Scars That Heal (Dramione Fanfiction) [COMPLETE]

22 - Treading on Glass

Hermione woke up in the Hospital Wing. Her first thought as she came to was a terrible feeling of deadened sadness in her stomach, but it took her a moment to realise why. Then it all came flooding back - the news, Ginny helping her, the noise of the hospital, her mother, her father... It made her heart pound and her head spin.

"It's all right, you're fine now, Miss Granger. We put you in here so you wouldn't be disturbed in your sleep." came a slightly unclear voice above her. Hermione's eyes took a moment to adjust, but then she saw the face of Madam Pomfrey smiling gently and offering her a glass. Hermione took it, and had a few sips before sinking back into sleep again.

It was pure darkness for several hours, then Hermione woke up again, as simply as a light turning on.

"What happened?" she asked Madam Pomfrey, who was by her bed, "Did I pass out after I woke up?"

"Oh, goodness! No, no, I gave you a stronger sleeping potion, so you would be able to rest properly. You passed out from sheer exhaustion when you got back from the hospital, so I hear, and I was asked to keep an eye on you here instead of just leaving you in your dormitory. I made you sleep longer so that you were definitely well-rested as your tiredness caught up with you."

Hermione sank back into the pillows, looking around at the other people in the hospital. There was a third-year with a large bandage around their arm, and a fourth-year who was rubbing a thick orange ointment onto a rash across their chest. She also saw Seamus, who was on the verge of sleep with Dean holding his hand, rubbing circles onto the back of it with his thumb. He was smiling, and talking soothingly to Seamus as he drifted off to sleep. Dean then spotted Hermione watching him and he dropped the other boy's hand, embarrassed.

"How long did I sleep for?" Hermione asked, turning her head and wincing as her neck twinged painfully.

"You came back from the hospital at about eleven o'clock yesterday morning - it was quite early in the morning when you left - and you first woke up at about three that afternoon. I then gave you the medicine and you were out like a candle for a long while. It's five o'clock now, the day after - Friday. You've slept for a whole day at least. I wanted you to properly catch up on some rest, because I know you've been struggling recently."

"No, I've been fine. I'm just working hard, that's all. I need to do well." Hermione protested, trying to get up and feeling her head pound. "I'm fine. I need to get back to work, I've missed a whole day of lessons."

"No, no! Hermione, lie down. Miss Granger! I am here to keep you well, and you must relax and get better before I can let out back to lessons. No, Hermione!" Madam Pomfrey struggled to persuade Hermione not to get up.

Hermione was tied. She desperately wanted to stay there, to sleep and forget everything if she could. Her insides were just hurting too much, and it felt like the weight of the world was crushing her. But she needed to forget, and realistically she couldn't lie here sipping sleeping draughts until her father got better. The only way she knew to distract herself was to throw herself into her work, and that was what she had to do.

"Honestly, Miss, I'm much better. I just needed the extra rest and I'm feeling so much better." she tried, giving a little smile.

"No you're not. I can see that under those dark bags is someone who is very tired and very, very sad. You need to spend at least the next night here, and maybe you can return to lessons on Monday." Madam Pomfrey gave her a knowing smile, and offered the luxury of a visitor to her. Hermione said she wanted to see Dean, who was still by Seamus, so the teacher called him over to speak to Hermione.

"What's up, Hermione? I don't know much about why you went, only that your dad's really sick." he said, perching at the end of Hermione's bed.

"Yeah, he's not good. Mum's not good at all either," Hermione said, feeling the blackness swallow her mind. She pushed past it so she could speak to Dean properly, not as a weeping wreck. "What's Seamus in for?"