That night, on the fifth floor of St Mungo's Hospital, the Magical Injury ward was packed to capacity; even the corridors were crammed with Wizards who had been brought in.
Because he had been brought in early, Percy was lucky enough to get a bed, in the second ward on the left side of the corridor.
By the time Kael and Cedric rushed over, Mrs. Weasley was standing there anxiously, constantly looking toward the tightly closed door, as if by looking enough times she could somehow see through that solid wooden door.
Mr. Weasley was standing beside her, trying to comfort her.
"Don't worry, Molly, he'll be fine." One of his arms was around Mrs. Weasley's shoulders, and his other hand was clenched tight.
But from the way he kept glancing toward the door, it was obvious that he was just as unsettled inside.
Bill and Charlie were there as well; of the Weasleys, only the younger Ginny and Ron were not present, most likely because Mrs. Weasley didn't want them leaving the safe house and had not brought them along.
As for Fred and George, who had just come by… they were a short distance away, like two baboons that had stepped on a branding iron, both hands clapped over their ears, hopping in place in some sort of dance they themselves probably couldn't explain… uh, or maybe it wasn't a dance at all.
"Mrs. Weasley, how's Percy?" Kael walked over and asked.
"I don't know." Mrs. Weasley said hoarsely, her voice catching; tear tracks were still visible on her face, as if she had only just stopped crying.
"The Healer has been in there for a long time, but still hasn't come out…"
As she spoke, the door suddenly clicked open from the inside, and a middle‑aged Witch with a weary expression stepped out.
"All things considered, his condition is fairly good." She seemed to have something urgent to do; without waiting for Mrs. Weasley to ask, she quickly said, "Occlumency kept him from being too deeply harmed by the Imperio, and more fortunately, he was under the Crucio Curse for only a short time and his soul wasn't damaged. Now we just have to wait for him to wake up."
"Then when will he wake…" Mrs. Weasley wanted to ask for more details, but she had barely opened her mouth before the Healer was already pushing past them, striding off in another direction.
"Please move aside, there are still a lot of people waiting… If you don't have anything else, then leave as soon as you can, there are already too many people here."
Mrs. Weasley opened her mouth, hesitated for a moment, then stepped aside to give the Healer room to pass.
"Thanks…" the Healer said. She walked over to a Wizard lying in the corridor and bent down, using her Wand to check his condition. "Crucio Curse again. This day is really something. I hope they get those Herbs here soon, the ones in stock were gone ages ago…"
"There are too many of us; let's get out of here quickly." Mr. Weasley said in a low voice.
"You go back, I'm staying with Percy." Mrs. Weasley said, choking up.
"I don't think that's a good idea." Mr. Weasley said. "You heard her just now—Percy's injuries aren't severe, so we only need one person to stay… Bill."
Before Mrs. Weasley could speak, he called over his shoulder, "How about you stay here? If anything happens, remember to let us know right away with the Communication Coin."
"No problem, Dad, leave it to me!" Bill said.
As he spoke, two more people were brought in.
As they stepped aside to give way, Mrs. Weasley was also gently but firmly shepherded out of the corridor with the others, until they reached the staircase.
Since she was in the middle of the group, there was nothing she could do even if she wanted to; she could only be swept along with them, heading downstairs together.
When they reached the second floor, they passed another injured person being brought up, and Kael instinctively turned his head for a look.
Though it was only a hurried glance, he still recognized that the person on the stretcher was not a Ministry of Magic employee, but an employee of Flourish and Blotts; he had seen the man several times before when he'd gone there to buy books.
Could it be that, after leaving the Ministry of Magic, the Death Eaters had attacked Diagon Alley as well?
Though no news had reached them yet, judging by what he was seeing now, that was almost certainly the case—and it would also explain why St Mungo's Hospital was so crowded.
Kael kept his head turned, watching.
The Flourish and Blotts clerk was likewise being taken up to the fifth floor.
"Unknown Dark Magic injury, similar to Diffindo—where should we put him?" One of the stretcher-bearers called out loudly as they struggled through the packed corridor.
"End of the corridor, room on the left." A Healer on the fifth floor shouted back without turning his head. "Put him next to that Olivander, the Head Healer is right there!"
The two stretcher-bearers immediately ran forward, while Bill, who had stayed behind, pressed himself as close to the wall as he could, making a passage as wide as possible.
By this time, Mr. Weasley and the others, who had left earlier, had already stepped out onto the street outside St Mungo's Hospital.
Because of the hour, there wasn't another soul on that street; only the nearby lampposts flickered with a dim yellow light, brightening and dimming.
Looking at the dummy mannequin behind them, and at Mrs. Weasley sobbing softly, no one said a word.
After a bout of gut‑wrenching silence, Mr. Weasley stepped forward and put his arms around her shoulders, then, as if to change the subject, turned his head and said to Kael, "Happy birthday, Kael."
"And to Harry as well. Even though I've known for a long time that you two share a birthday, I still find it a bit miraculous every year around this time."
"Huh?" Kael froze for a moment, then realized it was already past midnight, into the thirtieth.