"Harry still isn't here," Ron says nervously to Theo. Theo looks up from his book and out the window of the compartment.
"Let's go wait for him on the platform," Theo decides finally. Ron nods.
"Should we take our stuff?"
"We'll be coming right back. There's no need."
"Alright."
Ron makes his way out of the train and back over to the platform, Theo trailing closely behind him. When Ron had met up with Theo on the train, he'd instantly noticed that the boy was pale and unusually shaky. Then and there, Ron had decided to get Theo to the Hospital Wing as soon as they got to Hogwarts.
Ron knows that when the time comes, Theo wants to be the one to kill his father. This doesn't stop Ron from daydreaming about getting a few good kicks in, first.
Theo and Ron make their way over to a couple of benches, finding some that are out of the way but still have a good vantage point over the rest of the platform. They'd both arrived rather early (a first for the Weasley family. His dad had managed to convince his mum to actually fly the flying car), so Ron watches as Neville, Hermione, Daphne, Blaise, and even Malfoy show up to the platform. But still no sign of Harry.
The train sounds a warning whistle, and Ron and Theo share a worried look. The platform is nearly empty now, save for Ron's mum, dad, and a couple of stragglers.
"Maybe the Dark Lord got to him," Theo suggests. His tone is flat but Ron knows a panicking Theo when he sees one.
"That's a big leap," Ron says. "Besides, I saw both Harry and Remus like, three days ago."
"A lot can happen in three days," Theo counters.
"Okay, so what do we do?"
"We go get him." Theo's face is filled with grim determination, and Ron knows there's no swaying him.
"Okay. How?"
"Did you visit his home over the summer?"
"Yeah," Ron says. "I could probably find it again if I needed to. But we don't have a way of getting around. My parents will think we're overreacting, and even if we did have muggle money neither of us would know the first thing to do with it!"
Theo's face goes more and more wooden with every word Ron says, and Ron feels resolve harden in his chest. He furrows his brow, thinking hard. How to go find Harry… no floo powder or fireplace, neither of them know how to apparate, no adults to take them seriously… that leaves flying. And Ron only knows of two ways to fly.
"You don't happen to have a broom, do you?" Ron asks hopefully. Theo shakes his head. Ron groans. "Okay. I have an idea, but there is a non-zero chance that we get arrested, then expelled, and then killed by my mother. In that order."
"I'm all ears," Theo says, the slightest upturn to the corner of his mouth.
Ten minutes later, Theo is sitting shotgun and Ron has one arm out the window, one hand on the steering wheel.
(Ron had had to explain seatbelts to Theo, but otherwise the pureblood boy is taking to the idea of cars without much difficulty at all.)
"All clear?" Ron asks, looking behind him.
"All clear," Theo confirms.
"Here goes nothing," Ron says, before tapping a series of buttons on the dash with his wand.
The car pops out of visibility, and shakily climbs a couple feet into the air. Ron wastes no time, flooring it. They climb higher and higher. Just as they push above the clouds, the engine gives a little rumble and they pop back into view.
"Hmm," Ron says, glancing down at the dashboard. "Must be faulty. How hard do you reckon it would be to repair a car at 90 kph?"
"Depends. Is the car also flying in the air approximately 4,000 meters high?"
"Fraid so," Ron says, glancing into the rearview mirror. He reaches up to adjust it a bit. He's seen his dad do that before, so it must be important.
"Better not risk it," Theo decides, leaning his head against the glass of the window.
"Hopefully the muggles decide against looking up today," Ron says grimly.
"Mm," Theo responds.
Suddenly, a silver tabby cat is sitting primly on the dashboard. Ron lets out a shriek he is not proud of, and jerks the steering wheel to the left.
He steadies both the car and his breathing as he hears the cat say, "Mister Potter asked me to let you know he is safe at Hogwarts," in McGonagall's voice before it dissipates into thin air.
Ron groans. "How hard would it have been to let us know that thirty minutes ago?"
"Classic Harry," Theo murmurs.
Ron thinks Theo might be falling asleep. He supposes he can't blame the boy, the weather is nice and the car is warm and comfortable. Ron gives the dashboard a gentle pat.
"What do you say, car? Think you can get us to Hogwarts?" The car gives a bit of a rumble that Ron decides to interpret as an affirmative. Ron glances over at Theo. "Right?"
"Might as well," Theo says after a moment. "We're already heading north. Think you can find your way there?"
"Um," Ron says, before an idea strikes him. "Here, let me just-"
He leans over and, not taking his eyes off of the nonexistent road, opens the glovebox. Aha! Just as he thought: his dad had thrown a map in there. Magical, too, so Hogsmeade is on it.
"Wicked," Ron grins, propping the map up.
"Okay," Theo says, cracking an eye open. "Good. Yes. Let's do that."
His voice is getting fainter, hands shakier, and face paler. Ron's resolve to get him to the Hospital Wing increases tenfold.
Soon, the cloud cover dissipates, but they're so high up that Ron tries not to worry about it. Besides, it's hard to feel anxious when the view is so spectacular. Fortunately, they've left London far behind them and at this point are mostly just flying over emerald fields of grass and forests. It looks sort of like a patchwork quilt.
Every half-hour or so, Ron checks on Theo. Theo gets progressively grumpier with him, but his breathing is so shallow that Ron keeps thinking that his friend has died. What exactly had Theo's father done to him? Ron hopes it's nothing, but can't bring himself to be optimistic. At one point, Ron finds a packet of warm, melty toffees, and encourages Theo to have a few after taking one for himself (one can never be too careful with sweets when living in the same vicinity of the twins).
The novelty of the flying car wears off after a couple hours, and the car is becoming unbearably hot. Ron's taken his sweater off and rolled up the sleeves of his shirt. He has all the windows rolled down and the fan on full blast, but when he'd tried the AC the car horn had gone off in protest, startling Theo awake. Theo sank back into a drowsy listlessness, grabbing at Ron's discarded sweater and pulling it over himself.
Ron doesn't complain about any of it, though: the car has never gone this far before. It's doing its best. Ron gives it another encouraging pat, checking the map again. At this rate they'll get to the castle well before the train does.
Just as Ron had predicted, he sees the castle rising up in the distance just before sunset starts in earnest.
"Theo, Theo wake up!" Ron says excitedly.
Theo looks like he's fighting every step of the way, but he manages to get his eyes open.
"Oh. We made it," Theo says.
If Ron had to guess, he'd say Theo sounds a little surprised.
Then, the engine gives a little shudder.
"Shit," Ron mutters, before patting the dashboard once again. "Almost there, almost there. Just a little further," he soothes, wiping his brow.
The engine gives a little whine, and the windshield wipers give a feeble wave. However, the car flies true, straight as an arrow towards the castle.
"Ron," Theo says faintly. "We're losing altitude."
"So it seems," Ron says tightly.
Sure enough, the car is sinking steadily towards the ground. They're about a kilometer above the ground when the ground turns into the lake.
"So, so close," Ron mutters. Or maybe he's praying? He clutches his wand in a white knuckled grip, and grits his teeth. The castle gets closer and closer, and they're only fifteen or so meters up when the lake turns back into solid earth.
"Wall," Theo says flatly.
Ron lets out a little shout as he pulls back on the wheel and slams his foot onto the pedal. The engine makes a horrible grinding sound, but manages to clear the stone wall with a few inches to spare.
"Tree," Theo says, so faintly Ron has to strain his ears to hear it. There's no avoiding this one, though. The car slams right into its branches, and Theo and Ron are thrown heavily against their seatbelts.
For one beautiful moment, everything is calm. Then, the car is jostled as something hits violently into its side. The engine lets out a choked gurgle as it's hit again, and again. The Whomping Willow, Ron realizes numbly. Of course they'd run into the Whomping Willow.
"Okay, we're reversing now!" Ron yells, as he throws the gear back and presses down on the pedal.
The car stalls for a full horrible second, then shoots backwards, clearing out of the trees reach before it comes to a dead stop. Ron goes to grab at Theo, who he's relieved to see is still conscious, when the car opens its doors, unbuckles the two seatbelts, and gives a great big shake; as though it's a sopping wet dog. Ron flies out of one side, and Theo goes out the other. Then, the car slams its doors, gives an offended honk of its horn, and shoots off into the forest.
Ron wastes no time. He hits the ground rolling, and is back on his feet almost before the car can even finish driving off. Ron sprints to Theo's side, falling to his knees beside the boy. Ron goes to grab at him, but stops at the last second; Theo doesn't appreciate being touched without permission.
"Theo!" Ron gasps. "Are you-"
Theo's hand shoots up, smacking into his face before latching on to Ron's shoulder.
"Ow," Ron mutters.
Theo's other hand scrabbles at the ground, trying to find purchase. Ron grabs his friend's arm more firmly, and helps him stand up. Theo is leaning heavily on him and panting, clutching his side. His skin has a grayish tone to it that doesn't bode well.
Ron readjusts his grip on Theo, and starts half-dragging, half-carrying the boy towards the castle. About halfway there, Theo manages to find his footing again and the trek goes much smoother with Theo able to shuffle alongside Ron.
"So," Ron starts conversationally despite the sweat pouring down his face and back. "The car vanished into the Forbidden Forest. I don't know if you saw that?"
Theo grunts, and Ron keeps talking:
"My mum really is going to kill me. Especially now that my wand is broken. Oh, my wand broke, by the way. Well, it was never really my wand, more Charlie's old wand, but you knew that already."
Ron's babbling, but he can't bring himself to care. Anything to keep Theo awake and responsive.
"I don't blame you," Ron assures even though he knows the boy wouldn't give a damn either way. They've cleared the entrance hall by now.
"I mostly blame the speed of Patronus messages," Ron continues. "That, and whatever made Harry miss the train. The second I figure out what happened, heads are going to roll."
"Quite right, Mister Weasley," a cold voice from the shadows says.
Ron freezes, blood turning to ice in his veins. He'd known they were going to get in trouble, but the reality of the situation is just now sinking in. Beside him, Theo straightens up and shakes Ron off. Ron stares at him, and Theo gives him a look that Ron thinks probably means, "just follow my lead."
"Well," Snape continues. "I'm sure the Headmaster wasn't planning on expelling anyone before term has even started, but even he may be able to make an exception for whatever… this… is." Snape says, folding his arms and raising an eyebrow.
Ron grimaces.
Snape scoffs. "What, did you think you were too good to come by train like everyone else? Fancied a nice flight instead? I might have expected as much from you, Mister Weasley, but Mister Nott? And here I was thinking you were a Slytherin."
Ron is staring at the ground, jaw clenched. He can feel tears pricking the back of his eyes, but he'll be damned if he lets them fall.
Ron hates this. Hates getting in trouble. Hates that he's made such an obvious strategic mistake, one he knew was a mistake going into it. Hates that the disapproval of his head of house makes him feel so ill. He wants to protest that he's as much a Slytherin as the others, but knows it's pointless.
"Sir," Theo begins tonelessly.
"I'm not really in the mood for excuses," Snape snaps, then pauses. "No, I've changed my mind. Please enlighten me. What exactly was your reasoning behind abandoning the train that would take you to Hogwarts only to steal a car and use it to very illegally fly to Hogwarts?"
Ron shoots a look at Theo that he hopes Theo reads correctly as "please get us out of this."
Theo nods imperceptibly, then levels a flat, dead-eyed expression at Snape. Snape raises an eyebrow as Theo wordlessly lifts up the bottom of his sweater to reveal a blood soaked bandage wrapping his torso. Ron's jaw drops open in horror.
"Why," Snape says, pinching his nose.
Ron isn't sure who he's talking to, but then the man whips out his wand and summons a vial of potion.
"Drink," he says, shoving it at Theo.
Theo unstoppers it with shaky hands and downs it in one go, staring dead-eyed at Snape all the while.
"You," Snape says, pointing at Ron. "Stay with him. Don't let him die. I'll be back."
With that, Snape stalks off, muttering under his breath.
Ron thinks Snape could be moving a lot faster, but he has too many other things to worry about right now to dwell on that. Theo slowly sinks to the ground, and Ron sinks with him.
"Woah," Theo says shakily, eyes glazing over. "What was in that potion?"
Ron's eyebrows shoot up. "Wait. Are you… is it making you high?"
Theo nods, then his hand shoots out and grabs Ron's wrist in a vice-like grip. Ron waits for him to say something, but Theo seems content to just hold Ron's arm.
Theo's eyes drift close.
"Theo," Ron says softly.
Theo's eyes shoot back open, but it takes him a couple seconds to focus on Ron.
"What happened?" Ron asks.
He normally wouldn't ask, but that had looked like a lot of blood. Also, Theo is apparently high as a kite right now, so it's the best chance Ron has at getting answers.
"Knife practice," Theo says tiredly as his eyes track an invisible something just past Ron's shoulder.
Sheesh. What was in that potion? Ron shakes his head. That's not important.
"What sort of knife practice?" Ron prods.
"Y'know," Theo slurs, eyes steadily closing.
Ron gives his wrist a little shake, moving Theo's hand with it, and Theo's storm-colored eyes open wide again.
"Spar. Sparring with Senior. Gotta be fast." Theo's eyes narrow at this, then he lets out a sad shaky sigh. "Knives are sharp."
Ron's heart breaks a little in his chest, but he has more important things to do right now than let that get to him.
Theo continues, "you gotta be so fast, when sparring. Especially when sparring with that old man. He looks old but, whew!" Theo says, shaking his head slightly. "He moves way too fast. Faster than me. Much," he laughs, "faster than you."
Ron stares. He doesn't think he's ever heard Theo laugh. He's not sure he wants to hear it again. Not like this, in any case.
Then Theo's other hand is grabbing Ron's upper arm, and he's wearing an expression of unbridled terror on his face
"We have to keep Harry away from him," Theo gasps. Then he pauses, and huffs out another laugh. "No. Wait, I forgot: fire beats knife. Harry could take him. We have to keep you away from him."
Ron squashes a really inappropriate burst of indignation.
Theo nods firmly and closes his eyes, apparently satisfied.
Then they shoot open again. "And Daphne! And Blaise! I promised I'd protect them. And Harry would be sad if Hermione or Neville got hurt, so them also?"
Theo peers anxiously at Ron as though waiting for his response.
"Um, yeah mate. Sounds good?" Theo's face melts into a sleepy grin and his eyes slide shut.
"We could try and keep you away from him too," Ron hedges, still reeling a little from the grin (Theo, grinning? Surely hell has frozen over).
Theo doesn't bother to open his eyes.
"No," he murmurs, waving a hand dismissively. "Harry isn't strong enough for that yet. I just gotta wait another year or two- and then sometime after that I'll be strong enough to go back and kill the Old Man and everything will be good." Theo lets out a little sigh, then pauses. "Although, you can't say that his approach doesn't work."
One of Theo's knives appears out of nowhere and he smoothly twirls it between the fingers of his free hand, despite the fact that his eyes are closed and he's drugged to high heaven.
Ron scowls and opens his mouth to respond, although with what he isn't sure. Then, he hears the sound of running footsteps and his jaw shuts with a click. Theo's knife disappears again.
McGonagall and Pomfrey run up, with Snape leisurely trailing behind them. With a wave of Pomfrey's hand, Theo is wrapped in a pale blue glow and levitated off the ground. Ron follows him up, wrist still being grasped by him.
"Mister Nott," Pomfrey sighs. "You need to let go of Mister Weasley."
Theo stares at her flatly. He makes no move to release Ron.
"I, uh, I can just walk alongside?" Ron says, anxious to get Theo to the Hospital Wing.
Pomfrey narrows her eyes, but acquiesces as Theo shoots her a venomous glare.
After what feels like an eternity, Theo is safely ensconced in a hospital bed, knocked out cold. Pomfrey has just finished stitching up the wound, and leans back as she wipes her forehead with her clean forearm.
"It's a very good thing you got him here when you did, Mister Weasley," Pomfrey says. Ron swallows, looking at Theo's pale face. "Any later and he may not have made it. That was quick thinking on your part."
Pomfrey isn't watching Ron, though. She's instead glaring at Snape, who's glowering right back.
"Fine," Snape grits out, before he scowls at Ron. "A detention for each of you. I won't be nearly as lenient the next time something like this happens."
With that, he stalks off, robes flaring behind him. Ron lets out a huge sigh of relief, then looks back at Theo. His stomach flips.
"Do you have any idea what happened to Mister Nott?" Pomfrey asks.
After a moment, Ron shakes his head. Theo can deal with those questions when he wakes up.
"He really could have died?" Ron whispers, tracing circles on the bedspread absently.
Pomfrey sighs tiredly. "Wounds like these are serious; but he did well cleaning and bandaging it up himself, and you did very well in getting him here as soon as possible. He might have been fine if you'd stayed on the train," she says. "But then again, he might not have been."
Ron gulps.
"You'd better get to the feast, Mister Weasley." Madam Pomfrey says kindly. "I'll watch over him."
Ron wants to stay, but the glint in Pomfrey's eye tells him that he would lose that battle. So instead he sighs, rubs his eyes tiredly, and makes his way to the Great Hall.