(A/N: It was a pretty short time in between updates but again, you all succeeded in amazing me! Thank you so much! This Chapter ends with a bit of cliffhanger so I'm just warning you now. Hugs, Haystack)

AmyChris: I'm sorry you were having a hard day and I from my own fair share of family crappiness sometimes, I'm sorry and hope whatever it is gets better soon! That said, thanks for reviewing! I'm glad your happy, but hopefully I won't be too predictable…after all, how boring would that be? Lol ;)

dancerrdw: Hope the update was good. Thanks for reviewing!

ShimmeringEvil: My lips are sealed. Read on my friend! (Thanks for reviewing!)

Smiles28: I wanted to add Ron's hero thing into it; poor guy never gets any credit! As for the killings…my hand is over my mouth to prevent me from saying anything. Hope you enjoy it though! Thanks for reviewing as always!

Ron'n'Hermione: haha…I'm glad you liked Aragog. I definitely hadn't planned for him to be in the script at all but sometimes I surprise myself. Lol thanks for reviewing! Hope to hear from you again!

cumbacksirius Yes, having Hermione stay was a difficult decision for me to make but I rather liked the appeal that this is her I-am-woman-hear-me-roar scene. Defy that man! Lol…thanks for reviewing!

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CHAPTER FIFTEEN: AS THE WALLS COME CRASHING DOWN

Ron Weasley, though however special some people thought him, had never been a hero. That had always been Harry…he had been the little sidekick. And now that he was saving people from the hands of death and saving damsels in distress, he suddenly realized, after pining silently for all these years, that being the hero wasn't all it was made out to be.

But then again, Ron had to give some of the credit to Hermione. He'd already been in two situations where he had been immobile with Petrificus Totalius, and withering on the ground in pain with Crucio, and his attackers had uttered the killing spell.

Whatever she had done to these ordinary necklaces…it worked! And it gave him superhero like powers; at least in the eyes of the people he saved. Which probably explained why none of them wanted him to leave. They'd beg and sometimes cry, afraid to go back into the war without the security of this new God-like Ron. He regretted abandoning these people sure, but then again there was always one more person. And besides, all his killings didn't weigh so heavily on his conscience either once he'd saved lives as well.

Personally, he'd been attacked as well. He'd fought to his best, always winning. But that didn't mean he wouldn't have scars to prove it…

His head was pounding mercilessly and his hands were currently covered in blood not his own. It repulsed him, but it wasn't as if he could wash them off anywhere. Even the once beautifully clear lake had been dyed a blood red, swimming with bodies, the corpses bobbing up and down in the water. He had several scratches and bruises from falling to the ground so many times and several deep cuts from Death Eater's spells. He walked fine, though he ran with a bit of a limp. (His knee had been the icebreaker between himself and the ground many times, and it was starting to show).

Holding his knee with his left hand, his right hand always holding his wand up, he hobbled towards a part of Hogwarts that looked pretty desolate. Looking around, it used to be a corridor, though Ron couldn't remember where it led to at the moment. The outside wall had crumbled and Ron made his way to the farthest corner, so as to not attract any visitors. Sitting down on a piece of rubble he began examining himself for further injuries. He found nothing he didn't know already. Sighing, he rested for just a moment, resting his elbows on his knees as he ran his hands through his thick, curly red locks.

But suddenly Ron had the sense that he wasn't alone. He heard deep breathing.

Resisting the urge to turn around and look, Ron told himself to stay calm, though his heart was beating rapidly. He slowly got up from his seat, pressing his back against the wall, and hiding around the corner of the debris, waiting in the shadows patiently.

A few moments later, when this person obviously thought it safe to come out, a man stepped out of his hiding spot. Looking at only his back, Ron's eyebrows furrowed together. There were no humans fighting this war that weren't dressed up in their Death Eater outfit. This man was wearing no such robe or mask. Ron racked his brain but could come up with no excuse, well except…

An even worse looking Peter Pettigrew turned to the side, peaking out from behind the remains of the building, to watch the fighting. He was wearing different clothes than when Ron had seen him last, but these weren't faring any better than his old ones he wore for twelve years. Immense hatred for Pettigrew rose inside Ron, bursting like a bubble, his face turning bright red with anger. Here was the man he received as a present when he was little, here was the man responsible not only for the deaths of James and Lily Potter and Sirius, but also the man responsible for Harry living with the Dursley's, dealing with the fame he hated, and complicating all their lives such. He had a pretty good shot at him; it would be so easy to kill him!

Ron grinned evilly and raised his wand, only two words away from ending this miserable lost cause that created such horror and destruction. But against his will he stopped to think. Did he really want to do this? He hadn't seen the face of anyone he killed yet, did he want to end that record? Unlike some of the random trolls or other creatures he had killed, he knew this man. He knew his story, knew his past, knew and even, if he dared to say so, somewhat understood why Peter did what he did. After all, being teased for your whole life, being the last one picked for a team, the student failing all his classes, none of that could have been easy. And the more Ron thought about it, the more he came to a conclusion that Peter was only looking for a way out of his life that treated him so horribly. Voldemort probably looked like a pretty easy escape; and Ron suspected that Peter didn't know two of his friends would be dead because of him when he began. And if there was one thing Ron was certain of, it was that once you were in with Voldemort, there was no turning back, no exceptions.

Ron lowered his wand. He couldn't do it. Shamefully he bowed his head. "I'm sorry Harry," He whispered. Pettigrew heard nothing.

Ron crept silently around the edges of the room, keeping a close eye on Pettigrew. He was at the exit, the same archway he had entered. And suddenly he heard a voice that made his head snap up.

"RON!!" Hermione called, trying to run up towards him, but stopping to duck spells and fight Death Eaters. Her brown curls having come undone, bounced behind her and Ron's breath caught. She looked too beautiful for words.

But Wormatil had recognized her voice too and as he saw her running, he followed her gaze to Ron, crouching low behind a stone.

"You!" He hissed

Ron stood up bravely. He wouldn't kill this man by choice, but he had to, he would.

"Hello Wormtail" He spat

Pettigrew wasted no time. "CRUCIO!"

Ron dodged the spell but it hit the wall, leaving a permanent burn mark on the gorgeous stone. "PETRIFICUS TOTALUS!" Ron said as he prepared to duck another spell.

"IMPERIUS!"

"ENGORGIO!" Ron shot back

"FURNUNCULUS!"

"REDUCTOR!"

"STUPEFY!" Pettigrew yelled

"AVADA KEDAVRA!" Ron roared as the walls around them trembled and shook. He was annoyed; all of their spells had simply bounced off each other and hit the walls, well…more like the ceiling. But the Rat had fallen to the ground.

Ron examined him. There was no mistaking it…he was dead. His wide beady eyes were still wide-open, staring him in the face. Unable to stand any more, he quickly shut the lids of Pettigrew's eyes, and sat on the ground, in shock, almost urging tears to come, his guilt was so intense. But as he sat there, staring at the ground, he found it odd that the little pebble in front of him kept bouncing around. As a few more rocks and dust fell on top of him, Ron chuckled nervously to himself, it was almost as if the room were falling apart.

With the though, Ron immediately whipped his head around. It wasn't just his imagination; this room was collapsing! He could see huge chunks of the ceiling fall next to him.

Without thinking, Ron scrambled up from where he was sitting in the back of the room, and began sprinting towards the entrance, where Ron saw through the window, Hermione was close to. And just as quickly as he had made it there, he remembered the he had left his wand.

It was now obvious that the building was indeed falling apart. Huge blocks of stone fell from the ceiling, bricks flew from the fireplace, and the dust that filled Ron's lungs was like poison. Finally finding his wand, he turned around, a smile on his face, as he heard Hermione's voice calling him. He tried to run, but his head was getting all cloudy and he couldn't really see where he was going.

"Hermione? Where are you?" He called

"I'm over here Ron! Follow my voice!" She cried desperately

"I-I'm getting all turned around! I can't--"

But Ron would never get to finish his sentence, as the room finally gave way. Smoldering the youngest male Weasley with such a dramatic crash that even the war, the very thing that brought Ron here in the first place, stopped, everyone turning their eyes to gaze with bewilderment at the destruction, and the pretty girl who was screaming as though the man she loved had died.

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