She was awoken by a gentle shaking, blearily opening her eyes to see a house elf peering down at her. It wore a pretty black smock, the silver wolves lovingly embroidered onto the apron signalled just who this house elf was proud to serve.
'Good morning Miss Hermione. Master Grindelwald says you should be going to Mister Weasley's room. He thinks you might enjoy celebrating his birthday with him.' The elf squeaked, her big eyes gleaming with the kind of mischievous pleasure that she'd never seen in an elf before. Bemused, Hermione obediently got dressed, the elf heating her uniform for her so that it was comfortable to step into.
Gellert knew that Hermione most certainly did not want to celebrate anything with Ron, so she could only assume he had either seen or planned some mischief that was sure to amuse her, and as such she felt duty bound to mitigate the damage, even if she didn't like watching X rated make out sessions in the common room.
The boys were already awake and surprisingly enough for this early, already dressed. Ron was unwrapping his presents and Harry was rummaging through his trunk in search of something, tossing every other belonging around the room in the process.
She summoned a clean pair of socks for him, ignoring Ron as he crowed over the new keepers gloves that Harry had bought him. She'd been gracious enough to also purchase a present; a bag of limited edition chocolate frogs, which she noted still lay unwrapped with his other presents. Neville woke with a groan as Harry used his broom handle to swipe his charms homework from beneath his bed - 'Harry, you're a wizard. Accio Harry's charms homework.'
She chatted with the bleary Neville as Harry sheepish summoned the remainder of his school work and books from under his bed, the deciding that perhaps Gellert's vision must have failed to manifest, she agreed to walk down to breakfast with him, giving Neville the privacy to change.
'Coming Ron?' He called as they reached the door, looking back to see the redhead gazing dreamily out of the window. 'Ron?' Harry questioned after they received no response.
'I'm not hungry.' Came the eventual reply.
'Probably because you've stuffed yourself with half a pack of cauldron cakes!' Seamus called cheerily, emerging from the bathroom wearing his school robes and a towel wrapped around his waist. 'Oh, hi Hermione.'
'No, I just... can't stop thinking about her.' Ron insisted, looking beseechingly around the room.
'Oh this is ridiculous, you're acting like an idiot. I don't need to hear you pining over Lavender, I'm sure she's waiting to eat your face off downstairs.' Hermione huffed, spinning on her heel to leave. She didn't know what Gellert may have been expecting, but this was certainly not as funny as she'd hoped.
'Lavender? No no... I need to see Romilda.'
She stumbled over her own feet, catching herself on the banister.
'What?' Harry hissed into the stunned silence. 'Wait, cauldron cakes, Seamus?'
'Yeah.' The boy replied from behind his drawn curtains.
'Oh no, Romilda gave me some the other day, Ginny mentioned that she'd been planning to slip me a love potion so I ignored them.' Moaned Harry, darting over and picking up the glittery wrapping paper. He brandished a note, written and signed in a childish imitation of calligraphy. She couldn't read it from this distance but she could make out an embellished R near the edge of the card.
'How long ago, Harry?' Hermione giggled.
'You know Romilda Vane, can you introduce us, please Harry?' Ron said at the same time, snatching the note from him and cradling it lovingly to his chest.
'About a month ago, maybe?'
'Love potions get stronger as they get older.' Hermione tried to hold a straight face as Ron began tracing the letters of the note. 'I'm sure Professor Snape has the ingredients for an antidote.'
'That's cruel Hermione. Grindelwald must be rubbing off on you.' Neville shivered.
'Perhaps brewing your own antidote would teach you not to eat items of uncertain origin, Mr Weasley.' Seamus managed a remarkable imitation of Snape, twirling around with his bed curtain billowing around his shoulders. The he tripped over his twisted sheet and tore the curtain as he fell, eliciting a round of raucous laughter. From there on the suggested solutions degenerated into the ridiculous, only stopping when Ron burst into tears at their lack of seriousness concerning his infatuation.
Feeling sorry for him, they managed to lead him to the hospital wing where Madame Pomfrey took control of the situation, assuring the boy that Romilda was in fact here visiting a friend - to her credit she didn't even need the situation explaining to her and she quickly continued to elaborate on the ruse they'd used to get Ron to come willingly. She offered him a calming draught whilst he waited for Romilda to come back from the bathroom, and Ron chugged down the whole phial without even realising it was completely the wrong colour for a calming draught.
A moment later Ron was blinking owlishly as Madame Pomfrey shone a light in his eyes.
'That was quite some love potion Mr. Weasley...' She tutted, and it sounded like she would have continued if she wasn't interrupted by a sudden commotion.
'Quick quick, in here now with him.' Professor McGonagall bustled through the doorway, a stretcher being levitated behind her by a group of students in Slytherin uniforms. Madame Pomfrey almost ran to the closest bed and in a moment had the Slytherin student on the sheets.
'Fetch Albus and Severus. Grindelwald too.' Madame Pomfrey ordered, 'You, fetch cloths from the cupboard under the sink, Miss Granger... there's blood replenishing potions in my office.' Hermione jumped at being addressed before hurrying into the adjacent office.
It was light and airy, tall windows overlooking a large desk and shelves of student files. The other half of the wall was filled too to bottom with various potions and Hermione jumped over, skimming the titles until she found the requested potions. She grabbed several, then hurried to give them to the matron.
She knew who the person in the bed was; recognised his stature, but otherwise he was unrecognisable. His body was covered in lacerations, his face almost unrecognisable under the injuries. The sheets below him were already soaked with blood, and a deep set of puncture wounds across his forearm were soaking the bandages as quickly as Madame Pomfrey could apply them.
'A pain potion if you would Miss Granger.' Madame Pomfrey ordered and she hurried off to fulfil the request.
Gellert and Dumbledore had arrived by the time she returned and both wizards were examining the boy on the bed and conversing softly. McGonagall had shooed out all the other students and was helping Madame Pomfrey with bandages.
'Hermione, use your sight to tell us which injuries are cursed please.' Gellert ordered and Hermione quickly obeyed. She touched each of the steaks of black magic against the emerald and yellow of the student's aura... Nott she realised, she'd often mistaken him for Malfoy at a distance before she learned to see again.
She opened her eyes, seeing that all the non-cursed wounds had been healed. Gellert was casting diagnostics and Dumbledore was studying the results with him. Snape had arrived at some point and was already labouring over a cauldron that had been set up at the foot of the bed. She was passed a handful of bat wings to dice, Snape deeming her potions work passable, and so was still present when Nott jerked awake.
'Father, father!' He called out, thrashing beneath the hold of some spell that held him immobilised.
'You're in Hogwarts, Mr Nott.' Madame Pomfrey soothed.
'No no no, he'll kill my father for getting me out!' Nott heaved against his invisible bonds, opening all the wounds Gellert had already healed.
'We will retrieve him.' Gellert finally snapped as yet more of his work was undone. Nott collapsed to stillness. 'Come, Albus. Hermione, summon my notes on Dolohov's curses, I believe most of these injuries are caused by curses in those pages. Minerva and Snape will be able to assist you in creating counter-curses.'
Then Gellert and Dumbledore left in a flash of Phoenix fire but she was convinced she saw Dumbledore throwing a pen exasperated look at Gellert as they disappeared.
Snape sneered at her, 'well, Miss Granger. Summon those papers before Mr. Nott bleeds to death.'
The next couple of hours were the hardest and most terrifying of her life; never before had she held someone's life so literally in her hands as they fought to restart her classmate's heart for the third time. Her robes were soaked in blood, potion ingredients and sweat, the two teachers who worked with her were in no better position. McGonagall has never done any spell crafting before, so although she had a vast knowledge of magical principles, creating counter curses from scratch was clearly something Hermione had the lead in.
She jumped over, waving her wand and uttering the two words that the past three hours of work had amounted to; the first of the curse wounds healed. She shrieked with joy and even Snape was too exhausted to insult her as he stirred his fourth cauldron with one hand and poured potion from his third cauldron straight down Notts throat with the ladle in the other.
The two witches quickly took up the counter curse, casting it over the cursed wounds until nothing but faint pink scars remained.
She wasn't even allowed a moment of respite as Dumbledore arrived back carrying another wizard in dark death eater robes. He was an adult, white hair matted with yet more blood and his legs hanging at an unnatural angle. Dumbledore laid him on the bed next to Nott, and Hermione dragged her exhausted, adrenaline worn body over to help.
Then Gellert appeared with a flash of Phoenix fire, staggering and almost falling as he landed. He too was covered in blood, but fortunately was still conscious, laughing maniacally...
'He got me!' Gellert exclaimed, pulling his shirt down over his elbow to reveal a rapidly spreading black splotch. Before their eyes it warped, spreading into thin lines to form the shape of the dark mark on his skin.
'Miss Granger, if I could ask one more thing of you today; please get Gellert to instruct you in the removal of that, then make sure he gets to bed... I believe he was actually 'got' by a hysteria charm as well.' The headmaster tutted. 'Then I must insist that you take some dreamless sleep and have the remainder of the day off. You have performed above and beyond the expectations of a student today, Miss Granger.'
She nodded, before taking Gellert's uninjured arm and leading the semi-incapacitated wizard to his rooms.