A/N: Enjoy the chapter, and review!
Draco Malfoy basked in the temporary quiet of Grimmauld Place. Upstairs, he knew, Potter was probably thrashing around clutching his scar—what else was new? His disowned Aunt and her Mudblood husband were currently sipping tea in Potter's room. Draco clutched the book he was reading and let out a sigh. He knew that for awhile now, he'd be sharing a house with four despicable Muggles. Not to mention, Weasleys were dropping in like hailstones, always taking him by surprise. The entire company of this blasted house could make Draco Malfoy cringe. If his father could see him, he would probably have a heart attack. Well at least there would be plenty of Healers and Muggle doctors around, thought Draco wryly. He turned back to his book. 100 Household Objects Muggles Thrive On. Damn Lupin and McGonagall—they were going to let him continue schooling, bringing him his work from Hogwarts, but on one condition: he take Muggle Studies.
The entire situation was utterly ridiculous—but what could Draco do about it? He would much rather be hiding in comfort, cushioned into his solitude, reading about Muggles, than be locked up in Azkaban or in Voldemort's lair. Besides, they were going to make him take Muggle quizzes—in a house full of Muggles! He'd only have to hold his breath for a moment and blurt out the question and then get his answer and be gone. Easy.
Suddenly, he was thrown from his stupor as the fireplace began to glow bright green. A gust of flames popped up and little red-headed Weaslette, probably topping the list of people Draco did not want to talk to, landed and stepped out, dusting herself off. She seemed to be carrying herself differently, somehow, Draco pondered, watching her in the dim light. Maybe this was how she looked all the time now that her precious boyfriend hero was dying.
"Why so glum, Weaslette? A Potter-free world would be kind of nice…heroics are boring, wouldn't you agree?" Ginny jumped.
"Malfoy! You scared me." She frowned when Draco smirked. "Not like that…honestly…. Why do you have to hide in the bloody shadows? Left death-eater kiddie camp to become a stalker or something?" Draco frowned and was about to retort when the fireplace roared again. He sighed, exasperated, as he saw the next person pop out. I was wrong…this is the last person I would want to talk to.
"Ginny, hey. Have you called down Tonks' parents?"
"I just got here a moment ago, Hermione," said Ginny, somewhat annoyed.
"I'm leaving," announced Malfoy unnecessarily as the fireplace roared once more.
"Oh—Draco," said Hermione. "I didn't even see you there. Wait—you should meet the doctors. They're really wonderful, and—" She frowned as Draco huffed out of the room. "Well you have to meet them sometime!" On that note, Cameron appeared in a heap on the floor.
"Oh, dear," said Ginny, bending to help her up. "It's all right, I've heard that everyone does that their first time."
"Wow," said Cameron, standing up and rubbing her arm, which she'd landed on. "People actually like traveling that way?" But before someone could answer, Foreman was jerked out of the Floo, in a very similar manner as Cameron. Then came Chase, who, to everyone's surprise, didn't fall. He did look extremely shaken up, nonetheless.
"Oh no," said Cameron suddenly. "House! Will he be able to do that, with his leg?" Foreman shrugged.
"Maybe we can finally get rid of him," he joked. Cameron frowned, and everyone looked in anticipation as the Floo lit up once more. House came in with a bang—quite literally—and a loud curse. He managed to land upright, but his cane had scraped along the fireplace and had hit the floor loudly. He limped out, grimacing and immediately reaching for his Vicodin.
"House," began Cameron quickly, rushing towards him. "Are you all right?"
"I'm fine," said House loudly, glaring at her. She backed up, nodding, and right into Draco Malfoy, who had come back into the room to complain about all the noise.
"Whoa—watch where you're going," said Malfoy angrily. Cameron turned around, annoyed.
"Excuse me," she said, affronted. "How was I supposed to know you were walking into the room?" Hermione and Ginny exchanged a laughing glance at Draco's expression. He looked shocked that Muggles could be pretty.
"Oh. Er—right," he stuttered, unsure of how to treat her. "I mean—yeah. I just…you're a Muggle, so—can everyone please keep it down to a dull roar?" he finally said, sneering at Hermione and Ginny. "I'm trying to—do things. And I don't need all of you making noise."
"And who are you?" asked House, looking up from his leg, as Tonks and Lupin exited the fireplace in a quick succession.
"Draco Malfoy," said Draco self-importantly.
"They've never heard of you, Malfoy," smirked Ginny. "Does that upset you? Finally realizing that having a rich father isn't everything?" Foreman and House exchanged a glance.
"Listen to her, Chase," said Foreman.
"For the last time, I'm not rich!" exclaimed Chase heatedly. The room was quiet for a split second before Bill and McGonagall flooed in successively.
"What happened?" asked Bill curiously, looking around at all the tense faces.
"Nothing," answered Hermione briskly. "Come on, everyone, we need to go see Harry."
"Not so fast," said Remus quickly. "I think that only Doctor House, his team, and the Healers Tonks should be in there right now. We can't have too many people at a time." Hermione nodded resignedly.
"You're right, Professor."
"I'm not your professor, anymore, Hermione."
"Sorry. Remus. Come on, Ginny, let's go down to the kitchen and grab a bite. Anyone with us?"
"Me," said Tonks immediately.
"And me," added Bill.
"I'll escort the doctors upstairs," said McGonagall. "Remus, thank you for all you've done tonight. You may go on down with the rest of this lot." Lupin smiled wearily. "That goes for you, too, Mister Malfoy." Draco scowled at his ex-Professor.
"Right this way, Doctors," said McGonagall. House followed her, and his ducklings followed him, all looking at their surroundings with slightly shocked expressions.
"You said this is in London?" asked Chase as they were escorted through the front hall.
"Shhh!" hissed McGonagall. "Be very quiet on the stairs—you wouldn't want to wake something up." On this ominous note, Chase raised his eyebrows. When they reached the next landing, McGonagall spoke again.
"Sorry about that," she said, still quietly, "there's a portrait on the wall that likes to scream. And, yes, to answer your question, this house is indeed in London. It's quite old."
"It looks very—interesting," commented Cameron.
"Oh, you should have seen it two years ago. This house was abandoned for a very long time. It belonged to Mr. Potter's godfather, Sirius Black. And, well, he came from a very old family, some of which still hold to old ideas; traditions… here we are."
The doctors walked into a medium-sized, well-lit bedroom, in which a teenaged boy was sleeping and two adults were whispering quietly.
"Minerva," said the woman eagerly. She had shoulder-length dark hair and big, blue eyes. She looked healthy—younger than she must have been, judging by the girl with pink hair being her daughter. The man next to her, her husband, stood up and held out a hand.
"Ted Tonks," he said, nodding towards House. House eyed the man and took his hand.
"Greg House."
"Ah…wonderful. You're the Muggle doctors, I surmise. Thanks for bringing them, Minerva, lovely to see you again. This is my wife, Andromeda," he directed towards the Muggles. The woman smiled.
"Nice to meet you," she said. Close-up, Andromeda looked pale and somewhat worn.
"You too," said Cameron. "I'm Allison Cameron. This is Robert Chase, and this is Eric Foreman." Andromeda and Ted shook hands with each of them.
"And this," said Andromeda, turning towards Harry Potter, "is our patient. He's asleep right now."
"Asleep?" asked Doctor House, feigning skepticism. "I would call it an acute case of semi-conscious—"
"Please excuse him," said Foreman, stepping towards Harry's bedside. He looked over the patient thoughtfully.
"We'll need to give a few of you an overview on how magic works with the Immune system—show you some diagrams, and all. We won't be staying here, but we'll be reachable if you need to consult or anything," said Ted worriedly. "And the other of us can give a briefing on how he's been for the past week—fluctuations, etc. Hopefully we'll be able to work together and get this case finished as soon as possible…"
"Because as long as we have each other, we can do anything," said House, rolling his eyes. "You need to stop watching Growing Pains."
"What?" asked Andromeda, confused.
"A show," said Ted shortly. "Muggle thing. Generally, witches and wizards don't familiarize themselves with Muggle technology," he said to House, a slight edge to his voice.
"We're going to need some of our 'muggle' devices," House plowed on, ignoring Ted Tonks. "Foreman, you are to provide someone with a list. We need them as soon as possible, and we need a few rooms to work with."
"This entire floor has been cleared out for you all," said McGonagall. Your bedrooms are on the end of the hall, and there are a few empty rooms here to use as lab rooms. One room is equipped with some Wizarding medical technology; the other rooms have been…wired… into the Muggle electricity system." She turned to Foreman. "You can give your list to Remus Lupin. He's downstairs." Foreman nodded and exited the room. "And I will be going. I need to get back up to the school as soon as possible. If you need me, the directory is downstairs—Draco or Remus should know where it is."
"Thank you, Minerva," said Andromeda appreciatively. She nodded and left the room briskly.
"All right. I'll bring one or two of you inside and explain the magical immune system and the technology, and Ted can brief the other on Harry's condition for the past two weeks."
"Cameron," ordered House, "Immunologist, Magical Immune System… you're with her. And I'll go with you, too, to make sure you don't screw up the usage of the machines." Cameron rolled her eyes. "Chase, you're with him." Chase nodded.
"All right then," smiled Andromeda. "Come along. This shouldn't take up too much of your time."
Downstairs, the gathering was getting quite large, to say the least. The Weasley twins, Fleur, Ron, and Mrs. Weasley had all arrived within a few minutes of each other, each looking for a different person. And while Foreman keyed in Lupin on the machines they would need in another room, Mrs. Weasley berated Fred and George for turning the Burrow into a swamp, Bill and Fleur kissed each other lovingly, and Tonks teased the four younger teenagers by starting up a game of spin the bottle, which was earning her quite a few death glares.
But, alas, all things—even moments of chaotic escape from reality—must end. And so it was that one Severus Snape suddenly marched into the kitchen, positively fuming.
"WHERE ARE THOSE BLOODY MUGGLES?" he demanded, silencing the kitchen at once.
"Sev, old boy!" cried out Fred, not missing a beat.
"Long time, no see!" boomed George in agreement. The glare Snape threw at them could have easily made a first year collapse.
"Where are the Muggles?" he repeated.
"You were supposed to be watching them," Tonks informed him icily.
"And why do you want to know, anyway? I know they escaped, but I didn't think you'd care," said Ginny, meeting his gaze boldly.
"Just because I am no longer your Professor," began Snape, his voice somehow as cool as Ginny's but flaming at the same time, "does not, under any circumstances, give you blood-traitor brats license to mock me," he said, stepping towards Ginny threateningly.
"Severus, get away from her," said Bill harshly, glaring at Snape.
"It would be wise never to threaten a girl with four angry brothers in the same room," said Lupin, coming into the room with Foreman a moment later. Tonks chuckled dryly.
"You!" exclaimed Snape, turning immediately to Foreman. "You are going to pay. Nobody knocks me out and expects to get away—" He was already lifting his wand.
"Severus!" exclaimed Lupin, grabbing his arm. "What in the name of Merlin are you doing?"
"The Muggles are in cohorts with Longbottom," growled Snape as Lupin and Bill restrained him.
"Neville Longbottom?" asked Hermione a bit incredulously.
"Yes! The damn boy shot a stunner at me when my back was turned! And the Muggles were in on it!" Ginny looked at Hermione gleefully. Hermione looked torn between excitement and shock at the show of disobedience towards an old Professor.
"What are you going on about?" asked Foreman, acting as if Snape was crazy (which wasn't terribly difficult to do).
"I think he's had a bit too much Firewhiskey," said George decisively. Snape glared at him.
Wilson sat in his office, eating a TV dinner in silence. It certainly was boring without House and the ducklings around bickering and bantering. Now I know the appeal of General Hospital, he thought wearily. Suddenly, the door opened. Wilson smiled and gestured towards the couch.
"Have a seat."
"Do you think we need a PA system around here?" asked Cuddy, not bothering to sit. She closed the office door and paced around the room thoughtfully. "I can call someone; we should really get one installed. Or maybe we need—"
"Lisa," said Wilson, putting down his fork. "I know you're upset. But we can't solve this by going around and busying ourselves. I'm sure House, Foreman, Chase, and Cameron are all fine. Thoughtless, yes, but fine."
"I know, I know," said Cuddy, groaning loudly and sitting. "I wish Stacy was here, what if something is wrong?"
"You don't wish Stacy was here," said Wilson, sighing. "You have no control over this situation and you're scared. But it hasn't even been a full day. And I'm sure they're sleeping. It's past midnight in the UK."
"They had no right to do this," said Cuddy, sitting down roughly. "None. I've half a mind to fire him right now. The lack of judgment! I mean, you know this is what's gotten him fired form his four other jobs already…"
"Cuddy, you know what got him fired. And while he is showing a lack of judgment, give him some time. I know you trust him."
"Oh, I know," Cuddy said with exasperation. "I know. Here—why don't we page him one more time?"
BEEP. BEEP. BEEP. Andromeda Tonks, who had just finished explaining the Magical Immune System and a few other differences between Magic people and Muggles, especially in the nervous system, jumped in alarm as House's beeper went off.
"Oh, damn," said House under his breath, taking out his beeper. He looked up at Cameron. "Cuddy."
"Oh, gosh. Do you think she's mad?" House paused thoughtfully.
"I couldn't say. But you'll be able to in a moment. Cameron, call Cuddy back while Healer Tonks tells me about these Magical Medical Machines." Cameron's jaw dropped.
"You want me to call Cuddy?" she demanded.
"That's what I said. Go along—make the call from another room so I can get a full explanation." Cameron glared at her boss for a moment and then turned on her heel and into the patient's room.
She sat down about a foot from his bedside and picked up her cell phone wearily. After taking a deep breath, she dialed the number.
"House?" demanded Cuddy, picking up the phone the moment it rang. Wilson pressed the button to put it on Speaker Phone so that they both could hear.
"Actually, it's Allison."
"Cameron," said Cuddy slowly, adopting a sugary tone of voice, "Get House."
Cameron paused for a second. "He—is in another room. He says he's not taking calls right now."
"You're lying," said Wilson, amused.
"Okay, I'm stretching the truth," replied Cameron. "Listen, House feels terribly for leaving and all, but I promise the case is credible. And we're not going to get in legal trouble for it—there's no chance. And we would have gotten in touch earlier, but none of our electric devices were working."
"Then why didn't you find a place where you could use them?" demanded Cuddy.
"We just—didn't think about it. I'm sorry. Listen, I just wanted to check in. But it's kind of hectic over here and—"
"Where are you?" asked Cuddy sharply. "I want an address. And the name and credentials of the Hospital supervisor." Cameron squirmed in her seat.
"Um, I will ask House about it. I'm not really sure."
"What on earth do you mean?" yelled Cuddy. Cameron cut her off.
"You don't understand the circumstances!"
"Try me!"
"I can't!"
"Lisa…Allison…calm down. Let's talk about this rationally. Are you sure you can't get House?"
"I'm pretty positive," said Cameron, standing up and peering out the door. Her boss, in the other room, popped yet another Vicodin. "I can go get Foreman or Chase, maybe—"
"No!" said Cuddy immediately.
"Why not?" whispered Wilson.
"It'll be easier to get one to break," hissed back Cuddy, covering the receiver.
"Are you still there?" asked Cameron.
"Yes, yes, we're here. And we're ready to talk this through with you. Now, Dr. Cameron. Allison. Do you feel comfortable? Tell me the truth."
"Comfortable, as in this conversation?" asked Cameron, thinking quickly on her feet.
"No, in the situation. The patient, your surroundings…."
"Well, yes—it's pretty normal, all things into consideration…"
"What things? What's odd about this case?"
"Well it's in another country, for one thing, obviously."
"Obviously," said Cuddy tolerantly. "What else?"
"Well, not much else really…" Running out of options, she feigned a coughing fit.
"Oh come on, Cameron," said Wilson, speaking up. "Just tell us where you are. It's our job. We need to know."
"Then why don't you come and find out?" came a voice from the door.
"House!" exclaimed Cameron thankfully.
"House? House! What in the name of God do you think you're doing?" yelled Cuddy angrily.
"What time is it over there?" asked Wilson. House frowned.
"One-thirty. Cameron, go play with your toys. It's time for grown-up discussion." Cameron rolled her eyes and walked out of the room, glad to be away from the hot-spot. As soon as she was gone, House turned back to the phone.
"All right. This is, I'll admit, the strangest case I've ever taken on."
"How come? Is it some rare disease?" asked Cuddy curiously. "And what hospital are you in? Cameron wouldn't give me an address."
"This is a House-call. Both literally and figuratively," House responded.
"Very witty," said Wilson sarcastically. "So you're in someone's house?"
"Yep."
"House, you of all people know that we can't just do things like that!" said Cuddy, shaking her head. "You need to come home."
"I need to take this case," corrected House.
"Why? Let someone else do it! What if we get into legal trouble? This is serious, Greg."
"This house was Sirius's."
"What?"
"Nothing. Cuddy, this case is important. You know that I, of all people, would not take a case that seemed stupid, or was an overreaction, or even a favor. This case is a big deal. Can you trust my judgment?"
"No. I mean—I don't know. House, can they pay for me to go over there and check it out?"
"Would it really make you feel better?"
"Much," replied Cuddy.
"Fine. I'll have these people wire over a plane ticket." Cuddy and Wilson exchanged a glance.
"Are you treating rich people?" she asked, annoyed.
"The ticket will be in your fax within the hour," said House. "Relax. Now, you don't have any hidden heart conditions we need to know about—? Oh, that's right, I read your file. I'll see you tomorrow." With that, House hung up the phone on a very perplexed Wilson and Cuddy.
When House arrived downstairs, the scene he stumbled upon was quite strange. Everyone was gathered in some sort of meeting room or living room. Cameron, he noticed immediately, was sitting with the Tonks woman and red-headed twins, and they were all cracking up over some story. The annoying greasy man was in a corner brooding with the annoying blonde kid. Remus Lupin and a red-haired woman (presumably the mother of all the red-heads in the room) were talking on the couch. The red-head with the long hair was talking with a very beautiful woman in the corner. Hermione, Ginny, Foreman, Chase, and a final red-head were also deep in discussion. House cleared his throat loudly.
"House!" exclaimed Cameron. "What did Cuddy say?"
"We need a ticket from New Jersey to London tomorrow," House directed at Lupin, ignoring Cameron.
"No problem," said Lupin, standing up readily. "I can go get that ready tonight."
"You need to rest tonight, Remus," said the woman next to him disapprovingly. "By the way, I'm Molly Weasley. My son Bill and his wife Fleur, my sons Fred, George, and Ron, and my daughter, Ginny, whom I believe you've already met."
"Great," said House, the sarcasm in his voice undetectable. "So will someone please get a ticket faxed over?"
"I'll do it," yawned Tonks. "Go on back to your flat, Remus, you need to rest. I'll stay here tonight if the Weasleys decide to go home."
Remus nodded tiredly. "All right, everyone. I'm going. Thank you again, Doctor House—Cameron; Foreman; Chase." They all smiled and nodded as Remus stood up, kissed his wife good-bye, and left.
"It's late," said Hermione quite unnecessarily. "I'm going to go up to bed. Who else is staying here?"
"Well we're leaving," said Bill immediately.
"I think I'll go, too. I'll come back in the morning to make you breakfast, everyone," said Molly Weasley, smiling.
"Then we'll be back tomorrow morning," said Fred, George nodding.
"I'll go home with you, Mum," said Ron.
"And I'll stay here with Harry and Tonks and 'Mione," said Ginny sleepily. "I think I'm going to go up now. Goodnight, everyone." The house slowly cleared out, and finally just House, Cameron, Chase, and Foreman were left downstairs.
They walked into the kitchen, and House started in immediately. "Cuddy is going to come for an…inspection tomorrow."
"That will be interesting," commented Chase.
"No kidding," sighed Cameron. "I hope this place doesn't have ghosts or something," she added, getting a glass of water and helping herself to a piece of fudge sitting on a platter.
"There aren't ghosts," said Foreman confidently.
"Oh?" asked Chase, grinning. "I actually wouldn't be surprised…. Speaking of surprise, are you going to clue Cuddy in? Or let her be shocked?"
"Haven't decided," smirked House. "What do you think?"
"Tell her," said Cameron immediately.
"Don't," advised Foreman. "She won't believe you anyway."
"It would be better for her to at least expect something weird but not something—insane," argued Cameron.
"It's pretty insane to me," said Chase offhandedly.
"I'll think it over," House contemplated. "All right… let's meet at nine o'clock tomorrow in one of the lab rooms. The machinery should be here late tomorrow evening—around the time Cuddy arrives. So we'll just brainstorm in the morning, do some research, and we'll do tests the day after tomorrow. Everyone understand?" The ducklings nodded and started up the stairs.
Cameron got the chills as she entered her bedroom. There must be a draft. Her suitcase was already there, somehow, so she put on her nightclothes and got into bed, head beginning to throb. This is going to be a long couple of weeks.
A/N: Okay, what did you think? Anyone know what's wrong with Cameron? Thanks for any reviews I got—they're mega-appreciated. If I get a lot of reviews and have a lot of motivation, I might update tomorrow, but if not, it'll be about a week before I'm home and able to write again. So… REVIEW!