A Broken Slytherin : Serpent Secrets (Book 2)

The Rekindled Friendship

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y/n discovered on her way down to the Great Hall for breakfast a few weeks later after school had resumed and the students had returned, that Hermione had been admitted to the hospital wing. She had overheard a couple of Gryffindor's gossiping about her sudden disappearance and how she hadn't returned to the dorms the previous night.

"Perhaps she's been attacked!" the shorter one exclaimed, "I haven't seen her at all-" that's when the pair spotted y/n looking at them, and after receiving a stone-cold glare, they scurried off to breakfast. y/n didn't hear the chilling hissing voice last night which she was sure was related to the attacks by now, but that didn't stop her second guessing herself. She also noticed that Hermione wasn;t in any of her classes and hadn't seen her bushy hair bouncing on her head in the library either. Even if they were fighting and not talking to each other, y/n wanted to know if Hermione was laying frigid in a hospital bed. So she turned on her heel and made a b-line for the Hospital wing.

y/n stopped outside and checked the patient's list next to the doors of the hospital and confirmed that Hermione was indeed in the hospital wing. The "reason for admittance" section was also filled in and to y/n's relief, didn't read "Petrification". Instead, "misuse of potion" was scribbled next to her name. y/n let out a sigh of relief, Hermione was ok, struggling with a defective potion, but overall fine.

A new question was now raised, however. "Do I still go in and see her?" y/n asked herself, the large wooden doors staring her down. The truth was that y/n really did miss Hermione. It felt like there was a little bookworm hole in her life which Hermione used to fill perfectly. She did see a lot of Hermione in Mirabella but nothing could replace her little Gryffindor nerd.

And so, taking a deep breath and mustering up all the courage she could, y/n pushed open the doors and entered the quiet sunlit hospital. Thankfully, none of the other beds were taken, apart from two which were curtained off. It was obvious that that was where Colin and Justin were currently laid as two stone statues of themselves. Sir Nicholas may have been moved somewhere else as the hospital wing was for students and Madam Pomfrey probably wasn't trained to treat ghosts.

There was one other bed that seemed to hold a patient though. At the very end of the hospital, was a singular bed which had been sectioned off by curtains. It had to be Hermione. y/n stuck her head into Madam Pomfrey's Office and asked if it were ok to see Hermione, adding in a little white lie that they were best friends. Pomfrey nodded, allowing her 15 minutes as she apparently needed rest for the medicine to kick in. y/n thanked the nurse who had taken care of her many times before and began pacing down to Hermione's bed.

Taking anther deep breath and shaking out her nerves, y/n said "Hermione? Are you in there?"At first, it was quiet, maybe Hermione hated y/n enough that she wouldn't dare speak to her, but then a raspy voice called back, "y/n, is that you?"

y/n smiled, "Yeah, um, is it okay if I come in and see you?" she asked apprehensively.

"And you're not here to make fun of me?" Hermione called back, obviously taken back by y/n's unexpected visit, "You haven't brought any of your Slytherin friends?"

"Of course not!" y/n immediately reassured a little stung about the remark about her friends but continued nonetheless, "I was worried about you," she finished with a softer tone.

"Ok... But promise not to laugh!" Hermione said

"I promise!" y/n replied before pulling back the curtains and gasping and bringing her hadn't up to her mouth in shock, "Oh, Hermione..."

The little Gryffindor girl looked horrible. Her eyes were half yellow and half brown with large bags under them. Her hair was bushier than usual (if that were possible) and looked wiry and knotty. What surprised y/n the most though, was the brown cat ears sprouting out the top of her head and cat whiskers which her growing out if her cheeks. Hermione looked down in shame and embarrassment.