Hermione Granger and the Order of the Phoenix

"Harry--what--Harry! Dammit! Luna, wake up!"

"Wh-what?"

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, what happened?"

"That tank of brains broke, the potion is getting everywhere, we've got to get out of here! Help me get up!"

A trail of giggles echoed across the room.

"Ginny, lookit--there's water everywhere!"

"Ron, get up, come on, go!" There was a guttural sound of exertion. "You all right, Ginny?"

"We've got to get Hermione too! Luna, let's see if we can drag her out."

"You can't walk by yourself! Ron, help us!"

Another strand of giggles.

"Loony, loony, loony Lovegood!"

"Oh, for heaven's sake! Ron, go!"

A wave of salty, odorous liquid suddenly deluded over Hermione and she gasped slightly despite her stupor. She was suddenly quite aware of her surroundings, and although she had heard fragments of conversation, it never really sank in what was going on.

She knew she should try to open her eyes and sit up, she really did. But goddammit, she hurt! She could practically feel every individual bone in her body pressing against each other, she knew she'd never need to take an anatomy class since every single organ was pulsating with agony, so she could feel exactly where her liver, her heart, her lungs, where everything was located in her body. In fact, for about the hundredth time, she despised the fact that she had so much hair, not because she couldn't brush it or that it was in her face, but because she could feel every individual strand actually almost prickling with pain. The pain then radiated up each hair and centered in her scalp, and then spread across the rest of her body.

What happened, she thought vaguely as she tried to sort out her thoughts, or well, actually, to think at all without focusing on the pain. The last thing she remembered was running into the small room with Harry and Neville and getting hit with some sort of odd curse that for once she didn't know what it was. Probably because he hadn't uttered the incantation along with the motion, several spells consisted of a slashing move like the one that had been used on her. Whatever one that had been used, however, must have been a powerful one.

"All right, this is getting ridiculous! Luna, I can hop over just fine, you get a hold of Hermione. And Ron, move it!"

"Ginny," Ron's voice suddenly sounded very faint and scared. "Why is Hermione sleeping?"

"Oh, shit," Ginny however didn't sound irritated with Ron in the least; in fact she sounded as though she felt sorry for him. "Ron, don't look, go in the other room."

"Wake up, Hermione!"

"Ron, please!"

"Hermione!"

"Stupefy!

There was a long silence before Luna's voice, devoid of its usual breathiness, broke in flatly.

"You do realize now I'll have to drag him out too?"

Ginny let out a howl of frustration.

"Giddy!"

"Neville! Professor!"

"Just calm down, Ginny. Luna, go back and help Ginny. Neville, do you think you could manage Hermione?"

"Yeah."

"I'll get Ron," There was a scuffling sound, as if something was being dragged across the floor. "Just lay her up on the desk, Neville. Are you sure you can manage?"

"Yeah."

"Professor, Harry ran through there just now after some witch, what's going on?"

"Not now, Ginny, not now..."

Hermione felt her arms roughly being jerked upwards so she was swaying on her feet, but before she could topple back to the comfort of the stone floor, her hips were pressing into Neville's shoulder, and as he straightened up, he pulled her arms so her side was resting against his other shoulder, her stomach against Neville's neck. Neville gripped Hermione's upper arm and leg as he walked unsteadily. Hermione felt an immense sense of guilt pervade through the haze of pain--if she was awake, and knew that Neville was carrying her, she should let him know and at least try to walk by herself. She shouldn't have to force Neville to carry her.

"Ginny, sit down. Tell me what happened to Ron."

"I dunno, he got hit with some sort of curse, he was giggling like mad and spitting up blood, and then these brains grabbed him and tried to strangle him, and I guess he managed to get away from them on his own, so I thought maybe he was better, but he still didn't stop babbling so I had to Stun him..."

Oh my God, Hermione thought frantically. Ron was hurt, he was really, really hurt. She should go and help, she might be able to help...

But as Neville hoisted her off of his shoulder, she knew she couldn't. Her head was unbearably heavy and she didn't think she could hold it upright if she tried, not to mention the stabbing currents of pain that were continuously shooting across her chest and midriff. Her head lolled the side so her cheek was pressing against the smooth wood of the long desk Neville had laid her on. That's better...

"Let's leave Ron for now. Let me take a look at Hermione."

A rough hand passed over her face, turning her head. For a brief moment, a sharp, intense jolt of pain burst through one of Hermione's eyes, but it vanished rather quickly as darkness settled back over her vision of that eye. Hermione realized that Lupin must have raised one of her eyelids to check on her condition, but still. That had hurt like hell, and now Hermione knew that she wouldn't be able to get up anytime soon. The brief exposure to light had caused her to have a migraine, and now she was more than a little nauseous. Lupin's fingers were now on the side of her neck, checking for a pulse.

"Hermione, can you hear me?"

She wished she could open her mouth and respond, she really did. But she couldn't. She just hurt so much. Hermione knew that if she had been fully conscious, she probably would have burst out into tears, but then again, that would probably cause her to double over with pain right now.

"Is she going to be all right?"

"Her pulse is strong, breathing is a bit shallow, but I think she'll be all right, Ginny. Neville, do you know what happened?"

"She god hid wid some curse, I don'd know whad id was, dere wadn't an incandadion or anydind."

"Did he make some sort of slashing motion?" Lupin asked sharply.

"Yed."

Another pause, in which Hermione used the time to consider why Neville was talking as though he had a heavy cold.

Several pairs of footsteps thudded into the room.

"Moody! Kingsley! Where's..."

"Dumbledore Apparated after Potter, he knows where the boy went, told us to check on the other children..."

"Moody, you should really get that gash checked out..."

"I'm fine, Remus, honestly,"

"Ron and Hermione need help, Professor, they need a Healer!"

"Poppy will check him out when we get back to Hogwarts."

"Wouldn't St. Mungo's be better?"

"Hogwarts is the safest place for you now. And Poppy is as good as any Healer. Here, Neville, take my handkerchief, and sit down. You doing all right over there, Luna?"

"Yes."

"What happened to the Weasley boy's arms?"

"The brains in the next room."

"Ah. What about her?"

"The curse Bella used on Tonks."

"Dear God, will she be all right?"

"She's breathing, she'll pull though, Hermione's a tough kid."

"Remus, about Sirius..."

"Don't."

"I..."

"Just don't!"

Silence.

"All right, let's get these kids ready to go home. They won't be able to use a Portkey if they're unconscious."

"Right. Ron's only been Stunned, so he shouldn't be too difficult to wake up. He has been cursed, but I'm betting a powerful enough Finite Incantem should do the trick."

"Right."

"Wait! Take him into the other room."

"Whatever for?"

Hermione dimly felt Lupin's hand on her shoulder.

"Seeing her like this is only going to make things worse for him."

"You're right, Remus. Kingsley, you want to give me a hand? Can you handle the girl on your own, Remus?"

"I think so."

"I'm coming too!"

"Ginny, you can't walk on that ankle."

"He's my brother, and I want to be there when he wakes up!"

"All right, Ginny. Let me give you a hand."

"Thank you." Ginny's voice sounded full of pain and determination as Hermione heard her shuffle out of the room along with the others. Please, please, be all right, Ron, she begged silently in her head when she found herself still unable to move an inch, despite her desire to sit up and follow Ron out of the room.

"Luna, are you hurt?"

"I'm fine."

"Neville, is there anything I can do for you?"

"No, id bedder since you gade me the handerdief."

"Madame Pomfrey will have you fixed up in no time; I once broke my nose myself on the Whomping Willow."

Neville broke his nose!?

"Well, take a seat, Neville while I try to wake Hermione up, okay?"

Oh no, Hermione thought groggily, don't make me do this, I don't want to get up...

"Hermione? Hermione, open your eyes for me."

I'd rather not, thank you very much...

"Come on, Hermione."

Go away...

"Hermione?"

Leave me alone, I just want to go back to sleep...

"Enervate!"

Hermione felt a spell hit her, and the only result that occurred was a fresh jolt of pain explode in her chest. Despite her stupor, she knew well enough that Eneverate only worked to reverse the effects of Stupefy.

"I didn't think that would work, but I thought I'd give it a try."

"Is she awake yet?"

"No, Alastor!"

"Sorry, Remus, but the boy is asking about her and Potter."

"Is he all right? Did Finite work?"

"He's shaken, but he'll be fine. He's got some pretty nasty welts on his arms though from those brains that need tending to."

Thank God, Hermione would have sank to her knees if she had been standing in relief. The thought of Ron being hurt or worse...well, it just wasn't conceivable in the current state that she was in. Hell, it wasn't conceivable in any state she was in; it just hurt too much to even think about.

"What about her? Enervate didn't work?"

"No," Lupin squeezed Hermione's shoulder. "I think that she needs something a bit more powerful. When Ron's feels better, get him in here."

Yes! She had to know if Ron was alright, and if she couldn't gather the strength to get to him, all she could do was pray that somehow, someway he could come to her.

"I thought you said that you didn't want him to see like that!"

"Not while he's recovering, no. But I think Hermione lingering in whatever state that she's in, and she needs him to get her out of it. She'll come out on her own if he's here."

"Are you sure?"

"Alastor, have you seen these two together!"

"Yes..."

"And you realize who they remind us of?"

"Of course I do..."

"And if Lily was lying here unconscious, what would we do for her?"

"We'd get James."

"Then get Ron!"

"Don't bother."

"Ron, get back in here!"

"Shut it, Ginny. Where's Hermione?"

"Ron, don't exert yourself, sit back down! You can see her in a minute."

"Listen to him, lad, and get back in the corridor!"

"What happened? What's wrong with her? Is she going to be all right?"

"I think she'll be just fine, but just take it easy, Ron. You aren't going to help Hermione by hurting yourself; that's the last thing she'd want."

"Are you doing anything for her? Have you tried to help her at all?"

"Ron!"

"Look, just let me see her. Maybe I can help; you were saying that I would help her..."

"Ron..."

"You said that we remind you of Harry's parents, that if Harry's mum was hurt, you'd get Harry's dad right in there, right?"

"Ron..."

"Then I should be here with her, right?"

"Ron..."

"Remus!"

There was a slight pause, in which Hermione dazedly comprehended that Ron had actually called their former professor by his first name. She was glad that he felt well-enough to get into a row, but she still was rather concerned about his health. They had been mentioning welts of some sort. Maybe he should sit down. She was touched that he was insisting that he be with her so vehemently, but he shouldn't put his own health at risk. If anything happened to Ron...

The thought frightened Hermione so much that she knew she had to say something to make sure that Ron wouldn't overexert himself. All right, Hermione, time to wake up.

She didn't feel ready to open her eyes or sit up just yet; in fact, any sort of movement at all didn't seem feasible at all. But she had to let him know not to hurt himself like this. And there was also the fact that she knew that she wouldn't have the strength to move without Ron by her side. Her muscles twitched slightly as she tried desperately to move, and she knew that her hand jerked but that was all. She was going to have to get his attention in another way.

"Ron?" she managed to croak out. Goodness, she sounded horrible. She wasn't very surprised though since her mouth and lips were so incredibly dry.

"Hermione!" It sounded as though Ron was running over to her. He was panting when she sensed him by her side, making her feel incredibly guilty. He shouldn't be hurting himself like this for her. Granted, it did make her feel wonderful since he cared so much, but she couldn't bear him doing this to himself. "Hermione, open your eyes," Ron pleaded.

Actually opening her eyes did not sound appealing at the moment, but it was difficult was to hear Ron's voice take on that desperate tone and not do anything about it. She had to let him know that she was all right.

"Ron," she whispered again.

"I'm here," Ron said urgently, his hand now on her cheek and turning her face in the opposite direction, towards him, she assumed. "Can you open your eyes for me?"

Oh, God, why can I never say no to you, Hermione drowsily cursed herself. "Yes." It took several moments to get her brain to send the appropriate signal to her eyes though, so it took a bit before her eyelids finally fluttered open.

Ron was standing at her left side, his hand still on her cheek, which was burning in much more pleasant way. He was much paler than usual, but other than that, he appeared uninjured, just a little worse for the wear. His tired smile broke over his face though, lighting up his features. God, Ron has a great smile, she thought wearily. Remus Lupin was on the other side of her, smiling in relief as well.

"Hey," Ron said quietly, "How are you feeling?'

Hermione wanted to reassure him that she was fine, and not to worry about her, but she found it most difficult to lie to Ron, so she didn't. She simply shrugged slightly, hoping her grimace at the movement wasn't too noticeable.

"Can you tell us what happened?" Lupin asked her quietly.

"Well--Death Eaters--and one--me," Hermione was surprised at how difficult it was to string together a coherent sentence. But her mind just seemed to have trouble connecting one thought to the next, and it was even more difficult to verbalize how she was feeling. Ron looked utterly confused, and glanced over at Lupin for guidance.

"Let's try to sit you up," Lupin suggested. He took hold of one of her arms while Ron took the other. Carefully, both pulled her up in a sitting position, but they couldn't stop the pain from exploding in her chest. Hermione tried to muffle her cry of pain, but she couldn't stop it from tumbling out of her mouth. She jerked her arm away from Lupin's grip so she could wrap it around her midriff in an attempt to lessen the sharp pain, but it wasn't enough. Without the additional support, she keeled over to the other side and her fall was stopped by none other than Ron Weasley's strong chest. He gently guided her legs so they were dangling off the desk. Her fingers clutched the edge of the desk, but there was no way she would lift her head from Ron's school jumper. It just felt so good and after being in so much pain, it was the only thing that helped. Ron instinctively stepped closer to her so she could rest her cheek more comfortably on the soft wool, and he brought one large hand up to stroke her hair reassuringly. Hermione closed her eyes and let out a long, shaky breath.

"It's okay," Ron said in the low, calming tone that she only heard from him in the most desperate of circumstances. "Everything is going to be all right."

A thought hit Hermione so suddenly and violently that she pulled away from the comfort of Ron's grip so she could look at him. She didn't care how much it hurt to do that. She couldn't believe that she hadn't thought of this before, how could she be so stupid and selfish...

"Harry?" she whispered anxiously. The last time she had seen him, there had been two Death Eaters in the room who were hell-bent on capturing Harry.

"I--I don't know," Ron glanced over at Lupin. "He went off by himself--I don't know what's happened, but..." Ron trailed off. Their former professor was definitely avoiding their eyes, looking as though he was suffering through an intense internal battle. Something was really wrong, Hermione thought with growing anxiety as she straightened up even more, wincing at the pain it brought. She blinked in surprise when she saw the several other people clustered in the room; she had forgotten they were even there. Ginny was leaning against the door, stooped over an obviously injured leg with Kingsley at her side. Luna and Neville were both sitting on the ground, their backs against the wall. Neville was holding a bloody handkerchief to his face and leaning his head back while Luna patted his shoulder reassuringly. Moody with his constant vigilance had his wand out, and his false eye was zooming around for a possible surprise attack.

"Ginny? Neville? Luna, you all okay?" she called over to them.

"I'd be oday, Herdmione," Neville spluttered out through his heavy nosebleed.

"I'm fine," Ginny reassured her, biting her lip in a manner that was very unlike the confident Ginny Weasley Hermione was such good friends with.

"Me too," Luna said in her typical far-off voice.

Hermione nodded in relief, and then turned to Ron, remembering what she had overheard. "What about you? I heard someone mention you had been hurt. What happened?"

Ron silently rolled up his sleeves, and Hermione let out a little shriek of shock. His arms were covered in large, deep, searing, horrid-looking, purple welts that looked incredibly painful. She gently took hold of one of Ron's elbows so she could inspect the wounds closer. They didn't look like typical burns. In fact, they looked like nothing Hermione had ever seen before, and she had perused a fair amount of medical texts.

"What happened to you?" she asked edgily.

"Brains," Ron jerked his head towards the center room, and Hermione noticed for the first time that the tank was smashed, and brains and fluid littered the floor. "I touched them, and..."

"They attacked you!" Hermione gasped, "Oh, Ron, we've got to get these checked out straight away!" She looked appealingly over at Lupin. "We've got to get to out here."

"I assure you, we will, Miss Granger."

Hermione twisted around hopefully, not caring that splotches of bright light were passing across her vision from the rush of pain that engulfed her body at the movement.

"Dumbledore," Lupin said respectfully as he anxiously stepped around the desk Hermione was still perched on. "Where is he?"

"Harry is just fine, Remus," The entire room let out a collective sigh of relief, and Hermione couldn't resist dropping her forehead back onto Ron's chest; her head was starting to feel unbearably heavy again. Dumbledore's vivid blue eyes roved around the room to check on his students' condition. He looked especially concerned when he spotted Neville's nose, Ron's arms, and Ginny's ankles but that was before his eyes rested on Hermione. "Miss Granger?" His tone grew much sharper and he strode over to her with an agility she would not have reckoned a man as old as Dumbledore would have.

"Hey," Ron shrugged his shoulders so Hermione's head bounced lightly off of him and he moved his hand up to her cheek in order to hold her head up. "You doing all right?" Hermione simply nodded and leaned into Ron's touch.

"Look at me, please, Miss Granger," Dumbledore's long finger rested underneath her chin to guide her head in his direction. He looked deeply into her half-open eyes, and Hermione knew that he was using Legilimency to assess her condition. He nodded as though what he saw confirmed his thoughts, and when he lightly patted her on the head, Hermione felt a rush of strength and awareness surge through her. "You're going to be just fine, Miss Granger," Dumbledore said quietly. Hermione smiled her thanks and Dumbledore turned his attention to Ron. "Please keep an eye on her for me, Mr. Weasley."

"Of course," Ron sounded offended that Dumbledore had to even tell him to stay by her side. Dumbledore chuckled lightly, and his hand stopped on one of Ron's welts. Ron stiffened, and breathed a sigh as though his pain had been eased. "Thanks."

Dumbledore nodded and peered at both of them over his half-moon spectacles. "I have already sent Harry back to Hogwarts, and I'm sure he'll come to see you in the morning. But until then, I expect you both to get as much rest as you can."

"Yes, Professor," Hermione and Ron said together. But Hermione could tell that Harry wasn't fine; something had to be wrong, and another glance over at Lupin confirmed that. He was standing over by the wall, one hand raised over his head as he leaned against the wall for support, and Hermione could have sworn that she saw his shoulders shake with sobs.

Dumbledore had now moved on to speak with Ginny, Luna, and Neville in a quiet voice. Kingsley was watching Lupin with great trepidation and Moody must have gone to help elsewhere, since he was now gone.

"Something's wrong," Hermione murmured, "something's really wrong, Ron."

"I know," Ron said under his breath.

"What do you think happened?" Hermione asked, staring up at Ron with wide, anxious eyes.

"I--I don't know," Ron stammered, eyes wandering around the room for a clue of what had happened after he had been cursed. His eyes rested on Lupin for a moment, and Hermione followed his gaze. Now she was positive that Lupin was crying, but why? Her mind was still too cloudy to think, and the sight of a grown man crying was only matters worse. Hermione took a long, shuddery breath as she felt her chest start to tighten and her throat burn. Don't cry, don't cry, don't cry...

Of course Ron chose that moment to be incredibly sweet again and he softly brushed her damp curls away from her face. She had been waiting for him for ages to smooth her hair back like that. Of course, Hermione had imagined the situation to be much more romantic and for her hair to be silky and adorably curly rather than the sticky frizzy mass that it was now; the potion from the container holding the brains had really done horrific things for her hair. But that didn't matter; what mattered was that Ron was here, and although she didn't think that she would ever stop feeling this awful, he was here, and that was enough. His wide fingers continued to rove through the coarse strands, and Hermione closed her eyes. God, it felt so good for him to do that. The trouble was that it was such a relief and she was so touched that Ron was doing that on top of the fact that she had never felt so terrible in her life that it was more difficult than ever to not burst out sobbing. It now felt like she had swallowed a huge, hot lump that was wedged her throat and her chest was so tight that she could scarcely breathe. Tears welled inside of her closed eyes, and without realizing what she was doing, she reached up and took hold of Ron's hand which was still in her hair. Her fingers tightened around his wrist and she squeezed it for dear life, struggling as hard as she could not to burst out sobbing.

"Hey," Ron said quietly, and even with her eyes closed, she could hear the smile in his voice. "You could strangle a mountain troll with that grip," He was correct in assuming that the reference to the troll would produce a weak laugh from her. She thought she could brave opening her eyes now, but when she did, a tear or two escaped from the corners of her eyes and trickled down her cheek. She ducked her head in embarrassment, but Ron's hand was still on her face, and he moved her head back towards him. "Don't cry, love, please," he said so quietly that she almost didn't hear him. But she did catch that he called her "love" and to boot, he gently wipe the tear away with his thumb.

That did it. Hermione didn't care that there were six other people in the room, she didn't care that this could obviously be interpreted as evidence that she liked Ron much more than a friend, and she certainly didn't care that her parents had raised her that the only person she should rely on is herself. All she really cared about right now was that she hurt, and the only person in the world who could make it go away was Ron Weasley.

The tears exploded out of her eyes and before she could bury her face in Ron's shoulder, his arms were fast around her, his cheek on the side of her forehead, and he shielded her from the world as she sobbed the pain away.