Hermione was bored out of her mind. She rolled over for the fifth time, trying to take her fourth nap of the day.
Neville and Ginny had popped round in the morning for a quick hello, which had been wonderful. Unfortunately, Neville had accidentally dropped his wand and set off sparks, which then caught onto the blanket of the neighboring bed, which then caught on fire. By the time Madame Pomfrey had arrived, the bed was nearly engulfed in flames and Ginny was yelling "Wingardium Leviosa!", trying to fly the fire out of the room.
After that, Madame Pomfrey put an end to all visitors to the infirmary.
Though she couldn't particularly fault the medi-witch, Hermione sulked at the decision. She'd wanted to talk to Ginny, get all of her feelings out.
"Psst…"
Hermione glanced over her shoulder, but nothing was there. Wondering if she imagined it, she closed her eyes.
"Psst…"
Hermione stilled. She was certain she hadn't imagined that one. She peered around the room, but it was empty.
"Hermione, it's me!" Ron's voice came from an empty spot in front of her.
Hermione sat up in shock, then put her hand over her racing heart. "Ron! You're still wearing the cloak!"
"Oh, right." Ron's head appeared from thin air, though the rest of him was still invisible. "Madame Pomfrey's not allowing anyone in, so Harry distracted her while I snuck in."
Hermione smiled at him. "Thanks, Ron. Did you bring me my homework?"
"Of course I did!" Ron pulled a mock-offended face. "What kind of friend do you think I am?"
Hermione settled against a stack of pillows, thumbing through the four pages of homework that she had, relieved that it seemed doable. Ron sat next to her, careful to keep the hood of Harry's invisibility cloak close over his head in case he needed to disappear.
"…So, I told her that I wasn't interested in going out with her if all she wanted was to get close to the 'Chosen One', but Wisteria promised that she wasn't like all those others, that she would be different and actually wanted to get to know me for me. Of course, I think to myself, 'fantastic! I've finally got a date – and with a Quidditch player too!' and it isn't until after we've set a tentative time that Lavender finds me and tells me that Wisteria is fooling me, she hasn't got real intentions at all. I'm thinking, maybe Lavender is jealous, after all, we dated for quite a long time, and sometimes I still think about her, so she's got to think about me sometimes, right? Anyways, I didn't want to believe Lavender, but I decided not to be foolish, and me and Harry went out after curfew in the cloak to follow Wisteria, and Hermione, you'll never guess what happened. Lavender was right! Wisteria didn't care about me at all, she just wanted the fame of dating one of the 'Golden Trio', and she was telling one of the Ravenclaw girls that if she'd had the chance, she would've gone for Harry for sure. Isn't that just awful? I couldn't believe that Lavender was telling the truth, and of course, Harry was trying to tell me that I shouldn't believe Wisteria, that I'm a great catch, but still, it hurts, y'know? So, I went back to Lavender and told her that she was right and – Hermione, are you listening to me? Hermione? Alright then – so I apparated back to the Burrow from the Great Hall, which is now possible because Dumbledore removed the anti-apparition wards from the grounds and I found Bill at home. Get this – he left Fleur and Victoire because he fell in love with someone else – Hagrid! Bill and Hagrid are running away together to get married. Isn't that lovely?"
Hermione hummed in agreement. "That's nice, Ron."
It took Hermione almost a full minute to realize that Ron had stopped speaking. He gave her a pointed look, and Hermione blushed.
"I'm so sorry, Ron. I got distracted. Tell me again."
"I was just telling you how Bill decided to leave Fleur for Hagrid."
"What?"
"Really, you ought to pay more attention to these things." Ron grinned.
Hermione giggled. Ron pulled a Chocolate Frog from his bag and offered it to her, and Hermione popped it in her mouth.
"What's got you so distracted, 'Mione? Is it the pain? Should I call for Madame Pomfrey?"
"No, it's not that. I'm hardly in any pain at all, just a little sore. I was thinking about my homework." Hermione lied.
"You're a rubbish liar, you've always been." Ron snorted.
"I'm not lying!" Hermione said quickly. "I was thinking about Potions."
"Yeah? Tell me about it. What's got you worried about Potions?"
Hermione chewed the bottom of her lip nervously, but Ron sounded sincere. She must have waited a beat too long, because he held up a hand.
"I promise you. Whatever you say, I won't judge. Even if it is about homework."
Hermione sighed heavily. She leaned back, trying to rearrange her thoughts. "It's just…I'm very confused on this Potions topic. I want to talk to someone about it, but I'm not even sure that I know what I don't know, you know?"
"Start with what you do know." Ron said gently. "And work your way to what's confusing."
Hermione nodded slowly. "I know that…I know that I like Potions. It's a great subject, and it's fun, and the harder it is to work through, the more rewarding the end result. When I first started Hogwarts, Potions was horrible – I mean, I couldn't even stand it! But now…I've really come to respect Potions. And…over the past few months, Potions has got me through some of the hardest times in my life. Every time I needed something – I mean, I needed to analyze something – it was there. It was with me through everything. And Ron, listen, I haven't told this to anyone. You can't breathe a word, not even to Harry."
"I won't." Ron promised softly.
"When Constantine imprisoned me, she told me that as I would die, my body would shut down. I was using the last of my magic to create what I would think was the perfect world, and I'd be trapped in there until I died." Hermione took a shaky breath.
Ron silently put his hand in hers, eyes filled with tears. "I'm so sorry, Hermione."
"No, it's okay." Hermione whispered distractedly. "It was horrible, and the world wasn't perfect. I think it wasn't because I didn't have enough energy to sustain the most perfect life. But there were some things that I know were only there because in my perfect world, I would have wanted them. Harry and Ginny were married, and happy, and out of the public eye for once. Harry got some real peace. You were happy, famous, getting all the attention that you deserve. My parents…my parents were at home, in England, safe and sound. The thing is…I still had Dr-uh, Potions in my life, long after Hogwarts. He – it, I mean – was the only thing that got me through every single day."
Hermione stopped talking, her thoughts racing too fast for her words to keep up. It was all there in front of her, like a map in her mind. The day of the spell, when they'd been stuck together, the days afterward, when they'd reached an uneasy compromise, the day she woke up in St. Mungo's with no memories of the last month, his unusual kindness, his very usual grumpiness – and when Constantine had tricked her into running out of Hogwarts…she'd lured Hermione with him.
Merlin! In her perfect world, she was married to him.
They shared most of the same likes and dislikes, they got similar marks in class (though of course, Hermione's was always just a smidgen higher), they shared so many fundamental experiences from childhood until now – over the past few months, she'd learned that he agreed with many of the same beliefs that she had, including equality for all…and she couldn't deny that she found him so, so very attractive.
"I might be in love." Hermione whispered to herself. The realization was both awe-inspiring and horrifying at the same time. Love – she couldn't imagine! Really? Love?
But…yes.
Ron tapped his finger against Hermione's arm. "So…are we just gonna pretend that you're still talking about Potions, or can we switch to using Malfoy's actual name?"
