Wasted

Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own any characters or spells related to Harry Potter. All rights go to J.K. Rowling.

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During the late year of 1998, the Ministry of Magic unanimously proposed a new law regarding all wizards and witches who were part of the Second Wizarding War, emphasis on students who attended Hogwarts: School of Witchcraft and Wizardry during the event. To many, the marriage law was, by far, the most ludicrous policy to ever be imposed by authority. There was no absolute meaning to the new rule and did not guarantee anything presumptuously effective. It was just a waste of money and time. However, the Ministry assured the law was created in order to protect the grieving minds of those involved who lost loved ones. It was a way to keep them from depression and losing their minds.

Hermione Granger-Weasley was brilliantly optimistic when she learned the law only applied to those without romantic relations that would inevitably lead to wedlock. Lucky for her, by the time the news hit the Daily Prophet headlines, she and Ronald Weasley were already desperately written on the waiting list, for the few scheduling dates still available to anyone with the power to wed them. Twelve years and two months filled in the hollow gaps from the tragic Second Wizarding War. The memory of lost loved ones had been cherished year after year. The Weasley/Potter family held the greatest anniversary feast, and instead of mourning over lost souls, they agreed to celebrate for a chance at a new life. However, no one expected for a life to end so unfortunately as Ronald's had.

x-x-x

Nothing could be seen in the pitch black room. Nothing but the body in front of her. Blood dripped onto the wooden floor and leaked into the cracks. He stood in a broken stature, his eyes hollow and dead. His body leaning forward and dangling, as if he were being controlled like a puppet. She tried to move forward to him, but found herself stuck on the floor. She felt a great pull sinking her down into a quicksand illusion.

She tried to speak, to yell his name-but silence resounded from her. She tried shuffling her feet to find some way to get to him, to save him.

A terrible laugh vibrated throughout the room, stopping her.

"Confringo," the voice sneered.

In an instant, Ron Weasley burst into flames.

She gasped as she slung her body up, startled. She was losing the steadiness of her breathing, her sheets were a mess on her bed, and she felt liquid (sweat or tears?) rolling down her face. She couldn't hear anything with her heart ramming against her chest.

"Nightmare," she concluded, slightly relieved, examining her slightly quivering hands. The feel of sweat on her palms was uncomfortable. She quickly wiped her hands on her sheets, but the feeling was still unsettling. The nightmare repeated night after night and successfully scared her out of her wits.

Her bedroom door creaked open and she watched as her little brother made his way, weaving through her maze of clothes that settled on her floor. "Rosie? I knocked before I came in! You didn't say, "Come in!" so I thought you were dead."

Rose Weasley chuckled. She helped her struggling brother climb onto her bed. He graced her with a much needed giant (as big as a five year-old's hug can get) bear hug. "Are you crying, Rosie? Rosie's face is wet."

Laughing, she wiped her eyes, realizing she'd been crying all along. His little hand reached up and wiped the tears from her cheeks.

"Thanks Hugo," she said quietly. "Now, let's go get some breakfast before Daddy eats everything, eh?"

Lifting Hugo from her bed, she held his hand as they walked down the stairs singing.

x-x-x

"Hermione, did you read The Daily Prophet yet?" asked Ron sauntering into the kitchen with the latest news at hand. His wife shook her head while balancing three plates of breakfast to put on the table before serving herself.

"Is there big news?" she questioned, giving him a peck on the cheek before sitting down next to him. She watched him lay out the newspaper.

"If it's on the Prophet, it's big. And believe me when I say this is massive news! Malfoy's getting a divorce."

Hermione dropped her fork onto her plate, her eyes widened in shock. "Why? He does know by order of the Marriage Law he'll have to marry again, right?"

"Apparently so since he states it's a mutual agreement." Ron folded the paper back onto the table. "I'm not surprised though. It's about time if I do say so myself."

"That's horrible, Ron!"

"Well you wouldn't be saying that if you work with the man and see how brutally miserable he is."

"Morning Dad, Mum!" Rose chimed before jumping on Ron for a tight hug."

He laughed. "Chipper this morning, aren't we?"

"M'hmm!"

"Alright, children, eat your breakfast before it gets cold," said Hermione, tucking a napkin in Hugo's front shirt. She turned to Ron and asked, "Why are they divorcing?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Ron said with a pointed look. "Barmy woman's not fulfilling his needs. See, you must understand, 'Mione. Malfoy men have certain desires-"

"RONALD, not in front of the children!" screeched Hermione before her husband could continue.

Ron stood up from his seat at the table and leaned over to Hermione. He gave her a peck on the cheek. "You know I'm only joking, love. I've got to go now though." He paused to give a kiss to Rose. "Auror assignment." And another to a giggling Hugo. "I should be back by dinner, if not linner."

Rose raised an eyebrow. "Linner…?"

Ron looked back at her and replied like it was a term that should be in every person's vocabulary. "Yeah, the meal time between lunch and dinner."

"Really, Dad? Linner?" Rose responded with disbelief that her father would come up with such a word.

"Use your imagination, sweetheart." He gave her a tap to the head. "Goodbye!"

"Bye, darling," Hermione grinned looking behind her at the chimney. "Be safe."

Ron smiled back, waved at his family, and tossed the floo powder in the air shouting his destination clearly.

Ministry of Magic, 7:50 AM :

It was amazing how women reacted to a former bachelor turned bachelor once more. He was quite aware the news would take a toll on his popularity, which was one of the reasons why he almost begged Astoria for more time. However, she insisted her four month cooperation was more than enough.

Draco made his way to the debriefing room glaring at the path in front of him, a large coffee mug at hand. The desirable looks on many of the women he passed by had gone noticed. Very noticed. It was hard to ignore when half the Ministry of Magic stared at him as if he were strolling along nude, with his chiseled chest and formal short straight hairstyle.

"Your recent divorce seems to have done you well, mate." An arm sprawled it's way around Draco's shoulder. Another hand gave him a large slap on the back. Grimacing, the Malfoy heartthrob repositioned his glare towards his two new companions.

"Bugger off, you bunch of barmpots."

"Oh, Malfoy's feisty," Ron cooed. "Women love that."

Blaise snickered. "He's not titled the Sex God for nothing, eh."

"Are you two done or do I have to hex you to oblivion. I'm strongly contemplating the latter at this point."

"Don't be like that, Malfoy." Ron receded his arm from Draco. "You know, 'Mione's been wondering what happened. With Greengrass I mean. We all are."

Draco's eyebrows perked up slightly at the mention of his former rival in studies. It had been a few years since they last met at Neville and Luna's wedding. He was genuinely surprised when he received the invitation, considering their many confrontations during childhood was never a pleasure to recall. Then again, his acquired occupation as an Auror to protect Wizarding folks alike did change his life. He was quite aware of his brewing feelings for the frizzy haired witch, but held back with extra force considering her marriage-to a friend of his nonetheless.

Blaise wiggled his eyebrows as a sign of his noticing Draco's sudden interest at the conversation. Ignoring his best friend, Draco sighed, "Nothing important. It was just horrifying staying together. She didn't want kids because it would "ruin her figure." I only wanted to wait a while longer to save the trouble of…well this." He raised his arms up lightly to indicate the massive amount of female pheromones looming over him like a dark cloud.

The boys reached the meeting room. Harry Potter stood at the end of the room in front of the long table. They were the last ones to arrive, and as soon as Harry spotted them, he waved his wand to close the door and cast a simple silencing charm for privacy.

"Well lookie here, man of the day has finally arrived!" Seamus smirked. Laughter erupted as Draco took a seat in one of the empty chairs beside Neville. A small lift of the lips appeared on his gorgeous face.

"Alright, alright," chuckled Harry. "Now that we're all here, we can finally get to business. As you all know, last month, a student at Hogwarts went missing, Alicia Seawell. Days later, she was seen in West Ireland by a man claiming to have seen his mate walking with her outside a pub. A week after that, the mate's body was found washed up on shore missing two body parts, as well as an organ. His body also shows signs of undergoing countless curses before his death. The same thing happened two other times afterwards. We've concluded that forbidden magic is being used. And if so, then judging from the witness' claim of how Seawell acted that day, it is possible she was under the Imperius Curse.

"Three days ago, a sixth year Pureblood witch named Alicia Beckett was reported missing from her bedroom. Her roommates say she sneaked out that night to meet a boy she met in Hogsmeade a few days before. They had set a specific date, time, and place for the rendezvous. She's yet to be seen. One of the victims worked undercover for the authorities. A universal tracking device chip was attached to his arm and led to a hidden house in the woods of Ouagadougou. As soon as he entered, he was transported from Africa to France within seconds."

Ron wondered, "A portkey?"

"It's quite possible. Authorities have tried entering the premises but found nothing. It is likely there is some sort of shield to keep muggles away. Our mission is to enter the house and see if we can find anything related to magic that might help this case move further."

Burkina Faso, Africa,1:46 PM :

The building that was the setting of countless kidnappings stood in the middle of a dead landscape, producing a similar feeling to the Shrieking Shack. The African air was misty and humid during this time of year, accentuating the yellowing grass and cracked dirt. The house was in an even worse condition. Cobwebs and spider webs made an everlasting labyrinth decorating the worn out porch. Although from the outside the house seemed small, the inside was unfathomably deep. The main hallway seemed to go on and on with no end. Doors settled to the side and there was only one staircase in the middle. It curved allowing a small closet underneath it.

With the blatant fact that they were currently in the worn down crap of a building, Draco couldn't help the shiver that crawled up his spine. Any second and this whole place could come crashing down.

"Will someone tell me why the bloody hell there are so many bugs here?"

Seamus stuck his lit up wand at the ceiling. "Can't take the heat, Malfoy?"

Swatting a mosquito from his face, Draco snorted. "These vermin are annoying as fuck."

"I just don't want to see any bloody spiders," murmured Ron.

"Does anyone see anything?" Harry whispered.

"Not yet," Blaise answered. "But this place sure is grotty."

"Ouagadougou…" Ron whispered to himself. Coming across realization, he tilted his head back towards his three fellow Aurors. "Didn't that barmy Lockhart bloke say something about this place?"

"Other than it being almost exactly like the Chamber of Secrets?"

"Harry Potter, come to save the day, eh?" joked Draco.

Harry grinned, "I am the Chosen One after all."

They walked further into the house, one by one entering different rooms in search for the unknown. Neville picked up a molded book crinkling his nose. "Maybe we ought to try looking for something not...molded."

After hours of searching, it seemed as if the mission was a lost cause. Only three doors remained closed which stood at the far end of the house.

Draco walked towards the closest door. Whispering a quick Alohomora spell, the door pushed itself open. He walked further into the room, wand ready. There were only two things in the room: a bed and a bookcase. The old bed was run down with ugly sheets crumpled on the mattress. The room didn't seem significantly special. But from experience, Draco knew the most important rooms always seem that way. His eyes searched around parts of the room and landed on the bookcase. He couldn't help but notice the off color from one of the books on one of the far corners, untouched, unlike the other novels leaning against one another. "I think I found something!" he yelled. He walked closer and stooped down to read the spine.

"Malfoy?" Ron asked walking into the room and knelt beside him. "What is it?"

"How to Make German Cake with Only Five Ingredients," Draco said grinning.

Ron sputtered, "Snarky git."

"Hobby of mine. Do you think it's the portkey? It's the only clean thing in this whole house meaning it's been used quite often."

"Possibly. But we don't know where it leads to, so don't touch it."

The blonde-haired Auror stood up. "I'll go get Potter." He took a few steps before Ron tugged on his shoulder.

"Hold on, did you hear that?" They paused to see if they could hear anything suspicious. It was absolutely silent, omitting Neville's ruckus across the hall. Draco and Ron disregarded it. Just as they began walking outside the door frame, a cry echoed throughout the house.

Seamus burst out into the hallway. "Did you hear that?"

Neville made his way out of the room next to Seamus and nodded towards the closet underneath the staircase. "I think it came from there."

Blaise nudged Harry. "What are you waiting for? Isn't that your territory?"

Harry rolled his eyes. He walked closer to the door, proceeding with caution. Ron stood behind him while Seamus, Neville, Blaise, and Draco stood feet away wielding their wands high in front of them in preparation for whatever would pop out.

"Alohomora," Harry whispered. The door creaked open slowly, each creak resounding the rapid heartbeats of the Aurors. The light of Ron's wand lit up the room as the door opened wider. It was difficult to see what was inside the closet until it turned it's head around, tears covering the rosy cheeks. The only thing any of them were sure about was the quivering brunette beauty that graced them.

Quietly registering the gorgeous girl shaking in front of them, Blaise lowered his wand and walked up next to Harry. "On second thought, I wouldn't mind taking this one over."

"Hello beautiful," he said bending down. "What's a lovely girl like you doing in a horrid place like this?"

She whimpered slightly. "I'm supposed to get rid of you."

Blaise blinked a few times. "You're...wait, pardon?"

Harry's eyes furrowed upon his realization that something was completely off about this situation. He knew her but couldn't pin the right name. And right when a light switch was turned on in his memory bank, it was too late to react. Within a minute, her eyes flashed pale and she smiled, barring sharp fangs; and within a second, she was on top of Blaise screeching into his ear, her wand pushing harshly into his neck.

"Expelliarmus!" The wand flew to the other side of the room. Turning towards her attacker, she looked at Neville with pure rage. She leaped off of Blaise, scratching him with her sharp nails in the process, and charged towards Neville who began to take off. She jumped onto Neville's back with ease and grabbed his wand from his hand.

"Reducto!" Seamus yelled, giving Neville a chance to escape.

"Wait! Don't hurt her!"

"Don't hurt her he says-he's not the one she's chasing!" Neville said to himself. She leaped over him and blocked his pathway, causing him to fall onto the ground. He scrambled to get back on his feet to run back the way he came. "Why's it always me?"

He ducked from a killing curse and gave a warning for Draco to do the same. Falling behind a sofa chair, Draco turned to Harry. "And what kind of insane idea is that?"

Harry shouted, "Stupefy!" before jerking his head back down. "It's the missing Hogwarts student!"

"Blimey, I've had enough of this madness. Incendio!"

In that moment, a series of events occurred.

Ron's spell hit Alicia's face and when the smoke cleared away, her eye socket was burning almost as much as her brewing hatred. He would have basked in the moment of awe that the fire had not phased her, had it not been for the girl casting an even bigger fire spell. And as if a second of that moment was lost to them, they found themselves taking cover from the explosion occuring.

Draco turned to see sparks protruding from Alicia's wand and her distracted stare. He followed her line of sight to see a ball of dark lightning ball bouncing off the walls in different directions, ready to clash into anything holding flesh and bones.

Recognizing the ball of light as a deadly spell, Draco quickly made a mental note to avoid it at all cost. "Whatever you do, don't let that thing touch you! It'll kill you within seconds!"

Aiming his wand at the girl, Harry shouted, "Stupefy! Petrificus Totalus! Mobilicorpus!" As a result of the series of spells sent, Alicia's body was bound and unable to move, allowing Harry to levatate her towards the exit. "We have to get out of here, now!"

Taking in the firery scene, Seamus broke out into a grin. "Brilliant! Bloody brilliant!"

"Not the time, Finnigan!" yelped Draco pushing Seamus to the front. "Watch out for the lightning ball!"

The house was crumbling down behind them. The fire started to make way engulfing the walls lighting up the hallway. They were nearing the exit. Harry burst out of the house first, levatating the girl. Blaise felt faint from the blood loss caused by his wound. Neville grabbed hold of him and held onto Blaise to prevent him from falling over. They made their way out, barely managing to avoid a pillar from the ceiling crashing downwards.

"Ron! Draco!" Harry yelled.

Draco suddenly came to a stop and turned back around searching for the room he was in before the attack. "Wait, the book!"

Ron came up beside him, gripping his shoulder. "Forget about it! The house is falling part. There's no way back!"

The walls began to cave in in unison. They only had seconds and freedom was more than a yard away. Draco avoided the bouncing light like the plague, which kept a turbo speed through the air. It was chasing after Draco and Ron, like it could hear their heartbeat and followed it like a blind serpent. Almost there. Closer. Almost there. Almost.

The anxiety and anticipation wore through him and he barely had time to pay attention to what was happening around him. Everything seemed abstract. His senses were becoming dull and he could feel himself losing sight of everything. The fire became the walls and the deadly spell shined brightly and blurred into the flames. The last thing he could comprehend was a warning from Ron, him running behind Draco, and the feeling that something had gone terribly wrong.

Draco felt his arm move behind him to latch onto Ron's waist. Glancing above him, he saw the front of the house beginning to crumble down. With his last ounce of strength, he kicked his feet as hard as he could, held onto his partner, and prayed they'd make it in time.

He felt himself tumble into what felt prickly against his face. His senses came to but the omnious feeling of dread resided. He could hear the blotched out cheers of his fellow teammates who yelled in victory and exhaustion. The smell of smoke and ash stung his nostrils. Draco pushed himself up from the grass. Although his head was still pounding, he couldn't help but grin the the knowledge that they'd all made it out alive.

Draco turned to look at the man laying out beside him. "Weaslebee." He nudged his body with his foot, waiting for some sort of witty response. But it never came. Thinking that Ron just needed some time to recuperate, he waited for a couple more seconds before dropping the smile on his face, fearing the worst.

"W-Weasley?" he choked out. His eyes darted around Ron's body to see if any part of him was moving. Draco lifted his hand and rested it on Ron's shoulder, shaking him lightly. His eyes stayed closed, inanimate. Draco began to beat on Ron's chest, trying to revive him. He pounded and thrashed. He repeated "no" like a broken record. "No. Fuck no-you can't do this. You can not do this!" The deeper the fact sunk in, the quicker numbness began to take over Draco's body. His throat was closing up. He couldn't breathe. It was like the oxygen was sucked out of his lungs before he had a chance to breathe.

The others quickly noticed his desperate cry. Seamus was the closest one next to the two and didn't hesitate to run to Ron. He pressed his finger against Ron's neck, gravely searching for a pulse. After what seemed like forever, he retracted his arm and shook his head. "He's dead," he said, somberly.

Harry's body shook. "Dead? ...Ron?" His legs quivered with each step he took to get closer to Ron and just as he was an arms length away, he fell to his knees. With a shaking hand, he tried to touch Ron's hand, but the anxiety was taking over quickly. Harry could do nothing but grasp the grass beneath him, chanting his name repeatedly. The tears and humidity fogged his glasses as he could do nothing by cry for his best friend.

Draco sat still as stone, thinking. It was the only thing his body would allow him to do, the only thing his body wouldn't reject. He tried to run the scenario over in his head again. Okay, think. THINK. What happened? We made it out safely, didn't we? House on fire, crazy bitch, deadly spell. He was beside me. No-...he was behind me...? He said something before that. He said-

Suddenly, everything clicked. The realization of what had happened was as clear as day, like he was in a white room with only one door out. It was so clear, he had an oncoming urge to heave his soul right out of his body.

Ron Weasley had saved his life.

A/N: Thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed the first installment of this new multi-chapter story.

When I was browsing around trying to figure out what to call this story, I came across one of Carrie Underwood's songs called Wasted. The lyrics were sort of similar to what I wanted to write about. It's not purely based off of it, but it does play an important fragment of one of the themes.

Again, thank you so much for reading and I hope you leave feedback!

Go to my profile page to find a link to my Tumblr where I spend most of my life.