Chapter Twenty-Four

Ron was in the middle of fixing his ruddy tie that wouldn't stay done up when he heard a knock at the front door and then the sound of it being opened. He left his room, letting the tie dangle around his neck to see who it was even though he already had a pretty good idea of who it could be.

His body wasn't nearly as stiff and sore as he thought it would be, which was almost disappointing in a way. If he had been worse off he could have used that as an excuse not to go. He probably wouldn't have had to guilt trip his mum into letting him stay home either, since she would have undoubtedly heard from Tonks or Moody by now exactly what they had come up against last night.

He walked into the living room just as Hermione stepping out of the fireplace, wearing royal blue dress robes, with her hair all done up and a few loose strands hanging around her face. He knew he was staring but he didn't care.

"You look… hot," he breathed before he could stop himself.

"You don't look too bad yourself," she said, not wanting to show how much his words had affected her, but she was blushing all the same.

"Do you need a hand with this?" She indicated to his tie.

"You remember what happened the last time you did this?" He said, smirking slightly.

What a smug prat, she thought to herself. "I don't think we have to worry about that this time," she said grabbing the ends of his tie. "I think our teenage hormones are passed that."

"I'm not too sure about that," he said, still smirking.

She concentrated on her task, not wanting to indulge his delusions of grandeur.

"Did Ginny already go to Grimmauld Place?"

She nodded. "She left just before I came here."

"She still having a rough time of it?" He asked and she nodded. "She'll get over it," Ron said, trying to sound encouraging.

She arched an eyebrow at him. "The same way Harry's getting over it?"

Hermione had been forced to tell Ron what was going on with his sister and Harry once he had started asking questions about why they were both acting like someone had just died. Ron had been somewhat upset at first, his big brother instincts kicking in, but Hermione had assured him that Harry was keeping his distance and that Ginny seemed to be doing better.

Ron stayed quiet and she finished fixing his tie in silence. She took a step back from him, saying, "is he coming tonight?"

"No."

"Have you tried asking him?"

"Hermione, you can't force Harry to get over this. He's not dealing with it so well, which makes me think we need to give him some space."

While Ron was probably right – something Hermione would never admit – it didn't stop her from marching into the living room.

Harry, unshaven and looking as sleep deprived as ever, was sitting on the couch in a pair of faded jeans and tee shirt playing video games. He gave no notice of Hermione's presence at all.

She tried calling his name, but when he wouldn't answer she took the matter into her own hands. She stood in front of the telly and switched it off, ignoring the cringing look from Ron that she was about to have a war on her hands.

"What do you want?" He snapped, his tone cold.

"Ron and I thought maybe you'd want to come to the ball with us tonight."

Ron blanched. Why was she doing dragging him into this?

"I already told Ron I'm not going," Harry responded, getting annoyed.

"Harry, it's just one night," she pressed. "Even Dumbledore said there would be no harm in you being there with Ginny."

"That's not why I'm not going," he said sulkily.

"We're going to be going now," said Ron, stepping in to rescue Hermione, who was about two seconds away from having a very irate Harry on her hands. "We'll see you later, mate," he finished and all but dragged Hermione from the room. "Next time, listen to me, will ya?" Ron said in a hushed voice once they were out of earshot.

"Maybe I should have said it differently." She chewed her bottom lip, wishing she hadn't just plunged right into the subject of Ginny and got Harry on the defensive right away.

"Believe me, you've said enough," Ron said to her, though there was no reproach in his tone. "You can nag Harry later." He saw the indignant look on her face, but he didn't let her get a word in. "Right now we need to get going otherwise we're going to be late. And you know how much you hate to be late for anything, right?"

Damn Ron for knowing her so well. She also noticed how he was purposely standing in front of her to make sure she didn't go back into the living room. He was looking at her as if her daring her to go past him and if they didn't have somewhere to be she would have challenged him and he knew it. Going against her natural instinct to push Ron's button's she retreated back to the fireplace to floo back to Lupin's.

Ron had forgotten how much the Daily Prophet enjoyed taking photos at any kind of function the Minister of Magic was involved in. The only consolation was it was nowhere near as bad as during the Minister's Ball when his father had been officially inaugurated. He had to stand on the other side of the room to avoid cameras flashing in his eyes every two seconds.

He had put on a good show for the first twenty minutes or so, not complaining about his mother fussing over his robes or hair. He plastered a smile on his face for a few photos, making his mum happy. Then his dad got caught up with all these department heads from the Ministry and the Weasley children took that opportunity to escape.

Ron was still waiting for Hermione to show up with Tonks and Lupin. He had gone to meet his parents at Grimmauld Place with his brothers and Ginny, since his mother had insisted it would look much better if they showed up together as a family. At least that had helped to get some of the family photos over and done with soon after they had arrived.

Now that he had successfully snuck away unnoticed, he could announce the call of his growling stomach. Unfortunately, the food looked to consist of mainly high-class dishes that he didn't even know what half the stuff was. He spotted Ginny at a nearby buffet table and weaved his way through the crowds of people to get to her.

If anyone looked like they'd rather be alone in their room sulking than surrounded by a bunch of stuffy office heads it was his sister. Oh, she had put on a show for their parents, smiling and laughing. But now that the camera was off her she was free to go back to her moping state.

"I don't think you want to try any of this stuff, Gin," he said, looking at the unappetizing food.

She pretended not to hear him.

"Come off it, you're too old to give me the silent treatment."

"That's funny, since you and Hermione seem to have it down to an art," she said sharply.

What was she mad at him for anyways? It wasn't like he was the one who said she couldn't see Harry. He would never understand women, not even his own sister.

Ginny saw his eyes keep darting towards the open doorway. "Hermione's going to be here. Staring at the doorway isn't going to get her here any faster."

He was getting tired of dealing with two equally moody people all the time. Harry he could handle for the most part because it was nothing new but Ginny was something else entirely. He often wondered if she was channeling Harry somehow even though they were apart.

"Are you really mad at me or are you just mad you can't have Harry?" The words were out of his mouth before he realized he'd said them and now Ginny was sending him a look eerily reminiscent to their mother's when she was getting ready to tell one of them off.

"Ah, nothing like sibling bickering to liven up a dull party," said Malfoy strolling over.

Ron had forgotten he was there. He really wished they could have just left the Slytherin at Lupin's, but he understood that leaving Malfoy there alone was probably not the best idea. All the information he had given them up to that point had been correct, but Ron was glad to see the Order still didn't trust him.

"Moody told me what I can do if you get out of line," Ron said menacingly.

"You'd love that, wouldn't you? Chance to show off in front of all these reporters," Malfoy baited him.

That more than did it for Ginny who refused to stand there a second longer and listen to their aggravating banter. She left to find one area in the room where she wouldn't be bothered.

Tonks had quite enough with her two companions that were with her. They were in the main foyer area and close enough to the ballroom that she could hear the music playing inside.

"I don't know what possessed you two into thinking Harry would feel up to going to the ball," she said, unable to endure the silence any longer.

Remus just looked at her and Hermione stayed quiet.

"Look, he's seventeen and aside from all the normal problems a bloke his age has to go through, he's got a bunch of other nasty issues to deal with, not the least of them being having a dark wizard who wants to kill him. He's not going to get over this thing with Ginny just because you tell him to."

"Maybe you should have been a psychologist, Tonks," Remus muttered.

Before Tonks could say a clever retort back to him, Remus held out both his hands to stop them in their tracks.

"Remus? What is it?" Tonks was already pulling out her wand without waiting for his response.

Remus removed his own wand without answering, scanning the empty foyer ahead of them. This close to a full moon his senses were heightened more than usual. They told him he was in a danger a split second before it happened.

"Get down!" He shouted, dragging Hermione and Tonks behind an empty pillar as several bursts of wand fire came their way.

"There's six of them that I can see," Tonks said, looking out from their hiding spot a second before more wand fire hit the pillar, breaking off more chunks of concrete. "Where the hell are those Aurors Moody posted at the doors?" She yelled angrily.

The location of the ball was supposed to be a secret, so much in fact that the guests had only received the location of it that very morning. The Ministry had wanted to everything possible to avoid a situation like the one they were presently caught in.

Lupin edged near the end of the pillar, devising a strategy. "Stay here!" He hissed to Hermione and Tonks and ran out into the open.

"That's supposed to be my line! Who's the Auror here anyways?" Tonks retorted and jumped out after him. "Hermione, stay there!" She called back to her.

Brilliant, Hermione thought, I'm the only one here without a wand. Not that she was supposed to be using magic anyways.

She watched as Remus took down two Death Eaters in quick succession and Tonks got a third one that had been trying to ambush her. Remus took out two more, putting the odds greatly in their favour, when three more Death Eaters apparated. Remus had his back to them, leaving himself completely defenseless as the first curse hit him in the back.

"Looks like someone isn't feeling too sociable tonight," Malfoy observed, taking notice of Ginny's sudden departure.

"Can't you go be a git somewhere else?" Ron said, his patience wavering.

"If this place actually had some decent looking birds in it I wouldn't have to waste my time with you."

If Malfoy thought he was going to spend the whole night trying to goad him into losing his temper, he was going to be sorely disappointed. There was no way he was going to let him ruin this evening. He was finally at a ball with a person he should have taken when he was fourteen. Nothing was going to stop him from enjoying this night with Hermione and no one was going to screw it up for him.

Both he and Malfoy spun around at the sound of someone screaming. It only took a second to figure out what all the commotion was about. Death Eaters were charging into the room, firing their wands at anything that moved.

The Aurors in the room and other members from the Ministry pulled out their wands to fight back. By that time, already half a dozen people had fallen.

Ron dived behind a toppled dessert table as a flaming ball of fire was shot his way. When he looked beside him, Malfoy was there as well. Malfoy's wand had fallen from his grasp and landed under the heel of Ron's shoe. Ron picked it up and surveyed the scene in front of him.

"Give me my bloody wand back!" Malfoy screamed at him through the panic.

Ron looked through the ballroom, watching those that had been lucky enough to find cover and those that were still vulnerable. He couldn't see his parents anywhere. He spotted Bill and Charlie side by side taking out hooded figures by a downed table where several couples were hiding.

"Are you deaf? Give me my fucking wand!"

"You better make yourself useful," Ron warned, shoving the wand roughly back into his hands.

"I've been training in the dark arts my whole life. I think I'll be more useful than a wannabe Auror."

Malfoy didn't hang around for Ron's response. He jumped out from their cover and began shouting out a string a string of curses and hexes Ron didn't recognize. But Ron didn't have time to dwell on Malfoy's upbringing in the Dark Arts. At the moment, Malfoy was on their side and though he would die first before admitting it, having someone that skilled would be a benefit.

Ron rolled out from the cover of the table, providing the blood thirsty Death Eaters with yet another target. They weren't the only ones out for blood. They had ruined the first ball he had been excited to go to. He was going to make them pay.

Hermione and Tonks cried out when Remus took the close range curse to the back and went sprawling into the wall. He crumpled to the ground, not moving. He wasn't dead, the curse that had hit him had not been meant to kill. But if any of those other Death Eaters nearby had anything to say about it, they would kill him right there.

"Remus, wake up!" Tonks yelled uselessly.

She had her hands full with her own trio of Death Eaters. There would be no way she could come to Remus's rescue, and Hermione was not about to let an innocent man die.

Moving out from the safety of the pillar, she yanked a wand out from the unconscious hands of a fallen Death Eater. She ran towards Remus, shouting, "Expelliarmus!" She disarmed a single Death Eater and quickly moved on to the next on. "Incarcerous!" She yelled.

The Death Eater Hermione had previously disarmed had grabbed another wand from one of his fallen comrades and now had it trained on her.

Ron didn't even have time to watch as another Death Eater dropped to the ground from his wand fire. He hexed the two Death Eaters who had their backs to him as they had been preoccupied with other Aurors.

While Moody was hollering out instructions to the Aurors, Ron spotted Fred and George along with his parents, holding their own in a corner of the room. He needed to take care of the Death Eaters in the immediate area surrounding him, something Malfoy was actively doing.

The Slytherin was heavily outnumbered and yet he continued to knock down Death Eater after Death Eater. Ron, who wasn't at all interested in helping Malfoy but wanting to destroy the immediate threat of Death Eaters, jumped into the fray.

The Death Eaters numbers began to dwindle quickly and no longer where any storming through blown apart ballroom entrance. In all, Ron estimated there were ten or more remaining.

"I don't need your help, Weasley!" Malfoy shouted over the fighting.

"Like I care if you live or die. I'm just doing my job!" Ron yelled back, a split second before he cast a shield charm around himself.

Malfoy just kept on dodging curses as if he had an impenetrable shield around himself. Ron couldn't stop himself from thinking that Malfoy would demand some kind of outrageous compensation for helping them.

Ron forced himself to watch as Malfoy threw an arachnid curse on the Death Eaters, and two three foot long spiders attached themselves to their faces, while the Death Eaters screamed in agony.

Ron turned away feeling thoroughly sick and watched Moody round up the last of the attackers.

Ron thought then they would be able to take the Death Eaters that were alive into custody and beginning helping the injured, but Moody was ordering them out into the foyer.

"There may still be Death Eaters out there. I want ten Aurors with me and the rest stay behind to process Death Eaters and aid the wounded," Moody ordered, his glass eye swiveling in every direction.

Ron volunteered to go with Moody, since his healing skills weren't that great to begin with. With Moody in the lead, they ventured out into the foyer.

Hermione went to shield Remus's body from the two oncoming Death Eaters, when Tonks apparated in front of her and took them out.

"Get Remus out of here!" Tonks yelled back to her.

As best as she could, Hermione dragged Remus a short distance away from the fighting. She knew she wouldn't be able to drag him any farther without breaking his arm.

She kept her eyes focused on Tonks. The Auror looked to have everything under control, but the fight became much more one sided when a group of Aurors led by Moody came out to aid Tonks. They blasted away the remaining Death Eaters effortlessly.

Two of the Aurors came over to where she was by Remus.

"We'll look after him now," one of them said, and hooked Remus's arms over their shoulders so they could apparate him out of them.

"Hermione!"

She saw Ron running towards her, concern etched across his features. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she said, trying to hide her shaking hands. "Remus is the one that got hit. The Aurors apparated him to St. Mungo's."

As if on cue, Healers from St. Mungo's began apparating into the hall. With all the injuries sustained they were at the start of what would be a long night for all.