A/N: I did many happy dances this week in response to your reviews and follows. Thanks for your support!
Someone was holding her hand and rubbing it lightly with their thumb. The sensation drew Hermione out of a heavy slumber. Although her eyes remained closed, her hand twitched in response and her fingers flexed. The hand paused its movements and tightened around hers.
As if from a great distance, she heard a voice that sounded familiar, but it was difficult to hear what it was saying.
"–ione? Can you hear m–"
She felt another hand caress her face, brushing aside her hair to stroke her temple.
A second familiar voice joined the first.
"–can see her eyelids mov–"
The first few times she tried to open her eyes, she was unsuccessful. They felt too heavy, weighed down by the strange darkness from which she was emerging. After a few attempts she was finally able to push past her weakness and open them, only to flinch at the brightness of her environment. After a few more tries, she was able to keep them open, and made out two blurry forms above her.
"'Mione?"
She knew that voice. Ron?
As her vision cleared, she saw Harry sitting to her right and holding her hand. She also noticed Ron sitting to her left, his hand resting near her head. Her lips parted to speak, but she found that vocalization was beyond her at the moment. As more sensations began to spread into her awareness, she realized her throat felt sore and parched. She settled for lightly squeezing Harry's hand while she gathered her bearings.
He sighed in relief, "Welcome back, Hermione. Easy now."
Where am I? What's going on?
Belatedly, she realized she seemed to be in a hospital bed at what appeared to be St. Mungo's. But how did I get here?
With curiosity and panic mounting, she finally managed to croak out half-intelligibly, "What happened?"
Harry spoke from her side, "Maybe we should start with the last thing you remember. Here do you want some water first?"
Hermione gratefully accepted the help from her friends as they helped her adjust her position so she could drink from the glass Harry offered her. She'd almost dropped it when she tried to hold it herself, so Harry was helping her hold it while she drank. She couldn't believe how incredibly weak she felt. She was so thirsty she drank the entire glass in one go.
Upon reflection, she didn't remember her arrival to St. Mungo's, and she mentioned this to both her friends. According to Ron, she'd landed in an incoherent, sobbing, and bloody heap in the lobby of the hospital's Emergency Ward at a little past 3 in the morning on Sunday, where aid had been rendered once the serious nature of her injuries became apparent.
Apparently an Emergency Healer had administered Calming Draught and Pepper Up potion at her insistence, at which point she'd been able to more coherently explain what had happened to her, and who had done it. Despite her bone deep exhaustion, she had been able to share her full testimony and memories with the Aurors assigned to her case, especially once she'd emphasized the urgency of the situation.
Harry said she'd made it a point to emphasize that Malfoy had been Imperio'd, and that she'd stressed he'd been another victim in this scheme, not a perpetrator of it. She'd apparently also suggested that they backtrace the illegal Floo connection that had allowed her to escape if they wanted to apprehend two of her tormentors before the night was over, something Harry told her the Aurors had indeed accomplished. She was surprised to hear McGonagall and Pomfrey had also appeared by her bedside at some point, and she was still was unclear when or how Harry and Ron had known to show up.
It only took a few short minutes for the memories she did have of that night to catch up with her. Although Harry and Ron's retelling hadn't reminded her of her arrival at St. Mungo's, they had reminded her of the torture she'd experienced just before her arrival there. Hermione's breath hitched as the memory of her last few hours of consciousness slammed into her. A trickle of tears turned into soft sobs as she began to remember the horrific circumstances that had led her to this hospital bed, realizing just how close she'd come to dying at the hands of madmen.
Ron and Harry exchanged a few words before the redhead stood up and swiftly made his way out of the room. Hermione was too distraught to pay any mind to Harry's soothing words, nor to Ron's exit. Despite this, some deeper part of her was relieved to have her best friends here with her.
I made it out. I did it. I'm alive.
Somehow that realization did little to alleviate the panic and anxiety that had begun to crash down upon her in relentless waves. As her emotions overtook her, she began to hyperventilate and tremble.
Harry's grip on her hand tightened and he raised it to his chest, placing her palm against his steadily beating heart. He breathed in and out with exaggerated motions and instructed her to breathe along with him.
"You're safe, 'Mione. They can't hurt you anymore. You're safe. Just breathe with me."
He repeated a litany of soothing affirmations as he encouraged her to follow his breathing pattern. By the time Ron returned with a Healer in tow, Hermione had managed to stop gasping for air, although tears continued to stream down her face.
What followed was a blur of medical questions and diagnostic tests. Hermione was glad for the distraction the Healer provided. The presence of both of her best friends certainly helped too. As it turned out, she'd been unconscious for two days. Although all of her physical injuries had been healed, she was still recovering from exhaustion of both the physical and magical varieties, which explained why it felt like such a monumental task to keep her eyes open throughout the entire ordeal.
Hermione could tell that her two best friends hadn't left the hospital much in the two days it had taken her to wake up. It gratified her to know she hadn't been alone even while she'd been unconscious. As the Healer finished up with her diagnostic spells and questions, she met Hermione's eyes wearing a sympathetic expression.
"We're going to keep you for another day of observation just to make sure there are no residual effects we may have missed. Rest up, Miss Granger, and make sure to let us know if you need anything in the meantime."
Hermione nodded gratefully, "Thank you Healer."
Hermione was too tired to care about being stuck at St. Mungo's for another day – at this rate, she was pretty sure she'd be asleep for most of it. Apparently Ron and Harry thought the same, because they sank into their chairs on either side of her bed and leaned in.
"You look about ready to pass out," Ron told her with a small quirk of his lips.
Hermione's lips lifted slightly and she nodded sleepily.
"Go ahead," Harry said from the other side of her bed, "We'll be here when you wake up. You don't have to worry about anything."
Immensely relieved at the reassurance, she allowed herself to relax and let her eyes drift shut.
It's okay. I'm safe now.
The next time Hermione awoke in the hospital, it was light out. To her left, Ron was pretending to read the Daily Prophet while dozing in his seat. To her right, Harry was scribbling furiously in a notebook while balancing a stack of parchments on his knee.
She took a few seconds to let the moment sink in, allowing herself to simply exist before the rest of reality could intrude on this calm scene. She knew that this was the most peaceful she would probably feel for some time. Already the tendrils of darkness, reminders of what had been done to her, were slithering unbidden from the depths of her mind.
For a few quiet minutes, Hermione zoned out, thinking about nothing in particular while the sound of Harry's scribbling soothed her into a more relaxed mindset. She let her mind wander as her gaze did the same. Eventually her sleepy eyes landed on Ron's hands as they loosely held the Prophet's crumpled newspaper pages.
Her eyes traced the strong lines of his fingers, some with small scars and imperfections, and she wondered how Auror training had gone for both of her friends during the time they'd been gone. At length, her eyes shifted to focus on what she could see of the newspaper Ron held. The front page was partially visible, and as the top headline registered in her mind, she let out an involuntary gasp of surprise as a sick feeling began to form in her stomach.
"Malfoy, Nott Heirs Detained for Their Role in Attacking War Hero After Public Outrage Mounts"
The sound caught Harry's attention. His scribbling stopped immediately and he let out a sigh of relief.
"Hermione!"
With a furrowed brow, Hermione pointed weakly at the slightly crumpled headline in Ron's hands. The redhead was now fully awake, and was smiling at her with his own look of relief. His smile morphed into a look of confusion when he realized she was pointing at him, or rather at the newspaper he held.
"Malfoy," she croaked, struggling to speak past the dryness in her throat.
Harry hastily set his things aside, grabbed a cup of water from a table by her bedside, and helped her sit up to drink it. After she took a few sips and thanked him, he helped her adjust into a more comfortable half-sitting position.
"Why has Malfoy been detained?" she asked once she was settled, "He was as much a victim as I was."
Harry let out a frustrated sigh, and gave Ron a warning look when he scoffed at her words, but the lanky redhead was undeterred.
"There's no reason to defend that jackass, 'Mione. He's only getting what he deserves," Ron said heatedly.
Hermione felt a rush of emotion at his dismissive attitude, but she couldn't identify exactly what she was feeling. Her mouth tightened as her eyes began to fill with tears. Noticing the sudden change in her expression, Harry reached for her hand and shot Ron an angry expression.
"You're not helping," he said across the bed, enunciating every syllable with a warning edge.
"I-I didn't mean to upset you, but Malfoy deserv–" Ron fumbled nervously.
"Ron," Harry ground out.
Ron relented, slumping back into his seat, "Sorry. I'm glad you're awake 'Mione."
"Thanks, Ron," Hermione sighed, taking a deep steadying breath before turning back to Harry, "How long have I been hospitalized?"
Harry pushed his glasses up his nose and responded, "This is your third day at St. Mungo's—it's mid-afternoon right now. Do you remember waking up at all last night?"
She nodded.
"Well, a few hours before you woke up yesterday, Malfoy was apprehended for questioning. Even though his story matched yours, some... particularly enraged people thought he should still be punished for violating his parole at all, even if it was against his will*.*"
Hermione shook her head incredulously, "But that's barbaric!"
Ron scoffed and Harry sent him a fierce and threatening glare, once again preemptively shutting him up.
Harry squeezed her hand comfortingly, "If it makes you feel any better, he's not in Azkaban right now. He's still being held in one of the Ministry's temporary holding cells while the bureaucracy scrambles to figure out who's going to blame him."
Despite Harry's reassurance, Hermione's brow remained furrowed, "How much has the nature of his involvement been communicated to the public?" she asked.
Harry shrugged, but Ron beat him to the answer, "To be honest, 'Mione, it hasn't been talked about much. When I have seen the media discuss it, they've cast doubt on the idea that he was forced. I've heard some people say he didn't do anything he wouldn't have wanted to do anyway."
Hermione's gaze cut to his, "And are you one of those people, Ronald?"
Ron looked down uncomfortably as he scratched his chin nervously, "I was until you woke up and showed me the error of my ways. He must have changed an awful lot for you to be defending him like this right now."
Hermione considered his words for a moment. Malfoy had changed since last year. She'd been too busy with her duties as Head Girl too think much about it last week, but she liked to think of herself as a good judge of character. It wasn't just his behavior with her that had changed. Malfoy's predisposition had been completely transformed even in his interactions with their peers, with the school's faculty, and with the younger students. Of course, he'd retained his condescending and sneaky personality, but it was much improved.
Suddenly an image of him crumpled in front of the fireplace came to the forefront of her mind. She heard the echoes of his agonized cries, and flinched at the reminder. She occluded for the time being, knowing she'd have to address her feelings about that night sooner rather than later. She just didn't feel comfortable doing it now.
After a few seconds of contemplation, during which Harry and Ron patiently waited for her to work through her thoughts, Hermione responded, "Yes, as far as I can tell Malfoy's changed for the better since you last saw him. H-he apologized to me on the Hogwarts Express, before we were even back at school. He's even been deducting points from his own house."
Ron sat back in surprise, and Harry squeezed her hand again.
"I'll help you make sure justice finds the right people," Harry reassured her quietly, "But right now let's focus on you, okay? Now that you know he's not currently in Azkaban, can you breathe a little easier for the time being?"
Realizing Harry was right, Hermione forced herself to push thoughts of Malfoy aside for now and nodded.
Relieved, Harry smiled at her and ran his thumb over her knuckles, "Good. How are you feeling – really?"
Hermione paused to consider her answer to his question, because she didn't want to lie to him. Physically, she felt wiped out, and her skin felt tight and slightly uncomfortable. Mentally, there was a massive storm brewing, yet for the most part she now felt hollow—more so than ever before. She found it extremely difficult to conjure any happy or positive memories to fill the negative space that had been carved out in her psyche.
"I'm..." she paused at a loss for words, "My body feels a lot better, but everything else..."
Her eyes began to well with tears again, and Harry murmured some soothing words before scooping her up into a hug. She sobbed into his shoulder, and felt Ron pick up her other hand to give it a supportive squeeze.
"Let it all out," Harry reassured her quietly, "You're okay now."
This only caused Hermione to cry harder as she clutched Harry's shirt, and for the next few minutes the only sounds in the room were Hermione's sobs, and Harry and Ron's murmured reassurances. When she was done, Hermione felt a little better, but she knew this was only the tip of the iceberg in terms of the psychological damage she would have to overcome.
They spent the rest of the afternoon talking about safer subjects—her two best friends spent a good chunk of it regaling her with stories of their first weeks in Auror training. Ron was more than happy to use his rookie missteps as an opportunity to make her smile, and Harry was eager to examine their training methods with her. They also discussed the strict visiting restrictions that had been imposed for Hermione given the criminal nature of her attack. It meant that neither the Weasley family nor her classmates had been allowed to come visit her.
Healer Windmere eventually came in to check on her, and performed her daily round of diagnostic tests. When Hermione's results came back as expected, the older woman informed her that she would be discharged the following morning. The Healer recommended that she take at least another day or two off before returning to her full class schedule given how weak she still felt, if she even wanted to return to school at all. She left Hermione with a meaningful look and some parting words.
"Tonight you'll be meeting Healer Donovan, the Mind Healer St. Mungo's has assigned to you. I hope you're able to give her a chance to help you."
Hermione thanked the Healer hesitantly, anxious at the thought of having to meet a Mind Healer, but aware of how necessary the help would be. She'd already been struggling under the weight of her circumstances even before she'd been attacked, and she understood the futility in thinking she'd be able to handle it all alone.
Ron extended an invitation to the Burrow while she recovered, and Hermione decided that she would spend a night or two there surrounded by her surrogate family since her real family was unavailable. Although the thought of being back at the Burrow was a little overwhelming, the prospect of being surrounded by people who loved and cared about her far superseded that anxiety. With those things out of the way, near the end of the day Hermione met her best friends' gazes resolutely.
"There's one more thing I need your help with before I can rest easy tonight."
Harry's gaze softened and he nodded at her to continue, seeming to already have an idea of what she was about to say.
"I need your help organizing a last-minute press conference very early tomorrow, ideally before I'm discharged."
Harry and Ron agreed without a question, "Done."
Hermione's brow furrowed, "Don't you want to know why?"
Ron smirked, "I'm pretty sure I already know why. You want to set the story straight."
She nodded, relieved that he didn't seem to hold it against her.
"Malfoy deserves a real chance at redemption. I'm not going to let this be the thing that stands in his way," she said resolutely.
Harry and Ron shared a look across her bed and nodded in agreement. Harry replied, "We'll help you make it happen. Consider it done."
Hermione smiled gratefully at both of her best friends and reached out, holding their larger hands in her own and feeling grateful she had a strong support system at such a terrible time in her life. By some odd twist of fate, she'd now unwittingly become part of Malfoy's support system in her quest for justice. It wasn't a position she ever thought she'd be in, but if it meant ensuring he got a fair chance at redemption after the torture he'd also gone through, she was okay with that.
I'm not going to let you go down without a fight, Malfoy.