Race Against Time

27th February 2001 (Ron is 20, Hermione is 21)

RON: Bill is supporting me along the corridors of St Mungo's while Fleur and a screaming Cam follow on behind and try to explain to the medi witch that is fussing around me that I don't need to go into a treatment room, I need to see my healer.

"You need to get 'ealer Wanless and tell 'im that Ronald Weaslee is 'ere and ee eez 'urt!"

"Listen don't get yourself upset Fleur," Bill grimaced as he struggled to hold me upright, "why don't you go and take Cam to mum's and let her know what's going on?"

Fleur was about to respond to this suggestion when my own need to keep my mother out of this overtook her.

"Don't worry mum about this," I winced, "It's nothing."

Bill gritted his teeth and tried to heave me up a little more, both my feet were dragging along the ground beneath me now, and he almost sounded angry enough to punch me.

"This is not nothing Ron!"

I had been away having quite a pleasant day at the fair with a seven year old version of my daughter Aimez when I reappeared at Bill's place, where I had gone into a seizure a full week and a half ago, only to reappear in exactly the same spot I had vanished at the exact same moment Bill was carrying a large umbrella through that exact space.

"Oh c'mon Bill," I smiled weakly as my legs buckled underneath me completely now and Bill almost dropped me on the floor, "as long as you don't open it while we're indoors we'll be ok."

I heard the sound of Ben's laughter from somewhere behind me.

"Oh that would be bad luck wouldn't it? So what's the problem this time then Ron?" Healer Wanless said with the kind of blasé attitude that makes me so grateful for him at times like these, enough people panic and fret without him doing it too.

"What's the problem?" Bill snapped with disbelief that a healer would be joking around at a time like this, "He's got a bloody umbrella through him that's what the problem is!"

Ben was examining the spot on my left side where the umbrella penetrated through my flesh and clicked his fingers behind him, causing two medi wizards to appear with a floating stretcher and awaiting instructions.

"Lay him on his right side and hold him still for me while we get him into a treatment room," Ben said while moving around to get a look at the point of the umbrella thrusting through my back, "I don't know how you've done it Ron but I think you've missed all your vital organs with this."

I could feel my need to drift off to sleep weighing down my head and struggled to keep my eyes open as I smiled at him when he appeared in front of me again.

"Well I wasn't exactly aiming for any of them at the time Ben."

Just as Ben smiled back at me and I felt somebody trying to lift me out of Bill's arms I was hit by the rapid onset of darkness and my whole body fell limp as I dropped into unconsciousness.

HERMIONE: Ben keeps telling me we're going to laugh about this in the future. I'm trying to see the funny side of it I really am. Fred and George already have a lifetimes worth of umbrella jokes and Harry and Ginny have been fighting not to smile as they run through them all for their benefit.

Harry came about three minutes ago, Langley told him what had happened as soon as he arrived back at Auror HQ and he had gone straight to Luna Lovegood's place where he knew Ginny was visiting and told her the news. Mrs Weasley has been getting herself upset about her children's desperation to see the funny side of this bizarre little accident and Bill's not far behind her in the annoyed stakes.

Charlie had asked him if ever thought of taking up jousting and Bill had stormed out to avoid a stand up fight outside Ron's room. His dad had gone after him and Charlie had cowered under his mother's stern glare.

"You know how awful Bill feels about this now why can't you stop acting so childish? That goes for all of you!" Mrs Weasley had barked at the sniggering twins and a flushed looking Harry and Ginny.

"Oh come on mum, we're not laughing 'cause Ron got hurt," Fred tried to explain with the little charm he could muster right then, "but you heard Fleur didn't you? Ron was joking about it himself, his healer too, what good does all this worrying do?"

"Yeah," George piped up, "we know he's going to be ok don't we?"

Another row was about to escalate into a silent standoff between mother and sons when the door to Ron's treatment room opened and Ben leaned out and gave me a broad grin.

"I don't suppose you want to see your fiancé, 'the human doughnut', do you Miss Granger?"

For some reason the look on his face allowed me to smile at this as I stood up and stepped into the room without a word to the family who were now holding their breath and ready to pump Ben for information. I left him outside to answer all the questions and attempt to lighten the mood while I closed the door behind me and saw Ron laying on his side and grinning at me.

"Hey babe," he said roughly, "I'm back and I'm perforated!"

I laughed out loud as I ran to him and hugged him so tightly that he made a small whimper of pain but I didn't care. If he was well enough to joke then he was well enough to cuddle as far as I was concerned.

"What a stupid way to hurt yourself Ronald Weasley!" I said as I pulled away from him and bent down to kiss him on the lips.

"Well it wasn't planned!" Ron snorted.

I sat down beside him and took his hand with both of my own. I had missed him every one of the long days he had been gone and now it looked as if he wasn't going to be able to come home with me just yet now that he was back.

"How long did Ben say it would take to recover?" I asked as I looked down at his tender newly healed flesh to the left of his belly button.

Ron looked suddenly sombre and shook his head meaningfully. I felt my heart leap up into my mouth and threaten to suffocate me.

"Ben says it'll never be the same again. There's only so much he could do but," Ron put his hand to his face and choked back a sob, "It's lost its water resistance!"

As his shoulders shook and I realised that he was joking with me I couldn't help myself but hit him several times and shout with fury at his little 'joke'.

"I don't care about the bloody umbrella you moron!" I said, still hitting him as he laughed and winced at the same time, "Godric you and Ben are beginning to drive me crazy between you."

"Oh come on Hermione this is funny. An umbrella stabbed me! Of all the nasty things that could happen to me in my life getting stabbed by my brother's umbrella is going to turn out to be one hell of a story to tell the grandkids you've got to admit."

He really was going to be alright. He looked so amused and healthy and happy that I couldn't help myself and began to giggle as well. Soon the pair of us was crying with laughter as we listed all the potentially dangerous objects in our flat that Ron could now expect to be impaled upon during his travels.

As the door opened and the many faces of the Weasley family peered in I noticed Ben and Harry sharing a smirk at the sight of the two of us in hysterics and they all seemed to exhale as one.

"Bill," Ron called over to his less anxious oldest brother who was standing beside his father with a worried smile on his face, "Bill I'm so sorry, I'll buy you a new one!"

Ron fell back onto the bed and held his sore sides as another wave of laughter hit him again. I wiped my eyes and tried to compose myself for the sake of Molly but she was a little more easy-going herself now.

"Hey Ben you couldn't go back in there and see if he's got my keys by any chance could you?" Fred said with a chuckle.

"I don't know," George said with a shake of the head, "you can't put anything down these days without your little brother assimilating it!"

1st March 2001 (Ron is 21)

RON: What a way to spend your twenty-first eh, being checked out by a healer for residual pieces of umbrella?

"So I might have got you the best birthday present you've ever had Ron," Ben smiled at me as he ran his fingers over the slightly raised skin that was going to be my 'umbrella' scar before lowering my shirt.

"Well I seriously doubt that because I was once given the gift of poisoned mead as a birthday treat and I have to say nothing's topped that since."

Ben chuckled at this.

"Ah poisoned mead, the gift that shows you really care!"

I hopped off the bed and began to pull my jacket back on while Ben drew the curtains and walked me out of the treatment room and along the corridor with a very satisfied look on his face.

"So what's this gift then? Is it a hand knitted jumper with the letter 'R' on the front because, I hate to tell you this, I've already got one of those."

"Even better than that," Ben laughed as he slapped me on the back.

"Oh wow!" I feigned awe at this claim.

Ben stopped walking and pulled me around to face him by the hand that rested upon my shoulder. He wasn't going all serious on me but his tone had definitely changed I noticed.

"Ron do you think you could run a mile a day?"

I shook my head and blinked. Where had that question come from I wondered.

"Um yeah, I suppose, a mile's not far and we used to run laps before Quiddich practice at school. Why d'you ask?"

Ben began to smile again.

"I don't want to make you any promises, this might not work but will you do something for me?"

I frowned.

"What?" I asked with suspicion.

"I want you to run one mile every day for seven days and then come back here to me for another check up."

I subconsciously felt the new scar on my stomach with my right hand.

"Is this something to do with the umbrella?"

"No," Ben laughed as he shoved me and we both set off walking back to the exit again, "this is something I've been looking into and I just want to try it out. Would you do this favour for me?"

I nodded.

"A mile a day for a week, sure I can do that," I shrugged.

"And come back here first thing this time next week for another check-up?"

"Nine AM sharp, will do," I nodded again, "Ben what is this about?"

He smiled at me as we paused by the main doors back out into the muggle world.

"This is your birthday present Ron."

2nd March 2001 (Ron is 21, Hermione is 21)

RON: I had gone running as soon as I got back from the hospital yesterday and found that a lap of the park outside our flat was just over a mile so I did that in no time. My side didn't even hurt, Ben's really good at his job.

I didn't say anything about this running thing to Hermione. I wasn't going to hide it from her, she'd obviously notice that I was doing it, but I'd just keep the part about it being medical advice to myself until after Ben's check-up next week. There's no point telling her something I don't really understand myself. Ben wants me to trust him and I do so that's why I brushed my teeth, had a pint of water to drink and started warming up at the window at seven o'clock this morning in my joggers.

"What are you doing?" Hermione said from behind me, she was leaning against the doorframe of our bedroom with a sheet wrapped around her and a quizzical look on her face.

"Sorry didn't mean to wake you," I grinned as I stretched my hamstrings.

"You didn't," she said as she looked me up and down with suspicion, "I always know when you're not there and wake myself up."

My left leg dropped back down and I stared at her, I never knew that.

"Really?" I blinked.

She smiled and moved across the room toward me.

"Really. But you didn't answer my question oh king of evasiveness, where are you going?"

I chuckled as I put my arms around her and gave her a hug and a kiss before responding with the truth.

"I'm going for a run around the park."

She raised an eyebrow at me.

"Oh, I didn't think you were much of a jogger."

I shrugged and lifted my right leg to stretch it out as I had done with the left.

"Well I'm not but I just felt like it this morning. Pent-up energy or something, it can't hurt can it?"

"No you're right, exercise is always good," she nodded, "but I'm just worried about your injury. You don't want to aggravate it Ron."

"I won't," I said as I walked around her and headed for the front door, "Ben said I was fine to run."

Woops, she was definitely suspicious now.

"So you asked Ben if you'd be ok to run today then?"

I swallowed and opened the front door.

"Uh-huh."

"And you just happened to get up early this morning and feel like a run?" she said with that 'I got ya now' look on her face.

"Yup," I nodded before she narrowed her eyes at me and I knew I wasn't going to get away with it that easily, "Look I've just got it in me to go running recently and Ben thinks it's a good idea so I'm going to go running. I'm not up to anything."

"I never said you were!" she grinned with amusement, always able to make me feel guilty even when I'm doing nothing wrong.

"Well good 'cause I'm not," I smiled back at her, "You could come if you wanted to."

Hermione raised both her eyebrows now and shook her head.

"Not my thing I'm afraid Ron. I love you but you're on your own."

I feigned hurt before laughing and stepping out through the open door and calling back through as I closed it behind me slowly.

"I'm just doing a lap of the park, you can watch me from the window if you like."

4th March 2001 (Ron is 21, Hermione is 21)

HERMIONE: Off he goes again.

He wakes up and plants a kiss on my cheek, knowing now that I wake as soon as he leaves my side, before downing a camel's worth of water and putting on his running gear. By the time I'm up and out of bed he's finished his warm-ups and kisses me again before jogging out the door and down the stairs to head over to the park.

I make myself a cup of coffee and sit on the windowsill where I watch him maintaining his steady pace all the way around the edges of the park. It's freezing outside but it doesn't seem to matter to the five or six other joggers out this morning so I don't expect it bothers Ron either.

I sip my coffee and smile to myself as his figure disappears into a tiny shape on the far side of the park. I used to sit on the sidelines and pretend to read during Quiddich practice when we were at school but I was really watching Ron when he and the others did laps of the pitch before mounting their brooms and taking off. I think it was Quiddich practice that took away Ron's gangly physique and made him become athletically toned. He was still thin but not skinny like before.

I wondered if this is why the Ron's of the future are so much fitter than the Ron I've known so far. His arms are already bulking up. From the different ages of Ron I have seen so far he gets the strength in his arms first, then the upper body just a little, and finally he becomes the lean and muscular Ron who I know as my husband. Maybe this running thing will become a regular occurrence.

I don't mind as long as it makes him happy.

5th March 2001 (Ron is 21, Hermione is 21)

RON: I'm getting around this park much quicker today. I didn't cut any corners did I?

As I turn onto the home straight I see Hermione at the window. She's always at the window watching me. She's stopped asking questions but still doesn't quite understand why I'm suddenly Mr Athletic. I'm still not clear what Ben's aiming for with this either but I'm beginning to think that whether what he wants to come of this works or not I'll still keep doing it. I do actually feel better for it.

It's like I close off all the thoughts about work and seizures and everything that's happened over the years and just get lost in the rhythm of the run. I never feel like any time has passed and now that this lap is almost over with I could quite happily go around and do another one before going back to the flat.

But Ben said a mile a day so that's what I'll stick to until I find out what this is all about. I'll ask him when I go in for my check-up if I can do more than a mile in future. Who'd have thought that running in a big bloody circle every morning could put you in such a good mood for the rest of the day?

I reach the end of my run, stopping back at the gates opposite out flat where I begin every morning, and go through the warm down that Harry always made us do after every practice. Hermione waves at me from the window and mimes drinking before making the letter 'T' with her hands. I nod and she disappears to make me a cuppa.

I look at my watch and see that I've been a whole five minutes faster today.

"Blimey, I wasn't even in a hurry either!"

6th March 2001 (Ron is 21 and 32, Hermione is 21)

HERMIONE: I'm carrying Ron's cup of tea back from the kitchen when he opens the door and steps back inside panting and sweating.

"How do you get so hot?" I say with a shiver for good measure, "It's freezing out there."

"Only if you stand still babe," he smiles before leaning over and kissing me, making sure not to let his sweaty jogging clothes touch me.

He takes the tea and swallows a gulp before stripping his stinky tracksuit bottoms off and tossing them into the washing machine, followed by his sweatshirt and socks, before closing the door and tapping the machine with his wand.

He gulps down the rest of his tea and excuses himself to go for a shower. I have this whole routine memorised now, though not the timings, he's getting faster and faster every day. I'm beginning to think that soon he'll be out back showered and dressed before I even get myself out of bed. I hope not. I actually enjoy watching his little ritual. It's a very calming start to my day.

The bedroom door opens and a different Ron steps out wearing his other self's bathrobe. He is one of the well-built Rons so I'm assuming he's in his thirties.

"Hi Hermione, got anything to drink?" he smiles.

"Is that all any of you ever do?" I sigh as I roll my eyes and pull a carton of orange juice out of the fridge and hand it to him.

He laughs at me and shrugs.

"It dehydrates a bloke this time travelling, what can I say?"

I begin to make him a sandwich while he wanders into the living room and picks up a newspaper to find out the date.

"It's March the fifth!" he says after swallowing a mouthful of orange juice noisily.

"Sixth actually, that's yesterdays," I call back through to him.

"I've just started the running," on hearing the new Ron mutter this I look back through the doorway with a frown.

"Can you tell me what this running stuff is all about?" I ask.

"Oh come on Hermione," he says as he tosses the paper aside and strolls back to the kitchen and I turn to continue making his sandwich, "you've only got to wait one more day. Patience woman, patience."

I didn't like the sound of that.

"One more day for what?"

"Don't worry, just go with him when he sees Ben tomorrow."

"You're seeing Ben tomorrow, why, what's wrong with you?" I said with a little more panic than I really wanted to show.

"There's nothing wrong with me babe, I'm not the one you're worrying about am I?" he smiled before pulling me into a quick hug, "There's nothing wrong with him either. Just tell him you know where he's going tomorrow and go along with him. That way Ben can tell you both together."

I was about to hit my future husband for being so cryptic when my Ron emerged from the shower with a towel around his waist and another rubbing at his damp hair roughly.

"Oh hello," he said on seeing his other self, "when did you get here?"

"Just a little while ago," the visiting Ron shrugged, "nice run?"

My Ron frowned at him as if wondering what his other self knew that he didn't.

"Yeah."

"Juice?" the older Ron offered him the carton which he took with that same look on his face and drank from before handing it back, "I wish I'd have got here sooner we could have gone together. I prefer it when I run with myself."

My Ron laughed at this.

"You do?" he asked as I handed the older Ron his sandwich and set about making some breakfast for my Ron.

"Yeah," he nodded with a grin, "you're the only one who can keep up with me!"

7th March 2001 (Ron is 21, Hermione is 21)

RON: I don't know what my other self said to her but Hermione was dressed and ready to go by the time I got back from my run this morning. We are now sitting in Ben's treatment room and he is bobbing around in front of me with an unusually excited look on his face.

"Well what is this all about then?" I asked him.

He looked at Hermione and back to me with a grin.

"Did you tell her what I asked you to do for me?" he said as he bounced up and down on the balls of his feet.

"You asked Ron to run a mile a day for a week and didn't tell him why," Hermione nodded.

"That's exactly what I did," he nodded with that same infuriatingly happy grin on his face.

"Would you mind telling me why now?" I asked him with an annoyed huff.

Ben jumped up onto the bed in front of us and swung his legs off the edge as he leaned forward and looked me in the eye.

"You ran a mile every morning, every day, like I asked you right?"

"Yes!" I snapped at him.

"Anything strange happen to you?" he smirked.

I frowned and looked at Hermione. She was looking at me and gearing herself up to shout at me for not telling her about whatever it was Ben thought would happen to me that I had kept from her.

"No, nothing."

Ben punched the air. I glanced at Hermione with a worried frown.

"Here's the big question Ron," Ben said, almost shaking with excitement now, "How many seizures did you have over the past seven days?"

I blinked.

"One."

Ben began to bounce up and down on the bed a little.

"And how many do you usually have in a week Ron?"

"Four or f…" I stopped myself just as I understood what he had done, "…five."

Hermione gasped and grabbed my arm.

"You're controlling the seizures?" she said with a shake in her voice.

Ben couldn't sit still any longer and hopped off the bed to give me an enthusiastic slap on the shoulder.

"They're not controlled, I can't do anything to stop them all together but I think that if you focus your mind and your body on maintaining this routine every day then we can keep the number of episodes down by about seventy five percent."

I felt as if I was going to fall off my chair. Hermione was laughing and crying and threw her arms around me with delight. Ben beamed down at me and held out his hand. I held on to Hermione with one arm and extended the other to shake his hand.

"Happy birthday Ron!"

A/N Is it just me or do any of you have a big crush on dear old Ben?

He's based on my physiotherapist and he was DAMN fine I can tell you!