Hey there! I know I kinda left you at a cliffhanger at the end of the last chapter, so here ya go, so none of my reviewers kill me!
Two more things: Firstly: HAPPY EASTER! Yeh it's kinda early but I won't get another chance.
Secondly: It could take me a few weeks to post the chapter after this cos I have some serious writers block, if anyone wants to help me out, put it in a review or e-mail me: sheenrox@smartemail.co.uk my email address is also on my profile page. I'd be grateful for anyone who can help me out. *rubs forehead*……so hard……
Lara: Yay! Thankyou! I loved your fic about Ron. I hope you got my review *dances* see ya!
Don't have one yet: Thanks for pointing out that error I'll check up on it and thanks for reviewing my story. You'll get your cookie as do all my reviewers.
FunkyWitchOnFire: Thanks, I'm glad you like my story so much, I hope you like this chapter just as much!
HoshiHikari4ever: Yeh, well like I said they have a connection, because of their destinies and stuff. Voldemort might be playing with Harry's mind he may not, I'm not gunna tell you anything. Lol.
Indigal: Yeh I finally brought the ring back into this fic, I haven't written about it since the beginning. Sorry about making Cho seem helpless to begin with, sometimes she is a bit like that in the books that's why I changed it slightly in my fic, cos I don't like her too much that way. Anyway I'm boring you so I'll just say thanks for reviewing and I hope I didn't keep you in suspense too long.
Little Marauder: Yup! That's what I love, torturing my nice lil reviewers, don't worry you get to find out what happens in this chapter until I leave you in suspense again at the end of this chappie.
Ghetx2o: I know you hate cliffies, that's why I love 'em! I love you song! *grins* I'll give you double the cookies for that! *hugz you* You know I could never not talk…….type to you, I love your reviews too much! :) I'll forgive you, hopefully you'll write a new fic soon. And if not, oh well I'll have to cry. And after all those sorrys how could I not forgive you *grins* Just don't threaten me *glares* I don't like being threatened. I could never let you or my other reviewers down, you would have got loads of reviews if you'd continued! Oh well, I doesn't matter cos I would never stop writing I love it too much.
Nadeen: Ok calm down, I can see that my life is in danger if I don't continue writing so here's chapter 28 for you, I hope it's not disappointing. Also thanks for reviewing it's good to know you like it so much, even if you threatened me with death. *shivers*
Miss-Aurelia: Ahahahahahahahahahahahaha *deep breath* ahahahahahahahaha *deep breath* ahahahahahahahahahahaha! I loved the cucumber story, I will never look a cucumbers in the same way *sniggers* And since you sent me the story, here's the next chapter of my fic so I don't you in suspense *laughs* sorry but the story was just sooooooooo funny. Lol. there's plenty of good fics out there right now so you shouldn't get too bored. I've got SATs in about three weeks Must…..revise. *cries* Help Me!
Zutzi alias Susi: Ok this reply could be quite long but hey: First of all thanks for reviewing and for raising all those points so I could check them. I understand everything your saying about Ron and Voldemort and stuff. But everything will eventually be explained.
1)Dumbledore calls Harry by his first name, because firstly I've heard it in the books and secondly I think he has a more personnel connection with Harry than any of the other students, but I agree, in the future in public he will call Harry 'Mr. Potter'
2)The Kieran calling Voldemort by his real name is my mistake, sorry I'll try to get that changed.
3)I can't tell you anything about Ron. It's top secret, but it will all be explained before the end.
4)I don't really have an answer to number four, maybe he was just awake because he wasn't tired, or because he wanted to find out what Harry had been up to, there's no real meaning behind it.
5)Don't worry Ron and Hermione will get back together at the end of this fic, I think they go well together too.
6) I dunno Harry's just cool. Ok. It's magical, I dunno, sorry, that's another of my mistakes, you're too observant.
7) Harry didn't really know where to go, he let his instincts take him, plus where else would Ron be? Except the Burrow, but that will be explained too.
8)Kieran maybe the heir of Slytherin, the fact that he was sorted into Gryffindor will also be explained in the chapter after this.
9) Well as you know, Hufflepuff didn't get involved, so Hufflepuff's heir doesn't really matter.
This is the longest reply I've ever written. I hope everything is answered, I'll try to go over the other chapters and correct my mistakes. Once again thanks for reviewing and I hope to be getting your next chapter soon. I'm also really flattered that you could be bothered to read all 27 chapters of my fic, it must have taken you ages.
Pippi: I know what you mean about school work, SATs soon! AH! I've done zilch revision! Seriously I should do some more work instead of doing crap on the Internet. Anyway, thanks for the review I'm glad you found time to review!
Vegita43: Glad you liked it! I hope I didn't keep you waiting too long for this update! Enjoy.
Gabrielle: Glad ya like it! I hope you like this chappie just as much.
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The whole house was silent as Harry and Hermione tip-toed along the halls past several rooms they remembered from their previous summers here. They couldn't hear low muttering from behind any of the doors, no creak of a floorboard as someone else wandered around the house or no lights seeping through the cracks between the doors and floor.
Harry sprinted up the flights of stairs, trying not to place his feet too heavily on the floor. Amazingly, neither he nor Hermione made a sound in the old house until they reached the door to the room Harry and Ron had shared. Harry turned the handle gingerly. The click echoed around them, like Harry was banging a drum. But nothing stirred so they slipped inside.
The room was empty. Ron was nowhere to be seen. He was gone, but definitely not of his own accord. It was plain by the state of the room that someone had used force on Ron to take him away. It conjured up awful images in Harry's head as he stared around the room.
There were clothes strewn all over the floor, books and other objects were lying broken or torn on and around Ron's bed. Ron's bright orange, Chudley Cannons duvet was lying on the carpet covered in flecks of blood. They were too late. It looked like Kieran or another one of Voldemort's deatheaters had already come for Ron, and succeeded, even though Ron must have put up a good fight.
Hermione looked shocked at the blood on Ron's duvet and on the dull carpet. Tears began to brim in her eyes, she tried to choke them back, but horrible ideas came into her head. What if they couldn't find Ron? What if he was tortured? Or even killed? she let a sob escape from her lips. Harry looked at her and put an arm around her. He knew how she felt, he was thinking exactly the same possibilities too. They stood in silence for at least a minute whilst Hermione controlled her tears.
Suddenly there was a sound behind them. Harry whipped around and, faster than the speed of light, he pulled out his wand. There was silence for about a second which seemed to drag by for several hours. Harry was poised ready to attack at a glance. He was shaking ever so slightly. Then, as if in slow motion the door handle began to turn. The door clicked open and it creaked forward. Harry was breathing was shallow, he had no idea what was on the other side of the door, but he wasn't giving it a chance. The door swung far enough open and someone began to step inside.
"IMPEDIMENTA!" Harry screamed as the figure showed themselves, but they had their shield charm up within milliseconds and Harry gasped when he saw just who he'd almost knocked out. "Cho….?" He said questioningly. Her hair was windswept, she looked tired and worried. "Sorry……" Harry managed to say after several seconds of slightly stunned silence. Cho smiled weakly.
"It's ok, I guessed you would think I was a deatheater or something." Cho replied.
"So….what are you doing here?" Harry asked.
"I followed you, I don't know what's going on, but I can tell it has something to do with Voldemort." She replied, hoping she was right. Harry nodded.
"We think so." He said gesturing to Hermione, who was standing still, looking confused.
"So are you going to tell me what's going on and do something?" Cho asked snapping them all back to the reality of why they were here. Harry quickly filled her in on the brief story about Kieran, Ron and the letter.
"So now Kieran must have Ron and he's probably taking him to Voldemort and I have to save him." Harry finished after a while. The nerves were building inside him again. He felt the obvious feeling of time ticking away for Ron. Cho didn't contradict what Harry said, or doubt anything for a second. She understood how serious this was. Not just because Ron was Harry's best friend, but also, if Voldemort or Kieran had Ron under the Imperious curse, he could give away information about the Order or Dumbledore to Voldemort.
Harry began pacing the room in frustration. Anything could be happening to Ron, and they didn't know where he was or how to get to him, they didn't even have any sort of plan. Cho, being the level headed Ravenclaw, was going room Ron's room, examining all the clues and going through his draws to try and find anything that could suggest where they were. Hermione was sitting on Ron's bed staring blankly ahead of herself in a complete trance.
Several minutes past like this and Harry frustration built up inside him. he felt like kicking or hitting something, he wanted to take out the frustration on something. He clenched his fists and paced faster until………
His scar exploded with pain. His hands clasped his forehead as the agony increased. He screamed out as his knees buckled and he fell to the ground. Darkness crept around him, he fought for his consciousness as his scar burned more and more painfully. But he couldn't battle the pain, he blacked out.
He was walking down a dimly lit corridor. The only light came from low burning torches on the wall every hundred meters or so apart. It looked strangely familiar, yet Harry was sure he'd never been there before. He walked faster down the corridor until all the torches were burnt out and he was left in almost complete darkness. Deep scarlet curtains were drawn at large, old fashioned windows and the carpet was designed to match.
His scar was prickling with pain as he walked further down the corridor, a dim glow came into view, it was coming from underneath a door about fifty meters ahead. He could hear voices that grew louder as he neared the closed door. He was drawn closer to the door but feared he already knew what was on the other side.
He reached the door and stretched out his hand for the handle, he turned it and heard it click open. He glimpsed three people in the room. Voldemort was sitting in a large chair, he looked like a malicious king upon thrown watching an innocent creature being tortured before him. The innocent creature, of course, being Ron. Who was lying on a rug by a fire. His face was screwed up in pain and he looked like Harry felt when his scar had exploded with pain just before.
The final figure was Kieran, who stood over Ron, his face illuminated by the crackling fire. His wand was raised above Ron and Harry could tell it was he who was controlling the pain Ron was in. His face was full of evil, all that Harry had seen in him was gone. He was just another deatheater.
But the room was dissolving, Harry called out Ron's name, but knew that no-one in the room could see or hear him. it was useless. His eyes fluttered open and he was lying on his back in Ron's bedroom at number 12 Grimmauld place again. He felt weak from the pain in his scar, but he stood up, supported by Cho and Hermione who both looked panicked and scared.
"What happened?" Cho asked, her voice was high pitched as she flung her arms around him, making him topple over and fall onto Ron's bed. Harry hugged her back comfortingly and when she let go, he told them all briefly what he's seen. It was several seconds after he'd finished talking when his brain began to tick around and something clicked into place. He jumped up and bolted out of Ron's room. He could hear Hermione and Cho running behind him and they ran quickly but silently through the house and out of the doors.
He grabbed his broomstick once he was outside and waited for Hermione and Cho. Cho grabbed her own broom and Hermione jumped on behind him.
"Where are we going?" Hermione asked. As much as Harry didn't want to answer, he thought they deserved an explanation. So before kicking off from the ground he said:
"I know where Ron is, the place in that vision was Tom Riddle's house, Voldemort's house. They both looked stunned, but Harry didn't wait for them to say anything, he kicked off hard and soared into the air.
He had to trust his instincts, he didn't know how to get to the Riddle house, he knew it was in some muggle village but that's all. But it was like he'd been there hundreds of times. He steered his broom through the night time darkness, over the towns, cities and countryside until he saw it.
A towering, dark mansion, perched on top of a hill, looking over a small village. Even from over fifty feet in the air, the house looked darker and more foreboding than any building Harry had ever seen. He shivered slightly, though that may have been because of the chill in the night time air.
Harry paused, hovering above the house, now he was here, he seemed to find it hard to fly down to Voldemort's childhood home. Then he remembered Ron and determinedly pointed his broom to the ground. He landed smoothly on the grass, Cho just behind him. All three teenagers dismounted and looked up at the huge manor before them.
"The Riddle Mansion……" Harry's voice was barley more than a whisper and was whisked and flung away by the gusting wind that had started up around them. Hermione was shivering next to Harry and Cho was biting her lip, but despite this face had determination written all over it. She would go with Harry to the end, as he would for her.
"How do we get in?" Cho asked her voice slightly shaky but brave and resolute all the same. Harry reached for her hand and squeezed it encouragingly. She squeezed back smiling very weakly. Harry was pumped with adrenaline, the nerves made him jumpy and full of energy, but he had nothing to use it on.
He didn't show this to Hermione or Cho, he kept himself steady and thought hard. He knew the house would be locked with more than just bolts and chains. Little about the Riddles was known to the villagers near by. Harry knew even their gardener and house keeper who had died two years ago didn't know much about the Tom Riddle and his parents. But he knew there had to be some way to get in. one of the windows would be open or unprotected.
"I'll see if there's a way in." Harry said reaching for his broom. Then, realising it wasn't safe to separate he added: "We'll all go." So Cho climbed onto her broom and Hermione climbed on behind Harry who kicked off from the ground.
They circled the house for several minutes, each with their eyes scanning every single window for any weakness in the Charm that protected the house. After a while Harry's eye was drawn to a window where a dim glow of light flickered. He flew down to it, and tried to pull it open. But it wouldn't budge. Hermione tried several different spells but made no effect.
Eventually Harry sighed and pressed his ear up against the glass, but the charm protecting it also soundproofed the glass. He couldn't hear a thing. 'That must be where they have Ron.' Harry thought to himself, butterflies rising in his stomach at the thought.
They had to give up on that window, but soon enough Harry saw Cho in the corner of his eye beckon him over. When he reached her she was already half way through an open window. Harry and Hermione slid through after her and found themselves in a dimly lit corridor that looked very similar to the one in Harry's 'vision' back at the Headquarters. The same torches lined the walls and the same scarlet colour carpeted the floor.
There were dark wooden doors placed along the corridor and random intervals which obviously lead to other rooms. But Harry was interested in what was behind those doors. His scar was prickling with a sharp pain which was becoming ever more prominent. Every second was precious, they had to find Ron, and fast if they wanted to find him alive.
"Which way?" Hermione whispered, jerking Harry out of him thoughts. In truth Harry didn't know but his instincts had been true to him so far, so he took a left and they tip-toed silently but quickly down the hall way.
The stabbing in Harry's forehead was getting worse, so either, they were getting closer to Voldemort, of Ron was being put under even more pain every second. Either way they had to get there quickly. Ron was inching closer to death or revealing something he didn't want to.
They ran into a dead end and turned back, Harry was finding it hard to concentrate due to the pain in his forehead, but it wasn't long before he spotted it……
A glimmering light at the end of a corridor. Harry's heart leapt and he felt Hermione gasp. Harry broke into a run, his feet light and silent on the ancient carpet. It was like de ja vu. The corridor was the exact same one from his vision and Harry knew exactly what was on the other side of the door. He halted inches from the door and reached out his hand.
But Hermione was there a spilt second before his hand could turn the door knob.
"No." she mouthed silently but urgently keeping a tight grip on Harry's hand. "What are you going to do? Go in and say 'Hi Voldemort' can we have Ron back?" she whispered sarcastically. Harry knew she was right, but the way she put it was infuriating.
"So what are we going to do?" Harry asked desperately.
"I don't know, I might be able to think of something but there's something I don't understand." She turned to Cho. "I don't understand why you are here or how you knew Harry and me were going to Grimmauld place." She whispered. Harry and Cho filled her in quickly, knowing there was nothing they could do without Hermione knowing the brief summary about how they were the heirs of their houses and destined to fight together.
Five minutes later Hermione knew everything vital and silence settled over them. Nothing could be heard about what was going on, on the other side of the door. It also had a charm on it. They were all deep in thought, even Harry who had to close his eyes and grit his teeth to think at all. The pain made his whole brain ache like some sort of disease, anyone else would have given up but now, but Harry wasn't anyone. He had survived encounters from Lord Voldemort several times and controlled pain precious little wizards could even imagine.
But he had not yet defeated Voldemort, only delayed his progress. The prophecy told him he would kill Voldemort or be killed by Voldemort, one seemed impossible and one meant darkness in the world of witchcraft and wizardry.
The fate of the wizarding world rested on his shoulders, and the only one Harry had to get past, was right on the other side of the door. No wonder his breathing was shallow and his heart beating ten times faster than usual. He took a deep breath to steady himself, this could be the end.
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Isn't that, like, the worst thing I could do. I know I'm killing you, but hey! You'll get the end, just a couple more chapters before you're free! Hopefully I'll survive to write the next chapter, if I can ever get rid of this impossible writers block sorry if it takes ages to write, but it'll be worth it. And once again HAPPY EASTER!