Chapter 13 – Wake

Slowly, I blink open my eyes.

The world around me is fuzzy and blurred.

Light.

Bright light.

Why are the lights so bright?

And my head; it aches with a ferocious intensity.

I'm so tired and everything hurts.

Can't I just go back to sleep?

I want to go back to sleep. . .


Once again, I slowly open my eyes to the bright light of the room.

Harry.

He's by my side, my hand gripped in his.

"Hermione?" he says my name, quiet and a bit uncertain.

I try to speak but I find it's just too much energy.

"Hey, it's alright. You're going to be alright now. I'm not going to let anyone hurt you anymore," he assures me. His eyes are full of concern, fear, sadness.

Does he know? Did the healers tell him what might have happened?

He looks over me to the other side of the room and I follow his gaze with my eyes.

Ron.

He is asleep in the chair.

"He's been here a long time," Harry tries to explain.

"How . . . how long," I struggle through the words, my mind foggy and unfocused. The sound of my voice echoes through my head sending a wave of pain along with it. But I push on. "How long . . . was I . . ." But the effort is too much and I can't finish.

"Don't worry about that now," he tells me. "We found you. It took us a while, but we found your clues. You were always the smartest."

The clues.

Bellatrix.

Draco.

Everything that happened floods back.

The coma.

Draco.

Draco.

We have to find Draco.

"It's alright, you're safe now," Harry promises, seeing my panic. "You're in St. Mungo's. Everything's going to be alright."

No, everything is not going to be alright.

They brought Bellatrix back from the dead and they are trying to do the same with Voldemort. They have Draco and they're going to kill him to do that!

Everything is not going to be alright.

But I can't seem to form the words.

And I'm so tired.

So tired . . .


"I can't believe you didn't wake me up!" It's Ron and his half whisper, half yell.

"They said it would be gradual, she wasn't awake very long," Harry defends. "I didn't want her to wake up to me trying to wake you up!"

"Still! Bloody shite friend you are! You lost her! You couldn't keep her safe! And now, you're the only one who gets the chance to talk with her after we weren't sure if we ever would again!" Does he blame Harry for what happened?

Please don't blame Harry.

He doesn't need that on him.

Ron's really quite angry.

I don't want my friends to be angry with one another.

Gradually, I open my eyes again.

"Ron," I hoarsely make out.

Both, turn to me.

"You're awake," Ron says, seeming to forget about his argument with Harry, if only for a moment.

I try to nod but my head really doesn't like the movement.

"Hey, don't try to move," Harry tells me softly. "You had a pretty bad bump on the head."

"Have . . . have you," I struggle once again to form the words. "Did you. . . get . . . her?" I force out, but not more than a loud whisper.

"Who?" Ron asks.

"Bellatrix."

Silence.

"Hermione, Bellatrix Lestrange has been dead for nearly three years," Harry says quietly.

"No." I shake my head, which was a very bad idea. "No... They found. . . a way," I try to explain.

They must have made sure she was unseen.

"Found a way to do what?" Ron questions.

I have to make them understand. "To bring her back," I finish.

The boys look at each other.

"She was there," I swallow, my throat like sandpaper. "She was there."

An image of Draco, screaming in agony at the end of her wand flashes in my mind.

"Draco," I start.

I'm so tired again. My mind is becoming fuzzy.

"Malfoy? What about Malfoy?" Harry asks.

"Find him. You have. . . to find him," I express.

"Was he there? Did he hurt you?" Ron inquires and I can see the fury rising.

I try to shake my head once more but wince in pain.

"No," I explain. "He. . . he saved me." They have to know he wasn't part of them. "He was with me!" I take a breath; my eyelids are becoming so heavy. "He's still there. They're still . . . hurting him."

"Hermione, we searched. We couldn't find where you came from. There was no one else there," Harry tells me.

It was magically concealed. Of course it was.

We have to find him.

"How long?" I need to know. "How long. . . has it been?" I ask. "How long was I asleep?"

I can't let myself fall back asleep. I can't.

But I can feel myself drifting.

And they don't want to tell me.

Is it really that bad?

I can't let myself fall back asleep.

I have to help save him.

"Please. Just say it," I beg.

"Almost a month. You've been in a coma twenty-seven days," Harry finally reveals.

And my heart shatters.

Twenty-seven days.

And I know, it could have been a whole lot worse. It wasn't months, it wasn't years. Twenty-seven days isn't really that bad considering how long these things can last. But still.

Draco has been alone, wherever they have him, being tortured, for twenty-seven days.

I feel hot tears in my eyes and my vision blurs.

"Hermione? Are you alright?" Harry is so concerned.

I don't want him to blame himself. I don't want him to be so worried.

"Yes," I tell him. "But Draco's not."

I can't handle this.

I can feel my body trying to pull me back under, shield me from the pain.

But I can't let it, I have to fight.

"Why would he be . . . with . . . you there?" Ron asks. "Why would they . . . hurt . . . him?"

He can't say the word.

And for some reason that disgusts me.

There's something wrong with me.

My perception is off.

I'm not understanding things.

No.

He's sweet.

He's trying his best.

But it's what happened to me, and it's happening to Draco now.

And that thought gives me a surge of energy.

"Say the word Ron. Torture." He winces. "This very moment they could be torturing him. While you sit around here, he is alone, and in pain," I say. "Find him," I plead.

It's the only thing on my mind, the only thing keeping me awake.

Find him.

Find him.

Find him.

"But why would they do that?" Ron insists on asking again.

I groan.

I just want to sleep.

No.

"Because . . . he defected! Because he was helping . . . to stop them. Because he . . . betrayed them," I explain.

A young woman wearing a white lab coat walks into the room, causing Harry and Ron to fall silent.

"I hope I'm not interrupting," she says softly. "But I need to check Miss Granger here." She turns to me. "Hello Hermione, I'm Healer Evans."

She raises her wand over me and slowly guides it down my body.

"You seem to be healing nicely. How are you feeling?" she asks.

I feel like I've been hit by a truck.

"It hurts," I tell her, knowing she probably won't appreciate the simile. "And I feel . . . really tired."

"You're coming out of a coma. It's expected that this happens slowly. I can give you something for the pain – "

I cut her off. "No. I need to have a clear head." As clear as it can be at least.

I know it's silly, but I don't want to risk forgetting again.

"Are you sure? You need to rest."

"Yes," I clarify.

"Alright then, if you change your mind, don't hesitate to ask. And if you need anything, call one of us in here. I'll be back to check on you again in a few hours," she says, giving me a small smile.

"Thanks," I tell her as she turns to leave.

"Boys, no more questions. She needs rest," Healer Evans advises them on her way out.

Harry nods, more to himself than anything.

"Rest. You need rest," he says quietly.

Healer Evans said this is normal.

This strange tiredness.

I should give in. . .

I almost give up the fight.

No.

But I can't go back to sleep.

I can't.

Find him.

Find him.

Find him.

It's all I can think.

I need to help them find Draco.

"Hermione," Ron starts, taking my hand. "You'll be okay now. The healer says to rest."

"Please. . . if you want to help me," I say, making slightly broken eye contact with each of them, "find him. Find Draco."

My body really wants to pull me back under, but I fight.

"Tell me. Tell me you will," I insist.

"Alright," Harry gives in, although it seems like that's the last thing he wants to do. "You know I don't want to leave you, but alright." He takes my other hand and gives it a squeeze. "We were so worried. We looked for you. Every day."

"I know," I assure him.

With one last squeeze of my hand, I give in.

I let myself fall asleep.


Author's Note:

Hello everyone! I hope you had a an amazing week and a wonderful weekend. Sorry I didn't post on Sunday as usual, it was Easter and I decided to focus only on spending it with my family. But it was a bit longer of a chapter, so hopefully that makes up for it a bit ;P.

So, I'm not sure how realistic everything is, I've never gone through anything like it, I don't know anyone who has, but I know she wouldn't just wake up and everything's fine. Let me know what you thought of the waking up chapter! Is it what you thought it would be?

Thank-you so much to TinySlippers, lun27, and sshanholtzer44 for your reviews! You review pretty much every chapter and it means so much to me that you always take the time to leave me your comments.

I am in the last stretch of my semester at Uni and have a whole lot to get done in the next couple weeks, but I will try my absolute best to get the next couple chapters up on time!

I hope you guys have an awesome rest of your week!