Mutation: Chapter 5 - Meanwhile, at Hogwarts
Summary: The situation at Hogwarts is dire. Ron does his best to rebel against the Carrow's and Snape's regime yet he soon has to realise that he is fighting the wrong battle.
Author's Notes: This is a tad shorter than usual, sorry for that, but I wanted a chapter that is Hogwarts-only :)
XXX
Hey brother, do you still believe in one another?
Hey sister, do you still believe in love I wonder?
Oh if the sky comes falling down, for you,
there's nothing in this world I wouldn't do.
What if I'm far from home?
Oh brother, I will hear you call.
What if I lose it all?
Oh sister, I will help you out!
Oh if the sky comes falling down, for you,
there's nothing in this world I wouldn't do.
- "Brother/Sister", Avicii
XXX
Ron knows it is daft but he can't stop himself from scanning the crowd gathered on the platform. Of course neither Hermione nor Harry are there, he never thought they would come, not really.
Still.
Ever since the catastrophic wedding, Ron hasn't been able to escape the feeling he might have made a mistake. He had a lot of time during the summer, what with not hanging out with his former best friends and all; besides, Fred and George made it their mission to engage him in quite a few annoying conversations.
As if it's his fault that he can't bear the thought of two blokes… It makes him sick.
"Well, and some of the things you'll get up to between the sheets with some bird one day will make me sick!" Fred would say. "Does that mean it's morally wrong?"
"No, mate, because it's with a girl!"
"So? Love is love, isn't it?"
Stupid twins. Ron has never been able to win arguments against them and this matter wasn't any different. After a few weeks of this, which included seeing Harry at the wedding, Ron had to face the truth: He might not like queers at all, but there's nothing really he can do or say against them.
Well, only now it's too late to change things with Harry, Ron thinks glumly as he considers the Hogwarts Express. His fingers close around the Deluminator in his pocket, wondering if he should really board the train. After all, with the new regulations in place, a lot of his classmates won't be back.
"Oi, Ron!"
He turns around and sees Neville waving at him.
"You're the first in our dorm I've seen! I was afraid I'd end up alone."
"What, don't you want the dormitory all to yourself, mate?" he jokes, releasing the Deluminator. Of course, both Dean and Seamus wouldn't be able to pass the required blood status tests…
Decision made, Ron hurries over to his parents and hugs them good-bye before he joins Neville in an empty compartment.
Neville shifts nervously in his seat, worrying his lower lip between his teeth for a while before he dares to ask, "Any word from Harry?"
Ron shakes his head. "Last time I saw them was at the wedding."
"Oh. Well, I guess they haven't been captured, have they? It would've made the Prophet, I'm sure."
Ron shrugs helplessly. Suddenly, the compartment door bursts open moments before the train starts to move.
"Blimey, I almost missed it!" Seamus cries, flopping down on a seat next to Ron who, just like Neville, can't hide his surprise. "What?"
"You're here! How're you here!" Neville shouts and Seamus makes a shushing noise.
"Right, mate, announce it to the entire train, won't you? Me mum forged the papers, see? Said it'll be safer here; besides, what else would I've done?"
"Dean wasn't on the platform," Ron remarks and Seamus' face darkens.
"Brilliant, now we're two Gryffindors short! How're we going to stand up to the slimy git and his thugs now?"
"Stand up?" Ron asks and Seamus' eyebrows rise.
"You don't suppose everything's going to be all dandy now, are you? I heard we've got two new teachers, Death Eaters. And Snape's Headmaster! They'll crush us!" Then, Seamus sneers. "But we won't let them!"
"Dumbledore's Army!" Neville jumps up excitedly when he gets what Seamus is hinting at. "I'm sure a lot of the others will want to join once we see how things are going."
Before he can think how he feels about it, Ron realises he is smiling. He might not be with Harry and Hermione but apparently he doesn't need the Chosen One to stand up to You-Know-Who.
About half an hour into their journey, Seamus narrows his eyes. "You're being strangely civil, mate."
"So?" Ron aims for innocent, hoping they could avoid any weird conversations.
"No more yelling 'I can't sleep in the same room as two fags' in the tower?"
Ron shrugs uncomfortably. "Just don't flaunt it, all right?"
"Flaunt it?" Seamus' voice rises but Neville quickly cuts between them.
"Thanks, Ron. Harry would be glad to hear it. Besides – we need to stick together this year," Neville intones, fixing Seamus with a stern look, silencing any other protests the Irish boy might have wanted to voice.
Ron knows he hasn't heard the last of it and Seamus will surely be pissed off for another few weeks, though he is pretty sure he can handle it. Besides, with what they are up against, it might make Seamus forget he is trying to be angry with Ron.
XXX
"What do you mean, 'mandatory Muggle studies'?!"
"Exactly what I said, Mr Weasley," McGonagall tells him. "The Ministry has decided every student needs to learn what they consider important knowledge on Muggles."
The disdain in her voice is apparent and Ron growls though his outrage is nothing now compared to how he feels after the first lesson with Alecto Carrow.
"Is there a problem?" Alecto must have followed them out of the classroom and is now wearing a sweet smile that doesn't reach her eyes.
"Like hell there is a problem!" Ron draws himself up as a hush falls over the crowd gathered in the corridor. "You're saying that Muggleborns don't deserve to learn magic but I've known some who are more powerful than you'll ever be!"
Alecto raises an eyebrow. "That's because they stole their magic from powerful witches and wizards, Mr Weasley."
"That's bollocks! Merlin's beard, have you ever even met a Muggle?!"
"Now why would I want to meet a Muggle, Mr Weasley?" Her voice is threateningly low. "They're vile, filthy humans who refuse our community their rightful place, forcing us into hiding. Why would I want to talk to them?"
"To see if it's true what you're saying!" Ron shouts, not caring about the consequences anymore. "But you're too daft to question anything, aren't you, you just do what you're told, by the Ministry, by You-Know-Who-"
"That's enough!"
Ron falls silent, adrenaline coursing through his veins. He can see his fear reflected in the eyes of Neville, Seamus and the rest of his classmates.
"It's not your place to question what your betters have discovered," Carrow drawls, drawing her wand. "You need to be punished for your disobedience, Mr Weasley."
Ron crosses his arms in front of his chest. "Well, give me detention, then."
Alecto barks out a laugh. "Oh no, Mr Weasley. I doubt detention will be enough to make you learn." She points the wand at him. "Crucio!"
His body explodes with pain, daggers are digging into his skin, his hands are on fire, something is trying to tear him apart from the inside and all he can do is scream.
After an eternity, it stops and Ron finds himself on the floor curled up and trembling. He glances up into the shocked faces of his friends.
"Let this be a lesson to all of you," Alecto says and sweeps past Ron without sparing him another glance.
XXX
That first evening, while Ron, Neville and the girls still left in their class (everyone except Hermione) are working on their first homework of their year, the portrait opens and shuts with a loud bang and a bloke rushes past their group.
"Wasn't that Seamus?" Parvati asks.
"I don't care," Lavender snaps, scribbling furiously on her parchment.
Ron and Neville exchange glances and follow the boy up to their dormitory.
"Leave me alone!" Seamus shouts when they enter. He sounds like he is crying and Ron turns to go but Neville blocks the door and pushes him inside.
"What's wrong?" Neville sits down on a corner of the bed.
"Sod off, you wankers!"
"Weren't you meeting Theo tonight?" Neville asks and Ron freezes. Intriguingly, so does Seamus.
"Shut up!"
"What happened? Come on, Seamus, you can tell us."
"You'll just laugh at me!"
"Oi!"
"Not you, Neville, but Ginger will," Seamus grumbles and finally sits up on the mattress, wiping his cheeks dry.
Ron just looks at him questioningly.
"Theo and I are over!" Seamus shouts. "You happy now, mate? No more queers in your dorm, at least no active ones…"
A new wave of tears fills Seamus' eyes and suddenly, Ron feels very out of place in his own dormitory.
"What happened?" Neville dares after a while.
"Someone told Theo's father. And he… reacted badly. Punished him, I don't know, Theo wouldn't go into details, but… He said we have to end it."
"That's bollocks!" Neville jumps up, indignant. "That's none of his business! Just see him under his dad's nose!"
"He's a Death Eater, Neville! What do you think he'd do to his son if he discovered him lying? Grow up, mate! It's over!"
Seamus throws himself back down onto the bed. "Now get the bloody fuck out!"
Ron flees, Neville at his heels. They come to a stop in the middle of the staircase.
"Stupid Death Eaters!" Neville shouts, kicking the handrail. "But tell me you're at least a bit sorry for them!"
Ron takes a step back, considering. "I dunno."
"Come on, Ron! The blokes were in love! And now they can't be, that's not all right! Didn't you tell me your mum didn't like your brother's wife at first? What'd you say if she told him to stop seeing her?"
Ron shrugs but a voice in his head tells him exactly how he'd feel. It must have shown on his face, too.
"That's what I thought. Because there's no difference, is there?" Still angry, Neville stomps down the rest of the stairs, leaving Ron alone with his thoughts.
XXX
Three days later, Ginny smears "Dumbledore's Army, Still Recruiting" on the wall near the Great Hall just before everyone comes down for dinner.
Everyone knows who to contact and Ron, Neville and Ginny spent most of the weekend talking to other students who won't accept Snape's new regime, producing more coins for the group to communicate with.
They decide to meet once a week in the Room of Requirement to think of ways to undermine the Death Eaters and for the first time in weeks, Ron feels like he is actively doing something and not just sitting by while Harry and Hermione are out there, fighting a war.
Their ranks have thinned with many friends gone because of their blood status, yet the former core of the DA is still there, ready to do something, anything, really.
One night in October, Ginny is out of breath when she reaches the common room after an appointment with the Headmaster. Someone spotted her with red paint and tied her to the newest wave of graffiti decorating school walls, saying inspiring stuff like "The Chosen One lives" or hilarious stuff like "No Power To You-No-Poo".
"He has it!" she cries, looking more furious than Ron has ever seen her and that is saying something, given how he and the twins had teased her when they were younger.
"Who has what?" Neville cuts in, putting his quill down.
"Snape! That oily, snake-faced bastard has Gryffindor's sword in his office! What gives him the right – how can he – argh!" She kicks the table closest to her, crying out in anger.
"What?" Several voices demand and the next thing Ron knows it that everyone is protesting and he and Neville are scheming to get the Sword back into Gryffindor possession.
Their plan is simple but hopefully effective: Steal into Snape's office while he is at the Ministry – something that happens about two or three times a week, probably getting cosy with You-No-Poo, Ron thinks grimly – and retrieve the Sword.
As he, Neville, Ginny and Luna make their way towards the Headmaster's office, Ron wishes they had the Invisibility Cloak to avoid Filch and Mrs Norris. However, everything goes smoothly. They manage to guess the password ('pureblood', really innovative, Snape) in less than three minutes and successfully extract the Sword from its show cabinet.
Everything would have gone over perfectly… if Snape hadn't waited for them at the foot of the staircase to the headmaster's office.
"Well, well, why am I not surprised? The most prominent attribute of Gryffindors always was stupidity," he sneers. "Fifty points from each of you for this transgression. And you will receive detention," he promises and Ron can't suppress a shudder. Detention is feared nowadays. Either the Carrows spend the time by using the Cruciatus Curse on you or another student is forced to do it. One second-year has also been chained to a wall for a night as punishment.
"Hand me back the Sword."
"No!" Ginny shouts. "It doesn't belong to you!"
"It belongs to the school, the very school of which I am Headmaster. I have every right to claim this artefact."
"It's Gryffindor's sword! It's ours!" Ginny insists and Ron glimpses how Snape grips his wand tighter.
"Stop acting like a stupid girl or I will have to curse you."
"Don't you dare hurt her!" Ron shouts, raising his wand.
Snape's gaze is cold and emotionless as it moves back and forth between him and his sister.
"I won't if she hands me back the sword. And if you refuse, Mrs Weasley," Snape adds, pointing his wand at Ron instead, "I will be sure to hand over your brother to the Ministry and have him persecuted."
"On what grounds!" Neville cuts in but Snape merely laughs.
"A man in my position doesn't need solid proof, you fools. Now, Ms Weasley, would you risk your brother's life for a piece of metal, as steep in history as it may be?"
Reluctantly, Ginny raises the sword and allows Snape to take it from her.
"Now it is time for you mindless apes to return to your lair. You will report at eight tomorrow night for your detention in the Entrance Hall"
Ron wants to ask what their detention will consist of yet a look from Snape silences him immediately.
XXX
In the end, neither of them should have worried since their detention is to help Hagrid in the Forbidden Forest. Granted, weeding out magical mushrooms that are a threat to fairies isn't pleasant but it beats being on the receiving end of a Cruciatus from the Carrows every day.
As he is fighting a rather resilient mushroom, Ron spots a blue flower. He doesn't know what it is called; what he does know, however, is that it is used in magical explosives. He plucks all of the flowers he can find and puts them in his robe pockets.
Back in the common room, he spots Seamus writing an essay, probably for Muggle studies judging by the angry expression he is wearing.
"I found something," Ron announces which makes Seamus look up, face immediately turning into a scowl.
Before the boy can retort, Ron pulls the blue flowers out of his pockets and places them on the table next to Seamus who looks as if he had been hit by the Knight Bus.
"Where did you get these?"
"The Forrest. During detention."
"What, Snape held detention in the forest?"
"No, you dolt, he handed us over to Hagrid, we had to weed mushrooms and I saw the flowers and remembered they're used in explo- you know, just forget it," he sighs, frustrated by Seamus' still hostile look, and heads to take a shower to get rid of the forest smell.
He is about to undress when Seamus bursts into the room, looking apologetic.
"Look, mate, I'm sorry, I just thought it was a joke at first."
"How could that've been a joke?"
"Well," he smirks, "it's not every day a guy brings me flowers."
Ron's jaw drops and he feels anger flare in his chest.
"Oh, don't get your knickers in a twist," Seamus waves it off with a hand, "it was just a joke. Really, thanks for the flowers, they're rare and brilliant."
"Don't mention it," Ron replies after a pause.
Seamus nods and leaves him to his shower. And just like that, things are back to how they were before the bloke decided to snog a Slytherin.
Ron wishes relationship with girls were this straight forward from time to time.
XXX
Their failed attempt to steal the sword leads to a new wave of interest in the DA, which wouldn't be a bad thing if said wave didn't include Blaise Zabini.
"What do you want?" Ron snarls at him when the boy seeks him and Neville out in the library.
"I want to help."
"You want to spy, don't you?"
"You're letting Pansy help," Zabini shots back and Ron's head whirls around to look at Neville who at least has the decency to blush.
"She doesn't like torturing people. That's why she's helping us."
"So what's your excuse?" Ron snaps at the Slytherin, fixing him with a glare.
"You know quite well who changed me," Zabini insists and Ron wants to slap him for mentioning Hermione, even indirectly.
"What's to say you're serious? You could've just been using her to be able to spy on us. That'd be the Slytherin thing to do, wouldn't it?" Ron crosses his arms and glares some more.
Anger flares in Zabini's eyes. "If you can't grasp the concept of deep emotion, I pity you, Weasley."
"Guys, calm down," Neville cuts in. "Why don't we give him a chance, huh, Ron? Let him do things but not allow him to our DA meetings right away?"
Ron considers the Slytherin for a long time, a different sort of doubts he has been having in the forefront of his mind. Malfoy hasn't returned either and that did surprise him. After all, the little git would have loved to torture unruly students. Or would he? The problem is, Ron isn't so sure anymore.
He groans in frustration and throws his hands up. "All right, but the first sign of betrayal and you'll wish you'd have never talked to us, understand?"
Zabini nods curtly yet a smile is tugging on the corners of his mouth.
XXX
Severus watches the supposedly covert glances several students are sending each other over the dinner tables with worry. Something is bound to come; he merely hopes for the sake of the students that he will be the one to catch them during the act.
He noted Blaise's and Pansy's increasing interaction with Longbottom and Weasley two weeks ago and it hasn't abated since. Good for them, Severus muses, some Slytherin cunning will help with their Gryffindor stupidity.
A bowl of potatoes hovers past him and towards Minerva who pointedly doesn't look at him as she sends the dish back after taking out some food instead of asking Severus to pass it to and fro.
He stifles a sigh. He feels tired, more tired than he has ever felt in his life.
He retires early that evening, inventing an excuse about a letter he has to send to Pius while instead he indulges the urge he has been feeling for days. He slides into the adjoining room of the Headmaster's office and orders an elf to brink him whisky.
He hardly ever drinks, his father having been enough of a deterring example, yet on rare occasions, he forgoes his own rule.
Not for the first time he wonders if all he is doing will prove in vein. If Potter and his entourage will bring upon the fall of the Dark Lord like Dumbledore – Dumbledore's portrait – seems so adamant about.
Then again: It really isn't of import. Severus knows he will not survive this war.
The realisation used to be discomfiting, now he draws strength from it. Gone are the times he made plans for his retirement, gone are the times he thought of names for spell books, potions books, books on Defence he was going to publish. The Half-Blood Prince is not going to make his mother proud that way, not anymore.
If living under the fist of Albus Dumbledore taught Severus anything it is that one's own life, in the face of the Greater Good, is meaningless.
Only the consequences of one's actions count.
XXX
Severus is overseeing Weasley's and Longbottom's detention for one reason: to find out whether they know anything about Potter's plans or whereabouts.
"I prefer not to put all my secrets in one basket," Dumbledore said a lifetime ago yet Severus doubts Potter will think in similar terms. Even Snape is aware of the Golden Trio going their separate ways, though, which may complicate the matter. Everything hinges on whether or not the Chosen One and his sidekick have found a way to return to being in cahoots during the summer.
Dumbledore's Army, Still Recruiting. He detests the myriad of way Gryffindors find courage and hope in the daftest of actions. It is, apparently, too much to hope for that Weasley and Longbottom will sit idly by and endure the year without drawing the wrath of the Death Eaters on themselves.
From time to time, however, Severus manages to assign them detention before the Carrows open their mouths. Which grant him an opportunity to probe into their minds…
Neither of the boys has ever received any form of training for it suffices to sweep their thoughts superficially to gather quite a large amount of information.
Longbottom is planning another stunt similar to the one that landed him in this very spot; only this time in a more shielded part of the castle. Severus makes a mental note to change the patrolling schedule for the following week to reduce the risk of one of the Carrows catching Longbottom in the act.
The boy also seems to have an unhealthy interest in finding a place for him and his girlfriend to spend some time alone and another mental note will ensure hormonal teenagers will no longer defile the Astronomy Tower.
Weasley's thoughts – Severus almost questions his luck; then again, Gryffindors never were the cleverest of students, especially in the presence of a skilled Legilimens – circle around Harry Potter. Apparently Mr Weasley regrets abandoning his best friend just a little now that the Chosen One is fulfilling his destiny, having left his former sidekick behind.
Well, Weasley never was more than a moth drawn to Potter's bright flame.
Speaking of flame… Severus has to restrain himself or else he would have gasped upon realising that Dumbledore left his own Deluminator to the Gryffindor.
Apparently the former Headmaster believed the flame wouldn't be able to survive without its moth. Very well, then. If Weasley wants to escape Hogwarts, Severus will facilitate it and be rid of the troublemaker for the rest of the school year.
XXX
Ron sighs heavily, the sound echoing around the empty common room. Everyone has gone to bed, only he is left down here, thinking.
It is December already and he has finally come to a decision. Standing up to the Carrows or annoying Snape isn't worth anything; all they are achieving is getting people hurt.
This week alone more DA members were in the hospital wing than out.
Yet Ron can't for the life of Merlin come up with a way to escape. All the secret passages out of school have been blocked so getting into Hogsmeade undetected won't be possible. There are no trips to the village anymore, so that is out of the question, too.
It is Thursday, December 18th. Tomorrow is their last Friday at Hogwarts and on Saturday, the train will take them back home. He needs to act fast but he can't just go without a plan.
"Hermione, where are you when I need you," he murmurs to himself, angrily pulling out the Deluminator and flicking the lid until the clicking noise fills the room.
He stops abruptly, blinks, and turns the small device over in his hands.
He clicks it. The lights in the common room immediately go out but then, another light appears in front of the portrait hole.
Ron stares for a few seconds, then he bold up the stairs and into the dorm, cramming everything he thinks he needs into a bag, then he scribbles a quick note and leaves it on top of his undeterred sheets before he goes after the light.
I'm gone, I have to do something. Don't worry about me and please, mates, stay safe.
PS: Sorry Neville, I stole some of your sweets for the way!
XXX
Severus shudders when he considers how easy it was to put a tracing charm on the Weasley boy. Primitive, indeed, yet effective.
He is following the boy through the halls leading to the rooms used for storage, immediately realising there has to be one path out of the school they failed to seal off.
Severus confounds Alecto from around a corner where he remains, unseen, as the vile woman turns and continues into a different direction, leading her away from Mr Weasley.
Snape, however, follows him into the storage facilities and watches as a ball of light hovers in front of a portrait of a lion. The animal used to continuously roar at students, unsettling first-years which is why they had it removed and put in here. Now, though, the animal positively pours and unveils a passage behind the canvas. Weasley doesn't need a written invitation to Severus' surprise, he merely stares at the hole in the wall for fifteen seconds before he moves and climbs up.
Once the painting has sealed the passage again, Severus steps forward. The lion roars immediately and lashes out with its claws ever more viciously the closer he tries to come.
Snape admits defeat with a sigh. At least he still has a trace on the boy, which will make it easier to find him once he is back with Potter and Granger should other means of locating them fail.
Glaring at the lion, Severus backs away gracefully until the feline stops its antics and lies down again.
XXX
The secret passage is windy and narrow and Ron hits his elbows more than once, sucking in a sudden breath to keep himself from crying out in pain.
He wonders why he has never seen the storage rooms before, or whether anyone except for Filch ever has. If – no, when – he finds Harry and Hermione again, he will ask to check the Map.
The end of the tunnel leads him to some sort of trap door, which opens easily enough. Climbing out, Ron blinks, trying to make sense of his surroundings in the darkness.
"Lumos minima," he whispers eventually. He should have looked up a spell on night-time vision, really.
He can't believe his luck - the room he landed himself in is a pantry. Carefully listening for any noise that might indicate someone is aware of an intruder, Ron helps himself to some food. Fortunately, everything already has preservation charms on it since he himself has never mastered that one. Well, his mum is not a very good teacher, he muses.
He digs in his pockets until he finds a few coins. It doesn't cover the food by half but it is all he can manage right now. Promising he will pay the owner back, he leaves the Sickles and looks for an exit.
XXX
Ron leaves the Hog's Head through the back door without anyone noticing, then simply apparates to a forest he visited with his family a few years ago. It is remote enough to keep him from prying eyes and will make a good base for his search.
Which he has no idea where to begin.
XXX
The castle is empty, emptier than usual. Almost all students have decided to return home for the holidays, leaving behind a school void of life safe for the teachers.
Weasley still hasn't found Potter and Granger yet Dumbledore's portrait remains optimistic. "When the time is right," he says calmly while Snape is rolling his eyes.
Christmas Day is a sad affair. In previous years, Severus was welcome to spend the holiday at Malfoy Manor if the family themselves weren't otherwise occupied – for example with celebrating in Egypt under palm trees.
This year though, he remains at Hogwarts with Slughorn and the Carrows. Trelawney has chosen to stay in her tower and the creature in his rooms.
The Dark Lord has a tendency to ignore Christmas for which Severus is grateful. It wouldn't do if Weasley found his friends and needed the sword and Severus wasn't able to leave the Dark Lord's side.
It happens the next day.
"Headmaster! They are camping in the Forest of Dean!" Phineas Nigellus starts shouting even before he is fully inside the portrait. "The Mudblood –"
"Do not use that word!"
"- the Granger girl, then, mentioned the place as she opened her bag and I heard her!"
"Good, very good!" the portrait of Dumbledore agrees. "Now, Severus, the sword! Do not forget that it must be taken under conditions of need and valour – and he must not know that you give it! If Voldemort should read Harry's mind and see you acting for him –"
"I know," Severus almost snaps, pulling aside his predecessor's portrait revealing a hidden cavity holding the Sword of Gryffindor.
"And you still aren't going to tell me why it's so important to give Potter the Sword?"
"No, I don't think so," Dumbledore answers in an infuriatingly calm voice. "He will know what to do with it. And Severus, be very careful, they may not take kindly to your appearance after the George Weasley mishap –"
"Don't worry, Dumbledore," Severus shoots back, actively supressing an eye-roll, "I have a plan."
He buttons up his travelling coat and leaves the room. It takes him thirty minutes to reach Hogsmeade from where he apparates to the Forest of Dean. Usually Severus detests the cold – too many memories of icy rooms; that and low temperatures are the enemy of every potion maker – yet tonight, it proves useful he decides as he banishes the sword to the bottom of a frozen lake.
Weasley has come as well, a swift checking of the trace tells Severus. Adjusting his plan, Severus casts his Patronus, allowing himself one moment of nostalgic melancholy as he watches the doe tread on the forest's ground before he sends the deer off to draw Weasley in and eventually to lead Potter to the sword.
What transpires next makes Severus doubt whether Potter is as suited to fight the Dark Lord as Dumbledore keeps insisting on. Surely if one has acquired a strange magical object one will consider removing it before diving into a frozen lake to retrieve another powerful magical object.
Daft Gryffindors. It shouldn't come as such a surprise.
Once the Weasley boy has saved Potter's hide – probably not for the first time – Severus' initial plan meant for him to leave. Yet curiosity wins out. Dumbledore might not want to tell him everything, though nothing can be said against finding out for himself.
XXX
"Are – you – mental?" Ron doubts he has ever been so angry in his life. "Why the bloody hell didn't you take this thing off before you dived?!" The strange locket is dangling from his hand. He might not know what it is, exactly, but judging by the way it tried to strangle Harry, it can't be anything good.
Harry blinks up at him through wet lashes. "It was y-you?" His teeth are clattering and they really need to warm him up, Ron thinks.
"Well, yeah?"
"Y-you cast the doe?"
"What? No, of course not! I thought that was you doing it!"
"My Patronus is a stag."
"Oh yeah. I thought it looked different. No antlers."
Harry nods and bows down to put on a warm sweater and pick up a wand that doesn't look anything like his.
"How come you're here?" Harry asks at last and Ron can finally dive into the explanation he has been rehearsing for the past few days. He knows there is a chance Harry will turn him away again and he is not going to risk that.
"I went back to Hogwarts, which is hell, by the way, the Carrows are mental, really. A few of us started Dumbledore's Army again but… You know, I kept thinking that you're out there somewhere, fighting the real fight, because Dumbledore gave you a mission, right? I remember from the Order meeting in August…" He takes a deep breath. "Anyway, I was a daft git. Fred and George were pretty keen on drilling that point into my head. I might not like it, the thing with you and, y'know, blokes… But you're still Harry, I guess. And I want to help. If," he clears his throat, "you know. You still want me."
Ron watches Harry's reaction and is relieved when the anger dissipates little. It is still there, shimmering underneath the surface, yet apparently, five years of going through everything together can't be erased by one year of him acting like a total moron.
Slowly, Harry nods. "I guess we could use your help. But Ron… It won't be back to normal, all right?"
"I know."
Harry considers him for a moment, probably trying to figure out if he is being completely honest. Well, Ron knows he bollocksed up; he is just glad Harry will give him a second change.
Third one, actually. Or fourth?
Whatever Harry sees in Ron's face seems to be enough to convince him. "Good. You'll need to apologise to Hermione, too."
"Sure." For good measure, he adds, "Blaise isn't that bad, it turns out." At Harry's questioning glance, he explains, "He joined the DA at Hogwarts. I guess dating a Muggleborn does that to a Slytherin."
That actually earns him a smile and Ron knows that, even though not everything might run smoothly from the beginning, he and Harry will be all right in the end.
Well, and destroying a Horcrux together really welds people together, as it turns out.
Ron is breathing heavily, sword in hand, staring at the broken locket. He just destroyed a piece of You-Know-Who's soul, he realises. So this is what Harry and Hermione have been up to – soul hunting.
Ron probably needs to sleep over the information that You-Know-Who split his soul in so many pieces but, all things considered it might not be the weirdest thing that has happened to Ron since he met Harry Potter.
Well, the hardest is probably still to come: facing Hermione after having acted like a complete wanker throughout sixth year.
Ron shudders yet gathers his courage and follows Harry back to the camp.
XXX
In the shadows, hidden from the boys, Severus has to lean against a tree as realisation floods his mind.
Horcruxes.
It is obvious, really. A gruesome way to ensure one's survival, indeed; yet Severus has always believed Horcruxes to be brilliant works of magic.
With one last glance at Potter and Weasley to ensure they haven't tripped over a branch and broken their necks, Severus disapparates.
He has to think.
XXX
End Notes: I have to apologise to VernieKlein for bringing Ron back since she wanted an anti-Ron fic. Yet since I fulfilled the prompt in part I, I decided it's time to have Ron grovel, begging to come back (because I really love him dearly as a sidekick). Of course things won't be all love, piece and harmony between the three of them but everything has to start somewhere ;)
I hope I haven't disappointed anyone by bringing Ron back! Don't worry, won't be long until Draco and Harry meet again *laughs-forebodingly*
Regarding the next update: I fear I won't be able to post next week... but I've been writing the sequel to Gorgeous as well, so there will be an update in that verse next Saturday. Please don't hate me!