A man dressed in green robes was talking to two women.
One woman had red hair and brown eyes and wore a light green dress and a blank expression on her face. She was snapping at the man who was remaining calm.
The other woman was wearing a plain white shirt and a tight skirt. Her brown hair was missing any elegance and her hazel eyes were timid and wet. Prints of tears were visible on the woman's cheeks. She was looking down at the floor, letting tiny specks of tears fall onto her shoes.
" - And since Mr. Weasley has passed away, Mr. Potter's morale is decreasing at an alarming rate. He's getting weaker by the moment. We think he will, well - he won't survive so we've stopped his medication," the man said.
"Without asking us?" the redhead asked, amazed.
"There was no choice. The medicine is very restricted, and we've run out," the man said.
The brown-eyed woman looked shocked. "Excuse me, Mister, this is Harry Potter. The Harry Potter. I'm sure the Ministry would restock whatever supply Harry uses."
"I understand, Ma'am. But I can't do that. I have direct orders from the Head Healer - " the man, a Healer, said.
"Listen, Mister, I want my husband back on that medication - "
"I'm sorry. I can't do that," the Healer said.
The brown-haired woman wasn't listening. A buzzing was all she heard. Her throat was sore from holding in her tears. Her face was pale and she was trying to ignore the words coming out of the Healer and her friend's mouths.
She was trapped inside a cage of sadness and couldn't get out. The bars were solid and concrete, not allowing her to see though them. A blanket of concealment covered her head, not allowing her to breathe.
She looked up. "Jesse...Tabby..." she muttered softly into the other woman's ear.
Something clicked in the redheaded woman's mind when her friend said those two words. She looked up at the man in green confidently. "If that's the case, so be it. Contact us if you find anything else out. And thank you, Healer MacDougal, for all your help in killing my brother. Let us know when Harry dies, too, would you?" she snapped. Before anyone could say anything, she continued, "Hermione and I have been here for thirty-six hours, sleeping on plastic chairs, drinking tea and eating stale biscuits. We're going home for breakfast."
With that, the redheaded woman turned on her heel. The brunette looked horrified. She made to say something, when the the other woman grabbed her arm and pulled her down the hallway.
The corridor was silent, all except the two women's shoes clicking with an elegant sound on the marble floor.
Portraits were staring at the two women as they rushed down the hallway.
"Such a racket!" One portrait complained. He was a man with grey hair and a wrinkled face who was lying in a bed. "Couldn't you keep it quiet?"
"I'm so sorry, bad day, you know?!" The brown-haired woman apologized. The portraits shook their heads and went back to whatever they were doing.
The brunette's attention fixed on her friend. "Ginny! What do you think you were doing?" she growled.
Ginny rolled her brown eyes. "Come on, Hermione, with all the crap that Healer was giving us - did you hear what they're doing with Harry?"
Hermione's jaw dropped. "But Ginny, you yelled at a Healer!"
"I yelled at a Healer, so what?! I'm sure he's been yelled at before!" Ginny argued furiously.
"Ginny! Don't act so immature! I think - " Hermione started. She stopped walking abruptly and placed her thin fingers on her stiff, itchy skirt.
Ginny stopped walking also. She put up a hand. "Leave it. I'll admit, I was a bit over the edge. But honestly, did you see what they were doing to Harry? They wouldn't put him on the bloody medications because it was from Vacanas Root and it's really rare and they didn't have any in!"
"They could have easily ordered it!" Hermione cried.
"I know." Hermione was too agitated to notice the crack in Ginny's voice.
"And then with Ron - " Ginny continued. As soon as she noticed Hermione's fallen face, she stopped.
Hermione's body shook. She tried to forget all about her husband's death. She just focused on the toes of her shoes that were holding her steady.
Hermione shook her head and started walking again. This time, her footsteps were louder and her face looked much more stern.
The two woman got to the end of the corridor where there was a foggy glass door.
Hermione blinked away fast-appearing tears that blurred her view. "Let's get home. The kids are probably wondering where we got to."
Ginny nodded and the two women pushed open the door and stepped outside.
A stinging breeze nipped Hermione's ears and her cloak billowed in a frenzy, its rhythm blending gracefully with the wind.
"G-ginny, it's so c-cold!" Hermione stuttered. Her lips were numb, making it hard for her to speak. "Let's g-get going, n-now," she said softly, her voice barely heard in the wind.
Ginny didn't seem to be having such a hard with the bitter weather but she nodded.
With a crack, both women Apparated.
They appeared in a large Muggle park. Children were squealing and laughing, old men were sitting reading the newspaper and a tiny stand selling hot cocoa was parked and in business, due to the mob of Muggles thrusting money into the vendor's hand.
Ginny and Hermione smiled as they walked to where looked like nowhere - it was apart from all of the fun and commotion.
They walked into a large forested area where the foliage was thick. As if someone had magically cleared all of the nature, they came to a clearing. There was nothing in the entire field except for smooth blades of green grass that were still.
There was only one large tree. The tree's trunk was smooth and it had words engraved on it. Its branches were buried under layers of leaves and other such verdure.
There was a large boot sitting on the highest branch that was barely even visible to the one tiny red bird planted atop the tree. Ginny looked over her shoulder to make sure no one was looking and muttered something after taking out her wand.
The boot came whizzing towards her. Ginny reached inside and pulled out a large box. She tapped the box with her wand and it opened up to reveal a teacup.
Hermione levitated the teacup onto the grass. With a flick of her wand, the box was back in the shoe, and the shoe was back up onto to branch.
"Ready?" Ginny asked.
Hermione nodded. Ginny and Hermione touched the teacup and the world swirled in front of them.
Everything turned black. Hermione felt as if her torso was separating from her legs. Her head felt really light, and big white blotches appeared in front of her eyes.
Suddenly, she let go. She landed with an "oomph!" of surprise on a large patch of green grass.
Hermione sat up, her back aching, to see a large house.
It was plain and yellow; its green shutters gave it something of an elegance and a large oak door was placed square in between two glossy windows.
Ginny, who was already standing, helped Hermione up.
They smiled at the look of the comforting home. Hermione's ankle was searing with pain but she ignored it anyhow. She limped up a smooth, concrete sidewalk and with some help by using the paint-chipped railing, managed to clamber up the stairs.
Hermione reached slowly for the doorknob, but as soon as her slender hand touched the gelid brass, the door was torn open.
Four young children raced out.
Two of the children, a boy and a girl, both with thick black hair begged to be picked up by Ginny. As Ginny grabbed them and kissed them, they both hugged her neck.
Meanwhile, Hermione was holding herself steady as a redhead girl and a brown haired boy hugged Hermione's legs. Because they couldn't reach her face, they kissed her knee caps, putting stress on Hermione's aching feet.
A house elf peeked its head out the door. "Children, I told you - " she started, but squealed when she saw Hermione and Ginny standing there.
The house elf bowed so low her nose scraped the porch. "Pardon me, Misses Ginevra Potter and Hermione Weasley! I did not see you! Let me get you some food."
Hermione winced, but Ginny knew it was not just from the pain of her ankle.
"Oh, Penny, we're fine," Hermione said. "It's Molly here? I'm sure she'll - "
At that moment there was something that sounded as if thunder itself was yelling at them.
"GINEVRA MOLLY WEASLEY POTTER!" A voice roared inside.
"Mum," Ginny muttered.
A very short, plump woman with red and gray hair tied up in a bun and a white apron with stains on it charged out onto the porch.
In her arms was a baby girl with a soft cushion of hair on top of her head. The baby looked frightened, but as soon as she saw Ginny and Hermione, her face cracked into a smile with soft pink gums and tiny teeth.
"Hiya there, Ely," Ginny whispered, putting down her other two kids who rushed to Hermione and started hugging her furiously. Ginny scooped the baby out of the woman's arms.
Ginny raised an eyebrow at the woman who was huffing. "Mum, I'm just Ginevra Molly Potter now," she told her mum. "So don't add any Weasley to my name, thanks."
Ginny's mum ignored Ginny's last remark. "Out for a day and a half? Didn't even owl us? We were worried sick!! Elyssa has been crying constantly! The children - " she gestured to the four children surrounding Hermione, " - wouldn't even eat! All they wanted to do was sit silently in the playhouse!"
Hermione grimaced. "Molly, I'm - "
Molly crossed her arms stubbornly. "You better have a good reason to be out so long, young ladies," she scolded.
"Oh, I'm sorry, Mummy, I forgot I'm not married and the mother of three children and had a bloody curfew!" Ginny snapped. "What then, leave our husbands in Saint Mungo's alone when they were at death's edge? What time were we supposed to be home, then? Nine o'clock on Tuesday?"
Hermione clamped a hand to her mouth. "Ginny - "
Meanwhile, the house elf, Penny, was herding the children into the house. She tore Elyssa away from Ginny's shoulder and retreated inside.
Molly raised her eyebrows. "All right, then. What happened? How are Harry and Ron?"
This time, Ginny said nothing, but stared silently at the wall. A mass of wet tears appeared in her eyes.
Hermione's throat felt immediately sore. "Molly, they're..."
But Ginny's mum didn't need Hermione to finish the sentence.
Molly Weasley understood.
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A/N: Here's Chapter One! It could be a little while until Chapter Two comes up, so please excuse me. And sorry for such a cliffie, guys! I didn't have much time with this piece so it was a little stale. The next chapter, I SWEAR, will be much longer and fluffier; I've already got it planned out.
Also - I was recently informed by a reader that Ginny's eyes are brown, not blue. I'm really sorry, so please don't get angry - I'm aware of the situation. I've changed this. So sorry.
And yes, I know that Hermione and Ginny were really OOC here and they will be for a little while, so I'm sorry.
And - PLEASE REVIEW!
I really like your feedback. :)
An Unclear Past by Winged Artemis
Chapter Notes: Disclaimer: Regretfully I have to admit that I do not own any of the recognizable characters.
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