"Damn!" Harry cursed as he ran towards the window that Ron had just disappeared through. He looked out towards the ground, scanned the horizon, and came to the conclusion that Ron had disappeared into thin air, then pulled his head back in the window and turned to face his friends. "Gone…" He croaked. They all squirmed uncomfortably and Hermione let out a short moan.
"Oh Fred…" She said, burying her face in his chest. She'd been so happy finding out that Fred really did love her tonight…then to realize what she'd done to Ron…the roller coaster of emotion was just too much. Fred wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer. Ginny went up to Harry and, seeing his anguish over hurting his friend, brushed his wild hair away from his face. He brought his hand up towards his face to clasp hers and gently pulled it down to rest on his chest, where he let it go and crushed her against him in a tight hug. George and Katie stood apart from the rest, holding hands and feeling obviously awkward. Fred was the one who broke their silence.
"We can't stand around waiting for him to get back. We've got to go tell Mum and Dad." Everyone else agreed and they followed Fred down the stairs to where Mr. and Mrs. Weasley sat side by side on the sofa in the living room. Mrs. Weasley took one look at everyone's pained faces and knew something was wrong.
"What's going on--?" She stopped as her children and their partners gathered tightly around her and sat down. Fred stood next to the sofa, and Hermione perched herself on the arm of it. George stood on Mr. Weasley's other side, and Katie stood next to him. Mrs. Weasley seemed to think nothing of Katie appearing out of nowhere. Ginny and Harry sat at their feet.
"We've got to tell you something…" Fred said, and then launched into his story of marriage, love, and risk. The farther along into the story he progressed, the paler Mrs. Weasley got. Finally, Fred closed his story, ending with Ron jumping out the window thirty minutes previously and hopping on his broom, flying out to Merlin-knew-where.
"So you two—" Mrs. Weasley pointed at Fred and Hermione, "—and you two—" she pointed at George and Katie, "are married? And Ginny and Harry knew all along?" Everyone nodded in agreement. Mrs. Weasley seemed too shocked to speak. "I d-don't know what to say…what to think…" She stuttered out. Mrs. Weasley got up and walked out of the room, obviously angered or hurt, or both. Mr. Weasley sat there and smiled weakly at his children, then pondered in silence. There was silence in the room until Mrs. Weasley's panicked voice came from the kitchen.
"Arthur! Arthur! Quickly—look at the clock!" Everyone hurried into the kitchen where the Weasley's extraordinary clock stood on the wall. The Weasley's hands all pointed to the same place—Home; except for one—Ron's—which stood at Mortal Peril.
Ron had flown with a crazed fervor. He just wanted to get as far away from those—people he used to call his friends—as possible. He flew at top speed, not caring who saw him or where he was going. Finally, after about twenty minutes it started to rain.
"Shit!" Ron cursed, throwing his cape hood over his head and speeding up on his broom. He saw a patch of trees down below, so he took off towards them, searching for shelter from the rain. The thunder and lightening was deafening. He smashed through the trees; finally hitting the ground with enough force that shoots of pain flew up his legs and crashed into his hips.
"Ugh!" He yelled as he rolled off his broom, holding his legs close to him. After awhile, the pain wore off slightly and he felt okay enough to walk, so he grabbed his broom and looked around. He was in a clearing—surrounded by trees and brush. He pulled his wand out from his jacket.
"Lumos," he said quietly, then walked towards a thinner patch of trees. He looked into the forest, but saw nothing. He decided he might as well wait out the rain here, so he took off his cape and spread it on the ground, pulling his broom up next to him; he leaned against a tree and stretched out on the ground. He closed his eyes and started thinking. He had been shocked when he walked by his brothers' rooms to hear voices coming from inside. He was muddy, dirty, tired and spent from degnoming the garden, and he had been looking forward to a hot shower and a nice chat with his friends. That had all changed when he stopped in front of Fred and George's door. He was just about to open the door; he had his hand on the knob, when he heard Fred's voice:
"….I had fancied one girl for—oh three years—and never had the nerve to ask her out. See—she was my little brother's best friend…" That was all Ron had needed to hear before he started getting angry. The more Fred went on in detail about his—his marriage to Hermione…the angrier Ron got. Finally, when Ginny made the exclamation that he was the only one left in the dark about everything, he'd exploded and blasted the door open. Fuming. He made his short statement, then ran towards the nearest window, yelling "Accio Broom!" He jumped from the window and was out of sight before anyone even noticed he'd gone. Since then, he'd been flying non-stop, trying to release his anger towards Fred for stealing the only girl he'd ever loved…towards Harry for not telling him about it…towards everyone for not involving him. But mostly, he was angry at himself for being so blind. The signs were all there—Hermione's late night excursions, her mood swings, her touchiness every time Fred's name was mentioned, she and Ginny's late night talks—avoiding the Wheezes. Everything pointed to it. He was blind. And worst of all, Hermione and Fred's marriage had started as a hoax, but now it was plain to see that they had fallen in love—head over heels in love. And Ron had come to realize he was the left over. The extra man. Everyone else had a partner—they were all—couples. Ron was alone—again. He was— Ron's eyes jerked open. It was dark—he must have fallen asleep. What had woken him up? Then he realized. The howl. He'd heard a howl…he'd heard something like that once before. When---? He froze. Lupin—the werewolf. Oh god. He scrambled up and grabbed his cloak. He was about to reach for his broom when he heard the trees rattling behind him. He turned to look and saw the huge beast jumping at him. He started to run, then tripped on a root and fell to the ground. He looked worriedly over his shoulder and the last thing he saw before the world went black was the beast's looming face.
The Weasleys (including Hermione and Katie) and Harry sat tight lipped and feet tapping in the living room of the Burrow. Hermione clutched Fred's hand, while his free arm was wrapped around her back. George had Katie almost sitting in his lap, he was holding her so tightly, and Ginny was sitting on the edge of the armchair Harry occupied, absently tracing the outline of his hand with her finger. Mr. Weasley sat reading his paper (actually he was just staring at it. He'd "read" the same page for the last hour.) and Mrs. Weasley was in the kitchen doing what she did best—cooking up a storm. They were all waiting anxiously for word from Ron. Suddenly, the fireplace roared to life and green flames leapt out of it. Everyone jumped to their feet and gathered around it. Dumbledore's head poked out of the grate.
"Ah, Molly—Arthur—I believe you may want to come with me. Floo to St. Mungo's—I'll be waiting." He disappeared as quickly as he came.
"Ron!" Everyone yelled, then ran around the house, grabbing cloaks, jackets, and scarves, then running to the fireplace where George stood ready with a pot of Floo powder. Mr. Weasley first, then Mrs. Weasley, Fred and Hermione, Ginny and Harry, Katie, and finally George all flooed to St. Mungo's Hospital. The Weasleys (and Harry) waited away from the desk while Mr. and Mrs. Weasley checked to see where Dumbledore was. An older nurse, maybe in her mid-sixties, beckoned for all of them to follow her, and she led them down towards a large elevator. She was small—barely 5 feet tall, with her hair pulled back in a bun at the base of her neck. Her white nurse's robes were spotless and clean and she hummed slightly as she walked. Finally they reached the elevator doors and the nurse punched the "Up" button, then turned to smile at the group behind her. She looked as though she was a schoolteacher taking her class on a field trip instead of a nurse taking a fear-stricken family to see if their relative was dead or not. The elevator finally arrived and everyone climbed in. Hermione read the floor guide quickly as they went into the elevator.
Artifact Accidents (cauldron explosion, wand backfiring, broom crashes, etc.)—Ground Floor
Creature-Induced Injuries (bites, stings, burns, embedded spines, etc.)—First Floor
Magical Bugs (contagious maladies, e.g., dragon pox, vanishing sickness, etc.)—Second Floor
Potion and Plant Poisoning (rashes, regurgitation, uncontrollable giggling, etc.)—Third Floor
Spell Damage (unliftable jinxes, hexes, and incorrectly applied charms, etc.)—Fourth Floor
Visitors' Tearoom and Hospital Shop—Fifth Floor
The nurse punched a button on the wall of the elevator, which had magically stretched out to accommodate all 9 people, and the elevator rose to the first floor. The nurse held the door as they went out and said in a bright voice:
"Second door on your right—the Dai Llewellyn ward. Professor Dumbledore is waiting for you in there. That man's a saint, he is…been here all night. Brought the boy in on 'is own, and hasn't left his side yet." The little witch nodded gaily and returned to the elevator. As the doors closed, she smiled brightly and waved.
"Such a sweet woman," Mrs. Weasley said before hurrying off to the Dai Llewellyn ward. The rest of the group followed.
"This is the ward Dad was in last year when that snake bit him." Fred whispered in Hermione ear. Her eyes got wide. Surely it must be bad—Mr. Weasley had been in the 'Dangerous' section of the ward. This information washed Hermione over with a new kind of fear. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley instructed everyone to wait outside while they went to talk to Dumbledore inside. Everyone waited impatiently as they stayed in there for almost twenty minutes. They heard a sharp cry from inside—then silence. George hurried towards the door. A few moments later, Mrs. Weasley emerged, obviously shaken. The kids could tell she'd been crying.
"He's—he's been—been bitten." Mrs. Weasley stuttered out.
"By what?" Fred and George said simultaneously, stepping forward.
"A werewolf." Mrs. Weasley said, breaking into a new set of sobs. Everyone was silent except for Ginny and Hermione, whose piercing screams filled the ward and sent them into fits of tears.
