Chapter Thirteen

Unfortunately there was no time to establish a contingency plan before it was actually needed.

The following morning Fred was working with Verity, preparing to open the shop when he heard a loud crack. He turned to see Professor McGonagall standing there with Ginny, who was frantically calling his name. They locked eyes and Fred grew cold. He knew that only one thing would cause that look - something had happened to Hermione.

He raced to his sister. Without a word McGonagall grabbed his arm and they apparated away. Seconds later they arrived at their destination - a hallway he was all too familiar with - the one leading to the hospital wing at Hogwarts.

Fred charged blindly towards the doors, shouting Hermione's name. Professor McGonagall stepped in front of him.

"Mr. Weasley! Lower your voice! Do not make me regret my decision to bring you here."

Fred reached for his wand. He gave the professor a hard stare and took a deep breath before speaking in a measured, icy tone. "Professor - do not make me move you."

Ginny reached for his arm. "Fred." He continued to glare at the door and the woman in front of it. "Fred!"

He finally turned towards his sister. She gently lowered his wand, speaking softly and keeping her eyes locked on his the whole time. "Hermione's going to be okay. She's asleep right now. Let us explain and then we'll go see her. All right?"

Ginny was nodding slowly as she spoke and Fred found himself following suit.

Professor McGonagall exhaled deeply. "Thank you, Miss Weasley." She turned back to Fred. "It seems that there was an unfortunate incident this morning involving other members of the student body."

Ginny snorted. The professor turned and arched an eyebrow. Ginny ignored the look and spoke directly to her brother. "What the Headmistress is trying to say is that some vile little 4th year Slytherins decided to have a little fun at breakfast today and spiked various jugs of pumpkin juice with their own special creation."

Fred gulped. "Poison?"

Ginny shook her head. "Nothing so simple as that. No, this little concoction was a demented twist on a daydream charm although, instead of being caught up in a nice little fantasy for a while, the people that drink this particular cocktail get trapped in a waking version of their worst nightmares for 30 minutes."

Whatever color had been left in Fred's face drained completely at hearing this. Without another word he pushed past both women and into the ward. Before he could call out again Ginny grabbed him and whispered loudly, "Last bed on the left."

He raced to the end of the room, searching for the bed with Hermione in it. Several other figures were already gathered around. When he reached her side, Luna quickly stood and gave him the spot she had been occupying. Fred dropped down and grabbed Hermione's hand. He stared at her pale face then reached to stroke her cheek and shivered at how cold it felt.

"She'll sleep for a couple of more hours at least." It took a moment for Fred to process that it was Neville's voice he was hearing. He looked across the cot and started when he saw the man's face. It was bruised and bleeding.

"Bloody hell, Nev! What happened to you?"

Neville shrugged. Ginny finally spoke up. "It was Hermione."

Fred looked confused. "What?"

Neville began to protest. "She didn't know..."

Ginny cut him off. "Neville was visiting Professor McGonagall this morning. I ran into him in the hallway and invited him to breakfast. Nev, Luna and I had just sat down and started chatting with Hermione when the commotion started."

She indicated with her head and Fred turned, just now becoming aware that most of the beds in the ward were filled. "We weren't sure what was going on at first. Neville summoned Ron, Harry and some of the other Aurors as soon as he figured out that this was some sort of deliberate attack."

Fred finally noticed that Harry, Ron and Kingsley were all standing near the bed as well.

Professor McGonagall spoke up. "How were you able to contact them so quickly, Longbottom?"

Harry stepped forward. "Through our old DA coins. Neville had the idea for the former members that were joining the Aurors to wear them round our necks. He worked with Hermione just as we began training to tweak the charm so that we could warn each other of danger and get to each other quickly in case of an emergency."

Ginny and Luna both smiled at Neville who was beginning to look very uncomfortable with all the attention.

Ginny continued. "Right after he had called for reinforcements we heard Hermione scream. Neville grabbed her and carried her into the girls lavatory for safety."

All eyes turned back to Neville at that point. He took a deep breath before explaining. "It has been my experience that when sick people do things like this they take pleasure in hanging around and watching the chaos." He glanced down at Hermione before looking back at Fred. "Hermione's my friend. I wasn't going to let her become some sort of a side show for those bastards to enjoy."

Fred nodded gratefully. "Thank you."

Luna sat down next to Neville. "Ginny and I followed them. By this time I realized that Hermione thought that she was back...there." She looked towards Harry and Ron. "We were able to get her wand from her but before we could completely subdue her she went after Neville with her fists. I assume from her words that she thought he was Greyback."

Luna reached out and gently touched Neville's shoulder. "Neville didn't fight back. He just let her go at him until we were able to safely restrain her. Then Ginny left to find the Headmistress so Neville and I stayed with Hermione until Madam Pomfrey arrived with an antidote."

Neville reached across and laid his hand on Fred's arm while looking the other man directly in the eye. "I promise you. We didn't leave her side, Fred. Not for one second. I swear it."

Fred swallowed hard while gripping Hermione's hand even tighter. "You're a good man, Neville. I appreciate everything you've done." He turned to look at Ginny and Luna. "All of you. Really. I know Hermione will as well."

He took a deep breath and then shifted his focus to Kingsley, Harry and Ron. "What I need to know from you lot is that you have the bastards who did this and when I can get my hands on them."

Ron folded his arms. "We have it under control, Fred. The students were easy. Like Neville said they were stupid enough to stick around and watch the ruckus they caused. The ingredients they used are fairly exotic and easy to trace. We are working on that part now. The last bit will be finding if they came up with this plan themselves or if they had outside help."

Kingsley stepped forward. "That shouldn't take long. Whether they acted alone or with outside help they made one very big mistake - they acted indiscriminately."

Fred shook his head. "Sorry. Not following."

Shacklebolt gestured back into the ward. "They hit every house - including Slytherin. They also hit every status - Muggleborn, Half-Blood, Pure Blood, at least one member of the faculty. There will be no safe harbor for those connected to this incident. We already have people lining up at the Ministry asking how they can help find anyone connected to this."

Harry knelt down beside Fred. "That being said, we would all feel better if Hermione was in a place where she felt safe when she woke up - someplace that will be a bit easier to lock down until we know for sure that we've got everyone involved. We were hoping that could be your flat."

"Absolutely," Fred stated. "That was going to be my suggestion anyway." He looked back at Professor McGonagall. "Can I take her there now?"

The headmistress glanced at Madame Pomfrey, who nodded. "All she needs now is rest and quiet. If Mr. Weasley can provide that I have no problem releasing her into his care."

Fred immediately scooped Hermione into his arms before looking around. "I am assuming that since I am still on school grounds that I will need to apparate with either the Headmistress or one of the Aurors?"

Harry looked at Kingsley. "I can apparate directly into Fred's flat. I've done it before. May I?"

The large man nodded. "Come back to the ministry after you get them settled. We'll stop by in the morning to give them an update."

Fred tightened his grip on Hermione and turned to his friend. "Right. Let's go then."

With a crack they were gone and seconds later they were standing in the living room of the flat. Fred went straight for the bedroom and laid Hermione gently down on the bed. He quickly removed her shoes and outer robes as well as the tie of her school uniform before covering her with the blankets, securely tucking her in and smoothing the hair from her face.

Harry stood back while this took place. He finally spoke quietly. "I'll leave her wand in the other room. She may be disoriented when she wakes up and it would kill her if she accidentally injured you before she knew what she was doing."

Fred nodded distractedly, his eyes never leaving Hermione's still form. Harry turned Fred to face him. "Hey. She's going to be okay. This is not your fault. There is nothing you could have done to prevent this. Understand?"

Fred stared blankly at him. Harry gripped his friend's shoulder and gave a shake. "Get some rest yourself, mate. She'll need you strong when she wakes up. We'll stop back tomorrow with an update. Okay?"

Fred paused then hugged Harry tightly. "Thank you."

Harry squeezed back. "No problem. Just take care of her." With that he stepped back and apparated away.

Fred returned to the bed, crawled in next to Hermione and wrapped his arms around her, burying his face in her hair. Then, and only then, did he finally allow himself to do the one thing he had wanted to do from the moment he had realized something had actually happened to her.

He held her close and he wept.