A/N: Thanks to Avid Reader for reminding me that people are interested in this story! Sorry for the long while for the update, I put this story on hold and was writing something else, but I promise to finish this before I get back to that story. It would be poor form to neglect this story, it really does mean a lot to me.
ENJOY!
To say Hermione was nervous was to put it mildly. Everyone around her seemed to be
looking at her too long or too intently. Everyone seemed to be whispering about her. Once or twice she thought someone reached for a wand.
Being isolated with no one other than Ron and Harry for months made the simple activity of walking in a grocery feel as though she was shining a spotlight on herself in the middle of a crowded theater and belting out in song.
'Act normal, Hermione.' She chided herself. There was no real reason why anyone should be looking at her. She blended in perfectly. Her jeans, sweater and scarf seemed to be the uniform of all the women at the grocery. She didn't even look like herself. On the off chance there was a witch or wizard in the store, no one would recognize her.
She grabbed a basket and threw essentials in it. She consciously tried to keep the cost down, as their muggle funds were obviously limited. Bread, eggs, peanut butter, canned soup, canned vegetables, lots of pasta noodles and sauces. Her only luxury items were a couple muggle chocolate bars she threw in for Ron.
She was standing in line to pay when she felt it.
"It" was pain.
A pain hit her in the chest so badly, that she placed her hand over it. Her hand was now right over her heart. The women behind her asked, "are you ok, dear?" and Hermione nodded in return.
At first she thought she was hit by a spell, but it didn't feel like that. It felt detached from her body, like an afterthought. She thought briefly of phantom pains she read about when she was younger. How someone could loose an arm, but it would still hurt years afterwards.
"Fine, thanks." She whispered. Hermione felt anything but fine. This, she didn't understand. She wasn't injured. She hadn't been hit with anything. But still, now that the sudden pain had faded, she was left with a dull but continuous ache.
She continued through the check out trying to look normal, but her face was contorted in thought. Something was wrong, she was sure of it. Was it Ron again? Like the dream?
The thought that her ache could be related to Ron made her nervous. For one, that meant something was wrong with Ron. But for two, what was this new connection between the two of them and where was it coming from?
As she pondered, she remembered something else that was strange. Ron, before falling asleep, had said "It was always you, too." What did he mean by that. It was as though he was responding to something she had said. What was her?
It hit her as suddenly as the pain did. Right before he apparated into the tent with Kreacher, hadn't she been lying in bed? Hadn't she said out loud in a whisper 'It was you. There never even was a choice. It was always you.'
Had he heard her and then answered her? How could that be possible? She would have to ask him when he woke up.
Panic started creeping in again. If there was a connection then this new pain in her chest might mean Ron is not waking up again soon.
She thanked the check out lady and hastily carried her groceries away from the store. She had to get a safe distance away from the muggle town before she could apparate back to the tent.
Along the walk, Hermione began to realize how tired she was. She hadn't slept more than a few hours of very unrestful sleep since Ron disappeared and his dramatic return. Before that, she hadn't slept in a full day. The stress of Ron's return and the adrenaline of making sure they were safe and that Ron had food had kept her awake for a while, but she could feel her body slowing down. She was exhausted.
She got ready to apparate, focusing on that and that alone. Apparateing while this exhausted could be dangerous. It kept your body from focusing on the task at hand, and could result in her splinching herself.
"Focus Hermione" she chided herself. And with that, she thought of the tent and of Ron, before turning on the spot.
Harry heard the pop of Hermione's return and could have cried in relief.
He darted from the tent. "Hermione! Hermione! Hermione!" He couldn't see her because of the protective charms, so he began taking them down as quickly as he could.
"Harry! What is it? Stop yelling! Do you want to tell every snatcher within 10 miles where we are?" Hermione hissed. Clearly taken aback by Harry's frantic behavior.
"It's Ron. Something's wrong with him" Harry explained, but as soon as he said "It's Ron," Hermione took off running towards the tent. Her grocery bags lay forgotten on the ground.
Harry picked up the bags, thinking maybe they contained something useful, before running after her.
Hermione stopped short when she entered the tent. Ron looked so weak and so pale; it physically pained her to see him like this. He was shaking and covered with sweat. Harry had obviously cleaned off most of the blood that had caked Ron's face, and underneath the blood, he looked like a sick child.
It might have been her imagination, but he looked as though he was in pain. It broke her heart.
She sat next to him and brought her hand to his forehead. It was cool and clammy to her touch. When she touched him, he moaned slightly and unconsciously moved towards her.
Harry looked on as Hermione placed her hand to Ron's head. Her expression was so tender, so loving, that Harry found himself feeling once again as though he was intruding on a private moment.
"Do you think it's from all the blood loss?" Harry asked. He had been hesitant to interrupt the moment but also nervous about Ron's deteriorating condition.
For a second, he thought Hermione hadn't heard him. Her eyes hadn't left Ron's since she walked in the tent and she made no indication that she heard anything Harry said to her.
Then, quick as a flash, she ripped open her small beaded bag with such force that Harry fierd she'd rip it.
"Accio Mr. Weasley's Medication!" Hermione yelled, pointing her wand towards the bag.
"What?" Harry asked, surprised. What medication of Ron's dad did Hermione have in her little bag?
A small bottle popped out of her bag and into her hand.
"Harry, hold up his head and tilt it back. We need to get him to swallow this."
"What is it?" Harry asked. Suddenly he remembered that he hadn't checked to make sure Hermione really was Hermione when she returned from the grocery. Her hair was still the same jet black as his, her eyes the same blue as Ron's.
What if someone had attacked Hermione, impersonated her, and was now about to poison Ron?
Just as Harry was about to raise his wand and question her, he remembered the tender look on her face when she was looking at Ron. No one could fake that. It was definitely Hermione.
He sat on the head of Ron's bed and lifted the upper half of Ron's body up towards him. "Come on mate, up you go" He said gently, and Ron moaned as Harry helped him sit up a bit.
"What are you giving him, Hermione?" Harry asked as his eyes followed Hermione's to the small bottle in her hand. She was pulling off the top.
"Remember 5th year? When Ron's dad got bitten by the snake?" Hermione asked, as she moved closed to Ron.
"Yeah…"
"Remember how he let the healer try muggle stitches on him. Ms. Weasley almost had a heart attack and killed him herself." She continued.
"Yeah…" Harry said, still not catching on.
"He had to take blood-replenishing potion every hour. Ultimately he healed, but he had a couple of bottles around the house in case he relapsed. Remember it took them so long to figure out how to stop it? The healer gave him some extra in case he got worse again. He gave them too me when he saw me collecting supplies before we left."
"BRILLIANT" Harry shouted. They had the potion on hand!
"Come on Ron" he coaxed, trying to get his friend to respond enough to swallow a potion.
"Pinch his nose" Hermione commanded, and Harry did so. Ron responded by opening his mouth to breath better, and when he did, Hermione tipped the potion in his mouth. She immediately clasped her hand over his open mouth, so he wouldn't spit it back up.
He swallowed and they immediately released him.
"Now what?" Harry asked, looking anxiously at Ron.
"We wait, and give him another dose in an hour if he doesn't get better" Hermione replied.
Next Chapter: we will learn what the connection between Ron and Hermione is all about! I hope you are enjoying. Please, it would mean a lot to me if you told me what you think of the story. Thanks so much.