42. …What Happened to Ron isn't Good
"Draco! You just kicked me!"
"Did not, Granger! Now get off my tail!"
Hermione said a very naughty word. Draco was momentarily struck speechless and
motionless, and stopped his mind-numbingly slow crawl through the passageway. She
thwapped him on the foot and he started up again, followed by Hermione, Reginald, and
Ron (who insisted on going last because of the little underwear problem).
Draco had been leading them through an underground tunnel that alternately climbed and
sunk for the good part of an hour. He insisted that it would lead eventually to the swamp
on his property, but it seemed to be taking several detours before doing so. At one point
Draco had led them right off a ledge that dropped down into blackness, followed by the
other three who landed right on top of him.
"Stupid tunnel…stupid swamp…why do they have a swamp anyway…" Ron murmured.
Reginald turned around and shushed him. Reginald didn't say much, but Ron was sure
that years in the Malfoy Dungeon would do that to a person.
Suddenly, Hermione screamed.
"AHHHHHHH!" she cried, lifting her head suddenly and banging it against the stone
ceiling.
"What is it?!" Draco asked.
"Something ran over my hand!" she shrieked. "Something slimy!"
Ron was sure that whatever had run across Hermione's hand had to be incredibly bad to
make the normally levelheaded girl scream out loud. He looked around nervously.
"There!" Draco said, peering through the dim light. "There's the swamp over head! We
just have to climb through that hole" (he gestured to a hole above his head, through
which they could see murky green water magically held from spilling through) "and then
swim to the shore!"
"Sure…just swim to the shore…" Hermione said, in obvious bad temper. Draco ignored
her, grabbing the sides of the hole and pulling himself up. Hermione went next, lifted by
Reginald, who climbed in after her. Ron grabbed and pulled himself up as well. As soon
as his head hit water, he swallowed a mouthful of brine and gagged. He pulled his legs in
as well and began kicking furiously. Before he could surface, something long and scaly
caught hold of his ankle and wended itself around his foot. He tried to scream, but only a
few bubbles came out, and he could feel himself sinking down into the void.
Hermione gasped and spit brackish water out of her mouth, then dragged in a sweet
lungful of air. Treading water, she turned in place until she saw Draco dragging himself
up onto a slimy patch of weedy ground. She swam over and Draco helped pull her up out
of the water. They then turned and assisted Reginald who, more so then the two of them,
looked like the quintessential drowned rat.
The three then sat slumped in the mud, shivering, until they realized that something was
wrong. "This is taking too long. Ron should have come up by now." Hermione tried to
keep the tremor out of her voice with little success.
"Maybe he hasn't left the tunnel yet." Reginald's voice was rusty from disuse but calm.
"Draco, you had better go down and check." To Hermione's surprise, Draco nodded
once to his uncle and dove swiftly into the water.
As soon as he hit the water, Draco allowed himself to flow into his water dragon shape.
Wriggling free of his clothes, he swam straight down and then moved along the ground
until he came to the opening into the tunnel. As a dragon, Draco could see well under
water and he knew that if Ron were in the water he should have seen him by now.
Mentally crossing his fingers that Ron was just being wimpy and was still in the tunnel,
he changed back into his normal form and wriggled back into the hole.
Dropping into the darkness of the tunnel, he immediately sensed that it was empty and his
heart dropped into his stomach. Still, just to be sure he wasn't missing anything, he
invoked the flame to appear once again at the tip of his wand. In the dim sphere of light
Draco peered around the gloom, desperately hoping for some clue as to what had
happened to Ron. Sure, he was a long time school enemy, despised for his house and his
poverty, but somehow he had become Draco's closest friend and Draco sincerely did not
want to lose him.
The floor of the tunnel was damp, which it hadn't been before, but Draco had attributed
that to his own recent entrance. As he looked more closely now he saw that there were
several strips of what appeared to be seaweed strewn along the tunnel floor and another
hanging half through the hole from the swamp above. Draco approached a piece of the
stuff cautiously and prodded it with his wand. Instantly the stuff reacted, curling around
the wand as though around a bit of prey, and Draco's heart sank even further. He knew
what he happened to Ron, and it wasn't good.
"Draco! You just kicked me!"
"Did not, Granger! Now get off my tail!"
Hermione said a very naughty word. Draco was momentarily struck speechless and
motionless, and stopped his mind-numbingly slow crawl through the passageway. She
thwapped him on the foot and he started up again, followed by Hermione, Reginald, and
Ron (who insisted on going last because of the little underwear problem).
Draco had been leading them through an underground tunnel that alternately climbed and
sunk for the good part of an hour. He insisted that it would lead eventually to the swamp
on his property, but it seemed to be taking several detours before doing so. At one point
Draco had led them right off a ledge that dropped down into blackness, followed by the
other three who landed right on top of him.
"Stupid tunnel…stupid swamp…why do they have a swamp anyway…" Ron murmured.
Reginald turned around and shushed him. Reginald didn't say much, but Ron was sure
that years in the Malfoy Dungeon would do that to a person.
Suddenly, Hermione screamed.
"AHHHHHHH!" she cried, lifting her head suddenly and banging it against the stone
ceiling.
"What is it?!" Draco asked.
"Something ran over my hand!" she shrieked. "Something slimy!"
Ron was sure that whatever had run across Hermione's hand had to be incredibly bad to
make the normally levelheaded girl scream out loud. He looked around nervously.
"There!" Draco said, peering through the dim light. "There's the swamp over head! We
just have to climb through that hole" (he gestured to a hole above his head, through
which they could see murky green water magically held from spilling through) "and then
swim to the shore!"
"Sure…just swim to the shore…" Hermione said, in obvious bad temper. Draco ignored
her, grabbing the sides of the hole and pulling himself up. Hermione went next, lifted by
Reginald, who climbed in after her. Ron grabbed and pulled himself up as well. As soon
as his head hit water, he swallowed a mouthful of brine and gagged. He pulled his legs in
as well and began kicking furiously. Before he could surface, something long and scaly
caught hold of his ankle and wended itself around his foot. He tried to scream, but only a
few bubbles came out, and he could feel himself sinking down into the void.
Hermione gasped and spit brackish water out of her mouth, then dragged in a sweet
lungful of air. Treading water, she turned in place until she saw Draco dragging himself
up onto a slimy patch of weedy ground. She swam over and Draco helped pull her up out
of the water. They then turned and assisted Reginald who, more so then the two of them,
looked like the quintessential drowned rat.
The three then sat slumped in the mud, shivering, until they realized that something was
wrong. "This is taking too long. Ron should have come up by now." Hermione tried to
keep the tremor out of her voice with little success.
"Maybe he hasn't left the tunnel yet." Reginald's voice was rusty from disuse but calm.
"Draco, you had better go down and check." To Hermione's surprise, Draco nodded
once to his uncle and dove swiftly into the water.
As soon as he hit the water, Draco allowed himself to flow into his water dragon shape.
Wriggling free of his clothes, he swam straight down and then moved along the ground
until he came to the opening into the tunnel. As a dragon, Draco could see well under
water and he knew that if Ron were in the water he should have seen him by now.
Mentally crossing his fingers that Ron was just being wimpy and was still in the tunnel,
he changed back into his normal form and wriggled back into the hole.
Dropping into the darkness of the tunnel, he immediately sensed that it was empty and his
heart dropped into his stomach. Still, just to be sure he wasn't missing anything, he
invoked the flame to appear once again at the tip of his wand. In the dim sphere of light
Draco peered around the gloom, desperately hoping for some clue as to what had
happened to Ron. Sure, he was a long time school enemy, despised for his house and his
poverty, but somehow he had become Draco's closest friend and Draco sincerely did not
want to lose him.
The floor of the tunnel was damp, which it hadn't been before, but Draco had attributed
that to his own recent entrance. As he looked more closely now he saw that there were
several strips of what appeared to be seaweed strewn along the tunnel floor and another
hanging half through the hole from the swamp above. Draco approached a piece of the
stuff cautiously and prodded it with his wand. Instantly the stuff reacted, curling around
the wand as though around a bit of prey, and Draco's heart sank even further. He knew
what he happened to Ron, and it wasn't good.