She woke up with a headache. There was a drum band playing one of the most sophisticated passages and the rehearsal took place right inside her head, she could swear.
"Good grief, you are awake", someone exclaimed and she cringed. Hermione slowly opened her eyes only to meet those of Celia. "You scared us a hell", she said more quietly.
"Where am I?", Hermione asked and the sound came out raw and laboured.
"Infirmary", Celia explained and brought a vial with something to her dry lips. "The nurse instructed me that you should drink this when you wake up", she inclined the bottle a little and Hermione almost choked when its gross contents reached her mouth. "Horrible, I know, so you better gulp it all at once".
She recognized the taste, it was a blood replenishing potion. So it means she lost blood? But she wasn't injured as far as she remembered. Sure, she shielded a couple of nasty hexes but none of them reached her… and then she remembered turning her back on Dolohov and Nott and the pain.
"Dolohov hit you with a nasty curse", Celia told her as if reading her mind. "In front of Slughorn and Riddle, believe it! The nerve of this bastard" she fumed. "But don't worry, Slughorn was livid and so was Tom, and if this bag of shit isn't expelled , he will refrain from touching as much as a hair on your head!"
Hermione looked at Celia more carefully and noticed that the girl had puffy eyes and bags under them.
"You've been crying?" she asked incredulous and Celia dumped her head on the hands and started sobbing violently.
"I should have followed you outside, it's my fault ", she managed to say between sobs.
"And how is that your fault, Celia?" Hermione put a hand around the girl's shoulders. "They were just waiting for an opportunity to attack and would have done it sooner or later. Moreover, I gave them quite a scare there so they wouldn't have had an upper hand if Slughorn didn't show up".
"I know", Celia said wiping away the tears and sounding a bit more cheerful. "Tom told me you were not in any danger before this scumbag…"
Hermione laughed. Celia just didn't strike her as a type of a girl who knows how to swear. The more sweet was the fact that she would call Dolohov a scumbag for attacking her, Hermione.
"A scumbag, really? Is that even a swear word? Hermione asked shaking her head and Celia went red.
"I'm not sure? I lack knowledge in this department".
They both laughed looking at each other.
"I'm glad you are better", said Celia after a while. "Julianne and Joseph wanted to visit you but our dear nurse won't let you be bothered by anyone. She's like a hawk, I'm telling you".
"No need to come, though. I'm feeling better and I hope I'll be able to talk her into letting me go back to the house dorms".
"You can try", Celia suggested sounding not so sure.
They talked for a while and when Hermione started feeling tired Celia left with a good-bye. Once her cloak disappeared, Hermione rested her head on the pillow and drifted off to sleep.
"I really shouldn't let you in seeing how it's your housemates who are responsible for her current state. Poor thing has endured enough and was just getting better and then this horrible attack…"
Hermione woke up to the voices somewhere close. This time the awakening was much less painful and she felt almost okay.
"Oh, all right", the voice said and she heard a small woman's feet retreating hurriedly away.
Hermione opened her eyes and gasped. It was Tom Riddle sitting himself down on the stool at her bed.
"How are you feeling, miss Wells? " he asked in a slightly trembling voice.
"I'm fine", she said adjusting the pillow so she wouldn't be laying in front of him. Her wand was currently under the pillow, too.
Riddle smiled and this smile was meant to show how guilty he felt.
"I'm so glad to hear that. You can't imagine how devastated I felt when Dolohov fired that curse and it hit you".
"Oh but I can imagine", she contradicted coldly.
"I understand that you are cautious now after what happened to you but I still thought that I should convey my regrets and assure you that Dolohov will be punished, and severely, for his unintentional actions", he said in the most reassuring manner.
Hermione looked at him with a mixture of disgust, distrust, and surprise.
"Unitentional, you say? One has to learn and practice these dark curses to be able to throw them", she said venomously.
"Dimitriy said he saw the curse in one of the books at home but really didn't know what a horrible effect it has", Riddle said apologetically.
Hermione looked at him silently for a minute. She thought if there was a way to rip off his head, crack it open as a nut and examine the insides, would there be an answer to his monstrosity?
"Miss Wells?" Riddle asked patiently after the pause prolonged.
"Dolohov is outright stupid, you know?" she told him with a small smile. "He saw you standing there and instead of accepting defeat he decided to throw back a dark curse. He just didn't see Slughorn behind you, did he? But even if Slughorn wasn't there, there was still you, mister Riddle, a righteous Head Boy who would surely report his actions. That is what one calls sheer stupidity, I'd say".
He looked at her with a smile imitating her own. Looked like someone who's found an obstacle, a tiny minuscule grain of sand but an obstacle nonetheless.
"I have to agree that his behavior can hardly be justified", he said at last and Hermione nodded in agreement.
"It's impossible to imagine that he would expect you to approve or, heavens forbid, cover his actions, though it did seem that he wanted to impress someone using such underhanded tactics", Riddle's jaw tensed but the smile stayed on his face as if glued to it. "But I can't blame you if your authority among your peers is somewhat…questionable? "
His eyes widened if only just a bit. Hermione's smile broadened.
"I'm sure that Slytherins are hard to control. Why, it's a miracle that they even listen to you with you being an orphan and all…", she gasped and brought a hand to her mouth. "Oh, I'm so sorry for bringing up this subject. I didn't hurt you, did I? I'd hate to inflict more pain".
His eyes came to life. A second ago there wasn't even a glimpse of a real emotion in them and then there was a fire raging in their depths. She almost felt the flames licking at her, his surpassed magic boiling at the surface. It was like facing a force of nature and feeling small, weak, and fragile. But she refused to succumb and stared back at him with equal force. The fire dancing there was slowly extinguishing and she felt bruised and burnt.
"Allow me", he said suddenly extending a hand to tuck her pillow.
Hermione tensed as her eyes followed his hand, a perplexed look on her face.
"I guess we'll be seeing more of each other, miss Wells", he said with a smile that made her insides twist. Then he rose from the stool and turned to leave.
Hermione exhaled.
"Miss Wells", he said suddenly turning back, "I will see to it that Dolohov is punished accordingly".
If Hermione cared even a little about Dolohov, she would have felt pity for the man.
But care she didn't.
She was right assuming the nurse would let her go after a total examination. After healing so many people herself, Hermione knew when a patient was out of danger. She returned to the Ravenclaw tower and spent some time with Julianne, Celia, and Joseph. They were really glad to see her and even though Celia reprimanded them insisted on hearing about her run-in with the Slytherins. Julianne also told her that both were pretty badly injured, too, and that Dolohov will be in detention for the rest of the semester and probably beyond.
Hermione mulled over the idea of Dolohov being unable to show at his detention after his punishment. She had to acknowledge the fact that it didn't bother her in the slightest since this excuse of a man will torture innocent people in near future. She still felt weak, though, so after a while, she retreated to her bedroom that she shared with Celia and Julianne. As she was drifting to sleep, she felt Celia tucking her blanket and then going on her tiptoes to her own bed. It was such a tender gesture, she thought.
She turned on her back and pinched the pillow, a vile voice crawling in her mind.
"Allow me…"