Disclaimer: Harry Potter and his friends belong to J.K Rowling and her wonderful imagination.
CHAPTER XVI: WHO ARE YOU?
Charlie Weasley had looked everywhere for Hermione Granger, starting from her apartment to the public library, but she was nowhere to be seen. Searching for her was harder than finding a nest of dragon eggs. Exhausted, he decided he had earned himself a break and desperately needed a drink. The Three Broomsticks was completely crowded, so he apparated to the Leaky Cauldron. Stars were twinkling in the dark night sky as he entered the inn. Dinner was ending so it would be hopeless to sit down and eat, so he decided to go to the inn bar. And who would have thought that he would find Ms. Granger here of all places.
"Hermione," he uttered thoroughly relieved. He took long strides toward her. She seemed to be engrossed in a deep conversation with the bartender. "Hermione, am I glad to see you," he remarked, placing his hand on her shoulder and turning her to face him. What he saw next was something he'd never expected.
"Oh hello Charlie darling," Hermione breathed heavily.
"Hermione, what's wrong with you?" Charlie croaked, shocked at this. In front of her was an empty glass and from the horrible smell that was feeling the area he automatically guessed that it was definitely not water.
"Nothing's wrong with me," she garbled at him.
He stared at her for a while before asking hesitantly, "Are you drunk?"
"Of course not," she retorted, her brown eyes glazed with water. She reached forward and took another swing of the glass; apparently thinking it was still full.
"How long has she been sitting here?" Charlie demanded from a terrified Neville.
"About an hour," he squeaked helplessly.
"No, I haven't," she argued and then with a sickening fall her head slumped down onto the counter.
Charlie heaved a sigh and lifted her head up. "C'mon Hermione, I've got to get you home."
"No, I'm staying right here," she protested, pushing him away sluggishly. Saying so she gave a loud belch.
"Hermione," Neville wheezed, totally horrified.
"What haven't you ever belched before?" Hermione demanded from her. "Well, you wouldn't," she continued answering her own question. "Because you were always too busy eating," she finished, bursting into fits of giggles. An elderly group, which had been sitting on the side, glanced in their direction suspiciously and moved to the back of the room.
"Hermione, you're creating a scene," Charlie hissed in her ear.
"Am I?" she remarked through unstoppable giggles. "Well, in that case I'd better leave."
She stood up and swayed in her seat; Charlie made a grab at her, but she pushed him away impatiently. "I have to pay Neville," she mumbled, rummaging in her purse.
"Uh that's okay. My treat," Neville stated, hoping he would be forgiven for causing Hermione to be so unlike herself.
"Oh Neville, you're so sweet," she cooed, leaning forward, grabbing him by the tie and planted a huge kiss on his cheek. He turned scarlet, mumbled something incoherent, and walked away from the two,
"Well then," she announced, swinging her purse on her shoulder, causing Charlie to doges out of the way. "Let's go home." She made an attempt of walking, but staggering she fell. Shaking his head, he helped her up.
"Let me take you home," Charlie offered.
"No," she protested. "I can walk thank you very much." She started to walk again but after a few steps she collapsed to the ground and erupted into fits of laughter.
Charlie groaned and lifted her up. He was surprised to see that along with her chocking laughter, there were tears streaked across her face.
"Oh Bill," she sobbed. "Why isn't Ron awake too?"
Charlie sighed, supporting her and leading her out the Leaky Cauldron. "Is that what has been bothering you?"
She did not answer, because she was stifling her hiccups. "Gred," she slurred.
"What is it?" he asked patiently, as he struggled to walk while helping Hermione walk.
"I think I'm going to be sick," she stuttered with great difficulty. Pushing him away she knelt down and started to throw up on the sidewalk.
"Aw Hermione," he groaned as she relieved herself off her sickness. Once she was finished, she weakly leaned against the wall, taking deep breaths.
"Feeling better," he inquired gently. She nodded her head. "Good," he remarked, rolling up her robe sleeves and started to walk in order for her head to clear.
"Thank you for staying with me, Ron," she mumbled. Charlie exhaled noisily, thinking it wasn't the best time to remind her that he wasn't Ron. He pulled her close and without another word he apparated to her apartment. When they reached there, her eyes were half-closed and she was breathing heavily.
Steering her to her bedroom, he gently placed her down on the bed. She seemed so peaceful, it seemed a shock to him that she had gone through so much. Pulling the blanket over her body, he started to unclasp his hand from her's when her eyelids fluttered open. "Don't leave me Ron," she pleaded desperately.
"Okay," he hushed her softly as he took a seat at the foot of her bed. He patted her hand gently. Slowly and steadily, she finally fell asleep but not before saying, "Don't ever leave me, Ron."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~***************************~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Three days later, Hermione awoke from a blissful sleep, with the sunlight streaming through her curtains. Stretching, she threw the covers aside, crawled out of bed and glanced blearily at her alarm clock, which rested on her bedstead. It blinked, "10:15." Rubbing her eyes at an attempt to erase the sleepiness from her eyes, memories of the night she got drunk came flooding back to her. She realized she must look and smell terrible and decided it would be best to take a shower and freshen up. She hadn't been in her apartment for a while and wanted to reacquaint herself with her surroundings.
Voices could be heard from the living room, but ignoring them she hurried to the bathroom to take a long relaxing shower. The water seemed to clear her head and felt wonderful on skin that had been so dirty for a long time. Once she was done, she changed into a white sleeveless dress, despite the chilly October weather, and brushed her hair so it fell into straight locks around her face.
Deciding it was the best time to make her presence known, she headed for the living room. She saw Charlie sitting on the couch, engrossed in a deep conversation with… "Harry," she squealed, rushing towards him.
Upon her greeting he stood up and wrapped his arms around her. "Hey Hermione," he muttered softly, as she tightened her grip around his neck.
"Oh Harry, I missed you so much," she sobbed into his shoulder.
"Shh," he hushed, patting her back gently. "It's over and done with," he mumbled into her hair.
"Ahem," Charlie interrupted, breaking their embrace.
"Charlie, thank you so much for last night. I'm sorry for my drunken behavior and what I made you go through," she apologized, her cheeks turning a faint pink.
"Last night?" Charlie repeated staring at her quizzically. She nodded her head.
"Hermione, you've been asleep for three days," Harry explained gently.
"What!" she shrieked.
"Harry, I'll leave you to Hermione. I've got to get back to the hospital," Charlie remarked, standing up.
"Wait," Harry began, gripping Hermione by the elbow tightly. "We're coming with you."
"But Harry, you don't even know how to apparate yet," Hermione pointed out. Harry smiled at her mysteriously. "There are a lot of things you don't know about me, Hermione," he replied, his eyes twinkling, in a way Hermione hadn't seen in a long time. She smirked at him and together they apparated to St. Mungo's.
When they arrived, there was a huge throng of reporters gathered out in the all; cameras were flashing, questions were being asked, and to make things worse, everyone spotted Harry when they apparated into the premises.
"How did they find out?" she asked over the noise, as Harry pushed his way after Charlie.
"I don't know," he answered grimly. "But I'm going to kill the git who did." Harry tightened his grip on her hand as Charlie created a way from them to go through. She heard him mumble, "I wish I had my invisibility cloak right now." She smiled to herself and sighed with relief when they finally made it to the front of the hospital room. Shoving Harry and Hermione in, Charlie bolted the door behind them.
"Hi Hermione," Ginny greeted from the side of Ron's bed. "Feeling better?"
"Loads," Hermione replied, smiling at the younger girl. All the Weasleys were crowed around Ron's bed and since Harry was alive, more chairs had replaced his bed. There were many more people in the room, some vaguely familiar other's just new face for her, but one particular face caught her attention.
"Malfoy," she stammered in disgust. "What are you doing here?"
He smirked at her. "Since I found these two bozos I have every right to be here," he replied rudely.
"Well you don't have to be here," she snottily shot back, but before she could say more Harry placed a soothing arm on her shoulder. Sighing, she grasped Ron's limp hand firmly and tightened his fingers over the compass she had given him. Maybe with this feel, he would wake up. After all, anything was possible.
Everyone made small talk around his bed, even though no one directed anything to Harry. It seemed as if Professor Dumbledore had strictly forbidden anyone from asking Harry any questions. When the time was right, then she would find out the truth.
Suddenly Ginny let out a shriek. "Oh my God," she squealed hysterically.
"What is it, dear?" Mr. Weasley prompted.
"I just saw Ron's nose twitch," she stammered.
"What?" Hermione gasped, leaning towards him expectantly.
After carefully observing Ron, Fred remarked, "Gin, you were imagining things."
Ginny shook her head firmly. "I know what I saw," she insisted.
"Wait," Hermione declared, holding up her hand for silence. She leaned closer and examined his face carefully. Had his eye just fluttered open? This time, however, she wasn't the only one who had witnessed his movements.
"Look," Percy exclaimed, pointing at his hand, which was being held by Hermione. His fingernails were gripping into her skin.
"He's going to wake up," Bill murmured. Everyone tensely waited for Ron to wake up, with Hermione holding her breath. Finally, his blue eyes fluttered open.
"Oh thank God," Mrs. Weasley moaned with relief as he took in his surroundings. He stared around himself blankly, apparently confused about where he was.
"Hi Ron," Hermione murmured softly.
He stared at her thoughtfully before answering in a hoarse voice, "Hey."
"Ron, how're you feeling?" Sirius asked urgently.
"Sick," he commented lamely.
Everyone laughed, relieving the tense atmosphere that they had been surrounded by for quite a while.
"We're so happy you're back," Ginny remarked, gripping his arm tightly.
Ron managed a weak nod while she continued, "As soon as you're better, you can have some Chocolate Frogs and some of Mum's delicious food."
He stared at her confused and was quiet for quite sometime. Finally he broke the silence, but said something that left everyone in the room completely stunned.
With a great deal of effort, he queried, "Who are you?"
***
CHAPTER XVI: WHO ARE YOU?
Charlie Weasley had looked everywhere for Hermione Granger, starting from her apartment to the public library, but she was nowhere to be seen. Searching for her was harder than finding a nest of dragon eggs. Exhausted, he decided he had earned himself a break and desperately needed a drink. The Three Broomsticks was completely crowded, so he apparated to the Leaky Cauldron. Stars were twinkling in the dark night sky as he entered the inn. Dinner was ending so it would be hopeless to sit down and eat, so he decided to go to the inn bar. And who would have thought that he would find Ms. Granger here of all places.
"Hermione," he uttered thoroughly relieved. He took long strides toward her. She seemed to be engrossed in a deep conversation with the bartender. "Hermione, am I glad to see you," he remarked, placing his hand on her shoulder and turning her to face him. What he saw next was something he'd never expected.
"Oh hello Charlie darling," Hermione breathed heavily.
"Hermione, what's wrong with you?" Charlie croaked, shocked at this. In front of her was an empty glass and from the horrible smell that was feeling the area he automatically guessed that it was definitely not water.
"Nothing's wrong with me," she garbled at him.
He stared at her for a while before asking hesitantly, "Are you drunk?"
"Of course not," she retorted, her brown eyes glazed with water. She reached forward and took another swing of the glass; apparently thinking it was still full.
"How long has she been sitting here?" Charlie demanded from a terrified Neville.
"About an hour," he squeaked helplessly.
"No, I haven't," she argued and then with a sickening fall her head slumped down onto the counter.
Charlie heaved a sigh and lifted her head up. "C'mon Hermione, I've got to get you home."
"No, I'm staying right here," she protested, pushing him away sluggishly. Saying so she gave a loud belch.
"Hermione," Neville wheezed, totally horrified.
"What haven't you ever belched before?" Hermione demanded from her. "Well, you wouldn't," she continued answering her own question. "Because you were always too busy eating," she finished, bursting into fits of giggles. An elderly group, which had been sitting on the side, glanced in their direction suspiciously and moved to the back of the room.
"Hermione, you're creating a scene," Charlie hissed in her ear.
"Am I?" she remarked through unstoppable giggles. "Well, in that case I'd better leave."
She stood up and swayed in her seat; Charlie made a grab at her, but she pushed him away impatiently. "I have to pay Neville," she mumbled, rummaging in her purse.
"Uh that's okay. My treat," Neville stated, hoping he would be forgiven for causing Hermione to be so unlike herself.
"Oh Neville, you're so sweet," she cooed, leaning forward, grabbing him by the tie and planted a huge kiss on his cheek. He turned scarlet, mumbled something incoherent, and walked away from the two,
"Well then," she announced, swinging her purse on her shoulder, causing Charlie to doges out of the way. "Let's go home." She made an attempt of walking, but staggering she fell. Shaking his head, he helped her up.
"Let me take you home," Charlie offered.
"No," she protested. "I can walk thank you very much." She started to walk again but after a few steps she collapsed to the ground and erupted into fits of laughter.
Charlie groaned and lifted her up. He was surprised to see that along with her chocking laughter, there were tears streaked across her face.
"Oh Bill," she sobbed. "Why isn't Ron awake too?"
Charlie sighed, supporting her and leading her out the Leaky Cauldron. "Is that what has been bothering you?"
She did not answer, because she was stifling her hiccups. "Gred," she slurred.
"What is it?" he asked patiently, as he struggled to walk while helping Hermione walk.
"I think I'm going to be sick," she stuttered with great difficulty. Pushing him away she knelt down and started to throw up on the sidewalk.
"Aw Hermione," he groaned as she relieved herself off her sickness. Once she was finished, she weakly leaned against the wall, taking deep breaths.
"Feeling better," he inquired gently. She nodded her head. "Good," he remarked, rolling up her robe sleeves and started to walk in order for her head to clear.
"Thank you for staying with me, Ron," she mumbled. Charlie exhaled noisily, thinking it wasn't the best time to remind her that he wasn't Ron. He pulled her close and without another word he apparated to her apartment. When they reached there, her eyes were half-closed and she was breathing heavily.
Steering her to her bedroom, he gently placed her down on the bed. She seemed so peaceful, it seemed a shock to him that she had gone through so much. Pulling the blanket over her body, he started to unclasp his hand from her's when her eyelids fluttered open. "Don't leave me Ron," she pleaded desperately.
"Okay," he hushed her softly as he took a seat at the foot of her bed. He patted her hand gently. Slowly and steadily, she finally fell asleep but not before saying, "Don't ever leave me, Ron."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~***************************~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Three days later, Hermione awoke from a blissful sleep, with the sunlight streaming through her curtains. Stretching, she threw the covers aside, crawled out of bed and glanced blearily at her alarm clock, which rested on her bedstead. It blinked, "10:15." Rubbing her eyes at an attempt to erase the sleepiness from her eyes, memories of the night she got drunk came flooding back to her. She realized she must look and smell terrible and decided it would be best to take a shower and freshen up. She hadn't been in her apartment for a while and wanted to reacquaint herself with her surroundings.
Voices could be heard from the living room, but ignoring them she hurried to the bathroom to take a long relaxing shower. The water seemed to clear her head and felt wonderful on skin that had been so dirty for a long time. Once she was done, she changed into a white sleeveless dress, despite the chilly October weather, and brushed her hair so it fell into straight locks around her face.
Deciding it was the best time to make her presence known, she headed for the living room. She saw Charlie sitting on the couch, engrossed in a deep conversation with… "Harry," she squealed, rushing towards him.
Upon her greeting he stood up and wrapped his arms around her. "Hey Hermione," he muttered softly, as she tightened her grip around his neck.
"Oh Harry, I missed you so much," she sobbed into his shoulder.
"Shh," he hushed, patting her back gently. "It's over and done with," he mumbled into her hair.
"Ahem," Charlie interrupted, breaking their embrace.
"Charlie, thank you so much for last night. I'm sorry for my drunken behavior and what I made you go through," she apologized, her cheeks turning a faint pink.
"Last night?" Charlie repeated staring at her quizzically. She nodded her head.
"Hermione, you've been asleep for three days," Harry explained gently.
"What!" she shrieked.
"Harry, I'll leave you to Hermione. I've got to get back to the hospital," Charlie remarked, standing up.
"Wait," Harry began, gripping Hermione by the elbow tightly. "We're coming with you."
"But Harry, you don't even know how to apparate yet," Hermione pointed out. Harry smiled at her mysteriously. "There are a lot of things you don't know about me, Hermione," he replied, his eyes twinkling, in a way Hermione hadn't seen in a long time. She smirked at him and together they apparated to St. Mungo's.
When they arrived, there was a huge throng of reporters gathered out in the all; cameras were flashing, questions were being asked, and to make things worse, everyone spotted Harry when they apparated into the premises.
"How did they find out?" she asked over the noise, as Harry pushed his way after Charlie.
"I don't know," he answered grimly. "But I'm going to kill the git who did." Harry tightened his grip on her hand as Charlie created a way from them to go through. She heard him mumble, "I wish I had my invisibility cloak right now." She smiled to herself and sighed with relief when they finally made it to the front of the hospital room. Shoving Harry and Hermione in, Charlie bolted the door behind them.
"Hi Hermione," Ginny greeted from the side of Ron's bed. "Feeling better?"
"Loads," Hermione replied, smiling at the younger girl. All the Weasleys were crowed around Ron's bed and since Harry was alive, more chairs had replaced his bed. There were many more people in the room, some vaguely familiar other's just new face for her, but one particular face caught her attention.
"Malfoy," she stammered in disgust. "What are you doing here?"
He smirked at her. "Since I found these two bozos I have every right to be here," he replied rudely.
"Well you don't have to be here," she snottily shot back, but before she could say more Harry placed a soothing arm on her shoulder. Sighing, she grasped Ron's limp hand firmly and tightened his fingers over the compass she had given him. Maybe with this feel, he would wake up. After all, anything was possible.
Everyone made small talk around his bed, even though no one directed anything to Harry. It seemed as if Professor Dumbledore had strictly forbidden anyone from asking Harry any questions. When the time was right, then she would find out the truth.
Suddenly Ginny let out a shriek. "Oh my God," she squealed hysterically.
"What is it, dear?" Mr. Weasley prompted.
"I just saw Ron's nose twitch," she stammered.
"What?" Hermione gasped, leaning towards him expectantly.
After carefully observing Ron, Fred remarked, "Gin, you were imagining things."
Ginny shook her head firmly. "I know what I saw," she insisted.
"Wait," Hermione declared, holding up her hand for silence. She leaned closer and examined his face carefully. Had his eye just fluttered open? This time, however, she wasn't the only one who had witnessed his movements.
"Look," Percy exclaimed, pointing at his hand, which was being held by Hermione. His fingernails were gripping into her skin.
"He's going to wake up," Bill murmured. Everyone tensely waited for Ron to wake up, with Hermione holding her breath. Finally, his blue eyes fluttered open.
"Oh thank God," Mrs. Weasley moaned with relief as he took in his surroundings. He stared around himself blankly, apparently confused about where he was.
"Hi Ron," Hermione murmured softly.
He stared at her thoughtfully before answering in a hoarse voice, "Hey."
"Ron, how're you feeling?" Sirius asked urgently.
"Sick," he commented lamely.
Everyone laughed, relieving the tense atmosphere that they had been surrounded by for quite a while.
"We're so happy you're back," Ginny remarked, gripping his arm tightly.
Ron managed a weak nod while she continued, "As soon as you're better, you can have some Chocolate Frogs and some of Mum's delicious food."
He stared at her confused and was quiet for quite sometime. Finally he broke the silence, but said something that left everyone in the room completely stunned.
With a great deal of effort, he queried, "Who are you?"
***