Chapter 15

Author's Note: Wow, I've really been turning these chapters out quick, I'm quite surprised. I'm glad that all of you enjoyed my last chapter, and please continue to read, unless you're an H/H fan, in that case, please do not read his story, for your own sake, and because I despise you anyway. Thanks! Anyway, those of us who ride on the good ship R/H, have fun reading this chapter! P.S. This chapter is dedicated to one of my closest friends at boarding school, Mary. Go Mary! Oh, and another dedication to …Ron! Well, it's kind of hard to say this, because he's not really Ron, that's just an alias, but he's just as awesome! Yay, Ron!!!

Disclaimer: To whom it my concern,

            I do not own the rights of this wondrous phenomenon called Harry Potter, but I do, in fact, own the plot of this specific fan fiction. This does not concern you, Warner Brothers. I would put this letter down as soon as possible, and walk away slowly. Harry Potter does in fact belong to its great creator, J.K. Rowling.

Cheers,

Evyfleur

P.S. This message will self-destruct in five seconds. I told you to put it down.

CurlsofGold- I know, I hate the twins sometimes also, but, well, that just adds to the suspence. Don't you love it? Mwahahahaha! Thank you for the awesome review and please continue to read!

bumpersticker86- Haha, I know! The twins are always there!!! It's Weasley time! Do you know where your children are? Thank for the great review, I'm sorry this chapter is so short, but here it is for you anyway! I'll keep working on the next one! Oh, yes! Go G/H!!!! And again, the Simpsons are awesome! Hope you like this chapter!

Anyana- Thank you so much for that wonderful review! I did have a great day when I read it! I hope you like this chapter, too! It's a little bit short, but…well, school calls! Have a good day!

Hermione Weasley- Alright, alright! Here's the next chapter for you! Be patient! I'm writing as fast as I possibly can! This chapter's a little shorter than most of the others, but I have it written anyway! Btw, I loved the LOTR joke, that was really funny! Hahahahahahaha!!!

Rad2584- As you can see, I dedicated this chapter to you, and another person, but, I hope you like this chapter just as much as you liked everything else! Talk to you soon, Ron!!!

Interrogations and Debates

The readers start to become annoyed with the red curtain that always pulls away. They are prepared this time, though, and pull out their handy-dandy scissors to shred it. That feat accomplished, they sit back down at their seats in front of the computer and continue to watch as the four people run downstairs to talk to the Weasley parents.

            They hurried downstairs to the kitchen, where they were faced with the sight of Molly weeping silently. Arthur was telling her to hush, and held her in his arms consolingly. Both looked up at the four friends hopefully, and Mrs.Weasley made haste to clean her tearstained face with a napkin from the table. Mr.Weasley patted his wife on the back once more, and turned to them.

            "So, did you find anything?" He asked with a hint of anxiety in his voice, as though he didn't want to have to be the one to ask. He ran a hand through his thinning hair.

            Harry looked at both of them, back and forth for a few moments, and Hermione could tell that he was wondering how much he could or should explain. On top of that, they really wanted to get on the road to Wormtail's house, or whatever wizard method led to his house. Ginny would be gone from there in only a few days, and it worried Hermione greatly. Ron seemed to share her concern, she realized, as he took her hand and squeezed it tightly, giving her a secret glance. If only we could just admit our feelings toward each other. We wouldn't be in this damn position. I l-…I can't even say it to myself. How could I say it to him? It will never be. Ron gave her hand another squeeze, almost in response to what she was thinking.

Draco, while watching Harry try to figure out what to say, and seeing this small exchange of affection (?) between Ron and Hermione, decided to speak up. He wouldn't be useful otherwise, he decided.

"I'll go fetch our cloaks," he said in a modest manner, and with a half-smile to the Weasleys, strode briskly from the small kitchen. Harry took this as an opportunity to start speaking, but he looked quite afraid of what he was about to say. Sighing deeply, he began, in a very forward way.

"Wormtail, we have reason to believe, is holding Ginny hostage." He said.

Molly gasped and broke down when Harry said this, and cried "Peter Pettigrew!" in a strained and angry voice. Mr.Weasley frowned deeply; his wrinkles making him look older and more worn, as he was indeed. Harry nodded sadly, and sat down next to Mrs.Weasley, putting an arm around her. Hermione noticed something as he did this: Harry has grown so much since we graduated. He's, well, he's now taller and he doesn't seem like such a child. This was true. Harry had grown tall and strong since he had gotten back his strength from leaving that terrible room. Although he wasn't built like Ron or Draco, he looked much healthier than before. As Hermione mused on this, Ron's hand held hers more tightly.

"Why is she being held hostage?" Arthur asked in confusion. Of course he would ask such a question. He worked for the ministry, and could see most possible motives for most of the Dark Lord's actions. He knew that they couldn't possibly want money; all the Death Eaters knew that the Weasley family was flat broke. They couldn't be holding her hostage because of his profession. He had the most boring job in the whole Ministry, according to his children. It couldn't be because of Fred and George, Bill, Charlie or Percy, and Molly didn't involve herself with too much. Ginny did have quite a close relationship with Ron, but the death eaters only knew that he helped his brothers out in their joke shop, no one but immediate family and close…extremely close friends, knew that he was Unspeakable. Although Ginny had been good friends with Hermione, he didn't know how that would effect their decisions. There was only one person left…Harry.

"It's because of me, Mr.Weasley. I'm so sorry, Sir. We, Ginny and I, that is, have been writing and talking with each other…a lot. I believe they think that if they…well, if they could take away from me the one person I truly love, I would come after them and try to find her, making it possible for them to catch me. I'm hoping that they're only half right. I want to get her back and bring her home for you. And for us."

Harry was hesitant about saying all of this, and looked around nervously after he'd done so. Ron gave Hermione a questioning glance which she returned at exactly the same moment. They couldn't help but smile a bit at this. And Harry's declaration of love and ambitions for Ginny did not have the effect they had been expecting. Hermione had envisioned both of them acting very awkward and formal about the situation, but that wasn't what happened.

Molly looked up at Harry hopefully, and stopped her sobs. With an encouraging sniffle, she gave him an expression of pure and desperate joy. It was somewhat ironic, during their current dilemma.

"Oh, Harry, dear! I'm so happy that you're in love! This will be perfect, Arthur, can't you see it. Harry will bring back our little Ginny, and they'll get married and Harry will be like a second son!" she said, patting Harry's cheek. Hermione felt a stab of pain at what Mrs.Weasley had said, though. Everything will be perfect when Ginny and Harry get married, is that right? Well what about Ron and, and, well, what about Ron? He already is their son! She gave Ron's hand a sympathetic squeeze. He smiled half-heartedly.

"You don't know how much this means. How wonderful," Molly continued, fawning over Harry.

Draco walked back into the room, surveyed everyone's expressions, and began to look confused. He was about to inquire about what had just happened, when Ron gave him a glance that obviously told him not to ask. So Draco put his question away for a moment, and gave everyone his or her cloak. Hermione neatly fastened hers. Draco made sure that his had no wrinkles, and draped it carefully over his shoulders. Harry buttoned it at the top and made sure he had access to his wand. Ron haphazardly swung his around his neck. Hermione had been trying to avoid that chat Mr. Weasley had insisted upon, and it looked like she was going to escape the dragon unscathed, when…

"Oh, Hermione! May I talk to you?"

"Of course, Mr.Weasley." Hermione said politely. Harry, sensing the negative feelings she had toward this conversation, quickly said, "We'll just wait outside. Don't be too long, Hermione, we really need to get going."

"I will," said Hermione as convincingly as she could, throwing Harry a grateful smile. Ron walked over and hugged his parents' goodbye, and they affectionately bade him farewell, with a bundle of kisses from Molly. Draco shook Mr.Weasley's hand as friendly as he could, said a warm goodbye, and the same with Mrs.Weasley, except that he placed a small kiss on her hand, that she blushed about. Harry got the most attention of all, of course, receiving hugs, kisses, smiles and thanks over and over again, until he stepped out the door, waving energetically, trying to escape the Weasley parents.

Ron and Draco looked at each other amusedly, and then followed Harry out the door. Hermione looked after them and reluctantly turned back to the Weasleys. She sat down across from them, smiling as politely as she could. They looked at her expectantly, until Mrs.Weasley jabbed Arthur with her elbow. "Ow!" Mr.Weasley looked at her once again with an innocent face, and nervously started to say, "Well, erm, Hermione, I, we just wanted to talk to you about-…um, what has been-…I mean to say, we wanted to know about your current-" Molly interrupted him impatiently, and leaned across the table to look Hermione in the eye.

"Do you fancy him, dear?"

Hermione paled, and looked at them, her eyes growing large with something like fear. Her necklace turned a very pastel blue, and she heard the door open faintly, but dismissed it as being the twins or someone of the sort. Arthur nodded at her resignedly, and Molly looked at her more intensely.

"Fancy who?" She finally asked, dreading the answer. Is it that obvious? How am I supposed to respond to this? Mr.Weasley scratched the bright red, thinning hair on his head. He stuttered for a moment, making a strange guttural sound, and then said, "Ron."

Hermione bit her lip, and tried to think of something to say. She knew what to say, but she couldn't say it. Just say it Hermione, just say yes! But what if he doesn't feel the same way? Don't say anything yet! Hermione opened her mouth to speak, to say something, anything.

"I, well, I-I…you see, I'm, I, it's just that-"

Ron walked back into the kitchen at that very moment, and looked expectantly at her. "Done yet?" He asked nonchalantly. "Because we have to get going. I mean, if we don't get there on time, well, I don't want to know what will happen, at the moment." Hermione turned back to the Weasleys with a longing face. Please let me go. Oh, please! She did not want to be held to that pressure. They nodded at her, and gestured for her to go ahead. She smiled in relief. After hugging and kissing each of them goodbye, Ron Waved to his parents, grabbed Hermione's hand, and dragged her out of the kitchen.

"Thank you for coming to get me."

"I saw that your necklace was becoming whiter, so I wanted to make sure you were alright. So I couldn't help but hear what they were asking you."

"You were eavesdropping on us?" Hermione asked, a little bit upset. "Were you waiting to hear what I would say?" She continued, pulling her hand from Ron's, and crossing her arms over her chest.

"I did no such thing!" Ron said hotly. "Not on purpose anyway! I just wanted to make sure that you were alright."

"I can't believe you! You know, you have some nerve! Ronald Weasley, if you ever-"

But Ron interrupted, with a violent finger pointing at his own chest. "I was the one who got you out of there before you had to answer the question, didn't I? I pitied you!"

"Pity? You pitied me, Ron? And so you just had a late entrance then, did you?"

"No! I was just…confused! That's all!" He turned away from her angrily.

"Really," she replied skeptically. "You were confused." Hermione turned away from him also, and put on her cloak. The wind was getting colder, it seemed. Oh no. We're outside. We've just been shouting at each other at the top of our lungs, in front of Harry and Draco. Oops. She squinted in regret.

Harry and Draco stood watching the argument they knew would have to occur at some point in time, another classic "Ron and Hermione row". It must be a term in every household now, Harry thought with slight satisfaction. Why couldn't they just come to their senses and say what they needed to say? It would save a lot of trouble. But that wasn't the function of Ron. He was too stubborn, and Hermione…well, Hermione was Hermione. But speaking of such things, Harry took Ginny's piece of paper out of his pocket, just to check to see if she had written back to him yet, or, no, she hadn't written. Harry now realized how much he missed Gin, and talking to her only whetted his appetite to see her again.

Draco was fighting the urge to yawn. He had seen one too many of these arguments, and to him they looked pointless. Did they somehow derive pleasure from yelling at each other very rudely? Draco wasn't the nicest or smartest person in the world, but if Ron and Hermione were, you know, it just didn't make sense to him that they would be arguing. What strange people. He wanted to start going. "We need to get going now," Harry said, putting away the paper.

"Fine," said both Ron and Hermione and the same time, glowering at each other. Hermione looked back to Harry with a superior expression, and Ron shrugged and started muttering to himself, something about a know-it-all.