T/W: Gore, character death, animal cruelty
Chapter Twenty-Nine: Flesh, Blood, and Bone

Ron felt his breath hitch in his throat, he looked back at the animated corpse. Bill stepped protectively in front of Ron, but Nagini did not move. She looked back at the people in front of her, her eyes moving quickly between each of them. Ron realized she was sizing each of them up, to see who the biggest threat would be.

"Call her off," Sirius whispered into the mirror. He pointed his wand at the inferi, and Ron noticed for the first time he was shaking.

"I can't …" Harry said quietly.

Nagini smiled, and a thin trail of black liquid leaked from her mouth. She lunged forward to strike at Sirius. Stunning curses flew through the air, they were all far too close for anyone to try casting the killing curse. Red curses bounced off of Nagini, and Ron saw her legs bend as if all her bones had snapped backwards. She lunged again at Sirius, and struck true. Sirius dropped the mirror in surprise as she tackled him, and it shattered on the floor. Ron heard Harry shout something in parseltongue before the mirror shifted, reflecting the ceiling of the living room. Nagini's hands locked around Sirius's throat, squeezing tightly like a constrictor. Ron grabbed a triangular piece of the mirror that landed near him.

Ron had no idea if someone on the other end broke the connection, or if it was because of Nagini, but the mirror was empty. Lupin slammed an end table over her head, but the inferi continued to squeeze tighter. Hermione reached around to let the panicked owl out of her cage, Hedwig immediately took flight, but Nagini shot her left hand out, grabbing the bird out of the air. There was a faint snap and Hedwig went limp in Nagini's grip, she dropped the bird, and began strangling Sirius once more. Ron could only see Sirius's legs flailing as he tried to breathe. Bill pulled Ron quickly to his feet, as Lily rushed to help Lupin.

Bill ushered Hermione and Malfoy with him towards the door. Out on the street he saw several masked men encroaching on the house. Ron gasped in surprise, and Bill slammed the door shut, his hands fumbled over the locks.

"We're surrounded," he said, while Lupin and Lily desperately tried to claw Nagini's hands away from Sirius's throat. Ron heard the window in the kitchen shatter.

"You need to make a portkey," Lupin said, tears streaming down his face as Sirius steadily turned blue. He shot another spell at Nagini, but the killing curse absorbed into her skin.

"GO," Bill screamed at Hermione and Malfoy, ushering them up the stairs with him. Bill scooped a hand under Ron's knees and another around his back, Ron felt lightheaded, blood dripped down his hand from a small cut left by the mirror shard.

"Find somewhere to hide," Bill whispered urgently to Hermione and Malfoy. The two teens obeyed. Bill took Ron back into the first bedroom, and threw open the doors to Lily's wardrobe. Ron sat down painfully, large black spots appeared in his vision.

"But—"

"I'll be back in just a minute," Bill said, prying Ron's hands off of his jacket. "Please, Ron, trust me."

"No—" Ron croaked, feeling another wave of nausea come over him. He wouldn't lose another brother to them. But holding onto Bill felt like needles driving their way under his stitches, he gripped the mirror shard tightly in his left hand. Ron let go, and Bill closed the wardrobe.

From downstairs Ron could hear the panicked shouts of the adults as they tried to stop Nagini. A lump built in his throat, Ron leaned his head against one of Lily's coats, praying that the sounds coming from downstairs were the Order hacking Nagini into a million pieces.

"Hello?" Ron heard a faint voice say, like they were speaking from opposite ends of a tunnel. Ron held up the broken mirror shard, but it was too dark to see Harry's reflection on the other end.

"What did they do with my body last time?" Ron felt the question blurt out. It seemed far from consequential to his current situation; but if he was going to die again, he wanted to know he would be allowed to rest. Harry paused, and Ron wondered if he could even hear him.

"I … don't know." Harry said after a while.

Ron nodded, wishing in vain that he'd turn over and find himself warm and safe back in his bed at Hogwarts. He didn't really want to talk to Harry until he'd processed what happened, but he was thankful to not spend his last moments alone.

"Ron?" Harry asked, and Ron grunted to let him know he was still on the other end. "I liked … fixing the mirror … with you …"

Ron said nothing, he didn't know if their trust could ever be mended.

"You're a good person … but there's … something wrong with me …"

"Where will you go when you get away from the Death Eaters?" Ron asked, trying to keep both of them from thinking of the impending fate before them. He heard a faint laugh on the other end of the mirror.

"Never been … to the beach …" Harry said quietly. "What … will you do … when you're back home?"

"Plant a dungbomb in your trunk for all this," tears were running down Ron's face, but he didn't bother to wipe them away. They both laughed again, and Ron heard a set of footsteps coming up the stairs.

"Stay with me until its over?" Ron asked, no doubt in his mind that it was Nagini coming after him.

"Until … the end …"

Ron nodded, holding the mirror shard close to his heart. The footsteps were closer now, the person was mere feet away from Ron.

"Hissy, hissy, little snakey. Slither on the floor, best be good to Naga—"

The voice twisted, like a radio stuck trying to play three channels simultaneously. Ron could imagine Tom Riddle watching from the other side of her eyes, eager to see all his enemies dispatched in one fell swoop. Ron looked in horror as a vacant yellow eye stared at him through the slit in the wardrobe. Nagini smiled with a row of razor-sharp teeth.

"Or she'll nail you to the door."

The door opened and Nagini lunged forward at Ron. Unthinking, and terrified, Ron raised the broken piece of glass to defend himself. He felt white-hot liquid stream down the side of his hand. Ron opened his eyes, to see the piece of glass plunged into Nagini's left eye. The corpse screamed, as black ichor seeped from her punctured eye. Nagini fell forward onto Ron, quite still. Ron sat, scared out of his mind to move.

She was unfathomably cold to the touch, despite the hot liquid still seeping from her eye. He took a shaky breath, lifting Nagini's unmoving torso off of him. In her left eyelid, Ron saw a faint inscription tattooed in a language he didn't recognize. He fought back a cry of relief, that must have been the inscription of the spell.

"Are you still there?" Ron asked.

"Yes … is she … sleeping?"

"He can't hurt her anymore." Ron said, looking in relief to the green eye staring back at him in the mirror. "He puts it in their eyelid."

Ron heard more footsteps pounding down the hallway, too tired to wonder if they were friends or foe. Lupin appeared in the doorway, bloody and bruised.

"You—" Lupin gasped in relief, looking down to the motionless corpse on the ground, "never cease to surprise me."

Ron managed a smile, still feeling a lump in his throat. He saw Hermione and Malfoy also poke their heads out to the hallway. Lupin helped Ron back up to his feet, but Ron's legs had finally given up. Lupin practically carried him back down into the living room where Sirius, Bill, and Lily were waiting. Ron could see a violent patch of bruises forming around Sirius's neck from where Nagini had strangled him.

"Don't try to speak," Lily instructed Sirius, waiving her wand around his throat. She was shaking a lot, but otherwise seemed unharmed. On the floor, there were two dead men, although Ron was confused, they weren't wearing Death Eater uniforms. In fact, both men were filthy, their dark robes torn and hair matted.

"Werewolves too," Lupin hissed, Ron tried not to look at the scars on his face and neck. "I'd bet good money Riddle made a call to one of his old friends."

Down at Lupin's ankles, Crookshanks flattened his ears against his head, hissing at the dead intruders.

"Bloody cat's got more than nine lives," Ron said. Lily scooped Crookshanks up and placed him in a small sling tied around her shoulders.

"We're going to need to make a run for it." Lily nodded to the door. "They've extended the dissapperation wards further. We'd have a better chance splitting off."

"Then we won't know if someone's been followed until we make it inside the safe house." Lupin pointed out. "Perhaps staggering our approach would be best, two of us first to kill as many guards as possible, then Bill and the children, and then someone to follow up the rear."

"I'll go first, I want to make them suffer for what they've done," Lily said.

"Aye," Sirius croaked, raising his wand in agreement. Ron made a mental note that if he survived the rest of the day, he wanted to learn nonverbal spells.

Lupin reluctantly handed Ron over to Bill, as Sirius and Lily dashed out the front door. Outside, Ron could hear a flurry of spells, he had no doubt Riddle had thrown as much at the house as he could without taking guards away from James and Snape.

"Ready?" Bill asked, adjusting his grip on Ron's arm. Ron nodded, gripping tightly to the mirror shard in his pocket.

The door opened to a nearly destroyed street. Several curses flew over Bill's head, and up ahead Hermione yelled in fright as she ran headfirst into two men blocking their path. Someone hit Bill in the back, he shouted in pain, nearly dropping Ron.

The other man stepped back around Bill, pointing his wand in his face. Ron remembered when he was nine, his father brought home an issue of the Daily Prophet with a wanted poster for Fenrir Greyback. He had nightmares for weeks, watching those cold black eyes stare back at him from the newspaper. And now here he was in the flesh, the smell of dirt filled Ron's nose, even moreso than with the corpse he just saw inside the house. Greyback took in a deep breath through his nose, looking back in excitement to the other three werewolves.

"Weasley isn't it?" He said hoarsely, taking a step towards Bill. "Yes, my master was very specific 'bout you. It was just the four Order members they want alive for the witch burning."

"It's not the full moon." Bill pointed out, desperate. Ron knew it didn't matter, even back home Greyback was well known for feasting on people out of his werewolf form. "Name your price."

"You don't 'ave two galleons to rub together." One of the werewolves sneered.

The other werewolves behind Greyback laughed. The werewolves circled around them. Bill couldn't get his wand without dropping Ron, but both Hermione and Malfoy had their wands trained on the other werewolves. Ron heard fast footsteps behind them, Lupin had his wand pointed directly between Greyback's eyes.

"Little Remus Lupin," Greyback's smile widened. "It's been a long time. Tell me, boy, do you still check under your bed for monsters?"

Lupin shot several curses towards Greyback. Bill aimed a killing curse at the one furthest from Hermione and Malfoy. The wolf fell like a marionette cut free from its strings, and Ron felt his mouth run dry. Greyback growled in response. Bill immediately dropped Ron to the ground, goading the two remaining wolves to chase him instead.

Ron hit the pavement stones, his ears ringing from the spells. He felt numb in a way that had nothing to do with the cold. Hermione and Malfoy each seized one of his arms, trying to pull Ron away from his brother and the wolves.

Greyback lunged at Bill, knocking him clean off his feet. Ron screamed in protest, and Malfoy threw something small and silver at the werewolf. Hermione sent a body binding spell hurdling towards them.

Greyback hissed as the dagger plunged into his arm. A faint trail of smoke issued from the wound, as if it were burning him from the inside out. Greyback let out an inhuman scream, as he ripped the dagger out of his arm, the palm of his hand also burned when he touched the silver. Bill clawed his way back to his feet, three large gashes covered the left side of his face. His eye was swollen shut.

"Avada Kedavra," Lupin said coldly, pointing his wand at Greyback. The werewolf's eyes widened in shock before he too crumpled to the ground unmoving.

"Stay back!" Malfoy yelled to Bill, pointing his wand instead at Bill. Ron's breath caught in his throat, did the infection still spread if it wasn't a full moon?

"It doesn't happen right away." Bill said, looking down in disgust to the remaining paralyzed werewolf with disgust. "You eat children, I don't feel bad about this." Bill pointed his wand at the remaining werewolf, a third flash of violent green light emanating from his wand.

"Will it—" Ron asked, looking back at Lupin for reassurance.

"No, it will not spread to lycanthropy." Lupin said, waiving his wand so a swath of bandages began wrapping around Bill's head. "Although, after this Bill, you may prefer your meat a bit more on the raw side."

"Could be worse," Bill grimaced. "Are we far enough away?"

Lupin held out his hand to Ron and the others, for the second time that day Ron braced himself for the unbecoming that he'd learned to accept from dissapperation. He made a mental note if he ever got home to never goad Hermione about muggle driver's licenses again. Lupin twisted, sending them all to squeeze simultaneously through a keyhole in the darkness. Ron felt the darkness closing its hands around his throats as he slipped through, and felt his feet land in packed snow.

He opened his stinging eyes to see a dilapidated house in front of him. The windows and wood framing were ruined, all around Ron could see deep gash marks from an animal. Bill and Lupin helped carry him forward, but Ron felt his heart leap back in his chest as they entered the Shrieking Shack.