invisible string! → ron weasley ✓

ix. the first battle

"You can do this, Kates," Neville murmured from behind her, just barely loud enough for her to hear. She took a breath, and pictured her wand in her hand. She imagined the power going through her hand to the wand, then let the wand disappear, leaving all the power with no other choice than to return to her hand.

"...and don't even get me started on the way you treat house elves." Now Ron was really reaching, meaning she didn't have much time before the Slytherins began to realize something was amiss. She raised her hand, took another breath, and then:

"Accio wand!" Her voice boomed through the room, filled with enough power and authority to make everyone flinch. She held her breath in anticipation, then exhaled swiftly as her wand flew neatly into her hand. Without a moment's hesitation she lunged forward, wordlessly putting out a shield charm just as the Slytherins began trying to disarm her. With her free hand she grasped the pile of wands and threw them behind her. Soon enough, everyone present had their wands, but the fight was far from even. The Inquisitorial Squad members knew their spells, sure, but the Dumbledore's Army members were ready to fight, not to mention they had the element of surprise. The whole matter was over in a less than a minute with the Inquisitorial Squad members laying unconscious behind Umbridge's desk.

"That was brilliant!" said Neville, his words one with his breath. He beamed and briefly embraced Kates. "Flitwick would be proud. McGonagall, too." In true Kates Kinley fashion, she shrugged modestly.

"I may not have some of the more advanced spells down, but sometimes speed and efficiency with the simple ones are all that's needed."

"That's fascinating and all, but—" began Ginny, and Kates picked up where she left off.

"Yeah, let's go before they all come to. Where exactly are we going, anyway?"

⋆☆.* ✧✰ .✦⋆*☆

THE SEVEN DUMBLEDORE'S ARMY MEMBERS WERE GOOD, but not as good as the Death Eaters they had come across in the Hall of Prophecies. The vision, as Hermione had suspected, had been nothing but Voldemort setting a trap for Harry, and now they had all fallen into it. Kates, ever the optimist, was having a hard time seeing a way out as a wand was held to her head by a Death Eater she (thankfully) didn't recognize. Ron was loopy, Ginny had a broken ankle and Neville a broken nose, Hermione was barely conscious, and Luna, Kates, and Harry all looked like they had seen better days. Their only hope, as dreadful as it sounded, was that Snape—who definitely understood Harry's coded message—a went to the Order for help.

Kates Kinley never, ever wanted to be in a situation where Severus Snape was her only hope.

Snape, as it turned out, came through after all. The Order members showed up at just the right moment and an intense battle began between them and the Death Eaters. Lupin approached the students with great haste.

"Get out of here, all of you!" he called over the din of the fight. "Get to safety!" Kates wanted nothing more than to join the fight and put her skills to good use, but it quickly occurred to her that her friends may still need protection, and many of them were injured. She needed to be there for them.

So she led them up the stairs, watching their backs the entire time (which was exhausting but necessary, as she had to shield them from three different curses). Only once they were in the safety of the Department of Mysteries did they stop. Ginny slid down against the wall, clutching her ankle; Luna bent down to heal her; Ron and Hermione both lay on the floor, loopy and barely conscious, respectively; Neville rubbed his nose, crouching down by Luna and Ginny. Kates, meanwhile, did not lower her wand until Tonks emerged from the Death Chamber.