Ron was lying on his bed, not moving. It was night now and the flickering light from a candle made shadows that danced violently in a blink. The window was closed and Ginny was in her own room with Luna who had been given permission to stay over. The door opened and Mrs. Weasley came in. Ron still hadn't moved.
"Okay Ron?" she asked motherly. "Fancy a glass of pumpkin juice or butterbeer, perhaps?"
Ron continued to stare directly in front of him. There was too much emotion. As soon as they got Harry back, Hermione disappears. No, kidnapped. He knew Voldemort must be back.
"Dumbledore took Harry with him to get him back. Isn't that exciting? Now- I know it's hard to be happy now, but we'll get her, Ron! Don't you worry at all!"
She had grabbed Ron's hands at this and was shaking them as her eyes watered up. Ron couldn't control himself and he started to bawl so that Mrs. Weasley threw her arms around him and they sat for a while, crying.
Mrs. Weasley left Ron to sleep after that and Ron woke up the next day feeling very strange. He couldn't give it a name, but he knew that something was a bit complete inside. He dressed and went downstairs to find Ginny and Luna eating eggs and bacon cooked by Mrs. Weasley.
"Eat up Ron! He'll be here soon!" Mrs. Weasley chirpped happily.
"Who?" Ron asked hoping for her to say Harry but not believing it possible.
"Why, Harry of course!" Mrs. Weasley said joyfully and she folded her hands around her face, smiling as Ron reacted merrily; dancing with Luna and sending out little colorful sparks through his wand.
After breakfast, Ron brought Ginny and Luna to the clubhouse (completely forgetting about it being Ginny-free) so that they could make it look nice for when Harry arrived.
They stepped inside and Luna looked disturbed, "This is a clubhouse?"
Ron looked a bit angered but fully explained how he wanted it to look for when Harry came. Luna summoned a broom from a murky corner to sweep and Ginny began doing odd jobs like cleaning the window and mending and oiling the table. Ron looked in the boxes but only found old pots and pans, so he threw them out. Ron was amazed that neither one of the girls had taken the slightest bit of interest in the small door that led to the other room.
After the room was empty and clean they began to make banners that said "Welcome back, Harry!" to decorate the room. It was during this time that Ron had remembered about Hermione. He didn't want to think about it, but that was like trying to ignore the fact that your heart is missing.
The banners had gone up and Mrs. Weasley had come to the door with a tray of tasty treats and a pitcher of ice cold pumpkin juice. She smiled as she saw the improvement of the room. The wood floor was shiny and the walls were all painted blue. The table was set in the middle and there were wooden chairs surrounding it. A cabinet sat in the corner and had a few books and odd things.
Ron, who noticed her looking at every crevice of the room, was waiting for her to ask about the small door on the end of the building and was astonished when she calmly said, "Well this is just grand! And just in time! I expect he'll be arriving soon." She winked at them all and left.
Ron started to wonder if maybe he was the only one who could see the door. It was possible as he knew very little about the room itself and remembered about how only Harry could hear the Basilisk's voice, and how only Hermione could stay conscious during Binn's class.
Ron was staring intently at the door as Luna and Ginny were putting up the banner and Harry stepped into the room. Ron was deep in thought and only barely noticed him enter, "Oh, hey Harry, I was…" Ron swung around, his eyes as wide as onions and he shouted, "HARRY!"
Ginny and Luna spun around and gasped in shock. Harry was standing at the door smiling. He stepped closer and said, "I've missed you all so much!" Ron and Harry embraced and Ginny ran up as well. (Luna had focused her attention on the wall opposite everyone and smiled abstractedly.) Everyone stood around admiring how real they all were. Harry looked over at Luna and with a quick scope of the room asked, "Er, where's Hermione?"
Ron's head fell with his heart and Ginny clutched the open sides of her coat and said, "Er- Hermione, she- well, now Harry…"
Luna stepped up to Harry and slowly hugged him, patting his back, "There, there Harry," she said consolingly as Harry gave Ron and Ginny a look of surprise. "We know you're distressed about Hermione disappearing."
Harry had to be seated as he had a million questions about Hermione's welfare. Ron and Ginny interweaved parts of the story to him and by the end he stood, shocked and staring out the window. He turned to Ron and said, "We have to find her."
Harry looked out the window again and his eyes squinted as he was looking at something. Everyone looked in the direction as well. There was something in the distance. It was an Owl. Harry went to the window and said, "Hedwig?"
The owl was getting a bit closer and Ron said, "It looks like Hedwig. Where's he been off to?" They all ran to the doorway waiting for the owl to arrive and when it was nearly there, something whizzed from out of the ground straight for her. Hedwig looked a bit beat up and only barely moved out of the way so that the thing flew past.
Ginny and Luna screamed and Harry ran to the edge of the hill and shouted, "Hedwig, look out!" Hedwig flew closer and the speedy item returned, once again aiming for the owl. Harry took out his wand and shouted, "Accio Hedwig!"
Hedwig soared into Harry's hands, its letter dropped to Harry's foot. The speedy item was heading directly at Harry and they could see that it resembled a bludger with spikes littering its skin. Ginny had her wand out and shouted, "Finite Incantatem!" so that the thing blew up in the air only feet away from the small crowd.
Everyone ran into the clubhouse in case another one of those things appeared. Hedwig gave a small hoot and she looked extremely exhausted. Harry let Luna hold Hedwig and he quickly darted outside to retrieve the letter. It lay on the floor and he noticed at once Hermione's tidy writing.
Inside Harry Opened the letter as Ginny helped Hedwig drink some Pumpkin juice and eat a few treats.
"It says; To whomever gets this! Harry I hope you are back by this time! I called on Hedwig and bless that bird for always knowing where to find me! I'm in serious trouble! I only have time enough to write before the sun rises so I must be quick. Voldemort is back. He has a big plan on defeating the ministry, but he won't speak of it and the death eaters don't seem to know what it is. You must inform the ministry and the Order at once! If they don't stop him, I don't know what will happen! Plus, I'm in quite a predicament myself… Voldemort is planning on putting a spell on me so that I will be in a deep sleep forever. Now, you must focus on defeating Voldemort! I can take care of myself! I don't exactly know where I am, but I imagine it's in the mountains somewhere in Switzerland. The mountains are green with snow and the skies are unnaturally grey and purple. I can hear someone coming so I must go. Hope Hedwig reaches you safely. Hermione"
Harry lowered the letter and everyone looked around, not really sure what to do. Ron looked straight at Harry, "We have to save her. We must!"
Harry put the letter back into the envelope that bared the new Weasley address and he said, "Hermione said that we need to inform the adults, and I agree. I want to save her too, Ron, but we have no idea where to find her and I'm sure the order will be able to find her quicker." Ron knew Harry was right, but he was tired of always standing aside.
Harry, Ron, Ginny and Luna told Molly about the letter and she said she would call the Order at once. She whispered into her wand and a small wisp of silvery light soared out the window. Harry handed the letter over to Mrs. Weasley and everyone sat in the lounge, waiting for the order. Everyone sat quietly, not looking at each other.
Ron stood up and said, "I can't sit here, I'm going into the clubhouse to think." He left the house and started up the hill alone. He went into the clubhouse and closed the door. The room was drowning in gray light, Ron noticed, and he approached and looked out the window to see if anyone else had followed him, but no one had.
He went straight towards the small door and he opened it, stepping quickly inside and closing it. The red door was still standing in the middle of the otherwise empty room. He went over to it, hoping that this door could be of some help. It was really a desperate shot in the dark, as it could very well be a normal, unused door. It was painted a deep red and had a mail slot in it. Ron put his hand on the doorknob, not sure what might happen to him when he opened the door. He slowly turned the knob and the door behind him opened. Ron nearly jumped clear over the red door as he looked at Luna, who appeared quite relaxed and even a bit entertained with Ron's little leap.
"How did you get in here!?" Ron shouted.
"Well," Luna answered as though he'd asked a very obvious question. "That little door has been there all day, and I was a bit interested to see where it led."
Ron looked astonished, "You mean you can see that door?"
Luna nodded. "But Ginny can't. At least she never mentioned seeing it, and she cleaned all the walls. I watched her unconsciously cleaning around it."
Ron realized that Luna must see a lot of things that no one else can, and so he turned back towards the door. He got a sudden urge and he flung open the red door. There was nothing but the other side of the room. "Ha," Ron laughed forlornly. "Like this door could really lead to where Hermione is…"
Luna closed the door and Ron was about to leave. Luna then said, "I wonder…"
Ron turned to her and asked, "You wonder what?"
She pulled a postcard out of her jacket and said, "It's from where my dad and I stayed on holiday." She opened the mail slot and dropped the postcard through it. There was no sound of the card hitting the ground on the other side and Luna opened the door.
Ron's jaw hit the floor yet Luna looked a bit like she had expected to see the very field through the door. A breeze drifted through and a daisy was blown into the room. The field was indeed on the other side of the door. Luna turned to Ron and said, "The door reads description's of places and creates a portal to that destination."
Luna had closed the door and put the flower in her hair. Ron opened the door again, but the field had disappeared. "I guess once the door closes, the portal closes as well," he said. Luna went to the backside of the door and retrieved the postcard that had suddenly appeared. Ron's eyes became wide, "This is it! This is how we can save Hermione!"