A/N - Enjoy the new chapter, everyone, and I hope you had a great weekend!


As the week dragged by, the atmosphere in Hogwarts shifted considerably. What used to be a friendly safe haven transformed to become an abandoned castle, lacking spirit and warmth. Though classes had resumed, the smiles that used to decorate many of the students' faces had vanished and the corridors were completely empty when classes were over. While Gryffindors mourned the disappearance of Hermione Granger, the other houses had their own reasons to stay solemn – the Slytherins had lost one of their members forever. The Ravenclaws reflected on the fact that they had harboured a potential killer, that one of their own had cracked. Even the Hufflepuffs, who were usually cheerful and vibrant by nature, were sucked dry of their qualities with the situation at hand.

Liam Woodsworth was no longer a threat to Hogwarts since he left, but no one dropped their guard. Ron began a trend of secluding himself from the rest of the united Gryffindors – he'd grown touchy, and felt it was best. It wasn't like he was abandoning Harry – he still had Ginny.

The following Sunday, exactly a week since the incident, the Aurors returned to Hogwarts. After collecting everything they could, they returned to the Ministry to process their information and develop the next steps. Ron gritted his teeth at the thought – that was another week wasted.

He was alone up in the dormitory, lying on his four-poster and staring at the ceiling with hooded eyes when someone opened the door.

"The Aurors are back," said Harry, his voice monotone. "We've been called to a classroom on the fourth floor."

Ron peeled himself off the bed reluctantly. He didn't know whether or not he wanted to hear what they had to say – what if it was a conclusion? A 'we're terribly sorry for your loss, but...' speech? He didn't want to believe it. Ron swallowed the lump his throat and followed Harry out of the room.

As they crossed the Common Room, some Gryffindors watched them leave, offering them sympathetic looks. Ron cast his eyes downward, avoiding catching anyone's eye. He wondered how many of them had already lost hope.

He and Harry walked down to the fourth floor, each echoing footstep more agonizing than the last. As usual, each corridor was vacant, with the exception of a ghost drifting through. He didn't know whether or not he'd feel a ghost pass through him at this point – his body already felt stiff and icy.

Ron heard a low murmur from inside of the classroom when they arrived. Harry turned to look at him.

"She's safe," he insisted fiercely. "Don't worry. She's safe."

"Yeah..." Ron replied hoarsely, and he opened the door.

The murmurs stopped and everyone turned to address them. The first person Ron noticed was Dumbledore, his face looking more aged than ever. Many of the professors were present, including the Heads of Houses, some of whom were wearing their sleeping gowns. They all stood huddled on one side, with the Aurors on the other. Among them included Kinglsey and Hewitt once again, but Tonks also stood by, snowflakes still dotting her bubblegum pink hair.

"Wotcher!" Tonks said, breaking the silence. "We were waiting for you two."

"Yes," Dumbledore continued quietly. "You were the closest to Miss Granger and it's fitting you be a part of this. The door, if you may."

Ron closed the door behind him and went to stand off to the side of the Hogwarts faculty with Harry, swallowing hard. The tension in the room seemed to have thickened at their arrival.

Kingsley cleared his throat. "It's been suspected that a Hogwarts student is behind the events of the past week. My team and I have developed a sort of profile to help our investigation, and hopefully this information will lead us to the recovery of Hermione Granger."

Tonks stepped forward. "Liam Woodsworth is a Ravenclaw in seventh year. On January 5th, he snatched Miss Granger near the mouth of Hogsmeade next to an abandoned shop – we confirmed this after the discovery of a piece of clothing that belonged to her, as well as the disturbed area of snow with two pairs of footsteps. Several drops of her blood were also identified."

McGonagall sniffed loudly, her arms crossed tightly and her head bowed. Professor Sprout patted her arm, looking equally upset.

"Padma Patil of Gryffindor House claimed that she saw Woodsworth enter the castle with Luna Lovegood, a fellow Ravenclaw, about fifteen minutes after Mr. Potter and Mr. Weasley say Miss Granger exited the joke shop," Hewitt continued, wand behind his ear and dark hair swept violently from wind. "However, Luna Lovegood was in the Hospital Wing for much of that week. Woodsworth had probably concealed Miss Granger's identity with Polyjuice Potion."

"She was kept in the Room of Requirement, a secret room in the castle, until Woodsworth sensed danger in the air and fled the castle, taking Miss Granger with him." Kingsley finished.

There was a pause as everyone digested the information. Ron looked around the room – he recognized it to be his old History of Magic class, probably the most boring class he took at his time in Hogwarts. Hermione thought it was fascinating, though. He reflected glumly on when she badgered Professor Binns on the Chamber of Secrets – it was her that always figured things out. The brain of the trio.

Kingsley took a deep breath before continuing on. "After talking to several classmates who knew Woodsworth, we've deduced that something happened to him that triggered this bout of violence. He became detached from his peers about a year ago and demonstrated instability. Many students used the word 'weird' and 'psychotic' to describe him."

"And what of Miss Parkinson?" Snape interrupted, black eyes fixed on the Aurors. Ron narrowed his eyes – of course he only cared about his own Slytherins.

"We were just getting to that," Tonks piped up. "Now, Woodsworth is a muggle-born. This may suggest why he slit Miss Parkinson's throat, a common way Muggles kill as opposed to magic. Miss Parkinson, regrettably, ridiculed Muggles publicly, and this might have set off Woodsworth after the high of abducting Miss Granger." She paused. "The reason he may have chosen Miss Granger is that she herself is a Muggle-born, and hopefully, that fact will keep her alive."

Ron frowned. If her blood was found in two places, that would mean he was hurting her at least. That could easily escalate. He didn't notice his hands were in tight fists by his side the whole time and tried to relax them, which proved difficult.

"The students must not know about that bit of information, or pure bloods left and right will start panicking," McGonagall said, her lips a straight, sharp line. The other Professors murmured in agreement.

"Is there a motive? Do you know?" Flitwick squeaked. Ron noticed he in particular looked more disturbed than his colleagues. Ron figured that this was because the suspect in question came from Flitwick's own house – the shame on his face was undeniable.

The three Aurors shook their heads.

"The main motive for abduction is usually because the abductor in question wants something," answered Hewitt. "What Woodsworth wants, we don't know, but we're putting our full effort into this investigation."

"So where are they now?" Harry asked, his voice hoarse.

Tonks tried to smile sympathetically, but she gave up, her mouth curving down. "We don't have a lead. We checked Woodsworth's home in Northern England, a small area called Rickshaw Valley, but that apparently burned down around Christmas – his family is untraceable, and we don't know if they've moved elsewhere without notice."

Ron set his jaw, irritated. So they didn't have a lead. Brilliant. Some Aurors, he thought.

"Though Woodsworth has been extremely clever thus far, we're going to find him, and Hermione Granger." Kingsley said, his rumbling voice radiating confidence. "We ask this information be kept confidential for the time being." He looked pointedly at Ron and Harry. They nodded mechanically.

"That's all for now. We'll be updating you with leads soon." said Tonks, her hands on her hips.

Low conversation broke out as everyone exited the room. Ron and Harry slipped through one of the secret passages towards their Common Room.

"Fat lot of good that was," Harry muttered, his voice echoing against the stone walls of the passage

Ron nodded. "At least we know something... enough."

They glanced quickly at one another. Harry knew exactly what he meant. They couldn't just stand-by at Hogwarts when their best friend was out there in the hands of a murderer. If proper action wasn't going to be taken, then they were going to have to put the situation into their own hands.

It was time to begin their own hunt.


So, what are your theories, readers? Post a review, and thanks so much for reading!

-heylooklisten