Save The Date (A Drarry FanFiction)

Chapter Eleven (V)

V

Hermione sensed there was probably a little bit of drool slipping down her wrist, but it wasn't enough to wake her until the door to the medical wing burst open, sometime around daybreak. She jerked fully awake, her chin snapping away from her palm as she instinctively wiped her mouth with the back of her sleeve.

"Wah-"

"Ms Granger, Mr Weasley," Headmistress McGonagall said as she blustered in, several Healers from St Mungo's hurrying in her wake. "I'm so glad you could be here with Ms Parkinson, this must be a difficult time for you all."

"Professor," Ron said as he jumped to his feet. "Madam Pomfrey explained some of it, but-"

"What's going on?" Pansy asked, her voice clear and cool. She still, somehow, hadn't managed to dislodge a single hair out of place.

"That's what we're here to find out. Now," McGonagall said as the Healers, all dressed in matching Ministry robes, flocked around the two beds and shoed the students out of their seats. "I'm afraid we're going to have to ask you three to leave, just for now, whilst we conduct a more thorough examination."

"But Professor-" Hermione started to protest.

"We can help," Ron piped up at the same time. "You can fix him, right? Wake him up?"

McGonagall made a sympathetic face, and opened her mouth to answer. But Pansy beat her to the punch.

"Fix them," she said pointedly. "There are two patients here. And if you think you're more qualified than a trained Healer, then be my guest Weasley, stay and get in the way. I however, am going to do what's best for my friend."

With that, she swooped out of the room, her boot heels tapping loudly on the marble floor.

Hermione felt a flush of shame creep up her neck. "I guess," she mumbled over to Ron. "We should probably go."

Ron looked like he wanted to argue, but the truth was they really didn't have much to offer at the moment. Hermione slunk to her feet and grabbed his hand. "You'll let us know the minute anything changes?" she asked, hating feeling so helpless.

"Of course dear," McGonagall assured them with compassion.

They pushed through the double doors, and Hermione was already thinking what section of the library they could perhaps retreat to to do some research of their own, when she and Ron were brought up short.

Pansy stood before them, arms folded over her tightly fitted jumper. Her skirt was far too short in Hermione's opinion, and if she really wanted to stay warm in October, thigh high socks were probably not the best way to go about it.

"Are you two quite finished?" she drawled, eyebrow raised.

Hermione threw her shoulders back. "Finished with what?" she snapped.

Pansy rolled her eyes. "Dithering around of course. We have things to do."

"I sincerely doubt we have anything to be doing anywhere near you," Ron challenged, putting himself between her and Hermione. "So why don't you just sod off?"

Pansy shrugged her shoulders and examined her berry-purple nails. "Of course," she said lightly, turning on her polished heels. "I just assumed you'd want to inspect the scene of the crime yourselves. Silly me."

"Wait, what?" Hermione cried, her voice jumping loudly off the walls, making her flinch.

Pansy slowly rotated on the sport, a smirk lining her face, remarkably like a cat who'd found the cream. "Oh," she said softly. "I take it we are interested?"

"You want to go find where they got attacked?" Ron asked dubiously.

Once again, that earned them an eye roll. "I don't need to find it, genius," she said in a deploring tone. "I found them in the first place, remember? And I thought you Gryffindors were all about taking action, getting things done yourself?" She smiled, much like Hermione imagined a shark would. "So, you...don't want to have a good poke around?"

"Yes, yes we do," Hermione said quickly, before Ron could rise to the bait.

Pansy batted her eyes innocently. "Say please."

Ron hunched his shoulders and clenched his fists, but Hermione put her hand on his chest. "Please," she said through a gritted jaw. "Please Pansy take us to where you found them in the forest, and tell us everything you remember."

She gave a small curtsy. "Well, if you're going to ask so nicely, of course Granger, it would be my pleasure. What's say we get properly dressed..." Her gaze drifted unkindly up and down her and Ron's shabby attire. "And meet outside the front of the school in half an hour?"

"Twenty minutes," Ron countered with a scowl, and stomped off.

Hermione frowned and took in the other girl warily. "Um, thank you," she said uncertainly.

"I'm doing this for Draco," was the frosty response she got back. "Because, as annoying as you lot are, you always seem to bring each other back in one piece. This is a one-time deal. We go and we see if there's anything we can do to bring them back. That's all. We're not bonding or anything else equally repulsive over this, understood?"

Hermione let out a "Pshh," noise from between her teeth. "Fine, whatever, so long as it helps Harry."

Pansy gave her a single nod, then marched past her. "Oh, and Granger," she said as she reached the corner of the hallway. "You might want to do something with that hair. Poor Draco's probably had enough shocks for one night."

Before Hermione could do anything more than splutter, Pansy vanished from sight, her crowning smirk burned into the back of Hermione's eyes.