Chapter 4: Couldn't hurt to try.
~I OWN NOTHING!~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Where's your sister, Ron?" Mrs. Weasley asked as she walked into the living room later that night. "Has she come down at all today?"
"She's asleep, Mrs. Weasley," Hermione answered with a warm smile, glancing up from her thick book.
"Dear me, do you think everything's all right with her?" Mrs. Weasley's eyes shone with unshed tears. She wrung her hands nervously on her worn out summer dress. "That girl has me all worried. You don't think she's in trouble, do you?"
"To be honest, Mum, we all know something's wrong, but she won't talk," Ron said without looking up from the chessboard that he and Harry were playing from.
Mrs. Weasley let out a small, depressed sigh, and turned back into the kitchen.
Harry glanced up with a sad expression at Ron, who had finally glanced up and was staring at where his mother had been a moment ago.
"I think we should try to talk to Ginny," Hermione said quietly closing her book and placing it gently on the coffee table. "Whatever has her acting like this must be something serious," she added sadly, as she slowly stood up.
Harry nodded in full agreement.
Ron glanced down at the blue carpeting of the living room. "Yeah, I guess," he said raising his shoulders in a shrug. "If she'll listen to us."
"You don't think she will?" Harry asked, standing up.
"I don't know, if there's one way to describe Ginny, she's proud and independent. She won't take to kindly to us interfering."
Hermione tutted disapprovingly. "Yes, well, what if this is really serious? Would you prefer to protect your sister's pride or do something to protect her?"
"Well, when you put it that way..." Ron stood up slowly, abandoning the chess game that was laid out on the table. He turned to the stairs. "I'll try to get her to talk."
Hermione nodded her approval and followed Ron up the stairs, with Harry lagging behind.
They climbed the stairs to the third floor where Ginny's room was located, and knocked twice.
"Gin?" Hermione asked though the thick wooden door. There was no reply.
"Ginny, are you up yet?" Ron called with a note of worry in his voice. There was no reply. He pushed the door open, and stepped into the darkened room.
The window was wide open, letting a nice summer breeze in the room, but Ginny wasn't there.
"Ginny?" Ron asked quietly, stepping into the dark room.
"She was in here when I brought my trunk up," Hermione said.
"Well she isn't here now, is she?" Ron snapped.
Hermione's eyes flared. "Don't take your frustrations out on me, Ron Weasley!"
Ron rolled his eyes, and opened his mouth to retort, but Harry stepped in right on time. "Come on, not now."
The two instantly shut their mouths, and shrugged sheepishly at each other.
Harry walked past Ron and wandered toward the open windows. The curtains flapped wildly around him as he stuck his raven-colored head out into the penetrating darkness. His eyes scanned the grounds below Ginny's window, but he could see nothing. The night was silent and dark. All he could hear was the quiet howl of wind, and the rustling of the leaves dancing in the tall trees.
"Gin?" Harry called into the dense darkness. An ominous feeling coiled around his insides like black bile, and he hesitantly brought his head back into the room, a frown playing on his lips.
He straightened up from the window, and turned to Ron and Hermione. What he saw made him stop in his tracks, the forming lump in his throat tightening as he watched the scene unfolding before him. He began to feel another knot tie painfully in his chest.
Ron stood before her desk. He held a piece of parchment in one hand, as the other came up to run through his unusually messy red hair. Hermione walked over cautiously from the other side of the room, and studied Ron's movements. Harry just remained rooted to the spot for a moment, knowing that the situation had just got serious.
Hermione placed a comforting hand on Ron's shoulder, as he dropped the letter, which fluttered to the fluffy carpet. He sat down slowly on her bed, and placed his head in his hands, tufts of bright red hair protruding from between his fingers as he clenched and unclenched his hair.
Harry forced himself to move, coming over to pick up the letter. He read it over and over, his eyes widening in alarm at just what he was reading. He felt like someone had punched him in the stomach. It terrified him that one of his friends was in so much trouble they couldn't talk to him.
Hermione slowly came from comforting Ron, and stood behind Harry, reading over his shoulder. She sucked in a breath, and ran her own hand nervously through her hair in unconscious imitation of Ron, who at the moment, seemed to be fighting an internal battle, before he finally burst.
"I should have done something! Tried harder to get her to open up to me, and now, we've run her away!"
Harry and Hermione turned abruptly to their friend. "Ron." Harry said quietly, holding up the letter. He couldn't seem to get any other words out. He swallowed deeply, but the lump only seemed to grow.
He dropped his hand with the parchment in it, and brought the other one up to his messy hair, making it even messier than usual.
" Ron, we.we...need to tell...your family," Hermione managed.
He nodded, and lifted his pale face from his hand.
He slowly got up and made toward Ginny's door. Hermione met him halfway, and caught him by slipping her hand into his. Harry saw her hand tremble, as Ron's hand tightened over it.
"I'm sure you did the best you could to get her to talk to you. Don't worry, we'll get her back." Hermione whispered.
"Thanks, Hermione," Ron said quietly.
Harry handed him the letter, knowing that Ron had to somehow break this news to his family.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
They walked down the hall slowly. How is Ron going to break this? What will Mrs. Weasley say? She'll absolutely go insane.
Hermione walked beside Ron, keeping a firm grip on his arm. Harry brought up the rear, his head hanging lost in thought. He wondered what could have been bothering her so much to have run away. He wondered if there was anything that he could have done to prevent this. If he had just known sooner, or tried to talk to her earlier, could this all have been prevented?
One thing was for sure though, they had to find her, but how? She hadn't told them where she was going. Of course, she said she'd be back before they went to Diagon Alley, so she didn't want to leave for good
When they entered the living room, Ron stood silent regarding his family with wide eyes. He wrung his hands together. Harry noticed that the note was becoming increasingly rumpled. Hermione noticed his dilemma slightly after Harry had, and grabbed his free hand and gripped it tight.
"Well how is she? What's wrong with her?" George asked.
"Not good, she's run away." The twins just stared at him, and turned pale, as his mother burst into tears. "Don't cry, Mum, please, she's left a note, she said that she's going to come back before we go to Diagon Alley, but she just needs time to think by herself. She says she's perfectly safe."
"I knew something was wrong, but my lord, what could it possibly be?" His mother wailed. Ron stepped up and hugged his mother.
"I'll contact Bill, Charlie, Percy, and Dad," Fred said quietly, as he got up and walked to the fireplace. George reached for the note Ron held out in his hand. He read it and paled even further.
"God, what the hell do you think's bothering her?" George asked, dumbfounded.
Everyone's attention was soon diverted to the fireplace where Arthur Weasley's head popped up in the fire.
"Why is your mother crying?" he asked somewhat panicky.
"Dad, you and Percy should come home now, Ginny's run away," Fred said.
Mr. Weasley paled, and regarded his son.
"She's.She's run.run away?" he asked unable to believe.
"Yes."
"Oh my." His head disappeared from the fire, and a second later, the fire glowed green, and he and Percy stepped out of the fire. They brushed off their robes and looked around the grim room.
"Did she say why?" Mr. Weasley asked.
"She left a note, Dad. All it said was that she needed to sort out her thoughts," Ron said. Hermione never let go of Ron's hand, though no one but Harry noticed.
"Did you contact Bill and Charlie?"
"We are doing it now."
"Ok," Mr. Weasley said as he went across the room to comfort his wife.
George stood up, and walked to his parents. He held out the note that Ginny had left. Mr. Weasley took it, and read it with Mrs. Weasley. "My lord," he muttered quietly.
For the first time Harry could remember, Percy was too shocked to speak.
When everyone was finally present, the entire Weasley family sat in astonished silence. Harry and Hermione offered to make some tea, feeling that this was a family time, and that they shouldn't intrude. They silently stood up, and made their way into the kitchen.
"Goodness, I really want to know what made her leave," Hermione said, as she walked toward the teakettle sitting silently on the oven top.
"Yea, I wonder what's happening to her," Harry said sadly.
Hermione didn't answer; she poured water into the kettle using her wand.
They sat in silence for a few minutes, while the teakettle heated up.
When it was finally finished, Hermione poured some steaming tea into eight teacups; she placed them all on one of Mrs. Weasley's silver trays and picked it up carrying it into the living room.
Harry followed her into the living room. Hermione set the cups on the center table, while Harry distributed them out to the people talking in the living room.
A thought occurred to Harry, like a ton of bricks. His eyes grew wide, as he grabbed Ron's arm and pulled him into a corner of the room, away from the prying eyes and ears of his family. Hermione watched them with interest, as she handed Mrs. Weasley a cup of tea.
"What?" Ron asked bewildered as he regarded his best friend.
"Hey Ron, who would you say is Ginny's best friends at Hogwarts?" Harry whispered excitedly.
Ron looked at him confused.
"I suppose Colin. Why?"
Harry rolled his eyes. "Don't you think that she would go to the next available place to hide, being her best friend's house? Don't you see? She's probably at Colin's."
"You think? You think Colin would help her hide out?" Ron asked looking unsure.
Harry shrugged. "Couldn't hurt to try."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~I OWN NOTHING!~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Where's your sister, Ron?" Mrs. Weasley asked as she walked into the living room later that night. "Has she come down at all today?"
"She's asleep, Mrs. Weasley," Hermione answered with a warm smile, glancing up from her thick book.
"Dear me, do you think everything's all right with her?" Mrs. Weasley's eyes shone with unshed tears. She wrung her hands nervously on her worn out summer dress. "That girl has me all worried. You don't think she's in trouble, do you?"
"To be honest, Mum, we all know something's wrong, but she won't talk," Ron said without looking up from the chessboard that he and Harry were playing from.
Mrs. Weasley let out a small, depressed sigh, and turned back into the kitchen.
Harry glanced up with a sad expression at Ron, who had finally glanced up and was staring at where his mother had been a moment ago.
"I think we should try to talk to Ginny," Hermione said quietly closing her book and placing it gently on the coffee table. "Whatever has her acting like this must be something serious," she added sadly, as she slowly stood up.
Harry nodded in full agreement.
Ron glanced down at the blue carpeting of the living room. "Yeah, I guess," he said raising his shoulders in a shrug. "If she'll listen to us."
"You don't think she will?" Harry asked, standing up.
"I don't know, if there's one way to describe Ginny, she's proud and independent. She won't take to kindly to us interfering."
Hermione tutted disapprovingly. "Yes, well, what if this is really serious? Would you prefer to protect your sister's pride or do something to protect her?"
"Well, when you put it that way..." Ron stood up slowly, abandoning the chess game that was laid out on the table. He turned to the stairs. "I'll try to get her to talk."
Hermione nodded her approval and followed Ron up the stairs, with Harry lagging behind.
They climbed the stairs to the third floor where Ginny's room was located, and knocked twice.
"Gin?" Hermione asked though the thick wooden door. There was no reply.
"Ginny, are you up yet?" Ron called with a note of worry in his voice. There was no reply. He pushed the door open, and stepped into the darkened room.
The window was wide open, letting a nice summer breeze in the room, but Ginny wasn't there.
"Ginny?" Ron asked quietly, stepping into the dark room.
"She was in here when I brought my trunk up," Hermione said.
"Well she isn't here now, is she?" Ron snapped.
Hermione's eyes flared. "Don't take your frustrations out on me, Ron Weasley!"
Ron rolled his eyes, and opened his mouth to retort, but Harry stepped in right on time. "Come on, not now."
The two instantly shut their mouths, and shrugged sheepishly at each other.
Harry walked past Ron and wandered toward the open windows. The curtains flapped wildly around him as he stuck his raven-colored head out into the penetrating darkness. His eyes scanned the grounds below Ginny's window, but he could see nothing. The night was silent and dark. All he could hear was the quiet howl of wind, and the rustling of the leaves dancing in the tall trees.
"Gin?" Harry called into the dense darkness. An ominous feeling coiled around his insides like black bile, and he hesitantly brought his head back into the room, a frown playing on his lips.
He straightened up from the window, and turned to Ron and Hermione. What he saw made him stop in his tracks, the forming lump in his throat tightening as he watched the scene unfolding before him. He began to feel another knot tie painfully in his chest.
Ron stood before her desk. He held a piece of parchment in one hand, as the other came up to run through his unusually messy red hair. Hermione walked over cautiously from the other side of the room, and studied Ron's movements. Harry just remained rooted to the spot for a moment, knowing that the situation had just got serious.
Hermione placed a comforting hand on Ron's shoulder, as he dropped the letter, which fluttered to the fluffy carpet. He sat down slowly on her bed, and placed his head in his hands, tufts of bright red hair protruding from between his fingers as he clenched and unclenched his hair.
Harry forced himself to move, coming over to pick up the letter. He read it over and over, his eyes widening in alarm at just what he was reading. He felt like someone had punched him in the stomach. It terrified him that one of his friends was in so much trouble they couldn't talk to him.
Hermione slowly came from comforting Ron, and stood behind Harry, reading over his shoulder. She sucked in a breath, and ran her own hand nervously through her hair in unconscious imitation of Ron, who at the moment, seemed to be fighting an internal battle, before he finally burst.
"I should have done something! Tried harder to get her to open up to me, and now, we've run her away!"
Harry and Hermione turned abruptly to their friend. "Ron." Harry said quietly, holding up the letter. He couldn't seem to get any other words out. He swallowed deeply, but the lump only seemed to grow.
He dropped his hand with the parchment in it, and brought the other one up to his messy hair, making it even messier than usual.
" Ron, we.we...need to tell...your family," Hermione managed.
He nodded, and lifted his pale face from his hand.
He slowly got up and made toward Ginny's door. Hermione met him halfway, and caught him by slipping her hand into his. Harry saw her hand tremble, as Ron's hand tightened over it.
"I'm sure you did the best you could to get her to talk to you. Don't worry, we'll get her back." Hermione whispered.
"Thanks, Hermione," Ron said quietly.
Harry handed him the letter, knowing that Ron had to somehow break this news to his family.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
They walked down the hall slowly. How is Ron going to break this? What will Mrs. Weasley say? She'll absolutely go insane.
Hermione walked beside Ron, keeping a firm grip on his arm. Harry brought up the rear, his head hanging lost in thought. He wondered what could have been bothering her so much to have run away. He wondered if there was anything that he could have done to prevent this. If he had just known sooner, or tried to talk to her earlier, could this all have been prevented?
One thing was for sure though, they had to find her, but how? She hadn't told them where she was going. Of course, she said she'd be back before they went to Diagon Alley, so she didn't want to leave for good
When they entered the living room, Ron stood silent regarding his family with wide eyes. He wrung his hands together. Harry noticed that the note was becoming increasingly rumpled. Hermione noticed his dilemma slightly after Harry had, and grabbed his free hand and gripped it tight.
"Well how is she? What's wrong with her?" George asked.
"Not good, she's run away." The twins just stared at him, and turned pale, as his mother burst into tears. "Don't cry, Mum, please, she's left a note, she said that she's going to come back before we go to Diagon Alley, but she just needs time to think by herself. She says she's perfectly safe."
"I knew something was wrong, but my lord, what could it possibly be?" His mother wailed. Ron stepped up and hugged his mother.
"I'll contact Bill, Charlie, Percy, and Dad," Fred said quietly, as he got up and walked to the fireplace. George reached for the note Ron held out in his hand. He read it and paled even further.
"God, what the hell do you think's bothering her?" George asked, dumbfounded.
Everyone's attention was soon diverted to the fireplace where Arthur Weasley's head popped up in the fire.
"Why is your mother crying?" he asked somewhat panicky.
"Dad, you and Percy should come home now, Ginny's run away," Fred said.
Mr. Weasley paled, and regarded his son.
"She's.She's run.run away?" he asked unable to believe.
"Yes."
"Oh my." His head disappeared from the fire, and a second later, the fire glowed green, and he and Percy stepped out of the fire. They brushed off their robes and looked around the grim room.
"Did she say why?" Mr. Weasley asked.
"She left a note, Dad. All it said was that she needed to sort out her thoughts," Ron said. Hermione never let go of Ron's hand, though no one but Harry noticed.
"Did you contact Bill and Charlie?"
"We are doing it now."
"Ok," Mr. Weasley said as he went across the room to comfort his wife.
George stood up, and walked to his parents. He held out the note that Ginny had left. Mr. Weasley took it, and read it with Mrs. Weasley. "My lord," he muttered quietly.
For the first time Harry could remember, Percy was too shocked to speak.
When everyone was finally present, the entire Weasley family sat in astonished silence. Harry and Hermione offered to make some tea, feeling that this was a family time, and that they shouldn't intrude. They silently stood up, and made their way into the kitchen.
"Goodness, I really want to know what made her leave," Hermione said, as she walked toward the teakettle sitting silently on the oven top.
"Yea, I wonder what's happening to her," Harry said sadly.
Hermione didn't answer; she poured water into the kettle using her wand.
They sat in silence for a few minutes, while the teakettle heated up.
When it was finally finished, Hermione poured some steaming tea into eight teacups; she placed them all on one of Mrs. Weasley's silver trays and picked it up carrying it into the living room.
Harry followed her into the living room. Hermione set the cups on the center table, while Harry distributed them out to the people talking in the living room.
A thought occurred to Harry, like a ton of bricks. His eyes grew wide, as he grabbed Ron's arm and pulled him into a corner of the room, away from the prying eyes and ears of his family. Hermione watched them with interest, as she handed Mrs. Weasley a cup of tea.
"What?" Ron asked bewildered as he regarded his best friend.
"Hey Ron, who would you say is Ginny's best friends at Hogwarts?" Harry whispered excitedly.
Ron looked at him confused.
"I suppose Colin. Why?"
Harry rolled his eyes. "Don't you think that she would go to the next available place to hide, being her best friend's house? Don't you see? She's probably at Colin's."
"You think? You think Colin would help her hide out?" Ron asked looking unsure.
Harry shrugged. "Couldn't hurt to try."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~