Disclaimer: Same as always, dearies.
Ch.8 Take Away My PainA week later, the potion was brewed, and Draco ran to the hospital wing to see over Hermione as the antidote was being administered.
Hermione stirred and opened her eyes, wincing at the bright lights. She immediately began shrieking in pain and holding her stomach. Draco got scared.
"What… what's happening to her! Goddamnit, Snape, what the hell have you done?"
Professor Snape shook his head at the boy and admitted, "The poison given to Miss Granger was extremely harmful to her body and has caused serious damage to her internal organs. She will need time to heal. This antidote will restore her, but not without severe pain. I have brewed an array of pain potions and calming draughts to help her get through the next few days, but should she try to get out of this bed, the healing process will be hindered. Mr. Malfoy, I trust that you will keep such a thing from happening, and get her caught up on as much school work as possible. I'm sure she's just dying to run to her professors to get a summary of what she's missed."
Draco glanced at Hermione, who was whimpering into her pillow and refusing the pain potions being offered to her. He frowned and sat by her.
"Hermione, you must take it. It'll take away the pain, I promise."
"Draco…" she whispered, grimacing in pain. A tear fell from her eye and rolled down her already tear-stained cheek. She turned onto her back and accepted the potion from Madame Pomfrey, swallowing all of it in one go. She muttered her thanks and turned back on her side to face Draco, but he had gone.
Draco… Hemione cried silently as she stared at the chair he had occupied not a minute before.
………………
Draco ran. He didn't know where he was running until he arrived there.
"Malfoy?"
He whirled around, shocked to hear his name. He didn't expect anyone to be around.
"Weaselette? What are you doing here?"
Ginny looked at him, confused. "Malfoy, you are aware that you're standing outside Gryffindor Tower?"
Draco turned back around and looked at the portrait of the Fat Lady, who gave a tentative smile and a small wave. "Oh. Sorry. I best be off, then," he mumbled, ready to head off in the completely opposite direction.
"Stop." One word held him back from running away. He turned once more to the redhead and frowned slightly as she spoke. "We need to talk."
She led him down a few corridors to an unused classroom and cast a scourgifying charm upon the Teacher's desk before sitting on it. Draco watched as she straightened her plaid skirt and coughed at the dust in the air.
"Where to begin… where to begin…" she muttered, gazing out a dirt-caked window at a blurred and unsettlingly brown view of the lake.
Draco stood before her and shifted his weight uncomfortably. He didn't know what to say to the girl or why she felt the need to drag him halfway across the school to mumble and daydream in a musty classroom.
"Oh. Yes." Draco raised his head in attention as the littlest weasel had finished gathering her thoughts. "I believe when we last spoke, you called her the 'love of your life'. Explain. And do so in as many words as humanly possible."
"I don't think you have the time—"
"Oh, I've got all day."
……………
In the hospital room, Hermione stirred. She opened her eyes lazily and found Ginny sitting next to her. She gave a smile that was rudely interrupted by a very sharp pain in her chest. The pain spread to her whole body and she cried out in agony. Madame Pomfrey hurried to her side and administered a wide array of potions to the young girl.
Ginny frowned and cast her gaze upon Hermione's night stand, decorated and swathed with bundles of 'Get Well Soon!' cards and cheery photographs, and of course, mound upon mound of chocolate. She returned to Hermione and held her hand as she began to tell her about her meeting with Draco.
"He was worried about me? Really?"
"Well, you almost died…"
"Well, yes, but—"
"But NOTHING. He fancies you. End of story."
"Oh…" A small smile appeared on her face.
"What? What are you thinking about?" Ginny was getting impatient with the potion-induced girl. She was obviously withholding some juicy details.
"We did kiss, afterall…" Hermione replied with a dreamy expression.
"What? When? How? Why? Where?"
Hermione chuckled. Ever the gossip, she was.
………………
Several nights later, Hermione was laying awake in the hospital room when she heard a flurry of footsteps reach the door. She quickly shut her eyes and pretended to be asleep. Today was the day of her recovery, and many people were eager to see her back in school. The footsteps ended at the side of her bed, and she heard the dull fwump of a person sitting themselves upon the cushioned stool beside her. A faint rustling was heard at her nightstand and she was dying to know who was sitting there and what they were doing. She pretended to wake and rubbed her eyes, yawining slightly. When she opened her eyes, she saw Draco holding a single rose that matched the dozen upon the nightstand. She smiled.
"Love of your life, eh?" she said, smirking.
"Ahh, you spoke to the weaselette?" he asked, grinning. He had shared his feelings for Hermione with a giddy Ginny, who was extremely supportive of inter-house relationships.
"Yes, and she told me a great many things about you and your little meeting with her."
"Ah. Well, then, I suppose this visit wasn't much of a surprise to you," he said, leaning down for a kiss and brushing his lips innocently against hers.
"Nope," she breathed as he pulled away. She may have recovered, but her limbs still felt weak from being out of use. If she weren't so damned weak, she'd have jumped him and hugged him to death.
"Hermione… there's something I've been meaning to ask you."
"Go for it," she said with a smile.
"Will you be my girlfriend?" he asked, looking into her eyes and handing her the rose.
"Of course, Draco…on one condition."
"What's that?"
"Take away my pain…"
He frowned slightly, then gave her an encouraging smile. He wasn't exactly sure what she meant by this, but he knew what his answer would be.
"Anything for you, Hermione."
They smiled at one another and kissed deeply, their tongues at war with one another. Draco made her feel so alive… so wanted… so loved.