Chapter 1 - The Beginning
Harry felt the spell sear his cheek as it sailed by. It ricocheted off the stone wall, and into Hermione, hitting her square in the back. Harry saw her start to fall. "No!" The scream tore from his throat as he rushed to her side, catching her before she could hit the ground. Ron was with them in an instant, helping ease Hermione to the floor. She was alive, but barely. Harry looked up to see what remained of the Order and the DA on guard, looking for the source of the spell. It had been a cheap shot. Only moments before, Voldemort was confirmed destroyed, and the remaining Death Eaters rounded up at wandpoint.
Harry looked at Ron. "Get her to St. Mungo's. I'll meet you there. I want to know who hit her, and with what."
Ron nodded, and he and Hermione Disapparated.
Harry stood up, scanning the dungeon. "No one leaves until we find who cast that spell. It seemed to come up from the floor, so recheck every fallen Death Eater. Someone either fired it off before passing out, or someone's just pretending to be out. Watch your backs!"
~~~~~~~
Upon arrival, Hermione was taken immediately to the fourth floor of St. Mungo's, Spell Damage. The Healer now examining her looked like he couldn't have been more than a couple of years older than Ron, yet his voice was crisp and professional. "Do you know what spell, jinx, or curse she was hit with?"
Ron shook his head without looking up from Hermione. He couldn't take his eyes off of her. He had been standing only a few feet away when she was hit. He kept thinking he ought to have been more careful. He ought to have seen it coming. He ought to have done something. It all seemed so unreal. They should be celebrating right now. Instead, she was laying here before him, unconscious.
The Healer spoke as he continued his examination. "It would really help if you could tell me what hit her." He stopped for a moment until Ron looked up at him. "I'm sorry," his voice softened a fraction. "This is never easy, but there's not much we can do until we know what did this." He ran his hand through his short brown hair, his cool demeanor warming slightly. "In fact, we're not even sure what this is."
Hermione lay there between them, still as stone. Ron reached for her hand. He flinched when he felt her icy skin. He didn't expect her to be so cold. "She is…?"
"Alive? Yes. Barely. She seems stable for now, but the sooner we can figure out how to treat her, the better." He reached out his hand to Ron. "The name's Jonas, by the way."
Ron shook his hand. "Thanks. I'm-"
"Ron Weasley." Jonas gave a ghost of a smile. "I know who you are, and of course who this is," he nodded to Hermione. Jonas cleared his throat. "I don't suppose you can tell me…"
It was Ron's turn to smile, just a bit. "The War is over. We won." His smile faded as he looked again at Hermione. He made a helpless gesture with his hand. "It was stupid. The fighting had stopped, the Death Eaters were under control, or so we thought. Guess they thought they'd take one more of us with them." He shook his head. "Harry's still there right now, trying to sort this. He said he'd be here as soon as he found something."
~~~~~~~
Harry's frustration was growing by the second. Every Death Eater there had been confirmed captured, unconscious, or dead. Every single one of their wands had been taken and checked for the last spell cast. Nothing had turned up.
Lupin came up to Harry, touching him on the shoulder. "Go. Ron and Hermione need you. We'll keep looking."
Harry swallowed and nodded, Disapparating without a word.
~~~~~~~
Hope lit Ron's face as Harry entered Hermione's room. Harry gave a quick shake of his head. Harry's chest felt heavy as he watched Ron's face fall, then he felt it seize up completely as he saw Hermione laying there, still and unconscious. "Lupin's still looking," Harry managed to say.
"Right." Ron fidgeted awkwardly, his guilt heavy in his heart. "Harry, I'm-"
"Don't. It wasn't your fault. It wasn't anybody's fault. It was everybody's fault. We were all exhausted from the fight, and giddy with it finally finished. We let down our guard at the worst possible moment, when we thought it was over. The thing is, it's never over. There will always be dark wizards and witches out there craving power. There will always be evil. Today we stopped Voldemort, but whether it's tomorrow, or a hundred years from tomorrow, there will be another. Moody was right, 'Constant vigilance.'" He looked at Hermione. "This is what happens."
Harry started to reach for Hermione's hand, but Ron stopped him. "Wait, she's ice cold. It scared the hell out of me. I just wanted to warn you."
Harry nodded, tentatively taking her hand. It was very warm, almost hot. "What are you talking about? She's burning up!"
Ron took her other hand. "Are you mad? She's freezing!"
Harry and Ron looked at each other for a moment, then each took Hermione's other hand.
"Freezing!"
"Hot!"
Jonas entered the room. "What's going on?"
He listened as Ron and Harry explained. "So each of you perceives something different when you touch her? Interesting." He picked up one of Hermione's hands. "Feels normal to me. Hmm… Harry, touch her again."
Harry picked up her hand again. It felt extremely warm. Just as he was about to say so, something else caught his attention. Magic… He could feel something subtle, something between a tingle and buzz.
Jonas watched Harry. "What is it?"
"It's magic," he said. "There's something coursing around her, or maybe through her." He paused, as if listening to it. "I think part of it might be what's left of the Shield charm we all cast before the fighting started."
Jonas nodded. "I thought I felt something like that when I was examining her. I didn't want to lift it until we knew more, just in case it was continuing to protect her from whatever did the damage."
Harry continued looking at Hermione. "There's something else underneath it. It feels like it's pulling me-"
Harry… The thought fluttered weakly on the edges of his mind, Hermione's voice a distant echo.
"Hermione!" Harry grabbed her hands with both of his.
Realization dawned on Jonas' face as Harry began to lose consciousness. "Stop!" Jonas tried to break Harry's hold on Hermione, but it was too late.