Disclaimer: Harry and Co. belong to JKR, not me.
Author's Notes: I'm so sorry about the delay. Then again, I'm not entirely certain that an apology is enough for a year-long wait, but I was really busy. I'll try to be better, and have a least one chapter up per month (especially since Book 6 is coming out soon, and something in this story is bound to be contradicted by then.
Chapter Six
The Reality of War
Diagon Alley was always a busy place, and the next morning it was particularly packed full of wizards and witches. Under ordinary circumstances, Ron probably wouldn't have considered this the ideal state in which to visit Diagon Alley, but the reason that they were there was far from ordinary.
Ron, along with Hermione, Mad-Eye Moody, Nymphadora Tonks and Kingsley Shacklebolt, was here to guard Harry in the unlikely (at least, Ron hoped it was unlikely) event that any Death Eaters made an appearance. The busy state of Diagon Alley was perfect for this because they would be able to blend in much more easily and avoid notice that they may have received if they were the only ones there. Still, you could never be too cautious, so they had all made a large effort to try and go unnoticed: Moody was constantly shoving his bowler hat lower and lower, in an attempt to conceal his attention-grabbing magical eye, and, after much nagging from Hermione, Tonks had agreed to sport a slightly less outrageous hair colour than she usually would have.
Dumbledore had informed them that all they had to do was take Harry to Ollivander's for a Wand, and bring him back to Hogwarts immediately. Ron hadn't been told exactly what was going on, but from the bits and pieces of conversations that he had heard, he could tell that some sort of training was going to begin for Harry.
Ron was pulled out of his thoughts as he felt Hermione nudge him and realised that they were already at Ollivander's.
He went to reach for the door handle, but Kingsley stopped him. "The four of you can stand guard here," he ordered. "I'll go in with Harry."
Ron nodded and watched as Kingsley lead Harry into the shop, before he turned to Hermione.
"Do you really think that Dumbledore can do this? Train Harry, I mean." Ron asked tentatively.
Hermione considered the question for a moment. "Harry's an exceptional wizard. At least, I assume that he is given everything that happened with Voldemort. If Professor Dumbledore thinks he can be trained, he probably can be."
"But still," Ron objected, "even if he is an exceptional wizard, it'll be tough. You're an exceptional witch and you still had to go through all seven years at Hogwarts."
Hermione sighed, but didn't say anything. For the first time since he had met her, Ron thought she looked genuinely stumped.
"Really, you can go," Tonks informed Ron and Hermione for the millionth time. "Dumbledore didn't say that Harry needed this many guards, anyway."
Ron and Hermione were expected at the Burrow for supper soon, and it didn't seem as if they'd be able to make it in time. Harry had been in shop for over three hours, still trying to find the perfect wand. Kingsley had come out only a few minutes ago, and told them that it looked like the task may take quite a bit longer than originally expected.
Hermione shook her head stubbornly. "No, Tonks. What if something happens? We've got to be here to help protect Harry. Even if Professor Dumbledore didn't think it was necessary for all of us to be here, it's still a good idea."
"You-Know-Who isn't likely to attack, especially considering that he doesn't know what we're doing yet," Tonks argued. "He can't have figured out that we're found Harry Potter; only the Order knows so far."
Hermione glanced at Ron, as though she was looking for some help.
"Tonks is right, you know. Everything will be perfectly fine. The guard was just a precaution." He said apprehensively.
Hermione opened her mouth, looking like she was about to argue, but eventually seemed to have decided against it. "I suppose it would be all right if we left. Just for a little while, though. We'll have supper with your family, and come back here right after if Harry hasn't found a wand yet. Besides, it wouldn't be polite to skip supper. You mum will start to worry about us, and Fred and George will make stupid comments regarding what could have had us so occupied."
Hermione's last comment caused Ron to grin and blush at the same time.
"All right, then," He replied. "See you later."
"We'll be right back after dinner," said Hermione. "Bye Tonks, Mad-Eye."
Tonks gave a small wave, and Mad-Eye nodded his head, though he kept one eye focused on Ollivander's and one focused on everyone shopping in Diagon Alley.
A second later, Ron and Hermione had Apparated to the front step of the Burrow. Wards had been put up to prevent anyone from Apparating directly into the house (it was standard security for the homes of all Order members,) so they'd have to ring the doorbell.
The front door opened quickly, and they were ushered in by Ron's dad and Ginny.
"Hello, Mr. Weasley." Hermione grinned. "Hi, Ginny."
"Hi." Ginny said, hugging both Hermione and Ron. "Supper's almost ready. And we've got a surprise."
"A surprise?" Ron asked. "What is it?"
"If I told you," Ginny laughed, "it wouldn't be a surprise, now would it?"
Ron chose to ignore this comment, and he followed his dad and Ginny into the living room.
His dad took a seat beside Percy, starting a conversation, but not getting much of a response, as Percy was engrossed in a rather large and dusty book, and Ginny headed for the other end of the room and sat down beside-
"Charlie?" Ron exclaimed, nearly bumping into Hermione, who was standing in front of him.
Charlie's grin was wide as he rose from his seat and gave Ron a one-armed hug. "Hey, I haven't seen you in a while."
Ron just blinked, and finally managed to get out a sentence. "What are you doing here?"
"What, aren't you going to tell me how wonderful it is to see me? That you've missed me so much?" He said, winking. "Anyway, I'm taking a much-needed vacation."
"That's great!" Ron smiled, then realised that Hermione was still standing beside them awkwardly. "Charlie, you remember Hermione, right?"
"'Course I do," Charlie replied, shaking Hermione's hand. "You only include her in every letter you write."
Ron could feel his ears turning red, but was happy to see the grin on Hermione's face.
"It's nice to see you again, Charlie." She said. "How has your work been? I was reading an article on Dragon breeding a few weeks ago, and I was curious about-"
Hermione continued talking to Charlie, but Ron felt his father (who had apparently given up on his conversation with Percy,) pull him aside.
"Are you all right?" His dad asked, a great deal of concern present in his voice, though Ron had no clue why.
"Of course I am. Why wouldn't I be?" Ron said, puzzled.
He let out a sigh of relief. "Ginny was telling us about the fight this afternoon. She got us all quite worried, when she told us about Lucius Malfoy."
Ron had no clue why they would have been worried. "Yeah, we were duelling. But Ginny managed to disarm him, so he Apparated away."
His dad shifted uncomfortably. "I guess you didn't hear," he said quietly. "As she disarmed him, Ginny managed to hear what Malfoy was saying."
Ron fixed his father with a questioning look, hoping he'd elaborate.
"Malfoy had started to cast the Killing Curse."
Ron just stood there for a moment, letting the knowledge sink in. Lucius Malfoy had nearly killed him; if it hadn't been for Ginny, he would probably be dead right now. Very few wizards or witches were powerful enough to manage the Killing Curse, but there was no doubt in Ron's mind that Malfoy was one of those few. And, he had almost succeeded- without Ron ever realising it. How could I not have known?
"Oh." He finally said, uncertain about what else there was to say.
A moment passed in silence before Ron's dad finally spoke. "Well, I just wanted to make sure you were all right..." He paused for a second, then continued. "I think I'll go help your mother in the kitchen."
Ron nodded, watching his father walk away. He didn't move for a few minutes, just standing there and reflecting on what he had been told, before pushing all thoughts of nearly dying out of his head.
Nearly a half hour later, Ron was seated between Hermione and Charlie at the table, staring blankly at his empty plate.
"Honestly, where are they?" His mum said, the exasperation in her voice clear. "They're always late, but not usually this late."
As this was the first time that Charlie had been home in a while, Ron's mum insisted that supper be special and that they wait for everyone. The only problem, of course, was that Fred and George were supposed to be here, and expecting them to be responsible was like expecting the Chudley Cannons to win a Quidditch match: you'd always have that sense of hope, but in your heart you knew it would never happen.
"Relax, Mum." Charlie replied calmly. "They're probably just busy at the shop. Besides, I'll see them later; I'm going to be here for a whole week. Let's just eat, okay?"
Everyone nodded eagerly, as though they had been starved all day, but Ron was only barely awake that he was even cutting his roast beef. The same phrase kept replaying over and over again in his mind: I could have died, I could have died. Ron was also vaguely aware that Hermione had put down her knife and was staring at him curiously, but he purposely avoided looking at her, and concentrated on appearing to be interested in Charlie and Ginny's conversation.
Finally, Hermione seemed to have gotten fed-up. "Ron, what's wrong?" She whispered, leaning closer slightly.
"Nothing," he said, shaking his head, "I'm just a bit tired. You know, we only got back yesterday."
Hermione narrowed her eyes. "Are you sure that's all?"
"Yeah," Ron replied, knowing perfectly well that he wasn't convincing Hermione in the least.
Fortunately, she didn't press the matter and only nodded slightly.
Barely a moment later, the doorbell rang, and Ron's mum rushed to answer it, muttering "It's about time!" under her breath.
Ron could just barely make out the voices from the doorway.
"My God, what happened?" His mum gasped.
"Attack-" one of the twins (Ron thought it was George) said hurriedly.
The other twin was talking over him, "-Dementors."
The table had suddenly fell silent, everyone intently listening to the conversation, and a moment later Ron's mum walked in with Fred and George, who were visibly shaken.
"What's happened?" Ginny was the first to speak and her fear was evident.
Fred answered, seeming to have calmed down slightly now. "Dementors attacked Diagon Alley; I'd say there were at least a dozen of them."
Ron immediately felt as if he were going to fall over, and he saw Hermione's eyes widen beside him. "Was anybody kissed?" She asked, her voice resembling a shriek. Ron noticed that her hands were shaking and was unsurprised when he realised that his were shaking as well.
"I don't know." George sighed, as he sat down at the table. "People from the Ministry showed-up quickly, and everyone who wasn't hurt was told to leave."
"You two are all right, though?" Charlie asked, laying a comforting hand on Fred's shoulder.
"Of course we are, Charlie." Fred replied. A few seconds later, his head snapped up. "Wait, Charlie? What are you doing here?"
"He's on vacation for a week, but that's not important right now." Ron mum's said hurriedly. "What's important is that you two go and get some rest right now."
"Mum, really, we're fine-" Fred had started to argue, but Ron could tell that his brother's efforts would be pointless; there was simply no arguing with their Mum, especially when she was concerned about her family's health.
"Nonsense, you two need your sleep. And don't bother going to your flat, you're staying here tonight." She replied, ushering them both upstairs before they could say anything else. For a brief moment, Ron thought he had seen a look of relief in both the twins' faces.
No one spoke until she had come back downstairs, and suggested that they all get some sleep. Ron's dad and Percy said that they'd rather check in at the Ministry to see if there was anything needed of them, and Charlie had offered to stay awake in case Dumbledore tried contacting any of them in the middle of the night. Hermione had left quickly, with nothing more than a small "Good-bye" and kiss on the cheek, but the look in her eyes told Ron that she was just as worried about Harry; even so, the attack was over now, and there wasn't anything they could do but wait.
Hours later, Ron lay in bed, not having slept at all. There was something about everything that had happened during the day that made the war seem more real than it ever had before. When he had been at Hogwarts, it had been easy to avoid the reality of what was going on in the world, and immerse himself in the small school community. Even the attack on the Burrow months ago hadn't seemed all that frightening, as the Order had somehow gotten word of it, and had been there soon enough to allow everyone to leave the house. While Dumbledore had obviously felt that the Weasley family was enough of a target that they should all be in the Order, Ron hadn't truly ever felt the danger.
But today, everything had changed within a matter of hours; not only had he discovered that he had nearly been killed only a few days before, but he had narrowly missed the Diagon Alley attack. Not that he was grateful he had left, of course. If it turned out that someone had indeed been hurt, he didn't know what he'd do. Especially since I was the one who wanted to leave... I was the one who convinced Hermione that we should go.
Ron was struggling to not think about that, but his mind seemed intent on focusing on either the attack or his own near-death. Neither option was particularly attractive, though the latter troubled Ron slightly more; not because it was any worse, but because he couldn't place exactly why it had bothered him. He hadn't actually died, obviously, so he didn't know why it should worry him so much since he was perfectly fine. After all, I only nearly died. No reason to dwell on it, really.
It was going to be a long night.
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