Chapter two:

Ron rubbed the tiredness out of his eyes and he sat up in bed. His curtains were no longer around his bed hiding him from the view of the rest of the boys living in the dormitory, but he thought nothing of it. Harry probably tried to wake him this morning, but Ron was never much of a morning person so Harry must have given up. Either that or he opened them in his sleep, but he wasn't one to do things in his sleep. Well except for maybe once.

Ron looked up when he saw Hermione walk in. "Hey there." She smiled. "Where's Harry?" Ron stood up and walked over to his trunk, looking for school robes for the day.

He shrugged, "I don't know, isn't he down in the common room?" Hermione shook her head.

"Ron?" He looked up at her. "Why are you up so early?"

"It's not early, its…" Harry's clock read 5:32 am. "I don't know. I just woke up. Why are you in here so early?"

"I heard something downstairs, but when I woke up I didn't see anything so I came in here to see if any of you were up. I guess it must have been Harry. He hasn't been sleeping all too well lately." Ron nodded. Ron gave up his search for school robes and followed Hermione down into the Gryffindor common room.

"Hey mates."

"Harry when did you get here?" Hermione asked, obviously trying to rack her brain for the answer before Harry told her. She was just out here and she didn't hear anybody come in.

"I've been out here for a while 'Mione."

"No you…" Harry cut Hermione off before she could finish. "So what have you two been doing up stairs?" Harry raised his eyebrow with a smirk.

"Harry, are you okay?" Hermione asked. He wasn't acting like himself.

"Oh 'Mione I am fine. I just couldn't sleep." Harry was already dressed and ready for breakfast. "Why don't you two get cleaned up? You look dreadful and Ron your hair is sticking up everywhere." Harry smiled and laughed. Hermione turned and trudged up the stairs to the girl's dormitory without a word. It was a while later before she came back down. She was dressed in her robes, carrying a heavy book. Ron cringed at the sight of it. It was huge.

"'Mione what is that?" he asked.

"A bit of light reading before breakfast." She said nonchalantly before sitting down in the maroon armchair to the left of him. The three of them sat there in the common room not talking to each other. Ron found it rather unusual for them. Harry sat to the right of him writing something on a roll of parchment. Every time he tried to read what Harry was writing he'd move it out of view. Ron stood up and left the common room. Hermione looked at him over the top of the book than at Harry who was watching her.

"I think I am going to head down to breakfast now." She said quickly.

"What's wrong 'Mione?" He asked worriedly. His eyes watching as if trying to figure out what was going through her mind.

"Nothing, Harry, I am just dreadfully hungry." He smiled at her then nodded.

"I'll be down when I finish this." She smiled back and left as well.

Ron was already sitting in the Great Hall. There was only three other students in there and two of them were from Slytherin. Luckily it wasn't Malfoy or his cronies.

"Hey Ron." He leaned back into Hermione as she stood behind him. He looked up at her face and laughed. "What?"

"Nothing, love." She frowned at him. "Really Hermione it's nothing."

"Why did you leave so quickly from the common room a bit ago?" She asked him as she pushed him back towards the table and sat down next to him.

"Food." Hermione rolled her eyes at him.

"He's finishing something up in Gryffindor. I don't know what, but he said he'd be down soon." Just as Hermione finished pouring herself some orange juice the doors to the Great Hall opened again. The two watched Malfoy walk in alone. He didn't look very well.

"Wonder what's wrong with him."

"Hermione!"

"What?" She asked. "He looks frightfully ill and no matter how much I don't like him. I don't think it's the brightest idea to come to breakfast when you look about ready to keel over."

"It's Malfoy though."

"I know very well who it is Ronald, but as I said, I don't think he should be up and around when he looks so pale."

"He's always pale." Ron pointed out.

"Not to the point that he looks blue from the veins in his body."

"He does not look blue." He looked up at Malfoy. "See he just looks sick that's all. And why are we talking about him in the first place?!" Ron was thoroughly disturbed. Hermione smiled at him.

"You can be such a whiner."

"It's who I am, Hermione. You are just going to have to deal with me."

Hermione rolled her eyes and dug into her pack for her homework. She wanted to add just one more thing to the end of it. Sure it already twice as long as it should be, but she just had too much to say and she couldn't, or rather wouldn't leave anything out of it. "Ron did you finish your essay?"

"Couldn't be arsed with it."

"Ron it's worth a large chunk of our grade!"

"And, my deary, it's not due until next week so I have time."

"If I know you correctly, which I do, you are going to wait until the night before and rush through it. Then you are going to get it back with a huge 'T" on the top." Ron feigned hurt, "'Mione it's not nice to insult other people like that. I try and try and it's never good enough for you." He shook his head and leaned into his hands.

"Oh please Ron. I am not daft enough to believe that horrible display of acting."

"Personally, love, I thought it was dreadfully fascinating." He said with a smile then leaned over and kissed your cheek. Hermione jumped as the sound of dishes falling on the stone floor erupted from the other side of the room.

"What the hell?" Ron looked up to see Malfoy looking at the floor with disgust and what seemed to be yearning.

"It tastes like…" Malfoy looked up and caught Hermione's eye then looked away and left the Great Hall.

Hermione walked down the corridor looking for Malfoy. As prefect she had a great deal of power and she didn't want one of her prefects sick on the job. If Malfoy was ill he was not going to be ill in classes. It just wasn't correct. She just about turned the corner when she heard him talking to one of his friends. From the sound of it, it was Blaise Zambini, a very bright slytherin boy.

"Draco what's up?" She listened to the concern in the boy's voice. "I'm your best mate, you can tell me you know."

"I would tell you if I knew what was happening." Hermione was shocked to hear Malfoy's voice dripping with… fear? It didn't seem right in the least.

"Draco, are you scared?"

"Bloody hell yes I am scared! You would be as well if you woke up this morning and you couldn't see yourself in the mirror. Or the fact that food just doesn't taste… taste at all!!" He yelled, but quietly enough that not everyone would hear him.

"Draco that's…" Hermione jumped when she felt someone's hand on her shoulder. She turned around to find Harry staring at her.

"Never thought you'd be much of a snoop, but I figure I was wrong."

"Harry something's wrong with Malfoy." She told her best friend with a worried expression.

"He's fine Hermione. I just saw him. He's his same old sneering angry Slytherin. Nothing to worry about honestly." Hermione gave him a strange look. "Really Hermione." He reassured her, but Hermione was never one to forget the things she felt or thought and they both knew that. "You shouldn't be putting so much stress on yourself, especially when it's not even real things you are stressing about. Why don't we go down to the Great Hall and find Ron." He smiled at her and she forced herself to return it. What was happening to her? This was her best friend.

"All right Harry." He smiled at her and put his arm around her shoulders and walked with her back down the corridor to find Ron.

Ron sat in transfiguration waiting for Harry and Hermione to arrive. He had eaten already so he decided to go to class. They came in together not long after. Ron's ears started to turn red when he noticed that Harry had his arms around Hermione. "Oy, Ron. How ye doing?"

"I am fine, what are you two doing?" Hermione detached herself from Harry and sat next to Ron. She wouldn't look at Harry. Ron leaned over and whispered in Hermione's ear, "What's wrong?" She looked nervous.

"Nothing, Ron. I just saw something that I wish I hadn't." Ron nodded. What is going on with everyone? They are all acting really strange. Harry's being all secretive and Hermione is being closed off. Not to mention everyone keeps looking behind them like something is going to pop out of the shadows.

"Ron?"

"What?" He looked at Hermione and gave her a questioning look.

"McGonagall just asked you a question." All Ron could do was give her the 'Oh' face.

That night Ron sat on the stairs outside. It was just after dinner and he didn't have to be back to Gryffindor for a few more hours so he figured it was a good enough time to go outside and gets some cooling, refreshing air. He had his leather bound book with him so he could read a wee bit further in it before he had to get back upstairs. Now was as good a time as any, right?

He flipped past the first hundred pages and stopped where he left a piece of parchment to mark his spot. He skimmed the page to find which line he had ended with and then started reading down the page.

It was dark, very dark and no one could see where they were headed, but Ella made it clear that they all had to get back to the house before someone realized they had left. They weren't supposed to leave. Dan would have been very angered if he had found out. He was a kind looking man, but there was something creepy about him, as if he knew a lot more than he was putting out, but what he knew wasn't all that great.

"We really should be getting back." Ella pointed out as the sun started to set. She suddenly got very pale and extremely nervous. "Dan…"

The rest of the group turned around to meet Dan's darkened blue eyes. They were cold and unloving. So different then what they were used to.

"Did I not warn you Ella? I told you someone would get hurt if you told."

"But I never said anything. I swear I never said anything. They don't know, no one does. Don't do anything you'll regret. I promise you I never told." She pleaded with him. He just smirked and with a wave of his hand she was on her knees. Silent tears making trails down her cheeks. "I never told." She whispered to herself as all feeling left her body.

"What the bloody hell are you doing to her!?"

"Rion you shouldn't add to this. She is getting what she deserves. She shouldn't have said anything." Dan walked up to Ella and ran his thumb down her chin. Rion noticed that her eyes were empty and her face like porcelain. "It's all good now. She'll never have a chance to say anything… ever again." Dan laughed and turned to the rest of group.

"What have you done to her?" Rion spat angrily

"She's not dead, nor is she living. She's stuck in the middle a place much worse than either one of them. She's much closer to life than death …"

"RON!!" Ron fell off the stair onto the moist grass.

"What the bloody hell?" He mumbled under his breath and stood up off the ground. "Hermione? What are you doing?"

"Well to keep you from getting detention I figured I'd to my nice friend act and get you up to Gryffindor before Filch finds you."

"What time is it?"

"Late that's all you need to know. So come on!" She whispered quickly. The two hurriedly got to Gryffindor just as Filch came around the corner.

"That was close." Ron smiled at her.

"Oh don't you even. Now off to bed for you."

"Since when did I start dating my mum?" He thought for a moment then cringed. "Bad thought."

"Hey you were the one that thought it." She laughed then ran past the couch up to her dorm. Parvati eyed Ron from the side of the room then laughed. Ron as usual ignored it and sat down on the couch getting ready to read.

"…Therefore it's much more pleasing to me and a lot more painful for her. It's how it should be." Dan smiled manically. "Be careful Rion, you never know what might be lurking around behind you." With that Dan left. Rion could no longer deny something was going on…

"Could no longer deny? Bloody hell his friend is no longer really living and he can no longer deny that something's is up. How daft can that boy get." Ron rolled his eyes and left the book on the couch as he went up to bed, still mumbling about how pathetic that last line was.