"Extorquo" He walked away, his face set in stone as the screams rose behind him.

It began like this...

"I don't understand why you are being like this to me, I've been your best mate since we met on the train"

Harry sighed and tried to explain it again

"Ron, you are my best mate, and unless you betray me like Pettigrew, you will always be my best mate, but Hermione is my life, she makes me whole, without her I am nothing.."

"But you're the Boy Who Lived, you're rich and famous and everyone loves you!, you could have any girl! more than one!

Harry hung his head, face in his hands.

"But I don't want ANY Witch, or MANY witches, I only want Hermione and that's the end of it, now drop the subject, FOR GOOD, or I WILL reconsider if you are my mate.." He stood and glared at his ginger friend. "You will stop this constant bickering with Hermione and start acting like a grownup, you are making her unhappy, and when she is unhappy, I will be unhappy!

He turned and left the room.

Ron slumped, knowing that he was wrong, but not knowing how to get out of the position he had put himself in

"You really are a dipshit, Ron."

Ron's head snapped up, his anger starting to rise.
Neville had entered the dorm. Neville had grown since the last year, he was now taller and more built than Ron ever would be. He had spent a year running the good guys operations in Hogwarts, he had killed in battle and he was casually dangerous.

"From what I have heard, from your sister and others, that you abandoned them when they needed you, because you were hungry and cold." Is that what a 'mate' does? Run away?"

"What do you know, you weren't there"

"No, I was here, doing my part, taking hits for those who couldn't, dealing with death eaters daily, fighting for what was right., protecting those who couldn't protect themselves.. YOU were supposed to be watching their backs, YOU were supposed to be helping them. YOU were the cowering idiot that allowed them to be captured.."

"But"

"You did nothing when Hermione was being tortured.."

"But"

"She could have left the country with her parents and had nothing to do with any of this, she could have left and been safe. But no, she stayed with her BEST FRIEND and helped him, she stayed under harsh and horrible conditions and acted as a warrior for the right, she suffered torture and humiliation and possible death, and you couldn't do without a hot meal"

"But"

"But nothing. If I had my way, you would be on trial as a collaborator."

Neville turned and walked out the door.

"Don't be here when I get back"

Ginny quietly entered the room.

His head hung and tears were sliding down his cheeks.

"Ron"

He looked at here blearily.

"Come with me, you need to go home, go to the Burrow. Mum needs you, and you need to get your head together..we need to go home, and bury Fred...come on.." she held out her hand to him.

He took it after a moment, and they left.

Harry was angry, but he knew better than to let his anger rule him, so he focused on repair and restoration. He was angry that his first home was damaged and his magic flared around him as he walked the corridors of the castle. Everywhere he walked, debris found it's way back to the source, blasted walls crept back together, damaged windows reformed and reassembled the glass, dirt and filth vanished. Pictures were rehung and leveled, Armor stood up and saluted. He walked slowly, letting the magic take it's time to repair the needed things. Hermione stood at the end of the long corridor watching as a wave of restoration followed him.

"Working out your anger again? She gave him a quirky grin. "What set this off?"

"Ron"

"Ah, I see. What's his problem?"

Harry frowned. "We don't see eye to eye on a few things."

"Such as?"

"I don't want to talk about it"

"Why not, Should I go and wring it out of him?"

"NO!", I mean, no, that's not necessary,We worked it out."

she looked at him again. "It?"

"Yeah, it."

she looked at him in silence for a few beats.

He broke down. "all right, I told him that you were Mine, that I didn't want any other witches, or fame or any of it, and that if he made you unhappy again, that I would be very unhappy with him."

"That's right Mr Potter, I am YOUR witch, and there had better not be any others, and if you really want to scare him, tell him he will answer to me, directly"

Harry shuddered at the thought.

She took his hand and leaned into him their heads touching.

"I know he's a prat, I know he abandoned us, all that, but it's too tiring to stay angry, there's still enough of that to go around., lets just go forward, ok?"

He sighed and nodded. "I just get tired of the fact that no matter how much we have done and how much we have given, people are not doing anything to change, look at Malfoy, all of a sudden, he's a devoted family man, just pay some fines and everything is hunky dory.. but he is still a death eater inside, he still went through that abominable ritual to get that mark on his arm, those people are still dead and families still destroyed, there has to be change.."

Hermione was silent but nodded in agreement, and held him tighter.

Extorquo: twisting bones curse.

Who is the curse used on?

how does this come to pass?

7-23-2017