A/N Reviewing makes me happy. I wish more people would.
(Hermione)
The waiting room of the hospital was nearly full when Neville and I arrived. It seemed that the entire family had been notified of my son's accident and come to see how things were. A comforting thought to know that everyone in the room was just as worried as I. There was a closeness that even as a girl I had never felt with my family, a warmth that emanated from each person. I smiled a little and pushed the door open.
"Daddy!" Two voices cried and the twins flung themselves into their father's arms.
"Are you guys ok?" He asked hugging them tightly.
"Yeah, but Meshach….." Lotus began but Ivy cut her off with a glare.
Neville hugged them again and led them back to the couch where they clamored onto his lap.
I glanced at the others in the room. Angelina was seated on another low couch with Mia asleep in her lap. A hollowness had come to her face and her fingers shook as they ran through my daughters hair.
Fred was pacing and had yet to notice my arrival, George merely looked at me with an apologetic glance and stared into his hands. Arthur Weasley was holding a distraught Persephone, who cried into his shirt with childish sobs.
"Hermione." Someone said.
I jumped a little and turned to find Remus Lupin standing next to me.
"Remus? What are you doing here?" I asked.
"I was visiting Angelina when the accident happened." He said softly.
My heart froze at the word accident, but I managed to keep my typical calmness.
"What happened?"
"Well," He was just about to begin when Ron burst through the door.
His thick red hair was standing at all angles and he was out of breath.
"Ron." I said and he hugged me hard.
"Sorry it took me so long, you can't apparate out of the Ministry so I had to run down a hundred stairs and then I had to run up a hundred more just to get here. What happened?"
"I don't know, Remus was going to explain." I said catching hold of his hand and squeezing it.
Ron gave him a surprised look but asked no questions. Merely waited for the older man to continue.
"From what the children tell me, they were building a tree house. Meshach and Lily climbed into the tree to attach the boards." He started.
"But Lily is afraid of heights. She wouldn't have gotten into a tree." I exclaimed.
"She was clinging to the branch when I found her. Apparently she tried to do a spell and it hit Meshach causing him to fall from the branch to the ground." Remus said his face stony as usual.
"Have they said anything? What spell did she hit him with?" I asked quickly.
"Where is Lily?" Ron asked looking around.
At that moment a tear stained face peered around from behind Remus. Her bright green eyes were red and swollen from crying. Carefully I knelt down and tried to appear calmer than I was.
"It's ok Lily. Come on out. I'm not mad at you." I said soothingly.
She shook her head and gripped Remus' robes tightly.
"It was an accident I'm sure." Ron said joining me.
She looked from me to Ron and back again.
"I was scared." She whispered.
"I know. Come on and sit with us and tell us what happened." I replied holding my hand out to her.
Slowly she slipped out and took my hand. Gently I pulled her into a hug and carried her to one of the chairs.
"Now tell me what happened."
"The tree was really high and I was scared. I tried to get down but Meshach told me to try again with the spell. I did and he fell, hit his head on the branch and then… Angelina came and took him home. I didn't mean to." Lily wept silently and buried her face in my shoulder.
Inside I was stunned by her behavior. Lily never cried or became angry, most of the time it was easy to forget she only seven years old. Her aloofness made her seem so much older. I rocked her back and forth and made comforting noises. Ron scratched her back and whispered that it wasn't her fault. Told her Meshach would be fine. She just needed to calm down. Everything would be ok.
Minutes passed like years and finally the Healer came in. His face was grim.
"Will my son be ok?" Ron asked before the gentleman could even open his mouth.
"The broken arm was easy to fix, as was the cut on his forehead, however he took a nasty permanent sticking charm to the chest. We managed to lift it and return his heart beat to normal, but there is a possibility of permanent damage."
I gasped. Ron looked sick.
"Will he… I mean… he'll…" I couldn't formulate a sentence.
"The effects of the damage will not endanger his life. But I think he should rest here a few more hours so we can monitor his heart beat." The Healer responded to my choked stuttering.
Ron nodded and ran a hand nervously through his hair.
"He should be ready for visitors in ten minutes or so," The man paused to look at the crowd in the waiting room, all staring intently at him, hanging on every word, "only a few people at a time. If there are any questions I'm Healer Ophletwist. Someone will be down to get you when he's settled."
I watched him leave and turned to Ron who was pale, but relieved.
"I'm sorry." Angelina whispered from across the room.
"For what?" I asked confused.
"I should have kept a better eye on them. I thought the charm on the borders would keep them in, but it didn't." The other girl answered still running her fingers through Mia's hair.
"Yes, some of Molly's charms are wearing a bit thin." Arthur said absently.
"Why couldn't it be the one on the bloody curtains." George muttered, Fred promptly hit him lightly across the head.
"It's ok. Accidents happen. We'll have to reinforce the charm later." I gave her a watery smile.
She nodded.
If it was anyone's fault, it was Harry's. He was the one who insisted his daughter have a wand. How you could expect a seven year old to know the ins and outs of using magic was beyond me. The surprising thing was that nothing this bad had happened before. Aside from a small incident where Lily had given Ron donkey ears nothing had gone wrong. Yet, no matter how angry I was I couldn't blame Harry for wanting to protect his child. With as many enemies as he had made and as much time he spent on business I would be worried as well
"Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, you can see your son now."
(Meshach)
The darkness parted and I opened my eyes to find a strange man staring down at me. It occurred to me that I ought to be frightened, or perhaps startled by this, but instead I felt immense relief. Memories of silver fire and cold breath whispered through my mind, my insides cringed as I remembered the total darkness I had emerged from.
"Well young man, good to see you awake." The man said with a smile.
"What happened?" I asked only vaguely remembering the tree house and Lily.
"You took a particularly severe permanent sticking charm to the chest and then a very long fall. We patched you up though."
"Where's Lily?"
"You'll be able to see your family soon enough. For now though you need to rest." His voice was kind but firm and I settled against the pillows and waited.
The man smiled at me and patted my shoulder. I managed a weak smile which seemed to satisfy him and he left.
A moment later my mum and dad came in. Mum seemed anxious and kept wringing her hands together. Dad was sullen but smiled when he saw me.
"How are you feeling, son?" Dad asked sitting on the edge of the bed.
There was a strange weight on my chest and breathing deeply took effort, but I hated to worry Mum.
"Good. When Can I go home?"
"The Healer said you could go home in a few hours." Mum said grabbing my hand and squeezing it hard.
"Is Lily ok?" I asked.
"She's fine. A bit shook up." Dad said still smiling.
"What were you doing up in that tree?" Mum asked her voice becoming harsher.
"Building a tree house. Or trying to."
"You know Lily is afraid of heights. She's scared to death that she hurt you. You're just lucky Angelina found you so soon."
Dad turned to her and frowned.
"Hermione, let him alone."
I smiled to myself. Dad never let Mum get to worked up over things, always stopped her before she reached a boiling point.
"Can Lily come in and see me?" I asked timidly.
"Sure. We'll send her in." Dad said leading Mum out of the room.
As promised Lily came in moments later. I saw she'd been crying and kept wiping her face on her sleeve.
"You're not mad are you?" She asked approaching the bed cautiously.
"No. Why would I be?" I asked.
She smiled and scrambled up to sit next to me.
"Cause I hit you with that spell. You fell a really long way."
"Yeah, but I'll be fine."
"You sure?"
"Are you okay?" I asked.
She blushed and wiped her face again, "Yeah, your Mum was real nice about everything."
I smiled at her and she smiled back.
"Guess that's the last time you climb a tree huh?" I teased.
"Yeah." She nodded solemnly.
Mum stuck her head into the room, "Lily, Meshach needs to rest, come on out."
"Bye" Lily said and slipped off the bed and was gone.
They expected me to sleep, but instead I lay awake. The green and silver fire haunted me, sleep was not an option.
(Ron)
I sat quietly in the waiting room while the others milled around me. Fred and Angelina were talking quietly in a corner, some of the emptiness gone from her face. He was holding her hand tightly in his and gently smoothing her hair, I smiled a bit at the sight of them. George was sitting next to Dad looking through a quidditch magazine that had to be a few years old. I saw how Dad's hands shook a little as he turned the pages and how George laughed at every joke he told. Neville sat on a couch across from me with his girls cuddled next to him. He spoke to them in hushed tones, their mouths turned up in smiles. Mia was still sleeping, sprawled on the couch next to me, snoring softly. Mab and Lily had made amends and both were a great deal more composed. They sat on the floor behind an empty chair playing a quiet game of their own invention. I glanced at the door, waiting for Hermione to come and say it was time to go home. She had refused to leave her sons side. Insisted on staying with him until she could take him back to his own bed. The amount of love in the room was astounding.
With a sigh I leaned my head back against the cushion of the chair and closed my eyes.
"Harry will be home soon." A low voice said next to me.
I turned and smiled at Remus. His haunted eyes smiled back.
"Yeah. 'Bout time too. Been gone nearly a month." I replied stifling a yawn.
"Perhaps he will stay this time. I hate to see him so troubled over things that he can not change."
A frown replaced my smile. I had never questioned Harry's motives. He was my brother and my best friend. Sometimes I thought he might be the only sane one involved in the Order.
"He's doing this for us. For the children. He doesn't want them to grow up like we did. Lily deserves a chance to live in a world where she doesn't have to fight for survival all the time." I declared firmly.
"Believe me Ron, there is no such world. Neither human nor animal is free of risk. I've lived both. I know." He said with a dry chuckle.
As usual the things he said made sense.
"I understand what you are saying, but I still have difficulty casting doubt on Harry's efforts. It's unfair. He leads us now and I won't be called disloyal."
A lock of graying hair fell over one eye and he shook it back into place. A silence fell over us.
"Thank you for helping get Meshach here so quickly." I said at last.
"I love these children." He said in a whisper.
A few more hours passed and Fred decided to go back to the Burrow. Dad was getting tired and despite his constant assurances that he was fine, the twins took no chances. I often wondered how he had convinced them to let him go back to work. A quick round of goodbyes followed and I hugged my dad before my brothers and Angelina accompanied him down the stairs and out into the night. Remus apologized for not being able to stay. He was worried about Tonks and wanted to get home to her. Neville also apologized, the girls needed their sleep. I waved as they also went down the stairs and out of the building.
The girls were dozing on a couch, each curled in on the other, when the door opened and Hermione looked in.
"We can go now. He's sleeping finally." She whispered smiling at the sight of the sleeping girls.
Somehow we managed to pack all the children and ourselves into a muggle taxi and headed home. The driver gave Hermione a funny look when she gave him a gold coin as payment, but shrugged and drove off. I carried Mia and Mab into the house while Hermione followed carrying Meshach with Lily stumbling along behind. I noticed the owl sitting patiently on the front step, but said nothing for fear of waking the children.
After we had tucked all the children into bed I went back to the porch and let the owl fly inside.
"That's Hedwig." Hermione said.
I took the note from the owl's leg and read it through.
"Harry will be home tomorrow." I said smiling.
"Good."
"Very. Hopefully he'll stay put for a while and spend some time with Lily."
Hermione petted Hedwig and opened the door for her to leave.
"It's late we should go to bed." I said putting my arms around her waist.
She laughed and I had never heard a more beautiful sound, "Ron, not tonight."
I pretended to pout, "Fine. I know you don't love me."
"Don't be stupid."
"No no, don't deny it. You hate me." I cried covering my face with my hands and turning away.
She growled a sigh and thunked the back of my head.
"Hey, that hurt." I exclaimed rubbing the sore spot.
"Good. I'm going to bed."
I smiled and followed her up the stairs and to our room.
(Hermione)
The waiting room of the hospital was nearly full when Neville and I arrived. It seemed that the entire family had been notified of my son's accident and come to see how things were. A comforting thought to know that everyone in the room was just as worried as I. There was a closeness that even as a girl I had never felt with my family, a warmth that emanated from each person. I smiled a little and pushed the door open.
"Daddy!" Two voices cried and the twins flung themselves into their father's arms.
"Are you guys ok?" He asked hugging them tightly.
"Yeah, but Meshach….." Lotus began but Ivy cut her off with a glare.
Neville hugged them again and led them back to the couch where they clamored onto his lap.
I glanced at the others in the room. Angelina was seated on another low couch with Mia asleep in her lap. A hollowness had come to her face and her fingers shook as they ran through my daughters hair.
Fred was pacing and had yet to notice my arrival, George merely looked at me with an apologetic glance and stared into his hands. Arthur Weasley was holding a distraught Persephone, who cried into his shirt with childish sobs.
"Hermione." Someone said.
I jumped a little and turned to find Remus Lupin standing next to me.
"Remus? What are you doing here?" I asked.
"I was visiting Angelina when the accident happened." He said softly.
My heart froze at the word accident, but I managed to keep my typical calmness.
"What happened?"
"Well," He was just about to begin when Ron burst through the door.
His thick red hair was standing at all angles and he was out of breath.
"Ron." I said and he hugged me hard.
"Sorry it took me so long, you can't apparate out of the Ministry so I had to run down a hundred stairs and then I had to run up a hundred more just to get here. What happened?"
"I don't know, Remus was going to explain." I said catching hold of his hand and squeezing it.
Ron gave him a surprised look but asked no questions. Merely waited for the older man to continue.
"From what the children tell me, they were building a tree house. Meshach and Lily climbed into the tree to attach the boards." He started.
"But Lily is afraid of heights. She wouldn't have gotten into a tree." I exclaimed.
"She was clinging to the branch when I found her. Apparently she tried to do a spell and it hit Meshach causing him to fall from the branch to the ground." Remus said his face stony as usual.
"Have they said anything? What spell did she hit him with?" I asked quickly.
"Where is Lily?" Ron asked looking around.
At that moment a tear stained face peered around from behind Remus. Her bright green eyes were red and swollen from crying. Carefully I knelt down and tried to appear calmer than I was.
"It's ok Lily. Come on out. I'm not mad at you." I said soothingly.
She shook her head and gripped Remus' robes tightly.
"It was an accident I'm sure." Ron said joining me.
She looked from me to Ron and back again.
"I was scared." She whispered.
"I know. Come on and sit with us and tell us what happened." I replied holding my hand out to her.
Slowly she slipped out and took my hand. Gently I pulled her into a hug and carried her to one of the chairs.
"Now tell me what happened."
"The tree was really high and I was scared. I tried to get down but Meshach told me to try again with the spell. I did and he fell, hit his head on the branch and then… Angelina came and took him home. I didn't mean to." Lily wept silently and buried her face in my shoulder.
Inside I was stunned by her behavior. Lily never cried or became angry, most of the time it was easy to forget she only seven years old. Her aloofness made her seem so much older. I rocked her back and forth and made comforting noises. Ron scratched her back and whispered that it wasn't her fault. Told her Meshach would be fine. She just needed to calm down. Everything would be ok.
Minutes passed like years and finally the Healer came in. His face was grim.
"Will my son be ok?" Ron asked before the gentleman could even open his mouth.
"The broken arm was easy to fix, as was the cut on his forehead, however he took a nasty permanent sticking charm to the chest. We managed to lift it and return his heart beat to normal, but there is a possibility of permanent damage."
I gasped. Ron looked sick.
"Will he… I mean… he'll…" I couldn't formulate a sentence.
"The effects of the damage will not endanger his life. But I think he should rest here a few more hours so we can monitor his heart beat." The Healer responded to my choked stuttering.
Ron nodded and ran a hand nervously through his hair.
"He should be ready for visitors in ten minutes or so," The man paused to look at the crowd in the waiting room, all staring intently at him, hanging on every word, "only a few people at a time. If there are any questions I'm Healer Ophletwist. Someone will be down to get you when he's settled."
I watched him leave and turned to Ron who was pale, but relieved.
"I'm sorry." Angelina whispered from across the room.
"For what?" I asked confused.
"I should have kept a better eye on them. I thought the charm on the borders would keep them in, but it didn't." The other girl answered still running her fingers through Mia's hair.
"Yes, some of Molly's charms are wearing a bit thin." Arthur said absently.
"Why couldn't it be the one on the bloody curtains." George muttered, Fred promptly hit him lightly across the head.
"It's ok. Accidents happen. We'll have to reinforce the charm later." I gave her a watery smile.
She nodded.
If it was anyone's fault, it was Harry's. He was the one who insisted his daughter have a wand. How you could expect a seven year old to know the ins and outs of using magic was beyond me. The surprising thing was that nothing this bad had happened before. Aside from a small incident where Lily had given Ron donkey ears nothing had gone wrong. Yet, no matter how angry I was I couldn't blame Harry for wanting to protect his child. With as many enemies as he had made and as much time he spent on business I would be worried as well
"Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, you can see your son now."
(Meshach)
The darkness parted and I opened my eyes to find a strange man staring down at me. It occurred to me that I ought to be frightened, or perhaps startled by this, but instead I felt immense relief. Memories of silver fire and cold breath whispered through my mind, my insides cringed as I remembered the total darkness I had emerged from.
"Well young man, good to see you awake." The man said with a smile.
"What happened?" I asked only vaguely remembering the tree house and Lily.
"You took a particularly severe permanent sticking charm to the chest and then a very long fall. We patched you up though."
"Where's Lily?"
"You'll be able to see your family soon enough. For now though you need to rest." His voice was kind but firm and I settled against the pillows and waited.
The man smiled at me and patted my shoulder. I managed a weak smile which seemed to satisfy him and he left.
A moment later my mum and dad came in. Mum seemed anxious and kept wringing her hands together. Dad was sullen but smiled when he saw me.
"How are you feeling, son?" Dad asked sitting on the edge of the bed.
There was a strange weight on my chest and breathing deeply took effort, but I hated to worry Mum.
"Good. When Can I go home?"
"The Healer said you could go home in a few hours." Mum said grabbing my hand and squeezing it hard.
"Is Lily ok?" I asked.
"She's fine. A bit shook up." Dad said still smiling.
"What were you doing up in that tree?" Mum asked her voice becoming harsher.
"Building a tree house. Or trying to."
"You know Lily is afraid of heights. She's scared to death that she hurt you. You're just lucky Angelina found you so soon."
Dad turned to her and frowned.
"Hermione, let him alone."
I smiled to myself. Dad never let Mum get to worked up over things, always stopped her before she reached a boiling point.
"Can Lily come in and see me?" I asked timidly.
"Sure. We'll send her in." Dad said leading Mum out of the room.
As promised Lily came in moments later. I saw she'd been crying and kept wiping her face on her sleeve.
"You're not mad are you?" She asked approaching the bed cautiously.
"No. Why would I be?" I asked.
She smiled and scrambled up to sit next to me.
"Cause I hit you with that spell. You fell a really long way."
"Yeah, but I'll be fine."
"You sure?"
"Are you okay?" I asked.
She blushed and wiped her face again, "Yeah, your Mum was real nice about everything."
I smiled at her and she smiled back.
"Guess that's the last time you climb a tree huh?" I teased.
"Yeah." She nodded solemnly.
Mum stuck her head into the room, "Lily, Meshach needs to rest, come on out."
"Bye" Lily said and slipped off the bed and was gone.
They expected me to sleep, but instead I lay awake. The green and silver fire haunted me, sleep was not an option.
(Ron)
I sat quietly in the waiting room while the others milled around me. Fred and Angelina were talking quietly in a corner, some of the emptiness gone from her face. He was holding her hand tightly in his and gently smoothing her hair, I smiled a bit at the sight of them. George was sitting next to Dad looking through a quidditch magazine that had to be a few years old. I saw how Dad's hands shook a little as he turned the pages and how George laughed at every joke he told. Neville sat on a couch across from me with his girls cuddled next to him. He spoke to them in hushed tones, their mouths turned up in smiles. Mia was still sleeping, sprawled on the couch next to me, snoring softly. Mab and Lily had made amends and both were a great deal more composed. They sat on the floor behind an empty chair playing a quiet game of their own invention. I glanced at the door, waiting for Hermione to come and say it was time to go home. She had refused to leave her sons side. Insisted on staying with him until she could take him back to his own bed. The amount of love in the room was astounding.
With a sigh I leaned my head back against the cushion of the chair and closed my eyes.
"Harry will be home soon." A low voice said next to me.
I turned and smiled at Remus. His haunted eyes smiled back.
"Yeah. 'Bout time too. Been gone nearly a month." I replied stifling a yawn.
"Perhaps he will stay this time. I hate to see him so troubled over things that he can not change."
A frown replaced my smile. I had never questioned Harry's motives. He was my brother and my best friend. Sometimes I thought he might be the only sane one involved in the Order.
"He's doing this for us. For the children. He doesn't want them to grow up like we did. Lily deserves a chance to live in a world where she doesn't have to fight for survival all the time." I declared firmly.
"Believe me Ron, there is no such world. Neither human nor animal is free of risk. I've lived both. I know." He said with a dry chuckle.
As usual the things he said made sense.
"I understand what you are saying, but I still have difficulty casting doubt on Harry's efforts. It's unfair. He leads us now and I won't be called disloyal."
A lock of graying hair fell over one eye and he shook it back into place. A silence fell over us.
"Thank you for helping get Meshach here so quickly." I said at last.
"I love these children." He said in a whisper.
A few more hours passed and Fred decided to go back to the Burrow. Dad was getting tired and despite his constant assurances that he was fine, the twins took no chances. I often wondered how he had convinced them to let him go back to work. A quick round of goodbyes followed and I hugged my dad before my brothers and Angelina accompanied him down the stairs and out into the night. Remus apologized for not being able to stay. He was worried about Tonks and wanted to get home to her. Neville also apologized, the girls needed their sleep. I waved as they also went down the stairs and out of the building.
The girls were dozing on a couch, each curled in on the other, when the door opened and Hermione looked in.
"We can go now. He's sleeping finally." She whispered smiling at the sight of the sleeping girls.
Somehow we managed to pack all the children and ourselves into a muggle taxi and headed home. The driver gave Hermione a funny look when she gave him a gold coin as payment, but shrugged and drove off. I carried Mia and Mab into the house while Hermione followed carrying Meshach with Lily stumbling along behind. I noticed the owl sitting patiently on the front step, but said nothing for fear of waking the children.
After we had tucked all the children into bed I went back to the porch and let the owl fly inside.
"That's Hedwig." Hermione said.
I took the note from the owl's leg and read it through.
"Harry will be home tomorrow." I said smiling.
"Good."
"Very. Hopefully he'll stay put for a while and spend some time with Lily."
Hermione petted Hedwig and opened the door for her to leave.
"It's late we should go to bed." I said putting my arms around her waist.
She laughed and I had never heard a more beautiful sound, "Ron, not tonight."
I pretended to pout, "Fine. I know you don't love me."
"Don't be stupid."
"No no, don't deny it. You hate me." I cried covering my face with my hands and turning away.
She growled a sigh and thunked the back of my head.
"Hey, that hurt." I exclaimed rubbing the sore spot.
"Good. I'm going to bed."
I smiled and followed her up the stairs and to our room.