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Hermione Granger had been mentally fighting off whoever was in her mind for a while now and at first she feared no amount of fighting would do any good, but just when she was ready to give up hope, she could feel the presence in her mind slowly backing off, though she knew it would be back, she could feel it in her bones. When her mind was in her control once more, a rush of emotions and thoughts from her boyfriend filled her head. It was a little overwhelming at first, but after a few moments Hermione was able to sort everything out while at the same open her eyes extremely slowly because the light was stinging her eyes and causing the headache she had worse by the second. Eventually she was able to open her eyes and turn her head slightly to the left in order to look beside her where Harry, Ginny, and Luna slept in chairs Dumbledore had conjured for them. Cedric was sitting next to her with his body hunched over so he was able to rest his head against her shoulder.

Not wanting to wake him from his slumber quite yet, the bookworm reached out to run the tips of her fingers over his cheek and then down brushing them against his lips lightly. He look terrible and considering Cedric never appeared as anything other than perfect, seeing him like this worried Hermione greatly. She wondered if he had slept at all since her accident, or whatever they wanted to call it. Knowing him as well as she did, she was pretty sure he hadn't. If she had to bet, she would stake her life on the fact he had been by her side through it all. The same could be said about the others as well. She was not surprised to see that Ron was absent. They were still on the outs because of last year and even if they weren't, she doubted Cedric would have allowed him to stay. Those two were never going to be friends, though the Hufflepuff boy would be polite enough for Hermione and Harry's sake.

"Cedric," Hermione pressed the palm of her hand against his cheek once again. "Ced, wake up love."

The sandy haired wizard blinked a couple of times before he slowly lifted his head. "Hermione?"

A small smile crept over her lips as he spoke her name. It was wonderful to hear his voice since she hadn't been sure if she would hear or see him ever again. "Yes, it's me Cedric. How long was I out? How long have you been here? Did anyone bother to get my homework? I must be so far behind-"

She never got a chance to finish what she had been saying because in the next second Cedric had his lips pressed firmly against hers with both of his hands braced against either side of her head. He kissed for a couple of minutes bathing in her very essence before pulling back a fraction of an inch or so. "I should have known one of the first things you would ask about was schoolwork. You don't have to worry about that love; Luna was kind enough to get your assignments and Ginny did research for you in the library writing down pages and pages of notes. Dumbledore talked to each of your professors and they agreed to extend you the extra time you will need in order to finish your work. As for how long you were out; it was four of the longest days of my life. How are you feeling? Do you remember anything? Do you have any idea what happened?"

"I'll answer your questions when you answer mine." She told him with a stern expression on her face. "You think that you fooled me in to forgetting my question about how long the lot of you have been here, but I know you better than that. You're avoiding answering my questions because you know I am not going to be happy with the answer. Now, are you going to tell me the truth or must I come to my own conclusions which are probably much worse than the actual truth?"

He sighed knowing that she was right which annoyed him, but he would tell her the truth in order to assure she remained calm since he couldn't be sure if she got upset she wouldn't have another episode; four days was long enough and Cedric did not fancy waiting another four days for her to wake up a second time. "Since you demand an answer you cannot get angry or upset. I have been here the entire time accept when Madam Pomfrey ran some tests on my blood. Harry has been her most of the time accept to sleep, eat, and attend classes or Quiddich practice. Ginny hasn't left your side for two days, not even for classes and as for Luna, well she wandered in the second day you were here and simply never left. Dumbledore came to see you quite often though he left a few times to see if he could retrieve answers about your condition. I am sure he will be here any minute since you are now awake and I am sure he has questions of his own for you. Alright love, I answered your questions so now it is time for you to answer mine. Do you remember anything at all?"

Hermione shook her head no slowly. "It's all kind of a blank actually. I only remember being in class and joking around with you and then there was this voice, I have no idea what they were saying, but it was inhuman and then nothing. Everything is black when I try to remember. You were not affected though were you? I mean you seem okay minus a bad case of bed head and your thoughts indicate you were fine other than the fact you were concerned for me. What do you think that means?"

Dumbledore chose that moment to walk in with a small grin on his old wrinkled lips and his eyes were twinkling. "I think I have a theory if you'd be interested in hearing it."

TBC...

Please R&R like always!