By My Side: 06 | Rated: R | Ron Weasley Centric
Title: By My Side
Rating: R for language in later chapters
Pairings: Canon pairings
Words: 2,300 ish
Warnings: Okay, just presume there's angst all the time! Oh, and pain in this one too! :D
Disclaimer: I don't own the Harry Potter characters, I am merely playing with them. I shall return then when I'm done!
Authors Note: Firstly thank you to mrsquizzical and oncelikeshari for reading it through and putting up with my 'is this okay...how about this?' questions, of which there were many! Secondly thanks to my super fast beta deenas. Yes that's right, I've been through the beta process before putting it up on here, shock horror!
I cannot take credit for the baseline plot of this fic. I blatantly stole borrowed it from Stargate SG-1, series 7, which they then recycled in Stargate Atlantis, series 2, so you know, if they can use it twice, I can borrow it this once!
Chapter 5: Ginny
He had decided that he would go and find out what was going on as it fell dark. That way, he wouldn’t be as easily seen if there was anyone left out there, but, hopefully, it would still be light enough for him to find his way back to the cave.
He had gone out and found yet more berries to eat and was still as hungry as he was before he had eaten them. As yet, he hadn’t thrown them back up, so he decided that unfortunate incident had been because of his concussion and not because they weren’t suitable to eat.
He had also managed to get some water to drink. He was glad that the northern weather was living up to its shocking reputation and managed to drink some rainwater he collected in his hands. It wasn’t much but it was something.
Fed and watered - to an extent - he had set about thinking what he was going to do. He needed a plan of some sort, or at the very least a list of reactions to anything that might happen.
‘Best-case scenario, you find the place they were meeting, there’s no one there, and there’s a way home, whether it be by Floo or…no, actually that’s really my only option. Now, the chances of that happening are pretty low, so, I need to think of what else might be there.’
He felt silly talking himself through his ideas and plans, so tried to think them as opposed to actually saying them, but he got confused and found his head hurt more as he went along.
‘Right, so, best-case scenario isn’t likely to happen. Chances are, if it was their meeting on…crap, what day was it? What day is it now for that matter? Ugh! Well, whatever sodding day it was, chances are they’ve left, and, unless they’ve got someone there every day to guard it or…whatever, then it should be deserted. In theory. But they might be guarding it. If it’s being guarded, what do I do? If there’s just one of them, do I try and talk to them and ask if he can help me, or do I just presume they are out to kill me and either take him out or leave him well enough alone?’
He realised he had just made this a whole lot more complicated. He really needed to simplify things.
‘If there’s one person there, try and act the innocent and ask for help, if it turns ugly, either stand and fight if there’s a chance you won’t get hexed to pieces, or leg it at the first sign of trouble. If there’s a group of them…do the same thing, hope they aren’t evil bastards and will want to help me, or run for it at the first sign of trouble.’
‘That’s presuming I can find the sodding place!’
After he was happy that he had sorted out, not a plan of action as such, but a plan of retreat if things didn’t go as planned, he decided he needed some rest before he set out. He collected leaves from outside the cave and formed them into some sort of bed. Failing to get comfortable, he managed to fall asleep.
When he awoke it was starting to get dusky and he decided it was time to set out. He walked through the cave and noticed something he hadn’t before. Well, he hadn’t seen them, but he had obviously noticed them without realising it, as Harry had pointed them out. He still hadn’t looked at them properly though.
‘Ah, see there's your first mistake!'
He tried to look at the markings on the walls, but it was too dark to look at them properly, he would look at them in the morning. If he was still here.
He took the path he had taken twice before when looking for food. As he went into parts of the woodland he hadn’t been to before, he marked the bark on the occasional tree so he knew which direction to come back in, should he need to. He was hoping he would find a way home, but he knew it would be foolish not to prepare for the possibility he would have to make his way back to his sanctuary.
His head started to pound with every step he took.
‘Not now, please! I need a clear head at the minute!’
‘Maybe it’s a sign!’
He recognised the voice and stopped in his tracks. He looked over his shoulder and saw his sister walking behind him, obviously following him.
‘You’ve grown up, I see!’
‘Hey! It’s not my fault your brain decided to see me as a four-year-old! I do have a theory as to why you did that though. Want to hear it?’
‘Not really, I have to find myself a way home. Now is not the best time for a chat, Gin! If you could come back in about an hour, hopefully I’ll be able to chat then!’
‘Can’t go anywhere I’m afraid!’ Ginny replied brightly. ‘I’m in your head, remember!’
Ron sighed. ‘Well, could you be quiet then? I have to concentrate.’
‘Ron, I wouldn’t be here unless your brain was trying to tell you something! So I’m not going anywhere until you work out what it is. That’s how this whole thing works, isn’t it? Harry was telling you to stay awake and look after yourself; Dad told you to have confidence in yourself and that you are a strong person and Fred…Fred told you to get off your arse and do something rather than-’
‘Rather than waiting to die, yeah, that’s exactly what he said. And if you could tell me why you’re here, it would make my life a hell of a lot easier and would mean I could go back to what I have to do rather than figuring out the way my brain works!’
‘Yeah, but where’s the fun in that?’ Ginny replied with a mischievous grin. She passed Ron and started walking in the direction Ron was going in before she arrived.
Ron huffed with annoyance.
‘Look, Ginny, I don’t have time for this! I have to work out if I can get out of here by finding the place I hope to Merlin is here to see if it can help me get home. You can’t say that is a bad thing.’
‘The getting home part isn’t. You know, I can’t quite believe you, Ron. First, you don’t tell anyone what you’re doing. Second, you continue to fly in shocking weather. Third, you nearly get hit by lightening. Fourth, you decide to scout around in the bloody dark, and finally you think walking around in the dark on your own, wandless and injured is a good idea!’
‘Have you quite finished? Or is there anything else you’d like to add to my list of stupidities?’
‘Oh, I could go on for a bit longer, but I think I’ll leave it at that!’
‘Thanks!’ Ron replied the sarcasm dripping from his voice.
He carried on walking and realised he had not been marking trees as he went. He grunted in frustration and, in an act to make up for his lack of concentration, marked every tree around him with his stone.
‘You know, in about ten minutes you’re not going to be able to see those marks anyway, so there’s not much point in wasting your energy on making them,’ Ginny said lightly, like she was ignoring the weight her words would have.
‘If you’re not going to say anything constructive, then shut up!’ he growled through gritted teeth.
‘Tetchy!’
Ron stomped his way through the trees, trying to ignore Ginny and make his way as quickly as possible to his goal.
‘You shouldn’t be doing this, Ron!’ Ginny said as she followed him, making just as much noise as he was.
Ron stopped and turned to face his sister.
‘Is that why you’re here? To tell me this is a bad idea?’
His head throbbed.
‘Ron, I wouldn’t be here trying to distract you unless one part of your brain thought this was the stupidest idea ever! You could be walking into a building full of Death Eater wannabes without a wand to defend yourself. Your head is killing you and you still can’t see properly.’
‘Ginny, please. I need to do this and I need to do this now. I’m running out of time and my head is pounding. I’m only going to get worse the longer I’m left untreated so doing this now is my best chance!’
‘People are looking for you, Ron. Harry will have summoned all the Ministry personnel they can to look for you and Hermione will be researching every type of locator spell going to try and get you back to her. They’ll find you, Ron! They won’t rest until they do. You can help them by staying alive and staying in one place so that it’s easier to find you.’
‘I won’t sit on my arse and not help myself, Ginny. I can’t do that! You know me!’
‘I do! Of course I do, but you also know when it’s best to do the hard thing, whatever that is, even if it’s letting other people do the hard work.’
They had stopped walking but Ron needed to start again. He carried on.
‘Ron, stop!’
‘No, Ginny! You stop! I’m doing this whether you like it or not and I’m-’
He stopped shouting. He had heard movement. Instinctively he moved to a tree trunk and bent down behind it, listening for any other sound. He cursed how dark it had become in literally a few minutes, his blurry eyesight adding to his problems.
‘Hopkins? Is that you?’
Just one, searching for a second.
‘Is that him, Miller? It better had be! He’s already late.’
Make that two, waiting for a third.
Ron’s legs started to ache so he stood up. It was the wrong choice though, as a head rush made him lose his balance and stagger away from the tree. He fell backwards with a thump.
‘Hopkins? Are you alright?’
Spots and bright colours clouded Ron’s vision. He struggled to his feet again and gripped a tree trunk for support. Realising he was in no fit state to do anything other than lie down at the minute he started walking back the way he came.
‘He stopped when his shadow fell on the ground in front of him.’
‘Hey! Who are you? What the hell are you doing here?’
Ron looked over his shoulder and took one step forwards. The man, illuminated only slightly by his wand light raised his wand in a duelling stance.
Ron didn’t wait to see what curse he was going to throw, he started running as fast as he could.
'Stupify!’ the man shouted. Ron saw the curse hit a tree to his left. ‘Impedimenta!’ This time it hit a tree to his right.
I need to get out of here! Someone, help me!
A flash of orange light erupted behind him and he threw himself to his right instinctively. The trees behind him had burst into flames and a man was screaming in pain.
Knowing he had to get away from the flames, he pushed himself to his feet and ran. He had no way of knowing if he was going the right way back to the cave but at the minute he didn’t really care.
He ran, ignoring the pain when his feet landed awkwardly on the uneven ground. His head was spinning when he ran into something and smacked his nose against it.
He landed on his back and fought to stay conscious. He rolled onto his front and swivelled round so he was facing the way he had been. He couldn’t see what he had run into, in fact he couldn't see anything. It was dark, yes, but he could see shadows of trees around him but couldn’t see anything directly in front of him. He managed to hold his hand out and felt for what had knocked him down.
Bright patterns invaded his vision, he knew he was losing the battle to stay awake. Blood was dripping from his nose and the pain in his head and face was unbearable. He groped for what was in front of him, when he felt it; the hairs on his hand were being pulled forwards. He crawled forwards and felt the solid barrier in front of him. He crawled sideways feeling the barrier as he went around.
After what felt like hours, his hand fell through the entrance of the cave causing him to lose his balance. He hauled himself into the invisible place and curled up into a ball.
Then he willingly gave himself to unconsciousness.
Rating: R for language in later chapters
Pairings: Canon pairings
Words: 2,300 ish
Warnings: Okay, just presume there's angst all the time! Oh, and pain in this one too! :D
Disclaimer: I don't own the Harry Potter characters, I am merely playing with them. I shall return then when I'm done!
Authors Note: Firstly thank you to mrsquizzical and oncelikeshari for reading it through and putting up with my 'is this okay...how about this?' questions, of which there were many! Secondly thanks to my super fast beta deenas. Yes that's right, I've been through the beta process before putting it up on here, shock horror!
I cannot take credit for the baseline plot of this fic. I blatantly stole borrowed it from Stargate SG-1, series 7, which they then recycled in Stargate Atlantis, series 2, so you know, if they can use it twice, I can borrow it this once!
Chapter 5: Ginny
He had decided that he would go and find out what was going on as it fell dark. That way, he wouldn’t be as easily seen if there was anyone left out there, but, hopefully, it would still be light enough for him to find his way back to the cave.
He had gone out and found yet more berries to eat and was still as hungry as he was before he had eaten them. As yet, he hadn’t thrown them back up, so he decided that unfortunate incident had been because of his concussion and not because they weren’t suitable to eat.
He had also managed to get some water to drink. He was glad that the northern weather was living up to its shocking reputation and managed to drink some rainwater he collected in his hands. It wasn’t much but it was something.
Fed and watered - to an extent - he had set about thinking what he was going to do. He needed a plan of some sort, or at the very least a list of reactions to anything that might happen.
‘Best-case scenario, you find the place they were meeting, there’s no one there, and there’s a way home, whether it be by Floo or…no, actually that’s really my only option. Now, the chances of that happening are pretty low, so, I need to think of what else might be there.’
He felt silly talking himself through his ideas and plans, so tried to think them as opposed to actually saying them, but he got confused and found his head hurt more as he went along.
‘Right, so, best-case scenario isn’t likely to happen. Chances are, if it was their meeting on…crap, what day was it? What day is it now for that matter? Ugh! Well, whatever sodding day it was, chances are they’ve left, and, unless they’ve got someone there every day to guard it or…whatever, then it should be deserted. In theory. But they might be guarding it. If it’s being guarded, what do I do? If there’s just one of them, do I try and talk to them and ask if he can help me, or do I just presume they are out to kill me and either take him out or leave him well enough alone?’
He realised he had just made this a whole lot more complicated. He really needed to simplify things.
‘If there’s one person there, try and act the innocent and ask for help, if it turns ugly, either stand and fight if there’s a chance you won’t get hexed to pieces, or leg it at the first sign of trouble. If there’s a group of them…do the same thing, hope they aren’t evil bastards and will want to help me, or run for it at the first sign of trouble.’
‘That’s presuming I can find the sodding place!’
After he was happy that he had sorted out, not a plan of action as such, but a plan of retreat if things didn’t go as planned, he decided he needed some rest before he set out. He collected leaves from outside the cave and formed them into some sort of bed. Failing to get comfortable, he managed to fall asleep.
When he awoke it was starting to get dusky and he decided it was time to set out. He walked through the cave and noticed something he hadn’t before. Well, he hadn’t seen them, but he had obviously noticed them without realising it, as Harry had pointed them out. He still hadn’t looked at them properly though.
‘Ah, see there's your first mistake!'
He tried to look at the markings on the walls, but it was too dark to look at them properly, he would look at them in the morning. If he was still here.
He took the path he had taken twice before when looking for food. As he went into parts of the woodland he hadn’t been to before, he marked the bark on the occasional tree so he knew which direction to come back in, should he need to. He was hoping he would find a way home, but he knew it would be foolish not to prepare for the possibility he would have to make his way back to his sanctuary.
His head started to pound with every step he took.
‘Not now, please! I need a clear head at the minute!’
‘Maybe it’s a sign!’
He recognised the voice and stopped in his tracks. He looked over his shoulder and saw his sister walking behind him, obviously following him.
‘You’ve grown up, I see!’
‘Hey! It’s not my fault your brain decided to see me as a four-year-old! I do have a theory as to why you did that though. Want to hear it?’
‘Not really, I have to find myself a way home. Now is not the best time for a chat, Gin! If you could come back in about an hour, hopefully I’ll be able to chat then!’
‘Can’t go anywhere I’m afraid!’ Ginny replied brightly. ‘I’m in your head, remember!’
Ron sighed. ‘Well, could you be quiet then? I have to concentrate.’
‘Ron, I wouldn’t be here unless your brain was trying to tell you something! So I’m not going anywhere until you work out what it is. That’s how this whole thing works, isn’t it? Harry was telling you to stay awake and look after yourself; Dad told you to have confidence in yourself and that you are a strong person and Fred…Fred told you to get off your arse and do something rather than-’
‘Rather than waiting to die, yeah, that’s exactly what he said. And if you could tell me why you’re here, it would make my life a hell of a lot easier and would mean I could go back to what I have to do rather than figuring out the way my brain works!’
‘Yeah, but where’s the fun in that?’ Ginny replied with a mischievous grin. She passed Ron and started walking in the direction Ron was going in before she arrived.
Ron huffed with annoyance.
‘Look, Ginny, I don’t have time for this! I have to work out if I can get out of here by finding the place I hope to Merlin is here to see if it can help me get home. You can’t say that is a bad thing.’
‘The getting home part isn’t. You know, I can’t quite believe you, Ron. First, you don’t tell anyone what you’re doing. Second, you continue to fly in shocking weather. Third, you nearly get hit by lightening. Fourth, you decide to scout around in the bloody dark, and finally you think walking around in the dark on your own, wandless and injured is a good idea!’
‘Have you quite finished? Or is there anything else you’d like to add to my list of stupidities?’
‘Oh, I could go on for a bit longer, but I think I’ll leave it at that!’
‘Thanks!’ Ron replied the sarcasm dripping from his voice.
He carried on walking and realised he had not been marking trees as he went. He grunted in frustration and, in an act to make up for his lack of concentration, marked every tree around him with his stone.
‘You know, in about ten minutes you’re not going to be able to see those marks anyway, so there’s not much point in wasting your energy on making them,’ Ginny said lightly, like she was ignoring the weight her words would have.
‘If you’re not going to say anything constructive, then shut up!’ he growled through gritted teeth.
‘Tetchy!’
Ron stomped his way through the trees, trying to ignore Ginny and make his way as quickly as possible to his goal.
‘You shouldn’t be doing this, Ron!’ Ginny said as she followed him, making just as much noise as he was.
Ron stopped and turned to face his sister.
‘Is that why you’re here? To tell me this is a bad idea?’
His head throbbed.
‘Ron, I wouldn’t be here trying to distract you unless one part of your brain thought this was the stupidest idea ever! You could be walking into a building full of Death Eater wannabes without a wand to defend yourself. Your head is killing you and you still can’t see properly.’
‘Ginny, please. I need to do this and I need to do this now. I’m running out of time and my head is pounding. I’m only going to get worse the longer I’m left untreated so doing this now is my best chance!’
‘People are looking for you, Ron. Harry will have summoned all the Ministry personnel they can to look for you and Hermione will be researching every type of locator spell going to try and get you back to her. They’ll find you, Ron! They won’t rest until they do. You can help them by staying alive and staying in one place so that it’s easier to find you.’
‘I won’t sit on my arse and not help myself, Ginny. I can’t do that! You know me!’
‘I do! Of course I do, but you also know when it’s best to do the hard thing, whatever that is, even if it’s letting other people do the hard work.’
They had stopped walking but Ron needed to start again. He carried on.
‘Ron, stop!’
‘No, Ginny! You stop! I’m doing this whether you like it or not and I’m-’
He stopped shouting. He had heard movement. Instinctively he moved to a tree trunk and bent down behind it, listening for any other sound. He cursed how dark it had become in literally a few minutes, his blurry eyesight adding to his problems.
‘Hopkins? Is that you?’
Just one, searching for a second.
‘Is that him, Miller? It better had be! He’s already late.’
Make that two, waiting for a third.
Ron’s legs started to ache so he stood up. It was the wrong choice though, as a head rush made him lose his balance and stagger away from the tree. He fell backwards with a thump.
‘Hopkins? Are you alright?’
Spots and bright colours clouded Ron’s vision. He struggled to his feet again and gripped a tree trunk for support. Realising he was in no fit state to do anything other than lie down at the minute he started walking back the way he came.
‘He stopped when his shadow fell on the ground in front of him.’
‘Hey! Who are you? What the hell are you doing here?’
Ron looked over his shoulder and took one step forwards. The man, illuminated only slightly by his wand light raised his wand in a duelling stance.
Ron didn’t wait to see what curse he was going to throw, he started running as fast as he could.
'Stupify!’ the man shouted. Ron saw the curse hit a tree to his left. ‘Impedimenta!’ This time it hit a tree to his right.
I need to get out of here! Someone, help me!
A flash of orange light erupted behind him and he threw himself to his right instinctively. The trees behind him had burst into flames and a man was screaming in pain.
Knowing he had to get away from the flames, he pushed himself to his feet and ran. He had no way of knowing if he was going the right way back to the cave but at the minute he didn’t really care.
He ran, ignoring the pain when his feet landed awkwardly on the uneven ground. His head was spinning when he ran into something and smacked his nose against it.
He landed on his back and fought to stay conscious. He rolled onto his front and swivelled round so he was facing the way he had been. He couldn’t see what he had run into, in fact he couldn't see anything. It was dark, yes, but he could see shadows of trees around him but couldn’t see anything directly in front of him. He managed to hold his hand out and felt for what had knocked him down.
Bright patterns invaded his vision, he knew he was losing the battle to stay awake. Blood was dripping from his nose and the pain in his head and face was unbearable. He groped for what was in front of him, when he felt it; the hairs on his hand were being pulled forwards. He crawled forwards and felt the solid barrier in front of him. He crawled sideways feeling the barrier as he went around.
After what felt like hours, his hand fell through the entrance of the cave causing him to lose his balance. He hauled himself into the invisible place and curled up into a ball.
Then he willingly gave himself to unconsciousness.