Chapter Four - Where Are You Now?

"Compescor!"

"Obtineo!"

Harry and Hermione had both hit Ron with different spells to keep him confined to his sleeping bag that night. Ron had looked a little dazed at being slammed with two spells at once but shook it off pretty quickly Harry thought.

"Comfortable?" Hermione asked as she settled down inside her own sleeping bag.

"Not really," Ron grumbled as he fidgeted around before flipping over onto his side to face Harry.

"So any ideas on where to look tomorrow then?" he asked Harry.

"Absolutely none; you?"

Ron snorted and none of them said another word other than goodnight to each other until they all drifted off to sleep.

Harry's sleep was fitful, plagued by his usual nightmares and some new ones thrown in for good measure, and he couldn't quite relax as something inside him kept making him open his eyes every half hour to check on Ron. Harry had noticed that Ron hadn't actually gone to sleep for over an hour after Hermione had drifted off, this was unusual as Ron could sleep anywhere and immediately, and he put that down to this sleepwalking thing starting up again in his life. Something about it made Ron very uncomfortable and he didn't seem to want to fall into a deep sleep and risk it happening. Nothing could happen tonight though, he had been restrained twice over, and Harry's state of perpetual alertness was sure to rouse him if Ron got himself into any distress later on that night.

For several moments Harry had wondered if this sleepwalking thing was a positive or negative distraction from their mission to find the horcruxes. It was taking his mind off of the important subject of where to search but he liked the distraction as well as resented it. It was nice to be thinking about your friend's immediate well-being rather than thinking about the inevitable time when either he, Hermione or Ron would have to die for the each other in the process of destroying Voldemort piece by piece.

Harry shuddered and opened his eyes again. Ron was still there; still sleeping peacefully, and the fire had died right down to a small pile of smouldering embers now. Harry sighed deeply and let his eyes fall closed again.

Ginny was dancing with Sirius, dancing and laughing, and Ron and Hermione were playing a game of chess before Ron disappeared and was replaced by Dumbledore. Harry had called over to them and waved but neither of them noticed him. Ron was beside him now, smiling at the scene that was playing out before their eyes. Snape was dancing with Ginny now and Neville was wrestling with Sirius on the ground, all four of them were smiling. Ron chuckled and Harry turned around to ask him what was so funny but he was gone again. There were two familiar looking men with the Weasley red hair standing in his place, but they weren't any Weasley's that Harry knew of. He didn't see any family resemblance in their faces; they were both quite handsome though. Harry squinted at the nearer man to him, he could've sworn he'd seen that face somewhere before. He'd seen it in a photograph. Harry was just about to tap the man on the shoulder and introduce himself when he saw Ron lying on the floor at his feet.

"I can't move."

Harry's eyes forced themselves open and he stared at Ron, had he just said something?

"Ron," Harry whispered as he fumbled for his glasses in the darkness, "are you awake?"

"They didn't make that mistake twice."

It was Ron's voice, but the distant voice from his episode at the Riddle house. Harry blinked the sleep out of his eyes and just about made out Ron's open eyes, seemingly fixed just over his left shoulder, and watched Ron with great caution, hoping that his and Hermione's spells were going to hold him this time.

"I don't want to go there."

Harry knew that talking to his friend did no good whatsoever but he just couldn't help himself.

"You don't have to go anywhere you don't want to Ron. You can stay here with us."

Ron took in a deep breath and exhaled it as he spoke, he sounded so weary.

"Why?"

Harry sat up in his sleeping bag and looked over Ron to see if Hermione had woken, she hadn't, he wondered if he should get her up to hear this. He decided against it.

"He knows where it is, he's already been there."

Harry re-kindled the burned-out fire and saw that Ron's eyes hadn't registered any of his movement.

"No, the shop."

Harry was trying to pick out anything that sounded dubious. Was Ron being threatened? It didn't sound like it. Was he being duped into something while not in his right mind?

"I shouldn't be talking to you."

It certainly didn't sound as if he was feeble-minded when in his somnambular trance. It sounded as if he was having a civilised, if cautious, conversation with someone.

"I need you to leave me alone," Ron's eyebrows crinkled and met above his nose.

Harry couldn't help but cheer his friend on when he heard this; he was putting up a better fight with his subconscious tormentors than Harry had ever been able to.

"You tell 'em Ron!"

"You're making them scared of me."

Harry's grin fell from his face as if somebody had thrown a bucket of icy water at him and washed his expression away. He wished Ron wasn't alone in there...wherever he was in his own head, and wanted more than anything to be able to make himself heard.

"Never Ron, we'd never be scared of you, we're scared for you mate" Harry found himself reaching out for his friend as he spoke and stopped himself.

He understood, more than ever at that moment, why it was paining Hermione as much as he suspected it was not to wake Ron when he was like this. She just wanted to be there for him and she couldn't, neither could Harry.

"I'll write for you again, I'll write..." Ron seemed to be panicking a little now, though his eyes remained unfocused and unemotional as ever.

Harry leaned forward, Ron's voice had seemed to vanish into nothing and Harry hadn't managed to catch the last part of what he had said, if indeed he had said anything. He saw Ron shaking his head. He was being asked to do something he didn't want to.

"Stay strong in there mate, don't let him grind you down" Harry found himself whispering into Ron's ear before sitting back and observing him again.

Him? Who was this 'him' that Harry had just envisioned trying to persuade his best friend to do his bidding for him? Who did Harry suspect Ron was talking to?

"It's a trap" Ron's weak whisper barely penetrated Harry's own internal monologue.

Ron's breathing suddenly became rapid and Harry's body tensed.

"Wake up!" Ron hissed, his fists clenching, "wake up, wake up, wake up, wake up!"

Right that was it; he couldn't take this anymore. Ron was willing himself to wake up and he couldn't so Harry was going to do it for him. He grabbed Ron's shoulder and squeezed firmly.

"It's ok Ron, wake up if you want to," he shook him quite roughly, "come on wake up!"

"No!" Ron suddenly said, his voice still sounding like a whisper but much louder and clearer than anything he had ever said so far in this state, "Harry don't wake me."

Harry let go of Ron as if he'd just received a powerful shock from him and held his breath.

Could he hear him?

Harry leaned back to speak firmly but softly into Ron's ear.

"Say something to me Ron, tell me what to do, I'm right here. It's going to be alright, I can hear you."

Ron's breathing had levelled out again and Harry's words or reassurance and comfort seemed to be working. That had been what he had thought until Ron gave a shuddering sigh and whispered in the most devastatingly broken way.

"I'll do whatever you want just don't come out."

"No!" Harry found himself yelling.

Hermione flinched over in her sleeping bag but did nothing else but turn over in her sleeping bag and mumble something under her breath that sounded like 'not now Crookshanks'.

Harry had to physically restrain himself from trying to shake Ron awake again. He was conflicted. Ron had asked him not to wake him, but that had been before he gave up, he had been putting up some resistance to whomever it was invading his subconscious and now he had been worn down.

"Ron please don't give up, I'm right here for you, don't let him win?"

Ron blinked; Harry held his breath, and slowly Ron's glassy blue eyes closed. Harry wondered if his message had got through to him in time, if at all, and lay back down beside his best friend.

He watched Ron sleeping peacefully for what felt like an hour, though Harry couldn't be sure of that, before his own eyelids grew stronger than his will and he drifted back to sleep again.

"Harry!" it was bright outside and Hermione was yelling at him far too loudly considering Harry's lack of sleep that night, "Harry, where is he?" she was gripping his shoulders so hard he felt the bruises forming beneath her fingers already, "Did you lift the charms Harry? Open your eyes and answer me!"

It was that last order that caused Harry to let himself be woken. She had sounded very angry with him, that was reason enough not to come back to the land of the conscious, but she had also sounded upset. His eyes snapped open and he sat up, almost knocking her out in the process.

"I'm up, what's up?" he babbled as he straightened his wonky glasses to focus on her frantic-looking face.

"Did you lift the charms so he could go for breakfast?" she demanded, he fingers still burrowing painfully into his flesh, that girl had a hell of a grip on her.

"What?" Harry scrunched up his face and turned to see Ron's empty sleeping bag beside him, "Where's he gone?"

"That's what I'm asking you!" she screeched into his face before letting him go and racing across the cave, "How did he get out?"

Harry wriggled out of his sleeping bag and tried to make sense of this. Hermione picked something up from the far corner of the cave where they had hidden it and stomped back to Harry.

"He didn't use his wand, it's right here," her livid voice was wavering now and she looked as if she was about to burst into tears, "you swear you didn't lift the charms while you were still a bit sleepy? You're sure he hasn't gone out to try and make bread again?"

Harry shook his head solemnly.

"I swear to you I didn't let him go."

The tears forced their way onto Hermione's cheeks now.

"Then where is he Harry?"

He grabbed Hermione and hugged her tightly while she began to sob silently into his chest.

"I stayed up with him while he went through it last night, I stayed awake watching him for an hour afterwards just to be sure he wasn't going to try anything, I don't know what happened Hermione."

She pulled away from him and stared up at him, wiping her face and forcing her old steely resolve to take control of her emotions again.

"What happened last night, did he say anything again?"

Harry recounted the whole uncomfortable business of the previous night, Ron's refusal to do the other party's bidding and the attempt to wake himself up before surrendering and accepting the demands of whoever it was he was talking to.

"I really thought he could hear me for a moment, like he knew I was there with him, but...I don't know." Harry shook his head.

"So he could feel you trying to wake him up and told you not to?" she asked, still trying to process every twist and turn of this one-sided conversation.

"I don't know. I just know that my gut instinct was to wake him up, I wanted to more than anything else in the world, and I didn't and now he's gone."

Neither of them said anything for nearly three minutes before Hermione swallowed and looked Harry in the eye.

"I'm so worried."

"So am I."

Crack!

They both jumped and turned to face the mouth of the cave, wands out and ready to defend themselves, and they froze as the saw a figure take a hesitant step into the cave.

"Ron?" Hermione gasped.

It was, it was Ron barefoot, wearing the threadbare clothes he had slept in, and shivering in the chilly morning air.

"How did that happen?" Ron's voice had a nervous edge to it as he stepped a little deeper inside the cave.

Hermione ran to him and dragged him over to the fire, rubbing his arms to warm him up while Harry could only stand and stare. Ron looked ok. He looked confused as hell but he looked all right otherwise. Harry had to remain frozen with shock otherwise he would collapse with relief. Hermione grabbed Ron's jacket and flung it around his shoulders.

"Harry," she hissed at him, "make him a hot drink or something will you?"

There that was something, he had a task now. He could busy himself with that rather than falling down. Ron was back. He was back and not hurt. Every worse case scenario that had rushed through his head hadn't happened.

Oh Merlin that was scary!

"Where did you wake up?" Hermione asked Ron with a worried smile, "Did you wander far?"

Ron shook his head and something about the look on his face tied Harry's internal organs into one huge knot. The tension had obviously had an effect of his conjuring of a cup of hot coffee for his friend as he looked down to see he was now holding a mug of bubbling mud.

"I didn't walk there," Ron said with a shudder, "I hadn't thought about that...it was never an issue when I was seven." he rushed to explain himself before he had really explained anything at all.

"Calm down Ron, take a deep breath and start again. Where did you wake up?" Hermione said, he voice seemed to be reassuringly calm now, it had only been minutes before that she had been a frantic wreck, Harry was amazed how different she could be with and without Ron.

Ron did as he was told, he took a calming breath in and let it out and swallowed before looking her in the eye.

"I woke up at Mr Borgin's house."

Hermione's face dropped. Harry dropped the mug of boiling mud and Ron lowered his head.

"I can apparate in my sleep."

Hermione grabbed him and hugged him tightly.

"It's ok, it'll be ok, we'll figure something else out to keep you safe at night alright? It'll be fine."

"Was anybody there?" Harry managed to ask before his throat dried up altogether.

"They were all still in bed when I woke up, I couldn't make any sense of what was going on at first, I just started to look around. I found some papers on a desk and saw his name on them. There was dark magic stuff everywhere, I think I was in his secret den or something."

Ron juddered and Hermione pulled his jacket tighter around him but Harry didn't think that the reason for his sudden shakiness was that he was cold. Ron fixed his eyes with Harry's own and the two friends knew that an awful truth had to be faced. Fortunately Ron was brave enough to vocalise it.

"I'm apparating into dark wizard's houses that I've never ever been before Harry. I think...what you said last night...I think you might be right."

A/N Hi to all who have followed my stories since ESSM, glad I'm not disapointing you so far.

For the record this fic is only INSPIRED by the movie Donnie Darko and not based upon it. You will see some little nods to the film but there will be no time travel or alternate universes.

Thanks to all who review!