Ernie struggled against the ropes, feeling them dig into him, they were not giving way. Not on their own at least. He slowly moved his hands toward the holster where he kept his wand.
"But this is different, Justin. It's not the Death Eaters, and You-Know-Who is gone, and it's not some basilisk. I did feel that I failed you--I was so worried. We were very lucky that you were alright." He kept his eyes on Justin, feeling whatever hostility related to being caught and bound like this dissipated.
"And I'm not going to die if I could help it either, you know. I understand that your father's loss has hurt. But doing this may not prevent it from happening anyways. I'm sorry but really, we don't know what we're dealing with to begin with."