CHAPTER 12:
CANCER.
That's what all the reports were pointing at.
Carlisle felt the pain that was all but palpable in the haphazard room of the crooked little house that could only be standing due to magic and nothing more, he was sure. The Burrow, Harry and Hermione had called it.
He had met the Weasley one too many times during his three days stay and every time he met the father of the brood, he was cornered into explaining some muggle artefact or the other. But he didn't mind. The Weasley patriarch always returned the favor and answered all of his silly questions about all things magical too.
He met Bill and his pretty wife Fleur, the eldest son and daughter-in-law, in the goblin run bank Hermione had taken him to change his money into the wizarding kind, after they had drawn out cash from an ATM that accepted his American bank's debit card and gave him the required amount of GBP.
He had already met the second eldest, Charlie, back at his place during the newborn vampire war, and as he worked in Romania he wasn't around at the Burrow too much, he was told by Ginny, the youngest and the only Weasley girl, who had met them at Harry's place having volunteered to help Harry while Hermione took him out shopping.
Hermione had taken him to a shop run by a Madam Malkin from where he'd bought dressy robes for all the ladies in his life. Surprisingly, he didn't have to worry about size and fitting since the madam had charmed them to fit the wearer perfectly.
They had then gone on to Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, the joke shop and after taking a severe bruising to his retina, Carlisle had been completely bowled over by some of the products, going ahead to even pick up a few for his son Emmett, who he was sure would love the shop to destruction if he ever so much as set a foot there. Ronald had greeted him there like an old friend, introducing his elder brother George, who looked too sad to be running a joke shop but from what he understood, the boy had just lost his twin, so no one could fault him his grief really.
From there, Hermione had taken him to a wizarding sports shop. While he knew buying a broom was an utter waste, he hadn't been able to resist himself and had gone ahead and bought one anyway thinking he'd ask Esme to use it as a showpiece if nothing else. He had also bought a wizarding chess set and a game called exploding snaps from there for his other son Jasper, along with a set of gobstones for Alice, a game Hermione promised to teach her the next they met.
Lastly, they went into Flourish and Bolts and neither wanted to leave. Between the two, he was sure they had bought half the store if not more! While he had bought a few books for his last son Edward, most were for himself and he was already thinking of places to shelf them in his study even as the cashier was ringing in their purchase.
Once out from there, Hermione had banished all of their shopping to Harry's house and they had made way to the muggle hospital where they had gotten a ton of tests run on Andromeda the day before. They were to collect her reports and meet everyone at the Burrow thereafter.
And that's where he was now. After a good long look at all her reports, with a sinking heart, he had spoken his doubts aloud, which unfortunately were doubts no more; bringing him back to the current moment where the air was thick with tension.
"How do we proceed?" Hermione whispered, batting her eyes constantly to keep the tears from falling, though Carlisle felt that was a lost cause as her eyes kept brimming with more water.
"It's still not reached the last stage, so there might be something I can do. I do not guarantee any reversal but we can try. There's a therapy, chemo, it is called, along with some laser that might help.."
"But…." Bill cut in, knowing the vampire's speech was leading in that direction.
"But I need to go back home, to my family. If you want to continue her treatment here, you will need to find a good doctor here itself. I can and definitely will oversee everything, giving my opinion wherever needed but that's all that I can do from the distance."
"Or..?" This time Ron prompted him on.
"Or, I can take her along, keep her in my charge. I can have her admitted in the hospital I work at and I will always be hands-on, available to take care of every single procedure."
"We can't separate Teddy from Andromeda. Not now, not when.." Harry trailed off, shaking his head.
"No, we can't do that to either of them," Mrs. Weasley agreed.
"No. But we can send him along," Hermione thought aloud.
"What?" "How?" rang loudly in the room, everyone voicing their doubts together. All except Ginny and George.
"That's perfect, Mione. If one of us accompanies them, it'll all work out. Dr. Cullen can look after Andromeda and we can take care of Teddy," George agreed.
"I'll go," Ginny immediately volunteered. "They are family after all," she said this looking straight at Harry and gave him a small, shy smile.
"No. You stay and try your luck with the Holyhead Harpies, just like you were planning to. I'll go," Hermione immediately cut in. "Listen to me first," she said, raising her hand and halting everyone's tirade. "I'm only giving NEWTs this year, that too through the ministry. I am the most logical choice. I can study anywhere and give my papers at the Ministry of Magic in Seattle. Everyone else has something or the other binding them here, except me. I am free to move and so I shall. That's my decision and it's final." Hermione crossed her arms on her chest and waited for the first person to crack, knowing that person would change the tide of the outburst that was to follow.
George gave a her hard look and then nodding to himself spoke out loud. "It makes complete sense," he seconded Hermione's decision. "Besides everything else, Hermione needs some time by herself to find out what she wants to do with her life and being there, in the cusp of both muggle and wizarding world, maybe she will find her vocation. She needs to have this chance, it'll do her good."
Slowly, everyone agreed. Ron was the most reluctant though he too gave in at the very end, knowing he'd never be able to shake Hermione's resolve once she'd made it.
"I hope you know what you're doing," he finally said and she nodded, a tad too guilty to meet his eyes.
"It'll be good for you too," she whispered softly to him.
"I doubt it," Ron said and walked away.
Harry placed a hand on her shoulder in a consoling manner and then followed his friend out.
"I guess we need to work out our story and living arrangements in Forks then," Hermione turned to Carlisle and he gave her an encouraging smile.
The Weasleys all sat around the table that one of them conjured out of thin air. Hermione and Carlisle sat opposite one another with the big family all around them. Harry and Ron were the only two missing as they all brain stormed and delegated tasks between themselves to smoothen 'the move across the pond' as Ginny had wisely named the 'mission'.