A/N: Yes… well. I know you are all, well most of you are, upset that Harry did leave Ginny, James and Rianna. But you don't know what tricks I have up my leaves! Hee, hee!
DISCLAIMER: You all know!
Chapter Sixteen: The Attack
"You both separated?" cried Hermione as she handed Harry his coffee, "I really thought it was another rough patch."
Harry nodded and sat down across from Hermione in her office, "So did I… for many years."
Hermione sipped her coffee and sat it down on her desk, on a coaster as she sifted through some bank records, "I hate these things… pay this… pay that."
Harry chuckled a little, "I wouldn't have gone with it if Ginny wasn't ready. But she said she wanted too."
Hermione looked up at Harry seriously, "Are you having seconds thoughts about your feelings?"
"No. Not at all. I think this is for the best you know… I mean I'll always care for her, as a friend and the mother of my kids… but nothing more."
Hermione just nodded and signed off a check for some random company, "Look at this… a rip off. I think I am going to have too find another business to handle the flowers."
"I should go," said Harry, "I need to find Sharla Mink."
"Why don't you ask that Delia Mink… she would know, wouldn't she?" suggested Hermione as she went over another bill.
"Good idea. See you later Hermione."
"Bye Harry."
O
Molly and Arthur stared at their daughter in shock as she broke the news to them, with tears falling down her cheeks. Her children were outside with Fluer, Jonathon and Dakota building a Snow witch.
Molly instantly stood up and put the kettle on and wandered around the kitchen for some biscuits, while Arthur moved over to his heart broken daughter.
"Perhaps you and Harry can work things out," he said with his arms around his only daughter, no parent liked to see their child in pain.
"We have tried," sobbed Ginny, "I don't know what to do anymore."
"Perhaps you should stay here tonight?" said Molly walking over with some tea and choc chip biscuits.
Ginny shook her head, "No. I have too stay strong for my babies. If only I had realized…"
"What?" asked her parents in unison.
"I still love him… I do… and now I have lost him."
Arthur hugged Ginny tighter as she let out a heart-breaking sob. Molly put a hand to her mouth as tears filled her eyes. She quickly stood and pulled on her cloak before apperating out of the house.
O
"Jennie, can you make sure that this gets too the Azkaban prison within the hour?" asked Harry handing the receptionist the letter, "And I need a response A.S.A.P. I need to know if they know anything about Sharla's location… and Blaise! Can you find where Delia Mink is?"
"Aren't you on that case?" replied Blaise falling into step beside Harry.
"I am, but I am trying to find Sharla and the guy who has been taking the money from the account is being brought in today sometime. So could you do it?"
"Yeah alright. Dean and I have found some unfinished charges for those guys who beat Draco up too."
"Great, finish those charges."
"Only they have moved to America. They had another account under a different name. But before you get the shits, Dean has sent a file about them to the American Ministry of Magic."
Harry nodded, "Good. Get onto Delia, now."
Blaise nodded, but suddenly shook his head, "Harry I can't. I promised Pansy I would be home to help her take Samantha to the Doctors about a cold she has."
"But this is a serious matter!"
"I know, man. But the other day you said it would be fine."
Harry let out an angry breath, "Fine... I'll get Dean to do it."
Blaise watched as a tense and angry Harry stormed off down the corridor. He turned to Jennie who had her eyebrows raised.
"Him and his wife have spilt," murmured Jennie, "Heard from his wife's mother."
"Molly is here?"
"Arrived a few minutes ago… she looks furious."
"Oh," nodded Blaise, "Well I'm leaving."
O
Harry opened his office door and slammed it behind him, causing a sitting, furiously upset Molly to stand and face Harry. Harry looked at her in surprise and swallowed a lump in his throat. Never in his life had Molly looked at him that way.
"Do you have any idea how heart broken my daughter is?" whispered Molly in a dead clam voice, "She is at home crying on Arthur's shoulder, while you are here ordering people around as you please!"
"Molly… Ginny agreed to the separation," said Harry moving around to his side of his desk, "I me-"
"Did you ever once, consider counseling? Or taking time of work?"
Harry didn't reply, but picked a file up and set amongst the cases in progress.
"Harry, you cannot turn feelings off with magic."
"My feelings turned off on their own Molly."
"I saw the way you looked at her at Christmas! That was not a look from a man who doesn't love his wife!"
Harry looked up at Molly calmly, "She said she doesn't love me! She is always on my back… always screaming…"
"Because she believes you don't listen to her! Ginny works hard Harry… she runs a magazine, the household… and what do you do at home? Sit on your backside to relax, read the papers, play with the children when you feel like it?"
"I work 12 hours most days!"
"Ginny spends 8 hours at work, collects the children, feeds them, bathes them, puts them to bed, clean the kitchen, wash clothes, folds them, irons them, then finds time to do more on the magazine and to top it off SHE IS HAVING ANOTHER CHILD!"
Harry didn't know what to say. He merely sat down looking guilty with tears in his eyes, "Whom am I kidding… I love her… she's amazing. I broke her heart even more by not opening the gifts from her and children…"
"Do yourself a favor Harry, and your family, take time off work… at least a week or two… work things out with Ginny. Take a second Honeymoon and open your gifts. You'll surprised at how much your wife loves you."
Molly turned and left the office, a satisfied look on her face. Harry sighed and ran a hand through his hair. Who could he trust to run the place while he won his wife back? He glanced down at his list of high ranked aurours and scanned his finger down the list until he came to a name, well two names anyway.
O
"That is great Draco!" cried Quarralia with a big grin on her face, "I'm so proud of you. Your life is in order… you are engaged!"
Draco shrugged his shoulders as he signed a patients release form with a smile on his face, "What can I say? I am a lucky man, who led a screwed up life for a few years and managed to have everything fall back into place."
Quarralia chuckled a little, "I heard from Pompfrey you and Hermione held a strong dislike for each other in Hogwarts. Is it true?"
Draco nodded, "Yeah but I always admired her strong will too not let anyone bring her down… she has always had a lot of pride."
"ALL MEDI DOCTORS TO POMPFREY'S OFFICE NOW!" came a bellow all around the corridor.
Draco and Quarralia shot each other a worried look and quickly made their way to Pompfrey's office, to find nearly all the MEDI Doctors inside. Standing on top of her desk was a serious looking Pompfrey.
"There has been a terrible crisis at Digion Alley… believe me when I say word has only just reached the hospital. The building Muggle Magic Wedding's has collapsed with the workers inside… I need a team of MEDI Doctors to go to the scene. Aurours should be on there way shortly."
Draco looked at Quarralia, suddenly pale with fear, fear for Hermione.
"Draco, you shouldn't go… your emotionally involved in this one," said Quarralia as Draco ran out of the office, "DRACO! NO!"
But it was too late; he was already in the elevator.
O
"When did it happen?" yelled Harry as he pulled on his Aurour cloak looking at Dean, "Oh Merlin I hope Ginny in still at the Burrow."
"Only a few minutes ago… no one knows how the building collapsed… they said they heard a loud rumbling and then it fell," replied Dean pacing around Harry's office.
"They, who is they?"
"The owners of Flourish and Blotts and the Weasley Twins."
"Right. Get all Aurours not on any case to the scene now! I need to stop by the Burrow first, then I will be there!"
Dean nodded and left Harry's office just as he apperated away.
When Harry opened his eyes, he saw Molly and Arthur sitting at the kitchen table drinking a hot chocolate.
"Where is Ginny?" asked Harry quickly.
"She went to work," replied Molly, "Why?"
Harry paled and apperated without an answer. When he opened his eyes, he was welcomed to a scene or total devastation. Rubble filled the streets everywhere; the collapsed building still had the top floors standing on an angle on top of the crushed bottom ones. People were standing everywhere, some covered in pale dust, others with gashes on their faces, or broken bones, there were dead bodies lying in the streets, some with people kneeling beside them crying.
Aurours were running around everywhere, searching for the culprit or for bodies of living people. Popping around him were the arriving MEDI Doctors, among them was Draco who instantly ran into the rubble, screaming for Hermione.
"Harry? Are you okay?"
Harry spun around to see a distressed Luna Lovegood, "Luna! Are you okay? Where is Ginny?"
"I- I don't know… not everyone got out... Michael… he's dead… Hermione... I told her of get out but she went upstairs to get everyone… the rumbling was… it was…" Luna couldn't finish as she broke down into tears.
Harry signaled over one of the shop owners watching on, "Luna… calm down. I will find Ginny and Hermione… is Ginny in there?"
Luna nodded and let the shop owner lead her away. Harry turned around taking a deep breath before stepping into the rubble. He yelled out for Draco who was drawing closer to the still standing part of the building.
"Draco, we don't know how stable it is!" yelled Harry carefully making his way over to the distressed Draco, "We should go in slowly…"
"Can't we stabilize it?" replied Draco worriedly, "I need to get too Hermione…"
"I understand. Ginny is in there somewhere too. But whoever brought down this building used strong magic… no spell can stabilize it now. It will have too be completely brought down before it gets rebuilt."
Harry edged his way closer to the remaining building. Carefully he used a spell to remove a window. He motioned for Draco to light his wand and follow him in slowly.
"Tread carefully, any sudden movement can bring this thing crashing down on top of us," whispered Harry as he held his wand up higher. The floor was slanted from the angle the building was on, with floorboards unnailed everywhere. Furniture was all over the place, with some pieces broken into bits. Doors across from them, hung off the hinge or wide open.
"Where do we start?" asked Draco looking around.
"Ginny's office… it is up this way," replied Harry as he carefully moved a chair from his way.
They continued through the dark and quiet building, which was normally full of life with well lit halls and rooms, until they came to a door, which was jammed shut by a desk.
"Someone slid this here," murmured Harry as him and Draco moved it slowly away from the door.
As they did so the building made a loud groaning like noise and shuddered a little. The two stood still and looked at each other.
"We don't have much time," said Harry pulling the door open slowly before yelling out, "Ginny!"
The pale-faced woman looked at Harry and cried out in joy as she engulfed him in a hug, "Hermione… she won't wake up… I tried everything I knew."
Draco walked past Harry and Ginny to a still, pale and silent Hermione lying on the ground. A flow of blood trickled from the back of her head indicating a wound to the head, plus her arm was lying at an odd angle. Draco knelt beside her and shook Hermione gently.
"Hermione… can you hear me?" he said loudly, "Hermione?"
Hermione didn't reply in any way. Draco checked her airway to see it was empty of blockages, then her pulse.
"She has a faint pulse. I need to get her out of here," said Draco urgently as he carefully lifted Hermione up into his arms.
Harry nodded and began leading Ginny and Draco with Hermione out of the now swaying building. It wouldn't hold for much longer. Harry grabbed Ginny's hand tightly and pulled her closer. He couldn't let anymore harm come to her. He glanced back at Draco, and saw the look on his face. Harry was lucky, Ginny was perfectly fine, except she was shaken up and had a minor cut on her forehead.
Harry stopped at the window and let Ginny out first.
"Go Harry," said Draco holding Hermione, "Ginny needs you."
Harry climbed out and turned around to see the building give a shudder, then groan before it swayed more violently.
"DRACO GET OUT NOW!" yelled Harry, "IT'S GOING TO FALL ON TOP OF YOU!"
Harry ran closer to the building and helped Draco pull Hermione through. Above them they heard a cracking sound, mixed in with Ginny's screams of terror.
"Her skirt is hooked," cried Draco, "Just pull her out! Get her too the hospital."
"I'm getting you both out of here," snapped Harry, pulling Hermione out rather roughly, her skirt tearing on the broken piece of wood. He slung Hermione over his shoulder and yanked Draco out by his arm.
Quickly, they ran across the rubble, with Harry laying Hermione down gently to turn and see the remaining parts of the building crash down into mere chunks of rubble.
O
Two hours later, a shaken Ginny, worried Harry, Molly, Arthur, tired Merle and Ron and a distressed Draco sat in the waiting room of the emergency ward of St Mungo's. Hermione had been taken in to be healed, though the Doctor healing her said he believed she was in a coma from a concussion.
Draco stood and began pacing, just as his parents arrived.
"Any news?" cried Narcissa hugging Draco, "Draco, darling?"
Draco shook his head, "They reckon she is in a coma… from the concussion."
"She saved me," whispered Ginny looking up at Draco, "The building was rumbling… she came up to get me but I was too slow… so she pulled me but into the office and then made me hide under the desk… I told her to go but she wouldn't… as the building fell she lost her footing and fell, hitting the desk on her way down. I tried to get out of the office but the door was jammed shut… and I couldn't wake her. It's my fault."
"No, Ginny, no it isn't," cried Harry making Ginny look at him, "Someone made the building fall… and I believe it is that Sharla Mink."
"Why aren't you out finding her?" cried Narcissa angrily.
"I'm on leave. I'm too emotionally involved. Two weeks leave. Dean Thomas and Blaise Zabini are in charge. I know they will do the job perfectly."
At that moment a healer walked out with a grim look on his face. Draco spun around and walked over to him looking eager for any news.
"I have healed the wound to her head. She thankfully didn't crack the skull or hurt her brain in any way. Her arm is healed, but will be sore for a few weeks," he said seriously.
"What about her coma?" asked Draco, "Is she out of it?"
"No… we have tried every possible way… this is a deep coma and it could take her a day till… 50 years to wake up. I suggest you all… hope for the best," he finished with a sigh.
"Hope for the best?" cried Merle standing up, "She is engaged! She has a daughter, a life! And you are telling us to hope for the best?"
"Merle," said Ron standing up and pulling her into a hug, "Calm down."
"No!" cried Merle, "I have too tell her family. They deserve to know."
Merle stormed out of the waiting room, with Ron hot on her heels. Draco sighed and ran a hand through his hair.
"Do you know how many were killed?" he asked seriously.
The Doctor nodded, "Forty-six. That is the count so far. It could rise to a possible 50 or more."
Draco nodded, "Can I see Hermione?"
The Doctor nodded and led Draco through the Emergency Ward to a single bed with a curtain around it to hide Hermione from prying eyes.
"I haven't seen anything like this since the final war between You-Know-Who and Harry Potter," said the Doctor solemnly, "It looks as though we have a new evil on the rise."
Draco shook his head, "Just someone with a pathetic grudge against Hermione."
The Doctor pulled the curtain back and let Draco in before closing it. Draco held in a breath as he took in Hermione's still figure. Her face had a little colour too it now, which Draco took as a good sign.
"That man is full of shit," muttered Draco, "You aren't in a coma… squeeze my hand."
He held onto Hermione's hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. He waited patiently, biting his lower lip only to let out a laugh of relief as Hermione returned the squeeze. It was a weak one, but it was something. She was only unconscious. Maybe even asleep.
"Nurse!" called Draco as he peeked out the curtain.
A blonde nurse turned to look at Draco and smiled, "Yes Doctor Malfoy?"
"I am moving Hermione Granger to a ward on floor 3. She is not as serious as people believed."
The Nurse nodded and Draco arranged the bed to be moved. If things remained good, Draco knew Hermione would be well within a day to three days.
O
"You rest. I'll handle the children," said Harry laying a blanket over Ginny's lap.
Ginny looked up at Harry and smiled a little, "Why are you doing this?"
"Someone talked sense into my head and also because I am madly in love with you," replied Harry before he left the lounge room to make Ginny some chicken noodle soup, "James!"
James walked into the kitchen and glared at his father before replying rudely, "What Dad?"
"Can you please clean your room up? Mum isn't well."
James grumbled under his breath but stormed up the stairs with narrowed brown eyes. Harry sighed and walked too the lounge room as the water boiled. Ginny looked up from a magazine she was reading and smiled a little at Harry.
"Narcissa works for you doesn't she?" asked Harry sitting across from Ginny.
"Yeah. You were at the building the other day talking to her," replied Ginny in a duh tone.
"Right… how come she wasn't in the building when it fell?"
"She was out interviewing a muggle wedding dress shop. She is writing an article for next months issue comparing muggle style gowns to magical wedding robes… why? Do you think she had something to do with the collapse?"
"No, no. I was just curious… James is angry with me, isn't he?"
Ginny nodded, "He believes you have abandoned us."
"Oh… I never would."
"You were this morning… why are you doing this Harry? You keep on pulling me around in circles! One minute you want me, the next you want to avoid all contact with me."
"I've been messed up… work is stressful and I have too get my campaign in full swing… I lost sight of what matters – you and our children. I was blind when I said I didn't love you… I do… and always will."
A soft smile spread across Ginny's face, "Promise me something?"
"Anything."
"Never put me through this again."
"I promise."
Ginny smiled before turning serious, "If you do I will personally make your life a living hell."
O
"Is Mummy going to get better?" asked Dakota as Narcissa tucked her into the large oak wood queen bed with the hundred-year-old purple sequined quilt.
Narcissa tucked a loose strand of Dakota's hair behind her ear and smiled, "Yes she will. Daddy told you she needs some rest didn't he?"
Dakota nodded with a yawn, "Can you sing me the song you used to sing Daddy when he was little?"
Narcissa nodded and began softly singing the Lullaby she sang to Draco when he was Dakota's age, "When little Birdie bye-bye goes, quiet as mice in churches,
He puts his head where no one knows, on one leg he perches.
When little Babie bye-bye goes, on Mamma's arm reposing,
Soon he lies beneath the clothes, safe in the cradle dozing.
When pretty Pussy goes to sleep, tail and nose together,
Then little mice around her creep, lightly as a feather.
When little Babie goes to sleep, and he is very near us,
Then on tip-toe softly creep, that Babie may not here us.
Lullaby, Lullaby, Lulla-Lulla- Lullaby."
By the end of the song Dakota was sound asleep cuddling her teddy bear. Narcissa softly kissed her grandchild on the forehead and left the room, shutting the door softly. As she turned around Lucius stood up from a seat against the wall in the hall, causing Narcissa to jump.
"Lucius! You startled me!" cried Narcissa with a smile, "Poor child. She is so worried about her mother."
"As am I. I hope they catch that blasted Sharla Mink," snarled Lucius before smiling lovingly at Narcissa, "Your singing is still as lovely as ever though."
Narcissa smiled and pecked Lucius on the cheek, "Come, let us do our son and daughter in law a favour and organize the rebuilding of the business. Hermione needs to focus on getting better, not her business."
"That my darling wife is the greatest gift I can imagine giving them."
O
Merle and Ron strode into the private ward Pompfrey had put Hermione in to hide her from the press media that had taken too prowling through the hospital to find Hermione to be the first to print pictures of her lying unconscious in a hospital bed. Draco looked up at them from where he was sitting and holding Hermione's hand.
"How is she?" asked Merle worriedly running a hand over Hermione's forehead in a sisterly manner.
"Unconscious," replied Draco, "That Doctor was talking bullshit. He just wants to make a few dollars from treating a business millionaire. She needs to rest and no doubt she will be back on her feet in a week."
"So... you think Sharla Mink is behind all this?" asked Ron placing a box of 'Get Well' chocolates with a card on the bedside table.
"No doubt about it. Who else has a huge grudge against Hermione and her business?"
Merle nodded, "I heard Emery Flint is out too… what if he did it trying to come after me? Does the Ministry even realise that they are released people all aiming to harm people from the same group?"
"Why do you think Potter wants to take over the Ministry and bring it back to what it was before Dumbledore died?"
"Harry is running for Minister?" asked Ron surprised.
Draco nodded but stood upright as Hermione groaned before turning her head a little.
"Get down," she murmured, "Hide Ginny… he's outside… hide…"
"He?" frowned Draco looking up at Ron and Merle before looking back at Hermione, "Hermione who is he?"
"Her brother… he is with her outside… we can't make it… get under the desk," mumbled Hermione before her eyes fluttered open taking a moment to focus on her surroundings, "What happened?"
A/N: Well was that a twist or was that a twist? Believe me, I didn't even know it was coming till I started writing it. My fingers were doing the thinking for me! Anyway review!
SONG: Lullaby by J.W Elliot
Bye for now!
Love yas!
Love Coz!