A/N: Thanks for the reviews for all the previous chapters, everyone. =) Sorry there's such a stretch between updates, I've been so busy! But I promise to update more frequently now. I hope. Annnnnd, there's going to be a sequel for this story. (yeah I know, you're all bouncing up and down in your seats).
Although Dumbledore seem quite pleased to see Harry, and soon Neville, who stumbled into the Great Hall looking lost, there was something about his stance that made Harry think something horrible had happened. His once glinting, light blue eyes now looked tired and worn, his smile was simple and not the warm smile Harry had always seen, and he looked twenty years older than Harry had remembered him.
After everyone reunited, Dumbledore requested for Neville to join them in his office. Harry could only imagine what Neville and himself looked like after all they went through. As the three of them made their way up the staircase with everyone in the Great Hall's eyes upon them, Hermione started crying softly and rested her head on his shoulder. Neville looked away, lost in his own thoughts.
Harry looked down on Hermione and noticed how terrible she looked - there were shadows under her puffy and red eyes, she probably hadn't slept in days; she looked much thinner and her hair was matted and dirty. Yet she still looked perfect in his eyes and his heart swelled just looking at her. He kissed her forehead gently and brushed away a few stray wisps of hair in her face.
"I missed you," Harry muttered softly. He didn't understand why she still looked like the world had ended - he was back, Neville was back, everything was under control … right? Was there something he didn't know yet? Why was everyone acting like someone had died? As fast as these questions flooded him, an answer surfaced itself - where's Ron? His heart took a dive. Shouldn't he be here?
"I missed you too," Hermione sniffed, closing her eyes and rubbing them.
Harry couldn't speak. "Where's Ron?" he choked out, his legs suddenly cemented to the floor, refusing to move.
"I already told you," whispered Hermione, her voice breaking, "he's… he's missing."
Harry couldn't take it. He just couldn't take it anymore. Everything that had happened was enormously difficult to swallow, let alone comprehend. He felt his chest constricting and it was hard to breathe.
"Harry! Harry, are you okay? PROFESSOR DUMBLEDORE! Neville! Help -"
***
"Oh, I just don't know what to do… the letter says it all, doesn't it? But what if that's not Ron - that could be a Death Eater, you know. It just doesn't make sense, though! A Death Eater wouldn't know so much stuff… unless they tortured Ron into telling them? Oh no, that's horrible, why am I thinking such horrible things? It's Ron, I know it is, we have to go and -"
A thundering pain was shooting through Harry's head. He moaned and blearily opened his eyes to find himself in the moonlit Hospital Wing. Hermione was pacing back and forth on the side of his bed, muttering to herself and biting her lip nervously. Harry found it very problematical to speak, so it took Hermione a few moments to notice he was awake.
"Well, what are we going to do? We can't do anything, I have to convince him - Harry! You're awake!" she immediately went to his disposal. He winced when she touched his forehead.
"Sorry - Madam Pomfrey told me that your head would hurt incredibly after the Replenishing potion, so I imagine it would hurt to talk, too. I'll just tell you everything that happened," Hermione whispered, comforting him by stroking his arm lightly. "Oh, it's been awful lately. After you left, Dumbledore exploded. I'd never seen him like that before. He was so - so angry that Neville had done that. He gathered everyone in the Great Hall and told them how you were missing and ordered everyone home immediately, apparently afraid that Lord Voldemort would make a move on Hogwarts when you were away. The only exception was Ron and me because Mcgonogall said that since we were your closest friends we were the easiest target, and they didn't want to take any chances by sending us home. They thought we would be safest here in Hogwarts - but obviously that was not the case."
Hermione sighed and Harry noticed the tears welling up in her brown eyes. Her voice sounded strained as she fought to continue to tell him the story.
"After a few days, I can't remember which day it was exactly on, because I was so distraught about you - I woke up and… Ron was missing. We slept in the Room of Requirement together - Dumbledore said it was the safest place for us to be - and he was just gone. I remember going to sleep that night and praying that you were safe, and that you were going to come home alright. I remember saying goodnight to Ron, and then being unable to fall asleep for hours like I hadn't been able to every night since you had been gone. I… I feel like it was my - my fault that Ron was kidnapped."
Harry shook his head violently and cried out, "How could it have been your fault?" The pain in his temples increased dramatically. Tears spilled out of Hermione's eyes and rolled down her cheeks. Vaguely Harry wondered how many tears she had cried since he had left and immediately his heart went out to her. He raised his hand and wiped her soft, wet cheeks. This had to be so hard on her. "It's not your fault," he reassured her.
Her voice shook when she answered him. "We were suppose to watch out for each other! I don't understand how I could have not woken up when he was being taken… I was right there! I could have stopped it and I didn't!"
"Hermione," Harry said, sitting up with extreme effort and putting both his hands on her shoulders, "listen to me. They are Death Eaters. They don't just stroll into a room without any plan and kidnap someone. They knew what they were doing - they had been planning it the whole time! They knew you were sleeping in the same room as him and if you were awake of course you'd try to do something, so that's why they probably put you under a spell or potion to keep you asleep."
Hermione let out a soft cry and then fell into his arms. "I suppose you are right," she answered after a few
moments in Harry's protective arms. Harry had a burning desire to erase all of the pain she had ever known and make
her never feel heartache again. "But I just can't help feeling I didn't do anything to stop it." The
two of them slowly settled together into the hospital bed.
"You couldn't do anything to stop it," Harry breathed, closing his eyes, comforted by the fact that Hermione was next to him. Falling into the enticing embrace of sleep was what Harry wanted right now more than ever. He wanted to forget everything Hermione had just told him and imagine it was just the two of them again, back in the Gryffindor common room in front of the fire for just a little while longer.
Yet the heavy weight that had settled into his chest after hearing the information of Ron's kidnapping didn't erase, and his thoughts were anything but pleasant as he slowly drifted off into an uneasy slumber.
***
It was morning - or noon - did it matter? - and Hermione was nowhere to be seen. Harry had awoken to find only himself in a lonely hospital bed, and after a flush of fear went through his body he quickly got up and was about to leave the Hospital Wing to look for Hermione, thinking the worst, when Madam Pomfrey stalked down the room calling his name.
"Harry Potter," she cried, grabbing hold of his arm and tugging him back to the bed. "I am disappointed you are already trying to sneak out." Harry scowled.
"I wasn't trying to sneak out," he said indignantly.
"You were trying to leave. And you're not leaving yet, Mr. Potter, because your health is in a very fragile state right now. The Replenishing potion takes a few days to completely work, and I know you are very weak right not from what you just went through - "
"I am not that weak," said Harry, wobbling slightly as he clambered back into bed, knowing fully she was right. "I just want to know where Hermione is, that's all. Neville, too - where's he? How come he's not taking a Replenishing potion like I am? I want to see Dumbledore too, could you tell him - "
"Slow down! Hermione is just getting something to eat for the two of you, she should be back any minute. Neville is with Dumbledore, and for your information I did give him a Replenishing potion," Madam Pomfrey said with a hint of asperity. "Dumbledore just wanted to talk with him, and he hasn't returned, which I should really check up on…"
She walked away, muttering to herself.
Not long after Hermione returned, true to Madam Pomfrey's words, with sandwiches and drinks. She handed him one stiffly and sat on the edge of the bed, chewing hers thoughtfully. "There was something I forgot to mention last night," she said, not looking at him. Harry was hungrily eating his sandwich, but paused when Hermione spoke.
"Yeah?"
"I didn't really know what to do when I got it. I wasn't sure whether to believe it or not, and I'm still not sure, but I think we ought to take it seriously but be suspicious about it nonetheless - " she put down her sandwich on the bed and dug into her robe pockets. Out came a small dirty piece of parchment. She handed it to him, and Harry, a bit apprehensive, took it immediately.
He read it through four or five times.
Hermione, it's Ron, you've got to help me. The Death Eaters have me deep into the Forbidden Forest, in a clearing past halfway through it. I don't know how much longer they are going to keep me alive, I think they are waiting for you to come and save me, so if you come - come with backup.
Harry put it down, his appetite lost. "Well," he said slowly, "I don't think it's going to be that easy."
"Be that easy for what?" Hermione asked, standing up and beginning to pace, wringing her hands.
"For us to save him."
"What are you talking about, Harry? We can't just go barging into the Forbidden Forest with the intention to save him - you should know by now Voldemort has got a trick up his sleeve and it's not going to be that simple. I don't even know Ron wrote this! One of the Death Eaters could be planning an elaborate scheme to kill you and wrote this to lure you to them -"
"You're right," Harry answered, his eyebrows furrowed. It surprised Hermione immensely. "It sounds too much like what happened with the Department of Mysteries. We don't know if this is authentic; of course it looks like Ron's handwriting but then again they could have tortured him into writing it, as awful as that sounds… what kind of owl did it come with?"
"I don't know. It was on my bed."
"So we don't even know if it actually even came with an owl. Someone could have dropped it off there. You say you got this last night?"
"Yeah. When you fainted, Dumbledore thought it would be best to talk to you later and tell you what happened. I went to my room and I found it lying on my bed. After I panicked for a few minutes, I decided not to tell anyone about it besides you and see what you wanted to do."
"Why?"
Hermione seemed uncomfortable. "It was just a gut feeling." Harry nodded. He had no idea what to think about this letter. Of course there was two options: to come to the conclusion that it was Ron who actually wrote this and him and Hermione had to go save him now, or that this was a scheme of Lord Voldemort's to get Harry to go to the Forbidden Forest so he could kill him. Harry weighed the possibilities in his head.
Lord Voldemort wouldn't use the same trick to lure me to some place, he would know that I would think twice about it and be smarter about the decisions I made instead of being so rash. So why would he do it over again? It just didn't make sense. But then why would he kidnap Ron if not under the intention to get me to some place where I'm not so protected?
Hermione sighed and sat on the edge of Harry's bed lightly. "You know," she said, "I think Ron really did write this, regardless of whatever happened last year. Why would Lord Voldemort write 'bring back up'? He would want you to be by yourself. It would make it easier to kill you. And Ron wrote it to me, not you."
Harry didn't say anything, but bit his lip and considered Hermione's words carefully. It did make sense that Ron wrote this and not Lord Voldemort; a lot more sense than the opposition.
"I think," Harry said, "we should show Dumbledore this before we do anything else." Hermione agreed and helped Harry sneak out of Hospital Wing (Madam Pomfrey was busy doing something in the back room). They headed up to Dumbledore's office where they found him and Neville sitting there quietly.
"Professor Dumbledore," Hermione said, walking up to him briskly and brandishing the letter. "I got this last night." Neville looked on, intrigued. Dumbledore took it and read it through speedily, his light blue eyes darting back and forth.
"What is it?" asked Neville as Harry took a seat next to him. Hermione stood a bit a ways from the desk, her arms crossed and her face blank.
"A letter from Ron Weasley," answered Dumbledore in a monotone, putting down the parchment and entwining his fingers on the desk.
"Really?" gasped Neville. "What does it say?"
"It says that he's in the Forbidden Forest in a clearing. Death Eaters have him."