The Prophecy of Descendants

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They sat on the sofa, pressing shoulders against each other, neither able to fully sit up for long periods of time without some support.

Harry was across from them, lounging comfortably in the large armchair.

"So you don't remember anything?" he asked again, quirking an eyebrow at them both.

Ron shrugged. "I remember feeling like I had just played Quidditch for three weeks straight, I was so tired. We were running forever it seemed."

Brown hair bobbed as the witch agreed. "I was just plum wiped out, Harry. I don't know that I could have gone for much longer. All I remember is the Death Eaters coming from nowhere, it seemed, then surrounding us and then one casting on you... then -"

"Then you cursed," Ron said with a small chuckle. "You called that one a bastard. I remember because I was so proud that I was rubbing off on you."

Hermione's brown eyes rolled dramatically. "Mmm, I'm proud of myself, Ron."

It took a few seconds before Ron's patented look passed over his features as he realized Hermione was not particularly proud of herself at all.

Harry grinned at his two best friends, having missed their squabbles over the last few days while they had been unconscious. "Is that it, Hermione? All you remember?"

"No," she said softly, frowning as she continued. "I think I recall turning and casting on the one who knocked you out. Then - then I saw them all raise their wands and they all cast on us at once. I thought I heard Snape's voice about that time, but I'm not sure. Oh! Ron, I saw your face- you looked like you were dying; it was horrid." A shaky sigh finished off her words as Hermione snuggled deeper into the sofa's cushion, trying to gain some sense of security.

"I'm alright, Hermione," Ron replied in a soft voice, laying his arm lightly over her shoulders. "But come to think of it, we likely shouldn't be. Harry- why are we alright?"

The young wizard removed his glasses and scrubbed his eyes quickly before returning the spectacles to his face. "I was out for most of it, too," he said, prefacing the story, "but Lupin came by days ago and filled me in. He said that the Order arrived just as the Death Eaters were about to cast. Snape, Lupin, Tonks--everyone cast at the same time, Death Eaters and the Order. The Order cast a counter-curse to the Death Eaters' magic; there were too many Death Eaters to try to wipe them out."

"Oh," Hermione said softly, as if it all became clear to her with that piece of news.

"I feel like I'm in Arithmancy class again, you two." Ron searched his friends' eyes, trying to decipher any meaning at all. Deflated at not picking it up as quickly as Hermione, he said, "What am I missing here?"

"The two magics- good and evil- the met in the air above us, Ron, I remember that. There were sparks and - the air was so thick with magic it was hard to breath," she said softly.

Harry continued. "Lupin said they tried to keep the magic away from you all but they couldn't hold its position. He said that you all got caught in the cross fire; the magic encapsulated you both."

Ron gulped almost audibly. "Evil magic?"

"Both good and evil," Hermione said.

"It was the best they could do to save you, keeping up with the counter curse," Harry said, looking at his hands instead of at his friends.

"I'm sure they did the best they could," Hermione offered.

"Well- hopefully it wasn't all for naught," Ron piped in. "How'd it go at the castle? Did they get everyone taken care of?" he asked, referring to the mission the Order had been on while the three had acted as bait.

"By the end of it all, we gave them more than enough time," was Harry's only reply.

Ron simply nodded, his red hair falling into his face briefly before he pushed it away with his least-injured hand.

As if waiting for her cue, Mrs. Weasley entered the room with her wand at the ready, glasses, a pitcher of lemonade and a plate of cookies floating in behind her. "Get everyone up to speed, then, Harry?"

"Almost," he said. "Just about to mention the hours you spent playing Healer, Mrs. Weasley."

The woman chuckled slightly as she poured drinks for everyone and passed the cookie-plate around. "Longest days of my life," she said. "A mother hates to see her children suffer!"

Hermione felt her cheeks redden. She knew she had been all but adopted into the Weasley family, but it was still a bit unnerving to hear it so plainly stated.

"Sorry, Mum" Ron muttered, taking a chocolate chip cookie for Hermione and a Spinach flavored one for himself before setting the plate down.

"Its alright, dear. You're fine now and that's all I can ask for. Just a few bumps and bruises and a little bit of burning to your skin; we did what we could, but the burns wouldn't heal right off. They've been getting better but, well, of course Arthur thinks that letting the body heal itself the Muggle way is the best choice but -"

"Mum," Ron interrupted softly, reminding his mother that both Harry and Hermione had been raised in Muggle houses.

Mrs. Weasley looked up quickly and embarrassment briefly colored her cheeks. "Oh, yes, well, I suppose a few days of Muggle healing won't hurt any of us. After all, it served you both well for eleven years, didn't it?" she said, regarding both Harry and Hermione with loving gazes before excusing herself from the room.

Ron waited until she left the room. "So what happened to get us out from the magical 'bubble?'" he asked.

His friend shrugged. "They wouldn't say. They just said you were out mainly unharmed and we should consider ourselves lucky."

She sighed deeply before speaking. "Its ok, Harry. I feel perfectly normal, except for feeling like a heard of Hippogriffs ran over me. I'm sure we'll be fine again in no time- no lingering side effects."

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