Be Silently Drawn || Remus Lupin & Hermione Granger

Chapter 31

Harry lay on the hospital bed before Hermione, looking like he could just be sleeping if it weren't for his deathly pallor and the coldness of his skin and the fact that he'd been unresponsive since Friday night. He was miraculously not dead as the Healers had predicted he'd be by Saturday morning, but she wouldn't exactly say he was alive either. He was in a magical coma, his vitals were barely vital, and the Healers could do nothing to make him better. There was no known magic, potion, or Muggle medication that could combat the effects of the curse that the now captured Death Eater had hit him with. The Healers said the only reason Harry hadn't yet succumbed was because his will to survive was so great.

But would his will to wake up be strong enough? Could sheer will be enough to fight off the curse? How long could it keep him alive? She knew the longer he stayed in the coma, the slimmer his chances became and hoped he'd rally up whatever strength he had left and react soon.

"I've brought you three some sandwiches," Mrs. Weasley said as she came into the room.

Although she felt no desire to eat, Hermione thanked her and took the food she offered, as did Ron. Ginny, however, refused.

"You haven't eaten all day, dear."

"I'm not hungry, Mum."

"But you have to eat something."

"Fine," Ginny said, taking the sandwich.

Mrs. Weasley looked at her daughter, then Harry, with a pained expression before quietly leaving the room again. Upon her exit, Ginny discarded the sandwich and gathered Harry's hand in hers once more.

Ron also seemed to have lost his normally ravenous appetite. He slowly took a few bites before setting the food aside as well. His face was very pale. So was Ginny's, which magnified the dark circles under her teary eyes. Hermione thought she herself must look just as bad as they did. None of them had left Harry's side for long these past few days. They, along with him, were in limbo.

Hermione felt like she was in a daze. How could this be happening? How could Harry be in this position after everything he'd already had to go through, after everything he'd survived, including saving the entire wizarding and Muggle world? It wasn't fair. Just when he'd begun to settle into a less burdened life, full of possibilities and happiness. He deserved more time. He had to wake up. He had to live. He had to.

Evening came. Hermione said aloud that she'd be gone for a little while, but she'd be back very soon. Ginny and Ron didn't ask where she was going. They simply nodded in response. But Hermione wasn't speaking to them anyway. She spoke to Harry. She was convinced he could hear her and knew what was going on around him even if he couldn't show it. She kissed his cheek and gave his cold hand another squeeze, hoping he might react, but when he didn't she parted from the heavy atmosphere of the hospital room.

Before she knew it, she was lurking in the halls at Hogwarts. She checked the Marauder's Map for a path to Slughorn's office that would allow her to avoid running into anybody and being bombarded with questions: How's Harry? Will he ever wake up? Is it true what the Daily Prophet reported, that the Boy Who Lived is going to die? She dreadfully feared the answers.

"You needn't have written this essay, Miss Granger," Professor Slughorn told her as he accepted the assignment she handed over. "Under the circumstances... I would have understood."

"I finished it before Harry—" Hermione blinked back her sudden emotion and cleared her throat. "I finished it last week, Professor, so I thought I'd turn it in." Then, because she was sure he was about to inquire about Harry's condition, or hers, she asked, "Is that for Professor Lupin?"

Slughorn followed her gaze to the goblet on his desk. "Ah, yes. He never came by to pick up his potion. I was just about to deliver it to him myself."

"I could do that for you if you like. I'm heading that way."