The Way
Chapter 5:
The Marauder's Map
The next day, both Ron and Hermione had left Harry's bedside to go to classes after being shooed out by Madam Pomfrey. They had agreed to meet each other at dinner and walk together to the Hospital Wing to spend another night beside Harry.
'Mmm…dinner. I haven't eaten anything in over a day,' Ron thought. But when he reached the Gryffindor table, Hermione was nowhere to be seen. 'She's probably not hungry and will show up toward the end of dinner,' he thought while piling food on his plate and eating it silently.
The end of dinner came and went, and Ron was on his way to the Hospital Wing, thinking Hermione was surely there. However, the only person there was a peaceful looking Harry.
'Where is she?' he kept asking himself. He was heading up to the common room, only to find no Hermione. Instead, he found Ginny. When he asked her if she'd seen Hermione, she shook her head. Ron then asked Ginny to check her dorm, as he could not, being a guy. When Ginny came back down and said she wasn't there, Ron tore up to his dorm and, pacing back and forth, tried to figure out where she was. Then, his heart dropped to his stomach when he remembered Malfoy's plan. He was sure Malfoy had Hermione, but where?
'The Marauder's Map!' Ron remembered.
He pulled the map out from under all the junk on Harry's bedside table.
"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."
Ink then started spidering onto the page until Ron could make out the map of Hogwarts. He searched the page for a dot labeled "Hermione Granger" and found it heading toward the Forbidden Forest. Sure enough, a dot labeled "Draco Malfoy" was next to her, probably dragging her. Ron grabbed the Invisibility Cloak, threw it over himself, and ran out the castle doors, his eyes only leaving the map to watch for walls and opening doors.
When he reached the Forest, he pulled out his wand. He was getting closer to where the two dots were. Finally, he was hidden behind a bush right next to where the dots were located, but no one was in sight. He slowly made his way toward where they were, but still no one.
'It must be broken,' Ron thought, cursing noiselessly. He walked the spot in circles until he stepped on something that made a different noise than the soft earth. He quickly bent down and brushed the dirt and leaves away to uncover a door. Upon lifting it up, Ron found a deep hole, so deep, the bottom was as invisible as himself. Only a ladder could be seen to climb down. Ron put his foot on the first rung.
"Here goes nothing," he mumbled as he climbed the ladder as fast as he dared.