As he blinked against the light, the throbbing in his head told him he was alive. He obviously wasn't in the afterlife, he was in too much pain for that. He groaned as he tried to sit up, but a hand pressed on his chest, holding him down.
"Not so fast, Mr Longbottom," Came the business-like voice of Madam Pomfrey. "Now that you are awake, I need to run a few tests on you."
"Tests?" Neville asked groggily as he looked around. He realised that he was in the hospital wing, and it was dark outside. "What? What happened?"
His last memory had been going down to breakfast, and now it was night time? He struggled against her arm before she pointed her wand at him.
"Now, Mr Longbottom, if you do not keep still I will have to immobilise you. The less you wriggle, the quicker I'll be." He eyed her wand suspiciously as she waved it over him.
Finally, she tutted and shook her head before putting her hands on her hips. She stared at him with a mix of disappointment and concern.
"What a fine mess you have gotten yourself in to. No wonder Miss Granger wasn't able to revive you!"
"Sorry?"
"You were hit with a modified stunner, normally a reviving charm of this strength is enough to reawaken a victim. However, in your case, your natural energy levels were so depleted that the reviving charm couldn't work, that and the bump on your head probably didn't help. When was the last time you ate anything?"
He looked around the room as he tried to think. Nothing came to mind, except for the toast he almost ate on the morning of… he shook his head, unwilling to think about it. He didn't want to add to the pain.
"I thought as much, And when was the last full night's sleep you had?" He didn't even have to think when he shook his head. He avoided her gaze as he winced from the pain? She made a noise that sounded like she had come to a conclusion. "I'm going to keep you in another night, I think."
"Another?" Neville asked as he tried to sit up. Madam Pomfrey looked down her nose at him as she appraised him.
"Yes, another! You need to regain your strength, and I would be a poor healer if I let you leave here without making sure you are at the very least, fully rested. I'll get you some dreamless sleep to get you through the night and then tomorrow, if you can eat all your breakfast, I will allow you to leave."
"I'm fine, just my head hurts." He said as he pulled on his hair, hoping to gain some relief.
"I'm not surprised. That's usually what happened when skin and bone meet marble. I'll get you something for the pain too." She seemed to soften then as she looked at him and he wondered what she saw when she looked at him.
He wondered whether he looked as pathetic as he felt. He pressed his palms against his head to try and offset some of the pressure. It was no use, the pain throbbed on the inside of his skull as though his heart had relocated.
What had happened? How had he been caught by a stunner? He closed his eyes as he tried to think. He had lost time, and he didn't know why.
"Stop thinking so hard, Mr Longbottom. The memories will come back if you don't force them." She smiled as she held out a couple of vials. "I'm sure the school will be humming about it too. You did something quite heroic. Foolish, but heroic."
"What happened?" He asked as he took the vials.
"Miss Granger said that you stopped a fight and was hit by an unknown spell intended for another," She shooked her head as she clasped her hands in front of her. "Blindly heroic. A true Gryffindor." She looked at him again, sadly this time. "Far too young to have seen so much. But there we are. The thin vial is the dreamless sleep, the other one is for the pain. I would advise that you try and get straight back to sleep, but I understand if you want to think about things for a little while. It can be very disorientating."
"Thank you." He muttered as she floated away towards her office. He looked around and was surprised and relieved to find that the other beds were empty. He wasn't sure why he worried about having company, but something at the back of his mind needled him that there should be someone else in the hospital wing.
He rolled over and took the cork out of the thin vial. The opportunity to have a full nights sleep without nightmares was too good of a chance to pass up. He knocked it back and then settled under the cover as he waited for the potion to kick in. His eyelids grew heavy almost immediately as the medicine took hold.
He awoke feeling like his head was filled with pygmy puffs as he blinked against the dim light pouring through the high windows. His tongue felt fat and dry as he tried to lick his cracked lips. The room was silent as quiet fumblings and noises came from Madam Pomfrey's office. The hospital wing always felt so cold. Neville assumed it was because there was so much exposed brickwork and windows with so very few soft furnishings to retain the heat. He rubbed at his jaw and felt that his stubble was quite out of hand, how long had he been asleep?
"Good Morning, Mr Longbottom." Madam Pomfrey greeted him as she carried a tray of food towards him. He blinked at her as he raised his hand in greeting. Not sure that he would be able to enunciate around his dry tongue.
There was a strange sense of deja vu at the thought of not being able to pronounce words. As though it was significant. He frowned at the mystery.
"Morning," He muttered groggily.
"Hold still while I run some tests on you." He lay back without being told twice as he eyed the food on the tray. His stomach turned painfully at the sight of it, and he really didn't want anything.
He waited for what felt like an eternity as he lay there, the smell of the toast turning his stomach.
"Hmm," Madam Pomfrey muttered with a frown as she looked at him.
Neville looked at her and raised his eyebrows, unable to muster much of a response.
"You're not as rested as I was hoping. I want you to eat this. If you eat it all, you can go about the rest of your day."
He pulled a face as he looked at the offending food.
"I'm really not hungry," He tried to object.
"You can eat it now, or you can eat it later, but I can promise you, you will not be leaving my care until you do. It's your choice, Mr Longbottom."
He glared at the food grumpily. He could feel his stomach rolling in anticipation. He didn't think he'd be able to keep anything down even if he tried.
Madam Pomfrey glanced up at the doorway before walking off towards the entrance. He picked up a slice of toast and munched slowly at the corner. It tasted like cardboard.
"Mr Longbottom, you have some visitors, would you like me to let them in?" He nodded as he tried to eat another slice of toast.
"Oh, Neville. Thank God you're alright!" Hermione cried as she rushed to his side. Neville noticed someone behind her and was surprised when he found Blaise. He smiled as he inclined his head.
"Morning, Longbottom," Blaise said as he perched on the empty bed next to him.
He raised his hand blearily without talking.
"How are you feeling?" Hermione asked as she perched on his bed.
"Not great," He said as he threw the toast onto the plate, wishing it would disappear. "What happened?"
"Hannah hit you with a modified Stupefy charm. It hit you. and you flew across the room and smashed your head into the fireplace."
That explained the tender throb that seemed everpresent in his skull. Now that he noticed the pain he looked around for the other vial Pomfrey had left him. He knocked it back and waited for the pain to ease.
"What did she do that for?" He croaked as he frowned at the taste of the potion.
"You don't remember?" Blaise asked in surprise. Neville shook his head
"Things are still a bit jumbled and fuzzy," He said as he pulled at his hair.
"What do you remember?" Hermione asked, placing her hand on his knee.
"Coming out of the dorms to go to breakfast." Hermione raised her eyebrows in surprise. Blaise just whistled.
"Oh, Longbottom! You missed the best bits!" Blaise smirked.
"I hardly think two girls fighting in the common room, 'the best bits'" Hermione rolled her eyes.
"Yes, well, we seem to agree on lots of other things." He raised his eyebrow teasingly, and Hermione blushed.
"You tried to stop Hannah and Pansy fighting. Pansy left, but Hannah tried to curse Pansy as she walked away. You jumped in front of the curse, and it sent you flying into the fireplace."
"Left a massive dent with that hard head of yours." Blaise rolled his eyes. "However, Hermione left out the best bit. Pansy turned Hannahs face into that of a rat. It took Pomfrey the majority of Wednesday to get her looking back to normal." Blaise slapped his thigh as he chuckled.
Hermione smirked but tried to cover it by clearing her throat. "Anyway, it could have seriously hurt Pansy. She was going down the stairs at the time. She could've been killed."
"Is she alright?" Neville asked carefully. The stinging acid rose up his throat at the thought of her, lying broken at the bottom of the long, winding staircase.
"Pansy?" Blaise asked "She's furious. Once she knew that you were alright, she stormed the head's office demanding Hannahs immediate expulsion." Blaise looked around conspiratorially before he leant forward to whisper. "She wasn't told no."
This seemed to be news to Hermione whose eyebrows rose as her eyes widened.
"You didn't tell me that!" She retorted.
"I wanted to save the best bits for Neville, He certainly earned it! How is your head?"
Neville paused as he assessed the damage.
"The potion seems to be working, but my head was throbbing like I don't know what!"
"So Hannah might be getting expelled?" Hermione asked her whispered voice remarkably high-pitched. Neville reasoned that it was her worst nightmare so of course she would be horrified.
"I didn't say that. All I'm saying is that McGonagall didn't outrightly dismiss the idea." Blaise replied as diplomatically as he could. He turned back to Neville, and his face softened. "But yeah, She's unhurt. She's really shaken not that she'll admit it to anyone. She really wants to be here. She's acting like a caged tiger in the common room at the moment waiting for my report." He rolled his eyes "Please tell me that you're coming out today? I don't think I can take any more of her fussing."
Neville frowned at his toast. "I've got to eat that before I can go anywhere, but the smell makes me feel sick." He admitted.
Blaise looked around and pinched a slice when he was sure that the coast was clear. He took a massive bite before palming the rest out of sight.
"Blaise Zabini!" Hermione hissed disapprovingly.
"What? Do you really want me to put it back now that I've bitten into it? That's not very hygienic, is it?" He replied after he swallowed the mouthful. He looked around the room again. And once he established the coast was still clear, he took another large bite, pushing the rest in after it. Neville chuckled and shook his head.
"That's not what I was going to say." Hermione frowned.
"Then I suggest you do the same if we want to break Neville here, out."
"But if he feels ill, he really should stay in."
"How do you feel, Nev?" Blaise asked, shooting him a meaningful look.
"I'm alright, my head doesn't hurt anymore." He smiled weakly. Hermione raised an eyebrow sceptically as she looked at him, biting the inside of her mouth, causing her lips to frown.
"If you feel at all unwell, I will personally levitate you right back here, and I'll tell Madam Pomfrey everything!" She threatened before she looked behind her. The Matron was still nowhere to be seen as Hermione too took a massive bite of a slive of toast. She glanced at Blaise who winked and smirked, causing her cheeks to flush furiously.
Before long all the toast was gone and not a crumb remained on Hermione or Blaise as they sat with him, the picture of innocence.
"So where is Hannah now?" Neville asked.
"She was in the dorms this morning when I left," Hermione said as she looked between them.
"I bet she's not sleeping easy with Pansy so close by, I know I wouldn't! You never cross Pansy. She never forgives, and she never forgets."
"You sound like you speak from experience?" Hermione probed.
"Not first-hand experience I'm happy to say, just you never really see her with many female friends, there is a reason for that."
"And that reason is?"
"Not something I am at liberty to divulge; otherwise, I would also be added to the list. Whatever you do, never get yourself onto that list. Your demise will be slow and painful!"
"You make her sound dreadful." Hermione murmured.
"Her wrath certainly is! It's a force of nature. However, as fiercely vengeful as I make her sound, she is resolutely loyal. I would trust her at my back in a heartbeat. Besides, having that fury pointed at your foes on your behalf is never a bad thing either." He chuckled.
Neville watched them as they spoke, the conversation flowing easily between them. He would never have imagined such an exchange a month ago. He watched as he was slowly forgotten as the conversation continued while they waited for Madam Pomfrey to reappear.
He enjoyed the listening, not wanting to actively take part. His mind wandered as the conversation left the topic of Pansy, and drifted to the cavernous gaps in his memory and hoped they would return. He felt unsettled, leaving the hospital without knowing the whole story.
"Isn't that right Neville?" Hermione asked. Neville swung his head around and looked at her blankly. "About Ron and Crookshanks.
"Oh yeah." Neville nodded blankly. He avoided her gaze as she studied him.
"Are you sure you're alright to leave?" She asked suspiciously.
"Yeah, Of course. I'm fine." He nodded as he inspected one of the buttons on his Pyjamas.
"Glad to hear it, Mr Longbottom." Announced Madam Pomfrey as she floated back into the infirmary. She looked at Neville before looking at the now empty plate. Her eyes darted to Hermione and Blaise who smiled in reply, Blaise somewhat more convincingly.
"As the toast has been eaten, I must let you leave. However, if you start to feel dizzy, sick, or if your vision is affected, I want you to return here at once. Do you understand?"
He nodded eagerly as he swung his legs out of bed.
"You two will need to stand back while he changes." She said as she shooed them out from around the bed and pulled around the curtain. He felt relieved to be alone again, even for a moment. He was looking forward to leaving the hospital, he wasn't looking forward to being back in the thick of it. He took a deep breath before he started to undress.
