Chapter 12: St. Mungo.
A freckled redheaded Hermione was quietly drinking her tea, while Ron, with a very short hair, beard and glasses, kept turning his head to observe the Muggles around him with a curiosity that would have made his father proud.
They were sitting on the terrace of a small Muggle cafe in the middle of London. A few dozen yards down the street stood a rickety red brick building. Everyone passed by its dirty windows without paying the slightest attention. No Muggle could suspect that it was the biggest magic hospital on the islands.
Hermione finished his remaining tea in one gulp. "It's time."
"Are you sure this is a good idea?"
"We've already talked about it. You saw your arm. It's the only chance we have to clear up what happened."
He did see it, indeed. Two days before, the cuts had reappeared. Ungainly but still legible. This time Hermione healed his arm immediately and wrote the word 'WHERE'. The answer was what she expected: 'MUNGO'. Dumbledore's room was on the fourth floor. Now Hermione was absolutely sure that he was the one they had been communicating with. Ron did not share such optimism, but neither could he find any other explanation.
Hermione stood up. "We'd better start moving. And remember, don't move from my side and let me do the talking."
"All right, you lead." Hermione knew St. Mungo's Hospital well. After the war, she had been there often, first visiting Ginny and Harry as they recovered from the last battle, and then accompanying some member of the Weasley family, usually Ginny or Molly, when they went to see Bill.
They approached the dirty building and passed through the windows of the entrance without any problem. The interior was quieter than Ron remembered, but still scores of patients filled the hospital's reception.
Hermione walked over to a tired-looking nurse. Ron tried to follow her, as he had promised, but a strange purple-skinned wizard cut him off.
"Gnap! Gnap!" He shouted as he jumped around him as a kangaroo, and stretched his neck to try to bite him. Ron just stared at him, too surprised to do anything.
"Harold! Leave the young man alone!" A middle-aged witch approached and held the strange wizard down. "I'm so sorry. This damned nephew of ours and his Muggle nonsenses. He never stops giving us grief! As soon as my husband is fixed, he's sure to get what he deserves." Ron watched as the lady pushed Harold into the corner of the room while scolding him like a naughty pet.
"Ron! What the hell... I told you not to leave my side."
"Hermione... I... He..." He pointed to the jumping wizard.
"Do you think it's time to make friends?" She took him by the hand without paying attention and dragged him to the lifts. "I told her we're here to visit Bill. His room is opposite Dumbledore's."
St. Mungo had not changed much over the years, the same narrow corridors, the same old portraits on the walls. Hermione guided Ron without hesitation until they reached a foyer. Ron saw two large double doors: The entrance to the Pavilion -Gilderoy Lockhart-. He had died during a Death Eater's attack, bravely holding them back while the rest of the patients were evacuated. In his madness, he was the great hero he had never been when he was sane.
Hermione pulled Ron aside and began to speak hastily. "We're almost there. Once we pass the doors, we follow the corridor and turn left. Bill's room is around the corner. Once inside we'll think about how we can get to Dumbledore's. Okay?"
Ron shrugged. "As you wish."
"There was always an Auror at the door before, I guess he'll be still there. Do as if he wasn't there. Look straight ahead, and don't dawdle - but don't walk too fast either. Behave as if you were here every day."
Ron rolled his eyes in exasperation. "Yes, Mum. And I won't talk to strangers."
"Don't be silly! This is very serious!"
"Hermione. You've told me the same thing fifty times already. I know it by heart. And I know it's serious, or you have forgotten I'm the one who's going to Azkaban if we're discovered?"
Hermione took a deep breath trying to calm down. "I'm sorry, I'm very nervous. You know how I get..."
Ron wrapped his hands around hers. "Yes. You get sexy and beautiful... I'm sorry I'm such an idiot, too." He kissed Hermione sweetly. It was great to be able to kiss her whenever he wanted. And avoided a lot of arguments.
Hermione kissed him back wholeheartedly. "You're so... You and I are going to have a conversation when we get out of here."
"Oh... Of course." The tone was affectionate, so it didn't seem like a bad thing.
Hermione nervously ran her hands over his shirt trying to smooth out some non-existent wrinkles. "Ready?"
Ron nodded. "Let's go."
It didn't take them a minute to get to Bill's room, which fortunately was empty, but for Ron it was the longest minute of his life.
As Hermione had said, an Auror stood guard at the door of Dumbledore's room. Fortunately, neither he nor the many healers who passed through the hall gave them a second glance. To them, they must have been just another pair of redheaded Weasleys going to visit their poor brother.
"Ron. Are you listening to me?"
Ron was watching his brother Bill languishing in the bed. He was incredibly thin and pale. "He's dying."
No matter how much Hermione hated it, all she could do was respond with the truth. "The healers have done all they can... but they don't think he'll ever wake up."
Ron took his brother's hand, he was cold as a corpse. "It's not fair. They had just had a child... they were so in love, in the prime of life. Who's going to take care of little Victoire now?"
"She's in the Burrow, she has your parents and all your brothers, a great family that's going to take care of her and love her."
Ron said nothing, just kept looking at the empty shell of what had once been his older brother.
Hermione put a hand on his shoulder. "Ron, we need to see Dumbledore. We can't risk being discovered."
"Yes, you're right." She squeezed Bill's hand before releasing it. "How are we going to get through the Auror? We can't face him in a hallway full of people."
Hermione peeked through the small window in the door. Suddenly she stood on her tiptoes and began to look sideways. "He's gone! We have to take the opportunity."
"What if he's inside the room?"
"We have surprise on our side. And inside the room no one will see us."
In a couple of strides they crossed the corridor. As Ron had suspected, the Auror was inside the room, but lying on the floor and totally unconscious.
"I knew... was you." Dumbledore smiled weakly, he could barely hold the wand in his hand.
"Professor Dumbledore!" Ron walked over to the bed. He had never seen Dumbledore so frail. He barely seemed to be conscious.
"Ronald... boy... Who's with you?" Hermione went over to the bed. "Granger... Of course."
Hermione put her hand on top of the old man's. "Sir, we need your help. Ron... You and Ron did something."
"He... made it... chess... I knew." He seemed to be delirious.
Hermione shook him gently. "Sir! Ron needs your help!"
Dumbledore blinked as if waking from a dream, and for a moment he seemed to recover a little of his former presence.
"Ron... Come closer." He closed his eyes and placed his wand on Ron's chest. "Bad..." He frowned and whispered some almost inaudible words. "Black Knight."
Ron recoiled sharply and began to gasp as if he had been hit in the pit of his stomach.
Hermione went immediately to his side. "Ron! Are you all right?"
"I remember... Everything." Ron whispered. He only had time to turn around, before he emptied his stomach against the wall.
"... So tired." Dumbledore's voice was getting weaker, he seemed to be fading away.
"Professor, you have to help him! He's innocent, you have to tell the Ministry!" Hermione begged.
"I... die... justice." He was unconscious, his chest barely rising as he breathed laboriously.
Suddenly, a deafening alarm resounded in the room. "Ron! We have to go!" Hermione shouted.
As soon as they came out into the corridor, they saw that a group of healers was already running towards the room. Among all the green robes stood out a black-uniformed Auror who, wand in hand, was heading towards them.
"This way!" Hermione yelled, pulling Ron's hand.
They ran through the corridors as fast as they could, dodging patients and healers. The Auror wasn't far away judging by his shouts, but fortunately for them the corridors were too crowded to cast any spell.
"To the right!" If Hermione wasn't mistaken, a little further on there was an emergency stairway that led directly to the street.
"¡Harold, NO!"
Hermione looked over her shoulder as she continued running. The Auror that was chasing them was lying on the ground, above him was the strange purple-skinned wizard that Ron had been talking to before.
There were only a few feet left to reach the stairs and not a single obstacle to prevent their escape.
They were safe!
More problems for Ron... And there are only two chapters (and the epilogue) left to solve everything!
In this chapter there is an 'Easter Egg': Does anyone recognize the jumping purple wizard?
Clues: Originally he was black, but (like the original authors when they edited it in the USA) I changed the colour to avoid racial problems.
It belongs to a children/youth comic book from the 60's but it is considered one of the first appearances of "modern zombie" apocalypse phenomenon, even earlier than George Romero's films.