A/N: Hi all :P sorry for the long wait... I had a wisdom tooth removed the other day, and for some reason I felt like doing nothing for a few days! Tee hee... And thank you all, again, to those who reviewed/alerted/favourited my story. I adore your feedback!
Anyway, I'm pretty quiet tonight... Hope the chapter is okay :)
Chapter 21
"It's about bloody time!"
Draco and Harry were speechless...
Hermione was drifting, floating, flying... Around her, there were yells, cries, chaos. She distinctly heard a snarling? And growling? Then all she knew was pain. Her body felt broken and torn, but somehow disconnected. She felt a small hand take hers, softly rubbing circles, comforting but concerned. Just before the pain overwhelmed her, she felt a familiar pair of strong and gentle arms encircle her broken frame. The sensation of Apparation forced Hermione into unwelcomed unconsciousness.
When Hermione woke up, she was in an unfamiliar room, surrounded by unfamiliar people. Great. She realised that the people were Healers, and she was in Hospital when said people started checking her over with their wands. But the really annoying thing was that they were all asking her questions at the same time.
"Miss Granger, can you feel this?"
"Miss Granger, can you wiggle your toes?"
"Hermione, love, can you hear us?"
"Follow the light from my wand with your eyes, Miss."
"Does it hurt here?"
As she answered the questions as best she could, Hermione got impatient.
"Do you need anything, Miss Granger?" A young nurse asked kindly.
"Can I see Draco?" she asked bluntly.
Every Healer in the room looked at each other uncomfortably. Nobody answered.
"Ahem, I think this is the perfect time for the next part of your training, Nicholas!" One Healer said enthusiastically, pushing a trainee forward.
"Oh! Um, Miss Granger, I apologise, but only your next of kin will be allowed to see you until you are deemed fit for visitors, which you are not yet." He said, sounding like he had just recited from a textbook.
Hermione's eyes narrowed. She looked dangerous. She slowly sat up so that she faced the room. The other Healers in the room took a tiny step away, some trying to hide their amusement at the trainee's obvious discomfort, others not bothering to hide at all.
"What do you mean by next of kin?" Hermione asked in a false kind voice.
"Parents or spouse, Miss Granger."
Hermione nodded, as if she was considering what Nicholas had said. "Okay and what if my parents were Muggles, and I am unmarried?"
The trainee shook his head. "I apologise, again, but it is not possible –"
"Not. Possible?" she hissed. "Do you understand what I've just been through? I got attacked by some psycho bitch over a hex I gave her three years ago, and some guy who apparently has loved me forever and is jealous over my relationship! Really, how uncreative and cliché is that? And right now, all I want is for the people who love me to come and comfort me and tell me that it's not my fault, and that they hope I get better soon, and for my boyfriend to hold me! Is that too much to ask? Seriously –"
While Hermione was exploding at the poor trainee Nicholas, the older Healers were consulting her medical charts.
"Oh." One Healer said. "Well, now we know how she reacts to a certain mix of pain killing potions, don't we?" The other Healers chuckled, amused.
"Oh, Nicholas, be a dear and let her friends know that she is okay? Only, don't give them too much information, they aren't relatives, you know."
The trainee left the room in a hurry, mumbling curses under his breath. Shortly after he left, and the Healers finished their assessment of Hermione's condition, she was left alone.
She was sitting in her bed, feeling more than okay. She didn't feel broken anymore, nor did she feel pain. She just wanted her Draco, and the Weasley's. Frustrated, Hermione crossed her legs and looked out the window. She had been dozing off for a little while; when she was jerked awake by the sound of footsteps. Hermione held her breath, hoping that her door would open. When it did, her irritation let itself be known.
"It's about bloody time!" she exclaimed.
There stood two of her boys; Draco and Harry, both looking shocked. Before she could say anything else though, Harry turned on the trainee.
"Merlin, mate, you could've made it sound like she was bloody alive! Do you have any idea what your withholding information was making us feel? We thought she was dying or seriously injured or something!"
The poor trainee Nicholas swore under his breath. "I give up!" he cried, throwing his hands above his head in exasperation. "I quit! I don't want to be a healer anymore!" He stormed out of the room, shouting and cursing along the hallway.
"Well, that was interesting. What did you do to him?" Harry asked, turning to Hermione again.
Harry stopped. Draco was sitting on the edge of her bed, holding her gently in his arms, stroking her hair. Hermione was clutching him like her life depended on it. She looked up at Harry with helpless brown eyes, swimming with tears.
Harry smiled slightly and backed out of the room, leaving the two to comfort each other. He walked back down the hallway, and into the waiting room, where he was pounced on by Mrs Weasley.
"Harry! Is she okay? Is she hurt terribly? Merlin, I feel horrible that all this has happened to her, and Draco, in our own home! Oh my poor dears!"
"Molly, calm down. Let Harry talk." Mr Weasley, told his wife.
Harry convinced everyone that Hermione was fine, and that she just needed a few moments with Draco.
After Harry had left, Draco had continued to hold his girl for a while. She was sobbing into his shoulder, the impact of their situation only just hitting her. When she calmed down, she looked Draco in the eye.
"Are you okay?"
Draco resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Of course, the bloody Gryffindor is more worried about someone else, rather than herself. "I'm fine."
"That's good. Did Ron find Katie?"
"Yes. But Hermione, she doesn't look good. They didn't treat her very well. She's a mess."
Hermione nodded, but didn't press for information. She was perfectly content to just let her beloved boyfriend hold her.
A/N: Please review! It would be muchly appreciated!
