The chapter that had the most editing done was chapter 3… so I guess you don't really have to reread the whole story… but the worst part about it was that I deleted my story and then reposted it so now I don't have any of my reviews! I can only read them if I check my hotmail: (
Thanks go out to Alenor (that's actually a pretty good idea… but I'm gonna have something else that I planned… I might even have a little someone… well don't wanna give away the plot!) AJ01 (thanks for your review!) and Marmalade Fever (omg I know that you wrote Courting Miss Granger! I've been reading it for... The last 3 months? Its one of my favorite stories on fanfic! I've reviewed it too: D I write cheesy reviews but oh well!) And last but not least MIDNIGHT PIXIE! Thanks for your review!
Then and Forever
Chapter 5
A Disaster at Hand
It had been a month since Hermione had thrown Draco out her life. And it was the worst month of her life. All she could do was think about him, and then she'd feel guilty for what she had done. Her heart was bleeding, crying out for what she had lost. She was withdrawn from everything around her, and she was always upset. She hardly ate, she hardly slept, and she hardly worked.
To top it all off, Angelique had been sick for a week, and was showing no signs of getting better, regardless of what Hermione did. It started to worry her. She had red rashes all over her body, her diaper had to be changed every hour, and she wasn't sleeping at night anymore, taking away what little sleep Hermione had had in the first place. She threw up her food, and then suddenly she went colic. She wouldn't eat or drink anything. But it when Angelique started sprouting green gashes in the shape of crescent moons did Hermione start to really worry.
So Hermione took Angelique to St. Mungo's.
So that's where Hermione was presently, her precious daughter in tow. They sat in the cafeteria, Hermione trying desperately to get her cherished baby girl to eat something. She feebly raised a spoonful of mashed bananas into her daughter's mouth, but to no avail. Frantic now, she held Angelique close to her chest, the tears now pouring silently down her face.
"Oh baby, when are you going to get better?" Hermione whispered pathetically.
The Medi-witch who had previously examined Angelique chose that exact moment to enter the cafeteria. She sauntered over to the hapless mother and daughter, a grim expression pasted to her aging face, clipboard in hand.
"The results of the tests are in Miss Granger. Would you like to hear them in here, or in a more private room?" She eyed the number of sick patients and doctors loitering around the lunch room.
Hermione struggled to take a deep breath, now realizing that whatever the Medi-witch had to say, it wasn't going to be good.
"In a more private room please," Hermione managed weakly. Even though these happened to be desperate times, she still understood the importance of privacy. She followed the Medi-witch out of the refectory, and into a small office located down the hall from the examining rooms. Hermione plopped onto the nearest chair before the witch turned to face her, ready to announce her daughter's fate.
"I'm very sorry Miss Granger, but our tests have indicated that your daughter is fatally ill." Those words wrapped themselves around her brain. Panic seeped into her numbing body, and suffocating hands tore at Hermione's exposed heart; the pain was nigh unbearable. She could hardly breathe, and tears threatened to fall from her stinging eyes.
"Are you sure that the tests are accurate?" Hermione digressed, though she already knew the answer. The skills of the witches and wizards in St. Mungo's far surpassed her own. The ways that they sought and cured illness was phenomenal. The test results couldn't be wrong.
The witch gave Hermione a pointed look.
"Do you at least have a cure?"
The Medi-witch sighed. Hermione's heart sunk lower into the pit of her stomach, if it were possible. Hermione didn't want to hear the words that were about to come out of the healers mouth. She knew that she could deal with just knowing what would happen; but it someone spoke the words aloud, it would make the anguish excruciating. She got up carefully and made to leave, but before she could make it to the door, the witch called her back.
"There is a cure Miss Granger. A very good one." Hermione sank back down on the chair she had occupied just moments before. Hope fluttered through her like a butterfly.
"Your daughter's case is very rare; we only have about one a year. Children are most often the recipients of this cruel disease. It is most often induced by a sudden loss. Most of our cases have died – "
But at these words Hermione jumped back to her feet. "I don't want my daughter to die! She's the only thing I have…" and with that, she burst into sudden tears.
"Now Miss Granger, I haven't finished! Just listen!" Hermione stilled and took a huge gulp of air to calm herself down. "Now, as I said, most of the cases we've had died, but that was only due to lack of money. The cure is mostly made up of a substance located in the core of the unicorn legion, and being so, it is very difficult to get a hold of. It's such a valuable substance, and is very costly." The witch paused.
A tremor stole through Hermione's tense body at the mere mention of money. She had enough to live comfortably, but she doubted she had enough.
"Considering the seriousness of your daughters condition, I'm guessing somewhere around 20 000 galleons would be a fairly accurate price."
The air was knocked out of her lungs. 20 000 galleons! She didn't have that much money! A tide of defeat rose within her. She couldn't pay the price, and now her daughter was going to die. Hermione just couldn't picture it. Her daughter was the most important thing in her life! She couldn't let her baby girl die. She would find a way. No matter what. Obviously she had to get the money fast. And that would mean she had to borrow it from somebody. But the problem was, no one she knew had that kind of money. No one, except…
Draco.
Okay … short chapter… not that great… I haven't written anything in a while and I'm a little rusty. So tell me what you think…. More Draco next chapter! Peace out people! Don't forget to review!
