Hey! Hey! Hey!….I have nothing to say. Read! Enjoy! LEAVE ME A COMMENT WHY DON'T YA?

Chapter 14

'What the hell am I doing out here?' thought Hermione as she walked silently through the corridors of Hogwarts school.

It had been 40 minuets since Ron left to find Malfoy. For a while Hermione and Harry sat patiently in the hospital wing quietly talking about recent events. Pieces of the puzzle were still missing. There was no way Voldemort could be working on his own this time. There was no way Voldemort could know all of this personal information about Harry, about Hermione, about the Order of the Phoenix, without having an inside source. Also, how could he have become so strong that he could talk through Harry. There was no way. No, he had to have an accomplice. Someone….somewhere.

Hermione shook the thoughts out of her head. That was a frustration for another time.

After a while Harry and Hermione became worried. It had been over a half an hour and still Ron had no come back.

"I'll be right back. I'll just go pull him out of trouble. Probably got his foot stuck in a toilet or something Ron-ish…" said Harry, grimacing as he sat up.

"No, you stay. You're still weak. Malfoy could easily kill you with even the simplest of spells." Harry shot her a look. "Ok, maybe he couldn't kill you, but he could do some serious damage. You know you have to record for most trips to the hospital wing?" Harry laughed. Hermione smiled back at him. "I'll go."

Harry stopped laughing. "No" he said simply, forcefully. "It's too dangerous"

"Oh Harry grow up. Like you said, he's probably just gotten side tracked. I just have to find him and bring him back." she got up from bed and slipped her shoes on.

"No" said Harry again "Hermione, Malfoy is stronger this year then he's ever been. And after what happened here, I don't want to think about what can happen when there's no one to help you out if he did anything to hurt you." He grabbed her hand and pulled her back.

"I'm find" she said. "I've got my wand." She leaned down and kissed him. "I'll be back before you have a chance to miss me" she walked towards the door.

"Hey Hermione!" Harry called as she reached for the doorknob.

"What?" she turned around and looked back.

"I miss you" he smiled.

It was still dark outside. The stone corridors rung and echoed with each step. Hermione walked towards the Slytherin common room, or at least where she remembered it to be. She had reached the dungeons in a few minuets and began to get worried. She expected she would have found Ron on his way back to the hospital wing. Could they be somewhere else?

She began to hear voices to her left. One sounded distinctly like that of a former platinum haired ferret, the other belonged to her red haired friend. They were cursing and shouting incantations frantically without yield. Hermione broke into a run, following the voices.

Hermione rushed around a corner and found herself right in the middle of the battle. She only had time to look to her left and scream before she was blinded by a white light. Everything went black for a few minuets until she opened her eyes groggily and saw she had been tossed to the side of the hallway. The battle was still going on!

"Stop!" she croaked. No one heard her. Her voice was only a feeble whisper. She reached back into her pocked. Mustering all her strength, she pulled her wand at Malfoy and shrieked "stupefy", before falling back, her whole world gone fuzzy. She willed herself not to pass out.

The yelling around her stopped. She could hear Malfoy struggling to her left, feeling the vibrations as he thrashed about the floor. She felt beating vibrations too, and realized that it was rushed footsteps. Ron stopped beside her and dropped to the floor.

"Hermione, are you ok?" he yelled, panicky. He ran his hand over her forehead and down through her hair.

"I…don't know" she whispered. Ron could barely hear her. He reached down and grabbed her hand. She squeezed it slightly. He slowly picked her up in his arms and began to walk towards the stairs.

" MMFFF!" came a sound behind them. Malfoy was thrashing about on the floor, apparently thinking that it was Ron's responsibility to put him right.

"Don't worry ferret breath. I'm sure your friend will find you down here in a couple days" he smiled and continued up the stairs.

Harry began to get worried. It had been 20 minuets since Hermione left. Ron had been gone for a fill hour. What was happening to them? Had they both found the same ill fate? Harry got up and began pacing. As much as he hated to admit it, he knew Hermione had been right. Harry was too weak to be able to do any good. He slammed his hand down on the bed-side table feeling totally helpless.

"Damn it!" he shouted, mentally kicking himself for hurting his hand. He sat back down on his bed, head in hands. He flopped back on his back and ran his hand through his hair. The room was so quiet. So eerily silent, he could even hear his own heart beat….

Wait a minuet, that wasn't his heartbeat. He sat up. It was footsteps, someone coming down the hall. Someone running. Harry picked up him wand from the bedside table, pointing it at the door.

The door burst open. Harry's arm stiffened and his hand tightened its grip on his wand.

"Harry help me, I don't think I can carry Hermione any longer" Ron panted as he ran through the door. He dropped to his knees, shaking. Hermione fell from his arms and sprawled on the floor.

"What happened" said Harry, as he jumped from his bed and ran to them.

"Malfoy…he got her" Ron's breathing was shallow and he found it difficult to talk.

"What he hit her with?" Harry bent down and tried picking Hermione up. He was weak and it was a big strain on him. He stood up on wobbly legs and began walking back to his bed.

"I don't know" said Ron, frantically. He hadn't gotten up yet.

"Oh, this is bad!" said Harry getting frustrated.

Ron grabbed Harry by the shoulders. "Just calm down mate. Just chill. It's ok. We just have to get madam Pomfrey, she'll fix Hermione, and it'll all be ok. You just sit down, I'll go get her.

Harry sat Hermione down in bed and grabbed her hand. Madam Pomfrey rushed in a couple seconds later, pulling on a light blue bathrobe.

"…and then he hit her with a white light. She passed out for a few seconds and then she was really weak, and then she passed out again" Ron was saying as he rushed in at Madam Pomfrey's heels.

Meanwhile, Dumbledore paced downstairs in his study. A few candles were lit around the room that flicked in the dark night. Dawn would be here in a few hours.

"What are you proposing professor?" asked Lupin from a small chintz chair in the corner.

"I think you know exactly what I'm proposing Lupin." said Dumbledore, a bit irritated from lack of sleep.

"Yes, but surely he's not powerful enough to-"

"I think he's more powerful then anyone has realized yet" Dumbledore interrupted.

"Shall we tell them then…" asked Lupin as he stood up.

"No no, they've had enough of a night. I've just gotten word from Poppy Ms. Granger got in some kind of row with Mr. Malfoy and now she's upstairs in -well somewhat critical condition." Dumbledore sat down, exhausted. "Let their normal life's get back in order first. It's been a long night for all of us."

And indeed, the night had grown warily wrong. Madam Pomfrey had shut Ron and Harry out of the hospital wing while she examined Hermione. It had been 15 minuets since they left.

"I can't believe like 2 hours ago I had to go pull her out of a tree" said Ron, absently scuffing the toe of his shoe along the ground.

"She was in a tree?." asked Harry.

Ron recapped the night's events before Harry had woken up.

"So what happened with you and Malfoy?" asked Harry once he had finished.

"I just roughed him up a bit, that's all. We got into a bit of a row. That guy is strong mate. He just kept going and going. Barely even broke a sweat. I probably wouldn't have lasted much longer if Hermione hadn't come and broke him down." said Ron, his voice straining as he finished.

"Leave it to Hermione to beat you out of something even when she's close to unconscious." said Harry.

Madam Pomfrey opened the door as they started laughing. Ron and Harry stopped and stood up tentatively.

"She's awake. It was a simple incantation, fairly easy to fix, but it's left her rather weak, mind you." said Madam Pomfrey quietly.

"Thank you" said Harry, a bit relieved.

"Please, don't leave the hospital wing again. I can't seem to keep up with all your injuries anymore and you're not even close to recovered yet" she pointed to Harry. He felt recovered, a bit weak, but ok.

"Thank you" repeated Ron as they rushed into the hospital wing. Hermione was in the bed next to Harry's, laying on her back with her eyes closed.

"Oh, she fell asleep." said Ron, disappointed as they approached her.

"I'm not asleep" came her quiet response.

"Hermione" whispered Harry. He sat next to her and stroked her hair. "How ya doing?"

"Pomfrey says I'll be ok." said Hermione, eyes still closed.

"Good" said Ron, relieved.

"Night sweetheart" Harry told her. "I'll see you in the morning."

Harry suddenly felt very tired, all adrenaline fading from his system. He crawled into his own bed. Ron sat down in a chair between their beds.

"I'll probably just stay here till breakfast." he told Harry. Harry had already turned around in his bed, trying to sleep.

"Mhhm" he said quietly. He was fast asleep in a few minuets.

Ron leaned over to Hermione. "I'm here if you need anything, Hermione." he said, stroking her hair.

Hermione reached out and grabbed Ron's hand, not letting go for the night.

OK, YOU KNOW THE DRILL. YOU READ, YOU REVIEW. IF I GET 15 COMMENTS FROM MORE THAN 9 OR 10 PEOPLE, I'LL HAVE THE NEXT CHAPTER DONE BY TUESDAY. MUAHAHAH THE POWER OF THE COMMENT. IF YOUR JUST LEAVING A COMMENT TO TELL ME THAT I DID SOMETHING WRONG, THEN IT DOESN'T COUNT, BECAUSE LETS FACE IT, THAT WOULD BE A LOT OF COMMENTS.

THANK YOU ALL FOR READING! NATALIE LUUUUVVVVVSSSSS YOU!