Chapter 2: Worthless
'The unbeatable wand, Harry!' moaned Ron.
'I'm not supposed to … I'm supposed to get the Horcruxes …'
Ron could not believe that Harry had let such a powerful tool escape their grasp and worse, had allowed it to fall into the hands of the enemy. It didn't help that Hermione supported Harry.
Ron turned toward her now and all thought of wands and horcruxes fled his mind.
Hermione was even paler than she had been earlier and was now trembling. He caught her just in time to prevent her collapsing.
"I'm going to get her back into bed. She shouldn't even be up after what's she's been through."
"I'll help," said Harry.
"You can hardly stand yourself mate. You need to get some sleep. You have been up for well over 24 hours."
"So have you," replied Harry.
"I'll get some sleep as soon as I take care of Hermione."
"I'm OK…" mumbled Hermione, barely able to stand.
"Stubborn witch," said Ron. Harry smiled.
"Come on Hermione, I'm taking you to bed." Hermione let Ron half carry, half walk her back inside Shell Cottage, up the stairs and into her bedroom. He tucked her into bed and then kissed her on the forehead. "Sleep."
He sat down on the chair beside the bed and, once more, took her hand in his.
Hermione looked up into Ron's eyes and smiled.
"You need to sleep yourself, Ron. You look exhausted."
"I will, as soon as I know you are properly asleep."
"OK…Don't go too far, though." Hermione closed her eyes and was soon in a deep sleep.
"I won't," said Ron to himself.
He had been both concerned and astonished that Hermione had got up for Dobby's burial, though she had been very shaky. He had demanded that she return to bed straight after, but she had refused. She insisted on taking part in the discussions with Griphook and Ollivander and even tried to hide from Harry how weak she was, how much she was hurting.
On this occasion she, might have succeeded in fooling Harry. Harry was also driving himself beyond endurance, emotionally drained from the events at Malfoy Manor and Dobby's death, physically exhausted, his scar clearly giving him a great deal of pain, he had nevertheless had a moment of mental clarity and then had not baulked at the difficult decision confronting him. Nor did he stop to rest but had gone immediately into action, setting in train the next phase of their mission.
The ball was in Griphook's court at the moment and Ron did not think the goblin would reach a quick decision. That suited Ron. They needed time to recover.
Ron was full of admiration for the courage, resourcefulness and strength of will displayed by his two best friends and could not help but compare it to how useless he had been in the crisis. When Hermione had needed him the most all he could do was cry out like an impotent oaf while Harry kept his cool, got their hands free and then took the long shot that brought Dobby to their aid. Later, he had almost got them all killed because he couldn't bring himself to use a more dangerous spell than Expelliarmus against Bellatrix allowing her to get back into the fight. All I'm good for is cheering people up after Harry or Hermione have saved the day.
Useless, he said to himself, effing useless.
"Worthless…" mumbled Hermione in seeming agreement, jolting Ron from his self-denunciation. Hermione's face was screwed up and her head tossed from side to side as she continued to talk in her sleep. "…we can dispose of the Mudblood… take her if you want her, Greyback …of no consequence…worthless." Each word shocked Ron. You can't be thinking that Hermione, you can't be taking that mad woman's word to heart.
He was relieved when she stopped talking and her face looked peaceful again. But almost immediately her body spasmed forming a rigid arch and then she went into convulsions.
Ron's breathing became rapid and ragged and his mouth fell wide open. Every jerk of Hermione's body frightened him but he had no idea what to do. He put out his hands in a vain attempt to stop her movement. From somewhere in the back of his mind he remembered something about keeping airways clear. He rolled Hermione onto her side, being careful to keep her arms free and then propped pillows behind her back to make sure she didn't roll backwards again. All the time he was shouting out for Fleur, Bill and Harry.
Fleur was the first to arrive.
"Do something, Fleur," said Ron in desperation.
Fleur quickly looked over the scene. "There's nothing to do, Ron. You 'ave already put 'er in the right position. Now we just have to wait for the convulsions to cease. Then I can give 'er a relaxant and a sleeping potion."
"Did you know this was going to happen, is it going to happen again," Ron demanded, but Fleur had no answer.
"An Ashwagandha and Gurdyroots root infusion makes an excellent relaxant," said Luna who had arrived next.
"What's going on?" asked Harry who was hot on Luna's heels. No one answered. There was no need.
Hermione's convulsions began to diminish, then ceased abruptly. Ron immediately knelt beside her and rocked her gently by the shoulder. "Please wake up Hermione, you need to wake up."
For a long while she did not respond, then her eyes slowly opened, at first unfocused, finally settling on Ron and she smiled. When she took in all the people in the room Her eyes went wide.
"You had a fit," said Ron gently, "how do you feel?"
She moved just a little then grimaced in pain. "Like I was hit by a bludger and then fell 30 feet to the ground."
"I will fetch some medication for you," said Fleur, leaving the room.
Ron stood and turned to Harry. "we have to get her a proper Healer."
"We can't, Ron, it's too dangerous."
"What do you mean we can't. This is Hermione we are talking about. We have to."
"Harry's right, Ron," said Bill. "It's just too risky."
"It's too risky if we don't."
"They're watching all the Healers, Ron," said Bill.
"If it was Fleur you wouldn't think it was too risky, you'd be out that door in a flash and you would drag the best Healer you could find back here by the collar if you had to." Ron had raised his voice and there was a definite snarl to it.
"No one's hunting Fleur," replied Bill curtly, "Her wanted poster isn't plastered all over Diagon Alley."
"Oh so -,"
"C'est des conneries!" said Fleur, storming back into the room. "Out, take it down stairs." She pushed the men out of the room and closed the door.
Ron clumped down the stairs and threw himself onto the sofa, ready to do battle.
"We don't know what other damage Hermione has sustained internally," he started up, trying to sound reasonable. "This is Cruciatus we are dealing with. Neville's parents are dribbling vegetables because of it. People die. We have to get professional help before it's too late."
"And how do you suppose we do that?" replied Bill. "Every Healer now has a trace on them. There are Death Eaters stationed at St Mungo's. Two Healers are in Azkaban for daring to treat people 'punished' by the new regime, two more are missing. Everyone is afraid."
"We have to try," said Ron.
"Even if we could convince someone to come, how would it help Hermione if we were raided by Death Eaters," retorted Bill.
"Ron, you know what Hermione would say," said Harry. "She would veto anything that put other people in danger."
"Well she's not here, is she? She's upstairs having convulsions, and all because you couldn't keep your trap shut. You just had to say his name, didn't you?"
Harry went white. "Ron, I…I'm sorry…I…"
"Ron," said Bill, trying to calm Ron, "I understand how you feel, but-"
"No, Bill you don't know how I feel. You haven't had to stand by helpless as the girl you love screams in agony over and over and over. You haven't had to stand by as people casually discuss disposing of her like so much unimportant garbage, tossing her to a degenerate werewolf to rape and then kill. You haven't had to sit by her bed and watch her go into convulsions not knowing what is going to happen next or what else might be wrong."
"OK, you right, I can't really know how your feeling," replied Bill, "but, can't you see, I don't want ever to be in a position to know. I will not allow anything that brings that horror here. I will not put Fleur in that kind of danger."
"All right then, we'll leave. I'll find a Healer for Hermione myself."
"Ron, we can't leave," said Harry. "What we need is here, for our next step. You know this."
"Sod the mission. Anyway, how far do you think we will get if Hermione isn't well?"
"Fleur is very skilled in the arts of healing, and I would think you'd be a damn sight more appreciative of what she has already done for Hermione," said Bill. "They learn a lot more about healing at Beauxbatons than we do at Hogwarts."
"Yeah, Yeah, I'm sure they teach the kiddies all about dealing with forbidden curses. Fleur maybe great with cuts and bruises and she sure is easy on the eye but she is out of her depth here. She is not a trained Healer. She's a 20 year old bank clerk, for Merlins sake."
"How dare you!" Bill was on his feet, glaring at his brother.
"Ron is right, I am out of my depth," said Fleur. Ron had not seen her come in and his ears were burning as he thought of the derogatory things he was saying.
Fleur continued, "I did not know that 'ermione would have a fit, I do not know what else might be wrong or what to do about it."
"I saw people die who were tortured far less than Hermione," said Luna who had come in with Fleur. "Sometimes they just dropped dead, days after the event."
Ron was horrified at Luna's bald flat assertion. The same horror was visible on Harry and Bill's faces.
"We have to get her a Healer," pleaded Ron.
Bill collapsed back into his chair, "I still don't see how we can do it without bringing the Death Eaters down on us. They really are watching all the Healers."
"Not in France, they're not," said Fleur.
All eyes turned to Fleur.
"You do realise that Shell Cottage is closer to France than to London and St Mungo's. I 'ave a cousin who lives at Morlaix, just across the Channel. There is a large magical community in the area. I will go and bring back a Healer."
"It is still risky," said Bill, "There are reports of Death Eaters operating in northern France. How do we know this cousin or the Healer won't betray us?"
"There are crazy risks and there are risks one must take. 'ow could I not do this after what Ron, 'arry and 'ermione 'ave been doing, after what Luna has been through. We are all in this fight together."
Bill took more convincing and sensible precautions were agreed, but eventually he conceded.
Fleur had the last word. She turned to Ron.
"There are two things you must agree before I go."
"What's that, Fleur?"
"First you must go to bed, you've been up for over 36 hours and you won't be of any use to anyone if you don't get some sleep."
"OK, and?"
"Well, I don't mind if you say I'm easy on the eye. It is only the truth, no?, but don't you ever dare refer to me as a 'bank clerk' again."
She turned on the spot leaving Ron flushing and Harry and Bill grinning.