Author's note: Gahh Finals suckedd! But now i'm out of my dorm and home for Christmas so I suspect this story will be finishing up soon! Thank you for the reviews, alerts and favourites! Merry Christmas or whatever you celebrate :)
The next time she awoke, it was to the gentle voice of her fiance, "I've had enough of you sleeping for one lifetime. I think it's time you wake-up now, love."
Her eyes immediately shot open and Sirius managed to move fast enough to avoid bumping their heads together.
They each threw their arms around the other and simply held each other for a while without speaking at all. Once Sirius had gotten into the hospital bed with her and once they were sitting snugly wrapped in each others' embrace, they began to speak.
"Remus told me everything that happened," she started, "I never liked Peter, and I know he hated me, but I truly think he loved you guys."
Sirius looked down at her, "Moony, Prongs and I were trying to figure out how his life could have gone so wrong, but we honestly can't figure it out. He was our best friend and we never suspected anything and then we found out what he was into, we just assumed that he was spending all of his time with his friends in Slytherin."
Sirius looked devestated. Peter may have been a little rat, literally, but clearly there was some good left in him at the end.
"We even went to Lucius to ask him about Peter, but he told us that Peter seemed to completely drop off the map once we stopped being friends with him. Snape said he had been at Death Eater meetings, but that was the only time anyone ever saw him."
Siriius stopped for a little while and they both just tried to let the information soak in a bit.
"We're discussing having a service for him. I owe him my life, I guess that's the least I can do."
Hermione nodded, "With lots of flowers, Peter loved Herbology. I think that's all I knew about him."
They both looked a little ashamed, but Peter had brought on their hatred himself and no one could help but remember him as a Death Eater as well as the little, chubby boy who followed the Marauders everywhere.
"James said Minerva is getting quite impatient with the healers here. Apparently yesterday she threatened to shift into her animagus form and sneak into your room if they didn't soon let her visit you."
They both boke into laughter, because both could see her doing exactly that if she didn't get her way.
"Pomfrey said that they were going to put you in same room, but you both should be out really soon. I suspect that that's the only reason she isn't here right now.
He became a little solemn, "We wondered about Andromeda, but she has to stay in isolation. I think Ted and Tonks said they would come visit this morning."
Hermione was excited to see little Tonks, "I hope Andy comes out of this. I remember her looking horrible right before I passed out, but that little girl deserves her mom."
Sirius looked really worried for his cousin, "she's one of the few decent people to come out of my family and now that Narcissa has finally come to her senses, I had hoped they would get to reconcile. Cissy's been here visiting quite a lot actually. I think becoming parents really changed them. Though what kind of a name is Draco?"
Hermione snorted, "Yeah because we can make fun of names?"
Sirius laughed in agreement, "Molly and Arthur are coming with the kids today too. I told them Pomfrey wanted to talk to you this morning and then that they should come by this afternoon, so get ready for lots of hugs."
Hermione smiled, "I don't think I've ever wanted a hug from Molly so bad in my life."
She looked up at Sirius, "I woke up and Madame Pomfrey gave me more potions and I couldn't ask where you were. I thought you were dead, Sirius," she hugged him closer.
"The last thing I remembered was seeing the green light rushing at you and when I didn't see you right away I knew that something was wrong. Thank Merlin for Remus, the first thing he told me was that you were fine."
Sirius just held her close and the couple continued talking about their fallen and injured friends.
"They still haven't found Caradoc, everyone's scared that he may have done something drastic once he learned about Marlene." Sirius moved some hair from her face, "I think he just needs some time. Remember how Remus just wanted to be alone, well I think Caradoc knew that we wouldn't let him be by himself for too long, so he took off before we could get to him."
They were shaken from thier solemn conversation when Poppy entered the room, "Good morning, dears. How are we feeling this morning, hmm?"
"I'm feeling fantastic this morning actually," Hermione replied grasping Sirius' hand.
"Well, Hermione, I have some good news and some bad news. I knew that you would prefer to hear most of it from a friend and Mr. Lupin assured me that he told you most of your condition," at Hermione's nod, she continued, "I'm sure that you are wondering what I meant by internal damage and I want you to know that the cruciatus curse has never been used on someone as frequently as you have been a victim of it. This has permanently damaged your nervous system and some internal organs."
Right on cue, a tremor shifted through her leg causing some twitching and Poppy was able to showcase her point.
"I know you can live with the twitches and you know that the potion to calm them is addictive, so I cannot give you much of it and we must watch the dosage."
Hermione nodded and so did Sirius, ensuring that he would not allow her to take more than she could.
"The organ damage is going to take a lot more than a potion to fix. It's going to take time, and a lot of it. I know you're feelings on children, but I need to warn you that at this time, it is not a possibility."
As the tears fell down Hermione's face, Poppy immediately continued, "It will not always be impossible dear. However, if you do not allow the proper time for your injuries to heal, your body will never allow you to carry a child to full term. You must exercise extreme caution and do not try until I give you the all clear."
Sirius dried her tears, "We can wait as long as it takes. There's no hurry, the danger is gone and we can take our time, Mione."
The danger is gone.
The danger is gone.
This was the first time that she truly thought about what she had done.
Voldemort was gone.
She smiled up at Sirius, "he's gone and we can finally be happy."
Poppy left the young couple alone, and didn't even scold Sirius for refusing to get out of the hospital bed. They stayed curled together discussing the future and how they would just take it one day at a time. Their wedding was obviously an important upcoming event, but would not be soon.
They needed to recover from their losses and ensure the ramaining dangers were taken care of.
"You're awake!" came the excited voice of Molly Weasley. Arthur was in front of her, being pushed in a wheelchair with Billy and Charlie hanging off of the sides.
"MIONE!" Bill Weasley ran and jumped onto Hermione's bed, knocking Sirius out of the way.
"Are you ok? Mum said that you'd be ok, but she said Tonks' mom would be ok too and she hasn't woken up yet, but you're awake so that means you're ok right?" Charlie was rambling on and on until Bill smacked him over the head and Molly yelled at them until they stopped fighting.
"Are you feeling alright today, darling?" Molly grabbed Hermione into a hug where she wanted to stay forever.
"I'm having a great day and Poppy said i'd be able to leave soon, so I just can't wait to get out of here. How are you two doing? Molly, you look like you're going to pop!"
"I'm expecting this one to show up in a few weeks. We're hoping that he will be a bit late, so Arthur can't get a little stronger," Molly patted her husband on the shoulder and he took her hand in his.
"He?" Hermione inquired knowingly.
"I've quite given up on my quest for a Weasley girl," Molly admitted, "With all this war going on, I just want a healthy baby who can grow up without any danger."
Everyone just nodded and knew exactly what Molly meant.
As she watched the little boys play fight with Sirius, Hermione couldn't help but laugh. This was exactly what she was hoping for, well besides being almost fatally wounded and having to postpone the idea of little friends for Harry and Ron, and she couldn't wait to see Dumbledore and get her mind straightened out.
When the Weasley family left after many more Molly-hugs and promises to return, Sirius remained curled around Hermione in her hospital bed.
Poppy tried to kick him out, but gave up quite quickly once she saw how Hermione's mood improved with him around.
She began to fall asleep quite comfortably in his arms and after a kiss on the forehead he followed her into sleep, whispering "You're never setting foot in a hospital again. I don't care if I have to tie you up and never let you out of the house, but you've had enough danger for two lifetimes."
Hermione smiled at him in her sleep, two lifetimes indeed.