#Call the arc Witch Hunt Apparitions or something

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My second Art Fight attack! This is of @prettyholic7 's Jojo's Bizarre Adventure OC. Thank you for the opportunity to draw her! It was very fun trying to mimic the jjba style.

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Go or no Go - Ch. 15 of the Ron Weasley Chronicles

FF.net // Ao3 (which I will be working on posting in entirety the next couple of days)

Tagging @callieskye and @ronaldswheezy since I told them it would be posting today. Also tagging @anemotionalteaspoon since they are a Ron Weasley Community and might be interested.

A/N: Happy Birthday to that amazing Man with the enormous Character Arc - Ron Weasley. I’ve had this stuck in development hell for months and then yesterday everything flowed like water. So I hope you enjoy it and since I’m on Holiday next week, I plan on writing another 2-3 updates so I can wrap up the story by the end of this year. Also, Rated T for Ron’s filthy mouth and not much else. - DG

“So since we’re not sleeping the rest of the night, tell me about it.” Hemera Jones gave Ron one pointed look that would make the most hardened criminal wet themselves. But on him, after all the hard looks from Hermione, he was immune.

Ron side-eyed Harry and saw him slightly nod his head and keep reading. Bless that git for understanding what they all needed tonight.

“This doesn’t leave the room – for any reason. Deal?” Ron turned back to Hemera, intending to clam up if she didn’t agree.

“I promise.” Hemera winced again before taking a deep breath. “Next time break my arm. It’ll hurt less.”

“How about both so you forget your shoulder?”

“Idiot.”

“Yeah, I am. Anyway, how much do you know of what we went through the year of the coup?”

“Regarding you and Potter and Granger? Not that much. Kingsley wasn’t forthcoming. I thought for a while that he took an Unbreakable Vow from what he knew and refused to divulge. But I can guess some of it, and that guessing is probably wrong. Right?”

“He promised to not say anything unless I was the one to tell it. I’m glad he kept his promise.” Harry didn’t look up from his book and didn’t volunteer anything else. “Those days were what I needed but they were horrible. There are some secrets that absolutely must be kept. And the fewer people who know about it, the better, for everyone.”

Harry and Hemera shared a look before she broke eye contact and looked back at Ron sitting next to her bed.

“Anyway, my Brother Bill got married the day before Harry’s 17th birthday. We’d already moved Harry from his family home.”

“That was the night Mad-Eye died, wasn’t it?”

“It was. My brother Bill saw him fall from his broom. I remember – “ Ron stopped. “But that wasn’t Mad-Eye as a Defense teacher. That was an imposter. But I met him a few times and his words still echo in my head.”

“He was an amazing Auror before the stresses of the job broke him. Then again, when you do this job long enough, paranoia is a small price to pay.”

“Does Aurora help?”

“Immensely. While I can’t talk about specifics with her, which she understands, she’s there to listen without words, or when I’m upset and need a distraction. Sometimes all I need sometimes is for her to be there, not even doing anything except cooking dinner and prattling on about some of her students, or what she saw through the telescope the night before, or the turnips she picked up at the market that morning. You know, domestic stuff. All of that grounds me and reminds me I’m not my job.” The dark-eyed witch sighed before cringing in pain and saw him nodding. “It’s not just sex, Weasley. It’s that mundane day to day shit, the unimportant moments that make the moments worth living. It reminds me – and hopefully you – what is important – and it’s not this crap we fight day in and day out. Having someone share your life, even the really grotesque bits make it worth dealing with the grotty days.”

“Hermione does too. But I don’t know how to get through this.” Ron ran his hands through his hair and rubbed the back of his neck. Crass words erupted spilled past his lips. “They were kids and I know they signed up for this but fuck, they barely needed to shave more than once a week. They were first years when all of the shit at Hogwarts went down.” Ron looked up and saw Hemera watching him. “How can we ask these kids who were innocent those days to pay this kind of price? Why the hell did that wench think that she could blackmail, kidnap, and demand a place without earning it?”

“Guilt is a heavier price to carry, Weasley, if you’re going to do this job. But you also didn’t force those kids to sign on the line for this career. They knew what they were getting into, especially once they learned the history of the Aurors as cadets and had more time than you and Potter had to get to this point. The lessons Moody taught – and what not to do – are still being taught, especially by you.

“Now you got the conversation shifted. Nice try, Weasley.”

“Damn. I thought it wasn’t obvious.”

“I had Granger for a year. She was a pro. Now, back to Moody and that year.”

Ron sighed. “Bill saw Moody fall. My brother George lost an ear to Snape that night, the bastard. But we got Harry safely away and out of that sod’s possible hands. It came so close to going sideways that night, with all the shit flying around. Bill was rather fond of Moody in his own way. He was gutted that night over it, and more the next day when they couldn’t find him.

“But then the night of my brother’s wedding was when the ministry fell. That was about a fortnight later.” Ron bit his lips in a poor imitation of his wife.

Hemera waited patiently for him to continue and decided to interject. “I got caught up in that mess. It’s a wonder I escaped, much less Kingsley. He doesn’t like talking about it and I don’t either but you should know: I killed four people that night so I could escape – friends who I’d worked with for years. I think he had to kill six to escape. We were hunted from that night too. But he had been guarding the Minister and they jumped him. He couldn’t save Scrimgeour. Merlin knows he tried but someone blasted the Minister. Fell dead in Kingsley’s arms.”

“I didn’t know,” Ron’s voice was barely audible. “I’d go spare if I had to do that to escape.”

“That’s why Kingsley, Gawain, and I insisted the first ones back take Veritiserum and ask them if they were part of the coup. The ones who refused were incarcerated ‘til we could make sure. Those were some ugly first few days in the Ministry.”

“The only thing I remember is Percy being gone until the day of Fred’s funeral. He came with the Minister and left with him two hours later. The prat still won’t talk about it. I don’t think I saw him again until Harry’s birthday party at the end of July.”

“He was doing what Kingsley and I couldn’t do – go through reams of parchment and build the case for the prosecution for those who survived the purge. His efforts the first month are the stuff of legal legend. He singlehandedly put away Umbridge with his documentation of her Muggle interrogation court. He put Yaxley under the prison with more documentation.”

“So that’s what happened,” Ron said quietly. “He was holed up with all of the binders.”

“He was running on pepper up potions like so many of us did those first few weeks. There were quite a few of us who were addicted to the stuff and had to have the addiction broken. Trust me when I say it wasn’t pretty at all.”

Ron refused to speak up about Hermione that year he was separated from her. But Hemera probably knew about it so there was no reason to speak of it.

“Anyway, keep talking. I know Kingsley sent a warning. He said he sent his Patronus to Arthur. After that, it gets a bit blurry and fuzzy in the details. I don’t remember much that first week.”

“We received it in the middle of the wedding reception. Within moments, Death Eaters crashed the party. They were firing off spells left and right. Lupin shoved Harry into me and Hermione and the three of us apparated away. That night was pretty barmy. We didn’t know what was happening at home and couldn’t return because Dad sent his Patronus where we were hiding and told us to stay hidden.”

“And what did happen?”

“The bastards, they tried to hurt Ginny, thought they could get her to say where we were at. Or threaten her so someone would sell us out. Fleur spared Ginny and took down three with her Veela magic. I dunno if they died or were stunned but dad said they escaped. Ginny was unharmed and so was Fleur. But we didn’t know that for a very, very long time.”

“Where did you hide, if I might ask?”

“Where we lived after the war ended for a few years – Grimmauld Place. Only Snape knew of it and we were hoping that he wouldn’t come calling. But we were able to hide there almost two months. We had to leave it after the break-in of the Ministry.”

“Why did you do something completely mental?”

Ron stole a glance at Harry and Harry shook his head.

“We were hunting information and we thought the toad had it. It was mental and utterly barmy but it made sense at the time. We found some things out but we were caught and everything went sideways. Yaxley caught us during apparition and found our hiding place. We had to escape and did, thanks to Hermione. But I got hurt.”

“How bad? Did you get slammed into the ground and bust a shoulder?”

“Close,” Ron said. “I got splinched, nearly died from bleeding out. It’s a wonder that Hermione was able to save my life.” Ron lifted his left arm. “She must have used half a bottle of dittany on my arm, where almost the whole muscle and upper arm was scooped out in the mishap.”

“I never noticed that on you.”

“It’s there. I worked very hard during training to build it up strong. I’d noticed that my left shoulder had some weakness in it, especially doing close quarters dueling that I said I’d not allow it to be a vulnerability. And it’s not, anymore.”

“So you kept hiding?” The next thing I’d heard, months later, was that you’d been seen at Malfoy Manor and escaped again.”

“That, unfortunately, was true. We got caught by Snatchers and they figured me and Hermione out but not Harry. It’s a wonder we escaped there.”

“How did you?”

Ron took a deep breath. “Elven magic. Harry had a house elf who adored him and did anything he asked. The elf helped us escape – and paid the price for it. Hermione still talks about Dobby to this day.”

“And that’s where she changed, isn’t it?”

“If you mean where she has her trauma, yeah.”

“She told me about it, one time when we talked. She needed someone and her favorites were unavailable. I was it and she spilled everything – including how you saved her life.”

“I dunno about that,” Ron spoke up.

“He did. He just won’t admit to it.” Harry piped back down and went back to reading.

“Well, the git says I did so I’ll go with it.”

“Then a month later, there was a break-in at Gringotts, a dragon escaping and destroying the bank, and then you show up at Hogwarts. That made absolutely no sense. There were kids there.”

“Like I said, it made sense at the time. We thought we’d be able to rally people to the cause and maybe have the numbers to stop them for good. We did, eventually, but the costs were astronomical, as Hermione would say.” Ron rubbed his face. “The costs were enormous.”

“Your brother, right?”

“Yeah, along with many friends and friends of the family. Merlin, I saw Lavender dead in the Hospital wing. It was only months later that we found out that she was alive, if not a full werewolf.” Ron looked up from his hands. “That’s why she’s out of bounds. I admit I was an utter tosser to her as a boyfriend, I won’t stand anyone slag on her. She’s got so much courage,” Ron’s voice drifted off, not finishing the sentence.

“I lost someone too.”

Ron looked up at the witch in the bed in front of him. “I only found out after the fighting ended the night at Hogwarts. Even then it was months.” Hemera looked over towards the door, her gaze far off. “The bastards killed my brother. They went to his flat in Peckham and forced their way in. He should have been protected, being a Pureblood. Nope. They tortured him. Sods were hunting me but I’d spoken to him the day before they found him. He knew to not ask and I’d move after talking with him. He’d never know where I was. I warned him but he said, the last time we talked, ‘I’m a pureblood. What are they going to do to me? Not a bloody thing.’ Dumb sod thought he would be protected.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.”

“That’s why I was running myself ragged those months before the first term at Hogwarts started and I was on duty there, teaching as well as keeping watch. Instead of hunting down the bastards who murdered my brother, I was teaching first years spell theory I’d forgotten 25 years prior.”

“Tell me about him,” Ron leaned in closer, stealing a glance at Harry behind him. Harry had dozed off, his glasses askew, the book lying on his lap. “I’ll share about Fred if you want.”

“He was two years younger, and in Hufflepuff. My parents loved him while the rest of us teased him. He played Quidditch and was pretty good. He bounced around the various teams, being good enough to be on the team but not good enough to start every match. But like the rest of us, he adored Gwenog. He would practice with her in the summers growing up, throwing the Quaffle around with us while bludgers flew too. He flew pretty well but not as well as your sister does. She’s something else up there on a broom.” Hemera turned back to Ron, sitting slumped in his chair. “He had a good life ‘til those sods ended it.”

“You know who was responsible?”

“No one admitted to doing it. But my guess is Dolohov along with maybe Yaxley, or Rowle. The first two were notorious enough to do what they did to him.”

“How did you find out?”

“Your brother Percy found out about it and told me. He read a sheet of parchment listing interrogations. Most of it was bollocks but he came across my name and pieced together what he read. When he realized what he had, he took it to the Minister and he told me when I checked back in.”

“That’s probably worse than having a wall exploded onto you and killing you instantly.” Ron wiped his face with the back of his jacket. Another tear fell followed by another. “Shit, it’s been years and I still can’t talk about it without being a bloody ponce.”

“You’re not. That’s your brother. There’s no shame in feeling something for his loss. Merlin knows that I still hurt over missing Hector.”

“He wasn’t paying attention. Percy made a joke, telling Minister Thicknesse that he was resigning. Fred thought it was a joke from Percy and that prat rarely makes jokes. But he did, dueling up in the hallways before the explosion. When I came to, Fred was dead and Percy was inconsolable. We had to scramble away because Acromantulas were coming up the castle wall and into the castle. We had to run and drag Fred with us, to somewhere safe. It wasn’t until later that we saw the carnage in the Great Hall during the lull in the fighting.” Ron wiped his face again. “So many died. Merlin, it’s a wonder we didn’t all kark it.” Ron stared again, lost in memories. “Where were you that night?”

“Kingsley sent his Patronus when he arrived at Hogwarts with Remus and Tonks. I was outside flying with that silly git Oliver Wood, from Puddlemere, along with some other Quidditch players. Who knew they’d be that adept on aerial maneuvers and firing off spells while flying upside down.” Hemera inched up on the bed, wincing. “I know I knocked about ten off their brooms, possibly killing them by how fast everyone was flying. Up there, in the night sky with all the spells flying around, it’s a wonder we didn’t kark it as well, as you so eloquently put it.”

“I know that many were falling left and right, from what I saw later on, with Neville and Oliver bringing in casualties. I helped some, bringing students to the hospital wing. I must have brought a half dozen in myself.”

“I was too busy to have noticed. That was when Harry disappeared, too. Stupid git.”

“Well, I can tell you that Oliver and Neville brought the bulk of those injured in from outside, those they could get to. There were some, probably death eaters or such, who drown in the black lake or down in the other chasms. I dunno, frankly, but it was a high butcher’s bill.”

“And when Voldemort died,” Ron sighed and Hemera interrupted.

“Kingsley found me straightaway and put me on the third most important mission – to chase down those who had escaped. We knew that plenty did, those who survived. We knew about Avery, and Dolohov, the Lestrange Brothers, along with Rookwood. Merlin, I still remember that moment, Kingsley staring at me an inch away, trying to whisper and failing since he’d been blown off his feet by Voldemort. ‘Dolohov escaped. Find him. Do whatever is necessary.’

“So that’s why you were off ‘til Hermione saw you that day in Professor McGonagall’s office looking like dragon droppings.”

“Yeah. Thankfully Madame Pomfrey broke my pepper up addiction straight-away before term started. That was how I was running on 4 hours of sleep every three days. I don’t recommend it, ever.”

“So you – “

“I recognized it immediately if that’s what you’re asking.”

“Yeah, I guess I am. I knew something was up but she never said anything.”

“It wasn’t that she didn’t want to.”

“How do you know?”

“We had a rather pointed and candid talk one night during detention.”

“She had detention? With you?”

“Yes, with me. I think she’s still irate with me over that night’s detention.” Hemera looked at Ron and saw the look on his face. “She didn’t tell you that, did she?”

“No, she didn’t.”

“Want to know? It’s not like I’m leaving this bed for a couple of days, I reckon.”

“We had class one afternoon and she was present but otherwise not paying attention. I forget what the class topic was but that isn’t important. Anyway, I mentioned using a particular set of protocols in surveilling someone – which is Auror standards, and she contradicted me in class in front of everyone.”

“That sounds like Hermione, for sure.”

“Well, when I attempted to correct her, she went spare and sideways, saying that the Auror protocol would get people killed in certain situations, because of the waiting on reinforcements issue. I naturally disagreed and she wouldn’t listen to decades of experience. So I called her on it and she went mental. I gave her detention and you know what she did? Laughed. So I gave her a second for her cheek.”

“I bet that went over well.”

“As well as a missed bludger smacking you in the face when you whiffed it. She laughed harder and so I sent her to Minerva for her insolence. But by then the class was up in arms and so I called it a day, fourty minutes early. Minerva found me a couple of hours later after talking with Miss Granger and said she would apologize when she saw me the next night for detention – and the next two as well, since Minerva gave her one for disrespecting me.”

“She did? I bet that stung.”

“So naturally when Miss Granger came for her first detention, we did sparring with wands. I wanted to see her angry, and how well she could actually perform. She did pretty well, considering she wasn’t going to be an Auror, but she was also predictable. I think I stunned her six times in an hour, and after each one, she was getting more irate, more furious, more vicious, but also easier to predict That last one she was close to killing, I’d swear. I can see why she was able to duel Bellatrix and not die within two seconds.

“Anyway, After the sixth one, I called it a session. She was furious, but I think it was more at herself than at me. I sent her on her way and I went to talk with Minerva. The next night, we did it again, and again I stunned her six times over. She never said a word to me, not even when she departed for the night. Once again I went to talk with Professor McGonagall because I was genuinely confused by Miss Granger. She bade me to be patient and that Hermione would eventually come around to trusting me.

“She was wrong. The only times I could get her to talk were in class, only. But I also will admit this – she was absolutely right. I informed Gawain of what she said and how we handled things, especially in kidnapping and hostage situations. That was when we changed that protocol, to not wait when things are going sideways. That’s why we sent you and Potter in immediately on the warehouse job when things went to shit to try and salvage the situation and not wait for backup.”

“So before, you waited for backup? How many people died by doing it that way?”

Hemera took on a haunted look in her eyes. “Enough that it keeps me from sleeping some nights. I’m honestly glad Granger forced me to change my mind enough that I went to Robards and had the procedures changed. Sure we might lose an Auror now and then, but damn if we don’t keep more of those in need of protecting alive.” Jones looked up from the white woolen blanket on her bed covering her lap. “Being an Auror is a dangerous job. That’s why we signed up, right? Our job is to protect the innocent and capture the accused and bring them to justice. Staying safe is important but not at the expense of lives lost by our waiting on backup.”

“You don’t regret being bait in this whole affair, do you?”

“No, I don’t. I’d do it again. But I am upset that we lost Archer and Mallory along with the one who was causing all of this mess. They didn’t deserve to die on our watch.”

“We didn’t have anyone else to bring in, did we?”

“No, not really. Everyone else was out on assignment or on medical or various reasons. We couldn’t wait for a day or three for Robards to get enough Aurors back to storm the proverbial castle. I hate though that we took juniors on the case, though.”

“That’s my fault. Harry and I could have done it ourselves. We should have – “

“You’re doing it again – blaming yourself for the actions of others. You think Mallory would have stood back while his best friend was in danger? You know that you’d go mental if anything would happen to Harry.”

“Both of us would,” Harry spoke up in a groggy voice. “Ron doesn’t think so but he is my best mate and the one I trust the most. Anything happened to him and I’d – “

“We know, Harry. Now get some rest, would ya?” Ron cut across Harry.

“Git.” Harry had affection in his voice.

“Prat,” Ron replied back half-heartedly.

Ron turned back to see Hemera grinning. “See, I told you. It’s obvious to everyone in the office. Robards knows it too, which is why he has the two of you working together much of the time. The two of you work well together.”

“But I also know that there is going to be an uproar over this situation.”

Ron hung his head. “I’m fully expecting to be sacked tomorrow over the whole thing.”

“Bollocks. If anyone will, I will. I started the whole thing and didn’t kick the strumpet out of the program the minute she tried to blackmail me. If they are hunting for a head, I’ll let them take mine before yours. You are entirely too valuable for this department long term. You have a real head on your shoulders for this job and how to do it right while also keeping integrity and honor in it.”

Ron looked away from the bed, his ears turning a virulent shade of red.

“You know I’m right.”

“Maybe, but how can Harry and I change the department when it’s been the same for centuries?”

“Innovate. Get Granger to help assess the procedures and protocols. Have your bureaucrat brother write and document it all. The only ones who might have an issue are Williamson and I but we’ll change if it helps do the job better and keep those we protect safer, even if we are in more danger.”

“So that means rushing into danger if we have to, regardless of our personal safety, right?”

“Absolutely. I already live with the horror of finding witches dead because we waited to go in with overwhelming force when, had we gone in immediately, even if we put ourselves in peril, would have saved lives.” Her face turned hard. “I don’t want you living with the guilt I do by possibly letting people die because we waited to be safer. It’s bollocks.”

“What else can we do? Since Harry and I are Seniors now, can we also make sure that the ones we bring into the department are above reproach? I don’t want another entitled Pureblood getting in and thinking they have it made just because of their name or heritage.”

“It won’t since they have to pass Healer Reeves and she’s a niffler for anyone having some hidden anger issues. And if you mean a pure meritocracy? It might work if we can assure the Wizengamot that our ideas are meant to keep the Corps to the highest ideals of honor and integrity.” Her eyes grew hard yet again. “That might mean having Slytherins in the department, with their ideas of integrity. Can you handle that?”

“I don’t care which house they are from. I want them to be willing to step into the fray and take a spell if it means saving the lives of others. I’m tired of losing other Aurors, mind you, but by Merlin, I’m more tired of people dying because we want to be safe. Shit, if I want to be safe, I’d quit and go work for George where I might have a chance of dying only once a week rather than any particular shift I lace my boots up.”

“Hermione doesn’t know how dangerous our job has been, does she?”

“Frankly, I think she does, on some level. She knows when I come home and can’t talk and sees how upset I am and need a fast hard … anyway, she’s receptive to my needs on those days and doesn’t question it. But I’m also sure she gets some reports to know something, even if she doesn’t comprehend how damn scared I get out there sometimes. Fuck, I was when I saw you hostage and I couldn’t think fast enough on how to protect you, the others, and keep Harry safe.”

“Did you think that Harry had your back?”

“Well, yeah, but it’s also protecting him, too.” Ron rubbed his neck and looked over his shoulder. Harry was asleep again, snoring softly with the book fallen into his lap. He turned back to the witch in the bed before him. “From the first time I met him, and I realized who he was, I hoped I would be his friend, even if I didn’t realize how complicated that might be. I could see that he was dressed in natty robes, and I was right. They were grotty hand-me-downs from his cousin who was a spoiled sod. Harry was mistreated growing up by his Muggle relatives and to hell with them. It wasn’t ‘til years later that Harry and I talked about what happened to him growing up. It’s fortunate that I was underage otherwise I’d have hexed them to oblivion. And don’t ask Ginny what she thinks of them, either. If you think I’m bad in reacting to them, don’t get her wound up about those Muggles. It’s far from pretty.”

“Anyway, so sure everyone knew who Harry Potter was, even then as kids. No one really knew who I was and I had this rubbish thought that Mum and Dad had five older brothers and a sister. I was more than redundant, but Harry was important. So I promised myself that I’d look out for him, and protect him as much as I could, and be the best friend a bloke could want. Sure we have had our rows sometimes,”

“Not counting the knock-down drag out in front of me in training that day, obviously,” she added.

“Yeah, that wasn’t one of my better moments, mind you, but we laugh about it now. Anyway, he’s my brother and I’m closer to him than most of my siblings, ‘cept maybe Ginny or George. I trust him completely even if he’s a bit of a prat sometimes. And while Hermione gives me hell for it, I’d rather take an injury if it keeps Harry from being hurt or killed. But for some silly arsed reason, he is the one in the hospital bed more than I am. I can’t figure it out.”

“Maybe it’s that you’re trying to be more of a hero than he is and he’s protecting your back. Ever think of that?”

“Yeah, maybe. I’d rather be in the hospital bed dealing with Hermione than hearing it from Ginny or Mum that Harry got hurt. If anything happened to him, I’d go spare and probably crawl into a Firewhiskey bottle and never come out.”

“Nah, you wouldn’t, but you’d probably get yourself hurt horribly and permanently if you did anything about it, or earn a stint in Azkaban.”

“Not like I’d want that,” Ron replied with little fire. “He’s my best mate. I’d do anything for him. And I pretty much have, like he has for me.”

“So help me and him revolutionize the department, then. I know you’re broken up over what happened today. I am too even if I don’t look like it. But there has to be a balance between protecting your fellow Aurors and protecting those who need it. The old methods aren’t working anymore, not in this new era. I’ll work with you to find new ways of doing this job, so fewer people are hurt.”

“You think we can, even with Robards having a wand up his ass when we make suggestions on how we can do the job better?”

“I think so. You might think he’s a bit of an arse but he’s actually softened up since he took the Director’s job this time around. He actually listens to the guys in the field and trusts them more than insisting that they do things his way now. And if you say you did it and can give him good reasons for breaking protocol, like saving lives, sod the rules, he’ll back you up 100%. Remember when we broke countless laws to get your Mum back safely? How you got the shit beat out of you magically to save her?”

“Of course I do. That was Mum.”

“He didn’t tell you he caught hell from the Wizengamot, even if everything was legally justified. The Purebloods on the court were 27-26 in making Gawain redundant. He barely held on, but only because Kingsley spoke up for him and that we caught the Death Eater and saved your Mum and only broke the laws as a very last resort. So you might think of him as a bit of a tosser, but he’s quietly had your back for yonks now.”

“I kind of figured that.”

“So once I’m out, you and Potter will sit down with me and we’re going to re-write the procedure book. Merlin knows it’s barely been updated in a century practically. Help me makes those lives that were lost today worth something, so we can save the next ones from bureaucratic cockups.”

Ron chewed his lips in a fair imitation of Hermione while stewing over everything Senior Auror Jones spoke about. Deep down, he knew she was right, and that the bureaucracy caused more problems than solutions. Then again, he knew that from Hermione. “All right, I’ll do it. I’ll help. Maybe it’ll help with some of the guilt I’m feeling.”

“Ron, that feeling never really goes away. You just learn to put it aside a while and do the job. We can mourn the dead but I’ll be arsed if we don’t fight like hell for the living.” Hemera put her hand out and Ron gripped it, contrasting his freckled, pale and scarred skin to her dark scarred skin. “We owe Daniel and George that much.” She smiled but it barely touched her eyes.

“And we’ll do it for them, and the rest who will follow them.” Ron added.

[nightmareonfilmstreet]

[Review] THE AXIOM is a Creative Take on a Cabin in the Woods Chiller

New Post has been published on https://nofspodcast.com/review-axiom-creative-take-cabin-woods-chiller/

[Review] THE AXIOM is a Creative Take on a Cabin in the Woods Chiller

The ominous darkness, twisting trees, and dilapidated cabins of a forested wilderness have long been staples of horror. In fact, the “Cabin in the Woods” sub genre is arguably one of the most popular in all of horror. Seeing as we’ve had almost every iteration of forest-set thrillers, it would seem to be nearly impossible to have an original take on the genre. But The Axiom manages just that. The upcoming film is a creative little indie chiller and the promising film debut of writer/director Nicholas Woods.

The Axiom opens like many woodsy horror outings before, with a group of friends taking a road trip into the mountains. McKenzie (Hattie Smith) is on a mission to track down her sister, Marylyn  (Maria Granberg). Her sibling is an outdoorsy, adventurous girl who never failed to keep in touch with McKenzie during her past expeditions.

But McKenzie hasn’t heard from her sister since she embarked on a camping trip some time ago, and she’s worried. So she enlists her brother Martin (Zac Titus), and friends to accompany her on a roadtrip to track down her sibling.

After posting a craigslist ad requesting information, she is contacted by a mysterious man named Leon (William Kircher) who claims to know where Marylyn is. Now I don’t know about you, but venturing into the woods in pursuit of a missing person doesn’t sound like my idea of a fun friend outing. But who am I to judge? Martin’s girlfriend Darcy (Nicole Dambro), her brother Edgar (Taylor Flowers), and their wisecracking buddy Derrick (Michael Peter Harrison) apparently think it sounded like a good time.

Granted, McKenzie hasn’t told her friends that she read Marylyn’s journal. It contained some troubling and mysterious references to something her sister was searching for in the woods, — something called “the Axiom.”

McKenzie doesn’t believe any of the mysterious stuff she found in her journal. She remains skeptical even when she finally meets Leon and he claims that “the Axiom” is real and that it’s a doorway of some type hidden in the forest. She takes her friends to the closed park and rundown visitor’s center where Leon says she can find her sister.

Upon entering the park, things take a turn for the eerie. They arrive late in the day, but the sun doesn’t seem to want to set. The abandoned visitor’s center seems frozen in the past. Soon, members of the group begin to see strange and frightening apparitions among the trees.

Woods is clearly a massive horror fan. He’s packed his debut with references that demonstrate his love for the genre. His influences range from The Shining, Friday the 13th, the work of Guillermo Del Toro, The Blair Witch Project, and more. But these nods serve to enrich the film rather than detract. They highlight how Woods took familiar premises and tropes of the genres and turned them into something original and unique.

The film also manages to be delightfully frightening despite it’s low budget. Practical effects are used to to extremely creative effect. Amy Blalock’s makeup work stole the show, pulling off scares that managed to haunt me long after the film. Woods uses deceptively simple effects to create haunting, nightmarish images and settings. They give the film a far more unique and uncanny look than more big budget horror films. Most of the scares take place in broad daylight, an uncommon setting that only serves to increase the unsettling atmosphere of the film.

The cast delivers some great work. Standout performances include William Kircher (The Hobbit trilogy) as the ambiguously threatening Leon, and Taylor Flowers as McKenzie’s friend Edgar. Edgar has bipolar disorder and has recently recovered from a breakdown. He is one of the first of the group to begin to see things in the woods, and he initially blames it on his mental health. Edgar’s character and disorder are treated respectfully and sympathetically, and his slow descent as the supernatural forces of the forest overtake him is one of the most emotionally affecting arcs of the film.

In fact, The Axiom takes great care to develop its characters and the emotional themes surrounding them. In particular, the film is about siblings; From McKenzie’s somewhat irrationally determined hunt for her sister, to her drifting relationship with her brother, to the heartbreaking rift of mental illness between Edgar and his sister, Darcy. Unfortunately, while these themes deliver some great acting and gut wrenching scenes, they don’t get the full focus in the script to really tie them all together with the larger story.

And this points to the primary shortcoming of The Axiom. For a low budget debut, the film is almost too original and ambitious to fully pull it off. A big reveal in the third act expands the world imagined by the story to an epic scale. Suddenly, unlimited horrors, characters, backstory, and lore are opend up to explore. But instead of going all in, the film leaves a ton of unanswered questions and wraps things up with a fast paced conclusion. With a runtime of only an hour and forty minutes, the film is well paced but left me wanting more.

I do understand that much of this is likely due to budget constraints. There is likely no way the film could have thoroughly explored the world building that Woods has come up with. So instead we got a slow burn chiller with a ton of creative ideas merely suggested throughout. Those suggestions are very effective, however. And when that conclusion does hit, we are treated to some gloriously weird and fantastical sequences. I was simply left a little unsatisfied.

But these understandable shortcomings are very much outweighed by the originality and daring of The Axiom. Considering this was his debut, Woods was not afraid to go all out with ideas, influences, themes and characters. If it gets a little too big for it’s britches at times, it makes up for it in its creativity and promise. I certainly intend to keep a close eye on the future of Nicholas Woods, and I think fellow horror fiends should do the same.

2.5/4 Eberts

  The Axiom  is produced by Phoenix Down Films and is set to be released in March of 2018. Information on festival appearances and screenings can be found here.