Gamble Everything for Love Chapter 3
Title: Gamble Everything For Love Chapter 3
Author: EruditeFics
Pairings: R/Hr, H/G, George/Angelina (maybe)
Chapter: Make a List of things you Need
Rating: R now NC-17
Warnings: Strong sexual content. Little violence and Language now.
Summary: Ron Weasley's composure hangs by a thread after the final battle. When it breaks, what else will be broken?
In this chapter: Ron makes a gruesome discovery. Will he overcome his fear and insecurity to become the man Hermione needs? Will Harry and Ginny EVER get to it!?!?
Make a list of things you need, leave it empty
Except for number one, write “love”, gamble everything
Keep it under lock and key
If you wanna, you can gamble everything for love
As soon as he arrived in Grimmauld Place, Ron raced up the stairs. Kingsley and a bevy of Aurors were crowded around two bodies draped in black and sprawled across the floor. Ron had suffered of moment of guilt at the thought that he took another person’s life, but the guilt disappeared as quickly as Hermione had mere hours ago.
“Well, Ronniekins, you left two dead,” Charlie said, inexplicably swelling with pride.
“No, Hermione got one,” Ron mumbled, replaying the scene in his head. He kept playing it over and over, trying to find some insight into what had happened. Repeatedly, and from as many different angles as his mind could bend, Ron would go over every single agonizing moment, trying to piece together the details in his addled mind.
“What’s that, dear?” Molly rang in, lifting her wand and doing a scan for clues along the wall.
A sudden idea struck him and Ron began running back down the narrow stairs, shouting, “I need paper!” He made his way into the drawing room. He had been hit with the idea to draw out a map, a sketch, of what he knew about that brief battle upstairs. He ran back to the scene with a bit of parchment and a quill in hand. His mother seemed to know exactly what his intentions were and conjured a small surface to write on.
“Ron, I’m going to get Harry. A Pensieve might help you to backtrack,” Ginny said. Ron felt slightly comforted by the knowledge that Ginny was on his train of thought as well.
Harry rushed to Ron’s side with a small glass bowl and two phials, one full.
“After how you snapped at him, I practically had to order Kreacher to give me this memory,” Harry said, looking like he’d just been in a struggle with a difficult cat.
“Hermione’s not going to like that, mate,” Ron said, a knife twisting into his chest when he said her name. Would he ever see her again to tell her the tale, to watch her beautiful cheeks burn in frustration at the thought of a house elf being ordered?
After what felt like an eternity of sketching out the chain of events, and sifting through broken bits of memory, Ron seemed to draw the conclusions he was hoping for. His adrenaline-fueled mind had managed to create a timeline. First, everything went dark, and Hermione screamed. Ron rushed out. There was a struggle, followed by Ron casting ‘reducto’. After that Death Eater fell, no one retaliated or followed. Yaxley was lying dead in front of them, and he was the first of five attackers.
Ron determined that two more followed, and one of them had been dropped on his head by Hermione’s spell. That had to have been the other body. This left only three unaccounted for.
The woman that Ron remembered was most likely Alecto Carrows. He could think of no other female Death Eaters. That left two suspects that were yet unnamed. Kreacher had not seen anything other than Hermione being dragged away by 3 masked men. Ron saved the memory, and Hermione’s frightened expression as she reached for him for later personal torture.
“Kingsley?” said Ron, starting to walk over to the tall dark Minister as he was processing the two bodies.
“Yes, Mr. Weasley, what have you deduced?”
“Yaxley is on the ground. I killed him,” Ron began as Kingsley gave a knowing nod. “And Hermione killed the other bloke by dropping him on his head. I can’t figure out tow of them, but I’m sure Alecto Carrows was the woman we heard.”
“Yes, that is the body of Alecto over there, but she died from the sheer force of the House Elf’s magic as he pulled you away from her. There was no head injury.” Kingsley said, raising a speculative brow.
“Then who did Hermione flip into the air?” The question ate at him, as saying her name burrowed a hole deeper within.
“That would be the question…” Kingsley said, his regal chin meeting his hands to ponder the new information.
Ron opened his hastily drawn sketch and walked to where the stuck figure had been drawn hanging upside down. Barely visible on the threadbare rug was a black hair. Eyes not fueled by adrenaline may not have seen it, but Ron’s did.
“Harry!” Ron shouted, causing his raven-haired friend to fly into the air from the sudden noise.
Several Aurors toppled over in the midst of their wand scans.
“Harry,” he repeated more quietly, “ Do you have any polyjuice here?”
Harry thought for a moment, and then shook his head. “No, but why? We don’t even know where to find her, let alone if we’ll need a disguise.”
“Ha!” Ginny smiled and Ron could tell she was on his wavelength.
“I will get some from the Ministry,” Percy said from somewhere behind Ron’s back.
Ron had thought that Percy hadn’t been on the lawn when they decided to come to Grimmauld Place, and felt sheepish that he hadn’t even noticed Percy’s absence.
“Percy, where were you all night? I waited up!” Molly exclaimed, appearing at the top of the stairs and hugging her son tightly. Though Percy was a full-grown wizard, Molly was so glad to have her son back with the family that she clung to him. Everyone seemed to be making up for lost time since Voldemort’s fall.
Ron’s heart sank into his stomach at that thought. He and Hermione had lost a year, and they hadn’t moved to make up for it. He had allowed his to fears get in the way of truly being with her, truly being her lover, and now he might never get the chance. Ron’s resolve threatened to sink into defeat and self-loathing. He swallowed the metaphor and kept on working to find her. He would fix it. It would be better. He just had to find her.
“I was at Audrey’s” Percy answered once he was free of his mother’s grasp. He seemed to puff his chest out a bit, blushing at the same time.
“When am I going to meet your Audrey? No son of mine will be spending all night with a girl I do not know!” Molly commanded, looking sharply at him.
“Mother, she’s a muggle, it’s complicated. I… nevermind, this isn’t the time. Ron,” he said, turning back toward his brother. “I’ll be back with some potion,” he finished, Disapparating on the spot.
Molly made her way back down the stairs, mumbling something about indecency and scarlet women, but with a pronounced smirk on her face.
When Percy came back, Harry immediately grabbed the potion, clearly intending to drink it, while citing his duties as host. Ron was determined to do it himself, needing to be active in his search for Hermione at every second to avoid feeling what was bubbling just below the surface.
“This is officially a Ministry operation, and I will only allow a trained Auror to drink this. Biggs, if you will,” Kingsley commanded, handing the bottle to a tall blonde man with mint green eyes. Minutes later, he had fully transformed.
“Runcorn,” Arthur whispered, his face reddening. “I’ve searched his home many times to round up the remaining Death Eaters, but I have not found him or any of his compatriots.”
“Then you know where he lives! Let’s go,” Ron said, pushing past everyone and down the stairs.
“Not. So. Fast.” Kingsley said, and Ron froze on the spot involuntarily. “I am heading this investigation. While you’ve proven yourself more than capable, I need to secure Runcorn’s home first. Why don’t you rest for a few hours? I have a feeling we will have a fight on our hands tomorrow, and we’ll need all the fully-functioning help we can get.”
Ron sagged, his adrenaline ebbing in helplessness. Charlie placed a hand on his shoulder and guided him to the nearest bedroom. The soft click of the door felt like something was shattering in Ron’s soul.
He sat on the floor and placed the washbasin in front of him. Ron removed a phial from his pocket and poured it slowly into the bowl. He peered in, watching Hermione be pulled away over and over again. He resisted the urge to jump into the memory and stay there forever, trying to reach out to her.
When he couldn’t keep his eyes open any longer, he got up and lay in bed, fully clothed in case he needed to leave quickly. He turned on his side, staring blackly at the empty pillow next to him. Even though they had barely kissed, he knew she belonged there, sleeping next to him.
Ron reached into the pocket of his jeans and pulled out his Deluminator. He had been covertly listening for her to come through it all day, but not even a sound was heard. He tried not to think about what it meant, that she wasn’t speaking, and just focused on her voice. He clicked on the small device, and several balls of light hung over his head after that.
“Hermione. Hermione. Hermione,” He whispered, shouted, and pleaded through the night while stark, recycled light shone, obliquely into his eyes. At some point, fitful rest found him.
Love me with an open heart tell me anything
We can find a place to start to gamble everything
Ginny looked over her father’s shoulders as he and Kingsley deliberated over a map of Northumberland, picking out where Runcorn lived, and where the nearest Death Eaters were in the area. There weren’t even any other Death Eaters in his county, as Runcorn lived somewhere very sparsely populated.
The map she was gazing at was a sort she had never seen. There were no moving pieces, no illusions, and no magical locations. Her father called it a tap o giraffe-ic map, and she smiled slightly in the midst of this crisis at the way he marveled at the skill involved in recording different elevations. Kingsley placed a solitary red pin at the location of Runcorn’s distant home, and used a permanent sticking charm to post it on a wall in the hallway, now a makeshift command post.
Finding Runcorn’s house and mounting an attack was their best chance to find Hermione. Ginny grabbed her wand tightly, already resolved to fight no matter what, and decided to try to find Harry in the interim. It was best for both of them to get rest if they wanted to be of any use to their dear, missing friend.
Ginny crept silently down the stairs until she reached the ground floor. The narrow hallways gave way to a high ceiling and an opulent study. Harry was seated on the edge of a stiff, wooden chair in front of a dark oak table. He was transfiguring different items into wide, flat bowls. He looked determined but frustrated and hopeless. His glasses were slightly askew and his hair was even messier than normal. In truth, he looked absolutely beautiful to Ginny, almost too perfect to touch.
She smiled sadly and walked carefully toward him, placing a hand on Harry’s wrist to lower his wand. He slammed his free hand on the table in frustration. He closed his magnificent eyes and took a deep breath.
Ginny grabbed his chin and turned his face upward toward her. His eyes were a menacing green, with a brightness she could never resist. His eyes always penetrated her soul in a way she had never experienced with anyone else before. As she placed her hands on the sides of his face, Harry turned and kissed the palm of her hand.
“I just thought Ron might need something better to view those memories in. I don’t know what else to do,” he finished miserably.
“Harry, love, I’ve learned that sometimes we have to languish and let the chips fall a little before the path is set. I waited for you for a year and did what I could, but not what I wanted to do. It hurt, but yielded great results. I was needed at Hogwarts. You’re needed now. Roles are not always clear-cut, so let it be enough that you are here,” she finished gently and kissed his smooth lips.
Ginny always kept her feelings to herself, never letting anyone see the cards she held. Not even Harry knew of the aching grief that dug a hole for Fred deep within her, even in this very moment. She needed to be strong for him, but she felt like a fraud for advertising patience and calm when she, herself, wore a façade of strength. But all of her pain would have to wait for a little longer as Ginny plunged into another fight.
Quite suddenly, Harry pushed her back onto the couch, kissing her deeply. When his lips found her neck, Ginny wanted to ask him what had gotten into him, but was so overcome by the light kisses that all she could do was move to give him better access. She moaned deeply, and Harry echoed her, his hand rubbing up and down her sides, sliding her shirt up inch by inch. His pace was torturous.
“Harry, please,” Ginny moaned, arching her back closer to his warm body. He complied with a groan, pulling her shirt over her head and covering her abdomen with his lips, hands, and hair. She threaded her fingers in his hair as his kisses traveled below her navel. She couldn’t help holding a deep breath when she felt his fingers slide under the band of her jeans. She let out a small, nervous tremble.
She felt Harry’s head leave her, and his glorious jeweled eyes immediately met hers. “Are you okay? Should I stop?” He asked anxiously, placing his hands carefully on her face. She was touched, but flabbergasted by his concern. Speechless, she simply kissed him again, letting her tongue move over his. He kissed her back, and she felt that maybe the sides of his mouth were curved in a smile as his hand cupped her breast.
“Ginny…” he moaned.
She gasped when she felt his thumb tease her nipple through her thin cotton bra, and his hips ground into hers in an answer. After more teasing, Ginny’s hips were moving up and down, needing Harry inside her more than she needed air. Thankfully his hands had traveled down and were deftly unzipping her jeans.
“Gin?” Harry whispered. She looked up through half-dazed lids, “Hold on.” He Apparated them upstairs to his room, and as soon as her feet hit the ground, Harry was removing her jeans. She laughed despite herself and yanked his Oxford cloth shirt over his head. After such a painful year, such a frightful night, Ginny wanted nothing more than to be lost in him, to drown in his deep, green eyes.
Ginny let her lips roam over his chest, enjoying how defined his muscles had become, even though his body was very lean. She ran her hands over the light smattering of hair on his chest and down his hard stomach. He grabbed her hand and kissed her fingertips, gazing at her with a thousand words etched on his face. She unzipped his trousers and slowly ran her hand under the band of his drawers. She was nervous, but gripped him firmly, wrapping her hand around his long, hard shaft. It wasn’t very wide around, as her fingers did meet, but Harry felt long and smooth against her palm. He loudly moaned her name.
He began to run his thumb back over her nipples when there was a loud crash from the cupboard in the corner. Harry dove toward his trousers to reach for his wand as Ginny quickly shook hers out of her jeans. It was too late. A Boggart floated toward them, changing into a Dementor when Harry jumped in front of her.
“Expecto Patronum!” he shouted, obviously forgetting it was imagined when faced with such a fearsome creature. As his magnificent stag reared at the Dementor, Ginny stepped forward.
The offending apparition turned into Hagrid, carrying Harry’s lifeless body in his arms, tears falling down his face. Ginny allowed herself one sob before shouting ‘Riddikulus’. The Boggart form of Harry suddenly sprang to life and began waltzing with Hagrid. Ginny laughed,causing the image to disappear.
She fell to the ground, and let a tear fall down her face. The glorious stag approached her and trotted around her, making Ginny feel oddly warm and comforted.
“Ginny, your boggart! Gin…I…” Harry started walking over to her and wrapped his arms around her waist from behind, pressing his face into her neck and pulling her as close as he could. As the ethereal stag circled the pair, Ginny was struck by an idea. For a short moment, Ginny felt her heart rip at the sight of Harry dead for the second time, a repeat of the pain. But after she mustered her courage, it was Harry’s patronus that brought her back from the edge of that painful memory. A thought buzzed in her head: What if Hermione was at that edge?
“Put your pants on, Harry, we need to see Ron,” Ginny commanded as she hurriedly dressed.
“What is going on?” Harry demanded, rushing behind Ginny as they padded barefoot down the hall, zipping his pants up while he jogged to catch up with her.
Ginny knocked gently on her brother’s door, and when there was no answer, she let herself in. The scene around her was heartbreaking; Ron lay in a fetal position, clutching his Deluminator, his closed lids shadowed with stress, and his memory of Hermione being taken playing over and over in the makeshift Pensieve in front of him. Ginny knelt beside his bed and took his hand in hers.
Ron’s eyes cracked open and he rubbed them wearily. “Gin? Whasamadder?” Ron asked, sitting up and reaching for his wand.
“Nothing, Ron. I just had an idea that I wanted to run by you, a way that might help Hermione at least feel okay,” Ginny said carefully, gauging his reaction.
Ron sat up and gave her a look that indicated she had his attention.
“Well, do you remember what it felt like to have a patronus around? You felt comforted, more protected, didn’t you?” Ginny looked up at him questioningly. Ron’s pale face lit up suddenly and his sleepless eyes seemed to glow with a small glimmer of hope.
“But Ginny,” Harry said, putting a hand on her back. “ It would take a very powerful charm to actually track her down, and then what if she’s somewhere where she might get…punished…for being visited by a Patronus?”
“If she’s not already dead, they won’t kill her over that. They need her to get to you,” Ron said, his eyes dark and his fists clenched, “Let’s try it!” Ron said, and then added “Harry, why is it that whenever you’re around my sister, you seem to misplace your shirt?”
Harry just smiled and shrugged, Ron smiled back, but it never met his eyes.
“Ron, you are in no state right now. You need to create a powerfully happy thought,” Ginny said, sitting on the bed next to him.
“Why don’t one of you do it then? It’s been 12 hours, I don’t want her losing hope,” Ron said quietly, obviously losing hope himself.
“Ron!” Harry said, putting a hand on his best friend’s shoulder and gripping tightly, “You should know by now that anything that comes from you would be best for Hermione. Isn’t that what you would want, a message of hope from her?”
We can set this thing apart, cos we’re gonna, gonna
Gamble everything for love
Ron imagined being scared and alone, then finding that whimsical little otter swimming around his head. Harry’s assertion made perfect sense, but Ron’s heart sank immediately at the new opportunity to fail her. How was he supposed to conjure up a good thought while he was so uncertain?
But he wasn’t uncertain. He knew some things to be true, to have always been true, even if they were kept locked away for so long: They were destined, meant to be. She was his and he was hers. Despite any pain that might come, he knew that simple fact could help anything. And he knew this because the same thing that drew them so closely together had already gotten them through seven years, hiding beneath the surface and repairing their small but painful wounds.
“It’ll come, Ron, just concentrate,” Ginny said, taking his hand. Ron felt Harry’s hand close around his other and he closed his eyes.
He thought back to the fateful moment when she rushed into his arms and kissed him passionately. He tried to cast his charm, but it wasn’t enough. He fished through his thoughts again, remembering the moments he had held her, the moment their hands intertwined, and even her summer at the Burrow, but still his charm would not conjure. Finally, his mind settled on the day she burst into the compartment he had first shared with Harry on the Hogwarts Express, looking for a lost toad. His wand quivered from the force of his perfect charm. Hermione existed, she was perfect, and she was his. Ever since that first moment they had been destined…they had become a part of one other.
Ron’s wand shook from the force of his spell as the brightest patronus he’d over seen came out into the room. The little dog was glowing more white than silver, and he darted out about the room in happy excitement, running around and through the legs of the three friends. His warmth radiated directly through Ron, and he did feel a bigger ray of hope. Ron leaned down close to the ethereal creature.
“I need you to find Hermione Jean Granger and give her a message,” Ron said as the dog seemed to sit on his haunches, inviting the request.
“We’re close, I’m coming for you soon, love…don’t lose hope.” Ron said, trying to sound strong so that Hermione wouldn’t hear the crippling fear in his voice.
“Can you do that?” Ron asked. The Jack Russell Terrior repeated the information back and took off. Now, all they could do was hope it would work and wait until morning light.
“I asked you what you were doing here!” Bill’s voice blew suddenly through the window, bellowing up from in front of the house. Bill was still outside trying to figure out how the wards had been broken. When Ron, Harry, and Ginny went to the window, they saw a Muggle standing on the stoop holding a brown package.
“Oh God!” Harry whispered. He immediately fell to the floor and put his head in his hands. Ron was confused. Was this brown uniform some sort of Muggle menace to society?
Suddenly, it hit Ron. It was a Muggle, who had somehow got past the wards of Grimmauld place, and was standing unharmed and unperturbed on the small stone porch. A Muggle got past the wards, because the wards only kept magical people out. They forgot to put the Muggle protection back up. He and Harry had been so careless!
“Harry? Do we…” Ginny started, when Ron suddenly punched the wall, hearing the crack of his knuckles, but feeling barely any pain. He sat next to Harry as Ginny kneeled on the floor and quickly healed Ron’s knuckles. “Is anyone going to clue me in? Do we need to help Bill?”
“Oh Gin! When Harry and I refurbished the wards on this place last week, we must have forgotten the Muggle repelling charms! No magical person can get here unless Harry tells them, but any Muggle can,” Ron said, filled with self loathing at his own recklessness.
“So all the Death Eaters had to do was conceal their magic, and use Polyjuice Potion to transform into a Muggle,” Harry finished, putting the final bar on Ron’s cell.
Ron knew it was his fault. He should have noticed that Harry’s mind had been too caught up in everything that had happened. He should have been looking out for missed steps. Ron was supposed to be the observant one. Now he felt completely to blame -- completely useless.
“Oh, fuck you both. You screwed up, but you both should be mature enough to know you didn’t take her, you aren’t hurting her, and now we need to find her!” Ginny’s quick anger seemed to subside as tears welled up in her eyes. “We love her. We’ve all been through so much…” Ginny wiped her eyes and Harry’s hand snaked around her waist as he pulled her head onto his shoulder. “It’ll never be complete peace, we can’t wallow in our pain. This is our Hermione, and nothing else matters.”
Seemingly unbothered by Ron standing there, Harry wiped Ginny’s tears away and kissed the top of her head while she leaned against his chest.
“I’ll go see what that Muggle wants,” Ron said, spurred forward by Ginny’s words. His one focus needed to be Hermione. nothing else. And when this newest crisis was over, his focus should stay there. In the past hours, her importance to him had become more than simply about love. He needed her more than he needed anything else in his small world. And now that he knew this, Ron Weasley would fight even harder.
Ron paused in the doorway. “Gin, I…” Ron began to apologize when Ginny put her hand up.
“It’s okay. Just realize this: It’s you she needs. It’s you she loves. It has always been you, and it will always be you. That is all you need to know,” she whispered. Ron walked slowly down the steps. After his revelation of how much he needed her, it came as no new news that she needed him just as badly. His body stiffened, and the sense of resolve in his chest roared with even greater intensity.
When they finally reached Bill and the Muggle, Bill’s hand was in his pocket, gripping his wand with a mad look in his eyes. However, the Muggle was completely unbothered by the tension. “Are one of you Harry Potter then?” he asked lazily.
“Yes. I’m Harry Potter, but why do you want to know?” Harry’s voice came through the front door as he walked through. The biggest question for Ron was how a Muggle even knew Harry.
“I have a package for you sir. Can you just sign here?” said the small young man. The messenger was not at all frightened by the look of their odd clothing or any of the strange looking circumstances of the house. Harry took the package and signed for it quickly. Ron stared at the young man until he finally began walking briskly away.
Harry bent down to tear open the package, but stopped dead as he met Bill’s eyes. Bill nodded and ran his wand over the brown box.
“There’s no trace of magic at all, no poisons, no potions…nothing,” Bill said, surprised.
Harry leaned back down and quickly yanked open the small package. Ron had a horrible feeling in his stomach and reached in to pull out the note. There was blood dripping from the paper as Ron held it up to read, and he had to hold back a strong wave of nausea to do so.
“We have your…your little Mudblood. The proof is in the box. We want you. You know where to find me…” Ron started, but paused at the name, swallowing back fear to speak the next words. “Rudolphus Lestrange.”
“Proof?” Whispered Ginny, her voice sounding very small.
Ron feared to answer her question.
Harry reached into the box and pulled out a clump of hair matted with dried blood. He dropped it quickly, yelling out in fear. Ron could hear Ginny vomiting in the background, as Bill rushed over to her side. Ron moved closer to the small piece of Hermione.
When he moved, it felt like all three pairs of eyes were on him as he dropped to the ground and took her brown hair in his hands. He brought it up to his face and breathed in deeply, smelling the bits of flowers and cinnamon that could only be her. This wasn’t a trick. Someone had injured her beautiful head and Ron couldn’t hold back any longer. He let out a strangled sob, gripped the hair more tightly, and squeezed his eyes shut.
“It’s her…” he whispered, trying to find the strength to stand. He was again catapulted from his own emotional turmoil into another extreme, coursing with rage quite suddenly. “Where does Lestrange live?” he asked no one in particular as Kingsley and his Aurors ran out. Ron raised his wand and readied himself to Apparate anywhere he thought she might be.
“And how do you know she’ll be there, or he’ll be there?” Ron’s mother’s voice stopped him in his irrational train of thought, appearing and putting her arm around Ron’s waist, running her hand down his back and calming him.
“We have a plan, everyone, and if you’d like to participate, you’ll follow it.” Kingsley’s voice boomed so loudly that Ron felt his mother jump beside him. When everyone was silent, Kingsley motioned inside. Ginny and Harry walked hand in hand to the kitchen, Ron following behind, watching their intertwined hands with longing and determination.
When everyone involved was seated, Kingsley began to speak. “We’re going to do this quickly. I’ve got 17 Aurors ready. We lost so many others that we are shorthanded,” Kingsley said, glancing at the circle of men in black suits. Ron felt a fleeting impulse of duty to the group of magical soldiers, but found no purpose in anything but Hermione at the moment.
“We’re all good and well to fight,” shouted Charlie, rising up from his seat.
“Yes, as I had hoped…and already planned for. With the addition of this new development, we have two places to search. One or both could be a trap, but my research indicates that we would outnumber the remaining Death Eaters, anyway. We can fight,” Kingsley said, almost seeming to grow impossibly tall at his own words.
“Can I ask that my family all fight together?” Arthur asked quietly. No Weasley objected. Ron felt pride in the fact that his family matched any Auror in skill, in their own way.
“I was going to suggest that. I think Lestrange seeks revenge for more than the Dark Lord’s death. I think he wants the Weasleys there as well,” Kingsley said, meeting Molly’s eyes.
“Then we’ll kill him too,” Molly said, a strong stance taking over her short, round frame.
“I would be more comfortable if you went to Northumberland to search Runcorn’s estate,” Kingsley said. He looked directly at Ron, and soon Ron felt everyone’s eyes on him.
Ron paused. In one brief moment, he seemed to take the leadership role. One small nod in his direction, and suddenly his family was waiting for his next words. He was overwhelmed, but felt relief in being in control of a situation he felt he had no other control over. “Yes Minister, that’s a good idea,” Ron said, determination seeming to ooze from his skin.
“Excellent, Ron. I know this is hard and I know what I am about to suggest is unexpected, but maybe someday you’ll understand: Can you be in charge of things at Runcorn’s estate?” Kingsley asked gently.
Ron didn’t understand. Why would anyone put him in charge after all of his screw-ups? However, Ron was happy to take control, happy to become this mission. It was the clearest path to Hermione. If he was calling the shots, then he would be the first to know of her, the first to know she was okay. He simply had to be the first, so Ron nodded at Kingsley and stood a little taller.
“Right. Form a quick plan on the map and we’ll synchronize to leave in 15 minutes. I’ve got my ward breakers at both locations so that we can apparate immediately,” Kingsley aid, handing Ron the rolled up map.
Ron motioned for his family to follow him into the drawing room. Harry stayed, holding Ginny’s hand, and followed them. It was no question to anywhere where he belonged.
“I think we should notify the DA and tell George and Fleur what’s going on, Ron said once they were gathered in a private room.
“We should go home and get some things anyway, brother. There are potions, a few brooms, and some Portkeys ready in the shed,” said Bill. After some discussion, the Weasleys informed Kingsley and Disapparated.
Ron was the first to arrive, and opened the door to find George and Angelina Johnson asleep, heads on hands, hands on the old table. He could hear a light snore coming from the living room and knew it must be Fleur from the tiny moan that followed each gargling breath.
As soon as Ron took one step, George and Angelina were on their feet, wands drawn, only to look relieved. Everyone else slowly filed into the house.
“We’re going to Northumberland to look around and there is a good chance we’ll be fighting. One of the people that attacked Hermione and me lives there. He isn’t the mastermind, but he’s involved,” Ron said to George and Angelina. He knew he had to focus, but looking into George’s eyes reminded him a blank piece of paper, and it ripped at his heart a little more. George stood slowly and trudged over to his family where they had appeared. He looked like he hadn’t been sleeping since the night they lost Fred.
“We need to get as many of the D.A. who are willing to join us and we need someone to watch Hermione’s house,” Ron started. Everyone looked up at him confused. “I have no idea how far this will go, and I don’t want anyone else getting hurt,” he answered apprehensively.
“I’ll go. I’m not entirely up for fighting…or company,” George said, his voice lower and quieter than Ron had ever heard it.
“Great idea, but I’m coming, too” Angelina spoke up. “I know where she lives anyway.”
Before George protested, Angie grabbed his arm and Disapparated.
“Well…um…now that that’s out of the way,” Harry said, pulling out his coin and casting the Protean Charm.
“Okay, while we wait, we need to talk about roles. First, we need to enter in from every side, in narrow groups. That way, no one can be wholly surprised and we all won’t be victims if there is some undetected curse. I’d say three groups would be great. Who wants to lead off?” Ron asked, stifling fear and surveying the room. Everyone’s hand was up, and everyone had an eager look on his or her face. Ron thought Bill, Harry, and he would be best prepared to lead.
“Trust me, Ron. Fleur needs to head a group. Just trust me on this,” Bill said into Ron’s ear, a grave and serious look on his face. Ron did trust Bill, and motioned for Fleur to stand off to one side.
“Bill, you’ve got to take a group, the one going in from the front. We need you there for curse-breaking,” Ron said. Fleur’s eyes shot up and met Bill’s, he smiled, kissed her very tenderly, and stood on the other side of the room.
“I’m going to take the side,” Ron said. He paused, trying to consider how to divide everyone up based on skill. Ginny and his father were both best with charms, which would do well against large numbers, and so they would need to be on separate teams. Ron knew he wanted Ginny at his side. All night, she had seemed to read his mind, and he was selfish in needing that reassurance.
“Ginny, you’re with me. Dad, would you please join Fleur? Percy, I’m sorry I don’t know, but how are you with charms?”
“Better than Dad and Ginny, I assure you,” he said, his nose in the air. Ron looked over to see his father and mother beaming. Apparently, they were in on this secret. Ron felt regret at not knowing Percy better. He nodded, and Percy joined Bill to a firm pat on the back.
Ron couldn’t help but smile at how eager Charlie looked, shifting his weight from foot to foot. But Ron had special plans for Charlie.
“I’m sorry mum, but Charlie is the best healer we’ve got. He needs to be the one rushing to help anyone,” Ron said, worried he would have hurt his mother’s feelings. Charlie seemed slightly deflated, but pulled out his injury kit and started added what he could from the cabinets of potions in the kitchen. Molly just nodded, content, clinging to Arthur’s side.
Ron didn’t realize it, but Harry had taken post on his other side. Ron wasn’t going to argue. He knew that if Ginny knew Ron’s mind, Harry knew Ron’s soul. They would be a well-oiled group, even attacking from the side, where they would likely not have a clear view.
Soon, members of the D.A began to Apparate into the mix. Soon there were many of them. Dean and Seamus quickly went to join Bill and Percy. Ron felt reassured he had the best front line. Hannah Abbot arrived next, clinging to Neville’s side, and Ron quickly sent them to Fleur. He had no idea what Fleur had up her sleeve, but Neville was adaptable, and would fit well anywhere. Ron didn’t know Hannah well, but remembered her beautiful Patronus, and thought it might come in handy on any team. He let her stay with Neville to keep her spirits up.
Cho Chang arrived with Lavender Brown, and Ron didn’t even register their presence as odd. He placed Lavender with Molly and Arthur, knowing she was most apt at transfiguration, a skill no one else in his family handled as well as others. Cho started helping Charlie, and Ron didn’t even need to ask her where she wanted to go, he saw she fit in perfectly at healing.
Arriving late and in style was Luna, flying in on a Thestral and creating a racket as it landed on the front porch. “His name is Mortimer and he’s a lovely pet. I figured he could help.”
Ron stood dumbfounded, his drive and determination temporarily set askew by the odd pale creature on his front porch … and by the thestral, too.
“Right, Luna. I want you to watch for red sparks from above. I’m going to have Charlie doing a lot of healing work with Cho, and you can pick up the injured and take them to get help. Just watch for the sparks, and come down if anyone needs backup of any kind.”
“It is a lovely night for flying…” Luna said. Ron gave her the coordinates, and she flew away swiftly.
Everyone else Disapparated as soon as they received a signal from Kingsley that it was all ready. Ron gripped his wand tightly; thought of Hermione’s face, put his hand in his pocket to touch his Deluminator, and finally Disapparated as well.
AN: When this finally publishes, I will be off getting married. My wedding is on October 11th and I couldn't be more excited. Suffice it to say, you might not hear from me for about two weeks, but keep an eye on my livejournal, I'll be blogging about my experiences!
Author: EruditeFics
Pairings: R/Hr, H/G, George/Angelina (maybe)
Chapter: Make a List of things you Need
Rating: R now NC-17
Warnings: Strong sexual content. Little violence and Language now.
Summary: Ron Weasley's composure hangs by a thread after the final battle. When it breaks, what else will be broken?
In this chapter: Ron makes a gruesome discovery. Will he overcome his fear and insecurity to become the man Hermione needs? Will Harry and Ginny EVER get to it!?!?
Make a list of things you need, leave it empty
Except for number one, write “love”, gamble everything
Keep it under lock and key
If you wanna, you can gamble everything for love
As soon as he arrived in Grimmauld Place, Ron raced up the stairs. Kingsley and a bevy of Aurors were crowded around two bodies draped in black and sprawled across the floor. Ron had suffered of moment of guilt at the thought that he took another person’s life, but the guilt disappeared as quickly as Hermione had mere hours ago.
“Well, Ronniekins, you left two dead,” Charlie said, inexplicably swelling with pride.
“No, Hermione got one,” Ron mumbled, replaying the scene in his head. He kept playing it over and over, trying to find some insight into what had happened. Repeatedly, and from as many different angles as his mind could bend, Ron would go over every single agonizing moment, trying to piece together the details in his addled mind.
“What’s that, dear?” Molly rang in, lifting her wand and doing a scan for clues along the wall.
A sudden idea struck him and Ron began running back down the narrow stairs, shouting, “I need paper!” He made his way into the drawing room. He had been hit with the idea to draw out a map, a sketch, of what he knew about that brief battle upstairs. He ran back to the scene with a bit of parchment and a quill in hand. His mother seemed to know exactly what his intentions were and conjured a small surface to write on.
“Ron, I’m going to get Harry. A Pensieve might help you to backtrack,” Ginny said. Ron felt slightly comforted by the knowledge that Ginny was on his train of thought as well.
Harry rushed to Ron’s side with a small glass bowl and two phials, one full.
“After how you snapped at him, I practically had to order Kreacher to give me this memory,” Harry said, looking like he’d just been in a struggle with a difficult cat.
“Hermione’s not going to like that, mate,” Ron said, a knife twisting into his chest when he said her name. Would he ever see her again to tell her the tale, to watch her beautiful cheeks burn in frustration at the thought of a house elf being ordered?
After what felt like an eternity of sketching out the chain of events, and sifting through broken bits of memory, Ron seemed to draw the conclusions he was hoping for. His adrenaline-fueled mind had managed to create a timeline. First, everything went dark, and Hermione screamed. Ron rushed out. There was a struggle, followed by Ron casting ‘reducto’. After that Death Eater fell, no one retaliated or followed. Yaxley was lying dead in front of them, and he was the first of five attackers.
Ron determined that two more followed, and one of them had been dropped on his head by Hermione’s spell. That had to have been the other body. This left only three unaccounted for.
The woman that Ron remembered was most likely Alecto Carrows. He could think of no other female Death Eaters. That left two suspects that were yet unnamed. Kreacher had not seen anything other than Hermione being dragged away by 3 masked men. Ron saved the memory, and Hermione’s frightened expression as she reached for him for later personal torture.
“Kingsley?” said Ron, starting to walk over to the tall dark Minister as he was processing the two bodies.
“Yes, Mr. Weasley, what have you deduced?”
“Yaxley is on the ground. I killed him,” Ron began as Kingsley gave a knowing nod. “And Hermione killed the other bloke by dropping him on his head. I can’t figure out tow of them, but I’m sure Alecto Carrows was the woman we heard.”
“Yes, that is the body of Alecto over there, but she died from the sheer force of the House Elf’s magic as he pulled you away from her. There was no head injury.” Kingsley said, raising a speculative brow.
“Then who did Hermione flip into the air?” The question ate at him, as saying her name burrowed a hole deeper within.
“That would be the question…” Kingsley said, his regal chin meeting his hands to ponder the new information.
Ron opened his hastily drawn sketch and walked to where the stuck figure had been drawn hanging upside down. Barely visible on the threadbare rug was a black hair. Eyes not fueled by adrenaline may not have seen it, but Ron’s did.
“Harry!” Ron shouted, causing his raven-haired friend to fly into the air from the sudden noise.
Several Aurors toppled over in the midst of their wand scans.
“Harry,” he repeated more quietly, “ Do you have any polyjuice here?”
Harry thought for a moment, and then shook his head. “No, but why? We don’t even know where to find her, let alone if we’ll need a disguise.”
“Ha!” Ginny smiled and Ron could tell she was on his wavelength.
“I will get some from the Ministry,” Percy said from somewhere behind Ron’s back.
Ron had thought that Percy hadn’t been on the lawn when they decided to come to Grimmauld Place, and felt sheepish that he hadn’t even noticed Percy’s absence.
“Percy, where were you all night? I waited up!” Molly exclaimed, appearing at the top of the stairs and hugging her son tightly. Though Percy was a full-grown wizard, Molly was so glad to have her son back with the family that she clung to him. Everyone seemed to be making up for lost time since Voldemort’s fall.
Ron’s heart sank into his stomach at that thought. He and Hermione had lost a year, and they hadn’t moved to make up for it. He had allowed his to fears get in the way of truly being with her, truly being her lover, and now he might never get the chance. Ron’s resolve threatened to sink into defeat and self-loathing. He swallowed the metaphor and kept on working to find her. He would fix it. It would be better. He just had to find her.
“I was at Audrey’s” Percy answered once he was free of his mother’s grasp. He seemed to puff his chest out a bit, blushing at the same time.
“When am I going to meet your Audrey? No son of mine will be spending all night with a girl I do not know!” Molly commanded, looking sharply at him.
“Mother, she’s a muggle, it’s complicated. I… nevermind, this isn’t the time. Ron,” he said, turning back toward his brother. “I’ll be back with some potion,” he finished, Disapparating on the spot.
Molly made her way back down the stairs, mumbling something about indecency and scarlet women, but with a pronounced smirk on her face.
When Percy came back, Harry immediately grabbed the potion, clearly intending to drink it, while citing his duties as host. Ron was determined to do it himself, needing to be active in his search for Hermione at every second to avoid feeling what was bubbling just below the surface.
“This is officially a Ministry operation, and I will only allow a trained Auror to drink this. Biggs, if you will,” Kingsley commanded, handing the bottle to a tall blonde man with mint green eyes. Minutes later, he had fully transformed.
“Runcorn,” Arthur whispered, his face reddening. “I’ve searched his home many times to round up the remaining Death Eaters, but I have not found him or any of his compatriots.”
“Then you know where he lives! Let’s go,” Ron said, pushing past everyone and down the stairs.
“Not. So. Fast.” Kingsley said, and Ron froze on the spot involuntarily. “I am heading this investigation. While you’ve proven yourself more than capable, I need to secure Runcorn’s home first. Why don’t you rest for a few hours? I have a feeling we will have a fight on our hands tomorrow, and we’ll need all the fully-functioning help we can get.”
Ron sagged, his adrenaline ebbing in helplessness. Charlie placed a hand on his shoulder and guided him to the nearest bedroom. The soft click of the door felt like something was shattering in Ron’s soul.
He sat on the floor and placed the washbasin in front of him. Ron removed a phial from his pocket and poured it slowly into the bowl. He peered in, watching Hermione be pulled away over and over again. He resisted the urge to jump into the memory and stay there forever, trying to reach out to her.
When he couldn’t keep his eyes open any longer, he got up and lay in bed, fully clothed in case he needed to leave quickly. He turned on his side, staring blackly at the empty pillow next to him. Even though they had barely kissed, he knew she belonged there, sleeping next to him.
Ron reached into the pocket of his jeans and pulled out his Deluminator. He had been covertly listening for her to come through it all day, but not even a sound was heard. He tried not to think about what it meant, that she wasn’t speaking, and just focused on her voice. He clicked on the small device, and several balls of light hung over his head after that.
“Hermione. Hermione. Hermione,” He whispered, shouted, and pleaded through the night while stark, recycled light shone, obliquely into his eyes. At some point, fitful rest found him.
Love me with an open heart tell me anything
We can find a place to start to gamble everything
Ginny looked over her father’s shoulders as he and Kingsley deliberated over a map of Northumberland, picking out where Runcorn lived, and where the nearest Death Eaters were in the area. There weren’t even any other Death Eaters in his county, as Runcorn lived somewhere very sparsely populated.
The map she was gazing at was a sort she had never seen. There were no moving pieces, no illusions, and no magical locations. Her father called it a tap o giraffe-ic map, and she smiled slightly in the midst of this crisis at the way he marveled at the skill involved in recording different elevations. Kingsley placed a solitary red pin at the location of Runcorn’s distant home, and used a permanent sticking charm to post it on a wall in the hallway, now a makeshift command post.
Finding Runcorn’s house and mounting an attack was their best chance to find Hermione. Ginny grabbed her wand tightly, already resolved to fight no matter what, and decided to try to find Harry in the interim. It was best for both of them to get rest if they wanted to be of any use to their dear, missing friend.
Ginny crept silently down the stairs until she reached the ground floor. The narrow hallways gave way to a high ceiling and an opulent study. Harry was seated on the edge of a stiff, wooden chair in front of a dark oak table. He was transfiguring different items into wide, flat bowls. He looked determined but frustrated and hopeless. His glasses were slightly askew and his hair was even messier than normal. In truth, he looked absolutely beautiful to Ginny, almost too perfect to touch.
She smiled sadly and walked carefully toward him, placing a hand on Harry’s wrist to lower his wand. He slammed his free hand on the table in frustration. He closed his magnificent eyes and took a deep breath.
Ginny grabbed his chin and turned his face upward toward her. His eyes were a menacing green, with a brightness she could never resist. His eyes always penetrated her soul in a way she had never experienced with anyone else before. As she placed her hands on the sides of his face, Harry turned and kissed the palm of her hand.
“I just thought Ron might need something better to view those memories in. I don’t know what else to do,” he finished miserably.
“Harry, love, I’ve learned that sometimes we have to languish and let the chips fall a little before the path is set. I waited for you for a year and did what I could, but not what I wanted to do. It hurt, but yielded great results. I was needed at Hogwarts. You’re needed now. Roles are not always clear-cut, so let it be enough that you are here,” she finished gently and kissed his smooth lips.
Ginny always kept her feelings to herself, never letting anyone see the cards she held. Not even Harry knew of the aching grief that dug a hole for Fred deep within her, even in this very moment. She needed to be strong for him, but she felt like a fraud for advertising patience and calm when she, herself, wore a façade of strength. But all of her pain would have to wait for a little longer as Ginny plunged into another fight.
Quite suddenly, Harry pushed her back onto the couch, kissing her deeply. When his lips found her neck, Ginny wanted to ask him what had gotten into him, but was so overcome by the light kisses that all she could do was move to give him better access. She moaned deeply, and Harry echoed her, his hand rubbing up and down her sides, sliding her shirt up inch by inch. His pace was torturous.
“Harry, please,” Ginny moaned, arching her back closer to his warm body. He complied with a groan, pulling her shirt over her head and covering her abdomen with his lips, hands, and hair. She threaded her fingers in his hair as his kisses traveled below her navel. She couldn’t help holding a deep breath when she felt his fingers slide under the band of her jeans. She let out a small, nervous tremble.
She felt Harry’s head leave her, and his glorious jeweled eyes immediately met hers. “Are you okay? Should I stop?” He asked anxiously, placing his hands carefully on her face. She was touched, but flabbergasted by his concern. Speechless, she simply kissed him again, letting her tongue move over his. He kissed her back, and she felt that maybe the sides of his mouth were curved in a smile as his hand cupped her breast.
“Ginny…” he moaned.
She gasped when she felt his thumb tease her nipple through her thin cotton bra, and his hips ground into hers in an answer. After more teasing, Ginny’s hips were moving up and down, needing Harry inside her more than she needed air. Thankfully his hands had traveled down and were deftly unzipping her jeans.
“Gin?” Harry whispered. She looked up through half-dazed lids, “Hold on.” He Apparated them upstairs to his room, and as soon as her feet hit the ground, Harry was removing her jeans. She laughed despite herself and yanked his Oxford cloth shirt over his head. After such a painful year, such a frightful night, Ginny wanted nothing more than to be lost in him, to drown in his deep, green eyes.
Ginny let her lips roam over his chest, enjoying how defined his muscles had become, even though his body was very lean. She ran her hands over the light smattering of hair on his chest and down his hard stomach. He grabbed her hand and kissed her fingertips, gazing at her with a thousand words etched on his face. She unzipped his trousers and slowly ran her hand under the band of his drawers. She was nervous, but gripped him firmly, wrapping her hand around his long, hard shaft. It wasn’t very wide around, as her fingers did meet, but Harry felt long and smooth against her palm. He loudly moaned her name.
He began to run his thumb back over her nipples when there was a loud crash from the cupboard in the corner. Harry dove toward his trousers to reach for his wand as Ginny quickly shook hers out of her jeans. It was too late. A Boggart floated toward them, changing into a Dementor when Harry jumped in front of her.
“Expecto Patronum!” he shouted, obviously forgetting it was imagined when faced with such a fearsome creature. As his magnificent stag reared at the Dementor, Ginny stepped forward.
The offending apparition turned into Hagrid, carrying Harry’s lifeless body in his arms, tears falling down his face. Ginny allowed herself one sob before shouting ‘Riddikulus’. The Boggart form of Harry suddenly sprang to life and began waltzing with Hagrid. Ginny laughed,causing the image to disappear.
She fell to the ground, and let a tear fall down her face. The glorious stag approached her and trotted around her, making Ginny feel oddly warm and comforted.
“Ginny, your boggart! Gin…I…” Harry started walking over to her and wrapped his arms around her waist from behind, pressing his face into her neck and pulling her as close as he could. As the ethereal stag circled the pair, Ginny was struck by an idea. For a short moment, Ginny felt her heart rip at the sight of Harry dead for the second time, a repeat of the pain. But after she mustered her courage, it was Harry’s patronus that brought her back from the edge of that painful memory. A thought buzzed in her head: What if Hermione was at that edge?
“Put your pants on, Harry, we need to see Ron,” Ginny commanded as she hurriedly dressed.
“What is going on?” Harry demanded, rushing behind Ginny as they padded barefoot down the hall, zipping his pants up while he jogged to catch up with her.
Ginny knocked gently on her brother’s door, and when there was no answer, she let herself in. The scene around her was heartbreaking; Ron lay in a fetal position, clutching his Deluminator, his closed lids shadowed with stress, and his memory of Hermione being taken playing over and over in the makeshift Pensieve in front of him. Ginny knelt beside his bed and took his hand in hers.
Ron’s eyes cracked open and he rubbed them wearily. “Gin? Whasamadder?” Ron asked, sitting up and reaching for his wand.
“Nothing, Ron. I just had an idea that I wanted to run by you, a way that might help Hermione at least feel okay,” Ginny said carefully, gauging his reaction.
Ron sat up and gave her a look that indicated she had his attention.
“Well, do you remember what it felt like to have a patronus around? You felt comforted, more protected, didn’t you?” Ginny looked up at him questioningly. Ron’s pale face lit up suddenly and his sleepless eyes seemed to glow with a small glimmer of hope.
“But Ginny,” Harry said, putting a hand on her back. “ It would take a very powerful charm to actually track her down, and then what if she’s somewhere where she might get…punished…for being visited by a Patronus?”
“If she’s not already dead, they won’t kill her over that. They need her to get to you,” Ron said, his eyes dark and his fists clenched, “Let’s try it!” Ron said, and then added “Harry, why is it that whenever you’re around my sister, you seem to misplace your shirt?”
Harry just smiled and shrugged, Ron smiled back, but it never met his eyes.
“Ron, you are in no state right now. You need to create a powerfully happy thought,” Ginny said, sitting on the bed next to him.
“Why don’t one of you do it then? It’s been 12 hours, I don’t want her losing hope,” Ron said quietly, obviously losing hope himself.
“Ron!” Harry said, putting a hand on his best friend’s shoulder and gripping tightly, “You should know by now that anything that comes from you would be best for Hermione. Isn’t that what you would want, a message of hope from her?”
We can set this thing apart, cos we’re gonna, gonna
Gamble everything for love
Ron imagined being scared and alone, then finding that whimsical little otter swimming around his head. Harry’s assertion made perfect sense, but Ron’s heart sank immediately at the new opportunity to fail her. How was he supposed to conjure up a good thought while he was so uncertain?
But he wasn’t uncertain. He knew some things to be true, to have always been true, even if they were kept locked away for so long: They were destined, meant to be. She was his and he was hers. Despite any pain that might come, he knew that simple fact could help anything. And he knew this because the same thing that drew them so closely together had already gotten them through seven years, hiding beneath the surface and repairing their small but painful wounds.
“It’ll come, Ron, just concentrate,” Ginny said, taking his hand. Ron felt Harry’s hand close around his other and he closed his eyes.
He thought back to the fateful moment when she rushed into his arms and kissed him passionately. He tried to cast his charm, but it wasn’t enough. He fished through his thoughts again, remembering the moments he had held her, the moment their hands intertwined, and even her summer at the Burrow, but still his charm would not conjure. Finally, his mind settled on the day she burst into the compartment he had first shared with Harry on the Hogwarts Express, looking for a lost toad. His wand quivered from the force of his perfect charm. Hermione existed, she was perfect, and she was his. Ever since that first moment they had been destined…they had become a part of one other.
Ron’s wand shook from the force of his spell as the brightest patronus he’d over seen came out into the room. The little dog was glowing more white than silver, and he darted out about the room in happy excitement, running around and through the legs of the three friends. His warmth radiated directly through Ron, and he did feel a bigger ray of hope. Ron leaned down close to the ethereal creature.
“I need you to find Hermione Jean Granger and give her a message,” Ron said as the dog seemed to sit on his haunches, inviting the request.
“We’re close, I’m coming for you soon, love…don’t lose hope.” Ron said, trying to sound strong so that Hermione wouldn’t hear the crippling fear in his voice.
“Can you do that?” Ron asked. The Jack Russell Terrior repeated the information back and took off. Now, all they could do was hope it would work and wait until morning light.
“I asked you what you were doing here!” Bill’s voice blew suddenly through the window, bellowing up from in front of the house. Bill was still outside trying to figure out how the wards had been broken. When Ron, Harry, and Ginny went to the window, they saw a Muggle standing on the stoop holding a brown package.
“Oh God!” Harry whispered. He immediately fell to the floor and put his head in his hands. Ron was confused. Was this brown uniform some sort of Muggle menace to society?
Suddenly, it hit Ron. It was a Muggle, who had somehow got past the wards of Grimmauld place, and was standing unharmed and unperturbed on the small stone porch. A Muggle got past the wards, because the wards only kept magical people out. They forgot to put the Muggle protection back up. He and Harry had been so careless!
“Harry? Do we…” Ginny started, when Ron suddenly punched the wall, hearing the crack of his knuckles, but feeling barely any pain. He sat next to Harry as Ginny kneeled on the floor and quickly healed Ron’s knuckles. “Is anyone going to clue me in? Do we need to help Bill?”
“Oh Gin! When Harry and I refurbished the wards on this place last week, we must have forgotten the Muggle repelling charms! No magical person can get here unless Harry tells them, but any Muggle can,” Ron said, filled with self loathing at his own recklessness.
“So all the Death Eaters had to do was conceal their magic, and use Polyjuice Potion to transform into a Muggle,” Harry finished, putting the final bar on Ron’s cell.
Ron knew it was his fault. He should have noticed that Harry’s mind had been too caught up in everything that had happened. He should have been looking out for missed steps. Ron was supposed to be the observant one. Now he felt completely to blame -- completely useless.
“Oh, fuck you both. You screwed up, but you both should be mature enough to know you didn’t take her, you aren’t hurting her, and now we need to find her!” Ginny’s quick anger seemed to subside as tears welled up in her eyes. “We love her. We’ve all been through so much…” Ginny wiped her eyes and Harry’s hand snaked around her waist as he pulled her head onto his shoulder. “It’ll never be complete peace, we can’t wallow in our pain. This is our Hermione, and nothing else matters.”
Seemingly unbothered by Ron standing there, Harry wiped Ginny’s tears away and kissed the top of her head while she leaned against his chest.
“I’ll go see what that Muggle wants,” Ron said, spurred forward by Ginny’s words. His one focus needed to be Hermione. nothing else. And when this newest crisis was over, his focus should stay there. In the past hours, her importance to him had become more than simply about love. He needed her more than he needed anything else in his small world. And now that he knew this, Ron Weasley would fight even harder.
Ron paused in the doorway. “Gin, I…” Ron began to apologize when Ginny put her hand up.
“It’s okay. Just realize this: It’s you she needs. It’s you she loves. It has always been you, and it will always be you. That is all you need to know,” she whispered. Ron walked slowly down the steps. After his revelation of how much he needed her, it came as no new news that she needed him just as badly. His body stiffened, and the sense of resolve in his chest roared with even greater intensity.
When they finally reached Bill and the Muggle, Bill’s hand was in his pocket, gripping his wand with a mad look in his eyes. However, the Muggle was completely unbothered by the tension. “Are one of you Harry Potter then?” he asked lazily.
“Yes. I’m Harry Potter, but why do you want to know?” Harry’s voice came through the front door as he walked through. The biggest question for Ron was how a Muggle even knew Harry.
“I have a package for you sir. Can you just sign here?” said the small young man. The messenger was not at all frightened by the look of their odd clothing or any of the strange looking circumstances of the house. Harry took the package and signed for it quickly. Ron stared at the young man until he finally began walking briskly away.
Harry bent down to tear open the package, but stopped dead as he met Bill’s eyes. Bill nodded and ran his wand over the brown box.
“There’s no trace of magic at all, no poisons, no potions…nothing,” Bill said, surprised.
Harry leaned back down and quickly yanked open the small package. Ron had a horrible feeling in his stomach and reached in to pull out the note. There was blood dripping from the paper as Ron held it up to read, and he had to hold back a strong wave of nausea to do so.
“We have your…your little Mudblood. The proof is in the box. We want you. You know where to find me…” Ron started, but paused at the name, swallowing back fear to speak the next words. “Rudolphus Lestrange.”
“Proof?” Whispered Ginny, her voice sounding very small.
Ron feared to answer her question.
Harry reached into the box and pulled out a clump of hair matted with dried blood. He dropped it quickly, yelling out in fear. Ron could hear Ginny vomiting in the background, as Bill rushed over to her side. Ron moved closer to the small piece of Hermione.
When he moved, it felt like all three pairs of eyes were on him as he dropped to the ground and took her brown hair in his hands. He brought it up to his face and breathed in deeply, smelling the bits of flowers and cinnamon that could only be her. This wasn’t a trick. Someone had injured her beautiful head and Ron couldn’t hold back any longer. He let out a strangled sob, gripped the hair more tightly, and squeezed his eyes shut.
“It’s her…” he whispered, trying to find the strength to stand. He was again catapulted from his own emotional turmoil into another extreme, coursing with rage quite suddenly. “Where does Lestrange live?” he asked no one in particular as Kingsley and his Aurors ran out. Ron raised his wand and readied himself to Apparate anywhere he thought she might be.
“And how do you know she’ll be there, or he’ll be there?” Ron’s mother’s voice stopped him in his irrational train of thought, appearing and putting her arm around Ron’s waist, running her hand down his back and calming him.
“We have a plan, everyone, and if you’d like to participate, you’ll follow it.” Kingsley’s voice boomed so loudly that Ron felt his mother jump beside him. When everyone was silent, Kingsley motioned inside. Ginny and Harry walked hand in hand to the kitchen, Ron following behind, watching their intertwined hands with longing and determination.
When everyone involved was seated, Kingsley began to speak. “We’re going to do this quickly. I’ve got 17 Aurors ready. We lost so many others that we are shorthanded,” Kingsley said, glancing at the circle of men in black suits. Ron felt a fleeting impulse of duty to the group of magical soldiers, but found no purpose in anything but Hermione at the moment.
“We’re all good and well to fight,” shouted Charlie, rising up from his seat.
“Yes, as I had hoped…and already planned for. With the addition of this new development, we have two places to search. One or both could be a trap, but my research indicates that we would outnumber the remaining Death Eaters, anyway. We can fight,” Kingsley said, almost seeming to grow impossibly tall at his own words.
“Can I ask that my family all fight together?” Arthur asked quietly. No Weasley objected. Ron felt pride in the fact that his family matched any Auror in skill, in their own way.
“I was going to suggest that. I think Lestrange seeks revenge for more than the Dark Lord’s death. I think he wants the Weasleys there as well,” Kingsley said, meeting Molly’s eyes.
“Then we’ll kill him too,” Molly said, a strong stance taking over her short, round frame.
“I would be more comfortable if you went to Northumberland to search Runcorn’s estate,” Kingsley said. He looked directly at Ron, and soon Ron felt everyone’s eyes on him.
Ron paused. In one brief moment, he seemed to take the leadership role. One small nod in his direction, and suddenly his family was waiting for his next words. He was overwhelmed, but felt relief in being in control of a situation he felt he had no other control over. “Yes Minister, that’s a good idea,” Ron said, determination seeming to ooze from his skin.
“Excellent, Ron. I know this is hard and I know what I am about to suggest is unexpected, but maybe someday you’ll understand: Can you be in charge of things at Runcorn’s estate?” Kingsley asked gently.
Ron didn’t understand. Why would anyone put him in charge after all of his screw-ups? However, Ron was happy to take control, happy to become this mission. It was the clearest path to Hermione. If he was calling the shots, then he would be the first to know of her, the first to know she was okay. He simply had to be the first, so Ron nodded at Kingsley and stood a little taller.
“Right. Form a quick plan on the map and we’ll synchronize to leave in 15 minutes. I’ve got my ward breakers at both locations so that we can apparate immediately,” Kingsley aid, handing Ron the rolled up map.
Ron motioned for his family to follow him into the drawing room. Harry stayed, holding Ginny’s hand, and followed them. It was no question to anywhere where he belonged.
“I think we should notify the DA and tell George and Fleur what’s going on, Ron said once they were gathered in a private room.
“We should go home and get some things anyway, brother. There are potions, a few brooms, and some Portkeys ready in the shed,” said Bill. After some discussion, the Weasleys informed Kingsley and Disapparated.
Ron was the first to arrive, and opened the door to find George and Angelina Johnson asleep, heads on hands, hands on the old table. He could hear a light snore coming from the living room and knew it must be Fleur from the tiny moan that followed each gargling breath.
As soon as Ron took one step, George and Angelina were on their feet, wands drawn, only to look relieved. Everyone else slowly filed into the house.
“We’re going to Northumberland to look around and there is a good chance we’ll be fighting. One of the people that attacked Hermione and me lives there. He isn’t the mastermind, but he’s involved,” Ron said to George and Angelina. He knew he had to focus, but looking into George’s eyes reminded him a blank piece of paper, and it ripped at his heart a little more. George stood slowly and trudged over to his family where they had appeared. He looked like he hadn’t been sleeping since the night they lost Fred.
“We need to get as many of the D.A. who are willing to join us and we need someone to watch Hermione’s house,” Ron started. Everyone looked up at him confused. “I have no idea how far this will go, and I don’t want anyone else getting hurt,” he answered apprehensively.
“I’ll go. I’m not entirely up for fighting…or company,” George said, his voice lower and quieter than Ron had ever heard it.
“Great idea, but I’m coming, too” Angelina spoke up. “I know where she lives anyway.”
Before George protested, Angie grabbed his arm and Disapparated.
“Well…um…now that that’s out of the way,” Harry said, pulling out his coin and casting the Protean Charm.
“Okay, while we wait, we need to talk about roles. First, we need to enter in from every side, in narrow groups. That way, no one can be wholly surprised and we all won’t be victims if there is some undetected curse. I’d say three groups would be great. Who wants to lead off?” Ron asked, stifling fear and surveying the room. Everyone’s hand was up, and everyone had an eager look on his or her face. Ron thought Bill, Harry, and he would be best prepared to lead.
“Trust me, Ron. Fleur needs to head a group. Just trust me on this,” Bill said into Ron’s ear, a grave and serious look on his face. Ron did trust Bill, and motioned for Fleur to stand off to one side.
“Bill, you’ve got to take a group, the one going in from the front. We need you there for curse-breaking,” Ron said. Fleur’s eyes shot up and met Bill’s, he smiled, kissed her very tenderly, and stood on the other side of the room.
“I’m going to take the side,” Ron said. He paused, trying to consider how to divide everyone up based on skill. Ginny and his father were both best with charms, which would do well against large numbers, and so they would need to be on separate teams. Ron knew he wanted Ginny at his side. All night, she had seemed to read his mind, and he was selfish in needing that reassurance.
“Ginny, you’re with me. Dad, would you please join Fleur? Percy, I’m sorry I don’t know, but how are you with charms?”
“Better than Dad and Ginny, I assure you,” he said, his nose in the air. Ron looked over to see his father and mother beaming. Apparently, they were in on this secret. Ron felt regret at not knowing Percy better. He nodded, and Percy joined Bill to a firm pat on the back.
Ron couldn’t help but smile at how eager Charlie looked, shifting his weight from foot to foot. But Ron had special plans for Charlie.
“I’m sorry mum, but Charlie is the best healer we’ve got. He needs to be the one rushing to help anyone,” Ron said, worried he would have hurt his mother’s feelings. Charlie seemed slightly deflated, but pulled out his injury kit and started added what he could from the cabinets of potions in the kitchen. Molly just nodded, content, clinging to Arthur’s side.
Ron didn’t realize it, but Harry had taken post on his other side. Ron wasn’t going to argue. He knew that if Ginny knew Ron’s mind, Harry knew Ron’s soul. They would be a well-oiled group, even attacking from the side, where they would likely not have a clear view.
Soon, members of the D.A began to Apparate into the mix. Soon there were many of them. Dean and Seamus quickly went to join Bill and Percy. Ron felt reassured he had the best front line. Hannah Abbot arrived next, clinging to Neville’s side, and Ron quickly sent them to Fleur. He had no idea what Fleur had up her sleeve, but Neville was adaptable, and would fit well anywhere. Ron didn’t know Hannah well, but remembered her beautiful Patronus, and thought it might come in handy on any team. He let her stay with Neville to keep her spirits up.
Cho Chang arrived with Lavender Brown, and Ron didn’t even register their presence as odd. He placed Lavender with Molly and Arthur, knowing she was most apt at transfiguration, a skill no one else in his family handled as well as others. Cho started helping Charlie, and Ron didn’t even need to ask her where she wanted to go, he saw she fit in perfectly at healing.
Arriving late and in style was Luna, flying in on a Thestral and creating a racket as it landed on the front porch. “His name is Mortimer and he’s a lovely pet. I figured he could help.”
Ron stood dumbfounded, his drive and determination temporarily set askew by the odd pale creature on his front porch … and by the thestral, too.
“Right, Luna. I want you to watch for red sparks from above. I’m going to have Charlie doing a lot of healing work with Cho, and you can pick up the injured and take them to get help. Just watch for the sparks, and come down if anyone needs backup of any kind.”
“It is a lovely night for flying…” Luna said. Ron gave her the coordinates, and she flew away swiftly.
Everyone else Disapparated as soon as they received a signal from Kingsley that it was all ready. Ron gripped his wand tightly; thought of Hermione’s face, put his hand in his pocket to touch his Deluminator, and finally Disapparated as well.
AN: When this finally publishes, I will be off getting married. My wedding is on October 11th and I couldn't be more excited. Suffice it to say, you might not hear from me for about two weeks, but keep an eye on my livejournal, I'll be blogging about my experiences!