These Dark And Hollow Nights

Chapter Thirty-Five: Memoria

Chapter Thirty-Five: Memoria  

                       

Hermione’s POV

Hermione bolted upright in bed. The nausea struck her immediately, and someone—Madam Pomfrey—handed her a bucket. She heaved, and vomited into it. There wasn’t much in her stomach, but she emptied whatever was left. When she finished, Madam Pomfrey got rid of the bucket, and handed her a cool cloth, which she laid across her forehead as she leaned back in the bed, head pounding.

‘Are you alright, Hermione, dear?’ Madam Pomfrey asked kindly. ‘You’ve been unconscious for a couple days. Your friends have visited numerous times.’ She nodded to the nightstand next to her bed, overflowing with cards and a vase of lilies.

‘A couple days?’ She repeated, shocked. ‘Is everyone OK? Harry and Ginny and Ron and the others?’

‘Everyone else is fine,’ Madam Pomfrey assured her. ‘Miss Greengrass was injured, but she was released from my care yesterday afternoon. Miss Weasley is still recovering from her traumatic experience, but she seems to be doing well. Of course, she missed much of her education, but she is determined to catch up. Professor McGonagall has made exceptions, and she will be taking her examinations when she is well enough.’

‘Is she still going to graduate with us?’ Hermione asked. Of course Ginny would have to redo everything—she’d lost her whole year of school.

‘Yes,’ Madam Pomfrey said. ‘As I said, exceptions have been made. She’ll only do the exams of whatever she has caught up on in the last month, the exceptions being Defense Against the Dark Arts, and Herbology.’

‘Oh. That’s good, I guess,’ she said. ‘You haven’t told anyone yet, have you? About, you know, my situation?’

‘No. I haven’t told anyone, not even Professor McGonagall,’ Madam Pomfrey said. ‘I cannot directly lie to her, if she were to ask, but it remains confidential. Your secret is safe with me.’

‘Thank you,’ she said. ‘Ginny knows, though. She found out because Nott did. Apparently he broke into your office and looked at my file or something, and he knew about it. So he bragged, and I had to tell Ginny.’

‘I did not realize my office had been broken into at all,’ Madam Pomfrey said. ‘Nothing was taken. I will be investing in stronger security charms. By the way, a letter came for you this morning.’

‘A letter? For me?’ She had hardly received any letters all year. There was no need for them, for the only people who would send them were at Hogwarts with her. ‘Who’s it from?’

‘I don’t know,’ Madam Pomfrey said. ‘It was ever so strange. Professor McGonagall brought it this morning, said it was given to her by the Minister.’

‘The… the Minister? Why would the Minister of Magic be giving me letters?’ She asked. She hadn’t done anything wrong, had she? She swallowed, suddenly afraid.

‘I don’t know,’ Madam Pomfrey said again. ‘Professor McGonagall made it very clear that no one was to know about it, so I had to hide it from Mr. Malfoy this morning. It’s in my office. I’ll go get it.’

She left. Cold dread washed over Hermione, and she felt as if she would be sick again. Surely she wasn’t in trouble with the Ministry? She’d done nothing wrong. Except, the magic that was produced from that necklace was dark magic, and she had technically killed Griselda with it. But they wouldn’t send her to Azkaban. Would they?