When Hermione woke, she felt disoriented, yet strangely enough it had been one of the best nights rests she had had in a while. There had been no nightmares, no disturbances, and she knew it had to do with the potion. For a brief moment she had to remind herself that drugging herself before she slept was not the answer. However the feeling in her head reminded her further as to why one should not drug themselves before sleeping. Everything felt heavy and out of place, as if her head had been replaced with her arse and vice versa. She couldn't quite see what was around her, save for the white of the hospital room she vaguely remembered being moved to, and two dark shapes huddled together in the corner. A small groan escaped her lips as her head rolled and she shut her eyes once more to escape the sensation that usually followed.

"Mr. Malfoy…sir…Mr. Draco? Wake up, she's awake." There was some shuffling and the light that was beyond Hermione's eyelids disappeared and then someone was holding her hand. But it didn't really feel like her hand at all, but a stump that was connected to her somehow.

"She must have woken up in the middle of a cycle, we're going to need to give her more of the potion to help her sleep through the rest of the morning."

"Just a small dose. We don't need her sleeping through the day as well."

"I'll go run to the potions closet and get the vial. Leave the door open, I'll only be gone a minute."

There were light footsteps running away from she and who she assumed to be Draco, and then silence. She didn't want to open her eyes, as her stomach was beginning to feel the effects of waking up mid-cycle, and due to the grogginess in her mind she could not remember what would happen waking up mid-cycle from a heavy dose of a sleeping potion.

"Just keep your eyes shut and you should be fine. We're not going to give you much, but we need to let the heavy dosage leave your bloodstream in a way that won't make you sick. Squeeze my hand if you understand, don't try and speak."

Squeeze his hand? Hermione wasn't even sure where her hand was; let alone trying to make it move. But she guessed she accomplished what Draco had asked, as he proceeded to say, "good, good" and reassure her that the drop she needed was in the capable hands of Healer Grout.

Not long after there were footsteps coming back to their general direction, but more than one set. Immediately after one set entered the room, Draco let go of the stump that was her hand, and everything seemed to get colder. She felt isolated. She wanted to open her eyes, scream out, do something to not be alone again, but in that eternity that she was alone in her fear, small hands grabbed her chin and tilted it upwards. "Open your mouth, Ms. Granger. Just a drop is all you need." As soon as the drop hit her tongue she began to get feeling back into her body. Her hand became a hand, and her head and arse felt as if they were in the right position again.

"You can open your eyes for a moment, Ms. Granger, although the effects with begin to take place rather quickly so you'll fall asleep in just a few minutes."

She opened her eyes slowly, trying to reorient herself with the lighting and the room around her. The first person she saw was Megara, who was sitting next to her on her bedside, watching her carefully. She had the professional gaze of a healer, but she also smiled quietly, her eyes sparkling for a moment before she recapped the potion and put it into her cloak pocket. The next person to come to her attention was Harry, who looked as if he was just happy to see her breathing again. He gave her a sleepy smile and leaned in the open doorway just watching the slight exchange between the two witches.

But the person she wanted to see most had slunk into the shadows of the corner of the room, just watching her with his sad, grey eyes. She wanted him to come and sit by her side, hold her hand again, but he just stared and by the time she found the courage to ask him, the potion had begun to take it's toll, and she fell back into her sedated sleep staring into his eyes.

. . . . .

With Hermione finally sedated once more, Draco could breath a little easier. There weren't many people who could wake themselves that deep into a sedative sleep, but there was no doubt in his mind that he and Megara should have been more careful and prepared for it. She had nightmares, and while she wouldn't remember them at that deep a sleep, they were still powerful enough to pull her out of any sort of sleep she had gotten herself into. It was something Draco himself had experienced while experimenting with various potions to make his mind rest during the night, but found it was an extremely uncomfortable experience to be forcibly woken up in the middle of the night and suddenly not have control over most of his body parts, let alone even know where any of his body parts were. And on top of that, there was the puking to get it all out of your system and in general, was just not something anyone wanted to go through if it could be prevented.

Potter himself looked sick to his stomach when he arrived, although in short, that was probably due to seeing Megara sprinting towards Hermione's room after exiting the potions closet. After she had fallen asleep, the war hero had walked towards the chairs Megara and Draco formally sat in and collapsed. "Merlin, that scared the shit out of me. I thought something had gone horribly wrong." His head fell into his hands and he rubbed his eyes. "There's no way I am going to be able to sleep the rest of tonight. Do either of you want coffee?" Both Draco and Megara nodded, and almost as quickly as he arrived, Potter was gone.

Once again it was just Draco and Megara, and the slumbering Hermione. But this time there was something hanging in the air between the three of them, and Draco was unsure of what would be said next, if anything were said at all.

The minutes ticked by and Draco couldn't have been sure how many awkward glances were passed between the young healer and himself, but finally Megara spoke up.

"You really care about her now, don't you?" It wasn't the question or words Draco had expected from her, yet they were the ones that came out of her mouth and eyes that sparkled with both longing and sadness. He didn't want to answer her. Before he could look away though, she spoke again. "I don't mean to intrude on your life, your thoughts, or your feelings, but I did notice how you rushed to her side when she woke up, and how just as quickly retreated when you heard our footsteps were too close for comfort. And it may not be my place to say this, but I do really understand what it is like to have an unbearable love or just, general strong feeling for someone and not knowing how to conduct yourself, or who to tell, or even if it is right. Just, please. For your sake and hers. Figure this out. Because she looked so pained when you let go of her hand."

Draco's gaze switched between the two witches; one of which was in love with the witch he wasn't sure would ever be able to love him even if he managed to figure out the feelings he had for her. A drunken kiss or two meant nothing. Even accidentally stunning him naked meant nothing in terms of whether or not something like them could work, regardless of what The Prophet thought.

"And Mr. Malfoy?" He looked back to Megara who was holding Hermione's hand in her own. "I know this is not professional—then again, not much of this night has been—but I am always free to talk about pretty much anything. I may be two years younger, and you may look down on me in both ways as being younger, but also as you are my superior in our line of work, but I do enjoy talking to you. You are a wonderful listener and I can prove to be one too, if given the chance."

"You have proven to be a loyal colleague, Megara. I will take you up on that offer, maybe when we are not waiting for Potter to return, or Hermione to wake."

Her smile was all he needed to see, to know she could be trusted. Of course, having been training under him for quite some time, he had to trust her when she had to demonstrate her healing abilities. But she could become somewhat of a friend, Draco decided. Someone he could confide in for once in his miserable life.

He sat on the other side of Hermione's bed and stared at her sleeping form. Her breathing was normal, and her hair was still on the bushy side. Draco wondered what she had been doing to it to make it stay down as it had been in recent years. Clearly it was something that needed to be applied daily, as the old curls he had known in their years at Hogwarts had begun to resurface. He held her hand once more and looked over at Megara who was carefully watching his every move.

"Is there something you want to say, Healer Grout?"

A blush formed in her cheeks as she stammered out a no. "Well. I mean, yes. It's just, you two just look right together. At least, when you're both calm."

Draco snickered at the comment. "Yes well, you would fit right under her wing as a little mini-Hermione. I'm sure you would have been the Colin Creevey to Potter, always following her around, holding her books."

"Yes, probably. But the difference would have been at the end of he night I would have tried to kiss her before she left to the Gryffindor common room. And I would be able to carry her books no longer because I distracted her too much from her studies."

At that Draco had to laugh. While Hermione wasn't the tallest, she still towered over Megara and he could only imagine the young healer trailing behind her in the library with books about to fall on top of her in her hands.

She laughed for a second and then sighed. "I wish the other Healers would try to understand you better. You really are a pleasure to speak with. Even if we are a tad sleep deprived."

"Ah yes, he's a regular old chum." At the sound of Harry's voice, Draco jumped up letting go of Hermione's hand, but quickly realized Harry's nose was buried in an article of The Prophet. "You might want to take a look at this though. There were reporters lurking all over Saint Mungo's. Inside and out." He held out the paper for Draco to take.

He snatched it out of Harry's hand and immediately saw photos of him running into the abandoned muggle department store that was Saint Mungo's, and of him and Megara crashing into one another, and two more of Hermione excitedly talking to him as they walked towards her recovery room. Is Draco In Need Of Some Old Fashioned Lovin'? was the headline, and under each photo a ridiculous caption talking about his love for Hermione and the new "mystery Healer" who he was seen crashing into upon his arrival inside the building.

"'Draco Malfoy has just reemerged into the public eye as he has been seen with not one, but two women in which The Daily Prophet thinks he may be holding private affairs with. The recently divorced Hermione Granger has been seen with him once before already before reporters watched him sprint into Saint Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries late yesterday afternoon to wait by her side as she was transported between hospital rooms, it has been said that she had very important news to tell him, no news on what either Ms. Granger or this mystery Healer are feeling on Mr. Malfoy's two-timing both women,' what even is this BULLSHIT they are trying to feed people?!" Enraged, Draco crumpled the paper into a ball and forcibly threw it against the far wall, only to have it bounce back to his feet. "I mean, this is supposed to be the NEWS, not some FUCKING gossip column for Merlin's sake."

Megara hadn't said a word since Draco had begun reading the article out loud, and Harry just stood at the foot of Hermione's bed with a deep furrow in his brow. "As soon as The Prophet opens I am going straight to Barnabus' office to have a word with him. Clear this up. I cannot have the entire population of Wizarding Britain under the impression that the two of you are snogging on your time off."

Draco felt his face burn, and was glad Harry had decided to pick up the balled up paper at the moment he uttered his last statement. Megara on the other hand was a different story. She had gone from calm contemplation to looking as if she would explode at any second.

"I am a bloody CLUMSY LESBIAN. For the love of Merlin how is me bumping into someone suddenly make me a heterosexual bimbo?!"

Even Draco couldn't help but at least smile at that. Harry had completely resolved himself to small bursts of snickers and laughter, and even Megara calmed down upon realizing what she just said and started giggling to herself. They continued quietly laughing to one another until Harry decided he should just go and wait at The Daily Prophet for Barnabus. And as soon as he left, Draco was right back to sitting at Hermione's side watching her breathe.

"You know he's going to catch on eventually," Megara sighed at Draco.

"Catch on to what?"

"The fact that you actually care, maybe? That the mask you put on every day and have been putting on since at least I first saw you at Hogwarts is a complete lie?"

Draco didn't say anything to her. He was amazed that this Healer in training knew more about him than most of the people he grew up with, and she was just looking in as an outsider. "What makes you say that?"

"Because, Draco. We are much more alike than you think." And with that she was silent for the remainder of the night. Even when Draco pressed for an elaboration of some kind, she would just shake her head, and smile kindly. The rest of the night was spent sitting on the edges of the hospital bed, and watching Hermione closely. Each longed for her in their own way, and hoped that maybe one day they would each get the chance of acceptance they each so longed for.

Author's Note:

HELLO EVERYONE. Wow I am deeply apologetic for my lack of posting. Uh, first thing's first. This is just a bit of a filler chapter simply because I like my OC very much and I want to explore the dynamic between she and Draco cause of you know, the whole connection with the houses and whatnot. But I also have something else up my sleeve muahaha. Also you know. In the whole "she could have died!" thing Draco is obvs gonna be super concerned and try to work out his feelings because subconsciously he realizes that life is short that whole cliche thing that I didn't really want to put into the writing cause it sucks? But then there's Hermione who is pretty much just as strong as ever, still trying to use her brain even when she really isn't able to. Erm. Not sure what else to add on that subject. Just let me know what you think, the usual.

Okay and then I am now on summer vacation WOOHOO and looking for a job so I hope I can keep updating more regularly, but you know how that is I say it and then I go on an accidental hiatus for four months oops.

But just leave me comments, tell your friends, I'm always happy to hear what my lovely readers have to say!

Also as a PS before the actually end this is for my friend Lauren who I wasn't aware was actively reading this, and my friend Gianna who better have started reading this.

Okay I'm done now, goodbye for now!

-beadlebug3