Fic: No Hiding Place book One: The Dungeons (8/9)

[sua_lay]

Title: No Hiding Place: Book One: The Dungeons (8/9)
Author: Rimau Sua Lay
Rating: overall NC-17, Angst, Drama, Action/Adventure, First Time
Fandom: Harry Potter
Pairings: Harry/Snape, Ron/Draco, (Sirius/Remus)
Date: December 2002 - ?
Disclaimers: Not mine, borrowed without permission, am not making any money. Please don't sue. Sherbet Lemon?
Summary for Book One: -Harry can not survive his dark thoughts anymore. At least not alone.

Part 8

Ron was getting more worried with every minute that passed by.

He'd woken up early, feeling wonderful. It was still Hogsmeade weekend, and now that most of the third years were probably sick with all the sweets they'd eaten, there'd be peace and quiet in the small village. At least until the youngsters realized they could go to Madam Pomfrey for some potion guaranteed to cure even the worst stomachache.

The joy had faded a bit when he'd seen that Harry's bed was empty. It looked like it had been slept in, so maybe Harry was simply downstairs, sitting in the common room chatting with someone. Probably Neville. He was always up early on Hogsmeade weekends.

He hadn't been able to find Harry anywhere in the entire tower. He'd made sure by banging on doors, waking everybody up. Hermione -- who had fortunately been already up -- had come up with the idea of checking Harry's belongings. The absence of the invisibility cloak would suggest he was once again walking through the corridors looking for something.

The cloak had been in its place in the trunk. There had been something else, too. Ron's eyes had widened as he'd realized Harry had left his wand behind. Something his friend would never do.

Almost frantic with fear, he'd grabbed Hermione's arm and rushed towards the Headmaster's office dragging her with him. They needed to alert Dumbledore immediately. Harry was probably kidnapped, by Death Eaters, or worse.

Even after all the meetings up in the Headmaster's quarters, Ron was still feeling a bit strange being able to bark out the password and just walk up the stairs. This time he didn't hesitate at all. Harry was in trouble.

"Mr. Weasley. Miss. Granger." Dumbledore looked up at them as they stumbled into the airy offices. "We've been expecting you." He made a gesture towards the small pot. "Tea?"

It was definitely not the time to sit down and share pleasantries. Ron shook his head.

Hermione stared at the Headmaster and professor McGonagall, who were both sitting calmly at a table, drinking tea. "So you know Harry's missing? How? And where is he? Is he all right?"

Since Hermione had already asked the most important questions, Ron settled into simply nodding.

Strange, how this room always seemed to help him calm down. It was probably the atmosphere with the previous Headmasters dozing off in the portraits on the walls, most of them not paying any attention to what was going on. They'd got used to such meetings by now.

"Yes. Yes, he's fine." Pouring himself more tea, Dumbledore smiled calmly. "He will probably stay away for a couple of hours more and then join you all for lunch. Nothing to worry about. Harry is quite safe." His voice was hushed, the way it always seemed to be these days.

Ron smiled, relieved. If Dumbledore said everything was all right, then it had to be. Then he remembered something and his face fell. "Sir! We found his wand near his bed. If he's gone somewhere he could be in danger!" He was still stunned by the way Harry had just left his wand behind. It was the first thing they'd been taught in DADA.

"I see." His voice a bit firmer, Dumbledore shared a knowing look with McGonagall, who was looking worried now as well. "Well, I'm certain there's a good explanation for it," he mused out loud before sipping his tea again.

"But sir..."

Hermione nudged Ron, silencing him efficiently. "Come on, Ron. We should be going." She was pretty sure the Headmaster wouldn't tell them anything more. "We should go back to the common room and wait for Harry."

Wanting to protest, Ron glared at her, but then realized she was right. There was nothing for them to do here. Dumbledore was obviously not worried, so they shouldn't be either. Didn't mean he was feeling calm, but he could try.

He nodded at the Headmaster and then walked to the door, Hermione in tow. It wasn't like Harry to disappear like this. Even when he went out for a walk, he took his cloak and definitely his wand with him. When Harry came back, Ron was going to have a few words with him. Then it'd probably turn into a shouting match.

Minerva McGonagall watched the children walk out. When the door slammed shut behind them, she turned to the Headmaster. "Really, Albus. Are you sure he really is safe with Severus? If you are correct, he's in a very fragile state of mind right now, and Severus isn't exactly one to handle him carefully."

"I know." Dumbledore was wondering about that himself. "But he has chosen Severus. I should imagine that after all these years, Harry knows exactly what kind of a man Severus is. We must trust his judgement, Minerva."

"Very well." Her words were agreeing, but her tone most certainly wasn't. She'd have to keep an eye on Harry. After all, it was her responsibility to see that the boy was all right.

He smiled at that, as if reading her thoughts. "More tea?"

Ron wanted to kick the gargoyle as it rolled back to cover the staircase. "I'm gonna kick his miserable butt. Going out without his wand! Wait until I tell my mum. She'll send him a howler." The harsh words hid a world of fear. No matter what Dumbledore said, he was still worried sick for his friend.

Didn't Harry know it was about time? Everyone was talking about their seventh year being probably the one when Voldemort would attack Hogwarts. They all needed to be ready, not gallivanting around the place wandless.

"At least we know he's still inside the school." Rolling her eyes at Ron's sceptic look, Hermione explained, "The school will protect him even when he doesn't have his wand. Dumbledore will know where he is, as long as he's inside these walls." Seeing the blank look on her friend, she huffed. "Honestly!"

She wondered why it was such a surprise to her. It had become clear years ago that both Harry and Ron preferred asking her to actually reading a book. Especially the one telling them all about Hogwarts and its history.

Ron didn't say anything to that. He just started walking back towards the Gryffindor tower, muttering to himself. He hoped Harry was indeed safe.

Walking through the corridors, they passed by the Great Hall. Neither Hermione nor Ron had eaten anything yet. They'd been too worried to eat, heading towards Dumbledore's office without a thought at breakfast.

"You think we could get something to eat?" Remembering it was Sunday, Hermione realized there would still be breakfast served at this hour.

"Sure." Ron was not sure if he could eat, but he knew he should at least try.

The Great Hall was surprisingly full. Most of the third years looked a little green, but they were still stuffing themselves with toast and sausages. Some of the teachers were sitting at the Head Table, talking quietly amongst themselves. Ron noticed their DADA teacher was not there. Neither was Snape.

"Hermione?" Buttering a roll, Ron kept casting suspicious glances at the teachers' table. He looked over his shoulder once, to see if Malfoy and his goons were there. For once, seeing the blond boy and his idiotic shadows made him feel good. At least they didn't have anything to do with Harry's disappearance. Then he turned his attention back to the teachers. "Did you notice professor Pahicna isn't here? What if Harry's with her?"

"Why would he be with the DADA teacher without his wand?" It didn't really make any sense.

Ron nodded absentmindedly at that. Hermione was right. If Harry'd gone to some kind of a private lesson, he would have taken his wand with him. Still, something was nagging at him. He already knew where Dumbledore and McGonagall were. Snape never ate breakfast on weekends anyway. He was probably partly a vampire, working on his damn potions all night through. But the absence of the DADA professor was suspicious.

Not because she was especially malicious or anything. Her being a sane, proper teacher would just go against all odds.

Munching his roll, Ron tried very hard to think why he was feeling so odd. When a loud burst of laughter made him glance at the Slytherin table again, he realized Malfoy was staring at him with a grin on his face.

He glowered, expecting a sharp yet not all that witty comment shouted at him a moment later. To his utter amazement -- and delight -- Malfoy just turned his attention elsewhere. Good. Maybe now he could finish his breakfast in peace.

Draco lowered his gaze back to his plate as Weasley turned to stare at him. He didn't really want to fight right now. Everything was good for once; there had been no letters from his father, and it was peaceful to just eat with Pansy still in the girls' dormitory, sleeping off last night's partying. A fact Blaise was probably grateful for.

He'd been sitting here, eating breakfast. Enjoying the peace and quiet, thinking about stuff. Not the things he couldn't really work on, no, the big issues were best to be left alone. He was thinking about little things that had caught his fancy. Wondering if Crabbe and Goyle would ever be able to leave Hogwarts, even with the extra tutoring Snape provided them every Friday. He was quite certain the answer was no.

Those two would probably still be at Hogwarts when the next generation of Weasleys started their first year. If there still was a Hogwarts. And if any of the Weasleys still lived.

A bad thought. A part of those big things he refused to think about. Instead of contemplating the future, he turned his attention to Ron Weasley. One of the people he really didn't understand.

The Weasleys were pureblood, just like the Malfoys. There weren't all that many families of purebloods left in Britain. Almost none outside Slytherin. To Draco's memory, the Weasleys were even more magical than most of the families, not producing more than one Squib every few generation.

Why, then, were they not in Slytherin? Their poverty couldn't be the explanation. There were other people from poor families in Slytherin. Blaise Zabini was the best example. His family was so insignificant, even the Death Eaters weren't interested in him at this point. Anyone with a brain and ambition could rise to be a very respected member of any wizarding community.

Another line of thought he wasn't keen on following. Pulling his mind away from things like power and Slytherins, he'd continued thinking about the Weasleys.

They weren't exactly idiots. At least not all of them. Ron did seem to be rather hotheaded. That made Draco smirk, the first really genuine expression of mirth in some time. Of course the Weasel was hotheaded. It was genetics, apparently. But some of his brothers were doing well in life.

He'd been startled to see Weasley turn and glare him at that moment. Instead of tossing him a nasty comment, Draco had decided not to bother. He didn't want to ruin the morning fighting with Ron Weasley, no matter how fun it usually was.

"Are you coming to Hogsmeade with us this afternoon?"

Draco looked at Goyle, glad that he had actually swallowed before saying that. Maybe genetics weren't everything. At least this pureblood seemed to be slipping back in evolution. "I don't know yet." It had been fun to go shopping yesterday, but he just wasn't in the mood right now.

"Come on, Draco. Vince and I want to shop more at Honeydukes'." Goyle's voice was whining now. "I already ate most of the stuff we bought yesterday, and I think Pansy stole the rest."

That didn't really surprise anyone. "Can't you two go alone?" Draco saw the expected horrified expression and sighed. Sometimes he wondered if his friends really saw the three of them as one unity. One part brains, two parts muscle. "I'll have to think about it."

Goyle seemed to be happy with that. If Draco said no, he'd simply whine some more.

Realizing he wouldn't probably be able to lock himself in the dormitory and spend some quality time alone, Draco sighed and then finished his breakfast.

On the other side of the Great Hall, Ron and Hermione were also ready to go. Ron hadn't thought he had any appetite, but once he'd sat down to eat, he'd cleaned his plate in record time. It was a good thing, really. Somehow it was easier to think with a full stomach.

"I think I'll stop by at the library. I couldn't find that book yesterday before Hogsmeade, and I really need to read it before the next Potions class." Hermione sounded a bit worried. She knew that with all her other duties -- mainly working for the Order and being the Head Girl -- she simply didn't have enough time to study anymore. It was only a couple of months till they would be taking their N.E.W.T.s and she had hardly started studying for them.

Ron nodded. He didn't even bother making comments about her being the only person at Hogwarts -- with the possible exception of Madam Pince -- who was actually overjoyed by the fact that the library was open seven days a week. "I'll go to see if Harry's back yet."

"I'll be there in a moment." Knowing the trip to the library wouldn't take long, Hermione waved her hand at him and then scurried across the hallway.

The Gryffindor common room was empty when Ron arrived there. He took the stairs three at the time as he rushed to see if Harry was back yet. There was nobody in the dormitory either. Harry's wand was still on top of his trunk.

Ron swore a few chosen oaths at that. He hated this. Hated waiting, not knowing if he was waiting for nothing. He knew Hermione would be calmed by the visit to the library as always, but he didn't want to calm down. He wanted to tear out his hair. Probably even Harry's when he saw him too.

Grabbing a Quidditch magazine, he stomped back downstairs and settled on the couch for his wait.

Some people calm down as they have time to think things through. Some people, but not Ron Weasley. He realized he couldn't even be interested in the Cannons' newest games. He was simply too mad at Harry for pulling a stunt like this, but also at himself for letting his best friend slip away. Again.

He slammed the magazine on the table. It had been quite some time since he'd been this angry. Years since he'd felt like this towards Harry.

When the door finally opened, he looked up casually, thinking it was probably Hermione. Instead of her, he saw Harry stand there in the doorway.

"Hi." Harry stepped inside the room. He'd expected to see Ron waiting for him. Not exactly what he wanted to face right now, but he knew he couldn't hide from his friend.

Ron didn't even realize he'd squeezed his hands into fists. "Hi?" Harry had given him the scare of his life, and all he could say was a bloody 'hi'? "You left your wand upstairs. When you left."

It was worse than anger, because when Ron was angry, he shouted and waved his hands in the air and threatened to punch something or someone. If the issue was Malfoy, he didn't stop at threatening.

This was silent rage.

"I know, I'm sorry." It sounded rather lame in Harry's ears. He didn't know how to explain it to Ron. He'd had to go. Couldn't tell anyone about it for the same reason he hadn't had much choice in to whom he could talk to. Ron wouldn't understand the need any more than he would understand his fears.

Ron forced himself to relax. There was something wrong with the way Harry sounded. It was weird, since just yesterday, he'd been fine. Now he sounded tired. It wasn't like him.

Suddenly he felt most of the anger slip away, replaced by even more worry. "Can you tell me about it?" He didn't want to think about the possible reasons for Harry's disappearance, but various scenarios were already racing through his mind. "Did something bad happen?"

"No. I mean... No, I can't talk about it." The most difficult fact was that it wasn't even a lie. Harry shook his head slightly. "And no, nothing bad happened. I just needed... To see someone."

"For Merlin's sake! Just tell me you didn't sneak out of our room to see some girl!"

It sounded so like Ron, Harry had to smile at that. "No. Definitely didn't go to see some girl. I swear." His smile got even wider as he imagined Snape's expression if he knew what he was thinking right now, even though if Snape ever found out he was making private jokes about him being a girl, he wouldn't want to be there to see his face.

"Good." At least his best friend wasn't a complete twit. Ron got to his feet. "Just don't do it again. You nearly gave me a heart attack."

Harry felt a twinge of guilt. He hadn't really thought anyone would notice he'd been gone. "Okay."

Rather surprised how the rest of the anger had left him after just a few words, Ron smiled a little. "You know you can always talk to me, right? And to Hermione."

"I know." Harry nodded, knowing it was a lie. But a necessary one. He'd just have to make sure the others wouldn't have to go looking for him again.

"You want to go to Hogsmeade?" When Ron saw the shake of head, he shrugged. It didn't matter. He'd already spent all the money he'd had, and didn't really want to go walking around shops when he couldn't buy anything. Didn't want to give Malfoy any fodder for new insults. "You wanna play some chess?" Always a safe option.

"So you really want to punish me." Harry faked a resigned expression before grinning. "Sure. I'll just go and get my wand."

Without further words, he headed towards the dormitory for his wand. If he was quick enough, he could even change his clothes. Ron was too focused on his safe return to ask anything, but Hermione noticed everything.

He definitely didn't want to have to explain where he'd got the robe.

---

Comments

[garish-light04.livejournal.com]

I don't have much time...but I have to say that I HEART RON in this fic!

[sua-lay.livejournal.com]

:D I wonder if that'll change.... I really like him too, even though he has lots of issues.

[raisinous-fiend.livejournal.com]

i think that ron's reaction was waaay too extreme..

[sua-lay.livejournal.com]

:) That boy has issues...