Death Tempest

Ron sacrifices himself to save his best friend and the world from the demon inside him, the demon that had been, until now, subdued.

The blood slowly trickled down my arms, and the sound of the knife clattering to the floor fell on deaf ears. It was the first time I had purposefully harmed myself, and would be the last.

My life slowly drained away out of the cuts that decorated my wrists. It's all for a good cause. It's for the good of the entire wizarding community. One more death, that's all. One more death and I've saved him from myself. An evil presence welled up inside my chest. 'No! Not now!' I cried out. 'I'm getting so close to being rid of you…' With a huge effort, I managed to stay sane. I lay down, a smile gracing my lips. …Finally…

PAGE BREAK

Harry rushed up the stairs to his dorm room in Gryffindor Tower, excited to tell Ron about being accepted to pay professional Quidditch when he got out of school. He stopped outside the door, curiously looking at an envelope addressed to him in his best friend's handwriting.

What's in it that he couldn't tell me when I got in?

'Dear Harry,

There are a couple of things that I have to explain to you before you come inside. I've spelled the letter so that you can't get in through the door until you finish the it.

When I was born, it was found out that something called the Death Tempest resided in me. It's a rare disease randomly scattered throughout wizards, an ugly little parasite that gets stronger and gains more control over your body as you get older. When I was younger, it forced me to be a total bastard, and made me hate life.

The Death Tempest requires enormous amounts of strength to overcome, strength that I did not possess.

I was a bully towards everything, but my parents still loved me, knowing it wasn't me doing all of that.

On the train to Hogwarts, when I met you, the Death Tempest up once, strongly, and then subsided. I was no longer in its control. It took ages for me to figure out, but I finally realized why. It was because of you. You gave me that extra strength I needed to fight it. I could now control the beast that once ran my life.

In fourth year I got a little jealous that you had gotten into the tournament, and it took that as an opportunity to gain control once more. After time, I was strong enough to fight it again, and all was good.

Any spats we've ever had were because my confidence in you slightly wavered, and I lost my hold, slipping again into darkness, yet you were always there, always the light.

Soon the Death Tempest made it known to me that it hated your guts, simply because you were the one that controlled it. It lay in wait, slowly growing stronger each day.

Have you noticed how irritated I'd been getting with you lately? Tempest was making an appearance. With time, even you wouldn't be able to help me, and it would take complete control. I'd come after you and murder you, Harry. There was only one possible way out, and I'm sorry. I truly am, but it would be worse being the cause of your death.'

The letter suddenly cut off, and Harry looked up. How could he have been hiding this all these years? he thought as he pushed open the door to face a sight that would haunt him for the rest of his life.

Ron lay in a pool of his own blood, breathing harshly. At the sound of his friend entering the room, he looked up.

Harry…you came to say goodbye. Thank you,' he gasped. 'You know, wherever I go is going to be extremely boring without you there. I'm going to miss you.'

The Boy-Who-Lived fell to his knees with a wet thud next to his best friend. 'You're not going anywhere! We're going to save you, Ron. Please, don't leave me!'

'Harry, no. If you save my life, I'd kill you. Just…please? I wouldn't be in my right mind. Let me die, as a last wish. Let me go in peace.'

'But—'

'Please. I beg of you! Let me die instead of you, and I'll be happy.' Roy clutched onto the black-haired teen's hand, who nodded sadly.

'I-I'll do it, but I won't ever be able to forgive myself.'

'Thank you.' Roy smiled, eyes closed, and a black, winged goblin tore out of his chest. It flapped it's huge, leathery wings, screeched at Harry, and disappeared into thin air.

'Goodbye, I love you…' Roy opened his eyes to look at his friend, and stopped breathing. Blood still seeped out of his chest and arms, lips slightly apart and eyes glassy with death.

Harry sobbed brokenly. 'What did I do to deserve losing my best friend?' he choked.

With tears openly running down his face, the savior of the wizarding world lifted up the only person he truly wished to save, the letter on his blood-soaked stomach, and walked out of the room.

People rushed around, asking what had happened. Hermione ran up to Harry and took one look at his bowed head and the body he clutched onto like a lifeline.

'Oh my God! What happened to you!'

All Harry could do was choke out three words. 'Take the letter.' She did so, and her friend slunk by, not waiting for her to finish.

Halfway to Dumbledore's office, the busy-haired girl rushed up, placing a hand of support on Harry's back, tears cascading down her face, also.

They spoke the password and stumbled into the Headmaster's office.

Two faces looked up, one white-haired, the other black.

'Dar lord!' exclaimed Dumbledore, pale as a sheet, while Snape rushed forward, checking for his pulse and running a mental list of fatal injuries.

'Death Tempest,' he announced after a couple seconds. 'It tore out of his chest. There's no hope.'

A tear ran down the headmaster's wrinkled face and he walked over to where Harry stood with the body. He smoothed back the red hair and saw a strange mark. 'Wings branching out of the forehead. Yes, it was the Death Tempest. Mr. Weasley was the oldest survivor, I believe. He had someone exceptionally strong, yes? To keep him from giving up.'

Harry shook his head. 'I'm not that strong, Professor.'

Snape stepped in, glaring at his most-hated student. 'He lived for seven years without his curse because of you. As hard as it is to admit it, you do possess an enormous amount of strength.'

He nodded reluctantly.

That Afternoon

'We are all here to honor a particularly loved one of us who died early this morning,' Dumbledore began, looking out at the entirety of Hogwarts and relations of Ron. Everyone was dressed in black, even him. 'Ronald Weasley was the victim of the Death Tempest, an extremely nasty parasite that controls your way of thinking. He drew strength to temporarily overcome this from Mr. Potter, but it eventually rose up again in an effort to murder the one who subdued him. Mr. Weasley knew he wouldn't be able to stand against this for long, so, to put it bluntly, committed suicide, to save his best friend. It was an act of the truest loyalty, and will always be remembered.' He stood aside, and Harry stepped up.

'I know most of you didn't know my best friend like I did, but everyone knew who he was because of his older brothers' fame. He always hated being in the shadows of them, and sometimes, of me. Charlie was one of the best seekers Hogwarts has ever known, Bill and Percy were head boys, and the twins…well…must I elaborate?

'He was kind and generous, though he had an extremely short temper to match his fiery hair. He was good at Quidditch and could beat anyone in the entire school at chess with his eyes closed. He was a prankster at heart, loving to torment Slytherins. Some of my fondest memories are of plotting to get Snape fired and Malfoy expelled, even though we knew they would never work.

'All these years and no one knew he was battling this, drawing on strength from me. I'm happy that I could've helped him, but I wish I were able to continue. It was the worst thing I've ever witnessed, seeing him lying on the floor in his own pool of blood, one I won't easily forget.

'We all must remember him fondly, never looking back on the times he was a jerk and bastard, but when he was a strong arm to keep us going and a helping hand to lead us.'

Harry stepped down from the podium and walked to the ebony casket, laying his precious Firebolt on the top. Sirius'll understand. I know he will.

Others came up, placing objects near the broomstick, or just touching the casket.

Harry looked away when it went up in flames, but shuddered at a light touch and whisper into his ear. 'Farewell, and thank you for letting me go in peace.'

A pair of arms wrapped around him, and the disappeared.

Draco Malfoy walked up to Harry, hands in the deep pockets of his robes. 'He was very misunderstood. I'm sorry for treating you how I did, you and your friends.'

The black-haired boy looked up, startled.

'My father had it too, Death Tempest. He had nothing to give him strength, so it corrupted him. I always wonder what he's really like. Maybe someday I'll be able to draw it away for a bit, and find out.' Malfoy smiled at me. 'I'm truly sorry. I know what it's like to lose someone so dear.'

Harry stood rooted to the ground, thunderstruck. 'Are you being nice!' The blonde shrugged.

'It's the least I can do. Truce?' He held out his hand, and the two shook.

'Truce,' replied Harry.

'So is it really true that you two plotted impossible ways to expel me?' he asked with a chuckle as the two left the Great Hall.

Owari

Forgive me for the overall strangeness of that story. The plot came to me one night in a dream, and I just expanded it and it became…this. Well, review, and I'll forever love you!

Oh, and Draco is not trying to take Ron's place. I just…felt like throwing that in.

InsaneBlackHeart