A/N: In every fanfic I start, I can always envision a particular scene that's dramatic and important and vital to the story. It tends to be so vivid that I end up writing it up pretty early and adjusting it as needed when its time comes. This is that scene. I came home to an email inbox stuffed with awesome reviews, so instead of making you all wait a day or two, I brushed it up to post! Thanks for all the love!
Viper's Flu
Hermione thought a lot over the next week and a half about what fear was motivating her. With Rose and Hugo she knew. In fact, the second time she met with Yarborough on her own, he kept stopping her, reminding her that she had gotten back onto Hugo and Rose. Ron and her were getting on better terms, though they were just passed friendly in the grand scheme of things. When she invited him one night to stay for dinner, he agreed and she reached for his hand, holding it tightly throughout.
In her time alone, her mind still wandered to what would happen if she failed again. If she had pushed Ron beyond his breaking point. She still would watch Hugo and Rose sleeping at night, terrified of a future in which they weren't always there in their beds, just up the stairs from her.
On the third Friday of January, Ron was running late for morning pick up. He sent Hermione a patronus message promising he would be there to take them, but Hermione was left to get everything done to get the kids ready. She had an important meeting that day too and recited her points under her breath as she packed lunches and filled cereal bowls.
Rose arrived, slumping into the kitchen.
"I don't feel well, Mum," she said with a large, dramatic pout.
"No?" Hermione said. She waved for Rose to come closer to her. She felt her forehead and cheeks. Rose didn't feel warm in the slightest. Hermione tipped Rose's head back and she appeared well. "What's going on at school today?"
"We have art," Rose said. "And Miss Ford is reading to us."
"And?" Hermione asked with eyebrows raised. "Anything you'll be graded on?"
"A spelling test," Rose mumbled the admission.
"Ah, well, I have a feeling your symptoms will lift after that," Hermione said, giving Rose a kiss on her forehead.
"Mum," Rose groaned.
"Eat some breakfast, love," Hermione said, giving her a gentle nudge towards the table.
"I really don't feel good," Rose said in the same pout as her original declaration.
"Feel well, sweetheart," Hermione said.
Hugo came bounding in, eating as well, and they were almost finished by the time Ron showed up.
"Sorry," Ron said. "There was a spot of trouble at the shop. In fact, I may not be able to get away to pick up the kids today. Think you can? Or I can call someone else."
Hermione saw the opportunity. The chance she needed to prove she was as much the attentive parent as Ron. She could be there for Rose and Hugo just like he could.
"I have a meeting until one, but I'll have my assistant cancel everything in the afternoon," Hermione said.
"Are you sure?" Ron asked. "Because, really, I don't want you to get behind at work—"
"No, I have it," Hermione said quickly. Ron made a strange expression to the sharp insistence. "It's not a problem, really. I just have to be at that meeting, but otherwise…"
"Daddy, I don't feel good… feel well," Rose tried with him, now that she had a new audience. He squatted in front of her, feeling her skin as Hermione already had. "I told Mum."
Hermione felt another potential point against her. Ron looked over to her and Hermione swallowed. "She has a test today," Hermione said.
Understanding dawned on Ron's face as he turned back to Rose.
"It's good to know you gained at least some of my sensible views on school," Ron said. "Hop to, Rosie. Sometimes you have to do things that are unpleasant. Like cleaning your ears."
Ron wiggled a finger inside Rose's ear and she squealed, swatting it away.
"Stop it, Daddy," Rose said. "You're going to make me throw up."
Rose said it so dramatically that Hermione couldn't help but smile as Ron squeezed Rose's shoulders, then helped Hugo put on his backpack.
"Bye, Hugo," Hermione gave him a hug and kiss. "We'll get ice cream tonight, Rose. Just get through your test, alright?"
Rose muttered something incomprehensible as Hermione hugged and kissed her, then watched the lot of them leave the house. She sighed. Right after the meeting, nothing was going to keep her.
"I don't see why we need to change these laws," Norman McDowell argued. He was a stodgy old man and one of the people Hermione knew as going to be resistant. "Things are fine."
"Things are fine for the average witch and wizard," Hermione argued. "But the way we handle victims of magical accidents as appalling. We shut them away like prisoners. Just because you can't see the way their lives are lead does not mean they are as privileged as the rest of us."
"So what do you suppose we do with people whose magic has become unruly?" McDowell asked.
"I think this proposal lays it out pretty well," Matilda Moffit jumped in, flipping through the pages in front of her.
McDowell and Mofitt got into it, going back and forth, occasionally interrupted by one of the other members of the Wizengamot committee meant to oversee the task. Shacklebolt sat back, stroking his chin as he considered each argument rather than joining in. They were nearly an hour in. Shacklebolt and Hermione's assistants had brought in lunch and tea for everyone as they continued on. McDowell was just about to speak again when Hermione's phone started to ring.
Hermione fumbled through her pockets, trying to remember which she had put the phone in. Her face burned as she noticed all eyes on her, all conversation stopped. She looked at the number on the screen. Bringhurst Academy. Rose's school. She swallowed.
"Excuse me, just a moment," Hermione said, looking around the table. "I'm sorry, I just need a moment."
Hermione stood, dashing to the nearest door, opening and holding it there with one hand as she pushed the button to answer with her right thumb.
"Hermione Granger speaking," she said.
"Hello Mrs. Granger, this is Nurse Cowley with the Bringhurst Academy," the voice on the other end said.
"Is Rose alright?"
"She's fine, Mrs. Granger, just a bit of a fever and she complained to Miss Ford about an aching stomach," Nurse Cowley said. "It's a bug that's been going around, but we need someone to come and fetch her. Any temperature over one hundred and our policy—"
"Yes, of course," Hermione interrupted her. She peeked back into the room. The others were chatting, waiting for her. "I'm in the middle of a meeting just now."
"We can also call your husband for you, if you're busy."
"No," Hermione said quickly. "No, that won't be necessary. It will just take me a few minutes longer to get there, but tell Rose I'm on my way."
Hermione ended the call and licked her lips. She thought for a moment about the piles of work on her desk and then Lana's words rung in her mind. She straightened up and walked back into the room.
"Terribly sorry, but my daughter seems to be ill," Hermione said. "I need to go and pick her up from school."
"Mrs. Granger, we have all rearranged our schedules to sit through this until it's figured out," Jeremiah Butler pointed out.
Hermione started to open her mouth when Shacklebolt lifted a hand to stop her.
"There is plenty we can discuss with Mrs. Granger gone," Shacklebolt said clearly. Most of the others nodded over this, though Butler stiffened. "I hope your daughter feels well again soon."
"Thank you," Hermione said, letting out a breath and walked towards the exit door once again, running to the lift and making her way quickly to the streets of London.
Hermione had to slow down, reminding herself that this was a Muggle school and it would look odd for her to show up only minutes after making an excuse for why she would take longer. Instead of apparating, she walked the four blocks, moving faster as the school came into view. She hurried to the front desk, asking for Nurse Cowley, and was lead by a heavy set receptionist back to the office where Rose was lying on a papered lounge chair, her eyes droopy and one hand holding her stomach.
"That was quick," Nurse Cowley said.
Hermione didn't bother to check the time and see if she had accomplished to cover herself on that point. Instead she walked into the room where Rose was, sitting on the edge of the little bed, pushing back her curls, feeling Rose's skin burn hot beneath her fingers where it had been cool to the touch that morning. Her skin was ashen and her bottom lip trembled.
"I tried to make it through the test," Rose said and Hermione's heart broke in two.
"I know, love," Hermione said, running the backs of her fingers down Rose's cheek.
"I just need you to sign her out, and you're free to take her home to rest," Nurse Cowley said.
Hermione stood, signed the paper where the nurse pointed, and took Rose by the hand, coaxing her to stand as they made their way to the street. Hermione hailed the Knight Bus and Rose leaned heavily against her, her little hand in Hermione's as they both stepped on and found seats near the front.
"Ow, Mum, it hurts," Rose said, curling up and holding her stomach.
"I know, sweetheart," Hermione said.
Hermione gripped tighter around Rose, watching out the window for their stop. She rubbed Rose's back and shouted for the driver to stop, holding tight to Rose as the bus stopped abruptly outside the office of magical medic's complex. They walked off the bus and Rose threw up into the bush on the lawn. A passerby gave the two of them a look and Hermione waited, watching those around her before pulling out her wand and conjuring a bag for Rose to vomit in, if she needed one inside.
There were three other patients Hermione had to wait for, filling out some paperwork as Rose laid her head in Hermione's lap until they were called up.
"She was fine last night," Hermione told the healer they were set into a room with. The man was looking into Rose's eyes, using his wand to probe and prod while examining her. Hermione leaned back against the counter nearby. "This morning she told me she wasn't feeling well, but she looked fine and she didn't have a fever then."
"Well, Rose," the healer said, raising his eyebrows. "It looks like you got yourself a good case of Viper's Flu. Have you heard of that before?"
"No," Rose said, her voice shaky.
"It is a bug that comes on very quickly, just like your mum described. Usually you feel it before symptoms even come," the healer said, taking a pad of paper and with a flick of his wand a quill was scribbling across the surface. "Young witches and wizards used to get it all the time and it's a good thing you came quickly, because we can get it all taken care of, alright?"
Rose nodded, her eyes flickering towards Hermione, who smiled calmly back. She had only heard of Viper's Flu in passing. A co-worker once talked about being worried her son had Viper's Flu, though it was a false alarm in the end. Hermione thought hard about why it was so dreaded, but couldn't before the healer was speaking again, this time to her.
"You will just need to take this to the potions stores we have next door. It's not the most pleasant treatment and you need to be aware the burning sensation is normal."
"Burning?" Hermione gasped.
"Yes," the healer said calmly. "It's not doing any damage, but like I said… not the most pleasant."
"Can't she take it here? Under supervision?"
"No," the healer said. "The instructions will get you through, but the brew must be opened and allowed to air for at least a few hours. Some soup and crackers and rest, if she can, while you wait should be fine, but watch that it's not too much at once. If she can't keep anything down after the potion, then Mungo's may be your only option."
"Alright, thank you," Hermione said, running those instructions through her mind.
"Do you have any other children?" he asked.
"One," Hermione said. "Rose's younger brother."
"This can be contagious. If he isn't showing similar symptoms, keeping them apart for the next twenty-four hours is vital."
"What about Rose's classmates? Should I notify her school?" Hermione asked.
"Let her teacher know. Most of the other parents should have quick access to the potion, but the earlier this is caught, the better," the healer said.
"They won't have the potion. Rose attends a muggle primary school," Hermione clarified.
The healer stopped, stunned for a moment. "Oh, right, well," he stammered, scratching his head. "I don't think you need to worry, then. It's not a virus that affects muggles."
Hermione nodded, taking the slip of paper. Rose stood, visibly unsteady. Hermione put an arm around her, then moved towards the door.
"Let's get this quickly. Then we'll get you home to rest," Hermione said.
The manager of the potion stores made them wait for another hour, though, saying there had been high demand for that potion and that she needed to make more. By the time they were home, it was 2:30 in the afternoon and Hugo would need to be picked up from preschool soon. Hermione rushed through, opening the top of the potion, pouring the acid green liquid into a glass, watching as it smoked and bubbled, hissing violently as she turned towards the floo. She threw in a handful and heard Rose call for her.
"Just a moment, love," she called back, sticking her head into the flames. She waited, seeing Ginny pass. "Ginny!" she gasped, feeling the weight of the afternoon's worries, now that there was someone she knew could help her.
"Oh, hi there, Hermione," she said, kneeling down in front of her.
"Rose is sick and I need someone who can pick up Hugo," Hermione said.
"Oh no, what is it?" Ginny asked.
"She has Viper's Flu," Hermione said. A sympathetic look took over Ginny. "The, er, healer said if Hugo isn't showing symptoms, then he should be fine. If he isn't feeling well, just bring him back home and I'll take care of things. But if he's okay, could he stay—"
"Absolutely! Don't worry about a thing," Ginny interrupted her and Hermione let out a sigh of relief. "You and Ron just focus on Rose and we'll have fun with Hugo here, alright?"
"Yes, alright," Hermione said. "The preschool has an extra set of clothes for him. For pajamas—"
"I'm sure we have something old of James or Albus's," Ginny said.
"Okay, thank you," Hermione said. "I owe you."
Guilt settled over her as she pulled herself out of the floo. Guilt for burdening Ginny instead of having Ron take care of Hugo. Guilt, knowing she would want to know about this straight away if it had happened on Ron's watch. But she couldn't tell him until she had shown she could handle these issues on her own. She couldn't let him have one more thing over her. One more excuse to prove him the better parent.
Hermione looked at the potion, hoping the bubbling had stopped so that she could give it to Rose sooner rather than later. She would tell Ron after she had given Rose the potion. Of course it was false optimism. It would be bubbling for several hours, she reminded herself. The healer had said three. Hermione was tempted to go to her library and try to find a way to speed up the process, but Rose called for her again, interrupting that thought. Instead she filled a second glass with juice, and went to sit beside Rose.
The next stretch of time was agony for Rose and Hermione. Rose would be weak, leaning against Hermione with her eyes half closed, then suddenly bend in two groaning and crying as Hermione rocked her back and forth, staving off her own urge to crumble into tears. Rose refused anything to drink or eat and threw up twice into the sick bag. Hermione cleared it out with a wave of her wand, summoning a damp towel to wipe Rose's mouth.
It was already dark out when a loud pop from the living room sounded.
"Hermione? Ron?" Harry's voice rang out.
Hermione let out a sigh of relief. "Rose and I are in here," she called out, continuing to run her fingers through Rose's hair as her daughter was curled up on her lap, whimpering quietly in pain.
"Ginny wanted me to let you know Hugo's fine," Harry said, his voice getting louder as he walked towards Rose's room. He stopped in the doorway. "And wanted to see if you needed anything."
Harry had obviously just come from work, his work robes were unbuttoned and hanging open, but still on. He looked confused for a moment.
"Where's Ron?" he asked.
"Probably at work or his flat," Hermione said, adjusting Rose.
"Why's he not here?" Harry asked.
Hermione looked at him, eyes wide and pleading for understanding. There wasn't anything Ron could really do right now that she couldn't, and she had to. She had to show she could do this on her own. There was too much at stake not to show that.
"It's probably close to three hours," Hermione whispered to Rose. "I'll go get your potion, alright?"
Rose nodded and moved so that Hermione could stand, walking out the door as Harry continued to look dumbfounded, following her down the steps and towards the kitchen, where she had left the glass with the green liquid.
"Shouldn't Ron know?" Harry asked. "Ginny thought that's why you needed her to pick up Hugo."
"I'll send him a message in a few," Hermione said. "It's just… it's been a long afternoon and—"
"Hermione, this isn't like you," Harry replied. "Why didn't you send him a message straight away? Don't you both have cell phones?"
"I can't, okay?" Hermione choked out. "But I will tell him—"
"Hermione," Harry sighed, putting his hands on his hips. "Whatever else you two have going on, you know he would do anything for the kids, right?"
"I know," Hermione said. "That's the problem."
"Mum!" Rose cried out and both Hermione and Harry turned back to the task at hand, Hermione grabbing the potion and Harry following behind. Hermione moved up the stairs, watching to balance the glass carefully. There were still a few bubbles, but as she looked at her watch it had definitely been three hours.
"Right here," Hermione said as she entered the room. She sat on the edge of the bed. Rose's skin was so colorless, her forehead coated in a sheen of sweat. Hermione propped her up, putting the edge of the cup to Rose's lips. "Drink it up, love. You'll feel better after this."
Not a drop made it into Rose's mouth, though. The green touched her lips and Rose let out a scream, pulling back. It was all Hermione could do not to spill any as she straightened the glass and pulled it away.
"That hurts!" Rose shouted, crying now, tears streaming as she wiped furiously at her mouth. She was shaking in her attempts and Hermione set down the potion for the juice, coaxing Rose to take a sip, the touch of something else cool seeming to ease whatever pain the potion had caused.
"Rose, sweetheart, you need to take the potion," Hermione said, feeling her nerves unraveling.
"No," Rose cried, pressing fists into her eyes and sitting up, throwing up yet again, this time all over her blanket with her sick the color of bile. Rose had no food left in her. Harry rushed in to remove the blanket as Hermione caressed Rose's cheeks. "No, Mum, please, no."
"You have to," Hermione said, her own voice shaky.
"I want Dad," Rose croaked. Hermione pulled Rose into her. "I want Daddy, Mum."
Hermione pressed her lips together, tears springing to her eyes as she nodded. She looked up to where Harry was watching them from the doorway and he nodded in return, turning on the spot.
"Uncle Harry went to get him," Hermione promised, feeling absolute defeat. "He'll be here, love. Can you try taking your potion?"
Rose only cried harder at the suggestion and Hermione gripped Rose tightly, wondering if she should have just gone to Mungo's instead of coming home. She didn't know about what was normal with this virus and she couldn't hold her daughter and do research at the same time. If only she could get Rose to take the potion, perhaps this would be better. Several agonizing minutes passed before Ron appeared, Harry right at his shoulder.
"Oh, Rose," Ron said.
Hermione moved out of the way as Ron picked Rose up easily, settling himself back against Rose's headboard, tucking Rose against his body as he held her. Rose turned into him, crying even harder and Hermione could see the energy drain the longer she cried. Ron looked at Hermione and she looked down, unable to meet his eye.
"The potion your mum got will make you feel better," Ron said quietly. Rose shook her head no into his chest. "Come on, my Rosie, you need to take the potion. I'll help you."
"It hurts," Rose cried.
Ron pulled her back to face him, cupping her chin carefully in one hand. "Did you know your Aunt Gin had Viper's Flu when we were kids?"
Rose sniffed taking this in, then shook her head.
"She had to take the potion, too," Ron said. "Then she felt better."
"Did she hurt?"
"Yes, but it goes away," Ron promised. "You can be brave like Aunt Gin, right?"
Rose thought about this a moment, then shook her head no.
"Yes you can. You're my brave girl." Ron tucked Rose's hair behind her ear, feeling her cheeks and forehead with the back of his hand. "Give me thirty seconds of brave. Just thirty and it will be all over. Okay?"
Rose took a while before she nodded apprehensively. Ron reached over for the glass, holding it in one hand as he moved to sit straight against the headboard, setting Rose on his right leg, supporting her around her waist.
"Ready?" Ron asked, moving the glass towards her lips. Rose took a shaky, steeling breath and Ron started to tip it back. Rose made a noise when it touched this time, but didn't move. "Thirty, twenty-nine, twenty-eight…"
Hermione felt her insides twist up unpleasantly as Rose squealed, but kept drinking. With eyes shut tight, tears rolled down Rose's cheeks, but Ron continued to count down. Twenty, nineteen. Hermione wrapped one arm around her middle, covering her mouth with the other. Fifteen, fourteen. The potion was more than half gone and Rose almost pulled away, but Ron counted louder, pulling her closer to him and she rallied, drinking more. Eight, seven. Rose's brows were knit and her face was grimaced in determination. Five, four. By three, the potion was gone and Ron pulled the glass away from Rose's lips as he finished their countdown.
Rose continued to cry as Ron grabbed the juice, coaxing her to drink until the sobbing lessened and she was quietly tucked into Ron's embrace. He wrapped his newly freed hand around her, whispering into her ear. Hermione blinked out tears, wiping them from her cheek as Ron's gentle blue eyes met hers. They stared at one another for several moments before Ron adjusted Rose, moving her a little more to his right and opened his left arm up.
Hermione didn't hesitate as she stepped over and into the comfort of Ron's arm around her as well. She curled herself onto Rose's bed beside her daughter, reaching one hand out to play with Rose's hair and touch her face. Rose's tears were subsiding just as Hermione's reached their height.
"I'll go update Ginny," Harry said awkwardly. "Let us know if we can do anything else."
"Thanks, mate," Ron said, his hand rubbing Hermione's back.
The three were left alone in this little cocooned position. "My brave girl," Ron whispered over and over above them. His left hand was wrapped easily around Hermione's waist. He would lean forward, kissing the top of Rose's head repeatedly, then Hermione felt his lips against her temple and forehead. She closed her eyes as he lingered once, then turned to look up at him. She didn't find anger there, or irritation, but a half grin. A bit of encouragement for her long day as well.
After over an hour with the three of them in an embrace, Hermione wiped at her tears and went to the kitchen, bringing back crackers and more juice. Together Ron and Hermione encouraged Rose to eat and drink, watching her settle into bed and waiting to be certain the food stayed down. Hermione gave Ron a complete rundown of the day's events, saying uncertainly over and over that the potion seemed to have worked.
"Right?" Hermione asked, stroking Rose's cheek. Their daughter had closed her eyes and was at least halfway to sleep, if not entirely there. "I mean, she hasn't felt her stomach ache and she's much calmer."
"It worked," Ron said, massaging Hermione's shoulders from behind her.
"I should have believed her," Hermione said. "She didn't have a fever… she didn't—"
"She didn't look ill, no," Ron said. "I thought the same." Hermione breathed easier after he said this.
Once Rose had certainly drifted off, Ron watched as Hermione carefully took Rose's favorite stuffed animal of a kitten and tucked it under her arm, raising the covers a little more. She followed Ron out of the room and down the stairs. Hermione folded her arms across her chest in a defensive stance. Ron turned, leaning against the wall at the bottom, Hermione staying two steps above him.
"I'm sorry I didn't call for you earlier," Hermione said.
When Harry apparated to Ron's flat, he had immediately gone into the information he knew. Rose had Viper's Flu, Hermione had called Ginny to take care of Hugo, and Rose was having a hard time. Ron rushed to find his shoes and sat, pulling them on as his mind immediately leapt to anger that Hermione didn't call him in the first place. He should have been the one to get Hugo. Yes, he probably still would have taken Hugo to Ginny and Harry's or his parents so that he could be with Rose, but he should have been the one to make that call. Or at least had a say.
But this was what Calvin had talked about. Learning to give the benefit of the doubt. Learning to listen beyond that anger. Learning to listen to the logic, rather than the action. To fight with love. Once Ron had decided to do this much, he found the anger didn't have a place to stay anymore. Even as he stood, Hermione opening up the opportunity to tell her off and be angry again.
"Why didn't you?" Ron asked instead. Hermione took a shuddering breath.
"I can't lose them," Hermione said. The tears that had gone came flooding back. "I can't lose them, Ron."
"Why would you lose them?" Ron asked.
"I… I want to be able to do this on my own," Hermione said. "Work and picking them up. Single mums do it all the time, right? Ron, if we keep going down this road… and the courts... "
"Hermione," Ron said. "Do you really think I'm trying to take them from you?"
Hermione looked off, wiping at her tears as her bottom lip quivered.
"What kind of father would that make me if I tried to keep them from a mum like you?" Ron asked.
"A mum like me," Hermione scoffed. "Impatient and sharp and—"
"And loving and attentive," Ron interrupted. "And someone who makes them curious about the world. We both know they get their cleverness from you."
"I couldn't get her to drink it," Hermione whispered.
"Bullocks," Ron said. "You would have gotten her there just fine if you needed to. But we're a team. No matter how you feel about me with everything else, the moment Rose came along, we became a team for life. And the last thing I would do is keep them from you."
They stood a moment in silence. Hermione looked down biting her bottom lip. When she looked back up, she leaned forward. Her lips touched his first, then her hands moved along his chest. Ron closed his eyes, meeting her desperate movements, kissing her more deeply and pulling her body into his. Hermione's breath shortened as she wrapped one leg around Ron. He held it there at the thigh, unable to get close enough, unable to control himself as he wrapped a hand around her neck, pulling her the last couple steps down and held her against the wall.
Hermione pulled at the bottom of Ron's shirt and they worked awkwardly, neither willing to part enough to remove the shirt easily. She fumbled, reaching for his belt as he moved just far enough back to work at her buttons beneath his fingers. As the blouse fabric fell open, Hermione found his lips again. Ron's hands felt her torso; pulling, squeezing, holding. Hermione's own hands moved along his chest and shoulders. He picked her up, Hermione wrapping her legs around him as he carried her towards their room, laying her out on their bed and crawling above her gasping form. Her hair was all over the place. Her hands rubbed at his sides while she stared at his lips.
Ron lifted a hand, pushing frizzy curls from Hermione's forehead. He looked into her brown eyes, still wet from tears, and propped himself up on one arm, lifting his other hand to wipe and dry the remaining moisture from her cheeks. He placed a gentle kiss on her lips.
"I love you," he said. Hermione's breath caught beneath him. He kissed her ear, then down her jaw and neck and lower, whispering I love you, again and again. A plead for her to understand. A plead for her to believe.
