Ron Weasley and the Green Flame Torch

Chapter Seven: The Green Flame Torch

Ron and Hermione raced through Diagon Alley, dodging beams of light from wands and clinging to each other's hands as if letting go would insure death.

It probably will, Ron thought.

The scene was horrible. Wizards everywhere were shouting and running all over the place, running away from the hooded figures known as Death Eaters. Smoke was clouding around Ron and Hermione's feet and drifting up to their noises, where the foul stench would mingle with their allergies and leave them breathless. Ron's heart was hammering madly in his ears and his feet pounded on the gravel in the same dangerously fast rhythm. He knew only two things; he had to keep a hold of Hermione, and he had to find Harry. Ron knew the Death Eaters were there for a reason, and it definitely had something to do with him.

"We have to find Harry!" Ron yelled to Hermione as they dodged yet another beam of light from the wand of a wizard about fifty who was panting loudly and looking horror-stricken.

Hermione nodded. "I know!" she yelled back, gripping Ron's hand harder.

The two of them ran back to the ice cream parlor, panting loudly and sweating profusely. Ron felt Hermione's speed start to waver and a look of pure, unadulterated pain washed across her face.

Oh no, he thought, his stomach clenching involuntarily. It's her ribs.

Without stopping to think, Ron grabbed her around the waist and flung her over his shoulder.

"Oh," she said breathlessly. "Merlin--"

"Ron! Hermione!" shouted a female voice from up ahead.

Ron squinted his eyes to see better through the fog of smoke, and saw Lisa frantically waving her arms at them. Ron pushed his way through the crowd to try to try to get to her.

"Ron! Hermione!" she shouted, jumping up and down.

Ron's heart leapt, and he pushed through the crowd faster--which proved to be difficult because the crowd was turning against him. He had to keep running. He was getting closer and closer to Lisa with each step. After a few minutes, he finally caught up with her, and set Hermione back on her feet. Lisa looked relieved to see them, and terrified at the scene before her eyes.

"Are you all right?" Ron asked her over the noise, his hair flailing slightly from the rush of wind produced by the stampede of witches and wizards. "Where's Harry?"

"He's safe," said Lisa loudly before a loud BOOM! crashed somewhere far away, causing her and Hermione to jump. Ron looked behind him to try to find where the source of the noise had come from. There was not a trace of a single Death Eater, just scared people who were randomly casting spells at nothing in particular. He looked back at Lisa.

"Where is he?" he inquired over the screaming of a nearby baby. He felt Hermione move closer to him.

"I-I'm not sure," Lisa said nervously, her eyes darting to the ice cream parlor behind her.

Ron's eyes widened and a hot panic swept over him.

"But you just said--"

"He's safe, I know," said Lisa hastily, looking around at the dozens of frightened people. "Professor Lupin came in right after you two left and took Harry somewhere. Said he needed to speak privately with him. I have a feeling he lead him to safety or something."

"Where do you suppose they went?" asked Hermione urgently, a beam of light narrowly missing her hair. She looked around at Ron and Lisa with a horrified expression on her already stricken face. "Maybe we should go somewhere else."

"Wait, what about my mum and Ginny?" said Ron.

"They're fine," said Lisa quickly. Ron and Hermione looked at her. "I was running around and I bumped into them. They're in the ice cream parlor."

BOOM!

"Let's go in now!" Hermione said shrilly.

Lisa nodded in agreement before she and Hermione practically ran into the ice cream parlor, followed closely by Ron.

There were very few people in the ice cream parlor. Some of the tables had been thrown over, and many of the chairs were in disarray. The ice cream parlor had obviously been previously attacked because it gave off a tense, yet eerily comforting aura. Mrs. Weasley and Ginny were huddled in a corner of the room, their eyes fixed among the tables for any sign of a familiar face. They looked incredibly anxious, and when they caught sight of Ron, Hermione, and Lisa, smiles graced their pale faces and their tense aura softened. Ron and Hermione immediately went to them, while Lisa ran over to a couple Ron assumed were her parents sitting on the far end of the room, embraced in a tight hug. The woman--Lisa's mother--saw Lisa, and she let out a shriek of happiness before taking her daughter in her arms.

"Where's Harry?" said Ron and Hermione together.

"I'll tell you everything when we get to headquarters," said Mrs. Weasley in a very false calm voice.

Ron and Hermione groaned.

"But Mum--"

"Alright," said Mrs. Weasley, ignoring Ron and fishing through her handbag. "Let's go."

~*~

BREAKING NEWS: DEATH EATER ATTACKS

Late last night, a major prisoner revolt took place in Azkaban prison. All of the prisoners, including the Death Eaters who were found in the Department of Mysteries last June, have escaped. How? We're not sure. When Ministry employees investigated the site, no evidence of how or exactly when the prisoner revolt took place could be found.

Azkaban prison is now a mass of littered debris, broken walls, and shattered windows.

"We've been trying to find something for ages now," says Armend Halloway, a Ministry employee as he and his co-workers work to clear the debris. "All we know is it took a very good bit of magic to do all this damage."

As if this weren't enough, the Death Eaters split into two horrendous groups and attacked the village of Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley yesterday afternoon. Four deaths and many injuries followed the attack on Hogsmeade, and over twenty deaths and numerous injuries followed the attack on Diagon Alley. Both of these villages have been shut down until further notice.

"We must take as safe measures as possible," says new Minister of Magic, Arthur Weasley, from his desk. "It's only a matter of time before another Death Eater attack takes place, and Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley are both very popular among the wizarding community. We must stay cautious and prepared. This is perfect evidence that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is indeed back."

And yet another question arises; are these Death Eater attacks linked with He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named? Did He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named help the Azkaban prisoners revolt? Now, only time will tell.

"What kind of question is that?" asked Harry as he, Hermione, Lupin, and the Weasleys sat down in the sitting room. Mrs. Weasley threw Hermione's Daily Prophet down on the table, looking supremely worried. "Everyone knows that this had something to do with Voldemort."

Mrs. Weasley cringed slightly at the name, but quickly recovered. "The Prophet is just trying to ease everyone's worries. They don't want the wizarding community to panic."

"When should they panic?" Harry asked, his green eyes dark. "When the Dark Mark is floating over their house?"

"Harry," said Lupin calmly, picking up the Prophet and folding it carefully. "Harry, it's very important that everyone stays calm right now. The last thing we need is a frantic wizard running around Britain. Then we'll have to deal with the Muggles."

"But that doesn't mean we shouldn't tell them about it!" Harry argued loudly.

"You're right, Harry," Lupin said, looking at him tiredly. "You're exactly right. But the Daily Prophet isn't exactly the best source for what's right, is it?"

Harry shook his head, and leaned back in his chair.

Ron looked around the room and as his eyes fell on the Daily Prophet lying idly on Lupin's lap, and he frowned.

"So this means no Hogsmeade?" The words were out of his mouth before he could stop them.

Every single pair of eyes flew to Ron, and they stared menacingly at him.

Ron immediately felt heat build up in his neck, and he slouched in his chair. "Sorry," he mumbled, "I--just--shock..."

"It's all right, Ron," said Mrs. Weasley comfortingly, rubbing her youngest son's knee. "We know you're upset about not being able to go to Hogsmeade this year."

"Yeah," said Ron lamely, his gaze focused on the arm of his wooden chair. With his fingers, he lightly traced the grain pattern of the wood; curve, straight, straight, curve. He felt really stupid; he didn't mean to say that aloud. It just accidentally slipped out of his mouth. His words rewound slowly in his head. 'So this means no Hogsmeade?' Ron inwardly groaned. His words sounded so juvenile, so unimportant. The whole wizarding world was in danger, and all he could think about was not being able to pig out in Honeydukes anymore.

"Well," said Lupin as he got up from his seat by the fireplace and dropped the Daily Prophet onto the table. "I didn't think I would have to do this this year and without Dumbledore, but I must. Ron, Harry, Hermione, will you three come with me, please?"

Ron, Harry, and Hermione exchanged skeptical glances, but nodded and followed Lupin down the hallway until they entered a sparkly clean room equip with a table that held three plastic bags and four chairs. Ron thought this was supremely odd, and was terrified that he might be in trouble, but he didn't say anything for fear of making things worse.

"You might be wondering why I asked you in here," Lupin said, looking at the three of them with a look Ron couldn't quite understand.

Ron, Hermione, and Harry nodded simultaneously.

"Well," said Lupin, sitting down in one of the four chairs. "Why don't you three sit down?"

Harry and Hermione sat down opposite Lupin, but Ron hesitated slightly. He gave the chair a suspicious glance, afraid its arms would coil around him and suffocate him if he went anywhere near it.

"It's okay, Ron," said Lupin, an amused smile appearing on his pale face. "You can sit...it won't bite."

Ron laughed nervously, but sat down in the chair next to Hermione and let out a sigh of relief when nothing started to squeeze him.

"Comfortable?" Lupin asked, eyebrows raised.

"Yeah," said Ron, nodding uneasily. "I'm great."

Hermione opened her mouth to speak, but Lupin held up his hand, smiling at her widely. "Don't worry, Hermione," he said, "I'll explain everything."

She frowned slightly, then nodded and bit her lip.

"A few nights ago, as Dumbledore and I sat here at this table, we decided something. We knew Voldemort was planning something big when Hermione was attacked, but we didn't say anything for fear of scaring you. But now we can't deny that you, Harry, need to be protected. The Dance of the Blessed Virgin helped Hermione, and what is in these three bags will help all of you."

Lupin reached into the bag nearest him and pulled out a chain with a torch shaped charm on the end of it. He carefully handed it to Harry.

"What is this?" asked Harry, fingering the goblet gingerly.

"That is the Green Flame Torch," said Lupin dramatically.

Ron and Harry blinked.

Hermione's eyes went wide with disbelief. "But--isn't the Green Flame Torch suppose to be...bigger than that charm?

"Yes, Hermione, it is," Lupin told her, smiling. "But we didn't think Harry would enjoy walking around with a huge torch in his bag, so we downsized it a little."

"Well...what is it?" Harry asked, bemused.

"This, Harry, is what's going to protect you for the next year." Lupin pointed at the charm. "This little charm holds so much magic that it can help you defeat Voldemort. This little charm also holds so much magic that it can send signals to anything that is connected to it, so that if you are ever in danger, we will know about it." He turned and looked at Ron and Hermione. "This is where you two come in."

Ron stared at Lupin. "Are you taking the mickey?" he asked suspiciously. "It--how--it's not...possible...is it?" He turned his head to look at Hermione for guidance. "Is it?" he asked her weakly.

Hermione merely shook her head and shrugged, obviously in as much doubt as he was.

Lupin chuckled. "I wish I was," he said, giving Ron a serious look.

"So...this little thing is going to protect me from Voldemort?" Harry asked in a disbelieving voice.

Lupin nodded, and reached inside the other two bags. "Yes, it is. Harry, I know it sounds a little farfetched--"

"A little--"

"--But you have to trust me on this," Lupin continued, ignoring Harry. "I need you to trust me on this. You'll see in the future. It'll work, I promise you."

"Yeah, okay," said Harry, rolling his eyes behind Lupin's back. Ron knew Harry didn't believe it; Ron could barely believe it, either. How could a little charm hold the very forceful magic that could destroy one of the most powerful wizards alive?

"Hermione," said Lupin, handing Hermione a small gold chain with a torch charm that matched Harry's, "this is your bracelet. Whenever Harry is in danger or in need of something...this charm will glow green."

Hermione nodded, and immediately snapped the golden chain on her right wrist. Ron noticed that she must have had a very tiny wrist for about an inch of the chain hung down.

"Ron," said Lupin, causing Ron to look at him. "For you I have a gold coin." He gave Ron a rather small golden coin that had a big 'G' on the front and an engraving of a torch on the back. "This will also glow green when Harry is in danger or in need of something."

Ron nodded, took the coin, and slipped in it his pocket. He hoped he wouldn't lose it. Even if the whole Green Flame Torch thing was a hoax, that coin could be worth buckets of gold.

"You two can go back to the sitting room, now," said Lupin, getting up from his chair. "That's all I needed you for."

"Er--Professor--I have a question," Harry said suddenly, as he slipped the necklace over his head.

"Yes, Harry?"

"Why--why didn't my scar hurt when the Death Eaters escaped from Azkaban?" he asked nervously. "I mean...that seems like something Voldemort would be pleased with, so wouldn't I feel his happiness or something?"

Lupin nodded. "Yes, Harry, I suppose it would, but I must ask you, have you been practicing Occlumency?"

Harry shook his head. "No--not really...at least not consciously."

"I see," Lupin said, a look of concentration gracing his face. "Well...you must have been practicing some form of Occlumency for you to not be connected with Voldemort, and feel his feelings...I'll ask Dumbledore about it. I'm not completely sure..."

"Oh, right," said Harry, looking slightly disappointed. "Of course. Thank you."

Lupin smiled, and patted his shoulder. "You're welcome, Harry."

~*~

"Do you think it really works?" Ron asked Harry as they laid in their beds, fingering the coin and the necklace. "The whole Green Flame Torch thing, I mean."

Harry shrugged. "I'm not sure. I mean, Lupin gave it to us, and he's pretty trustworthy, but honestly...a little charm hold that much magic?" Harry shook his head. "I highly doubt it."

Ron nodded in agreement. Lupin was a sensible person; he was the best Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher they had ever had. But Ron still couldn't make himself believe it. It seemed so unreal.

"Yeah," he said distantly.

Harry sat up in his bed and was about to speak when a light tapping on the door interrupted him.

"Come in," he said.

The door opened, and in walked Hermione, dragging her trunk behind her. She smiled at them sadly.

"Well," she said shakily. "Looks like I'm going home."

"You're leaving?" Harry and Ron asked together.

She nodded, and then bit her lip. "Yeah. My mum and dad want me where they can keep an eye on me, I suppose, and now that I've got all my school things, I'm free to go--"

"Hermione!" shouted Mrs. Weasley from downstairs.

"Oh," she said, jumping slightly. She looked at the boys. "Well...I'm going now. I'll see you two in September."

"Yes," said Harry, nodding.

"Definitely," Ron said, forcing a smile on his face. He didn't want Hermione to leave. He wanted her with him, where he could keep an eye on her, where he could protect her. But her parents obviously didn't think this very wise, so she had to leave.

Parents ruin everything, Ron thought bitterly.

"Well--er--bye," she said nervously, looking at Ron expectantly.

"Yeah...bye, Hermione," he said, feeling the heat rise in his neck again. He wanted to walk the twenty steps over to her, but his feet seemed glued to the carpet. So, he did the most idiotic thing one could ever do in this situation.

He waved.

Hermione raised her eyebrows, but forced a smile on her face, and exited the room, making sure to tell the boys goodbye once more. The minute the door closed behind her, Ron threw himself on his bed and chanted, "Stupid, stupid, stupid" into his pillow.

Harry shook his head at his friend, and simply laid back down in his bed.

"We need to get you some serious help, Ron," he said, a smile playing on his lips.

Ron nodded in agreement. "I know."