AN: Ok, my Beta didn't get the chance to email this chapter back to me, so forgive me greatly! I would have waited for her, but something was brought to my attention.
A author by the name of Lil-Lindy has decided that she wants to copy my story, parts almost word-for-word, and try to claim it to be her own. It's called The Yellow Rose, and I've already tried to attack the problem. So just FYI, I totally came up with this story on my own, and no, I did not give her permission to copy me. Why on earth would anyone give someone permission to copy someone else? Oh well, forgive any mistakes because I didn't proofread it myself! ReAd and ReViEw!
Disclaimer: I didn't steal it from JKR, and I didn't plagiarize, so other people need to learn how to plot their own plot and learn to devise... (I know that makes no sense, but what I want it to say is people need to learn to use their own ideas because that's the only way they'll grow and learn.)
Hermione quickly walked to the waiting room, four patients sitting quietly, awaiting her attention.
"Will Bruce Bland please come?" Hermione said, looking at the clipboard in front of her. Since her arrival at St. Mungo's, she had worked on the first floor, Creature-Induced Injuries where she could cure people of being a werewolf. Then she had been moved to the top most floor, a new floor, for pregnant Witches and offices (floor 6). Now, with a shortage in pregnant people and Healers on the ground floor, she was assisting those on the Artifact Accidents ground floor.
Bruce Bland limped forward, his ankle completely swollen to an unimaginable degree. "I'm here Miss," he said, his accent not from Europe.
"Oh Mr. Bland, let me help you," Hermione said, conjuring a floating stretcher.
"Thank ya ma'am," Bruce said, quickly heaving himself up on the contraption, his forehead beaded with perspiration from effort.
"I'm so sorry it's taken us so long to get to you, but we have a shortage of Healers today. It seems everyone is sick," Hermione explained, flipping though some pages to get details of what happened. "A rug attacked you?" Hermione asked inquisitively, cocking an eyebrow.
"Yes ma'am," He said, his southern-American accent thick. "I was at my brother-in-law's house, and standin' a top of this ol' rug. It was at the top of some big stairs, and suddenly, it wrapped around my ankle here and whipped out from under me. Needless to say I went down all twenty-seven stairs headfirst. That rug, although I broke my ankle I think, saved my life," He concluded, wincing as the stretcher turned quickly, jolting his body a bit.
"You know, I'll have to report your brother-in-law to the 'Misuse of Muggle Technology,' or to the Magical Law Enforcers, which would be of greater consequence," Hermione said, helping Bruce Bland onto a stable bed and making it change to a sitting up position.
"Either one, I don't care. My sister doesn't really like her husband; I dunno why she married that Brit. Ah well, probly cause of his 'wonderful accent'. I always preferred Americans myself, no offense, ma'am."
Hermione smiled. "Yes, some girl's hearts melt over a pretty face and foreign accent. I'll send in my assistant, Savannah, to take care of your ankle. You should be out of here in less than two hours, Mr. Bland. Thank you for your patience, and send for me if you have any questions I can answer." Hermione said, walking briskly out of the room and leaving the clipboard on the table.
"Darla, be sure to send for Savannah and tell her to visit room A-4 please and heal the poor guy's ankle," Hermione said to the young Welcome Witch. She nodded quickly and handed Hermione another clipboard.
"Marla Oxfo—"
"Please help me! Help my baby!" A woman said, bursting into the waiting room, a limp child in her arms. Hermione quickly handed Darla the clipboard and went to the woman, her eyebrows knit in concentration as she already tried to analyze the situation.
"Ma'am, I'm Healer Granger, if you could please follow me and tell me what happened to your little boy?" Hermione said, taking the child into her arms and walking briskly down the hall. "Darla, send for Draco Malfoy and tell him to come to room B-6 immediately," Hermione called over her shoulder as she wound her way to her destination.
"I don't know exactly what happened. I let him go outside to play and I came inside briefly to get a glass of water, and went back outside to find him on the ground, hardly breathing. His lips were blue too, as if it was extremely cold outside. Then I touched his skin and it was ice cold," The woman said, her voice trembling. Hermione predicted tears falling down her cheeks, but wasn't certain since her back was to the woman. Hermione finally reached her destination, putting the boy on the bed and conjuring two fleece blankets and draping them over his shivering body.
"Ma'am, how old is your son?"
"Timothy. His name is Timothy!" She cried, banging her fists on the wall.
"Ma'am, how old is Timothy?" Hermione asked calmly for the second time.
"He's turning three next month," She said, sinking to the floor in body-wracking sobs. Hermione whipped her wand around, naming charms one after another, sending wires towards the boy, connecting with a big white box with an uncountable amount of numbers on it.
"Hermione, I got here as fast as I could," Draco's voice came from the door way as he rushed in.
"Draco, I'll give you the few details I have on this boy as soon as you get his mother to leave and fill out the paper work that Darla will have for her. Please hurry," Hermione said, her eyes not leaving Timothy. Draco nodded and quietly helped the woman up.
"Don't let my baby die!" She cried as Draco escorted her out of the room. Hermione remained focused on the little boy in front of her.
After making sure he was stabilized, and he couldn't die unless taken off the supporters attached to him, Hermione relaxed slightly, her mind wandering as to what could have caused this ailment.
"Timothy, what happened to you little guy?" Hermione whispered, pushing his blonde hair off his forehead.
"Hermione, she's filling out paper work," Draco said, coming to her side.
"I have no idea what's wrong with him, Draco. If we take him off the supporters, he'll be dead in 20 minutes. I really don't know at all, not the slightest clue as to what could have happened. I did charms for poisons and internal bleeding and broken bones, and nothing has changed. I'm clueless, 100%," Hermione said, clenching her fists in frustration. "He's only two years old, he's too young," Hermione said, her professional front melting away as tears glistened in her eyes.
"Well, we'll keep him on this life support as long as we think is necessary to come up with another answer. And after that, we'll have to let him go," Draco said honestly, placing a warm hand on Hermione's shoulder.
"I'm staying here until I have it figured out," Hermione said determinedly, making a simple, yet comfortable chair appear with a wave of her wand.
"I'll get her paper work and bring it back to you as soon as she's done," Draco said, kissing the top of Hermione's head and leaving. Hermione gazed at the little boy's pale face and blue lips, her mind racing over sicknesses that she had studied for years since deciding she'd be a Healer her 6th year at Hogwarts.
Ten minutes later Draco walked in with the clipboard, clearing his throat as he neared Hermione. "Here's the information. There wasn't anything that I saw that would help aide us. I'm sorry Hermione," He said, standing there and waiting for her directions. Hermione looked at the information.
Patient Name: Timothy Jacob Sands
Parent(s) name (if younger than 18): Jayme and Mark Sands
Professions: Jayme is a homemaker, Mark is a Potions researcher.
Patient's Age: 3 next month
Symptoms: Cold, shallow breathing, blue lips
The rest was details that Hermione didn't need. Potions researcher...so like a Muggle Scientist, Hermione thought to herself. That doesn't get me anywhere.
"Draco, I'm going to go home. I feel like I know something about this, so I'm going to go to my office at my apartment and research. If boss asks where I am, tell her I'm doing research. She'll believe you," Hermione said, standing up abruptly. "Monitor his conditions please every ten minutes. I doubt anything will change, but you never know..." Hermione said, looking at the clock on the wall. She only had 45 minutes left of her shift, but she knew she'd be working over time.
"Hermione, I promise I'll visit him as often as possible, but with the shortage of Healers today, and the four patients that need seeing on this floor, and four more waiting three floors up, I'm going to be very busy. But I promise I'll stay here with him until you return, with or without a solution." Draco promised, walking over to the child's side.
"Ok. If you need me to come back for any reason, just owl me, ok? I'll be back as soon as I can," Hermione said, and with a forced smile, she was gone.
......................................................................................................................................................
Ginny knocked softly on the door to Hermione's office/study/library and heard a muffled sound similar to "Come in."
Hermione was at the round table that sat in the middle of the room Ginny sighed as she looked at the clock on the wall. It was 8:00, and two hours since her shift ended.
"Mione, have you had anything to eat?" Ginny asked Hermione, who looked pale in the light.
"No, but I have the feeling I'm getting closer and closer," Hermione responded, flipping the page of a huge encyclopedia, one of the many on her desk.
"Hermione..." Ginny started, pulling out a chair to sit on only to find it covered in papers back from Hogwarts and the time she studied as a Healer. Ginny sighed and looked at her friend who was starting to scrawl something neatly on the parchment.
"Ginny, I don't have time to eat. There's a little boy's life on the line right now and I have to save him."
Ginny walked towards the door in defeat. "I stopped by the hospital to check up on Draco, like you asked me, and he gave me some money to buy you dinner. I'll bring it in and put it...on the floor, since there's no room at all on the table." Ginny said, leaving and returning quite quickly. "Eat it while it's warm."
"Thanks Gin," Hermione said, continuing to skim through bits and pieces of parchment. Ginny nodded and discreetly left, knowing that Hermione wouldn't recall this meeting when she was done.
Hermione nibbled on her dinner roll as she scanned her bookshelves, seeking for any information that could help her lead in this seemingly impossible case. Frustrated, she pulled out a box filled with parchments from her training days when she was 19.
"I really am a book worm," She huffed as she nearly dropped the box on her feet, slowly dragging it up to her hip, then quickly plopping it on the table, scattering books in the process.
"This might take a while," Hermione said wearily, picking up the first parchment.
Halfway through the box and three hours later, Hermione skimmed the six-foot parchment she had on Magic Baby Oddities, pausing to rethink what she just skimmed extremely fast. Her eyes grew wide as she skimmed it again, rereading the part that was three feet down.
"What's this?" Hermione whispered, bringing the parchment a scant few inches from her nose, her brown eyes capturing the words quickly.
There are odd cases, of course, where children between the ages of 1 and 6, when the child has an odd chance of becoming intoxicated by the "Waves of the Muggles." Obviously, this sickness called Azul Enfuego, is extremely rare, only happening in the month of September while the child is left unattended outside for more than one minute, but less than four, is when the unsuspecting child will capture the Azul Enfuego.
Azul Enfuego, the more scientific term for "Waves of the Muggles" is simply when the child's magic ability will be sapped out of it, it's life trailing with the magic, since they are deeply entwined. The symptoms are short of breath, low external body temperature, and blue lips.
The cure for this spontaneous sickness is simple, yet prolonged. It takes exactly 48 hours, 24 minutes and 53 seconds for the potion to come into full effect. Simply stir 7 ounces of fine Birchwood powder, a caldron (small size) full of boiling water and four, three-inch long hairs from each parent of the child. Let simmer for a minute (exactly) and apply to the child's arms and legs, then soak a towel and lay it on the child's face. Monitor breathing patterns for the following hour to make sure the child doesn't suffocate with a towel on it's face, then monitor every six hours until the healing is complete.
"Eureka!" Hermione screamed, leaping from her seat to grab her coat as she dashed out the study and grabbed some floo powder, starting up a roaring fire with a swipe of her wand.
"Who dere?" Came a sleepy voice from behind Hermione. Hermione turned around quickly to see a sleepy Ginny, her wand held firmly out in front of her.
"Gin, it's me! I've found it, by gosh, and I'm going to save him!" Hermione said, throwing the Floo powder into the fire. "Healer Granger's Office in St. Mungo's Hospital!"
Hermione stumbled out of the fireplace in her office, briefly brushing the ashes off her shoulders and throwing her coat on her desk, dashing out of her office and to the stairs leading to the ground floor.
Hermione reached the door that was the exit from the staircase and flung it open, sprinting down the hallways and nearly knocking down one of the volunteer nurses.
"Draco! Draco!" Hermione called as she flew into the dimly lit room that had been occupying Timothy Sands.
"H-Hermione?" Draco said, sitting up from his chair with a yawn.
"Draco, I've found it! It's all here, in this parchment," Hermione said excitedly, pulling it out and waving it around. Draco yawned and stood, stretching his aching muscles in the process.
"Hermione, that's great!" He said with a little more enthusiasm, taking the two strides to close the space between them.
"Yes...great!" Hermione said, feeling a headache brewing in her temples as Draco took the parchment, studying the part Hermione had marked.
"Perfect, I'm sure I can owl his father who probably has some of this stuff made and stored. My owl is at my home, could I borrow yours?" Draco asked, eyeing Hermione's suddenly weary body.
"Erm, yes, I think Ashes is in my office...I don't really recall," Hermione said, putting a hand to her now pounding head. Draco looked concerned.
"Why don't you sit down for a while in that chair. I'll be back momentarily," Draco said, quickly helping Hermione to sit in the chair and apparating to her office.
Hermione sat there, seeing white spots in her vision as glanced around the room, her eyes finally falling on Timothy. She stood, grasping the back of the chair for support and looked into his pale, tainted blue, face.
"Timothy, you're going to be fine," Hermione croaked, her throat suddenly parched. She gently touched his chubby cheeks, seeing the light veil of freckles scattered on them. "Odd how I didn't notice those before," Hermione thought out loud, sitting in the chair once more. Her vision started becoming more spotty as she began feeling clammy, her grip tightening on the chair as she heard a pop, notifying her of Draco's appearance again.
"Hermione, I sent him a note to come here immediately. Hermione...are you ok?" He said, quickly walking up to her and feeling her forehead. "Hermione, you're really clammy and pale. Can you hear me?" Draco said.
Hermione tried to talk, but only a squeak exited her mouth, her head lolling on the chair. Draco looked down at the parchment, confused.
"Revelamonte," He muttered, the parchment suddenly glowing a frail blue-green mist. "Hermione, this parchment was charmed. You must've done it while you were writing it down to keep the exhaustion from plaguing you as you recorded it...Hermione. This has three days worth of not eating, drinking, or resting in it, and now it's come back to haunt you." Draco said, shaking Hermione's shoulders as her eyes started to droop. Hermione tried to hear what all he said next, but the roaring in her ears drowned out his words.
Save Timothy was her last thought as she blacked out.
Ok, I know that the last part was kind of confusing, so I'll write it out. Hermione, when she was writing the paper, had the feeling that she should get all this information down ASAP. So she did this spell to relieve her of any fatigue or hunger or thirst or what have you and put all of it on the parchment. She didn't, how ever, do enough research (so unlike Hermione) to find out that when she read it and applied the information, the pain she put on the parchment was emitted again, and back to her. So, that's why she's blacked out and such. If you have any questions about that part, just let me know!
Ch. 11 Thank-Yous:
Thank you all for reviewing, but I'm only going to mention...5 people! This part takes me like 10 minutes to do, so I have to limit myself!
Seraphina Faye: Thanks SOOO much for bringing the copy cat to my attention.
CrimsonEnchantress: Wow! You flattered me a LOT! Thanks for your review, you're stuff is good too!
Sisterhood-of-the-Snake: lol, yes, the dress was yellow. Your review made me laugh. Thanks!
Some12: Yay! You've come back! lol, i'm glad you liked this chapter, and the others!
Invisible2u: thanks for your review! And yes, i wish that i could go on a carrge ride too! That would be supremely AWESOME!
CitCat299: Yes, I know that I can't do the overly romantic thing ALL the time, but loosen up, everyone needs a little perfection in their life. About the clothes thing, it's not happening every chapter, and I'm leaning towards not doing it as much, so I'm improving. I don't want this response to sound rude or ANYthing like that, because i relaly appericiate your reviews, but those little details like it being perfect, I don't think that it's bad unless it happens every time. Sorry if I offended you, but that review kinda made me sad :(
Ok, until next update
VBC