Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters.
Updated 1/20/2021
Chapter Ten
What Happened
She opened her eyes and notice that Ron's eyes where opening at the same time. She smiled at him for a second, she couldn't help it; she loved walking up in his arms. However, that was before she remembered everything that was going on, especially, with clear detail, the events of last night and more importantly the terrible feeling she had.
"Hey," Ron said pulling her closer to him; he saw the pain look in her eyes.
"Hey," she said putting her head on his chest holding on to him. "What was that?"
"Aren't you the one who's supposed to have all the answers," Ron teased.
"I … it … just felt … something terrible happened," Hermione said.
"I know," Ron said gravely, holding her tighter. The two previous nights before this were very similar, he would have to hold her when she was crying, but with everything that had happened the night before, this was a lot worse. The nights really were the worst, because there was nothing they could do to distract themselves from the dark thoughts that go along with their situation. She had cried herself to sleep in Ron's arms the last two nights (Ron crying just as much as she was). They spent their days doing everything they could do to help, but that didn't save them for the quite nights where they could think of nothing else. However, today she felt even worse than she did before, knowing with every inch of her being, that something terrible had happened to her son.
"It's okay love, you know there was something about la …" Ron started to say, trying to cheer her up; however, before he could say anything more there was a knock on their door.
"Er … Are you up?" Harry said from the other side of the door.
"What do you want?" Ron asked a little annoyed.
"I need to speak to you two," Harry said.
"We'll be out in a minute," Ron answered.
"I suppose we do have to go, don't we?" Hermione sighed; they were at war, she couldn't waste time in self pity. So five minutes later the two of them were in the kitchen sitting across from Harry.
"What's up?" Ron asked.
"Bill brought something to my attention last night that we really need to address," Harry said.
"What?" Hermione asked.
"That we are seriously low on certain supplies," Harry said. "And that it would be good if we had them soon."
"And you want us to get them … so you're having us do your grocery shopping?" Ron asked incredulously.
"Yep," Harry said smiling. "That and I thought it was best if you two go since most of the stuff is at Mione's flat …"
"What kind of stuff are you looking for?" Hermione asked raising an eyebrow.
"Here's a list of everything that Bill thinks we need," Harry said handing it to her.
"Right," Hermione said only needing to glance at the first few items before understanding what Harry meant. "I can see why you want to go to my flat, most of this stuff is difficult to procure … especially in our predicament."
"Yeah well, Bill thinks it would be a good idea if we had a few potions made up for whenever we find the boys," Harry said, forcing the last words to come out evenly. "We'll likely be out numbered. This will probably be true about any fight will get into."
"You're right, and I have more things there that we could use than just this," Hermione said. She had spent a lot of time over that last twelve years (as soon as she got back to England from her job in France) coming up with new spells and potions (she had gotten her experimental charms and potion license as soon as she got there) and she had a lot of useful materials at her house.
"Bring anything you think is necessary," Harry said.
"Not that this isn't important and all," Ron grumbled. "But why couldn't you wait until we really woken up?"
"Sorry," Harry smiled at him. "But you got your allotted eight hours …"
"Really!" Hermione said and looking at a clock for the first time and noticing that it was seven in the morning. "Actually it looks like you gave us almost nine hours."
"I felt like being generous," Harry smiled; he could tell that both his friends were more subdued today and it didn't have anything to do with the early hour.
"Argh … Generous," Ron groaned.
"I'll be ready in a half an hour," Hermione said as she got up to leave the room. "That might give you enough time to eat," she added as she kissed Ron and then left the room.
"What happened last night?" Harry asked after she had left.
"I have no idea," Ron sighed; and then looked seriously at him, and there was pain in his eyes. "But whatever it was, it was bad."
Harry patted him on the back and the two of them sat in silence the rest of the time.
It had actually taken Hermione an hour to get ready and write down everything that she thought would be useful. When they got to Hermione's flat, she looked around, and was immediately unnerved. It was nothing too noticeable but there were little things out of place everywhere she looked. She raised her wand; she didn't think that it was possible that the Death Eaters broke into her flat yet (it had been only a few days and she wasn't even sure they knew where she lived), but she didn't have any other explanation for the difference in her flat.
As Ron saw Hermione raise her wand he did as well; he noticed how tense she was and knew something was wrong. And then he hear it, a slight noise (so faint that if he wasn't on edge and listening he probably wouldn't have heard anything), it came from the kitchen. He stepped in front of Hermione automatically and pointed his wand at the door.
He made the decision before he could think out about it, the sound of their Apparation had definitely given them away, but whoever it was in the kitchen wouldn't expect them to realize they were there; he might be able to catch them by surprise. He burst through the door, but no one was there. There was only one place the person could have gone, but going up the hall would expose him too much.
"Don't shot," a voice … a very familiar voice said.
"Who's there?" Ron said back as Hermione walked into the kitchen, recognizing the voice too.
"Theodore Remus Lupin," Teddy said. "And who am I speaking to."
"Ronald Bilius Weasley," Ron said at the same time Hermione said, "Hermione Jean Granger."
They heard a sigh of relief and a few seconds later Teddy walked out looking down, unable to look at the two of them.
After Ari was dragged off by the Death Eaters Teddy had been alone in the dark room, able to hear his friends screams but not able to do anything about it. It was torture, maybe not as painful or devastating as what Ari had to go through but it still cause Teddy to feel sick inside. It was shortly after the screaming had stopped that he felt something hot in his pocket, and remembering what Ari had told him before, he reached inside and pulled out a coin. He only had a second to look at it before it glowed brightly and he was suddenly being pulled by his navel to someplace far away for the Death Eaters.
When he landed hard on the floor (he was usually able to keep standing when he used portkeys but was too weak at the moment and was caught unaware of what was going to happen) he picked himself up and noticed that he was in Hermione and Ari's flat. He had visited the place many times over the years, though it was mostly before he went to Hogwarts. When he first looked around he was relieve because he knew he was safe, he immediately ran to the kitchen and got himself something to eat (the Death Eaters hand only given them the bare minimum amount of food), but he quickly lost his appetite when he thought of Ari and the condition he would be in.
When he walked back into the living room and really look around he started to get worried. The room was in complete disarray and he knew that something must have happened recently because there was no way that Aunt Mione would leave her flat in this state. He was half expecting a Death Eater to pop out at him when he remember that Uncle Neville had said Harry was attack the other day; it was likely that he went here if that were true (after all he knew that Aunt Mione was the best person to go to when you were in a serious situation). However, that thought didn't cheer him up that much because all he could do now was look at the blood stain that was on the floor knowing that it likely came from Harry.
Teddy walked back into the kitchen, knowing that it would just make him feel a whole lot worse if he stayed in the living room. He didn't know what to do now, where he should go (he had gotten his Apparating license over the summer holidays last year so he was capable getting anywhere) to find the others. He figured for the time being it was probably that safest for him to stay here, knowing that Aunt Mione had many protections on her house (and that Ari didn't tell the Death Eaters anything useful about them or anything else). However, he couldn't just sit here waiting for someone to get him, he had to do something constructive to show for all this. So he started to write down everything that he learned over the past two days, everything that he had overheard or that Ari had told him. He continue to write, finding it difficult but knowing that it was a lot easier to do this than it would have been to try and tell someone else about it. He wrote until he fell asleep only to be woken by Ron and Hermione Apparating into the flat, causing him to run up the stairs, grabbing a frying pan that was in the sink as he went (it was the only weapon he could find), in case it was a Death Eater coming to get him.
"Teddy," Hermione yelled and immediately ran over to him and gave him a hug, which just cause him to stiffen. "Oh no, are you hurt," she said pulling away and looking all over him for any signs of injuries.
"I'm not hurt," Teddy said in a soft voice.
"What's the matter Ted?" Hermione said putting her hands on his head and making him look at her.
"I …" Teddy said, tears starting to stream down his face. "I should … I didn't … I'm sorry …"
"Oh Teddy," Hermione sighed now realizing the reason why he was so upset … why he couldn't look at her. "Don't be sorry …"
"But …" Teddy started, but before he could say any more Hermione pulled him into a tighter embrace than before.
"You have nothing to be sorry about," she stated. "We love you too, you know …" she whispered and the boy hugged her back starting to really cry now. Hermione was crying too; she knew by Teddy's reaction that Arthur wasn't there and he was likely in bad shape. However, they weren't only miserable tears; she was also relieved that Teddy was safe because she was just as worried about him as she was for her own son.
"We're glad you're okay," Ron said pulling the boy in his own hug as soon as Hermione let him go.
"How long have you been here?" Hermione asked a few minutes later, she had started to gather the materials that they needed (knowing that Harry would really panic if they took too long here; he thought it would only take them two hours to get everything).
"Late last night … or early today," Teddy said. "I would say no longer than ten hours ago."
Ron and Hermione gave each other worried glances, knowing the feeling that they had during that time.
"Can you tell us what happened?" Ron asked. "You don't have to … but …"
"No … I do have to," Teddy said, "and the sooner the better."
"Teddy," Hermione said not liking the tone he was using. "You really …"
"You need to know," Teddy said sighing as he sat down, he had to tell them this first part, they needed to hear it (and he probably needed to say it).
"Yes we do," Hermione said sitting down near him; Ron however, was still gathering the materials.
"The Death Eaters didn't really do much to me," Teddy explained not looking at the others. "But they really didn't like Ari …"
"How … how bad was it?" Hermione asked trying not to cry again.
"Bad," Teddy said in a broken voice.
"Can you tell us anything about where you were?" Ron asked; he couldn't take hearing about his son getting tortured.
"Yeah, but I don't know how useful it will be," Teddy said. "They were planning on leaving …"
"How do you know that?" Ron asked sounding shocked.
"They told us," Teddy said. "Right before … before …" he said unable to continue.
"What is it?" Hermione said moving her chair closer to him and pulling him into a hug.
"Ari came up with a plan to escape. He had this coin …" Teddy said holding out the coin to show them.
"The coin," Hermione gasped. "Of course, that's why he was running to you; he was going to use his emergency key to get the both of you out of there … to come here."
"I guess," Teddy said. "We couldn't really go over the mechanics of his plan … they were listening to us."
"What was the plan?" Ron asked, his back to them, he didn't want to show how upset he was.
"Like I said, I'm not really sure what Ari was doing, all I knew was that he needed to get a wand," Teddy said. "Well, we got it, and whatever Ari was planning on doing must have worked because I'm here …"
"Why isn't Arthur with you?" Ron asked.
"Ron!" Hermione said as sternly as she could.
"Sorry," Ron sighed he didn't mean for it to sound like that, he just wanted to know what happened to make Ari's plan change (he knew Ari must have wanted the both of them to get out of there).
"After we got the wand more Death Eater came and stopped us," Teddy said. "That's when they told us they were leaving, they said they were going to make an example of one of us … they took Ari …"
"It's okay Ted," Hermione said squeezing his shoulder.
"I wish they took me," Teddy sobbed. "I wanted them too … but Ari … he didn't …"
"I know, it's okay," Hermione said. "It's who Arthur is."
"He gave me the coin … he could have …" Teddy said.
"How long was it until the coin worked?" Hermione asked.
"About … half an hour," Teddy said confused.
"He might not of had that long," Hermione said closing her eyes as she said it, tears falling down her face.
"He would have given me that coin either way," Teddy said.
"When did you start comforting me?" Hermione asked as Teddy squeezed her arm.
"When you were the one to start to worry," Teddy said and he knew that she was right; he had heard Ari's screams and knew he didn't have the thirty minutes it took.
"So, do you have any idea where they are … or were?" Ron asked again, though his voice sounded straggle this time.
So Teddy showed them everything he had written down the previous night, about the place that he had been kept and the few people that he had seen (mainly how Ari had figured out that Professor MacDougal was the Death Eater). About three hours after Ron and Hermione had arrived there, the three of them Disapparated back to Shell Cottage.
O
He opened his eyes to chaos, there seem to be some kind of commotion and he didn't like it. What he didn't seem to realize, was that he was the one that caused the commotion in the first place. His entrance into the hallway of St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries was rather loud as he slid out of the Floo he had slammed into the wall.
That was when two people moved to see if Ari was okay. However, all he could gather from that was some strange people were coming at him, and naturally he was afraid of what they would do. So he picked himself up and ran as fast as he could in the only direction that no one was coming at him. He ran through the halls trying to avoid the people he past (sometimes not managing it) but he couldn't let that slow him down, because he heard the footsteps behind him and the shouts of 'stop him', telling him that he was being chased. He really started to panic when the jets of red lights started to pass him; he was not going back to these rooms to get tortured more. However, he was barely able to form that thought when a curse hit him and he fall into blackness again.
It was several hours later when he woke up again to find himself in a padded white room unable to move because he was strapped into a bed. He struggled against the restraints that were binding him for a moment before he heard voices outside the door. They were talking rather loudly (he thought) and from what they were saying they were talking about him. One of the voices was familiar to him but not in a bad way; it was in a way that made him relax for the time being (though by no means did he think he was out of danger yet).
"… Filled with so much residual Veritaserum that they must have given him multiply doses. There is also evident of more than ten different curse and potions used on the boy in the last two days, but none where as damaging as the Cruciatus Curse …"
"What?" the familiar voice said sounding shocked and pained.
"It seems that he was hit with the Cruciatus Curse multiply times, especially on the temples of the forehead …" the other voice said sounding disgusted at this.
"At the same time?" the familiar voice asked; little doubt at the answer but his voice just sounded hollow because of it.
"We believe so," the other voice said gravely.
"Has Healer Strout been here yet?" the familiar voice asked. Ari had trouble pinpointing the voice or concentrating at all; he could barely understand what was going on.
"How do you …" the other voice asked shocked, but when he spoke again it was steady. "Of course, I'm sorry. Are you sure you really want to be the one that hears this?"
"Please Healer Moon, just answer the question," the familiar voice sighed.
"Yes, he's been here and examined the boy, but he hasn't told us the result of his work yet," Healer Moon said.
"Right," the familiar voice sighed again. "Can I see him?"
"Yes," Healer Moon said immediately. "But be careful, he should be awake soon if he hasn't awake already and we don't know what shape he will be in. He was quite frightened when he first got here and ran away from our people …"
"And you chased him," the familiar voice asked almost coldly.
"We didn't know what was wrong with him," Healer Moon said defensively. "And he gave us little choice, he was running wild in our hospital and crashed into all sorts of things and people including our patients."
"Right," the familiar voice said apolitically. "Sorry."
When the door opened seconds later Ari knew why the voice sounded so familiar and why it made him relax, because Neville Longbottom was now standing in his room. The look Neville was giving him as he looked down at Ari was grave; his expression seemed almost tortured. Ari's expression of complete terror couldn't have helped much, but he couldn't help it, he was still expecting Death Eaters to jump out at him at any moment.
"Hello Arthur," Neville said trying to sound cheerful.
Ari's eyes grew wider as he said that, Neville had called him Arthur many times in the past but usually he called him Ari. There was also something about the fake cheerfulness in his voice that made Ari think of the lead Death Eater. However, when Ari tried to open his mouth, determined to speak, he found that he was unable to. He tried again; panic spreading throughout his body, but still no words came out.
"It's okay, Arthur," Neville said walking quickly to the panicking boy and kneeling next to him. "You're safe now …"
Ari looked at him again still panicking uncontrollably, his mind unable to focus too long on one thought. The only thing that he could concentrated on was his fear; it was like his mind was making up for the last two days where he was trying to be strong and now all he could do was show his blind panic.
"Arthur, you've got to calm down," Neville said, and the voice sounded of nothing but deep pain.
Ari stopped trying to struggle and looked into Neville's eyes, taking deep breaths trying to gather himself. He quickly looked away from Neville though; there was a lot of pain in his eyes and Ari didn't want to look into them anymore. It did, however, make him feel more comfortable in the room; it would be difficult for the Death Eater to fake that look.
"I'm going to un-strap you," Neville said his tone a little happier since Ari seem to have calmed down a little.
Ari head snapped towards Neville immediately when he said that. He wanted nothing more than to be free of these restrains, but he couldn't understand why Neville would do that, at least this soon.
His expression must have been easy to read because Neville soon replied, "I can't stand looking at you like this. The door is unlocked so if you wanted to make a run for it, I'm sure you can get pretty far, but staying here is the only place where you can get some help."
When the restraints where off Ari, he stared at the door, he did not like this padded room (and not just because he thought he might still be with the Death Eaters but because of what the room represented; that he was crazy). He looked back at Neville, then back at the door. He could make a break for it, and there might be a chance that he could really get away from the Death Eaters at last, or at least he would figure out if this was some new way for them to torture him, by gaining his trust (there would be Death Eaters outside the door if this was a ruse). However, if this was really Neville, then he was already safe and he would be running away from the people that could help him. If that was true, he really shouldn't run away because he couldn't take care himself, not in the condition he was currently in.
He grabbed his head in frustration; he couldn't make up his mind and he was angry because this use to be so easy for him to decide things like this, but now he didn't even know where to begin. He got out of the bed that he had been strapped to and started walking around the room, trying to make up his mind. Stay … go … stay … go … where the words that kept repeating in his mind.
"You don't understand me at all," Neville muttered bitterly and painfully.
Ari spared him a glance before he started pacing the room again.
"Ari," Neville got up and grabbed him by the arms. "You're all right now," he repeated tear starting to form in his eyes. "You're safe and no one is going to hurt you again, I promised."
Ari looked back at Neville and started to believe him, started to allow himself to relax, but Neville didn't seem to be finished yet.
"We are going to do everything we can to get you back to normal, you hear me," Neville said forcefully, as if he needed to believe it more than Ari did. "We will help you … I promise."
Ari smiled at him slightly before he sat in one of the corners of the rooms peacefully. He had decided to believe that this was the real Neville, after all the pain and sorrow that he was expressing could only have come from the real Neville. Harry had told him what happened to Neville's parents and Ari could only imagine the pain he must be going through knowing that Ari might share the same fate as them.
"That's better," Neville sighed, and for the first time he had hope that Ari wasn't as bad as he seemed to be. He sat next to Ari, but didn't really look at him just wanting to be there to make sure Ari knew he wasn't alone.
"I've got to tell your parents and the others … they need to know and I think I should do it in person," Neville said almost two hours later.
Ari looked at him worried; he could already feel that he will start to panic again as soon as he was left alone. However, he really wanted to see his Mum; he knew without a doubt everything will be okay as soon as she was here.
"Are you okay with that?" Neville asked looking at Ari carefully for any sings that he was either okay with it or not (he half expected Ari to start to panic again).
Ari looked at him and nodded his head once.
Neville stared wide-eyed at him for a second; he really wasn't expecting anything like that. As he was getting up, hope that Ari wasn't as badly affected by this as he first thought was starting to fill him, but he tried to stop it. He had been through similar moments with his own parents over the years and he knew how much it hurt when it turned out to be nothing. However, it was never quite as noticeable (or promising) as this one was, so Neville was finding it hard to suppress the hope completely.
O
There was a soft pop in the living room of Shell Cottage and three people appeared out of nowhere. Ron looked around the room and was surprised that no one was there; in a house this full there was bound to be someone in every room. "Hello!" Ron shouted out.
"In the kitchen," Harry's voice replied.
"Where is everyone?" Ron asked walking towards the kitchen, Hermione following him, but Teddy lagging behind waiting for the best moment to surprise his godfather (like he and Ron had planned at Hermione's flat).
"Mostly on reconnaissance missions," Harry smiled at his friend, noticing that they both looked happier than they were before. "But Ginny is … indispose at the moment (his mouth twitched at that) and Molly is with the kids trying to keep them up to date with their school work … but lunch is in about an hour so I would image everyone will be coming back soon."
"I wouldn't really want to do Mum's job, that's got to be tougher than any of ours," Ron smiled.
"Probably," Harry smiled again. "But you and me are going out in a few hours so that might change your mind."
"We might have to change the schedules," Ron said.
"Er … what happened at Hermione's flat," Harry said a little confuse about what Ron said and now starting to worry about Ron's sudden increase of happiness.
"We found something we weren't expecting," Hermione was unable to disguise her excitement (one of the reasons she wasn't suppose to talk); she couldn't wait to see Harry's face when he first sees Teddy again.
"And what would that be?" Harry asked bemused.
"Me," Teddy said walking into the room.
Harry stared at him for only a second before he dropped everything he was holding and ran to his godson. He pulled him into a bone-breaking hug reminiscent to Molly's (which Teddy knew he will be receiving before too long). They stayed like that for a few moments, Teddy hugging his godfather back almost as tightly as he was being held, before Teddy finally spoke, "You're going to crush me to death if you hug me any longer."
"Sorry," Harry said pulling away slightly but still held on to the boy in arms lengths. "I was just so worried about you … that you …"
"I'm okay Harry," Teddy said smiling at his godfather. He had always called him Harry, though at times he wanted to call him Dad, or any other variation of the word, but Harry wouldn't let him say that (and Teddy could never bring himself to call him uncle, it just didn't seem right). Harry didn't want him to forget who his real parents were and Teddy was grateful about that, but there were times like this he couldn't help but think of Harry like a father, and that's was how he was hugging him (and he knew that Harry was thinking the same thing).
"Thanks Merlin," Harry breathed still looking quite stunned. "How did this happen?"
"Ari sent me to Aunt Mione's flat," Teddy said still sounding bitterer and grievous about that fact.
"It's okay Ted," Harry said pulling his godson closer to him again, knowing from his tone that Ari wasn't with them and that Teddy felt guilty about that fact.
They stayed like that for a while until they heard someone exclaimed from behind them, "Teddy."
Teddy looked around to find that it was Tori who spoke (and the rest of the children and Molly were behind her too, but he could only see her). "Tori," he said smiling broadly and moving away from his godfather.
"Teddy," Tori yelled again and this time she ran into Teddy's open arms. As soon as she got there Teddy lifted her up and spun her around. And she acted before she could think, before she could stop herself. She put her hands on either side of Teddy's face and kissed him full on the lips. The kiss only lasted a few seconds before Tori came to her senses and pulled away from him looking at Teddy shocked by her only reaction, a look that was mirrored in his face.
Teddy grip on Tori loosen and she slipped back down to the floor still looking as shocked as before but now she looked terrified too. "Sorry," she said in a soft voice, looking away from him not able to take his confused look anymore.
"There's nothing to be sorry about," Teddy said as soon as he was able to speak again. He turned her head so he could look into her eyes, before he lead in to kiss her again. He broke away a few seconds later and whispered to her, "Do you have any idea how long I've been waiting for this to happen?"
"I think I might," Tori said smiling at him. He was about to lean in to kiss her again, and to kiss her properly this time, but before he could someone cleared their throat. Immediately Teddy and Tori jumped, and she buried her head in his shoulder blushing, as was Teddy. He had forgotten that it wasn't just the two of them in the room but that it was filled with other people who were all staring at the two of them with open mouths.
"Now's the time," Ron laughed, he was the one that had cleared his throat before. Harry and Hermione soon joined in with Ron's laughter, it reminded all of them of another couple's first kiss.
"Er …" Teddy said rubbing his head and holding Tori closely to him.
"That was a good way to render the entire room speechless," Fred laughed as he walked over to him and punched Teddy on the arm.
"That's what we were going for," Teddy said smiling at him before he hugged him. He continued to hug all his 'cousins' and grandma, who, as he predicted, gave him a bone-breaking hug. When he got to Louise, however he wasn't sure what to do because the other boy was now glaring at him.
"You better take good care of her," he said coldly (Tori huffed at that and shot her little brother a fierce glare).
"I will," Teddy smiled at him.
"And that means no more getting yourself caught by Death Eaters," Louise continued, he was no longer glaring but he spoke just as sternly as before.
"I don't plan to," Teddy said.
"I'm glad you're safe Teddy," Louise smiled and then hugged him.
Then Teddy came face to face with Ryn and his expression changed dramatically. He felt the guilt and blame take over him once again when he looked at the girl he know cared about Ari more anything else. However, before he could say anything she hugged him, and he hugged her back.
"I'm sorry," Teddy whispered.
"For what?" Ryn asked sternly looking at him sharply (he didn't noticed the warning signs she was giving him).
"If it wasn't for me …" Teddy began but he didn't get any farther because Ryn had slapped him in the face.
"Ow," Teddy said holding his face and looking shocked (many of his cousins were now laughing at him). "You slapped me!"
"What did you expect?" Ryn said fiercely. "I'm not going to have you blaming yourself for this."
"Okay, okay, I won't blame myself," Teddy said rubbing his face. "You didn't have to slap me though. You could have just told me that you didn't blame me like Harry and Aunt Mione did."
"Obviously you hadn't learn from that," Ryn said smirking at him. "I thought you needed a more physical example."
"Hmph …" Teddy huffed still rubbing his cheek (she slapped him pretty hard).
"Besides Teddy, you have to remember you are one of my best friends too," Ryn said smiling kindly at him. "And you know how violent I can be when my friends act like a prat."
"I suppose I do," Teddy laughed; now taking the slap in the face as proof she really like him that much (he had only seen her get angry enough at one other person to slap him). "And I would think I'm like your third best friend."
"As a matter as fact you are," Ryn said and she really meant it, the four of them have spent a lot of time together over the last five years. "I care a lot about you."
"Thanks," Teddy said before he hugged her again. "I care a lot about you too," he added knowing that that was truer now than ever before.
O
It was a half an hour later (and most of the other Weasleys had arrived and were greeting Teddy's return joyously), when Hermione walked into the living room to find Ryn sitting on the couch alone.
"Are you okay?" Hermione asked her.
"Aren't I the one that's supposed to ask you that?" Ryn said sadly.
"I suppose so," Hermione smiled at her; she saw a lot of herself in the other girl (especially her feeling towards her best friend) but there were a lot of differences too. "But I think I'm allowed to ask it too."
"I'm fine," Ryn smiled briefly, it looked like it caused her great effort.
"Right," Hermione said sitting next to her on the couch. "I was just wondering if you were angry at yourself for being disappointed it wasn't Arthur?"
"That's not it," Ryn said, though she didn't say it in the way that a part of her didn't feel that way, but in the way that it wasn't why she was in this room sitting by herself.
"More complicated than that then," Hermione said sighing.
"I wanted to go with Arthur," Ryn said not looking at Hermione, almost talking to herself, but at the same time she was definitely talking to Hermione. "I wanted to help him save Teddy … in a way, I expected him to let me help."
"Arthur never would have wanted that … not in this situation," Hermione said. She could understand the girls need to be with her best friend during something like this, especially since it was to help another of her friends out. She was happy that her friends could never get rid of her no matter how much they tried or how dangerous the situation was (though she knew that faced with the same choice, both Ron and Harry would have done the same things as Ari did). However, she knew her son was too much like his father (and Harry) to endanger Ryn like that.
"I know," Ryn sighed and looked agonizingly at Hermione. "Somehow, even while I was expecting Ari to take me, I knew he was going to leave me behind. I knew that and I still let him go … I let it happen."
"Oh," Hermione said and pulled the girl to her shoulder and hugged her closely. Ryn started to cry silently soon after that, and Hermione quickly joined her. She had only met the girl a few times before this, most of what she knew about Ryn was from the volumes of letters that Ari had written home about his best friend, however, what she did gather from those meeting is that Ryn cared as much from her son as she knew, since Ari's first letter home, he cared about her.
It was at that moment that Neville burst into the room looking just as bad as he did a few days ago. Hermione loved Neville dearly, but she was really starting to hate that look on his face every time he appeared here unexpectedly like this.
"What is it?" Hermione asked and Neville looked at the kitchen not able to look at her.
"What happened?" Neville said not answering her question, but she could understand how he could get distracted, there was quite a celebration happening in the kitchen at the moment.
"Ron and I found Teddy at my flat," Hermione said evenly, afraid of the news that Neville had (Teddy had said they were going to make an example of Arthur after all, and then there was the feeling that was plaguing her since last night). "Arthur sent him here."
"Really!" Neville exclaimed looking at her for the first time, smiling slightly. However, as soon as he caught her eyes the smile went away and he looked down again (it probably was no help that Ryn was there too).
"Yes," Hermione said and then shouted for Ron to get in there.
Ron came in the room (followed by most of the other people that were there) and took one look at Neville and then sat next to Hermione; he too knew this was likely going to be bad news.
As the room filled up silently Neville stared at the floor; he really hated that he had to be the one that always gave them bad news. "I've just came from St. Mungo's and Ari …"
"Ari was there," Molly said hopefully; she could tell that this was bad but if he was at St. Mungo's he was still alive and this might mean that she would get both of her eldest grandsons back today.
Hermione, however, knew by the look on Neville's face that whatever atrocious act the Death Eaters planned to do to her son must have worked. She immediately grabbed Ron's hand and squeezed it knowing the worst was coming (Teddy was in the corner with his eyes close, teeth clenched and holding on tightly to Tori).
"Yes, but he … it's …" Neville faltered.
"What happened?" Ron forced out.
"They …" Neville tried again, but he was still unable to say it, to him this was the worst thing that could happen to anyone, especially someone as bright as Ari was. "What … my parents …" he was able to muttered. There was a collected gasp in the room, as everyone understood what had happened.
"NO!" Hermione exclaimed in an uncontrollable anguished and leading into Ron's shoulder as he scooted closer to her and put his arms around her (Ryn had been holding on to Hermione since their talk and she was unwilling to let her go; but Hermione didn't seem to really notice that or anything else). All Hermione could picture now was her son looking at her with those overly wider eyes she had seen Neville's Mum had the one and only time she seen Neville's parents.
"We've got to go," Ron said in a raspy voice tears in his eyes. "We've got to see him."
"Yes," Hermione said in a daze, she knew how much it would hurt to see her son like that, but there was no way she was going to leave him in there alone like this. As she stood up Ryn finally let her go, knowing that no matter how much she wanted to see him, she wasn't going to be able to today.
"Where is he?" Ron asked Neville who was looking much worse than Ron had ever seen him (and was now being comforted by this wife).
"Room 409, on the fourth floor," Neville said.
Hermione looked at Harry who was sitting on the couch looking as devastated as she felt, and then she looked at Ginny who was wrapping her arms around him (looking almost as bad) staring straight at her in horror. The look between them only lasted a second but it couldn't have been clearer what was meant by it. Hermione wanted Harry and Ginny to come with them to the hospital and Ginny was going to do everything within her power to make sure that they make it there.
Seconds later Ron grabbed a tight hold on Hermione and they both Disapparated to the Emergency entrance to St. Mungo's. "You can't be here if it's not an emergency," someone shouted at them but they kept walking like they didn't even hear him. They were heading straight for room 409 on the fourth floor and they weren't going to let anything stop them from getting there as fast as they could.
Ari was still sitting on the floor in the same spot Neville had left him not too long ago. His knees were up against his chest and he was hugging himself as he rested his face on his knees staring at the door, just waiting for his parents to come. He was just starting to really feel on edge when the door finally opened.
When Hermione opened the door and saw her son curled up in the corner of the room she wanted to cry again (even though she had promised herself that she would be strong for him). Then Ari looked at her, not with the vacant too wide eyes she thought she would see, but his normal blue eyes he had inherited from his father. She knew, as she took a step towards him, that her son was still there somehow.
As Ari looked at his Mum's face a huge smile broke on his own; he would know his Mum anywhere, no matter what happened. He stood up immediately and ran over to her, hugging her before she was even able to take another step.
"Arthur," Hermione sobbed in his shoulder as relief spread all over her. She was so glad that she was able to hold him like this, and more importantly that he was hugging her like this (she had imagined him shying away from contact or not really understanding what it meant).
Ron put his hand on Ari's shoulder, not sure what else he could do (and not wanting to make Ari feel uncomfortable but needing to hold onto his son at the same time). Ari looked up at his Dad and gave him a warm, inviting smile and that was enough to cause Ron to wrap his arms around the two of them. As Ari rested his head back on his Mum's shoulder, he was encompassed by the same feeling he felt the other night, but this time he was truly able to embrace the feeling of safety and home he got from it.
A/N: Okay so I didn't really get as far in this chapter as I originally thought I would; but half way through writing this I realized that it was either going to be a really long chapter or I should make it two different chapters, which is what I did. I hope that I have left it at a good stopping point and I'll save everyone's reaction to Ari and explanations for the next chapter (which I'll be posting in the next couple of days, probably Monday or Tuesday).