The Accident

Hermione was standing and staring at the sight of the recent battle. The silence was so loud it almost hurt. Everywhere she looked there was death and destruction. Her eyes sought out her two best friends to make sure they were ok. She could see that they were alive, but she needed to see them up close to make certain they were all right. Everything they had been preparing for over the last several years had come to an end tonight. She made her way towards her two friends stopping along the way to offer assistance to people. As she got closer she could see the damage to her friends. She heard Harry say as he pulled her in for a hug, "Hermione, are you ok?'

"Yes. I'm fine." She responded as she looked him over. "You? Is that a burn on your arm? You have blood on your face." Then she turned to Ron "Ron, are you ok. Let me see."

"Hermione we're fine." Ron told her as he hugged her.

They all looked around at the destruction then they turned without voicing where they were going and headed together towards a group of red heads that were huddled together. When they got to the group a red headed woman ran and grabbed Ron and hugged him tightly then turned to the other two looking them over and Hermione knew she was checking to see that they were all right, before pulling them into her arms also.

"Mum, let us go." Ron said as he pulled away. "Is everyone all right?" The red headed family was his family. He had five older brothers and one younger sister.

"Bill has a bad wound, but the healers say he'll be fine. Percy was hit with a curse that they don't know what it was. He's at St. Mungos. The rest of us are fine." His Dad told them. "We'd better go see what we can do to help here."

2 years later…

Hermione was sitting at her desk going over some paperwork when Percy rushed in.

"Hermione, there was an accident at the joke shop and Fred is in St. Mungos. The family is meeting there. Can you get away?"

"Of course. Has anyone got ahold of Ron?" She asked. She had been seeing Ron for the past two years. Ever since the war ended.

"Yes, I think so. Dad sent me for you and he said he would go by Ron's office and get him. Fluer was with Mum when George contacted her, so she went for Bill."

As always, Hermione's first thoughts were of Ron and Harry so she asked, "What about Harry? Did someone let him know?"

"I think so. Dad said only you and Ron needed to be told. I don't know who contacted Charlie and Ginny, but we can ask when we get to St Mungos."

When they arrived at St. Mungos they were sent to the waiting room, where the rest of the family had already gathered. Ginny was the only one not there yet. Hermione ran to Ron and he held out his arms and pulled her in.

"What happened?" She asked as he released her.

It was George that responded with a tremor in his voice. "We've been working on a new item for the shop. Fred had an idea and he went down to work on it. He wasn't down there long when I heard an explosion. I ran down and he was unconscious. I don't know what he added." He finished with a sob. "I should have been with him."

"Son, if you were there with him both of you would be here." His father told him while patting him on the back. "Let's wait to see what the healers say."

The entire group sat talking quietly and it seemed like forever before someone finally came out to give them an update. Everyone in the waiting room got up and circled the Healer when she entered.

"You must be the family of Fred Weasley?" She said with a question in her voice, but continued. "I'm Healer Thomas. I've been assigned to Fred. We don't know exactly what he was mixing when it exploded, but it appears he inhaled some of the fumes before the explosion. We've had this type of accident before and I can tell you that his recovery will take a long time. We don't have any potions that can remove what he has ingested. We will keep him here until he is stable, then if he has someone to look after him 24 hours a day until he is fully recovered he will be allowed to leave. It won't be a problem to keep him here, but we've noticed with long term care, some of the patients recover faster at home when they are in familiar surroundings. But I must emphasize that if he does go home he will have to be monitored constantly so ensure he follows the directions given to him. Some patients feel like they are healed and they do more damage to themselves."

"We'll take him home." His mother replied. "He will make a full recovery, right?" How long will he be here before he is stable?"

"I can only guess at the outcome, but I would say he will make a full recovery. But I must emphasize to you it will be a long road to recovery. He inhaled something that burned him from the inside. We were able to stop it from spreading, but the damage to his inside will have to heal naturally. If he is a stubborn person and tries to do too much too soon it can be disastrous. I've seen patients like this before. They tell you they are fine, and in truth, he may feel fine, but you must make sure he does not strain himself. No over- exertion at all. I don't know how long it will take until he is stable and will be ready to leave. He will have to follow our instructions and not do anything strenuous until we give him the ok. Now if you excuse me I'll go check on him and later on I'll let you go in to see him in pairs."

"Thank- you." Was said by everyone.

As soon as the Healer left Hermione had a pad out.

"What are you doing, dear?" Mrs. Weasley asked.

"I'm going to make a chart so we can all help to take care of Fred. I need everyone to tell me the times you'll be available and I'll compile it and we can take turns so we can make sure someone is with him at all times like the Healer said."

"That is so nice of you. We can take him to the Burrow." She told Hermione- then she added "George Dear, if you want to come stay with us, you can."

Fred was in the hospital for two weeks before the Healers deemed him safe enough to be released.

The day Fred was released everyone was at the Burrow at one time or another. The schedule Hermione had made was hung on the wall where everyone could check it to see their time.

It showed how strong the family bond was when you looked at the schedule because every family member including Fluer, who was pregnant with her first child, Hermione and Harry were on the schedule. They even rotated spending the night at the Burrow. An extra bed was put in Fred's room for whoever was there that night so they would be near him in case he needed something.

George came to sit with Fred as soon as he closed the shop for the day whether it was his turn to be there or not. The rest of the family found time to drop in for a quick visit every day, at one time or another. Everyone did their best to make sure Mrs. Weasley didn't have to do it all.

When they visited Fred they all brought something different to do. Ron usually played chess with him. He had to move the pieces for Fred. George talked about the shop and tossed around ideas for inventions. Hermione read to him. Mrs. Weasley fussed at him, and babied him. Fluer was teaching him French. Mr. Weasley brought in gadgets and worked on them with Fred giving him ideas. Harry told him all about the Death Eaters still on the loose and Fred helped him plan how to flush some of them into the open. Bill gave him lessons on curse breaking. Charlie told Fred about his plan to buy the Magical Menagerie and move back home. He made Fred promise not to tell anyone until he knew the deal was going to happen. Percy was the one that surprised Fred the most. While appearing stuffy, he was the one that showed the most concern. He went on and on about how Fred should be careful and he brought ideas on safety for Fred. Some of his ideas weren't half bad, and Fred thought he and George could do something with them. Maybe market a line of defensive products. Ginny brought him flowers and tried to brighten up his room.

On one of Hermione's days to sit with Fred, she went in and fluffed Fred's pillow and asked him if he would like her to turn his bed so he could look out the window or if he wanted something to drink. He told her he was fine and asked her if she would read a book. "I like listening to your voice. It soothes me." He told her.

Hermione was reading to Fred when Mrs. Weasley came in. "Hermione, Auntie Muriel is not feeling well and I thought I would go check on her. Will you be all right here alone?"

"Of course. You go. Take your time. We're fine aren't we Fred?" She included Fred in the conversation.

"Yes Mum. We'll be fine." He told her.

"I shouldn't be too long. Arthur will be home in a little while and George will be here in a couple of hours. Dinner is heating on the stove, but I plan to be back in no time."

"Go, and don't rush back. If you don't come back by dinnertime I think these big boys can serve themselves, and I'll make sure to help Fred with his dinner." Hermione told Mrs. Weasley.

After she left Hermione gave Fred his potion that he had to take every afternoon and as she looked at him his eyes looked feverish, so she placed her hand on his forehead. "Are you feeling ok? Your eyes look feverish."

"I'm all right. Keep reading."

So, Hermione opened her book and continued reading. After a while she felt like if someone was staring at her so she closed the book and looked at Fred. He had a strange look on his face. She asked him "Is everything ok? You're looking at me weird."

He responded quietly "Hermione, I love you." Then he leaned back and closed his eyes.