THE NEW HEAVEN AND EARTH | RON WEASLEY [BOOK FIVE]

1999

It wasn't as though she had intended to make the nurse feel bad. She was only doing her job. Gene had very easily forgotten about the implications of the name she held, even a year on, where the end of the war was still not so far in the past.

Gene made her way toward the elevators and pressed the button for the fourth floor and arrived swiftly, before walking through the long corridor. A woman with a small creature that seemed to have enveloped her hand whole had rushed past her, taking her place in the elevator to rush back down to the first floor.

Moments later, Gene stood outside ward twelve, her smile widening as she watched through the glass pane for a moment. Lorelai was sat up in bed, her lips moving as she was busy in conversation before quirking up into one of her unmistakable grins.

Gene knocked thrice, hearing her gentle voice say, "Come in!" and she did as told.

"Fancy seeing you here." Gene raised an eyebrow before beckoning her old friend in for a hug.

"To what do we owe the pleasure?" he said, returning the hug just as warmly, "The famous Gene Fiordalis." he mused.

"Very funny, Draco." Gene rolled her eyes, gently nudging him in the side before making her way toward Lorelai, who had already begun to stand. "Oh–!"

Lorelai practically threw herself at Gene, her arms wrapping so tightly around her, she could barely breathe, but she had matched the embrace with equal enthusiasm.

"Where's Weasley?" Draco asked, gesturing for Gene to take the seat that he occupied before her arrival.

"Working," Gene said, sitting down with a sigh.

Gene and Ron made it their priority to visit Lorelai no less than three times a week, even though she encouraged them not to. But her recovery had been the most important thing to Gene, and she was going to ensure that she was there for it all.

The effects of Dolohov's curse had been nearly fatal, according to Nurse Marth, who had been attending to Lorelai since that fateful day in May. Nearly fatal, but not quite. Nurse Marth said that Lorelai was a true fighter.

Her memories had been sparse at the beginning of her treatment, which started in June of last year. It had been a slow process and often discouraging, at times, but eventually, the results were beginning to show.

At first, Lorelai could only remember faint memories from the past, long before she had attended Hogwarts and before she knew who Gene and Draco were, leaving them distraught for quite some time.

Only around February had the first signs of progress come about. Gene had received a phone call from Draco in the early hours of the morning, no later than three, in which he had done a lot of yelling, which woke a very irritated Ron up.

But more importantly, Lorelai had remembered something. Specifically, Gene. Their first Christmas together, apparently.

From then on, the treatment grew smoother and the months that followed were easier to manage, now that Gene was on the way to having her best friend back.

In less than a weeks time, Lorelai was going to be discharged from St. Mungo's, finally having completed her treatment and deemed completely healed.

"How comes you're here today?" Lorelai asked, eyeing Gene with a particular curiosity that had always made her nervous, "You don't usually come on Saturdays."

With her remarkable recovery and the exceptional help from the wonderful nurses of St. Mungo's, Lorelai had gained a new sense of knowledge, one that was soon going to get Gene into trouble.