Chapter 12
Ron took the last bite of his apple as Neville left the room with the Healer. He wrapped the core in a small tissue and tossed it in the garbage can next to him. Hermione had returned to her book while she continued to hold Harry's hand. Ron couldn't help but smile. He was truly happy for his best friends.
While he and Hermione seemed like a good fit when they attended Hogwarts, they could not keep that spark going. Opposites may attract, but that doesn't guarantee a happy relationship. They often got into arguments over the smallest of things and kept many secrets from each other, especially Ron due to his work. It did not help when Hermione decided not to become an Auror. However, they would remain best of friends, and he was content with that. Now he just had to find someone… Luna? No, he was fine with crazy, but not that kind of crazy. Lavender refused to speak to him; despite the fact he was considered a hero. Then Ron realized he did not have that many friends that were girls besides Hermione and Luna. He would have to work on that.
As his mind frantically worked on remedying his personal problem, the door to the room opened. He looked up at the door, expecting to see Neville. However, instead, a middle-age witch, her purse held tightly to her stomach entered the room. "Uh, hello, and you are?"
"I'm Mrs. Robinson," the witch replied.
"What do you need?" Hermione suspiciously asked.
"I have a message for all of you," Mrs. Robinson flashed an evil smile. A thin layer of smoke rose up from the collar of her blouse and swirled around her face as it took form. A white mask materialized. "Danger."
"Hermione, protect Harry," Ron ordered as he drew his wand from his pocket to engage Mrs. Robinson. The masked witch dropped her purse, revealing her own wand in her hand. Ron did not wait for her to cast her spell. He waved his wand across the room, creating a defensive shell around the trio to block any attack. Mrs. Robinson brought her wand up and a giant flash of light erupted from it.
Whatever the spell was, Ron did not have time to see what it was. After the shell took form, he ran for Hermione and Harry. The young witch had pulled out her wand and was creating a second shield around Harry's bed. Ron jumped onto the bed as she finished casting the spell.
The spell that Mrs. Robinson had cast instantly backfired on her. The shell that Ron had created shattered instantly against the more powerful spell. Defense was never his forte, and he was thankful it was Hermione's. The air in the room ignited into brilliant flames and engulfed them, but Hermione's shield kept them safe. Mrs. Robinson did not share the pleasure. The middle-age witch was thrown out of the room as the doorway and wall exploded outward.
"What's going on?" Hermione yelled.
"Let me ask her," Ron replied sarcastically. "Oh wait, never mind. The crazy woman is trying to kill us." Before the fire could take the room, Hermione broke her shield with her wand and created a vacuum. The flames were quickly sucked into the tip of her wand into nothingness.
Ron slowly jumped off the bed with his wand still drawn. Each step he took was careful and deliberate. When he reached the collapsed wall, he could see the damaged caused to rest of the hallway. Several witches and wizards scattered around the floor, but his focus was not on them at the moment.
His attacker, Mrs. Robinson, or at least her charred remains, lay across from him. Her robes were burned black and her mask was completely melted. It was a fate he did not wish to share, but he was happy she was no longer a threat to him, or to his friends. The young Auror knelt down next to the remains and examined them thoroughly.
"Ron, are you okay?" a familiar voice called out to him. Ron turned his head slightly and saw Neville approaching him. His wand clasped in his trembling hands.
"For now," Ron said calmly. He tried to mask the terror in his voice.
"Who is that?" Neville asked.
"She called her self, Mrs. Robinson," he answered. Ron noticed Neville's face turn white. "Did you know her?"
"Yes," Neville muttered. "She was Shacklebot's assistant."
"What?" Ron stood up immediately and grabbed Neville's collar rather forcefully. "She's the Minister's assistant?"
"Yeah," Neville confirmed. Ron released his grasp and padded the collar down to remove the crinkles.
"Okay," the Auror began, "You can't tell anyone her identity."
"You can't be serious."
"I am, Neville. She's the Minister of Magic's assistant and—"
"And you can't be implying that Shacklebot is one of them."
"I'm not, but we can't be too careful right now. Keep him in the shadows about her, for now."
"He's my mentor, Ron."
"I know, and I'm terribly sorry for putting you in this position, but you have to keep quiet until we can figure this out."
Neville nodded as he digested Ron's request. "Okay, I understand."
"I'm going to go check up on Harry and Hermione."
"I'll see if I can help out here."
Ron left Neville in the hallway and returned to Harry's room, which now had a giant hole that almost took up the entire wall. Hermione was sitting on the edge of Harry's bed, with Mrs. Robinson's purse in her lap.
"Most of it's burned up," Hermione said before Ron could ask. She was always like that, thinking a step ahead, the brightest witch of her age.
"I'd imagine, so is Mrs. Robinson," it was an awkward joke at a terrible time. He was not going to dwell on it and neither did Hermione. "How's Harry?"
"He's fine, still sleeping," Hermione replied as she continued rummaging through the purse. "Nothing, it's all been burned up." She dropped the purse on the floor and turned her attention on Ron. Not good. "What did you do?"
"Me? I didn't do anything," Ron defended.
"If you did nothing, why did this whole room catch on fire?" Hermione's hands were placed on her hips, and her head was cocked to the side. He hated it when she did that.
"I don't know. She's the one that cast the spell." Ron pointed at her remains.
"And you're the one who cast a wall trap," Hermione hissed loudly.
Ron stopped for a second to think. "I did?"
"Yes, Ronald."
"So, I did all this? I thought it was a basic protection charm."
"Well, not all of it, but you didn't make things better."
"Is everyone okay in here," the Healer from before asked as she ran into the room. She was also bruised and burned from the explosion, but she was in much better condition than the others.
"Yes, we're fine." Ron said. She nodded her gratitude and continued checking up on the other witches and wizards.
"I think we should check Harry out and take him to one of our flats." Hermione suggested as she started to gather her things that were not burned to a crisp.
"Are you sure?" Ron questioned her as he gathered his things, which were luckily located under the bed during the whole fiasco.
"It'll be easier to protect him," Hermione answered. "It'll also be safer for everyone else."
"I concede. We can take him back to my place, it's closer and protected by enchantments."
"Protected by enchantments?"
"Auror training..."
Ron pushed the old wheel chair into his apartment after Hermione opened the door. He was having problems maneuvering it through the small doorway, and Harry being asleep did not help. Since Harry kept sliding in different positions in the chair, Ron would frequently stop to adjust him. Hermione was furious with him since he accidently ran Harry's head into the wall when they left St. Mungo's Hospital.
After closing the door of his flat, Hermione pulled out her wand and created her own charms to enhance those placed by Ron months earlier. Then they quickly moved Harry to the couch in the middle of the living room. Harry's head was placed against the armrest and supported it with a small pillow.
"I'll get some food ready," Hermione said and walked into the kitchen.
"I don't have much food," said Ron. Unfortunately, they had no time to eat anything after leaving the hospital. The Healers would not allow anyone to leave the floor until it was thoroughly cleaned. That took hours. Then it took half the day for them to complete all of Harry's discharge papers. The sun had already set when they were released from the hospital.
"I can see by your temple of take-out containers," Hermione grumbled as she opened the refrigerator. "At least you seemed to have adjusted to leaving in the Muggle world."
"Not my fault all the real food is expensive. And can you believe they deliver pizzas at all hours of the day?" Ron exclaimed. He was just too excited. Not many people at the Ministry would be able to relate to his newfound power. Every time he picked up the phone, after a few minutes of talking to a random stranger, food was sent to him. And it was not by owl like his mom's food, but by an actually person, dressed in uniform.
"Yes, Ronald," Hermione replied as she examinded whatever was left in his fridge. "Okay, all you have is butterbeer and what smells like two-week-old lasagna."
"I guess we have to order out," Ron said cheerfully. Hermione popped her head out of the kitchen to shoot a glare at him.
"I'll order," the young witch sighed. "And we're not getting pizza."
"What are we eating then?" Ron asked, a tone of defeat and sadness in his voice.
"Lets getting something a little more exotic," she replied.
"Where am I?" Harry mumbled. Ron turned around and saw that his best friend was finally waking up. He sat up slowly, attempting to get a bearing on Ron's apartment.
"This might help," Ron handed Harry his glasses. "We found them in your robes."
"Th-thanks," Harry hesitated before putting them back on. "It's been a while."
"Since you last put them on or talk to me?" Ron asked coldly. He knew why Harry had to do the things he did, and he had forgiven him when they returned to London. However, just because he was okay with the whole situation did not mean he was not going to have a little fun with his best friend's guilt.
"Look, Ron," Harry began, "I'm sorry. Okay? I couldn't risk putting you in danger."
"What did we do almost on a weekly basis when we were at Hogwarts?" Ron folded his arms.
"That wasn't the same," he argued.
"Almost every adventure we had involved Voldemort, one way or another."
"These people are far more dangerous than Voldemort, and even more devious."
"Well, I'm an Auror now."
Before Harry could respond, Hermione walked into the room. She froze in the archway of the kitchen, her eyes full of tears. The young witch bolted straight for Harry and threw her arms around him. "Harry!"
"Her-Hermione," Harry was quite surprised. "I'm fine. I'm okay. Wait, why do I have a bump on my head." He felt a small bruise on the side of his head.
"Nothing," said quickly.
Instead of immediately responding to his assurances, she extended her arms and pushed her out of his hug. Then she slapped him across the face and hugged him one more time. "We were worried sick about you. Aren't you going to say something?"
"I don't know, am I? Last time I did, you slapped me." Harry put his hands up in a defensive position to dissuade her from slapping him again.
"Do you blame me?" Hermione asked. She adjusted herself on the cushion next to Harry, and waited for his answer, cross-legged.
"Well, no." Harry responded.
Then Hermione slapped him again.
"What the hell, Hermione," Harry rubbed his sore face.
"I'm sorry, I can't help it," Hermione replied and slapped him once more on the opposite cheek. "Last one, I promise."
"I hope…"
"You know you're going to have to explain everything," Ron said.
"Everything," Hermione reinforced.
"It all started when I was working up north under Shacklebot's orders," Harry explained. "I met a wizard by the name of Logan." It was now obvious to Ron to where Harry had picked the name for his cover. It was in honor of his dead friend. Strangely, Ron wished he could have actually met the man.
"We heard whispers of an underground movement led by the Vanguard. It led us to Winter's Crest and that's where we set up shop, at the Snowflake Inn. After a few months of searching, we found that temple. Foolishly, we ventured into the empty ruins. At least, we thought it was empty. Logan and I came across the Vanguard performing some strange ceremony. The ceremony brought the golem we fought to life. And before we could leave, Cromwell discovered us."
"Cromwell?" Hermione wondered.
"That wizard I fought," Harry said.
"The Wizard in Red?" Ron confirmed.
"Yeah," Harry nodded.
"At least we have a name, finally," Ron muttered. Before they could continue their discussion, the doorbell buzzed. They sat in silence for a few seconds and just listened to the bell. It was calming to them for some reason.
"I'll get that," Ron opened the door. There was a short man standing in the hallway holding a giant plastic bag of food. The smell was intense and strong, yet appetizing and delicious, causing Ron to drool a little. "Indian food."
"Yes," the short man gave him a weird look. Ron pulled out his wallet and handed the man all the money in it.
"Keep the change," he said as he grabbed the bag from the man. With a smile he turned around and kicked the door closed. He untied the knot of the bag quickly and started placing the plastic containers on the coffee table in front of Harry and Hermione.
"Aren't you hungry," Hermione jested.
"I am," Harry bent forward and opened one of the containers. It was chicken. Tandoori chicken. Both he and Ron stared at the bright orange chicken, salivating. They each grabbed a leg and began eating without remorse.
"You two," Hermione grumbled as she returned from the kitchen with plates, napkins, and utensils. Ron had not even noticed she left the room. It did not matter; he had food in his mouth and soon his stomach would too. It was slightly spicy, and the spicier the better. "Here, use them, please."
"Sorry, 'Mione," Harry said, his mouth full of chicken. They each grabbed a plate and searched the other containers for more food. There was a little bit of everything Ron could ask for and think of. There was chicken masala, lamb and lentil stew, potato curry, rice, and even naan bread. The young wizard was certainly in heaven. Fast food and pizza was good, but nothing was as delicious as this.
"That was really fast," Ron said as he tore at naan with his mouth. He looked over at Hermione and she was giving him the disgusted look.
"Yes," she scooped some of the masala onto her plate. "The restaurant was right down the street and I simply asked for whatever they had ready." She dabbed the naan into the sauce meticulously.
"Brilliant," Harry devoured a lamb chop.
"So you were saying?" Ron asked Harry to continue. The warmness and comfort that the food created in Harry disappeared.
"Right," he put the place onto the coffee table. "The golem came after us. Logan sacrificed himself to save me by forcing the cave to collapse. While he buried the golem, he also buried himself." His words hung for a while. The only sound in the room was Ron's chewing. He could not help it. He was hungry.
"I'm sorry, Harry," Hermione slide across the couch to the point of touching.
"It's okay," Harry gave them a half-smile. "I went back to London and convinced Neville to help me."
"Yeah," Ron muttered.
"We heard," Hermione said.
"Don't blame him, you guys," Harry defended Neville. "I was the one who put him in a uncomfortable situation. After weeks of searching, I managed to infiltrate the Vanguard with the help of a polyjuice potion. Once I established my cover a Logan, the actual 'fun' began."
"What did they have you do?" Hermione had sauce all over her lips and cheeks. She was no longer holding back, she was obviously hungry as well.
"A lot of excavating. That's when we uncovered the gauntlets. There were dozens of them packed in these marble containers. Most of them were delivered to Cromwell, but my team was given a few as a reward for discovering them. After a few more months of digging and researching, I received an owl informing me of your travel arrangements."
"From Cromwell?"
"I'm not entirely sure. Anyone could have sent the owl, and I doubt it was from him directly. He masquerades as a Muggle official when he's not wearing the mask, but I've never seen his face. His job entails historical artifacts and archeological digs, that's why he's able put Vanguard members in charge of digs and excavations."
"Why didn't you tell us you were you?" Hermione asked. She realized she had spread the sauce all over face and quickly wiped it clean with a napkin.
"I was ordered to lead you two in circles. I didn't want to tell you, because I assumed they had spectres watching me, and I was right."
"What are spectres?" Ron wondered.
"They're spirits, similar to ghosts, but they are not bound to a certain object or place. However, they can be difficult to handle at times."
"So, what do we do now?" Ron propped himself on his hands as he leaned back. He was stuffed, happy and content. This was the best way to end a terrible week: a meal with friends.
"We're going hunting," Harry smiled. "I was able to form contacts with some of the Muggles that Cromwell hired."
"Where?"
"One is in Rome. He's a British native by the name of Thomas. The other is an American, Charlie, and resides in Egypt."
"I'll take Egypt," Ron's hand shot up in the air. "I love Egypt."
"Alright then, Ron gets Egypt, we'll take Rome," Hermione smiled.
"Okay," Ron stretched his arms and yawned loudly. "I'm sleepy. Talk about this tomorrow morning? Also, we should probably bring Neville along, we owe him that much."
A/N: I've had a big craving for Indian food all month.
