A New Beginning (Sequel to A Different Beginning)

Chapter Nine - Task in Motion

She rushed into the manor after her quick apparition from the village. She had seen the battle and she was worried sick about what might have happened. When she saw him she cried out. "Oh! Look what they did to you!"

The man shrugged and let her cover his face in kisses. "It was him."

"Draco did this?" She exclaimed, curling into his lap to baby him.

Narcissa rolled her eyes as she stepped into the room. "Show some respect! I am still the lady of the manor."

Lucius ran his finger up Pansy's leg. "Ah Cissy, like that means anything at all." He turned to crush his lips down to his lovers' as Narcissa tried not to watch.

Pansy grinned at him when he pulled away. "Are you sure you're not hurt too terribly?"

He shook his head, grinning at her. "I'm fine now that you're here."

She grinned broadly at those words. "With everything that's been going on I'm beginning to think this plan will never work. Draco doesn't even look at me anymore."

Narcissa shrugged. "He seems to be happy, from what I've heard, with that half-blood."

"Well, he won't be for long," Lucius murmured, placing his hand over his lover's stomach. "Is the baby doing alright?"

Pansy nodded. "Yes. But how are we going to pass it off as Draco's?"

"How far along are you, Pansy? Only three weeks, right?" Narcissa asked as she took a seat on the chair, handing Pansy some bandages.

She shook her head. "No, I'm six weeks."

"Alright. I know what you have to do before we can set this entire plan in motion. First we have to give Draco a reason to believe the baby might be his."

Pansy nodded. "How are we going to do that?"

"Let's not worry about that right now. The only thing you need to worry about is ... can you handle it?"

Lucius ran his hand over her bottom. "She can handle it, Cissy. Draco belongs with this young tasty morsel not with the half-blood."

"I agree," Narcissa replied, her eyes cold as she stared at her husband. "I have the perfect plan to get the ball rolling. Listen up ..."

*******

The minutes passed slowly as they all sat around Ron's bed in the hospital wing. After forty minutes Harry stood up, dragging Ginny with him. He couldn't just sit there. Hermione stayed, rocking back and forth, her hand in his. The coldness of his hand swept through her but she held on.

How was she was going to go on without him?

She ran her hand through his hair, ignoring Dumbledore who had stepped into the room and gestured for Molly and Arthur to step over there. She could hear him talking but the words weren't connecting to her ears.

"...award for his bravery ... sacrifice ... true hero ..."

Her hands shook slightly as she held on and she closed her eyes.

"Ron ... please, you can't be dead ... you just can't be. I need you." She murmured under her breath, hoping that by some chance this entire thing was wrong.

Hermione ran her fingers through her bushy hair, pushing it out of her face. What was she going to do without him?

Then suddenly a thought occurred to her and her eyes shot across the room to where Ginny was standing in Harry's arms.

"Ginny!" She shrieked.

The room as a whole jumped at the sound.

"You ... you can heal Ron, make him live again." Even as the words left her mouth she knew it wasn't to be done.

"I can't, Hermione. He's been dead almost an hour. I didn't get to him in time. I'm sorry." Tears rolled down her cheeks as she spoke and she curled into Harry. "I'm so sorry."

Tears began to roll down Hermione's cheeks again and her heart pounded. Ron was gone. There was nothing left for her to do. He was gone and his whole family had to be told. Molly and Arthur had to tell his brothers. She gulped back a sob at the thought. How was anyone going to forgive her? She took his hand in hers again and rubbed it gently until the skin began to change in front of her eyes. She jumped to her feet and screamed.

Harry rushed back across the room, pulling her into his arms. Her entire body was shaking and she clung to him. He held her tight, knowing that it wasn't his arms she needed. But it was at that moment when he looked over at Ron that he understood everything.

The skin was bubbling and morphing back into its original form. The freckles disappeared and blue veins appeared on old wrinkled skin as the red hair vanished and curly white hair appeared in its place. The Hogwarts robes turned into dirty rags and a pair of broken glasses appeared on the face.

"Ron?" Hermione whispered.

Harry's eyes met hers and he grinned. "Hopefully alive."

Dumbledore however had gripped the bed post tightly. "Abe."

"Sir?" Harry asked.

Madam Pomfrey pushed Dumbledore down into a chair and shoved a steaming potion down his throat. "He's in a bit of shock. That's his brother."

"Aberforth?" James asked, stepping up behind them and placing a comforting hand on the headmaster's shoulder.

Molly and Arthur rushed over. "You mean Ron ... our baby he's ...?"

"MIA," James murmured. "Of course ..."

Molly squealed in happiness. "He's alive!"

James shook his head. "Molly, we don't know that. All we know is that he is MI - missing, but I'm betting he's alive. They went through a great deal of trouble to fix it so we thought he was dead. He's alive but for how long I cannot say."

Hermione was still cuddled in Harry's arms, her head resting against his shoulder. "But we can save him right?"

Harry held her closer and kissed her forehead. "Of course we will, Mione. Ron is tough. He'll be fine."

Dumbledore stood up now, his blue eyes looking tired and worn. He looked every bit his age as his gaze fell once again upon his brother. "We'll meet in the Room of Requirement in one hour. Contact the Order."

Then he silently walked out of the room.

James squeezed Lily's hand in his and followed Dumbledore quietly. He made it half-way down the hall before he found him, leaning back against the castle wall and staring off into the distance.

"Albus? Are you alright?"

Dumbledore managed a small smile. "I'm fine. I knew he was dead, James. In my heart I knew it, but to have him appear like that ... it was just a bit of a shock. He was the only family I had left you see."

James reached over to grip the old man's shoulder. "That's not true. Hogwarts is your family and so am I, your always welcome at our home."

"Thank you, James." He stood up a bit straighter. "Now if you'll excuse me, I just ... I need a little time to myself before this meeting."

James nodded. "Of course." As he watched Dumbledore walk away he realized for the second time in his life just how old the man looked and how fragile. He shook the thoughts from his mind and headed back into the hospital wing.

"How's Albus?" Lily asked when he came back in.

James shrugged. "As good as to be expected I suppose." He turned his attention to where Harry, Hermione, and Ginny were still sitting. "Look, why don't you three head up to the dorms and we'll see you in the meeting. There's nothing else you can do here."

Molly nodded, tears still pouring down her cheeks. "Yes, go on now. We'll take care of Aberforth Dumbledore now."

The three of them nodded and headed up the Head Boy's room and took a seat around the room. Hermione however began to rock back and forth once again. Harry's eyes met Ginny's and she nodded at him before she left the room but not before she told him in his mind.

"She needs you Harry. I'll see you at the meeting."

He watched her leave and then he headed over to the chair she was sitting in and he lifted her out of it, carrying her over to Ron's bed and sitting her down. When he pulled her into his arms, she broke down all over again.

"Shh, Mione, it's alright. I'm here and I won't let anything happen to you."

"Like you didn't let anything happen to Ron?" She demanded.

Harry's heart ached at those words. "It's my fault, I know that, but we'll bring home safe. I promise."

"You can't know that!" She exclaimed, cuddling closer as the tears fell. "I need him, Harry, I need him so much! He was the one who ... he understands me. He loves me ... no, no, no one's ever loved me."

Harry kissed her forehead and rubbed his hands up and down her back. "You're wrong about that. We all love you. Me, Ginny, Ron, the Weasleys, my parents, everyone ... we all love you."

Hermione shook her head, wiping her tears on his shoulder. "It's my fault you know. I saw it ... I saw the battle with him and I didn't stop it."

"Hey, it's not your fault, Hermione. Ron was fighting and they captured him. It's not your fault. Don't blame yourself for this, alright? How were we supposed to know this was going to happen?" He asked.

"We just should have," she murmured. "I knew something was wrong. I could feel it."

Harry kept his arms around Hermione. "Come on; we're going to get the bottom of this right now. Dumbledore is getting the Order on it."

She nodded against him, tears still rolling down his cheeks. "Harry ... he ... do you think he's alright?"

"I don't know, Hermione, but I think he is. He can take care of himself. Ron's a tough guy."

She nodded silently and cuddled closer. The joy of Ron being alive had been masked by the mind-numbing fear of just what Voldemort was going to do to him. Nothing anyone said was going to make her feel any better. She curled closer to Harry, needing the warmth of his arms.

"Will you stay here with me until the meeting?"

Harry kissed her forehead again. "As long as you need me."

She nodded and as she bit back her sobs, she drifted off to sleep.

*********

By the hour mark, most of the Order had joined up in the Room of Requirement and Dumbledore stood in the middle of the room. When he had stood, the room fell silent and Hermione's hand had clutched Harry's desperately.

Harry still wasn't sure what was going through her mind but when she had fallen asleep he had tucked her into Ron's bed and let her sleep until the last minute. She had cried herself out and he understood that, but she was his best friend and he didn't know what else to do for her. In all of his years of knowing her, he had never once seen such a defeated look in her eyes. He squeezed her hand gently to reassure her before he turned his attention to Dumbledore.

"A few months back we lost an important member of this Order. A man who, not only worked hard and helped us gain a lot of the information we required, but was also a good friend to me, a brother. He was kidnapped by Voldemort and most likely tortured for information. We knew this was a possibility. What we didn't know is that he had been kept alive until very recently. Aberforth Dumbledore is dead." Dumbledore explained.

Murmurs and comments vibrated throughout the room.

"With this knowledge however, another tragedy has struck. Ronald Weasley is missing. Polyjuice potion was used on Aberforth to disguise his body into that of Mr. Weasley. Everyone believed that young Ron was dead until the potion wore off and the true form appeared. I believe, though more investigating would be of good choice, that the Polyjuice potion was ingested as a lotion. When frozen it becomes a cream and can be rubbed over a body to produce change. The Polyjuice lotion would then last two hours on whoever it was that they were trying to hide. This is what I believe happened to Abe when they took Mr. Weasley. Voldemort believes that Mr. Weasley holds important information. Now it is our task to rescue him from Voldemort's confines before it is too late, as we were too late for Abe." He explained solemnly. "Severus, what do you know of this plan?"

Snape stood up now, his eyes moving around the room. "I know nothing of the plan itself. I was however, aware that the Dark Lord had given Pettigrew a task to complete, a mission of a sort. I'm assuming that kidnapping Mr. Weasley and putting a fake body in its place was the mission. The Dark Lord is desperate for information on the prophecy and what it means for him and for Mr. Potter. I would guess that he believes Mr. Weasley to hold a great deal of that information."

Dumbledore nodded. "Yes, he would. Voldemort may also see Mr. Weasley as Harry's right hand. Thank you, Severus."

Snape left the room and only after the door had closed did Dumbledore continue.

"I need reconnaissance plans drawn up. Every single place where it is believed Voldemort may be hiding must be spied on and identified. I want pictures and statements of who goes in and out. We must find Ron Weasley before its too late. Once we have an idea of where he is being held we'll be moving in quickly. It will be a difficult task. We have been doing all of the above and so much more in trying to find young Mira but so far we are at a loss. Work hard everyone; this may be our first chance at getting a win in this war. Let's not allow Voldemort to steal it from us."

The room cheered and as it emptied out, Harry still felt cold inside. No matter what the plans were, no matter who was doing it. Ron was still missing. He held Hermione close again and he closed his eyes. Once Ron was home safely, and possibly even before - Pettigrew was going to die.

*********

Later on that evening, Harry sat in his trunk with Ginny curled in his lap. He hadn't spoken since the meeting, other than to make sure Hermione was alright and given a sleeping potion. Ginny watched him as he twirled the bottle of butterbeer in his fingertips.

"You know this isn't your fault, right?" She murmured gently.

His eyes met hers and he nodded. "On some level, yeah I do. It doesn't make it any less painful."

She nodded. "I know. It still feels like some sort of dream. Ron can't be missing, you know? He's my brother. He's strong. He can ... he can get out of anything. But then I remember what Tom is capable of."

Harry wrapped his arms around her and tilted her chin so that he could kiss her softly. "You know, I was sitting on his bed, holding her in my arms and she was breaking down in ways I've never seen her. She needs Ron more than I think he knows, and it scared her. Not the fact that she needs him but maybe how much she does. She blamed me and she blamed herself and even as she said the words I know she didn't mean them. She's terrified, Gin ... I didn't know how to comfort her."

"You did it, Harry. She just needed you to hold her and comfort her. You're her best friend and she needed you there to promise that everything was going to be alright. It was the only way that she was going to be able to believe it herself." Ginny exclaimed. "And you are not at blame."

He sighed and dropped the bottle on the table before he looked down into her eyes. "I feel like I should be. They took Ron because of me. They took him because of this stupid prophecy that declares I can beat Voldemort. They took him for information that he only has pieces of. There's no way they're going to let him go until he's dead. On some level I know we're going to get him back but on another ... how the hell are we going to find him?"

"The Order has -"

"Fuck the Order!" Harry exclaimed angrily. "Dumbledore himself said that they've been doing everything in their power to find Mira, and they can't! What if Ron is in the same place? What if they're using the Fidelius Charm same as we are? There are too many bloody what-ifs to contemplate here!"

Ginny nodded and curled closer. "I know that. We have to hope, Harry. Ron is strong and he can do it. I know he can. So do you."

"He can do what though? Survive?"

"Yes and do what's good and what's right. That's all that matters right now."

Harry nodded, his head leaning down to touch her forehead. "Nothing matters right now."

Ginny kissed him softly. "Sure it does."

"Show me," he murmured. "I need to ... to ..."

"Feel. So do I."

She tugged his mouth down to hers and dived deeply into the kiss. Harry's hands fisted in her hair as she moved to straddle him in the chair and hands and mouths moved together. They tugged at their clothes, the kisses rough and needy and when they finally fell to the floor beneath the chair; they were feeling. They were remembering just how good it felt to be alive. As Harry lost himself in Ginny, the only thought on his mind was that Ron was going to be saved and Pettigrew was going to die. Even if it was the last thing he ever did.

*********

He groaned inwardly at the pain vibrating throughout his entire body. He wondered if Fred and George had given him some new type of product without telling him again. He tried to lift his arm and rub his head but when he tugged it wouldn't give and he heard a strange rattling sound. He opened his eyes and glanced at the chains holding him in place and then he remembered.

With eyes wide he glanced around the stone dungeon he was in. Hay was on the ground and his arms and legs were chained the wall behind him. The room smelt dirty. His eyes found the stone door with the metal bars blocking the tiny window and he groaned. He was more than trapped in this place; he was in big trouble.

But how he had gotten here?

Ron tried to remember what had happened but it was kind of blurry. He had been fighting Pettigrew, that much he knew, and then everything had gone black and he had seen himself dying. No, that couldn't be right, he wasn't dead was he? He glanced down at his robes and tried to see if he was injured anywhere but his body was mostly just vibrating with an unknown area of pain.

So what had happened?

The heavy stone door creaked open and a ray of light ran through the room. He blinked at it for a moment before he recognized the mousy looking man who entered and he glared at him.

"You!"

Pettigrew grinned. "Me? Hope you're comfortable here, Ron, or rather, I hope you're not."

A jet of red light came barreling out the open doorway and knocked Pettigrew back against the wall, just before a tall, skinny, skeletal looking man with a snake-like nose and red eyes walked in.

"Enough of the sarcasm, Wormtail." His eyes fell upon Ron and he grinned. "Well, well, well, looks like our guest has finally woken up."

Pettigrew nodded. "He is awake, sir, yes ... and I brought him here. I did my task."

"Yes, I suppose you did. Congratulations Wormtail, on actually succeeding for once. Now get out."

Pettigrew nodded, his body shaking a bit as he hurried out of the room.

Voldemort turned his attention back to Ron. "It's nice to see you, Mr. Weasley. I was beginning to wonder if you would ever wake up. You see, I need you to be very much awake for what I have in mind."

"What the hell do you want?" Ron demanded angrily, shaking the chains as he twisted his body.

"Now, now, no need for such vile language. You're a guest here after all. I'm hardly holding you prisoner." He waved his wand and the chains fell away. "I just want to talk to you for a moment."

Ron rubbed his wrists and ankles, trying to get some feeling back into them. They were burned a bit raw from the chains. Once he had feeling again he stood up and thought about making a break for it.

"I don't think so, Mr. Weasley. I could kill you before you even made it half way to the door."

"What do you want?"

Voldemort grinned, an evil sneer that made Ron's blood run cold. "Why, I want to make sure that you are being well-taken care of during your stay here."

Ron sneered, "Right."

Voldemort snapped his wand and the chains grasped him again so that he was thrown back against the wall. "I also demand that you show some respect to your elders. Kids these days." He took a step towards Ron now and gently ran his finger down his cheek. "It's a pity, you know, such a decent pureblood wizard, hanging out with half-bloods and mudbloods, and all sorts of horrible breeds. If you join with me, I can give you the world."

Ron's eyes widened when a handful of galleons appeared in Voldemort's long white hands.

"See? If you join with me, I can give you everything you ever wanted and more."

Ron's eyes met cold ones and he spat at him. Voldemort backhanded him across the face.

"That was disrespectful."

"You think I'm going to join your stupid little group for a bit of money? I have everything I want. I don't need you. I don't want to join a group of delusional, self-centered, overly pompous monsters who think they can rule the world!"

Voldemort smacked him again before he tapped his finger down his cheek. "It was worth a shot, Mr. Weasley. I have big plans for you either way I was just hoping we could do it the easier way. Oh, I have big plans indeed."

He tapped his wand against his heart and a table of torture instruments appeared next to him and Ron's eyes widened.

"I have quite a few followers that would be more than interested in helping you come to a better conclusion. Do you understand?"

Ron stared at the knives and the scalpels and the poisons and acids that sat at the table and then he nodded. "I understand. Do your worst. I won't tell you anything."

Voldemort sneered at him. "Oh I think we're going to have a good time, Mr. Weasley, a good time indeed. We'll see how long it takes for you to break. I'm betting after a few torture curses and missing limbs you'll change your mind."

Ron trembled slightly as he watched Voldemort leave the room, locking the door behind him. He had left the table of instruments in his sight and he gulped. He had to get out of here. He tugged on the chains but he knew it was hopeless. Someone was going to rescue him and he knew it. He just had to hold them off until that happened.

Piece of cake, right? The instruments glistened up at him and he gulped.

He was in really big trouble.