Lost and Found: Chapter Two
A week ago their flat had been empty. They had had everything put away and no one coming over to muss anything up. It had been quiet up here, almost unbearably so.
Now in the middle of the room sat the big red radio, scattered around it were wires, papers and food. There were clusters of order members standing to watch or sitting around the radio in chairs, speaking into their wands. They were broadcasting their first show, and ironically though they had given everyone a radio of their own to listen to, they all had wanted to watch live for the first time it played.
And it was playing all right. He would know, he was the only person that kept walking out the door to peak his head into the storage room and listen for a moment to the radio down there, playing their broadcast.
Lee was fantastic. All of those years of quidditch commentating had given him a clear voice, and he could remember everything he needed to say and ask without missing a beat. His father asked him why it wasn't he and George doing the actual show just the day before and he'd laughed because honestly the thought hadn't even occurred to him to do it himself.
"Well Lee's much better at that sort of thing than either of us, and frankly I don't really want to"
"Why not? It was your idea" his father pressed, as he leaned over to look at the books Fred had spread out open on their basement table.
"I'm sure we'll do it at some point" he said shrugging his shoulders, and closing a few of the texts, slipping his math work inside so his father couldn't see. "But I don't want to host. I just don't want to"
"Well I suppose that's all up to you, but Fred" he sighed standing up straight.
He looked over at his father, he'd seen everything. "Yeah?"
"Stop spending all your free time trying to find them, she'll come back when they're done."
The boy just kept closing up his work on tracking spells and didn't bother to tell his father the mantra that had been playing in his head since they left: What if she can't come back.
Instead he let out a long sigh "I know dad"
Hermione bit her lip in a feeble attempt to calm down. Griphook was clearly withholding something from his companions, and it was making her stomach twist and mind race to try and figure out what it was.
"Well, whatever they thought they were going to do with it, Snape decided the sword wasn't safe where it was," said Dirk. "Couple of days later, once he'd got the say-so from You-Know-Who, I imagine, he sent it down to London to be kept in Gringotts instead." The goblins started to laugh again.
"I'm still not seeing the joke," said Ted.
Her stomach flipped and she briefly considered something. But that couldn't be right, where would it be?
"It's a fake," rasped Griphook.
"The sword of Gryffindor!"
"Oh yes. It is a copy-an excellent copy, it is true-but it was Wizard-made. The original was forged centuries ago by goblins and had certain properties only goblin-made armor possesses. Wherever the genuine sword of Gryffindor is, it is not in a vault at Gringotts bank."
"I see," said Ted. "And I take it you didn't bother telling the Death Eaters this?"
"I saw no reason to trouble them with the information," said Griphook smugly, and now Ted and Dean joined in Gornuk and Dirk's laughter.
She tore out the extendable ear and looked up at Harry, a smile splitting her face.
They had it. Godric she could nearly taste it now. The words had come straight out of Gryphook's mouth. The sword of Gryffindor was out there somewhere. Dumbledore had left it for them, had hidden it from Snape, and if anyone could find it, Harry surely would.
The witch felt like she could begin dancing and crying tears of Joy. Rushes of magic ran through her, lighting up her fingertips and bubbling up out of her throat in giggles as she shot ideas back and forth with Harry. The two friends were making use of each other as soundboards, and it felt a little like they were back at Hogwarts, talking over how Harry would handle the next triwizard tournament, or what he should teach them next time the DA met up.
And then Ron opened his mouth.
"Remembered me?" he asked upon Harry and her searching for him. Honestly in their excitement she hadn't, but the locket glimmered at her from around the Weasley's neck, and she wouldn't dare admit it.
"Of course not Ron" she sighed, he was crouched on the bottom of the boys bunk, looking scathed. "What do you think about it" she tried and stepped towards him.
"I think you two should carry on in your little party, because it seemed you were doing just fine without me" He spat, standing from the bed, and looking down at her hard enough to make her step back.
"Oi don't talk to her like that," Harry butt in, placing a hand on her shoulder. "What is your issue mate?"
The happiness that had seeped in the room seemed to disappear in an instant. Her magic that had been tingling in her hands turned sour, in a dull ache, and out of instinct she reached to touch her thigh, where her wand sat in one of the holsters she'd snatched from Bill before they left.
"My issue?" The redhead hissed "I don't have any issue" he said the bitter sarcasm dripping from his tone.
"Spit it out already would you" the boy who lived shot back, moving to stand more in front of her.
"We're in the middle of no-where" he screeched "On a lead to nothing, I thought you had a plan, that Dumbledore had given you something to go off of."
"I've told you both everything he told me" He defended.
"How was I supposed to know that? When you two lied to me through half of last year"
"Ron" she sobbed, but he acted as though he hadn't heard her.
"I wouldn't lie about this, I never promised anything, and I thought you knew what you were getting into"
"So did I"
"So what did you think" Harry demanded "That you'd be home by Christmas, eating five star meals and staying in hotels."
"We thought you had a plan!" He said dragging her in to the argument.
"I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I'm not Dumbledore. I don't know everything!"
"Harry we never expected you to have all the answers" she said softly, but Ron turned on her.
"Please, you told me just yesterday how disappointed you were, that he didn't know half of what we thought he did,"
"I didn't say it like that," she screeched and then turned to Harry "I swear I didn't mean it like that"
He too ignored her "Why are you staying then? Just run home why don't you, let mummy cook for you again?"
"Ron take off the locket" she said yelling over Harry's curses. "Take it off! Harry he wouldn't say something like this if he didn't have it on!"
"Yes he would! He's been acting like a child the entire time we've been gone,"
"Maybe I've been acting like this because of what you've been doing, ever consider that" The red head was brandishing his wand now, and yelling over the rain that had started outside.
"And what exactly have I been doing" Her other friend asked glaring, and she watched in horror of what the two were about to do.
"Its just the forbidden forest, they've handled worse" Ron spoke in a horrible imitation of Harry "Do you give a shit about my sister at all?"
"I didn't mean it like that and you know it"
"No I don't know that, and I don't know what else my family is going through right now, but you don't care about that now do you!" He roared. "Did you hear what he said 'the weasley's don't need another child injured'. What else has happened to my siblings that we don't know about, and that you don't even care about"
"I'm sure that's not what he meant" but her defense went by unheard.
"You don't think I'm worrying about them too! I was terrified when they said Ginny had been caught-"
"She's not your sister" Ron cut him off "They're not your family, you have no idea what I'm going through worrying over them. You don't have any one to worry over like that"
"Only because my parents are dead!" Harry's voice shook as he screamed.
"And because of you mine are about to be in the same boat!"
"Then leave, go home to your mum!"
A sudden movement made Harry reach for his wand, but before either of the boys could cause any more damage, she had her own out.
"Protego!"
The spell effectively separated the two feuding friends, knocking them back only a little, but it didn't stop the glares they were bearing each other down with.
"Leave the locket" Harry croaked, finally breaking the painful silence. He tore it off and Hermione watched in shock. He couldn't actually be leaving?
"What are you doing" She'd been staring at the ground where the locket fell, but when Harry didn't answer, she realized the question was directed at her.
Hermione looked up, the tears beginning to form in her eyes. "What" she asked voice cracking.
"Are you staying?" The question felt like a slap in the face.
She took a step back, looking at him as though she had never known this man standing in front of her. The sadness that had been growing watching her friends argue for the past few minutes, morphed slowly to anger and she spat "I made a commitment to Harry, I'm staying, like you should."
He didn't respond, only turned on his heel and walked out the tent. She rushed forward, only to run into her shield charm. By the time she'd stood, and properly got out the spell to take it down, he had vanished.
The last thing he'd been expecting to be sitting on the couch in his living room when he came up that night, was Ron.
"What are you doing here" the twin asked, rushing into the room at the sight of his brother. "Where's Harry and Hermione"
Ron looked dazed, he had two wands gripped in his left hand, his own and another one he didn't recognize. "I left them" he whispered. "I was angry and I left them like the bloody idiot I am, and now I can't find them again."
George grabbed the blanket off the back of his couch and began wrapping it around Ron. Fred would be absolutely pissed when he came up from the shop to find Ron there, but right now his little brother was wet, cold, and berating himself. The last thing he needed around was his jealous older brother.
He took a seat on the couch and waved his wand to summon a cup of tea. "What exactly do you mean? Maybe I can help you, but I need to know more"
"We been on the run, trying to help Harry with something…. specific. I can't tell you exactly what, but it's very important. Anyway, we overheard something yesterday, and Harry and Hermione started talking and I felt ill. I've been feeling ill for a while, like they were ignoring me, or talking about me behind my back. So when they asked me something I blew up, Harry and I got into this huge row, and I left because I was so mad."
"What took you so long to come here?" He asked, still fuzzy about the events.
"I ran into a group of snatchers. Managed to get away easy enough mind you, even grabbed one of their wands," he held up the short dark wand that he had been gripping. "but by the time I went back to where I'd left them, they'd already moved."
He stared at the floor. George was never the twin to judge first, but this was a royal fuck-up and he was having a hard time looking at his brother. He couldn't imagine what Fred would think of this.
"I couldn't go to mum and dad's first, I wasn't sure I be able to hold it together long enough to explain myself."
"I get it." The twin nodded as the cup he'd summoned floated onto the coffee table. "Listen tomorrow, we'll decide what we need to do. It'll be Wednesday, which is usually when Fred and I go over to see them anyway, but you don't have to come if you don't want to. We'll keep quiet as long you want us to. But tonight you're going to drink a couple of these." He picked up the cup and pressed it into his little brother's hands. "and take a shower before you sleep in my bed, because you smell like shit"
Ron snorted "Not many showers in the middle of no-where mate."
"And Hurry up and get in" George said standing. "Fred should be coming up in 20 and I'd like to explain why you're here, before he actually sees you"
"Why"
"That is a very long story, that I don't think you should hear from me" Ron straightened on the couch looking worried. "But it's about Hermione, and he's not going to be happy when he finds out you left her."
Things were much quieter without Ron to complain about the food. It was not however a welcomed quiet, Harry thought, when the only thing likely to break it was Hermione's sobs.
The two didn't speak much at all to each other, only of little things, like when they had to move camp, or who would take first watch. He did manage to get her to hold a small conversation with him yesterday, and they had agreed to go to Godric's hallow and try to find the sword. They would do so in a week or two, whenever they felt up to it, and right now with the way she was crying everytime the sun set or they had to move camp, he was sure she wasn't up to it.
Honestly he wasn't up to it either. Every time the locket passed over his head onto his throat he could feel his fists clench, and his mind shot to one last look he'd shared with Ron before he stormed out of the tent. He hated his best friend right then, it was like he was looking at a completely different person. But each time he took it off and watched Hermione delicately place it on her own neck, he just felt sad, because without it on he could remember in detailed clarity what the thing did to you, to your thoughts. He would realize that when he had stared his friend down, and made him leave, Ron really hadn't been the same person, but he had been and that made it his fault.
"Harry" his late night thoughts were interrupted by Hermione coming outside. "It's my turn to stay watch."
He nodded and stood, handing her off the locket as he went in.
She took the horcrux from her friend, biting her lip. The sound of canvas flapping told her he'd gone inside, so she just stared at the stupid thing in her hand. He insisted they needed to wear it, but she didn't think it would go missing sitting in her lap, and sometimes the damned thing made her want to do stupid things. Hermione couldn't count how many times just this week she'd imagined standing up from her watch duty and just wandering off into the woods or dissaperating away like Ron had. Maybe if he was still here she would have, but the thought of leaving Harry alone always stopped her.
A glance back at the tent caused her enough guilt to slip it on, and immediately regret it. Fred's face flashed in her mind and her stomach flipped. Harry had the map to check on Ginny, but she had nothing.
Now that Ron had left, she really had nothing.
Just the thought of him made her grit her teeth. They'd been best friends since first year, she'd considered him family, she'd given up some who really made her happy to spare his feelings. All the pain she'd endured this past year was for Harry and for him and he'd still left. She spent all of this time tip toeing around his feelings, and had made everyone else do it with her, and in return he had totally disregarded theirs.
She felt so stupid. That last night she'd gone to Fred's kept replaying in her head, making her cringe. She'd been ignorant of the true family dynamics she doubted she would ever fully understand, and took it out on him. Hermione had said so many things to him that night. He'd been acting bitter all summer as well, would he ever even speak to her again, would she live to find out, or did she let Ron ruin it.
Hindsight is twenty-twenty, she thought bitterly. Now she could see it, at least better than she could before. Fred said things to demean his brother, did things to torment him, but Ron did it as well, just much more quietly, the way younger siblings always managed to do.
Fred had once told her something in a joking manner, and now she could see that it likely wasn't much of a joke at all.
"He was always good about making sure mum was around, so anything we said or did to him was seen, and held against us" He'd told her one night, after a couple shared glasses of wine, as he laughed "Oh but when he did something to us she was never around, and if we told her anything of it we were lying. Because we were the troublemakers, and he was her angel baby-boy" At that point the twin had nearly been rolling on the floor in laughter, and she'd shrugged it off.
She was no longer shrugging it off. The witch was analyzing every little thing he'd ever said to her about Ron, studying every word like she did best.
"Oh we could never go grocery shopping with mum, after Ronnie blamed us for breaking a vial of screeching sunflower seeds in an apothecary when we were little."
"I don't care for string beans, Ron once snuck worms into mine at supper."
"We had our brooms taken from all of us for an entire summer because he told mum we were cheating in quidditch."
"You should have heard her yelling at us for the way we were acting that year. 'When your brother is a prefect you two act like fools'."
It made her chest ache to think about. She still loved Ron, she couldn't help it, but right now she was so angry at him, she was positive if he showed up in front of her she'd hex off his bollocks. Meanwhile Fred….
If she even lived long enough to speak to him again, she didn't know how he'd react. Hermione had basically told him she was picking his brother over him. And the way he'd acted every time he saw her over summer was certainly not encouraging. What if she'd ruined everything, trying to save something else. What if she ended up with nothing?
Fred had run to the store before going back up to the flat after work. He had only been cooking for himself nowadays so it had been forever since he'd gone, and with the next radio show happening in a few days he wanted to have food for everyone.
He had just heaved all the bags onto the counter, when his eyes found it.
His dear baby brother was opening a cabinet, and pulling out the last of his whales crackers, looking completely innocent.
"Where is she?" were the first words out of his mouth, and without realizing it he rushed around the counter and grabbed his brother by the shoulders. "Where is she, is she in the apartment?" He took in the sight of his brothers wet hair, and a whiff of his shower gel. How long had they been back? Why hadn't George gotten him, he should have been home hours ago.
When Ron didn't speak, Fred let go of him to run through the apartment. He didn't care if he found Harry, George, and Hermione having a threesome in the bathroom, so long as she was here and she was safe. But he opened both bedrooms, both bathrooms, scanned the living room, and opened every closet. Nothing, and when he went back to the kitchen George was there asking Ron something.
"Where the fuck are they?" he demanded looking at his brothers. Neither said a thing, Ron only looked at him a mix of dazed and upset. A thought crossed his mind and his voice got much more quiet with his next question "She's okay isn't she?"
"She's fine" Ron finally croaked "At least she was yesterday when I last saw her."
"You left her?" he asked in the same breathy desperate voice he'd hand before.
Ron looked at the floor "Yes"
"You left her with the most wanted fucking boy in the whole wizarding world" he roared his voice getting louder with each word until he reached a crescendo. He walked forward as he spoke, pulling out his wand.
George knew him too well, and he had a shield charm put up on the two of them before he could even decide which curse was best fitting for his little brother.
He felt like a mad man as he stared his brother down, eyes wide, and teeth bared as he pushed on the quivering charm George had put up. "She left me for you, and you left her"
AN: I considered not having Ron leave at all like he did in canon, since a lot of his leaving was centered on he and Hermione's relationship, but I think the way I focused it worked out.
Please Review!
Mel