"It's been a while since I ve been here"-said Harry looking over Hermione's shoulder reminiscing the last moments of the war.
"… I am sorry Harry I forgot… I know this is probably difficult for you." -said Hermione apologetically.
"It's ok… Ron is more important now… lets go"- said Harry walking past Hermione.
Hogwarts was slightly different then how he remembered, the Hogwarts with the good memories, where he walked numerous time past curfew, where he played quidditch every year, his home, where he returned every Sep 1st . There were marks on the walls that could probably were not able to be removed because of its dark magic. Marks were left all over the castle to remember a fight over blood status, and power. Indelible marks that also stayed in everyone's life as a reminder of good and evil.
"Lets hope he is here…." – frowned Harry hopefully.
"Yeah that's what Augusta Longbottom told us, He is assisting professor Sprout with the first grade classes as a new apprentice… look there he is" said Hermione excitedly.
Neville was no longer a scared round-face boy but a war hero. He decided to stay away from the dark arts and followed his passion in Herbology. He had culminated his NEWTS and was currently doing his post NEWTS practice at Hogwarts.
"Blimey Harry, Hermione I can't believe my eyes"- yelled Neville as he approached his two friends.
"Hi Neville, is great to see you" exclaimed Harry shaking his hand.
"Neville! You haven't changed much"- said Hermione
"Great seeing you two… although something tells me you are not really here to just say hi yeah?" frowned Neville
Harry and Hermione exchanged looks and told Neville about Ron and their ideas about Mandrakes.
"Err… Is an interesting theory Hermione, it has not been tried before because of the believed danger of old mandrakes…" said Neville disappointedly.
"But… I think it might be worth to try, Professor Sprout might be able to help us…" continued Neville
"No…We wanted to keep this as a secret… until we know it works for sure" interrupted Hermione
"Right then… It can be very dangerous, not to mention it can kill Ron…." reassured Neville
"We need to do a lot of research Neville… tell me everything you know about mandrakes" –
Neville paused and started explaining about mandrakes and its history.
Hermione was walking slowly through the hospital corridors when she heard voices coming from 2 doors ahead, the door was ajar and she couldn't help hearing their conversation.
"…. We cant do that, we have to keep trying…"- said JOhn
"Its been 1 month and no luck… we are out of options"- said a rough voice
"Then we try harder"
"John… I am really sorry but its best we transfer Ronald Weasley to the Permanent Damage ward."
"No… we cannot give up there has to be something else… something we have not tried yet"
"Perhaps you are implying that we don't know what we are doing"
"Sir… aurors risk their life for our protection we owe to them .. we owe it to people like Ronald Weasley."
"I stand by my decision John… please close the door on your way out"
Hermione.. couldn't believe what she just heard… St. Mungos was about to give up on Ron and transfer him to the permanent damage ward… Hermione remembered Neville and his parents that were still residents of that ward. She could not stand seeing Ron like that. Rapid steps interrupted her thoughts, but she was in too much shock to move or pretend she had not heard the conversation. Healer Linus presence brought Hermione back to reality. He had realized she overheard and signal her to follow him.
"Hermione I am so sorry…"- said as he closed his office door behind him.
"I can't believe it!" cried Hermione " You are giving up on him"
"You heard my boss, is very hard to get through his thick head…. I … wish there was more I could do"- said John honestly.
"Well I am definitely not giving up on him and mark my words… He will not be transferred into the permanent damage ward" without waiting for a reply Hermione storm out of the office and disapparated to the Burrow.
Hermione paused before entering the burrow. She did not know how to explain what she just heard to his family, the family she also considers hers and that she will do anything to avoid causing them more pain. They could just not stand losing another family member.
Hermione walked slowly dreading for what she was about to do. Harry was the first one to notice her and his expressions changed considerably once he saw her grim expression.
"What happened?" demanded Harry
"Harry please meet me in Ron's room in 1 min and bring Ginny too please." whispered Hermione trying to avoid being overheard by other Weasley member.
Harry and Ginny closed the door behind them once they entered Ron's room, they couldn't help notice Hermione sobbing uncontrollably sitting on Ron's bed. Hermione explained to them what she heard at St. Mungos.
"We need to act fast" said Harry after a long pause.
"I can't believe it… Ron can't be transferred to that ward …. We have to do something"- said Ginny wiping her eyes with her sleeve.
" We… we are working on something now" said Harry who had not told anyone about their plan of the mandrakes, he looked uncomfortably to Hermione, who nodded in approval to give Ginny the news.
"Is not finish yet, we have been working with a potion that might help , but is too dangerous and can also kill Ron…Neville is helping us with the research and I started brewing it just in case we need to use it right away." explained Hermione. "… It seems we don't have much time now"
Hermione held Ron's hand and kissed it softly while a tear run through her cheek. She couldn't stand see Ron so fragile, so vulnerable, and so weak. Finally she got up and left St. Mungos heading to see Neville one more time.
"Oh Hi Hermione, I was just about to go see you"- said Neville who was packing some books in his back pack.
" Neville… we need to act fast… do you have any news about the mandrakes?"
"Actually yes, I have found a potion that reverses the effect of a poisonous mandrakes and I was thinking we can use that in case …. in case we need to." Explained Neville uncomfortably
"That's great Neville…. What do we need for that potion?"
"The ingredients are not hard to get. You can get them at the apothecary and easy to brew… for you of course will be a piece of cake, you are brilliant at potions" explained Neville happily.
"I ll start working on it immediately… meet me at the Burrow in 1 hour. We need to work on a plan about that potion since is not ministry approved and I cannot just walk into St. Mungos with it"
" Sure thing I ll see you in a bit"
Neville handed Hermione the list of the ingredients needed with the brewing instructions. Hermione nodded gratefully and dissaparated on the spot.
A/N: I want to apologize about the wait. I know It's been a while and I didn't want to abandon it. I appreciate all reviews good and bad.