Broken Bits

37. The Role of the Minister

"You said she would be fine Ron!" 

"She is fine! Just a stupefy spell, we ran out of time!" 

"Guys, please! Can I talk now!?"

"No Harry!"

Hermione reached behind her head slowly, feeling the edge of the pillow her head was resting on and chucked it in the direction of the voices. She heard a sharp intake of breath, before she was suddenly being smothered. 

"You are never, ever leaving my sight again Granger. Why is it any time you go anywhere, you come back hurt?" Fred pleaded with her, his hands ghosting over her body unsure where to settle them. 

Hermione could hear the laced fear in his voice, but she pushed on. They could argue later. 

"Percy.." Hermione choked out, turning to press herself into Fred. "I need to speak to Percy." She whispered, her voice was hoarse but that wasn't anything new. 

Fred hugged Hermione to his chest, allowing himself to let a few tears slip before taking a couple grounding breaths. Fred's world had shattered when Ron suddenly appeared in the middle of the living room carrying an unconscious Hermione with a panicking Harry clutching his arm. 

Hermione hadn't a clue how long she had been out for, but from the pain still radiating from the back of her head she assumed it hadn't been for long. Her vision blurred as she opened her eyes again, she couldn't make sense of the lights and where Fred's hair started or ended. 

"No, you need to rest and you are still bleeding,' Fred brushed Hermione's hair aside from the wound on the back of her skull.  'Merlin Granger! Why is it every time!?" Fred was frantic now, and he couldn't help but to shout his frustrations. His fingers stained crimson as he pushed her hair away, but her curls continued to stick to her head. 

Ron reached forward to drag Fred back, as surely Hermione shouldn't have to handle Fred's frustrations while dealing with the after effects of being stupefied. But Hermione reached up at once, her face twisting in pain as she cupped Fred's face and dragged it down to the crook of her neck. 

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry." She whispered, reaching up she buried her hand in his hair. She let herself melt against him, pushing her body against him in anyway she could. 

Fred began sobbing, his shoulders heaving as it poured out of him. 

"You can't, you can't do this anymore." Fred's voice broke as a sob choked him. "You have to stop." Fred pleaded, winding his arms around Hermione, he pulled her into him. The back of his knuckles brushed the arm of the couch, leaving a trail of Hermione's blood. 

Ron backed away as his mother stepped into the room, carrying a wet cloth and a few bottles of potions. She came to a stop beside Ron, watching as Hermione comforted Fred against her. It broke her heart, seeing the broken couple on her couch once again. It felt like it had been mere hours since the last time. 

Fred had been in agony all afternoon. Mere minutes after they had left, he stormed outside to pace the garden. Wearing a line in the soft soil, muttering to himself and tugging on his hair. Only once he heard his mother shout in alarm had he hurried back inside. 

The sight of Hermione bleeding in Ron's arms had sent him into a tailspin. He rattled off every name in Ron's face as Ron struggled to settle her on the couch. At once his mother had slipped away to find the supplies to nurse her back to health. Ron merely took the verbal abuse, not once offering an explanation as Harry tried to tell the story. The words came out jumbled, as he couldn't exactly pin point when everything suddenly went south. 

The rest of the Weasley's sat at the kitchen table, at a loss for what to do. All they could manage was staring at the worn wood, and grasping one another's hands under the table. They were getting tired of the screams, and cries of agony that seemed to fill the Burrow weekly.