Thank you so much everyone for your kind words and support. I never really thought of quitting the story really, but I wanted people's opinions as to how I was to carry on. You all are right of course. AU is the only way to go and I will not incorporate HBP into it at all…although this chappie has some veiled thoughts on the matter in my mind of how things are in it.
Sorry for the delay in the chappie…I thought I would have the next one done so quickly but some of my characters were being stubborn. Funny enough Ron wanted to make himself known though and I ended up writing his thoughts on certain things. This was not a planned chappie, so I hope it is alright.
This is inspired by Dancing in Rain's comment she made to me while speaking one night..and I quote, "I prefer to think of the war like a chess match myself... Sometimes you sacrifice the queen so that the pawn can be kinged..." She is so brilliant.
Anyways enjoy…Next chappie hopefully should be out soon.
Sirius growled when he saw where Harry had taken him. "Why the hell are we here Harry when we should be out searching for her?"
Harry sighed as he unlocked the front door to his apartment. "Because Sirius, we can do nothing until we hear word from my contact. In the meantime you and I need to get cleaned up. We can't very well go traipsing about town while covered in blood can we?"
Sirius looked about ready to throttle his Godson for a moment, but finally gave a resigned sigh. "I know I can sometimes fly off the wall…"
"Sometimes?" Harry inquired with a raised eyebrow.
"Ok fine, most of the time." Sirius gave his Godson a wolfish grin and the two men finally started to chuckle. "You will explain more about this contact of yours though will you not? You said they helped Hermione? How? What did they do? Who are they?"
Harry threw his keys down onto the kitchen counter and turned to look at his Godfather. "Yes I will tell you, but first get cleaned up while I make us a spot of tea."
Sirius nodded and did as Harry bade him. He stripped down and let the hot water stream down onto his skin and thought of the last shower he had. She had been with him then. How long had he been in love with her he wondered to himself. If it hadn't been for Hermione, he would never have been released from the veil. Was it that that had drawn him to her? No, he thought not. His respect started for her in her third year of Hogwarts. The brightest witch of the time, there was no doubt about that. Back then though she was just a child. He was able to watch her grow though, blossom bit by bit until that fateful trip into the veil.
How many times had he tried to contact Harry and Remus? He had originally thought it would have been them that would have fought to find him, how wrong he had been. Their minds had been so focused on his apparent death that they just were not open to the possibilities of finding him. Hermione though, she at first wasn't sure but that insatiable appetite for knowledge just wouldn't let go. So it had been her that had initiated his rescue and when they finally had been able to retrieve him he returned to find that everyone had aged and yet he had remained somewhat the same as he had disappeared.
Perhaps it was then that he realized that Hermione could actually be a match for him. It would have figured though that he, the heart throb of Hogwarts in his time would end up so terribly insecure when it came to pursuing her. It had taken a bloody kidnapping for him to finally admit his feelings. Not only that, but he couldn't seem to fight off the extreme jealousy he had felt knowing that Severus and Draco had a relationship with her in the past. Ok perhaps he had been foolish to think that Severus and she would have been romantically inclined, but the two of them were rather similar when it came to interests and intelligence. Why would she not be attracted to someone that would be her intellectual equivalent?
As much as he disliked Severus though, he knew that the man would not have gone against his morals and had an affair with a student. Sirius was rather curious though as to what went on between the two of them. Perhaps he would ask Harry.
Feeling more relaxed due to the heated water coursing over his body, he felt he had enough and turned off the water. He stepped out and dried himself off before wrapping the towel around his midsection and walked out of the washroom. Harry's voice carried down the hallway to him as he told him about the clothes that were laid out for him on the bed in his room. When he was dressed he entered the kitchen ready to volley out a load of questions again, but Harry interrupted by lifting his hand to stop him.
"Not yet Sirius. Drink your tea while I have my shower, then we will talk." Harry stated. Sirius kept silent and nodded before taking his teacup and sitting down on the couch.
Ron walked through the hallways of Hogwarts. It had been a long night, and the day would probably end up being just as long for him and his brothers. They had managed to clear out the base of all things wizard and obliviated all of the employees and guards that had been left alive in the cells. Let the muggles sort themselves out, they deserved it after having treated Hermione and the others like a bunch of animals in a cage.
He entered the room and immediately Fred and George bustled over to him, whispering to him in hushed tones so as not to disturb Draco, Ginny, Remus and the newly made werewolf. "Is everything all sorted?" Fred asked.
"Have they word on Hermione?" inquired George.
"Yes and no respectively." Ron replied. "How is he?" he asked while looking at his old DADA teacher.
"He took a lot of those slugs, but thankfully they were all made of lead and not silver." Fred answered.
Ron nodded. "Bullets I believe they are called." He stated as he walked over to Remus's bed. The man's face was pale and spatters of dried blood coated his skin.
Fred and George watched their brother, and decided to leave him be. "We are going to go fill Albus in on what happened. Call if you need us."
Ron nodded and sat down beside Remus's bed. While he watched his old professor, he couldn't help but think back on one of the turning points in his life.
"What are you going to do when you leave Hogwarts?"
Ron looked up over the chess set at the werewolf. It was nearing time for him and the others to depart for Hogwarts for their 7th and final year, and soon it would be time for him to make the decision of the question just posed to him. That is if he survived the war between them and Voldemort. For now though they were enjoying their time together in Grimmauld place.
It had been a hard 6th year. Hermione's disappearance after her parents had died was a difficult time for Harry and Ron and it was still very difficult for the two boys to let her out of their sight for too long. She could often be found clucking at the two of them to leave her be, that she was not a baby and that she could take care of herself just as well as she could take care of the two of them. A smirk would usually accompany these comments and the trio would end up laughing.
"I don't quite know what I'm going to do. I'm sure Harry and Hermione will be Aurors, I suppose I should become one myself." Ron furrowed his brow.
"You are your own person you know, with your own set of skills." Remus replied.
Ron snorted. "The only skills I have are to be the comedic sidekick. I don't have the strength of magic that Harry does, nor the brains of Hermione. I'm just good for a laugh really."
Remus frowned at him. "Is that what you truly believe?"
Ron just shrugged and moved his bishop.
"Ron, you underestimate yourself greatly. Do you realize that the key to life is how you view it?" Remus asked. At the confused look on Ron's face he continued. "Ok let me see how best to explain this. A musician could look at life like he or she would music. Every creature and person in this world represents a note within a grand symphony. The musician is skilled at composing the notes, playing them in such an order that what once sounded like a cacophony of noises turns into a beautiful song. Put a note in the wrong place and their life can go out of tune."
He moved his knight and continued to speak. "You Ron have such an ability to look at life much like this. Take this game of chess for instance. There are very few that can actually beat you."
"But it is just a game." Ron stated. "This is my life you are talking about."
"Exactly. Look at the board Ron. Imagine each piece as a player in the game of life. Which piece do you think best represents Voldemort?" Remus asked.
"Well that is easy, he would be the opposing king." Ron stated.
"Yes, now look at the pieces surrounding the king. Each of these represents his deatheaters. Now look at your pieces. Which piece do you think Severus would be?" Remus asked.
Ron gave Remus a disgusted look. "Why should I care what piece the greasy git is." He growled.
"Because Ron, Severus plays a part on this board and it is important to realize what piece he is." Remus stated.
"But how do I know that he isn't really a piece of Voldemorts?" Ron asked.
"I trust Albus more than any other Ron, and he trusts Severus. Therefore I trust Severus as well." Remus stated.
"But what if he really is playing us and not Voldemort like we think?" Ron asked.
"Then we are lost, but don't you think what we could gain by having Severus on our side is worth the risk?" Remus asked.
"I suppose." Ron stated.
"Then let us believe that Severus is a piece of ours. What piece would he be?" Remus kept his eyes on the board as he posed the question.
Ron contemplated for a moment. "A pawn?"
Remus raised his gaze up to Ron's and arched a brow at him. "Do you really believe that Severus does nothing but move forward with a purpose in his life? He never once is able to move back a step?"
"No I suppose a pawn is not right for him. Maybe he is the Queen then, or a bishop?" Ron guessed.
"You are guessing Ron, use your skills in chess and really think on the question." Remus stated.
Ron furrowed his brow and looked at the board. He forced his brain to stretch beyond looking at the pieces as what they were, and instead tried to place faces of those he knew upon them. When it hit him he almost looked as if he would spew.
"He is the king." Ron stated.
Remus's face lit up. "Bravo Ron. Now why is he the king?"
"He is the king because he is one of the most valuable pieces on the board. He is the tie between us and the Dark Lord. We must protect his identity at all costs, and his movements are not free like the Queen or Bishop. His moves are small and calculated, evasive so he won't get caught." It all made sense to him.
"Exactly. Now where would you place Albus?" Remus inquired.
Ron scanned the board with a look of utter determination. "The Queen. He is the piece that steers the rest. He forces others to move into the positions that he wants so that the King becomes vulnerable to attack. He will also sacrifice himself if he knows that it allows the others to checkmate the King."
"There you go. You know about sacrifice from your first year if I remember correctly." Remus stated with a proud smile. "Now is it possible to checkmate a King with one piece?"
Ron shook his head. "No, it is usually a couple of pieces, blocking off each move that the King can make. That would be us…" Ron paused. "Wouldn't it?"
Ron knew he was right when he saw the smile on Remus's face. "So war is not so different from chess really. If you can steer your enemy into moves that you can anticipate the outcome, then eventually you will be able to checkmate the King."
"Not just war Ron, but life in general. You my boy are a brilliant strategist, and I know that you will be one of the ones that checkmate this King." Remus stated. "Besides, you have been doing brilliantly in our extra DADA classes."
Ron felt his chest swell as he sucked in a breath. Pride flowed through is body until it seeped fully into his brain. It was not long after that Ron's sense of direction within his life became more focused. He gradually started to give his opinions on how certain missions should play out, and eventually Albus started allowing him to sort and strategize a few himself. By the time the final battle came Ron was one of their top tacticians. He never forgot the words of advice that Remus gave to him the whole time.
When the war was done, Ron decided that he was done as well. So he opted to pursue other dreams. Quiddich was his other love and the Cannons were thrilled to gain a war hero one of their coaches. Not only was he one of the best, but he also brought fans into the stadium because of his fame. It was this very reason that his boss gave him all the time off he needed to find Hermione. His boss knew that when the story broke of what was going on the crowds would be cramming the stadium to once again watch one of the favourite war heros.
He hoped and prayed that his friends would be alright, but for now he could take care of Remus for he knew that when the man woke up the feelings of guilt would be overwhelming. It was the least that he could do to try and help one of his mentors out.