Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or anything in the HP Universe. I simply wish to play in J.K. Rowling's playground for my own amusement (and hopefully yours too).

AN: So, finally the next chapter. The plot is moving forward. I hoped to give it to you much earlier, but work is still hell and writing time sparse. But at least thanks to your reviews and support the motivation for writing is still up. Thanks to you all. To everyone who followed, favoured and reviewed.

This chapter is beta'ed by the brilliant a-bit-of-madness, many thanks and hugs to her.

Have fun reading.

On with the story.

Chapter 14: How to irritate a certain Potions Master

The sun had gone down already when Hedwig woke up and immediately went to the water Harry had changed a little bit earlier. Then she ruffled her feathers and hopped on his arm as he held it out for her. Settling on the bed, he gently stroked her while she started cleaning her feathers.

"In some parts I am incredible curious what some of them thought reading their letters. I bet some of their reactions were hilarious, especially Snape and Malfoy's. But being there in person would have been counterproductive." A small amused smile appeared on his face before it was replaced by thoughtful expression. "So Hedwig, what do you say? Up for another round?"

Hedwig hooted affirmatively and Harry grabbed the next bundle, binding it to the leg she presented to him before walking her to the open window. A slight breeze made the warm summer night bearable.

He petted her again. "Thanks girl, have a safe flight."

Hedwig nibbled his ear, then made her way out of the window, through the bars and up into the darkened sky.

After inspecting the whole Manor, Marvolo was sure he had either to reconstruct the whole thing, tear it down completely or buy another estate somewhere. Apart from a few rooms, it was definitely not habitable. Frustrated, he stepped back into the only room with a functioning fireplace and nearly fell over Nagini, who was curled up in front of the fire.

The snake raised her head and even without the ability to form facial expressions he knew she was glaring at him.

"What is it, Nagini?" He asked her in Parseltongue settling into the armchair he had occupied earlier. For a moment he thought she wouldn't answer, she was sometimes like this, not speaking with him for days if she wasn't in the mood.

"Too cold here." Was the short reply, but then she was a snake and her vocabulary wasn't that extensive.

Marvolo looked around the room, yes, the house-elves Lucius had lent him had worked wonders but the knowledge of how the rest of the Manor looked made him sigh. The prospect of spending the evening here with only his disgruntled familiar wasn't that appealing.

"Then let's see if we can move to a warmer, more inviting place - at least for the evening." He told her when she still looked at him, clearly demanding for him to do something.

Sending one of the Malfoy house-elves to their patriarch to ask if it was convenient for him to come to the manor, he realized that he needed his own. He sighed – again - writing it on his mental list of things to do, which got longer by the minute.

A few minutes later he had Nagini trapped around his shoulders as he stepped through the fireplace to emerge in the private reception hall of Malfoy Manor, Lucius already awaiting him.

"My Lord" he bowed. Together they walked through the manor to one of the tearooms, exactly how many Malfoy Manor had, Marvolo could only guess.

"We would be delighted for you to stay for dinner, my Lord. Severus will be there as well. He was called by Dumbledore this afternoon." Lucius said after a while.

Marvolo inclined his head as they reached the tearoom. "Thank you, Lucius, I gratefully accept the invitation. Let's hear what Dumbledore said after dinner."

Nagini slithered away to the corner where the house-elves clearly had placed a heated stone under a warming lamp for her the moment both men took their seats. He heard her hiss in contentment when she settled down and felt a little guilty that he had neglected her in the last days.

They talked a little about the happenings so far and what Lucius had put together for his lawyer to build his defence on, it sounded like the Malfoy patriarch was as prepared as he could be, the only thing to do was contact his solicitor.

As a house-elf served tea, Marvolo switched the topic to maintaining a household, the purchase of house-elves, renovations and reparation agencies and he was happy to discover that Lucius had profound knowledge and interest in the real estate market. When Marvolo described to him the condition of Riddle Manor they fell into a heated discussion about the pros and cons of buying a new estate, renovating the manor, or tearing it down to build a new one.

They didn't realize how late it got, till Narcissa stepped into the room and cleared her throat.

"My Lord, Lucius, dinner will be served in a few minutes."

They followed her to the family dining room, which Marvolo would have once thought of as an insult. Now, he wasn't entirely sure why it ever would have bothered him, quite the opposite. It reminded him of his last year in Hogwarts, when the original few of his Knights of Walpurgis sat with him in the common room and discussed everything from magical theory to politics, comfortable and at ease.

"Severus will join us shortly, hopefully after he coaxes Draco out of the library. He ignored the house-elf." Narcissa said, taking a seat at the table. She sounded slightly irritated and Marvolo tried to hide his amused smile, by the look he got from both Malfoys he was not entirely successful.

"Is he still in there?" Lucius asked his wife slightly surprised.

She nodded. "Yes, he didn't leave the entire day. Whatever it is he is obsessed with now; I really hope it is more practical and successful than his attempt to brew a potion to give himself the ability to speak to animals." She placed the napkin in her lap and lifted her goblet to sip on her wine.

When it was clear she wouldn't clarify her statement Marvolo raised an eyebrow at Lucius, who sighed and answered. "If I recall correctly, he was jealous of Potter and his Parseltongue skill and thought to better him it would be logical to speak all animal tongues. To be fair, he was only twelve at that time." He shook his head at the foolishness of his son. "He managed to brew a somewhat successful potion which enabled him to speak in different animal tongues but lost his ability to make anything else than animal sounds and managed to insult all of our owls. They refused to deliver any post for over a week."

Marvolo had heard of this particular potion, not that hard to brew but an accomplishment for a twelve year, nonetheless. It only had one minor drawback that not even the best Potions Masters could improve - the drinker could not converse with animals and humans; they always lost the ability for the human language.

That wasn't the fact that surprised Marvolo. Had he heard correctly?

"Potter speaks Parseltongue?" Marvolo questioned, stunned.

Both Malfoy's nodded.

"And… you are sure of this?"

This time Narcissa answered. "Yes, in Draco's second year their Defence teacher tried to install a Duelling Club again, without success, but the one class they had Draco cast Serpensortia while duelling Mr Potter. Instead of frightening the boy, Mr Potter's Parseltongue ability was revealed."

That was certainly an interesting fact. Marvolo wondered if it was an inherited ability or if the Horcrux somehow was responsible for it. Was it even possible to transfer a magical skill? It was certainly unknown territory, never before had a human Horcrux even existed.

Thinking about it, he actually hoped that the boy wasn't successful in getting rid of the Horcrux in himself as he had said he would attempt in the letter to Severus. Not even because it was his Horcrux, but because of what they could learn, the magical knowledge they could gain. How tight was the link between the magical core of a person and the soul?

He was brought out of his musing when a house-elf appeared, trembling, beside the table.

"Tally is sorry to disturb, Mistress and Master. But Master Draco and Master Snape needing your help. They not waking up. Tally doesn't see, Tally is not knowing what happened."

Lucius and Narcissa stood immediately, both looking worried.

"Where are they?" Narcissa addressed the house-elf.

"Library, Mistress."

They were both out of the door in an instant. Marvolo decided to follow them. Severus and the Malfoy heir, both unconscious in the Library? What could have happened? Severus was a very powerful and capable wizard, and his quick mind enabled him to handle nearly every imaginable situation. He had spied on him for years without him realizing it! Yes, he had been insane for most of that time, but still…

And he had the feeling that this was somehow connected to the happenings of the last days, that it came back to the Potter boy again. He couldn't explain why he thought so, but the suspicion was there. Wasn't everything these days somehow linked to the boy?

Draco was not happy with the progress he had made. Yes, he now knew how he could get around the Truth and Oath parchment. And yes, he knew he needed Severus for this. But how exactly, that was still the question.

He certainly wouldn't jump into action and see what would come out of it. That was what a Gryffindor would do, and he was certainly not a Gryffindor!

He needed a solid plan with backup plans if something went wrong - and backup plans for the backup plans, just in case.

He ignored the house-elf calling him for dinner and turned a page in another old tome full of dust and faded, nearly unreadable writing. If he understood correctly, the writer tried to link a ward to a blood line and make it somehow sentient to prevent wizards with malicious intent towards the blood line from stepping through the ward. It wasn't mentioned if he had been successful.

He definitely didn't know enough about the Blood Wards. He wasn't sure if they could just walk into the house, or if the wards would stop them. He knew from Ha – Potter's letter- that they were anchored in his mother's blood and that they would protect him, so that he was somehow protected from the Dark Lord. But in what way? Was it an actual, physical barrier against the Dark Lord? And what about his marked followers? How specific was this ward? Could it distinguish between wizards with ill intent and those without, like the wizard in this book tried to accomplish? He hadn't enough information and that frustrated him to no end.

He was deep in another book, this time about blood magic when the door of the Library opened.

"Draco stop whatever infernal nonsense you are doing and join us for dinner. Whatever you are obsessed about now can wait till later." The voice of his godfather came over the piles of books from the direction of the Library entrance.

Only seconds later he heard a gasp.

"Merlin, Draco what have you done to the Library!" Severus sounded shocked and Draco nearly snickered as he tried to imagine the look on the man's face, as he was laying on his stomach he couldn't see the man over the stacks of books – not that he could have if he had been sitting, even while standing it would have been a challenge to look over the book mountains.

Deciding to ignore the man, he turned the pages. Sometimes they would let him be when he was occupied with what they called his 'little projects'. He scoffed, they thought he didn't know what they thought about his projects, but he knew, and they all had seemed important at that particular time. In hindsight, most of them were doomed to failure from the beginning, but you never knew if you didn't try.

"Draco? Answer me this instant and explain what you have done here and why, or you will be scrubbing cauldrons till you are of age."

Now he sounded annoyed, but so far, he didn't step further into the chaos Draco had created in the Library. He knew it was only a matter of time though, till Severus had enough and would make his way to him.

Not that it was that important at the moment.

Turning another page, he tried to decipher the archaic French text in the old book which had belonged to his family since they could trace their origins back on the mainland.

"Draco Lucius Malfoy!" Severus hissed, the sound resonating through the silent Library.

Draco knew this tone, knew that he didn't have a choice. He sighed and got up from the floor. Damn, he needed more time, he didn't have a solid plan, not to speak of backup plans.

But… he couldn't hide any longer and Severus would look through every lie he attempted. He couldn't explain the situation, but he also couldn't not explain. It seemed he had to act a little Gryffindor-ish.

Ah well, if Har – no Potter - could act like a Slytherin, he certainly could find some Gryffindor in himself, as horrible as that would be.

"I am here, Severus." He called out, placing as much boredom and indifference in his voice as he could as he stepped to the side where there was a gap between the book stacks from which the entrance was visible. Meanwhile, his mind was racing in different directions, trying to decide on his next move.

The dark eyes narrowed when he saw him, and Severus made his way through the piles and stacks of books and scattered parchment laying around.

"What do you think are you doing here?" Severus voice was flat and quiet, never a good combination and when Draco looked around, it registered for the first time the amount of chaos he had created, and how many old and valuable books were simply laying around. His father would certainly have a heart attack and Severus never had patience for messy people. Draco saw in the way his lips pinched and his eyes flickered over the book titles and notes he had made, that Severus was worried and already slightly irritated.

A combination he could work with, if he could irritate him more… Draco sighed inwardly - yes, he could irritate him more, but… was it really the right moment for it, or should he deflect?

But Severus was already irritated...

Oh well…

Recalling all the times Harr – no Potter - and the Weasel had driven Severus beyond irritation, he shrugged dismissively and answered in a bored voice. "Research."

"Research." Severus voice didn't change, but his gaze bored into Draco. "In what, precisely?"

Draco shrugged again and Severus' eyes narrowed further in irritation. He knew that his godfather hated that gesture – which was exactly why he used it now. "Oh, this and that."

He turned around and tried to sit again, but a hand grabbed his upper arm and he was spun around. Severus was now standing directly before him and looked beyond impatient, but Draco knew him well enough that he was more worried than angry.

It didn't really matter, but he needed him more riled up, needed him to believe he was hiding something big – which he did. It took a lot to get his godfather so angry, irritated or worried that he would even consider using Legilimence on him to get to the truth.

And all that, while appearing unwilling to appease the oath.

"Do not talk to me like that, Draco. You will tell me this instant what is going on." Severus leaned down slightly, his focus completely on Draco. Demanding him to talk. And despite that he had to somehow reveal what was going on, he also was slightly reluctant.

He didn't want to have his godfather searching through his mind, not only because of the pain he knew would be accompanied by it, but also because of what else he could find. Even if he only saw the contents of the letter, he would still see Draco's reaction to it, his thoughts about it, he would realize his… he didn't even know anymore what he should call what he was feeling towards Harry – no Potter. He could agree on some level with obsession, but certainly it was the obsession with an enemy, even if a small voice in his mind disagreed.

If he thought more closely on it, he actually didn't want to tell Severus at all.

But he couldn't deflect anymore, couldn't turn this around, not with his godfather standing before him. The man knew him too well, would see through every attempt to trivialise the situation.

He shrugged again and didn't miss the way Severus gritted his teeth. Now he understood why Harry – no Potter… damn... Potter! – Potter used it; it was actually a little funny that such a simple gesture could get a rise out of Severus so easily.

"Nothing of interest for you. You know… only a little project." Severus definitely didn't miss the emphasis he placed on that wording.

"And that warrants this." The man gestured around the room and went on, his voice hard but quiet. "Do I even want to know how many valuable books you have handled in that mistreating way? I would expect such an act of ignorance and neglect from most of the Gryffindors and some Hufflepuffs, but never from one of my own Slytherin students and never from you. What got into you?"

When it was clear that Draco wasn't going to answer, Severus turned in frustration to look over the books, taking in the titles and chapters at which they lay open and his scattered notes. Draco watched him from the corner of his eyes and knew the moment Severus came to the right conclusion. The man's eyes widened, and he bared his teeth when he swirled around to Draco again.

"You are researching soul magic and blood wards. Tell me did you get a letter in the last days?"

Draco's silence seemed enough of an answer.

"What did he tell you in his letter!"

"Who in what letter?" Draco kept his relaxed and bored stance because he knew it would annoy Severus even more. He had started this dance, he had to finish now, even if everything in him screamed that this would not end well.

"Potter!" Severus snarled. "He did send you a letter, telling you… telling you…" He staggered back and looked horrified at his godson. "No, he didn't tell you, why should he!"

Draco looked at the man and sneered. "Tell me what?"

Severus' face morphed into something full of hate and disdain and for the first time Draco could understand why some people were afraid of him, but he also thought how Harry – no… oh well… Harry was used to seeing these emotions directed towards him, from more people beside Severus.

"Draco, you will tell me at once what he wrote to you." Severus voice was now dangerously low, a tone every Hogwarts student knew to avoid.

Draco took a step away from his godfather and crossed his arms in front of his chest. "No. I don't even know what you are talking about."

His godfather was certainly angry or worried or whatever enough, but how now to get him to attempt to get the truth out of his mind. And had it been enough reluctance so far to appease the oath?

Severus took a step towards him, his eyes flickered to one of the books lying open on the ground, the one about oaths and medieval treaties and he stopped instantly in his movement. His gaze focused on the book and then back to Draco, realization dawning on his face.

"Truth and Oath Parchment." He whispered and Draco panicked.

This wasn't how it should go. Severus couldn't know why he was behaving as he did. He only should be angry enough to break into his mind and find then what it was all about, not breaking into his mind because he already knew what was going on.

Oh Merlin, Severus knew about the letter from Harry! Had come to the conclusion easily.

What if the oath would interpret it as Draco breaking it? He had sworn on his blood and magic. He certainly didn't want his blood and magic to turn against himself or to lose his magic or one of the other horrifying effects a broken oath had.

In his panic, he wasn't expecting the hand holding the wand, nor the other hand lifting his chin so that dark eyes could bore into his own, nor the word spoken in a soft voice.

"Legilimence."

It took him by surprise and made it easier for Severus to slip into his mind.

Whatever they'd thought they would find upon entering the library, it wasn't this.

Marvolo walked behind Lucius and Narcissa into the library, or the chaos the library had once inhabited in. Stacks and piles of books, many of which had tumbled over, scattered parchment with furious scribbles all over them and opened books were everywhere.

The Malfoys were motionless for a moment then called out for Severus and Draco.

"Here, Mistress and Mister. They are here." The house-elf called from the centre of the chaos, which looked like it was created by a stray tornado.

Severus and the young Malfoy were laying motionless on the floor only a few inches apart from each other. Narcissa and Lucius rushed to their unconscious son, while Marvolo knelt beside Severus, who had his wand in his hand.

"Draco? Draco, darling, wake up. Draco!"

He heard Narcissa behind him but paid her no mind for the moment. Marvolo gently lifted one eyelid of the unconscious man and hissed in surprise.

His black eyes were moving, his pupils contracting rapidly, as if he was seeing something and they had a slight shine to them. Marvolo knew those signs. His gaze flickered over the chaos around him, taking in the book titles and the notes he could see.

They were in a handwriting that was unfamiliar to him, but he was sure he was right when he assumed it was the Malfoy heir's script.

He heard the distinguished rustle of a wand being taken out of a sleeve holster and moved instantly.

"No!" He placed his hand on Lucius who had his wand in hand, the tip moving towards his son. The Malfoy patriarch looked afraid and unsure.

"Don't use magic on them and don't move them away from each other." Marvolo lifted the boy's eyes only to be sure, but it was as he expected, they had the slight shine and faraway look of someone who was under mind magic.

"What is it my Lord?" Narcissa asked, a slight waver in her voice.

"It is not something life threatening. If I understand the situation correctly, Severus cast Legilimence on your son and they are both now in his mind."

He got a bewildered look for his explanation.

"But… they are not holding eye contact." Narcissa's hand hovered over her son, unsure what she should do. "Isn't eye contact needed for it?"

"For an average Legilimens, yes, but Severus is certainly not average. He is highly skilled in mind magic."

"But why? Why would Severus do this?" Lucius looked from his son to his friend and back, a little horrified- understandably, as mind magic was highly intrusive.

"I would think that he found out that your son knows something, something of serious interest to Severus which he wouldn't or couldn't talk about."

Both Malfoys now looked at their son in surprise.

"What could Draco know that would be of interest to Severus?"

Marvolo looked at the boy's notes again. "I suspect that Severus and myself were not the only ones who got a letter from a certain boy in the last few days."

"Draco got a letter from Mr Potter?" Narcissa whispered, confused.

"I would assume so, yes. Severus mentioned that Potter wanted to send someone non-obvious a letter, telling this person everything, so that someone out there would have the whole truth."

Lucius blanched. "And you think Potter choose Draco, my Lord?"

Marvolo nodded. "He certainly would fit the label, and based on the research your son did here," he gestured to the books around them. "I would say yes. Your son looked into soul magic. Why else should he do this if Potter didn't tell him about my Horcruxes?"

Now both Malfoys scanned the books with interest. Narcissa was the first to speak again. "Blood wards and Oaths. Why would he research this?"

"Blood wards are easy enough. Till the events one year ago, Mr Potter was protected from any harm from me by his mother's blood. Dumbledore erected Blood Wards around his residence in the Muggle world to keep him safe there," he explained.

"And Oaths?" Narcissa questioned.

Here Marvolo hesitated, he had a good guess, but not definite knowledge or facts.

"We will only truly know when Severus and your son are out of the boy's mind again. Until then I can only assume, but I think Potter told your son some truths he wasn't prepared to know, and he bound him with some sort of Oath not to talk about it. Your son then tried to find a method to break that oath - without suffering the consequences. Severus realized this and now he is inside your son's mind, trying to break the hold of the oath or finding out what he knows this way."

All three looked down at Severus and the boy.

"Don't move them, they have to come out of it on their own. If we break their connection due to separation or magic, it could destroy your son's mind and trap Severus within it. We can only wait for now."

Narcissa called a house-elf instantly and seconds later the Potions Master and the Malfoy heir each had a pillow under their head and a blanket placed around them, to at least keep them as warm and comfortable as possible. They simply had to wait and hope that both of them would wake up with their sanity intact.

Ron paced the small space of his room in circles. He knew Hermione would wait till she was sure the adults were all gone to bed and asleep, but Mrs Weasley had sent them to bed hours ago, and he wanted – no needed to talk with her.

A quiet knock startled him out of his thoughts, he hurried to the door and let Hermione slip inside.

The moment he closed his door, both spoke.

"What do you think – "

"What should we do – "

They each broke off. Ron settled himself on his bed and gestured for Hermione, who took a seat on his desk, to speak. She bit her lower lip, then sighed.

"I think the plan for my parents to go tomorrow to check on Harry is solid, but I still worry. Is it enough? Could we do more? He sounded so …resigned in his letter. Yours have a little more emotion in them, but the one he wrote to me is nearly clinical. Despite the content, the way he wrote your letter gives more information, and if I take into account everything that's happened – not only at the Ministry – it doesn't paint a good picture. He is clearly emotionally distressed and the letters sound like goodbye letters."

"What they are. He even says so." Ron added; Hermione only huffed.

"Yes, but they sound like more like a goodbye forever. Something is nagging at me, and I can't grasp it completely." She placed her letter beside Ron's, which was laying on the desk, and read over both of them again.

"Mmh, if I pretend not to know the person writing this then…" She went quiet and Ron could see her eyes flying over the words on the parchments, her mind racing under the mass of curls.

For a while, Ron contented himself with leaning back and observing his friend. Her fingers following different sentences, the way she silently mouthed some phrases in one letter and compared it to the other one. Then she blanched and her movements were a little more frantic as her eyes flickered from one parchment to the other.

When she looked up at him with a horrified expression, Ron knew she had figured out whatever was hidden beyond what Harry had actually written, perhaps even beyond that – and it wasn't good.

"What is it, Hermione?" He questioned.

She took a breath and gulped. "If… if I read these letters like a stranger would, without the knowledge of the person writing and the person reading it, while only keep the knowledge in mind that the person writing it had suffered some trauma and showed signs of depression the last time someone had seen him… and don't fixate on the actual content, but more on the words and in what combination they are used… then I would think that the person was…"

Her hands shook slightly as she tried to smooth out the parchments before her, before she spoke in a nearly inaudible whisper. "… suicidal."

Ron, who had leaned towards her to hear better, jerked back.

"No… Harry wouldn't…" He shut his mouth with a click of teeth. His mind refusing to understand what Hermione had suggested. Then he thought back on all the adventures they had since he knew Harry and he returned Hermione's terrified stare.

"He never had great self-preservation skills…" He felt somehow guilty voicing this. "He still feels guilty about Diggory's death and the nightmares only got worse over the last year…" His mouth was suddenly very dry.

"And if he thinks that it is the only way to get rid of the soul piece in himself…"

"… he would definitely do whatever is needed. We know Harry is like that." Hermione finished for him.

The horrifying truth of what they thought their best friend had planned hung oppressively in the air. The silent dragged on several minutes, while they only stared at each other.

"What do we do know?" Never had Ron heard Hermione's voice be this small and unsure.

"We should go and check on him, this very minute. Tomorrow morning could be to late. We could floo – "

"There is no nearby connection to the floo network." Hermione interrupted him.

"Then we ask the twins to apparate us there. They would be on board. Harry is like a baby brother to them. We could go now. They are still awake I'm sure. We floo to their apartment at Diagon Alley and then we all go to Harry." He jumped up and went to the door.

"Ron… shouldn't we tell someone first?" Hermione's question stopped him.

"Who? Mum would wave away our concerns and say that we should wait till the morning to talk with Dumbledore, as if he knows everything better. They wouldn't believe us." He didn't even turn around to answer.

"But… remember the last time we took action without knowing exactly what was going on and without informing an adult."

Ron flinched when he thought about what had happened and what could have happened. They all could have died, not that it would have been the first time, but somehow being hunted by Death Eaters had been more real than trying to reach the Philosopher's stone or encountering Lupin's werewolf. Or perhaps that was because someone had died, someone he knew.

He gritted his teeth, his hand still on the doorknob. "And what of the times we actually tried to tell an adult and had to act nonetheless?"

He heard Hermione stand up and move towards him.

"Didn't we make it worse nearly every time? Without us Quirrell would never have gotten the stone out of the mirror, if we had told an adult about the Basilisk or even about Harry hearing voices in the walls, perhaps it wouldn't have escalated like it had."

"And what of third and fourth year?" He whirled around and tried not to raise his voice, despite the anger swirling through him. "Dumbledore himself told you to take actions because he couldn't and none of the adults were any help during the tournament, none of them even tried to get Harry out of it. And last year…" He clenched his fists. "He tried to tell McGonagall about the detentions, but she only told him to keep his head down!"

Hermione took his fists into her hands. "I know, I know. But still… this is too important to mess it up. What if we are wrong in our assumption? We apparate there and Harry is fine, moody and depressed but nevertheless fine. But with us hurrying there without a plan, without informing someone… we could lead the Death Eaters to Harry."

Ron gulped; he hadn't thought about that.

"And just let's assume we are right, and we arrive there just in time, do you even know what to do if he is hurt? There are multiple ways he could do it and I have a general idea of first aid, but I am not a paramedic – an emergency mediwizard."

She squeezed his hands. "Just this one time, let's listen to the adults and wait. In a few hours we can talk with Dumbledore directly. It's only a few hours. The letters don't sound like he would 'disappear' directly after sending them. And I could be wrong, I could be reading things into it which aren't there. Please, Ron, let us be sensible at least once and inform adults about our suspicion. It is not like they think everything is alright. My parents drive to Harry tomorrow morning and we tell Dumbledore. Don't act rash, I could be wrong."

Ron knew Hermione wasn't wrong, and her voice betrayed that she didn't think she was wrong either, but despite all of him screaming at him to act immediately, Ron let Hermione's reasons convince him. With a sigh, he walked past her and slumped on the bed.

"Fine, but after the meeting we are going to go to Harry, however we manage that."

Hermione nodded. "Alright. I think that if we explain it properly Professor Dumbledore will agree with us. Even he has to see that something is definitely not fine with Harry." She squeezed his shoulder shortly and went to leave his room but turned around in the doorframe.

"Don't do anything stupid, Ron. Goodnight." Hermione closed the door behind her with a quiet click.

AN: Thanks for reading. Let me know what you think.

Many thanks for a-bit-of-madness for helping to improve my grammar and spelling.

First published: 26th of May 2019