All characters are property of JK Rowling and I do not make a profit from this story.
Beta: Roman's Sundial
Chapter Ten: St. Mungo's
Hermione Granger – The Present
November 10, 1999
"You brought your pet along," Viktor said, practically growling. Hermione took a deep breath, this was not going to be easy.
"I barely let him out of his common room, you know, and he needed supplies. I may have to watch him but I am certainly not his house elf," she told her boyfriend, hoping that would be enough.
"Vy can't he get one? Then you can be off the hook and he von't haff to be around."
"I wish I could, but all they are really allowed to do are bring him meals and they already do. I made an unbreakable vow, I really have no choice."
"You shouldn't haff made it in the first place." Hermione sighed. She could not blame Viktor for his resentment, she would not be comfortable either if the roles were reversed.
"Viktor, we've talked about this. Please move past it, please? For me?" Viktor bent down and kissed her sweetly.
"As long as he keeps his hands far avay from you."
"You have nothing to worry about," she smiled sweetly. "You are the only man in my life." Viktor kissed her again.
"So not that I am complaining, but vy the urgent meeting that couldn't haff just happened over a message? I haff Quidditch in thirty minutes."
"I know, I know, I'll make this quick," Hermione said. She took another deep breath, grabbed his hand, and spoke, "Hogwarts is hosting a Ball, similar to that of the Yule Ball. As is our tradition, it seems, I would like us to go together!"
Viktor chuckled. "Tradition?"
"Well it can be, we went to the first one together and now there's a second."
Viktor grabbed Hermione's face in his hands. "You, my beautiful, silly vitch, do not need to ask me this. For every event, party, gathering, ball, that either of us are invited to, you vill always be the one on my arm and I hope I am the one on yours."
Hermione smiled. "Of course!" she exclaimed. Now for the hard part, she thought. "So I've arranged a date for Draco, so the two of them and us, plus Harry and Ginny and Ron and his date will share a table," she said quickly, hoping to episkey the situation swiftly as opposed to applying dittany slowly.
"He vill be attending?" Viktor questioned.
"Viktor, listen. If I did not believe Draco to be innocent, I never would have found myself in this situation. The entire school is going to be there, how can I deny him the chance?" Before Viktor could reply, Hermione continued with her plea. "I trust the person that I've set him up with, she will watch him for me. He will simply be at our table but that is it, he is not with us. Please, Viktor?" She watched Viktor sigh several times before he finally replied.
"After the ball, drop him off at his common room and join me at my estate."
"Wh-what?" Hermione asked, thrown off guard.
"You haff never been there and I think it would be nice to spend a night vith you." He said. How could Hermione say no after what she had just asked of him? Reluctantly, she nodded. Viktor smiled at her and kissed her one last time before he apparated to his Quidditch practice. Hermione walked back to where Draco sat waiting for her.
"Everything okay?" he asked her. She looked at him for a moment, then shook her head. "Let's go."
Ron Weasley – Present Day
November 10, 1999
Ron paced back and forth, impatiently waiting for a Healer to come out and give them news. It had been chaotic, bringing Amelia to St. Mungo's. Ron hurriedly gave Jessica instructions on how to get to the visitor entrance of the hospital for magical maladies and injuries before sweeping Amelia into his arms and preparing to apparate her to St. Mungo's. Jessica was shouting at him to hand her daughter back but he knew if he hadn't acted quickly, the situation would have become much more dire. He arrived within seconds and rushed in, explaining to the check in witch what had happened. Instantly, two Healers appeared and escorted Ron and an unconscious Amelia to the muggle injury ward. It was several hours before Jessica had arrived. She had tracked down a wizard outside and had him inform Ron that she was outside of the hospital and he went to let her in, but did not expect the backhand that came with it.
"How dare you!" she screamed at him, aiming another hit. "Where is my daughter?"
"She is being treated," Ron answered. "Come with me." He led Jessica to the ward where Amelia was being treated, but no Healer had come out and given an update as of yet. He had tried to walk over to Jessica once, but the look she gave him definitely had the ability to kill, and so he had stayed away and started pacing, all the while waiting for his Mum to receive the Owl that he had sent her.
"Ron, what has happened?" came the voice of Molly Weasley, as a short plump witch made her way over to her youngest son.
"Mum, thank Merlin!" he said, the feeling of relief overcoming his body. "My girlfriend, her-"
"Essa?"
"No, Essa and I broke up."
"When?"
"Not the time, Mum!"
Molly nodded. "Right, so your new girlfriend?"
"Well I don't know if that's what she is but her daughter, Amelia, she's really little and.. Well.. She got a hold of my wand."
"Merlin!" Molly gasped.
"She wasn't awake when I brought her in and the Healer's haven't said anything to us and Jessica won't talk to me."
"Let me talk to her, Dear," Molly told him. She looked around confused for a moment. "Why are we in the muggle ward?" She asked him. Ron looked down at his feet.
"They are muggles," he mumbled.
Molly sighed, "very well. Leave it to me, Dear," and she walked on over to the young mother sitting at the end of the hall with her head in her hands.
Harry Potter – Present Day
November 10, 1999
Harry arrived at the muggle ward at St. Mungo's and immediately ran into his best mate, Ron, pacing back and forth anxiously.
"Ron,' Harry said approaching him, "I came as soon as I heard."
"It's bad, Harry," said Ron, panic in his voice and forgetting all about being mad at him. "She was just lying there, motionless, I couldn't believe it when I saw my wand in her hand."
"What did the Healer's say?" Harry asked him. "Nothing, they haven't come out yet and it has been hours!" As if Ron had cast a summoning charm, the Healers finally walked out of Amelia's room. Harry, Ron, Jessica, and Molly all approached them with anticipation.
"Well, she isn't awake," the head Healer started. Jessica started to sob uncontrollably. "You're the mother, I take it?" The Healer asked her.
She nodded. "Jessica Ferguson. Tell me she's going to be okay?"
"Well, there is a lot to take in. For one, we don't know what spell caused her to fall. At her age, it is usually just a blast as she of course wouldn't know any spells, but the intensity varies from witch to witch."
"My daughter isn't a witch," Jessica said, still sobbing into Molly's shoulder. "We are margles or whatever it's called."
"Muggles," Ron mumbled. The Healer looked at Molly and she gave him a slight nod of understanding.
"What is to be done in the meantime, Healer Martus?" she asked him.
"At this point we monitor and wait, and we will let you know of any change. You may go and see her now, Ms. Ferguson." Jessica went in to her daughter's room, but everyone else stayed behind, giving Jessica the privacy she needed.
"Mrs. Weasley," Harry started, "What was that look between you and Healer Martus?"
Molly hesitated for quite some time before turning to Ron. "You gave Jessica directions on how to get here the muggle way?" She asked him.
"Well yeah, I can't apparate a muggle, it isn't permitted."
"But you apparated Amelia here?"
"Well, it was an emergency!" Ron almost yelled. "I'll take whatever punishment I get for it."
Harry caught on right away. "Ron, the wizarding law does not say that Wizards are not permitted to apparate muggles, it states that Wizards cannot apparate muggles as it requires a form of magic from both parties and muggles do not contain any magic."
"So?" Ron asked, oblivious to what was being said.
"What do you know about Amelia's father?" Molly asked him.
"Nothing really, just some muggle who left Jessica when she was pregnant, why?"
"Oh Ronald, don't you see, Dear? You couldn't have apparated with Amelia if she were a muggle, and she wouldn't have been able to have a reaction from your wand either. Amelia is a witch!"
Hermione Granger – The Past
October 28, 1998
Hermione patiently waited for Healer Martus in his office. She had anticipated this meeting for a very long time and now that it was finally here she was incredibly nervous. She went through her list continuously in her mind, ensuring that she would not forget anything. This meeting was crucial and probably one she would never get again.
"Good evening," came Healer Martus's voice as he entered his office. "Sorry to keep you waiting Ms..?"
"Granger, sir, Hermione Granger. And it's no problem at all, being the head Healer here at St. Mungo's, I understand how busy you must be and appreciate you giving me a moment of your time. Between running the muggle ward and supervising all the other Healers in each of their wards, I truly cannot understand how you do it all! What with the fourth floor alone, spell damage must be the most demanding, and then adding the new muggle ward alongside of it.."
"I see you have done your homework," Healer Martus said, "I'm afraid to say that I have not done mine."
"Oh, that's okay," Hermione responded. "I'm from the Dobwig Association, as well as a member of The Order of the Phoenix."
"Is that so? Well tell me, Ms. Granger, what can I do for you? As you so very well know, time is not usually on my side."
Hermione nodded then took a deep breath. "I am here to discuss three important items and I already have plans and ideas about how to overcome them," she said confidently.
"Is that so?" he asked her. "And the first item on your list?"
The image of her parents in Australia appeared in the forefront of her mind. "Memory charms. I want to find a way to cancel them out, or remove them. We should be able to place the spell for protection, but then take it back when it's safe again. Now, I was doing some planning and..."
"What is the second item on your agenda?" He interrupted her. Her confidence faltered a little bit at the abrupt interruption, but she continued nonetheless.
"Lycanthropy. Now I know that the two most recent werewolves are no longer with us," she said sadly, thinking of Remus Lupin, "but Greyback was let loose during the war and many new lycanthropes are going to surface, and I think we can go much further than the Wolfsbane potion. My thoughts were..."
"Your third item, Ms. Granger?"
Hermione was angry now, but she knew she would never get another chance like this, so she took yet another deep breath and spoke, "The Cruciatus Curse and its effects." She knew there was no point in speaking further as Healer Martus would just cut her off. She instead sat silently and waited for him to speak.
"I see," he said after a long moment of silence. "Ms. Granger, I can appreciate your concerns, but you are far from the first witch to address them, and as you know St. Mungo's is a very busy place, I just don't think.."
It was Hermione's turn to cut him off. "With all due respect, Healer Martus, your job here is to help, protect, save, aid, and heal every witch, wizard, or even muggle affected by magic. What I am addressing will help people in the future and you should be concerned with the facts that currently there is no help for those dealing with what I just listed. As Head Healer, I would assume that you would do everything in your power to find cures and make changes! Now I am presenting to you theories and potential answers and am astounded that you are not listening to what I have to say!"
There was a very long pause. Finally, Healer Martus stood up and opened his office door. Hermione scowled but got up to leave, realizing that she had gotten nowhere. As she reached the threshold, however, Martus Healer turned to her and said, "I will owl you a time that works for me, be sure to bring your research; We will start with the Cruciatus Curse."
Hermione smiled, "Thank you, I look forward to our success." And she walked out of his office, with a small bounce in her step.
Author's Notes: I had a few people message me asking how frequent I will post. I truthfully don't know lol I would like to post a chapter a day, but I also have a little baby that demands a lot of my attention. I will post a minimum of twice a week though.