Title: War Within a Breath
Author: Muddgutts
Rating: R (sorry but the language is going to get harsh, and for other reasons too)
Ships: H/Hr
AN: I'm sorry this chapter took so long to write, but publishing is very busy this time of year, and I only have time to write at night these days. I'll try to get the next chapter out to you faster. For everyone that read and reviewed, "Thank you very much," and if you did review that's ok too. Special thanks goes out to all of you in the Lj circle, you've all helped me along with this in someway. Especially AnneU the best editor I could have asked for. *Hugs* I've added a little recap from where we left off in the last chapter. I sometimes like to go back and read the last page of the previous chapter to refresh my memory. I read so many of the great story here at Portkey it's hard to keep them all-straight. I hope it helps. ~ ~ ~ ~ Chapter 3
"Harry!" he heard her cry to him. He reached out and pulled her to him tightly waiting for the impact.
"Harry! Wake up!" he heard again through the black and he opened his eyes. Hermione was there in his arms, but they were not falling. He was still in his room, and Hermione looked terrified.
She pushed sweaty clumps of hair away from his forehead and looked deeply into his eyes. "It was just a dream, Harry. You're okay now." He breathed a sigh of relief and rested his head on her shoulder. He didn't speak for a few minutes as she stroked his wet hair back. "I heard you calling my name so I came to see what was happening and you were thrashing around in your bed calling to me."
"I'm sorry if I scared you, Hermione," he said lifting his head a little but not looking at her. "It was just a bad dream."
"What was it about?" she asked.
In truth he didn't know what to make of the dream so he just summarized what he thought it was about and said simply, "The war."
Hermione lifted his head up to look him in the eyes now. "What did you see? How will it end? Do you know?"
Harry wasn't ready to tell her about the prophecy or whatever it was that he saw about Ron. Looking into her scared eyes he said, "In fire."
Hermione looked confused but not scared. She shifted her legs on to the bed and sat cross-legged in front of him, "Okay, that doesn't tell me a lot. What kind of images or pictures did you see?"
Harry sighed and propped himself up against the headboard. "I don't remember. It was all so fast, just flashes and...stuff. I'm not sure really," he lied, spreading the sheets out. He wasn't even sure why he was lying to her. Maybe he thought it was all tied in to the prophecy, and to explain the dream he would have to tell her about that too. That wouldn't be a bad thing, he knew, but maybe he just wanted some time to figure out what he wanted first.
Toying with the string on her nightgown Hermione asked, "You don't remember? Or is it that you just don't want to tell me?"
Harry banged the back of his head softly against the head board a little bang in frustration. God! How is it that we always know what the other is thinking? He straightened up and looked her right in the eyes now. "Hermione, please just give me some time to think about this okay? I promise you that when I'm ready to talk about it that you will be the first person I come to. I swear, all right?"
Edging closer to him she clasped his hand in hers. "But Harry, what if it's Voldemort trying to trick you again?"
"I don't think he can do that anymore, " he said, shaking his head and giving her a little tug towards him. Hermione frowned a little at him.
"Well maybe he can I'm not sure, but Dumbledore said that he can't enter my body anymore," he continued. "Something about him not being able to stand the feeling or feelings I have. Something like that, I'm not sure really. I just can't think straight right now."
Hermione stood up and pulled the sheets over him a little. "You're just tired, Harry. Get some sleep and we can talk about this later okay?" He gave her a little nod and slid down into the bed again. She walked to the door and took the knob in her hand, but turned back to him again. "Are you sure your going to be okay, Harry?"
He propped himself up on his elbows and shook his head 'Yes,' but said, "No . . . don't go. Not yet-please." She let go of the doorknob and eyed him with curious expression.
"You're not scared, are you?"
Harry rolled to the right side of the bed. "No. I'm...I'm just-lonely. Does that sound weird? You know for a guy to say that?" She looked down to the floor and shook her head 'No' and walked over to the left side of the bed.
"Okay, here's the rules," she said removing her outer robes. "You stay on your side and I'll stay on my side. No monkey business, got me?" Hermione looked stern but playful as she shooed him over to his side of the bed.
Holding up his hands in defeat Harry laughed a little. "Right, no monkey business. Promise." She smiled and pulled the covers up to her neck, and he did the same. They both lay there in complete silence staring at the ceiling for a few minutes until Harry spoke softly to her.
"Hermione?"
"Hmm?"
"Thank you."
She rolled on to her side and faced him. "You're welcome Harry. Now get some sleep."
They both started to drift asleep and Harry rolled on to his side facing Hermione. There was a rather large gap between them and he didn't like it. He knew he'd probably regret it but he did it anyway -- slowly and as silently as possible his hand crept towards her across no man's land.
His fingers probed and searched for her slowly and when they made contact with her hand he jerked it back a little. Harry waited for a minute with his eyes closed for her to scream or to smack him. When he opened his eyes she was looking back at him in the darkness, but she didn't look mad or ready to hex him like he thought she might. Then he felt her hand slipping into his and she smiled. "Go to sleep."
Harry's heart sang, he was so happy. An overpowering desire to kiss her was starting to build up in him, but he held it in check and closed his eyes. He thought it was better to learn to walk before he learned to fly, and he drifted off to sleep holding Hermione's hand. During the night he woke at some unknown hour and found that she had claimed his arm as her new pillow. He didn't mind it at all and drifted back to sleep.
~*~
Riddle Mansion 11:51 pm
Lucius Malfoy stormed up the spiral staircase to the second floor landing, smashing each step with great force. Reaching the long hallway he made his way to the last door on the right and with a swift kick knocked it open.
"Bellatrix! What the hell do you think you're . . ." He stopped mid-sentence with his mouth hanging open.
The room was only dimly light by two candles on the nightstand table and a heavy scent of sandalwood hung in the air. Bellatrix lay naked on her bed raining kisses across the back of another naked woman with blond hair that Lucius didn't know. She stopped her advances and looked up at his with a sour expression on her face. "What?"
Malfoy gave a little cough and turned away from the women, facing the dresser. "Would you care to explain why Dolohov is downstairs alive and eating my roast pork dinner as we speak? You were told to kill him and dispose of the body. What happened?"
"Come back later," he heard Bellatrix tell the other woman as she got up off the bed. Without speaking the other woman walked over to the dresser, retrieved her robe and swung it around herself as she moved towards the door. Bellatrix stopped as the other woman paused at the door and exchanged a long slow kiss with her. When they pulled apart she looked over Bellatrix's shoulder at Malfoy and suppressed a small laugh then vanished through the doorway as it closed behind her.
Bellatrix slinked across the room to her nightstand and picked up a pack of cigarettes. She pulled one from the pack and lit it with the end of her wand. "What is it that you're on about now?"
"Why the hell is that man in this house? His body should be on the side of the road in a ditch right now!" Malfoy screamed, towering above her.
"I have my reasons," she said, exhaling a large cloud of smoke at Malfoy. He snarled at her and grabbed her arm, yanking her to her feet.
"You do, do you? Well I think we should go and see what the Master has to think about this."
Bellatrix didn't seem the least bit taken back by his threat and Lucius became more enraged and pulled her by the arm, dragging her down the hall. Other Death Eaters flattened against the wall as Bellatrix and Malfoy stormed past them. When they reached the door at the end of the hall Bellatrix snapped her arm out off Malfoy's grasp. A long, thick snake slid up to them from under the door and hissed, baring it fangs at them.
Malfoy stood his ground. "Nagini," he told the snake, "ask the Master if we may speak with him," but Nagini made no movement and continued to watch them. He sighed rolling his eyes and said, "Please."
Nagini returned to the room and a few minutes later the door opened with a squeak. The long snake coiled in front of the fireplace on the hearthrug watching them. Lucius entered and scanned the room for Lord Voldemort. He didn't see him, but there was another man in the corner of the room with his back to the door. Long greasy black hair curtained the man's face as he turned from his cauldron near the window. With a long ladle he continued to stir the potion as he watched Lucius and Bellatrix enter. Serverus Snape did not speak to them; he only pointed to the bathroom with a long finger. Nodding to him graciously, Lucius walked to the door of the bathroom and rapped on the door once with his knuckles.
A cold slow voice carried from within. "Ah, Lucius, enter, and Bellatrix, you as well, my dear. We have-matters to discuss."
Malfoy gave Bellatrix a little smirk and pushed the door open to enter, but she stepped in front of him and entered first. They both stood in silence as they watched a long bony hand pull the bathtub curtain back slowly from inside. A sky blue mist washed over the edge of the tub drifting to the floor in little waves, and Voldemort's voice could be heard from inside while only his hand could be seen
"Why have you disturbed my healing Lucius?"
Malfoy stammered for a moment and collected himself standing taller again. "My lord, Bellatrix has not been following my orders, and Dolohov is still alive."
Voldemort's hand twirled and the door behind them closed and locked. The hand moved in slow lazy gestures as the fingers curled, calling Bellatrix to him. A small smile grew in the corner of her mouth and she kneeled down in front of the tub. Raising her face to speak to her, he silenced her running one finger down her cheek to her collar bone.
"Do you think me a fool, Malfoy?"
"No, Master, of course not. I just thought that the . . ."
Voldemort's hand slapped the side of the tub hard. "It is not your place to think, Lucius! You will do as you are told! Am I perfectly clear?" His voice trailed in a low hiss and Bellatrix closed her eyes in pleasure hearing the sound.
"Yes Master. I live to serve you. What are your orders?" Lucius said, not raising his head, but watching Bellatrix from under his long blond hair. He now had a feeling why he was falling out of favor with the Dark Lord, and she was his new shining star. He hated her.
He watched as Voldemort's long fingers reached down pulling the cigarette from Bellatrix's fingers and returning to the inside of the tub. A large cloud of bluish smoke trailed out from the tub and Voldemort spoke in a low voice.
"I want you and Dolohov to go back and find that giant. Collect him and wait for Bellatrix to owl you. She will tell you what you need to know next. This is her plan as I am," his hand gestured to the tub, "indisposed at the moment."
Malfoy was concerned about how long he would be subjected to Bellatrix's orders. "Did the Potions Master say how long you will have to remain in the healing waters?" he asked.
"Another two and a half weeks on and off. Something about that boy, it damaged me more then I thought. One of Dumbledore's tricks no doubt, but his luck won't last forever. Will it, my dear?" Voldemort finished, stroking Bellatrix's hair.
She smiled and glanced at Lucius out of the corner of her eye, "He can't win all of the time." Lucius Malfoy bowed and left the room, silently screaming inside.
~*~
The sound of someone walking down the hallway outside his door stirred Harry from his sleep. When he woke Hermione was curled up in a fetal position around his arm. A gentle summer breeze blew through the open window causing the curtains to swing forwards and then slowly drift back down and out the window again. The room was warm from the morning sun's glow. Harry took a few minutes to watch Hermione sleep before waking her. She had a firm hold on his arm with her cheek resting on his forearm. Her skin was so soft to the touch as he stroked her shoulder lightly. Hermione's gentle breathing tickled the hairs on his arm, and he sighed softly. Harry lowered himself above her ear and whispered, "Hermione, wake up. Hermione?"
Her leg gave a little involuntarily jerk and her eyes sprung open. "Harry!"
He lightly pressed his finger to her lips to silence her. "Shh, It's okay, Hermione, everything's fine," he said as he continued to run his fingers through her hair.
She sat upright looking around the room. "What time is it?"
He gave a small shrug. "I don't know maybe seven, seven thirty," he guessed. Hermione jumped out of the bed and started searching for her discarded bathrobe. Harry watched her feeling a little disappointed.
"What's the matter?" He threw the covers back and got to his feet following her to the door. "Hermione, wait. Did I do something wrong?"
Hermione cracked the door open just a little bit and peaked into the hallway. No one was in sight so she turned back to him. "No Harry, it's not you. I . . . well I need to get in the shower before Ron does. You know how long he takes and I would like to have some hot water for once."
Feeling much better Harry leaned against the wall and nervously took her hand. "Thanks, Hermione."
"For what?"
"Well for last night. That was the best night's sleep I've had all summer," he said looking up at her shyly.
She rubbed the back of his hand with her thumb and smiled at him. "That's what friends do for each other, Harry." She could feel his hands shaking nervously and when she looked deeper into his eyes they twinkled liked a hundred Christmas trees.
Harry took one step forward into her personal space and averted his eyes to the floor. "And what if one friend wanted to-kiss-the other friend? Is that something friends do for each other?" His other hand now reached across to her hand on the doorknob.
Moving a little closer Hermione couldn't look away from his hopeful gaze. Her voice was soft, almost a whisper. "It would depend if it was a kiss because they had just slept in the same bed" - Harry shook his head 'No' inching closer - "or because the one friend had deeper feelings for the other friend and wanted to express those feelings," she swallowed deeply, "by kissing the other." Harry nodded 'Yes' as his head dipped down towards her slowly. Hermione's head tilted to the side as his lips hovered above hers for the longest second of her life.
Closing his eyes Harry kissed Hermione lightly at first and didn't hit the mark fully. He ended up kissing mostly her bottom lip and some of her chin, but played it off well by placing a few smaller kisses on the corner of her mouth. Trailing his way to her moist lips he wrapped his arms around her waist pulling her close, and finally locked his lips with hers. They kissed slowly exploring the new experience together.
The sounds of someone moving in the kitchen down the hall caused them to stop kissing. Hermione sucked her lips inward savoring the aftertaste of his lips. She watched him as he slowly opened his eyes to her and sighed, cradling her in his arms.
"Hermione?"
"Harry?" she said, biting the corner of her bottom lip.
Placing another kiss on her lips he said softly against her skin, "I really like you, a lot."
Hermione smiled as he pressed his forehead against hers. "Yeah?"
Harry gave her a little squeeze with his arms and nodded, 'Yeah.' She kissed his cheek and said into his ear, "I like you too Harry." The sound of water running from the bathroom echoed through the open door and Hermione's head dropped to Harry's chest with a little groan of disappointment, "Oh, there goes my shower." She gave him a playful push out of the way. "See what you did, Harry?"
He smiled and gave her a little kiss on the cheek as she retreated out the door. From the hall she walked backwards for a second waving good-bye, then disappeared from view.
An hour later everyone was standing around in the small kitchen having breakfast as they got ready to leave. Today was moving day and everyone was packed and waiting for Tonks and Lupin to move then to another safe house someplace. Harry and Hermione stood in the corner drinking their tea and talking about next year's Potions class. Ron jammed a piece of toast in his mouth staring at them. He wouldn't be taking Potions next year. He hadn't gotten the minimum score required to enroll, but somehow Harry had managed to get an OWL so he would be continuing on the road to being an Auror without him.
Lupin walked into the kitchen slowly with his head down and shoulders slumped. He was pale and looked exhausted. No doubt the full moon was on the rise and he would be leaving them all soon for his own safe house. He pulled a cup from the cabinet and poured himself some tea. "Does everyone have everything? Because after we leave we're not coming back." Everyone was tired and slow to respond but they all answered yes.
Laying her copy of the Daily Prophet on the table Luna turned to Remus and asked, "Where are we going this week, sir?" Everyone looked to Lupin waiting to see if he would really tell them where they where going. Normally they never had that luxury, and only found out when they arrived at the new place.
Lupin rubbed his aching temples and answered, "We're going to Grimmauld Place for one night then I don't know where we're off too."
"Grimmauld Place?" Hermione nearly shouted. "Is the house still open? I thought it would, you know, lock itself after, . . ." She shifted nervously in place as Harry dropped his cup to the counter with a loud thud and made for the door not looking up. Hermione opened her mouth to speak, but didn't know what to say.
As Harry reached the door Tonks walked through and blocked his way. "Ahh good everyone's here," she said. "So we can be off in a few after I get my gear on." She was holding her robes in her hands and had her backpack over her shoulder. Tonks gave Harry a little push back into the kitchen and handed her bag to him. "Gave me a hand, will you, Harry. I'm going out on patrol tonight and have to leave as soon as we drop you off." Harry followed her in silence as she walked over to the table and dropped her robe on to the empty seat next to Neville.
Everyone watched Tonks as she pulled various items from her bag laying them on the table and started dropping things into her pockets or hooking then to her belt. There was a pair of muggle handcuffs, a coiled piece of metal wire with two rings on the end, and a large selection of small vials in many sizes.
Neville examined a glass flask with glowing red liquid inside it. "What's this stuff do?" Hermione and Ginny craned their heads over Ron's shoulders trying to get a better look at what Neville was talking about.
Tonks reached out and picked the flask up from the table. "This? Oh, it's a Sleep toxin. A few drops of this in any drink and it'll drop an adult troll in a heartbeat. Great stuff, but I never had to use it yet." She placed it in a little pouch on her belt, and emptied the rest of her stuff on the table. A small gray gun in a leather holster and a wide hunting knife caught Harry and Ron's attention.
Ron picked up the knife, turning it around in the air, examining it. "Wow, why do you carry this stuff for?" Harry didn't pick up the gun, but he did lean closer to the table to get a better look at it.
Luna looked confused and asked, "Why do you have muggle weapons? You're a witch. You don't need those."
"A good Auror is ready for anything. You would be surprised how many times I've had to use this," Tonks said. She picked up the gun and slid it into her belt behind her back, and then took the knife from Ron and stuck it inside her boot. She collected her cloak and bag and looked at all of the teens watching her. "Remember this, it's better to be safe than sorry. Besides, what would you fall back on if your wand broke or you were disarmed?"
All of them watched Tonks as she went over to talk to Lupin, and Hermione let out a little cough to get Harry's attention. His eyes snapped over to Hermione and she just frowned and mouthed, "I'm sorry." He shook his head a little and smiled at her. Lupin turned to the group and pulled a long brown tie out of his coat. "The Portkey is ready so grab hold. We're leaving in," he looked down at his watch, "one minute." Everyone placed a finger onto the old tie and waited. Harry looked at Hermione and smiled. The moment wasn't lost on Ron, who eyed them both quickly.
With the familiar tug in his stomach the kitchen disappeared and the backyard of Grimmauld Place appeared. Harry remained standing afterwards and found himself looking at the one place he had been dreading the whole summer. He didn't want to come back here. He felt he just wasn't ready to deal with this yet. The cries of a raven in the tree above them echoed off the house and caught everyone's attention. It sat on a branch flapping its wings and screeching down at them.
Ron reached into the dirt and dug out a rock and looked back up at the bird. "Go on! Get out of it already!" Drawing all the strength he had, he whipped the rock right at the raven. The rock bounced off the branches and didn't hit the bird, which took off and flew away just the same. Hermione shook her head in disbelief. Lupin led them to the back door and entered the house. Everyone filed inside and locked the door behind them.
Once inside a silence filled the room and no one talked as Harry led the way into the kitchen. There was no one there. Empty Butterbeer bottles stacked in neat little piles by the sink reflected an odd brown light across the room.
Harry broke the silence and turned to Lupin. "Who's going to be with us tonight?"
"Moody will be here in a little while, and me, but I won't be too much good though. The moon will be full and I'll be indisposed," Lupin said taking a seat at the table. Everyone started to move through the house and up to the same rooms they stayed in last summer. The portraits of Mrs. Black and Kreecher the house elf were missing from the house now, but no one seemed to know why. Other than that it was just as they had left it last summer - still dark and musty, and every inch of it reminded Harry of Sirius.
Not long after they settled in Tonks left for work and Moody arrived to fill in. He was his normal cheerful self as he reprimanded the teens throughout dinner about "Constant vigilance!" and tore into Neville and Luna for not carrying their wands at all times. After a quick bite to eat Lupin disappeared upstairs to the top floor of Grimmauld Place and sealed himself inside. No one had seen or heard from Snape in over a week so Lupin didn't have his potion to ease the transformation this cycle.
As the clock struck six in the boys' room everyone was going about their own business. Ginny, Luna, and Neville were sitting on his bed talking about all of the things they wanted to buy when they went to Diagon Alley the next week. Hermione was quietly working on her Muggle Studies paper, and Ron was lying on his bed just staring up at the ceiling. Harry, on the other hand, was a different story. He wandered around the house not speaking to anyone. Taking only a few bits of his dinner he excused himself and retreated upstairs to Buckbeak's room. When he opened the door Buckbeak jumped to his feet and bounced around a bit flapping his wings, very happy to see anyone at this point after spending most of his time alone all summer long. The only times he did have any contact with anyone was every two days when someone from the Order came to clean up after him and drop off his food.
Harry gave Buckbeak a little bow, which the hippogriff returned. "Hello Buckbeak, how have you been?" Harry asked, petting the feathers on his head. Buckbeak looked up at Harry with very sad eyes. There was really no need for Harry to answer. He knew Buckbeak missed Sirius just as much as he did. So he sat with the hippogriff on the bed in the room for about an hour before leaving. It was just too much - the entire house, Buckbeak - and no matter how much he tried he couldn't think of anything else but how unfair life was.
Harry couldn't keep it together anymore as waves of guilt washed over him with every passing moment, so he wandered back downstairs. Finally he ended up in the boys' room with everyone else, but didn't talk to them. He just sat on his bed tying and untying his shoes over and over.
Hermione watched him for a while. When she couldn't stand it anymore she set her books aside and went over to his bed. "May I sit down?"
"Sure," he answered without looking up.
She sat down next to him and placed a hand over his as he untied his shoe once more. They didn't speak or make eye contact, but he did take hold of her hand for a moment before letting it go and flopping back on the bed. Hermione knew what was troubling him, but how to approach it was the problem. They had avoided the topic of Sirius's death all summer long, and being at Grimmauld Place wasn't helping matters any. Harry was retreating inward with every passing moment. When the summer started he was the same way, but after the Death Eaters started showing up around their neighborhoods Harry seemed to forget for a while. Hermione leaned over him with a hand on his thigh and asked, "Hey, I was thinking now may be a good time to finish off that essay for Potions. I'll help you with the research, okay?"
He put on his best smile, but it was forced and she knew it. "I'm not really up to it right now, okay? How about we tackle it in the morning after breakfast?" he said then returned to staring at the wall. Hermione knew he wouldn't want to do homework right now, but she had to try anyway. What she needed was Ron; she had to get him to help her. She gave Harry a little pat on the leg and walked over to Ron's bed. He had pulled out his chessboard and had just started cleaning the pieces with an old sock.
"Ron, I need your help," she said taking a seat on the edge of the bed.
He didn't look up at her but his shoulders slumped and he stopped cleaning the pawn in his hand. "What's the matter with Harry now?"
Hermione rolled her eyes at his thickness. "What's wrong with him? Are you even on the same planet as us? Look at him." Ron sighed and watched Harry as he curled up into the corner of his bed facing the wall. "You have to help me get him out of this funk. Go over there and talk to him or play chess with him. We have to help him take his mind off Sirius," she said, now pleading with Ron.
He looked up into her eyes now and they looked so desperate that he couldn't say no. So he grabbed his board and went over to Harry's bed.
"Hey Harry, you're not going to bed yet are you?" Harry rolled over and looked up at him. Ron sat down cross-legged on the bed and set the chessboard between them. "Come on, it's time to get your arse kicked again."
So Harry sat up and unenthusiastically started setting up his pieces. "Yeah I guess it is." They sat in total silence playing for about ten minutes. Harry wasn't even trying really. He was just pushing pieces around the board and Ron would take them after every move.
Occasionally during the match Ron would sneak a glance at Hermione and find her staring at Harry. It started to make him mad after the second game when Hermione hadn't taken her eyes off of the back of Harry's head. There was this look in her eyes. Something had changed between her and Harry. Then it hit him, the shower! When he went to the shower this morning Hermione's books were still on the table. She never leaves her books out over night, and the door to Harry's room was open too. His mouth fell open at the realization, 'Oh no! She slept with him last night!'
He slammed his knight on the board with a little bit more force than was necessary when taking Harry's queenside castle. The little knight smashed the castle with a broad stroke of his sword, and castle shattered into large chunks off to the side.
Hermione made a little mouth motion with her hand and mouthed, "Talk-to-him."
Ron looked back and forth between them for a minute then settled on Harry. His jaw tightened and his voice dripped with malice as he said, "So, Harry."
Harry didn't take his eyes away from the board. "Yeah?"
Ron toyed with the broken pieces of the castle as he asked quickly, "Tell me . . . how was it?"
"How was what?" Harry said as he moved his bishop and placed it down. He looked up at Ron and his face was burning the colors of fire to match the intense hate in his eyes. Ron didn't answer as he chewed his lower lip, but his eyes did flash between Harry and Hermione who had stopped reading and was staring at Ron now. The knight in Harry's hand started to squeal as he squeezed it tightly. "I said, how was WHAT, Ron."
Crossing his arm and leaning back against the wall Ron quipped at Harry, "Well I guess it wasn't that good. Glad I didn't miss anything, now did I?" He sat there grimacing at them both.
Hermione got to her feet right away and yelled at him, "Why, you slimy little bastard! How DARE you say that . . ." She charged at him with her arm cocked ready to slap him, but she never got the chance because Harry beat her to the punch, literally.
That was it. This was the last draw for Harry. He didn't know what happened inside of him, but something snapped when he heard those words come out of Ron's mouth. He knew what Ron was really asking and he couldn't believe he had just said it. Before his mind registered what was happening he had flung himself over the chessboard and smashed Ron across his jaw with a right hook. The knight he was holding shattered into little pieces upon impact, and he and Ron clawed desperately at each other's throat as they rolled off the bed onto the floor. Harry landed on top and wailed away at Ron's chest with three quick punches.
Ron cursed at him and managed to kick Harry back off of him with his long legs. Harry sailed backwards and crashed into the nightstand sending books and a cold cup of tea crashing to the floor. Ginny and Luna screamed and ran over to Hermione grabbing hold of her arms to stop her from jumping in to the fight too.
"Stop it you two! What the hell is going on? Hermione, why are they fighting?" Ginny screamed at the three of them.
Getting back up to his feet Harry raised his fists and steadied himself as Ron rained blow after blow into his chest and arms, "Is that all you got, Harry? Come on HERO, even Ginny hits harder then you!" Ron screamed between hits. His last punch landed right on the left side of Harry's jaw sending his staggering for a second.
Harry gathered himself after the last hit rubbing his jaw and shot Ron a smile with blood trickling out of the corners of his mouth. "I hope that's not the best you can do either. That's pathetic really."
"Oh don't worry there's a lot more where that came from. I grew up with five brothers, remember. I'll kick your arse!"
With the lighting quickness he reserved for catching the snitch Harry punched Ron right in his gut, dropping him to his knees. He towered above him and growled at him, "You may have had five brothers, but I had the one thing you didn't," he paused to spit a wad of blood on the floor, "I had DUDLEY!"
Hermione yanked her arm free from Neville's grip and drew her wand and pointed it at both of them. "Stop it right this instant! Or I'll curse both of you!" They paused and looked over at her. "Now what the HELL are your playing at, Ron?"
He stood slowly and when he reached his full height he said through clenched teeth, "This is about YOU and Mister Wonderful here - screwing around behind my back!"
~ ~ ~ ~
I'm very sorry to leave you with this evil cliffhanger, but honestly it's the only way. I want the next chapter to contain almost all of the fight. So I have to stop now. Please review now, and tell me what you think about how this is moving along. Thanks for reading.
Muddgutts