Chapter 76
"Damn it, Bill, will you let go?" Ginny snapped as she tried and failed to wrench her arm out of her brother's grasp. "I'm more than capable of walking to Dumbledore's office without you carrying me."
"We both know you won't make it that far if I let go," Bill retorted, as he nudged his sister up a flight of stairs and down yet another dimly lit corridor.
"You're just as worried about George as I am," she fired back "And don't give me that 'Dumbledore needs to know everything that happened right this second' rubbish. Surely he can wait a few more minutes. Just long enough for us to know if George is going to be…Oh for Merlin's sake, Harry," Ginny cried out of the blue, spinning around to confront the morose young man trudging along behind her. "Will you stop with the guilt already?" she demanded, when the mere mention of her brother's name sent him into an emotional tailspin. "It's bad enough dealing with my own guilt, I can't take yours too."
"George knew what he was getting himself into when he…" Tonks started to say.
"If I hear 'it wasn't your fault' one more time," Ginny snipped, her remorse turning into rage at the situation she'd dragged her friends and family into. "I swear to God," she continued, getting progressively louder with each word she uttered, "I'M GOING TO SCREAM! Sorry," she added, pulling herself together when she realized all three of her companions were staring at her oddly. Even Harry, who Ginny knew understood exactly how she felt, seemed taken aback by her outburst. Of course he's used to bottling everything up inside, she reflected, which is half the problem.
Now that the immediate danger had passed and he was no longer running on adrenaline, Harry had gone quiet. He hadn't said a word since Bill and Tonks dragged the two of them away from the hospital wing, but just because he wasn't speaking didn't mean he wasn't thinking about everything that had happened. And the more he replayed the night's events over in his head, the more he tried to convince himself that everything was his fault, the more unbearable the situation became for Ginny.
Deep down, she knew that Harry didn't mean to drag her down with him. He just couldn't help himself. He was like a bottle of corked butterbeer that someone had violently shaken. Just because the skirmish had ended didn't mean he wasn't still under a tremendous amount of stress. Sooner or later, something had to give, and since he refused to pop the metaphorical cork and relieve the pressure himself, the emotions churning around inside of him were pouring into Ginny via their newly forged connection. Unfortunately for Harry, Ginny didn't cope with things the same way he did. She was a Weasley and when something was bothering her, she blew up. She had no problem venting her frustrations for both of them, not that it made the situation any better in this particular case. Sure, she felt better, but Harry felt worse, which made her feel bad all over again.
"I'm not angry with you," Ginny said to Harry, when she realized that she was adding to his stress rather than alleviating it. Not only did I hurt his feelings, but now he feels guilty about me feeling guilty. That's just bloody great. I can't even feel what I feel without it affecting him, she told herself. This is horrible. How do Ron and Hermione put up with it? "It's not you, it's…"
"George," Harry finished, hitting way too close to the mark for Ginny's liking. She didn't want anyone to know that she was mentally trying to shift the blame for what happened to her brother off herself and onto him, even if only for a little while. It wasn't that she seriously believed that it was George's fault, but pretending that it was made it easier for her to cope. Once George was awake and she knew that he was going to be all right, she'd gladly take the blame and the anger that accompanied it back onto herself. She'd even grovel and apologize in front of her entire family to make amends. But right now, she needed to be angry at someone other than herself.
"Well, he shouldn't have stepped in the way," Ginny said, her voice becoming shrill as she went on the defensive. "I mean, what the hell was he thinking?"
"He was trying to protect you," Bill answered, causing his sister to feel even more desperate.
"It's not like I asked him to," Ginny countered immediately. "Do you think I wanted him to take that blasted curse for me? I'd give anything for it to be me lying down there in the hospital wing, but…
"Well, it's not," Tonks cut in, hoping to nip this particular conversation in the bud. Dumbledore was going to need both Harry and Ginny focused, not so wracked with guilt that neither of them could answer his questions. "And it's a good thing, too," she continued, moving forward to give the password to the stone gargoyle guarding the entrance to the headmaster's office, "because according to Fred, Harry was too busy to stop what he was doing and start that whole get-the-heart-pumping thing that you and Hermione did."
"HERMIONE!" Ginny shrieked, gaping at Tonks in horror. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN, HERMI…"
"Oh God," Harry moaned at nearly the same time, the dread and remorse he'd been trying to push down for Ginny's sake roaring to life again with such intensity that it literally knocked the breath right out of her when she felt it. "No," he groaned miserably, shutting his eyes and trying not to picture his best friend lying dead in the hospital wing. The problem was, he'd seen Hermione's boggart with his own eyes; he'd seen Ron lying lifelessly on the ground in the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom and the image was seared into his mind.
"Hermione," he said sorrowfully, remembering how distraught she'd been that day, despite the fact she knew it wasn't real. How could she face her worst fear alone if it had in fact become a reality? I have to get back to the hospital wing, Harry thought, spurred on by Ginny's desperation. Hermione is going to need me. "Oh God, it's my fault," he groaned as he suddenly remembered that it had been his idea for them to separate. "I never should have left him."
"Are you…. Are you telling us that Ron's… He's not…" Bill stammered, all the color draining out of his face. The thought of losing one brother was bad enough, but two on the same day was unthinkable.
"No. No!" Tonks said urgently when she realized what she'd let slip. She hadn't meant to tell Harry and Ginny about Ron, not yet. They already felt bad enough as it was. So much for keeping them relatively calm and focused. "Hermione got him breathing again, just like you did with George," she explained quickly. "I saw her. Both Remus and I saw her," she stated again, when Bill glanced over his shoulder as if he were contemplating whether or not he ought to head straight back to the hospital wing. "She did something with their hands. She cut them and said some incantation and just like that, he was breathing again."
"She used magic?" Harry asked, staring at Tonks intently. The fact that she was flustered disturbed him, but the realization that she hadn't meant for them to find out made it even worse, because now he wasn't sure if she was telling them the whole truth or just what she thought they needed to hear. "She didn't just do it the Muggle way like Ginny did with George? She didn't just blow into his mouth and push on his chest until he started breathing on his own? Hermione actually used an incantation? She used magic?" he asked again.
"Yes."
"Bill," Ginny begged, her large brown eyes glassing over.
"Why were you trying to hide it from us then?" Harry pressed on, his attention still completely focused on Tonks. "If he's not dead then why…"
"BILL! Please," Ginny cried out when Harry said the word 'dead' out loud, "We have to go back."
Shite! Harry thought, wincing slightly as he realized just how close Ginny was to losing it. He'd been so suspicious and worried about Hermione falling apart that he hadn't given much thought to how the rest of Ron's family was taking the news. Of course they'd be just as upset as he was, if not more so. Ron wasn't like a brother to them, he was their brother. She's practically hysterical, he told himself, fighting the urge to shove Bill out of the way so he could comfort Ginny himself. I guess I shouldn't be surprised, she's been through so much already, she just can't take any more, he thought as he watched Bill wrap his arm around his sister's shoulder and pull her into a hug. It's not fair that everyone expects Ginny to be so strong. She doesn't have to be here. She shouldn't have to do this. This is my responsibility, not hers. Ginny should be with her family now, not locked in Dumbledore's office like some criminal waiting to be interrogated. She didn't do anything wrong.
"Take Ginny back," Harry said to Bill, but almost as soon as the words left his mouth, he wished he could take them back. The thought of letting Ginny out of his sight again was not a comfortable one. He'd just gotten her back. He hadn't even had a chance to tell her how he felt about her, although he suspected she had a fairly good idea thanks to their new connection.
But what if something happens to her? an anxious voice asked in the back of his head.
Bill isn't going to let anything happen, the more reasonable side of himself replied. Stop being selfish and paranoid and let her do what she needs to do.
"I'll talk to Dumbledore," Harry stated. "I'll go straight up to his office and I won't leave until I've told him everything," he added, when Tonks looked skeptical. "Just take Ginny back," he said, turning to Bill, "she doesn't need to…"
"You weren't with her the entire time," Tonks cut in, locking her eyes on Bill despite the fact she was speaking to Harry. "There may be things that Ginny overheard," she added, shifting her gaze back to Harry when Bill let out an audible sigh, "things she knows that you don't."
"She's right," Bill said to his sister.
"But…why do we have to do it now?" Ginny whined, although deep down, she already knew the answer to that question. Dumbledore had to know everything that happened before the Ministry found out. The Aurors had to be in Hogsmeade by now. A Dark Mark hovering over the Shrieking Shack wouldn't go unnoticed for very long. They'd come to investigate and once they realized all the Death Eaters had fled, they'd be knocking on the doors of the school looking for victims and asking questions. If Dumbledore didn't have answers to those questions, a lot of people, most of them members of her family, could find themselves in a sticky situation.
"It'll be all right," Harry said to Ginny, when he felt her give in and accept the inevitable. "As long as they're both breathing, Hermione has two weeks to figure out how to call their souls back. And it's not like she'll have to do it alone. Dumbledore will help. As soon as we've told him what's happened he'll help and…"
"I appreciate what you're trying to do, Harry," Ginny cut in. "And it might have even helped if you actually believed what you were saying, which you don't," she added. "You're just as worried as I am."
"The sooner we get it over with, the sooner we can both go back to the hospital wing," Harry said, trying a different tack.
"Now that I can agree with," Ginny said, taking a deep breath and pulling away from Bill to approach the statue beside Tonks. "Just give the stupid thing the password already," she said impatiently.
"I'll do all the talking," Harry whispered, stepping closer to Ginny as the stone gargoyle leapt aside and the wall behind him opened to reveal a spiral staircase. "It shouldn't take very long," he added, just before Tonks placed her hands on both of their shoulders and nudged them towards the moving steps.
¤
"Damn," Tonks muttered under her breath after the four of them reached the top of the spiral staircase and she used the brass knocker hanging in the center of the oak door to announce their arrival. "He must not be back yet," she whispered to Bill when there was no reply.
They both knew that Dumbledore had left that afternoon, before the students were scheduled to arrive, to deal with 'Order business'. Although what exactly the nature of that business was, neither of them was privy to. But with everything that had happened since then, Tonks had hoped that someone that did know the specifics would have contacted him and that Dumbledore would have returned by now.
"What do you mean he's not here?" Ginny asked her brother as he reached out and turned the doorknob to see if the headmaster's office was locked. "He wasn't in Hogsmeade, so if he's not in his office, then where the hell is he? If you think I'm going to just sit in there and wait while George and Ron are…"
"That's exactly what you're going to do," Tonks cut in, pushing the door wide open and motioning for the teens to move inside the circular room beyond.
"Fat chance," Ginny fired back, turning away from the doorway and taking all of two steps before her brother used his body to block her retreat. "Move," she said, placing both of her hands on Bill's chest and pushing against him. "I'm going back to the hospital wing. If Dumbledore wants to talk to me when he gets back, he knows where to find me.
"Tonks is a professor," Bill reminded his sister, "and she gave you an order."
"Then she can give me detention for ignoring it. I don't really care."
"Did it ever occur to you that Dumbledore might actually be in the hospital wing?" Harry suggested. "I mean if he came back from wherever it was he went and found out what was going on, surely he'd want to check on…"
"HARRY!" Ginny cried in alarm when he unexpectedly slapped his hand over his scar and yelped in pain. "LEAVE HIM ALONE!" she shouted, stepping in front of Harry as if shielding his body with hers would push Voldemort out of his mind. In the end it wasn't Ginny's proximity, but her concern for Harry's well-being that caused the Dark Lord to stop what he was doing and withdraw. That and the fact that he hadn't meant for the mental walls he'd erected around his mind to crumble in the first place.
"Is it true?" Harry asked, his green eyes jumping from Bill to Tonks as he continued to rub his scar. "Did Hermione really kill Dolohov?"
"What?" Bill said, one eyebrow arching in surprise. "Of course it's not true."
"That's what Wormtail just told Voldemort," Harry informed him. "I don't think that he meant for me to see it though. He was just so angry that he slipped."
"What exactly did you see?" Tonks pressed. "How many of them were there? Could you tell where they were?"
"I only saw Wormtail. Voldemort was using the Cruciatus on him. He was livid. He didn't like what Wormtail had to say, so he punished him. And when he lifted the curse, he demanded to know how Dolohov was killed. Wormtail told him 'the Mudblood' did it. He said, 'Dolohov was going to kill her, but Weasley got in the way'. That's all I heard. When Ginny started worrying about me, he realized that he'd unintentionally let his guard down and he blocked me out again. So is what Wormtail said true?" Harry asked Tonks, because she didn't seem nearly as surprised by this information as Bill did. "Dolohov killed Ron, so Hermione killed him in return?"
"It's true that Dolohov is dead," Tonks admitted. There was no point denying that fact. It would be all over the Prophet come morning. "But there is no evidence to suggest Hermione is responsible," she continued. Other than the fact she was the only one left standing, but I'm not mentioning that to anyone other than Dumbledore until I know exactly what DID happen. "Maybe we should all go back to the hospital wing," she said, intentionally changing the subject. "You're probably right," she said to Harry. "There's a good chance Dumbledore will go there first when he returns." And if not, I'll need to do damage control when the Ministry officials show up. If they find out that Hermione is of age, they'll insist on questioning her themselves. I have to know what really happened before that, so I can tell her what she needs to omit. We can't have them finding out about that whole Coupling Potion idea of hers. If word of that leaks to the Prophet, it'll be a disaster.
¤
"MERLIN'S BEARD!" Lupin exclaimed loudly, as he stepped out from behind the curtains and saw Ron standing at the opposite end of the hospital wing beside Hermione, gaping at him in horror. "But you were…"
"HERMIONE!" Fred shouted, when he too looked away from the curtains and saw the couple frozen at the other end of the room. "DO SOMETHING!" he insisted.
"I…. I can't," she said as all eyes suddenly landed on her. "He's not linked to me, he's linked to you. You're going to have to do it."
"ME!" Fred exclaimed in surprise.
"I can't call him back," Hermione stated. "You're the only one that can do that."
"You and George took that potion?" Molly asked, releasing her husband and advancing on Fred when she found a glimmer of hope to latch onto. "The same one Ron and Hermione took? Well," she demanded, resisting the urge to reach out and shake her son when he didn't reply, "are you anchoring his soul or not?"
"What are you all talking about?" Arthur asked, but nobody seemed to hear him.
"ARE YOU OR NOT!" Molly shouted over her husband.
"He is," Hermione answered, pulling herself together and hurrying past Lupin, who was still staring at Ron in astonishment. "Is he breathing?" she asked Fred before ducking behind the screens to check on George herself. "Did you get his heart beating?" she asked, even as she reached down and felt his pulse. "FRED!" she shrieked, darting back into view when he failed to respond to any of her questions. "Can you still feel George?"
"Not… not like before," Fred admitted, finally finding his voice. "It's not… I can't feel any emotions or anything if that's what you mean," he elaborated, closing his eyes and raking his hand through his hair. "It's…"
"Different," Hermione finished for him. "Yes, I know. But you can still sense him, right? In your heart of hearts you know he's still here. You feel him… with you," she asked. "Even though it's not the same as it was."
"I… I'm not sure."
"Where did you go?" Hermione demanded, turning away from Fred and directing the question at Ron.
"What?" he asked, creasing his brow in confusion.
"When you were dead," Hermione said, looking at Ron expectantly.
"DEAD!" Charlie yelped, glancing around the room and taking note of the fact that his father was the only one besides himself that seemed genuinely surprised.
"Where did you go?" Hermione said, sounding frazzled. "Could you still feel me? Could you hear what I was saying to you? What about Tonks and Professor Lupin? Could you see or hear them?"
"What's she talking about?" Charlie asked Lupin when Hermione mentioned his name.
"What are you talking about?" Ron asked a moment later. "I couldn't see or hear anything. I was dead."
"You mean you didn't hear anything I said?" Hermione asked, her voice getting shriller as she truly began to panic. "How is Fred supposed to call George's soul back if he can't hear him?"
"I don't know, maybe I did hear you," Ron lied, hoping it might calm her down a bit. "I came back, didn't I?" he added when Hermione looked at him as if she were about to burst into tears. "I just…I don't remember anything that happened after…well you know," he said, venturing a quick glance at his father, who had gone white as a sheet..
"Oh God!" Hermione moaned.
"Just do whatever you did with me to George," Ron said, hoping the comment would come across as encouraging, rather than desperate, which is the way he was starting to feel.
"What if it doesn't work?" Hermione said, sounding more than a little desperate herself.
What the hell? Ron thought when he felt an all too familiar sensation stirring in the pit of his stomach. Did I wake up in some sort of alternate universe or something? he wondered, realizing that the anxiety and doubt he was experiencing was coming from Hermione. She doesn't get this self-conscious. Not when it comes to using magic. She's supposed to be the confident one. OK, so she works herself up and panics a little before an exam, he reminded himself, but damn…this is bad. Really, really bad. If she falls apart, George is buggered. Quick, what would she say to me to get me to cast a spell I hadn't practiced?
"You won't know if it'll work unless you try it," Ron countered, taking himself and Hermione by surprise. "You can't make things any worse," he added as an afterthought. "I mean, what's worse than being alive without a soul? It's not like we have anything to lose. What?" he asked, when Hermione's mouth fell open and her apprehension increased significantly.
"Wait just a minute," Arthur said when there was a lull in the conversation. "Let me get this straight. You," he said, pointing at Ron, "are claming that you were… dead? And she," he said, pointing at Hermione, "somehow brought you back to life? That's not possible, son. You were dreaming or… "
"No," Remus said weakly, "I don't think he was," he added with more conviction. "Tonks and I…we both saw Ron. We didn't say anything when we ran into you and Charlie because… well, it just wasn't the right time, but he wasn't breathing when we reached Honeydukes. Hermione used a Cadence Charm to restart his heart and she kept blowing air into his mouth until he was breathing on his own, the same way Ginny did with George."
"Cardiopulmonary resuscitation," Hermione stated. If she could just focus on the part of the plan that she understood completely for a few moments, maybe she'd be able to calm herself down. "It's a Muggle technique used by doctors to… to help bring people back to life," she said, simplifying her explanation at the last second. One look at the confusion on the adults' faces was all it took for her to realize that a long drawn-out explanation wasn't going to put their minds at ease. Molly in particular looked like she was about to go into cardiac arrest at the mere mention of Muggle doctors. "You don't have to worry," Hermione promptly assured her mother-in-law. "My parents are both fully trained. I knew what I was doing." With the CPR, anyway. "I taught both Ron and Ginny how to perform the procedure as well, just in case."
"In case what?" Arthur asked, his eyes wide with surprise.
"In case one of us was hit by the Killing Curse," Ron answered. "That is what happened to George, isn't it?"
"He was trying to push Ginny out of the way," Fred said somberly. "When Charlie killed You-Know-Who's snake it distracted him long enough for Harry to slip Ginny the potion. Once the two of them were connected, it hurt him or something. Rodolphus Lestrange tried to kill Ginny to stop them from doing… whatever it was they were doing, but George ducked out from under your Invisibility Cloak and got in the way. He didn't mean to get hit, he only wanted to shove her aside, but…"
"Hermione will bring him back," Ron said, confident in Hermione's abilities despite her misgivings. "You brought me back, didn't you?" he pointed out, when he felt her trepidation start to increase again. "Just tell Fred what he needs to do. What was the first thing you did to me?" Ron asked, stepping up beside Hermione to offer her a bit of moral support when she froze up.
"I yelled at you."
"OK, besides that?" Ron asked.
"Let me think for a second," Hermione said, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. "It all happened so fast. I got your heart beating again," she said, replaying the situation over in her head, "but you wouldn't breathe on your own. So I… I… Professor Lupin said something about blood, so I cut our hands. I used a piece of glass off the floor to cut both of our hands," Hermione said, more animated now that she had a mental checklist going in her head, "because we're connected by the blood we added to the potion. I cut the lines on our hands like we did when we performed the Là nain ritual," she explained. "I was just going to do our life lines, but Tonks mentioned something about a health line, so I cut them all. That's what you need to do," she said to Fred. "Someone give him a knife."
"I don't know if that's the best…" Madam Pomfrey started to say. But before she had a chance to finish, Molly had pulled her wand, Conjured a small knife out of thin air, and handed it to her son.
"Cut the lines on George's hand," Hermione said to Fred, who looked just as panicked as she'd felt a few moments ago. "Start at the bottom with his life line and then work your way up. When you're finished with George, do the same thing to yourself. You and George are connected by blood as well," she explained. "In fact, your connection should be even stronger than the one I have with Ron, because you're brothers. Once you've cut both of your hands," Hermione continued, "link them together. That way you'll be connected, body and soul."
"What do I do after that?" Fred asked, stepping over to the curtains surrounding his brother's bed and peering over them uncertainly.
"Call him back," Hermione replied. "Just… talk to him. I told Ron if he could find me, he could find himself, because we were connected. Part of me was touching him. My blood was mixing with his. Just talk to George when you're finished with your hands and I'll do the rest. But I… I lost my wand in Honeydukes. I used Ron's, but I don't know where his is either. I'm going to need a wand."
¤
"It's not working," Fred groaned in frustration. "Why isn't it working?" he asked, pressing his palm against his twin's as hard as he could.
"I don't know," Hermione admitted, pointing Molly's wand at George and casting her spell a second time. "Spiritus Reverti!"
"WHY ISN'T IT WORKING!" Fred shouted, his frustration giving way to genuine panic.
"Maybe if you stop yelling at her," Ron said, stepping forward and placing his arm around Hermione's shoulder when she staggered backwards, "and tried talking to George like she suggested, it would. Are you all right?" he asked Hermione in a softer tone.
"I don't know," she answered. "I just… don't know why it isn't working. It worked with you," she said, spinning around and looking at Ron apologetically. "Are you sure you don't remember anything? Maybe it was something I said to you that caught your attention," she continued, despite the fact Ron was shaking his head, "or something I was feeling. Anything at all," she said, clutching his jumper in desperation, "because we did exactly what I did with you. The only difference is that…but, that should have any effect. It wasn't even part of the plan originally. No, I can't see where that would have… it must be something else. Something I'm forgetting. If only I'd had time to finish my research. Damn it! "she snapped, allowing her irritation to get the better of her because it was easier to focus on that, than it was to dwell on the fact that she'd failed Ron and his entire family. Unfortunately her anger wasn't nearly strong enough to drown that knowledge out.
"Do you know what she's talking about?" Molly asked Ron just before Hermione burst into tears and threw her arms around him.
"I'm sorry," she moaned against his chest.
"Do you know what the difference she's talking about is?" Molly continued, although she softened her voice somewhat.
"Why does everyone keep asking me questions like I was standing there watching?" Ron said irritably. "Ask him," he said, shifting his right hand off Hermione's back and using it to point at Lupin. "Hermione said that he was there. Not that I remember that. Or anything else. And why aren't you talking to George?" he snapped at Fred.
"You're still connected, right?" Charlie asked. "Can't you just read her mind or something and tell us what the difference she mentioned is?"
"No, I can't," Ron retorted, not even trying to keep the exasperation he was feeling out of his voice. He hated it when Hermione started talking about something and then jumped ten steps ahead of where he was and expected him to know what she was on about. But that's what she did when she was fixated on something she didn't quite understand or struck by inspiration. There was nothing to do but wait for her to calm down and explain. "That's not how the potion works," he added, feeling a bit guilty for snapping at his brother just because he didn't understand how Hermione did things. "I can only sense her emotions and right now she feels like… like a failure," he finished, his voice wavering ever so slightly. So just give her a little space and let me calm her down, he finished in his head.
"Remus," Molly asked hopefully, "do you have any idea what she's talking about?"
"They did everything that she did with Ron to George," Lupin whispered back. "The only difference that I can see is that she used Ron's wand to cast the spell, not yours. But she's right," he added. "That shouldn't make much of a difference, unless you have to use George's wand to bring him back. But I don't see why that would be the case."
"No," Hermione groaned against Ron. "The talisman," she said softly. "We linked our magic when we performed the Là nain. I thought that part of the bond was broken when my charm fell off, but maybe it wasn't. Maybe that's why it worked with you. Our magic is still partially linked because your charm is still on. But if that's the case… Fred and George don't have that kind of connection. The Là nain wasn't even supposed to be part of the plan, which means it never would have worked the way I had it plotted out. But how can that be, because Voldemort put his soul in an entirely new body and he wasn't magically connected to…oh my God! How could I be so stupid? Of course, he's magically connected to Harry, and he used Harry's blood to create his new body. That's why his soul could enter it."
"I know this is the way you work things out," Ron said, when he saw Hermione's eyes light up and realized that the cogs were moving in her head again, "but I'm really confused here. Wasn't that the reason we took the potion in the first place? To create a magical connection and protect our souls?"
"Maybe that magical connection isn't enough," she said regrettably.
"It is," a voice chimed in behind the cluster of people surrounding George's bed. "Or at least it should be," Dumbledore amended, when everyone in the room spun around and looked at him with relief in their eyes. "I am assuming, of course, that they've both tasted your potion before this occurred. Perhaps you're over-thinking the situation a bit, Miss Granger. That's something we have in common, I see," he continued as he moved away from Snape, who appeared to be holding him upright, and took a shaky step towards George's bed. "Yes, it's often difficult to take a step back and see the forest for the trees when one is emotionally involved," he said, sitting on the edge of the small hospital cot and cupping his right hand, which was wrapped in his robes, before leaning in closer so he could assess his condition. "Fortunately I've learned that in many cases, the most obvious course of action is often also the best. Case in point," he said, sitting upright again and motioning towards the twins' interlinked hands with his head, "forging a physical connection with the person you are trying to revive. It is the simplest way to transfer the spark of life from one person to another. Any time you're ready, Mr. Weasley."
"What?" Ron asked, voicing the question most of his family was pondering. "What do you mean 'spark of life?' Hermione never mentioned anything about that."
"She told you that there would be sacrifices, did she not?" Dumbledore asked, knowing full well that Hermione had. "Sacrifices that needed to be made willingly. Wormtail gave his hand to revive his master. Mr. Weasley," he said, nodding his head towards Fred again, "will have to give up a portion of his own life force if he intends on reviving his brother."
"WHAT!" Ron asked again, his eyes wide with fear now. That's what Hermione did? She gave up part of her own life to give me one? "How much of her life?" he demanded. "How much did she give up? Can I give part of it back?"
"What are you talking about, Weasley?" Snape asked, his eyes jumping from Ron to Hermione, who he realized was wearing nothing but a thin hospital gown.
"I think what Mr. Weasley is saying," Dumbledore said, his own eyes darting to Hermione briefly, before moving back to Ron, "is that Miss Granger has already figured out what to do and has made that sacrifice once herself."
"But how much of her life did she give up to bring me back?" Ron questioned.
"A mere ember," Dumbledore replied, calm as ever. "Little more than an hour's worth I'd imagine," he added. "Certainly not enough to diminish her lifespan or yours either for that matter, since technically you were still alive. As is your brother," he said, his gaze shifting to Fred as he spoke. "You will likely exhaust yourself, Mr. Weasley" he continued, "but that's nothing that a good nap won't cure and fortunately we have plenty of beds for you to choose from. Shall we?" he asked politely. "Assuming you know what incantation you are going to use."
"But Hermione…" Fred started.
"Ah, I see the problem now," Dumbledore said to himself. "Miss Granger cannot provide the spark for your brother, unless she too is linked to him. She tried and failed?" he asked, glancing at the eager faces looking towards him for answers. "Cast your spell, Mr. Weasley, and then perhaps someone would be so kind as to fill me in on what I missed during my absence."