Alesco
Chapter Thirty-Four---Waiting in the Wings
*
Hermione gasped with pain.
Her ring was glowing bright red, and it was burning with a heat she hadn't expected.
She stopped running with Neville, and knelt to the grimy floor.
Neville turned back, and knelt beside her.
"Are you okay?" He asked anxiously, concerned.
"No..." Hermione moaned, trying to pull the ring off. Her finger was blistered from the intense heat the ring was putting off.
After a moment, she pulled the ring off her finger and gingerly shoved it into her jeans pocket. She could still feel its heat, even through the thick cloth of her jeans. Straightening, she took her wand and grabbed Neville's arm. She didn't have the time to cast a healing charm on the blisters on her finger. They had to get to Ron.
Reaching another crossroads, Hermione followed her instinct, and pulled Neville to the right. They continued to run, until they saw a dark figure coming toward them.
Neville froze, and Hermione pointed her wand at the figure in black robes. The figure continued to walk toward them, even faster now. The witch or wizard had their wand drawn.
A deep feminine voice said, "Expeli--"
Hermione was faster. She screamed, "Deruptus volucris!"
The bat bogey hex hit the woman right in the face, and her body slammed into the dirt wall. Globs of dirt and debris flew everywhere.
Hermione rubbed her eyes, and just happened to see Neville turn around, as another figure was coming up behind them, their wand drawn threateningly. After a brief moment of hesitation, Neville raised his wand and shouted, "Affero terrigenus!"
The man rose into the air, and flipped headlong. His wand fell to the floor, as he dangled in the air.
Hermione grabbed Neville, and urged him to run past the witch, who was still writhing on the ground from the hex transforming her face.
"Come on!" Hermione screamed desperately. Neville was whimpering a bit beside her, and breathing heavily.
The ring in Hermione's pocket burned, hotter still.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Harry heard echoes of cries and screams coming from somewhere in the maze of tunnels he and Susan were running through. The tunnel they'd chosen was long, and curved every now and then, and they hadn't reached any other hallways.
At long last, they encountered a heavy doorway, and Harry tried to push it open. It was locked.
"Alohomora." Harry pointed his wand toward the lock. There was a tiny click, and Harry pushed the door open.
They found themselves in a room full of jars, and Harry was reminded of Snape's classroom. The jars were apparently full of potions and ingredients.
Harry noticed that another room was attached to this one, and so he knelt down quietly, pulling Susan with him. He put a finger to his lips, and wished they had the invisibility cloak.
He heard some people speaking, and laughing, harshly. The moment he peeked into the room, and saw what was happening, he began to feel sick.
A female body was tied onto a stretcher, which was hanging above a bubbling cauldron. Harry couldn't tell for sure who it was, because....the woman was beheaded.
As Harry closed his eyes, and tried to block out the sickening image, Susan put her head in her hands beside him, and he heard her trying to hold back a gag. After a moment, Susan leaned up to his ear, and said softly, "It's Professor Forester."
Harry turned back to her, and whispered, "Are you sure?"
Susan nodded, and when Harry turned back, he could noticed the woman's clothes, and realized Susan was right. Harry closed his eyes, and then looked back up into the room. Harry was disgusted, and angry. How could they do this?
The two witches and two wizards in attendance near the large cauldron were holding a pulsing human brain. They were delicately placing the brain into the cauldron. Without warning, a puff of gray smoke rose from the cauldron, and the Harry heard the potion sizzling, and the brain writhed against the walls of the cauldron.
Harry was about to stand up and hex the nearest wizard, but he couldn't move. In a matter of moments, binds were wrapping around his body, and he was pulled high against the wall. He was pinned to the wall by the binds, and there was nothing he could do. His wand had fallen, useless, to the floor.
Now, he could see two wizards below, one chuckling evilly, the other sneering at him. It was Mr Crabbe and Mr Goyle.
"What about the girl?" Mr Goyle was gazing at Susan, who was now unconscious on the floor. Harry hadn't even heard the hex they'd performed on her.
"Kill her, she's unimportant." Mr Crabbe said thickly, gazing up at Harry. He gestured his wand toward Harry cockily. "It'll teach this lad a lesson."
Mr Goyle pointed his wand at Susan, and then hesitated. "Are you sure? I mean, after all, she's just a--"
Mr Crabbe muttered something fowl. "You're hesitating, after all we've done? What about our Master? What do you think HE would do?" Mr Crabbe raised his eyebrows.
Harry was gazing at them in turn, certain Mr Goyle wouldn't do it. "Mr Goyle, I think you had better--" Harry's voice was choked, and it sounded like someone else was speaking.
Mr Goyle eyed Harry briefly, chuckled, sneered, and then pointed his wand toward Susan again. The other witches and wizards in attendance, who were either looking up at Harry interestedly, or staring at Susan, were chuckling a bit.
"Avada kedavra!" Mr Goyle shouted, and stabbed his wand toward Susan.
"NO!!" Harry screamed, just as the terrible beam of green light hit Susan.
Harry continued to scream, as the Death Eaters below laughed.
The witches and wizards attending to the brain went back to work, as if bored, pulling the brain from the cauldron of red potion.
Desperation and pain passed through Harry's body, as he struggled to break through his bonds.
Susan was gone. Susan was gone. She was dead.
No, Harry thought. She can't be dead. I never should have....no!
All he could feel was intense anger. Looking at Susan's pale, lifeless body, Harry forced himself not to weep.
Instead, he concentrated on what the Death Eaters were doing.
He watched from above as they struggled to levitate the writhing, tentacled brain into a large jar full of red liquid.
At long last, they handed Mr Goyle the brain in the jar. Mr Goyle nodded at Mr Crabbe, and then Mr Goyle disapparated.
Mr Crabbe looked pointedly at Harry. He laughed loudly, and pointed his wand at him.
"Now, I believe you, lad, have a meeting with my master."
"WHY DON'T YOU JUST KILL ME NOW, YOU SICK BASTARD?" Harry shouted, so fiercely spittle slipped over his bottom lip.
Mr Crabbe laughed very loudly as Harry was being released from his bonds. Harry floated halfway to the floor, when he heard anxious shouts from the tunnel beyond the open door.
Mr Crabbe turned about, and Harry dropped to the floor abruptly, right next to his wand.
He fell very hard, onto his left arm. He heard a crack, and knew his left arm was broken. Waves of pain shot through his body, but for some reason they felt....almost good.
Acting on instinct, Harry grabbed his wand with his good arm, and pointed it at Mr Crabbe's back.
"Tarantallegra!" Harry shouted the first hex he could think of.
Mr Crabbe began to stumble about the room on jelly legs, just as Harry heard the other witches and wizards in the room advance on him. Harry rolled onto his back, pointed his wand at the nearest witch, shouted, "Expelliarmas!"
The witch's wand flew toward him, just as the other Death Eaters shot hexes at him. He managed to roll all the way across the floor, avoiding their hexes, and move onto his feet.
Shuffling across the floor, and looking longingly toward Susan's motionless body, Harry crouched behind a counter, ready for another volley of hexes.
That was when he realized he was no longer outnumbered.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Hermione struggled to pull Neville along, and turned right at another crossroads. This time, a dementor was straight ahead. Hermione felt the chill immediately, and raised her wand.
She knew what she had to do.
Closing her eyes, and fixing her heart on the night she'd first made love to Ron, she shouted emphatically, "Expecto Patronum!"
The wispy form on her otter patronus burst from the tip of her wand, and floated rapidly toward the dementor.
The dementor abruptly turned, and floated in the other direction. Hermione gazed a bit at the otter that was slowly disintegrating, and Neville muttered a quiet word of awe to her.
Hermione pushed Neville on, and it was then that Hermione realized something wasn't right.
The ring was no longer burning hotly.
Her heart plummeted, and she pulled the ring from her pocket, but kept running. The ring was glowing a brilliant violet, and Hermione felt tears come to her eyes.
"Neville, we have to hurry!" Hermione screamed, blinking, as tears dripped from her eyes.
Neville picked up the pace beside her.
Hermione and Neville burst into a room at the end of the hallway. The room was a vision of utter chaos.
Beams of all colors were flying about, and Hermione looked about the room desperately. Death Eaters and aurors alike were running about, casting hexes, spells, and curses.
She didn't care about all that. Her eyes fixed upon what she yearned to see, and her heart froze.
The bloody form of Ron was lying on the floor. Lying motionless.
But not dead....not yet.
She didn't care what was happening around her. She ran toward Ron's motionless body. Some part of her brain knew that Neville was following close behind her, but she no longer cared.
A few Death Eaters got in her way. One of them stepped in front of her, and looked as though he was about to hex her. She pointed her wand at him, and screamed, "Torpeo illico!"
The man stopped, and looked stunned. When she reached him, she couldn't believe the power she felt as her fist met with his nose.
The Death Eater collapsed to the ground, and didn't get up.
She ran on, until she was kneeling beside Ron. She reached out to his body, and pulled him into her arms. His body was sticky with blood, and she hugged him tightly, crying.
"No, no, no, no, NO!"
She gasped breathlessly, as her tears fell on his chest.
Pulling up his jumper and undershirt, she saw the three deep horizontal gashes on his chest and abdomen. Taking her wand, she chanted as many healing spells she could think of.
The bleeding gashes seemed to come together a bit, but he was still bleeding heavily.
"Oh, Gods, why didn't I learn the coagulation charm?" Hermione hollered, to anyone who would hear. For the first time, she noticed that Neville was kneeling beside her, too, with a very pale look on his face. He did not look well, and the look he gave her told her he was unsure if Ron would survive.
After what seemed like a millennia, Hermione realized how silent the room became. Before she knew what was happening, Professor Dumbledore was kneeling beside her, and Fawkes was flying above.
"Miss Granger, take this." He levitated a broken teacup in front of her. Hermione looked at it, confused.
"It's a portkey. Take Mr Weasley's hand, as well. You too, Mr Longbottom. It'll take you all to St. Mungo's." The Headmaster patted Hermione's shoulder, and Hermione glanced around. She took Ron's hand, and she and Neville grabbed the portkey at the same time.
The familiar gut-wrench grabbed her, and she felt herself fly through space and time.
Hermione opened her eyes, and breathed in heavily.
They were sitting on the floor the lobby of St. Mungo's but the hospital looked entirely different then she'd ever remembered it. Many patients were lying about, being tended by Healers. A makeshift triage was being set up, as well.
Hermione swallowed, and shouted with a voice that could barely speak. At long last, a healer came and quickly assessed Ron's wounds. When Hermione looked into the Healer's eyes, she nearly broke down again.
The healer's look was far less than encouraging. In fact...it was a look of pity.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Harry clasped his recently healed arm, as Tonks levitated Susan's lifeless body down the hall. Tonks had conjured a sheet to cover her body, and Harry was glad. He didn't want to look into her lifeless blue eyes any more.
Harry's heart was cold. Yes, Kingsley was behind them, levitating five prisoners (including Mr Crabbe) but Harry didn't feel any better. Susan was dead, and it was all Harry's fault.
Tonks had one arm wrapped around Harry, and in her other hand, she held her wand.
"I'm sorry, Harry. She was special to you, wasn't she?"
Harry looked up, into Tonk's dark eyes and shockingly blue hair. "Yes, she was."
"You loved her."
Harry choked, and felt hot tears pinch the corners of his eyes. No, he wouldn't cry. He hadn't cried yet, and he didn't intend to. If Voldemort knew....he'd be laughing right now.
All Harry could do was nod. Yes, he had loved her. It was a pity he never had the chance to simply tell her.
Without realizing why he did it, Harry reached out underneath the sheet, and held the cold, stiff hand of his former lover, as the group walked back to The Hog's Head.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Healers and numerous wizards and witches rushed in and out of the emergency room in which Ron had been placed.
Mr and Mrs Weasley had been sitting beside Hermione outside the emergency room. Mrs Weasley cried, and moaned about her sons. Mr Weasley simply looked stunned, and remained silent, as he tried to calm his wife.
Hermione was surprised when she learned that Percy had also been admitted to the emergency room. The healers were truly stunned by his condition, however, so it made Mrs Weasley all the more upset.
Neville had been with them for the better part of the hour, and Hermione realized how uncomfortable he was. She whispered to him that he might go visit his parents, and at that Neville looked embarrassed. After a moment, though, he stood up and awkwardly said he had to go. At that, Hermione saw him head silently toward the closed ward.
Hermione pursed her chapped lips together, and looked down at her ring, on her finger once again. It was still glowing a brilliant violet, even though they'd been there for at least an hour.
She wouldn't relax until the ring turned back to its original silver color.
Or to blue.
No....no....that won't happen, she told herself furiously. No......
It can't happen, it just can't.
Putting her head in her hands, she allowed herself cry....again.
Mrs Weasley put an arm around her, and they cried together.
All the while, a small voice chanted continually in the back of Hermione's mind.
"Sempiterna flamma.....eternal flame..."
Hermione pushed herself forcefully into Mrs Weasley's shoulder, and cried, "I won't let the flame burn out, Ron...I won't, I can't..."
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Chapter Thirty-Four---Waiting in the Wings
*
Hermione gasped with pain.
Her ring was glowing bright red, and it was burning with a heat she hadn't expected.
She stopped running with Neville, and knelt to the grimy floor.
Neville turned back, and knelt beside her.
"Are you okay?" He asked anxiously, concerned.
"No..." Hermione moaned, trying to pull the ring off. Her finger was blistered from the intense heat the ring was putting off.
After a moment, she pulled the ring off her finger and gingerly shoved it into her jeans pocket. She could still feel its heat, even through the thick cloth of her jeans. Straightening, she took her wand and grabbed Neville's arm. She didn't have the time to cast a healing charm on the blisters on her finger. They had to get to Ron.
Reaching another crossroads, Hermione followed her instinct, and pulled Neville to the right. They continued to run, until they saw a dark figure coming toward them.
Neville froze, and Hermione pointed her wand at the figure in black robes. The figure continued to walk toward them, even faster now. The witch or wizard had their wand drawn.
A deep feminine voice said, "Expeli--"
Hermione was faster. She screamed, "Deruptus volucris!"
The bat bogey hex hit the woman right in the face, and her body slammed into the dirt wall. Globs of dirt and debris flew everywhere.
Hermione rubbed her eyes, and just happened to see Neville turn around, as another figure was coming up behind them, their wand drawn threateningly. After a brief moment of hesitation, Neville raised his wand and shouted, "Affero terrigenus!"
The man rose into the air, and flipped headlong. His wand fell to the floor, as he dangled in the air.
Hermione grabbed Neville, and urged him to run past the witch, who was still writhing on the ground from the hex transforming her face.
"Come on!" Hermione screamed desperately. Neville was whimpering a bit beside her, and breathing heavily.
The ring in Hermione's pocket burned, hotter still.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Harry heard echoes of cries and screams coming from somewhere in the maze of tunnels he and Susan were running through. The tunnel they'd chosen was long, and curved every now and then, and they hadn't reached any other hallways.
At long last, they encountered a heavy doorway, and Harry tried to push it open. It was locked.
"Alohomora." Harry pointed his wand toward the lock. There was a tiny click, and Harry pushed the door open.
They found themselves in a room full of jars, and Harry was reminded of Snape's classroom. The jars were apparently full of potions and ingredients.
Harry noticed that another room was attached to this one, and so he knelt down quietly, pulling Susan with him. He put a finger to his lips, and wished they had the invisibility cloak.
He heard some people speaking, and laughing, harshly. The moment he peeked into the room, and saw what was happening, he began to feel sick.
A female body was tied onto a stretcher, which was hanging above a bubbling cauldron. Harry couldn't tell for sure who it was, because....the woman was beheaded.
As Harry closed his eyes, and tried to block out the sickening image, Susan put her head in her hands beside him, and he heard her trying to hold back a gag. After a moment, Susan leaned up to his ear, and said softly, "It's Professor Forester."
Harry turned back to her, and whispered, "Are you sure?"
Susan nodded, and when Harry turned back, he could noticed the woman's clothes, and realized Susan was right. Harry closed his eyes, and then looked back up into the room. Harry was disgusted, and angry. How could they do this?
The two witches and two wizards in attendance near the large cauldron were holding a pulsing human brain. They were delicately placing the brain into the cauldron. Without warning, a puff of gray smoke rose from the cauldron, and the Harry heard the potion sizzling, and the brain writhed against the walls of the cauldron.
Harry was about to stand up and hex the nearest wizard, but he couldn't move. In a matter of moments, binds were wrapping around his body, and he was pulled high against the wall. He was pinned to the wall by the binds, and there was nothing he could do. His wand had fallen, useless, to the floor.
Now, he could see two wizards below, one chuckling evilly, the other sneering at him. It was Mr Crabbe and Mr Goyle.
"What about the girl?" Mr Goyle was gazing at Susan, who was now unconscious on the floor. Harry hadn't even heard the hex they'd performed on her.
"Kill her, she's unimportant." Mr Crabbe said thickly, gazing up at Harry. He gestured his wand toward Harry cockily. "It'll teach this lad a lesson."
Mr Goyle pointed his wand at Susan, and then hesitated. "Are you sure? I mean, after all, she's just a--"
Mr Crabbe muttered something fowl. "You're hesitating, after all we've done? What about our Master? What do you think HE would do?" Mr Crabbe raised his eyebrows.
Harry was gazing at them in turn, certain Mr Goyle wouldn't do it. "Mr Goyle, I think you had better--" Harry's voice was choked, and it sounded like someone else was speaking.
Mr Goyle eyed Harry briefly, chuckled, sneered, and then pointed his wand toward Susan again. The other witches and wizards in attendance, who were either looking up at Harry interestedly, or staring at Susan, were chuckling a bit.
"Avada kedavra!" Mr Goyle shouted, and stabbed his wand toward Susan.
"NO!!" Harry screamed, just as the terrible beam of green light hit Susan.
Harry continued to scream, as the Death Eaters below laughed.
The witches and wizards attending to the brain went back to work, as if bored, pulling the brain from the cauldron of red potion.
Desperation and pain passed through Harry's body, as he struggled to break through his bonds.
Susan was gone. Susan was gone. She was dead.
No, Harry thought. She can't be dead. I never should have....no!
All he could feel was intense anger. Looking at Susan's pale, lifeless body, Harry forced himself not to weep.
Instead, he concentrated on what the Death Eaters were doing.
He watched from above as they struggled to levitate the writhing, tentacled brain into a large jar full of red liquid.
At long last, they handed Mr Goyle the brain in the jar. Mr Goyle nodded at Mr Crabbe, and then Mr Goyle disapparated.
Mr Crabbe looked pointedly at Harry. He laughed loudly, and pointed his wand at him.
"Now, I believe you, lad, have a meeting with my master."
"WHY DON'T YOU JUST KILL ME NOW, YOU SICK BASTARD?" Harry shouted, so fiercely spittle slipped over his bottom lip.
Mr Crabbe laughed very loudly as Harry was being released from his bonds. Harry floated halfway to the floor, when he heard anxious shouts from the tunnel beyond the open door.
Mr Crabbe turned about, and Harry dropped to the floor abruptly, right next to his wand.
He fell very hard, onto his left arm. He heard a crack, and knew his left arm was broken. Waves of pain shot through his body, but for some reason they felt....almost good.
Acting on instinct, Harry grabbed his wand with his good arm, and pointed it at Mr Crabbe's back.
"Tarantallegra!" Harry shouted the first hex he could think of.
Mr Crabbe began to stumble about the room on jelly legs, just as Harry heard the other witches and wizards in the room advance on him. Harry rolled onto his back, pointed his wand at the nearest witch, shouted, "Expelliarmas!"
The witch's wand flew toward him, just as the other Death Eaters shot hexes at him. He managed to roll all the way across the floor, avoiding their hexes, and move onto his feet.
Shuffling across the floor, and looking longingly toward Susan's motionless body, Harry crouched behind a counter, ready for another volley of hexes.
That was when he realized he was no longer outnumbered.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Hermione struggled to pull Neville along, and turned right at another crossroads. This time, a dementor was straight ahead. Hermione felt the chill immediately, and raised her wand.
She knew what she had to do.
Closing her eyes, and fixing her heart on the night she'd first made love to Ron, she shouted emphatically, "Expecto Patronum!"
The wispy form on her otter patronus burst from the tip of her wand, and floated rapidly toward the dementor.
The dementor abruptly turned, and floated in the other direction. Hermione gazed a bit at the otter that was slowly disintegrating, and Neville muttered a quiet word of awe to her.
Hermione pushed Neville on, and it was then that Hermione realized something wasn't right.
The ring was no longer burning hotly.
Her heart plummeted, and she pulled the ring from her pocket, but kept running. The ring was glowing a brilliant violet, and Hermione felt tears come to her eyes.
"Neville, we have to hurry!" Hermione screamed, blinking, as tears dripped from her eyes.
Neville picked up the pace beside her.
Hermione and Neville burst into a room at the end of the hallway. The room was a vision of utter chaos.
Beams of all colors were flying about, and Hermione looked about the room desperately. Death Eaters and aurors alike were running about, casting hexes, spells, and curses.
She didn't care about all that. Her eyes fixed upon what she yearned to see, and her heart froze.
The bloody form of Ron was lying on the floor. Lying motionless.
But not dead....not yet.
She didn't care what was happening around her. She ran toward Ron's motionless body. Some part of her brain knew that Neville was following close behind her, but she no longer cared.
A few Death Eaters got in her way. One of them stepped in front of her, and looked as though he was about to hex her. She pointed her wand at him, and screamed, "Torpeo illico!"
The man stopped, and looked stunned. When she reached him, she couldn't believe the power she felt as her fist met with his nose.
The Death Eater collapsed to the ground, and didn't get up.
She ran on, until she was kneeling beside Ron. She reached out to his body, and pulled him into her arms. His body was sticky with blood, and she hugged him tightly, crying.
"No, no, no, no, NO!"
She gasped breathlessly, as her tears fell on his chest.
Pulling up his jumper and undershirt, she saw the three deep horizontal gashes on his chest and abdomen. Taking her wand, she chanted as many healing spells she could think of.
The bleeding gashes seemed to come together a bit, but he was still bleeding heavily.
"Oh, Gods, why didn't I learn the coagulation charm?" Hermione hollered, to anyone who would hear. For the first time, she noticed that Neville was kneeling beside her, too, with a very pale look on his face. He did not look well, and the look he gave her told her he was unsure if Ron would survive.
After what seemed like a millennia, Hermione realized how silent the room became. Before she knew what was happening, Professor Dumbledore was kneeling beside her, and Fawkes was flying above.
"Miss Granger, take this." He levitated a broken teacup in front of her. Hermione looked at it, confused.
"It's a portkey. Take Mr Weasley's hand, as well. You too, Mr Longbottom. It'll take you all to St. Mungo's." The Headmaster patted Hermione's shoulder, and Hermione glanced around. She took Ron's hand, and she and Neville grabbed the portkey at the same time.
The familiar gut-wrench grabbed her, and she felt herself fly through space and time.
Hermione opened her eyes, and breathed in heavily.
They were sitting on the floor the lobby of St. Mungo's but the hospital looked entirely different then she'd ever remembered it. Many patients were lying about, being tended by Healers. A makeshift triage was being set up, as well.
Hermione swallowed, and shouted with a voice that could barely speak. At long last, a healer came and quickly assessed Ron's wounds. When Hermione looked into the Healer's eyes, she nearly broke down again.
The healer's look was far less than encouraging. In fact...it was a look of pity.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Harry clasped his recently healed arm, as Tonks levitated Susan's lifeless body down the hall. Tonks had conjured a sheet to cover her body, and Harry was glad. He didn't want to look into her lifeless blue eyes any more.
Harry's heart was cold. Yes, Kingsley was behind them, levitating five prisoners (including Mr Crabbe) but Harry didn't feel any better. Susan was dead, and it was all Harry's fault.
Tonks had one arm wrapped around Harry, and in her other hand, she held her wand.
"I'm sorry, Harry. She was special to you, wasn't she?"
Harry looked up, into Tonk's dark eyes and shockingly blue hair. "Yes, she was."
"You loved her."
Harry choked, and felt hot tears pinch the corners of his eyes. No, he wouldn't cry. He hadn't cried yet, and he didn't intend to. If Voldemort knew....he'd be laughing right now.
All Harry could do was nod. Yes, he had loved her. It was a pity he never had the chance to simply tell her.
Without realizing why he did it, Harry reached out underneath the sheet, and held the cold, stiff hand of his former lover, as the group walked back to The Hog's Head.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Healers and numerous wizards and witches rushed in and out of the emergency room in which Ron had been placed.
Mr and Mrs Weasley had been sitting beside Hermione outside the emergency room. Mrs Weasley cried, and moaned about her sons. Mr Weasley simply looked stunned, and remained silent, as he tried to calm his wife.
Hermione was surprised when she learned that Percy had also been admitted to the emergency room. The healers were truly stunned by his condition, however, so it made Mrs Weasley all the more upset.
Neville had been with them for the better part of the hour, and Hermione realized how uncomfortable he was. She whispered to him that he might go visit his parents, and at that Neville looked embarrassed. After a moment, though, he stood up and awkwardly said he had to go. At that, Hermione saw him head silently toward the closed ward.
Hermione pursed her chapped lips together, and looked down at her ring, on her finger once again. It was still glowing a brilliant violet, even though they'd been there for at least an hour.
She wouldn't relax until the ring turned back to its original silver color.
Or to blue.
No....no....that won't happen, she told herself furiously. No......
It can't happen, it just can't.
Putting her head in her hands, she allowed herself cry....again.
Mrs Weasley put an arm around her, and they cried together.
All the while, a small voice chanted continually in the back of Hermione's mind.
"Sempiterna flamma.....eternal flame..."
Hermione pushed herself forcefully into Mrs Weasley's shoulder, and cried, "I won't let the flame burn out, Ron...I won't, I can't..."
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________