Disclaimer: I do not own anything but the plot.
A/N: Sorry for the delay. The plot is going to start rolling now and I'm going to try to keep away from the OOC business I've seemed to be bordering. However, Ron is supposed to be a bit OOC. You'll see why. Maybe not in this chapter, but you will.
Love Letters
Chapter Ten
Harry felt too sick to go to breakfast that morning. He and Hermione walked slowly and silently to Care of Magical Creatures, both lost in their own troubling thoughts. The grounds were still soggy from the morning dew and dark clouds were looming overhead.
"Looks like we're in for a bit of a rainstorm, don't it?"
"Hi Hagrid," Hermione smiled slightly as their friend and teacher greeted them.
"You two are here a bit early," Hagrid said, their saddened expressions unnoticed, "where's Ron?"
"Right here."
Harry jumped slightly as Ron's presence caught him off guard. Hermione let out a small squeak and Harry thought she looked almost frightened of their best friend. He felt his stomach tie into a great knot. The grinning red head in front of him seemed like Ron, but there was something terribly different about him. Harry tried to act casual as he, Ron, and Hagrid shared a conversation about the upcoming quidditch season, but Hermione remained silent as she stared at her shoes.
The rest of the Gryffindor fifth years and the Slytherin group made thier way over in a matter of minutes and Hagrid began his class. Harry paid little attention to the whole lesson. His mind was swarming with different questions. Where was Ron all summer? Why is he lying to us? Why does it seem like there's nothing wrong at all? Harry caught Hermione's eye and she gave him a weak smile. He noticed her glance at Ron's casual figure in front of them and saw a single tear fall down her cheek. Why is this making us so miserable?
-:-
Harry found himself walking through the forbidden forest later that night. He could hear a soft and familiar cry in the
distance.
"Hermione?" he called, his feet picking up pace and moving faster through the darkness.
"Harry," he heard a mild whimper coming closer.
Harry broke into a run, Hermione's cries growing louder with each step. And then he saw her. She was on her knees, clutching her chest in the middle of a small clearing, her frail body shaking. Her usual shinny brown hair was wet and sticking to her back in a tangled mess.
"Harry," she managed through her violent sobs.
"I'm here," he answered her, coming to her side. But as he tried to wrap his arms around her, they went right through her. Hermione continued to cry, leaving Harry unnoticed, and turned over on her back. Harry's breath caught in his throat as he saw what looked like a stab wound protruding from where her heart should be and there was a growing puddle of blood around them.
"Harry," Hermione cried, "how could you do this to me?"
"What?" Harry said, confused. "Hermione, I-"
But he cut his sentence short as he tried to take her hand. Their hands didn't even meet. His went right through hers and she didn't notice. Harry seemed to be like a ghost. He couldn't touch her and he couldn't understand why.
"Hermione-I'm, I'm sorry," Harry muttered.
"She can't hear you," a cold voice said from behind.
Harry turned abruptly and saw Ron walking towards him.
"Wha-what do you mean?" Harry asked, his mind spinning.
"She can't hear you; she can't see you," the red head answered, "that's what I mean." He walked right up to Harry and shook his head, glaring at him. "I can't believe you'd do this Harry, and to Hermione of all people."
"What did I do?" Harry asked. "I just found her here."
"Really?" Ron asked coldly, not looking convinced. "Didn't I tell you not to hurt her? Didn't I warn you not to break her heart?"
"But I didn't! I swear!" Harry said, jumping to his feet to defend himself.
"Right," Ron stated, still glaring at Harry. "Then what's that?"
Harry turned his head in the direction of Ron's gaze and his stomach gave a lurch. He hadn't noticed it before, but in his right hand, he was holding Godric Gryffindor's sword, the same sword he used to defeat the basilisk in his second year, and it was dripping with blood.
Horrified, Harry started to back away, not believing what had happened. It looked like Ron was smirking but Harry couldn't be sure. Ron knelt down to the crying Hermione and touched her hair softly. Her head shot up and her face contracted into what looked like relief.
"Oh Ron," Hermione sobbed as she fell into his arms.
"Shhh, it's okay," Ron answered soothingly, rubbing her back, "I'm here."
"Harry," Hermione muttered into his shoulder, "I can't believe Harry did this."
"I know, I know," he replied. He glanced up at the retreating Harry and winked. Harry dropped the sword and advanced on his best friend, suddenly wanting to strangle him. But he walked right through both of them. He stopped and turned around, anger and regret boiling inside him as he watched Ron comfort his Hermione.
"You'll be alright Herm," Ron whispered in her hair, still watching Harry with an amused expression, "I'm here . . . always."
"I know Ron," Hermione said, looking up at him and smiling through her tears, "I know."
"No!" Harry shouted, and woke with a start.
-:-
"Harry you could never break my heart, even if you tried."
"I know but-"
"But nothing," Hermione cut him off. She had a somewhat frightened expression on her face as Harry had told her of his dream the night before, but now she wore a kind and understanding smile.
"But Ron seemed so. . . Malfoyish," Harry muttered, sitting back in his chair and Hermione let out a hearty laugh. They were in the farthest corner of the library, Hermione's favorite spot, and no one was even close to them.
"Harry," Hermione said, taking his hand from across the table and squeezing it, "yes he did, but Malfoy has never really hurt us before now has he?"
"I guess you're right," Harry sighed, accepting her view on the dream.
"Of course I am," she joked, giving his hand one last squeeze before letting it go. "I've got to run," she said, standing up and gathering the few books that lay in front of her, "I promised Ginny I'd help her with her Transfiguration homework before dinner."
Harry nodded as Hermione came around to his side of the table. She knelt down beside him and took his face in her hands so that he would look at her.
"Harry," she whispered so only that he could hear, "we're having some confusions about our friend right now but it'll work out, believe me. I love you." She kissed him lightly on the lips and smiled up at him. Harry couldn't help but smile back.
"I love you too," he replied, and they kissed again, but this time for a bit longer. He gazed down on her loving face and the vision of her lying on the ground, alone and bleeding to death caused a pang in his heart. She knew he was still troubled and brushed his ebony hair out of his face. She kissed his scar softly and stood up, giving him a reassuring smile. When he just stared back at her, she sighed and started to head out.
"Hey, hey Herm," Harry called, suddenly getting an idea.
She turned and looked at him questioningly.
"Yeah?" she asked, leaning against a book shelf.
"I was thinking," Harry said as he met up with her, "you know how Ginny and the twins have been acting . . . well not themselves at all. I mean, Ginny's never needed help in anything before."
"What are you getting at Harry?"
"Well," he began, trying to think of what he was getting at.
"Well. . ." Hermione was looking lost.
"Talk to Ginny."
"Well I plan to," Hermione replied, standing straight, "how else can you tutor someone without talking to them?"
"No," Harry said, "talk to her about . . . her summer."
"Harry I dunno," Hermione answered, shaking her head.
"Come on Herm, it's worth a shot."
Harry looked up at her, hope in his eyes. Hermione seemed to be holding her breath, contemplating what to do. After a moment or two she sighed and gave into his request. They kissed one last time and Hermione finally left for the common room.
-:-
"I don't see why you need help in Transfiguration Gin. You seem to be getting this fine."
"I know," Ginny muttered, staring down at her hands in her lap. Hermione was extremely concerned for her friend. Ginny was always a quiet girl but for the entire first month of school, she hardly said a thing. Ginny was bright and had a sense of humor as large as any of her brothers', but she never did anything anymore, never laughed at all.
"Is there something you want to talk to me about?" Hermione asked quietly, thinking of what she and Harry had talked about. Ginny met her gaze and Hermione saw tears welling in her sad blue eyes. The red head nodded slightly and then began to stare at her hands again.
"Well," Hermione whispered, putting her arm comfortingly around her friend, "what's the matter? I know something is wrong. Just tell me, what is it?"
"I can't say," Ginny said through a small sob. Tears were beginning to stream down her freckled cheeks. The poor girl had bags under her eyes and she looked as though she had been under so much stress. Hermione reached out and hugged Ginny as she cried. She didn't cry for very long but Hermione could tell Ginny was just trying to hold them back.
"I can't talk now," Ginny sniffled, putting her Transfiguration book into her messenger bag, "but later."
"Okay," Hermione answered, her mind drawing up a million conclusions all at once, "when?"
Ginny turned to her, her eyes set and determined.
"Tonight, right here in front of the fire, a quarter after midnight. And bring Harry."
"I will," Hermione replied, nodding.
"Hey Ginny!" a rough voice called from behind the girls. Ginny dropped her bag when she saw that it was Ron.
"What's up Herm?" Ron asked, flashing Hermione a grin as he ran a hand through his red locks.
Is he flirting with me? Hermione asked herself.
"Not much," she answered, shaking the thought off, "Ginny and I were just having a study lesson is all."
"Really?" Ron asked, his blue eyes suddenly looked like ice. He rounded on Ginny and glared at her. "A study lesson huh? I thought I told you to keep your grades up this year Ginevra." He snapped. Ginny looked down at her shoes and said nothing. Ron looked back at Hermione, his temper about to blow. "How badly is she failing huh?"
"She's not, Ron," Hermione said immediately, taking a step back from him. "We were just doing homework together and talking, that's all."
"That's all?" His temper was starting to slowly go down. He looked back at Ginny. "Talking Gin? What about?" Ginny continued to stare at the floor.
"Oh you know Ron," Hermione replied, trying to cover for Ginny, "just girl stuff."
"Right," he said, taking a step back from both of them, though he still looked unconvinced. "C'mon Ginny," he stated, grinning jus like the normal Ron, "let's go have dinner. I'm sure Hermione's going to wait for Harry." He gave Hermione a cold look on his last word. He then grabbed Ginny's arm roughly and stalked out of the room with her trailing along.
"Okay," Hermione muttered under her breath, staring after them, "could this get any more complicated?"
-:-
Harry wandered through the empty corridors. Everyone was in the Great Hall for dinner, but he didn't feel very
hungry. He kept thinking about the dream he had. He kept seeing Hermione's frail body shaking in a puddle of her
own blood. It scared him. It wasn't the only dream where he had hurt Hermione in some way.
He racked his brain to try to remember those nightmares. He knew he had them, but they were so far away, and extremely hard to recall.
The first one, he remembered, was right after he and Hermione had their "fake date." The end of their date was the beginning of the new relationship they were sharing. But the dream, the dream was the beginning of this torture. Voldemort had Harry bound to a boulder and Hermione was tied in the Dark Lord's arms. Voldemort had wanted Harry to join him, combine their great powers. If he didn't join, he would kill Hermione. Hermione told Harry not to listen to him, to let her die, but Harry agreed to Voldemort's terms as long as Hermione stayed safe. But like any evil villain, Voldemort lied, and Hermione was dead in an instant.
The other nightmare was on the train to Hogwarts around the beginning of August. Harry had gotten there early and fell asleep as he waited for Hermione to join him. Harry had found himself at the edge of a rocky cliff and Voldemort was standing menacingly in front of him. Again, the Dark Lord had wanted to join forces with Harry. When Harry refused, Ron and Hermione appeared. Hermione was struggling to unbind herself from the ropes keeping her captive, but Ron was standing completely still. When Harry still resisted in joining Voldemort, Hermione was killed instantly, but Ron lived and remained still. As Harry held the lifeless Hermione in his arms Ron watched him, along with Voldemort, with a sadistic grin on his face.
And now this dream, where Harry himself was the one that practically killed Hermione. Ron acted as though he knew something like that was going to happen all along. Something was wrong with Ron. These dreams had to mean something. It was as though Ron wanted Harry to be miserable, but the real Ron would never want that.
"Harry!"
Harry's head shot up from his thoughts and he saw Hermione walking quickly towards him, past the statue of Hugo the Hopeless. She seemed out of breath when they reached each other, and by her expression Harry could tell she was worried about something.
"What's wrong 'Mione?" Harry asked, worried as well.
"It's Ginny," Hermione replied, pausing to catch her breath. "She's going to have a nervous breakdown any moment, I know it. And she wants to talk to us, but privately. Before she could say much more though, Ron barged in."
"What did he do?"
"He was quite peeved when he realized Ginny was talking to me," Hermione said quickly. "He dragged her out of the common room and I'm almost positive he doesn't want her talking to anyone at all, not even us. He's hiding something I know it. This isn't Ron; it can't be."
"Who can it be then?" Harry asked. This was a genuine question, not just a senseless remark.
"I don't know," Hermione cried, exasperatedly, "maybe, maybe this really is Ron, and he's just got a big secret. I mean, he's not happy that we're in a relationship, Harry. It was quite obvious he had some sort of crush on me last year. His reaction to us was totally Ron-like. But he's been acting normal really. He just seems a bit violent now and then."
"But Ron's never been the violent type," Harry added, "so this can't be Ron."
"Maybe it can," Hermione said desperately. She was the kind of person who needed straight facts and this was eating away at her. "Maybe, whatever happened this summer, made him this way."
"And how will we know this for sure Hermione?"
"Well, tonight," she answered, "a quarter after midnight we're meeting Ginny in front of the common room fire. She's got something important to tell us. Maybe she'll help solve this whole thing."
"Maybe," Harry muttered. Hermione sighed and looked like she was going to pass out from everything that had happened. Harry wrapped his arms around her and she buried her face in his shoulder. They stood in the empty hallway for awhile in silence, both of their thoughts on what was going to happen at 12:15.
-:-
"Maybe she fell asleep. Why don't you go check on her?"
"I doubt it," Hermione said later the night. She and Harry were sitting in front of the dying fire. It was five minutes until one. "Ginny doesn't look like she's had any sleep in a very long time."
"Maybe she forgot," Harry suggested. Hermione huffed and even Harry himself admitted that that too was impossible.
The two waited quietly until the fire completely burnt out. It was half after one when it did. Hermione stood up and sighed.
"Maybe I'll just go check," she whispered, and headed up to the girls' dormitories without another word.
Harry remained seated and laid his head back on the chair. He was just beginning to drift to sleep when he heard Hermione's footsteps running down the stone stairs. He stood up and looked at her questioningly.
"She's not even in the room," Hermione cried franticly, walking towards him, "and a fourth year that was still awake said Ginny's been gone all night."
"Where is she then?" Harry asked, though he wasn't expecting an answer. Hermione just shook her head sadly, completely lost.
-:-
"Do you see her?" Hermione asked Harry as she scanned the Gryffindor table at breakfast the next morning.
"Nope," he sighed, playing with his porridge. "Maybe she already ate."
"Maybe," Hermione muttered, taking a sip of pumpkin juice from her goblet.
Harry hadn't seen Ron either, but Ron was usually late to rise anyway. The two remained quiet for quite sometime after that.
"Did you hear about Ginny Weasley?"
Both of their heads shot up instantly and glanced around anxiously. Parvati Patil and Lavender Brown, the biggest gossipers in the whole school, were walking up to the table to grab some breakfast before class.
"What about her?" Parvati asked her blonde friend as they sat a few feet away from Harry and Hermione. The two met each other's eyes for a moment and their ears perked, eager to hear what was up.
"Apparently," Lavender went on matter-of-factly, "she and Ron were racing each other to dinner the other night, and she fell down two flights of stairs. Ron had to carry her to the hospital wing. The poor thing was unconscious and bruised all over."
"She fell?" Parvati gasped in surprised, "that's awful."
"It is," Lavender agreed, taking a bite out of her biscuit, "but Ron is such a good person for taking care of his sister like that."
"Yea he is."
Harry and Hermione heard no more of the conversation. Without a word, both stood up, gathered their things and started out of the Great Hall. Once they were in the Entrance Hall they started quickly towards the infirmary.
"Do you think she really fell?" Hermione asked.
"Yea," Harry answered, "and I'm really the Minister of Magic."