Chapter 35-Challenges
The next morning brought new challenges for everyone. Luna had the most difficult time of all. She knew that this was about getting her better, but she was afraid anyway. She just wanted this to be over. She'd had too many people in to see her this morning with words of encouragement. It was like they were all worried and tried to make her feel better because they were worried. Even if she hadn't been, she would have been after listening to all of them.
The atmosphere at breakfast was quiet except Arthur and Robert discussing muggle race cars at the Gran Prix. The silence was so thick from the rest of the table the waiter was timid about approaching. "Will that be all?" asked the young man.
"Yes, thank you." Said Mr. Weasley. His and Robert's conversation had just ended. The Grangers had decided to stay another day or so to see how this was working out for everyone. They had sent their daughter to the Weasley house so often the past five years they thought that it was only right to be there when they needed a helpful hand.
They headed off toward the doctor's office. The appointment had been moved to the morning since the Wizengamot inquiry at Hogwarts had been canceled. They entered the office and sat down. The nurse at the front desk had a look of confusion on her face as one, two, three…five…seven people came in and only one was in a wheelchair. Mr. Granger noticed the quizzical look on her face. "We have the 11 AM with Dr. Porter. I am Robert Granger, Dr. Porter's friend. We're all family of a sort. We just wanted to wait here. Is it okay?"
Mr. Granger had just become everyone's hero. He had called them all family. Ron looked at Mr. Granger. "Sir, I am Ron. Do you remember me? You know, the little redheaded kid who had a crush on your daughter but couldn't get out of his own way?" Ron smiled.
"As I recall, there were about four of you redheaded kids that I knew of." Mr. Granger smiled back. "Of course, your father pointed you out this morning at breakfast. I am told that you recently went through quite an ordeal yourself."
"Yes, I'm fine now, sir. Oh, that would have been my brothers-Percy, Fred and George." Ron laughed and then cleared his throat to a more serious subject. "I wanted to thank you for your kindness in helping Luna. And, well, just now. For calling us family, I appreciate that."
They waited for what seemed like hours. In reality Dr. Porter was only 10 minutes behind schedule. "Luna Lovegood. Only the parent or guardian please can come with the patient." Mr. Lovegood stood and looked at Ron.
"Nurse Williams," Mr. Lovegood said reading her name tag. "Could you make an exception? Ron here has been caring for Luna for quite some time. It would be comforting for her, if he could come in as well."
"That's quite alright. But only one person." Nurse Williams said.
Ron was surprised at the respect he and his friends were getting from the adults. It seemed that not so long ago they were being shushed in situations just like this. "Thank you, Nurse Williams," he said as he pushed Luna in.
The wait was more than an hour and a half. Harry and Hermione had gone outside in the hall to pace and chat while waiting. Now it was apparent why the Nurse Williams seemed shocked to see so many people. It was a long procedure.
Finally at 1:30 PM, Luna and Ron came out with Mr. Lovegood and the doctor. "Robert, good to see you again. I thought I'd come out and tell everyone the good news at the same time. Tomorrow morning we will put Luna in for surgery at 7:00 AM. I believe that in about a month's time, Miss Lovegood will be walking with a cane or walker. And, in three months time…the skies the limit. The damage to the spine is difficult to see. There is a very fine fracture that has allowed some of the spinal fluid to leak and in its place there is a bone spur that presses on the nerves that send the impulses to the legs. The swelling has caused the rest of her lower extremities to not respond to touch. I am 80% to 90 % sure that she will walk, but I don't know how severe the nerve damage is as far as the numbness goes that is a 50/50 proposition. That will take time." Her progress will be aided by the love of her friends and family.
"Are you Robert's little girl? What is it? Hermione?" Asked Dr. Porter as he addressed Hermione.
"Yes, sir." Hermione answered.
"These two say that you're one heck of a smart kid and a real good friend. I like to tell young people how important their friendships are. Many times that is what helps people overcome severe illnesses and injuries. Good luck to all of you." Dr. Porter turned back. "Robert, call me next time you're in London. We'll meet for tea or something a little stronger. Right, mate?"
"Sure, thanks." Robert said.
The kids were let run free the rest of the day. The adults gathered for a little rest and relaxation in the hotel bar. When Ron and Luna went past Mr. Weasley later that afternoon, Ron was curious why his dad's eyes were crossed and his tie was loose about his neck. "Is everything alright, dad?"
"Abso….abso…absolutely Ronnie boy. Mr. Granger was just explaining the virtues of Guinness Stout and the Black and Tan. I have to agree they are aab…aaab…positively delicious." Ron had never seen his father drunk before and he hoped that he held his liquor well. A little magic in downtown London would be hard to explain.
"Very good, Dad. I'll see you back at the room." Ron and Luna were having a hard time holding their laughter. Not only because of Mr. Weasley. Mr. Granger had the look of a man who had just swallowed a goldfish. They weren't sure who was drunker: The one who could talk and wouldn't stop. Or the one who probably couldn't talk but was too drunk to care.
When Hermione's mum said that she wanted to go shopping with Mrs. Weasley, Hermione was ecstatic. Her dad was in the bar with Mr. Weasley, Ginny and Draco had taken off on their own and so had Ron and Luna. Finally, she could be alone with Harry. "Harry, where should we go this afternoon?" She couldn't decide. Should they go out to the shops again? "Harry, what do you want to do?"
Harry looked at her with a fiendish smile and said, "Since when have we been able to just lounge about together. Let's go listen to music in my room." He beckoned her with a toss of his head.
"Harry. What if someone comes in?" Hermione questioned.
"Well, one of us will have to hide under the bed. And since it's my room, well…." He smiled. "Come on Hermione. Let's live a little." They stopped by the hotel pharmacy for a little one stop shopping. Harry wasn't sure what he was looking for exactly, but then he saw them. He shook his head as Hermione stood in the lobby waiting. His purchases complete they headed off to his room.
+++++++++++++++++++
Harry and Hermione lay under the covers of the four poster king-size bed. Hermione had been unwilling at first to even go to his room, let alone have sex in the hotel with her parents just down stairs.
"Hermione, do your parents know we're in love?" Harry asked as he propped himself up on one arm.
"Of course they do. Why do you think they invited you to come with us this summer?" Hermione was confused where this was going.
"I'm confused Hermione. If we had a child and she fell in love with some no good sex fiend like me, would you invite him to spend the summer? I mean, isn't kind of like putting a doghouse out for the wolf in the middle of a herd of sheep?" He smiled.
"Harry, don't make fun of me or my parents. They trust me to be responsible. Last time we let the passion carry us away. Today we decided to do it just because we could get by with it. I love you, Harry. Just don't make having sex a game you play. I like it too. But I'm only here because I love you. Not for the sex." Hermione had a very pensive look on her face as she looked into Harry's eyes.
"Hermione, I am sorry. You know I love you. It's just that, I look at you and I want you so much. It just seems like your parents expect too much from you. I mean, you are human. When you fall in love, sex is a natural thing. Don't they remember when they were teenagers?" Harry was trying to reason with Hermione.
"Harry. My parents were already destined for medical or dental school when they were in there last year of school. It was just a matter of getting through the first four years of college. If you haven't noticed, my parents are almost as old as the Weasley's. They didn't think about sex as an act until they saw it in a medical book." Hermione laughed. As silly as it was, that probably is why her parents trusted her. They had no idea what went through the mind of the average teenager.
Hermione threw her arm across Harry's chest and around his neck putting her head on the pillow next to his shoulder. Harry felt her breast on his chest. He laid their thinking of the most comfortable place he'd ever been. It had been both times he and Hermione had been together. He looked down at her and kissed the top of her head. He dozed off.
An hour or so later, a knock at their door surprised them both. The door opened before they could react. It was Ron and Luna. "Oh, sorry…sorry….I didn't mean to intrude." Ron closed the door. He wished he hadn't seen what he saw.
Harry and Hermione dressed hurriedly. They left his room and went down to the main salon of the little magical castle where they saw an embarrassed Ron and Luna. "Okay. Don't say anything. We don't need to know anything. It isn't like Luna and I haven't thought of it." Ron didn't know quite what to say. It was one thing to see your best friend with his girlfriend snogging. But it was quite another to see the two of them starkers in a hotel room. "Don't worry we won't say anything stupid. You know like…'how do you like shagging on the carpet in your room…oops, I mean how do you like the shag carpeting in your room, Harry?' Or, 'Hermione, you like to get a rise out of Harry sometimes, don't you?' No, nothing like that." Ron looked at Harry with an admiring look that also said 'this will cost you.' "See, I think I remember a friend of mine tormenting me with this song…let's see…what was it? Oh, yeah….Weasley is Our King. If either one of you hums, sings or otherwise encourages another person to sing that song from now until the time you are married, I will either tell the story of what I just saw or I'll start with the corny puns again. Got it?"
"Ooh, you are an evil man, Ron Weasley." Said Hermione with a glare. Luna smiled at the thought she was thinking. If we could have we'd have been in the next room.
"Ron, give them a break. What did you think they were going to make potions alone together for the rest of their lives? Oops, there's another little Weasleyism we can use. For example, 'Were you two off making potions together again?'" Luna laughed this time.
"You too, Luna. You just love giving us a hard time." Harry said pleading for mercy.
"That's what friends are for, mate." Ron smiled and apologized again for walking in without waiting for an answer. "Oh, by the way…I'm not kidding about the Weasley is Our King. I will sell you out over that." There was no trace of humor in what Ron was saying this time.
"Let's go join our parents for a late dinner. I guess my parents are yours too, aren't they Harry? I mean at least kind of anyway." Ron said as he started to push Luna out the door toward the handicapped elevator.
+++++++++++++++++++++++
The next morning came too early. Mr. Weasley and Mr. Granger were looking pretty ragged. Molly Weasley had put together a potion from her traveling stock that would take it away, but forced the two men to suffer at least through breakfast. "You two acted like a couple of teenagers with your first drink. You can suffer for the next hour. This potion is too good for you." She smiled at Emily who obviously had no clue what Molly had done, but got the concept of making the men act like men and not boys.
The wait in the hospital that day was excruciatingly long. They started the procedure at 9 AM and finished at 2 PM. The only reason it took so long they said was that area around the fracture was inflamed to the point that seeing the actual fracture was difficult because of the muscles and tendons in Luna's back. Each had to be repaired if they had to be cut to get to the bone spur. It would take some time for Luna to get her strength back. The operation was a complete success, now the recuperation and physical therapy would prove to be the most important thing.
Luna had to stay in the hospital until the end of the week. Ron stayed with her as Harry and Hermione got their lessons for them. There lessons had become more important since January. They had started to learn to apparated. They had to take a qualification test to do it legally.
When Luna returned to Hogwarts on Friday, there were at least fifty cards and at least half that many bouquets of flowers. She had become something of a hero to her classmates. Luna Lovegood was now called Looney Lovegood out of affection, not out of ridicule. It would be another week before the muscles around the incision would be strong enough for her to start trying to hold herself up in therapy. It would also be a while before the swelling from surgery would go down to see if the nerve damage had been corrected.
If everything went well, she'd be dancing at the spring dance. Even if Ron had to help her a little.