A/N: Hey to all. I am so sorry it took me so long to update. I was gallivanting about this weekend at Haunted Houses and birthday parties. Sorry again, but read on to see what happened to Hermione…
"Why. Didn't. You. Help. Her. Neville?" Ron bit off the words as though he was fighting not to hit the clearly disheveled Neville.
Apparently, Neville realized Ron was restraining himself from possibly causing him bodily harm, and he back away from Ron.
"I-I tried. I s-swear, Ron. I c-couldn't find her. She c-couldn't hear me. I c-called her name over and over, b-but she just kept screaming for you, Ron. S-so I did the only thing I c-could think of."
Ron bolted for the door shouting behind him without stopping, "You coming, Harry? Ginny?"
Harry peered at Ginny, who was white with worry. Harry, too, felt his insides churning with concern. All the possible scenarios in which the ever-cautious Hermione could have been lured in to a trap and kept there rushed through his mind. He grasped Ginny's hand and followed after Ron.
"Harry," Ginny whispered as they tried to keep up with Ron's sprint, "He's gone mad. He will do anything to find her. Harry, he was going to hit poor Neville."
"I know, Ginny," Harry said, catching up to Ron, "It's ok. We'll find her."
Harry wasn't sure if he was speaking to Ron or Ginny or himself, but he meant it. They would find her.
"The seventh floor," Ron said, his jaw set, "You know what that means?"
"The Room of Requirement," Ginny breathed.
"But, that means that…" Harry was recalling his own troubles last year in getting to Malfoy when he had no idea what Malfoy had conjured the room to do. How were they going to get to Hermione if they didn't know who had put her there or why?
"Yeah," Ron snapped, "I don't know how, but I'll get to her."
Harry looked at Ginny who looked back with fear in her eyes. They didn't speak for the rest of the assent to the seventh floor.
Reaching the seventh floor right across from the familiar tapestry was the blank wall that would reveal the Room of Requirement should one know how to conjure it up. There was absolute silence.
"I don't hear any-" Ginny was cut off by a strangled cry intermingled with sobs.
"No! Ron! Oh, God, Ron!"
It was Hermione's voice.
"I'm here, Hermione!" Ron shouted into the wall, "I'm right here!"
"Ron! Please, Ron! No! It can't be! Ron!"
Ron paced back and forth in front of the room. Harry and Ginny stood back, watching. Ginny grasped Harry's hand in a death grip. She looked as scared as Harry felt. Harry knew that Ron was thinking, willing the door to appear to lead them to Hermione. After several minutes of nothing, Hermione's voice trailed off, and only muffled sobs were heard. Ron ran at the non-existent door, beating it with his fists, yelling in frenzy.
"Let me in! Bloody hell! You bloody stupid door! Let. ME. In!"
He slumped against the wall, his face white.
"Ron, we'll get to her. I promise," Ginny said, "Maybe we should tell Lupin. I mean, he's looking for her anyway. We should tell him that we found her."
"We didn't find her, Ginny," Ron managed to say in a strangled voice. He held out his hands in front of him, "She's not here right now. We've done nothing!"
"Get up, Ron," Harry said, taking charge, hiding the fear he, himself, felt, "We have to go to Lupin. We have to figure out who put her here, and what they asked the room to turn into. It's the only way."
"It was Lavender, wasn't it?" Ron said, latching only to the last part of Harry's assessment.
"Lavender's mean, Ron, but I don't see her putting Hermione here just out of jealousy," Ginny said slowly.
"Didn't you just finish lecturing Harry on how horrible Lavender was going to be. 'Keep an eye on her' you said. And I didn't. I failed her."
"Ron, snap out of it," Ginny said in a surprisingly firm voice, "You can't give up before you've started."
At this, Ron sprang up from his slump against the wall, and moved briskly down the stairs. Hermione began to call for him again, and Ron stopped in his tracks, turning back. Harry and Ginny moved as one toward Ron, forcing him back.
"Ron, we can't do anything for her by sitting here," Harry said.
Ron adopted a fierce expression, "No. I'm going to find out who did this. I'll get her out."
Ron walked rapidly in the direction of the common room. Harry really thought he should alert Lupin to the developments.
"Ginny, follow him. Make sure he doesn't do anything stupid. I'll be right there," Harry whispered into her ear.
"Where are you going, then?"
"I have to tell Lupin. He has all the teachers searching for her. I think he should know we've found her. Besides, someone's bound to be on the seventh floor at some point and they'll hear her."
Ginny nodded, looking over her shoulder at Ron. She spoke, not in a worried voice, but with a strong, deliberate tone, "Be careful Harry. There's something here now. It could be after you next."
Harry smiled weakly, "I'll be careful."
He kissed her full on the mouth, indulging in a pure moment of happiness before turning back to horrid thoughts of his best friend being tortured just a few floors above.
"Go," Harry said.
Ginny turned and followed Ron. Harry headed in the opposite direction, towards Lupin's office. Luckily, he ran into Lupin before making it twelve paces from where he left Ginny.
"Harry, have you found her yet?" Lupin's voice was strained.
Harry nodded, "Yes. She's been put into the Room of Requirement."
Harry began to explain the room and all it entailed, but Lupin held up a hand to stop him.
"Really, Harry, you think I went to school with James and Sirius and didn't find that room. I know what it does. And I also know that this is not good."
"Professor, we can figure this out, can't we?"
"Harry, listen very carefully. Tell no one about this. We're going to close off the seventh floor. If we alert the culprit that we know what he or she has done, Hermione may be in even greater danger. Continue on with your activities as usual. The teachers will meet after dinner to discuss this. By tomorrow morning, we'll have a solution. I promise," Lupin placed a hand on Harry's shoulder.
Lupin gave Harry a reassuring smile. Harry was not so sure that Ron was not already tearing up the common room interrogating everyone there. He nodded, "Ok, professor. I should get back to the common room."
Lupin smiled and called, "And Harry, tell Ron that we'll get her back. She'll be ok. Make sure he's not wreaking major havoc."
Harry nodded again, and headed to the common room. He was met with a scene that would have been funny had Ron not been so clearly distressed, on the point of breakdown. Ron was frantically attempting to climb up the slide that had materialized in place of stairs up to the girl's dormitory.
"Lavender!" he was shouting, "Get down here! I know you hear me!"
Ginny rushed at Harry, stopping right in front of him, "Harry, I had him under control until right before you came in. Harry, this," she indicated Ron's meltdown, "is horrible. I've never seen him act like this."
Harry couldn't stand to watch this, but it seemed that every Gryffindor in the common room could. They were all watching Ron with the same fascination with which people view a train crash. Lavender came out of the girl's dorm looking confused. Her eyes lit on Ron, clawing at the smooth marble shouting at her.
"What's up with you?" Lavender asked in a dismissive tone.
"You! I know you did it! What did you do to her?" Ron shouted.
Harry decided that now was the time to intervene. He pulled Ron away from the slide, with some difficulty.
"It's nothing Lavender. He's just upset over something. It's nothing to do with you, really."
Pulling a struggling Ron away, Harry whispered in his best friend's ear, "Ron, we have a plan. Calm down. Lupin reckons we shouldn't broadcast the fact that Hermione's trapped upstairs."
"You told Lupin?" Ron asked. Now that Harry had him seated in an armchair by the fire, people continued to stare at Ron.
"Go on, then!" Harry shouted, waving the attention of his classmates away. Neville, however, moved tentatively closer to Harry, Ginny, and Ron.
"Harry, I didn't tell anyone else. What happened?" he asked timidly.
"She's gone. It's my fault," Ron muttered. His face was slack now. He looked as though he no longer had the energy to function.
"What?" Neville exclaimed.
"No, Neville, she's not gone," Ginny said placing a comforting hand on Neville's round shoulder, "She's trapped in the Room of Requirement. Don't worry; she'll be fine."
Neville nodded, "Ok, I have to go-dinner. I-well-Hermione's going to be all right?"
Ginny gave him a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes, but was, nevertheless soothing, "Yes, Neville. Thanks to you. If you hadn't come and got Ron, we may have gone days without finding her. Thank you."
Ron seemed to come to himself long enough to say, "Yeah, thanks."
Neville hobbled away, and Harry called him back saying, "We should keep this quiet. The teachers are putting together a plan of action, but we need to make sure this doesn't get out."
Neville gave a short nod and walked away. The common room had emptied now that Ron's little performance had been cut short. Everyone had gone to dinner. Ginny sat on the floor leaning against Harry's legs, and holding Ron's limp hand in hers from the chair across from her.
"Ron, look, I talked to Lupin," Harry started, not really sure if Ron was absorbing anything he was saying, "He said they were closing off the seventh floor, and not to tell anyone about Hermione. He doesn't want to alert the person who did this to the fact that we know where Hermione is. We don't want him/her on guard. So, just keep it quiet. They said they'll have a plan by morning."
"Morning?" Ron said, gaining some color in his cheeks, "Harry, she could be dead by morning. Whoever put her there is going to come back sooner or later. He might've been in there with her. Who knows what they're doing to her…I've never heard her shout like that, Harry. Never. She could be gone. And I wasn't there. I was three bloody feet away and I COULDN'T GET TO HER!"
"Ron," Ginny breathed, getting up and pulling her brother into her arms, "This is NOT your fault. Get yourself together. We'll get her back."
Ron pulled away, and shook himself as though to rid himself of the grief he felt.
"Right, well, what does Lupin suggest that we do now?" he asked with not a little sarcasm.
"Well, he told me to tell you that we'll get her back and not to wreak too much havoc," Harry said, "But having failed to prevent that, he said to go through our regular activities."
"Sure, let's go eat while I think about my girlfriend being subjected to torture, calling out to me, and I'll be enjoying a nice kidney pie."
"Ron," said Ginny reprovingly, "Harry and Lupin are right. We have to go on with our normal routine. Maybe we'll notice something that could help us find out who did it."
Ron stood, "Well, let's go then."
"So, we're going to get no emotion now," Harry sighed.
"Yes, well, when it comes to mood swings, Ron is the reigning champion," Ginny said, "But at least there's a cause here. Let's follow him down. I don't trust him right now. He's liable to jump at the first person walking by."
Sitting at dinner, the three watched every person in the hall, watching for signs. Harry kept looking up at the staff table. He felt a pang that Dumbledore's death hadn't entrered his mind for several hours. That triggered the thought that he had been planning to show Ron, Hermione, and Ginny that memory in the Pensieve later this week: in the Rom of Requirement. He wondered whether he'd ever be able to enter that room again. Watching Lupin speaking to the other teachers, they all seemed very subdued. Harry was jolted from his thoughts by a snide, high pitched voice behind him.
"So, Potter, having another vision? Trying to get someone else killed? I don't know that you could do better than Dumbledore, but I guess when you start at the top, it's hard to top that."
The voice belonged to Slytherin girl Pansy Parkinson.
"I wasn't aware that you were back, Pansy. Tried to close the gates on you, and you slipped right through them, didn't you?" Ginny said with a sneer,
"I missed the train, so I missed the feast. Not that it's any of your affair. I just came by to say that you'd better watch yourselves. The Dark Lord will empty the prison sooner or later," Pansy said in that obnoxiously shrill voice.
"Is that a threat?" Harry asked.
"Oh, don't worry, Harry, she just wants her little Malfoy-toy back. Though it must be said, Parkinson, he treated you like rubbish. Don't know why you would want him back. He spent more time plotting against the Muggle-borns and Dumbledore than he spent paying attention to you," Ginny said in a pleasant tone that belied her words.
She had struck a nerve. Pansy screwed up her face in anger.
"Ooh, you look better that way, Parkinson. Let me freeze it for you," Ginny fingered her wand in her pocket.
Harry knew she would never pull a wand on Pansy in the Great Hall, but, as he suspected, Pansy pulled hers.
Pointing the wand low so that the teachers couldn't see it, she muttered, "You'll get yours, Weasley. Your good looks and hero boyfriend can protect you all the time. And he," she pointed at Ron who was sitting in silence, "doesn't really seem to be the over-protective brother, does he?"
Ron started in his seat, and looked at Pansy. His face reflected serious thought going on as he stared at the wand Pansy held. He looked down at the pocket of her robes, but said nothing. Pansy sneered and walked away with a look of malice on her face.
"Ginny, you shouldn't have done that," Harry said.
"Please. Harry, I could hex that girl coming up behind me from a mile away. Honestly, she's the worst witch I've ever seen."
Harry knew Ginny really could take care of herself, so he nodded. But he would be on his guard. Suddenly, Ron gave a shout.
"There were two-and one was-I know now! It was-" Ron spoke in angry bursts, not finishing one thought before he bolted up to rush from the hall without a word to Harry and Ginny.
"He has been dating Hermione for too long," Harry sighed, "We'd better follow him."
"I'm getting really sick of chasing him around like a hound," Ginny said, panting as they caught up with Ron who was headed in the direction that Pansy had gone.
"Would you so kindly finish at least one of the thoughts running through your thick skull?" Ginny questioned as they drew level with Ron, who did not stop moving to explain.
"She had two wands," Ron said simply.
"Gonna need more information, Ron," Harry said beginning to get frustrated.
"Parkinson had two wands. The wand she pulled out wasn't hers. The one sticking out of her pocket must have been hers."
"And this would indicate…what? Ron, I'm lost. Help me out," Ginny said.
"She pulled Hermione's wand on you. She knows where Hermione is. She took her wand." Ron stopped short, catching Harry and Ginny off guard and they kept moving, unable to stop. They threw on the brakes and turned around.
"Hermione's up there being tortured and she doesn't even have her wand!" Ron's face distorted in anger.
"Ron, c'mon, we'll go get Lupin, and he can question Parkinson," Harry said, logically.
"NO! I am not leaving her up there for one more second when I can find out NOW how to get to her. You two don't have to come, but I'm tracking that witch down!"
"Of course we're coming, Ron. We're just as worried about Hermione!" Ginny said, moving forward again, "Well, come on. We want to catch her before she goes into the Slytherin common room, don't we?"
The three moved towards the dungeons before realizing that they should have caught up to Pansy already.
"Where could she have-" Ginny started.
"She's upstairs." Ron stated bluntly, and took of in a run.
Moving as quickly as they could through every shortcut they'd learned in their many years at Hogwarts, the three managed to cut Pansy off right in front of the Room of the Requirement.
"You!" Ron yelled, pulling his wand out and pointing it right under Pansy's chin.
"Ron!" Ginny yelled.
Harry silenced her. He didn't think Ron would seriously hurt Pansy, but he might if someone attempted to stop him.
"Ah, Weasley! Got a bigger spring in your step now, have you? You were a bit like a snail at dinner tonight," Pansy sneered without a trace of fear.
"Just tell me how to get in, Parkinson, and I won't hurt you," Ron said through his teeth.
"Figured it out did you? I realized too late that I'd pulled out the Mudblood's wand instead of my own. I saw you recognize it, so I can up here. If she's dead, I wanted to dispose of the body before you got here-"
Ron pushed his wand into Pansy's skin, his voice enraged, "She's not dead! I don't care why you did it, though I guess you think you had reason. I just want to know how to get in. I. WILL. HURT. YOU."
It sounded so believable and frightening. Harry knew Ron would do it, and he didn't want his friend to become a killer. But, he saw a flash of fear on Pansy's face, and knew that she would tell Ron what he wanted to know.
"I asked for a room that would scare Granger…to death. A soundproof room that's impossible to get out of from within," Pansy said in a strangled tone; Ron's wand was impairing her breathing.
"Watch her," Ron shoved Pansy at Harry as he pace din front of the room, repeating in his thoughts what Pansy had told him.
"Malfoy always cared more about plotting against Granger than he did about me. I wanted her to pay. She helped put him in prison. You'll all pay," Pansy shrieked as the door appeared to the room.
"Why is it that whenever you guys are found out when you're doing something horrible, you feel the need to monologue?" Ginny wondered aloud before placing the Petrificus Totalus spell on Pansy and following Ron into a dark, dank room. On the floor, as Harry had witnessed once before at Number Twelve Grimmauld Place, was a dead Ron.
"How?" Ginny asked.
With a flash, the body turned to a dead Ginny. This was Harry's fear, and he knew that this was a boggart.
"Ridikulus!" he shouted and the body was gone in a flash of light, "It was a boggart," Harry whispered, "But I'm guessing Hermione didn't know it."
Ron looked over in the corner where Harry had nodded. He rushed to the seemingly life-less body, and Harry moved in that direction as well. Ginny put a hand on his arm and drew him back, shaking her head. This was Ron's time.
Near tears, and shocked beyond comprehensive thought, Ron pulled Hermione's limp body into his arms,
"Hermione, no…come back to me."
Memories flashed through his mind: the first time he met Hermione on the Hogwarts Express, when he and Harry saved her from a troll, when she had been Petrified and he had thought he would die for fear. And now, she wasn't just petrified. The girl who had sent birds zooming at him in an attack of jealousy he should have recognized was laying limp in his arms. He should have told her sooner that he loved her; he shouldn't have wasted last year with Lavender when he could have been with her.
Clutching her tight and rocking her, Ron couldn't let himself cry. All he could think was that if he'd been a bit earlier…
"Ron! Oh, Ron! You're alive! You're alive!" Hermione had woken from a self-imposed sleep and her voice trembled with tears. She turned in Ron's arms and melted into them.
"I thought you were dead," Ron said hoarsely.
"Pansy-she t-told me in this really horrible voice that she'd heard you calling f-for help in this room. I d-don't even k-know where I am. I j-just rushed in here to help you and the door locked and you were dead. Over and over you died. I thought I was going to die, Ron. I thought I was going to die."
"Shhh," Ron stroked her hair and lifted her face to his for a kiss that made Harry nudge Ginny and they looked down at the floor in discomfort, "I'm here. Hermione, I thought you were dead, too. You were yelling for me, Hermione. And I couldn't get to you. I was three feet outside that wall, and I couldn't get to you. I would have hammered it down if I could."
"It wouldn't have done any good," Hermione sniffed, "The charm placed on this room would have held up and you would have just found rubble of an empty wall. I read about this charm last year after we found the room. It's called a hidandsek charm-"
Ron cut her off with another kiss and a smile, "Glad to have you back, Hermione."
They cuddled together in oblivion as Harry and Ginny moved out to fetch Lupin.
A/N: This was a LONG one. But fun to write. Hope you liked it. One big thing: I've had a lot of response to the fact that Harry told Hagrid what his plan was. I want to clarify that all Harry told him was that he would be leaving school early to visit his parent's graves. That's also all that Mrs. Weasley was told. They assume he'll be searching for Voldemort as well, but no one other than Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny know o the Horcruxes. Just clearing that up! Oh, and I must must must recommend the amazing fic by lurv2boogie! It's AMAZING. Check it out if you can. Please, please, please review.