Chapter 14: The Worst Day Since Yesterday
A/N: The title is from is from the song by Flogging Molly.
Something was wrong, Ron just knew it. He was pacing back and forth in Harry's house with an unmistakable feeling that something had gone terribly wrong. Harry should have been back by now. He continued to pace, absently rubbing his stomach.
A head appeared in the fireplace suddenly, making Ron jump.
"Mrs. Potter," the voice called.
"She's not here. What's wrong?" Ron recognized the person as someone who worked at St. Mungos. Ron's heart was beating rapidly now.
"I have an urgent message for Mrs. Potter in regards to her husband. I'm afraid that I can't release the information to anyone else."
Damn hospital rules. "Ginny's out of the country right now. Harry's my brother-in-law. What happened?" Ron felt his stomach drop. He knew this couldn't be good news.
"Since you're family, I suppose it's alright. Mr. Potter has been involved in a serious accident. He's in the emergency ward at St. Mungos. I don't have any other information about his condition. Do you know where I can reach Mrs. Potter?"
"I'll contact her right away. Is…is he going to be alright?" Ron was starting to panic.
"I'm afraid that I don't know. Please tell Mrs. Potter to come as soon as she can." The hospital worker's head disappeared from the fire.
Ron, heart racing, ran to the bedroom where Ginny had left the name of the hotel she and Hermione were staying.
XXXXXX
Hermione and Ginny were returning from an afternoon of shopping in Bridgetown, and were admiring their purchases. They had spent a good deal of money on purchasing presents for the whole family. When you had as large of a family as the Weasley's, present buying took on an entirely different meaning.
Ginny pulled the blue and green glass vase she had bought for her mother out of the bag and was inspecting it in the light. It really was one of the loveliest things she had ever seen. The colors swirled together in an intricate pattern, which reminded Ginny of the ocean they had been entranced by over the last few days.
"It really is exquisite. Your mother is going to love it, and scold you for spending too much money on her." Hermione teased as she too admired the vase.
"Well, that's just too bad, isn't it? She's just going to have to accept that I bought something pretty just for her that wasn't entirely practical. The horror," Ginny giggled at the thought of how conflicted Molly would be to accept such a pretty gift.
While she was holding the vase in the light, mesmerized by the beautiful blue and green swirls, the image suddenly changed to red. Pools of red assaulted Ginny's senses and she gasped as she dropped the vase onto the tiled floor. As if in slow motion, Hermione watched the vase splinter into a million tiny shards of blue and green.
"Harry," Ginny said in a whisper, her face as white as a sheet.
"Ginny, what is it? Are you alright?" Hermione was very concerned now.
"Harry's in trouble. I have to get home." Ginny began looking for her purse for the emergency port key.
"Ginny, you don't know that. Come on, sit down. I think you've had too much sun today." She placed her hands on Ginny's shoulder to lead her over to the couch.
A knock was heard at the door, and Ginny rushed to answer it. The resort manager was at the door, a somber look on his face.
"It's my husband, isn't it?" Ginny said simply, already knowing in her heart that it was true.
"Mrs. Potter, we've just received word from your brother Ron that there has been an accident involving your husband. He wanted to let you know that he was on his way to the hospital, but that he didn't have any word on his condition. We've arranged an emergency port key for you back to England."
"Thank you, Henry. I'll be right down."
Hermione couldn't believe her ears. Harry was hurt, possibly fatally. How had Ginny known? "Ginny, I'm so sorry. Go ahead, I'll be there as soon as I gather our things together and grab the emergency port key we brought with us."
"Thanks. I know he's going to be fine. He has to be." Ginny tried to give her friend a smile, but it didn't reach her eyes.
"I'm sure he will. This is Harry Potter after all." Hermione embraced her sister-in-law, fear and uncertainty dominating her mind.
Ginny took hold of the port key and was gone in an instant.
Hermione couldn't help thinking that she was glad Ron wasn't with Harry when he was hurt. What if, Merlin forbid, Harry didn't make it? Loosing Harry would be devastating, but loosing Ron? Hermione couldn't even bring herself to think on it.
XXXXXX
Shanks had held the bleeding and unconscious Harry in his arms for a moment before calling in the emergency squad. When they had taken Harry away, he had been icy cold and as pale as death. Shanks was scared for the young man. He had lost men under him before, but he had a soft spot for Potter and Weasley, thinking of the two younger men as his sons.
Trying to put thoughts of what was happening with Harry aside; he concentrated on examining the crime scene. Why on earth was Delroy Amato dead in a pool of his own blood? More importantly, what had lead Samantha Ferguson, a promising young Auror, to kill herself? He had walked in at the exact moment when the flash of green light from her own wand took her life. Potter had been on his knees, bleeding heavily from a wound in his stomach. He assumed Amato had tried to kill Harry, but what about Sam? While looking at the objects lying about the room, he noticed an envelope lying on the ground with "Ronald Weasley" scrawled on the front, and pocketed it for later. This could wait until after he had finished combing through the scene were two people were dead and a third's life hung in the balance.
XXXXXX
Ron raced down the corridors of St. Mungos, holding onto his large stomach as he went. When he reached the emergency ward, he was out of breath, and leaning on the desk for support. When he was able to breathe again, he asked the mediwitch at the desk, "I'm here … for Harry Potter."
"I don't have any information on him yet. The healers are still working on him. Are you family?" the young witch asked. She didn't appear to be much older than eighteen.
"I'm his brother. Please, can I go back and see him?"
"I'm afraid that no one is allowed in there until the healers have given the okay." The young girl looked up at Ron, a look of dawning comprehension on her face. "Wait a moment, aren't you that bloke from the magazine?" Her eyes traveled from his face to his bulging stomach. "You are, aren't you? I think it's wonderful what you're doing. That article made me cry. You must be very brave to go through all of this," she said, indicating his belly.
"Uh, yeah, I guess. Look, can you find out anything about Harry?"
Her face softened, and she appeared much more willing to help. "Let me see what I can find out for you. Go ahead and have a seat over there in the waiting room." She disappeared behind a set of closed doors.
Ron turned and sat down in the waiting room. He absently flipped through a magazine, when he noticed another one lying open to a picture of himself and Hermione with a long article entitled "In the Family Way" by Rita Skeeter. Ron had seen enough of this article already, and hurriedly closed the magazine. No wonder the girl had recognized him.
Ron looked up when he heard a familiar voice. "Oh, Ronnie!" his mother exclaimed as she threw her arms around him. He was glad that she was there and he didn't have to be alone with his thoughts anymore. When his mother had let go, he noticed his father right behind her. "Hello, son." Mr. Weasley clapped Ron on the shoulder.
"Your brothers are on their way as well. Have you heard anything yet? Is Ginny here?" Mrs. Weasley began asking in quick succession.
"No, Ginny and Hermione should be on their way. I flooed them right before you. I'm waiting for word on Harry."
Molly nodded her head and took her son's hand in her own. Fear for her son-in-law gave way to concern for her youngest son when she looked at him more closely. He looked terrible, and she knew it was more than just Harry's condition. He had deep blue bags under his eyes and he was very pale. "Ron, you look exhausted. You really should be lying down, dear. All this stress isn't good for you."
"It's not like I'm going to get any rest until I know what's happened to Harry. I don't even know what happened." Ron ran his hand through his messy red locks.
"I know. I just worry about you, dear. Here, sit down and rest at any rate."
Ron couldn't deny that he felt horrible. His head was pounding and his stomach was in knots. His belly felt heavier than it had that morning, and his feet had begun to swell. "Alright, you win." Molly lead him over to the sofa, and helped him to prop his feet up.
"There you are, dear. Just try to relax." Ron didn't have the heart to argue with her. How was he going to relax when his best friend and brother could be dying?
After a few more silent minutes, Ron heard the mediwitch return and he jumped up off the sofa. "Well, what did you find out?" Molly and Arthur were flanking him on either side.
"He's alive, but barely. He's lost a lot of blood, but the healers think that if he can hold on for the next few hours, that he will live."
"Oh, thank Merlin. Arthur, he's going to be alright." Molly hugged her husband and her son in turn. She wouldn't allow herself to think that Harry might not be alright.
"When can we see him?" Ron asked.
"Not for a while yet. They need to get some more potions in him yet and then he'll be asleep for a good while." The witch returned to her paperwork.
"All we can do now is wait. Come on, Ron. Back to the sofa with you." Molly gently but firmly led Ron back to the waiting room.
Ginny appeared a few minutes later, and after a brief talk with her family, she disappeared into the emergency ward to be with Harry.
Fred and George showed up and then Bill, all keeping vigil in the waiting room of St. Mungos. It was a sign of how worried everyone was that Fred and George didn't even try to take the mickey out of Ron. He suspected that had a lot to do with Ginny's curse.
"Alright Ron?" George asked, concern on his face.
"Alright," replied Ron simply. He really wasn't in the mood to talk. He could see Fred and George exchanging glances and whispering amongst themselves. Every now and then he caught a few words such as "peaky" and "tired". Normally, Ron would have been angry that they were talking about him as if he weren't in the room. However, he couldn't care less at the moment. He only cared about Harry.
Ron became lost in his thoughts about the adventures he had shared with his best friend. A terrible feeling of guilt, like a lead weight in his stomach, consumed him as he thought of how he should have been the one watching Harry's back. That had been his role since they first met on the Hogwarts Express all those years ago.
The next thing Ron knew, Hermione was running toward him, and he didn't care about anything else. Merlin, she was a sight for sore eyes. "Oh Ron! Is he alright?"
Ron enveloped her in a hug and answered her without letting go. "He's holding his own. The healers said if he makes it through the next couple of hours, he'll be ok." Ron reluctantly released his wife. "I've missed you so much. How could something like this happen?"
"Do you know how it happened?" Hermione asked, sitting down beside him on the couch.
"No, no one's said anything. Come to think of it, where's Sam? She was with Harry when he went on the mission. It was supposed to be low risk."
Ginny emerged from the ward, a weary smile on her face. "He's going to be okay. He's stable, and his pulse is strong." The waiting room erupted into shouts of joy and laughter.
"Ron, he's awake and he's asking for you," Ginny motioned for him to follow. With one last kiss to Hermione, he followed his sister down the sterile hallway.
"I thought he'd be asleep for hours. How is it he's awake?"
"I don't know, really. He's staying awake by sheer will at this point, and I don't think he'll relax until he talks to you. Something happened, Ron, and I don't know what it was, but it's shaken him to the core." Ron noticed, not for the first time in his life, how strong his sister was. She had almost lost the love of her life, yet she was somehow able to keep it all together. "Are you alright? You don't look all that well."
"I'll be fine now. I've just been worried to death about him." Ron put his arm around his sister and pulled her into a hug. "He's going to be fine now, right?"
"Yes, yes he is. It'll take more than a few cuts to his vital organs to kill him."
Ron paled. He didn't know exactly what had happened, but it sounded really bad. He reached the room where Harry was resting, and saw his chest rising and falling. 'That's a good sign. Means he's still breathing, anyway,' Ron thought to himself.
Harry tried to smile when he saw Ron, but it turned into more of a grimace. "Hey, mate. You get the license number of that bus that ran you down?"
Ron could tell that Harry was struggling to get something out, and wisely shut his mouth to let him finish. "Ron," Harry croaked in barely a whisper, "Sam…killed Delroy." Harry took a few steadying breaths before he continued. "Tried … to kill me. You … right … about her." Harry was struggling to get the words out before he passed out. "Blamed us … for mother's … death."
Ron couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Are you telling me that Sam tried to kill you?" Ron was furious. "That bitch! I'll kill her myself. Where is she Harry?" Ron's blood pressure was rising again, and his heart was racing.
"Killed…herself. She's dead." Harry stated. Those words hung in the air for several moments, as if there was an echo in the small room.
"Harry, I'm sorry. I should have tried harder to find out about her. It's my fault. I KNEW there was something off about her, but I didn't try hard enough to make you see she was evil. You could have died because I didn't do my job." Ron was practically hysterical when he spoke.
Ginny, who had been stroking Harry's forehead and checking his vital signs, was appalled at what was revealed. She had trusted Sam with her husband's life, and he had nearly died because of her. It was the ultimate betrayal. Now her brother was blaming himself, even though he tried to warn everyone about her.
"Not…your…fault," Harry tried to tell Ron, but it was so hard to speak. He knew Ron would blame himself. Thank Merlin he hadn't seen the letter Sam had written to him. Harry was afraid for his friend if he ever saw it.
Ginny wrapped her arms around her brother. "It's not your fault Ron. Please don't blame yourself. You didn't know she would try to kill Harry."
"But I knew there was something off about her. I should have trusted my instincts. I shouldn't have let everyone convince me that I was just jealous. I knew it was more than that." Ron shrugged out of his sister's embrace and left Harry's room. He needed to think. His heart was racing a mile a minute, and it felt like it was going to beat out of his chest.
When turning the corner, he ran smack into Lt. Shanks. "Weasley, watch where you're going."
"Sorry Sir," Ron replied morosely. He placed his hand over his racing heart.
"Weasley, are you alright? Is it Potter? Is he…"
"No, Sir. He's going to make it. He just told me about Sam and how she tried to kill him."
"WHAT? I thought Amato…Sam? Are you sure?"
"Yes sir. Harry just told me." He swallowed the lump in his throat.
"In all my years, I never would have believed that one of our own would do this." Shanks' face was purple with rage and it was a moment before he spoke again. "I found this addressed to you at the scene. I tried to open it, but it was charmed so that only you can read it. Shanks handed the letter, which was dotted with droplets of blood, to Ron.
Ron stared at the envelope with his name on it. He wondered if the blood was Harry's, Delroy's, or Sam's. He hoped it was hers. He carefully ripped the envelope open and unfolded the letter. It was obviously Sam's curvy handwriting; he'd recognize it anywhere.
Dear Ron,
I know that if you're reading this, I've already done what I've set out to do. You see, you and your friend Harry killed my mother. It was 10 years ago at the battle of Hogsmeade. Her name was Marketa Zhivoin. I found out after she died who had murdered her, and since that day I have dedicated myself to avenging her death.
You cannot possibly imagine what it's like to loose a parent and be utterly alone in the world. I guess your friend Harry does, now doesn't he? Why then, would he wish the same fate on another child? My mother didn't make the best choices in life, especially when she became a death eater, but she was my mother and the only person who I ever loved.
My plan was always to kill you and Harry to avenge her. But when I found out that you were pregnant, I couldn't go through with it. I couldn't take the innocent lives of your children, no matter how much grief you had caused me. So, I have chosen to spare your life so that you may see your own children grow up. Your friend Harry will not be so lucky. Know that it was your actions and those of your friend that have caused this loss.
I know that you will now want vengeance on me for what I have done to your friend. I assure you that you will not be able to find me, no matter how hard you look. When you look at your children, appreciate them and love them, as they saved your life. When you look at the child of your friend, know that he is fatherless because of you as well.
I'll see you in hell.
Samantha Zhivoin Ferguson
Ron dropped the letter as if it was on fire. He couldn't breathe. It was as if all the air had been sucked out of his lungs. Suddenly, an excruciating pain, the likes of which he had never felt before, ripped through his abdomen as he doubled over. His vision was blurry, and sounds were distorted by the wave of agony.
"Weasley! What's wrong? Are you hurt?" Shanks was holding onto the young man's shoulders, trying to keep him from falling face first onto the tile floor.
Ron barely registered that his boss was holding him up. Another pain knocked him to his knees as he fought to stay conscious. "Get Ginny. Something's wrong." Ron vaguely heard his boss screaming for a healer when the world went black.
XXXXXX
This was the second time in as many hours that he had held one of his men in his arms as he watched them slip into unconsciousness. Bertram Shanks felt utterly helpless when Ron went slack in his grip. He was now shouting at the top of his lungs for a healer.
A young healer in a white robe came rushing up. "What happened?"
"He doubled over in pain before he passed out. He's pregnant." Shanks found those words very difficult to say, but it didn't really matter right now. "His healer is Ginny Potter, she's in room 815 with her husband Harry Potter. Please get her quickly."
The young man disappeared at top speed down the hall, and in moments, returned with Ginny Potter in tow.
"Oh Merlin, Ron!" She checked his vital signs with her wand. Shanks watched in stunned silence as Ginny checked to see if Ron was breathing. Her expression did not relay her brother's condition at all. Rather, she quickly threw orders to the various healers and mediwitches that had gathered around the unconscious form of Ronald Weasley.
"We need to get him to an emergency treatment room now!"
Shanks watched helplessly as Ron's body was levitated down the hall on a magical stretcher.
"Mr. Shanks? Please, let my family and Ron's wife know that something has happened. I'll let them know how he is as soon as I can." Ginny ran off down the hall after the stretcher and disappeared into a room where the doors closed behind her.
Shanks noticed the letter still lying on the floor where Ron had dropped it and picked it up, cursing himself for not reading its contents before he gave it to Ron.
XXXXXX
It hadn't been a good day for the Weasleys. First, Harry had been nearly killed by a deranged woman who they all thought was a friend. Then Ron had collapsed in pain, and been rushed into an emergency room of his own. Hermione had her face buried into Arthur Weasley's shoulder, crying softly. Molly was rubbing the young woman's back trying to comfort her. George, who was uncharacteristically quiet sitting next to his twin, had red-rimmed eyes. Fred was staring at the floor, and Bill alternated between pacing back and forth and staring out the window.
After what seemed like an eternity, Ginny emerged, looking bedraggled and exhausted.
"Ron's stable. It was touch and go for a while, but he's resting comfortably now."
"Gin, what happened?" asked Fred, getting to his feet. "He seemed pale, but he wasn't complaining of any pain or anything."
"As best as we can determine, it was the amount of stress he was under, what with everything that had happened." Ginny didn't need to explain any more. The whole family was sickened by what Sam had done to Harry and then Ron with the letter. "His heart nearly stopped beating, but we were able to get it sorted again. From this point on, he's going to have to be on strict bed rest until the end of the pregnancy."
Hermione looked up from Mr. Weasley's shoulder. Though her eyes were red and swollen, her voice was calm as she asked, "How are the babies?"
Ginny's face fell, and look of sorrow crossed her visage. "I'm truly sorry, Hermione. We can only find one heartbeat."
A/N: Feel free to tell me how much you hate me in a review for leaving you with another horrible cliffhanger. By the way, this was the fastest update yet, but please be patient with me as the next one will not be as quick. I will do my best to have another chapter out by the end of the month. For those of you who asked, Ron is not a "seer" but does have excellent instincts and has a knack for knowing when someone he cares about is in danger. For that matter, it runs in the family as we saw with Ginny in this chapter. I always thought Ron's bogus predictions in Divination were a little too prophetic to be completely made up. I want to thank my wonderful betas Michelleywelly and LJ Fan for their hard work to help me become a better writer.
La'Ruelia: So far there is no other story about Sam, but feel free to write it if you want.
Penguingirl266: 10 bonus points are yours! You are absolutely right; it was "Natural Mystic" by Bob Marley. I thought "Waiting in Vain" would be a little too obvious. I love Bob!
Arwentheelf: I don't think she really wanted to kill him when it came down to it. I guess we'll never know if she missed on purpose. Most "evil" characters are ones that have been extremely hurt or abused in the past to make them the way that they are. Very few are just plain evil. I'm glad she earned a little sympathy, anyway.
Straycat1: Sorry about the name – I liked the symbol. Wow, you even feel a little sympathy for Harry? I guess my work here is done.
Huggles4all: I'm glad the 4 is back. Believe it or not, chapter 13 was the longest chapter I've written. I'm glad you enjoyed the turn of events. Things are not going to be the same as they were before she came into their lives.
Lucidity: I'm glad you liked it. Ron's not a true seer but he does have a way of knowing what's going on, doesn't he? I tried to show the descent into darkness with the contrast between the girls vacation leading up to the pitch black of the house. It was a lot of fun to write, even though it was a hard thing to do, killing off my own character.
Penelope Richmond: I know you hate the cliffies, but what can I say? I love them, and since I'm writing it, they will continue I always enjoy the frustration of a good cliffhanger when I read a story – it makes me want to go back to find out what happens.
Bob Bennit: Sorry to upset you. At least Harry should be OK now.
FuocoDeiDraghi: I'm glad you liked it so much. It means a lot to me.
Clothespeg-rules: Sorry, it served the storyline better if she were dead. It would be more about her than what Ron and Harry are going through, so she had to go. Her presence will be felt in the aftermath of the attack at any rate.
Triniroo: Oh, he's wrong frequently, just not about this Not about the important things, anyway.
Britni Puccio, Ilovefireyredheads (aka romancefreak), hp/charmed obsessed: Thank you so much for your reviews. Keep them coming.