Erised
Chapter 3
The trio, along with Ginny, sat on a bench inside the white room, as the Healer allowed McGonagall and the Weasley parents across the invisible wall inside the room. Nothing could be heard on the other side, the silencing charm worked perfectly, and they desperately wanted answers.
"It might just be a friend of Mum and Dad's," Ron finally said. He was next to Hermione, with Ginny and Harry on the other side of her.
Ginny gave him an incredulous look as she leaned forward to stare at him. "Do you really believe that, or are you just making it up to make yourself feel better?" Ginny asked. Her irritation was clearly showing now, but it made Harry chuckle softly behind her.
"Oi! At least you could've warned us that they were coming. We did our part," Ron grumbled angrily. The tips of his ears turned red as he stared at the invisible barrier; as if he looked at it long enough he imagined it to open.
"We just didn't get behind there," Harry nodded towards the wall. "You know we're a year out of school and still getting in trouble with her?" Harry groaned and covered his face with his hand in frustration. They all believed that their time being in trouble with teachers was over, but it seemed that it was a never ending cycle.
"Quiet," Hermione hissed, "they can still hear us. It doesn't work both ways." The group became silent and Ron had paled considerably; they didn't want to anger McGonagall or worse, Mrs. Weasley. Her temper was the only thing scarier than Voldemort himself, at least to her youngest son, Ron.
The ticking of the clock on the wall became louder as the seconds passed. The red long hand taunting them, until the barrier was disrupted and Mrs. Weasley rushed out of it, tears in her eyes and Arthur right after her. She rushed to her two children, pulled them up into a hug and let out a sob.
"Our prayers have been heard!" she cried out joyfully—her hands gripped her children tightly against her chest, the pressure was almost painful.
"What's wrong Dad?" Ron asked, he hesitantly hugged his mother back.
"We're going to owl Bill right away, but I want you to send a Patronus to Charlie and Percy, Alright? Don't ask any questions yet." Arthur ordered as he pulled his sobbing wife away from them, and turned down the hall towards the front desk.
Ron and Ginny looked at each other in shock, unable to find the words to express what they thought was going on. They stared dumbly on then towards the doorway, while the hospital buzzed around them—the ward becoming slightly busier than it was previously.
"You heard your mother!" Hermione snapped at Ron, and quickly pulled her wand out of her pocket. "Expecto Patronum," she called and a white light started to seep out from her wand—the smoke slowly turned into a glistening and sleek looking small animal. Her eyes widened as she stared down at her wand in disbelief once again.
"'Mione, that's not yours—"
"It is hers, maybe it changed during the War? A lot of things happened," Ginny said thoughtfully as she knelt down on the ground. The small fox began to wander around the room, moving past the barrier and then back sliding in between Hermione's legs and over towards Ginny before the mist disappeared once again.
"Tonks changed once. It's possible," Harry pointed out. "Don't be so worried alright? There ought to be loads of reasons for it."
"I'm not…it's just odd. It's not something that happens every day—oh well—Expecto Patronum!" she cast the spell again, and the silver mist reemerged from her wand and sat in front of her obediently.
"Go to Charlie Weasley in Romania. Charlie, come straight away to St. Mungo's, and be quick!" she called as the little female fox began to trot away, and soon it broke out into a large run. Hermione moved out towards the hallway to watch it.
"I'll send one to Percy, he may have a heart attack if he sees anyone else's," Ginny said as she cast hers. Her beautiful horse slowly came together out of her wand and she gave it quick instructions for Percy to come straight to the ward and it was off, moving through hallways and over healers before disappearing through a wall.
Hermione paced around the floor outside of the room while Ron and Ginny talked about the possibilities for what could be there. McGonagall was still behind the invisible curtain, and Hermione wanted to just peek her head inside. She knew better than to try to breach wards when she wasn't at her best physical strength.
About a half hour passed, when Charlie Weasley came striding down the hallway and Hermione signaled for him to come in. He was followed by Bill Weasley, and then Percy, and she ushered them all inside.
"Mum is with George, keeps trying to convince him that he needs to be here," Bill nodded towards the door.
"Do you know what's happening?" Charlie asked.
"No clue. McGonagall was in there, and then found Mum and Dad. They wanted you all here, so I guess it might be a relative that she found. She's in there now," Ron shrugged and sat down again next to Harry. Ginny took a seat next to her boyfriend, and gripped his hand tightly.
"We're back!" Molly declared, as she pulled George in with her. Arthur walked in right behind her and shutting the door swiftly. George looked ready to escape, and throw himself through the door if he could. Hermione moved through the Weasley's, and stood next to George, hesitantly moved her hand to grip his wrist.
He didn't move her off of him, but he also didn't move to step closer to her either.
McGonagall moved through the wards and charm, shocking some of the boys, and she nodded towards Mr. and Mrs. Weasley.
"I'll remain here, unless you'd rather me not. I'm sure some of them may have questions," McGonagall explained.
"You're always welcome to stay Minerva," Arthur reassured her. He pulled his wand out of his pocket, and slowly pulled the wards down from the place, taking off the silencing charm and then the disillusionment charm.
The disillusioned bed disappeared, leaving a similar bed, but there was a young red headed boy under the hair was matted and dirty, and his face was unwashed as well; a bandage was wrapped around his forehead and the side of his face, covering his left eye.
Hermione squeezed George's wrist tighter as her heart slowly stopped. Her breath caught in her throat as she watched the figure's chest, looking for a sign of movement, and sure enough his chest began to rise and fall softly under her gaze. George began to lean against her, and let out a few whimpers of distress which made his mother quickly moved towards him to hug him.
"Georgie, it's him," she whispered lovingly.
Hermione began to shake her head, and back away from the brood of Weasley's who stared in awe of the figure in the bed. She had dreamt many nights that she would see his body once again after they lowered him into the ground. She had prayed that it was all a nightmare, but this was a cruel joke that life was playing on her.
George moved away from them and towards the bed, his hand moving hesitantly to touch his twin's chest.
He collapsed against the side of the bed, burying his face in his twin's limp shoulder and began apologizing quickly for how everything had ended.
Hermione couldn't breath and began to hyperventilate. Her breathing became quick and shallow as her head began to spin and the nausea was starting to creep into her veins. She leaned against the wall to keep herself up, while the rest stayed put and stared at their sibling's sleeping figure. Bill quickly pulled her over to a hospital chair, and crouched down next to her.
"Head between your knees, Granger," he said quickly, and helped her into the position as she began breathing in and out slower.
Harry moved to her as well while the rest of the Weasley's began to walk towards the bed, surrounding it as they gazed at their sleeping sibling. He rubbed Hermione's back softly, and spoke sweet words to her, encouraging her to breath and that everything was alright.
"Is this real?" Hermione asked when she finally brought her head up.
"I believe I can answer that for you, Miss Granger," McGonagall spoke up finally.
She coughed softly, moving her robes around before rolling her shoulders back and facing her audience. "How familiar are you with Tamsin Blight?" She questioned. Hermione's hand immediately shot in the air, and when she looked around a blush rose under her cheeks. She had not forgotten what it was like to be a know-it-all even after school.
"Miss Granger," Minerva left it open for her.
"She's a very famous witch from the nineteenth century. Mrs. Blight was married to a very successful wizard, but she was incredibly successful herself—you see—she excelled in curse breaking and spell casting. Her husband actually proposed sleeping with a well…he proposed sleeping with a man," Hermione rambled. "She's also very well known for bringing someone's loved one's soul back from the dead. Though her very last circle had gone wrong, and no one knows what happened to her until she died in October of 1856."
"Very good Miss Granger. If you were still in school, 50 points for Gryffindor," Minerva smiled with pride.
"What's this old witch have to do with Fred?" Ron asked.
"She is the creator of the Mirror of Erised. She created the mirror with the intention to lure her husband back. She thought that she could make him see reason by having him see her in the mirror, and then she would be able to trick him into loving her," McGonagall explained.
"She couldn't though, he was gay—that doesn't explain why she went missing though," Hermione thought out loud.
"Tamsin Blight used the mirror during one of her ceremonies to awake the dead. Her magic became unstable, and when it did not go according to plan, she locked part of death up inside of it. That's how the mirror has survived so long—it's also how Headmaster Phineas Niguellus Black came into possession of it," McGonagall stated. "It was given to Cygnus Black I, Phineas's father. Tasmin and Cygnus were friends, and then it came into Headmaster Phineas during his years at Hogwarts and it was stored within our walls. It had never seen the light of day by another soul since its residence until Mr. Potter discovered it."
"That still doesn't answer the question. How is it that it's related to Fred?" Ron persisted.
"Ronald, didn't you just hear her?" Hermione quipped. "He came out of the Mirror, didn't he?" she turned her attention to McGonagall, "After George and I had left the reflection there. We both saw the same thing, and the Mirror didn't know how to handle it," Hermione rushed out.
"I had assumed that the mirror broke due to Mr. Weasley, so this changes some things. You both saw him? This has never happened before.." Mcgonagall trailed off.
"Our magic is the reason he's here?" George questioned.
"Yes. His passing was still extremely fresh, compared to others the mirror had helped bring back. Blight herself was once locked inside of it for years, until her death. She died a squib—her magic had been locked inside the mirror for a very long time. During this time, it gained properties much like the Veil. Once she finally figured out how to escape, she passed on and the mirror was given to Cygnus to remember her by.
"I don't know what you two did, but the magic from your core was enough to destabilize the mirror, and the last thing you both desired was Mr. Weasley. It'll be as if he never passed on, and the war was just yesterday. He will have much to recover from," McGonagall said solemnly.
"They brought my son back?" Molly questioned.
"Their magic combined seems to have triggered the Mirror. It was so powerful that it's long gone now, the only thing left of the mirror is its frame," McGonagall said softly.
Hermione found herself being pulled into a large, and comfortable hug by Molly. Her head buried against Hermione's bushy hair as the tears fell freely. Hermione quickly wrapped herself around the Weasley Matriarch, and was squished tighter when Arthur moved to hug them both tightly.
"I cannot repay you enough. You've saved my son's on multiple occasion, but this is something new. You are such an extraordinary witch, Hermione," Molly whispered against her ear.
Hermione shook her head, and stepped away from them. "I didn't know I was doing it, or that I'd done it. George deserves more credit than me. He's extraordinary and you're my," her voice broke, "my family—you're what I have left. I love you all," tears began falling down her cheeks. "I'd do anything to have you all together."
.
"Well bloody hell! You've been friends with this witch for years, and you've not figured out she can do extraordinary magic? We should've contacted her earlier if she can do this," Charlie broke the silence and the Weasley bunch began to laugh. Hermione and Harry were naturally included.
The healer walked into the room, flipping through his notes before speaking, "Heartwarming and all, but we need to discuss his healing."
"It is heartwarming," Ginny muttered under her breath, and Harry quickly nudged her to stay quiet. She sent him a glare then turned to face the Healer.
"What's wrong with him, exactly?" Percy asked.
"Mr. Weasley here has suffered from a concussion, and damage to his frontal, occipital, and parietal lobes. We cannot be sure exactly what damage will be caused by this, because we have him in a magical coma. However, we can safely assume that his motor skills will be off, and he'll need physical therapy.
"He's got a crushed leg that we've looked over and have begun healing it, so he will most likely walk with a limp. He may need a cane until he builds up enough strength again. Now as for his eye, it would appear that his left eye is not responding like the right and we have cause to believe he will be partially blind in that eye."
"What about his hand? It's his wand hand," George asked.
"He will regain full mobility of his wand hand after it heals. He broke quite a few bones that we've had to mend. He'll need help in his daily life though until everything goes back to normal—as normal as it can," the healer said.
"Of course, Arthur and I will be with him," Molly said.
"I don't mean to interject, but we'll all be helping. Everyone will be able to pitch in when they can. It's not going to rest on just you and Mr. Weasley," Harry interrupted.
Molly's eyes teared up again, and she placed a hand over her heart. She gave Harry a fond look, and pursed her lips in attempts not to cry harder, and she nodded her head.
"When will you be waking him up?" Hermione asked.
"Tomorrow, we think he'll be stable enough to wake up and perhaps talk. We don't for certain if he'll respond, or if there's going to be memory loss. You all have to be prepared for the worst. I can only allow two of you to stay the night. In case something should happen-let's just say that the less people the better for him."
"I'm sorry, but three people are going to have to stay," Hermione spoke again before anyone could argue with the Healer.
"Hospital poli—"
"They've just gotten their son back, and George is not leaving either!" Hermione scolded.
"Your emotions are getting the better of you Miss, think of it from a logical standpoint—it's a crowd," he glared.
"Their family has been through enough," she barked out. "Arthur and Molly are staying here, this is Harry Potter's family! Think of the negative press the world would give you if they heard you denied the savior the right to let his family be together?" Hermione lectured as she moved closer towards the healer. Her voice rising after every word, and the condescending undertone wasn't missed.
"Knew she was scarier than Mum," Ron gulped.
"I didn't—"
"That's right! You didn't think," Hermione insisted. "This is of the utmost importance. He'll want to see his parents and brother first thing."
"Of course," the Healer conceded.
"Come on, we should go and get things for Mum and Dad to stay overnight with George and Fred," Ginny said quickly, and rushed over to Fred's beside to kiss both of her brother's on the head. She left to the hallway with Harry, and waited outside.
"She's right, we'll take care of everything at home," Hermione agreed, and walked over towards the hospital bed. Hermione leaned down to kiss Fred on the forehead and then did the same with George. She gave Molly and Arthur a quick hug, and as she left, kept her darkened gaze on the Healer.
Hermione was no saint. She had blackmailed the vapid woman Rita Skeeter into writing a better article about Harry, and she had caught her in her unregistered anamagus form in the hospital wing. She did what she had to for the good of her friends and for the wouldn't have to suffer through reading another article by Skeeter, while she slandered Harry's name.
It was the least she could do. Harry was her best friend, and he had always protected her in everything that they did. In return she protected him just as fiercely, and remained loyal even while others doubted him.
The other Weasley's said their goodbyes, and they all waited near the hall of fireplaces.
"Ginny, Harry, and Ron. You'll be going to the market. I want you to stock up the kitchen with food. I'll be taking Bill, Charlie, and Percy with me to the Burrow, so that we can clean and prepare it. I'm going to send a pack of overnight clothes for them," Hermione said.
"Right. Well, let's get to it," Charlie said.
Ginny walked into the flames first, and soon was followed by Harry and Ron. Hermione led the rest of the Weasley boys over to another fireplace that could take them to the Burrow. A few people stopped to stare as she led them like a mother goose. The three red head's quickly following her in a line as she made them all go first into the flames, and then followed them home.
When she appeared through the flames, she gave quick orders for them all to begin cleaning up the place. Bill was to get Fred's room ready, and to make sure that everything would be easy access for Fred. He was also in charge of reinforcing the protective spells around the Burrow. Percy's job was to clean the inside of the house and straighten up everything. Charlie was in charge of the outside of the Burrow, including cutting the grass and de-gnoming the garden for Molly.
"What are you going to do?" Charlie asked grumpily. The gnomes hated him, and were quick to bite when they saw him coming; he had handled one too many of them and they never forgot.
"Getting your parents clothes, unless you want to grab a pair of your mum's knickers," she rolled her eyes, and Charlie's face went white.
"Right…" He muttered.
She skipped up the steps, and into Fred and George's old room first. Bill was already inside transfiguring the bed and cleaning up. She pulled out a pair of his boxers, a shirt, and pants, along with other necessities. She pushed them inside a bag that she picked up from the closet. It was the messenger bag that he had carried with him during his time at Hogwarts.
"You know, mum and dad appreciate this all. Actually, we all do," Bill stopped her from leaving the room.
She hung around the doorway for a minute until she could face him, "I appreciate all your family's done for me. If there's any way I can give back, even a fraction of the kindness you've all shown me, I'd gladly do it," she smiled.
"You're forgetting that you are family. You don't need red hair to prove it," He gave her a small smile, and went back to working.
She nodded to herself before turning away and making her way to Arthur and Molly's room. She had never been inside their room before, except on Bill and Fleur's wedding day. It was just as homey as the rest of her place, and a bit mismatched, but she suspected that was the way Molly and Arthur liked it. There was a plethora of small knick-knacks and sentimental pieces throughout their room.
Hermione pulled a dress from their closet along with some clothes for Arthur, and folded them neatly to fit inside the bag. She grabbed their toothbrushes along with other essentials.
Crack. She turned and walked towards the window, and the group had just gotten back from the market with loads of bags in their hands and floating behind them.
Percy had opened up the front door for them by the time Hermione had made it down the steps.
"Blimey Harry! How much food did you get?" Percy asked astonished.
"Enough to feed a small army," Ginny remarked and began to use her wand to put away their groceries. They floated from their bags and the cupboards opened, making room for the new boxed goods.
Hermione smiled and pulled the bread down from floating away along with: peanut butter, meat, cheese, jelly, and other condiments.
"Tell me that's not going all on a sandwich. I know you don't take food seriously 'Mione, but still," Ron cried.
"I'll have you know I'm packing them each a turkey sandwich and peanut butter ones for tomorrow for everyone. It'll be one last thing we have to do. Go grab a large thermos for the pumpkin juice, and one for water," Hermione commanded as she went to work making everyone a few sandwiches. She packed some chips, salad, and some biscuits in a small cooler.
Ginny began cleaning up the kitchen with Harry, while Ron was forced to help Charlie outside.
"Bill!" Hermione called up the steps. In a few moments he leaned over the banister, looking down at her. "Before you go home, will you please take these bags to your parents? I can finish upstairs."
"Sure, Granger. Let me just grab my stuff," He disappeared again, and Hermione quickly penned out two notes and laid one on top of the food and the other on their clothes. She had made sure to keep everything separate so that there would be no confusion. Each had their pajamas, if they elected to wear them, and a change of clothes along with a toothbrush and other small toiletries. She made the bag work for her efficiently by using an extension charm on it.
Bill bounded down the steps and she pressed the bag's straps into his hand.
"You sure you don't want to give them these yourself?" He asked.
"Hospital policy says that only relatives to be there after a certain time. I might be family without red hair, but for the hospital's sake it might help. Though I have a feeling they wouldn't argue after today," she shrugged.
"Ah, well we'll just have to fix that. Take care of yourself and I'll see you tomorrow," He leaned down to hug her quickly.
"You too, and tell Fleur I said hello. We'll have to get together soon," Hermione smiled. Bill moved towards the fireplace, and shouted St. Mungo's name before disappearing into the thick green flames. They danced behind him for a while, before settling down and then turning to dust.
The house was spotless and everyone had begun eating, but Hermione needed to do her research. She pulled her purse open, and quickly found a book that would help explain the medical terminology that she didn't know.
She sat in the living room, curled up with the book. Crookshanks had finally come down from his hiding spot and joined her, rubbing his face affectionately against her thigh as she buried her nose deeper into the book. She pulled faces as she read, and took notes in a small notepad that sat on the armrest of the couch.
The evening turned to night, and the stars glistened against the sky. In a few hours the sun would be coming up, peeking over the hills and the night would cease.
Hermione was passed out on the couch with her book clutched to her chest, and her head rested against her upper arm. Crookshanks found residency next to her curled legs, and her notebook was thrown to the floor.
A/N: Thank you for everyone's reviews and sweet words! You all are seriously so great and a big thank you to my lovely Beta Burrsquee! Without her I'd still be writing and editing this and banging my head against the keyboard.