she cast a spell on me?" Marcus asked groggily
Pucey frowned he hadn't seen this happen, the patients didn't usually remember her being there; "She healed you… well mostly. You and Ollie are lucky she was here."
"I felt her…I felt her magic connect with mine… so warm…" he said before easing back into unconsciousness.
Adrian wondered what that meant. He was a wizard and strange things happened to magical beings, he'd have to ask Malfoy or even Hermione when she was ready.
He followed Marcus to St. Mungo's where they healed them and released them with a clean bill of health.
Before Hermione quit St. Mungo's she had set up a Non-disclosure Agreement with them preventing them from sharing her healing abilities and instances with anyone she didn't give specific approval. So the only statement the hospital administrator could give the press was that the two valued players were in fine health and had been released earlier today.
***
Marcus didn't want to go home and rest, instead he talked Pucey into letting him go with to Hermione's.
They floo'd in one at a time to Draco making tea and Harry and Blaise sitting on the couch. Blaise was petting 'Jacksy'.
They looked at him and made room on the couch for him to sit.
"How is she?" Adrian asked.
"I think we left her too long." He said quietly, but Harry heard him and stood, "We didn't realize, stop feeling guilty."
"What are you talking about?" Marcus asked a little concerned.
Blaise cleared his throat, "we have a set amount of time we can let her heal… one person, but when we timed it this time we didn't take into account that she was healing both of you at the same time. It could take her weeks to pull out of this…" He said.
"He knew it was her." Adrian told the wizards changing the subject.
Harry looked at him confused, "What do you mean he knew it was her?"
"I felt her magic connect with mine." Marcus told them.
They all looked at each other in silence for a few minutes before Draco spoke.
"Marcus, what do you know about spontaneous bonding?" Draco asked.