Author's Note: Thank you to people who reviewed. It made me feel so guilty about not getting this up quickly -- yeah, thanks for the guilt, guys :P But seriously, I am sorry for not updating as quickly as expected. I had personal stuff that had to be dealt with, and I'll leave it at that. Against my usual-ness, I brought that 'before'-scenes-in-a-Midol-commercial-Hermione near the end (which is really bad, and I'm not just saying that for attention or whatever, it really is bad.) I kinda left off on a random lovey dovey cliffhanger, but I'm random, so whatever.
DisclaimerforstupidretartedpeoplewhodontunderstandthatIdontownHarryPotter: I don't own Harry Potter.
Extra Note: Ooh, my first "Extra Note", for people like me who are too lazy to go back to the original Author's Note. Anyways, I kinda didn't edit this. Shows my effort, I know, right? But I was just eager to get this updated once I finished writing this.
Tears of a Mourning Bookworm
Chapter Three: Orders of Lord Voldemort
It had been two hours since Harry had first arrived at the hospital, and Hermione had finally fallen asleep. Her calmness was rather strange now, since before the holidays, before this tragedy, she was almost always in a bad mood, snapping at her two best friends without warning. Hermione's stomache, enclosed in bandages, rose and fell effortlessly with each deep breath she took. She needed this, Harry thought; she needed rest, to escape from the terrible reality that had occured. And for some unknown reason, Harry couldn't take his eyes off her. There was something about her aura, perhaps, that drew his magnificent green eyes to her like one of Aunt Petunia's ugly apple magnets ("An apple a day keeps the doctor away!") against the Dursley's surgically-clean refridgerator.
Suddenly, Healer Kerrie bursted through the hospital doors, not really knowing or caring about Hermione's current state. "Hello, I'm -- " she began, but Harry immediately stood up and put his index finger to his lips, indicating silence. "Oh, I'm sorry," she said in a low whisper. "I didn't know that Miss Granger was asleep. But without Dreamless Potion...it's beyond me as to why she fell asleep this quickly..." The Healer got lost in her own thoughts as she carefully examined Hermione's bandages, making sure that they were still intact. "I suppose I should bring the others inside? They're so worried."
"How many 'others'?" Harry asked with clear curiousity and a bit of excitement to see them all again, and worry with them. He knew that the Ginny, Fred, George, and some of Order would be nervous for Hermione.
"A red-haired bunch, this attitude-ish veela lady, a scruffy middle-aged man, and some woman with short pink hair," Healer Kerrie said absently as she flattened out the bedsheets. Harry fought a bit of laughter at the way she described the Weasleys, Fleur, Lupin, and Tonks. "I know that Miss Granger didn't really want to see anyone else, but they'd like to see her. I'll bring them in then!" she said hastily, rushing towards the door.
Immediately, the group that the Healer had previously described darted into the room as fast as a Golden Snitch. They all opened their mouths to say words of comfort, but using the same indication that he showed to the Healer before, Harry warned them to whisper. Mrs. Weasley was the quickest to the edge of Hermione's hospital bed. Tears ran down her cheeks and Mr. Weasley sat beside his wife, holding her in his embrace and casting nervous glances at Hermione here and there. Ron rushed to Harry's side and asked, "D'you think that she's gonna be alright?"
Harry shrugged his shoulders. "Dunno. She was crying before, you know, and at first she didn't want me to see."
"Weird. Usually, she has no problems showing us her tears," Ron said. Harry threw him a look and took to looking at the others, who were looking back at him as well as Hermione.
Even Fred and George looked gloomy, which was something that Harry had never seen from them before. Tonks was silently sobbing, and Lupin wrapped his arms around her. Ginny was slowly making her way to Harry, he could tell, but every time he looked her way, she stopped abruptly.
Is she alright? Lupin mouthed to Harry, pointing at Hermione.
Again, Harry hopelessly shrugged his shoulders. And he was being honest...he really didn't know if she was going to be alright. Now that Harry thought about it, Hermione had always been afraid of death: not just her own death, but death of the innocent. He had noticed how she cringed whenever he mentioned his parents' deaths, and the rare occasions when he put his guard down and talked about Sirius's death, and perhaps those times last year when he described Cedric's death in the graveyard.
Harry's eyes, again, became glued to Hermione, and it was only until Ginny whispered to him that he was able to look away. "She looks terrible."
"Yeah," Harry agreed, sighing.
"Why do you think she didn't want to see us?" Ginny asked curiously. "I mean, she could've at least let Ron see her. He's as friendly with Hermione as you are to her."
Harry bit back the true answer: she didn't think that anyone else could understand. "Hermione didn't say why," he lied.
Ginny examined his expression, looking for evidence that he was lying. Her brown eyes pierced his skin. "Right," she said, looking back at Hermione's content face.
Moments later, Hermione began stirring in her sleep. Everyone, who was whispering to someone else, paused and didn't dare draw a breath. But their attempts to keep her asleep failed; Hermione's chocolate-brown eyes fluttered open, and then widened at once.
"W-What are you all d-doing here?" she said as loudly as her voice could project. "I thought -- I thought I asked -- Harry, Harry, they're all here, why are they here? -- Healer Kerrie! -- I don't want -- " Her bottom lip trembled violently, and Harry knew that she was fighting back tears.
As if on cue, Healer Kerrie strolled into the room. "Did someone -- Oh my! Out, out! Everyone out!" she said quickly, shoving the protesting visitors out of the hospital room. "Oh dear -- the Head Healer will kill me if I went against Visitor Requests -- Oh God...Yes, Mr. Potter, you can stay."
"Hermione!" Ron screamed as the door shut.
"I'm so sorry, Miss Granger, for the commotion -- " Healer Kerrie began.
"I want him out, too!" Hermione exclaimed, pointing at Harry. "He didn't -- he didn't tell them to get out!"
"Hermione, I -- " Harry began, utterly shocked. "They wanted to see you. They wanted to make sure that you're alright."
"I'm fine," Hermione whispered.
"No, you're not."
"I told you, I'm fine! Get out, Harry!"
Harry, still in shock, looked at the Healer for help. She, obviously not daring to break Visitor Requests again, shoved him out of the hospital room as well.
"What the hell?" Harry's first comment followed many other hushed swear words as he joined Ron and Ginny opposite of the hospital room's door.
"You've decided to join us?" Ron said nastily.
"I didn't decide to join you! Hermione kicked me out because I didn't force you lot out of the room."
"At least you wanted you in the hospital room -- " Ron began.
"Ron, shut up," Ginny snapped. "Nobody wants to hear you complain."
Ron opened his mouth, but Mrs. Weasley shot him a look, and he fell silent.
"I hope she's gonna be alright," Ginny whispered to Harry. "I feel so bad for her, losing everything..."
Harry gulped. Everything. Her house was destroyed, obviously, once the Death Eaters murdered Mr. and Mrs. Granger...
"They're dead, my Lord," a tall hooded man said in a shaky voice as he bowed down to Lord Voldemort. "The Muggles are dead."
"And the Mudblood girl? Her too?" Voldemort hissed.
A man, shorter than the taller one, stood to the right, hooded as well. "Well, she managed to fight us off. The house was collapsing, we had to get out -- "
"I wouldn't have cried over your deaths! It was your priority to kill her, you useless scum! Potter needs to know that I am a bigger threat than he ever imagined!" Voldemort exclaimed. He snapped his fingers, and Nagini was at his feet, slithering on the cold, wooden floor.
The two men froze for a moment, then the taller one said, "My Lord, we can go after G-Ginny Weasley. Draco Malfoy told me that he has suspected t-that Potter is quite fond of her."
"Lies!"
"No, no, my Lord, I wouldn't lie!" the man said, getting to his knees.
"Potter fancies the Mudblood, I saw her last year, in the Ministry, you -- you idiots! And I shall not spill pure blood if I can prevent it."
"Yes, of course," the man whispered.
Harry lay there, on the corridor floor, panting and gasping for breath. He saw Healer Kerrie's face the moment he opened his eyes.
"Are you alright, Mr. Potter?" she asked, helping him getting to his feet. The others were looking at him, worried. Ron raised his eyebrows, looking the most worried of them all.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm okay," Harry said.
"Harry, you collapsed onto the floor, you're not -- " Ginny began.
"I'm okay!" he said, brushing invisible debri off his shirt.
After a bit of arguing, the Weasleys, Fleur, Lupin, and Tonks left him alone about the incident that had just occured. Ron annoyingly questioned him, asking what he saw, but Harry didn't want to talk about it. His scar began seering with pain, Voldemort was angry, but he decided against expressing his pain. He had adapted to it by now after all these years.
"Ron, I really don't want to talk about it!" Harry snapped. "Will you just -- "
"It was about Hermione's parent's deaths, wasn't it?" Ron asked.
Harry sighed. Against his instincts, he told Ron about what he had seen, except for the part where Malfoy suspected Harry liking Ginny (Ron really didn't need to know about that).
"Bloody hell," Ron said. "Voldemort ordered the whole thing?"
"He always orders sick, cruel stuff like that," Harry muttered furiously, clutching his fist into a ball. He glanced at Hermione's hospital room door, and as he did so, his heart ached to rush into that room and gather Hermione into his arms. And for some strange reason, against Healer Kerrie's and Hermione's requests, Harry did just that.
Author's Note: Weird 'lovely dovey cliffhanger', right? Oh, I almost forgot -- "Delusional First Years" is still under a writer's block. I need ideas, please. Anyways, pretty please review this! I'd appreciate it. Peace out :)