Umbridge stood in front of you and she dismissed the three men who'd been guarding you and when they left she smiled sweetly at you, and then turned to the witch beside her before walking away, "come, Mafalda."
The witch accompanying her gave you a strange, wide-eyed look and you stared blankly at her as she slowly walked past and continued looking at you, as if she wanted to talk to you.
The witch who sat down the bench from you was being forced to hand over her wand and belongings for examination before entering the chamber for her trial. You were thankful that your wand and bag hadn't been taken from you yet as you watched hers being snatched from her grip. You figured they knew you wouldn't be stupid enough to risk anything while so many guards and employees patrolled the Atrium, and with your hands bound, you wouldn't be able to wield your wand properly even if there was less security.
The dark-haired witch cried and pleaded with the Ministry employee in front of her, "please, my husband Reginald, he works here, if I could just-" But her begging went ignored and she was dragged roughly into the chamber where Umbridge had walked into.
It wasn't in your nature to give up and accept defeat, so you subtly looked around for an opportunity to try to escape, but you also knew that there was no point in trying to fight your way out of there on your own.
The silence allowed panicked thoughts to flood your mind, and you tried to push away the dreaded worry that the people who'd abducted you had gone back on their bargain and had hurt the twins. You felt tears fill your eyes, but that train of thought was cut short when loud banging crashed from the chamber down the corridor.
Three Ministry individuals ran out of the room, dragging the witch who'd been crying down the bench from you along with them. Her magical binds were undone, and then the three employees ran in your direction, startling you. The witch who was with Umbridge ran right up to you and pointed her wand at your wrists.
"Relashio!" she hissed and then she hauled you quickly to your feet.
"What are you-" you protested, pulling away from her and finally grabbing your wand from its holster.
"Y/N, it's Hermione," she whispered urgently, interrupting you, and your eyes widened and she pulled you along with her by the arm as she broke into a run.
There was no time to ask questions as you ran towards the lifts, the other two employees turned around, and the tall mustached man looked at you "Y/N? Bloody hell, what are you doing here?"
"Ron?" you hissed in shock, instantly recognising his voice.
The shorter man in the long coat glanced at you and then looked around in alarm as people started eyeing you suspiciously. "Look, it's great to see you, Y/N, but we'll catch up later if you don't mind," Harry's voice spoke and you contained your shock by reminding yourself that Hermione had an affinity for making Polyjuice potion.
Loud banging sounded from in front of the lifts and when you turned the corner you almost gasped aloud at what you saw.
Fred and George were flinging fireworks and jinxes in the faces of anyone who tried to attack them, while they hurriedly tried to make their way down the corridor. You ran towards them with Harry, Ron and Hermione, whose faces had gone back to their own, and the twins looked up as you arrived, blasting more jinxes and then running towards you, relief clear as day on their faces. Fred grabbed you and yanked you into a tight but brief hug and then he took your hand, pulling you back towards the lifts with the others.
"Bloody hell, Y/N. I didn't know if you were alive or not," he whispered brokenly as you all pushed into the lift, and you could tell by his messy hair and unevenly strapped backpack that they'd rushed here in a haste, probably as soon as they'd realised that you were gone.
George slammed the grilles shut behind you as the six of you squeezed into the small space, and he exhaled in relief as he looked at your face. He reached over and squeezed your shoulder, but conversations were cut short as a dozen Dementors descended on the lift.
You and the twins were in front so you raised your wants and quickly cast the Patronus Charm. The twins' magpies and your white dove surged furiously towards the Dementors and drove them back as the lift moved downwards.
As soon as the grilles opened, the six of you dashed out and sprinted across the Atrium. Before long Harry was recognised, and the Ministry guards were chasing you in much larger numbers than the few guards on the other floor had been. You ducked spells that were sent your way and then the Death Eater you'd seen standing with Umbridge and Thicknesse when you'd tried to go back to work, who you'd later identified from the Daily Prophet as Yaxley, began to pursue you as well.
He sent a number of curses after your group while you all pushed roughly through the crowds in the Atrium, and you darted into one of the fireplaces, pushing more people out of the way as you did so.
Hermione shouted, "hold on!" and you all grabbed onto her as she Disapparated you out of there. But just as she did, Yaxley jumped in after you all, and you saw a brief flash of Grimmauld Place before you were whisked away to somewhere else, and you landed hard on your back on the ground when you reached Hermione's destination.
You gasped at the hard impact, and found yourself looking up at trees. Turning your head to look around, you realised that you were in a forest, the pine needles having fortunately softened your landing slightly.
You rolled over onto your front with a groan and saw the other five on the ground nearby and then you saw Fred stumbling to a stand and running over to you. He fell to his knees beside you and with his help you pushed yourself up and he threw his arms around you immediately. You heard his panicked breaths as you held each other tightly.
"I'm so sorry I wasn't there," he whispered shamefully.
You instantly pulled back and cupped his face, seeing his wet eyes and pale cheeks, and you stared at him in alarm, "don't you dare blame yourself, Fred." You pressed a tender but chaste kiss to his lips and then saw George walking over to you.
"I'm glad you're alright, Y/N. You gave us quite a scare," he said quietly and you stood up and hugged him tightly and he squeezed you back.
"Thank you for coming after me, but what were you thinking!? You both could have been killed breaking into the Ministry like that," you exclaimed sternly, glaring at them both.
Fred stood up too and rubbed his sleeve across his face, his familiar smirk ghosting his features once again, "we couldn't let you have all the fun, love." Before you could retort, you heard a moan of pain from nearby followed by a gasp of 'oh my god.'
You looked past the twins to where the others had landed a fair distance away, and you saw Hermione pulling off Ron's clothes as he convulsed on the ground. The three of you exhaled sharply in shock, and you ran over and kneeled on Ron's other side while Hermione tried to comfort him while he thrashed about on the ground.
You nearly threw up when you saw his arm. His shoulder and upper arm were completely shredded and chunks of his skin were completely gone. You heard gasps of horror from the twins as they also took in the injury from where they stood near Ron's feet, and you moved around to hold Ron's head on your lap while he sobbed in agony.
"Hermione, what do we do!?" you asked her and she blinked tears from her eyes as she tore off the rest of his sleeve. "Someone, quickly! In my bag there's a bottle labeled 'Essence of Dittany'!" she instructed desperately as she tried to hold back sobs.
You stroked Ron's hair, trying to calm him down while the twins scanned the clearing looking for Hermione's bag.
"Harry!" George yelled and he threw the purple beaded bag to the younger boy who was closer to you. Harry caught the bag and started rifling through it to find the bottle.
Ron tried to get up in his haze of pain while this was happening and Fred and George quickly returned to help hold him down. George gripped him by the ankles while Fred sat opposite Hermione and held him down by his good arm and shoulder. Their eyes widened in shock as they got a proper look at their brother's arm now that the whole sleeve had been removed.
"Oh, Merlin," George whispered in horror while Fred winced, "bloody hell, Ron." Their younger brother sobbed and continued thrashing and you tried to calm him down.
"Ssh, ssh, Ron. It's okay, you're going to be fine," you consoled him and then you looked at Hermione, "he will be fine, won't he?"
She sniffled and nodded as she stroked Ron's face, then she looked over to where Harry was still rooting through her bag, "Harry, quickly!" He summoned the bottle with his wand and then ran over, passing the bottle to Hermione's shaking hands.
"Hermione...his arm," Harry said in shock as he saw his best friend's wounds for the first time. "I know- ssh it's okay, it's alright," she soothed Ron as she cried and tried to open the bottle.
"Okay, this is going to sting a little bit," she whispered apologetically to Ron who was barely conscious at this point. Her hands were shaking so badly that she couldn't open the bottle, so you took it from her and opened it and quickly returned it to her so she could get to work.
"What happened?" Harry asked with wide eyes, "I thought we were meant to be going back to Grimmauld Place."
Ron cried out in pain and sobs wracked through his body as Hermione dropped some of the healing potion onto his arm and shoulder. "We were, we were," she cried, "but- ssh, ssh, it's alright just one more - we were there, but Yaxley had hold of me and I- I knew once he'd seen where we were, we couldn't stay so..." she broke off with a sob, "so I brought us here. But Ron...Ron got Splinched."
Fred hung his head in shock while George outwardly groaned, but as you watched, the healing potion was slowly repairing and regrowing Ron's skin, though you knew it probably would scar without help from professional Healers.
As the potion worked, Ron settled and quietened down. Fred and George released their hold on him, and you grabbed his discarded clothes and put them under his head as a makeshift pillow before you stood and took a shaky step backwards.
Hermione cupped Ron's face and continued whispering comforting words to him, and you shared a look with Fred, George and Harry who all looked like they would either throw up or pass out. George's face was white with shock and Fred's hands were shaking, and Harry just looked speechless.
Hermione stood up and stared at Ron as he lay semi-conscious on the ground, "Y/N? Help me set up a protective shield." She got to work without waiting for your answer, and the twins slowly sat down beside their brother, and Harry followed them and squeezed Ron's arm comfortingly.
"Protego Totalum," you said as you cast a shield around the clearing, and Hermione took the other side and did the same. "Salvio Hexia," you cast next and then set up some enchantments to make the area undetectable by outsiders, "Muffliato...Repello Muggletum," and you continued like that until your shields met Hermione's. You were safe, for now.
Hermione instructed the boys to set up the tent, which was in her enchanted bag, and you recognised it as the one you stayed in for the Quidditch World Cup three years ago. Fred and George carried Ron in and laid him down on a camping cot and covered him with a blanket and tucked him in as he slept. That evening, the rest of you sat in near silence at the dining table, completely exhausted after the day you'd had.
"We should go to bed, get some rest," Hermione said quietly and you unanimously agreed.
"I'll take the first watch," Harry said and George stood up too and clapped him on the back, "I'll join you, mate," and the two walked outside.
Hermione got up and walked to the left side of the tent where Ron was sleeping and you and Fred walked to the right side of the tent where the twins had slept at the Quidditch Cup. You put your bag down onto the top bunk of one of the camping beds and turned to Fred, silently wrapping your arms around his middle. He held you tightly and pressed his face against the top of your head, and you just stood there quietly holding each other for a while.
"Thank you for coming to save me today," you mumbled into his jumper and he kissed your head, "you can't get away from me that easily." You chuckled weakly and looked up at him and he kissed your lips softly, "come on, lets go lie down. I'll take over from George and Harry in a couple of hours."
"Okay, wake me when you do and I'll come with you," you told him and he nodded and then took your hand, leading you to one of the bunk beds near the tent wall.
"Actually, you go ahead and lie down, I'm going to check on Hermione. I'll be back in a little bit," you told him quietly and he smiled understandingly, kissing your cheek as you left.
On the other side of the tent, Hermione was sitting on a chair next to Ron's bed, holding his hand in both of hers. You stood next to her chair and hugged her into your side, and she sagged wearily and leaned her head against you.
"I could've gotten him killed, Y/N, I was caught off guard and look what happened," Hermione said with a sniff and then she let go of Ron's hand and cried into her palms.
"Hey, come here," you pulled her off the chair and sat her down on the cot adjacent to Ron's and sat beside her, hugging her tightly as she cried.
"You saved us, Hermione," you told her, "what happened was an accident, you managed to Disapparate all six of us to safety. You worked a bloody miracle, so don't blame yourself."
She pulled back and sniffled, "Ron has always been rubbish at Apparating, you know. He didn't even pass the exam," she smiled fondly at his sleeping form. "If something had happened, and I never got to tell him that I..." She trailed off and you didn't push her into saying any more.
"Get some sleep, okay? He'll be okay, and you need to rest," you told her as you stood up and she nodded and as you left the room. You glanced over your shoulder as you crossed the tent and saw her pulling her bed a bit closer to Ron's and gently brushing her knuckles against his cheek before settling down for sleep.
Fred was already under the covers of one of the bottom bunks when you walked in, and you pulled off your boots and jacket and climbed into his awaiting arms. It was a tight fit since the bed was narrow, but there was nowhere else you wanted to be other than Fred's arms. There were so many things you wanted to ask him and talk to him about, but you were both too exhausted to speak, so you just held onto each other and the slow rhythm of his breathing as he fell asleep was enough to soothe you to sleep too.
A few hours later, George came in and woke Fred to swap shifts for guarding the tent. As promised, Fred woke you and you both sat outside the tent in your coats and under a blanket as George and Harry went to sleep. You sat side by side against a tree trunk and looked out at the quiet, dark woods around you. You leaned against Fred's shoulder while he pulled the blanket over both of your legs and you pulled your knees up to your chest and held his hand in yours on your lap.
"How'd you find me today, anyway?" you asked him quietly and he took a deep breath, as if the memory pained him.
"We found the pin, clever idea by the way, George stood on it. We thought it was probably Snatchers hired by the Ministry after what you'd seen the other day about them arresting Muggleborns. We grabbed our bags and left right after George sent a quick message via the Floo Network to Bill, so he could tell the rest of the family."
"I would never have been able to forgive myself if something had happened to either of you," you said quietly and Fred squeezed your hand, "nothing happened, love. Besides, it was a bit of fun wasn't it?"
He grinned at you and you stared incredulously at him, "are you mad?"
"No, I'm Fred."
Despite everything going on, you had to laugh at his witty remark. You could always trust Fred to cheer you up and you kissed his cheek in silent thanks.
"In all seriousness though," Fred said earnestly, "I'd never been so scared in all my life than when I saw you were gone." He glanced down at you before he continued speaking, "we went up to get you, and we saw that the door out to Diagon Alley had been blasted open and the door to the flat was open. We..." he cleared his throat, suddenly overcome with emotion, "we walked through the flat thinking we'd find your body."
"Oh, Freddie," you whispered as you squeezed his hand on your lap and hugged his arm against your chest. He dropped a kiss on your head, "I'm okay now. Besides, I was more than happy to be your knight in shining armour today."
You scoffed at his playful tone, "love, we both know I don't need one of those."
He feigned offense, "blimey, woman! Let me have my moment, would you?" You laughed and so did he, and you rested your head on his shoulder and he lay his head against yours.
"I'm not going to be able to keep you out of my sight until this whole bloody war is over, even though I know you can take care of yourself," he murmured and you smiled softly. "Maybe you're the one who'll need protecting, Freddie."
"That's unlikely, I have a height advantage," he said nonchalantly.
"You're a tree, Fred. You can't dodge spells like I can," you retorted teasingly and he chuckled against your hair, "yeah, a tree you'd like to climb." You slapped his chest lightly, "shut up, you dirty git."
He laughed loudly at that, and then lifted your chin to face him and kissed your lips softly, "you know you love me really."
You smiled against his lips, "I do. Godric help me."
You sat quietly until dawn broke, your scattered conversations and quips of humour keeping each other calm as you kept a watch out for potential dangers. You figured that rare moments like this would be your only source of peace for however long the war lasted.
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A/N: Poor Ronald :/