"Love Almost Lost"
Chapter 11 Hermione Wakes Up…and Remembers
A/N: Usual disclaimer, I own nothing that belongs to JKR.
Sorry for the tardiness in updating, between work and getting access to a computer in a family of five, sometimes is difficult. But, here are the next pair of chapters, hope you enjoy. To those who have read, thank you, and to those who have reviewed, thank you too.
Harry walked over to the conference room door and unsealed it. Professor Dumbledore bid Harry a goodnight and headed back to the school. Harry took up his usual position in the chair by her bed. He took her hand in his and it felt so warm and normal. He was completely amazed at how much better she looked. She looked like her normal, beautiful self. He just wished she would wake up since they had so much to discuss. They needed to talk about their future together, especially now since they had a home and enough money for the rest of their lives.
He wondered how much of what happened in Diagon Alley she would be able to remember? She would eventually have to come to terms with the death of her parents, and he would help her any way he could, do anything for her to help her get through this. He just wished she would wake up.
Harry knew it was getting late, and he needed to sleep, but he wanted to be near Hermione. He took his chair, put it directly beside her bed, and while still seated, he leaned forward and was on the bed by Hermione's side. This would be all right. With Hermione's hand in his, he lay there beside her, and quickly fell asleep.
As before, he had wonderful dreams filled with Hermione. They were walking by the lake, watching the giant squid floating by and then they stopped and were facing each other, just standing there, gazing into each other's eyes. The distance between them narrowed until their lips met in a gentle kiss. Her hands worked their way up to his hair. She loved playing with his hair while they kissed. They gently parted and she looked up at him and said his name softly. It sounded wonderful to hear Hermione say his name.
Hearing Hermione say his name in his dream caused him to awaken from his sleep. He realized he was sitting in his usual chair, but he was leaning forward onto Hermione's bed. He knew he was quite awake, but was confused as to why he could still feel and hear his dream.
He could feel his hair being lightly stroked, and hear his name being said softly in a very familiar voice. Then realization hit him like a bewitched bludger. He slowly turned his head towards Hermione, and there she was. She had come back to him. She was looking at him with those beautiful brown eyes, gently playing with his unruly hair. He was filled with so much joy he felt as if he could burst.
He jumped up and screamed, "HERMIONE, YOU'RE AWAKE!"
"Yes, Harry. I have been for the past half hour, but, you looked so peaceful, I didn't want to wake you," she said almost in a whisper.
"Oh, Hermione, I've missed you so much. I thought I was going to lose you," said Harry with increasing emotion.
Tears slowly flowed down his face, as he went over to her, leaned down and gently kissed her. She lightly kissed him back.
"Hermione, I hate to step out at this moment, but I promise you I will be right back, don't worry. I need to get one of the Healers," said Harry.
She looked a little apprehensive, but nodded. He left the room and sprinted to the Healer station. Chief Healer Osbourne was on duty when Harry arrived.
Seeing his excited state she asked, "Is there anything wrong, Mr. Potter?"
Harry answered with a huge grin on his face, "No ma'am, it's just that Hermione's awake. Come quickly, please." They both sprinted back to Hermione's room.
When they entered the room, they saw she had moved up to a more comfortable sitting position, but she looked a bit confused, though.
"Miss Granger, it's nice to have you back, dear. I'm Chief Healer Osbourne. I'm one of the staff that's been taking care of you since you arrived at St. Mungos. How do you feel?" she asked.
"I feel very weak, and everything hurts terribly. I feel like I've been beaten. But, why did you tell me 'welcome back'? What's happened that I'm in the hospital? I can't seem to remember, everything is fuzzy," said Hermione.
Harry and Healer Osbourne were both very concerned with Hermione's lack of memory. Harry whispered to the Healer to contact Professor Dumbledore immediately. She quickly left the room to take care of that.
Harry walked over and sat down beside Hermione on the bed. He took both of her hands in his, looked straight in her beautiful brown eyes and said,
"I love you, Hermione. Everything is going to be all right, I will always take care of you."
"What's wrong, Harry? What has happened? I can't remember exactly, I can see just bits and pieces in my mind. My parents and I had been shopping in Diagon Alley, and then I remember an excruciating pain like I've never experienced before. I just wanted to die so it would stop, but I remember screaming for you to help me," she said.
Then tears began flowing down her cheeks. Harry put his arms around her in a firm embrace, but as he held her, he noticed her sobbing was becoming more and more intense. He tightened his embrace to comfort her, but she was now sobbing uncontrollably. Harry didn't know what was wrong, but he held her as best he could in an attempt to comfort her.
At that moment, Healer Osbourne and Professor Dumbledore entered the room. Seeing the state Hermione was in they became very concerned.
Dumbledore spoke first, "Miss Granger, what's wrong? Tell us, we are here to help you."
Hermione tried to talk, but she was sobbing too hard. Harry tried his best to assure her everything would be all right, that he would take care of her, she would be okay. She finally calmed down enough to where she could talk.
Slowly, through her tears, she spoke,
"I remember now. We had just come out of Flourish and Blotts. We were going back to The Leaky Cauldron so my mum and dad could go home. Two people in black cloaks appeared in front of us. They…killed…my …parents!"
At her last word she buried her head in Harry's chest and screamed in anguish. Tears now flowed down his face, his heart breaking seeing Hermione in such pain. All he could do was hold her tightly and continue to tell her everything would be all right. He felt completely helpless.
"Harry, Miss Granger needs to grieve for her parents. It is normal. It helps lead to acceptance, which will help her deal with her loss. Just comfort her like you are, it will help her more than you know," said the headmaster.
Professor Dumbledore and Healer Osbourne left them alone so Hermione could deal with her grief.
Harry didn't know how long he had been holding Hermione, but her sobs had eventually subsided as she cried her self to sleep. Harry gently untangled himself from her and placed her on the bed. He then carefully picked her up and held her close to him, as he sat down in the chair by her bed. This is where they were found next morning by Healer Pruitt, who had brought in Hermione's next dose of potion.
"Mr. Potter? Mr. Potter. It's time for Miss Granger's potion, sir," said the Healer.
Harry opened his eyes and realized he was still holding Hermione. He had sat in the chair all night holding her. He slowly got up and gently placed Hermione in her bed so the Healer could administer her potion. He stepped out of the room to stretch his legs and work the kinks out of his back. His back hurt greatly from sitting in the hard chair all night.
He continued walking until he had worked himself down to the little flower shop located in the hospital lobby. He picked up a dozen beautiful red roses and headed back to Hermione's room.
As Harry entered the room, he saw Professor Dumbledore sitting by the bed talking softly to Hermione. He could see tears on her cheeks, but she was much more in control than she had been last night. He half heartedly tried to hide the roses, but she had seen them when he first stepped in.
"Oh, Harry, how sweet. They're beautiful!" exclaimed Hermione.
"I thought they would brighten up your room," he said with a smile.
Harry looked around for something to put them in, but couldn't find anything. The headmaster produced his wand and conjured a beautiful vase on the table by Hermione's bed. Harry put the roses into the vase, which conveniently, already contained water.
"Thank you, Harry. I love you," said Hermione with a flicker of a smile.
He went over to her and kissed her gently on the cheek. She reached over and squeezed his hand.
Harry sat down beside her on the bed.
Locking eyes with her he asked, "How are you feeling?"
"Harry, physically I feel much better. The potion is doing a wonderful job, but, I'm going to need time to deal with my parent's death," said Hermione.
A lone tear trickled down her face. She wiped it away with a tissue that already looked overused.
"I feel that, with your help, and especially with your love and comfort, I'll be able to handle it better. I know I'll never be completely over it, but in time the pain will eventually begin to ease some," she said firmly.
"Hermione, you know I'll do anything in my power to help you," Harry said lovingly.
"I know. That's one of the reasons I love you so much," said Hermione.
"Well," said the headmaster.
Hermione blushed as Harry jumped. They had forgotten the headmaster was even there.
"I need to return to Hogwarts, so I'll leave you two to discuss your future plans," said Professor Dumbledore with a wink. He left the room.