Hermione swallowed a yawn as she met her stare in the mirror. Her eyes were bloodshot and her nose and cheeks were bright red. She had come out of the counseling office like this the past couple times and she was almost getting to the point where she didn't care if she was seen in this state. Almost. She still hid in the bathroom and waited for it to abate a little. Hermione didn't really like the fact that her and her counselor often talked about Ron in one sense or another. Couldn't she just be over it? How did things keep leading back to her relationship with him? She sighed and grabbed a few tissues as reserves before she left.
She spent the rest of her Saturday at a coffee shop alternating between tea and potions and planning her timetable for studying for finals. She tried to hold off on potions as much as possible, but it was more a habit than anything now. She often would grab a potion and already be drinking before she thought about whether she should or shouldn't do so. Hermione tried to not let the collection of empty bottles at the bottom of her bag bother her. It had been a very productive study session and she finally felt prepared for the next week. Why should it matter that she needed some help to do it? She felt justified in their use and the image of Malfoy's disappointed face shouldn't be haunting her like it was. Why should she care about his opinion, or anyone else's, for that matter? That's what had gotten her in the mess with Ron in the first place.
...
Hermione woke without the ring of the telephone that had served as her alarm clock over the past few Sunday mornings. Puzzled, Hermione turned the bedside clock so that she could see what time it was. Noon. Noon? That meant she had wasted half of the day sleeping when she could have been studying or cleaning or anything else, really. Though, she was a little relieved that she wouldn't have to talk with Ron in front of her other friends. However, that also meant that none of her friends were calling. What had stopped all of them from calling?
Hermione bolted up and searched the apartment for Luna but came up empty. She tried to call Harry but only got unending ringing. It was late afternoon for them, so they were probably out. Or fending off Dementors. Hermione listened to the annoying trill of the phone and muttered darkly to herself until she couldn't handle it anymore and slammed the phone down. She remembered waiting in the tent while Ron was gone and Harry was guarding. It had felt so empty. She felt the chill from those days shiver up her arms like goosebumps. They're fine! She told herself angrily, but the calm of the apartment was trying to swallow her. She hurriedly packed her bag and got out of the apartment as quickly as possible, returning to the café from the day before. She sat with her back against one of the walls and eventually ordered all three meals for that day from their menu. Hermione didn't even try to justify the bottles this time and downed them until she was in a comfortable haze. Even having a vague message on her message machine left by Ron about the missed phone call didn't raise her hackles like it would normally have without so many potions. It was really nice to have potions on hand when she needed them. They really could help almost anything but the yawning void that seemed to settle above her heart too often.
Going to school was a relief to the emptiness that was roaring in her ears by the end of the weekend and Hermione looked forward to being able to spend even more time out of the house on Friday when they were going to start the basketball club.
It turned out Hermione didn't really have to do much at the club but watch the kids while Shandra and Malfoy did most of the talking. Not that she minded. It was still nice to have all that business and noise around her. As well, Shandra joined Hermione on the sidelines a lot faster than Hermione had been expecting and helped fill the void. After the initial introduction, Shandra stepped back and allowed Malfoy to do most of the demonstrations. Hermione stopped watching what seemed like a good explanation of how to shoot a basketball once Shandra took a seat next to her on the ground.
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Signum Vitalis (a dramione story)
Fanfiction*Completed* Haunted by the war, Hermione attends a Healer school in America to escape it all. Instead, she runs into Draco Malfoy. She is busy battling her ghosts and struggling to gain back a normal life, but he seems to be fighting his own demons...
