Chapter Fourteen - Grant Unto Him Eternal Rest
Harry and Hermione were back at the graveyard, this time in the cold light of day, and feeling more than a little uneasy.
They knew that had to get back there before anybody noticed the unearthed body of Regulus Black and alerted the authorities to investigate. They had to find out why Ron had been taken there. Hermione refused to believe that their horcrux guide had intended to kill Ron. Harry just hoped that was the truth. They had left Fred sitting with him in his room, George had gone to open up the shop, and Mr Weasley had gone to work in an effort not to draw any undue attention to the Weasley family. After discovering that it had been Ron who had broken into the Gringotts vault Ron's parents had become concerned about doing anything out of the ordinary and resolved to keep up the appearance of normality.
Harry shivered as he saw the freshly disturbed earth, a feeling of dread chilling him to his core as they neared the spot where Sirius' brother's corpse was waiting for them, and thought about telling Hermione to let him do this alone. There was no need for them both to have to see it.
"I have to see it," she had said in a small but determined voice, "I have to see what he went through last night."
Harry had been correct about so many things recently. He had been correct in thinking that Ron would react badly to Hermione's presence, practically on top of him, when he woke from another dreadful nightmare. He had been correct in thinking that Ron would need that bucket in his room at some point. He had been correct in thinking that Ron and Hermione's friendship had moved into another area of closeness. There was something about the fact that she had kissed Ron's sleeping form goodbye before they left, in front of him and Fred without embarrassment, that let everybody know that they had a deeper connection now and with that a deeper pain to see the other in distress.
Harry didn't notice he had done it but he took her hand in his and led the way to the open graveside.
"Oh God," Harry choked as he held his hand up to his face at the horrific smell that made his eyes water.
Hermione was holding the sleeve of her coat over her nose as she bravely leaned over to look down into the deep hole in the ground. She made a squeaking sound and Harry gripped her hand even tighter.
"Oh Ron..." she whimpered.
Harry took a breath in and held it before leaning over and looking down himself. He almost fell into the same state as they had found Ron. He shook and dry retched at the sight at the bottom of the grave. A wooden coffin, looking as if it had been half blown apart by magic and half ripped apart by hand, was splintered open and the revolting remains of a human body was clearly visible. A skull without a jaw and matted hair, Harry had been surprised to see that there was still hair, was crawling with flies. The stench had obviously attracted a whole new generation of insects and parasites to the body. While Harry was still reeling from the sight of the disturbed dead, Hermione drew her wand and pointed it down into the grave.
"Wingardium leviosa!"
Harry cringed as he saw movement down amongst the remains and wondered what on earth Hermione was trying to levitate, he really hoped it wasn't the body. He forced himself to lean forward and get a closer look as a battered and partially rotted wand floated up to them and rested on the grass beside the disturbed earth.
Hermione shuddered.
"His wand Harry, he was buried with his wand," she swallowed down a wave of emotion before continuing, "if that wand hadn't been there...if it had degraded any more than it already was Ron wouldn't have been able to use it. It wouldn't have worked."
Harry realised what was stabbing Hermione like a rapier in the chest.
"Ron would never have been able to get out at all."
Harry felt a sudden wave of anger that he fought to keep out of his voice as he turned to Hermione.
"Still think they weren't trying to kill him?"
Hermione didn't look at him, didn't answer, she just let go of his hand and walked around to the other side of the grave to look down at the contents from another angle. Harry didn't know how she had the stomach to do it but she crouched down even closer to get a good look at the appalling sight. She was searching for something that she didn't seem able to find and stayed down as long as she could manage before staggering back and choking away the stench of death and shaking her head. Harry wondered what Sirius would think of all this. He had a brief moment where he wondered if Sirius would have done this himself.
Could Sirius have known about Ron being an oracle?
Harry shook his head; Hermione didn't seem to notice that he was responding to his own internal question. Sirius couldn't have known and even if he did he would never have done this to Ron; never.
Hermione took an audibly deep breath and marched back to the graveside, aiming her wand back into the hole in the ground and performing a summoning charm, loud and clear.
"Accio locket!"
With a revolting squelching sound a twisted metal chain freed itself from the years of decaying flesh within, what would have been the stomach of the body, and flew into Hermione's hand. She caught the locket and threw it down onto the grass beside the wand with revulsion before losing her self-control and being sick herself.
Harry ran around the grave to comfort her but she pointed to the locket on its knotted and twisted chain and he stopped in his tracks. She had done enough, it was his turn to deal with the horcrux from now on, and she wiped her mouth and stumbled over to the wall of the graveyard where she leaned to get some clear air.
"Scourgify!" Harry pointed his wand at the locket and winced as the sickly black slime was cleaned away from it, then the solid calcified scum was gradually prized off, leaving the battered silver locket that Harry recognised so well from the memory he had first seen it in.
He picked it up and looked at it closely, it seemed to have been destroyed, so Sirius' brother had told the truth in his note after all. He decided to ask Fred to finish it off, just to be sure, in the twin's stone chest and put it in his pocket before stamping on the wand. It broke into three pieces. Harry didn't want the muggles doing any accidental magic with it when they found it at the scene of an apparent grave robbery.
He rushed across the graveyard to join Hermione, where she was recovering against the wall, and smiled with some considerable effort.
"You were right. They didn't want him dead after all. That's good isn't it?"
Hermione's eyes looked up and stared deep into Harry's own, they looked as if they had witnessed years of atrocities and devastation, and it broke Harry's heart to see her that way.
"No Harry it's not, they may not want him dead but they don't seem to care if he does die along the way, they're using him like a spiritual puppet for the greater good of mankind."
Harry hated to agree with her so he tried to think of what Dumbledore would've said to try and rationalise this to him had he still been alive.
"Sacrifices have to be made for the good of others, Ron knows that doesn't he? He sacrificed himself once already and he was just eleven years old then. I'm probably going to have to do something similar when it comes to the final..."
"Don't!" she yelled fiercely, "Don't defend whoever this is Harry, I hate them, I hate them and their greater good."
She broke into gut-wrenching sobs and Harry pulled her into a hug. She was still yelling into his chest through the tears as he did.
"It's so cruel what they're doing to him Harry, they're treating him like a pawn and he's not...he's...he's..."
"He's yours."
Hermione pulled away from him and the tears stopped almost as suddenly as they had started as she looked at him and swallowed.
"He's mine."
They had just stepped back into the kitchen at the Burrow and Harry saw something that lifted his spirits, though only by a small fraction it had to be said, Ron was sitting at the table.
"Harry, Hermione, you're back!" Fred said with relief that seemed to be disguised as a simple warm welcome for Ron's benefit.
Harry gave him a tired smile and watched as Hermione took a seat across the table from Ron and tried to get him to meet her eyes, which to Harry's great relief, he did immediately. Fred offered to take Harry's jacket while leaning in to whisper in his ear.
"I can't get him to eat anything, I'll tell mum you're back and while I'm gone could you...?"
Harry nodded and Fred bounded out of the kitchen.
Hermione rested her hands on the kitchen table and struggled not to reach out and take one of Ron's hands. Ron forced a strained smile onto his face and Harry pulled out the chair next to Ron and sat down.
"So, where have you been?" Ron's voice was husky from the long night of vomiting.
"You know where we've been," Harry sighed and picked up Ron's fork and took a mouthful of scrambled egg, "Mmm, this is good."
Ron smiled a more natural smile now and slid his plate across to Harry.
"You can finish it if you want, I've had enough."
Harry looked at Ron, they both knew he was lying and Ron was willing Harry to let it go, and scooped another forkful of eggs up and put in into his mouth.
"Thanks mate, I left without any breakfast," Harry looked up at Hermione, who was still focused on Ron, and pushed the plate towards her, "do you want some Hermione or are you still feeling a little queasy?"
Ron's eyes darted across the table to Hermione who was shaking her head.
"No, I don't think I could manage it Harry, you go ahead."
Ron's hand edged across the table a couple of inches, Hermione noticed this immediately and moved hers slightly closer but didn't force her touch onto Ron, keeping a little distance between them for Ron to make up if he chose.
"Did you have anything for breakfast Hermione?"
She shook her head.
"No but I'm fine Ron, I honestly don't feel like eating anything right now, maybe later."
Harry pulled the plate back towards him and scooped up another forkful.
"Well if you're sure," he said with nonchalance before shovelling more eggs into his mouth.
Ron looked from one of them to the other, waiting for someone to say something, for an uncomfortably long time before looking down at the table.
"So you went back and saw him then?"
Harry stopped chewing and swallowed uncomfortably.
"Yeah, it was...nasty."
Hermione's fingers flexed but she still resisted the urge to touch Ron's hand, less than an inch away from hers as it rested on the table, and she lowered her head to force him to meet her eyes again. He did so with great reluctance.
"We can't imagine what it must of been like in there Ron but if you ever want to talk about it we're both..."
"You sure you don't want to eat Hermione? You look a bit pale and you know mum'll notice and start fussing."
Ron had tried to smile but he just didn't have it in him.
"I really don't think I could keep anything down right now."
"So," Harry decided to get right to the point, "we found the locket. Regulus destroyed it and swallowed it, he was buried with it in his stomach Ron, so that's another one to cross of the list thanks to you."
They heard Mrs Weasley's heavy footsteps on the stairs and Ron let out a sigh. Hermione frowned and opened her mouth to say something but Ron rested the tips of his fingers on top of her hand and she was silenced before she could even begin.
"She told me the truth, what I am, it didn't go well and she's been in her bedroom crying for ages. I've made her cry again," Ron sounded broken by this admission.
Hermione's eyes began to redden and she reached out to clasp her other hand on top of Ron's but he jerked back and gave an involuntary shudder just as Fred re-entered the kitchen.
"Dear me Ron, who just walked over your...grave?"
Harry had seen Fred's face falling as he had said it, the realisation of just how badly he was putting his foot in it etched upon his features but his mouth not allowing him to stop, and his shoulders slumped. Mrs Weasley had been walking in behind him and she smacked him across the back of his head but Fred didn't even cringe, he just stared at Ron and mouthed incomprehensible words of remorse for the slip-up as he shook his head at his own stupidity, and their mother bundled him aside to get to Ron and see that he was alright. Ron sprang out of his chair and backed away as calmly as he could manage.
"It's ok mum, Fred's made bad jokes before, and he'll make them again, no harm done."
Ron smiled at Fred who still shook his head in disbelief, mouth opening and closing like a goldfish out of water, and Ron made his way to the kitchen door.
"I'm just going to brush my teeth ok? I'll be right back."
Mrs Weasley looked distressed and called after the departing redhead.
"But you've brushed your teeth three times already Ronnie."
Ron didn't answer and Mrs Weasley sunk back into her chair in defeat.
"He'll never forgive me for keeping this from him will he?"
Fred took a step toward his mother and began to rub her back.
"It's not that mum, you know this has nothing to do with you, it's last night. He's still messed up over what happened, you can't expect him to handle big news like that on top of everything else that's going on can you?"
Harry frowned at Fred.
"So you know too?"
Fred nodded grimly.
"It was one of many theories and after you left me and George just threw them all at her until she gave in and told us the truth. We'd never posses him though, we both swore, when we die we'll stay dead."
Mrs Weasley sniffed and squeezed Fred around the waist, it was as high as she could reach from her sitting position, and smiled a watery smile up at him.
"He isn't possessed Fred, I keep telling you, he just sees the dead and talks to them that's all."
"He's possessed when he's woken up though isn't he?" Fred blinked back down at her.
"No, it's complicated Fred dear, waking him up while he's...conversing with somebody draws them out and gives them a body, his body, to use until they are rendered unconscious again. But during his sleepwalking he's himself, it's why you shouldn't ever wake him, when he wakes he isn't there. He becomes the spirit and the dead become the oracle."
Mrs Weasley's voice seemed to fade in to a half-sob as she struggled to complete her last sentence.
"Then of course there's the extra strength the dead can draw when the oracle is ill. That night when he floored George and Gideon came out, he almost froze to death the week before as was still quite poorly, was he feeling under the weather at the same time as doing something that takes a lot of power?"
"Yes," Harry gasped," I remember thinking he looked a bit rough after the Gringotts raid but I put that down to the fight afterwards."
"Fight?" Mrs' Weasley's eyes were wide.
Fred couldn't seem to face hearing another of his mother's maternal explosions of worry and looked to Harry for some kind of distraction.
"So did you find any clues as to why he ended up in a coffin with a dead man?"
"Um yeah," Harry hesitated and glanced at Mrs Weasley, who was looking at him with suspicion, "I'm going to need you to take care of something for me in that chest of yours if you don't mind, just to be on the safe side."
Fred gave a silent nod and Hermione jumped in before Mrs Weasley could ask any more questions.
"It appears that he apparated into the coffin,found Black's wand, managed to blast away at some of the coffin and loosen some of the earth above before...well, you know what he had to do."
They all lowered their heads and sat around the table in silence. Harry stared at his, now cold, scrambled eggs. Ron's footsteps sounded on the stairs and they tried to make it a little less obvious that they had been talking about him.
Ron stopped in the kitchen doorway and looked at the grinning faces all staring back at him.
"Subtle...very subtle," he smiled, Harry couldn't quite believe what he was seeing, it almost looked like a genuine smile.
"Teeth clean?" Hermione smiled back at him.
Ron ran his tongue over his teeth and nodded before looking away from them all and at the kitchen cupboards.
"It wasn't really my teeth, I had a bad taste in my mouth."
Harry couldn't even imagine how sickening that must have been for Ron, he could still smell that awful stench from Regulus Black's graveside now, and he was about to say something to take his mind off everything when Ron took a step towards one of the cupboards and opened it.
"You feeling any better Hermione?"
She blinked several times and glanced at Harry before looking back at Ron.
"Yes I think my stomach's settled a bit now."
Ron turned away from the cupboard and looked back at her, avoiding the eyes of everybody else around the table as he did.
"It's just, I was going to make some...soup or something, if you wanted some."
Hermione smiled in a way that made Harry want to give her a big cuddle, she looked so grateful for this tiny little thing, and he understood just how long it was going to take Ron to recover from this. Harry had realised what Hermione was dreading inside, they might have to leave him at the Burrow and go on with their mission without him after all. Ron couldn't be touched, he couldn't sleep, it had taken all his strength to prepare himself to do something as simple as eat, and if he ever got sick he would become a powerful weapon for whoever this dead stowaway was. They weren't going to be able to do that to him, Harry wouldn't allow it; he had to stay at the Burrow and heal.
"I'd love to join you for lunch Ron, no offence to your mother but I've missed your cooking these last few days."
Ron gave a half smile and looked at the others around the table.
"Anyone else?"
Harry looked down at his cold scrambled eggs and then back at Ron with a nod.
"The eggs have gone cold, if you don't mind I'd love some soup."
Ron nodded back at him and seemed to understand that something was going to change between them but wanted to pretend that it wasn't for the time being.
"This isn't you're famous Oxtail soup is it? I still think you could go into business selling that stuff, it's addictive!" Fred grinned.
Ron turned away from them suddenly and pulled out various ingredients from the cupboards.
"No, sorry Fred, I'm doing vegetable soup."
Fred frowned, wondering how he had upset his brother this time.
"That's good too, make extra and I'll take some back for George, he'll be miffed that he missed it otherwise."
Ron seemed to relax again and looked back over his shoulder at Fred.
"Sorry."
"No it's fine little bro, what have you got to be sorry about?"
Ron lowered his eyes and pulled a couple of potatoes out of the cupboard. He busied himself with dicing them while answered the question with his back to them all.
"It's just that...I don't think I can cook meat right now, or touch it, not for a while."
Harry looked back down at Ron's rejected eggs and suddenly understood. Ron couldn't handle the thought of touching something's flesh, even the eggs were a little too close for comfort, and this was why the Weasley's were having such a hard time getting him to eat something.
"Good for you Ron," Hermione said, understanding exactly the same thing Harry had done but not wanting to make a big thing about it, "a vegetarian diet is so much better for you, no cholesterol worries, no fat..."
"No food!" Mrs Weasley scowled, she had obviously not understood why Ron wasn't able to handle meat anymore and was worrying that he wasn't going to be getting enough sustenance.
"Mum!" Fred snapped at her under his breath, she still didn't seem to understand but knew that it was best to go along with it until somebody could explain it to her.
"Oh but I'd love some vegetable soup Ronnie, a nice light lunch is just what we could all do with I think."
"And Ron," Hermione called over to him, getting him to look back over at her again, "if you could manage some croutons that'd be great."
Ron blinked. Mrs Weasley rose from her chair.
"Well for croutons you need bread, I'll get cracking while you do the soup Ronnie."
Hermione smiled over at Mrs Weasley.
"No need. Ron can conjure bread in an instant, delicious it is too."
Ron blinked again and smiled at Hermione before taking out his wand and pointing it at the table.
"Crustum!"
A large loaf swelled on the kitchen table and gave off the most delicious warm aromas. Fred looked impressed and Mrs Weasley gasped.
"How did you do that? I can't do that."
Ron gave a slight smile of gratitude back at Hermione before turning back to his vegetables.
"He can feed the three of us with all sorts of nourishing stuff Mrs Weasley, why I don't think I'd ever need to eat meat again if I had Ron around all the time" she said breezily as she conjured a bread knife out of Harry's ordinary knife resting beside his plate and set about cutting the bread into slices.
Harry knew then that the point had been made. Mrs Weasley finally understood. Ron needed to be a vegetarian, at least for the time being, or he would never be able to eat at all. She silently began to set the table and Fred nervously cleared away Harry's eggs. As he did he leaned in and whispered to Harry once again.
"I don't know how you did it but thank you."
Harry didn't think he had done anything other than eat part of Ron's lunch but if Fred wanted to give him credit for getting Ron to eat again then that was fine by him.
Fred had left long ago with some soup for George in one hand and a damaged horcrux to destroy in the other. Mr Weasley had come home from work very promptly, Harry didn't doubt for one second that he had been counting the hours until he could get back to check on Ron, and the family had sat down for dinner together. Ron had joined them but only had a jam sandwich. Nobody pestered him to eat more.
The night closed in and Ron seemed to become more and more agitated. As soon as it got dark enough that candles had to be lit Ron made a feeble excuse about finding something to read and went up to his bedroom. Harry and Hermione followed him without a second thought. They found him sitting in the corner of his room with his head in his hands.
"Ron, it's going to be alright, we're going to stay awake in shifts and we've found some older binding spells in one of your grandma Prewitt's spell books, she had them highlighted for when your uncles needed restraining in the night. Your mum says they'll work and I believe her."
Hermione's words didn't seem to have even registered with Ron. She reached out to rest her hand on his shoulder and he squirmed.
"Oh sorry," she pulled her arm back and bit her lip, "I keep forgetting."
"Lucky you," Ron mumbled before looking up at her and looking annoyed with himself, "I'm really sorry."
"Don't be silly, this isn't your fault, you take as long as you need. I can wait."
Ron squinted.
"Wait for what?"
She gave him a sad smile.
"Wait until I can get a hug of course."
Ron sighed and looked down at his hands. Harry knew what he was thinking and he was thinking it too. He would do it, he would do anything after last night, and he didn't care what Hermione had to say about it.
"Are those hoops still in your backpack?" he asked.
Ron looked up into Harry's eyes as if he had just given him a reprieve from a firing squad, even his body seemed to relax with the knowledge that Harry was finally going to let him be secured in the only way he could trust, and he nodded weakly. His eyes were suddenly heavy too, as if this was what he was waiting for, this was what he needed to be able to sleep without waking every hour.
"Harry wait..." Hermione began.
"No Hermione, I've heard everything you have to say about this and I don't care, look at him for Godric's sake!"
Ron really did look tired, Harry assumed that he was letting his guard down now that he felt he was going to be safe for the night, and Hermione looked at him and then back at Harry. She nodded and got to her feet. Harry turned and grabbed Ron's backpack but Hermione laid her hand on his arm and told him again to wait.
"They're not taking him Hermione, if this bond of blood was going to kill me I'd still do it, I don't care if they're helping me anymore. I'm going to do this."
"No you're not," she said firmly, "I am."
A/N Aha! So there's a link to the forum for my fics on my profile now so you can get to me and blow apart my 'how Ron escaped a coffin' theory to your heart's content!
As ever, thanks for the reviews!