Kingsley and Hermione coordinated details as much as possible. Once the diagnosis was given, Hermione and a handful of other occupants in Grimmauld Place were also placed under a precautionary three-day quarantine in another room.
Padma was sent foraging and took Parvati with her. The girls fell into a harpy trap. They fought their way out, but Parvati ended up with lacerations down her back, and Padma's right foot was almost entirely chewed off. Hermione consulted with Poppy through the quarantine wards, but there was nothing that could be done to restore Padma's foot.
Once everyone under temporary quarantine had been cleared, Kingsley placed Hermione in charge of monitoring Ginny's condition. She would visit Ginny every four days. The rest of the time, Ginny would have to be kept in isolation. No one would enter her room. Dobby was made responsible for caring for Ginny day to day and getting meals to her.
When Molly Weasley recovered from her indignation at Kingsley for not being permitted to see her daughter, she was effusive in her appreciation to Hermione for how meticulously Hermione had mapped out Ginny's care.
Researching midwifery on the sly was folded into the the endless list of things Hermione secretly did when she wasn't in the hospital ward covering for Padma.
The Resistance was too busy for word of Ginny's sickness to cause ripples for long. Once the initial panic that the disease might spread had abated, things slipped back into a tenuous sense of normalcy. Hermione only had to dread Ron and Harry's reactions when they returned from Scotland.
Her whole life felt tense without any sense of relief. She felt worn through; stretched out until she was nearly transparent.
She worried every day about Draco, but seeing him was just a different kind of agony. He was gaunt and on edge. He'd barely look at her; he'd barely speak to her. He trained her. He turned over his information. He accepted his orders from Moody. He left.
When she tried to speak to him, he just grew colder.
After several more weeks, he paused and looked her over again rather than just leaving. “Tell Moody to feed you. You look like a corpse.”
He vanished before Hermione could say anything.
When she returned to Grimmauld Place, Angelina looked up from a match of Wizard's Chess with Katie, her expression sober. “Harry, Ron, and Terry are back. The Order is debriefing now. No one has told them about Ginny yet.”
Hermione nodded and went to the dining room.
“The castle has so many wards it's hard to even find,” Harry was saying in a low reluctant voice when Hermione opened the door. He was slumped low in his chair. His eyes had such dark shadows under them that they looked bruised. “We went through the ruins of Hogsmeade trying to find any of the old tunnels. We tried digging out the Honeydukes tunnel, but it's collapsed. So we had the idea of trying to approach through the Black Lake. But when we went in, inferi started coming up and — that's — that's when Zacharias…”
“It wasn't Harry's fault. The lake was my idea,” Ron broke in as soon as Harry's voice trailed away. “When he tried to go in after Zacharias, I stopped him.”
Ron had a faintly dazed expression, as though he were in shock. Harry refused to look over at Ron.
“That was the right decision, Ron. Inferi in water are nearly impossible to fight since they can't be set on fire,” Remus said, resting a hand on Ron's shoulder.
“That's not enough of a reason to let Zacharias drown,” Harry said in a bitter voice, his expression twisted with frustration. He was holding a battered quill and steadily ripping the barbs off each side as he twisted it around and around in his fingers. “There was something we could have done if Ron hadn't wasted time restraining me and left Terry to go in alone.”
“Keeping you alive is Ron's job, Harry,” Kingsley said. “Those are his orders; if you're belligerent about it, I'll reassign him and take over your protection personally. Do you object to your partner, Harry?”
Harry glared at Kingsley, crushing the quill in his hand. “No.”
“Good. Anything else to report?”
Harry was silent.
“We pulled out after we lost Zacharias,” Ron said in a dull tone, his whole body seemed limp. “Most of the mission was spent surveying and then tunneling.”
Kingsley gave a slow nod. “Getting into Hogwarts is vital to bringing this war to an end. You'll have a few days to recover, and then we'll send in a larger team.”
“I'd like to volunteer for the next mission,” Remus said, leaning forward. “It's clear of the next full moon. I'm familiar with the Forbidden Forest; I have a few ideas that may be worth exploring.”
“Me too,” Tonks nodded.
“Alright. Harry, Ron, Remus, and Tonks from the Order. Moody and I will look over the rosters and choose two more teams.”
Harry nodded and looked distractedly toward the door. “Alright. Anything else?”
“Yes…,” Kingsley said slowly.
Hermione cringed inwardly. Harry looked sharply over at Kingsley. “What is it?”
“While you were gone, Ginny Weasley contracted Spattergroit disease—“
“Is she alright? I need to see her,” Harry jumped to his feet, his eyes wide and panicked.
“She's been placed in quarantine,” Kingsley said before Harry could bolt to the hospital ward. “Spattergroit is non-lethal but highly contagious; an outbreak could have a devastating effect on the Order. She is not permitted any visitors until she recovers.”
Harry swallowed and gripped the back of his chair. “Fine. How long does it take? A couple weeks?”
The room turned to look at Hermione by the door. Harry's expression grew guarded as he met her eyes.
“Spattergroit can be a long-term illness. It normally takes months but it can even last up to a year before the contagious elements finally fade. It's impossible to say how long she'll be in the quarantine,” Hermione said quietly.
“Months? A year?” Harry looked ready to fall over backwards. “You — you can't isolate her for that long. That's torture. There must be a way for me to visit her. Some kind of potions. Or spells.”
“Granger, as our most qualified medical professional, is the only one cleared to visit her in order to monitor her condition. Dobby delivers her meals, since House-elves are immune to disease and not known to carry it. You can send letters and messages with them. They are the only ones permitted in the room. If you make any attempts to come in contact with Ginny, you will potentially endanger the entire war effort. Harry, I will only say this once. If you try to violate the quarantine, she'll be moved to an undisclosed location until she recovers. If you have questions, take them to Granger. Meeting dismissed.”
Everyone else filed out. After a few minutes, Hermione stood alone with Harry.
“She'll — she'll be okay, won't she?” Harry said once the room was empty. “Is she in pain?”
“In time she'll be fine,” Hermione said, fidgeting her hands nervously behind her back. “She's not in any pain. She's taking restorative potions and she spends a lot of time sleeping. Spattergroit recovery is very reliant on good health, I'm doing everything possible to make sure she is comfortable and happy.”
“Okay.” Harry nodded repeatedly. “That — that's good. Do you know how she got it?”
Hermione shook her head. “It's fungal. No one else has caught it. It may just have been bad luck.”
Harry nodded and stepped closer, his expression grew earnest. “Can I see her? Just once? Just for a minute. I just want to make sure she knows I love her.”
The corner of Hermione's mouth twitched as she shook her head. “I'm sorry, Harry, she's in quarantine. There's no "just for a minute." No one can go in.”
Harry's eyes got bigger. “I'll be careful. Anything I need to do, I'll follow all your instructions. Just once.” His voice was both pleading and conspiratorial.