Chapter Twenty Five: Love Takes Different Forms
Ron's awakening was far from comfortable. His head was pounding like he was under a huge bell and everything was spinning around. When he opened his eyes, which was also an uneasy task, because they were as heavy as if troll was standing on them, or so it seemed to Ron.
When he finally opened them, he saw that he was in his bed, in the Gryffindor boys' dormitories. Nothing unusual, still he felt funny. He felt like a huge weight had been taken from his chest, but at the same time there was a feeling of a great loss.
Harry emerged from behind the tapestries around Ron's bed. "How do you feel, Ron?"
"Huh, I don't know," answered Ron, rubbing his temples. "What happened?"
"Well, I don't know, how to tell you," Harry began, not looking into his eyes. "Well, your girlfriend was keeping you under Imperio to brainwash you and to make you our enemy and, well, yesterday you had all huge row with Hermione and…and…we've found you and returned you back to us with Dumbledore's help," Harry blurted out. He used Dumbledore's name because he had been the first, who came to his mind.
"Anything else?" Ron asked as if speaking about today news.
"Hermione is missing," Harry whispered.
"Missing? Are you sure?" Ron said with slight panic.
"Yes, I am. She wasn't at her bed last night and on today's morning lessons."
"Merlin!" Ron groaned, collapsing on his bed, crying. "How could I do this! It's all my fault! If I hadn't told her all that, she wouldn't have been missing! How could I!"
"But you were under Imperio. Don't blame yourself."
"Oh, you don't understand, Harry. You weren't there, you didn't hear me." His body was shaking from sobs. "I am such a hypocrite. I let it happen. She'll never forgive me. Never." Another row of sobs followed.
Harry looked at Ron like he was crazy. What was he babbling about? His fault? What fault? "Ron, we can still find her," he said, trying to believe it himself.
Ron sat up straight, looking at Harry with red eyes, but there were sparks in them. "I'll find her. Even if it takes to search this castle from top to bottom. Maybe she won't want to see me again, but I'll find her or die trying." Ron jumped from the bed, threw some clothes on and run out of the room.
Harry snapped out of his shock from Ron's passionate speech. "Hey, Ron, wait for me!"
All the staff was notified about Hermione's missing and Dumbledore wanted to organize a searching group, but Ron told him off. He said, only he could be blamed for this situation and it was his duty to somehow correct his mistake. Surprisingly to everyone Dumbledore didn't object, and Ron and Harry began their rescue mission.
Three days later they had absolutely no clue about Hermione's whereabouts. No one could recognize Ron Weasley now. He looked like a ghost: pale and skinny. It seemed life had been sucked out of him. He didn't eat or sleep in three days; his eyes were larger then usual, because of lack of sleep. Harry began to really worry about his friend.
Harry approached Ron in their bedroom in the evening of the third day. Ron was sitting on the edge of his bed, crying like a baby, but hiding his face behind his hands.
"Oh, common, Ron, what is it with you?" asked Harry, sitting down beside Ron.
"What if we find her too late? What if she is already dead? Uuuur, when I find her, I'll smash her head on the wall!"
"Whose head!" Harry asked startled by such swing in Ron's talk.
"Traitina's, who else?" Ron answered with pure venom.
"But you said you loved her just three days ago!" Harry said with wide eyes.
"You won't understand, Harry. You've never seen her," Ron said, shaking his head.
"You'll better rest, Ron. Tomorrow we'll continue," Harry said with a tired sigh.
"Go, Harry, I can't sleep, knowing that Hermione is somewhere and not here," he wanted to add "with me", but didn't.
Harry went to bed only to be shaken out of his slumber three hours later. "What is it?" he asked groggily.
"Harry…Harry, she called me," Ron whispered, still shaking Harry.
"Hermione?" Harry exclaimed, his eyes snapped open.
"No, Traitina."
"But that's a trap!"
"And? She knows where Hermione is."
"Why are you so sure, that it's she, who's behind Hermione's kidnapping?"
"I just know, ok?" Ron answered uneasily. "I am going with or without you. I just wanted to tell you, where I am going, just in case."
Harry jumped off of the bed and began to dress. Without any other words they left the Gryffindor Common room.
"Where exactly are we going?" asked Harry.
"It is somewhere near the Charms classroom."
"Near the classroom! But everyone could've seen them there! How couldn't we have found her?"
"Because we didn't look in any public places, only in the secret passages or abandon wings of the castle."
"What a cleverness of her," Harry spat. "How did she call you?"
"She just appeared in my head and told me to go to the Charms classroom if I wanted to find what I was looking for."
"She penetrated into your mind?"
"Well, it isn't her first time, is it?" Ron said sadly.
At last they reached the Charms classroom. Luckily for them, Filch was on the other floor and couldn't bother them, now at least.
"So, where now?" asked Harry, looking at the rows of doors, lining in both ways from the classroom's door. The door on the left opened.
"Here," Ron said, storming in that direction, before Harry could even react.
They entered something, they couldn't quite place. It wasn't a closet or a classroom; it was something in the middle: a small room with nothing inside it. Ron quickly scanned the room and saw his target in the shadows of the back wall.
"You bitch!" he yelled, pinning her to the wall. "Where is she!"
'Ron keeps his promises,' Harry though.
"Who?"
"The one I am looking for!"
"Haven't you found her yet? She is standing right in front of you," she purred seductively.
Harry was listening to their conversation dumbfounded. 'What the heck is going on? Why Ron has so many secrets about this relationship? What must I understand after seeing her? Why Ron knows about her manipulating him?'
"Where. Is. Hermione? I swear if you touched one hair on her head, I'll kill you."
"Why do you want her over me so much? She won't love you, like I do." Ron's face darkened for a moment, but then turned to furious again.
"Where is she? I am asking you one last time. If you don't say it, I'll beat it out of you!"
"She'll never see how handsome you are, she'll never help you when you ask, she'll never see you more than a friend. Even is she thinks about you as a friend after your little outburst," she finished with a smirk. Ron's grip tightened. "I love you, Ron. She'll never be me."
"Hey, Ron, why does she always compare herself with Hermione?" Harry cut in into the conversation. He was still there, you know. Ron himself had forgotten about Harry's presence.
"Look at her," Ron commanded, throwing her on the floor.
Well, Harry looked and saw…Hermione. He was so shocked that took three steps back, bumping into the wall in the process. He couldn't believe his eyes. Harry knew, that it was Traitina before him, but…but she head Hermione's hair and face and everything! The only difference was the Ravenclaw symbol on her robes.
Everything slowly began to dawn to him: the comparing, Ron's words about his fault and most of all Ron's outbursts about wanting to find Hermione whatever the cost. And of course, Ron's attitude towards Hermione and Traitina. Not everything was still clear, but the darkness on all this Ron's girlfriend mystery began to disperse. But something was missing, the last detail – motivation. And Harry knew the way to find it: 'check out' this Traitina girl.
It didn't take him a lot of time to concentrate and face the spot which represented her magic aura; it took even less to turn white on the face.
"She is a Death Eater," Harry whispered without a breath.
"No, she isn't, I saw her arms," Ron stated.
"You see, Ron, even your best friend is wrong about me. Don't listen to him. They'll always push you around. You won't be as happy with them as you were with me."
"Stop your pitiful prayers! I admit that I was really happy with you. You did whatever I asked you too, but you brainwashed me, incited me against my friends, you used me like a puppet."
"This was the plan and I would've accomplished it, if it hadn't been for this meddling Hermione and someone, who cleared your mind so quickly! Only two more sessions and you'd be mine forever!"
"Well, if it had been your or somebody else's plan it is in pieces now. Tell us, where Hermione is and we won't harm you," Harry said firmly, wanting to end this fuss, because it seemed, he was the only rational one here.
"Oh, yeh? I don't bother if you kill me, but the secret about her whereabouts will go with me into my grave," Traitina hissed. Even, sitting on the floor, with a plan turned into fiasco, she still had a tramp card against them.
"You've known me for a long time, Traitina, but you don't still know what a Weasley temper is. You have a death wish if you want it to be expressed on you!" Ron growled.
"Ron, you won't get a word out of her by threatening. We'll just take her to Dumbledore. I am sure, with his ways, he'll find out in no time," Harry said calmly. Ron gave him and-this-wasn't-threatening look, to which Harry answered with a but-it-is-a-way-isn't? look.
"It won't help you, dorks. She is under a very good guard. Even if you find her, doesn't mean you'll take her. And knowing that she was the brain of your trio, you won't go far."
"Oh, don't underestimate us, Traitina," Ron said with an evil smile. "We have two heads here and this is better than one, yours for example.
I remember, you like puzzle games. Well, let's make a deal: you are giving us one good hint about the place, where Hermione is and if we find her till noon, she will herself decide on your punishment or lack of it or whatever she'll do to you. If we fail, you'll be free to go."
"But I don't want to go, I want you." There was no love or care in her proposal, just statement of a price. "Deal?"
"Harry?" Ron asked with thoughtful but resolute face.
"Well, we are taking about you life here," Harry said with reproach, disapproving all the deal thing. Deal with an enemy never works out. "Decide yourself."
"Deal. Give me your wand. We'll lock you here." Traitina gave her wand to Ron with a grumble. "Now the hint," Ron demanded. Harry was astonished by how superior Ron acted. He and Ron knew that they were making a deal with the Devil, but they were doing for the sake of their best friend. But Harry didn't understand why Ron was throwing his life away so easily.
"You swore that you'd search this castle from top to bottom to find your precious Hermione, then start from the bottom," she said with venom, but not defeat.
"Let's go, Harry. Oh, and one more thing, Traitina. It's the other way round: you'll never be like her."
They walked out from this strange room and Ron headed to the Astronomy Tower.
"Where the Hell are you going, Ron! It's the way to the Astronomy Tower, not to the dungeons!"
"And who said we must have gone to the dungeons?" Ron asked from above his shoulder.
"Well, she just said…"
"And you believed her?"
"Well, I don't know." How stupid could he be? Of course she misled them.
"I know her for quite some time; she has a lot of slytherin traits in her. They are noticeable, even if she tries to hide them."
"That brings back to my assumption again. She must be a Death Eater, I am absolutely sure."
"But she still doesn't have a Dark Mark on her forearm."
"But you must face it, Ron! This all was Voldemort's conspiracy against you and Hermione and even me!"
"I don't fight the idea, Harry. It explains many things about my so called relationship with Traitina or I'd better say with pseudo Hermione."
"What do you mean?"
"If You-Know-Who stood behind it, then he had used for destroying me the most precious thing in my life – my love for Hermione. Who else can use love possession for bringing down his enemy and cover it with chocolate. Uuur, disgusting!"
"How did you even got together with that girl?"
"Haven't Hermione told you? I took her from under the bricks and took to the Hospital Wing. On the next day she found me and said she could thank me with going on a date with me. I thought, why not?
I don't know if you understand me, pal. I've never talked to you about my feelings towards Hermione, I won't say it's complicated and shut up. I really want to take this weight off of my heart." Ron took a deep breath and continued. "I've loved her from afar for almost four years and it started to become more and more difficult. Have you ever really loved, Harry?" Harry thought for a moment then shook his head. Even if he had a few crushes, love hasn't entered his life yet.
"Then I wish you to find a suitable girl, a girl that will love you back. I don't have such luck. I can't even touch her! And then comes Traitina, so willing to love me and care for me, so much like girl of my dreams. I was the happiest man on Earth. I could touch her and kiss her whenever I liked no restraining and reproaches of my stupidity and trouble making.
But after the first week of dating her, I felt something weird was happening to me. It was like personality split. It wasn't that noticeable just a few snaps on the first-years, but it grew more and more permanent with days. But I could fight it. The most surprising thing is that the same love for Hermione helped me. I thought that I was betraying her somehow by dating another girl. I couldn't forget about her and it saved me. Even that day I yelled at Hermione, my real self heard everything, but couldn't stop it.
That's why everything that is happening now, is my and only my fault. I let myself to be brainwashed. I was selfish, thinking only about my desires and not about our friendship or people around me. Only about dreams and not real life with You-Know-Who on the loose." Guilt was all over Ron's face.
"Don't blame yourself, Ron," reassured Harry, patting him on the back. "You couldn't think straight, you were in love."
"I still am," Ron said with a sigh. "When we find her, I better say if we find her, she'll hate my guts for making her go through all this and saying all that nasty things. It will be a real torture, but she'll be alive and I'll be happy for her. Just like old times."
Harry didn't find anything to say to that. He wasn't experienced in love affairs and that bothered him. Not that exactly, but the fact that Ron was the first from them, who had developed so mature feeling. Cheerful, troublemaker Ron could bare such strong feeling from everyone's eyes, even from so observant glance of the subject of his affections.
Finally they reached the Astronomy classroom. It was absolutely empty, of course. The Astronomy Tower was said to be the highest point of the castle or in our case the 'top'. Rain was pouring outside, it almost flooded the observation deck.
Ron looked disappointed. "Oh, my theory wasn't right, I suppose," he said crestfallen. They already turned to go, when they both heard something. "What is it?"
"Sounds like electricity sparks," suggested Harry.
"What?"
"Never mind, we should check it out."
"It's coming from the roof. How can we get there?"
"The door must be here somewhere," Harry said, scanning the walls for any sign of a door.
After a few minutes they located the door, which revealed an old, slippery, stone stairs, leading upwards. The higher they went, the louder became sounds of thousands of raindrops, falling on the castle's roof.
When they opened a small door to the roof, they were instantly soaked through, but such triviality didn't stop them. Step by step Harry and Ron started moving towards a large blue cupola in the center of the roof. It looked like a blue sparkling net. Under it lay, chained to the cold stones, Hermione's lifeless form. At least it looked like it: her face was pale like chalk, her wet hair was a mess, some of them stacked to her face, and robes were completely soaked. The body wasn't even shivering from the cold, it just lay there, like a broken doll.
"The roof. The place, where nobody will search at," Harry muttered.
"We must take her out of there. Any suggestions?" Ron asked, without taking his glance from Hermione.
"I don't know what charm this is, so I don't know how to take it off."
"Me neither. Well, let's try the Weasley way," said Ron, coming to the barrier and taking his hands through it. Astonishingly even to Ron, nothing happened, and he began to work on chains, which wasn't hard for Ron's strong hands. "Are you going to just stand there, or you'll help?"
Harry came nearer and only touched one of the cells, when an electrical jolt went through him.
"Ouch! What the Hell! That hurts!" yelled Harry.
"Strange, it does nothing to me."
"Never mind. I'll live," said Harry, rubbing his burnt hand.
"Now, honey, Ron will take you to the Hospital Wing and everything is going to be ok. No one will bother you while I am alive. Everything will be all right", Ron whispered, taking Hermione into his arms.
'Just where she belongs,' Harry could help but think. "Take her to the Wing and I'll take Traitina to Dumbledore. It's almost morning. At last this nightmare is over."
"For me it only the beginning of it. I can't dare to show my face to Hermione after all I've said to her."
"What are you talking about, Ron? You've saved her life!"
"But I was the reason of all this!" Ron exclaimed.
"Calm down. You'll come to understanding, I am sure."
"I hope so," Ron said under his breath. "Oh, Harry, take this as a proof," said Ron handing Harry Hermione's watch. (A/N: How will Hermione live without a watch? lol) The proof that we've found her."
"Oh. Ok."
And they walked their separate ways.
"That's childish, Ron! You are acting like a baby, not like a man! Three days in the Infirmary and four after she was released. The whole bloody week! And you haven't said a word to Hermione!"
"She doesn't want to see me and I don't want to traumatize her, bringing up bad memories," Ron answered, doing homework on his bed. The place he stayed on all that week, also taking long routs to get to classes. He bothered to go there only because if he didn't, Hermione would dislike him even more, and that wasn't an option.
"Who got under your scull that she didn't want to see you, to talk to you or whatever. She was worried seek, when you were with your girlfriend. She missed you so much!" 'And I know, she was madly jealous, but I won't tell you this, Ron. Work out everything yourself.'
"Really?" Ron asked, tilting his head up, looking interested.
"Yes, really, you dolt," Harry was really irritated by Ron's immature behavior. He was acting like it was a weasels' season and Hermione was a hunter.
"Just apologize and look what her reaction will be. Let her make the decision." 'When did I become a love adviser, huh?'
Suddenly sparks appeared in Ron's eyes. "I have an idea," Ron said, jumping off the bed. "Is she in the Common room?"
"Well, yes. You want to do it in the Common room?" Harry asked with disapprovement.
"Exactly," Ron answered with a huge grin and ran out of the room.
The Gryffindor Common room was packed with students. It was evening time already and everyone, who wanted their homework to be done, was making the final attempts to finish it. Hermione was sitting on the couch in one of the corners, looking very engrossed in a huge volume on her knees.
"Dammit, she hates to be disturbed from her homework. But when doesn't she do homework? Now or never, and then Hell can consume me."
He firmly walked through the whole Common room to his destination. On his way heads were turning at him one by one and staying in that position homework forgotten. Everyone already knew everything about Ron's girlfriend-Ron's outburst-Hermione's kidnapping ordeal (we are talking here about Hogwarts – the gossip center) and wanted another spicy material for their mill.
"Hermione," Ron called her temple. Hermione tilted her head up with a scowl. 'Not a good sign.'
But she said nothing like, "How dare you disturb me! You, who was the reason of my almost death!" Nothing came out of her mouth. She was just looking at him expectantly, waiting for him to state the reason of going out from his sanctuary.
Ron kneeled down on one knee and tilted his head down. The room was silent. Even Hermione's face was disbelieving.
"Hermione, I endangered your life countless times, I argued with you on the most stupid things, I don't follow your advice about studying harder, I insulted and humiliated you in public, and I was the worst friend in the wizarding world. For this all I seek your forgiveness, because I can't live without you, your friendship," he quickly corrected.
The frown on Hermione's face changed to a broad smile. "Of course, I forgive you, silly," she said ruffling his hair. "For everything you mentioned and for everything to come."
"You do?" Ron couldn't believe his ears. He was not in Hell but in Heaven.
"I do."
Only now Ron dared to look at her. There was so much happiness in his eyes that Hermione was taken aback a little. She didn't think that she can make anyone so happy.
"Thank you, thank you," Ron whispered breathlessly, covering her hands with light, but tender kisses. With the last "thank you" he stood up and ran back to the boy's dormitories, leaving Hermione with red cheeks and shaking hands.