A Sacrifice of Memory (Part One)
Title: A Sacrifice of Memory
Fandom: Harry Potter
Characters/Relationships: Snape/Ron, Harry/Hermione/Draco
Rating: NC-17
Warnings/Content Notes: PTSD, past non-con, torture, AU from book 5 onward.
Summary: In the end, Hogwarts wasn't the place of safety they all thought it was. Dumbledore was defeated in the castle before Harry and his friends could complete their fifth year, and the rest of the wizarding world was in chaos. Those not sworn to the Dark Lord by fervent belief have taken the Dark Mark to protect those they love. England is a wizarding battleground and the entire country is a shadow of what it once was. But not all hope is lost.
The Order of the Phoenix is still fighting. Under Sirius Black and Remus Lupin, the Order strives to find a way to weaken the Dark Lord and end his reign. When the Order gets word from an agent inside the Dark Lord's ranks, they think they might get the break they've been waiting for. Instead, they find one of their own, thought dead year before. Ron Weasley was tortured and used as a Death Eater play thing and only the quick thinking of Severus Snape kept him alive. While Harry and Hermione try to heal their broken friend, they find out that Ron isn't as broken as they thought and that he just might be the break they were looking for after all.
The early morning light played off the streets with an eerie glow, lighting the dew and clinging rain from the previous day’s downpour in a way that made it almost beautiful. Harry Potter didn’t remember much about beauty anymore though. Hermione’s laugh, he thought with a small nod, had been beautiful. Back in the days when she had really laughed, before Ron had been taken and anyone that rebelled against Voldemort had been locked up or tortured into confession before being put to death. He looked behind him and found Hermione already in position, half a block down. She wore someone else’s face, but he knew her by the necklace she wore; a gift from Ron after fifth year when Hermione had been so distraught about leaving Hogwarts. She never took it off, not even for disguises like this.
Across the street from her was another face that he didn’t know, but that hid an ally. Draco Malfoy had his eyes on Hermione, watching her back as always. Harry wasn’t sure Draco would have survived as long as he had without Hermione to look out for. She didn’t need it - she was the most clever witch or wizard Harry had ever met - but Draco had needed something to live for and he had focused on keeping Hermione safe in the beginning and she had let him. He never stopped and Hermione still didn’t put a stop to it. It almost made Harry smile, but a motion caught his eye and he turned to see Remus and Sirius step onto the platform. It was time.
There was no whistle blowing to announce the train as it pulled past the small village. It wouldn’t stop if their information was correct, but they had taken care of that already. A series of small explosions had been detonated at intervals to make the track unstable. They just had to wait for the sign and they could apparate to the coordinates.
The train was massive and made the Hogwarts Express look like a toy model in comparison but Harry barely noticed. The train was crawling with Dementors and even as they sped past he could feel them trying to drain what little happiness he had these days. There weren’t a lot of things to be happy about since Voldemort had come into power - the few moments of blessed time that he got to spend alone with Hermione and Draco - but he grit his teeth and held onto them tightly.
He watched Sirius and Remus apparate and he waited. It only took a few minutes for the crash to sound in his ears and the screams of the Dementors were almost as loud. He’d been told that not everyone heard them as loudly, but none of those that he kept close now could have missed that sound. Remus reappeared again, flashing a red wand before he disappeared. Plan A it was. Harry didn’t look back to see if Hermione and Draco were following to the crash site but apparated to his place along the tree line.
The train had derailed and Harry could smell the smoke as it poured out of the main cabin. Blood hung in the air and Harry wondered how many people died in the crash, how much more blood he’d added to the seas of it that had stained his hands, but he refused to think about it now. He just had to hope that whoever they had come to get had survived the crash.
“Expecto Patronum,” Harry heard Remus’ voice clearly even against the noise of the wounded and the flames. Harry ran into the middle of the wreck and added his own Patronus to his former professor’s as the Dementors began to slide out of the train and towards the men and women who were trying to get the captives. There were safe houses waiting for anyone that escaped - they still had friends even If they were few and far between - and Amos Diggory was waiting to escort people along that route once they got them to safety.
There was a large crash from the other side of the train and Harry looked up in time to see Hermione’s face turn white. The train had exploded from the inside and Severus Snape stepped out of the wreckage. Harry had once considered him the most reviled man alive, but that was before he understood the depths of Snape’s devotion to Dumbledore and the level of danger he’d put himself in all these years to keep Voldemort unaware of his true allegiance.
For one moment, he brought his arm up to throw a curse at the man before anyone could get the idea that Snape was a part of the train attack but then Snape turned and Harry saw that someone was clinging to his arm.
When Snape made contact he’d said they had to move immediately and that there was someone they needed to rescue on the train. He hadn’t said who and he hadn’t said why.
Harry lost himself in the middle of the battle because there was no mistaking the red mop of hair, no matter how odd it was to see it buried against Snape’s neck.
“Harry!” He ducked as Draco screamed another curse out, taking down the Deatheater who had been about to jinx Harry.
“We won’t get him out of here with you two freaking out!”
It snapped Harry back to the moment and he could see Hermione shaking herself as well. They swung back into action; the three of them moving as one to attack and counter the movements of their enemies. They were well skilled and even better practiced at this type of warfare and though time went on indefinitely for him, over the stench of blood and the groans of the injured and dying, there were finally no Dementors or Death Eaters left.
Harry had lost track of his Godfather and Remus, but he knew exactly where Snape was. When Draco had wrapped a hand around his arm and forced him to look his way, he knew the battle was done. “Let’s find him.”
There was nothing pleasant in Draco’s eyes and Harry had to suppress a shiver. If anyone knew what the Death Eaters would do to Ron it was Draco. He’d refused to kill Dumbledore at the end of their fifth year at Hogwarts and Voldemort had gotten his hands on the Malfoy heir. Draco didn’t talk about it, but he still woke at night sometimes, screaming. Some nights it took both he and Hermione to get him to come back to bed but even worse were the nights when he didn’t do anything but stare up at the ceiling and cry silently.
Harry took a deep breath and let it out, wondering how Ron had survived when they’d all thought him dead. He wondered how he’d survived if he’d been with the Death Eaters for the entire four years. He wondered how long Snape had been keeping them from Ron.
He ran then, ran past Draco and Hermione until he was rushing past Sirius who had apparated in front of Snape.
“How long have you known?” Harry demanded. “How long have you known Ron was alive?”
Remus was there immediately, pushing between Harry and Snape who still held Ron tightly at his side. “Harry, look at him,” Remus knocked Harry back a few steps and it was enough to still the anger that had boiled inside him. He looked at the way Ron was curled up into Snape and the way the professor had his back turned away from Harry as if to protect his former student.
“The Dementors are all gone now. You don’t have to keep him safe,” Harry said as soon as he realized Snape was protecting Ron from something.
“Harry,” Remus said softly, “he’s protecting him from you right now.”
“I would never-”
“I’m not sure he knows that right now,” Sirius said as he put a hand on Harry’s shoulder.
“We need to get the other prisoners. We need to see that our people get to Amos.” Remus looked past Harry to the others. “Go help Draco and Hermione and we’ll get Ron settled.”
“Where are you taking him?” Hermione finally spoke. There were tears in her words and Harry looked back at her then to see the streaks down her cheeks and the redness of her eyes. Draco was a step behind her, but he wasn’t touching her and that in itself was as odd as Hermione still having tears. Harry took a deep breath, forced the air down even though he wanted to scream because he should be thrilled to have Ron back. They were all fucked up though and he knew there was no bloody way they were letting him near Ron until he’d done exactly what Remus told him to do.
“The others will go to Diggory,” Sirius said softly. “We’ll take Ron back with us. We’ll take care of him until you return.”
Snape turned then, not enough to show Ron but enough that Harry could see the grief in the other man’s eyes and he regretted the anger he’d thrown at him. “We need to move now. We won’t be safe long and Ron isn’t ready to be on the run. I’ll keep him safe,” Snape promised. He was watching Hermione and when she nodded, Harry took a step towards her. She shook her head at him and walked away, moving swiftly out of Draco’s reach as well.
Harry heard a sharp pop and when he looked back, Sirius, Remus and Snape had apparated away with Ron. When he looked at Draco he swallowed hard against the lump in his throat. Draco seemed to understand because he gave Harry a small smile. “We’d better hurry this lot on to Amos then.”
Harry wanted to stop him, to bury himself in the familiar warmth of Draco’s arms and forget the uncertainty he suddenly felt, but this wasn’t the time or place. He grabbed Draco’s arm though before he could walk away. “Keep an eye on her,” Harry said softly. It wasn’t necessary but Harry needed to know some things didn’t change.
“Lost your brain since this morning, Potter?” Draco pulled away but as he did he grabbed Harry’s hand and squeezed it for a second before he walked away completely.
Harry looked back to the space that his best friend had recently been and refused to think about the way he curled away from everyone and hid behind Snape. It was so unlike the brave boy Ron had been and the self-sacrificing man he’d grown to become. He looked around the empty fields and forced himself into action. There were no answers to be had there and the quicker they got their people to safety, the quicker he could get to Ron and find a way to help his friend.
**
His Master pulled him in and Ron felt safer as he was able to burrow closer. He knew how important his Master was to Lord Voldemort and he never would have believed he would be allowed free. Ron doubted many things about himself, but he was reasonably smart and he knew the attack on the train had been orchestrated by his Master so that he could escape. He didn’t know why he would go to the trouble over a pet, but Ron had counted himself lucky from the first day Master Snape had taken him in.
The train had been terrifying though, being on board with the Dementors. Master had kept him close but when the train had derailed and the commotion started, Ron would have hidden under the seats and waited it out if Master hadn’t pulled him out of the wreck and away from the violence.
He should have known it would get worse before it got better, but once they reached a place where his Master said it was safe, the others came. They looked at him with pleading, hopeful eyes and he didn’t know what they wanted from him. Anger filled the room though when Potter and Granger came back and his Master had left, telling Ron he had something to care for to make sure they were truly safe. Master had left immediately and as soon as he was gone Ron began to shake. For a while, he couldn’t remember where he was and he’d flashed back to the last time his Master had left him. He threw himself at the others and forgot himself so completely that he’d demanded to know what Snape was doing.
He woke a little later and knew that they’d put a spell on him. His body didn’t hurt any more than it had before so he counted himself lucky that they didn’t want to make a sport of hurting him like the others had, but he still wanted his Master. He kept his voice quiet now, afraid of what they’d do if they had to put him to sleep again. He called for his Master and the others taunted him by saying he wasn’t there.
It was cruel and they surely had to have seen how distraught he was, even when he remembered it wasn’t like before, that Master said he’d be safe here. It wasn’t until the blond boy that Ron didn’t at all like came over and told him straight out that his Master would be back that he was able to calm himself a little. The others had been upset that their fun was over but Ron had to hold onto the hope that Master Snape would be coming back for him and he would be safe with his Master again.
**
Nothing seemed to go right once they were home. Ron was safe from the Death Eaters and there were a number of other soldiers for the cause that they’d freed but once they’d sent the others off with Amos, they were able to get back to an almost catatonic Ron. Harry was trying to stay close to him, to keep him calm but Hermione could see that even Harry’s patience was growing thin. Snape had left Ron with Sirius and Remus and he’d yet to return. No one was sure how to handle the way Ron muttered Snape’s name every few minutes, eyes searching the room. Each time they reassured him that Snape wasn’t there he pulled away from them. Severus had been a huge boon to the Order of the Phoenix for as long as it had existed and Hermione had a hard time believing that their former professor could have hurt Ron but the way Ron wanted to cling to him wasn’t natural. How long had Severus known Ron was alive and why hadn’t he said something? What had been done to Ron and who was responsible? She didn’t want to think that Severus had done anything to cause Ron’s anguish, but she could see it in all their faces. Doubt crept in a little further each time Ron muttered his name and drew in on himself.
“Snape,” Ron whispered again but this time Harry didn’t say anything.
After a moment of silence, Draco walked closer, looking at Ron in a way Hermione didn’t recognize. She feared this confrontation and it had been eating at her; this worry about Draco when she should be focused on Ron. Her relationship with Draco had been hard-forged though and none of them had ever forgotten how she and Harry had grieved over Ron’s supposed death. She stood to intercept Draco, but Harry looked at her and his gaze stopped her.
“Ron, look at me,” Draco ordered, his voice cold and emotionless.
For the first time since he’d woken from the enchantment, Ron looked at someone other than Snape. No, the thought hit her immediately after, he followed the order directed at him. The thought made her shiver.
“Snape isn’t here,” Draco continued as he reached a hand out and pulled Ron’s chin up. He looked him over and searched his eye for something Hermione couldn’t understand but then he released it with a nod. “Pull yourself together before he returns. He’ll be back soon and you are disgracing him. He’s left you in our care until he has time for you and you had best remember who it is that cares for you.”
Draco turned and walked to the other side of the room but his stride never faltered though he had to have felt the eyes that followed him. Hermione wanted to hate him for the harsh words but Ron made a noise and they were all staring back at him.
Harry was at Ron’s side as their friend rose to his feet but he wasn’t looking at them. He was staring at Draco, his shoulders squared and his eyes alive with emotion. “He’ll return?”
Draco nodded and Ron’s eyes shut, his body shivering. The expression that crossed over his face was one she could only call relief and she finally understood. Whatever else had been happening to Ron, Snape had tried to protect him from it and Ron knew that. She didn’t know why he didn’t feel safe with them yet, but she knew Snape did. When she looked back at Draco though, there was only horror in his eyes and she knew that he understood as well. And he would never tell them, any more than he’d told them of the tortures he’d gone through after Voldemort had taken him the night the Dark Lord had killed Dumbledore. He’d swept away with Draco to punish him for his disobedience and Draco still refused to speak of it.
The alarm rang in the kitchen and they pulled their wands. To her surprise, Draco moved in front of Ron before the others realized he was on the floor, covering his head from the strange noise.
“Patrocinium Sequentia,” they heard in the other room and Hermione let out a deep breath. The spell was set to warn them of any magic used to come into the house. Any of them coming in knew to reset it as soon as they arrived and it was a specific spell that would only reactivate to one of the original spellmakers. No one could use a polyjuice potion or spell to trick it.
Severus wasn’t in the room yet before Draco called out. “Your pet awaits you, Master Snape.”
Ron was on his knees then, his head bowed and eyes on the floor as Snape hastened into the room. He said no words to them but stopped in front of Ron, dropping to his knees as he held Ron’s face to look at him. “Are you injured?” he asked softly.
“No, Master,” Ron answered in a voice that was far more firm than before.
Snape searched his eyes and Hermione felt tears falling down her cheeks. With all the darkness she had seen, Hermione thought she was out of tears but there was something broken in the way Ron sat so strong and still as Snape looked at him. At the way Snape had fallen on his knees in front of Ron.
“I didn’t think you were damaged in the escape. Did I miss something?”
“They put me under a spell, Master,” Ron said as he looked past Snape to indicate Harry. “I tried to find you and he put me to sleep before I could.”
Harry looked over at her and Hermione just shook her head. She had no idea what to say. Ron had been inconsolable when Snape had left 12 Grimmauld place. They hadn’t known he was reacting to Snape’s departure and there had been no way to calm him. As thin as he was, they were afraid he was going to make himself sick so Harry had put him to sleep.
“Do you remember these people, Ron?” Snape asked as he stood. He held a hand for Ron and he took it, grasping Snape’s hand in a way that made Hermione spit back her jealousy. He’d yet to let one of them touch him, except when Draco had taken control of him for the moment.
“There were posters on the wall. They were wanted.”
“Have you ever talked to them before Ron?”
“No Master,” Ron said as he looked around the room and then turned to face Snape. “I would have told you if I had. I’m a good pet, Master.”
He leaned into Snape and their former professor opened his arms to him. As Ron was held close, Snape closed his eyes and Hermione thought there were tears hidden as he spoke against Ron’s matted hair. “Yes, you are Ron, a very good pet.”
On to Part Two
Fandom: Harry Potter
Characters/Relationships: Snape/Ron, Harry/Hermione/Draco
Rating: NC-17
Warnings/Content Notes: PTSD, past non-con, torture, AU from book 5 onward.
Summary: In the end, Hogwarts wasn't the place of safety they all thought it was. Dumbledore was defeated in the castle before Harry and his friends could complete their fifth year, and the rest of the wizarding world was in chaos. Those not sworn to the Dark Lord by fervent belief have taken the Dark Mark to protect those they love. England is a wizarding battleground and the entire country is a shadow of what it once was. But not all hope is lost.
The Order of the Phoenix is still fighting. Under Sirius Black and Remus Lupin, the Order strives to find a way to weaken the Dark Lord and end his reign. When the Order gets word from an agent inside the Dark Lord's ranks, they think they might get the break they've been waiting for. Instead, they find one of their own, thought dead year before. Ron Weasley was tortured and used as a Death Eater play thing and only the quick thinking of Severus Snape kept him alive. While Harry and Hermione try to heal their broken friend, they find out that Ron isn't as broken as they thought and that he just might be the break they were looking for after all.
The early morning light played off the streets with an eerie glow, lighting the dew and clinging rain from the previous day’s downpour in a way that made it almost beautiful. Harry Potter didn’t remember much about beauty anymore though. Hermione’s laugh, he thought with a small nod, had been beautiful. Back in the days when she had really laughed, before Ron had been taken and anyone that rebelled against Voldemort had been locked up or tortured into confession before being put to death. He looked behind him and found Hermione already in position, half a block down. She wore someone else’s face, but he knew her by the necklace she wore; a gift from Ron after fifth year when Hermione had been so distraught about leaving Hogwarts. She never took it off, not even for disguises like this.
Across the street from her was another face that he didn’t know, but that hid an ally. Draco Malfoy had his eyes on Hermione, watching her back as always. Harry wasn’t sure Draco would have survived as long as he had without Hermione to look out for. She didn’t need it - she was the most clever witch or wizard Harry had ever met - but Draco had needed something to live for and he had focused on keeping Hermione safe in the beginning and she had let him. He never stopped and Hermione still didn’t put a stop to it. It almost made Harry smile, but a motion caught his eye and he turned to see Remus and Sirius step onto the platform. It was time.
There was no whistle blowing to announce the train as it pulled past the small village. It wouldn’t stop if their information was correct, but they had taken care of that already. A series of small explosions had been detonated at intervals to make the track unstable. They just had to wait for the sign and they could apparate to the coordinates.
The train was massive and made the Hogwarts Express look like a toy model in comparison but Harry barely noticed. The train was crawling with Dementors and even as they sped past he could feel them trying to drain what little happiness he had these days. There weren’t a lot of things to be happy about since Voldemort had come into power - the few moments of blessed time that he got to spend alone with Hermione and Draco - but he grit his teeth and held onto them tightly.
He watched Sirius and Remus apparate and he waited. It only took a few minutes for the crash to sound in his ears and the screams of the Dementors were almost as loud. He’d been told that not everyone heard them as loudly, but none of those that he kept close now could have missed that sound. Remus reappeared again, flashing a red wand before he disappeared. Plan A it was. Harry didn’t look back to see if Hermione and Draco were following to the crash site but apparated to his place along the tree line.
The train had derailed and Harry could smell the smoke as it poured out of the main cabin. Blood hung in the air and Harry wondered how many people died in the crash, how much more blood he’d added to the seas of it that had stained his hands, but he refused to think about it now. He just had to hope that whoever they had come to get had survived the crash.
“Expecto Patronum,” Harry heard Remus’ voice clearly even against the noise of the wounded and the flames. Harry ran into the middle of the wreck and added his own Patronus to his former professor’s as the Dementors began to slide out of the train and towards the men and women who were trying to get the captives. There were safe houses waiting for anyone that escaped - they still had friends even If they were few and far between - and Amos Diggory was waiting to escort people along that route once they got them to safety.
There was a large crash from the other side of the train and Harry looked up in time to see Hermione’s face turn white. The train had exploded from the inside and Severus Snape stepped out of the wreckage. Harry had once considered him the most reviled man alive, but that was before he understood the depths of Snape’s devotion to Dumbledore and the level of danger he’d put himself in all these years to keep Voldemort unaware of his true allegiance.
For one moment, he brought his arm up to throw a curse at the man before anyone could get the idea that Snape was a part of the train attack but then Snape turned and Harry saw that someone was clinging to his arm.
When Snape made contact he’d said they had to move immediately and that there was someone they needed to rescue on the train. He hadn’t said who and he hadn’t said why.
Harry lost himself in the middle of the battle because there was no mistaking the red mop of hair, no matter how odd it was to see it buried against Snape’s neck.
“Harry!” He ducked as Draco screamed another curse out, taking down the Deatheater who had been about to jinx Harry.
“We won’t get him out of here with you two freaking out!”
It snapped Harry back to the moment and he could see Hermione shaking herself as well. They swung back into action; the three of them moving as one to attack and counter the movements of their enemies. They were well skilled and even better practiced at this type of warfare and though time went on indefinitely for him, over the stench of blood and the groans of the injured and dying, there were finally no Dementors or Death Eaters left.
Harry had lost track of his Godfather and Remus, but he knew exactly where Snape was. When Draco had wrapped a hand around his arm and forced him to look his way, he knew the battle was done. “Let’s find him.”
There was nothing pleasant in Draco’s eyes and Harry had to suppress a shiver. If anyone knew what the Death Eaters would do to Ron it was Draco. He’d refused to kill Dumbledore at the end of their fifth year at Hogwarts and Voldemort had gotten his hands on the Malfoy heir. Draco didn’t talk about it, but he still woke at night sometimes, screaming. Some nights it took both he and Hermione to get him to come back to bed but even worse were the nights when he didn’t do anything but stare up at the ceiling and cry silently.
Harry took a deep breath and let it out, wondering how Ron had survived when they’d all thought him dead. He wondered how he’d survived if he’d been with the Death Eaters for the entire four years. He wondered how long Snape had been keeping them from Ron.
He ran then, ran past Draco and Hermione until he was rushing past Sirius who had apparated in front of Snape.
“How long have you known?” Harry demanded. “How long have you known Ron was alive?”
Remus was there immediately, pushing between Harry and Snape who still held Ron tightly at his side. “Harry, look at him,” Remus knocked Harry back a few steps and it was enough to still the anger that had boiled inside him. He looked at the way Ron was curled up into Snape and the way the professor had his back turned away from Harry as if to protect his former student.
“The Dementors are all gone now. You don’t have to keep him safe,” Harry said as soon as he realized Snape was protecting Ron from something.
“Harry,” Remus said softly, “he’s protecting him from you right now.”
“I would never-”
“I’m not sure he knows that right now,” Sirius said as he put a hand on Harry’s shoulder.
“We need to get the other prisoners. We need to see that our people get to Amos.” Remus looked past Harry to the others. “Go help Draco and Hermione and we’ll get Ron settled.”
“Where are you taking him?” Hermione finally spoke. There were tears in her words and Harry looked back at her then to see the streaks down her cheeks and the redness of her eyes. Draco was a step behind her, but he wasn’t touching her and that in itself was as odd as Hermione still having tears. Harry took a deep breath, forced the air down even though he wanted to scream because he should be thrilled to have Ron back. They were all fucked up though and he knew there was no bloody way they were letting him near Ron until he’d done exactly what Remus told him to do.
“The others will go to Diggory,” Sirius said softly. “We’ll take Ron back with us. We’ll take care of him until you return.”
Snape turned then, not enough to show Ron but enough that Harry could see the grief in the other man’s eyes and he regretted the anger he’d thrown at him. “We need to move now. We won’t be safe long and Ron isn’t ready to be on the run. I’ll keep him safe,” Snape promised. He was watching Hermione and when she nodded, Harry took a step towards her. She shook her head at him and walked away, moving swiftly out of Draco’s reach as well.
Harry heard a sharp pop and when he looked back, Sirius, Remus and Snape had apparated away with Ron. When he looked at Draco he swallowed hard against the lump in his throat. Draco seemed to understand because he gave Harry a small smile. “We’d better hurry this lot on to Amos then.”
Harry wanted to stop him, to bury himself in the familiar warmth of Draco’s arms and forget the uncertainty he suddenly felt, but this wasn’t the time or place. He grabbed Draco’s arm though before he could walk away. “Keep an eye on her,” Harry said softly. It wasn’t necessary but Harry needed to know some things didn’t change.
“Lost your brain since this morning, Potter?” Draco pulled away but as he did he grabbed Harry’s hand and squeezed it for a second before he walked away completely.
Harry looked back to the space that his best friend had recently been and refused to think about the way he curled away from everyone and hid behind Snape. It was so unlike the brave boy Ron had been and the self-sacrificing man he’d grown to become. He looked around the empty fields and forced himself into action. There were no answers to be had there and the quicker they got their people to safety, the quicker he could get to Ron and find a way to help his friend.
**
His Master pulled him in and Ron felt safer as he was able to burrow closer. He knew how important his Master was to Lord Voldemort and he never would have believed he would be allowed free. Ron doubted many things about himself, but he was reasonably smart and he knew the attack on the train had been orchestrated by his Master so that he could escape. He didn’t know why he would go to the trouble over a pet, but Ron had counted himself lucky from the first day Master Snape had taken him in.
The train had been terrifying though, being on board with the Dementors. Master had kept him close but when the train had derailed and the commotion started, Ron would have hidden under the seats and waited it out if Master hadn’t pulled him out of the wreck and away from the violence.
He should have known it would get worse before it got better, but once they reached a place where his Master said it was safe, the others came. They looked at him with pleading, hopeful eyes and he didn’t know what they wanted from him. Anger filled the room though when Potter and Granger came back and his Master had left, telling Ron he had something to care for to make sure they were truly safe. Master had left immediately and as soon as he was gone Ron began to shake. For a while, he couldn’t remember where he was and he’d flashed back to the last time his Master had left him. He threw himself at the others and forgot himself so completely that he’d demanded to know what Snape was doing.
He woke a little later and knew that they’d put a spell on him. His body didn’t hurt any more than it had before so he counted himself lucky that they didn’t want to make a sport of hurting him like the others had, but he still wanted his Master. He kept his voice quiet now, afraid of what they’d do if they had to put him to sleep again. He called for his Master and the others taunted him by saying he wasn’t there.
It was cruel and they surely had to have seen how distraught he was, even when he remembered it wasn’t like before, that Master said he’d be safe here. It wasn’t until the blond boy that Ron didn’t at all like came over and told him straight out that his Master would be back that he was able to calm himself a little. The others had been upset that their fun was over but Ron had to hold onto the hope that Master Snape would be coming back for him and he would be safe with his Master again.
**
Nothing seemed to go right once they were home. Ron was safe from the Death Eaters and there were a number of other soldiers for the cause that they’d freed but once they’d sent the others off with Amos, they were able to get back to an almost catatonic Ron. Harry was trying to stay close to him, to keep him calm but Hermione could see that even Harry’s patience was growing thin. Snape had left Ron with Sirius and Remus and he’d yet to return. No one was sure how to handle the way Ron muttered Snape’s name every few minutes, eyes searching the room. Each time they reassured him that Snape wasn’t there he pulled away from them. Severus had been a huge boon to the Order of the Phoenix for as long as it had existed and Hermione had a hard time believing that their former professor could have hurt Ron but the way Ron wanted to cling to him wasn’t natural. How long had Severus known Ron was alive and why hadn’t he said something? What had been done to Ron and who was responsible? She didn’t want to think that Severus had done anything to cause Ron’s anguish, but she could see it in all their faces. Doubt crept in a little further each time Ron muttered his name and drew in on himself.
“Snape,” Ron whispered again but this time Harry didn’t say anything.
After a moment of silence, Draco walked closer, looking at Ron in a way Hermione didn’t recognize. She feared this confrontation and it had been eating at her; this worry about Draco when she should be focused on Ron. Her relationship with Draco had been hard-forged though and none of them had ever forgotten how she and Harry had grieved over Ron’s supposed death. She stood to intercept Draco, but Harry looked at her and his gaze stopped her.
“Ron, look at me,” Draco ordered, his voice cold and emotionless.
For the first time since he’d woken from the enchantment, Ron looked at someone other than Snape. No, the thought hit her immediately after, he followed the order directed at him. The thought made her shiver.
“Snape isn’t here,” Draco continued as he reached a hand out and pulled Ron’s chin up. He looked him over and searched his eye for something Hermione couldn’t understand but then he released it with a nod. “Pull yourself together before he returns. He’ll be back soon and you are disgracing him. He’s left you in our care until he has time for you and you had best remember who it is that cares for you.”
Draco turned and walked to the other side of the room but his stride never faltered though he had to have felt the eyes that followed him. Hermione wanted to hate him for the harsh words but Ron made a noise and they were all staring back at him.
Harry was at Ron’s side as their friend rose to his feet but he wasn’t looking at them. He was staring at Draco, his shoulders squared and his eyes alive with emotion. “He’ll return?”
Draco nodded and Ron’s eyes shut, his body shivering. The expression that crossed over his face was one she could only call relief and she finally understood. Whatever else had been happening to Ron, Snape had tried to protect him from it and Ron knew that. She didn’t know why he didn’t feel safe with them yet, but she knew Snape did. When she looked back at Draco though, there was only horror in his eyes and she knew that he understood as well. And he would never tell them, any more than he’d told them of the tortures he’d gone through after Voldemort had taken him the night the Dark Lord had killed Dumbledore. He’d swept away with Draco to punish him for his disobedience and Draco still refused to speak of it.
The alarm rang in the kitchen and they pulled their wands. To her surprise, Draco moved in front of Ron before the others realized he was on the floor, covering his head from the strange noise.
“Patrocinium Sequentia,” they heard in the other room and Hermione let out a deep breath. The spell was set to warn them of any magic used to come into the house. Any of them coming in knew to reset it as soon as they arrived and it was a specific spell that would only reactivate to one of the original spellmakers. No one could use a polyjuice potion or spell to trick it.
Severus wasn’t in the room yet before Draco called out. “Your pet awaits you, Master Snape.”
Ron was on his knees then, his head bowed and eyes on the floor as Snape hastened into the room. He said no words to them but stopped in front of Ron, dropping to his knees as he held Ron’s face to look at him. “Are you injured?” he asked softly.
“No, Master,” Ron answered in a voice that was far more firm than before.
Snape searched his eyes and Hermione felt tears falling down her cheeks. With all the darkness she had seen, Hermione thought she was out of tears but there was something broken in the way Ron sat so strong and still as Snape looked at him. At the way Snape had fallen on his knees in front of Ron.
“I didn’t think you were damaged in the escape. Did I miss something?”
“They put me under a spell, Master,” Ron said as he looked past Snape to indicate Harry. “I tried to find you and he put me to sleep before I could.”
Harry looked over at her and Hermione just shook her head. She had no idea what to say. Ron had been inconsolable when Snape had left 12 Grimmauld place. They hadn’t known he was reacting to Snape’s departure and there had been no way to calm him. As thin as he was, they were afraid he was going to make himself sick so Harry had put him to sleep.
“Do you remember these people, Ron?” Snape asked as he stood. He held a hand for Ron and he took it, grasping Snape’s hand in a way that made Hermione spit back her jealousy. He’d yet to let one of them touch him, except when Draco had taken control of him for the moment.
“There were posters on the wall. They were wanted.”
“Have you ever talked to them before Ron?”
“No Master,” Ron said as he looked around the room and then turned to face Snape. “I would have told you if I had. I’m a good pet, Master.”
He leaned into Snape and their former professor opened his arms to him. As Ron was held close, Snape closed his eyes and Hermione thought there were tears hidden as he spoke against Ron’s matted hair. “Yes, you are Ron, a very good pet.”
On to Part Two