Chapter 61: Holding on

It wasn't until the next day that Hermione woke up in a bed at St. Mongoose's. Remus was at her bedside and looked as if he hadn't moved all night. It was still early so Hermione took the opportunity to write a letter to her mother explaining everything that had happened.

Mum,

I'm fine. I wanted to start my letter with that because I know that's what you're most worried about. Remus is fine too; I hope I didn't scare too many people by teleporting him to me so suddenly.

Everything is quite complicated here and I know I'll explain it better once we meet. To put it simply, Dumbledore gave me a mission that I carried out last night with a partner. The plan didn't go according to plan, so we had to fight. Kingsley almost got a death spell and without thinking I stepped in and took it instead.

Again, I'm fine. I'm a bit wobbly as if some of my life force has been siphoned off but I'll be fine. Some of the mission is still unclear and I can only see bits and pieces of it but we'll talk about it in person.

I hope it's calmer at home. I think a lot of you, my brother, my sister, Dad and Henry. I miss you all.

Your daughter.

Patting Remus' arm gently to wake him up, she tried to make him understand for a good ten minutes that everything was fine. Before he could argue anything else, the young witch handed him her letter and sent him back to Storybrooke. She passed by Kingsley's bed and he couldn't contain his thanks for the cold blood and courage she had shown to save him. Few of his own fellow Aurors would have done the same.

Trying to make him understand that it was all right, Hermione smiled before heading off in the direction of the many chimneys in the hospital. The Gryffindor was not fooled, she knew very well that she had to avoid too much contact with Albus Dumbledore but an exception had to be made for today. Nothing had gone according to plan.

She then landed directly in the director's office who was more than surprised to see her appear by this means and not by teleporting as usual.

- Miss Granger? What are you doing here? I thought you were still at Mongoose! he exclaimed.

- I couldn't miss a day of school. You know as well as I do that would be far too suspicious in the eyes of a certain someone.

Dumbledore nodded. He could not deny his student's accuracy.

- A full day, no, indeed. However, I strongly advise you to go to the infirmary. At least for the rest of the morning. Everyone gets sick from time to time.

- Thank you for your concern. I have to say no, my first class of the day is actually with Professor Umbridge. Maybe I'll see if I can get Professor Sprout to catch up on my Botany class.

- All right, I'll leave you to it. Now, can I have a quick summary of what happened there?

There was little time left before her class started so Hermione tried to get to the point even though Dumbledore made her repeat twice that she had been under a death spell. He couldn't believe it was possible. Sure, Harry himself had survived such a spell, but he was an exception. Hermione was not in good shape, he had to admit, but she was still alive and that was something he was going to keep in the back of his mind.

Once her little story was over, Hermione changed quickly before heading off to her Defence Against the Dark Arts class. Her House mates had not seen her at breakfast and were relieved to see her arrive at class. She signalled to them that everything was fine and they walked in together.

A severe headache prevented Hermione from following a single minute of the class, though she wasn't trying very hard either.

- Miss Granger, I know you think you're smarter than everyone else but that's no reason not to be on the right page. Umbridge growled.

- Sorry, Professor, I just have a headache.

Everyone was taken aback. Hermione had apologised and said nothing to put Umbridge in her place. Even the pink-clad lady was surprised to be called 'Professor' by her. So, she didn't add anything and continued her lesson without asking the Gryffindor anything more.

When the classroom door closed, Hermione could barely stand and it was Ron who stopped her from falling down the stairs. Her friends took her to the infirmary without even asking and she spent the rest of the afternoon there. She did manage to get Harry to take extra notes for her, which made him laugh.

- You'll never change, will you? the young man laughed.

- You know me, don't you? I'd rather die than see my grades drop! She returned with a small smile.

The year progressed slowly wherever one was. In Storybrooke, the new inhabitants were now full members of the town. Indeed, those who had decided to stay had given themselves a new chance, a fresh start. Regina had also decided to accept her past as it was. Robin loved her as she was, both Regina Mills and the Evil Queen. Her daughter, whom she held affectionately in her arms, was as much the daughter of one as the other.

Watching Melinda grow up bit by bit, Regina wondered if all was well with her other daughter. She hadn't received many letters since the incident at the Ministry and even though the end of the year was approaching, the stress of knowing her daughter was in danger worried her day and night.

Little by little Hermione had recovered her memories of that night and what she had done. Not wanting to worry her mother, she told Henry and only Henry. The young man did his best to reassure her by invoking the defensive instincts of the Dark Ones. He even made her laugh by mentioning, in his letter, the Hulk's ability to take over if Dr Banner was in danger.

Fortunately, she was able to concentrate on other things, the exams came up and despite the growing anxiety, everything went up in smoke in an instant. In firework smoke, to be precise, with the more than shocking arrival of the Weasley twins during the OWLs.

Note : Sorry for the wait. I was waiting to hear from my Beta for the French version before publishing. I hope you enjoyed the chapter!