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Only Time Will Tell	By : chrmisha Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female Views: 3087 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor any of the characters from the books or movies. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
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Chapter 10: To Cry a Thousand Tears

Three days had passed since the news of Remus�s disappearance. Three days had passed since Hermione had left her bed. She had not eaten anything since Friday breakfast. She was no longer curled up in a ball sobbing, but sitting on her bed, her back against the wall, a vacant, empty look in her eyes. The last words she had spoken were to Ginny that Friday. Since then, she�d been unresponsive. Ginny had left plates of food and drink on her bedside table after every meal, but she never touched them. Even Dobby the house-elf had visited her and tempted her with her favorite foods to no avail.

Ginny was finding it exceedingly difficult not to tell Ron and Harry what was going on. On Sunday night, she finally cracked.

�The man she is in love with has been captured by Death Eaters.� She had never seen the two of them go so quiet in all the time she�d known them.

Finally, Harry asked, �Does the Order know? Are they looking for him?�

�Yes, I think so.�

�What does Snape have to do with this?� Harry wondered.

�Snape was the one who told her. Snape made it clear that not only does he hope they kill him, but Snape also insinuated that he was the one who set him up.�

Harry and Ron could not believe their ears.

�I always knew Snape was evil, but this goes way beyond evil,� Ron lamented.

***

On Monday, Harry attended his classes without Hermione. Snape seemed rather pleased that Hermione was absent, and Harry�s loathing for the man reached a new level. In Transfiguration, Professor McGonagall had taken Harry aside after class and asked about Hermione�s absence. �She hasn�t been feeling well. I�m sure she�ll be fine by tomorrow,� Harry had said, but he highly doubted that would be the case.

By Monday afternoon, with still no sign of Hermione, Harry, Ron, and Ginny decided it was time to take more drastic action.

Afraid of betraying her friend�s confidence, Ginny reluctantly approached the staff table after dinner that evening. �Professor McGonagall, may I speak with you in private?�

McGonagall shot Ginny a curious glance, but nodded and lead Ginny to her office.

�Please, have a seat. What can I do for you Miss Weasley?�

Ginny hesitated. �It�s Hermione. She�s in a terrible state. She hasn�t eaten since Friday and I think she�s getting worse.�

Professor McGonagall got up from behind her desk. �Has she taken ill? Does she have the flu?�

Ginny bit her lip and shook her head. She didn�t know how much to say.

�Well what is it then?�

�I think you�d better have a look for yourself.� Ginny said resolutely.

Ron and Harry were waiting eagerly for Ginny in the Gryffindor common room. Ginny sat down next to them as Professor McGonagall quickly climbed the stairs to the girl�s dormitory. When she returned several minutes later, her face was ashen. She squatted down in front of Ginny, speaking very quietly.

�Miss Weasley, she won�t speak to me. Please tell me what is wrong with her.�

Ginny bit her lip and looked away.

Professor McGonagall looked to Harry and Ron.

They both shrugged their shoulders and shook their heads.

�Miss Weasley, this is very serious. You have to tell me.�

�I can�t,� Ginny whined. �I promised.�

McGonagall�s face seemed to turn a deeper shade of red. Finally, in a much sharper voice, she asked, �Does anyone else know about this?�

Ginny thought for a moment. Snape. Well, over her dead body would she get him involved. �Professor Dumbledore,� she said quietly.

Harry and Ron exchanged surprised looks.

�The headmaster knows about this?� McGonagall�s voice was shrill, her eyebrows raised.

Ginny nodded, still looking at the floor.

�Come, then, we need to speak with him immediately.�

***

Sirius sat alone in the wretched house of his family. This dark place had never offered him any comfort. His parents would have been appalled at Sirius�s audacity to offer it up as headquarters for the Order, and that did give him some comfort, some small measure of contributing to the cause, for he could do little else. Sirius had wanted to go back to the forest Remus had been captured in, look for any clues of his captors, but Dumbledore firmly reminded him that he was still a wanted man and he would do nothing of the sort. Instead, Dumbledore had sent other Order members to search the forest. They had found nothing.

Dumbledore�s reminder that someone needed to remain at headquarters to send up the alarm did nothing to ease Sirius�s sense of helplessness. Remus was out there, somewhere, most likely being tortured, while Sirius sat at headquarters doing nothing to find him. If it wasn�t for Harry and his remote hope that Remus might somehow escape alive, he might just save the Ministry the trouble of ending his worthless life.

***

Ginny had only been to the headmaster�s office once before. As McGonagall gave the password, they stepped onto a spiral staircase that magically revolved upwards, leaving them in front of a large wooden door.

�Minerva, Miss Weasley.� Dumbledore nodded for them to sit.

�Headmaster, I am sorry to disturb you,� McGonagall�s voice was clipped and urgent. �But something is terribly wrong with Miss Granger. Miss Weasley will not tell me what it is but she says that you know.�

Dumbledore looked between the two women in front of him. �I�m afraid, Miss Weasley, I do not know what you are speaking of. Would you be so kind as to explain?�

Ginny nervously twirled her long red hair around her fingers, avoiding the anxious stares of her headmaster and teacher.

�Hermione knows, Headmaster, about� about Professor Lupin�s disappearance.�

Professor McGonagall looked bewildered, obviously not understanding the significance of that statement.

Dumbledore merely clasped his fingers together and seemed lost in thought. �And this is affecting her how?� he finally asked calmly.

�She hasn�t eaten since Friday, she hasn�t left her dorm room, she isn�t speaking with anyone, she�s missed all of her classes...� Ginny said, feeling miserable for betraying her friend.

�Albus, she looks like a zombie! I tried to speak with her and it was as if I wasn�t even there. What is the meaning of this?�

Dumbledore gave McGonagall a meaningful glance and continued. �Miss Weasley, how did Miss Granger find out about Professor Lupin?�

Ginny looked up, a new fury in her eyes. �Professor Snape told her after class on Friday.�

Dumbledore raised his eyebrows as he and McGonagall exchanged seemingly nervous glances.

�And what did Professor Snape say to Miss Granger?�

�I�m not sure I can repeat it, sir,� Ginny said quietly to the floor.

McGonagall shifted in her chair.

�I assure you, Miss Granger, we�ve heard it all before. You have my permission to speak freely and honestly about their exchange.�

Ginny proceeded to tell them exactly what Hermione had told her, which was confirmed by what Harry had overhead. She�d never seen Dumbledore look so angry as McGonagall sat quietly, clenching her teeth and ringing her hands, looking very pale and cross. Ginny also told them about Hermione�s letter to Remus that had been returned to her Friday morning before class.

�Thank you, Miss Weasley. I do appreciate you sharing this matter with us. Now if you�ll please excuse us, it seems there are some things that Professor McGonagall and I need to discuss.�

Ginny hurried back to Gryffindor tower. She knew that Dumbledore would have to tell McGonagall what had happened between Hermione and Remus over the summer. She could only imagine what McGonagall�s reaction would be.

�Hermione?� Ginny said tentatively.

Hermione stared off into space, her hollow, empty eyes not even acknowledging Ginny�s presence.

Ginny twirled her hair nervously. She sat next to Hermione and picked up her limp hand. �Hermione, we are all very worried about you. And we couldn�t just let you waste away up here forever. I had to tell her, I�m sorry.� Ginny waited, but there was no response. Just then, Professor McGonagall entered the dormitory.

�Miss Weasley, if you would kindly excuse us.�

A few moments later, much to Ginny, Ron, and Harry�s surprise, Professor McGonagall rushed out of the Gryffindor common room looking extremely frustrated.

Several minutes after that, McGonagall returned with a very determined look on her face. She marched up to the girl�s dormitory and returned with a few confused Gryffindors who had been evacuated from their rooms. Hermione was no where to be seen. McGonagall seemed to be standing guard at the bottom of the stairs. She turned away two second years who tried to retrieve something from their rooms. A few moments later, much to everyone�s surprise, Dumbledore appeared through the portrait hole. He nodded at Ginny, Ron, and Harry, and gave a small smile to McGonagall, who flushed and nodded back.

Ron watched in amazement as he ascended the stairs to the girl�s dormitory. �Hey, how come he can do that? No other guy can walk up those stairs.� Ron had discovered this one time when he tried to retrieve Hermione from her dormitory; the stairs simply melted away, turning into a slick, unclimbable slide.

***

Remus awoke bloodied and beaten. The concrete floor he was laying on felt like ice against his raw flesh. Looking through the one eye that wasn�t swollen shut, he could see a small window about six feet up one of the concrete walls. As his vision cleared slightly, he could see the dim light of the approaching dawn. Dark ground was level with the bottom of the window. He must be in the basement of some building. In the darkness, he scanned the rest of the tiny room. He could barely make out the edges of a door. Beyond that, the room was completely empty. Empty and bitterly cold. Instinctively, he reached for his wand. Sighing, he closed his eyes. He must have been cursed as well as beaten. Try as he might, he could not fight the wave of exhaustion and nausea that swept over his body.
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Only Time Will Tell