A/N: Hello dearest ones. Hope you're enjoying this little ditty. Here we are again. I have no idea where I am with replying to reviews. It's been a weird few days really hasn't it? I thought we were done with end-of-the-world bingo but here we are again.

As ever, thanks to Lib McGranger for her loveliness and eyes and her desperate need to get me to write more all the time ;)

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When she woke up, it was so dark she could hardly see her hand in front of her face. Realising she'd fallen asleep, rummaged through the cushions to find her wand. Muttering a quiet Lumos, she rushed down the hallway to Minerva's room. She hadn't meant to leave her alone for so long and she certainly hadn't meant to fall asleep. What if Minerva had needed her? What if something had happened?

She knocked quickly and quietly and peered in, ready for the worst.

"MINERVA!"

The woman in question was sitting up in her bed, a book on her knee, nibbling on some toast that she had obviously visited the kitchen to make.

"What's wrong?" Minerva asked, looking worried. Hermione gaped at her and gestured toward her helplessly. "Oh. Well, I was hungry and you were," she shrugged carefully. "Indisposed."

"I'm supposed to be looking after you!"

It sounded more petulant than she'd meant it to but she frowned all the same.

"Come here," Minerva chuckled, patting the bed beside her. Hermione waited a moment before Minerva's face softened even more. "Please? I'll even share my toast?"

"I see why Madam Pomfrey gets frustrated with you," Hermione rolled her eyes, but toed off her shoes and sat cross-legged beside her. "You're infuriating."

"Thank you," Minerva chuckled. "Toast?" Hermione shook her head but took a piece and chuckled when Minerva grinned smugly at her. They munched happily for a while until it was gone. Hermione placed the plate on the dresser and sat back down, looking at Minerva carefully. "Want to make sure I've not gone doolally?"

"That's too hard a question to answer," Hermione quipped. "I'm sure it would be inconclusive."

"The cheek of the woman," Minerva mused.

Hermione shifted, getting to her knees. She performed the monitoring spell and watched Minerva's brain for a while before she cancelled the spell.

"It's funny," she mused, leaning over and getting the bruise paste. "Even after seeing an actual image of your brain, you're still as mysterious as ever."

Minerva laughed and Hermione joined in. She had been worried about feeling too much to function, but Minerva was easy to talk to. After all, she'd done it before, many times, but even with the added weight of the knowledge she carried around with her, Hermione still found it as easy as breathing.

"Alright?" Minerva asked, touching her hand.

Hermione jumped and blinked, shaking her head at herself.

"Sorry, I was miles away. Just thinking about how easy it is to talk to you."

"There," Minerva said with a grin. "You are plucky."

Hermione rolled her eyes and snorted quietly as she unscrewed the bruise paste,

"Are you doing this? Or me?"

"You'd better. I cannae see around corners, no matter how many of my students think I can."

Hermione smiled and went to work. As gently as she could, she slathered it on Minerva's skin, making sure to cover the area completely. In doing so, she noticed how dainty Minerva's ears were and -

"Holy shit!"

"Hermione!"

"You," Hermione leaned back a little and stared at her. "You have pierced ears? And," she glanced back. "A helix?"

Minerva blushed and rubbed the top of her ear.

"A," she laughed. "Dare from my not-quite youth."

"Can you still wear one?"

"I do often," Minerva smiled. "Well, when the students can't see me. I meant to put it in before the party, but I forgot. It was my niece that dared me. She is now very much grown so it is her daughter, my grand-niece that takes delight in gifting me outrageous studs."

"That is simultaneously the greatest and most hilarious thing I've ever heard!"

"You'd like Lucy," Minerva chuckled.

"That's Madam Pomfrey's daughter?"

"Aye," Minerva smiled. "Poppy married my brother, William. They have two children, Lucy and Calum. Lucy has a little girl Adeline, Adie, she prefers. Calum died in the first war."

"God," Hermione dropped back onto her heels. The happiness she'd felt evaporated away. "I'm so sorry."

"I am sorry," Minerva muttered, taking Hermione's hand and squeezing it gently. "It was so long ago and while I will never get used to it, it does not sit so heavily anymore. He died doing what he knew was right; protecting his sister."

"War is awful," Hermione whispered, staring at the jar of paste in her hands.

"Yes," Minerva agreed. "It is."

The lightness of the evening seemed lost and Hermione slowly screwed the lid on and drew out her bag. She managed to find the paracetamol and left two by the bed.

"I think I will go to bed if that's alright?"

"Of course it is," Minerva agreed sadly. "As I said. The House is yours. It is completely at your disposal."

"If you need me, get me?"

"I will," Minerva smiled. "I too should sleep, though."

"You should. It will help," Hermione whispered, though she heard the bleakness in her tone. "Do not get up tomorrow. I'll come and wake you."

Minerva smiled.

"I assure you it isn't bad. I managed to duck most of it. Had Ginny been any slower, though, I would have feared for her life."

"Yes, well," Hermione muttered. "Ron will, no doubt, get what's coming to him."

Minerva smirked at little and Hermione took her leave. The room was similar to Minerva's but with less comfort to it, somehow. She peered into the wardrobe and found a few old robes that she didn't dare touch. In the top were shoeboxes, but again, she curbed her interest and instead, closed the door and turned. She peeked into the dresser and discovered it empty. She summoned the spare clothes from her little bag and smoothed them out as she tucked them into one of the drawers. It was not much of selection, but she doubted Minerva would notice.

She considered a shower, but when she saw the bed turned down in invitation she dropped onto the bed with a huff. She lay there for a while before she groaned into her hands. Madam Pomfrey had asked her to sit with Minerva and though she knew not to wake her every hour, she knew the reasons that Muggle doctors did so. She changed, at least and brushed her teeth before she pulled a blanket off the bed and wrapped it around her shoulders. She stood in the hallways and considered what she was about to do before she remembered that she was a Gryffindor for a reason.

She knocked quietly.

"Come?"

"I forgot," Hermione muttered. "I'm supposed to stay."

"You are certainly not obliged to," Minerva huffed.

"I know, but," she blinked. "I don't want you to die in the middle of the night on my watch. I get enough grief from people about my heritage. I don't want to be responsible for the death of the greatest witch in living memory."

Minerva snorted.

"I am neither great nor the greatest in living memory," Minerva rolled her eyes.

"I beg to differ. So, I'm going to sit here," she pointed at the armchair away from the bed and Minerva's line of sight. "And check on you a few times. I won't wake you. I'm tired, but I did promise Madam Pomfrey that I'd sit with you."

"You are making a mountain out of a molehill. I am quite fine. I have had worse knocks from less traumatic happenings."

"Well, I wasn't there for those. I'm here now. Indulge me."

She offered it as a question. If Minerva truly didn't want her in the room, she'd leave - under protest - but she would do so. But, she had still had a nasty knock. To her temple, no less. If it took her pushing to get Minerva to take care of herself, she would push.

Minerva was worth it.

"Alright," Minerva groaned. "Do as you wish. You can do better than that though," she grumbled, waving her hand. The armchair turned into a recliner.

A great feat of wandless, silent magic to be sure but something Minerva wasn't supposed to be partaking in.

"For goodness sake, you are infuriating," she groaned. "No magic!"

"Tosh," Minerva huffed. "Magic is breathing. There's no way around it."

"Ok, well this is devolving so I'm going over here. You sleep."

"Hermione."

"Yep?"

Minerva looked at her for a long moment before offering her hand. Hermione, in turn, looked at Minerva before accepting. Now that she wasn't concerned about Minerva being dead, she examined her hand. Minerva had long, slender fingers and soft skin, punctuated by a few freckles closer to her wrist. Her skin was pale and set off the ring on her middle finger perfectly. It was thin, like a vine, wrapped twice around, leaves tastefully broke up the shape, just enough to make it interesting.

"That's very pretty," she said absently. She dropped the mini-argument they weren't quite having, in favour of chasing what they had before.

"A present from my grandmother when I was small," Minerva smiled. "It is one of the few I wear often."

"You don't tend to wear them in class?"

"I do," she chuckled. "You just don't notice them."

Hermione smiled and squeezed the hand gently.

"I would feel awful if something happened and I wasn't around."

"I know." Minerva almost nodded but stopped herself at the last minute. "But I'm not sure how else to tell you I really am fine. Poppy even mentioned that I am. I think she just wanted someone to keep an eye on me for her while she's indisposed."

"You passed out, it was," she swallowed as the image of Minerva falling from her broom flashed before her eyes.

"I know and I am sorry for scaring you. Ginny blocked my view, otherwise, I would have seen it sooner and ducked in time for it to miss me. As it happens, had Ginny not been as quick as she was, it could have been a lot worse. I was already moving away when it glanced me."

"Shall I mention the passing out again?"

Minerva smiled and squeezed Hermione's hand. She had forgotten they were still holding hands.

"Stay if you wish," she said gently. "But sleep. Cast a monitoring charm on me, if you must?"

"How?"

Minerva ran through the spell and after a slightly off-angled flick at the end, got it on the second try.

"Now," Minerva said. "Sleep. It will wake you if need be."

"Okay," Hermione said. She already felt better now there was an alarm on Minerva's well-being. "I'll go back to my room then and hopefully see you in the morning?"

"Hopefully? I'll be here," Minerva smiled. "Sleep sweet, Hermione."

She smiled and nodded to Minerva.

"Good night."