Disclaimer: I forgot to put this in the last part. I do not own Harry Potter or anything associated with it.
Runaway
Chapter 1-Blizzard
By KZerina
"Hermione, it's been four years. I don't think he's going to randomly show up on our doorstep one day. He has no plans of coming back."
"I don't care. We can't have the wedding without him. He should be your best man."
Hermione spun the engagement ring around her finger. She looked at her fiancé and sighed at him. "Harry may have left, but that doesn't mean we should just leave him out on his own."
"If he's been out on his own for four years," Ron said, "I think he can handle himself."
"He's been able to handle himself since he was running from his cousin's gang in elementary school-before Hogwarts. That's not what this is about. This is about him as our friend, and him being at our wedding. It's not right to not have the third member of the 'Gryffindor' trio, the leader, at the wedding of the other two. It's just not right."
There was a long pause in the conversation as all that Hermione said sank into Ron's thoughts. He sighed and looked out the window at the bright green trees of spring at the Burrow.
They were spending time with Ron's family as a break from hiking across the British countryside, searching for their missing best friend for four long years. They did this every few months to collect themselves and figure out another possible game plan for finding Harry.
This was a particularly trying period. Ron wanted to stop searching for Harry and have the wedding. Hermione wanted to keep looking because they couldn't be so ungrateful to him for everything he'd done for them over the seven years they had him with them as to leave him out of the wedding.
Mrs. Weasley popped into the room to inform them of dinner. Hermione nodded to her in acknowledgement, saying they would be down in a minute.
"Ron, just think about it over dinner. Think about what Harry really means to you and how much he should be there for this."
"And you think of how much we mean to him if he just up and leaves without even leaving a note saying goodbye."
Ron had a point. He never said he was leaving, but the maps explained it. He'd had the maps of Great Britain and was studying them, writing things down. It was hard to explain to Ron, because he just didn't get it.
Hermione followed Ron out of the room and washed her hands before heading to the kitchen for dinner. Mrs. Weasley always gave gracious portions of food to all who dined under her roof. Hermione was grateful of this since she and Ron didn't always have the best food out on the trail.
Hopefully Ron would come to his senses before she had to take drastic measures. She didn't want to do that to him. He deserved better, but if he was going to leave his best friend out of the wedding, there was something wrong, and she wasn't going to put up with it.
She quietly ate the food Mrs. Weasley set for the family. Hermione kept sharing glances with Ron who was across the table from her. He seemed to be hoping she'd change her mind. She thought maybe he would. Both were stubborn and would probably keep their own opinion and follow it. Hermione would have to leave, and Ron would stay with his family and move on with his life. If Harry didn't matter enough to him, then she would just leave him behind and find Harry on her own.
After all four of the people at the Burrow, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Ron, and Hermione, were finished eating, Hermione cleared the dishes and washed them for Mrs. Weasley since she wasn't an ungrateful guest. She dried her hands and went upstairs to her borrowed room and packed up her things she'd used over the past few days. She was going to leave today, continuing her search for her best friend who'd never let her down, and she was going to find him with or without Ron.
She looked down at her engagement ring. It had been two years since Ron had proposed to her. They had been going out for a little over a year at that time. It was a clear night, and they were stargazing. They'd even found the constellation Leo, the Great Lion, Harry's sign.
Hermione couldn't help but think that maybe he, too, had been looking at those same stars, under which Ron asked her hand in marriage, at the very same time. It would have been nice to have had him there as a witness when Ron "popped the question." Harry should have been there, and he should be at the wedding, but if Ron didn't get his head screwed on straight, there wasn't going to be a wedding at all.
Footsteps came up the stairs and stopped at the door. A knock sounded, and Hermione stood up to answer it.
She cracked it open a little, just enough to see whom it was. Ron stood there.
"Can I come in?" he asked.
"Yeah, sure." Hermione opened the door to let him in, then shut it again behind him.
"What are you doing, Hermione?"
"I'm packing. I'm setting off again tonight. Are you coming?"
"I don't know, Hermione. I still say four years is enough. He left without even a note of goodbye. He doesn't want us around, and he doesn't want to be around us, or he would have said something. Stop making it what it's not."
"While you maybe right, I'm not changing my mind. I am going to find Harry no matter what it takes."
Hermione threw the last pair of socks into her travel sack and slung it over her shoulder. Grabbing her cloak that hung on a hook near the door, she walked out and went downstairs, Ron following her. She dropped her stuffed by the front door, trying to locate Mr. and Mrs. Weasley to say goodbye to them.
Ron grabbed her arm and sat her down in a chair at the kitchen table. He sat on the other side.
"Hermione, please, rethink this. Do you know what you're really doing?"
"What if I find him?"
"What if you don't?"
"Then you won't ever see me again. I'm leaving, and I'm not coming back until I find him. If I don't find him, I'm not coming back, and if that means that this isn't going to work out, then so be it."
Hermione slipped the engagement ring off of her finger and set it on the table, sliding it across to where Ron sat, shock covering his face.
"I hope to see you soon," she said giving him a small kiss on the cheek and heading off to say goodbye to her wonderful hosts.
"Goodbye, Mrs. Weasley. Thank you so much for letting me stay here."
"Oh, are you leaving? When will you be back? I can't wait to have you here again."
"I don't have any idea. I'm not returning until I find Harry which means that I may never be back. I hope I do get to come back. I love this place so much, but I'm determined to find Harry and give him a piece of my mind for leaving."
"Not too badly, I hope. Then he might not want to come back with you, which I hope you'll try to convince him to do."
Hermione smiled. "Of course, I will, why wouldn't I?"
"I don't know. Well, good luck. Bring him back or you'll have to deal with me." Mrs. Weasley pulled Hermione into a tight hug. "At least write?"
"When I can get to an owl post service office. I don't know how often that'll be. Thanks again."
Hermione hugged Mrs. Weasley again and hugged Mr. Weasley goodbye. She went to the door and grabbed her knapsack off the floor. She draped her cloak over her shoulders and headed out the door, leaving Ron behind her, fidgeting with the ring she left behind with him.
Hermione decided to head west towards Wales. They hadn't searched there yet so she decided to try it. She hiked, covering as much ground between Ottery-St. Catchpole and the border between England and Wales as she could. She'd gotten used to hiking everywhere she went. She seemed to be able to walk longer everyday without tiring. She stopped when it got dark and set up camp where she cooked, bathed in a nearby freezing cold stream, and slept, gaining energy for the next day's hike.
Upon entering Wales and crossing its marshes, the hikes became more difficult as her hike took her up the Cambrian Mountains, a much tougher road to travel. She kept loosing her footing or slipping on rocks. She wasn't used to the mountainous terrain.
It had been close to a year since she'd left the Burrow. Winter was in full swing. Hermione needed a place to warm up. Luckily, she could see a town just a little ways up the road on which she hiked.
When she entered the small village, she was greeted with a warm welcome form the few people in the street. One came over and offered her services.
"Hello, dear. You must be cold. Allow me to take you to Emlyn's. You'll be able to warm up there, refill your supplies, and find a place to stay."
"Thank you, ma'am," Hermione replied.
Hermione allowed herself to be led to the general store. Indeed the town was very small. There was a small section devoted to housing, and another section devoted to business. As she and the woman entered the store, which reminded her very much of a general store from an old American "Western" movie, an old man stepped out and greeted them.
"Hello, Cordelia. I see you've brought a friend with you."
"Yes, she just came to town and needs a place to stay."
"Actually," Hermione said, "I'm looking for someone-maybe you've seen him. He's got messy, jet-black hair and bright green eyes."
The storekeeper thought for a moment. "No. No, I'm sorry. I haven't seen him, but up the mountain a little ways is someone who might be able t-"
A loud crash was heard as a tower of soup cans tumbled from its pyramid. A loud yowl, much like Crookshanks, who had been staying at the Burrow for the past five years, also sounded as the cans rolled across the floor.
"Oh! Mie! Darned cat."
Emlyn walked over to the disaster and walked back with a shorthaired, bright red cat. He was very frightened. His whole body shook in Emlyn's arms. Emlyn stroked the kitten's back soothingly, stopping its shaking.
"She's always scaring this poor little guy. Are you all right, Rusty?"
A small mew issued from the red cat's mouth as he was released onto the counter.
"Part of Ophidia's litter. Drew named them before he brought them down here. Frey's around here somewhere, but Mie knows not to bother him. As I was saying, if you go up the mountain a bit you'll find a cabin. That's Drew's cabin. He might be able to help. He's found a few children lost up there in the woods."
"Yes, and remember that time when he'd first gotten here four years ago how he'd healed Jenni with that hemeopithic remedy?"
"Homeopathic. The doctors never figured out what happened. He gave her that drink and after being on the verge of death, she was just fine in less than twenty-four hours! Then when the media got up here, he just disappeared. Didn't even see his horse leave."
"Came back in a month or so for supplies though."
"Wow," Hermione said. "He's good."
There was a definite reason to check this guy our-sudden healings with "homeopathic" remedies that seem like potions, sudden disappearances, even a cat named Mie, like Harry used to call her before he'd gone.
"Could I go up and see him?"
"Sure. I don't know how long you'll have to wait though. A blizzard's going to come through pretty soon."
"Then I'll go today. Now even."
"Well," Emlyn said, "I wouldn't if I were you. You can only get part of the way up by vehicle. The rest has to be traveled by foot or on horseback."
"Then can you take me that part up, and I'll walk the rest."
"I can, I guess, but I wouldn't recommend going up there now."
"I don't care. I need to get up there as soon as I can, and if I can get up there today, then I'm going. I'll walk all the way if I have to."
"Now you are not walking up there. I'll drive you as far as I can. I'll direct you from there. Maybe you can beat the storm."
Emlyn set off to get equipment for heading up to the mountain cabin of their local miracle worker. This Drew could be a wizard and know Harry or maybe he was just really good with natural remedies. Either way she couldn't risk missing a chance to find Harry and since she could get going now, she was going to because the sooner the better.
Hermione absentmindedly petted Rusty. Mie rubbed against her leg, so she put her on the counter and stroked both purring kittens.
Soon Emlyn had donned his winter gear and led Hermione to a snowmobile in the back, much to the dismay of the small cats who mewed and stared longingly at her as she left. Hermione mounted the snowmobile behind the old general store owner, and they rode off up the mountain.
"So how do you know a blizzard is coming?" Hermione asked.
"Drew was down here a few hours ago. He was earlier than usual. He told us that a blizzard was coming, and he was stocking up for a snow in. An hour later, the news said it for the first time. It's a quick developing storm."
"Wow, does he predict the weather often?"
"Not really. He's not down here all that often. He restocks once in a while and sells excess products he has, but that's usually at the end of spring and the beginning of winter."
"Oh. How much longer?"
"About five minutes."
Those five minutes were silent. When they approached the end of the drivable trail, Emlyn directed Hermione down a path farther up the mountain towards Drew's mountain cabin.
She followed Emlyn's directions and walked for what seemed like hours. It was rapidly becoming colder, and she was beginning to go numb. A large gust of wind caused her to shield her face and miss her footing and slip. Her head hit a large stone. She lay there for a while, unable to pick herself up. The world was beginning to go fuzzy. Something large, black and cold and touched her face, blowing warm air on it. Then another looming black figure stepped up. A strange noise echoed amongst the mountain trees.
The last thing she heard before her world went entirely black was a male voice said, "What did you find, Ken?"