Charachters: JK Story: Me Severus gets pissed, Harry finds Hermione.
The next morning all Severus had to show for his efforts was a headache that wouldn't quit, an empty bottle of very expensive liquor, and a hollow ache deep in his chest that, he suspected, had nothing to do with his blood alcohol level. He couldn't do anything. He tried to work on his lesson plans but he couldn't concentrate. He tried to organize his potion stores, but his hands shook so much he dropped his jar of lacewing flies. He had said he wanted nothing to do with her, but that was the furthest thing from his mind. He wanted her, needed her, but what was getting in his way was the fact that he needed her to want him, to need him with just as much fervor as he did her.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Ginny and Harry had both been worried about Hermione, especially once Ginny reported that George had not seen her. It was quite unlike Hermione to disappear without telling anyone. "You don't suppose something happened to her?" Ginny stared at Harry wide-eyed with concern for her friend. Harry had gone to check St. Mungo's immediately, but she wasn't there. He made plans to go to her parent's house in the morning.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Harry sat at the bar in the Leaky Cauldron rubbing his forehead. Hermione was in trouble, he knew it, he just didn't know where she was. She wasn't at St. Mungo's and her parents had been less than helpful, only telling him that, yes she had been there, she left after an hour or so, and no they hadn't seen her since. If he had thought it might help he would've hexed them.
The sad thing was, this was something he really needed her help with. She was the brains, the one who was good at reasoning things out. All his thinking was doing was giving him a headache. He tried focusing on what he knew: Hermione was in trouble, she wasn't at St. Mungo's. Finally it came to him, if something had happened to Hermione, in the muggle world; she wouldn't be taken to St. Mungo's. As fast as he could he ran out of the pub and to the nearest payphone. He'd call every hospital in London until he found her if he had to.
Unfortunately Harry hadn't reckoned on how many hospitals there were. He didn't carry nearly enough muggle change and it was getting too dark in the phone booth for him to read the numbers in the phonebook. He would have to renew his search in the morning. He ripped the page out of the phonebook and apparated home.
The next morning Harry arrived at the Leaky Cauldron so early he scared Tom and caused him to drop the glass he'd been cleaning. In the daylight the list looked even longer and he groaned as he thought about how long this was going to take. Still, anything for Hermione, he'd visit them all on foot if he had to.
"Tom," he looked at the barman, wiping the counter with a dirty rag, "don't suppose you have a telephone I could use?" He didn't think there was much use in asking, Tom probably didn't even know what one was, but it was worth a shot.
Tom looked surprised at the question. "Course I do. It's in the back innit? Case some one has to reach a muggle for some reason."
Harry was floored. "Could I use it? Of course I'll pay you."
"No need Mr. Potter, you come right this way and you can use it long as you like. Just mind the papers, those are all very important."
Harry looked at the stacks of paper. Some of them were so high it looked like they brushed the ceiling. There were so many stacks that Harry could barely see the phone on the desk. "Thanks Tom, and please call me Harry."
"Right you are Mr. Potter. I'll leave you to it then."
Harry waited for the door to shut then picked up the phone and began dialing. Every place he called he asked the same two questions and told the same story. He was getting frustrated, but finally he got the answer he was looking for.
"Yes sir, a woman matching that description was brought in a few days ago."
"Can I come see her?"
"I'm afraid only family can visit patients unless they've been otherwise cleared.""If it's her she's my sister." There was no way he was going to not go and check this out.
"In that case sir you may. Visiting hours are between two and eight."
"Thank you." He hung up and ran out the door, yelling thanks to Tom as he did so. He hailed a cab and was soon on his way to the hospital. Once there they made him wait an hour until he could visit her. A very kind nurse then came and took him back to the room. It was her. He wanted to shout and jump for joy but settled for letting out a sigh of relief instead.
"Is this your sister sir?"
"Yes, yes it is. This is Hermione Granger. What happened to her?" He didn't understand most of the words the nurse used. In the end all he knew for sure was that she had gone into labor early and afterward had remained unconscious. Now she had a fever and nothing they did seemed to help. "And what about the baby?" His heart clenched with fear, dreading the answer and what it could mean for his friend.
"He's fine, were keeping him in the nursery for now. I hope she wakes up soon, he doesn't even have a name yet." Harry saw her lips moving and leaned closer to try and catch the words. "She does that a lot but we can't make out what she's saying. It just sounds like a snake."
He agreed, but he knew what she was saying, she was calling for Severus. "Um, thanks for all your help. I'll be back shortly with some more family."
Harry left. He needed to bring Severus to the hospital if it was the last thing he did. He knew it wasn't going to be easy; Severus was probably still quite angry. With that in mind he would stop at George's to enlist his help. Feeling better than he had during the past two days Harry ducked into the bathroom at the hospital and apparated straight into the back room of George's shop.
