Chapter 12
"The Fiery Circle of Death"
The crowd's noise was terrific. The hoof beats thudded in the air like the sounds of war drums. Ron was handed a ferocious red lance, and the Gryffindor Coat of Arms was draped over his head. He tucked the lance into the crook of his arm and pressed his knees tightly against his horse's body. The joust was a test of nerves and skill – two things Ron had in abundance.
The announcer stood and named their titles, the rules of the game, and the prize for the winner. Ron tuned him out, focusing only on the prancing horse on the field opposite him. Terry Boot saluted him, his horse rearing back in excitement. A heavy rope stretched across the field, material draped over it to indicate the divide. The crowd grew louder, the flag dropped, and Ron was shooting forward like an arrow. He was going faster, his lance was held firmer. He leaned back just at the right moment, tilting his lance upwards and hitting his opponent's head with stunning impact that caused him to go flying off the rear of his horse – a perfect score. His opponent hadn't even touched him.
The crowd roared, and Ron circled the field, bowing in the saddle to Lady Hermione. At his antics, the crowd cheered even louder, jeering and cat calling. Hermione blushed primly, turning her face away, a small smile playing at her lips. Her cousin laughed at her, and nodded in approval to Ron.
-
Finally, Ron took his helmet off to ride down the field, the victor. Enthusiastically, he raised his lance in the air. The crowd cheered, uncaring that he wasn't from their kingdom. He had fought bravely and fairly. He had earned their respect and admiration.
An attendant came out and took the reigns of Ron's horse. He smoothly dismounted, passing his lance to someone as well. Someone came up and reattached his cape to his shoulders. With his helmet under his arm, he approached the announcer's stand. The people that had been sitting in the box had come down to the field. He bowed politely to the Ravenclaw prince, and then to Lady Hermione. The announcer patted his shoulder enthusiastically.
"The winner, kind ladies and good sirs, the Knight of Gryffindor!" The crowd roared again, and the Ravenclaw prince offered him the pillow with the golden rose. Ron was surprised. It wasn't just any rose, but a finely crafted dagger worthy to be strapped to a king's belt. Or, more appropriately, the queen's. Ron picked up the delicate blade and nodded his head in appreciation. Next, Hermione stepped forward, a full smile lighting up her face. The sun was still high in the sky, but Ron was sure Hermione's beauty radiated more powerfully than it did. She stretched onto her toes and placed a sweet, chaste kiss on his lips. She pulled away blushing, but looking satisfied with herself. Smiling a bit stupidly, Ron draped his wreath over her head without asking her permission, and placed the dagger in her hand.
"A gift, my lady, for your birthday. Will you do me the honor of wearing my wreath, and spending the rest of the day in my company?" Ron asked hopefully, glancing at her father. The man sighed at the hopeful look on his daughter's face, and sent them off with a wave of his hand.
"Go on, go on, but don't stay out too late. If my daughter comes to any harm, it will be your head, knight!" Still smiling, Ron led Hermione off the field, her small hand in his.
-
The day had been like something out of a dream. It was how Ron had always imagined it. They had talked, really talked, about everything as they strolled down the cozy little streets. Ron had made her laugh, over and over, and she had caused his cheeks to redden every time she complimented him. When they had danced, they had drawn everyone's attention away from the other couples. Hermione fit against him perfectly. His armor had glimmered in the setting sun, rose petals swirling around them as they danced over the worn cobblestone to a soft choir of violins. Her white dress, ornamented with golden hem, had brushed against his skin in just the right way, so that the feel of it would forever be emblazoned on his skin. Her kiss stayed imprinted on his lips, the feel of her silky auburn curls the softest thing his hands would ever touch.
Hermione was the one.
But on all things the sun must eventually set. Beneath the moonlit sky, they stood on the dock, shadows dancing over the water. Ron held Hermione in his arms, their noses almost touching.
"I have to leave in the morning," Hermione spoke softly, her voice filled with regret. Her soft, sad goodbye whispered over the shore. In the distance, wooden chimes played delicately, serenading them and fading away like a lover's promise.
"Then when I am done with my crusade, I will come for you. I will never love another, Hermione. Wait for me, please. Meet me here, tomorrow before you must leave. It is the only way I will part with you."
She smiled at him, a tear sliding down her cheek, and kissed him with all the passion of a young girl's heart.
And then she was gone. Ron waited for her the next morning, but she never came.
-
Severus and Bill sailed the ship the next morning, oblivious to Ron's despondency. The waters were choppy and the wind was rough. It picked up the fallen petals from the night before and blew them in Ron's face as they pulled away from the deck, cruel mockery of his lost love.
"I'll find you, Hermione. This isn't over yet."
"What was that, Ron? You'll have to speak louder over this wind if you want to be heard," Bill half shouted.
"Nothing," Ron said to his brother. To the sea, he whispered, "I was just making a promise."
-
They spent two days sailing in the rough weather before the foggy outline of land could be seen in the distance.
"It's the island!" Bill announced happily. He had asked Severus if he could come along, partly for the adventure, and partly to see a veela. Uncaring, Severus had given him permission to tag along.
They pulled onto the beach nervously, not knowing what to expect. Even Ron, who had spent the entire ride moping, seemed to recover a bit of himself at the threat of the unknown. They secured their ship and set out across the beach, weapons drawn.
Ron saw something glimmer in the sand, and rushed forward to try and catch it before it disappeared. Instead, he found himself sliding downwards incredibly fast, as if he'd stepped into a hole of some sort. Luckily, Severus caught him with his whip and both he and Bill pulled him out, panting at the effort.
"Alright, Ron?" Bill asked, nervously inspecting his younger brother.
"Fine…but I saw something, just there, in the sand. It disappeared down that hole," Ron explained shakily. As Ron spoke, dark clouds began to rumble overhead. All three of them jumped when a low, keening moan pierced through the air. Bill's face went white.
"What was that?" Severus asked quickly, fear in his voice. Bill gulped.
"That, Severus, was the cry of an Augurey. It's cry is believed to foretell death. It probably has its nest in that forest up there."
"Well, that's pleasant. Any idea as to whose death it foretells, Bill?" Ron asked, trying to be flippant about it.
Just then, a blast of fire exploded right in front of their faces.
"I'm going to take a wild guess and say that it will be ours," Bill responded dryly, turning to run, only to see they were surrounded. All around them, enormous crabs with bejeweled shells formed a large circle.
"Do you know what those are, Bill?" Ron asked hopefully. Bill shook his head quickly. Another one shot flames at them, and Severus had to drop to the ground to avoid it.
"I know what they are. They're Fire Crabs. Their shells are highly valued," Severus had to dodge another stream of fire, "…as cauldrons." He finished, breathing hard. "I've never seen one alive, however."
"Oh well, in that case, now that we know what they are, any ideas on how to escape the circle of fiery death?" Ron asked, rolling to escape two blasts that came at him from opposite directions. The blasts collided and exploded in a shower of sparks.
"They only attack if they feel threatened," Severus informed, pushing Bill out of the way as a blast shot by his ear. The crabs were closing in on them.
"Err…shall we stop being threatening, then?" Bill asked nervously, clutching his staff tighter than was necessary.
"Be my guest," Severus growled, trying to figure out his chances of being able to jump over one.
"Bill's right. We must be doing something wrong, but what?" Ron called, now face down in the sand as flames licked over his head. Severus racked his brain, searching the sand around them. All he could remember was the other tidbit of information that he knew about Fire Crabs. They were sometimes mistaken for turtles. Of course, that wouldn't be of any…oh. Severus wanted to thump himself on the head and say, 'duh!' but he refrained.
"Turtles!" He called triumphantly, just as a bit of his cloak caught on fire and he had to stamp it out, while dodging another blast.
"No, Severus, crabs!" Ron replied as if speaking to a small child.
"NO, they're like turtles! I bet they bury their eggs under the sand, and I bet we're standing on their nest!"
"And so your suggestion would be?" Bill asked cheekily, knocking back a crab with his staff, only to retreat when it bounced at him furiously, prepared to blast him in the face. Severus quickly wrapped his whip around it and pulled it flying through the air, sending it with a might splash into the ocean. It left a small gap in the circle.
"RUN!"
"Capital suggestion, Severus, I think I'll take it to heart!" Ron yelled as they all sprinted through the gap.
They streaked across the beach, breathing hard and slightly singed. They collapsed on the sand, thankful they hadn't slipped into any more holes and weren't surrounded by fire blasting crabs. The edge of the forest was just behind them, looking particularly dark and foreboding as the black clouds rolled and thundered overhead.
"We might as well go into the forest. It's going to downpour soon. We might be able to find a cave of some sort," Bill said, despite the discomfort they all felt.
"And about the Augurey?" Severus asked grimly, suddenly quite aware that he could die in the depths of the forest. Ron laughed a bit uneasily.
"What's an adventure without a grim omen of death? Come on, no time like the present."
Warily, the three made their way into the forest, just as fat drops of rain began to pour down from the sky.
-
A/N: Glad that's over with! I'm so not a Ron/Hermione writer. I hope I didn't mangle it too badly. Did everyone like the Fire Crabs? I was really proud of that. Severus's ridiculously large database of potion knowledge saves them yet again! I love it when that happens! Of course, I'm sure you can all see where this is going. Our next couple should be introduced shortly. It's another one I'm just going to skim over, though. Straight people are weird, lol.
Sadly, I missed my train ride. My mom said it was because we got lost on I-35 and went the wrong way for three hours, but we all know what really happened, don't we? Oh, yes we do. Doby struck again…