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Author: Lady Chi Story: Double Trouble Rating: Teens Setting: Pre-OotP Status: Completed Reviews: 4 Words: 54,062
Once again, I'm sorry for the delay, but I'm afraid the one chapter every two days or so goal I had set for myself is a bit unrealistic. School has started, so one every week would be a good estimate. Sirius was not feeling well at all. There was a pounding in his brain that refused to go away, and his muscles were having spasms. He needed to get to help, and quickly, he knew, but he couldn't force his body out of bed. Through the haze of his illness, he saw his Port-Floo, a recent invention by the Weasley twins that allowed for more portable communication between wizards, sitting on his desk. It was essentially a lighter with a Floo powder loader, but they sold for ridiculous amounts of money that varied with the style and color the consumer wanted. Sometimes it was good to be personally acquainted with the Weasley family, as Sirius had received a major discount. He reached for it, and whispered "R. Weasley" into the receiving end. It only took a minute for Hermione to pick up. "Hello, Weasley residence," she said, smiling charmingly, although all that one could see through the tiny flame was her mouth. In the distance, Sirius could hear one of Ron and Hermione's two children babbling. After two years of searching and tests and heartbreaks, thanks to artificial insemination, Hermione was finally able to have kids, and Ron couldn't have been happier. "Hermione, it's me, Sirius." "Oh, my goodness. You don't sound well. What's wrong?" "I don't know, Hermione. Listen, can someone, anyone really, come and pick me up? I think I'm going to have to go to a medi-wizard for this one, and I can't trust myself to Apparate, Floo, or even fly over to the healer's office." Sirius didn't mention that the doctor in the town was deathly afraid of him, and probably wouldn't treat him. "I'll send Ron over there as quickly as possible. He's at work, but it probably won't take long. I'd come and get you myself, but Miranda and Charlie are eating breakfast, and…" "I understand, Hermione." Sirius closed his eyes and fought the urge to sleep. Somehow he knew it was important not to lose consciousness. "I wish there was some way…" "Just call Ron, Hermione. Hurry, I can't stay awake much longer." When Sirius closed the flap on his Port-Floo, Hermione immediately changed over to Ron's personal line. "Captain Weasley here." "Ron, you've got to hurry. There's an emergency." "At home?" he asked, slightly panicked. "No, no, Sirius just called me. He's ill, or something. He can't get out of his bed." Ron cursed softly. "Damn. He's been working too hard. It's the first day of the school term, too. He's got a class to teach." "I know," Hermione whispered in agreement. "It's really going to upset him that he can't be there, but Ron, he just didn't sound good at all." "I'll take off right now." "Port-Floo me if anything goes wrong, okay?" "I will," Ron assured her. "I love you." "I love you too." With that, Hermione hung up. Ron took a deep breath and threw his crutches behind his desk. "I'm taking off, O'Reilly," Ron shouted as he ran towards the unwarded section of the department so that he could Apparate to Sirius's home in Whistleshire, a wizarding town. "What's wrong?" Raina asked, running out of her office. "Family emergency?" "Yes, you could say that," Ron called back. "State the emergency, Weasley," she said, matching his pace. "An old friend of the family isn't feeling well and can't get out of bed." "Well, good heavens," Raina muttered. "Is he or she older?" "No," Ron said shortly. "He's probably what some people would call middle-aged, but it seems like he just now got to start living his life." "Who is it?" "Sirius Black." The name made her stop, but Ron did not. He kept moving at the fast and furious pace he had set for himself. He didn't care if everyone knew about his association with the ex-fugitive. It shouldn't matter, because everyone knew now that Peter was the one responsible for the Potters' deaths. "You're going to go see Sirius Black?" Raina demanded again when she caught up. "Yes, Commander," Ron said, his impatience showing through in his eyes. "Here's the Apparition point. I'll fill out a form explaining everything when I get back." "If you say that he's ill, perhaps I ought to go with you," Raina said suddenly. "I have a feeling that something deeper is going on here." "Like what?" Ron asked. "I'll not say anything until I have more than a fey feeling," Raina said firmly. "Now, let's go." "Sirius!" Ron shouted at the door of his old professor's house once they arrived. "I'm coming in." "He's probably unconscious," Raina said. "We'll have to move quickly." "Right," Ron agreed, and his worry grew larger when all it took to open the door was a simple unlocking spell. "Does he normally leave his door unwarded like that?" Raina asked. "No," Ron said as they headed toward Sirius's bedroom. "He's very anal about his security. He has to be, you know. Some people still don't believe he's innocent." Raina said nothing, and even held back a little when they discovered Sirius lying face down on the bed. "He's alive," Ron said after checking his pulse. "But just barely." "We've got to get him to St. Mungo's," Raina insisted. "I've got an emergency Portkey on me." "You carry an emergency Portkey with you?" Ron asked. "That must be a bear to explain to the budget people." "As the Commander of Magical Law Enforcement, I'm entitled to certain rights. Like privacy and yes, even safety." Ron nodded. "You're going to have to help me lift him. He's a heavy bloke." "All right," Raina said. "I've got his upper body." They didn't speak anymore as they lifted Sirius's body together. Carrying him like this eased the burden on both of them, but the real reason they were sharing the load was Ron's legs. As time passed, his limp only grew worse. One night, he had collapsed after an investigation, and from then on, he was forced to walk with crutches most of the day. The limitation of his freedom annoyed Ron, but kept Hermione happy. Besides, without them, he would probably lose the use of his lower body all together. With a touch of her hand to the Portkey, Raina, Ron and Sirius were all transported to St. Mungo's. "What's going on?" The lady at the front desk was obviously confused. "You're not supposed to be able to…" "Magical Law Enforcement," Raina snapped. "I'm supposed to be able to Portkey in here. I've got a patient who needs immediate care." The witch nodded, and seconds later a time of medi-wizards came out. "Get out of the way," one of them said sharply to Ron. "We'll take it from here." "Boris," the other warned. "Watch it." "Just get him taken care of," Ron interrupted, and watched with relief as they carried him by stretcher to another room. "You've done all you can do," Raina whispered to him when he settled down heavily into a chair. Ron sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. "He's a great bloke, you know." Raina lifted her eyebrows. "Really?" "A lot of people don't take the time to get to know him, because of the whole ex-fugitive thing, but Sirius Black is one of the best men I know." Cupping her chin in her hands, Raina sat down to listen. It was rare to hear Ron speak like this. Apparently he did so a lot in the company of his wife, but he tended to be tight-lipped and quick with his commander. "He never gave up on Hermione and I having kids. You remember, we had the hardest time," he continued, and Raina nodded. "Well, Sirius would come over at odd moments when Hermione was down and cheer her up. He has this… I don't know, energy, that makes you think anything is possible." "I know people like that," Raina whispered in agreement. "Sirius is the only father Harry ever knew," Ron said. "Heaven help me if anything happens to Sirius while I was there." "They're that close?" Raina asked. "Oh, yes," Ron said and closed his eyes. "I suppose I have to tell him now." "Don't you dare get up out of that seat, Ronald Weasley." The voice across the hospital lobby was firm, logical, and in control. It was Hermione. "Hermione!" He nearly rose to his feet, but at the look in her eye, settled for waiting until she came to him. "I see you don't have your crutches with you. Have you been walking without them again?" Ron shrugged. "It was Sirius's life or my legs. I went with Sirius." Hermione's face paled. "Was it really that bad?" "He was unconscious when I got to him," Ron said, and sighed. "Now I have to call Harry." "I'll do it," Hermione said. "I mean, I'll talk to Ginny, and then I'll talk to Harry. She'll take care of Harry until they can get to the hospital." "This is September 1st," Raina reminded them. "Harry and Ginny are probably dropping off the triple terror triplets." Ron grinned at the mention of his niece and nephews. "Yes, they are." "The train leaves soon. We'll call them afterwards," Hermione decided. "There's no reason to ruin Jessica, Jamie and Mick's day unless we absolutely have to." "They're going to work out something's wrong when Sirius isn't there at the head table," Ron said. "I know," Hermione agreed, "but we can send them an owl once we know more information. It's important that they go to school with the rest of the children." "Why?" Ron asked densely. "So that the other first-years won't feel like the Potter children are going to get special treatment or any other such nonsense because of their father," Hermione explained. "Like Harry would ever let that happen," Ron huffed. "You know that, and I know that, but there are still some people out there…" Hermione's voice trailed off. "I know," Ron said. "I don't know why they can't just let Harry be." Hermione sighed. "You know, Ginny thinks she might be pregnant again." "What?" Ron was quite honestly shocked. "I thought they'd stopped." Hermione laughed. "They did too." "It's those Weasley genes," Raina said with a grin. "You're prolific, the lot of ya." "Merely insuring there will always be Weasleys in the wizarding world," Ron said, as he always said when that particular comment came up. Hermione smiled and blushed a little. Raina caught it, and narrowed her eyes. Yes, the girl was glowing. "Do they ever stop?" she thought to herself. "This O'Reilly girl is going to go back to the office. I'm after getting some work done. Weasley, you'll be letting me know the verdict, right?" "Yes." As she walked off, Raina could hear Ron and Hermione talking. "I've always liked her," Hermione said. "She's a good officer," Ron said shortly, and that made Raina blush and pause a moment. Compliments from Ron Weasley and Harry Potter were few and far between, and were usually reserved for each other, not other officers. Shaking her head and muttering something about being an old woman, Raina left the building without meeting Sirius Black. ** "So," a voice hissed, "it has begun. The true test of good versus evil." "Yes master," another answered, "the children begin their journey to school today without the guidance of Sirius Black." Sneering, the first voice nodded. "Sneaky low-life bastard." "Yes, master." "Only time will tell if the Potter children are worthy of their name," the first voice continued. "Perhaps the girl child, the Malfoy, could be persuaded to join our side in the future." "All in good time, master." "Time," the first voice answered, "is something I'm a little short on right now." The second voice said nothing. "Granger and Weasley were able to have children," the first voice said. "That cuts into our plan a little." "Not too much, master." "When did they hospitalize Black?" "Not more than two hours ago, master." "His status?" "Critical, master." "He's still alive?" the first voice hissed. "Yes, master." There was a note of appreciation in the first voice's reply. "Just like him." "If I may, master, Potter is typically upset about the matter. It seems that he has made the connection between Malfoy and the disease that we have infected Black with." "Potter has nothing to worry about. As long as Black practices no dark magic, the disease won't kill him." "They don't know that, master." "Didn't they ever discover the bodies of the other Death Eaters who died?" "No, master, they did not." "Simpletons," the first voice said, disdain and arrogance coloring his voice. "Our only worries, then, are Potter and Weasley." "Quite a few Weasleys, master." "Bah. There's always quite a few Weasleys. They're prolific." "Yes, master." "We set our plan in motion tonight." "Yes, master." "You command." "With pleasure, master." Thanks for hanging on through the time change! We'll be going back and covering past events and such through the eyes of the characters, which is the way I had originally intended to tell the story. Jessie, Jamie and Mick all start school in the next chapter! If you're enjoying this, please take a moment and join my Yahoo! Group for discussion and review replies. Also, you get update notices. Come on in, we'd love to have you!
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