"Come out! Voldemort's dogs—Bombarda Maxima!"
Boom!
Ron blasted the entire wooden ceiling above himself in a shocking move. But he didn't stop there and quickly fetched five small vials from his pocket and smashed them on the stone floor.
"Daphne! Get under the fucking table!" Ron roared, throwing the sobbing girl out of her seat and her stupor.
A sizzling sound came from the floor where Ron had smashed the vials. Soon after, a thick white smoke arose and spread everywhere in an instant like an explosion. The entire dining hall, from the ceiling to every corner got covered in it.
"Crucio!" Ron dared not pull his punches anymore. Thanks to the enhancement potions he drank earlier he saw everything in that thick smoke. There were ten enemies who had fallen from the ceiling. Most of them were already up on their feet, looking around.
"Avada Kedavra!"
Woosh!
Green lights blasted all around once Ron shouted his attack. But he was faster and dived to the side just as he had practiced. Midair, he waved his wand again. "Stupefy!"
Thud!
Ron landed on the floor and kept rolling closer to one of the Death Eaters. As soon as he got close enough he jumped up, slamming the tip of his wand under the enemy's jaw.
"Confringo!"
Splash!
The head exploded with a fiery blast. Blood rained all across the hall, droplets reaching the other Death Eaters too. The scent of blood was something all of them knew, and they smelled it now too.
"Did you get him?" One of the Death Eaters questioned.
By then, Ron had moved and reached behind that very Death Eater. "I did–Crucio!"
Thud!
One after another their numbers fell. They tried to use magic to get rid of the smoke in the room but the vials Ron had smashed still created more and filled everything. With no outlet, the smoke wasn't going to go anywhere.
The magical flashes continued to blast everywhere. However, no matter how good Ron was, he still remained a mere student who had just stepped into the realm of battles. His luck did enough to help him cast magic, but when it came to getting hit, that luck could only save his life, not save him from bodily injuries.
Since most of Ron's focus was on not getting hit by one of the killing curses, he was struck by other spells at times. Some slicing attacks, some fiery strikes—bloody wounds, torn clothes, dirty face—Ron gave his all to fight the ten of them.
Five down! Ron counted again and took out yet another vial. Instead of carelessly throwing it away he crouched and got under the large dining table and reached Daphne, who sat there like a doll, shaken and shocked, her eyes wide open yet unresponsive.
Fuck it!
Knowing well she wouldn't hear him, he put his palm on her lips and nose to stop her from breathing. At that same time, he threw the vial out from under the table.
It cracked without noise and let out a tiny drop of liquid that quickly covered the entire room with a heavy odor. This was a poison he had brewed himself, it didn't kill but caused paralysis.
Permanent paralysis in 'some' cases.
Ron knew one thing before he entered that den of wolves. Voldemort had his stooges in the Ministry, and most likely he'd be able to breach Azkaban someday. So, although he didn't want to kill anyone, he had to take drastic steps. However, he had sadly broken that self-made rule already as one of the Death Eater's heads lay there split and spilled.
Thud!
Thud!
Soon enough the remaining five Death Eaters fell down. But Ron still counted to thirty and waited for his paralysis potion to lose effect. Although injured, he couldn't help but feel a sense of accomplishment. He had just won a ten versus one battle.
"Daphne." Ron let her breathe normally and tried to wake her up from the stupor. "What's wrong with you? Why didn't you run?"
After a minute of being shaken, she woke up from the daze and looked at Ron's face in the slowly fading smoke. "R-Ron?!"
"Are you mental?!" Ron hollered. "You have a death wish or something?"
But in response to Ron's words, Daphne started crying again. She suddenly leaped over to him and hugged him, nestling her face over his shoulder and wailing there.
What the hell is going on with her?
Seeing this wasn't the time to look for answers from her, Ron removed the table over him with a simple levitation spell. He still looked through the smoke and double-checked all of the nine unconscious bodies.
Just to be sure, he fired a few more Stupefy spells at them.
Finally, he supported Daphne by his shoulder and walked towards the exit. But he kept his wand ready since Mr. and Mrs. Greengrass were still out there. With him coming out as the victor, the two were definitely going to try and silence him as they had already done something evil.
"Stop crying." Ron tried to comfort her. He'd have been more sensitive if this wasn't a life-threatening situation and his injuries weren't so painful.
Thankfully, he failed to find Mr. and Mrs. Greengrass on his way out. Must have run away. But why leave Daphne?
At last, he was able to slam open the main doors of the mansion and walked out into the open. It was still night, and Ron felt disappointed by the lack of Aurors there. But he still walked a distance away and sat down on the neatly trimmed lawn.
He helped Daphne sit down as well, in front of him, between his legs with her back against his chest. Her blonde hair was a messy bunch by now, her beautiful dress ruined by the flying debris from the fight and Ron's oozing blood.
Ugh, as incompetent as ever. Ron grunted and had to take out his own bought potions to heal himself a little. He couldn't afford to fall unconscious yet, not until Moody or someone else was there.
"So? What's going on?" He tried to talk to Daphne as he failed to hear her crying sniffles.
But he received no reply from her. Upon checking, he found her already unconscious, limping against his chest.
What a mess.
Woosh!
Woosh!
"Finally! I thought I'd have to walk myself to Saint Mungo tonight!" Ron shouted at the figures apparating in. The first one was Shacklebolt.
Shacklebolt rushed to Ron. "Your owl got lost."
"..."
That useless freeloader. Ron cursed under his breath and shook his head.
"There's ten of them inside… dealt with. Daphne wasn't physically hurt, but she's been acting strange for some reason." Ron gave a quick report. "As for me. You can see it."
Shacklebolt knelt down and looked at Ron closely. He could see some open flesh wounds. "Can you stand up?"
"I can. But not for long," Ron replied. Keeping his eyes open was feeling like a chore.
Shacklebolt nodded and quickly called some of his men. They grabbed Daphne and Ron and apparated away straight to Saint Mungo's Hospital.
Luckily, it appeared they had already made arrangements. As soon as Ron and Daphne were brought in, a team of healers got to work. Ron fell unconscious very soon after and got his wounds stitched and a broken finger wrapped.
Following that, he was placed in a private room for rest and treatment. Same for Daphne, sharing the room with Ron, their comfortable beds just a curtain apart.
####
Meanwhile, back in Greengrass Manor, the team of Aurors found the place of battle. None of them said anything, as if they had lost their voices. Shacklebolt stood there in a daze for a moment, waking up only when Moody arrived behind him and pushed him away.
"I knew it! The boy is born to be an Auror!" Moody proclaimed at the scene of the bloody battle. Not even bothered by the splattered head, rather he admired it. Fighting ten Death Eaters and killing one, knocking nine, all the while being attacked with killing curses—this was something only a handful of wizards could do. And by handful, he meant he could count on one hand.
Shaklebolt gulped and fixed his headwear. "What should we write in the report?"
"The truth!" Moody boomed but turned solemn very quickly. "But leave out the splattered head part… and the paralysis."
To them, the more famous Ron was the more likely he was going to get involved with the Ministry in the future. Although Moody had lost his shot at being the Minister, he didn't want to lose his department and the perfect protege to raise as an Auror.
"Send out the word. Mr. and Mrs. Greengrass now have nowhere to hide with their task failed. Voldemort will be after their life, so the only safe place will be with us." Moody ordered. "Get to work! Stay vigilant!"
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