Unforgivable Ron
Chapter 1
Ron Weasley stood motionless with one arm out in front of him, his wand still pointed at where he’d cast his last spell. With his mouth open and his eyes wide, the only thought he was capable of at that moment was, ‘I used an unforgivable curse.” Over and over this refrain coursed through his head. Not only had he used an unforgivable curse but also it was the worst of the unforgivables. His brain remained on that thought, refusing to acknowledge any more than that.
It was a whimper from across the clearing that brought Ron back to his immediate surrounding and senses. Looking past the two bodies lying between them, Ron lowered his arm and again saw his sister.
Ginny was kneeling in the dewy evening grass while Neville Longbottom lat sprawled out next to her. She was cradling his head in her lap and caressing his cheek.
Forcing his legs to move, Ron took a few stumbling steps”the lingering effects of a strong impediment curse. When he’d regained his balance he broke into a run. Passing the bodies of the two Death Eaters who’d killed Neville and tried to kill Ginny, Ron refused to look down. He wasn’t ready for that just now. He needed to get to his sister.
“Ginny!” he cried when he reached her. “Ginny?” Ron reached out to touch her arm and she flinched. Still caressing Neville’s cheek she was whispering, “Neville. Wake up, Neville.”
Ron looked down at Neville and was silent. He’d known him for almost seven years; shared a dormitory with him at Hogwarts. Out of all the blokes Ginny could have finally gotten serious about Ron had thought Neville was the second best. Up until this past year Ron had still hoped Ginny and Harry, Ron’s best friend, would get together. After all, Ginny’d had a huge crush on Harry for well over three years. When she’d started dating Neville Ron hadn’t been too sure of the two of them together. But when their relationship had deepened into something truly special Ron had ceased objecting.
Now, Neville was dead; another casualty of the mind numbing war between good and evil they’d been living through the past few years.
There was a sound resembling an explosion somewhere off in the distance that was accompanied by a flash of gold light. The ground trembled slightly and dimly in the recesses of his mind, Ron thought of Harry. Tonight they were all in the midst of battles that would kill some and scar others but no one’s battle was more important to them all than the one Harry was embroiled in at the moment. The outcome of Harry’s battle would dictate the world those who survived would live in, one full of all that was good or one that would forever be filled with darkness.
The ground shook again and Ron pushed everything save his and Ginny’s immediate safety to the back of his mind.
“Ginny, come on, we have to get to safety.” Ron pulled on his sister’s arm and thought, ‘wherever that might be.’ This thought was briefly followed by the hope that Hermione, Ron’s other best friend and girlfriend, was somewhere safe.
As Ron tried to pull Ginny up from the ground and away from Neville his sister let loose with a cry. “NO!” She pulled away from Ron.
“Ginny, we’ve got to get away from here! There might be more Death Eaters around.”
She screamed again, “NO! I won’t leave him!”
When Ron tried one more time to pull Ginny away she simply started to shriek. Startled, Ron let go and she quieted as she resumed her vigil at the side of Neville’s quickly cooling body.
Deciding it would be better to remain here quietly than to have Ginny’s screams attract unwanted attention, Ron took up the task of guarding his sister and looking out for Death Eaters. It was through his fierce desire to protect Ginny from any and all harm that had enabled Ron to not only use that unforgivable curse once but it would also allow him to use it a second time if need be.
With the ground still trembling and the sky lighting up as though all of Fred and George’s Weasley’s Wildfire Whiz-Bangs were going off at once indicating the big battle was still going on, Ron settled in for a long night. All his senses were on alert for danger.
The only thing Ron refused to look directly at were the still bodies on the ground twenty feet away. Now was not the time to lose concentration. The time for remorse and reprimands would come later.