Sara stopped, but the panic did not leave her face. “Harry, please. I have to get in there.”
Ginny reached out and touched Harry’s arm. “Let her pass, Harry.”
Her touch had sent a shiver through Harry, but he did as she asked. Sara went past the dogs into the bedroom. Harry started to pace, but he felt something tug on his arm. Ginny had not let go. He placed a hand over hers. “It’s going to be okay,” he said, though he realized that he was talking more to himself then to her. Nonetheless, she smiled.
Over the next hour, the younger students had come upstairs, wanting to know what had happened and who that girl was. Ginny explained as much as she could to them. Harry remained silent. Why are they keeping me out? he thought. She’s my friend. I should be with her. He remembered the last time Hermione had been in a severe bed ridden state. It was in their second year, and a basilisk had petrified her. Harry remembered seeing her in the hospital wing at Hogwarts, lying stiff and half-dead. He remembered clutching her cold hand in his own and vowing revenge over the person that had done this to her. Those feelings returned.
Harry had been so absorbed in his thoughts, he did not hear the bedroom door open. “Harry,” a voice said. He shook his head and saw Sara standing beside him. “Harry, you and Ginny can go in now,” she said.
He nodded.
Ginny was already in the room, sitting beside a bed at the far end. She was holding Hermione’s right hand in both of hers, and Harry could see tears in her eyes. He walked over to her left side and sat on a stool that had been placed there. Kevin, who had been standing in a corner till now, patted Ginny’s shoulder and left with Sara. Harry reached out and touched Hermione’s arm. It was as cold as he remembered that time in their second year. He traced his hand down her arm and took hold of her left hand, willing his own body heat to her.
Hermione made no movement, except for the gentle rise and fall of her chest as she breathed. Ginny started crying again and laid her head on the bed beside Hermione. Harry got to his feet and walked over to her. He laid an arm over her shoulder and she leaned into his chest. “Harry,” she said through sobs. “Who would do this to her?”
**********************************“Antonin Dolohov.”
Sara took a cup of coffee from her husband. She had sent all the younger kids to their rooms for the time being, while she and Kevin discussed what had happened. “Dolohov? But how did he find her?”
Kevin sat in a chair. “The Grangers didn’t use a portkey. They flew here.” He balled his hands into fists and set his forehead on them. “Dolohov followed them from the airport. It’s lucky that Mr. Granger was able to lose him, or else Voldemort would know where to find us.”
Sara took a sip from her cup. “What did he do to her?”
Kevin lifted his head. “Not what he did, it’s what he’s done. A few weeks ago, she was involved in the Department of Mysteries incident. There, Dolohov used some kind of curse on her. I’ve never seen anything like it before.” He looked down at the floor. “What happened to Hermione’s parents?”
“I told them they had to leave,” Sara replied. “When they said they had been attacked, I knew they couldn’t stay long.”
Kevin ran his hands over his face. “Good call.” He looked up at his wife. “Sara, did we do the right thing when we agreed to run this safe house? I mean, we already have a casualty on our hands. Our whole operation could have been destroyed and we don’t even have everybody here. What happens when…”
Sara set her sup on a table and knelt down in front of Kevin. “Stop it. Don’t do this, honey. We had this discussion before we agreed to this.” She took his hands in hers. “And you know why we did this.”
Kevin stared into her eyes. “We owe it to James and Lily.”
“And to Harry.” She leaned in and kissed him. “We both know what this involves.”
“Yeah,” Kevin replied. He returned her kiss with a passion of his own. As he pulled back, he smiled. “Now I remember why I fell in love with you.” They stood up together. “Why don’t you go check on the kids. I have to write a letter to Dumbledore.”
He kissed her once more before they broke away.