Chapter Summary: Harry's in the hospital and for two days Hermione is worried sick about him. She doesn't know what to do at first but then she grabs at a desperate idea.
--- Begin Fic Here ---
"Fulocus Returnus," Hermione said with a wave of her wand.
Neville's body sprung back to life. "Oh thank heavens," he said as he sat up, massaging his arms and legs. "I thought I'd be here all night. I was scared out of my mind."
"I'm so sorry Neville," Hermione said as she and Ron helped him up and walked him over to one of the plush armchairs beside the fireplace. "I hope you're alright." She pointed her wand at the dying fire, muttered a few words and it sprung back to life.
"I'm fine," Neville said as he stretched in the chair. "Why did you do that to me?"
"We had to," Ron explained. "We had to go out tonight and we didn't want you getting involved like last time."
"It was very dangerous," Hermione added.
"Dangerous? What, did you go back to the Forbidden Forest?" He looked back and forth from one strained face to the other. "Wait a minute; where's Harry?"
"It's a long story," Ron sighed, disheartened. "And very confusing."
"Well I'm not going back to sleep, not after this, so tell me," Neville said stoically.
"Hermione…" Ron prompted. He obviously didn't want to tell the story himself.
She let out a huff. "Oh alright," and she launched into the explanation of the whole story, starting with Halloween and ending with their trip down the trap door and everything Dumbledore had told them.
It took her twenty minutes of almost nonstop talking to explain everything. Neville sat with his mouth half opened in shock the entire time as he listened. He didn't move; he barely even blinked. When Hermione finally finished, Neville just slid backwards in his chair.
"Incredible," he said in barely more than a whisper. "And you mean to say that right now as we speak, Harry is facing off with 'you know who'?"
"Now do you understand why we had to go?" Ron asked. "We couldn't let 'you know who' get a hold of something like the Sorcerer's Stone. He'd have come back and killed us all!"
"Who's to say he won't still come back," Neville shuddered.
"Dumbledore'll stop him, Neville," Ron assured.
"No…" Hermione said suddenly. "Harry will stop him. I just know he will."
-----
Hermione and Ron didn't go up to their separate dormitories after Neville left. They stayed in the common room waiting for Harry to return. After a couple of hours, Ron drifted off to sleep in one of the armchairs. Hermione, however, couldn't sleep. She paced back and forth across the common room, absentmindedly shooting sparks from her wand and muttering to herself.
Finally, around 3 AM, the portrait door swung open. Hermione jumped excitedly but it wasn't Harry who entered, it was Professor McGonagall in a dressing gown and hairnet. She climbed somewhat awkwardly into the common room.
"Ms. Granger," she started, straitening her hairnet. "I see that you're still awake and I can understand why. Professor Dumbledore asked me to check on you and Mr. Weasley."
"What about Harry," Hermione asked immediately. "Where is he; is he okay?"
Professor McGonagall seemed to be choosing her words carefully. "He's in the hospital wing. We're not sure if…" She stopped herself. "I need for you to come with me. The headmaster wanted to have a word with you if you were still awake."
"What about Ron," Hermione asked pointing at Ron who was now drooling on the arm of the chair.
"Let him rest." McGonagall said, ushering her towards the portrait.
Hermione climbed through the hole and started down the corridor quietly. Professor McGonagall followed close behind.
"Professor Dumbledore told me what has happened tonight," she told Hermione as they walked. "You three were very reckless, going down that trap door when you knew what kind of dangers you would be facing."
Hermione couldn't believe that McGonagall was going to scold her, not after all they had gone through.
"However," she continued. "I daresay that if I had only listened to you when you tried to tell me earlier this afternoon, none of this would have happened and Harry…"
Hermione turned and she saw that her normally stern-faced professor actually looked like she had a tear in her eye. "Professor, what happened to Harry? Is he okay?" she pressed.
"I'm not entirely sure myself," McGonagall admitted. "Professor Dumbledore is in the best position to explain things."
They continued in silence until they reached her office. Professor Dumbledore was sitting behind the desk with a solemn look on his face. Hermione began fearing the worst.
"Professor, what happened? Is Harry going to be alright?" she asked before she'd even made it completely in the office.
Dumbledore leaned forward in the chair. "Harry is in the hospital wing, unconscious. It's lucky I got to him when I did. He suffered severe injuries from Quirrell and Voldemort and we don't know when he will recover from them. Madam Pomfrey has done everything she can for him. Now all we can do is wait."
Hermione dropped in a nearby chair, numb with shock.
"Hermione, did you and Ron go down into the underground chambers with Harry?"
Hermione nodded, still numb. "Yes sir; all three of us went together."
"I see, but you didn't all make it into the final chamber where the stone was?"
"No sir," Hermione confirmed and she began to tell the story of what had happened that night, how they had gotten by the various obstacles, and even how they had to incapacitate Neville before they left.
She told how they found out how to get past Fluffy and what happened when they landed in the devil's snare. She described Harry's spectacular capture of the flying key and Ron's sacrifice on the transfigured chessboard. Then she explained how she deciphered the riddle in the room of potions and how there was only enough potion for one of them to go forward.
"Harry told me to go back. I didn't want to but he'd made up his mind and…" Hermione felt herself tearing up. "If only I had stayed with him."
"Do not blame yourself Hermione," Dumbledore said soothingly. "Harry had made up his mind long before today that he wanted to face Voldemort. This was something he wanted to do alone."
Hermione tried to understand what Dumbledore was saying but she just couldn't wrap her mind around it. Perhaps she was just too tired, or perhaps she just didn't believe Harry would want to face Voldemort head on. It was practically suicide. "Can I see him?"
"Ms. Granger," Professor McGonagall spoke from behind her. "He's in a coma and there's nothing you can…"
"I want to see him," Hermione insisted as she stood to face the transfiguration teacher.
"Minerva, please escort Hermione to the hospital wing," Professor Dumbledore said calmly. "Then back to Gryffindor Tower," he added.
McGonagall nodded and guided Hermione out the door.
"Hermione," Professor Dumbledore called. "I'm very proud of all of you."
Hermione nodded. "Thank you, sir."
They started down the hall. "Are you okay, dear," McGonagall asked tentatively.
"I'm fine. Professor Dumbledore seems so calm about everything. Isn't he worried about Harry?"
"Of course he is," she answered shrilly. "However, the headmaster knows what he is talking about. If he is calm, then it's for good reason. He knows everything will be okay. I've learned to trust him on these matters… and so should you."
It only took them a few minutes to walk silently to the hospital wing. Madam Pomfrey was no where to be found. Hermione completely dissolved into tears when she saw Harry lying unconscious. She slowly made her way to the side of his bed and touched his head. It felt hot, almost burning, as if his skin was on fire.
"Oh Harry…" Hermione said through tears. "I'm so sorry."
After a few minutes Professor McGonagall guided Hermione back to Gryffindor Tower. She could barely walk for being exhausted and overcome with emotion. After McGonagall helped her through the portrait entrance, Hermione stumbled up to her dorm, vaguely noticing that Ron had left the common room. She collapsed in her bed, fully clothed and despite Lavender's snores, fell straight into a deep sleep.
-----
"Hermione… Hermione wake up!"
Hermione's eyes slowly opened as the sound of Parvati's nagging voice invaded her ears. "What's the matter?"
"You've been asleep all morning. You've missed breakfast and lunch."
Hermione pushed herself up. She realized she was still wearing the same clothes from the previous night. Her hair was a tangled mess and she felt completely grimy.
"Ugh, what time is it," she asked groggily.
"It's a little after 2," Parvati informed her. Lavender was just behind her, sitting silently on the next bed.
"Wait a minute," Hermione said suddenly waking fully. "You're talking to me."
Neither of her roommates had said a word to her since the night she, Harry, and Neville had lost 150 points from Gryffindor.
"Are you kidding?" Parvati said with a huge grin. "Of course we're talking to you. After everything that happened last night. Do you know the whole school is talking about it?"
Hermione rolled her eyes. It had barely been a half-day and already the entire school knew what had happened. Now she, Harry, and Ron were famous again; loved by the whole school. Only yesterday no one would speak to her unless it was to hurl insults, now they would probably act like none of it even happened.
"So what really happened?" Lavender was quizzing her now. "Did you see 'you know who'? Is there really a giant, three-headed dog in the castle?"
Hermione stared at the two of them for a moment. "I can't believe them. They don't talk to me for weeks, and now I'm just supposed to be best mates with them. All they care about is getting the details about what happened last night. They don't care that Harry's lying unconscious in the hospital wing. It's just like when he was almost killed at the quidditch match. Everyone celebrates when he does something amazing but forgets all the sacrifices he makes in the process. Then when he makes a mistake, they abandon him. It makes me so sick!"
"Hermione," Parvati pressed.
Hermione reached into her trunk to grab a towel and her toiletries. "I need a good soak," she said flatly. She headed for the bathroom without another word.
"She's really out of it?" Lavender mused.
"Well you would be too if you'd just faced 'you know who' and lived," Parvati reasoned. "Still I wish she told us what happened."
-----
"Oy," Ron called halfheartedly as Hermione entered the common room, "I see you're up." He did a slight double take. Hermione's hair was still wet and it still looked like a tangled mess. She hadn't bothered trying to tame it.
"You look like a wet cat."
"Shut it," Hermione said grumpily as she plopped down in the seat next to him.
"Have you heard about Harry," Ron asked her immediately.
"I went to see him last night. Is he out of the hospital yet?" she asked hopefully.
"No," Ron shook his head. "You went to see him?"
"McGonagall took me last night after you feel asleep. Have you seen him?"
Ron shook his head again. "No, Madam Pomfrey won't let anyone in the hospital wing. No one can go visit him. I saw people bringing flowers and stuff their though."
"Like they even care," Hermione muttered.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Yesterday no one would even speak to him; now everyone's acting like they've lost their best friend."
Ron shrugged. "I told you people would forget about you guys losing all those points."
"Yeah and it only took Harry unconscious in the hospital wing to do it," Hermione said spitefully.
"It doesn't matter. Like you told me before, Harry knows who his real friends are," Ron reminded her.
"Yeah you're right. It just makes me sick," she sighed.
Lavender and Parvati were descending the stairs now, bright smiles on their faces. When they spotted Hermione, Lavender whispered something into Parvati's ear and they both started casually in her direction. Hermione stood. She didn't want to talk to them; she just wasn't in the mood.
"Where are you off to now?"
"Anywhere but here." She headed strait for the portrait door without a backwards glance and made her way through to the corridor.
Hermione walked down the hallway and turned at the nearest corner. She'd decided that there was no point to restricting herself from the ramparts anymore so she made her way down the next corridor and kicked the shin on the stone statue. The familiar secret passage opened up behind it. A few minutes later, Hermione found herself on the ramparts of the castle, under the bright afternoon sun.
She pulled a small book out of her robe pocket. It was the diary Harry had given her for Christmas. Pulling out a quill and ink bottle, Hermione made herself comfortable before opening the book with her wand and signing the password on the last page. She found a blank page and started writing.
"Dear Harry,
I can't believe you're lying there in the hospital wing and there's nothing I can do about it. I wish there was some way I could help you. I feel so lost right now and I don't know what to do.
Deep down I know things will turn out okay. I don't know how I know but I can tell you'll pull through this alright. I guess what's really bothering me is once again I can't help you. For all my cleverness and skill with charms and potions, there's nothing I can do to help you. I feel so powerless right now."
Hermione paused. It had taken her writing the words to finally realize what she was really upset about. She hated feeling like she couldn't do something. After all, she was a Granger; wasn't she supposed to be able to do anything? She pressed her quill to the paper again.
"Shouldn't I have been able to help you when the time came? I could have figured out a way for both of us to go forward. Why didn't I? Why did I let you go alone? Why did I turn my back on you when you needed me the most? Now it's too late. I feel like I've failed you as a friend."
Suddenly, Hermione recalled the words Dumbledore had said to her months ago. "He needs someone, a true friend, to be there for him. Only that can really help him. Perhaps you can be that friend…"
She shut the diary, knowing what she needed to do, both for Harry and her own peace of mind.
-----
Hermione avoided her roommates, Ron, and pretty much every other student for the rest of the day. She just couldn't stand everyone's upbeat attitude about the whole thing. Even Ron was being nonchalant. She suspected that he was just putting on a brave face and that he really was just as torn up about it as she was, but it still annoyed her that he couldn't just act the way he felt.
They didn't have classes or exams so Hermione was free to stay outdoors or up on the ramparts where no one could see her. She only went to dinner when the dinning hall was relatively empty. When night fell, Hermione waited in a quiet corner of the common room for it to empty out. It was well past midnight before everyone went to bed but she didn't care. The later the better for what she had planned.
Once everyone was gone, Hermione ventured up to her dormitory. She quickly dug through her trunk amidst the loud snores of Lavender and found Harry's invisibility cloak. She tucked it into her robe pocket and rushed back down to the common room.
"Going out again, I see," came a voice across the way. Not surprisingly it was Neville. "I had a feeling you might when I saw the way you were sitting to yourself this evening." He held out his hands when he saw Hermione fingering her wand. "Don't worry. I'm not trying to stop you or anything."
Hermione relaxed. "Well what are you doing here then?"
"I just wanted to see if you were alright. You seemed a bit off today."
"Well of course I'm off," Hermione hissed crossly. "Or didn't you hear that Harry's lying unconscious in the hospital."
Neville nodded nervously. "Yes of course I know. Everybody knows."
"Well I was beginning to wonder. The way people are acting around here, you'd think we'd just won the house cup," Hermione grumbled.
"Oh," Neville shifted nervously. "Well we all care, Hermione, just like you do. I guess it's just hard to know what to do."
Hermione headed towards the portrait exit. "Well I know what I'm going to do," she said stubbornly as she went out to the corridor, leaving Neville to stare after her.
Once outside, she pulled on the invisibility cloak and made her way swiftly down the corridor. It only took her five minutes to get to her destination, the hospital wing. She pushed her way through the door and checked to make sure Madam Pomfrey was nowhere to be seen. Hermione walked up to where Harry lay unconscious, still covered by the invisibility cloak.
She knelt down by his bed. "Hi Harry, it's me," she said quietly. "I don't know if you can hear me or not, but it's okay if you can't. Either way I just didn't want to leave you here alone. I'm your friend and I'm going to be here for you, no matter what." She touched his head timidly. It was still very warm. She wondered vaguely if this meant he had some sort of fever.
Hermione found a chair and pulled it next to Harry's bed. She had decided she was going to stay all night if for no reason other than to be there if he woke up. She knew it probably wouldn't help any but it made her feel better. Hermione didn't move from her spot the entire night. Occasionally she would talk to Harry, still wondering if it was possible that he could hear her in his state.
Just before the first rays of light filtered into the room, Hermione threw the hood of the invisibility cloak over her head. She promised Harry she would come back and then slipped quietly out of the room. It was almost six when she stepped back into the common room and threw off the invisibility cloak, shoving it into her robe pocket. Dizzy with exhaustion, she made her way to her dormitory and once again fell asleep on top of the covers.
-----
"Hermione… Hermione wake up!"
Hermione rolled over and tried to block out the sound of Parvati calling her name, but it didn't work. "What!" she snapped finally.
"Aren't you going to the quidditch game?" Parvati asked.
"What quidditch game?"
"Gryffindor versus Ravenclaw, remember?"
Hermione rolled back over to face her. "Shouldn't it be canceled… wait, has Harry woken up?" she asked excitedly. "That would be just like him; wake up right in time to play quidditch."
"Lee Jordon is substituting," Parvati informed her.
Hermione frowned and rolled back over. "I'm not going."
"But…"
"Go away," she hissed. "I'm tired."
-----
Hermione slept late again. When she finally arose, she found that everyone was still at the quidditch game, which was lasting longer than usual. Once again, she completely avoided the rest of her house that day; choosing to stay locked in her room while everyone was outside or in the common room. At one point Lavender came up to tell her that Ron wanted to see if she would come visit Hagrid with him, but Hermione ignored the question completely.
"Hermione, are you alright?" she asked when Hermione didn't respond to her previous question.
"I'm fine; I just don't want to be bothered." Hermione said irritably.
Lavender shrugged and left.
Later that evening, Hermione repeated her procedure from the previous night. At around 11 PM she descended the stairs to the common room and found an empty corner to sit in. As people began to clear out, Neville walked by her and whispered a quick "Good luck," before heading up the stairs to his dormitory.
After the last group left the common room, Hermione headed out through the portrait exit. Fifteen minutes later she was once again in the deserted hospital wing sitting beside Harry's bed. She was exhausted but still determined to stay. She knew it didn't make sense but it felt better than doing nothing. At least if she was there when Harry woke up, he'd see a friendly face instead of an empty white room. This is what she kept telling herself as she tried not to nod off.
-----
"Hermione… Hermione wake up!"
Hermione pushed off the hand that was shaking her. "Parvati, for the last time, shove off. I don't want to get up." She tried to roll over and suddenly found herself crashing to the floor. She wasn't in her bed after all; she had fallen asleep in the hospital wing.
"Hermione, are you alright?" Someone helped her up. She finally noticed it was Professor Dumbledore.
"Oh, Professor… I uh…" Hermione was still sleepy. She suddenly realized that she had fallen out of her chair. The invisibility cloak was still hanging off her body making it look like her lower half had disappeared. "What time is it?"
Dumbledore smiled as he helped Hermione to her feet. "It's nearly 8 AM. I daresay Madam Pomfrey would have been quite alarmed if she had arrived before me. Finding an unauthorized student in the hospital wing is one thing, but finding only half a student…" he gestured at the cloaked half of Hermione's body.
"Oh…" Hermione struggled awkwardly out of the invisibility cloak. "Professor, I know I'm not supposed to be here," she started to explain.
Dumbledore held up a hand to silence her. "It is quite alright. You do not have to explain to me. I know how frustrating it must be for you, feeling that there is nothing you can do to help Harry in this state."
"I just thought that I should at least be here for him if he woke up," Hermione said sheepishly.
"An admirable thought, however, I believe your shift is over now. It is my turn to stand watch." He took a seat next to Harry's bed. "Get some sleep Hermione. Rest assured that you shall be the first I notify should Harry awaken."
"Thank you, sir." Hermione said folding up the invisibility cloak and shoving it in her pocket.
Hermione walked out of the hospital wing still half asleep. She was glad it was Professor Dumbledore that had caught her not only because he was understanding but also because he already knew about the invisibility cloak according to what Harry had told her after the Christmas holidays.
Harry….
Her mind began to wander. When would Harry wake up? Was Professor Dumbledore sitting by his bed all day just like she had been doing during the nights? He must have been more concerned than he originally let on. What could have happened to Harry that Madam Pomfrey couldn't revive him immediately?
Hermione rounded a corner and crashed into someone. "Sorry," she muttered.
"Geez Granger!" It was Pansy Parkinson. "You look like hell and you're more of a klutz than usual. What's the matter? Mad that Slytherin is going to win the house cup? No wait, don't tell me you're losing sleep over poor, pathetic Potter?"
"Shut it," Hermione managed to mutter before pushing her way past Pansy.
"Ooo, you are in a tizzy," Pansy called delightedly after her. "Look on the bright side Granger, if Potter dies, maybe they'll build a statue for…"
Hermione whirled around pulling her wand out of her pocket. "I'm warning you…"
Pansy obviously hadn't been expecting such a drastic reaction. She took a few steps back, eyes wide. She knew she couldn't draw her wand faster than Hermione could jinx her. After a second though, the sly grin returned to her face.
"Fine," she said shortly, taking a few more steps back. "Doesn't really matter anyway. Still doesn't change the fact that Potter finally got what was coming to him," and with those last words she skirted off down the hall before Hermione could decide whether or not to make good on her threat.
Hermione sighed wearily. She pocketed her wand and headed back to Gryffindor Tower, wondering vaguely why Pansy always seemed to show up when she was in a miserable mood.
As Hermione pushed her way through the portrait into the Gryffindor common room, she realized that many of her housemates were already up.
"Hermione!" Parvati and Lavender accosted her before she even had both feet over the threshold. "Where have you been?"
"Out," she answered blandly.
"But…"
"I'm tired," Hermione said pushing past them. "I need a soak, then I'm going to bed. Night."
"But," Parvati said again.
"Night!" Hermione snapped as she ascended the stairs.
-----
"Hermione!" Lavender came bounding into the dormitory where Hermione still lay half asleep.
"What is it?" Hermione asked shortly rolling over to face her.
"It's Harry!" Lavender said almost out of breath. She must have run up the stairs.
Hermione shot up, fully alert. "He's awake?"
Lavender nodded, a huge grin on her face.
Hermione jumped out of her bed and dashed past Lavender and down the stairs to the common room without another word. Professor McGonagall was standing by the portrait exit. Ron was with her.
"Harry," Hermione gasped. "He's awake? He's come 'round?"
"Yes, he has indeed." Professor McGonagall was beaming. "The headmaster told me to inform you both. Harry has completely recovered."
"I'm going to go see him," Hermione said immediately trying to sidestep McGonagall.
"I'm sorry, but Madam Pomfrey is not allowing any visitors yet." McGonagall said reaching back a hand to stop her. "You'll be able to see him shortly, most likely at the end of year feast tomorrow evening." She pushed open the portrait and stepped awkwardly out.
"We're going to go see him," Hermione said to Ron as soon as McGonagall had left.
"Right," Ron agreed readily. "But shouldn't you change first?"
Hermione examined herself. She was still in her night clothes. "Oh, right," she said embarrassed. "Wait
for me here, I'll be back in a bit." She ran up to her dormitory.
Twenty minutes later she skipped down the stairs again, an even bigger grin on her face.
"Took you long enough," Ron said as she joined him.
"I'm a girl," Hermione informed him. "It takes longer for us to get dressed because we actually put some effort into it, unlike some people," she said with a knowing look.
"Fine," Ron scoffed, "Let's go."
They made their way quickly down to the hospital wing. The news of Harry's revival must have spread because the corridors were full of people chattering and Hermione could catch snatches of their conversations as they rushed past. It seemed that several people had already tried to see him, no doubt just wanting to see if he had another scar on his head from his latest confrontation with Voldemort.
Ron knocked on the door of the hospital wing and Madam Pomfrey answered almost immediately. "I'm sorry but I'm not allowing anyone to see him right now," she said with a bit of irritation in her voice. She'd obviously already said this one-too-many times.
"We're Harry's best friends," Hermione said before the nurse had a chance to shut the door. "We want to see him," she added a bit more forcefully than she had intended.
Madam Pomfrey started to protest again, but then Hermione heard Harry calling to her. The nurse left the door cracked as she went and spoke with Harry for a bit; then she came back. "Alright, I suppose a few minutes won't hurt."
Hermione beamed; Harry must have convinced her to let them in. She approached Harry's bed. He looked very weak despite the grin on his face. Still she was so glad to see him awake that she wanted desperately to hug him, but she decided against it. Besides being embarrassing for her, she also figured he still needed some recovery time. Instead she and Ron pulled up chairs beside his bed.
As they settled in, Harry began to explain what actually happened after Hermione left him to go into the final chamber.
"It was Quirrell all along," he told them, "and all this time we thought it was Snape."
"Yes we know," Hermione said. "Dumbledore told us."
"When I got there, he was standing in front of the Mirror of Erised. The stone was inside the mirror, but he couldn't get it out. Dumbledore used the mirror to protect the stone. He said only someone who wanted the stone but didn't want to use it would be able to get it out."
"Bloody brilliant," Ron said.
"Yeah, that's how I got the stone. I wanted to get it before Quirrell but I never had it in mind to actually use it but Voldemort was with Quirrell and he must've figured it out."
"He was with Quirrell?" Hermione gasped.
"Don't say the name," Ron shuddered.
"Yes," Harry answered, ignoring Ron. "And I mean he was really with Quirrell. You know that funny turban he always wears. Well Voldemort was under it. He unwrapped it right in front of me and when he turned around there was this horrible squashed looking face on the back of his head. He had two faces!"
Hermione let out a little shriek. "That's the creepiest thing I've ever heard of. He was actually sharing a body with Quirrell?"
"Yes, Quirrell was the one killing unicorns and drinking their blood to keep Voldemort alive."
Ron involuntarily shuddered again. "Stop saying the name!"
Hermione and Harry both rolled their eyes. "Right anyway," Harry continued. "So I got the stone out of the mirror but then Vol…I mean 'you know who' figured out that I had it and they attacked me. They were going to kill me to get the stone."
Hermione gasped.
"But the weirdest thing happened. Quirrell couldn't touch me with his bare hands. Every time he did, he'd go crazy with pain. Dumbledore said it had something to do with 'you know who' being inside him and how he couldn't touch me because of a kind of mark that was left on me by my mother before I died."
"What kind of mark?" Hermione asked but Harry ignored the question and pressed forward.
"So I just grabbed onto Quirrell's arm and kept him in as much pain as possible. The only thing though was as long as I was touching him, my scar would explode with pain. It was so intense that I guess I blacked out. Next thing I knew, I was here."
"And the stone?" Ron asked.
"Dumbledore said he destroyed it. I'm not really sure how. Speaking of such, do you know he's the one who sent me my father's cloak? I had thought as much."
Ron looked disappointed. "So the stone's gone? Flamel's just going to die?"
Harry nodded. "That's what I said, but Dumbledore thinks that… what was it? 'To the well organized mind, death is but the next great adventure.'"
Ron shook his head in exasperation. "I always said he was off his rocker."
"So what happened to you two?" Harry asked and Hermione immediately shot into an explanation of what happened after she left him all the way up to meeting Dumbledore in the entrance hall.
"You think he meant you to do it," Ron asked thoughtfully, interrupting Hermione's story. "Sending you your father's cloak and everything."
Hermione gave them both a look of shock. "Well if he did, I mean to say, that's terrible. You could have been killed!"
"No it isn't," Harry contradicted her. "He's a funny man, Dumbledore. I think he sort of wanted to give me a chance. I think he knows more or less everything that goes on here, you know? I reckon he had a pretty good idea we were going to try and instead of stopping us, he just taught us enough to help."
Hermione thought about this as Harry continued. "Maybe he's right. I mean Dumbledore had to have known how much we knew about the stone already, but he never tried to stop us or warn us not to go after Voldemort. It's as if he wanted to see if we really would try and face him even if we knew the odds were against us."
She didn't know what to make of this. On one hand, Dumbledore seemed reckless for allowing three first year students to go down that trap door when it was clearly dangerous, but on the other hand, would they have really listened to him if he had told them not to go? Probably not. They didn't listen to McGonagall; they probably wouldn't have listened to him either. So rather than do something futile, he just tried to help as much as he could.
Before Hermione had a chance to return to the conversation, Madam Pomfrey came over to usher them out of the hospital wing saying that Harry needed his rest. Hermione didn't argue with her. She was just glad to be able to see Harry.
"So now what?" Ron asked as Madam Pomfrey slammed the door behind them.
Hermione's stomach grumbled audibly. "Lunch; I feel like I haven't eaten in days."
"Well glad to see you're back to normal… well at least normal for you." Ron grinned.
"Shut it, Weasley."
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Hermione was back to her normal self. She ate a huge lunch and returned to the common room laughing and joking with Ron. She found her two roommates and apologized for the foul mood she had been in before and they readily accepted the apology right before quizzing her once again on the details of what really happened beneath in the trap door.
So many rumors had been flying around the past few days that Hermione decided to oblige by telling them the truth. She figured if the story was going to be spread around school it might as well be the truth and who better to tell it to than Parvati Patil one of the two biggest gossips in the school, the second being her twin sister. Now that she had Harry's account of what happened, she was able to tell Lavender and Parvati the whole story.
"Oh my goodness, and that's why he was in the hospital wing for so long?" Lavender said with her hand to her mouth.
"Yes, but now that he's up, he should be going to the end of year feast tomorrow."
"I can't wait to tell Padma." Parvati was sitting on her hands.
"Why wait," Hermione half muttered. "The day's still young."
"You're right," Parvati said jumping up excitedly. "Come on Lavender." and they left the common room to find Parvati's twin sister.
Hermione laughed, not at all upset that she had just been abandoned by her two gossip-loving roommates. "Figures."
At that moment, Ron came back down the stairs from his dormitory. "I've just thought of something. Hagrid might not know that Harry's awake. We should go see him. He's been really torn up about this whole thing. You should have seen him yesterday."
Hermione stood. "Right, I almost forgot. Let's go."
So they headed down to Hagrid's hut, the light of the late afternoon sun beating down on them.
"Oh 'ello," Hagrid said cheerily as he opened the door to let them into his cabin. "Have you heard, Harry's awake."
"Yes we have," Hermione said taking a seat. "We came down here to let you know just in case you didn't. Have you been to see him?"
"Uh… no... not yet." Hagrid said. "I wanted to finish making him something before I went to see him."
"Oh what are you making?" Hermione asked, hoping it wasn't any sort of food.
"An album of wizard's photos of his parents." Hagrid explained, pointing to an open book on the table. "He doesn't have any pictures of them. So I thought he'd like this. I'm just waiting for some'ore to arrive."
"I'm sure he will," Hermione beamed. "That's really very thoughtful of you."
"I feel bad thinking that summat could have happened to Harry and it was all my fault."
"It wasn't your fault," Ron said immediately.
"Of course not," Hermione added readily. "Harry's so stubborn, he would have gone after 'you know who' even if he didn't know how to get past Fluffy."
Hagrid looked like he was trying to hold back tears. "Well anyway, I'm just glad you three are okay. And don't go doing anything stupid like that again, ya'here?"
"We'll try." Hermione nodded.
"Can't make any promises though," Ron added wirily.
"Ron!" Hermione said in her trademark, disapproving voice.
They sat and talked with Hagrid for another hour or so but left when they saw he was about to offer them some of the dinner he was cooking up, saying they needed to head back to the castle.
Later that night, Hermione headed to bed at her normal time. It wasn't until she was crawling under the sheets that she realized how tired she actually was. Staying up late these past two nights had definitely taken its toll and she was glad to be returning to her regular sleep pattern. She was also happy that she didn't have to worry about Harry any more.
However as sleep began to overtake her, she realized that it wasn't completely over yet. She still had one more thing to face. Would her parents let her return to Hogwarts next term?