The Fire Within

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

Page count: 10

When Hermione woke, moonlight was streaming through the window, the room was dark and the empty space beside her was cold. Pushing herself up into a sitting position, she winced against the sharp pain that shot through her stomach and she looked down, lifted her t-shirt and saw the bandages with several red blood spots which had leaked through. She sighed before throwing the covers off herself, climbing out of bed and making her way towards the kitchen, intent and getting some food to quieten her rumbling stomach.

"How long have you been up?" She questioned the deputy, when she saw the lit fire in the fireplace and he was sat in the arm chair reading a book.

He was wearing a clean pair of underwear and a pair of tracksuit bottoms, and given he was no longer covered in blood stains and black soot, she knew he'd showered, too. Her eyes trailed his naked torso, glad to see that his wounds had almost fully healed, leaving him with only a few small cuts.

He looked up from his book and a smile pulled at his mouth, before he closed the book and reached over to set it on the coffee table.

"About an hour," he answered.

He took her hand in his when she neared him and he tugged gently, pulling her to sit in his lap where she curled herself up against him and he wrapped his arms around her, holding her close. She sighed as his heat surrounded her.

"Given that we'd fallen asleep not long after lunch, when I woke I couldn't get back to sleep. I didn't want to wake you so I showered in my room and came to the kitchen for a snack."

"You ate the donuts, didn't you?" She said knowingly.

"I may have done,"

"Seriously, Deputy? I bought three boxes. You ate one yesterday, leaving two. You ate them all in one sitting?"

"No, of course I didn't. I ate a box at the counter and the other box whilst reading."

She snorted at him and shook her head lightly, moving until her ear pressed over his heart and she could hear his steady heart beat. Despite how much sleep she'd obviously had, she still felt tired, the fight and her injuries wiping her out.

"How's your stomach?" He asked, seeing that the cut on her forehead was now only a scratch.

She pulled back from him and lifted her shirt to show him the bandages with a few blood spots and a worried frown crossed his face.

"It hurts like hell and it's really itchy, that's the pastes working to seal up the wound and fight off infection. Hopefully it'll be better before the ball, my gown's costing a bloody fortune and if it gets stained with my blood, I'm going to be pissed. I'll be visiting those arseholes in their prison cells and it won't be pleasant."

He chuckled at her. "So, what are you wearing to this ball?"

"You'll have to wait and see, and you better appreciate it, it's not going to be often you'll see me wearing a ball gown."

"Alright," he said amused. "And what exactly am I wearing, I don't have anything ball worthy?"

"Already taken care of; I owled Kara yesterday when you were still in bed. She's getting everything sorted for you, your tux won't be handmade like my gown as we don't have time, but with her knowing your measurements, she'll make sure it'll be perfectly tailored to you, she's a talented seamstress."

Her stomach gave a loud rumble and he chuckled at her.

"Hungry?"

"Starving," she confirmed.