Family Ties: Adjustments Chapter 7: Daddy Dearest, a harry potter fanfic

Disclaimer: Still not owning. Please don't sue me!

A/N: SO sorry for the delay, once again. I just want to say that even though this story is not DH-compliant, I'm going to keep going with this as long as I can. I'm trying my hardest to get over this awful writer's block crap. Anyway, I hope I can get at least a couple more chapters done before school stops and I'm swamped with homework once more. I've also learned that I've been spelling Apparition wrong…

Also, this chapter, you get a rare insight to Aria's point of view at the moment. It's hard to understand being as she's rather delirious at the moment, but I hope you appreciate it. And to all of you who are still waiting for Jake and Sean to give their points of view, please be patient! They're not essential to the plot at the moment, so they're not my priority. Okay, on with the story!

Chapter Seven: Daddy Dearest

Keira's POV

It's been almost a week, and Aria hasn't gotten any better. Ron's cough has almost gone, and he's started demanding to see Aria every time I walk into the room. I've been avoiding him all morning in hopes that he'd forget that I was the one taking care of Aria and therefore the one with the authority to allow him to see her, but every time I come up the stairs he starts yelling for me.

"Keira! I want to see my daughter!" he screams after me now as I walk up the stairs on my way to the third floor. I just roll my eyes and keep going, ignoring his persistent shouting.

The door to Aria's room is slightly ajar, and there's a voice coming from inside. Somehow doubting that Aria has suddenly and miraculously healed, I'd give it two guesses as to who has ignored my requests that the family stays away from her until she's well again.

I walks inside to see both Sean and Jake sitting on Aria's bed, talking to her and each other in soft voices. They look up as I come in, guilty looks spreading over their faces instantly. Jake jumps up and Sean half rises from the mattress.

"You can stay," I tell them. "No harm done. I don't think she's contagious anyway." Jake watches me warily as he slowly sits back down, and Sean readjusts himself on the bed.

"Is she getting better?" Sean asks, focusing his gaze on Aria's sleeping face. Right now she's sleeping peacefully, and whatever nightmares she was having at the beginning of the week seem to have ended.

"I sure hope so," I sigh, pressing my hand against her forehead. It's still burning hot.

"Shouldn't we call a Healer?" Jake asks, looking at me slightly accusingly. What? Does he think I don't want Aria to get better?

"I was hoping we wouldn't have to," I tell him. Aria mumbles something in her sleep and turns onto her side with a soft sigh. We all watch her as she struggles to get comfortable, and when she finally stops moving again, the boys look back at me.

"Well?" Sean asks impatiently.

"I suppose we're going to have to, aren't we?" I sigh. "I'll go write a letter."

I head back downstairs, hoping Ron won't hear my footsteps. But of course, as always, I forget the squeaky stair at the bottom of the staircase.

"I sure hope you have Aria with you!" he yells as I start toward the next staircase. "If you don't let me see her, I'm getting out of this bed right now!" he threatens. I sigh and pause at the top of the staircase.

"Keira?" he calls out uncertainly, the hostility gone from his voice. "Keira are you still there?" One of his rare coughing spells interrupts whatever else he was about to say. Against my better judgment, I head back to the bedroom where Ron is lying propped up against the pillows in bed.

"Well?" he croaks as the coughing fades away.

"I'm going to have a Healer come look at her. She's not getting better."

"Let me see her," he says automatically. I look at him. The poor man has been lying in bed for the last week, worried out of his mind for his daughter, not knowing how she's doing. I sigh in defeat and he grins, swinging his feet over the bed and throwing off the covers.

"How are you going to get a Healer to come see her?" he asks as he starts dressing.

"Well, I suppose just write to them? I mean, none of the kids have ever been this sick before… We've never had to call out a Healer before…" I say uncertainly.

Ron pauses in his dressing long enough to give me a look. "If she's that sick, can it really wait until they get the letter, put it through processing, and then decide if she's important enough? Why don't you go see what's-her-name, one of Hermione's old Healer friends … um … Emily … Emmeline … Evalyn! Evalyn Jorgansin."

"Go?" I ask, confused. "You want me to go to St. Mungo's and ask some woman I've never met to come look at the daughter of her dead best friend and former coworker?"

"When you put it that way … yes," Ron says matter-of-factly, slipping a Muggle sweatshirt over his head.

"Fine," I sigh. "I guess I'm going to St. Mungo's." Ron smiles and starts out the door.

"But I want you back in bed in half an hour! I don't want you to over work yourself before you can get completely well again!" I call after him as he bounds upstairs. Shaking my head, I spin around and Apparate to St. Mungo's.

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Ron's POV

I go upstairs to Aria's bedroom. Jake and Sean are sitting at the foot of her bed quietly, casting worried looks at each other. When they notice me standing in the doorway, they both jump up instantly.

"Dad! You're up!" Sean says loudly. Aria groans in her sleep with a grimace on her face, and Sean has the decency to look ashamed of himself.

"Where's Keira?" Jake asks curiously, looking around me as if Keira would be hiding behind me or something.

"She's gone to fetch a Healer to take a look at Aria," I tell him. I walk to her side and lay a hand against her forehead. She's burning up. She whimpers slightly and turns over, burying her head in her pillow. She looks terrible.

"Has she been like this all week?" I ask the boys worriedly. They exchange looks.

"Actually, he looked better at the beginning of the week," Sean says nervously.

"Oh, Aria," I murmur, feeling her burning cheeks and forehead. "Why did I let this happen? I'm so sorry."

Evalyn's POV

It's been a month and a half since Hermione died, and it still hasn't sunk in that I'm never going to see her walking through those ward doors with a smile – or, depending on if Carl had gotten to her already that day, a frown – on her face in the morning. They offered me her position as the Head of our ward, and I accepted only because I knew that if I didn't, Carl Hendersoughn was next in line, and I couldn't stand the thought of him sitting all haughty in Hermione's old office.

I'm sitting at Hermione's – I mean, my – desk, trying to get some early afternoon paperwork done, when there's a knock on the office door. I look up, my quill suspended above my ink jar. Who could possibly want to interrupt me now? Fully appreciating just how hard Hermione had to work to keep this place running, I set my quill down with an irritated sigh.

"Come in!"

One of our fresh-out-of-Hogwarts Healers-in-training opens the door slowly, looking terrified at the thought of being sent to me, the newly-appointed Head-of-Ward.

"Yes, Melanie?" I ask. The poor girl jumps at being addressed by her first name, or at the thought that I know her name at all.

"Um, Healer Jorgansin? There's a woman here to see you. She says it's extremely important that you see her right away," Melanie says nervously. I nod and wave her away.

"Very well. Send her in." Feeling extremely annoyed that this lady finds herself so important that she needs to see me instead of a normal Healer, I put my paperwork aside and plaster a fake smile on my face. I'm starting to wonder more and more how Hermione did this every day.

A few minutes later there's another knock on my door, this one almost as confident as Melanie's knock.

"Come in," I sigh.

The door opens, and a woman with long, dark red hair comes in, looking nervous and determined at the same time. I send her a smile and gesture toward a chair for her to sit. She does so tentatively.

This woman is so annoyingly familiar that I can't remember for the life of me who she is. I just know I've seen her somewhere before, but I don't know where.

"H-have we met?" I ask her uncertainly, my fake smile faltering. She gazes at me steadily.

"Hermione's memorial service," she answers softly. Realization dawns on me. Of course! She's Ron's wife! For a moment I feel an unnaturally strong surge of hatred toward this woman who took away my best friend's only true love, but I realize how stupid I'm being. First of all, Hermione's gone, so it's not like she can win him back anyway. Second of all, it's wrong on so many levels for me to dislike a woman I've never truly talked to.

"What can I do for you, Mrs. Weasley?" I ask.

"Please, call me Keira," she answers. "And … I need to ask a favor."

"Okay," I say slowly. "Ask away."

"It's about Aria," she says. My annoyance and hostility and anything else negative I've been feeling toward this woman thus far vanishes instantly.

"Aria? Is she okay? She's not hurt is she? Is she sick?" I ask.

Keira smiles slightly at me. "She's not hurt. But she is sick. It's a long story, but she was out in the rain at the beginning of the week and she got sick, and she isn't getting better. She has a fever and she's hardly eating, and she can barely wake up."

"She's sick?" I ask again, not having caught much else.

"Yes. And I wanted to have a Healer come look at her, but then Ron remembered you, and suggested I come see you," she says.

Ron remembered me? From that one time we ever saw each other? Unless Hermione ever mentioned me in the few times they talked before… I swallow. No, none of that now. Aria is sick.

"Of course I'll come see Aria," I say. "I can leave right now. Let's go."

Keira looks surprised at my willingness, but stands up. She looks around the office as I exchange my Healer's robes for normal ones, and her gaze falls on a picture of Hermione and Aria last summer sitting in my mum's flower garden together. I haven't had the heart to put it away with the rest of Hermione's things.

"They were so close," she murmurs softly, her eyes trained on the photo with sadness in her face.

"Yeah, they were," I reply. Keira looks up at me and sighs. "Well, I suppose we should get going," I add, looking around the office quickly. I grab my purse and gesture for her to lead the way.

"Smith!" I bark at the nearest trainee as we hurry through the ward. The kid jumps and nearly drops the tray he's holding.

"Y-yes, Healer Jorgansin?" he stammers. I roll my eyes.

"I have to leave on a call. Tell Healer Hendersoughn for me," I tell him. He nods and hurries off. These trainees are so annoying! They're all so willing and obedient.

Keira leads the way to the lobby, where we Apparate out of the hospital.

We appear on the doorstep of a tall cream-colored house, and Keira opens the door quickly to let me in. I follow her through the little kitchen towards a staircase. I catch sight of a boy with brown hair lying on a loveseat under the window in the living room, his nose stuck in a book. He looks up at the sound of our footsteps.

"Are you a Healer?" he asks rather skeptically. I smile at his doubtfulness.

"Yes, I am," I tell him, pausing at the foot of the staircase.

"You're here to help Aria?" he demands. I bite back a laugh.

"Yes."

"Good," he mutters, going back to his book. I cast a slightly bewildered look at Keira, who just rolls her eyes and smiles.

"That's Jake," she says quietly as we start up the stairs. "I have a sneaking suspicion he has a bit of a crush on Aria." I smile at that.

I expect Keira to lead me to one of the doors leading off the large open area the staircase leads out to, but we keep going to the next set of steps. Finally she leads me to a room where the door is half-open, and voices are coming from inside.

She pushes open the door gently, and the scene that greets me is almost heart-breaking. Aria, lying on her side in bed, her eyes closed, her forehead beaded with sweat. I take a deep breath. Sitting in an armchair at her side is none other than Ron Weasley, and at the foot of the bed is a boy with red hair I can only assume is his son. They both look up as I enter, and Ron stands immediately.

"You must be Evalyn," he says, and by the hoarseness of his voice, I can tell he's just getting over some sort of cold himself. He holds out his hand for me to shake, and I take it somewhat reluctantly. I still haven't completely forgiven him for breaking Hermione's heart.

"Did-did Hermione ever mention me to you?" I ask curiously, still not able to get my head around the fact that he seems to remember me from the one time we ever saw each other.

"Yeah, once or twice," Ron answers casually, but the fact that he won't look me in the eye tells me that my question bothers him. I try to ignore this.

I shift my attention to the fevered eleven-year-old lying in bed, and I feel myself frown.

"How did you say this happened?" I ask Keira, who is hovering near the foot of the bed nervously. She glances anxiously at Ron before opening her mouth to answer.

"She was out-out in the rain earlier this week," she answers. I can tell that's not entirely true, but I let it go.

I lay my hand against Aria's flushed face to find it's red-hot. She murmurs in her sleep and rolls over, letting out a slight whimper as she does so. I feel a certain sense of hopelessness as I look at her. This is just a case of flu or a really bad cold. It's not a magical illness. There's nothing I can do for her. I look up at Ron, not able to hide this feeling fast enough. His expression falls and he sinks into the armchair again.

"You can't do anything?" he asks. I shake my head.

"I'm sorry. It's not a magical illness."

He sighs. "That's what I was afraid of. How much…?" he trails off.

"You don't owe me anything," I say quickly. "It was payment enough just to let me see her. I've missed her," I tell him with a small smile.

"You and Hermione … you were good friends?" he asks. I nod sadly.

"She was my best friend," I answer. "We did everything together."

"That makes two of us," he sighs. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Keira and the boy slip out of the room.

I feel my resentment for Ron slowly dissolving. Looking at him sitting there, helpless, watching his daughter fighting this illness, I suddenly feel an overwhelming pity for this man.

"Did you love her?" I ask, unable to help myself. He looks up at me, and then glances quickly toward where Keira had been standing.

"What?"

"Hermione. Did you love her?" I ask again. He swallows and looks down.

"Yes. I loved her so much," he whispers. He looks up at me again, and I'm shocked to see tears in his eyes. "I still do," he says quietly, turning to look at Aria again. "And every damn day I see her face in that girl. If I didn't love her so much, I'd hate her for it." His voice shakes as he speaks and I sit down on the edge of the bed carefully to listen.

"Me too," I whisper, looking at Aria as well. She's almost the spitting image of her mum, and it breaks my heart. "But not in the same way," I add with a small smile. To my relief, Ron laughs.

"I would hope not."

"Can I talk to you about something?" I say uncertainly. I know this isn't the right time to bring it up, but if I don't do it now, I never will.

"Yeah," he answers.

"It's about the house," I start.

"What house?" he questions somewhat sharply.

"Hermione's house." Ron's face hardens.

"What about it?" he asks harshly.

"Well, I've been taking care of it. You know, feeding the cat, getting the mail. I've been paying the bills using Hermione's bank account, which is actually Aria's now, seeing as she left everything to her…"

"Except her," Ron interrupts softly, a joking smile barely gracing his expression. Huh? He must notice my puzzled look because he smiles even more.

"Hermione left everything to Aria except Aria," he says, and I get it this time. I smile.

"It would be pretty hard to leave Aria to herself," I say with a slight laugh. I let the laugh slide away as Ron continues to chuckle.

Actually, I'd always assumed that if anything ever happened to Hermione, Aria would come live with me. Hermione asked me to be her godmother when she was born, and she'd told me that if anything ever happened, there was no one she'd trust more than me with her daughter. I wonder how long it was after that first meeting with Ron that she changed her mind. I don't voice these thoughts to Ron.

"Anyway," I continue, and Ron stops laughing instantly. "Like I said. I've been taking care of the house. But eventually, Aria is going to have to go back there and decide what she wants and what she's willing to sell."

"I suppose so," Ron answers softly, his gaze still trained on his daughter. I look at her too. She looks so weak and vulnerable lying there. I reach out and wipe her stringy hair out of her face. She sighs and rolls onto her back, one of her arms stretching above her head.

"I just want her to get better," Ron whispers, looking miserable. "I miss seeing her smile."

"I know. I wish there was more I could do to help," I tell him, really meaning it.

Aria's POV

I feel hot. Other times I'm freezing. My head is pounding, and it hurts constantly. Every now and then I hear voices or feel people sitting near me, but I can't figure out who it is. Once or twice, maybe more times a day, someone comes and feeds me, but I don't know who. I'm not even really sure where I am.

I can't tell if I'm awake or dreaming. Sometimes I think I see people, but then I realize no one's there. Other times I imagine getting up and getting myself a glass of water, but then I realize I'm still lying in bed and my mouth and throat are horribly, achingly dry.

Sometimes I'm in pain. It hurts to move, to think, to breathe. And then other times I'm in blissful comfort with the softest feeling against my cheeks and forehead. Somewhere in my half-conscious state, I see things. Not people. Strange creatures and colors all whirled together in a confusing collage of things that terrify me. And then in an instant all of the scary things are gone and I feel that coolness against my face again.

Right now, I can hear people. At least, I hope that's what I'm hearing. I hope they're real people. I lie there, listening to the people talk. It sounds like there's a whole stadium of people around me, shouting now. Their faces come swimming into view, colorful and bold. They're smiling, talking, laughing. But then their faces change. They twist into horrible, awful things. One of them reaches out to me, and I try to get away. Another one is grabbing me, pinning me down, suffocating me.

I cry out. Someone, anyone, help me! I'm drowning, sinking, dying.

Sean's POV

In the middle of the night, I awake to hear horrible noises of pain coming from Aria's bedroom. I run in there to see her tossing and turning violently in bed, crying and shrieking in fear. I run over to her bed and grab her roughly.

"Aria! Aria, wake up! You're having a bad dream! Aria, please wake up!" I shake her slightly, and she cries out, twisting away from me.

"Aria, come on! Wake up!" I shake her again, and she lets out a noise of pain.

"Aria! You're having a nightmare, please wake up!" She turns away from me again, curling into a ball. I sigh. I have to wake up Dad now.

Aria's cries follow me all the way downstairs. I bang open Mum and Dad's bedroom door, and Dad jerks awake instantly. He looks at me with a disorientated look on his face, and I hurry to his side.

"It's Aria," I say, grabbing him and attempting to pull him out of bed.

"She's having a nightmare and she won't wake up."

Dad jumps up and follows me upstairs.

Aria's POV

The things are still trying to get me. They're poking me, pinching me, pulling at me, torturing me. I cry as they laugh and continue the tormenting. There's no one to help me. No one.

Where are the people who are supposed to love me? Why are they letting these monsters torture me? Where's my mum?

"Mum!" I cry out, in hopes that she'll hear me. She'd never let this happen to me. She wouldn't. She'll come put a stop to it. "Mum!"

I hear footsteps now. It must be Mum. "Mum!" But no. Mum can't save me. She's … she's dead. "Mum?" The footsteps are thundering loud now. Probably more torturing creatures. Then it comes to me. My father! My dad!

Ron's POV

As I follow Sean upstairs, screams reach my ears, and I pick up the pace. Suddenly the words she's screaming stop me in my tracks.

"Mum!" I pause, unsure of what to do. Sean stops as well and gives me a questioning look. Again I hear it. "Mum!" I swallow hard. What's going on? Once again, less frantic this time, but still horribly helpless. "Mum?"

And then whimpering, crying. I start moving, pushing around Sean. He follows me. And then, a word I never thought I'd hear coming from my eleven-year-old daughter's bedroom in a scream.

"DAD!"

I start running.

Aria's POV

The creatures are closing in even more. They're going to kill me. Where's my dad? Why isn't he helping me?

"DAD!" I scream at the top of my lungs, squeezing my eyes shut as my tormenters draw nearer still. I curl up against myself, trying to protect myself from them. Why isn't he coming to save me from these horrible creatures?

"Dad!"

Ron's POV

I skid into Aria's room to see her curled up at the very edge of her bed, whimpering and sobbing and shrieking as if someone or something was out to get her.

"Aria," I say, going around the other side of the bed and kneeling down beside her. I put my hand on her face and she shrinks away, crying out as if I'd struck her.

"Aria, wake up."

"Dad!"

"Aria, it's me. It's Dad. Please wake up."

She whimpers and buries her head in her arms.

"Dad," she says again, as if her resolve that I'm going to save her is fading. I gently take hold of her arms and she flinches.

"Aria."

"Dad!" she says, loudly this time, letting out a shriek and tearing away from me with a sob.

"Aria, it's Dad. Please, just wake up! I sit down beside her on the bed and lay my hand on her shoulder. She whimpers.

"Aria, you're having a bad dream," I tell her again, taking hold of her and wrapping my arms around her. She tries to break away, but being sick and lying in bed for the last week has weakened her.

"Dad," she cries again, not shouting anymore. I hug her to me.

"This is Dad, Aria," I whisper fiercely. "Now, wake up."

Aria's POV

Someone is holding me. Whispering to me. Protecting me. I stop fighting. The creatures are dissolving into nothingness. And then all there is is nothingness. Everything is dark.

Ron's POV

Aria slumps against me, still crying, but not struggling, not screaming. Her hand finds my arm and she tightens her grip on me as if afraid I'll drop her.

"Dad," she whispers, leaning on me. I smile slightly and hug her again.

"I love you, Aria," I murmur, kissing the top of her head. "I'm always here to protect you."

A/N: Awwwww!!!! How sweet! There, I hope you enjoyed this. I apologize again for the long delay. I hope the extra length is enough to make up for it. Actually, it's almost too long, but I really wanted to get this chapter done. I'll try to update soon. Please review! It helps me think. ;)

Anyway, I hope I'm over the worst of my writer's block. This chapter actually screwed up the plot slightly, but I had to write it. It's been collecting dust in the back of my head for awhile now, and it was too good to pass up.

One last note: I might have a new story coming out soon. I've already written the first chapter and a half, but I'm going to try to get the second chapter completely done before I post it. I know my philosophy is to only have one WIP at a time, but this idea has been nagging and nagging at me since I thought it up … yesterday. Ha. But, I got the idea while I was supposed to be writing my summer homework essay. So look for it! I'll probably post it in the next day or two. Ok! Enough rambling! Please review! Thanks!