Gwenog Jones ran out into the middle of the pitch. She blew her whistle and yelled as loud as she could, "POTTER!"
Ginny stopped in the middle of her pass to Ava and looked down to see Gwen waving her down. As Ginny slowly steered her broom down, she saw the concern and fear in Gwen's face. 'Oh no Harry!' was all Ginny could think.
Once Ginny landed Gwen grabbed her by the shoulders, "You need to get to St. Mungo's. Now."
Panic erupted on Ginny's face. She dropped her broom as she turned on the spot and apparated.
Ginny appeared right outside St. Mungo's Hospital still in her quidditch kit. She flung open the front door and ran inside to the reception witch. Panting heavily from her sprint Ginny managed to say, "Mrs. Potter…to see my husband."
The reception witch simply pointed down a hall with a sign that said 'Emergency Ward." Ginny took off immediately at a full run. Ginny slid to a halt at yet another reception witch.
With wide eyes, the reception witch stated, "This is a hospital! There is no running!"
Ginny caught her breath. Ignoring the witch's comments, she said, "I'm Mrs. Potter… I'm here to see my husband."
Still annoyed, the reception witch said, "The healers are with him right now. You'll have to wait. You can have seat over there." She pointed to a row of chairs opposite her desk.
Just as Ginny was about to protest, the door to the ward open and a tall man wearing the standard auror uniform came out. In an American accent, he said, "Mrs. Potter? This way."
The reception witch stood up and started to protest. The tall man just glared at the witch as he ushered Ginny through the door. The woman just sat back down.
Walking quickly down the hall Ginny said to the man, "You must be Tom."
The tall, well-built man nodded, "Yes, ma'am."
Tom stood at about 6 foot 4 and looked to be about 225 pounds. His hair was cut close in a military style and he was clean shaven. With what little hair he did have, Ginny noticed he was also a ginger. Tom also looked about 15 years older than her.
Tom stopped at the last door in the hallway and opened it, "Through here ma'am."
Ginny entered the room saw 3 healers rushing around the bed that Harry was lying in. All Ginny could do was gasp. Harry's head was bandaged along with his left hand and arm. Part of his left leg was also bandage. Harry was bruised and battered looking. Parts of his face were a bit swollen. It looked like he was mauled by a werewolf. Tears started to escape Ginny's eyes.
One of the healers saw Ginny and rushed over, "Mrs. Potter, I'm Nora. We're almost done here. He's stable for now, but he's not out of the woods yet. Your husband took the full force of a nasty curse at close range. The next 24 to 36 hours are going to crucial. If he can get past that, it's still not going to be smooth. We don't know what hit him. It's something we've never really seen before. Treatments are going to be tricky, but we're going to do everything we can do."
Ginny wiped her eyes and replied, "Thank you."
Nora smiled, "You can stay if you wish Mrs. Potter." She then turned to Tom, "Auror Warrington, I'm going to have ask you to leave for the time being."
Upon being addressed by the healer, Tom stood straight with his arms at his sides. He shook his head and looking right into the Nora's eyes he said, "No can-do ma'am. Mr. Potter is an extremely high value asset. SOP dictates that an auror is to be posted in his room, two aurors outside his room, and two more aurors at the ward entrance 24/7. The rest of the team will be here shortly. I would be remis if I did not fulfill my duty and obligation."
Nora forced a small smile, "Just stay out of the way then."
Tom nodded and took a couple of steps back.
The healer went back to Harry's bedside and continued to assist. Ginny just stared at him. She didn't move. She just stared. She had never seen Harry so battered and bruised before. Even with all the injuries he sustained playing quidditch, he never looked so lifeless. Ginny heard a light knock on the door and heard Tom move to open it. She could hear low whispers.
Tom stepped over to Ginny, "Ma'am. The rest of the team is here and at their posts. You'll have no trouble. I'll be in here. Aurors Smith and Jenkins are outside the door and Aurors Roberts and Brown are at the ward entrance. Smith will act as your runner if you need anything so you don't have to leave. That's entirely up to you though."
Ginny managed a quiet thank you and continued to stare at Harry. They were all good men that Harry handpicked for his team. More importantly, Harry trusted them with his life. Ginny knew she could trust them too. Tom summoned a chair over and motioned for her to sit down. Ginny shook her head and began to nervously bite her nails. Tom started casting protective spells around the room so no one could apparate within 50 feet of Harry.
Once the healers were finished Nora walked over, "Mrs. Potter, your husband has been magickly sedated with a heavy dreamless sleeping potion. He shouldn't wake up for at least 12 hours. We've also administered blood replenishing draughts along with a pain reliver potion. He has 3 cracked ribs, a broken arm, and we're still trying to figure out what's wrong with his leg. There seems to be a curse of some sort emanating from the wound on his leg. We've been able to slow the spread of it considerably though. We've taken tissue samples and have sent them the curse breakers to see what they can make of it. He's also sustained some minor head trauma. The cracked ribs and broken arm will heal within the next 18 to 24 hours. We're not overly concerned with the head trauma, but we'll still monitor it. The leg wound and the curse will be a bit trickier, but I'm sure we'll get it all sorted out. I'll be back every two hours to check on him."
Ginny nodded, "Thank you."
Nora smiled, "You may go to him now."
The healers all left the room as Ginny approached Harry's side. Tears started flowing freely down her face. Once she reached Harry the sobs started to rack her body and she was on the verge of collapsing. Tom rush to her side and held Ginny up while he casted silencing charms around the room for her privacy. Tom then summoned the chair and slowly guided Ginny down into it. Ginny regained control of herself.
She took Harry's hand and looked at his face, "I love you."
Tom walked back towards the door to give her space.
Ginny started to sob again. She threw back her head and yelled at the ceiling, "YOU PROMISED ME! DAM IT HARRY! YOU PROMISED! YOU CAN'T DIE! YOU'RE BLOODY HARRY FUCKING POTTER!" Ginny looked at Harry once again, "After all this time and after everything that's happened, you're not supposed to die again. You promised me you wouldn't die again!"
With an amazed look on his face, Tom very quietly said, "It is true. Whiskey tango foxtrot."
Ginny held Harry's hand in both of hers as she kissed it. She stood and leaned over and softly kissed Harry's lips and forehead. Ginny turned to Tom as she sat back down, "Please Tom, sit."
Tom summoned another chair over and sat down at the foot of Harry's bed.
Without taking her eyes off Harry she spoke, "Harry has spoken very highly of you and of your skills as an auror."
Tom nodded, "Mr. Potter is too kind."
Ginny watched the rise and fall of Harry's chest has he breathed and chuckled slightly, "That he is, but he truly has been impressed by you."
Tom nodded and asked Ginny, "Ma'am, can I ask you something?"
Ginny nodded, "Of course and it's Ginny."
Tom asked, "What did you mean by 'die again'?"
Ginny stood up and moved Harry's hair out of his eyes, "Come over here." Tom walked over to the other side of the bed opposite Ginny and saw the lightning bolt shaped scar on Harry's forehead. Ginny said, "Voldemort hit Harry with the killing curse when he was just a year old. The curse rebounded instead due to a blood sacrifice Harry's mother made." Ginny then unbuttoned Harry's shirt and pointed to the lightning bolt shaped scar over Harry's heart, "See that? That's where Voldemort hit him with the killing curse a second time during the Battle of Hogwarts. That time it did kill him but because of the magic of love from his parents and the love he had for all of us, not to mention the fact that the curse destroyed the piece of Voldemort's soul that lived in Harry, he came back from it. I don't understand it all because Harry almost never talks about it and when does, he doesn't go into any detail." Tom just stared in awe.
Ginny sat back down, "Can I ask you something?"
Tom sat, "Yes ma'am. Go ahead."
Ginny shook her head. She knew right then she wouldn't get Tom to call her by her name. She could tell now that he had too much respect for Harry to address her by anything other than ma'am or Mrs. Potter. She asked, "What in the Merlin's name does whiskey tango foxtrot mean?"
Tom chuckled, "When I was in the military in America, we used a phenetic alphabet. Whiskey stand for W, tango stands for T, and foxtrot stands for F. WTF or what the fuck."
Ginny smiled slightly, "Can you get some coffee? It's going to be a long night."
Tom nodded as he stood up and walked to the door. Ginny could hear him tell Auror Smith to get a pot of coffee, sugar, and cream. After a few minutes Tom came back with a tray containing a couple of cups, a pot of coffee, a bowl of sugar and a picture of cream. Ginny thanked him as she fixed herself a cup of coffee. Tom set the tray down on a table before fixing himself a cup.
Ginny sipped her coffee, "What happened Tom?"
Tom straightened up, "Well, the team was out in field trying to track down this guy who's been attacking no-majes. We found out where his safe house was and proceeded to investigate the property. It was the six of us. Mr. Potter and I took point while Smith, Jenkins, Brown, and Roberts provided security on the outside. We entered the yard from the south and gained entrance to the building through a back door. As soon as we walked in, all hell broke loose. Spells and curses starting flying from everywhere. We both jump away and hit the deck. The rest of the team came in through the front door trying to flank our attackers. Then from another room three wizards came in and the dueling began. Mr. Potter managed to stun two of them while I dueled the third. This guy really knew his stuff. He got me off my feet with a blasting curse aimed at the floor. As I was getting back up, he shot a curse at me just as Mr. Potter jumped in front on me. Just then the rest of the team managed to find us and they got the guy and rounded up the other two Mr. Potter stunned. We apprehended seven dark wizards and killed one. As soon as I could, I got Mr. Potter here."
Ginny held her coffee as a tear slide down her cheek, "That's so Harry. Thank you, Tom." She looked over to her husband and took his hand. After a while she fell asleep. She woke up when Nora came in. Tom had resumed standing over by the door.
Nora checked Harry over and said, "So far, so good. Let's hope it stays that way. We haven't heard anything from the curse breakers about the samples we sent, but we expect something soon." She smiled at Ginny as she left.
Ginny settled into the chair again and took Harry's hand. She sipped cup after cup of coffee while the hours slowly ticked by. Nora came in to examine Harry and to administer pain relieving potions every two hours. Ginny watched Harry's chest rise and fall with each breath he took. Every so often his breath would hitch and she squeezed his hand. Ginny thought how lost she would be if Harry were to die. The fact that he jumped in front of that curse that was meant for Tom was so Harry. He always put everybody else before himself.
Just as Ginny was going to fall back asleep, she felt Harry lightly squeeze her hand. She jumped up and looked at Harry. Ginny whispered, "Please Harry. Please," as tears started to roll down her cheeks. His breath hitched again and Ginny feared the worse. Harry eyes fluttered slightly. Ginny became hopeful.
Harry's eyes barely open as he said just above a whisper, "Not dead."
Ginny grinned through her tears as she raised Harry's hand and kissed it, "Not dead."
