A/N: Sorry it's been so long since I updated guys! I know I suck, but it's not my fault I swear. I'm taking 2 extra papers than usual this semester and we've been really understaffed at work, so my work load is keeping me pretty busy. It will probably only get worse until about July (end of semester) so don't expect too many updates, I will try my hardest though. Anyway, enough chit chat and lets get to the story.
THE JOURNEY HOME
Chapter Nine- Creatures of the Night
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It was a general consensus that Ron Weasley was nuts. His own mother thought he'd taken his crusade a step too far. Left to yourself for long enough you were bound to go a little crazy. As if to spite them all Ron had remained wholly sane. He himself wasn't entirely sure how he'd managed it, but he had.
"Are you insane?" Marion demanded, following Ron into the shack.
"I'm going to forget you said that," Ron replied, casually.
"Ron, it's almost dark, you can't go tramping around after nightfall."
Ron ignored her objections and pulled his jacket on. "You ready?"
Harry stood at the shack door. "Good to go."
"Right then" Ron led the way past the recruits.
"They'll be okay, won't they?" he heard one of the girls ask.
"Course, Harry's a trained auror," was the reply.
Ron made no sign he had heard the comment, but there was a nervous flutter in his stomach and a thought in his head, 'god, I hope they're right.'
"You go that way," he ordered Harry, who nodded in reply. "Stay inline with the moon, green sparks if you find him and red if there's trouble. Don't take any risks."
"Don't stray off the path, keep your eyes open and watch your back," Harry replied.
"See you soon."
Ron turned and strode into the darkness. Barely two metres into the bush he turned around again. From here he couldn't see anything of the shack. That was one mystical attribute of the mountain, when darkness fell it enveloped everything. A thick mist had already begun to settle on the ground. It was hard to believe it was barely six o'clock. Ron didn't bother lighting his wand, instead he gazed up at the sky. The stars seemed brighter in contrast to everything around him and Ron had learnt a long time ago, how to navigate by them. He guided himself through the bushes, taking careful steps to avoid tripping on any roots or fallen branches. The night was completely silent and all Ron could hear was his own shallow breathing and his heart beating softly against his chest.
In the distance there was an odd sort of strangling noise. Ron froze mid-stride and listened carefully. He wasn't afraid of the darkness, or the mist, or being by himself, but there was something lurking in the trees that any wizard would be terrified of. An echoing howl pierced the night and confirmed Ron's suspicions.
His own words repeated in his head, "don't take any risks." Ron turned ready to race back through the trees to the others, but a twig snapped close by and he froze again. He felt the colour drain from his face and all his courage escape him.
"What is that?" a whispered voice came from the same direction as the snapping twig.
The feeling returned to Ron's limbs and he squinted into the trees. Someone was knelt down in the brush gazing into the clearing beyond. Quietly Ron crept towards the figure, careful not to make a sound. Barely three feet away he saw the boys eyes widen in fear. Ron sprang forward and clamped his hand over the boys mouth just as he was about to burst into the clearing. The boy struggled in Ron's grasp.
"Relax. I'm Ron Weasley. You're Gabriel, I assume."
Gabriel stopped struggling and Ron released him. "That's me," he nodded then straightened up quickly, "there's a man out there, we have to save him."
Ron, who had been avoiding looking into the clearing at all quickly swung around and stared through the bush. Half a dozen spindly-legged creatures, resembling some kind of half dog, half spider monstrosity, danced around the clearing, snapping at each other and gazing hungrily into the centre. Ron had to lean further in and squint before he managed to make out a scruffy, blank faced man perched on a tree stump in the middle of the creatures.
Ron snorted. "That isn't a man. Lets get out of here, trust me you don't want to see what happens next."
Gabriel tried to protest but Ron grabbed him by the back of his neck and led him quickly up the path. Gabriel tried to struggle free, but Ron held tight.
"You don't want to be a hero, not for that," Ron told him.
"What are you talking about? We should have done something, that guy needed our help."
"He's already beyond help."
"But..." Gabriel seemed to have figured out he was missing something. "Who was he?"
Ron raised his eyebrows, impressed that Gabriel knew the right questions to ask. "He was a death eater. After the Hogwarts attack he was captured, tortured and then had his soul sucked from him."
"So what's he doing here?" Gabriel stumbled trying to keep up with Ron's pace.
"I brought him here, I was hoping he would be an anchor," Ron explained.
"An anchor?"
"He was in the room when Hermione - you know what I'm talking about right?" Gabriel nodded and Ron continued, "when Hermione disappeared. I was going to use him as an anchor so we could go straight to that night without filtering through a bunch of useless dates that won't help us."
"Isn't that even more reason to rescue him?"
"No. Turns out without his soul he's completely useless to me. I let him go a couple of nights ago. I'm surprised he lasted this long, quite lucky really, it saved your life."
Feeling them far enough from the clearing Ron pointed his wand into the air and released a steady stream of green sparks.
"Lets get back to the others."
-------------------------------------Thanks again for reading and I love hearing from you. Praise, criticism, just let me know what you think and I'll love you for it. Enjoy your week everybody!