Praesentia
Chapter Eight---Mysterious Ambush
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Ron's heart beat fiercely as he watched the play of emotions on Hermione's face. She's scared, he thought; quite possibly as scared as I am.
His mind wandered to the stone. He tried to imagine what it would be like....to see the stone turn blue, and to see the look on his parent's faces.
He didn't even want to imagine the look on Hermione's face. The image made him sick inside; it made him angry.
But then, if the stone turned green....he'd marry her.
The thought made him dizzy; what if Hermione's parent's wouldn't understand? What would they say?
The only other choice would be to end the relationship now; completely and totally, so Hermione wouldn't have to face such an ultimatum.
Ron shook his head--hating to accept it as an option.
Hermione was looking at him now, as if she wanted to say something, but couldn't form words. As her mouth opened, she let out a startled little gasp and looked down at her hands. Her gasp was followed by loud hissing sound from somewhere upstairs.
Ron swiveled his head toward the stairwell, which was shrouded in darkness. Hermione clutched his shoulder violently, and Ron turned to her in concern. "Wha-"
She clasped a hand over his mouth, and her eyes were wide with fear. Holding up her left hand to his face, Ron gasped when he saw the color of her ring.
It was a bright yellow, and it was progressively getting brighter.
Ron swallowed, now understanding her concern. Acting on instinct, he grabbed her tightly and pulled her under the table, into the corner shrouded in darkness--right next to the wall. He clutched her close to him. Pulling out the wand from the waistband of his pyjamas, he tried to control the sound of his breathing before whispering into Hermione's ear, "Do you have your wand?"
Hermione shook her head no. "It's upstairs!"
"Damn," he whispered violently. Dozens of thoughts passed through his mind; the safety of his parents, his sister, his brothers....and there was nothing he could do about it--they had to get out of the house.
The heavy sound of footsteps (several pairs of them, it seemed) were thudding through the Burrow. Ron thought he heard several shouts and a scream, and he closed his eyes. If only he could focus on one of the attackers...
But he didn't know where they were for sure. It was hopeless.
Just as he was about to pull Hermione from under the table and drag her outside, another thought came into his mind. Why were they here? Why had they decided to attack the Burrow, at a time like this? Hadn't they done enough already, what with confusing them all in the fake attack on Hogwarts? Why would they choose--
His thoughts turned cold as he heard loud thudding and footsteps coming into the kitchen. Grasping Hermione tightly to him, he willed himself to be silent. He only hoped they wouldn't use a locator charm....
There were several more thud and gasps, and the sound of something (or was it someone?) being dragged. The sound of sobbing got louder and louder, and there were several more thuds and gasping sounds. Then there was a moment of silence, before Ron heard several people whispering and running downstairs, and a door thudding shut. Relative silence fell again, save for very loud shuffling upstairs.
Ron swallowed, and grabbed Hermione's wrist. They'd have to risk running now.
Taking a deep breath, he dragged Hermione from under the table and shuffled through the mostly darkened Burrow, leading her to the nearest door. Holding his wand at the ready, and his heart beating furiously, he shoved open the door and pulled Hermione with him.
The cold enveloped him like a shroud, taking his breath away. wisps of snow flew past and stuck to his eyelashes briefly, and he blinked them away. Hermione was shivering and breathing heavily on his arm, which she was grasping in an apparent attempt to get closer to his warmth. They shuffled through a large snowbank, and Ron instinctively remembered something.
He knew where they needed to go....
Grabbing Hermione's waist tightly, he steered her to the left and urged her to run with him. He sensed she wanted to tell him something, but he couldn't wait for that. Pulling her into the forest, he muttered softly, "lumos".
Gulping in air, and trying to see past the foggy haze of their combined breath in the light of his wand, he squinted into the darkness. His heart lifted when he finally saw the tree he had been looking for. Picking up speed, he tugged Hermione toward his goal.
Just as he was almost there, he saw something moving in the periphery of the light from his wand. "Who's there?" he shouted, and at once felt like a fool. If it was an Death Eater....
"Ron?"
Ron smiled, relieved. "Dad?"
His father ran up to him and pulled him into his arms. "Thank Merlin, son. You remembered."
Ron nodded, and then pulled away from his father. "Who were they, Dad? What did they--"
In the light of Ron's wand, his father looked grim. "Let's get inside first...Hermione's in her stockings."
Ron turned at that and looked down at Hermione's feet. Sure enough, she didn't have any shoes on. She was looking at him now a bit disdainfully. Without thinking, Ron muttered, "Sorry love."
He was surprised when Hermione flung her arms around him and said, "It's alright."
Ron's father, with a small grin, turned and muttered something. He tapped his wand against the tree trunk, part of which seemed to melt away, and candlelight flowed from within. Ron's father stepped aside, and Ron anxiously pulled Hermione into the tree. Ron's father joined them, and waved his wand again. A wooden barrier appeared where a moment before there was an open doorway.
Ron looked about eagerly. This was only the third time he remembered being in this room, and it had seemed to have become smaller then he had always imagined. It was, in fact, a room that looked like a hollowed out tree--but much larger than any tree could be.
His family was there, all present and accounted for. His mother and Ginny had stood up and were greeting Hermione and looking at her feet, and his brothers were huddled together and they patted him in greeting. He noticed Charlie looked a bit worse for wear; he had a shiner and the knuckles on his right hand looked bloody. Ron turned around to his father.
"So?" It was all he could say.
"Ambush. Totally unexpected. Your mother and I were in bed; I was reading the paper. I heard something in the room above; so I apparated up there. Charlie was boxing with a gent, and then I heard something in the room below me. I popped down, and your mother was dueling with two Death Eaters. I shot a stun at him and told your mother to get you kids and come here. I fought for a while until Fred and George came in; they said they'd gone to get aurors. We finished with the Death Eaters we were dueling with at that point and apparated here.
"When I found that you two were missing, I was really upset, Ron. That's why I stayed outside, just in case. I'm glad you made it." His father clutched his shoulder hard.
Ron blinked. Something didn't fit. "But...I thought I heard someone crying..."
His mother spoke up behind him, "That was me, dear. I couldn't find you in your room. I thought they'd taken you." She reached out unexpectedly and hugged him tightly. "You're such a good boy to remember to come here, my Ronniekins."
Ron could hear Fred and George chuckling, and his ears burned.
Before Ron could pull from his mother's arms and flash a rude gesture at his brothers, there was a loud tapping on the trunk outside.
"It's Kingsley, sir."
Ron's father apparated. A moment later, the wooden portal opened.
Kingsley Shacklebolt entered, followed by Ron's father. The look on Kingsley's face was not encouraging.
"I'm afraid that I have some bad news to pass along to you," he looked down at his feet.
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"Luna, what are you doing in here? I told you not to--" Lupin snarled, looking rather put out.
"But sir, I just thought Harry should know!" Luna said in a rather grating voice.
Harry winced, and sat up.
"What is going on? What happened?" He looked fiercely at Lupin, who was avoiding his eyes.
After a brief moment of pregnant silence, Lupin sighed. Then he sat down on the edge of Harry's bed.
"There was an attack on the Burrow, late last night."
Harry felt his heart sink to his stomach, and he let out an involuntary gasp.
"It's one of the reasons why I wanted to make you sleep--the first time. We didn't tell you what was happening...we thought maybe it might...." Lupin shook his head. "But never you worry, Harry. Your friends are safe. The Weasleys, and Hermione, are just fine."
"But Luna--" Harry turned to Luna, who swiftly looked away when he tried to catch her eye. Harry turned to Lupin, who looked away, as well. "She told me there were deaths--and that Voldemort--"
Lupin's expression was weary. "Yes, there were deaths. We lost two good aurors, Elphias Doge and Hestia Jones." He turned to Luna and gave her a sharp look. "However, to my knowledge, Voldemort wasn't there."
Luna just shrugged and began to examine the nails on her left hand. Lupin arched an eyebrow and turned in Harry's direction.
"Whatever--or whoever--the Death Eaters were looking for, they were desperate to find. Voldemort may have been behind it."
Harry blinked. "Do you think he was after Ron? Trying to finish what he started?"
Lupin sighed heavily. "I don't know, Harry. The Death Eaters that didn't get away are dead."
Swallowing, and watching Lupin hunched over in defeat, Harry moved closer. "So...am I still going to be able to get out of here today?"
Lupin smiled, not bothering to look at Harry. He nodded.
"Yes--but you'll be joining the Weasleys at my house. 12 Grimmauld Place."
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Chapter Eight---Mysterious Ambush
-----
Ron's heart beat fiercely as he watched the play of emotions on Hermione's face. She's scared, he thought; quite possibly as scared as I am.
His mind wandered to the stone. He tried to imagine what it would be like....to see the stone turn blue, and to see the look on his parent's faces.
He didn't even want to imagine the look on Hermione's face. The image made him sick inside; it made him angry.
But then, if the stone turned green....he'd marry her.
The thought made him dizzy; what if Hermione's parent's wouldn't understand? What would they say?
The only other choice would be to end the relationship now; completely and totally, so Hermione wouldn't have to face such an ultimatum.
Ron shook his head--hating to accept it as an option.
Hermione was looking at him now, as if she wanted to say something, but couldn't form words. As her mouth opened, she let out a startled little gasp and looked down at her hands. Her gasp was followed by loud hissing sound from somewhere upstairs.
Ron swiveled his head toward the stairwell, which was shrouded in darkness. Hermione clutched his shoulder violently, and Ron turned to her in concern. "Wha-"
She clasped a hand over his mouth, and her eyes were wide with fear. Holding up her left hand to his face, Ron gasped when he saw the color of her ring.
It was a bright yellow, and it was progressively getting brighter.
Ron swallowed, now understanding her concern. Acting on instinct, he grabbed her tightly and pulled her under the table, into the corner shrouded in darkness--right next to the wall. He clutched her close to him. Pulling out the wand from the waistband of his pyjamas, he tried to control the sound of his breathing before whispering into Hermione's ear, "Do you have your wand?"
Hermione shook her head no. "It's upstairs!"
"Damn," he whispered violently. Dozens of thoughts passed through his mind; the safety of his parents, his sister, his brothers....and there was nothing he could do about it--they had to get out of the house.
The heavy sound of footsteps (several pairs of them, it seemed) were thudding through the Burrow. Ron thought he heard several shouts and a scream, and he closed his eyes. If only he could focus on one of the attackers...
But he didn't know where they were for sure. It was hopeless.
Just as he was about to pull Hermione from under the table and drag her outside, another thought came into his mind. Why were they here? Why had they decided to attack the Burrow, at a time like this? Hadn't they done enough already, what with confusing them all in the fake attack on Hogwarts? Why would they choose--
His thoughts turned cold as he heard loud thudding and footsteps coming into the kitchen. Grasping Hermione tightly to him, he willed himself to be silent. He only hoped they wouldn't use a locator charm....
There were several more thud and gasps, and the sound of something (or was it someone?) being dragged. The sound of sobbing got louder and louder, and there were several more thuds and gasping sounds. Then there was a moment of silence, before Ron heard several people whispering and running downstairs, and a door thudding shut. Relative silence fell again, save for very loud shuffling upstairs.
Ron swallowed, and grabbed Hermione's wrist. They'd have to risk running now.
Taking a deep breath, he dragged Hermione from under the table and shuffled through the mostly darkened Burrow, leading her to the nearest door. Holding his wand at the ready, and his heart beating furiously, he shoved open the door and pulled Hermione with him.
The cold enveloped him like a shroud, taking his breath away. wisps of snow flew past and stuck to his eyelashes briefly, and he blinked them away. Hermione was shivering and breathing heavily on his arm, which she was grasping in an apparent attempt to get closer to his warmth. They shuffled through a large snowbank, and Ron instinctively remembered something.
He knew where they needed to go....
Grabbing Hermione's waist tightly, he steered her to the left and urged her to run with him. He sensed she wanted to tell him something, but he couldn't wait for that. Pulling her into the forest, he muttered softly, "lumos".
Gulping in air, and trying to see past the foggy haze of their combined breath in the light of his wand, he squinted into the darkness. His heart lifted when he finally saw the tree he had been looking for. Picking up speed, he tugged Hermione toward his goal.
Just as he was almost there, he saw something moving in the periphery of the light from his wand. "Who's there?" he shouted, and at once felt like a fool. If it was an Death Eater....
"Ron?"
Ron smiled, relieved. "Dad?"
His father ran up to him and pulled him into his arms. "Thank Merlin, son. You remembered."
Ron nodded, and then pulled away from his father. "Who were they, Dad? What did they--"
In the light of Ron's wand, his father looked grim. "Let's get inside first...Hermione's in her stockings."
Ron turned at that and looked down at Hermione's feet. Sure enough, she didn't have any shoes on. She was looking at him now a bit disdainfully. Without thinking, Ron muttered, "Sorry love."
He was surprised when Hermione flung her arms around him and said, "It's alright."
Ron's father, with a small grin, turned and muttered something. He tapped his wand against the tree trunk, part of which seemed to melt away, and candlelight flowed from within. Ron's father stepped aside, and Ron anxiously pulled Hermione into the tree. Ron's father joined them, and waved his wand again. A wooden barrier appeared where a moment before there was an open doorway.
Ron looked about eagerly. This was only the third time he remembered being in this room, and it had seemed to have become smaller then he had always imagined. It was, in fact, a room that looked like a hollowed out tree--but much larger than any tree could be.
His family was there, all present and accounted for. His mother and Ginny had stood up and were greeting Hermione and looking at her feet, and his brothers were huddled together and they patted him in greeting. He noticed Charlie looked a bit worse for wear; he had a shiner and the knuckles on his right hand looked bloody. Ron turned around to his father.
"So?" It was all he could say.
"Ambush. Totally unexpected. Your mother and I were in bed; I was reading the paper. I heard something in the room above; so I apparated up there. Charlie was boxing with a gent, and then I heard something in the room below me. I popped down, and your mother was dueling with two Death Eaters. I shot a stun at him and told your mother to get you kids and come here. I fought for a while until Fred and George came in; they said they'd gone to get aurors. We finished with the Death Eaters we were dueling with at that point and apparated here.
"When I found that you two were missing, I was really upset, Ron. That's why I stayed outside, just in case. I'm glad you made it." His father clutched his shoulder hard.
Ron blinked. Something didn't fit. "But...I thought I heard someone crying..."
His mother spoke up behind him, "That was me, dear. I couldn't find you in your room. I thought they'd taken you." She reached out unexpectedly and hugged him tightly. "You're such a good boy to remember to come here, my Ronniekins."
Ron could hear Fred and George chuckling, and his ears burned.
Before Ron could pull from his mother's arms and flash a rude gesture at his brothers, there was a loud tapping on the trunk outside.
"It's Kingsley, sir."
Ron's father apparated. A moment later, the wooden portal opened.
Kingsley Shacklebolt entered, followed by Ron's father. The look on Kingsley's face was not encouraging.
"I'm afraid that I have some bad news to pass along to you," he looked down at his feet.
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"Luna, what are you doing in here? I told you not to--" Lupin snarled, looking rather put out.
"But sir, I just thought Harry should know!" Luna said in a rather grating voice.
Harry winced, and sat up.
"What is going on? What happened?" He looked fiercely at Lupin, who was avoiding his eyes.
After a brief moment of pregnant silence, Lupin sighed. Then he sat down on the edge of Harry's bed.
"There was an attack on the Burrow, late last night."
Harry felt his heart sink to his stomach, and he let out an involuntary gasp.
"It's one of the reasons why I wanted to make you sleep--the first time. We didn't tell you what was happening...we thought maybe it might...." Lupin shook his head. "But never you worry, Harry. Your friends are safe. The Weasleys, and Hermione, are just fine."
"But Luna--" Harry turned to Luna, who swiftly looked away when he tried to catch her eye. Harry turned to Lupin, who looked away, as well. "She told me there were deaths--and that Voldemort--"
Lupin's expression was weary. "Yes, there were deaths. We lost two good aurors, Elphias Doge and Hestia Jones." He turned to Luna and gave her a sharp look. "However, to my knowledge, Voldemort wasn't there."
Luna just shrugged and began to examine the nails on her left hand. Lupin arched an eyebrow and turned in Harry's direction.
"Whatever--or whoever--the Death Eaters were looking for, they were desperate to find. Voldemort may have been behind it."
Harry blinked. "Do you think he was after Ron? Trying to finish what he started?"
Lupin sighed heavily. "I don't know, Harry. The Death Eaters that didn't get away are dead."
Swallowing, and watching Lupin hunched over in defeat, Harry moved closer. "So...am I still going to be able to get out of here today?"
Lupin smiled, not bothering to look at Harry. He nodded.
"Yes--but you'll be joining the Weasleys at my house. 12 Grimmauld Place."
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