I've never had to write so many papers over a school vacation in my life!
Add that to hanging out with friends, drama, and over-sleeping and it shows
that I've been pretty busy. However, I still got this chapter down because
I'm really getting fond of ff.net.
Rose-petal-forever- Thanks for always giving me your standpoint on every chapter. It really helps me to have that kind of reassurance behind me to push me forward.
Solin- It's no problem! I'm just glad that you reviewed! I hope you like this chapter as much as you liked all of the others!
VENGEANCE by MyKonstantine
Chapter 6: Public Hideaways
The room seemed to spin around them as Ron, Harry, and Ginny ran through never-ending hallway after hallway. The white walls and doors gave them the fearful sense that they would find more than a door at the end of the corridors.
As the last corridor formed a delta into the wide central area of the Auror headquarters, Ron said "The Auror who brought you here has a transportation device on his wrist. I found it after I calmed him down."
"How exactly did you calm him down?" Ginny speculated.
"I beat him into submission with a few well-chosen hexes and tied him to a chair." Ron said in a nonchalant tone, pointing to the sideways heap of wood, rope, and man as it appear around the corner. Ginny's eyes widened.
As they got closer, Ron noticed that the man was not even struggling as he was before. He was as limp as a rag doll.
Fearing the worst, Ron darted to the man with Harry and Ginny at his heels. He roughly pushed the chair over to face them.
A shot of pain ripped through him. Ginny let out a quick scream before falling into the arms of Harry, who stared in disbelief.
The Auror lay dead with his eyes wide open in shock and a fresh lightning bolt cut on his forehead.
"I didn't kill him." Ron whispered. He turned to the others only to find Harry with Ginny in one arm and a wand aimed at him in the other hand.
"I DIDN'T FUCKING KILL HIM!" Ron cried out. He could understand Harry's confusion. Over the years they'd had many run-ins with shape shifters and Polyjuice potion. Nevertheless, the frustration and terror in Ron's eyes was overwhelming.
"Ron?" Ginny whispered, only daring to look at him for seconds.
Harry held his wand a little higher. "I'm sorry, mate. You have to understand."
Before Harry could do anything to Ron, a voice hollered "CRUCIO!"
Harry and Ginny fell to their knees in pain, and Ron saw two Death Eaters with raised hoods standing behind a counter.
"Protego!" Ron called out, hitting the Death Eaters and breaking to spell on Harry and Ginny.
"Get up!" Ron yelled to them "We outnumber them! Fight!"
Understanding that this may be a life or death situation, Harry and Ginny jumped to their feet. Harry's wand was still in his hand, so he easily fired spells back at the Death Eaters.
They had only been battling for a few moments when a Jelly Legs Jinx flew into Ron at an amazing speed. He yelled out as his legs began to feel like rubber underneath him and fell to the ground.
"Petrificus Totalus!" Ginny screamed, and with that simple spell the Death Eaters fell to the floor.
Harry rushed over to the Death Eaters. He took their wands and pulled back their hoods. "It's Crabbe and Goyle. We can leave them here. Aurors from different headquarters should be arriving any moment now."
"A little help over here!" Ron called out as he flailed on the floor. Ginny walked over and giggled.
"Aww, Ron." She cooed, lightly petting his hair. "I don't know the counter- curse. We'll have to get you out of here first."
Ron groaned. "Great! Just great!" He grabbed Ginny's hand a pushed it off his head as to show that he was not a wounded puppy.
Harry hoisted Ron onto his back with some difficulty. "It's a good look for you, mate." Harry teased. He and Ginny flinched as they grabbed the dead Auror's bracelet.
Ron sucked in a breath and he surveyed the scene around him before casting the transportation spell. "Avait Porterais."
They were back in the hotel room where all the trouble had started. It looked exactly as it had when Ron departed with the now lifeless Auror. Tears lightly rained down Ginny's face as she looked at the man.
"We need to get out of here." Ron stated, trying to sound strong in front of Ginny.
Harry dropped Ron onto the bed. "What we really need is somebody who's going to cast the counter-curse without arresting us first."
"Then there's only one place to go." Ginny said, grabbed a notepad from the bedside table. "I'll make the portkey."
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The Burrow was quiet as the sun set in the distance. The usually busy house was serene as Mr. and Mrs. Weasley sat at the kitchen table with a representative from the Auror Department.
"Two men have died. They were Pierre Mariselles and Jean L'Heuleux." He said. "We found that they were both abandoned by Death Eater parents in the mist of Voldemort's reign and adopted by different families at age seven."
Mrs. Weasley nodded. Her hand was clasped tightly with her husband's. "That wasn't a coincidence, was it?"
"No, it wasn't. Those men knew something that the Death Eaters did not want intelligence to find out about. Something that would lead us to Ms. Granger."
"It's crucial that we find your children and Mr. Potter. We have substantial evidence that Death Eaters were responsible for the capture of Ms. Granger." The man said in a monotone voice.
"I completely understand that." Mrs. Weasley sighed. "What I don't understand is how keeping our children captive will stop them!"
The Auror went off into another monotone tangent about the importance of their safety, but the Weasleys were simply not paying attention to him. Instead, their eyes were glued to a clock above the man's head with pictures of the children on them.
Only minutes ago, Ron and Ginny's hands were pointing to 'Mortal Peril', but now they had moved across to 'Travelling'. Mr. Weasley's brow furled as they watched the clock in anticipation.
Just as they had hoped, the hands quietly moved to 'Home' without the Auror noticing. They smiled at their children's rare ability to be completely silent at the right times.
"Your right, old chap." Mr. Weasley said to the Auror unconvincingly. "Our top priority is to keep them safe. We haven't heard from them at all, but if we do you'll be the first to know!"
Mrs. Weasley looked shocked for a moment before catching on. "Yes, of course! Please, just try to find them and keep them safe!" She said, opening the door for the man.
They bid the Auror a good day before watching him walk out the door and apparate back to his headquarters.
"He didn't notice!" Mrs. Weasley called out from the kitchen. "It's safe to come out!"
Ginny ran out of the living room and hugged her mother. A sluggish Harry, who was carrying Ron on his back, followed her.
"Oh my! Put him down right here!" Mrs. Weasley said, pulling out a chair for her youngest son. "Arthur! Get the counter-curse book from the other room!"
"How did this happen?" She inquired, and as she looked through page after page of her book the three people surrounding her slowly unraveled the answer.
"Well, at least the Malfoys are clever enough to send the two dimwits to get in the tough situations." Mr. Weasley said. "They must have the tough crowd with Hermione."
Ron held up the locket filled with potion. "This is very temporary, so it's pretty useless. I know what the room looks like, but I don't know how to get to it!"
"It was slimy stones that formed a square room with connecting corridors. It was like a hollowed-out rock or something." Ron murmured, his vision falling back to Hermione and the room.
Harry's eyes widened in surprise. "Ron! That's it! She's in the Château Creux!"
"That's right!" Ginny said, happily squeezing Harry's hand. "The Auror guarding our room said that it was French for 'Hollow Castle' and that it was hollowed out between the outer and inner walls!"
"Did you hear the Auror tell us about the men who died?" Mrs. Weasley asked. "They were brothers separated at a young age, and the Aurors thought they knew something about Hermione's whereabouts."
"That's why they never found any signs of apparation or a portkey." Ron said in an excited whisper. "The entrance to the hollows is inside the castles, and the brothers knew where it was."
"That's why Pierre Mariselles was the only guard to run straight to Hermione's room!" Harry shouted out. "The entrance must be in Hermione's room!"
"We need a plan of action. They're not going to kill her because they're using her as bait to get all of us." Harry growled and guilt washed over his face when he heard Ron's words.
"Please! Stay the night before you do anything! Just stay safe tonight!" Mrs. Weasley's watering eyes were enough to convince anyone to stay, and so they reluctantly agreed.
Mrs. Weasley cooked one of her famous five course meals for them. She insisted that they eat every last bite to keep up their strength. Her eyes were brimmed with tears as she watched them eat because she knew all she could do was hope for their safe return with Hermione.
After much discussion that would help them get through the conflict that waited inside the Hollow Castle, they all headed up to bed for a restless night of slumber.
Ron changed and climbed into bed. Harry sat on the edge of his bed and took off his glasses.
"Ginny's room is the fifth door on the right, in case you've forgotten."
"What?" Harry said, his head snapping back to face Ron.
"You heard me! Now hurry up before I change my mind!"
With a gracious smirk painted across his face, Harry slowly strutted out of the room and down the hall.
Ron chuckled to himself as he turned over in bed. At least he knew that Ginny would sleep comfortably tonight in the arms of someone she loved. He wished he could do the same.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
I'll take a bow now and thank you for reading this chapter. I only wish to please the readers.
So, if what do you think? Is the plot going in the direction you'd like it to? Do I beat up on my characters too much?
Tell me! Review!
Rose-petal-forever- Thanks for always giving me your standpoint on every chapter. It really helps me to have that kind of reassurance behind me to push me forward.
Solin- It's no problem! I'm just glad that you reviewed! I hope you like this chapter as much as you liked all of the others!
VENGEANCE by MyKonstantine
Chapter 6: Public Hideaways
The room seemed to spin around them as Ron, Harry, and Ginny ran through never-ending hallway after hallway. The white walls and doors gave them the fearful sense that they would find more than a door at the end of the corridors.
As the last corridor formed a delta into the wide central area of the Auror headquarters, Ron said "The Auror who brought you here has a transportation device on his wrist. I found it after I calmed him down."
"How exactly did you calm him down?" Ginny speculated.
"I beat him into submission with a few well-chosen hexes and tied him to a chair." Ron said in a nonchalant tone, pointing to the sideways heap of wood, rope, and man as it appear around the corner. Ginny's eyes widened.
As they got closer, Ron noticed that the man was not even struggling as he was before. He was as limp as a rag doll.
Fearing the worst, Ron darted to the man with Harry and Ginny at his heels. He roughly pushed the chair over to face them.
A shot of pain ripped through him. Ginny let out a quick scream before falling into the arms of Harry, who stared in disbelief.
The Auror lay dead with his eyes wide open in shock and a fresh lightning bolt cut on his forehead.
"I didn't kill him." Ron whispered. He turned to the others only to find Harry with Ginny in one arm and a wand aimed at him in the other hand.
"I DIDN'T FUCKING KILL HIM!" Ron cried out. He could understand Harry's confusion. Over the years they'd had many run-ins with shape shifters and Polyjuice potion. Nevertheless, the frustration and terror in Ron's eyes was overwhelming.
"Ron?" Ginny whispered, only daring to look at him for seconds.
Harry held his wand a little higher. "I'm sorry, mate. You have to understand."
Before Harry could do anything to Ron, a voice hollered "CRUCIO!"
Harry and Ginny fell to their knees in pain, and Ron saw two Death Eaters with raised hoods standing behind a counter.
"Protego!" Ron called out, hitting the Death Eaters and breaking to spell on Harry and Ginny.
"Get up!" Ron yelled to them "We outnumber them! Fight!"
Understanding that this may be a life or death situation, Harry and Ginny jumped to their feet. Harry's wand was still in his hand, so he easily fired spells back at the Death Eaters.
They had only been battling for a few moments when a Jelly Legs Jinx flew into Ron at an amazing speed. He yelled out as his legs began to feel like rubber underneath him and fell to the ground.
"Petrificus Totalus!" Ginny screamed, and with that simple spell the Death Eaters fell to the floor.
Harry rushed over to the Death Eaters. He took their wands and pulled back their hoods. "It's Crabbe and Goyle. We can leave them here. Aurors from different headquarters should be arriving any moment now."
"A little help over here!" Ron called out as he flailed on the floor. Ginny walked over and giggled.
"Aww, Ron." She cooed, lightly petting his hair. "I don't know the counter- curse. We'll have to get you out of here first."
Ron groaned. "Great! Just great!" He grabbed Ginny's hand a pushed it off his head as to show that he was not a wounded puppy.
Harry hoisted Ron onto his back with some difficulty. "It's a good look for you, mate." Harry teased. He and Ginny flinched as they grabbed the dead Auror's bracelet.
Ron sucked in a breath and he surveyed the scene around him before casting the transportation spell. "Avait Porterais."
They were back in the hotel room where all the trouble had started. It looked exactly as it had when Ron departed with the now lifeless Auror. Tears lightly rained down Ginny's face as she looked at the man.
"We need to get out of here." Ron stated, trying to sound strong in front of Ginny.
Harry dropped Ron onto the bed. "What we really need is somebody who's going to cast the counter-curse without arresting us first."
"Then there's only one place to go." Ginny said, grabbed a notepad from the bedside table. "I'll make the portkey."
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The Burrow was quiet as the sun set in the distance. The usually busy house was serene as Mr. and Mrs. Weasley sat at the kitchen table with a representative from the Auror Department.
"Two men have died. They were Pierre Mariselles and Jean L'Heuleux." He said. "We found that they were both abandoned by Death Eater parents in the mist of Voldemort's reign and adopted by different families at age seven."
Mrs. Weasley nodded. Her hand was clasped tightly with her husband's. "That wasn't a coincidence, was it?"
"No, it wasn't. Those men knew something that the Death Eaters did not want intelligence to find out about. Something that would lead us to Ms. Granger."
"It's crucial that we find your children and Mr. Potter. We have substantial evidence that Death Eaters were responsible for the capture of Ms. Granger." The man said in a monotone voice.
"I completely understand that." Mrs. Weasley sighed. "What I don't understand is how keeping our children captive will stop them!"
The Auror went off into another monotone tangent about the importance of their safety, but the Weasleys were simply not paying attention to him. Instead, their eyes were glued to a clock above the man's head with pictures of the children on them.
Only minutes ago, Ron and Ginny's hands were pointing to 'Mortal Peril', but now they had moved across to 'Travelling'. Mr. Weasley's brow furled as they watched the clock in anticipation.
Just as they had hoped, the hands quietly moved to 'Home' without the Auror noticing. They smiled at their children's rare ability to be completely silent at the right times.
"Your right, old chap." Mr. Weasley said to the Auror unconvincingly. "Our top priority is to keep them safe. We haven't heard from them at all, but if we do you'll be the first to know!"
Mrs. Weasley looked shocked for a moment before catching on. "Yes, of course! Please, just try to find them and keep them safe!" She said, opening the door for the man.
They bid the Auror a good day before watching him walk out the door and apparate back to his headquarters.
"He didn't notice!" Mrs. Weasley called out from the kitchen. "It's safe to come out!"
Ginny ran out of the living room and hugged her mother. A sluggish Harry, who was carrying Ron on his back, followed her.
"Oh my! Put him down right here!" Mrs. Weasley said, pulling out a chair for her youngest son. "Arthur! Get the counter-curse book from the other room!"
"How did this happen?" She inquired, and as she looked through page after page of her book the three people surrounding her slowly unraveled the answer.
"Well, at least the Malfoys are clever enough to send the two dimwits to get in the tough situations." Mr. Weasley said. "They must have the tough crowd with Hermione."
Ron held up the locket filled with potion. "This is very temporary, so it's pretty useless. I know what the room looks like, but I don't know how to get to it!"
"It was slimy stones that formed a square room with connecting corridors. It was like a hollowed-out rock or something." Ron murmured, his vision falling back to Hermione and the room.
Harry's eyes widened in surprise. "Ron! That's it! She's in the Château Creux!"
"That's right!" Ginny said, happily squeezing Harry's hand. "The Auror guarding our room said that it was French for 'Hollow Castle' and that it was hollowed out between the outer and inner walls!"
"Did you hear the Auror tell us about the men who died?" Mrs. Weasley asked. "They were brothers separated at a young age, and the Aurors thought they knew something about Hermione's whereabouts."
"That's why they never found any signs of apparation or a portkey." Ron said in an excited whisper. "The entrance to the hollows is inside the castles, and the brothers knew where it was."
"That's why Pierre Mariselles was the only guard to run straight to Hermione's room!" Harry shouted out. "The entrance must be in Hermione's room!"
"We need a plan of action. They're not going to kill her because they're using her as bait to get all of us." Harry growled and guilt washed over his face when he heard Ron's words.
"Please! Stay the night before you do anything! Just stay safe tonight!" Mrs. Weasley's watering eyes were enough to convince anyone to stay, and so they reluctantly agreed.
Mrs. Weasley cooked one of her famous five course meals for them. She insisted that they eat every last bite to keep up their strength. Her eyes were brimmed with tears as she watched them eat because she knew all she could do was hope for their safe return with Hermione.
After much discussion that would help them get through the conflict that waited inside the Hollow Castle, they all headed up to bed for a restless night of slumber.
Ron changed and climbed into bed. Harry sat on the edge of his bed and took off his glasses.
"Ginny's room is the fifth door on the right, in case you've forgotten."
"What?" Harry said, his head snapping back to face Ron.
"You heard me! Now hurry up before I change my mind!"
With a gracious smirk painted across his face, Harry slowly strutted out of the room and down the hall.
Ron chuckled to himself as he turned over in bed. At least he knew that Ginny would sleep comfortably tonight in the arms of someone she loved. He wished he could do the same.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
I'll take a bow now and thank you for reading this chapter. I only wish to please the readers.
So, if what do you think? Is the plot going in the direction you'd like it to? Do I beat up on my characters too much?
Tell me! Review!