Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter
Chapter Nineteen: The Waiting
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This was a nightmare. It had to be.
There was no way that Hermione was really standing in the middle of Grimmauld Place with her parents and the Weasleys – her two families, one magical and one Muggle – watching as Harry was put under some type of daze because Ginny had been captured by Death Eaters right outside of The Burrow.
But it was real.
And Hermione loved her parents, really, but if they didn't stop fussing over her and let her focus on Harry, she was going to snap.
'Is Ginny the little redhead girl? Why was she taken?' asked her mother.
'Who took her?' asked her father.
'And why were you there? Do you try to be put in dangerous situations, Hermione?'
'Mum, Dad, this isn't the time,' Hermione muttered. She had known it would be disastrous the moment she saw her parents step out of the fireplace. She couldn't believe that Mrs Weasley had actually brought them here – to Headquarters, of all places. The worst part was that they had heard the updates that the Weasley boys were giving Mrs Weasley. They had heard everything about Ginny and the Death Eaters. They had heard that Hermione had been there when they were attacked.
Hermione's eyes wandered to Ron, who was standing a few feet away and staring at Harry (who was now under the Wandering Spell) with an unreadable expression. Was she a horrible person because she wanted to be with him instead of her parents? She hadn't seen them in over a month. She should be happy to be with them again. However, they were staring at her in an accusing way, as if she had chosen to be in the middle of this danger all the time.
Well, actually, she did choose to be there. And nothing they could say would make her not want to be with Harry and the Weasleys. She couldn't leave them, not now. She would have to find a way to tell her parents that she wasn't going home with them like they expected her to.
Harry's body gave a frightening jolt and Hermione couldn't take it any longer.
'Excuse me,' she said, giving her parents the brush-off.
'Hermione –' her mother said forcefully, but Hermione wasn't listening. She stepped around them and went to Ron, who didn't take his eyes off Harry but put his arm around her. Harry was now examining his hand with great interest. Hermione wondered if the Wandering Spell also made you go a bit nutters.
'Can you hear me, Harry?' asked Tonks.
Hermione watched as Harry opened and closed his mouth wordlessly, looking similar to a fish out of water, before nodding slowly.
'Look around. Can you see anything?'
There was no answer for a moment, though Harry's head was moving slightly from side to side as if inspecting something, and Ron groaned in frustration.
'Is Ginny there? Can you see her?' demanded Ron.
Harry's head shook.
Hermione had no idea that a person under the Wandering Spell was so active. Really, they could see just about everything Harry was doing. Every move he made, other than walking (Hermione guessed this was why Harry had to lie down); they could see him act out on the floor of Grimmauld Place.
Ron sighed and tightened his grip on her slightly. Was it wrong of her to be thinking about him in that way while Ginny was gone and Harry was doing a dangerous spell, trying to find her? Yes, she decided, it was slightly inappropriate. But she couldn't stop thinking about him. Did he return her feelings by holding her, or was he merely comforting her? She had been through a somewhat traumatic experience, after all.
Nothing happened for a few moments. Harry was chewing his lip, as if debating something. Not one set of eyes left him – even Hermione's parents were watching intently now. Nobody missed the pained look that crossed his features or the way his whole body seemed to tense.
'What is it?' asked Tonks. 'What's wrong?' He didn't answer. Had he been caught? Was that even possible? Hermione wasn't familiar with the Wandering Spell. It was something taught to Aurors during training, and she could only vaguely recall coming across it once during fifth year, when she had gone through the entire library for yet another round of "light reading". But the book that had mentioned it had offered no explanation for it and she, for once, hadn't chosen to explore it further. How was she supposed to know that this would happen, that Harry would ever have to do this sort of spell? 'Harry?'
At last, Harry's body relaxed. Hermione let out a shaky breath and forced herself to keep her eyes on her friend, almost afraid of what his body would do next. The silence in the kitchen was deafening and Hermione hadn't realized that she had begun daydreaming until Tonks interrupted her train of thought again.
'Fifteen minutes left. Hurry.'
Harry shook his head and his body stiffened slightly, his features tightening. He looked ... angry. Something had set him off, Hermione thought. She hoped against hope that he wouldn't do anything stupid. The anger seemed to be replaced with fear moments later as Hermione heard him gasp; giving her the sense that something big was happening. She hated this, not being able to see what was going on at Malfoy Manor. She was sure it was something awful, something she didn't want to see. But she wasn't very fond of being kept in the dark. She needed to know things. She needed to have answers. She needed to give answers.
She was Hermione Granger. It was what she did.
Mrs Weasley was clutched in Mr Weasley's arms. Hermione hated this. Why did the Weasleys constantly have to suffer? Whether it was Bill or Percy or Mr Weasley ... it was as if the family had a huge target on their backs. And now Ginny was in danger. Who would be next? Would it be Ron? Hermione shuddered and leaned against him, into his arms.
Tonks gave Kingsley a worried look. 'Are you getting anything?' she asked Harry. A flicker of annoyance passed over Harry's features, but he didn't answer. 'Are you there?'
Why wasn't he answering? Hermione understood that he couldn't speak, but he could at least nod or shake his head or something.
Ron let go of her and took a few steps forward. 'Bloody hell, are you listening?' he yelled at Harry. 'Is she there or not?'
Hermione grabbed his arm and attempted to pull him back. 'Ron –'
'Well, honestly,' he said, spinning around to face his mum. 'Make him answer us!' Bill and Charlie shot Ron warning glances.
An eternity seemed to pass after that. Hermione leaned against the wall and stared down at Harry, tapping her foot in silent unison with the ticking of the kitchen clock. Whoever said that waiting was the hardest part had been absolutely correct. This was murder.
She felt as though someone was staring at her and looked up to find her parents watching her closely. Well, her father was watching her. Her mother, on the other hand, was watching everyone else. She was staring at everyone in the room as if they had all sprouted three extra heads and Hermione felt slightly annoyed and, yes, irritated, at the critical look on her face. So they weren't perfect. But they were her friends – they were her family, just as much as her parents were, actually. Her parents were going to have to learn to accept that.
The Grangers and the Weasleys had always gotten on quite nicely in the past. Why, at the beginning of the summer, they had all gathered at The Burrow and had a nice dinner. But that was before Hermione had been injured. She knew she couldn't blame her parents for being slightly skeptical. It would be too big of a risk to tell Hermione's parents about the Horcruxes, and so they were left in the dark. They had been forced to draw their own conclusions as to how Hermione had gotten hurt. Perhaps they could have let it go and gotten past it, but she had also been injured at the end of her fifth year. And she had been Petrified in second year. It looked bad, she had to admit.
Her mother was now looking around the room. A thought struck Hermione: her parents were at Headquarters. She had realized this before, of course, but the weight of the situation only hit her now. If they couldn't know about the Horcruxes, would it be safe for them to know where Grimmauld Place was? Even if they weren't acting as Secret Keepers, they could still be tortured for information.
'Professor,' Hermione said in a soft voice, taking a few steps toward McGonagall, 'my parents. They won't ... they won't be in danger because of this, right? I mean, they're at Headquarters. And they're Muggles, you see ...'
'No, Miss Granger,' said McGonagall, who wasn't taking her eyes off Harry. 'If you are truly concerned, however, we can modify their memories. With their permission, of course.'
Mrs Granger let out a small yelp and Hermione shook her head. 'Um, no ... I don't think that will be necessary.' McGonagall nodded and Hermione forced herself to look back over at her parents.
'Headquarters?' her father demanded. 'Hermione, what have you gotten yourself into?'
Hermione shook her head, not answering, and went back over to Ron. She couldn't deal with this right now. It was too overwhelming. Everything about this day was utter crap, and she just wanted to go to sleep and wake up tomorrow to find that it was all a dream – a nightmare – a hallucination. It could be anything, really. She wasn't picky.
Lupin muttered something to Tonks, who sighed. 'You have five minutes,' she said, her voice sounding worried. Harry's fist clenched at his side and his face was screwed up in concentration.
'This is mad,' Ron muttered. 'I hate not knowing what's happening ... I hate that all we have to go by is Harry's bloody facial expressions.'
Hermione nodded and frowned. Bill began pacing the room. Charlie was standing in the corner, so still that Hermione had to wonder if he had been Petrified. Fred and George were sitting in two chairs, apparently not finding anything about this situation remotely funny. Percy was cracking his knuckles nervously.
Percy ... what was he doing there? Hermione wondered what had happened while she and Ginny were at the pond. Percy had been Stunned ... had he been fighting alongside his family? Had they made up? Had they simply come together, for Ginny's sake, but were still estranged? It was far too confusing. There were too many possibilities.
'Thirty seconds, Harry.'
Thirty seconds?
Harry hadn't found Ginny. He would've given some indication. He would have nodded or jumped or done something. There was no hope now. Maybe Ginny wasn't there. Maybe Malfoy had only given her that message to throw them off Voldemort's trail.
'Ginny.'
Hermione heard Ron inhale sharply. Had Harry just said what she thought he said? It sounded like he had whispered Ginny's name. Everyone took a few tentative steps closer to Harry.
'It's okay,' he whispered. 'I'm going to come back for you. I'm going to kill them all for this.'
Harry was going to come back for her. Did that mean Ginny was alive? Hermione breathed a sigh of relief.
But then the rest of his statement was processed in her brain: He was going to kill the Death Eaters. There wasn't a doubt in her mind that he would, too. That was scary. Harry, her best friend, the one she'd known since she was eleven, was going to become a murderer.
'Twenty seconds.'
He was going to become one anyway, regardless of whether or not he killed a few Death Eaters. He would have to kill Voldemort. But that was different. There was no way around killing Voldemort.
Merlin, how had it come to this? Harry was going to be a murderer. And judging by the look on Ron's face when he found out that Ginny had been taking, he was going to become one as well. They weren't going to be innocent any longer.
But really, how innocent had they been in the first place? Hadn't this war stolen their innocence long ago? Was killing someone really going to make a difference? A Death Eater was evil, but there was still a person under those robes. Hermione didn't think she'd be able to kill one of them.
'Ten seconds,' said Tonks, shifting on her feet. 'Get ready.'
She was slightly unnerved, but she wasn't sure if it was because she felt sure Ron and Harry would be able to kill one, or because she didn't particularly think they would be committing a sin by doing it.
But Hermione had know all along, logically, that virtually nobody would escape the war without getting a bit of blood on their hands. If it came down to it, she would do what was best for Harry, for Ron and for everyone else she loved. She would be able to kill. She would force herself to do it.
This revelation knocked the wind of out her. She was willing to take someone's life in order to protect Harry, Ron or Ginny. But it wasn't even them, per say. If it was any of the Weasleys ... if it was Tonks or Lupin or Kingsley ... Professor McGonagall ... even Moody ... she would draw her wand and hold her breath, hoping she had enough feeling to conjure the Killing Curse.
They had lost so many people already, so many wonderful people who didn't deserve to have their lives taken away. She thought of Sirius, of Dumbledore ... of Harry's parents, and Neville's, too. She thought of Gideon and Fabian Prewett, the uncles Ron and Ginny sometimes mentioned, the ones who had been killed by Voldemort years and years ago.
She knew that they wouldn't lose any others – not if she could help it. She would never lose her parents, or the Weasleys. They would get Ginny back, and she would be okay. Hermione couldn't lose Ginny, one of her best friends, the girl whose smile lit up a room and whose heart was as big as they came.
She would never lose Harry – sweet, brave, noble Harry – to the fight. She would never let him quit, never let him give up or be killed by Voldemort.
And no matter what, she would never lose Ron.
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The first thing Harry said when the spell wore off was: 'BASTARD!'
Ron was impressed that Hermione didn't even flinch. On the contrary, she was chewing her lip and seemed to be deep in thought about something. Merlin, she was gorgeous. 'Well?' he asked eagerly, regaining his head.
Harry got to his feet, his eyes wide with worry, looking momentarily disoriented. 'Snape!' he yelled. 'Snape is there with Ginny! They're at Malfoy Manor ... I saw them!'
Snape? Snape, the one who had killed Dumbledore some two moths previous, was with his sister?
'Was he torturing her?' asked Bill.
Harry shook his head. 'He was probably about to, though!' he yelled, the urgency in his voice rather apparent now. 'Professor, Ginny is there. I know for a fact ... why are we still standing around? Let's move!'
'Very well,' said McGonagall. 'Potter, Granger, Weasley: you may go up to bed. Miss Granger, please show your parents to a room. Everyone else, follow me.'
Wait – what was going on? Ron blinked stupidly, trying to understand what had just happened. Harry had done the spell and found out that Ginny was really at Malfoy Manor. They had everything they needed. All they had to do was storm in there and bust her out. Why was McGonagall acting as though Ginny's life wasn't on the line here?
His sister was alone with Snape, completely defenseless, and everyone was standing around, twiddling their bloody thumbs.
'Excuse me,' Harry said, sounding a bit panicked and very incredulous, 'but you're not serious, right? We aren't going up to bed, Professor! Don't you get it? Ginny is gone. She's at Malfoy Manor with all those Death Eaters! She isn't going to come back unless we do something!'
'Which is what we will be doing, Potter,' McGonagall said firmly. 'We now know that Miss Weasley is being held at Malfoy Manor. But we still cannot make a move without strategizing.' She placed her hands on her hips and gave him a stern look. 'We will need time, a few hours, perhaps, to properly plan this,' she continued. 'When I suggested that you get some sleep, I merely assumed you would like some. You are more than welcome to go up to the drawing room and wait, if you would prefer it.'
'What I would prefer is for all of us to quit standing around here with our heads up our arses!' cried Harry. He looked expectantly at Mr Weasley. 'Mr Weasley – this is ridiculous! Tell her that this is ridiculous!'
Mr Weasley bowed his head. 'Ridiculous though it may seem,' he said, 'Minerva is right. We need to take the proper precautions.'
Ron could never recall a time in his life, before now, when he had wanted to hurt his father, to scream at him and shake him until he conceded and Ron got his way. How could he do this? How could he say this? It was his daughter at stake! McGonagall was crazy. She had gone mad! She had lost all bearing, and now she was trying to lead the Order, as if this was a mission for some bloody Horcrux or something. This was Ginny. She was about a million times more important that any stupid Horcrux.
'Perhaps it would be best if Miss Granger saw a Healer before turning in. I will contact Audrey. You look like you could do with a Deflating Potion for your jaw, Potter.'
Harry met Ron's eyes and a flicker of understanding passed through them.
A sense of panic and – was that thrill? – coursed through Ron's body.
'Fine,' Harry sighed angrily. 'C'mon, let's go.' He motioned for Ron and Hermione to follow him as he left the kitchen and made his way toward the stairs. 'We'll be upstairs, when you lunatics need us!'
'Mum, Dad, follow me,' said Hermione. 'I'll find you a room to stay in while we wait.'
As everyone split up, Ron hurried after Harry, taking the stairs two at a time, and stopped beside him in the middle of the corridor. 'We have to leave Hermione out of this,' Ron said instantly. 'She can't know.'
Harry nodded. 'The less people involved, the better,' he agreed. 'It's you and me, that's it.'
No matter how Ron felt about Harry right now, in that second, the eleven-year-old boy inside of him jumped for joy at Harry's acceptance and trust. Harry could've easily slipped out without anyone noticing. Instead, he chose to find Ron first. He chose to include Ron.
'Where is she?'
'In one of the dungeons,' Harry said. 'The place is so sodding confusing ... there are so many corridors and staircases ...'
'Bloody Malfoys,' Ron muttered. 'You know where to go, right?'
'Right,' said Harry.
'Okay. I'll follow you, then.'
Harry nodded and cursed. 'Except ... do you know where Malfoy Manor is, exactly?' Ron shook his head. 'We'll never be able to Apparate there without getting lost or Spliching ourselves. And going by Floo would be way too stupid, even for us.'
'How will we do it, then?' asked Ron. He could feel the hope of rescuing Ginny slipping away, being replaced with disappointment and dread.
'We need a Portkey,' Harry said. He sighed. 'And there's only one person here who knows how and would even consider making us one.'
'Hermione,' said Ron.
'What about Hermione?' Ron cursed inwardly and spun around. Hermione was standing behind them, a curious expression on her face and her arms folded across her chest. 'Well? What about me?'
'Er – nothing,' he said quickly. 'Where've you been?'
'I went to set my parents up in one of the spare rooms,' she said slowly, giving them The Look. She unfolded her arms and took a few steps closer, her eyes widening in recognition. 'You're going after her, aren't you?'
Ron shook his head furiously but Harry said, 'Yes. And we need a Portkey.'
Harry was completely daft if he expected Hermione to help them out. Ron knew she'd never go for it. Why in the world would she? It was crazy and irrational and dangerous. And maybe it was okay to Ron because Ginny was his sister and, well, he wasn't exactly a logical thinker to begin with … but Hermione was different. She had the ability to separate her feelings from important decisions. She would more than likely run straight to McGonagall and tell her that Ron and Harry were planning on going to the Manor alone.
'I'll need my wand,' Hermione said in a very business-like tone. 'It's at The Burrow.' Her eyes flickered back and forth between Harry and Ron. 'Give me five minutes. Create a distraction or something – whatever you do, don't let anyone notice that I'm gone.'
Apparently, the entire world had gone nutters, because Hermione had just agreed to help Ron and Harry sneak out, completely disobeying orders and breaking about a million rules.
That, or Ron simply didn't know Hermione Granger as well as he thought he did.
No. It was the first one. Definitely.
Hermione began walking down the stairs. She stopped at half and turned back around. 'I'll get your Invisibility Cloak while I'm there, Harry.'
Harry nodded and they watched as Hermione disappeared.
'Look, Ron ... about Ginny –'
Ron cut him off with his hand. 'Not now. Please.' Too much was going on for Ron to focus on Harry and Ginny. He wasn't even angry about it, not really. The more he thought about it, the less he cared. Which is what bothered him the most. He was supposed to be Ginny's big brother; he was supposed to protect her. He was angry with himself, not Harry. He should've been watching her better. Or perhaps he should've realized a long time ago that Ginny was resourceful and would do whatever she had to when it came to Harry.
'Professor!'
Ron flinched as Hermione's voice reached his ears.
'So sorry, Hermione, but I'm under orders,' he heard Lupin say from downstairs. 'I'm not allowed to let you, Ron or Harry pass through here. I was – wait, were you going to the fireplace?'
'Um ... yes,' said Hermione. Ron and Harry exchanged looks and crept closer to the edge of the stairs, to better hear Hermione and Lupin's exchange. 'You see, I left my wand and The Burrow and I'll need it ...'
'Oh, yes, of course,' said Lupin. 'Hold it – if you were simply going to get your wand, then why were you creeping downstairs?'
Ron held his breath and waited for Hermione to answer. 'You know, Professor ... that is an excellent question. Why was I creeping? Why was I creeping?' she repeated, stalling for time. 'Well, I didn't – I didn't want to interrupt your meeting! Yes, that's it. And so I thought that if I went quietly, I wouldn't disturb you adults.' Harry sighed and shook his head. 'I'll be going to get my wand now. Carry on.' Ron rolled his eyes. Hermione was an awful liar.
Lupin chuckled. 'I may be a werewolf, but I am not an idiot. Upstairs with you,' he said.
'You don't understand, I –'
'I think I understand quite well, actually,' Lupin said lightly. 'Please, Hermione, go upstairs. I'd hate to have to cause a scene because you aren't obeying orders and are planning ... well, I can only imagine what must be going on in that brain of yours.' Hermione laughed nervously. 'Especially since your parents are only just upstairs,' he pressed on.
When Hermione appeared at the base of the stairs, looking defeated, Ron knew that she had been bested by Professor Lupin.
'I tried,' she said quietly.
Harry sighed but nodded.
'We'll just have to think of something else.'
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'Perhaps this is for the best,' Hermione said a few minutes later. The trio was still in the corridor, sitting on the cold floor and slumped against the rough walls, searching their brains. 'Maybe McGonagall was right.'
Harry gritted his teeth. McGonagall wasn't right. Just because he, Ron and Hermione couldn't come up with another feasible way of getting to Malfoy Manor didn't mean they shouldn't. It only meant that they should try harder.
Well, there was a chance that Hermione and McGonagall were right. Harry knew that he probably wasn't thinking as rationally as he could be. But Ginny was in danger. What else mattered, really?
The adults were supposed to be strategizing ... but how long did that take? They had already been waiting for what felt like a few centuries. How much more time did they need?
The worst part was that Harry knew Ginny wouldn't ever speak to him again, once they got her back. She hated him. He hated himself.
All this time, Harry had been hurting her because he was trying to keep her safe. He thought he was protecting her. And instead, she had been right: she had been a target since the age of eleven – both because of Harry's connection to her family and her connection to Tom Riddle's diary – and whether she and Harry were officially together throughout the summer or not, they had been linked at Hogwarts. Snape had heard the gossip. And that was enough to hurt Ginny, to put her in danger, no matter how hard Harry tried to keep her safe. Snape knew. And that bastard used his knowledge of Harry to hit him where it hurt: his heart.
Severus Snape was the one who told Voldemort about the prophecy. He was the reason Harry's parents were dead. Harry hated Snape with a passion, but he was not at the top of Harry's list. But if Ginny died, it would be Snape's doing, and he would earn himself the top position on said list. Harry didn't care. Snape would even be ahead of Voldemort.
Something Dumbledore had once told him entered his mind: Love was what he needed to defeat Voldemort. It was what saved Harry from the Killing Curse when he was an infant, and he knew that if he survived Voldemort this time around, it would be because of his love for Ginny and her love for him.
'How can you even say that?' demanded Ron.
'There are a lot of things to take into consideration,' Hermione said carefully.
'Like what?' Harry asked. 'Like the prophecy?'
'Well ... yes, that's something to think about,' said Hermione. 'The prophecy is an important part.'
'I agree,' said Harry. 'And unless we have "a power the Dark Lord knows not", none of the rest matters.'
'What are you talking about?'
'Ginny,' said Harry. Hermione furrowed her brow. Suddenly, everything seemed to click into place. It all made sense … was he the only one who saw it? 'Don't you get it, Hermione? Ginny's the first female Weasley to be born in ... well, a long time,' he said. 'And she was born in August ...'
Ron's eyes widened after a moment. 'But you don't think –?'
'Yeah, I do.'
'Would someone please tell me what's going on?' Hermione interjected. Harry nearly laughed. Since when did Hermione not understand something?
'She was born in August,' Harry repeated. Hermione nodded. 'That means that she had to be ... er, conceived ... around November.'
'Well, that's an image every child wants of their parents,' Ron said with a shudder.
'The prophecy was made right at the very end of October,' Harry said, ignoring Ron. 'What if ... what if the "power" was meant to be Ginny?'
'Do you mean to say,' Hermione said slowly, 'that you think Ginny is your ... destiny?'
Harry shrugged. It sounded right in his head, but when she said it aloud ... it sounded cheap or cliché or something silly like that. 'I've got enough "destinies" to fulfill already, thanks. But yeah, I guess that's what I'm saying.'
'So if the prophecy was never made, Ginny wouldn't exist,' Hermione said, more to herself than anyone else. 'Or Ron would have another brother, instead of a sister.'
'It makes sense, though,' said Ron. 'If the prophecy hadn't existed, Harry's parents would still be alive and he probably wouldn't be friends with me.'
Harry frowned. 'Ron –'
'You wouldn't have asked Mum how to get through the barrier,' Ron clarified, seeing the look on his friend's face. 'And then we wouldn't have met. Mum wouldn't have practically adopted you if you had a family of your own already.'
'And if you didn't spend your summers at The Burrow,' Hermione said, 'then you wouldn't know Ginny. Not very well, at least.' She paused for a moment and chewed her lip. 'It's almost as if some force out there knew that – that you'd need someone to love, Harry, and so –'
Ron sighed. 'My brain is starting to hurt. Can we just drop this?'
Harry nodded but couldn't shake the thought that Ginny was meant for him – that she was "destined" for him, as Hermione had put it. Was it possible? Or was he looking too far into things? But Hermione had agreed with him. Was it merely a coincidence that Ginny was the first female to be born into the Weasley family in ages? Or that she was the seventh child of a seventh child?
'Hello, there,' Harry heard Lupin say from the kitchen.
'Remus, hello. How are you?'
'Not very well, actually ... things around here are rather tense at the moment,' Lupin said.
'Yes. Awful, that. Where is she?'
'Upstairs.'
Harry craned his neck and saw Audrey climbing the stairs.
Hermione sighed. 'No, no, I don't need an examination,' she said.
'Nonsense,' Audrey said, holding up her hands. 'Whether you are hurt or not, I'm under strict orders from Minerva. I must examine you. Shall we use one of these rooms?' she suggested. Hermione didn't answer. 'Don't make this hard, Hermione.'
Hermione muttered something under her breath but stood up and followed Audrey down the corridor.
'Do anything while I'm gone,' warned Hermione as she walked away, 'and I'll hex you both.'
Harry smirked as Ron yelled after her, 'But you don't have a wand!'
They sat in companionable silence for a long moment. Harry risked a glance at Ron, hoping to get an idea of what he was thinking, and found his friend staring back at him.
'We'll get her back,' Ron said.
Ron's assurance caused hope to bubble up in Harry's chest, but he quickly squashed it, knowing better than to get his hopes up. 'You don't know that,' said Harry. 'Not for sure.'
'I'd stake my life on it,' said Ron. Harry winced. Didn't Ron get how serious the situation was? Didn't he understand that Ginny was stubborn and wouldn't cooperate ... didn't he understand that the Death Eaters would mostly likely get bored and annoyed and end up killing her, like they did to anyone else who got in their way? 'You, Hermione and I, we'll get her back.'
Harry attempted a smile. 'So Hermione's allowed in on this one, then? I thought she had to be left out of it.'
Ron sighed and nodded. 'She's too smart for her own good, sometimes. I hate to say it ... but we need her. She's a better fighter than half those bloody Aurors.'
Harry nodded silently and looked down at his hands. 'This is such a mess. And it's –'
'It isn't your bloody fault,' Ron said earnestly. 'You fancy my sister, Harry. I –'
'But I don't fancy her,' he said quietly, looking back up to meet Ron's eyes. 'I'm in love with her.'
Ron gave a noncommittal head nod. 'Okay, so you're in love with my sister. So what? I'm in love with Hermione. If something happened to her, would it be my fault, then?' asked Ron, though Harry knew that if something happened to Hermione, Ron would take full responsibility for it.
Harry shook his head, his thoughts too focused on Ginny to even realize what his friend had just admitted about their other friend.
'I'm sorry about before. I didn't mean to hit you.'
'I deserved it,' Harry said.
'Yeah,' Ron laughed. 'But still ... if Ginny has to be with someone, I'm glad it's you.' Harry nodded, unsure of what to say in response. 'Listen,' continued Ron, now shifting uncomfortably and averting his eyes. 'I suppose it wouldn't do to well for me to kill you until after you've beaten You-Know-Who,' he said lightly, 'but I need to know – without going into detail, please. Did you do anything with my sister ... other than have a few snogs?'
'No,' said Harry, and Ron sighed in relief.
Sometimes, Harry noted, it was just easier to lie.
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