InsaneJournal

Current location:	in the house somewhere
Current mood:	awake
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Entry tags:	movie: harry potter, pairing: draco/hermione

[ 2870 ] Harry Potter
Summary: Clenching and unclenching her hand into a fist, Hermione had to do it soon and without further delay. Rose needed that operation soon and without a single delay. Still Hermione couldn't help but to hesitate. She had not seen her estranged husband since that fateful evening when she had discovered that he had a mistress and was seeing her behind her back. It had been the day she had gone out to look for him when she had caught him exiting the home of Astoria Greengrass. His tie had hung loose and his clothes looked like they had been placed upon his body haphazardly instead of being immaculately dressed. It was the first time Hermione had ever felt her heart break. After all this time she believed him to be faithful to her, he was going behind her back and seeing that...that - there had been no words suitable to describe Astoria. She knew the woman had a thing for her husband long before she and Draco became a couple and there had been times she boasted that she intended to be the next Lady Malfoy.




To Find You Again
By Suseh













Chapter Six














Hovering over her desk with parchments strewed all over and potion texts laid open around her, Hermione worked feverishly upon the last bits of information upon the upcoming new potion they would be testing soon. The potion - if it worked - would help eliminate arthritis and joint pain all together that there would no longer be a need for aspirins or cream medications that only helped alleviate the problem for a few hours. No this would rid the body of it and work upon restoring the health of the joints, muscles, and nerve systems that were affected.

Hermione was hopeful with this project. She had been assigned to work on it more than several weeks ago when the head of the project had been reassigned to another post. She knew that if this was a success, then she would be given more problematic potions to work on and perhaps even more chances to prove herself to the Board of Directors of the company.

Hermione laid down her quill and ran her ink stained hand through her unruly curls. She was growing exhausted and felt the first pangs of a headache coming on. A quick glance at the clock told her it was nearly two in the afternoon and Rose would be home waiting for her mother's quick call to check in on her.

Rose's health was deteriorating. For the last few days, she had been complaining of small pains in her chest. Hermione had been alarmed and quickly had taken her to see her cardiologist. Her chest pains had worried her doctor and he voiced his concerns that the operation had to be done soon before the heart condition increased worse. Hermione would have no choice in the matter but to seek out her estranged husband for monetary support on this.

But when was she going to gain the courage to see him?

Clenching and unclenching her hand into a fist, Hermione had to do it soon and without further delay. Rose needed that operation soon and without a single delay. Still Hermione couldn't help but to hesitate. She had not seen her estranged husband since that fateful evening when she had discovered that he had a mistress and was seeing her behind her back. It had been the day she had gone out to look for him when she had caught him exiting the home of Astoria Greengrass. His tie had hung loose and his clothes looked like they had been placed upon his body haphazardly instead of being immaculately dressed. It was the first time Hermione had ever felt her heart break. After all this time she believed him to be faithful to her, he was going behind her back and seeing that...that - there had been no words suitable to describe Astoria. She knew the woman had a thing for her husband long before she and Draco became a couple and there had been times she boasted that she intended to be the next Lady Malfoy.

Unfortunately for Astoria that title was never granted to her. Instead it was claimed by Hermione herself after she and Draco were married but Astoria never forgave Hermione for taking Draco from her.

As far as Hermione was concerned now, Astoria was welcomed to have the title if it meant so much to her. She didn't want it nor did she need it anymore. She was happy now with whom she was and not what she had once been.

RRRRIIIIIIIIIINNNNNGGGGGG

The sound of her cell phone drew her away from her memories and snapped her back into reality. She reached into the pocket of her lab coat and drew out the tiny phone, flipping open the lid, and placing it up against her ear.

"Hermione here," she spoke softly into the receiver.

"Hermione, thank the Gods!" Beatrice's frantic voice rang on the other line. "You have to come quick! It's Rose!"

Hermione could feel her heart plummeting into her stomach.

"Hermione, she collapsed at school," Bea croaked out trying to contain her sobs. "Please hurry!"

Hermione opened her mouth to assure that she was on her way but Bea had hung up before she could. She knew driving to the hospital was out of the question and so was using the floo system (after all muggles hospitals did not come equip with such a thing). She reached for her purse and her wand and stormed out of her room leaving her colleagues to gawk in her wake.









Blaise Zabini leaned back in the comforts of her velvet chair. A drink in his hand and his eyes glued to the fire that danced shadows across the spacious room of his study. He did not know why he had not told Draco what exactly he had learned from Luna. Perhaps it had been because of her plea to him to keep silent that had caused the Slytherin to say nothing but now he knew the absolute truth of the matter. He had always known Astoria to be as vindictive as her sister. Both sisters had always been vying for the convent role of Lady Malfoy since both of them entered into Hogwarts although Daphne had a far bigger advantage over her younger sister but that had not halted Astoria in the least.

"You can't tell him this," Luna had told him. "You cannot tell him that Hermione saw him exit Astoria's home that day she left."

But why not?, he wondered. Didn't Draco deserve to know what had caused the collapse of his marriage?

He had kept his promise to Luna however and had said nothing to Draco. He was certain that Draco had suspected he knew more than he had been willing to divulge but the former Slytherin Prince had not pushed the information. He could only surmise that he was waiting for Blaise to come to him willingly.

And this was where Blaise had to decide - his promise to Luna or his loyalty to Draco.

The sudden flare of the fire drew Blaise out of his stupor and caused him to push himself forward in his chair. His hazel eyes seeking out the cause.

"I wasn't sure if you were accepting floos," Luna's voice rang softly through the fire.

"Luna," Blaise breathed her name and pushed himself completely off the chair and down onto his knees before the fire image of Luna's face, "what do I owe of this call?"

"Can you come down to the hospital in muggle London?" She inquired. "St Mary's Hospital in North West London?"

"I can be there," he answered her confused as to why she would want to meet in a hospital - a muggle hospital - of all things.

"Thank you," she replied cutting off communication and leaving the Slytherin once more to his thoughts.









Hermione Apparated into the alleyway of the hospital and quickly shoved her wand into the bottom of her purse. She moved out from the shadows and headed towards the entrance of the hospital. Her mind reeling from shock at the call from Bea earlier. She had thought her daughter could hold on for just a bit longer and allow her to seek out Draco for help.

"Hermione!" Bea called out once the older woman had caught sight of her entering. She rushed over to hug the young witch tightly allowing the tears to flow freely down her wrinkled features.

"What happened?" Hermione asked worriedly. She drew back from her friend and looked her squarely in her eyes as if search for the answers that would help her understand all of this.

"The details are a bit sketchy," Bea said. "One teacher said she just collapsed without word. They thought she fainted and tried to wake her up but when they couldn't, they called paramedics."

"Oh Gods," Hermione voice cracked in a sob as her hand flew over her mouth to halt the sound from resounding through the quiet hall of the hospital. She could see the nurses stop in their movements and draw attention towards her as if waiting to see if their assistance would be needed. "I need to see -"

Whatever Hermione was about to say was cut off by the appearance of Luna Lovegood. The Ravenclaw had entered the hospital in a rush heading directly towards them and drawing the former Gryffindor into a hug. The gesture surprised Hermione and caught her off-guard completely as she had made no call to let Luna know of Rose's condition as she had just learned it moments ago. So how did Luna know?

"Luna, what are you doing here?" She inquired curiously. Her voice still filled with the tears she was desperately trying to keep at bay.

"I was coming to see you when I saw Bea coming out of the apartment in a rush," she presented the explanation freely. She glanced over at the older woman who nodded her head. "Is Rose okay?"

"I don't know," Hermione answered withdrawing from her friend's embrace and stepping back. "I just arrived myself and I was going to go see what Rose's condition was when you appeared."

"Then go," Luna remarked pushing her friend towards the nurse's station. "We will be here waiting."

Once Hermione was gone, Luna turned towards the older woman whom had been silent throughout the exchange. She had never met Bea but the older woman seemed to have a strong influence within the life of her friend. This was a good thing, Luna decided, as Hermione needed an older figure to guide her through the most trying times of her life. Without Ron or Harry being a constant part of her life, she had no one else to turn to except the muggle woman.

"I am Luna Lovegood," the former Ravenclaw spoke up and extended her hand. "I went to school with Hermione."

The older woman smiled warmly and extended her own shaking Luna's hand firmly. She could not feel a single threat coming from the other witch and it seemed that Hermione trusted Luna more than anything in this world but Bea found herself wondering if Luna knew more about the young witch than she did. Certainly they seemed to be really good friends and the two of them went to school together, according to the blond before her, but did that mean she knew more about Hermione? Bea didn't know and there was only one way to find out.

"Are you really good friends with Hermione?" She asked with the curiosity of a child.

Luna shook her head. "Not entirely. We may have gone to school together but I didn't know her very well then as I do now. She mostly surrounded herself with Harry and Ron during those times or she surrounded herself with the tomes in the library at school. She wasn't the easiest to get along with either but I suppose she was too busy at the time trying to keep Harry alive and well out of the reach of Voldemort's hands."

Bea took in this new information.

"I don't know how much she has told you about our world and I think it's best you ask her further for it," Luna informed her with a look of seriousness upon her face. "I don't like to divulge too much unless she has given me permission to do so."

The subject was dropped as quickly as it came but not before Bea took note of the seriousness leaving the blonde's face only to be replaced once more with the look of dreaminess. It was something she had seen much earlier when she literally ran into the girl in the hallway of the apartment. She seemed to be lost in her own world and detached from that which was around her and now that same look was back upon her face.

With Hermione still at the nurse's station, neither of the women took notice of the arrival of Blaise Zabini as he arrived at the hospital. His usual wizard robes replaced by more comfortable muggle slacks and polo shirt. He had made no effort to for the moment to draw himself further into this muggle situation. Instead he hung back watching Luna interact with a muggle woman whom he assumed was a friend of Hermione's or perhaps even her aunt. He shifted his gaze away allowing his hazel eyes to sweep across the sea of muggle faces until they landed upon the back of the former Gryffindor. He could see her posture was rigged. Whatever the nurses were telling her didn't seem to be anything good.

Deciding it was time to present himself, Blaise moved towards Luna and the muggle woman.

"Luna," he said her name causing her to turn quickly around to face him.

"Blaise," she returned softly. Her blue eyes softening at the sight of him.

"What's going on?" He asked looking towards Hermione.

"I don't think it's good news," Bea offered her input with a small shake of her head. "Rose collapsed at school and we have no idea of her condition at this time."

"How is Hermione taking this?" He questioned uncertain of whether or not to contact Draco and have him come down here. He knew it would be a bad idea to inform him but he also knew that if Rose didn't live and he learned of her, things would get even more uglier than they were already. Perhaps he could discuss this rationally with the Gryffindor once they learned of Rose's condition.

"Not good," Bea replied sadly. "Her only daughter and she's torn with doing what she thinks is best."

Blaise took in this information and realized the muggle knew more than she appeared to. Maybe she would be a great ally in what he knew Hermione would not like. He opened his mouth to say something when he caught sight of Hermione heading back in their direction and quickly closed it.

"My dear, what is it?" Bea asked stepping forward and taking the former Gryffindor's hand in her own.

"They don't know," she whispered brokenly. "The doctor is still trying to see what caused her collapse."

Luna craned her neck and looked around. There off to the side was a small empty waiting room and she ushered them all inside closing the door quietly behind them. It would offer them a place to contemplate, offer support, and talk without disturbance until the doctor came looking for them.

Bea steered Hermione into the room and into a chair while she took one next to her.

"She will be fine, my dear," she promised her. "Rose is strong and she will pull through. Just watch and see."

Hermione broke down and sobbed. Her most precious daughter was fighting to stay alive and she could do nothing - NOTHING at all save her. It was killing her inside. She couldn't imagine life without Rose and certainly she was going to see to it that Rose had a fulfilling life if she had to sell her soul to the devil himself to insure that.

Blaise knelt down in front of the broken Gryffindor and removed the handkerchief from his pocket, extending it out to her.

"Here," he said smoothly, "dry your tears and let's plot the next course in action to save your daughter's life."

The sound of his voice startled Hermione from her tears that she lifted her red tear-streaked face to look at the Slytherin. She was surprised to find him here and she could only surmise that it had been Luna's doing. She couldn't be angry with the Ravenclaw. She knew Luna had good intentions and was sure she wanted Blaise to put in some sense to Hermione about seeking out Draco for help.

"Sorry you have to see me this way," she murmured drying the wetness from her face and eyes. She loathed the idea that the Slytherin had found her in such a vulnerable spot.

"Hermione, don't you think it's time Draco knows the truth," Blaise said bluntly and to the point of the matter. "He could help you out with this."

"And make demands I am unwilling to give into," she retorted. "I won't return to a marriage where there are three of us."

"Let me put it this way then, Hermione, seeing as you give me no choice in the matter: Either you seek out and tell Draco about the condition of his daughter's health or I summon him right here and now and tell him what you have been hiding from him." He had laid the threat down at her feet and waited for her decision. He could see her eyes narrowing in downright fury that he was forcing her to make a decision right then and there without giving her a chance to decide upon her own.

"Bastard!" She snarled finding herself cornered and restrained by the two women at her side. They were holding her back to keep her from striking the Slytherin squarely upon his smug face but deep within she knew he was right. She had to seek out Draco quickly and with no further delay. It was for the best that Rose had her operation within the next few days and perhaps she would be able to live the full and healthy life that Hermione had always wanted for her daughter. She could deal with whatever deal the devil placed in the contract.

Hermione slumped back in her chair in defeat and sagged her shoulders in defeat.

"I will go see him after I know of the diagnosis of Rose's condition," she whispered her answer.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Author's Notes: Forgive me for this being a bit late but real life has kept from me from doing any writing lately and this might continue for awhile. My dad ended up hurting himself and he may have to have surgery to repair an injury he sustained from work. So writing the next chapter may not come forth for the time being but I have planned it out in my head. Well most of it.

As you can see we are now heading for the confrontation between Draco and Hermione which should be in the next chapter unless my muse sees fit to throw more curve balls in place instead.

I wish to thank those who have reviewed and left me constructive critiques. It has been most appreciated than anything. I also wish to thank those who have placed this story on alert or have favorited it. It makes me happy. :D

Thank you all!