Warning: This chapter ends with a MAJOR cliffhanger. Those of you that don't enjoy them may want to hold off reading this installment until a few additional chapters have been posted.

Chapter 73

"What the hell?" Fred asked in surprise when he saw his younger brother drop down on his knees in the snow without warning. Ron had been perfectly fine mere moments ago. So fine in fact, that he and Harry had both managed to startle the twins by materializing in the street right in front of them. Of course Fred now knew that it hadn't been some spectacular feat of underage Apparition without sound. The two of them had been lurking nearby under Ron's Invisibility Cloak and had seen them approaching. But this, whatever it was that was happening to Ron, didn't make any sense. And clearly, he wasn't the only one that was shocked. Fred didn't even have to look at George to know that he was just as alarmed and confused; he could actually sense it.

Harry however, seemed to have a leg up on both of the twins, because he didn't bother questioning what was happening, nor did he waste any time trying to answer Fred. He simply jerked his arm up and pointed his wand right at Ron's chest, before shouting, "ENNERVATE!"

"BUGGER!" Ron cursed loudly, as Harry lowered his wand and helped him back on his feet.

"How did you know he was Stunned?" George asked, but the question seemed ridiculously stupid in light of his brother's next statement.

"Those bloody bastards have Hermione," Ron snarled. "FUCK!"

Of course, the twins both thought at nearly the same time.

Ron hadn't been cursed with a spell they'd failed to notice, Hermione had. Wherever she was, she'd been captured by Death Eaters and they'd Stunned her. Only, because of the unique bond she shared with Ron, the effects of the spell had been dispersed between both of them. Their ability to share the effects of certain spells could be very advantageous in a battle situation, but it could also cause a lot of trouble, especially when one of them was alone and surrounded by maniacal killers. They had to get to her before the Death Eaters stopped playing around and started throwing Unforgivables, both for Hermione's sake as well as Ron's.

"FUCK!" Ron shouted again, even louder this time. This was precisely the type of situation he'd been trying to avoid and why he'd insisted on leaving Hermione at Hogwarts to begin with. And yet here he was, forced to choose between rescuing his sister and his wife. Either way, he was buggered because it meant that he'd have to abandon someone he loved.

"Shite," Harry swore, more to himself than to anyone in particular. He didn't want to make this decision anymore than Ron did. But he knew that he had to do it, and quickly, because he could tell from the expression on Ron's face that he was about to suggest they split up. And while that made sense in theory, a more logical voice in the back of Harry's mind kept insisting that it would be a mistake. They'd split up in the Department of Mysteries, albeit by accident, and it had nearly been disastrous. They stood a better chance of rescuing both Hermione and Ginny if they stayed together and worked as a group.

"OK, look," Harry said resolutely, "I want to go after Ginny just as much as the rest of you," he stated. "But we don't know where she is yet. We do know Hermione is at Honeydukes, so it only makes sense to… to… oh God!" he moaned.

"Harry?" George asked, more than a little unnerved by the fact that he'd just seen one of the bravest people he knew turn white as a sheet. "What is it?"

"She's awake," Harry muttered under his breath. "Ginny," he clarified a little louder, closing his eyes and covering his face with one hand so the Weasley brothers wouldn't see his pained expression. He just had to hope that the panic he was sensing from her wasn't evident in his voice. "She was confused, but now she realizes what's going on and she's afra…"

"HARRY!" Ron shouted, when his best friend stopped speaking, slapped his hand over his forehead, and cried out in pain.

"YOU SON OF A BITCH!"Harry roared at the top of his lungs, taking all three of the Weasleys by surprise. There was so much anger and bitterness in his voice that Ron, who was standing right beside him, actually took a step backward before he realized that Harry wasn't talking to him. "IF YOU SO MUCH AS TOUCH ONE HAIR ON HER HEAD, YOU'RE DEAD! I KNOW YOU CAN HEAR ME, YOU DEMENTED FUCK! I KNOW YOU'RE IN MY HEAD! THIS IS BETWEEN YOU AND ME!" he shouted, as if Voldemort were standing right there in front of him. "YOU LEAVE HER OUT OF IT! BLOODY BASTARD!" Harry bellowed, before meeting the wide-eyed stares of his friends. "He cut me off," he said incredulously. "He's blocking me again, the coward, but I know where they are. Come on."

"But…"

"What about Hermione?" Fred asked, clearly torn. Ginny was his baby sister and his first impulse was to go after her, even if it did mean coming face to face with the most evil wizard in all of Britain, but Hermione was practically family as well. No, she was family and she was connected to Ron. Anything the Death Eaters did to her, he'd experience as well. If they started torturing her… Fred shuddered, not wanting to contemplate what would happen then.

"We can't just leave her," George said, glancing at Ron quickly, before refocusing his attention on Harry. "Not if you really know where she is. Maybe if we split up. I'll go with Harry and…"

"Hermione's not afraid anymore," Ron stated, causing both the twins to spin around and gape at him. "Not like she was," he tried to explain. "She's still on guard, but…"

"The Imperius Curse?" George asked, after sharing a knowing look with his twin brother.

"No, she can throw that off," Harry stated, impatient to get a move on, but torn himself. Just moments ago he'd been thinking that it only made sense to go after Hermione first, but now that he could feel Ginny's terror, the need to save her was overwhelming. It was his fault she was in this situation; his fault she was about to be tortured, or worse. He had to get to her before that happened. She wanted him. She needed him. He couldn't let her down.

But Hermione needs you, too, Harry reminded himself. I never should have left her behind. Now she's in trouble and that's my fault as well. DAMN IT!

"OK," he said, shoving his guilt aside and focusing all of his attention on Ron. "When you say Hermione's not afraid anymore, what do you mean? What exactly is she feeling?"

"Smug," the redhead replied immediately. "She must have gained the upper hand somehow and… oh God," he groaned, sounding both embarrassed and alarmed at the same time. "I think she might actually be gloating. What the hell is she thinking? All she's going to do is hack them off and give them time to regroup. GET THE HELL OUT OF THERE!" he shouted, almost as if he thought Hermione could hear him. "Damn it! Harry I have to…"

"Right. You two go with Ron and help Hermione," Harry said to the twins, before Ron had a chance to finish.

"What?" Fred yelped in surprise.

"And let you face You-Know-Who on your own?" George added, making it clear that he wasn't very keen on that idea.

I don't have time for this, Harry groaned in his head when the twins started arguing. Ginny needs me now, damn it.

Deep down Harry knew that it was reckless to run off on his own, but he didn't really care at this point. Just a few minutes ago he'd been thinking that it would be best if they stayed together, but now that Voldemort had entered his mind and Harry knew for sure that he was walking into a trap without the element of surprise on his side, that didn't seem like such a good idea. The words, 'Kill the spare,' kept echoing in the back of his mind and he knew that was all his friends were to Voldemort. The people he cared about were just a means to an end and Voldemort didn't need them anymore. He had what he wanted. He had Ginny to use as bait. Everyone else was expendable now and he wouldn't hesitate to have his followers kill them if they got in his way. No, Harry now realized that he had to do this on his own. Voldemort had already killed too many people he cared about. He wasn't going to march into the Shrieking Shack with three more potential victims in tow. He had to ditch Ginny's brothers and this was the perfect way to do it.

"You said it yourself," Harry said to George, "The only way to save both of them is to split up. So you three go get Hermione and I'll take care of Ginny. Look," he said irritably, when Ron opened his mouth to argue. "He's getting angry," he lied. "He's tired of waiting and he'll take it out on her if I don't go. It'll be easier this way. I'll be able to sneak up on him and free Ginny if I'm alone," he said, even though he knew his excuse was pitifully transparent.

There's no way I'm going to be able to sneak up on him, Harry told himself, even as he turned away from his friends and ran back into the woods he and Ron had just left before his friends could stop him. Not with that bastard popping into my head to spy on me. But that doesn't matter. Nothing matters now except getting to Ginny. If I can just get close enough to her to slip her the potion in my pocket, at least then I'll know that her soul is safe. And once she's safe I can worry about dealing with Voldemort. But first I have to get to Ginny.

¤

"Hermione!" Ron called out her name, a wave of relief rolling over his entire body when he saw the door leading into Honeydukes open and the familiar head of bushy hair appear on the other side.

"Ronald Weasley!" she hissed in a low tone, stepping forward to stand in the doorway when she heard his voice. "How dare you," she said, narrowing her eyes and scowling at him as he stepped out of the shadows. "HOW DARE YOU LEAVE ME BEHIND!"

"Whoa," he replied, holding a hand out in front of himself as if to stop her, while turning around nervously and scanning the street behind them. He hadn't seen anyone as he approached the sweets shop, but that didn't mean no one was around. "Shush," he whispered urgently, moving forward and placing his hands on her shoulders. "Do you want the Death Eaters to hear you?" he asked, pushing Hermione back inside Honeydukes, before stepping over the threshold himself and closing the door.

"Don't you dare shush me," Hermione snarled. "Or I might just do to you what I did to them. And don't touch me either," she said, slapping his hands away. "If you think pouring your concern and all that relief you're feeling into me is going to help you, you're wrong. You're not going to use our bond to butter me up and get away with what you've done. Not this time. I can't believe you and Harry…"

But Hermione stopped speaking abruptly and looked around as she suddenly realized they were alone. "Where is Harry?" she demanded, the anger she'd felt moments before instantly replaced with dread. "You didn't," she said, because the guilt she'd sensed from Ron was more than enough to answer her question. "You left him?" she asked in disbelief. "YOU LEFT HIM ALONE! Oh Ron, how could you?"

"Will you calm down?"

"Calm down?" she asked incredulously. "Calm down? The whole reason we took the potion in the first place was to protect Harry. How are we supposed to do that when neither of us is with him? What were you thinking?"

"Well, if you must know," Ron shot back, letting his own irritation show, "I was a little preoccupied by the fact that you were under attack. And don't even try telling me that you weren't, because I know for a fact that you were. Besides, it's not like I left him alone or unprotected," he added defensively. "I gave Fred and George my Invisibility Cloak so they could follow him."

"Fred and George?"

"That's right," Ron said, encouraged by the fact that he'd managed to take her by surprise. "We ran into them just as we were entering the village," he explained. "They said something about Tonks contacting the Order, and since they were still at the platform with Bill and…"

"So Bill's here too?"

"Somewhere," Ron replied. "George mentioned something about Bill and Lupin, but I didn't catch most of it, seeing as how you chose that particular moment to get us both Stunned," he said sharply. "And the next thing I know, all hell is breaking loose. One minute Harry's reviving me, and the next he's clutching at his scar and shouting at You-Know-Who as if he were standing right there in front of us. Then he said something about knowing where Ginny was and he ran off. What was I supposed to do?"

"Follow him."

"And just leave you to the Death Eaters?"

"You didn't seem to care about leaving me behind earlier," Hermione said scathingly.

"It's not the same thing and you know it," Ron shot back, managing to sound both insulted and angry at the same time. "You were being attacked."

"And whose fault do you think that is?"

"Yours," he retorted without missing a beat. "If you had stayed at Hogwarts where it's safe, none of this would have happened. If you'd just stayed there, I wouldn't have had to leave Harry at all. But you didn't bother thinking about that, did you? You took it as a personal slight and risked your life running through a cursed tunnel just so you could have the satisfaction of telling me off."

"Oh, shut up," Hermione hissed. "We don't have time to argue about this now. And just so you know," she added, pushing past him to get to the door leading outside, "once we've got this mess with Ginny sorted out, I'm not talking to you, so we won't be discussing it then, either."

"Uh huh," Ron muttered under his breath, placing one hand on the door and leaning all of his weight against it so she wouldn't be able to throw it open and leave before he was finished. He had a few questions of his own he wanted answered first. "And that wouldn't have anything to do with the fact that you know I'm right, would it? Which is part of the reason you're so irritated."

"Get out of my way."

"Not until you tell me what you did to those Death Eaters that attacked you. How did you get away?" Ron demanded. "And more importantly, why in the world would you stand around and gloat about it afterward? What if they had attacked you again? You might have been…"

"I was perfectly safe," Hermione insisted. "Once I used Bill's spell to trap them down in that tunnel," she amended. She couldn't very well claim that she'd been safe the entire time. He knew better. "And there's absolutely no way for them to get back out on this side of the tunnel, so you can stop worrying about that," she added, assuming that was what Ron was fretting about. "They'll have to make it all the way to Hogwarts to get out and if Neville has done what I asked him to do, McGonagall and the other teachers will be guarding the exit. They aren't a threat anymore, so let's just go and help Harry. What?" she asked, concerned when her explanation didn't help alleviate his anxiety, but actually caused it to increase. "What is it?"

"Well, that might not be as easy as it sounds."

"Please tell me," Hermione said, her own apprehension turning to genuine fear, "that you know where Harry went."

For a moment, Ron actually considered telling her that he did, but he knew she'd see right through him. A flippant reply like, 'Into the woods' would only get him in more trouble.

"I told you that he ran off," he said defensively.

"And you didn't bother asking him where he was going?"

"I suppose I could have shouted it at the back of his head," Ron said sarcastically, "but I didn't see the point, as he wasn't about to stop and answer me."

"RON!"

"What? Just because I don't know where he is at this very moment, doesn't mean I can't find him," he replied. "All we have to do is go back where we split up and follow the footprints he left in the snow. So come on," he said, dropping his hand down to the doorknob before she could start shouting at him again.

¤

"Shite!" Ron swore, his deep blue eyes going wide when he opened the door and saw three cloaked figures converging on Honeydukes. "SHITE!" he swore again even louder, stepping backward and colliding with Hermione as he slammed the door of the sweets shop closed and bolted it. But even as he locked the door, Ron realized it wouldn't be enough to keep the Death Eaters out. "Bugger it all!" he shouted, jerking his wand out of the back pocket of his jeans. "I knew it was a bad idea to stay here this long."

"What…"

"Hide. Now," Ron barked at Hermione before she had a chance to finish her question. They'd seen him, but they hadn't seen her. If he held his ground and distracted the Death Eaters long enough, she might be able to slip upstairs and sneak out a window or something. Ron just had to buy her enough time to get away.

Hermione, however, refused to cooperate. She obviously had plans of her own and they didn't include leaving Ron behind. Rather than do as instructed, she merely shook her head and drew her wand. She hadn't seen what was outside, but she'd felt the fear that had gripped Ron when he looked out and that was more than enough for her. "Colloportus," she said, pointing her wand at the door, which immediately sealed with a squelching sound. That was close, she thought, taking an involuntary step backwards when the door shuddered as someone on the other side threw himself against it.

Unfortunately, there was more than one way to get inside Honeydukes, especially when the people trying to get in had magic at their disposal. Before either of the teenagers even thought to Imperturb the room, two simultaneous cracks announced the arrival of their opponents. And as if that wasn't bad enough, the wall to the right of the doorway exploded inward at nearly the same time, raining debris down on Ron and hurling Hermione into one of the candy displays in the center of the room.

"Expelliarmus," the Death Eater closest to Ron shouted, disarming the redhead as he spun around to check on Hermione, who'd cried out in pain.

"Well, well, well," the second Death Eater jeered, stepping through the remains of the glass jars and sweets that littered the floor to reach Hermione before she regained her wits. "What do we have here?" he laughed, reaching down and jerking her to her feet.

"GET YOUR HANDS OFF MY WIFE!" Ron roared, taking every ounce of anger and all of the loathing churning inside him, and focusing them on the point where the Death Eater's hand connected with Hermione's forearm.

To say the hooded figure was repelled would have been an understatement. He was literally hurled across the room with so much force that not only did he collide with the counter where the proprietors sold their wares, but he then flipped up over the top of it and slammed into the shelves of sweets lining the wall.

"Wife?" the Death Eater holding the incensed redhead's wand asked in disbelief. "Even a despicable blood-traitor like you wouldn't dare…"

"Oh, but I did," Ron replied. "And I took a great deal of satisfaction knowing I could take your fucked up talisman and your equally fucked up ritual and use them to protect a Muggleborn."

But the comment didn't have the effect Ron hoped it would when he made it. In fact, it didn't faze the Death Eater at all. He didn't appear to be insulted or angry; if anything he seemed to find it amusing, because he tossed his head back and laughed.

"You!" Ron growled, his skin crawling when the Death Eater's hood fell back and he recognized his face from the pictures in the Daily Prophet. "You bloody bastard!" he said, narrowing his eyes and glowering at Dolohov. "Touch her and you're fucking dead."

The threat coming from the unarmed teenager caused Dolohov to laugh even harder. "I wouldn't dream of sullying my hands with filth like that," he jeered. "Not even after I've killed you and nullified the 'protection' you can offer her. Although, it would be more entertaining to force you to kill her yourself. Yes, far better this way, I think. Imperio."

"NO!" the Death Eater that had clambered through the gaping hole in the wall shouted, finally drawing attention to himself. "The girl is important to Potter," he stated, "which makes her important to the Dark Lord."

Even with her mind briefly clouded by the spell that had been used on Ron, Hermione recognized Peter Pettigrew the instant he lowered his hood. As did Ron, if the deep-seated sense of betrayal and the loathing that surged into her was any indication.

"It would be unwise to dispose of her," Wormtail continued.

"We have the blood-traitor to use as leverage," Dolohov argued, turning away from Ron, whom he wrongly assumed was still completely under his control. "The Mudblood is unnecessary."

"Somehow, I doubt Lestrange would agree with you on that," Wormtail countered, with a casual shrug of his shoulders. "She does have a personal score to settle after all. The Dark Lord was not pleased when she let the Mudblood escape. But as long as you're willing to explain to Bellatrix that you're the one that denied her the opportunity to get revenge, then by all means have your fun."

"NO!" Ron shouted, taking both Death Eaters by surprise when he snatched his wand out of Dolohov's hand and positioned himself between them and Hermione.

"NO RON, DON'T!" she shrieked, her shrill voice laced with panic as she stopped scanning the debris on the floor for her wand and focused all of her attention on him. "Please," she begged, tears springing to her eyes when she felt his concern for her well-being pour into herself, confirming what he was about to do. The love he drew forth was so intense, that she actually had to fight it down before it overwhelmed her and drowned out her desperation. "Please don't do this," she cried, frantic to prevent him from casting the spell he'd badgered her into revealing months before. "If you do this, I swear to God, I'll never forgive you."

"Yes, you will," Ron stated, forcing himself to keep his eyes on the startled Death Eaters, because he knew if he looked at Hermione now, he wouldn't be able to go through with his plan. He wanted to tell her that he loved her one last time, but he knew that he didn't have time. Not that he'd be able to get the words out, even if he did. And in the end, he knew that it didn't really matter. Hermione knew that he loved her even without the words. The problem was, she also knew he was going to try and use that same love to save her. He was going to sacrifice himself using the spell she'd taught him and there was no way for her to stop him.

"NOOOOO!"Hermione wailed, as Ron pointed his wand at himself, rather than the figures in front of them and uttered the incantation that normally accompanied the Killing Curse in reverse.

"Arvadek Adava," the redhead said, focusing all of the love he had inside himself on Hermione as the bolt of white light that came from his wand hit him square in the chest. But the beam of light didn't stop there. It shot clean through Ron and slammed into Hermione. The spell didn't seem to have any visible effect on her however. Unfortunately the same could not be said for Ron, who crashed to the ground before the glow surrounding him dissipated.

Hermione was on her knees and by his side almost instantly, but by that point there was nothing she could do. The talisman that had been hanging around her neck since they'd performed the Là nain ritual in October came loose and fell on the ground between them as if to prove that it was already too late.

"BASTARDS!" Hermione screamed, snatching the wand out of Ron's limp hand and waving it over the floor she was crouching on, causing the glass and debris around her to float into the air and fly towards the two men standing in front of her. "HE'S DEAD AND IT'S YOUR FAULT!" she bellowed, scooping her Là nain talisman off the ground and clutching it in her fist, before jerking her tear-stained face up, and locking her angry glower on the pair of Death Eaters. "I'm going to make you pay."

Author's notes:

I can almost hear the collective gasp of horror, followed by the shouts of, "OH MY GOD! You killed Ron. You evil witch." Sadly someone had to make the ultimate sacrifice and deep down we all know (and fear) that Ron would be the first to step up to the plate and attempt to do it. L

A special thanks to my wonderful pre-betas, Doraemon, Aurelia, and Jmnauth for their speedy edits. You do amazing work girls and I really appreciate it. I'd also like to thank Emmilyne and ShiningStar for prescreening the chapter and sharing their thoughts and opinions with me. And as always, thanks to my official beta, Amelia, for making the time to fit the story in, despite her busy schedule.