CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN: Close To Home
As soon as Tonks had come by Grimmauld Place with the news of Harry and Hermione's hearing, Ron had wanted to go back to Lupin's to see them. He had wanted to be there when they had gotten back, but his father had let it slip the last time they had spoke that his mother was disappointed he had not come to see her since being released from St. Mungo's. At least his mother understood his desire to see his friends and didn't begrudge him for wanting to leave after only being at Grimmauld Place a short while.
When he saw Harry, he didn't look like a person relieved to have gotten off the hook relatively easy. That might have had something to do with the fact that he and Hermione were set to leave for Hogwarts the day after tomorrow.
When he went upstairs to see Hermione, the door to her room was shut, but he didn't think she was sleeping like Harry said she might be, because he could see light escaping through the crack under the door. He raised his fist to knock and then stopped. If she was in there with the door shut in the middle of the afternoon she probably didn't want to see anyone.
"You can come in, Ron," her voice sounded from the other side.
He opened the door, giving her a rather astounded look. "That's a bit scary, you know. How did you know I wasn't Harry or Lupin?"
She shrugged. "I didn't." She marked her place in the book she was reading before placing it on her nightstand. He sat down on the armchair beside it, watching her from where she sat cross-legged on the bed.
"Tonks told me what happened. I guess Dumbledore really comes through when you need him."
"I suppose he does," she said in a deadpan voice.
"Do you want to talk about your dad?" He asked gently. He already knew most of what had transpired from talking with Lupin and Harry. He may not be the most sensitive bloke in the world but he knew she needed to talk about it, even if she might not want to.
"There's not much to say really," she said, picking at the covers on her bed.
"You might feel better if you did," he gently prodded.
"Ron." She said his name warningly; as if she were telling him this was not a subject she was willing to discuss at the present time.
"Hermione." He said her name with much more exaggeration and it had the desired effect. She had to bite her bottom lip to keep from laughing.
"Come here," he said to her, and she did. She got off the bed and went to sit on his lap in the chair. She snuggled in close to his chest while he wrapped an arm around her.
"He wanted me to choose between him and my life here," she told him. "I want to believe I made the right choice, but after everything he's been through how could I just abandon my own father like that?"
"You didn't abandon anyone," he said, letting his hand come to rest on hers. "He wanted you to give up everything you knew and just start over."
"Maybe I was being selfish," she said, absently running her fingers up and down his bare arm. "All I could think about was the things I wanted. I should have considered what he was feeling more carefully."
"Hey," he said, touching her cheek and forcing her to look at him, "you made the right decision. If anyone was being selfish it was your dad. He was the one who made you choose. If he really wanted what was best for you he never would have done that."
She wondered how and when Ron had become an expert at saying the right things when she needed to hear them most. He lifted some of the guilt she was feeling, but the thought that she might never get to speak to her dad again was almost too much to bear. She had tried being angry with him but that hadn't worked. At least that way she wouldn't have cared so much.
She hadn't talked openly with Ron about her mother's death yet, and she still wasn't sure that was a topic she was ready to touch. But just having Ron there and knowing he would be there when she was ready to talk was a deep comfort to her.
"Wasn't today the day the ministry unveiled the official list of Minister candidates?"
She felt him nod. "They announced it over the wireless this morning. Dad and seven other blokes got named."
"That's really great, Ron. Your mum must be excited," she said, moving her head so she could look at him.
Ron chuckled. "Excited? She was a bloody basket case. If my dad really gets in she's going to cry herself dry."
Voices could suddenly be heard conversing downstairs in loud tones – not loud enough to be shouting, but to the point where something was obviously going on.
She considered just getting up and shutting her door, hoping it would block the noise out, since she and Ron had had so few opportunities to be alone together lately.
He was obviously thinking the same thing because he buried his face in her hair and groaned. "I'm starting to think we would have had a better shot of being alone if we were at Grimmauld Place."
"Let's just go see what it is and once we learn it's not a life or death situation we'll come right back up, deal?"
He wanted to say couldn't they just pretend they hadn't hear anything, and if it was important someone would come get them, but she was already moving off his lap and towards the door.
Ron reminded himself that normal people didn't raise their voices for no reason and that the odds of Hermione and himself coming back upstairs to be alone were slim to none.
They could see Harry already at the bottom of the stairs, his gaze shifting between Tonks and Moody who were stationed by the door.
"Remus, make sure they stay here. Under no circumstances are they to leave this house," Ron could hear Tonks saying.
Harry started to protest but Moody cut in sharply. "Potter, if you take so much as a step out of this house you're going to wish the Dark Lord found you because it's going to be nothing compared to the shit you'll be in with me."
"What the hell's going on?" Ron said, knowing that he was missing something important.
When the adults hesitated, Harry turned to his friends. "A few hours ago there was an attack at Hogsmeade."
Ron turned to Moody. "How bad?"
"We don't have all the details yet. All we know for sure is that a group of Death Eaters attacked Hogsmeade while Hogwarts students were visiting there. The casualty reports are just starting to come in."
"I don't think it's necessary for you to tell them about casualties, Alastor," spoke up Lupin, "when you don't even know yourself what happened."
"They need to know the severity of the situation," Moody said, undaunted. "Which is why the three of them must stay here. Let the Aurors do their jobs."
"What about Ginny?" Ron asked, his face pale.
"There's no news yet on anyone who was in Hogsmeade at the time of the attack. We'll find your sister, Weasley, but you need to stay put. As soon as we have word we'll let you know." Then he nodded to Lupin, and he and Tonks stepped out the front door and disappeared.
"They'll find Ginny, Ron," Hermione said in a soothing voice. "She'll be all right." She took his hand and held it in both of hers.
Despite Hermione's reassurances, with the way things had been going lately, they could not be sure of anything anymore. He looked over at Harry, who gave the appearance of being severely frustrated at having being told to sit still and do nothing. For the first time in his life he understood what it was like to be Harry Potter. To be told to stay put and let others handle the problem – feeling completely helpless because there was not a thing he could do. He hated feeling like Harry.
Four hours later Ron was alone in his room pacing. He had given up sitting downstairs with everyone else an hour earlier. Now that he was upstairs, the sound of rain pelting down against the house was much easier to hear.
He had known that pacing would only build anxiety in the already tense house, so had retreated up to his room to be free to do whatever he wanted to ease the worry he was feeling for his sister's safety.
There was still no word from Moody or anyone else about survivors. A deep chill went through him at the thought of survivors. Moody had said there would be casualties and that meant there would be deaths. He didn't know what he would do if one of those deaths was Ginny. Rather darkly he thought Harry had no parents, Hermione had lost her mum and he might not have a sister anymore.
Pacing no longer had the effect of keeping him from jumping out of his skin. He considered throwing things at his wall when he heard the front screen door creaking open.
He ran out of his room and down the stairs, arriving even before Lupin, Harry and Hermione, who had been much closer to the door. Moody stood in the doorframe, soaking wet.
"Did you find Ginny?" He asked frantically.
Moody pushed the soaking hood of his robe off his face. "Other than some scrapes and bruises she's fine. That tough Weasley exterior protected her from the worst of it."
"Where is she now, Alastor?" Said Lupin.
"Probably getting checked out from St. Mungo's as we speak. Molly is with her."
Ron's face paled. "I thought you said she was fine. What's she doing – "
"She is fine," Moody cut him off. "They just moved anyone who was in Hogsmeade at the time of the attack to St. Mungo's because we couldn't take the chance that Hogwarts wasn't a target as well."
"What about the students still at the school?" Hermione asked.
"They're being sent home. As powerful as the magic is surrounding Hogwarts it's too much of a target and Dumbledore isn't taking any chances. For the time being Hogwarts is closed. But it won't be made official for a few days, so you'd best keep that news to yourselves for now."
For Ron, that news hit almost as hard as learning Ginny had been involved in a Death Eater attack. When he looked over at Hermione, she seemed to be in the same state of shock and disbelief as him. Harry was the only one who spoke.
"How bad were there injuries?"
"Some minor, others more severe," Moody told him. "The Three Broomsticks was hit the hardest."
"Was anyone killed?" Harry didn't look at the others, not wanting to see the looks on their faces as he asked the question. He kept his gaze focused solely on the Auror.
"They're not releasing any of the names until all the appropriate guardians have been contacted," Moody answered.
Harry felt sick. He still couldn't look at anyone. How many other people's lives would be shattered because of Voldemort?
"Tonks is bringing Ginny here," Moody continued. "Molly and Arthur have already been told she's safer here."
Moody spent the next few minutes conversing with Lupin discussing the whereabouts of certain members of the Order, before taking off again into the rain.
It wasn't until close to midnight when Tonks finally arrived with Ginny. The rain had finally stopped by then. Ginny had a gash above her right eye and a large bruise on her cheekbone but those were the extent of her visible injuries. Ron embraced her first, while Harry hung back.
"Dennis Creevy's dead," she told them, her voice small. "I didn't even get to see Colin before his parents took him away."
Harry, who had been staring at her since she arrived, chose that moment to turn away. He could feel the sadness and pain radiating from her like a beam of light he couldn't escape.
"Ginny, I've got some dry clothes you could put on," Hermione said to her, using the same soothing voice she had spoken to Ron in earlier.
Ginny nodded and Hermione helped her upstairs.
Harry watched them go until he felt Lupin tug at his arm. Harry let himself be pulled into the kitchen, while Tonks and Ron conversed in the hallway.
"This may not be the best time for this, but there may never be a right time." Lupin reached inside his robes and removed a rolled up piece of parchment. He handed it to Harry saying, "after we spoke – and before any of this happened – I got in touch with Alastor and told him you wanted to start Auror training. If this is still want you want, fill out this application and then give it back to Moody to hand in to the Ministry. They'll process it and then make you go through a series of standardized tests designed for someone who has achieved NEWT level standings in the prerequisite courses. If you're sure you want to do this, I'll do what I can to help you prepare for it."
Harry scanned the application form in his hands and then looked back up at Lupin. The older man seemed torn between wanting to protect Harry and allowing him to live his own life, which meant entering one of the most dangerous wizarding professions one could have.
"Whatever you decide, Harry, I'll support decision," Lupin said to him. "But choosing the path of an Auror is not one to be made lightly. If you're not sure in your heart this is what you want to do, you shouldn't do it."
The list of things Harry was sure about seemed to grow smaller every day – becoming an Auror was on that list. He couldn't explain to Lupin that his reasoning behind it was because he knew it would be the only way he would become a full participant in the war effort. He would want Harry to make the choice for himself, not based on other people. For Harry, there would be no more sitting still, waiting around for Voldemort to continuing destroying the lives of those he cared about. That was why he had to – no, needed to make it through the training and become an Auror.
