*these characters belong to Queen JK Rowling ♚*
Chapter Five - St. Mungo's [pt1]
(Hermione's POV)
Once we had gotten settled back into the Burrow, well as settled as we could after what happened, we took a trip to St. Mungo's for Fred. The longer we waited, the more deflated he got, and it scared us.
We Apparated in pairs. Fred and George went first. Ginny and I went last. Our feet hit solid marble that was polished daily within seconds. Fred, George and Mrs Weasley were already at the desk while everyone else was admiring the impressive fountain.
"Cause of injury," the secretary sounded bored.
"Er, he was badly injured in the Battle of Hogwarts," Mrs Weasley stammered.
The woman looked down at her records then back at Fred. "Eh, try fourth floor, Spell Damage. If they can't help you, they'll refer you to someone who can. NEXT!"
And so they did. Their party crammed into the lift and hit the '4' button. They zoomed upward and then sideways. Ron, Harry, and I had been to the Ministry a few time, and they had lifts like those.
The doors opened and we stepped/wheeled down the corridor. We had been told to request for Healer Piper. We waited at the desk, and then followed a woman down the hall into a room.
"Here you are! Let me get you up onto this bed," she said as she Levitated Fred from his chair. He groaned slightly.
"Sorry, I'm new here," she said.
"Your not Healer Piper?" asked George.
"No, I'm what Muggles call a 'nurse.' Healer Piper will be right with you!" she squeaked and then took her clipboard and left.
"Shame," Fred said, "I was hoping she would be changing my bandages. She was quite soft on my eyes." He laughed then looked at me. I blushed and turned away.
Ron and Harry had managed to find Lockhart yet again. He was going on about how famous he was but he couldn't remember why. I felt terrible about what happened to him, but he was funny.
"Oi! So what is you blokes' plans after this?" Fred asked.
"Well, I don't know," said Mrs Weasley, "We will probably drop off Neville and Luna at Neville's grandma's and then stay here. They have a hotel, so convent!"
"You're staying?"
"Of course, why would we leave?" I piped in.
My eyes met Fred's briefly, but the flash was broken yet again.
"I dunno. Mum, you don't have to stay here for me," Fred told her.
"Don't be ridiculous, of course we are staying! We will leave for the Longbottoms' once Healer Piper shows."
A minute later, a woman entered.
"Sorry about the wait," she said in a Scottish accent, "I'm Healer Piper. You must be the Weasleys!"
Mr Weasley laughed. "Well not all of us; just the gingers. The others are borrowed," he said, trying to make a joke. It was not funny, though. Luna, Harry and I had nowhere else to go.
Healer Piper laughed. "I can see the family resemblance! You must be Fred," she said as she walked to his bedside. "And you are George. I have twins, myself. All grown now... So! Let's do a quick scan of your injuries please."
She grabbed for Fred's shirt. "Aye, woman, what are you doing?" he asked.
She laughed. "I have to inspect /all/ injuries, and I have been told you have quite a few!"
She gently pulled up and off Fred's shirt. His chest was black and yellow all over. Even so, I couldn't stop staring. I blushed furiously.
"Oh dear me," Piper tutted, "You are in bad shape, aren't you? Well, nothing a Healer can't fix!"
She turned to us. "I would suggest you all go for a bit, as I have to finish examining the damage."
Fred paled. I couldn't help but laugh out loud. He gave me a look, but I raised my hands in surrender.
"Well, come on, gang, we have a few errands to run!" called Mr Weasley.
