Lost and Found
Jun. 15th, 2012 07:42 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
oakstone730"I found him."
Hermione looked up distractedly at the tall blond wizard leaning against her doorway. Her desk was covered with papers, her thoughts on her upcoming meeting with the Minister of Magic.
"Who-" her voice broke off and she rose from her chair when his words struck her. There was only one person that Draco could mean. "You found him? Where? Is he...is he okay?" she didn't dare ask if he was still alive.
"He is in a Muggle hospital, about 150 miles as the owl flies from London. Near the Welsh border." Draco walked into her office as Hermione came around the desk and caught his arm. "He is listed as a John Doe. They have him in a long care facility... coma."
Hermione's brown eyes widened at that news. Coma. Hermione forced herself to not worry about that and start thinking about how they could rescue him. Muggle hospital, that posed a lot of challenges but not insurmountable ones.
"We are going to need a team to get him out," she said, biting her lip in concentration. "And George has been working on the final prototype for the Muggle-See-Me-Nots. We'll need to get those from him. And Ron and his partner. And a St Mungo's healer should come with us. What do you know about his condition?"
"He is on a breathing apparatus. We'll need the healers prepared at St Mungos to start treating him immediately." Hermione bit her lip at that news. Draco anticipated her next question. "I don't know much more than that. I was posing as a National Health Service inspector. I couldn't ask too many questions. Just saw him from a distance. But he looks different, but it is definitely him. The most I could find out that he had been hit by an automobile. Must have happened with in minutes of his apparating away that night. He never regained consciousness, so they have no information on him, no name."
"If he isn't breathing on his own then we'll need a portkey directly to St Mungos," Hermione said, forcing herself not to imagine what Harry looked like on a ventilator. "We won't be able to side-along apparate him if he isn't breathing on his own. Too dangerous. And we'll have to get an emergency permit from the Muggle Relations Director to apparate in and move him out of the hospital. I'll get that started that could take the longest to get."
Draco continued, "I'll go to St. Mungos. Talk to Healer Breedlove about what they will need, how long to prepare. She is Muggle-born so will understand what he has been put through in the Muggle hospital."
"How quickly do you think we can get it all organized?" Hermione was already pulling on her robes.
"Let's try for one a.m. It will be the quietest time in the hospital. Least chance of being caught. The sooner the better. He has been gone for eight months." Hermione nodded and thought to herself eight months, two weeks and one day. She forced herself to focus once again.
"We'll rendezvous at midnight at St. Mungo's. We can talk with the healers and make sure that we don't harm him getting him out of the hospital." Hermione headed for the door, Draco caught her arm.
"Granger, when are you going to tell the Weaslette?"
Hermione hesitated. "Weaslette? Draco, really, after all these years? I'm not going to tell Ginny, not yet anyway. Let's get him back here safely, first. Then we'll tell her. She is too close to her time. I don't want her frantic for the next six hours, worrying."
"I'll mention it to Breedlove. She might want to have a Healer from the maternity ward on stand -by."
"Good idea, Okay, I'll go to the Ministry and get started on the permit and portkey. I'll tell Ron in person and he can get George and the See-Me-Nots."
Draco nodded and headed for the door. Hermione stopped him one more time.
"Draco, how did you find him?"
The blond wizard, raked his hands through his hair, stalling, "I'll tell you, later. When we get him back."
OoOoOOO
12:45 a.m.
The four wizards and two witches looked at each other soberly. They had spent the last hour going over each person's job. The portkey was in Draco's pocket. Hermione looked around and nodded.
"I know we've gone over this twice before, but I'm going to do it one more time. If anything sticks out as wrong or I've missed a step. I need you to speak up now. We can't make a mistake. We need to be in and out as quickly as possible.
"Draco has provided the layout of the hospital ward. We are going to activate the See Me Nots and apparate directly into Harry's room. Draco left the location marker there when he found him. Does everyone have their receiver?" The group nodded, "I'll cast the silence charm, Ron and Stephen will guard the room make sure that no one comes in and finds us. Healer Thompson will do a quick assessment," Hermione turned and looked sternly at the Healer who nodded, "Of Harry's condition. If she agrees that he can be safely transported she will put him in stasis and as soon as he is stabilized then Draco will transport Harry and Healer Thompson to St. Mungo's. Ron, Stephen and I will make sure that no one has seen anything and apparate out. Remember, as soon as the monitoring equipment has been removed from Harry the nurse on duty will likely be in within seconds. So we need to exit immediately or be prepared to obliviate the nurse, which I would prefer not to do. Have I forgotten anything?"
"What about Harry's wand?" Ron asked, "And all of his things he had on him when he disappeared."
Hermione grimaced, "We won't have time to hunt for them. He'll just have to get a new one."
Draco shook his head, "Harry has had that wand forever. He won't want to lose it."
Hermione snapped, "Well, if we don't get him out it doesn't matter..."
Healer Breedlove spoke up, "Usually a Muggle patient's belongings are kept in their room with them. There is bound to be a cupboard or drawer that has a plastic carrier bag filled with whatever they found on him."
Hermione grimaced, but nodded. "Okay, while Thompson is doing her assessment, Draco and I will search the room. But if we don't find anything by the time the assessment is done we won't be able to spend any more time searching for it. What else have we forgotten, last time to speak up."
Healer Thompson, a small red-haired witch that looked far younger than her position would suggest spoke up. "I am worried about using magic in the hospital. It can disrupt the Muggle monitoring systems. We don't want to put any other patients in danger by having their equipment short-circuit."
Hermione gave a very uncharacteristic stamp of her foot in frustration, "You are just mentioning this now?"
The healer shrugged but didn't back down, "It needs to be figured out. I can't cast diagnosis spells without magic..."
George Weasley who had been leaning against the wall, straightened up. "I can help with that. We have a product that will cast a magic shield up. It is only 8 feet across but that should be enough to cover the bed and the immediate area around it."
"How quickly can you get it?" Hermione asked, looking at the clock.
"Be right back," George turned and disapparated.
Hermione looked around sternly, "Anybody else? We need to anticipate everything."
No one spoke up, and Hermione nodded satisfied. "Healer Breedlove, you have your team ready to go? How long can Harry be off the ventilator?"
"We are ready and waiting, I have my team in place in the room. The portkey will deliver Auror Potter and Healer Thompson directly them. If Healer Thompson is able to successfully put him in stasis that should give us the time we need to figure out his condition and stabilize him."
There was a crack and George was back, in his hands was a small black box. "This is another prototype design. If anyone asks, you haven't seen it. Place it in the middle of the area you need protected and press the button. It only holds the shield for fifteen minutes, which is what we are working on. But it should be long enough."
Hermione nodded and took the box. "George, you'll be here? We'll let you know when we are back and you and Ron can decide when to tell Ginny." She looked over at Ron, he gave her a tight nod but didn't say anything. She allowed herself a moment to just look at him, after so many years together they didn't need words to know what the other was thinking. The last eight months had been a strain, she only hoped that Harry could be brought back safely and the Healers could heal him.
"Last chance? No other problems?" The small group looked around, Hermione gave a smile. "Okay, activate your See Me Nots"
Everyone but George and Healer Breedlove touched their wands to the small silver badges that they wore on their robes. The See Me Nots would allow them all to see each other but they would not be visible to any Muggles.
"Ready? Activate your receivers. Let's go get Harry"
OoOoOoOOO
The harsh fluorescent lighting was the first thing that Hermione saw when she apparated into the room. She looked around and saw the rest of the group there. There was a hum of electricity and whirring noises that sounded foreign to her ears after so long in the wizarding world. Ron was staring at Harry's limp form lying in the bed.
Hermione forced herself to look away from Harry. She had to stay focused, she quickly cast the Silencio charm that would allow them to talk without being heard, "Ron, Stephen. At the door. Healer Thompson, as soon as you are ready I'll activate the shield." Draco didn't wait for an order but started searching the room for Harry's wand. The healer held her wand up and gave Hermione a nod. Hermione set the box down on Harry's legs and pressed the button.
Immediately there was a flash of blue light and the hum of the electricity was muted. The red-haired Healer started running her wand over the inert figure on the bed. Hermione spared one moment to reach out and touch Harry. She gently touched the top of his head. His black hair had been cut short, shorter than she had ever seen it. Draco was right, he looked different perhaps it was his hair that made him looks so foreign. But it was definitely Harry. The tubes in his nose, in his mouth didn't change who he was. The ventilator forced his chest up and down, the only noise in the room.
Taking a deep breath she turned away from the bed as Healer Thompson started running the diagnostic spells. She looked around and started to search the small room working her way towards Draco who was searching from the other side. The small room did not have many storage spaces, and those that it did have were filled with medical supplies and linens.
Draco looked at her with a shrug. "Anywhere else we can look?" Hermione forced herself to think back when her grandmother had been in hospital. She stood in the middle of the room and looked around. There was nowhere they hadn't looked. She looked at the small windowless room that probably had been Harry's room for months. Such a long time, someone could have stolen or stored his things ages ago. She turned back to the bed, ready to give up. When something caught her eye. "Draco, up there." Above the cupboard that had held a supply of linens was a small door with a lock. "It has to be that one, why else would it have a lock?
Draco reached up and tried to open it, it was locked. Hermione watched as he pulled out his wand to open it and she held up her hand, stopping him. "Wait, you are outside of the magic shield."
He looked at her in disbelief. "How do you suggest I open it then?" Hermione looked around the room for something to pry it open. She didn't see anything that could be used. Draco looked grimly towards the bed where Healer Thompson had started to ring Harry in coils of healing rings, her wand moving rapidly. The gold and silver coils of light would hold Harry in limbo until he was at St. Mungo's. They were out of time.
Draco came over to her, "As soon as Harry has apparated away, we can move the shield over to cover the cupboard and open it. It will have to be done fast, the nurse will come as soon as the alarms sounds when Harry is gone."
Hermione nodded, she quickly weighed the risk and decided it was worth it. "Okay, we'll do it that way." She went over to Ron and Stephen who were peering out of the door watching the nurses working at their station 20 feet away, oblivious of what was going on thanks to the See-Me-Nots. Hermione had hoped that the monotony of working in a ward with patients in a vegetative state would work in their favor and it was. None of the nurses had moved from their station, relying on the monitors to alert them of any problems. She quickly told Ron of the new plan and he nodded, sparing only a glance towards the bed before resuming his watch.
Draco caught her arm as she moved back, "Hermione, there is one other thing. When you are going to have to be the one to take Harry with the portkey. I can't touch him."
Hermione looked at him in disbelief. "What? Why? What are you talking about?"
Draco shook is head, "There is no time to explain, just trust me. Take Harry."
"Draco-" Hermione felt like screaming in frustration, but was interrupted by the healer stepping away from the bed.
"He is ready. He is very weak, both physically and magically, but he is stable enough to move." She had a sheen of sweat on her forehead, her chest was heaving at the exertions of drawing the magic around Harry.
Hermione glared at Draco who backed away. "Okay, another change of plans. I am taking Harry back. Draco is going to get Harry's things, hopefully, out of there." she pointed at the locked cupboard. "Ron, as soon as you see the nurse coming this way, alert Draco. And all three of you leave. With or without the wand."
She didn't give Ron a chance to argue but moved swiftly to the bed. The healer was already holding Harry's left hand. Hermione grabbed his right hand and reached with the other one for the portkey from Draco. He pulled the cloth covered key from his pocket and handed to her, dropping it out of the cloth into her hand. There was a pause and then Hermione felt the jolt of the portkey take them. She closed her eyes against the dizzying swirl of colors and sound. She felt the jolt of and opened her eyes and they were in St. Mungo's.
Healer Breedlove and a team of healers were stepping forward and didn't spare Hermione a glance, they quickly surrounded Harry. She stood against the wall watching as Healer Thompson started calling out information to the other Healers on Harry's condition. Healer Breedlove took a moment to look towards Hermione. "Let us do our job. We will let you know as soon as we know more..."
Hermione nodded and went towards the door, she gave one last look at the gaunt figure on the bed and left the room. They had Harry back, but for how long? Had they made the righth decision moving him so quickly? George was standing in the waiting room. He came up to her quickly. "We got him. Where are-?" There was a crack and Ron, Stephen and Draco appeared a torn plastic carrier bag in Draco's hand.
"You got it?" Hermione looked between the three of them, "Any problems?"
"It was a near done thing. The nurse was walking in the room as we left, but she didn't see us. The See Me Nots worked like a charm, George." Ron looked at his brother with a smile.
"How is Harry?" Draco asked.
"They are working on him. We probably won't know anything for a while. He looks so different. His hair is so short." Hermione shook her head, "I've never seen it look like that. I remember once in fourth year he cut it all off and it grew back the next day. Why is it staying short?"
Draco lips tightened into a grimace, "Always thought there was something more to his hair than just being a mess. I think it has something to do with his magic. He is so weak that whatever component makes his hair like it is is preventing it from growing."
Hermione looked doubtfully at Draco but then nodded, "I suppose that makes sense, nothing about his hair ever did." She remembered with a start how mad she was at him for changing the plan at the last minute. "By the way, you need to explain what in Merlin were you going on about not being able to touch him? What was that about?"
Ron and Stephen looked at Draco curiously. Ron asked, "Is that what happened? Why? I didn't understand why you stayed and Hermione left with Harry."
Draco looked coldly between the three of them. "I can't tell you. Not now. It is between Harry and I."
"This is not a time for schoolroom rivalries, Draco. Why couldn't you touch Harry?" Hermione looked at him, "And why we are at it, how did you find him?"
Draco stared at her and then she saw a resigned look flicker through his eyes, "Fine, I'll tell you and Weasley. But Stephen will have to leave."
Stephen shrugged, "Not a problem, I'll go back to the Ministry, start the paperwork." With a nod towards Ron and Hermione, he disapparated.
Draco hesitated and looked at George Weasley. Hermione could tell that he was torn from his respect for the wizard with a desire for secrecy. "George, could you go to the Burrow? Let your mother know that Harry is back? She'll know what to do about telling Ginny." George looked between her and Draco and then nodded.
As soon as he disapparated, Draco walked over to the cluster of chairs that was on the far end of the waiting room. "Let's sit. This is going to take a while."
Ron glared at Draco, "What is with all this secrecy, Malfoy?"
"Sit down, Ron." She tugged on his hand and pulled him towards the sofa, sitting down she looked up at Draco. "We probably have a lot of time before they know anything about Harry. Tell us what is going on."
Draco sat down in the chair opposite the sofa, he sat nervously on the edge. Nothing like the confident wizard who had been Harry's Auror partner for five years. He wiped his hands down his robes and gave a quick glance towards the door where Harry was being worked on.
"I shouldn't be telling you, Harry has never wanted anyone to know-"
"Know what, Malfoy?" Ron asked angrily. Hermione tightened her grip on his hand, "Let him talk, Ron. He'll tell us."
Draco looked over at Hermione, "I found Harry by following his magic."
"How can you possibly follow someone's magic-" Ron exclaimed.
Hermione cut him off, her eyes boring into Draco's. "Be quiet, Ron." In her mind she knew that there was only one way to follow another wizard's magic, but she was rapidly trying to think of another possibility, any other explanation but the obvious one.
Draco's nod confirmed her worse fears, "I can't follow anyone else's magic. Just Harry's. It is why we are such good partners. We could always anticipate each other's move, know where the other went."
"Draco, are you suggesting..." Hermione's mind knew that there was only explanation, but she couldn't believe it. Not Harry and Draco.
He nodded, "Our magic is bonded." Hermione felt herself getting dizzy and looked over at Ron who had a stunned look on his face. He had gone completely white, his freckles standing out in garish contrast to the paleness of his face.
"You and Harry...bonded." Hermione had to say the word, had to force herself to believe what was being said.
"You, fucking bastard..." Ron had leapt out of his chair and had started pummeling Draco. "You and Harry, how could you..."
"RON. Stop!" Hermione raised her wand and stupefied Ron. He froze where he was, dropping to the ground. She turned and looked at Draco, who had fallen back in his chair, never holding his hands up to protect against Ron's assault on him. She leaned down and moved Ron into a more comfortable position, her mind still reeling from the shock of Draco's admission to think about the fact that she had just stupefied her own fiance.
"You. You have about ten minutes before he comes to, I suggest you use it wisely and tell me everything. How could you and Harry be bonded? When?" she forced herself to take a deep breath.
Draco dragged the back of his hand under his nose, a faint smear of blood trickled out of his nose. "How does bonding happen, Granger? I know you are thinking of how it could have happened. In your mind you are remembering all of the cases of bonding in the last three hundred years."
Hermione flushed and lowered herself back in the seat. She forced herself to leave the emotion out of it and just think of the facts. "It is rare. Very rare when two people can find a magical match to themselves. And those that do usually discover their bondmate through magical surges or by sheer luck. And then they bond through sex or formal bonding ceremonies. Almost always both."
"Almost always. Not always." Draco nodded. "What does fighting and sex have in common?"
"Well, obviously, physical contact and adrenalin and..."
"Intense emotions, well, if the sex is done right that is..." Draco added. "All the ingredients needed to bond, if you happen to be fighting with the person who is destined to become your bondmate."
"When did it happen?" Hermione asked, her voice a mere whisper.
"Sixth year. The fight in the bathroom." Draco shrugged. "The whole room practically exploded with the magical surge and we were all over each other, throwing punches, and all the sudden it happened. The bonds formed and we were locked together. Most terrifying moment of my life."
Hermione had to close her eyes to keep calm, she slowly took in a breath and released it, "So you knew right away what had happened?"
Draco nodded, "Harry didn't realize it. He thought I had done a hex or something to cause the bond lines. As soon as we were released he delivered the Sectumsempra curse." Hermione's eyes went to Draco's chest where she knew the scars from that night were still criss-crossing Draco's chest.
"So, he didn't know? And you did? What did you do next?" Hermione noticed that Draco was shaking, she moved over and sat next to him, she reached out and grabbed ahold of his hands.
"When did you tell Harry about the bond?"
Draco gave a laugh, and looked her with a sheepish grin. "After the trial, when he gave me back my wand."
"What! That was two years later." Hermione dropped his hands and jumped up, "How on earth did you keep it a secret that long? Why"
Draco motioned her to sit down, "As you may recall, we were not exactly bosom buddies. And he did try to kill me, accidentally or not, a few minutes later. I was not inclined to share the information. And I spent every spare minute in the library trying to find away to break the bond."
"Could you feel it? Even with him being unaware?"
Draco nodded, "I could sense where he was in Hogwarts, but I couldn't sense his emotions or anything. It was more of awareness."
"I wonder..." Hermione bit her lip contemplatively, "I wonder if Harry did sense it. He was so tuned into you that year. He was watching every move that you made."
Draco shrugged, "Well, he had good cause to, bond or no bond, I was a marked Death Eater." he looked with a grimace at his left forearm.
"What made you tell him after so long?" Hermione asked, she gave a nervous glance at Ron who was still lying on the ground. She knew that they would only have a minute or two before he regained consciousness.
"The battle that early morning when he went into the forest to meet the Dark Lord. I felt the curse go through his body, even though I was up on the ramparts of the castle. I felt his magic disappear from me. And I felt the loss, that something had been ripped from me. I blacked out, and when I came to, the magic was back, Harry's magic was back and I was complete again. And I never wanted to experience that feeling of loss again."
"So you told him."
"First chance I got, after the trial ended. I didn't want to tell him before my trial. Didn't want it to influence whether or not he would testify for me."
"But he did, and you were released."
Draco nodded. "We met at the next day. He came to the Manor to bring back my wand and I told him."
"What happened?"
"He attacked me. Typical Potter. Why think when you can just fight." Draco made a motion with his hands, "But he eventually believed me, and we ended up in Auror training together. And the rest they say is history."
"And you never told anyone about this?"
"No, no one. Harry never wanted to, obviously he kept it from you for over eight years. That was what the fight was about, the night that he left. He had just told me about Weaslette's pregnancy. He was so excited and was talking about moving up their wedding date. And I wanted him to tell her that we were bonded beforehand. I thought she should know..."
"Even though..."
"Even though we never had sex, that we don't have that kind of bond. He is as straight as a wand. He was in love with the She- with Ginny. He was afraid that she would get the wrong idea, think that we bonded through sex."
"And you disagreed?" Draco looked away, staring out at the darkened window. He loosened his tie and slipped it off and restlessly stuffed it in his pocket. Hermione didn't press him for an answer.
After a long pause he said quietly, "Do you know how incredible it is to bond with someone? It happens maybe two or three times a century that two wizards or witches find their bondmate. And I thought it was not something that should be hidden away. I thought that the She-Weasley should know." Draco shifted uncomfortably, "Besides which, when they got married, I knew the bonding would become more obvious. We could anticipate each other's moves. We hardly ever needed to owl one another. And to be honest, I was tired of it being a secret. I consider the bond a gift, I'm not sure Harry ever saw it that way."
"But that leads us here. If you could follow his magic, why couldn't you find him when he disappeared?"
"He must have lost unconsciousness almost immediately. I had felt the tug when he left, and was about to follow him. I wasn't going to let him just apparate away from the argument. But all the sudden the thread connecting us weakened. It didn't break, he wasn't ripped away like that night that he died. The magic, his magic was weakened enough that I couldn't follow it."
"So how did you find him?"
"I've been traveling all over the country, every day off since he disappeared. Trying to find a place where the connection strengthened. I finally found it last week in Shropshire. I just traveled throughout the region until I could get a strong enough signal to find out exactly where he was."
"And you couldn't touch him in the room?" Hermione thought she knew the answer but wanted Draco to confirm it.
"Magical surge. I was afraid if I touched him the bond would reconnect and the surge could kill him or at very least knock him out of the stasis state that the healer had just put him in."
Hermione felt a sudden surge of hope that she hadn't dared to feel ever since walking out of the treatment room with Harry being furiously worked on by the healers.
"Can you feel it now? Can you feel how he is doing?"
Draco looked at her bleakly, his eyes dark with concern. "It is weak. As weak as I've ever felt it."
Hermione gave a small smile, she stood up and looked down at him. "Don't go anywhere, I'll be right back."
Hermione felt her heart racing as she ran back down the corridor and through the double doors to where Harry was being treated. There were still a large number of people in the room, Hermione could feel the magic of the spells they had cast crackling through the air. The emotions in the room were difference, she could tell by the faces of those in the room that they were worried. Shaking off the feeling she quickly located Healer Breedlove who was consulting with a medi-wizard on the far side of the room.
"Ms. Granger, I told you that I would let you know. You have no business being in here."
Hermione impatiently pushed aside the medi-wizard's hand that was trying to pull her back out of the room. "Healer Breedlove. If I told you that Harry was bonded magically with someone. Would that make a difference? Would that person be able to help you?"
"Are you talking theoretically?" Hermione could tell by the surge of hope in the Healer's eyes that she was excited by the news.
"Not theoretically. No one knows about it but me and his bondmate."
"Is it his fiancé? My understanding that she is nearly full-term, it would be too risky-"
"It isn't Ginny, it is someone else."
The Healer's eyebrow raised but she nodded quickly "Find his bondmate and bring him or her here." Healer Breedlove glanced at the prone figure on the bed, "The sooner, the better."
Hermione flashed a smile and raced out of the room. When she got to the waiting room Draco and Ron were standing in the middle of the room, yelling at each other. "Both of you stop, Draco, they need you in the treatment room, immediately."
Draco turned to look at Hermione, a question in his eyes. "GO!" Without further question Draco disappeared through the doorway. Hermione turned back to Ron. He looked down at her scowling. She gave a wan smile and put her arms around him. "Are you going to forgive me for stupifying you?"
Ron looked at her crossly, refusing to return the embrace, "I would like to know what my fiancé is doing stupefying me in the first place."
"I needed to hear what Draco had to say, and knew it would take three hours if you kept on interrupting and fighting with him. I knew we didn't have that kind of time. How much did you hear? I know I didn't hit you that hard to leave you out as long as you were down."
Ron looked towards the double-doors. "From the time he was talking about Voldemort." he took a deep breath, "So he was telling the truth? He and Harry..."
"Did not have sex, not ever." Hermione said, looking him straight in the eye, "Their magic bonded sixth year during the fight in the bathroom, the night Harry used Sectumsempra."
"They didn't, Harry didn't..." Ron sagged into a chair and put his head in his hands, "Oh thank Merlin. The thought of Harry and Malfoy..."
"Yes, well, you can erase any images you may have conjured up from your mind." Ron gave another shudder. "Where did Malfoy go?"
"He may be able to help. Bondmates can share energy, magic. It might be what Harry needs. He needs all the help he can get, Ron."
Hermione heard a gasp from the doorway and turned to see Ginny standing there. George and Molly Weasley were on either side of her supporting her. Ginny held one hand against her bulging belly as if to shield the baby from any bad news. She looked from Ron to Hermione, "Is he okay? Is he going to be okay?"
Hermione hastened over, "Sit down, Ginny. We don't know anything yet. They are working on Harry. We can't get worried until we find out what they have to say." She rubbed her friend's hand, it was as cold as ice.
Ginny stared at Hermione as if seeing her for the first time. "You found him?" Hermione shook her head, "No, Draco did. He came to me and we came up with the plan to get Harry."
"What happened to him? Where had he been? George wouldn't tell me anything."
"He has been at a Muggle hospital in Shropshire. Probably since the night he disappeared." Hermione looked at Ginny who seemed to be growing paler by the minute. "Now is not the time to worry. He is back with us, and you need to be strong for the baby. And for Harry." Ginny nodded faintly and clasped Hermione's hand tightly. With her mother on one side and Hermione on the other they started the long vigil of waiting.
Hermione was vaguely aware of more people coming into the room. A mug of coffee was pressed into her hand and she drank it gratefully. The minutes on the clock clicked and the hours slowly slid by. Every hour she would take turns with Molly Weasley, walking Ginny around.
Finally the doors opened and Draco walked out. Hermione had never seen him looking so disheveled. He had taken off his robes and tie, his shirt was partially unbuttoned, and untucked. He looked around the room and seeing Ginny and Hermione standing by the window made his way to them. Ginny looked at him wide-eyed, "Were you with Harry? Why? What are you doing here?"
Draco ignored the questions, he looked down at her gently, his eyes burning with exhaustion, "He is going to be okay. They were able to stabilize him and he is starting to gain strength." Ginny gave a sob and sagged against Hermione. Draco quickly put his arm around her and they guided her to a chair. Ginny started sobbing and her mother ran over to embrace her.
Draco looked down at the sobbing women and then at Hermione. She grabbed his hand, "Thank you, Draco. For everything."
He nodded, "Breedlove has ordered me to go and rest. They have a room for me near Harry. I'll be able to do more tomorrow." he turned and walked towards the corridor, ignoring Ron's attempt to talk to him.
OooOoOoO
Three Days Later
Ginny sat by Harry's bedside holding his right hand. The faint glow of the healing spells radiated gently through the room. Hermione watched from the window, the deep sadness that had been present in her friend's eyes for the last eight months was gone. Ginny was quietly talking to the unconscious figure on the bed. Slowly filling him in on all of the news that had happened while he had been gone, even though he couldn't hear her.
"Do you think he'll be okay?" Ron asked quietly.
"Yes." said Hermione without hesitation. She looked over at the other figure in the room. Draco sat in a chair on the other side of the bed, with his legs stretched out in front of him and his eyes closed he could have been asleep. Hermione gazed at Draco's right hand that held on to Harry's left hand. A faint gold thread of light was coiled around their hands, gently pulsating.
Hermione and Healer Breedlove had gently told Ginny about the bond between the two men yesterday. Hermione reflected that Ginny had taken it well, assisted no doubt by the potion that the healer had insisted the pregnant woman take before telling her. She had shaken her head in denial, and it hadn't been until she had seen the link between the two men that she tearfully accepted it. Thanks to the medical library at St. Mungo's Hermione was able to show her proof that non-sexual bonds did exist. Ginny wearily nodded, and said looking over at Draco, who was watching her cautiously. "I know Harry loves me. No matter what bond they have, I know he loves me and me alone."
Draco gave a sad smile and nodded towards the silent figure in the bed. "He has only ever loved you. Bond or no bond. He is yours. If there is one thing I know it is that you can't choose who you will fall in love with and who will love you back." Hermione had watched as Draco straightened and walked out of the room, closing the door quietly behind him.
