Disclaimer: I’m not J.K Rowling...does that sum it up??? Besides, if I was J.K, would I really be spending my time posting a badly written story on Mugglenet.com??? (Not meant in any offence to Mugglenet. I love you Emerson!)
A/N: This chapter is extremely short and rushed, I know, but I needed this filler chapter, otherwise it would not make much sense. Hope you stick with me, I know it’s boring but you’ll find out a lot more in the next chapter, I promise!
Ron woke to movement on the other side of the room. He rolled over and opened his eyes slowly to see Hermione walking quietly past him into the kitchen. He flopped back down and groaned as he saw the time on the clock next to him. It was four o’clock in the morning. He closed his eyes again and concentrated on sleeping, trying to ignore the pattering of rain of the roof above him.
He woke again to the sun rays shining brightly through Hermione’s windows, hitting his face. He glanced again at the clock, seeing that he had slept for another five hours. He looked out the window to see that it had indeed stopped raining, with the sun still shining in his eyes. He sat up, stretched his arms above him, and listened for any sign of Hermione. There wasn’t any.
I suppose she’s eating breakfast or something, he thought to himself as he climbed off the couch and walked into the bathroom. He showered and dressed into a t-shirt and jeans. The brightly lit corridor that led to towards the kitchen drew Ron’s attention to his surroundings. The walls were covered in moving pictures of Hermione with her children, with the occasional appearance of Cammie or the man Ron recognised from the park.
Ron made his way down the hall towards the kitchen, though could not smell anything like breakfast. He walked into the kitchen to see everything in the same order it had been in last night. The dishes were still stacked neatly on the bench, and their wine glasses still sitting in the sink, waiting to be cleaned.
Ron walked out of the kitchen and back down the hall. When he entered her bedroom, there was no sign Hermione had been there. He went back up the hall, looking in every room he passed. He gazed into another bathroom, a large room Ron assumed to be Hermione’s working area, and what appeared to be the children’s rooms, though there was still no sign of Hermione in the house.
Ron grabbed his sneakers and put them on quickly. He walked briskly through the house and out into the sunlight, heading for Cammie’s house. As he crossed the dew-strewn lawn, many thoughts crossed his mind. It was so unlike Hermione to leave with no warning. Could something have happened? If so, where was she now?
When he finally reached the door, he knocked sharply on it, taking a better look at the front lawn he had passed without a second glance. Sitting by the front of the house was a large collection of children’s toys. Ron began to feel a little sick remembering that some of the children using those toys were Hermione’s.
The door was suddenly opened by a tall man with dark hair and an uninviting look on his face. He eyed Ron suspiciously and opened the door fully, letting Ron see the inside of the house. There, running around in the house, were five of the children Ron had seen at the park yesterday. One of them glanced momentarily at Ron before the group ran from the room and continued the game. Ron could still hear the children’s playful screams as he turned his attentions back to the man before him.
“Uh, Cammie wouldn’t happen to be here, would she?” asked Ron.
“No, she left about an hour ago. Why do you want her?” asked the man as he glimpsed behind to look at the children in the back room.
“Well, I’m a friend of Hermione’s, and she’s not-”
“Do you know?” asked the man suddenly, his tone of voice changing dramatically.
“Know what?” replied Ron impatiently. What was he talking about? What was there to know?
“I can’t help you, sorry,” he said, before closing the door in Ron’s face, leaving him standing there staring at the spot where the man had been standing just before.
“Oi! Come back!” yelled Ron as he banged on the door. If there was something wrong with Hermione, he had to know. He had come all this way to visit her, and then suddenly he had no idea where she was, and no one was prepared to help him.
After banging and yelling for a further five minutes, Ron decided that the man was not returning to help him. He walked dejectedly back across the yard towards Hermione’s house once again. Maybe something inside he had missed would help him to understand exactly where Hermione was.
As Ron walked back into Hermione’s house, he moved quickly towards the kitchen. As he entered it again, he noticed something that had not been there last night. Sitting on a glass table in the corner of the room was a small piece of paper. As he approached it, he noticed the name Mike scribbled quickly across it. He picked it up and opened it.
Mike,
I know you were supposed to spend the day with ‘Mione but I had to take her to St Mungo’s again. Come up when you read this, Hermione is asking for you. And please tell the red-head on her couch to come too. Don’t worry, they’re not together, he’s just an old friend of hers. Can you also make sure the kids know where we are and that Greg hasn’t killed them yet? Or that they haven’t killed him?
Thanks,
Cammie.
Ron re-read this twice to make sure he understood everything. Hermione was at St Mungo’s. Whoever Mike was, he hadn’t bothered to wake Ron up and tell him that Hermione was in hospital.
He finally felt he could move and ran as fast as he could down the hall and into the lounge room. He grabbed his wand from the table and stuffed it carelessly into his pocket. He then Apparated to St Mungo’s, hoping that nothing major had happened to Hermione.
What has happened to Hermione??? Guess you’ll just have to wait and see. I know this wasn’t the most exciting chapter but I needed it for the next one.
I got my inspiration for this chapter from an awesome song I danced to called, ironically, “Is There Anybody Out There?” by Pink Floyd. Although the song doesn’t really shine through this chapter, it’s where I got it from so I thought I’d include it.
Hope you all liked it, and please R&R! Love Lucia_Swanne.
What Could Have Been by Lucia_Swanne
Chapter Notes: After a sleepless night, Ron is puzzled to find that Hermione is not home. Where is she, and has anything happened to her?