Strange Connection (A Ron Weasley Love Story)

Chapter 13 - The Hospital Wing

Once we got to the top of the staircase, I noticed Harry was following us at a distance.

"What will Neville say when he sees that you got a dangerous pet wolf?" Harry scolded, sounding more like Hermione than his normal carefree self.

"He won't. He will stare at me, the wolf, and back at me, then pass out." They both chuckled, Ron's was real, Harry's was more of just letting air out through his clenched teeth.

When I entered the dormitory behind Ron, I saw a short, round-faced 5th year with blonde hair sitting on one of the three beds.
He stood up, looked at Ron, me, and back at Ron with eyes wide. Without blinking or flinching, he fell backwards, stiff as a board.
The boys ran up to help him and I thought it might be my perfect time to slip away, abandoning Ron's plan and following instinct.
I backed away and began to slip out the door when I heard Harry yell,
"HEY!"
I didn't look back, it was too late to remedy my mistake.
I ran full speed out the open door. Once I got to the bottom of the boy's stairs, I bolted back up the girl's staircase. I changed back to human with a faint 'snap'. I instantly felt dizzy and nauseous.
I knocked on the door of my room, weak but sharp, about to pass out. My heart was pounding out of my chest. Gasping greedily for air, I collapsed onto the ground.

The last thing I saw was Hermione come out of the dorm room, a smile abandoning her face as she saw me. Everything faded away, and it would have been almost peaceful if I hadn't had a piercing pain in my chest.

I heard sounds, soft sounds.
I heard birds chirping, and wind blowing a little ways away. I slowly opened my eyes. I was in an unfamiliar place, the celing was tall and stone based, the bed I was laying in was stiff, my back ached.
There were two other people in the room. The boy I startled was laying in a bed next to mine with Harry sitting next to him, talking to him. It was then that I realized Ron, he was sitting quietly next to me on a stool,waiting for me to start a conversation.

"Wha-wha-" I began, shaky, but Ron stopped me.

"You were trying to help me catch Bravery," He said with emphasis and eyebrows raised, indicating he was about to tell me the story he had told everyone to cover my ass, "before she ran off out of the portrait hall, then you ran up to the rooms to warn the girls, but you collapsed before you could tell them. Now you're in the Hospital Wing."

Bravery? Was that what he had named my animal form?

"Hospital Wing?" was all that came out of my mouth.

"Yeah, its run by Madam Pomfrey. Anyone who gets hurt or hexed gets sent here.
The hospital wing is well equipped to deal with all kinds of magical injuries, from clearing acne to regrowing lost bones," Ron gave a small nod toward Harry with a smirk, who gave a shutter and an expression like he was about to hurl.

"That's cool," I was starting to zone out, closing my eyes. The last thing I heard was Ron, whispering in my ear, his warm breath sending shivers down my spine,

"I will come visit you every hour on the hour, I promise," My stomach started tingling and I smiled.

I don't know what time I woke up, but when I did, sunshine was seeping through my window. A lady was standing over me, pouring something from a black bottle into a clear glass of water.

"Oh deary, you're awake! I'm Madam Pomfrey, and I am who has be taking care of you,"

"I just had a bad headache, it's no big deal." I began to sit up, but was pushed back down by a strong hand holding my arm down. I turned to see Ron sitting on the bed on the other side of me.

"When did you get here?" I said, now resting up on my elbows.

"He comes in constantly to check on you." Madam Pomfrey said, sweetly.

"Really?" My eyes lit up. His face went scarlet as he looked at the ground.

"Can you catch me up on what's going on?" I ask, trying to make a conversation.

"Umm, Neville got let out of here a while ago, you scared him pretty bad, though,"

"Whoops, sorry," I gave a short laugh. But Madame Pomfrey looked concerned.

"That's what I thought!" She exclaimed, as if she had just solved a murder mystery,

"You're a-,"

"No," I stopped her.

"I've been around the block, young witch," she then lowered her voice to a whisper, "You think you're the first unregistered animagus I've treated at this school? This is a burden not to be hidden from me, I could've killed you with a misdiagnosis!" I looked away bashfully, because she was right. 

"Please don't report me," I begged off her, "I'm not a danger, I meant no harm, this wasn't-"
"Calmly child, your heart," she dabbed my head with a cool cloth,  "It's not my place to report you, you are safe with me. However, I do strongly suggest you tell the headmaster, for your own saftey here on the grounds and everyone else's,"
My eyes shifted nervously towards Ron, and he nodded with support.

Madame Pomfrey continued, "what you should know is that what you did was dangerous. Very dangerous, indeed! You could have killed yourself. A wolf's heart is built to high speed hunts and adrenaline, but a human heart is not.
Changing yourself that quickly could cause your human heart to burst. Be very careful. Now that it has happened once, you will no longer need to switch forms to get your human heart rate into the red.
I will release you from the Hospital Wing, but if your heart rate gets up, this is what do; take slow deep breaths until you settle down, and it won't always be easy to do.

"That is all. It will slow your heart rate down a lot, but you should have a buddy watch out for it, since you might not always admit it yourself..." She looked at Ron.

"Make sure she keeps calm and takes deep breaths when she starts to stress. Treat it like a panic attack, and you can't let go until her heart rate regulates, no matter how much she insists she's fine,"

"Sure, no problem," He said, calmly.

"Good bye," she waved us towards the door, "and if you are experiencing any pain or problems that you think are related to your..."
"Situation," I said, helping her find a  word.
"Yes, your situation, then come right back here, okay?"
"Yes, Madame Pomfrey," I said in a mock droning voice as she mothered me.

"Goodbye now! Hope I don't see you soon!" We all laughed, then Ron lead me out of the Wing by my hand, comfortingly caressing my thumb with his as we walked.