To: Sam
It was a dreary morning as Hermione walked down the street, heading towards the quaint little house she calls home. Her feet were dragging as she made her way up the steps, her hand on the railing being the only thing keeping her from toppling back down. She had not been home since she left for work the previous morning, and her reasons were not as fun as she would have liked. After a gruelling day sorting out complaints and filing for various laws to be passed, Hermione had found herself stuck in one of the most boring meetings of her life, which only ended when the plump men in ridiculous robes, her bosses, had decided that all of the work that she had been doing over the past month needed to be catalogued - tonight. This was very unfortunate for Hermione, as all of her employees had gone home for the night and, as it was Friday, would not return - no matter what she offered.
So, here she was, finally arriving at her apartment at six a.m. with her dishevelled robes hung over her arm, and her usually high spirit broken. She leaned against the door frame, suddenly having no will to open it. Her keys were clutched in her hand but she didn't have the strength to raise it. Even though Hermione could easily open the door with her wand, she always liked the idea of key chains and collecting little pendants for it. Ron thought it was so adorably muggle of her, and Harry had smiled when she showed him (then turned up the next day with seven choices of key rings to celebrate). The two of them were still her best friends, despite what happened, and Hermione was sure nothing could change that. There are some things that you just can't go through with creating a lifelong bond with someone; and they'd been through hundreds.
Hermione heard a small chuckle from behind her, and turned her head slightly. Out of the corner of her eye she saw someone, dressed in semi-formal muggle clothes, standing at the base of her steps. With a heaved sigh, she turned around and found a smiling Cormac McLaggen, with his hands resting on his hips. Even though Hermione had known him since Hogwarts, she couldn't help but appreciate how the years had treated him. She took a deep breath, trying to build up the energy to look alive when he spoke.
"Rough night?" Hermione nodded, her eye falling shut for a moment.
"Very," she managed to get out, before practically falling onto the top stair, trying to sit down. Cormac frowned, concern flashing across his face as he climbed the stairs his arms outstretched, ready to catch her. She flashed a smile at him, but his did not return.
"Hermione, how long has it been since you slept?" He asked, his eyes rushing from one side of her face to the other. He took in the dark circles under her red eyes, and notices how pale she looked.
"A bit?"
"Hermione."
"A day?"
"A before that?" Hermione looked at him, and realised he meant business.
"Maybe another day?" she said softly, trying her hardest to look into his eyes without letting him see how tired she was.
"You haven't slept in two days?" Cormac looked almost outraged, his eyes wide, and his hands softly holding her up.
"I'm busy," Hermione muttered, her eyes falling shut again.
Cormac sighed, knowing that Hermione's will was stronger than anyone else's, and the only way to get her to do something was to make her. Without a second thought, Cormac pulled out his wand and waved it over the handle of the door. The lock clicked open and he turned back to Hermione. She was slumped against the wall, muttering something under her breath. With a sad smile, Cormac lifted her into his arms, thanking Merlin that he'd stuck with Quidditch since Hogwarts. He walked through her empty apartment, kicking the door closed behind him and lit his wand for good measure.
Hermione smiled as she felt his arms around her, something she had honestly never expected. She jolted awake when she hit the mattress and looked around. Cormac was already by the door, his wand out in front of him. Within a second he had summoned some fruit from her kitchen and transfigured a glass, leaving her with some water for when she woke up. She left a soft smile form on her face as she watched him. Her eyes were only barely open when he returned to her bed, pulling off her shoes and throwing one of her many blankets over her body. As he turned away, Hermione threw her arm out, grabbing his wrist.
"Please, stay," she said softly, her breathing evening out slowly. Cormac smiled, giving a little nod.
"I'll be just outside," he said, letting her hand fall. He turned out the light and closed the door, trying to do so as quietly as possible.
It was hours before Hermione woke up again, her head aching and her eyes burning at the light coming through her window. She reached out for the glass of water by her bedside, silently praising Cormac for somehow guessing she would wake with the largest migraine she had ever come by. Hermione kicked back the covers, stretching high as she looked out the window; by her guess it was about three p.m., maybe later. She slowly padded down the hall, finally coming to her living room where she found a sleeping Cormac on her lounge. She skirted around him, heading to the kitchen to make a cup of tea, trying her best not to wake him. Her efforts were in vain, however, when a high pitched alarm went off right near Cormac's position. He groaned as he jumped awake, searching for the source of the sound, and finally finding it in one of the many pockets of his overcoat, which had been thrown to the floor when he woke. He looked up at Hermione after turning off the horrible noise from the device he had uncovered.
"Hey, Sleeping Beauty! You're up!" His smile spanned most of his face, and something within her compelled her to smile back. He just looked so happy - how could he do that all the time? Hermione let out a small chuckle, turning back to the kettle on the counter.
"I was just about to make some tea, did you want some?" she asked, reaching into her cupboard and grabbing two mugs.
"I'd love to," his voice came, but something in it made Hermione turn around, "but I have to get to work, that was an emergency call." He was standing already, his jacket on and ready to go.
"Oh," Hermione said softly, "okay." She looked around for something, anything to say, but came up blank. She was disappointed. "Thank you!" she said quickly, as he turned to leave with a sad smile.
"Any time," Cormac responded, then looked at his watch. "By the way, in case you hadn't realised yet, it's Sunday." Hermione watched as he walked through her front door, stopping to wave as he reached the street. Her mouth was hanging open as she watched him. It had been a whole day? She had been asleep more than a whole day?!
He had stayed with her for a whole day.
Hermione was running through thoughts quicker than ever before as she tried to work out what this meant. He was a couple meters away when he turned back, flashing one of the most gorgeous smiles she had ever seen, then vanished.
"Crap," Hermione said out loud, as she closed the door behind him. She had feelings for Cormac.
The End
From: Georgia
Thank you, for everything.
