Chapter 3
The infirmary was eerily quiet as Hermione made her way through the double doors. Curtained beds lined the walls on either side of the large windowless room. That was one of the many downsides to being underground, absolutely no windows. Only a few beds had the curtains drawn and she could hear faint snoring as she walked past one. Coming to the end of the row, she finally spotted Madam Pomfrey. Her greeting died in her throat when Poppy turned to face her. The nurse’s apron, she rarely took off, was drenched in an unmistakable crimson fluid.
“Poppy, who is it?” she whispered.
With a grave expression Madam Pomfrey gestured Hermione over to the last bed in the row. Taking in a tired breath Poppy took hold of the curtain, turning to say.
“Prepare yourself dear.”
Pulling the curtain aside, she stepped away to let Hermione view the occupant of the bed. Hermione pulled in a shuddering breath. Collin’s lanky form was draped across the small bed, head lolling to the side. His clothes were filthy and torn. She could smell him from where she stood at the foot of the bed. He was covered in innumerable cuts and lacerations, ranging from small scraps to large gaping wounds. The worst part however was the bloody stump where is right arm used to be.
“Oh Collin, what did they do to you?” Hermione wheezed as she slowly made her way to the head of his bed.
She noted how pale and cold he was as she pressed her fingers to the side of his bloody neck, checking for a pulse. There was a faint but steady thrum.
“I’ve stopped the bleeding, but I haven’t had time to disinfect and clean any of his wounds yet.” Poppy said as she came to stand next to Hermione.
“Let me help, we can get it done faster if we’re both working.” Hermione stated.
She quickly deposited her belongings into a nearby chair, unzipping her vest to lay it on top of her pack. Cerberus had come to sit at the foot of Collin’s bed, closely watching. Hermione walked around to the right side of the bed to stand next to his severed arm. With a fortifying breath she looked up to meet Poppy’s eyes across from her, and with a small nod they both got to work. She had worked alongside pomfrey hundreds of times over the years. Poppy had trained her well in healing. In no time Collin had been divulged of his filthy rags. After thoroughly cleaning and closing his many wounds, Hermione conjured a clean set of pajamas and her and poppy got him dressed. She rolled up the empty sleeve on the right for better access to the bandages. That particular wound had been too severe to magically close, they could only help speed up the healing process. The bandages would still need to be changed daily. Someone cleared their throat behind Hermione.
“Will he make it?” came Rons soft voice.
“Yes, I think so.” Hermione said, turning to look up into Rons face.
“Bloody animals they are,” Ron quipped as he looked over her head at Collin.
“This war has made murderers of us all. Come sit so I can look you over one more time.” She said softly raising a hand to his chest, gently pushing him backwards towards the empty bed behind him. He did as she asked. After another diagnostic spell which looked much better than his first, she was satisfied. She took a seat next to him; she was suddenly bone tired. This bloody war had gone on too long, had cost them too many friends and loved ones. It needed to end; it had to end. Ron gently took her hand as she leaned onto his shoulder. For a few long moments they both just watched Collin sleeping. She was so tired of watching everyone around her suffering. After giving Ron’s hand a squeeze she let go and hopped down from the bed. She ran another diagnostic charm over Collin. He was stable for now. She looked up to Poppy, who had begun tucking a sheet over him.
“I think I’ll go get some sleep now, if you’re alright without me?” She said.
“Of course dear, Susan should be coming in for her shift any time now.” Was her response.
As she made to turn for her things Ron shot to his feet, coming to stand in front of her.
“Wait Kingsley wanted me to give this back, said it was blank.” He said as he pressed something small into her palm. Hermione looked down in confusion at the little sim card. Blank? She had taken pictures; it couldn’t be blank. She looked back up to Ron as realization dawned, remembering the large man running a thumb across her camera screen. Bloody deatheater prick! He had erased the pictures. Her blood was now boiling. She’d spent the morning tending horrific wounds those deatheater scum had inflicted, and now the little evidence she had managed to get last night was gone. Ron looked at her with a startled expression at her swift mood change.
“I’m going to bed,” she snapped, grabbing up her stuff and swiftly making her way to the exit.
“Oh, ok… see you later,” Ron stammered after her.
She paid him no mind as she trudged through the double doors, Cerberus on her heels. Her boots clicked against the stone as she angrily made her way to her quarters. Slamming her door shut, she set her bow against the small desk and tossed her other belongings onto her bed. Placing her palms on the wood she bowed her head over the desk. She took a few calming breaths; she was too tired and angry to bother with a bath. After pulling off her clothes and tossing them into the hamper, she ran a cleansing charm over herself. Using her wand, she conjured a t-shirt and sleep shorts from her small closet and pulled them on. She sat on the edge of her bed and tugged roughly on the hair holder at the bottom of her braid. She shook out her wild curls before shoving her pack to the floor and climbing into bed. She curled onto her side and turned towards the wall. The bed sank behind her as Cerberus made his way up, causing her to roll over into the indent he’d created. She buried her face in his fur and let the tears come. She fell asleep sometime later, moisture drying on her face and hands buried into the wolf’s fur.
She was back at Hogwarts, fire blazing all around her. Screaming, so much screaming. She tried to get up but couldn’t. Why couldn’t she move her legs? Lifting her head to look down, she saw that her bottom half was pinned by an enormous pillar. Her head was so heavy, laying it back down she watched as several people ran by. She couldn’t make her mouth form words. Every breath she took burned like acid from the smoke. She silently screamed for help in her head, no one came. Then she was moving, being lifted into the air. Her whole body revolted at the sudden movement; she made to cry out. Hermione jolted upright, waking with a start. She pushed her hair from her sweaty forehead to see Cerberus looking at her with concern from the side of her bed. The wolf whined as he came forward to nuzzle the side of her face.
“It’s ok cerb, just another bad dream.” She whispered as she stroked the fur behind his large ear. She often had the same dream. She was not sure if it was a memory or just a nightmare her mind had conjured. It felt too real to be a figment of her imagination.
Her stomach grumbled loudly reminding her that she had not eaten in hours. Jumping up quickly realizing she hadn’t fed Cerberus that morning either. Giving him an apologetic look, she cast another cleansing charm to rid herself of the sweat brought on by the nightmare, then made quick work of her clothes. After seeing the state of her hair, she decided to just put it into a messy bun on top of her head. Grabbing her wand from the nightstand on her way to the door, she slipped it into the back pocket of her jeans.
“Come on cerb, let’s go see what we can scrounge up to eat,” she said to the wolf as she pulled the door open.
Cerberus happily trotted through the doorway, with a small chuckle and shake of her head she followed him towards the kitchen’s. Her wolf did love to eat, though he could be a bit fussy about the caliber of meat. She often called him a snob while feeding him the best cuts of meat she could hunt. She had barely taken two steps into the kitchen, when she was pulled into a tight hug, her head being crushed into a rather large bosom.
“Hi molly,” she chuckled around a mouthful of apron.
“How are you lovey? I was worried when I didn’t see you at breakfast.” Molly Weasley said as she grasped Hermione’s shoulders, pushing her back slightly to give her a once over. Satisfied with what she saw she finally let go and bustled over to the stove.
“You just missed dinner, but I’ve kept some stew warm for you.” She said, scooping a large ladle full into a bowl. Hermione hurried over to take the warm bowl.
“Thanks so much molly! But I hope you didn’t go to any trouble,” she said before taking a large mouthful of the heavenly stew. Molly had made quick work of taking over the kitchens five years ago when they were all stationed at Fort Emrys. Absolutely no one fought her on that front, she was a fantastic cook.
“Of course, it was no trouble at all.” Molly said from inside the large refrigerator. She popped back out with an enormous plate of meat.
“Don’t think I forgot about you Cerberus,” Molly said lovingly as she set the plate in front of the large wolf. Licking his chops he gave her an appreciative bark before digging in. Molly was one of the few that weren’t unnerved by the wolf, and in turn Cerberus tolerated her much better than others. Molly bustled back over and ushered Hermione into a seat at the small table. There was a large cafeteria area, but Hermione preferred to eat in the quiet of the kitchens. Listening to Molly hum as she baked, or chopped vegetables. Molly had taken it upon herself to become a sort of surrogate mother to Hermione, her own was still in Australia with no memory of her existence. Depositing a glass of water beside the bowl, Molly sat down next to her. Aiming her wand towards the sink she set some dishes to washing.
“Did you get some rest love? Ron said you had gotten back shortly after him this morning,” molly asked.
“Yeah, I got a few hours after I visited Poppy.” Hermione answered.
“Terrible what those monsters did to that poor young man,” clipped Molly.
“Yeah, it was awful. I plan to check in on him after I eat.” Hermione said softly, looking back to her bowl.
“Don’t wear yourself out,” Molly said fondly as she tucked a rogue curl behind Hermione’s ear.
“I won’t,” Hermione responded taking her last spoonful of stew. Cerberus had long finished his dinner and was now patiently sitting by her side.
The door swung open and in floated a tray piled high with dirty dishes closely followed by Ginny. Hermione jumped up to wrap her arms around her.
“Ginny! I thought you would be at Kian for another month.” Hermione squealed.
“It took less time than we thought to train the newbies on their brooms,” Ginny beamed back. Ginny was often called to aid in training new order members in flying.
“I’m so happy to see you!” Hermione said, giving Ginny’s shoulders a little squeeze before letting her go.
“Me too Mione! I was just about to pop over to your room, once the dinner rush was over.” Ginny said excitedly.
“I’ve just got to run over to the infirmary for a bit. Meet up in my room later?” Hermione asked.
“I’ll bring the whisky!” Ginny said with a wink.
Hermione added her bowl to the sink, pausing to watch the spelled rag scrub. She gave Molly one more hug before leaving the kitchens. Hermione tried her best to slip quietly into the infirmary. She did not want to wake any sleeping patients. She gave Susan a little wave as she passed her tending to a patient. The wizard seemed to have been hit with an acid curse. The parts of his body that could be seen, were covered in large blisters. Hermione came to the end of the row, stopping at the curtain around Collin’s bed. Taking a deep breath, she pulled the curtain aside. She was surprised to see his eyes open. She quickly stepped forward on his left side and gently took hold of his hand. Cerberus sat patiently at the foot of the bed.
“How are you feeling?” she asked gently.
“I’ve been better,” Collin croaked back. His eyes slid to the rolled sleeve on his right. Hermione gave him a sad smile before softly placing his hand on the bed so she could slip her wand from her back pocket. Her wand drifted across him as she ran a diagnostic charm. His blood levels were low but other than that he was still stable. She glanced over to his iv, making sure the fluid was still dripping steadily.
“Your numbers are all stable, just going to take a bit of time for the blood replenishing potions to work.” She said as she made her way to the other side of the bed. She swallowed before beginning to unwind the bandages. She couldn’t meet his eye as she did so. After cleaning the area, she cast “ferula” to bandage the wound back up. She finally looked back to his face; He was already looking at her.
“No growing it back then?” he rasped out.
“No, I’m afraid not. The injury was just too extensive.” She said lowering her eyes to the floor. She conjured a glass of water and helped him take a few sips to wet his throat.
“How will I hold a camera now.” He said almost too softly for her to hear. Photography had always been his passion. He had never been without a camera around his neck during their time at Hogwarts. Collin had altered hundreds of muggle cameras for the order over the years. Hermione pulled a chair over to sit next to him. She reached across him to take his left hand again.
“Collin you’re alive, that’s the most important thing. Everything else we can figure out.” She said gently.
“You’re a stubborn, capable wizard, this won’t stop you.” She added, giving his hand a squeeze.
“I’m not altogether sure I’m the same wizard I was before all of this.” He said, looking away.
Hermione choked back the tears that threatened to fall. Crying would not help her friend. She dropped his hand, standing to come around to make him face her again.
“Listen to me Collin Creevey. Those Basterds did everything they could to break you for two weeks. TWO WEEKS! And yet here you are. You’re still alive, that means something.” She clipped. Stepping closer to speak more softly.
“You are not alone Collin,” she said rolling up her sleeve to show him the scar on her arm. The one that spelled out mud blood.
“We will all carry scars before this bloody war is over. But if we allow ourselves to retreat into our own despair, then they win. We must continue forward. No matter what they do, we must continue. If we do not, then it was all for nothing. All the people we have lost. None of it would matter.” She said as she rolled the sleeve of her jumper back down.
A tear rolled down his cheek. Hermione leaned over to place her hand on the side of his face, wiping away the tear with her thumb.
“We will get through this, I promise. And then well make the assholes pay.” She said with a smirk.
Hermione mentally added a few more deatheaters to her shit list as she made her way to her room. She would find out exactly which one took his arm and make them pay. She was tired of watching countless Order members come through the infirmary mangled to near death. The names on the wall of remembrance were growing almost daily. The deatheater numbers seemed to hold steady as theirs dwindled. Something had to be done. Someone had to change the direction this war was headed, or they were all doomed.
Hermoine halted when she entered her room to find Ginny sprawled across her bed. She lay on her stomach, reading one of those muggle fashion magazines she loved so much. On the nightstand there was a fire whisky bottle and two shot glasses.
“Hey! Katherine let me borrow her latest issue of people. Want to read trash and judge celebrity fashion with me?” Ginny said without turning around.
Hermione chuckled as she joined her friend on the bed, laying down next to her. Ginny shifted the magazine over so that it rested in front of them both, before using her wand to fill the shot glasses and bring them over. The fire whiskey burned on its way down but settled warmly in her stomach.
“Ok what’s the latest?” Hermione asked as she turned the page.
Ginny said her goodbyes around ten and headed to bed. After the door clicked shut, Hermione slid open the drawer on her side table. Taking out a sober up potion and drinking it down quickly. She stood on less shaky legs and scooped up her pack, setting it on the bed to dig around in. Taking out the scraps of Collins old clothes she turned to Cerberus.
“We’ve got work to do,” she said.