CHAPTER 2 The Perspicacity of The Enemy
It was the wafting scent of the assortment of flowers that littered the corner section of the Rockharrow Ward that was the first thing which assaulted Hermione's senses as she, Ron and Ginny strolled into Harry's ward that morning. Impossible as it seemed, but there were an even larger collection of flowers, ranging from the mundane muggle flowers like white lilies and pink orchids, to the exotic and definitely magical flora such as the neon orange bulb that occasionally spurted blue pollen into the air. Looking on, Hermione was quite amazed at the amount of admirers Harry had, he had always been popular save for that terrible year back in their fifth year, but this was beyond anything she had ever expected. Each vase of flowers had a hand-signed card attached to it, with various messages and well wishes, that made Hermione wonder if every magical person in Britain and Ireland hadn't sent him a card or flowers.
Hermione was sidetracked, and realising she was standing in a rather crowded ward, staring at the flowers in the corner; she pulled her attention away from them.
The Weasley family had already gathered around Harry's bed; Mrs Weasley had taken up her usual post next to Harry's bed, while Mr Weasley was discussing in low tones with Bill at the far side of the bed, Charlie, Fred and George were sharing fragments of information they had heard while Fleur and Fred and George's respective girlfriends were laughing animatedly next to the window.
"Seems we're late!" Ginny mentioned scanning the room, while turning to Hermione and raising an eyebrow. "Also seems like Mum really rallied everyone into coming to see Harry today. Look she even got Angelina and Katie to come!"
"Well Mrs Weasley is very good at doing that!" Hermione replied laughing lightly. Ginny smiled in return and walked over to her mother, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek before she made herself comfortable in a chair next to her mother that faced Harry's bed.
"I don't see why Mum makes such a fuss about us all going to see Harry at the one time. It's not like he's really aware of it" Ron grumbled. It seemed his mood still had not improved from having being woken up early and disrupted by Ginny once again. He continued looking darkly about the room, as if taking offence by everyone turning up so early in the hospital ward.
"Oh Ron!" Hermione sighed rolling her eyes and walking over to Mrs Weasley. The lady in question was just fussing over Ginny's overly frizzy hair, while Ginny was trying to dodge her repeated efforts to smooth it down with the palm of her hand was relieved to see Hermione walking up to the hospital bed.
"Hermione, tell Mum what you told me earlier about using the Ministry influence to get control over Harry's health", Ginny spoke as Hermione pulled up a chair next to Harry's bed.
"Well I don't have that much influence, but possibly with the help of Kaylee and Mr Weasley we could put enough political pressure behind the Healers to convince them to give over Harry's decisions to us. I was also going to stop by Mr and Mrs Dursley to talk to them. I know it's a long shot to ask them for anything that regards Harry's health and wellbeing, but I'm hoping to frighten them into complying"; Hermione smirked at the last part. "Just don't tell Ron, he'll hold that over my head for years to come!" Ginny grinned at her friend, hiding the smile from her mother by turning to look at Harry, for she knew as much as Mrs Weasley disliked the Dursleys, it was a common sense and manners that stopped her or anyone in her vicinity from bad mouthing them.
"Dear, you shouldn't stress yourself out so much about that. Let Arthur deal with the Ministry, even though he doesn't hold that prominent a position, he still very much respected and holds a lot of sway", Molly replied smiling warmly at Hermione and squeezing Hermione's hand.
"Thank you Mrs Weasley that would be really helpful". Hermione sighed relieved. She looked up and saw Kaylee entering the ward so she got up of her seat and added, "If you'll excuse me Mrs Weasley". Hermione made her way over to the blonde haired girl and welcomed her with a smile.
"It looks like I'm late. I really didn't expect the whole Weasley family! I feel just slightly intimidated", Kaylee laughed nervously scanning the room and resting them on Hermione.
"Yeah, they do have a habit of doing that, but don't worry they don't do it on purpose. I've been meaning to talk to you anyway. I assume the Healers have spoken to you about the options that are open to them concerning Harry", Hermione replied, her face creasing slightly as the familiar lines of worry showed on her face.
"You mean how they want to try and forcibly wake him up prematurely?" Kaylee asked and Hermione nodded her head in reply. "Yes, they've told me the delightful truth!" The look on her face spoke of pure sarcasm. "They were nice enough to tell me of their intentions considering according to them, I am not close family or next of kin!" She snorted at this and rolled her eyes.
"The problem is it's all completely in their jurisdiction. Harry has no next of kin and no living relatives save for his muggle aunt and uncle." Hermione sighed and dropped her head. She lifted it and added, "How's the case going?"
"We're getting nowhere. What we've been reduced to is cleaning up scenes of the Shadow King's latest attack and that of his Blood Kindred. We can't even surmise a pattern in their attacks. For example last week he attacked a muggle school and killed thirty children", Kaylee replied. She shook her head scattering her loose waves as she sighed. The stress she was under was evident on her face, and at that moment Hermione felt a rush of sympathy and empathy with the pretty blonde witch, who not only had to deal with such a dangerous new threat, she also had to worry about her boyfriend. The position she had been placed in could not be easy, and Hermione sympathetically smiled at her.
"It'll be okay. If you need any help just let me know I'll convince my boss to put me on your case permanently", Hermione spoke.
"Thank you Hermione, that would be most appreciated. You don't know how much I need your help!" Kaylee smiled in return.
In that instant a Healer walked into the ward, and judging by the look of shock and astonishment on his face, he had not expected the ward to be crowded full with so many people. It took only two seconds for him to realise that the majority were red haired and the infamous Weasley family that he had heard the female Medi Witches talk about came to mind.
Hermione and Kaylee stopped talking and made their way towards the Healer, who at this moment seemed to be debating internally whether to throw out the entire Weasley family from the ward and have to deal with their wrath, or just try and conduct his work around them. It appeared he had decided on the latter, he dropped his clipboard to his side as Hermione and Kaylee walked up to him.
"Good morning, I'm Healer Robin Chatterley", the Healer spoke clearly smiling down at them from his tall and imposing height. Ron broke off from the conversation he had been having with Fred and George and walked up next to Hermione, while Mrs Weasley lifted her head and Ginny looked up eagerly.
"It seems I'll be addressing the room then. May I ask who is the next of kin of Mr Potter here?" Healer Chatterley continued his deep voice resonating in the filled ward.
"That's the thing Healer Chatterley, Harry has no next of kin save for his muggle aunt and uncle and they have not been informed of his condition", Hermione replied, taking charge of the conversation.
"Can't we decide what happens to Harry instead?" Mrs Weasley asked, rising from her seat next to Harry's bed. "We are after all the closest things he has to a family".
"I'm sorry, Mrs Weasley I take it?" Healer Chatterley queried and Mrs Weasley assented her head. "The law states it must be Harry's next of kin that decides what the best course for him is, until then we can do nothing including trying to wake him up prematurely".
"Healer Chatterley I don't believe you understand the situation. His Muggle aunt and uncle want nothing to do with him, and I seriously doubt whether they would ever take into consideration anything that concerns Harry's health and wellbeing", Hermione replied.
"I'm sorry Miss that is the law and I will certainly not break them!" Chatterley spoke, keeping his voice very firm.
"Very well", Hermione acquiesced, "What will I have to do to get you the permission to heal Harry".
"I would need his aunt and uncle's permission for me to try experimental treatment and at the very least I would need a written statement of them allowing me to proceed with the procedure", Chatterley sighed opening his clipboard once again.
"How is he doing anyway?" Ginny piped up from across the room. "Has there been any change in his condition?"
"None from the last two weeks anyway", Healer Chatterley replied turning his attention on the young redhead that had fear and worry written all over her face. "The problem we are facing now is that Harry could be slipping into a deeper coma, which means it will be even harder to wake up from. Whether he wakes up early or much later, complications could arise. Since we know so little on the nature of what caused this trauma, we don't know how to treat it".
"If I found out what caused this to happen, could you treat him then?" Kaylee asked, making her voice heard for the first time since he entered the ward. She had been calm and collected the whole time, but a little of her façade was slipping as the anxiety set in, crumbling away at her resolve.
"Let's hope so", Healer Chatterley replied smiling sympathetically down at her. "Now if you could please give me some space I would like to check up on our patient".
As the Healer made his way across the crowded ward, Ron, who had been diligently standing beside Hermione this whole time, felt the air around him change. He didn't know how, but he sensed a sort of electricity in the air, that tickled his senses and caused shivers to run down his spine. Ron didn't like that feeling at all, and as he looked about himself, he could hear a distant thundering beneath the noise and the conversations in the ward. Before he was even aware of it, or maybe that was what he was sensing, the room filled with the distinctive sounds of loud cracks that resonated in the ward. Ron had only just enough time to grab Hermione's arm and pull her down as he dropped to the ground. His instincts proved correct since at that moment approximately twenty men in blood red robes and gold masks Apparated into the already crowded ward, wands in their hands, aimed out in front of them. Mrs Weasley let out a scream as she pulled Ginny to the ground, shielding them from the Blood Kindred by ducking behind Harry's bed. Bill and Charlie reacted quickly enough pulling their wands out of their robes and aiming the first few curses at the nearest of the Blood Kindred.
"Mum get yourself and Ginny out of here!" Bill yelled, jumping out of the way of a Crucatius Curse that a Blood Kindred had sent his way. Mrs Weasley's face was pale and frightened, but she nodded and quickly jumped up, pushing Ginny in front of her, as they ran crouched out of the ward. The Healer had already disappeared, most likely having run out of the room too, and Ron, who had pulled Hermione behind an empty bed, was whispering to her to get out of danger.
"No Ron I am not running away, I am more powerful than you, and I'm a Ministry official!" Hermione retorted glaring at him. She yanked her wand out of her jeans pocket and jumped up; aiming a well placed Impedimenta curse at the nearest Blood Kindred who slammed against the opposite wall and narrowly missed hitting George. George took one glance at Hermione and went back to battling a rather brutal Blood Kindred with a penchant for using nasty dark arts curses. Luckily George had picked up a few tricks of having a very strong shield from Charlie, so he was in no immediate danger, and could deflect them well enough.
Hermione spotted a female Blood Kindred and immediately set her sights on her, sending waves after waves of powerful curses at the unsuspecting woman. She barely had enough time to pull up a shield and was hit squarely in the chest by the collection of curses. She let out a low groan before she toppled to the ground unconscious.
It was Fred who noticed that Harry was unprotected and cast a powerful shield around the bed, standing guard and deflecting as many curses as he could that were aimed at his way, but he was having difficulty with the powerful onslaught that was aimed at him. All it took was one second of distraction and a heavy looking Blood Kindred aimed a powerful curse at Fred, who didn't have enough time to stop the curse. His shield took the brunt of the curse, but the shield failed momentarily and Fred fell to the ground, and with that the protection that was surrounding Harry faltered and fell.
"Fred!" George cried out, running towards him, dropping down next to his brother, but when he saw Fred was still alive, he stood up and threw a powerful Reducto Curse at the heavy Blood Kindred.
Kaylee was having the most success, mostly due to her Auror training. She had already knocked out two Blood Kindred and another was lying on the floor with his neck twisted in an awkward position. Her current Blood Kindred was putting up a hell of a fight, and whenever she tried sending a particularly nasty curse at him, he deflected it like it was nothing but a body binding spell. Her sidestepping of his oncoming curses was impressive, but one look on her face told that she was tiring and becoming careless. One glance over at Hermione and Ron confirmed her suspicion that they were not doing so well.
"Stupefy!" Hermione roared, aiming her wand at a lean and tall Blood Kindred that had been advancing on her for the last few seconds. With a flick of his wand, he deflected the curse and an elegant wave of his wand and a silent incantation, Hermione let out a scream as she was lifted ten feet in the air until she nearly touched the roof. The next flick and muttering had Hermione immobilized in the air as she hung limply ten feet in the air, the fear evident on her face. Ron abandoned his heavy Blood Kindred and came rushing to where she was floating in the air, narrowly missing a curse that soared past his air, aiming spell after spell at her stiff body, but she hung in the air.
Hermione's eyes bulged with horror as she saw the Blood Kindred advance on her position, but because of the body-binding spell she could do nothing to stop him.
"Crucio!" he roared, and even behind his gold mask Hermione could tell he was sneering. Internally Hermione let out a scream that no one could hear as her body felt like it was set on fire. Her head was spinning, as a sharp searing pain filled her senses until she was unaware of her surroundings or the other people, the only thing she was aware of was the feeling of dying an excruciating death.
"Hermione!" Ron roared sprinting towards the Blood Kindred was holding her immobilized in the air, torturing her with the Crucio Curse. He did not even stop to think, Ron jumped on the tall man, and with Ron's superior weight, toppling him to the ground and breaking his concentration. Ron deftly rolled out of harm's way, from skills borne on the Quidditch field as Hermione fell to the ground, landing on her side in the same stiff position. Kaylee, who had been observing Ron's foolish lunge at the Blood Kindred lost her concentration, which gave the Blood Kindred she had been dealing with enough time to send a nasty curse at her. Kaylee was lifted off her feet as she slammed into the wall behind her, sliding down and landing in a crumpled heap next to an empty ward bed.
The timing could not have been better, as half a dozen Aurors stormed into the crowded ward, their wands aimed out in front of them, yelling orders to each other. It all took only a few seconds, the Blood Kindred, seeing they were outnumbered, grabbed their fallen comrades and Disapparated with loud cracks, as Aurors rushed in securing the ward.
Ron rushed over to Hermione's stiff body that had fallen in an awkward position and quickly spoke the incantation that freed her body, while Hermione sucked in a large breath of air, Ron crouched down next to her, helping Hermione gently sit up.
"Are you okay?" he asked worriedly. "Did he hurt you much?"
"I'm fine", Hermione replied, her voice shaking slightly, the after effects of the Crucatius Curse still coursing through her body. "I'll be fine, just give me a minute to recover". Ron wrapped his arms around her, as she clung to him, very much shaken and frightened. It had been all so sudden and Hermione couldn't understand why on earth they would ever attack here. She clung to Ron for he was her life raft and that was all she needed for now.
Firstly I'd like to apologize for two things;
1. I'm really sorry for having disappeared for a whole year, that I didn't expect. I thought last summer I would be writing non stop but I guess life got in the way. I suppose it got angry at me for having disappeared into the Harry Potter world for 3 years straight! Then College happened, but to assure you, I AM back, I have at least six other chapters fully planned out, I know where this story is going and if my writing won't let me down, there should be nothing stopping me this time. Sorry it had to take a year longer than I expected!
2. If you've noticed how badly wrtten this chapter is I TRULY AM SORRY! I've been out of the loop so long, it seems I've forgotten how to write the way I do. To add insult to injury a rather good rpg site has refused my rp sample because it was too badly written. I suppose all you need to do is read this chapter to see why! All I need is a bit of practice and I'm sure I'll be back to normal in no time at all. Until then, please don't be too harsh on me.
As always I do love your reviews and comments, both good and bad. They make a writer and there's nothing more elevating and beautiful than getting a review from someone who loved your chapter. You make me who I am and if I don't thank you enough I really should. Thank you!