Disclaimer: I do not own anything in the HP universe.
A new update! "So soon?" you ask, obviously shocked. Yes! I'm sorry it took so long for the last update, so here is a present of sorts. This chapter is a bit shorter and an experiment. It's from another character's POV because Harry isn't actually present in the scenes. I want to add memories that weren't actually in the novels because I think the story might get kind of stale and predictable otherwise. Thanks for all the reviews I've received! They help me guide the story and are really, really appreciated. :)
Ron, Luna, and Ginny whipped around the corner of the last aisle in the hall of prophecies and burst into a dark room where they could just make out the shadows of large floating objects. As soon as they stepped closer to the objects, the floor seemed to drop out from underneath them and the darkness intensified.
"Merlin!" Ginny cursed, her arms poised to break her fall if need be, "Where did the floor go?"
"I can't move forward." said Luna, a bit of awe and interest lacing her voice.
"This feels weirder than when I ate those Amortentia-spiked chocolates." Ron said, trying (and failing) to flip in mid-air.
Suddenly, the door the group had run through reopened. Two Death Eaters made their way into the room, which regained its floor as they stepped through the threshold.
Ginny, Ron, and Luna crashed to the newly reformed ground and began to crawl away from the fast approaching attackers.
"We have to get going." Ron said to his sister and Luna as he got up and bolted farther into the room.
"What about Harry, Neville, and Hermione?" Luna asked, running behind the Weasleys.
"We'll have to find them soon, but we have to get some distance between us and the Death Eaters." replied Ginny.
The Weasleys and Luna ran through the maze of floating objects, which they soon realized were smaller replicas of planets and moons. Two sets of footsteps echoed loudly behind them. Apparently the door must have reopened because Ron, Ginny, and Luna were thrown back into the floating abyss.
Ron felt like they hung in the air for what seemed like an eternity, but was probably only a few minutes. He was grateful that the Death Eaters were also suspended and unable to pursue them, but he wondered how Harry and Hermione were doing. He was worried about Neville too, of course, but he missed his best friends and was used to being with them in times of danger. Ron didn't have long to ponder though, as the door made a distinctive click as it opened again and the floor reformed. There were now four Death Eaters pursuing them.
Ron fell hard onto his right side, his face hitting the cold marble. Ginny and Luna grabbed his arms and dragged him forward until he began running on his own. Ron could taste the coppery tang of blood pooling behind what must be a broken lip. There was no time to think about it though.
"Oh, Ronniekins!" Mrs. Weasley said, sounding very sad.
Ron's ears blazed bright red at the use of his childhood nickname and his brothers snickered in the background.
"We need to find an exit." Ginny said, as they ran blindly forward.
"Let's split up for a second; see if one of us can find an exit." Ron said, "Ginny, you and Luna go right and I'll go left. You lot stick together though."
Luna and Ginny nodded in agreement and veered right, ducking behind a floating object Ron thought vaguely looked like Neptune or Uranus.
Ron kept running and the sounds of the footsteps diminished, whether from distance or fewer people following him. He began to feel better about his chances of finding and exit until a bright flash of red light struck a planet next to him. Ron was blasted sideways and had to roll out of the way of another stunner.
"I saw him! He's this way!" one of the Death Eaters called to another.
Ron got up and ran as fast as he could past a planet so large that it had to be Jupiter. "They're in order!" he whispered loudly. It was true, the planets seemed to be in order of their actual place in the solar system. That meant that Ginny and Luna were probably going to reach the end of the room soon. Maybe that's where the door would be.
Ron spun around and sprinted in the other direction, skirting behind a large chunk of what used to be Saturn's rings to avoid being seen by the Death Eaters who were tailing him. There was an outbreak of shouting ahead. A large blast of sound ricocheted around the room of planets followed by a loud groan of pain. Ron picked up the pace of his running and hurried towards the sound.
"Ohh! Who was that?" Dudley asked, cringing away from the Pensieve in disgust. Aunt Petunia put a bony arm around her blubbery son, pulling him closer and quietly telling him not to talk.
"It was me." Ginny said. "It really hurt, too!"
"Wow, little sis. Not so tough, are you?" Charlie taunted, a smirk forming across his face.
"Fine." Ginny said, obviously a little angry that anyone was calling her weak. "Why don't I break your ankle with a stunner and see how you take it."
Charlie didn't seem to have a response to this and just kept on smirking.
He was intercepted, however, by a Death Eater. The Death Eater shot a silent curse at Ron, who dodged it neatly. "Stupefy!" he shouted, his stunner missing his target and just barely grazing the tented top of the Death Eater's hood.
The Death Eater repeated his previous spell and Ron was unable to get out of the way in time. A jet of yellow light hit his left shin and his legs buckled underneath him. Satisfied that Ron was temporarily incapacitated, the Death Eater turned around and sprinted back towards the hall of prophesies.
A tingling sensation began in Ron's shin and spread to his toes rather quickly. He began to giggle a bit, as it felt like feathers were constantly tickling his lower leg. It was actually quite an unpleasant feeling, but it made everything around him seem really funny. The blown up bits of planet: funny. The blood filling his mouth and dribbling down his chin: funny. Ron sat for a moment laughing madly at everything in sight.
He could have sat in that spot all day and giggled at the things around him, but Ron felt a sliver of worry in the back of his mind. He remembered the loud bang and groan of pain from earlier and his mind cleared a little bit. The tingling feeling had now moved up to the knee of his left leg and onto the toes of his right foot, but he was able to stand up anyway. Ron walked and sometimes limped towards the spot where he had heard those sounds before. He was giggling the entire way, making him look a bit more than mad.
Finally, he could see two huddled shapes hiding behind the remnants of what must have been Pluto. One of the figures looked in his direction.
"Ron! Over here!" whispered the figure, who turned out to be Luna. When she saw his condition, she put her hands to her mouth. "Oh my! What happened to you?" she gestured to his limp and new found fascination with laughing. "Was it Wrackspurts? They do make your head all fuzzy, but I've never seen an infestation this bad!"
"Wrackspurts? Ha ha ha! Luna, you're really a riot, aren't you?" Ron sputtered out between guffaws.
"Ginny's been hurt, Ron. There's an exit only a bit away, but we didn't want to leave without you." Luna explained, ignoring Ron's interjection.
The tingling had spread up to Ron's waist and he was having trouble staying upright.
Luna, sensing that he wasn't listening, or perhaps couldn't, grabbed his arm and pulled him over to Ginny.
"Ron's here, Ginny. We can go now." Luna said.
"I don't know if I can get up." Ginny admitted, teeth clenched in pain.
"C'mon I'll help you. Just keep an eye on Ron. I think a bunch of Wrackspurts got him." Ginny nodded vaguely and let herself be helped by Luna.
The group tottered towards the exit, stopping periodically to check for signs of Death Eaters and to keep Ron from wandering away. The Death Eaters seemed to have moved on now that they had injured, or at least slowed down, everyone in the room.
Ron was holding onto Luna's sleeve to keep from falling to the ground laughing. Luna, unfortunately, tripped right before they reached the door and brought the whole party crashing through the threshold, fighting to stay upright.
They found themselves in the circular room full of doors, across from the rest of their friends.
So? Thoughts? Praises? Criticisms? I normally don't ask for reviews outright, but please let me know what you think about the change in POV. Gracias!
