A/N- Thank you everyone for all the reviews!!! [ individual thanks at the end ]. Does anyone know when Hermione's birthday is? Like, the exact date and everything? If you do, plz tell me in your review! And also, I need your opinions on something. Should I keep writing the story as of what happened after HP and OoP? Or continue after HP & GoF? Because I started this story before the fifth book was released and the person that died has been mentioned. But then in the chapter before last chapter, I made a few references to the fifth book and now, I'm confused. So please tell me where you peepz would like me to continue from. Thnx !!!
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Chapter Eleven: Weird Hallucinations
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Love is like quicksand, the deeper you fall in, the harder it is to come out …
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Draco glanced around him but there was nobody nearby. So having no other choice, he gingerly picked her up. To his surprise, she wasn't very heavy and he had a feeling he could manage with her in his arms until they got to the Hospital Wing.
As he rushed through the corridors, he felt her body was still warm so she wasn't yet … well … dead. Finally, he found the Hospital Wing and would've run in if he hadn't been holding Hermione in his arms.
"Madam Promfrey!" he yelled.
The old mediwitch came running in at his yell.
She gasped at Hermione's limp form in his arms.
"Oh my! Put her down on this bed here," she commanded.
Draco set her down on the closest bed, feeling a bit disappointed that he had to let her go.
Madam Promfrey started to inspect her and Draco realized that he had some blood splattered over his robes.
"She doesn't look too good," murmured Madam Promfrey.
That's the understatement of the year, thought Draco.
"Do you know what happened?" she asked him, looking over.
Draco nodded.
"She slipped on some water whilst running down a corridor," he said, "she was late for something," he added quickly, hoping it didn't sound like Hermione's fault.
"Water? In a corridor? What was water doing there?" she asked suspiciously.
"Peeves threw balls of water at me whilst I was going to the common room I shared with her. Then she just dashed off and I guess she didn't watch where she was running," replied Draco.
Madam Promfrey nodded.
"Blasted ghost," she muttered. Draco silently agreed with her.
"Well," she said, facing Draco, "it looks like she took a pretty hard blow on the head. But nothing a little magic can't fix. She did lose a lot of blood so she will be staying here for a few days."
"Oh, okay then," said Draco.
She used her wand to magick some bandages around her head. Then she turned back to Draco.
"I suggest you leave now, or, unless you're her boyfriend and you want to stay with her a while longer?" asked Madam Promfrey.
"Wha-no! I mean, I will leave now, I'm not her boyfriend," stammered Draco.
Madam Promfrey laughed at his red face.
"Very well, run off then," she said.
He turned to leave when an arm grabbed his.
Letting out a yelp, he realized Hermione had somehow managed to grab him.
"Don't go …" she whispered. Her eyes were closed.
"I can't, I have to go," he told her, pulling away.
But she held on tighter.
"No, please, don't … don't leave me here, by myself …"
Draco looked at her with surprise.
Madam Promfrey cleared her throat.
"She won't let go of me," he said to her.
"She's currently unconscious. If she doesn't want you to leave then don't, she's in a critical condition and it's best we don't disturb her much."
So Draco was left sitting by her all night, her arm still clutching his arm.
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Draco blinked as sunshine hit his face. He made a move to rub his eyes when he remembered one arm was still in Hermione's grasp.
Somehow over the night, she had held on tightly and Draco was lying on the bed next to her. She was in the blankets and he was outside but Draco still scrambled out, feeling a bit flustered.
Madam Promfrey entered a few minutes later and smiled at him.
"Ah, I was wondering when you would wake up," she said. She walked over to Hermione and started unscrewing a bottle and pouring yellow liquid on a spoon.
"Some internal healing potion," she informed Draco, "it'll help her recover quicker."
Draco nodded as Madam Promfrey forced some of the potion down Hermione's throat. She didn't seem to change in appearance and her hand was still clamped around Draco's arm.
"Well, classes are starting soon," said Madam Promfrey, "so I suggest you leave now."
Draco tried to pull his arm out of Hermione's grasp but she wouldn't let go.
"Madam … Promfrey …" he huffed.
"Yes, boy?" she asked, looking up from another bed which contained a small girl that looked like she had just grown a gigantic boil on her nose.
"She's not letting go …" he said, struggling to pull his arm out of her reach.
Madam Promfrey went over and started to pull Draco's arm.
"Ow! You're hurting me!" he cried out.
"Sorry," she said briskly, not sounding sorry at all, "but you do want her to let go of you, don't you?"
Draco, surprisingly, did not mind being next to her for another day but nodded his head anyway.
"Then we'll have to pull hard," she told him and jerked his arm sharply.
OWWWW!!! Dammit, that hurt!!! What was that woman doing, pulling my arm off???, thought Draco angrily as Madam Promfrey wiped her brow with a handkerchief.
"It looks like she won't let go," she informed Draco, "I'm afraid you have no choice but to stay with her until she regains consciousness and lets go or just subconsciously lets go."
"So, I'm stuck here with her until she wants to release me?" asked Draco.
"Yes, that's right, Mr Malfoy."
"But … how am I going to eat??? And go to classes???"
"I will arrange for some house elves to bring your food up and your homework as well."
"Oh," said Draco, put out that he still had to do work.
So Madam Promfrey left him and he just sat there looking at Hermione. Her eyelids were closed over her eyes, so he couldn't look into those pools of chocolate anymore. Her chest moved up and down, ever so slightly, and her hair was spread out under her head. The potion used to make it straight was running out so some parts of her hair were frizzy and the rest of her hair was straight. Apart from the fact that her face was pale, she looked quite … angelic [ A/N- The only other word that came to mind other than cute ]. Draco snorted.
Of course, she's the perfect Miss Granger, Gryffindor-Know-it-All, he thought.
~~~20 minutes later~~~
Draco was practically dying of boredom. There was absolutely nothing fun about being linked arm-to-arm with Hermione Granger while she was unconscious. He absent mindedly [ A/N- Is that even a phrase? ] tapped his foot along to the rhythm of a song he recently heard on the WW.
Tap, tap, tap tap tap tap, tap.
The hospital wing door opened slowly and creaked.
Draco's head instinctively shot up and looked to see who had come in, but no one was there. Feeling thoroughly confused, he stood up and was about to close the door when he remembered his 'connection' with Hermione. Sighing, he slumped back down and swung his free arm around to get rid of the pin and needles when he hit something solid. Turning, he couldn't see a thing. But he was almost certain he heard something.
"Ow! Damn, clumsy …"
"Shhhhhh!"
Draco, startled, looked around. But he couldn't see anything. He stared at the spot where he hit the solid thing, which was just air.
Suddenly, something in his brain clicked.
Of course, he thought to himself, either an invisibility spell or an invisibility cloak.
Presuming that he was the only person rich enough to afford an invisibility cloak in the whole school, he concluded that the 'person' or 'persons' was using an invisibility spell.
But it's against school rules to make potions for personal uses, especially love potions, Draco thought evilly.
Without further hesitation, he shouted out, "Madam Promfrey!"
She walked over impatiently.
"What is it now, boy?"
"I think that there's someone in the hospital ward with an invisibility spell on."
Madam Promfrey stared at him for a moment and laughed.
"Don't be silly! Why would anyone want to sneak in here with an invisibility spell on while there are so many people present? The spells only last for a couple of minutes."
"Yes, but it depends how strong the potion is," Draco said coolly. He did, after all, have a deatheater past and knew all sorts of things like these.
"Now, if you're just fooling me, boy, be warned. I will not tolerate any behavior of this sort in my hospital wing," warned Madam Promfrey, amusement gone from her face.
"But, please, Madam Promfrey? Just check? Please???" Draco pleaded, putting on his best put out face.
"Oh alright," sighed Madam Promfrey, "I'll just perform a basic invisibility revealing spell. If it doesn't work, then we'll leave the subject alone."
"Thank you," said Draco pleasantly, smiling his best Malfoy-smile.
Madam Promfrey turned slightly pink and looked away.
Draco grinned to himself. Madame Promfrey proved to be a lot like most of the female population, they were powerless after receiving a dose of Malfoy charm.
Madame Promfrey waved her wand and muttered a spell. Nothing happened … but a few meters away from the bed Hermione was lying in, a ripple appeared. As if someone had just poured water over a piece of tarpaulin and it had dripped down the sides.
An invisibility cloak??? Someone in the school has something as priceless as that???, thought Draco.
Madam Promfrey appeared to be thinking the same thing because she said, "Well, I never expected anyone in this school to carry something that valuable … other than a Malfoy, of course," she said quickly.
She pointed her wand at the spot where the rippling occurred, and said loudly and clearly, "Do not move. You are already in enough trouble as it is. Do not make it worse by attempting to run away."
She flicked her wand and the doors of the hospital wing closed and all the windows were snapped shut.
"Accio Potion!"
She pointed her wand at a brown bottle and it floated over to her.
"This is some revealing potion," she said to Draco.
She turned the lid and poured a bit into it. She then spilt the contents of the lid on the spot where the rippling had occurred.
Immediately, it was as though the two people under the cloak apparated, they just appeared out of thin air. But everyone knew apparating under age was prohibited and you couldn't apparate on Hogwarts' grounds.
The invisibility cloak fell to the floor as a short, red haired girl with freckles and a tall boy, with untidy black hair and glasses came into view.
Draco stared at them, shocked.
"What the … what are you two doing here?" he snarled.
"I could ask you the same question," replied Harry coolly.
Draco held up his right arm, so they could see Hermione grasping it.
The expressions on their faces were priceless. Shock, bewilderment and confusion were written right across their faces. Draco stifled a laugh.
"Why on earth is she holding on to you?" demanded Harry, "have you put a spell on her?"
"As if I knew why, Potter. You can ask her yourself when she wakes. And no, I did not put a spell on her. If I wanted to use a spell that made a girl instantly hooked on me, I wouldn't have chosen Granger out of all people."
That was a lie, and he knew it. There were some people he would prefer Granger over, like Pansy or Ginny Weasley.
"Mr Potter, you have a lot of explaining to do. I demand to know why you sneaked in here under an invisibility cloak," spoke up Madam Promfrey.
"Well, last night, we were … erm … we didn't see her and we got suspicious. We heard from Professor McGonagall that she was in the Hospital Wing so we decided to sneak in here before classes started. We had no idea that he was here."
Harry nodded his head at Draco.
"Very well then, I guess 20 points will be taken off Gryffindor for your actions. I will not place a detention on you and you should count yourself as lucky," said Madam Promfrey, "now leave and come back to visit at more appropriate hours."
Ginny cleared her throat.
"Oh, yes, the same applies to you, dear," replied Madam Promfrey.
"Thank you, Madam," said Harry, "but before we leave, can we leave her a 'get well soon' present?"
"Certainly."
Harry dropped a parcel, wrapped with light blue wrapping paper and tied with a red ribbon, on her bedside table.
Draco and Harry gave each other a long, hard stare before Ginny pulled Harry out of the Hospital Wing.
Madam Promfrey sighed.
"Your breakfast will arrive shortly," she told Draco.
She left the Hospital Wing and into her own office, which was through a door on the left side of the Wing.
Draco was once again really bored.
~~~4 hours later~~~
"Mister Draco! Mister Draco!"
Draco opened his eyes groggily and saw a house elf, standing by his bed.
Wait a minute, this wasn't his bed.
He scrambled out, wondering why he always woke up to find himself lying next to Hermione.
"I is bringing Mister Draco's lunch," said the house elf.
Draco looked at the house elf closely.
"Dobby? Is that you?" he asked disbelievingly.
"Yes, it is Dobby," said Dobby, holding out a tray of food to him.
"Thank you," said Draco, accepting the tray. He noticed how much more composed Dobby was and how he didn't call Draco 'Master'.
Dobby bowed and disappeared with a crack.
Draco placed his tray on a chair next to him when Hermione started thrashing about, apparently unaware of her arm around Draco's.
"Noooooo! Come back, Draco!!! Please!!! I can't live without you!!! Don't …"
And then she fell limp on the bed, as if nothing had happened. Draco was confused. Why was she yelling out his name? And what the hell was she on about, the living without him part?
Well, at least he had moved the tray away from her reach, he was starving.
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A/N- Another chapter finished! Yay! Anywayz, I don't really know for sure if what Hermione is doing is actually hallucinations, but bear with me people. And if you've read this chapter, PLEASE REVIEW!!! And also, don't forget to tell me about the stuff I wanted to know at the beginning of the chapter. Thanks!!! Anywayz [ again ], in the next chapter, Hermione will receive a lot of visitors, all confused as to why Draco is there and she might wake up … you'll have to read to find out. [ evil laugh ] And, personally, I think this chapter and past few chapters weren't as good as I'd hoped.
Thanks to my reviewers:
Athena Knox – Thanks, I'm glad you like it!
Angel of Flames – Yeah, I guess Draco is a bit OoC … but if I could write a romance story between him and Hermione, with him acting arrogant and against mudbloods, it would take a lot of talent.
iLoVeDrAcO15 – Thanks!!! Although, it might take some time to finish the story.
Lumos – Thank you for the nice compliments!
Charles Granger – I'm glad you think that my story appeals to all ages … and I'll make sure Hermione won't get seriously injured … lolz …
Aindel Druida – I might go see the movie some time, I think Orlando's pretty hot as well!
Meg – Thank you for saying my plot is original, that's what I was sort of aiming for, originality. I hope you're still content with what happens in this chapter, after all, Draco doesn't leave her side.
TootsieGrim – I guess that's a compliment … lolz …
Willow – I personally think it's a bit gross … like what if she crushed her skull or something? Ew … but I won't make that happen.
ashley – Yeah, I guess I went overboard with the language … sorry to anyone who had a problem with that.
