The Shattered Window of Orthetain

Chapter Three.

The very next morning it was cold throughout England.

It was also still, very wet and trees in the forests dripped with moisture. It was this that woke up Ron, his back was cramped and his head was throbbing with pain.

He looked around at his surroundings and saw the dark cave he had slept outside and the great giant inside it who was snoring loudly.

It was very hard to get his head round what had happened and it was a while before he actually fully understood what had happened.

Last night, he told all about himself to Gwarp.

It was a difficult and straining task…he didn’t want to do it but it didn’t seem that he had any choice.

Perhaps he was too worried about his mother who he had no idea of her presence.

So he stood up and slowly and might I say cautiously walked over to Gwarp.

He snorted, Ron stepped back suddenly but he tripped and fell to the ground, then Gwarp woke.

There was a thunderous roar and in a second, Gwarp was outside the cave looking for Ron who was still on the floor.

‘WHON!!!’

Ron tried to get up but Gwarp was on him before he could, he grabbed Ron by the legs and flung him a few feet to the left.

Ron stood up and ran, he didn’t know how long he ran for all he knew was that he wanted to get as far away from Gwarp as possible.

He reached a stream, he could hear a motorway or something nearby so he followed the sound of the cars, still running, he noticed that blood was spewing rapidly from his left arm.

He saw a clearing and ran towards it, there was the motorway, full with cars and lorries going about there business.

He saw nearby a building with what he knew as a McDonalds.

It was lucky that his dad was obsessed with muggle’s otherwise Ron wouldn’t know what to do.

He walked now his arm was bleeding more so he couldn’t run.

People from cars stared out at him as he now walked along the hard shoulder.

Finally he reached the building; there were a few cars in a petrol station and not many in the car park.

He entered the main building and gasped.

There was a large shop to his right called WHSmith and a McDonalds to his left.

It wasn’t the fact that he was a wizard who had walked into a building where he didn’t know anything, but the fact that he was on his own and in a place where he had never been before.

He did, however, notice a sign saying toilets and so he went.

Once he had finished he saw something that he had hoped to see.

Hermione…

He walked, sorry, ran over to her and before she could notice he had flung himself on her.

Now Hermione realised who it was and embraced with Ron in a deep hug.

She pulled away slowly and gathered herself before saying ‘Ron, what are you doing here?’

Ron breathed in slowly and told her of what happened, it was a short but yet exhausting tale lasting over half an hour.

One he had finished Hermione started pacing up and down and finally she said ‘Well you got to come home with me there’s no other choice.’

Ron nodded; at last he was going somewhere, where he knew it would be safe.

Hermione’s parents were not too happy to have Ron joining them in the car on the trip back to London but Hermione had ordered that he was too come with them and so they let him.

Ron was too tired to sit and watch the world go by in the car and so he fell off into a slow and painful sleep.

                        *

It was later that night that they finally arrived at the Grangers household; it was a small but nice house on the outskirts of London.

Ron had woken up and seemed a little more relieved now.

The got out and Hermione immediately led Ron upstairs to her bedroom where she led him down on the floor and covered his wound up properly.

There they waited and waited, soon it became too late to sit and wait and so they fell asleep.

They soon regretted it though, as an hour after they fell asleep, there was a loud tapping on the window woke them both.

A brown barn owl with large hazel eyes was flapping furiously, as if asking to come in.

Hermione hurried over to the window, opened it and in a flurry of brown, the owl flew in depositing a letter onto Ron’s head.

The owl flew back out again; Hermione picked up the letter and opened it.

It was written in loopy handwriting, which Hermione found quite difficult to read. She read aloud to Ron who fell silent.

Dear Mrs Granger, and Mr Weasley,

We regret to inform you that your friend Harry James Potter has been taken into St Mungo’s Hospital with serious injuries.

Also recently taken into St Mungo’s was Mrs Molly Fiona Weasley.

We await your arrival on seeing these two patients.

K.L. Porter

Assistant to T.K. Insunt Head Healer.

It was the letter that gave Hermione the biggest shock, the fact that she knew two people who were in St Mungo’s with serious injuries.

She stood up and shook her head, then fell to the ground crying.

Ron immediately stood and put his arms around her shoulder.

‘They’ll be alright,’ he said ‘Harry’s been in worse trouble than this and he’s pulled through…as for my mum….’ he trailed off, talking about his mum was painful. Not only because she was the only person who had cared for Ron as a child, but also because he couldn’t imagine life without her…or any other members of his family.

Hermione stopped crying, stood and shook her head ‘I’ll tell mum to take us too London tomorrow,’

And with that she got back into bed, and Ron didn’t hear another word from her.