"Aberforth," she greeted, removing her masking charm as she stepped into the main barroom.
"You look terrible."
"I feel worse, I assure you."
He looked skeptical. "Rough day then?" he asked casually.
Hermione swallowed a surge of emotion. "You might say."
"Anything I can do?" His voice was gruff, but she knew him well enough to know it was at least partly a front.
"Just the Floo, please."
He nodded and led her to a back room.
Hermione crossed the threshold and reached for the pot of Floo powder. Her fingers shook slightly – with adrenaline or emotion it was impossible to say. "Thanks, Aberforth."
He grunted in response, and shut the door between them.
"Headmaster's Office!"
She crossed through into Albus' office, allowed herself one, brief moment to feel truly safe, then rushed down the stairs, and ran through the halls to the hospital wing before the safety of Hogwarts could undo her. Classes were just ending, students were heading toward the Great Hall for dinner. Hermione felt their curious gazes following her down the hall, but she didn't care. All that mattered was that the battle was over, and there was space, so much space, to worry, to fear. Her heart was pounding with exertion and trepidation as she thrust herself into the hospital wing.
The twins spun to meet her, and Gideon swept her into a tight hug. "Fabian said you were fine," he mumbled into her hair, "But, I still just needed to see for myself." He pulled back. "Emmeline is… I don't know. Poppy hasn't stopped working at it - whatever it is. She's alive though, Mione."
His words, of course, did nothing to ease any of the fear that clutched at her chest. She inhaled deeply, and pushed the breath out, long and slow, through her mouth.
"Okay," she said tightly. "Okay. Can we see her?"
Gideon barked an empty laugh. "Not if you want to keep your head."
Hermione felt hysteria bubbling up in her throat and determinedly swallowed the laughter down.
Suddenly, an argument arose in the hallway.
"We can't all just barge in there!" It was Lily, sounding right on the edge of hysterics.
"Well I'm bloody well not sitting out here while someone else goes in!" Sirius retorted.
"Maybe Remus ought to—"
"Because he's her boyfriend? I've been her best friend for ages!"
Hermione almost rolled her eyes. "Come get me if anything happens. I'll be right back."
The twins nodded, and she slipped out through the doors into the midst of a lot of rage.
"Hermione!" Lily shrieked, promptly clobbering her friend.
"You're okay," Sirius breathed, a bright smile lighting up his features.
"We were watching the uh…" James looked around shiftily.
"Well the secret's out now, lover boy," Tracey said, "We all know about your special map."
"Shhh," James and Sirius hissed together.
The normalcy of it all was suffocating. She gently pressed Lily back, and her friend seemed to suddenly see the shell-shocked look on Hermione's face. Lily silenced everyone with a silent look and a subtle gesture.
"When we saw you coming to the hospital wing, we thought you were hurt…" Remus said softly, his gaze roving Hermione's body for injuries. "Are you…"
"The blood isn't mine," she said, realizing she was drenched in Lucius' and Alastor's. "Well," she amended, cataloguing her own injuries, "not most of it."
All her friends relaxed, but Lily glanced at the door behind her. "So is someone…?"
"I don't know," Hermione whispered.
The door creaked open behind her and Fabian stuck his head out. "Poppy's heading our way."
Hermione glanced back at her friends hesitantly. She wanted them to go. She wanted them to stay. She didn't know what she wanted. "I… you should go to dinner. I'll meet you up in the Common Room later, okay?"
"Are you sure?" Sirius asked gently, his eyes filled with love and concern.
Hermione forced a smile. "Yeah. I'm sure. I'll see you in a while," she said, then she followed Fabian back into the hospital wing.
Poppy and the twins were waiting for her.
"Is she…"
"She's alive," Poppy said. "Barely."
Hermione reeled slightly. It felt like the world's most hideous deja vu. It felt like Mel all over again. It felt like fear and failure. She'd known Emmeline in the future. She might have died today if not for Hermione… which means it was Hermione's fault she nearly did, that she might still. Her head spun at the thought. What if she'd—
"What does that mean?" Gideon asked quickly.
"I… don't know, exactly," Poppy admitted. "Her lungs are drawing air. Her heart is beating. That's all I can say for sure. The spell that struck her… it's often fatal. That she's still alive now is a miracle on its own and is probably because you brought her here so swiftly."
"Will she make it?" Fabian asked.
Alastor banged through the door. "She'd damned well better!"
Hermione noticed as Poppy tucked a stray strand of hair ever so shyly behind her ear. Interesting. "I can't say for certain, Auror Moody—"
"Alastor."
Poppy flushed ever so slightly. "—Alastor, of course. I wish I could tell you something certain. But her vitals are weak. Very weak." She turned to Gideon. "If she lives, it'll be thanks to you."
"Nah. That was all Mione," he said with unanticipated humility.
Alastor eyed her up. "Sounds like Emmeline and I are both in your debt."
"It was a leg," Hermione choked out. "Hardly deserving of a life debt. And Emmeline… she might still—"
She was cut off as Alastor pulled her into an unprecedented hug. "My leg is my life," his whispered harshly.
Hermione swallowed her surprise and hugged him back gently until he pulled away.
"Now then," he said to Poppy in the gruffest, no-nonsense tone he could manage, "Tell me everything you do know."
"Well, I know that I've never read an account of someone surviving this curse before," she said, then hastily added: "But that doesn't mean no one ever has, of course."
"Hermione has," the twins said together.
Poppy turned to her in alarm. "You what?"
Hermione shifted uncomfortably. "It was… a long time ago, and it's not relevant anyway. The curse that struck me was cast non-verbally. It was a weakened form."
"Ah," Poppy said, trying to hide her curiosity and disappointment. "Well, if there's anything you remember from your treatment that might help…?"
Hermione smiled. "I'm sure you're doing everything exactly right, Poppy," she said. "But I'd be happy to tell you everything I remember about my treatment plan when we're done here."
Poppy sighed. "I'm not sure there's much else to say. The curse causes extensive internal bleeding. It's a bit like a hybrid between a slicing hex and a confringo."
Everyone flinched. Hermione's hand went to the scar jagging across her torso.
"Yes," Poppy said. "It's an awful spell. It works by tearing the internal organs apart. I've done everything I can to heal and repair the damage. She's on a blood replenishing potion. But her vitals are still so weak. It's just a matter of whether her body is strong enough to come back from something like that."
"Emmeline's a fighter," Gideon and Alastor said together. Gideon grinned in triumph as Alastor scowled in response.
Fabian nodded. "She'll make it through."
"When will we know?" Hermione asked.
"I can make no promises," Poppy said gently, "But… if she makes it through the night, I think she'll make it." She hesitated. "Does she have any family we should contact?"
Alastor shook his head. "You're looking at them."
Poppy nodded. "Of course. Then I'll leave you to it. Hermione, if you'd come with me, so we might review what you remember of your treatment plan?"
"Sure." Hermione left her teammates to sit at Emmeline's side, while she reviewed the various potions she had taken with Poppy. Only one was unfamiliar to the older woman.
"It's a variation on a more common muscle mending potion," Hermione explained, hoping it had already been invented. She couldn't recall. "It was a somewhat unorthodox choice for a desperate situation, I think. I'm not sure if it will make a difference."
"Nonetheless, I'll get Professor Slughorn on its procurement or production immediately," Poppy promised. "And I'll reach out to my contacts in the medical community to learn what I can."
"Thank you," Hermione said softly, her gaze straying to Emmeline's bed. The same bed Mel had lain in until just a week ago. For one hideous moment, a wild rage rose up inside her. Then it dissolved into tears. Tears that pressed against the back of her eyes like shards of glass. Like if she let them out, they would slice her to shreds.
Poppy reached out and gripped her hand gently. "Hermione, I'm so sorry. I have to go and do something just now, but please don't hold this burden alone. Share it."
"Everyone keeps saying that," she sighed. "But I'm afraid… like if I let someone else see it, I won't be able to carry it at all anymore, and all my strength will unravel."
The rest of Poppy's words slipped into her consciousness. "Remus," she breathed. "Shit."
Poppy smiled in relief. "Oh you know," she exclaimed, happiness tinging the surprise.
Hermione offered a small smile in return. "I've known for a while." She glanced at the clock and her eyes widened in alarm. "The moon will be full in less than an hour!"
"Yes. Remus should be here any moment. I was going to head him off in the hall, but as long as you know, he may as well come in."
As she said this, the door opened and Remus slipped in, looking extremely uncomfortable. He avoided her gaze, and Hermione could practically feel the shame and the fear radiating off of him.
Hermione stood and went to him, pulling him into a fierce hug. "I will never think less of you for this," she whispered.
He held her back tightly. "I'm sorry I can't be here for you tonight." She felt his head turn toward the bed laid up with Emmeline. "Is she going to be okay?"
Hermione blinked furiously at the tears that wanted to fall and pulled back from the hug. "Too soon to know."
Remus' eyes were full of love and empathy. Her heart felt just a touch more full. "I'm so sorry, Hermione."
She shook her head determinedly. "She's not gone yet."
He smiled and pulled her in for a gentle kiss. "See you tomorrow."
"I'll be here."
He nodded solemnly and followed Poppy out into the hall.
The night was long. The first thing Hermione did was filch a blood replenishing potion from Poppy's stores for Alastor, who ungratefully downed the thing and immediately began to look better. That taken care of, Hermione ran up to the Common Room briefly to change her clothes and reassure her friends, then returned to sit vigil with her team. They spent the night alternating between silence, dozing, and recounting stories of Emmeline's strength and trying to find comfort in them. At one point, Hermione heard a howl rise high on the autumn air, and all the hairs on her body raised as a chill ran through her.
She wondered whether she'd ever be brave enough to tell Remus about third year when she'd seen him shift.
Poppy came back every hour all night long, checking up on Emmeline's vitals and administering potions.
At 4 am, she rushed in in triumph, a familiar-coloured liquid sloshing around in a vial in her hand. "It's just arrived!" she announced. "Let's get this into her and see if it makes a difference!"
"That's the potion Mione took?" Fabian asked hopefully.
"Yes, yes," Poppy replied.
"We don't know it'll do anything," Hermione cautioned.
Poppy reached out and gripped Hermione's shoulder. "Nor do we know it won't," she said firmly. "She's still here, still fighting. Let's take heart."
Hermione forced a smile and a nod as the twins relaxed ever so slightly. Alastor's face was a stoic mask.
When Poppy returned at 5 and at 6 there was no change. At 6:45, she came back to Emmeline's side.
Poppy looked at Hermione. "Remus has taken ill," smiling a subtle quirk of her lips to let Hermione know it was a farce. "I must go retrieve him, but I'll be back soon. I'll check on Emmeline again once he's settled."
"Thank you," Hermione said, in a tone that conveyed all her genuine gratitude.
"Isn't Remus your boyfriend?" Gideon asked as Poppy bustled off.
"Yeah, he's got a chronic condition," Hermione said, heading off further questioning. "He'll be alright though. Poppy knows how to help him."
They lapsed into silence again until Poppy returned with Remus. The twins took a simultaneous sharp inhale.
"Mione, your boyfriend looks terrible. You sure he's alright?"
Hermione nodded through her own sense of heartbreak and worry. Remus did look terrible. Exhausted. Weak. Drained. He looked barely alive. "He'll be okay. I'll be back in a bit. Shout if I miss anything."
"Go back and watch over your friend," Remus muttered, when he sensed Hermione at his bedside.
Hermione just huffed. "Are you in much pain?" she asked softly.
"Already getting better," he replied bravely. "Madam Pomfrey's a miracle worker."
Hermione hesitated. "Can I… Can I touch you?"
Even sickly in a hospital bed, Remus managed to summon his inner teenage boy with a wink and a weak smirk. "Absolutely you can."
Hermione laughed, and just barely resisted swatting him on the arm. "Alright then." She glanced back at Poppy a little nervously, then slid onto the hospital bed next to Remus, whose eyebrows flew up toward his hairline. She felt him flinch away ever so slightly.
"Remus John Lupin, you will bury your ridiculous shame and hold my hand right this instant," Hermione said in her best imitation of Minerva's tone.
He chuckled, grimacing at the pain. "Alright then," he said, slipping his hand into hers. "I'm 800 percent certain I smell terrible," he murmured.
"Nothing new then," she teased.
"Mmm," Remus said, snuggling a little closer.
Hermione ran her fingers through his hair and Remus made a soft contented sound in his throat that sounded a touch like a growl. Hermione smiled softly. Soon, he was fast asleep.
Hermione lay there a short while, but her thoughts spun a whirlwind in her mind. The battle. Lucius. Emmeline falling. Alastor's leg. Dolohov collapsing. Voldemort's high, cold voice.
She shook her head and slipped away back to her team. All three of them were looking lighter, they were smiling. "Good news?"
"Poppy says her vitals are coming up," Fabian said with a smile that practically glowed.
"She said she'll be back soon to check again to see if it's a 'trend' or just an anomaly, but she seemed pretty pleased," Gideon added.
Alastor grunted. "Told you lot she was strong."
Hermione smiled, relief washing through her. Emmeline was going to make it. It was nearly 7 am. She'd made it through the night, her body was getting stronger. She was going to be okay. The relief was so strong, it washed the adrenaline, the fear and fright that had filled her since Hatty had summoned her just yesterday. And it left behind a deep, consuming fatigue.
"Thank Merlin," she breathed, dropping into a chair.
Poppy strode back over and ran her diagnostic spells, her expression bright and optimistic. "Stronger still!" she confirmed. "I think it's time for you lot to get some rest."
"Shall we take it in turns from here?" Hermione said tiredly.
"I'll take first watch," Alastor said.
Hermione shook her head. "You were significantly injured, Alastor. You should let Poppy take a look at you, and then get some rest."
He scowled as Poppy immediately jumped into attentive Healer mode, tutting and huffing at his state. "You gave him a blood replenisher?"
"Yes, ma'am."
"Well, you'll need at least one more," she said firmly, herding him toward a bed of his own. "Lay down, and I'll be right back."
Alastor sighed, but there was a hint of mirth in his eyes, and he obliged.
Interesting.
Gideon, who had left the battle first, decided to take first watch, and Hermione and Fabian found beds of their own. But even with exhaustion gripping every cell in her body, she couldn't sleep.
An hour passed, then two. Finally she went back to Emmeline's side. Gideon was snoring in his chair, and Hermione laughed softly, shaking him awake. "Go rest, Gideon," she said, when he finally opened his eyes.
"You're an absolute Goddess," he murmured, stumbling to a free bed and passing out immediately.
Hermione was sitting, mired in her thoughts, when Albus and Minerva swept into the hospital wing just after breakfast.
"How is she?" Minerva asked gently as they approached.
Hermione smiled tiredly at her mentors. "Poppy thinks she'll be okay. She's a little stronger every time Poppy checks. She's going to pull through."
Minerva squeezed her shoulder, tears of relief misting her eyes, as Albus twinkled away beside her.
"That is most excellent news," he said brightly.
A large part of Hermione wanted to bask in that space of relief and gratitude. But she didn't. "Who did we lose?"
Albus' smile wavered and died. Minerva squeezed her shoulder harder. "Lance, Caradoc, and…" he took a deep breath, "the older Bones."
"Oh no," Hermione whispered. "Amelia and Edgar… Is there anything we can do for them?"
Minerva shook her head sadly. "They'll pull through, Hermione, just as we all must when such things happen. Amelia is staying with Edgar for the time being, so neither is alone."
"Well that's something. Losing both parents at once…" Hermione trailed off. "It's terrible. Has anyone checked in on Dorcas?"
Albus nodded. "We have. It was wise to have her taken to her mother's. She is being well taken care of."
Hermione sighed.
"We noticed your Patronus," Minerva said tentatively.
Hermione looked up, confused.
Minerva and Albus exchanged a look. "You didn't see that it looked… different… yesterday?"
"My patronus changed? How is that possible? I haven't-" she glanced quickly in Remus' direction and lowered her voice, "-fallen in love or anything!"
Albus chuckled. "There are more reasons than romance for a Patronus to shift shape."
Hermione's mind reeled. "Does that mean… What is it?"
Minerva smiled, a curious expression of pride on her face and gestured for Hermione to cast and find out. What in the world?
Hermione pulled her wand from its holster. "Expecto Patronum!"
Silver flowed from her wand - more silver than her small otter required. For a brief moment, Hermione was overwhelmed with a deep sense of loss for her Otter, for that part of her that had died with it. Then the mist came together to take its shape.
"A lioness," Minerva said, and there were tears in her eyes.
Hermione looked at the gorgeous creature in wonder. She had loved her otter… playful and full of joy and light… things she always wished she were more of. Aspects of herself that she'd fully embraced and embodied only now, in the past. "It's strange," she said softly, "That I'd only just begun to really… identify with my Otter… and now it's gone." She looked at Albus. "Why?"
He smiled warmly, and with a pride that resonated with Minerva's. "Something inside of you shifted," he said simply.
"But what?"
Minerva looked pensive for a moment. "The Lioness is a fiercely protective creature. Strong. Passionate. Courageous. Guided by love. I daresay you have stepped fully into your power, Hermione."
A warmth filled her at Minerva's words, but… "But… I've never heard of this happening before. Only in times of grief or love."
"Isn't this a time of both?" Fabian asked, slipping up beside her. "I saw you out there today. I saw you saving Alastor, fighting Dolohov, taking charge when you realized Voldemort was there, when Emmeline got hurt." His gaze was level, genuine, serious. Not a hint of irony or teasing. "I'd say you showed us all those lioness traits today, Mione."
Tears pricked at her eyes, and her lioness nuzzled her side. "It's been a really, really long day… month," she choked out, almost laughing, almost sobbing.
Fabian wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Think you could get some sleep now?"
Hermione almost shuddered. "I don't know," she looked at Albus and Minerva. There was one last bit of awfulness she had to get out of her system. Then maybe rest could come. Maybe. "The people he took… I… I think I know why."
Fabian's grip tightened nearly imperceptibly. Albus and Minerva's happiness faded from their faces. Her lioness dissolved.
"He's building an army," Hermione whispered.
Minerva inhaled sharply. Albus looked… weary to the depths of his soul. "Just as Gellert dreamed," he said quietly. Hermione noted his use of "Gellert" as opposed to "Grindelwald." Interesting.
"Hold on, what?" Fabian asked. "What army?"
"They mean Inferi," Alastor growled, from his bed, where he had apparently only been pretending (or trying) to sleep.
Fabian's hand dropped from Hermione's shoulders. "No," he breathed.
Albus sighed. "We know people, mostly Muggles, have been disappearing. Vanishing without a trace. It's a conclusion I've come to, and done my best to reject, many times over, myself."
Silence reigned in the hospital wing only to be interrupted as Poppy bustled over to check on Emmeline again. They all watched, wordlessly, as she cast a quick diagnostic spell. "Better still," Poppy said. "I wouldn't expect her to wake up today, but perhaps by the end of the week." She glanced around at the crowd in the room. "All of you, get on with your lives. I'll be sure someone lets you know when she wakes up."
Hermione opened her mouth.
"Yes, even you, Hermione," she said sternly. "Mr. Lupin will be just fine without you. I'll tell him to find you when he wakes."
Alastor rolled out of bed.
"Not so fast, Auror Moody. Right back down. There you go. You have one final dose of blood replenisher before I'm letting you out of my sight."
Hermione smiled as she watched the woman press Alastor back onto the bed. Watched Alastor let her. I wonder, she thought. She scrawled a quick note for Remus, and then left with Fabian for the kitchens, leaving Gideon snoring in a far corner of the hospital wing.
As soon as they were done, happy for some time alone, Hermione slipped off to the advanced transfiguration section of the library. She grabbed the books she needed and paused. Where would she sit? She glanced at the window seat where she and Regulus used to sit. He and Narcissa had chosen a new spot. She could hear their low voices from the other side of the library.
Her heart ached. She wanted, more than anything, to go to them now. When everything was so uncertain, and there was no comfort to be truly had. She was ready to escape the Gryffindors and find solace in the wry wit and sly smirks of her Slytherin friends. She missed them.
Her gaze met Narcissa's as she crossed to a table, and she saw friendship there still. And warning. Her gaze said, "I miss you. Stay away." Hermione inclined her head imperceptibly, and then she sat down. It was time to brush up on the subject of Animagi.