A/N: This chapter contains a good amount of violence.

Chapter Forty-Nine: Inside the Ministry

The Entrance Hall was loud and crowded--all the students were standing with their respective groups--but Harry and Ron stayed quiet. Neville stood next to them, fidgeting occasionally, tugging at the neckband of his sweatshirt, which he'd borrowed from Seamus Finnigan. Draco Malfoy was once again distancing himself a bit; he looked thoroughly out of place in Muggle wear, but he'd taken the time to slick his hair back out of his eyes.

Ron shifted uncomfortably. He normally enjoyed wearing Muggle clothing but the absence of robes made it more difficult to carry his wand, and then there was the added burden of the potions they'd all been given. Shrunk to fit into a pocket, and charmed with Anti-Breaking spells to protect the glass, and Silencing Charms to keep them from clinking, Ron nonetheless felt the tiny vials of Blood Replenishing Draught, Heart Starting Potion, Bone Mender, Blood Clotting Concoction, and Burn Soothing Salve press against his hip. In his wand pocket Ron also had one of the many replicated and miniaturized floor plans of the Ministry itself. Harry had this, all the potions on him, plus a healthy dose of the blood potion.

Hagrid came lumbering up to Ron and Harry.

'I've already said "good luck" ter Hermione,' said Hagrid, his eyes full of tears. 'You two be careful now, unnerstand? You...you have to come back...'

He began to sob and hugged Harry and Ron so tightly Ron thought his ribs might break. He caught Draco rolling his eyes, and just when Ron thought he might pass out from lack of air, Hagrid let them go.

'You'll do fine,' he said. 'We're countin' on yeh, Harry, Ron. Yeh'll do fine.'

Tonks called for quiet and started to lead people outside, when Professor McGonagall came over to Ron and Harry, and pulled Harry aside.

'I'd better get goin',' said Hagrid, and he smiled tearfully and moved past the students to get outside.

McGonagall smiled fondly after Hagrid, and then looked at Harry.

'Potter, I want you to take this wand,' she said.

'It's not your wand, is it?' said Harry.

'No, it's Professor Sprout's,' said McGonagall.

'But she might need it,' Harry protested.

'Not as much as you will,' said McGonagall. 'Take it. You're not about to enter that place without a wand, do you understand?'

Harry swallowed and took the wand; it was shorter than Harry's had been, and it vibrated strangely in his hand.

'Well,' said McGonagall, 'I suppose I had better help Tonks.'

She swept away, and Harry stared after her for a moment before pocketing Sprout's wand.

'It doesn't feel right,' said Harry. 'The wand, I mean.'

'It's better than no wand at all,' said Ron. 'Nice of Sprout to loan it to you.'

'Yeah,' said Harry, shaking his head. 'I...all these people helping me, Ron. I don't know...'

'We want to help,' said a familiar voice. Harry and Ron turned to see Susan Bones, looking nervous and clutching her own wand in her hand.

'Hi, Susan,' said Harry.

'Hi,' she said.

There was a very uncomfortable silence; Ron noticed that most of the students had already gone outside. He desperately wanted to move along, or at least, if Harry and Susan had to talk about something, to leave them to it, but Susan spoke before Ron could get away.

'I'm sorry about Ginny,' she said. 'I know you'll get her back.'

'Thanks,' said Harry. 'Listen, we should probably get going.'

'Right,' said Susan, and she moved past Harry and went out the door. Ron and Harry followed just in time to hear the BANG! of the Knight Bus's arrival.

The trip to London was bumpy and violent, but eerily silent. Stan Shunpike's initial glee at having so many passengers died when it became apparent that nobody would engage him in conversation.

Ron and Harry sat next to each other, and Ron held Hermione on his lap tightly. Normally so reticent about public displays of affection, neither of them seemed to care. Ron just wanted to hold onto her before they had to face what they would be facing. Hermione buried her face in Ron's neck, and the warmth of her breath on his skin soothed him somewhat, but all too soon, the Knight Bus lurched into London, and Stan Shunpike yelled, 'King's Cross Station!'

The bus screeched to a halt, and the members of Group One got up.

'Remember,' Tonks called. 'Wait for the signal.'

'Right,' said James Marchbanks, and he and Madam Hooch led their group off the bus. The process repeated for the Leaky Cauldron and St. Mungo's. Then the Bus pulled up to Embankment--the train station closest to the Ministry--and Tonks's group of Aurors, along with Bill and Charlie, got up.

'Remus, you'll remember to--' Tonks began.

'I will,' said Lupin. She started off the bus, but he grabbed her hand. 'Be careful.'

'You, too,' said Tonks. 'See you when this is over.'

Lupin smiled at her, but Ron saw the fear in his eyes as Tonks disembarked.

'Take care, Ronnie,' said Charlie. 'Make sure he doesn't do anything stupid, Harry, okay?'

'That'll be a challenge,' said Harry, smirking.

'Piss off, Harry,' said Ron, glad for the brief respite humor brought to the situation.

Charlie and Bill hugged Ron and then Harry and Hermione before getting off the Bus, and with one last glance at his older brothers, Ernie Prang jerked the Knight Bus back into motion.

'Next stop, Elephant and Castle!' Stan yelled.

They were there in less than a minute. The Bus screeched to a halt and everyone stumbled forward slightly; Ron grabbed Hermione to keep her from falling.

'All right, everyone,' said Lupin. 'Let's go. Wands away, Communicare Charms on, and act natural.'

Ron saw Snape give Lupin a nasty look, but the Potions Master rose and waved to his small group of students to disembark. Hermione stood and gripped Ron's hand for a moment before leaving the Bus, with Professor Vector and Snape behind her. All of them tapped their watches as they went.

Lupin gestured for Draco, Neville, Harry and Ron to get up, and they all started off the Bus, with Hopkirk behind them, Lupin bringing up the rear. As Ron stepped off the Bus, he felt a rush of magic from behind him; he could have sworn he heard Lupin mutter 'Obliviate,' but then Lupin was off the Bus, and the great purple vehicle took off with another great BANG! and vanished from sight. Ron tapped his own watched and activated the communication spell.

They found themselves on a street called Newington; somewhere behind them, Ron heard a heavy thumping that sounded like music. Several people, most likely in their early twenties, moved past them; they were dressed in a mixture of black and wild colors, and all of them had hair that made Tonks's more colorful experiments look tame.

'There's a dance club up that street,' Lupin remarked, leading them toward the entrance of the Underground.

To the left were crowds of shoppers going into a very ugly looking shopping complex; Ron patted his jeans' pocket, where he'd stored his wand, as they went into the Underground and stepped on a moving stairway that led them downwards. Nobody said a word; Draco looked distinctly uncomfortable, and Neville seemed to be trying to restrain himself from staring. It was, indeed, a very strange feeling. Only Anthony, Harry, Hermione and Lupin seemed totally unfazed by the atmosphere.

Ron had to wonder what they must look like: a bunch of teenagers and a few adults dressed in a decidedly hodge-podge manner. Even with their concerted effort at looking casual, they managed to attract a few stares.

At long last they reached the turnstiles leading to the train itself. Hermione handled all the money, while Lupin muttered instructions to everyone to act like a bunch of tourists who spoke no English. The ruse worked well enough, although Ron heard the station booth attendant mutter something about 'ruddy Bulgarian tourists, why can't they learn some English before they come 'ere?'

Hermione caught Ron's eye and winked at him. He smiled and shook his head. Again, humor seemed to help the situation.

They all got through the turnstiles and took another moving staircase--Hermione told him they were called escalators--further downward, until they found themselves inside a large underground train depot. It wasn't particularly crowded at the moment, but even without crowds, Ron was hard-pressed to locate the secret tunnel.

It was Lupin who found it.

'Behind that advertisement poster,' he said, pointing casually to a large poster for P.G. Tips tea. 'Let's wander over, shall we?'

As they drew closer, Ron saw the faint outline of a spell around the poster, and the fainter outline of an opening.

The few Muggles who stood waiting for a train gave them passing glances. Ron knew logically that Muggles wouldn't notice a bunch of wizards slipping through a wall, but he couldn't help feeling nervous. This would have been easier with a larger crowd.

'Here we are,' Lupin said. 'Gather round me for a moment, would you?'

The group pulled around Lupin. Snape looked irritable, and Draco still looked terribly uncomfortable, as Lupin tapped his watch softly with his index finger and whispered, 'Confabulari.'

The watch glowed for a moment, and then Lupin spoke. 'Tonks? Can you hear me?'

He then tapped the watch again, said, 'Audire,' and Tonks's tinny voice came through faintly.

'Everyone's in place,' Tonks's voice said. 'We're going into the passages now.'

Lupin tapped his watch a third time and said, 'We'll be in touch when we get in.'

At that moment, there was a rushing sound, and Ron noticed a bright light piercing into the station: a train was arriving.

'Bakerloo line,' said a smooth male voice. 'Elephant and Castle station.' The train pulled smoothly to a halt, and as the doors slid open, a female voice said, 'Mind the gap.'

'That was timely,' said Lupin. 'Let's go now.'

He stepped up to the poster, pulled his wand from the inside of his jacket, and tapped it softly against the photograph of the teapot.

'Okay, it's open,' he said. 'Laura, you first.'

Professor Vector stepped forward, nodded at Lupin and gave him a quick smile, leaned against the teapot, and vanished into the poster.

'Susan,' said Lupin, and Susan did the same, and with a smile in Harry's direction, she too went through the poster. Anthony went next, and then Hermione, followed by Snape. Then Hopkirk stepped forward, and the process was repeated with Harry's group, Harry going right after Hopkirk, then Neville, Draco, and finally Ron. Ron took a deep breath, pressed his hand against the teapot, leaned to the side...

...and with a whoosh! he was through. He stumbled and found himself in an impossibly dark tunnel, that was filled with a nearly nauseating mixture of smells: rat droppings, mold, damp, urine...death.

Ron yanked his wand from his jeans pocket and lit it. The combined lights of eleven wand tips allowed them to see, but what they saw was nothing but rotting wood rail ties and rusting iron tracks; the ceiling had come down in a few places, and the skitter of rats could be heard here and there.

Lupin tapped his watch again. 'Tonks,' he whispered. 'We're inside, and we're moving now. I'll make contact again when we get there.' Another tap on the watch, and Tonks said, 'Got that.'

Lupin tapped his watch a third time, and for a moment, there was silence, but then Susan gasped and backed up against the stone wall as a rat larger than Crookshanks slithered by.

'Lovely,' said Draco, his voice echoing in the gloom.

'Quiet,' said Lupin, his voice soft but still very resonant. 'If you have to talk, keep it down. Sound could create vibrations that bring down more of the roof.'

'Neville, back up!' Hopkirk hissed suddenly. 'Get away from that.'

Neville froze for a moment, and backed away; he was very close to a third metal rail. Hopkirk aimed her wand at it and send a soft spell; the rail glowed white for a moment, and then went dark.

'What's wrong?' he whispered.

'No longer charged,' said Hopkirk, letting out a breath. 'But all the same, best to steer clear.'

'Why?' Draco asked.

'Third rails are usually charged with electricity,' Hermione explained, keeping her voice soft. 'Enough to kill you if you touch it.'

'Let's go,' said Hopkirk. 'This way. Keep away from the third rail, just in case, and stay close. Try not to make too much noise, and don't make any sudden movements.'

Ron, Harry and Hermione instinctively came together, moving Hermione to the middle, with Harry in front and Ron behind. Lupin and Snape brought up the rear, the two of them not looking at each other, although it looked as though this were costing Snape no small effort. Instead, the two men aimed their wand lights upward toward the ceiling, looking for any warning signs of an imminent collapse.

Up ahead, Vector and Hopkirk moved slowly, adding light to their wands and keeping their eyes open for debris. Ron heard a faint drip, drip, drip coming from somewhere.

The progress was slow. At first Ron didn't understand why they didn't all just Apparate from where they were to the end of the stupid tunnel, but when Neville tripped on a dead rat, smacked his knee into a wall, let out a yelp, and the sound caused a chunk of ceiling to fall, nearly crushing Susan and the two female professors beneath it (it was the quick spell work of Lupin, Harry and Hermione that saved them), Ron understood why Apparating wasn't an option. The noise brought about by Apparating would have brought down the whole tunnel, most likely. As it was, they had to creep along, particularly since Neville, looking utterly sheepish and ashamed by his clumsiness, was apparently determined not to cause any further accidents. Snape had only refrained from insulting Neville due to the seriousness of the circumstances.

'We're getting close,' Hopkirk said finally, as Ron dodged yet another scampering rat, this one also as large as a cat. There was another moment of horror to be found a little further on, when they came across the blackened, charred torso of a person--it was impossible to tell if it was a man or woman--whose hand seemed to be fused to the third rail. The lower half seemed to have burned right off and lay in a crumpled heap of ash and blackened bone.

'Crikey,' Ron whispered. 'I thought that thing didn't have any more eckeltricity.'

'That must have happened a long time ago,' Hopkirk whispered.

'Homeless people sometimes come into unused subway tunnels,' Hermione whispered. 'If they've been drinking...they can trip and catch the third rail.'

'Poor bugger,' said Neville. 'Why didn't he just let go of the rail?'

'You can't,' said Hopkirk.

'Why not?' said Neville.

'As fascinating as a lecture on electro-physics might otherwise be,' said Snape irritably, struggling to keep his voice at a whisper, 'I wonder if we might all shut up until we're well out of this blasted tunnel.'

Ron and Harry exchanged glances; for once, they were inclined to agree with Snape.

After another few minutes they suddenly found themselves at a wall of debris that went almost to the ceiling.

'This is where the original cave in happened, the one that shut down this tunnel,' Hopkirk explained softly.

'Looks like a dead end,' said Draco. 'I thought you said this thing branched off into two tunnels.'

'It does,' said Hopkirk evenly. 'Just wait.'

She and Lupin took out their wands and pointed them at the opposite walls. They muttered something in unison, and enormous circles appeared in front of them.

'Okay,' said Hopkirk. 'Group Four, you're taking the left tunnel. Group Five, we're using the right. Remus?'

Lupin nodded, and tapped on his watch again.

'Tonks,' he whispered. 'We're at the junction and about to go in.' He tapped the watch once more, and Tonks's voice came back.

'Got that, Remus,' she said. 'Groups One through Three, are you there?'

'Present and accounted for,' said James Marchbanks.

'We're here,' said the squeaky voice of Flitwick.

'All here, Tonks,' said a voice that Ron guessed belonged to Auror Branstone.

'Right,' said Tonks. 'Once we're in, we need to be quiet, so I want everyone except team leaders to shut off communications. Let's do Disillusionment Charms now, okay? Go.'

Ron and Hermione quickly performed the charm on each other; Neville and Harry did the same, followed by Anthony and Susan; Susan also did the charm on Draco. Very quickly everyone in the dim tunnel looked like nothing more than faint outlines. Ron shuddered; it was just like last year, only worse. This time they weren't going to try and sneak past Voldemort; they were going right for him.

Ron saw the familiar, faint outline of Hermione's wand, and used that to find her hand.

'On my signal, we go,' said Tonks. 'One, two, three. Go now.'

It was happening too fast. Ron didn't want to let Hermione go; judging by the way she grabbed onto him--it was bizarre, feeling her embrace him and seeing naught but an outline of her--she didn't want to go just yet either. But Snape hissed, 'Come along,' and Ron felt the sudden pressure of Hermione's lips against his.

'Please be careful,' she whispered.

'You, too,' he said, feeling his heart start to hammer in his chest. And suddenly, he felt her hand wrench away from him, and she was gone, and he was being herded down another dark passageway, away from her.

'She'll be okay,' Harry said. 'She will be.' He said it in a voice meant to reassure, but Ron couldn't help but notice that it sounded more like Harry was just trying to convince himself of Hermione's safety.

Ron blinked and forced himself to focus; they were moving faster now. The tunnel was narrower and shorter and he was forced to crouch down. The faint glow of magic was all that was holding the tunnel up. Nobody said a word; there was only the sound of breathing, when suddenly they all stopped short behind Hopkirk.

'We're here,' she whispered. 'Wands up.'

Everyone lifted their wands into a defensive position, or at least, that's what it looked like to Ron, judging by the outlines he saw in front of him, outlines that quickly blended into the surroundings when everyone went still.

'Be ready with Shield Charms,' said Hopkirk.

Hermione, please be okay...

Hopkirk aimed her wand at the wall in front of them and fired some kind of spell. The wall began to wiggle and shake.

'It's open,' she said, breathing a sigh of relief. 'Remus...'

'Tonks, we're going in,' Lupin whispered.

'Right,' came Tonks's voice. 'We're going in now. Good luck.'

'I'll go in first,' said Hopkirk. 'Harry, you'll come next, but wait for me to give the all clear, understand?'

'Yeah,' said Harry, and his voice conveyed exactly what Ron was feeling at the moment. A surge of adrenaline and anticipation. This was it.

The outline of Hopkirk pushed through the barrier; the barrier rippled like black water for a moment, and there was silence. A few seconds passed, then a few more. Ron held his breath. Ten seconds. Where was Hopkirk? Had she already been caught? What if an ambush waited on the other side? He felt Harry stiffen beside him, and then relax.

'What?' Ron whispered.

'It's him,' Harry whispered back. 'He was trying to get inside my head but I blocked it.'

'He doesn't know we're here, does he?'

'Not yet,' said Harry. 'Where the bloody hell is--'

At that moment the barrier in the wall ripped again, and Hopkirk's head came through. Her very solid, visible head.

'Griselda?' said Lupin.

'It's clear,' she said, but her voice was grim. 'It looks like they've worked the place over with anti-invisibility type spells. The Disillusion Charm came off the second I stepped through.'

'I should have brought my cloak,' Harry muttered.

'It wouldn't do any good here,' said Hopkirk. 'Let's go, Harry.'

Harry's moved forward as Hopkirk stepped back and vanished again through the barrier. Harry followed; it looked as if the wall had swallowed him up.

'Neville, go,' said Lupin.

Another outline moved forward, and Neville went through, followed by Draco. Ron went next, once again feeling like he'd been sucked through something at an impossible speed, only to be jerked to a halt again. His feet hit the ground and he felt the Disillusion Charm lift off him in a rush of warmth, and saw his freckled hands come into view. He heard Lupin's feet land behind him, and stepped aside as Lupin came into view. Ron looked around the room and suddenly saw where they were.

'A broom closet?' he said.

'Naturally,' said Hopkirk. 'Who'd think to look in here?'

'Tonks, we're in,' Lupin muttered into his watch. 'Tonks?'

He tapped his watch again, and Tonks's voice came back. She was shouting.

'We're in business up here!' she yelled, and Ron heard the whoosh of a spell being fired. 'They've got Graphorns...shit! Where the hell are Groups One and Two?'

'We're in, Tonks!' came James Marchbanks' voice. 'Group Two!'

'We've got them surrounded!' came the voice of Mary Stebbins.

'Remus, get going!' Tonks yelled.

Lupin started to speak but there was a crash; he quickly tapped his watch. The concern on his face for Tonks was palpable, but he couldn't risk the noise of their battle giving them away. Ron swallowed. Bill and Charlie were up there, in the thick of it.

'Let's move,' said Hopkirk. 'Wands up. Shield Charms ready.' She reached for the doorknob. 'I'm going to open the door...NOW!'

The door flew open, and they were greeted with silence. Hopkirk leaned forward and stuck her head out the door, then leaped back in, then looked out again.

'Clear,' she muttered. 'Draco, Neville, go.'

Neville started forward; Draco hesitated.

'Move, Draco,' Hopkirk snapped. 'You wanted to be a part of this, remember?'

Draco swallowed, glanced at Harry, and then followed Neville. The two of them moved out of the room; Ron saw them press their backs along the near wall.

'Ron, you and Harry,' said Hopkirk, 'and Remus.'

Ron shoved himself in front of Harry, who held onto Sprout's wand tightly. Ron could tell Harry wasn't pleased with the grip on it; it was made for Sprout's small, stout hand; Harry's larger hand with its long fingers seemed to find the grip a bit unwieldy. But before Ron could offer Harry his wand, and take Sprout's for himself, Lupin was urging them out.

They moved into an all too familiar corridor. At one end stood the lift; at the other end, there was a staircase on the left side leading downward to level ten. Straight ahead was the doorway leading into the Department of Mysteries. A faint glow was coming from the staircase.

Hopkirk gestured for them to follow behind her; her wand was out and her movements the impossibly graceful ones of a succubus. Indeed, Ron noticed that her eyes had begun to flash bright red. He could smell anticipation on her, almost like a sexual heat. She moved forward suddenly and peered round the corner, then leapt back, then looked again. Without turning back to them, she raised her right arm and waved them forward.

They started to move, past Hopkirk, past the staircase, positioning themselves on either side of the door to the Department of Mysteries...Hopkirk moved forward and took up a position to the left of the door, with Ron and Harry...

'What's that?' Draco hissed suddenly. Ron and the others followed his eyes--he was staring down at the other end of the corridor.

'Something's moving,' Neville whispered, and his body tensed as he clutched his wand more tightly.

Indeed, there were dark shapes amassing just in front of the lift. For a moment, Ron thought it might be some of the students. Maybe they'd managed to take down whatever they were fighting, and had decided to come down to the ninth floor to help.

But suddenly Ron heard a low growling, and he caught the distinct scent of blood.

'Werewolves!' Lupin bellowed, just as four massive beasts gave a collective roar and charged forward.

Ron shoved Harry behind him and aimed an Asphyxiation Curse at one of the monsters; the spell, along with another thrown by Neville, caught the werewolf square in the face, and it went down in a great heap. Lupin fired several spells at yet another werewolf, and it, too, went down.

The remaining two, now in a fury, barreled towards them. One went for Lupin, but suddenly Hopkirk leapt in front of him and gave a great, whirling kick that caught the werewolf across the face.

The other crashed into Neville, sending him sprawling. Draco leapt backwards with a cry as the werewolf roared and bared his fangs.

Harry gave a roar of his own, shoved Ron out of the way, and jumped on the werewolf's back, yanking on the beast's ears. Draco fired a spell at the werewolf--a beam of white flames burst from Draco's wand and caught the beast in the chest; the werewolf screamed as his chest burst into flame. Harry let go and the werewolf started to tumble forward; Ron caught it with a Levitation Spell as Draco extinguished the flames on its chest. Neville, white faced, scrambled out from under it, and Ron let the creature drop. It was dead.

Another roar came and they all looked up to see Hopkirk roll out of the way of a blow from the fourth werewolf. Lupin fired three quick spells at the werewolf's back, and it crashed to the floor in a heap.

'Th-thanks,' said Neville, getting up and brushing himself off as he stared down at the dead werewolf at his feet. 'You all saved my life.' He glanced at Draco. 'What was that spell you used?'

'Nothing we've learned in school, Longbottom,' said Draco sharply.

Hopkirk was breathing hard. She looked down at the dead werewolves.

'I didn't realize...it was the full moon,' she panted.

'It's not,' said Lupin darkly. 'Voldemort must have found a way to get them to transform.'

'Well,' said Harry, grimacing as he pressed his hand to his scar, 'they know we're here now.' He winced.

'Harry?' said Ron, putting a hand on his shoulder.

'He's hurting Ginny,' said Harry. 'He's trying to make me watch...'

He closed his eyes and pressed his hand harder into his scar.

'What's wrong with him?' said Draco.

'Nothing,' said Harry, letting out a breath and opening his eyes. 'I'm fine now.'

'Harry, maybe you ought to take that potion,' Hopkirk suggested.

'Not yet,' said Harry. 'That stuff still wears off too fast.'

'We'd better get inside the Department,' said Lupin. 'If you're sure you're okay, Harry.'

'I'll be fine,' said Harry. 'I just have to...to keep up the Occlumency stuff.' He paused. 'Let's go get Ginny.'

Ron watched Harry for a moment, and then nodded. 'Let's,' he said.

'Get back,' Hopkirk warned. 'They might have another welcoming committee for us beyond that door.'

The boys flattened themselves on either side of the door; Hopkirk and Lupin stood back with their wands drawn, and with a wave of her wand, Hopkirk opened the door.

It flew aside.

Hopkirk moved in; for several seconds there was silence, and Ron didn't dare look around the corner, but then Hopkirk came back.

'Clear,' she said, 'for now.'

They moved past the doorway one by one, until all were standing inside the eerily familiar circular room. Nobody bothered to pull out the floor plan; it wasn't as if it could tell them which doors would be located where, given that they rotated. There were still the floating candles in the room, giving off their eerie blue flames.

'I'm going to close the door,' said Hopkirk. 'Be ready.' She pushed the door behind them shut.

'Why, what happens when you--' Draco began, but suddenly there was a rumbling; Hopkirk barely had time to cast a Flagrate Charm before the doors began to spin around them. Just as suddenly, everything stopped.

Everything except the spinning in Ron's mind, which suddenly sent him flashes...an image of a red-headed girl in dark robes, standing on a raised platform, next to an archway with a billowing black veil.

'Oh,' said Draco. 'Well, that's great. We know how to get out. But which door do we go in?'

Ron blinked again. 'Ginny's in the death room.'

'Where?' said Draco.

Harry winced suddenly and grabbed at his scar.

'Harry?' said Neville, stepping forward. 'What's wrong?'

'Ginny,' Harry managed. 'She's...she's under the Imperius Curse. She's weak.'

'You can feel her?' said Draco.

'Yeah,' said Harry. 'Voldemort's in her head...' He squeezed his eyes shut for a moment, and Ron saw the pain in his face pass. 'We have to get her out,' Harry said.

'Which door leads to this death room?' Draco asked.

'We don't know,' said Hopkirk. 'That's the problem with--'

'Look out!' Lupin yelled suddenly, shoving Hopkirk out of the way. He leapt forward and gave a howl of pain as a spell lanced through his shoulder. Ron saw a splatter of blood as Lupin rolled, and suddenly the rest of them were leaping out of the way of spells. Death Eaters had arrived, but they weren't alone. They'd brought...

'Vampires!' Hopkirk yelled, and suddenly she transformed, her skin went red, fangs and horns appeared, her hands became long-fingered claws.

'Holy shit!' said Draco, gawping at Hopkirk as she leapt thirty feet into the air. A tall, pale vampire with flashing red eyes and bared fangs flew towards her, and they collided in mid-air.

'Draco, watch it!' Ron snapped, aiming a Shield Charm at Draco as a Death Eater fired a spell his way. Draco whirled and fired another unfamiliar looking spell at the Death Eater, and it caught him in the face. The Death Eater screamed and began pulling at his hood, flailing around uselessly.

'Get Harry out of here!' Lupin bellowed, clutching his bloodied shoulder and aiming a spell at a Death Eater. He raced toward a door, grabbed Neville by the collar, and pulled Neville inside after him; a few Death Eaters followed, and one of them slammed the door shut behind him.

Ron, Harry and Draco found themselves alone in the battle against the remaining Death Eaters; they were outnumbered two to one, but having Draco on their side proved to be an advantage. He was clearly using all manner of Dark spells against their enemies, and scoring a few direct hits that left one Death Eater choking on his own blood and another howling in pain as his clothes began to burn and melt into his skin.

'Merlin,' Ron said, ducking as a curse hurtled towards him. 'That's bloody disgusting.'

He and Harry fired Leg Breaker Curses at another Death Eater, and with a terrible crunch of breaking bones, the Death Eater crashed to the floor.

'This bloody wand,' Harry grumbled, as it slipped in his grip again.

'Come on, we have to get you out of here!' Ron yelled, but then a Death Eater fired another spell, and Ron had to throw up the fastest Shield Charm of his life.

In the next instant there was an unearthly scream; for a moment everyone stopped and looked up to see one of the three vampires--all of them were levitating in the air somehow--with a massive wooden stake sticking out of its chest. Hopkirk, who also floated in mid-air, still in her demonic body, aimed her wand and shouted a curse, and with a sickening swish, the vampire's head was sheared clean off its neck, the wound cauterizing on contact, and the head went crashing to the floor to land by Draco's feet.

'Jesus Christ!' he shouted, leaping out of the way.

'Draco, look out!' Harry roared, but before he or Ron could even move, a vampire had flown down and tackled Draco, sending him sprawling face first to the floor. Hopkirk started after that vampire, but its companion blocked her, and the two of them began to wrestle in mid-air.

Ron yanked Harry down just in time as a Death Eater threw a curse; Ron threw up a Shield Charm and blocked the spell, sending it ricocheting into the other Death Eater, who gave a shriek and crumpled to the floor.

Meanwhile, the vampire had flipped Draco over.

'Help me!' he screamed, as the vampire lifted him forcibly into a sitting position and pushed Draco's head back, baring his throat.

'Shit!' said Ron, and he fired the first spell he could think of: an Impediment Jinx.

It struck the vampire in the face, and he lurched backwards, but he didn't fall, and he didn't let go of Draco.

'Dammit, Weasley!' Draco screamed, struggling vainly against the vampire's fierce grip. 'KILL IT!'

In that instant Ron remembered, and he conjured up a wooden stake.

'Harry, see if you can--' Ron began, but Harry jumped up and fired a powerful Impediment Jinx at the vampire.

It was enough; this time the vampire let go of Draco, who fell backwards and banged his head on the floor. Ron sent the wooden stake hurtling forward so fast it was a brown blur, and in the next instant it was buried in the vampire's chest. The vampire screamed and his cheeks began to sink as he started to die; Harry threw a vicious Cutting Curse, and the vampire's head was lopped off, blood spraying everywhere.

Ron, Harry and Draco instinctively covered their faces, the blood missing their eyes and mouths but splattering their hair and clothes. Draco got the worst of it. Ron and Harry started towards him to help him up, when the forgotten Death Eater struck. A jet of red light struck Harry in the back of the left leg, and he gave a howl and went down, as blood began to seep through his jeans.

Ron growled and aimed an Asphyxiation Curse at the Death Eater, but the Death Eater blocked it. Draco raised his bloodied head and fired a Dark curse at the Death Eater, who gave a great gurgling breath before collapsing to the floor. Above them, the third vampire gave a keening wail and they looked up to see it grasping at the stake in her chest; Hopkirk took off her head with a wave of her wand, and then floated down to the ground, returning to her human form. She had an ugly gash on one cheek and moved a bit gingerly, as though she was in pain.

'Potter, are you okay?' she asked urgently, apparently determined to ignore her own wounds.

'Fuck,' Harry groaned. 'I think he hit an artery.'

'Sit him up,' Hopkirk ordered. Ron obeyed.

Indeed, Harry's face was alarmingly pale, and blood was flowing fast. Ron forced himself to stay calm.

'You two get back,' Hopkirk said, and she yanked off her jacket, under which she wore a t-shirt that might have once been white, but was now covered in sweat and blood. 'I need to tie this wound off,' she said, and to Ron's shock she yanked off her t-shirt. He quickly looked away, catching a glimpse of a sweaty white bra that had become somewhat transparent from sweat.

'Harry, lift your leg,' she instructed. Harry was panting and sweating now, but his face had grown more chalklike. Ron watched Hopkirk, trying somewhat unsuccessfully to ignore her state of partial undress as she used her wand to cut away Harry's pant leg, baring the wound just above his knee. Ron swallowed a wave of nausea. Hopkirk wrapped her t-shirt under Harry's leg, holding both up ends in her hands.

'This is going to hurt,' she said matter-of-factly, before jerking the t-shirt into a hard knot. Harry gave a loud groan, and fell back onto his elbows. Hopkirk now had her wand over the wound, doing some kind of healing spell.

'The blood flow's slowed but it won't stop,' she said. 'The spell must have been jinxed to make you bleed out.'

'Great,' said Harry weakly.

'Harry, take your potions,' said Ron. 'The blood clotting stuff, and the Blood Replenishing Draught.'

'Oh, yeah,' said Harry, and he reached into his pocket, but then his face fell.

'Shit,' he said. 'They're gone. They must have fallen out during the fight.'

Ron wasted no time; he reached into his pocket, found his packet of shrunken potions vials, and enlarged two back to normal size.

'Take mine,' he ordered.

'But you might need--'

'You're going to argue with me now?' Ron snapped. 'Take the potions, Harry.'

'Take them,' said Hopkirk, still working on Harry's leg with spells.

Harry took the blood-clotting potion, and downed it; then he drank the Blood Replenishing Draught, and gulped it down as well. Almost at once, color returned to his face. Hopkirk leveled a final healing spell on Harry's leg just as Ron saw the blood stop flowing.

'It worked,' he said.

'Yeah,' said Harry.

'One more spell,' said Hopkirk, running her wand over the ugly wound on Harry's leg. 'Pain suppression. The spell won't last forever.'

'So the sooner I get to Voldemort the better,' said Harry, standing up gingerly, with Ron's help. 'Thanks, this feels fine.'

Hopkirk repaired Harry's trouser leg.

'Where are Remus and Neville?' she asked, but the question was answered when suddenly the two of them came tumbling from behind a door that Ron noticed was indeed in a different part of the room now. Neville had a black eye and Lupin's lip was bleeding.

'Remus!' Hopkirk called, jogging up to him. 'Are you--'

'We have to move!' Lupin urged. 'They're coming, they're just behind--'

At that moment, six more Death Eaters burst into the room.

'Go!' Hopkirk yelled. 'Get Harry out of here. We'll hold them off!'

She and Lupin threw up Shield Charms, and then Lupin conjured up what looked like a massive metal barrier. The boys moved behind it as Lupin and Hopkirk battled the Death Eaters.

'Come on!' Neville cried. 'Let's...just get inside a room!'

Harry, hobbling slightly on his injured leg, suddenly winced and his hand flew to his scar.

'Harry, what is it?' Ron asked urgently.

'Ginny,' Harry hissed. 'She's...she's still in the death room.'

'That's bloody good to know, given that we still can't figure out which door leads there!' Draco shouted.

Suddenly Harry's eyes widened. 'That one,' he said, pointing to a door across the room. A spell sailed over their heads, and they ducked. Ron looked back to see Lupin and Hopkirk levitating the protective barrier back. The boys would have to move soon, or risk getting struck by a curse.

'It's that door,' said Harry, and he started across the room. Ron started after him. Something wasn't right. Something...

'You're going the wrong way,' said a familiar, unfamiliar voice.

Ron whirled round and found himself staring, slack-jawed at a man with brown hair and green eyes. He wore the same jeans and sweatshirt Ron was wearing. Time seemed to suddenly slow down, and everything was happening in slow motion.

'W-what?' Ron whispered.

'Ron?' said Neville, and his voice was very far away. Harry was moving inexorably toward the door he'd chosen.

'What's wrong with Weasley?' said Draco, his voice distant.

'You're going the wrong way,' the man with the green eyes repeated. 'The way you want is here.' He pointed to a door just next to the one Harry was approaching.

The man suddenly vanished; in his wake there was a gleaming sword. Ron reached for it, but it, too, vanished.

'Ron!' Harry yelled. 'Come on, it's just inside--'

'Harry, no!' Ron yelled back, suddenly coming to himself. 'Wait! That's not the door. It's this one!'

'What's going on?' Draco hollered.

'Malfoy, watch it!' Neville yelled, and he pulled Draco down as a curse crashed over their heads.

Ron looked over to see Hopkirk and Lupin battling with one Death Eater each, as a third was hurrying over to them, his wand throwing curses that Neville and Draco blocked.

'HARRY!' Ron bellowed, and with a speed he didn't know he possessed, he raced over to Harry, grabbed him by the forearm, and yanked him toward the door the man with the green eyes--Ron knew he'd just been there!--had indicated.

'Ron--' Harry protested.

'In here!' Ron yelled. 'It's in here, Harry! Neville, Malfoy!'

Neville threw a Stunning Spell that caught the advancing Death Eater in the face. Ron turned and his jaw dropped again when he saw Firenze, standing calmly by the door. Ron blinked, and Firenze was gone, but suddenly the thing that had been buzzing about in Ron's brain, the words Firenze had uttered to him just before galloping into the Forest to confront his heard, came roaring back. Ron closed his eyes and saw a sword flying through the air, saw Ginny with an outstretched wand, standing on a raised platform, saw Harry crumpling to the floor...

Finish it, Harry...

Harry started into the door, but Ron grabbed his shoulder.

Your part in this story is written, Ronald Weasley. You will know what to do when the time comes.

'Ron, what?' Harry asked impatiently.

Ron swallowed. He knew what he had to do.

'I go first,' he said.

Harry looked at him quizzically for a moment, and then his eyes widened.

'What did you see, Ron?' he asked.

'Get out of my way, Harry,' said Ron, and he moved to shove past Harry, but Harry wouldn't budge.

'Ron, answer me!' Harry yelled, his green eyes wild.

Ron swallowed again, feeling a lump rise in his throat.

I'm sorry, mate.

Hermione...I'll always fight like hell to get back to you...

'I said get out of my way!' Ron roared, and with a sudden burst of strength he shoved Harry roughly aside and yanked open the door, stepping through the threshold and running down the stone benches to the center of the room.

'Ron, DON'T!' Harry cried.

It happened in a matter of seconds. His eyes went automatically to the daïs. Ginny was there, dressed in black Death Eater robes, but her head was bare, revealing the brilliant red hair so like Ron's own. He saw the tears running down her face, saw her outstretched hand. He was vaguely aware of Harry pushing his way into the room, followed by Neville and Draco; he heard the door slam shut, but then it was all a blur of silver.

'Ginny, NO!' Harry screamed.

Ron saw the spells flying but they weren't fast enough. Harry was sprinting at him.

'Stupefy!' Neville cried, sending a Stunner at Ginny that caught her in the chest. Ron saw her sink to the floor. He closed his eyes and saw Hermione smiling at him, and then heard a swish.

Strange. How come it didn't hurt?

Ron's eyes traveled over to where the sword lay, its blade now gleaming with blood.

My blood...

The blood of those who love him will save him.

Ron felt his knees give out beneath him; he realized he was bleeding, quite badly. Blood was soaking his sweatshirt, but he didn't feel any pain. Just a little sting, but no real pain. It was, quite possibly, the strangest sensation he'd ever felt.

'Ron...'

A choked voice made him look up. Harry was standing a few feet away, looking at him with tears running down his face. Draco and Neville were just behind him, both gaping.

'It doesn't hurt, Harry,' said Ron, still amazed, and then he felt himself topple forward.


A/N: Newington is a real street, there is a big dance club in that area of London (called Ministry of Sound) and PG Tips is a real tea brand.

I am aware of the evilness of this cliffhanger. I promise to update as soon as humanly possible, but please understand: the next chapter is the most important chapter in this whole story; it is the chapter I have been building up to, and I want it to be as good as it can possibly be. So I ask for your patience in advance. Thanks!

Keep your fingers crossed for Ron.

Thanks as ever to lina.