"Unanswered Prayers"

“Madame Pomfrey…” the young witch stuttered out, “I-I-I’ve never done potions this complicated.”

“Nonsense! You kept Harry and that clumsy Ron Weasley — oh, I’m sorry, dear; you two are rather an item now. But he is quite accident prone and not the brightest of Molly’s children, you’d have to agree. I have complete confidence; if you kept those two alive you can help this patient.”

Without another word, Hermione set herself to the task of brewing the antivenin. Until it worked its “magic” on the patient, no healing would occur. She’d been hiding on the other side of the wall under Harry’s invisibility cloak when the snake attacked. Now she regretted leaving the man for dead.

Without his work for the Order, her world would not exist and given her blood status, neither would she.

 

---

“Why did you agree to this, Hermione!?”

“He needs care! He’s been risking his life for 17 years! He deserves to be healed!”

“But why you!? You’re not a healer.”

“He’s a difficult patient, even when he’s unconscious. He’s… cast a lot of charms and taken a lot of potions to serve the Order. They make it hard to treat him. It was Madame Pomfrey or me and she certainly can’t leave her other patients.”

“I don’t like it. If you’re going to be with me then you can’t be with him! It’s not proper!”

“Proper!? The man is unconscious and barely alive! He might die — or I might kill him since I’m not a healer! But he deserves care!”

“I’m not waiting for you to live my life. I’ve already lost a year to this ‘quest’ of Harry’s.”

“So defeating Voldemort was a ‘quest’ for you. That’s good to know, Ronald.”

“You know what I mean! It’s different when you have a family, brothers and sisters! You and Harry don’t get what that’s like — you never did!”

“For once can you think about someone other than yourself!? This man sacrificed everything to defeat the Dark Lord!”

“Everything!? He’s a former Death Eater, for Merlin’s sake! Don’t make him sound like a bloody saint! He only switched sides when his crush was killed by You-Know-Who!! He’s no hero, Hermione!”

“That’s exactly what he is and I intend to take care of him for as long as he needs it!”

“No worries! There’re plenty of girls willing to be with a real hero not a traitor! Have a nice life.”

“Ron! RON! You're not being fair! RON!”