CHAPTER FIFTEEN

"Just like my brother, its shoo-wop-shoo-wadda, wadda yippety boom de boom"- We Go Together, GREASE

"Hey, look," said Charlie, nudging Bill. Bill looked up from the letter he was writing in the direction his younger bother was pointing. In the far off distance, hazily, he could see the turrets and towers of Hogwarts castle. "Talk about a panoramic view."

"Yeah. Warms the cockles of your heart, doesn't it?" said Bill. He said it ironically, but he did honestly feel better just for having seen the castle. It was hard work, training to be an Auror in the forests of Scotland. He liked knowing that two of his younger siblings were not so far away, within flying distance in case of emergencies, and that when their training was over, he'd be going to visit them. It hadn't been so very long since he'd kissed Ginny goodbye at the platform, and given a last handshake to Ron before he'd wandered off after Hermione Granger- bless his little cotton socks- but he missed them. And he missed Fleur, terribly. Letters took a while between Scotland and France, and he worried. Voldemort was on the move, there was no use denying it. Bravado was fine in front of Charlie and Remus and the others, but at night, when the clouds were at their blackest, there was nothing to stop him entertaining those very morbid fears of his. That's why he liked the daytime so much better, and it happened to be quite a nice day, as it was. It was much colder up in the mountains than he'd anticipated, but then, it was October, and after all, they were in Scotland.

"Reckon we could catch a Quidditch game from here?" asked Charlie, squinting.

"Doubtful. Not unless you happened to be some sort of...far seeing bird."

"I can see a flyer, though- it looks closer than you'd think."

Bill looked up again. "Don't be silly."

"I'm not. Look."

Bill looked, following Charlie's arm. He blinked. And looked again. In the distance, a little black figure on a broomstick swerved up in the air. "So it is. My bad, sorry."

"I love it when you're wrong," Charlie said, and he strolled back toward the fire. Remus had taken Tarquin and Rosie to find some food, so it was just Charlie and Bill left guarding the little camp they had set up. It was on a ridge, fairly high up, at the mouth of a cave. A dragon had lived in it, very long ago, so it was roomy and still warm.

After about five minutes, Charlie stood on the ridge next to Bill again, squinting off into the distance. "It's getting closer."

"What is?"

"The flyer."

Bill looked up, for a third time. And frowned. The little flyer was much closer than he had been. In fact, he was getting steadily closer all the time. "I'd say he was heading for us, but that would be stupid."

"Yes, it would be stupid," said Charlie, "but it'd also be right."

"Ah, so I'm right this time."

"Don't let's gloat, William. Do you think maybe we should get Remus?"

Bill hesitated. It was unnerving to think that the flyer was heading for them- the training was supposed to be secret, if anything. The only other people who knew about their little group up in the mountains were immediate family members, Dumbledore, and presumably, Harry and Hermione, since Ron couldn't keep a secret. "I think maybe we should keep our wands out, just in case. We know he's coming, so that's an advantage. If he's planning to drop anything on us we should be able to blast it out of the way."

"Not if it's a curse."

"If it's a curse we'll block it."

"I still think we should get Remus."

"Well then go and get Remus," said Bill, getting to his feet. "I don't want to leave the camp unattended. Don't use the emergency sparks- that's too obvious. Just go and find him. I'll be here."

Charlie stood undecided. "I shouldn't leave you."

"Don't be silly. I'll be fine." Bill said, over his shoulder. Charlie hesitated. "Just go!" and Bill grinned to put Charlie's mind at ease.

This seemed to steel Charlie's nerve. "I'll be right back!" he said, and ran off into the woods, leaving a trail of fine green sparks behind him with his wand. Bill drew his wand as well. There was no doubt in his mind now about the flyer's intentions, and damned if Bill was going to let whoever it was harm anyone one of his team members.

"Anyway," he told his wildly jittering stomach, "Charlie will definitely be back by the time it gets here- he must be still at least fifteen minutes away." But the next five minutes proved Bill wrong. The broomstick was moving at an amazing speed, in fact so fast that Bill could see a tail end of red sparks following the flyer through the sky. By the time five minutes were up Bill could make out details of the flyer. Whoever it was had ginger hair and a Hogwarts uniform. And now Bill was feeling nervous for a different reason.

"No…it can't be. He wouldn't."

But apparently he would. Bill waved his arms and called out "Ron!" just to make sure he wasn't dreaming. He wasn't. Ron- for that was indeed who was mounted on the broomstick- started a nosedive that was way, way, too steep. Bill's heart leapt up into his mouth. "Ron! Lay out! Lay out!"

Stick end first, Ron hit the wet dirt. Actually it was lucky it was wet otherwise Harry's Firebolt would have snapped in two. The front end sunk into the ground, while Ron went flying into a nearby tree. He rolled over and over until he hit the roots with a thud.

"Ron!" Bill ran over to where his brother lay ridiculously sprawled over the bottom of the tree, legs in the air, arms akimbo, head at an uncomfortable angle. "Are you all right? Talk to me…"

Very slowly and painfully, Ron opened his eyes. "Thank God, it's gone again," he croaked. Bill was astoundingly relieved, in fact so much that his hands were a bit shaky as he straightened Ron out.

"If you're talking about you're head, then you're wrong, it's still there," he said (in a way that he was vaguely aware was reminiscent of his mother), brushing a clod of earth from Ron's cheek, "but only just. What on earth did you think you were doing?!"

"Uuhh…I don't think I'm thinking…not right now…" Ron mumbled, sitting up slowly. He felt his arms and legs for injuries, then his face, then finally, asked after the Firebolt.

"It's fine." Bill said, rolling his eyes at his brother's clearly misplaced priorities. Ron sighed in relief.

"Harry would kill me…."

"I don't think it's Harry you have to worry about right now, you great git," Bill said, stretching out Ron's grazed knee in front of him. He'd skidded so hard on it that he'd worn a hole through his school trousers. "The only person who's in danger of killing you at the moment is me." He stared at Ron. "Seriously, what are you doing here? You know you're not supposed to try and contact us while we're in training- only in emergencies, Remus says. And where do you get off flying a broomstick over the range? You could have been killed! And shouldn't you be in class? Ron-" Bill stopped, shaking his head. "You've got some explaining to do, kid."

Ron looked up at him with dozy, moist brown eyes (Bill was reminded forcefully of a started lamb and he hesitantly put a hand on Ron's shoulder.) "Well," said Ron, "I shouldn't be in class, firstly, as it's a Saturday- but I gather you didn't know that up here…" Bill had to admit he didn't. "Secondly, I get off just fine riding a broomstick over the mountains- you know I've ridden further than that before." Bill had to concede that was true, as well. "And thirdly, well- if this isn't an emergency, they should change the definition of emergency."

"Is it…Ginny?" Bill suggested slowly, seized by a sudden fear, but at the same time not really that surprised when Ron shook his head. If there had been an emergency with Ginny up at the school Ron would have said before now. "Then what is it, Ron?"

Ron got to his feet and the practically collapsed on top of Bill. Bill's heart pounded in his chest as he helped Ron over to the camp fire. Whatever it was, it had thrown Ron out so much he could barely walk. Bill knew that his brother was one to make a scene, but he never lost his nerve, never. Something had happened to take all the fight out of him.

"It's me," he said finally, when he was settled by the flames. "It's me, it's her- it's everything. I'm so stupid…I mean, I should have known….I'm so stupid…"

It clicked. Ron only ever admitted he was stupid about one person: Hermione Granger. Normally Bill would have laughed at Ron getting so upset over girl, but there was something different about his little brother's relationship with Hermione that made Bill stop and stare. He had never seen anyone as far gone over a girl as Ron was over Hermione. (Though anytime he mentioned this to Charlie, he would say "Look in the mirror Bill.") And if something had happened, Bill thought that Ron's extravagant reaction was slightly justified.

"Well, buddy, I can't help you unless you give me a couple of clues as to what's happened. We can play charades. If you like."

But before Ron could answer, a large grey wolf bounded into the clearing. It stopped, looked this way and that, spotted Ron, and then transformed into a very confused looking Remus. "Well, there's something I wasn't expecting," he said (rather paradoxically in Bill's opinion, as he had just sprouted up from a wolf.) "Hi Ron. Do I even need to ask or are you going to give me an explanation right away?"

Bill hastened to take the blame. "He came to talk to me, Remus- he just need to talk."

Remus looked at Ron. "Is Harry okay?"

"Yep."

"Is Hermione okay?"

"...Yep."

Remus paused. "Are you okay?"

Ron hesitated. Then he shook his head. Remus came and sat down on Ron's other side, and said, "Elaborate, please."

But before Ron could elaborate, Charlie came puffing up. Evidently Remus had run ahead in the form of the wolf. "Right, what's going- oh…" He stopped and the look on his face was utter bewilderment. "What's wrong?! Is everything okay? Ginny? Harry? Hermione? Are they all right?"

"It's Ron that's got the problem," Bill interrupted. Funny, how they all immediately jumped to the conclusion that Ron would travel into the mountains on a flimsy broomstick for the sake of someone else. Of course, it made sense, when you thought about how much Ron clearly adored his friends. Charlie sat down opposite them, on the other side of the fire, and waited patiently for Ron to begin. Ron lifted his downcast eyes and looked around at all of them, and cleared his throat.

"She got attacked, yesterday. By some Slytherins. And I…I didn't even know until this morning- no one told me. She was pretty hurt- but she should be up and about by dinnertime."

"Well, that's good news," said Charlie brightly, optimistic as always. Bill wasn't so sure if it was. It seemed to him that Hermione had done something that had hurt Ron pretty badly. Ron looked as though he'd had the wind knocked out of him, and Bill had an idea it wasn't just from his faulty landing on the broomstick.

Remus, his brow creased, asked "How did it happen?"

"She was in the library, tutoring- I told you she'd been tutoring someone. And then when she left she was accosted on the way out. Zabini, Bulstrode and Farrel- and they had a truth serum on them, and they were going to wring information out of her, and…" he trailed off, squeezing his eyes shut, as though the thought were too much to bear. Remus immediately got to his feet and started pacing. Bill was pretty shaken up too- to think that his brother and his friends were in danger inside Hogwarts itself was kind of frightening. To think that a witch as clever as Hermione had actually been put into the hospital wing was nauseating. They must have beaten her to a bloody pulp. No wonder Ron was so upset. But there was more to the story.

"Anyway…all this time she'd been telling me she couldn't tell me who she was teaching because of some code she'd sworn to with Professor McGonagall. But that wasn't it- or at least I don't think so- because Harry knew as well, maybe Ginny too, I don't know yet- but she didn't tell me because she didn't want to tell me."

At this point Charlie opened his big mouth. "Everyone's entitled to some secrets Ron."

Ron looked up and Bill was struck by how ablaze his eyes were- with pain, with anger, with unsaid words. "She's been lying to me. She told me it was someone I didn't know. But I know him. It's Malfoy."

Remus looked at Ron quickly. "And did Malfoy have anything to do with attacks? Did he set her up for it? Because we can get him, Ron. We can get him for that. Him and his filthy father- no way is the Ministry going to put up with stuff like that inside Hogwarts, even if Dumbledore's still in charge of it."

Ron let out a sigh that seemed to Bill as though it should have bounced off the mountains, so full of pain it was. "I wish that was the case. But I doubt it, somehow. Malfoy and Hermione…they've become friends."

"Hermione's not that stupid, Ron."

"And nor am I!" Ron snapped. "Or apparently, I am. I don't know, but they looked pretty bloody friendly to me!"

Bill, sensing they were on the edge of a revelation, sucked in his breath. 'What are you trying to say, Ron?"

Ron had buried his head in his knees. There was a long pause before he spoke again. "Nothing. Nothing. They're…friends, and it bothers me. That's all."

"That's all?" Bill said, mentally willing his brother to tell the truth.

"That's all."

The entire group around the campfire heaved a sigh. Bill got to his feet. If Ron was telling the whole truth, he'd bake the last Golden Snidget into a pie and serve it up to Cornelius Fudge for tea. If he knew his little brother- and he did know his little brother- there was something else that was missing to this story, and it was something Ron didn't want everyone to know.

"Maybe the reason she lied to you is because she knew you would react like this," Charlie suggested kindly. "You've got to try and be less sensitive, Ron. She's only trying to protect your feelings."

Ron paused and then said, not without some effort. "Yeah- sure."

"Have you talked to her about this- does she know you know?"

"No, Harry told me."

"Well, the first thing you do when you get back is talk to her. And don't get mad at Harry, because I can tell you're mad at Harry," said Remus. Ron looked up and gave Remus a very faint smile.

"I am mad at Harry. But it's not his fault." The last part was said with some surprise, as if Ron didn't know he knew that. They patched Ron's cuts up with their wands and gave some more soothing, brotherly advice as well as a mug of butterbeer; then, after straightening the bristles on the Firebolt, sent him on his way.

"Things will turn out okay," Bill said softly, as he rubbed a smudge of dirt off Ron's cheek. "And if you don't think so, then try and make it so it does turn out okay."

Ron paused and looked off at the turrets of Hogwarts in the distance. There was a barrier of dreaminess in his eyes, so Bill couldn't tell what he was thinking, But then he said, "I know what I have to do. I don't want to do it, but I think it's what should happen."

Bill swallowed. He knew what Ron was talking about. "Are you sure that's what you want?"

Ron shrugged, as the Firebolt rose into the air. "I think it's what I need." And then he flew off in a shower of red sparks. Charlie and Remus came and stood on Bill's either side as they waved goodbye to the rapidly shrinking figure of Ron on the Firebolt.

"Right. Who else here thinks he didn't tell us the whole truth?" said Charlie.

"Me," said Bill and Remus in unison