No excuses, please forgive me . . .
This is chapter 3 . . .
Then the little girl returned.
She stood in front of him like someone out of Ginny's battered copy of Mary Poppins. Her hair hung in two long plaits over her shoulders, their pale tone a stark contrast to the dark grey of her simple, knee-length dress. In her left hand, she clutched a worn teddy bear.
All in all, Ron thought that she was probably about 10 years old when she . . . .
. . . . died . . . .
"Excuse me," he began. Now that he was over the initial shock, it was obvious that she wasn't a very scary ghost, all things considered. He hoped. "Hello . . . have you seen my friend? She ran down here but I think I've lost her now," he continued gently, the last thing he wanted was to startle the girl - she was his only lead.
"The pretty lady?" she said, her voice high pitched but surprisingly strong for someone so insubstantial.
Ron nodded encouragingly. "Yeah, that's her. I need to find her . . . she's very scared at the moment . . ."
"She doesn't have to be scared anymore. She's safe now" monotoned the girl.
"What do you mean?" asked Ron, slightly freaked by how expressionless her face had suddenly become.
"She's safe now. Nothing will ever hurt her again."
"What? . . . . Where is she?" Ron was almost shouting now.
"Why do you care?"
"She's my friend!"
"No she's not. She's my friend now. She doesn't need you anymore."
"NO!" yelled Ron, he was angry and scared and confused, and he had to keep reminding himself that punching a ghost would do him no good at all. "What have you done with her?"
But the little girl just laughed, before spinning around running away up the corridor.
Ron gave chase, hoping against hope that she would lead him to wherever she was keeping Hermione without sliding through any walls or locked doors.
His luck held, and after five exhausting minutes, Ron rounded a corner and was confronted by one of the oddest scenes he'd ever seen - Right there, in the middle of a labyrinth of dank and dark dungeon corridors, was a child's nursery. An actual nursery. With toys and things. Huh.
And in the corner . . . .
"HERMIONE!"
Please review . . . lovely people xxx