Lupin pulled himself off of the ground after a few moments, knowing that he had to find out what had happened here and if everyone was alright.
Molly Weasley had collapsed to the ground beside him, still crying, so he knelt down beside her and took her into his embrace.
"What happened, Molly? Who are the shadows?" he asked gently, still holding her shaking frame against him.
In an extraordinary feat of self-control, the crying woman ceased her tears and spoke in a clear, and only slightly quavering voice. "They came from nowhere." she started, separating herself from Lupin's arms and wiping away the trails of tears with her sleeve, "We had no idea what was happening. I was in the kitchen when they burst in, and they hit me with the Stupefying curse. Ginny, who was helping me, hit one of them with the same, but soon, she dropped down to the floor beside me.
"I couldn't really see anything else, but after the spell wore off, I stood up only to see them leave, with Harry slumped over one of their shoulders'." Lupin could see the tears threatening to well up again in the older woman's eyes, and he quickly touched her arm reassuringly.
"Thanks, Molly. I'm going to get Arthur and Dumbledore over here, okay?"
She nodded back at him, then stood up to go and check on her children and Hermione. Lupin headed over to the Pidwidgeon's cage, and hastily scribbled a message out on a piece of parchment.
"Take this to Dumbledore, alright?" he told the owl as he attached the note to its foot, "And hurry!"
The owl's eyes seemed to flash a message of understanding, as it hopped over to the window and flew out into the now-lightening sky.
Lupin watched as it shrunk to a dot on the horizon, then disappeared totally. He turned around, and headed back to the living room to check on the others.
Mrs. Weasley was bent over Ginny, who had awaken since Lupin had left the room. The young woman' eyes seemed hazy and disorientated, but otherwise than that, she looked fine. Hermione had seemingly recovered from her fit of tears, and was now performing a spell on Ron's eyes.
She let out a sigh of frustration. "I'm sorry, Ron. This is something for the healers at St. Mungo's. They must have used a really advanced spell on you, or something."
"That's okay, 'Mione." said the unseeing young man, looking straight forwards at the wall, "I'm sure they can fix it." His hand reached out for hers, but it groped around in the air. Hermione hastily put hers out, and with moisture glittering in her eyes once more, gave her friend's hand a squeeze of comfort.
Uncomfortable to break the moment, but needing to to check on Hermione, he cleared his throat abruptly. "Are you alright?" he asked the young witch, who then gave Ron's hand one final squeeze and turned to Lupin.
"Yes, I think so." she replied, quickly looking down at her arms and legs, making sure that they were still there. "My head hurts a bit, though. I must have hit on the bookshelf when I fell," gesturing to the broken piece of furniture in the corner of the room.
Looking over at it, Lupin noticed a small puddle of red on its far corner. Immediately concerned, he told Hermione to turn her head so that he could take a look.
He pushed her long hair aside to find a deep gash about three centimetres long ran down from the top of her head. He told her to stand, and led her over to the kitchen, where he found a cloth and wet it, instructing her to keep it pressed up to the wound.
"Yours'll have to wait for St. Mungo's too, unless Molly knows how to heal it. I've never been good with the medical stuff." he remarked.
Finally, Lupin turned to Ron. "How are you, Ron?" he asked him softly, kneeling down beside the young man.
"Fine, I guess, except for the fact that I can't see a bloody thing." Ron replied bitterly.
Lupin opened his mouth to respond, but it was at that very moment that Arthur Weasley and Albus Dumbledore Apparated into the room.
"Oh, Arthur!" cried Mrs. Weasley, running forwards and hugging her husband. He held her in his arms, while she cried into his shoulder.
Dumbledore strode over to Lupin, then surveyed the scene with a cautious eye. "How are they?" the tall wizard asked softly, gesturing over to Hermione, Ron and Ginny.
"Fine, I suppose." answered Lupin. "Ginny was knocked out, but seems to be fine now; Hermione hit her head on the bookshelf and needs minor medical attention; and Ron..." Lupin's voice broke off as he looked over to the young man, still looking forwards at nothing.
"Is blind." finished Dumbledore softly.
Lupin nodded.
The former Headmaster of Hogwarts looked pensive a moment, then turned back to Lupin. "Well, first we need to get these three to St. Mungo's. Can you take them, Remus?"
"Sure." Lupin replied, heading over to the three young adults. "And then what?"
"There will be an emergency meeting of the Order to discuss what or next step will be." stated Dumbledore, looking over at the front door. "I fear that this War had suddenly become much more complicated than we thought."
Lupin looked over with curiosity at the older wizard, who was now staring almost dreamily out the front door, as if he could see something that Lupin could not.
Shaking himself out of it, the younger wizard turned to Hermione, and asked if she could Apparate into the hospital by herself.
"Of course." she responded, and then proved her point by promptly disappeared before his eyes. Ginny followed next, and finally, Ron and Lupin.
The hospital, these days, seemed to be overflowing with casualties of the War. The reception area, which had always been busy, was now just a huge crowd of people, injured and healthy alike, all rushing to get somewhere.
Admittance was now on the floor that your injuries applied to. There was too great of an influx of patients to admit them all downstairs. Lupin quickly herded himself and the trio into the crowded elevator, and pressed the button for the fourth floor.
"Fourth Floor: Spell Damage." stated the calm elevator voice, as Lupin, Hermione, Ginny and Ron tried to get out of the crowd. They barely managed to step out before the doors snapped shut behind them.
The fourth floor was a mess. This is were most of the injured of the War ended up, as this is was a Wizarding War. All round them stood people with disfigured bodies, missing limbs and more unidentifiable injuries.
Lupin instructed his charges to stay put, as he shoved through yet another crowd to get to the reception desk. A single receptionist was there, as every other available employee was out helping with the injured. This was how St. Mungo's was every day, and every night since the Second War had started.
"Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger." he uttered breathlessly when the receptionist asked him the injured's names.
"Symptoms? she asked again, unfazed by the chaos around her.
"Uh, Ms. Granger has a gash on the back of her head, and Mr. Weasley is blind."
"Both caused by spells?"
"Uh, yeah." The commotion around him was starting to get to the wizard, who had always been uncomfortable around big groups of people.
"Okay then. Please take a seat, sir, and we'll notify you when a doctor is available."
"And when will that be?" Lupin asked, exasperated."
The witch looked down at her papers. "In a few hours, sir."
Lupin groaned. "Right, then." He headed back over to Hermione, Ron and Ginny, who had conjured up chairs and were trying to sat seated without getting knocked over by the crowd.
"It'll be a few hours." he informed them, as he too, conjured up a chair and sat down beside Hermione.
She looked over at him, and offered him a small smile. "Why don't you go, then?" she said, "You're needed elsewhere."
His face took on a look of concern." Are you sure."
"Positive." she replied, still smiling lightly. "Besides, Mrs. Weasley will be here at any moment."
He patted her on the arm, then looked over at the two Weasleys. "Okay then."
Hermione's face then turned sombre. "Lupin." she asked, just as he stood and his chair disappeared.
"Yes?"
"Promise me you'll find Harry. Promise me that you'll find you did this."
"I promise." he replied, looking into her bright green eyes. He then turned away, and Disapparated back to the Weasley household, to start his quest for answers...
*Alright. There's another chapter. The summary does fit this story, it'll just take awhile to get to it.
So, do you like? Tell me if ya do.
Bye for now,
~Aelan*