CHAPTER 14- RECOVERY

NO COPYRIGHT INTENDED, HARRY POTTER RIGHTS ARE J.K. ROWLING'S AND WARNER BROS. ENTERTAINMENT.

THIS FAN FICTION IS A BRANCH OFF FROM THE YULE BALL, AND EXCERCISING WHAT WOULD HAPPEN NEXT.

NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR:

HI! I'M WRITING THIS MIDWEEK, AND I REALISE THAT I HAVEN'T BEEN THANKING YOU FOR ALL YOUR KIND WORDS IN THE REVIEWS! IT REALLY PICKS ME UP IN THE MORNING TO SEE THAT SOMEONE ENJOYED MY WORK IS UPLIFTING. SO PLEASE REVIEW, IT HELPS ME BECOME A BETTER WRITER! SO, LET'S GET GOING WITH THE NEXT CHAPTER!

The kiss ended, but their foreheads still rested on each other's. They smiled, and Hermione crawled into the bed with him.

Slowly but surely, Harry started to feel better, while he recovered from initial shock from nearly drowning. Hermione was by his side at every opportunity, fixing his hair and fussing endlessly over him. 'She's worse than Mrs Weasley!' Harry thought. Madame Pomfrey tried to get her to leave at night, but Dumbledore knew there was no stopping her, and he allowed her to stay at night.

Harry was thankful for her presence. No one had ever cared about him as much as her. The way she mindlessly babbled about stuff only she knew, the way she knit her eyebrows, her smile, her laugh, even her fierceness was attractive to him. And that was only the icing on the cake. He was finding more reasons to love her every day. She was also incredibly pretty, and Harry was amazed that no one else saw it.

Harry didn't need medicines or potions. He had his cure next to him.

Eventually, Harry was out of the Hospital Wing and back to normal life. Hermione and Harry grew ever closer, unlike the majority of couples that originated from the Yule Ball. The only others that were still together were Neville and Ginny. They seemed quite close, but didn't quite have the intimacy of Hermione and Harry.

Hermione was on top of the world, she had a boyfriend who loved her, her grades were better than ever, and she was finally being respected, unlike how she spent most of her early life. Despite these feelings, she was becoming increasingly concerned about her boyfriend. Nightmares still haunted him, and they were becoming ever more frequent. Harry woke up at all hours of the morning in a state of panic, sweating and breathing like he'd just run for a thousand miles. Then, in one night, Harry and Hermione's perception changed.

Harry was in a dark room, with a half-naked Hermione on the floor screaming.

"Please! Stop!" Hermione screeched, as she squirmed endlessly. Harry was banging on the bars of a cage, trying his best to break free.

"Let her go! Me! Not her! Me!" Harry yelled at the top of his lungs, trying to fight back tears, as he saw his girlfriend being mercilessly tortured on the ground before him.

"Crucio!" Wormtail said, his wand pointed at Hermione's chest, giving Harry an evil smile. Hermione continued screaming. Harry still tried to escape, while an immense pain shot across his scar.

"Release the boy!" A dry, raspy voice called out, "Use Imperio! Do it! Now!"

"Imperio!" Wormtail said, directing his wand at Harry. Wormtail looked more rugged and pathetic than he did last summer.

Harry fell into a trance, but he still was aware of what he was doing. He was released from his cage, his stare fixed on Hermione. What had happened to get them into this state? Where were they?

"Give him the wand!" The voice called again. Wormtail obliged, placing the wand in Harry's hand.

"Now, kill the mudblood!" The voice cried, in an almost sadistic way.

Harry's blood ran cold, and Hermione gasped, pushing back against the wall in fear.

"HARRY! HARRY COME BACK! WAKE UP HARRY! PLEASE!" Hermione screamed.

"Avada Kedavra!" Harry said, even though the words had not been told to leave his lips. He felt himself screaming on the inside, but the words would not make their way up his throat. A bright green light left the tip of the wand and struck Hermione in the chest while she screamed a terrible scream.

Harry lurched forward so far, he threw himself off the sofa, waking Hermione in the process.

Hermione was initially startled, until she came to her senses. He'd had another nightmare. She immediately went to his side to check on him.

"Harry, it's okay. It's over now." She said soothingly. Unlike usual, Harry flinched and tried to get away from her. He opened his mouth to say something, but he was shaking too much, and closed his mouth again. Torn between hurt, curiosity and sympathy, she asked him calmly, "Do you want to talk about it Harry?" He nodded his head slowly.

Harry went into intricate detail on his nightmare on Hermione's murder. He was able to explain through hard sobs and short bursts of shivers. Hermione was stroking his hair, soothing his body while it was shaking violently. Hermione was shocked by Harry's dream, it sounded like the worst one yet. Harry finished explaining, took a deep breath, and buried himself in Hermione's arms.

"I- I'm sorry Hermione." Harry said, his voice muffled through Hermione's dressing gown.

"What for Harry?" Hermione asked, still in the same comforting tone.

"I- I must l-look really pathetic right now… still crying over bad dreams…" Harry continued to sob.

"No Harry, you don't." Hermione said, pulling him closer. "I know these dreams really affect you. And I don't judge you in the slightest. I'm here for you, and I always will be." Harry deliberately tried to hide his face from Hermione. "Don't be ashamed Harry. You have nothing to be ashamed of. Being scared shows that you have heart." Hermione lifted his face to meet her's. Harry's emerald eyes shimmered with tears as he looked longingly into Hermione's cinnamon brown eyes. He loved her with everything he had, even if it ended up killing him.

Hermione loved him. And with every passing nightmare, she fell in love with him more every time. Cradling him in her arms was a blessing. Hermione possessed many maternal qualities, separating her from the bookworm she had been stereotyped as for her entire life. Fourth year was one to remember, even if it was her last. She would do anything for Harry.

The pair met in an adorable kiss. It wasn't a particularly passionate kiss, it was just a quick kiss. Harry rested on Hermione's forehead, and his breathing began to slow. Harry and Hermione eventually fell back to sleep, foreheads still pressed together.

Harry's dream had changed him. He was became more aggressive and protective. Whenever Malfoy made a smart comment aimed at Hermione, Harry would try and lash out. The pain of Hermione's scream still rang in his ears.

Hermione tried to calm Harry down when he was angry, and more often than not it would work. Her strategy was to slip her hand into his, and rub his hand with her thumb. Calmed him down instantly. Harry continued to have nightmares, but none has bad as the nightmare where he killed Hermione.

Harry's recovery was swift, and he was back to his usual physical fitness in a matter of days. His mental state, however, had been changed forever.

TO BE CONTINUED

YOUTUBE: /channel/UCeHzFNYSe3qwQBOMgboP6QA? (make sure to add YouTube address)

NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR:

WOW, WHAT A DREAM. IMAGINE IT, HAVING A DREAM WHERE YOU KILLED SOMEONE YOU LOVED. I WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO SLEEP FOR WEEKS. SO, A WARNING FOR THE NEXT CHAPTER: EXTRA FLUFF. ANYTHING I HAVE WRITTEN (SUCH AS CHARMS, SPELLS OR CURSES) MAY BE INCORRECT OR BE WRONG FOR CERTAIN FUNCTIONS. SOME FACTS MAY ALSO BE INCORRECT. DON'T BLAME ME. I'M NOT A GENIUS.