As Time Ticks Away
Chapter Six
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"Harry, have you seen Hermione? I've searched the whole house and can't find her anywhere." Ron had been searching for nearly an hour and he had yet to find his girlfriend. It wasn't like her to disappear when she was at the Burrow. Normally, she would be found reading in the room she shared with Ginny, but now she was nowhere to be found.
"I can't say that I have. I saw her this morning at breakfast but that was it. Have you checked outside?" Harry questioned his red-headed best friend.
"I did mate." Ron looked worried. "You don't think she overheard our conversation, do you?" The thought had crossed his mind but he thought that he was over exaggerating. He had put a silencing charm on the door, or so he had thought.
Harry looked perplexed. "I thought you said you cast a spell so she couldn't," Harry responded as if he had read Ron's mind.
"I don't know if you've noticed this mate," Ron started, "but I'm not the best when it comes to casting spells. That's Hermione's department." His face dropped. "What if she did hear us talking? What if she ran out? What if she's hurt?"
Harry tried to calm his best friend down, but he had made a good point. Spells were never Ron's forte. It wasn't that he doubted the red head's abilities, he just wasn't the most skilled and it was very likely he mispronounced something. "Let's go outside and look for her. Maybe she didn't go very far."
Still looking defeated, Ron nodded his head and ran out through the front door with Harry on his tail. "Should we split up?" The redhead asked. Just then, they heard a cry off in the distance. The two boys looked at each other gravely, fear crossing their faces, and reached for their wands. "Which way did it come from?"
As if in response, another cry was heard. Harry took off first, knowing Ron would follow him without any words. Thoughts kept crossing through both their minds. The scream was obviously a female's and it sounded like she was in pain. Both boys knew who it was deep down, but refused to believe it until there was physical proof.
Ron started to pass Harry, his longer legs making him faster. It wasn't much longer until the duo stopped running. They hadn't heard a sound for a few minutes and weren't sure if they were still going in the right direction.
"HERMIONE!" Ron shouted, hoping that someone would respond. But time passed and there was no sign of life. "What do we Harry?" The red head's voice was a cry for help, not only for him but for whoever it was out there. "I know it was her. We have to find her, she sounded hurt."
"I know Ron, I just don't know what to do." Harry was beginning to lose hope. They had been running for 5 minutes and could no longer see the Burrow. The grass was too high to even see something or someone, it was possible that they had already passed her. Just then, another cry was heard, only this time it was weaker. The sound came from somewhere behind the boys. Immediately, they turned around and separated, trying to pinpoint the source.
Harry was the one to find her. Hermione's eyes were half closed. She was crying and whimpering. Her fists were clenched, her back was arched, and her face was wet as well as dirty. She didn't seem to notice that Harry was kneeling next to her.
"Ron! Over here!" He shouted. "Hermione can you hear me?" Harry asked placing a hand over her tightly closed fist. Ron rushed over and immediately grabbed a hold of Hermione's other hand.
"Hermione, we're here. Please be okay." Ron couldn't hold in his emotions. His girlfriend was suffering in front of him, from what he didn't know, and he didn't know what to do to comfort or help her. He lifted her head into his lap and wiped the tears off of her face. She looked beautiful to him, even at the worst of times. Gently, Ron kissed Hermione's forehead. It was then that he realized that she was burning up. "Harry, feel her forehead."
Harry did as his best friend asked. He felt the heat radiating off of the fallen girls face. "We have to get her to your parents or at least to the Burrow. Who knows how long she has been out here or what's wrong with her. She needs help."
Hermione's crying had suddenly stopped. She took a deep breath in but struggled to release it. She then started to gasp, seemingly running out of air. Her body began to shake and thrash about. Ron immediately sat her up, hoping that it would be some sort of relief. Thankfully, it proved useful as the young girl started to relax for the first time since the two boys had reached her.
Her eyes were still half open, that hadn't changed. But this time she seemed to recognize the familiar faces that surrounded her. "Ron, Harry," she whispered weakly, "I thought you both hated me." She reached her cold hand to Ron's. He couldn't help but realize how cold her hand was but how warm her forehead was.
"What happened to you? Why are you out here?" Harry asked first.
Hermione's eyes were growing heavy and drifting close as she responded feebly, "Ron doesn't want to be with me anymore. I was giving him what he wants."
"No Hermione, that's not what I want!" Ron cried. "I love you Hermione. I don't know what you heard but it was misinterpreted."
That was the last that Hermione heard before she drifted off into a comforting darkness.
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A/N: Wow, I just want to say thank you to everyone who added this story and/or me to alerts/favorites/etc. I am in utter shock and completely gratuitous. I appreciate you all so much. And as always thank you for the reviews. Please continue to leave your thoughts and opinions! Enjoy!