A Certain Amount of Sense

Chapter 13

Ron sat alone on one of the window ledges up in the Astronomy Tower. He was leaning against the side of the window with his knees drawn up to his chest and his arms wrapped around his shins. In his right hand, he played with a piece of carved white marble. From where he sat, he could see the windows of the hospital wing, and though he was too far away to be able to tell for sure, he told himself that one of the dark shapes he saw within was Hermione. He had been there for the last few hours, just watching "her" and thinking. He rubbed absentmindedly at his arms where the ropes had been tied around him.

When Snape had returned to his rooms, he had come through the door instead of the fireplace. By then, Ron had already made his way to the desk and knocked over a few things in the unsuccessful attempt to find something with which to cut his binds. He was currently lying on the ground, where he had finally capitulated to the fact that he was not going to be freed from the magical ropes until Snape came back. He looked up at his professor guiltily, expecting to be yelled at for what he had done. Instead, the owner of the room only took one glance at the mess and muttered the Reparo charm before turning his attention to Ron.

"I believe this belongs to you? Or to Mr. Potter to be exact?"

He threw something soft and shiny in the air at him. It landed on his head and made him blink but surprisingly, did not obscure his vision. The invisibility cloak. Drat, he had left it outside in the hallway.

"Um, thank you.sir." Although he could still see Snape clearly, the cloak did muffle his voice somewhat. Snape walked over to him.

"As much of an improvement to the surroundings it makes, I tire of not seeing whom I am speaking to. If I release you, will you promise not to do anything rash?"

In the last hour or so, Ron had calmed down a great deal as the realization of what happened to his friend had gradually sunk in. Not that he wasn't still enraged at Malfoy, but he also realized that there was no point in misplacing his anger towards the wrong man. Especially if that same man had you tied up and trapped in his rooms.

He nodded in assent, then realized that Snape couldn't see him nod.

"Yes, sir."

"Very well. Finite Incantatum." The ropes immediately disappeared. Ron pulled the cloak off his head, then got up to stretch out his muscles.

"Thank you." Snape only glared in return.

"Sit, Mr. Weasley." He indicated the seat Hermione had sat in only the night before and sat down in his own chair behind the desk. Ron debated for a moment whether or not to take the seat, but eventually acquiesced. He wasn't sure why he was still here, except that Snape still had his wand. At least he had been sensible enough to have stuffed the map into his trousers before he had come barging in.

"I suppose you are wondering why I asked you to stay. Believe me when I say it is not because I enjoy your company." Ron barely held back a snort. "Indeed. It is only for Miss Granger's sake that I.that we are having this conversation." It was the first time that he had heard his Potions teacher stumble over his words, and it made Ron sit up and pay closer attention. This must be serious.

"I understand, professor."

"Do you?" Ron chose to ignore his question to ask the one that had been plaguing him ever since he had left.

"Hermione.is she.?"

"She is resting now, in the hospital wing. Madam Pomfrey is watching over her."

"Why did it take you so long to come back? I mean.."

"No, Mr. Weasley. It was not because I wanted you to suffer longer than necessary." He certainly looked to Ron as if he did, though. "I needed to speak to Mr. Malfoy and his friends. The timing was.sensitive."

"So how is he going to be punished? Is he going to be expelled?"

"You don't understand, Mr. Weasley. It's not as simple as that."

"What do you mean? After what he did to Hermione.you can't possibly just let him get away with that!"

"Calm down, Mr. Weasley. I have no intention of letting the little bastard go unpunished. Unfortunately, as far as disciplining him through direct means, my hands are tied."

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN?" Ron had shot out of his seat and almost thrown himself at his teacher. Snape, meanwhile, had not even flinched. He regarded Ron with all the coolness of a cat watching its prey.

"I would have hoped that you would have figured it out for yourself by now. I see that the time I gave you to think here, alone, has not made you any wiser. Pity. But tell me this. If I were to expel Mr. Malfoy, just think of how the news would spread through Hogwarts and no doubt throughout the rest of the wizarding world. Think of the repercussions. They'll demand to know why, and we'll have to tell them. Just imagine of the impact that would have on your friend's reputation. Is that what you want to happen to her? Or was that article about her in the Daily Prophet during your fourth year not enough for you?"

"You.how dare you? You were the one who read it aloud in class!"

"I have no reason to explain my actions to you, Mr. Weasley."

Ron shook with fury and glared at the man. He was infuriating as hell, but he was right. At least about the reactions Malfoy's expulsion would have on Hermione. He would do anything to spare her further pain. Which was why instead of responding, he picked up the closest thing to his hand and threw it at the wall, screaming in frustration. It was so damn bloody unfair!

Snape watched the boy throw his tantrum but made no move to stop him. It was what he wished he could do at the moment, but as he couldn't express himself in the same way, observing the boy wreak havoc on his study was allowing him to relieve at least some of his anger vicariously.

At last, Ron, running out of things to throw and kick in the room, threw himself back into the chair, slightly out of breath. He was still shooting daggers at Snape, but they were focused now with an icy determination.

"You wanted to talk to me. Why? What can I do?"

The corner of Snape's mouth lifted in amusement. It seemed as if the once- impetuous boy was now able to control his Weasley temper when he wanted to. Good, he would need that. Snape continued in the same soft voice, as if nothing had happened.

"You are one of the only five students that know of what happened this morning. I have already seen to it that Mr. Malfoy and his two friends will not be speaking of his.conquest.to anyone else. That leaves you and Miss Granger."

"If I chose to, I could obliviate you with the mere flick of a wand." To emphasize his point, he took out his wand and pointed it at Ron for a moment before casually twirling it in his hand. "However, I have reason to believe that there may be much more to be gained if I do not. I understand that it was because of you that Mr. Potter and Miss Granger were able to pass the Enchanted Chess Board during your first year." The sudden change of topic startled Ron.

"What does that.?"

"Kindly refrain from interrupting me again, Mr. Weasley." He paused in the middle of one particularly complicated wand sequence and pointed it at his desk, where a chessboard appeared. "As I was saying, your accomplishments in the ways of chess have been well noted by Professor McGonagall. Repeatedly," he said with distaste evident in his voice. "Pity they don't translate as well onto the Quidditch field."

That had been a test, and Ron knew it. If possible, the glare he gave Snape grew even more murderous; however, he remained silent and allowed his teacher to continue.

"Not many students possess the type of strategy needed to foresee all the possible outcomes of a single move on the chessboard. Nor do they see that sometimes, in order to win the game, certain sacrifices must be made." He waved his wand over the chessboard, and the pieces began to move. "While you may have mastered the chessboard, you will find that in real life, there is no similar set of rules, no boundaries to prevent your enemy from taking you by surprise." He tapped the surface of the chessboard with his wand. Suddenly, the pieces on the board, which up till now had been abiding by the rules of regular Wizarding chess, began to all move at the same time in a chaotic fashion. It made no sense to watch; the pieces were moving without any regard to their station.

"Cedric Diggory found that out the hard way." One of the white knights was beset and destroyed by the black king. "As, I believe, did Miss Granger." The black king had turned his attentions to the white queen and was about to drive his scepter into her when Snape rescued her by lifting her off the board. At once, the board and all its pieces disappeared, except for the one in his hand. Although still visible and tangible, the white queen had lost the ability to move and was now only a frozen sculpture. He rolled the piece in his hand, admiring its beauty. It did not resemble Hermione physically, but that did not matter. He lifted his eyes from the chess piece only to find Ron gaping at him. As the mask of hardened detachment once again covered his face, he set the piece of marble down in front of Weasley. Though he said nothing, the implication was clear. The next move is yours.

There was silence as Ron stared at the queen. He still wasn't sure what Snape was getting at, and he was deathly afraid of doing or saying the wrong thing. Finally, he reached forward tentatively, keeping his eyes on his professor. When nothing changed on Snape's face to indicate disapproval, he picked it up. It was a lot lighter than it looked. In fact, he would go so far as to say that it was weightless in his hands. He looked questioningly at Snape, who was now standing and holding his wand out to him.

"Be responsible, Mr. Weasley, with what has been given you. I would be most displeased if I found that my trust has been misplaced." Ron took the wand back with surprise written all over his face. The way the man in front of him was acting now was so unlike the Snape he had known for the last six years that he found himself gaping at his former tormentor. "Go, Mr. Weasley, before I decide to take off points just for the look on your face."

"Y-yes, sir."

Instead of returning to the Gryffindor tower though, he found himself making his way up to the top of the Astronomy tower, where he sat now. Finally, the lights in the hospital wing were turned off and he could no longer see inside. He sighed and got up. There was no point in sitting here any longer. Harry and Ginny would probably be fraught with anxiety over his and Hermione's disappearance by now. He walked slowly down the stairs and back towards his common room, dreading the moment he would have to see them.

***

"Ron! Where have you been! Where's Hermione? You.why are you so cold?" As soon as Ginny had seen her brother enter the common room, she ran to him and embraced him. For once, he did not shrug her off right away, but held her close, relishing the warmth and the comfort.

"It's okay, Ginny. I've just been outside for a while." He looked up to see Harry behind her. "Harry, I'm sorry, mate. I borrowed your cloak and the map without asking." Harry gave him a hesitant smile.

"It's okay, Ron. We figured you had taken them." And then a pause, because he wasn't sure if he wanted to know the answer. "Did you find her?"

"Yes."

"What happened?" asked Ginny from beneath Ron's chin. He let go of her.

"We need to go somewhere private." Harry nodded in understanding.

"We can use the Room of Requirement." Ron brought out the cloak and the three of them slipped underneath. He remembered painfully all the times the three of them, Harry, himself, and Hermione, had snuck around under the cloak. It would never be the same, he realized. He got out from underneath.

"I'm too tall. We can't all fit. You two use it. I'm a prefect; it'll be all right. If anyone catches us, I'll just tell them I was looking for a teacher." The two made no protest, and they proceeded to the entrance. As the portrait closed behind them, the Fat Lady piped up.

"Going out back out so late, dearie? It's past curfew, you know." Ron ignored her, as usual. "Well, don't say I didn't warn you," she responded huffily.

Even without Ron under the cloak, the going was slow. Harry put his arm around Ginny in an effort to synchronize their movements. At least, that's what he told himself.

Finally, they arrived at the tapestry of Barnabas the Barmy and the perpetually failing ballet lesson. Walking past the familiar spot on the wall three times, they each concentrated on needing a place where they could speak without anyone else hearing. After the third pass, door appeared in the wall as usual, but when they opened it, they discovered a room much different from the one they used to practice in. For one thing, it was tiny. Barely twice the size of a broom closet. And it was practically bare. Just a circular hole-about five feet wide and a foot deep-cut into the floor and in the middle of that, another smaller, concentric hole cut again about a foot deep. The entire floor, including the surfaces lining the holes, was covered with carpet. A lamp hung from the ceiling, bathing the room in a warm glow, and a few cushions were placed on the middle lowered ring. Harry was the first to figure out the function of the oddly shaped floor. He scrambled out from under the cloak and climbed in.

"It's like a sofa. For just the three of us." He sat down to show them. Ginny folded away the cloak and joined him while Ron closed the door behind them. "I guess we really didn't need anything elaborate this time," Harry said, although he was a little disappointed.

As they sat down, the three of them formed the points of an isosceles triangle, with Harry and Ginny sitting slightly closer together and across from Ron. Ginny spoke first, leaning forward and putting a hand on his knee.

"So what happened Ron? Why were you gone for so long? And where's Hermione?"

Ron found he couldn't look her in the eye. He studied her hand for a second, then looked up at Harry. He was watching Ron patiently, trusting him to tell the story at his own pace. Ron looked back down at his own hands again before starting.

"Well, I suppose you figured out where I went after I left lunch." He proceeded to tell them the whole story, or at least, as much as he knew. By the end, Ginny was clinging to Harry and crying. Harry had an arm around her but was looking gravely at Ron.

"What do you think he meant?" he asked. Ron, who had not looked up once during the telling, now brought his eyes to meet Harry's.

"I.I think he means for me, for us, to somehow get back at Malfoy. He wants us to do what he can't do." It was clearly not the most intuitive of responses, considering their history with the Potions Master. However, given all the allusions and information that Snape had chosen to share with him, it had been his final conclusion after the hours-long mediation on top of the Astronomy Tower.

Harry nodded. The grudge he had held against Malfoy ever since the train ride during the first year had suddenly turned into something far more serious than a schoolboy rivalry.

"He's ours." There was a hardness in his voice that far surpassed Angelina's during Quidditch practice. Ron regarded his best friend of six years with a new type of awe. As unsettling as it had been for Snape to have treated him almost decently before, it was much more discomforting to see those familiar green eyes burning with barely controlled fury.

Ginny sniffled once more into Harry's shoulder, and immediately, the fire was lost. He looked down at her tenderly.

"Come on, Ginny. We should head back now." She nodded and sniffed but made no move to rise. "Come on." He rubbed her back and propelled her forward. They stood up together.

Ron eyed the two of them. A day ago, he wouldn't have caught on to it. But now, after what seemed a lifetime, he was able to see how Harry had automatically shoved aside his own need for revenge for his sister's sake and how she had naturally gone to him for comfort, instead of her own brother. At any other time, he would have said something, but he was too emotionally drained to find the right words. He had known it was bound to happen and wondered if they even knew how right they were for one another. It was something, he realized, that he would never have with Hermione, no matter how much he wished for it. It didn't matter though, he thought as they left the room. He would still always be there for her, if only as a friend.