Chapter 24: Flying Colors

Harry had kept his promise.

Things had been awfully close the last few days, with Ron feeling as if he�d spent each waking minute dodging bullets--or in this case, dodging those surreptitious glances from young Hermione, who seemed to be watching him with an even sharper eye than she had before. Although Ron could at least be thankful they weren�t looks of outright hostility; he could sense that much. Indeed, she seemed downright torn between believing her mounting suspicions about her professor and giving him every chance to prove her wrong.

Twice, after a lesson, Ron had caught her approaching his desk, only to falter at the last minute and run out with his younger self and Harry in tow. She had probably wanted to interrogate him--it would be just like her--to solve him like one of those intricate problems in Arithmancy that she always seemed to unravel with the greatest of ease. But true to his word, Harry had made every effort to distract her and young Ron, steering any and all conversations away from their Defense against the Dark Arts professor and onto other, relatively more mundane things, such as the upcoming Hallowe�en feast.

Fortunately, distracting the pair had turned out to be fairly easy for Harry; young Ron and Hermione had far more pressing matters with which to concern themselves, after all. Despite whatever suspicions Hermione obviously harbored towards him, she and his younger self had kept up with the Fidelius charm lessons nevertheless, meeting up with him after school every day, walking through the basics so many times over that they were more than anxious to move onto the next step now; Ron had promised to take them the whole way through if he felt they had made enough progress and were truly ready for the final stages of the charm.

The problem was, he wondered if they really could ever get that far. The Fidelius charm was ridiculously advanced--a spell so difficult and complicated that only a few wizards had ever even heard of it, much less attempted it. Hell, even Sirius had told him it had taken him months to master it, and even longer for that bastard Peter make a decent enough job of it to give the Potters some semblance of protection, even for a little while.

His younger self had shown some hints of great promise at least, having perfected each of the fundamentals thus far, and even young Hermione seemed to have conceded somewhat, having shifted her focus of late from trying to master the basics herself to helping young Ron walk through his paces (there simply wasn�t enough time to split hairs over who got to be the Secret-keeper in the end, when every second mattered). Still, Ron couldn�t help but feel wary about the whole idea in the first place. The charm was tricky enough for a fully-qualified wizard; for a fifteen year old who was still several months away from taking his O.W.Ls, it seemed downright ludicrous to even attempt this.

He would have gladly volunteered to do the charm himself in his younger self�s place--and he�d come close to doing so several times, too--if it weren�t for the fact that his concentration, which was absolutely vital to performing the spell well, had been completely shot lately, decaying at an alarming rate by the second as his thoughts continued to splinter further and further into indistinguishable fragments.

There were memories that battled endlessly in his mind, so many of them that he�d stopped keeping track of them, twisting and switching around on him each time he called them forth--so much so that it made his head ache from the effort of just trying to get through the day. Now he knew why time-turners were considered so dangerous; one could go mad so very easily from it all.

Azkaban mad.

And despite it all, he had somehow managed to keep at least one thought perfectly clear and in focus all this time. He had to keep holding onto it, because Harry�s life--not to mention his own--depended on it.

There were people chasing him through time, and he knew exactly who they were.

The echo of footsteps on a stone floor jarred him out of his thoughts, and he was about to whirl around to see who had walked into the empty classroom, when he realized they were his own footsteps; he had been pacing back and forth without realizing it. Hermione�s hand curved around his shoulder, and he turned to face her, flinching at the look of concern on her face.

�You can�t keep doing this,� she said, giving his tense muscles a slight squeeze.

�What, walking?�

She didn�t laugh, but then again, he supposed he hadn�t expected her to.

�It�s not funny,� she said. �You know perfectly well what I�m talking about, Ron. Do you think this is healthy, what you�re doing? Not sleeping, not eating--jumping at every shadow, every sound?�

He shook his head. �Sorry love, but I think I�ve got more urgent things to attend to than my health.�

�Right. Of course.�

She might as well have clucked her tongue in annoyance just now; her tone certainly accomplished the same purpose. She was using that familiar tone of hers, the one she called upon when she knew she was right about something, even though he didn�t want to hear it right at that moment.

�You always do.�

�I appreciate the concern,� he said, �I do. But it�s not as if I can exactly afford to let up here, can I?�

The statement seemed to hit a direct nerve.

�Fine,� she said, �you may not care about taking care of yourself, Ron Weasley, but I do! I had to watch Harry deteriorate, and I�ll be damned if I�m going to let you run yourself into the ground too!�

He blinked back at her in shocked silence. It wasn�t often that Hermione swore; in fact, he could probably count the number of times she had since he�d known her. He knew that in those rare moments she did, he had to sit up and take notice.

She only meant well, he knew that. And he had to admit, he would be saying the same exact things to her were their roles reversed at that moment. The last thing he wanted right now was to row with her, especially when he needed her more than ever.

Slowly, he reached out to her to pull her into his arms, and she slid her arms around him, squeezing him tightly.

�Look, I-�

A soft rasping came at the door, making Ron stop at once. Hermione was just readying to throw on the invisibility cloak, when he heard Harry�s voice filter through.

�It�s me...�

Ron strode over and opened the door a crack.

�It�s all right,� Harry said, �I�m alone. They�re coming in a bit.�

He slipped inside, giving the halls one last once-over glance before he shut the door behind him. Ron saw that he was still dressed in his Quidditch uniform, his out-of-control hair plastered to his forehead with sweat.

Ron threw him a questioning look, which Harry must have seen straight away, because he nodded.

�I know, I know,� he said, setting his Firebolt on the nearby desk. �Angelina wouldn�t let us leave--she�s all wound up about the Hufflepuff match next week. I didn�t even have time to get a quick shower.�

Hermione nervously approached them. �They�re still coming, aren�t they?� she said. �They haven�t... I mean, they�re not... They haven�t said anything to anyone about Ron, have they?�

�No,� Harry said. �I�ve been able to keep them distracted. It hasn�t been easy, mind you--you know how hard it is to get your mind off-track when you�ve decided to pursue it head on--but so far so good. Don�t worry, they�re still coming. They�re just...�

He seemed to be fighting the urge to laugh, and suddenly, Hermione must have put it all together at the same time that Ron did, because she blushed noticeably and looked up at Ron. He couldn�t resist teasing her with a mischievous grin, though he knew better than to do so.

�Right,� she muttered. �Well, er... I reckon they�ll be coming along soon, then.�

�Mmm,� Ron said. �Yeah. Soon.�

�Listen, I�m glad we�ve got a few moments alone,� Harry said. �I�ve been dying to talk to both of you for the last few days, but I never seemed to get a chance...�

�What�s up?�

Harry arched an eyebrow, as if to express disbelief at the question. �What else? Have you found out anything about those two Death Eaters? Were you able to confirm who they were?�

Ron nodded grimly.

�With my memories being all jumbled, I reckoned the best thing to do would be to try and sort it all out with Dumbledore,� he said. �He remembers all the names. Every single one of them. Not to mention the stories behind all of them.�

He saw Harry take a deep breath before he sank down on a chair.

�I was right about it being Clive Avery. I knew that was his name--especially when you mentioned he might have had a sister.�

�Was she a well-known Death Eater too?� Harry said.

�Not widely-known, no,� Ron said. �But what little information there was on her was quite interesting. I�d never forgotten it.�

�What was it? What did you know about her?�

Ron threw a quick glance at the door, hoping his and Hermione�s younger selves wouldn�t burst in at that moment, then grabbed a chair and sat, keeping the door in his periphery just in case.

�Her name was Leticia,� Ron began. �Dumbledore remembered her well. She was awfully young--17, 18 when she joined the Death Eaters. Clive was five years older and she joined because of him. After Voldemort went into hiding, everyone scattered around, of course. Clive was never captured, but the story I had always heard about Leticia was that she had married some man named Hugh Marks, who had no idea she�d ever been a part of Voldemort�s circle. Apparently he found out some time later, though, and disowned her. She supposedly killed herself not long after.�

Harry sat in silence, taking it all in. He was completely still, eyes fixed on the deep grooves on the desk in front of him. After a while, Ron wondered whether he should say something, but he looked up and saw Hermione shake her head and mouth, just give him some time.

�Well,� Harry said after some time, his voice completely flat, �looks like she didn�t kill herself after all, did she?�

�No, I guess not,� Ron said. �But what I still can�t figure out is how they ever got hold of that time-turner. The Improper Use of Magic had confiscated all records of anyone who had ever bought those illegal time-turners, and they followed up with each and every one of those people. The Averys can�t have got hold of that time-turner before the one went missing after the raid--and that evidence would have been under heavy guard.�

He shook his head.

�It just doesn�t make sense...�

When he looked up, he caught sight of Hermione�s face. She�d been quiet all this time, leaning back against the wall, letting Ron be the one to relay all the information to Harry, but he knew that look well; her mind was always ten steps ahead of theirs.

�What, love?� he said. �What are you thinking?�

�Something I don�t really want to be thinking,� she said quietly.

Harry turned around to look at her as well, and she saw him, then looked to Ron, as if debating whether or not to continue her train of thought.

�It�s just... strange, isn�t it?� she said. �That evidence that important could just go missing... That someone could have stolen it, when there were so many people that had been swarming around this case from the very beginning...�

�The Averys were Dark wizards,� Harry said. �Don�t you think they could have found a way to take it with Dark magic?�

Hermione gave a cautious nod. �Maybe. But to break into the Ministry and do this--that�s quite a bold move. They could have got caught so many different ways, and yet they were able to slip through somehow.�

She stopped there, that familiar look of deduction in her eyes, and Ron finally said what seemed most obvious to all of them.

�You think it�s an inside job, then? D�you reckon someone must have-�

A tentative knock made them all straighten immediately. There was whispering just behind the door, the sound of Hermione�s younger self saying, �Are you sure this is the right room? Maybe they�re in the dungeon, where we met the last time...�

Hermione had just enough time to hide beneath the cloak and station herself in the distant corner before the door creaked open and young Ron and Hermione poked their heads through, sighing in relief when they�d spotted Ron and Harry already in the room.

Ron waved them in. �Come on in, you two.�

�Er... sorry we�re late,� his younger self said, ears as pink as young Hermione�s cheeks.

From the looks of his tousled hair, Ron didn�t have to make too many guesses as to what had kept them, but he decided it would probably be best to not to make any sort of comment.

�We were... researching our essays for History of Magic.�

Ron bit back a laugh. �Oh, I see. Well, you ready to get started, then?�

�Yeah!� his younger self said excitedly.

But neither Harry nor young Hermione seemed to be quite as enthusiastic about this as he was; both of them looked very worried, as a matter of fact, especially young Hermione who gave young Ron�s hand a subtle squeeze that Ron caught nevertheless. He could almost feel his own bones being crushed.

�So if I do this next step perfectly,� young Ron said, �it means Harry will be completely protected, right? You-know-who wouldn�t be able to get to him as long as I�m around?�

Ron nodded. �Yes,� he said. �If you do it perfectly.�

�Well, all right then, what are we waiting for?�

�Look, Ron, before we get into this... I just need you to be aware that... this may not work, all right? At least not the way we need it to, so that Harry�s shielded completely.�

Disappointment flickered in his younger self�s eyes, but didn�t seem to dampen his spirits too much.

�I know,� he said.

�You�ve done excellently so far,� Ron said. �You should be proud of yourself. Most adult wizards would never have made it this far, especially in the little time we�ve had to work on this-�

�Professor,� he said, interrupting, �I know it�s a long shot. I know I�ve got no business doing this when I�m nowhere near being a fully-trained wizard, but... I want to do this. Please. I want to know that I at least gave it a go.�

Ron gave him a smile. Hermione had always said he had a nasty habit of diving into things headlong, without any thought to the consequences; he supposed she was right.

�All right, then, I want you and Harry to stand in the middle of the room here, and have your wands out, both of you.�

Harry and his younger self did as they were told, watching him carefully for his next instruction. This was it, he suddenly thought. Now they would find out if this was really going to work.

�The advanced charm works fairly similarly to the one we�ve been practicing,� he said, �except now there�s an extra step involved.�

�What do I have to do, Professor?�

�It�s not you that has to do something else, Ron. It�s Harry.�

Harry suddenly looked up and furrowed his brow. �Me? What do I need to do?�

�The most important part of this charm,� Ron said, �is to embed a secret in Ron. Before I only had you touch your wands together and make the connection that way, but this will require even more of a bond.�

�What kind of a secret do I have to tell him?� Harry said, bemused.

Young Ron suddenly broke into a chuckle. �Worried about having to reveal all the sordid details of your love life, are you?�

Harry smirked at him. �I wouldn�t talk, Ron.�

At this, young Hermione let out an audible gasp of reproach, which Ron ignored.

�It won�t be quite that scandalous,� he said, trying to refocus them. �Actually, the secret is simply Harry�s whereabouts.�

His younger self shot him a puzzled look. �Er... no offense, Professor, but how is that a secret? The whole of the wizarding world knows Harry is here at Hogwarts.�

�For now, they do.�

�For now? You mean... after this charm�s been performed, people will... forget he�s at Hogwarts?�

�Something like that,� Ron said. �Remember when we did the basic charm before, how you were able to keep him hidden from me?�

His younger self nodded.

�Well, the advanced charm hides him from everyone who doesn�t need to know his whereabouts. Everyone here at Hogwarts, obviously they�ll need to know he�s here, and they�ll be able to see him, and talk to him, as if everything were perfectly normal...�

�But... no one else will be able to?� his younger self said.

�For Harry�s own protection,� Ron said, �it�ll be safer if those who aren�t in his immediate circle don�t know how or where to find him.�

His younger self was quiet for a while, as if trying to absorb his words, and then young Hermione broke the silence.

�Professor... has... anyone ever been able to break a Fidelius charm before?�

It took a long time for Ron to answer, because he knew why she was asking.

�No,� Ron said. �No one has ever been able to before.�

He could tell by the uneasy look in her eyes, that she was following the thought to conclusion, one that none of them wanted to be the one to say out loud.

�They said that... that You-know-who was the most powerful Dark wizard ever,� she said quietly. �You don�t suppose...�

She let her words trail off, clearly not wanting to have to finish the sentence though they could all finish it for themselves.

As if to reassure her, Harry said at last, �He wasn�t able to break it before. And he wouldn�t have been able to, if Peter hadn�t betrayed my parents.�

�Well, he could torture me all he wants,� young Ron said savagely, �he won�t get anything from me!�

Young Hermione, still looking very uneasy, nevertheless nodded wordlessly and sat at the nearest desk to watch them go through the spell.

Taking her cue, Ron turned to Harry and his younger self and said, �All right, wands at the ready...�

The boys raised their wands, letting the tips touch.

�Now both of you, concentrate--really, really concentrate. Clear your mind of all distractions and anything that might hinder this.� Ron came closer to them. �Harry, I want you to concentrate on communicating your secret to Ron, without saying it out loud.�

Harry nodded, his eyes closed in deep focus.

�Okay, Ron, say the charm.�

�Fidero...�

Suddenly, sparks shot out of both of their wands--gold and scarlet, shimmering and swirling in the air around them, surrounding them like a cage of light. Young Hermione�s mouth fell open, but no words came out, as she just looked on. Ron watched the whole thing unfold, feeling goosebumps raising all over his flesh.

Bloody hell, it worked... It actually worked...

It was a few more seconds before the sparks dissipated, and the tingling sensation they all felt began to die down. Harry was the first to open his eyes, then young Ron, and both of them seemed out of breath and a bit disoriented.

�What... what happened?� his younger self said.

�You did it!!� Hermione said, leaping up from the desk and running towards him, flinging her arms around his neck. �Ron, you did it!! You performed the spell!!�

�I... I did?�

�Congratulations!� Ron said to him. �That was brilliant!�

He turned beside him to Harry, who was wearing a dazed smile, as if he couldn�t believe they had all been able to pull off the miracle after all. Ron smiled and looked off into the empty corner, where he knew Hermione was sitting, and he knew underneath the cloak she must have been beaming too.

But even as the trio threw themselves in a tangle of embraces and shouted and cheered for the first time in a long time, something kept Ron from joining in their revelry. Somehow, even after all of this, there was still that lingering doubt, that nagging feeling that this far from being over just yet.

Not wanting to spoil this sweet victory for them, he backed away, unnoticed, from their celebration. And for the first time in his life, he sincerely hoped his instincts were wrong.