Disclaimer: everything is Rowling's blah de blahhh
Back from camping, I am devoting the next week to my fanfics, I wrote another while I was away and I'm putting it up soon, but this one really should be updated first. Thnx for the reviews!
This chap is mostly dialogue, but me likes it anyways
Chapter Three: Get Well, Granger
------------------------------------"'Mione, could you pass the yams please?" Ron said through a mouthful of potatoes.
"Huh? Oh, sure…" Hermione passed him the bread basket.
"Thanks…" he mumbled and cast a worried look at Harry.
"Yams, Hermione…yams." Harry said passing Ron the bowl of yams.
"No thanks, Harry. You know I don't like yams," she said, not looking at either of them.
"No, I was saying-"
"That he's sorry he forgot you hate yams."
"It's ok. I'm a bit tired I think I'll head up now…I'll see you in the common room later." She got up off the bench and walked towards the doors.
"Hermione!" Harry shouted after her, "You hardly touched your mince pies! They're your fav-" Too late, she was gone. "What the bloody hell is wrong with her?" Harry asked, jabbing a thumb in Hermione's direction.
"Dunno. She tripped earlier…maybe she's still out of it?"
"Maybe…So did you talk to her?"
"Sort of."
"Sort of? Come off it! What'd she say?"
"Come closer," Ron whispered.
Harry leaned over the table, "What?"
"Closer."
Harry's elbow was practically swimming in the mashed potatoes, "What?!"
"Closer."
Harry's ear was nearly touching Ron's mouth, "Now tell me."
Ron leaned in, "NONE OF YOUR BLOODY BUSINESS!" Harry jumped, knocking over almost every bowl within reach.
"Gosh, I was just curious." he muttered while rubbing his ear.
"Ok fine, what was Ginny doing in the dorm before I came up?" Ron asked.
"Go find her, Ron."
"Not until you tell me what you did to my little sister!" Harry raised an eyebrow.
"Do you really want to know?" he asked, slowly. Ron left the Great Hall without another word, leaving Harry to laugh to himself. He walked silently through the corridors to the seventh floor until someone spoke behind him.
"Ron?" It was Lavender and she looked close to tears.
"Oh ruddy hell, what do you want?"
"Are you going to Gryffindor tower?"
"Maybe."
"Are you looking for Hermione?"
"What if I am?"
"Well, you won't find her. She's not there."
"Where is she then?" he asked, rather impatient now.
"She's in the hospital wing."
"She- what?!"
"Professor McGonagall found her-" she whimpered, "She says she was out cold on the sixth floor. They had her taken to the hospi-"
"Move!" Ron growled as her pushed her aside and ran up the stairs, two at a time, to the hospital wing. What's she done to herself now? "Hermione!" he shouted, as he thrust the large wooden doors open, "Hermione!"
"Excuse me! Now you listen here Mr. Weasley, I will not tolerate-"
"Hermione!" Ron shouted. He reached the end of the room and bent over her bed. "No," he whispered, "what've you done to yourself?" He turned around to face Madam Pomfrey. "What happened to her?"
"She was found by a teacher…on the sixth floor," she said, walking around to the other side of the bed. "Out cold. Poor thing," she said calmly moving a lock of hair from Hermione's face. She looked empty and cold, like some kind of porcelain doll.
"W-Will she be ok?"
"She should be fine, I can't think of any reason why she shouldn't be." Ron gave an uneasy smile. "Although…it is all rather strange. I can't think of why she passed out."
"Can I stay?" Ron asked.
"Well, I would prefer if you didn't…but if it means that much to you, yes you may stay a little while."
"Thanks." He turned back to look at Hermione. "God, 'Mione, look at yourself," he whispered. She still laid unconscious, her chest rising and falling slightly as she slept. He placed a hand on her stomach and felt her breathe underneath him. It was getting late. She slept on as Ron felt his eyelids begin to droop. It was getting very late.
"Mr. Weasley, I think it's about time you-" Ron was sound asleep, his head on the bed beside Hermione's and his hand still on her stomach. She let out a small laugh, "Why did I take this job?"
---
"Ron?" Hermione whispered as she poked his head lightly, "Ron…" His eyes shot open.
"You're ok!"
"Of course I'm ok." She smiled at him.
"'Mione, I was so worried…"
"Yes, I can see how you stayed awake to see if I would wake up." His ears turned red.
"Well, it was pretty late, and-"
"Shhh," she whispered, pressing a finger to his lips. "You don't have to apologize for me, I know you care." She removed her finger and replaced it with her lips. She loved kissing him; it made her feel peaceful and free.
"Hermione?" Ron asked as he broke away.
"Yes?"
"What's wrong with you lately?"
"Pardon?"
"You're not yourself…at all. You slept in until noon, and went back to sleep, you're tripping all about the place, and you didn't touch your mince pies! Mince pies, Hermione!" he said, though that was the least of his worries.
"I wasn't hungry."
"Ok, what about the other things?"
"Ron," she started, "I just- I don't know what's wrong with me, really. I guess I'm just out of it." He looked skeptical. "I'm serious. Don't worry I'm completely fine."
"I suppose…"
"Stop worrying so much about me." She leaned forward and gave him a swift peck on the lips.
"Uh oh. What time is it?" Hermione glanced at the clock beside her bed.
"Six-thirty."
"In the morning?"
"Yep."
"I should go. If you're not out by lunch, I'll come see you again." He kissed her firmly on the lips.
"Ok." He was halfway out the door, "I love you," She called after him. No reply. Maybe he didn't hear me, she thought, or did he? Maybe what happened earlier meant nothing. After all, he was quick to say it. She sighed. Was he toying with her feelings?
"Ah! Miss Granger! I see you're up." Madam Pomfrey said gleefully.
"Yes. I'm up now."
"Right then! I'll bring you your breakfast and you should be good to go." She clapped her hands together and left the room, leaving Hermione to drown in her own thoughts.
---
"No, that's not Europa, that's Io." Harry pointed out.
"Shut up and do your own chart." Ron spat.
"Tsk tsk, fighting again?" They turned around.
"Hermione! It's only nine o'clock…Madam Pomfrey let you out?" Ron asked.
"Yeah. I thought I'd join you two, I'm way behind on my homework! I didn't get any done yesterday!" she cried, looking distraught.
"Good," Harry said, "You can help us."
"Lovely to see you too, Harry." She said sarcastically. Ron and Harry moved over to make room on the sofa; they were fairly big boys now, and took up a fair bit of room. Hermione flopped down beside Ron, her skirt riding a bit higher than she'd expected.
"What's that?" Ron asked, pointing to a large dark spot on her leg.
"Funny you should ask, I think it's from when I fell," she said thoughtfully, prodding her bruised leg with her index finger, "though I don't remember getting it."
"Looks painful…"
"Ron…I'm fine." She said reassuringly, placing a soft kiss on his cheek.
"Right," he mumbled, turning his attention back to his planetary chart. The trio sat for over an hour, with just the sound of the crackling fire and Hermione breathing heavily beside Ron.
"Hermione?"
"Yes, Ron."
"You- you're breathing funny."
"Just because of what happened, doesn't mean everything's wrong with me! My breathing is perfectly normal."
"Ok, sorry." Whether it was because he pointed it out or that he had just imagined it, her heavy breathing ceased. Ron sighed, dropped his quill and leaned back with his hands underneath his head.
"What's the matter?" Harry asked, not bothering to look up from his work.
"Just thinking."
"Right. Well, I think I'll head down for lunch," he said, smiling. He quickly gathered up his books, shoved them into his bag and exited the common room, leaving Hermione and Ron alone once more.
"So," Ron began, "How're you feeling?"
"Fine. And I told you to stop worrying about me so much."
"Ok, ok, I'm sorry!"
"I'm feeling a bit peckish myself, what's say we join Harry for lunch?" she asked, shutting her thousand-page textbook.
"Yeah, alright."
"Good. Let me go put a sweater on and I'll be right down." She got up and headed for the girls' dorms. Ron ran his hands through his hair and placed his elbows on his knees.
"Girls…" he muttered, "first she 'loves me' and now she's like ice…" How long did it take to put a sweater on? "C'mon 'Mione, I'm growing old out here!" he shouted. No answer. "Hermione?" Nothing. Not again. He ran up the stairs to her door. "Hermione?" Silence. Ron braced himself for what lay beyond the door. He opened it to find her unconscious on the floor. "Bloody hell, Hermione! Not again!" He shook her slightly. "C'mon get up…please get up!" Ron had no choice; he gently flipped her onto her back and lifted her, one hand supporting her neck, the other under her legs. She was fairly light, but still no treat to carry. "Pomfrey's gonna have kittens when she sees you…" he whispered before carrying her out of the room.
---
"W-Will she be ok, Madam Pomfrey?" Ron asked, trembling.
"She's looking ok for now, but it's a good thing you found her when you did, Mr. Weasley. This is the second time in two days…and you say she's been under the weather lately?"
"That's right."
"Well, we'll have to keep her here a while. Yes, Mr. Weasley, you may stay," she said, answering the look on Ron's face, "but not as long as last time!" She left the room, mumbling something like 'taking advantage'.
"Hermione…I'll come back to see you later," Ron whispered, lifting her hand and kissing it, "I promise." He wiped a stray tear from his eye and got up to leave, "Bye, 'Mione."
---
Hermione awoke to a deserted hospital wing. She glanced around and it took her over half a minute to realize where she was. She looked at the clock beside her bed. Quarter past seven. a.m., p.m.? She didn't know.
"Seriously…can't…afford…take any chances." People were talking in the next room. She could barely hear them, so she moved to the next bed to eavesdrop.
"According to her friend, the girl has all the symptoms!"
"Now Poppy, we mustn't make assumptions here. We have very little experience in this area…it is, after all, a Muggle disease."
"But Dumbledore, this is serious!" she lowered her voice significantly, "if she does have canger-"
"Cancer."
"-cancer, then we need to know right away! All sorts of Muggles have died from it! Dumbledore, this is dangerous!"
"Relax Poppy, there is no need to frighten her at this stage. For now, she needs rest." Hermione couldn't believe her ears. She wouldn't believe. This wasn't happening…it couldn't happen! Not to her. No. They were talking about someone else. She was perfectly healthy. Perfectly healthy…
"What I do need you to do…" Dumbledore continued, "Is inform Mr. and Mrs. Granger that their daughter is under special care…for suspicious symptoms."
"Yes, Dumbledore. Straight away." Hermione heard footsteps drawing closer. She jumped off the bed and hurried to her own. She pulled the covers over herself just in time; Madam Pomfrey entered the room and quickly exited, no doubt headed for the Owlery. Hermione drew her blanket up to her face and let the tears run down her face. This isn't happening. This isn't happening. This isn't happening. It was over an hour before she managed to cry herself to sleep.
---
"'Mione! Hey wake up it's me. I'm under Harry's Invisibility Cloak."
"Ron?" she mumbled, opening her eyes.
"Yeah." She couldn't bring herself to tell Ron what was on her mind. Instead, she broke into a fit of tears again. "What's wrong? Have I done anything?"
"N-No-o," she sobbed. He placed an arm around her shoulder, as she buried her face in his jumper. "R-Ron," she cried.
"What? What is it?" he whispered, stroking her face with his fingers.
"Ron," she sniffed, "Oh God, Ron!"
"Shhh, I'm right here," he said softly, wrapping his free arm around her and drawing her closer. She was shaking uncontrollably and a large wet spot formed on Ron's jumper where she was crying. He kissed the top of her head. "Now," he said tilting her head up so their eyes met, "Tell me…what on earth is the matter?" She merely stared into his stormy blue eyes as if she had seen them for the first time.
"Ron," she repeated, more tears still spilling down her cheeks, "I think- I think I'm going to die."
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bit of a dramatic ending but thats what i wanted.
--Chapter 4 comin soon! -yawn- I wrote this chap at 1:30 in the morning so don't be mad if its crap :P