Well, I'm back! Sorry for the little delay, but I am enjoying my free time very thoroughly! I know some of you think I was too cruel towards Hermione, but you know, war is war. It was Bellatrix who wounded her, not me!
And without more rambling, the chapter!
The White Light
Forty-five minutes later, when Harry and the other Weasleys returned to the hospital wing, this time accompanied by a sorrowful-looking Neville, madam Pomfrey was changing the bandages covering Hermione's chest and abdomen, but she wasn't paying any attention. Her face was vacant, her gaze distant, her mind far beyond pain and sadness.
"How is she?" she heard Harry ask the healer.
"Physically, recovering," madam Pomfrey answered.
"You zure nozeeng can be done?" Fleur asked.
"No, nothing," the healer answered. "With wounds caused by Dark Magic like this ... there's nothing we can do."
Hermione turned her face towards her friends, trying to smile, trying to be strong for them.
"Snape invented that curse," Harry muttered suddenly, hatred now visible in his face. "He healed Malfoy last year. I'm sure he can do something. Let's bring him here!" he suggested.
"I'm not sure —" madam Pomfrey began to reply.
"We have nothing to lose," Fred intervened. "I'm with Harry. If he could heal Malfoy —"
"I'll go and fetch him," said Harry decidedly.
"I'll go with you," Neville told him hurriedly.
Harry moved closer to Hermione's head and smiled at her. "We'll be back soon, Hermione. You'll be fine."
"Don't worry, Harry. I've accepted this."
"I have not," he retorted, and he and Neville left the room.
They came back fifteen minutes later with the former Potions Master, Professor McGonagall right behind them.
"She was hit with the Sectumsempra Curse," Harry explained, pointing at Hermione. "You invented that awful spell; you healed Malfoy last year, so heal her!" he ordered, his voice barely containing his hatred towards the professor.
Snape looked at Harry for a moment and then moved towards Hermione, examining her cautiously.
"Who did this?"
"Your friend Bellatrix," Harry snarled.
"She's not my friend," Snape retorted.
"Whatever. Just heal her," Harry demanded.
Hermione looked at Snape's face, and he looked back at her with ... pity?
"I'm sorry," said Snape after a minute, moving away from her, "but there's nothing I can do for her."
Hermione was expecting this, but it felt like a blow anyway. Harry, however, looked murderous. "What?" he asked. "You invented that spell!"
"It's Dark Magic. The wounds are healing, but the removed body parts cannot grow back. And some damage cannot be repaired. Nothing can be done to help her."
Harry sighed, desolated, and sat dejectedly on a nearby chair. No one seemed to know what to say, and Hermione, unable to stand their pitiful eyes, turned her head, staring at the potions on her bedside table.
A mere minute later, the doors of the hospital wing opened and Ron came inside, his cloak floating behind him.
"Ron!" Mrs Weasley yelled, greeting her son and moving towards him. "We were wondering —"
"Not now, Mum," Ron interrupted, silencing her with a raising hand, and joined the rest of his family, Harry, Neville, Snape and McGonagall.
"Is everything okay at the Ministry?" Mr Weasley asked.
"Everything's under control. The place is now secure." He looked at Hermione, and she wished to disappear, because she didn't want Ron to see her like this. "How are you?" he asked dispassionately.
After hearing that, Harry stood up and confronted him. "'How are you'?" he bellowed, angry. "Where have you been, Ron? She's your friend! She's been here for hours! Hours! She could be dead for all you cared —" Ron looked at Harry and Hermione saw him flinch for a moment, but continued nonetheless. "You told us there was nothing to fear! That everything was going to be okay! Well, look at her, Ron! Look at her! Does she seem 'okay' to you? Answer me, for Merlin's sake!"
"Shut up, Harry," Ron said. His tone was soft, but unmistakably indicating that he would not tolerate such outbursts towards him. "I am powerful, but not almighty. I'm clever and intelligent, but I can make mistakes. Perhaps I made some. However, I didn't drag anyone with me, did I? You came because you chose to." The Weasleys were staring at Ron as if they saw him for the first time. Ron looked at Hermione. "I'm sorry for this, Hermione. I didn't want that anything bad happened to you," he said.
Hermione looked at Ron, but, like always, ever since he had returned, there was no care, no affection, no pity in his eyes. He lamented what had happened to her because she was a living being, a person, but not because she was Hermione, his former best friend, a person he had once loved.
"It's not your fault," she managed to say.
"I see that you've brought Snape," he observed. "He is expert on this kind or magic, isn't he? So I assume you'll be all right. Why hadn't they healed you?"
"All right?" repeated Ginny in utter disbelief. "All right? She's lost one arm and one leg! And, almost surely, she'll never be able to get pregnant!"
Hermione wanted to tell them to shut up and to leave her alone, because every word about her situation, every moment Ron was there, feeling nothing for her, was sheer torture, like dying again and again.
"Why not?" Ron asked.
"She was attacked with Dark Magic," explained Snape with a soft sneer, relishing in the fact that this new Ron, powerful as he might be, seemed to ignore things like that, "she can be healed, but not completely."
Ron turned to Snape and looked at him arching one eyebrow. "Says who?" he asked.
"Says everyone," answered Snape.
Ron snorted. "Such ignorance. Sometimes I forget how little you understand about Magic." He shook his head. "I've already told you," he added, his eyes moving between Harry and Hermione, "that there is no such thing as Dark Magic; I've told you that Magic simply is."
"Are you — are you saying that — that you can heal her?" Harry asked, hope gleaming in his eyes.
Ron took out his wand. "When I showed you the Dark Shadow —"
"The what?" Snape asked, intrigued.
"Don't interrupt me," Ron warned him, and Snape shut his mouth. "When I showed you the Dark Shadow," he continued, "I told you that it was one of my discoveries, and that there was just one thing that could stop it," he explained. "Well, the magic that can stop the Shadow is another discovery of mine, as powerful as the Dark Shadow itself."
He concentrated for a moment, and, after a few seconds, a white substance, neither gas nor liquid, flowed off the wand's tip. It seemed to emit a brilliant and intense light, but of a kind that could be looked at without harming one's eyes. Hermione stared at it in awe, and it made her think about Patronuses. The substance moved through the air from Ron's wand until it stayed a foot over Hermione's body, whirling slowly, and Hermione felt something warm, something incredibly good and pure, coming from it.
"This is the White Light, as I call it," explained Ron. "And as the Dark Shadow is pure Destruction, this is the pure force of Life, of Creation. It is the only thing that can stop the Dark Shadow, and it can repair or heal anything, as long as it's not dead or hasn't been destroyed by the Shadow."
Ron moved his wand and the White Light descended upon Hermione, and she felt delicious warmth spreading throughout her body, filling her completely, and felt all the pain, the weakness and the tiredness disappear from her. And it seemed not to affect just her body; she could feel it in her mind, too: the hopelessness, the unhappiness, the sorrow, were being banished away by a relentless wave of pure love and joy. And she felt her body whole again, felt herself more alive and more vigorous than never before, felt every particle inside her vibrating with pure energy. And suddenly, the bandages covering her underneath the nightclothes she was wearing were shed to pieces, and the scars under them started to vanish, the damaged flesh and skin in them healing totally. She heard a yell of surprise, and noticed that her lost arm and leg were growing back, slowly but constantly. New, untarnished flesh was appearing out of nowhere, stretching, taking shape, until both limbs were whole again, and she could feel her foot and her hand. Amazed, she flicked her fingers, marvelling at that simple sensation, aware that her cheeks were soaking wet with tears of bliss and pure delight.
Slowly, as it had filled her, the warmth inside her vanished, and she jumped off the bed, full of life and energy, and stared at her right arm and hand reverently, as if they were a wonder she had never seen before. Beaming, she looked at the others, which were staring at her in awe.
"It — it is not possible," muttered Madam Pomfrey, who seemed petrified. Her eyes, which were now the size of saucers, were fixed on Hermione.
"Hermione?" asked Harry, moving tentatively towards her. "Are you — are you okay?"
"I'm fine," she assured, nodding vigorously. "Better than fine, I'd say. I — I've never felt better. Never."
"Well, problem solved, then, and in no time," said Ron. "There was no need to make such a fuss over it."
Hermione looked at him, amazed by him, by his skills and powers. She was dying to hug him, to show him how much it meant for her what he had done, but she knew that he wouldn't want it and refrained. "Thank you, Ron. Thank you very much. You — you've brought me back to life," he told him, feeling her eyes water.
"You weren't dead," said Ron plainly.
"When I was there," she said, tilting her head towards the bed, "part of me wished I was."
"Oh, Ron," moaned Mrs Weasley, approaching her son. "You ... You are so amazing ..."
"It's nothing, Mum," said Ron dismissively.
"But it is something," Madam Pomfrey replied. "I don't know how you did it, or which kind of magic you used, but what you did had never been done before. You could do such good with that power ..."
"Well, I intend to do some good," Ron said.
"Could you use it with the other patients?" Professor McGonagall asked. "There are more injured here which could benefit from that Magic. Don't you think so, Poppy?"
"Certainly," madam Pomfrey confirmed, nodding. "They could recover faster. Some of them were injured very badly and had pretty nasty wounds which would never be completely healed with our usual means."
"Yeah, I can do it," said Ron, conjuring more White Light with his wand. The whirling, bright substance flowed around him, illuminating the entire room. Then, at a flick of Ron's wand, it divided into several streams, each of them getting inside one of the patients. Only a small sphere of the substance remained near Ron. Hermione observed how the patients began to writhe on their beds, how they were moaning slightly for a few minutes as the amazing White Light worked inside them, healing their body, mind and soul, and finally, all of them sat up on their beds, looking confused and surprised, but perfectly healthy.
"You alone could replace the entire staff of St Mungo," Ginny commented, absolutely amazed.
"I could," Ron said. Then, he took the small sphere of White Light in his hand and turned around to look at Bill. He got closer to him and said, "You can be healed, too." He raised his hand and put the small sphere over Bill's scarred and surprised face. The Light spread over it and Bill lifted his chin and closed his eyes, moaning, as the miraculous substance began to heal his wounds, and, just ten seconds after that, he looked as if he had never met Fenrir Greyback.
Bill touched his face slowly, marvelling at the absence of the scars, and Fleur, with tears in her eyes, approached him and did the same. "Oh, Beel ... Beel ..."
Bill kissed her softly and turned towards Ron, a expression of deep gratitude etched upon his face. "I — I don't know what to — Thank you, Ron."
Fleur hugged him, grateful, but Ron didn't return the gesture. "Get off, Fleur," he said firmly, and she did, looking surprised and confused. "We're finished here," stated Ron. "There are important matters to discuss."
"Yes," Fred said, nodding. "And where you've been all this time and how you've learnt to do things like this would be a good start."
"I'm not going to explain anything about that to you," Ron snapped. "I'm speaking about the new state of things."
"But I'd like to know why you were not at our wedding," added Bill, pressing on. "We were dead worried about you, Ron! When Ginny told us what had happened, and our owls didn't reach you, we —" He shook his head.
Ron fixed his eyes on him for a moment before speaking.
"And I told you already that I won't talk about that. So let's go to the staff room, where we can talk privately."
"I need to change my clothes," commented Hermione.
Looking still a bit dazed, madam Pomfrey disappeared into her office for a moment and returned with the clothes Hermione was wearing before the battle at the Ministry. They were washed and repaired. Saying thanks to the healer, she closed the curtains and changed quickly.
"I'm ready," she announced. Her voice was hoarse, and she still felt as if she had just waken up from a horrible nightmare.
Without allowing anyone to say anything more, Ron exited the hospital wing, and the Weasleys, Neville, McGonagall and Snape followed him. Hermione joined Harry at the end of the group, and he grinned at her.
"I'm so glad you're okay, Hermione," he said, the relief evident in his voice. "It was killing me seeing you like that."
"I'm glad too, Harry."
"We all are relieved, Hermione," said Ginny.
"Thanks, Ginny. For everything." Hermione smiled affectionately at the younger girl. She felt reassured, because part of her had feared that, as she was fine and whole again, the Weasleys would be angry with her once more.
The group reached the staff room, and they all sat down while Ron remained on his feet, to be able to address them all.
"As I've told you already, the situation in the Ministry is under control," Ron informed them. "Kingsley is taking care of everything, the Aurors that aren't under custody are again fighting for the good side, the innocents in Azkaban had been released, and those awful new departments like the Muggleborn Registration Commission have been dismantled." Ron made a pause before continuing, "About forty Death Eaters are in our hands now, but there are still a few at large, and, of course, Voldemort himself, who, I guess, must be particularly angry. Harry?"
"He is, indeed," confirmed Harry. "When Bellatrix Lestrange informed him about the failure attempting to regain control of the Ministry he went mad, frenzied. She and the other two Death Eaters which escaped were severely punished." He looked at Hermione when he said this, smiling at her. "And I must say that, for once, I agree with him for torturing that crazy bit—"
"Mr Potter!" Professor McGonagall yelled, cutting Harry in.
"Well, It's not a surprise he's angry, isn't it?" piped up Fred. "I mean, he's put a lot of work into seizing control over the Wizarding World, and now, in two days, he has lost almost everything."
"At this point, then, the only thing remaining to be done is getting rid of him once and for all," continued Ron. "And I intend to do exactly that, tomorrow at dusk."
"Tomorrow?" repeated Mr Weasley. "You, Ron?"
"Yes, me. I'll duel him and everything will be over. And I intend to do that here, at Hogwarts."
"At Hogwarts?" asked Professor McGonagall, shocked. "You can't be serious! There are students here. You surely aren't saying that you'll let him in."
"I'm saying exactly that," replied Ron.
"Why?" asked Ginny. "Why here?"
But Harry knew the answer. "Because here is where he became powerful," he explained. "He discovered everything about himself in this castle. It was here where he discovered he was Slytherin's heir; it was here where he learnt how to make horcruxes; it was here where he changed his name ... It was here where he committed his first murder and where he recruited the very first Death Eaters."
"Exactly," Ron confirmed. "It seems ... right that his path ends here. But you don't have to worry," he added, addressing McGonagall. "The students won't be in any danger."
"Can you assure that?" Mr Weasley asked. "Ron, this is a very serious question."
"I can," Ron nodded. "I'll take all the necessary measures to keep everyone safe."
"And how do you plan to make him come here?" Hermione wanted to know, speaking for the first time.
"I'll send him a message."
"How? Do you know where he is?" George asked.
"By the way, yes, but I'm not going to send him an owl," said Ron. He looked at his father. "Dad, now you have to go back to the Ministry to aid Kingsley. Moody, Lupin, Tonks and the rest of the Order are alerted already and are helping him. You must go too. There are a lot of things to do."
"All right," Mr Weasley nodded.
"What about us?" Fred asked. "We could go back to the shop, and check Diagon Alley —"
"No," Ron replied. "It isn't safe. Voldemort is desperate, and he knows about me. He could try to attack any of you. So you're staying here, at Hogwarts."
"We can't simply stay here, doing nothing!" protested George. "We are members of the Order, we want to —"
"You're staying here," repeated Ron in a more commanding tone. "If I have to hex you so you can't leave this place, I'll do it."
No one replied, but the Weasleys exchanged glances. It was clear to Hermione that this new Ron was still too strange for them.
It was Mrs Weasley who spoke at last. "This is very odd, Ron." Ron looked at her, saying nothing. "It's ... hard, seeing you so changed, so different. What happened to you? Please, tell us, Son," she added, almost begging.
"I'm tired of saying that I'm not going to talk about these past months," he said, his tone clearly indicating that he was reaching the limit of his patience. "I don't want to be rude, so stop asking."
Mrs Weasley kept staring at his youngest son, clearly affected by the emotionless, dispassionate tone he was using when talking to her — to all of them. Hermione didn't know how the first encounter between Ron and his family had gone, but she was sure that he hadn't give his mother a hug, as he hadn't hugged Ginny the day before.
"If you have nothing more to say," Ron said after a few moments, "then we may go. Dad, go back to the Ministry. Professor McGonagall, can you arrange something so my family can spend the night here?" McGonagall said 'of course' and stood up. "Harry, Hermione, you come with me."
"Where?" asked Harry.
"You'll know," Ron answered, and left the room without another word. Harry and Hermione stared for a moment at the bewildered Weasleys, and, with an apologetic look, they followed him.
"Ron," spoke Hermione, after she and Harry had caught up with him, "I want to thank you again, for saving me."
"It was nothing," Ron said, without looking at her.
"For me, it was," she insisted. "That White Light, or whatever you call it, is ... amazing."
"I know it is."
"It felt incredible, when it went inside me," Hermione continued. "I've never fel—"
Ron stopped and, looking at Hermione, interrupted her speech. "What do you really want to say, Hermione?"
"I — I —" she stuttered, not being able to voice the question she was dying to ask.
"This is not the moment," Ron said, not allowing her to speak. "Whatever you're thinking, I suggest you to forget it."
Harry was looking at them, a bit confused. Hermione sighed and nodded at Ron. "Okay, let's go."
They went down the stairs and crossed the Entrance Hall, walking towards the dungeons. Ron stopped outside the room where Draco Malfoy and the Carrows were locked in, waved his wand over the door and it opened. He went in and Harry and Hermione followed him inside.
Draco Malfoy was sitting on the floor. His left forearm was glowing with a bluish light, a charm that would prevent him from touching the Dark Mark under it. Amycus was in the middle of the room, still in the strange trance Ron had put him in, floating near the ceiling, and her sister was bound to a bed, her left arm glowing like Malfoy's, her body covered in bandages and still unconscious.
"Hi, Draco, how are you doing?" asked Ron without interest. Malfoy squeaked and retreated, dragging himself over the floor, trying to get as far from Ron as possible.
"Leave me alone, I didn't do anything!" he moaned, frightened. "You can't keep me locked like this!"
"I can do as I please," Ron retorted, walking slowly towards the Slytherin.
"It's what you deserve," Harry said, his gaze full of loathing. "How many weeks has Luna Lovegood been held captive in your house?"
"I didn't put her in there!"
"But you didn't anything to release her, either," said Hermione. "It's not a surprise, though, as you're nothing more than a cowardly, pathetic ferret."
"What do you want?" Malfoy snarled, his pale face now pink with humiliation and embarrassment.
"Nothing from you," said Ron, and turned to the barely stirring body of Alecto. Ron approached her, and with a few moves of his wand, Alecto's eyes snapped open, and she opened her mouth wide, as to try to scream, but no sound came from it.
"Slept well, Alecto?" Ron asked.
"YOU!" the Death Eater bellowed, writhing under the magical ropes binding her, trying to free herself. "WHAT THE —? Release me NOW!"
"Yelling won't help you."
"Me entire body hurts," she moaned. "What did you do to me, filthy blood tra—?"
Ron touched her with his wand and she screamed in pain, unable to finish her statement.
"I suggest you to be kinder and more cooperative. My patience has a limit, you know, and you don't want to see me angry."
Alecto tried to get away from Ron, but then her eyes caught sight of the weightless, unmoving body of her brother and froze instantly; her eyes wide open in fear. "Amycus! Amycus! What did you do to him? Amycus!"
Ron pointed his wand at her throat and Alecto choked, her face got red and her eyes, full of fear, began to water. After a few seconds, Ron moved her wand and the witch began to splutter and cough.
"I suggest you to worry more about your own life," advised Ron, his tone cold and commanding. He moved his wand over her, and the ropes tethering her to the bed vanished. Upon sensing she was free, she jumped off the bed and tried to get away from Ron, her back pressed to the wall. "I've released you because I require a service from you."
"A service from me?" she repeated. "You must —"
Hermione was sure she had wanted to say 'you must be mad' but she was too afraid to complete the sentence.
"Yes, a service from you. I want you to go to your precious Dark Lord and to convey a message from me."
Alecto frowned in confusion, and Hermione and Harry exchanged and incredulous glance.
"Ron?" Harry said. "Are you saying that you're going to free her, to let her go?"
"That's exactly what I'm saying," confirmed Ron, his eyes fixed on the frightened figure of Alecto.
"I'm not going to go to my master to —"
"You're going to do everything I tell you to do," Ron said with his soft but clearly commanding tone. "You'll do it, because if you don't, you're going to wish you're dead. And, for your information, I'll tell you that I know means to make people do what I want, means that make the Imperius Curse look tame."
Alecto studied Ron for a moment, breathing heavily.
"You're setting me free so I can pass the Dark Lord a message from you?"
"Yes, that is exactly what I want."
"And what is the message?" she asked, still confused, looking wary, as if there were some trap she wasn't aware of.
"Tell him that now I hold control of the Ministry and Hogwarts," Ron said. "Tell him that, if he wants to end this, he'll come to Hogwarts tomorrow, at dusk. Tell him that it is his last chance to stop me, to kill Harry Potter," Ron tilted his head towards Harry, "and to recover — and save — his treasures, his anchors."
"What do you mean, 'hold control of the Ministry'?" Alecto asked. "The Ministry is under —"
"'Was' is the right tense in that sentence," Ron corrected her. "Now, have you understood the message? Have you memorized it correctly?"
"I don't understand it," Alecto commented. "Treasures? Anchors?"
"You don't need to understand, and believe me, it's better for you if you don't know." Ron pointed his wand at her and she froze on the spot, suddenly unable to move a single muscle. Then, Ron touched her forehead with the tip of his wand. There was a sound like of burning flesh, and Alecto yelled in pain. Ron traced a line on her skin and then released her. Alecto, whining, moved away to the corner of the room.
"That hurts!" she moaned. "Please, don't hurt me."
"If you do as you've been told, I won't," Ron said. "What I did to you is a reminder of your true mission. You're now my servant, not his. If you don't give him my message you'll suffer such pain that you'll wish to die," he informed her. "Do you understand me?"
Alecto nodded.
"Wonderful. You'll be able to get out of the grounds now and go back to him," he told her, raising her to her feet. "Ah, one last thing," he added. "He may be a bit ... irritable, after last days' events, so I imagine he won't welcome you with open arms. But you'll go straight to him, or that —" he pointed at the scar in her forehead, "— will make sure you regret your decision. I'm serious: the Cruciatus Curse is better than what my jinx will do to you if you don't obey my orders."
Alecto was trembling in fear.
Ron made her walk before him and the three of them escorted her to the front doors. Once there, he pushed her to the grounds, nearly making her trip over the snow-covered stairs. After that he tossed her wand to her and said, "Go straight to him if you know what's good for you."
Alecto stared at him for a second and then wheeled around and ran towards the gates without looking back.
"The pieces are on the board," said Ron, with one last glance at Alecto before turning round and heading for the marble staircase.
Harry and Hermione exchanged a glance and followed him.
Well, this is it! Ron is extraordinary and Hermione is as good as new again. Maybe you're wondering why I made her suffer so much to heal her so easily! Well, she was wounded in a battle and Ron has extraordinary powers. And the most important thing about her injuries is that it showed her that the Weasleys still cared for her, despite everything (though she and Harry hadn't been completely forgiven, and no one has forgot what happened), and the emotional suffering she endured. We can see, too, that Ron really doesn't care about her. That's what hurts Hermione the most. And we know about the wonderful White Light, which Hermione has tasted ... something that is good, but has its problems, too. Maybe you know what I'm talking about? The answer is in what Hermione feels when she is being healed.
Maybe you're a bit disappointed about the encounter between Ron and Mrs Weasley. Sorry! When some of you told me you were dying to see it I knew it wasn't going to be like you expected. You have to understand that Molly can be scary, but only if you care about her or what she thinks! If you don't ... Besides, remember Percy. Molly never scolded him, she was too glad that he was back with the family. The same goes here with Ron. She is too relieved to see him safe and sound to tell him off! And, of course, like the rest of them, is a bit scared of him!
About next chapter ... Well, I can only say that it'll come out around next Sunday, though I can't promise. It may come out on Saturday, or on Monday. See you!