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Chapter Eleven
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When Hermione started to come to, she knew immediately she was very badly hurt. She reached for the chair next to her and started to pull herself up. It took her a long time; she had no idea how long. She cried aloud in pain. Her mind was racing trying to figure out what to do next. She was losing energy by the second. She would never get to St. Mungo's, but she didn't know what else to do…and she could never apparate in this state.
She lost her footing again and fell into the chair. It felt so good to sit down and she wanted to rest a while, but her mind kept screaming at her: Get up, you will die if you stay here!
She coughed and covered her mouth. She looked at her hand and saw that it was bloody. Wow, I really am badly hurt! she thought and she couldn't quite grasp it. I have to get to someone, I have to get help.
Harry was the first thought that came to her mind, but she remembered Ginny talking about taking her home, and Harry being a "dirty boy." She couldn't go to him but her floo was only connected to one other person. She tried to stand up, but she couldn't. She looked over at the fireplace, she would never be able to crawl all that way, she was sure one of her arms were broken.
Stand up! Stand up now! her mind was screaming. You will die!
Her parents faces flashed before her eyes. Ron's followed, he was smiling and waving. Hogwarts came zooming in, her friends, the Burrow… and then she saw him. A pair of green eyes came into focus. She saw Harry's face. He didn't give up, who was she to give up?
"Get up!" she hissed aloud. She pulled herself to her feet. She was up. She took one step, and then another.
---
Draco was pouring champagne over the bosom of a beautiful, blonde girl. She had approached him at the ball after he had returned. Apparently her father had brought her all the way from Hogwarts to attend. She told Draco that she had heard so much about him, about how he was such an upstanding citizen. And who was he to disappoint? When she had said that she and her classmate were staying in London, how could he not be a good host and invite them?
He licked the champagne off the bosom of the friend now. She giggled loudly.
"Oh, Draco," the Arabic looking girl moaned. He loved it, he was the king. Everything was as it should. He heard a sound that sounded like… was it? Could it have been his floo.
"Where are you going?" the blonde moaned.
"I'll be right back, why don't you two make out a bit," he said absentmindedly.
He started walking towards his library. Was it Bellatrix again? Or could it be… might Hermione have decided to come to him, to talk or… He hadn't actually believed the thought until he saw the back of her against him.
"Oh, you wanted seconds, did you?" he snarled.
He saw that she was swaying from side to side. She turned around and he saw her face, beaten almost beyond recognition.
"Draco…" she cried and fell forwards. He leaped forwards and just about missed catching her in his arms.
"Hermione!" he whispered. He panicked, she was so badly hurt. "What happened?"
She looked up at him. She had no energy to answer; she just needed friendly eyes to look into. She needed comfort. If she was dying, she wouldn't die alone. She moaned as Draco shifted her position. He noticed it and ripped her beautiful dress apart. He could see a dark black bruise forming on her stomach.
"Hermione, can you hear me?" he cried. She just looked into his eyes. Her world seemed to be slowing down, his voice sounded funny. "No!" he screamed. He started to pick her up when he heard a voice behind him.
"Where are you, Draco? We want more champagne."
He was shocked that there were other people in the flat; all he knew was that Hermione was dying in his arms, and he needed to get help! He carried her to the fireplace and screamed, "St. Mungo's!"
---
Harry was sitting in front of the telly, flipping between the channels.
"Sweetie, what are you doing?" Ginny called from the bedroom.
"I'm coming," he answered distractedly. Ginny appeared in the doorframe. She was wearing a lace nightgown, obviously bought for Harry's benefit. He smiled kindly at her.
"Do you like it?" she purred.
"Sure."
"Sure?" she snapped.
"It's pretty." Ginny ignored the comment and walked over to him.
"You are so tense, let me help you!" she said and started massaging his shoulders.
He didn't say anything and she walked around him and sat down on his lap. She looked into his eyes.
"You are so sexy, Harry," she purred. He just smiled again. She started kissing his neck and he closed his eyes.
Hermione, Hermione, Hermione, he thought.
His thoughts were interrupted when he heard a strange sound. An owl was scratching the window, it looked very anxious. "Forget it, it's just some minister bull," Ginny mumbled into his neck but he stood up so fast that she nearly fell off his lap onto the floor.
"Harry!" she scolded. "What's wrong with you?" He turned and looked at her. He knew that look, he had seen it on all the Weasley's, especially on Mrs. Weasley.
He opened the window and grabbed the note. "You are unbelievable," Ginny shrieked and stormed towards the bedroom, no doubt waiting for him to come storming after her. He didn't care. He opened the note.
"H seriously hurt. Mungo's. - D"
Harry dropped the note before he had even blinked. He flew in to the fireplace.
"St. Mungo's!" he screamed!
---
He was racing up the stairs of the wizard hospital. He read the signs in the staircase Fourth Floor: Spell Damage, he was finally there! He ran down the hall and found Draco sitting in a waiting room, his head in his hands.
"Malfoy!" Harry screamed and ran up to him. He had been running since he had flooed to St. Mungo's and was out of breath, he had a burning itch in the side, but he didn't even feel it. Draco stood up. He looked harassed and pale.
"They've got her inside; we're not allowed to see her," Draco explained.
"What happened to her? Were you there?" Harry stepped threateningly close to Draco who backed away.
"No, Potter, I wasn't there."
Harry looked down at Draco's shirt, it was covered in blood. He felt faint, this was all his fault. How could he have let Hermione work on this case? How could he have left her alone? How could he let her go with Malfoy? What if she died?
"I left her at her room in the hotel, then after a while she suddenly flooed to my flat, and she fell out looking all…"
"All what?" Harry's voice hitched.
"Beaten to pieces."
"Oh, God." Harry held his stomach. He had to sit down.
"I'm telling you, Potter, she was in really bad shape. I think who ever did this to her…was trying to kill her," he almost whispered the last words.
"Why the hell did she floo to your flat?" Harry asked and Draco shrugged. Harry stared at the clock on the wall. It was two-o-clock in the morning. He sat down next to Draco as time passed by slowly.
Four-o-clock…six-o-clock.
The healer finally came out at seven-o-clock. Harry and Draco both shot out of their chairs. The healer was a black, plump medi-witch and she had a very somber look on her face. Harry felt like he had ice in his stomach, and his hands started sweating. She didn't start talking until she was within inches of them.
"We still don't know," she answered.
"How can you not know?" Harry demanded.
"She was hit with many spells, a few dark magic spells. But she was also beaten severely," the witch explained.
"What dark magic?" Draco asked.
"We don't know, but she has still not woken up."
"But she will?" Harry asked pleadingly.
"We don't know," she answered truthfully.
"Can we see her?" Draco and Harry asked together.
She nodded and they followed her. Harry felt like he was walking to his own execution. The room Hermione was in reminded him of the hospital wing at Hogwarts, there were many beds inside, but a screen made sure Hermione had some privacy. The closer they got the more Harry felt like he would be sick. Her face became clearer as they approached and he inhaled gravely. She didn't look like herself.
Her eye was swelled shut, her lips were broken. She had a big bruise on the right side of her face. Harry looked at her arm wrapped up in a sling.
"She has broken her arm and many of her ribs. She also has a crack in one of her thighs were she seemed to have
been kicked. She must have been stunned first, because she has no defense wounds."
Harry swallowed hard; he turned his eyes towards Draco just to have something else to look at. Draco was pale, and he
seemed to have as much trouble breathing as Harry did.
"Can I, can I touch her?" Harry whispered and the mediwitch nodded. He took Hermione's hand in his and squeezed it lightly. He pulled up a chair and sat down on it. The mediwitch backed away and left them alone.
"Look, Potter, I think I'm going to head to the office and let everyone know what has happened," Draco said. Harry didn't answer.
"I'll come back in a while," Draco continued. He turned and started walking away. He was still in earshot when he heard Harry whisper, "Please, Hermione, please don't die." He turned and looked over his shoulder, Harry had his head leaned forward on the bed and he was crying.
---
A full investigation was launched immediately. The Auror department classified Hermione's attack as an attempt on her life. Hermione's parents couldn't be reached, Hermione had hidden them in Australia and she was the only one who knew where they were.
Hermione was lying dead-still in her bed. It had just been a few hours since Harry had first been allowed to visit her, but he still hadn't left her side.
"Tell me Hermione, just wake up and tell me who did this," he whispered. He leaned down and let his lips gently grace her hand. "You know, when you wake up I think you deserve a holiday, where would you like to go?"
He kept talking and talking, praying that she would wake up.
---
"Why did you do this?" Draco demanded from Bellatrix.
"Who said I did?" Bellatrix snarled.
"I'm done with this," Draco said and started to turn. Bellatrix roared angrily and stood up from her seat. Draco spun around and saw a guard pulling his mother out by the hair.
"She's your sister, Bellatrix!" Draco pleaded.
"Family is nothing when looking at the grand picture," she said, her eyes were scarily wide open.
"What do you want me to do?" Draco asked.
"I want to know Draco, why are you so bothered by what happened to the mudblood. She has nothing to do with you, does she?" Bellatrix tilted her head. Draco didn't answer. "Could you have a small infatuation with her? Is that why you took her to the ball?" Draco didn't know how Bellatrix knew about that, but he guessed she had ears and eyes everywhere.
"So is that why you tried to kill Granger, because I took her to the ball?" Draco snarled. "I date many girls, Bellatrix, you will have to kill half of London if that's the rule."
"Oh, I don't care about that Draco, but someone has some trouble controlling herself, hasn't she?" she screamed to the corner. Pansy Parkinson stepped out of the shadows. She had a large bruise on the side of her face and a cracked lip. "Pansy was supposed to look through her room, but jealousy is difficult, isn't it?" Bellatrix continued. Pansy hung her head.
Draco couldn't believe it. Pansy was with Bellatrix? Sure, he knew Pansy had some radical ideas - but this?
"How can you help her? She has my mother!" Draco hissed at Pansy.
"It's all for the greater good, Draco," Pansy sounded almost like she was begging for him to understand. "We have to help her, Draco. She has brilliant plans. Things will be like when the Dark Lord ruled." Draco shook his head.
Bellatrix nodded, obviously pleased by Pansy's words. "Society must be cleansed of elements which represent its own death," Bellatrix spoke proudly. "A Muggle-leader said that once; wise man. He could have been a proud Death Eater - had he not been a filthy mudblood."
Draco looked back at Pansy who was nodding proudly. "Yes, you will soon und…"
"You will soon have a new mission!" Bellatrix interrupted Pansy and spoke to Draco. "I will let you know when the time arrives."
---
A week passed and nothing changed. Ron had arrived from the States. The Weasley's had all been to visit her. But she just lied there, still, silently.
Harry was home for a quick shower, and would be returning to the hospital.
Ginny entered the bathroom. "Going to the hospital?" she asked.
"Mmm," he answered shortly.
"You have to return to work soon, Harry," she continued.
"I will return when Hermione wakes up," he snapped from inside the shower. Ginny hung her head; she knew this was hard for Harry. Ron was totally devastated, as was she. But she was worried about Harry; he seemed obsessed by what had happened to Hermione. He hardly looked at Ginny. She knew he just needed some time, but she wanted to help him somehow.
"I thought I'd come by the hospital later. Bring some fresh flowers for Hermione," she tried.
"Yeah, she'd like that," he answered.
"Would she?" Ginny couldn't contain the sarcasm. "I miss you, that's all, Harry."
Harry peered out from behind the shower curtain.
"Well, you're coming by with your family later. We'll see each other then, won't we?"
"That's not what I meant," Ginny pouted. "How about I move in?" she asked.
"Ginny, honestly!" Harry sighed. "First of all, we decided you wouldn't until after the wedding, and second of all - do your really think now is the time to talk about this?"
He left just a few minutes after. Ginny glared at the door as it slammed shut. She felt like she hardly had any time
with Harry anymore.
AN: Thanks to all who take the time to review, I really appreciate it!
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