Circle of Love

Hermione watched as Draco walked off to get the berries and some wood. It was hard for her mind to conceive that Ron was gone. He had been one of her two closest friends since she had come to Hogwarts. She rubbed at the tear that rolled down her cheek with the back of her hand and sniffled. The mist fully engulfed the druid circle now and the clouds covered what was left of the sunset.

Hermione hated feeling this weak, especially around the Slytherin pure blood. It was as if her limbs were still under some spell that the Death Eaters had used on her. She shuddered as the dampening mist settled into her robes.

She lowered her eyes as Draco returned to the ring surrounding them. She heard the plop of firewood and the crackle of the fire as he mumbled a spell. Her mind dwelt on what was her last encounter with Ron.


****


Ron, let's go, Harry's waiting for us in Hogsmeade.” Hermione said as she pulled on her redheaded friend's hand to get him moving. The autumn leaves crinkled underneath their feet as they had walked down the path to Hogsmeade. Ron had been walking so slowly that most of the other students had passed them long ago.

“Hermione, I well wa-- need to talk to you. Please--” Ron stopped as he pulled Harry's invisibility cloak from a pocket of his robe. He threw it around them and drew Hermione into the forest. He pulled her closer, kissed her softly and held her close for a brief moment.

“Ron? Harry is waiting,” Hermione said as she pulled away impatiently.

“Its always Harry, or books or some homework assignment. Last year it was Vikky,” Ron said as he pouted, referring to Viktor Krum. “Sometimes I feel like you don't care for me at all.” Hermione watched as he fumbled to keep the cloak tight around them.

“You're jealous still? Ron grow up.” Hermione spat. “It's Harry, our best friend, for Merlin's sake.” She turned and looked at him. “Ron, why are you jealous? It's not like I want to snog with Harry. Ginny would kill me for Merlin's sake.”

“You never have time for me now. You are always helping Harry with hunting the horcruxes. Bloody hell, Hermione. You're my girlfriend, not Harry's!” Ron fisted his bright red hair in frustration.

“I know that, Ron. Harry also needs are help. You even said we should. Now you don't want to?” She yelled back at him.

“I just want an afternoon of your time alone. No Harry, no horcruxes, no books and definitely no homework.” Ron tried to kiss her again, but she pulled away.

“Not now, Ron.--”


Their conversation ended as they saw three black robed people walk down the path towards a building that used to be a weigh station. Their hoods and white masks covered their faces making it impossible to figure out who they were. Hermione gasped in horror, terrified of the sight before her.

“Death Eaters!” She blurted out in shock.

“Bloody hell, Hermione!” Ron whispered as he started to follow them, pulling her along.

“Ron we really should--” Hermione's words were silenced by Ron's finger on her lips.

“We'll follow under the cloak, come on Hermione!!” Ron pleaded. Against her better judgment, Hermione nodded her agreement.

One of the Death Eaters was walking a few steps ahead of the other two. The one stopped and turned to look at the others. They seemed to laugh before they sped up their steps. The door creaked as the Death Eaters opened it and entered. Ron and Hermione slipped in just before the door was slammed shut by the first one.

The young Gryffindors watched as the three removed their masks and threw them on a dusty table. Hermione barely held back her surprise as she saw Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle push back their hoods and disrobe.

“Your father was fun in Hogsmeade, Draco. Those blood traitors never had it so bad.” Laughed Goyle.

Hermione watched as Malfoy folded his robe, magicked it to shrink and stuffed it in his pocket before turning to look at his cronies.

“Yeah, right. I'm surprised the Aurors took so long to get there.” Malfoy nodded, but somehow didn't seem as pleased as the others.

“Yea that Weasel tart was the funniest, trying to hide behind Potter--” Ron let out a growl with Crabbe's words and jumped from beneath the cloak, exposing both him and Hermione.

“Take it back, you piece of --” Ron tackled Crabbe, knocking him to the floor with a cloud of dust.

Malfoy laughed at the sight. “Enough!” He shouted.

Ron continued to slam his fist into Crabbe's face, splitting his lip and breaking his nose with a satisfying crunch.

“I said enough.” Draco pulled his wand with the intention of body binding Ron, but he never got the chance as Goyle's wand popped out faster.

“Avada Kedavra!!” Shouted the fat Slytherin, pointing his wand at Ron.

Hermione pulled her wand out of her pocket, the shock of what happened shaking her from the lethargy she had been feeling. Ron's eyes seem to haunt her as she traded spell after spell with Crabbe and Goyle. One spell hit Hermione hard enough to send her slamming into the wall.

“Stupe-” Hermione pointed her wand as Goyle's next curse hit her hard, interrupting her spell and knocking her unconscious to the floor, next to Ron's corpse.

****

Hermione barely noticed the leaf full of berries as she watched the flames flicker. Her tears rolled down her cheeks faster than the back of her hand could wipe them away. The pain from the spells Goyle had used on her was excruciating.

“Eat your berries,” Hermione barely heard Malfoy as she slipped into a veil of unconsciousness.

Malfoy jumped up from his spot by the fire and rushed to Hermione's side.

“Granger!” He touched her face. “Bloody hell, witch. You're burning up.” Water he thought. He fisted his hands in his hair as he wildly looked around in the darkness. He felt the magic that surrounded them in the glade, wondering how to use it.

“Water,” he said firmly. In his surprise a bowl of water and a cloth appeared next to Hermione. “Thank you.” Draco mumbled to the spirits. He knelt down beside her silent form and dipped the cloth into the cool water. He wrung out some of the dampness and gently ran it across her face to cool her. Draco remembered his mother doing that for him as a small child, and he smiled sadly at the thought as he tried to think of what else she had done for him.

He pulled out the shrunk First Aid kit that Snape ordered him to carry at all times, and engorged it so he could search its contents. More pepper ups, some salves, bandages, he thought as he examined everything more closely, a muggle bottle full of round pills. Draco read the label,fever reducer and muscle relaxant. He opened the bottle and then looked at Hermione. These probably will work if I can figure out how to get Granger to swallow them while unconscious.

After transfiguring a rock into a glass, he filled it with some of the water. He took two of the pills out of the bottle as instructed and approached Hermione. He sat down by her, and then slapped her in the face. “Here,” Draco said as her eyes fluttered open and he held the pills out toward her.

“Owe, Malfoy--” Hermione coughed.

“Granger, these are what you Muggles call aspirin. Take them.” Draco placed the pills on her tongue as Hermione opened her mouth. The bitter taste made her dry mouth gag.

“Yuck,” Hermione said as she tried to spit them out. Draco put the glass to her lips and poured some in her mouth to help the pills go down.

“Granger, swallow them. Trust me for once, please.” Draco almost pleaded with her. Where is Professor Snape? If Granger dies the Order will have my head. He watched in satisfaction as Hermione finally did as asked and took her medicine before closing her eyes and falling back asleep.

Draco took the cloth into his hand again, dampened it and continued to wash her face with it until the medicine took effect. He drew his hands through his hair, and laid down a few feet from Hermione to sleep.


****


“The Weasleys will be here soon, Severus. Do you want me to explain what happened?” Remus Lupin, the Order of the Phoenix's new leader asked the rather somber black robed wizard before him.

“I'll tell them, Remus. Molly and Arthur deserve that bit of respect from me.” Both men looked down with regret at the white sheet covering young Ron's corpse in the sitting room of 12 Grimmauld Place. “Draco got Miss Granger out of there just in time. Bellatrix and Lucius arrived only seconds after he activated the portkey.”

The entry door flew open as Harry Potter and the Weasleys arrived. The bang of the door slamming woke the portrait of Albus Dumbledore.

“You!! Why did you allow this to happen!?!” Shouted Arthur Weasley as he stepped into the room. He spied the white covered corpse of his son and went to stand beside it. The Weasley parents' worst nightmare had come true; the death of one of their many precious children.

“Arthur please--” Remus tried to step in but stopped at Severus's upraised hand. They watched as Arthur approached the table and drew back the white sheet. Molly's screams of mourning rang of the walls.

“Mr Weasley and Miss Granger followed three Death Eaters under Mr Potter's invisibility cloak. They got exposed somehow, fought and Mr Weasley died.” Severus said dispassionately. He watched as Molly went over to the body, ran her hand through the red hair and kissed Ron's cold cheek. He saw Ginny weeping into Harry's shoulder as he held her tight in his arms.

“Why didn't you stop this, Severus? What happened?” Arthur’s grief was apparent as he looked into Snape's face, trying to comprehend what went wrong.

“I didn't receive the owl about this until too late. The attack on Hogsmeade was already over, and it took me some time to find the boys. Mr Weasley was dead and Miss Granger was unconscious by the time I arrived.” Severus answered Arthur calmly. “I had done all I could to impede their learning of dark magic during my tenure at Hogwarts. Their training and maturity lacks in a lot of important ways to be a real use to the Dark Lord. Unfortunately, Lucius decided that they needed some experience and brought them to Hogsmeade while I was away looking for potions components.”

“Where's Hermione?” Harry asked suspiciously.

“Somewhere safe. I will be going to fetch them soon. I had to deal with many things before I could even bring Mr Weasley back here.” Snape replied impatiently.

“Them? Who is with Hermione?” Asked one of the Weasley twins. Everyone seemed to look at the former professor as if they were one. Severus thought for a moment as if unsure he really wanted to answer that one. He knew his response would upset most in the room. Also revealing Draco's status as an Order spy would bring him more danger. Remus and he had decided to keep that information as secret as possible. If the need arose, Draco would be Snape's replacement.

“Mr Malfoy if you must know.” Snape answered, meeting Harry’s glare full on.

“You left Hermione with Malfoy?” Harry questioned angrily.

“Yes, Potter.” Snape sneered. The distrust the boy showed him daily irked him to no end.

“He's a Death Eater. He probably was the one who killed Ron.!!” Exclaimed Harry as he pulled his wand from his pocket. One look from Remus however had him tucking it away with a sullen look of reproach.

“He's an Order spy also, and Miss Granger is safe with him. Trust my judgement for once, Potter.” Snape arched an eyebrow at Harry. “The matter of Mr Malfoy's status will not leave this room.” He said as a reminder to them all. Silence fell upon the room, only broken by the soft cries of Ginny and Molly Weasley.

Breaking the silence and not taking her eyes off her youngest son, Molly no more than whispered her question. “Who killed Ron?” Her tear stricken voice made the anger Snape felt towards Lucius Malfoy worse.

“The one who killed Mr Weasley will be punished, don't worry Molly. He went against orders, and the Dark Lord is not pleased.” Snape's plan was to leave the younger Crabbe's and Goyle's punishments up to their fathers. The elders' fear of him would make it a punishment on them also.

There was only one problem he would handle personally. It was his chance to openly punish Lucius for Narcissa's death without reprisal from the Dark Lord. She had been one of his few friends from his school years. Her death had been the catalyst to Draco's joining the Order.

“I want the name!” Molly turned away from Ron’s body and, overpowered with grieve and anger, grabbed Severus by the shoulders and shook him, trying to draw him out of the cold demeanor Severus forever portrayed. With strength nobody expected her to have, Molly shoved Severus into the wall next to Albus's portrait and raised a hand to slam into the Potions Master's face.


Remus made a move to stop Molly from further action, but halted at Severus's words. “No, Remus.” Pausing in his tracks, the werewolf stood back and watched as the grieving mother pounded her fists into the dispassionate dark wizard.

Severus wiped the blood from his split lip with the back of his hand. “Done, Molly?” He asked the weeping woman. Molly didn't answer but let her arms fall to her sides, sobs still wracking her body. Arthur wrapped his arms around his wife and silently led her away from Severus, casting a grieved look at the other wizard.