AN: Next chapter. I'm really tired, like my eyes are literally drooping as I type this, so I'll just keep it short and say: Enjoy, and please review!
Massive thanks to my beta Littleoldmeeeee who is such a massive help and without which this story probably would have sizzled out of existence long ago.
Disclaimer: Everything you recognise belong to J.K. Rowling.
O.o.O.o.O.o.O
Neville was still not awake, when Harry, Ron, Ginny, Luna and Padma all came bursting into the Hospital Wing, already asking questions and just generally causing a racket. (Except for Luna, who, though wearing a concerned expression on her face, quietly wandered in behind an anxious-looking Padma. Hermione couldn't see much more after that, as Madam Pomfrey whipped the curtain around Neville's bed -where Hermione was sitting - closed as she sped by, cutting off her view). They were, of course, promptly chased out again by Madam Pomfrey, who Hermione was glad to see was holding up well, aside from a slight tremor in her hands, and a couple of shakings of her head, as if trying to clear it. Madam Pomfrey scolded them, "the patient must rest! You can come in after he wakes up. For five minutes, perhaps."
"Why is Hermione allowed in then?"
Hermione couldn't hold back a slight smile at Ron's complaint, and her smile widened even more when she heard Madam Pomfrey's reply.
"Miss Granger was the one who found the poor boy, and she's been nothing but a help in here. And she's quiet. I can't imagine that you'll all be quiet."
"But what about Neville? We want to know what's wrong with him!" Harry's frustrated voice broke through, and Hermione could just imagine Ginny's indignant nods beside him.
"Mr. Longbottom is doing fine, apart from a hit on the head and a minor memory charm. And before you ask, neither myself nor Miss Granger know what happened to him. I suspect we will not find that out from the gentleman in question himself, if the memory charm is any indication."
Hermione heard the door being pushed shut, but it paused when Luna's calm voice said, "Madam Pomfrey, I understand that Neville shouldn't be bothered, because the Hopelbies are probably already working on him, and they don't like to be disturbed when they're healing someone, but don't you think I'm quiet enough not to bother them?"
Hermione heard the characteristic silence that usually followed when someone listened with too literal an ear to Luna's words, before Madam Pomfrey heaved a resigned sigh, and said, "I don't know what on earth you are talking about girl, Hoopelbies or whatever, but I do admit that out of all these hooligans," Hermione could imagine the scornful glance she graced the others with, "you seem to be the quietest. I suppose you could come in to keep Hermione company."
Luna probably said thank you, but it was drowned out by the others' protests, which was abruptly cut off when Madam Pomfrey closed the door behind Luna.
Glancing around the edge of the curtain, Hermione spotted a ruffled-looking Madam Pomfrey leading a calm and collected Luna towards her. Luna's smile was as serene as ever, but there was a slight frown of concern on her face.
Madam Pomfrey, muttering something about how 'idiotic those children are,' and, 'just been through a war,' scuttled off to her office, leaving Luna standing in front of Hermione.
"I didn't know you and Neville were together now, Hermione," Luna said with all of her usual bluntness, looking at Hermione's hand grasping Neville's on the white sheet.
Hermione snatched her hand away, her cheeks flushing, before feeling ridiculous for being embarrassed, and gingerly taking up Neville's hand again.
"I don't know if we're actually together now, Luna. I mean, today was supposed to be our first, well, date, I suppose, though it feels very strange to be thinking about something that mundane when something like this just happened... and we don't know even know what exactly happened, when it happened, what exactly the memory charm affected and-"
Hermione didn't realise that she'd been talking too fast, her words blurring together, until she felt Luna's hand land on her shoulder, after which her voice abruptly cut off. They stayed like that for a while in silence; Hermione tightly clutching Neville's hand and Luna standing behind her, holding her shoulder in silent support.
The crazy thing, for Hermione at least, was that although she had spent the almost the entirety of the last week obsessing about Neville, (or trying not to), and trying to figure out what she felt towards him, right at this moment, she could honestly care less about what it all meant. Neville was, first and foremost and above anything else that he might one day become, one of Hermione's most treasured friends, one of the people who had never teased her about her bookishness and her love of knowledge, (something even Harry and Ron couldn't boast of), and she just wanted him to wake up. To sit up and to assure her, with his adorable, uncertain grin that he was fine and that she was being silly, worrying as she did.
"Where did you find him?"
Luna's voice broke in to Hermione's inner musings, (which was probably a good thing, as she had to admit she had been indulging in them for most of the afternoon), and she started, before relaxing and waving her wand to conjure a chair for Luna to sit on.
After Luna had taken her seat, positioning herself so that she could watch over Neville and show an attentive face to Hermione at the same time, Hermione told her about what had happened.
When Hermione had finished her tale and Luna was absently staring at Neville, toying with a frayed end of her sweater, a thought suddenly struck Hermione.
"Wait, how did you all know about what happened to Neville? I didn't tell anyone else, and as far as I know, only Madam Pomfrey and I knew that Neville was even hurt, so how did you know?"
Luna was still looking at Neville, her head tilted as if she were watching something Hermione couldn't see, and she said slightly absentmindedly, "Oh, Headmistress McGonagall told us just as we were walking into the Great Hall. I assume Madam Pomfrey told her." Then, she continued as naturally as though it had always been the topic of conversation, "also, the number of Hopelbies around Neville are decreasing rapidly. He's probably going to wake up soon."
Hermione frowned. Something about Luna's explanation seemed off, though she couldn't pinpoint exactly what. She didn't get time to ponder on it however, as right at that moment, Neville gasped and opened his eyes, his whole body tensing slightly before relaxing as he recognised the familiar setting of the Hospital Wing.
He turned his head around, and locating Hermione, asked, in scratchy voice, "Hermione. Why'm I in the Hospital Wing? What happened? It's the middle of the night…."
His voice trailed off, as he saw the late afternoon light streaming in from the windows and Hermione frowned. The fact that he had immediately assumed it was still night was very telling. She opened her mouth to answer him and to ask him if he was alright, hand already reaching for his forehead, but was cut off by Madam Pomfrey speaking up behind her.
"We'd rather hoped you could answer that question for us, Mr. Longbottom."
Hermione started slightly and stood up to get out of the way as Madam Pomfrey bustled over, vials filled with potions clutched under her arm, her wand out and at the ready.
"Drink up boy," Madam Pomfrey said, shoving a vial of pain potion into his hands and placing the rest of the vials on the bedside table. "That potion will help for that pain in your head that I assume you're feeling, though it will also make you quite sleepy."
She looked pointedly at Hermione and Luna, who recognised it as their cue to depart.
Before going and leaving a dazed Neville under Madam Pomfrey's care, however, Hermione's natural curiosity, coupled with her concern for her friend, wouldn't allow her to leave just like that. "Neville, are you, are you alright? I mean, you know, any," she whispered, "flashbacks?"
"Miss Granger, Mr. Longbottom has just been through a traumatic experience, I really don't think-"
"It's alright Madam Pomfrey."
Neville's quiet voice cut into the medi-witch's rant, causing her to huff irritably and turn toward him warningly.
Before she could say anything, he held up his hand and said, "Really, Madam Pomfrey, I appreciate your concern, but I really don't think I could be much more traumatised than I already was by the war. A little hit on the head" he raised a hand to his bandaged head gingerly, wincing slightly, "will hardly be enough to render me catatonic."
"You children. You think you're invincible, even after that bloody war." Hermione saw the way the witch was trying to hide her trembling hands inside her robes, and she very nearly hugged the dear old lady. The only thing that stopped her was the knowledge that she had tried that once, after the war, and, well, she now knew that Madam Pomfrey didn't like any invasion of her private space.
"Very well. Five minutes more, on the dot. But, only one can stay. Whatever you think young man, just remember that you did just have a traumatic experience, so don't push it."
Hermione shrugged apologetically at Luna, who only smiled and nodded before following Madam Pomfrey out of the Hospital Wing, leaving Hermione alone with Neville.
Now that they were alone, without the safety of him being unconscious, she felt a bit self-conscious about the way she had been holding his hand.
"Are you going to come any closer, or am I going to have to shout to all the way out there?" Neville joked, his voice a bit shaky, one hand fiddling with the covers on his bed.
With the reassurance that Neville was just as nervous as she was, Hermione walked over to the chair she had been sitting on before, waiting for Neville's nod before she sat down.
"What happened?"
Hermione winced at how blunt her voice sounded, but Neville merely furrowed his brow, considering the question.
"I, I don't know. I honestly can't remember. Why can't I remember?"
His voice sounded a bit panicked, so Hermione tried to calm him down by saying, "it's okay Neville, I was really just asking to check. We suspected you wouldn't be able to remember anything, given the memory charm that was put on you. But, you don't think," here she paused, thinking about how to word her question, "Neville, you don't think there's actually anyone in the castle that would want to hurt you, do you? I mean, can't you remember anything about why you would possibly be in that classroom? Maybe you were, I don't know, practising memory charms so that you could wipe out my memory if things didn't go well with our date and you accidentally hit yourself with one, or something?"
Hermione intended her answer to placate and calm Neville, but, if anything, her answer seemed to agitate him further, and there was a decidedly hysterical sound in his voice as he said, "No! I didn't, I mean, I would never! I- I can't even remember where I went last night after asking you to go to Hogsmeade with me. I think I wanted to go to the library to study, but, but I can't remember, I can't remember, can't….."
Hermione caught a hold of his flailing hand, her heart beating painfully in her chest as she witnessed his panicked expression. He calmed a bit after she had gotten a hold of his hand, but then he looked around and asked, "Where's my wand?"
"I- I don't know. It must have been near you when I found you, but I probably left it there."
Calmed down now, though he was still breathing heavily, Neville opened his mouth to say something, only to be interrupted by Madam Pomfrey.
"That was five minutes. Time to go, Miss Granger."
Hermione nodded and stood up, pausing at the door of the Hospital Wing to call to Neville, "I'll look for your wand Neville, I'm sure it can't have gotten very far. And don't - don't worry, I didn't actually think you would use a memory charm on me."
She winced as her lame joke fell flat, but she managed to coax a wan smile out of Neville before the door closed behind her. She sighed, turned around, and looked straight into the expectant faces of her friends.
"So," Harry asked, amicably, as if they were talking about something as mundane as the weather, "d'you want to tell us exactly what happened here today?"