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Chapter 2

Out of the Dungeon

Ron wiped the sweat off his forehead with the back of his hand. He had rolled up the sleeves of his Chudley Cannons' shirt and cut his second-hand jeans to just above his knees in his desperation to cool down.

The sun had barely cleared the horizon as Ron entered the Hogwarts hospital wing.

Rows of occupied beds lined the walls of the long room. Ron stifled a yawn as he started laying out bottles neatly on a cart. The room was nearly silent, with only the occasional moan breaking into the eerie stillness of the room.

Ron could hear a rather painful groan coming from a bed near him. He turned around to see the owner of the noise—a sleeping middle-aged man, trying to turn on his side but failing miserably.

Ron sighed and walked over the man. Placing his hand underneath the man, he carefully pulled him onto his side.

"You didn't come to bed last night."

Ron looked towards the accusing voice. Ginny, dressed in a tank top and a pair of shorts, stood at the entrance of the wing with her hands on her hips as she tapped her foot impatiently waiting for a reply

"There was a problem up in Section 5 that I had to deal with," said Ron.

Ginny made her way into the room. "Well, what do you think you are doing now? Get some sleep. No point in you falling ill from exhaustion."

"Can't, I've got to collect some ingredients from the forest."

"Right, I'm almost out. But I can do that, Ron."

"Nah, we barely have enough potions to last the rest of the day," said Ron as returned to his bottles and rationed out the remaining liquid from the bottles into goblets. "You're best at that. And besides, Remus is bringing in some new patients. I've got to go scout out some extra rooms. We're running out of beds, Ginny," he said worriedly.

Ginny sighed. "I know. More get sick. None get better. Mum's been taking in a few people as w—." Ginny stopped talking so abruptly that Ron looked up from the potions he was measuring.

"Something wrong, Gin?

"Hermione," whispered Ginny.

"What?" Ron looked at the entrance of the hospital wing. The bottle slipped out of his hand, its contents spilling onto the floor. Hermione was standing by the door, her hands trembling.

Ron's mind reeled with fear. His heart beat frantically. Hermione was here. Hermione could get sick. Words left his lips without thinking. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE! ARE YOU MAD?"

"Ron, please listen." Hermione's voice was barely a whisper.

Ron closed his eyes. She's not here, she's not here. She's safe. Nothing to worry about. He opened his eyes. She was still standing by the doorway.

Panic soon overtook his anger. The virus is airborne; she's probably already been in contact with it.

"How could you, Hermione?" he said, his voice trembling.

"Hermione, what are you doing here?" asked Ginny in a much calmer voice.

"I…I…" Her eyes roamed across the room, staring at the helpless figures in the beds.

"I think I've come up with a vaccine…a potion. I've just taken it."

"THINK! YOU THINK? 'THINK' IS NOT GOOD ENOUGH! What if you haven't?"

Tears ran down Hermione's cheeks. "What else am I to do? I have to test the vaccine. There's no other way around it. Look at all these people. They had no chance of protecting themselves.

Ron hadn't realized that tears were now running down his face. Hermione was right. He was being selfish in wanting to keep her away from all the danger.

"It's just that…I…the thought of…of losing you…it's…" His voice was so choked up, he couldn't speak.

Hermione came up to him and slipped her hand into his. "I'm not going anywhere, Ron."

Ron flinched at her touch. If she hadn't come in contact with the virus before, she surely had now. He tried to pull his hand away, but Hermione held on firmly.

She pulled him up to his feet and wiped away his tears. "I missed you."

Ron closed his eyes. She had no idea how badly he missed her. "Me too."

Suddenly he snapped his head up, looking at the entrance anxiously. "What about Harry? How is he? Where is he?"

Ginny made a small, anguished sound.

"He's as well as expected. Angry that he's been locked up. I gave him the slip just now. I want to make sure the potion works before letting him out of the dungeon."

Ron nodded, trying not to think about the potion not working. "It's for Harry's own good."

"I just hope he doesn't blow up the dungeon, trying to get out."

"He's sensible enough," said Ginny, though it seemed like she was trying to reassure herself more than anyone else.

Hermione hugged Ginny. "Don't you worry about Harry, Ginny. He has the three of us to keep him safe."

Ginny nodded. "It's good to see you, Hermione."

"Yes. I didn't know if I'd find you two here in the castle. When I went into the dungeon neither of you had made plans."

Ginny crossed her arms. "Well, this wasn't my first choice." Her voice conveyed a bit of irritation.

Ron leaned against the wall, his lack of sleep finally catching up with him.

"This really isn't the place for this conversation," he said softly, eyeing the patients.

"Right," muttered Ginny. "I've got potions to make anyway. We'll talk tonight, Hermione."

Hermione nodded, looking between the two siblings oddly.

"Yay, I've got to go into the forest," said Ron.

"I'll come with you," offered Hermione, quickly. "I haven't been outside for sometime now."

Ron looked at his watch. "Alright, give me a moment."

Ron walked over to the fireplace and threw some powder into the hearth. A room with plush blue couches appeared within the flames.

"Anthony. Anthony!" hollered Ron

"Anthony Goldstein?" asked Hermione, bewildered.

A groggy voice interrupted them.

"Yeah?"

Ron spun around to the face of the sleepy eyed young man in the fireplace. "Why in Hades aren't you down here?"

"Oh, what time is it," asked Anthony as he rubbed his eyes.

"Half past 5! You were supposed to be down here half an hour ago!"

Anthony seemed to wake up slightly as Ron yelled at him. His face turned a shade of red. "Sorry," he muttered. "Won't happen again, promise."

Ron sighed. He'd never get used to this. Hermione was looking at him with a mix of confusion and shock.

Ron gave her a sheepish smile. "You've been a good teacher, Ms. Know-it-All. Let's head out."

As they walked through the castle, Ron stole sideway glances at Hermione, not truly believing she was there. Part of him was thrilled to have her back, while another part wished she'd stayed in the dungeon.

"So, why are we going into the forest?"

"Collecting ingredients for potions…for the patients…everything from painkillers to sleeping draughts."

"Is Ginny making the potions?"

"Yeah, she's always been very good at it. She never let Snape put her down."

"Speaking of Snape, have you heard word of him?"

Ron's eyes darkened. "No," he said, regretfully.

Hermione sighed and the two walked silently passed the grounds.

"You go in there often? Alone?" asked Hermione, eyeing the edge of the forest warily.

Ron smirked in spite of himself. "Are you scared the centaurs will come and take me away?"

"Harry told you about that? He shouldn't have."

"We've been through much worse," said Ron, any hint of humour gone. "Anyways, they've left me alone. According to Firenze, they've predicted the doom of our kind, and are happy to leave us alone and let fate deal with us."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "What about the acromantulas?"

Ron shivered. "They stay in a certain part of the forest. I don't go near there."

"What do we need?"

"Knotgrass, salamander blood and ashwinder eggs is about all for now."

"Ashwinder eggs! That's a bit dangerous."

"See there?" said Ron, pointing at a trail of ash. "I lit a magical fire a few hours ago right here. The snake would have died by now and left a nest of eggs at the end of this trail."

"Yes, but if you leave the eggs too long, they'll cause a fire!"

"I've been collecting these eggs for a month now, Hermione. I have the timing down to an art."

Hermione looked at him, impressed.

Ron looked away, embarrassed. Many things had changed in the month that they were apart. Ron found himself dealing with a lot more responsibility than he had thought he could handle.

"There they are," whispered Hermione, excitedly, grabbing onto Ron's arm. "I've always wanted to see them in their natural state. They're beautiful."

Ron blushed and his stomach seemed to flutter.

"We should freeze them," continued Hermione, bending down beside the nest of glowing red eggs.

They worked silently for a few moments and then moved on to collect some knotgrass.

"It's a good thing we've collected so many. I can send some to Mum. She's probably running low."

"What does your mum need these for?"

"She's turned the Burrow into a makeshift hospital. I've been sending her supplies ever since."

Hermione nodded. "How is your father? Your brothers?"

Ron's body tensed and he looked away.

"Oh God," murmured Hermione.

"No ones…I mean, no one has…died."

Hermione sighed with relief.

"But…but Charlie was badly hurt in an attack. It's been over three weeks and he…he hasn't…he hasn't woken up."

"Oh Ron!"

"And dad…well…he's acting Minister of Magic."

"What? Are you serious?"

"Dead serious," said Ron, a bit irritably. "He's being used, and we all know it, including Dad."

"What do you mean?"

"Amos Diggory was made acting Ministry after Scrimgeour fell ill."

"Cedric's dad?"

"Yeah. But he was murdered two weeks ago."

"WHAT?"

"They found the Dark Mark over his body.

He wiped the back of his hand roughly over his eyes. "We've collected about enough. Let's get out of here before something nasty show up and gives us trouble."

They quickly made there way out of the forest.

"So Diggory was killed and your dad is now Minister?"

"No one was willing to take on the job after what happened to Diggory. Dad, being the noble git he is, gave in and took it."

"Ron!"

"None of us are thrilled with the arrangement, Hermione. Mum and dad had a huge row. I've…I've never heard them fight like that."

Hermione put her hand on his shoulder. "He'll be alright. He's got a lot of good people backing him up."

Ron didn't want to discuss it any longer. "You got a letter from your parents yesterday. It was from Australia."

Hermione closed her eyes. "They listened to me then. The virus, it hasn't…"

"Only Europe so far."

Hermione nodded.

"Hermione! Hermione, is that really you?"

Hermione and Ron spun around. Running towards them was Parvati.

"Parvati is here?" muttered Hermione, astounded.

"Does this mean you've completed the vaccine?" asked Parvati as she stopped in front of them, panting heavily.

"Yes, I think so."

"Oh that's great! It's good to see you." Parvati put down the paper bag she had in her hand and flung her arms around Hermione.

"It's nice to see you too," said Hermione, awkwardly.

"Well, I have to run…only have a half hour break. We'll catch up tonight."

Parvati waved at Ron and headed towards the greenhouses.

"I wouldn't have expected Parvati to stay and help."

"Well, a war brings out the unexpected in people," Ron muttered quietly, his eyes downcast.

"Yes, I suppose. And why is she going off to the greenhouses for a break?"

Ron chortled and smiled slightly. "She's gone to have breakfast with Neville. Seems the two of them have gotten quite friendly."

"Really? They seem so…so…different."

"Stating the obvious."

Hermione chuckled. "Who else stayed behind?"

"Well, there's Ginny, Neville, Parvati and me. Then there's Terry Boot, Anthony Goldstein, Padma Patil and Luna from Ravenclaw. And Suzan Bones, Hannah Abbott, Ernie Macmillan and Zacharias Smith from Hufflepuff."

"All from the DA…"

"It was a brilliant idea, Hermione. Really brought people together. I know Seamus and Dean and even Lavender would have stayed and helped if…if they could…"

"They're sick then?"

"Almost everyone I know who isn't pureblood is sick. The muggles haven't been as badly affected. But there are enough cases to cause alarm."

They stopped at the portrait of the Fat Lady.

"What's the password?"

"U-No-Poo."

"If you say so," replied the Fat Lady, lazily, as she revealed the entrance to the Gryffindor common room.

"That's the password?"

"Hey, I thought it was funny."

"Fred and George would be honoured."

"Hermione," started Ron, again, all hints of humour gone within seconds. "About the vaccine…what are the specifics…if say, I took it, would that stop me from carrying the virus?"

"Normally, vaccines don't work like that. But I had that outcome in mind when I started and with magic, a lot more is possible. So, I'm positive that if I don't get sick in five days, then the vaccine will have that effect on purebloods."

Ron didn't want to think about Hermione getting sick. "That's good. We can't help the muggles because we'd just spread the disease faster in their world. But with this vaccine…"

"We can finally try and help them," finished Hermione. She was crying now. "Everything's a disaster, isn't it?"

Ron bit his bottom lip. He was never very good at handling tears. He took her hand, led her to a couch, and pulled her head onto his shoulder.

Everything was a disaster. There were more people sick than healthy. The Death Eaters were attacking people at every turn.

The Ministry was in over its head and had no funding now that the wizard world was at a standstill. Fred and George had started supplying the Ministry with all kinds of gadgets, at no cost. There weren't enough people to take care of the ill and fight Death Eaters. Order members were being killed, with no one to fill their places.

The ministry was using his dad. His mum was trying to run a mini-hospital on next to nothing. And his best friend, Harry, was being held against his will…by his friends, no less.

"Ron?"

"Hmm?"

"Has…has anyone died…from the virus?"

"Not yet."

Silence.

"Five days is a long time to wait."

Ron agreed. The waiting would be agonizing. He thought of Harry locked down there by himself…

"You should get some sleep, you look knackered."

"You don't look so good yourself."

"I'll be alright. Remus is coming with more patients. I have to scout out some rooms."

"Remus? He isn't ill? I thought…but he's a half-blood."

"He is…but he's not entirely human, is he?"

"Oh come off it, Ron. He's as human as you and me."

"I'm not saying that I think he's not human, Hermione, but the virus doesn't affect him…Remus says none of the werewolves he knows are sick. And Bill was saying that Fleur's grandmother was muggle-born but she's not sick either."

"Because she's part Veela?"

"Exactly."

"Hagrid?"

"Perfectly healthy. He's in France on Order business."

Ron could see Hermione trying to stifle a yawn.

"Get some sleep Hermione."

"No, I'd rather come with you."

"There isn't much point. It's not a two-person job. You should get some sleep. You'll have lots of catching up to do when Ginny, Parvati and Neville get back and I'm sure the others will be thrilled to see you."

"Are…are you trying to get rid of me?"

"No! No…Hermione…you just look so tired."

"Oh, alright, I guess I could do with a bout of sleep."

"You're bed's not there…you might as well sleep in my bed or Ginny's for now."

"My bed's gone?"

"Yeah, we've been using student beds for patients."

Hermione sighed. "There's that many, then? So many that St. Mungos couldn't accommodate them all?"

Ron skirted around her questions. "Everybody will be coming together for lunch in the staff room at…eleven thirty. We'll talk them"

"The staff room?" asked Hermione, surprised. "Alright, then, I'll save my questions for later," said Hermione, smiling weakly.

Ron watched her as she headed up to the girls dormitory. His heart beat furiously, memories of their one and only kiss running through his mind, for once dominating his usually despairing thoughts. He would have loved to kiss her right then.

"Hermione."

Hermione turned around. "Yes?"

"Um, uh…nothing…nothing. See you at lunch."