A/N – As readers of Wicked Game will already know, I've made the decision to finish publishing my two stories in progress before the end of November. I know if I stuck with the same schedule, the final chapter of this would have been published right near the beginning of December, but I'm more than happy to add an extra chapter of this a week. So until the end of the story (which to be fair is only a handful more chapters), updates will be Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday.
Accusations.
Hermione sat quietly in the hospital waiting room, awaiting news of her boyfriend and Ginny. Hermione had been naturally concerned when she'd been informed that there'd been an accident at training, but her concern had turned to serious worry when she found out who was involved with the accident. By the time Hermione had made it over to the training ground, Theo had taken charge of the situation and help was on the way. With Harry, Hermione and Theo obviously wanting to stay with Draco and Ginny as they were moved to St Mungo's, Oliver had taken charge of the training and ensured the other players warmed down properly before they left.
Since then, Blaise, Alicia and Angelina had all arrived at the hospital for news of the injured pair. Theo had ensured that Lucius and Narcissa were aware of what had happened, and they were also now at the hospital in the waiting room. Harry had been the ones to call the Weasleys, and Molly and Arthur had arrived almost the same time as the Malfoys. Fred and George had arrived shortly after Alicia and Angelina got to the hospital, and they'd been accompanied by Ron.
When Molly had arrived, she'd been too worried to cause trouble, but Ron hadn't let his sister's accident stop him from making his mouth go. The second he'd discovered Draco was involved in the accident, he'd promptly set about blaming the blond wizard. According to Ron, Draco had deliberately caused the accident because he was worried that Ginny had stolen his chaser place, and he would be left without a place on the team if Harry chose to return to the young seeker once she was fully fit. It didn't matter that Ron hadn't been there, or had no idea on team politics, he was adamant he was right and nothing and no-once could change his mind. Worse of all, his attitude had riled Molly and she'd also spat a bit of venom at the Malfoys as she followed her son's lead and blamed Draco for the accident.
Most of Hermione's attention had been focused on Draco, and waiting for news on her boyfriend, but she'd been aware of Ron's ranting. It had saddened her that all of the progress Ron had made was wiped out in the course of one rant. Despite his promises it looked as though he was never going to change, and Hermione could now see that he would never be able to move on and give Draco a chance. She just couldn't see a way of having them both in her life, and given the way Ron was behaving, it was clear which one of them was going to end up being cut loose.
"What's taking so long?" Lucius grumbled, jolting Hermione from her thoughts. Thankfully Ron had quietened down, so for the last ten minutes the room had been silent as they all wondered how soon they would get some news.
"Maybe we should find someone and ask for some progress," Narcissa suggested.
"I'm sure the healers will be here as soon as they can," Theo said. "Their priority will be ensuring Draco and Ginny are okay."
"And let's just hope that's the case," Ron spat. "I swear, if my sister is badly hurt, I'll make that blond snake regret it. We'll sue him for every Knut he's got."
"You can't take legal action against Draco," Angelina gasped. "It was an accident. You've played quidditch Ron, you know it's a dangerous sport at times."
"It's especially dangerous when you've got sons of Death Eaters out to cause trouble," Ron sneered.
"No-one was trying to cause trouble," Alicia argued. "I saw the entire thing, and it was a pure accident. Draco didn't fly into Ginny deliberately, if anything he was the one taken by surprise."
"You better not be trying to blame my daughter for this," Molly seethed, glaring at her son's girlfriend.
"I'm not," Alicia replied. "The accident wasn't Ginny's fault, nor was it Draco's. They were both focused on their own game. It was a pure accident, and neither of them could have prevented it."
"Let's wait and see when Ginny wakes up," Ron said snappishly. "She might tell an entirely different story."
Alicia opened her mouth to reply, before shaking her head in dismay and twisting around in her seat so that she couldn't see Ron or Molly. Hermione could tell that Alicia didn't see the point of arguing as both Ron and Molly had made up their minds over what had happened. In their eyes Draco was the bad guy, and nothing anyone said was going change their minds.
Fortunately at that very moment the door to the relative's waiting room opened and a tall, dark haired healer entered the room. Hermione recognised him as Healer Ball, one of the healers who had taken charge of Draco and Ginny when they were admitted. No sooner had the healer entered the room than he was bombarded with questions from all corners, with everyone wanting answers about Draco and Ginny.
"First things first," Healer Ball said, quietening everyone down and taking one of the spare seats. "Both Mr Malfoy and Miss Weasley are stable, and they're in no immediate danger. They obviously collided with some force, and further injuries were sustained when they hit the ground. Unfortunately, Miss Weasley must have landed underneath Mr Malfoy, so she had a few extra injuries."
"I told you it was all his fault," Ron spat, glaring accusingly at Hermione and the Malfoys.
"The injuries sustained in the fall were no-one's fault," Healer Ball corrected. "I think there was a very good chance both Mr Malfoy and Miss Weasley were unconscious before they hit the ground. From their injuries, I would say the top of Miss Weasley's head crashed into Mr Malfoy's chin, rendering them both unconscious."
"Are they still unconscious?" Harry asked.
"They are," Healer Ball replied. "We are monitoring Miss Weasley for a head injury, but until she wakes up there's a few tests we can't complete."
"When will she wake up?" Arthur demanded.
"I can't say at this point," Healer Ball said. "It should be within the next twelve hours."
"And if it isn't?" Harry asked in a quiet voice.
"Then there's a problem we haven't found," Healer Ball replied. "But let's not worry about things that haven't happened. She's stable now, and I can allow visitors to her room, no more than three at a time."
"And what about our son?" Lucius asked as the Weasleys started to sort out a schedule for everyone to visit Ginny.
"He's also still unconscious, but he's showing signs of coming round. He should be awake in a few hours," Healer Ball said. "I can also allow him to have visitors, three at a time."
"You two go and visit him first," Lucius said to Blaise and Theo. "Then Narcissa and I can sit with him and Hermione can join us. We'll let you know when he wakes up."
"I'll then get back to the club," Theo said to Hermione. "You and Harry should both stay here. I can make sure things are okay and everything's locked up."
"Thanks, Theo," Hermione said with a small smile.
While Blaise and Theo went to see their friend before going home, Hermione turned back to the Weasleys. Molly and Arthur had both disappeared with Ron, and Harry explained that Ginny's parents were staying with her and the others were visiting one at a time.
"I'm going last, so I can stay," Harry said.
"I'm going to stay with Draco," Hermione said. "But once he's awake, I'll come and see Ginny."
"I will come and see Draco, but not yet," Harry said quietly.
"You don't blame him, do you?" Hermione asked warily. Harry had been very quiet since their arrival, and he'd said nothing when Ron was making his mouth go.
"No," Harry replied. "I believe it was a genuine accident."
"But you're still a bit mad at him," Hermione summarised.
"I wouldn't say mad," Harry said. "But I can't help being frustrated. From the sounds of things, he's going to wake up soon, and they don't know when Ginny will do the same, or if she'll even wake up."
"You can't think like that, Harry," Hermione said softly, taking hold of Harry's hand in hers. "Ginny will wake up, I know she will. But she's smaller than Draco, the fall was probably harder on her. Please don't hate Draco for not being as badly hurt."
"I don't hate him," Harry assured his friend. "But I'm sure you can understand how I'm feeling. It's not about Draco himself, it's more about the situation. Wouldn't you be slightly put out if Ginny was about to wake up, and they still had no idea when Draco would do the same."
Hermione considered what Harry was saying, before she nodded her head and agreed that her friend had a point. The accident was no-one's fault, but for some reason, Draco had seemingly come out of it better. Just over an hour later, he was on the way to waking up, yet there was no sign of Ginny doing the same. If the positions had been reversed, Hermione could admit that she might be slightly annoyed with the fact Ginny was recovering better.
"I will come to see Draco when I'm ready," Harry promised as Blaise and Theo poked their heads into the room to say they were heading home. "But you go and be with him. And Hermione, when he wakes up, don't let him blame himself."
"I'll try," Hermione replied, even though she didn't know how successful she would be. Even though his clash with Ginny was an accident, Hermione knew Draco well enough to know he would blame himself, especially when he discovered that Ginny was still unconscious.
Leaving Harry to await his turn in visiting Ginny, Hermione followed Draco's parents to the room where he'd been placed. When Hermione entered the room, she gasped at the sight of her boyfriend. Draco's chin and the left side of his face was severely bruised, clearly from where Ginny had crashed into him. If he was suffering from any other injuries, she couldn't see as he'd been changed into a hospital gown and was tucked into bed.
Hermione took the seat at the far side of Draco's bed, leaving the seats at the other side for his parents. Narcissa sank into one of the chairs, and took Draco's hand in hers, while Lucius plucked the healer's notes from the bottom of the bed and began to study them.
"How is he?" Hermione asked.
"You can see the facial bruising, and the fact he's unconscious," Lucius said, his grey eyes darting over the medical notes belonging to his son. "They don't think he's got a head injury, but there a note here to run some tests once he's awake. He broke his right ankle in two places. He also cracked three ribs, fractured his collar bone and sustained heavy bruising, both external and internal. All the bones have been fixed, but he's going to be tender for a few weeks."
"Just as long as he'll be okay," Narcissa whispered.
"He'll be okay," Lucius assured his wife as he replaced Draco's medical notes and sat down next to his wife. "Our son is strong, he'll get through this."
"And the Weasley girl?" Narcissa questioned. "If anything happens to her, Draco will never forgive himself. It may have been an accident, but he's going to blame himself, you just know he will."
"Then we're going to be here for him and reassure him that he wasn't to blame," Lucius replied firmly. "No-one blames Draco. Well aside from Molly and the youngest Weasley, but they're both trouble makers. And I have every confidence the young girl will be fine, she's seems like a tough little thing."
"She is," Hermione said. "Ginny will be just fine. She'll wake up just like Draco, and everything will be fine."
"See, you just have to have faith," Lucius said, smiling at his wife.
Praying that they were right, and everyone did wake up and emerge from the accident unscathed, focus returned to Draco as they waited for him to wake up. Thankfully it was a short wait and it wasn't long before he awoke. Once he was awake, Hermione and the Malfoys were shooed from the room while the healers finished assessing Draco. Twenty minutes later, they were allowed back into the room and greeted with the news that Draco had no long term damage. He would need to stay in hospital overnight for observation, then he could go home to recuperate.
"How's Ginny?" Draco questioned as soon as the healers and medi-witches had left him alone with Hermione and his parents. "The last thing I remember is getting a face full of red hair. We must have crashed into each other."
"You did," Hermione answered. "And Ginny's still unconscious. We'll know more when she's awake."
"She is going to wake up, isn't she?" Draco asked, the worry evident on his battered and bruised face.
"Of course she is," Hermione said reassuringly. "She's just not as robust as you. She's going to need a little bit longer to recover, but she's going to be fine. You both are."
"I hope so," Draco muttered.
"So do I," Hermione whispered to herself, not wanting to even contemplate Ginny not recovering. Everything would be fine, it had to be. The alternative was just too horrible to imagine.