Precious Stones
Chapter 14- Conversations
AN- Agh what a fool I am! Look at me trying to be soooooo clever over the whole Mozart thing and then I go and choose a piece of music that he didn't even write, thanks to WMG for pointing that out! What a fool I am… I will change that later, for now though I'll concentrate on getting the story finished!
This is the second last chapter. There will be an epilogue. Then I am afraid you could be waiting a long time, at least a month, for the sequel even though I already have the basic idea for it.
Reason for this being that I am going on Holiday… to New Zealand! Whoa does excited little dance. Stopping off at LA on the way there and in Singapore on the way back. Ok Now I'm just bragging.
Anyway I promise that the sequel will appear when I get back and will be updated more quickly than this one! After all what will I have to do during all the long plane journeys than scribble down my sequel so that all I have to do is type the first chapters up when I get home… lol other than working out a plot line of course. But more about that in the next chapter.
Anyway thanks to all my reviewers, in the epilogue I will include personal thankyous to my lovely faithful reviewers but for now… here's Chapter 14…
Mr and Mrs Granger were beside themselves despite Molly Weasley's best efforts to placate them. When Hermione hadn't showed up on Boxing Day in Newcastle they'd not worried, Hermione's job kept her very busy and they understood that. However when Ron had rang them fearing for her, they had panicked and to Mr Weasley's bemusement gone straight to the Burrow via the floo powder that Hermione had given them… just in case.
Ginny watched them as they clung to each other looking pale and anxious, sitting in Remus Lupin's office in the early hours of the morning.
"How about some tea, Helen?" Molly asked gently.
"I'm all right," Helen Granger replied, her greyish eyes wide and her lips trembling.
Helen Granger was the complete opposite to Hermione in many ways. Although ageing, she had an air of classic beauty about her, small and petite with blonde hair that she always had tied up in a loose bun at the nape of her neck. This complete with pretty grey eyes and good cheekbones marked her as a very elegant woman whose age had added character to her looks rather than rotting away at them.
That night however, her hair was disarrayed and tangled and long elegant hands clung desperately to her husband.
"Are you sure Helen?" Thomas Granger said softly, "It'll warm you up."
Hermione took after her father. While retaining some things from her mother like good cheekbones and slight frame, Ginny saw mostly traces of Thomas Granger in Hermione. A mass of dark curly hair and skin that tanned easily has been passed on to his daughter. Not to mention usually dancing brown eyes and a wry, sarcastic smile.
"I'm not cold." She said quickly, her voice cracking.
"You're shivering dear, here take my cloak." Molly Weasley said taking off her own thick woollen cloak.
"Thank you," Thomas Weasley said with a grateful smile for Ginny's mother and wrapping it around his wife.
Helen seemed not to notice.
"Why can't we see her?" She asked casting wildly around the room, "What's happening to her?"
"The healers would call for you if anything went wrong," Molly said soothingly, "They just need time to do their work."
"She should see a proper doctor!" Helen argued.
"Now Helen, one of our doctors wouldn't know how to deal with an em… magical illness. She's best off where she is." Thomas said taking his wife's hand.
"No," She said drawing away from him, "I want to see my daughter!"
Ginny looked at her, not knowing what to say. She saw the frantic tears that streaked the muggle woman's face and suddenly felt ashamed. Ashamed that wizards, who had such knowledge and ability at their feet could let people like Diamond and Draco Malfoy exist. Ashamed that far too often magic was used to break apart lives.
"She'll be all right." Ginny whispered determinedly, for her own sake as much as Helen's.
Helen was surprised for a moment, and looked at Ginny as if she hadn't known she was there.
"It's Ginny isn't it?" Thomas Granger asked.
"Yes."
"Before she was kidnapped, she suffered again from this illness. Did you see that?" Thomas asked her urgently.
"Yes." Ginny nodded.
"And what happened then? Did she recover? Quickly?"
"Yes," Ginny replied truthfully, "Harry got me to get the potion to her as soon as possible."
"And is this just the same as the last time?"
Ginny gulped, she found that she couldn't be untruthful to him. Not even to soothe them.
"No," She said softly, "The poison hadn't had as much time to work on her, we caught it earlier."
Helen Granger let out an anguished sob.
"What does that mean?" Thomas pressed Ginny.
"I don't know. It shouldn't make such a difference, but…"
Ginny looked to her mother for help. Molly Weasley who was looking pale and fearful herself bit her lip.
"I don't see ho it will make any difference, we just have to give the healers time to work."
"She'll be all right," Ginny repeated firmly.
"Do you really believe that?" Helen demanded of her.
"Yes." Ginny said, ignoring the voice in her head telling her that she couldn't be sure.
Hours had passed since Harry had brought back a distraught Ron and said that Hermione was in the hospital wing. He'd taken Ron down too not long after that and said he'd call for Mr and Mrs Granger when things were stable. It had been an anxious night, after discovering Ron had went off on his own Harry had gathered a FA team quickly and followed him.
Ginny felt herself overcome by weariness and lowered herself slowly onto the couch in front of the fire as Helen and Thomas Granger turned to each other and began a whispered conference. Her mother busied herself with making the tea Helen Granger had said she didn't want..
Ginny closed her eyes, but couldn't sleep.
She knew that Hermione was safe now she was in the hand of the healers, but she couldn't help but worry. Neville was down there too, with his potion. Remus and Kathryn Marsden the head of the FA had left to secure the situation at Moonstone Heights.
Sitting in the flickering half light of the office, Ginny opened her eyes to watch the faces of Hermione's parents pale and shadowed and felt sick with fear herself, could Hermione be lucky a third time? She had every belief in Neville's skills in making the special potion but things seemed so bad.
She knew that if there really was no hope for her, someone would have come to get her parents, to say goodbye.
Thinking that Ginny shivered- goodbye. She didn't want to have to stay goodbye to her closest friend of recent years. Tears formed in her eyes at the thought of all the things they'd done together, the habits they had formed. Meeting frequently in Luna's Gran's café, going to the muggle theatre to treat themselves, going up to Hogwarts from time to time to see Neville.
Turning back towards the fire, so that Mr and Mrs Granger wouldn't see that she wiped the tears away and forced herself to be positive. She had to hold onto the fact that Neville's potion hadn't yet failed.
Her mother watching her, caught her eyes and smiled encouragingly. Ginny smiled back shakily but found that she couldn't stop her restless hands clawing at the skirts of her robes. She couldn't bear waiting.
At around half past four in the morning Harry entered the office looking tired and drained.
There seemed to be a drawing in of breaths and everyone in the office held their breath waiting either to despair or to be relieved.
"She's all right."
As he said it Harry's face broke into a exhausted grin. Ginny could feel herself smiling too.,
"Helen, Thomas. You can go down and see her now." He said.
Ginny stayed out of the way as the Grangers rushed out of the room, followed by her mother, filled with overwhelming relief.
When they'd gone Harry sat down heavily in Remus' chair by the fire and put his head in his hands.
"Oh Ginny," He said wearily, "It was terrible."
Ignoring her own fatigue, she crossed towards him and put a hand on his back.
"What happened?" She asked.
"Diamond wasn't Malfoy, it was another student… he killed them all Ginny. Just to get their power… and our spells… Ron's spells were powerless to stop him."
Ginny gasped, taking it in although Harry's brief explanation made little sense to her, she grasped onto the concept of what had happened and seeing the look of horror on his face filled her with alarm at what must have happened.
"What did stop him?" She asked.
At this Harry smiled wryly and looked up. "A book. Hermione hit him over the head with a book."
Despite herself Ginny laughed, "Now there's irony for you. Proves the pen is mightier than the sword."
Harry laughed, "Now you sound like the journalist you are."
"I won't leak any of this." Ginny said suddenly defensive.
She had thought that by now she was used to people being vaguely suspicious of her because she was a reporter but the slight look of misgiving that crossed Harry's face hurt her. Surely he could trust her.
Harry looked at her surprised, "No," He said vaguely, "It didn't even cross my mind."
Ginny smiled, it was nice that he had such faith in her, even after all that had passed between them. She felt a sudden strong rush of affection for him and put her arms around him, sitting on the arm of Remus' chair. He responded by allowing her to nestle into his chest.
"Thank you." He whispered.
"For what?" She asked.
He didn't reply, just put his lips to her hair and squeezed her hand.
When Hermione woke up feeling weak and confused she was surprised to find herself back in her side room on the Hospital Wing. Feeling immediately disoriented, Hermione thought for a moment that the happenings at Moonstone Heights were only fevered induced dreams and that really she hadn't left her bed at all.
Reaching up to her forehead she found that it had been no dream. A thick bandage was there were she'd fell after trying to escape the two teenaged boys. She winced, it hurt.
She was oddly disappointed to find that it was her mother who sat by her, not, like last time, Ron. Her mother sat dwarfed by the large squashy armchair she was in, looking pale and untidy. Hermione blinked, her mother was never untidy.
Helen Granger watched her daughter carefully, blinking back tears.
"Mum?" Hermione asked groggily, feeling more confused than ever.
"They said you'd sleep for days," Helen sounded surprised.
"Oh." Hermione responded, "Haven't I?"
"No those healers only left a little while ago, to see to your friend. Your father just went out to…" Helen explained patiently.
"Ron?" Hermione cut in suddenly panicking.
"Calm down dear," Helen said, "He only had a few cuts, he was hovering in here a moment ago. He wouldn't rest until they told him YOU were all right."
"Oh." Hermione could feel her face colouring in spite of situation.
"Oh Hermione," Helen's voice cracked unexpectedly, "We were so worried. They made us sit in that big office with Molly and her daughter, we didn't know what was happening!"
"Oh Mum…"
"We thought you were going to die, Hermione… like when you were nineteen… they wouldn't tell us anything like just because we're muggle we're stupid!"
"Mum," Hermione said, feeling close to tears too shaky to deal with her mother outburst yet forced to do so at the same time, "Molly and Ginny wouldn't have kept anything from you, they probably kept you away because it always looks worse then it is! Honestly, the potion works wonders. If I'd have been going to die they'd have let you see me."
Hermione's voice sounded hoarse and shaky and she didn't have the energy to put any emphasis into her speech but it must have got through because Helen nodded, then stood up so that she could embrace her only daughter.
Which was how Thomas Granger found them when he came back bearing cups of steaming coffee.
"I told you she'd be all right," He said softly, making Helen jump.
Hermione pulled away from her mother so that she could see her father.
"Hi Dad." She said wiping the tears that were rolling down her cheeks away, "Nice to see you."
He grinned, "Nice to see you too 'Mione."
"When did you get here?" Hermione asked, suddenly feeling a lot better, when she was working all the time she forgot how much she missed her parents but now, especially after the agony of her days of captivity when she'd had a lot of time to think, she realised how much she had missed them.
"In the early hours of the morning." Thomas replied.
"How?" Hermione asked.
"Well we began getting worried when you didn't turn up on boxing day and then Ron phoned, sounding very agitated."
"Yes," Helen cut in wryly, "We were a little confused when he rang us, we understood that the two of you didn't speak anymore."
"Oh we ended up working together," Hermione said evasively not wanting to answer their questioning on that particular topic.
"Anyway," Thomas cut in, sensing his daughter unease, "We used that power stuff to get to the Burrow. They were surprised I can tell you, but anyway after that Molly brought us here and Arthur said he was going in to work to see if he could find anything out there."
"Oh, he wouldn't. It'll have been all IA controlled." Hermione said.
"As soon as these, what do you call them? Healers? Say you're well enough to leave, you're coming home for a good rest."
Hermione smiled reluctantly, "Ok Mum."
She suddenly didn't know if she could put up with her mother's fussing and nursing for too long.
"It'll be good to have you at home again Hermione." Her father said.
"It'll be good to be home again," Hermione replied.
Ron spent an uncomfortable night in the hospital wing of the Investigative Institute. He had refused to take the sleeping potion till after he knew Hermione would live and had been forced to lie awake underneath a scratchy blanket listening to Neville, Harry and the healers as they did everything they could.
It had been agonising.
Now, waking up the bright sunshine with a throbbing head he had trouble remembering where he was. Till it all flooded back.
"Hermione."
He scrambled out of the low hospital bed which was on the open ward and straightened out of his robes, which were still torn and bloody ones from the night before. He didn't care.
He couldn't believe it when he found Hermione sitting up reading a book.
She closed it down and smiled shyly when she saw him. Ron found himself suddenly self conscious too and when he opened his mouth to speak he found he didn't know what to say.
"How are you?" She asked him evenly.
"Oh I'm fine." He said feeling wrong-footed. Shouldn't he have been asking that?
"Harry said you had some bad cuts, and a broken rib?" She said inquiringly.
"Oh they were nothing, a healer dealt with that in no time." He said, "But what about you?"
She shrugged, "I'm all right I guess."
"How do you feel?" He asked gently, looking at her. She was pale and her cheeks were sunken. She seemed very fragile sitting there in the hospital wing's standard white robe for patients who had to stay any length of time with her cloud of tangled dark curls and large brown eyes.
The hands that held the book, a slim muggle paperback, seemed not to have enough strength to do keep it and shook visibly making Ron frown.
Hermione seeing what he was looking at put the book down on the blue coverlet and met his eyes.
"I'm all right," She said firmly.
Ron shakily made his way to the armchair beside the bed where he had sat for so many hours when she'd taken ill that day in the snow.
"Shouldn't you be sleeping?" He asked her.
"I couldn't not anymore. Mum and Dad have been here, Molly's just taken them back to the burrow to get some rest."
"Mum's been here?" Ron asked surprised.
"Yeah," Hermione replied smiling, "She said she was coming back to see how you were."
Ron smiled, he longed to see his mother. And his father too for that matter. He had been cut off for too long.
"You've missed her haven't you?" Hermione asked him softly.
He looked up and met her gaze, nodding slowly, "Just as I've missed you."
She bit her lip, "I missed you too Ron."
He felt the intensity of her gaze as her eyes filled up with tears. He knew suddenly how deeply she felt his going away as a betrayal. He realised that he hadn't moved on at all, that he still loved her in the same way he always had. Under her searching scrutiny he knew also, that she hadn't moved on either.
"Oh 'Mione." He whispered.
She looked away, furiously wiping away tears that had begun to fall. Angry at himself for upsetting her, he stood up, his legs still feeling shaky and sat down beside her on the bed, putting his arm around her thin shoulders.
"I'm sorry," He said, "I'm sorry."
"I'm sorry too." She replied.
She leant into his embrace and he tightened her hold on her in response. He felt so angry at himself. Angry that she was upset, angry that he'd not spoken to her for years, angry that he hadn't been able to protect her when she'd needed it.
Protect her. That's what had started all their arguments in the first place, his stupid overprotection of her.
He remembered bitterly that he hadn't been able to save her, he hadn't defeated Diamond and that the only reason that they were both safe in the hospital wing was because she despite being ill and mustered the strength to pick up a book and knock the boy on the head with it.
"Ssh," He murmured stroking her hair, till her sobs subsided.
Then he remembered something.
He let her go and fumbled in his pocket till he found it.
"I should have given you this in person," He said, "I should have said how I felt when I gave you it but I…"
"Hmm?" She said, moving away so that she could look at his face.
"This." He said, drawing it out of his pocket.
"Oh," She said softly, taking the silver chain from him and fingering the intricate, pretty snowflake.
She looked up at him eyes shining.
"Ron I…"
"I chickened out of coming to see you that day," Ron cut in, "It was Christmas, even though Kathy had given me leave to come and make sure the case was finalised. I couldn't bear it… I felt so much for you and you seemed to have moved on…"
"I never moved on Ron," Hermione cut in bitterly.
"You didn't?" Ron asked.
"How could I after everything we've been though with Harry? With Ginny, Luna, Neville and the rest? Everything we'd done together?"
Ron looked away feeling guilty. There was a long awkward pause.
"What do you feel Ron?" Hermione demanded softly.
He looked up, meeting those wide, intelligent, brown eyes looking at him. Those same eyes that had haunted him all their years apart. He didn't even need to think about his response.
"I love you Hermione." He said hoarsely.
A small sob escaped her and she seemed to be shaking more than ever, he reached out and took her hand. Taking from it the silver chain.
"Lift your hair up," He said and she obeyed.
Clumsily because the chain was so dainty and his hand so large and ungainly, he fasented the chain around her neck, back where it belonged.
That done she pulled away from him to look at him. He didn't let go of her hand.
It felt small, delicate and frail in his grip, yet right at the same time as if that was were it belonged.
Slowly she gulped and said, "And I love you Ron."
Ron hadn't been prepared to hear that and looked at her with surprise but she just reached out for him and pulled him closer. He complied and wrapped his arm around her.
"I missed you so much," She whispered into his chest.
"I'm sorry," He said again, "I'm sorry that you had to get hurt, sorry you had to go through all of this. Sorry that I was so horrible to you…"
He stopped aburptly realisng that she had fallen asleep against his chest. He suddenly realised how tired he was too, and eventually fell asleep too.
Which was how Ginny and Harry found them both asleep on the narrow bed, finally looking peaceful.
AN- So how was that? Good? Bad? Indifferent. Please review and tell me what you think!
RANDOM QUOTE- "Hello my equal superior…"
Supplied by Mandy and Michelle… my friends, both as mad as me!
Which reminds me… I was supposed to dedicate this chapter to Michelle… lol there you go, this chapter is dedicated to Michelle, just for being her.