Muggle Medicine.

Disclaimer: JK Rowling owns the 'Harry Potter' universe and everything and everyone in it, I am just a fan with an imagination running on caffeine and chocolate. I own nothing…believe me!

A/N: This is just a short one-shot that is completely separate from 'Surviving'. I hope you like it.

"Hermione" Ron whined as he twisted slightly in the harsh plastic chair to look at the young woman beside him. "How much longer do you think we'll have to wait?"

"Ron, we're going to wait for as long as is necessary", Hermione said as she picked up an ancient magazine from a nearby table, and began to flick through it.

Ron rolled his eyes at the non-answer, "Hermione, seriously we've been here for ages now and I'm starting to think that they've forgotten about us or something"

Hermione threw the out dated magazine back to the jumbled table as she sighed and turned back to her boyfriend,

"Ron, it has literally been less than an hour and no-one has forgotten about us" she said "they've just been busy and we're going to have to wait our turn"

As if to prove her point a team of medical professionals darted past them shouting medical jargon, and met a patient on a stretcher at the door of the Accident and Emergency department.

"Yeah, I guess" Ron muttered as he watched them all disappear through another set of doors, "But it can't be much longer right?"

"Ron I'm not bloody psychic you know?" Hermione snapped at the all too familiar question. She instantly regretted her harsh tone when she noticed Ron wince slightly. His face was still frighteningly pale but thankfully the bleeding from the cut on his forehead had lessened, the temporary medical dressing having done its job. His blood spattered t-shirt however showed disturbing evidence of the blood loss from a few hours previously.

"I'm sorry I snapped at you Ron," she said after taking a slightly shaky breath, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah 'Mione, I'm fine" he said as he ran a shaky hand across his face, wincing in pain as his hand met his damaged forehead. He was tired and injured, worried and confused. His confusion was a direct result of the fact that Hermione had taken him to a muggle hospital and he was a bit wary of what to expect. Memories of his father's experiences with muggle stitches flashed through his mind.

"Liar" Hermione said as a small smile crept across her tired face. She reached for his hand and rested her head on his shoulder. "They'll see you soon Ron, then we'll make sure that you really are okay"

Ron held her hand in his for a minute before he voiced one of his worries,

"I just wish we could go home and go to St Mungos or something"

"I know Ron, I know…" Hermione's voice drifted away slightly as her concern over the entire situation became clearly evident. However, it wasn't long before she shook her head, and cleared her throat. There was nothing either of them could do right now about their current isolation from the magical world but the one thing she could do was to make sure that Ron was okay. It was one of the few problems that they could deal with right now.

"It might be a while until we can get back, and it is not safe to wait until then for you to get some medical treatment"

"Hermione, I'm fine really. I just got a bit of a bump on the head, that's all"

Hermione shook her head in annoyance and turned to face him, still holding his hand tightly in her own.

"Ron, that was more than just a bit of a bump on the head, you could have a concussion, and I'm going to make sure that you are taken care of" the determination in her voice and the worry in her eyes captured his attention.

"I'm worried about you," she whispered.

Ron nodded his head slightly,

"Okay Hermione…okay…so we'll wait", he said before he leaned forward and placed a quick kiss on her lips.

Hermione smiled slightly as Ron sat back on the uncomfortable chair, and she returned her head to his shoulder.

They both settled back to watching the large clock that hung in the room. The presence of such a huge timepiece in the waiting room seemed to mock their anxious wait and Ron took a moment to glare at it before he cast a wary glance around the room.

"I just wish we could do magic" Ron whispered to her, very much aware of the many muggles in the waiting room. "It wouldn't be long until you had me sorted out"

Hermione smiled slightly at his confidence in her abilities, but her voice was tinged with sadness as she replied,

"Ron, you know we can't"

"Yeah, yeah I know" he said, "I didn't say we should. I just said that I wish we could"

They sat in silence for a while, each remembering the drastic changes their world had gone through in less than a year. The escalation of the war and the dangerous searches for the ever-elusive horcruxes had changed their world beyond all recognition. It saddened both young people to remember the years when they would not have thought twice about using magic.

But times had changed, and necessity demanded that they change along with it.

The battle they had been involved in merely three hours ago had been intense and over very quickly. According to the new arrangements set up by the Order, those who survived were ordered to isolate themselves from the magical world until they were somehow notified that it was safe to return. There had been too many incidents of Death Eaters following survivors in the hopes of finding the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix. They were in hiding until they received notification that the situation had changed. Using magic in this situation would be like lighting a torch in the darkened room. It had the potential to not only lead those in the Order to them, but also those who were intent on killing them. It was a risk that they dare not take. The rapid escalation of the war had meant that both sides had developed different and more advanced methods of fighting and defending themselves. Recent experiences had led the Order to believe that the Death Eaters could have the potential to track magic use, and to find the witch or wizard who was responsible. Whenever they were in headquarters or any other location that had been suitably shielded, it was not necessarily a problem. But whenever anyone was in the 'outside world', caution was essential. And so Ron had found himself with a bleeding head wound being escorted to a Muggle Accident and Emergency room by a very worried Hermione. They were grateful and relieved to know that those they cared for had survived the battle, even though they could not contact them at this time. They had both seen the few members of their family, both real and honorary, who had been fighting that particular battle survive and make their own way into the shadows. At least that was one worry that was alleviated for the two young people.

Hermione suddenly sat up a bit straighter and pulled him to his feet. At his questioning look, she smiled and gave him a quick kiss,

"You trust me, don't you Ron?"

The answer was automatic,

"Of course I do"

"Good" Hermione replied as she indicated that their turn had arrived and the doctor was ready to see them.

"If I hear one more person talk to me about 'what the world has come to' I really will hex them all and to hell with the consequences" Ron muttered as he rested his head back on the pillow. "What did you tell them anyway?" he asked Hermione who pulled the curtains shut around Ron's hospital bed, and sat down beside him.

"Well I had to tell them something Ron, I could hardly say that you were injured in a magical battle against the forces of a megalomaniac dark wizard who is intend on ruling the world, now could I?" Hermione's voice had dropped to a whisper in deference to their muggle surroundings.

Ron had to smile at that scenario,

"No I guess not, so…." His raised his eyebrows slightly and waited for Hermione to answer his original question.

"I just told them that you had been mugged"

"Oh right" Ron said as he nodded his head and closed his eyes for a moment, trying to hide the dizzy spell that he was hoping would pass very soon. For the past few hours he had more muggle medicinal experience that he ever thought he would have. And while he now had a number of stories to tell his dad, including a very strange experience with what Hermione told him was an X-ray machine, he really was ready to leave the hospital and return to the world he knew. The doctor who had originally seen him had told him that she would be back in a few minutes to explain everything, and he was impatiently waiting for her to appear. He didn't realise that his hand had found its way to the dressing across his forehead until it was suddenly slapped away,

"Ron, don't do that," Hermione admonished as she held on tightly to his hand, "You have to let that wound heal"

"I can't help it 'Mione" Ron said, "Those stitches things feel really weird"

"As weird as a bleeding wound on your forehead?"

Ron was forced to admit that she did have a point there,

"Ah…no"

"Okay then" Hermione said with a smile.

They both looked up when they heard the curtains swish open and the grey haired doctor with her glasses perched precariously on her head swept into the cubicle. She lifted his chart, retrieved her glasses and read through his recent test results.

"Right, well the tests indicate that you do not have a concussion, although I do advise that you take it easy for a day or so. The wound on your forehead had been stitched and bandages, and the stitches will need to be removed in three to four days" she looked at him over the rim of her glasses as she spoke, and fixed him with a determined stare, "I am however a bit worried about the dizzy spells that you have been experiencing and attempting to hide"

Ron winced slightly and tried to avoid the glares being sent his way by both the doctor and Hermione.

"What dizzy spells?" Hermione said as she jumped to her feet.

"It's nothing Hermione, everything's fine" Ron tried to calm her down only to receive another worried look. "I just missed breakfast this morning, that's all"

"You missed breakfast?" Hermione asked, obviously not believing his answer.

"Yes Hermione, I missed breakfast, why's that so hard to believe?" he said as he sent her a pointed look "It's not like there was much of a chance to grab some breakfast this morning"

"Oh…" Hermione said as realisation finally dawned.

The doctor however was oblivious. She made some quick notes on the chart,

"We are going to run a few more additional tests, just to ensure that the dizziness is nothing to worry about" she said as she opened the curtains again and made her way back into the busy hospital. She didn't give Ron or Hermione any chance to object, but they were sure it wouldn't have done any good anyway. It was her last comment as the curtain began to swish closed that had Ron worried though,

"A nurse will be here in a minute to take some blood"

It took a moment, but Ron eventually turned to Hermione.

"Why are they going to take my blood?"

Hermione shook her head slightly at his tone,

"They're just going to take a small amount Ron," she said as she took a moment to tuck his blanket around him. "Just enough to run some tests"

"Okay" Ron said but there was one thought that rang through his mind…how in the name of Merlin are they going to do that!

"Ah…Hermione, where are you going?" Ron asked as he saw his girlfriend suddenly jump from her seat.

"I'm just going to check in with …" Hermione nodded towards the nurse who was preparing to draw some blood, "your family"

Ron nodded quickly, he was anxious to hear from his family. He was anxious to return to the world he was familiar with.

"Okay"

The curtain swished again as it closed behind Hermione, and Ron returned his attention to the nurse who was now approaching him with what looked suspiciously like a needle.

"Ah…wait a minute," he said as he held up a hand and trying to back away slightly, "what the bloody hell is that?"

"Now Mr Weasley" the nurse said as she lowered the needle slightly, "Have you never had blood taken before?"

Something made Ron guess at that answer,

"Of course I have?" he said nervously as he kept a close eye on the needle in her hands.

"Do you have a phobia of needles?" she asked taking another quick look through his chart, before sending a concerned look towards him.

I can deal with this…Ron thought to himself … I've dealt with worse than this before…I can totally do this…

"No, I'm fine really" he said sending a smile and what he hoped was a confident look towards the nurse. The confident look didn't last long however as he caught sight of the needle again, as it neared his arm. The last thing he saw before his eyes closed and his consciousness faded was the large needle nearing his skin…

Oh crap…

"Ron…Ron wake up please"

Hermione's voice cut through the haze that was clouding his mind and brought him back to the real world,

"Hey" he whispered, "When did you get back?"

Hermione smiled at him as she leant over to kiss him gently,

"Right after the time when you passed out" the nurse said kindly from the other side of the bed as she smiled at him, and handed him a glass of water.

"Seems like a bit of a phobia to me son" she said with a maternal smile asshe instructed him to sit up and drink the water. When he had done so, she sent a nod to both Ron and Hermione and told them she'd give them a minute or two to catch their breath. It was only when Ron watched her leave the cubicle did he see that not only were the curtains now open, but he could also now see the worried faces of two of his brothers across the hall.

"Hey, when'd Bill and Charlie get here?" he asked Hermione as he sent a smile and a wave to his brothers, calling them over.

"I was able to re-establish contact with the Order and Charlie and Bill took the call. When they heard you were hurt they insisted on coming to meet us," Hermione said as she sat on the edge of the bed and took his face in her hands.

"Are you sure you're okay Ron?" she asked as she searched his face for any further injury.

"Yeah 'Mione" he said as he smiled at her concern. His face fell however as he added, "I guess I just got a bit freaked out by that needle"

"Hey…"Hermione said before she kissed him lightly, "That's nothing to be embarrassed about, don't worry about it"

Even as Ron was nodding his head, a sudden thought occurred to him,

"What about…?"

He didn't even have to finish his question as Hermione glanced over at the two elder Weasleys who had negotiated the hospital corridor and had nearly reached their brother.

She really knew Ron too well sometimes.

She held his hand tightly and leaned over slightly so she could whisper in his ear,

"Don't worry love, it'll be our secret"

"Another one?" he whispered with a smile as his gaze moved to the necklace that hung around her neck. The necklace that held the precious ring he had given to her for her 18th birthday close to her heart.

The End.