Chapter Three
Almost as if in response to her silent plea, Eliza, John and Sarah burst through the window with swords. Unfortunately they were too late. The Chimera was already swinging down for the killing blow when Eliza threw herself between River and the Chimera, taking the blow that would have befallen River. Through a blur, River witnessed her friend sacrifice herself and her friends avenge her. Within a minute the Chimera was dead. Sarah and John rushed over to both Eliza and River. With the little strength she had left, River dragged herself over to Eliza.
"Why did you do it?" She croaked.
"I did it because you deserve to have a full life. You would have done the same for me."
"I wanted you to live, not to be dying next to me!"
"I always thought of you as a sister. I couldn't let my sister die."
With that Eliza took her last breath and died. In death her face was peaceful. River and Sarah started sobbing as she died. John placed an arm around each of them as he cried silently as well.
"If I hadn't been so pig-headed, she would still be alive." Sobbed River.
"Shh, Shh" John calmed her placing his arms around her.
"River, what happened to your leg?" Sarah asked.
"The Chimera's talons." She grimaced.
"We need to clean that and get you to a doctor." Sarah said.
"I'll be fine, Uhhh" River swayed against John.
"I think she is going to pass out!" John exclaimed.
"She is, let's get her to a bed where she can recuperate."
As Sarah put her hand under River's leg to lift her up, she gasped, bringing her hand back up. It was sticky with blood.
"It was a lot worse than she let on, no wonder she passed out!"
Suddenly they heard a steady, thump, thump, like someone very heavy walking towards the house. Sarah and John readied their swords, prepared for anything to come at them willing to strike hard, fast, and deadly.
Suddenly, there was a fearsome crash and a man's voice rang out saying, "Blast!". The voice was gruff and had an English accent. Giving eachother a quick glance, John and Sarah went on opposite sides of the door. The door was suddenly knocked down by a giant of a man.
"Now where is Ms. River? I have a letter fir her from 'fessor Dumbledore." Said the man.
"Who are you?" Sarah stated boldly.
"Me? I'm Hagrid, keeper of the grounds and keys at Hogwarts."
Sarah and John looked at eachother with incredulous faces.
"Now, I'm going to ask again where Ms. River is." Said Hagrid.
Swallowing, Sarah pointed to the bed. "She's there."
"Oh, no! What happened to the lass?"
"A Chimera attacked her. Her leg is severely wounded."
"Well this will make a bloody time of getting you to the Weasley's. I guess the only way to do this is to get her to the herb woman. She'll know how to fix the lass up."
"Who is the herb woman?" Sarah asked.
"The herb woman is probably the only person who can save your friend now."
"Should I grab some of River's stuff for her?"
"Might be good for her to have something while she's being taken care of."
Sarah went up to River's room and grabbed a few things that she thought River might enjoy. Before she got too far though a shout came up saying,
"You might want to get some heavy bandages too!"
Soon she came down and got River all bandaged for their trip.
"Blimey, I almost forgot! Dumbledore gave me some good clothes for all of you."
"Why would we need clothes?"
"England is a different place than America and you will need some sturdier things than this weak American stuff."
Sarah and John accepted their bags of clothing.
"Now I need to make sure that the herb woman is available before we leave so you be good kids and don't run away."
"Be good kids?" Sarah snorted. "Is Hagrid for real?"
"I think he just isn't used to dealing with kids like us." John replied.
"Bad news. The herb woman was attacked shortly after I got here." Hagrid said.
"Does that mean we will have to push on to the Weasley's?"
"I'm afraid so." Hagrid said while picking River up like she was a rag doll.
"The motorbike is out front. You can climb into the sidecar and I will put the girl in with you."
The kids and Hagrid walked out to the front where the climbed into the sidecar.
"Now be careful not to jostle her. That's the best thing we can do right now."
The man climbed onto the motorbike and started the engine. Suddenly they lifted off the ground and into the wide night.
"This will be a long haul so I suggest you tykes get some sleep."
Following Hagrid's advice, the children made themselves as comfortable as possible, then fell asleep. Five hours later, they were awakened by the sound of the motorbike landing. Opening their eyes blearily, they saw a cheerful house with a cozy glow coming from within. A woman came bustling out of the house saying,
"Oh, you three are a sight for sore eyes! I haven't seen you since you were babies!"
"They may be that Mrs. Weasley, but the eldest is somthin frightful wounded."
"Oh, the poor dear. Hagrid you just bring her inside and I'll fix you all a nice cup of tea."
They all followed the cheerful Mrs. Weasley into the bright house while she was saying, "We didn't expect you till at least morning but then Arthur got an owl from you Hagrid saying to expect you around 11:00 tonight. Now let's take a look at this poor girl."
"It was a Chimera that got her." Sarah replied to Mrs. Weasley's questioning glance.
"Those Chimera's sure are fierce, look at this wound!"
Look at that wound most definitely! The gash was covered with blood and pus came out of it as well.
"Will she live?" The whimper came from both Sarah and John simultaneously.
"I'm afraid I don't know chidren. Why don't you go upstairs and meet the kids. They have been very excited to meet you for a time."
As John and Sarah walked upstairs they heard Mrs. Weasley's hushed whisper,
"I hate lying to them, but she might not make it. The only way I can see right now is to take the leg, but I will see how she does the next few days."
John and Sarah exchanged a fearful glance. Both of them did not want to say what Mrs. Weasley had voiced, as they knew it was true. As they made it upstairs, two children came out of rooms. It was a boy and a girl, both with flaming red hair. The boy said, "I'm Ron Weasley and this is my sister Ginny. You must be the children mum and dad were talking about."
"Yeah, we are. I'm Sarah and this is John." said Sarah with her hand extended for a handshake.
Ron took it. "Nice to meet you two. I'm betting you're exhausted so you can take some sleep time."
Ginny showed Sarah to her room where they would be sleeping together while Ron did the same with John.
In Ginny's Room
"Who is the girl downstairs?" Ginny asked.
"My best friend, River. She was wounded severely by a Chimera." Sarah replied.
"Oh. I hope that she lives. Mum and Dad will probably transfer her to St. Mungo's."
"What is St. Mungo's?"
"It is a hospital for magical maladies and injuries."
"Do you think they can fix River up?"
"If anyone can, they can."
The next day
Ron and John clomped downstairs to find the girls already up and eating breakfast. River was nowhere to be found.
"Where's River?" John asked.
"She was transferred to St. Mungo's during the night but is responding well to treatment." Mrs. Weasley replied.
Both John and Sarah breathed sighs of relief.
"Now I know that you want to see her as soon as possible but you have to eat up first." Responded Mrs. Weasley to John and Sarah's excited glances.
John and Sarah dove into their food with gusto as they tried to see how fast they could eat without choking. Ron and Ginny responded in kind. Although they had not known the mysterious children for long, they already felt a sort of kinship with them that only comes with great sorrow and happiness. Before long the Weasley's, John and Sarah departed the house for St. Mungo's, with a spring in their step and a twinkle in their eyes.