DISCLAIMER:As I'm sure you are all aware, I am not J.K. Rowling, and I do not own Harry Potter. I do however thank J.K. Rowling for creating such a wonderful world for me and all other fanfic writers to borrow and play with for a while.
A/N: I'm so sorry for the delay with this chapter, I actually thought I submitted it a couple weeks ago, so I've been working on the next chapter until last night when I realize I never posted this one. (oops!) As always, a big thank you to everyone who reviewed last chapter, your coments always make me smile. And now, I hope you enjoy this chapter!
Chapter 15: Waiting
About 20 minutes after Draco was shunted to the waiting room, Harry, Ron, Arthur, Molly, Tonks and Lupin paraded into the waiting room to find Draco sitting in a chair looking so much like a zombie it was frightening. Not one of them seemed the least surprised to find him there, however they did seem a little concerned by his zombie-like state. Draco looked up at all of them, but he didn't smile or speak, he just watched them with a blank face as they walked by. They all sat in the same general area, but no one was daring enough to sit next to Draco.
"How is she?" Mrs. Weasley asked.
Draco shrugged, "they won't let me see her." A casual listener might have thought that Draco was indifferent to the situation based on his tone, but those who listened closely would have heard a note of dejection in his voice, no one around him failed to notice it.
"Dumbledore went to get Hermione's parents," said Tonks in a calm voice, "maybe the healers will be more willing to tell them what's going on."
Draco tried to smile at the thought, but it turned out to be more of a grimace, so he quickly gave up.
Sure enough, moments later Dumbledore walked in with Mr. and Mrs. Granger close behind, each pale with worry. Mrs. Weasley was the first to leap to her feet and envelope Mrs. Granger in a tight hug; being a mother herself, she could imagine the pain and worry Hermione's parents were feeling. "The healers are taking good care of her. Hermione is a very strong girl she will be fine."
Mrs. Granger nodded, but that did not stop her tears from falling down her cheeks. She wiped them away and put on a brave smile, "thank you Molly, and everyone, you all mean so much to Hermione." Her eyes met with Draco's and for the first time that night, Draco felt as if someone understood and felt his pain.
Just as Draco was about to stand so that both Grangers could sit, Jill stepped in and began talking while looking down at a piece of parchment, "Draco, Hermione is, oh!" Jill stopped short once she looked up and saw the crowd of people anxiously watching her, including Draco who had sprung out of his seat at the sound of his name.
"Are all of you here for Hermione?" Jill asked.
"Yes they are, how is she?" Draco answered for them; by his tone it was clear how irritated he was.
"Wonderful, well then, she is doing well, her breathing has improved, and we are monitoring it very closely for any changes."
"Is she awake? Can we see her?" again it was Draco who spoke for everyone.
"No, she has not woken up yet. And I'm sorry, but until her condition is stable, only family can come in," Jill looked at Draco directly as she spoke, for she had a feeling that his reaction would be worse than the others.
And in a way she was right; because while Harry and Ron started protesting in loud voices, Draco's eyes flashed dangerously and his jaw tightened. Jill, who had felt bad about kicking him out before, was now positively frightened of Draco. She had dealt with ranting and raving guests like the other two boys plenty of times, but Draco's silent glare of pure hate sent shivers down her spine; all she wanted was to get away from him as fast as she possibly could.
Lucky for Jill, Mr. Granger immediately spoke up, "we are her parents."
"Excellent," Jill smiled, more with relief than anything else, "follow me then." Jill and the two Grangers down the hall to Hermione's room.
Draco slammed himself back in his seat and glared at the floor. The others decided to ignore him and give him time to cool down. Since no one really felt like talking, ignoring Draco wasn't a difficult thing to do. The silence lingered for over half an hour until Hermione's parents returned. Everyone snapped to attention, eager to hear the latest update. It was clear by her red eyes that Mrs. Granger had been crying, and Mr. Granger didn't appear much better, nevertheless, both put on smiles for the group.
"Well, she's breathing," confirmed Mrs. Granger, "and they've managed to clear the majority of the blood from her lungs. But she's not responding to anything, and the healers aren't sure how long it will take her to wake up. They say for some it takes days, even weeks."
"But she will wake up," said Mrs. Weasley in an encouraging tone.
"The healers say they will be able to tell us more when she begins responding. For now, all we can do is wait."
"Will they let us see her any time soon?" asked Harry.
"They want her breathing to get stronger, but they said that once it has reached a certain level, they'll let friends in one or two at a time," said Mr. Granger. "For now they suggested that we all go home to rest and they'll contact us when her breathing strengthens."
"What!" cried Harry and Ron.
"We're not going anywhere until Hermione wakes up!" asserted Ron.
"Dear you heard them, it could take days," soothed Mrs. Weasley.
"Yes, and since there is nothing we can do here now, I believe it is best we return to headquarters, we have much to discuss," said Dumbledore.
"Like what? It's over!" cried Ron.
"Like how to locate and capture the remaining Death Eaters, there are many still at large, and if we don't begin now, they will continue to roam free. We also should discuss how to deal the wizarding community's reactions to Voldemort's death."
Having no argument to this, Ron hung his head and muttered, "fine." He and Harry reluctantly stood along with the other Order members; Draco however remained resolutely seated.
"Hello, Earth to Malfoy, we're leaving," said Harry as he rolled his eyes at the stubborn Slytherin.
"I'm not going anywhere," stated Draco while continuing to stare at the floor.
"This meeting is for everyone, not everyone except Malfoy," said Ron.
"See Weasley, that is where you're wrong." Draco smirked as he stood to face Harry and Ron. "I agreed to work with you and obey your stupid Order rules until Hermione was safe. Thankfully, now she is, and therefore I no longer have to do what you, Dumbledore or anyone else says. I'm staying," he said in a tone, which left no room for argument.
Harry and Ron glared incredulously at Draco before turning to Dumbledore as if looking for backup.
"Draco is correct," Dumbledore smiled, "as he is not an actual member of the Order, he has no business at this meeting. I had however hoped, "Dumbledore now turned his attention to Draco, "that you would reconsider my offer to join the Order Draco."
Draco slowly turned his attention from Harry and Ron to Dumbledore and stated quite simply, "no, I did what I said I would do, and that's it. I'm done."
Dumbledore nodded, he did not seem surprised at all, "very well then, we will see you when we return."
Draco just looked at the old wizard, clearly showing that he had no care to see any of them again. He remained standing until everyone except the Grangers were gone. Only then did he sit down and allow his 'I don't give a damn about anything' façade slip to reveal the pain and worry he was truly feeling. It was something that everyone had been able to sense before, but now seeing the emotions so plainly written on his face was heart wrenching to Mrs. Granger.
She pulled Draco into a tight hug to which he didn't know how to respond until it was over. "Oh Draco," said a teary-eyed Mrs. Granger, "we'll get them to let you see her, I know Hermione would like that."
"I saw her when I first got here, I was with her when Jill came in and kicked me out," muttered Draco.
"Well, we'll make sure you get to see her again then."
"She was awake when I found her," Draco sent an almost timid gaze to Mrs. Granger as he spoke.
Both of the Grangers eyes went wide as they anxiously waited for Draco to continue.
"I tried to protect her, but I couldn't stop the Dark Lord from hurting her. He magically choked her, and after that she passed out. I'm sorry. I couldn't…I didn't get there fast enough."
"No," Mrs. Granger shook her head and Draco was surprised to find that she looked rather angry with him. "No Draco you will not talk like that. Hermione is here, she is safe, and she will be fine. And right now she needs all of us to be strong for her."
It was one of the few times in his life that Draco had ever felt ashamed, it took him a a moment to gather the courage to look Mrs. Granger in the eye, "you're right." Draco took a deep breath to clear his head.
"Dear, why don't you go home and get some rest, you look exhausted."
Draco turned away and resumed staring at the floor. "No, I can't even think about sleep until she wakes up."
This time Mrs. Granger did not argue with him or scold him; instead she brushed his hair back off his forehead the way a mother would fuss over her son.
Draco glanced up and gave Mrs. Granger a half-grin. He had been thinking about showing Hermione's parents the letter that Hermione had written, but in the end had decided against it. He couldn't bring himself to show them their daughter's moment of desperation, when she had nearly lost hope.
- - - - - - - - - -
Draco remained sitting silent and awake for the entire night. Mr. and Mrs. Granger stayed at St. Mungo's as well, though after several hours, they had fallen asleep in their chairs. Draco had no concept of how long he had been sitting there until Potter and Weasley walked in along with Mrs. Weasley.
"How's she doing?" asked Harry.
Draco shrugged, "the same"
"Can we see her yet?"
Draco frowned and glared at the floor, "no."
Harry and Ron sighed and took a seat beside Mrs. Weasley across from Draco.
"Where are Hermione's parents?" asked Mrs. Weasley.
"The cafeteria, getting breakfast," Draco stated. His voice was oddly monotone and it was disconcerting to Harry and Ron who were accustomed to Draco's usual drawl.
"Dear aren't you hungry too?" Mrs. Weasley asked.
Draco may have been exhausted, but that did not diminish his inner reaction towards hearing the weasel's mother refer to him as 'dear.' "No," he spat.
"You don't have to stay here all the time, it's okay to get something to eat, or sleep. You look like you've been here all night," continued Mrs. Weasley.
"Yeah Malfoy, you look like hell," added Ron, earning a reprimanding glance from his mother.
Harry however added in a thoughtful tone, "he looks the same way Hermione looked in 6th year, when he was the one lying in a hospital bed unconscious."
Draco didn't speak, but it was clear Harry's statement had an effect on him. His throat tightened, his glare weakened and a sad frown formed on his lips.
From that point on no one spoke much, the Grangers returned from breakfast and sat with everyone. Mrs. Granger brought back a croissant for Draco; he thanked her for it, but did not eat it. The very thought of food made his stomach churn. A few minutes after the Granger's returned, a healer came into the waiting room and informed them that Hermione's condition appeared stable enough to allow visitors. The news of course excited everyone, though the healer did add that Hermione remained unconscious, so there was little they'd be able to do other than sit and look at her.
First, the healer led Mr. and Mrs. Granger in to see their daughter. Back in the waiting room, Draco, Harry and Ron were all sending each other looks as if they were silently arguing over who would get to see Hermione first. In Draco's mind there was no question that he would be first, he was merely challenging Potter and Weasley to suggest otherwise.
But despite their legendary Gryffindor bravery, neither dared to rise to Draco's silent challenge. So when Mr. and Mrs. Granger returned, Draco stood up right away while Harry and Ron remained seated. Draco couldn't help smirking as he walked through the halls over his mini victory over Potter and the weasel.
But his smirk vanished the moment he found himself outside Hermione's door. With a deep breath, he turned the knob and let himself in. Hermione looked pretty much the same as she had the last time he'd seen her. In fact, the only difference in the room was the two chairs positioned beside her bed where her parents had presumably been sitting.
Draco seated himself in one of the chairs and took Hermione's hand in both of his. He brought her hand to his lips and kissed it. "Hey Hermione," he spoke in a quiet tone, which he hoped sounded happier than he felt.
"The healers say you're doing much better now, so I know you'll be awake soon. I'm sorry I didn't get to stay longer last time, they kicked me out and I've been in the waiting room ever since.
Draco sat in silence for a moment before his emotions finally got the better of him. "Come on Hermione! Snap out of it, you're fine, I know you are!" He gripped her hand tight and stood so that he was hovering over her. He was glaring at her, not with anger, but with desperation. He needed her to wake up, he could not even think about anything else.
"This wasn't how it was supposed to happen, you weren't supposed to get hurt! I was supposed to come save you and bring you home, and then after that I was going to give you this ring and ask you to marry me!" We were going to be happy together for the rest of our lives!" Draco took the ring out of his pocket and put it in Hermione's hand, then he closed her fingers around it so she was holding it tight.
"Don't give up on this Hermione! I read all that stuff you wrote about wanting to kill yourself, but then you couldn't because you wanted us to spend our lives together. Well, I want that too! But I can't ask you to marry me and I can't give you this ring until you wake up. Please wake up so we can be together, I need you."
By the end of his tirade, Draco's exhaustion bean to take its toll on him. He sat back down, removed the ring from Hermione's hand and placed his own hand in its place. Again, he brought her hand to his lips and kissed it. Only this time he could have sworn that he felt her squeeze his hand back. It was very small, and only for a second, but it caused his heart to nearly pound out of his chest.
"Hermione," his voice shook with nervous anticipation, "can you hear me?"
Nothing happened.
"Can you feel this?" Draco kissed her hand again, "show me you can feel me."
This time Draco was sure he felt her hand lightly squeeze his. He stared at her face with a relieved smile, "we will be together, I promise you that." Draco stood and gave Hermione a tender kiss on the lips, which seemed to cause Hermione to take a deeper breath. Draco's smile broadened as he continued to gaze at her. Deep down he knew that she was going to wake up soon, and everything would be perfect.
However, not a moment later, the peace in the room was disturbed by a rather stern looking witch who opened the door and stomped in; to Draco, this mediwitch had a strong resemblance to a pit bull. "Your time is up," she barked, "the patient needs her rest."
"I'm not disturbing her, all I'm doing is sitting here."
"She has other visitors and she needs to be alone to recover properly."
Draco sneered and remained in his seat.
"Young man, get out now, " the mediwitch growled as she wrenched Draco's arm from Hermione's hand and pulled him towards the door.
The moment that his hand left Hermione's, a dark orange light formed around Hermione's chest and a steadily increasing beeping noise sounded throughout the room.
"What's going on?" demanded Draco.
"Get out now!" ordered the mediwitch.
But before Draco could even open his mouth t argue, a healer and three mediwitches, including Jill, came rushing into the room and forced Draco out. Before he knew it, he was standing in the hallway beside the pit bull-like mediwitch.
"Now are you happy?" she hissed "she's going into a stress-induced fit because of you!"
"She was fine before you showed up!" Draco roared. Drawing frightened and curious glances from the surrounding people. His yelling carried down the hall al the way to the waiting room, causing Harry, Ron, Mrs. Weasley and the Grangers to pile out to see what was going on.
"What happened?" demanded Harry.
But neither Draco nor the pit bull mediwitch were listening, "I have half a mind to have you escorted off the premises!" threatened the mediwitch.
"There's not enough room in that in that thick skull of yours for half a thought let alone half a mind!" sneered Draco.
The rest of the group frowned at Draco wondering what he could have done to cause such a stir. "Leave it to Malfoy to cause a scene," muttered Ron.
"In a hospital no less," added Harry under his breath.
But Draco was not done ranting, "you've got no reason to kick me out anyway, all I did was sit there! You're the one who should be kicked out, she was fine before you showed up!"
The pit bull mediwitch looked livid, but at that point, Hermione's door opened, and Jill came out looking very calm. "I'll handle this Claire," she said to the pit bull mediwitch.
"Hmph," Claire scowled as she stomped away.
"Is she okay?" Draco asked, his rage quickly transforming into concern.
"She's calmed down enough, but if you don't mind, I'd like a word with you."
"I swear she was fine until that bi-"
"I'm not accusing you Draco," Jill interrupted, "I just want to ask you a couple questions,"
"Fine."
Jill began to lead Draco away when Harry forced them to stop. "Can we still see Hermione?"
"You will be able to visit her when I get back, we won't be long."
"Well then, can we go with you?" Harry was curious to know what Jill wanted to ask Malfoy.
"I don't think that is necessary, just return to the waiting room, and I'll come by when we're done."
With that, Jill led Draco to an empty office and motioned for him to take a seat. She seated herself on the opposite side of the desk and started right in on the conversation. "Draco, before Claire came in, what were you doing?"
Draco's throat went dry at the thought of answering that question. Unconsciously he swallowed and licked his lips and put his hand over the ring box in his pocket. He looked anywhere except at Jill and kept his face cold and stern. He couldn't tell her what he had actually done. Something told him that kissing Hermione while she was unconscious wouldn't exactly go over well, but at the time he couldn't help himself. Plus there was no way in hell he was going to tell Jill about the ring, he hadn't even really shown Hermione the ring yet, at least not when she would have been able to see it. So there was no way he was about to show it to a relative stranger. "I was sitting there, holding her hand, and talking to her. That's it."
Jill nodded, though she did not even pretend to fully believe him, but she didn't say anything about it. "Well, did you notice anything? Any changes or causes for concern?"
Draco kept silent a moment, then upon deciding that there was no harm in telling her what he'd felt, "She squeezed my hand."
This immediately caught Jill's attention, "are you certain."
Draco nodded, "The first time I thought I might have imagined it, but the second time I'm sure of it. But what does that have to do with this, she was fine at that point."
"It supports my theory actually, I believe that Hermione's stress attack was caused by you."
Draco leapt out of his chair, "but I swear-"
"No, no, you misunderstand." Jill interrupted in a soothing voice, urging Draco to return to his seat. "I believe that the attack was her response to you being taken away. I believe that at some level, she can hear and even understand what is happening around her. This stress attack may actually be a good sign."
"Really?" Draco's face brightened.
Jill nodded, "of course we can't be sure until we do some tests."
"What kind of tests?"
"We are going to let everyone visit Hermione again, and this time I will be present to monitor the slightest changes in her breathing and stress levels. This will determine if the stress attack was a genuine reaction, or an indication of another problem."
"It's not another problem," asserted Draco.
Jill smiled and stood, "after this test, we can all be sure of that then."
Draco stood as well and then followed Jill all the way back to the waiting room where they were greeted by many anxious faces, including Mr. Weasley and Ginny, who had apparently arrived while Draco was meeting with Jill.
"Alright," Jill clapped her hands, "we are going to allow everyone to visit Hermione again. However, I will remain in the room to monitor any changes in her. We are trying to determine the cause of what happened earlier. "So you two are first," she gestured to Harry and Ron, who sprung out of their chairs and followed Jill out of the room.
Draco what happened?" asked Mrs. Granger.
Draco scanned the faces, which were all staring at him before answering. Were he alone with the Grangers, he would have been willing to go into more detail regarding exactly what happened. However, since there were others around, he went for a more general explanation. "They're not exactly sure. Hermione was fine until some stupid mediwitch came and kicked me out. Then all of a sudden she went into a panic attack or something. Now Jill wants to see if it was just a coincidence, or if Hermione was reacting to what happened."
Mrs. Granger nodded and smiled, but Draco could tell she was close to tears.
"She's going to wake up really soon, I can feel it," Draco felt an odd need to reassure the woman.
- - - - - - - - - -
Nearly an hour later, everyone except Draco had been in to visit Hermione, but so far there had been no change in her state. Now it was Draco's turn to visit again, but it was clear that Mrs. Granger wasn't ready to leave her daughter, so Draco consented to join her and Mr. Granger rather than wait until they left.
Mr. and Mrs. Granger slid over in order to allow Draco to sit by Hermione. Just as before, Draco took Hermione's hand and began speaking softly to her. "Hey Hermione, I'm back. You really gave me a scare before, you know. I know you were trying to wake up before you were ready, but you shouldn't rush. No matter how long it takes, I'll be here with you."
Following his speech, Draco felt Hermione's grip tighten slightly. At the same time he heard Jill gasp. Draco's head shot up, "you noticed that didn't you?"
"Noticed what?" demanded Mr. Granger.
"Yes I did," nodded Jill with an awed smile on her face.
"She squeezed my hand," Draco said in response to Mr. Granger's question.
"Mrs. Granger gasped and clutched her husband's arm tight.
"Does that mean she's waking up?" asked Mr. Granger.
"It could," said Jill, "it's certainly a good sign"
"Thank goodness!" cried Mrs. Granger.
Draco and the Granger's were allowed to stay with Hermione for another half hour, but nothing more happened. When it started to get late, and everyone else had gone home, Mrs. Granger invited Draco to stay at their house for the night, but he graciously declined. He told them that he was going to go home for the night, but in reality he planned on staying at St. Mungo's again. Now that he was certain that she could at least feel his presence, he was going to sneak into Hermione's room again and see what happened once they were alone again.
He bid goodbye to the Grangers and then made himself scarce by going down to the cafeteria and finally getting a bite to eat. He waited in a side hallway until he saw a mediwitch leave Hermione's room; that way he knew that no one would be coming in for quite some time, so he could be with Hermione undisturbed. He slipped into Hermione's room as nonchalantly as possible and immediately seated himself by her bed. He then took his hand in hers and began to talk.
"Hey Hermione, I'm back again, I know I'm not supposed to be, but I didn't want you to have to be alone all night. Plus, I also thought that maybe being here with you might help you wake up faster.
"I really miss you. I know I get to see you here now, but I miss you. I miss talking to you, and holding you, and looking into your beautiful eyes, hearing you laugh…" Draco was forced to stop because he was getting himself worked up, he could feel his throat constricting with the pent up emotions. He knew that he needed to at least sound happy and calm so that Hermione did not get worked up.
Draco didn't know how long he sat there, talking about random nothings just to fill the silence and give Hermione something to listen to; but when he jerked awake from dozing off in his chair, he knew that he had to go. Clearly, Hermione was not waking up today, and Draco wanted to be awake and refreshed when she did.
So it was with a heavy sigh that he stood up, kissed Hermione's forehead, whispered "I love you," in her ear, and then stepped out of her room on his way to the lobby so he could apparate home.
Draco was too tired to notice that Jill had spotted him slipping out of Hermione's room. She rolled her eyes and shook her head at the handsome young man who was clearly head over heels for the poor girl. Concerned that Hermione might be suffering from another panic attack, Jill entered her room to check on her. But unlike before, when Draco had been forced away, this time Hermione continued to rest soundly. Jill smiled at her patient as she made some notes about Hermione's stats. But then, as she was leaving the room, something very unexpected happened…
"Draco?"
A/N: I hope everyone liked this chapter, I know it was kind of a filler chapter, but I feel it was needed. Depending on how long I decide to make the next chapter, it could be the last. I know I have said that before, but this time I mean it, there are only one or two more chapter left of this story, and of this series, so I hope you enoy them!
P.S. I love reviews, then make me happy ;o)