At Her Bedside

I Can't Lose You Too

By the time the sun had fully risen, Harry was completely asleep with his head beside Hermione's form. The position wasn't comfortable by any stretch of the imagination, but the boy managed to find a bit of rest as the mere warmth of Hermione seemed to comfort his tortured spirit. He was blissfully unaware of the fact that Hermione had woken up.

When Hermione opened her eyes, she immediately reached for her wand to defend herself. She was convinced that the battle was still on before the blinding light of the midday sun wore down enough to bring the hospital wing back into view. When her adrenaline fueled alertness faded, the girl was painfully reminded of the curse she had taken. Her chest burnt with every breath she took and it was quickly becoming unbearable as she tried to grab at any form of respite, eventually grabbing onto Harry's head.

Hermione felt the unfamiliar texture in her hand and looked down to find a sleeping Harry Potter by her bedside, looking as peaceful as ever. Immediately, a soft smile adorned Hermione's face before her hand absently started to stroke his hair. The girl never even noticed that her pain eased a bit as she admired the sleeping form of her best friend who stayed the night with her. Hermione's heart nearly overflowed with warmth at the knowledge of Harry staying by her bedside for the entire night and her smile grew wider because of it.

"Oh good, you're awake Miss Granger," Madam Pomfrey called as she made her way over to Hermione.

Hermione's eyes never left Harry.

"Erm, Miss Granger, we will need to wake Mister Potter to run some tests on you," the nurse once again spoke.

Hermione felt downcast at having to wake Harry but nodded her affirmation to Madam Pomfrey anyways. She lightly tapped Harry's shoulder, doing just enough to wake him easily. Watching as he blearily looked at her, the girl couldn't contain her smile when his eyes widened at her awake form before a wide grin spread across his face. "Morning," she playfully called.

"Are you alright? Does it hurt? How do you feel? When did you wake?" He assaulted her with a barrage of questions, never once noticing the amused smile of Madam Pomfrey who was watching the whole exchange. "I'll go get Madam Pomfrey," he offered before he stood up only to see the nurse looking right at him. Sheepishly, he retook his seat as a blush covered his face.

"Honestly, Harry," Hermione giggled, "I feel fine." His concern was certainly touching and the teenaged witch absolutely loved it. Harry was always guarded with his emotions but he was willing to forgo all of that just for her. It made her feel like the most special woman on the planet.

"Ahem. Miss Granger, may we begin?"

Hermione glanced back to the nurse and nodded once more. She didn't fail to notice that Harry had moved his chair closer to her bed and was watching her intently, his concern evident on his face. Her cheeks were definitely going to cramp up with the amount of smiling she was doing. No one would even believe that she nearly lost her life given how happy she was.

The diagnostic charms revealed extensive damage done to Hermione's chest and Harry was forced to look away as Hermione revealed the scars to Madam Pomfrey. Once he knew that she was likely to be scarred for life, Harry retreated into himself. Hermione noticed it immediately and knew Harry had to be blaming himself.

"You are free to go once you get changed, Miss Granger, but you will need to take this once every day for the entirety of the summer," Madam Pomfrey commanded whilst handing Hermione a vial of a purple-colored potion before departing to her office.

Hermione took the first dose of the potion easily and felt the nagging pain in her chest finally recede. However, her heart revealed its own pain mere seconds later when she turned to look at Harry who was looking beyond distraught at the knowledge of her scars. "Harry," she whispered, drawing his attention back to her. "You mustn't blame yourself."