Hermione was sitting by Harry's bedside. She had given up on reading the large book that Molly had given her to pass the time. Her elbow was propped on the chair's arm and she was leaning her head against her hand. Her eyes were closed, but she was not asleep, though she was exhausted. She had stayed up most of the night watching Harry sleep--she hoped it was just sleep. He was so still that it worried her. He had barely moved a muscle. She knew that was unlike him. He usually turned from one side to the other or to his back a few times each night. He was on his back, just as he had been when Hagrid placed him there. He was covered with a soft agate blue quilt and was very pale. His head was bandaged and so was his chest. His ribs had been healed, but would be fragile for a few days.
It was nearly impossible to believe that they had been in Vermont only hours ago, that not a day had passed since they were happy, hiking, laughing, eating, dancing...
Occasionally, her breath would catch in a hitch. She was certain she had never cried so much in her life. She would have bet she had shed more tears in that one night than she had in her entire fifteen years. Her mother, father, and Mrs. Weasley has all begged her to rest. Madame Pomfrey had come in twice to check on Harry and apply more balms to his outer wounds. At one point she tried to order Hermione to go to bed, but Hermione refused. She had dozed off a couple of times out of sheer exhaustion, but she never slept for long. She could not bear to be apart from Harry with him hurt so badly. She was not sure she would have been able to part from him anyway. She felt as if he was part of her. She vowed she would not leave his side and no one had the heart to argue with her. Perhaps no one wanted to cross her after what they had witnessed the night before.
Molly had brought another calming potion in the early hours of the morning, but it still sat in a goblet next to the book. "You won't be of any help to Harry when he does wake up," she had said.
The house was very quiet. It had been a late night and she supposed her parents might still be asleep. Lupin and Dumbledore had stayed behind. Mr. Weasley was at work at the Ministry by now. Hagrid and--she hoped--Snape had returned to Hogwarts. Molly was downstairs, probably cooking and cleaning. That's how she stayed busy in a crisis.
None of the Weasley children had arrived yet. She was sure that Ron, at least, would be there soon. She had not given a thought as to what she would say to him. If she had, she would have realized that his mother had already figured out Harry and Hermione's relationship had progressed into a deeper level of love and commitment. Hermione's reaction to his injuries had been far more than that of "just a friend."
Having her sanity somewhat back in place, Hermione could not believe her actions the night before. She had yelled at, told off even, Professor Snape after beating his chest in her very girlish way. But more unheard of, she had told off the headmaster. She, Hermione Granger, 15 year old witch, had verbally blasted the most powerful wizard of the age. She opened her eyes to look at Harry again and wondered if maybe she'd told off the second most powerful wizard of the age. She was truly amazed by Harry, the things he had done. He had survived four run-ins with Voldemort. While Dumbledore had fought the evil wizard, even he had not managed to kill him, only to survive. It was up to Harry to kill him. "You're amazing, Harry," she whispered, reaching out to stroke his hand. "You'll get through this." It would have been too much to take if Harry fell to his uncle.
She lifted his limp hand and kissed it. "I love you so much, Harry. You can't leave me." She leaned closer to him and spoke softly, "We're going to get through all of this. We're going to get married one day. And we'll have about 10 kids, so you can be the father to them that you never had. You'll be a great dad, Harry. Our kids will be happy and they'll have rooms of their own and clothes and plenty of food. And we'll be there to tuck them in at night and if they have nightmares, which will be rare, we'll be there to comfort them. They'll all have your green eyes and your bravery--"
"And really big, really messy hair."
Hermione looked up in shock. Ron was standing beside her. He had heard what she had said to Harry. He knew that she loved him. This was not the way he was supposed to find out. They were going to tell him together. "Ron!" she exclaimed, unable to find another word.
"Hi," he smiled at her. She thought there may have been something in his smile. Regret? "How is he? Mum told me what happened. I can't believe Dad didn't wake me up last night. I would have been here immediately."
"Not too good," she sighed, turning back to Harry. "He has barely moved since Hagrid put him here. He's so still, Ron. It worries me."
"You look terrible," Ron told her, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Why don't you get some sleep. I'll stay with Harry."
"I can't," she told him. "I have to be here when he wakes up." She reached out to stroke Harry's cheek. "He's too cold, Ron. Can you find another blanket?" she implored, looking up at him.
"Sure," he said. "I'll be back in a few minutes." He patted her shoulder and left the room.
"I think he's okay with it," she whispered to Harry. "You went to a lot of trouble to get out of telling him." She tried to smile, wishing it were that simple. "You're too cold," she rubbed his hand trying to warm it up. The result did not satisfy her. She walked around the bed and then gently got in it with Harry, careful to not jar him. She laid on her side next to him. "I'm here, Harry. I'm not leaving you," she promised.
When Ron returned he found Hermione curled as close to Harry as she could be and finally asleep. He took the blanket in his hands and placed it over his two best friends. "It took you long enough," he whispered.
A/N: Thanks for all the reviews. They make writing so much more fun and make me want to keep going!
harryishot55-- Bon Jovi and H/Hr. You're the buddy I've been looking for! LOL
I regret that I won't be able to post more until Monday when I'm back at work.