Chapter Nine
Ron watched Daphne Greengrass rush madly toward them, but before he could do anything, she had slammed into Hermione and dragged both of them over the side of the cliff. He reached toward them with a shout, but they were gone too fast, plunging toward the rocky beach below.
A dozen things flew through his tired mind almost immediately, but his gut instinct--the one idea he did not have to think about--was to turn on the spot and Apparate, concentrating hard on Hermione and on the beach. He'd get there before them and slow their fall and kill Daphne Greengrass slowly and painfully for all she had done to Hermione.
He landed awkwardly on the sand, stumbling as his ankle turned beneath him. Swearing as he reached for his wand, he glanced up to see Hermione twisting through the air with Daphne, but they were falling in slow motion. Of course: Hermione thought even quicker than any of them ever could, and had slowed their fall so that they landed with a hard, but not life threatening, thud in the sand.
Limping toward them, Ron struggled to get in a shot at Daphne, but they were instantly rolling around so fast and furiously that he was too nervous about hitting Hermione. Then Daphne pinned her, smacked her across the face, and came up with Hermione's wand, pointed at her forehead.
"Get up," she snarled. Hermione's lip was bleeding, but she glared at Daphne until the woman hit her again and forcefully dragged her upright, wrapping a hand around her throat as Ron finally reached them.
"Drop your wand, Daphne," he gasped, his shoulder still burning, his ankle stiff. "Let her go and you'll be safe."
"Sod off, Weasley," Daphne snapped. "I'm not going to Azkaban."
"You will if you hurt her," Ron snapped back. "Don't be a fool."
"And don't be a bloody hero. She left you, you know. Left you, left England, left everything." Daphne laughed cruelly. "Why do you care?"
"I left because of you!" Hermione managed, her voice tight with pressure as Daphne continued to squeeze her throat. "But if you let me go, I can help you."
"You don't work for the Wizengamot anymore, Granger," Daphne reminded her. "So shut up." She cast a Full-Body Bind spell, and Ron saw Hermione's eyes flash with anger. She would be unable to even try to escape, frozen and held fast. It was all up to Ron.
"I must admit, this was unexpected," murmured Daphne, slowly moving away. "As was breaking up you lovebirds, but I'll take whatever I can get. You all deserve it after what you did."
"After what we did?" Ron repeated. He remembered his Auror training: it hadn't been that long, after all. He needed to keep her talking so he could both figure out a plan and try to understand the many layers of her treachery. He spared a quick glance at the clifftop and saw Katherine lying low, wand aimed at Daphne's retreat, but she was too far away to provide accurate cover. Harry was likely nearby then, though he hadn't heard the crack of Apparition. Unfortunately, Daphne was good: she saw him glance around and shook her head.
"Oh no," she shouted. "No--back off Potter! Back off or I will kill her!" She grinned almost maniacally, and Ron felt his stomach drop because he knew it was true. "And I know you wouldn't want to take your chances now you've come all the way down here, would you?" She murmured something into Hermione's ear, and Ron watched as she slowly disappeared: Daphne's arm now encircled empty air. Another Disillusionment Charm then--which meant if anyone tried to take out Daphne, they'd have no way of knowing whether they were hitting Hermione as well.
"Look, you like your pure-blood laws, I get it," Ron said, practically thinking out loud to buy time. "But why go through so much trouble to keep them, when they're not used much anyway?"
Daphne glared at him. "You'd never be able to put it together, Weasley."
Ron shrugged. "That's why I left the Ministry. I'm a slug. So tell me. What's in it for you?"
"My father will be Minister for Magic," Daphne started, but Ron interrupted her with a harsh bark of laughter.
"He'll never win, he hasn't the money to…" He trailed off as he remembered what Katherine had told him about the Greengrass smuggling operation, and suddenly it clicked. "Only you're getting it for him, aren't you? Smuggling in rare magical creatures from Australia."
"I need the money," Daphne snapped. "I'll buy every last vote I have to for my father to be Minister."
"Why? What's so important about that job?" Ron shook his head, still amazed at her desperation. "From the way Shacklebolt describes it, it sounds like a hell of a lot of dull, hard work."
"When my father is Minister, he can reshape wizarding society," Daphne said. "He can make sure Mudbloods and Muggle-lovers get what they deserve."
Ron nodded to keep her talking; he was fairly certain he saw Harry army-crawling behind some rocks about twenty meters away. They'd worked as a team long enough for Ron to know he had to distract Daphne long enough to give Harry time to get in place. Another minute or two should do it. He just hoped Harry realized the precarious situation Hermione was in before he took a shot.
"So it's just about payback then?" Ron gave her his best skeptical look. "That's just about the worst excuse for one of the most half-baked plots I've --"
"Shut it, Weasley!" she hissed, and she threw a Silencing Charm at him. He blocked it, though just barely as his arm and his leg and the fatigue of traveling halfway across the world were finally starting to slow his reflexes. He took a deep breath, though, and forced himself to focus. Just another minute…
"So you start smuggling to get the money to put your dad up for Minister. Once he's Minister, you'll finish what Voldemort started. And if you're caught doing anything wrong--including smuggling--he'll pardon you." Ron paused as Harry shook his head from behind a rock ten meters to the right; he didn't have a clear enough shot yet. "But why drag Hermione into this? Threatening her parents, kidnapping her?"
"You're so thick, Weasley," she said, laughing almost hysterically. "With Granger out of the way, the council would be free to vote against it, of course."
"You could have paid them," Ron said, feeling like he was stating the obvious, and still missing something.
"This was more fun," Daphne replied, and the look on her face was so ugly Ron knew it was personal. But why Hermione?
"What did she do to you, then?" He asked. He curled his fingers around his wand, trying to remain ready for whatever Harry had planned.
"She ruined my life," Daphne said disdainfully. "You all did. She was just the easiest to target first because taking her out fit perfectly with my other plans. You were next, but I suppose this will have to do for now."
"And how did we ruin your life?" Ron asked, more and more amazed at just how insane Daphne Greengrass truly was. He almost pitied Draco Malfoy marrying into her family, then decided the git probably deserved the lot of them. "By taking out the most evil wizard of all time and saving hundreds of lives?"
"You didn't save one," she whispered. "You let him die, in the room of Requirement."
Ron gaped at her. "Vincent Crabbe? You're avenging the death of Vincent Crabbe?" For a moment he wondered if she was referring to the same Vincent Crabbe he had known in school, and then he considered the attraction of old money and family connections and thought maybe they were a good fit after all.*
"You'd avenge the death of someone you loved, wouldn't you?" she asked, her voice very cold. Ron wanted to laugh in her face, but resisted the impulse because she could very well kill Hermione if he did. Crabbe might have been an idiot at Hogwarts--the biggest, most brainless git of them all--but apparently someone had seen something in him. Love was funny that way. And he knew deep down that he probably would seek revenge if anything happened to Hermione.
"Look, he died fighting," Ron finally answered, trying to say something diplomatic that wouldn't get Hermione killed, instead of what he was really thinking, which certainly would. "Both sides lost people. It happens in war."
"He died because of you, because of her, because of Harry Potter." She practically spat the last name on her list, and her eyes were suddenly wild. "Look Weasley, stop talking and tell Potter to back off."
"What are you talking about?" Ron asked, but he couldn't help a glance toward where Harry was still creeping closer, and it gave him away, and quicker than he would have thought possible, she cast a spell at the pile of rocks behind her. Harry stopped it easily with a Shield Charm, standing and facing her calmly as he dusted himself off.
"Crabbe killed himself," Harry said, his face dirty from crawling so far. He nodded at Ron, as if greeting him, but Ron understood the signal from their time together at the Ministry, and he cast a silent spell with his wand as Daphne focused on Harry now. "He set the Fiendfyre that destroyed the Room of Requirement. He was trying to kill us."
Daphne rolled her eyes. "If you had given yourself up sooner, Potter, he wouldn't have had to try. Look, this has been fun, but I need to leave now. Regroup, revise, replan. You won't win again."
She turned on the spot, as if to Apparate away, but nothing happened, and she whirled on Ron, firing a fierce Stunning Spell that he was expecting and blocked. He resisted the impulse to send one back, because he still didn't want to hit Hermione.
"Lift the jinx, Weasley," she snarled. "Or I'll kill her--and you can watch." She let the Disillusionment Charm fall, and Ron was relieved to see Hermione, still unharmed, but still frozen by the Full-Body Bind curse.
"Let her go first, Daphne," said Harry, edging closer to Ron so two wands were on her now. "There's no way out."
"There is with her," Daphne said. "I know what she means to you."
"Then take me," Ron said impulsively. "I'm not as important."
Daphne laughed. "Seriously, Weasley? You'd give yourself up for her?"
"Of course I would," Ron said. "And Potter could care less." He started a bluff, one he was hoping Harry would pick up on fast enough to make it believable.
"I know you're best mates," Daphne said. "Don't try to trick me."
"Take him," said Harry, lowering his wand. "He quit the Auror office. I couldn't care less what happens to him."
"Seriously?" asked Daphne, slightly surprised. "Then why are you even here?"
"National security," Harry replied, his voice matter-of-fact. "And Hermione. My wife is good friends with her. Give me Granger and you can have Weasley. You could even try ransoming him, he's got a big enough family."
Ron just about choked, since he couldn't imagine Harry seriously suggesting such a thing and his family actually complying. Shaking his head, he stepped toward her. She seemed to be considering it. "I'll do it. Just let her go."
Harry stepped forward as well. "Take him. Run. I'll give you a head start."
That stopped her, and she glared at them. Ron could see the change in her face, and knew they had lost the gamble. "You're taking the piss," she snapped. "Forget it. It's over. Granger is dead if you don't lift the Anti-Apparation jinx in ten seconds."
Harry blew out his breath. "Do it, Ron."
"Fine," Ron replied, giving a reluctant--and hopefully anguished-sounding--sigh. "Just don't hurt her."
"How sweet," Daphne sneered. "I'll try my best, but don't be surprised if she gets herself into a bit of Fiendfyre."
From the corner of his eye, Ron saw Harry's eyes widen, and he nodded almost imperceptibly. Once again, Ron understood. Harry had decided there was no longer another way out of it, if Daphne were making such threats. They'd have to take their chances.
Ron raised his wand to release the jinx he'd set. "I'm sorry, Hermione," he said, hoping he sounded appropriately remorseful and not as nervous as he felt. He also hoped she understood. "But I have to let you go."
"Get on with it!" Daphne shouted, and she pulled Hermione closer to her. Ron nodded and cast his spell…
…only he didn't release the Anti-Apparation jinx, he ended the Full-Bind Body curse. Hermione let herself go limp, leaving Daphne wide open. Before she could react, Harry hit her square in the face with a Stunning Spell, and she flew backward to land unconscious on the sand, limbs splayed awkwardly.
It was over.
Ron took three quick steps to Hermione, fell to the ground, and took her in his arms. She wrapped herself around him, her breathing quick and heavy, but she did not cry. It was one of the many things he loved about her: her incredible strength, even under tremendous pressure. She was amazing, and he told her so even as he took her face and kissed her.
She laughed a bit uncontrollably, as if all the tension of the last several hours were leaving her in a sudden rush. "So were you, Ron. I can't believe you got here so fast and set that Anti-Apparation Jinx." They stood, still holding onto one another. She turned to Harry and hugged him as well. "And you too, Harry. That shot--"
"--was perfect, mate," said Ron. "Thanks."
Harry smiled at them both. "Of course. You were brilliant, offering yourself up like that."
"I'm just glad you figured out what I was going for," Ron replied.
"Of course I did," Harry said with a laugh. "We were partners, remember?"
"We were good," Ron murmured, shaking his head at the memories. Hermione was staring at both of them.
"If you two are both finished reliving the past and patting yourself on the back, can we go now?" She gave them both a very Hermione-ish look. "I've had a really long day."
"Me too," said Ron, putting an arm around her. "Let's go."
"What about her?" asked Hermione, motioning at Daphne, still lying unconscious on the beach. "We can't leave her there, as much as we might want to."
"I'll get her," said Harry, rolling his eyes. "I know a bit more than Malfoy about keeping prisoners." He bound her hands and feet, then levitated her to a standing position, her head lolling awkwardly to her chest. Ron was suddenly reminded of Severus Snape during their third year, when they had floated him from the Shrieking Shack unconscious. He shook his head of another memory from the past.
"Should we Apparate back to the top?" he asked, glancing wearily up the face of the cliff. "I don't want to find a path and climb." Hermione sighed in agreement; she looked as tired as he felt.
Harry glanced at them both, then at Daphne Greengrass. Then he picked up a large shell, murmured a spell, and held it out to them. "Let's Portkey. I'll get clearance for it later."
Ron reached out for the Porkey, holding hands with Hermione. Harry held tight to Daphne Greengrass, and within moments they were whisked away from the beach, the long day finally over. He had come to Australia to find Hermione and ask for a second chance, not expecting to have to fight for her life.
But he had, and he had won. Perhaps there was hope for more after all.
* * *
The Journey Back by Gmariam
Chapter Endnotes: Many thanks to Lori/WeasleyMom for her support! The lines indicated by the * are hers, and she very graciously let me lift them from our consulting conversation. And to Julia/theopaleye, still willing to look this over even after so many months. Thank you!
I thought this would be it, but Daphne had other plans. One more chapter to wrap it up, and I have pledged to finish it by my birthday next month, if not sooner. Thank you for reading!