Always the Sidekick

"Ugh," Ron moaned. His head hurt, his body ached, and he felt like he'd been run over by the Hogwarts Express. He opened his eyes and moaned in pain again. When did it get so bright? He pushed his hands into his eyes. He heard small laughs coming from the right of him. "You think my pain is funny?" he asked, recognizing the giggles as his sister.

"I imagine that'll teach you to never get drunk," Ginny laughed again.

"If I could open my eyes I'd hex you into next week." Ron blinked and squinted. "What happened?"

"Some hex hit you. They said it was the Intoxacato hex. It was rather amusing." He could hear the smile in Ginny's voice.

"I wish I could have seen it," came another voice at his left. He squinted and looked that way.

"Hemione? What happened to you? Are you okay?"

She laughed, "Yeah, I'm good. I don't remember any of it. They said I was lucky it wasn't worse. People have died from that curse."

Ron's eyes shot open; now the light didn't matter. "But you're okay, right?"

"Yes. Do you think a bloody Death Eater can kill me?"

Ron smiled back. "Language, Miss Granger."

Hermione laughed. Another thought came to Ron. "What about Harry?"

The room became quiet. "Did you hear about Sirius?" Ginny asked.

Ron shook his head. Don't do that again, he thought as the act made his head throb.

"Sirius is dead," Hermione said. "We haven't seen Harry since it happened. Neville came by though and said he's not doing to well with it. Smashed up some stuff in your dorm room. Can't say I blame him."

Ron swore under his breath and Hermione couldn't resist saying, "Language, Weasley."

"Hermione, you asleep?" Ron hissed to next to him.

"Yes," she said groggily. "I'm having a horrid dream that someone is talking to me in my sleep."

"Very funny," Ron hissed again. "I can't sleep."

"Well I can, just give me a minute of quiet," she mumbled into her pillow.

"Do you know what I was just thinking?" Ron's voice was becoming less a hiss and more a normal tone.

"That you'd love to keep me awake all night?"

"No," Ron said back, not catching on to her hints of wanting sleep. "I was thinking that now the Ministry knows about You-Know-Who and all, do you think Percy will come back home?"

Hermione sat up. She gave up on her hopes of sleeping. "I hope so. I know that's been hard for you." She rubbed her eyes.

"Thing is, I don't know that he will." Ron was looking at the wall. "I mean, he's not one to admit he's wrong. And come to think of it, neither is the Ministry. Do you think they'll still try and hide the fact that they were wrong about You-Know-Who?"

Hermione waved her wand at the tray beside her bed and transformed her glass of water into a cup of tea. "How can they hide it now, Ron? They've seen Voldemort in the flesh."

"But that would mean admitting they were wrong. And 'fessing up about making Dumbledore look like a nutter, and Harry too. I don't think they'll be too happy about this. And what about Sirius? Will they just say they've stopped searching for him? The Ministry is in some serious trouble." He said it more to himself then to Hermione.

"Hope Percy isn't a git about it all. Hope he comes home. Mum would be right chuffed. She deserves something good after the year she's been through." He still seemed to be talking to himself.

"I wish my family was as strong as yours." It seemed like now they were just saying their thoughts out loud for the other to hear. "My mum and dad of course are very strong, but I'm gone most of the year and they have their lives and I have mine. I don't really understand theirs, and they surely don't understand the Magical world. Can't explain it to them really, can I? It's sort of odd to be a stranger in your family."

Ron looked at her. She'd never said that before. That she felt like an outcast. He guessed it would make sense, since her whole life was something they would never know or understand. "I guess I take all that for granted. I hate having such a big family sometimes. You don't get anything new and you always have to share your attention. But at the end of the day there's always someone there for you. I guess I'm sort of lucky."

"You really are. Your family is great. Sometimes I wish they were mine." She whispered the last part so Ron wasn't quite sure he'd heard her.

"You know that you'll always have me. At the end of the day like?" Ron said.

Hermione smiled. "I know. You are my family. You and Harry." She settled down on her pillow and put her teacup on the nightstand.

They didn't say another word that night. And moments later Ron could her the heavy breathing telling him she was asleep.

Ron was standing in a dark room. So dark he could hardly make out the figures standing in front of him. They wore long robes with hoods. He couldn't see their faces. A cold voice filled the room.

"I am greatly disturbed by this failure at the Ministry." A few of the robes shook with fear. "There will be another way to get Potter, however. I don't doubt Dumbledore will be sure Potter's mind is closed to invasion, but there are people close to him. We need to get into their minds."

"How can we help, My Lord?" a voice asked.

"There is a servant of mine who has turned against me. This servant has a child who will be more than happy to help. I need help getting that child to me."

"Of course," came the same voice. There was fear in his voice.

"We need to get Malfoy out of Azkaban. He will be most helpful in this." Voldemort's voice echoed.

"Yes, sir," came more voices.

"The one who gets to Malfoy can get the information about this servant and their child. That would please me."

The room went black. When Ron woke the next morning he only remembered parts of it. It was just a dream, he told himself.

Harry and just left the hospital wing after a short Sunday afternoon visit. Neville looked at the door with peril.

"How's he been?" Ron asked. Not having been in their dormitory, Ron felt like he had been cut off from Harry and from helping him to feel better.

"He doesn't talk much, just kind of sits there. It's good that exams are over, I guess." Neville looked at his hands.

The room was silent before Ginny said, "Maybe we should go find him and get him to talk about it." She looked at Neville and Luna, the only ones who could leave the hospital wing with her.

"It won't help. He just needs to be alone now." Luna wasn't looking at anyone in particular when she said this. Hermione rolled her eyes.

More silence followed before the room became so uncomfortable that Ginny, Neville and Luna left. Ron looked at Hermione and sighed.

"He needs to talk it over. It's the only way he'll feel better." Hermione stared at the door as if she were willing Harry to come back through it.

"Give him time, Hermione. Sirius was the closest thing to a dad he could remember. He needs to work it all out."

"I worry about him," Hermione said softly. "He's been through so much already. He's had more trauma and fear in the past 5 years then most people have in their whole lives."

"He's a strong guy. He'll get through." Ron was saying more to convince himself then Hermione.

A moment later Madame Pomfrey came in to fuss over them, bringing for Hermione a piece of parchment. "An owl brought this for you," she said. A moment later she was gone, and Hermione read the letter.

"It's from Viktor?" Ron said, resigning himself to the fact that he would never be what Krum is. Never be enough for Hermione.

"He just wants to make sure I'm okay. Says he heard about what happened." She seemed reluctant to tell him more in case he got mad.

Ron fidgeted with his sheets. "He must care a lot about you," he said softly. Hermione didn't answer.

The Leaving Feast was as extravagant as ever, but somehow the mood seemed subdued, at least between Ron and a few of the fellow Gryffindors. Since nobody knew Sirius was living in London and working for Dumbledore, there was really nothing anyone could say about it either. Ron, Hermione, Neville, and Ginny sat quietly while Dumbledore gave the end-of-term announcements. Ron kept staring at the door, hoping any minute it would open and Harry would come in.

"You not hungry?" Hermione asked him.

"What?" He looked blankly at her.

"It's not like you to not eat," she said quietly.

"Oh, sorry. I guess I wasn't paying attention."

Hermione looked at him. "He'll be okay, Ron. There's not anything more we can do." She smiled at him then took his hand in comfort.

Ron nodded. He had to accept that. But he was just now realizing how much his friendship with Harry meant. How much it killed Ron that he couldn't help him. There was only so much even a best friend could do.

Harry had just left King's Cross with his family, and Ron and Hermione were now heading toward theirs. To his surprise, Hermione stopped him just before he reached the Weasleys and said, "I'm really going to miss you this summer." She stood on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek. Ron's chest gave a sharp twinge, and Hermione reached her parents, and in a moment they were gone.

Absentmindedly, Ron walked to his family. He didn't see the knowing smirks on their faces. He just followed the retreating redheads out of the station. The Members of the Order closely behind them.

End of Part I