Title: True Serpent

Summary: Shortly after sixth year, Ron changes. Trust will turn out to be fatal. How will people around him cope with his actions? And how will he?

Disclaimer: I own the plot.

A/N: Because I don't want to ruin (or: give away) the plot, this story will be in various perspectives. This chapter is Hermione's POV.

xx-xx-xx-xx-xx

Several months earlier

We sat down near the cosy fireplace, on of our favourite places in the Burrow, like we did so many nights. Who knew that tonight would be different? Who could know? I was watching Harry, who seemed more sad and determined with every day that passed. I knew that we would soon leave, and that Harry would try to stop us once more. Ginny, who had barely spoken all summer, would be the only Weasley left in Hogwarts. She had promised to keep in touch, to update us whenever something suspicious happened. I knew that part of her wanted to come with us, and part of her was glad to stay behind. It was difficult to talk to her now, and I wondered when I would see her again. If I would see her again. There were so many uncertainties now, and I was glad that I could count on my two best friends. Nothing would ever come between us. Whatever happened...we would be there for each other. Always. I trusted them.

Suddenly, Ron stood up. Harry and I watched him, as he walked out of the room. We shared a moment, his curious green eyes locking with my worried brown ones. Harry shrugged, and I sighed, wondering whether I should follow my friend. He seemed different lately. Like Ginny, he barely spoke to us. At first we shrugged it off, thinking that he was worried about next year. I blamed myself, thinking that I might have scared him with my constant nagging about NEWTS. Whenever I tried to bring up the subject with Harry though, he merely sighed and started talking about other things. I suppose that we were all worried, all on edge. After all, no matter what had happened at Hogwarts, it was safe. We knew what to expect, sort of. Abandoning our education, our friends, and hunting Voldemort...it made us feel like kids. We were barely seventeen. How would we be able to find the Horcruxes? I couldn't talk to Ron or Harry about it, but sometimes I found myself wishing that something would stop this madness.

Harry's eyes crossed mine a second time, and he stood up, nodding at me. I smiled, relieved, and practically stared him out the door. I suddenly heard the fire crackle, and felt at peace. Whatever happened, nothing could harm us as long as we had this friendship, this trust between us that made talking superfluous. I hummed along with the radio, waiting for my friends to walk back in so I could tell them how much I loved them. I thought about Ron, about the way he had held me after Dumbledore's funeral. I had thought about telling him for a while now, but it had never felt like the right time. I decided that yes, I would tell him tonight. Tonight would be the right time. I suddenly felt nervous and had to try hard to stop myself from pacing up and down the room.

They didn't exactly make it easy on me. Time passed by. Half an hour. An hour. I glanced at Ginny, who was staring at the fire as if she was the only person in the room. She didn't seem nervous. Perhaps I was just worried about telling Ron. I kept telling myself that for another half-hour, then grabbed my coat and headed out. Unsure of where to go, I allowed my intuition to guide my feet.

What I saw...it's hard to describe. Even now, my eyes start watering and my stomach starts turning. I can't remember if I threw up, I think I did, the sight was horrible. And he...he just stood there. Watching him. Smiling. I should have known right then and there. Instead, I ran up to him and threw myself in his arms, crying. It took him a few seconds to respond, seconds that seemed eternal. When I felt his arms around me, he stiffened, as if he realised only now what had happened. I asked him, looking up with my teary eyes, I asked him what happened. He stammered that he didn't know, that he remembered Harry walking up to him, but that he didn't know what happened afterwards. I let go of him, trying to check if Harry was still alive – though I knew by the twisted look on his face that he wouldn't be, after all nobody can beat the Killing Curse – but Ron wouldn't let me. He held my body, which shivered, against his, so I couldn't see Harry.

It wasn't fair! It was just not fair! Harry was supposed to be famous for cheating death, for being able to survive a Killing Curse. How could he die now, an able wizard, when he had lived as just a baby boy? It wasn't fair! He was supposed to help us. To save us. What would we do know? How would we survive? We needed him. We needed him to guide the way, to help us find Voldemort. We needed him to kill Voldemort. Oh god, does this mean that Voldemort will win?

Thoughts kept whirling through my head and all the while Ron held me in his arms. I was surprised that he could be so calm under the circumstances. It was only when I calmed down that I realised we needed to call out for help. I untangled myself from Rons' arms and looked at him once more.

"Who..."

I started, feeling numb,

"What happened? Who did this?"

I needed to know the truth. Needed to know who killed the bravest man alive so I could hunt him down and kill him myself. I needed to know, not just so I could kill the person who did this, but also because knowledge had always been my friend and I desperately needed something to hold on to.

Ron still looked dazed. He stared down at Harry's body, frowning, as if he was trying to remember something. I watched him quietly, like we were in some stupid tableau vivant. When he looked back up at me, I saw regret in his eyes. Regret, and sorrow. I took his hand, pulling him close to me. This time my arms comforted his as he broke down crying.

I don't know exactly how long we had been standing there, but suddenly we became aware of someone screaming. Ginny stood but a few feet away from us, her eyes wide. She wasn't crying, which struck me as odd, but I later learned that she was too shocked to do anything but scream.

Things happened fairly quickly after that. Somehow Molly and Arthur had arrived at the scene, and within minutes Ministry Officials were searching the woods. They returned shortly, telling us that they hadn't found any traces of magic, except for the very spot we were standing on.

"What does that mean?"

Ginny said quietly,

"Surely somebody must have been here?"

She leaned into her mother who stroked her hair absentmindedly. I wished someone would comfort me as they comforted her, but I dared not approach Ron. He looked so cold, so absentminded.

"It means, young lady, that whoever committed this cowardly crime, has either vanished from this exact spot, or is still standing here."

Another Ministry Official looked at us suspiciously. Mister Weasley spoke up, saying what we all wanted to say.

"This is ridiculous. You are not suspecting any of us, are you? We are his family!"

One of the Officials I vaguely remembered seeing at Dumbledore's funeral shook his head sadly.

"Of course not Arthur. It's just, you know, standard procedure. May we check your wands?"

Mrs Weasley cried out,

"Arthur! Surely you won't let them do this!"

Mister Weasley put his arm around his wife, looking straight at the Ministry Officials.

"Surely you won't force us to do something that humiliating in a time like this..."

"We are not forcing you, Arthur. We are asking you."

Ginny stepped forward, her eyes cautiously avoiding the body on the ground.

"Here,"

She said, and handed them her wand. Her mother cried out:

"Ginny!"

But Ginny merely shook her head and said:

"The more we co-operate the sooner we'll know who did this. I don't want to stand here all night."

Mister Weasley was the second person to hand over his wand. I followed, giving both my wand and Rons', who was still standing there as if he was paralysed. Mrs Weasley, whose face forecast thunder, was the last to hand over her wand.

For a few seconds nobody but I seemed to notice the commotion. The Aurors kept looking at us as if we were on trial, performed some more spells that I would normally be interested in, before turning to face us again.

"We would like to ask you some questions Mr Weasley."

"What are you talking about? Arthur was inside with me! We arrived only after the...murder."

One of the Aurors shook his head.

"We don't mean your husband, Mrs Weasley. We want to talk to young Mister Weasley here."

"Me?"

Ron said at the same time as Ginny cried out,

"Him?"

"This must be a mistake,"

Arthur said confidently, walking up to the Aurors.

"Why do you want to question him?"

"It seems that his wand was responsible for the Killing Curse that killed young Potter here."

"No!"

Somebody cried, and it took me a few seconds to figure out that it was me, who was shouting at the Ministry Officials. They were wrong! They had to be wrong! Ron would never kill anybody, let alone Harry. They had to be wrong. There had to be an explanation for this. Couldn't they bring back Harry's ghost, like Harry had done in fourth year? Surely they could! Surely Harry could tell them that this was all a mistake. He would tell us who had murdered him and we would get the bastard responsible.

Ron looked horrified. I wanted to touch him, to hug him, to make him come back from wherever his mind had travelled to. I wanted to be there for him, but it seemed as if he didn't want me there. He avoided my stare, and those of his family, and watched the Aurors quietly, before nodding.

"I killed him."

Review please!