Back to You

"NOW!"

"REDUCTO!"

"RUN!"

Son of a bitch, Ron moaned in his mind as he tried to make his way through the room that was full of flying glass and Death Eaters. His hand instinctively groped outwards to grab Hermione and pull her along with him but Harry's fingers grabbed her arm first, yanking her away from Ron. He hesitated for only the briefest of seconds before whirling around, calling Ginny's name and snatching her arm instead and barreling after the direction he glimpsed Harry and Hermione running off in. A meaty hand gripped Ron's forearm but Ron's knee instinctively lashed upwards and the sharp hold on him dropped. His eyes had wandered away from Hermione in order to free himself but he seen the door they had gone through and rushed through it with Ginny in tow.

"Do you know where you're going?" Ginny shouted as she tried desperately to keep up with Ron's long legs.

"They went this way!" Ron yelled over his shoulder. He growled with frustration as Ginny abruptly dug her heels into the ground. "What?"

"Luna and Neville!" Ginny snapped furiously back at him. Ron gritted his teeth and started to turn back to find the other two members of their group but fortunately Luna scurried around the corner.

"Move!" Luna shouted as she raced past them. Ron scowled as he followed her and Ginny. Luna abruptly made a sharp left into a room and slammed the door behind her, Ginny, and Ron. She leaned with her back against the door, panting while Ginny and Ron simply gaped at her.

"What are you doing--what about Neville?" Ron demanded as he struggled to catch his own breath.

"He's with Harry and Hermione," Luna explained desperately. "We've got to get moving--most of them followed us,"

"What do you mean he's with Harry and Hermione--we followed Harry and Hermione so he should be..." The words on Ron's lips died away as a sense of pure terror swallowed him. "No!" He shook his head vigorously in disbelief. "No, Harry and Hermione were just ahead of us--they must be somewhere in here," Ron gestured emphatically towards the center of the room but his conviction faltered when he for the first time examined the massive room Luna had led them in. It was a humongous, spacious room with a ceiling that appeared to stretch upwards for miles. The walls, floor, and ceiling all glistened with a uniform inky blackness that made it extremely difficult to even see the door they had just rushed through. The room was devoid of furniture or any other articles on the floor but up above floated huge representations of planets; it was almost as though they were standing in a model of the solar system.

Ron sucked in a shaky breath. He had never seen this room before which meant they had taken a wrong turn and considering that he knew that Harry and Hermione wouldn't have made a wrong turn, that could only mean one thing. They had gotten separated.

"We have to find them," Ron said firmly.

"They--they're probably okay." Ginny tried to placate him but she looked dreadfully worried herself. "I mean, it's Harry,"

"Yeah, I know," Ron said shortly. Harry was brave, talented, and bloody brilliant but Harry could make mistakes. And Harry had Hermione with him. Ron suddenly felt as though he had swallowed something extremely icy and wriggly that was now twisting his stomach into knots. He knew that Harry would look after Hermione and hell, Hermione was probably safer with Harry than himself but that wasn't going to stop him from worrying. He wasn't going to be appeased until he saw the three of them for himself.

Luna had moved away from the door and started to jog to the other side. Ginny glanced over at Luna and back at Ron, unsure whether to follow or not. Ron however knew exactly what to do. Luna however thought otherwise; she somehow knew what he was planning since she whirled around and tried to get him in time.

"Don't open that door!"

Ron wrenched the door open and stuck his head out in the hall in a vain attempt to find his missing friends. Maybe he had gotten ahead of them somehow and they were just rushing towards them now...

Four Death Eaters whipped around at the sound of the door flinging open, eyes gleaming.

"There they are!"

"Bloody hell!" Ron roared with frustration as he slammed the door shut again and pulled out his wand.

"Ron, go!" Ginny shrieked as she finally took off towards the other side of the room. Luna was already resuming her sprint but Ron couldn't go just yet. He rammed his shoulder against the door while aiming his wand at the door. Son of a bitch, he moaned as his mind of course drew a blank. He had just been with Hermione and she had taught him how to unlock doors and he was sure that she had taught him how to lock doors but of course he couldn't remember now that he needed to. So Ron abandoned the door and hurtled across the room after his sister and Luna.

But they weren't ahead of him.

"Ginny?" he demanded sharply, breath suddenly freezing in his throat. Had they somehow already gotten into the room? But at that moment, his foot hit the dead center of the room, and the magical properties of the room told hold. It felt as though a cord was wrapped around his ankle and whipped him upwards. Legs flailing, he was jerked up into the air, wand dropping out of his hand as his upper body slammed into the floor before being pulled up, up, up into the air and lightening fast speed. The only time Ron had ever moved this quickly was when he had been flying on Harry's Firebolt. "Whoa!"

"Shh!" Ginny warned him angrily, eyes shooting fire as she pointed towards the door. The four Death Eaters had just run through and had paused in confusion at the seemingly empty room. Ron nodded grimly when he realized what Ginny was telling him; if they could just shut up and hide, the Death Eaters would leave them the hell alone. He glanced to his right and spotted Luna floating towards the model of Pluto, clutching her wand. Ron turned back to Ginny and pointed to the representation of Saturn. She nodded and made her way towards it while Ron crawled through the air as if swimming to hide behind Uranus. His long arms allowed him to crawl through space much more swiftly than Ginny so once he reached his target, he whipped around, fingers barely able to hold on to Uranus' surface so he could make sure his sister got to safety.

Ginny was having a bit more trouble, her face red with exertion as she silently tried to grab hold on Saturn's rings. Ginny was such a small girl, however, that she was much lighter than Ron, making her much more aerodynamic and therefore her legs kept tugging towards the ceiling. So whenever she would grab hold, she would only be pulled away by the strange laws of physics that governed this room. Ron swore under his breath as he shot a look over his shoulder. Since Neptune and Pluto were blocking his view, he could only assume that Luna was safely huddling behind the planet. Good, one less person to worry about, Ron thought as he fervently wished that his wand wasn't lying on the ground.

He held his breath as footsteps thudding into the thick metal of the floor echoed threateningly. One of the Death Eaters were jogging towards the middle of the room to see if there was another door. The other three Death Eaters were speaking to each other in low, clipped tones. It never occurred to them to look up.

That was until the one Death Eater's foot hit the magic spot and he also was tugged upwards into the air. He let out a surprised yelp and the other three Death Eater's eyes swung upwards and their eyes went straight to the crimson curls.

"There's the Weasley girl!"

Ginny let out a string of curse words that Ron knew she had picked up from the twins; even he didn't have that vulgar of a vocabulary. The Death Eater was swimming in the air towards her so she shoved herself away from Saturn and tried to fight her way towards Jupiter, which offered a great deal more shelter. However, the Death Eaters on the ground began firing assorted curses towards her and Ginny jerked herself to a halt, ducking her head down to her ankles to avoid the sparks. Curses of her own began to be shot out towards the Death Eaters and she managed to Stun one of the Death Eaters. Ron couldn't stop himself from letting out a low whistle; damn, Ginny was good. He could never Stun someone from that distance. However, Ginny had to stop when the lack of gravity caused her to spin rather crazily. She somersaulted around a few times before deciding that the only way to go was up. She clawed her way through the air towards the ceiling but the Death Eater was gaining on her with an alarming rate. Ron cautiously made his way around Uranus, not loosening his grip on the planet lest he began to somersault wildly around himself; losing control was not going to help their situation. Kicking his madly floating legs, Ron frantically tried to catch his sister's attention without the other Death Eaters noticing. Come on, Ginny, get him over here, he fired desperately at her.

Ginny's hair cascaded behind her as she whipped her head in Ron's direction and instantly started to fight her way towards him, still struggling to gain altitude at the same time. The effort was too much however and Ron and Ginny gasped simultaneously when thick fingers grabbed Ginny's ankle and yanked.

CRACK

It was almost as though the agony of the ankle bone snapping flared up in Ron's own foot. Ginny's face contorted with pain but she was ready as the Death Eater pulled her down to face level.

"Impedimenta!"

The Death Eater flew backwards, momentarily frozen as Ginny managed to pull out of his grasp despite her broken ankle and continue to get to Ron. Ron however was not going to float behind and watch any longer, even if he didn't have a wand. His fingers dug into Uranus' surface and he managed to extract a large chunk.

"Oy! Peabrain!" Ron shouted as he hurtled himself away from Uranus and chucked the rock at the Death Eater. It clubbed him straight in the forehead and impaired him for yet another moment. The Death Eater blinked in shock and his eyes narrowed he for the first time saw Ron. Ron however was counting on his rage. "Come on then! Who wants my sister when they could have Harry Potter's best friend!" Ron stressed as he crawl stroked his way towards Ginny and the Death Eater. "You know, the person he would miss the most!" The Death Eater's eyes lit up when he realized who he was seeing and began to make his way towards Ron, but Ginny was still not out of danger just yet; she was having a great deal of trouble moving now with her injured ankle. Floundering helplessly, she let out a cry of pain as her hand smacked the thin air, trying to grab hold of Ron's hand or Uranus or anything in order to help get her away from the Death Eater. She feebly managed to shoot another curse to keep the Death Eater at bay, but he was still gaining fast.

"Come on!" Ron bellowed as he flipped himself over in order to float in between Ginny and the Death Eater. He kicked his legs out behind him and gently managed to steer Ginny further behind him but softly kicking her in the shoulder with both feet while his arms flew out to seize the Death Eater around the shoulders. He sensed the Death Eater's wand swinging up towards him but he knocked the wand away. For several seconds, the two men spun about in the air, hands roving as they fought for the wand while Ron yelled for Ginny to get away and the Death Eater shouted for his cohorts to Stun the little Weasley bastard. It became really difficult to concentrate as the sparks started flinging around in Ron's immediate eyesight and that's when he lost the upper hand.

BAM

He didn't hear the curse that had been used on him; he just knew how he felt. The fearful sensation that had been eating away at his stomach vanished but was replaced with an acute sharp pain. His head grew extremely fuzzy and light and his skull felt like it was floating miles and miles away from the rest of his body. His body, however, flew backwards violently from the force of the spell and since he had already been dangerous close to the ceiling, a collision was imminent.

BANG

The back of Ron's head crashed into the metal ceiling and suddenly all sensation of weightlessness vanished and Ron felt himself falling, falling, falling...

CRASH

"RON!" Ginny shrieked with terror as she continued to maneuver herself as far away from the Death Eater as possible. "Ron, wake up!" Ron didn't stir. Ginny swallowed hard as a hysterical sob threatened to break through her throat. Ron had just fallen at least twenty feet to the ground after receiving a blow to the head and a curse at extremely close range. It was natural for him to be knocked out for a few moments; he would be fine in a few minutes.

Ginny didn't believe her reassurances for a second; it was very possible that Ron had been killed from that fall. And he would have died from protecting her. Ginny violently shoved herself away from Uranus and started backstroking her way towards Neptune, her hand trembling as she aimed her wand once again. Ron was not going to die; she was not going to let him. He was her favorite brother, he always had been, and he always would be and therefore he needed to remain alive.

"Stupefy!" she rasped furiously when the Death Eater finally came into view around the circumference of Uranus. The red sparks splattered directly into his face and he jerked backwards, floating on his back, limbs limp. Ginny let out a long breath as her back bumped into Neptune. Now she had to get down to Ron.

Her brown eyes traveled downwards and her fury instantly hit the roof. One of the Death Eaters was standing over Ron and she looked down just in time to see him kick Ron's still form in the ribs. "Hey!" she spat, her voice shrill with fear and fury. "Get away!" she demanded, wand flying to aim towards the Death Eater many feet below.

"Ginny, duck!"

Ginny didn't dwell on the fact that she had completely forgotten about Luna Lovegood floating up in the air along with her; all she did was exactly as she was told. A spell whizzed past her, whipping her hair into her face before harmlessly hitting the ground several feet from Ron. Ginny swore loudly again as she whirled around and floated away from Neptune, stomach clenched. The other two Death Eaters had somehow gotten up in the air and behind her without her even noticing since she had been so intent on Ron's battle and fall. But before they could begin to swim towards her, everything exploded.

Literally. Pluto behind them exploded with a deft Reducto curse and the shards rocketed in the air, pummeling into the Death Eaters so by the time the debris had settled both Death Eaters were floating unconscious next to Neptune. Ginny had managed to duck in time but had been hit regardless. She personally didn't care; one shard had hit her so hard that it had knocked her out of the strange spell cast on the room and she now was also falling to the ground. The remaining Death Eater on the ground's wand was out and firing but Ginny, thanks to Harry's tutelage in D.A., waited until she had a clean shot and effectively Stunned him before she hit the ground.

"Oomph!" she grunted as she landed flat on her stomach. She had managed to keep her head upright so she received no damning blow to the head, but she was stunned momentarily all the same. Ginny shook her head to clear it and her eyes immediately went to Ron. "Ron!" she called frantically. "Ron, are you alright?!" To her infinite relief, she heard a low moan emanating from Ron's form and she saw his arm muscles twitch. Without thinking, she clamored to her feet.

Not the smartest move of Ginny Weasley's life. Her injured leg twisted uselessly underneath her and Ginny let out a scream of pain. She had never broken a bone before and she had never imagined it would hurt this badly.

"Don't move," Luna ordered from above. Ginny looked up to see that Luna was swimming her way down towards them. "Just pull me down when I reach your level." Ginny nodded grimly but she ignored Luna's advice; she scooted on her behind towards Ron so she could shake his shoulder. He had landed on his stomach so she attempted to roll him over on his back so she could inspect the damage. Luna's arm however at this moment bumped into Ginny's head so Ginny twisted around and yanked hard on Luna's elbow so Luna tumbled the remaining three feet to the floor.

Ginny turned back and let out a squeal of joy when she saw that Ron had rolled over himself and his eyes were wide open. "Ron, you're okay!" she cried. Ron blinked once, eyes extremely glassy and unfocused. He didn't respond to her. "Ron?" Ginny pressed urgently. "Say something!"

Ron swallowed once to alleviate his extremely dry mouth before beginning to giggle. "Loony Lovegood was flying," he said conspiratorially to his sister before raucous laughter overtook him. One arm wrapped around his stomach as the bouts of laughter racked his body, Ron's face grimaced in pain but he couldn't seem to stop himself from laughing.

"Ron, what's the matter with you?" Ginny demanded. Her chest was starting to become dreadfully tight and her eyes were burning with unshed tears. Ron's injury was the final incident that pushed her over the edge since she was already so worried about Harry, Hermione, and Neville not to mention her own damaged foot. If she started crying now, it would be like the time after Harry rescued her from the Chamber of Secrets: she wouldn't be able to stop. Ron took one look at Ginny's stricken face and promptly laughed even harder. Ginny found that she couldn't watch him any longer so she turned to Luna, who was staring at Ron with detached fascination. "The fall must have caused brain damage or something or maybe it was him hitting his head on the ceiling," Ginny babbled. She hated that her voice sounded so hysterical but she was so scared. "We've got to get him out of here!"

"No, I don't think it was that," Luna said thoughtfully. "It may have been that curse they used on him." She positioned her hands under Ginny's shoulders and tugged upwards. "Come on then." Ginny allowed Luna to pull her up and clung to Luna's arm to help her balance on her one good leg.

"What about Ron? How are we going to get him out?" Ginny continued anxiously.

"He can walk," Luna said shortly before turning her attention to Ron. "Ronald? We have to leave--get up! And don't forget your wand," she added

"Okay," Ron said docilely as he reached over to grab his wand that was lying a few feet away from him and he clamored to his feet, legs swaying and wobbling.

"Ron, are you okay? How do you feel?" Ginny demanded.

In all honesty, Ron felt good. His head was all floating and spinning and he couldn't really concentrate on anything but the fuzziness felt sort of nice. And then there were the shooting pains racking in his abdomen every time he laughed but he just couldn't seem to stop himself. Everything was just so funny even though a little part of him deep inside was telling him that it was anything but hilarious. Ginny's face filled with pain and the tears in her eyes were not a cause for a major celebration but today, it sure as hell was. The idea of telling his sister that he actually felt good was pretty funny too so Ron just laughed and laughed some more. The pain intensified and he had to double over in order to breathe properly but hey, his shoes were pretty funny too--they had dirt on them--so he giggled harder than ever. He laughed so hard, in fact, that when he opened his mouth to let the trills of laughter bubble out, blood bubbled out as well.

Ginny let out a little shriek at the sight but Ron only laughed at it; he didn't know that blood could do that. "Ron, come on, let's go!" Ginny ordered as she started to hop towards the door with Luna supporting her. Ron tottered uncertainly for a minute, not sure if he really wanted to follow or laugh some more. Laughing definitely seemed to be the better option. "Ron," Ginny shouted, her eyes fearfully darting upwards to see if the Death Eaters had revived. "Ron, don't you want to see Harry and Hermione again?!"

Oh, yeah, Ron thought gleefully. He would like to see his friends again--Harry was a bloody good mate and would have a good laugh with him even if that You-Know-Who bloke was running around here or something. And then there was Hermione. Ron's smile grew wider than ever at the thought of her really cool hair and that brilliant smile of hers. Yeah, he would like to go see Hermione. "Yeah, I do want to see Hermione," he mumbled with a different sort of laugh and the dopey grin he had found himself to adopt whenever he thought intently about that girl.

"Oh, now you figure out you fancy her," Ginny shouted in annoyance as she waved her hand down the corridor they were making their way down. "She's over here somewhere, so come on!" Ron chuckled as he teetered after the two girls.

"WE'VE GOT HIM IN AN OFFICE OFF--"

"Harry!" Ginny yelled in terror. "They found Harry!"

"Maybe not," Luna told Ginny sympathetically. "Come on; let's follow them." Luna seemed to be ignoring him completely, but what could he really expect from Loony Lovegood. Ron giggled again--that was such a funny name! Although it wasn't that funny that some of those blokes were going to catch Harry; it wouldn't be that funny if Harry got killed. But despite that sobering thought, Ron giggled yet again. "It sounded like from over there." Luna made a right and helped Ginny turn the corner.

Ron however did not follow straight away. The giddiness that had been dictating his every move abruptly vanished and was replaced by an overwhelming sense of terror. Not only that, the pain in his stomach jumped upwards to his chest, and Ron was forced to stoop over, hand on his chest. What the hell, he thought dully as he massaged his breastbone. The pain was very real but at the same time he could tell that it wasn't originating from him. "Hermione?" he wondered under his breath.

"Ron, what are you doing?" Luna called back.

"Uh," Ron hesitated as he straightened back up. His eyes caught on Luna and the overwhelming urge to laugh burst through him again. Loony Lovegood was always a source of laughter.

"Oh, damn it, Ron, move!" Ginny shrieked as she hopped away once again in the direction of the Death Eater's shout. Luna and Ron followed suit and they came to a door at the end of the hall that all three of them burst through.

"Ron!" croaked Harry, dashing toward them. "Ginny--are you all...?"

Harry! His best mate in the world was here! He looked like hell, but he was here. His robes and clothes were covered in dust and dirt, his hair was standing up on end, glasses askew, face pale. Ron could also sense that Harry was sort of unsteady because he had gotten hit on the head or something. Well, even if he was injured, he would still be ready to have some fun.

"Harry," said Ron, giggling weakly, lurching forward, seizing the front of Harry's robes and gazing at him with unfocused eyes. "There you are...Ha ha ha...You look funny, Harry...You're all messed up..."

He wanted to say more but that fun blood was dribbling out of his mouth again and he was having loads more fun giggling about that. He didn't even care that his legs, which had been unsteady ever since he had woke up, finally wobbled out from underneath him and he landed with a thud on his knees, which only made him laugh even more. It was even funnier since Harry got pulled into a bow position along with him; the idea of Harry Potter bowing down to Ron Weasley was insanely hilarious.

Harry however didn't see the humor in this. "Ginny?" Harry asked fearfully. "What happened?"

Fine, talk to Ginny, Ron thought with a sarcastic sigh. Since you looovvee her. Ron laughed again; it was fun to know something that Harry himself didn't even know. Ron straightened up slightly and shook his head. Speaking of love, where was Hermione? He turned his head to spot Neville who was carrying Hermione. Hermione was letting herself be carried--that was ridiculous. Although this will be very fun to use against her for the rest of her life, Ron thought with a smirk. Hermione got herself in such a fix that Neville Longbottom had to carry her.

Wait, that's not funny.

A small voice at the back of his mind piped up and Ron frowned slightly as he tilted his head to get a glance at Hermione. She was slung over Neville's shoulder but he managed to see her face. Wow, she's really pale, Ron thought--I mean, she's really pale. She looked awful; something horrible had happened to her. Ron for a split second suddenly recognized the worst thought he had ever processed in his entire life.

But then the laughter returned. The idea of something happening to Hermione when she was with Harry was another humorous thought; Harry never let anything happen to anyone. He was the bloody hero of the world after all and he certainly wouldn't let anything happen to someone as special as Hermione. Yeah, Hermione would be fine, he thought happily before returning his attention to Harry who was now talking to Luna.

"...it was a very odd place, some of the time we were just floating in the dark..."

Ron knew it was polite to interrupt and his mum would murder him if she knew he was being so rude, but he personally didn't give a damn. He had just thought of something insanely funny and he knew that Harry would appreciate the humor; he had used a similar joke before and Harry had loved it then. Harry looked as though he needed a good laugh so he tugged slightly on Harry's robe to get his attention.

"Harry, we saw Uranus up close!" said Ron, still giggling feebly. And he had, he really had; how many people could say they had done that! "Get it, Harry? We saw Uranus--ha ha ha..."

Harry however didn't laugh to his great disappointment but it didn't matter; some more blood was spouting out his mouth and Ron laughed at that instead. It was amazing what blood could do! Harry and Luna kept talking and Ron got a bit bored so he diverted Harry's attention once again with a joke that he knew would work.

"Harry," said Ron, pulling Harry's ear down to his mouth and still giggling weakly, "you know who this girl is, Harry? She's Loony...Loony Lovegood...ha ha ha..."

Damn it, Harry still didn't laugh. All he did was turn back to bloody Loony and ask if she could help Ginny. Ron watched with amusement as Ginny tried to fight off help from Loony but she ended up having to give in and submit to Loony's aid. He barely noticed when Harry grabbed his arm and heaved it around Harry's shoulder to support him and dragged him along.

"There they are!"

What the hell, Ron thought once again as he dully turned despite Harry's heaving him in the opposite direction. Ron couldn't help gaping openly at the woman who had just yelled. Damn, she was ugly--he had always thought that Pansy Parkinson was the ugliest girl in existence but damn! Harry yanked him away from the ugly woman's view and threw him into a room that he had just opened and turned back to help Neville get Hermione through. Oh yeah, Ron remembered, Hermione has to get carried. He let out a snicker at the thought as he wobbled back to his feet. Harry, Neville, and Luna were tearing around the room, locking all of the doors as fast as they could while Ginny watched anxiously from her seat on the floor and Hermione continued to lay disturbingly still. He should be listening to the spells his friends were using since he hadn't remembered to lock the door in that room with Uranus. Ron laughed again--Uranus was such a funny word.

But maybe he could help. Ron's eyes were on the brains that were floating in this potion of some sort. Maybe he did some really cool spell Harry would finally laugh and maybe...his glassy eyes caught on Hermione's unmoving form. Maybe Hermione would wake up--she would want to praise him for his excellent spell work like she always did. Besides, Hermione had been really taken with those brains when they were in here earlier and who wouldn't be impressed with someone who could control brains.

That ugly woman was back with four other men. Loony had gotten thrown across the room and was now lying motionless on the floor. Poor Loony, Ron thought sympathetically but he couldn't waste his time worrying about her. He had to impress Hermione and Harry. Harry was dodging away--and who wouldn't with the ugliest woman in the world chasing him--so he had to catch Harry's attention fast and remind him about the brains before he astounded the world with his magic skills.

"Hey! Hey, Harry, there are brains in here, ha ha ha, isn't that weird, Harry?"

"Ron, get out of the way, get down!"

Harry didn't get it. What was wrong with him? Well, he better just move on with the plan; maybe that would get Harry in line. Ron pointed his wand at the tank.

"Honest, Harry, they're brains--look--Accio Brain!"

It worked! Everyone, even the ugly evil people, watched in fascination as a brain burst from the green liquid like a leaping fish. For a moment it seemed suspended in midair, then it soared toward Ron, spinning as it came, and what looked like ribbons of moving images flew from it, unraveling like rolls of film. Ron grinned; this was bloody brilliant!

"Ha ha ha, Harry, look at it..." said Ron, watching it disgorge its gaudy innards. "Harry, come and touch it, bet it's weird..."

It would be fun to touch the brains; Ron reckoned it would be all squishy and fun and help him laugh even more. He hadn't had a good laugh in a while so might as well have some fun. Besides, Hermione always loved it when he laughed so if he laughed really hard, she might wake up.

"RON, NO!"

Ron ignored him and grabbed the brain in his hands.

At first it was really cool. The tentacle things wrapped themselves at a wicked speed around his arms and wow, it looked cool. "Harry, look what's happen..."And then it all went wrong. It all went really, really wrong. It hurt--bloody hell it hurt! "No--no, I don't like it--no, stop--stop!"

The tentacles started now tightening around his chest and he started to struggle against them. It was a weird sort of pain that these ribbon things caused. They burned into his flesh and the pain was so acute that it took his breath away so he couldn't even laugh or shout a spell or do anything to make it stop. Everything within Ron was burning with flaming agony, even his very soul, his very being. His other senses started shutting down as he viciously tugged against the brain; it was really pathetic that he couldn't even fight off a brain but he wasn't going to give up anytime soon. He vaguely heard Harry yell as he tried to get the brain off of him and Ginny was screaming something but then he couldn't stand anymore and he fell to the ground, thrashing violently.

Ron couldn't breathe at all anymore and it was becoming much more difficult to fight. Get off, get off, get off, get off! Ron couldn't believe that he couldn't get a stupid brain off him and he also couldn't believe that Harry wasn't doing anything about this. Harry never let anything to--why wasn't Harry helping him out? And Hermione--where the devil was Hermione, she would know how to get him out of this, she knew everything. A vision of her pale face flashed in his head and Ron's mind flew from his own troubles. He had to get out so he could save her because life without Hermione wasn't life...

Ron let out a loud gasp as the brains abruptly uncoiled from around him. Ron twisted himself free and found his wand so he could Banish the brain back into the tank. He lay flat on his back for several moments, sucking in several breaths as he tried to regain a normal breathing pattern. His arms were throbbing so he glanced down at them before promptly bursting out into laughter again. What the hell had happened to his arms? They had these nasty-looking but rather cool welts cutting up and down his arms. They were really deep and it some spots he could actually see a vein or two pulsating amid the torn flesh. Wow, Ron marveled as he giggled some more, looks like Harry isn't going to be the only one with a scar.

Speaking of Harry...Ron turned his head slightly as he continued to giggle as someone raced by him, hoping it was Harry. But it was only that ugly woman again but fortunately, Harry followed, hot on her heels. Ugly woman shot some sort of curse towards that ruddy tank with the ruddy brains and the tank rose into the air and tipped. The disgusting potion within spilled all over the place, all over all of them and Ron had to gasp slightly again--that potion tasted really bad. The brains were starting to whip towards Harry but Harry was much more prepared for the brains than Ron had. With a quick "Wingardium Leviosa," the brains zoomed up in the air. Harry didn't let the potion or the brains defer his stride; even Ron in his current state could tell that Harry had a mission from that look in his eyes, and nothing was going to stop him.

"Harry--what..." Ginny tried to catch his attention as he barreled past her, but in the next moment, Harry was gone. Ginny leaned forward and continued to shout hopelessly after him. "Harry! Dammit!" Ginny whirled back around. "Luna, wake up!"

Ron abruptly sat up and held up his injured arms as the potion threatened to pervade his welts--even he knew that it wouldn't be funny to hurt these wounds even more. Ginny was seated on the floor, leaning against the wall, still clutching her ankle. Her hair was sticky and damp and her clothes clung to her from the deluge of potion that had engulfed her. She wasn't looking at him though; she was trying desperately to get Loony's attention, who was still sprawled out on the floor.

Loony moaned quietly as she jerked upwards, turning her head to Ginny dazedly. Her clothes and hair were also covered in the potion. In fact, that potion was getting everywhere--it was spreading steadily across the whole room in a six inch deep flood. "Wh-what?"

"Are you okay?" Ginny asked worriedly.

"I'm fine, what happened?" Loony reassured her as she got to her feet, frowning at the potion she was now standing in.

"That tank of brains broke, the potion is getting everywhere, we've got to get out of here! Help me get up!"

By this time, Ron had finally seen the humor of the situation and a trail of giggles burst out of his mouth along with a fresh bubble of blood. "Ginny, lookit--there's water everywhere!" he cried joyfully to his sister.

Ginny simply rolled her eyes. Loony however spoke to him. "Ron, get up, come on, go!" she urged as she stooped over to help Ginny up. She let out a guttural sound of exertion as she heaved Ginny to her feet. Ginny grimaced and wobbled unsteadily, clutching the wall for support. "You all right, Ginny?"

Ginny nodded, her face set in a look of such extreme determination that even without her red hair, freckles, and colorful vocabulary, it was very apparent she was a dedicated Weasley. "We've got to get Hermione too! Luna, let's see if we can drag her out."

"You can't walk by yourself! Ron, help us!" Luna shouted.

Ron would have liked to give his sister a hand, he really would, but the mention of Luna's name was just too funny to pass up. "Loony, loony, loony Lovegood!" he almost squealed with a fresh wave of giggles.

"Oh, for heaven's sake! Ron, go!" Ginny waved towards the exit frantically as she tried to wade her way through the potion towards Hermione on one foot. She however soon found that getting all the way across the room was going to be too difficult and with a scowl of defeat, she turned back to Luna, who was still steadying her carefully. "All right, this is getting ridiculous! Luna, I can hop over just fine, you get a hold of Hermione. And Ron, move it!"

But Ron couldn't move it. His eyes had finally found Hermione again; she was still lying motionless on the floor despite the wave of potion that had dumped over her. Luckily she was quite a distance away from the tank, so she wasn't in danger of drowning in that stuff. But it was still making his insides writhe even more and that pain coupled with the currents of burning pain that struck him every time he laughed made it quite necessary to bend over slightly at the waist, an arm around his torso. Despite his condition, Ron's glassy eyes never left Hermione for an instant. "Ginny," Ron's voice was suddenly very faint and scared. "Why is Hermione sleeping?"

Ginny glanced over at him and her face softened in a second. "Oh, shit," Ginny bit her lip as she watched her brother watch Hermione for a second. She tried to hop towards Ron. "Ron, don't look, go in the other room," she begged quietly, pointing her thumb towards the exit.

Ron wasn't going to heed his sister's request. He had to make sure that Hermione was alright--if anything happened to Hermione, he would never forgive himself. "Wake up, Hermione!" He began to splash his way towards her.

Ginny swore almost soundlessly under her breath as she almost toppled over in an attempt to grab Ron. "Ron, please!" she tried again as she caught herself with one hand, her injured left leg in mid-air. Luna silently shifted Ginny in an upright position, her wide eyes never leaving Ron.

Ron took another two long strides through the flood. "Hermione!" He was now only ten feet away from her.

But that was as close as he was going to get.

"Stupefy!"

**

"Enervate!"

Ron winced, his eyes still closed. He really didn't want to get up now--all the laughing was exhausting him and he just wanted to stop.

"Come on, lad, open your eyes,"

"Ron?"

Ginny, Ron's fuzzy memory reminded him. His sister. And his sister sounded as though she was in a lot of pain. He vividly remembered the night before his second-year, his father had taken him aside and seriously asked him to keep an eye on his little sister--apparently, Ron was her favorite older brother and she looked up to him. He had been quite taken aback by that bit of news; he wasn't used to being someone's favorite so he had taken his father's request very seriously which is why he felt as though he had let Ginny down with the whole Chamber of Secrets/Tom Riddle's diary fiasco. Ginny might be in trouble again and he had to help her so Ron groaned and reluctantly opened his eyes. He was back in that center room where he had first found Hermione, Harry, and Neville. He was lying on the ground, flat on his back. Ginny was sitting on the ground next to him, one of legs straight out in front of her. Mad-Eye Moody was crouched on the other side and Kingsley Shacklebolt was standing at his feet but it was Moody who commanded Ron's attention. With the long hair, the missing chunk of his nose and magical eye, he was putting Ron through a fresh fit of hysterical laughter. Ron brought his knees up towards his stomach, arm around his stomach once again, and he laughed and laughed.

"See--he just keeps doing that!" Ginny proclaimed in frustration. "Then if he laughs hard enough he spits blood all over the place! You have to do something!"

"Don't worry," Kingsley reassured her as he pointed his wand at Ron. "We'll take care of it,"

"Ready?" Moody growled as his own wand pressed against Ron's head. Ron normally would have protested but he caught another glimpse of the electric blue eye which pushed him over the edge once again.

"On three," Kingsley stated. Ginny scooted backwards with a grimace of pain. "One, two, three..."

"Finite Incantem!"

In a blink of an eye, it was over. The lightheaded sensation, the giggling, the pain in his abdomen, the fuzzy sensation clouding his thoughts had all vanished much to Ron's infinite relief. Now that Ron was back to his senses his ears instantly flushed with embarrassment; he had acted really stupid.

"Ron, how do you feel?" Kingsley asked as he squatted down so he could take a good look at Ron.

"Alright," Ron groggily replied, rather surprised that he sounded so awful. He didn't want them to think that he was complaining so he pushed himself up into a sitting position.

"Ron!" Ginny gasped as she pushed herself back towards Ron. "Ron, your arms!"

"Yeah, we saw those," Moody grunted as he took hold of Ron's wrist. Ron glanced down and winced at the sight of the wounds. It was the first time he had seen them without being under that curse and his stomach turned over at the sight of them. They were deep, throbbing, and such a sickening tint of deep reddish-purple that made Ron wonder if the marks would ever go away. "We're going to have to take care of those straight away."

Ron soon lost interest in his welts however and looked back and forth between Kingsley and Moody. "How's Hermione? And where did Harry go?" he demanded. His memory was rather vague on what all had just happened but he did have a vivid flash of Hermione lying on the ground, pale and motionless while Harry bolted from the room. Kingsley and Moody looked at each other worriedly so Ron then turned to Ginny. Ginny bit her lip and avoided his eyes. "Ginny, where are they?" His frown deepened when he saw the crazy angle Ginny's ankle was sticking in. "And what's with your foot?"

"It broke, and it's fine," Ginny said shortly. "And we don't know where Harry went but Hermione..." she hesitated, glancing over her shoulder at one of the doors. "Hermione's..."

"Hermione's what?" Ron interrupted impatiently. "I remember her looking awful--is she awake yet?"

"I'll go see for you," Moody interjected as he lumbered to his feet. Ron watched him go and for the first time noticed the nasty gash across Moody's face. Apparently he and Ginny weren't the only ones to run into Death Eaters tonight.

"Great," Ron called after to him before rounding on Ginny again. "Now, what happened to her?"

"I-I don't know," Ginny snapped, finally losing her temper. "I wasn't with her, remember? I was with you!"

Ron stared at her blankly for a moment before another memory crashed down on him. "That bastard broke your foot!"

Ginny blinked, stunned at the abrupt change of subject. "It's fine!" she argued. Ron didn't believe her for a second but before he could pursue the topic further, he overheard a familiar voice that was saying just what he wanted to hear.

"...when Ron feels better, get him in here."

Yes! Ron jumped to his feet and darted away from Kingsley and Ginny's attempts to restrain him. If Professor Lupin said he could come in, he would be able to go in and from Ginny's anxious glances at the door, he was fairly certain that Hermione was somewhere inside. Moody was still blocking the doorway with his lumbering form so Ron stood impatiently behind him.

Moody didn't notice his presence since he was too busy arguing with Lupin, much to Ron's disgust. "I thought you said that you didn't want him to see like that!"

Kingsley shook Ron's arm and tried to pull him back but Ron pulled away with such defiance that Kingsley raised his hands in mock surrender. Ginny was still struggling to stand so she wasn't going to be able to stop Ron from entering. All he had to do was get around Moody. Lupin's voice continued to float out from behind Moody's hulking figure. "Not while he's recovering, no. But I think Hermione lingering in whatever state that she's in, and she needs him to get her out of it. She'll come out on her own if he's here."

Lingering? In what state? Ron thought furiously, fists starting to clench. What had they done to her? Not to mention where the hell was Harry? Ron shook his head slightly--Harry could handle himself on his own, he was sure of it; besides he always seemed to know whenever Harry really needed help and this wasn't one of those times. But right now, Hermione was hurt and in trouble and Lupin was right--Ron knew he was the only one who could help pull her out of it.

"Are you sure?" Moody asked, still obviously skeptic.

Lupin finally seemed to lose his temper. "Alastor, have you seen these two together!"

"Yes..."

"And you realize who they remind us of?"

"Of course I do..."

"And if Lily was lying here unconscious, what would we do for her?"

Ron's stomach jolted with a huge bout of nerves--he and Hermione reminded all of them of Harry's parents? He and his best friend were like a married couple? Could they know? Was it that obvious that he was crazy about her?

"We'd get James."

"Then get Ron!"

"Don't bother." Ron finally spoke up loudly. He shook off the shock of hearing that he and Hermione were like Harry's parents and even if everyone knew about how felt about her, she needed him. And regardless if the whole world knew afterwards that he cared about her much more than a friend, he was going to make sure he did everything in his power to take care of her.

"Ron, get back in here!"

Ron rolled his eyes and didn't even bother to look over his shoulder. "Shut it, Ginny." He did however look over at Kingsley with an unvoiced question in his eyes. Kingsley nodded with a small smile and turned around to help Ginny. Moody however shot out his hand across the doorframe to block Ron's path. Ron rolled his eyes again and focused on the former DADA professor. "Where's Hermione?"

"Ron, don't exert yourself, sit back down! You can see her in a minute." Lupin called to him. Ron tried to look over Moody's shoulder at Lupin but Moody pushed him somewhat roughly backwards.

"Listen to him, lad, and get back in the corridor!" Moody urged.

Ron jerked his shoulder away and stood his ground, raising his chin somewhat defiantly to Moody. "What happened? What's wrong with her? Is she going to be all right?" he asked in quick succession. He hoped that it wasn't blatantly obvious that his heart was hammering away wildly at the thought of Hermione severely injured or worse.

Moody glanced over his shoulder at Lupin and Lupin must have given his assent to step aside. Moody complied and Ron got his first clear shot into the room.

Neville and Luna were huddled nearest to the door. Luna looked perfectly fine, a bit distracted, but fine. Neville however was holding a very bloody handkerchief to his face, leaning his head back in order to stop the heavy bleeding. On the other side of the room, Remus Lupin was standing behind a long desk, a hand on Hermione's shoulder.

Hermione. His blood turned to ice water at the sight of her sprawled out on top of the desk. Her face was averted away from him so he couldn't tell if she had an injury or if she was still incredibly pale or what had happened to her. All he could tell was that she was much, much too still and the sight of her lying there unconscious was making him physically ill. It must have showed rather clearly on his face what was experiencing because when he tried to take an unsteady step forward, Moody's hand grabbed his shoulder and Lupin held up a restraining hand. Lupin spoke up in a calm, rational voice that irked Ron even further. "I think she'll be just fine, but just take it easy, Ron. You aren't going to help Hermione by hurting yourself; that's the last thing she'd want."

"Are you doing anything for her? Have you tried to help her at all?" Ron demanded furiously. From all that he could see, Lupin was just watching Hermione waste away unconscious.

"Ron!" Ginny protested from behind him, leaning on Kingsley. He whipped around to glare at her but then he decided that there just wasn't the time to argue with Ginny. He had to get to Hermione.

Moody's hand was still gripping him insanely tightly so Ron appealed to him. "Look, just let me see her. Maybe I can help." He turned his head back towards Lupin. "you were saying that I would help her..."

"Ron..." Lupin began awkwardly.

"You said that we remind you of Harry's parents, that if Harry's mum was hurt, you'd get Harry's dad right in there, right?" Ron fired back at him.

"Ron..." Lupin tried again.

"Then I should be here with her, right?"

"Ron..."

"Remus!"

Ron was shocked that he actually called an adult by his first name. His mum had always taught him to be respectful and all that crap, but there just wasn't the time for formalities. Hermione could be dying for all he knew and...Ron's chest froze as he stopped in mid-thought. He could not continue to have those thoughts without severe side effects. Come on, Hermione, he thought rather desperately towards her. He bounced impatiently as he stared at her, willing for a sign of life. He actually kidded himself for a moment and his heart soared with hope when he saw her hand jerk upwards. But no one else reacted to it so he must have imagined it. Come on, he thought again, his desperation mounting. He couldn't seem to take his eyes off Hermione until he saw her move or heard her speak or she did something to let him know that she was okay. This was Hermione after all--Hermione was the best witch in the whole school and she had already survived being Petrified and all so she should be able to get through this. She had to. Ginny seemed to sense his stark terror at the sight of an injured Hermione and comfortingly laid her hand on his shoulder. Lucky for her she hadn't touched his arms which were still tingling like mad. Ron awkwardly started to pull his jumper sleeves down to hide the welts as well as the irritating stinging of his eyes. He didn't want anyone to see him like this.

"Ron?"

Ron's head jerked up from his arms. The voice was full of pain and extremely groggy, but it was her. "Hermione!" Moody let go of him immediately and Ron threw himself across the room to the other side of the table that Hermione was lying on. He cricked his neck so he could see her face. She was still pale, but her brow was slightly creased as if she was just waking up against her will. She didn't appear to have any other injuries. He glanced up at Lupin questioningly, but Lupin just shrugged and stepped back, indicating that Ron should take over. The run had left him a bit out of breath so he had to pause to catch his breath for a moment before speaking directly to her. "Hermione, open your eyes," Ron pleaded.

He knew it was blatantly obvious that he was begging the girl, but he didn't care. She had to know that he was worried sick about her and one of the many great things about Hermione was that she was always considerate of his feelings except of course when she was hacked off at him. She wouldn't want him to feel this way so she had to wake up.

"Ron," Hermione whispered again, her lips barely moving and voice barely audible. But she was conscious and alive and that was the first step in getting Hermione back to her normal wonderful self.

"I'm here," Ron said urgently. He had to admit that it left a rather nice warm feeling in his stomach that of all the people in the world, Hermione had called his name when she needed someone the most. It was nice to know that someone could need you that much, especially when you needed her right back. He gently put his hand on her cheek and turned her face towards him. Her skin was rather cold and clammy which made Ron even more nervous that she was dreadfully injured somehow but he wanted her to know that he was there for her and he hoped that his touch was some sort of comfort. "Can you open your eyes for me?" he asked again.

"Yes," Hermione finally conceded in a very drowsy voice. Ron held his breath as he waited. She didn't obey right away and Ron continued to keep his hand on her cheek, hoping that she got the message that he was not going away anytime soon. He didn't breathe until her eyelids finally fluttered open. He couldn't help smiling in blessed relief when her hazel eyes became less dazed and glassy and focused directly on him.

"Hey," Ron said quietly. "How are you feeling?'

Hermione looked as though she wanted to say something but all she could manage was a shrug and that simple movement even caused a sharp grimace of pain to flash across her face. Ron winced along with her and Lupin stepped forward so he could question Hermione. "Can you tell us what happened?" Lupin asked her quietly.

"Well--Death Eaters--and one--me," was all that Hermione could manage to get out. It seemed to make sense to her, which caused Ron's frown to deepen. Hermione was the most articulate person he knew and if she was so injured that even she was incoherent, something must be really wrong with her. He glanced over at Lupin for guidance and he could sense that Lupin was just as concerned about her as he was.

"Let's try to sit you up," Lupin suggested. He took hold of one of her arms and nodded to Ron to take the other. Carefully, both pulled her up in a sitting position, but they couldn't stop the pain from exploding in her chest. Ron once again felt a flash of sympathetic pain and as valiantly as Hermione tried to suppress how much the movement hurt her, she couldn't stop herself from crying out. She jerked her arm away from Lupin's grip so she could wrap it around her midriff but without the additional support, she keeled over to the other side. Ron instinctively stepped in front of her so that her head fell onto his chest, one hand on her shoulder to steady her and the other gently guided her legs so they were dangling off the desk. Now she was sitting upright and hopefully that should help clear her head a bit. Hermione didn't seem to be quite able to raise her head just yet and frankly, Ron was quite alright with that. It felt rather nice for Hermione to be leaning on him so Ron intuitively stepped closer to her so she could rest her cheek more comfortably on his chest. He hesitated briefly before also bringing up his hand to smooth back her hair like he had always wanted to do, hoping that the gesture would comfort her in some way. Hermione closed her eyes and let out a long, shaky breath before burrowing her face deeper into his chest and all Ron suddenly wanted to do was keep her just like this for the rest of his life.

He swallowed hard, quite forgetting that he and Hermione were not alone as he lowered his voice that he didn't use very often and only had really used around Hermione. "It's okay. Everything is going to be all right." He hoped that his words would reassure her but obviously he had done something wrong because Hermione bolted backwards from him and stared up at him in fright.

"Harry?" she whispered anxiously.

Son of a bitch, Ron thought furiously. How could he have not have asked about Harry sooner? Well, he had, but he should have pressed them until he finally got an answer. "I--I don't know." Ron glanced over at Lupin for further direction, hoping that he would jump in with more information as Ron revealed all that he could recall. "He went off by himself--I don't know what's happened, but..." Ron trailed off when he realized that Lupin was definitely avoiding their eyes, looking as though he was suffering through an intense internal battle. Whoa, Ron thought with a fresh, intense bout of anxiety. Something was up and that something was really bad.

"Ginny? Neville? Luna, you all okay?" Hermione called weakly. Ron smiled a little; here Hermione was, obviously extremely hurt, and yet she was still asking about all of her friends and making sure that they were alright. He wanted to bring his hand through her hair again but he held back. Hermione was starting to show some signs of her normal self and he was afraid the slightest alteration in mood or anything would change that. All he wanted was to get Hermione back.

"I'd be oday, Herdmione," Neville spluttered out through his heavy nosebleed.

"I'm fine," Ginny reassured her.

"Me too," Luna said in her typical far-off voice.

Hermione nodded in relief, and then turned to Ron. "What about you? I heard someone mention you had been hurt. What happened?" Ron really didn't want to show her--he knew she would get upset and he hated upsetting her more than anything. But he also knew that Hermione would not rest until she found out the truth so he silently rolled up his sleeves. Sure enough, Hermione let out a little shriek of shock and gently took hold of one of Ron's elbows so she could inspect the wounds closer. The heat that her fingers brought to the back of his elbow renewed that thrilling feeling in his stomach--maybe telling her wasn't so bad after all. "What happened to you?" she asked edgily.

"Brains." Ron jerked his head towards the center room. "I touched them, and..."

"They attacked you!" Hermione as usual was one step ahead of him. She gasped worriedly, biting her lip in the way that he had always somewhat fancied. "Oh, Ron, we've got to get these checked out straight away!" She looked appealingly over at Lupin. "We've got to get to out here."

"I assure you, we will, Miss Granger."

Ron turned his head as far as he could while keeping his hands in close proximity to Hermione's shoulders and arms in case he needed to steady her or something. Dumbledore had just appeared in the doorway and all eyes had gone to him. If anyone knew where Harry was, it was Dumbledore.

"Dumbledore," Lupin said respectfully as he anxiously stepped around the desk "Where is he?"

"Harry is just fine, Remus." The entire room let out a collective sigh of relief, and with Hermione's sigh, her head came back down onto Ron's chest. Ron glanced down at her instantly. He couldn't tell if she was awake or not--what if she had fainted again or something? It didn't help when Dumbledore's voice took on a sharper tone and sounded more worried than he had ever heard. "Miss Granger?"

"Hey." Ron shrugged his shoulders so Hermione's head bounced lightly off of him and he moved his hand up to her cheek in order to hold her head up. Her eyes were glassier than they were before but at least her eyes were open and she was still conscious. "You doing all right?" Hermione simply nodded and leaned into Ron's touch. Not that Ron minded, but it worried him all the same. He had never seen Hermione this out of sorts.

"Look at me, please, Miss Granger." Dumbledore cautiously reached in to turn Hermione's head towards him. Ron watched as the headmaster looked deeply into her half-open eyes; he must be using Legilimency to assess her condition. He nodded as though what he saw confirmed his thoughts, and he lightly patted her on the head, "You're going to be just fine, Miss Granger," Dumbledore said quietly. Ron now that the he was going to faint with relief but Hermione's thank you smile kept him grounded--it was the first time she had smiled since she had regained consciousness. Dumbledore then turned his attention to Ron. "Please keep an eye on her for me, Mr. Weasley."

"Of course," Ron replied with what he hoped was a great deal of respect of politeness, but honestly, who did Dumbledore think he was? Dumbledore was supposed to be the best sorcerer in the world and he had to ask if he, Ron Weasley, would take care of a girl like Hermione? A master of Legilimency should be able to tell in a second that Ron wasn't going to leave Hermione side until the world somehow turned alright again. Dumbledore chuckled lightly, and his hand stopped on one of Ron's welts. Ron stiffened at the wizened fingers passed directly over a wound but instead of intense pain, only soothing comfort blossomed throughout his arm. He had forgotten how much his arms were bothering him since he had been so caught up in Hermione but now that the pain was alleviated, he let out a sigh and smile of relief of his own. "Thanks."

Dumbledore nodded and peered at both of them over his half-moon spectacles. "I have already sent Harry back to Hogwarts, and I'm sure he'll come to see you in the morning. But until then, I expect you both to get as much rest as you can."

"Yes, Professor," Hermione and Ron said together. But Ron could instantly tell that Harry wasn't fine from Dumbledore's words. But he couldn't be physically hurt because otherwise Harry would be in the hospital wing already and wouldn't be to visit them in the morning. So it had to be something else entirely, but what?

Even in her dazed state, Hermione was still astute enough to pick up on Dumbledore's worried tone. "Something's wrong," Hermione murmured to Ron, "something's really wrong, Ron."

"I know," Ron said under his breath. He didn't really like to think about this--he had just gotten one of his best friends back and just when he started to become less worried about her, bam, now he was insanely concerned about his other best friend.

"What do you think happened?" Hermione asked, staring up at Ron with wide, anxious eyes.

"I--I don't know," Ron stammered, eyes wandering around the room for a clue of what had happened after he had been cursed. It was all very, very blurry now so he couldn't rely on his poor memory. But he could rely on what he was seeing now. Professor Lupin had wandered over to the wall, one hand resting against it, shoulders shaking. Was he--Ron peered closer--was Lupin crying? What on earth could be so horrible that it could make a logical, even-tempered man like Lupin break down?

Hermione followed his gaze and since she was such an empathetic person, she was quite struck by the sight of Lupin crying. She let out a long, shuddery breath that Ron knew all too well as an indication of her about to cry and Ron couldn't bear to see that. It was funny, he had seen Hermione cry several times, but every time he did, it got harder and harder to bear. The first time he had actually seen her cry was in third-year, when they had made up after their fight. She had just grabbed him and hugged him and started to cry. It had been one of the most shocking moments in his life, and among one of the most terrifying. A girl had never grabbed him like that, with such fierceness, such raw emotion and need. It had been a lot for a thirteen-year old boy to handle. Plus there was the embarrassing notion that a girl was hugging him.

Then she had cried when he and Harry had made up after the first task, but that happened so quickly and it was so stupid that he had been able to just laugh it off. But after that, it got harder and harder. There had been the time after the third-task. Hermione had held herself together rather valiantly while they waited for word about Harry and while they had seen Harry at the hospital. But after Harry had drank all of his potion, his mum had ordered him and Hermione to bed. He hadn't even tried to sleep that night so he had been in the common room when she had slipped out to the Astronomy Tower so she could cry in private. He however had the overwhelming urge to follow her and when he had arrived, although she had tried to hide it, she had cried. It made his chest tighten just at the mere memory of it. He had clumsily tried to comfort her then and she had clung to him with the same fierceness as in third-year. But this time it was easier to pat her on the head and hug her. It had still hurt to see her in that much pain though.

She had next come rather damn close to breaking down the first day of classes at the beginning of this term. Harry had snapped at her and him about fighting so much, and stormed off. That's when Ron had noticed that Hermione was biting her lip to stop it from trembling and she was avoiding his eyes. She had spoken over her distress about what to do about Harry, and not to just inform Harry of what he really needed to know, but to make her feel better, he had actually told Harry to stop acting like a git. It was the only time he had really told Harry that he was acting rather hotheadedly.

And now he may have to see her cry again and Ron couldn't bear for that to happen. Maybe if he did some of the things he did while she cried now, she would feel better and not cry at all. Her hair was in her face as usual so Ron first smoothed her hair away from her face. He always had loved her hair, despite her constant complaints about its frizziness or what the Slytherins said about it. It was just straight and boring like most girls--it personified Hermione--bouncy, radiant, and with a mind of its own. Hermione closed her eyes as she let out a short moan and Ron's heart soared with relief. She actually liked what he was doing--maybe he was making her feel better.

He only stopped stroking her hair when she reached up and took hold of Ron's hand. Her fingers tightened around his wrist and she squeezed it for dear life with her eyes closed. Ron couldn't help smiling at the gesture although her grip was rather too tight and he had five older brothers so he knew painful holds when he experienced them.

"Hey," Ron said quietly. "You could strangle a mountain troll with that grip." He was correct in assuming that the reference to the troll would produce a weak laugh from her. Thank Merlin, he thought, he had finally gotten her to laugh. Hermione finally opened her eyes now, but to Ron's extreme consternation, a tear or two escaped from the corners of her eyes and trickled down her cheek. She ducked her head in embarrassment, but Ron's hand was still on her face, and without pausing to think, he moved her head back towards him. "Don't cry, love, please," he said softly so no one else would hear as he gently wipe the tear away with his thumb.

He wanted to tell her that he couldn't stand it when she cried because she was the one person he always wanted to see happy. He wished he had the courage to say that she shouldn't cry because nothing this awful was ever going to happen to her again as long as he was around because he would always be there to protect her. And he for the first time he desperately wanted to tell her that he cared for her more than a friend because he thought it might make her smile and make the cursed tears go away. He wanted to tell her loads of things but before he could, Hermione's lower lip trembled violently and a fresh wave of tears exploded out of her eyes. Oh sweetheart, Ron thought as he wrapped his arms around her. He hated that she felt this awful and all that he could do was allow her to sob away on his shoulder. He didn't know if it helped her but although he would never admit it to anyone, holding her close helped control the hot lump in his own throat from escaping. So he just held fast to the one thing he loved above all others, closed his eyes, and wished that the awful world would just go away so he could stay with her like this forever.