Surprise early update! This chapter is a long one and extremely important… I know I say that a lot but this time it'll truly pay off! Remember that for one I break your hearts a little here.
Enjoy & Review!
"They're dead." Neville tells Harry, voice riddled with fear and sadness.
Any pretenses of worrying about waking Ron fly out the window, "Dead? Who's dead? What is that?" He fires off.
"Hediwg, she came, I'm sorry Harry, I shouldn't have opened it. You and Ron were gone and I thought maybe it was about Brimblehawk. It was marked urgent I just-"
"Neville, who is it?" He steps closer, his eyes already glossed over.
"I-I'm sorry. Maybe if we h-had-" he starts emotionally.
Harry grips his shoulders and shakes him, "please." he begs.
"The Granger's. They're dead."
At the words Harry falls to the floor, taking Neville with him.
He didn't know Hugo and Jean Granger very well, but these were Hermione's parents. They gave him his best friend. And if she ever came back nothing, nothing, would ever be the same.
"Oh Merlin. No!" He cried out, "We should've done more." He whimpered, clutching onto Neville for dear life.
Tears were now streaking Neville's cheeks as well, "I know Harry, I know." He cried.
They stayed like that for a while on the floor. Eventually, Harry calmed enough to ask about the letter Hedwig brought that held the news.
"Bill sent it. It didn't say much, just that they were dead and that he'd be here in the morning." He explained, holding up the parchment. It was indeed only two sentences long, "It was five when I heard the owl, I reckon he'll be around soon. Do his parents know about…" Neville trailed, eyeing the bed.
The Chosen One sniffled before wiping his nose with his sleeve, "He's seventeen now so he gets to decide if his parents know or not. Since he wasn't exactly, you know, conscious, I owled them for him. He'd want them to know. I used Madam Pomfrey's owl. I doubt it's as fast as Hedwig's but it should've reached Devon by now." Harry answers.
Finally collecting himself a bit more, Harry stands up, hovering over Ron's sleeping form.
"He'll lose it." He whispered after a few minutes of silence.
Neville soon joined his side, "I know."
"He'll blame himself. If he sees Hermione again, he'll tell her it was his fault. It's not." Harry says, voice becoming more strangled.
"I know that. We all do. Hermione will too." He responds, gripping the dark haired boy's shoulder and giving him a squeeze.
"Dumbledore must know by now, he's got to." Potter said surely, turning to face Neville under his grasp.
Neville shrugged, "I'd assume, but what difference does it make?" He said weakly.
"I wanna know how. And I wanna know who." He said with a fire in his eyes.
The other boy could sense as much and made a move to ease him. The last thing anyone needed was a raging Harry and a raging Ron. "There's something else." Neville whispered.
At his words, Harry instantly softened, sensing the seriousness in his tone.
He braced himself for what was to come next.
"It wasn't really Hediwg that woke me up." At this Harry's eyes squinted in confusion as Neville sighed, "Fred and Geroge's owl, it was the one pecking at the window. They talked to Brimblehawk, they know where that place is, with the chandelier."
"W-what?" He breathed, never did he think their plan would ever amount to anything.
"Harry, when Bill comes today we need to tell him what we know. I know before you and Ron didn't want to start anything or were scared they'd move her, but I reckon it's now or never." He pauses, "no matter what happens next, nothing will ever be the same."
Slowly, but surely, Harry nodded in agreement. The Grangers were gone. It felt like the worst had happened, but he knew deep down, there was potential for worse.
Who would be next? A Weasley? Neville? Lupin? Hermione herself?
No.
No. Harry was through playing this waiting game. It was time Hermione came home, or what's left of it anyway.
"Harry?" Neville broke his daze.
"You're right." He confirmed, "I just hope Ron's awake to help. I want Hermione back more than I think I've ever wanted anything, but Ron, it's like-it's like it's killing him." The Boy-Who-Lived whispered.
"We'll get her back, Harry. We need her."
At this very moment Ron groaned in his sleep, head falling to his other shoulder. Instinctively Harry felt the need to pull the blanket around his best mate tighter. Let him feel protected from the real world for just a little bit longer.
"You need to come back soon Ron." Harry whispered low enough that Nevile wouldn't hear.
He felt Neville's eyes burning into his back as he watched the scene. Stepping away, Harry swallowed the lump in his throat, "you never told me where she is." He says, voice cracking, "Hermione." He adds.
"Wiltshire." He responds, "A place called Malfoy Manor."
Harry's entire body erupts with chills.
…
It wasn't until two hours later, around seven in the morning, that Ron began to regain consciousness.
He opened his blue eyes, doing his best to adjust to the harsh light in the room.
Everything around him was a blur, he moved his hand to rub at his eyes, but found it to be very weak. After blinking a few times, it seemed to do the trick as the world became clearer.
This was not his dormitory.
Why the fuck was he in the hospital wing?
"Merlin, you're alright." He heard Harry breathe from nearby, though he sounded underwater.
Suddenly, everything came back to him like a rush of cold water flooding his veins.
Birthday. Chocolate Cauldrons. Romilda Bloody Vane. Slughorn. Meade. Hermione…
"M fine." He croaks, trying to sit up.
Harry gently pushes his shoulders down, "I wouldn't do that. Neville's gone to get Madame Pomfrey to give you some potions that'll sort you out. Though, I imagine she'll be livid, we aren't supposed to be here this early."
It's true. Madam Pomfrey shooed him away last night, but he simply returned to his dorm, nicked his invisibility cloak, and came back.
Neville's presence was a bit harder to explain.
"Since you're technically of age, your parents didn't have to be informed, but I owled them last night. They'll be along soon with Bill, I reckon." He let's slip.
Ron could sense his best mates unease. Not only that, but why the hell would Bill be popping in if his Mum and Dad were? Something was a little off.
"Bill?" He questioned.
Harry's mouth flopped open and closed like a fish's would, before Madame Pomfrey came to the rescue.
Well, sort of.
"Mr. Potter! Visiting hours do not begin until eight o'clock! You and Mr. Longbottom will be dealt with accordingly after I sort out my patient here! Little regard for following rules. Just like your fathers." She tutted the last sentence under her breath as she moved to Ron's side, leaving a blushing Neville in her wake.
The matron picked up a glass vile and slowly tipped the thick potion past Ron's lips.
"Now Mr. Weasley, the bezoar seemed to do wonders for you. Most of the poison has been flushed from your system, but there are still trace amounts present. You'll be on a few potions the next few days to get you fit as a fiddle. You may feel tired or get aches, but any symptoms besides those you must alert me, understand?"
Ron just nodded in response, swallowing the terrible tasting liquid as she spoke.
"Now how is your knee?" She asked next.
He thought about it for a moment, but any pain within that region didn't register, "My knee?" He questioned.
Harry shifted uncomfortably at Ron's ignorance, as Neville flushed a bit, seeming to have realized where this was going.
Madame Pomfrey nodded, "yes you've been whining about it since last night. I did a full body scan and there's no internal injuries to it, maybe just sore?" She thought aloud.
"My knee." He repeated to himself, now understanding that he was not groaning about a pain in his leg, but rather, his Mione.
"Oh, uh," he began nervously, but cleared his throat, "yes, it's feeling better now, thank you." Ron said quickly, red as his hair, and avoiding both of his friends' eyes.
"Excellent. You rest." She then turned to look over Harry and Neville for a few moments, both squirmed under her gaze. "I'll allow Misters Potter and Longbotton to stay. The headmaster was quite insistent that Mr. Potter be present for when your family arrives."
"Harry?" Ron said aloud, again, getting the feeling something bigger was going on.
The nurse nodded, "yes. I've been told your parents and brothers will be joining us too. I know how the twins can be, but you must remain on bed rest, do not work yourself up." She reiterated.
"The twins?" Now he was really confused. He's almost positive his Mum wouldn't allow the two of them to see him in this state if she knew how well, weak, he was. Ron didn't need any added troubles.
"That's what I said Mr. Weasley. Someone will also be waking your sister soon I'm sure. I've been told William will also be joining at Professors McGonagall and Dumbledore's insistence."
"Did they say why?" He asked next, knowing he wouldn't get anywhere with Harry, but maybe Madam Pomfrey knew differently.
"No, but I'm sure your family is just concerned. The Weasley's have always been a tight bunch."
And that's true! But ever since everything happened during Christmas holiday, Mum, like Dumbledore, has been very adamant that no one draw any attention. To carry on as they were.
Surely half of the Weasley clan coming to Hogwarts to speak with Dumbledore would draw suspicions.
And right under Snape and Malfoys nose, no less.
"Now I must go finish filing your report for the archives. I'll be back soon with your hourly potion." She walked to her office before stopping, "stay put." Madame Pomfrey warned.
Once she disappeared, Ron was given a second to take in Neville and Harry. Both had bloodshot eyes. Harry was biting the edge of his nails as Neville twisted a piece of parchment in his shaking hands.
Ron was awake, he was okay, so what were they so worked up for?
"There's something else." He whispered, but the pair heard.
"Ron-" Harry began.
Before he could finish, the hospital wing doors flew open, revealing a mass of red hair, along with Dumbledore and McGonagall not far behind.
"Ronnie!" His Mum cried out, racing over to his bed and giving him a hug.
He did his best to respond, but found his limbs feeling heavy, "I'm okay Mum." He whispered.
Over her shoulder, he didn't fail to notice the crowd that came in. And any doubts that something bigger was going on was all but confirmed by the looks on their faces.
Sure, they were all relieved Ron was alright, but they were not jumping for joy like he suspected.
Like his Mum, Ginny was crying. Something he hasn't seen her done in years, save for Christmas.
Bill was anxiously shifting his weight between his feet, something he got scolded for when he was younger as a nervous habit.
His father looked solemn. They exchanged a brief nod, but Arthur couldn't bring himself to smile at his son. Not when he'd have to break his heart all over again.
The twins weren't laughing. They weren't smiling. They weren't joking. They were stiff, serious, stoic, three words he would never associate with them.
McGonagall herself looked a little misty eyed as she fiddled with her robes' sleeves.
Dumbledore also had an indescribable air of sadness around him. Ron couldn't put it into words, he could feel it.
"It's Hermione, isn't it." He spoke to the room. He just knew.
They all exchanged nervous glances, no one knew what to say.
"Not exactly." Dumbledore answered, stepping through the Weasley's to be right at Ron's bedside. "I'm glad to see you well Ronald."
He couldn't help but scoff, "cheers."
"Ronald Billius! You ought to treat Albus with respect. We are all very happy you are alright, you should be too!" His Mum called from his fathers embrace.
"I am." He said softer, "but that doesn't mean I need to be treated like a kid. I feel fine. A little tired, but I am fine. So someone now please tell me what in the bloody hell is going on." He grunted.
Molly again made a move to scold her son, but Dumbledore dismissed her with a wave of his hand.
"Can't put anything past you can we Ronald? That's an Auror's trait if I've ever come to know one." He commented, almost like he knew that was Ron's dream.
Well, he probably did know somehow. This was after all Albus Dumbledore.
"Uh thanks." The ginger said a little impatiently. On any other day he might've flushed at the compliment and thanked his headmaster. Right now, he couldn't bring himself to.
Harry can't let this go on any longer. He just physically cannot allow another moment to pass with Ron laying there, the truth just within arms reach.
"The Grangers are dead." He said it quickly and lowly.
Though everyone, save for Ron, knew the news, all eyes still snapped to Harry in awe at his bluntness.
Ron made a move to sit up and this time no one made a move to stop him. They simply watched as his eyes widened in a painstaking state of shock.
"No." Was all he managed. He couldn't believe it.
"Son, I'm so sorry-" Arthur began, stepping forward.
"You promised." He gritted to his father.
"Ron-" the old man protested.
"You promised!" He yelled, voice so riddled with anguish. "You said someone went. That they put up wards."
"They did son, I promise you. Someone from the Order was sent, but I'm afraid the wards weren't casted by someone with Dumbledore's magic. They didn't stand a chance against her." Mr. Weasley explained, voice almost as strained as his sons.
"S-she?" He didn't realize he was crying until he felt a tear drop land on his knuckles.
"We can't be positive, but the work matches-"
"Bellatrix." Ron spat angrily.
He didn't need to see his father nod in confirmation to know he was right.
"This isn't right. None of this is right. She needs to answer for what she's done to Hermione, to her parents!" His voice was rising again. Anger was easier than the guilt pounding its way into his chest.
"It's not that easy Ron, if it were-" This time it was Bill who spoke.
"I don't give a bloody fuck what's easy and what's not! This is Hermione we're talking about, that, that was her family. So when she comes home, she won't even have a home to get back to! You do realize how fucking preventable this entire thing was? So far the Order has been nothing but shite." He seethed.
"I understand you're upset Ronnie, but you know we're doing all that can be done." Molly interjected softly.
"No you're not!" He protested.
"Oh yeah? And what have you been doing? Beating up Cormac McLaggen? Getting yourself poisoned?" Bill retorted, not liking his brother's attitude, pain or not.
"William!" His Mum scolded.
Ron ignored him, "you can bet your arse I've been doing a lot more than planning a fucking wedding!"
This seemed to set Bill off, "don't get pissy with me just because I have Fleur and Hermione is-"
Whatever he was going to say, no one would ever come to find out.
Ron summoned all his strength and latched roughly onto one of his eldest brother's wrists. Enough to surely bruise.
"Don't you dare finish whatever the hell you're about to say."
At this Bill relented, he knew he was out of line, but letting emotions get the better of you surely was a Weasley trait.
"He is right Bill." Fred broke from his place in the corner.
Ron's brow scrunched in confusion at his brother's words, but his curiosity only grew as he watched Fred and Harry exchange a nod.
"What?" Bill voices exactly what Ron's thinking.
"I reckon Harry, Ronnie, and Neville have done more than the order has." Fred then turns to McGonagall and Dumbledore, "no offense."
"Mr. Weasley, need I remind you that certain things are not to be brought up in the presence of others?" McGonagall scathes, eyes flicking to Neville.
"He knows Professor." Harry states.
"Mr. Potter-"
"I didn't tell him. He figured it out."
At this, the old woman looked relieved and maybe even a little proud.
"He's Hermione's friend too." Ron added, certainly more calm then the last time he spoke.
"Plus, according to a letter Fred and I received a few days ago, without Neville's help we wouldn't know where Hermione is." George told the room.
At this everyone grew shocked, no one more so than Ron.
"I-it worked?" He stuttered, not able to believe it himself.
"We have the closest apparition point here." Fred pulled out a piece of parchment from his pocket before handing it off to Dumbledore.
He eyed it for a moment before realization struck, "Wiltshire?" Ron swears he hears fear in his tone.
"I'm afraid I'll need to be filled in." McGonagall spoke up.
"You and I both Minerva." The old man agreed, though his voice faltered the slightest.
"I think I'm the reason Hermione's parents are dead." Harry piped up.
"Harry, no." Ron shook his head, pushing himself upright.
"He-he told her that someone would die if she spoke to me again and…" he trailed, feeling a bile rise in his throat.
"You spoke to Hermione?" Ginny questioned.
"I'm so sorry I didn't tell you Professor, I just thought- we just-" Harry was growing hysterical.
"Calm yourself Harry, you can ease my mind by explaining what instance you are referring to." He encouraged, voice soft.
Slowly, the Chosen One nodded, "that-that night she was taken, I collapsed, do you remember?" He asked to no one in particular, yet everyone nodded. "Well it happened again, the same night. It was him and he h-had Hermione." He took a deep breath, "she s-spoke to me through him, it made him mad, r-really mad. He told her if she did it again someone would, someone would d-die." Like Ron, tears found their way down his cheeks.
"I don't follow Mr. Potter. If this all happened at Christmas then why would he wait?" McGonagall couldn't help but question.
"Because it happened again. A few days ago."
A few gasps echoed in the empty wing.
"Even before everything, I had my suspicions about Draco Malfoy." He eyed Dumbledore carefully as he said this, but the old man showed little emotion. "Hermione and Ron thought I was barmy, but then Ron started seeing it too."
All eyes soon fell on the bed ridden boy, silently demanding an explanation.
"Mr. Weasley?" Albus encouraged.
"It started on the train I reckon, Malfoy, he well bumped into me and apologized. He seemed, I dunno- sorry? But for a lot more than that." Knowing this wasn't a satisfying explanation he continued, "then he told Katie Bell Hermione was away for a family emergency so she couldn't fulfill her prefect duties and there was just no way he'd know she was gone. We weren't even at Hogwarts when he said it."
"I see." Dumbledore said, pursing his lips.
Ron continued anyway, "Then I had these dreams, really bizarre dreams about Malfoy telling me he knew where they were keeping Hermione. It sounds mental, but I just knew there was something more to it."
Harry jumped back in, "When Hermione was able to get through to me, the only thing she said was 'Malfoy', that's when I knew it was more." The dark haired boy ignored all the astound faces and pressed on, "so we broke into his dorm." He admitted, eyeing his professors cautiously.
Thankfully, neither had the heart to scold him at the moment, both too invested in the story. The twins even took a moment to exchange a small smirk.
"In his room we found a picture. The picture had the same chandelier I saw on Christmas when I first felt him with Hermione." Harry finished.
"And I recognized the picture from being in The Prophet and Neville, he recognized the photographer's name." Ron supplied weakly.
All eyes then turned to the third boy, "Balthasar Bartolo Brimblehawk. He was a big-"
"Wartime photographer." Bill breathed from his spot.
Neville nodded, "yeah and he's got a place in Diagon Alley." Next all eyes fell on the twins.
George cleared his throat, eyes locking with Ron, knowing his brother was unconscious when their owl arrived. "Didn't want to talk to us, not at first anyway. We told him we were sent from the Order and he seemed interested, but not enough to let us in."
"Then we told him it was a favor for Augusta Longbottom's grandson and that's when he cracked." Fred jumped in.
"Don't tell me you-" McGonagall began, clearly ready to chasistize the boys for disclosing private information.
"No." Fred promised, knowing where she was going, "the second we picked up the photo and asked where it was he wrote it for us. No questions asked."
"I reckon he knows exactly what goes down there." George gulped.
The room fell silent for a moment until the crinkling of parchment cracked it.
"So this is where Miss Granger is?" Dumbledore asked, holding up the offending piece.
Harry shrugged, "makes the most sense."
"Why hadn't anyone thought of them earlier?" Ron's cracked voice asked.
"Estates like the Malfoy's and the Lestrange's are some of the wizarding world's best kept secrets. Furthermore, we had no reason to suspect the Malfoy's involvement, not with this anyway. Sources said they had much bigger things going on." Dumbledore said cryptically, not willing to reveal what Severus told him at the start of term.
And thankfully, no one questioned it, too focused on Hermione.
"What now?" Bill asked.
Everyone turned to the headmaster, knowing he was the one to call the shots. However, the old man's attention was fully on Ron.
"I believe that Miss Granger has been departed from us for far too long." Albus watched as the bed ridden ginger's eyes glossed over. He then turned to Ginny, "Miss Wealsey, why don't you and Mr. Longbottom make way to the Great Hall for breakfast. Bring some back for Mr. Potter too." He suggested.
Though they both wanted to fight to stay, they complied, knowing Dumbledore knew what he was doing, "alright. We'll be back soon." Ginny said, pulling Neville with her.
"As for the rest of you Weasley's, please join me in my office. I do believe we have a great deal of planning ahead of us, yes?" At his words, Molly let tears streak her cheeks as she let Arthur guide her to the door.
"Minerva, please summon The Order, we shall meet tonight." Dumbledore said as she too vacated the room.
Leaving just Harry, Ron, and the old professor, he turned to the bed, "I hope the next time we see each other I can offer you more than just my condolences. Please rest Ronald."
With that, he exited the wing as his robes billowed behind him.
Weakly, Ron attempted to call out but failed. Part of him was overwhelmed and frustrated at not being involved in the planning. This was Hermione after all.
Another part wanted to sob in relief at the prospect of her coming back to him. Not willing to let himself dwell on her condition.
However, he could do neither. Not when his stomach was churning terribly as the news of the Grangers death began to settle with him.
"I promised them." Is all he said, round, watery eyes finding Harry's.
The dark haired boy knew he was on the verge of hysterics.
"I promised her parents they'd see her again. How am I ever going to-" he allowed himself to collapse onto his best mate.
Harry held Ron tightly. Assuring him it wasn't his fault as he felt his body shake with sobs.
And maybe from the emotional drain or maybe from the after effects of his poisoning, exhaustion took over as he fell asleep, still in Harry's embrace.
It wasn't until Ron's breathing evened out did the Boy-Who-Lived spoke, "and I promise you, we will bring Hermione home."
Are your hearts breaking yet? I promise, the pain will all pay off sooner than you all expect!
Here's a preview:
"I'm going to get you out. Tonight." She cut right to the chase.
At this, Hermione painfully lifted her head to stare into the woman's eyes.
"W-why?" It's all she could manage, but Narcissa understood the weight of it. She's become good at reading her.
Why now? What's changed? What's coming?
And Cissy expected this. This young witch is the brightest of her age. Even beaten, violated, and under the effects of an unforgivable, she's perceptive as ever. She can sense there's been a change to warrant such urgency.
"I'm so sorry dear," she begins to cry, "your parents, they've been killed." Narcissa barely manages.
Please let me know what you think!
Keep reviewing :)
