(A/N: Hello people! I kinda completely shifted the plot. Well…not completely. But a lot. Just to warn you, this story may not make too much sense. But hey…since when are my stories actually not confusing:D Thanks to all of my dedicated (cough) reviewers:D)
"No, you cannot go in! She needs her rest, because now she has a cold!"
"Don't you have a simple potion for that? Anti-cold or something?"
"Yes I do, but it involves three hours of sleep! She only has one right now!"
"But it's really urgent!"
"I'm sorry, you can come back in a couple hours!"
"But—"
"No! Away with you, now! Go! Shoo!"
Ron was rejected from the Hospital Wing.
Harry, just out of Potions, came up to him with a bundle of books in tow. "Never—again," he grunted. Ron grinned.
"How was Potions?"
Harry glared at him. "I am never, EVER going to cover for you again. I even gave Snape a decent excuse—that you were having a chat with McGonagall about your low grades." Harry smirked.
Ron was confused. "What are you talking about? I'm getting an A in Transfiguration!"
"Snape doesn't know that. Anyway, he flared up, yelling about how your current class was your most important class, blah blah blah blah blah. Just then, however…." Harry grimaced. "McGonagall came in, asking if she could borrow a yardstick. Her wand was broken, and all it was making for her was lemon meringue pies."
Ron's jaw dropped. He mouthed words, but was so shocked that he was unable to vocalize.
"That's where things got bad. Snape thought that she needed a yardstick for disciplining you, and so he said, 'Gladly, Minerva. So you're finally taking up discipline? How many whacks will he be receiving?'"
Ron, still speechless, started to twitch.
"McGonagall said, 'What on Earth are you talking about, Severus? This is going to Flitwick. He's lost his wand again. And who is this 'he'?"
Ron choked, then finally spoke. "I'm dead meat…I'm dead…I'm dead…I'm dead…"
"Hang on, I'm not done yet."
"I'm done…I'm done…I'm done…I'm done…"
"Will you stop it? I'm not finished!"
"I'm finished…I'm finished…I'm finished…I'm finished…"
Harry, taking hold of the situation as he usually did, turned to Ron and smartly slapped him across the face.
"Thanks, mate…ow, that's going to bruise…"
"As I was SAYING, Snape turned to me with a venomous glare. 'Why don't you ask Mr. Potter?'"
"I said that I had heard you saying to Hermione that you were going to be talking to McGonagall. Snape interrupted me, asking, 'About his low grade, I believe?'
"McGonagall was surprised. 'Ron's doing fine in Transfiguration!' Snape said, 'Not according to Mr. Potter, here.' I said that I thought that you had said you were failing. McGonagall pointed her wand at me and said, 'Mr. Potter, I think that you had better come with me to my office. You have a bit of explaining to do, it seems.'
"But of course Snape said no, I was in his class right now. Then McGonagall said no, I was in her house. But when she said that, she accidentally flicked her wand at him."
Harry paused, waiting for Ron to catch on to the next bit of the story.
"What is it?" Ron asked. "Keep going, I'm listening."
Harry sighed, continuing. "A lemon meringue pie suddenly flew at Snape's face. McGonagall apologized, but then Fred and George, who were in the back, taking notes because they were behind in their class, started making pies appear and were starting a humongous food fight."
Ron gulped. If a story involved Fred and George, it involved a big punishment. "And so…?"
"I found you, and now I'm to bring you to McGonagall's office. She's going to 'have a chat' with us. Although we're also supposed to do detention for two weeks with Snape."
"You basically sold me out!"
"What are you talking about, I totally covered you!"
"Talking to McGonagall, please! I'm not a bit surprised that she found Snape. Harry, you're not supposed to use excuses that can backfire at you! Honestly! Now, if you had said that I was battling the Whomping Willow for…my life, then that would have made sense."
"What?! No it wouldn't have! We could have looked out the window and have checked to see if you really were!"
"But if you didn't see me, then you'd figure I was done fighting it and had run away, alive."
"That's a stupider excuse than mine was!"
"So you admit it! Your cover-up WAS stupid!"
"But better than yours!"
"Only by a bit, and my idea came off the top of my head!"
"Your point?"
"THINK OF A BETTER EXCUSE NEXT TIME!"
"Oh yeah? Well, next time I won't cover for you at ALL!"
"Weasley! Potter! Stop yelling in the hall and get in here right now, you two!" McGonagall instructed them from the door of her office. The two friends had barely noticed that they were at their destination.
Ron and Harry looked at each other, shrugged their shoulders, and followed McGonagall. Arguments never lasted long with them.
She sat down behind her desk. They plopped down in two chairs across from her.
"Now. What is all of this about?"
They started at the same time.
"Ron was—"
"Harry was—"
McGonagall sighed, removed her glasses, and began to clean them with a handkerchief. "Harry, you first. What were you doing, lying to Snape?'
"I was…covering up for someone."
Ron glared at him.
"By someone, you mean Mr. Weasley. All right, Ronald, where were you?"
"Skipping class…"
"Obviously. I asked for your location."
"I was at…a store…"
"Where is that store?"
"Hogsmeade…"
"And what store is this?"
Ron shook his head defiantly.
"You're not going to tell me?"
Ron shook his head again.
"You can speak, you know."
"No. I'm not going to tell you."
"Potter?"
"No."
"Ronald, why were you at this store?"
"I was buying someone something."
"I'm guessing that someone means Hermione. Am I correct?"
Ron looked away, out the window, and nodded.
McGonagall's sharp features softened slightly. "May I ask why?"
"She hates me."
Harry rolled his eyes.
Ron looked back at McGonagall. "Well…she's angry at me. For breaking her arm."
"It wasn't really you who broke her arm—" Harry started, but was cut off by McGonagall.
"How did she break her arm?"
"I pulled her off of the broom."
"In the air?!" McGonagall cried.
"Only two feet off of the ground. A Bludger was chasing us. I hadn't meant to let it out, but I accidentally undid one of the clasps and it broke free. I went into a dive, dove too low, tried to pull up, didn't want to die, and jumped off of the broom a couple feet above the ground, dragging Hermione with me."
"Hermione was on the same broom?"
"Yeah, I put her behind me. She's even worse than I am at Quidditch and flying."
"When the Bludger started to chase you?"
"Yeah…"
McGonagall finished cleaning her glasses. "I see. So you were buying her a…consolation gift?"
"I guess."
"What did you buy her?" McGonagall asked.
Ron pulled the necklace out of his pocket. He handed it over to her.
The professor gasped. "This necklace…did you get it from Silverstone?" Her eyes bored into his, demanding an answer.
Ron shrugged. "Yeah."
McGonagall was studying it closely, examining it from all angles.
Ron was struck by a thought. "Have you…seen it before?"
She shook her head quickly, almost too quickly. "No…no, I've only heard of it. It is supposed to have mysterious power. Odd power. It's quite famous, but for…the wrong reasons. There are many enigmatic stories somehow involving it, but it always gets lost somehow. Then it will turn up again."
"Oh." Ron wasn't really interested. Harry was soaking up all of the information, though.
"It's called the Necklace of Atlantea," explained McGonagall.
"Wouldn't it be the Necklace of Atlantis?" Harry asked.
She shook her head. "No. Atlantea is clearly written down, but it's like playing that Muggle game…Telephone, I believe? Somehow the Muggles misinterpreted the name of the 'Lost City', but they're intrigued and fascinated by the story behind it all the same. If they knew the true name, they would probably have rediscovered it by now."
"What kind of stories are this necklace involved in? What's happened?" Ron yawned. Obviously McGonagall wasn't going to punish them, so why was Harry prolonging their visit to her office?
"People have…disappeared before. But of course, it's simply rumors." McGonagall sat up straight, her normal self again. She handed the necklace back to Ron. "I'll let you off the hook this time, you two, but don't expect this to happen again."
Ron nodded eagerly, reclaiming the necklace. Harry rose thoughtfully, pondering what he had just heard.
What if something happened to them?
Or…
What if Hermione disappeared?
Ron would never forgive himself if that occurred.
………………………………………………………………………………………………
Ron was in the Common Room. Only five more minutes to go until he would run down to the Hospital Wing and present Hermione with the "Necklace of Atlantea". He snorted. What bloody nonsense. Enchanted necklace? Mysterious rumors? Disappearing people? Yeah, right. That was all hogwash.
Lavender came up to him. "Hey..." she said slyly.
Ron looked at his ex-girlfriend. "What is it, Lavender?"
"Well, Won-Won, I was just thinking…" She giggled. "I miss you…"
Ron rolled his eyes. "I'm right here."
She giggled again. "No, silly, not like that. Like…boyfriend and girlfriend, miss you…"
"NO."
Lavender looked surprised at his loud refusal. "What?"
He stood up from his seat. "I SAID, NO!"
"Gosh, why are you getting so angry?" she replied.
"Just STOP bugging me!"
"Fine, geez! I can almost understand why Hermione hates you…" Lavender said, walking away.
Ron exploded. "SHUT UP!" he roared. Lavender whirled around, frightened. Looking him up and down quickly, she hurried up to the girls' dormitories.
Ron fell back in his chair, feeling drained and exhausted. Harry came out of the boys' dormitories. "What is it?" he asked. "I heard you shouting from up there!"
Ron closed his eyes for a brief second, then asked quietly, "She doesn't really hate me…does she?"
"No. Just stop it, okay? I talked to her before, and I'll say it again—she does NOT hate you. That necklace, Ron, should more than compensate for a little broken arm. She's just a little annoyed, but keep in mind that she's a girl. She'll love your gift of the 'Necklace of Atlantea', or whatever it is."
Ron opened one eye. "You think so?"
Harry grinned. "I KNOW so."
"Well then...what am I waiting for?" Ron jumped up, smiling once again.
"I have no idea," Harry replied. "Voldemort to change his evil ways? You might be waiting a while, if so."
"Nope," Ron said, already heading for the portrait door. "I'm waiting for love."
