THE KILLING MOON - CHAPTER 4
The next day Ron and Hermione hurried to The Burrow, in pursuit of getting to St. Mungos with Mrs. Weasley.
'Do you think we should take him anything?' Mrs. Weasley said suddenly, as she buttoned her coat up.
'I don't think we need to,' Hermione said kindly as she wrung her hands together.
'Oh, I hope he's alright,' Mrs. Weasley said with knitted eyebrows.
'They say they've managed to stop the bleeding,' Ron shrugged.
But Hermione felt his input wasn't all that helpful. She patted him on the shoulder and the three of them moved into the sitting room.
Before reaching the fireplace, they heard the backdoor close and quick feet approaching the sitting room. Bill, looking slightly exasperated, sighed as he caught them.
'I thought you might have already left,' he sighed. 'I was hoping to come with you,' he inclined.
'Of course, Bill,' Mrs. Weasley said and wandered over to him unnecessarily. 'The more friendly faces, the better,' she nodded.
'Wait,' Ron said suddenly, 'you don't think Harry has the potential to …' he motioned with his head as if he couldn't quite say the word.
'That's why I wanted to see him,' Bill said carefully.
Ron nodded his head but didn't seem able to ask any more questions.
'Come on,' Hermione said into the silence, 'otherwise we'll all be imagining the worst.'
'The best I can offer you, Miss Weasley, is a full one-year contract, that we can revisit when it runs out.'
'That sounds perfect,' Ginny smiled.
The woman moved her spectacles into her greying hair and smiled. 'Then I'm very happy to have you as our new sports page writer.'
'Thank you very much,' Ginny replied and shook the lady's hand.
'Now, if there are any issues you are facing while playing quidditch and writing for The Daily Prophet, please just let me know and we can accommodate those issues.'
Ginny smiled. With one year behind her of being with the Holyhead Harpies, her off seasons had been filled with wondering what to do with her spare time. So, she had responded to an ad for a sports reporter in the hopes that they could allow her to continue her quidditch career.
'I'll just ask you to sign this form,' the woman inclined and passed the parchment to Ginny who signed it with the pen next to her. 'And then I'll give you the tour around the offices.'
Ginny passed the parchment back and felt it take a weight from her with it.
All Ginny had wanted for nearly half a year was to move out of The Burrow and find her place. Now, it finally seemed possible.
The tour lasted around half an hour where Ginny was shown around the office blocks and introduced to other senior writers and editors. They had reached the end of the long corridor filled with office blocks and segments when the woman turned to her.
'And that's everything. I'll contact you with your schedule next week.'
'That sounds great, thank you,' Ginny inclined, and she headed for the door.
'Oh, and enjoy the wedding,' the lady beamed.
'Thanks,' Ginny beamed in return and left the offices.
With that stroke of luck on the new job solidified Ginny hurried to St. Mungos. But as she left the Ministry of Magic, she thought perhaps Harry wouldn't be expecting to see her. Perhaps she was better off going tomorrow instead, without the rest of her family worrying after him.
She made up her mind and decided to return to The Burrow.
With the familial sounds reaching him, Harry knew that a convoy of people from The Burrow had arrived. He smiled inwardly as Mrs. Weasley, Ron, Hermione, and Bill hurried over to his hospital bed. He had been expecting more of them but was glad to see only four visitors.
Harry was sitting up in his bed, with white bandages covering a large portion of his chest. He wished silently that he was at least allowed the courtesy of a robe as his upper body was completely on show.
'Harry,' sang Mrs. Weasley as she fluttered into the room and around the side of his bed. 'How are you feeling?' she asked with knitted eyebrows as the others flittered around his bed.
'Better now,' Harry huffed.
He had truly suffered through the night, lying awake against the pain, he had at least been thankful that the healers had managed to stop the bleeding from the thin long claw marks. But now, Harry felt less like an open faucet.
'So, you were attacked by an Alpha werewolf?' Bill asked incredulously.
Harry nodded his head. The less they knew the better, but judging by the people around his sickbed, they might have already figured out what could be happening to him.
'Have they described the possible side effects?' Hermione asked quickly.
Harry cleared his throat. 'Not yet, but I feel fine,' he shrugged hoping that the worry would soon drop from their faces.
'Are you sure, mate?' Ron asked with a cocked eyebrow.
Harry sighed indignantly.
'Harry, if you're not going to take this seriously,' Hermione scolded him.
'I am taking it seriously,' he replied quickly and attempted to lift his arms in protest but was stung by the pain across his chest.
'They don't seem to be worried, so I'm not worried,' he shrugged. Now, he needed to change the subject before any of them became too suspicious. 'Not long until the wedding, I may not be able to dance but that could be a blessing in disguise.'
Soft chuckles filled the room and Hermione, along with Mrs. Weasley, were more than happy to report the recent advancements in the wedding planning. Harry listened out of politeness.
Harry took a calming breath. He would tell them eventually, but until he knew the extent of his lasting injuries, he would keep it to himself. And even for as long as possible.
'Actually, I was hoping to talk to Harry and Bill about some wedding stuff,' Ron told Hermione and Mrs. Weasley.
'Alright,' Hermione beamed, clearly expecting a wonderful surprise that they would be discussing.
But Harry knew better, Ron only wanted to discuss the attack.
'We'll wait in the canteen for you,' Mrs. Weasley said. She walked over to Harry, 'We'll come back tomorrow, make sure you tell them if you're not feeling right.'
'Of course, Mrs. Weasley,' Harry smiled, and she kissed him on the forehead.
'Get well soon, Harry,' Hermione said solemnly.
The pair of them left the ward and Ron and Bill took the seats at Harry's bed.
'Did Hermione like the car?' Harry asked.
Ron chewed his lip for a moment. 'I think it was a shock at first, she'll come round to it, I'm sure,' he said with assurance.
Harry smirked. 'Sorry I couldn't make it to the fitting,' Harry attempted.
'Don't worry about that,' Ron shrugged, 'plenty of time yet.'
'So, what have the healers told you, Harry?' Bill asked somewhat surreptitiously.
Harry was under the distinct impression that he had been dying to know the details since they had all arrived.
'I'm going to be left with very large scars but apart from that …' he shrugged.
'That can't be true,' Bill plied.
Harry licked his dry lips. 'Well, I don't think the scratches are deep enough for me to become a werewolf.'
Ron suddenly looked like he was in pain. 'But what are the side effects?' he said.
Harry could feel a flush of temper rising. They didn't understand that he had already spoken to several healers, senior Aurors, and Robards about the possible side effects of a werewolf attack. And all the possibilities were only interpretations, nothing was set in stone.
'I mean when Bill was attacked, they made sure we were all aware of the effects,' Ron continued, sounding much like Mr. Weasley suddenly.
'Look I feel fine, once the wounds heal, I'll be fine,' Harry said hoping he was masking his frustration.
'But you were attacked by an Alpha,' Bill said. 'The Alpha can turn someone with just a scratch. You can't pretend you're not worried, I would be.'
'I'm trying not to think about it to be perfectly honest,' Harry shrugged. 'They're going to talk to me tomorrow, so can we just drop the subject for now? The way Hermione and your mum were looking at me,' he shook his head and rubbed his eyes under his glasses.
'Can you tell us what they say when they do?' Bill asked with a lifted eyebrow.
Harry nodded his head, 'Yeah, of course.'