Do not fret, I did not abandon this story. It just takes me longer…especially now since I just realized I'm trying to write six different stories at once… I'm ultra busy with school…and another is worming it's way into my head and I can't get rid of it…
Hopefully everyone is in character or as in character as it is possible to make them. This story has been difficult for me to keep going sometimes, but I want to continue it if you like it.
Now, on with the show!
Ron was falling asleep to the low drone that belonged to their History of Magic teacher, Professor Binns. He honestly tried to stay alert as soon as Binns began talking, but he found himself taking back those words five minutes later. He felt it was a personal record having lasted five minutes and sunk into the stupor that only Hermione seemed immune to.
Time seemed to pass slowly for the youngest Weasley son…
What time was it anyway?
Maybe he'll take a short nap…
His head barely touched the table when something hit him in the head.
"Wha-?" He looked around and spotted a crumpled ball of paper on the ground. He looked again to find Harry grinning. A red spot on Harry's head along with his jet black hair sticking up told Ron that Harry had fallen asleep at some point or at least had his head on the desk for a while.
He flattened it out on his desk and read the short message. It informed Ron to sneak food from the Great Hall before meeting Harry and Hermione in the Common Room as planned.
"You could have told me." Ron said. "We're sitting right next to each other."
Harry shrugged.
"What's up?" Ron wondered, staring at his silent friend. "Got a Silencio charm on you?"
"No." Harry answered. "Not everyone is asleep." His head twitched.
Ron followed the movement to see Pansy Parkinson giving them a nasty look.
"I think she heard you fart, mate." Harry chuckled.
"Look away, Parkinson." Ron muttered under his breath.
"Does Parkinson know she has a disease named after her?" Ernie Macmillan said loudly, having caught what Ron just said.
Ron snorted in laughter, but Harry's eyebrows narrowed.
"Idiot." Hermione hissed.
"ERNIE MACMILLAN I WILL END YOU!"
There was a collective jump at those words and the class turned their attention to Anthony Goldstein. Hermione was among the few who gritted their teeth and attempted to concentrate on Professor Binns who was amazingly going on as if there wasn't a disturbance in class. Even the Slytherins turned to see the blond Ravenclaw furiously stand up, knocking over his chair in the process. Whichever Muggle-born and Half Blood students were listening muttered among themselves or explained what Ernie just said to Pureblood friends.
"What?" Ernie said innocently.
"A life threatening disease is hardly anything to joke about." Anthony growled.
Once a Ravenclaw passed the information to Slytherin house, the entire class was glaring at Ernie.
"Do I have something on my face?"
Students scooted closer to their desks as Anthony stormed by. He reached Ernie and grabbed the Hufflepuff's shirt.
"Shut your pompous mouth and listen." Anthony snarled. "My Grandmother and my father died of that disease. I don't care how many Parkinsons you know or get on your nerves. I honestly don't care if you insult Slytherins but you do NOT make fun of Parkinson's disease. It has nothing to do with the student sitting in class right now and it most certainly isn't a subject to laugh at."
"B-but Weasley started it." Ernie said, abandoning all pompous pretense. He was actually shaking. The Ravenclaw was shorter than him by mere inches, but all the same put out a wave of rage in one look.
"Don't drag me in, mate." Ron said. "All I said was look away because she was staring at us."
"Y-you guys are my best friends…help me!" Ernie squeaked to Hannah Abbot and Justin Finch-Fletchley."
"My uncle has it." Hannah piped up. "Anthony's right, it's not funny."
"Yeah." Justin agreed.
"Guys…" Ernie groaned.
"Macmillan…"
"Oh look, lesson's over." Ernie laughed nervously as the bell sounded around the castle, signaling the end of the day.
Professor Binns left without paying attention to the scuffle in the middle of his classroom. A few intimidated students ran out, but the majority, consisting of all four houses, stayed to watch the outcome.
Hermione tugged at Harry and Ron's robes, but they wanted to stay.
"I want to see Ernie get the crud pounded out of- "
"NOW." Hermione demanded.
"Bloody-"
"What is going on here?" A stern voice snapped.
The class looked around nervously as Professor McGonagall entered.
"You three better not be-"
"No, ma'am." Harry said. "We were just leaving." He said innocently.
"Why don't I believe you, Potter?" She asked.
"Because James Potter's my father."
"He's telling the truth Professor. Macmillan took something I said out of context and changed it to something that made Anthony angry." Ron said. "All I said, to myself, was for Parkinson to stop glaring at us."
"Macmillan, Goldstein, Parkinson, and Weasley stay. The rest of you will vacate this room before I give you all detention."
Professor McGonagall stepped outside as the class scrambled to grab their things and rushed out the door.
"Ron-"
"I'll meet you later." Ron said, cutting across Hermione. "After all, when have I ever let you down?"
Harry snorted this time. "Fourth year?"
Ron blushed. "Yeah, I mean apart from that."
"Potter, Granger, continue this conversation later." Professor McGonagall said.
"Of course." Hermione said, dragging Harry out of the classroom. Harry managed to close the door before she yanked him again.
"Ow, I'm following!" He said. "By the way, why did you want Ron to snea-"
"Not here." Hermione hissed, elbowing him in the stomach.
Harry coughed. "I repeat, OW!"
"Sorry." Hermione said sincerely. "We need to get food for the boy." She whispered after checking that the corridor was clear.
Harry nodded. "Can't be easy living off of whatever Hagrid grows in his garden…better than what he cooks."
"I don't know if there ever was a truer statement." Hermione said.
"Remarkable, Hermione doesn't know something." Harry said with an idiotic expression.
The girl rolled her eyes at him. "I asked Luna and Ginny to keep our mission a secret." She said. "Maybe we can go down to the kitch-"
"No." Harry said automatically. Hermione looked taken aback. "Hermione, you're my friend and I no doubt know that you have the best intentions but you and the kitchens are not compatible."
"Pardon?"
"You upset the House Elves and most certainly got on Winky's case about Crouch." Harry explained. "I don't think they want you in the kitchens. Ron and I can go."
"Ron's going to be stuck in there for a while." Hermione said. "However, you and Ginny can go down there and when Ron gets out, Luna will tell him what happened while I wait under the Cloak in the Entrance Hall."
"Planned it out, have you?"
"Don't you know me by now?"
"Heard my name." Ginny said, appearing from around the corner.
"Really?" Harry asked.
"No, silly! But I did hear you, I just got back from Defense Against the Dark Arts."
"Ah." He and Hermione just realized that they had actually been walking down.
"By the way, plans have changed a bit." Hermione said. She whispered the new plan into Ginny's ear.
She nodded and grinned.
The three of them left to find Luna before heading down to dinner. Harry fetched his cloak from Gryffindor Tower.
Ron came in just when his sister and best friends were finished eating. He was about to complain when Luna came over and whispered something to him.
Ron nodded and continued eating. When Luna was done, she waved to Ron happily and opened the doors with a nod. Ron took that as the signal to be finished.
His face remained expressionless as he stretched and walked out. He looked around until a shoe caught his eye. It was an old trainer that was moving by itself.
Ron looked around and as soon as the coast was clear he approached the shoe. He saw Hermione and Harry's faces as the cloak was thrown over him.
"We really are too tall…" Harry remarked. He gave Ron the bag of food. "Here you go, mate."
Hermione shushed him.
The three of them made sure no one was in their line of sight and exited the castle.
"What about security?" Ron whispered. "The front doors lock at night."
"Luna and Ginny know we'll only be gone two hours. Luna's going back in the Great Hall with the excuse that she went to the restroom. Ginny's staying in the common room. In two hours, Ginny will come down and meet Luna. If the castle doors are about to be locked, they're going to tell Hagrid before he leaves. He's less likely to yell at us."
"Brilliant." Harry said.
"Did you doubt me?" Hermione asked.
"Nope."
"Slightly."
Hermione gave Ron a pinch. He complained, but was ignored.
They reached the edge of the forest just behind Hagrid's hut.
Ron set the bag of food down and the three of them backed up. Harry imitated a bird call while Hermione conjured a gust of wind so the scent of food would go into the forest. Ron watched the trees carefully.
After an hour, the freshening charm that Hermione had put on the food was beginning to wear off.
"It's too obvious." She hissed. She came out from under the cloak and grabbed the bag. She threw food at some trees and left a pile dumped on the ground.
"Isn't that germy?"
"Which is why I put another spell on it so it wouldn't get contaminated, Harry." Hermione said.
They stayed in silence for another half hour. Their time was almost up. The chilly October air seemed to only get colder.
Harry put a hand on Hermione's shoulder. She looked at him, though she could only see the shadows, and recognized defeat. She was about to summon the food when there was a rustle from the trees."
The trio stopped.
A shadow moved in the dim light of the moon. It bent down and a sniffing noise was heard. Something, a hand maybe, snatched up a chicken leg and took a noisy bite from it.
The three Gryffindors didn't dare move a muscle for fear of frightening whatever was in the shadows.
The shadow inched forward towards a steak and kidney pie. It looked human in shape and looked smaller than the three hidden teens.
It grabbed the pie and began devouring it messily. Hermione knew it was messy because she saw chunks falling to the ground.
The shadow, which remained hardly visible, devoured the food around the forest until only the small pile remained. It got down on all fours and looked around, sniffing.
All of the sudden it pounced at the food. Ron had to suppress a yelp.
The shadow, exposed by moonlight, took the form of a child. The child was small and wary, looking around nervously.
"Alexander." Hermione whispered.
The boy straightened up, looking around again.
He's nervous. Hermione said. She slipped out from under the cloak.
The boy fell back in shock as the girl appeared from nowhere.
"It was I who gave you the food." Hermione said in a soft and kind voice. "Don't be scared."
The boy scrambled to his feet with a bread roll in his hand and fled. Hermione, in an uncharacteristic manner, recklessly ran after him.
"Hermione!" Ron and Harry yelled.
"OI!" Hagrid's booming voice echoed across the grounds. His large figure was approaching them. A smaller figure was seen in the light flooding from the Entrance Hall. "You three best not be out here." He growled.
"It's my fault." Ron said, emerging from the cloak. "Stay here, I have a plan." He hissed to Harry.
"I oughta take points from yeh." Hagrid said. "What did I tell yeh about wanderin' off after that kid? Or I should ask, what do yeh think yer doin' about the grounds this late when security's tighter?"
"I wanted to see the light on the lake."
"Eh?"
"When I was little, my family was visiting my Great Aunt. One night after exploring, I got lost on my way to Aunt Muriel's house. There was a lake and the moonlight looked so beautiful that I stopped to stare at it. Eventually, Percy found me because I was skipping rocks and he could hear it, but I was so peaceful there. I-I guess I wasn't thinking and I brought my friends…"
Hagrid gave a heavy sigh. "Harry, Hermione, you could have stopped them…eh, where are yeh?"
"Under the cloak, hidden in shame." Harry said. "I know I'm not supposed to be out here." And I'm terrified out of my wits that Hermione's in trouble…I KNOW what's in that forest… "I'm sorry."
"Well, Hermione? Anythin' to add?"
Silence.
"Hermione, I'm not goin' to yell at yeh." Hagrid said softly.
Harry sighed and cleared his throat. "I know, Hagrid." He said in a near perfect imitation of Hermione. "I guess I wasn't thinking."
Ron had to press his hand to his mouth to prevent laughter from coming out.
"I-I was just so moved by Ron's story that I…I disregarded the rules…I suppose it's because of these two delinquents rubbing off on me." Harry added with a sniff of disapproval at the end.
"Sure yer alright?" Hagrid asked. "Yeh sound like yeh have a bit o' a cold."
"Yes, a little bit."
"Odd, yeh sounded fine in Care o' Magical Creatures earlier."
We're doomed. Harry thought. So doomed…
Ron looked around frantically as if there would be a sign of Hermione. Then he hatched a brilliant idea.
"Hagrid, I don't feel so…"
THUD
Harry gave a squeak worthy of Hermione and then spoke in his normal voice. "He fainted."
"It's a'right I got 'im." Hagrid lifted Ron and walked back up to the castle. "Now Harry, I'm goin' easy on you three, but next time yer wanderin' the school at night, I'm not goin' to be so lenient, got it?"
Ron opened an eye to see Hagrid looking around. He had received no reply and stopped with Ron in his arms.
"Hagrid." Ron said hoarsely. "I feel better now."
Hagrid put Ron down on his feet and scratched his head.
"Harry? Hermione"
"Hagrid, I think he went inside."
"Rubbish, he was right 'ere- wait…did yeh say 'he'?"
"Yes, why?" Ron slapped a hand over his mouth as soon as realized what he had said.
"Not they? Where's Hermione?" He gave Ron a dangerous look.
Ron tried to stand his ground. "I meant they. They went inside."
"Would yeh tell Dumbledore the same story?"
"I-"
"Tell me what yer up to and yeh might not be in detention. Luna said somethin' 'bout fresh air. I don't buy that codswallop."
"Harry probably went to get Hermione."
"And where's Hermione?" Hagrid said in the lowest tone ever heard from the Groundskeeper.
"S-she ran after the kid in the forest." Ron squeaked.
Hagrid turned on the spot so fast, Ron actually let out a yelp of terror.
"Get in the castle. Anyone askes, yer waitin' fer me." He said in the same dark tone.
"Y-yes sir." Ron said, running into the castle. He looked back to see Hagrid furiously marching towards the forest.
"WEASLEY!"
"FREDNGEORGEDIDITNOTMEIMINNOCENT!"
"What are you babbling on about?"
Ron turned to see Professors Snape and McGonagall along with the Headmaster.
"Weasley, dinner is over. Get back to your common room." Snape snapped. "I'll leave you to it then." He said after receiving a sharp glare from McGonagall. He walked away, leaving the teacher and student at the door.
"I-I'm w-waiting for…for Ha-Hagrid." Ron stammered. He trembled as he spotted Professor McGonagall's livid face.
It was worse than the seemingly x-ray vision of Dumbledore's blue eyes. Every student feared this more so than the head of the school. The thinness of the lips, the narrowing of the eyebrows, the nostril flare, the piercing stare of the eyes…it was common to fear these traits in Professor Minerva McGonagall.
"I believe Hagrid was inside before he found you." McGonagall said in a low, icy tone. "Now why am I hearing that you three were outside? And where are Miss Granger and Mr. Potter? It would be wise not to lie to me. Explain now."
Hesitation flickered into the ginger's face. He knew that if he told her everything, the three of them could be expelled. Maybe not Hermione with her perfect marks, but Ron definitely could be expelled with Harry. Not to mention that his sister and Luna were in trouble as well. He'd also get a Howler from his mother.
If he didn't tell, then they'd get in trouble and likely be questioned for hours until they broke down into sobs. Either way ended up in punishment, Howler, and plenty of suspicion. He knew he could blame Hermione, but she's his friend and he would never do that. How Professor McGonagall managed to be strict and yet favor Hermione as a student was beyond him.
Ron concluded that it was the eyes. The eyes seemed to bore into the student's head, knowing that they did wrong. The eyes judged every student that entered Transfiguration, dug through their brains and made them tell her. The eyes knew when you were lying, they knew when Ron was scared and that there was no way out.