Chapter Eighteen - The Morning After The Night Before

Dum!

The floor shook with the deep thudding sound and Harry began to form thoughts in his sleepy head.

Dum!

There it was again, something was banging and shaking the floor, and it was as if he was trapped inside a huge drum that was being pounded on by a very angry person with a stick.

Dum!

Harry groaned as the floor reverberated again. Ron didn't need this first thing in the morning, not the way he had been sleeping, Harry thought to himself. Then he began to come to his senses. Ron wasn't here, they weren't at the Burrow, and he was with Hermione in Wales somewhere. Then he forced his eyes open at the thought of Hermione.

"Oh my God," he gasped as he tried to move his body, his ribs were killing him and he felt as if Grawp had spent the night kicking him around a football pitch for sport, "ouch, Hermione can you move? Can you hear me?"

Dum!

The boat shook again. What was that pounding noise? He built himself up to move despite the pain and forced his body into the sitting position. He cried out much louder than he would really have wanted to considering he didn't know if there were still Death Eaters out there looking for them.

"Harry?" Hermione's weak voice strained to call down to him from the cushioned seat she was laid out upon.

"I'm here, I'm fine...I think, don't move."

"There's blood on me," her voice shuddered.

"Don't worry, I'll get us out of here, just give me a minute to think." Harry groaned as he tried to crawl over to the door.

"How? Where are we anyway?"

Harry's muscles were screaming at him to stop torturing them by moving but he reached up for the door handle and turned it.

"We're still in Wales as far as I know, we're on the canal on a boat, keep your voice down. I'm going to check to see what that noise is."

He opened the door a crack and squinted out. There was nobody around as far as he could see, they seemed to be in the middle of the Welsh countryside, and Harry opened the door a little wider just as the thudding sounded again.

Dum!

It was the sound of the boat bumping against the lock they had stopped at. Harry breathed a sigh of relief that hurt his ribcage even more and allowed himself to rest against the steps leading to the deck.

"What is it?" Hermione winced as she tried to lift herself up and found that her arms were causing her considerable pain.

"We're just banging against the lock that's all, don't move Hermione, I don't think my healing charms are up to much."

She looked at her skin, the dried blood and scabs on her hands and legs, and examined the cuts she had suffered the previous night while she was unconscious.

"They're not too deep, I think you did a pretty good job Harry. How did this all happen?"

Harry shook his head, it was all too much to remember right now, all he knew was they had managed to get away before the Death Eaters arrived and somehow stay alive; unlike poor old Ivor.

"Ivor got killed," he said as he tried to find part of his body that wasn't bruised to lean on.

"What," Hermione gasped, "how?"

"He was under the imperius curse and when the woods attacked us they hit him as well. He was dead almost instantly, there was nothing I could do."

Hermione closed her eyes and pressed her lips together firmly for a couple of seconds before taking a deep breath and forcing herself to sit up.

"We've got to get out of here Harry, I can't treat you and you can't treat me, we need to go back to the Burrow."

Harry grimaced as he pushed himself up to his feet, his hand still clutching his ribs as he did, and staggered across to where his blood-drenched friend sat.

"We'll splinch ourselves if we try to apparate in this state and I don't know how to make a portkey do you?"

Hermione raised an eyebrow and almost smiled at him.

"Of course I do, do you really think I'd come on a mission like this one and not have as many plans for escape as possible up my sleeve?"

Harry sank down on the seat beside her.

"Oh you're a star."

She rolled her eyes and tried to keep a firm enough grip on her wand with her injured arms. Glancing around for something to turn into a portkey she noticed the face of the figurine peering out of the top of Harry's pocket.

"What's that?"

Harry turned so sharply it made him yelp with pain before easing his hand into his pocket and pulling out the six-inch statue.

"This is what we went through all that for, and apparently it's not even a horcrux so why the hell we bothered I don't know."

She took the figurine from him and read the inscription on the bottom of it.

"St Nectan, why does that name ring a bell?" she asked herself thoughtfully.

Harry managed to smirk through his discomfort.

"Maybe because you've read every book ever published?"

Hermione huffed and shook her head.

"Well, we may as well use this, we're taking it with us anyway aren't we?"

Harry watched as Hermione performed the spell and silently prayed that their landing wasn't going to be too rough.

Harry's eyes opened and he saw that he was lying on the sofa in the living room at the Burrow. He smiled before screaming aloud in a very unmanly manner at the stabbing pain in his chest.

"Oh Harry don't move, we haven't got to you yet," Mrs Weasley's frantic voice called from somewhere across the room, "I'm just finishing with Hermione."

Harry turned his head to see Hermione lying on another battered looking sofa on the other side of the room. Her eyes were open and she was casting a pained smile back at him.

"Sorry about landing so hard on you Harry," she said weakly, "I think I heard something break."

Harry tried to smile at her reassuringly but his chest just hurt too much.

"Don't worry, it was already broken anyway."

"Y'know Harry, for somebody whose life has been made a misery by a scar you really aren't doing much to avoid getting more of 'em are you?" Fred's voice said with amusement as he squatted down beside Harry and grinned mischievously.

"I'm laughing on the inside Fred, I swear I am."

Fred gave a chuckle and started to spray Harry with some kind of blue aerosol. Harry began to sputter and his ribs tortured him even more as if to punish him for trying to breathe.

"Hold your breath Harry, this stuff tastes dreadful if you get it in your mouth.

"Too late," Harry gagged, it was as if he was chewing a mouthful of earwax flavoured every flavour beans.

He realised that his aches and pains were dulling into nothing as soon as the spray settled on his skin though and decided that he could tolerate the unpleasant aftertaste if it meant he didn't feel as if he was an elephant's trampoline any more.

"Another one of your little inventions?" he asked, impressed.

Fred beamed proudly.

"Yup, we're geniuses, it's official! Don't go jumping around just yet though Harry, mum's got to see to your bones still, someone must've given you a right kicking."

"Something like that," Harry scoffed, "but as long as it was worth it...the statue, where is it?"

Hermione's eyes were wide, as she seemed to realise that neither of them had the figurine of St Nectan on them.

"What, that thing you used for a portkey?" Fred asked with incredulity, "That was what you went through all this trouble for?"

Harry nodded.

"Seems so, do you still have it?"

"It's still out in the yard as far as I know," Fred shrugged before leaning in close on seeing Harry's alarmed expression, "is this something we need to put into our special chest?"

"No!" Hermione shouted from across the room.

"Ears like a bat that one," Fred snorted, "I'll go and find it for you. Don't get up!"

Fred pointed a warning finger at the two of them before trotting outside to search for the discarded portkey.

"There Hermione, all patched-up as best I can I'm afraid, some nasty cuts you had there and I'll want to check on your arms again in a few hours just to be safe alright?" Mrs Weasley said as her knees made a grinding sound when she got back to her feet.

"Yes, thank you Mrs Weasley, I'm feeling much more comfortable now."

Harry saw that Mrs Weasley had bandaged Hermione's forearms while she was still wearing the silver hoop.

"Hermione why didn't you take that off? It would've made things much easier," Harry frowned.

"No!" Mrs Weasley snapped before blustering out of the living room muttering something about needing another book on healing broken ribs.

Harry was shocked and stared over to Hermione who was almost shaking with the shock of this outburst.

"What's going on?" Harry demanded of her.

"They had a rough night themselves last night," Hermione explained sadly, "apparently Ron tore the house apart trying to get out. He's still sleeping, George is up there with him now, and Mrs Weasley wants me to keep him restricted to his bed until he wakes up just to be on the safe side."

Harry shook his head. Ron had another episode. How many consecutive nights did that make it now, he shuddered to think?

"It sounded...it sounded as if he was ten times worse without us here Harry," Hermione said, her voice small, "they may be using him to communicate with you but it doesn't seem to matter whether you're here or not."

Harry felt a wave of nausea wash over him as this thought sunk in.

"So it was that bad eh?"

Hermione met his eyes and he could tell it was worse than that.

"I'm still not clear on exactly who did what but, somebody had to stun him."

"What?" Harry sat up so fast he felt his broken ribs grinding against each other and let out another yelp of pain.

Mrs Weasley rushed back into the living room with an open book in her hands.

"Harry lay still, what did Fred tell you?"

"You had to stun him?" Harry snapped, "Is he ok?"

Mrs Weasley glanced over to Hermione who couldn't meet her accusing eyes.

"Now is a time for healing and nothing else, the rest can wait understand?"

Hermione still couldn't look at the older woman but nodded silently. Mrs Weasley's glare turned on Harry who still stared at her with considerable anger. He had never needed to hurt Ron before, why had they felt the need to last night?

"He's awake," George said as he leaned in at the living room door, interrupting Harry's need for further questions, "wow you're looking much better Hermione!"

Hermione didn't seem to have time for frivolous comments like that and demanded he get straight to the point.

"How is he?"

George gave a shrug.

"Well he's got one hell of a headache but other than that he's fine. He doesn't remember anything though and he'd quite like to get out of bed if you wouldn't mind Hermione."

"Oh of course," Hermione suddenly became flustered and moved to take off her hoop.

"Just widen the barrier to the house Hermione, until we can be sure everything's alright, would you mind dear?" Mrs Weasley pleaded with her.

Hermione nodded and within a few seconds they heard footsteps on the landing two floors up. Ron was moving around.

"Cheers," George smiled at her and suddenly realised that he was missing an identical twin, "Fred gone to open up the shop has he?"

Just as Harry was about to explain his absence Fred reappeared over George's shoulder and held up the figurine.

"Found it!" he smiled, "St Nectan eh? Never heard of him."

George took the figurine from his brother and began to wipe the mud and dried blood off of it.

"Isn't this the junk you used for a portkey?"

"It's not junk," Hermione huffed as she drew her wand and summoned the figurine into her hand.

"Oh really," snorted George, "what is it then?"

"It's some kind of clue," Hermione said thoughtfully as she turned the figurine over in her hands.

"It's an aid of some sort, it only revealed itself when I asked for help," Harry told her.

Hermione frowned and look at it even more closely.

A warm feeling seemed to grip Harry and wrap itself around his chest several times before dispersing and Harry felt his ribs, they weren't broken anymore, and he looked back at Mrs Weasley who was putting away her wand and closing the book.

"Fred, George, it's nearly noon. Help me make the walking wounded some lunch will you dears?"

The three of them left Harry and Hermione alone on the sofas in the living room. They stared across at each other in silence.

"Hell of a night eh?" Harry said eventually.

Hermione nodded.

"Hell of a night."

They smiled before the sound of footsteps on the stairs turned their attention to the door again. Ron was coming down. Harry couldn't see around the door and could only watch Hermione's eyes as she followed the sight of him descending and then passing the open living room door and into the kitchen. Harry thought he could hear Ron yawning. Hermione looked back at Harry with wide eyes as soon as she lost sight of Ron, he had obviously not seen her there and she hadn't been able to say a word to him as he passed, frozen with either fear or excitement. They could hear Ron talking to his brothers in the kitchen now.

"I wonder why Hermione waited so long to let me get out of bed, d'you think she slept late or something?"

"Didn't you just see them?" Fred's amused voice snorted.

"See what?"

"Harry and Hermione, they're in the living room you nit!" George laughed.

There was suddenly a sound of hurried footsteps and Ron appeared back at the door he had just passed by so lazily mere moments ago.

"Oh Merlin, what happened, did something go wrong?" Ron gasped; he was obviously quite shocked at the sight of Hermione's blood drenched clothing.

Hermione looked as if she was about to cry and lifted her arms as if she was reaching for Ron to hug him tightly. Ron was suddenly dragged by an invisible force across the living room floor on his knees and into Hermione's waiting arms.

"Whoa!" Ron gasped as he realised what had just happened.

Hermione released him urgently.

"Oh God Ron, I'm so sorry!"

Ron still seemed startled at being literally swept off his feet, well dragged anyway, and gave an amazed laugh.

"No it's fine, I'm not so bad about the touching anymore."

Hermione looked really upset now Harry noticed.

"It's not that," she whimpered, "it's what I did, I hate these things! I don't care what your mother says I'm taking them off now!"

As Ron tried to make sense of everything that had just happened in the last sixty seconds Hermione slipped the silver hoop off Ron's arm and did the same with her own.

"My mother?"

"Don't you get it Ron?" Hermione said as she clung to him even tighter than she had before, "I wanted to hold you and the second I thought it you were dragged into my arms on your knees. When this is over I want those hoops destroyed in the twins chest do you hear?"

Ron began to rub Hermione's back soothingly.

"It's ok Hermione, I don't mind really, it's alright as long as it's you doing it."

"It's never alright," she snapped as she pulled back from him to stare into Ron's eyes, "I'm manipulating you to my own ends and it doesn't matter if you understand or you grant me permission, I'm just as bad as whoever's messing with you every night, and I wish you were angrier with both of us about that."

"You want me to be cross with you?" Ron sounded well and truly lost now.

"C'mon Hermione, give the poor bloke a break, he got stupefied last night," Fred's voice sounded from the doorway.

Ron glanced over his shoulder and then back at Hermione before doing a double take.

"I...What?"

"Sorry little bro," Fred spoke again, only this time he sounded a lot less amused, "I had no choice, you were kind of out of control."

Ron's eyes looked down from Fred and he finally saw Harry lying on the sofa on the other side of the room, watching the proceedings in stunned silence, and he took a deep breath.

"So," Ron looked completely bewildered now, "how long ago did this happen?"

"About eight hours ago," George said nonchalantly.

Ron stared at Harry.

"You two were only gone one day?"

Harry gave a shrug and a smile, glad of the ability to do so thanks to Mrs Weasley's spell, and found he was just as lost about that night's goings on as Ron was.

"Yeah and look at the state we got ourselves in without you."

Ron laughed and Harry found himself wondering just how things would have turned out had they allowed Ron to come along. Harry's night had involved a dead guy and a big deep hole in the ground...yes, maybe they had been right to leave Ron behind after all.