Ginny and Neville quickly sprang up from their comfortable sitting positions. Ron drew out his wand, and looked over towards his friend and baby sister. They locked eyes and readied themselves for whatever was about to come out of that room.

Here we go, Ron thought to himself.

As the door inched forward, Ron began to jog towards it. Before he reached it, however, what appeared to be a blonde head shot out from behind the door, and down the corridor.

"Malfoy!" Ron screamed, as he, Ginny, and Neville began to pursue him. Before they could catch up with him, Malfoy's hand shot up, throwing something in the air behind him. Instantly, everything was black. Ron stopped running, as he could no longer see anything around him. The only thing he was aware of were the sounds of multiple pairs of feet running through the Room of Requirement's doorway, and a fanatical cackle echoing down the corridor.

"Blimey, what happened?" asked Ron, his heart racing.

Ginny coughed, and replied, "Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder...We are so screwed."

"Where did they all come from?" asked Neville, in a shocked awe.

"Shit. Shit. Shit. We gotta go," Ron said, before running off, into the darkness. Ginny and Neville followed behind.

Ron let his feet lead the way, eventually shouting "Lumos" in a failed attempt to dispel the darkness. Though his surroundings appeared blank from the powder's effects, Ron's mind was filled to the brim with different thoughts. Questions of who these people were, what they planned to do, where they were headed, and what Malfoy had to do with any of it raced through Ron's mind. Through this seemingly endless abyss of uncertainties, one simple question seemed to rise above all of the others, leading the way like a light at the end of the tunnel: Was Hermione okay?

Ron ran faster.

The three continued to run, attempting to follow the sounds of Malfoy and the others. Eventually, the sounds faded away, and the ragtag team was forced to blindly check every corridor and deserted hallway for any hint that the intruders had been there.

"Ron!" Ginny called from well behind her brother, who continued to run ahead. He stopped and turned to face her. "This is getting us nowhere," Ginny continued. "What should we do?"

Ron's eyes had a steely look in them Ginny and Neville had never seen before. It was a look similar to the one he had when Harry tricked him into believing he had consumed the Felix Felicis before that big Quidditch game, except there was something else mixed in them this time. Something concerned. Something urgent.

"We need to get to Snape's office," stated Ron, matter-of-fact.

"Snape's office?" questioned Neville. "Do you really think they'd head there?"

Ron narrowed his eyes and gruffly said, "Well, we don't know where they're headed, do we? But we can't just let Hermione sit there…we can't just let Hermione and Luna sit there while those people run around this place. We have to make sure Her…they're okay.".

Ginny let out a somewhat exasperated sigh, "Fine. Let's go. We need more than us three, anyway."

They changed course and set off for the dungeons. Ron lead the way, as thoughts of Hermione urged him onward. What would he say to her once they got there?, he thought. How would he explain what had happened? At least Hermione would know what to do, Ron reasoned, feeling slightly better. She would develop a plan, and he would follow it, follow her, like always. A part of him didn't want to say anything to her. A part of him wondered if he could summon the courage to run right up to her and…

As those tempting fantasies swam around his brain, the three rounded the corner to Snape's dungeon office. Ron's eyes widened, as he realized those fantasies would be nothing more than delusions.

Hermione and Luna were no where to be seen. Ginny and Neville peeked into Snape's dark office, hoping he had perhaps just found the girls and decided to scold them for snooping around after hours, but he too was missing. Ron remained frozen in his spot, his fists clenched tighter than the hold of a grindylow. His heart sank to the pit of his stomach. Had the Felix had any affect on him earlier, he believed it was completely gone now.

Where was she?

Ginny broke the awful silence. "So, where'd they go?"

"You don't think they were…You don't think they could have been…" stuttered Neville, at a loss for the terrible words they were all thinking.

"No…No. Maybe they heard the commotion and went to catch Malfoy," offered Ginny. "We should keep looking."

Ron could only nod.

They began their search once again. The farther they got from the dungeons, the more upheaval they could hear emanating throughout various parts of the castle. It did not take them long to run into Lupin, smack dab in the middle of a corridor leading to the Great Hall.

"Lupin!" Ginny shouted. "Do you know what's going on?"

"Do you know where Hermione and Luna are?" Ron added.

"What are you lot doing out of Gryffindor? There's madness afoot!" Lupin exclaimed.

Neville butted in. "We saw them, Professor! We saw them!"

Shocked, the frazzled Lupin raised his eyebrows.

"It's true," Ron added. "We saw Malfoy lead a ton of them out from the Room of Requirement on the seventh floor. They got away from us."

"The Room of Requirement? But that's…" Lupin seemed to struggle for a reasonable explanation. "…impossible. At least, now we know how, or at least where…But we've got them now."

The three youths looked optimistic for the first time in many hours.

Lupin noticed their expressions, and immediately shook his head. "Well, sort of. We've cornered them near the Astronomy Tower. I'm headed back there right now."

"We're coming with you," said Ron, looking Lupin straight in the eye.

"Well, I don't think that's such a good idea…"

"We have to. We promised Harry we would defend the school, if anything happened," Ron said. He didn't mention how he believed that as long as she could, Hermione would be in the thicket of the action. He didn't mention how he needed to be near her. His mind instantly thought back to the blow Hermione had received at the Department of Mysteries, not a year earlier. He wouldn't let anything like that happen to her. Not ever again.

Lupin groaned, ran his hand through his hair, and began to make his way back towards the Astronomy Tower. Ron, Ginny, and Neville figured that was the best concession they were ever going to get out of him, so they too made their way towards the ensuing battle.

A battle in Hogwarts, Ron thought as he ran. It's bloody madness. Who would've ever thought? Duking it out in the Ministry, or in some Muggle cemetery or something was one thing…but Hogwarts? It was just kids here, really. Strongheaded kids, who would get themselves hurt trying to defend the school they loved so much. Kids like Hermione. Bloody hell, he thought, he needed to find her.

As they approached the landing that lead up to the Astronomy Tower, the sounds of struggle only seemed to get worse. There were yells, and cries. There were a number of Unforgivable Curses being shot out. There were agonizing screams.

Please don't let that be Hermione, Ron pleaded in his mind. His heart raced. God, don't let her be hurt, not with her still angry at him. Don't let him be too late again.

With that last thought, Ron surged ahead of Lupin and the rest of the group, charging into the battle.

It was a mess. It was so dark, it was hard to tell who was on what side. The only light source seemed to come from spells ricocheting off the hard stone walls. Some giant blonde oaf of a Death Eater was flinging Killing Curses off willy nilly. It was from one such flash of green that Ron spotted Hermione.

Ron breathed a momentary sigh of relief. Here she was, standing in front him, alive and well, well being a subjective term. She looked feral once again, standing her ground and deftly deflecting the spells cascading around her, her hair whipping about her face. If he were forced to down Veritaserum right then and there, then he probably would have admitted to Hermione's appearance being a bit of a turn on, had they not been facing life or death everywhere around them.

Oh yeah, life and death, Ron thought, snapping him out of his trance. His previous relief ended when a stream of blue light hit extremely close to his hip. He got to work deflecting and firing spells, always keeping an eye on Hermione out of his peripheral vision. She was doing amazingly well, but he could tell she was tiring. He wasn't sure how much more she could take on her own. He decided to make his way towards her.

"Hermione!" he yelled, as he attempted to run across the hall. He didn't face too much of a struggle, as he noticed Harry running in the opposite direction at the same time. So he had made it back. Did that mean...?, Ron thought. He felt the urge to help his best friend, but it looked as if Harry had it under control. Hermione was still his primary concern.

"Hermione!" he shouted, yet again.

The second yell startled her. She looked in his direction after setting off a particularly effective Expelliarmus. Ron thought he saw a glint in her eye. And was that a smile forming on her lips? Might she have forgiven him for being such an arse?

Ron enjoyed the sight, pleased when it looked as if her lips were preparing to shout out "Ron". But just then, Ron noticed something looming behind Hermione. It was shaggy, but still resembled a man, and held a wand. A wand that was most definitely pointed at the back of Hermione's head.

Ron's adrenaline raced. "Hermione…no!" he screamed, running full-speed ahead towards her.

As that thing raised its wand, preparing to strike, Ron dove, his Keeper instincts kicking in, grasping Hermione about her upper arms. He held her in his arms and against his chest snugly, just as he would a quaffle, as they hit the floor. From his position on top, Ron could see the green light travel from above their heads to hit against the far stone wall. Ron heard what sounded like a growl from behind him, before he saw the shadow of the man-beast run off.

The imminent danger was gone, yet still Ron's heart roared from the adrenaline. His chest rose and fell incessantly. He near collapsed, resting his forehead against the back of Hermione's left shoulder while he gathered his breath. He heard a small whimper from Hermione, and realized that he must be crushing her with his weight. He abruptly rolled off of her.

He kneeled next to her on the ground. Embarrassed, he said, "Eh, Hermione…I'm so sorry for…I'm such a bloody…"

Hermione also sat up, reaching for her wand. She smoothed out her skirt as she looked up at him, slowly and shyly. "Ron…no," she interrupted quietly. "You don't have to…I mean, tha-"

Before she could finish, a loud, "It's over" echoed throughout the halls. The two looked at each other. Ron could have sworn it sounded like Snape. They each tightened their holds on their wands, preparing for an even greater counter-attack that the Order must have been about to wage. That had to be the meaning behind Snape's battle cry, Ron thought.

Before they could make it to their feet and being firing spells once again, an odd pandemonium took place around them. At Snape's cry, every Death Eater began to run, fleeing the battle. Fleeing, without a single spell fired, Ron noticed.

Confused, Ron looked back at Hermione. She was staring straight back at him, searching for answers in his eyes. They stayed that way for quite some time.

Author's Note: So, I took the overall advice from the readers, and continued on with the "plot", in Ron's point of view. I am considering writing a on-shot from Hermione's point of view, as she waits outside Snape's office.

This chapter was a bit tricky to write, because I really wanted the timeline of events to be correct. I had to play really close attention to Chapter 29, and to everyone's different telling of events as they sit around the hospital wing. I tried to weave the different stories together the best I could. The way I see it, while Ron, Ginny, and Neville were trying to chase after the Death Eaters, the Death Eaters and the havoc they were causing was already being discovered by Tonks, Bill, and Lupin, who had been patrolling. They alerted the faculty, who asked Flitwick to go get Snape's help. Snape stuns Flitwick, yada yada yada, Hermione and Luna take care of him, eventually moving him to the hospital wing. At this point, right after they leave, Ron, Ginny, and Neville turn up to find Snape's office deserted. They then run into Lupin, telling him how the Death Eater's got into the castle. They join the fighting. Hermione and Luna leave the hospital wing to join the fighting. Fight fight fight.

It's a little confusing, but I think it's reasonable, and follows what we can surmise from Chapter 29.

I also hope my battle scene wasn't too terrible. I don't really think they're my forte!

Also, as a last note, I'd like to apologize if I've been making Neville out to seem like a bit of a wimp. I really, truly love Neville. He's one of my favorite characters, especially as he really grew into himself from Book 5 to 7. It's just how he's been popping into my head, as kind of a wimp up compared to Ron and Ginny. Of course, he hadn't gotten completely BA like in Book 7 just yet.

Let me know what you think! I've really enjoyed the comments thus far, and I promise to respond back to any and all reviews!