Chapter 324 — Visit
After offering a few more words of comfort and advice, Professor McGonagall let them leave.
"By the way, be extra careful with your Quidditch equipment," she kindly reminded them at the end.
There was no real danger, and she was already a fan of it. If she had been decades younger, she might even have joined in herself, so for now, she decided to turn a blind eye.
Students needed other activities to relieve their stress, after all.
Principled and traditional, but not rigid or inflexible.
Those were the qualities of an excellent teacher.
The group left Professor McGonagall's office somewhat dejectedly and returned listlessly to the lounge.
They looked like a row of wilted eggplants.
Angelina walked over and asked with concern, "George, are you all right? We all participated in the indoor Quidditch game. Why should you two be the ones punished? This isn't Professor McGonagall's style. I'm going to find her right now."
As his girlfriend, Angelina naturally cared about him deeply.
George simply began collecting his Quidditch equipment in a daze. At first glance, it really did look as though it was going to be confiscated and handed over.
But when he saw Angelina about to confront McGonagall, he quickly grabbed her hand.
"It has nothing to do with that. We just want to rest for a while."
His eyes were slightly red, and he began to choke up.
This was completely different from his usual carefree self.
Angelina gently patted George on the shoulder.
As a confident leader, she felt that this was the only way she could comfort her boyfriend for the moment.
He would probably confide in her later.
Over the following days, the Weasleys were somewhat distracted in class. Some of the teachers seemed to have heard about what had happened and were more lenient toward their inattentiveness.
There was one exception.
Mad-Eye Moody.
His requirements were actually even stricter.
"You need to work harder. This time, your father was lucky. But next time, you might be the one protecting him. I think you should have understood some things by now."
He said this to Ron.
Ron nodded emphatically and began practicing even more diligently.
This was the first time he had truly felt the weight of responsibility.
Danger was indeed very close to them.
Each day seemed to last an eternity. They longed to leave school as soon as possible and visit their father and the rest of their family.
After a long wait, the first Hogsmeade weekend finally arrived.
Professor McGonagall signed their permission forms, allowing them to leave the school together to visit Arthur and their family.
St Mungo's Hospital was located in central London, quite a distance from Hogwarts.
Before heading there, they went to Hogsmeade to buy some fruit. The two girls also bought several bouquets of flowers—calla lilies and lilies—to wish Arthur a speedy recovery.
To save time, they did not use Muggle transportation. Instead, they chose Floo Powder, which was also the usual means of travel for most wizards.
They sprinkled the glittering powder into the fireplace at the station, and green flames immediately shot upward. One after another, they stepped into the fire.
A dizzying, tearing sensation swept over them, leaving them no time to savor the experience.
The journey was over.
The Floo station they arrived at was located inside the restroom of a Muggle supermarket. The two girls emerged from the women's restroom, while the boys came out of the men's.
It seemed that whoever had chosen this location had been quite thoughtful, even providing them with a place to vomit.
After regrouping, they continued toward St Mungo's Hospital.
People came and went along the long street covered in graffiti, but as they continued farther in, the number of people gradually decreased.
Before them stood an old-fashioned red-brick department store called Purge & Dowse Ltd. It looked dilapidated and deserted. The shop window contained only a few broken mannequins, each wearing a crooked wig and standing in various poses, dressed in clothes that looked at least ten years out of date.
Large signs reading "Closed for Refurbishment" hung on the dusty doors.
There was only one particularly ugly female mannequin inside. Her false eyelashes were practically falling off, and she was wearing a green nylon dress.
The group walked straight through the glass and entered.
The quiet surroundings suddenly became noisy again.
They seemed to have arrived in a crowded waiting room, where rows of wizards and witches sat on rickety wooden chairs. Some were clearly patients, while others were presumably family members accompanying them.
Most were suffering from strange illnesses.
Some had faces covered in green boils, which was relatively understandable.
The most surprising sight was that some people actually had pig tails growing from their backs.
Well, perhaps it wasn't that surprising. Hagrid had done something similar to Dudley while disciplining him.
The weather wasn't cold, yet some people were wrapped in at least a dozen blankets, huddled in corners and shivering.
All sorts of bizarre illnesses rarely seen in the Muggle world were on display here.
"Excuse me, which ward is Mr. Arthur Weasley in? We're his juniors and have come to visit him."
Hermione stopped a man who was hurrying past. He was dressed in white, with a wand and bone embroidered across his chest.
The man shook his head.
Then he pointed toward a spot a short distance to his right, where a blonde witch was sitting behind a battered metal sign that read "Information Desk."
There was also a huge sign hanging above it.
Hermione paused there for a moment, squinting at it.
"Sorry to bother you."
Hermione quickly turned around.
She had almost remembered everything.
Just as they were about to go over and ask for directions, they heard Mrs. Weasley's voice.
She was waving at them from a corner. She quickly walked over and led them into a long queue.
"Don't worry. Your father is fine."
She affectionately patted Ron on the head.
"Harry, Hermione? You're here too? Arthur will be very happy."
As they walked, Mrs. Weasley chatted with them about various everyday matters.
They followed her through a pair of double doors and down a narrow corridor lined with portraits of famous healers.
Crystal bubbles filled with candles floated from the ceiling, resembling enormous soap bubbles.
Wizards and witches in green robes hurried in and out of the various doors. From one doorway came a yellowish stench accompanied by faint wailing.
They began climbing the stairs.
"Excuse me! Excuse me!"
A male Healer in a dark-green robe hurried down the stairs, carrying a basin filled with strange blue liquid that was constantly bubbling, as though it might splash over someone at any moment.
Hermione was unlucky.
She was struck hard and lost her balance. Fortunately, she quickly grabbed the railing and avoided falling.
But when she regained her balance and looked up, the others were nowhere to be seen.
She could only continue walking upward.
Relying on her memory, she recalled the layout of St Mungo's Hospital from the information sign she had seen on the first floor.