The Final Reckoning

Chapter Twenty-Seven: Andromeda Tonks

Ron's excitement at going to Hogsmeade for the first time this term was tempered greatly by his Head Boy duties.

For one thing, he had hoped to sleep in a bit this morning; he and Hermione had engaged in some rather prolonged shagging the night before, and it had worn him out. Hermione had crept out of his room just before dawn, or at least he thought that was when she'd left. He'd been so completely asleep that he hadn't heard her leave.

But at half past seven, there came a pounding on his door.

'Ron!' Hermione called. 'Wake up!'

Ron groaned and opened his eyes. He'd been having a nice dream about flying on a Firebolt.

If she's waking me up this early it had better be for another shag. Although I don't know if I even have the energy.

He crawled out of bed--not bothering to put on a dressing gown--and opened the door.

'Hermione, it's Saturday,' Ron grumbled.

'Yes, and it's Hogsmeade day and you're Head Boy,' said Hermione briskly, shoving past Ron and entering his room. 'You have responsibilities, remember?'

Ron grimaced. 'I do now,' he said.

She gave him a look and ruffled his hair, which was already standing on end.

'It's not that bad,' she said. 'But hurry and get ready. We need to meet with the prefects in an hour to go over a few things.'

'I have to meditate,' he said, a bit grumpily. 'And write down my dreams.'

'So, get going,' said Hermione. 'I'll meet you down in the Great Hall, we'll eat breakfast and then meet the prefects in the Transfiguration classroom.'

'Yes, sir,' said Ron, giving Hermione a flourishing salute.

'Ha ha,' said Hermione, rolling her eyes, but she leaned up and brushed his lips with her own. 'Cheeky git,' she said, smiling.

He grinned and pulled her close, his hands on her waist, and kissed her properly.

'Ron, you have morning breath,' Hermione said, after they came up for air.

'Like you care,' said Ron, kissing her again. Judging by the way she pressed up against him and threaded her hands into his messy hair, she didn't.

'I don't,' she managed, after a few minutes, but when he moved to kiss her a third time, she put a hand against his chest and pushed him away.

'No,' she said, giggling. 'Go take a shower and get dressed.'

'I love it when you boss me around,' said Ron, giving her his trademark lopsided grin.

'Ron...' she said warningly.

'Care to join me?' he asked. 'You could scrub my back.'

'No!' said Hermione, laughing. 'Now get going!'

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Ron showered quickly, shaved carelessly (nicking his chin again), and dressed in a hurry. He quickly scrawled down the memories of his few dreams in his dream journal, chastising himself for not having written them down the moment Hermione left his room. The most he could recall was the dream about flying on the Firebolt, and seeing Gryffindor's sword again.

He then sat down to meditate; he checked his watch and realized he was cutting it fine; he'd meant to light a magical fire and burn some of the herbs Firenze had given him, but there was no time. He made a mental note to use the fire during his evening meditation before closing his eyes and relaxing his mind.

The visions came again; two men--Muggles, by the look of them--fighting outside a pub somewhere. A man and a woman--also Muggles--standing by a strange looking plastic container that had inside it a tiny baby, too tiny to be real. The baby was pink and appeared to be hooked up to a series of strange machines, and the couple--who must be the baby's parents, watched over the infant with worried expressions on their faces. A boy, holding the limp form of a large dog in his lap; the boy was crying and the dog appeared to be dead.

After fifteen minutes, Ron quit; the meditations weren't as exhausting as they had been in the beginning of his training, but they still tired him out. His usual routine of late was to spend a good hour in the mornings meditating, with breaks in between, but upon checking his watch again, he realized he couldn't get away with his usual routine this morning. He grimaced and told himself he'd have to make it up tonight.

He met Hermione in the Great Hall for breakfast; she was already sitting down and chatting with Ginny, who looked tired but satisfied about something.

'It's been going really well,' Ginny was saying, in a low voice. 'I like Mrs. Tonks a lot, even if she does work me hard. The problem is now I have to find a guinea pig.'

'A what?' Ron asked, taking a seat next to Hermione and pouring himself a large mug of coffee.

'Guinea pig,' said Hermione. 'Test subject.'

'Harry volunteered,' said Ginny, blushing slightly.

'Harry?' said Ron and Hermione together.

'Yes,' said Ginny, her cheeks going pinker. 'I mean, he knows about me and he's trustworthy but...I said no. And Mrs. Tonks agreed with me. He's got enough to deal with.'

'I'll say,' said Ron. 'Where is he, anyway?'

'He's got his date with Parvati,' said Ginny, and she scowled slightly. 'Probably spiffing himself up for that.'

'Right,' said Ron, grinning. 'That ought to be interesting.'

Ginny said nothing, but began to cut into her bacon a bit viciously.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The meeting with the prefects took all of five minutes; Hermione handed out lists of students' names attending the Hogsmeade outing; the lists were broken down by houses. It was, she said, the prefects' responsibility to keep track of their housemates at various points during the day, and to report to her and to Ron at the end of the day to confirm that all their housemates were accounted for.

Ron noticed right away, as he and Hermione watched the students file out past Mr. Filch, that security was tighter. Aurors were patrolling outside the gates of Hogsmeade and, no doubt, within the village as well. All the students were required to carry their wands, not that Ron needed to be told to do this. He never went anywhere without his wand these days; it was too dangerous to do otherwise.

Finally, Harry--whom Ron hadn't seen all morning--passed by, and next to him was Parvati. They weren't talking much, Ron noticed, just exchanging awkward glances and smiling. Now and again Parvati would touch Harry on the arm flirtatiously and toss her long black hair, which she'd worn loose today instead of in her usual thick plait.

Ginny passed by soon after, with Colin Creevey. They spent a fair amount of time together, Ron noticed, but then, they had struck up a close friendship last year. Ron could hardly disapprove. Colin was a bit...energetic but Ginny always seemed to have a good time around him, and Colin treated her with respect. That, in the end, was all that mattered.

Ron hadn't really planned on doing anything in particular in Hogsmeade that day, so he allowed Hermione to take over. They had lunch at The Three Broomsticks with Ginny and Colin. Ginny then announced she and Colin were going to Honeydukes; Ron wanted to go as well--he needed a new supply of Chocolate Frogs--but Hermione announced that they needed to pick out costumes for the Halloween.

'Costumes?' Ron said, horrified. 'I'm not wearing a costume!'

'Ron, it's going to be a costume ball!' said Hermione. 'Remember? We discussed this at the prefects' meeting last week. We even picked out a theme, "Historical Figures in Muggle and Magical British History--"'

'I was there, I remember!' said Ron. 'I didn't think that meant I'd have to dress up!'

'Well, of course you have to dress up!' said Hermione irritably. 'You're Head Boy, you can't show up at a Halloween ball without a costume!'

'Hermione!' Ron whined.

'Ron!' Hermione shot back, imitating his tone of voice.

'Can't I just wear my Cannons stuff?' he asked petulantly, as Hermione took his hand and started to lead him down a narrow, shop-lined road just off the High Street.

'No,' said Hermione. 'You have to dress as a historical figure, Ron.'

'The Cannons are a historical team,' said Ron grumpily.

'For what, losing?' said Hermione.

'Ouch,' said Ron. 'That hurts, 'Mione.'

'Look,' said Hermione, as they came to a stop in front of Prewitt's Party Wear for Festive Occasions, 'just leave it to me. I've already picked out our costumes.'

'You have?' said Ron.

'I thought it would be fun to go as a famous couple,' she said, beaming.

'Really?' he said doubtfully. 'Look, can't you just go as a Shakespoo character--'

'Shakespeare, Ron!'

'--and I'll just go in my Quidditch uniform, or something? I can pretend to be a famous Quidditch player. Or how about a chess piece? Yeah, you could be a queen and me a king or a knight--'

'Ron,' said Hermione, and her voice became decidedly pleading. 'Please, just do this with me? It'll be fun.'

She was gazing up at him with big brown eyes and smiling hopefully.

Bloody hell.

She didn't give him that look very often, but she knew it wore him down every time.

'Okay, fine,' Ron relented. 'But I'm not wearing tights.'

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

'Ron, for heaven's sake,' Hermione snapped, 'don't be such a baby. It's not like you're wearing tights!'

'No, I'm wearing a skirt, that's even better!' Ron retorted sarcastically, staring at himself in horror in the mirror.

A skirt. A bloody skirt. And some weird jacket with a sash and baubles and a ridiculous hat, and white socks that came to his knees, with dark blue tassels, and black shoes that were a size too small. What was Hermione thinking?

I look like an idiot!

Mrs. Prewitt, the owner, was kneeling behind Ron and said nothing as she took some measurements and began to pin things into place; her lips, however, were curled into a smile.

'It's a kilt, Ron,' Hermione said, 'and you look dashing in it.'

'Oh, yeah, right,' said Ron. 'This is horrible, Hermione. I mean, you're brilliant in most respects but this--'

'Ron, trust me,' said Hermione insistently. 'You're dressing up as Lord Bothwell. He was as manly a Scot as they came, big and strong--'

'And who is this Lord Buttwell?'

'Bothwell,' Hermione corrected, rolling her eyes. 'Honestly. You're wearing the costume of a Scots nobleman. It's very regal--'

'And it's a skirt,' Ron croaked. 'And this hat...my god. Do you have any idea how humiliating it'll be for me to show up at the ball in this get-up? When the Slytherins see me in this it'll make my fifth year Quidditch stuff look like a bloody picnic.'

'Ron, don't swear,' Hermione said, sounding irritated. Just then two fifth year Hufflepuffs entered the shop.

'Be with you in a moment, dears!' Mrs. Prewitt called, as she stood behind Ron.

Ron wanted to dive under the pile of cloaks in the nearby corner as the two girls stared at him.

'They're looking at me,' he hissed to Hermione. 'They're going to start laughing. You watch.'

And the two girls did, only it wasn't the sort of laughing Ron was expecting. They were pointing at him and giggling and blushing, and Ron was certain he wasn't hearing things properly when one of the girls whispered, 'He looks dreamy, doesn't he?'

'They're barmy,' said Ron petulantly, but he kept his voice down. 'I look foolish.'

'Trust me, dear,' said Mrs. Prewitt, as she got up from pinning the hem of the kilt. 'The girls go mad seeing young men in kilts. Especially tall, strapping ones like you.' She patted him on the cheek and bustled over to the two Hufflepuff girls, who were gazing in admiration at Ron in between bursts of giggles. In the next moment two more fifth year Hufflepuff girls entered the shop, saw Ron, and joined their friends in fits of giggles, and he swore he overheard one of them sigh, 'Hermione Granger is so lucky.'

'See?' said Hermione smugly. Ron's ears were so red he wondered if they might explode. This was almost as bad as being caught in the nude by Moaning Myrtle.

Okay, not quite as bad as that. But still...

'Hermione,' he begged.

She gave him a look. It was her I'm Not Backing Down look. He sighed in frustration.

'Fine,' he said. 'But you owe me one.'

'Okay,' said Hermione, shrugging, but she gave him that smile of hers that told Ron exactly what sort of remuneration she had in mind, and of course, it was the kind he'd like best.

Bribing me with sex. Honestly.

Like that's a bad thing?

No.

Ron smirked and looked at his reflection in the mirror, trying to find a positive way to spin his appearance.

Well, at least my legs aren't too skinny anymore. And the colours don't clash with my hair. And I suppose the jacket thing makes my shoulders look a bit broader. It fits okay, I guess. And...

Bugger. Harry's going to take the mickey out of me like there's no tomorrow.

And the Slytherins...

'I mean it, Hermione,' said Ron. 'You owe me, big time. Don't tell Harry I let you talk me into this. And I'm not wearing this hat,'--he yanked the hat off his head--'and don't you even think about making me carry bagpipes.'

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

'So Bothwell and Mary were having an affair, and Bothwell arranged to have Mary's husband murdered, only the Scottish nobles didn't like that so they rebelled, and Mary's armies surrendered to the rebels in exchange for letting Bothwell get away, and then Mary wound up being taken prisoner by her cousin Elizabeth and eventually got beheaded, and Bothwell ended up in a Danish prison and went nutters and died?'

'That's the gist of it,' said Hermione cheerfully, carrying her costume over her arm. Ron was carrying his costume as well; it was packaged within a dark leather garment bag. He planned to shove the offending clothing deep within the recesses of his closet. Maybe Hermione would forget about the ball. Maybe he could get conveniently sick on the night of the ball. Maybe Hermione would relent and let him wear his Cannons t-shirt.

Maybe hell will freeze over.

'And you want us to dress up as these people?' said Ron. 'That's morbid, Hermione.'

'It's tragically romantic,' Hermione corrected. 'Mary basically gave up her kingdom for Bothwell.'

'And her head,' said Ron, shaking his own.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ron and Hermione returned to Hogwarts ahead of the rest of the students, at Hermione's insistence; she wanted her and Ron to be there to do a headcount of all the students as they came back. Ron tossed his costume into his closet with a scowl and made a mental note to ask Hermione to perform a Memory Charm on him after the ball was over.

Ron and Hermione took up positions on either side of Mr. Filch, who scowled at them. Not five minutes later, students began to trickle back, with Aurors flanking them here and there. The prefects looked slightly harried, but Hermione began to check off every student as they came back with her usual efficiency. Ron looked down his own list and began checking off names; Hermione gave him a scolding look each time he stopped a student to ask an unknown student what his or her name was. He knew she had a point, and he made another mental note to learn every student's name over the course of the next week.

Ron's attention was drawn away from his checklist when he saw Harry enter the entrance hall. The black-haired boy's face was pale and his eyes were slightly dazed and wide.

'Harry?' said Ron. 'Are you okay?'

'I'll tell you later,' he croaked, and he hurried past without another word. It was only then that Ron noticed Parvati wasn't with him. She turned up a few minutes later, however, with swollen, reddened eyes.

Uh oh...

'Hi, Parvati,' said Hermione cheerfully, hardly even looking up from her list as she checked off Parvati's name.

Parvati made an ugly snort that dissolved into tears; she gave a sob, then threw a furious look at Ron, and ran off.

Ron and Hermione looked at one another and shrugged.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ron and Hermione returned to the common room in search of Harry, and they found him in the corner, pacing back and forth.

'Harry?' said Hermione tentatively.

He whirled round, not having seen them enter, and strode right up to Ron.

'I need to talk to you,' he said. 'Now.'

'Of course,' said Hermione, 'sit down--'

'I mean, just Ron,' said Harry.

'Oh,' said Hermione, looking disappointed and a little hurt.

Ron bit his lip. 'Are you sure--can't Hermione--'

'Guy stuff,' said Harry insistently, and he looked pleadingly at Hermione. 'I'm sorry.'

Hermione sighed and nodded. 'All right, I understand.'

'Are you sure?' Ron and Harry both asked.

'Go on,' said Hermione, smiling and shaking her head. 'Go talk boy things.'

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ron and Harry entered Ron's room; Harry strode over to the desk, sat down in Ron's chair, got up, paced, sat down again, got up and paced once more.

'Harry, you're making me dizzy,' said Ron, sitting down on his unmade bed. 'What's up?'

'Parvati,' said Harry.

'Yeah,' said Ron slowly. 'I saw her when she came back. She...well, she didn't look too happy.'

'It's not my fault!' Harry yelled desperately, and he got up and started pacing again, and babbling. 'I didn't know...I thought we were just going to have a nice afternoon! We went to Honeydukes and Zonko's and everything was fine and then she said she wanted to get a coffee and I said "why not the Three Broomsticks?" and she said she liked that stupid Puddifoot's place and it all went downhill from there--'

'Madam Puddifoot's?' said Ron. 'Why didn't you tell her no?'

'I don't know!' said Harry. 'I haven't been on date in ages, I don't remember how this stuff works!'

'Harry, you went on a date with Daphne a few weeks ago,' Ron said.

'So?' said Harry. 'That was different, we stayed on the grounds and we were totally alone.'

'Right,' said Ron, trying not to chuckle. 'So, Madam Puddifoot's?'

'Yeah,' said Harry miserably. He sat down heavily in Ron's chair. 'I wanted to say no, I wanted to tell her why we shouldn't go there but...but then I remembered reading somewhere--or maybe Hermione told me--that you're not supposed to talk about exes when you're on a first date. Not that Cho really counts as a true ex or anything. So I went along with Parvati and...Merlin, that place is ridiculous, all those fat cherubs and the confetti--in the shape of jack'o'lanterns, no less. And the damn coffee isn't even that good!'

'What happened, Harry?' Ron asked.

'She came on to me,' said Harry. 'Parvati. Started...playing footsie with me right there in the tea shoppe. And I mean real footsie. She took her damn shoe off and everything and...oh god.'

He buried his face in his hands.

'Did she, er...you know?' Ron asked.

'Yes!' said Harry, his head snapping up. 'In the damn tea shoppe, Ron! What was she thinking?'

'This is just a guess,' said Ron, 'but probably she wanted to turn you on a bit.'

'Well, it worked!' said Harry.

'Did you tell her to stop?' Ron asked.

'Yes!' said Harry. 'Only she got all offended and left. I chased after her--with my hands in front of my crotch, thank you very much-- and told her I was sorry and I think I said something pathetic like...like I don't do public displays of affection.'

'Did that work?'

'Yeah,' said Harry. 'I mean, she said she understood and she apologized for being so forward, and I said I didn't mind that so much, just not in a public place. That was a mistake.'

'Why?' Ron asked.

'Well, then she said she wanted to be alone with me somewhere,' said Harry. 'And...okay, I was fine with that. I mean, a snog with Parvati should be fun, right?'

'I wouldn't know,' said Ron, shrugging.

'Well, I thought it would be,' said Harry. 'So she starts to lead me off somewhere and we turn this corner and I recognize this little alleyway that leads to this old abandoned building.'

'Sounds romantic,' said Ron, screwing up his face.

'Oh, it was,' said Harry. 'It was the place I first kissed Susan.'

Ron gave a low whistle.

'Yeah,' said Harry. 'Well, there I was again with the whole bloody ex dilemma. I mean, Susan is a real ex, and surely Parvati doesn't want to snog me in a place that has...connotations for me and my ex, right?'

'I would imagine not,' said Ron.

'Only what if Parvati got offended by me talking about my ex?' said Harry, getting up and pacing again. 'I decided I should say something anyway because I really didn't fancy ending up snogging in that place. Only I didn't get a chance because the minute we got inside Parvati jumped me.'

'Whoa,' said Ron.

'You could say that,' said Harry. 'She was all over me, she was climbing me, Ron. I don't think I could have stopped her if I wanted to!'

'And that was bad?'

'No,' Harry admitted. 'I mean...I'm not used to a girl being so assertive on the first date but...but--'

'Once you got into it you figured what the hell,' Ron said, smirking.

'Yeah,' said Harry. 'And it was really good. I mean, I was having a really good time, you know, and then...then she conjures up this sofa and we're going at it there and it's getting hot--'

'How hot?'

'Clothes coming off hot,' said Harry.

'Blimey,' said Ron. 'She works fast.'

He allowed his thoughts to stray just slightly to the fact that Harry--normally so close-lipped about his sex life--was being quite unusually open with the details of his date.

'You're telling me!' said Harry. 'One minute we're standing up having a nice snog and the next minute she's got me on my back on the sofa and my trousers are undone. I didn't even see her take her clothes off--'

'She got naked?' said Ron, his eyes widening to almost saucer proportions.

'Almost!' said Harry, and he swallowed hard. 'Down to her knickers. And..bloody hell. Her knickers, Ron.' He paused and took a deep breath, and then continued. 'She was wearing these little--and I mean little--black lacy things...Jesus, black lace ought to be illegal, is all I'm saying.'

'Black lace?' said Ron. 'Really?'

'And she looked really, really good,' said Harry, and now he looked like he wanted to cry. 'A matched set, Ron. Bra and knickers!'

'Hermione doesn't wear black lace,' Ron grumbled. 'She wears lace, but not black lace--'

'Ron! Focus!' said Harry.

'Sorry,' said Ron. 'So...you had sex on the first date and that's bad because--'

'I didn't!' said Harry.

'You didn't have sex,' said Ron.

'No,' said Harry, and he got up and started pacing again. He looked like he was struggling to speak all of a sudden, and it was a good half minute before he finally blurted, 'I couldn't do it.'

'You couldn't do it?' said Ron, confused.

Harry's knees suddenly seemed to give out on him and he sank into Ron's chair again.

'I couldn't do it,' he said again.

'Oh,' said Ron. 'You mean you...couldn't...get it up?'

'No!' said Harry. 'I mean yes...no. Shit. It was up, okay? It was most definitely up. That's not what I meant.'

'What did you mean?' Ron asked.

Harry groaned. 'I mean...we were right there, Ron. She did the Contraceptive Charm and everything! Two more seconds and it would have happened, only...I freaked. Something just snapped inside my head and next thing I was pushing her off me and running out of there. I left her alone in that building with almost no clothes on! What was I thinking?'

Ron winced.

Harry got up and began to pace again. Now he was ranting.

'I'm seventeen, I'm a bloke, I haven't gotten any in months, Ron, I should be ready to have it off the next decent looking girl who offers and this was Parvati Bloody Patil, okay, the most gorgeous girl in our damn house, if not the whole school, and I just...couldn't...do it! What kind of a man am I? What sort of prat runs away from a gorgeous naked girl who's offering sex? It was pathetic. I'm pathetic! And now Parvati is probably really offended and you can bet she's telling Lavender what a complete berk I am--'

'Harry, calm down,' said Ron, putting a hand on Harry's arm.

'Calm down?' said Harry. 'I dunno how I'm going to look at Parvati again. And think about this, mate. She's a Chaser on the house team. I'm the team captain. I'm supposed to tell her what to do when she's flying, after I abandoned her like that? This could really muck up our Quidditch, and there's the worst of it.'

Shit, I hadn't thought of that, Ron thought.

'Did you see her?' Harry asked. 'Parvati, I mean? Was she upset, was she crying?'

'No,' Ron lied.

'How am I going to face her?' said Harry. 'She hates me, I know she does.'

'You're going to have to at some point, it's a bit unavoidable,' said Ron. 'Look, Harry, there's nothing wrong with you.'

'Oh, yeah,' said Harry. 'Nothing. I only turned down sex with a beautiful girl.'

'I would have done the same thing,' said Ron. 'Well, maybe not the running away and leaving her alone and naked part.'

'Brilliant, Ron,' said Harry. 'Just one thing. You're going out with Hermione. I don't have a girlfriend. Nothing's stopping me from getting lucky with a random girl if I want to.'

'Maybe you don't want to, then,' said Ron. 'And for your information, I wouldn't have done it even if I weren't with Hermione.'

Harry started to protest but then he stopped and looked at Ron with surprise.

'Really?' he said.

'Really,' said Ron, and his ears went pink. 'Laugh if you want, I just...I don't get why blokes think it's cool to go boffing everything in a skirt. There should be more to it than that.' He paused and felt a little embarrassed, and looked down at his shoes. 'Shouldn't there?'

Harry looked at him for a long moment, and then let out a breath. 'Yeah, there should,' he said.

'So there you go,' said Ron. 'You're not cut out for casual sex. You don't love Parvati, that's why you couldn't do it.'

Harry nodded slowly. 'I still left her alone and naked in an abandoned building,' he said.

'Yeah, that's pretty bad,' said Ron. 'You'd better apologize.'

'And tell her what?' said Harry. '"Gee, sorry, Parvati, but the reason I couldn't shag you is because I'm not in love with you"?'

'That sounds about right,' said Ron. 'Well, maybe you could grovel a bit or something. Look, Harry, it wasn't cool to run away like that but in the end...you did both of you a favour. I'm sure if you explain it to her she'll understand.'

'You think so?' said Harry, seizing on this idea.

'Yeah,' said Ron.

'I hope you're right,' said Harry.

'I'm right every now and again,' said Ron, grinning.

'Yeah, well, if you have a vision of Parvati castrating me, you'll give me due warning?'

'I'll fly you out of the country myself,' said Ron.

It was a moment before the two of them started to laugh.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

By the time Quidditch practice came about on Tuesday evening, Harry hadn't managed to work things out with Parvati, and the practice was quite tense as a result. Nonetheless, it went off quite well and Parvati seemed to have settled for giving Harry murderous looks when he wasn't looking, which meant that Parvati's face was drawn into a scowl the whole time, as Harry refused to make eye contact with her. Ron was amazed the two of them managed to put aside their awkwardness and attend to the business of flying at all.

He hadn't said a word to Hermione about his conversation with Harry. Ron knew Hermione was curious, but she had the grace not to ask.

Monday's and Tuesdays lessons brought no more than the usual complications; they worked on Glamours in Transfiguration--this time spells to make themselves appear as small children. Crabbe and Goyle were unable to change back into their normal selves and were sent to the hospital wing and given extra homework. In Defence they did another lesson on repelling the Imperius Curse; Hopkirk also had them train to duck out of the way of hexes and curses.

'It might seem obvious, ducking out of the way,' she said, 'but there is a practical purpose for learning how to do it in an effective way, apart from the obvious of avoiding an unfriendly spell. If you find yourself without a wand, in particular, learning how to train your body to dodge curses can save your life.'

The second half of the lesson, then, was spent doing elaborate jumps, dives and rolls that left the class exhausted, sweaty, and with plenty of bruised kneecaps to go around. Her homework assignment involved no reading but plenty of practice on defensive moves.

'It's cool, though,' said Dean. 'It's like how they train special forces in the military.'

In Charms they had moved on to Advanced Animation Spells, making coffee tables grow extra legs and walk across the room. In History of Magic Binns droned on about the first centaur revolts. Or at least that's what Ron thought; he fell asleep halfway through the lecture. Potions had them working on the Draught of Living Death. The potion formula was so exacting that if it were off even the slightest bit, it would cause actual death.

'Unfortunately, we cannot test students' potions on students,' Snape sneered, glowering at Neville, and then at Harry.

In Herbology, Professor Sprout announced they would be helping Professor Grubbly-Plank with the Spiketails, by putting together special kinds of feed for the dragons that included highly toxic and flammable herbs and leaves.

Wednesday came and at last, the Spiketails hatched. Grubbly-Plank was so beside herself she almost reminded Ron of Hagrid, but thinking of Hagrid wasn't pleasant, as they'd heard nothing of what he was doing (repeated attempts to ask McGonagall were met with the same response every time: 'Order business. That's all I can tell you.').

'Gather round, class!' Grubbly-Plank called, obviously pleased. 'Our first egg is about to hatch. Miss Brown, this is your egg, yes?'

'Yes, ma'am,' said Lavender, beaming. The whole class was gathered in a circle round Lavender's nest, which was carefully constructed. The class jumped as one when the little egg suddenly burst into flame and a tiny dragon with blue-green, opalescent scales flopped out into the nest. It was no bigger than Ron's thumb and actually very cute; all the girls sighed appreciatively.

'Lovely, isn't he?' said Grubbly-Plank. 'Or...actually, I believe that's a female. Now stand back, everyone, I just need to clear its airway.'

Grubbly-Plank took the tiny dragon in hand and dabbed a cotton swab at its mouth. The little dragon gave a smoky cough and began to bawl.

'Quick!' said Grubbly-Plank, gesturing to Lavender. 'The eucalyptus leaves!'

Lavender gave a squeak and picked up two eucalyptus leaves.

'Now, Miss Brown, are you ready to take her?' said Grubbly-Plank.

'Yes,' said Lavender.

'Handle her gently,' said Grubbly-Plank. 'Thumb and forefinger...'

She handed the tiny dragon to Lavender, who took it gingerly in her fingers.

'Good,' said Grubbly-Plank. 'Now, wrap her gently in the leaves. Don't squeeze!'

Lavender nodded and placed the tiny, crying dragon on the palm of her hand, in which the leaves rested, and then proceeded to wrap the leaves round the small creature.

Almost at once the dragon stopped crying and gave a contented sigh, and feel asleep.

'Aw,' came another sigh from the other girls in the class.

'Very good, Miss Brown,' said Grubbly-Plank. 'Dragons are cold-blooded creatures, you see, and this little one doesn't have a mother's warm body to curl up next to. The cold air doesn't feel very nice to them. Now, put your dragon in the nest there, Miss Brown. Looks like there's another egg ready to go. Ah, Mr. Finch-Fletchley...'

The lesson ended with every egg hatched and every dragon safely tucked into the nests, wrapped in leaves. Ron, Harry and Hermione left the lesson in silence; Ron knew they were all in agreement--it had been a fine lesson. But saying so still felt like a betrayal of Hagrid, somehow. Even Hermione kept quiet. Harry, at least, had managed to avoid standing too close to Susan Bones, although it looked like he might be getting past their break-up.

That night was the second D.A. meeting, and to everyone's surprise, Draco Malfoy and Theodore Nott both showed up, at the same time, accompanied by Aurors. Ron had nearly forgotten about Malfoy, who'd been absent from some lessons and who, according to Hermione, had spent every free moment of his time in detention.

But now he was back, and looking cold and smug as always. He exchanged a glanced with Nott, and the look was full of contempt, but if Ron had to guess, the two boys wouldn't be fighting one another anymore. At least, not for a while. Each had taken their pound of flesh from the other, and for the time being, Ron surmised, there wouldn't be any more in-house fighting within Slytherin.

The night's meeting was split into two parts: throwing off the Imperius Curse, and duelling. The first half necessitated the involvement of Aurors, as students were not allowed the throw the Imperius Curse on one another, and Hopkirk wanted as many students as possible to practice repelling the curse. None of the Aurors looked too keen to cast an Unforgivable on a student, but they obeyed Hopkirk all the same.

Ron was able to throw his off eventually, but it had taken him three tries. Thankfully the Auror hadn't asked him to do anything more embarrassing than sit down, but he knew he'd have to work harder to repel the curse in a setting that wasn't controlled, as the D.A. meeting was.

The second half went into duelling. People began to pair up, but Hopkirk called on them to stop.

'I think it's time for to mix things up a bit,' she said. 'In the spirit of interhouse unity.'

She began pairing people up.

'Miss MacDougal, you'll pair with Mr. Smith,' she said. 'Mr. Finch-Fletchley, you and Miss Lovegood...'

It wasn't a problem until Hopkirk came to the Slytherins.

'Nott,' she snapped. 'Pair up with Mr. Weasley. Crabbe, you're with Mr. Goldstein. Parkinson, you'll pair with Mr. Boot. Miss Greengrass...you're with Ms. Turpin. Bulstrode, you're with Granger. Zabini...pair up with Miss Brocklehurst. Goyle...why don't you pair up with Mr. Longbottom here. And...Malfoy. You'll be Miss Weasley's partner.'

For a moment nobody said a word, but then Draco Malfoy fixed his eyes on Ginny and smiled smugly

'No,' said Ron. 'Not Malfoy, not with Ginny.'

'Is there a problem, Mr. Weasley?' said Hopkirk.

'Ron...' Ginny hissed.

'Professor, let me duel Malfoy,' said Harry, who'd been paired with Michael Corner; Michael hung back, looking uncertain.

'He can't be paired with Ginny,' Ron insisted.

'Can't he?' said Hopkirk. 'Miss Weasley, do you have a problem being Mr. Malfoy's partner?'

'No,' said Ginny, glaring at Ron and speaking through gritted teeth.

'Ginny...' Ron said, giving her a pleading look, but she shook her head.

'There, you see,' said Hopkirk. 'No problems. In case any of you were wondering, I've decided that part of the reason some of you have not gotten your skills up to par is because you're pairing with friends, and that's making you soft.'

She gave Ron a curt, cold smile that radiated down his spine like ice water and strode up to the daïs.

'Tonight in your duelling you will be restricted to simple, non-injurious curses: the Leg Locker, the Falling Jinx, the Trip Jinx, Jelly-Legs, and the Total Body Bind,' she announced. 'The reason I am restricting to these relatively harmless curses is that you will not be defending yourselves with wands, but with the body movements we practiced in our last lesson, and which I am quite sure you have practiced in your spare time as well.'

'Not really,' Ron muttered, because he'd been busy with other assignments, Quidditch practice, and patrols.

'So, one partner will be the spell caster,' said Hopkirk. 'The other will be the victim. Although if you've been practicing you won't really be a victim of anything.'

'I'll be the spell caster first,' said Ron at once.

'Fine,' said Nott, and he didn't look the slightest bit concerned about this.

Not bad for a guy who got the crap hexed out of him only a week ago, Ron thought grudgingly. He grimaced as he glanced over at Ginny, who was standing wandless across from Malfoy; Malfoy looked entirely too smug, and Ron wondered if, when things started up, he could get away with throwing a curse at him without Hopkirk seeing

'On the count of three,' said Hopkirk, 'begin. One, two...three.'

Malfoy was forgotten when the room was suddenly filled with a cacophony of shouts and the rush of movement. Ron threw a Leg Locker Curse at Nott, and he leapt lightly out of the way; Ron then threw three Falling Jinxes. Nott jumped, then rolled, then scrambled out of the way of the spells. It was several minutes before Ron managed to catch Nott with a Jelly Legs Jinx. He lifted the jinx only long enough to let Nott catch his breath, and then started in again. By the end, Nott got hit with only one more spell--a Total Body Bind--and he was sweaty and breathing heavily.

It went on for fifteen minutes, and then Hopkirk ordered everyone to stop and switch sides. Ron swallowed. He hoped he could keep out of the way of Nott's curses, and he vowed to pound Malfoy to dust if he hurt Ginny.

Hopkirk had barely finished counting when Nott threw a Total Body Bind at Ron; Ron ducked and rolled out of the way, but he wasn't sure how fast he could keep going; his height and long limbs made quick movements more difficult.

Nott, however, was relentless. Clearly the Slytherin didn't care that Ron had extended him a bit of courtesy and waited for him to catch his breath; Nott was giving Ron no quarter. He caught a Trip Jinx about five minutes in, and fell hard on his backside, but even there, Nott didn't ease up, and Ron found himself scrambling out of the way of another Total Body Bind. It was exhausting work, and by the end of it, Ron was covered in sweat and had been hit by five of Nott's spells.

'Excellent work, Mr. Nott,' said Hopkirk, as she strode gracefully past. 'Weasley, get your body movements in order. Five hits isn't terrible but you can do better.'

'He wouldn't...let up,' Ron panted.

'That's the point, isn't it?' she said, smiling coolly. 'A Death Eater wouldn't.'

Ron scowled at her, but he had to admit she was right. A moment later she called an end to the meeting, and the crowd began to disperse.

'Nice working with you, Weasley,' said Nott sarcastically, and he strode away,

stopping only long enough to snap his fingers at Crabbe and Goyle.

Ron rolled his eyes as the two of them followed after Nott like trained dogs.

Then he turned and was quite pleased to see Malfoy on the ground, rubbing his backside.

'Aren't you going to help me up, Weasley?' he sneered at Ginny.

'Are you hurt?' said Ginny coldly, holding her wand in her right hand.

'No,' said Malfoy, scowling.

'Then get up yourself,' she said, and she turned on her heel and strode over to Ron.

'You okay, Ginny?' said Ron. 'He didn't hit you with anything, did he?'

'He got me with a Trip Jinx,' she said, scowling, and she rubbed her knee. 'But only that. I got him with a Total Body Bind and a few Falling jinxes. Are you okay, Hermione?'

'Of course,' said Hermione loftily, trying hopelessly to smooth her frizzy hair as they began to file out of the Great Hall. 'Millicent's a pathetic dueller, take her wand away from her and she doesn't know what to do with herself. Let her try to get me in a headlock again.'

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Two hours later Ron, Harry, Hermione and Ginny sat in the common room with their books and parchment spread out all over the coffee table and on the floor.

Hermione had taken Ron and Harry aside right after the D.A. meeting and told them she'd need their help on manually translating the codes, nearly all of which she'd figured out but hadn't written down yet. Ginny, however, overheard, and insisted on helping, too, and Ron and Harry could do nothing but agree. There were stacks and stacks of codes to go through, and the more help they had writing out the messages in plain English, the faster they could sort through them all.

But at the moment, the four of them were focused on homework, at Hermione's insistence.

Ron and Harry were struggling through another complicated Potions essay; Ginny was working on a numerology chart for Divination, and Hermione was sailing easily through her latest Ancient Runes homework. The other Gryffindors had gone to bed by now, exhausted from the rigors of the D.A. meeting.

Ron was just adding another line to his essay when he heard the creak of the portrait hole open. A small, middle-aged witch with dark hair and a heart-shaped face entered the room.

'Mrs. Tonks?' said Ginny, addressing the witch and getting up off the hearth rug. 'Er...we didn't have a session tonight, did we?'

'Hello, Ginny,' said the witch. 'No, we didn't. I've just been in a meeting with Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall.'

Ron, Harry and Hermione stood up.

'And you must be Ron and Hermione,' said Mrs. Tonks, walking smoothly over to them and holding out her hand for both Ron and Hermione to shake. 'Ginny's told me all about you. Hello, Harry.'

'Hi, Mrs. Tonks,' said Harry, grinning at her.

'Ginny, I wonder if we might have a word,' said Mrs. Tonks, her smile fading and her face growing serious.

'All right,' said Ginny, shrugging.

'In private,' said Mrs. Tonks. 'Forgive me, but--'

'You might as well tell me here, Mrs. Tonks,' said Ginny. 'I'll just tell them anyway. Unless Dumbledore doesn't want me to.'

Mrs. Tonks smiled. 'No, he said nothing like that.' She paused and turned her attention to Ron and the others. 'Perhaps we should sit down.'

Ron didn't like the sound of that; in his experience, any conversation that was preceded by an invitation to sit usually wound up being a bad conversation.

But he nodded and followed Hermione and Harry to the sofa. Ginny took a seat in the chair next to Harry, and Mrs. Tonks sat down in the chair opposite.

'Dumbledore wanted me to keep him apprised of your progress, Ginny,' said Mrs. Tonks. 'That's why I was here tonight. Well, partly, anyway. And you have made tremendous progress in just these few weeks. You have quite a gift. When all is said and done you'll surpass me by a mile.'

'I don't know about that,' said Ginny, blushing.

'Of course, we have reached that portion of your training that requires you to test skills on a human subject,' said Mrs. Tonks. She glanced at Harry. 'I know you've already volunteered, Harry, but Albus and Minerva both think it's best for you not to at this time, not with your many responsibilities. Albus also told me of your connection with...Voldemort.'

Mrs. Tonks said the name slowly and carefully, and Ron wondered if it were the first time she'd ever said it at all.

'We all agreed that you're probably not the best test subject for Ginny right now,' she went on.

Harry pursed his lips and nodded. 'I understand,' he said.

'That doesn't mean you won't ever be Ginny's guinea pig,' said Mrs. Tonks, smiling. 'This connection you have with Voldemort is something that you both share and I think we'll need to explore that down the road. In the meantime it's important that Ginny perfect her skills on others.'

'I'll be the guinea pig,' said Ron, sitting up straighter on the sofa. 'I mean...if that's okay.'

'Ron...' said Ginny.

'Or me,' said Hermione eagerly. 'I've always wanted to know how the power works, it's fascinating.'

'That's very kind of you both to offer,' said Mrs. Tonks kindly. 'However, I'm afraid we've already chosen a candidate. Dumbledore thought it best, based on my own advice, for Ginny to work with someone she's isn't emotionally close to.'

Ron sat back. 'Who?'

'My nephew,' said Mrs. Tonks.

There was a brief silence.

'Your nephew?' said Ron, confused.

Harry suddenly made a choked noise. 'No way.'

'You mean Malfoy,' said Hermione.

'What?' said Ron furiously, standing up sharply and rounding on Mrs. Tonks. 'Are you mad?'

'Ron, don't!' Ginny hissed, standing up as well. Harry followed suit.

'Allow me to explain--' Mrs. Tonks began, as she, too, stood up.

'Explain?' said Ron furiously.

'Ron, keep your voice down!' Hermione snapped, standing up and putting a hand on his arm.

'Explain what?' said Ron, lowering his voice but unable to keep it from shaking. 'You can't be serious. Your nephew already tried to go after Ginny this summer, he tried to force her...you can't...I won't let you do this!'

'Dammit, Ron, this isn't up to you!' Ginny retorted.

'There is no way in hell I'm going to let that prat anywhere near my sister!' Ron growled, towering over Mrs. Tonks menacingly. Through it all she remained unfazed, which only served to anger Ron even more. What the hell was she on about, that she could even suggest that Ginny be required to use her powers on Draco Malfoy, of all people? The very person who'd practically stalked her through half of last year.

'Calm down, Ronald,' said Mrs. Tonks, in an even voice, and she suddenly reached up--way up, she was quite a bit shorter than he--and pressed a cool, dry hand to his face.

Ron felt it at once, a wave of power that flooded his brain, making his vision go white for a brief moment, and then suddenly it was as if the anger inside him dissolved, evaporated. Mrs. Tonks's face remained impassive as she pulled away.

'Listen to me,' she said, 'and sit down.'

Ron stared at her and felt his knees almost give out on him as he sat, hard, on the sofa.

'You shouldn't do that,' he grumbled, looking at Mrs. Tonks resentfully.

'Yes, she should,' said Hermione, under her breath. Ron gave her an annoyed look but in the next instant everyone sat down.

'Mrs. Tonks,' said Harry, who'd been quiet all this time, 'why on earth would Dumbledore agree to let Draco anywhere near Ginny? You know their history, don't you?'

'Of course,' said Mrs. Tonks, glancing at Ginny. 'I also know my nephew, believe it or not. I might have fallen out with my sisters but I never stopped...paying attention to their families. The reason I have suggested Draco is quite simply because of his past history with Ginny. Poppy Pomfrey was right when she had Ginny help Draco last year; an Empath never truly masters her skills until she is able to effectively help someone she might otherwise detest.'

She paused, took a breath and continued.

'And there are other considerations. Draco's past history, most importantly. His childhood, his father's treatment of him, the death of...Narcissa. Draco's past is one filled with emptiness and emotional pain that he carries to this day, and yet his behaviours make him a wholly unsympathetic person to most, including Ginny.'

'I don't like this at all,' said Ron angrily. 'He's...addicted to Ginny's power, he's tried to force her--'

'I have stipulated several conditions,' said Mrs. Tonks. 'Ginny will train with Draco in my presence at all times; sessions will be conducted twice a week. Draco cannot carry his wand during a training session. And if I hear of any sort of harassment on Draco's part, I have been given permission by Dumbledore to take whatever corrective measures I deem appropriate. And I promise you those methods would not take into consideration whatever blood ties I share with him. There is also the added benefit of Draco already being aware of Ginny's powers. I'd rather the knowledge of her abilities as closely guarded as possible. Using Draco allows me greater control on that front.

'I can't force you, Ginny, to accept this. It's my recommendation and I have the support of Professor Dumbledore and Professor McGonagall, but the decision must be left up to you.'

There was a long silence; Ron was still a bit woozy from the effects of Mrs. Tonks's touch, and though his mind felt slightly heavy and sluggish, the anger began to bubble up in him again. He was about to say something else but Ginny beat him to it.

'I'll do it,' she said, her voice hard.

'Ginny,' said Harry and Ron together.

'You don't have to--' said Harry.

'This isn't right--' said Ron.

'I'm not sure--' said Hermione.

'I'll do it,' Ginny repeated, her voice a bit louder, a bit harder.

'Are you sure?' said Mrs. Tonks.

Ginny gave her a long look, and finally nodded. 'I'm sure. The most important thing is for me to perfect my skills. If that means putting up with Ratboy...I'll suppose I'll have to do it.'

'Ginny, you don't have to do this,' said Ron desperately. 'Harry, Hermione, back me up.'

'Ginny,' said Harry slowly, and he groaned and looked at Mrs. Tonks. 'Can't you think of anyone else she can work with?'

'Harry, it's my decision,' said Ginny, a bit sharply.

'Hermione,' said Ron desperately.

'It's her decision, Ron,' she said. 'I don't like it anymore than you do but...it's not like Mrs. Tonks is ever going to leave them alone, is she?'

Ron ran his hand over his face; he looked at Harry, who gazed at him sympathetically, but who made no move to say anything else. And in the end, what could Harry say? What could Ron say? Ginny wasn't a Weasley for nothing; she had inherited the trademark Weasley stubbornness.

And not just the Weasley stubbornness, the female Weasley stubbornness, which is a thousand times worse.

And suddenly something occurred to Ron.

'What about Mum and Dad?' he said. 'Ginny's not of age, she won't be of age until February. What if they don't approve?'

'Ron,' Ginny groaned.

'I already spoke to your mother and father about this,' said Mrs. Tonks.

'Of course you did,' said Ron sourly. 'Ginny--'

'The discussion is over, Ron,' said Ginny, standing up. 'I'm doing this. I don't like it. In fact, I hate it. But I'm going to do it. If I can't get my powers under control, I can't help anyone, can I?'

She glanced at Harry and the two of them exchanged a long, meaningful sort of look, and yet Ron couldn't quite figure out just what meaning was there, only that their eyes became sad.

Mrs. Tonks stood, and Ron, Hermione and Harry followed suit.

'I apologize for the unpleasantness of this conversation,' said Mrs. Tonks.

'Yeah, right,' said Ron glumly. Hermione elbowed him sharply.

'I should be going,' said Mrs. Tonks. 'It was nice to meet you, Ron, Hermione. And to see you again, Harry.'

'You, too,' said Harry, but his tone was flat.

'Oh!' said Mrs. Tonks suddenly. 'I almost forgot. This is for you, Harry.'

She pulled a small envelope from her robes. It was held shut with a red wax seal. Ron couldn't make out the details of the seal, but Harry was staring at it as if it might burn his hands.

'Sirius wrote that to you,' she said. 'He gave it to me not long before he died and I'm ashamed I completely forgot about it in...the aftermath of that battle at the Department of Mysteries. Nymphadora was so badly injured it was all I could do to keep my head on straight, and then Ted and I had to move out of our house for safety reasons. It must have gotten mixed up with our things; I only found it a few days ago in the messy recesses of my ancient desk. Forgive me for the delay in getting it to you.'

Harry swallowed hard.

'Th-thanks,' he said, and he tucked the small envelope inside his robes.

'Well, it's late, past your bedtime, certainly,' said Mrs. Tonks. 'I really must be going. I'll see you Saturday afternoon, Ginny. Don't worry about telling Draco, Professor McGonagall will take care of that.'

Ron watched Harry for a moment, but then he and the others turned their attention to Mrs. Tonks as she started to exit through the portrait hole. Before she left, however, she turned back and smiled at Ginny.

'Ratboy?' said Mrs. Tonks, and Ginny blushed. 'Interesting nickname. Do you all refer to Draco in that pejorative?'

'Yes,' said Ron, a bit defiantly. Hermione elbowed him sharply again.

Mrs. Tonks, however, didn't look at all offended. 'Funny,' she said, 'I've always thought he had more the look of a ferret, myself.'

And with that, she left the common room.