Disclaimer: I own nothing, save those characters and concepts not appearing in the books. All else is the property of JK Rowling. The theory"Weasly is Our King"belongs to the lovely people at Knight2King, and they are the ones who inspired this fic.
The Unsung Hero
Chapter One
"Harry, behind you!" Ron yelled.
Harry whirled, confronting the Death Eater sneaking up from behind him. Ron watched, worriedly, for a second, as his best friend parried with the Death Eater, before hearing someone yell at him.
"Look out, Ron!"
Ron turned to see a menacing figure looming over him, but even as he stumbled backward in surprise, the Death Eater fell over, stiff as a board, his arms glued to his sides and his legs locked together.
"Thank Merlin for the Full-Body Bind," Ginny told him, jogging over.
"Thank Merlin you were fast enough to cast it before I got killed," Ron said, relief evident in his voice. "Nonverbally, no less."
"Well, what are sisters for?" Ginny retorted, wearily.
"We're losing," she continued, softly, after a moment.
"I know," Ron said, looking out at the Quidditch pitch, which had become an impromptu battlefield during the latest attack by Voldemort's followers.
"It's going to take a miracle to get us out of this one," he said, quietly.
"We don't have a miracle," Ginny said. "All we have is us."
The siblings exchanged determined looks before striding back onto the battlefield, wands and heads held high.
Fifteen minutes later, Ron found himself fighting, yet again, for his life.
"Sectumsempra!" the Death Eater yelled, slashing violently with his wand.
Ron cried out in pain as gashes opened up on the side of his face. Blinded by the pain, he staggered, clutching his wand so as not to drop it.
"Ricter-rictersempra!" he gasped, pointing wildly and praying that he hit someone, anyone that was working for Voldemort.
Wiping the blood out of his eyes, he looked up to see the Death Eater who'd hexed him dancing in place, his legs twitching wildly.
"Die, traitor!" the Death Eater yelled furiously, raising his wand and trying to steady it despite the tremors running through his body.
"Levicorpus!" Ron snapped, whipping his wand upward.
The Death Eater soared into the air, his wand falling from nerveless fingers and hitting the ground soundlessly. Moving quickly, Ron snatched up the fallen wand and snapped it in two over his knee.
"Whoops," he said, grinning maliciously.
The Death Eater opened his mouth, but Ron hexed him into silence before he could say a word. Leaving him hanging helplessly in midair, Ron looked around frantically, trying to locate his friends and family.
Ginny fought back-to-back with Hermione, protecting Neville, who was crumpled on the ground, unconscious and bleeding profusely from a gash on his forehead. Luna huddled on the ground, nearby, trying to staunch the flow of blood with her wand. And Harry…
Ron found Harry battling Voldemort, who had deigned to make an appearance. The two were surrounded by a cage of golden light, which contained the spells the wizards threw at each other. Ron watched, entranced, as the two dueled. Then, out of the corner of his eye, Ron saw a streak of light strike the beams of the cage.
The golden light wavered, then died, leaving the inhabitants no longer surrounded-and no longer protected from outside attack. Seeing his opportunity, Ron ran forward, trying to reach Harry before anyone else did.
Suddenly, Voldemort sent a blast of green energy straight at Harry, and Ron's heart leapt into his throat as he recognized the Killing Curse in action. The light grew in intensity the closer it got to Harry, and Ron was momentarily blinded.
"No!" he yelled, fearing the worst.
Then his vision cleared, and Ron saw Harry kneeling over a figure lying prone on the ground. Voldemort was nowhere in sight.
"Where's You-Know—where's Voldemort?" Ron asked, nearing the pair.
"He fled after he cast the Killing Curse," Harry said, bitterly.
"It was headed straight at you," Ron said, confused. "How are you still alive?"
"Snape sacrificed his life to save mine," Harry told him, gesturing.
Ron looked down and, for the first time, focused on the man lying spread-eagle on the ground in front of Harry.
"Why?" he asked.
"Voldemort called him a traitor," Harry continued, quietly. "He was taunting Snape about thinking he was so smart, killing Dumbledore, when he, Voldemort, had known all along that they'd been working together to defeat him."
"What?" Ron demanded.
"Voldemort said that he'd known all along that Snape was a spy, and that he allowed him to live because it suited his purposes," Harry finished.
"He said that Snape was next, after he killed me. Then, the barrier went down, and Snape jumped in front of me. He took the Curse to save my life. He was working for us all the time, and no one knew. We thought he was a traitor to our side."
Oblivious to the fighting going on around them, Harry reached out and gently closed Snape's eyes.
"I'm sorry," he said, solemnly. "May you find the peace in your next life that was denied to you in this one."
"He deserves a hero's burial," Harry continued, after a moment, clambering to his feet. "Like the one we gave Dumbledore."
"He'll get one," Ron promised, casting a final, backward glance at the fallen body of the former Potions professor. "But, right now, we need to finish fighting."
"Let's go," Harry said, striding away.
Ron started after him, but was stopped short by a tall figure that blocked his path.
"Forget about me?" the Death Eater sneered.
"Well, that underwear around your ankles does look familiar," Ron quipped, feigning nonchalance.
The Death Eater looked down, involuntarily. While he was distracted, Ron whipped his wand into a guard position, backing up slowly to distance himself from the Death Eater. The Death Eater looked up, having caught onto the lie,a snarl growing in the back of his throat.
"You'll pay," he threatened, lunging at him.
He ducked out of the path of the spell Ron sent his way, wrapping his hands around the young man's throat. Ron choked, scrabbling at the Death Eater's hands, frantically, and succeeded in drawing blood.
The Death Eater released him, only to lash out viciously, his fist connecting with Ron's face. Ron felt his nose give way, even as he heard a bone snap. He stumbled backward, blood pouring from his nose, as he fumbled to find his wand on the ground.
"Not so fast," the Death Eater jeered, brandishing Ron's wand in his face. "Ah, the irony, to die by your own wand."
He gestured lazily, sending Ron flying head over heels to land in a heap. Ron tried to stand, but the Death Eater simply hit him with Cruciatus, causing him to writhe helplessly in pain. Then, he advanced on the fallen wizard, toying carelessly with the wand.
"This is going to be fun," he said.
Reaching up with one hand, he pulled off his mask. Ron gasped as he stared into the cold, merciless gaze of Draco Malfoy.
"Just thought you'd like to see the face of your killer, Weasel," Malfoy sneered.
Raising Ron's wand high over his head, he paused, dramatically. Then, he lowered it quickly as his lips moved to form a nonverbal spell. Ron stared in horror at the familiar green jet of light that arced toward him. Suddenly, Ron heard a voice cry out.
"No!" Percy yelled, throwing himself in front of his fallen baby brother, his only thought of protecting him.
The spell hit him, and his face contorted with agony as he fell. He landed on top of Ron who stared, horrified, at his brother. At the wide, glassy eyes, and terrified expression.
"No," he whispered, brokenly, reaching out to brush Percy's cheek. "Please don't be dead."
"Please don't be dead," Malfoy mocked, in a high-pitched voice. "Does the widdle Weasel miss his brother?"
"You killed him," Ron said, softly, staring up at Malfoy. "You murdered my brother."
"You're next," Malfoy told him, brandishing his wand. "Avada Kedavra!"
For the third time that day, Ron watched as the Killing Curse arced through the air. As the bright green jet neared him, Ron held his brother's body closer and waited for Death. Then, something snapped.
Power had been building up inside of him since the start of the battle, and now it burst out wildly, fueled by the murderous rage beating at his chest. The wild magic he generated struck Malfoy's carefully constructed spell, and time seemed to stop for a moment as the world held its breath. For a second, Ron thought he saw Albus Dumbledore's face smiling down at him.
Then, light filled Ron's vision as the world exploded.
XXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXHealer Elias Gantry, medi-wizard of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, glared at the student standing before him with barely concealed anger.
"What do you want?" he snapped, brusquely. "Can't you see I'm working?"
"Y-yes, sir," the student stammered, nervously. "But, I thought you should know that the stranger is awake."
"Thank you," Gantry said, standing. Striding briskly past the student, he snapped, "You can go, now."
He was faintly aware of the student fleeing in his wake as he swept into the hospital wing and approached the bed that held the young stranger.
"How are you feeling?" Gantry asked, standing over his barely conscious patient.
"Ungh," the young man moaned. "Hurts."
"I can give you something for the pain in a moment," Gantry said. "I just need you to tell me your name, first."
The young man moaned again, and his eyes unfocused, as he stared as something on the ceiling only he could see.
"Headmaster," he said, blinking slowly, his eyes finally focusing on the man standing above him.
"What's your name?" the medi-wizard repeated, insistently. "Do you remember?"
"Albus," the young man whispered. "Albus…"
