12:37PM
Friday, October 26, 2007
St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries
London, England
The bustle of the waiting room had a stale ring to it; the witches and wizards in various stages of distress that populated the room seemed to be separated off by a curtain from the corner where Percy stood with Ron and Harry, trying to fight off the sick/sour feeling at the pit of his stomach and praying that Hermione would hurry up and return from the reception area with some news about his father.
He had seen him only a few hours ago. It had only been a few hours, and Arthur had been fine. How could things have gone so badly wrong in so little time?
Hermione did return in short order, but from her dark expression and the habit she had picked up in her absence of worrying her hands it was clear she had learned nothing.
"What a horrid woman," Hermione blustered. "She wouldn't tell me a thing – said she needed to wait for next of kin. That would be Molly." Hermione slowly let a sigh out, her facade starting to slip. "She never responded to the Patronus I sent. Maybe – maybe one of us should head over to the Burrow to check on her?
Ron paled at his wife's suggestion and Percy though he knew why. Whatever was going on with their father, it was taking all Percy had in him to keep from giving in to the heart-wrenching worry that seemed to be hovering menacingly at the edge of his brain. The thought that something –anything – could be wrong with Molly as well was an idea that Percy simply could not entertain.
Hermione seemed to realize her mistake, for she flushed pink and rushed to add, "I'm sure she is just fine – perhaps she was out to the market. Or she might not have had her wand on her to answer ..."
Hermione trailed off, a look of relief spreading across her face.
"Oh, thank Merlin!"
Turning frantically, Percy expected to see his father behind him, up and well, in a brief moment of madness. The sight that met his eyes was not the happy image his mind had conjured up, but it did serve to quiet some of his fears from moments before. Moving across the large reception and waiting area with long, anxious strides was a fire-eyed Molly Weasley. Trailing along in her wake was Ginny, unable to keep up to her mother's frenzied pace due to the gurgling newborn in her arms.
"Mum!" Ron jumped up from the hard plastic chair he had been resting in, and went over to embrace her. Swallowing past the hard lump in his throat, Percy followed and found himself in his mother's fierce embrace next.
'What's happened? Where is he?" Molly demanded after she had also hugged her son- and daughter-in-laws.
"We – we don't know," Hermione answered. "I was just talking to the welcome witch, but she – well, she had no information to give me."
Molly seemed to deflate slightly at this, and Percy barely made out what she mumbled under her breath. "Oh my soul, I've been through this once before. I don't know if I can do it again.
"Well," Molly continued, loud enough for all to hear. "We'll just have to see about that."
Taking a deep breath – as if to re-inflate herself – Molly marched purposefully over to the reception desk, pushing through the crowded room with a level of aggression that was slightly frightening. She was soon lost from sight, but Percy still knew when she reached her destination. Although he could not make out the words, the sound of his mother's angry voice reached him across the noisy and crowded room.
"We were starting to get a bit worried – we never received an answer from the Burrow." Harry explained to Ginny as he lifted his daughter out of her arms, cooing softly.
"She showed up at the door after breakfast. Said she wanted to help with Lily, but she spent most of her time complaining about Dad, the Ministry and Muggle alarm clocks, in that order." Ginny eased the bag full of baby supplies onto the tiled floor and eased herself into one of the plastic chairs with a sigh. "When I got your Patronus, Harry, we both packed up and rushed over. What happened to him?"
Harry explained all they knew to his wife in a hushed tone, but Percy didn't bother listening, having had it all explained to him when he joined the group on their way to St. Mungo's with Arthur. Instead he found himself gazing at the people around him, wondering at their stories and if they were feeling as lost as he was. Molly had been right – they had all been through this once before, years ago. All, that was, except for him. He was not proud of that time in his life, but the last time his father had been rushed to St. Mungo's – that far away time due to a near fatal snake attack – Percy had not rushed to be by his side with the rest of the family. In fact, when he finally heard the news he hadn't even allowed himself to show concern, not wanting his allegiances to be questioned by his superiors. And so he had shrugged, muttered a non-committal "That's too bad" and had immediately hated himself for it.
Percy found himself drowning in guilt – both for not noticing anything wrong with his father at tea, and for doing nothing all those years earlier. His gaze still swept the room, but his eyes didn't see what was in front of them. He didn't realize that Molly had returned until she was almost on top of him, a young man in lime green trailing behind her looking thoroughly chastised.
"Mother!"
"This is Healer Darby. He is going to take us to Arthur." Molly explained briskly, her voice only wavering slightly on Arthur's name.
"Your husband is being transferred to a room on the third floor as we speak." Healer Darby said, addressing himself to Molly as he lead the group of them into a corridor and towards the stairwell.
Third floor? Percy thought with a start. But third floor is for –
"We have determined that your husband has been poisoned by something fairly powerful. Our healers have been able to stabilize him for now, but without knowing exactly what was used to poison him there is only so much we can do for him."
"Poisoned? Someone poisoned Arthur? No, there must be some mistake. Why would anyone want to hurt Arthur?"
Whatever Molly had expected, this was clearly not something she had prepared herself for. She stopped in her tracks, a hand clutched to her chest. Ginny went to her side and put an arm around her in comfort. Even Percy felt like he'd taken one to the gut, and he had had some idea of what the healer had been about to say. Healer Darby paused in front of a plaque on the stairwell wall proclaiming 'Third Floor: Potion and Plant Poisoning' to allow Molly a chance to process what he had told her.
"Whatever it was that was used on your husband isn't something he would have gotten into by accident. But we have a potions expert coming to examine him; if anyone can help Mr. Weasley it will be her." Darby tried to reassure them. From the look on Ron's face, he wasn't doing a very good job. He pushed open the door beside him and ushered everyone out into another hallway.
"You have him stabilized, though. That's a good sign, right?" Hermione prompted.
"Ah, well – Ah! Here is the expert I was just telling you about! She's much more able than I to explain your father's condition."
A woman was hurrying down the corridor ahead of them, her long dark hair swinging down her back. Her robes were of a paler green than Darby's, signifying her higher rank. At the sound of Darby's voice she turned to face them and Percy felt a shock of recognition.
"Healer Clearwater, this is the family of your patient. Would you mind showing them to his room, since you are on your way yourself?" Darby seemed keen to be on his own way.
Penelope met Percy's eyes for only a moment before looking away and answering in a quiet voice, "Yes, I know who they are. Be on your way Darby, I'll take things from here.
"Mrs. Weasley, I'm so sorry to hear about your husband. Hopefully I'll be able to find a way to help him." Penelope shook Molly's hand warmly and turned to lead them down the hall to Arthur's room. They stopped at a door that looked identical to all the others stretching down the corridor. "I'm going to go in and run some tests, and then I will put him into a state of stasis. This should hopefully stop the poison from spreading any further through his system while I work on a cure."
"Can I come in while you are working on him?" Molly asked uncertainly.
Penelope looked unsure. "Well, technically I'm not supposed to ... but yes, I suppose. It will have to be just you though, Mrs. Weasley. Once your husband is in stasis the rest of the family can join you."
Molly nodded silently and gave little Lily a kiss on the forehead before following Penelope into the room. Hermione and Ginny both settled back against the opposite wall to wait, but as soon as the door was closed Ron turned back the way they had come, a determined expression on his face.
"Where are you going?" Hermione asked with sharp surprise.
Ron reluctantly stopped in his tracks and turned to his wife. "You heard him. Someone poisoned Dad. I'm not going to let whoever it was get away with that."
"And what exactly do you plan on doing? Rush off to arrest them? You don't even know who did this!" Hermione's voice rose a octave or two.
"Hermione, he's right." Hermione twisted to face Harry, a hand placed protectively over her swollen stomach, but Harry continued quickly before she had a chance to interrupt. "The Healers also said the best chance Arthur has is in finding out what he was poisoned with. If we find whoever did this, we will find what they used."
Hermione looked like she wanted to argue further, but, unable to come up with a valid point she was forced to settle with a displeased sigh. "Harry Potter, you watch after him. Bring him back here safely."
Harry nodded, and quickly kissed Ginny and baby Lily before following Ron down the hallway. Without thinking, Percy ran after them, ignoring Ginny as she yelled his name. Catching up with the two Aurors just as they reached the stairwell, Percy skidded to a halt.
"Percy?" Ron's surprise matched Ginny's, but Percy ignored it.
"Listen," Percy puffed. "When you find this guy, whoever he is – do whatever you need to do. I didn't want to say this in front of the girls, but – I can guarantee you that whatever measures you take, there will be no follow up by the Ministry."
"Percy, what are you saying?" Harry stared hard at him, and Percy supposed Harry was unsure how to take such an out of character announcement from his law-abiding brother-in-law.
"What I'm saying," Percy said slowly, "is that I am giving you immunity. Whatever needs to be done, do it. It's the least I can do to help."
This time, Percy added silently. Ron still looked puzzled at his unexpected action, but Percy thought he saw a spark of understanding flash in Harry's eyes. The bespectacled man clapped him on the shoulder warmly before disappearing down the stairs with Ron in tow. Percy stayed where he was for a moment more, giving thanks for the understanding and forgiveness that had been carried in that last gesture, before turning and slowly making his way back to his father's room to wait with Hermione and Ginny.
