Ron grabbed his broom while waiting for the others to finish getting ready for the gruesome night ahead.
“Why did you get your broom?” Hermione asked, confused. “I thought we weren’t going to fly on broom. You know, with my fear of heights and all. . . .”
“Well, when you’re walking on the ground, me and Harry can be hovering next to you ” much less walking,” Ron said enthusiastically, giving a thumbs up to his plan.
Hermione rolled her eyes and sighed, “Ronald. . . .”
Ron stared at her strangely before answering, “Ronald? Don’t you normally only call me that when you’re upset with me?”
“Well, maybe I am,” Hermione said while walking back to her room. Harry walked past Hermione and noticed her sullen expression.
“What’s up with her?” Harry asked, gathering his things.
“I don’t know! I just told her that we we’re gonna fly on our brooms by her side while she walks on foot!”
“Ron, Ron, Ron . . . you always want to please the girl . . . do what she wants most . . . and in this case, she wants to walk with you. You know, holding your hand, and all that romance,” Harry explained, sharing his oh so amazing knowledge of girls.
“You’re saying she’s mad at me, because I’m not going to be walking by her side?”
“Girls are weird, ” Harry said, laughing quietly.
“You said it! But, I do want to make her happy . . .” Ron said while thinking things over. “Hermione . . .” Ron called out, looking at the bare doorway which soon became cluttered with Hermione’s frail body.
“What?” Hermione vented.
“Are you disappointed in me because I would rather fly than walk with you?” Ron asked, walking up to her.
“Somewhat,” she said, looking at her feet.
Harry rolled his eyes as the two resolved their problems. “Oh brother,” he whispered to himself.
“Would it make you feel better if I walked with you?” Ron asked, stooping down to where Hermione was looking so she would see his innocent face.
“Much,” she said while smiling and biting her lower lip.
“Sorry to interrupt you two love birds over here, but I think we should go in about ” five minutes,” Harry said, walking over to his friend’s side.
“How ‘bout we just leave now before we get too occupied with other things,” Hermione said while making her way past the boys and to the portrait. “We don’t want Voldemort to beat us there . . . if he does.”
“Ok then!” Ron croaked, clapping his hands together.
“Does everyone have everything they need?” Harry asked while turning toward the two.
“Er ”” Ron checked his pockets before answering, “”Yup.”
“Hermione?” Harry asked while turning to her.
“Of course!” she replied profoundly.
“Let’s get goin’!” Harry shouted, opening the portrait.
Dumbledore met them by the Fat Lady and guided them down to the Hogwarts entrance. That way, if a Prefect of a Teacher was walking about, Dumbledore would be with them, therefore, they would not be caught and sent back to their Common Room.
“You must stay hidden in the dark of night. You must not be seen.” Thunder cackled overhead menacingly, almost challenging the trio in a cruel game. “It looks like a storm may be brewing. Be careful!” Dumbledore whispered, sending them off.
“But, where do we go?” Ron questioned as he was being pushed forward.
“Walk over that hill over yonder,” Dumbledore pointed to a large mound in the distance. “Once you’ve crossed that, enter the forest. If you walk through the forest, you will come upon a large stone staircase which leads up to a cliff. That cliff is the Cliff of Crasilium. Once you make landfall up on the cliff, place all your Stones in the Arch. You will know what to do after that point.”
“Wait, Harry do you have all the Stones?!” Ron questioned loudly.
“Yup, they’re in my pocket,” Harry said, pointing at his pocket. “I sealed the pocket shut so the Stones won’t fall out.”
“Smart,” Hermione said happily.
“Now go, you need to get there as soon as possible. Who knows if Voldemort had overheard us. His spies are everywhere,” Dumbledore whispered under his breath.
The threesome bid farewell before heading off onto their journey ahead.
Once they reached the base of the hill, fifty yards from Hogwarts, a second bolt of lightning struck just in front of them. The three jumped back in shock. “Looks like lightning is playing games with us. Dumbledore was right, a storm’s brewing,” Harry said while checking if his friends were ok. A sudden gush of wish and rain pounded down on them, sweeping the three off of their feet.
“HARRY!” Hermione yelled as she was thrown backwards, grabbing onto a tree to prevent her from blowing away. Ron was holding onto another tree twenty feet away. Harry held his ground and tried to keep standing. A whirlwind of ravenous thunder struck down, throwing Harry on the ground.
Hermione’s screaming was just barely heard over the thunder and lightning that was spinning around them overhead. The grass was swaying violently; flecks of green were flying in the air. Debris and clutter began to seemingly fall from the sky. Harry ducked below an evergreen tree, hoping it would protect him from harm. Ron was blown farther back, now out in the open. A succession of lightning bolts seemed to hover around Ron.
“RON!” Hermione yelled, letting go of the tree and being blown onto the hard earth. She broke her fall with her hands which were now covered in dirt. Lifting her head, she saw Ron’s terrified expression. With rain obscuring her vision, it became harder and harder to see if Ron was alright. She fought her way near him, taking out her wand.
“HERMIONE, NO!” Harry yelled out, motioning for her to get away. “DON’T!” Harry fought against the wind which prevailed onward. His hair flared around with the trees caving in on him. The wind seemed to laugh mockingly at Harry, Ron and Hermione. It watched them struggle for their lives. Harry quarreled his way over to Hermione’s side, grabbing onto her so she would be safe. “HERMIONE, YOU HAVE TO STAY SAFE! I’LL GO AND GET RON!” Harry yelled, trying to make his voice win over the almost surreal storm.
The lightning bolts around Ron suddenly stopped. The wind died completely down, and the rain stopped.
“What the bloody hell happened?!” Ron shouted, running over to Hermione’s side. “Are you alright? Are you hurt?”
“Ron, I’m fine. We should be the ones asking you that question!” Hermione replied hugging him tightly.
“I’m ” fine,” Ron said, pulling the bravery card.
The unnerving quietness began to become an unnerving rumble. The ground shook violently. Holding on to each other, the three huddled together.
“What’s happening?!” Ron yelled out.
“I don’t know!” Harry yelled back, watching the ground and trying to figure out what was causing that ominous rumbling.
The sky turned from a pale blue, to a sickly grey color. The wind began to howl again, streaming past their bodies.
BANG!
A large tree root shot out of the ground; dirt flying everywhere. Seeming as if it had a mind of its own, it hurled itself at Ron.
“HERMIONE, MOVE!” Harry yelled as the root shot toward Hermione with hardly any reaction time at all.
Hermione screamed as the root entwined itself around her ankle. It threw her to the ground, loud cracking sounds erupting everywhere. Ron and Harry jolted into a desperate run. Dirt racked Hermione’s shirt as she was dragged across the ground. She clasped at the ground, trying to get a grip. Hermione remembered how almost the same incident had happened to Ron during third year.
“HERMIONE!” Harry and Ron yelled, “HERMIONE!”
Hermione was screaming for help now, unable to stop this thing from pulling her to her death.
Harry took out his wand and thought up a quick spell. An orange light erupted from his wand, nearly missing the root by inches.
“HARRY, RON!” Hermione yelled, struggling for her life.
The root suddenly drug Hermione into the hole that it had created. A final scream of terror burst forth. The last thing they both saw of her was her hand dip below the earthen floor. Dirt covered the hole; a small mound began to form.
“HERMIONE . . . Hermione . . .” Ron yelled as his voice died down. “What happened to her?! Where did she go?!”
“I don’t know, but if it’s underground, it can’t be good.”
The rumbling ceased and everything was still. Ron began digging out the dirt that had covered the hole. “I have to save her! I have to save her . . . Hermione. . . .” Tears formed in his eyes as he continued digging. “I have to save her, I love her. . . .” His arms seemed to weaken, and he grabbed his head in anguish.
“NOO!” Ron yelled, thinking his one true love was gone.
A light, normal rain began to fall down, covering up Ron’s tears. The rain dampened his blaring red hair. He began thinking back, remembering all the years he continuously pushed Hermione away, and now that he had her . . . she was gone.
“We’ll find her Ron. We’ll find her.”