A/N: It's been a really long time I know. Here's more. Hope you all enjoy.
-:-Love Letters-:-
-:-Chapter 13-:-
"Ron?!" Harry practically shouted, revealing his hiding place behind the curtains. Ginny's swollen eyes widened in fear and her breathing became short and heavy at the sight of him. Harry walked towards the two with an expression of bewilderment and anger.
"Ron, what's he doing here?" she asked her supposed brother, looking worried. "If he finds out we'll be done for."
"He won't find out Gin, I promise," Malfoy, or Ron, whispered gently, taking Ginny's hand in his.
"What do you mean I won't find out?" Harry asked angrily, stopping before them. "Why am I even here? And who the hell are you anyway?"
"Harry calm down," Malfoy-Ron demanded and Harry found himself falling silent without protest. "First of all, we aren't talking about you Harry. And second, I am Ron."
"But, but," Harry couldn't comprehend what was happening.
"I'm under a polyjuice potion," Ron finished, "if you're wondering why I'm looking like that rat, Malfoy."
Suddenly, things started to fall into place for Harry. Too many things were falling into place for him. He slumped into an empty chair beside Ginny's bed and took a deep breath. He looked up and saw the two Weasleys staring at him with their breaths held.
"That means," Harry said slowly, "that the Ron with Hermione is, Malfoy?"
Ron nodded sadly and Ginny let out a small whimper, covering her face.
"And he did this to you?" Harry asked Ginny, gesturing to her small, beaten frame. She nodded, a few tears escaping her eyes. "I'll kill him," Harry said defiantly, "I'll kill him right now!"
Harry stood up quickly and started heading out of the infirmary. What gave Malfoy the nerve to do something like that to Ginny? And to take Hermione away from him as well?
Harry's blood was beginning to boil and he could feel his temper rising.
"Harry, stop."
He turned around to see Ginny shaking from her silent tears and Ron looking at him sadly.
"There's more," Ron said quietly, "so much more that you need to know."
It was a strange moment for Harry. He was looking into the eyes of his sworn enemy, but at the same time it was his best friend, who he had been missing for so long. Ignoring Ron's exterior appearance, Harry sat back down, ready to hear everything.
"I. . . don't know where to start, exactly," Ron said slowly.
"This summer," Ginny suggested in less than a whisper. Harry smiled sadly at her. The past few months were obviously torture for her.
"Ok, this summer," Ron said, stopping slightly to take a deep breath. "Well, we were. . . kidnapped, to put it lightly."
"Who's `we'?" Harry asked nervously, knowing where this was going.
"Me, Gin, Fred and George, Mum-"
"All of us," Ginny cut in, her eyes shut tight, most likely to keep from crying again.
"Yes, we, we all were," Ron said shakily, "by Vol. . .Volde. . You-Know-Who."
"Oh God," Harry muttered, putting his face in his hands. Voldemort was already coming after his friends.
"And all summer," Ron continued, his tone a bit quieter, a bit calmer, "we were kept captive and occasionally tortured."
"You were tortured." Harry repeated, trying to keep from exploding. "My God Ron. But tell me, why are you Malfoy and Malfoy you?"
"I'm getting there," Ron muttered. "See, one day, maybe mid-August, You-Know-Who came along with Malfoy and had a proposition for me. In order to assure my family's safety from anymore harm, I was to take a polyjuice potion with Malfoy, so that when we went back to Hogwarts, he would pose as me, and I would as him. I didn't realize until after I agreed to it, that it was a way to get to you Harry. By ruining your friendship with me and finding your weakness, You-Know-Who's planning to destroy you."
Harry sat still, letting Ron's words sink in. Things seemed so much clearer now. In his dreams, when Ron was acting all sadistic, working with Voldemort, it was really Malfoy doing that. And they always got to him through-
"Hermione," Harry muttered, "they're going to hurt Hermione."
"I'm sorry Harry," Ron said sadly, "I shouldn't have agreed to it."
"No," Harry told him, "you were looking out for your family, I understand."
"I should have been looking out for you and Hermione. You two are my best friends."
Harry stared at Ron, not sure what to say. He was partly angry at his best friend for making such a deal with Voldemort, without thinking it through. But Ron's heart was in the right place, with his family the entire time, where it should be.
"You're not supposed to know this Harry," Ginny said, breaking the silence. "That's why I'm here. I wanted to tell you. I even tried. But Malfoy sensed my motives. That's why he beat me, and threw me down the stairs. Torture. . . it's the best way to silence people."
"Ginny don't say that," Ron reprimanded.
"It's true," the red head insisted. She turned to Harry, who couldn't bear to look at her small, weak frame. "I'm sorry. I should have told you. . . before things started to fall apart."
"I understand," Harry said quietly, staring at his shoes. He couldn't stop thinking about Hermione. She was trapped in this horrible mess with the darkest wizard of all time because he was Harry Potter and she. . . was his weakness. His nightmares were going to come true if he didn't do something.
"How can we stop him?" Harry said immediately.
"Who?" Ron asked, puzzled at Harry's sudden outburst.
"Malfoy, Voldemort, both," Harry answered impatiently, "we've got to do something."
He was greeted with bewildered silence until Ginny spoke up again.
"Get her back Harry," Ginny told him. "Get Hermione back, and protect her. If You-Know-Who can't hurt her, he can't get to you."
"She's got a point mate," Ron chimed in.
"Yes, you have a point Ginny," Harry agreed, "but if Malfoy doesn't let her out of his sight, tell me how I'm going to do that."
Ron turned to his sister, waiting for a reply. She looked at both boys and sighed.
"Don't look at me. I don't have all the answers."
Harry groaned, frustrated, and buried his face in his hands. How he'd get Hermione back was going to take a miracle.
-:-
The next morning, Harry went down to the Great Hall with Neville, earlier than he usually would. Once he was there, he found that Hermione had risen early as well, and was eating her breakfast alone. He sat down across from her, but she continued reading whatever book was propped up against her goblet, ignoring his presence. Several minutes of silence at the Gryffindor table passed by until Neville started to cough rather loudly.
"Talk to her," he muttered through his coughs.
"Er. .right. `Morning Hermione," Harry said, getting a nod of approval from Neville.
"Good Morning Harry," she replied, not looking up from her book.
"How are you?"
"Fine thank you, and yourself?"
"Good. . . good," Harry answered. A few more minutes went by, and Hermione continued reading her book without acknowledging Harry at all. Neville started coughing once more, drawing some unneeded attention from other House tables.
"Keep. . . talking," he muttered.
"I, I think we should talk," Harry went on, "about what's happened between us."
Hermione finally took her eyes off her book and looked at him darkly.
"I don't believe that there's anything to talk about," she put calmly.
"Oh, I think there is," Harry continued, "I think there are a lot of things we need to talk about."
"And I think you're wrong."
With that Hermione shut her book quickly and stood up from her seat, heading out of the Great Hall. Harry stared after her. This was working smoothly.
"Well go after her," Neville stated.
"Right," Harry muttered, stumbling out of his seat. Once he left the Great Hall, he saw Hermione's figure disappear out the entrance to the castle. He quickened his pace and soon found himself following her across the large green lawn towards the lake.
"Don't you understand?" Hermione shouted at him once Harry caught up to her. "I don't want to talk to you! I don't want to look at you! I don't want to be in the same room as you!"
"You don't know what you want!" Harry shouted back at her. They were now mere inches apart, both breathing heavily in anger.
"Oh, what would you know?"
"I know that I never meant to hurt you," Harry answered, now speaking in almost a whisper. "I never meant to kiss Cho. I never wanted to. She came on to me. I know how painful it was for you to see me with her because the next thing I knew, you were doing the same thing with my best friend. I know a lot more about Ron than you do. I know why he's been acting so strange and why he never wrote to us over the summer. I know that he's telling you I never loved you and that you should hate me forever. But he's wrong. Most of all, I know that I still love you and that whether you want to or not, I know you still love me. You can't stop loving someone in two days time Hermione, it's impossible."
"Harry stop it!" Hermione shouted, tears falling down her cheeks. Harry reached out to wipe them away. "You don't know anything, you don't." she sobbed, falling into Harry's warm embrace. He wrapped his arms around her and gently tangled his fingers in her hair. She clung to him and though her mind screamed that she shouldn't, her heart was telling her much otherwise.
"I miss you," she whispered into his shoulder, "I miss you so much."
"I know, I've missed you too," Harry told her, rubbing her back softly.
"I'm sorry," she said as her sobs started to subside, "I'm so sorry."
"Come back to me `Mione," Harry pleaded, taking her face in his hands. He kissed her forehead and looked intensely into her sad brown eyes. "I need you, please come back to me."
"Harry," Hermione whispered, "I-"
The oak front doors of the castle slammed open, causing the two to jump apart. Ron, or really Malfoy as Ron, was standing there, staring at the two.
"Hermione!" he shouted, running towards them.
"I have to go to him," Hermione muttered under her breath.
"Don't," Harry pleaded with her. But it was too late.
"What's wrong Ron?"
Now that he was closer, Harry noticed that there were tears streaming down his cheeks and he was shaking. He fell to his knees once he had finally reached them.
"It's my dad," he said, breathing heavily, trying to catch his breath. "He's, he's-"
"He's what Ron?" Hermione asked kindly, kneeling down beside him and taking his trembling hand. Harry watched them awkwardly, standing a few feet away.
"He's dead."
-:-Don't worry… more will be coming… Please Read and Review. Sorry this took so long! ~MtL
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