A Wizard's Teeth and Muggle Treatment

A Wizard's Teeth and Muggle Treatment

(by Melrakki)

„And you are Ronald Weasley, dear?" Mrs Granger was standing in the doorway of number 24 Whitebrush Street and was smiling at her daughter, Hermione Granger, and the tall boy with the freckled face standing next to her.

Ron nodded politely. „Yes, Mrs Granger. It's - er - it's a pleasure to - erm..."

„Oh, it's all right, dear," Mrs Granger stopped Ron's awkward attempt to greet her nicely. She shook his hand and beckoned them both in. „Hermione has told a lot about you. Do come in and be our guest."

Ron, whose cheeks had gone slightly pink, looked at Hermione. She smiled and nodded encouragingly, and the two of them entered the Grangers' home.

They were in their fifth year at Hogwarts, and it was Easter holidays. Ron was Hermione's boyfriend. They had been a steady couple since Hallowe'en, and Hermione's parents had been eager to know him since Hermione had told them when she was at home over Christmas. Although Ron originally didn't want to leave Hogwarts for Easter, because that would leave Harry alone, Harry had encouraged him to go, and he had told him he wouldn't mind, as Seamus Finnigan had announced to be staying at Hogwarts, too, so Harry would have someone to hang around with (in fact, Harry had been glad Ron and Hermione would visit Hermione's parents and would leave Harry unwatched in his attempts to get a girlfriend himself; Harry had been more and more interested in Parvati Patil, and he knew Ron and Hermione didn't like her too much because of her and Lavender Brown's deep admiration of their Divination teacher, Professor Trelawney).

So, Ron was nervously standing in the Grangers' living room and was waiting for what would be awaiting him. He had never been to someone else for a holiday, and the fact that he as the boyfriend of the house's daughter would be watched intently didn't help his nervousness at all.

But Mrs Granger was very kind and treated him like an old friend or relative, almost like an own son. The way she fussed about the state of his hand-me-down clothes reminded him of his own mother and her behaviour towards Harry whenever he visited the Burrow. And when Mr Granger came home in the evening, Ron found someone who immediately started this typical sort of man-to-man talk with him, while Hermione and Mrs Granger were doing the dishes and the laundry.

* * *

Ron had been with the Grangers for a week. It was Saturday, and they were sitting at the dining room table and having lunch.

Suddenly a tiny cracking noise was heard and Ron yelped of sudden pain. Mrs Granger looked up.

„What is it, dear?" she asked concerned. „Is there something wrong with the meal?"

„No, it's marvellous, really," said Ron, holding his hand before his mouth and spitting something into it. „But I think I broke one of my teeth," he continued, and showed them all a part of a premolar. He grinned sheepishly, but the next moment he grimaced of stinging pain.

„Oh, that's not good, boy!" exclaimed Mr Granger, and came over to him. „Let me have a look. Don't worry, my wife and I are dentists, as you've certainly been told by Hermione."

Ron reddened. „I - I think - I reckon it'll be over in a sec," he tried to keep Mr Granger away from him, but Hermione's father insisted: „Not to worry, Ronald. Just let me have a look at it. Now, now, open your mouth a bit - yeah, that's it - oh my, this doesn't look good."

„What's wrong?" Ron asked with a slightly shaking voice.

„I will have to take the rest of the tooth out, boy," replied Mr Granger. „If not, you will get inflammation, and that'll be far worse, I can tell you that."

Ron began to sweat. „You - you have to..."

„Yes. Best we do it straight away, and it'll be over. Just follow me."

Ron gulped. „But I'm not used to Muggle dentists, you know."

„Oh, not to worry about that. You will be given an anaesthetic injection, and after that you won't feel any pain at all. Trust me, it'll all be fine."

Hermione took Ron's hand and squeezed it. „Go on, Ron, you'll be fine." She smiled at him. „Be brave, be my fearless knight." And under her breath, so that only Ron could hear it, she added: „There will be more than adequate reward for your daring..." She grinned mischievously.

Ron got even more nervous. „C - can't we instead just floo over to Hogwarts and see Madam Pomfrey? I would rather..."

„Ron, you cannot floo to Hogwarts. How often do I have to tell you?" Hermione answered impatiently. „Now go on, or do you want to suffer pain for the rest of the holidays?" She smiled at him and patted his shoulder.

Ron swallowed, but gave in.

* * *

„What? You are going to - to - pierce me with that thing?" Ron was terrified, seeing the big syringe in Mr Granger's right hand.

Mr Granger was patient, almost amused by Ron's only weakly hidden fear of the unavoidable „Muggle treatment" of his tooth problems.

„Ronald, please calm down. Yes, the injection may hurt a little bit, but if I were you, I'd rather endure this for a short moment, and be free of pain after the following treatment."

Ron muttered something not understandable, though Mr Granger thought to have caught up words like „If I'd have known all this" and „funny Easter holidays" and „Snape couldn't've been worse". But finally he gave in again.

Luckily the dentist's surgery wasn't in the same building as the Grangers' home, so neither Hermione nor Mrs Granger could hear anything of the noise Ron made occasionally during the following treatment...

When Ron and Mr Granger came back home, Ron looked as if he had just fought the final battle against the evil Lord Voldemort and the entire army of his Death Eaters. Hermione ran towards him and flung her arms around his neck.

„Ron! Ron, are you okay?"

„Ooohh!" was all Ron managed out.

Mr Granger couldn't avoid a grin. „Your friend was - erm - very brave, Hermione, so we got over the problem rather - erm - effectively, so to say..."

„Oh, my poor boy," Hermione comforted Ron, stroking his hair, as he sat on a chair in the kitchen and moved his jaw carefully. Hermione started to make him a cup of camomile tea; Ron didn't notice that she too wasn't able to hold back a slight grin while turning to the cupboard in order to take out the teabag, sugar, a cup and a spoon. But he got used to enjoying her acting like a mother hen with him rather quickly.

Later that day, the reward Hermione had promised him for his bravery made him forget all pain, torture and suffering in a very effective way...

* * *

- THREE DAYS LATER -

„Feeling better, Ron, dear?" Mrs Granger asked Ron, sitting at the breakfast table. Ron had been suffering badly since Mr Granger had extracted his damaged tooth. Being not used to „Muggle treatment", as he named it, Ron had made even more fuss about it than he usually did concerning pain.

But this morning he had gotten up unusually early, and he'd taken a little walk around the town the Grangers lived in. Hermione was wondering where he was until he came happily into the kitchen, surprising her with a freshly plucked bunch of corn poppy he'd taken from the field at the end of the street.

„Yeah, I think it's all right by now," Ron answered to Mrs Granger's question. „Well, it's missing - the tooth, I mean - I'm used to chew on that side of my mouth. But it's better that way than with only a half one causing pain or - what was it called - inflammation."

„You can be sure of that, my boy," Mrs Granger assured him. „If my husband hadn't taken charge of it immediately, your cute freckles would be of double size by now because of a terribly swollen up cheek."

Hermione suddenly snorted into her bowl of corn flakes.

„What?" Ron asked astonished.

„Your cute freckles!" Hermione said, nearly spitting out the orange juice she'd just drunk. She swallowed down a mouthful of juice and corn flakes and set up a serious expression. „You're lucky Malfoy isn't around here anywhere. He would have a field day, be sure of that."

Ron scowled a bit, but then added: „Oh, you think he'd be worst? Be happy about not having a pair of brothers like Fred and George..." He took a bite of sausage and started to eat it, but suddenly froze, his eyes widening in terror.

„What is it?" Hermione asked abashed.

Ron didn't answer. He fumbled in his mouth and then held up a small piece of something that unmistakeably looked like the upper part of - a tooth.

„Oh dear!" Hermione exclaimed with resignation.

Mrs Granger, who had just been out in the hallway to get the post, came in and noticed that something was wrong. She came rushing over to Ron and saw the piece of tooth he was still holding. Ron gaped at the tooth, then at Mrs Granger, then at the tooth again.

Mrs Granger cleared her throat. „Well, this seems to be asking for some - er - treatment, as I can see."

Ron gulped.

„Most unfortunately my husband isn't at home at the moment," Mrs Granger went on, „so I think you have to deal with me instead, Ron."

She looked at him with a firm and determined expression. Ron still wasn't able to say anything. He was looking so terrified that Hermione couldn't help but turning around and trying hard to stifle a laugh at his expression.

„You know the way, Ronald, I presume," Mrs Granger said, beckoning him with her.

Ron tried to object, but Hermione gave him a piercing look that reminded him strongly of the gaze Professor McGonagall used to give her students when only words weren't persuasive enough. As a result, Ron gathered his bravery together again, despite of the strong reluctance that still persisted trying to convince him that it actually wasn't a very attractive prospect that was awaiting him in the surgery on the opposite side of the street.

And so the knight in not so shining armour went into battle again...

* * *