Summary:
Disease spreads and relationships are tested as anxiety rises. Harry is confronted by his wife and Molly Weasley crosses the Hogsland wards.
Beta read thanks to Tanguera!
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The flu ran rampant through the British Wizarding World. The Continent reacted swiftly to the rising numbers of hospitalized and closed its borders, in an effort to protect their already war-decimated populations from the disease. Hogsland stockpiled their potions, tending to the little Foresters that fell ill first. The anxiety high as reports from beyond the wards started to include fatalities. Aberforth and Grimp pushed their construction teams hard, trying to complete shelters to house either people sick or protect the healthy from falling ill. The HLE trained and reinforced their security measures, expecting everything from nothing to full-scale attack.
"I don't understand it." Hannah ended the spell taking the temperature of the two-year-old Forester curled up with her five-year-old brother. The mediwitch handed the plate of VitaGel uneaten back to Hermione. "Their fevers have broken." Hermione frowned.
"That's a good thing. Why aren't you happy?"
"No, I'm happy. But all their fevers have broken. It's just a normal flu. Fever, chest congestion, but no escalation like pneumonia in the Ministry reports. Nothing close to the intensity that would cause so many complications and deaths outside of Hogsland." Hermione glanced over at the wall of crated potions that she, Severus and the brewing team had produced. "We don't even need the stockpile, the illness has hit almost everyone in some form, you had a running nose yourself a few days ago. The scans say it was the same thing." The mediwitch threw up her hands. "It doesn't make any sense!"
St. Mungo's received the crates of potions with gratitude but it wasn't long before suspicions arose. Didn't Hogsland need these themselves? Speculation ran amongst the healing staff, overheard by anxious family members and spread like wildfire. The media battered the Council Offices, and when it was confirmed there were no deaths, soon the populace pushed the reporters aside, yelling questions at anyone within sight. People came to Hogsland, until groups were pressed up against the wards from the flood of witches and wizards, children caught against legs and the surge of bodies. All begging to be let in, screaming questions and accusations. How could Hogsland be untouched? Was this some biological weapon? Won't they just take the children?
Blaise, Hermione and Severus looked out from the balcony, safely disillusioned from the crowds. Hermione's hand gripped tightly in her lover's. The crowd-control spells were the only safeguard against people being trampled or crushed. The Meaders had retreated past the ward boundaries or requested extra spells be cast by the HLE, and the shopkeepers had closed their doors against the horde. The brewing team had given one person the continued responsibility of churning out amplifying potions for regular ward reinforcement by the HLE night shift. They had laid preparations for Hogsland's complete isolation upon formation, but it was still a frightening sight to see hundreds upon hundreds of people forego dignity and bodily throwing themselves against their walls.
Hermione, Flume, Neefa and Severus couldn't produce VitaGel or brew potions fast enough to accommodate the demand. Every evening the WWN read out the latest numbers of ill and dead, and each morning the Daily Prophet reported those that didn't make the night. Hermione could see the lack of sleep in Severus' face. Whatever progress her lover had made in building up the muscle in his legs had deteriorated with the shift in attention to the flu. While Hermione missed the physical attention, it was still a comfort having him close and well, even if he was barking out orders and swearing at his lack of grace in the chair. She had given up her room to Adrian Pucey, who was handing off his clients, and very much earning his retainer. Despite his frequent growling, any other solicitor wouldn't find as much joy fending off the weight of encroaching inked parchment. Severus had pushed her to just give the man a dedicated office already, banished her clothes to his extended walk-in closet, and treated the matter as settled. Hermione didn't have the heart to point out her willingness to share his quarters, he was a generous lover more comfortable in demonstrating than discussing his affection. The night before was evidence of that.
"Dear heart." Hermione froze. Severus only used that pet name when he was about to climax, usually when she was near mindless, or under cover of darkness when he thought her asleep. Hermione instantly set down her planner and gave him her full attention, which he barely registered unable to meet her gaze. "You aren't feeling… neglected, are you?" At first, she was puzzled. Neglected over what? They had been running around trying to meet the demands of the sick British Wizarding population, and researching… oh. She tried to count the days since they last engaged in any contact further than kisses in greeting, and couldn't remember.
"No, Severus. I didn't even think of it. We've both been run ragged, and you're still in the middle of recuperating." Only then was he able to meet her gaze with a hint of a blush, curtly nod and turn back to his medical potions text. Hermione's lips quirked up and she pressed a firm kiss to his temple before starting another strong pot of tea for them to share. "Don't misunderstand, I expect a proper shag once this mess is sorted." Her slytherin snorted,
"Of course."
Harry Potter, Saviour of the British Wizarding World, watched his young wife. She was beautiful, posture straight, impeccably dressed, and face composed. Except for a single tear, as the Howler he had hand-delivered from her mother alternated between angry shrieks and sobbing. Her remaining brothers were dying, Fleur, Victoire and Louis had also fallen to the sickness. Molly's own voice crackled from obvious mucus buildup. The Weasley matriarch ended with,
"I expected more from you, please don't forsake your family this way. What will you tell your own children?" Harry winced at that. He and Ginny had still been arguing on the subject of children before he had left on his latest hunt. Although he was unsure about having his own, producing babies was the next step in happy marriages. Harry was so happy with Ginny, and terrified that he would cock it all up. She turned slowly to him after the Howler disintegrated.
"Do you love me?" His face fell, and ice swallow his heart.
"Of course I love you, Ginny. How can you even ask that?"
"You always do what's expected of you. When we married, your vows were to me, not any other person." Ginny took his hand. "Would you still love me if it was just me? If it was only ever the two of us, until death do us part?" Harry felt the dam of ice break. He fervently breathed,
"Yes." He enveloped her hand in both of his. "Yes, my love." The hardness in her eyes made Harry swallow.
"Chasing at shadows of the bogeyman doesn't stop the actual monster from visiting our door. You and Ron were a distraction while the Ministry worked behind the curtain. Are you my husband or an idiotic distraction?" She knew his answer before it left Harry's lips, for Ginny Potter had the tempered steel of Hogsland's foundation threading through her vertebrae. It was time her husband toed the line. "Do you even like being an Auror?"
It was Grimp that figured it out. The sweat slowly cooling on his body, mouth still pressed against Luna's shoulder. She was also out of breath but her mind tended to wander after orgasm, and he didn't mind her chattering out ideas while her legs still wrapped his hips. The tone of her voice usually slowed down his brain to lull him into content sleep, or made him randy for another go. His eyes were starting to feel gummy, when he finally processed what she had just said. He sat up.
"Lune, repeat what you just said." The blonde obediently rattled off her last sentence.
"The wards must have balanced Voldemort's energy, the pixies and gnomes outside Hogsland are much more restless." Grimp groaned then got out of the warm bed and started pulling on clothes. He was set to have a nap, then maybe sneak in another romp before duties called him back. Merlin's bollocks.
"C'mon love. Think I figured out the whole caboodle. Send a patronus for the council won't you?"
When they had everyone in Hog's Head Inn, Aberforth allowed a series of Scourgifys with a scowl. Grimp explained and watched as Blaise ran a hand over his face, and Flitwick sag in relief.
"Energy imbalance. The Great Git died; there's energy, without direction. Wards had to do with leylines, right? So leylines sucked it back up,but only for Hogsland. Regular flu for us, but excess magic for them. Explains wonky scans. Energy's burning 'em up inside out."
That evening, Kingsley shivered under a blanket. Besides the quilt he was wrapped in, the Minister for Magic was naked as he was born, blood trickled down from the cut on his hand into a bowl hewn in the stone of the floor. Instead of closing the borders with multiple rune-points, the desired effect from the leylines was to radiate from the center of British Wizarding Power. He just wished there weren't so many cameras taking pictures of his knobby knees sticking out from the blanket, as he completed the leyline balancing ritual, with the Floo fires open to strategic locations to take advantage of the amplified effects. No more would fall ill, but the sick were still weakened and at risk of complications.
Ron Weasley was not concerned when he woke up in a place he didn't immediately recognize. It was starting to be habitual, though the surroundings were considerably brighter and cleaner than what he was used to. Right, he got sick. Seated at his bedside, flipping through a dusty tome a touch bigger than her torso, was Hermione Granger. He tried to sit up and she looked up at the movement. Hermione sent off her otter patronus and stood to leave without uttering a single word to him. Ron croaked out,
"Wait!" He had to get this out before his mum appeared. Hermione turned back. "I know we've been on the outs 'Mione. But can we start again?" Hermione smiled that polite media smile she had developed shortly after the battle.
"Just concentrate on getting better, Ron."
"I'd feel better if you had dinner with me, once Pomfrey lets me out." Hermione's jaw dropped, he wasn't sure what that expression meant, but his insides seemed to get heavier.
"I - well - I can't Ron." His face started turning red. Hermione couldn't believe she had completely forgotten to tell anyone outside of Hogsland about her and Snape, probably because everyone who really mattered was on her side of the wards. "I'm with someone." Ron didn't get a chance to ask who, when Madame Pomfrey and Hannah Abbott surged in.
Fleur watched her children play with the young Foresters. The Plague had whittled them all down. There was a new sharpness in her British family, absent with those who had escaped to France. It was with sadness the Frenchwoman realized this was the freest she had seen her youngest. Victoire and Dominique were learned experts in escaping their moody paternal grandmother, while Louis had a wariness exclusively for Molly Weasley. Bill would not leave the children with his mother, unless he was sure Arthur would be present to counter the simmering anger. Ginny had pulled strings to allow her family into the Hogsland Hospital Wing, until they gained enough strength to leave by their own power. Fleur was the first to find her feet, then her children, and all eager to escape from the hovering of the frantic Weasley matriarch. The quarter veela was left at odds only briefly before Minerva McGonagall firmly suggested the pre-Hogwarts day camp, where Fleur now helped Cariana Flume, Andromeda Tonks and Harry Potter handle the children whose parents convalesced from the Plague at St. Mungo's.
Fleur had been surprised to find her brother-in-law deftly changing diapers and studying nutritional guides, but was also surprised to see Harry smile so often with ease. His godson was delighted to see him everyday, and the tension between the Potters had evaporated. It was a reversal of traditional gender roles, and didn't warrant the outpouring of rage Molly had over Ginny pursuing her career and Harry giving up his auror position. Especially, as Ginny's career was the only reason the Weasley family was receiving such attentive medical care. Arthur and Ron started tracking Molly's every move to serve as a buffer after the initial embarrassing outburst on the scandalous nature of Hermione and Snape, conveniently forgetting the daily delivery of potions which pulled her sons, daughter-in-law and grandchildren from the brink of death.
"Oh, just shut it already!" The sharp gasp was the chance Ron took to push Ginny and Harry out the door. He hadn't want to believe it, his Mum had been both a force and anchor, until she went mental. "Merlin, I can't believe she said all that shite. You don't believe any of it, do you?" Ginny had moisture welling in her eyes, but no tears fell. Even Harry's hair was flat with dejection.
"She wouldn't say it unless she meant some of it." Ron slashed his hands through the air.
"No. Harry, no. None of that made sense and you need to know that everyone else is behind you one hundred percent. Seeing you now, you weren't nearly this happy on our auror hunts." There were two clicks of the door as Arthur come through the door to lean against it, his weary eyes resting on his two youngest.
"It's true, Harry. You have every right to pursue what makes you and Ginny happy. Unfortunately, it comes at a time that we can no longer deny the truth." Ginny still stood straight and silent. Harry clutched her hand. "I gave her some of those caramels."
"I don't understand, Arthur." Ron sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.
"I might not get it, but Snape and 'Mione don't deserve what she's been saying. Neither do you. We think Mum needs to see a mind-healer. Her mood swings were really bad before the Plague. Now? We're scared to leave her by herself. I'm really sorry you're getting the brunt of it." Arthur took his daughter's free hand.
"We'll get her right as rain. Your mum just needs a little help."
Review Reply: In no particular order...
JM2010, pgoodrichboggs: Thank you for continuing to follow this story! I know the last chapter was short so I am hoping this update makes up for it.
starie78: Thank you, I'm glad the negotiations were entertaining written as imagined! Percy was never in the original plot to show up, but I've realized the characters like to sneak extra snippets in!