Hermione willed herself to go to sleep. But as luck would have it, sleep would not come. She lay tossing and turning in her bed, her mind going a mile a minute, struggling not only with the stale silence that embraced her, but also with the bed sheet that managed to entangle around her bottom torso.
Hermione turned to look at her bedside clock and frowned. She turned to focus her eyes on the bedroom ceiling, and then closed them, coaxing her body to relax. The only thing she could focus on were the millions of thoughts and memories running through her brain...
...the most recent memory of her beloved feline, the comforting smell of dinner, the candles in the great hall, Harry's scar, holding Snape's hand out in the courtyard, poisoning that poor old woman, the cold, leathery feel of her car's steering wheel as she sped to the bridge...
Hermione's eyes shot open. Her mind was on overload, and it was obvious it was not shutting down any time soon.
The young woman dragged a slender arm out beneath her quilt and pinched her nose, closing her eyes in the process.
She was disgusted. Frustrated. Nervous.
…Nervous?...
Hermione snorted. She removed her hand from her face, and plopped it down on the bed beside her with a muffled thud. Hermione shook her head subconsciously and gave a small groan, closing and slowly opening her eyes.
She knew exactly what this feeling felt like. Well, perhaps not exactly. But quite enough similar to it…
Hermione recalled the night before her first day as a resident in the hospital. Her stomach turned and jostled so badly it's a wonder she didn't spend the entire night hunched over the toilet bowl. She remembered trembling inwardly when she received her assignment on her very first day; the feeling of dread was remarkable.
...And here was Hermione Granger. Dr. Hermione Granger. Feeling that same sense of dread that she felt some years past.
But then Hermione had a second thought.
This would be different...much different of course. Different atmosphere, different patient population; she was competent in her basic assessment skills, could rattle off pharmacological knowledge to anyone who would listen. This time...practicing at Hogwarts of all places...would prove to be quite different…
Hermione was a bit concerned performing medical magic. Worried that she would forget what she had learned years and years ago. It was like riding a bike, she thought to herself. The spells, the enchantments – you don't really forget how to use them once you begin again…
Eventually, the young woman drifted off to sleep. Before she knew it she was greeted by the streaming sunlight of a crisp fall morning. Hermione silently cursed the new day and frowned at the sight of her alarm clock. Though she woke up before her alarm, she knew it was pointless to return to sleep. As she began to get dressed for the day, she silently recalled various healing spells and medical remedies for some of the conditions she thought she would come across. Broken bones, uncharacterized rashes, uncontrollable hair growth - whatever would come her way, Hermione was ready.
Or was she?
The young woman exited her rooms and stood out in the hall, facing her door as she closed it. She stood for a moment, head still bent down staring at the old, faded doorknob, and listened.
There was an indistinguishable hum...the faded sound of many people talking. Quick footsteps. Carefree laughter; even a short high-pitched shriek or two.
Hermione swallowed hard.
This was it.
No turning back now…
They had her where they wanted her. Practicing medicine was her Achilles heel. And they knew that…
Hermione closed her eyes and turned around, willing herself to be strong, assertive...and most of all, not break down emotionally in front of any-
Suddenly, Hermione slammed into something so hard, that it knocked the wind out of her. She felt herself tumble backwards, but was caught by two strong arms in the process.
Hermione, still with her back arched, only about a foot from the ground, looked up and focused on a pair of dark brown eyes.
The arms scooped her upwards in an instant, and set her upright again.
Hermione took a second to take in her surroundings, placing one hand on her forehead, her eyes wide, staring at the figure in front of her. The wind had been knocked out of her, and quite honestly, she wanted to give herself a few moments to grasp what had just occurred. Dropping her hand by her side, her eyes suddenly narrowed at the figure and she addressed him quite hastily.
'Why in God's name would you do something like that?' she asked in an exasperated tone, her heart beating forcefully.
Severus Snape lowered his eyes and took a step towards Hermione.
'I do say, Miss Granger - if this is the way you're going to be starting off the school year, I would be more afraid for those whom you intend to treat,' he snarled sarcastically.
Hermione felt her hands curl into fists.
He really knew how to get under her skin…
At the sound of his curt reply, Hermione felt her lips forming a tight line hiding her perfectly aligned clenched teeth.
Without another word, she began walking towards the grand staircase, making sure that she purposefully knocked into his arm with her shoulder. Hard. He budged ever so slightly, yet Hermione was sure he got the message.
When she turned the corner and stepped on the first descending marble step, she turned around to make sure he wasn't following her. Luckily, he wasn't. Hermione turned back around and winced, grabbing her now throbbing shoulder. She generously rubbed her affected limb all the way to the great hall…
Breakfast turned out to be quite uneventful. Hermione spent time chatting with the Headmistress, making small talk with Hagrid regarding Care of Magical Creatures, and drinking so many cups of coffee, her hands were visibly shaking. She looked down at her hands midsentence and frowned.
Way to go, Granger...
After breakfast, rosters were handed out, the students dispersed to their individual classes, and Hermione found herself walking in step with Madame Pomfrey to the hospital wing.
Hermione arrived at the hospital wing and smiled slightly. The smell. The neat, well-made beds. Even the sight of tongue depressors and cotton balls gave her a mild high.
It was different than when she was last in the hospital wing. When she thought she were dead. When she snapped, ripping the doors of their hinges. Hermione shuddered at the very thought. She had made a promise to herself to control her temper. To control her emotions. And that was something that was a work in progress.
She had not realized that Madame Pomfrey wasn't in the room with her until she saw the older woman coming from one of the adjacent storage rooms. In her hand was something white.
Madame Pomfrey smiled kindly at the younger woman before her.
'I know that Muggle Doctors wear these. I don't expect you to dress as I do, and I thought...' her eyes had a twinge of sadness to them, '...I thought you would appreciate a sort of...normalcy in your life...' she added as an afterthought, looking at the white piece of clothing in her arms.
Madame Pomfrey placed the coat in Hermione's arms. The young woman lifted it up to examine the object. It looked exactly like her own coat, except instead of a name tag, her name was carefully embroidered in royal blue into the fabric: Dr. Hermione Granger.
Hermione smiled softly at the lettering. It was true, what Madame Pomfrey said. The coat did in fact feel like a bit of normalcy, a familiar object in her unpredictable life. And it felt good...
Hermione slipped the coat on and felt an instant sense of pride.
Just then, a voice came from the entrance to the Infirmary.
Hermione turned around to see a young boy shuffle into the hospital wing. He looked pale, sickly. With big eyes and a less than reassuring look on his face, he stammered, 'I don't feel so good.' Hermione swallowed. She hurried over to the young boy. And as luck would have it, just as she was within reach of the young lad, he proceeded to empty the remnants of breakfast...all over her new shoes. Somehow, that was happening to her a lot lately…
Hermione's day continued to improve after her first incident. A broken arm from a first-year flying lesson, a swollen hand with puffy purple purulent spots thanks to a Herbology class, and a bruised forehead from a self inflicted spell gone awry were just some of Dr. Granger's first day maladies. As the day passed on, one could see her coat fluttering behind her as she treated one student after the next, reciting spells and incantations, providing medicine and such as directed by Madame Pomfrey. Hermione remembered and was able to recall many of the methods to treat the students. She also found a way to meld her own assessment skills and treatments in with magical healing.
Hermione found herself so busy at one point, the thought of eating lunch had completely escaped her mind. It wasn't until Harry shoved a giant ham sandwich in front of a newly bandaged foot that she took the liberty to scarf down some sustenance before carrying on with her work.
'Wow, Hermione! I've never seen the hospital wing so busy...and yet so...under control,' Harry admitted, looking around the room. Yes, it was evident that just about every cot was taken up. But Hermione appeared to be in control. Cool and calm. And was that a smile he just saw upon her face? Harry could have sworn that he just saw Hermione smile when she bent down to grab the delicious looking sandwich before one of her patients did.
'Yes, it is busy. But, Harry...,' she turned away from one of the cots, her back to the student she was currently treating, '...it's not so, bad...I don't know...I think it helps me keep my mind off of...things...and since it's obvious you won't let me get back to my old routine, I suppose...I suppose this is the next best thing. So...' she paused a minute to look at the ground, and then looked up at Harry with eyes full of emotion: 'thank you. Thank you for letting me do this,' she said quietly, a small smile upon her lips.
Harry gave Hermione a warm smile.
'Anything for you, Mione. And really - Madame Pomfrey needed the help. You're excellent, 'Mione! I mean just...just look around,' he added pleasingly. 'You're one hell of a doctor!'
Harry leaned closer to Hermione, whispering in her ear.
'...And word around the castle has it that you have so many customers simply due to the fact that some of these guys sitting here fancy you. No joke - you are one beautiful healer' he added with a sideways grin.
Hermione blushed.
'Oh Harry,' Hermione sighed, cocking her head ever so slightly. 'You flatter me,' she said with a grin. Harry shrugged his shoulders. 'I'm just speaking the truth, Hermione. Only the truth...' his last words echoed throughout the wing as he headed through the double doors into the hall.
As time passed, the hospital wing began to empty out, little by little. As the sun began to set, Hermione took a look around and noticed that the cots were empty. The beds were made. And all was silent for the time being. Hermione felt a familiar pang, and instantly reached up to massage her shoulder. It had gotten quite a work out toady, and due to her stubbornness early this morning – well, it was her own fault for the injury. Hermione mindlessly rubbed her painful joint, when suddenly she heard two sets of footsteps behind her.
Hermione quickly turned around to see a tall figure clad in black escorting what looked to be like a hobbling second year Ravenclaw student.
Hermione frowned.
'What happened here?' Her voice echoed in the nearly empty room as she began approaching the pair.
'Mr. Pearson was cleaning cauldrons and accidentally dropped one on his foot,' Severus Snape sarcastically pointed out.
Hermione went over to the boy and helped him to one of the empty cots. As he released his arm from around her aching shoulder, she winced in pain, making a mental note to take something for her ailment later on.
Once she had the boy settled, she began her examination. First with a brief assessment, and then down to the real problem at hand. She was fluid in her words and actions, her skills precise and well honed. At one point, she noticed the boy seemed a bit anxious that Snape was lingering in the shadows. She bent down to the boy's level.
'You know, the sorting hat was going to put me in Ravenclaw too,' she whispered to the boy, a smile upon her lips. The boy smiled slightly in return. 'What changed its mind?' he whispered back at her. Hermione grinned. 'Well, I heard that the girl's Gryffindor rooms were a lot bigger, and the beds were more comfortable,' she whispered back, managing to chuckle at the thought of her then 11 year old mind.
The student laughed at Hermione's words, and for a second, the two seemed to share an instant bond.
Severus cleared his throat, Hermione guessing he was annoyed at their amiable interaction.
She turned around to face the figure standing on the other side of the room.
'You do not have to stay. Please feel free to continue doing…whatever you were doing,' she added assertively, noticing her mouth growing dry.
Severus crossed his arms.
'I will wait,' he added matter-of-factly.
Hermione sighed and turned back around. She shook her head slightly. So difficult...so unnecessarily difficult...
After Hermione finished the spell for healing a bruised bone, she gave the boy a type of analgesic to drink for the pain, and sent him on his way. Instead of accompanying the student back to class, the Potions Master dismissed him to dinner, reminding the poor boy that due to his inability to keep his mouth shut during class, tomorrow he would once again resume his cauldron cleaning duties after class.
Hermione offered the boy a sad look and saw him out of the wing, a hand on his shoulder leading him to the exit. She turned back to look at the man now standing in front of one of the windows in the infirmary.
Hermione strode back to where Severus was standing.
'Well?' she asked, her arms crossed in front of her.
Severus continued looking out the window. He took notice of the lake bordering the castle. How peaceful, how serene it looked against the setting sun. Severus inhaled and exhaled slowly.
'There will be a meeting tonight. At Headquarters. Surely, you remember where that is located…' he added quietly, still looking out the window. 'The Order will be present. There is some…news regarding Helen Crawford,' he stated as an afterthought.
Hermione's eyes opened wide and she took a step towards Severus.
'What sort of…news,' she inquired, feeling her heart quicken.
Severus turned around.
For a brief moment, he did something he had not done in some time.
…Severus lost his train of thought…
The way Hermione stood in front of him. How she was standing – poised, yet strong. Her hair falling softly about her face. Her lips parted ever so gently. The way the setting sun played against her figure. She was…beautiful, he thought.
Severus closed his eyes.
He didn't know what was happening to himself. These thoughts…they were very unlike him. It felt unsettling. And he quickly corked his emotions as soon as they surfaced.
'I am not sure what news will be shared,' Severus stated, walking towards Hermione and stopping only feet from the entrance to the infirmary. '-however, I do not expect it to be promising,' he added quietly, turning to look at her.
Hermione felt her breath catch in her chest. She closed her eyes, beckoning the prickling tears to stay where they were. For a moment, she stayed where she was, her back towards the Potions Master, willing herself to keep her control.
After a few moments of silence, she turned towards Severus.
'What time is the meeting,' she asked quietly.
'After the students return to their houses for the evening,' Severus stated.
Hermione nodded. She absolutely had to go to the meeting. Had to find out the details surrounding Miss Crawford's disappearance.
Hermione began walking towards the exit to the infirmary when Severus stopped and held out her white coat. Without a word, she took the coat in her hand, and placed it on a hook beside the door to Madame Pomfrey's office. She walked past Severus, when suddenly she heard him speak to her.
'Miss Granger, I thought you were right handed. Interesting that you hung your coat up with your left hand,' he added dryly, a smirk upon his lips.
…He knew she had injured herself earlier that morning.
…She didn't know that a freshly brewed pain relieving salve was waiting for her next to her bed.
Hermione kept walking, heading down the steps of the grand staircase.
'Cheeky bastard,' she muttered under her breath, yet just loud enough for Severus to hear as the two made their way down to dinner in the Great Hall.