Harry punched Remus in the face as he struggled to break loose.
“Someone stun him!” Remus snapped as he slammed Harry to the floor and pinned him there in order to keep him from twisting free.
“God, no. Fuck. You left Ron! LET GO! YOU CAN'T MAKE ME LEAVE HIM!!!”
Hermione whipped her wand out and caught Harry in the side of the head with a stunner. Harry slumped down limp.
“Don't wake him unless he's restrained!” Remus snapped, turning and rushing out the door and apparating before anyone could ask questions.
Hermione left Padma on the stairs and hurried down to Harry's limp body. She cast a diagnostic, checking him over carefully. He was covered in dirt and had a concussion and several fractured ribs; several nails had been torn off, and he was carrying cursed injuries.
“Someone send a patronus to Kingsley and Moody,” Hermione said in a sharp voice as she countered the curses. She levitated Harry off the floor and took him up to the hospital.
It didn't take long to repair Harry's injuries. Then she poured several strengtheners and restorative potions down his throat.
She hovered over him, wiping his face clean and watching the colour slowly come back to his features. She pushed his wiry hair back from his face and traced a fingertip along his scar.
“Oh Harry, Harry, Harry,” she murmured under her breath and pressed her forehead down against his. “Please, Remus, bring Ron back.”
She stayed beside Harry until Neville appeared, accompanied by Charlie who was carrying an unconscious Tonks. Padma came in behind them. Neville's wand arm was broken in multiple horrifying angles.
“What happened?” Hermione asked as Padma levitated Tonks into a bed.
“Fuck if I know,” Neville said. He was so pale his skin was nearly translucent. Hermione cast a diagnostic; he'd been hit in the arm with the acid curse and he also showed signs of being crucio'd. “They must've expected we might eventually use the tunnels. We tripped an alarm or something. Suddenly there were more than a dozen Death Eaters in there. There were anti-apparition wards; we didn't even think to check for them while digging. We held them back and Remus blew a hole in the roof of the tunnel and dragged Harry out first. We tried to follow. Ron got hit with something. Anthony and I were trying to get him but they got my wand arm with the acid curse. Anthony countered it, used a leviosa and threw me out of the tunnel. Idiot, let his guard down. I saw the killing curse hit him. I don't know how Tonks got out. No one else — got out. When Remus got back, he just made us apparate.”
“So — is Ron alive?” Hermione's voice shook as she removed the bones in his arm. Neville was so dazed he didn't even react.
“I don't know—“
“We sent word to Mum,” Charlie said in a wooden voice. “To find out what the clock says.”
Ron's hand on the Weasley family clock steadily read Mortal Peril.
Hermione went personally and stood staring at it beside Molly Weasley, who had taken up vigil there. Hermione felt half-afraid that if she turned away it might move abruptly to “Lost” beside Percy's.
It took half an hour before she could force herself to tear her eyes away.
“Molly, there's a meeting in an hour, about what to do. I — can stay with Arthur, if you want to go,” Hermione finally said, resting a hand lightly on Mrs Weasley's shoulder.
Molly didn't look away from the clock. She shook her head. “No. I have to stay here, dear. The boys will be there. I have to stay here.”
Hermione withdrew her hand. “I'll make you some tea before I go.”
The meeting was seething.
“We're not going to attempt any suicide missions to get into Hogwarts,” Kingsley said as soon as the debriefing was completed. He was utterly calm despite the tension vibrating through the air. “Getting into the school was already a top priority mission and it continues to be. Given our inability to even access the school, we cannot immediately plan a rescue to find a single prisoner inside the castle. Until we have better information, a rescue attempt is off the table.”
Charlie smacked the table angrily, and the meeting descended into shouting for several minutes.
“We can't leave him there. He's an Order member. They're probably torturing him. What if Lucius Malfoy gets his hands on him?” Harry's chest was heaving with panic and rage despite the Draught of Peace and sedatives Hermione had given him prior to approving his rennervation.
“There is nothing that can be done until we have better intelligence,” Kingsley said, unmoved. He was always exactingly calm during meetings. His eyes darted around the room for a moment before stopping on Harry. “While you recuperate, Moody is already heading a new mission at Hogwarts. We are fully aware of the urgency of the situation, Harry.”
“I don't need to recuperate,” Harry snapped, his teeth bared. “I need you to help me get Ron back. There has to be something we can do. We have prisoners, we could do an exchange.”
Kingsley drew a long breath and shook his head. “If the Order attempted to open a negotiation channel, we could alert them to the value of their prisoner. You're grieving; until you have a new partner assigned to you, you are restricted from further missions.”
Harry stood up and walked out of meeting without another word.
“Keep an eye on Harry,” Kingsley said. “Remus, Fred, Charlie, don't let him out of your sight.”
As the room cleared, Kingsley remained at the end of the table. Hermione stood up to leave.
“Granger, a word before you go,” Kingsley said.
She stopped and turned back. Kingsley cast a privacy charm around them. She curled her hands into fists behind her back.
“You need to speak with Malfoy. I want everything about Hogwarts, immediately.”
Hermione stared at Kingsley guardedly. “Now?”
“Soon as you can, wait there until you speak to him. Tell him it's critical. Make clear this is a top priority for the Order.”
She nodded and started to turn before stopping. “Should I tell him why? That we're trying to get Ron back?”
Kingsley nodded slowly as he looked back at her. His expression was closed but his gaze as he studied her was meticulous. She often wondered what conclusions he was drawing.
“Yes. If he has a chance to get Ron back, that would be preferable to the losses we'll suffer attacking Hogwarts. I doubt they'll be foolish enough to kill him; Harry's tendencies are too well known. Until we get Ron back, Harry's useless. There are no solutions that won't be a risk for the Order. Losing Ron could easily be a critical blow for us.”
Hermione's mouth twitched at the unspoken implication. It was worth sacrificing Draco to recover Ron. Of course. That was why she'd consented in the first place. She knew that calculus to be true. Because war was larger than anyone.
But — but—
She swallowed. “Alright. I'll tell him,” she said in a dead voice.
After a moment, she added “You realize Harry's going to try to stage a rescue on his own.”
The corner of Kingsley's mouth twitched. “That's why I assigned Remus, Fred and Charlie. If I put myself on his detail, he'll try to go solo. He's less likely to leave them behind. I'm hopeful Remus can talk sense into him if he does anything stupid. Unless we put him in stasis somewhere the Weasleys can't access, I don't expect there's any way to stop him.”
Hermione started to speak and then hesitated. Kingsley arched an eyebrow.
Her jaw tensed. “Ginny. Should we tell him about Ginny? It might ground him slightly.”
She watched Kingsley calculate the question. She had realised a few years into the war that Kingsley Shacklebolt had been a Slytherin.
“Not yet. If we can't recover Ron within a week, we'll use it,” Kingsley said finally. “I don't want any information getting to them. If we're lucky, they'll preoccupy themselves by trying to gather their own intelligence until Moody and I can find a solution.”