Chapter Nine: Things Not to Do at a Gala


May 23, 2009-Her

St. Mungo's

I knew I wasn't dead because there were shooting pains all over my body. I had a feeling if I could muster up the energy to open my eyes, I would be in a hospital. It was the only logical place I could be with all this pain. My eyes took in the surroundings. I was in St. Mungo's, again.

"You're awake," I heard Ron's tired voice say. It was evident he hadn't slept much.

"Yes, I guess I am," I answered him.

"Do you remember anything?" He asked.

"Yes, I remember most of it vividly. Do they know what this Merlin-awful hex is?" He shook his head and it made me sick. I just wanted the pain to go away. He frowned at my obvious discomfort. I was curious to how long he'd been here because he looked like he could use sleep.

"How long have I been out?" I wondered aloud.

"Six days," he answered, "And your family is here. I actually should have sent for them once you woke."

"Don't," I started to say, "Not yet at least. I'm not ready for that many visitors." Really, I just wanted a few more moments with him.

"You frightened me," he whispered so low I barely caught it.

"What?" I questioned him confused.

"I thought you were gone, that you were never going to wake up and I missed my chance," he explained, but I still wasn't sure what he meant.

"Missed your chance for what?"

"I missed my chance to tell you that I fell in love with you."

"Oh," I mumbled. I was in shock. I didn't think it was possible. I mean I had fallen for him, but I didn't expect the same from him. I'm six years younger than him, and don't even compare to his last relationship. Hermione was amazing in her own way.

"I know it's wrong," he said dejected.

"No, I'm not upset! I'm just surprised," I tried to make up for my lackluster response. I sat up in the bed, which was extremely painful. My face must have shown how much it hurt because he quickly got up to help me. I took his hands as best I could and quietly said, "I fell in love with you too." He smiled then.

Healer Bones entered the room in that moment, "You're awake."

I nodded.

"Good, now Ron can get some sleep," she said, "Go ahead Auror Weasley. I'll make sure you get another two hours alone." She winked and I was confused. She left us alone again.

"I asked her to help me if you woke when I was the only one in here," he explained, "I didn't get much sleep worrying about you. So now I'm going to get caught up." He muttered a charm and the bed got bigger. Ron joined me with an arm around my waist.

"I'll know you're okay now," he said as he closed his eyes. I didn't think I would be tired after being out for days, but I drifted to sleep with him.

May 23, 2009-Him

St. Mungo's

I woke up next to her. It was probably the most at-ease and peaceful I have ever felt. It was right to be here with her.

"How long have we been asleep?" Vivienne asked me. I looked over at the clock and deduced that we had about two hours alone.

"About two hours," I whispered into her hair, "I really think I should tell everyone that you're awake. Your father and siblings are here. They were extremely worried about you."

She nodded and I lifted myself out of the hospital bed gracefully. I used the counterspell for the bed and it shrunk.

"I'll be back," I promised her and I left the room. Susan was outside the door.

"You look much better," she said to me.

"Thanks Susan, I owe you," I said to her. She nodded and led me toward Vivienne's family. They were asleep in various places in the waiting room. Evan stirred first. He sat up and rubbed his eyes. The movement woke Victoria who was leaning on him. Eventually all five of them were awake.

"She woke up," I said to them. Evan jumped off the chair he was sitting on and almost ran toward Vivienne's room.

I was only a beat behind him.

"Evan," she said to her brother just as I entered the room. Her sisters and father were behind me and I moved out of the way to let them join us.

"You're okay?" Evan asked her. I suddenly felt a little selfish having taken a nap with her and keeping her family from knowing she was okay just that much longer.

"Well I hurt a little, but I think I'm okay. I'm awake at least," she said to him and he leaned over to hug her. He didn't notice, but I did when she cringed from the pain.

I stepped aside to let them have a moment as a family. I understood big families and concern.

When her family had gone to their hotel to let her get some rest, Harry decided she could answer a few questions. She talked about how when she was with them they confirmed our suspicions about the Quidditch Gala. I watched as she looked stressed because they didn't tell her what they were going to do at the event.

"Harry, let her get some rest. The hex is still affecting her," I said to him sternly. Hermione looked at me then. I think she recognized the tone in my voice.

"Yes, Harry, let her rest. We'll just have to plan for a lot of situations. This isn't the first time we haven't known what we were doing," Hermione said to him. I was glad she was on my side. I looked back at Vivienne who was extremely pale.

Harry must have noticed it as well because he said, "I guess Hermione's right. There's not much we can do other than be ready for something."

May 30, 2009-Him

Ministry Atrium

"What do you reckon they'll do?" I asked Harry. We were at the Quidditch Gala waiting for Ben and his followers to strike.

"I'm not sure," he answered uneasily. I watched as he kept glancing at our friends and family. Harry didn't like having Ginny and Hermione this close to our work.

"Go dance with your wife, I'll keep on top of everything here," I said to him. He nodded even though he was weary of every movement in the room. It was really hard for him to have Ginny here in the midst of danger. I would have been very much like him if Vivienne were here, but she was back at Grimwauld Place resting.

"Would you care for this dance?" Hermione asked. I took a good look at her. If this had been two months earlier, I would have considered this cruel, but now, it was just a best mate asking another to dance.

"I don't know if your husband would approve of that," I teased. She smiled.

"He's okay with it as long as she returns to him at the end of the night," Malfoy said over her shoulder. Before Vivienne, that would have earned a scathing remark. Now I just nodded at him. Hermione was beautiful in a dress that reminded me of what she wore to the Yule Ball our fourth year.

"Harry's worried," she said as we danced around the Atrium's dance floor.

"I know," I told her. We were silent for a few more seconds as we did a turn.

"As sad as I am to no longer be the center of your attention, I'm glad you found her," she finally whispered. That made me angry.

"You fell in love with Malfoy. You don't get to be sad that I don't love you anymore," I told her heatedly. I regretted having been distracted for just the mere moment because that's when everything went bad.

An explosion tore through the south wall of the Ministry. Harry quickly took off toward it and I was not far behind.

"Hermione, get Ginny and Malfoy and get out!" I yelled back to her. Hopefully she could do as instructed. I looked back to where the explosion had cleared. Other wizards and witches had disapparated or run from it screaming. I envied them. I was about to walk toward it with Harry.

"Well I think that's what we're waiting for," Harry said as he came up to my left side. I nodded and we walked toward the missing chunk of Ministry wall. Five men entered the room. I recognized the middle one as Benjamin De Hall, Vivienne's ex-fiancé, from her descriptions. They stood in robes that mocked Death Eaters except they were a blood red. Benjamin had his wand at the ready and appeared to be searching for something. I assumed it was Vivienne until he spoke.

"Ah, Auror Weasley, just the man I wanted to speak to," he said in a voice that I would attribute to someone who was mental.

"How do you know my name?" It wasn't a bloody brilliant comeback, but I don't think anyone cared or noticed.

"Research, apparently there aren't too many redheaded Aurors in the British Ministry," he said with a bit of malice in his voice. I wasn't sure if it was because I had red hair, I was an Auror, or because I had his ex.

"Yes, well you've found me, now what do you want?" I asked. I was engaged in our conversation, but I was alert to what was going around us. I could see Harry from the corner of my eye. He was looking around the room trying to assess what we could do to capture this sodding prat.

"I want to give you the chance to turn over Vivienne without anyone being hurt," he said in a very serious tone. I almost laughed, except usually laughing at mental people made them angry.

"Why in Merlin's name would I do that?"

"Because if you don't someone you care a lot about in this room is going to leave with me," he answered with a bit of an over-done maniacal laugh.

"And who would that be?" I asked defiantly. I knew he wouldn't hurt Hermione because she was a Muggle-born. She was the reason his whole operation existed. I looked to Harry to see if he had any idea, and was greeted by a very pale best mate. He was staring at something looking extremely sick. I followed his line-of-sight and could see that every last one of his fears was confirmed. A new man had joined the ranks and in his arms, Ginny was unconscious. I was shocked because Hermione would never have left Ginny's side.

"That's my wife, and in case you weren't informed, I am Harry Potter. You know the wizard who beat Voldemort? Obviously she's not someone you should be after," Harry shouted. I looked at him and could tell he wasn't really thinking before he spoke. Reminded me of when we were kids. He and I had that habit.

"Oh, I know, but she's a pure-blood, and look at who she's become friends with," he said as he pointed to a badly hexed Malfoy on the ground. Where the bloody hell was Hermione?

Finally, the teams that we had set up for this event sprung into action. I couldn't move. The maniac had my sister, my best friend was missing, and her husband could very well be dead at my feet.

"Ginny doesn't exactly like Malfoy! He was just helping our best mate get her out of here. You know, our best mate, Hermione Granger? She's kind of the main person your Mudblood Justice would be championing," I tried just the way Harry had.

"Hermione Granger wouldn't love him willingly. Didn't you ever wonder how something like that could happen? Wasn't his home the Headquarters for that maniac? I'm sure even you have thought about that," he echoed my first argument with Hermione the day she told me about her and Malfoy.

"Hermione isn't stupid enough to fall for something Malfoy would do! She did love him. I've been around for the last decade to disgustingly observe it," I countered. I actually sounded like Hermione for a moment.

"Regardless, I don't care. This message is for Auror Potter: Either you get him to bring my fiancée to me in two hours, or your wife suffers the same fate Vivienne has recently encountered."

Harry's hands balled into fists and I could see the flash of anger in his green eyes.

"Do you really think I'm going to hand over someone you've already tried to kill?" Harry asked with rage evident in his voice.

"I think that your wife would appreciate it if you don't pick another woman over her," Ben replied in a voice that was akin to stuff you hear in your nightmares. I watched as our teams tried to approach them, but each was thrown away by one hex or another.

"I'm sure if my wife were conscious she would tell me to just kick your arse," Harry retaliated. I agreed with his sentiments completely. Ginny wasn't the damsel-in-distress type. She would rather Harry make the decision to get rid of this guy and let her suffer some awful fate, then to just give him what he wanted.

"I believe you've just shortened the deadline. I want Vivienne back here in an hour," he said as the whole lot of them disapparated.

The only thing I could think to say was, "Where the bloody hell is Hermione?"

"I don't know, but we need to get Malfoy to Mungo's before she finds out," Harry responded.

"Do you reckon he does have Hermione under some jinx?" I asked in jest. The situation was too morose for me not to try.

"It certainly would explain a lot," Harry responded as we levitated our childhood nemesis out of the ruins of the Ministry.

May 30, 2009-Her

Grimwauld Place

I knew something was desperately wrong the moment Hermione appeared in the kitchen here. She looked badly hurt.

"Hermione, what's the matter?" I asked as she assessed her surroundings and gasped as she looked at her arms.

"Where's Draco?!" She screeched and I wasn't sure what happened. "He was with me, and so was Ginny!"

I looked at her confused. Either she was really drunk or something had her badly stressed. I guessed it was the latter option by the state of her dress. It was tattered, torn, and she looked as if she had been in a fire.

"Hermione!" I yelled and smacked her. It was a bit unnecessary, but I wanted to know what the hell she was going on about.

"Oh, Vivienne," she said as she finally noticed I was in the room with her.

"Yes, what's happened?" I asked in a more mellow tone.

"They attacked tonight like you told us they would. I had Draco and Ginny and I was going to apparate us here, except now they're not with me. What have I done?" She questioned me before she started to sob.

Two loud 'pops' filled the room, Harry and Ron were there.

"Bloody hell Hermione, what are you doing here?" Harry asked first. Hermione didn't even respond she was bawling violently into my lap now.

"She told me the Gala was attacked and something about trying to disapparate holding Ginny and Draco," I tried to explain the few details I knew.

"Hermione, are you daft? You know you can only do side-along apparition with multiple people if they are small like children," Ron said to her.

"Ron, don't yell," I scolded him. She was distraught enough.

"I can yell all I want. He wants you for my sister," Ron countered.

"Obviously, I go and you get Ginny back," I said with way more confidence than I felt at the moment.

"What? Are you daft too?" Ron asked me.

"No, I'm not an idiot! This is your sister and Harry's wife. I'm practically nobody compared to that. What would your mother think if you didn't turn me in?"

"My mother is used to Ginny and I making decisions that come close to ending our lives. It is a given with Harry in your life," he shouted back.

"I'm not letting Ben do something to Ginny because of me!"

"Oi, shut up, both of you! We'll figure something out, we still have forty-two minutes," he said and then directed his attention to Hermione, "Malfoy's at Mungo's, he's going to be fine."

Hermione nodded as she regained composure, "What are we going to do?"

I admired her. She was going to get us out of this crazy mess. I really believed that.

"I don't know. I really don't like the idea of just handing Vivienne over," Harry told her. I could tell that even though he loved Ginny, he really meant what he just said. I marveled at him for not comparing the importance of my life with his wife's. If I were him, I would have thrown me to the wolves the moment Ben made the ultimatum.

"I don't like that he wants us to go back to the Ministry. We're Aurors. That's where we live. Why would he invite us back there?" Ron asked the room.

"Someone there has to be working with him Maybe the leak we thought was in the American Aurors was really in our own," Harry thought aloud. I thought about that for a moment. It made sense. Something occurred to me.

"Do you know Owen Cauldwell?" I asked them.

"Yes, he's an Auror and was in Hufflepuff House at our school," Harry asked me with his eyebrows raised.

"Ben's mother was visiting Owen's mother. She died during the attack that happened on them. He's your leak," I said with assurance.

"Now to figure out how to not be predictable in our formations," Hermione said to Harry, "He'll know how you normally react to hostage situations. We need to be a step ahead of him."