A/n: connieewing! I truly am your fan.

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Chapter Two

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Recap :

"This is not the time for jokes, Ron!" she turned him around so that they were now facing the window again.

"Look" she ordered.

Ron pressed his face to the glass- "wow, are those- are those thestrals?- hold on, I don't think I've seen anyone die as yet!"

Hermione wasn't trying very hard to cover her irritation "they're horses Ron!"

"Horses?-"

"But that's not the point!" she half-shouted "Ron, there's something wrong with this place! If you didn't notice, there's no sun!"

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"What?-"

Ron and Hermione stared at each other.

"Did anyone say 'horses'?" sounded a voice by Hermione's shoulder, making her jump.

"Joe!"

"Startled you, did I? Sorry. Now… horses. Oh, yes, horses… Come along you two, I'll show you the stables – oh but don't we have a grand stable! Go on, follow me now…" and Joe turned around and began to count under his breath as he walked.

"4, 5, 6, 7…"

"He doesn't expect us to follow him does he?" asked Ron.

Joe turned around and called out "are you both still standing there?"

"Well, apparently, he does." Ron answered himself, then followed a hesitant Hermione into the dark corridor, where Joe Blind was standing.

"36, 37, 38…"

"What's he counting? The pictures?" asked a curious Ron.

"Don't be silly! Can't you see he's blind? He's counting his steps…"

"Oh"

"61, 62, 63…"

The corridor led them to a large circular room – bare, except for a small fountain in the middle, illuminated eerily by a thin ray of light that peered through the skylight. Judging from the absence of wall windows and the gloomy depressing ambiance, Hermione suspected this was the heart of the castle.

A single long stemmed rose – sculptured to perfection – arose from the centre of the fountain.

Small drops of water appeared to grow on the grey petals, and as they watched, they slid down the smooth stone before falling off the edge, into the shallow, clear pool at the bottom.

"say, I am a little thirsty!" said the old man and he walked slowly up to the fountain, put his mouth to the edge of a petal and as Ron and Hermione watched curiously, drank exactly, two drops.

"Would you like a drink?" he asked politely.

Ron was quick to answer. "No thanks"

"How about you miss Granger?"

"It-it's not water, is it?" she asked carefully stepping closer

"Water? Oh no! Not water- but then, you don't know what it is?" he seemed surprised. "Oh well then, I should just let you have a drink and find out, shouldn't I?"

"That's alright," said Hermione, and quickly added, "I wasn't very thirsty anyway…"

Joe smiled at her. "I assure you miss, it is not poison…" he said solemnly.

Hermione regarded Joe Blind warily.

"You're sure it isn't harmful?" Her throat did seem a little parched…

"You are not going to drink that Hermione!" came Ron's voice in her ear.

"Harmful!" repeated Joe "-of course not! –Er-Well- there was this man- he visited me a while ago. You see, he drank this- water as you call it, and he really didn't seem like he was going to stop- so I tried to pull him away- now, I'm not trying to scare you dear, - its just that, he didn't stop drinking and then suddenly, he'd lost his head I think, quite upset he was, he pushed me away…and…and I heard Mrs. Hope scream- 'he jumped out the window Joe! Oh! Joe, he jumped-'…"

"What happened to him?" asked Ron a bit too eagerly.

"Well, we are on the seventh floor…"

"Bloody hell"

"I want to taste it." said Hermione abruptly.

"No!"

"There, there, Mr. Weasley, not to worry, she'll just have a drop" Joe attempted to convince a horrified Ron.

"He's right Ron, I'm sure its not going to kill me."

"No-bloody-way! Have you gone barking mad? You heard him didn't you? You know what it did to that fellow!"

"Calm down Ron! He obviously drank too much…"

"But-but-" Ron spluttered helplessly.

Hermione smiled reassuringly at him.

"I still think you shouldn't do it" said Ron with finality.

Hermione sighed, and stepped forward to the basin and promptly stumbled onto Joe-

"Careful there- oh!"

Something had wound up around her foot…

"Where did that come from?" cried Ron, pointing to a thick green creeper slowly coiling up around their legs. "It wasnt there before…"

Joe Blind somewhat ineptly, kicked it away. "oh, the dreadful thing!" he complained as he stomped and kicked blindly, "I've tried everything, I tell you, but it just -kick– wont –stomp- go -stomp- away! I'll have to have a word with Mrs. Hope about it- this ivy of envy is driving me positively mad!"

As Ron, Hermione and Joe kicked and stomped away, the cursed plant finally and very unwillingly, withdrew to a dark corner.

Hermione was panting as she spoke. "Ivy of envy, did you say?" she asked Joe.

"Why yes" he replied and moved rather clumsily to the fountain for another drink.

Hermione hesitantly stepped beside the old man.

Ron swore. "Hermione you're crazy!"

But Hermione Granger had already let the crystal drop fall into her mouth…

The saddest look came over her face for a minute and Ron, too shocked to curse, wondered, an iron fear gripping his heart, just why he hadn't stopped her.

Then suddenly, she smiled and said, "Really, I'm alright…honestly, no one died Ron!"

Just then, a voice cried from behind them "Joe! Joe!-oh!-" the elderly woman stopped running, and stood awkwardly, a few feet in front of them "Joe, you didn't tell me we had guests!"

"Abigail! I've been wondering were you were." The former spoke.

"well, I've just been over the rainbow you see- to find Fanny." Here the woman frowned. "she told me to tell you, she'll be staying over at Mrs. Clouds' today- she's taking another day off."

"Oh dear" Joe remarked, a deep furrow now creasing his brow.

"Oh dear is right!" fretted Abigail "I was hoping this wouldn't happen! What do you suppose we do with our guests?"

"Well, I've just been showing them Master Hurt's fountain." Said Joe "And they've agreed to stay for tea. So until you can manage to cook something up, I'll just continue showing them around, shall I?"

"Yes, I suppose so," agreed the woman "I'll- oh! But what a shame, I didn't introduce myself, did I? I'm Mrs. Hope by the way," she said, shaking first Hermione, then Ron by the hand and smiling warmly at them "I hope you like the castle."

Ron smiled weakly.

"You see, Mrs. Hope is in charge of supervision and decoration." Filled in Joe.

"A little unsure about herself," he added when she had left "but never quite gives up you know, I like her for that….though I do think it downright naughty of Fanny! Why I have half a mind to give her a right good spanking!"

(Ron suppressed a chuckle here.)

"Fanny - Fantasy Braid, you know, our cook. To run away like that! She does make the most delicious dishes though…I'm sorry you couldn't meet her. She's very nice, if you'd just overlook her flightiness."

"I'm sure," agreed Hermione.

"And if my calculations are correct," Joe continued, "I think we should now be heading that way- to the stables" he gestured to their left. "Come on then…1, 2, 3, 4…." Joe Blind started walking again.

"…36, 37, 38… don't stand too long at the pictures now, or we won't catch the stable boy Will, before his nap- I'm always telling him to drop that habit!- but I suppose there's just no one who can break that boy's will!"

They stepped out into the open air at last.

"Will!" Joe called out

A few yards ahead of them, behind a wooden fence, stood a tall, proud black stallion.

"Wow" exclaimed Ron.

Hermione observed the horse in muted awe "he's beautiful!" she declared.

"Yes ma'am, he is." Said a boyish voice "Aren't you Beauty?"

The horse neighed and playfully reared away from them…

"The way he acts- you'd think Beauty was just vain" laughed the boy "I'm Will Somers. In charge of the stables."

"Where's the mare?" asked Joe, coming around and sounding a little anxious.

"She's over there-" Will pointed to where a splendid white horse stood grazing lazily.

Will whistled to the animal "come here, Promise, there's someone here I'd like you to meet…"

The mare came trotting over.

Ron watched wide-eyed, as the horse put its nose into Will's hand and licked it.

"They don't- er- bite, do they?"

Hermione, Joe and Will Somers stared at Ron a moment, before bursting into a fit of laughter.

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"I say, I'm starting to get a little hungry" confessed Joe.

Hermione smiled sheepishly as she agreed with him. As for Ron, his stomach decided to do the talking, which elicited a classic roll of the eyes from his aforementioned friend.

They followed Joe down a lane to the kitchens.

"…45, 46, 47…" Joe stopped to sniff the air. "oh dear! We didn't see the garden did we?" said Joe disappointedly as they passed the greenhouses. "We have the most exquisite roses….there's Persian, Venezuelan, Armenian, Artic,…" he began counting on his fingers.

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In the kitchen, they were treated to a minor feast.

Only, the tea tasted like exotic wine and the cookies and cake left your mouth all tingly and made you want to tap your feet…

Joe, on the other hand, was actually dancing, after he took a bite of apple pie.

Ron and Hermione were careful to skip the pie.

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"Shall I show you to your rooms then?" asked Joe Blind suddenly, after tea.

"Our rooms? No, Joe, I think you misunderstood. We are not staying." Said Ron.

"Nonsense! You can't leave."

Hermione frowned. "Joe," she attempted "we did stay for tea and I think it's getting rather late now- I really think we should be going."

"Can you apparate from here?" asked Ron.

"Young man, I'm quite sure I don't understand you!" said a bemused Joe. "Come now, don't be silly, and let me show you to your rooms…"

"What-" Ron began to shout, when Hermione restrained him with a light touch on his arm.

"Ron, I hate to say this- but I think we might be in some trouble here." she whispered.

"Trouble? Bloody right you are! I don't know how I ended up here, what's worse, I don't know how to leave!...er, Hermione, what are you doing?"

Hermione was standing stiff and erect before Ron, growing steadily redder in the face.

"I'm – trying – to - apparate - "

POOF!

She let out the breath she had been holding. "It doesn't work."

"Maybe we should just ask him how to leave…" she pondered.

"Maybe we should just ask him where we are." countered Ron.

Since a mutual agreement was now in order, - "Joe!" they cried together.

But Joe Blind wasn't there anymore.

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A/n: still clueless? Don't worry, the final chapter's on its way…

By the way, if you have any suggestions on my writing style, I'm all ears…