Unplottable

26 - Ron

He had not noticed when he had begun to feel again, because you do not feel it if you feel nothing. The numbness of his heart and mind receded very gradually. Suddenly he realised he was feeling things again, and then he felt as if he was thinking. It was as if his brain was slowly wriggling its toes back into shoes that had not been filled for a time. Now he felt like running and kicking; he felt alive again.

Ron looked around and found himself in his own four-poster bed, the draperies almost drawn shut around him. Without hesitating, he swung his legs out of bed and slipped through the heavy curtain into the daylight of the dormitory. There was no need for him to sleep; he had never felt more awake in his life.

He dressed in a hurry. Then he took the stairs down to the common room in a run, for no other reason than the wish to spend some of the excessive energy his body held. When he tore open the door, all heads turned towards him. He answered their gazes with a blazing smile.

"Ron!" A whirlwind of black robes and dark, bushy hair streamed towards him, and before he knew it, Hermione had put both of her arms around him and was hugging him fiercely. He hugged her back.

"You saved me," he said to her, realising as he said it that, in some way he could not quite remember at the moment, she had indeed saved him. Her face turned to his, beaming. He noticed that her eyes were bloodshot and her hair unkempt, but right now she was the most beautiful being in the world to him. It wasn't as if he decided to kiss her; rather, he suddenly knew that he would kiss her right now.

"Hey, Ron, it's good to see you on your feet again," Dean Thomas almost shouted right beside his ear. Ron flinched a bit. He felt Hermione's grip slacken, felt her body draw away from his. Reluctantly, he let her go. The moment had passed; he would have to kiss her some other time, preferably without an audience, he decided.

Turning, he saw Harry and Ginny, who were also beaming. He realised they had had too much tact to disturb him while Hermione was hugging him, and the realisation made him blush. As Hermione stepped back, both came over for a hug - Harry for a rather manly around-one-shoulder affair, Ginny for a sisterly shorn-head-buried-in-his-chest thing, accompanied by an "Oh, Ron, I'm so happy" sob. He had been ill, Ron made himself clear; now he was better, and everybody was overjoyed about it. All this felt strange, because the past was a bit of a blur, but he was sure that he had never felt better in his life than right now.

"Do you feel okay?" Hermione asked tentatively, but her eyes were smiling.

"I feel wonderful," Ron assured her, trying to communicate more than just this with his gaze.

"Let's get to the hospital wing then and check on Fred," Ginny suggested.

Right, his brother had been suffering from the same sickness, Ron remembered. Suddenly he was very eager to see Fred. "Yes, let's go there right now!" he replied and turned towards the door to leave at once.

"Maybe you should rather have another lie-down," Hermione commented worriedly. "You have been very ill, and I'm amazed at your recovery. However, you shouldn't overdo it."

"I'm fine," he said, at the same time touched and amused by her concern. "I don't feel tired at all, and I really want to see Fred."

That settled, Ron, Hermione, Harry and Ginny went through the portrait hole to go to the hospital wing, only to find Molly Weasley waiting on the other side. When she spotted Ron, she rushed towards him. Ron thought she would embrace him, but she held him at arm's length.

"How are you?" she asked, and she scrutinised his face with fear in her eyes.

Ron gave her a broad, encouraging smile. "I'm cured," he said, knowing these were the words she wanted to hear.

"Oh, my darling!" Here came the expected hug, and a lot of unexpected noises made at his shoulder.

Ron realised his mother was crying. He awkwardly patted her on the head, which was on one level with his shoulder. "I'm fine, it's alright, don't worry," he said, embarrassed by her display of emotions. "We were just going to look how Fred is doing."

"Fred is cured, too," Molly said, tears streaming down her face. "Angelina and George are with him now. As soon as I knew he was better, I came here to see how you were doing, but however much I pleaded, she -" Molly pointed at the Fat Lady, "would not let me in."

"You are not a student anymore, and I have my orders," the Fat Lady murmured, obviously a bit ashamed of her own strictness.

"I've been waiting here, hoping someone would come out and give me news of you, and then," Molly started sobbing again, but Ron could understand her words well, "then you came out, looking all healthy and happy, and now all my wishes have come true."

Ron felt touched - it was nice to know that his mother loved him so much - but he would have preferred it if she had chosen another moment to show it. At least the onlookers were people he could trust: Harry and Hermione were his friends and would probably not tease him about his mother, and Ginny - well, she knew herself how Molly could carry on.

When his mother finally let him go, Ron suggested they should go to the hospital wing to check on Fred. Together, the five of them walked over there. Ron remembered worrying about Fred before he had felt the vicious effect of the Ice Missile himself. He could only hope his brother was truly alright.

Fred sat on his bed, dressed in pyjamas, but obviously feeling well. He was chatting with Angelina and George, who were sitting on chairs next to the bed. All were smiling; when Ron entered the room right after his mother, both Fred and George jumped up.

"It's our youngest brother -" Fred exclaimed.

"- and he's looking well," George added.

"Oi, Ronnikins, how are you?" Fred asked.

"Oh, there's no need to worry about Ronnikins," George replied in Ron's stead.

"After all, it was his girlfriend," Fred suggested with a grin.

"- who cured both of you," George said to his twin brother.

Ron suddenly felt rather hot in the face; he tried to read Hermione's expression, but Hermione was busying herself with her shoelaces.

"It's so good to hear you two twin-talking again," his mother said, dabbing at her eyes. "If you could just make something explode right now or throw a couple of Dungbombs, I'd know that this is reality, not a dream."

"Hey, mum, we are past the age of throwing Dungbombs now," Fred said.

"- we are producing Dungbombs these days," George added.

"Oh, yes, Dungbombs - can I see the workshop?" Fred asked George eagerly. "And you said we have a house of our own now. I know I'm supposed to have been there, but I don't remember it very clearly. Can I see it?"

Ron saw Angelina shift her position in the chair. Somehow she looked ill at ease.

"Sure," George said, his eyes on Fred's knees rather than on his face, "any time you want."

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The day after Ron had woken up, Professor Flitwick, Professor McGonagall and Professor Varlerta ran a few tests on all the recipients of the panacea. After casting a couple of spells, making them drink a potion and having them do some magic for them, the teachers officially declared the former Ice Missile victims cured and handed them their wands back.

It felt good to be a proper wizard again, Ron thought. Even the wand seemed glad to be back with him; it vibrated in his hand as if it couldn't wait to do magic for him. Ron knew he had to make up a lot of work for his classes, but for once, this did not discourage him: Since he had taken the panacea, he was full of energy. Hermione and Harry had to help him from time to time, especially in Potions, a subject Ron had thought he'd left behind for good. However, Professor Lyons was a kind teacher who said he perfectly understood that it would take Ron some time to make up for what he had missed.

Eagerly, Ron plunged into his first Quidditch practise; so did Rhonda Celps, the Gryffindor Chaser who had also been banned from the team due to being de-wanded and magically weakened. Her face, and the faces of the whole team, mirrored Ron's happiness when he could finally mount a broom again. Here, too, he realised he was a bit out of practise, but his energy and enthusiasm made up for that. Quidditch matches, which had been cancelled due to the illness of so many players, were now being re-scheduled; Gryffindor would be playing Hufflepuff in four weeks.

Ron was overjoyed to be well again. He made a show of thanking Hermione at least three times a day for it, and half-jokingly addressed her as 'Loremistress Granger.' Hermione modestly rejected the term 'Loremistress,' the formal address for an accomplished female alchemist, but Ron was sure that secretly, Hermione was pleased. However, a couple of days had passed since his recovery, and he still hadn't been able to get his courage up and kiss her. There never seemed to be the right time: He hardly ever saw her alone anywhere, and even if he did, it was in rather unromantic situations: They might be hurrying down the hallway or practising charms together, but so far, they hadn't walked in the moonlight together or climbed the Astronomy Tower at night. Ron decided that impatience would rather harm than further his cause, so he convinced himself that all he had to do was wait for the right time.

Optimistic as Ron was these days, he had to admit that a few shadows were cast on his happiness. The most prominent of them was the current political situation: His father had narrowly lost the election and Lucius Malfoy was Minister of Magic. The consequences of this development were unforeseeable, but threatening. The Daily Prophet reported that Malfoy was relaxing Muggle protection laws: For example, if you altered a Muggle's memory, it was no longer necessary to prove you had a good reason for doing so. Also, Malfoy was changing the structure of the Ministry. Claiming that budget cuts were a necessity, the Department for the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts was threatened with closure. It was becoming likely that Ron's father would be out of a job by summer. Of course, the Weasleys' financial situation was not as tight as it used to be: Four of their sons were working now, and Fred had had a good start in the joke shop business by inventing a couple of 'frankly dangerous devices,' as Percy would undoubtedly have called them. If Ron's father lost his job, his adult sons would be able to financially support their parents. However, Ron knew that not only would it greatly humiliate his father to receive money from his children; Arthur Weasley also loved his job and believed in its importance. Ron was sure Malfoy was trying to close his father's department out of spite, and out of disinterest for Muggle affairs, rather than because a budget cut was inevitable: As far as he had read in the Daily Prophet, the Department for the Discovery of Lost Lines had just been expanded. Many people thought this was unfair and did not make much sense politically: Good relations with the Muggles were one of the things that had permitted the existence of a peaceful magical society through the last couple of centuries. However, there seemed to be nothing anyone could do about it: The Minister of Magic was head of the Ministry; he practically ruled magical Britain.

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A few days after Ron's recovery, Professor Varlerta approached him after her class.

"I informed Mr. Pigmalgion that you are better, and he would like to see you soon," she told him. "Whenever you feel ready, tell me, and I'll send him an owl."

"I'm ready anytime," Ron replied. He hadn't thought of the Ensouling expert for ages, hadn't Ensouled anything since he had been hit by the Ice Missile last summer; but at the moment, he felt ready for anything.

Professor Varlerta fixed a date with Mr. Pigmalgion right after Quidditch practise on Thursday. The Ensouling expert brought Ron an inanimate black chess knight. Ron knew he was taking a step backwards: Last year, Ron had started with Ensouling chess figures, but had already progressed to Quidditch balls. Of course, he knew he hadn't had a chance to practise Ensouling, so maybe it was a good idea to start small again.

Mr. Pigmalgion mentioned Ron's sickness and told him it might be a while before he re-discovered his Ensouling talents. He also discussed how Ron should proceed with the knight he had given him: The year before, the twins had found out that Ron's ability to Ensoul things depended on Harry: While Ron had the skill to relate to soulless things and to prepare them for having a will of their own, a spark of Harry's energy was needed to suddenly bring them to life. Ron and Mr. Pigmalgion agreed that Ron should have the knight in his possession and play with him at least ten times before he let Harry touch it, thereby ensuring that Ron would have had enough time to work on it.

Ron took the knight up to Gryffindor Tower and found a quiet place - the loo, in fact - to talk to it. He explained to the lifeless wooden thing what Ensouling meant, and told it that having a will of its own would bring many advantages to it: It would get to move, to feel and think, and to beat up other chess figures. Then Ron showed the knight a chessboard and showed it how to walk on it. Again and again, he set the little figure three fields ahead and one to the side, or vice versa. Once he thought he'd heard the tiny wooden horse neigh, but he had probably only imagined it.

Later, Ron introduced the black knight to his other chessmen, who, predictably, were only moderately enthusiastic after their experience with Ron's first Ensouled chess figure, the anarchy pawn. However, Ron was sure of his authority over the little figures, which had obeyed him for so many years. He told them that as a contemporary and dynamic team, they could be expected to train novices every now and then. He would have liked to play with the knight straight away, but when he asked Hermione for a game, all he got was a reminder of all the homework he still had to do. Sighing, Ron put his chess things away, tucked the new knight safely into an old sock and went to write his Defence Against the Dark Arts essay.

The next evening, he could persuade Harry to have a game. Harry had clear instructions never to come close to the new knight, because Ron was afraid this might spoil the experiment. Of course, there was no need for Harry even to touch the chessboard, because the figures moved according to his words. Apart from such general obedience, however, Harry's chessmen were misbehaving. Obviously they had forgotten that little more than a year ago, they had had a lifeless pawn in their midst, too: Seeing Ron's new knight, they took to jeering and cracking rude jokes about it to each other. Harry tried to discipline them once or twice, but the chess figures gave him little heed. Ron found himself annoyed; he wished Harry would be stricter with his chessmen. Again and again he told himself that the knight was still lifeless and did not notice that it was laughed at. Still, he felt the insult of Harry's chess figures as if it had been directed at him himself.

The battle on the chessboard was a fierce one. Piece after piece was drawn off to the side by a ferocious opponent; both teams were dwindling. Ron urged his pieces to go after Harry's, to pursue them mercilessly. Rarely had he seen chess figures become so violent. Once, a beaten pawn screamed so loudly that even the other Gryffindors seated in the common room, used to the shouts of chess figures as they were, turned around to see what had happened. Finally, Ron saw his chance to beat Harry. He sent his castle to threaten Harry's queen. Harry reacted as Ron had hoped: He prompted his queen to move aside, dodging behind his bishop. Now, all Ron had to do was to urge his knight to attack from the side and slaughter the queen, sacrificing itself in the course, but opening the way for a glorious victory for Ron. "On you go," Ron shouted at the new knight - and the knight went.

Ron only realised what he had done when he saw Harry pale.

"You've done it," Harry whispered, his eyes as round as Sickles. "You've done it on your own. And it's his first game, too."

Their eyes met for a moment; then both boys broke into loud and uncontrollable cheering. Hermione rushed over to check on them; at once she saw the small figure moving on the board, striking a macho pose over Harry's knocked-out little queen, the little horse rearing. Hermione started clapping, and so did Ginny and Seamus, who had both stopped by to check what the commotion was all about. The little knight, obviously assuming that they were all applauding his valour, shook his fists to show his strength, a complacent and self-assured smile on his face.

"He may not be the brightest of the lot," Hermione later conceded, "but he is certainly up to the butchering job of a chessman already. According to A History of Ensouling, you have almost broken a record, Ron. Ensouling a functioning chess piece in one game has not often been done so far. You can be proud of yourself."

Ron smiled; her praise was music to his ears. "There is a book called A History of Ensouling?" he asked.

"Come on, Ron, don't tell me you haven't read it," Hermione said, her voice reproachful.

Harry laughed. "He's not into book-learning, Hermione - I thought you had noticed that by now."

Hermione tried to reply, but was interrupted by the noise coming from the chess table. When they looked, they caught the new knight and his ferocious little horse in the middle of a violent brawl with three of the pawns.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ron owled Mr. Pigmalgion the following day, described his outstanding and single-handed success, and asked to receive more practise material. He specifically asked for a whole set of Unensouled granite chess-figures. He knew such a set would eat up his most of his savings, but he did not care; he hadn't spent a Knut of his allowance when he had been ill, and he figured he had the right to spend his money the way he thought best. He wanted to Ensoul these chess figures specifically for Hermione. They should be reliable chess pieces, he decided, but each of them should have a different character - a character that should make her laugh, that should maybe even make her think of him. He wanted to Ensoul chess figures which brought back memories, which mirrored Hermione's life, her character, her likes and dislikes. The queen, he thought, should be just like her -very intelligent, a very good strategist and a bit bossy.

To post his letter to Mr. Pigmalgion which contained his request for lifeless granite chess pieces, Ron went to the owlery where Pigwidgeon liked to spend his days. The tiny owl greeted him happily and was overjoyed to carry his letter, especially as Ron had not included any heavy coins. Ron watched the little owl zoom out of the window; then he left. When he returned to the Gryffindor common room, he found Harry and Hermione in a hot debate:

"I don't care how he does it, then, and I don't care if it's dangerous. I want to know, and I've got to know, because of Padfoot," Harry was just saying to Hermione.

"I understand that - I just wonder how -" Upon spotting Ron, Hermione stopped short. "Hey, Ron," she said, smiling sweetly and a little falsely, "have you posted your letter to Mr. Pigmalgion yet?"

Ignoring her reminder, Ron asked: "What are you talking about?"

"Well, we -" Harry stopped short and grimaced; Hermione had probably kicked him under the table.

"Nothing of importance," Hermione replied, blushing.

"Are you keeping things from me?" Ron asked, a bit annoyed.

"No, we are not," Hermione answered a bit lamely. "It was nothing, believe me."

"That's why you stopped talking about it when I come in," Ron retorted.

Hermione sighed. "Okay, you are right, but it's not as you think. There's something we wanted to keep from you, but not because we don't want you to know." After hesitating, she added: "See, I don't want to worry you with such things, as you have just recovered."

"Hermione, will you cut it out?" Ron said in semi-affectionate impatience. He believed her - it was just like Hermione to keep a secret because she believed it might be good for someone else not to know what was going on. "I told you about a million times that I feel perfectly well now, and that you don't have to tiptoe around me anymore. I'm sorry, Loremistress Granger, but you have cured me too well to be worrying about me now."

Hermione sighed. "And I told you a million times that I am not a Loremistress, nor am I likely to ever achieve that status," she replied pompously.

Ron saw Harry rolling his eyes. Of course, Harry thought the two of them were fighting, when in reality they were only playing a game they had relished for years.

"So what were you talking about?" he asked.

Harry was the one to answer him. "Ron, do you remember visiting Remus Lupin some time ago, asking him about his sickness and putting something into his tea that made him bright red?"

"You put something into his tea?" Ron asked, thinking hard. The last few months remained a blur to him. He faintly remembered drinking tea with Lupin when suddenly their former teacher had turned bright red, but that was about all he could recall.

"We were wondering whether he was the real Lupin, or whether he was a Polyjuice impostor," Harry said. "That's why we gave him a Litmus Potion. He wasn't, though, because the potion made him turn red, not green."

Ron nodded. "But why did you think he was an impostor in the first place?" he asked.

He saw Hermione and Harry exchange glances. They had discussed all this in front of him, he realised, and now they were worried by the fact he did not remember.

"I'm fine, okay?" he said a little more sharply than he had meant to. "I've only forgotten a few things, that's all."

"We were worried about Sirius," Harry explained. "Lupin and Sirius are supposed to have split up in America to look for Wormtail, but there was something fishy about the story."

Hermione nodded. "After we gave him the potion, we were convinced Lupin couldn't be taking Polyjuice Potion, and that eased our worries. But now...." She shrugged. "See, I talked to Aisha this morning - you know, one of Professor Varlerta's Muggle friends. She asked me about Lupin, about trying to give him the panacea again to cure him. I suppose the two of them are some kind - well, I suspect they may be a couple. So Aisha asked me when I was going to try again, and I told her I couldn't at the moment, because the moon was full, and he was a werewolf. Then Aisha asked whether we couldn't give the panacea to him during the daytime, when he was human."

Hermione ran a hand through her cloud of freshly washed hair; then she continued: "I told her that when he was a werewolf, he was a wolf day and night, sleeping during the day and awake at night. She said that couldn't be, as she had just talked to him, and he was still in his human shape. I said that wasn't possible, because the moon had been full yesterday, too, but she insisted he'd been with her. That's why I'm worrying again now. If Lupin's not a werewolf during the day, something's not right here."

"Are you sure?" Ron asked. "Have you ever seen him as a wolf during the daytime?"

"The only time we've seen him as a wolf is the night we met Sirius," Harry reminded them. "Lupin was human then, and as soon as the moon came out, he turned into a werewolf. Maybe Aisha's right."

"That's not possible - I've checked the relevant books again," Hermione replied predictably. "That night was the first night of the full moon; otherwise, Lupin wouldn't have been human when he met us in the Shrieking Shack. Also, if he didn't turn into a wolf during the daytime, why would he always have been sick when he was teaching us? Don't you remember? Snape had to step in for him."

"She's right," Harry said to Ron.

Ron nodded. "Admittedly, something's funny here," he agreed.

"Why don't we go and check on him now?" Harry asked. "We just drop in on him and see whether or not he is a wolf."

"Are you crazy?" Hermione asked. "What if he attacks us?"

"As a wolf? Harry asked. "If he is really Lupin, he's probably taken his potion and is harmless. If he isn't, well, I suppose we three have learned enough to deal with him."

"Yes, let's go," Ron said. Since he was well again, he was bursting with energy, and dying to spend it.

Hermione shrugged. "I suppose it's no more dangerous than the thing we usually do," she said.

Harry, Hermione and Ron went to Lupin's room right next to the Alchemists' Lab. They knocked, but received no answer. After knocking again, Hermione asked: "Do you think we should break in?"

Ron nodded; they had come to find out. "Do your Alohomora," he suggested to Hermione.

"Alohomora!" Hermione's wand was pointed at the door. Nothing happened.

"Ajarouvertissima!" Hermione insisted. This time, the door swung open. Hermione snorted. "That's a feeble protection spell if it gives in to my second try," she commented. Harry and Ron exchanged glances. Why did Lupin need a protection spell on his door? Then again, Ron thought, it might be explained by the fact that Lupin was wanted by the Ministry.

Holding their wands ready, the three of them tentatively stepped into the room. There was no wolf curled up under Lupin's desk - only a dark-haired young woman lying in Lupin's bed by herself, staring at them.

"It's not polite breaking into other people's rooms," Aisha said, pulling the covers up around her naked shoulders. Ron's impulse was to apologise and flee, but Hermione did not look apologetic in any way.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, frowning.

"Lying in this bed," Aisha replied with dignity. "As opposed to you, I was invited to be here. What are you doing here?"

"We are looking for Remus Lupin," Hermione replied, her chin up in the air. If she had called herself a Ministry official and drawn a badge to prove it, Ron would not have been overly surprised: Her whole posture and bearing suggested one who had every right in the world to question and to investigate. Of course, there was no Ministry anymore, at least not one that Ron accepted.

"Remus isn't here anymore," Aisha said. "It was getting late, so he had to go away to a hiding place to become a werewolf."

"That can't be true," Hermione objected. "If he really is Remus Lupin, he must have been a wolf the whole day. If he's been with you in his human form today, it means you have been with somebody else, somebody who is a spy and a traitor."

"Oh, so either I'm a pervert or my lover is a traitor?" Aisha retorted; her eyebrows tilted upwards. "That's really rich, young lady."

Hermione sighed. "I don't mean to insult anyone. All I want is to find out what there is to know about Remus Lupin. Where is he?"

"I told you, he's hiding elsewhere. I've never been there - it's a place outside the castle, he told me," Aisha replied. "He said he's got to get away from people when he's a wolf, because it might be dangerous. Also, he says he's got to hide because he is still wanted by the Ministry."

"So how does he get to this hiding place then? I heard he can't leave his room here because he mustn't be seen," Hermione commented.

"Oh, that's easy - he's got his -" Aisha clamped a hand over her mouth. "Well, what I wanted to tell you is that he said he was hiding in some kind of shack."

"The Shrieking Shack," Ron exclaimed. Harry and Hermione turned to him; both nodded vigorously.

"We are going there to find him," Harry said. As often, he had made up his mind in a matter of seconds, Ron thought. When Harry turned towards the door, both Ron and Hermione were ready to follow him.

"Hey, where are you going - what do you want with Remus?" Aisha asked. "You've got to be careful. At this time of night, he is bound to be dangerous."

Without paying any heed to her, Harry, Hermione and Ron left the room.

"Let's not rush headfirst into a dangerous situation," Hermione admonished the two of them outside. "If some spy of Lord Voldemort is posing as Lupin, he will be dangerous. Maybe we should tell a teacher."

"Oh, Hermione, we are pretty much adults now," Ron told her. "Think of all the things we have done up to now. Do you really think we still need a teacher to protect us? I mean, he is on his own, and there are three of us."

"But if he is a servant of Lord Voldemort...." Hermione hesitated.

"A lot of the people we dealt with were servants of Lord Voldemort," Harry reminded her. "I even fought with him directly a few times, and I always got away. With the three of us, catching the spy and bringing him to Dumbledore won't be too difficult."

Ron could tell that Hermione was still worried, but as he and Harry insisted that almost six years at Hogwarts entirely qualified them for catching spies, she finally gave in. The three of them fetched their cloaks; Hermione also remembered to bring a pencil to Engorge and use on the Whomping Willow. Then they went outside into the windy and rainy evening.

They did not notice Aisha until they had poked the root of the Whomping Willow with Hermione's magically enlarged pencil. When the tree suddenly stopped whipping and beating about, the gasp behind them alerted them to her presence. Obviously, not one of them had ever looked back (behind them), so Aisha had been able to follow them unnoticed.

"What are you doing here?" Harry asked.

"You are not going there without me," Aisha said indignantly. She was dressed in black denims and a worn leather jacket; the wind was whipping her short hair across her scalp.

"Go back to the castle - it's too dangerous for you," Harry told her.

Aisha snorted. "You don't understand, do you?" she asked. "He's my lover. I'm not afraid of him, I'm afraid for him. I want to know what's going on."

"Didn't you say it's too dangerous for you to be with him if he's a werewolf?" Hermione asked.

Aisha shook her head. "No, in fact I didn't. For one thing, I'm sure he's drunk his potion, and for another, he gave me this thing here." She pulled a small, old-fashioned handgun from her jacket's pocket. "It's got a silver bullet in it. He said that if I ever was really, really in danger of being bitten by him, I should stop him with this thing."

Hermione recoiled from the gun. Ron was sure he knew what she was thinking. If they were mistaken for some obscure reason, if Remus Lupin, the werewolf, had really given his lover a handgun with a silver bullet, he was putting her life over his - a surely noble deed.

Behind them, the Whomping Willow started whipping again; Ron had to pull Hermione aside to keep her from being hit.

"Let's get going, then," he said.

"I'm coming with you," Aisha said. "You can't keep me from it."

"Yes, we can," Ron said and raised his wand.

Hermione raised her hand to stop him. "You are an adult, so I'm sure you know best," she addressed Aisha. "I strongly recommend you to stay here, or even better, to go inside where you are safe. However, if you insist, we will not use our magic to stop you."

Ron shrugged and put his wand back into his pocket. When Hermione gave the Whomping Willow's knotty root another prod, Harry, Ron and Aisha followed her into the passage that opened beneath it.

The secret passage strongly reminded Ron of that night almost three years ago, the night they had met Sirius. So strongly did he recall the events of that night that his leg seemed to remember the pain he had felt when it had been broken. His first trip through the passage, being pulled through the darkness, had been agonizing, but on the way back he had walked upright, supported by a splint, by the light of illuminated wands. Now Harry's and his wand lighted the way again. Ron watched his two friends share a glance; he was sure Hermione and Harry were thinking of the night they had come to his rescue, too.

"I wish we had the Invisibility Cloak," Harry said softly as they were nearing the end of the passage.

"I can't believe you misplaced it," Hermione whispered

"I didn't - it was stolen," Harry insisted stubbornly. "Anyway, the three of us wouldn't fit underneath anymore, let alone the four of us." His eyes flitted to Aisha, who was walking beside them in silence.

"We just have to be extremely quiet now," Hermione whispered and opened the trapdoor.

Inside the Shrieking Shack, there was the same disorder they had seen three years ago - broken furniture, ripped wallpaper, and a thick layer of dust only disturbed by a footpath leading from the trapdoor to the door - a footpath made by human feet, Ron noticed.

Tiptoeing on their soft-soled sneakers, all of them went out the door and into the hallway. From upstairs, they could hear male voices - two male voices.

"He's not alone," Hermione breathed. "I think we should turn around and go for help."

"It's only two people," Harry whispered back. "We still outnumber them. Let's go and get them."

"You are crazy - that's far too dangerous," Hermione replied as quietly as she could. "Think of Aisha - she might get hurt." She shot the Muggle woman a meaningful look. "And think of Ron - he's just recovered!"

"I'm fine," Ron whispered indignantly. "I can cope with whoever is up there." With these words, he pulled his wand out of his pocket to show he was ready for action.

"See," Harry said to Hermione. "We are ready to fight. Aren't you? Just remember that if we are right, this scum probably harmed Sirius and Lupin."

Hermione nodded grimly; she seemed to reconsider for a moment. "All right," she finally whispered back. "But only if she goes back into the passage." She pointed at Aisha.

"I'm no safer in the passage than with you," Aisha whispered back, "and I can't get by that blasted tree by myself. I'll stay with you. You can't order me around."

Hermione sighed. "Do whatever you please. I can't guarantee your safety, though. If you get hurt, you get hurt."

Ron, Harry and Hermione exchanged glances, perhaps even the tiniest of nods. Then they snuck up the stairs, testing each single stair to see if it squeaked. Slowly, they edged their way upstairs. An Invisibility Cloak would have come in handy, Ron had to concede. It was hard to believe that somebody had stolen it from Harry's trunk.

In front of the door, the four of them stopped. The two men's voices could be heard clearly now, even though it was impossible to make out what they were saying. Harry pointed his wand at the door.

"We'll run in, surprise them and then stun them," he whispered. Hermione nodded grimly; at last, she pulled her wand out, too. Ron also gave Harry a nod of agreement. They were ready for action. Harry took a deep breath; then he blasted the door open with a spell.

Three "Stupefy!" spells were deflected by a protective field around the two wizards who had been sitting at the table. Now they jumped up, wands in their hands, and approached the intruders. One of them was Lupin, entirely human, and looking quite angry. The other one Ron, too, recognised at once. It was Peter Pettigrew.