ʙʀᴏᴋᴇɴ ʙᴜᴛ ʙʀᴀᴠᴇ ↠HP/GW ✔

Chapter Twenty One

Story: Broken But Brave
Chapter Twenty One: Ron's Antics

"Lumos!" Harry hissed and the tip of his wand lit to reveal the owner of the voice. He pointed it forward and Ron's startled look scared Harry and Ginny.

"A face like that should not come without a warning!" Harry teased. Ginny chuckled behind him. He waved his wand around the entrance way and at once, the gas lamps started glowing once again. 

"Oi, a face like that should not scare us either," Ron teased back with a grin. 

"Thank you very much, Ron. I think Harry's face is more handsome than yours," Ginny retorted. Hermione rolled her eyes and suddenly without any warning pounced on a very startled Harry, hugging him tightly.

"Harry James Potter! You scared the wits out of me!" Hermione cried. Harry hugged her back.

"Er, Herm-" Harry started but was cut off once again as Ron joined the hug as well, making it a group hug. Ginny smiled at them. They broke away a minute later, Harry panting slightly. 

"Don't you ever disappear like that!" Hermione scolded. Harry nodded, wincing. Ginny rolled her eyes.

"That was not the only thing he did, Hermione," Ginny said. Harry glared at her and shook his head, hoping his eyes would speak for him. Ginny knew that he was trying to ask her not to tell Hermione but she was not going to give in to him. Hermione turned to look at her with raised eyebrows. "This idiot here tried to kill himself."

Hermione visibly gasped and Ron's eyes widened and turned misty as he looked back and forth from Harry to Ginny. "What?!" Hermione shrieked. Ginny nodded. "How?"

"He has several bruises. Ring any bells?" Ginny asked. Hermione's eyes filled with tears of melancholy or anger, that Harry did not know. "This prat locked the door using some complex Auror levelled charm. I had to blast poor Padfoot's door open to enter. I spent most of our time cleaning and covering them. Git, don't know from when he was doing this!" Ginny exclaimed, a few tears leaking out of her own eyes. Hermione shook her head, apparently unable to process anything. Surprisingly, Ron was the one who spoke up.

"Harry! What did you do that for?!" he asked, looking half mad and half concerned. Although he had seen the bloody dagger, it was just a suspicion. It seemed that the head auror's suspicion came to be true.

Harry shrugged in response. Ron opened his mouth to retort but Hermione silenced him. "It's okay, Ron. It's over," she said gently to Ron. "Harry, do not think about anything else. Nothing is too challenging for that move and promise me that you will never, ever think of that," Hermione said in the same gentle voice. Harry nodded.

"I swear."

Hermione nodded with a smile. "Good."

"Er, mate. . . can we go in? I'm afraid Walburga will start shouting once again," Ron said nervously, rubbing the back of his neck. As if on cue, the curtains opened and Mrs Black started screaming.

"BLOOD TRAITORS! HALF BREEDS! MUDBLOODS! GET OUT OF MY PURE HOUSE!" all four living people of the house groaned. 

"Oh, shut up Mrs Black! I'm the owner of this pure house now!" Harry shouted at the frowning lady in the portrait. Saying so, he pointed his wand at the portrait once again and sealed the curtain shut and muttered some other long, complex sounding charm. Ron was laughing the entire time Harry was performing the charm. The two girls looked on in apparent confusion.

"Brilliant mate!" Ron said, grinning like an idiot. Harry grinned back.

"Can anyone explain what happened?" Hermione asked, curiously.