Chapter 38

"IMPERIO!"

It happened so fast, Ron didn't even have time to react. One second he'd been following Hermione into the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom and the next thing he knew, the door had sprung shut of its own accord, a distinctly male voice shouted out a forbidden spell, and the unforgivable curse hit Hermione square in the chest. He didn't even have time to try and jerk her out of the way. By the time Ron actually registered what the word meant, it was already too late.

Not sure what was going on, Ron did the first thing that popped into his head, he grabbed Hermione by the arm, threw her back against the locked door, and positioning himself between her and their attacker as he pulled his own wand. Unfortunately for Ron, their assailant wasn't working alone.

"Expelliarimus!" a female voice cried from the other side of the room the instant Ron's wand left his pocket. "Tut, tut," Tonks scolded as she emerged from the shadows on his left holding his wand in her hand. "I think someone needs to practice his Shield Charms a bit more," she added, brandishing Ron's wand in the air before shoving it into her back pocket.

"WHAT THE HELL IS...," Ron started to shout, only to find the rest of his rant cut off.

"Silencio," Mad-Eye Moody said casually as he appeared on Ron's right.

Unable to speak, all Ron could do was narrow his eyes and glare at the gnarled ex-Auror that was holding him at wand point. What the hell is going on, he thought, trying to make sense of the situation. You're locked in a room with two Aurors who have just attacked you, that's what, he answered himself. But why? Maybe it's not really them. Maybe they're Death Eaters in Polyjuice disguises. This is bad. REALLY, REALLY bad.

"I'll take your wand now, Granger," Moody said, holding his free hand out in front of himself for her to set it in.

No, Ron cried internally when he felt her stir behind him. You can't. The instant she came around from behind him and tried to walk past, Ron wrapped both arms around her shoulders and physically restrained her. He couldn't let her relinquish her wand to Moody. He had to get it away from her himself. That wand was the only chance they had.

"Now wait just a minute," Tonks said to Moody while shielding the room with a wave of her wand. "We've barely even started and you're already trying to change the rules. No one will hear anything now."

"Fine," Moody growled, bring his arm up and pointing his wand at the two Gryffindors.

Oh shit, Ron thought, pulling Hermione, who was still struggling to get loose, up of the floor, spin around so they were both facing the door, and bracing himself for whatever curse Moody was about to hit him with.

"Finite Incantatum."

Ron felt the spell hit him right between the shoulder blades before the words and their meaning actually sank in. "What the hell?" he muttered, now more confused then ever.

"Satisfied?" Mad-Eye asked Tonks, who nodded her head. "Now then, Granger. Why don't you give me your wand?"

"NO!" Ron shouted, as Hermione continued to fight him, trying to break free so she could comply with Moody's demand.

"GIVE IT TO ME!" Moody barked. "NOW!"

"No, Hermione," Ron pleaded when she momentarily slipped free and tried to approach Moody again. She made it all of two steps before Ron latched onto her arm and yanked her back against him.

"Let go," Tonks ordered, pointing her wand at Ron.

He barely had time to glare at her and think, Go to hell, before her wand jumped to Hermione. A flick of Tonks' wrist was all it took. Ron had no idea what she'd done, but the electric charge that surged from Hermione's arm into his hands forced him to release her.

"This one has a problem following directions," Tonks said, pointing at Ron with her wand as she addressed Moody. "I think you should have her curse him now," she added casually.

Her who? Ron thought his blue eyes going wide as he felt the panic he'd been trying to stomp down claw its way up his stomach. The only female Death Eater he knew of that was currently at large was Bellatrix Lestrange. But they couldn't be talking about her. It had to be someone else. It couldn't be Tonks, or whoever that was pretending to be Tonks, because she was the one that made the comment in the first place. The only other 'her' in the room was... Hermione. "You can't," Ron said, without even really realizing it. "She won't."

The hell she won't, a little voice shouted inside Ron's head. She's under their control, remember. Bugger! I can't fight Hermione. Not like this. She doesn't even know what she's doing. But you can't just stand here and let her curse you either. BUGGER!

"Not yet," Moody replied, both of his eyes glued on Ron, scrutinizing his every move. "I want to see how this little game plays out first. Now then, Granger," he snarled, his magical eye spinning in its socket before focusing on Hermione once more. "Give me your wand."

"DON'T DO IT!" Ron shouted in horror as he watched Hermione reach inside her robes and pull out her wand. "Hermione, you can't."

"HAND IT OVER, GRANGER!"

"NO!" Ron cried, lunging forward and grabbing her shoulder.

"Locomotor Mortis," Tonks said, pointing her wand at Ron's legs, which instantly snapped together. If he hadn't been holding onto Hermione's shoulder when the Leg Locker Curse hit, he would have fallen flat on his face. As it was, he swayed a good deal, and he had to flail his arms a bit, but he managed to stay upright.

"Trying to hold her back isn't going to help her," Tonks explained to Ron. "If I were you, I'd keep trying to reach her here," she added, tapping her forehead with her own wand.

"You are in serious need of some wand safety lessons, missy," Mad-Eye Moody shouted, his magical eye whirling around in its socket.

"Spare me the lecture, will ya?" Tonks retorted. "I still have both my buttocks and my head, thank you very much."

This can't be for real, Ron thought, gaping at the pair of Aurors in front of him in disbelief. It's a nightmare. It has to be. I fell asleep in the Common Room waiting for Hermione and this is all just a bad dream. Just wake up. Wake up.

"I'm getting tired of waiting, Granger," Moody snarled. "You have about five seconds to hand that wand over before I get really angry."

"HERMIONE! NO!" Ron shouted, unable to keep the panic out of his voice when he saw her hold her wand out for Moody to take. "Don't give it to him. Give it to me."

"Atta girl," Tonks muttered under her breath as she noticed Hermione's fist tightened around her wand.

"GIVE IT TO ME!" Moody's voice boomed.

"NO!!" Ron shrieked, so focused on trying to stop her that he failed to notice her arm was starting to shake.

"What's that?" Moody asked with a smirk. "You trying ta tell me something, Granger?"

"No," Hermione said weakly as her eyes started to clear.

"Excellent," Moody said with a broad smile that made Ron's blood run cold. "Hope you were paying attention Weasley, because you're next."

"Next for what?" Hermione asked, glancing at Mad-Eye and then focusing on Tonks who still had her wand pointed at Ron. "What's going on here?" she inquired, taking two steps backwards and raising her wand into a defensive position as she stepped in front of Ron.

The two adults glanced at one another, but neither of them responded, which was answer enough.

"PROTEGO!" Hermione shouted, throwing a Shield Charm up the instant she saw Tonks move. It wasn't until the spell hit the invisible barrier and had been deflected that Hermione realized it hadn't been a curse at all. "Will someone please tell me what is going on here," she said, now more confused then ever. Tonks had been trying to lift the Leg Locker Curse off Ron. The question was who had cursed him to begin with?

"You could hear him, couldn't you?" Tonks asked, lowering her wand slightly. "When Mad-Eye was asking for your wand. You could hear Ron, couldn't you?"

"What?" Hermione thought out loud. None of this made any sense and yet at the same time, it did.

Someone had asked for her wand and she had wanted to give it to them. She'd tried to do it, but she hadn't been able to. Someone else had held her back. And Tonks was right, there had been another voice; a voice that had cut through the fog in her mind like a knife. But it hadn't been the voice itself or the familiarity of it that drew her attention. It was the tone. It was the panic and desperation that made her stop and listen. She'd wanted to do as the first voice commanded, but not if it was going to hurt someone else. That's when she started to question herself. That's when she started to fight her own desire to do as ordered. Tonks was right, she had heard him. The other voice had belonged to Ron. His voice had been the lifeline she'd used to draw herself out. But out of what?

"Careful," Moody warned, both of his eyes trained on the pair of Gryffindors as he spoke.

"Right," Tonks agreed following Moody's lead and lowering her wand completely. She was getting ahead of herself. Bill had warned them that Hermione had been reading up on some rather dodgy spells over the summer. This was no time to get lackadaisical. If Hermione felt her back was to the wall there as no telling what she might throw at them. It would be better to explain first and ask questions second.

"I suppose you'll be wanting and explanation now," Mad-Eye said, leaning back against Tonks's desk and managing to look extremely put out by the prospect of talking.

"You bloody well better believe I do," Ron snapped.

"All right," Tonks said, setting her own wand down on one of the student desks, then slowly drawing Ron's out of her pocket, and motioning toward him with her empty hand. "I'm just going to toss this one back to him," she said to Hermione as she held Ron's wand up in the air for them both to see. "He can lift the jinx himself."

"What happened?" Hermione asked, eyeing the two adults apprehensively as Ron snatched his wand out of the air. "Who did that to you?"

"You wanna know what happened?" Ron snarled after he had lifted the curse holding his legs together. "I'LL TELL YOU WHAT BLOODY HAPPENED! HE FUCKING CURSED YOU!" he roared, pointing at Moody in outrage. "BLINDSIDED YOU WITH A BLOODY UNFORGIVABLE AS SOON AS YOU WALKED THROUGH THE DOOR!"

"The Imperious Curse?" Hermione asked. That explains the eerie calm feeling and why I was so willing to give up my wand. Mind control. I should have realized.

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?"Ron bellowed at the top of his lungs, ignoring Hermione's question entirely. "SOME KIND OF WARPED LESSON ON THE VALUE OF CONSTANT VIGILANCE?"

"If we had been Death Eaters you two would be dead," Moody replied, seemingly unaffected by the anger being directed at him.

"We'd all be fucking dead then wouldn't we?" Ron growled. "Because that would mean Voldemort and his twisted band of followers were inside the bloody castle, which would mean they'd beaten Dumbledore."

"Not necessarily," Moody replied evenly.

"Mad-Eye," Tonks interrupted, "I think you're getting a little side tracked from the lesson we are supposed to be teaching."

"YOU CAN TAKE YOUR BLOODY LESSON AND SHOVE IT UP YOUR ARSE!"

"RON!" Hermione shrieked in horror, her deep brown eyes as wide as saucers. "Tonks is a professor."

"Not for long," he retorted angrily. "They used a blood Unforgivable on you."

"But...," Hermione started to protest and then stopped short. Frankly, she didn't really know what to say, or how she ought to feel. On the one hand, Tonks was a teacher. Not only that, she was a member of the Order and Hermione had come to think of her as a friend. But if what Ron was saying was true, and it obviously was, then her friend and teacher had ambushed them. And after they incapacitated her, they apparently attacked Ron.

"We had to do it that way," Tonks explained, directing her comments toward Hermione rather than the seething redhead standing beside her. "It wouldn't have worked if you'd been warned before hand. If you'd known what we were going to do you would have had those partitions up before you even walked through the door. A surprise attack was the only way to make sure you were completely under the influence of the spell. It was the only way to make sure you could throw off a full-blown version."

"That's what this is about?" Hermione asked uncertainly. "You're going to teach us how to throw off the Imperious Curse?"

"Bet those partitions are up in full force now though, aren't they?" Mad-Eye asked, studying the young woman standing in front of him closely. "If I hit you again, you could throw it off on your own now, couldn't you? Wouldn't need Weasley to pull you out of it now. I'm curious though," he said, turning his magical eye on Ron who was still glaring at him. "How did you know that would work?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Ron snarled.

"Talking to her," Tonks explained. "Telling her to do the opposite of what Mad-Eye was asking. Forcing her to decide which one of you she was going to listen to. That was a risky gamble. If we'd been Death Eaters we would have had to shut you up."

"And it wouldn't have been with a Silencing Charm," Mad-Eye cut in.

"Of course that was bending the rules a bit," Tonks reminded her colleague.

"And a leg locker curse wasn't?" Moody muttered.

"You know as well as I do that having him physically restrain her wasn't going to help."

"So Weasley," Mad-Eye asked, "why go to all that hassle? Why not simply grab her wand right out of her hand and save yourself the trouble?"

"Because I didn't think of that," Ron replied, mentally slapping himself upside the head for his own stupidity. Of course I could have taken her wand. She was so out of it she wouldn't have even noticed. But I had to try and reason with her like a bloody idiot.

"Fortunately, your risk paid off," Tonks stated.

"But it cost you precious time," Moody interjected.

"Still," Tonks argued, "it wasn't bad for a first attempt. Especially when you consider the fact they had no idea what we were doing," she added when Moody grunted as if he didn't agree with her assessment.

"Well, they know now," he replied, both of his eyes locked on Ron, "so let's get on with it already," he added, snatching his wand back up and pointing it at the tall redhead.

"Hold on a minute," Tonks chimed in before Moody could unleash the curse. "This will go a lot quicker if you explain what you want him to do first."

"I'd think that was rather obvious," Mad-Eye scoffed. "But just so we're clear, I wanna you to see you throw off the curse," he said to Ron matter-of-factly as he aimed at his chest.

"Oh for Merlin sake. Is that how they taught you when you had your Auror training?"

"They know the theory," Moody groaned with irritation. "They studied it in their fourth year."

"There's a difference between theory and practice and you know it," Tonks argued. "What works for one doesn't necessary work for another."

"Stop yapping at me then," he growled, lowering his wand, "and just get it over with."

"One of these days Mad-Eye," Tonks threatened lightheartedly, "I'm going to hit you with a Cheering Charm, just to see what it does to your disposition."

"I'd love to see you try."

Dear god, Hermione thought as she watched the scene unfolding in front of her. It was like some warped magical version of a Muggle police drama with Tonks cast as the good cop and Moody as the bad cop. It was so ludicrous, it was practically laughable.

"All right Ron," Tonks said, "I already know that you don't have a problem questioning authority and that will work in your favor. It takes a strong will to throw the Imperious Curse off, but your entire family has got that in spades, so I know you're up to the task. What you need to do is find a way to tune Mad-Eye out when he starts making demands. Of course that will be a lot harder then it sounds, because you are going to want to obey him. It's the nature of the curse after all. No one expects you to be able to do it on your own, especially on your first try. It's something you have to build up to. We'll start you out easy so you can get used to how it feels and go from there. Just do your best to tune him out."

"Yeah, right," Ron replied sarcastically. "I'll just do that then."

"Do you trust me, Weasley?" Mad-Eye asked.

"No."

"Good," Moody replied with a chuckle. "Do you trust her?" he asked, pointing at Hermione. "Right, then," he continued when Ron nodded his head. "Use that. Use her to get out the same way she used you. She's the one you trust, so she is the one you ought to be listening to. That's all you need for now. Ready?" he asked, bringing his wand back up and pointing it at the young man's chest.

"Wait," Ron cried, putting both of his arms out in front of himself. "What if I can't?"

"Can't isn't an option here, Weasley. You can and will learn how to do this," the crotchety ex-Auror insisted.

"This is something you've got to learn for Harry's sake as well as your own," Tonks explained. "You are too close to him not to. They might try and get to him through you so we have to make sure that they can't control you. Either of you," she amended, her bright blue eyes falling on Hermione.

"Ready?"

"No."

"You can do this," Hermione said softly as she slowly backed away from him. "You're too stubborn to be controlled. You question everything I say. It's the same thing really," she told him. "Instead of questioning me, question him.

"She's right," Tonks assured him. "All you have to do is question whatever Mad-Eye tells you to do. Once you learn how to do that, you can decide if it's what you want to do or not. When you've had some practice you'll get to the point where you recognize the curse by the way it makes you feel and you'll be conditioned to automatically question anything anyone tells you while in that state. Not tonight of course. Tonight just learn to recognize the sensations of the curse and try and find a way to tune Mad-Eye out."

"IMPERIO!" Moody cried, before Ron had a chance to object again.

"Keep it simple," Tonks sighed as she watched Ron's face go slack.

"After the stunt he pulled on the train, he's lucky I don't have him strip down to his skivvies and skip through the Great Hall."

"Except no one is supposed to know that we are teaching them this."

"Yeah, yeah. Sit down Weasley," Moody demanded, causing Ron to immediately plop down on the floor. "Not there, your idiot. Stand back up and then go sit in that chair over there," he said, pointing the seat behind Tonks's desk.

"Try talking to him," Tonks said to Hermione as they watched Ron walk over and sit in her chair.

"What do I say?" Hermione asked.

"Stand up, Weasley," Mad- Eye ordered.

"Tell him to sit back down," Tonks suggested.

"Ron, can you hear me?" Hermione asked, feeling rather foolish. "If you can hear me, sit back down."

If he did hear her, he didn't respond. He simply stood there staring off into space with a blank expression.

"Now what?" Hermione asked.

"He didn't give up on you," the young Auror replied. "So try again."

"Ron, you have to sit down," she said, but still there was no response.

"Sit down, Weasley," Moody barked. "You aren't getting through to him," he added as they watched Ron sink back down in the chair. "There is no emotion behind your requests. You might as well be a fly buzzing in his ear for all the good you're doing. How about we try something a little more interesting," Moody asked with a smirk. "Stand up, Weasley. See that book sitting on Tonks's desk. Yeah the great big one. I want you to tear it apart."

"Wait," Hermione cried, when Ron snatched the leather bound book off the desk and flipped it open. "STOP! Ron, you can't."

"Sure he can," Moody replied. "That's it Weasley. Rip the pages out."

"NO!" Hermione moaned as she watched him grasp several pages in his hand and wrench them from the binding. "RON, STOP IT! STOP IT RIGHT NOW!"

"What are you hesitating for?" Mad-Eye growled. "I told you to tear up that book. So do it. NOW!"

"DON'T YOU DO IT!" Hermione shrieked. "DON'T YOU DARE!"

"DO IT!" Moody's voice thundered.

"DROP THAT BOOK RIGHT NOW!" Hermione countered.

"RIP IT!"

"DROP IT!"

"RIP! IT!"

"RONALD WEASLEY! YOU DROP THAT BOOK THIS INSTANT!"

"Well," Moody snorted when Ron tried to grasp another hand full of pages just as Hermione shrieked at him and wound up fumbling the book and accidentally dropping it to the ground, "I suppose that's a start. You confused him anyway. Well, Weasley?" Mad-Eye asked as he lifted the curse. "Could you hear her?"

"Huh?" Ron asked, as he felt the fog start to evaporate. "What'd I do?" he asked, turning to Hermione. "Wait. Don't tell me if it was humiliating. I don't want to know."

"Did you hear her?" Tonks asked him again, gesturing towards Hermione as she did so.

"Er... I think," Ron replied. "Towards the end there," he said, his cheeks flushing a deep crimson. "Only...er... I sorta thought she was my...er... mum," he reluctantly admitted. "Sorry," he muttered, shifting his eyes away from Hermione's red face and focusing on his trainers instead.

"You aren't the first person I've heard make that comparison," Mad-Eye sniggered. "You're one sick puppy, you know that Weasley?"

"I think it's sweet," Tonks interjected.

"Bloody hell," Ron groaned, his ears outshining his face. "You can put me back under anytime now. I'd rather take an Unforgivable than listen to anymore of this."

"If you insist," Moody retorted, pointing his wand at Ron and placing him under his control once more. "What do you say Tonks? Ready to take it up a notch?"

"Yeah, all right," she agreed, taking a deep breath and shaking her hands at her side before raising them up and holding them out in front of herself.

"Play up the mother angle," Moody said to Hermione as he lowered his wand and glanced at Tonks to make sure she was ready. "I'm going to tell him to do something he wouldn't normally do. Something against his nature. It'll make it easier for him to question the command and decide not to follow it," he explained when Hermione opened her mouth to object.

"He seems to respond better to anger than reason," Tonks cut in, "so try and sound like you'll be angry if he does what Mad-Eye tell him to do."

"Somehow I don't think she'll have to pretend," Moody replied with a smirk. "Oy, Weasley. I want you to attack Tonks."

"WHAT!" Hermione cried out in horror.

"I want you to try and hit her," Moody continued as if she hadn't even spoken.

"NO!"

"Hit her hard," Mad-Eye commanded. "Hard enough to knock her to the ground. And if she gets up, I want you to hit her again. Got it?"

"Yes," Ron replied listlessly. "Hit her. Knock her down."

"That's right Weasley. Hit her. Do it. Now!"

"NO!" Hermione shrieked, lunging forward when he started to move towards Tonks and grabbing the back of his jumper. "No, you can't. Ron please. Don't."

"Don't try and reason with him," Tonks snapped at Hermione as she waited patiently for Ron to come at her, ready and willing to fend him off should he actually try and strike her. "Get angry. Yell at him."

"RONALD WEASLEY!" Hermione screamed loudly. "YOU DO NOT BEAT UP ON GIRLS! YOU WERE RAISED BETTER THEN THAT! YOUR MOTHER WOULD BE APPALLED! I'M APPALLED! YOU STOP RIGHT WHERE YOU ARE AND TURN AROUND!"

"HIT HER!" Moody cried when Ron stopped walking.

"LOOK AT ME WHEN I'M TALKING TO YOU!" Hermione bellowed.

"HIT HER NOW!" Moody ordered.

"YOU! WILL! NOT!" Hermione roared. "If you so much as touch her," she said, forcing her voice to become low and menacing. "I swear to god, you're going to regret it."

"Regret what?" Ron asked, reaching up and rubbing his eyes as the room came back into focus. "What did I do? Oh... wait," he said, as Moody's request came flooding back with shocking clarity. "Are you mad?" he asked, turning his stunned face to Tonks. "What if I had actually hit you?"

"Not a chance," Tonks replied with a cocky grin. "If you had tried that, you would have been the one sprawled out on the floor, not me. But you didn't, did you? You threw it off."

"I don't hit girls," Ron muttered under his breath as if he were trying to affirm it to himself.

"Which is why I told you to do it," Mad-Eye replied. "That was a definite improvement. One more go apiece and we ought to be able to call it a night. So which one of you wants to go first?"

"I'll do it," Ron sighed. "May as well get it over with," he added.

"A glutton for punishment eh?" Moody asked as he brought his wand up. "IMPERIO!"

"HEY!" Ron shouted when the spell hit Hermione instead of him.

"Let's see if she has those partitions up, shall we?" Moody responded. "No help from you Weasley, is that clear? I wanna see if she can throw it off on her own"

"Uh huh," Ron muttered, was he crossed his arms in front of his chest and narrowed his eyes. He'd watch for now, but if Moody asked her to do something he knew she wouldn't like, he as going to intervene.

"Listen up, Granger. I have a few questions for you. Are you listening?"

"Yes."

"Good. I want you to tell me what Weasley was after that day on the train."

"Which Weasley?" Hermione asked, her voice a dull monotone.

"Does it matter?" Moody replied.

"Yes."

"What was Ron Weasley after?"

"His chess set."

"And what was his sister after?"

"Ginny wanted to use the toilet."

"Is that so?" he asked when Ron snorted.

"Yes."

"You wouldn't be lying to me would you?"

"No."

....................

"Well," Harry asked, lowering the Occlumency book Hermione had found for him in the library the instant his best friend stalked into the 6th year boy's dormitory. "What did she have you do."

"I'm knackered," Ron replied, flopping face fist into his bed without even bothering to get undressed first. "Ask me again in the morning," he muttered, burying his face in his pillow and kicking off his shoes. "I'll tell you anything you wanna know, but I need sleep first."

"What about Hermione?"

"What about her?" Ron muttered, so tired he'd let his guard slip.

"Have you two been together this whole time?"

"No. Just since...." He was about to say since July, but managed to catch himself just in time.

"Then where has she been?"

"What?" Ron asked, now completely alert and irritable.

"If Hermione wasn't with you in detention all night, where was she?"

"She was with me in detention. "

"You just said that she wasn't."

"That's because I wasn't listening to you," Ron shot back defensively. "I have a splitting headache and all I want to do right now is sleep it off. I'll tell you all about my detention in the morning," he groaned, turning on his side and burrowing even further into his pillow. "Promise."

"Harry?" Ron muttered after a few moments of silence.

"What?"

"Hermione is probably still down in the Common Room, if you want to talk about it now."

"Naw, I can wait until tomorrow."

"Ok. Night."

"Goodnight," Harry sighed, shaking his head and refocusing his attention on his book.