-1Chapter Twenty-Eight
Feverish
"One more damn door and I swear, I'm going to Reducto this place into rubble," Fred muttered meaningfully as the foursome entered a large, rather open room.
"Yeah, that's real helpful, Fred," George growled in a tense voice. "Kill us and anyone else inside as well."
Before an argument could start, Harry snapped, "Shut up, the both of you! This room isn't like the others. I think we've reached the main floor of the warehouse."
"I really don't care what room we've reached," Fred muttered under his breath. "As long as it finally leads us to Hermione or that crackpot Justice. Preferably, both."
Draco ignored them and looked around. He saw crates stacked in piles of three on one side and machines of different sizes on the other. However, he did not see any new doors. He looked back at Harry and said, "There aren't any more doors."
"Which only means we can't see them," Harry remarked tiredly. "We'll have to spread out and check every inch of the wall."
"Spread out, but keep everyone in sight," Draco ordered. "I don't think it's a good idea to lose sight of each other."
"No," Harry agreed. "That wouldn't be a goo-"
"Harry? Draco?"
Harry started at the sound of Hermione's voice and looked around. Draco did the same and saw a woman cautiously step from the shadows at the other end of the room. She had been hiding behind a large stack of crates. As she came into view all four men raised their wands and pointed them in her direction. She stopped walking, surprise written all over her face at their obvious mistrust.
In a halting voice, she said, "What…what are you doing?" In the next breath, she moaned and said, "Oh God, you aren't… No, I won't let you capture me again."
She turned to run but Draco flourished his wand and brought her to a screeching stop. She whimpered softly but with soft determination she said, "I won't ever give you what you want, so you might as well kill me now."
Fred said, "Do you reckon it's another ploy?"
Draco shook his head, unsure. "I don't know. Harry?"
Harry was looking at Hermione, his expression unreadable. "I can't be sure. It looks like her, it even sounds a little more like the Hermione I know, but…I don't know."
"Should we have Draco kiss her?" George inquired not without a little humor.
At this, Hermione's head snapped up and she glared hard at Draco. "Who did you kiss and why did you kiss her?"
Draco did not answer, but George did. "He kissed you, only it wasn't you so…"
Fred picked up the rest of George's sentence, "So, what worked last time should work again, right?"
"Maybe," Draco said quietly. "Only I don't relish the idea of kissing her again. I mean, if she's not Hermione, that means she's Justice, only Justice is a man, and I don't really want to kiss a man."
Hermione's amber eyes seemed to burn into him. "You kissed another woman. You kissed her!"
Draco actually took a step back. "Harry?"
"I don't think kissing her is the answer this time," Harry replied. "If it's Hermione, I mean the real Hermione, than she's likely to bite your lips off. If it's Justice, well you said it all when you said Justice was a man."
Draco looked over his shoulder and glowered at Harry. "That didn't seem to cause you any qualms when you demanded I kiss her last time."
"Yeah, well, I didn't think about that part then," Harry admitted sheepishly. "But now that you've mentioned it, I don't think kissing her is the way to go this time."
Hermione shrieked in disgust. "You aren't ever kissing me again, Draco Malfoy. With or without Harry's permission. And tell me why you all keep thinking I'm not Hermione. I can't possibly be anyone else."
"Yeah, that's exactly what Justice would say," George told her.
Draco said to Harry, "Ask her something only Hermione would know."
Harry racked his brains for something to ask while Fred and George continued to snicker in the background. Finally, he said, "What did you discover in our fourth year that we've never told anyone?"
Hermione actually rolled her eyes and snorted. "First of all, Harry, there are a lot of things that question can pertain to so you'll have to narrow that down a bit. Second, if you two twittering morons don't stop that racket, the next time Ginny hexes you, I'll make sure she does a splendid job. Thirdly, I would appreciate it if, since I don't have a wand, the four of you would stop pointing yours at me."
Her comment about Ginny convinced Fred and George that she really was Hermione. They both immediately fell silent. Harry and Draco, however, were not so easily convinced. Harry said one name, "Rita Skeeter."
Hermione actually laughed before answering, "She was an unregistered Animagus. Her animal, or rather, her bug shape was a beetle."
Harry started to lower his wand, but Hermione said, "You can't be serious. Any number of people could have figured that out over the years. Please don't tell me that something so easily learned by others actually convinced you I'm me? Well, I am me, but if you have doubts, you should come up with something only I would know."
Harry started to bring his wand back up but stopped midway. He cocked a head at Hermione and smiled. "You may be right about someone else learning about Skeeter, but only the real Hermione would berate me for acting like an idiot in such a subtle way."
Draco, however, was still looking rather dubiously in Hermione's direction. She saw his look and said, "What? Are you still not sure of whom I am? Hey, what are you doi-"
Draco had moved forward so swiftly that Hermione barely had time to react before he was kissing her. Fred and George whistled while Harry laughed. A moment later Draco pulled away and said, "Yep, it's Hermione."
Hermione raised a hand to slap him, but Draco caught her wrist in his hand. When she lifted her other hand to do the same he captured that one as well. "You aren't hitting me for that. It was the only way I could be sure."
"You could have asked me something only we know," Hermione yelled at him.
"Like what?" Draco said. "There's noting between us that's secret."
"You could have asked me about that night in your office," Hermione murmured under her breath so only Draco would hear.
He grinned and said, "I could have, but I didn't think about it."
"Well," Hermione snapped, this time loudly so everyone could hear. "Next time, use you brain or don't you have one?"
Draco did not get a chance to reply as Hermione seemed to sway in front of him right before falling forward into his chest. Alarmed he said, "Hermione?"
Weakly she said, "Sorry, I'm… I'm okay. I just got a little light-headed, that's a-"
She passed out. Draco lifted her into his arms and turned to the others. "I think the hunt for Justice will have to wait just a little while longer."
They all agreed. It took them less time to leave the warehouse than it had getting inside, and they were soon on their way back to Draco's. Harry paused before Apparating back to Draco's, turned to the building, and with a flick of his wrist was gone.
Hermione was not well at all; as they all learned after arriving at Draco's and Ginny had looked her over. She came out of Draco's room, where he had put Hermione on his bed, and sank into her husband's lap. Everyone was looking anxiously her way, but she took her time answering their inquisitive looks. She settled herself into Harry's arms and snuggled up against his chest before looking directly at Draco.
"She's sick," Ginny said softly. "She's running a high fever and everything I've tried to bring it down fails. I don't know what that sadistic, insane jerk did to her, but I can tell you she has bruises all up and down her body as if someone beat the hell out of her. Her wrists and ankles are scraped almost completely raw, which will take a few weeks to heal even with potions and bandages. She has a few cuts on her legs and one on her back that are also serious as well as numerous smaller cuts all over her body. Most of her injuries will just take time to heal, but what concerns me is her fever."
"Should I call for a Medi-Wizard?" Draco asked worriedly.
Ginny nodded, but said, "Yes, but whatever you do, don't let them take her to St. Mungo's. She's better off here, with us."
"Don't worry," Draco, said standing up and striding over to a small desk in the corner of the room. "I have a private Medi-Wizard who will make a house call."
The Healer arrived less than an hour later but when he came out of the room, he did not have good news as they had hoped. Though he looked at Draco, he spoke to the room when he said, "She's in bad shape, Draco. I won't ask how she got that way; it's not my business and I don't want to know, but I can't bring her fever down any more than Mrs. Potter was able too. Something inside her is causing the fever, but I can't pinpoint what it is. Everything I know and have tried seems to bounce off her."
He paused and looked at everyone who gathered there. He said, "I'm an old Healer, but I'm not so closed minded that I'm fearful of new methods of healing."
"What are you saying?" Draco asked in a hoarse whisper.
"Take her to a Muggle hospital, Draco," the healer said kindly. "Maybe, with all their odd machines and contraptions, they'll find what we can't."
After he was gone, no one moved or said a word. Not able to take the glum silence a second more, Abby asked in a demanding voice, "Why are we all still sitting here? We have to get Mum to a hospital."
"Abby," Charlie started to say but did not finish.
Draco suddenly stood and left the room without a word. Abby looked away from Charlie, glanced briefly at the crowd of others before taking off after Draco. Draco strolled with purposeful long strides into the bedroom. He yanked a light blanket from the back of a chair in the corner and went over to where Hermione lay, shivering and burning at the same time.
He bent over her, whispered something in her ear, brushed her brow and kissed her lightly on the cheek. She hardly stirred at his touch, too weak to move or talk. Draco gently wrapped the blanket around Hermione, lifted her in his arms and turned to leave. He came to an abrupt halt at the sight of Abby, Aria, Harry, Ginny, Fred, George, Charlie, Bill, Neville, Isabelle and Percy standing in his bedroom doorway.
Gruffly he said, "Move out of my way!"
"Where are you taking her?" Harry asked cautiously.
"To a Muggle hospital," Draco retorted. "I'm not going to sit back and do nothing while she burns with a fever. Magical Healers can't help her so we'll see if the Muggle ones can."
Draco entered the hospital by double doors marked, 'Emergency Department,' in bold black letters. His arms were aching from carrying Hermione for five blocks before Abby suggested they flag a cab. The cab driver had vehemently refused to allow all thirteen passengers into his car though, which had almost caused an uproar before Harry calmly suggested hailing a second cab. In the end, however, it had taken three of the cars to get everyone to the hospital. Draco, with Hermione in his arms, Abby, and Harry had gone in one cab, while Aria, Ginny, Fred and George had filed into the second one and Bill, Percy, Isabelle and Neville filled the third.
Draco approached a desk where a young, plump woman was sitting. The sign above her head said, 'Sign in here for Emergency Treatments.'
The woman looked up as Draco came closer. He glanced at her shirt, where the idea badge was clipped. It stated that her name was Melissa and that she was a triage nurse. Draco stepped up and thinking even as he spoke, said, "My wife's been injured and now she's running a fever, she needs to see a…"
Draco's voice failed him just then; he had no idea what a Muggle healer was called. Harry whispered in his ear and Draco said, "She needs to see a doctor."
"I see," nurse Melissa said kindly. "I will need some information from you, but first, let's get your wife a room where a doctor can examine her."
She stood up and said to Draco, "If you would please follow me."
Draco came around the desk and started after the nurse. She turned, as if she wanted to say something to him, but suddenly stopped a look of utter bewilderment on her face. She blinked once and Draco realized, without having to look back, that she was staring at the group of people behind him. She recovered from her surprise and said her tone still sweet but stern, "I'm sorry, but not all of you can come in here, at least not yet. If only her husband will come this way I will be come back shortly and show you all where you can wait."
Harry nodded, but before he could say anything Abby said, her tone rather icy, "I will not wait out here. That's my Mum and I want to be with her."
Melissa's eyes went wide for a minute, but a second later, her smile was back in place. "Of course you do, dear. You may come back here with your father and mother, but I must insist that the remainder of your party wait here."
Harry nodded again and said with a hint of warning, "We'll be here; we aren't going anywhere."
"Very well," Melissa said. "Please, sir, come this way."
Draco followed Melissa, who led him down a short hall painted a bright yellow. She opened a door and said, "Here we are. Place your wife on the stretcher there and I will be right back."
"How soon will the, er, doctor be able to see her?" Draco asked, his voice cracking slightly.
"I will go get him right now," Melissa said in a sympathetic tone. "You also have to go over some papers with me so that we have you and your wife's information."
Draco nodded once and Melissa left the room. He carefully laid Hermione down on the odd shaped bed that Melissa had indicated. He could feel the heat coming off her in waves. He wondered if he should remove the blanket he had her wrapped in because it was only adding more warmth to her already to hot body. He was not sure if he should remove it, either. She was hot to the touch but she was also shivering uncontrollably as if she were freezing.
Abby came over and slipped her tiny hand into his. "The doctors will make her better."
Draco looked down at Abby. She was so much like her mother and yet she looked so much like him. He sat down heavily in a chair near where Hermione was and gathered Abby in his arms. Abby had just snuggled into his shoulder when the nurse reappeared, a clipboard in hand.
She smiled warmly at them. "Doctor Riley will be here in just a moment. I'm afraid it's been a very busy day and he's just finishing up with another patient. While we wait, I think it's best if I get that information I need. Is that okay?"
Draco could only nod once.
"Good," she said. "Now, what is your wife's name?"
"Hermione Granger," Draco said, his brain a little muddled.
"And her date of birth?"
"September 19, 1979."
And, so the questions went, for what seemed like forever, to Draco. He answered what he could, Abby answered a few and when neither of them knew the answer, they merely gave Melissa blank looks. This did not seem to disturb her since she would simply nod her head, smile and mark the question as UK which she explained to Abby when she asked, stood for 'unknown'.
Draco was starting to think that the questions were never going to end and just as he thought that, the door opened and a tall man, with light brown skin entered. He smiled at Melissa before introducing himself to Harry. He held out his hand and said, "Hello, I'm Doctor Riley and you must be," he looked briefly down at the clipboard, "Mr. Granger."
Draco opened his mouth to correct the man but remembered that he had claimed to be Hermione's husband. He shook the doctor's hand and said, "Yes."
"Before I look at your wife, I just want to review the information you've provided Melissa. When I have done that, I might have a few more questions," he explained in a gentle melodic tone. "Melissa?"
She passed the clipboard over to him and Draco watched as his eyes flicked back and forth, as he read. When he was through he said, "Melissa, could you please take the young Miss Granger out into the waiting room, please."
He must have noticed that Abby was getting ready to protest because he smiled down at her and said, "My dear, I just want to talk to your father for a moment, alone. It won't take long and than you may come back in here, near your mother."
Draco said, "Go on, Abigail. It won't take long."
She looked like she wanted to argue but she clamped her mouth shut and allowed Melissa to lead her away. After they were gone, Riley said, "I'm going to examine your wife, Mr. Granger, and then we'll talk."
Dr. Riley went to Hermione and started his examination. He started with her head and worked down from there, lifting her shirt when he had to and even shifting her pants down, at which point, he asked Draco for assistance. When Dr. Riley was done, he covered Hermione with a sheet from a cupboard, took a seat on a round, wheeled stool and looked at Draco calculatingly.
"Mr. Granger, I must tell you that the extent of your wife's injuries concerns me a great deal," he said, his voice soft but without expression. "Can you tell me how she sustained these injuries?"
"I can," Draco said and added, "but I won't."
Dr. Riley looked at him for a long minute, his eyes hard. He said, "I have to tell you, Mr. Granger, that unless you can come up with a plausible reason your wife looks as she does, I will have to think that you did this to her. If that's the-"
Draco grabbed the man by the scruff of his lab coat and snarled, "I would never hurt Hermione. I may not be the nicest, gentlest human being on this planet, but I would rather die for her, not kill her. That may sound cheesy and false to you, but you have a waiting room full of people that will tell you the same thing, so don't ever suggest that I did this to her."
He removed his hand from the doctor, who cleared his throat, smoothed his shirt and lab coat out, looking, to Draco's surprise, unruffled. He said, his voice calm, "Mr. Granger, I meant no offense with my questioning, but I must know how Mrs. Granger came to have such horrible bruises and cuts."
Draco started to speak, but the doctor said, "If you can not provide me with satisfactory answers, Mr. Granger, it is my duty to involve the police. I have a responsibility to my patients, of which your wife is now one, to protect them when I am able. I hope that you can understand and respect this and tell me how your wife was injured."
With a heavy sigh, Draco ran a hand through his hair and thought about what the doctor was telling him. He knew what police were from his dealings with Leo, so knew that their involvement would complicate matters even further. At last, he made the decision to tell the doctor a version of the truth.
"Hermione's had a man following her," Draco began.
"A stalker?" Dr. Riley asked.
"Yes," Draco agreed. "This man claims Hermione wronged him, though she has never met him and has no idea who he is. Two days ago, she went missing and I only just found her this afternoon."
"Have you gone to the police about this man?" Dr. Riley asked briskly.
"No," Draco said. He changed his answer a second later, "Well, yes, but there's nothing they can do. We don't know who he is and have never actually seen him, so we don't know what he looks like. He calls himself Justice, but that is not his real name. We were trying to discover something more about him until two days ago when he kidnapped Hermione."
"This man, Justice," Dr. Riley said thoughtfully. "Just returned her to you, did he?"
Draco saw the suspicious glint in the man's gaze. He said, "No. Someone I know figured out where the man has been hiding. We went there and though he was long gone, Hermione was there."
Still looking skeptical Dr. Riley asked, "If I go and ask your friends, who are waiting, would they tell me the same story."
His anger rose back up a few notches but Draco replied shortly, "Yes."
"I'm sorry, but your story does seem rather iffy, at best," Dr. Riley said. After a moment of silent consideration he said, "I will be right back Mr. Granger."
Draco understood that to mean that he was going to question the others. Draco leaned back and waited for the worst to happen. Harry and the others had no idea of the half-truth he had just fed the doctor, which meant Riley would soon be calling the police. They could magic their way out of the hospital, but Draco did not want to leave without Hermione getting the help she desperately needed.
Of course, he could have just used a charm on the doctor, which would have made Dr. Riley believe the story Draco had told him. However, that would have required him to use his brain, which felt dull at the moment and incapable of clear thinking. Hermione would have thought of a more likely story even with a hazy mind. He looked over at her; she lay curled into a ball on her side. She moaned and he placed a hand on the small of back, offering silent comfort. She, almost immediately, fell back into the stupor of sickness that had overtaken her so suddenly.
He was considering taking her back out when Dr. Riley came back in the room. He said, "Well, Mr. Granger, I have no doubt that you and the small army of people that came with you, love this woman very much."
Draco could only stare at him stupidly. Dr. Riley said, "They tell me that this man has not only harmed your wife over the last few days, but that on a holiday to the America's he kidnapped your daughter."
Draco nodded unable to believe what he was hearing. "Yes, that's true."
"Well," Dr. Riley said the kindness of earlier returning to his voice. "I think it's best if we admit Mrs. Granger to the hospital so that we can better treat her. If she stays here I can perform a number of tests that will let me see what it is that has her temperature soaring and treat whatever it is. Do you have any objections to this course of action?"
Draco did not.
It took close to an hour for the hospital staff to admit Hermione. There were procedures to follow and paper work to fill out, as well as more questions to answer. After Hermione was in a private room on the Critical Unit, Draco and the others waited down the hall while the staff prepared her for bed. Draco was not sure what this entailed but he was too tired to protest or ask, so agreed to wait in a large waiting area down the hall from Hermione's room.
In the waiting room, he did think to ask Harry, "How the hell did you know what to tell the doctor? I was positive he was going to come back and tell me the police were on their way."
Harry nodded at Fred and George. "Those two have a handy little invention called Extendable Ears. We originally planned to use them in case you faltered in some way while dealing with the doctor and nurse, but you handled that very well."
"That's truly terrific, Harry," Draco said in an exhausted way. "But what exactly are Extendable Ears?"
"These," Fred said holding up a flesh colored object in the shape of an ear. "They've come in handy many times. Let's the user hear things from far away and even through closed doors."
"Anyhow," Harry said lightly. "We used them to hear what was going on inside that room. When the doctor came out to ask his questions, we knew exactly what to say."
"Handy invention," Draco admitted. "I'm glad you had them with you."
"Never leave home without one," George said brightly.
"Can I have a couple?" Aria asked.
Abby seconded the request, "Yes, I would like some as well."
"Ha," Ginny said smartly, though there was a smile on her lips as if to soften the blow. "You two don't need anything of the sort. You get into enough trouble without any help."
Abby and Aria moaned a little and tried to argue against Ginny's refusal to let George or Fred give them the Ears but in the end, Ginny won and the girls fell silent. It was not too long after that, that they fell asleep with Abby pressed up against Draco and Aria against Harry. Draco suspected that his baby sister had a tiny crush on Harry, but thought better of mentioning it for now.
An hour after the girls had fallen asleep, a thin, reedy looking woman came into the waiting room. She looked around and focused her attention on Draco. "Mr. Granger."
When Draco did not immediately answer, Harry kicked him, though not hard. "She's talking to you."
"Oh, right," Draco, said dumbly. "I'm sorry. What is it?"
"My name is Lorrie," She said softly. "I'm a nurse on this unit and I will be taking care of your wife for this shift. I was wondering if you would like to remain in her room with her or if you would be returning home?"
Draco wanted to stay with Hermione but then he looked down at Abby. It was probably better if he returned home with his daughter. Harry must have guessed what he was thinking because he said, "Stay, Draco. The others and I will take the girls home. We'll come back in the morning after we've all gotten some rest."
"Are you sure?" Draco asked, unsure.
"Yes," Ginny said, coming over and gently lifting Abby from Draco's lap. "We're sure."
Draco could not express his gratitude aloud, but Harry saw it in his eyes and said, "You're welcome."
Draco nodded once and followed the nurse out.
A/N: My beta, who is wonderful by the way, pointed out that this chapter was not as thought provoking as previous chapters. Although I happen to agree with her, there is a reason for this addition to the story. Hermione had to become sick for a reason, which will be revealed in another two, possibly three chapters. Justice is EVIL!
On another note, let me say something about the Muggle Hospital. I have no idea how the hospital's in England work. I have never left the US of A. However, I am a Clinical Nurse Technician so the hospital procedures mentioned in this story are based on what works at the hospital to which I am employed. The only implausible scenario is that of the doctor becoming convinced not to call the police. Trust me, if Draco had walked into my local hospital with that story, the police would have been called and Draco would have had to perform many memory charms. However, I couldn't very well allow Draco to get carted off to jail, now could I? So I fudged a few things. That's why fiction is great.
