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"Well, it happened about a month and a half ago." Ronald looked intently at his feet for a second before continuing. "It was Malfoy…
It had been a normal day at the office for Ron so far. His paperwork was piled haphazardly around his cluttered desk as he wrote on a very official-looking piece of parchment. He wrote steadily on the parchment until the very last bit. He then carefully signed his name, and rolled and sealed it with a tap of his wand. He stretched slowly and yawned. Catching a glimpse at the clock, he noticed it was only 3:00 p.m. and still had at least 3 hours until his shift ended.
Someone slammed open the door to the Auror department. Ron did not even bother to look up. This sort of thing happened all the time, if the person who had barged into the office area needed him, they would come and find him.
Obviously, whoever it was did need Ron because someone spoke frantically behind him. "Ron, RON! Quick, we need you. Come on!"
Ron looked up. Harry stood there looking disheveled and extremely anxious. "What is it?" Ron inquired.
"St. Mungo's. All I know is that the panic button was pressed, and that none of the healers can get up to the level it was pressed on. We have to go, now!"
Ron got up and threw on his cloak while following Harry out of the office. The two raced to the lifts and into the atrium. Harry reached a fireplace first, threw some powder into the flames, and disappeared into a blaze of brilliant green fire. Ron was quick to copy him.
Ron arrived into the waiting room of St. Mungo's coughing. He quickly stepped out of the fireplace, brushed himself off quickly, and looked at his surroundings. It was utter chaos. Healers were scurrying around trying to calm people down. One man in the corner was screaming, "What's going on! My little girl, is she all right? Someone tell me!"
Harry was already at the stairs, talking to a healer about what was stopping them from reaching the fourth floor. Ron heard the healer say that some sort of barrier had been put up and that no one had successfully gotten through it. He also explained that they had not tried to break through it using any spells, as they were afraid of what may happen if they tried.
Harry nodded to the unnamed healer and began climbing the stairs as Ron followed. As the best friends reached the landing to enter the fourth floor, Harry turned around quickly and cast a nervous glance at Ron. "You know where we are, right?"
"Yes." Answered Ron simply. He felt confused as to why Harry was asking him this question.
"Are you sure?"
Ron was very confused. "Yeah, I'm sure where we are. We're on the fourth floor of St….oh." He now knew why Harry had asked him this question.
"Yeah, just be careful, alright?'
"Of course. It is okay. I'm a professional now, remember?"
"Sure. On three now, 'Reducto' curses, okay?"
"Got it."
"Fine then. One…two…three…"
Both Harry and Ron screamed "reducto" at the same time, and a large piece of wall, magical barrier included, fell to the floor. Harry stepped tentatively through the dust and Ron followed.
The hallway was completely empty. Ron was on the verge of asking Harry if they were on the right floor, when Ron heard a distinct scream coming from a room down the hall. Ron knew that scream, having heard it many times before. He moved as fast as his mortal legs could possibly go, racing toward the sound that was shattering him to pieces the longer that it sounded.
He finally reached the door that the screams seemed to be issuing from as the scream faded. Harry caught up to Ron in moment and they looked at each other, shock and determination etched on their faces.
Behind the door, a voice was talking. Ron could barely make out the words. "Stupid mudblood should have known better. Where are your stupid friends now? No bleeding blood traitor and scar head to save you this time. I am going to kill you slowly, you know. Just so I can watch the light leave your pretty little eyes. Kill you slowly, because you deserve this after what you did to the Dark Lord, and what you did to my family. Crucio!"
Another heart-wrenching scream echoed from behind the door. Harry was mouthing instructions to him. Harry held up 3 fingers and slowly started a countdown. As he put the last finger down, Harry screamed "Reducto" at the door, as Ron pointed his wand to the masked assailant, and screamed "Petrificus Totalus!"
A body hit the floor, and a brown-haired brown-eyed woman stirred feebly on the floor. She looked up at her two saviors, and mouthed "Thanks." Harry pulled her to her feet, and she crumpled in his arms. Ron gave the two a scathing look, and turned away. He focused his attention on the attacker. Ron took off the mask that covered his face, and was startled to see and adult Draco Malfoy. Malfoy's eyes swiveled in their sockets, as that was the only part of his body he could move.
Ron turned back around, to see Hermione looking at him. "Thanks, Ron." She whispered softly.
"Yeah, whatever." Was all he managed to reply. He wanted to yell at her, he wanted to kiss her, he also felt like correcting her. He was definitely feeling more emotions than a teaspoon could hold now.
"Whatever? You just saved my life, again." Her chocolate eyes started swimming in tears.
"That's right. Whatever. It's not like you care about me anymore, anyways."
For a moment it looked like she was going to contradict him, but then she started to sob uncontrollably and rushed out of the room. Harry gazed at Ron with an unmistakable look of 'You blithering idiot, look what you've done now', but spared Ron a speech and just said "I'll go get someone to take care of him, and you stay here and stand guard."
Ron nodded, as he saw Harry's cloak swing around the doorframe. Ron turned around and was startled to see a smirking Malfoy standing behind him. "My wand fell underneath me, thank Merlin. So, blood traitor, how about this. Sectumsempra!"
A painful gash cut away at his chest, and several other small cuts scattered over his body. A healer then appeared at the doorway as he blacked out.
"That's all I remember from that. I woke up about a half hour later. The healer said he knocked Malfoy out with a stunning spell and sent him to Azkaban. He also was a trainee healer, so he could not completely heal me. He was the only one that knew what happened to me, even Harry does not know. I didn't want him to know."
"Oh, Ron. To think that I just went home and cried about what you said for the next few days. I am so sorry. It's all my fault, too. If you wouldn't have been there that never would have happened…"
Ron cut her off, "He wanted me next anyways. It wasn't your fault at all." Ron grabbed onto her other hand, "and if you think about it, if that never had happened, you and I wouldn't be sitting here talking to each other." He pulled her into his lap, and kissed her gently on the cheek. "So, what did you come up here for anyways? Before you saw my scar that is?"
Ron noticed that her cheeks went slightly scarlet before she spoke. "I just wanted to say something to you."
"Well, what was it?"
Hermione smirked at him, "I really don't think I need words for this one." She then took her hands away from his, flung them around his neck, and kissed him full on the mouth. Ron responded by putting his own hands around her waist, lifting her up, and then pinned her to his bed.
"Wait a second, there is one thing I have to say." Ron told her, while still maintaining his position above her.
"Yes?" She asked calmly.
"I love you, Hermione Granger."
"Good," Hermione responded, "Because I love you, too, Ronald Weasley."
He smiled down at her, and she back up at him. He then bent back down upon her, and resumed their previous activity. They continued all into the night until, exhausted, they fell asleep wrapped in each other's embrace.
A/N: So, I finally updated! Aren't you all so happy now? Sorry about the delay, but school started, and shit happened…you know how it goes. I think I'm going to write one more little chapter, either an epilogue or a next-morning thing. It'll probably be uber-fluffy, so I'm warning you know! Now I implore you all to make me feel all happy inside, and press that pretty lilac button below! Please! Thanks ahead of time!