AN- Thanks for all your reviews. Oh, and obviously I don't own McDonalds, but it's mentioned in this chapter.
Chapter 22
Bonding
"Are you sure you're feeling okay?" Harry asked Hermione. They were still all sitting in the exact same position as they were before; Emily on the bed with her mother, and Harry in the chair at her bedside. Ron had now conjured up a chair, and he too was sitting beside the bed.
"Yes Harry," she said politely. Really, she was fine, she wasn't tired or in any type of pain.
"Anything we can get you?" Ron questioned. He then said what was really on his mind: "Food?"
Hermione smiled, Ron was always thinking of food. "Now that you mention it, I am a bit hungry. The food they serve her is ghastly."
"Are you allowed to eat food from outside, or do you have to eat food from here?"
"I don't really know, do you Harry?" She really hadn't talked to the healer yet, Harry was the one who had given her all the details of the accident.
"Yeah, the healer said it was alright," he responded.
"Okay," Ron turned his attention to Emily, who was listening quietly to the conversation around her, just glad to be back in her mother's arms. "Do you want to come with me and get something to eat?"
Yeah," she said softly.
"Let's go"
Hermione released her hold on her daughter as she began to wiggle, trying to break free on her own. Clutching the sheets, Emily slid down the bed, and her feet smacked against the cold, tiled floor. Briskly, she walked over to the tall red headed man, who she had just begun to call Uncle Ron. Together, they walked out of the room, on there way to accomplishing their mission.
With the swinging of the door, an awkward silence filled the room. Harry kept his eyes on Hermione, afraid that if he were to blink, she may disappear. She too kept her focus locked on his large, green orbs, not wanting to break contact.
The sound of the door swinging open once again made them shift there glances away from each other. In walked in a very professional, medical looking man; a healer. Harry knew from their last encounter that he was the main person in charge of caring for Hermione at St. Mungo's. The young man walked over to the bed, and extended his hand out to her.
"Hello Ms. Granger, I am Healer Brown"
"Nice to meet you."
He turned his body away from Hermione, and toward Harry, shaking his hand too. "It's good to see you again, Mr. Potter."
The healer then took a seat in the extra chair next to Harry.
"Is there a problem, sir?" Harry asked nervously, wondering why the man had suddenly entered the room, and had taken a seat next to him, as if he had a long lecture to give.
"Oh no son." He answered, a grin forming on his face. "Everything is fine."
"Good," Harry inhaled greatly, as if a huge weight had been lifted off of his shoulders.
"But ma'am," he continued. "You are going to have to stay here for the next two or three days."
Hermione sighed, who she was going to survive in this place for three more days, and she was already going crazy.
"But there aren't any problems?" Harry had to make sure, he wanted to know whether the healer was lying to him or not.
"No sir, we want to make sure that her body is okay, that she doesn't have any reactions to the blood in her body. It's better if she's here than at her home, because we can catch the mistake immediately, and reverse it. Unlike if she was at her house, then it may take quite a bit of time go get here.
"If it's for the best, I will stay." Hermione agreed, giving no argument over leaving at all.
"Thank you," the healer said. Harry and Hermione were quite easy for him to persuade, normally he would have to put up a huge fight to get the patient to stay. For what seemed like the millionth time that day, he reached over and shook both of there hands. Standing up, he left the room professionally, leaving the two lovers alone to so what their hearts desired, talk.
"Harry," she started, she was very nervous about talking to him, she knew this chat was going to determine there whole relationship from this moment on. "I'm really sorry about everything that happened, especially with Emily, I should have told you about her before-"
"Hermione stop," he interjected. "I'm the one who should be sorry. I shouldn't have-"
The door to the room swung open again, and Emily ran inside. Slowly behind her stood Ron, trying desperately to balance two bags of food in his hands and a tray full of sodas.
"I should have told you not to let her choose," Hermione told the red head. "It was only a matter of time before she started missing McDonalds."
"Yeah," he agreed. "Is this stuff even food?"
He reached into the bag and pulled out a hamburger. He flung it at Harry, who jumped and grabbed it in automatic reflex.
"I've missed McDonalds. It's some good, classic muggle food." He unwrapped the burger and chowed down, while his best mate was still passing out the food from the bag with the bright, golden arches on the front.
"Its not bad food, Uncle Ron." Emily told him, defending her McDonalds. She was now back up on the bed, sitting next to her mother. A table was pulled up in front of them, and Emily sat crossed legged so that her legs would stay under it. Hermione on the other hand, had her feet sprawled out straight across the bed.
"McDonalds has good food." She continued on with her rant. "Look, I get 1…2…3…4 McNuggets." She flashed Ron the box that contained the pieces of chicken. "And I even get a toy." Like she did with the nuggets, she extended her arm and showed off the toy to him.
"Nice," Ron said, making the little girl extremely happy.
"So, Emily, we have something that we need to talk about with you." Hermione told her daughter.
The toddler finished chewing the nugget that was in her hand, and looked up into her mother's eyes, intently waiting to hear what she had to say.
"I have to stay in the hospital for the next few days," She told her, the muggle words just rolling off of her tongue, making it easier for the child to understand. "And you're going to stay at home, with your dad, is that okay?"
Her bright green eyes swayed back and forth, from her mom to her dad. Yes she lover her mother, very much so, but getting to spend the next few days with her dad was going to be great. Billions of thoughts flew in and out of her head as she thought of all the things they could do together.
"Yup," she answered, enthusiastically. "It's going to be fun."
Harry smiled, glad that his daughter was comfortable with being alone with him, and excited on top of the. By the sound of her voice, he could tell that she really looked up to him.
"About that fun." Hermione said. Harry looked back at her, afraid she was going to put a damper on his plans to have fun with his daughter. "I was thinking that Daddy could take you to a carnival."
Emily flashed both of them a huge grin. "Yeah!"
"Wait, what?"
"Come on dad, it's gonna be lots 'n' lots of fun."
"A carnival?"
"Yes," she confirmed. "What the big deal?"
"You're going to make me spend a whole day with those… those muggles?"
"Hey, don't forget, I am a muggle." She told him jokingly.
"Ron, want to come?" Harry asked, hoping he would agree.
"Nope mate, you're on your own. I need to go check in with my parents, make sure everything's okay."
"Are we gonna go, Daddy?"
"Yup"
Lights and sounds were being shot off in all directions as Harry and Emily walked closer and closer to the carnival. Crowds and crowds of people were waiting in line to buy tickets, and already dozens of people had entered. Emily's eyes glistened with excitement as she walked with Harry, her mouth hung open in awe.
"Two please," Harry told the man at the ticket booth, who was concealed inside a small house, with windows and a microphone in front so that he could hear and see what was going on.
"Here you go," he told the man with the strange scar on his forehead/ He slid the tickets under the window as Harry took the money from his wallet. Sliding the money under the class, he grabbed the tickets and ripped them apart.
Traveling over toward the entrance gate, father and daughter walked hand in hand. Tighter and tighter Emily grasped his, trying very hard to conceal her excitement. Passing the tickets to the man at the entrance, the two of them stepped inside the carnival, now becoming one with the lights and sounds, the people and the crowds, but more importantly, the fun.
Emily's pace slowed as her head spun back and forth, trying to capture everything in her memory.
"Want to go on that ride there?" Harry asked the young girl. Emily's eyes wandered back toward Harry, and then shifted to where he was pointing to.
The ride was gentle, or at least it looked gentle enough. It was under a small tent, and there were these circular chairs with more than one person sitting in them, spinning around and around. Some looked like they were just relaxing, while others were screaming loudly.
"Tea Cups," Harry informed her, reading the sign. "Bloody hell, you could fit a lot of tea in those."
Emily nodded her head in agreement. "Let's go.
Quickening her pace, she walked closer and closer to its entrance. Harry took larger steps, trying to keep up with the toddler.
She stepped up onto the ride, just as Harry had caught up to her. She weaved in and out of the 'cups', trying to find the perfect one for her and her father.
A light green cup caught her eye, and she raced over to it, snatching it before someone else stole it. She sat down, and scooted to the middle, making sure Harry could fit in next to her.
"Are you ready?" the ride manager asked. A loud uproar of yeah resounded through the whole ride. Emily screamed too, and Harry joined in, feeling like a kid again.
The ride manager lifted his hand and pressed a big green button on the control panel. The cups began to move, slowly at first, and wove in and out of each other. Emily watched the kids in the neighboring cups, and waved at them, the hugest smile on her face. The children were slightly confused as to why this stranger was waving to them, but they returned the gesture.
Picking up speed, the ride now started spinning in a circular motion, around in around, in an increasing speed. Wind whipped around the two of them, causing Emily's light, baby fine hair to fly up in the air.
"Wahoo," Harry screamed, letting his emotions run wild. He too was having fun, and he wasn't afraid to show it. In her soft, squeaky voice, Emily let out a small shrill.
A few minutes passed by, and the ride started to slow, letting the ride-goers bodies get settled back into their slower pace. Coming to a complete stop, all of the cups stopped, and their occupants exited the ride. Harry and Emily followed in suit, now knowing that the ride was officially over.
Emily's eye bounced back and forth, from ride to ride and person to person as the continued to walk around the park.
"That's my Dad," she announced to any passing stranger who would listen. Some people would just ignore her, while others would smile sweetly. Harry thought that this sentiment was cute and sweet; he was glad that she wanted to show him off to everyone, but he was getting quite embarrassed.
"Hey daddy, can we go on that one there?" she asked.
Harry knew exactly what ride she was talking about; there was a ride right in front of them, with loud music and bright lights. Weird looking creatures were on it, moving up and down as the platform moved in a clockwise rotation.
"Sure," he responded.
Walking over to the Merry-Go-Round, the ride before them ended, and the crowd in front of them diffused onto it.
"What kind of creatures are these?" Harry asked her, in extreme seriousness.
Emily looked back at him as if he had four heads; she couldn't believe he didn't know what kind of animal they were. "There horsey's Daddy."
Stopping at a horse with a caramel colored mane, she slid her foot into the metal hoop dangling from it. Lifting the opposite foot up off the ground, she tried to swing her leg through, but it wouldn't make it over. Seeing her struggle, Harry picked her up and placed her on the horse's back, but she now couldn't reach the place where her feet were suppose to be.
"Oh, so they are," Harry said, examining the creatures faces as he helped her get settled. "Can you get the belt on or do you want me to do it?"
"I got it, I got it," she told him proudly.
She wrapped the long piece of material around her body and buttoned it. Harry watched her do this, and then hopped over the horse parallel to Emily's He buckled himself up too, even though he really didn't need it, but he wanted to show his daughter that he too was following the rules.
A loud trumpet sounded and the music picked up speed and sound. Harry's horse slowly moved down, as Emily's rose up. She squealed in excitement as the horse picked up speed, now going both up and down.
Coming to a halt, the ride slowed and the music's volume got lower until it completely faded. Harry unhooked his belt and jumped off the plastic horse, knowing Emily would now need help since hers was stuck up on the air. He grabbed her and released her to the ground.
They both walked hand in hand around the carnival, both oh-ing and ah-ing at dvarious points throughout the day. Finally, Harry noticed, out of the corner of his eye, a small stand selling snacks. He grinned as he recognized the big, poofy object that many of the stand's customers were eating.
"Cotton Candy," he told Emily. "Have you ever had some?"
"No," she advised him, she actually never even heard of it before.
"I had it for the first time when I was younger; my cousin gave it to me." Harry told her. He didn't really want to go into detail, but the only reason Dudley had given it to him was because he had spit on it first, otherwise he would have kept it all to himself. "It's really good. Let's go get some."
A few minutes passed by as they waited in line patiently for their delicious treats.
"Next," the young woman behind the stand asked. She had a red and white striped shirt on, and a corresponding hat.
"Two cotton candies, please." Harry ordered. He reached into his back pocket and pilled out his wallet. He scanned the money, hoping he still had some muggle money left over, and believe it or not he did.
"What color?" she questioned. She held up the two types they sold.
"Blue or pink?" Harry asked his young daughter.
"Blue"
"Two blue," he told the woman. She grabbed another blue one from under the counter.
After paying, the two found a small table, somewhat secluded from all the madness of the carnival. Harry tore open the plastic back, and started to pull off parts of the fluffy substance, and popped it into his mouth. Emily watched him carefully, and then copied his movements.
"It melts in your mouth," she exclaimed, loving each and every bit of the blue cotton candy.
"Yeah, it's really good, isn't it?"
"Yup," she said softly, stuffing her mouth more and more.
"Don't tell your mom you're eating this," he said smartly. "She'd probably kill me, saying it'll rot your teeth."
"'kay," she agreed. She took her eyes away from Harry and placed them back on the sugary goodness in front of her.
"Emily, do you miss your old home?" He asked, hoping to strike up a conversation.
"A little," she told him. "I miss Spotty, that's the lady who lived next to me's doggie. I use to plays with him everyday, and he licks and kissed me all over. I miss him lots."
"You like dogs?"
"Yup! 'Cuz they can run really really fast, even faster than me!"
He smiled, imagining Emily and a dog racing across the yard.
"How would you like it if you and your mother stayed at my house?"
"Your house? For how long?" she quizzed. She knew they were supposed to be leaving soon, at least that's what her mom told her.
"Forever"
"Forever?"
"Yeah, forever"
"That'd be really fun Daddy. Me and you and mommy could be a real family, not some make pretends one."
"Exactly. I haven't talked to your mom about this yet, but I wanted to make sure it was okay with you first."
"We walked around this place twice, so surely you must have some idea of what ride you want to go on next."
It was dusk, and night time was approaching rapidly. The sun had just managed to sink over the trees in a far away distance, and Harry knew that they needed to be heading home, but they had time for just one more ride.
Emily stopped, right in front of Harry, shocking him as he almost tumbled over her. Mouth slightly agape, she was staring up into the sky,
"I wanna go on that one."
Harry looked at the ride which she was talking about, and his stomach went slightly uneasy.
"That one, but that's high." And it was, after all, it was a roller coaster. It was nowhere near as which as some of the others they had saw, but it was still a rollercoaster nonetheless.
"Don't be a chicken Daddy, let's go."
"I don't think so," he said, putting his foot down. "It's a little too scary for you."
"No, it's not Daddy, please can we go. Please, please, please!" she begged, she curled her lip, and put on an irresistible face on, knowing that he would not be able to say no.
He sighed; how could he not give in when she had a face on like that? "Alright, let's go."
"Yay, thank you so much Daddy."
Harry turned his head in a ninety degree angle, looking straight up at the rollercoaster, a few of the tracks directly above his head.
"Hermione's going to kill me," he muttered.
They had made it toward the stand, where the operator was standing.
"Two?" he questioned.
"Yes"
Walking right passed the man; they made it over to the almost full train and stopped at the last two, empty seats. Emily sat in first and slid way down toward the wall of te cart. Harry sat down next to her.
"Put your belt on," he commanded, doing the same for himself.
A woman came over to them and tugged on the excess material, connecting the belt, making sure they were tight enough. Checking each and every person's, she then reported back to the operator.
"All clear, enjoy your ride." Pressing a button, the train slowly started moving forward.
The train steadily climbed up the first hill, and Harry could hear the carts moving above the tracks. Ten seconds or so had passed, and they had reached the top. The train them stopped, giving them an over view of the whole park, which now looked amazing because the sun had fully went down over the horizon.
"Wow," Emily muttered.
"You can say that again." Harry whispered back at her.
The breaks under them released, and instead of being calm and still, they were being whipped back and forth, from side to side as the rollercoaster took control of their bodies. Loop after loop, hill after hill, Emily enjoyed every second of it. Making sure to keep her eyes open, she proved that she wasn't scared, and at one moment she even released her hands from the bar, raising them above her head.
The ride was over, just as soon as it had started, or so it seemed to all of its passengers. The train arrived back at the station, and its breaks slammed, jerking everyone forward. They unbuckled there seat belts and stepped off the ride.
"Did you have a good day?" Harry asked as they began their journey across the park to the entrance."
"Yeah," she said, in a very tired voice.
AN- Sorry this is late; I sort of forgot that I had finals after the MCAS, but hey, it's the longest chapter in the story, so maybe it was worth the wait?
Please review
Kelly