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The Case of the Escaped Death Eater, Chapter 8
Title: The Case of the Escaped Death Eater
Author: shiiki
Rating: PG-13
Characters/Pairings: Ron Weasley/Hermione Granger, Neville Longbottom/Hannah Abbott, various others
Fandom: Harry Potter
Summary: Five years after the end of the war, Aurors Weasley and Longbottom find themselves working together to capture an escaped prisoner on a tight deadline: before the full moon. However, the case is not as straightforward as it seems, especially when the witches in their lives appear to be involved as well ...
Chapter Listing
In this chapter
Chapter Title: Rookwood's Revenge
Rating: PG-13
Characters: Neville Longbottom, Hannah Abbott, Ron Weasley, various others
Word Count: 1,843
Chapter Summary: While the Aurors are distracted by Greyback, Rookwood approaches his real target.
Neville's head was pounding, but not from the disconcerting squeeze of Apparition. Thoughts were flying fast and furious through his mind as he landed in his usual spot in the alley between his flat and the Leaky Cauldron: Hannah -- not too late, please -- should have guessed -- why didn't -- work it out?
In the past few weeks since Hannah's visit to his flat, there had been any number of not midnight -- or wee hour -- drinks with Hannah, always accompanied with conversation. It was one of them that stood out in Neville's head right as he pounded on the side door of the pub.
'Rookwood,' said Hannah, tracing a line in the newspaper article. 'Do you know, I think he's a relative of some sort.'
'Can't picture it.'
'Dad's side, of course. I doubt he knows I exist. I imagine that part of the family washed his hands of Dad when he married Mum.'
Why hadn't he seen it? The memory of a high cackle and awful, taunting, cutesy voice surface in his mind next to Andromeda Tonks's bitter, 'She only ever saw my daughter as an abomination to be pruned away from the family tree.' Rookwood, too, it seemed was out to prune his tree, and if Hannah suffered because he hadn't realised it earlier ...
Neville reduced the door to dust and burst through the hole. Something grazed his wand arm, singeing the sleeve of his shirt. It hit the wall with a loud crack. A fracture line ran down where it connected. The room was a haze of blinding light. Flying spells, Neville realised. Good, he thought hazily, she's not dead yet if she's duelling, and then he caught sight of a wand flying through the air. It was followed by a sharp, frightened cry of dismay.
'Enough playing,' said Rookwood, tossing aside Hannah's wand. 'I'm on a tight schedule, it seems. Avada Kedavra!'
The Killing Curse arched from Rookwood's wand the exact moment that he spun and directed it straight at Neville.
He barely had time to register it; it was more on instinct than anything else that he twisted away. His feet caught on something and he went down. He saw the rush of sickly green light shoot pass half an inch from his eyes as he fell to his side. He heard it explode against the wall, heard Rookwood's laugh and Hannah's terrible scream.
'Neville, NO!'
Neville's head slammed against something so hard it made stars burst out behind his eyes.
'That's the end of your precious Longbottom.'
Rookwood obviously thought he was dead. Neville forced his eyes to open and focus through the green haze that seemed to be surrounding him.
'Let's finish this before the other Aurors-ARGH!'
Neville staggered to his feet to see Hannah launch herself at Rookwood with a war cry, tearing at his face with her bare hands. Rookwood flailed, pushing at her, but one arm managed to twist his wand up ...
'Ava-'
'STUPEFY!' yelled Neville, throwing everything he had into the spell, knowing that he had to hit him on his first try. The burst of red light that exploded from the end of his wand was twice as thick as he'd ever seen it. It hurtled towards the tussling Rookwood and Hannah, smashing into both of them. They dropped like rocks away from each other.
'Hannah, oh God,' he cried, stumbling on shaky legs towards her.
'Bloody hell,' Neville heard behind him, but he ignored Ron. He dropped to his knees next to Hannah and cradled her head gently in his arms. Her pulse throbbed weakly against his fingers.
'I'm so sorry, Hannah, I'm so sorry.'
Ron touched his shoulder. 'Neville, is she --'
'Alive,' said Neville, anger surging through him suddenly. He shrugged Ron's hand away roughly. 'No thanks to you.'
Ron's eyes widened. 'Mate --'
'Why the hell did you leave your post tonight?' The words flew out of his mouth like daggers. 'You bloody idiot!'
'In case you missed the call, Harry sent for help! And that was bloody Greyback over there.'
'And Rookwood here and you just left Hannah to him, didn't you?'
'Well, how was I to know he'd show up here? We didn't any of us have a clue! You're bang out of order, Longbottom-'
'He could have killed her!' Neville roared, abandoning logic in the release of the terrible fear that had gripped his insides since he'd realised Rookwood had come after Hannah.
There was a long silence. Hermione had appeared at some point and put her hand on Ron's elbow, silencing any comeback Ron might have had. Ginny appeared from behind them and came forward to kneel by Neville and Hannah.
'He didn't,' she said, after checking Hannah's pulse. 'Come on, Neville, we'll get her to St Mungo's.'
Still breathing hard, Neville let Ginny help him lift Hannah. He staggered a bit under her weight -- his head still felt groggy from the hit it'd taken earlier -- but Ron and Hermione quickly moved forward to support them. More people were moving into the room now, Aurors arriving to take charge of the knocked-out Rookwood. Harry broke away from them and came to their little group.
'Get a Portkey,' Ginny said. 'Hannah's out -- don't think Neville's in top shape either.'
'I'm fine,' Neville said, 'it's Hannah that ...' A wave of blackness swirled in his head and he lost the thread of his sentence. He gave it up in favour of trying to keep himself and Hannah upright.
Something jerked beneath his navel. He closed his eyes against the sudden spinning of the world around him. His head swam with dizziness ... then nothingness ...
And then he was wide awake, his throat scorching with some potion that had just been forced down his throat. Neville's eyes snapped open.
'What -- where -- Hannah -- Mungo's-' His words came out garbled.
'Easy, now,' said a steady, familiar voice. Strong hands held his shoulders to keep him from springing bolt upright. 'This Rejuvenating Draught's a mite stronger than the ones we used to use.' Neville's vision, which had been blurred at first, focused on Ernie Macmillan's broad, calm face in front of him. He tried to gather himself.
'How are you feeling, Neville?'
'Like I just came out of detention.'
Ernie laughed. 'Should've known I'd be doing this for you again at some stage.'
Neville managed a wry smile -- Ernie had been the best among all of them when it came to patching up Carrow-inflicted injuries -- then returned to the pressing issue. 'Has anyone seen to Hannah?'
'She's come round already,' said Ernie, to Neville's relief. 'Only got grazed by a Stunning Spell, it seems, but what a Stunner it was! The other guy they brought in got the brunt of it -- he's still out.'
Neville felt his face flush guiltily. She's okay, he told himself. You only grazed her.
'Anyway,' continued Ernie, 'you have visitors. Shall I let them in?'
'Huh? Oh -- er -- sure.'
Ernie strode over to the door and pulled it open. The next moment, Ginny and Hermione descended on him. Harry was just visible behind them.
'Thank goodness, Neville!' said Hermione. 'We were worried.'
Ginny grinned. 'Though it really isn't anything we haven't seen before.'
'Well done, though,' said Harry. 'Thanks to you and Ron, that's both Greyback and Rookwood captured tonight.'
'I didn't do anything.'
All their heads turned to the door, where Ron had just appeared, looking a bit nervous. He came inside the room. Hermione held out her hand to him and he took it, but he didn't take his eyes off Neville. 'Neville was the one that took him out.'
'Ron,' Hermione began, but Ron shook his head at her.
'Hannah's all right, by the way,' he told Neville. 'I just spoke to her. She asked about you first thing.'
Neville's stomach flipped. 'She's not angry at me?'
Everyone stared at him. 'Why'd she be angry at you?'
'It was my Stunner, you know, that --'
'Neville, don't be an idiot,' said Ginny. 'You were aiming at Rookwood, weren't you?'
'Yeah, but ...'
'Well, it's hardly your fault, then. You did what you had to do. Rookwood would have killed her!'
'He tried.'
'There you have it, then. You saved her life!' Ginny shook her head. 'Angry at you. Honestly.'
'Think she's more worried than anything,' said Ron. 'Anyway, d'you guys mind if I have a private word with Neville?'
There was a moment's pause, then, 'Of course not,' said Ginny brightly. 'I think we should go see how Hannah is.' She and Hermione exchanged strange knowing looks, then she winked at Neville and steered Harry and Ernie out. Hermione paused for a moment to whisper something to Ron (it sounded like 'Be nice!') before following. Ron rolled his eyes at their retreating figures.
'I thought about what you said,' said Ron when they had shut the door. 'S'why I went to see Hannah first. Figured I -- er -- owed her an apology, maybe.'
Neville's last words to Ron came back to him then. Suddenly he knew what Ron wanted to speak to him about. He felt his face heat up. Whatever had possessed him to accuse Ron like that? 'Sorry about that, mate. It wasn't your fault. I shouldn't have ...'
'No, you were right, in a way. I -- um -- on my way out of the pub I saw her and this other wizard. Thought he was just passing, Flooing out like the rest of the customers had done earlier. I ought to have realised.
'But Harry called, and I just knew Greyback was near Grimmauld Place and Hermione was there ...' Ron looked sheepishly at Neville. 'I reckon I know where you were coming from, anyway.'
Neville tried to digest all of this. Ron had spotted something suspicious but left anyway. He felt a bit of his anger return, but it was muted now that he was in this brightly lit room, with Hannah safe in a ward somewhere and Rookwood in custody. Ron had been responding to Harry's call, same as he had, he reminded himself. Ron had been worried about Hermione. Neville supposed he could understand that.
Ron cleared his throat after a few seconds of silence. 'So. Hannah Abbott, eh?' He tried for a grin.
It took a while before Ron's words sank in. His face burned harder than before. 'We're not -- it's not --' He didn't know how to explain. Hell, he wasn't even sure himself what he thought about what Ron was implying.
The idea that he and Hannah might be -- well, that there might be a 'them' -- felt warm and comfortable, though. Neville thought of midnight heart-to-hearts, homey conversations over her excellent hot cocoa, vaguely embarrassing thoughts forming in his head from time to time ... and the desperate panic in his chest when he'd heard Rookwood mustering up an Avada Kedavra for her.
'I think,' he heard himself say faintly, 'we need to talk.'
Ron laughed. 'I think you need to do more than that, mate, but that's a start.'
Author: shiiki
Rating: PG-13
Characters/Pairings: Ron Weasley/Hermione Granger, Neville Longbottom/Hannah Abbott, various others
Fandom: Harry Potter
Summary: Five years after the end of the war, Aurors Weasley and Longbottom find themselves working together to capture an escaped prisoner on a tight deadline: before the full moon. However, the case is not as straightforward as it seems, especially when the witches in their lives appear to be involved as well ...
Chapter Listing
In this chapter
Chapter Title: Rookwood's Revenge
Rating: PG-13
Characters: Neville Longbottom, Hannah Abbott, Ron Weasley, various others
Word Count: 1,843
Chapter Summary: While the Aurors are distracted by Greyback, Rookwood approaches his real target.
Neville's head was pounding, but not from the disconcerting squeeze of Apparition. Thoughts were flying fast and furious through his mind as he landed in his usual spot in the alley between his flat and the Leaky Cauldron: Hannah -- not too late, please -- should have guessed -- why didn't -- work it out?
In the past few weeks since Hannah's visit to his flat, there had been any number of not midnight -- or wee hour -- drinks with Hannah, always accompanied with conversation. It was one of them that stood out in Neville's head right as he pounded on the side door of the pub.
'Rookwood,' said Hannah, tracing a line in the newspaper article. 'Do you know, I think he's a relative of some sort.'
'Can't picture it.'
'Dad's side, of course. I doubt he knows I exist. I imagine that part of the family washed his hands of Dad when he married Mum.'
Why hadn't he seen it? The memory of a high cackle and awful, taunting, cutesy voice surface in his mind next to Andromeda Tonks's bitter, 'She only ever saw my daughter as an abomination to be pruned away from the family tree.' Rookwood, too, it seemed was out to prune his tree, and if Hannah suffered because he hadn't realised it earlier ...
Neville reduced the door to dust and burst through the hole. Something grazed his wand arm, singeing the sleeve of his shirt. It hit the wall with a loud crack. A fracture line ran down where it connected. The room was a haze of blinding light. Flying spells, Neville realised. Good, he thought hazily, she's not dead yet if she's duelling, and then he caught sight of a wand flying through the air. It was followed by a sharp, frightened cry of dismay.
'Enough playing,' said Rookwood, tossing aside Hannah's wand. 'I'm on a tight schedule, it seems. Avada Kedavra!'
The Killing Curse arched from Rookwood's wand the exact moment that he spun and directed it straight at Neville.
He barely had time to register it; it was more on instinct than anything else that he twisted away. His feet caught on something and he went down. He saw the rush of sickly green light shoot pass half an inch from his eyes as he fell to his side. He heard it explode against the wall, heard Rookwood's laugh and Hannah's terrible scream.
'Neville, NO!'
Neville's head slammed against something so hard it made stars burst out behind his eyes.
'That's the end of your precious Longbottom.'
Rookwood obviously thought he was dead. Neville forced his eyes to open and focus through the green haze that seemed to be surrounding him.
'Let's finish this before the other Aurors-ARGH!'
Neville staggered to his feet to see Hannah launch herself at Rookwood with a war cry, tearing at his face with her bare hands. Rookwood flailed, pushing at her, but one arm managed to twist his wand up ...
'Ava-'
'STUPEFY!' yelled Neville, throwing everything he had into the spell, knowing that he had to hit him on his first try. The burst of red light that exploded from the end of his wand was twice as thick as he'd ever seen it. It hurtled towards the tussling Rookwood and Hannah, smashing into both of them. They dropped like rocks away from each other.
'Hannah, oh God,' he cried, stumbling on shaky legs towards her.
'Bloody hell,' Neville heard behind him, but he ignored Ron. He dropped to his knees next to Hannah and cradled her head gently in his arms. Her pulse throbbed weakly against his fingers.
'I'm so sorry, Hannah, I'm so sorry.'
Ron touched his shoulder. 'Neville, is she --'
'Alive,' said Neville, anger surging through him suddenly. He shrugged Ron's hand away roughly. 'No thanks to you.'
Ron's eyes widened. 'Mate --'
'Why the hell did you leave your post tonight?' The words flew out of his mouth like daggers. 'You bloody idiot!'
'In case you missed the call, Harry sent for help! And that was bloody Greyback over there.'
'And Rookwood here and you just left Hannah to him, didn't you?'
'Well, how was I to know he'd show up here? We didn't any of us have a clue! You're bang out of order, Longbottom-'
'He could have killed her!' Neville roared, abandoning logic in the release of the terrible fear that had gripped his insides since he'd realised Rookwood had come after Hannah.
There was a long silence. Hermione had appeared at some point and put her hand on Ron's elbow, silencing any comeback Ron might have had. Ginny appeared from behind them and came forward to kneel by Neville and Hannah.
'He didn't,' she said, after checking Hannah's pulse. 'Come on, Neville, we'll get her to St Mungo's.'
Still breathing hard, Neville let Ginny help him lift Hannah. He staggered a bit under her weight -- his head still felt groggy from the hit it'd taken earlier -- but Ron and Hermione quickly moved forward to support them. More people were moving into the room now, Aurors arriving to take charge of the knocked-out Rookwood. Harry broke away from them and came to their little group.
'Get a Portkey,' Ginny said. 'Hannah's out -- don't think Neville's in top shape either.'
'I'm fine,' Neville said, 'it's Hannah that ...' A wave of blackness swirled in his head and he lost the thread of his sentence. He gave it up in favour of trying to keep himself and Hannah upright.
Something jerked beneath his navel. He closed his eyes against the sudden spinning of the world around him. His head swam with dizziness ... then nothingness ...
And then he was wide awake, his throat scorching with some potion that had just been forced down his throat. Neville's eyes snapped open.
'What -- where -- Hannah -- Mungo's-' His words came out garbled.
'Easy, now,' said a steady, familiar voice. Strong hands held his shoulders to keep him from springing bolt upright. 'This Rejuvenating Draught's a mite stronger than the ones we used to use.' Neville's vision, which had been blurred at first, focused on Ernie Macmillan's broad, calm face in front of him. He tried to gather himself.
'How are you feeling, Neville?'
'Like I just came out of detention.'
Ernie laughed. 'Should've known I'd be doing this for you again at some stage.'
Neville managed a wry smile -- Ernie had been the best among all of them when it came to patching up Carrow-inflicted injuries -- then returned to the pressing issue. 'Has anyone seen to Hannah?'
'She's come round already,' said Ernie, to Neville's relief. 'Only got grazed by a Stunning Spell, it seems, but what a Stunner it was! The other guy they brought in got the brunt of it -- he's still out.'
Neville felt his face flush guiltily. She's okay, he told himself. You only grazed her.
'Anyway,' continued Ernie, 'you have visitors. Shall I let them in?'
'Huh? Oh -- er -- sure.'
Ernie strode over to the door and pulled it open. The next moment, Ginny and Hermione descended on him. Harry was just visible behind them.
'Thank goodness, Neville!' said Hermione. 'We were worried.'
Ginny grinned. 'Though it really isn't anything we haven't seen before.'
'Well done, though,' said Harry. 'Thanks to you and Ron, that's both Greyback and Rookwood captured tonight.'
'I didn't do anything.'
All their heads turned to the door, where Ron had just appeared, looking a bit nervous. He came inside the room. Hermione held out her hand to him and he took it, but he didn't take his eyes off Neville. 'Neville was the one that took him out.'
'Ron,' Hermione began, but Ron shook his head at her.
'Hannah's all right, by the way,' he told Neville. 'I just spoke to her. She asked about you first thing.'
Neville's stomach flipped. 'She's not angry at me?'
Everyone stared at him. 'Why'd she be angry at you?'
'It was my Stunner, you know, that --'
'Neville, don't be an idiot,' said Ginny. 'You were aiming at Rookwood, weren't you?'
'Yeah, but ...'
'Well, it's hardly your fault, then. You did what you had to do. Rookwood would have killed her!'
'He tried.'
'There you have it, then. You saved her life!' Ginny shook her head. 'Angry at you. Honestly.'
'Think she's more worried than anything,' said Ron. 'Anyway, d'you guys mind if I have a private word with Neville?'
There was a moment's pause, then, 'Of course not,' said Ginny brightly. 'I think we should go see how Hannah is.' She and Hermione exchanged strange knowing looks, then she winked at Neville and steered Harry and Ernie out. Hermione paused for a moment to whisper something to Ron (it sounded like 'Be nice!') before following. Ron rolled his eyes at their retreating figures.
'I thought about what you said,' said Ron when they had shut the door. 'S'why I went to see Hannah first. Figured I -- er -- owed her an apology, maybe.'
Neville's last words to Ron came back to him then. Suddenly he knew what Ron wanted to speak to him about. He felt his face heat up. Whatever had possessed him to accuse Ron like that? 'Sorry about that, mate. It wasn't your fault. I shouldn't have ...'
'No, you were right, in a way. I -- um -- on my way out of the pub I saw her and this other wizard. Thought he was just passing, Flooing out like the rest of the customers had done earlier. I ought to have realised.
'But Harry called, and I just knew Greyback was near Grimmauld Place and Hermione was there ...' Ron looked sheepishly at Neville. 'I reckon I know where you were coming from, anyway.'
Neville tried to digest all of this. Ron had spotted something suspicious but left anyway. He felt a bit of his anger return, but it was muted now that he was in this brightly lit room, with Hannah safe in a ward somewhere and Rookwood in custody. Ron had been responding to Harry's call, same as he had, he reminded himself. Ron had been worried about Hermione. Neville supposed he could understand that.
Ron cleared his throat after a few seconds of silence. 'So. Hannah Abbott, eh?' He tried for a grin.
It took a while before Ron's words sank in. His face burned harder than before. 'We're not -- it's not --' He didn't know how to explain. Hell, he wasn't even sure himself what he thought about what Ron was implying.
The idea that he and Hannah might be -- well, that there might be a 'them' -- felt warm and comfortable, though. Neville thought of midnight heart-to-hearts, homey conversations over her excellent hot cocoa, vaguely embarrassing thoughts forming in his head from time to time ... and the desperate panic in his chest when he'd heard Rookwood mustering up an Avada Kedavra for her.
'I think,' he heard himself say faintly, 'we need to talk.'
Ron laughed. 'I think you need to do more than that, mate, but that's a start.'