disclamer: the stuff you recognise is j.k rowlings ...the other crap is mine enjoy...
p.s i should be seeing gof right now but im not grrrrrrr!
The groggy feeling of sleep was still upon her when the worried voice of Ginny could be herd rushing down the stairs. Hermione so used to having to act fast was on her feet and at the doors before Ginny had hit the bottom of the stairs.
The redheads face was pale and shocked. A girl that Hermione didn't recognise was with her trying to calm her down. Hermione rushed to Ginny's side, what was up what had happened? Was it Mrs and Mr Weasley? Had something happened at the burrow?
"Ginny what's wrong?"
The last thing she had expected was what she heard coming from her friend's mouth it was as if the ground had just opened and swallowed her whole.
"Ron….poisoned…." Ginny said before grabbing Hermione by the hand and pulling her towards the portrait hole.
Hermione felt the colour draining from her face. Silently she broke in to a run alongside Ginny both girls trainers making loud crashes as they jumped many a step in turn on there way to the hospital wing.
Hermione felt sick, she knew this was a nightmare any point soon someone was going to come along and wake her up.
Harry was standing outside the hospital wing when they got there. He was shaking and almost as white as Ginny had been. Ginny ground to a halt in front of him but she seamed to struggle to find words. Hermione joined her a second later.
Harry looked at her, reached out, and hugged both girls.
"Harry what's going on?" Hermione eventually managed. Her voice a great deal stronger than she felt.
He sank down on the faded stonework around the window ledge and ran his hand through his hair. Beside her Ginny moved closer. Hermione instinctively put an arm around the younger girl.
Harry looked up at the two of them; his face was screwed up as if the memory was painful.
"We were in Slughorn's office, he gave Ron a drink. It had something in it. Ron kind of went in to a fit," he paused collecting his thoughts. "He keeled over, he couldn't breath, and Slughorn just looked at him. I found a bezoar shoved it in his mouth…"
"You saved him." said Ginny quietly breaking the silence that had covered the three of them since Harry had trailed his sentence off.
Ginny walked over and threw her arms around Harry. She sobbed quietly on his shoulder.
"Thankyou." She said quietly. Sinking down on to the stonework next to him.
Harry turned and looked at Hermione.
Hermione felt numb. He had nearly died. Ron had nearly died and he could have died knowing the last thing she had said to him is that she hated him and wished he were dead.
She didn't deserve to be here, sharing in the worry with Harry and Ginny. She was an evil person she had wished this upon him and now she could lose him forever.
"How is he?" she said quietly.
"I have no idea. They won't tell me anything." Harry said quietly watching her, a look of concern in his eyes. Hermione was going to ask 'is he going to live?' but Ginny beat her to it. Harry shrugged, but the look in his eyes said that the possibility was there that they might lose him.
Hermione sank to the ground next to the hospital wing door. She drew her legs up to her chest and hugged herself.
She hadn't meant the things she had said, she didn't want him dead, Ron was her everything, without him the castle seamed such a lonely place, no warmth came from people who saw her as only the book worm, the know it all. Ron had been her friend for so long and she had done this to him.
She hated herself; it was as if she had put the poison in to him herself. If he pulled through would he want to be friends with her? Would the way she had pushed him away last night be the last unhappy thought that ran through his head? If Ron died, would he die hating the thought of her?
She felt empty she couldn't cry she had cried so much in the last few days she was sure that she had used all the water in her body.
She watched as a spider crawled along the cracked stone floor.
She replayed last night in her head, over and over.
Ron's bitter sweet kiss, the way he thought that it would make things alright how he wished that the action would change the way she felt, numb the hatred.
She didn't hate him. She was just so infuriated with him.
The numbness in her spread from her heart out over. She just wanted to go in to the wing and see him, she looked up hopefully at the door, maybe in some wishful though that it would open and that he would be there.
She listened to Harry and Ginny talking, the two of them trying to figure out how something like this could happen.
However, Hermione couldn't hear the words, she hadn't looked away from the door in the entire time that she had sat there. How much time had passed was unclear but few people past the hospital wing in the far edges of the castle, word hadn't spread to far. But the castle still felt eerily quite, or maybe that was just Hermione's minds way off shutting down.
Ginny running past her was the first sign of life that Hermione registered; even the constant comings and goings of the teachers had gone unrecognised.
Looking up Hermione saw Ginny tightly embraced in her mothers arms. Mrs Weasley looked close to tears, her husband looked little better, his face strained he looked older than Hermione had ever seen him look, the bags under his eyes looked almost as deep as Remus Lupin's.
She watched as the three Weasley's passed Harry and herself and entered the hospital wing.
Harry watched the door close before crossing over to Hermione and sinking down on the floor next to the quite heap of bedraggled Hermione.
"Are you ok?" he asked her gently.
Hermione stared straight ahead unable to speak, if she did everything would fall out in to the open, everything that she was trying to get straight in her own head would be out for the world to analyze and taint her view.
Until she knew where she stood, Harry would stay in the dark. He didn't need to know about the kiss; Harry didn't need to have the problems of his two best friends on top of his own.
"I will be when I know he's ok." she said quietly. Harry just looked at her observing the way she looked back at him.
Harry wasn't stupid the arguments and the stupid sly comments that had passed between both Hermione and Ron were commonplace for Harry he knew that the two of them no matter how harsh the words that crossed paths were that they were friends deep down. That the two of them cared for each other in ways that Harry would never understand.
Harry simply hugged his friend, it had no effect on Hermione she still felt lost, alone and scared.
She rested her head on Harry's shoulder. Right now, they had to worry about Ron.
The two of them had sat in silence. Watching as Dumbledore walked Mr and Mrs Weasley from the hospital wing, Hermione checked her watch for the first time. It was a little after eight clock.
They had sat there all day. Had it really been that long? Time seamed like such a strange concept at the moment. Ginny appeared at the door and her eyes were swollen, it was evident that she had been crying. She called them forwards and in to the hospital wing.
Ron lay in the middle bed, the only occupant in the empty ward. Hermione fell back as Harry and Ginny took a seat ether side of his bed.
She couldn't approach him, he looked so strange lying there so motionless, the colour drained from his cheeks, he looked so defenceless.
Ginny stood back up and took hold of Hermione who apparently had forgotten how to move, she felt Ginny sit her down in the vacant seat next to her at the top of Ron's bed.
Hermione automatically reached out and took his hand; the sobs she had not been able to muster all day finally broke the surface.
Harry and Ginny said nothing, she had a feeling that they knew that the two of them knew it was a mater of time before she cried.
Ginny stoked her gently on the back trying to comfort Hermione, but what comfort did it give her? What would Hermione give to still have the time turner, to go back to yesterday and make things between her and Ron all right again. To tell him that she wanted to be with him, even if it meant putting up with Lavender a little longer, if it meant that she could have Ron back, a happy healthy Ron that would be with her one day , not now but in the future.
She had been selfish, and now she had nothing but blind hope that when he pulled out of this that he would forgive her for wishing this on him.
Ginny and Harry talked quietly between themselves, Hermione said nothing, what was there to say?
She was scared for Ron.
Hermione was vaguely aware that someone else had joined them, it wasn't until the talk had come around to how Ron had ended up in this state did she realise that it must be someone new in the room.
She looked away from Ron and in to the face of Fred, who was sat next to Harry on the other side of the bed.
"Do you think whoever did it meant the drink to go to Dumbledore?"
Hermione felt herself getting angry.
"Well the poisoner didn't know Slughorn very well," her voice sounded distant and foggy even to her. "Anyone who knew Slughorn would have known there was a good chance he would keep something that tasty for himself."
Hermione felt a tugging on her hand and Ron stirred.
"Er-my-nee," Ron croaked.
Everyone stopped the intense argument that they were embarking on and looked at him.
Hermione urged him to wake up. She needed to say sorry for everything that she had said.
A knife could have cut the silence. And it was in a way, as Hagrid slammed open the door at the far end of the room.
She listened as the conversation turned back to theories, but she never once took her eyes off Ron.
It was begrudgingly that Hermione left the room when Ron's parents returned.
Hagrid's words ringing in her ears.
"Who would ever want to hurt him?"
Hermione's head was ringing. On top of the fact that the person that meant the most to her the world being critical in the hospital wing, Hagrid had heralded news that the school may have to close, the one place Hermione had ever found happiness.
She was still sniffing heavily when she ascended the staircase to her room.
The last person she could be bothered with today was Lavender but she knew it was going to happen eventually, best to get it over and done with.
She opened the room door the room was empty apart from Lavender who was sat, obviously waiting for her return.
"Where have you been?" she snapped as Hermione threw herself down on her bed and looked across at Lavender.
"Hospital wing." Hermione said flicking her eyes back to the scarlet curtains.
"Have you seen Ron?" Lavender asked her. "I need to give him his birthday present.
"Hospital wing." Hermione repeated in a deadpan voice.
Lavender fell silent.
"What's he doing in the hospital wing?" Lavender said accusingly.
"I don't know lavender why don't you figure it out?" Hermione said turning over and pulling the curtains around her with a flick of her wand.
Hermione closed her eyes trying to block out the world.
"The person that was poisoned, it was Ron wasn't it?" Lavender called pulling the curtains back from around Hermione.
"Well done." said Hermione not opening her eyes. She was holding back the tears again.
"Why didn't someone come and get me?" she demanded, her voice cutting through Hermione.
Hermione rolled over and opened her eyes looking at Lavender.
"Because only the people who love him needed to be there." Hermione said swishing her wand again. The curtain flew out Lavenders hand and wrapped itself around the bed again.
"But I'm his girlfriend." she said angrily.
Hermione didn't answer.
She was to busy thinking.
Lavender may be his girlfriend but she's not the one that he called out for.
That was her.
thankyou to all of you who spoted what i did in the last chapter. i thankyou because it shows you pay atention to not only my storys but the cannon...your my kind of people. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
a quick song before i go
... dance your final dance...this is your final chance...to hold...the one you love...youll know you've waited long enougth...
XXXXXXX
althogh i prefer to do the hypogriff myslef... yo know you wannna shake it like a funnky house elf!
and now im off to scare alkaline treo...