My darlings, I'm so glad you're all enjoying my story. I'll be honest, i didn't think it was going to be this well received. But I have been happily proven wrong. Thank you dears.
-Steph
Chapter Four
Hermione had been staring at silent darkness for an eternity. There had been noises for a minute. Strange, garbled sounds that she could make no sense of. And then silence. She could not feel anything. There were no smells. No sense of space. There was only her mind, and this lonely stretch of nothing.
'Just OPEN your eyes,' she told herself for the hundredth time. 'It's something you do ALL THE TIME! How hard could it be to just...'
"Open your eyes, Miss Granger," a kind voice spoke from somewhere near her head. "If I have timed the potions correctly, you should be able to open your eyes any minute now. Give us a try, dearie."
'Potions?' thought Hermione, confused. She struggled to open her eyes, and succeeded by about a fraction of an inch. Squinting in the harsh white lights, Hermione tried to figure out where she was. This was most certainly NOT her closet. Nor was it any other room in George's house. This room was clean and white and smelled extremely sterile. 'A hospital?' she wondered. It wasn't until her eyes landed on the calm face of Madame Pomfrey, that she figured it out.
Hermione's eyes flew open in shock, and she stared openly at the woman sitting to her right.
"Good. Good," Madame Pomfrey said, nodding her head, and making notes on a clipboard with her quill. "Are you feeling any nausea or discomfort?" she asked softly, looking Hermione up and down.
Hermione could only stare. She had spent so much time being quiet, not talking to a soul, she wondered if she had forgotten how. She shook her head slightly, and continued to stare, feeling her eyes fill up with tears. She was free? She was FREE! She was free, and she was SAFE here in the wizarding world, and she began to sob earnestly. Relieved.
Madame Pomfrey moved as if to touch Hermione's hand, and changed her mind. She got up and hurried over to her office, coming back with a bottle and a small glass. She poured a dash of the potion into the glass and held it to Hermione's lips. "Drink up. A little Dreamless Sleep, dearie. You'll feel much better when you awake again," she said gently tipping the potion down Hermione's throat.
And Hermione slept.
When she woke again, she noted that the curtains had been pulled around her bed, and the room was slightly darker. She sat up slowly, pushing up with her arms and scooting herself back to lean against the metal bedframe. She could hear quiet murmurs on the other side of the curtain. Hermione stared at her hands clasped in her lap. She was free. And yet, she didn't feel any different. She was still lost. She was still broken. She was still just a shell of her former self. And now, she had to pretend to be normal. To go on with her life despite the horrific memories still holding her hostage.
Hermione jumped as Dumbledore pulled back the curtain and stepped into her space.
"My apologies, Miss Granger. I did not intend to frighten you," Professor Dumbledore said quietly, pulling a chair over to sit beside her bed. "I was hoping to have a chat and clear up some of the unknown, and then i have an escort waiting in the hall to take you to your room. It is almost curfew and I thought it best for you, given the current situation, if you were able to get to your room quickly and unseen."
Hermione nodded. She did not like the knowing, pitying look that Dumbledore was giving her over the top of his half-moon spectacles. She could only imagine what they had seen upon arriving to her rescue, and she hated that someone would have that image of her stored in their memories. 'THREE someones!' she thought to herself, horrified.
"I assume by your unusual silence," he began, "that you are still in a state of shock. Miss Granger, that is perfectly normal. I would expect nothing less from someone who has been through so much horror."
Hermione's eyes welled up with tears once again. 'Yes," she thought. "I most certainly know a thing or two about horrors."
Professor Dumbledore handed her a handkerchief stitched with the initials AWPBD, and allowed her a moment to dab at her eyes and collect herself, before continuing on.
"In light of the dire and drastic circumstances, you WILL be allowed to keep the Head Girl position. However, you will be excused from all duties and classes the first week, for rest and recuperation. The healing process is most important. This week off is mandatory, Miss Granger."
Hermione nodded, trying hard not to completely fall apart in front of the professor. Head Girl was a title she had strived for ever since arriving at Hogwarts. And now it seemed so trivial. It no longer held the rewarding, self-respect that she had always imagined she would feel. And that confused her. But she had no desire, at this time, to voice any of her thoughts.
Dumbledore regarded her silently for a moment, twirling a finger in his long flowing beard, before standing and preparing to leave. "I'm terribly sorry for what you've had to go through, Miss Granger," he stated, looking into her eyes and placing a hand on her bedrail. "No witch should ever have to endure such terrible acts of man. Just know, that if you ever need an ear, there are many people in this school, that would be willing to lend one," he finished kindly.
Before Hermione even registered what was happening, she found that she had thrown herself into the old professor's arms, squeezing him tightly around the middle, and sobbing once again. "Thank you," she whispered roughly, over and over again. "Thank you, thank you, thank you,"she said, allowing him to pat her gently on the back.
"There is no need for thanks, Miss Granger, but you are most assuredly welcome," Dumbledore smiled warmly after she had disentangled herself. "Now, I believe Poppy would like to fuss over you for a minute before discharge," he chuckled, then smiled warmly once again. "Goodnight, Miss Granger. I shall see you about."
And he walked out, replaced immediately by Madame Pomfrey. She waved her wand over Hermione slowly, starting at her toes and ending at her head, the wand light glowing several different colors. "Everything is coming along nicely," Madame Pomfrey stated, matter-of-factly. "Now dear," she started nervously, clearly uncomfortable with the topic, "I fixed everything as best I could. You have minimal scarring from the lacerations you revived. Unfortunately, i could do nothing for the scarring on your face," she said, obviously displeased with herself. "I also need to inform you, that with the use of both spells and potions, I was able to reverse the internal trauma and scarring to your pubic area."
Hermione stared at her with wide eyes. What did that mean, 'reverse the trauma'? What did that imply?
As if reading her mind, Madame Pomfrey shook her head slightly, "I have repaired the tissue damage, but there's no spell or potion I can use to give back what was taken from you, understand?" she asked softly.
Hermione nodded, numbly. There was no way to replace her innocence. That would forever remain stolen. A part of her that was lost indefinitely. She felt her mind trying to shut down again, but she forced herself to remain present.
"I'll go inform your escort that you will be ready to leave in a few moments. Would you like some help getting into your clothes?" Madame Pomfrey offered.
Hermione shook her head violently. She would dress herself. She had had enough of being dressed by someone else, thank you very much.
She climbed out of the hospital bed slowly, feeling shaky. She found a pair of loose white lounge pants and a plain white short sleeve shirt sitting on the table beside her, and pulled them on as quick as she could. Stepping out of the curtain, she saw Madame Pomfrey coming out of her office with a small vial.
"More Dreamless Sleep, dearie, for when you get to your room. And I'll have some sent to you to get you through the next week," Madame Pomfrey stated, placing it into Hermione's outstretched hand, leading her over to the door.
Hermione opened the door to the hospital wing and came face to face with Draco Malfoy.
