Ron landed on the ground and hit his elbow on one of the rails of the train track. He rolled a couple of times until he was stopped by some bushes near the tracks.
He coughed because of the dust that has stirred up as a result of his fall, but he quickly picked himself up and dashed over to find the crutches he had thrown over board. They were lying haphazardly across the train tracks and all Ron needed now was a body. Ron looked around in the dark field where he stood and tried to makeout any signs of Hermione's car. He didn't hear or see anything when suddenly he saw the unmistakeable headlights flashing three times just a little way back from where he had jumped off. Ron hobbled as best he could to the car where Hermione was already trying to tug Malfoy's body out of the back seat.
"Careful there Hermione, we don't want him looking too ruffled," Ron said as he walked up dusting off his jacket.
Hermione glanced at him and then turned back to pulling Malfoy out when she did a doubletake and dropped Malfoy's body onto the ground with a thud, "Why Ronald! You aren't looking like him any more at all! That potion was supposed to be working at least for another twenty minutes!" Hermione was dumbfounded that her potion had been unsuccessful.
"Well its not really a convenient time for us to be worrying about potions now is it?" Ron was picking up Malfoy's legs and was motioning for Hermione to pick up his arms again.
"You didn't let anyone see you did you?" Hermione hissed at him as she grabbed Malfoy's limp arm and lifted him up with all her strength.
"Oh just some pain in the arse from Ireland is all, he'd never know the difference between a Malfoy and a Weasley..." they were now struggling to carry the heavy body to the tracks closer to where the crutches had fallen.
"That's perfect...Just what we need! A witness! How did you manage to fool him? How did you slip away if you were talking to strangers on the train!" her voice was rising now, but her anger helped her to lift the body higher off the ground and walk faster to their destination.
Ron groaned as he gripped Malfoy's legs tighter and wished he could just use his wand to move him into place. "Would you not get cross with me right now, Hermione. It's not my fault that the potion didn't work is it?"
Hermione became livid and almost thrust Malfoy's body to the ground as she shouted back to Ron. "Are you trying to tell me that I screwed up the potion! How do I know you even put enough of his hair in there for it to work properly! How can you even doubt my abilities after all I've done for you..."
Ron's mouth gaped open at this remark. He clenched his teeth together and spoke to her with a firm voice, "All you've done for ME? What exactly have you done for me, love? Turn me into an insurance fraud...cost me my job this will. Make me a liar to my best friends and family...and for what? So I could become a murderer? You have a lot of nerve telling me you done something good for..."
He stopped mid-sentence as he heard a train whistle blow and the screeching of wheels off in the distance. Hermione froze in her anger and the both of them stopped arguing with each other and hurried to toss Malfoy onto the tracks at his apparent death scene. They didn't say anything to one another as they ran back to the car.
Hermione turned the key to start up the engine. Click. Nothing. She tried it again, and once more not a sound came from the engine. She looked over at Ron with a horrified face, it was the first time she had showed any fear all evening.
"What are we going to do?" Ron was suddenly feeling numb from the night's events.
Hermione didn't say anything, but she continued turning the key and pumping the gas pedal trying to get any kind of response from the car. Her fear turned to frustration as she pounded on the steering wheel in hopes that a good beating would make it start. Ron leaned over and tried turning the key himself. He could feel Hermione's soft breathing on the back of his head as he tried the key. Nothing. She pushed him back aside and reached into her handbag to pull out her wand.
"Hermione! No, we can't use any magic tonight--they could trace it back here."
"I don't care Ronald, we need to get ourselves out of here before anyone sees us. They find the body and then us sitting right here next to it then we'll never get the money." She pointed her wand and was ready to tap it on the wheel. Ron held his breath.
He couldn't let her do it though. Just as her wand was about to make contact with the wheel he stopped her by taking hold of her wrist. "We can't do this Hermione...lets give it just one more shot."
He again reached across Hermione and turned the key. There was a sputter. They looked at each other with hopeful excitement. Hermione pressed the gas a couple of times and then let Ron turn the key once more. The car started. Both Hermione and Ron let out deep sighs of relief, and then, for the first time all night, Hermione looked Ron straight in the eye and said, "I love you," and gave him a deep passionate kiss.
Ron was taken a back by this gesture and just sat back silently in his seat as Hermione reversed the car and drove them back onto the main streets. Neither one of them spoke as they drove along the dark, deserted roads back to the Malfoy mansion. Normally, Ron would have felt elated over a kiss from Hermione, but tonight Ron felt cold and empty and darkness seemed to press on him from all directions.
As they pulled into the driveway, Ron looked around to make sure no one was around to see him get out of the car. Hermione whispered to him that it would be best that they keep some distance for a little while to see how things go with Malfoy's death. Ron agreed that they would need to wait until the settlement was paid before they could be together again.
The Malfoy estate was dark and Ron knew it would remain that way tonight as he slipped quietly from the car and went walking back down the street to make his way back to his flat. Hermione didn't say goodbye to him as he walked away, but simply locked up the garage and went to the door as if nothing unusual had occurred at all that evening.
The street lights on this dark summer night in London gave off very little illumination and Ron felt a cold chill run up his spine as he hid in the shadows on his way home. He'd just murdered a man and there was no taking it back, but Ron knew this train ride of his was far from over. He only hoped that his alibi checked out and that plans had indeed gone off with out any trouble. He couldn't shake that eerie feeling inside, however, that things were not okay at all.
At his flat, Ron climbed back up the fire escape stairwell and into his unit through the window. He checked the floo: no calls, he check the doorbell: no visitors. Everything was in perfect order as he had left it earlier. Relieved only somewhat, Ron changed out of the navy blue suit and into more comfortable attire. He wanted to go to sleep, but now he wasn't tired. The alibi could only be strengthened now if he were seen where he was supposed to be, so Ron decided it was time to go back down to the garage and take a little drive.
"Why hello again Ron! Thought you was going to bed for the night!" the garage attendant exclaimed as he polished up the Ministry car Ron had asked him to wash.
"Couldn't really sleep tonight, Ernie," Ron messed with his thick red hair as he said this and didn't make eye contact with the garage attendant, "I think I'll be going out to coffee now, what time is it though?"
Ernie glanced at his watch, "Why...its nearly midnight! Are you sure you want to be out getting coffee this time of night?"
Ron didn't say anything back, but simply got in the car and smiled weakly before taking off out of the garage and back into the darkness. His alibi had him at home most of the evening after dinner with his friends and then him leaving at nearly midnight for some coffee. Draco's train was nearly 2 hours ago and no one he knew had seen him at all.
As Ron drove down the quiet steets, he knew that the night would be a long one and he wasn't looking forward to what the papers would say about Malfoy's death in the morning. He feared that perhaps someone had spotted his red hair beneath the cap, or his tall thin body limping around the train car looking nothing like Malfoy. But more than anything, Ron feared Parvati's wrath we she was to hear about this and the fact that Malfoy had a policy on his life...