Epilogue
Hermione awoke to the sound of someone groaning. She was disoriented at first. Where am I? She had never felt so bone-tired. The pain in her side was piercing and it was painful to breathe. Her leg felt heavy and ached almost as much as her side. She had a moment of panic before she realized that she was in St. Mungo's. She looked down to see that her whole leg was in a cast. A painful memory of her thigh bone snapping and tearing through her flesh caused a shiver to run down her spine. She remembered a curse tearing through her side and a Death Eater bleeding. So much blood. The shook her head, trying to clear the image. She had no idea how she'd gotten to the hospital.
She heard the groan again and knew it was Ron. With great difficulty she sat up to see where he was. Three beds over, he was thrashing about, clearly in the throws of a nightmare. Hermione pushed back her covers and pulled her leg over so she could stand. Pain shot up her leg and raced up her side as she stood. She sifted her weight to her other leg and stars exploded behind her eyes as the pain in her side raced up and down her whole body. She steadied herself against the bed for a moment before starting a slow journey toward Ron. She had to use the two beds she passed to hold herself up, too exhausted and too focused on getting to Ron, to even look to see who occupied them. Her mind felt foggy as if she'd been drugged. She knew there had been a battle but the specifics seemed beyond her reach for the moment.
It took forever to make it across the room. Finally, she stood by Ron's bed, her breathing ragged from the effort. One side of his face was covered in bandages. He moaned pitifully in his sleep.
"I'm here, Ron," she said, pulling his covers back and getting next to him on her good side, using her hands to get her wounded leg on the bed. "I'm right here." She kissed his bare shoulder and he seemed to calm some. "I'm right here," she repeated as she fell asleep.
~Finis~
Author's Note: Thank you for reading. If you enjoyed this story, please fav or follow it, or leave me a comment, and share. It really helps the algorithm show my stories to other readers. If you like my work, I have several books out with Red Adept Publishing. The latest is an urban fantasy, The 7000 Souls of Alma Drake. I also have a mystery series, The Annie Fitch Mysteries: Exposed Fury and Hidden Fury. Or my first book, a contemporary romantic novel, One Big Beautiful Thing. All titles are available anywhere books are sold and on all digital platforms. Have a look. 😊