Silent Night - Part II
- Sherry
A/N : Second part, I hope you guys are liking it... If you are, please review... If you aren't, review anyway... Thank you so much, all those who reviewed before. BTW, Alexa, I love your stories. I've reviewed them - under a different name.
Explanation : Eh-heh... I was listening to Taylor Hanson sing 'Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree' and couldn't stop singing it after that... ::ducks LawyerFlirt:: OK! OK!
Dedication : To butterfly_8 for reviewing... thanx, Fernleaf! (inside joke, don't ask)
Disclaimer : Muldoon still belongs to me. But Twist can buy him if she really wants him... The rest are all hers. Oh, and that clock belongs to me.
'Wake up, Ron!' Hermione snapped for the umpteenth time as Ron's head fell gently forward onto his papers. 'The sooner we finish this the better!'
The red-haired boy blinked, rubbing his eyes. 'But I'm hungry,' he said. 'And it's nearly ten. You'd think, being sent out on 'missions' and all, we'd escape a little paperwork.'
'That's what comes with the office,' Hermione said, gesturing around. 'And sharing it with yours truly. I'm sorry, but such is your lot. Let's go over it again. Ron, what are you supposed to be doing?'
'Looking for trails and informing Harry and helping you,' Ron said with a groan. 'No info as yet, 'Mione, and all I know is that last night I had a proper dinner.' He closed his eyes and smiled. 'It was cold chicken and...'
'Oh Ron, I don't want to hear about your dinner, it's making me hungry. Come on. I'm supposed to help you, this doesn't make sense!' She pushed her hair out of her eyes and stared down at her files with uncomprehending eyes. 'We might as well give up trying to do this. Makes you wonder why we ever got promoted. What did Malfoy do anyway? Let's see... he's suspected of being a Death Eater, he disrupted...'
Ron threw his hands in the air, scattering papers everywhere. 'I don't care, I'm eating. You want some sandwiches?'
'What?'
'I brought sandwiches. S-A-N-D-W-I-C-H-E-S. You don't need to yell as though I said I had become a Death Eater or something.' Ron produced two cheese-and-tomato sandwiches from his bag and waved them at Hermione. 'See? Two perfectly harmless sandwiches. You can send them to the Bomb Department if you like, you won't find anything.'
'Oh, shut up,' said Hermione, grinning. 'Yes, I'll have one. What's in them?'
'Cheese and tomato.'
'Oh, I hate cheese-and-tomato!' she moaned, but took one anyway. Ron took an enormous bite out of his sandwich and she rolled her eyes at him.
'What?' he asked with genuine innocence in his voice.
Hermione took a bite out of her sandwich and sighed. The tomato's rather sour taste hit her like a blow. She chewed slowly and swallowed. 'I miss Harry, don't you?'
'Yeah,' said Ron, leaning back against the window ruefully. 'I hope he's having a good time chasing fruitlessly after that git Malfoy... What are you doing, Hermione?'
Hermione covered her mouth and swallowed quickly. 'Nothing.'
'... and there isn't any trail at all. You know something, Hermione?' Ron said with a grin, switching topics abruptly.
'Yeah?'
'I love the way you eat!'
Hermione pelted him with the rest of her sandwich.
Alone in a sleek blue car, a dark-haired young man with grey eyes gripped the steering wheel. No one knew his name or where he came from, and he liked it that way. He gave a small grin, smoothing back his hair. The scenery whizzed by - grass and trees and small houses. Once he had been this close to torching them.
He was helping them now, they who he had sworn never to come near again.
If they only knew who he really was.
He turned on the radio just for the heck of it, and his smile died a little as he wondered whether what he was doing was really right. It was what he called treachery, and he didn't like treachery.
Still, he'd promised himself he could do everything he could to help them - and the Azkaban sentence hanging over his head didn't really help matters. It didn't really matter. This made him feel better about himself - and he could be closer to her. Being around the other boys didn't suit him at all - they were so crass. Idiots sometimes, especially the redhead. He rather liked the way of talking this disguise required. He didn't have to throw words around like he usually did to be polite, like he usually had. This whole thing was giving him a buzz.
He even liked the name.
Muldoon.
'New coat,' Muldoon announced from the doorway. 'Food. Unpack.'
Harry groaned and opened one eye. 'Muldoon, I was just dozing off. I'm really tired.'
Muldoon said nothing, but went over to the cupboard and began to arrange their belongings. Harry shut his eyes again and tried to get back to sleep, but it was no use. He groaned, rolling over like a small child, and sunk into the pillows. Muldoon smiled like a parent indulging a child and went out of the room.
Harry went over the plan in his mind, thinking of the tiny lead they had of a trail of Dark Magic residue leading right into Ottery St. Catchpole. Such a strange place... near the Burrow, too. The League had owled him to inform him of this and request - no, order him to investigate straight away. Harry sometimes hated the pressure of working for the League, but overall it was very satisfying.
They would start tomorrow, he supposed. Better to get a good night's sleep. Muldoon - he was still suspicious, but the man seemed trustworthy... Harry turned over yet again and shook his head. It was no use worrying.
The obnoxious tick... tick-tick-tick of the clock beside him suddenly began to irritate him. Muldoon had put it there to wake him if he ever overslept, Harry supposed. He snorted - that clock would be late for Judgment Day. Its second hand didn't even work properly. The little digital alarm strip didn't go very well with the shiny numbers. It was decrepit and its shiny black paint was not as shiny any more. He wondered idly why the glow-in-the-dark numbers were still so bright.
He lay there for a full minute listening to the annoying irregular tick of the clock and glaring at the little light on it that illuminated the words Alarm : 7.00 a.m.. Then on an impulse he snatched it up and threw it out of the window.
'Hermione, look.' Ron held out the parchment that showed a map, a silver trail moving on it. 'There's Dark Magic at work in Knockturn Alley. Strong Dark Magic. It might be Malfoy.'
Hermione bent over the map, her brow creased. 'Yes,' she said finally. 'We can Apparate there - right now.'
Ron gulped. 'Right now?'
'When, then, smart boy? Next century, when we're all dead?'
Seconds later two shadowy figures hurried down Knockturn Alley. Hermione shivered - it was cold and very dark. Ron's hand barely touched her elbow - she was glad of a little support. Their footsteps were noiseless. Hermione had always hated Knockturn Alley.
'Over there!' Ron's voice sounded hollow. They hurried towards the sound of footsteps in the gleaming darkness. Hermione felt Ron stumble beside her and nearly fell over herself. There were things lying around in the middle of the road, discarded objects and maybe even... people. Hermione shuddered. A witch leered at them, shoving a tray of mossy potion bottles in their faces. Ron shook his head.
'There it is!' A glimmer of light, perhaps the Lumos charm. They headed towards it slowly.. cautiously... Hermione's hand gripped her wand. Ron took her hand and they advanced...
*WHAM*
Hermione looked around in panic. What had happened?
Ron was gone.
A/N : Even stupider than the last post. I'm very sorry. Review anyway... please? :) I have a feeling this part is crappy. If you liked it, however, please review - it makes me write faster.