Getting ready to sign off before 'Deathly Hallows'---much love and hugs to queenb23more and natertatersmom for all their love and support and the ladies and gentlemen I've been priviliged to meet through fandom; I'd not be here without them. Cheers to the PR Babes!
Thank You JKRowling for sharing Harry, Ron, and Hermione with us...
Felix and Flight
He was gone.
Just like that--Tell Ginny goodbye for me—and he was gone. Hermione stared at the door, her mouth slightly parted.
It was almost comical sitting there with that balled up pair of ugly old socks in his lap; the small, corked vial that had caused them so much trouble last year looking so unimportant in his hand; Hermione gobsmacked, and Harry out the door. Ron would have laughed had it been anyone but him sitting there in the thick of a very bad situation. Hermione was looking at him, the closed portrait hole, then back to him again; her eyes were very wide and her breathing fast.
“Ron…” she breathed, the map clenched in her hands.
“Hmm.” He was turning the vial over in his hand, and a million thoughts in his head. This is insane. When will Harry be back? Would he and Dumbledore actually find something? And what about Malfoy?
“Ron?” Hermione was talking to him over a faintly rustling noise. “What..?”
The Map was shaking now and he was trying to remember if it had ever done that before when he realized it was Hermione shaking. She looked so earnest and excited, it was like she had so many thoughts that she couldn’t settle on just one. She was asking him what to do? Was she joking? He put the vial down on the sofa between them. “Hermione, please,” her hands now shaking so badly that he thought she might rip the Marauder’s Map in two, “we’re going to need that,” he said gently. Stilling her hands in one of his, he eased the Map from her and put it alongside the vial. “I need you thinking, all right?”
She blinked and looked at him strangely. He was still holding her hands in one of his, so he gave her a reassuring squeeze. Nodding abruptly, she stood, quickly calling, “I’ll be right back,” over her shoulder as she made for the stairs. Blimey, but she could disappear faster than any girl he’d ever known. He had a few minutes at least to consider what they needed to do. Map and Felix in hand, he was pacing the floor when Hermione came back, the galleon in her hand and Ginny at her side. From the determined look on her face, Ginny already knew Harry had left.
“So you…” Ron began, looking to Hermione.
Ginny nodded, “Harry will tell me later. We don’t have time now…”
Hermione stood next to Ron. “Right. First we’ll see who all comes from your call,” he tapped the large coin she still held in her hand. “And then we’ll check the Map,” he held up his hand showing her the blank parchment and small vial. “And go from there, yeah?” She nodded jerkily, moving her gaze to the accumulated stuff in his hand; he answered her before she could ask. “We’ll wait to take the potion until we need to.”
“The Protean charm, I’ve already started….how long should we wait..?” The words had barely left Hermione when Neville burst through the door, galleon in hand, looking nervous. All four of them scanned the Marauder’s Map intently, looking for anyone else they recognized wandering about. They found Luna standing in the outside corridor, near the Fat Lady. No one else from the DA appeared anywhere…
“It’s quite red in here, isn’t it?” Luna scanned the tapestries and squashy chairs and sofas when she walked in. “I suspected as much, but it’s a bit overwhelming…”
Ron handed Ginny the glass bottle he’d been cradling since Harry ran out. “Just a bit. We’ll all need to take some…” Neville’s eyes widened; he never did well with Potions. “It’s all right, Nev.” Ron reassured him.
Hermione nodded, “Ron’s right, Neville. It won’t hurt you.” Neville took a hesitant sip, then smiled broadly, passing the bottle to Ginny. Then to Luna.
When Hermione had the bottle in her hand, she frowned at the little that was left. “For luck,” she said and took a dainty sip. She had been nervous all night, but Ron noticed her hand stopped shaking when she handed the last of the Felix to him.
Relief and confidence spread all through his limbs like hot cocoa on a cold day after a snowball fight. It was fantastic; he knew exactly what they all needed to do, where they needed to be, and how to keep them all safe. He could see each move so clearly in his mind, just like watching a chess board.
And he had a very strong feeling that he needed to be in the Room of Requirement. “Right, so you,” he waved at Hermione with the now empty bottle, “go with Luna…”
“To the dungeons,” Luna supplied.
“Keep an eye out for Filch and Malfoy…” Ron reminded them.
“We’ll be fine, Ron.” Hermione beamed at him.
“He won’t be in the dungeons, now…” Luna sing-songed, tilting her head as if she was listening to something in the walls.
Who won’t be..? Why would she say..? Barmy. But a nagging thought started itching in the back of his head, “And Ginny’ll go with me.”
“And Neville.” Ginny nodded. “Neville’s with you and me.”
“Right.” He looked hard at Luna, and then swung his eyes to Hermione. He pressed the Map into her hand, holding it there. “Take this with you.”
“But I don’t need it,” She smiled at him, squeezing the Map between their palms. “I know who we’ll run across, and goodness only knows who you may bump into.” He opened his mouth to argue, even though he knew she was right, but closed it quickly enough when her thumb moved over his hand; she never took her eyes off him. “Please, Ron.”
It was the ‘please’ that got his attention.
Felix nudged him again and reminded him of every hug, every smile and that kiss last year before his first match. Felix showed him every hint she’d given him. How she had hugged him when they were speaking again in Third year; the disappointment on her face when he’d asked Fleur to the Ball in Fourth year; how she had looked sitting on that desk with her canaries…
She didn’t mean ‘please take the Map, Ron’ or ‘please be careful, Ron’.
He knew Neville wouldn’t care, Luna wouldn’t notice, and Ginny would be relieved. Hermione gazed up at him; without saying a word, she was cheering him on. She was waiting for him. Tossing the bottle aside and tugging on the hand he held, Ron kissed her.
And it was bloody perfect.
Relieved and exhilarated, he nudged her nose with his. “Waited too long for that.”
“Too right you did.” she breathed. With no warning at all, she threw herself at him, kissing him fiercely. Ron ‘oofed’ and staggered back into the wall, holding her. And he knew; he knew what she wanted, what she would allow. And once they had everything settled tonight for Harry, he knew exactly what he was going to do.
That has to wait for now, the Felix reminded him. Ron sighed and hugged her tightly to him. “I don’t want to let go of you yet.”
“We’ll finish later,” she sighed. Hermione dragged her thumb over his ear; he watched her hand fall over his arm to grab his hand. “You’ll be brilliant, Ron,” she said, backing slowly away to the door where Luna was turning her butterbeer cork charm necklace idly over her thumb. “Ready, Luna?”
There was something else he needed to say, but until Harry was back safe…until they were back safe...“You’ll come back, yeah?” he asked suddenly, blinking to watch her follow Luna.
She nodded and smiled, and he knew it was just for him. “I’ll see you soon.”
~*~
Where in hell is she? Ron found himself staring at the infirmary doors again, only this time he was on the other side waiting for Hermione. Ginny had the Map, or he could have at least put his mind at ease. Maybe Hermione was looking for him? Would she even know where he was?
She’d walked down to the dungeons easily enough when he asked her to go with Luna. Of course Ron knew she would go when he asked her to, the Felix had shown him where she needed to be. Hermione didn’t argue, but he knew she wouldn’t. And he needed her to be safe. He couldn’t have fought as well if she’d been there. He would have shielded her. He knew it, and so did Felix.
So did Hermione. Why else would she have launched herself at him when he’d kissed her? It was easy, really. Stupid, to be honest. Of course she had wanted him to kiss her. She had for a very long time. Why hadn’t he noticed it before? So he’d grabbed her—this was not the time for subtlety, according to Felix--
Now, with the potion wearing off rapidly, and no Hermione in sight, he was beginning to worry. Had something gone wrong? Had she not taken as much of the golden potion as the rest of them? Had it worn off earlier? Where was Luna? Was Luna all right? Was Hermione all right? What if she was unconscious? What if it was the Department of Mysteries all over again and he couldn’t help her? Again.
What if one of them had found her and killed her on principle?
Those doors weren’t going to open anytime soon. Giving them one last look, Ron turned for the nearest staircase. Swearing while he walked briskly down the corridor, he was running through every possible scenario in his mind, every passageway that he knew in the castle; he could get to Snape’s office quickest by darting behind the tapestry on the 3rd floor…
“Ron!” Hermione threw herself at him; he’d been so lost in his plans to get to her quickly that for a moment he thought he’d summoned her.
He caught her easily, running his hands over her hair and shoulders, resting at her waist as he inspected her for outward damage. “You’re all right? Snape didn’t ..?”
“He left, Ron. Said Flitwick was hurt, and-,” she looked at him closely, raising her hand carefully to his head. “What happened to you? Why are you all bruised?”
“There’s a …there was some fighting earlier.” Waist, hands, and arms--he couldn’t stop touching her; he had to make sure she was all right. “Are you sure you’re not hurt anywhere? We can get through that door if we need to. It’s okay, you can tell me anything…”
“Lavender was right. You’ve been doing this a lot, lately,” she said.
“What? Talking to you? I would have sooner, if you’d let me.” He moved his hands from her shoulders to her face.
“No,” she reached up, holding his hands to her. “You’ve never willingly touched me.”
“Up until very recently, I didn’t know I could.”
She blinked at him, that crinkle between her brows again; she was confused. “Why couldn’t you?”
He stared hard at her, “I didn’t want to get hexed.” She chuckled, half heartedly for certain, but a genuine laugh nonetheless. And it was right up there with hearing ‘Cannons WIN!’ as the best sound in the entire world. “You know some dangerous spells, you know. I might have lost something important.”
“Ron, the only time I’ve ever hexed you was when you didn’t touch me…”
“That’s why I’ve been doing it more lately.” He laughed, pulling her face close to his and kissing her soundly. “Couldn’t have you thinking I only kissed you when a potion was involved.” He nudged her nose with his. “I was worried when you didn’t come back.”
“I went to find you. When Tonks said you were here…” Her eyes went to the closed door.
“Bill,” he swallowed hard. “It’s Bill.”
“I hate that door closed. It’s so…ominous.”
He considered telling her about the last night he’d spent here with that ruddy door mocking him after she’d run out. She gave the door a look as if it had been rude to her and shook in his hands. He’d tell her about the door later.
