Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. Bugger.
Hazardous Sanity
Chapter Sixteen: Letters
30 minutes, a blink of an eye
30 minutes, to alter our lives
30 minutes, to make up my mind
30 minutes, to finally decide
30 minutes, to whisper your name
30 minutes, to shoulder the blame
30 minutes, of bliss, thirty lies
30 minutes, to finally decide
Thirty Minutes by T.A.T.U.
--..--..--
They had a chance, and they were going to take it. Hermione held a quill erect over a piece of parchment. She was staring down at it, poised to write at a seconds notice while Ron and Ginny argued over what to say.
"Tell him we love him!" Ginny yelled at Hermione, her fist raised at Ron.
Dearest Harry, Hermione wrote.
"Ask him why he didn't tell us why he left!" he screamed at her, an ugly look on his face as he and Ginny circled each other.
We've missed you so, Hermione wrote.
"Tell him we understand!" Ginny's voice erupted, trying to outdo Ron's heavy bellow.
We hope you are all right and we just wanted to tell you that we're here for you, Hermione wrote.
"Tell him we're coming to find him!" Ron's voice told her.
We know why you have left, and we are disappointed that you didn't tell us anything. The Order can help you, Harry, we can help you. Please, we just want to know if you are all right. We know you don't want to tell us where you are, and we won't force you. We just want to help. Think about that Harry, and please reply soon.
The loud voices went on as Hermione wrote what she deemed best and ignored the other two entirely.
Love Always,
Hermione
"Done," she told them, stopping the siblings mid-scream. They walked over to read it, confused and guilty looks on their faces.
Holding the parchment, they read over it in concentration.
"Bloody brilliant," Ron said, beaming.
"Just what we wanted," Ginny agreed.
Hermione rolled her eyes.
They signed their names at the bottom and gave it back to Hermione, who sealed and addressed it to "Harry Potter". Hedwig was waiting for them near the window.
"This is for Harry, Hedwig. Do you think you can find him for us?" she asked the snowy white owl.
Hedwig hooted an affirmative and held out her leg. Hermione attached the letter to it and opened the window. The three watched as their only connection to their friend vanished in the sky.
It was three days until they received a reply.
--..--..--
It was breakfast as the usual herd of owls swooped in. The whole student body watched as the snowy owl flew among them. The trio had a reply. They finally had their reply! But Ginny knew something was wrong the moment Hedwig landed on the table. Hedwig stumbled over the plates of food and when Hermione reached to help her and take off the letter, she squawked loudly and jumped out of reach. Her wings were flapping haphazardly and feathers were fluttering everywhere.
Ginny chanced a glance around and saw Draco Malfoy giving her a gloating look from the Slytherin table.
Harry was in trouble.
Finally, after fifteen minutes of struggle, Ron stupefied Hedwig and detached the letter. They all ran out of the hall, getting weird looks from the other students. Ron had Hedwig under his arm, and he told them to run to the room of requirement while he let her out. No doubt all of the students and teachers wanted to know why Harry Potter's owl had come when he had been missing for almost two weeks now.
Ron took Hedwig outside, revived her, and ran off. He ran faster than he ever had, avoiding students and freezing hexes to his best ability. They had a letter from Harry. He had to do this for Harry. He came upon the room of requirement and burst in.
Hermione and Ginny held the letter between them.
They were locked in a kiss.
The two broke apart, blushes gracing both of their cheeks. It wasn't hard for Ron to push aside the almost numbing pain and shock enveloping him. They had no time. The students were in an outrage, the teachers all looking for them. If they had any lead on Harry, they had to find out about it now and fast. Before either of them could speak, Ron broke in.
"Listen, I don't know what the bloody hell has just happened between you two in the last, what? Fifteen, twenty minutes? And frankly now I don't really care. So save it for when it matters, because it's obvious Harry's in trouble and he needs us."
Hermione and Ginny blinked at Ron. He could really take control when he wanted to. It couldn't have been easy, seeing his baby sister and secret girlfriend kissing in a deserted room.
"Sit down, we have some reading to do and a boy with a hero-complex to save," he added with an attempt to smile. He failed miserably, but the girls grabbed the distraction all the same and smiled back.
Ginny, who now had possession of the letter, unrolled it and began to read aloud. For such a long piece of parchment, it didn't say much.
The Shrieking Shack. Eight o'clock. I can only meet you for a minute, though, so don't tell anyone where I am. I can't have anybody else getting mixed up in this. I'm fine.
With much love,
Harry
The letter didn't sound right to their ears or eyes, but none of them could say for certain why that was. Looking at Hermione, Ginny'd say she had a few theories, but she was reluctant to voice them. Which was fine with Ginny because, frankly, she was happier not hearing them. Ron seemed to be thinking along the same lines.
"I can't believe it was that easy," was all Hermione said, and the two loved her even more for it.
--..--..--
After a few hours, the silence didn't last long, however.
"We can't just stay here all day," Hermione told them, pacing just like Ron was a few days ago in the Gryffindor common room.
"And why is that?" Ginny asked snappishly. The pacing was annoying her.
"Because!" Hermione erupted. "Because the whole school is looking for us! Because all of the teachers are worried about Harry as well! Because there are people who want this letter that don't have his best interests at heart, and it's not bloody Snape!" Hermione added at Ron in a screech, as he opened his mouth to say something.
"I wasn't going to say it was Snape," Ron told her while wearing a look that said he very well thought it, though. But Hermione kept on.
"Because the Headmaster knows about this room, and he'll know this is where we would go to hide, and he knows we would go out to find Harry without telling any of the adults first as well as try to contact him!"
"Hermione," Ginny said as her friend began to calm down, "The headmaster isn't here, and even if he was, maybe it would be a good thing that he'd know."
"I used to think that as well," she said softly, sitting back down on the sofa. "Throughout all my years at Hogwarts, with Harry, with Ron, I used to always say that. But more times than not, it hasn't escaped my attention that sometimes keeping things under wraps was the best answer. Not all the time, mind you," she said to a smug Ron, "but a lot of it."
Ginny only half wanted to challenge Hermione on this. It was past lunch, and they hadn't eaten since breakfast. She closed her eyes for a moment, wondering if something would work…
"Ginny!" Ron exclaimed. "Did you do that?"
She opened her eyes to see a jug of pumpkin juice, three goblets, and a rather large platter of sandwiches on a coffee table before them. They dug in happily, trying to file away the boredom and anticipation that was drilled into them since morning.
--..--..--
The minutes were ticking by slowly. Nobody had come to the room yet, which was no surprise, really. After Ron burst in they all agreed to will the door away so nobody came strolling in. It was seven o'clock. They had an half an hour until they needed to leave. Thirty minutes to really think about their situation until they needed to go.
Ron was pale.
Hermione was biting her lip.
Ginny was trembling.
Leaving could alter their lives, it could kill them. It could kill Harry. They would get in trouble if they were caught. They could be expelled. But, worst of all, Harry could already be dead or brainwashed. But they all knew that no matter what, they were leaving that night.
"I can't take this anymore," Ginny bit out. She was fidgeting uncontrollably. She just wanted to get it over with. "Let's leave."
She was expecting, almost hoping, for some resistance, but she got none. Hermione looked at Ron, who looked at Hermione, and then they both nodded simultaneously.
They were leaving.
Ginny gulped and got up unsteadily from the couch she had been laying on.
If they left now they could walk at a fairly slow, more cautious pace instead of the full-out run they were expecting.
It was not comforting.
They had no invisibility cloak, no secret all-knowing map of Hogwarts.
They only had their wits, and hopefully, that would be enough to dodge the entire school and some of the best wizards and witches in the world.
Ginny gulped again, shared a look with Hermione and Ron, and then opened the door they had been hiding since after breakfast.
A/N: Hey all! This chapter was written way more quickly than I had expected, only one or two days after the last, but decided to be annoying and not let me upload. >. Is that rumor about not being able to answer reviews in chapters true? Please, tell me! This crap is getting very, very annoying. Also, I heard another rumor about songfics not being allowed either. That's just not right. I'm going to check up on it, but I'd like to hear your opinions and thoughts!
Sorry, I'm not going to be answering reviews anymore until I know if this rumor is true or not. I really don't think anybody would report me, but just the same, I'd rather not take the chance. I'll find another way if it turns out to be a real rule, I promise.
Chapter ten of Shards of a Diamond will be up next, then I will continue working on Hazardous Sanity some more.
Next Chapter: Finding Harry (working title. May be changed to something less stupid and obvious later.)
Will Ron, Hermione, and Ginny be able to get through Hogwarts on their own? Will they be able to find Harry? Will Harry even be the same person?
Will I ever stop asking inane questions that only I know the answer to? No, not really. It's fun .
Remember, reviews feed my muse and make me update faster! ;)