Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. If I did, then Ron and Hermione would have gotten together in the sixth book, and Fred would not have died.
I want to say thanks again to all of the people who have reviewed and added this story to their faves/alerts. It means so much!
Here's a recap:
"What was that?" Ron heard Lucius Malfoy's voice shout from above them. "Did you hear that? What was that noise in the cellar?"
He and Harry stared at each other. Ron gulped.
"Draco ─ no, call Wormtail! Make him go and check!" Ron heard footsteps crossing the room overhead.
The silence from the drawing room was far from reassuring to him; at least when Hermione was screaming, he knew she was alive.
"We're going to have to try and tackle him," Harry whispered. "Leave the lights on," he added, as Ron was about to pull out the Deluminator. They heard someone descending the steps outside the door, and backed against the wall on either side of it.
"Stand back," said Wormtail. "Stand away from the door. I am coming in."
The door flew open, and he and Harry launched themselves at Wormtail. Ron seized his wand arm and forced it upwards as Harry covered his mouth with his hand to prevent him from calling out. Wormtail's wand emitted sparks, and his silver hand closed around Harry's throat.
"What is it, Wormtail?" called Lucius Malfoy from above.
Thinking fast, Ron called back in what he thought was a decent imitation of Wormtail's voice, "Nothing! All fine!"
Ron turned to look at Harry, who was being strangled before his eyes. Ron was trying to keep a grip on Wormtail's wand arm, and therefore unable to pry the silver fingers away from Harry's throat. Harry said something in a raspy voice to Wormtail, and all of a sudden, the fingers of his silver hand slackened their grip. Harry was able to wrench himself free, but kept his hand on Wormtail's mouth.
"And we'll have that," whispered Ron, taking Wormtail's wand from his normal hand.
Still a little disconcerted about the absence of Hermione's screams, Ron did not immediately notice that Wormtail's silver hand was now moving slowly but surely towards its owner's neck. Once it gained contact, Wormtail's face began to turn blue.
"No!" Ron said, releasing Wormtail's arm and joining Harry in his efforts of prising the silver fingers from around Pettigrew's neck. As horrible as he had been to he, Harry, and Hermione, Ron did not want him to die. He had, after all, been his rat for twelve years.
Desperate, Ron said, "Relashio!" but nothing happened. Pettigrew dropped to his knees, and at the same moment, Hermione gave a dreadful scream. She's still alive, thought Ron as he looked up at the black ceiling of the cellar. He looked back at Pettigrew; he was dead.
He and Harry looked at each other. They left Pettigrew's body in the cellar and raced up the stairs into the hallway leading to the drawing room. Cautiously, they crept along it until they reached the open drawing room door. Ron had a clear view of the scene. He scanned the room for Hermione. He found her at Bellatrix's feet; the only sign of life she showed was the shallow rise and fall of her chest.
"Well?" Bellatrix said to Griphook, who was holding the sword of Gryffindor in his long-fingered hands. "Is it the true sword?"
Ron took a quick look at Harry, who was holding his breath. That must be what Harry was whispering to Griphook about, he thought, because if Bellatrix finds out the sword is real, and that Hermione was lying….He didn't want to think about what Bellatrix would do to her.
"No," said Griphook. "It is a fake."
"Are you sure?" panted Bellatrix. "Quite sure?"
"Yes," said the goblin.
Just as relief broke across Ron's face, Bellatrix's did the same. That can't be good, he thought.
"Good," Bellatrix said, slashing a deep cut into Griphook's face. He dropped to her feet with a yell, and she kicked him aside. "And now," she said triumphantly, "we call the Dark Lord!"
She pushed back her sleeve and pressed her forefinger to the Dark Mark burned in her arm.
Ron watched Harry as his eyes closed and he gripped his forehead. He must be seeing into You-Know-Who's mind, thought Ron, all too familiar with the expression Harry wore on his face.
"And I think," said Bellatrix, "we can dispose of the Mudblood. Greyback, take her if you want her."
Something inside Ron broke. Not pausing to think ─ not realizing that he was an eighteen-year-old who had not finished school, and that three full-grown wizards and a werewolf, all loyal to Voldemort, were inside the drawing room ─ Ron burst through the door with only one thought on his mind: Hermione.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOO!" he yelled as he advanced on Bellatrix and Disarmed her. Harry caught her wand, Stupefied Lucius Malfoy with it, and instantaneously, jets of light shot from Draco's, Narcissa's, and Greyback's wands at Harry and Ron. Harry rolled behind a sofa and Ron ducked to avoid the spells. Just as Ron was preparing to get up and run at Hermione, Bellatrix grabbed her and shrieked, "STOP OR SHE DIES!"
Ron froze. Bellatrix had the silver knife pressed against an unconscious Hermione's throat. In his peripheral vision, Ron saw Harry come out from behind the sofa. Neither lowered their wands.
"Drop your wands," Bellatrix whispered. "Drop them, or we'll see exactly how filthy her blood is!"
Ron did not drop his wand. What he wanted to do was kill Bellatrix, but from the way she was supporting Hermione, he couldn't; he might hit Hermione instead.
"I said, drop them!" she screeched, pressing the blade into Hermione's throat. Ron's heart dropped into his stomach.
"All right!" he heard Harry shout, and he dropped Bellatrix's wand. Knowing they had lost, Ron reluctantly dropped Pettigrew's wand.
"Good!" she leered. "Draco, pick them up! The Dark Lord is coming, Harry Potter! Your death approaches!"
Ron watched as Draco scurried over and picked up their discarded wands. He looked over at Harry, whose face was screwed up in pain. By his friend's countenance, Ron could tell that Voldemort was indeed coming.
"Now," said Bellatrix softly, as Draco hurried back to her with the wands, "Cissy, I think we ought to tie these little heroes up again, while Greyback takes care of Miss Mudblood. I am sure the Dark Lord will not begrudge you the girl, Greyback, after what you have done tonight."
Ron was ready to attack Greyback single-handedly and without a wand, just to keep him away from Hermione, but he did not get the chance. At Bellatrix's last word, a grinding noise came from the ceiling of the drawing room. They all looked upwards in time to see the crystal chandelier tremble; then, with a crack and an ominous jingling, it began to fall. Bellatrix was directly beneath it; she dropped Hermione and threw herself aside with a scream. The chandelier crashed to the floor in an explosion of crystal and chains, falling on top of Hermione. Ron saw the shards of crystal slash at her face, and immediately went to pull her out from under the wreckage.
After he had pulled her out, he gazed upon her face. Even with all of the cuts, she looked beautiful. Ron removed a few pieces of the shattered crystal from her bushy hair.
"Hermione," he whispered softly, stroking the side of her face, feeling her warmth. As if she was waiting for him to say her name, Hermione opened her bloodshot eyes.
"Ron…" she said in a shaky voice.
He was overcome with emotion as he looked intently at the brave witch he loved. Ron could hear a battle occurring elsewhere in the room, but the only thing that existed to him right now was Hermione.
"Shhh, don't talk," he said soothingly. "Save your energy. We need to get out of here. Can you stand up?"
"I think so," said Hermione, grasping Ron's proffered hand so she could get up. She winced as she put weight upon her right leg.
"Ow!"
Ron looked to see what was wrong, but before he could, he heard Harry yell at him.
"Ron!" Harry threw a wand at him. "Catch ─ and GO!"
He caught the wand, and Hermione gripped his arm tightly. A little dazed by her closeness, Ron focused on Shell Cottage, and spun on the spot.
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ALSO- if you are not a big fan of fluff, you may want to stop reading now, because the next chapter will be full of it, as we leave the solid world of Harry's POV and enter into what Ron and Hermione were really up to at Shell Cottage...