Redemption II

Chapter 56

oO The Aftermath Oo

"Hey, Luna..."

"Oh, Hello Ron." Luna smiled softly, setting down the paper she had been skimming through. Her voice, soft and strong. She'd been making a steady recovery since being taken to St. Mungo's following the battle. It had been almost a miracle that she had survived the final hours. Her lower body had been completely crushed, it was only with one of Hermione's potions did she actually have a chance to make it to the hospital. The healers had done amazing work repairing and replacing the bones in her legs, hips, and back; and with time the nerve regrowth potions were set to do their job.

For the two weeks following the final battle, she had shared her rather large room with another. She had been shocked at first but had gradually come to understand. Neville visited nearly every day when the work on rebuilding the castle hadn't been so much that he fell asleep on sight. Visiting hours had gotten rather lax due to the number of injuries but as time passed and more and more 'War Heros' had been released they had started to become tight again.

"More flowers?" Luna turned her head to the small dressers that separated the two beds. They were covered on both sides, with almost an unaccountable amount of flowers, gifts, and cards. She had never known either of them to have ever been so popular.

"Yeah..." Ron felt a bit sheepish as he clutched the bundle of wildflowers to his chest. He'd been coming every day like clockwork. Though Luna knew he wasn't coming to see her, she always greeted him when she could. She felt it helped ease the pain somewhat.

Ron, came in a bit further only to notice the bed on the far wall was empty, the sheets pressed and new. His heart skipped softly and his hold on the flowers tightened so much he actually broke one of the stems.

"Where's Hermione?" He felt like he hadn't stopped saying those words since that night. Harry had tried to explain what had happened over the days that had followed but all his inner eye could see was her laying so still in the middle of the road. When Harry had lifted her and her body had sagged lifelessly against his hold was a constant image that even plagued his waking hours.

Luna shifted slightly, picking up a book she had been reading, deciding it was better than the news, before she glanced over at Ron's bewildered face, giving him another encouraging smile, "They've just taken her to get a bath. She should be back soon. If you want, I could read to you to pass the time?"

"Yeah, alright..."

Ron set the broken flowers inside a vase that was already filled and pulled the visitor's chair from the wall. He gave Luna a soft lopsided smile as he leaned back to listen. His body weary from the days work. He knew Neville and Harry could be coming soon, he had just hoped for some private time with Hermione before they came. They all worked together at repairing Hogwarts but as their skills were in different fields they hardly crossed paths during the day.

oOo

"Be still..."

Snape grunted and shifted his head away from the woman attending to him. It wasn't a most pleasant experience in either direction. A sharp hiss passed his lips when the piece of glass she'd apparently been searching for finally came free.

"There now, was that so difficult?"

"Yes. I still haven't understood why I agreed to let a blind woman remove the glass from my body when I could merely summon it free." His voice was nearly acidic, dripping with his renowned sarcasm.

"I've already told you, I can see. Just not the way you do." Her small hand ran down the outer expanse of his muscle, "I can even see your future child."