The first thing that strikes her as consciousness once again becomes hers is light. A bright, piercing light. And then pain. Pain is the second thing that hits her.
Her fight instinct hitting in, vaguely remembering the danger she's in, she shoots up into a sitting position, but her vision quickly blackens and her head pounds in response to the motion. The pains in her torso grow worse and she groans in pain.
'Hermione!' two voices call out, relief evident in their tones.
Her vision clearing again, Hermione takes in her surroundings. The bright light comes from the uncomfortably white hospital room she is in, and the voices come from Harry and Ron, who have rushed to her bedside.
'You're awake!' announces Ron gleefully, wrapping her body in a tight hug.
'Ouch, Ron,' says Hermione as her body protests the pressure against it.
'Sorry, sorry,' he says hurriedly, pulling away.
'What happened?' she asks, trying to recall the moments previous to becoming unconscious, but all that fills her mind is the memory of red. A spell, she thinks. 'Where am I?'
Harry and Ron share a look, as if debating how much to tell her. 'You're in St Mungo's,' starts Harry. 'You were hit by a nasty spell.'
'A spell?' asks Hermione. So she was right about the red light, at least. 'How- Draco!' she exclaims, her memories flooding back to her. 'Where's Draco?' She tries to sit up again, slower this time, but her body still complains.
'Hermione, you need to rest,' says Ron, trying to guide her into lying back down, but Hermione refuses.
'Don't you tell me what to do, Ronald. What happened to Draco? And what happened to that bastard Darius?' Anger flooding her body to compensate for the panic she is feeling, Hermione glares at her two friends. 'Will one of you just tell me what happened?' she yells.
Before they can respond, the door to her room opens and a bustle of people enter, lead by Ginny. 'Hermione, I'm so glad you're awake!' she exclaims, wrapping her friend in a hug that's a lot gentler than her brother's was. As Ginny pulls away, Molly takes her place.
'We were so worried about you, sweetie,' she states. 'You gave us quite a fright!' Behind them, Hermione can see Luna and Neville standing in the corner of the room, and they give her a comforting smile.
'I'm sorry,' she says, her previous anger draining as Molly's motherly touch calms her. 'Will someone please tell me what happened though? All I can remember is Darius trying to attack Draco and... and...'
'And you saved him, dear,' adds Molly, softly stroking Hermione's wild hair, tucking it behind her ear. 'You were very brave.'
'That's exactly what you'd expect from Hermione,' pipes in Luna in her dreamy voice.
'And stupid,' says Ron, folding his arms. 'You could have got yourself killed!'
'You nearly did,' states Harry, folding his arms as well. 'You're lucky the Minister's secretary used to work here and is amazing with healing spells. She managed to stabilise you long enough to get you here. Healer after Healer filled you up with potion after potion. No one is entirely sure what spell Darius used - they think it's an ancient, barely known one - so they weren't sure how to treat you. Eventually something they did seemed to do the trick, because you started to recover bit by bit.'
Hermione takes in Harry's words. 'How long was I out?' Again, Harry and Ron share a look. 'Oh, just tell me,' she snaps.
'Two weeks,' says Ginny, perching on the bed next to her friend.
'And... Draco?' asks Hermione again, fearing the worst.
'He's alive,' confirms Ginny.
A small weight lifts off of Hermione's shoulders. 'And... the trial?' she asks, breaching the other worrying unknown.
'Well...' begins Ginny.
'After that bastard hit you with the spell, Malfoy, he... well, he kind of lost it a little,' continues Harry, a sympathetic look on his face.
'Yeah, there was all this swirling black stuff around him. I think- I think it was his magic. It was terrifying, to be honest. Well... he attacked Darius,' explains Ron, taking the seat on the other side of Hermione's bed, opposite his sister.
'Did he kill him?' Hermione asks, her voice weak, knowing what the consequences of killing a member of the Wizengamot would be.
'Nearly,' says Ginny. 'No one jumped in to save him, like you did for Malfoy, but Kingsley managed to deflect the brunt of the spell with a protective charm. Still, he blew one hell of a hole in the wall. And Broomsley was even closer to death than you were.'
'But they saved him,' says Harry. 'I kind of wish they hadn't, after what he did to you, but at least it gives Draco a chance. He's here Mungo's as well.'
'What happened to Draco after he attacked Darius?' Hermione asks.
'Aurors restrained him,' replies Ron. 'He didn't fight back. I think he'd kind of accepted whatever would happen to him would happen.'
'And now?'
'He's in custody again. He hasn't spoken since it happened. We were allowed to visit him last week but he wouldn't talk to any of us. He hasn't eaten either.'
'I need to see him! Maybe he'll talk to me!' exclaims Hermione, trying to get out of bed, fighting every ounce of pain trying to keep her down.
'I'm sure he would, Mione, but you need to rest,' says Harry, gently putting a hand on her shoulder to stop her. 'You could get worse again.'
Hermione opens her mouth to protest, but the door to her room swings open again. This time, a middle-aged woman she doesn't recognise enters. 'Why didn't anyone tell me my patient had woken up? Hi, Hermione, my name is Diana Woodberry. I'm glad to see you finally awake,' says the woman, whose voice is soft and welcoming. 'How are you feeling?'
'Fine! I'm just about to leave, actually,' responds Hermione, forcing a smile on her face as she moves to stand.
'That's not happening, I'm afraid. You were closer to death than most people come back from,' Diana states, before waving her wand and muttering a spell. A warm, tingly feeling rushes through Hermione's body, and the pain dulls slightly. 'A bit better?' Diana asks, smiling. 'I imagine you're in quite a lot of pain.'
Sighing, Hermione admits, 'I was. Can't I go see Draco, though?' she pleads. 'He needs me.'
'Yes, I'm sure he does,' agrees Diana. 'He needs you well. If you go now, you risk your health. From what I hear, he wouldn't appreciate that.'
'You should listen to the Healer, Hermione,' says Molly.
'But-'
'How about we go see Draco again?' offers Ron. 'Harry and I can go see if we can visit him. I'm sure Kingsley wouldn't mind, given the circumstance - we can tell him in person that you're awake. If he knows you're okay, maybe that'll be enough for now. You can go see him when you're feeling better.'
'What if-' Hermione fights the prickling sensation in her eyes, 'what if he's not... what if-'
'He's not going anywhere,' states Ginny. 'They're holding another trial for him in a week. Kingsley's been non-stop trying to make the arrangements. If it were up to him, they wouldn't even be holding another trial. Everyone understands why Draco did... you know, what he did. In fact, after the situation, pretty much the entire Wizengamot took Draco's side. Darius is going to trial as soon as he's discharged from this place. I don't think they'll be very sympathetic.'
'Yeah, no one nearly kills a war hero and lands on people's good side,' adds Ron.
'War hero?' asks Hermione.
'You, you dummy,' says Ginny, hugging her friend.
'I never thought about myself that way,' admits Hermione. 'Feels kind of nice to be described that way.'
'Either way, Draco can wait a few more days for you to fully rest up,' says Ginny. 'He needs you in good shape to support him at the next trial. Just... no more jumping in front of spells, okay?' A small chuckle makes it way out of Hermione, bringing a smile to everyone's face.
'As long as you all make sure my patient doesn't run away, I'll leave you all here alone. Hermione-' she reaches out her hand, a small vial in her palm, '- here's a sleeping draught. I suggest you take it when your friends leave. As everyone keeps saying, you need rest. I'll come check on you in a couple of hours.' Hermione takes the draught and Diana takes her leave.
'We should really get going,' says Neville from Luna's side. 'I think we've overwhelmed her enough for one day.'
'See you later, Hermione. Don't worry, I made sure there are no Nargles here to bother you. Sleep well.' With that, the bubbly blonde exits the room.
'Later, Hermione... it'll all work out alright, don't worry,' says Neville as he follows Luna.
'We'd better head off as well,' says Ginny before wrapping Hermione up in a final hug. 'We'll be back tomorrow. Don't go running off to save the world again before we get back.'
Hermione smiles. 'No promises.' Molly hugs the girl as well, and mother and daughter leave.
'Do you want us to stay?' offers Ron. 'The chairs are more than comfy enough.'
'No, that's alright. I'll be fine.'
'You sure?' asks Harry.
'Yes. Just go and make sure Draco's okay, if you don't mind. He... needs friends right now...' Hermione says, looking up at her two closest friends. 'I know you haven't always seen eye to eye... heck, I never saw eye to eye with him either, but...'
'We know,' says Ron. 'He's a knob, but he's an alright knob,' says Ron, and the three Gryffindors share a comfortable laugh.
'I suppose that's as much as I can hope for.' Hermione pulls her two boys into a tight embrace. 'I love you two.'
'We love you, too,' Harry and Ron reply in unison, holding Hermione close.
'Sleep well, Mione. We'll go see Draco now, and we'll catch you up tomorrow.'
'Thanks.'
With that, Harry and Ron follow the rest of the gathering and leave the room, leaving Hermione alone with her thoughts. She stares at the vial in her hand, but feels no desire to take the contents. It seems she's spent two weeks sleeping; she's not ready to return to unconsciousness quite yet. Instead, she plans. Planning calms her. She plans what she'll say to Draco when she seems him. She plans how she's going to make sure the Wizengamot forgive him. She plans what they'll do once he's free - because he will be free. She plans where they'll live and what jobs they'll do and what pets they'll have and she plans their family: they'll have a girl first. They'll have a little girl with bushy blonde locks and grey eye. She'll be smart, having been born from two of the cleverest magical folk of their age, and she'll love flying, like her dad. Then they'll have a little boy, who'll be the spitting image of his dad. He'll be head boy and excel in transfiguration. He'll love pranks and reading and his family. She plans what they'll wear and what they'll eat and she plans and she plans and she plans.
She plans until she falls asleep without the help of the sleeping draught, and she enters a beautiful, dream-filled slumber, filled with images of her future. Her happy future.
Author's Notes: I'm so sorry this chapter took so long to publish, everyone. I've been busy with work and life and have unfortunately had to put this story on hold. I'm back into it now, though, and will try to update again soon!
