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Summer Writing Series Challenge: Excalibur's Responses by Excalibur
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Summer Writing Series Challenge: Excalibur's Responses

Excalibur

Summer Writing Series Challenge (July 6)
Challenge: Hermione/Harry ends up in St. Mungo's and the other comforts them.
Title: Terrors and Twins
Word Count: 1,000

"THERE'S NOWHERE FOR YOU TO HIDE, POTTER!" Draco Malfoy bellowed as he and five other Death Eaters chased after him. With a desperate need, he grabbed his cramped stomach and continued his flight. "THERE'S A NEW DARK LORD, POTTER, AND YOU'RE NOT GOING TO STOP THIS ONE!"

Harry Potter gasped for breath, the oxygen burning his throat and lungs. His cramps worsened as he struggled to open the door in front of him. Blood was rushing through his ears at an alarming rate causing them to be so sensitive he could hear the heavy breathing of Goyle from a block away.

There's no time! He thought desperately as he shoved his shoulder into the door, breaking it down with a strength he didn't know he possessed. I have to get to St. Mungo's!

He stepped into the cold, dark warehouse, desperate to find a fireplace or something that could be used for quick transport. Without his wand, he couldn't call the Knight Bus and it was only a matter of time before Malfoy caught up with him.

Harry took a step and felt a massive stitch in his side as if someone were stabbing him. Without a second thought, he wrapped his arm around himself and half-ran, half-limped towards the offices. Just as he set his foot on the steps, the door he'd just run through was blown of its hinges. Without looking back, he ran up the stairs and barreled through another door.

As luck would have it, there was a fireplace in the old warehouse office. Harry ran to the hearth, pulled out a bag of Floo powder and looked up when the door to the office burst open again.

"Time's up, Mudblood!" Draco spat from behind his mask. Harry caught a glimpse of his pursuer in a mirror over the mantle and gasped as his reflection was lit by a green light.

* * *

"Hermione!" Harry screamed at the top of his lungs as he shot bolt upright from the sitting room sofa. He glanced around, ready to run, but realized that he was at home, not in a warehouse office. His eyes widened when he remembered that his wife was out shopping and with a quick glance at the clock, came to the startling revelation that she was two hours late.

Without a thought, he grabbed his wand and his pouch of Floo powder and concentrated on the address he'd seen in his dream. With a shout, he stepped into the green flames the magical dust had created in his fireplace and was whisked away to stumble into an abandoned warehouse's office.

"Hermione?" He called desperately as he stepped forward. He slipped on the wet floor and looked down to see red mixed with a clear, slippery fluid. "No..." He whispered in shock and looked around for a sign of struggle. The dust was disturbed near the door and a single set of footprints trailed from the mass at the opening to the fireplace.

Harry shook his head as tears began to slip from his eyes uncontrollably. "I have to think." He said desperately and looked at the floor once again. He hadn't noticed the shards of a large mirror lying on the floor and he turned to look above the mantle. A broken mirror greeted him, along with a crater that could have only been created by the impact of a powerful spell. Hope welled in him as he bent to examine a large shard of the mirror and found blood on the very sharp point. The clear fluid that had mixed with soot, dust, and blood trailed into the fireplace where a larger puddle awaited.

"St. Mungo's!" He said quickly and threw in a pinch of powder. A second later, he stumbled into the lobby and he made a mad dash towards the information desk. "My wife! Is she here?" He asked desperately.

"Harry? We just tried contacting you at your house!" Susan Bones said as she hurried to him.

"Hermione, the baby!" He said with a pleading voice as she latched onto her arms. "Are they all right?"

"She got here just in time." Susan said as she led him down one of the many corridors. "We were able to stop the blood loss and the babies are coming right now." She handed him a set of mediwizard robes which he donned without question before he was let into the operating room.

"H-Harry ..." Hermione said with a weak gasp as she settled back in her pillows. Her face was pale and filled with sweat, the bandage on her shoulder soaked anew with fresh blood. No words were spoken as he closed the distance to cradle her in his arms. "Malfoy... It was Malfoy..." She said with a tired slur.

"Push, Hermione." The mediwizard said urgently. "The first one is almost here!"

Holding onto her hand in desperation, Harry helped her into a sitting position as she grunted, followed by a scream as her shoulder wound reopened.

"I've got the shoulder!" Susan said hurriedly, yet in a panic. "Concentrate on pushing!" Her wand was out in a heartbeat, and within moments, Hermione's wound was resealed, the look of pain diminishing as the wail of a baby was heard.

"One more time!" The mediwizard said encouragingly. "We're almost done!"

With a great push, Hermione collapsed back on the bed, spent. "H-H-Harry..." She whimpered weakly. "Take care of the babies... of Lily and P-Percy." Tears began falling down her face as her eyelids drooped. "Promise me..."

"You're not going anywhere, Love." He said as tears continued to streak down his cheeks. "You're going to be fine..." He couldn't help the crack in his voice as she shook her head.

"H-H-Harry... p-promise..." She whispered, "Promise me, Love..."

Harry pulled her into his arms. "I-I promise, Hermione, Love..."

"Step back, Harry!" Susan said, gently pulling him away from his wife. "Type O positive, five pints!" Susan shouted as she magically attached a tube to Hermione's arm.

A/N: Drat it all! I can't believe that I ran out of room AGAIN! Well, this is a really evil cliffhanger, but I could not avoid it. This is a continuation of "Through Good Times and Bad", the June 29th challenge.