Truth or Dare ✔️

5

Hermione managed to make it to her bedroom, crawl onto the bed and sleep off the rest of the medication that her father had given her. When she woke up, the skies were dark and she heard music playing downstairs. She could also hear several voices, most of them speaking a hybrid of French and English. She threw off the blanket and hobbled down the stairs and into the living room where her parents' guests were. Her mother spied her from across the room and helped her to a chair.

"Are you hungry dear?"

Hermione nodded and her mother asked one of the wait staff they hired to prepare a plate for her. A few moments later, a young woman, about Francois' age brought a plate along with a small table for her to eat at. Hermione expressed her thanks and practically dove into her Duck à l'orange, wild rice and snap peas. Her father knelt down before her and asked to look at her ankle. It had begun to turn a lovely shade of purple.

"Oh damn," he said. "I think it's broken. Hermione, you have to tell me what the hell happened?"

She leaned in. "Kreature, Sirius's house elf whacked me with his broom."

"He did what! Why on Earth--"

"Because I'm a mudblood."

He looked into his daughter's eyes and then hung his head, his face nearly crumbling in sorrow for his child. "I am so sorry, Pet."

"It's alright. Sirius read him the riot act this morning. Said that he would pay for his transgressions dearly."

"How?"

"No idea. But Sirius is rather creative and he'll think of something good."

"We need to get an X-ray of your ankle sweetheart. It may need to be immobilized. The sooner we get it done, the better you'll be in the long run."

"Daddy, I don't want to go to the hospital here, I don't know anybody! Besides if I go at home, then Sirius can foot the bill seeing as how it wasn't really an accident. I know he'll want to."

Doctor Granger looked at his daughter and shook his head. "Since when did you start speaking in puns? Good lord!" He looked up to his wife.  "What do you think?"

Her mother looked toward her daughter's pleading eyes. "I'll take her back to London. Remus can see that she makes it back to school."

"You'll miss Christmas, Darling," he said.

"Then I can go afterward," Hermione said.

He shook his head. "Hermione Jean, it's three days away! No." He sighed. "I don't understand why you're refusing to go here!"

Hermione leaned in again. "Because Daddy, they're mean to me, the French doctors. I get enough of people being mean to me at school!"

"Oh Pet...they're still mean to you? Why, I would have thought that after four years...they'd know better..." he replied, then he looked toward his child and his resolve caved. "Alright, you'll leave in the morning, or perhaps the afternoon, whenever we can get you and your mother a ticket." He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose as he lowered his head.

"Perhaps you should open your gifts now, Mione," her mother said gently.

Her face brightened. "Alright."

Hermione opened her gifts and she was delighted to learn that her gifts were well received by their recipients. There was one more under the tree that she hadn't seen before and when she reached for it, she saw blue paper with stars and moons on it and she smiled. It was a heavy parcel. She tore into the paper and saw the cover of the books. Astronomy, In and Among the Stars, Volumes I and II. She looked for a card and found none. Then she opened the cover of the first volume and found an inscription: