Disclaimer: I had to put this in just in case. There are a few mentions of
The X-Files. That show and the characters belong to Chris Carter, 20th
Century Fox, and 1013 Productions.
The Unicorn and the Stag
Chapter 23
Hermione was worried. She had taken a few first aid courses over the summer, and knew that a wound like this had to be treated as soon as possible at a hospital.
"Bill, where's the nearest hospital?"
He had laid Rose on the largest of all of the second floor bedrooms. Hermione was snapping at the boys, telling them to get bandages and scissors and such.
"Orlando."
"Not good. Fred, these are cream! I need something solid white, no dye!"
"Do you know how to treat this?"
"I took a few first aid courses over the summer. Just for fun; I'm interested in medicine. I know how, but she's lost a lot of blood. It can't be healed magically. And I don't have any anesthesia."
"Don't need any. I can just tell Ginny to make one of her famous potions."
"That would be wonderful," Hermione said with relief. She hadn't wanted to perform an operation without anesthesia. Ginny ran to the fireplace downstairs with her cauldron and potions ingredients.
Hermione looked at the wound. "Could you try to find the flap of skin from here? I know it's not in the water, it was still on her shoulder on the beach." Ron swallowed hard, but nodded. "Good. There should be some solution in the plastic first aid kit, put the skin in that. Otherwise, it'll die." He ran out of the room.
Hermione noticed her cousin nervously standing by the door. She felt sorry for him.
"Harry, you're not going to do her any good by worrying. She'd want you to help. Can't you just picture her telling everybody to get things?"
Harry smiled. "You mean, like you're doing?"
She was pleased. "You think I'm doing what she would?"
"Exactly."
"You don't know how much I needed to hear that."
"Is there anything I can get? I feel useless."
"Yes. In the first aid kit, there's a needle and some thread. Boil them both in a pot of water for one minute." He nodded and left the room. Now it was only Hermione and Bill.
"Bill, same for you. Do something. You're polishing the rug. Literally."
He looked down, and grinned up at her sheepishly.
"Go help Ginny or something. You're making me nervous."
He quickly walked out the door. Ginny, Fred, Ron, and Harry returned with the skin, needle, thread, and bandages.
"Good. I can start now. Just make sure Bill doesn't come in."
Fred grinned and nodded. The boys scrambled out of the room.
"Guess they don't like blood," she whispered to herself.
She pulled on the latex gloves from the first aid kit, washed the wound, and explored it with the forceps. There were almost no foreign bodies, except for the tooth, of course. She could see it after prodding the skin a bit. It was a serrated, nasty looking thing. Luckily, only the tip was embedded in the muscle. She gently pulled it out with a pair of tweezers and dropped it into a plastic Zip-Loc. The only thing left to do was suture the skin back on.
She picked up the needle, which Harry had already threaded. Hermione smiled. Harry was so helpful. She gently lifted the patch of skin from its Tupperware of solution. She rotated the skin until she could tell it was the right position and began stitching.
*~*~*
Ron was hurling in the toilet when Harry found him.
"Ron?" he asked tentatively.
"Yeah?" he answered hoarsely.
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah. Just the seawater. And I kinda looked in on Mione stitching up Rose." He bent over the toilet and retched again. "Never could stand blood."
"You have a problem with blood?" He'd never minded it before.
"I can stand just a little, but this was gory, Harry. The needle going in and out of her skin, and the blood kept coming out the sides." He retched again.
"Has she finished?" Harry asked anxiously.
"Yeah. I think," but Harry had already gone. Ron retched again.
He stuck his head into the room. "Mione?"
She turned around. "Yes, Harry?"
"You done?"
"Yes. And she's fine. Go tell Bill the same thing. He keeps picturing her head getting torn off by a shark."
"She's really fine?"
"Yes."
Harry stared into her eyes. He wanted some guarantee that his sister would be all right.
He couldn't find any memories of anything going wrong. She'd just cleansed it, explored it, pulled out the tooth, and sewn it up. But what about the muscle?
"Will her arm work?"
"She won't be able to use it for a week, but it'll heal. The tooth barely punctured it."
"But it's her right arm!"
She went pale. "Her wand arm?"
"Yes!"
"We'll have to keep her inside or in the back. Someone will have to stay with her at all times."
"I volunteer," came a voice from the door.
"Bill," Hermione said, "she's fine. Go down to the pool or something. You're making everyone nervous."
"Not me," a fourth voice mumbled.
Hermione whirled. "Rose! Lie back down!"
"No." She was sitting up. "I feel fine."
"You do not." Harry could tell how much her arm hurt. "Your arm feels like it's falling off."
She glared at him. "Shut up, Potter."
"The Potter Temper!"
"Not funny, Harry! Not funny!" she said. She turned to Hermione. "Hermione. How soon can I get up?"
"Not for another day."
"Crud."
"You lost a lot of blood."
"But will my shoulder work?"
"Yes."
"How soon?"
"Twenty-four hours."
"It's my main arm! What am I going to do for twenty-four hours?!"
"Watch TV."
Rose's eyes suddenly lit up. "We have a TV? Satellite or cable?"
"You just put in a request for a certain series or movie and it will come up."
"You mean I just have to say 'The X-Files' and I'll get a tape of every episode ever?!"
"Yes."
"How do I get to the living room?"
"Bill volunteered."
"I did not!"
"Yes you did."
Bill pretended to grumble as he picked up Rose and carried her to the living room.
"It's going to be very funny to watch him cart her around for twenty-four hours," she said.
Harry started getting an idea. It was a good idea. Everyone would agree with it. At least, everyone but Rose.
"Mione. What if that wound could be magically healed, but it would end up on the healer? Say I healed her."
"No you won't."
"Yes I will. The connection."
"You're not healing her. I'm not letting you."
"How are you going to stop me?"
"I'm part of the connection. I'm related to you. I can stop you. I'm healing her."
"Why you?"
"Because I'm ambidextrous. It won't matter if my right arm doesn't function for a little while."
"Fine. Do it."
"What?"
"I said do it."
"Sure." Hermione closed her eyes. She looked like she was concentrating very hard. Her right arm went limp about thirty seconds later.
"Got it."
They heard a yell from downstairs. "HARRISON JAMES POTTER!!!"
Harry glanced at Hermione. She had sat down onto a chair and was white as a sheet.
"You okay, Mione?"
"Yes. You aren't. Go down there and explain."
She was still yelling. "HARRISON JAMES POTTER I CANNOT BELIEVE YOU DID THAT! YOU KNOW I DON'T NEED TO BE HELPED! THE LAST THING I NEED IS FOR YOU TO GET YOUR WAND ARM RUINED!!!"
Harry ran down the stairs with his fingers stuffed in his ears. Everyone downstairs had jumped under various tables, chairs, and couches and put silencing spells on them.
"AND JUST WHAT ARE YOU DOING OUT OF BED?! YOU'LL RUIN THE MUSCLE PERMANATLY!" Then she realized his arm was working just fine. "If your arm isn't hurting, how did you heal me?" she asked in a normal tone of voice.
"I didn't. Our cousin wouldn't let me. She healed you."
"I'll kill her."
"Don't. Please."
"Fine. Whatever you say." She pulled out her wand and undid the silencing spells. "I'm watching the X-Files anyway. Ron, go get your girlfriend. We're gonna have a movie fest!" Ron grinned and ran upstairs to get Hermione.
*~*~*
Rose walked up to the TV that was the size of a movie screen. She tapped the screen with her wand three times and said, "The X-Files!" Immediately, the series premiere started playing. Rose squealed and dove for Bill's lap. She loved this show!
"Oh, that's Scully Hair number one! And that's the black pants suit! There's the beige! Ew! When's the last time she wore the puce? Look at Mulder's hair! It's never changed!"
She sat and alternated between squealing about how Mulder and Scully were perfect for each other and screaming whenever mutants jumped at somebody's neck. They were in the fourth episode of the first season when they noticed Ron and Hermione still weren't back.
"Bill, come on." She woke him up from a light nap. "Let's go make sure my cousin and my brother-in-law aren't making out, okay?"
He sat up. "You mean Ron and Hermione?"
"How many other cousins do I have? And don't say anything about the brother- in-law part."
They stood up off the couch and walked up the elegant redwood banister. When they got to the room Hermione had claimed, there was no answer to the knock. Bill tried the handle. It was open.
Rose was getting a tingly feeling in the back of her skull. She looked at Bill and could tell he was feeling it, too. They pushed open the door and gasped.
Hermione and Ron were lying in a pool of their own blood.
The Unicorn and the Stag
Chapter 23
Hermione was worried. She had taken a few first aid courses over the summer, and knew that a wound like this had to be treated as soon as possible at a hospital.
"Bill, where's the nearest hospital?"
He had laid Rose on the largest of all of the second floor bedrooms. Hermione was snapping at the boys, telling them to get bandages and scissors and such.
"Orlando."
"Not good. Fred, these are cream! I need something solid white, no dye!"
"Do you know how to treat this?"
"I took a few first aid courses over the summer. Just for fun; I'm interested in medicine. I know how, but she's lost a lot of blood. It can't be healed magically. And I don't have any anesthesia."
"Don't need any. I can just tell Ginny to make one of her famous potions."
"That would be wonderful," Hermione said with relief. She hadn't wanted to perform an operation without anesthesia. Ginny ran to the fireplace downstairs with her cauldron and potions ingredients.
Hermione looked at the wound. "Could you try to find the flap of skin from here? I know it's not in the water, it was still on her shoulder on the beach." Ron swallowed hard, but nodded. "Good. There should be some solution in the plastic first aid kit, put the skin in that. Otherwise, it'll die." He ran out of the room.
Hermione noticed her cousin nervously standing by the door. She felt sorry for him.
"Harry, you're not going to do her any good by worrying. She'd want you to help. Can't you just picture her telling everybody to get things?"
Harry smiled. "You mean, like you're doing?"
She was pleased. "You think I'm doing what she would?"
"Exactly."
"You don't know how much I needed to hear that."
"Is there anything I can get? I feel useless."
"Yes. In the first aid kit, there's a needle and some thread. Boil them both in a pot of water for one minute." He nodded and left the room. Now it was only Hermione and Bill.
"Bill, same for you. Do something. You're polishing the rug. Literally."
He looked down, and grinned up at her sheepishly.
"Go help Ginny or something. You're making me nervous."
He quickly walked out the door. Ginny, Fred, Ron, and Harry returned with the skin, needle, thread, and bandages.
"Good. I can start now. Just make sure Bill doesn't come in."
Fred grinned and nodded. The boys scrambled out of the room.
"Guess they don't like blood," she whispered to herself.
She pulled on the latex gloves from the first aid kit, washed the wound, and explored it with the forceps. There were almost no foreign bodies, except for the tooth, of course. She could see it after prodding the skin a bit. It was a serrated, nasty looking thing. Luckily, only the tip was embedded in the muscle. She gently pulled it out with a pair of tweezers and dropped it into a plastic Zip-Loc. The only thing left to do was suture the skin back on.
She picked up the needle, which Harry had already threaded. Hermione smiled. Harry was so helpful. She gently lifted the patch of skin from its Tupperware of solution. She rotated the skin until she could tell it was the right position and began stitching.
*~*~*
Ron was hurling in the toilet when Harry found him.
"Ron?" he asked tentatively.
"Yeah?" he answered hoarsely.
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah. Just the seawater. And I kinda looked in on Mione stitching up Rose." He bent over the toilet and retched again. "Never could stand blood."
"You have a problem with blood?" He'd never minded it before.
"I can stand just a little, but this was gory, Harry. The needle going in and out of her skin, and the blood kept coming out the sides." He retched again.
"Has she finished?" Harry asked anxiously.
"Yeah. I think," but Harry had already gone. Ron retched again.
He stuck his head into the room. "Mione?"
She turned around. "Yes, Harry?"
"You done?"
"Yes. And she's fine. Go tell Bill the same thing. He keeps picturing her head getting torn off by a shark."
"She's really fine?"
"Yes."
Harry stared into her eyes. He wanted some guarantee that his sister would be all right.
He couldn't find any memories of anything going wrong. She'd just cleansed it, explored it, pulled out the tooth, and sewn it up. But what about the muscle?
"Will her arm work?"
"She won't be able to use it for a week, but it'll heal. The tooth barely punctured it."
"But it's her right arm!"
She went pale. "Her wand arm?"
"Yes!"
"We'll have to keep her inside or in the back. Someone will have to stay with her at all times."
"I volunteer," came a voice from the door.
"Bill," Hermione said, "she's fine. Go down to the pool or something. You're making everyone nervous."
"Not me," a fourth voice mumbled.
Hermione whirled. "Rose! Lie back down!"
"No." She was sitting up. "I feel fine."
"You do not." Harry could tell how much her arm hurt. "Your arm feels like it's falling off."
She glared at him. "Shut up, Potter."
"The Potter Temper!"
"Not funny, Harry! Not funny!" she said. She turned to Hermione. "Hermione. How soon can I get up?"
"Not for another day."
"Crud."
"You lost a lot of blood."
"But will my shoulder work?"
"Yes."
"How soon?"
"Twenty-four hours."
"It's my main arm! What am I going to do for twenty-four hours?!"
"Watch TV."
Rose's eyes suddenly lit up. "We have a TV? Satellite or cable?"
"You just put in a request for a certain series or movie and it will come up."
"You mean I just have to say 'The X-Files' and I'll get a tape of every episode ever?!"
"Yes."
"How do I get to the living room?"
"Bill volunteered."
"I did not!"
"Yes you did."
Bill pretended to grumble as he picked up Rose and carried her to the living room.
"It's going to be very funny to watch him cart her around for twenty-four hours," she said.
Harry started getting an idea. It was a good idea. Everyone would agree with it. At least, everyone but Rose.
"Mione. What if that wound could be magically healed, but it would end up on the healer? Say I healed her."
"No you won't."
"Yes I will. The connection."
"You're not healing her. I'm not letting you."
"How are you going to stop me?"
"I'm part of the connection. I'm related to you. I can stop you. I'm healing her."
"Why you?"
"Because I'm ambidextrous. It won't matter if my right arm doesn't function for a little while."
"Fine. Do it."
"What?"
"I said do it."
"Sure." Hermione closed her eyes. She looked like she was concentrating very hard. Her right arm went limp about thirty seconds later.
"Got it."
They heard a yell from downstairs. "HARRISON JAMES POTTER!!!"
Harry glanced at Hermione. She had sat down onto a chair and was white as a sheet.
"You okay, Mione?"
"Yes. You aren't. Go down there and explain."
She was still yelling. "HARRISON JAMES POTTER I CANNOT BELIEVE YOU DID THAT! YOU KNOW I DON'T NEED TO BE HELPED! THE LAST THING I NEED IS FOR YOU TO GET YOUR WAND ARM RUINED!!!"
Harry ran down the stairs with his fingers stuffed in his ears. Everyone downstairs had jumped under various tables, chairs, and couches and put silencing spells on them.
"AND JUST WHAT ARE YOU DOING OUT OF BED?! YOU'LL RUIN THE MUSCLE PERMANATLY!" Then she realized his arm was working just fine. "If your arm isn't hurting, how did you heal me?" she asked in a normal tone of voice.
"I didn't. Our cousin wouldn't let me. She healed you."
"I'll kill her."
"Don't. Please."
"Fine. Whatever you say." She pulled out her wand and undid the silencing spells. "I'm watching the X-Files anyway. Ron, go get your girlfriend. We're gonna have a movie fest!" Ron grinned and ran upstairs to get Hermione.
*~*~*
Rose walked up to the TV that was the size of a movie screen. She tapped the screen with her wand three times and said, "The X-Files!" Immediately, the series premiere started playing. Rose squealed and dove for Bill's lap. She loved this show!
"Oh, that's Scully Hair number one! And that's the black pants suit! There's the beige! Ew! When's the last time she wore the puce? Look at Mulder's hair! It's never changed!"
She sat and alternated between squealing about how Mulder and Scully were perfect for each other and screaming whenever mutants jumped at somebody's neck. They were in the fourth episode of the first season when they noticed Ron and Hermione still weren't back.
"Bill, come on." She woke him up from a light nap. "Let's go make sure my cousin and my brother-in-law aren't making out, okay?"
He sat up. "You mean Ron and Hermione?"
"How many other cousins do I have? And don't say anything about the brother- in-law part."
They stood up off the couch and walked up the elegant redwood banister. When they got to the room Hermione had claimed, there was no answer to the knock. Bill tried the handle. It was open.
Rose was getting a tingly feeling in the back of her skull. She looked at Bill and could tell he was feeling it, too. They pushed open the door and gasped.
Hermione and Ron were lying in a pool of their own blood.