Summary: Ron is in a dangerous situation - could Harry and Hermione's arrival make things worse?
Disclaimer: These characters belong to JK Rowling, except for a couple I've added.
Author's Notes: Ron's POV. You'll have to wait till part 7 to find out what's happened to the others...
The Best Man 2: The Search for Snape, Part 6.
Ron didn't realise that he had dozed off until he woke up.
When he did wake, opening his eyes made very little difference...there were no windows in this small subterranean chamber.
For the hundredth time in the past few days, Ron went over the events of the night he and his squad had been captured. He was still mentally kicking himself for having allowed it to happen.
The information they had been given had seemed so clear - several witnesses had sighted Malfoy in a nearby village since his escape. Ivan and Leander had been sent to check some sheds and deserted Muggle mining ruins near the looming hill, Carn Brea. They had failed to return. Ron had been on the point of alerting the Ministry to their disappearance, but he had waited just one more half-hour, hoping that they would be back soon, hoping that they were just making an extra-thorough search.
While he, Alex and Bernard had waited anxiously, discussing what to do, they had received word that two little local girls had gone missing. Ron had wondered if Ivan and Leander had met the searchers and joined in the hunt for the two girls. He had set off with Alex and Bernard, and they had been poking around one of the ruined mine buildings. Bernard had gone out of sight behind a wall, and a moment later Ron and Alex had heard him shout out. Rushing to find him, they had been horrified to see him lying bleeding on the ground, unconscious, obviously the victim of a powerful curse. Realising the danger, Ron had spun round to scan the area, but too late - he had found himself held at wand-point by a tall - and alarmingly familiar - figure.
"Snape!" he had gasped.
A well-remembered sneer had spread across the beaky face of the man who had once been his Potions master. "Clumsy, Weasley, very clumsy. Really, I did not think the shining star of the M.L.E.S. would be so easily trapped."
Looking very levelly down Snape's upraised wand, keeping still, Ron had tightened his fingers around his own wand, which had been frozen in his hand. He was fairly confident he knew more moves than Snape these days, and could beat him in a one-to-one combat. Snape had noticed the small movement.
"Don't even think about it, Weasley. Look over there-" and he gestured with his head.
Ron had had no intention of turning his back on Snape, but his eyes slid sideways towards Alex. She was lying face-down on the ground, not bleeding, like Bernard, but still motionless. A very big, tall, hooded figure was standing over her. The figure's bulk had reminded Ron of Malfoy's old henchmen, Crabbe and Goyle. But Gregory Goyle had been killed during Voldemort's last battle, and Vincent Crabbe had kept a very low profile since Voldemort's defeat. Could it be him? Ron remembered that Crabbe's name had figured on a list Priskett had shown him before Harry's wedding, of dubious wizards known to be in Devon or Cornwall. It could be him...
"I'm sure you wouldn't leave your colleagues to their fate, Weasley," Snape had said next, sounding confident that he was right.
"Are you planning to kill me?" Ron had said flatly, trying to think of possible ways to tackle Snape and his massive accomplice. He could disarm Snape - but even Crabbe - if it was Crabbe, and not someone more efficient - might have time to curse Alex - and what about Bernard? Was he even alive?
Amusement flickered across Snape's face, slightly more lined and with more grey in the greasy hair which framed it than Ron remembered. "Kill you? Oh no, Weasley. You will be far more useful to me alive - having you here will be my guarantee that the famous Harry Potter and the loyal Miss Granger will surely follow."
It was then that he had muttered a few soft words, his wand still pointed at Ron, and Ron had been plunged into a blackness which had only ended when he had awoken for the first time in the cell in which he now lay, propped up against one of the rough stone walls.
Looking round the chamber on the night of his capture, Ron had quickly guessed that he was probably in one of the old mine workings, and wondered how far the network of chambers and tunnels stretched beneath the ground. Fighting off a thumping headache, his thoughts had quickly turned to his team. He had shouted, but no one answered. He didn't even know if the rest of his squad were being held nearby. He didn't know if Alex and Bernard had been seriously injured when they were captured. There were strong enchantments on the door, and he couldn't Apparate through the rock walls without his wand, so all he could do was wait.
At intervals, water and some unappetising food had appeared on the cell's floor, presumably conjured there by Snape or his accomplice. As the long hours in the darkness had passed, Ron had had plenty of thinking to do, and his thoughts were not cheerful. After all his M.L.E.S. adventures, he couldn't believe he had allowed himself to have been trapped in this situation. His only excuse was that worrying about Ivan and Leander's disappearance had made him careless when searching the buildings. And maybe - well, maybe he hadn't been concentrating completely on the search for Malfoy in the first place. Part of his mind had still been mulling over his brief visit to Hogsmeade, and wondering what might have happened between himself and Hermione if he had not had to leave so suddenly. There had been plenty of time in the dark to relive their last conversation in his head.
What on earth was Snape up to? This thought kept breaking through Ron's reverie. Snape had been living quietly and privately somewhere since leaving Hogwarts. As far as anyone knew, he had been running a small business as an apothecary, brewing potions. He wasn't wanted for anything by the Ministry - indeed, some of his actions in the struggle against Voldemort had been admirable, though others had been more questionable, and some people still mistrusted him. What, Ron puzzled, could ever have prompted Snape to leave his quiet life and take such drastic action? Attacking M.L.E.S. agents - holding them prisoner - these were crimes which could lead to a long sentence in Azkaban. What could be worth such a risk? Was Snape in league with the missing Malfoy, and if so, why? Ron had suspected that Malfoy might have been buying potions from Snape, but that wasn't a crime...
His thoughts circling round and round, Ron had shaken his head and settled down again to wait until Snape decided to explain to him why he was here. He hadn't liked the last words Snape had said to him..."You will be far more useful to me alive - having you here will be my guarantee that the famous Harry Potter and the loyal Miss Granger will surely follow."
Ron knew that Snape had always hated Harry, but why, after eight years, would he suddenly decide to act against him? It didn't make sense to Ron. Fervently, he hoped that Harry and Hermione would not come anywhere near this place. He knew his squad would be searched for by the M.L.E.S., and that Harry, Ginny and Hermione would all be worried about him, but surely Priskett wouldn't let any of them come down here?
Just how worried would Hermione be, he wondered...and, at that moment, there was a new sound, and Ron looked up sharply. Snape had Apparated into the cell, wand in hand. Turning, he spoke a few words to reinforce the charms on the door, before gazing down mockingly at Ron. The light which glowed at the end of his wand lit up the malicious expression on his face. Ron deliberately stayed still, trying to look unpeturbed as he sat with his back to the wall. He wasn't going to give Snape the satisfaction of jumping up or looking alarmed. And losing his temper, Ron knew, would be a big mistake.
"Ah, Weasley. I hope you are enjoying my hospitality."
"Get to the point, Snape. What's all this about?"
"I thought I'd made that clear," said Snape, lifting an eyebrow. "You are merely the bait, Weasley, to ensure that Potter comes here. And if Granger comes too, so much the better."
"Why should they come?" Ron said. "This is a Ministry matter. It's the M.L.E.S. who'll come looking for us. And where are my squad, anyway?"
Snape ignored the last question. There was satisfaction on his face, still lit by the flickering light from the wand. "Ah, but you are unaware of recent developments. The Ministry were very alarmed indeed when your friend Bernard was found in a field -"
"Is he dead?" Ron interrupted, quickly.
"No, no, I feel sure he will recover...one day. However. A communication has been sent which has made it clear that I have hostage the rest of your squad - oh, and two children, I thought they would give the Ministry some extra encouragement to comply with my demands -"
"What demands?" Ron was still trying to keep his voice level.
"Oh, my message telling them that I am quite willing to release all my captives - except you, of course - in exchange for Potter and Granger."
Ron laughed, shortly. "They're never going to agree with that. You're wasting your time."
"Oh? I think not. I received a message a short while ago, telling me that the Chief Enforcement Officer and his personal staff left London to come here a few hours ago - and that Harry Potter and Hermione Granger accompanied them."
Ron tried not to let the alarm he felt show on his face. There was a pause, before Snape laughed softly. "I'll leave you to think about that." He Disapparated, and the cell was plunged into darkness once more.
Alone again, Ron had worried over the possible reasons for these developments, and what they might bring, until he had finally dozed off. Now, awake again several hours later, he was worrying again, and thinking of ways he might overpower Snape and escape if Snape visited him again.
He badly wanted to warn Harry and Hermione. Goodness knows they had been through enough dangerous situations in the past - some, a hundred times worse than this, during the struggle against Voldemort - but he did not want any of them getting killed unnecessarily for some twisted plan of Snape's.
Most of all, he did not want to be even partially the cause of Harry going through hell again. He knew, as much as anyone other than Harry himself could, what Harry had been through during that fight against Voldemort. Until he was eighteen years old, Harry's life had been dominated by the struggle against Voldemort, and some of the battles he had fought, young as he had been, had been terrible ones. Ron and Hermione had both understood just how much the struggle had drained Harry - drained him of joy, and happiness, and peace. After the victory had been won, Ron had completely understood Harry's reasons for turning his back on Enforcement and choosing Quidditch. He had watched his friend begin to heal. Time had passed, and Ron had rejoiced as much as anyone else to see Harry happy, and now, married and settled, with the hope of a family and a peaceful future. Even then, the business with Malfoy before the wedding had rippled that peace. Ron remembered Ginny telling him about Harry's nightmares. Facing a vengeful Snape - bent on God-knows-what - was the last thing Harry needed.
Ginny must be frantic with worry, Ron thought - her brother missing and Harry travelling to find him.
And Hermione...Worried as he was, Ron couldn't help feeling slightly hopeful. She had come with Harry in response to the message. It was just like her, of course. If Priskett had appealed to her to help find the squad, she wouldn't have been able to say no - Ron knew that. But...what did she feel about him being missing? Was she worried about the fate of an old friend, or did she feel more? Ron would dearly have loved to know the answer.
He gazed into the darkness, and tried to picture how she had looked, dancing with him at Harry's wedding, laughing at his niece Eliza, or fastening the flower into his buttonhole. Then he pictured her saying goodnight to him on Saturday, at Hogwarts.
He really wished he had told her he still loved her that night, while he had the chance. He wondered if he would ever have the chance again.
End of Part 6.
Part 7 coming soon, I hope. Warning: all is not as it seems!
Disclaimer: These characters belong to JK Rowling, except for a couple I've added.
Author's Notes: Ron's POV. You'll have to wait till part 7 to find out what's happened to the others...
The Best Man 2: The Search for Snape, Part 6.
Ron didn't realise that he had dozed off until he woke up.
When he did wake, opening his eyes made very little difference...there were no windows in this small subterranean chamber.
For the hundredth time in the past few days, Ron went over the events of the night he and his squad had been captured. He was still mentally kicking himself for having allowed it to happen.
The information they had been given had seemed so clear - several witnesses had sighted Malfoy in a nearby village since his escape. Ivan and Leander had been sent to check some sheds and deserted Muggle mining ruins near the looming hill, Carn Brea. They had failed to return. Ron had been on the point of alerting the Ministry to their disappearance, but he had waited just one more half-hour, hoping that they would be back soon, hoping that they were just making an extra-thorough search.
While he, Alex and Bernard had waited anxiously, discussing what to do, they had received word that two little local girls had gone missing. Ron had wondered if Ivan and Leander had met the searchers and joined in the hunt for the two girls. He had set off with Alex and Bernard, and they had been poking around one of the ruined mine buildings. Bernard had gone out of sight behind a wall, and a moment later Ron and Alex had heard him shout out. Rushing to find him, they had been horrified to see him lying bleeding on the ground, unconscious, obviously the victim of a powerful curse. Realising the danger, Ron had spun round to scan the area, but too late - he had found himself held at wand-point by a tall - and alarmingly familiar - figure.
"Snape!" he had gasped.
A well-remembered sneer had spread across the beaky face of the man who had once been his Potions master. "Clumsy, Weasley, very clumsy. Really, I did not think the shining star of the M.L.E.S. would be so easily trapped."
Looking very levelly down Snape's upraised wand, keeping still, Ron had tightened his fingers around his own wand, which had been frozen in his hand. He was fairly confident he knew more moves than Snape these days, and could beat him in a one-to-one combat. Snape had noticed the small movement.
"Don't even think about it, Weasley. Look over there-" and he gestured with his head.
Ron had had no intention of turning his back on Snape, but his eyes slid sideways towards Alex. She was lying face-down on the ground, not bleeding, like Bernard, but still motionless. A very big, tall, hooded figure was standing over her. The figure's bulk had reminded Ron of Malfoy's old henchmen, Crabbe and Goyle. But Gregory Goyle had been killed during Voldemort's last battle, and Vincent Crabbe had kept a very low profile since Voldemort's defeat. Could it be him? Ron remembered that Crabbe's name had figured on a list Priskett had shown him before Harry's wedding, of dubious wizards known to be in Devon or Cornwall. It could be him...
"I'm sure you wouldn't leave your colleagues to their fate, Weasley," Snape had said next, sounding confident that he was right.
"Are you planning to kill me?" Ron had said flatly, trying to think of possible ways to tackle Snape and his massive accomplice. He could disarm Snape - but even Crabbe - if it was Crabbe, and not someone more efficient - might have time to curse Alex - and what about Bernard? Was he even alive?
Amusement flickered across Snape's face, slightly more lined and with more grey in the greasy hair which framed it than Ron remembered. "Kill you? Oh no, Weasley. You will be far more useful to me alive - having you here will be my guarantee that the famous Harry Potter and the loyal Miss Granger will surely follow."
It was then that he had muttered a few soft words, his wand still pointed at Ron, and Ron had been plunged into a blackness which had only ended when he had awoken for the first time in the cell in which he now lay, propped up against one of the rough stone walls.
Looking round the chamber on the night of his capture, Ron had quickly guessed that he was probably in one of the old mine workings, and wondered how far the network of chambers and tunnels stretched beneath the ground. Fighting off a thumping headache, his thoughts had quickly turned to his team. He had shouted, but no one answered. He didn't even know if the rest of his squad were being held nearby. He didn't know if Alex and Bernard had been seriously injured when they were captured. There were strong enchantments on the door, and he couldn't Apparate through the rock walls without his wand, so all he could do was wait.
At intervals, water and some unappetising food had appeared on the cell's floor, presumably conjured there by Snape or his accomplice. As the long hours in the darkness had passed, Ron had had plenty of thinking to do, and his thoughts were not cheerful. After all his M.L.E.S. adventures, he couldn't believe he had allowed himself to have been trapped in this situation. His only excuse was that worrying about Ivan and Leander's disappearance had made him careless when searching the buildings. And maybe - well, maybe he hadn't been concentrating completely on the search for Malfoy in the first place. Part of his mind had still been mulling over his brief visit to Hogsmeade, and wondering what might have happened between himself and Hermione if he had not had to leave so suddenly. There had been plenty of time in the dark to relive their last conversation in his head.
What on earth was Snape up to? This thought kept breaking through Ron's reverie. Snape had been living quietly and privately somewhere since leaving Hogwarts. As far as anyone knew, he had been running a small business as an apothecary, brewing potions. He wasn't wanted for anything by the Ministry - indeed, some of his actions in the struggle against Voldemort had been admirable, though others had been more questionable, and some people still mistrusted him. What, Ron puzzled, could ever have prompted Snape to leave his quiet life and take such drastic action? Attacking M.L.E.S. agents - holding them prisoner - these were crimes which could lead to a long sentence in Azkaban. What could be worth such a risk? Was Snape in league with the missing Malfoy, and if so, why? Ron had suspected that Malfoy might have been buying potions from Snape, but that wasn't a crime...
His thoughts circling round and round, Ron had shaken his head and settled down again to wait until Snape decided to explain to him why he was here. He hadn't liked the last words Snape had said to him..."You will be far more useful to me alive - having you here will be my guarantee that the famous Harry Potter and the loyal Miss Granger will surely follow."
Ron knew that Snape had always hated Harry, but why, after eight years, would he suddenly decide to act against him? It didn't make sense to Ron. Fervently, he hoped that Harry and Hermione would not come anywhere near this place. He knew his squad would be searched for by the M.L.E.S., and that Harry, Ginny and Hermione would all be worried about him, but surely Priskett wouldn't let any of them come down here?
Just how worried would Hermione be, he wondered...and, at that moment, there was a new sound, and Ron looked up sharply. Snape had Apparated into the cell, wand in hand. Turning, he spoke a few words to reinforce the charms on the door, before gazing down mockingly at Ron. The light which glowed at the end of his wand lit up the malicious expression on his face. Ron deliberately stayed still, trying to look unpeturbed as he sat with his back to the wall. He wasn't going to give Snape the satisfaction of jumping up or looking alarmed. And losing his temper, Ron knew, would be a big mistake.
"Ah, Weasley. I hope you are enjoying my hospitality."
"Get to the point, Snape. What's all this about?"
"I thought I'd made that clear," said Snape, lifting an eyebrow. "You are merely the bait, Weasley, to ensure that Potter comes here. And if Granger comes too, so much the better."
"Why should they come?" Ron said. "This is a Ministry matter. It's the M.L.E.S. who'll come looking for us. And where are my squad, anyway?"
Snape ignored the last question. There was satisfaction on his face, still lit by the flickering light from the wand. "Ah, but you are unaware of recent developments. The Ministry were very alarmed indeed when your friend Bernard was found in a field -"
"Is he dead?" Ron interrupted, quickly.
"No, no, I feel sure he will recover...one day. However. A communication has been sent which has made it clear that I have hostage the rest of your squad - oh, and two children, I thought they would give the Ministry some extra encouragement to comply with my demands -"
"What demands?" Ron was still trying to keep his voice level.
"Oh, my message telling them that I am quite willing to release all my captives - except you, of course - in exchange for Potter and Granger."
Ron laughed, shortly. "They're never going to agree with that. You're wasting your time."
"Oh? I think not. I received a message a short while ago, telling me that the Chief Enforcement Officer and his personal staff left London to come here a few hours ago - and that Harry Potter and Hermione Granger accompanied them."
Ron tried not to let the alarm he felt show on his face. There was a pause, before Snape laughed softly. "I'll leave you to think about that." He Disapparated, and the cell was plunged into darkness once more.
Alone again, Ron had worried over the possible reasons for these developments, and what they might bring, until he had finally dozed off. Now, awake again several hours later, he was worrying again, and thinking of ways he might overpower Snape and escape if Snape visited him again.
He badly wanted to warn Harry and Hermione. Goodness knows they had been through enough dangerous situations in the past - some, a hundred times worse than this, during the struggle against Voldemort - but he did not want any of them getting killed unnecessarily for some twisted plan of Snape's.
Most of all, he did not want to be even partially the cause of Harry going through hell again. He knew, as much as anyone other than Harry himself could, what Harry had been through during that fight against Voldemort. Until he was eighteen years old, Harry's life had been dominated by the struggle against Voldemort, and some of the battles he had fought, young as he had been, had been terrible ones. Ron and Hermione had both understood just how much the struggle had drained Harry - drained him of joy, and happiness, and peace. After the victory had been won, Ron had completely understood Harry's reasons for turning his back on Enforcement and choosing Quidditch. He had watched his friend begin to heal. Time had passed, and Ron had rejoiced as much as anyone else to see Harry happy, and now, married and settled, with the hope of a family and a peaceful future. Even then, the business with Malfoy before the wedding had rippled that peace. Ron remembered Ginny telling him about Harry's nightmares. Facing a vengeful Snape - bent on God-knows-what - was the last thing Harry needed.
Ginny must be frantic with worry, Ron thought - her brother missing and Harry travelling to find him.
And Hermione...Worried as he was, Ron couldn't help feeling slightly hopeful. She had come with Harry in response to the message. It was just like her, of course. If Priskett had appealed to her to help find the squad, she wouldn't have been able to say no - Ron knew that. But...what did she feel about him being missing? Was she worried about the fate of an old friend, or did she feel more? Ron would dearly have loved to know the answer.
He gazed into the darkness, and tried to picture how she had looked, dancing with him at Harry's wedding, laughing at his niece Eliza, or fastening the flower into his buttonhole. Then he pictured her saying goodnight to him on Saturday, at Hogwarts.
He really wished he had told her he still loved her that night, while he had the chance. He wondered if he would ever have the chance again.
End of Part 6.
Part 7 coming soon, I hope. Warning: all is not as it seems!