Finding Your Way

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By: plus2-minus1-brilliance

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Chapter One - He's Not Dead Yet!

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It was nearing two o'clock in the morning when a loud, booming noise rent the air, waking the boys in the seventh year dorm of Gryffindor tower. So loud was the noise that it shook the entire room. It seemed to have come from right over their heads, but as suddenly as it had come, it was gone.

"W-what's going on?" asked an extremely nervous Neville, holding his blankets up to his chin as if they where a shield.

"It sounded like thunder," said Dean. He got out of bed and shuffled over to the window. "Not a cloud in sight, though…"

"Maybe we're under attack!" exclaimed Seamus, getting out of bed and joining Dean by the window, peering out over the grounds, looking for any suspicious movement.

Harry, meanwhile, was retrieving his glasses and wand from where they'd been shaken right off his nightstand and fallen onto the floor. "It doesn't sound like anyone else was woken up by it. If we were being attacked, the teachers would have raised an alarm, right?"

"Of course," replied Dean, also picking up his fallen belongings. "Whatever happened, I'm sure it's nothing to worry about."

"Nothings don't make your room shake…" Neville muttered, but he dropped his blanket.

"Let's all just go back to bed. We can talk to Dumbledore about it in -" Harry stopped mid-sentence, then started laughing.

"Er…Harry? Did the…whatever that was shake your brain loose?" Seamus asked.

Harry just shook his head as he continued to laugh, pointing towards the source of his sudden amusement. The three other boys looked to where he was pointing - Ron had managed to sleep through the commotion.

"You've got to be joking!" Dean said in amused exasperation. "That boy could sleep through a stampede."

"Lucky! We've got Transfigurations in the morning, and I'll never get back to sleep after all this," Seamus whined.

"Well, if we're not going to be rested, neither is he!" Harry declared, moving to stand beside Ron's bed.

Seamus and Dean came up beside him, and they all exchanged mischievous smiles. Neville let out a nervous yet excited squeak from his place on his bed.

"On the count of three, we yell, okay?" said Harry, getting nods from the other boys. "One…two…three!"

Four shouts of "RON!" echoed around the room, followed by the sounds of raucous laughter. Seamus fell to the floor, clutching his side as he gasped for air. The merriment was short lived, however, when they noticed that their cry had no effect on their slumbering friend.

"D'you think he's gone deaf?" Seamus asked, his head poking over the edge of the bed. He reached out an arm and prodded Ron in the leg, then drew back quickly as if he expected to be kicked.

Nothing happened.

Now quite worried, Harry leant over and put his ear to his best friend's chest. He then checked to make sure Ron was breathing, and felt his wrist for a pulse. "He's alive, but his heartbeat seems slow. We'd better get him to the hospital wing. Neville, run ahead and let her know we're coming."

"Right," Neville said, hopping quickly out of bed, and running off.

"Seamus, get Hermione and Ginny, they'll want to be there," Harry ordered.

"Yeah, all right, but I'm not sure…" Seamus began, but stopped at the fierce look Harry gave him, nodded and rushed off as well.

"Dean, help me carry Ron."

"Oh, he's lighter than I thought he'd be…" Dean commented as he and Harry lifted Ron carefully off the bed. "Of course, the way he eats, I'm just surprised he's not three hundred pounds by now…"

"Let's just make sure he gets to eat again," Harry said, all serious.

When they got down to the common room, Seamus was holding one hand up to his forehead, and the other to his arm; they could hear the sounds of angry girls telling him to be quiet.

"They threw stuff at me!" he said to Dean, pointing to the spot on his head, which was bleeding.

"Sorry, mate. Good thing we're going to the infirmary, though," Dean said as he hurried past.

Seamus mock-laughed before turning back to the girls' staircase. "C'mon, then, I just need Ginny and Hermione! The sooner they get down here, the sooner I shut up!"

Almost instantly, the two girls were stumbling down the stairs, having been pushed by their dorm mates. They came crashing down into poor Seamus, and the three landed in a heap on the floor. Curses and angry mutterings were let loose as they tried to untangle themselves and get up.

"What is the matter with you?" Hermione fumed.

"What's the matter with me? I've just been attacked by random objects, and yelled at, and nearly jinxed! What's wrong with you girls?" Seamus nearly shouted.

Another random object came flying down the stairs, and they all ducked out of the way. A chorus of "Shut up!" followed it.

"You brought it on yourself," Ginny reprimanded. "Now why did you want us?"

"Oh, right. Harry wanted me to get you, and bring you to the infirmary. Ron…well, he's not waking up."

"What? Well why are we just standing here, let's go!" Hermione grabbed Ginny and Seamus by the wrist and started running for the portrait hole.

No more words where spoken as they raced towards the hospital wing at top speed. Seamus knew they must be ten times more worried than he was, and he felt really bad for them. He also, however, would be having words with Harry when this was all over.

The lights where already on when they got there; Harry, Dean, and Neville where standing off in a corner. Judging by the looks on their faces, Madam Pomfrey had shooed them away without any sort of explanation.

"Harry!" Hermione cried, rushing over and throwing her arms around him. "What's happening? Is Ron all right? What's being done? Where is he? Can I see him? Are you all right?"

"Hermione, please, calm down! Madam Pomfrey is looking him over right now, she'll tell us something when she knows something. And yes, I'm fine," Harry replied, pushing Hermione gently backwards and giving her a comforting smile.

"She called Dumbledore and McGonagall, as well, as soon as I told her what was happening," put in Neville, managing to sound more brave than he felt at the moment.

"Oh, this is awful! He was fine at dinner, wasn't he? Or was he sick, and we just didn't notice?" Hermione fretted.

"He seemed fine to me," Dean said, giving a comforting smile of his own.

"Do you think we should call Mum?" asked Ginny.

"Not until we know more," Harry answered, bringing her in for a quick hug.

"Um…Not to be off topic, and not that I don't care about Ron, but…where do you think she keeps the Band-aids?" Seamus asked.

"What happened to you?" Neville asked, shocked to see the blood dripping down Seamus' head.

"One of the girls threw a high-heeled shoe at me and I couldn't duck it in time, because I was ducking a book, as well," Seamus pouted.

"I'd offer to fix it for you, but I wasn't given time to grab my wand before my roommates threw me out!" Hermione huffed.

Seamus sighed, pulled his sleeve down, and pressed it against the cut. "Well, let's just hope the house elves know how to get blood out of cloth, then."

"I'm sure they -" Hermione started, but stopped when the infirmary doors banged open. The group turned, expecting to see their professors, but instead saw four Slytherin students rushing in, one of them carrying a large bundle in his arms.

"What are you doing here?" sneered the only girl in the group.

Harry stepped in front of his friends protectively as he glared at the newcomers. "That's none of your business, Parkinson!" he said defensively.

"Harry, this isn't the time to be fighting!" Ginny said quickly, although she too was glaring at the Slytherins.

"What's all the ruckus out here?" asked Madam Pomfrey as she appeared from behind the curtain that was concealing Ron.

"It's Draco, Ma'am," said Pansy in a worried tone. It was only then that the Gryffindors noticed that the bundle the one boy was holding was actually a person - Draco Malfoy, looking much the same as Ron.

"Another one, 'ey?" said Madam Pomfrey with a grave look on her face. "Bring him over here, and I'll have a look at him."

She led the way to a bed right next to the one Ron was in, and Goyle, the one holding Draco, set him down in an uncharacteristically careful manner. Madam Pomfrey then rushed them all back to the corner.

"Send the Headmaster and Professor McGonagall to me when they arrive," she said, then pulled the curtain closed with a snap.

A very awkward yet angry silence fell over the room as the two groups continued to glare at each other as if the situation was their fault. No one spoke as they all waited for something to happen. Luckily the two professors arrived soon after.

"Ah, this is becoming quite the little gathering!" said Dumbledore pleasantly as he came up to them all with a kind smile on his face. The Slytherins just continued to glare, but Harry stepped forward to speak.

"Professor Dumbledore! Something's happened to Ron. I don't know what it is, and Madam Pomfrey won't tell us anything," he said, all in one breath.

"She asked that we send you to her when you got here. She's behind the curtain with Ron," Hermione put in.

"And Draco!" Pansy said loudly, causing everyone to turn to her. "We brought him in a few minutes ago, after they got here. He looks very sick!" She looked close to tears as she said this.

"Albus, you don't think it could be an epidemic, do you?" McGonagall asked, worry clear in her voice.

"That is not likely, Minerva," Dumbledore replied calmly before turning back to the students. "Now, you all wait here, and we will be back with you shortly."

Once the two had disappeared behind the curtain, Hermione slumped down into the nearest chair and wiped the tears from her eyes. Ginny went over and kneeled beside her.

"He'll be all right, Hermione..." she said soothingly, though she didn't look one hundred percent sure.

"Oh...I know...I just can't help but feel that I could have done something to prevent this!" Hermione replied, as fresh tears fell.

"Ugh, this is stupid!" complained Blaise Zabini, who had so far been very quiet. "We're not going to do any good standing around here; we might as well go back to bed."

"I'm with him," said Crabbe with a huge yawn. Goyle agreed with a grunt, and the three boys left without more than a glare at the Gryffindors.

"Some friends they are..." Seamus muttered to Dean.

"Yeah, they could have at least waited until Madam Pomfrey told us what was wrong," Dean answered.

Pansy glared at them for a moment before going over to the other side of the room and sitting in a chair that was facing away from them. She refused to let them see her being weak; she was better than that. Draco wouldn't have allowed it, either...

"Why doesn't she just leave with those other jerks?" Harry asked venomously.

"Well, she obviously cares for Malfoy. Can't imagine why, though..." replied Hermione.

Then silence reigned again as they waited to hear something about the fate of their friend, each of them imagining what horrible thing it could be, and praying that it wasn't what they imagined. He couldn't die...Right?

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Author's Note: This fic is another one of those from my old account. It's not been rewritten so much as just…fixed up. If this is your first time reading it, a huge thank you! If you read it on my old account, an even huger thank you for coming all the way over here to read it again!

On to chapter two!