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More Bang for your Buck

The day had started off so well, too. Hermione met him right on time with the happy news that her father had a broken leg, a few broken ribs and a concussion. He'd be out of hospital by the end of the week provided they could get him to promise to take it easy. Bill had apparently been indispensable, and Ron was left wondering if there was more than meets the eye going on there. His partner looked a little tired, but not at all frazzled, and Ron had been able to genuinely hug and comfort her, glad that her father's injuries had been as minor as they were first reported.

Hermione had asked him what had happened last night after everyone had left - fishing mainly to find out if Harry had seemed uncomfortable with Ron one on one, and Ron had grinned sheepishly and muttered 'privacy spell'. Hermione had squealed just like the old days and launched herself at him, hugging him tight before letting go and promising to move back into the flat immediately. Ron told her they hadn't discussed things that far ahead yet, but asked if Ginny could have his room for a while when he did move out. Hermione agreed straight away and they decided to talk to Harry first, and then maybe bring it up at dinner tonight. Now that he'd taken the plunge with his friend, Ron didn't want to waste any more time. He wanted the whole family to know where things stood between them, so that there was no confusion at a later date.

Two hours later they'd been interrupted in the middle of an interview by the interviewees phone, and a lot of creative swearing.

"There's been another bomb!" the purple haired girl told them, and Hermione and Ron headed out straight away. This bomb had occurred at Harry's home university and one discrete spell later confirmed that the rogue had been here too, casting another repair spell that had once more saved lives. Several people had been hurt, including a very large number of students that Ron and Hermione had yet to interview from the first explosion.

The fact that their rogue had been there and may still be in the area had Ron and Hermione splitting up to search quickly through the crowd to see if they could spot any other 'heroic' use of magic. This person seemed to be in the wrong place at the wrong time in a manner that was all too consistent. Either the rogue was using the explosion as a way to create a use for their magic, or the bomber - whoever that may be, was targeting them.

The good part about splitting up was that they'd be able to cast a sort of magical net over the scene and see who was where. This information could later be recalled for reconstruction purposes, as well as possibly allowing them to get a second fix on the rogue. The rogue had not been able to entirely contain the debris of the explosion - as before they had been casting a general repair spell, not a specific containment and support spell. Debris had gone everywhere, and Harry had been lucky not to be hit by a piece of it. There were injured people all over the place, which made it difficult for Ron to remain focussed on his tracking spells, when his first instinct was to chuck it all in and help.

Ron met his partner at their starting point, and Harry had found Hermione among the chaos moments earlier. Harry was worried about them both, but once he realised that Ron and Hermione had arrived after the fact, he'd calmed down. This didn't prevent him from subjecting them both to a worried and hasty examination, which was difficult to quell. Unfortunately, Ron couldn't take his friend to the side and reassure him in a more tactile way, as they both needed. They had a job to do, and not even for Harry could he just chuck it all in. It felt like he was betraying his friend all over again to leave his side, but Ron forced himself to concentrate grimly, knowing that the sooner they got it done, the sooner he could be with Harry.

Ron reported in a dull voice that he hadn't gotten a fix on the rogue during his initial sweep. He was following Harry's path through the chaos, watching as his friend joined the emergency efforts at caring for the injured, working side by side with the Muggle healers and his own students.

"I got a partial one," Hermione murmured, "I was following the line of sight to try and get a better fix when I found Harry."

"Can you recall the last fix?" Ron looked around, checking to see if anyone in the area was holding a wand, or gesturing in a ritual way. Even wand less magic required some sort of trigger, which was usually accomplished with a wave of the hand, or a flick of the casters fingers.

Hermione pointed towards the other side of the courtyard, and together they made their way through the chaos, hunting for their assignment so they could get back to Harry.

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