Gloves, Toaster and Toilets

So Arthur waited for the testing on his blood to be done. He was willing to wait the time because he knew that as soon as the testing would be done, he would be getting the antidote and out of the hospital. He didn't like waiting but knew that it could have been worse.

Smethwyck kept him updated through all the tests and occasionally asked for more blood. Arthur had started out not liking him much but now, he regarded him as he did Pye, as a friend. The werewolf had suddenly turned friendly to him and they talked like old friends. While he waited for testing to be done he mostly read newspapers, talked and slept. He was kept up with the news from the Order and still acted as part of it; he just could not take any action supporting that. In fact, the only thing that he found unfavorable was the thing he had forgotten about. He had not "talked" to the gloves for some time now. The last time he had talked to them was when he had brought up the possibility of stitches.

The end of holiday was coming for the kids and Arthur had been told that he would get the antidote soon. When he woke up alone in the ward he knew what he had to do. He had to take advantage of his being alone. He had to talk to the gloves.

Arthur took out his wand, parchment a quill and an inkbottle. He straightened out his sheets and performed a spell which hardened the sheets, so that he could use it to have something to write on. He spread the parchment over the hard area and used the inkbottle as a paperweight to one end and placed the quill in the middle of the parchment. He took out the gloves from his pockets and placed them on either side of the quill.

The gloves turned to Arthur somewhat hesitantly and picked up the quill as they always did. They started writing but turned towards Arthur every few seconds.

So you finally realized that we're sitting in your pockets, rotting away.

"Ye--No! I was busy and I couldn't talk to you as much as I would have wanted to." He understood why the gloves felt the way they did but did not expect them to be so bitter.

Busy with things more important than us, right?

"Well in a way--no, not like that. They're testing my blood and ask for more every few days. I'm not as strong as I was before all this started. My wife and the Order have been fussing over me and I couldn't just forget my duties. I couldn't get a chance to talk to you until now."

If it was possible for gloves, they immediately perked up. Well now you do have a chance to talk to us. What happened with the stitches and why are you getting your blood tested?

Arthur smiled. Yes, the gloves were back to normal. "All in good time, my friends. The stitches didn't exactly work--"

We told you not to mess around with muggle remedies. Didn't we tell you to keep away from them?

"Yes, well, spare me the speech. Molly already gave it to me, and probably the rest of the hall, too."

That was your wife? She woke us up. That's some spell that she knows.

Arthur was confused for a moment. "Oh no, she wasn't using the Sonorus Charm. She can just scream that loud naturally."

Yikes. So that's some voice she has.

"Yes, well, onto the rest of the story. The stitches seemed to work at first but they melted away. Smethwyck never found out but, Molly did. She screamed at me, as you heard. Smethwyck did find what he thinks is the antidote to the poison in my blood. That's what they're testing my blood for. They're checking that it will work and won't have any negative side effects."

See? If you had just waited for an antidote you would have avoided testing something you never even heard of before. The gloves paused. How are you now?

"Fine, fine, I'm just a little weak. I'm not so sure about Payne and Smythe, though."

The gloves of course had not yet found the names of the others in the ward and were confused. Who and who?

"Ah, sorry. I forgot that you didn't know. Robert Payne is the werewolf and Agatha Smythe is the woman with the chunk missing from her leg. Payne is starting to talk to me and Smythe keeps staring at me. Probably because Lupin, a werewolf friend, talked to Payne and Moody, a scary guy, talked to Smythe while Molly was screaming her throat out at me."

Ah. The gloves paused. Someone's coming. They dropped the quill and ran on their fingers, each to one of Arthur's pockets. Arthur looked at them in astonishment but nevertheless picked up the quill and started rolling up the parchment, as if he had finished a letter. He sealed the letter and put it away, with the quill and inkbottle. He took the spell off the bedspread and put the wand on the bedside table just as the door opened. It was Smethwyck.

What was unexpected was that Smethwyck was smiling. He was also carrying three vials full of liquid. One was silver, one was purple and the other was red. The red he recognized as the blood replenishing potion he had been taking since he came to St. Mungo's. The purple he knew was a dreamless sleep potion. The silver, however, he did not recognize.

"Well, Arthur, I think I have the antidote to the snake venom. First I want you to drink some more blood replenishing potion. The use of it has gotten rid of some of the venom. Then I'm going to give you the potion we made and a dreamless sleep potion so you can rest." Smethwyck handed Arthur the vials in that order: red, silver and purple. Arthur drank them all and after he drank the last drop of the dreamless sleep potion, he was asleep.

When Arthur woke up he felt better than he had in a long time. He wasn't tired and worn out anymore. He felt better than he had been before the snake bite. In his mind, he was thanking Smethwyck for healing him. As if on cue, that was the moment that Smethwyck came in.

"Oh, good. You're awake now. How are you feeling?" He was cautious of Arthur and did not seem overly enthusiastic.

Arthur, however, was overly enthusiastic. "Great!"

"Good," there was relief in his voice. "When you were asleep, I tested your blood and I'm almost positive that there's no more poison in your veins but other than that, I wasn't very sure."

"Well, I am very sure. I haven't felt this good for a while." Arthur was smiling widely and he reassured Smethwyck more than necessary.

"That is good. I'm going to tell your wife that you are free to go. I suggest that you say goodbye because you should be leaving tomorrow."

"Alright, I will." Smethwyck left and Arthur lay back down. He was finally leaving and he would still see the kids before they left. That day and the next would just be a lot of testing and resting but Arthur could deal with it because of the prize at the end.

The next day his testing was finally done and he was ready to leave the hospital. Bill, Fred and George came to pick him up in a car that had been "borrowed" by Mundungus. He was only wearing striped pajamas with a mackintosh over them. On the trip back to the Burrow, he chatted to his sons pleasantly. When he arrived home, he was greeted with his overbearing wife, his other kids and Hermione. They seemed happy to see him again. Molly was fussing again but he interrupted her by going to find Harry and Sirius. He walked through the house and saw that there were shapes moving in the kitchen rather bigger than Kreacher could ever be. The rest of the Weasleys and Hermione were on his heals, hurrying to catch up with him.

With a smile on his face, he walked into the kitchen and announced, to nobody in particular, "Cured! Completely Cured!" When he saw what was going on in the kitchen, however, that smile left his face. Severus and Sirius were facing each other with wands drawn and Harry was in between them, trying to separate them. "Merlin's beard, what's going on here?"

Severus and Sirius lowered their wands. Severus put his wand away and walked across the room. He turned back and addressed Harry, "Six o'clock Monday evening, Potter." Severus left and Sirius glared after him.

Arthur found that this gave him no information; it just confused him even more. "But what's been going on?"

Sirius was breathing heavily but he was careful when he answered. "Nothing Arthur. Just a friendly little chat between two old school friends...." He smiled but Arthur knew that it was not a real smile. "So ... you're cured? That's great news, really great...."

Molly came to the rescue and lead Arthur into a chair. "Yes, isn't it? Healer Smethwyck worked his magic in the end, found an antidote to whatever that snake's got in its fangs, and Arthur's learned his lesson about dabbling in Muggle medicine, haven't you dear?" the save part was short-lived with this threat.

"Yes, dear." Arthur answered, rather frightened.

That meal should have been enjoyable because the kids had to go back to school but the tension was evident. Even Sirius, the most cheerful of the group seemed sullen. Arthur tried to make the most of it but he could not. Arthur hoped that maybe the grudges being held could dissolve but he knew that it was impossible. Everyone else seemed to be neutral moods and the meal did not come off to be a total disaster. The next day would not be much more cheerful and Arthur would have to get back to work. It would get better soon.