For disclaimer please see prologue.

A/N: Please forgive my lack of updates but I was a bit sick and not really able to form a coherent thought. I am perfectly fine again now, which means that the next chapters will be coming weekly once more now. Thank you all for your support and merry Christmas to you:)

-----

Chapter 04: A Day Among the Thestrals part 02

------

Ron Weasley recoiled in barely concealed fear as he stared up at the misty sky. "Oh, bloody hell."

"I second that," Pansy agreed in a thin voice and grabbed his arm for support. "Let's get away from here."

"Right," Ron breathed. Ron took back a slow, tentative step – as if being afraid that making too much noise would alert the pair of dementors to their presence - and then another one. Flying off was not an option, since the risk of feinting and falling to their deaths was simply too high. Therefore there was only one way out from the spectator's stands – the narrow staircase at the end of the long benches. "Follow me," Ron whispered and grabbed her hand. "We need to…"

"No!"

Ron turned to the Slytherin girl. "We have to! We…"

She shook her head violently, sending her short brunette hair flying. "It's blocked," Pansy breathed in a shaky voice and pointed to the dementor which had landed ion front of the small door. "We're trapped. We're…oh Merlin, stop it. Stop it. Stop it. Stop it." She hid her face in her hands and sobbed soundlessly as long-repressed memories overwhelmed her.

x

Ron swore. "Parkinson, get a grip. You need to keep it together now!" This, of course, was easier said than done since his own knees were trembling with fear. "Pansy…"

Ron swallowed hard as he suddenly found himself back inside Hogwarts castle, fighting the invading Death Eaters; Hermione, Neville and Luna by his side. There was so much chaos. And Dumbledore died and…"No!" The Gryffindor shook his head as if trying to shake off the painful recollection of those traumatic events. "This is just a memory! It can't hurt me!"

x

Ron was surprised to find himself on his knees, still clutching his beloved broomstick in one hand. With trembling fingers he did the one thing he should have done from the very beginning – he took out his wand. "Ex-expecto…" A feeble mist shot out of his wand, only to vanish an instant later. "No, no, no, no, no…," Ron muttered with growing panic. This couldn't be happening! He couldn't…

A soft whimper reached his ears. "Pansy?"

The girl lay motionless on the ground, whimpering quietly. Ron's eyes widened as he noticed the dark figure that stood…hovered…whatever, next to her and bent down to…

In an unexpected rush of adrenaline Ron suddenly found himself on his feet again, running directly at the dementor. "Expecto patronum!"

A silvery-white mist shot out of his wand and formed a translucent Jack Russell terrier. "Get them!" Ron shouted and the dog charged while Ron came to a screeching halt next to the barely-conscious girl. Ron clumsily cradled her against his chest as his Patronus chased off the remaining dementor in a most satisfying way. Ron, feeling not a little proud of himself, smiled, then more or less gently brushed the girl's hair out of her face. "Pansy. Pansy, are you awake?"

She moaned quietly and blinked. "Do you honestly think I'd answer you if I were unconscious?" she whispered and rested her head against his chest. "Stupid Gryffindor."

Ron rolled his eyes. "Yeah, you're welcome."

x

xxXxx

x

"Sitting in front of the fireplace in the common room with a warm, comfortable blanket." Hermione Granger spoke into the growing darkness of the Forbidden Forest.

Next to her Theo thought hard before replying. "Reading a good book and wearing some of Pansy's self-knitted woolen socks."

Hermione stopped and looked quizzically at the Slytherin. "Parkinson knits?"

"Only socks. She takes socks very seriously."

"Not unlike Dobby," Hermione smiled and – upon seeing the confused look on Theo's face – she added, "One of those poor souls who are enslaved by our society."

Nott blinked at her and eloquently said "Huh?"

"A House elf, Nott!"

"But they're not en-"

Hermione bristled. "Are you trying to tell me that House Elves like being used that way? Without proper insurances or sick leaves or old-age pensions?"

Theo regarded the girl next to him as if she had suddenly grown a second head. "Erm…yes?"

"Yes?" Hermione grew agitated. Just when she had convinced herself that the Slytherin might be somewhat tolerable, he went and said something like that. "You can't be serious! Have you ever heard of S.P.E.W.?"

"Spew?"

"Not spew, S.P.E.W." Hermione proclaimed very slowly as if speaking to a little child. "The Society for the Promotion of Elvish Welfare."

Theo gave her a dubious look and quietly put a hand on her forehead as if checking for a fever. "Are you all right, Granger? Should we take a rest?"

She frowned. "Your social conscience isn't very strong, is it, Nott?"

Theo gave her a lopsided smile. "My conscience isn't very strong per se."

She rolled her eyes and huffed. "I noticed that. Speaking of noticing, don't you think this place looks kind of familiar?"

Theo looked around and swore in a way that made Hermione blush in indignation and hiss a sharp admonishment at him. "It looks familiar, all right. Because we've been here before." He sighed in defeat. "We've been walking around in circles for the past hours."

Hermione bit her lower lip in frustration and peered into the growing darkness. The fog had intruded further into the forest and she could hardly see any further than a few trees. It had also grown significantly colder and she was very grateful for the additional warmth that the aggravating Slytherin next to her provided.

"What do we do now?" Theo asked, giving their surroundings a look that spoke of deepest loathing.

Hermione grinned despite their dire situation. "We should stay here and wait."

"Wait for what? For the werewolves to find us?"

The Gryffindor gave him a patient look. "There are no werewolves in the Forbidden Forest."

"Are too."

"Are not and…"Hermione took a deep breath. "Look, Nott, there's no point in going on. We'd only walk around in circles or – even worse – manage to stumble even deeper into the forest. Under these circumstances, considering the growing fog and the fact that we can hardly discern where we're going, the logical option is to remain here and wait for the teachers to find us. Anything else would be a waste of energy."

Theodore sighed beside her. He knew she was right, but spending a prolonged amount of time in the Forbidden Forest – without his wand, mind you! – did not sit well with him. He gave her a pitiful look. "But what if the werewolves find us first?"

"Nott," Hermione started complaining in an exasperated voice, then stopped as she saw his grin. "You're just doing this to annoy me, right?"

"Right."

Hermione rolled her eyes and nestled deeper into the cloak. It really had grown remarkably cold.

x

xxXxx

x

"They're gone!"

Minerva McGonagall had been enjoying a quiet day. So far, at least. "Who's gone?" she asked wearily as she peered over the wires of her square spectacles.

The two men in front of her, breathing heavily as they had just ran through the corridors of Hogwarts and barged into McGonagall's office, was Hagrid and Professor Slughorn, whose face was still remarkably purple from the effort.

"Theodore Nott!"

"Hermione Granger!" The men panted simultaneously.

Minerva raised an eyebrow. "Together? I find that rather…unlikely."

"Well, they did. And I was only gone for a minute and when I came back they were gone and…" Hagrid started, only to be interrupted by an agitated Horace Slughorn.

"They had detention and were supposed to…"

Minerva pinched her nose against the impending head-ache and then held up her hands. "Gentlemen. Gentlemen."

They kept chattering.

Minerva sighed and closed her book with a loud snap. "GENTLEMEN!"

That shocked both of them into silence, Minerva noticed with a hint of a satisfied smile. "Now, let's start again from the beginning." She quickly held up her hands again as Hagrid and Slughorn opened their mouths. "One after the other. Horace, what happened?"

The small, chubby professor moaned melodramatically. "They were serving detention near the Forbidden Forest and then…"

Hagrid noisily wiped his nose on a large, spotted handkerchief. "I was only gone for a few minutes and when I came back they were gone! They must have…"

"Yes, yes," Slughorn interrupted the other teacher, "There's really no other explanation for this. They must have gone into the Forbidden Forest."

Minerva sighed. This made no sense. She knew Hermione Granger and she knew without a doubt that the girl was far too sensible to do something that stupid. And even if something had driven her into the forest Hermione knew enough spells to find her way out again. If something hadn't prevented her from using that knowledge, that is, the Head Mistress thought with a growing feeling of fear in the pit of her stomach. She raised her eyes and fixed Slughorn with a stern glare as the short man nervously shifted his weight from one foot to the other. "Anything you'd like to add, Horace?"

He stopped guiltily. "Well, Minerva, actually there is." He laughed nervously. "You know, they didn't want to co-operate at first, so I put a Connecting Charm on them and..erm…"

"And what?" Minerva asked in a low voice and slowly raised herself from her chair.

"And…I kind of…I…I confiscated their wands."

The Head Mistress fell back onto her chair. "Are you telling me that two of our students are out in the Forbidden Forest? Since the morning? With no wands and no means of protecting themselves? While we're expecting Death Eater attacks every moment?"

Slughorn and Hagrid looked defeated. "Well, yes."

Minerva closed her eyes. "Merlin," she moaned, "as if we didn't have enough problems." She pressed her lips into a thin line and forced herself to remain calm. Worrying didn't solve problems, acting did. She sighed heavily before addressing her colleagues again. "Well, at least it can't get much worse than that, right?"

At the exact moment the door was slammed open a second time and a rather wet and terrified looking Ronald Weasley (followed by Pansy Parkinson, who looked just as miserable) came in, dripping mud all over the carpet.

"Professor McGonagall," he panted, "There are dementors on the grounds!"

-----------------------------------------------------------