Chapter 3

                                    

                                          
Hermione slowly opened her eyes to the harsh, glaring light of the hospital wing. She blinked several times, her vision still clouded by black spots that danced across her field of view. As her sight cleared, she made out Harry and Ginny sitting beside her bed on the right, while Ron occupied a chair on the left. Ginny, her head resting gently on Harry's shoulder, was fast asleep, looking as peaceful as one could expect under the circumstances. Harry, on the other hand, was gazing out of the window with an expression of deep concern, his eyes fixed on some distant point. Hermione was too exhausted to speak or even move much; she felt utterly drained. Not wanting to alarm her friends by revealing that she was awake just yet, she closed her eyes once more, hoping to remain unnoticed for the moment.
"How long do you reckon until she wakes up?" Ron's voice was tinged with worry, his tone both anxious and pleading.
"I don't know, Ronald!" Harry's frustration was palpable. "You've already asked me that three times now. Haven't you heard Madam Pomfrey? She's been in a critically unstable state for four days. She actually died twice!" Harry's voice carried a weariness that suggested this was a conversation he had been having over and over again. "Look, Ron, she was dead for a whole six minutes. That's not exactly run-of-the-mill, is it?"
"I know, I know," Ron replied, his voice cracking slightly with emotion. "I just need her to open her eyes so we can tell her to hold on, and to never, ever do this again."
Hermione's heart sank as she overheard Ron's distress. Four days? Dead twice? The gravity of it all was overwhelming. She decided not to interrupt her friends and instead used the quiet moment to reflect on everything that had happened.
~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~
The following morning, Hermione awoke to the gentle touch of Madam Pomfrey adjusting her pillows. The matron's presence was a small comfort amidst the whirlwind of confusion.
"Oh, my dear, you're awake!" Madam Pomfrey said with a relieved sigh. "How are you feeling?"
"Nauseous, cold, and my head is throbbing," Hermione managed to reply, her voice barely more than a whisper. Madam Pomfrey immediately cast a warming charm, and Hermione felt the chill begin to ebb away from her bed.
"I'll fetch you an anti-nausea potion," Madam Pomfrey said soothingly. "That should help with your headache and nausea. And while I'm at it, I might as well fill you in on everything you've missed. What's the last thing you remember?"
Hermione took a sip of the potion, its taste bitter but oddly comforting. "I remember walking with my friends," she began, "and then I felt myself go all light-headed, as if I were floating. But then everything went dark, and I remember my body collapsing to the ground."
"Right, I see," Madam Pomfrey said, nodding thoughtfully. "So, you stopped breathing right after that and—well, you died. We brought you to the wing and administered several potions, but none seemed to work. After three minutes, we assumed you were gone. We informed your friends, and though they came to see you, they couldn't bear it and left. You were effectively dead the entire time they were here." Her tone was both serious and tinged with a trace of disbelief. "Then, quite miraculously, I performed one last jolt spell, and you somehow revived. You began to shake, so I administered a calming potion mixed with a draught of peace to prevent you from slipping away again. I stood here in shock for about 30 minutes, and then, in my dazed state, I completely forgot to inform your friends that you were still alive. It was only after another 30 minutes that I sent a Patronus to McGonagall to notify your friends and the rest of the school."
She took a deep breath, looking as if the recounting had been almost as exhausting as the event itself. "You remained stable for two days, during which I didn't permit any visitors. I wasn't entirely sure what had happened, but you went back into cardiac arrest, died for another two minutes, and then came back. You've been stable since then. Last night, though, I allowed your friends to visit for their own comfort and peace of mind." Madam Pomfrey sighed and stood up from the chair she had been occupying beside Hermione's bed. "I'm going to send word to McGonagall. You need to keep resting."