Rose, Hugo, Minerva, and Ginny were waiting for Harry and Ron when they arrived; they were, once again, in the emergency care ward, and the waiting room was crowded despite the late hour. Hugo was pacing back and forth, his eyes very red. Rose and Minerva were on the waiting area's sofa; Rose had her head resting against Minerva's shoulder, tears streaming down her face, while Minerva seemed simply lost for words. She stared blankly straight ahead.

When they entered the ward doors, Ginny ran into Ron's arms.

"What's happened?" Ron asked, as she nearly strangled him. "She's not—"

"She's alive," Ginny promised, though her chin trembled. "Minerva and I were visiting, and she suddenly said her chest hurt, and that was it. No warning at all."

Minerva made a sudden noise that could have been a dry sob.

"She's unconscious," Ginny explained. She looked over her shoulder to the door of Hermione's room. "It's been over an hour…Terry said he'd be out to talk to us in a minute."

Ron felt ill. He was uncomfortably aware of the number of people also in the waiting area, who were whispering behind their hands and pointing as they began to recognize who Ron and Harry were. Ginny, who seemed equally aware of this, put an arm around Ron's shoulders and turned him away from the rest of the room.

"You're out for good, aren't you?" she asked quietly. "They don't suspect you?"

"They can't," mumbled Ron. "They thought they could...I dunno, prove I'd tried again when I was alone with her, you know? With this…well, Harry managed it." He swallowed hard, furious. "It's all my fault, too. If I'd been smarter, I wouldn't have been arrested. She wouldn't have gotten this bad."

"Ron, this is not your fault," Ginny said fiercely. "They shouldn't have arrested you, that's true, but it's not your fault that they did. And it's not your fault, what's happened to Hermione."

Ron stared at the dazzling white tiled floors and blinked hard, rubbing the back of his neck. He could feel himself flushing red.

Ginny put a hand on his back. "Ron, it'll be okay."

"Can you all stop saying that, please?" Ron asked quietly. Ginny closed her mouth.

"Terry!"

Ron spun. Terry Boot, looking exhausted, had emerged from a treatment room, and was approaching Ron and Harry, a grave expression on his face. He stopped, suddenly seeming to register Ron's presence, and stared at Minerva, Rose, and Hugo, who had all risen. He took in the great number of people in the waiting room who had stopped their own conversations to see what was happening. Ron could tell they had guessed that the patient was Hermione, and Terry seemed to realize the same thing.

He beckoned to them all, led them down a narrow corridor to a comfortable-looking office, and shut the door.

"Healer Boot," Rose began. "Please, what's happening?"

Terry took a deep breath. "We've managed to help her. She's stable, for now."

Minerva sat down suddenly; Rose squeezed her shoulder. Ron's stomach seemed to unclench, and a tiny glimmer of hope had taken up residence in his heart.

"What happened?" he asked.

"She stopped being able to breathe," Terry said gently. Hugo gave a kind of involuntary twitch. "We've done another adjustment on the potions we're giving her."

"Potions?" Hugo asked. "Why aren't you giving her an antidote?"

"Well, as I've said to your father, we're doing our best with that, but it's difficult without a clean sample of the poison," Terry answered.

Rose and Hugo both looked at Ron. "What's he talking about, Dad?" Rose asked.

Ron stared between them. "Nothing, just that we're still trying to find a good sample," he stammered.

"Wait, she hasn't gotten an antidote?" Hugo asked incredulously.

"We need to synthesize a better one," Terry insisted. "Our only samples of the original poison are contaminated."

Rose shook her head, one hand over her mouth, and turned away.

"So what does this mean? Is she all right?" Hugo asked.

"She's fighting hard," Terry said. "But I'm concerned that unless she starts improving soon, another attack like this could finish her," he said gently.

Hugo went ashen and sank into a waiting room chair beside Rose. Ron closed his eyes.

"I'm going to the treatment rooms to work on a new antidote," Terry said, when no one else spoke. He seemed very aware that a great deal of tension was building in the air. "I think you've all got some things to discuss. You can stay here. I'll come and get you when Hermione wakes, and you can see her for a minute."

Ron nodded mutely, and Terry left the office. Harry, who had his arm around Ginny, cleared his throat uncomfortably.

"I think I ought to return to the Leaky Cauldron," said Minerva, who seemed to have recovered herself. "I'll wait there to hear from you." She stood and nodded to the door, indicating that she, Harry, and Ginny should leave. Ginny gave Ron a hurried peck on the cheek, and, unable to hide her tears any longer, dashed out of the office, mumbling something about helping Minerva.

Harry followed her, but stopped and cleared his throat again in the doorway. "I'm going back to the Ministry for a bit, Ron. I need to finalize your papers and order another search of the Cauldron."

Ron nodded again, feeling a pang for the extra work it must have meant for Harry to get him released. Then the office door shut, and he was alone with Rose and Hugo.

"Dad," Rose said quietly. "I…I know that…well, there hasn't…been time, but what haven't you told us? Did you know they still haven't been able to help her?"

Ron looked up at her, and then at Hugo, who was staring at him. Both had very red eyes. Rose looked on the verge of tears again. He could not lie. "Yes, sweetheart. I did."

Rose's chin trembled, and she nodded once, slowly. "Did you know before you were arrested?"

Ron swallowed a lump in his throat. "Yes. For a couple of days."

"Oh, Dad," Hugo said in frustration, turning away from him. "Why wouldn't you tell us what was happening? We're not children, we deserve to know if our mother is dying!"

"Hugo!" Rose snapped.

"She is!" Hugo cried, tears in his voice. He turned anguished eyes on Ron. "She is, and you didn't tell us."

"And I'm sorry," Ron said hoarsely.

"What d'you think 'finish' means, Dad?" Hugo demanded incredulously. "Does Mum at least know? Did you bother telling her?" He gestured in the direction of the waiting room.

"Hugo, stop it," Rose said fiercely, placing herself between them. "Dad did what he thought was best. It's going to be fine, so just calm down." Hugo dropped his shoulders, heaving a sigh. She looked at Ron. "Dad, why don't you let me stay here tonight? You look like you need sleep. You too, Hugo. I'll stay the night, and then Hugo, you can take over in the morning."

"No," Ron interrupted. "I'll stay tonight, if Terry will let me. She's going to be upset enough, and…I'd like to see her," he added gruffly.

Neither Rose nor Hugo spoke. "All right," said Rose after a moment. "We'll all stay, just until she's awake…and then I'll come back in the morning," she promised, kissing his cheek. Ron hugged her, then turned to Hugo.

"We were just trying to protect you," he said firmly. Hugo nodded.

"I'll come back tomorrow afternoon," he mumbled. Ron hugged him tightly, and the three of them left Terry's office to wait for word of Hermione.

Fortunately, however, it was not long that they sat in the waiting room before a kind-faced, older nurse approached Ron.

"Mr. Weasley?"

He stood immediately.

"Your wife is in a room in the critical care ward," said the nurse. She eyed Rose and Hugo, who had risen as well. "You may wait there, if you like. She'll be waking soon."

The nurse led Ron up two floors to a private room at the back of the ward and showed them in. Ron felt his heart stop. Hermione lay in the bed, pale and sick, and the only thing Ron could think as he looked at her was, how could she possibly be alive?

Rose and Hugo seemed less perturbed by Hermione's pallor, perhaps because they were used to it, whereas Ron had been locked away for days. At any rate, they settled themselves into chairs around the bed.

"Keep things quiet," the nurse advised as she left, starting to close the door. "We'll be keeping an eye on her."

Seating himself opposite Rose and Hugo, Ron took Hermione's hand in his own. She was ice-cold. He wrapped his fingers more tightly around hers. The three of them spent more than an hour silently watching Hermione; they sat up tensely every now and then, when she would wince and seem to start waking up before quickly falling back to sleep.

It wasn't until well after midnight that Hermione finally opened her eyes and looked around her. She quickly found Rose, who was closest to her, and smiled faintly.

"Hi," Rose said gently, her chin trembling. She sat forward, smoothing Hermione's hair back. "Hi, Mummy…how do you feel?"

Hermione blinked slowly. "I'll be…all right…"

"Look who's here, Mum," said Hugo softly, nodding to Ron, who sat up, squeezing Hermione's hand.

Hermione turned her head to look on Ron. She frowned, plainly confused. "How…many…pain potions…have…I…had?" she asked, sounding a bit more like herself: very skeptical.

Ron couldn't help it. He broke into a wide, tremulous smile. "I'm here," he said. "It's all fine, I promise, everything's going to be okay, now."

Hermione's lip was quivering. "You're—here," she whimpered, as tears began to fill her eyes.

"Shh, Mum," Rose said gently, smoothing Hermione's hair again. "Mum, it's all right. Please be careful."

Hermione was clinging tightly to Ron's fingers, unable to stop her tears. "Are—you—free?"

Ron nodded hurriedly. "I'm not going anywhere."

"Mrs. Weasley." Another nurse had appeared in a great hurry, looking around at Ron, Rose and Hugo. "Please," she said to them. "I need to ask you to leave, just for a moment," she said, at the look on Ron's face. She was holding Hermione's wrist and glancing down at her own watch. "She'll be fine, we just need to get her comfortable."

Hermione looked inexpressibly upset that Ron was leaving, but he obeyed the nurse, followed by Rose and Hugo. The three of them stood together in the corridor for a moment, without saying a word until, quite suddenly, Hugo threw his arms tightly around Rose and Ron.

Rose sniffled quietly against Ron's shoulder. He embraced her more closely. When she had recovered, she looked up at Hugo. "I…I think we'd better go, Hugo," she said quietly. "We can come back in the morning, all right?"

Hugo nodded silently, rubbing his nose. Ron patted his back, but said nothing. Rose and Hugo left together, waving once before the ward doors swung shut after them. At that moment, the nurse came out of Hermione's room.

"Keep her calm," she said politely, but very firmly. Ron nodded and slowly walked back in to the room. The lights had been lowered a bit, presumably to help Hermione relax.

Hermione lay in the bed, eyes only half-open, but she smiled when she saw Ron. "I'm…definitely…not…seeing things…then?" she asked.

Ron laughed and shook his head. "No. No, I'm here." He sat down and took her hand. "How do you feel?"

Hermione sighed gently, touching one hand to her breastbone and wincing. "I'm all…right. Was I…hit…with…a Bludger?"

Ron smiled slightly. "No, but you scared us all out of our wits."

"You…sound like…your mother," Hermione quipped, and she seemed to light up a bit when Ron laughed. "How…how did…you…get here?" She drew another slow breath and held his hand tighter.

Ron felt his smile grow tight, and he fought a lump in his throat. He reached out and smoothed Hermione's hair on her pillow. "They've dropped the charges."

"Why?"

Ron sighed. "They…can't suspect me anymore." Hermione frowned, but Ron interrupted. "I'll tell you later," he promised.

"Hmm." Hermione looked pained and closed her eyes. "I'll be…having a word…with…Revere."

Ron gave a soft chuckle. "So you have been reading the papers."

"I've been…trying…to…get…that…witch…out of…my department for…for years," she said, shaking her head slightly. "She…wants…to…replace me…"

This stirred something in Ron. "Hermione?"

"Mm?"

"Hugo and Rose, they know everything that's…happened…with you…" He trailed off as Hermione opened her eyes, looking hurt, but resigned.

"I…thought…so," she said. "I…I'd hoped…"

"I know," Ron said, squeezing her hand. "I'm sorry."

Hermione drew a painful, shuddering breath. "I'm…just…glad…you're here." She squeezed Ron's hand gently. "Ron…"

"Yeah?"

"Will you…tell…the family? Can…you…bring them…to…see me? I…want…to see…all of them…"

Ron's heart sank. "Hermione, you're not going to—"

"I want…to be…ready," she said breathlessly, holding his hand tightly. "Just…in case…" Her eyes began to close again, and Ron could tell she was falling asleep. He bit back a painful lump in his throat. He knew that if it was the last thing he ever did, he had to save Hermione. And perhaps it was cowardice that stopped him from getting up and returning to his office immediately—cowardice at the idea that she might not be there when her finally came back—but at this precise moment…he couldn't leave her.