Search:

SIYE Time:20:13 on 28th March 2024
SIYE Login: no


Bonds of Blood and Magic
By Duelist

- Text Size +

Category: Post-HBP
Characters:Harry/Ginny, Severus Snape
Genres: Action/Adventure, Drama, Fluff, Romance
Warnings: Mild Language, Mild Sexual Situations, Violence/Physical Abuse
Rating: PG-13
Reviews: 932
Summary: A few days before Bill and Fleur's wedding, Harry vanished. Two weeks later, Ginny disappeared, also alone and without a trace.

Someone has stepped out of the shadows for a moment, moved some pieces on the board, and changed the rules of the game.
Hitcount: Story Total: 406635; Chapter Total: 14265
Awards: View Trophy Room




Author's Notes:
See, I told you guys that the next chapter was almost done. Happy New Year!

The next one is only outlined, though, so it's going to take a bit longer.

This chapter contains two things: what happened when Harry and Ginny got to France, and what happened with Tonks and Moody. I was already writing that part before I posted the last chapter, but I know from the reviews that the Tonks and Moody bit will make some of you very happy.

Enjoy!




ChapterPrinter
StoryPrinter


The front door to number Twelve, Grimmauld Place, exploded into the entry in a shower of splinters. Tonks and Moody, wands in hand, strode forward through the smoke and dust. The portrait of Walburga Black started shrieking immediately. The two Aurors ignored the irritating painting as they methodically moved through the house, checking each room and closet on the ground floor, covering each others’ backs as they went. They hardly said a word as they worked. Moody, having been Tonks’ mentor, knew exactly how she would react to anything they discovered, and she knew exactly what to expect from him as well.

Once they determined that the entire house was empty of other humans, they started looking for evidence of recent occupants. It was fifteen or twenty minutes later that they entered the Master suite.

“Moody, there’s some hair here,” Tonks said as she leaned over the bed.

Moody grunted in surprise. The long red hair and shorter black hair could only belong to their two missing teens.

He met Tonks’ eyes. “I don’t think that we’ll be telling Molly about exactly where we found those hairs,” he growled.

Tonks shuddered and nodded.

“Wonder what all those potions vials are for?” he muttered as he looked in the drawer of the bedside table.

“Molly said Hermione told her that Harry’s been sick,” Tonks replied as she turned away from the bed and started casting apparition and portkey detection spells on one side of the room.

“That doesn’t explain where they got all the medical potions in these bottles,” he countered as he sniffed one of them. “This one’s a pain reliever,” he said as he set one of them down with a glassy clink. “And these are restoratives, several doses worth. Are either of them into this sort of potion brewing?” he asked the young woman as he gathered the potion bottles into a bag.

She raised one eyebrow as she shrugged and shook her head. “I have no idea. Look at this, though,” she said, pointing to a pinkish aura in front of her. “Portkey used right here, less than an hour ago.”

Moody grunted. “So they were still here while we stumbled around outside, or at least when Fletcher came by. Pretty good Confundus work for a couple of kids, that. You looked like you were drunk. Fell down flat how many times? Didn’t even have the stupid troll leg,” he grunted with a laugh.

Tonks glared at him. “Like you were doing any better. You still have drool on your chin, old man.”

Moody scowled back at her. “Can you get a trace on where the Portkey went?” he snapped and turned his back to her. He surreptitiously wiped at his mouth and chin. ‘Bugger all. She wasn’t making it up,’ he thought as he wiped his hand against his trouser leg.

“No, you’d better give it a try. It’s kind of … slippery,” she said in a perturbed tone as she cast more detection charms in the room. “Why do you think they ran away from us?”

Moody shook his head. “Probably just had proximity alarms on the garden, or alarms on the door. Soon as one of us touched it, they were getting ready to leave.” He clunked his way over to the pinkish aura and cast some charms around it in a surprisingly delicate fashion. “International. Can’t be sure, but … they didn’t go too terribly far. Crossed the Channel, probably, but … even that’s just a guess.”

“France?” she said, and groaned. “We’ll never catch them up without a destination.” She growled in frustration. “This is an Order safe house. They should have just stayed here, and gotten help from whoever was at the door.”

“You’re forgetting Snape and Fletcher. They don’t know who to trust, or who that murdering bastard told about this place.”

“Right, but … yeah, Dung was stealing from the house last year, and you sent him here first. I caught Harry holding Dung by the throat, wand on him in Hogsmeade. Caught the tosser with some stuff from the house.

“You’re right. They’d have just run as soon as they could. But where did they get the Portkey?”

Moody sighed. “Right. They’ve been staying here for Merlin knows how long,” he said, pointing to the bed. He continued, “They’ve got medical-grade potions, a lot of them,” pointing to his bag of clinking bottles. “Then here, they’ve got a nearly untraceable, unregistered International Portkey. What else?”

“They’re sleeping together, and one of the other rooms was occupied recently. They’re getting help from someone, and whoever that is has medical knowledge, and they probably know that Harry and Ginny are sleeping together.”

“And, whoever that is, isn’t telling Molly about it.”

“No more than we are!”

“Right. So, who would do that? Who would help them hide? Who would they trust?”

“Remus?”

“Wouldn’t he tell you?” Moody asked, surprised.

“Probably, unless he’d sworn not to.”

“Can he brew these types of potions? Does he have the medical knowledge to …”

“I doubt it, but he could … I don’t know, find them somewhere. He’d do anything for Harry.”

“Couldn’t buy them, or the ingredients, since he’s a known member of the Order. Not to mention the werewolf problem. And he hasn’t been living here if he’s staying home with you.”

“Right.” She sighed, and shook her head. “I don’t know. One of her older brothers?”

“Nah, they’re all staying with Molly, except the oldest one.”

“What about Bill, then? He could get the potions, or the ingredients, since he still works at Gringotts and could access Harry’s vault.”

“Wouldn’t he strangle the boy for sleeping with his baby sister?”

“I don’t know. He’s married to a French Veela, Moody.” They both rolled their eyes. Who knew what ideas Bill got from his silk-wearing Frog!

Moody shook his head. “Bill’s either been at work, or on assignment. He’s hardly been home, let alone running around brewing potions for his sister’s lover. And what about that? Are they really sleeping together? If these potions are any indicator, he’s been too ill to be up for much of anything. Maybe she’s just taking care of him, hairs falling out while she’s playing mediwitch?”

She laughed softly, a grin on her face. “Oh, she’s sleeping with him. There’s too many hairs on the pillow for it to be incidental, and they’re in the sheets, too.” She flicked her wand over the bed, and then blushed. “Definitely … um, not just leaning over and giving him potions.”

Moody looked at the … evidence her spell revealed, and chuckled. “Well, alright then. We’re definitely not telling that to Molly.”

“Too right! Can you imagine? She’s going to kill them!”

Moody shook his head. “What’re they teaching kids these days. Don’t they know they’re supposed to keep track of their hairs and such? Polyjuiced Death Eaters invading our safehouses,” he muttered as he again turned away from the bed and started searching other areas of the room. “Make sure you scourgify that bed before we leave,” he growled at Tonks.

***

Harry nearly vomited as the Portkey released is grip on his intestines and deposited him with a dull thunk onto solid ground. He didn’t fall out of his wheelchair, but it was a near thing. One of the bags on his lap fell out, and he heard Ginny groan. He closed his eyes and clenched his jaw, fighting the nausea.

Ginny held her arm as she stepped clear of Harry’s chair. That push bar was hard! She was definitely going to have a bruise. She stepped forward and looked down at Harry. He looked a bit pale and seemed shaken by the Portkey, but that was to be expected. At least this time, he hadn’t had to land on a broken leg.

“Are you alright?” she asked Harry, bending down and touching his face.

Harry swallowed, grimaced a bit, and then nodded. “Where are we?”

“At a hospital in France.” She leaned down further to retrieve the fallen knapsack.

“France?”

“Yes, Paris, I think.”

“Why?”

“Someone came to Grimmauld Place. We had to leave. Madam Pomfrey’s cousin is going to help us now.” Ginny stood up and scanned the room. “This should be his office.”

The room was dimly lit, but she could see a desk and reference books on shelves behind it. There were a couple of framed certificates and the desk had a nameplate at the front that said, “Dr Bellamy Jace, Chef de Service” next to a desk lamp.

“Yeah, this is the right place. I wonder where he is.”

The office felt quite large, surprisingly so, in light of the fact that the entire space behind her and Harry was occupied by a large, wheeled bed with side rails and metal poles extending into the air above it. Some of the poles had clear bags of fluid hanging from them, with thin tubes coiled around the hooks. A couple of odd-looking boxes rested on shelves attached to more silver poles, but those poles had their own wheels.

Ginny pushed Harry over to the desk and sat in one of the chairs facing it on Harry’s left side where his vision was actually pretty good, even without his glasses.

“This is a hospital?”

“Yeah.” Ginny turned Harry so he could see the large hospital bed against the wall. “I think that bed is for you.”

“This is a Muggle office. In a hospital.”

“Yes, Harry. Magical hospitals aren’t safe right now.”

Harry nodded. “Death Eaters. They took over the Ministry.

“I’m really sick, aren’t I?”

Ginny threw her arms around Harry from behind and buried her face in his neck. “Yes,” she admitted. “But you’re getting better.”

“It doesn’t feel like it,” Harry whispered, clenching his jaw. He lifted his arm and held Ginny to him, breathing in her scent. “I can’t … fight like this.”

Ginny wanted to cry but controlled herself. She could feel his frustration and anger battling his effort to calm himself. She tightened her arms a bit wanting to be close but not wanting to hurt him, wanting him to feel her support. For herself, she just wanted to climb on his lap and have him hold her and tell her everything would be okay. Instead, certain Harry needed the reassurance as much as she did, she kissed his neck a few times then his jaw before whispering in his ear, “I love you, Harry. Don’t worry, everything will be alright.

She felt Harry nod his head and squeeze her arm. His breathing was getting a bit ragged. Worried, she pulled back from him a bit and looked at the large door. “I wonder when Dr. Jace will come?”

“Who’s … Dr … Jace?” Harry asked, pausing for breath between each word.

Ginny was alarmed but kept her voice calm. “He’s Madam Pomfrey’s cousin and your doctor. He is expecting us but we couldn’t say exactly when we would come. I hope he’s here.” She looked at the bed. If she moved a few things …

“Want to lie down, Harry? I think you’re getting tired.” Not waiting for a response, Ginny stood and began pushing Harry towards the bed.

The door opened suddenly. Ginny drew her wand and held it down by her leg, behind Harry’s chair. The door blocked her view of whoever was entering, so she stepped to the side a bit to see better, keeping her wand out of sight. The room was flooded with light suddenly and Harry whimpered.

“Could you put out the lights?” Ginny asked. “They hurt his eyes.”

“Oh, hello,” said a pleasant voice. The light vanished. The door began to close and Ginny could see the owner of the voice. He walked towards them and held out his hand to Ginny.

“Madam Jamieson, Monsieur Jamieson?” he asked as he shook Ginny’s hand and looked with concern at Harry. “I didn’t expect you today.”

“Yes,” Ginny answered. “We had to come today. Please, just Ginny and Harry. Are you Dr. Jace?”

“Oui.” Harry attempted to lift his hand in greeting, so the doctor took it briefly then moved behind the chair and pushed Harry towards the bed. “Let’s get you lying down, Harry.”

Ginny followed and removed the other bag from Harry’s lap. “He’s having trouble breathing,” she said as she flicked her wand removing the straps holding Harry to the chair. With another flick, she floated him up and out of his chair. As soon as his position changed, his breath seemed to ease slightly, so she adjusted his position above his chair to help a bit more.

Dr. Jace removed the items from the bed and then turned back to see Harry floating in the air beside him. His eyes widened immediately.

“Erm, Mrs. Jamieson, could you not do that? Please?” he said as he reached forward and pulled Harry over the bed. “I thought you two wanted to maintain a low profile. I’m the only person I know of at this hospital who’s even a squib, so unless you think you’re going to go around Obliviating the staff to keep the French Aurors out of here …”

Ginny blushed as she lowered Harry. “I’m sorry, it’s just that … I can’t really pick him up by myself, but I can do it pretty easily this way, and it’s what I’m used to doing.”

Once Harry was on the bed, Dr. Jace grabbed a mask and placed it over his patient’s nose and mouth. He barely stirred.

“I understand, believe me, but … you have to try to do things the Muggle way for now.” As he spoke, he turned on a machine and slipped a grey plastic clip over the tip of one of Harry’s fingers on his right hand. “The other thing is, besides keeping your presence here quiet, magic doesn’t always cooperate well with Muggle electronics. Well, all of this,” he gestured to the monitoring equipment, “runs off electronics.” One of the machines started beeping. but the doctor silenced it and then reached for a roll of cloth attached to another machine by a tube.

Ginny stepped back, overwhelmed. “What are you doing?” she asked.

Dr. Jace turned to her and smiled. “The mask is giving him oxygen, while the blue machine is telling me that the oxygen levels in his blood are too low and also taking his pulse. It knows that information because of the sensor on his finger.”

“Does it hurt him?” Ginny asked.

Dr. Jace laughed. “No, of course not. Here, try it.” He clipped the sensor to Ginny’s finger. It held onto her finger with the slightest amount of pressure, but she was sure that she could remove it without discomfort. She watched the numeric display change to reflect her readings. The Dr. Jace returned the sensor to Harry’s finger and resumed wrapping the roll of cloth around his left upper arm.

Ginny took Harry’s hand, being careful not to disturb the sensor, and leaned over him. Harry’s eyes fluttered open and he gave her a half smile before letting them close again.

Dr. Jace watched the exchange silently, then continued, “This will tell me his blood pressure. It doesn’t hurt, but it does squeeze his arm.” He turned on another machine and the fabric began to swell. He put a device in Harry’s ear.

He glanced at Ginny. “Just taking his temperature,” he explained. Once the fabric had deflated he checked the information on the machine and wrote something in a small book. He turned again to Ginny. “I need to test his reflexes.”

Ginny nodded, “Madam Pomfrey does that a lot.” She let go of Harry’s hand and stepped back to give Dr. Jace easier access to all of Harry.

Instead of using a wand the way Pomfrey always did, Dr Jace used his fingers and a metal rod to tap and prod at Harry. He then placed pieces of the strange necklace he wore into his ears and held the metal disk that hung from the necklace to Harry’s chest. “I’m just listening to his heart and lungs, Ginny. Would you like to listen?”

“Yes,” Ginny replied stepping close to the bed again. The ear pieces felt odd, when Dr. Jace put them in her ears, but she loved hearing Harry’s heartbeat. It was reassuring. She smiled then handed the necklace back to Dr. Jace and retook Harry’s hand. “Thank you.”

Dr. Jace smiled as he took it from her, placed it back around his neck and pulled his notebook out of his pocket. “His heart and lungs sound good. His chest is clear. Reflexes are strong for the most part on his upper body. His right hand is a bit weak. His left hand has extra tone. We’ll have to watch that. His legs have no reflexes at all. I need to check his eyes.”

Ginny nodded. “Will it hurt him?”

“It shouldn’t, but it is a light so it might,” Dr. Jace answered. He pulled out a small tool and held it up for Ginny to inspect. “Why don’t I shine it in your eyes first?”

“Okay.”

In seconds it was over, it didn’t hurt at all. “Go ahead,” Ginny said, gesturing to Harry.

Harry flinched, and Ginny felt him retreat a bit into himself as Dr. Jace peered through the tool intently. It was over nearly as quickly as when Dr. Jace looked into her own eyes, however, and she could feel Harry more fully again after the light was switched off.

“They’re better than I had anticipated. Both eyes are reactive, some swelling on the right, very little swelling on the left. How is his vision?”

“He sees quite well out of his left eye, even without his glasses. He can’t seem to see much from the right. If I’m on his right side he can’t see me.”

“Oh, he wears glasses? Do you have them here?”

“Yes,” replied Ginny. She pulled them from the knapsack with her free hand. “Madam Pomfrey said they wouldn’t do him any good because his prescription has changed.”

“Well, that’s probably true, but we’ll want to find out how much it has changed. If you don’t mind, I’ll have an optometrist tell us what prescription these glasses are for.”

“Go ahead. He hasn’t even asked for them.” He accepted the glasses from her and placed them in the pocket of his jacket.

“Do you have papers for me?”

Ginny let go of Harry’s hand, reached into the valise and handed the doctor the large file that read: L’Hôpital du Chablais then turned back to Harry.

Dr. Jace took the file to his desk and sat, reading. He chuckled as he shuffled through the papers quickly. “Interesting cover story.”

“You should have heard the first one they came up with. It was worse — something to do with camels.”

He laughed a bit. “I can imagine. We’ll have to get images done in radiology and say the others were lost in transport. Is there a charm on this file?” he asked.

Ginny nodded. “A passive Confundus.”

“Very good. Poppy only had time to tell me a little about Harry’s situation. Do you know which potions he’s on and when he last took them?”

“Erm,” Ginny reached into the valise once more and pulled out some parchment. She reluctantly left Harry’s side to hand it to the doctor. “Madam Pomfrey detailed that in her notes. It’s probably been an hour and a half, maybe two since his last doses. I’m not sure what time it is now,” she admitted. “He took seven different potions once every four hours, at two, six and ten, and he also had three doses of hydration potion every four hours as well.”

Dr. Jace glanced briefly at the parchment then stood and walked over to Harry. Ginny followed. “Hydration is easy,” Dr. Jace commented as he put on gloves. He grabbed a bag of what looked like water hanging from the machine that showed Harry’s pulse and oxygen levels. He checked the label then connected a small tube to it and re-hung it. He held up the opposite end of the tube. “I need to put this in Harry’s central line so the fluid can enter his blood stream. Can you pull off his pajama bottoms?”

“Sure,” said Ginny as she undressed Harry. “If he didn’t have a catheter, would he drink it?” Ginny asked.

Dr. Jace laughed as he fussed with the tube in Harry’s leg. “Oh, no. I would put this needle,” he held up the end of the fluid’s tube which showed a sharp needle point, “in his arm here, instead of in here.” He pointed to an odd tassel that now hung from the ball-like bit of the catheter. The tassel appeared to be made up of tiny vials. He inserted the needle into one of the vials.”

Ginny paled when Dr. Jace used a large syringe to draw a vial of Harry’s blood from one of the other lines into his catheter. He removed the tube of blood from the syringe, set both aside and turned his attention back to the fluid tube. “It appears to be in working order,” he said as he adjusted a clip on the tube by the bag and flicked the tube with his finger. He watched for a moment as fluid from the bag started to drip through the valve. He then turned to Ginny and said, “What is that glowing … letter … thing, on his stomach?”

Ginny blushed as she realized she must have pulled Harry’s boxers down some as she removed his pajamas. That rune was rather low. “It’s a rune. It means that his bladder is full.”

“Ah. Is he using the toilet at all?”

Ginny shook her head. “Well, he can’t walk, but he does feel when he needs to go. Madam Pomfrey had him start using a bedpan yesterday. Before that, we would just banish it every time we gave him his potions or if the rune indicated it was necessary. Would you like me to banish it?”

“No, you said he feels it. I want to test Harry a bit. Let’s see if he’ll wake up to go. I want to do an ultrasound of his bladder, in any case, and it’s probably got enough volume in it now. And I need to measure and test his urine to make sure his kidneys are functioning properly. Erm … how do the runes come off?” he asked, noticing the other small, non-glowing markings on Harry’s legs and arms.

“Madam Pomfrey gave me a solution to use to remove them.”

“Well, let’s remember to clean them off before we go out into the hospital proper.”

Dr. Jace pulled a sheet up over Harry’s legs then took two chairs over to Harry’s bed and offered one to Ginny. “We need to get equivalents to his potions ready. They will be due soon and we’ll have to give him Muggle medications instead. What specifically did the pain relieving draught treat?”

“He’s extremely sensitive to light. It hurts his eyes. Madam Pomfrey started treating that when I told her that the light she used to check his eyes hurt. We were hoping that being in less pain would encourage him to wake up.”

Dr. Jace looked at Pomfrey’s notes. “Has Harry complained of feeling pain anywhere else?”

“Erm, he said his back was sore yesterday,” Ginny replied. “He almost never complains when he’s in pain so it really must have been bothering him … unless he just said it to get Madam Pomfrey to let him out of bed. He’s really not a very good patient,” Ginny confided. “He hates being still. He can’t stand to be restrained. He limped around on a broken leg for days without complaint. But, when he had to stay in bed so Madam Pomfrey could remove the curse on it and repair the nerve damage, he suffered.”

Dr. Jace stood, walked over to Harry, rolled him onto his side and prodded at his back for a few minutes. He rolled him back down, and made a note in his book before returning to his chair.

“Right then, pain medication is a priority. There are nutrients in the IV fluid and we’ll hopefully get him eating a nutritious diet so that the nutrient potion is unnecessary. Is he able to chew and swallow?”

“He’s had water through a straw without problem. And sixty doses of potions every day. Sipping hot chocolate directly from the cup was harder for him. I had to help him and he didn’t drink much but I know he was tired out by our trip to the kitchen. He’s not really feeding himself at all. He’ll ask for food and pick it up but not really eat it. And he hates being ‘baby fed’. One or two bites is all he’ll put up with.”

“We’ll evaluate that tomorrow. We have nutritious shakes that are equivalent to your nutrient potion, so even if he can’t really eat yet, he’ll be fine for the moment. What is the purifying potion for?”

“The snake venom. Madam Pomfrey was trying to flush it from his system, so he can move his legs again.”

“Is she certain that a neurotoxin is causing the paralysis? He could have a spinal injury from the torture.”

Ginny looked at him for a moment. “There was no spinal injury. We know exactly what kind of snake it was, and its venom is a neurotoxin. We don’t know how long the effects will last, since most people don’t survive getting bitten long enough to get help.”

“What kind of snake was it? I might be able to get an antivenin.”

“I doubt it. It was a basilisk.”

He closed his eyes very slowly, then opened them again. “You’re having me on, aren’t you.”

“No.”

He shook his head, and muttered to himself, “Poppy did say there were some … odd things about this whole situation.” He pursed his lips. “It’s a little late for antivenin anyway. We’ll continue to flush his system with fluids. I don’t know what else to try to clean out the residue.

“I don’t have an equivalent to strengthening potion either. But we will get him doing strengthening exercises immediately.”

“Even if he can’t move his legs?”

“Absolutely! He’ll start tomorrow with breathing exercises and some upper body work if he can tolerate it, and I’ll have one of the physical therapists do passive work on his legs.”

“Harry will like that. He’s been bored since he came out of the coma.”

His brow furrowed. “Ginny. Harry is still in a coma.”

“No, he was, but he’s not anymore. He woke up.”

The doctor shook his head. “He is still in a stage of coma. When he was unconscious and unresponsive, that was a more profound stage of the coma. Now, he is recovering and is no longer in a severe coma, but from Poppy’s notes, and from what I saw with him earlier, yes, he interacts with you, but he is not back to normal. He is still in a coma, a moderate coma, but it is still a coma.”

“He wakes up. He talks to me, he kisses me.”

“That is all part of the recovery. It’s like he’s sleep-walking, or having a waking dream. Everything is based on what he remembers from before the coma. How is his short-term memory? Does he remember what you talk about, what you’ve done since he woke up? Does he know what day it is?”

“Not really. He still asks a lot of the same questions, but he’s started to remember some of the things I tell him for more than just a few minutes. When he first woke up, he would ask me a question and then ask the same thing moments later. He kept trying to get out of bed. He doesn’t do that anymore. He knows he can’t walk. Today, he hardly asked me any questions at all.”

“That’s good. That means that he really is progressing. Don’t be surprised if his behavior is different here. He’s in a new place surrounded by strangers. He’s going to have a rough go since his brain is working with past situations. He’ll interact best with you. As he heals he’ll understand and remember more and start to live his life in the present.”

Dr. Jace flipped through Pomfrey’s notes. “He’s made a remarkably quick recovery so far. There is no reason not to expect that to continue.

“We’ll put him on a corticosteroid as an anti-inflammatory. It’s a very effective treatment for brain injuries. And we’ll continue giving him oxygen when he needs it. That leaves the restorative. I don’t have anything for that but time and faith.

“Don’t worry, Ginny. I know we can help your Harry. Don’t be afraid of all the equipment and strange words. You’ll become familiar with it all in no time. I’ve written orders that you be allowed to stay in Harry’s room and to help with his treatment. You’re an important part of his recovery.”

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” Dr. Jace checked his watch and stood. “I’m going to administer his doses of pain medication and steroids now. I’m also prescribing an antibiotic to keep him from catching an infection, and a muscle relaxant since his back seems to be having some spasms. Then we’ll go take care of his missing diagnostics, and get you both to your room.”

Ginny pulled their chairs back to the desk then returned to watch Dr. Jace inject four different flasks into Harry’s central line. Harry didn’t even seem to notice. His face actually relaxed a bit and through the bond Ginny felt some tension release. Harry felt better.

She smiled. “That helped. He feels better.”

Dr. Jace looked at her oddly for a moment. “Good,” he said with a frown. He held up a piece of clothing. “We need to dress Harry in this hospital gown. Can you remove his shirt?” He removed the expanding piece of cloth from Harry’s left arm.

Ginny gently pulled Harry’s arm from his sleeve. She hesitated to pull his shirt over his head not wanting to disrupt the oxygen mask but Dr. Jace pulled the mask off Harry’s face so she slipped his head out and slid the shirt down his right arm while the doctor replaced the mask. She again paused when she came to the sensor on Harry’s finger.

“Go ahead and remove it,” said Dr. Jace. “You won’t hurt him.”

Ginny pulled the sensor off, finished removing his shirt and replaced the sensor recalling how the doctor had done it. She folded Harry’s shirt and pajama pants and shoved them in their bag.

Dr. Jace was studying the runes on Harry’s chest when Ginny turned around. “I assume these monitor his heart and lungs.” He touched a rune and rubbed it curiously.

“Do you want me to remove those now?” Ginny asked quietly as she pulled a jar of solution from the valise.

“That would be best.” He pulled a cloth from a package near the door and handed it to her. “I think the nurses would ask about them and they might interfere with our equipment. Harry can’t have any spells on him when we do his diagnostics. You’ll need to keep his ring for him as well.”

Ginny nodded and began to remove the runes from his body. Madam Pomfrey had told her it would be necessary. But she didn’t like it.

She liked removing Harry’s wedding ring even less. They’d just gotten them. And Harry had been so worried that she didn’t want him anymore. What would he think when he realized it was gone?

Noting her expression but mistaking her concerns, Dr. Jace assured her, “We have devices that will monitor Harry in similar ways. I’ll put them on him when we get to your room.” He slipped the gown over Harry and positioned it around his arms and neck without disturbing any wires or tubes. He pulled the sheet up to Harry’s chest, covered him with a blanket, then got out his notebook and started writing again.

Ginny shook herself and looked for the envelope the jewelry had been in. When she opened it the small gold chain slipped out. She stared at the chain in her palm and the stark white scar beneath it and felt her heartache ease. No one could take their marriage away. The rings were nice but they didn’t need them. She could feel Harry pulsing in her veins. His magic, his power intertwined with hers like the necklace’s strands spiraled around each other. Ginny placed Harry’s ring on the chain and put it around her neck then returned the envelope to the bag.

“Let’s leave your bags here for now,” Dr. Jace said glancing at the corner where she’d parked the chair and left their bags. Intrigued, he remarked, “That is an unusual chair. Where did you get it? Wizards don’t use wheelchairs.”

Ginny blushed. “I made it.”

“You …”

“I saw a man using one once, and decided to see if I could make one for Harry, so I transfigured an old wooden chair.”

Dr. Jace walked around it for a moment. “No brakes, but he’s not really using it himself,” he muttered. “We’ll provide him with a regular one when he’s ready to be out and about.”

“What shall I do with that one?” asked Ginny, pointing at her creation.

“Oh, you can just leave it there. I collect antiques, so it won’t look out of place.” He walked to his office door and opened it fully, where it stayed once it reached the wall with a thunk. He walked back to Harry’s bed and raised rails on each side.

“Can you help me with the monitor?” he asked Ginny pointing to the blue machine connected to Harry. “I need you to push it while I push the bed.”

Ginny nodded. Once Dr. Jace had moved the bed away from the wall, Ginny moved to Harry’s left side and grasped the machine. Harry had startled partially awake at the movement. Ginny smiled at him and reached for the hand he was attempting to free from the blanket.

“Here we go,” she said as they began to move out the door. Harry flinched when they reached the lit hall so Ginny released his hand and covered his eyes.

Dr. Jace stopped the bed. “One moment.” He hurried back to his desk and removed a pair of glasses from a drawer. “Try these,” he said as he handed the glasses, which had large darkened lenses, to Ginny.

She placed them over Harry’s eyes and was relieved when he immediately relaxed. “Thank you,” she said as she grabbed the machine with her left hand and Harry’s hand with her right.

With a few steps they were out off the office, fully in the Muggle world.

***

When Moody and Tonks finished looking through the house, they found that at least three, but possibly as many as five people had been staying there. The kitchen was being used extensively, and there were traces of apparition being done throughout the house by multiple people. One of those traces was very, very powerful, but there was no indication as to who it was.

“Where is that disgusting house elf?” Moody said tiredly. “Will he answer you, if you ask him who’s been here?”

“I don’t know. Kreacher?” called Tonks. Nothing happened.

Moody grunted again. “Just a thought. Maybe he died. Not much of a loss, that.”

“I’m not his mistress, you know.”

“You are a Black.”

She rolled her eyes and shook her head. “Not technically, mum was disowned.”

“Didn’t Sirius fix that?”

“Nah, we didn’t really care, and he never had a chance to do it. Couldn’t exactly go down to the Ministry or Gringotts and get stuff like that done.”

“Hmm. Well, let’s get that door fixed back up and get out of here. Been knocking about in here too long anyway.”

Tonks muttered a spell to repair the door and watched as its component parts flew back together and then back into the doorframe. At the disturbance, Walburga Black’s portrait started screaming again. Tonks got a gleam in her eye, and walked over to it.

“Auntie Walburga, can I ask you a question?” asked Tonks when the portrait paused in her rants about blood-traitors, half-bloods, and desecrations to her family honor.

“Don’t call me that, half-blood. I disowned your mother,” snarled the painting in a sullen tone.

Tonks smiled slightly, but didn’t move from in front of the painting.

“What? Ask, if you must. Thought I’d get some peace by now.”

“Who’s been using the house, Auntie?”

The painting’s lips thinned. Her eyes narrowed, and she raised her fist. “Filthy half-bloods! Blood-traitors! Desecrating the House of Black! Out! All of you! Out!!” she shrieked.

“Was a good thought, girl,” Moody grumbled as they turned and walked out the door. “Wonder why she actually talked to you, if you’re as disowned as she said?”

“My sparkling personality, Moody. Wins ‘em over every time,” Tonks said as she put a few subtle tracking charms on the door. The next person to touch it would not be nearly so untraceable as the fugitive teenagers were.

He laughed roughly and said, “Let’s go on to Bill’s place, he can let the family know the kids are alive, at least.”

“We telling Bill about …?” she asked with a twitch of her head toward the upstairs.

“Nah, they’re the ones doing it, let them tell it.”

Reviews 932
ChapterPrinter
StoryPrinter




../back
‘! Go To Top ‘!

Sink Into Your Eyes is hosted by Grey Media Internet Services. HARRY POTTER, characters, names and related characters are trademarks of Warner Bros. TM & © 2001-2006. Harry Potter Publishing Rights © J.K.R. Note the opinions on this site are those made by the owners. All stories(fanfiction) are owned by the author and are subject to copyright law under transformative use. Authors on this site take no compensation for their works. This site © 2003-2006 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Special thanks to: Aredhel, Kaz, Michelle, and Jeco for all the hard work on SIYE 1.0 and to Marta for the wonderful artwork.
Featured Artwork © 2003-2006 by Yethro.
Design and code © 2006 by SteveD3(AdminQ)
Additional coding © 2008 by melkior and Bear