The once bustling town of Hogsmeade, lies in ruins this morning after an attack late last night. The wizarding town was brutally raided by an army of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Name’s followers. Ministry officials were quick to respond to the distress calls from many of the town’s residents, when Death Eaters began marching through the streets, destroying property, and bursting into homes. The attack came very unexpectedly, and ended only after a long destructive battle.
Rumor has it that some of the Death Eaters at the attack were escapees from Azkaban from that very night (see Azkaban Prisoners Liberated). Fortunately, officials caught the ringleader of the Hogsmeade tragedy and possibly the Azkaban incident, Severus Snape, in the aftermath of the attack.
Severus Snape, ex-Hogwarts professor and known spy for He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, was responsible for the murder of Albus Dumbledore in June of this year. He will go to trial and is expected to have a lengthy sentence in Azkaban for his crimes. But after the mass breakout from the prison last night, people are starting to wonder if Azkaban is the place for wizarding lawbreakers. Sources report that the inmates were released by a traitor in the Ministry itself. When Minister Scrimgeour was questioned, he denied this and replied that the rumors were unfounded and no one at the Ministry would do such a thing.
No word yet on the total number of casualties from the attack on Hogsmeade, but the number is suspected to be in the hundreds once the final count comes in. The wounded have flooded St. Mungo’s and the nearby infirmary at Hogwarts. The wizarding world has suffered a terrible blow and one can’t help but think what will happen next. The purpose of the attack on the small town is still unknown…
Ron threw the paper aside in disgust. It was the Death Eaters fault. They were the reason Hermione was hurt. He flexed his fingers in and out of a fist as he stood up and paced the hall for the hundredth time. Even still, a pang of guilt riddled him. Part of him blamed himself for what had happened. But mostly he felt guilty for the way he had treated her last night. What if he never got a chance to make it up to Hermione?
“Ron, she’ll be okay,” Harry said from his chair.
He wheeled around. “You don’t know that, Harry. You didn’t see her. She looked…”
“I did see her remember. I was there when it happened,” Harry replied a hard edge on his voice.
Ron’s anger dissolved, and sat down beside his friend. He put his head in his hands. “Do you really think she’ll be all right?”
“Yes, I do. Hermione, she’s tough, tougher than both of us put together. She’ll pull through this.”
Ron sighed. “You’re right, she is tough. It would be nice if someone would tell us what’s going on though.”
He looked at the double doors several feet away hoping that they would open by his sheer will. But they remained closed and Ron felt disappointment seep into his heart. It had been hours since he had brought Hermione to the hospital wing. He remembered running through them with her limp in his arms. Madam Pomfrey had heard his frantic calls for help and had come running. After he had laid her on one of the beds, she had quickly chased him out of the room. The Healer had told him that she would take care of Hermione and for him to wait outside. So he had found a seat in the hall right outside the hospital and waited.
The minutes ticked by as Ron watched person after person come and go through the double doors. It didn’t take long for the traffic to the hospital to increase as wounded from Hogsmeade poured in. Every time the door opened he hoped it was someone with news of Hermione, but no one came.
Somewhere along the line, Harry had shown up. He had taken a seat by Ron without saying a word. The two of them waited together. Ron was glad to have someone to wait with him as the night made way for morning. Sometime during the early hours, Harry had gotten hold of the morning Daily Prophet. After he was finished he had given it to Ron to read, but the news in the paper only served to make his apprehension worse. He didn’t think he could take much more of this.
“Mr. Weasley, Mr. Potter, you can see her now.”
Ron looked up abruptly and saw a rather disheveled Madam Pomfrey holding the door to the hospital wing open. He jumped up out of his seat without a second thought and met the Healer at the door.
“Will she be okay?” he asked anxiously trying to get a glimpse of the room beyond her shoulder.
“Yes, she should make a full recovery within a few weeks. The poor child took a pretty hard blow to the head along with some other minor injuries. It was a good thing you got her here when you did, otherwise it could have been a lot worse. She’s awake and wants to see you, but your visit needs to be short. She needs to rest.” The Healer stepped aside to let the two boys in.
Her gaze fell upon Harry and the many scratches and tears he had on him and in his clothes. “I think I need to take a look at you next, Potter.”
“I’m fine,” Harry grumbled.
“If you’re so fine, then why are you holding your side?” she said with a knowing look.
Ron looked over at his friend and noticed for the first time how rough Harry’s appearance was. He cursed himself for not noticing before. His friend looked like he’d just stepped out of a war zone. Ron snorted. They were in a war, and Hermione had been caught in the middle of it.
“Come along, Potter.”
Harry grudgingly followed after her. Ron trailed behind searching the long row of full beds for that familiar bushy brown head. Her pale face from earlier was still fresh in his memory haunting him. And the blood, there had been so much blood. He wasn’t even sure where it had all come from. He did remember seeing a deep gash along her temple. Ron shivered. At least she was okay. She has to be. He stopped when he finally saw her near the back of the room, Hermione.
She looked even paler than he remembered. The long red wound on her temple looked even redder as it stood out against her almost clear complexion. She looked so fragile, so broken. He saw her head move slightly and then heard a barely audible voice say his name, “Ron.”
That was all it took to propel him forward to the girl’s side. He knelt down near the edge of the bed and lightly kissed the top of her head. Ron took her cold hand in his, “How are you doing, my darling?”
“I’ve been better,” she whispered.
Ron gently caressed her cheek. “Madam Pomfrey says that you’ll make a full recovery.”
“Mmm…Ron?”
“Yes.”
“Thank you.”
He was a little taken back by this. “For what?”
“Madam Pomfrey told me that if you hadn’t brought me here when you did that I might of… well…”
Ron rushed to cut her off. He didn’t want to think of what could have happened. “You didn’t think you could get rid of me that easy, did you?”
Hermione laughed quietly, but her laugh made her body shake in pain.
Ron was alarmed by this, but hid it as he tried to calm her down, “Shhh, don’t laugh and I promise I won’t tell any more silly jokes.”
“Deal,” she gasped. Soon she was calm enough to continue, “Ron, I’m so sorry for everything. I’ve been acting like a world class git lately.”
He shook his head. “No, don’t worry about it. And you’re not the only one whose been acting like a git. I haven’t been nearly as understanding to you as I should have been. Harry’s disappearance was hard on us both. I didn’t realize how bad, until he came back.”
“I know,” she sighed and closed her eyes.
Ron’s heart caught in his throat as he gazed at the girl before him. He shouldn’t have let this happen to her. This was his fault, if only he had listened to her in the first place. “I have an idea.”
“What?”
“How about we start over and forget the last few months even happened. We start fresh and new.”
Hermione smiled weakly. “It’s not your fault, you know? It’s mine, but it doesn’t matter whose fault it was. I’d rather move on. And a fresh starts sounds good to me.”
Ron blushed slightly that she knew his thoughts. He leaned down and kissed her hiding his face in the process. He pulled away after a few moments happier than he’d been in a long while.
“Ron… Harry. Is he okay?”
“He got banged up a little, but I think he’ll be all right. Madam Pomfrey is looking at him now.”
“And finished,” Harry said coming up to them with a lopsided grin on his face.
“Wow, that was quick,” Ron turned to greet his friend.
Harry walked to the opposite side of Hermione’s bed and sat down in a chair. “Yeah, it looks worse than it is. I just had a few cuts and scrapes. Oh, and a couple of cracked ribs, but she gave me a tonic for it.” He gave Hermione a meaningful look before continuing, “Good to see you’re doing all right.”
She smiled back, “Yeah, you too. So cracked ribs, I’m surprised she isn’t making you stay here.”
“She wanted to, but there aren’t any beds left. Made me promise to go straight to bed and rest up.”
“Ah, Harry, you don’t have a bed here,” Ron pointed out.
“Actually, I do. It looks like McGonagall has already set up one for me with you and the rest of the guys.”
“Then I guess you’ll be sticking around for a while after all,” Hermione teased.
“Looks like.” He winked.
“Here comes Madam Pomfrey,” Ron said, catching her scurrying over out of the corner of his eye.
Harry stood up. “Well, I think that’s my cue to leave. I’ll see you two later.”
Hermione watched Harry quickly exit the room. “Some things never change.”
“And some things do.” Ron bent down to kiss her again.
“Harry!”
He turned as he closed the door to the hospital wing. He was just in time to see a blur and feel a heavy weight wrap itself around his neck. “Ginny,” he said softly into her ear as he embraced her.
Pain shot through his side, but he pushed it away without a thought, as he stood enjoying the much longed for reunion. Several long minutes later he gently pulled back and looked into her eyes. He gasped at their intensity. Harry had almost forgotten how much he’d missed her. He had tried so hard to push her from his mind. It was the only way he could concentrate on what had to be done. Now that he was standing within arms length of her, there was no denying how strongly he felt for the red head in front of him. His heart soared with joy at seeing her again.
“Oh Harry, I was so worried about you. I thought…”
“It’s okay. I’m here now.” He pulled her back into his embrace, “I missed you so much, Ginny.”
“I missed you, too.” This time Ginny was the one to pull away. She had a stern look on her face as she continued, “Don’t ever do that to me again you overgrown dingbat,” she emphasized this by punching him playfully in the chest.
Harry didn’t have to feign a look of pain as his side flared up again, “Ouch, that hurt,” he said trying to sound playful as well.
“Oh really, well you haven’t seen anything yet,” she winked and pulled him away from the gawking first years standing nearby.
Before he could say anything, Ginny was dragging him down the hall. They turned a corner and headed for a door nearby. She opened it up and pulled Harry in after her. He entered the small closet and tripped over a stack of cauldrons sending them clattering loudly to the floor.
“Shhh…” Ginny whispered, laughing.
Harry grimaced in pain again, but turned his head to hide it from her, “Err… Ginny. What are we doing in here?”
“We’re getting away from prying eyes, that’s what.” She threw her arms around his neck and pressed her lips to his.
Harry didn’t think this was a good idea, but the warmth of her body and soft lips were making it hard for him to pull away from her. Instead, he immersed himself in the moment and let everything else slip away. Nothing else mattered except for this. Time stood still.
“I thought I saw them going this way.”
The voice from the hallway penetrated Harry’s senses and brought him back to reality. He reluctantly tore himself away from Ginny. She wasn’t happy about this and grabbed for him.
“Ginny, no.”
She pouted, “Harry…”
“No, we can’t. Not like this,” he looked down and noticed his shirt was half off. Several large bruises peppered his torso.
He quickly buttoned it before Ginny could see them while trying to remember how it had come undone in the first place. Once finished, he glanced at Ginny who was grudgingly redressing herself. Harry looked away embarrassed.
“So, what now?” Ginny asked.
It was clear to Harry from the sound of her voice that she was angry. He could still feel her warmth as it slowly dissipated from him and wondered if he had done the right thing. He then thought of Ron, her other brothers, and father and realized that he did indeed do the right thing.
“Err… how about we go for a walk. Actually there are some things that I wanted to tell you.”
This seemed to get Ginny’s attention, because her hostile attitude dimmed a little, “Oh… what about?”
“Come on.”
He opened the door a crack and peeked out. Once he was sure the hallway was clear, he stepped out with Ginny close behind.
They walked hand in hand through the castle, avoiding as many people as possible. Harry didn’t care to be stared at. If the staring was bad before, it was sure to be worse now that he presumably returned from the dead. He needed to go somewhere he knew they wouldn’t be interrupted.
Soon Harry found himself outside a familiar blank wall. He imagined a quite peaceful spot and walked back and forth three times. A door appeared before him and the two of them entered. Inside, the room was exactly what he’d imagined. It was small and cozy with a large sofa near a crackling fireplace. He led Ginny to it and sat down beside her.
Harry rested there for a moment, not sure what to say, or how to begin. He watched the fire in front of him as the flames licked on a partially burnt log. A flashback of Dumbledore’s memory at the Gaunt house rushed at him sending a shiver through his body.
“Harry, is everything okay?”
He felt a soft touch on his knee. Warmth spread through him making the dark memory a little more bearable, but he still wasn’t sure what he should tell her. He wanted to tell her everything, but he wasn’t sure she could handle it. He felt the weight of the world bearing down on his shoulders at that particular moment.
“Harry, I know something is brothering you. I also know it has to do with why you disappeared. I’ve been trying to be patient, but I need to know what’s going on, please. Maybe I can help?”
He looked up from the hypnotic frolic of the flames and into her pleading brown eyes. His heart did a flip at seeing them. He couldn’t help but feel drawn to her. He couldn’t help but feel at peace, as his burden was lifted ever so slightly.
“What happened? Did they do something to you?”
“No.”
“So…”
“I was in hiding to do some training.”
Confusion darkened her face. “What? I don’t understand. Hogsmeade, when you disappeared… they said there was an attack… a fight.”
“Yes, there was”
“Who… What happened?”
He sighed and looked back at the fire. How much should he tell her? The weight settled back down again, this time it stayed.
“Harry, please, I need to know… I need to know w-w-why you couldn’t let me know that you were all right… all you had to do was send a note… a sign… anything… don’t you know how worried I was…” her words were drowned out by sobs.
Harry turned to see the girl beside him break down crying. He felt a pang of guilt tear through him and gathered her into his arms. He sat there holding and stroking her hair, as she let the pain and anguish from the last few months soak his shirt. After a long while, the tears stopped coming, but she didn’t move from were she was. Harry leaned down and kissed the top of her head.
“I’m sorry, Ginny. I’m so sorry. I never wanted to hurt you.”
Before he knew what was happening, Ginny quickly drew away from him. “Then why? Why Harry? Why did you?” Anger flashed in her red-rimmed eyes.
“Ginny… I… it’s complicated.”
“So uncomplicate it then.” Her glare made him feel increasingly uncomfortable.
Silence hung between them as Harry desperately tried to figure out how to get himself out of this without telling her the whole truth. He didn’t know why, but he felt it necessary to kept Snape’s involvement a secret, especially after what had transpired in Hogsmeade a couple of hours ago.
“I… err…”
“You’re not going to tell me are you?”
“No-yes… maybe… I… Ginny…I just… things are complicated…and… I want to tell you. I really do… it’s just…”
“So, I’m not important enough. Is that it?”
“I didn’t say that, of course you’re important to me,” he pleaded with her.
“If that was the case, then you would have found some way of telling me that you were okay. You wouldn’t have left me in the dark wondering, and hoping that the Order wouldn’t tell me that they had found you dead somewhere. I had thought… we all thought… that Voldemort had… had… gotten you.”
“He didn’t and I’m fine.”
“Yeah, I know that now.” Ginny stood up.
“Where are you going?”
“When you’re ready to tell me the truth, then maybe we can talk, until then I really don’t think there is anything to say.” She turned around and walked towards the door.
Harry jumped up from the sofa, “Ginny, wait!”
She stopped, but stood without turning around.
“I… I really am sorry. You have to believe that.”
“I do, but I can’t keep doing this. It’s too hard,” she said quietly before walking out the door and leaving Harry alone to listen to the crackling of the dying fire.
Hermione had been drifting in and out of sleep for a while now. Her splitting headache made it difficult to sleep soundly. The potion Madam Pomfrey had given her earlier had helped, but it was now starting to ware off. She turned her head slightly and eyed the half empty bottle on the table beside her.
She tried to move her hand to grab it, but nothing happened. She tried again, this time her hand moved slightly. Merlin, this will take forever. Several long straining minutes later, her fingers were able to brush the bottle, but it was still too far away to grab a hold of. She sighed and settled back down on her pillow. Drat! She’d just have to wait until someone came by to check up on her.
Suddenly, Hermione heard a door open nearby and voices floated through the cloth partition between her and the rest of the room. She started to speak up and ask for help, but something made her stop. To be more exact a certain word made her stop.
“Remus…”
Curious, she strained to hear more.
“…will show… excuse… why he’s been away...”
“…right… but doesn’t know about… baby.”
“Dear, no one knows… baby.”
“…rather keep it that way… a while…”
“…can’t hide… forever…”
“Remus and myself… to tell… one… sounds silly.”
“…not silly… does… Headmistress?”
“… she … no one else.”
“…secret… safe... dear.”
“Thank… next week.”
“Remember, drink…ease… sickness.”
Hermione quickly closed her eyes as she heard someone pass by her bed. The clicking heels continued until they disappeared out of the hospital wing door, the potion on the table long forgotten.