All right...I'm a dick. I know it's been like a year since my last update. The worst part is that I don't even have an excuse. I just got bored with this story. But now I'm back and better than ever. Buckle up, readers, it's going to be a bumpy ride.
A lot of people are interested about what happened to the others (the twins, Quentin, Draco). Fear not, it will all be resolved shortly.
Harry and Company had been running through the dimly lit corridors of the Bourbon Street Academy, when Ron suddenly stopped. Harry, who could barely see five feet in front of him didn't have enough time to slow down. He collided with Ron's back at a full sprint.
It felt like running into a brick wall. Harry rebounded and fell to the floor, staring up in awe at Ron. Ron, who barely noticed Harry running into him, turned and said, "Something's wrong."
Harry rubbed his throbbing shoulder and said, "Yeah, there is something wrong. You're a dumb ass!"
Ron didn't smile at the joke. "No, something's wrong with Hermione." He closed his eyes. He kept them closed for several seconds, and when he opened them, there was noticeable fear in them. "Oh no." he muttered quietly.
Ginny moved up next to Ron. "What is it, Ron?"
Ron didn't answer for a moment. "Something happened to her." he said finally.
"Who? Hermione?" Harry asked, puzzled.
Instead of answering, Ron bolted down the hallway, away from Harry and Ginny. "Hermione!" he yelled as he ran.
"Ron!" Ginny screamed.
There was no answer
"Come on!" Harry screamed, taking off after Ron. He knew that they had to catch Ron quickly, before he could attract too much attention. Harry knew that his screams were echoing down every corridor throughout the Academy. At this very moment, Death Eaters were probably running towards Ron's voice.
Harry didn't know his way through the Academy, but it wasn't hard to follow Ron.
"Hermione!" Ron screamed again.
Ginny, panting as she ran, said, "We'll never catch him! He's too fast!"
Harry knew that she was right, but they had to try. Ron seemed to have lost all thought process when he felt the change in the bond. He seemed fanatical in his need to reach Hermione.
With only Ron's screams and footfalls to follow, Harry chose his way carefully. The barely lit corridors were accidents waiting to happen. Harry turned a corner and saw that Ron had reached a flight of stairs that led down to the first floor.
"Ron, wait!" Harry screamed.
Ron didn't even glance in Harry's direction. With one might leap, Ron launched himself down the stairs. He soared through the air and landed over forty feet away. He hadn't bothered with running down the stairs; he had just jumped over them.
Harry couldn't help but smile wryly as he thought of how much his best friend had changed. He ran towards the stairs with Ginny at his side. They used the stairs in the more conventional way and reached the bottom just as Ron turned a corner.
Harry and Ginny sprinted after him and turned the same corner. They saw Ron staring in a dark room. It seemed strange to see Ron stopping when he had seemed so anxious to get here.
Harry walked up next to him. There were several unconscious Death Eaters in the corridor that they were now in, but Harry ignored them and turned to Ron. "What's going on?"
"Hermione's in there." he said quietly.
Harry skimmed the dark room and saw several body-shaped figures within. "I can't see her."
"She's in there. She's been hurt."
"Hurt?!" Harry screamed and ran into the room. Immediately upon entering, the smell of burnt flesh assailed his nostrils. "Ughh!" he gasped and brought a hand to his nose.
Ginny walked into the room, pinching her nostrils shut. She held her wand above her head and said, "Lumos!" in a nasally voice.
The room was flooded with light and Harry could see why it smelled so bad. There were four bodies in the room. Three of them had gaping holes in their chests. The holes were still smoking as if something extremely hot had hit them. There was little blood, as the wounds were cauterized by whatever had caused them.
Harry heard Ginny empty the contents of her stomach onto the floor in front of her. He would have turned to her, but the fourth body on the ground held his eyes. The body was that of a fifteen-year-old girl. The frizzy brown hair, which Harry had always liked, had become a rusty color from all of the blood that had come out of the wound in her head. Her body was pale and her lips were blue.
Harry could almost picture what had happened. Death Eaters had surrounded Hermione. She had cast her most powerful spell and it had sapped her of all her energy. But instead of falling to the ground, unconscious, she had staggered slightly and fallen towards on of the school desks.
By the blood on the desk, Hermione must have hit her head on one of the corners and fell to the floor. She had probably blacked out immediately. And now she was dead. All of the strength left Harry's legs and he fell to the floor.
He heard Ginny fall next to him. "No!" she screamed.
"She's not dead. I can still feel her. It's just different." Ron said quietly from the doorway. He slid down the doorframe until he sat on the cold floor.
"What?" Ginny said and grabbed Harry's wand. She crawled over to Hermione and put the wand onto her forehead. Ginny closed her eyes for a few moments, and when she opened them, she looked worried.
"He's right. She's not dead" she said with tears in her eyes. "But the fall broke her skull. Her brain is...gone. She might as well be dead."
Ron moaned and ran to Hermione. He cradled her head in his lap and sobbed over her. He drew his thumb along her cheek. Tears ran off his cheeks and fell into her bloodstained hair. "NO!" he sobbed.
Harry tried to get his brain working. They were in an enemy Academy, Hermione was dying and Ron was useless with grief. Harry hadn't the faintest idea of how they were supposed to move Hermione's body.
Ron looked up at Harry with red eyes. He had stopped crying. "Get out of here, Harry. Bring my sister back to my mum. I'm staying here."
"No, Ron!" Harry screamed. "Voldemort's coming! You'll die!"
Ron looked back to Hermione's still face and a look of pure anguish crossed his face. He seemed to gain control again and his face became emotionless. "I'm already dead. Ginny, get Harry out of here."
Ginny seemed preoccupied with something else. She had been staring at Hermione in what Harry had thought was anguish, but now he recognized it as the look Ginny gave when she was concentrating. "Look!" she said pointing down at the wound in Hermione's head.
Harry leaned down and saw what she was pointing at. Every time Ron dragged his thumb across Hermione's cold cheek, a little more color returned to Hermione's face and the wound closed more and more. Just with his contact, Ron was healing Hermione. Harry didn't know all that much about Sentinels, but he had a pretty good idea that this wasn't normal.
Harry looked up to Ron and saw a look of pure shock on his face. Obviously, Ron didn't know what was going on either.
"You're healing her Ron!"
With a desperate look, Ron pulled off his shirt and began unbuttoning Hermione's blouse.
Ginny stared at Ron with shock. "Ron...I don't think that this is the time for that."
Ron ignored her and continued unbuttoning Hermione's blouse. When he was done, he pulled it off of her.
The situation was almost too ridiculous to believe. With every passing moment, Hermione was closer to death, and Ron was undressing her! Wearing nothing on the upper half of her body but a bra, Hermione's head lolled as Ron lifted her to his chest.
"Ron!" Harry screamed. "What the hell are you doing?!"
Ron didn't answer. He brought Hermione to his chest and hugged her tightly. It reminded Harry of how someone would keep someone dying of hypothermia in a Muggle TV show.
Ron maneuvered Hermione's body so that as much of their skin was touching.
The change was almost immediate. The wound on Hermione's head closed within seconds and color returned to her lips.
"It's working!" Ginny yelped.
Ron glanced up at Harry with a look of awe on his face. "I can feel her, Harry! I can feel her healing. I can feel her brain knitting itself! It's amazing!"
Ron closed his eyes and Harry could hear him muttering, "Damn skull." over and over.
Hermione's eyelids began to flutter, and Harry could hear her moaning slightly. She was coming around.
A few moments passed and, finally, Hermione's eyes opened.
***
Ron felt his heart skip a beat when Hermione's eyes opened. She looked directly into his face.
(I knew you would come.) she sent.
Ron laughed out loud. (Don't ever scare me like that again!)
Hermione smiled and hugged him tightly. The Sentinel magic flooded out of them and into each other. Because they were wearing less clothes than usual, and there was far more contact, the magic left them breathless.
Ron looked around at the burnt bodies around them. (You sure have been busy.)
Hermione didn't take her eyes off of Ron as she sent, (I love you, Ronald Weasley.)
(I love you.) Ron sent and looked down at his legs. He was kneeling on the ground. I'm on bended knee, he thought. (Will you marry me, Hermione Granger?)
Hermione's eyes widened in shock and a huge smile broke out on her face. (Yes! Yes! Oh yes!)
Ron hugged tightly and felt a tear slide off of his cheek.
Ron could feel Hermione's heart beat inside of his head and smiled. Because his heart had skipped a beat earlier, it had began beating at a different pace. And now he could feel that his own heart and Hermione's were beating at the same time...together.
***
Harry and Ginny watched the silent intercourse taking place between Ron and Hermione with puzzlement.
"I wonder what they're saying to each other." Ginny whispered, trying not to interrupt.
Harry shrugged. He couldn't speak now if his life depended on it. Moments earlier, one of his best friends had been all but dead, and now she was alive and well. It was too much to take.
Harry saw a look of pure joy cross Hermione's face, and she threw her arms around Ron's shoulders. Harry didn't know what had caused it, but the image of a baby with red frizzy hair jumped inside of his head. Where had that come from?
He continued thinking about it when a searing pain interrupted his thoughts. He clapped his hand to his forehead as his scar burned like torch.
Ginny saw him recoil and put a hand on his shoulder. "Harry? What is it?"
Harry ignored the pain and found his voice. "Voldemort is here."
I hoped that partly made up for my lack of writing. He did it. He popped the question. Tell me what you think.
A lot of people are interested about what happened to the others (the twins, Quentin, Draco). Fear not, it will all be resolved shortly.
Harry and Company had been running through the dimly lit corridors of the Bourbon Street Academy, when Ron suddenly stopped. Harry, who could barely see five feet in front of him didn't have enough time to slow down. He collided with Ron's back at a full sprint.
It felt like running into a brick wall. Harry rebounded and fell to the floor, staring up in awe at Ron. Ron, who barely noticed Harry running into him, turned and said, "Something's wrong."
Harry rubbed his throbbing shoulder and said, "Yeah, there is something wrong. You're a dumb ass!"
Ron didn't smile at the joke. "No, something's wrong with Hermione." He closed his eyes. He kept them closed for several seconds, and when he opened them, there was noticeable fear in them. "Oh no." he muttered quietly.
Ginny moved up next to Ron. "What is it, Ron?"
Ron didn't answer for a moment. "Something happened to her." he said finally.
"Who? Hermione?" Harry asked, puzzled.
Instead of answering, Ron bolted down the hallway, away from Harry and Ginny. "Hermione!" he yelled as he ran.
"Ron!" Ginny screamed.
There was no answer
"Come on!" Harry screamed, taking off after Ron. He knew that they had to catch Ron quickly, before he could attract too much attention. Harry knew that his screams were echoing down every corridor throughout the Academy. At this very moment, Death Eaters were probably running towards Ron's voice.
Harry didn't know his way through the Academy, but it wasn't hard to follow Ron.
"Hermione!" Ron screamed again.
Ginny, panting as she ran, said, "We'll never catch him! He's too fast!"
Harry knew that she was right, but they had to try. Ron seemed to have lost all thought process when he felt the change in the bond. He seemed fanatical in his need to reach Hermione.
With only Ron's screams and footfalls to follow, Harry chose his way carefully. The barely lit corridors were accidents waiting to happen. Harry turned a corner and saw that Ron had reached a flight of stairs that led down to the first floor.
"Ron, wait!" Harry screamed.
Ron didn't even glance in Harry's direction. With one might leap, Ron launched himself down the stairs. He soared through the air and landed over forty feet away. He hadn't bothered with running down the stairs; he had just jumped over them.
Harry couldn't help but smile wryly as he thought of how much his best friend had changed. He ran towards the stairs with Ginny at his side. They used the stairs in the more conventional way and reached the bottom just as Ron turned a corner.
Harry and Ginny sprinted after him and turned the same corner. They saw Ron staring in a dark room. It seemed strange to see Ron stopping when he had seemed so anxious to get here.
Harry walked up next to him. There were several unconscious Death Eaters in the corridor that they were now in, but Harry ignored them and turned to Ron. "What's going on?"
"Hermione's in there." he said quietly.
Harry skimmed the dark room and saw several body-shaped figures within. "I can't see her."
"She's in there. She's been hurt."
"Hurt?!" Harry screamed and ran into the room. Immediately upon entering, the smell of burnt flesh assailed his nostrils. "Ughh!" he gasped and brought a hand to his nose.
Ginny walked into the room, pinching her nostrils shut. She held her wand above her head and said, "Lumos!" in a nasally voice.
The room was flooded with light and Harry could see why it smelled so bad. There were four bodies in the room. Three of them had gaping holes in their chests. The holes were still smoking as if something extremely hot had hit them. There was little blood, as the wounds were cauterized by whatever had caused them.
Harry heard Ginny empty the contents of her stomach onto the floor in front of her. He would have turned to her, but the fourth body on the ground held his eyes. The body was that of a fifteen-year-old girl. The frizzy brown hair, which Harry had always liked, had become a rusty color from all of the blood that had come out of the wound in her head. Her body was pale and her lips were blue.
Harry could almost picture what had happened. Death Eaters had surrounded Hermione. She had cast her most powerful spell and it had sapped her of all her energy. But instead of falling to the ground, unconscious, she had staggered slightly and fallen towards on of the school desks.
By the blood on the desk, Hermione must have hit her head on one of the corners and fell to the floor. She had probably blacked out immediately. And now she was dead. All of the strength left Harry's legs and he fell to the floor.
He heard Ginny fall next to him. "No!" she screamed.
"She's not dead. I can still feel her. It's just different." Ron said quietly from the doorway. He slid down the doorframe until he sat on the cold floor.
"What?" Ginny said and grabbed Harry's wand. She crawled over to Hermione and put the wand onto her forehead. Ginny closed her eyes for a few moments, and when she opened them, she looked worried.
"He's right. She's not dead" she said with tears in her eyes. "But the fall broke her skull. Her brain is...gone. She might as well be dead."
Ron moaned and ran to Hermione. He cradled her head in his lap and sobbed over her. He drew his thumb along her cheek. Tears ran off his cheeks and fell into her bloodstained hair. "NO!" he sobbed.
Harry tried to get his brain working. They were in an enemy Academy, Hermione was dying and Ron was useless with grief. Harry hadn't the faintest idea of how they were supposed to move Hermione's body.
Ron looked up at Harry with red eyes. He had stopped crying. "Get out of here, Harry. Bring my sister back to my mum. I'm staying here."
"No, Ron!" Harry screamed. "Voldemort's coming! You'll die!"
Ron looked back to Hermione's still face and a look of pure anguish crossed his face. He seemed to gain control again and his face became emotionless. "I'm already dead. Ginny, get Harry out of here."
Ginny seemed preoccupied with something else. She had been staring at Hermione in what Harry had thought was anguish, but now he recognized it as the look Ginny gave when she was concentrating. "Look!" she said pointing down at the wound in Hermione's head.
Harry leaned down and saw what she was pointing at. Every time Ron dragged his thumb across Hermione's cold cheek, a little more color returned to Hermione's face and the wound closed more and more. Just with his contact, Ron was healing Hermione. Harry didn't know all that much about Sentinels, but he had a pretty good idea that this wasn't normal.
Harry looked up to Ron and saw a look of pure shock on his face. Obviously, Ron didn't know what was going on either.
"You're healing her Ron!"
With a desperate look, Ron pulled off his shirt and began unbuttoning Hermione's blouse.
Ginny stared at Ron with shock. "Ron...I don't think that this is the time for that."
Ron ignored her and continued unbuttoning Hermione's blouse. When he was done, he pulled it off of her.
The situation was almost too ridiculous to believe. With every passing moment, Hermione was closer to death, and Ron was undressing her! Wearing nothing on the upper half of her body but a bra, Hermione's head lolled as Ron lifted her to his chest.
"Ron!" Harry screamed. "What the hell are you doing?!"
Ron didn't answer. He brought Hermione to his chest and hugged her tightly. It reminded Harry of how someone would keep someone dying of hypothermia in a Muggle TV show.
Ron maneuvered Hermione's body so that as much of their skin was touching.
The change was almost immediate. The wound on Hermione's head closed within seconds and color returned to her lips.
"It's working!" Ginny yelped.
Ron glanced up at Harry with a look of awe on his face. "I can feel her, Harry! I can feel her healing. I can feel her brain knitting itself! It's amazing!"
Ron closed his eyes and Harry could hear him muttering, "Damn skull." over and over.
Hermione's eyelids began to flutter, and Harry could hear her moaning slightly. She was coming around.
A few moments passed and, finally, Hermione's eyes opened.
***
Ron felt his heart skip a beat when Hermione's eyes opened. She looked directly into his face.
(I knew you would come.) she sent.
Ron laughed out loud. (Don't ever scare me like that again!)
Hermione smiled and hugged him tightly. The Sentinel magic flooded out of them and into each other. Because they were wearing less clothes than usual, and there was far more contact, the magic left them breathless.
Ron looked around at the burnt bodies around them. (You sure have been busy.)
Hermione didn't take her eyes off of Ron as she sent, (I love you, Ronald Weasley.)
(I love you.) Ron sent and looked down at his legs. He was kneeling on the ground. I'm on bended knee, he thought. (Will you marry me, Hermione Granger?)
Hermione's eyes widened in shock and a huge smile broke out on her face. (Yes! Yes! Oh yes!)
Ron hugged tightly and felt a tear slide off of his cheek.
Ron could feel Hermione's heart beat inside of his head and smiled. Because his heart had skipped a beat earlier, it had began beating at a different pace. And now he could feel that his own heart and Hermione's were beating at the same time...together.
***
Harry and Ginny watched the silent intercourse taking place between Ron and Hermione with puzzlement.
"I wonder what they're saying to each other." Ginny whispered, trying not to interrupt.
Harry shrugged. He couldn't speak now if his life depended on it. Moments earlier, one of his best friends had been all but dead, and now she was alive and well. It was too much to take.
Harry saw a look of pure joy cross Hermione's face, and she threw her arms around Ron's shoulders. Harry didn't know what had caused it, but the image of a baby with red frizzy hair jumped inside of his head. Where had that come from?
He continued thinking about it when a searing pain interrupted his thoughts. He clapped his hand to his forehead as his scar burned like torch.
Ginny saw him recoil and put a hand on his shoulder. "Harry? What is it?"
Harry ignored the pain and found his voice. "Voldemort is here."
I hoped that partly made up for my lack of writing. He did it. He popped the question. Tell me what you think.