No one moved.
For what felt like hours, they stood - Harry on one side with Ginny and Charlie, Hermione on the other, her face drained of colour, not believing what she had just heard.
The worst of it all was that they were not alone. Draco stood a few paces behind Hermione, not knowing what to say, not knowing what to do... and with Draco, stood the rest of the family, the Order, everyone.
Minutes passed and still, no one moved.
Tears began to shine in Hermione's eyes as she looked at Charlie. The brave, confident, fearless man that had arrived was now defeated, his eyes sad as he looked upon the face of the woman he would never have; once again, too late.
"Hermione…"
At the sound of his voice, Hermione turned to see Draco take a hesitant step towards her, stopping when he saw the tortured expression upon her face. As Hermione looked back and forth between the crowd of people behind her and the trio standing in front, she started to break.
"Oh, Charlie," she swallowed, her voice thick. "I… I'm so sorry, I-"
"Shh, shh…" Charlie whispered, taking a few steps forward until he stood in front of her. He raised his calloused hand to wipe a fallen tear from Hermione's cheek and gave her a weak smile. "Don't… don't you dare apologise. You're happy, and that's all that matters. You have absolutely nothing to be sorry for, love."
At that, Hermione threw her arms around him and sobbed into his shoulder. While Ron's actions towards her were terrible, they were nothing compared to what he had done to Charlie. The fact that Ron had used their feelings against each other was shock enough, but the twisted web of pain that he had started was beginning to spin out of control…
She felt Charlie's arms tighten for the briefest moment before he released her and led her from his arms towards Draco.
"Take care of her, mate," Charlie said, giving Draco a hard look. "Keep her happy."
Draco's expression was a mix of empathy and confusion – while he sympathised with the man, as the mere thought of losing Hermione was enough to make his heart ache, it bothered him that there was another wizard out there who, under the right circumstances, would have been the one to win Hermione's heart.
Nevertheless, he knew that what they both truly wanted for her was the same – her happiness.
"Of course I promise," Draco replied, looking the redhead sternly in the eye.
Satisfied, Charlie nodded and retreated towards Ginny and Harry, his eyes downcast so as to avoid the looks from his mother and father.
As fate would have it, it was then that Ron and Seamus decided to show themselves.
Led by Ron, the pair walked into the living room. Seamus, who looked deservedly frightened, immediately leapt towards the furthest corner of the room and disapparated. Ron huffed in frustration at his cowardly friend before he turned back towards the crowd, not anticipating the wave of noise that was about to flood towards him-
"RONALD WEASLEY-"
"I can't believe my ears -"
"Our bloody BROTHER, Ron, how COULD you?!-"
"Just as he was in school, always causing trouble-"
"What did he ever do to you!-"
"C'est des conneries! Oula, tu me fait chier -"
"Poor Charlie…"
"EXCUSE ME!"
Minerva's voice erupted loudly over the crowd. With everyone's eyes now on her, she lowered the tip of her wand from her neck and spoke.
"While I'm sure everyone is eager to get involved, I do believe this is a family matter. First, I would advise that the little witch be put to sleep – the negativity is bad for young ones."
Fleur, as if just remembering she had a child, jerked from her place on the floor. She picked up a silently crying Victoire and gave Ron a harsh glare before she glided up the staircase, excusing herself for the evening.
"Second," Minerva continued, the sharpness of her character clear in her tone. "I'm not sure about some of you, but I don't feel that I have much of a place in this discussion. As… interesting as it may be to stay, I would very much like to say my goodbyes. There is enough to be spoken of without the rest of us lingering about."
Hermione almost laughed at Minerva's handling of the situation. Years later, despite the fact that they had all graduated, she was ever the same – authoritative, stern, and to the point.
The non-Weasley members of the group began to mill out of the crowd, some more reluctantly than others. Kingsley, Remus, Hagrid, Snape, Tonks, Luna and Neville followed Minerva as they moved around, whispering hushed goodbyes and kind words as they readied themselves to leave. A couple awkward "goodbyes" were muttered out of courtesy in Ron's direction before several loud pops erupted and they were gone. Minerva, who was the last to leave, gave Hermione a sad, but reassuring smile before she turned on her heel and disappeared into the night.
At last, they were alone.
"Ronald…"
Molly Weasley's shaky voice was the first thing to break the silence. Her eyes were wide and her nose was red as her trembling hands clutched a worn and yellowed handkerchief to her chest.
"Ronald… is it true? Is everything we heard true?"
The twins looked from their mother to their youngest brother, fury blazing in their eyes as they awaited his answer.
"Ronald, please-"
"What does it matter!" Fred finally burst, the silence too much for him to handle. "What does it matter what he has to say? It's bad enough that we've all stood by as he's been a right bloody prick to Hermione, but now Charlie?! There is nothing he can say that can justify what he's done!"
"Fred, please, calm down-"
"No, dad!" George interjected, his expression matching his twin's. "Fred's right! Can you honestly say that you're not bothered by this?!"
Arthur Weasley removed his glasses and rubbed his eyes tiredly… He had not expected the evening to end this way. "George, of course I am bothered, I just mean that maybe we should offer your brother the chance to explain-"
"We've offered him the chance time and time again!" Ginny interrupted, her eyes sparking angrily. "Bloody hell, it's only been a week and look at where we are! First Hermione, then Draco, now Charlie! Tell us dad, where does it end?"
The room was quiet as everyone contemplated Ginny's words – she was right. It had only been a week and Ron had betrayed half of the people closest to him. Not only that, but it had been his infidelity that triggered these events in the first place. Molly and Arthur looked sadly at their children, the broken and fractured state of the family weighing heavily in their hearts. Nevertheless, despite all that had been said, Molly was persistent – she needed an answer, and she needed it to be from him.
"Ronald, please, for the love of Merlin, just tell me, is it true?"
…
"Ronald!"
"What do you want me to say, Mum? In fact, why are you even asking? Have you not been listening to all that's been said? Do you want to hear that I didn't do it? Do you want to hear that I'm sorry? There is nothing I can say that will be what you want to hear, so what is the bloody. fucking. point?!"
"Ronald! You watch how you speak to your mothe-"
"No!" Ron yelled at his father, his temper once again getting the best of him. "I'm sick and tired of always being the target, always being the bad guy. Well why don't we turn the tables on some of you, hm? Why don't we see how some of you react-"
"Ron!"
"No, no, no - Now it's my turn to ask some questions. Let's start with Ginny! Ginny, tell us, how easy was it for you to forgive the man who used to insult our family on a daily basis?"
Ginny's fists clenched as she fought to control herself. "Ron, stop it-"
"And Harry! How long did it take for you to forget that your dead parents were a fucking joke to him? All of 2 SECONDS?"
Harry grabbed Ginny's hand as she made to move forward, silently begging her not to give in to Ron's jibes – he was doing enough damage without their help.
"And Mum, Dad! How does it feel to know you've welcomed the son of your archenemy into your house? How does it feel to know that the heir of the man who sent Ginny into the fucking Chamber of Secrets is standing RIGHT. THERE."
Ron's eyes widened hysterically as he pointed a rigid finger at Draco.
"Oh, and Charlie, the man of the hour, how does it feel now that you've lost the girl of your dreams to the son of a Death Eater? Apparently, you're not even better than the bloody spawn of the scum of the earth! "
The manic glint in Ron's eyes was flaming as he yelled at everyone in the room, the alcohol he had been drinking beginning to fog his brain.
"And dearest Hermione. Perfect, little, special Hermione, the witch- oh, I'm sorry- bitch that brought this Slytherin shit back in to our lives. How does it feel to know that you've broken someone's heart today, hm?"
Hermione, who had been in a state of shock up until this moment, was speechless.
"How does it feel to know that this man," Ron gestured at Charlie. "Has wanted you for years… YEARS and now here you are, breaking his heart, for the second time? How does it feel Hermione?" Ron mocked her, searching her eyes as she stared blankly ahead. When she refused to answer, he stepped closer. "I said… How. Does. It. FEEL-"
"ENOUGH."
Ron swallowed the last of his words as Draco's raging figure stalked towards him. His steel grey eyes were hard and unforgiving as he stood, nose to nose with the redhead.
"That's enough."
"I'm not finished-"
"YES, you are," Draco growled, his eyes glinting dangerously in the light of the hearth. "I know that I've made mistakes, and I know that my family has as well… I know that you hate me, and I know that we will never get along… I know that there is a lot I have to be sorry for, and I know that somewhere, deep down in this twisted, warped version of you you're doing this because you 'care', but don't you dare talk to her, or anyone else here, that way. You have no right. You have no bloody right, and if I hear you utter another word tonight, I swear to Salazar I will curse you so mercilessly that you will wish you'd never been born."
Breathing heavily, Draco and Ron stood, eye-to-eye, both unblinking, unmoving… With one last snarl, Draco turned back towards the rest of the room and took a deep breath - this night had been an unmitigated disaster. With a pained look, he addressed the family. "I am so… so terribly sorry for the grief I've caused you all this evening," his eyes shone as he looked upon the family that had, up until now, been so welcoming to him… a pit of regret formed in his stomach. "I can't even begin to explain how grateful I am that you've accepted me in to your lives. I know there isn't much I can do right now, but I sincerely hope that I will be able to-"
"DRACO!"
Draco's head spun round just in time to see Ron's wand pointed directly at his back. He saw a crooked bolt of red light shoot towards him, its jagged edges crackling and spitting angrily at the air around it… Before he could free his wand from its holster, Hermione's form appeared out of the corner of his eye.
He saw Hermione spin an intricate symbol in front of her body moments before the bolt hit. Whatever the spell, it managed to absorb most of the shock, but what remained was too powerful for her small frame to hold back, for, in a moment that made Draco want to scream, her body slammed against the ground with a loud sickening crack as the back of her head connected with the stone floor.
The moments that followed passed as if in slow motion. Charlie ran towards Ron, tackling him to the ground as Harry drew his wand and disarmed him… Draco dove towards Hermione, checking for a pulse as he cradled her in his arms… Ron's expression, first a look of pure, unadulterated hatred, slowly transformed into a look of horror as he realised what he had done… Bill threw fistfuls of floo powder into the fire, barking out orders that fell deaf on Draco's ears… The roaring green flames sprang to life, licking at the hearth as Mr Weasley grabbed Draco by the collar. Making sure Draco was still clutching Hermione's unconscious body, Arthur yelled out "ST. MUNGO'S!" before they were swallowed by emerald flames and vanished.
A small trickle of blood was all that remained.
With a cry of anguish, Charlie pulled back a fist, his blood boiling as he moved to smash his brother's face in before he stopped. Defeated, he pushed himself off of Ron's speechless form and sat hunched against the wall.
"Ron, you idiot… What have you done…"
The lights were blinding as Draco and Arthur ran out of the fire at St. Mungo's. As they charged towards the front desk, the plump nurse who manned it immediately called for a mediwizard.
"Please… Please, help!"
"Oh dear… what happened?"
Out of breath, Arthur managed to wheeze out a choppy explanation. "An accident… she blocked a spell… fell to the ground and hit her head. She's unconscious. There's blood."
"Right," the nurse replied, scanning Hermione's limp body with her wand. "Oh dear… heart palpitations… skull trauma." She paused as a floating quill scratched notes on a parchment pad above her. "We'll need to get her to the emergency room right away. If you'll just give her to me-"
"No!" Draco snapped, fear taking over for a second before he composed himself. "I'm sorry, I just mean… Can I go with her? Please…"
The nurse gave him a sympathetic look, almost giving in to his request when the mediwizard arrived. "Nurse Brackett, hand me the parchment. Skull trauma. We'll need to take her in immediately. Sir, I'm sorry but you will have to let her go."
Jaw clenched, Draco looked down at Hermione's pale, motionless face. He gently swept a few stray hairs from her forehead and bent low to kiss her temple, alarmed at the sudden coldness of her skin. With a deep breath, he stood and nodded, letting the mediwizard levitate her out of his arms…
"It'll be okay," Arthur said quietly as he put a consoling hand on the young wizard's shoulder. "She's strong."
Draco's heart felt heavy as he watched them take her through the emergency room doors...
"It has to be… I love her."
A/N: Hello everyone! I do hope you enjoy the latest chapter of this story :)
Now I know it's gotten a bit dark, but don't worry, it's going to lighten up soon - there will be a point to this sadness, I swear!
Ron's outbursts were meant to show just how deep the trauma lay for him... some really terrible things have been done to the Weasley family (not justifying Ron's actions, but I'm just saying!) and, especially if you're stubborn and not open to change, it can be hard to shake things like that.
In any case, Ron's actions have gotten a bit out of control (you will see why very soon!), but because of this, we now know that Draco is in love with Hermione! 3 As I'm sure you've guessed, the next chapter will be addressing this revelation ;)
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and thank you all so much for your wonderful reviews... They make me smile, laugh and cry - and your thoughts give me new character perspectives to explore! Hope you all had a lovely Easter, and I will write to you again very soon ;) xx