Before the eyes of everyone in the Great Hall, the being who had inflicted so much pain and suffering on the Wizarding World, fell dead to the floor. It was over. They had won.

However, with this victory there was no cheering, nor even applause. No, what filled the Great Hall was an eerie silence.

Hermione Granger stood rooted to the spot. Her gaze focused on the boy who had just finished off the Dark Lord. I should see if Harry's okay, she thought.

She began to walk toward him, but, upon putting the first foot forward, she became acutely aware of how exhausted she was. The adrenaline that had been coursing through her was surely wearing off now, causing her to feel every ounce of pain that filled her small body. However, being the stubborn Gryffindor she was, she placed another foot forward.

This was a mistake.

Black spots began to fill her vision. Everything was swirling around her. Before she could take another step, everything went black. The world disappeared before her.

oOo

"Hermione..."

Hermione stirred slightly, but did not open her eyes at the sound of her name.

"Hermione," called the voice again. Still she did not respond.

"Oi, Granger! Would you bloody wake up already?!"

Hermione finally opened her eyes. Her vision was slightly blurred and her head hurt like mad. However, she did attempt to look about the room in hopes of finding the source of the voice.

"'Bout time!" the voice spoke again. "I was afraid I'd have to spend the rest of the day cooped up in here without a soul to talk to."

Hermione turned her head to the right. Her vision was still very distorted, but she could make out a person with ginger hair. "Ron?" she asked groggily.

"Nope. Someone much better."

She blinked a few times trying to regain focus. When the world was finally clear again, she looked back to owner of the voice. What she saw made her eyes widen to the size of saucers.

"F-Fred?" she asked timidly. The man just smirked at her. "I thought...I thought you--"

"Died," he finished for her. "Almost did, but you lot can't get rid of me that easily," he chuckled.

It was then that Hermione began to notice certain things about the room. For example: Fred seemed to be propped up in what looked to be a hospital bed, though it looked slightly different from the ones she was accustomed to in Muggle hospitals. She looked down, only to realize she was in a bed identical to his.

"Fred, where are we?"

"St. Mungos," he replied automatically. And, almost as if he knew what her next question would be, he said, "You were brought here because of how bad your physical condition is. If I remember correctly, the healers said that you had three broken bones, a dislocated shoulder, you're extremely exhausted, and on top of all that, you're really malnourished."

"They told you all that?" Hermione asked nervously.

"Well, not exactly," Fred said, looking away sheepishly. "I kind of just happened to overhear them when they were examining you."

Why am I not surprised? She asked herself. "How long have I been unconscious?"

"About a day or two. Everyone was really worried. They were afraid you wouldn't wake up." A smirk broke out on his face before he continued, "But I told them that I'd annoy you awake in the end. As usual, I was right."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Y'know, if you hadn't almost died and I was feeling more like myself, I'd hex you right about now."

Fred just chuckled.

It was at that moment that the door burst open, waking several other patients in the room. A bunch of individuals with flaming hair came rushing into the room. They were accompanied by a dark-haired boy and a blonde woman.

"Oh, Hermione! Thank goodness you're awake," gushed Mrs. Weasley as she wrapped her arms around the girl.

"Guess Fred really did annoy her awake," said George winking at her as seated himself at the foot of his brother's bed.

Again, Hermione rolled her eyes.

Once released from Mrs. Weasley's grasp, Harry and Ron came forward, standing on either side of her.

Harry gave her a small smile before gently embracing her. "I'm really glad you're okay, Hermione," he whispered.

"And you, Harry? Are you alright?" She asked once he released her. He only nodded.

She then turned her attention to Ron. His eyes were rimmed with red as though he'd been crying. "Ron, are you--" she was cut off by him tightly embracing her.

"Don't you ever scare me like that again, Hermione Jean Granger," he scolded. She wrapped her arms around his middle in response. "I was afraid you wouldn't wake up," he whispered, before placing a kiss on her forehead.

"Uh-hum," said Fred, clearing his throat. "I hate to ruin this lovely moment, but I almost died two days ago. Some acknowledgement of my existence would be nice."

George chuckled, whereas Ron, upon releasing Hermione, turned to glare at his brother.

"Well, you continue making jokes at inappropriate times, so we all know your perfectly fine." Everybody laughed at this.

"Oh, what on Earth 'ave I married into?" asked Fleur, only half joking.

Smiling brightly, Hermione began to think about how fortunate she was.

Though they had lost many lives during the battle, the people who filled the room were still alive and well. This moment was a shining light in a tunnel of dark for her. Everything was going to be okay now.

At least, that's what she hoped.

AN: So here's the first chapter. I always really like writing fanfiction, but always seem to get discouraged mid way. Let's hope that's not the case here. Let me know what you all think. Please, if there are ANY mistakes, let me know.