Lurking Out Of Sight

Chapter 1

It was as cold as death in the department of mysteries, and a young girl by the name of Hermione Jane Granger lay unconscious on the chill, hard, very cold stone floor.

Her fellow classmate Neville Longbottom had just plopped her limp form down and left to go help Harry Potter, the boy who lived, one of her best friends. Hermione was completely unaware of this and that was probably for the better.

Ron Weasley was sitting in a corner, his red hair glistening a sickly color under the green torchlight. He was shaking hard and trying not to remember the grim looks on Harry and Neville's faces when they had left, or the image of Hermione's limp body when Neville had set her down of the ground. He longed to touch her, to hold her but he knew that the effect of the giggles was there and that he would probably end up hurting her. He clamped his eyes shut and tried to sleep but his efforts were fruitless. He kept thinking of how he wasn't able to say bye; he may never see Harry and Neville again...and had they saved his life.

His sister Ginny and her friend Luna Lovegood were both lying asleep against a old mahogany dresser, their heads pressed together, almost like those of sisters or even, Ron shuddered, lovers. Ron could see both of their shoulder's rise and fall with the deep breaths that accompanied sleep. Deciding that he should at least try again to rest himself. Ron let his shoulders relax and slowly closed his weary eyes.

Ron blissfully embraced the darkness behind his eyelids and with the promise of dreamless sleep began to fall into slumber, forgetting about the pain in his arms and the horrifying memories that came from those hideous brains. After what seemed like only seconds he heard something move. Ron jumped, his eyes wide open and a panic that rivaled that only of the brains coursed through his veins. He quickly stood up, trembling with his wand aimed and ready.

His eyes searched the dusty room but he was unable to see and the disadvantage made him panic even more. He looked down and noticed it had been Hermione.

With a thud, Ron dropped his wand and sank down next to her, his Hermione.

Her eyebrows contorted with a grimace of pain and Ron nearly sobbed himself. He couldn't bear to try and shake her in fear that he might accidentally make her pain worse.

Ron heard her labored breathing and gently straightened her arms and rolled her onto her back. Gently he grabbed her head and placed it in his lap.

"Hermione, It's all right. I'm going to get you out of this...no matter what. Just stay with me. Don't leave me here, please."

Hermione's breathing began to calm and Ron noticed with a lurch of joy that when he talked he was acting crazy anymore.

"Shhhh… Hermione, I'm here. Please, get better."

Hermione was obviously still having problems breathing and Ron tried his hardest to calm her down, his thumb tracing invisible patterns on her smooth forehead.

Hermione's skin was so cold; Ron wanted desperately to warm her so after gently sliding out from under here and standing he began to search. A few minutes later he found a small dusty but warm looking wool blanket on the other side of the room. Slowly and quietly he walked towards the blanket, trying his hardest not to make a sound. His fingers grasped the itchy fabric and carefully he dragged it back to her. He placed it around her shoulders and lifted her head back into his lap and continued to caress her forehead in a way that he didn't know if he was trying to comfort her or himself.

Ron closed his eyes to sleep again, but now all that he could see was the look of the man's face that had tried to kill her... that bastard...Ron longed to feel his hands around his neck, but then again, that would only lower him to his level. He really did not want to lower himself to a disgustingly Slytherin level. Murder was something that was not one of the things on his "fun list."

That evil man...he was so devoid of emotion, his eyes black and cold and then...Ron couldn't bear to remember it. The whole idea sent tiny pinpricks of fear dancing maniacally down his spine.