Disclaimer: I wrote this when I was 12 to 13 in 2003. Harry Potter is hereby © to J.K. Rowling. Everything else is © to me, or its respective owners.

Chapter Twenty Seven: Death and Injury pt. 2

Ron had reached a clearing, and decided to stop and rest. He had been trudging through the thick growth of brambles and trees for several hours. He set up a small camp site and opened the bag that Hermione had filled with food for him. Inside, he found ice-cold pumpkin juice in a large flagon, as well as several other things. He found a warm bottle of butterbeer and ham sandwiches. He started eating, and finished rather quickly, and fell asleep on the soft, mossy, forest floor.

Several days later, Hermione was sitting in her dormitory, restless.

"I'm getting worried…" She said to Cho, who just walked in with Lin. "He hasn't come back yet…"

"Don't worry…He will…" Cho whispered.

"I just…can't imagine what Mr. and Mrs. Weasley and the others are going through…It must've hurt them so much…"

Hermione had sent the Weasleys a letter explaining what happened…

A few hours after Ron had left…

Hermione was writing the letter she had promised to write. She signed her name, and reread the letter to herself, wondering if it was good enough…

Dear Weasley Family,

I promised to write this letter to you. I promised Ron I would, and I can't break a promise. I'm really sorry, but I have to tell you something very important…A few days ago Voldemort arrived at the school with several Death Eaters. He had come to cause trouble as usual…If you didn't know, Harry and Cho have a daughter named Lin…So anyway, Voldemort realized that Lin had been born, and he had come to kill Harry, Cho, and the rest of the Light Defense League. Voldemort temporarily took Lin from Cho, and refused to give her back. But you see, -I'm sure you're very worried at this point- your daughter, Ginny has such a good heart. She returned Lin to Cho and Harry, but once Lin had been returned to her parent's arms, Voldemort turned his wand upon Ginny and killed her. Ron was devastated. I tried to stop him. He almost took on Voldemort single-handed right there. Harry and the others, and Dumbledore stepped in, and prevented Ron from getting hurt. Just a few hours ago today, Ron snapped. It was during Potions class when he yelled at Professor Snape and stormed out of class. I went after him. Soon, he was dressing in his traveling cloak and had his wand at his side. He was planning to go after Voldemort and get revenge. I tried to stop him yet again…but he wouldn't listen. He was determined to get revenge. Before he left, I promised I would send this to you. Ron has gone. He's gone off to hunt for Voldemort. He's in the Forbidden Forest right now, hunting him. (Voldemort and his Death Eaters fled to the forest after Ginny had been killed.) I'm really sorry…I miss him already…I just can't take this anymore…I don't know how much longer I'll be able to prevent myself from running into that forest, wand drawn, and ready to fight anything in my way to get him back…Again, I'm really sorry.

Love from,

Hermione

The following morning, Mrs. Weasley had written back, the parchment splotched with tears.

Dear Hermione,

I just can't believe this…my only daughter…gone…and my youngest son, out in the forest…I've told the boys and Arthur. They're absolutely devastated. I can't believe that You-Know-Who would go to such lengths as that…My poor Ginny…she never even got to be Head Girl…or take her NEWTs, and come home to us a fully qualified witch…or show us her exam results and hug us goodbye when she'd move out…or see what kind of job she'd get, or what kind of person she would be…she was so young…and I'll never see her again…The boys, Arthur, and I send our love to all of you. And we hope for Ron's safe return. I couldn't bear to lose my Ronnie…I do hope that you'll take care of him.

Best Wishes,

Molly Weasley

The memory haunted her. She hardly slept anymore. She always woke up in the night and checked the boys dormitory repeatedly, hoping that Ron had returned during the night. But every time she rushed to his bed, he was never there. Every time he was never there, she'd run back to her dormitory and cry. Or when she saw Cho, Harry, and Lin sitting around the fire in the common room cuddled together, she'd scream in anguish and run out of the room. Whenever she saw Tom, Whitney, and Mercadez together, the same sting of jealousy would hit her just as it did when she saw Cho with Harry and Lin.

Ron finally reached a clearing and found Voldemort waiting for him.

"So Weasley, you've found me at last…I've been expecting you…" Voldemort hissed.

"You killed my sister! You'll pay!" Ron snarled.

"That's getting pretty old, Weasley…I bet that even if your parents sold everything in your sister's room you wouldn't even get two galleons…" A Death Eater snickered.

"Malfoy, play nicely with the boy…He wants to challenge me. Let's have him save his anger for something more useful." Voldemort said quietly.

"Yes, my Lord." Malfoy replied, sneering.

"Ever been in a duel, Weasley?" Voldemort asked, his blood red eyes glittering.

"No." Ron replied.

"Well, then let's give you a quick lesson…that way, the sooner you learn, the sooner you can get your chance to try and kill me."

Ron glared at Voldemort angrily, and waited for his lesson on dueling. But it did not come. Voldemort had raised his wand and sent a jet of jade colored light towards him. Ron flung himself behind a thick tree and sighed with relief. The spell hit the tree, and it started melting. Ron jumped away in surprise, his eyes wide with shock, and then took cover behind some more trees and stunned a few Death Eaters. Unfortunately, that gave away his hiding place, and the remaining Death Eaters and Voldemort were sending spells at Ron.

It seemed to go on for hours. Ron was out of breath, panting and sweaty, all of the Death Eaters lay motionless on the forest floor. In the middle of the clearing, Voldemort was scanning the trees with his cold eyes, listening for any sign of movement.

"It's just you and me, Weasley…I'm very impressed by your skill…you were able to take out all of my Death Eaters single-handedly…I never would have thought that you, being the son of a muggle-loving fool would actually hold such power within you…" Voldemort hissed.

Ron angrily gritted his teeth, and balled his fists, and accidentally crushed nearby twigs with loud snaps. Voldemort had heard the twigs and sent a jet of violet light at Ron. It made contact, and Ron fell over with a thud, a trickle of blood coming from his mouth. The last thing he saw and heard was bright light and Voldemort laughing…

He was surrounded in white light.

'Am I dead?' He asked himself.

'No,' Another voice answered. 'But you are in a place between life and death.'

'Is this heaven?' Ron asked.

'You are at the gates of the Angel's City, but yet, you do not want to leave this world…what is your reason?'

'My reason? What do you mean?'

'Your reason to live, your reason why you are holding onto life so firmly?'

"My reason…is Hermione…" He whispered.

'Then it is not time for you to leave yet…go back to her. And your friends…and family…You are not yet ready to die.'

The forest came back into focus and he saw that Voldemort and the Death Eaters had gone. Shakily, he got to his feet and dusted the twigs and leaves out of his hair. He slowly made his way back to the castle, and reached his destination very quickly.

'Hermione. I must see your face again. I must see your beautiful face again…I need to see you smile again…' He thought, as he came closer and closer to the castle.

The trees were thinning, and he could barely make out the tops of the tallest towers poking through the trees. Then, he reached the edge of the forest. He was just a little way from Hagrid's cabin. He could see inside the windows, and there she was, Hermione. Along with her, Harry, Cho, Lin, Akira, Tom, Draco, Alyssia, Mercadez, and Whitney. Hermione was looking very sad and everyone had gathered around her, trying to comfort her. Then, she looked out the window, and within five seconds, she bolted out the back door, tears of joy in her eyes, and the biggest smile the world had ever seen. She ran toward him, and cried the whole way.

"Ron!" She exclaimed.