"It's not really my shade." Hermione said apologetically to the woman at the counter. She always felt bad turning these women down, she felt guilty, despite her best efforts not to.

"Come on Hermione." Her mother took her arm, dragging her away. Hermione's stomach twinged and she winced.

"Mum! Easy on the painful ovaries, will ya? I'm practically falling apart here."

"Coming onto your period, are you? Well, at least you're not pregnant. Not like Susan across the road. You know, she's six months gone and her boyfriends up and gone to Thailand, apparently to – are you alright, sweetie?"

"This really hurts." Hermione said, wrapping her arms around her stomach and bending forward a little.

"Hermione? Hermione, can you hear me? Oh my god, Hermione!" Hermione vaguely felt herself fall onto her knees, curling into a ball on the floor. "Someone get help! Hold on Hermione, sweetpea! Hold on baby…"

&

Hermione came aware slowly, her eyes inching open. They quickly shut against the bright lights and white surroundings.

"She's waking. Someone get the doctor." Hermione frowned. What was going on? And why did she need a doctor?

"Miss Granger? Can you hear me?" Hermione forced her eyes open again, blinking against the bright lights and white walls. "How do you feel?"

"Tired…and everything's so bright." She said. Her voice was hoarse, and her throat sore.

"You're in St Mary's hospital, in accident and emergency. Do you remember any of what happened?"

"My stomach hurt really badly, it started off kinda like period cramps…I'm due soon, but then got a lot worse, and then I guess I blacked out."

"Right. Could you be pregnant, Miss Granger?"

"No."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm still a virgin, doctor…" She said drily.

"Whales. Dr Whales."

"Right. Well, no, I couldn't be pregnant."

"Okay. Can you tell me where it hurt?"

"Here, and here." Hermione pressed against her lower abdomen. "And the same places on my back as well."

"Do you know if your family has a history of kidney problems?" Hermione shrugged.

"No…do you think there's something wrong with my kidneys?"

"I don't know yet Miss Granger, but we'll have to do some tests. Is there anything you're allergic to…any medical problems I should know about?"

"Don't you have my doctor's records?" Hermione asked. Dr Whales shook his head.

"We're getting them…but our email's down so they've got to arrive by courier or snail-mail. Either way, they're not here yet. That's why I'm asking."

"Well, as far as I know…I'm allergic to mushrooms. Other than that, I'm pretty sure I'm clear of just about everything."

"Good. Well, Miss Granger, we're going to take a blood sample and a urine sample, and then we'll see how it goes. If you'll just let Crissa here take some samples we'll do some tests and see what we come up with." Dr Whales nodded to her before ducking behind the curtain and disappearing.

Hermione lay back and closed her eyes. Something wrong with her kidneys…her advanced biology wasn't brilliant but she knew that kidneys were vital…and that the waiting list for transplants was miles long. But hopefully it wouldn't come to that. It was probably just an infection, or something similar. She wriggled slightly, grimacing at the pain at her stomach.

"Okay, Miss Granger, lets get a urine sample, and then we can see what's wrong with you." The nurse chirped. Hermione grimaced, not entirely from pain, before getting off the bed and stumbling slightly. Crissa caught her and supported her, and together they made their way to the toilets. On the way, Hermione passed her mother and a stranger who walked by her side.

"Hermione, honey! You remember your Uncle Sam?" Hermione frowned and looked down to see a flash of smooth wood at his side, his wand.

"Of course." Hermione lied. "What are you doing here?"

"Just came to check up on you is all."

"Excuse me, but visiting time isnt for another twenty minutes, so if you'll excuse us…" Crissa guided Hermione past her mother and the wizard into the toilets. Hermione shivered in the cool air of the lavatories and was greatful when Crissa finally declared the sample in good condition, and helped her out of the cold toilets.

Hermione was barely back in her bed before her mother and 'Uncle Sam' appeared.

"Hey honey!" Her mother said brightly. Hermione smiled slightly for her benefit. "Your Uncle Sam found this after you fell, and gave it to me along with his number just before the ambulance came. He's a doctor…you know, your kind of doctor."

"Actually, I'm everyone's kind of doctor, although I do have some advantages." 'Sam' grinned, and Hermione couldn't help but smile back. He was cute in a 'he's old enough to be my dad' kind of way. Like Johnny Depp, or George Clooney. "I'm just going to find out what's wrong with you, okay?"

"Go right ahead." Hermione shrugged, and Sam muttered a few words before gesturing with his wand. A small glowing sphere detached it'self from the end of his wand and disappeared into her abdomen, leaving a trail of burning pain behind it that made Hermione squeeze her eyes shut in pain. When it faded, she opened her eyes and glared accusingly at the doctor.

"Ow!" She complained. "Was that meant to hurt that bad? Because I could have done with a warning."

"You shouldn't have felt anything at all." Sam said, looking confused. "Do you mind if I do one more spell? Just to test a hypothesis."

"Will it hurt?"

"If I'm right, then maybe a little. But if I'm not, then you shouldn't feel a thing."

"What's your hypothesis?" Hermione asked curiously.

"Do you mind if I check it first?" Hermione sighed, but nodded. "Fire away." Again Sam muttered a phrase under his breath and waved his wand, and a wave of icy agony rolled over Hermione, and she could feel her body convulsing under the strain of it. When it finally passed, Hermione looked up into the apologetic eyes of the doctor.

"Well? I take it your hypothesis was proved right. What's your diagnosis on me?"

"Well, I'm afraid it's all bad news." Hermione nodded.

"Go on."

"Well, you're allergic to magic."

"What? But I go to Hogwarts! I can't be allergic to magic!"

"You can and you are. But it shouldn't affect your ability to perform magic. It just means there could possibly be some serious consequences to having magic performed on you. Depending on the strength of the spell, and whether it's actually aimed at you or not, the effects could range from just nausea to collapse."

"What do you mean, if it's aimed at me or not?"

"Well, say if…if something got spilled on your top. If someone used magic to clean it up…it might only make you sick. But if someone tried to do a spell on you…say levitation or something like that, then it might affect you more strongly. For every individual the amount magic affects them is different."

"Okay. So what's the other bad news?" Hermione asked. He frowned, and she nodded encouragement. "I can take it. Just tell me."

"You have acute kidney failure, in both your kidneys. There are muggle practises that can be used to treat the problem, like dialysis for example, but even with that, and assuming you stay in perfect health, which is, unfortunately, doubtful, you-"

"You're not saying she's going to die!" Mrs Granger exclaimed, grabbing his wrist. "She's not going to die!"

"I will eventually, mum." Hermione said calmly, internally annoyed at her mum for interrupting. "Let him finish."

"My best estimate on your lifespan would be…a year. A year and a half at most." Hermione sank back in the pillows, feeling oddly calm and worryingly empty. She swallowed and took a deep breath.

"A year and a half at most, then." She laughed softly. "I'll be dead before I'm nineteen."

"No you won't!" Mrs Granger cried. "We'll find a way. Between magic and modern technology, there's got to be a way to keep you alive. What about the philosopher's stone? You told me it kept that Nicholas man alive for over six hundred years. We could use that!"

"It was destroyed six years ago, mum." Hermione said with a smile. Her mum carried on regardless.

"Or unicorn blood! You told me it would bring you back from the brink of death!"

"And damn you for eternity. I'll pass, thanks."

"There's got to be a way!"

"Miss Granger? Ah, I see you have guests." Dr Whales smiled around at everyone. "Well, I hate to cut visiting time short, but I have your test results and –"

"Dr Whales, this is my Mum and my Uncle Sam. They can hear this." Hermione smiled at Whales.

"Right then. Well, the results have come back and it appears that you have some severe problems with your kidneys. A few more tests will have to be run, but on the basis of what these tests have told us, I'll have to say that your chances don't look good."

"But there must be something!" Mrs Granger cried, grabbing his arm. "Please! You have to help her!"

"We'll do our best, Mrs Granger, but science can only go so far."

"So what do you think? Are we down to life-expectancy badness yet? Or are you still checking things out?" Hermione asked. Dr Whales looked slightly surprised at her question. Hermione smiled. "I'm a big girl now, Doctor. I think I can take what you can dish out."

"On the basis of these tests, and the preliminary tests we have already started running, I'd say the damage is severe enough it could limit you life to within the next five years or so."

"You can tell that from just preliminary tests? Wow." Hermione smiled weakly.

"I'm sorry, Miss Granger, Mrs Granger."

"No, it's okay." Hermione answered. It's not your fault. And we'll just have to work something out."

"You're being very brave, Miss Granger." Dr Whales said, before slipping through the gap in the curtains and disappearing.

&

So tell me if you like it, please. I know I've been away for absolutely ages, but I've been writing in my absence, so I'll do my best to update as soon as I can. Next time will probably been Christmas, but that's in only a month (yay!) so you won't, hopefully, have too long to wait. I will also do my utmost to keep writing the unfinished stories I already have up, like Leoli and my many Harry Potter fics, which I started and never finished. Until then, I hope this will tide you over, so enjoy! Istalindar.