Forget Me Not (Draco/Hermione)

Chapter One- The Accident

The healer leant over the unconscious form in the bed, her pale fingers tracing the patient's wrists. She sighed softly, glancing out of the window at the cloudless sky. August. Healer McCarthy had been working at St Mungo's for barely a week and yet it seemed to have been the longest five days of her life. Tonight, when her shift ended, she planned a quick trip to Diagon Alley and then back to her apartment for two days of bed rest. She had earned it after all.

This patient had come in this morning, apparated directly from a Muggle hospital in Melbourne, Australia. The 28 year old witch, her records said, had been caught in a head-on collision with a Muggle in a car. Her cuts and bruises had been healed in an instant moment of her arrival to St Mungo's but the damage of the collision was deeper. The patient had been unconscious when she was removed from the wreckage. She had not woken up yet. 

McCarthy's wand traced around her chest area as golden figures streamed from the wand tip. The figures were easy to decipher as they rose and contrasted with the sharp blue of the sky outside. Her stats were normal. Her heartbeat perfect. But this witch was far away from the room McCarthy stood in now. In a whole different world perhaps.

It wasn't the first time McCarthy had come across a patient like this. In her training, there was a wizard who had fallen from his broom and smacked his head on concrete. The fall was barely five foot and his skull was healed but the shock to the brain had caused his mind to separate from the body. He had woken up naturally seven weeks later, mumbling on about adventures he had been up to in his dream state. The poor man had believed he was conscious throughout! Perhaps he was, thought McCarthy, but thoughts such as these were mindboggling and mindboggling thoughts did not belong to a sunny Friday afternoon. 

Whoever this witch was, she was lucky. Her room was a private, splendid one with magnolia walls and cream curtains. Even the bedsheets were nicer than they would have been for a regular patient. Softer. If only McCarthy had the money to pay for such sheets. Hers were old, ragged ones she had nicked from the hospital storeroom. 

Realising she still had five minutes of shift left, McCarthy dawdled in the pretty room, examining the small paintings that covered the walls. Her fingers left the sheets and began stroking the long, brown curls of her patient. Realising a small task, she pulled a comb from the nearby table and began to brush out the woman's hair until it fell neatly around the pillow like a halo. Better, she thought, smiling at her work.

It was then that the door burst open. Spinning around guiltly, the healer hid the comb behind her back and pulled a reassuring smile to the man standing at it. But his eyes weren't on the healer. His pain-filled eyes were stuck on the figure in the bed. With a moan, he flung himself across the room until he fell against the side of her bed, his hands grabbing the woman's pale, limp one. 

"Hermione," he whispered, bringing her hand to his lips. "Hermione, I'm so sorry." 

Hermione did not reply. She laid there, as she had done for the past thirteen hours, her eyelids closed and her face peaceful. 

"Sir..." began McCarthy, resisting the urge to physically comfort the poor man. 

"What?" he snapped, his head turning to face her, his eyes red and furious. 

"Do you know the full details of the accident... sir?" 

"My wife was caught in a head-on collision whilst visiting her parents... her Muggle parents... in Australia, Healer...."

"Healer McCarthy, sir." The healer kept her face professional. "Ms Granger was caught in a head-on collision. Normally, such things are treatable with magic and she was apparated from Melbourne around noontime. On arrival at St Mungo's, her wounds were treated quickly but unfortunately it seems the collision may have caused more damage than we expected. The crash... I mean, we believe that the crash may have caused shock to her brain."

"Shock? Shock to the brain? Can't you... can't you deal with this?"

"Not always. Normally, once the skull is healed and the inflammation of the brain is settled, then the patient regains consciousness. Unfortunately, in the case of Ms Granger, she has yet to regain consciousness."

"Wake her up then!" The man stood up quickly, Hermione's hand falling limply back to her lap. "Wake her up, YOU GOD-DAMNED IMBECILE!!!" He screamed, taking a step towards McCarthy with his wand raised.

"Expelliarmus!" The man's wand left his fingers and McCarthy caught it. "Sir, please calm down and listen to me." The man collapsed onto the chair next to the bed, his head in his hands. "The other healers and I believe that Ms Granger may be suffering from a problem where though her body is healthy, her mind has separated itself from the body. This has happened before in both Muggles and wizards."

"Then rejoin the mind and body." His voice was muffled.

"It isn't that simple I'm afraid.No magic can retrieve the mind when it has decided to disattach itself from the body. It will attach but the only cure is time and patience." Talking about time, she realised, her shift had over-run by five minutes. Would it be rude to leave now? "I'm afraid, sir, I need to go. But another healer will be along soon and I'm sure he or she will help you with any more questions."

"Healer McCarthy?" Just as the healer was about to leave the room and be free, the man lifted his head from his hands and called her back. "Will she- will she be the same... the same Hermione?" 

"We'll have to wait and see."

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Been thinking of writing a traditional fan fiction for a while now with canon characters but in non-canon relationships. Next chapters will be a little more interesting, I promise :D