taking control

Chapter 26: Fight or Flight

"Ron!" Hermione called out. "You changed your mind."

Ron stared at her, dumbfounded. He had no idea what she was talking about, but then, a split second later, his conversation with her came back to him, and he scowled. "No," he coldly and succinctly replied. Without waiting for a response, he turned to the Headmaster and said, "Ginny's been taken, and Harry's gone after her."

Ron had never seen a look of such utter shock on his Headmaster's face. Before Dumbledore could regain his composure, Professor McGonagall chimed in. "Mr. Potter apparently believed she was taken by Portkey. Mr. Weasley seems to be the only person with any knowledge of any of the circumstances."

The Headmaster's eyes bored into Ron's. "Where is Harry? Does he know who took your sister?"

"I don't know what happened," Ron explained in a rush. "I was going to the library because I knew that's where Harry was. I needed to talk to him." His eyes cut quickly to Hermione then back to the Headmaster as he continued. "Harry burst out before I could get there, and just said that she'd been taken by Portkey, and that he was going to bring her back. He ran past me, and I turned and ran after him, but when I turned the corner, I couldn't see him anywhere. I don't know where he's gone."

"Minerva, alert the Order," Dumbledore ordered as he stepped around his desk. "Mr. Weasley, do you know where Harry keeps his map of the castle?"

Ron shook his head. "He used to keep it in his trunk, but it's not in there any more. I think he keeps it with him – either that or in his office."

Dumbledore frowned a moment before stating, "Search his office. Use 'Phoenix Fire' as the password. If you find it, bring it back here immediately."

Ron nodded his head in understanding and immediately turned to exit the office. Before he could reach the door, however, he heard Professor McGonagall's voice, "Miss Granger, why don't you accompany Mr. Weasley. The two of you will be able to search his office more quickly and thoroughly."

Ron paused only a moment following her statement before continuing out of the office and down the stairs. He was halfway down the hall when Hermione caught up beside him. Ron ignored her presence, staring forward as he walked quickly towards Harry's office. They walked in silence for the majority of their journey. Harry's office door was in sight before Hermione opened her mouth. "I told you this would happen."

Ron glanced to the side and glared at her for a moment before turning back and lengthening his strides to increase his pace.

"I just knew that sooner or later he would do something like this," Hermione muttered loudly enough for him to hear.

Ron halted just in front of the door and turned fully towards Hermione. "Is that all you can think about right now?" he demanded. "That you were right and that Harry's rushed off into danger?" Ron stared coldly at her, daring her to respond. Her hands moved to her hips as she opened her mouth, but Ron cut her off before she could start. "In case you forgot, my sister is out there, and Harry didn't just rush off into danger. He rushed off to rescue her. The only thing I'm angry at Harry about is that he didn't wait around long enough to take me with him."

"But if you had gone with him, no one would have been left to tell Professor Dumbledore what happened," Hermione countered heatedly, but Ron ignored her comment and grunted the password. When the door popped open, he shoved it aside and walked into the office. He had only been inside it a few times, but he was familiar enough with it. He began at Harry's desk. There were some scattered parchments on the desktop, but the map was not among them. He searched through each of the drawers and came up empty with each one. As he finished the last one, he looked up and found Hermione looking through his bookshelves. Harry could have hidden it in one of the books, but it would take forever to search through each one. They did not have that kind of time.