Magic

Ron hated running into danger headfirst. They had just gotten out of a war and now they were rushing to stop another one. Hermione was concentrating on running, and Harry’s face was set with grim determination that Ron recognized all too well. The three of them were used to this, sure, but that didn’t mean that they liked it. In fact, Merlin, he hated this.

“Up there!” Harry pointed to the corridor ahead. Where once the light around them had been dimming, now Ron saw that another light source - and heat source - was glowing ahead of them. Outlined by the bomb’s glow, Rowle’s silhouette was standing still, facing the oncoming trio.

“Harry Potter,” he sneered. “And his loyal sidekicks Ron and Hermione. The one’s who destroyed all that was pure in the world to protect disgusting, filthy little Mudbloods.”

None of them even bothered to reply. They hit Rowle with three different curses simultaneously. He fought them off, but Ron sent jinx after jinx in his direction, alternating with Hermione as Harry sent random spells his way in no particular pattern. He was beginning to tire, Ron could see, until -

“Who’s there?” Ron didn’t stop cursing, but he heard footsteps running behind them.

“It’s us!” the panting voice of Artemis. Ron almost relaxed. At that very moment, Rowle lunged out, hitting him with magic squarely in the chest. Ron could feel that this wasn’t wizarding magic, this was fairy magic, and it was crackling over his skin. He was bound in place. Hermione screamed his name but narrowly avoided being hit with another spell. Holly cast up some sort of protective barrier, but Rowle destroyed it with two blasts.

“You think you can stand against me, scum?” Rowle cackled. “You remind of another, lower than dirt, who thought he could beat me,” he cast a nasty eye on Harry, and Ron knew what was coming. Holly edged closer towards Harry, putting a hand on his shoulder “Remus Lupin, the fucking pathetic dog and his bitch, Tonks. I killed them where they stood.”

Harry howled. Magic burst from Harry, but it wasn’t coming from his wand. It wasn’t even Harry’s magic. Ron’s eyes widened. Holly’s magic was flowing through Harry. And it was wounding Rowle. It weakened the Death Eater enough that Ron was freed from his magical bonds, and he fought towards the two of them. He laid a hand on Harry’s shoulder and magic burst from every pore. He didn’t know whose magic it was, what it was, but they were sharing their magic, the combined three powers beating Rowle down. Ron vaguely felt a hand on his shoulder - Hermione? Artemis? and there was more magic, and then more and Ron was almost full to bursting and Rowle didn’t stand a chance.

Ron was filling up, every ounce of him was magic. He didn’t have room for organs, for blood, for bones, he was purely magic, a ball of power, fluidly moving through his friends. There was no him, there was no them, there was only one being, pure magic.

Then it was too much. There wasn’t enough Ron for the magic. There wasn’t enough, it was too much, it was not enough, he was going to die.

Ron awoke in a hospital. It seemed like a Muggle hospital. 

“Hey, Mud Wizard?” the centaur chuckled. “You up?”

“Is everyone okay? What happened?” Ron sat bolt upright. “Where are they?”

“Calm down,” the centaur held up his hands. “Your friends are fine. My friends are fine. The city is fine. Thorfinn Rowle is not fine. Hi, I’m Foaly, the technical consultant of the LEP.”

“Ron Weasley,” Ron answered shakily, though he knew Foaly already knew who he was. “Where is everyone?”

“Right over there,” Foaly nodded his head towards the beds beside Ron. He hadn’t noticed, but a dark head full of hair was barely visible over a few covers. The hair was unmistakable - it was Harry’s.  Hermione came running into the room a second later, her bushy hair flying behind her. Ron’s heart lifted to see her.

“You’re awake!” she kissed his cheek. “I woke up first, then Artemis, now you. I think whoever touched Harry the longest will be asleep for the longest, since they used up the most power.”

“So, Holly and Harry,” Ron noticed Artemis, lounging in a chair by the other occupied bed in the room. He couldn’t spy Holly’s small frame but he knew she was there. “So this is the elf Hospital, huh?”

“It’s a sophisticated clinic,” Foaly corrected. “We made a few adjustments for your human size and it practically works the same way. You all weren’t injured, just exhausted. You just needed time.”

“Somehow we combined our magic through sheer will, and a common goal,” Hermione explained, finally acting upon Ron’s desire to know what happened. “Our magic combined was enough to defeat Rowle’s own combination of fairy and wizarding magic. Our power could have set off the bomb, but luckily Butler reached the LEP in time for them to figure out a way for them to remotely disable it.”

“Why would you have a giant bomb in your city?” Ron demanded, turning to Foaly.

“Mud People aren’t known for a history of peacemaking, especially with other species,” Foaly sighed. “It may seem drastic to you, but we must keep our existence a secret, except from a select few. Which brings me to this: You all will have to be mind-wiped.”

Artemis appeared to have heard that and stood up. “Foaly, I truly believe these people can be trusted.”

“It’s only through repeated exposure to us and the knowledge that you’ve saved us many times that we’ve allowed you to remember us, Fowl,” Foaly crossed his arms. “We only need one human consultant. Besides, it’s not up to me.”

“It’s up to the Council,” Butler had entered the room. “Who, luckily, have changed their minds.”

“What did you do?” Holly had awoken and the first words she spoke were directed at Artemis. She was glaring at him. He gave her a vampire-like smile.

“I pulled a few strings,” then, to Ron and Hermione. “You’re welcome.”

“Why?” Hermione asked softly. 

“We might need you in the future,” Artemis shrugged, then scratched the back of his neck. “And, besides, after that experience I did not want your heroics forgotten.”

Ron knew what he meant. He felt connected to Holly and Artemis in a way that should take years of building a relationship. Somehow, sharing their magic had bared a part of their souls together, and he couldn’t forget it, even if he tried.

“Thanks, mate,” he said with half a grin.

“What?” Harry was groggily groping around for his glasses, which Hermione supplied him with. “We all survived, then?”

“Yeah,” Ron let out a partially hysterical laugh. “Yeah, we did.”

“You’re saying that Rowle burned himself alive?” Shacklebolt raised a single eyebrow. “After having successfully evaded all of our Aurors, he simply killed himself?”

“Well, he didn’t successfully evade all your Aurors,” Ron said cheerfully. “Not us.”

Shacklebolt covered his face with a hand for half a second, before eyeing the three of them again. Then, abruptly, he smiled and waved his hand.

“I don’t care how you did it,” he announced. “You three have a way of doing the impossible. Alright. I have your next assignment here if you’re ready.”

“Actually,” Ron folded his arms. “We’d like a little bit of leave.”

Shacklebolt froze, “Leave?”

“The situation is under control,” Hermione put in hurriedly. “We wouldn’t go otherwise. And it will only be for a few w-”

“It’s absolutely fine,” he shook his head. “I’m just surprised. This is the first time since the end of the war that you’ve requested leave. Take all the time you need. I’ll let the other Order members know not to disturb you.”

As they left, Ron watched his two friends. He had been the one to suggest the time off and it had taken a lot of convincing, but he knew it was for the best. They finally had someone to watch their backs - a whole civilization they could call on - and it was time to face the horrors. They couldn’t keep running forever. If the past caught up with them before they faced it, they’d end up just like Rowle.

“What do you guys want to do?” Harry asked slowly, as though it was impossible to contemplate a life outside of fighting. Ron supposed it was. “Where should we go?”

“There’s only one place to go,” Ron said. “If we’re going to heal, we should do it properly.”

“Hogwarts, then?” Hermione said, taking a handful of Floo powder out of the pot beside the Ministry fireplace. Ron and Harry looked at each other, then nodded.

“Hogwarts.”