A/N: Well, here's the next chapter! Sorry about the delay, folks. Hope you like it!

Disclaimer: Our's? No. J.K.'s? Yes. As alway has been, and ever shall be.

13. - The Reunion

In which Ron's search finally comes to an end.

The rabbit didn't stand a chance.

"Stupefy!"

Ron didn't kill it, since he didn't think Hermione would like to drink blood from a stiff. He would simply have to re-stun it if it woke up.

It was strange, he mused, how quickly he had grown used to the idea of Hermione being a vampire. At first he had been upset, of course, but by now it didn't really matter to him much. He was going to see her again; she wasn't dead – well, technically she was, but not in the ways that mattered…

After having stunned a second rabbit he started to make his way towards the manor. The sun had only very recently set, and it was growing colder by the minute. Perhaps he should help Hermione escape from that dungeon after all? He knew it wasn't part of the plan, but he didn't trust the old Malfoy. The goblin thing was probably a trap. Harry and Ginny thought so too. Why on earth had he let them go there?

It was too late to stop them now, but not too late to help Hermione. If the old Malfoy decided to go back on his word, they had to be able to make a quick exit, so he might as well free her from wherever she was locked up while the house still liked him. If it came to a confrontation between him and Malfoy, he suspected that the building would probably not be on his side. But for the time being –

He stopped abruptly. He had been so lost in thought that he hadn't noticed where he was going. His feet had taken him to the manor on their own accord. Now, as he gazed up at it, it seemed more sinister than he remembered it, either because it was in far better repair than it had been, or because of who lived in it. Since the Malfoy was still alive, the almost sentient feel – the aura of active malice – was much stronger than it had been, or was going to be, at the turn of the millennium.

Suddenly the whole plan seemed a lot more dangerous than it had before. But, Hermione was trapped in that house, so…

He cleared his throat.

"Good evening, oh work of artistic wonder," he said. He thought it seemed prudent to spread it thick. "I, er, see the garden is… spectacular. If you would let me in so I could take a look…?"

-

Well, that was easy, Ron thought as he walked along the hallway. He would really like to find Hermione first, but didn't know where to start searching. However, he did have an idea of where the invisibility cloak was.

As he sauntered through the portrait gallery he noticed a distinct lack of paintings. Only the old Malfoy himself adorned the wall. He supposed that the others he had seen would be brought there by later generations who would attempt to make themselves at home.

Hopefully the secret storage room had been installed.

He drew his wand, pointed it at the portrait and muttered a silencing charm. The portrait blustered noiselessly as he removed it from the wall.

"Puniceus!" he whispered.

The wall slid open, revealing the secret hideout which looked exactly like it had when he had left it at the beginning of the 21st century – except that the time-turner and the wristwatch were still there, and indeed, Harry's invisibility cloak. Ron quickly grabbed it and stuffed it into his bag. Then he paused.

He wondered what would happen it he took the wristwatch. It was still working after all, and maybe Harry would need it… but he had to leave it there for himself to find in the future, didn't he? Or did he?

There was no way of knowing. In the end, he decided to leave it where it was. He did not feel like pushing his luck too far.

When he bent over to pick up the portrait, which was lying face down on the floor, he noticed something was missing. After examining it for a while he realized that the word puniceus was nowhere to be found. Perhaps someone else would write it down there later… but then again, perhaps not. He couldn't take any chances.

Realizing he didn't have a quill with him, he murmured an incantation under his breath, causing a thin ray of heat to emanate from his wand, and, holding it like a pencil, he scorched the word into the frame. Then he lifted the painting and hung it laboriously back on the hook.

Afterwards he stood still for a long while, looking at the place on the frame where he had written the password and wondering how on earth he could have known it in the first place.

"Did I just create a paradox?" he asked himself out loud.

"Well, I don't really know what you're doing, but I wouldn't be at all surprised," said a dry voice.

He whirled around.

"Hermione!"

"Ron!"

Before they knew it they were in each other's arms. Hermione quickly pushed him away, however.

"No, Ron, you need to keep away from me."

"What's wrong?"

"Ron… don't you – don't you know…?"

"Oh, that. Right. I'm sorry."

Hermione buried her face in her hands.

"No, don't, I didn't mean – wait," he said awkwardly. "I've brought you something. Here."

He handed her the rabbits, and she emitted a sound between a laugh and a sob.

"You're so sweet, but they're disgusting you know. Oh well," she said, and sunk her teeth into one of them, sucking up the blood with obvious relish. Ron looked away.

"Um…" he said after a while.

"Wait, I'm eating!"

"Okay…"

"All finished now," she soon said, hiding the carcasses behind a suit of armour and wiping her mouth. "Ron, you're really here, you're really here – how did you figure it out?"

And she was in his arms again, holding on for dear life.

"Long story. Ginny came too, and Harry's been let out."

He explained the Malfoy's deal with Harry.

"How could he believe that?" she said, letting go of him. "It's bound to be a trap!"

"I think so too, but I don't know what to do about it."

"Well, we have to hurry! We should get out! No, wait, we can't, can we. The house is on his side. And if it's not a trap that means we'll be breaking the agreement and we won't get the potion. But if we all stick to the agreement," she said before Ron could open his mouth, "Harry will be stuck in here forever! We can't stay and we can't go!"

"Don't panic," said Ron, who was growing more and more alarmed. "There has to be something we can do. Come on, you and me, we work well together. We'll come up with a plan."

Hermione was silent for a moment, frowning. Then she heaved a small sigh.

"We don't need to think up a plan, Ron. It's obvious. We have to go and help Harry and Ginny, if we can… and forget about the potion."

"But Hermione – are you sure?"

"Of course I'm sure, it's the only thing we can do," she snapped. "We can't possibly trust Malfoy. We'll just have to forget about the wedding and everything. But how are we going to get out?"

"The way I got in. I'm sorry," he said, looking up at the ceiling, "but I can't stay longer. It's been a great visit, and I really admire your amazing style – you don't often find granite like this. I wish we could stay, but we have to leave now."

"Ron, is this some sort of joke?"

"Why, don't you think the house is fantastic?" he grinned.

"Ron…"

"Yes, you're fantastic, aren't you? Vibrant and almost radiant."

Suddenly a door materialized in a wall right next to them.

"Thank you. That's helpful," he said, grabbing Hermione's arm and dragging her outside.

As soon as they had closed the gates behind them, Hermione seized Ron by the shoulder, forcing him to stop in his tracks.

"What was all that about?"

"Hermione, not here!" he glanced towards the manor. "I'll explain when the get to those trees. And let's not forget; you have some explaining to do as well."

"What?"

"Like why you left without telling me, for example. You can think about that while we get to those trees."

With that, he marched of.

Once safely shielded from prying eyes, Ron stopped, turning around to look at Hermione.

"Well?"

"Oh, no you don't Ron. I asked you first."

"About the house? Well, that's easy," he said carelessly. "Just ask it nicely and it'll help you."

"How did you discover that?"

"By trying it out. Now it's your turn. Why didn't you tell me about all this? Don't you trust me?"

"I do trust you, it's just… I didn't want to tell anyone."

"No, of course you didn't. You just told Harry…"

"I had to! He walked in on me drinking blood from a ferret!"

"But what made you think you'd be able to pull of something like this on your own?"

"I was desperate, Ron! It was the only way! You've never had to deal with anything like this, you have no idea what it's like-"

"I thought you were dead for two weeks! Do you know what that was like? I thought you were dead!"

"I – well, we were supposed to come right back! We weren't supposed to get attacked and fall off the cliff and break our time-turner and get trapped by that Malfoy!"

"You honestly never took it into account that Malfoy might not be too happy to see you? Or that… well… anything could have happened!"

"Obviously we did, but I left you that note, didn't I?"

"Yeah, that stupid note! All it ever said was that you'd travelled back in time! Nothing about where, or when, or anything that could help us track you down!"

"I wasn't in my right mind, it's just that…" her voice shook. "We can't get married now. You know that. This whole thing is over anyway. Now Harry and Ginny are in trouble, and it's all so stupid! I never should have come. I should have realized I wouldn't get the potion anyway."

Her shoulders slumped in defeat.

"No. Don't say that," said Ron hastily. "You had to give it a try… it's, well, it's the logical thing to do… sort of… anyway, we'll get Harry and Ginny out of there, and then we'll make Malfoy give you that potion. It's four against one."

"Ron," said Hermione, with a watery smile. "You know that's impossible."

"Why? I think we've faced worse odds. We can do it."

"I suppose we could try," she said, chuckling.

"Of course we can. And if nothing else, we'll go down fighting."

She beamed at him, and grasped his hand.

"No, I won't let you do that," she said firmly. "But lets find Harry and Ginny, and maybe together we'll come up with something. Now, where did they go?"

-

"You mean you don't have any idea at all?"

"Well, I'm sorry, but Harry forgot to tell me and I didn't think to ask."

"Well, go figure."

"What was that?"

"Nothing, darling – but wait. I think I heard something."

They stopped and held their breaths, listening hard.

Suddenly Ron took hold of Hermione's hand and exclaimed, "Look! That's light reflected in the water!"

They didn't waste a moment. Ron started running, and nearly got his arm tugged out of its socket when Hermione, who was still clutching his hand, rose into the air and began to fly towards the mouth of the cave.