A/N: This is the last chapter, and that's a wrap on my first romionecom! Thanks for reading y'all, it was really fun to write. Drop a comment if you like it!
"Well, that's definitely more than thirty men," Ginny remarked. From where she, Harry, Hagrid, and a still unconscious Hermione sat atop the outer wall to the castle grounds, they could easily see the front gate, and the lines of soldiers guarding it.
"What does it matter?" Harry asked with fervent enthusiasm, gesturing at Hermione's body, lying limply in the wheelbarrow. "We have her." Ginny raised an eyebrow, but Harry ignored her incredulity. "Help me, please. We'll have to force feed her."
With Hagrid and Ginny's help, he pulled Hermione's body into a sitting position against the stone battlement and forced the horse pill they'd gotten from the miracle man down her throat.
"How long d'you think we have ter wait?" Hagrid asked.
"Your guess is as good as mine," Ginny murmured.
As if on cue, Hermione's eyes snapped open and spun around wildly, though she seemed unable to move any other part of her body. "Where am I? Ginny?" She gasped. "Harry? What're you doing here? How do you know each other?"
"We just met," Ginny grinned. "He's a determined sort, isn't he?"
"Let me explain," Harry started, down to business. He opened and closed his mouth, then shook his head. "That's way too much info, and we don't have time. Let me sum up: Princess Dolores is marrying your Ron in a little less than," he checked his watch for a beat, "half an hour. So," he grinned wildly. "All we have to do is break in, stop the wedding, get Ron, and make our escape. After I kill Countess Bellatrix, of course."
Hermione blinked at him. "Why won't my arms move?"
"You've been mostly dead all day," Ginny supplied kindly.
"Focus," Harry whined, commanding Hermione's attention again. "Please." She sighed, and one of her hands twitched.
"Yeh jus wiggled a finger," Hagrid exclaimed, excited. "Tha's wonderful!"
Hermione shot him a look. "What're we up against?" She asked Harry.
"There's only one gate into the castle, and it's guarded by sixty men."
"And what do we have?"
"Your brains," Harry answered. "My steel. Hagrid's strength. Dunno much about the new girl, but she seems spunky."
"You just give me a wand, Harry Potter," Ginny snapped. "I'll show you spunky."
But Hermione was shaking her head. "That's it? Against sixty men? Impossible."
"Yeh jus moved your head," Hagrid interjected, beaming down at her. "Don' tha' make yeh happy?"
"We have brains, steel, strength, and spunk against sixty men, and you want to know if a head jiggle makes me happy?" Hermione asked, her voice shrilly. Her gaze focused over Harry's shoulder. "Wait, is that a wheelbarrow?"
"Oh yeah," Hagrid grunted. "I forgot 'bout tha'."
"Is there anything else we've forgotten about?" Hermione asked through gritted teeth.
Harry snapped his fingers, then pulled a bundle of material from his pocket. "Will an invisibility cloak help?"
"Where did you get that?" Ginny asked, gazing at the flowing material.
"Never mind, help me up," Hermione ordered. "I have an idea." Hagrid swept her to her feet, and she grunted in discomfort. "I'll also need a sword."
"Why?" Ginny asked. "You can't hold one."
"True," Hermione admitted. "But that's hardly common knowledge is it? And unless you've any extra wands lying about, it's the best we can do."
Ron was dressed to the nines, his sky blue doublet embroidered with gold thread and pearls. It complimented his stature, showcasing his broad shoulders and narrow hips. He stood tall, from his shoes, polished to a shine, to his hair, combed back impeccably. Upon his head sat an ornate crown, and a heavy cloak was placed dramatically over his shoulders, connected across his chest by a polished silver chain. His expression was a cross between resignation and calm, giving him a deep brooding effect. In short, he was magnificent.
He glanced at his escort, a young man with pimply skin and a large ears. They were standing together in the antechamber at the front of the castle chapel. The kid glanced at him nervously, tugging awkwardly on his untucked tunic as he cleared his throat.
Ron sighed. He had to admit, Dolores was clever. She understood him well enough to know that Ron would never raise a hand against someone as defenseless as this poor boy. If she'd left him with an armed and trained soldier? Ron would be fighting tooth and nail right now, trying to escape. But instead, she'd loudly informed this young man- Stan, she'd called him- that if Ron escaped, Stan would pay with his life. Her threat, which Ron knew was anything but empty, effectively trapped him here, waiting maddeningly for a wedding in which he wanted no part.
He kept his face blank, but internally, he seethed. The Princess still had Ginny, and for all he knew, Hermione. How far would she take this? How much could she make him do, on pains of the lives of people he loved?
The music started playing, and Stan, blushing furiously, indicated that Ron should take his place by the minister. Ron wanted to rage, he wanted to punch out this gangly boy and run for it, but instead he clenched his fists at his sides, and strode quickly out of the room. His jaw ticked as he stopped at the front of the chapel, all eyes on him.
The minister was a short man with a pouchy face and a hunched back. His eyes were pale, bulging, and he had deep veins in his hollow cheeks. His light brown hair was long, heavily streaked with grey, and he sported a large bald spot on the top of his head. He wore a dark grey tunic which smelled largely of moth balls. He glared at Ron, jowls quivering, and Ron was momentarily distracted from his own rage, left wondering quite what he'd done to offend the man.
The minister's eyes lit up at something behind Ron, who turned with curiosity to see the squat form of his bride at the end of the aisle, looking like a frog forced into a frilly white dress. She smiled in an impish way, and Ron instantly remembered his ire. He glared at her with all he had as she made a dramatic show of walking towards him.
From outside the front gate, yelling rose louder than the music of the organ, and Dolores stumbled slightly, eyes widening.
"Stand your ground, soldiers!" Yaxley shouted, his deep voice audible above the chaotic noise of sixty guards simultaneously panicking. "Stand your ground!"
A massive, cloaked figure glided towards the front gate, gesturing menacingly and chanting. "Yeh've heard o' Greyback, haven' yeh? Well, here I am, yeh cowards."
Behind the dark figure, where the soldiers couldn't see, Harry held his wand in front of him, propelling Hagrid forward on the wheelbarrow. Ginny and Hermione followed, hidden under the invisibility cloak, the former largely supporting the latter's weight as she struggled to walk.
Hagrid continued to shout. "Greyback is here fer your souls. Feelin' lucky today, scum?"
The less brave men were already sprinting away. "Harry," Hermione hissed. "Light him."
Harry flicked his wrist, catching Hagrid's cloak on fire, Hermione having already spelled it so that it wouldn't hurt him.
Hagrid was really putting on a show. He raised his fiery arms over his head. "I hope yeh're willing ter give up your lives fer this gate. There will be no survivors!"
This last great gesture did it. The remaining guards scattered, leaving behind only Yaxley, who stood frozen, clutching at his chest as he backed away, trembling against the portcullis.
The Princess continued her promenade down the aisle doggedly, though she jerked her head slightly at Countess Bellatrix, who slipped out of the room unnoticed. When Dolores made it to the front of the chapel, she stood next to Ron, beaming up at him in a simpering way.
The minister cleared his throat. "Marriage," he began, his voice sounding like a bark. "That's why we're here. To- er- celebrate these two, and their treasured love." His moving speech was interrupted by more commotion from outside the castle, and Ron couldn't help but smirk down at Dolores.
"Skip to the end," she snapped at the minister, and he bowed slightly.
"Yes ma'am," he agreed, digging in the pockets of his moldy jacket. "Here are the rings."
The Princess shoved Ron's ring on his hand rather forcefully, then put on her own. "She's here now, isn't she?" Ron asked, his voice barely above a whisper.
"Your Hermione is dead," the Princess hissed back. She straightened up proudly. "I killed her myself."
She expected this to be a blow to Ron's morale, but instead, he only shook his head. "I can see the fear in your eyes."
Ginny pulled the invisibility cloak off just as Hagrid threw his own fiery one on the ground, extinguishing the flames. Harry marched up to Yaxley, holding his wand out threateningly. "Give us the gate key."
"I have no key," Yaxley stuttered.
"Hagrid," Ginny called thoughtfully, staring down at the hunched over guard. "Do you think you could tear his arms off?"
"Oh," Yaxley jumped, digging in his vest pocket. "You mean this gate key."
He handed Harry a large golden key, then ran off into the night. Hermione rolled her eyes, unimpressed by his cowardness.
"And do you, Prince Ron," the sallow faced minister began, but the Princess cut him off.
"Man and wife," she urged impatiently, trying to maintain her toothy grin. "Say man and wife."
"Man and wife," the minister obeyed, though he looked rather confused by the order. As the icy grips of shock wrapped around his heart, Ron realized that a small part of him had always assumed he'd be able to figure a way out of his hell.
But he hadn't, and he was married now to a toad.
"Escort the Prince to the honeymoon suite," Dolores commanded the minister. "I'll be there shortly." She gathered up her frilly skirts in her hand and stalked off quickly, heels clicking with her small steps.
The minister walked with a limp, and Ron trailed behind him miserably.
Bellatrix raced through the halls, signaling for four soldiers to join her. She slowed to a walk in the main foyer, watching with morbid fascination as a ragtag group of four approached her. Only one appeared to have a wand, and the other two were helping to support the fourth. Her lips curled. Maybe she could have some fun with them before she disposed of them.
"Kill the men," she ordered her guards. "But leave me the other two for… questioning."
At once the four soldiers sped forward. Harry stepped up, drawing his sword and holding it in his right hand, with his wand in his left. In a blur of flashing spells and steel that only last seconds, he incapacitated all of them.
He took several shaking steps forward, blood rushing through his ears, separating himself from his friends and lowering into a fighting stance. "Hello." When he spoke, his voice was even and soft. "My name is Harry Potter. You killed my godfather. Prepare to die."
Countess Bellatrix stared at him for several heartbeats, then turned and sprinted away. Harry was so surprised by this that he was slow to follow. Without another word, Ginny joined in the hunt, leaving behind Hagrid, who was still holding up a weakened Hermione.
Harry pumped his arms, running after the woman he'd been chasing for twenty years, keeping his eye on her as though his life depended on it. She threw a door shut behind her, locking it, but Harry blew it aside with one wave of his wand. He vaguely registered that Ginny was running with him, keeping tight on his heels.
Bellatrix cast a few curses behind her as she ran, and Harry felt lucky he was able to block them all. At the first chance he got, he cast the spell to disarm, pleased to see the Countess' wand flying backwards towards them. Ginny caught it deftly, and Harry grinned. He was liking her more and more.
"I'm goin' down ter the stables," Hagrid told Hermione gently. He draped her arms around a suit of armor, ignoring her protests as he left. "There are anti-apparition wards around this castle, an' we'll need a way ter escape. Stay here, I'll come back for yeh."
Hermione frowned, frustrated, thinking furiously. She couldn't just stay here. She'd read quite a few books about architecture in her time, and she knew that castles like these usually had the royalty bedrooms in the towers. She just needed to find some stairs…
Ron continued to trail after the bulging eyed minister, his chest feeling tight. He'd been effectively held hostage by a toad of a woman who threatened his sister's life, kidnapped by a strange man who wanted to murder him, rescued by his long lost love only to lose her again hours later, and then, the cherry on his cake, he'd somehow been forced to get married to one of the most vile creatures to ever walk to the planet. He'd been as patient as Ron Weasley knew how to be, and now it was time to take action.
When his long haired escort grunted and turned slightly, gesturing at a heavy looking oak door, Ron didn't hesitate. He punched the minister square in the jaw, dropping him to the ground. Shaking out his hand and letting fly a string of colorful expletives, Ron ran down the hall, taking stock of his location. He was somewhere on a top floor, but could hear chaos ensuing on lower levels. He just needed to find some stairs...
Harry chased Bellatrix down a spiral staircase, bursting through a door at the bottom. For a moment he was triumphant, spotting his quarry standing alone in a banquet hall, before a sharp pain tore through his gut. In blind shock, he sank to his knees, glancing down to see a knife buried to the hilt in his stomach.
"Harry," Ginny cried, catching his shoulders. Bellatrix cackled, leaning against a table and watching his pain in thorough enjoyment.
"You must be that little brat I taught a lesson to all those years ago," the Countess mused, eyes alight with malice as they raked over the scar on his forehead. "Have you been hunting me all these years, only to fail now? How wonderful."
Harry groaned in pain, his shirt rapidly coating crimson with his own blood. "I'm no good at healing charms," Ginny said in a horrified whisper. "No, don't!" But Harry had already grasped the knife and yanked it out of his stomach firmly. He dropped his wand, pressing that hand firmly over his stomach wound instead.
"Help me up," he grunted, and Ginny supported his weight as he pushed himself ungracefully to his feet.
"Are you still trying to win?" Bellatrix asked, laughing like a lunatic. She drew her sword, licking the blade.
"Do you want me to curse her?" Ginny asked him, and though Harry was pleased to hear the anger in her voice, he shook his head.
He began to walk, stumbling across the room to meet an enthusiastic Bellatrix. Ginny picked up his wand so she held both, hoping to at least be able to stop the Countess from using magic.
"You've got an overdeveloped sense of vengeance," Bellatrix taunted happily. "It's going to get you into trouble someday."
She lunged for his heart without warning, and Harry only managed to parry it, her sword sinking several inches into his shoulder. The wound bloomed red on his tunic, but Harry didn't seem to feel it. Her eyes wide with shock, Bellatrix stepped back and lunged quickly again, with much the same result. Her sword was blocked from its mark, and buried into Harry's opposite shoulder.
The Countess gazed at the green eyed man in disbelief, nearly jumping out her skin when he flicked his swords towards her, mildly on the attack. "Hello," he said calmly, losing his balance and leaning slightly onto a table. "My name is Harry Potter." He pushed himself back upright and kept walking towards Bellatrix. "You killed my godfather. Prepare to die."
Bellatrix snarled viciously, jumping towards Harry in a skilled barrage. Harry was prepared though, blocking every thrust of his attacker's sword, even as he held his bloody stomach with his free hand. His emerald eyes glinted with strength, the potential for avenging his godfather seeming to give him strength.
"Hello," he repeated, his voice louder this time. Bellatrix backed away, her face incredulous. "My name is Harry Potter." She lunged again, and he stepped to the side easily. "You killed my godfather. Prepare to die."
"Stop saying that," she shrieked, swinging her sword increasingly more wildly. She scampered around a table, but with a powerful kick, Harry moved it aside.
"Hello, my name is Harry Potter," he was yelling now, and his blade broke through the Countess' defenses, sinking a few inches into her right shoulder. "You killed my godfather." He struck her left shoulder, mirroring the two injuries she'd given him. "Prepare to die." With a flick of his wrist, he disarmed Bellatrix.
"No," she screamed, shrinking from him.
"Offer me money," Harry demanded, slowly pulling his hand, soaked in his blood, from his stomach and holding it en guarde, his eyes piercing through his enemy's.
"Yes," Bellatrix breathed, and Harry quickly swiped the tip of his blade, leaving a light cut on her forehead
"Power too. Promise me that." Harry's voice was steely.
"Anything you want," she begged. "Please."
"I want my godfather back, you son of a bitch." Harry buried his sword to the hilt in Bellatrix's stomach, and her eyes widened with surprise before the light flickered out of them. He pulled the blade free and the Countess' lifeless form collapsed on the ground.
Harry was triumphant for the space of several heartbeats before his injury caught up with him and he fell to his knees with a gasp. Ginny ran to his side, murmuring a spell to conjure a roll of bandages.
"That needs to be looked at," she said gently, and he held still enough for her to help him wrap up his stomach, only hissing occasionally.
"Thank you," he said softly, feeling the tiredness in his bones. He couldn't believe that he'd finally achieved his lifelong goal, and coming down from the emotional high wore him out quite as much as the stomach wound. When he met Ginny's gaze, he couldn't stop the words that spilled out. "You're very brave, and very pretty. I'm glad I met you."
She laughed, a quiet melody that tinkled through the space pleasantly. "I'm glad I met you too, Harry Potter. Let's go find your friends."
Ron jumped the last three steps, landing loudly and hurling himself forward. In his haste, he rounded a corner too quickly, knocking over a suit of armor. He cursed, catching a falling battle axe that'd been careening towards his chest.
"There's a shortage of perfect hearts in this world," a familiar voice rolled over him, making his face break out in a large grin. He threw the weapon aside, turning to see the exact person he was dying to see the most. Hermione was leaning against a pillar, smiling at him weakly. "Would have been a pity to damage yours."
"Mione," he exclaimed happily, rushing to her side. He wrapped a hand around her waist, and pulled her in tight to his body, eliciting a groan. While he'd normally love evoking such a reaction from her, the cadence of the noise was off, and he eased back, cocking his head to the side and examining her face. "What's wrong?"
Hermione panted slightly, attempting to catch her breath. Her arms hadn't moved from where they gripped desperately at the pillar, supporting her weight. "I'm… well, just be gentle."
"I can do that," Ron murmured, his quiet breath raising the hair on the back of her neck. He leaned in close to her, capturing her lips sweetly. "I'm really sorry," he whispered when he finally pulled away, watching her eyelashes flutter.
"What for?"
"I got married," he admitted, his grip on her hip bone tightening. "I didn't mean to, but-"
"Did you say it?" Hermione asked, her gaze skeptical. "You actually said 'I do?'"
Ron scrunched his nose. "No, of course not."
"Then it didn't happen, did it?" She reasoned. "You didn't say it, so it legally didn't happen." She beamed at Ron, then her gaze flicked over his shoulder. "Wouldn't you agree, Your Highness?"
"A technicality that will be shortly remedied," a sickly sweet voice said, and Ron whipped around to see the Princess, still wearing her beaded wedding dress, holding a wand aloft. He immediately regretted casting aside the battle axe. That was better than no weapon at least, even if he'd never be able to beat a wand. He glanced at Hermione, surprised to see her smirking.
"I'd like to see you try," Hermione said airily, as though she were talking about the weather and not threatening bodily harm. She released her grip on the pillar and stood tall, taking two strength filled steps towards Dolores. "Ron gets to choose who he wants to be with," she snarled fiercely. "Just as I get to choose who I curse into oblivion."
Ron let out a low chuckle. "Really?"
"And how will you manage that?" Dolores sneered. "You don't have a wand. I destroyed yours, and I don't believe you have the strength to take mine by force."
Faster than should be possible, Hermione pulled a wand from her pocket. "Petrificus totalus."
Shock registered clearly in the Princess' face as her limbs snapped together violently, forcing her to drop her own wand as she teetered to the side, finally falling on the staircase, stiff as a board.
Ron did a double take. "Where did you get that?" He barely had time to ask before he could see her collapse, and rushed to catch her. She leaned heavily on him, breathing hard again. "Will you please tell me what the bloody hell is wrong with you?"
"She's been mostly dead all day." He wheeled around. He knew that voice.
"Ginny!" He exclaimed, surprised to see her helping Harry walk up the hall. He pulled her into a half hug with one arm, kissing the top of her head as tears welled in his eyes. "You're alive."
"Countess Bellatrix is not," she reported as she stepped back from him, and then kicked the Princess in the shins. "What should we do with her?"
"Leave her," Hermione said, voice dripping with disdain. "Whatever happens to us, I want her to live a long life alone with her cowardice."
"But where did you get the wand?" Ron asked with interest, holding Hermione gently.
"I ran into a guard earlier," she answered. "I managed to trick him into giving it to me. He wasn't very bright. I think his name was Goyle."
Ron guffawed as the siblings helped their friends down another flight of stairs, not encountering anyone else until they were in the front courtyard.
"Harry?" Hagrid was leading five hippogriffs by the reigns, walking towards the group. "I'm so glad I found yeh! look wha' I have."
"Hagrid," Harry responded warily, but Hagrid was waving him off.
"They're harmless! Go on then, get to bowing."
Minutes later the hippogriffs were thundering away from the castle, heading towards freedom. The trials of the five heroes were finally behind them, and they exchanged tired grins as they topped the crest of a hill, a golden pink sun sinking behind a horizon.
Ron kneed his mount over to Hermione's, reaching for her hand. She grinned at him wearily, and he cupped her cheek with his free hand, feeling as though a balloon of joy was expanding in this chest. Ignoring Harry and Ginny's catcalls, he pulled Hermione to him, heart bursting with happiness.
Since the invention of the kiss, there have been five kisses that were rated the most passionate, the most pure. This one left them all behind.
A/N: I realize that last line is especially amazing, and I wanted to be very clear... It's not mine! Straight from the movie!
Thanks all for reading!!!