A/N: And the next one…
"A punctured lung?" Hermione exclaimed.
"I don't know what you were up to, miss, but a few of your ribs broke and one of them penetrated your right lung."
Hermione sat in shock. She hadn't even felt short of breath!
"But you'll be good as new in a day or two!" the healer happily told her.
"Right, okay," said Hermione, not listening to what the healer was saying.
I have to tell Draco, was her first thought.
A high-pitched cry escaped her lips and startled the healer.
"What hurts now?" he asked.
"Nothing," she said, carefully laying down and staring at the ceiling.
Why did she think of Draco first? How could she have thought of her enemy before her friends?
Oh no what's happening to me? She asked herself. But before she could even finish the thought she knew the answer, I'm crushing on Draco Malfoy!
Hermione felt a shiver course through her body and winced at the pain as it reached her ribs. A nasty taste filled her mouth even though she had put nothing in it.
Okay okay okay, she calmly thought, but felt panicked. What was she supposed to do? She was basically falling in love with Lord Voldemort.
She wasn't sure if Draco had even been under the Imperious Curse before, but certainly not now. His random evil spasms, Hermione was sure, were times when Voldemort was trying to posses him.
"Hermione?" came a familiar voice as Harry poked his heard around the door.
"Hey," she said, smiling tiredly.
"Are you alright?" he asked, sitting on the edge of her hospital bed.
"Yeah, my healer said I'd be out in a few days at the most."
He gave her a weary smile and looked down at the sheets. She recognized that expression.
"Harry?" she timidly asked, knowing something important was on his mind, "are you…okay?"
"Yeah," he said, not meeting her eyes, then suddenly said, "No."
"What's wrong?" she asked, worried about him.
He hesitated for a moment, "Is there…" he began, turning back toward her, "anything going one between you and Draco?"
Hermione's insides did a belly-flop, "Why? Did he say there was?"
Harry sighed, "No, but you guys seem like an item now."
Hermione laughed, trying to hide her fear, "An item? An item? Why would you think something as ridiculous as that?"
She saw his face relax and he chuckled, "I don't know, I guess I was just suspicious is all."
"What would you have done if I'd answered 'yes'?" she curiously asked.
"I don't think it's so much of what I would've done," said Harry, smiling, "as what Ron would've done."
Hermione giggled and said, "Yeah," as her fear of crushing on Draco ebbed away.
"Where is Ron?" she asked, noticing that Harry was the only visiting her.
"Oh, he's out in the waiting room asleep. I didn't want to wake him up so Draco volunteered to stay with him."
Hermione smiled as she imagined Ron waking up and there being no one there that he knew.
Just as the image crossed her mind Draco entered the room.
He looked worried at first but as soon as he saw Hermione he smiled, "Are you feeling better?" he asked, sitting on the edge of the bed where Harry had sat before.
"Uh…yeah, loads!" she said, trying not to look at him.
Why why oh why does he have to look so good? She thought, angry at herself, And why do I have to like him?
She was about to cry she was so frustrated with herself, but she remained smiling.
Harry looked her over and gave her a look that told her he didn't believe her. She gave him an expression that told him to keep quiet.
"That's great! When are you getting out?" he asked, flashing her a smile.
She felt as if her heart had melted, No no no! she scolded herself, quickly, but discreetly, looking away from him, "I'm…not sure," she said, struggling to not look at him, "The healer that helped me said in a few days," she finished.
"Oh," he said, his face falling.
"Er…I'll be okay though," she reassured, making the mistake of looking at him. She thought her insides would fly away.
Out of the corner of her eye she saw Harry fall to the ground out of sight and she gasped.
"Harry?" she asked, trying to move but she couldn't, "Harry what's wrong?" she asked, panicked.
"My scar," he moaned.
Draco hurried over to him, "Want me to get a healer?" he asked.
Hermione was frightened and even more so when she realized she couldn't do anything to help. The pain in his scars usually went away as quickly as they had gotten there.
"Is it gone?" she asked.
No response.
"Harry?"
"He's going into a seizure or something," said Draco, looking ashen-faced.
"Uh, right. Well you," she began, but he was out the door before she could say, "go get help?"
Oh no, she thought.
"Relax," she told herself, "Just relax, he'll be alright."
A moment later three healers ran into the room and surrounded Harry.
"No no, I'm fine," he insisted, pushing the healers way and standing up.
"You need treatment young man…" started one of the healers.
Hermione burst out laughing, trying to save her friend from treatment he didn't know.
"Oh…I…get it!" she puffed and laughed more, tears falling from her eyes. She made them appear to be tears of laughter when really it hurt so bad she was crying anyway. She wiped them away, "Great joke…Harry!" she laughed. Her sides were burning with pain but she didn't stop the act until the healers left, then she started crying.
"Thanks, Herm," Harry said, sitting next to her and handing her a tissue.
She could only nod as she blew her nose and wiped the rest of her tears away.