Disclaimer: All Characters and things associated with Harry Potter belong to J.K. Rowling and Warner Brothers. This writing is purely for entertainment only.
Summary: Harry died in the Forbidden Forest and Ron and Hermione must find a way to finish his mission in a world where Hermione and her blood status leaves them both in incredible danger.
Chapter 10
Under the invisibility cloak, Hermione and Ron followed McGonagall into the Gryffindor Common Room. They watched as she moved around to a few wounded students, checking on them, and hurrying others off to bed, reminding them tomorrow they would have the new Sorting Hat Ceremony. The worry was etched into McGonagall's features as the last students reluctantly went up to their bedrooms and she was able to retire to her own small room off the main area.
Ron and Hermione followed her into her room as well where McGonagall quickly turned in their direction, though they were still hidden under the cloak.
"Homenum Revelio!" McGonagall whipped her wand out and instantly the cloak flew off Hermione and Ron.
Once McGonagall saw it was Ron and Hermione she lowered her wand, a slight look of disappointment as she saw Hermione was searching for an answer as to how McGonagall knew they had been there.
"I could smell your perfume, Miss Granger. Smells much cleaner then death and despair which is what most of the castle is filled with these days," McGonagall explained how she knew they were there without seeing them.
Hermione blushed at her own stupidity. That was twice now the perfume Ron had bought her for Christmas over a year ago had nearly gotten her caught.
"You smell good," Ron whispered softly in Hermione's ear. Despite everything, his charm could be contagious at times.
"I have to ask why you are both here...it's dangerous for both of you to be walking around the castle given who you are and your blood status," McGonagall pointed between the two.
"We came for the snake. We heard your message over the radio that it was here. We've come to kill it," Hermione explained.
"My message?! I certainly didn't sent that to the Order for them to send two of the most sought after members...it was merely an update," McGonagall explained the intent behind her message.
"We have to kill the snake. If we don't there is no way to end any of this," Ron explained.
"Mr. Weasley, given the price on both of your heads I would expect you to stay as far away from here as possible. Neither of you owe anyone a thing anymore except to keep yourselves safe. You especially, Miss Granger...if they caught you..." McGonagall shuttered at the thought causing a chill to run down Ron's own back. He was wondering now if they truly understood the danger that was really facing them if they did get caught.
"We understand, professor...but we have to do this. We came back for some Basalisk Fangs or the Sword of Gryffindor but we can't find either," Hermione explained.
McGonagall nodded. "They removed the fangs from the Chamber of Secrets months ago...I suspect because you all had luck killing the other Horcruxes with them."
"What about the sword? I mean you're head of Gryffindor. Surely you know..." Ron pressed.
"The sword is trickier than that, Mr. Weasley. It could be anywhere...it certainly will protect itself if it feels threatened," McGonagall explained.
"But it could also present itself to us then, correct? If we really needed it?" Hermione asked.
McGonagall nodded with a small shrug. "Certainly not something I would hedge my bets on in any situation you would be with the Dark Lord or his snake..."
"Yes but what-" Hermione never got to finish her question because the door to McGonagall's office suddenly flew open and before anyone could register anything a mess of dull curls flung itself at Ron, nearly knocking him off his feet.
"Ron, my precious boy! It can't be you!!" Mrs. Weasley was holding Ron's face between her hands, examining it as if she had never seen it before.
"Mum?!" Ron was in utter shock as he stared at the woman holding him and smiling, tears in her own eyes.
Mrs. Weasley nodded her head fiercely. "I thought I lost you..."
Ron shook his head, studying his mother's face. She looked so much older than he remembered, her lips dry and the wrinkles around her eyes deeper than he recalled. "No...no I'm okay."
Mrs. Weasley smiled again at Ron, pulling him in for a hug. As Ron wrapped his arms around his mother he realized she felt so much smaller than she had ever felt before. The war may have weathered her but whatever had happened to her after had forced her once sturdy frame into mere bones and flesh.
Mrs. Weasley took a deep breath and then let go of Ron, turning her attention to Hermione and drawing the young girl in for a strong hug also. "We thought we lost both of you. I'm so glad to see you too, Hermione."
"I'm so sorry, Mrs. Weasley," Hermione felt her own eyes swell with tears at the sight of Mrs. Weasley. She looked awful, and Hermione felt so guilty that she had escaped relatively unscathed with Ron while the rest of the Weasley's had suffered. She felt terrible knowing she was the reason Ron left his family, the reason Mrs. Weasley had thought her youngest son was dead.
"Sorry? Dear, you're the reason my son got away. I know that now," Mrs. Weasley turned back and smiled at Ron. "And as lovely as it is to see you...you need to get out of here. It's not safe."
"Mum...come with us...we can get you out of here," Ron said quickly, remembering they had the invisibility cloak.
Mrs. Weasley shook her head sadly. "If only it were that easy..."
"We can try and find dad and Charlie and Percy...we can make it that easy," Ron said, desperately trying to now save his mother, his entire mindset of killing the snake shifting.
"He's right...we can get in and out of here with Harry's cloak. Let us take you with us," Hermione agreed.
Again, Mrs. Weasley shook her head and rolled up her sleeve, revealing a golden mark in the shape of a small snake. "I can't."
Ron studied the mark on his mother's arm. "What is that?"
"It's an attachment spell...it's bound me to the castle. It's how we are all stuck here..." Mrs. Weasley motioned to McGonagall as well.
"They've bound you to the castle," Hermione realized why no one was trying to escape despite a small amount of security.
Mrs. Weasley nodded. "Until they decide to move us. We are stuck here..."
"There must be a way to undo it," Ron said, his eyes meeting Hermione's. Surely, if anyone could figure it out, it would be Hermione.
Hermione nodded, understanding what Ron's eyes were asking her. "I'm sure I can look into it."
Mrs. Weasley smiled at Hermione, gently taking her hand and cupping Hermione's cheek in it, as only a mother could. "You sweet girl...I am not your concern. You need to worry about yourself now and get as far away from here as you can."
Hermione went to object but Mrs. Weasley turned to her son now. "It's not safe for either of you to be here, but especially Hermione. I want you to take her away from here and forget all this...if there is any part of this world that you can find some happiness in, you two go do that."
"Mum, I-" Ron started.
Mrs. Weasley waved her finger in Ron's face and he knew she was ending the conversation the same way she used to end him arguing with his siblings. "Not another word from you, Ronald. You both go live your lives now..."
Mrs. Weasley then turned her attention to McGonagall. "I was sent here to let you know they aren't waiting until tomorrow to do the sorting ceremony. Seems they want it to be a surprise."
McGonagall's expression was filled with concern. "What do you mean?"
"The Dark Lord has requested that you bring the students down to the Great Hall now," Mrs. Weasley said, as if it was almost poison on her lips.
McGonagall's face went a shade of white before the weight of Molly Weasley's words hit her and then she slowly nodded. "Well...I will do that now. And you, Miss Granger and Mr. Weasley should be on your way before you are caught."
"Yes but Professor-" Hermione started.
"Go, Hermione, live as long as you both can," McGonagall cut her off, and then added with a small smile. "It was really good seeing the lot of you."
Hermione could count on her hand the times McGonagall had called her by her first name rather than Miss Granger and so she merely nodded at the old witch who then proceeded back into the Common room.
"She's right...you two should go." Mrs. Weasley spoke now, pulling Hermione and Ron both back in for a hug, though Ron's lasted much longer.
It lasted longer because Ron was afraid to let go. Afraid now would truly be the last time he saw his mother, especially if they didn't end the war.
"Ron...you have to go," Mrs. Weasley eventually whispered in her son's ear as tears snuck into her own eyes.
"How can I leave you like this?" Ron asked her, his voice cracking a bit and both Hermione and Mrs. Weasley instantly knew he was crying.
Mrs. Weasley pulled away so that she could look up at Ron. She wiped a tear from his cheek and shook her head. "Ron, I want you to. I want to see my boy live...when you're a parent, that's what matters most."
Ron wanted to say something but he couldn't find the words. He wanted to thank his mother for everything she had ever done for him, he wanted to tell her she had been the best mother he could have asked for, he wanted to tell her she was strong and brave and that he loved her, but instead he just stood there, watching as his mother now turned to Hermione.
"You take care of my boy now...he will need it," Mrs. Weasley gave Hermione a warm smile.
All Hermione could do was nod and smile back, her own eyes filled with tears as the weight of the responsibility behind Mrs. Weasley's words really hit her. She realized what the true meaning was in them, that Mrs. Weasley was letting Hermione know she approved of Hermione and that she was passing the torch of loving Ron unconditionally onto Hermione. This was not something Hermione took lightly.
"I have to go now...but please get out of here," Mrs. Weasley said and then turned back to Ron, giving him a kiss on the cheek. "I love you, Ron...and I will always be with you."
Ron nodded, "Love you..."
And then with that, Mrs. Weasley was gone and Hermione and Ron were left alone.
After a long moment of silence, Hermione spoke up. "I want to go to the Sorting Ceremony."
Ron didn't agree but he didn't argue as he grabbed Harry's invisibility cloak and threw it over he and Hermione. His mind was racing and part of him also wanted to now see the ceremony. He felt he needed to understand things more before he listened to his mother and left with Hermione. It wasn't that he didn't take her warning seriously because he did, but after seeing her and the state she was in, he was more sure then ever he at least had to save his family. The flame of the fight was slowly beginning to reignited in him.
Ron and Hermione slowly shuffled into the Great Hall, under the invisibility cloak, where they found Voldemort standing at the front while Bellatrix, the Malloy Family, the Nott Family, and about a dozen other Death Eaters standing behind him. More Death Eaters lined the sides of the room while the group of students that did not already belong to Slytherin House stood in the center of the hall in rows.
The Great Hall, which had always felt so warm and inviting during their years at Hogwarts felt cold and unwelcoming to both Ron and Hermione now and actually caused a physical chill to run down Hermione's spine.
Ron grabbed Hermione's hand under the cloak and moved them to an area away from others but near the back exit, in case they needed to make a quick getaway.
"Welcome, all!" Voldemort's voice was like nails on a chalk board as he smiled broadly at the students. It was unsettling.
"This evening will be short and simple. All students will be resorted! If your new home is not Slytherin I ask you kindly move in a line toward my fine colleagues on the South Wall," Voldemort motioned to the Goyle Family and the Carrow siblings, off to the side of Hermione and Ron.
And so the ceremony began and Ron and Hermione watched as the sorting hat announced the former Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff students houses. Nearly all of them matched to their original houses. In fact, only two dozen or so were re-sorted and maybe half of that were actually re-sorted into Slytherin.
Within a half-hour the sorting hat was finished and all of the students who had been directed to the South Wall waited anxiously for their next set of instructions. Finally, Voldemort cleared his throat and gave his creepy smile to the room.
"I thank you all for your patience. Now that the sorting has been complete the next part is simple..." He waved his wand and suddenly cuffs and chains flew around the wrists of the students on the south wall, bounding them together as they all panicked.
"Disarm them," Voldemort ordered.
Quickly, death eaters moved to confiscate the wands of the now detained students, throwing them into a pile in the center of the room.
"Now...all of those chosen to be in Slytherin House...we welcome you! Those who were not sorted into Slytherin House with be escorted North to our work camps or brought to Hogsmeade to be made available to our fine families of our loyal comrades." Voldemort explained.
Gasps and shouted filled the room as the students who were not in Slytherin realized their fate. Voldemort motioned for Goyle's family to begin the procession outside as pure chaos seemed to erupt.
"We need to get out of here," Ron whispered, pulling on Hermione who seemed frozen in place, horror on her face.
It took Hermione a long moment but finally she allowed Ron to lead them carefully away from the Great Hall under the cloak. Her hand clutched his tightly as they left Hogwarts, her brain horrified as she processed the fate of so many of the Hogwarts students; faces she recognized and knew, faces who had all been handed a death sentence.
Ron and Hermione sat in silence in the tent, absorbing everything they had seen and heard at Hogwarts. It has been worse than either of them had imagined.
Certainly the Sorting Hat ceremony had been hard to watch, knowing the fate of the students who had not been resorted into Slytherin but for Ron, seeing his mother and knowing she was trapped there had been the only thing really on his mind. Knowing he couldn't save his own mother only confirmed for him the need to keep Hermione as far away from it all as he could.
"We need to leave," Ron said finally from his spot at the kitchen table.
Hermione's eyes moved up to meet his; she had been curled up on the bed they shared, her knees nearly at her chin. She sat up and watched him carefully. "And go where?"
"Anywhere," Ron said. "Anywhere away from here..."
"But the snake-" Hermione started.
Ron shook his head. "Forget it, Hermione. You heard my Mum...we just need to get away from here and forget all of this."
"How? How do we forget what we just saw? We know what is happening now, Ron. When we ran the first time, we had no idea what we were running away from other than Harry dying. Now we know what's happening here. How do you expect to just walk away from that?"
"Because I want to keep you safe. I want us both to be safe for as long as we can. Things are shit out there, Hermione, and whether we kill that snake or not there's still so much more in motion now. Just because the snake is dead, doesn't mean all of this stops." Ron explained, his voice growing a little loud now.
"But if we don't there is no chance at stopping any of it," Hermione reasoned back, always stubborn.
"Why us? Why does it always have to be us to fix things? Let someone else do it for once," Ron got up and moved swiftly toward Hermione, sitting down and taking her hands into his. "We don't always have to be the heroes, Hermione."
Hermione looked at their hands and she knew all of Ron's words and thoughts were coming from a place of love and wanting to protect her as well as the tiny moments of happiness they still managed to have together, but she knew that wouldn't last. They had a role to play in it all. They may have forgotten that for a moment but going back to Hogwarts and seeing all that was at stake had reminded her of who they really were and what they had promised Harry.
"It has to be us, Ron. We promised Harry-" Hermione started, but was cut off by shouting outside the tent.
Instantly, Ron and Hermione froze, listening carefully as the voices seemed to be getting a bit closer. Slowly, the two gathered their wands and made their way outside of the tent, still in the protective cover of their charms. They moved to the edge of their encampment as if they were one person, their bodies in sync without a word between them. Suddenly, they found themselves staring down the embankment below and seeing the Bellatrix, the Malfoy Family, and the Carrow siblings dragging Mr. And Mrs. Weasley through the forest with their hands tied together.
Ron stiffened at the sight of his parents, his fist clenching around his wand, though what he heard Bellatrix screaming made his face grow pale.
"We know that filthy little mudblood and your blood-traiting son were at Hogwarts! Did you not think the Dark Lord had enchantments up? Did you not think we would be ready?!" Bellatrix circled Arthur and Molly Weasley like a crazed shark circling its pray.
"I don't know what you're talking about..." Molly Weasley held her head high as Bellatrix slapped her across the face.
Ron flinched at the slap, closing his eyes, unable to watch his mother being hit like that. Hermione also flinched but then quickly grabbed Ron's hand, assuring him that at least she was with him.
"How do they know we were there?" Ron whispered, almost only to himself.
"They must have had a charm on the school...stupid of me not to think of that," Hermione shook her head at her own naivety as she heard Bellatrix speak again.
"Where are they?! You tell us now or you will pay dearly!" Bellatrix threatened.
"I don't know," Molly lied firmly.
"The Dark Lord wants them both. They have caused too many problems. It would be far better if you were to tell us where they are rather then try to protect them...far better for all of you," Lucius spoke up, much calmer then his sister-in-law as he moved to face Molly and Arthur.
"My wife said she hasn't seen them," Arthur spoke up this time.
"And she's lying," Bellatrix hissed at Arthur before turning to Molly. "We know you are because the tracing curse had them in the Gryffindor Common Room the same time you were."
Ron swallowed hard, hearing Bellatrix's words and wondering what torture they had condemned his mother to simply by being in the same room as her.
Molly Weasley merely held her head high, looking down Bellatrix.
"She's not going to tell us," One of the Carrow's spoke up.
"No...I don't think she is..." Bellatrix slowly walked around Molly and Arthur. "What should we do about that?"
Ron clenched his fist harder watching his parents below. He felt like he was at Malfoy Manor watching Hermione be tortured all over again as Bellatrix circled them. It took every muscle in his body and Hermione's small hand wrapped firmly in his to stop him from charging down the hill to save his parents.
"I've got an idea!" Bellatrix snapped her finger as she stood front and center again. "If Molly doesn't want to tell us...maybe Arthur should help?"
Suddenly, Bellatrix waved her wand and screamed the same curse she had used on Hermione at Malfoy Manor and Mr. Weasley was instantly withering in pain causing both Ron and Hermione to flinch from their spots on the hill.
"Do you want to tell us now, Molly?" Bellatrix laughed over Arthur's screams.
"No! Don't do it, Molly!" Mr. Weasley managed out.
Mrs. Weasley seemed to flinch for only a moment before looking away from her husband, as if knowing she was condemning him.
"Really? Are you sure you don't want to tell us?" Bellatrix instigated.
Mrs. Weasley continued to look away from her husband and say nothing.
"Well...you will watch then!" Bellatrix motioned to Draco who reluctantly stepped forward, forcing Mrs. Weasley to look back at Mr. Weasley but not actually looking in that direction himself as Bellatrix moved over to Arthur, he wand pointing in his face.
"Last chance..." Bellatrix seemed to speak to Mr. Weasley now who merely glared at her.
Bellatrix smirked and then screamed loudly. "Avada Kedavra!"
Arthur Weasley slumped over, lifeless, and the scream that escaped Molly Weasley's lips sent chills down Hermione's spin as she held back her own sob. She quickly moved her attention to Ron, absolutely shocked to see him barely unmoved, his facial features nearly unrecognizable as he watched Death Eaters drag his mother back toward Hogwarts, leaving his father's body on the forest floor like it was nothing.