As the fourth day went on, the Weasley family was growing restless. Harry hadn't written back since early yesterday morning. There wasn't a single owl that arrived that day. Mr. Weasley, who had the day off, assured them that he was probably catching up on some well-needed sleep.
They tried to keep themselves occupied with Teddy, who was having so much fun playing with some of George's joke shop toys, but threw a fit when Mrs. Weasley took away one of the potions from the game and made to drink it. George put all of it away after that.
By the time dinner was ready, everyone was growing anxious. Where was the mail? Surely, Harry would have written back by now. As if on cue, Hermione, mouth full of food, pointed out the window. The owl was making its way towards the Burrow. Ginny rushed to open the window and it landed in the middle of the kitchen table.
To their surprise, the owl simply dropped the letter it was carrying and took off.
"Oi!" Ron called, but it was too late. The owl had gone.
Everyone paused. It had always waited for them to write a reply before taking off again. Why didn't it stay? Mr. Weasley realized this and spoke.
"We've worn down that same owl so many times these past few days. I think it may want to have a rest." He had his doubts though.
Ginny grabbed the letter first, but didn't open it. She stared at the front of the envelope.
"What is it?" Hermione asked.
"… This isn't Harry's handwriting." She turned the envelope to face them, still holding it in her hand. Sure enough, the hand that wrote this had much better penmanship. It looked… professional.
Ginny ripped open the letter and scanned it silently.
"Read it out loud," George insisted.
Ginny simply stood frozen. Mrs. Weasley walked over to her just as a tear fell from her eyes.
"Ginny, what is it? What's wrong?" Ron demanded.
Mrs. Weasley took the letter from her limp fingers and read slowly:
Dear Weasley Family,
My name is Healer Martha Jorkinson. I am one of the healers in charge of Mr. Potter's well-being during his stay here.
I am aware that Mr. Potter has been writing to you regularly since he was admitted and I am sure you've been wondering why you haven't received a response from him.
I am very sorry to inform you that Mr. Potter's condition has become, at this time, critical. We have our best healers with him now and we are doing our best to improve the situation.
I am afraid I cannot disclose any more information until further notice.
We kindly ask you to refrain from further correspondence until notified by Healer Marcus McMillon, the head of our department. All attention at this point must be toward Mr. Potter's health and survival.
We will be in touch as soon as we can and kindly ask for your patience in this matter.
Best Regards,
Hr. Martha Jorkinson
Mr. Weasley stood up and took the letter to reread it. Mrs. Weasley turned away from everyone and faced the sink to hide her tears. Ron was still as a statue. Hermione covered her mouth with her hands.
The silence in the Burrow was practically tangible.
"… survival?" Ron asked in a small voice.
No one responded. Everyone in the room, with the exception of Teddy, knew what that sounded like.
Harry was currently fighting for his life.
