A/N: New and improved! This one took some HEAVY editing! I like it much better now.
Part 2: Ron
Ron hurried off to find Ginny, his pounding feet sending shudders through his body. When he finally reached the Quidditch pitch he skidded to the stop. He squinted up at the sky. Ginny was very high up, a redheaded speck in the distance.
"OI, GINNY!" he screamed, but there was no way she could hear him. He pointed his wand at his throat and muttered "Sonorous".
"GINNY!" His voice was now so loud and booming he wouldn't have been surprised if people inside the castle could hear it. Flocks of birds rose from the trees of the Forbidden Forest, agitated by the sudden noise. "COME DOWN HERE!"
Ginny zoomed down to the pitch immediately. She dismounted her broom and landed lightly, looking alarmed. "What's up?"
Ron returned his voice to normal and then muttered "Harry's left for a mission with Dumbledore, and he wants us to keep an eye on Snape and Malfoy. He thinks they're up to something and if Dumbledore's gone…"
"Harry LEFT?" cried Ginny, looking still more alarmed.
"C'mon, we have to go," he said, dragging his little sister by the arm. He ignored her sputtering as they marched up to the castle, explaining quietly about how Harry had heard Malfoy whooping in the Room of Requirement.
Though Ginny listened intently, it was clear she wasn't pleased with how she hadn't been able to say goodbye to Harry. She immediately started questioning Hermione about it when they saw her standing outside to Common Room with Neville and Luna, but Hermione silenced her.
Hermione quickly spotted Goyle on the map, and they all decided they should head off. After a brief argument about who should be with Snape (Ron managed to get Hermione to take the job. He was quite pleased with himself until he realized from the murderous look she gave him that her revenge would probably unpleasant) and yet another argument about who should take the Felix Felicis, Ron handed out the potion to Hermione and Ginny.
He downed some himself after stuffing Harry's socks in his pocket. Immediately, most of the anxiety he'd been feeling since Harry had raced off to parts unknown left him. He felt just like he'd done when he'd thought he'd taken the potion, supremely self confident and like he could do no wrong. He supposed Harry had been right, it WAS all mental. Still, he savored the feeling.
"This stuff is good," he commented. "Well, we'd better go."
Everyone agreed, and they all split up. He couldn't help but grin a little as Hermione threw a last mutinous look at him over her shoulder. Malfoy would be cake. He'd always been easy to overcome when it came down to it. How many times had Harry and Hermione flattened him? And Ginny had already taught him a lesson with her Bat Bogey Hex. If Malfoy DID try anything, they'd stop him.
So he confidently made his way to the Room of Requirement with Ginny and Neville. All they found when they got there was the usual blank stretch of wall.
"Is Harry SURE Malfoy's in there?" Neville asked nervously.
"He must be," Ron said scanning the map again. "Anyway, we're supposed to keep watch…that's what Harry said."
They were silent for about fifteen minutes after that. Ron had his ear pressed against the wall, listening for noises. Malfoy was definitely up to something, but what did Harry think he could do at Hogwarts? They had EVERY security measure; Malfoy wouldn't be able to pull anything off. It was a little cracked, if you asked him. But Harry had seemed so bloody insistent! Dumbledore wouldn't leave if he thought there was danger…would he? If nothing happened and they had to stay up here all night, Ron was going to give Harry a piece of his mind…
"Er…what does Harry think Malfoy's going to DO?"
Ron was jerked out of his reverie by Neville's voice. He looked around to see Neville's uncertain face and Ginny's sullen one.
"Harry thinks Malfoy's up to something in the Room of Requirement. He thinks he's…a Death Eater."
"Yeah, he told me that," Ginny said. "He heard Snape trying to get Malfoy to crack."
"Or trying to help Malfoy," Ron said darkly.
"What? Malfoy…a Death Eater…but he's just sixteen…and Snape can't be a Death Eater! Neville cried. "He's our teacher…even if he is scary,"
"Snape WAS a Death Eater, but he apparently switched sides. And as for Malfoy, ask Harry, not me," Ron said, pressing his ear back against the wall.
"And Dumbledore lets him teach?" Neville seemed to be trying to process the news about Snape.
"Who know the mysteries of Dumbledore's mind?" Ginny said dryly.
"Not me," Ron muttered.
Neville fell silent at this. A few times he opened his mouth to ask questions, but closed it. For what seemed like ages, they stood in silence. Suddenly Ron thought he heard a thump behind the wall. He jumped back and all of the sudden the wall opened and Ron found himself face to face with a very surprised Draco Malfoy, who was clutching a shriveled arm that he recognized as Malfoy's foul Hand of Glory.
Automatically Ron raised his wand and pointed it at Malfoy's face. Ginny stepped in beside him and did so as well.
"What are you doing in there?" Ron cried.
"You'd better tell us unless you want flying bogies attacking your face again!" Ginny threatened.
"Uh…yeah…you bad…person…" Neville clearly didn't have much experience in threatening people.
Malfoy looked completely calm, which surprised Ron. If Ginny had been looking at him like that, he'd be running hard in the opposite direction. But Malfoy merely gave a soft little laugh, and before they had time to react, casually reached into his pocket and flung black powder into the air.
"Hey!" Ron cried as everything went pitch dark.
"See you later," he heard Malfoy's voice drawl and then there were receding footsteps. Ron tried to follow the footsteps but instead crashed into Ginny.
"Ow!" she cried.
"Sorry," Ron gasped. "He must have gotten Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder!"
Suddenly, Ron was knocked off his feet by a stampede of people. He considered throwing curses at them but was afraid he'd hit Neville and Ginny. Thankfully, they seemed to be thinking along the same lines, so he wasn't caught in a crossfire either.
He did try desperately to punch and kick at the unknown people, knowing if Malfoy had let them in they had to be trouble. One of them got tired of this and fetched him a hard slap to the head and he was knocked into someone who pulled him up. Long hair brushed his face and he could tell it was thankfully Ginny.
Eventually the stampede stopped and the last footsteps disappeared around the corner.
"Are you okay?" Ginny asked.
"Yeah," Ron said. "Where's Neville?"
"Here," they heard Neville's voice. Someone plowed into Ron and stumbled. Ron reached out and pulled Neville up by the neck of his robes.
"We have to get out of here!" Ginny cried. "Lumos! Incendio! Lumosalem!"
The hall remained black.
"No light can get through Fred and George's powder," Ron said. "We'll have to feel our way out."
After a few minutes of feeling around and bumping into each other, Neville located an exit.
"Here!" he cried
Ron and Ginny followed his voice and soon found themselves in a well lit empty hallway once more. Almost immediately they saw Tonks, Lupin and other assorted members of the Order running towards them.
"What's going on? We've been patrolling the corridors for Dumbledore…" Lupin gasped.
"Malfoy's smuggled a bunch of people into the school!" Ron shouted, relieved to see help had arrived.
Lupin swore, and Tonks stammered "What? How is that possible?"
"We don't know, he used the Room of Requirement somehow," Neville explained.
"Which way do you think they went?" said Tonks urgently.
"One who bumped into me seemed to be heading that way…" Ginny indicated a passage to her left and set off in that direction.
The group sped off pell-mell and winging around the corner of the hallway to the Astronomy Tower, Ron spotted the Death Eaters heading for the entrance to the tallest tower.
"There!" he cried. Using one of his trusted shortcuts, he managed to intercept the group before they reached their destination. Suddenly, he was the only thing blocking a group of bloodthirsty henchmen to You-Know-Who from their destination.
Ron suddenly felt very intimidated.
"Er…you can't come in here. It's after curfew and…as a Prefect…erm…" he found himself stammering, to his horror.
He trailed off as the Death Eaters raised their wands, one letting out a very unpleasant chuckle.
"STUPEFY!" A barrage of spells from his friends and the Order suddenly interrupted the chat, all aimed toward the Death Eaters, who, with shouted swear words and shrieks, scattered. Ron gave chase to a solidly built man, shooting spells at him. The man spun around and shot a Killing Curse at him, Ron didn't have time to react, but the curse missed him anyway.
"I love you, Felix," Ron muttered and he proceeded to Stun the man who had attempted to kill him.
It was mind boggling, being in a duel this fast paced; Ron would fire a spell, only having to dodge another. He and the Death Eater who had come to fight in his cohort's stead seemed to be evenly matched. A big, blonde Death Eater was letting off spells everywhere, which really made it complicated. Ginny was locked in combat with a large man, dodging his spells like nobody's business, Neville was backed against the wall by a Death Eater and Lupin rushed into aid him…then Malfoy sped past Ron, who broke away from the fight, firing spells after him.
Malfoy yelled "Protego!" shielding himself.
"Not fast enough, Weasel," he taunted. "Guess that doesn't just apply in the Quidditch field, eh?"
Malfoy raced through the doorway to the tower and up the stairs. Ron charged after him, but Neville got there first, and crashed into the empty doorway like it was a brick wall.
Ron caught Neville as he fell back, clutching his stomach and gasping. "Some...kind…spell…"
Ron saw that the wizard he had been fighting before had caught up to them.
"Hell," he muttered, and he dragged himself and Neville out of the way just in time. He dropped his friend and stood in front of him, fending their attacker off with spells, until one of the Order charged in to drag Neville away.
Ron continued his pitched combat, his ears ringing…he couldn't look and see what was happening to anyone else…they could all be dead for all he knew…
Fear and adrenaline pumped through his veins, fueling him on, as he tried desperately to keep a clear head…the Felix was wearing off…
Screams of fury, screams of pain…all mixed in his head like the tempo on a broken Wireless…he didn't notice anything but the fight in front of him until…was that Snape and Malfoy?
It was. And sprinting behind them was Harry… looking positively insane. In almost six years of friendship, Ron had seen Harry look pretty angry, but it was nothing compared to the fury on his face at the moment. Harry charged after Snape, his face flushed and his eyes snapping. He looked almost ready to rip somebody's head off and eat it.
Snape was screaming something; it was all Ron could do to continue the battle. Harry was all right…that was good…where was Dumbledore?
Suddenly a Death Eater hit the wall with a squeal beside Ron, who looked over again and saw that Harry had just cursed the man who'd been attacking Ginny. His Death Eater suddenly peeled off and ran away. Ron was too shocked by this turn in events to stop him and was even more shocked when the hooded man took a second to glance back, his wand pointed over his shoulder, apparently of a mind to get in a last minute shot at cursing Ron…
"Impedimenta!"
The Death Eater ducked the curse, but stopped his last minute attack on Ron. He disappeared around the corner.
Ron spun around to see Hermione and Luna standing there, Hermione with her wand raised, apparently prepared to go after Ron's attacker and give him a piece of her mind. Ron thought it best to steer her away from this train of thought.
"Hermione! You're all right!" he cried.
"Yes, of course I am! I had no idea any of this was happening going on! Is anyone hurt? Did anyone die? Is Harry back yet?"
Ron tried his best to answer this typically Hermione-ish barrage of questions. "I thought I saw Harry. I don't know if anyone's-"
"BILL!" he heard his sister scream in pure terror.
Ron spun around to see Ginny kneeling over a man with red hair and a fang earring…a man who was unrecognizable as his brother; his face was so slashed and bloodied…
"Oh no," Ron felt sick to his stomach as his feet carried him over to Bill.
"He'll be all right," Lupin said. "It doesn't look fatal. Let's get him to the hospital wing."
"I thought I saw Harry," Tonks said, though she seemed far away as Ron stared at the bleeding Bill.
"I saw him," Ginny said. "He ran out of the tower. He got a Death Eater off me, then he ran after the escaping ones."
"He WHAT?" Ron said at the same time as Hermione, snapping out of his reverie. "We've got to find him!"
Ron stole a look at his brother as he said this, not wanting to leave him in this state.
"I'll do it. I saw where he went. You take care of Bill," Ginny said stoutly.
"But-" Ron began. Ginny shouldn't go out there, it was too dangerous!
"I'll be right back," Ginny plowed over him, and she ran out.
Ron felt like someone had hit him over the head with a broomstick. "Harry...Bill…"
"He'll be all right," said Hermione in her best "comforting voice" though she was as white as a sheet. "They'll both be."
Lupin and Tonks levitated Bill to the hospital wing, Ron and Hermione following them.
They laid Bill out on a bed, where Madam Pomfrey checked him over.
"Fenrir Greyback got him," Lupin said grimly. Ron felt dumbstruck at this news. Why hadn't he seen that happen?
"He wasn't transformed!" Hermione cried.
"No, he…" Lupin stopped looking out the window. "A fire!"
Ron looked out the window, but saw only darkness. "Where?"
"No, it's just gone out," Lupin pointed.
Ron didn't need Hermione to point out that the fire had been in the direction of Hagrid's hut…a fire at Hagrid's, Bill hurt, Harry off doing something stupid…how much more could he take?
"He's all right, I can see him," Luna suddenly spoke up. Ron did see Hagrid's form, and felt a surge of relief. He still wondered where Harry was though, and if he was with Hagrid.
Hermione voiced these concerns as well, sounding like she was about to cry. Ron wished he could comfort her, but could think of no answer as he stared at Bill's face, unable to tear his eyes away, feeling very, very lost. Finally, he looked up, and was about to suggest they go find Harry and Ginny when the both of them appeared with a creak of the door. Ron surveyed them.
Harry didn't look well, but he was intact, alive. Ron turned his attention back to Bill, as Lupin asked his Harry was okay. Harry replied in the affirmative, and asked about Bill.
Madam Pomfrey told them there was no cure for werewolf bites, and Ron's panic mounted. Lupin had said Greyback wasn't transformed; it couldn't be a real werewolf bite! He voiced this, and Lupin explained that Bill might have some wolfish characteristics.
This only panicked Ron more. Would the Bill he knew disappear, turn into someone grumpy, growly and feral? Would his brother ever be the same? Where was Dumbledore when you needed him? Ron started to ask this, when Ginny interrupted him.
"Ron-Dumbledore's dead," she said quietly.
Ron felt as though she had punched him in the stomach. He caught Harry's eye, and Harry confirmed it silently. Dumbledore dead…it couldn't be…
And he listened numbly while Harry explained what happened…and it was because of Malfoy, and Snape…Harry had been right. It was all his fault, Malfoy would have never gotten to Dumbledore if they'd kept a better watch, if he somehow been able to stop him…Dumbledore's phoenix sang a sad song out on the grounds, and the thought left him. He could not stop listening; he could only commiserate with the bird's mourning and let the beautiful song ease his shock and pain slightly. But then McGonagall came in and Ron was forced to hear the rest of the story, and explain his failure to Harry.
His mother came in, and so did Fleur and they all worried over Bill. And then, miraculously, his mother and Fleur made amends and wept together over his injured brother. It felt slightly comforting, to see at least one scene of love and understanding amid this terrible mess of a night. Next thing he knew Tonks was declaring her love for Lupin…things were happening way too fast…and Harry was going to talk to McGonagall.
After Harry left, a deadened silence filled the room.
"What do you suppose they're going to talk about?" Ginny asked.
"Probably whether the school should stay open…" Lupin said in a tired voice.
Silence again.
"Well," his mother sniffled, "you lot should probably be getting to bed."
"Are we sure Bill will be okay?" Ginny asked.
"He will always bear these marks, but other than that and a possible taste for raw meat, he will recover and go back to his normal self," Madam Pomfrey assured them, still visibly shaken over the news Harry had given.
The four of them trudged out numbly.
They didn't talk until Luna turned to take a separate path.
"Are you okay, Luna?" Hermione asked gently.
Luna turned to them, and Ron saw her eyes were red and there were tracks of tears all over her face. She nodded at them with a watery smile and said "G'night," before walking away rather fast.
Ron never thought he'd see Luna Lovegood cry.
The three of them entered Gryffindor tower. People stood silently, staring at them. Ginny gave them a quick nod before running up to the girl's dormitory at a sprint with her hands over her face. Ron wished his eyes would stop burning.
He turned to Hermione.
"Well," Hermione said. Her voice was high pitched, as it always was when she was upset.
"Well," Ron said back, "'Night"
"See you tomorrow?" Hermione phrased it as a question for some reason, as if she was afraid he, too, would die on her.
"See you tomorrow," Ron said back in a reassuring voice.
Hermione enclosed him in a brief hug, and then left the room as well. Ron trudged up the stairs alone. He sat on the bed.
And waited…
Ten minutes later, Harry arrived. He glanced at Ron, and his mouth twitched sadly. He sat down on his bed, the springs creaking under his weight. Ron stared at him. He had never seen Harry look so…defeated. Utterly hopeless.
He looked how Ron felt.
Finally, Harry spoke, "They're talking about closing the school."
"Lupin said they would," Ron said flatly.
There was a pause. The blood around Harry's nose had dried up. His friend seemed to stare right through him. Ron had no idea what to say. Then he remembered.
"So? Did you find one?" Ron said in a near whisper, as if he thought someone was spying on him. Well…you never know these days. "Did you get it? A-A Horcrux?"
Slowly, Harry shook his head.
"You didn't get it?" Ron felt utterly devastated. He had hoped, for that one second, at least one thing tonight would have turned out okay. Just one small thing. "It wasn't there?"
"No. Someone had already taken it and left a fake one in its place," Harry said heavily.
Ron was dumbstruck.
"Already taken-?"
Harry pulled a locket out of his jeans pocket, and mechanically handed it to Ron. He gave no explanation. Ron read the note…read it three times, trying to figure it out.
"R.A.B.?" He finally spoke. "Who was that?"
"Dunno," Harry said, lying back gingerly and looking away from Ron. He left the unspoken part of the sentence hanging. Don't care.
Ron bit his lip and remained silent, putting the locket down at the foot of Harry's bed. Then he settled on his mattress, hugging his knees to his chest. The grounds were silent now, the phoenix had gone…just like Dumbledore…
Ron was a git sometimes; he was the first to admit it. He was sometimes insensitive, he was usually insecure. But there was one thing he didn't want to be. Dead. Not dead like Sirius or Dumbledore…dead inside. Just…empty. Everyone around him was dying…in more ways than one. He looked at Harry and remembered when they had first met. It seemed like a billion years ago…they had all been so happy. So alive. All the things the three of them had been through together…the danger…it was amazing when he thought of it. And here they were. Numb. Devastated.
When had it started; this descent into darkness? It had been so slow at first. After You-Know-Who has come back, though, all the death…the pain…it had started happening all at once. And he could see Harry dying inside…he'd seen it for a long time…Hermione too…he could feel his own sliding, slow death.
Why them?
What the hell had they ever done?
Only in his weakest moments he said it blatantly to himself, because he wasn't gushy like that, but he loved Harry and Hermione more than anything. And he hated to see them suffer like this. He didn't want them to get…torn apart on the inside… until they stopped caring. Until they died.
Maybe he should say this, before he chickened out?
He looked over at his friend once more. Harry was asleep. He'd fallen asleep with his glasses on.
Only natural, Ron supposed, Harry must have been through hell and back today.
Even when he was asleep, Harry didn't look peaceful. He was frowning with his fists clenched. Even asleep, Harry looked angry…and scared.
He was tired too.
But he couldn't sleep
He couldn't stop the ringing in his ears, like an alarm bell. He couldn't stop the death that seemed to haunt this school…that haunted him and his friends.
Why.
Why?
WHY?
Fin.