Disclaimer: I don't own H.P. Or any other of J.K.'s characters. The plot and original characters are my own. No money is being made...
A/N: Sorry about the short chapters, but I haven't a lot of time to write anymore. I do plan on them getting a bit longer again. Thanks for all the reviews and helpful comments!
Chapter 8 True Friends
Hermione sat next to Ron on the small couch in the Weasley's living room. The freckled, red headed gangly boy who had made fun of her in first year was now not only her best friend, but her boyfriend. She was trying to explain a complicated transfiguration spell, but kept getting distracted by the loud sighs that kept emanating from Ron. He was less than happy about what he'd heard concerning Harry.
Tonks had told Mr and Mrs. Weasley about the confrontation the Order'd had with Harry at the Leaky Cauldron. Since then, Ron had been worried. He just knew that his best friend wouldn't desert him for those slimy Slytherins. Would he? He wanted to go out and find Harry, but Hermione insisted that they should leave it to Dumbledore and the Order. Ron knew that that was a mistake. Harry would be out finding adventures and getting even more famous, and Ron would be stuck here missing out on all the fun!
"Ron, are you going to keep sounding like a slowly leaking tire? Or, are you going to concentrate so we can move on?" Hermione asked exasperatedly.
"'Mione!" Ron whined, "Harry's out there having all the fun! Why do we have to stay here and do homework? It's not fair!"
"Ronald Weasley! I'm surprised at you!" shouted Mrs. Weasley, "Poor Harry is out there probably being held captive by those nasty Malfoys, and you're here whining like one of them!"
"Mum! I'm not whining!" Ron shouted.
"Ronald, that's enough." Mr. Weasley said quietly as he entered the room from the kitchen.
Ron huffed loudly and stormed from the room. Hermione just shook her head and stood up to follow.
"I'm really sorry," she mumbled on her way out.
Ron stomped his way up the stairs, causing them tremble frighteningly, to the room that he had shared with Harry a couple of weeks each summer. He was in such a fury that he ripped apart the twin sized bed that his best friend usually used when here. He was randomly grabbing and throwing things around the room when he noticed a picture of him and Harry laying on the floor broken.
"You stupid git! How could you leave me here with a house full of obnoxious idiots and a know-it-all bookworm?!" Ron raged at the picture as the harry behind the broken frame kept trying to peek around the broken glass.
"I'm sorry that you feel that way Ron." Hermione whispered from the doorway. Crystalline drops were beginning to slide down her cheeks.
"'Mione!" Ron gasped in surprise. He stood up to go to her, but Hermione pulled her wand and pointed it at him.
"Don't. Just don't. I thought you cared for me. Just stay away from me." Hermione said in a deadly calm voice. Her wand never wavered from Ron's chest. She spun abruptly on her heel and ran back downstairs, tears streaming down her crumpled face.
"'Mione, wait! I'm sorry! I didn't mean it! Please-" Ron yelled as he ran after her.
"Whoa little brother!" Fred reached out and grabbed Ron by his collar.
"Where do you think you're going?" Added George, gripping Ron's arm.
"Get off!" Ron yelled loudly. "I've gotta go after 'Mione!"
"We-thinks you should be staying in your room for now Ronniekins. Wouldn't want any of the family's idiocy to rub off on you!" growled Fred as he let go of Ron's collar and grabbed his other arm.
The twins proceeded to frog march the enraged and bright red Ron back to his room.
"So, you heard that did you?" Ron asked, afraid. "You know I wasn't talking about you two."
"So, you were talking about Mum and Dad and Ginny?" George asked with a raised brow.
"We'll be sure to let them know!" Fred grunted as he shoved Ron into his thrashed room.
"Mum and Dad are gonna be mad about this!" George squealed.
"Let's go tell em!" Fred hollered as he dashed down the stairs followed closely by his twin.
Ron raged some more at the audacity of his brothers. Then he flung himself down on his bed and gave into the angry tears he had been holding back so far.
Hermione ran down the stairs not stopping for anyone. She heard Fred and George accost Ron in the hall and used the time they gave her to dash out of the precariously balanced house.
Once she reached the end of the wards on the Weasley property, Hermione apparated away. She didn't know where she was going. She just had to get as far from Ron as possible.
Unfortunately, she appeared in a very strange place that she had never been. Wiping angrily at the tears still falling from her reddened eyes, she looked around warily. That was when it hit her. She was standing in Stonehenge. Her parents had brought her here when they found out she was a witch. They thought it would be nice to take her somewhere that she might identify with.
Now, Hermione stood in the center of the large circle of stones and got the oddest feeling that she was being watched. Looking all around herself, she held her wand tightly waiting for something to happen. What did happen she was in no way prepared for.
A tall, muscular man with long dark hair appeared before her in a swirling silver mist. He was absolutely gorgeous! Hermione was speechless. She didn't lower her wand, but she also couldn't form a coherent thought. She could only see him in profile, but was entranced nonetheless. When he turned around and fully faced her, Hermione dropped her wand. It couldn't be!
"Hi, 'Mione," Harry said softly as he held his arms open to her.
Hermione didn't hesitate. She flung herself into her best friend's arms and sobbed uncontrollably. Harry just held her close. He figured that she'd heard what had happened at the Leaky Cauldron yesterday. Although he hadn't expected to feel a tug from Merlin's resting place just as he'd transported the Malfoys and Snape away. The tug caused him to shift his destination, and he ended up leaving the three at the Manor once again. With a swift apology and a promise to "be right back", Harry returned to Stonehenge.
He wasn't sure what he expected to find, but it sure wasn't Hermione standing with a raised wand and tears streaming down her face.
"'Mione, what's happened?" Harry asked worriedly. He was afraid that something had happened to Ron or Remus.
"It's Ron, Harry," Hermione sniffled as she pulled out of the strong arms that had held her.
"What's happened to Ron?! Is he okay?" Harry was becoming frantic.
"Calm down, Harry. There's nothing wrong with Ron except the fact that he his a jealous, heartless pig!" Hermione was fuming. She told Harry all about what had happened. Harry was hurt. He'd always thought Ron was a bit jealous, but he'd never thought it was this bad.
"C'mon, 'Mione," Harry held out his hand to her. "I'm going to take you to meet my new friends and family. There's a lot I need to explain."
Hermione took Harry's hand and nodded that she was ready. Once again, the silvery purple mist rose up from the ground to swirl about them for a moment before they disappeared completely.
The muggle man who just happened to be walking by on the road couldn't believe his eyes. He would later tell his wife and children about the two people who had disappeared in a puff of smoke in the circle of stones known as Stonehenge. They would laugh, but he'd know what he'd seen.
Remus sat down heavily on the bed in the room that had been Sirius's before that night over a year ago. Nothing had been changed since that day. Remus couldn't bring himself to take the old posters and pictures down. It would be like taking Sirius away again.
Laying back on the bed with tears falling silently down his hagard face, Remus sighed. He could have sworn he'd heard Harry calling to him, but he was quite drunk. It was probably wishful thinking. Harry wouldn't want anything to do with him now. It was Remus's fault that Siri was gone. Harry had to blame him for it. How could he not when Remus blamed himself so completely.
Sitting up again, he accio'ed another bottle of firewhiskey from the cellar downstairs. As it came hurtling through the doorway Remus reached out for it, but it never made it to his hand. Something caused the bottle to stop in midair.
"Wha?" Remus was floored. He'd never seen that happen, and he'd seen quite a lot in his days.
He stood up to investigate with his wand raised at the bottle.
"Are you going to curse me?" a familiar voice chuckled. "I wouldn't have come if I'd known that a bottle was going to try to hit me in the head, and my honorary godfather was going to curse me."
Remus dropped back onto the bed. He must be hallucinating and hearing things. There was no way that Harry's disembodied voice was speaking to him. He did have an invisibility cloak, but you couldn't apparate inside Grimauld Place. Yup, he was drunk and losing his mind.
"Moony?" Harry asked in concern as he pulled off his invisibility cloak. He hadn't wanted to scare the old werewolf, but that bottle almost smacked him fully in the face.
"You're not really here. You can't apparate in here. I'm having a drunken hallucination. And frankly, I don't like it. You're probably here to tell me how much you hate me for killing Siri. I don't blame you. It was my fault. If I'd only agreed to let him come with me, he'd still be alive. He would have seen you with his own eyes, and no-one would have been tricked by He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. So, go ahead. I'm not sure I'll remember it in the morning, but you can say what you came to say."
Harry was unable to speak for a full minute. Remus thought he was here to blame him for Sirius's death? Why? It wasn't Remus's fault! It was Dumbledore's fault! He'd kept all the information from Harry. Dumbledore was the one who wouldn't let Sirius out of his house!
"Moony? I don't blame you. I came here because I felt that you needed me." Harry whispered. The smell of alcohol was so strong on Remus that Harry had to try and block it from his senses. Amazingly enough, it worked.
"You're real?" Remus gasped. "You're really here, Harry? You came because I needed you?"
"Yeah," Harry said softly. "C'mon, Moony. Let's go. I have some people I want you to meet, and Hermione's waiting too."
"Okay, Harry. But first, can you cast a sobrietus on me? I can't do it right now." Remus was slurring and stumbling as he stood again, so Harry obliged.
"Better?" He asked with a lopsided grin.
"Much. Now, shall we go? And you can explain a few things to me." Remus cast a scourgify on himself before walking towards Harry.
"Take my hand." Harry said with a smile. "I have something to show you."
Remus reached out and took Harry's hand. His eyes popped wide open as he watched the mist gather around him and Harry. Then, they were gone.