Narrator's POV (Rare but maybe not anymore)
It had been two days, and Hermione and Draco still hadn't spoken. Needless to say, Draco was beside himself, and the only person he could talk about it with was Blaise, because Pansy was still pissed, convinced that nothing that had happened was her fault, only the 'mudblood's'. He didn't care about her though, of course, but from his point of view Hermione was still furious at him for over reacting, and didn't wan't to see him.
But from Hermione's point of view, Draco was still angry at her for being with Ron and kissing him, and then going back to the hospital wing instead of going after Draco. But unlike him, Hermione had Ginny and Harry who were always ready to talk to her.
Ron and her hadn't spoken much, either. He had apologized several times, and Hermione had forgiven him, but there was still tension because Ron knew what he had caused. Hermione had become increasingly depressed and had relied heavily on Harry and Ginny to remind her of things like homework and her schedule. She just wasn't herself.
Coincidentally, the same thing was happening to Draco. Blaise found him caring about his schoolwork a lot less, and even quidditch failed to bring him the joy it used to. He even had lost some of his Malfoy confidence and charm. Nevertheless, Draco still spent just as much time with Blaise.
But the Veela and his partner were both becoming increasingly worse, sitting by themselves, staying quiet, and thoughts of their partner never ceased to float around in their minds.
It was, of course, worse for Draco because every part of his being wanted to be with her, and the time away from his mate was hurting him physically. Little did either of them know that it was about to get a lot worse...
Hermione's POV
I sat with Ginny on the love seat in the Gryffindor common room. I had been sleeping in there with Ginny for the past few days, and Harry had joined us once or twice. It was great having friends who cared about me so much, and I definitely needed them now.
Ron and Harry were playing Wizards chess, and Ginny was doing homework beside me. I had homework to do, but I didn't want to worry about it. I would do it later tonight, when everyone was asleep and I could be alone. I felt Ginny grab my hand. "Mione?" She asked.
I stared up at the ceiling, expressionless, but for Ginny's sake I put on a small smile and squeezed her hand. She was about to return to her homework but paused, and shortly after slammed her book shut into her lap and looked at me, exasperated. "You can't pretend anymore, Mione!" She explained.
"Pretend?" I asked, confused.
"That you don't miss him!" She exclaimed, "That you don't regret not talking to Malfoy for days, and that you don't regret letting my stupid brother get between you both!"
Ron turned red, but no one saw. I sighed. "Please Gin," I begged, "Stop talking about it, you're making me feel worse."
It was true, I started to feel worse, almost physically drained. "No," Ginny continued, "Please, Mione, do this for us, and yourself. Stop being so bloody prideful and go talk to him!"
"Stop!" I screamed, standing to my feet.
I didn't know why I had that sudden outburst that send Ginny back in surprise, but I just wanted her to stop talking about it. I was about to leave, but with my first step I felt dizzy, followed by immense pain, everywhere. I cried out in pain, and I tried to grab onto Ginny, but my hand couldn't find her. It felt like someone was using the Cruciatus curse on me.
"Hermione!" I felt all three of my friends scream at the same time. I couldn't answer. I felt myself hit the floor hard, but it was nothing but a gust of wind compared to the agony I was going through everywhere else. I couldn't speak, I couldn't move, all I could think about was how this was going to come back around and hit Draco.
Blaise's POV (Ooh, Rare)
Me and Draco were sitting in the Slytherin common room. There was about a dozen others hanging out, talking and having fun, but me and my friend were sitting in two chairs in the corner, working on homework together.
Draco was quiet, but then again he always had been recently. He would never tell me what was bothering him, but I knew it could only be Granger. He literally wouldn't shut up about her a day or so after their fight, and he had explained that he had thought she was cheating on him with Ron at first, but he could sense her emotions and the disgust she was feeling at that moment told him she wasn't.
But after that first day, he had stopped completely, and became quiet and dismissive, the opposite of the Draco I knew. "Dude," I decided to start with, and he turned to face me, "I know you hate talking to me about your problems, but come on. Just talk to the girl already. Fix it. Tell her you were wrong, chicks love to hear that."
He glared at me. "I don't want to hear it," he stated simply.
"Oh come on," I continued, "She's your mate!"
Those words seemed to set him thinking for a few seconds, but then he sighed and returned to his usual slump. I groaned, and tilted my head back. I wasn't about to give up. "This can't go on forever," I added, "You're miserable. Just admit it, and this can all be over."
I smiled, and he looked up at me. "I," he started, and paused, "I just-"
He stopped talking and started to groan in pain. He shut his eyes tight. "You okay D?" I asked, and I got off my chair to stand near him,"Is it Granger?"
He shook his head. "No," he said, "It's different. It feels like-" He was cut off again when the pain got seemingly worse.
He screamed, and fell limp in his chair, twitching. By now the Slytherins surrounding us were all watching, and I had close to froze in shock; I had never seen anything like this. Eventually, I recovered from it. "Someone help me!" I explained, looking around at the population of the common room.
"Draco!" A girl's voice sounded from near the dorm entrances.
It was Pansy. Not exactly the perfect person, but it would work. "Pansy help me!" I explained.
I pulled Draco up from his chair, and as soon as I did he screamed again. I almost dropped him, but Pansy had put his arm around her shoulder and held him up. I did the same. "Someone run ahead and notify Pomfrey!" I exclaimed, and thankfully two first years ran off to do it.
As me and Pansy carried Draco through the corridor, his wailing continued, and he came in and out of consciousness. He would scream, stop to take a few labored breaths, and start up again. Sometimes it would fade to more of a crying, but then it would get worse again. "It's like someone's bloody torturing him!" I yelled to Pansy.
"In a few minutes, the whole school's gonna be wandering around wondering who's dying," Pansy replied, "Do you know what's going on?"
"No," I answered, "But I have a pretty good idea."
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Narrator's POV
Hermione lay unconscious on a hospital bed, surrounded by her friends who were trying to comfort her, but to no avail. Madam Pomfrey had paralyzed her temporarily so she would stop her thrashing and not hurt herself.
Pomfrey had tried several potions, but none seemed to ease Hermione's pain. She continued to gasp for breath, and every once in a while she would cry out in pain.
"Is there nothing you can do?" Ginny exclaimed as Madam Pomfrey watched Hermione from a distance with a look of pity.
Madam Pomfrey sighed with frustration. "This is like nothing I've ever seen before," she explained, "If I knew whether or not Mister Malfoy was feeling the effects I could-"
"Malfoy!" Harry interrupted her, and everyone looked at him like he was crazy, but he continued, "They're not supposed to be sep-"
He was cut off as well as the infirmary door burst open showing Pansy, Blaise, and an unconscious Draco. "Mister Malfoy!" Madam Pomfrey explained, as she rushed to meet the other trio.
Malfoy was screaming in pain as well, just like Hermione. He was thrashing about as well, and Pomfrey cast the same paralytic she used on Hermione. She was helping to lay Draco onto a bed on the other side of the infirmary when his screaming stopped. He was silent other than his heavy breathing, but his eyes were still shut tightly.
"Madam!" Ginny called from over at Hermione's bed, "She's stopped."
Sure enough, Hermione's struggling had ceased as well, but she still seemed tense. "How could I be so witless!" Pomfrey exclaimed suddenly, "What you were about to explain, Mister Potter, would have been a correct assumption. Mister Zabini, help me move Mister Malfoy."
They helped get Draco up, and they laid him down on the bed next to Hermione's. Both of their screaming had stopped, but they were both still in obvious pain. "It's not working!" Ginny exclaimed.
"They need to be in the same bed!" Blaise suggested.
"Not gonna happen!" Ron complained.
At this, Blaise approached Ron, and looked down at him; he was a few inches taller. "From what I can tell, Weasel," he spat, his usually calm demeanor changing quickly in defense of his friend, "You're the reason we're in this mess, so I'd shut it."
Ron backed away, flabbergasted and slightly afraid. What a brave Gryffindor, Blaise thought, smirking on the inside. "Potter," he pointed at Harry, "Help me."
Together, Blaise and Harry moved Hermione (She was lighter) next to the unconscious Draco in his bed. As soon as they were together, the both of them stopped their writhing and relaxed. Draco wrapped his arms instinctively around Hermione, and they even started to breath in-sync, their chests rising and falling together.
"Incredible," Blaise whispered.
"Weird," Harry breathed, "So it's true, then, they can't be away from each other for as much as a few days."
"Not exactly, Mister Potter," Madam Pomfrey started, still watching the unconcious pair, "Even the most attatched Veela partnerships can go days without interaction. I've never seen this happen before. Does anyone know what happened before they went out of contact for so long?"
There was silence. Everyone knew the answer. "They had a fight," Ginny said simply.
Pomfrey nodded. "There's your answer," she explained, "I don't know if you know the details, but a Veela's purpose in life is to make it's mate happy. I can't imagine what it felt like for Mister Malfoy to not be fulfilling that purpose for so long, and I believe that affected Miss Granger as well."
There was more silence. "So," Blaise started, "That's why Draco has been so depressed recently..."
"And Hermione," Ginny said, looking down at her friend, "She hasn't been herself. She had an outburst when I mentioned talking to Malfoy, and then she was in so much pain."
Madam Pomfrey nodded to both of their explanations. "They should both be awake in either minutes or an hour or two, I'm not sure. You are all welcome to stay until that happens."
She left them all there to watch their two friends sleep, thankfully no longer in pain. "I have practice," Blaise said finally, "But would one of you let me know when they wake up?"
Ginny nodded to him, and took one of the chairs next to Hermione as Blaise left the infirmary. "Crazy, isn't it," she sighed.