A/N: As always my thanks to Jessara, Bronte's Mum and Anthot Formient. Please let me know if I am putting in too much or not enough and what you would like to see.
Chapter 11. Please Don't Hex the Messenger
As soon as he had left the Grangers, Dumbledore changed back to his wizarding robes, then apparated to Arabella Figgs. He quickly put off any attempts by the twins to question him; by sending them straight back to Grimauld Place with Harry's trunk by using Arabella's floo connection.
Dumbledore quickly assured Arabella that Harry and his aunt had arrived at Hermione's home safely, and Harry was now under the care of an excellent healer. He thanked her for her help then stepped to the fireplace and, although not exactly anxious to face the Weasleys at Grimauld Place, was gone in a flash of green.
A sea of red haired people came surging towards him, as Dumbledore stepped from the fireplace. As one, there was a "Well! Is Harry all right?"
"PLEASE, I am not as young as I used to be," said Dumbledore brushing off his robes as he straightened up. "Let me at least catch my breath. It has been a rather eventful day and I could really do with a hot cup of tea." He looked not very hopefully at Molly.
"ALBUS DUMBLEDORE!" spluttered Molly Weasley. "You'll get nothing from us till you tell us what is wrong with Harry. Is he really at the Grangers' and is it true that his accursed aunt is with him?"
Dumbledore took a deep breath before continuing, " Yes he is safe at the Grangers and, yes, it is true that his aunt is there with him." He could feel another wave of noise was about to break over him.
Quickly, as though about to use it as a wand for defense he pulled Hermione's letter from his robes and offered it to Molly Weasley. But Ron, with reflexes much improved from all his Quidditch training, was able to grab it before Molly or Ginny.
Ron unrolled the parchment "It's to all of us" he exclaimed, before beginning to read it aloud.
First let me confirm that Harry is safe, as I am sure that Professor Dumbledore has already told you.
He hasn't been in any accidents or been attacked by anyone. His relatives have not hurt him in any way. In fact they have been quite reasonable from what I can tell.
So why, I hear you ask, have I brought Harry and his aunt to my house? Well, Harry sent me a letter on Sunday asking if my parents could come and visit him, but didn't say why. When we arrived earlier today, we found him seriously ill and his aunt not looking too well either.
We realized what was wrong straight away, that Harry had caught what Muggles call the Flu. Someone had to help Harry's aunt take care of him, so my parents and I brought them home with us.
The healer, who has just left, said the disease was very contagious and wouldn't even let Professor Dumbledore go anywhere near Harry. My parents and I are lucky we have a special Muggle protection against it. There is nothing magical that can be done; it is just a matter of bed rest and time.
Apparently, this flu can be extremely nasty for wizards, believe me I wouldn't even wish this on Draco Malfoy.
Harry wouldn't want any of you getting sick because of him, so please don't try to visit him, until it is safe. Although I am sure Harry would love to hear from you by letter.
I will try to write everyday to let you know how things are going, but don't worry if I miss a day as I expect I will be kept quite busy taking care of Harry and possibly his aunt.
Mrs. Weasley, I know you would like to be here but believe me, there is nothing you can do for Harry at the moment. He is in good hands and I promise to take good care of him.
Try not to worry,
Love Hermione.
Ron looked up from Hermione's letter to his mother who seemed at least for the moment, quite lost for words.
While Ron had read the letter, Dumbledore contemplated the Weasley family, united in their concern for Harry, and wished with all his heart that Harry could see and understand how much he was loved.
Mrs. Weasley, who was now looking very worried, interrupted his reflection, her words tumbling out "Harry's relatives don't have their floo connected to the network. How on earth did Harry get sick from it? Did he get burned badly? How could you possibly let this happen? I don't understand, Dumbledore."
Dumbledore smiled despite the seriousness of the situation. "This is a different kind of flu, Molly. No Harry, wasn't burned, he just lost his appetite and became very tired and weak. If truth be told, I believe his aunt, was so worried about him that she was actually glad to see Hermione and her parents."
While he had been talking, Ron had come to stand by Molly and now asked cautiously, "Professor, Harry is going to get better, isn't he?"
Dumbledore sighed at the look of distress on Ron and Molly's faces. "The healer assures me that Harry will recover, but it may take a little while. As Harry was a bit run down after this year, this illness has hit him rather severely. You all know Miss Granger though, I am sure she will have him up and around in no time. But I must, however, join with her and urge you in the strongest terms, not to try and see Harry till he is a lot better."
Molly Weasley looked around at her children, torn between her longing to go to Harry no matter what the risk to herself and her concern at leaving her children without their mother, if she was unlucky enough to catch this disease. She knew in her heart, that Hermione was sensible and quite capable of taking care of Harry. But she was sure Harry was hurting and she ached to take him in her arms and make everything better.
She sniffed and furtively wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, then noticed that Dumbledore had been watching her anxiously.
Looking away from him quickly, "Right, it's a little late to go back to the Burrow tonight, I think dinner and an early night is in order." It was almost as though she was daring her children to object, but they knew her too well to argue.
As soon as their younger siblings were safely out of the room with the door closed, Fred and George turned on Dumbledore.
They said together, " Why is Harry's trunk here? Isn't Harry defenceless without his wand?" Molly gasped in horror at the thought of a wizard without his wand.
Despite his feelings of sympathy for the Weasleys concern, Dumbledore was battling his rising exasperation. "Now listen to me all of you, I am not answering any more questions. But I am telling you this much, Harry's very life depends on no one knowing he is sick. If Voldemort finds out that Harry is weak, he will redouble his efforts to kill him."
Dumbledore gave Fred and George his sternest look. "Have either of you spoken to anyone else today about Harry other than your mother, brother and sister?"
"NO! Of course not!" The twins denied vehemently. "Um, of course we did speak to Mrs. Figg."
Dumbledore nodded before walking over to the table and lifting the teapot sitting next to the tea things. He poured himself a cup and sat down heavily, willing the frustration and worry to ebb out of him and disappear with the fragrant steam that was coming from the cup in his hand.
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Upstairs in Ron and Harry's room, Ron looked over at Harry's bed wondering if he would be returning to it anytime soon. Ginny turned to Ron as soon as she had carefully closed the door behind her. "Right! What do you think, Ron?" He just looked back at her.
"That letter certainly sounded like Hermione, but Hermione never does anything without a damn good reason, does she?" Ginny continued thoughtfully.
Ron was startled; he hadn't realized how perceptive his little sister had become. "Uh…no" was all he could muster.
"Then reading between the lines, Harry must have been really sick to ask Hermione's parents to come and see him. It's obvious he didn't think his relatives would take care of him. We both know Harry doesn't like to ask for help."
As she paused, Ron finally found his voice, "Yeah, you're right." It was then that Ginny's previous comment sunk in and panic rose up "Ginny! Harry wouldn't ask for help unless…unless…" he couldn't finish such an awful thought out loud.
Seeing the look on her brother's face, Ginny came over and gave him a reassuring hug. "I know what you're thinking, but I am quite sure it isn't that bad, otherwise Hermione would have found a way to let us know," she said trying to convince herself as much as Ron. "We'll just have to get to him as soon as we can. You have never been to Hermione's house have you? But you have her address?" Ron nodded back glumly.
"Ok, well the best way to get there is to send her a message and follow the owl. Pity Pigwidgeon is at the Burrow along with our brooms. We'll just have to wait till we get back, but it will be much easier to slip away from there. In the meantime we should check Harry's trunk and get his wand and anything else we think he'll want."
Once again Ron marvelled at how cool Ginny was in a crisis. He brightened a little at the thought of at least doing something. "I bet Harry's Invisibility Cloak is in his trunk, we can use that to hide ourselves on the way to Hermione's."
Ginny smiled "Now you're thinking. Why don't you suggest to Mum that to get Harry's trunk out of the way in the kitchen, they stow it in here till he needs it. I am sure we can unlock it ourselves if necessary."
Glad they had decided on a course of action, they finished up with the beds and headed downstairs. Dinner that night at 12 Grimauld Place was a rather subdued affair. Mrs. Weasley had agreed, albeit distractedly about moving the trunk. She kept checking the clock, her mind taken up with the yearning for her husband to return from the Ministry, and her need to unburden herself in his arms.
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Meanwhile, Harry, the focus of all this concern was enjoying dinner at the Grangers. There was a great variety of food and Harry had got to try everything, although it had been hard to get him to stop talking long enough to actually eat his food. He directed most of his questions to Hermione, asking what she did during her holidays, where she went to school and if any of her school friends ever visited her.
Hermione laughed nervously " Harry, can I answer one question before you ask another." He grinned back at her. "Sorry, it's just so nice to have someone else my own age to talk to. I mean I don't get to talk to Dudley much as he is usually out and about with his own friends when he comes home from his boarding school."
Hermione said carefully "Well I go to boarding school too. I always like to read, and of course in the holidays there's always schoolwork to be done before the next term. As for school friends, it is usually me that goes to visit them sometime over the holidays."
" What about you?" She asked making a mental note to write down his answer later, in the journal that Darvin had asked her to keep.
Harry looked at her almost sadly before replying, "It must be hard to be away from your parents for so long."
Hermione could barely keep up, as Harry's expression now changed to one of great enthusiasm. "I go to the Surrey Special Developmental School which is much better than Dudley's exclusive school, at least from the way he describes it. At least I don't have a stupid looking school uniform. My teachers are heaps better and I don't have to go away to school for months at a time."
Hermione looked at Mrs. Dursley, who had been concentrating on feeding Harry. She had abruptly put down the spoon containing the pudding that was halfway to his mouth. Hermione who had finished hers already, offered to take over. Mrs. Dursley responded with a cold thank you. Peace finally reigned as once Hermione had started feeding him; Harry finally stopped talking and just ate. Hermione glanced back at Petunia Dursley, whose face had now lost what little colour it had.