Chapter 3
It was past midday by the time Ron and Charlie got Ginny to St. Mungo’s. The usually snide and condescending reception witch took one look at Ginny and said, “Fourth floor,” and waved them toward the stairs.
Ron had never seen St. Mungo’s in such a chaotic state. Healers, trainee healers, and other hospital personnel ran past without stopping. Each wore a grim expression. The reception witch was trying to sort out who belonged where as well as keep anxious witches and wizards calm as they awaited news of their loved ones. Not having the nerve to inform the harried witch that his sister’s condition hadn’t been the result of a spell, Ron let Charlie lead the way to the fourth floor.
The chaos there was just as bad. It took a good ten minutes for Ron and Charlie to flag down a trainee healer who only paused a brief moment to glance at Ginny. He had taken two steps away from them when he did a double-take and returned. First he looked directly at Ginny and then he waved his hand right in front of her face. If Ron had been feeling anything resembling normal he would have objected to the rudeness of the action. Instead he, like Charlie and the healer, noticed that Ginny hadn’t even blinked. Gently the healer took Ginny’s arm from Charlie, looked at them and said, “I’ll take her from here,” and led her away.
Ron and Charlie looked at each other. “What do we do now?” Ron asked.
“I guess we wait,” replied Charlie.
They tried to find somewhere to sit while they waited for news on Ginny’s condition. Ron didn’t think he’d ever been so tired. He was grateful his brother was there with him. His brother. One of his brothers. What about Bill? The twins? For that matter their father. And just where the bloody hell was Hermione? All these questions quickly brought Ron out of his state of fatigue. He turned to Charlie. “What about the others?” he vaguely asked.
Charlie stopped. “I don’t know. I was just coming out of Hogsmeade when I ran into Moody. He said the battle was over and You-Know-Who was vanquished and told me to start looking for survivors. I didn't question him and you and Ginny were the first I came across."
They stared at each other mutely for a moment while people continued to rush past them. “I wasn’t even looking at anyone when we came in,” said Ron.
“Neither was I,” responded Charlie.
“The reception witch!” they said together and raced for the stairs.
The stairs weren’t as crowded as they’d been when Charlie and Ron had guided Ginny up them earlier. Now they ran down them at a dangerous rate that earned them a few indignant shouts of “Hey you” and “This is a hospital!” Ignoring the protests they reached the ground floor and ran smack into Tonks.
Tonks, who was not known for her gracefulness under normal circumstances, tripped on someone’s foot”quite possibly her own”and took a header right into Charlie. Their skulls knocked together with an ominous clunking sound and both made yelping noises that slightly resembled, “Ouch!”
Ron quickly side-stepped out of the way and let the two of them sort themselves out. Charlie recovered first and got to his feet. Apologizing profusely, he helped Tonks up off the floor.
“Sorry,” they both muttered at the same time while they each rubbed their heads. There was a pause and then they looked at each other. Charlie was fighting back a smirk while Tonks was trying very hard not to grin. This was neither the time nor the place for any kind of amusement.
Getting serious Tonks said, “Actually, I’m glad I ran into you.” Charlie snorted as she continued. “Your dad’s looking for you.”
Immediately Charlie became sober and looked at Ron. They both turned back to Tonks and Charlie asked, “Where is he?”
Tonks led Charlie and Ron through the milling crowd and to a corner where their father, Arthur Weasley, was standing quietly with his twin sons, Fred and George. Remus Lupin stood with them. They all looked up at Tonks’ approach. Relief was evident on Mr. Weasley’s face as he spotted Charlie and Ron. “Oh, thank Merlin, boys!” Mr. Weasley exclaimed, grabbing them both into a hug.
He pulled away and looked at them. “You two don’t look any the worse for the wear,” he commented. Ron looked away. If only his father knew what he’d done. He vaguely heard Charlie tell their father about taking Ginny upstairs and Mr. Weasley’s worried look returned. Ron hoped Charlie had forgotten, or at least would keep to himself, what he’d seen earlier. For the moment anyway.
Looking around, Ron’s brow suddenly furrowed. “Where’s Bill?”
It was George who answered. With a tired nod of his head indicating the hospital’s interior he said, “Inside. He seems to have been struck with several things at once. Fleur is in there with him.”
George’s last comment grabbed Ron’s attention. Thinking of Bill’s wife reminded him of his own girlfriend. “Hermione,” he breathed and started looking around frantically. “Where’s Hermione?” He’d taken two steps when someone grabbed his arm.
“Don’t go getting all excited now, boy,” rasped a familiar voice. It was Mad-Eye Moody. How could Moody expect Ron not to get excited when he didn’t know where his Hermione was? Moody was mad if he thought for one moment that Ron would rest until he found her.
Just then Moody stepped aside to reveal Hermione Granger standing behind him.
Ron didn’t know he could possibly feel such relief as he took her in. She was disheveled and bruised and Ron could see she had a cut lip but she’d never looked more beautiful to him than she was right in that moment. Oblivious to those around him, Ron reached out and gathered Hermione into his arms and held her tight. “You’re okay,” he whispered so only she could hear. “You’re okay. Everything will be all right now.”