Everyone else congregated in the sitting room at night when they couldn't sleep, but Hermione found herself unable to bear being there. She stalled the conversations; people tried to cheer her up and include her. She was too tired to pretend.
Most nights, when the house was quiet, she'd sit alone in the kitchen of Grimmauld Place, trying to find something to do to to fill all the cold empty hours until sunrise.
She pulled her hands away from the wall and went to take her shift.
Hermione was on the stairs with Padma, helping her practice ascending the stairs without a cane, when the door of Grimmauld Place burst open.
“No! Let go! Let go!” Harry was screaming and trying to tear himself out of Remus' arms as Remus dragged him through the door. “Fuck. LET GO OF ME!! We can't leave them!!”
Harry punched Remus in the face as he struggled to break loose.
“Someone stun him!” Remus snapped as he slammed Harry to the floor and pinned him there in order to keep him from twisting free.
“God, no. Fuck. You left Ron! LET GO! YOU CAN'T MAKE ME LEAVE HIM!!!”
Hermione whipped her wand out and caught Harry in the side of the head with a stunner. Harry slumped down limp.
“Don't wake him unless he's restrained!” Remus snapped, turning and rushing out the door and apparating before anyone could ask questions.
Hermione left Padma on the stairs and hurried down to Harry's limp body. She cast a diagnostic, checking him over carefully. He was covered in dirt and had a concussion and several fractured ribs; several nails had been torn off, and he was carrying cursed injuries.
“Someone send a patronus to Kingsley and Moody,” Hermione said in a sharp voice as she countered the curses. She levitated Harry off the floor and took him up to the hospital.
It didn't take long to repair Harry's injuries. Then she poured several strengtheners and restorative potions down his throat.
She hovered over him, wiping his face clean and watching the colour slowly come back to his features. She pushed his wiry hair back from his face and traced a fingertip along his scar.
“Oh Harry, Harry, Harry,” she murmured under her breath and pressed her forehead down against his. “Please, Remus, bring Ron back.”
She stayed beside Harry until Neville appeared, accompanied by Charlie who was carrying an unconscious Tonks. Padma came in behind them. Neville's wand arm was broken in multiple horrifying angles.
“What happened?” Hermione asked as Padma levitated Tonks into a bed.
“Fuck if I know,” Neville said. He was so pale his skin was nearly translucent. Hermione cast a diagnostic; he'd been hit in the arm with the acid curse and he also showed signs of being crucio'd. “They must've expected we might eventually use the tunnels. We tripped an alarm or something. Suddenly there were more than a dozen Death Eaters in there. There were anti-apparition wards; we didn't even think to check for them while digging. We held them back and Remus blew a hole in the roof of the tunnel and dragged Harry out first. We tried to follow. Ron got hit with something. Anthony and I were trying to get him but they got my wand arm with the acid curse. Anthony countered it, used a leviosa and threw me out of the tunnel. Idiot, let his guard down. I saw the killing curse hit him. I don't know how Tonks got out. No one else — got out. When Remus got back, he just made us apparate.”
“So — is Ron alive?” Hermione's voice shook as she removed the bones in his arm. Neville was so dazed he didn't even react.
“I don't know—“
“We sent word to Mum,” Charlie said in a wooden voice. “To find out what the clock says.”
Ron's hand on the Weasley family clock steadily read Mortal Peril.
Hermione went personally and stood staring at it beside Molly Weasley, who had taken up vigil there. Hermione felt half-afraid that if she turned away it might move abruptly to “Lost” beside Percy's.
It took half an hour before she could force herself to tear her eyes away.
“Molly, there's a meeting in an hour, about what to do. I — can stay with Arthur, if you want to go,” Hermione finally said, resting a hand lightly on Mrs Weasley's shoulder.
Molly didn't look away from the clock. She shook her head. “No. I have to stay here, dear. The boys will be there. I have to stay here.”
Hermione withdrew her hand. “I'll make you some tea before I go.”
The meeting was seething.
“We're not going to attempt any suicide missions to get into Hogwarts,” Kingsley said as soon as the debriefing was completed. He was utterly calm despite the tension vibrating through the air. “Getting into the school was already a top priority mission and it continues to be. Given our inability to even access the school, we cannot immediately plan a rescue to find a single prisoner inside the castle. Until we have better information, a rescue attempt is off the table.”
Charlie smacked the table angrily, and the meeting descended into shouting for several minutes.