As always, the minute Ron felt the pressing sensation (which he found far less unpleasant than Harry did) he associated with Apparating subside, his hands flew to his eyebrows. Having officially failed his Apparation test by leaving one behind, he subconsciously assumed he was bound to repeat the mistake at least once again.
"They're both there," Harry smirked as he took a lungful of air.
"Well, yes of course, just checking, you know," Ron muttered, putting his hands down as the two of them exited the small alleyway where they had just appeared. When they reached the narrow street crammed with tiny bistros and coffee shops, both of them stood for a moment, forgetting their worries, completely charmed.
Rue du Dragon read a nearby street sign. A café owner across the tiny street was unfurling a wine-colored canopy over several miniscule tables. A man with a jaunty hat and a smelly cigar walked passed Harry and Ron, the basket of lemons in his arms a bright splash of color on the shady street. Heading in the opposite direction, a young woman several years older than them breezed by in a puff of expensive perfume and a flutter of silk scarf. She assessed them briefly with storm-colored eyes and continued along without looking back. As she passed, Harry gave Ron a bit of a nudge, and they grinned shiftily at each other.
Hermione would've smacked us both for that, or at least rolled her eyes, and said "Boys" in that way she has, Ron's grin faded a little and he regretted not finishing the sentence that had been interrupted by Harry and Ginny what seemed like a week or so ago. You'll tell her you love her when you see her later today, in less than twelve hours, he consoled himself. But why did that feel untrue?
"Ok, let's see if we can find this place," Harry drew the scrap of paper with the flat's address out of his pocket. His eyes flitted over several buildings, landing on a dark brown building diagonal from them. "That's it - let's go." He and Ron rushed across the street, stood at the door of the apartment building for a moment.
"Bit posh, no?" Ron surveyed the building and the shops around it. He always tossed Lupin and Tonks into the same category as his family - scraping by, just barely. Though he'd hardly admit it to himself.
"Well, it doesn't belong to Lupin, or Tonks, or even her family - remember? Ginny said it was a friend of Tonks' dad. A Muggle friend, in fact," Harry walked closer to the door, examining a small white box affixed to the side of the doorframe.
"What in bloody hell is that?" Ron had never seen anything like it.
"It's a Muggle alarm system, it prevents people from breaking into the building, and alerts you if someone does get in," Harry grinned a bit at Ron's confusion. "Well, other Muggles at least. I think Alohamor-"
"How does it work?" Ron interrupted, tapping it with his wand.
"Careful with that, mate, I don't think this is a wizarding neighborhood," Harry whispered urgently.
"What? Oh - right - of course-" Ron tucked his wand away. In that instant, the little white box made a hissing sound and was suddenly burning merrily. Whatever it was made of was now running down the dark bricks of the building in dripping white tendrils. Harry and he just stared at the mess for a second - the flames were dying out but the material of the security box was now hardening into a lumpy mess on the side of the entryway.
"Good thing Hermione's not here, or I'd get the what-for," Ron muttered. Harry burst out laughing and Ron joined him. It felt good - no, it felt great. Between killing Kreacher a few hours ago, finding out that Lupin and Tonks were missing, and letting the girl he loved for who-knew-how-long go gallivanting straight towards a seriously evil object all by herself, Ron needed a laugh.
"God, I'm tired," Harry said, still chuckling, and clapped Ron on the back with one hand, swiping at his eyes with the other. "Ron, listen. We don't know what we're going to find up there. Be ready for anything, and prepare yourself to use a stunning spell at anytime. Oh and - we'd better use this," he rummaged in his knapsack, and furtively pulled out his Invisibility Cloak. Harry took a quick look around, ascertaining that they wouldn't draw attention to themselves by disappearing in the middle of the sidewalk, and tossed the cloak over both of them.
Harry pointed his wand at the door, muttered, and it popped open easily enough. They both hustled into the dim foyer, and Ron was struck by how crowded it was under the cape - had it been that long ago that all three of them had fit beneath it comfortably? Time flies - whether you're having fun or not, boy does it fly.
Harry pulled the cloak off of both of them, stuffed it away, and re-shouldered his pack. “Wand ready?” He murmured. Ron nodded, gripping it compulsively. “Second floor, follow me,” Harry took the risers two at a time. Ron followed closely, his heart pounding in his throat, wondering what awaited them in the flat above.
They reached a small landing flooded with sunlight from a narrow window. There was a door straight in front of them. It was slightly ajar. Harry noted it too “ he nodded towards it, at Ron, raised his eyebrows, and ticked off three fingers. On three, then. Ron steeled himself. They both rushed the door, slamming it against the wall.
“Impedime-” but the spell died from their lips. There was no immediate way to tell if Lupin and Tonks had been here. Someone had been here, someone or several someones. But there was no one here now. That was for certain.
Having lived his entire life with family member on top of family member in the crammed, crazy environment of the Burrow, Ron was pretty used to messes. Even messy messes, not just clothes and papers and toys everywhere. But nothing he’d experienced beforehand prepared him “ nor, did it seem, Harry, who was staring in wide-eyed horror “ for the scene they had crashed in upon in the flat’s tiny sitting room.
Ron’s first impression was that someone had eaten their way through the space. There were angry tears in the paisley upholstery of the upended sofa, its guts of foam liner spilling on the to floor; the pale wall paper was gouged through in numerous places, as if something hungry had tried to gnaw through the walls, shredding the wood underneath. The curtains hung in tatters, streaked with what Ron was very afraid was a stomach-turning combination of blood and dirt.
There were other, lesser things that screamed to them something violent had happened in this room not so long ago. The shards of picture frame glass and bits of pottery from what once had been a table lamp crunched underfoot. Ron winced. Feels like walking on bones, he shuddered, and tried to banish the thought.
Harry stared at the destruction surrounding them. “Maybe “ maybe “ they weren’t here?” It came out of his mouth like a question, a plea for it to be true. But Ron noticed something under a splintered end table.
“No, Harry. They were here. Look,” he bent down, and pulled a dark green travel bag from underneath. It was Tonks’. They had both seen her with it at the Burrow. But then Ron found something even more unsettling. “Worse news. At least one of them is without their wand.” He proffered his second find at Harry, who tucked it absently into his back pocket.
“Someone knew they were going to be here. And “ and from the looks of it “ that someone was Fenrir Greyback,” Harry choked on the name of the werewolf as it left his mouth.
Ron’s stomach turned to ice. “Do you really reckon, Harry?” He walked over to the window, examined the curtains closely, then immediately regretted it. He didn’t think it was blood on the curtains. This close up, he could say for sure “ it was.
“Look around, Ron. There wasn’t a magical battle here “ someone did all this damage with physical violence. An animal, a vicious killer. Fenrir Greyback,” Harry finished.
“What do you suppose they wanted? You don’t “ you don’t reckon they killed Tonks and Lupin, do you?” Ron’s throat got tight at the thought. This business just kept getting more and more serious by the moment. His mind turned unwillingly to Hermione and what she may have found at Fiora Podlink’s shop. God forbid it was a scene like this…
“No…if they had only wanted to kill them, Ron, we would’ve…would’ve…found their bodies here,” Harry struggled with the words, “If it really was Fenrir Greyback, which I think it was, they took Lupin “ and Tonks, because she was with him “ to teach them a lesson. You heard Lupin talk about Greyback “ he’s ruthless, bitter, vicious- and he hates non-werewolves. But more than that, he hates werewolves like Lupin, decent people who are simply trying to live their lives as normally as they can…”
They were startled by the sound of rushed, pounding footsteps echoing up the stairwell. Harry gestured to Ron and frantically pulled the Invisibility Cloak out of his bag. He threw it over both of them hastily. After they had burst through the door a few minutes ago, it had bounced partially shut, blocking their view of the hallway. They crept up behind it just as the footsteps reached the second floor landing. There were at least two people out there, breathing heavily. Then they got their second shock of the morning.
“Ron Weasely? Harry Potter?” A deep, harsh voice whispered from the hall. “We know you’re in there, don’t make any sudden moves, for your own safety!” Ron could almost place the voice…it was vaguely familiar…
“Ron! Harry! We’re coming in!” That voice Ron had no problem recognizing. He glanced over at Harry and they gave each other relieved smiles. They threw off the Invisibility Cloak and Ron pulled the door open.
“Dad?”
The Time is Now by Hermione816
Chapter Notes: Well, we all know Hermione's in a bit of a pinch, but what will Ron and Harry find at the Parisian flat where Lupin and Tonks were supposed to be staying? And who will find them? Oh, and yes! This chapter is shorter than the last! ;-)