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Hermione Watson (the_cleverest) wrote in colligo_threads,
@ 2010-10-24 02:21:00

Entry tags:

hermione watson, john watson

WHO: Hermione Granger and John Watson
WHAT: Resurrection and reunion.
WHEN: After the zombie apocalypse ends. Morning-ish?
WHERE: The Library, then Watson's flat
RATING: PGish?
STATUS: In progress, open to Sherlock

Hermione didn't expect an afterlife. Perhaps she would have described it as eternal sleep, but really she just expected nothingness. She certainly didn't expect to wake up in the library of Colligo, surrounded by other confused people and no longer dead.

No guards were needed to usher her out; she stumbled out of the imposing building still dazed by what had happened and confused by her sudden return to life. It was as if she could still feel the impact of the bullet in her skull, the pain of the wound in her shoulder. And she remembered the last face she'd seen before she closed her eyes at his request and let him save her from an unthinkable fate. It had been too much to ask of him. But he had done it without complaint and with compassion and mercy.

Fumbling with her pockets and not finding her wand, Hermione Apparated anyway. It was dangerous, and it was only by some miracle that she didn't splinch herself, instead finding herself popping into the living room of John and Sherlock's flat.

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hisbestman
2010-10-24 06:29 am UTC (link)

It had been a rough few days. John hadn’t really adjusted well to killing Hermione and Sirius, and it had taken all of Sherlock’s effort and support to pull him out of his shell-shocked daze. After that, his time had been spent working at the clinic and shooting the zombies. Having something to do, a purpose in all the chaos and loss, had been the only thing really keeping him going.

Now that the zombies were gone, he just felt numb. Going through the routine of work and eating and sleeping and making sure Sherlock remembered to do the same felt empty somehow. Without the danger and the fighting to distract him, the grief settled under his skin and left him cold and aching. He missed Hermione. She had been bright and lovely and so very clever, and he’d really fallen for her. He felt lonely, even with Sherlock and his work, and he missed her company. The fact that he had been the one to kill her, the guilt from having to do that, only made things worse, and he wanted nothing more than to take it back, but you couldn’t change things like that.

So, when he turned from making tea and saw her, startled by the crack of apparition, his obvious reaction was to drop the mug of tea and just stare. Oh lord, he’d gone mental. He’d actually gone mental. “Hermione?” he said after a moment, still a bit dumbstruck. “What...how?”

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the_cleverest
2010-10-24 06:30 am UTC (link)

She jumped when the mug hit the countertop, fingers itching to have her wand back so she could clean it up. Absurd, to focus on the little things at a time like this. "I honestly don't know. I woke up in the library... I came here straight away. I wasn't the only one waking up there." A shake of her head sent her curls flying. "This shouldn't be possible." Hermione had learned to accept a lot of things she'd thought impossible in the years since she'd learned about the wizarding world, but this was a bit beyond that.

And she was being patently ridiculous standing here, when he was gaping at her like he'd seen a ghost. Which wasn't far off from the truth, really. A few steps brought her close to him and she reached out, hesitating for a moment before laying her hand on his cheek. "But I'm here, somehow."

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hisbestman
2010-10-24 06:30 am UTC (link)

She was alive. Somehow, Hermione was alive. Or she was a ghost. He was pretty sure he’d heard about at least one ghost here. And if there were higher powers and angels and demons and all the other things they had here, then why not ghosts? It certainly wasn’t any weirder than the zombie apocalypse they had just had. Still, there was something decidedly unsettling about talking to your dead girlfriend. “If you eliminate the impossible,” John said, thinking of Sherlock...or Spock in the new Star Wars film, “whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth. So...you’re alive. Or you’re a ghost. But I’m rather hoping for alive if it’s all the same. I don’t know that ghosts apparate.”

Then she walked over to him, reached out and touched him. “Not a ghost then,” he said, still gobsmacked by the realisation that she wasn’t dead. “You’re actually here.” He reached up and covered her hand with his, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. “I shot you in the head...and now you’re here. I’m sorry for that, by the way. The shooting...not the being back. I’m not sorry for that at all. I’m glad you’re back. I...missed you.”

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the_cleverest
2010-10-24 06:32 am UTC (link)

"I don't think I'm a ghost. As I'm not transparent or insubstantial." At least, that was how the ghosts at Hogwarts had been, and Hermione was neither. She took her hand back so that she could hug him properly, burying her face in his jumper. "You shouldn't apologise. I asked you to do it. And I shouldn't have, but - I couldn't think of what else to do." And she didn't mind that he'd been splattered with tea or that it was soaking into her clothes as well now. "I'd say I missed you too, but... I don't remember anything between the park and waking up in the library. But I'm very glad I'm back."

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hisbestman
2010-10-24 06:33 am UTC (link)

John wrapped his arms around Hermione and just held her, feeling at peace for the first time since he’d had to shoot her and Sirius. “I feel better apologising,” John admitted. “I never wanted to do that...and I know it was necessary.” He sighed, and his arms tightened around her. “I wouldn’t have asked you to do it yourself. It wouldn’t have been fair. You were already...” He shook his head. No use dwelling on that when she was alive and whole again. “It was...just over a week,” he said quietly, “but it was awful. And I’m very glad you’re back...as I said before.”

He let her go and reached into the pocket of his jacket, pulling out her wand. “I imagine you probably want this back,” he said with a small smile. “I looked after it for you. I’m not sure why I did...since I didn’t think you were coming back...but I did.”

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the_cleverest
2010-10-24 06:35 am UTC (link)

"A week? Bloody hell, I didn't even think to check." Now she was the one staring in disbelief. It didn't make any less sense than anything else that had happened, but she hated the idea of losing a week to being, well, dead. "Let's hope you never have to do anything like that again," she said, pressing her lips together. They couldn't guarantee it in a place like this, where bizarre happenings were extremely common, but they could hope for the best.

An answering smile appeared when he brought out her wand, something relaxing inside her as her fingers wrapped around the wood. "Thank you. It's good that you did, I can work wandless magic but it's difficult." A quick charm and they were both dry again, the tea mug righted on the countertop. "There we are."

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hisbestman
2010-10-24 06:36 am UTC (link)

“Yes,” John said. “A week.” It was still so strange to be standing there talking to her, when she had been dead, but he wasn’t going to complain. He had missed Hermione, more than he could express, and he was just glad to have her back...even if the circumstances were somewhat baffling. “Let’s hope not,” he agreed. He sighed and looked down as he continued. “I would though. If it was necessary...I would hate it, but I would.” He just hoped it never came to that. He wasn’t sure he could handle having to kill Hermione again, however necessary it might be.

“I know how important wands are,” he said with a slight shrug, “and I just...didn’t want anything to happen to it. It’s a part of you.” He was quiet for a long moment, before reaching down and taking her hand. “I meant what I said,” he said after a moment’s hesitation. “In the park, before I...I meant what I said back there. About...my feelings...for you.”

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the_cleverest
2010-10-24 06:38 am UTC (link)

"I'd do the same for you. If - if there was no alternative." It was a mercy, if nothing else, but it really wasn't something she hoped she'd have to consider. And it wasn't something she particularly wanted to talk about at the moment, now that she was back and standing there with John in front of her. "You'll have to fill me in on what I missed, other than the general zombie rampage bits."

His hand felt warm and safe around hers. "What you - oh. Yes." Hermione blushed. "I... is this the moment where we're meant to have the heartfelt confessions of love? Because I'm not very good at expressing myself in that way."

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hisbestman
2010-10-24 06:39 am UTC (link)

“I’m glad,” John said, then paused. “And somewhat disturbed that we’re talking about how we would kill one another if the situation called for it...but I suppose it’s better to be sure about that before it becomes an issue.” He sighed. “Not much has happened really...there were more deaths. It only just ended last night...I’m not quite sure how. I might have offended your friend Hannah...I’m sorry.”

John considered it and shook his head. “Lord no,” he said. “I mean...you know how I...and I’m under the impression you feel the same...but we don’t need to...talk about it. Right?” He wasn’t entirely comfortable talking about his feelings, even with his girlfriend.

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the_cleverest
2010-10-24 06:41 am UTC (link)

"It's somewhat inevitable, given the circumstances," she replied, frowning slightly. "At least, given how our minds work." They were both highly intelligent and fairly logical and rational people. Working out the possibilities of mercy killings, given their situation, made some amount of sense. But they were also both rather traumatised at the moment, and clearly trying to figure out how to discuss matters without actually expressing themselves. "Don't worry about her, we'll sort it out." Bloody Hufflepuffs. "I wasn't the only one at the library, but I didn't see anyone I recognised - I'll have to find Sirius and see if he's all right."

Hermione couldn't help but smile at his answer, pulling him in close again. "I do feel the same, yes. So we can take the rest as read." And it seemed like a suitable time to kiss him, so she did.

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hisbestman
2010-10-24 06:51 am UTC (link)

"I suppose it is," John agreed, "and while it's hardly pleasant, it may prove necessary...so it's really best to work those things out in advance." He gave her a small smile, realising that his hand was steady for the first time in days, the tremors stopped this time by relief rather than adrenaline. He still wasn't over what had happened, and it would take time before he was, but he was better than he had been. "You should," he agreed. "But...not right this second? I..." don't want to let you out of my sight, in case this is a hallucination. "don't want you to leave just yet, all right?" He felt like an idiot asking, but he wanted her to stay, if only for a little while.

He really had missed her, terribly, and he hadn't expected he would ever have the opportunity to see her again, so he was very glad, in this instance at least, to be proven wrong about something. "Good," he said softly. "That's...good." Pulling her closer, he kissed her, letting himself relax for the first time since her death.

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the_cleverest
2010-10-24 04:14 pm UTC (link)

"I suppose," she echoed, pocketing her wand and touching his face again. It was more reassuring than anything else, having him solid and warm and alive in front of her, and she understood perfectly why he didn't want her to leave. "I can stay. I should let everyone know I'm back, but I can do that over the network." After all, that would be more efficient than going door-to-door and alerting everyone to her revivified state.

She hadn't spent the past week grieving and in shock, but Hermione was still quite happy to stay where she was and prove to John that she was in fact fine. The kiss became rather complex, and she pressed herself closer to him without thinking.

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