Late in the night, or really very early morning I was awaken by one of the girls in my dorm with Snape at the door. "W-what?" I ask groggily. 

  "You've been summoned by Professor Dumbledore... I shall escort you down there," Snape says, "get dressed." As he leaves I quickly toss off the blankets and  pulling a red jumper over my black night gown before rushing down stairs to meet Snape. He leads me through the halls to Dumbledore's office where Harry and Weasley's were sat.

 "Whats going on?" I ask. Snape looks at me sighs.

"Mr. Weasley was attacked," Professor McGonagall says. My eyes go wide as I look to the others.

"Your father," Dumbledore says to the horde of Weasley children, "has been injured in the course of his work for the Order of the Phoenix, He has been taken to St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries. I am sending you back to Sirius's house, which is much more convenient for the hospital than the Burrow. You will meet your mother there."

"How're we going?" Fred asks looking shaken. "Floo powder?"

"No," Dumbledore says, "Floo powder is not safe at the moment, the Network is being watched. You will be taking a Portkey." He indicated the old kettle lying innocently on his desk. "We are just waiting for Phineas Nigellus to report back... I wish to be sure that the coast is clear before sending you—"  There was a flash of flame in the very middle of the office, leaving behind a single golden feather floating gently to the floor.

"It is Fawkes's warning," Dumbledore says, catching the feather as it fell. "She must know you're out of your beds... Minerva, go and head her off—tell her any story—"

"He says he'll be delighted,"  a bored voice behind Dumbledore roars, "My great-great-grandson has always had odd taste in houseguests..."

"Come here, then," Dumbledore says us. "And quickly, before anyone else joins us..."You have all used a Portkey before?" asks Dumbledore, we nod as he shows a black kettle to us. We all place our hands on it,  "Good. On the count of three then... one... two..." Within a second we went from the office to the cold ground of the kitchen basement.

"Back again, the blood traitor brats, is it true their father's dying...?" A voice hisses.

"OUT!" Roars another voice. I pull myself from the ground and move to help Ginny up. Then Ron.

"What's going on?" Sirius asks helping Harry up, "Phineas Nigellus said Arthur's been badly injured—"

"Ask Harry," Fred asks.

"Yeah, I want to hear this for myself," George says.

"Boys," I say softly settling in between.

"It was—" Harry begins, "I had a—a kind of—vision..." And then he told us all. How he had a vision, the vision showed a snake attacking Mr. Weasley,

"Is Mum here?" Fred asks, turning to Sirius.

"She probably doesn't even know what's happened yet," Sirius says. "The important thing was to get you away before Umbridge could interfere. I expect Dumbledore's letting Molly know now."

"We've got to go to St. Mungo's," Ginny says urgently. She looks around at us catching that we were all in pajama's. "Sirius, can you lend us cloaks or anything—?"

"Hang on, you can't go tearing off to St. Mungo's!" Sirius says.

"'Course we can go to St. Mungo's if we want," Fred says with a mulish expression, "he's our dad!"

"No Sirius is right," I sigh rubbing my temples, "how are we going to explain how you knew he was attacked before the hospital even let his wife know?"

"What does that matter?" George asks hotly.

"It matters because we don't want to draw attention to the fact that Harry is having visions of things that are happening hundreds of miles away!" Sirius says angrily. "Have you any idea what the Ministry would make of that information?" The Weasley children were pissed at this point. Only caring about their dad. And I couldn't blame them.

"Somebody else could have told us... We could have heard it somewhere other than Harry..." Ginny starts.

"Like who?"  Sirius says impatiently. 

"Sirius put yourself in their shoes," I tell him. He sighs and looks at them.

"Listen, your dad's been hurt while on duty for the Order and the circumstances are fishy enough without his children knowing about it seconds after it happened, you could seriously damage the Order's—" Sirius starts.

"We don't care about the dumb Order!" Fred yells.

"It's our dad dying we're talking about!" George yells.

"Your father knew what he was getting into, and he won't thank you for messing things up for the Order!" Sirius says angrily in his turn. "This is how it is—this is why you're not in the Order—you don't understand—there are things worth dying for!"

"Sirius!" I scream, "not the time."

"Easy for you to say, stuck here!" bellows Fred. "I don't see you risking your neck!"

"Both of you stop it!" I scream at them. I look to the Weasley children and sigh, "I know it's hard, but we've all got to act as though we don't know anything yet. We've got to stay put, at least until we hear from your mother, all right?" Fred looks at me. I take his hand and sigh. "He's in good hands. Please known this." The twins glare at Sirius before taking a seat beside Ginny.

"That's right," Sirius says encouragingly, "come on, let's all... let's all have a drink while we're waiting. Accio Butterbeer!" Butter beers appear before us and I push mine away. 

"No thanks," I say. George seizes the bottle in front of me. We all sit quietly as we wait for something. Anything to happen. After hours of sitting a feather appears with a letter.

"Fawkes!" Sirius says at once, snatching up the parchment. "That's not Dumbledore's writing—it must be a message from your mother—here—" Sirius hands the letter to George who quickly rips it open.

"Dad is still alive. I am setting out for St. Mungo's now. Stay where you are. I will send news as soon as I can. Mum," George reads aloud. George looks around the table heavily.  "Still alive..." he says slowly. "But that makes it sound..." We all knew what he meant. Arthur sat at a fine line between alive and dead. Close to either side. The silence resumes as Fred lets his head fall onto my shoulder. I move slightly to make it more comfortable for him, while on my other side Ron does the same. They were exhausted. Both mentally and physically. And I was hoping it would help them relax. I run my fingers through Ron's hair as he snores slightly. Fred and George doing the same. George was leaning over onto his twin.  At five in the morning the door opened and Molly Weasley joined us. The boys had jolted awake at the sound of the door opening. The Weasley's rise from their chairs.

"He's going to be all right," she says, her voice weak with tiredness. "He's sleeping. We can all go and see him later. Bill's sitting with him now, he's going to take the morning off work." Fred falls back down and I place my hand atop of his as George and Ginny walk to their mother to hug her. Ron gives a shaky laugh then downs his butterbeer. 

"Breakfast!" Sirius says loudly and joyfully, jumping to his feet. "Where's that accursed house-elf? Kreacher! KREACHER!" No response to his calls.

"Oh, forget it, then," mutters Sirius, counting the people in front of him. "So it's breakfast for—let's see—seven... Bacon and eggs, I think, and some tea, and toast—" Harry gets up and joins him. I wanted to but seeing as Fred was once again laying against me I couldn't move. I knew my duty would be to help them out.

"I-i just," Fred starts. I sigh before running my fingers through his hair. 

"Shush," I say to him, "just breath."

"I don't know what would have happened if it hadn't been for you, Harry," Molly says to Harry in a muffled voice. "They might not have found Arthur for hours, and then it would have been too late, but thanks to you he's alive and Dumbledore's been able to think up a good cover story for Arthur being where he was, you've no idea what trouble he would have been in otherwise, look at poor Sturgis..." Sirius and Harry walk off leaving me with the Weasley's. Soon breakfast was  over and we were sent to bed. Ginny and I to the room we had shared from before. Once inside she let it out. Soft cries as she climbs into bed. 

"Ginny," I say softly as she sobs.

"I-I'm sorry," She says, "I'm a mess." I walk towards the girl I've always seen as a little sister and climb into her bed. Wrapping my arms around her as tracing shapes into her shoulders as her cries grow quiet before completely stopping as she falls asleep in my arms. Not much longer joining her in the sweet release of sleep.

*****

"Awe look at that," I hear Molly say, "come on girls its time to get up." My eyes flutter open and I see Molly standing at the foot of the bed looking at Ginny and I. I unwrap my arms before shaking her lightly. 

"Come on Ginny," I say. She gets up and waves to her mom.

"Come on Girls get ready so we can go to St Mungos," Molly says. 

"We'll be down in a minute," Ginny says. Molly rushes off and we see our trunks now in the room. "Sorry about falling asleep on you."

"Fred and Ron were sleeping on me at the kitchen table. You're fine. I understand a lot is going on right now," I explain to her, "I honestly expected one of the boys to slip and here and cuddle with us too."

"I wouldn't put it past them," She chuckles as we switch from our night clothes to decent clothing so we could leave the house. Soon we were ready and rushing down stairs.

****

Soon through the bustle of the underground and getting through to the hospital we reached the inside of St Mungos with the Weasley's, Tonks, Harry, Moody, and I. 

 "Are they doctors?" Harry asks pointing to the Healers.

"Doctors?" Ron asks looking startled. "Those Muggle nutters that cut people up? Nah, they're Healers."

"Over here!" Mrs. Weasley call over the renewed clanging of the warlock in the corner,we follow her to the queue in front of a plump blonde witch seated at a desk marked inquiries. The wall behind her was covered in notices and posters saying things like A CLEAN CAULDRON KEEPS POTIONS FROM BECOMING POISONS and ANTIDOTES ARE ANTI-DON'TS UNLESS APPROVED BY A QUALIFIED HEALER. Along with a picture of Dilys Derwent, an ex headmistress of Hogwarts. I look up to the front of the queue to see a man hoping between his feet.

"It's these—ouch—shoes my brother gave me—ow—they're eating my—OUCH—feet—look at them, there must be some kind of—AARGH—jinx on them and I can't—AAAAARGH—get them off—"

"The shoes don't prevent you reading, do they?" the blonde witch says  irritably, pointing at a large sign to the left of her desk. "You want Spell Damage, fourth floor. Just like it says on the floor guide. Next!" We move forward as I look to the sign.

ARTIFACT ACCIDENTS......................Ground Floor

(Cauldron explosion, wand backfiring, broom crashes, etc.)

CREATURE-INDUCED INJURIES...............First Floor

(Bites, stings, burns, embedded spines, etc.)

MAGICAL BUGS............................Second Floor

(Contagious maladies, e.g., dragon pox, vanishing sickness, scrofungulus)

POTION AND PLANT POISONING..............Third Floor

(Rashes, regurgitation, uncontrollable giggling, etc.)

SPELL DAMAGE............................Fourth Floor

(Unliftable jinxes, hexes, and incorrectly applied charms, etc.)

VISITORS' TEAROOM AND HOSPITAL SHOP.....Fifth Floor

If you are unsure where to go, incapable, of normal speech, or unable to remember why you are here, our Welcome Witch will be pleased to help.

"I'm here to see Broderick Bode!" The wizard now at the front says.

"Ward forty-nine, but I'm afraid you're wasting your time,"  the witch says dismissively "He's completely addled, you know, still thinks he's a teapot... Next!"  A harassed-looking wizard was holding his small daughter tightly by the ankle while she flapped around his head using the immensely large, feathery wings that had sprouted right out the back of her romper suit.

"Fourth floor,"  the witch says in a bored voice, without asking, "Next!" Molly moves forward.

"Hello," she says,  "My husband, Arthur Weasley, was supposed to be moved to a different ward this morning, could you tell us—?"

"Arthur Weasley?"  the witch asks running her finger down a long list in front of her. "Yes, first floor, second door on the right, Dai Llewellyn ward."

"Thank you," Mrs. Weasley says, "Come on, you lot." We follow through the hospital until we reach the room.

"We'll wait outside, Molly," Tonks says,  "Arthur won't want too many visitors at once... It ought to be just the family first." Mad-Eye growls his approval of this idea and set himself with his back against the corridor wall, his magical eye spinning in all directions.  Harry and I draw back too before Molly pushes us through the door.

"Don't be silly, Harry, Arthur wants to thank you..." Molly says, "you two are family." There were three beds. Each with patients. Mr. Weasley being the one in the furthest bed. Once we all walk towards him he beams in delight.

"Hello!" he calls, throwing the Prophet aside. "Bill just left, Molly, had to get back to work, but he says he'll drop in on you later..."

"How are you, Arthur?" Molly asks bending down to kiss his cheek and looking anxiously into his face. "You're still looking a bit peaky..."

"I feel absolutely fine," Mr. Weasley says brightly, holding out his good arm to give Ginny a hug. "If they could only take the bandages off, I'd be fit to go home."

"Why can't they take them off, Dad?" Fred asks.

"Well, I start bleeding like mad every time they try," Mr. Weasley cheerfully says , reaching across for his wand, waving it so that seven extra chairs appeared at his bedside to seat them all. "It seems there was some rather unusual kind of poison in that snake's fangs that keeps wounds open... They're sure they'll find an antidote, though, they say they've had much worse cases than mine, and in the meantime I just have to keep taking a Blood-Replenishing Potion every hour. But that fellow over there," he says, dropping his voice and nodding toward the bed opposite in which a man lay looking green and sickly and staring at the ceiling. "Bitten by a werewolf, poor chap. No cure at all."

"A werewolf?" Mrs. Weasley whispers, looking alarmed. "Is he safe in a public ward? Shouldn't he be in a private room?"

"It's two weeks till full moon," Mr. Weasley reminds her quietly. "They've been talking to him this morning, the Healers, you know, trying to persuade him he'll be able to lead an almost normal life. I said to him—didn't mention names, of course—but I said I knew a werewolf personally, very nice man, who finds the condition quite easy to manage..."

"What did he say?" George asks.

"Said he'd give me another bite if I didn't shut up,"  Mr. Weasley says sadly. "And that woman over there," he points to the only other occupied bed, which was right beside the door, "won't tell the Healers what bit her, which makes us all think it must have been something she was handling illegally. Whatever it was took a real chunk out of her leg, very nasty smell when they take off the dressings."

"So, you going to tell us what happened, Dad?" Fred asks, pulling his chair closer to the bed.

"Well, you already know, don't you?" Mr. Weasley says with a  smile at Harry. "It's very simple—I'd had a very long day, dozed off, got sneaked up on, and bitten."

"Is it in the Prophet, you being attacked?" Fred says indicating the newspaper Mr. Weasley had cast aside.

"No, of course not," Mr. Weasley says, with a slightly bitter smile, "the Ministry wouldn't want everyone to know a dirty great serpent got—"

"Arthur!" Mrs. Weasley says warningly.

"—got—er—me," Mr. Weasley says hastily.

"So where were you when it happened, Dad?" George asks.

"That's my business," Mr. Weasley says  with a small smile. He snatchs up the Daily Prophet, shook it open again and said, "I was just reading about Willy Widdershins's arrest when you arrived. You know Willy turned out to be behind those regurgitating toilets last summer? One of his jinxes backfired, the toilet exploded, and they found him lying unconscious in the wreckage covered from head to foot in—"

"When you say you were 'on duty,'" Fred interrupts in a low voice, "what were you doing?"

"You heard your father," whispers Mrs. Weasley, "we are not discussing this here! Go on about Willy Widdershins, Arthur—"

"Well, don't ask me how, but he actually got off on the toilet charge," Mr. Weasley says grimly. "I can only suppose gold changed hands—"

"You were guarding it, weren't you?" George asks quietly. "The weapon? The thing You-Know-Who's after?"

"George, be quiet!"  Mrs. Weasley says.

"Anyway," Mr. Weasley says in a raised voice, "this time Willy's been caught selling biting doorknobs to Muggles, and I don't think he'll be able to worm his way out of it because according to this article, two Muggles have lost fingers and are now in St. Mungo's for emergency bone regrowth and memory modification. Just think of it, Muggles in St. Mungo's! I wonder which ward they're in?"

"Didn't you say You-Know-Who's got a snake, Harry?" Fred asks looking at his father for a reaction. "A massive one? You saw it the night he returned, didn't you?"

"That's enough," Mrs. Weasley says crossly. "Mad-Eye and Tonks are outside, Arthur, they want to come and see you. And you lot can wait outside," she added to us "You can come and say good-bye afterward. Go on..." We were lead out side as Tonks and Mad-eye replace us. The kids look to me waiting for me to say something.

"What?" I ask them.

"Tell us what you know!" Fred says.

"I don't know anything!" I say to them, "I promise, they haven't told me anything yet."

"Fine," he says coolly, rummaging in his pockets, "be like that. Don't tell us anything."

"Looking for these?" George asks holding out what looked like a tangle of flesh-colored string.

"You read my mind," Fred says grinning. "Let's see if St. Mungo's puts Imperturbable Charms on its ward doors, shall we?" They untangle 6 extendable ear stings and hand one to each of us. Harry denying it at first. "Go on, Harry, take it! You saved Dad's life, if anyone's got the right to eavesdrop on him it's you..." Harry takes it with a grin. "Okay, go!" Fred whispers the flesh colored strings wriggle like long skinny worms, then snake under the door. For a few seconds  nothing could be heard, then Tonks whispering cuts through as clearly as though she were standing right beside him.

"...they searched the whole area but they couldn't find the snake anywhere, it just seems to have vanished after it attacked you, Arthur... But You-Know-Who can't have expected a snake to get in, can he?"

"I reckon he sent it as a lookout," growls Moody, "'cause he's not had any luck so far, has he? No, I reckon he's trying to get a clearer picture of what he's facing and if Arthur hadn't been there the beast would've had much more time to look around. So Potter says he saw it all happen?"

"Yes," Mrs. Weasley says, "You know, Dumbledore seems almost to have been waiting for Harry to see something like this..."

"Yeah, well," Moody says, "there's something funny about the Potter kid, we all know that."

"Dumbledore seemed worried about Harry when I spoke to him this morning," whispers Mrs. Weasley.

"'Course he's worried," growls Moody. "The boy's seeing things from inside You-Know-Who's snake... Obviously, Potter doesn't realize what that means, but if You-Know-Who's possessing him—"

Seeing things from inside the snake? Harry said he saw it from the outside. All of us look at him fear embedded in our eyes. What could any of this mean?