The Forgotten Adventure by Naomi Evans
Chapter Notes: Sorry so late everyone, I've been on vacation! Just barely got back! Hope you like it!
Hermione’s voice faltered as she asked, “Is that really an Erumpent?” Her eyes flowed over the animal that closely resembled what Muggles would think was a rhinoceros. Its long rope like tail swung violently cutting long blades of grass that surrounded the creature. The Erumpents large sharp long horn that sat on its nose was aggressively tossed around exerting its hostility even more.
“As always you are right,” Ron smiled down at the girl he loved. He couldn’t help grinning down at her since he had just thought up a plan to save her. Ron was happy to protect Hermione and he wondered also if the affects of the kiss was still lingering with him. He looked back at the window, his face becoming serious once more. The Erumpent must have been provoked, but Ron failed to see why. His eyes carefully scanned the familiar landscape around them. Nothing else seemed to stand out to him as unusual.
“Ron what do you think infuriated the Erumpent?” Hermione asked with a frown, her eyes also examining the grounds around the house.
“Dunno ‘Mione, but I have an idea,” Ron told her confidently. “If we could lure the Erumpent to ram into either the front or back door, we could escape.”
Hermione gave Ron an outraged glare. “Are you crazy! It could kill us!”
Ron quickly rethought his plan wondering what was wrong with it. He looked at Hermione, who waited for him expectantly. Ron felt himself become a bit angry. He held back his anger thinking better of it and quickly explained, “I don’t see anything wrong with it. True the blast might kill us, but if it doesn’t then at least we’re free….” Ron paused as he saw Hermione’s exasperated glare. Before she could say anything, Ron quickly added, “It’s better than waiting around for Bellatrix to come and torture us to death. I’d rather die by my own hands instead of giving her the benefit! Besides we need to help Ginny and find Harry.”
Hermione stood next to Ron, her mind thinking about what he had said. There was truth in it, she had no intentions of waiting for Bella to come and kill them and Hermione would rather not die by Bella’s hand. The hope of escape lured her closer and closer to accepting Ron’s plan. Although it was extremely dangerous, it might actually work if they could find a place to protect themselves from the explosion. She thought back on the things she had learned at Hogwarts in their Care of Magical creature’s class. The words of the book popped into her head like a picture and she could read them. Hermione knew that the blast could be dangerous, but only if the Erumpent was extremely provoked. The smaller the provocation, the explosion would be less powerful and dangerous. Hermione thought deeper trying to remember the list of things that she had remembered for a test that slightly irritated Erumpents. She smiled to herself as the whole list came to her mind. There had to be one of those things on the list that was there in the Burrow.
Ron waited patiently next to her wondering what she would say. Hermione had spent the whole time looking out the window thoughtfully. He watched her facial expressions as he waited for her to come to the same answer. They had no other choice.
“Okay, let’s do it,” Hermione told him at last, turning from the window to look at him.
“Alright let’s get started,” Ron answered with a smile. He felt good knowing that he had come up with a plan that Hermione had agreed with, but his excitement was short lived.
“But we have to do it my way,” Hermione told him with a twinkle in her eye.
Ron stood waiting by his front door with bagpipes in hand. The Erumpent had finally wandered right to where Hermione had desired, at the front door. With seconds to go, their plan would go into effect. Ron looked down at the strange instrument in his hands. He had remembered as a child the hideous noise it once made when Fred and George had practiced. Ron was sure that when his mum had forced Fred and George to take music lessons, she never expected them to pick instruments that would purposely make her think twice about forcing them to be musical. The twins had only taken three lessons of bagpipes before his mum made them quit and put the bagpipes away in the storage closet. He had taken it out of the closet several times as a child and played the bagpipes while his family was away, but he had never gotten good. Ron sighed hoping that Hermione’s plan would work and wishing they would make it back safely.
“Ron?” Hermione called from around the kitchen corner. “Are you ready?”
“Yeah, except how long do you think I have to play for? I told you already I don’t know how to play this thing,” He hopelessly eyed the instrument in his arms.
“Ron, you didn’t listen to me did you?” Hermione asked and then rolled her eyes accompanied by a small giggle. “I told you to do what Professor Quirrel did to the harp to make Fluffy sleep. Cast a spell to make it play by itself.”
“Oh! That’s why you were talking about Fluffy!” Ron smiled and gently nodded his head. He winked at her and then sheepishly said, “I don’t know that spell.”
Hermione smiled at him and laughed again. “Don’t worry, I’ll do it.”
“Alright, but I’ll let you run down the stairs into the cellar before me,” Ron grinned as Hermione walked up to him. “I wouldn’t want anything to happen to you.”
“We’ll be fine. I’ve figure out that the bagpipes slightly irritated the Erumpent, so the blast won’t be as strong as the one that demolished the garage,” Hermione replied with smile. “Thanks for the thoughtfulness.”
Ron grinned from ear to ear as he handed over the bagpipes to Hermione. For once he was glad that Bellatrix had been very thoroughly detailed on her replica of his house and with his idea and Hermione’s plan they would be free from their prison in no time.
“Are you ready now?” Hermione asked a bit nervously.
“Yep, but just in case, I want to let you know that I love you,” Ron told her gently, he awkwardly fidgeted wit his fingers. He couldn’t look her straight in the eye, but he wanted to her to know if anything to them.
“I love you too!” She answered her cheeks bright red and large smile on her face. Trying to hide her red face, Hermione quickly turned around and set the bagpipes on the floor and quickly cast the spell and the instrument came to life playing the loud squeaky noise. Hermione nodded to Ron who stood not to far away. She quickly ran into the kitchen and through the door, down the stairs, into the cellar. Ron was right behind her as they tore down the stairs two at a time. The musty smell of dirt filled their nostrils as they panted in the cold air. They rushed forward toward the spot that they felt was safest, and crouching down they waited for their plan to work.
Hermione had been sure that Erumpents were sensitive to loud noise and hoped that her memory wasn’t wrong and that the bagpipes would only slightly anger the creature for a smaller blast. She and Ron had positioned themselves in a corner furthest away from the front door that the Erumpent would expectedly charge. The bagpipes filled their ears loudly enough to disturb their thinking. Hermione waited with her hands pressed to her ears. Ron was crouched next to her doing the same thing. She hoped her plan would work and that she wouldn’t let down Ron or herself.
Suddenly the Burrow shook again. The shelves full of jars and boxes fell to the ground around them. Glass jars filled with fruits, vegetables, and potion ingredients shattered upon the floor. Ron protective threw himself over Hermione as a nearby shelf came crashing down over them, luckily the boxes that tumbled over them were empty. The house groaned and moaned with anger. As quickly as it came, the storm stopped. Ron stood up pushing the boxes off of them.
Hermione stood up carefully and looked at Ron. “Are you okay?” She asked as a dust cloud descended from above.
“Yeah, I’m fine….the bagpipe stopped,” Ron replied looking up at the ceiling as thought he could see through it.
“That explosion was bigger than I expected,” Hermione said as she examined the mess of debris.
“Even if it was a bigger explosion, I hope it worked,” Ron answered, his face full of doubt.
“I doubt that Bellatrix imagined that we would use the Erumpent to escape, so she probably didn’t put any protection spells on the Burrow in such an event.”
“We don’t know that, she seems to have planned for everything. I just don’t want you to be disappointed if it didn’t work,” Ron explained as he looked around the cellar.
“Well let’s go see then,” Hermione hopefully suggested as she moved forward.
“Let me lead the way just in case the Erumpent’s ready to charge again,” Ron answered quickly holding Hermione back. He moved the boxes and things around them, making a path through the debris and up the stairs to the kitchen.
“I wish I had known that you had ingredients for potions in your cellar. I could have brewed up something to save us,” Hermione told him thoughtfully as she climbed the stair behind him.
“Well this was more fun in the end,” Ron smiled at her. He put his finger to his lips to silence her. Motioning for her to stay in the stairwell, Ron peeked around the corner into the kitchen. Through the broken boards, tile, ceilings and other debris Ron could see their freedom.