Chapter Ten: Too Close

I lay, sprawled out, on my lumpy bed, in the disgusting hotel room we had managed to get. It was – surprisingly – even more disgusting than the one we had last time. Don't Muggles ever clean?

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Hestia bustling around, tidying everything 'til it was just right. If I looked just behind her, I could also see Lupin standing, almost invisible, in the corner, appearing to be in deep thought.

I chewed on my lip, suddenly feeling a bit sad for him, despite my still-remaining anger. He hadn't even gotten a chance to speak with Harry; Hestia had turned up so shortly after. If I hadn't seem someone I practically considered a son for over a year and all I got to say to him was 'hello' I would be in a mad rampage right about now. But then again, that could just be my heightened emotions talking.

But right now, my thoughts were mostly on Ginny. Most had interpreted her fainting as a sign of overwhelming joy at their arrival – but, well, I knew better. Poor Ginny. I wished I could be there.

"We should do something," announced Hestia, who had finished tidying everything and was currently pacing the room.

I chewed on my lip, and stared up at the ceiling. Hestia was not going to make me get up right now – I was quite comfortable just laying here in silence.

Lupin tried to reason with her, "It's eleven at night right now, I doubt –"

"You think You-Know-Who stops plotting and killing because it's night?" squeaked Hestia in protest. "No. I didn't think so. Now, I vote we go and do something!"

Great. She 'votes'. Now we have to go. I sat up, quickly let my hair down out of its ponytail, and then flopped back down on the bed. Hestia was not making me get up.

---

I cannot believe Hestia made me get up.

I apparently don't have any willpower. Really, I sadden myself. I sighed, and aimed the beam of light from my wand at another patch of darkened ground. A fat, balding rat sniffed at me and then ran off into the distance. I scowled, and turned to Hestia.

"Let's go back," I said shortly. A drop of rain fell onto my nose, and I hastily brushed it off. I hate the rain.

"Tonks," she rolled her eyes, and pointed her wand right at my face, causing me to blink and look away. Cheeky cow… "Stop complaining. We're doing something good here."

I looked over at Lupin, partly because I was waiting for him to back me up, and partly because I was still trying to avoid the blinding light from Hestia's wand. He shrugged, and I glared, swiftly turning on my heel, and walking into the darkness.

I clenched my wand tighter into my hand as I quickened my pace. I had to get away from them. I couldn't breathe, and I couldn't think.

Suddenly, I heard rustling noises to my right. I stopped, and span around, wand pointed at the source of the sound.

At first, I saw nothing, and I turned back in the direction I had been headed. But then I heard it again. It was a small kind of shuffling sound, something a small rodent would make. I looked back at the source of the noise, and I narrowed my eyes. Then I saw it. A flash of brown raced through the tangled weeds and down onto the road, scurrying past

my feet.

I gasped, and quickly followed it, running hurriedly through the grimy plants, and over the muddy ground. Each step grossly produced a loud squelching sound, and I was sure that if I hadn't been moving quickly, I would have sunk in.

Finally, I saw the creature in front of me halt to a stop, and I suddenly got a good look at it. It was a rat. I groaned and shook my head. I had run into what looked like some kind of bloody cave because of a rat. The creature squeaked, and I looked at it again. Wait. I narrowed my eyes, and fell down to my knees to get a better look at it. This wasn't any rat. It was the rat I saw before.

The rat looked at me with watery eyes, and for a moment I thought it was smirking at me. It slowly approached me, and I tensed. Something was off. Something was really off. I held my breath, and felt my skin pale as I realized what it must be.

In total dread, I slowly looked down at the rat's foot.

It was missing a finger.

---

A/N: Mwahah...please R&R! Also, if a beta reader is someone who checks for grammatical and spelling errors, I desperately need one! Is anyone interested?