Erised
Chapter Four
The Weasley's sat in St. Mungo's, waiting in anticipation for the healers to come back and let them into Fred's room again. Everyone was forced out of the room while they brought him out of his coma, to make sure he was stable before giving him clearance to see anybody.
George paced back and forth, creating a distinct mark in the carpet of the waiting room. The rest of the Weasley's were eating and discussing business amongst themselves. Hermione was sitting in a chair next to Harry, her hand linked tightly in his. Ron sat on her other side and held her other hand while she rested her head against his shoulder
The wait gave her time to reflect on her friendships.
During the Triwizard Tournament, Rita Skeeter had declared that she and Harry were meant for one another. The thought had crossed their minds years ago. Once upon a time, she would have said yes, during her second year. But her miniscule crush left her quickly as she realized that their friendship was deeply rooted in familial love. They had confessed to having similar crushes on each other and laughed it off, extremely happy with how things were now.
The war came and fancying Ron felt right, his strong embrace and his unwavering faith in her kept her grounded. They were what was expected of them, the whole wizarding world was waiting for the day that Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger would get together and declare their undying love. They had been through so much together, but when Lavender showed up at Bill and Fleur's wedding, it faded just as quickly as it had come.
They shared one distressed kiss after destroying a Horcrux and recognized it as strange. It was not a kiss one shared with a lover, instead it felt like if she was kissing a relative.
Hermione and Ron didn't talk about the kiss openly, but came to a silent understanding about it. She loved him and he loved her unconditionally, but the love was not the love of a significant other. It was enough for them and she knew that Ron still had unfinished feelings for Lavender that never left completely.
It didn't matter, because her heart had always felt attached to another from the beginning. Having a crush because it felt right, and one out of obligation was different. After her kiss with Ron, she knew for certain who she wanted to run to-Fred. She planned and calculated in her head as they ran through Hogwarts Castle.
'Fred, I don't know how long we have. I don't know if we'll even have tonight, but I need to tell you that I—I fa-fa-fancy you. I didn't want to die without telling you' she chanted in her head.
When they rounded the corner of the castle they saw Fred and Percy fighting death eaters. It all ended in a bang and she was forced to keep moving.
Their friendship contained an undertone of mischief, and feelings that were far out of bounds than the familial love they should have felt. Ron and Harry would always be her best male friends and best friends over all. She didn't know how he would have felt if she had confessed she fancied his brother first.
She had seen him in a different light during the Triwizard Tournament, the Yule Ball specifically. When she sat crying on the step, Fred had come up and talked to her, after sending Angelina off with George. There were no tricks or pranks, but a real conversation between them. He told her that Ron had been a prat, and anyone could see she was a girl; an intelligent and beautiful girl.
"Family of Fred Weasley?" A female healer asked.
Hermione was startled, and quickly brought Ron and Harry's hands into her lap, squeezing them tightly.
"Yes, that's us!" Mrs. Weasley said quickly, and rushed over towards the healer.
Arthur was right behind her. He stayed close to his wife as he comforted her silently by rubbing her back every so often or squeezing her hand.
"I'm here to tell you that the procedure was successful, and he's been asking for you all. We've had to keep him contained for an extra period of time. It would seem your son is having some speech problems. His voice is going in and out which is expected, but…" the healer paused.
"What?" George demanded.
"We didn't expect to find that his vocal cords were also damaged during the accident. He can speak, but it's faint for now, and he's developed a prominent stutter. We expect that he'll have it for the rest of his life."
"We can work with a stutter," Ginny said quickly, and got up from her seat to comfort George.
"I don't bloody care if he stutters! When can I see him?" He asked quickly. Hermione found herself feeling a surge of pride as he took control of the situation.
"I can bring you all back right now. Who's immediate family?" the healer asked.
"All of us," George said confidently.
"All of you? That does change some things—there's so many of you. Give me one minute," She rummaged around in her pockets for a few moments before pulling up her wand. "I'll just send a quick message for the mediwitch to expand the room. Your boy deserves his whole family there," she smiled, and quickly sent her patronus through the ward. "Come on. They'll have it done by the time we get back there."
They all began walking back towards the room slowly. She kept a hard grip on both of the boys as they made their way past the others room, and finally were being herded into Fred's room. It was larger than the last time they visited, and held the whole family comfortably.
"We're going to have to ask you all to be very calm. Is this clear?" another healer said.
"Of course," Molly smiled, "please just let us see our little boy."
With a nod from a healer, the others pushed the curtain back, and Fred was lying propped up against his pillows. A goofy smile was spread across his face, and George quickly moved past all of the healers to be next to his twin.
He was covered in blankets that covered the various tubes and cords that were around the hospital bed, and he had a fresh bandage wrapped around his head and eye. The Twins were desperate to see each other, just as they had been when George was injured. More than a year earlier, their positions had been reversed with George was lying on the couch at the Burrow with his ear severed.
"How are you feeling?" George questioned.
Fred looked around the room before locking eyes with Harry, and motioned for him to come over with his good hand. Harry looked around before letting go of Hermione, and making his way through the Weasley's until he stood on the other side of his bed.
"Ha-Ha-Harry, I th-think I'm th-the new man tha-tha-that li-liv-lived. Key-keep the b-boy t-title," Fred said softly.
"You can keep the whole title, you deserve it," Harry laughed. "It's good to have you back, Fred."
"And, you thought my joke was bad!" George accused his twin. "At least I came up with 'I'm holy', but this is a whole new low."
"I-I-I'm r-r-rus-rusty," Fred laughed, and ran his hand over his chest and throat.
"You've got the whole family here too. Mum and Dad have been going off their rockers waiting for you," George said and pointed out their parents who stood near the foot of his bed. Molly had tears in her eyes, but tried to keep it together as her son gave her a smile.
"I even came all the way from Romania," Charlie called out from behind Hermione.
"We're even graced with the golden trio, they're in high demand today. Should've seen 'Mione yesterday. She went absolutely mental on a healer, I'm surprised she didn't send a letter home to his mum for disobeying her," George teased.
"Mi-Mi-Mione's he-here?" Fred questioned.
Ron quickly nudged Bill and Fleur aside, and pushed Hermione to move next to Harry. She sent him a quick glare before scooting closer to Harry, and leaned down to take Fred's good hand in her own.
"Hey there," she said softly.
"He-he-hello."
"I only may have scared the healer a little," she reassured him.
"P-pr-probably d-deserved i-it," he laughed.
Hermione moved to step back, so the rest of his family could come and talk, but his hand remained firmly in hers—his grip unyielding until she stood next to him silently. He gave her a weak wink before turning his attention to Percy, and asking what happened.
"Rookwood blew up a wall behind us and you got buried. I went after him after we had moved you to a safe place," Percy sighed.
"Fred, what do you remember?" George asked.
"Dar-Dar—Darkness," Fed sighed.
"Mate, the explosion killed you. It's been two months since the battle," George sniffed. Fred's face contorted in confusion, and looked around the room at everyone before leaning his head back against the pillow and closing his eyes tight.
"I-I di-di-died?" He questioned.
"This may be too much for Mr. Weasley to take in. We may have to ask you all to leave," The healer cut in.
"N-no-no!" Fred shouted, his voice clearly cracking. "I-I wa-want to he-he-hear it, I ne-need to he-hear it."
"Fred, look at me," Hermione commanded. She pulled his face softly to look at hers when he wouldn't meet her gaze. "We have the rest of your life to talk about this. Let's just get you comfortable with information little by little. No one is going to lie to you, right?" Hermione looked up at the rest of the Weasley's who were nodding their heads in agreement.
"We just need you to slowly sink into it Gred. Besides you don't want Hermione or Ginny to hex a healer. We'll just get them back with some new pranks—you can't be a lazy tosser now. You're going to have to go back to work," George teased.
"I'm sure we can even coax McGonagall into coming to Sunday dinner to tell you what happened," Percy said quickly.
"Mc-Mc-McGon-McGon," he sighed out, her name had become too hard to say. Hermione quickly squeezed his hand affectionately. "Wha-what does she ha-ha-have to do-do with th-th-this?"
"She found you," Hermione replied.
"Wh-where?"
"Hogwarts. It's a rather long story, but I promise that we'll fill you in once we get you home," George reassured him.
"When are we allowed to take him home?" Molly asked.
The healer began to look through some papers before pulling up a piece of parchment, and scanned the document with their quill. "We'll have to train a few of you to know about some physical therapy exercises to do inside the home, but you can take him by the end of the week. We're going to do as much physical therapy with him this week as we can, but you'll have to bring him in every other day."
Fred let out a loud whine, "Ph-ph-phys-physical ther-ther-therapy? Do-do I get a hot he-he-healer?" Fred waggled his eyebrows suggestively.
Everyone rolled their eyes at his question, and George barked out a laugh.
"Sorry mate, but I don't think that's going to happen. I'll try to see if I can dress a pretty bird in a nurse costume though," George winked. "Muggles have quite the knack for their Halloween costumes."
"Boys!" Molly scolded.
The atmosphere for the Weasley's had never been happier, words were exchanged with everyone and soon Bill and Fleur had to be off. She was working in the morning, and Bill had to get a head on work.
Charlie was the next to leave, but promised to come back in a few days. He had to talk with his boss about taking some time off.
Percy was next to leave, assuring his mother that he would be home tonight after his date with Penelope Clearwater.
The twins had joked about hearing Percy going on a date, they were sure he wasn't interested in either male or females. His love for knowledge was enough for him, but it came as a pleasant surprise, especially to Mrs. Weasley, that he was going on a date.
Harry had explained in great detail how Ron and Hermione had helped destroy one of the last Horcruxes, and then he ended up being one of the few remaining Horcruxes. They exchanged details on how Fred saw only darkness, while Harry had lived a period of time within his head.
Ginny made sure to mention that Ron had been in the hospital prior to knowing about Fred, to visit Lavender Brown.
"Oh, th-th-that bi-bird fr-from the wed-wed-wedding?"
"Yeah, she's here. Greyback bit her during the final battle, and he's been keeping up with her," Ginny teased, as she bumped Ron with her shoulder.
Fred chuckled, "Go-go for it."
"We're friends—is that all you people ever talk about now?" Ron questioned.
"I can try to convince you that you need to go and take your N.E.W.T.S?" Hermione suggested. Harry and Ron quickly declined and tried to backtrack.
The time had passed quickly, and soon Arthur had to owl the Ministry and Molly needed to make dinner for everyone.
"I'll stay with George," Hermione said, while out in the hall with Molly.
"Are you sure? You need to eat and take care of yourself too. I know you feel responsible dear, but we're all here to do our part," she asked.
"I'm positive. I'll have Harry bring me my overnight bag, and a book, along with some left overs. I'll be fine, and so will George. Go enjoy the night with Mr. Weasley in your very clean house. I'll keep an eye out, and if anything happens, you'll get my patronus in an instant," Hermione assured her.
"I don't know if I can be away from him," Molly confessed.
"If that's it, then stay longer. You need your rest though. If you're worried that no one will be here to watch out for George and him, don't be worried. I'll stay the night if you don't mind," Hermione smiled.
"I'll go home for a bit, and bring your things myself," Molly decided.
"Perfect, I'm going to go grab some coffee though. Tell Fred and George I'll be back in five minutes—I'm sure they'll want some time to themselves," Hermione told Molly. They hugged and Hermione was off to hunt for a coffee machine.
She moved through the crowds of healers with ease, until she came across the cafeteria, and quickly paid the man behind the counter for two coffees and a cup of juice. Hermione grabbed a carrier, and made her way over to the vending machines. She purchased enough sweets that would last them through the night, then shoved them into her purse.
The hospital noise was slowly dying down, most of the families and patients were getting ready to eat or leave for home. The ward that Fred was in was completely silent, except for the laughs that were coming from his room.
"Knock. Knock," Hermione said softly, as she knocked on his door, and help up the two coffees and a juice, not wanting to interrupt them.
"You're back, great. I've had to use the loo for longer than I realized. Keep Gred here from boring himself to death," George said quickly, and escaped the room with his coffee in hand.
"He's going to see Angelina, isn't he?" Hermione questioned as she moved back around to Fred's good side.
"Yeah. He lo-loves her," Fred said.
"I can tell. Here," Hermione put a straw in his juice, and lifted it for Fred to take a sip from. "I don't know if you're supposed to have this, but it can be our little secret. It's just a bit of a pick-me-up."
"It's gr-gr-great," he replied.
Her hand laid on the bed, and she found herself moving her hand forward every so often until it was in his own, grasping it tightly.
They talked about everything, including his death. Though Hermione seemed to do most of the talking, filling him in on everything that he had missed. Hermione didn't mind being the one to talk, for once. She forced herself to tell him everything—every last detail about how she had witnessed him become buried under the rubble. She told him how she cried for him, and the way his brother wasn't the same—none of them were the same. She talked about hers and Harry's nightmares, and how she was back in Malfoy manner. She told him about his own funeral, and how she didn't know what happened after he was lowered into the ground, because Bill picked her up and took her to the house to sleep.
She told him about Ron and that they were good friends, how she wished that he would see sense and go after Lavender.
"Ro-Ro-Ron wi-will or I'll use th-the I-I-I al-al-almost di-di-died ca-ca-card. I'm wa-wi-wise no-now," he told her.
"Stop saying that," Hermione hissed, her hand squeezing his tightly.
"It-it's tr-tr-true," Fred retorted.
"It's not something to laugh about. You almost died! I—we lost you…" Hermione said solemnly. She looked around the room, hoping that George would be back soon.
He dropped her hand and lifted it up slowly until it was close to her face and he was able to press his palm against her cheek. She leaned her face into his palm, tears streaming down her face.
"He's co-co-coming ba-ba-back in a hou-hou-hour I-I thi-thi-think. I wa-wanted ti-ti-time," Fred confessed.
"Time? What could you need time for Weasley?" Hermione laughed softly, tears still falling down her cheeks. Fred leaned back before trying to move himself up higher, into a better sitting position. Hermione quickly moved behind him, and lifted the back of his bed so he was sitting up, almost like he was in a chair.
Fred swallowed visibly, "Yo-you—"
"Fred! Mum stopped by with the leftovers. I can't imagine you wanting to eat this garbage hospital food," George interrupted.
"Ou-out!" Fred demanded.
"Oi, I've got bad timing. I mean really bad timing, but food! You can talk to 'Mione later," George insisted.
"We can talk later," Hermione assured Fred. "Besides, doesn't food sound good right now?"
It didn't calm Fred in the least, and the frown on his face stayed the same. "Yo-you are lu-lu-lucky we-we-we're twi-twins," Fred said.
"I'm still the more charming twin too," George smiled and began to unpack the bag of food Molly had given him.
"I-I'm b-b-better l-looking," Fred quipped.
"Rubbish! We can't even ask 'Mione," George scowled. "She'd be too biased. Don't you know girls have a thing for injured war heroes?"
Hermione shook her head, pulled a sandwich out for herself, and a thermos of soup for Fred. Without thinking twice, she began feeding him with one hand, and eating her own sandwich with the other. She didn't ask him if he needed help, she would never do him the disservice of having to say yes. She protected his pride, and he would need other things done for him, things he would have to actually ask for. This was just one way she could let him keep his self-worth, and part of his dignity that didn't need to leave him. It was just one small detail in the mass plan for his recovery.