A/N: Thank you for the reviews. The only note I have for this chapter is that, as far as I know, Hermione's parents were never officially named. I've given them the names Jean and Ian, and if anyone can point me to something official that provides them with other names, I'll change it. Otherwise, enjoy.
St. Mungos was not a place that Hermione Granger would ever consider working. She and Calandra stepped out of the fireplace and into the cold, sterile waiting area. Without bothering to wait for Kingsley to make an appearance, Martha stalked imperiously across the room towards the Information Desk. While she was speaking to the attendants, Hermione watched as the fire flared a brilliant green and Kingsley stepped out wearing a long suffering expression. It seemed that he was no fonder of St. Mungos than she was, judging by the distasteful way that his eyes flicked over the surprising amount of witches and wizards who were waiting to be seen for their illnesses and ailments.
"Come along," Martha called out before Hermione could say anything to him. She beckoned to the group with a crook of her index finger, seemingly not caring that the attendants behind the desk were all giving her dirty looks for speaking so loudly. "We have very little time to waste here, my dears."
Hermione bit back the caustic comment that wanted to escape and took Calandra's clammy hand. They marched across the floor with Kingsley trailing them like a shadow and followed Martha into the elevator. Martha put on a broad smile and happily greeted the mediwizards and Healers with a jovial air that had many of them casting her odd looks. Kingsley just rolled his eyes and shook his head. Stifling a smirk, Hermione looked down at the ground, absently squeezing the tiny hand that she was holding. Calandra had been unusually silent since they'd left the Headmaster's office and she couldn't wait to deliver the young girl into the hands of her family.
"This is our floor. Come this way." As the doors swished open, Martha bustled out and immediately turned right. They trailed her silently as she strode confidently up and down the complicated halls like she had memorized them - and for all Hermione knew, she had. She finally stopped outside of a door and knocked before twisting the handle. It opened a bit and she called out, "Good day! I have your daughter here for you, as requested."
The door was yanked open fully immediately. Hermione held her breath, half expecting to see her family, and felt a swell of disappointment rush through her when Calandra gave a hollow cry and launched herself forward into the arms of a tall, older man with greying hair. He knelt on the ground and buried his face in his daughter's hair as an older woman stepped up behind him. "Thank you so much," she said wearily, brushing a strand of blonde hair out of her eyes. "It was a big relief to hear that the Ministry was willing to escort Calandra here. We didn't want to leave Penelope alone, you know."
"Oh, I do," Martha said sympathetically, patting Mrs Clearwater on the shoulder. "The Ministry does what it can in the wake of these disasters, you know. Never forget that we're here for you."
"For Merlin's sake," Hermione muttered, and heard Kingsley snort.
"I'll be returning for Miss Clearwater in a few hours," he said, causing Martha to glare at him. "Headmaster Dumbledore has requested that she go back to Hogwarts before curfew, but, if you'd like her to have an extended stay, you're welcome to contact him."
"Thank you," Mrs Clearwater said with a tired smile. "I'll let you know when you come back." She stepped back as her husband scooped Calandra up and carried her into the room, then closed the door behind them.
"Well, that's one down. Now it's your turn. Your parents are just down this hall, as it turns out." Martha headed off without waiting to see if Hermione and Kingsley were following. Hermione's heart was pounding fast as she walked down the corridor and she wished that Harry was with her; she could have used a hand to hold as Martha turned the corner and finally stopped in front of a second door. Her face was expressionless when she looked back at Hermione and pushed the door open without saying a word.
The room was fairly dark, with just enough light from the window for her to be able to see that there were two beds. One bed was occupied and the other wasn't, though the sheets had been pulled down and mussed in a way that indicated someone had been there. Hermione stepped into the room and realized that it was her father who was sleeping in the bed. His face was as pale as the pillow he was leaning against and his breathing was badly laboured; every breath seemed to be a struggle, and a dull, ominous rattle came from his lungs when he exhaled. Bandages were wrapped around his forehead, his right wrist, and left ankle, and nearly every other inch of his skin was heavily bruised, including his face, which was also badly swollen. If it weren't for the crown of frizzy brown hair that she herself possessed, she might not have even recognized him.
"Daddy." Hermione swallowed hard, holding back the tears that wanted to fall. She was vaguely aware of someone closing the door behind her in order to give them privacy as she walked across the room and stopped beside her father's bed. Gently, she reached out and placed her hand on top of his, wincing at how cold his skin was. Where were the healers and mediwizards? Why hadn't anyone come to see her parents? Madame Pomfrey would have been all over someone in this kind of condition.
Sound and movement behind her made her turn in time to see a door on the far end of the room opening. Jean Granger appeared in the doorway, looking haggard and pale. There were more bandages around her head and her right arm was held at an awkward angle to her body. She was limping badly as she stepped out of the bathroom, but when she noticed Hermione, her whole face brightened. "Hermione!" she cried out gratefully, hobbling across the room as fast as she could. Hermione choked back a sob and flew over to her mother, embracing the woman gingerly.
"Great Merlin, are you alright?" she asked urgently. "Mummy, you and Daddy look awful."
"It's worse than it looks, Sweetheart, at least for me." In spite of her words, Jean leaned heavily on her daughter as they walked slowly towards her bed. She eased herself down with a wince, placing her good hand on the bed for support. "I'm in some pain but nothing too bad. It's your father that I'm really worried about."
"Yes, I've noticed that he doesn't look good." Hermione looked worriedly over at her father. "Have the Healers been in to see either of you?"
"No, not since we were put in here. To be honest, they didn't seem to know what to do with us." She smiled weakly.
That was probably the truth, but it didn't make Hermione feel any better. She walked over to the door and pulled it open to reveal Kingsley standing guard on the other side. He turned to look at her. "My mum and dad haven't been looked after," she whispered to him. "Can you go and find someone trustworthy?" At that moment, she didn't care if he found someone who was loyal to Dumbledore and the Order. Her parents were injured and her first priority was getting them medical care.
"I know just the person." Kingsley headed down the hall, and, after closing the door, Hermione returned to her mother's side.
"Lie down, Mum," she said, gently guiding Jean backwards onto the bed. She gritted her teeth when Jean made a low moaning sound of pain and pulled the blanket up to her mother's chest. "Do you remember what happened? Can you tell me?"
"I'll probably never forget it. Your father and I were having a family dinner when that little thing you gave us for Christmas last year began to spin around and make this dreadful shrieking nose. I thought that meant it was broken, but… you know your father. He insisted that we leave the house and spend the night at your aunt's. I decided to humour him and agreed not to pack my things." Her eyes filled with tears. "I was so sure that he was just imagining things. You'd told us so many horrible stories before you went back to school, but I never really expected that those monsters would come for us."
"I never thought they would, either," Hermione said quietly, patting her mother's hand. Now that they had, she couldn't decide whether she wanted to be angry or cry. "Keep talking, Mum."
"Well, I was in the kitchen turning the stove off and I remembered that other thing you had given us. The little silver charm?" Jean raised slightly dazed eyes to her daughter, who merely nodded. Of course Hermione remembered. She'd had to lobby hard to get Professor Dumbledore to agree to give her something that her parents could use to alert him or the Order when they were in danger. The knowledge that it had probably saved their lives made her shudder as her mother continued, "I picked it up and I was thinking about breaking it. I didn't want to in case we weren't really in any danger. And that's when they came in the front door." Her breath hitched.
"It was awful, Hermione. I'm so glad you weren't there. Ian was yelling and trying to fight them and they just laughed." A tear slipped down her cheek. "They thought it was so bloody amusing that he was trying to protect me. I knew he'd want me to run, so I broke the charm in half to activate it and ran for the kitchen door. But they c-caught me..." Her voice trailed off and she finally broke down into sobs. Hermione threw her arms around the woman's shoulders, a cold fury settling into her chest.
"You're safe here, Mummy," she whispered soothingly, stroking the soft, tidy brown hair that she'd always admired so much as a child. "They can't hurt you as long as you're surrounded by witches and wizards. St. Mungos is a very safe place to be." Not as safe as Hogwarts, but she would take what they could get.
Behind her, the door swung open, and she twisted to see Kingsley and that healer who had been helping Madame Pomfrey. "You must be Miss Granger," he said, advancing across the room with a hand out. "I'm Darian Wells. I apologize for the fact that your parents haven't been seen to yet. It's been an absolute madhouse in here thanks to the attack on Diagon Alley."
Hermione burned to ask for more details, but she didn't. This wasn't the time. Instead, she shook his hand and said, "My parents are quite upset and in a lot of pain. I hope you can do something for them."
"Yes. Muggles, aren't they?" Healer Wells turned to face Jean with an encouraging smile and held up his wand. "I'm going to cast a spell that will tell me exactly what's wrong with you, Mrs Granger. It's kind of like the magical equivalent to a doctor's exam and it shouldn't hurt at all. You'll feel a gentle tickling sensation but it won't last that long. If it does hurt anywhere, be sure to let me know."
"Alright." Jean closed her eyes. Hermione moved aside, wondering if the healer was a muggleborn. There weren't many wizards that would know what a doctor even was, much less what an exam would be like.
Healer Wells cast the, by now, familiar blue light and watched in concern as several areas on Jean's body lit up in varying shades of purple. A frown tugged at his lips and he made a sharp movement with his wand, causing a small piece of parchment to pop into existence. He reached out and took it, and his frown grew deeper as he scanned the list before looking up with a warm smile. "Good job. I'll do the same for your husband and then we'll be able to get you something that will go a long way towards making you feel better. Miss Granger, could I see you out in the hallway once I've done the second test?"
She waited, watching anxiously and wincing at the sight of all the purple light on her father - it almost overwhelmed the blue - before following him out the door. "There's something wrong, isn't there?" she blurted out the second they were alone. "Are they…?"
"From what I can tell, no lasting damage has been done," he told her kindly. "But we do have a problem. Muggles can't be healed by magic. Their bodies have very little tolerance for this kind of thing and nearly all healing spells are simply too powerful. It would cause a backlash that would make your parents very ill, and in their current states, it could kill them. The healing spells that we are cleared to use on muggles are too weak and won't do much good. Now, we can give them potions to hurry along the natural healing process, but their intake would have to be very carefully monitored. Muggles are much more sensitive to potions than the average witch or wizard. All of this means that their recovery is going to be slow."
Hermione chewed her lip, seeing the problem immediately. "And you don't know if they can stay here in the meantime," she guessed.
"Correct. I assume that Kingsley already explained to you that there were a few wizards who were complaining about them having been brought here in the first place, and it was only because you're a witch in good standing that it was allowed," he explained. "Right now neither of your parents is in a condition to be moved, and they won't be for a few days at least, so you'll have anywhere from three days to a week to make alternate plans for their care. If you'd prefer to have them moved to a muggle hospital, that's one option, or you may consider hiring a private healer to care for them."
"Alright, thank you." Hermione stared down at the floor, her stomach churning. Her parents couldn't go to a muggle hospital; they wouldn't be safe there if Death Eaters came after them again. But hiring a private, magical healer to care for and protect them would be extremely expensive, and it still wouldn't solve the problem of a safe place for them to stay while they were recuperating. For a moment, the urge to break down and cry was almost overwhelming.
Seeming to sense that she needed a moment alone, Healer Wells nodded and patted her shoulder. "I'll go and get the potions that I think your parents could tolerate for the time being. One of them will be a sleeping potion, so you should go back in and speak to your mother while she's awake."
Awake was a relative term. Jean was only semi-conscious by the time Hermione made it to her bedside. "This is a change," her mother remarked with a lazy giggle. "You're the one talking to the doctor."
"Yes, it is." She attempted a smile and perched on the side of the bed, hating to bring it back up, but needing to know every little thing that the bastards had done. "What happened after the Death Eaters caught you, Mum? I know you don't want to talk about it, but…"
"Hmm." Jean yawned widely, her eyes half-lidded. "It's alright, dear. Let's see… they were waving those odd little wooden sticks around and… your father was… hmm… and then there were these great loud cracks… and more of your friends showed up in their strange robes. They argued an awful lot amongst themselves, though. Not very good at teamwork if you ask me, like little children. Didn't look very good."
"No, I'm sure it didn't." Swallowing the urge to laugh - because she was afraid it might come out as sobs - Hermione glanced up as Healer Wells re-entered the room carrying a tray of vials. "I've got to go now, Mummy. You and Daddy are going to have a nice long sleep and when you wake up, you'll feel much better." For the first time ever, she regretted having muggles for parents. It would be so much easier if they'd had even a little magic and Healer Wells could have used all of his resources.
"Hermione." A hand grabbed her wrist, delicate fingers sliding around hers and keeping her from moving away from the bed. Jean tugged gently and Hermione obligingly leaned down. "Be careful," she whispered. "Those people were dangerous and would have gladly killed you had you been there. I don't want to lose my only child because of some foolish war."
Tears glistened in Hermione's eyes and she gulped. "I'll be careful, Mum, I promise," she said softly, stepping back so that Healer Wells could move forward. She watched as he administered the potions to her mother, taking great comfort from the way that Jean sighed and relaxed almost instantly into a deep sleep the second the sleeping potion was down her throat. Healer Wells gently took the vial from her slack hand and went to attend to Ian Granger. Since the man was still unconscious, he used a mild spell to get the potions directly into the man's stomach.
"That won't hurt him," he said, catching Hermione's inquiring look. "It's not really magic on him so much as it is on the potions. We're merely transporting them to a different spot. His body will do the rest." He placed a hand on Ian's cheek to check his temperature and nodded. "I'll set up a monitoring charm to let me know if either of them wakes up, but there's nothing more you can do here for the time being. That potion will be enough to keep both of them knocked out until tomorrow morning at the earliest, and I may give them more as soon as they wake up depending on how much pain they're in. But either way, I will send you an owl tomorrow to let you know how they're doing, okay? And you can Floo me anytime if you have concerns."
"Thank you," Hermione said sincerely. He was a good man, Darian Wells, and she trusted him to take care of her parents as best he could. She didn't like leaving them behind, but at least she had confidence that they would be well cared for. "Can we go back to Hogwarts now?"
Kingsley nodded. "Of course. Thank you for your help, Wells."
"Anytime, Shacklebolt."
After a brief stop at Penelope's room, Hermione and Kingsley returned to the fireplaces armed with the knowledge that Calandra would be staying the night with her family. Hermione thought it was just as well; the way the younger girl had still been clinging to her father indicated that she wasn't ready to leave them so soon. She didn't really blame her. Part of Hermione wanted to run back to her parents' room for one last look, just to make sure that she hadn't imagined them living through the attack. It struck her, then, how very close she had come to losing them both, and she had to struggle to hold it together long enough to get back to Hogwarts.
NIR
For a good minute or two, Harry wasn't actually sure what had happened. He stared up blankly at the dim sky ad vaguely heard Ginny shouting something and the sound of an animal squealing in pain. Then hands were on his shoulders and he was being hauled into a sitting position; a firm slap directly to the back of his shoulder blades was enough to make him draw in a sharp breath. Instantly, he burst into a flurry of coughing that made his whole body ache. He hunched his shoulders and gasped for air, because it seemed like his lungs no longer wanted to work properly in spite of the hit. Ginny sat beside him and stroked his hair until the world was no longer spinning, and then he looked up into her face.
"What happened?" he croaked hoarsely, wishing that his throat didn't ache quite so much. His whole back felt like one steady throb, actually, and when he tried to stand up, pain screamed all the way down his shoulders and into his spine. He flinched, recognizing all the signs of several pulled muscles, and staggered, catching his balance against a tree.
"That thing attacked us," said Ginny. She was pointing to something that Harry had never seen before and, quite frankly, never wanted to see again. It was about the size of a large dog, maybe a little bigger, but it looked more feline than canine. Its fur was an odd creamy color with russet spots, and it had two enormous plumed tails. The spell Ginny had cast had knocked it head over heels into the brush, and when it rolled over, he saw that the underbelly was scaled, like a snake. He put a hand to his arm when he saw the razor sharp black claws that were glistening with blood - his blood. Harry felt sick.
"I hate this bloody forest." Instinctively he groped for his wand, only to remember that he'd been holding it when the creature jumped them. He looked around frantically, wondering where it had landed. He didn't even remember hitting the ground, so he had no memory of letting go of his wand, and he didn't see it. "Quick, Ginny, summon my wand!"
"Accio - Harry look out!" she shrieked. Harry put his Seeker reflexes to good use and leapt aside, just barely missing the creature's next dive. He backed away, heart pounding, and bent down in spite of the pain, searching for a weapon of some kind. His hand came into contact with a fairly large, thick stick and he straightened just as the creature leapt for him again. This time, he swung hard, but although the stick made contact, the creature shook off the blow with no problems.
"Get help, Ginny!" he shouted. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched her fire off several dazzlers into the sky before she sent a stunning spell at the creature. Though the spell struck, it merely shook its head like a cat would shake off water and advanced on them, growling loudly.
"Magic doesn't work," Ginny cried. "Reducto!"
The creature dodged the jet of light and Harry's heart sank; it was proving to be extremely agile. He swung again with his stick, hoping to scare it into running away. His mind was racing, trying to figure out a solution that wouldn't end with their deaths, and then he spotted his Firebolt, propped up against a tree where Ginny had left it. Instantly, he dove towards it. If he could lead the creature away from Ginny… it would take her a while to get to the school for help without the broom, but eventually she'd manage it.
He was about a foot from his Firebolt when fangs sank deeply into his left calf and he gave a hollow cry of pain as his momentum was abruptly stopped. Ginny screamed his name and shot another blasting curse at the creature. This time it struck and the creature staggered, yowling in pain, but it didn't release Harry's leg and it continued to drag him backwards. Harry struggled to twist around and started kicked it in the face, desperately trying to hit a spot that would hurt enough to make it let go. Blood was trickling down his leg and it was burning like anything.
His heart was pounding so hard and the growling was so loud that it took him a moment to register the sound of furious barking. Harry lifted his head dazedly as the bushes suddenly burst apart and Fang leapt into the clearing. The dog stopped short upon seeing the creature, but that didn't matter; an arrow sailed over Fang's head and sank neatly into the creature's side, directly where its heart would have been. Instantly, the horrible pressure around his leg ceased as the creature collapsed sideways, and Harry managed to sit up as Hagrid, bearing a large crossbow, rushed towards them.
"'Arry!" he burst out, staring at the boy in horror. "What're ya doin' here?"
"We were walking along the edge of the forest," Ginny blurted out before Harry could respond. "That… that thing grabbed Harry and started pulling him in here. I tried to help, but…"
Hagrid looked at her with assessing eyes and frowned slightly. "A Vulpire? They can be nasty sorts, resistant to magic," he muttered, more to himself than to the teens. He glanced at Harry and gave a brisk nod. "Al'righ, then, let's get yeh back to the castle. Up yeh go."
Harry couldn't contain a groan of agony when Hagrid leaned down and picked him up. It didn't help that Ginny got up at the same time, supporting herself with Fang. The double backlash of pain was too much and he passed out. Hagrid sighed and cradled the teen gently as he turned and started walking back towards the castle. Ginny waited half a beat and then summoned Harry's wand and his Firebolt. She got back on the broom and flew after Hagrid, catching up to him just before he would've left the forest.
For all their concern that they would be missed and someone, somewhere, would turn it into a sensationalized story, no one really seemed to notice they had returned... which was odd, because Hagrid alone should have drawn attention, much less the fact that he was carrying an unconscious Boy-Who-Lived. The eyes of the students slid right past them and even the professors that were roaming the school paid no attention to their injuries. Ginny fidgeted anxiously; either Fawkes had given them the ability to become invisible, or something had happened while she and Harry had been trapped in the forest. Hagrid was striding away towards the Hospital Wing, and really, she should have been following, but she was desperate to know what was going on.
Only that would have required at least one student acknowledging her existence, and a fair amount of them seemed determined to do the opposite. With a disgusted look, Ginny tightened her grip on the broom and slowly directed it down the corridor after Hagrid. Her ankle had gone completely numb and she no longer felt any pain, which was likely not a good thing, but at least it afforded her the chance to be slower about her journey to the Hospital Wing. She arrived just as Madame Pomfrey began fussing over Harry. Hagrid conferred with the woman in quiet tones for a few minutes before he turned and strode out of the room, looking rather distracted. What she wouldn't have given to have been able to follow him! But at that moment…
"Mrs Potter!" In the midst of fetching a potion, Madame Pomfrey had caught sight of the girl. Her eyes widened in horror when she saw the visible injuries on Ginny's body. "What in Merlin's name have you two been doing? Come in here and sit down on a bed at once before you hurt yourself further."
"Yes Madame," Ginny said in a tone of resignation, steering the broom over to the bed. She dropped to the ground - fuck that bloody well hurt even when she made sure to keep her hurt ankle off the ground - and sat down on the bed quickly before her legs could give out. Madame Pomfrey shook her head and continued to fuss over Harry, tending to the bleeding wounds in his arm and leg. Ginny watched for a while before something caught her eye - a copy of The Daily Prophet. It had been left on the bed beside hers.
She cast a quick glance at Madame Pomfrey, but the woman was paying her no attention. Ginny grabbed a wand and whispered, "Accio Newspaper!" The pages leapt off of the bed and smacked into her hands a second later. Quickly, she dropped the wand and turned to the first page. Her eyes widened at what she saw and a strangled gasp caught in her throat.
ATTACK ON DIAGON ALLEY - DOZENS KILLED - MINISTRY CALLING FOR FULL INVESTIGATION AFTER BREAKOUT FROM AZKABAN
Early last night there was a full scale attack on Diagon Alley. During one of the busier shopping hours, black-robed figures began apparating onto the street and cursing witches and wizards at random. Fires were set and dozens were killed before the Ministry's Aurors began arriving on the scene, as well as some mysterious organization denoted only by a phoenix on the back of their red robes. What followed was an intense battle that rocked Diagon Alley to its core. Aurors and the group that is being known only as "Phoenix" fought together to force the Black Robes into a retreat.
There is speculation that these Black Robes are the ones behind the other attacks that have been occurring around the wizarding and muggle community. No one can be sure who the perpetrators are but rumours are running wild. Many citizens seem to think that Harry Potter, Boy-Who-Lived, may have been right after all and that You-Know-Who has returned from the dead. A few of the Black Robes who were captured instead of being killed did indeed have the Dark Mark on their left arms. For those who don't know, the Dark Mark - a black skull - was the calling card of You-Know-Who.
The Ministry, however, released a report denying this allegation. Minister Fudge says, "I believe that this is the work of rogue Death Eaters who escaped justice years ago, including the deadly Sirius Black. You-Know-Who has not returned and anyone who is willing to believe Potter is allowing themselves to be misled by a traumatized child who does not know what he is talking about. We believe at this time that the attack on Diagon Alley was actually a diversion to allow former Death Eaters to break into Azkaban and free their comrades."
Indeed, at the same time as the attack on Diagon Alley last night, Azkaban was broken into and several prisoners escaped, while others were left for dead. There is no word on how the break actually happened, but there are reports that the Dementors who guard the prison have gone missing. When pressed for comment, Ministry Fudge replied, "There is no need to worry. The Ministry has this under full control. The safety of the wizarding world is our biggest concern; we will do what we can to make sure that the people behind this are brought to justice."
For a full list of those who were killed in the Diagon Alley attack, please turn to page 2.
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