"I think he's coming to."
"S'bout time, bloody wanker."
"Oh come off it Ron, you were the one who knocked him out in the first place."
"Didn't you hear? Giving the father-to-be a good smack then letting him hit his head on the corner of a trunk is the newest way to celebrate these days."
"All the uncles are doing it."
"How could you be so out of the loop?"
"Guess being hauled up in this forsaken place for this long does hinder hearing about the latest trends…"
"And the readiness for ones reactions…"
"Too right. Why didn't we think of it in the first place? I've always wanted to give him a go…Even if he has turned half decent…"
"But what fun would that have been? Ron puffed up like one of Hagrid's pets is far more amusing…"
"Oh shut up…"
"Uh oh, Fred…Ronnikins is getting a wee bit temperamental."
"Oh dear! Do you think he'll smack us too?"
"Pack it in, the three of you, before I give you all a good smack."
And this, ladies and gentleman, was the family I had willingly bonded myself to. What a great reminder to wake up to…
Harry's threat was met with a matching set of cackles from one side of the room and a long stream of quiet cursing from the other. I couldn't help but smirk…and instantly wish I had tried a little harder.
My head was groggy, not to mention throbbing in two places and my body…Well, that was and interesting sensation I must say. Every limb seemed to have decided that it enjoyed sitting in a seized up state, making movement much more time consuming and awkward. Cautiously, at the speed that those sloth things admired so much, I raised one hand to assess the damage. My fingers found one rather large bump just above the base of my neck and then a very tender patch that spread from my cheek bone to my jaw. Excellent…
"Will you four belt up?" I asked, irritated that the squabbling had continued.
"You're awake?"
"No Potter, I'm dreaming and you lot should be wearing tutus…"
Sitting up was a real treat that made me thankful that I hadn't opened my eyes yet. I got maybe an inch of the pillow before falling back. A few stars danced in the darkness that my eye lids had provided, promising there would have been more had I chose to use my vision.
"You might not want to try that yet mate," Harry said cautiously. "You hit your head pretty hard. Madame Pomfrey said it'd be another day or so before you're ready to head out."
Finally I opened my eyes, ready to give them all glare for existing, but then I noticed one of the Weasley twin's arm in a sling. He cradled it against him unconsciously while his dirt covered face beamed, clearly still amused by the light hearted banter. But he was not the only one with injuries. The other twin was sporting a black eye but the way he hunched hinted at other wounds, unseen beneath his mud-caked robes. Ron was lying on a bed not far from me, staring moodily at the roof of the tent, his entire right leg bandaged. And Harry, who seemed the best out of them all, had a deep gash on his face that wasn't healing very well. The sight sent a small tremor running down my spine and beneath the surface of my skin.
"What happened?" I asked, before I could rephrase the question to edit the amount of concern.
"Another raid," Harry replied coolly, his expression as blank as he could muster. The boy was learning my bad habits. "It happened just this morning. Lost another seventeen and Hogsmede is now nothing but rubble."
I rubbed my palm down my face, carefully avoiding the area Ron had so colourfully painted with his fist. Instantly I was furious. At Ron, at Harry, at the Dark Lord, at his followers, at myself…
"Do we have any idea what their plan is?" I asked hesitantly, trying to find something distracting so I wouldn't try anything irrational.
"No," Harry replied with a sigh, as I expected. "They're becoming so sporadic that it's nearly impossible to predict what's coming next."
There was a moment of silence after Harry had finished, the five of us becoming lost in our own thoughts. It was unnatural, the way every one instantaneously couldn't find something to say. I looked at the others and found the same worried face on each. We knew it wouldn't be long before the raids became the war, the towns became a permanent battlefield, and so many of the living soon would be pushing up the daisies.
"We've got to do something," Ron eventually said quietly from his bed.
"Like what?" one of the twins snapped, George I think. Even their humor could not lighten the weight on our chests, and they knew it. "We're doing all we can just to stay alive let alone keep our families safe. What else can we do Ron, other than fight when they show themselves? What else?! If you have a brilliant plan about how to save us all, I'm sure everyone would appreciate hearing it."
It was the first time I had ever seen either of the Weasley twins erupt like that. They survived on making people laugh, and to see them let loose like this on their own brother was harder to watch that I had imagined. The war was chipping away at our sanity; every day a little more was taken. Suddenly I felt suffocated, like my breath wouldn't come as easily. For the very first time since I arrived at the camp, I was terrified.
Ron did not answer and Harry did not interject. Without a response, George had nothing to continue his release of tension. Silence again swallowed us in which I thought that there was a good possibility of a fight breaking out right there in the Medical tent. My muscles twitched with nervous anticipation, ready to jump and break things up or take a swing if necessary. The others must have felt it too because the twins turned and left, stomping out into the miserable weather. Harry shook his head but following soon after, leaving me alone with Ron. Lucky me…
It surprised me when carrot top, despite the sound of hatred in his voice offered up something that sounded a little like...I couldn't be sure. He mumbles horribly so whatever he said came out sounding like a jumble of experimental sounds.
"What?"
"I said you better take care of my sister and that child or I'll be around to beat you bloody every day of the rest of your miserable life," he grumbled a little more loudly. It was the best apology I was ever going to get from him.
"There's no need to worry about that Ron."
"Well good, because if I have to, you'll be sorry."
"You won't."
"Good."
It was then that it all came rushing back to me. Ginny, our baby, the fact that I was so far away and she was probably going insane from the fact that I hadn't replied yet. I looked up at the calendar crudely hung near the front of the tent which showed that good ol' Ron knocked me out nearly four days ago.
Great going you bloody sod, I thought angrily as I tossed a glare over in his direction. Unfortunately, he had taken up his previous activity and returned to staring at the course material of the tent above him. I forced my mouth to remain shut as I looked for something to write with and on. On my bedside table however, lay the very silver lined objects I was looking for. A note from Harry sat on top of it. Figured you'd want these, was all it said but I could recognize his sloppy penmanship anywhere.
Author's note: Sorry this took so long to update. I've been really busy and writing has been on the back burner forever. This chapter isn't the greatest in comparison to the others but I'm hoping that I'll pick up whatever I had before for the next chapter. I hope you enjoy it nonetheless! J