Hi Everyone

after much gentle persuasion, ok not that gentle from Olivia (Laudine) i have began writing a sequel to my fic Harry Potter and the Summer of peace. Its a work in progress, but the lure to write more was just too strong and i had to put all my ideas to writing. So, enough talk, here it is

Chapter 1: A new beginning.

It was a cool, September Monday morning when Harry Potter stirred, and woke up. The seemingly normal 17 year old boy sat up in his four poster bed, swept his right hand through his untidy head of thick black hair, and looked around the room. He saw, what by now was a very familiar sight; four other beds, identical to his own, each of which contained some of his closest friends. As everyone else was still asleep, he quietly moved across the room, and walked downstairs to the common room. Even though everyone else was asleep, he felt the need to be alone. This was not the first time he has felt like this in recent weeks, but the fact is, he was alone, and there was no way out of his situation that he could see.

The fact was, that there was no way out, the seemingly normal boy was far from being normal. The boy had never known a normal life, and that was not going to change. Ever since he was a baby, Harry Potter had been involved in a war with Lord Voldemort, the greatest Dark Wizard of all time. Ever since the prophecy was made about Harry and Voldemort, Harry has been marked, not just by the scar on his forehead, but marked to become either a killer, or to be killed himself. Ever since that day he has faced a constant battle for his life, and has come up against his nemesis on more than one occasion.

But now, he had something to his advantage, until this last year, he didn’t know what his destiny was, or how he, or anyone could ever truly destroy the one who occupied his darkest dreams, and his every waking hour. Now he knew what he must do, and what he must face. He must be the one to destroy the pieces of Voldemort’s soul, stored in his Horcruxes. Until they are destroyed, Voldemort will remain as the greatest threat to life, he was the only one who could destroy them, and eventually be the one who removed him from the world forever.

His thoughts were interrupted when two warm hands moved softly over his shoulders, and almost subconsciously he said
“Good morning Miss Weasley”
“Good morning Mr Potter” came the reply, as a smile spread broadly across his face, and all his thoughts vanished as quickly as they had arrived.
“What are you doing up so early?” said Ginny.
“Just thinking about everything, how about you? How come you’re up?”
“I couldn’t sleep either”, said Ginny as she moved around the sofa, and lay down next to him.
“Do you want to go get some breakfast?” Said Harry as he put his arm around her.
“Harry!” she said, laughing as she spoke. “It’s five thirty in the morning! I know the house elves will be up early, but I doubt they’ve started yet!
Harry gave a short laugh, as he ran his hand through Ginny’s flaming red hair.
“What do you want to do in the meantime?” said Harry, a mischievous look on his face.
“I’m sure we can think of something” came the reply, as her head arched towards his, and her lips brushed against his, and he became completely lost in the girl by his side.

“Harry, Ginny” said a very familiar voice, as if a million miles away.

“Harry, Ginny!” said the voice again, getting closer all the time.

“HARRY!” shouted the voice, as Harry woke with a start, and sitting bolt upright, only then could he take in his surroundings. Standing over him was his best friend, Ron Weasley, a bizarre mix of surprise and anger written over his freckled face. Behind him stood his other best friend, Hermione Granger, who, behind the layers of bushy brown hair, had a look of concern etched onto her features. Looking around the room, Harry noticed they were not alone, as there seemed to be most of the house standing around, gazing at him. He felt movement, by his side, and looked down to see Ginny, waking up next to him, and look around, with a similar look of shock all over her face.

“What are you two doing down here?” Exclaimed Ron, Harry looked at Ginny sheepishly, before replying
“Couldn’t sleep” Looking around, he said “how long has everyone been watching us?”
“At least ten minutes mate, come on, lets go get some breakfast.” And without saying another word, he moved over to join Hermione in dispersing the crowd, and getting them down to the Great hall. Harry gazed down at Ginny and grinned.
“We should do this more often” said Harry.
“I know you like to be the centre of attention!” replied Ginny.
Harry grinned as they both got up, and taking Ginny’s hand, they followed the others down to the great hall.

As they walked through the high arched doorway at the entrance to the Great Hall, Harry looked inside, and gazed around the place as they all moved towards the Gryffindor table. The group of students looked nothing like the pupils that had been there at the start of the previous school year. The most startling thing, was that the volume of students was dramatically less than the previous year. There seemed to be a lot less young students, who obviously had been kept away by their families, to keep them together. He looked along each table seeing many faces he knew where not present anymore, for one reason or another, the most startling impact was on the Slytherin table, where only twenty or so students were seated, the most obvious absentees being Crabbe, Goyle, Zabini, Parkinson, and Malfoy.

Malfoy, Harry thought. Red hot hatred surged through his body at the thought of the boy Harry had always had the fiercest of rivalries with. But the reason for his hatred was much more than a petty School rivalry. Malfoy had been the one to allow the Death Eaters into Hogwarts a few months ago, and had held Dumbledore defenceless, before the headmaster was murdered. He was the main reason behind the death of the headmaster, the death of Harry’s last mentor, Albus Dumbledore. He gazed up at the staff table, where he saw the headmaster’s chair unoccupied by his successor, Professor McGonagall, clearly out of respect for him. Harry finally sat down at the Gryffindor table, Ginny next to him, and Ron and Hermione opposite, Professor McGonagall stood up, and within seconds the entire hall was silent.

“Welcome to Hogwarts” she began, and gazed around the room. “To our new students, the very warmest of welcomes, to our older students, the very same. We come together again in a time of great sadness, in which a great threat looms over us all. The thread of you know who has been growing for years now, and has been even stronger in recent months, But despite this, we shall go on. We shall continue out work to provide the very best in magical education for you all, we shall not shirk from our responsibilities, and we shall stand together in the face of darkness, or we shall all fall to the tyranny that threatens us.”
She paused for a second, to let the impact of her words sink in, looking round the hall again, her eyes made contact with Harry’s for a few seconds, and she seemed to lose track of her thoughts for a few seconds but when she continued she seemed quite steady.
“I have a few announcements to make, before you all head to your classes.” As she spoke, timetables appeared before every student in the hall, several people looked at each other, or at the timetables before them, but Harry kept his eyes straight at Professor McGonagall.
“Firstly, I have great pleasure in welcoming our new Defence against the Dark arts teacher, Professor Audiutry.” Only then did Harry notice the woman at the end of the Staff table, who stood up at the mention of her name to quiet applause from all around the hall. The emptiness of the hall made the applause echo eerily, heightening the impact of how different this year would be for them all. Professor Audiutry was a tall slim woman with blonde hair tied behind her head, revealing a startling pair of grey eyes. She looked fairly young, and was dressed in plain robes, but Harry thought there was more to her than the simple imagine in front of them. She accepted the applause quietly, before returning to her seat. Harry looked along the rest of the staff table, and noticed that with the exceptions of Dumbledore and Snape, it was identical to the previous year.

Snape, thought Harry bitterly, hatred surging through him again at the thought of him standing over Dumbledore a few months ago, the bitterness must have been written over his face, as he felt a warm hand grasp his, and he looked around to see Ginny looking at him, concern all over her face.
“Are you ok?” she mouthed, and all the bitterness and hatred just vanished from within him as fast as it had arrived, he smiled at her, before turning back to Professor McGonagall as she resumed her announcements.
“My next and final announcement is that of the Head Girl and Boy for this year. Head Girl for this year, will be Hermione Granger. Harry turned his head across the table to see Hermione turn a deep scarlet colour, and bury her face in her hands. Harry joined in the applause that resonated throughout the hall; Ron put his arm around her and bought her head upwards, revealing tears streaming down her cheeks. A warm surge spread through Harry, no-one deserved it more that Hermione, he thought.
“Head Boy” said Professor McGonagall, silencing the hall within seconds. “Will be Ernie McMillan.” Applause and cheering erupted from the table to their left, and the Gryffindors found themselves joining in the applause, the joy on Ernie’s face was obvious for all to see, not that they could see much of his face through the crowd of students congratulating him.
“Settle down” called Professor McGonagall, and the uproar ceased almost immediately. “Could the Head Boy and Girl please follow me to my office, I wish to go through a few things with you both, everyone else, to your classes.” She swept down from the staff table into the main body of the Hall. Everyone rose to their feet, and began to make their way towards the door. Harry began to gather his bag, but was interrupted by Professor McGonagall appearing behind him.
“I shall want a word with you too Potter. Follow me”

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Ok, sorry to keep you guys waiting, i'd like to thank Laudine for the password ideas as i'd just hit a blank when it came to them

enjoy

Chapter 2:

It seemed like a hundred things assaulted Harry’s senses all at the same time. He barely had time to respond as Professor McGonagall beckoned him to follow her. Professor McGonagall wanted to speak to him, he thought. He was convinced he knew what it was about, but would keep that to himself. He was not going to break his promise to Dumbledore, and tell everyone what he knew he must do now. He wasn’t going to tell anyone before his death, and he wasn’t going to change that now. Hermione’s face remained a deep shade of magenta, and nothing anyone said or did seemed to change that. Ernie, he thought as head boy. Harry looked through the mass of people for the Hufflepuff, and found him walking proudly towards the doors following in Professor McGonagall’s wake. His chest was puffed out, and an expression of deep pride was written across his face. The last thing to happen was Ginny appearing in front of him, deep concern written all over her face.
“Harry, are you alright?” she said, her voice was frail, and deeply concerned.
It took Harry a few seconds to think about what he was being asked. Was he ok? The answer to that question was obvious, no of course he wasn’t ok. He had the fate of the Magical world on his shoulders, and there were at least two people he wanted to hurt as much as they had caused pain to him.
“Harry” she repeated, reaching to hold his hand, but Harry pulled his hands away from her and muttered “I have to go” before turning and walking away, leaving Ginny standing alone in the hall.

Why was he feeling like this? Why did he feel the need to be alone, even when he was in a room with everyone else asleep, his closest friends, he still felt the need to be alone. He walked without thinking, or even looking where he was going to the Headmistresses office, he could walk there blindfolded now. He needed desperately to take the troubles off his mind, and just talk to someone, he just didn’t know who, nor did he know what to do. Before he knew it, he was standing outside the gargoyle, the silent guardian if the office. He decided to wait outside though, he thought Professor McGonagall would still be briefing Hermione and Ernie, but he didn’t know the password. Even If he had though, he felt no desire whatsoever to be in there with them anyway.

What was wrong with him, he thought. Was it jealously? Was he jealous he wasn’t wearing the Head Boy’s badge instead of Ernie? Was he feeling the same way as he had when Ron had become a prefect and not him? No, he told himself, he wasn’t even planning on returning to Hogwarts a few months ago, and he hadn’t been chosen as a prefect, what was he expecting? He had enough to worry about without being Head Boy. Then there was Ginny, he berated himself for snapping at her, and shutting her out. There were so few people who cared for him left now; hurting the ones who did was not a good idea. He would have to make it up to her later he thought. Maybe it was him just wanting time and space to himself, maybe its that he was the only hope for the magical world, everything was pushing down on him, so hard the pressure was almost too much to bear.

Before he could think about his predicament any longer, the gateway to the Headmistress’ office opened, and he saw Hermione and Ernie making their way down the stairs towards him. Ernie looked like he had grown about a foot since he last stood next to Harry; his chest was puffed out in the same way Harry remembered Percy used to do, during his year as Head Boy. Ernie reached Harry first, and offered his hand to him, which Harry took, and shook briefly.
“Harry, so nice to see you” said Ernie pompously
“Ernie, congratulations on the badge” replied Harry stiffly.
“Oh thank-you” he said, puffing out his chest even more, to make the shining badge even more obvious. “I have to say it came as a great shock, I thought it would be you for sure.”
Harry grimaced at Ernie’s words, and looked away from him. Ernie looked between Harry and Hermione awkwardly, before speaking again.
“Well, thank-you again Harry, Hermione” he said awkwardly nodding to Hermione. “I’d better be off, the duties wont get themselves done will they?” and looking slightly deflated, he left the corridor. Harry looked at Hermione for the first time, her face was stricken with worry, Harry was quite shocked when she advanced on him and put her arms around him.
“Harry, what’s wrong? Asked Hermione, letting go of him as she spoke.
“Nothing, I” Harry started.
“Oh don’t give me that” replied Hermione, sharply, making Harry jump. “You’ve not been right since we got here yesterday, you hardly slept last night, frankly you look terrible and you’re shutting out the three people who care about you the most, now tell me what’s going on.”
“I….” Harry started. “I’m sorry” he said quietly.
“I’ll accept your apology if you tell me what’s wrong.”
Harry looked away, thinking to himself how best to put how he felt.
“Harry?” Hermione said tentatively.
“It’s just so much” said Harry sharply, which made Hermione jump. “Everything is just so hard! Do you have any idea what I’m feeling right now, to feel the entire wizarding world pushing down on your shoulders? Do you know what it’s like to face him over and over, to have to face him with the fate of everyone resting on my actions?”
Before Hermione could respond, Professor McGonagall descended the steps from her office, and beckoned him to follow her.
“I’ll talk to you later Harry” said Hermione, who looked shocked and scared as she turned and walked away. Harry felt a deep sense of anxiety as he watched Hermione walking away, leaving him alone with Professor McGonagall. He slowly ascended the stairs in front of him, and pushed the door open when he reached the top.
“Come in Potter” said the voice as he entered. He obliged and moved slowly into the room.
“Take a seat” Said Professor McGonagall, almost impatiently.
“Would you care for something to drink?”
Harry shook his head by way of a response.
“Very well then, Im sure you’re very curious as to why I’ve called you in here, I promise I wont keep you for long.”
Harry merely nodded, and Professor McGonagall continued.
“I’m very glad to see you’ve chosen to return to Hogwarts, I have to say I wasn’t sure if you would return, but we’re all very glad to see you here.
“Thanks” muttered Harry.
“Now, in addition to the classes you’ll be attending as normal, I would like you to attend private lessons with Professor Audiutry, She is a real asset to the staff, an expert in duelling and a number of other fields, and im certain it will be beneficial to you.”
“Ok” replied Harry.
“There’s one final thing, now I know you spent a great deal of time with Professor Dumbledore last year, but I also know he wanted it to remain between yourselves, I just want you to know I will not intrude on that privacy, unless you ask for my help.”
“Ok, thank-you Professor” said Harry with a lot more strength in his voice.
“Just so you know, this office will always be open should you wish to speak with Albus, the password will be Quinquatrus, and I will let you know if it is changed”
“Ok, Professor, Thank-you very much” said Harry, a lot more comfortably.
“Harry, what’s wrong?” asked Professor McGonagall kindly.
Harry was taken aback by the use of his first name, “I” he started to respond, weakly.
“I can only imagine how much pressure you’re under now Harry, how much pressure you’ve always been under, just so you know we’re here to help you, We’ll always be here to help you whenever you need it.”
“Thank-you Professor, Is that everything?”
“Yes that’s all; you’d better get to class”
“Ok, thank-you”
She smiled at him as he turned, and left the room. It was already halfway through his first lesson, so he decided to return to the common room. What was wrong with him, he thought as he walked through the empty corridors. Why was he acting this way? Nobody could understand him, nobody could ever hope to understand what he went through, and will go through for the rest of his life. He needed to talk to Ron, to Hermione, and to Ginny, Especially Ginny. He needed to make things right with them all, to make them see what was on his mind, rather than shut them out. Before he even realised he was there, he was standing outside the fat lady.
“Harry” she said, beaming, “so nice to see you’ve come back, shouldn’t you be in class though?
“There didn’t seem much point in going there for half a lesson, after my meeting with Professor McGonagall” replied Harry.
“Fair enough, Password please” she said.
Oh, Harry thought, he hadn’t been given the password.
“I don’t know it; I haven’t seen anyone who knows it yet”
“Well then” began the fat lady, before a voice interrupted them from behind.
“It’s a good job I stopped by then isn’t it?”
Harry turned to see Ginny marching towards the portrait, she said “Cruciabilitas Cordis ” at the fat lady. Who swung open, and without stopping, she marched straight through the open doorway without looking at Harry.
“Ginny” Harry started, but she didn’t stop, she walked straight across the room towards the staircase.
“Ginny” said Harry again, but she carried on walking, and disappeared up the stairs to the girl’s rooms. Harry ran across the room and reached the foot of the staircase.
“GINNY!” he shouted up the stairs, but his only answer was the sound of a door slamming upstairs.
Now what, thought Harry, as he stood alone in the empty common room, he turned looking for a chair, and found one facing the staircase. He would wait there till she came downstairs, she couldn’t stay there forever, and he had to make things right with her, he had to make her see.

And so, he waited.

Hi everyone, im sorry for keeping you waiting, but here is chapter 3 at long last.

Enjoy

Chapter 3:

Harry wasn’t entirely sure how long he had been sat there for, it may have been minutes, it may have been hours, but he was sure of one thing, he was not going to move from where he was. He couldn’t move forward, as the girl’s staircase was in front of him, and he’d never make it up there, and he wasn’t going to go backwards, he wasn’t going to move from his chair until she came back down, he had to make her see; he had to make her understand. He barely noticed the sound of a door opening behind him, and was shaken out of his trancelike state but a voice speaking as if from a mile away.

“Harry there you are! I’ve been looking everywhere for you”

Harry turned suddenly and saw Ron advancing towards him, concern written all over his freckled face.

“I’ve been really worried about you Harry, we all have” He continued, and sat down next to Harry.

“Harry, what’s wrong?”

Harry looked down at the floor, and he felt the guilt swelling up inside him, he had done this for too long, he had to put an end to this now.

“Ron, I’m sorry.” Harry said, Ron looked shocked at what he was hearing, but said nothing. “It’s just been so hard coming back, seeing everything and everyone here, but more than that it’s what I have to do. I have to fight him, im the only one who can, and I’ve always been the only one who can, and sometimes it just gets too much.”

It took Ron a few moments to gather his thoughts, and think of how to respond, after a few seconds, he said.

“Harry, I know it must be hard, but we’re by your side, we always have been, and always will”

Harry felt the worry melt away from him as hot relief surged through his body.

“Ron I’m….” he started.

“Forget it mate” said Ron smiling, “So what are you doing here anyway?”

“I think I can answer that” Said a voice from behind them, and Harry felt the dread return to him again, he looked at Ron, and with a look of dawning comprehension appearing on Ron’s face he said “I’ll leave you to it.” With that, he got up, and walked towards the boy’s staircase.



Harry turned back and looked at Ginny, who hadn’t moved from the foot of the staircase. Harry looked into her eyes, those deep green eyes he had fallen in love with, and as soon as he heard Ron walk up the stairs out of sight, he stood up and walked towards her. She didn’t move this time, but stood there, as still as a statue, a vision of beauty in Harry’s eyes, but her face completely impassive as Harry walked towards her, and as he began to speak.

“Ginny, I’m so sorry” he began, and she said nothing “I’m sorry for snapping at you, and for shutting you out. I should have been open with you from the start Ginny, im sorry.”

“Harry” She said, stopping Harry’s words as suddenly as a breaking broomstick. “All I can do is imagine what you’re feeling, so I’m sorry too. It’s just I…..” She seemed to lose her train of thought as she looked into his eyes, but when she spoke again, her voice was steady.

“I was mad, it’s not just for shutting me out, but for telling everyone else before me, it’s like you feel you can’t talk to me, you told Hermione and Ron, hell you probably told Professor McGonagall, but not me. I know it’s childish, but I’m your girlfriend, and you should tell me what’s going on; we should tell each other everything.”

“Ginny” Harry cut across her, “I’m sorry”

Smiling, Ginny replied “I’m sorry too.”

Harry took one step towards her and pulled her into a hug, and from that contact, that one embrace with the girl he loved he felt the guilt, the worry and the anxiety he had been feeling, just melted away from him, and a huge smile spread across his face, and it felt like it was the first time he had smiled for days. He pulled away from her, taking a moment to look at her, before leaning in, and kissing her passionately as they stood there alone. He wasn’t sure how long they were standing there for, but he finally let go of her, and smiling broadly at her, he said “Shall we go get some lunch?”

Smiling back at him, Ginny let Harry take her hand, and walk her to the doorway, and down to the great Hall.



As Harry sat in the Great Hall, with Ginny sat next to him. He felt immediately at peace with the world, a far cry from the worried soul he was earlier, he actually felt happy. The great threat of Lord Voldemort still loomed over them all, but he now felt he could face it, will them all by his side, and he knew he could count on Ron and Hermione to be with him to the end. Shortly afterwards Ron and Hermione came into the Great Hall, and sat down opposite Harry and Ginny; Hermione looked worried, but with a steely determination in her eyes, and Ron looked more relieved than anything else. He was the first to speak.

“Well I didn’t see any blood or a corpse in the Common room so I’m assuming you two are ok?”

Harry laughed, and it heightened his feeling of happiness. He turned his gaze to Hermione who looked more determined in that moment than Harry had ever seen her, she said “Ron filled me in Harry” and Harry could hear the worry in your voice. “We’re here for you, we’ve been with you since the beginning, and we’ll be with you till the end, just promise us you wont shut us out again. A warm glow spread through Harry, the warmest of them all, He couldn’t find the words to tell them all what he felt, to tell them what it meant to him to have them all standing by him like this, he just smiled at them all, that was all that was needed.



As they were enjoying lunch of Spaghetti and meatballs, Ron broke the silence.

“So, we’ve got defence against the dark arts this afternoon, I wonder what the new Professor will be like. From appearances this morning, she didn’t look like she’d be up to much.”

“You said that about Professor Lupin Ronald” said Hermione in a deeply tired voice, “I’d wait until after the lesson before you decide how good she is.”

“I know what you mean” said Harry “There was something about her that just seemed like there’d be more to her than meets the eye.”

“I didn’t mean it like that” said Ron, and Harry and Hermione looked at him, disbelief written all over their faces. “Just on appearances I mean, she didn’t look like she’d be much cop.”

Harry smiled and Hermione shook her head in disbelief.

“Just you wait and see Ronald” she said.

“We ought to get going” said Harry “We don’t want to be late” and finishing his last meatball, he kissed Ginny on the cheek and said “I’ll see you later”, she smiled back at him, and they left the Hallway for their next lesson.

As the approached the classroom, Ron said to Harry “so do you think she’ll just be here for one year like every other teacher we’re had?”

“It doesn’t really matter does it?” Said Harry “I mean, after this year we wont have anymore lessons ever again.”

“True” Ron replied, “I didn’t think of that”

Smiling to himself, Harry said “That said, it would make a nice change to have someone last more than a year.”

They entered the Defence against the Dark arts classroom, and it was immediately obvious there was a new Professor from the last time they were in this room. Every year there was a change with each new teacher that had taken the post of Defence against the Dark arts teacher, every year the classroom had looked completely different. Whether it had been the portraits of the fiercely vain Professor Lockhart or the new creatures procured by Professor Lupin for them to study, then there was the impostor Professor Moody, who had the room decked out in dark detectors and sensory equipment, Professor Umbridge, who’s obsession with kittens had extended from her office to her Classroom, and finally Snape, who’s fascination with the Dark arts was obvious whenever anyone walked into the room. Under Professor Audiutry however, it was similar in appearance to the Professor herself. The walls were decorated simply, and she seemed to have a wide mix of items all around the room. As they moved towards their places, Harry looked around, taking in his surroundings, and getting the strong feeling, that like the professor herself, the room held more than met the eyes.

Before he could think about it any longer, the new Professor appeared in the doorway to her office. At her appearance, the entire room fell silent, and they all watched her descend the staircase, and stand behind the teacher’s desk at the head of the room. She had the entire room in stunned silence as they all waited for her to speak.

“Good afternoon everyone” she finally said, she spoke with a kind voice, and she had the absolute attention of everyone in the room. “As you all know, I am Professor Audiutry, and I guess, rather than me welcoming you back to the school, I should be asking you to welcome me.” Her words got a few laughs from around the room, including Ron, Harry remained silent though, he was immediately fascinated by her, and felt there was something about her which commanded respect.

“For our first lesson, I’ll be checking over what you can do. Before we start on something a bit more interesting I need to see your current level of ability.” She looked around the room as she spoke, and as she looked around, her eyes caught Harry’s. She seemed to lose her train of thought as she looked at him, and realised who he was, but when she spoke again, her voice was perfectly calm.

“So, could you please all pair up, and I think we’ll start with the disarming charm.”



Everyone in the room moved to find a partner; Ron walked over to join Hermione, so Harry sat on his own and looked around the room. He saw Neville sitting alone, so he walked over towards him.

“Neville?” he said, and He jumped up almost out of his seat, he looked shocked that there was someone talking to him. “Do you want to partner me?” said Harry.

“Ummm, yes ok Harry, thank-you”

“Are you alright Neville? You seem a bit jumpy” said Harry.

“I’m fine Harry, let’s get going.”

Neville walked over to a free space in the room, and Harry followed, having the strong feeling that he wasn’t being entirely truthful.

As they were practicing various spells, Harry knew there was something wrong. Neville had worked so hard to improve himself, but he seemed distracted, and Harry was able to hit him again and again. Professor Audiutry walked among them, taking notes on each pair. After a short while, she called for them to practice disarming as a non verbal spell. Harry had never perfected the art, but Neville had always struggled. As Harry watched, he began to turn purple as he kept his mouth shut, and tried the incantation without speaking. Professor Audiutry went through every spell they had done previously, both verbally and non-verbally, testing their stunning spells, shield charms and patronusses amongst others. She seemed satisfied when she called everyone to stop for the last time.

“We’ll I think we’ll call it a day” She said out loud, I’m very impressed with all of you” and Harry felt a deep sense of pride that he had, at least in part been responsible for their performance, given the amount of time he spent training them 2 years previously.

“I’ll be able to figure out where to go from here between now and our next lesson, which is on Wednesday I believe” she said, and without waiting for a response, she finished. “Rather than wait for the bell, that’s the end of the lesson, you may go now.”

Without need for further encouragement, everyone in the room began collecting their things, and making their way to the door. Harry was suddenly reminded of how distracted Neville had been, and was determined to help him out, he tried to catch his attention, but he heard the Professor speak again.

“Harry” she said, and he looked around to see she wanted to talk to him; he turned to the door to see Neville running out, and felt annoyed he couldn’t follow him. He walked towards the Professor.

“Yes Professor?”

“I’m sorry to keep you for a little longer, but I thought we might have our first lesson together tomorrow if that’s ok? I believe you have the last lesson free, so shall we make it then?” She sounded almost nervous as she spoke to Harry.

“Yes that’s fine Professor” replied Harry, “was there anything else?”

“No that will be all, I’ve kept you for long enough” and smiling at Harry she turned and walked towards her office.

Harry grabbed his bag, and slinging it over his shoulder he moved quickly towards the door, half thinking what they would do in their lessons together, but more importantly he wondered what was wrong with Neville, and was determined to find out.

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well after a lot of typing, here is the 4th chapter.

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Chapter 4

Harry left the room in a half run, determined to track Neville down. As he got out of the room he realised it was a futile gesture. The corridors were packed with people, all of whom had just left their last lessons, and were returning to their common rooms for the rest of the afternoon. Harry tried to spot his friend, but it was obvious he had long gone; Harry decided to check around the castle before he returned to the common room.

He went from room to room, checking bathrooms and classrooms alike, but to no avail, he could not find him anywhere. He had a sudden thought, as he walked along the third floor corridor, could he be hiding in Moaning Myrtle’s bathroom? It had been used several times over the years, for people just wanting to hide without fear of being followed, given it was occupied by the most miserable ghost in the castle; Moaning Myrtle. He would check there quickly, and then return to the common room if he wasn’t there.

He approached the door with some trepidation; he had met Myrtle on several occasions, each of which was with a feeling of anxiety, and pity for her fate. Whether it had been when they used her bathroom to brew Polyjuice potion in his second year, or when she had interrupted Harry in the prefect’s bathroom in his fourth year. Seeing Myrtle always bought these feelings to the fore, and as he approached the doorway, and this was no exception. As he slowly pushed open the door, and felt the same feelings again. He peered round the door, and seeing no-one, he walked into the room. Harry hadn’t seen this bathroom since his encounter with Malfoy a few months earlier. The mirrors and walls still showed signed of their fight. The mirrors were cracked, and reduced to dust in places, and the walls showed clear marks of spell impact. His attention drifted over to the sinks in the middle of the room. This was the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets. He ran his fingers over the taps above them, and the small figure of a snake on the tap. He thought back, and remembered how, so many years ago, he had entered the Chamber of Secrets, with Ron and Professor Lockhart, and how he had gone on alone, to rescue Ginny, and had destroyed the first of Voldemort’s Horcruxes. Although he didn’t know that at the time of course, he only discovered that a few months earlier. He thought, as he looked over the sinks, and thinking about the past, that he had to, once again, go into the Chamber of secrets. Enough time had passed; he had to perform what he was born to do. He wasn’t sure what made him feel so strongly about the Chamber, but any connection to Voldemort was something he had to investigate, and the sooner he began, the better.

Out of nowhere, a voice appeared from behind him, the same depressing voice he had heard so many times before.
“Oh its you, hello Harry”
Harry turned around, to see Myrtle as she always did, misery etched all over her ghostly features.
“Myrtle, hi” he replied weakly.
“What are you doing here? I did miss you, you know, and our little meetings, do you remember?” she said with an air of false sweetness.
“Vividly” replied Harry sourly, he remembered only too well how she had interrupted his bath a few years previously.
“I’m glad you came back though Harry” she said, smiling.
“Hey Myrtle, have you seen Neville around?”
“Hmmm, Neville you say” said Myrtle sweetly.
“Yes, have you seen him?”
“Yes, he was in here earlier, he did look very flustered, the poor thing, I tried to talk to him, but he ran away. A shame really, I consider myself quite helpful you know”
“Ok Myrtle, Thanks a lot” said Harry as he turned to leave
“Harry” said Myrtle, drawing Harry’s attention back to her. “You should drop by more often” and smiling sweetly, she flew through a cubicle wall, and into a toilet with an almighty splash. He smiled to himself, and taking one last look at the gateway, he left the room. He had barely left the bathroom, when he was confronted by Ginny.
“Harry, what are you doing in Moaning Myrtle’s bathroom?” She said, almost with amusement in her voice.
“I was looking for Neville” said Harry, trying to keep a straight face.
“In a Girl’s bathroom?”
“Well I’ve hidden in there often enough”
“True, he’s in the common room, though Harry, I just talked to him.”
“He looked so distracted during Defence against the dark arts, I was just worried about him, and just wanted to know what’s wrong.”
“He seemed fine to me” said Ginny, as they walked back to the common room, hand in hand. “But maybe he had something else on his mind?”
“Like what” said Harry eagerly.
“I don’t know, he didn’t say, Maybe you should talk to him Harry”
“I will, when we get back”
“So, how was the new Professor?”
“She was really good, it was just basic things really, just to test our ability” he said, mimicking Professor Audiutry’s voice.
“Did she seem like she’d be a good teacher?”
“I think she’ll be better than out last female Defence against the dark arts teacher, I think that’s for certain.”
Ginny laughed, and lent into Harry’s arm.
“There is one other thing Ginny, when I was in the bathroom, I came to realise something.”
“You’re in love with Moaning Myrtle” said Ginny mockingly.
“I’m serious Ginny” and her smile disappeared.
“I was thinking when I was in there; I need to go into the Chamber of Secrets soon.” And Ginny’s face was etched in complete anxiety.
“I need to look around, and try to figure out all I can about Riddle, and given he made the chamber, I think it’s a good place to start off.
Her faced twisted into stark resolve before she spoke again.
“I’m coming with you Harry, Ron and Hermione will want to be there too.”
“Ginny, I don’t think that’s…”
“Harry” she said, cutting him off mid sentence, and she had such steely determination in his eyes, he had to back down. “I’m coming with you Harry and the others will want to too.”
“Ok, I suppose so, I want to go at the end of the week, the sooner the better” said Harry reluctantly.
“Ok then” said Ginny, as they reached the Fat lady, and within seconds they were inside the common room. For once Harry was not looking at Ginny, as he looked around the room, looking for Neville. He couldn’t see him anywhere, so he walked away from Ginny, and walked towards the Boy’s staircase, in search of him. He reached the top of the stairs, and walked through his dormitory door. He looked around inside and saw Neville lying on his back on his bed, staring at the ceiling.
“Neville” said Harry as he walked towards him “there you are”
“Harry” said Neville weakly, as he sat up, and Harry sat down next to him.
“Are you alright Neville?”
“I’m sorry Harry, I’m sorry about the defence lesson, I wasn’t concentrating, and you must have thought I was terrible”
“Neville, you don’t have to be sorry, I was just worried about you; what’s wrong?”
It took a while for Neville to reply, but when he did, it wasn’t completely convincing.
“Its nothing Harry, I’m just finding it hard to concentrate at the moment, with everything that’s happened, everything that’s going on.”
“Is there anything you want me to do?” said Harry, not entirely sure he was telling the truth.
“No nothing, I’d just like some space if that’s ok?”
“Ok Neville, if you’re sure, you know where I am if you need me ok” and clasping him on the shoulder, he walked towards the door.
“Harry” Neville said, and Harry turned again. “Thanks” said Neville, who smiled as he lay back down.
Harry walked towards the door, not convinced he was ok, but at least happy to have talked to him.

* * * * * *

The next day had gone fairly slowly, the morning’s lessons were interesting enough, but Harry always had one eye on his lesson that afternoon with Professor Audiutry and one eye on the weekend, when he would be doing in a few days time, when he would walk into the Chamber of Secrets. As he stood outside the Defence against the dark arts room, he couldn’t help but think that in a few days time, he would walk into the Chamber of secrets again, and see for the first time in many years where he had fought Voldemort’s Basilisk, and rescued Ginny. He didn’t like to think what would have happened if he hadn’t got there in time, he couldn’t imagine his life without her now, all he could think was how strong she was being to come with him, to return to the place she so nearly died, it was nothing short of extraordinary. He was so lost in his thoughts, he barely even noticed the lesson was due to start now, so he walked towards the classroom door, pushed it open and walked inside.

When he closed the door behind him, he felt the atmosphere in the room change dramatically. He felt uneasy, and his only natural reaction was reach for his wand. He plunged his hand inside his robe, and closed his hand around the handle. He looked around the room for the source of the unease he had been feeling, as his wand hand came out of his robe, he had less than a second to notice a flash of light from his right hand side, it connected with his chest, and he was thrown back across the room, and darkness took him.





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Here be the new chapter, at long last, enjoy yourselves

Chapter 5

Harry was awoken as suddenly as he had been knocked out. He slowly sat up and looked around the room. He immediately saw Professor Audiutry leaning over him, wand hand raised, and pointed at his chest. He looked at her wondering what was happening. Was she here to attack him, to torture him or even to kill him? The unease and panic inside him increased tenfold as he looked at her, but she did not strike. Instead she lowered her wand, and said to Harry.
“Well at least you did one thing right.” Her voice had a lot more steel than Harry had heard previously, he had thought there was something about her, and he was right.
“What was that?” said Harry meekly.
“You drew your wand, and actually noticed something was wrong” said Professor Audiutry. “We have a lot of work to do.”
“How did you?” Harry began.
“All in good time Harry, all in good time, but my first request, is while we are in these lessons that you call me Lunette, I feel we should be on first name terms while we have these lessons.”
“Ok” said Harry groggily, still feeling the after effects of the spell.
“Are you ok? I didn’t mean to hit you so hard” said Lunette, almost giving in and laughing, “Sorry” she added, smiling at him.
“You know, in a way its good I hit you that hard”
“My head disagrees with you Professor” said Harry
“Lunette, Harry; and I’m sorry” But if I were a servant of the enemy, it would have been a lot stronger than that.”
Harry quailed inside, and it must have been written all over his face.
“Harry, I know you must be scared” Lunette began.
“No it’s not that” replied Harry. He felt embarrassed, and didn’t want to appear weak in front of her, or anyone for that matter.
“Ok then Harry, I want to have a few practice duels with you to start with, now from our Defence lesson yesterday, and from your reputation as well, I know how good you are, both with verbal and non-verbal spells, but no matter how good someone is, they can always improve. Im sorry to say it, but not only will Voldemort and his Death Eaters be at least as powerful as we are, they will be ruthless and will show no mercy, so we will have to work hard, and prepare you for everything.
Harry looked, and felt anxious once again.
“Harry, you must be scared, I can only imagine how scared you are, but I will do everything in my power to help you, I promise you that.”
“Thank-you Lunette” said Harry, not entirely anxiety free, but at least feeling a little stronger.
“Well you finally passed the first test Harry” and at Harry’s quizzical look she said “you called me my name, and not Professor. Now, I just want to outline what we will do in these lessons before we start. As I mentioned, we’ll be practising duelling, that will take up the majority of our time, and we’ll work on your techniques, blocking, and things like that. We’ll also be studying occlumency, and maybe even teleportation. I also need to express the importance of being constantly on the alert. Like we saw earlier, if you’re unprepared, you can be caught out, and if I’d been a Death Eater, I’d have been unlikely to use a stunner wouldn’t I?”
Harry groaned at the thought of Occlumency, he had only horrible memories of his lessons with Snape. Those thoughts were combined with the memory of his lessons with Professor Moody, whose motto seemed to be “Constant Vigilance”.
Seeing his look, Lunette said “We wont be starting Occlumency for a few weeks Harry, I know about your lessons with Professor Snape, but it might help for you to have the lessons with someone you like rather than someone you loath” which caused a smile from Harry.
“Thank-you Lunette, I’ll try.”
“That’s all I ask, now let’s see what you can do.”

Harry spent the next hour or so duelling with Professor Audiutry, using all the incantations they had used the previous day. However, it was obvious from their first exchange, that he was completely outmatched by her. He had thought he was good, but she seemed to anticipate his every move, she seemed to know what he was going to do before he knew himself, every attack of his was blocked with ease, and every attack she threw at him caught him off guard. They had to stop several times during the lesson, when Harry had to catch his breath and prepare himself for the next assault.
After about an hour had passed, Lunette called Harry to a stop, and she invited him to sit down, while she went into her office to fetch something to drink. She returned mere moments later with two glasses of pumpkin juice, and she sat down next to Harry, who had only just got his breath back.
“Professor, how did you do that?” said Harry weakly.
“Do what Harry?” replied Lunette.
“You were so fast, you could do everything, and it’s almost like you knew what I was going to do before I knew it myself”
“That’s what I have to teach you Harry, I did know what you were going to do, every step you made, every attack you planned, and every defence you put in my way.”
“But how?” said Harry, dumbfounded by her ability.
“All in good time Harry, all in good time, but once we do that you have the capacity to be more powerful than Voldemort, maybe even more powerful than Dumbledore. But I’ll make this as plain as I can, you will have to work hard to be there, you’ll have to work harder than you ever have before.
Harry knew she was trying to make him feel better, but he certainly didn’t feel it. He didn’t really know how he felt. Inside of him, he felt nervous certainly, he felt as nervous as he’d ever felt before, but at the same time he felt a determination inside him, he was determined to live up to the name of his parents, to those who had been determined to defend him; but had fallen. But Harry knew, above anything else that he had to do this, he knew it was his destiny, and he was the only one who could destroy Voldemort for good. Harry must have been staring blankly into space for a while, as Lunette finally caught his attention, by clasping her hand on his shoulder.
“Harry?” she said.
“Sorry Professor” said Harry, in a much stronger voice than he had used previously. “What should we do now?” he continued.
“I think that’s enough for today Harry, I’ll just ask you to concentrate in your defence classes, and even more so in your classes with me, and just keep doing what you’re doing now, I cannot ask anymore from you”
“Ok Professor, thank-you”
“Lunette, Harry” she said, with a brief smile.
“Sorry, so when would you like our next lesson to be?”
“Shall we say, the same time on Thursday?”
“Ok, that will be fine Pro… Lunette”
”Ok then” said Lunette, smiling again.
“Goodbye then and thank-you”
“My pleasure Harry, goodbye”

With that, Harry rose to his feet, and walked towards the door, he glanced back into the room as he reached the door, and saw Lunette walking towards her office, carrying both empty glasses; he watched her walk up the stairs, and close the door behind her. Harry turned back to the door and left, with every intention of going straight to the common room this time.

Harry walked through the corridors towards Gryffindor tower with a lot on his mind, but whenever he tried to think about anything, his mind just drew a blank. In a way, he always knew he would have to be a better duellist, and a better wizard than he was already. But now he was at the stage where he had to do it, he had to work, and to fight for the ones he loved, for those who were alive, and those who had gone. The prospect of more Occlumency, and the increased workload was almost too much for him to take in, and when he reached the Fat Lady, he felt as if he was in no better position than he had been earlier that day. Harry spoke the password quietly to the Fat Lady, and walked inside. The common room was packed with people, and the second Harry walked into the room, the atmosphere completely changed. It went completely silent, as everyone in the room turned to the doorway and looked at him. This was too much for him to take in, he thought, so he walked quickly towards the staircase, and ran up the stairs two at a time, and ignoring the shout of “Harry!” behind him, he walked into the dormitory, and collapsed face down on his bed.

Before he had a chance to think, the door was burst open, and at least three people walked into the room. He tried to close his eyes, almost to feign sleep, but someone, and he had a very good idea who, sat down on the bed next to him, and he felt the weight shift as two more people sat down at the foot of the bed. Harry felt a warm and familiar hand close around his.
“Ginny” he mumbled, his face still on his pillows.
“Harry, what is it?” came Ginny’s inevitable reply.
Harry rolled over, to see Ginny leaning over him, concern written all over her face, he looked past her, to see Ron and Hermione, both looking at him with similar expressions on their faces.
“What happened out there?” said Harry, sitting upright and looking at them all in turn.
“I don’t know, and I don’t really care” said Ginny fiercely, “all I care about is what’s wrong with you Harry.”
“It’s just the lesson was really hard, it made me realise how much I have to do to improve now, oh and I’ll never walk into that room without my wand drawn again”
“Why?” said everyone in near unison.
“Because she attacked me the second I walked into the room”
“What?!” Exclaimed Hermione and Ginny, Ron looked too dumbfounded to speak.
“Why would she do that Harry?”
“She said I should always be on the alert, and prepared for everything at every possible moment, honestly, it’s like having Professor Moody back again” which drew a brief laugh from Ron, until he was silenced by a glare from Hermione.
“Are you ok?” said Hermione.
“I’m fine now, it’s just…” he paused, looking for the right words.
“What is it?” said Ginny softly.
“It’s just so much to take in!” said Harry sharply, causing Ginny to recoil. “I have so much to do to be a better wizard, to be stronger, and to be able to match Voldemort.” It was a mark of the seriousness of the situation that no-one flinched at the sound of his name.
“I have to match her before I could hope to match Voldemort, she said I have the strength to become stronger than him, but I just don’t know if I could, its all so much” he finished, breathing heavily and looking at the ground.
“Harry” said Hermione. “We’ll help you all we can, we’ll do spell practice, we’ll help your spell craft, we’ll do everything we can, right Ron?”
“Right, we’re with you till this is all over Harry, we’ve been with you since the beginning, and we’re not about to abandon you now.”
Harry couldn’t speak; he somehow couldn’t find the words to tell them all what it meant to have them all around him, encouraging him, and offering him help. He raised his head, and looked at them both, before he found the strength to speak again.
“I suppose I should tell you what I told Ginny earlier” said Harry, looking at Ron and Hermione.
“He’s in love with Moaning Myrtle” said Ginny mockingly.
Laughter erupted all around him, and he found himself caught up in it. The tension he had been feeling, the tension that had been in the room until that point just dissolved in that instant.
“Well besides that” said Harry, trying desperately to keep a straight face as he squeezed Ginny’s hand playfully.
“When I was in Moaning Myrtle’s bathroom yesterday, I was looking for Neville after Defence against the dark arts lesson” he added, at Ron and Hermione’s quizzical looks. “I saw the portal to the Chamber of secrets again, and I’ve decided to go in there this weekend. Now it’s no longer occupied, I want to have a proper look around for any signs of a Horcrux.”
Everyone’s reaction was different. Ginny, who already knew of Harry’s intention, looked resolute, and a strong as rock, and Harry knew she would want to go with him, no matter her fears she would be there. Hermione looked positively scared, she had never been into the chamber, but had been one of the victims of the basilisk’s attacks. Ron on the other hand, who had been with Harry when they had gone in search of Ginny all those years ago, looked unlike Ron at all. He looked strong and determined, and he was the one to speak first.
“I’ll go with you too Harry, I want to go with you, I might be some more help than I was last time.”
“I’m coming too Harry” said Hermione. “I want to stand with you, and help you all I can.”
“Well you already know what i’m going to do Harry” said Ginny, “I told you the others would want to come too.”
Any despair or anxiety Harry had been feeling just evaporated at their words; he smiled at them all in turn, and spoke at last.
“Thank-you all, you can never know what it means to me, to have you stand by me like this.”
“What did you expect?” exclaimed Ginny. “Us to just abandon you? We’re with you till the end Harry, don’t ever doubt that.”
“Well we’ll go on Saturday evening, after Dinner, we should be able to be less conspicuous after Dinner, In any case we should be prepared for everything, in case there are extra defences in there. There may not even be a Horcrux in there, but I have a feeling about this place, and even if there isn’t one there, I want to have a good look around before we go.
“Ok Harry” said Hermione. “I’ll have a look through the library, and see if there’s anything we can use”
“I knew you’d say that Hermione” said Harry, which got a laugh from her, as well as everyone else.
“Let’s get to it then, and if there is anything, let me know.”
Hermione smiled at him, and then she took Ron’s hand, and led them towards the door, leaving Ginny and Harry alone in the room. After they left, Harry moved to get up too, but she pushed him back down. She then laid down next to him, and put her arm across his chest. They laid there for what seemed like days to Harry. Neither of them spoke, they just lay there in each other’s arms, Harry was just thinking about everything that had happened earlier, everything that they had gone through, and most prominently what would happen on Saturday. He was worried, but he had Ron, Hermione and most importantly Ginny by his side, that alone was the greatest gift he possessed. That, he felt, would give him the strength he needed to prevail.


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Chapter 6

As they sat down to dinner on Saturday night, Harry found he couldn’t speak. He felt composed, and just felt alone with his own thoughts, but he just couldn’t speak to the people around him. He thought back to the last few days, and their preparation for this day.
After Harry’s confession of his plan on Tuesday night, Ron and Hermione had gone straight to the library, and had returned there every night of the week, looking for spells which maybe of some use to them, or for any information they could find about the Chamber of Secrets. The only information they could find was the Myths and Legends surrounding the Chamber, and having been inside the chamber himself, Harry felt he knew more about the Chamber than anyone else, save Voldemort of course. Hermione had spent a great deal of tie looking for spells above what they knew already, but didn’t find anything. Instead, the four of them spent all their spare time practising duelling, non-verbal spells, and trying to prepare themselves as well as they could. Harry didn’t know if there would be additional defences in the Chamber, or even if there would be a Horcrux there at all. But now the others were coming with him, he wanted them all to be as safe as possible.
Foremost in Harry’s mind, was his lesson with Professor Audiutry on Thursday afternoon. Despite doing as much practise as they could fit in around their lessons and homework, Harry had been completely outmatched again. He had managed to connect one spell with her which was at least an improvement on their previous lesson. Harry had never heard someone congratulate him for stunning them, but once Harry bought her round, that was the first thing she said.

By the time he returned to his food, Harry found he hadn’t eaten anything. All he had accomplished was to have moved his food around his plate. He looked around, at the three plates around him, and saw their owners had fared little better. Hermione looked scared, Ron looked strangely determined, like he didn’t want a rock slide to get in the way of him helping Harry. Ginny was the hardest to read of them all. She did have a strong determination, which Harry felt resonate from her, but there was something else there, another emotion Harry couldn’t place.

Harry couldn’t stand it any longer as he moved his food around one last time, still without eating anything, he’d waited for too long, and he had to go now. The others all noticed he’d been looking at them, and stopped eating. At one look to them all, the meaning was clear; we go now. They all placed their cutlery neatly onto their plates, and followed in Harry’s wake as he walked towards the door. Once they left, they all caught up with him and they walked quickly, but silently towards Moaning Myrtle’s Bathroom. Nobody spoke; they were all lost in their own thoughts. Harry was in the lead as they approached the bathroom; his deep breathing was the only audible sound. He pushed open the door, and held it open as the others walked in. As they walked past him he followed them in, and closed the door quietly, not wanting to be disturbed by Moaning Myrtle this time. As Harry turned, he saw the others fan out in front of him, checking the room to make sure it was unoccupied. Harry himself walked straight towards the sinks with a definitive purpose, and a certainty to his stride. He bent down, and eyed the small serpentine figure, and said.
“Open” in the eerie Parseltounge, as he had so many years before. At his words, the others all walked towards him, and the gateway began to open. The sink directly in front of him sunk into the ground, and the pillar in the centre of the sink block began to slide backwards and away from them. As the pillar moved back, a horrific stench assaulted his nostrils, forcing them all to clutch at their faces in an effort to block out the foul smell. Harry fought through the stench to look at the gaping hole which had now appeared; he drew his wand, said “Lumos” quietly, and lit up the area below him. His wand light passed over the tunnel, but he couldn’t see anything, so he pocketed his wand and spoke to the others.
“Right, I’ll go first, I’ll check out the area and I’ll call up when I know it’s safe”
“Harry no” Ron began
“I’ll go Ron, there won’t be anything new down there, it’ll be fine”
“I don’t know Harry”
“Ron I’m going” said Harry, and without another word, he turned to the portal, and very much hoping he was right; he took a deep breath in the stagnated air, and leapt into the opening.
Instantly he felt the rush as he found himself falling down the tunnel, and sliding down into the bowels of the chamber. All of a sudden he wasn’t falling anymore; he crouched down, and drew his still lit wand from inside his robes. He stayed there, crouched down, and perfectly still as he searched the area around him. Slowly the wand light moved over rocks, the ground, the ceiling and the walls of the area he was in, but it revealed nothing, from above he heard a panicked cry.
“Harry” exclaimed a voice he recognised as Ginny’s
“It’s ok, it’s clear” he called back.
Harry gazed around, looking for the way forward; he took a few steps ahead, the stench of rotting material assaulting his nostrils with every step he took forwards. He felt the movement on the air behind him, and turned to see Ron, then Hermione and finally Ginny slide down the tunnel and into the room. Once they landed, they all drew there wands, and muttering “Lumos” quietly, they moved over towards him. Harry looked at them all one by one as they walked. Ron looked determined, his visage still held the same strength it had done earlier that day. Ginny and Hermione on the other hand, looked extremely nervous, and he thought he could see Hermione’s wand hand shake slightly in the gloom. He walked towards Ginny, and gently said.
“Are you alright to carry on?”
“Yes Harry I’m fine, it’s just…. It’s just weird being here, I knew it would be, but…. Let’s get moving” and she walked ahead of him, towards where Harry knew the entrance would be. As they walked Ron and Hermione moved behind them, covering left and right, in case anything caught them unawares. They walked round the corner, past the place which had been blocked off by the rock slide on their last visit here, and Harry saw Ginny stop suddenly in front of him. He walked alongside her, and touching her on the shoulder, Harry stepped forwards, till he was almost touching the door. He could see clearly, even in the reduced light of the Chamber, the metal snakes which were on the doorway in front of him. In the gloom around them, they almost looked real to Harry, there were a dozen snakes all fanning out from the centre like the spokes of a wheel. He concentrated hard, and said what he said to the snake on the tap in the bathroom.
“Open!”
The eerie hissing echoed all around the chamber, and they all watched as a thirteenth snake slithered around the edge of the door, looking more real the further it reached. When it disappeared out of sight again at the top of the door, nothing happened immediately, but then there was a slow creaking, and the door swung backwards to reveal the Chamber of Secrets.
As soon as the door opened, the stench of rotten meat attacked them again, although this time it was much stronger, and they were all rushing to cover their faces as the stench moved all around them like some poisonous gas. Harry walked forwards, aware of nothing but what was in front of him. He gazed upon the Chamber with a mix of fear and reverence. On either side of him were tall statues, each one several times his height, and each one depicting a huge snake, fangs bared, and ready to strike an imaginary prey. His eyes were drawn as he walked forwards, to what he suddenly realised was the source of the stench. The still form of the Basilisk he killed so many years before lay still, in the same position he had left it. The flesh and skin had rotted away in all that time, leaving the skeleton perfectly preserved in front of him. He gazed at the head, and noticed where its fang had snapped off into his arm. Without conscious thought, Harry touched the point of his arm where it had pierced his skin. He heard the shrieks of fear and wonder from behind him, which snapped him back to his senses. Ginny drew up alongside him, and clutched Harry’s hand. He knew exactly what she was going through, as he was feeling the same way. Inside his mind he knew how scared she was, as he had been the same when he saw her on the floor, near death so long ago. He squeezed her hand gently, interlocking their fingers, but both of them were beyond words, and neither of them spoke. Harry looked over to Ron and Hermione, both of which were transfixed by the skeletal figure in front of them. Harry was the first of all of them to speak, at once breaking the silence and their gaze fell upon him.
“Ok, let’s look around, leave no stone unturned, and if you see anything, call it out.” His words echoed eerily around the Chamber, heightening the emotion they were all feeling. They all separated and began searching. Ron and Hermione walked towards the entrance, and broke apart when they reached the entrance, slitting left and right to look around the Snake statues. Harry and Ginny began searching the head of the chamber. Harry turned and looked at the massive head which dominated the entire room. High above him was the face of Salazar Slytherin, the founder of Slytherin house. He saw the face, and it almost seemed to Harry as if it was real. It had been crafted superbly from the rock, and just the sight of it caused Harry to gaze in wonder for a few moments. He was brought to his senses by Ginny, who stood next to him again, and said.
“It’s amazing, terrifying, but amazing.”
Harry was beyond words, he couldn’t put into accurate words what he was feeling, and so he just said. “Let’s get going.” Without any further words between them they walked towards the statue. Ginny began climbing the side of the figure, with the express intention of checking over the face and sides of the massive stone form. Harry walked towards the Basilisk, still in awe of the size of the beast he had killed so long ago. Seeing it now in skeletal form gave Harry an extremely uneasy feeling, and it brought back the feelings of that night to him. He stood in front of the still form of the giant snake, and extended his hand towards its head. As he moved closer and closer, he felt some sort of charge flow through him. The closer his fingertips got to the snake, he felt more and more uneasy. As if when he made contact with the snake, it would come alive and strike him. He touched the skull on the bridge of its flat nose, and recoiled instinctively, but nothing happened. Harry ran his fingers along the skull, and felt shivers pass through his body, he felt deeply uneasy, and resolved to perform their search as quickly as possible. He checked over the whole length of the skeleton in front of him, but found nothing, and stood up and away from it, thinking what he could search next. Ginny stood at the head of the statue, in front of Slytherin’s eyes, and suddenly, she called out to Harry.
“Harry, I think I’ve found something, come up here quickly”
Harry’s heart rate doubled in those few seconds, and he ran round to the side of the statue, and began climbing up towards Ginny. When he finally reached her, he saw what had drawn her attention. In each eye socket sat an enormous emerald. Each stone was in perfect condition, and was multi-faceted so it caught the reflection of their wand light, and what little light that existed in the room. Harry gazed around, and couldn’t see anything else of side grand quality. Harry passed his hands over the front of the jewels, trying to feel some form of magical connection, but felt nothing. He wasn’t going to leave anything to chance though, and turned to Ginny.
“Ginny, see if you can find anyway to get these loose, we’ll take them back up with us, I’ll go inside the statue and look there.”
“Ok, I will” replied Ginny, sounding a little more assured in her voice.
Harry descended the way he had climbed up, and walked towards the front of the statue, he gazed back along the Chamber, and saw Ron and Hermione walking towards him; he waited for them to reach him.
“Anything?” said Harry as they approached.
“No, nothing,” said Ron, “any luck here?”
“Nothing yet, Hermione, why don’t you see if you can help Ginny up there” he said, pointing behind him. “There are two large jewels in the eye sockets, they might be nothing, or they might be everything. Ron” he continued, as Hermione made her way to the side of the statue and began to climb up “I’m going inside, why don’t you come with me?”
“Ok, fine, let’s go” replied Ron.
Harry did just that, and walked into the opening at the statue’s mouth. He stopped at the entrance, and allowed his wand to light up the chamber. The whole head was hollowed out, and the space inside was enormous. Harry looked all around him, his wand slowly bathing the whole room in white light. He moved into the room, to allow Ron the chance to join him, and together their wands danced around in the gloom. They looked around to see deep scratches in the walls of the cavern, and to the sides of the room were scraps of snake skin that had not yet rotted away; the rest of the room was fairly bare. Harry walked into the middle of the room, while Ron took a look at the sides of the area around him. Harry closed his eyes, and extended his arms to full stretch either side of him, trying to feel his way around, trying to do what Dumbledore would’ve taught him, and feel the magic in the small room. He stood still, concentrating hard as he went over rock and wall, looking for some sign of what he sought. For the longest time, he thought he would find nothing, but as he passed his hands around, he felt the magic flow through his fingertips, as his hands travelled over the area directly opposite the entrance.
“Here” said Harry simply, walking forwards to where the magic was strongest.
“What?” said Ron, but Harry ignored him. He ran his hands over the rock, and felt something engraved in the wall, Ron pointed his wand at the area in front of them, and Harry saw it was another Snake figure, carved into the rock itself. Clever Harry thought, anyone would have to be a Parselmouth to be able to find it, and how many Parseltongues were there in the world? He pushed the thought from his mind, and looked directly at the snake.
“Open”
Nothing Happened.
“OPEN!”
Everything remained immobile.
“That’s English Harry” said Ron
Harry gazed at the snake again, running his fingers over its body, willing it to be alive.
“OPEN!”
Harry stood in awe as he felt the atmosphere change in the room. He could feel the magic flow around him, as the small space opened up on front of him.
“Woah” was Ron’s only reaction, as the space opened up.
“Ron this is it, get the others in here” said Harry commandingly.
Rather reluctantly Ron did as he was asked, and walked towards the front of the statue. Harry barely heard him calling up for Hermione and Ginny to come down, all of his attention was on the now open gap in front of him. It was a small square hole, dimly lit by a venomous green light, but his gaze and attention was drawn towards the object in the centre of the room, which was held in place by some invisible force. A small hand-held mirror was suspended in mid air, and Harry could feel the magical power of the object in front of him, and it resonated all around him. The mirror itself was perfectly smooth and scratch-free, and was surrounded by brilliant bronze, which was sculpted around the mirror in the shape of a raven’s head at the top, and two wings, one on each side.
“Ravenclaw” breathed Harry.
He looked around the small alcove, looking for some way in which it was being held in place, but although the magic was strong, he could detect nothing. Lacking any alternative, he braced himself for whatever may happen, and reached out to grab the mirror’s handle. The tension around him was clear, and sweat beaded his brow as his fingertips reached towards it. He slowly touched the mirror handle with his finger, and feeling nothing untoward, closed his fingers around the handle. As his hand grasped the river, he was expecting something, anything to happen to him, or the room around him, but nothing did. He could feel the power in his hand as he held the mirror up to him; he breathed a sigh of relief, and began to look for some way of keeping the mirror safe while they left the chamber, and looking around inside his robes, he found a perfect amount of space inside a pocket, and fastened it inside.

All of a sudden he heard a scream from outside the room he was in, and Ron shouting “HARRY!”

Chapter 7:

Fear and adrenaline was pumping through Harry’s veins as he heard the screaming from outside the room. He drew his wand, and sprinted towards the door, not even thinking about what it could be, or about the danger he could be in. His Friends were in danger, and at that moment, that was all that mattered to him. When he reached the main Chamber, the sight which greeted him, appalled him more than anything he’d ever seen before. In front of the small doorway stood Ron Hermione and Ginny, apparently frozen by fear of the sight in front of them. A dozen giant snakes were charging down the corridor towards them, each one vastly larger than them, with manic bloodlust written on their flat serpentine faces. Harry quickly realised two things, they were the statues in the corridor of the Chamber, and they had somehow been bewitched to come alive when the Horcrux was taken from its place in the mouth of Salazar Slytherin. The second, and more pressing problem was that twelve giant snakes were charging straight at them, and would be on them in a matter of seconds, they had to move.

The snakes were thirty metres away, and Harry found himself sifting through his mind, trying to remember and form of spell which would help them get out of this situation. Ron called out “Stupefy!” and fired the spell at the snake in the lead. Harry watched as the beam of light flew through the air towards the snake, his heart was in his mouth as the beam connected with it, and he hoped against hope that the snake would be knocked out. His hopes were dashed as the beam hit it, but reflected off and buried itself in the ceiling. If anything, it seemed to spur the snakes to getting to them all quicker. Harry suddenly remembered the duelling club they attended in their second year, when the school discovered he was a Parselmouth, and everyone thought he was the heir of Slytherin. He remembered how Snape had made the snake disappear from right in front of him; Vipera Evanesca. That snake had been a lot smaller, but he had to try something, anything was better than standing there, frozen with fear, waiting to be eaten by the guardians of Voldemort’s soul. He straightened his arm, and focused on the snake in the lead, straight down the corridor.
“Vipera Evanesca” he cried, the energy focused in his wand and he aimed at the head of the snake, who seemed to be charging towards him and not the others. The red beam exploded from the end of his wand, and he watched as it flew out and connected with the snake. Nothing happened for a few seconds, as it still charged forwards, but then the hissing it emitted, which already echoed around the room, increased ten-fold and Harry understood the pain, he could understand the snake crying in pain as the spell took its effect. From the point it was struck, down the entire length of the body it was turning bright red, and then white and then just disappearing as if it had not been there. Before a few seconds had passed the entire snake had gone. Hope stirred in Harry’s heart, there were more snakes, but he at least knew how to fight them. He cried out for the others to do the same, to fight rather than give into fear and falter. Harry led by example, raising his wand and firing another curse as the snakes reached twenty metres from them.
“Vipera Evanesca!” he cried again, and the spell connected with a second snake, which vanished as surely as the first one had.
“Come on!” he shouted out, and at last the others responded. As he raised his wand a third time, he felt the mood around him change, he felt them all raise their wands next to him, and as the snakes reached fifteen metres away they all called out simultaneously
“Vipera Evanesca!”
Four beams of red light flew from their wands and out towards the snakes as they closed on their position ever faster. As they reached roughly ten metres away, the beams all found homes in the bodies of the snakes, and sent them all into nothingness.
“We have to move now” shouted Harry commandingly, and the others all looked around in panic, looking for somewhere to go. Without thinking, Harry ran towards the small door in the mouth of Salazar Slytherin behind them all, and bellowed to them all to follow him
“Quickly, get inside now!” he shouted, firing another spell at the pack of snakes getting closer by the second. “Only one will be able to get in there at a time, and we’ll be able to take them out, now get in there!” Harry spoke with a fire they had all seen before, and they followed his order, running inside the mouth, as Harry turned to run in after them, he looked up to see the snakes closing fast, only a few metres away from him now, they had lost half of their number, but he still knew that one bite from one of those creatures would end any of their lives.
Everything seemed to move in slow motion as Harry realised there was another tactic he could try. He looked deep into the eyes of the snake at the front of the pack, those deep red eyes which bored into his eyes, and would have struck fear into the bravest of men.
“Harry!” he heard Ron call from behind him, but he ignored it, instead he focused on the snakes and spoke their language once more.
“You will stop now” he said, the hissing echoing all around the chamber from his lips “You will not attack us” But they kept coming, closer and closer with every passing second.
“You will stop NOW!” he shouted out, but it was to no avail, they would not stop until they had either reached their target or they had died themselves. The lead snake was now within striking distance of Harry, it reared up so it was twice his height, its fangs bared in a declaration of intent, it was going to end his life and reclaim the Horcrux for its master. Time stood still, and everything slowed practically to a full stop as he watched the snake descend.
“Nooooo!” came the cry from behind him, but Harry could only stand there and watch it fall, the fear was coursing through his body as the snake fell towards him. The cries and the screaming from behind him was barely audible, the only thing he could feel was the inevitability surrounding him; he knew he would be bitten, and he knew that he would die, but the fear held him fast. He could feel the fangs bite into his skin as they drew closer, filling his veins with the venom contained within them. But Harry was not going to give in, he was not going to let fear hold him while the snake killed him, adrenaline surged through him as he snapped back to reality, the fangs were mere centimetres from his skin when he forced himself to act, and just as it seemed he would be bitten, he threw himself to one side, and the bite missed him by a hairsbreadth. As it reared to strike again, three red bolts hit its body and head, and it vaporised instantly. Harry rose to his feet as the remaining snakes closed in on him. He sprinted through the door, and dived to one side as one snake struck through the mouth of the statue, as it reared to strike again, bolts from the three wands flew into it, and it suffered the same fate as those who had already fallen.
Harry rose to his feet and took in the scene around him. Hermione, Ginny and Ron all stood with their backs to the wall and all pointing their wands at the doorway in front of them. He knew they had the advantage now, although they were blocked into this room they were protected from being surrounded, and more than half of their foes had fallen. They were still formidable creatures, but they had the measure of them now, and knew how to fight them. None of the snakes moved inside the room, instead they seemed to be either circling the statue, or sliding over the top of it. The sound of the snakes hissing, and the snakes sliding over the rock echoed all around them, and heightened the fear they were all feeling. Harry took a few moments to catch his breath, and he took a few moments to himself to try and think of a way out of their current situation.
They were surrounded, with no way out, except for the door in front of them, and Harry just knew the second they left they would be attacked. The snakes seemed to be waiting for them to act, rather than go through the doorway to their deaths. There was a terrifying intelligence to the creatures, which almost seemed human, and made them all the more deadly. Harry looked across to Ginny standing between Hermione and Ron, she looked back at him and he could see the fear in her eyes. He looked away from her; he needed to focus on the problem at hand, and not to lose himself in Ginny, no matter her fears. He reached inside his robes and felt the handle of the mirror pointing out of the pocket of his robes, as his hand moved upwards he felt his fingers draw across the silky material hidden away in another pocket, and a plan began to form inside his mind. The only problem with what he was thinking; was that it involved a little risk on his part. He smiled to himself, everything he had done that evening had a high risk level, he would just have to ride his luck a little longer.
“I have an idea” he said quietly to the others, they were all listening, but their eyes remained trained on the doorway.
“I put on the invisibility cloak and walk out there, I walk as quietly as I can towards the other end of the chamber, then I reveal myself, drawing their attention away from here, and when they come after me, you take them out.”
“Harry no!” said Ginny, taking her eyes away from the doorway “it’s too risky, I’ll go, let me do it.”
“No Ginny I’ll do it, I won’t put you in that kind of danger”
“Harry, I can do it.”
“No, I’m not going to let that happen”
“Why don’t you leave the Horcrux here Harry?” said Hermione “they seem to be drawn to it more than anything else”
“All the more reason for me to take it with me” replied Harry, feeling more and more that his plan was the only way they were going to get out of there.
“If they’re drawn to this, then I have to take it with me, then they’ll be blind to the rest of you, and you can take them out as they come after me.
“Harry” Ginny started.
“Ginny” he cut her off “I’m going, just be sure to take them out once I take off the cloak, as soon as you see them, take them down” He took the cloak out of his robes as he spoke, and wrapped it over his body, completely concealing himself under the silky material. He gripped his wand tightly and said to the others.
“Ok, I’m going out now, the second you see them, take them out.”
The confident manner in which he spoke concealed the fear he felt inside, he knew what could happen to him, but he just had to trust the others to take out the snakes before they got to him.
“I’m gone” he said, and with that, he walked to the doorway, and carefully peered around the corners, trying to see any of the monsters which still slithered around the Chamber; but he couldn’t see anything. He felt the others close up behind him, pointing through him to the outside, and slowly, one foot at a time, he stepped outside. As he left the comparative sanctity of the room he looked around, checking every angle before he took another step. He couldn’t see anything immediately, so he slowly walked forwards. Gripping his wand firmly and checking all around him, looking for the serpents.
As he reached roughly two metres from the doorway he felt the atmosphere change around him, and felt a rush of wind from behind him. Acting purely on instinct he ran forwards feeling the ground shake as something thudded into the ground. He looked behind him as he ran and saw one of the snakes had slid down from the top of the head, and another snake had come out from either side, and they were all bearing down on him, even though he was invisible, they were drawn to the Horcrux, and wouldn’t stop until they retrieved it. Harry’s only chance was to run the other way. He sensed the air change, and magic flow through the air, as he knew Ron, Hermione and Ginny had all sprung into action. Within seconds the air was filled with beams of red light, and before the snakes could react, they were all vaporised. Harry looked back towards them all, and swept the cloak from him with one flowing movement, he stowed it in an inside pocket as the others all moved towards him.
“Harry, get down!” screamed Ginny!
He did as he was told, diving forwards as they all aimed their wands over his prone form. He rolled over onto his back, holding his wand out as he moved, and saw a snake looming over him, ready to strike. Adrenaline filled his body, and acting purely on instinct he fired another curse, shouting
“Vipera Evanesca!” as the snake moved to attack him. As the bolt from his wand connected with the snakes head, three more beams of light connected with the creature, and it disappeared as if it wasn’t there. Harry rose to his feet, as the others ran up to him; he stood up and looked around the room, making sure a new threat would not appear. They stood back to back in the middle of the Chamber, wands pointing out like the points of a star. They rotated on the spot, covering every angle, and every wall space, but they saw nothing.
“Let’s go, now!” said Harry, and he led by example, breaking away from the star formation and walking quickly towards the exit. The others all followed him, still checking every direction to make sure nothing new snuck up on them. They reached the door and walked through the still-open gate into the first Chamber. They walked across to the tunnel they came down to get here. Darkness surrounded them all, so they all lit their wands to enhance the non-existent natural light, and began searching the Chamber. Their four beams of light searched around the whole area, looking for what they all hoped would not be there; and again, to their express relief, they found nothing. Harry gazed up to the tunnel they had slid down
“It’s sealed itself” he said out loud, cursing within himself, how were they going to get out now?
“Any ideas” he said to the others, as he turned he saw the others were all fanning out from him, and searching around the room, trying to find some clue as to a way out.
“Is there anyway of opening it from here?” said Hermione. “There must be if the Basilisk or anyone else for that matter wanted to get out.”
“Or maybe there’s another way to leave here?” said Ginny.
“Ok, let’s look around” said Harry. “As I’m the only one who’s a Parselmouth, I’ll look around here, and see if there’s another gateway, the rest of you, see if you can find another way out.”
With his words, the others spread out from him, and began searching the area around them. Harry clearly felt they were no longer behind him, and suddenly felt very uneasy and very alone. He searched over the rocks, looking for any form of a figurine, anything that would suggest it was a way out. As he searched he thought he heard something move behind him, he spun round, breathing heavily, and bathed the surrounding area in white light, but he saw nothing, they had to get out of there quickly he thought, as he returned to his search.
“Harry, I’ve found something” he heard Ginny cry out from the right hand side of the tunnel, so he abandoned his search, and quickly ran round towards her. He hadn’t been to his part of the Chamber, so he just followed his instinct, trying to find her. Harry walked into a series of tunnels, which must have been used by the snakes to move around the surrounding area. He eventually found Ginny as she called out again, she was crouched by the end of one of the tunnels, which appeared to end in a sheer rock face, but as he got closer, Harry noticed there was a smaller tunnel cut into the rock, which extended further than his wand light would display. It would be a tight fit he thought, but he was sure that if the basilisk could fit through there, they could too, and find another way out.
“Ron, Hermione” called Ginny “follow my voice, we may have found something” she was clearly thinking along the same lines as Harry.
“It’ll be a tight fit in there” she said to Harry.
“If the Basilisk could get through, it’ll be wide enough for us to get through” replied Harry
“True” she said, simply
“Are you alright Ginny?” said Harry, placing his hand on her shoulder.
“I’m ok, I just want to get out of here, this place gives me the creeps”
“I know, I’m the same”
Ron and Hermione appeared behind them, and gazed down towards what they were looking at.
“This must have been how the Basilisk was moving around the School” said Hermione
“So there should be room enough for us” said Harry.
“It looks wide enough, it’ll just be a bit scary” said Hermione.
“Ok, how about this for a plan? I go in, see where it leads, and then call back to you?” said Harry.
“No way” said Ron “we should stick together Harry; you don’t know it you’ll come across another room full of snakes.”
“Ron’s right” said Ginny, “we should stick together”
“Ok then, let’s go then” said Harry. As he spoke he heard a faint rumbling in the distance, and Harry felt his unease rising again. Suddenly the floor and the walls all around him started vibrating, and shaking violently as if some sadistic God had a hold of the room they were in, and was shaking it from side to side.
“Go, now, get into the tunnel” said Harry, fighting to keep his feet in the face of this new threat.
“Harry, what if?” said Hermione, before he cut her off mid sentence.
“Hermione, no, we have to go now, there isn’t another way out, and by the feeling of the floor, the entire Chamber’s about to collapse in on itself, we have to go now!”
“We don’t know where it goes Harry, it could be a trap”
“It’s the only way I can see we’re going to get out of here, unless we can fly out, or teleport out! The Chamber feels like its going to collapse around us, we have to go!”
Harry couldn’t believe she was standing there, refusing to go, when there was no alternative.
“Harry’s right Hermione, we’ve got to go” said Ginny, and without further ado she crouched down and crawled into the tunnel. For a short moment it looked liked Hermione wouldn’t follow her, but she eventually crouched down and followed Ginny into the tunnel. Ron quickly followed her inside, not wanting to be too far behind her. Harry took one last look around as the vibrations, and shaking grew even harder, and louder, it did sound like the ceiling was about to collapse. He had lingered there for far too long already, holding his wand in his right hand, he crouched down, and followed the others into the tunnel.

Chapter 8



Harry crouched down and, using his hands to pull himself forward, he squeezed himself into the space in front of him. He felt like a snake himself as he had to use his elbows and knees to shift his body from side to side, and slowly move through the tunnel. It was a very tight fit all around him, and while he could easily move, he could do little more than he was already doing. He moved forwards very slowly, following Ron, then Hermione and Ginny at the front. From behind him, Harry could still feel the area vibrating, he could hear the sound of falling rock too, it rumbled over their heads, and rolled past them into the chamber. Harry felt the panic rise inside him, and almost felt like the walls would crush him at any moment. The sound grew louder and louder, and from behind him he heard the sound of huge chunks of rock crashing into the floor. He rolled over to one side and gazed back down the tunnel, only to see his hopes collapse. A huge piece of rock had fallen just in front of the entrance to the tunnel, and blocked off any hope of retreating. He quailed at the thought of them still being in the Chamber now, if they had delayed any longer, they surely would have been crushed under the unstoppable wave of rock falling to the Chamber’s floor. The rock sent dust and small chips of rock flying into the tunnel they were in, causing them to cough and choke as it reached their lungs. He looked forwards again and caught up with Ron, who had travelled forwards about another five metres ahead of him. They had no other way out thought Harry as he crawled forward, the claustrophobia, which was already almost too much to bear was increased to breaking point now, they had no way out, save the unknown space before them, and they didn’t even know if there was a way out. With the exit behind them blocked off the tunnel itself seemed to close in on Harry and the others, and seemed to be collapsing in on itself.

“What can you see Ginny?” called Harry, hoping against hope that she could see a way out.

“There’s nothing here Harry, its just more and more tunnel”

“Carry on” said Harry, “this is the only way we can go now.”

Hermione’s gasp and Ron’s meaningful glance backwards did nothing to appease his worries.

“There has to be a way out of this tunnel, it wouldn’t have been dug out if it didn’t lead anywhere, so let’s keep going ok?”

“Ok Harry” she called back.

It seemed like they were crawling through the tunnels forever, though in reality it was a matter of minutes than hours. Harry felt more and more like a snake with every passing metre they crawled forwards, but they seemed to be making no progress at all, and just seemed to be moving through an endless series of tunnels.

“I’ve found something” called Ginny suddenly, and Harry felt his pulse race, this was it he thought, as he tried to look around Ron and Hermione to what she had found.

“It’s a grate, it looks like we’re above the dungeons, I can, yes I can see the entrance to the kitchens from here.”

“Can you get it open?” replied Harry eagerly, and he heard her trying to force the grate open.

“It’s sealed shut Harry”

“What about a spell?”

“It’s going to be a little difficult to cast anything when I can barely move my arms!”



But try she did. Ginny reached down towards her robes, and reached inside for her wand, with a great deal of difficulty she rolled onto her side, and bending her arm she aimed her wand at the grate below her.

“Alohamora” she said quietly

Nothing happened

“Bombarda!” she said, a little louder.

Again, nothing happened.

“It’s not going to budge Harry” she called out, slightly dejectedly.

“Ok, lets carry on, see where this ends up” said Harry, his hopes dashed. The others all began crawling again, and once he saw Ron move, he followed them. When he passed over the grate he put one hand on it, trying to make it move, but it wouldn’t budge, so feeling rather forlorn, he followed the others deeper into the Castle.



The crawling never seemed to end; it seemed to Harry that they were crawling through the Bowels of the castle with no sign of an ending. Harry was finding it increasingly harder to breathe in the dusty stagnated air, and knowing there was no way out behind them, the claustrophobia he was already feeling increased ten-fold, and he felt as if the walls were closing around him. He fought on every metre more difficult than the last, his arms were covered in scratches and small cuts, and everytime they moved it caused pain to shoot through his body. All of a sudden he heard Ginny gasp, and everyone come to a stop.

“What?” Said Harry.

No-one answered.

“What is it?” demanded Harry again.

“It doesn’t go any further Harry.” Said Ginny.

“What?” said Harry, gasping for breath, “It has to go further” he had led them into a tunnel with no way out, the claustrophobia was at an all time high now, he felt the walls close in on him, he felt himself fighting for breath but unable to take anything in.

“It’d just a flat rock face, it looks like it’s been put here, wait…” said Ginny, trailing off as she looked around the area in front of her.

“What is it?” said Harry impatiently.

“It’s a Snake, on the rock; it looks like it could be another doorway.”

“It must have been used by the basilisk to get through.” Said Hermione.

“Harry you need to come up here”

“That’s easier said than done” said Harry. “Ron, Hermione get to one side of the tunnel, I’ll have to try and get around you.”

They obliged instantly, Ron rolled over to his left, leaving Harry with just enough space to crawl through. He pulled himself through the gap, his hands scrambling over the sides of the tunnel, to pull himself along. He felt his back brush against Ron’s chest as he passed him.

“Harry, I didn’t know you cared” said Ron jokingly, and Harry couldn’t stop a laugh, despite their situation. Hermione did the same, and again, Harry used the sides of the tunnel to pull himself through, just brushing against her as he forced his way through the gap. He finally reached Ginny, and crawled up so he lay facing her in the tunnel. He looked forward, searching for the snake figure, she was right, he thought, It looked as if the rock had just cut off the tunnel, and It would go on for ever had it not done so. He looked back at Ginny from their close proximity, and despite their situation, he wanted nothing more than to just lose himself in her, to just kiss her then and there.

“Are you ok?” He said eventually.

“I’m fine, probably not looking my best though.” She said, smiling.

Harry laughed, in spite of their situation, true he though, she had a long scratch down her left cheek, and her robes were white with dust, and yet despite that, he wanted nothing more than to forget the world around him, and fall into her.

“Let’s see where this goes” he said.

He looked at the stone wall in front of him, and focused on the snake figure, which looked at him like it would be ready to strike as soon as he spoke to it, the eyes seemed almost human to him, and Harry spoke finally.

“Open now!”

The hissing echoed through the tunnel, and they could all hear it echo behind them, stretching away for miles.

The wall slowly slid to one side, and Harry gazed away from a shocked looking Ginny, and towards the room which had now opened up in front of them. Harry couldn’t believe what they were looking upon. In front of him, almost blocking off the wall was a large, high backed chair in green leather, and as he looked around, he saw more chairs and sofas in the same shade of green. He suddenly knew where they were.

“Slytherin” Harry whispered.

“What?” said Ginny, who looked shocked with everything that was happening to them.

“It’s the Slytherin common room” he looked back towards Ron, “I haven’t seen this place since we last felt the need to go into the Chamber of Secrets.”

“It makes sense for there to be a passage between the two though” said Hermione.

“True, it looks empty, let’s get out of here” said Harry, and he crawled through the gap and behind the chair in front of them. He felt wonderful relief at the fact they were no longer in a tunnel, and the air around him rushed through his lungs, and he immediately felt hot relief surge through him that they had made it out. He peered around the corner of the chair and noticed that someone was sat on one of the sofas. A boy of around fifteen was sat there, reading something in a book, despite the lateness of the hour, which Harry could only assume it was. He held up one hand, indicating for the others to stop, and pointed towards the boy, mouthing silently.

“There’s a boy over there, hold here for a moment.” As he spoke, he fumbled through his pocket for his invisibility cloak. His fingers drew across the silky material, and he pulled it out, and wrapped it around his shoulders, and around his body. Drawing his wand, he creeped silently round the chair, and walked slowly towards the sofa the boy was sat on. As he walked closer, the boy appeared to be collecting his books, he closed the book he had been reading, and packing everything into a small bag, he walked towards the staircase in the corner of the room, where Harry could only assume the Dormitories were located. He heard him slowly climbing the stairs, and once he reached the top, he called quietly for the others to follow him out, and that the coast was clear. One by one, they crawled out of the hole in the wall and walked towards where the boy had been sitting, Harry removed the invisibility cloak with one fluid motion, and they all walked towards him.

“Let’s get out of here” he said, pointing at the stairs which led to the way out. Ginny and Hermione walked straight towards the exit in a half run. Ron walked level with Harry, and they walked towards the door.

“I like what they’ve done with the place” said Ron jokingly.

“Yeah it’s ok, not sure about the green though, not my colour” and they laughed briefly.

Hermione opened the door, and they walked through, not wanting to wake anyone, ghosts and portraits included. They returned to Gryffindor Tower in silence, they found the school was completely empty, it must have been the early hours of the morning, but they checked every corridor before walking there, in case any teachers were patrolling late at night. The empty corridors allowed them to observe just how dirty they were. They were completely covered in white dust and dirt, and it ran all through their hair as well as their robes. They all had a variety of scratches and cuts along their faces, arms and probably legs as well, from crawling through the tunnels for who knows how long. They all walked, quietly reflecting on what they had done. The school was eerily quiet, and they stumbled a few times in the black. Harry could only think of what they had achieved. They had found what they could only assume was a Horcrux, and had fought 12 giant snakes without one of them getting hurt. Tiredness threatened to overcome them as they approached the doorway, he felt like collapsing on the nearest soft object, and just falling into slumber then and there. They walked right up to the portrait, and found the Fat Lady sound asleep. Harry spoke the password quietly.

“Cruciabilitas Cordis”

She did not move.

“Cruciabilitas Cordis” he said again, slightly louder this time but again, she did not stir.

“Cruciabilitas Cordis!” He shouted, and she finally jumped up in the air, and struggled to open her eyes. Stifling a massive yawn she said

“What time do you call this then?”

“We had something to take care of” replied Harry.

“Look at the state of you! You’re filthy, all of you, explain yourselves.”

“Cruciabilitas Cordis” said Harry again repeating the password.

“Fine, Fine just because it’s you Harry” She smiled sweetly at him as she swung forwards and allowed them to walk into the common room. They walked silently towards their Dorms, all thoughts of goodnight wishes or conversation forgotten as they stumbled up their staircases towards their beds. Tiredness overcame them, and they wanted nothing but to just sleep. Harry and Ron reached their dorm, and removing his robes, Harry collapsed onto his bed, taking a brief look at the clock on his bedside table, barely taking in the hands pointing at nine and four. He fell into deep sleep as soon as his head touched the pillow.

- - - - - - -

Harry woke, not knowing what was happening, nor what the time was. He just raised his head from his pillow, swept his hand through his untidy black hair, and looked around the room. Looking down he noticed he was still wearing the same dirty clothes he had worn the night before, he had obviously fallen straight asleep in them, he thought. He gazed across to the alarm clock, and noticed it was 2pm. It was halfway through the day he thought, and he was still asleep. He sat up on his bed and looked around the room, and he saw across from him Ron was still asleep too, but they were the only ones left in the room. Harry got out of bed, with the express intention, of going to the prefects bathroom for a long soak, and after that, he thought he would go and see Hagrid, he hadn’t seen him all week, and thought it would be nice to see his old friend. He picked up a clean set of robes and his towel, and walked towards the door. As he walked, he looked at Ron, who was still fast asleep, and looking comical, half wrapped in, and half covered in his duvet.

Harry left the common room without being stopped by anyone, and left straight for the bathroom. The corridors were fairly empty, and he walked to his destination, mostly without seeing another person. When he reached the door, he spoke the password quietly “Tersus” and opened the door, finding, rather thankfully, it was unoccupied. He placed his towel and clean robes next to the bath, and began running a deep bubble bath with the full variety of bubbles available. Within a minute, the bath was full, and Harry removed the tattered and dirty robes he had slept in, and dived into the pool. He immediately felt his muscles relax as he swam through the water, diving underneath, and feeling the water flow all around him. There may have been something in the bubbles that relaxed him, or it may just have been the time and space he had to be alone, but as he swam around the giant pool, Harry felt completely at peace with the world, and allowed himself to relax without the worries that plagued his every waking hour.

Harry wasn’t entirely sure how long he had spent in the bathroom, but only once he’d looked down at his fingertips, each of which resembled a dry prune, did he decide to get out. He felt at peace with himself, and resolved to do the same thing everytime they encountered the same danger he’d been through that night. He got out of the pool, and dried himself, recoiling slightly as he drew his towel over his arms, each of which was covered in scratches, and covered his towel with blood as he dried them off. He dropped his towel and reached for the robes on the floor and his wand. Tracing the wand tip over the scratches and cuts all along there, he muttered the incantation under his breath, and one by one he removed them all, continuing until his arms were clear and smooth.

Harry changed into the clean set of robes he had bought with him, and set off towards the Gryffindor common room to find the others. The corridors were a little busier than they had been earlier, but he walked back without much interference, and before he knew it he was standing at the Fat Lady again, not nearly as annoyed as she had been the night before, and within seconds he was inside the common room. He looked around them, looking for some sign of Ron, Hermione or Ginny, and he quickly found Ginny talking to Hermione on one of the smaller sofas near the fireplace.

“Hi” he said as he walked towards them, he sat down opposite Ginny in an armchair, and kissed her on the cheek.

“You look very…” said Ginny, searching for the words she was looking for.

“Clean?” said Harry grinning.

“That’s one word I could have used, where have you been?”

“For a swim, in the prefect’s bathroom” he said, at their confused looks.

“Have you seen Ron?” said Hermione.

“Last time I saw him was an hour or two ago, he was still asleep, hasn’t he come down yet?”

“No we’ve been here for an hour, have you thought about the, you know what?” said Hermione in a hushed silence, as there were two students walking behind them.

“Not really, I didn’t tell you, but Professor McGonagall said her office was free for me to use anytime, and she meant for me to talk to Dumbledore, so I’ll probably go there tomorrow to talk to him about it.”

“Ok, if anyone will know it’ll be him”

“I’m going to go look for Ron, see if he’s still upstairs.”

“Ok, im starting to worry a bit you know, it’s not like him to sleep all the time”

“You don’t share a dorm with him Hermione; He could sleep through a Hurricane!”

Ginny laughed, and even Hermione managed a forced smile.

Harry turned from them and walked upstairs; he pushed open their dormitory door, and looked towards Ron’s bed, but only saw a tangled mess of duvet and bed sheets rather than a mess of Ron inside his bed. Pondering, Harry walked out of the door, wondering where on earth he could be. He headed out, and back down the stairs towards Hermione and Ginny.

“Well?” said Ginny.

“He’s not there” replied Harry, and Hermione looked even more worried than she had done.

“Where could he be?” she said, looking hopefully at the door. No sooner had she looked at the fat lady, that it swung open, and a very flustered Ron came running through the room, saw them, and came running over.

“Ron where have you been?” said Hermione before Ron cut her off.

“Hagrid’s” he said, fighting to catch his breath. “It’s been attacked, come on!”

Chapter 9

“What!” shouted Harry, jumping to his feet.
“It’s been messed up” said Ron, fighting for breath as he stood in front of them.
“There was blood on the door too.”
“Where have you been?” Said Hermione, the worry now etched all over her face.
“I went for a walk, then saw Hagrid’s like that, came to find you guys as soon as I could.”
“Come on, lets go!” shouted Harry, and they all fell silent at once. Harry led by example, running towards the door, ignoring the hordes of people watching him, and diving out of the way as he charged through them. Ron, Hermione and Ginny all followed in his wake, running through the portrait door before anyone could ask what was wrong. Harry had just one thing on his mind; getting to Hagrid’s, and helping his friend. The horrible thought that something could have happened to him, that he could be badly hurt, or worse was the only thing that played on his mind as he ran from corridor to staircase to shortcut to more corridors. The others just about kept up with him, but he was barely aware they were there. The only thing on his mind was finding Hagrid, he had to find him. He reached outside, and began running down the hill to Hagrid’s hut. His legs were in agony, and calling out for some relief, but he pushed on again. Adrenaline was the only thing keeping Harry going, the only thing stopping him from collapsing into a heap of tired muscle. As they ran over the crest of the hill leading down towards Hagrid’s hut, Harry saw what had shocked Ron so much. The roof of the hut looked as if it had been taken completely off. Fragments of the thatched roof remained in place, but most was frayed to the point of nothingness, and in a pile around the edges of the place. Shiny red blood covered the door, smeared over the wood in front of him. He took a closer look as he came to a stop in front of the front door and noticed it was still wet. It can’t have happened that long ago, he thought. Harry drew his wand, and pointed at the door, he was barely aware of the others all behind him, their appalled gasps, and Ron’s struggle for breath barely reached his ears. He pointed his wand at the edge of the door, slowly pulled it open and jabbed his wand through the now open gap. His breathing was non existent, and he was completely still, save his eyes scanning for evidence, and his wand arm moving slowly over the space in front of him. Harry stepped inside the hut, remembering all the times he had been there, when his life had been simpler. He smiled to himself; his life had never been truly simple, his eyes wandered around the room, looking for clues as to what had happened to him. In the corner stood his giant bed, the duvet covers in a tangled mess; an unnatural amount of light was entering the hut, as there was no longer and cover from above. All across the floor were scattered shards of the roof thatching, but apart from those, he could see no sign of an attack inside the hut. Harry heard voices from outside, and walked out through the door to see what was happening. He found Ron, Hermione and Ginny talking to Luna and Neville, and beyond them he saw Seamus and Dean running down the hill towards them. Harry ignored them all, instead concentrating on the area around the hut, looking for any sign of what had happened to his friend. The search did not take very long. At his feet, Harry saw huge droplets of blood, leaving a trail along the path, and a blood soaked footprint indicated where he had gone; The Forbidden Forest.
“Over here” he called out, and the group of people ran towards him.
“The blood on the ground leads into the forest, he must’ve gone in there”
“You’re not thinking of following the trail are you?” said Seamus.
“Of course I am, you don’t have to come though” replied Harry.
Seamus appeared slightly taken aback by Harry’s response, but no-one else spoke, all indicating silently that they would look for him too.
“Let’s go then, follow the trail of blood as far as you can, he has to be in there, he has to.”
“Maybe we should send a message to the teachers, they should know about this” said Dean.
Harry didn’t have time to think about this, nor did he have time to go to the school now. He suddenly remembered how the members of the Order of the Phoenix communicated with each other, using their patronusses. He had never tried this, but it was better than sending one of them up to the School, they had to move quickly, and he didn’t have time to do anything else. Harry closed his eyes, and thought of the happiest thing he could think of at that moment, finding Hagrid alive and well, and talking to them again. He opened his eyes, and cried out.
“Expecto Patronum!” The giant stag erupted from the end of Harry’s wand, and in the absence of any dementors to attack; it’s stood still before him.
“Professor McGonagall, Hagrid’s been attacked and looks like he’s gone into the forest, we’re going to look for him, and we might need help, Harry.”
With his final word, the stag turned and galloped through the air towards the school, where he knew Professor McGonagall would be.
“Let’s go” he said commandingly, striding forth towards the forest, and following the blood as well as he could. The others all spread out either side of him, a few metres between them all, so they could cover more of the area, and be more likely to spot something if it was hidden.
They were walking for about five minutes before they started to notice the quantity of blood increase, the bloody footprints became more frequent, and they started to notice things wrong with the area around them. There didn’t seem to be any of the creatures around who lived in the forest around them. Normally they would at least have seen something, but it was empty, and eerily quiet, save the twigs breaking under foot, and fallen leaves crunching beneath them.
“I’ve found something!” cried a voice from Harry’s left; they all turned to see what Neville had seen.
“Here” he said, pointing to the large birch tree in front of him, it looks like a curse hit this tree.”
“This one has too” said Dean ahead of them, pointing to a large oak a few metres in front of him.
“We must be close now, keep to the trail” said Harry excitedly. He ran back towards the trail of blood, which now was covering most of the path. They walked no more than fifty metres before they saw what they were looking for.
“Hagrid!” he called out as he ran towards him, not caring what may be lying in wait for him to come, Hagrid, his oldest friend, was laying prone on the floor, and that was all that mattered to him. As he ran towards him, he could clearly see he was in a great deal of pain, and that he was just lying still, in a pool of blood, with his back in the cover of a nearby oak tree.
“Hagrid” he called, trying to get him to wake up. He checked over his body, and to his immense relief he found he was still breathing, and despite the loss of so much blood he was alive. Warm relief surged through Harry as he checked him over, looking for the source of the bleeding. He didn’t have to look very far, he could see a long deep cut running from his shoulder to his side, the wound was open, and would have caused a lesser man to pass out with the pain of it. Dawning comprehension reached him when he realised who had done this to him.
He heard a gasp from his left hand side, and turned to see Hermione recoil in horror from a dark shape on the floor in front of her. Ron held her in his arms, and looked down to the floor in disgust. Harry walked towards them, already having a very good idea who it would be. His suspicions were confirmed when he walked towards the shape he now realised was a person, in black robes in front of him. The robed figure was laying perfectly still on the floor, and Harry walked towards him, placed one hand roughly on his shoulder and rolled him over onto his back.
“Dolohov” he spat, the Death Eater lay unconscious at his feet, and looking over his prone figure he understood why. He looked to have taken several blows to the head, and was sporting two black eyes, and blood was emerging from his nose and mouth. He turned away from him and looked up at Hermione, who he knew would remember only too well what he did to her at the Ministry. She looked shocked at seeing him again, and scared of the unconscious mess at Harry’s feet.
“We should get them up to the Castle Harry” said Ron, saying aloud what Harry was already thinking.
“Tie this one up and we’ll take him up to the castle, we’ll find one of the Aurors when we get there and get them to take him away. We’ll need to get Hagrid to the hospital too. Harry walked over to Hagrid’s body, stood over him, and pointing his wand at him, said “Locomotor Corpus” and slowly, Hagrid’s large frame was lifted off the ground. Ron and Hermione did the same with Dolohov, and they all began to make their way back towards the castle. They’d been walking for less than a minute when they heard a call from the area in front of them.
“Hold it right there” said a gruff voice Harry recognised as one of the Aurors assigned to Hogwarts for protection, and they all stopped as they were instructed. From the trees in front of them, two Aurors appeared, and then two more, all of which had their wands raised, and were walking towards Harry and the others. Harry looked beyond them to see Professors McGonagall, Slughorn and Flitwick come out of the trees behind them.
“Harry what is going on?” said Professor McGonagall, as she walked towards them, flanked by Slughorn and Flitwick.
“We found Hagrid Professor, he needs the Hospital now, he’s in a bad way.”
He heard the Professor’s sudden shriek as she noticed Hagrid for the first time in his bloodied state; she walked over to him, and lay her right hand on his shoulder, taking a minute to fully appreciate how badly he had been injured. She turned back to Professors Slughorn and Flitwick and said.
“Can you two take him to the Hospital Wing as quickly as possible?”
“Professor, there’s a Death Eater here too” said Harry, gesturing towards the floating form of Antonin Dolohov.
As the other Professors took Hagrid up towards the Castle, Professor McGonagall gestured for the Aurors to follow her towards the Death Eater.
“Take him to Azkaban, get him out of here now” said Professor McGonagall in a manner Harry had never heard her speak before. She had always been the strictest of teachers, but he had never heard her speak with such venom in her voice before.
“Harry I shall want a word with you, follow me.” She said, expecting to be obeyed. The Aurors took the body of the Death Eater, and walked towards the castle, leaving the group who found Hagrid, standing in the clearing of the forest. They all did as they were told, and all started to walk back to the Castle. Everyone was silent, and deeply troubled by what they had seen. Professor McGonagall led the way back through the forest, and Harry walked back with Ginny, Hermione and Ron, walking in silence, and all reflecting in their own minds what they had seen. Harry stepped in line with Ginny, and took her hand in his, and interlocking their fingers they walked to the edge of the forest together. When they reached the edge, Harry looked to his right to see Hagrid’s, which was now being looked over by another two Aurors, apparently looking for evidence of what had happened. They slowly walked to the Castle, still not able to speak. They had all been so shocked by what had happened, they just couldn’t face a conversation now. Hagrid had been an ever present in their lives since they had been at Hogwarts, indeed Harry felt an especially strong bond with him, given he had been the one to tell him he was a wizard, and who had in effect, rescued him from the torrid existence he had endured ever since he was a baby. He would check in on him as soon as Professor McGonagall had finished with him. It must be about what they had seen before they got there, he thought. She couldn’t possibly know what they had done the night before could she? By the time he had thought about everything she could possibly want they had reached the castle gates, and they separated. Harry spoke aloud for the first time since they left the forest.
“I’ll see you later guys, will you go to see Hagrid now?” he said.
“We’ll go a bit later” replied Ron. “I for one just feel like a rest right now, see you later Harry.”
Harry kissed Ginny on the cheek, and then followed Professor McGonagall up to her office. She had already walked ahead of him, so it allowed Harry time to reflect on what had happened, and to wonder if this weekend could get anymore violent. The corridors were packed now, word of what had happened at Hagrid’s must have spread quickly, once he had been brought through the school, he thought. Everyone stepped out of Harry’s way, almost as if they were scared of him, but he just moved through the crowd, quickly and quietly, trying to get to the Headmistresses office as quickly as possible. When he reached the gateway to her office, he found it had been left open, so he continued walking straight up the spiral staircase, and when he reached the top he pushed the door open, and walked into her office, closing the door behind him.
What he saw in front of him took his breath away. Professor McGonagall was sat in the high chair behind the desk, and was looking straight at the Portrait of Albus Dumbledore. He had seen the portraits of the previous heads before, including Dumbledore’s. But this was different, the portrait talking was someone he had known, and seeing him talk to Professor McGonagall left Harry feeling deeply uneasy, he almost felt unwell hearing the old man’s voice again. All he could think about was the last time he had seen Dumbledore alive; at the top of the tower, where Snape had killed him. The feeling of sickness rose in him at the thought of Snape’s leering face, stood over the completely defenceless Dumbledore, and ending his life while Harry could only look on helplessly. He felt he would be physically sick at any moment, but fought it down. Harry looked up, and felt it rise again, Dumbledore’s eyes met his, and Harry felt his world implode. He gazed up into the eyes of the man who had sheltered him for so long, who had protected him from so much because of love. Harry found he didn’t know what to do, he didn’t know how to think, he just stuttered, unable to form a word much less a sentence.
“Harry” said a voice from his left, which snapped him out of his shock; he turned to see Professor McGonagall addressing him.
“Albus would you excuse us for a few moments, I need to speak with Harry.”
“Of Course” said Dumbledore’s portrait, he looked in as much shock as Harry was, and remained silent as Professor McGonagall beckoned Harry to sit down.
Harry gazed at the portrait again, and almost as if his body wouldn’t react, he stood there, unmoving, looking at his last mentor. Eventually he turned from him, and slowly walked towards the desk. As he walked, he kept glancing to the right, and saw Dumbledore’s eyes were following him across the room. Harry felt he could be sick at any moment, and stumbled rather than walked towards Professor McGonagall. He sat awkwardly on the chair in front of her, and waited for her to speak.
“Well Potter, can you tell me what happened?” said Professor McGonagall.
Harry didn’t speak at first, he was too shocked by it all, not only by seeing Hagrid so badly hurt, but by seeing Dumbledore not only moving in the portrait, but hearing his voice, he didn’t know what to do.
“Harry” repeated Professor McGonagall kindly.
“Well I’d just been for a bath, I came back to the common room, and Hermione told me she hadn’t seen Ron for a while, so I went looking for him upstairs. I came back down as he wasn’t there, and not thirty seconds later he came running through the door, shouting that Hagrid’s had been attacked, so we ran out there.”
“Who ran out there?” she interrupted.
“Ron, Hermione, Ginny and I.”
“What did you find when you got there?”
“Well the roof was blown to pieces; most of it was blown off.” He was talking very forcedly, not really knowing what to say, and purposely avoiding the gaze of Dumbledore, but still feeling unnerved, knowing his eyes would be upon him.
“There was blood on the door too” he continued. “I went inside to look around, and see what I could find and there wasn’t anything I could see, it was just a mess, well, more than usual, and then the others turned up.
“Mr Longbottom, Miss Lovegood, Mr Thomas and Mr Finnigan?”
“Yes, then we followed the trail into the forest, found Hagrid and Dolohov, and we were about to bring them up to the Castle when we found you.”
“Ok, I’ll want to speak to Mr Weasley too, to see what he saw before the rest of you got there. Is there anything else you’d like to add?” said Professor McGonagall, and Harry felt dread surge through him, knowing what would come now, and being powerless to avoid it.
“Minerva” said the voice Harry was dreading, yet knew it would have come.
“Yes Albus” said Professor McGonagall, prolonging the inevitable moment, for just a few seconds. Yet Harry clung to it, wishing the moment would never end, hoping he could shut everything out, and not face what he knew he had to.
“Would you mind leaving us alone” he said, pausing for effect. “There are a few things Harry and I need to discuss”

Chapter 10



Harry felt fear course through his veins like an ice cold knife. This, for him, was more terrifying than anything they had seen that weekend. More terrifying than the snakes, or than finding Hagrid attacked the way he had been. Harry looked at Professor McGonagall, and she returned his gaze with something resembling pity. Harry stood there, in the office of the Head of the school, waging a war inside his own head. He was willing Professor McGonagall to stay here, he didn’t want to be alone with Dumbledore, not after everything that had happened. It was a slim hope, but he clung to it nonetheless. Professor McGonagall rose from her chair slowly, and turned away from Harry, walking towards where he knew Dumbledore was watching him from. He gazed at the floor, trying to block out everything else, and trying to shut out the inevitable fate he was consigned to. He heard footsteps behind him, and tried even harder to block out what he knew was coming. Harry barely heard Professor McGonagall opening the door and closing it sharply behind her, leaving him alone with Dumbledore.

It seemed to Harry that he’d escaped, maybe by ignoring Dumbledore, he would lose interest in talking to Harry, and he would be able to walk out. Slowly, and carefully, Harry raised his head and looked around; all was quiet. He gazed around the office in morbid fear that something would happen, that he would hear him speak again. Harry rose slowly from his chair and walked towards the door.

“Harry” said Dumbledore, who had watched him walk across the room, but hadn’t said anything until then. Harry stopped dead in his tracks, unable to move, unable to think, and so gripped by fear he couldn’t do anything. He finally got a grip on himself, and not returning Dumbledore’s gaze, he walked towards the door.

“Harry!” Dumbledore called out again, but Harry ignored it, he had to, he thought. He reached the door and fumbled for the door knob, closing his hand around the ornate metal he turned the handle, but it would not budge. Fear rose within him again, he wasn’t stuck here, he told himself, he couldn’t be. He could still get out, he had to get out. All of a sudden, dawning comprehension rose through his body, He had done this, he had somehow locked to door and kept him there.

He heard the call of “Harry” a third time, and facing the inevitable he turned on the balls of his feet, and walked back towards the middle of the room.

For the first time in what seemed like hours, Harry looked at the portrait, and he saw the old man again. The man who had protected him for so long, only to sacrifice himself mere months ago at the top of the lightening struck tower. He saw tears running down the face of his last mentor as he looked down at Harry, and he was aware every previous headmaster of Hogwarts was now watching him.

“Harry” said Dumbledore weakly; he sounded as if he was scared to be talking to Harry again. “I’m sorry ab…”

“Sorry about what?” Harry cut him off angrily.

“Well, I was sorry to hear about Hagrid, terrible thing really.”

“Yes I couldn’t agree more” said Harry forcibly “I’m glad we had this chance to catch up, now if you’ll excuse me.” He said, turning towards the door again.

“Harry” said Dumbledore, holding him fast, “I’m sorry.”

“Harry wasn’t entirely sure what he was feeling at that moment. The fear no longer had a hold over him; instead it was replaced by a cold rage, which surged through his entire body.

“Sorry for what Sir?” said Harry sharply, which seemed to catch Dumbledore off guard, and stopped him in his tracks.

“For, well…” he said uneasily.

“For leaving me alone, for incapacitating me when I could’ve stopped them, I could have ambushed them all and protected you!”

“Harry I had to.”

“YOU HAD TO!” He shouted out before he knew what he was saying.

“You had to leave me alone, to face everything alone, and you had to die did you? Is that what you’re trying to say to me?” he finished, still fuming, and he waited for his response.

“Harry please, just let me explain.” Dumbledore sounded weak, upset and tired all at once. He had clearly not expected Harry to react this way.

“Fine” Harry said simply, throwing himself into the chair opposite him. “Explain how you feel you had to die.”

“Harry I can’t tell you why” and Harry felt the rage building inside him. “I just ask that you trust…”

“TRUST YOU?!” He shouted, jumping to his feet. “You can’t tell me why, and you expect me to just accept that?!”

“I don’t expect you to accept it, I only ask you to consider that I did it for the best.”

Harry felt the rage rise so high, it felt like it would fly out of his ears.

“FOR THE BEST!” he shouted sharply. “You think letting Snape kill you, and leaving me to face everything alone was the best thing to do, do you?”

“Professor …” he started.

“Don’t you dare call him that” said Harry with as much venom as he could muster. “Don’t you dare, how can you still consider him to be that after he killed you, and need I remind you what he did to my parents?”

“Harry” he said weakly.

“Oh that’s right, you knew that didn’t you, you knew what he did.” Harry could feel hot tears running down his face, but he didn’t care, he just carried on pouring his frustration into his only available outlet.

“You know he sold my parents out to Voldemort, and what did you do? You let him teach here, you let him carry on after what he did.”

“Harry, please just listen to me.”

“You can’t explain anything can you? I ask you to tell me what’s going on, and you tell me you can’t”

“I understand why you’re upset.”

“No you don’t, you don’t have any idea what I went through, what I go through every day?”

“No Harry I don’t know, and I never will know” he stopped, finding the words he was looking for. “But I can still help you.”

“How exactly can you help me?” Said Harry scathingly, “I would’ve thought being dead would make it a little difficult.”

“I can still help you with the Horcruxes, I can still help you find the remaining pieces, I do have a few ideas where they could be.”

“I always thought I’d be able to rely on you for everything, I don’t know anymore” said Harry, turning away from him.

“Harry, I know it must be hard to hear, but…”

“Tell me why; tell me why you had to go.”

“I…I can’t Harry.”

“Then you can’t help me anymore.” Said Harry, and he turned from him, and strode towards the door, well aware that every single portrait in the room was watching them. It was a mark of the seriousness of the situation that none of them spoke, nor reacted to them.

“Harry please.” Said Dumbledore, but Harry ignored him; he reached the door and pulled out his wand.

“Harry, what will you do about the Horcrux in your pocket?” said Dumbledore, with much more authority than he had all the time they had been talking.

Harry smiled to himself and lowered his wand. He turned back towards Dumbledore and came to a stop right in front of him.

“You mean this?” said Harry, thrusting his hand inside his robes and pulling out the ornate mirror which was inside them. He pulled it out, and waved it in front of Dumbledore’s face. Harry watched as Dumbledore’s eyes followed the mirror, and glazed over at the sight of the object in Harry’s hand.

“Where did you get this?” breathed Dumbledore quietly, the reverence was clear on his face, he knew what he was looking upon.

Harry looked up into his eyes, and he saw the man who had protected, and helped him for so long. Now, despite his death, he was still trying to help him. Somewhere in the back of his mind he considered this, that despite it all he was still trying to help him, and like it or not, Harry thought; he needed his help. Every fibre in his body was willing him to walk away, to sit in isolation, and to figure out the problem on his own. All except the back of his mind, that was the only part of him which held him fast.

“There’s one condition to me staying here” he said suddenly, which caught Dumbledore off guard.

“Anything Harry” replied Dumbledore.

“You tell me what you can’t say, and if you can’t tell me now, then you promise me now that you will tell me.”

“I promise Harry, I will, just not now.”

“Fine, The Chamber of Secrets” said Harry, slumping down into the chair again.

“You entered the Chamber again?” Why did you think to go in there?”

“Instinct, it was just a thought, I guess it worked given we’re talking about it now.”

“Well Harry I’m very impressed, what did you see there?”

“We were attacked Sir. Once we found the Horcrux in the statue of Salazar Slytherin, the twelve snake statues which lined the entrance of the Chamber, they came alive and attacked us.

Dumbledore’s gasp was one of the loudest he had ever heard.

“Good lord, are you?”

“I’m fine, the others are too. After we crawled like snakes ourselves to escape in the tunnels once the Chamber started collapsing in on itself.

“Who went with you?”

“Hermione, Ron and Ginny.”

“Ginny Weasley knows about the Horcruxes?”

“Yes, why shouldn’t she?” Said Harry defensively.

“Oh it’s not that, it’s just I think it would be best if now more people knew about it.”

“I won’t go posting a sign on the notice board about it” said Harry sarcastically.

“Good good, we just need to find how this can be destroyed” said Dumbledore

“To tell the truth I haven’t thought about it a lot” said Harry. “Do you have any ideas?” He asked.

“I would need to look closely at this, of course that may be difficult with my lack of arms, but I’ll need to give this some thought. Do you have anymore leads?”

“Nothing, you know the locket we found was a fake”

“Yes I suspected as much, I have an idea where the real one may be, but we’ll have to see if I’m correct or not.”

“Where sir?” said Harry, failing to fight down the excitement and the possibility of finding another Horcrux.

“One at a time Harry, lets deal with this one first. Will you leave it a couple of days while I can think about this?”

“Yes, I’ll get the others thinking about it too,”

“Harry, I am sorry” said Dumbledore sincerely.

Harry smiled to himself, he still felt anger at everything that had happened, but he knew Dumbledore would be there to walk him through this, he had to.

“I’ll ask Minerva to call for you when I can think of something.”

“Ok Sir, I’d better go. I ought to go check on Hagrid.”

“Of course Harry, I’ll see you soon.”

“Goodbye Sir”

“Goodbye Harry” said Dumbledore, with a touch of longing to his voice. Harry rose to his feet, and turned away from him, walking towards the door. As he reached for the handle, he turned back to Dumbledore, to see his eyes still upon him. He smiled, and turned the door handle, leaving Dumbledore and predecessors alone.

*****

Harry walked through the castle, feeling more alone than he had ever felt before. The corridors were packed with people, clamouring to find out what had happened to Hagrid, and more than once he found himself fighting through the crowds. Harry walked purposely towards the Hospital wing, just in time to see Madam Pomphrey closing the doors and turning to face Harry.

“Can I see him” said Harry simply.

“He needs to rest; the hospital wing is closed to visitors.” she said simply.

“He’s one of my oldest friends, can’t I see him?”

“Not right away Potter, he needs rest now, you may come back later.”

“Fine” said Harry angrily, turning away from her and striding through the crowd. The crowd parted to let him through, and most of them looked frightened, as if they thought Harry would take violent action. Harry was used to this though, and walked straight through the crowd, with every intention of getting outside, and being alone.

He walked through corridor, staircase and shortcut to reach the castle doors; he walked through to the outside and carried straight on until he reached the shores of the Lake. Harry desperately needed to clear his mind, and he needed to think about what had happened to him. He found himself at the shore before he’d even realised it, and sat down on the ground, the autumn wind blowing through his hair. The wind chilled his skin, and he was shivering, but he didn’t care. He laid back on the ground, and gazed at the cloudy sky, the only sound he could hear was the gently break of the water onto the shore, and the wind blowing around him.

Harry really didn’t know how long he lay there for, switching between having his eyes open, and closed in calm reflection. He was trying to think about everything that had happened, and yet he couldn’t focus on anything, he felt like breaking down, like just giving up then and there, and just giving up. Suddenly, off in the distance he heard voices.

“Harry.” The voice said, it sounded like it was a million miles away, and somehow it sounded familiar.

“Harry” it grew louder and louder, and he heard footsteps pounding the earth, growing louder and louder all the time.

“HARRY!” Shouted the voice, which snapped him from his reverie. He looked up to see Ginny looming over him, concern written across her face.

“Are you ok?” she said anxiously.

Harry rose slowly from the floor, sitting down, and looking up at her, and he saw Hermione and Ron standing behind her. They all sat down around him, and Ginny took his right hand in her left, and pulled him close to her.

“What’s wrong Harry?” said Ginny tentatively.

It seemed to take Harry an age to respond. He looked at them all, all concerned, and clearly worried about him.

“I just needed some space” he said, finally. “I just spoke to Dumbledore.”

He heard Hermione’s gasp, and he knew what Ron’s reaction would be without even looking at him.

“I needed to talk to him” he continued. “But it was so hard talking to him again.” Harry felt Ginny squeeze his fingers as he spoke, and that gave him an extra strength, she did not interrupt however.

“I talk to him about the Horcrux.” Continued Harry “and he said he’d think about it, and how to destroy it. He might know where another one might be, but he said one at a time, and he’d call for me in a couple of days when he’s had a chance to think about it some more. So we’ll see what happens.”

“Have you had any ideas of what to do?” said Hermione, speaking for the first time.

“Nothing” Harry replied. “Everytime I thing about it, I just draw a complete blank. Have you thought of anything Hermione?”

“Nothing” she said dejectedly. “The Library has a distinct lack of how to destroy Horcrux books!” she said, smiling.

Harry laughed, and the tension in the air seemed to dissipate. “I’ll think about it” she said simply.

“Ok, that’s all we can do” said Harry “there must be a way through”

“Did you go to see Hagrid?” said Ron.

“I tried too, but Madam Pomphrey wouldn’t let me in.” replied Harry.

“Us too, then Ginny saw you out of the window, and here we all are” said Ron smiling.

“Are you sure you’re ok Harry?” said Ginny, squeezing his hand again.

“I’m sure, it’s just been a very hectic weekend hasn’t it?” he said.

“I’ve had less interesting ones” said Ron, smiling.

“They’ll just keep coming like this, but we just have to deal with them one by one. Only by doing that will we get through this.” Said Harry.

“Why do you think Dolohov was after Hagrid?” said Ginny.

“It could be anything, we won’t know until we talk to Hagrid” Said Harry.

“Maybe he was found doing something else, or maybe he was just there to kill him?” said Ron.

“Maybe, we’ll have to talk to him though, as soon as we can. Besides, Dolohov will be in Azkaban now, maybe they can get the truth out of him.” Replied Harry.

“The dementors aren’t there anymore though are they? I doubt he’ll be there for long” said Hermione.

“True, but I doubt the Aurors would’ve taken him there unless they had other security measures there, maybe there are Aurors there, or other Security people guarding there now.”

“The thought of it’s not as terrifying as before though, is it?”

“True, it won’t ever be that scary again,”

Harry reached inside his robes and pulled out the small mirror, which he would keep on his person at all times. Everyone around him fell silent upon seeing it. This small object was once held by one of the founders of the school. Harry couldn’t bring himself to speak, but the reverence he felt was clear for all to see. He passed the mirror to Ginny, who was speechless, she looked at the mirror with a level of attention Harry had not seen before. She passed it onto Ron, who like Harry seemed to be shocked just holding something like this. Harry had no idea how Voldemort had got hold of this, and didn’t really care how. He just had to find out how to destroy the part of Voldemort’s soul contained within. Ron passed the mirror to Hermione, and Harry could tell, that despite the reverence she obviously felt, she was thinking how could they destroy this, how could they do it? And then to get onto the next one. How would they do it? Harry asked himself, and where would they go next? He wondered as he took back the mirror, and stowed it away safely inside his pocket. He lay back down on the grass, and felt Ginny lay down alongside him. He extended his arm and held her close to him, However they would find the Horcruxes, and wherever they may go, he knew that she, Ron and Hermione would be with him for every step of his journey

Chapter 11:

The next few days were far less eventful that the weekend had been. Harry almost felt out of place in their lessons, like he should be somewhere else rather than there. He wasn’t really sure why he was feeling like this, but it was almost as if he really did feel like he shouldn’t be there, and tracking down and signs of the Horcruxes, locating them, and trying to find any signs of his nemesis; Voldemort himself. Reports of attacks in the Daily Prophet were now a daily occurrence, whether they be against Muggles or Wizards, yet Voldemort himself seemed to still be in hiding, keeping under the radar, and not being clearly identified for many months now. Harry wasn’t sure if it was a good thing or not. Clearly the fact that Voldemort wasn’t openly attacking people was a good thing, but Harry got the distinct feeling something was being plotted, and given it was being plotted by him, it would be something serious.

The lessons he was attending were interesting enough, particularly Defence against the Dark arts, where he was developing more respect for Professor Audiutry. In their public lessons, and to a greater extent in their private lessons, was improving Harry’s spell-casting. He felt much more confident using non-verbal spells now, although he still had a lot to improve upon, he was much better than the pitiful attempts he had performed when he was first required to do them.

The Wednesday after their weekend of action, they got the go ahead to visit Hagrid. As they slowly made their way through their lunch of lasagne with salad, Nearly Headless Nick rose slowly through the table between them all. This would probably have been a lot more shocking had they been younger and had they never seen it done before. Indeed a number of first years who were sat slightly down the table from them, gasped as he came through the table. Harry smiled to himself, and then at them, He remembered only too well how everything had seemed so different when he had first started at the school, and how everything came as a surprise to them all. Indeed despite it being his final year, he wasn’t sure he knew all the secrets the castle held within its walls.

“Harry Potter” said Nick pompously, ruffling up the rolls of his ethereal suit.

“Hi Nick” Harry replied through a mouthful of lasagne, his eyes still remained on his plate.

“I’m just here to pass on a message; Madam Pomphrey has cleared you all to visit Hagrid.”

“Harry dropped his fork, and suddenly jerked his head towards Nick, who was floating calmly above a bowl of salad.

“What now? He said suddenly.

“Yes, anytime you like, when I passed he seemed to be doing rather well.”

“Ok, thanks very much Nick.” He said in a rush, and Nick descended through the table he had come through. Harry turned to the others, who till then had not spoken.

“Are you going now?” Said Ginny.

Harry took a final mouthful, and swallowed hard before speaking.

“Yes I am, are you three coming?”

“Of course” said Hermione.

“Jst a shec” mumbled Ron, speaking through a mouthful of lasagne, which made them all laugh, except for Hermione, who looked appauled.

“Are you coming Ginny?” said Harry, smiling.

“Try and stop me” she replied.

“Im not that stupid” said Harry, and the two of them left their unfinished plates and set off down the corridor between the Hufflepuff and Gryffindor tables. Harry looked back behind him, and saw Hermione walking a few steps behind them, and a few steps ahead of Ron. She was occasionally looking back towards him with a look of outright disgust on her face. Harry looked ahead of himself, just in time to avoid a first year who was just rising from the Gryffindor table in front of him. He smiled inwardly; things just wouldn’t be right around here unless Ron and Hermione were bickering about something.

“What are you so happy about?” said Ginny as they reached the great doors, and walked through together, his smile was more obvious than he though, deduced Harry.

“I’m just thinking about those two” he said, pointing back at Ron and Hermione.

“They can’t seem to stay out of a fight for long can they?”

“I’m just happy with life in general to tell the truth.”

Ginny stopped, and made Harry halt too.

“You’re happy?”

“Yes, why shouldn’t I be?”

“Lets see now, Hagrid’s been attacked, we spent the weekend fighting snakes and crawling through tunnels. We’re on the trail of you-know who, and his you-know what’s, let me see what else, oh yeah we’re at war!” she finished with a flourish.

“Ok, things aren’t exactly perfect”

Ginny laughed, “When have they ever been perfect?” She said.

“Well I have you now, that’s something isn’t it?” he said, smiling at her.

Ginny suddenly fell silent, and blushed furiously, making her skin appear as fiery as her hair.

“There was me thinking that was impossible.” Said Harry, grinning.

“What?” said Ginny meekly.

Making you speechless” said Harry, smiling broadly.

Ginny didn’t reply, she didn’t need to. Her Green eyes gazed into his, and he found himself lost in them. Harry lent down and kissed her, and in that one moment he was completely lost. He didn’t care about the war, or everything he would have to do to keep the ones he loved safe. Nor did he care about the fact that people were walking past them, or just stopping and staring, open mouthed at them. He was lost, and yet he was found when he was with her.

“Oi” said Ron suddenly, which broke them apart. Harry smiled down at Ginny, and then looked across at Ron.

“What” he said innocently.

“You know what; I don’t want to find you kissing in the middle of a corridor.”

“We’ll hide better next time then, are you two still arguing?” he said looking between them.

“Well, umm” said Ron sheepishly.

“I’ll take that as a yes then” said Harry with an air of finality to his argument.

“Well” said Ron again.

“Lets get to the Hospital wing ok?” he said, and without waiting for a reply from either of them, he took Ginny’s hand, and walked towards the Hospital, ahead of a despairing Hermione, and a disbelieving Ron.

The quartet eventually arrived at the hospital wing, and they quietly opened the door and walked through. Harry walked through first, and immediately saw Hagrid in the bed nearest the door. They had had to move two beds together to make a place big enough for Hagrid to sleep. All thoughts of arguments of disagreements evaporated as they walked towards the still form of their friend. They were all silent, and it was almost as if it was Sunday afternoon again, and they had just seen Hagrid’s place been attacked, or had just found him critically injured in the forest. Harry stood by his shoulder, and looked down at the man he could call his oldest friend. It had been Hagrid who had who had first brought him here, who had rescued him from the life he was set to lead. He looked down to see the wound he had suffered at the hands of Dolohov; it was healing well, and it was no longer bleeding freely. There was no trace of blood on the clean clothes he was wearing.

“Arry” said a sudden rough voice, which made them all jump.

“Hagrid” said Harry simply.

“Ron, Hermione, Ginny” he said slowly, looking at them all arrayed before him.

“How are you feeling Hagrid?” said Hermione, her voice full of worry.

“I’ve felt better” said Hagrid smiling.

“It’s nothing Hagrid, you look perfectly fine!” said Ron cheerfully.

“Me chest disagrees with yeh Ron” said Hagrid, trying to be cheerful, causing them all to smile.

“Hagrid, do you remember what happened?” said Harry, and he turned back to him.

“Just ‘bout ‘Arry, memries a little fuzzy.” He breathed deeply, and spoke again.

“Well, I was outside in the garden, waterin me vegetable patch. Then all’s of a sudden I hears this explosion. I turn around and saw me roof’s just gone up in flames, smoke coming from everywhere. Then I see’s the one that did it, that Death eater.”

“Dolohov” spat Harry, hatred coursing through him at the thought of the man who had attacked two of his closest friends now.

“Yeah ‘im, anyway, there I was, and I saw ‘im. He couldn’t ave seen me. He went round the front of me house, so I followed im, I was tryin to sneak up on im.

Harry thought to himself, Harry wasn’t the most nimble of creatures, how he could sneak up on anyone was a mystery.

“Anyways” Hagrid continued” so I gets round to the front, and he’s comin’ back out again. I rushed im, but he managed to hit me with a curse before I knocked him back. It hit me ard, I saw a lot of blood, so im shamed to say it, but I went for the forest, I fled.”

“There’s no shame in that Hagrid” said Ron, “none at all.”

“Yeah maybe” said Hagrid, though he didn’t sound totally convincing,

“So I moved through the forest, hopin he’d follow me, so I’d be able to ambush im. I could ere im comin after me, could hear the spells hittin the trees all around me. In the end, I found a place to ‘ide away, and he came past me, and I knocked im out. After tha’ I don’t remember a thing.”

“Bloody hell Hagrid” said Ron awestruck.

“They said you were the one’s who found me” said Hagrid, who was speaking seriously for the first time since they arrived, and they could all tell the change in his mood.

“Yeah, we did” said Harry. Ron saw the blood on your door, and came to find the rest of us, and we all followed it into the forest.”

Hagrid smiled weakly underneath the bruises and hair which covered his face, and that alone was enough to warm Harry’s heart, to know he was ok, or at least he would be ok again.

“I’m grateful, I really am, if yeh hadn’t found me, well I don’t like to think what would’ve happened.”

“It’s best not to think about it Hagrid” said Ron, seriously.

“He’d right” said Hermione, almost sounding shocked herself at the possibility of Ron being right about anything.

“Don’t think about what might’ve happened, that’ll just drive you crazy. The fact is, you’re safe now, and nothing happened, so you just concentrate on getting better.” She continued.

“I already feel loads better, just by seein you lot” he said, raising an arm and clapping Harry on the shoulder, forcing him to buckle at the knees, and the others to laugh.

“Sorry Arry” he said, raising his hand, and smiling at them all.

“Think nothing of it Hagrid” said Harry, wincing as he rose to his feet.

“You no, I think I could do with some sleep” said Hagrid, stifling a massive yawn.

“Ok, we’ll leave you too it then Hagrid” said Harry.

“It was right decent of you all to stop by, I really do appreciate it.” And before he could say another word, he was sound asleep. Harry smiled, and laid one hand down on his friend’s shoulder. Looking up at the others, he motioned to them to make their way to the exit, and they all left quietly.

Once they all reached outside again, and had shut the door behind them, Harry was the first to speak.

“He looks ok doesn’t he? Considering what happened.”

“Yes, he looks ok” said Hermione. “Hagrid’s strong; he’ll take a lot more than that to take him down.”

“True” said Harry, looking at his watch. “I’ve got a lesson with Professor Audiutry now, shall we meet up later?””

“Ok, I’ll see you in the common room Harry” said Ginny, kissing him on the cheek.

“Ok, see you all later” said Harry.

“See you” said Ron, and with that, Harry set off towards the Defence against the Dark arts room alone.

He reached the room fairly quickly, it was only a short journey from the Hospital wing, it was probably a good thing the castle was designed that way, and there was a much higher tendency for pupils to be injured during Defence against the Dark arts than anything else. He stood in front of the door, and was completely alone in the corridor. Harry closed his eyes and brought his arms up high, and then down in front of him, finishing with them both at shoulder distance apart, and with his palms facing the door, He emptied his mind, clearing it from all emotion and from everything, save what was inside the room. He drew his wand, and slowly pushed open the door.

He was doing as he had been taught by Lunette, to enter any room prepared for combat, and he learned a long time ago, never to enter the Defence against the Dark arts room unprepared. He scanned the room, searching for anything which could catch him unawares. Kneeling in front of him was Professor Audiutry; she was in a trancelike state, and looked as if she was meditating. Harry lowered his wand and slowly walked towards her. Suddenly, he felt the atmosphere change around him, magic was flowing through the air around him, and he knew what would happen before it did.

Professor Audiutry suddenly spun on the spot and raised her wand.

“Stupefy!” she yelled, almost catching him off guard, but he was ready for her.

“Protego” he called out as the beam of light was mere centimetres from connecting with him. The beam of scarlet light flew straight back towards the Professor, who was taken completely by surprise at the speed of his reaction. With a wave of her wan, the beam evaporated, and the two of them stood before each other, wand arms outstretched like they were about to duel. Neither of them spoke, and neither of them moved, they were both waiting for the other to react. At last Lunette lowered her wand arm, and spoke first.

“Well done Harry, I’m very impressed”

“I learnt a long time ago to come into this room preparing to be attacked Professor” said Harry, smiling.

“Good, at least you’ve learned the first step” she replied, smiling back at him.

“What are we going to do today Lunette?”

“Well I think we’ll start with a little duelling, some non-verbal spell casting, then we’ll see how we feel after that? Is that ok with you?”

“That’s fine, let’s go.”

An Hour later, Harry sat down in the chair opposite Lunette’s; he was breathing loudly and deeply, and restoring his heart rate to its normal level. He took a long draught of the glass of pumpkin juice on the table in front of him, and swept the sweat from his brow. He was being tested harder and harder than ever before, with every passing lesson Professor Audiutry was pushing him harder and harder, pushing him to the very limits of his endurance. But he felt strong, he was focused, and he seemed to have a greater understanding of the magic in the air around him, and was always noticing changes when he was in this state. He could feel the change in the air when a spell was being cast, and he could tell when magic was held within something, whether it be a simple sneakoscope or something more complex.

“How do you feel Harry?” said Lunette, waking Harry from his thoughts.

“I’m fine, just getting my breath back.” Replied Harry breathlessly.

“Maybe I should’ve been more precise with my question.”

“What do you mean?” said Harry, looking quizzical.

“What do you feel Harry?”

“I still don’t know what you mean?”

“Well, firstly, it’s how remarkable your duelling has improved; it’s really remarkable that in such a small space of time you have improved as you have done.”

Harry felt a surge of pride rush through him, and smiled at the woman in front of him.

“Thank-you Lunette” he said, almost feeling embarrassed at what she was saying, and that embarrassment was clearly written on his face.

“There’s no need to be embarrassed Harry” she said, smiling. “But we do have a lot to do, shall we go again? Are you ready?”

“I am” said Harry rising to his feet and drawing his wand.

Another hour or so had passed, and Harry found himself collapsing into the same armchair as he had done before. He could barely feel his muscles; he could barely feel anything at all. His whole body had no strength left whatsoever. The only thing that would be able to carry him through anything was adrenaline, and he didn’t think that would be enough at that moment. Professor Audiutry sat in front of him, and lay out another glass of pumpkin juice. She sat opposite him, watching him breathe deeply, and fighting with himself to pull the oxygen into his lungs. Slowly, but surely his breathing slowed to normal and he was able to focus on the room around him again.

“Are you ok Harry?” said Lunette.

“I think so” said Harry between the deep breaths that kept him going. “I’m just tired, that last duel really took it out of me.”

“You’re doing really well Harry.”

“But?” said Harry inquisitively, expecting there to be something more for her to say.

“But, there is more for you to learn Harry, a lot more.” She said, pausing to let her words sink in.

“I think next time we’ll make a start with Occlumency.”

Fear and doubt spread through Harry’s mind as her remembered only too well his lessons with Snape. How he was constantly probing into his mind, and how he felt helpless and weal, and always as if Snape would be making him weaker, allowing Voldemort to take advantage of that weakness. Now, Harry thought, he had been right to think that. After he had seen Snape kill Dumbledore, he was in no doubt who Severus Snape served. He must have been looking up into space for too long, as Professor Audiutry suddenly touched him on the shoulder, waking him from his deep thought.

“Harry are you alright?” she said softly.

“I’m fine” he said, awkwardly.

“Are you sure?” she said, clearly not fooled by his unconvincing lie.

“I was just thinking about the last time I did this, occlumency I mean, it wasn’t a happy memory.”

“I know Harry” she replied, a vision of sympathy. “But we have to do this, we have to protect you from him, otherwise he will just affect you in the same way as before.”

“You know about that?” Harry said, shocked that she knew, his feeling of embarrassment increasing inside of him.

“Yes and its nothing to be ashamed of Harry, but it’s something we should prevent from happening again.”

“Of course” he replied.

“Ok then, so same time on Monday morning then?” I think we should take a break till after the weekend.”

“Ok then, that’s fine Professor. To be honest, I could use a bit of a break, and thank-you again.”

“No problem at all Harry, I’ll see you soon.”

“Bye Lunette” he said, turning towards the door to leave.

“Bye Harry” she replied, and she walked towards the staircase leading to her office.

“Occlumency” said aloud as he opened the door and walked into the empty corridor outside. He quailed at the thought of someone probing inside his brain again. Even when it was someone trying to help him, as he was sure Lunette was, she would still be looking into his thoughts, and making him feel worse no doubt. He knew she would be looking to help him, but he couldn’t help but think about all his bad experiences with that magic. He tried to put it all to the back of his mind, and to not think about it, but found he couldn’t put it off for long, indeed he couldn’t think about anything for long as Professor McGonagall appeared at the top of the staircase, and made her way towards him. Harry looked at her, and she appeared nervous, almost scared of something, which wasn’t like her at all. When she reached him, Harry could tell something was wrong; she looked completely unlike her normal self.

“Potter” she said in a voice Harry didn’t recognise as hers. “Albus has requested you see him now”

Chapter 12:



“What?” said Harry, dumbstruck.

“Pardon Potter?” said Professor McGonagall sharply.

“Sorry Professor, he wants to see me now?” said Harry.

“Yes as soon as you can, but preferably now” she seemed very tense as she spoke, thought Harry.

“Ok, I’ll see him now”

“Fine then”

“Is everything Ok professor?” said Harry, his voice full of very plain concern.

“Yes Potter, I trust you know the way by now” she said, and without another word, she turned and walked away from him.

“Weird” said Harry aloud, and he walked along the corridor, heading towards the staircase which would lead him to the headmistress’s office.

The thought of what could be wrong with Professor McGonagall was quickly washed away from his mind, as he considered what Dumbledore might have to say, what he could possibly have discovered. Harry couldn’t help but be exited at the prospect. He could well be one step closer to discovering how to destroy a Horcrux, or maybe even the location of a new one, and he felt elated at the thought of either. Harry momentarily forget his anger at Dumbledore for everything that had happened, but decided to put that to the back of his mind. He thought of Ginny and the others waiting for him in the common room, but he decided to go straight to Dumbledore now, and then to decide with the others how best to act on their new information, whatever that may be.

Harry arrived at the Headmistresses office in only a few minutes, and once again felt a sense of trepidation at the thought of facing Dumbledore. He didn’t know why he was feeling like this, he had talked to Dumbledore, and seen him like this before. Again, he tried to put it to the back of his mind, he needed Dumbledore whether he liked it or not, he needed his intuition and to tell the truth he thought, he needed as much help as he could get.

He tried to ignore the voice in the back of his mind as he pushed open the door to what was for so long, his office, he stood in the place he called his home once again. Harry found himself looking over all the details he’d missed when he had been there previously. In essence, the room had hardly changed since Professor McGonagall took over. Most of the wide variety of items Dumbledore kept in his office had remained there. There were a few changes to Professor McGonagall’s desk, but to Harry, it was like nothing had happened, and like he was standing in the same room, unchanged from a few months ago, and that Dumbledore hadn’t been taken from them all.

“Harry” said a clear voice from behind him, which shook him, and brought him back to reality. He turned and saw Dumbledore, the man who had gone; he was looking at Harry with the same pleading expression on his face as he had on the last time Harry had been there.

“Professor” said Harry, walking towards the portrait on the wall.

“How are you Harry? Are you ok?” said Dumbledore eagerly.

“I’m ok sir how are…” Harry started to say before he stopped himself.

“Life’s pretty dull as a portrait Harry, as you might imagine” said Dumbledore cheerfully.

“Have you had any thoughts Professor?” said Harry, keen to get down to business as quickly as possible.

“Well I’ve given both items a great deal of thought; shall we start with the locket?”

“Ok professor that’s fine” replied Harry, sitting down in front of him.

“Now then, as you correctly pointed out the last time we met, the locket we recovered was a fake, and someone took the real one and hid it away. I believe there was a piece of parchment located inside the locket, do you still have this?”

“I do sir, it’s upstairs, shall I go get them?”

“Please do Harry, I want to be sure of everything before I say something incorrect.”

“Ok sir, I’ll be back soon.” And with that, he rose from the chair and ran from the room, to the Common room, within a minute he found himself in walking across the room to the boy’s staircase.

“Harry!” he heard Ginny call out, but he carried on walking. He was like an exited child at Christmas at the prospect of unearthing the secrets of another Horcrux. He took the stairs three at a time and ran into his, thankfully empty dormitory. Harry threw open his trunk and begun throwing things out, looking for the locket they had found. Everything was thrown out, Clothes, shoes, a sneakoscope Ron bought for him, everything, until there at the very bottom of the trunk was the locket. Harry looked upon the item with reverence; even though it wasn’t a real Horcrux he remembered vividly what they had gone through to retrieve it. He closed his hand around it, and placed it into his pocket. Just as he started piling things back into the trunk he heard the door burst open, and turned to see Ginny marching into the room, looking angry.

“Hi Ginny” said Harry brightly, expecting the worst.

“Is there a particular reason you just ignored me” she said, clearly as angry as Harry had expected.

“I was in a rush, sorry” he said, looking comical as he threw his belongings back into the trunk, and tried to appease her at the same time.

“Where have you been anyway?”

“Well” he said, standing up and walking towards her. “I was talking to Dumbledore, he wanted me to get the locket we found in the cave a few months ago, and he wants to talk through everything again, and try and figure it all out.” Said Harry, calmly.

“Oh” said Ginny, apparently lost for words. “Do you think he knows something?”

“That’s what I need to find out, I’m sorry Ginny but I need to get back to him”

“Ok, I’ll see you later then?”

“Bye Ginny” he said, and kissing her on the cheek, he left the room, and practically ran back to the Headmistresses office, and the waiting Dumbledore.

“Let me see it” said Dumbledore, when Harry returned to stand in front of him. Harry reached inside his robes, and held it up in front of Dumbledore. He could see the gleam in his eyes, but there was something more to it. Harry could tell Dumbledore was deeply saddened, as if he was trying to talk to Harry as if he was still alive, and as if he was trying to reach out and touch the locket, to figure out the solution to their problems. The fact he couldn’t was clearly written all over the old man’s face.

“Harry, would you mind reading the message on the parchment again?”

“Of course Professor” he said, and unfolding it, he read it aloud

“To the Dark Lord

I know I will be dead long before you read this, but I want you to know that it was I who discovered your secret. I have stolen the real Horcrux and intend to destroy it as soon as I can. I face death in the hope that when you meet your match you will be mortal once more.

R.A.B.”

As he read through the cryptic message Harry remembered vividly how he and Dumbledore had fought so hard to retrieve the item from the cave. And how Dumbledore had paid the ultimate sacrifice to keep Harry, and their secrets safe. He remembered how he’d felt when he removed the locket from Dumbledore’s body, and the despair he had felt when he realised it was a fake. He looked up and saw the same despair in Dumbledore’s eyes.

“I might be wrong” he said suddenly “but I think I know who this may be.”

“Really sir?” said Harry, unable to hide his excitement. “Who?”

“Well I would assume it was a Death Eater, or and ex Death Eater at least. I think we can rule out anyone else knowing about this, except for us and those you have told of course. It would be wise to assume it would be someone who could have access to the Dark Lord’s business, so I think it must fall into this category. I also think the letters at the bottom of the message are the initials of the person in question. R.A.B is probably someone killed by Voldemort himself or at least on his orders because they knew his secret.”

“After we came back, Hermione tried to look something up in the Library, but couldn’t find anything which sounded even vaguely correct.”

“I don’t think the answer to this question lies in the library Harry, I think it’s to be found much closer to home.”

“What do you mean Sir?” replied Harry.

“I think Harry; we’re looking at a member of the Black family.”

“The Black’s” said Harry, almost bursting with excitement. “Of course, didn’t Sirius have a brother who was a Death Eater?”

“Regulus Black” said Dumbledore simply.

“Yes!” exclaimed Harry, overloaded with excitement, and leaping a few feet in the air.”

“Calm down Harry” said Dumbledore smiling, something he hadn’t done for a long time.

“Sorry Sir, but we’re a lot closer now”

“A little closer, but still some way off, we need to identify where he would have taken the item.”

“That could be anywhere Sir?”

“I know Harry, im glad you appreciate our problem, but I do have a suggestion as to where it may be.”

“Where is that?” said Harry, already with a good idea of what Dumbledore was going to say.

“Number 12 Grimmauld Place”

“You think the locket maybe there?” said Harry, ignoring the pang in his stomach at the thought of Sirius.

“I do not know, but I do think that would be a good place to start, even if it’s not there, it may lead to the location of the real locket.”

“Ok, what about the mirror?”

“I still need to think on that a little longer.”

“Ok Sir, well I’ll tell the others and we’ll go to Grimmauld place this weekend.”

“Are you sure that’s wise Harry?” said Dumbledore.

“Why not?”

“Well, I mean to say, if you all left the school at once, it would appear suspicious, if just one person went it would be.”

Harry gave this some thought before replying.

“I’m Harry Potter Sir” he said simply.

“I’m well aware of that” said Dumbledore looking perplexed.

“So whenever I’m not around people will notice, do you think I’ll be able to just leave without anyone noticing. For a start do you think Ginny, Hermione and Ron will just not notice if I’m not around?”

“I understand that Harry, but I just feel this is something you should do by yourself.”

“Why Sir?”

“I know why you told your friends this, but Harry I trust you and you alone to do this. Its not that I don’t trust the others, far from it, I’m just trying to protect them, we don’t know what’s inside Grimmauld Place , and I know you wouldn’t want to put your friends at risk, especially Miss Weasley.”

That was true, thought Harry, yet he felt like something odd was happening, as if Dumbledore wasn’t being himself at all. He looked at Dumbledore, and saw the old man looking down at him. Harry knew he was right, and besides, he hadn’t wanted to put them all at more risk than was necessary, so he would go alone.”

“Very well” he said, finally. “I’ll go alone, I’ll go on Friday, and I’ll come back here as soon as I can the next day.”

“Ok Harry, I would suggest the cover of Darkness would be your strongest weapon here. Someone is less likely to notice your absence if they are asleep. You should be able to have a good look around the house, and get back before anyone notices you’re gone.”

“I will Sir, I’ll see you soon.”

“Do take care Harry”

“I shall, goodbye Sir”

“Goodbye Harry.” Said Dumbledore with an air of longing to his voice, and with that, Harry turned and left the room.

* * * * * * * *

Friday seemed an age away, and by the time it came around the time seemed to slow to a complete standstill. Harry felt exited at the prospect of searching for another Horcrux. But it came at a heavy price. He felt incredible guilt at the thought of lying to everyone he held dear. As soon as he had left Dumbledore, and returned to the Common room, the others demanded to know where he had been, and what Dumbledore had told him. Harry told them as much as he could without revealing the plan they had formed. He had told them about the locket, and how Dumbledore would think about how best to destroy it, as well as the mirror. He hated himself for lying to them all, but he knew it was for the best, and it would be better for him to do this alone. He needed their help in the Chamber of Secrets, but he loathed himself for putting them all in such terrible danger. At least in the House of Black he knew it would be safe.

Don’t kid yourself, he told himself as he lay in bed on Friday night, just waiting for them all to go to sleep. Better wizards than you have been fooled into a false sense of security and suffered for it. Harry lay there fully clothed, and yet hidden under the covers. He’d packed everything he thought would be of use. The invisibility cloak, just in case, and he kept the Horcrux inside his robes, feeling it would be safer to keep it on him than to leave it anywhere. Harry hadn’t slept since that morning, and yet he felt alert and awake, and he certainly didn’t feel like sleeping. He finally thought he was safe to leave, that everyone around him was only breathing, or in Ron’s case, snoring. He quietly pushed the covers aside, and stepped out of his bed. He crouched down on the spot and looked around. Making sure everyone was asleep he reached inside his robes for his invisibility cloak, and swept it around his shoulders. Harry walked towards the door silently, and opened it. The creaky door, which was barely audible during the day, filled the air with sound in the dead of night. He looked back to make sure no-one had head him, and then creeped through the gap in the door, and shut it behind him.

Walking through the castle in the middle of the night was eerie at the best of times, but now it was especially so. Knowing where he was going, and what he would do only heightened Harry’s senses. Every tiny noise made Harry jump, every little thing made him so much more intently aware of his surroundings. He walked down towards the front gates, and to his great fortune, found they were open. He walked as quickly as he could while still remaining silent, and he peered through the door. Harry saw two Aurors walking towards the door, clearly on patrol. Knowing this was his only chance to make it out, he rushed towards the door, and stepped through, and sidestepping once he reached the outside, and stood to the right-hand side of the door. The two Aurors were talking between themselves, and they didn’t notice a thing, instead, they walked through the door, and closing it behind them, Harry was alone outside.

Harry walked down the slope into Hogsmeade, and prepared himself for what he must do now. Harry walked through the town, looking for somewhere quiet; he found a silent alleyway and removed the cloak. Drawing his wand, and restowing the cloak inside his robes he focused on what he wanted to do, to where he wanted to go, his eyes were closed and he was completely focused on Grimmauld Place, within seconds, he was gone.



Harry opened his eyes again, and found he was standing at the end of the road, at the end of Grimmauld Place. He quickly checked there was no-one around, and was relieved to find he was alone. He drew the cloak over him again, and then walked along the road towards number 11. As he walked along he saw number 1 go past, number 3, number 5 and numbers 7 and 9, and then he reached number 11. Standing between 11 and 13, Harry closed his eyes and focused on the house, and he remembered the message he was given so long ago.

“The Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix can be found at number 12 Grimmauld Place.” Harry thought it in his head, opened his eyes, and there it stood in front of him, there stood the house of Black. Sirius, he thought, as he looked over the place. This is where you stayed, he thought, this is where you hid away for so long, and now this is where I must go. Harry focused on what had to be done, putting all thoughts of Sirius to the back of his mind. He drew his wand as he walked towards the front door, and pointing his wand at the door handle, he said.

“Alohamora”

Harry heard the door lock click, and he placed his hand on the handle itself. He felt the pressure of the situation he was in, and it felt like the handle was charged with electricity. The door creaked open, and Harry walked through the gap which appeared before him; and he closed the door behind him, shutting himself in his godfather’s house. Harry spun round on the spot and looked ahead of him, through the hallway of the house. He removed the cloak and stuffed it away, and muttering “Lumos”, he used the beam of light to search the area ahead of him. He watched as the beam of light from his wand, travelled over the dark house, moving over the staircase in front of him, and he traced it over the walls, making sure the area was clear, and that nothing would surprise him from the darkness. He felt deeply uneasy being in the dark house, but that paled in comparison to how he was feeling about being there again. He hadn’t been here since long before Sirius had died, and everything he looked at reminded him of his Godfather. He thought about how he had walked through the house with Sirius there, every single room held its own memories for Harry, and he felt as if the loss he had felt just after Sirius’ death was happening all over again. He walked through the house, just trying to block him out, to concentrate on what he had to do, but he couldn’t do it. As he walked through the Kitchen, he remembered so clearly the day he saw Mr Weasley get attacked, and how he had felt so alone, despite being surrounded by the Weasley family. He remembered how Sirius had calmed them all down, and watched over them all and how they had made breakfast when Mrs Weasley returned, as they celebrated the news that Mr Weasley would be ok. He quickly left the room, and headed towards the staircase, the atmosphere was thick with energy. Every tiny sound was heightened to ten times its normal volume. Each step creaked under his feet, and he moved his wand over the landing above, watching for potential threats, but seeing nothing, so he moved on up. Despite the light from his wand being the only source, Harry looked left and right as he walked along the hallway, and looked at all the portraits which adorned the walls, and the corridors which led to the bedrooms. Harry saw paintings of every previous member of the Black family, from generation to generation, all of whom were asleep. Harry’s sensed reached an all time high as he found the timeline at the top of the landing, where every member of the Black family was identified. He looked over the whole chart, spotting the Malfoy’s, Narcissa next to Lucius, and the gold line leading to Draco. He saw the line next to Lucius led to a completely blacked out image, and a line leading down to another blacked out image, he tried to make out who was there, but couldn’t see the names. He finally found what he sought, Sirius Black, and his image blacked out, but next to it, lay the un-scorched image of Regulus Black. Harry gazed at the image, and knew he had found his target. How did you find out, asked Harry, and why did you betray your master? Harry moved on quickly, not wanting to stay there for longer than he had to. He found himself in the Drawing Room, which was full of memories for him. Harry remembered the day they all cleared the Doxies from the curtains, and how Fred and George, early in their days of inventing things for their joke shop, had taken a few samples for their own use. He remembered the desk which contained a boggart, and how Mrs Weasley had seen so many faces, so many of her children dead. He remembered looking through the shelves, looking through all the items which they got rid of, and those which they left there. He suddenly remembered what he almost knew was what he was looking for. Sifting through his memories he remembered a locket, an old silver locket which was impossible for any of them to open, so it was left there, but looking at it now, it wasn’t there, someone had taken it. Of course, he thought, putting the pieces of the puzzle together, “Dung” he said angrily out loud, he had been caught in the act, selling the expensive silver from the Black house last year; he must have sold it he must have. Harry turned suddenly on the spot, he pointed his wand into the darkness, illuminating everything ahead of him, he was sure he heard something, he said to himself, what was that. His heart rate doubled in a matter of seconds, he jerked his wand left and right, and was more and more jittery, filling himself with adrenaline so his wand was shaking in his right hand. Suddenly the darkness was absolute, something hit Harry from behind, and he knew no more.

Chapter 13



Blackness filled the room; the only source of light was the wand on the floor, which pointed towards the nearest wall, and who’s light shined brightly. It pointed towards the wall nearest to Harry, his body lay perfectly still on the floor, seemingly lifeless, however, his body was not the only one in the room. A man, dressed in black and completely covered pulled him along, through the doorway and into another room. The young man felt nothing; he was as motionless and lifeless as the objects around him.

Suddenly Harry was awoken as fast as he had been knocked out. He jerked his head from left to right, trying to identify who attacked him, and to try and figure a way out of his current predicament. He tried to move his hands, but they were bound and he couldn’t move. You moron he said to himself, he had been too busy looking around and remembering everything that had happened, he had completely forgotten everything Lunette had taught him, he’d forgotten basic common sense. Harry had to figure a way out, but needed to identify where he was too. He recognised the bed next to him, and concluded he must be in one of the bedrooms, not the drawing room. Whether it was the one used by him and Ron, or Hermione and Ginny he couldn’t tell, all he could see is that he was in a whole world of trouble.

“Mr Potter” said a rough voice suddenly from within the darkness. He didn’t recognise the voice, yet it chilled his blood all the same.

“Who are you?” he said nervously.

“Now that would be telling wouldn’t it?”

“I want to know who’s going to kill me” said Harry defiantly.

Evil laughter filled the room, which scared Harry like nothing he’d ever heard before.

“Now now Potter, I’m not going to kill you” said the voice, clearly taunting him.

“Then what do you want?”

“I’m here for another; I have no interest in you whatsoever.”

“So you’re someone’s lapdog then, who are you? Tell me!” he said.

“Again Potter, you won’t get what you want by being rude to me” his voice was full of mock annoyance at Harry’s tone.

“So you’ve tied me up, you have me at wand’s end, will you tell me why or are we just going to stay here and chat?”

“There’s no need to be rude Potter, but if you insist”

Harry heard footsteps and felt the fear rise inside him as they moved closer to him. Was this it? Was he about to meet his end at the hands of whoever held him there? He didn’t know, he didn’t know what to expect, he just sat there, semi cowering from the black figure approaching. Suddenly the figure broke into the shaft of light which was pouring into the room. The figure was cloaked, and completely covered from head to toe, and as his face was concealed, Harry couldn’t tell who it was. The figure drew one hand from inside his robes, and moved it towards Harry. The hand moved, and symbolised all the fear and doubt Harry was feeling at that moment, he thought at any moment he would die, he expected to die. The hand moved towards Harry’s chest and he screwed himself up, trying to get away, fighting to get away from him, but he found himself trapped there, unable to move. He tried to move, but it only served to tighten the bonds around his hands. Then it happened all at once, the hand reached out and touched Harry’s chest, he felt the hands push his robes aside, and fell inside the robes until it found what it was looking for: the Ravenclaw mirror.

“No” Harry exclaimed as the hand reached for it, closed its fingers around the handle and pulled it out quickly.

“No, give that to me!” he said.

“Why, want to check your hair? It’s a mess by the way.” Said the captor sarcastically.

“Give me the mirror now!” he shouted out.

“No Potter, I will be taking this”

“Why?”

“My reasons are my own, and now I will leave.”

“NO!” he shouted again, but it was too late. The pop that filled the air meant the man had apparated already, leaving Harry alone in the empty room.

Harry didn’t react for a long time; he seemed incapable of a reacting to what had happened. Then it hit him all at once. How could he be so stupid? He said to himself, he had brought it here, and he should have left it at Hogwarts, and now that man, whoever he was would most likely return it to Voldemort, he had failed.

He couldn’t move, but not just because of the bonds which held his hands and legs fast. He couldn’t move because of the weight of what he had done. He, Harry had lost the Horcrux, it was all his fault. Who was that man, he thought, who was he? Harry had no idea who he was; the only thing he could assume was that it was a Death Eater, who would now be handing the mirror to his master. Harry’s blood froze at the thought that not only would he have to tell the others what he had done, but the greatest fear of all was the very real fear that whoever had taken the Horcrux would have told Voldemort where he was. At any moment he thought, he could find himself facing Voldemort, a full strength Voldemort who would have complete control over him. Harry struggled against the bonds which held him, but found he couldn’t move them. He was crouched on his knees, with bonds around his ankles and his hands tied up behind his back. He needed his wand, or something to help him.

Harry rolled backwards so he was lying on his back, then he moved his hands down past his back and towards his legs, stretching his back and arms to their full length, he moved his hand around his feet, and brought them up so he could at least move now. Unfortunately for Harry, his movement was restricted to either hopping or crawling along, but it was better than nothing at all. Harry fought his way to his feet again, and began hopping towards the doorway; he had to return to the drawing room, in case the stranger had left his wand in there. He hopped slowly down the hallway, and the sound of him landing on the wooden floor was the only sound to be heard in the entire house. As he moved towards the drawing room, he lost his balance and slipped to the floor, crashing into the hard wooden floor and sending a crescendo of noise into the air. Harry had to keep going, and fought to make it to the drawing room. He crawled along the floor, straining his eyes to see what was ahead of him, fighting for every metre he travelled along. Harry finally reached the drawing room, and there he saw a beacon of hope in the darkness. His still lit wand still lay on the ground where he had dropped it earlier, and he shuffled towards it and finally reached it. He rolled over awkwardly so he could hold it in his right hand, and aiming it at his ankles he said “Relashio” and the bonds vanished. Twisting his wrist, he pointed the wand tip between his hands, and repeated the spell, “Relashio”; he was free. Breathing hard, he spun round in a circle, quickly searching the area to try and find any clues as to who it was, and if anyone was still there. He saw nothing, and having done what he came here for, he left the room. Almost certain he knew where to go next to find the Horcrux, he prepared himself to leave. He didn’t know how he would tell Dumbledore what had happened. He knew he had to, but that was easier said than done, he had let everyone down, he had let the Mirror fall into enemy hands, and who knows where that would be now. He tried to put it out of his mind, he had to get back to Hogwarts now. Harry looked out of the window to see the light of the sun rising over the hills in the distance, and he focused on what he needed to do, he focused on the alleyway he had apparated from, and within seconds the house of Black was empty again.

Harry got into Hogsmeade in the early hours of Saturday Morning. He looked around to see the sun was rising over in the distance, and this surely meant the castle would be stirring any minute now. He drew the invisibility cloak from inside his pocket and threw it around himself. Harry strolled up towards the front gates, and as he walked he felt as if the weight of the world was on his shoulders. What was he going to do now? And how was he going to tell anyone what he had done. He walked towards the doors, and in the midst of all his deliberations, Harry heard someone moving on the other side of the gates. He stood over to one side and the gates swung open, closely followed by four Aurors, obviously on their first security sweep of the town. Harry snuck inside the door and began walking towards the common room. Within minutes he found himself inside and walking up towards the boy’s dorms. He donned the cloak again, having removed it to talk to the Fat Lady and walked through the door into his room. He was thankful to see everyone was still asleep, and he saw his alarm clock on his bedside table reading 6am exactly. Harry removed the cloak and still fully clothed he climbed into bed, falling asleep the instant his head touched his pillow.

Harry woke as suddenly as he had fallen asleep. He sat bolt upright in his bed, and tried to take in what was happening in the room around him. He was alone; everyone else’s beds were empty and had been made, doubtless by a House Elf. He swept one hand through his mess of black hair and rubbed his eyes in an effort to wake himself up. Looking across to his beside table, Harry noticed it was just after midday, and abandoning any hope of getting anymore sleep he rose from his bed. It was only then, as he got up that he knew what had happened, and the full weight of what had happened to him during the night hit him like a freight train. Yes, he was one step closer to finding another Horcrux, but that was a slim hope, and worse than that, he had lost a genuine Horcrux, he knew was in his possession. He couldn’t face anyone now, he had to talk to Dumbledore and him alone, he couldn’t bear to face anyone else. He found the invisibility cloak, and put it over him as he walked through the door and downstairs. Bracing himself to see the others he walked into the common room; he was greeted by a shocking scene however. The room was completely empty, Harry had only ever seen the room empty when it was in the middle of the night, the fact it was the middle of the day and there was no-one there made it all the more improbable. Shaking his head, he walked through the portrait door and ignoring the eerily empty corridors, he walked quickly towards the Headmistresses office, and Dumbledore.

Harry reached the office fairly quickly, and found himself looking at Dumbledore once again, who was fast asleep.

“Sir” he said quietly.

The portrait didn’t move.

“Professor Dumbledore” he repeated, and Dumbledore finally stirred waking up in the same way Harry had, he noticed Harry for the first time, and looked at him with a ghostly fear in his eyes.

“Harry, are you alright?” he said eventually.

“Yes, I’m fine sir” he lied, “is everything alright?”

“Well I hope so; it all depends on what you have to tell me”

Harry braced himself, he had to be honest with Dumbledore, he had to.

“Well Sir” Said Harry, facing the inevitable, yet trying to avoid it.

“I think I have a good idea where to start looking for the locket.”

“I was hoping that would be the case” said Dumbledore, “Go on.”

“Well, when I was in the drawing room of the house, I saw a set of shelves which I remember cleaning out with the Weasley’s. I remembered when I was there last night that we’d found a locket, but we couldn’t open it, I think that was the Horcrux.”

“I’d say so Harry, I take it it wasn’t there then?”

“No Sir, it had been taken, but I think I know where.”

“Where Harry?” said Dumbledore eagerly.

“Mundungus Fletcher”

“Of course Harry, you came to me last year when you found him selling the Black Silverware, you think he has it?”

“Either that or he’s sold it, something like that would be worth goodness knows how much.”

“Ok, I shall get some members of the order on that right away”

“Ok Sir” said Harry; still avoiding the topic which he knew would eat away at him from the insides if he didn’t confess.

“Was there anything else Harry?” Said Dumbledore.

“Yes Sir” he said, finally facing the moment he’d been dreading.

“While I was there, I was attacked; and someone stole the mirror from me.”

Silence filled the room, Dumbledore looked shocked, speechless.

“Harry are you alright?” he said finally.

“No, of course not, I lost the Horcrux Sir!”

“Well that can be re-found; we’ll have to pick up the trail again, but the important thing is that you’re safe. Did you get a look at your assailant?”

“It was dark Sir; I couldn’t see him or recognise who it was.”

“Did you recognise his voice?”

“No Sir, the only person it sounded like was Moody, but It couldn’t have been him could it?”

“No Harry, Alastor Moody is stationed elsewhere at the moment; it certainly wouldn’t have been him anyway.”

“Ok, I’m sorry Sir” he said weakly.

“Don’t be Harry, the important thing is that you’re safe, that’s more important than losing the Horcrux, and we’ll get to the bottom of this ok?”

“Ok Sir was there anything else?” he said, hoping for him to say no.

“No Harry, nothing else, you’ve given me quite a lot to think on, but we’re done for now.

“Ok Sir, see you soon”

“Bye Harry”

And with that, Harry left the room.



Harry spent the weekend trying to recover privately from what had happened. He found it difficult to keep it hidden from them all, but explained his occasionally odd behaviour as love sickness. Mercifully no-one had mentioned the mirror, he knew it was only a matter of time before someone did, but for now he was safe inside his shell, safe behind the wall he had created. Having done him a lot of good the last time they had gone on an adventure, Harry went for a swim that afternoon in the prefect’s bathroom, and he used the time to reflect on what had happened, and once he finally met up with the others he’d found out there had been a meeting in the Great Hall which everyone had to attend. They had been informed of an attack on Azkaban, in an attempt to free the prisoners. But thankfully it had been repelled with only a few minor injuries to the guards. Harry didn’t ask them to go into detail, that was all he needed to hear, all he needed to know.

The weekend ended quietly, with them all together in the common room, laughing and joking with one another, allowing Harry to forget what had happened, just for a little while. While they were talking, Ginny mentioned to Harry she was thinking about asking Professor Audiutry if she could give her private lessons as well. It made sense thought, Harry, and he said as much to her. Ginny was very good at duelling, but there were other areas she could improve, and she seemed to have taken a liking to Lunette during her Defence against the Dark Arts lessons. Harry told her he’d mention it to her during their lesson tomorrow afternoon, which brought him right back into the reality that tomorrow he’d be doing Occlumency again.



When you want time to slow down it speeds up, and when you want it to just run away it will grind to a halt. This was the case for Harry he thought as he stood outside their defence against the dark arts room. The day had gone by so fast, where in truth he’d never wanted time to go slower than it had that day. He didn’t want to do Occlumency again, the thought cut through him like an ice cold knife. Yet here he was, here he stood, and he knew he had to do this. He drew his wand and opened the door. Professor Audiutry was sat down in front of the fire, and looked up as Harry entered the room.

“Harry, hi” she said brightly

“Hi Lunette” he replied, half expecting him to attack him at any moment.

“You can relax Harry, im not going to attack you now”

Smiling, Harry walked over to sit in front of her, and stowed his wand away as he walked.

“You remember what we had planned for today Harry?”

“I do” said Harry, rather stiffly.

“Well I think it would be best to concentrate on that alone, I don’t want to clog your head up with thoughts of duelling when we’re doing this.

“Ok, that sounds fine”

“I think the best place to start is to talk over the theory behind this magic, hopefully then we will reach a good understanding of what’s involved.”

“Ok”

“Harry” she said kindly. “I know you’re scared, and after your lessons with Professor Snape, that’s understandable, but this is essential really, you need to protect your mind against those who want to attack it, and this really is the best way of doing so.”

“It’s quite a daunting thought though Professor, when He was in my mind, I just felt as If I was getting weaker, as if I was having my mind opened for a stronger attack.”

“I think that has as much to do with your relationship with Snape than anything else.”

How did she know about that? Thought Harry, he supposed It was fairly common knowledge, but even so he still felt uneasy with her knowing so much about him.

“Maybe” he said, finally.

“That’s all in the past Harry, and our main concern is keeping you safe, and protecting you from the attacks to come, not to dwell on those which have already happened.”

That made sense to Harry, even though he still felt uneasy at the thought.

“Ok, shall we begin?” he said

“Very well, now as you know the theory of Occlumency is that of protecting the mind against those skilled in Leglimency, who will be able to reach into your mind and access the things you done want them to see.”

“Yes Professor”

“I believe you know the incantation?”

“Occlumens?” he said quietly.

“Very good, but the theory of what will happen is only a part of the process, and the incantation alone is not enough to protect you. It requires considerable mental strength to force people out of your mind, but it can be done. I can only teach you so much. The majority of the work will have to come from you.”

“Ok, shall we start?” said Harry, eager to get on with it.

“If you are ready Harry.” She said kindly.

“I am”

“Very well, I want you to close your eyes and close your mind, do not focus on anything, do not think, just keep your mind a blank canvas.”

Harry closed his eyes and tried to do as he was told, trying to empty his mind, trying to focus on nothingness.

“Leglimens” he heard her say, and he felt it again, the feeling of someone being inside his head, carving into his brain, looking for something, anything it could find was almost too much to take. He forgot what he had to do, instead all he could see was images of his childhood come forth, just the same as the last time he did this. He saw himself a lot younger being chased by Dudley and his gang, saw his Aunt Marge be blown up, saw him being tortured by Voldemort in the graveyard, and then by Professor Umbridge. Then all of a sudden he saw nothing at all, and slowly he focused on the room, to find he was bent double and hyper ventilating.

“Are you alright Harry?” she said kindly as she loomed over him.

“Not really” he said, fighting for breath.

“Harry you have to focus, you have to clear your mind, and focus on what you want, what you need.”

“Ok” he said defiantly, rising to his feet.

“Again” he said.

“Leglimens” she said suddenly.

Harry felt her inside his head again, he felt it like some otherworldly presence rooting around inside his head as if it was looking for something, anything to use as a weapon against him.

“Get out of my head” he said inside his mind, he had to use the incantation now.

“Occlumens” he thought, and nothing happened, the voice kept moving inside his head.

“Occlumens” he thought again, trying to focus, trying to force is out, but still the presence moved inside his mind.

Acting purely on instinct Harry screamed “PROTEGO” out loud this time, he had to get her out of his head; he had to preserve himself and nothing else now. As he spoke, he felt the presence suddenly be drawn out of him, and he looked around to see Lunette be thrown from her position next to him to the floor a few metres away from him. The presence in his mind was gone, but was replaced by a new set of images, ones he had never seen before. He saw a young girl, a blonde girl running from a group of boys chasing her, then with a flash of light, the image changed and the girl appeared again. She was much older this time, and was receiving an award. A flash of light came into his mind again, only this time it was an image of the present day Lunette, looking exactly as she did today, but she was not alone, she was talking to another.

“And what of the item?” she said to someone Harry couldn’t see.

The voice that spoke made Harry’s blood run cold, he screamed in shock but it didn’t leave his body.

“I have done as Dumbledore asked of me, the mirror is in my possession, and I’ll” Said the cold voice of Severus Snape.

Chapter 14:



Suddenly the image shattered, and Harry was thrown out of her memories. The smoky image slowly faded away and gradually, his vision returned to normal. He was lying on the floor of the Defence against the dark arts room, breathing in hard, and yet feeling nothing. He felt numb, like the very core of his beliefs had been wrenched from him. Numbness just took him over, and he felt as if he would never feel anything ever again. He had to get out of here, he thought, he had to get out of Hogwarts and just hide away from everyone. Harry looked across to Lunette, and saw she was still not moving; he rose to his feet quickly, and walked towards the door.

“Harry are you?” She started to say, and she lent over her shoulder, and saw him move towards the door. Harry, turned to see her, and looked into her grey eyes. He saw the knowing feeling in her, and it confirmed everything he thought, she was collaborating with Snape, and that alone was enough to make her his enemy. He saw the knowing in her eyes, that she knew he knew what she had done.

“Harry, please wait, I can explain.” She said, but Harry didn’t hear her, he had blocked out all the noise around him as he turned back towards the door and walked forward again.

“Stupefy!” he heard her shout from behind him, and he ducked down just in time for the beam to fly over his head and strike the wooden door. He kept his head down and reached the door. Throwing it open, he ran through as another beam hit the wall next to him. Survival was the only thing on Harry’s mind as he ran through the corridors, thinking at any time she could appear behind him, he had to get out. What about the others? He thought as he reached the fork between the way outside and the way to the dormitories, and came to a sudden and complete stop. If they all stayed there they could be attacked too, he had to convince them to come with him. So placing himself at considerable risk, he ran up towards the common room, hoping Lunette would run outside, assuming he would run. He reached the common room, and shouted the password on the run to the Fat Lady. Once she swung forward, looking shocked at being shouted at, he ran through the portal and saw Ron and Hermione sitting together at a table in the corner of the room. He ran towards them, and as he reached them, he spoke before they even had a chance to say hello.

“We have to get out of here, right now!” he said, fighting to get his breath back.

“What?” said Ron, looking dumbstruck.

“Professor Audiutry’s working with Snape, I just found out, and she’s after me, so we have to go right now!”

“Ok, but where?” said Ron.

“Anywhere but here, where’s Ginny?”

“She went to see her.” Said Hermione.

“Not Professor Audiutry?” said Harry, feeling dread rise inside him again.

“Yes, she went to meet you after your lesson and to talk to her about private lessons.”

“Ok, you two get out of here, go down into Hogsmeade and wait for me there” said Harry.

“Where are you going?” said Ron.

“I’m going to get Ginny out of there.”

“No Harry, not on your own”

“I can get in there with the cloak, I’ll do it alone”

“Harry” said Hermione, “how can you be sure?”

“Hermione, please just go, we don’t have time.”

“Harry, please”

“Ok, fine, We were doing Occlumency, I saw into her mind and saw a memory of her talking to Snape, when I tried to leave she tried to attack me, to cover up what I know, we need to get out, right now!” he said impatiently.

“Ok, we’ll meet you in Hogsmeade Harry” said Ron, who from the look of him, was clearly ready for action again.

“Harry” began Hermione, clearly still looking unsure.

“Let’s go Hermione, we can talk over all the details once we’re somewhere else.” Said Ron, who at once calmed her down and showed their support for Harry.

“Ok Harry, be careful” she said, finally conceding defeat.

“Take care mate” said Ron, and he led her quickly towards the door, and the way out.

Harry walked towards the staircase, looking for somewhere to don the cloak where he wouldn’t be noticed, checking all was clear he threw it over himself, and ran as fast as he could towards Ginny. Hundreds of images flew into Harry’s mind as he ran along. He had never truly trusted Lunette, having always had a feeling there was something bad about her. But he certainly never expected her to be working with Snape. Now she had Ginny in there, the thought of her holding Ginny hostage, just waiting for Harry to come for are, ate away at him as he ran towards her room. Adrenaline was pumping through his body as he ran alone, he was tired but he kept running, the thought of Ginny just made him run even harder. He was tired but he had to get to her, he had to find her. Harry turned round the corner and ran along the straight corridor towards the defence against the dark arts room. He slowed to a stop as he closed on the room, and as he came to the door, he stopped for a moment to catch his breath, and then crept along the wall towards the door. He reached the frame, drawing his wand as he moved along. As he reached the door frame he was completely silent and focused on what he had to do. He pointed his wand forward and prepared to move. Just as he was about to step up he heard a sudden knocking on the door. Harry looked up quickly and saw Ginny standing above him at the door, about to open the handle. Acting purely on instinct, Harry reached forward and swept her under the cloak before she had a chance to react. His hand was over her mouth as he pulled her in; she struggled against his arm, trying to force himself free of him. He quickly turned her around to face him and removed his hand from her face.

“Harry, what the hell’s going on?” she shouted out.

“Ginny shut up” said Harry quietly.

“Don’t you tell me to shut up.”

“Quiet” he said again, and he placed his hand over her mouth again, as the Defence against the dark arts room door opened. He motioned her to be silent, and she seemed to understand, at least she didn’t struggle any longer. He saw Lunette walk out of the room, and look left and right, clearly looking for something, some clue as to why her door had been knocked. Having found nothing, she took one final gook around, including several glances in their direction, and walked back into her room, closing the door behind her. Ginny forced herself free of Harry’s hand and said.

“Harry, what the hell is going on?”

“Not here Ginny, we have to get out of here.”

“What? Why?”

“I don’t have time to explain, just trust me ok? Please Ginny.”

“Fine, but this had better be good”

“Ok, let’s meet the others” he said, as they removed the cloak and ran down the corridor.

“Where are they?” said Ginny from behind them.

“Hogsmeade, lets go.”

They ran through the school, and reached the front gates, luckily they found them unguarded, and with there being no Auror presence outside, they ran straight through the gates, and down into the town.

“Where are you?” said Harry quietly as they ran through the town, looking for Ron and Hermione, hoping they hadn’t been taken themselves.

“Harry” called Ron’s voice from nearby. Harry quickly stopped by a nearby wall, with Ginny standing behind him, and looked around for them. He finally saw the flaming red hair of Ron Weasley in the woods just outside of town. Ron was standing behind a tree, and he motioned for them to come over. Harry grabbed Ginny by the hand and led her over to their waiting friends, who were busy stuffing various packages inside their robes.

“What’s all this?” said Harry

“I thought bringing some food along would be a good idea.” Said Ron, we don’t know how long we’ll be there for.”

“Fair enough” said Harry. “We’re going to Grimmauld Place, does everyone remember the parchment?”

“Yes” said Hermione and Ron simultaneously.

“Harry, why are we doing this?” said Ginny.

“Not now Ginny, I’ll explain everything once we’re safe ok? Just not here.”

“Fine” she said though there was a very obvious tone to her voice that indicated she was anything but fine.”

“Ok Ginny, grab onto my arm, let’s go”

Ginny obliged, grabbing his arm rather harder than she would normally have done, and seconds later, with three sharp pops, they had gone.

The four of them arrived in Grimmauld place, and quickly looked around to ensure they weren’t being watched, and no unsuspecting muggles saw them appear out of nothing. They ran along the road, quickly reaching the place between numbers 11 and 13.

“You all remember the parchment, the message from Dumbledore?” said Harry as they reached their destination.

“Yes” said the three of them is turn, and they all closed their eyes, focusing on the House of Black, and the message. He did the same, imagining the house in his mind, and picturing the message in front of him, exactly as he had done so long ago. He opened his eyes, and saw the house in front of him. Ignoring the pang in his stomach as he thought of Sirius, he led the others towards the front door, and opened the way into the only safe place he could think of at that moment. That it was the place he was attacked by Snape highlighted how chaotic his life had become. They all walked in behind him, and he searched through the hallway, pointing his wand over the walls and staircase in front of him, making sure nothing would appear this time. The others joined him, although they knew not why. Once all looked clear Harry lowered his wand, and looked around at the others.

“Ok Harry, we’re here now, tell me what’s going on.” Said Ginny.

“I think we’d all like to know that” said Ron.

“Ok let’s go into the living room; let’s get everything out in the open.”

“What does that mean?” said Ginny.

“I’ll explain everything, let’s just sit down ok?”

They followed him into the living room, and took an armchair each, all looking at him intently as he sat down too. He could feel their eyes boring into him, and he knew now was the time, he had no alternative, he had to do this, he had to come clean.

“Well?” said Ginny impatiently. Looking around them all Harry noticed Ron looked focused on something he couldn’t pinpoint, Hermione looked nervous, and Harry looked between them all before speaking, wondering just how he was going to explain everything to them.

“I’m sorry” he said suddenly, and they all looked dumbstruck, each wondering what he could be sorry for.

“I wasn’t entirely truthful when I spoke to you on Saturday, or on Friday for that matter. When I spoke to Dumbledore on Friday, he asked me to come here, but to come alone, during the middle of the night.”

“And did you?” said Ginny, looking as if she was about to explode, a fiery volcano was ready to erupt underneath the fiery hair.

“Yes I did” said Harry

“So you lied to us then.”

“Ginny” he started.

“After everything we promised each other you go and lie to me like this?”

“Ginny” said Ron suddenly, “just let him explain, I want to hear the rest of this too.”

“This had better be good” said Ginny refusing to look at Harry, looking intently at the floor instead.

“Go on Harry” said Hermione.

“Well, I came here, in the middle of the night, and I looked around the place, trying to find out some clues as to the location of the locket Horcrux. Then I was attacked, tied up in one of the bedrooms and had the mirror stolen from me.”

All of them suddenly gazed on him with shock and horror.

“Harry are you ok?” said Hermione

“I’m fine”

“Do you know who attacked you?” said Ron.

“Snape” he spat bitterly.

“WHAT!” exclaimed them all at once, even Ginny broke her eye contact with the floorboards to look at Harry.

“Harry, what happened?” said Hermione, looking more worried than ever.

“Well, as I was looking over the bookshelf in the drawing room, I remembered a locket there from when we cleared out the room, do you remember.”

“Vaguely, but why here Harry?”

“Do you remember the parchment in the fake locket I found with Dumbledore?”

“Yes” replied Hermione, clearly thinking hard about what connection it could be.

“And the initials at the end of it?”

“RAB” she said, “So the B stands for Black then?”

“Regulus Black?” said Harry simply.

“Sirius’ brother?” Said Hermione, “He was a Death Eater wasn’t he?”

“Yes he must have found out about the Horcruxes, and decided his loyalties lay away from Voldemort, I don’t know why.”

“So is it here then?” said Ron.

“No, it certainly was here, as we left it here, but it’s been taken.”

“By who? Did you find out?”

“I don’t know for certain, but I think it was taken by Mundungus Fletcher.”

“Dung?” said Ron “Why? He’s working for the order isn’t he?”

“Yes he is, or at least he was, but do you remember when we saw him last Christmas, and he was selling the Black silverware?”

“You don’t think?” said Hermione.

“He took the locket and either sold it or kept it. He’s only concerned with money and that locket was Slytherin’s it would be priceless.” Said Ron.

“It is Priceless” said Harry, “but he doesn’t know just how important.”

“Ok so how do we do about finding him?” said Hermione.

“Not so fast” said Ginny. “I want to know what Professor Audiutry has to do with this.”

“Lunette?” said Harry. “She’s working with Snape. When I was doing Occlumency she had the spell reversed and I saw into her past, and her present, she was talking to Snape who said He’d done as Dumbledore had asked him to, he has the mirror and then do something with it.” He stopped suddenly, shocked himself by what had happened.

“Do what?” said Ginny.

“I don’t know, the conversation stopped then.” said Harry

“So you dragged us all out here on the premise that everyone’s against you?”

“Ginny” he started.

“Snape said Dumbledore asked him to, do you honestly think Dumbledore would’ve done that if he wasn’t going to help you?”

“He killed him Ginny, I watched him kill him, I stood there and watched him do it. There is no way Snape is on our side, he’s a Death Eater and Lunette’s working with him.”

“What about Dumbledore?” said Hermione.

“What do you mean?” Said Harry.

“Well, do you think he’d tell Snape to go after the mirror if he wasn’t on our side?”

“Hermione, how can you think Dumbledore would talk to Snape after he killed him?”

“It doesn’t make any sense, but why would Snape say that if he hadn’t been told to come after you?”

“He was lying? I don’t know, but as far as I’m concerned we can’t trust anyone of them again.”

“I don’t know Harry, something’s not right about all of this”

“Hermione, I know something’s not right, but I cannot believe for one minute Dumbledore would do that, talk to the man who killed him.”

“I don’t know Harry, maybe you should talk to Dumbledore?”

“No way, not in a million years, Dumbledore sent me here alone, he set me up, and I got attacked by Snape, I’ll never speak to him again.” Said Harry, seething with anger.

“But if Dumbledore sent you, why would he do that if he didn’t know what would happen? Maybe he wanted Snape to get the mirror?”

“Why would he do that?”

“Maybe he will be able to find out how to destroy it?”

“That’s absurd Hermione, why would he do that?”

“I don’t know Harry, and its not that absurd if you think about it. But the only person who can tell you that is Dumbledore, so I suggest you talk to him about it”

“So when are we going back to Hogwarts then?” said Ginny.

“We’re not” said Harry flatly.

“Well it’s obvious we’re here because you won’t talk to Dumbledore” replied Ginny, looking more and more like she was about to explode.

“We’re all here because you three are the most important people in my life, and need I remind you that Lunette attacked me, why would she do that if she wasn’t trying to cover everything up, and hide away the fact she’s conspiring against us, I brought you here to keep you safe.”

“Ok” said Ron, jumping between their fast brewing argument, “what do we do now?”

Harry rubbed his face with his hands, all at once trying to get away, and yet finding himself stuck there.

“Well the mirror is out of our reach for now, I’ll have to get onto that some other time, but for now the locket is my primary target.”

“What do you mean your target? It’d our target Harry.” Said Ron.

“I’ve put you in too much danger as it is”

“It comes with the territory of having you as a best mate Harry”

“I can’t let you do this anymore”

“We’re not going anywhere now Harry.” Said Hermione “ I just think you should talk to Dumbledore.”

“I’m not going back to Hogwarts, not with Lunette there, and trying to attack me. I’ll go after the locket now, I’ll try and get in touch with the order, maybe I’ll get them to track Dung down.”

“So what do you want us to do?” said Ron.

“You really don’t want to go?” said Harry, feeling considerable relieved that Ron and Hermione were going to stay here.

“Of course not” said Ron.

“Just one thing Harry” said Hermione “Promise me you’ll talk to Dumbledore about all of this.”

“Fine I will, I just need to figure out how to get into Hogwarts without being attacked.”

“You have the cloak with you, don’t you?” said Hermione.

“Yes” and there was the answer, he thought. But he wouldn’t go yet, he still didn’t want to face the man who betrayed him, he said as much aloud.

“That’s all I ask” said Hermione, smiling for the first time it seemed in days.

Harry looked anxiously over towards Ginny, who was facing the window, deliberately avoiding Harry’s gaze.

“Ginny, can we talk?” he said

“Sure Harry” she said, spinning on the spot to face him, “What about?” she said sarcastically.

“Not here, please?”

“Fine” she said, and walked out of the room. Ron and Hermione looked at each other awkwardly, and they stood up and headed out of the room, and upstairs.

“I’ll do this first” he muttered, drawing his wand.

“Expecto Patronum” he shouted, and Prongs the Silver Stag erupted from the end of his wand.

“Professor Lupin” he said. “I need your help, if you can, don’t tell anyone where I am, but im at Grimmauld Place, I need your help, can you come soon? It’s Harry”

Having sent the message to the Werewolf, and watched the Patronus fly away, he sheathed his wand, and prepared to face the Dragon.

Chapter 15:

Harry around the now empty room, wishing very much he didn’t have to do what he knew he had to. Focusing himself, he left the room via the door he watched Ginny walk out of a minute earlier. He looked left and right as he left the room, trying to figure out where she had gone. He saw the kitchen door was open to the left of him, so he walked along, looking for her. It didn’t take long to find her; she stood next to the worktop, looking out of the window. He approached her tentatively, knowing she was liable to explode at any moment, with justification he thought, but it didn’t make it anymore pleasant to live through.

“Ginny” he said as he closed in on her, she turned to face him, tears in her eyes, and clearly more upset than angry.

“Why did you do it?” she said suddenly, which threw Harry off, he hadn’t expected her to say that.

“Do what?” he said.

“Lie to me, isn’t that enough?” she said.

“Ginny, I’m sorry, but I only did it to protect you, to keep you out of harms way.”

“That’s not just it Harry.”

“I didn’t want you to come here, I didn’t know if it was safe. I felt bad enough putting you in all that danger in the Chamber of Secrets, and I thought this would be the best way,. If you’d been here you would have been attacked too, I couldn’t have lived with myself if something had happened to you.”

“Harry, that isn’t the problem, although if we had been here, do you really think Snape could’ve taken us all?” Harry was inclined to think that was the case that they could’ve handled Snape, and they’d be able to exact vengeance for what he had done. He stayed quiet though.

“The point is Harry, is that you lied to me. I asked you what Dumbledore had wanted and you lied to me. You didn’t tell me about the mirror, nor what he said, and then you came here, and you didn’t tell me.”

“I know, I’m…” The words couldn’t form in his mouth; he couldn’t find the words to tell her how he was feeling.

“Ginny, I’m”

“You’re sorry?” she said, looking into his eyes with hurt and frustration. “And I suppose im just supposed to accept that, and forgive you am I?”

“I know you can’t do that” said Harry, suddenly finding his courage and catching Ginny off guard. “I don’t expect you to forgive me Ginny; all I’m trying to say is that I did it to keep you safe, and to keep you out of harm’s way. I never wanted you to be involved in this.”

“Well like it or not, I am involved so you’d better get used to it.”

“I didn’t want to put anyone at risk, least of all you”

“I know that Harry, but you have to accept that we’re at war, we’re all at risk whether we’re close to you or not, so don’t shut us out anymore”

“I know what I did was wrong” said Harry

“Do you?” said Ginny snappily

“Of course I do, I felt sick when I lied to you, when I lied to you all, I was just trying to do the right thing.”

Ginny smiled, something Harry hadn’t seen her do for a long time.

“I know Harry, but that doesn’t change what you did, even if your intentions were honourable.”

“So I’m an honourable liar then” said Harry smiling.

“That about covers it” said Ginny, slowly moving closer to him.

“So are we ok?” said Harry hopefully.

“We are, I suppose, I wont forget what you did easily Harry, but I understand why you did it. And don’t you ever do that again.”

“Never again.” Said Harry, and he put his arms around her, letting the weight of his regret and the feelings they were both feeling just fall away. Harry held her close to him, and felt as if he would never have a problem again, so long as he held her.

“I’m sorry” he said finally.

“Thank-you for saying it Harry, just give me time.” She said, and he left it there, nothing more needed to be said. Harry pushed himself away from her, and taking her hand they walked back into the living room to find Ron and Hermione sat on one of the sofas. Ron was munching a liquorice wand, and Hermione was looking worried. She looked up as they walked into the room, and a smirk and warm relief spread over her face.

“Are you two ok?” she said.

“Yes I think so” said Ginny, grinning at Harry. “Harry’s not going to ever do that again, are you?” she said, looked at him with an amused smirk.

“Never again” said Harry, smiling at them all. Harry led Ginny to one of the sofas, and took one of the bags of food strewn around the room. It was mostly sweets from Zonkos, and he found himself smiling as fished through the bag, looking for something to eat. He eventually decided on a box of Every Flavour Beans, which between them all, they consumed fairly quickly. In a sort of competition as to who could find the most disgusting flavour to pass the time as they waited to hear from Lupin.

Harry wasn’t sure how long they had all been sat there for, him and Ginny opposite Ron and Hermione, and just talking. Harry generally felt at ease, yet there was something gnawing at him from the inside. This had been Sirius’s house, he thought. He had been here for so long, hiding away when all he wanted was to help, to be able to do anything really. Yet he was kept inside, kept against his will in this dark place, the others noticed his mood and reacted accordingly.

“What’s wrong?” said Ginny.

“I was just thinking about Sirius, you know, with him being shut up in here with only a Hippogriff for company.”

Ginny took his hand and gently squeezed it: nobody spoke, nobody knew what to say.

“I still think about him sometimes, when he went.” He carried on, not going as far as to say when he died. “Through the veil.” He finished weakly. The pang in his stomach was as strong as it had been when he watched him fall through, and yet he still didn’t understand why. He didn’t understand what had happened, why he had left him. The Veil was a mysterious place, and it had a deathly aura to it, which Harry remembered only too well from their trip there the year before last. Ginny squeezed his hand, and he snapped back to reality, they were all looking at him, not knowing what to say.

“What is it Harry?” said Hermione.

“I was just thinking about Sirius and the Veil” he said, not looking at any of them. He felt Ginny move closer to him, and rest her head on his shoulder. He felt great comfort in the fact that she was there, but it still didn’t numb the pain he felt. None of them spoke for a while, indeed it was Harry who eventually broke the silence and decided they should make some use of their time there.

“Shall we go for a walk around the house?” he said.

“Why?” said Ron.

“I want to walk you through what I did on Friday night.”

“Are you sure Harry?” said Ginny, still clearly concerned about him.

“I’m sure, let’s go”

“Ok mate, let’s see what happened” said Ron, allowing Harry to lead the way out of the room.

“Ok, well for as start it was pitch black, so a damn site scarier than now, all I had was the light of my wand.” He said as he walked along into the Hallway. As it was, the sun had set and it was beginning to get dark, but there was still enough light to see where they were going.

“So I went into the kitchen to have a look around, check it was clear, and then I went upstairs” he led them as he talked, telling them about his fears at being in this dark place with virtually no light. He led them along the hallway, past the two bedrooms, and pointing out where Snape had held him, he didn’t say as much out loud, but he did really feel lucky to be alive. They reached the Black family tree, and he stopped them all, pointing out where Regulus Black was on the map. Hermione in particular seemed very interested in the map, looking closely at all of the names. Her eyes fell on Regulus, and Harry noticed the look in her eyes as her thoughts were confirmed. She knew this was the place, and Regulus was indeed the man who had eluded her search. Harry led them all along the hallway and into the dark drawing room. Shafts of light pointed through the gaps in the window coverings, drifting through the room and penetrating the darkness.

“Do you remember this room?” said Harry.

“I remember” said Ron. “This is where mum found the boggart, and saw us all dead.”

“Yes, and when we cleared out the room, knocking out all the Doxies and clearing these shelves over here.” He gestured as he spoke, leading them all towards the shelves opposite the one door leading into this room.

“Yes, I remember that.” Said Hermione.

“Well on one of these shelves there was a locket we couldn’t force open,”

“You think that was the Horcrux?” said Ron.

“I know it was.” Replied Harry.

“Then I’m glad we couldn’t open it” replied Ron.

“Why?”

“Who knows what that could’ve done. It could’ve seriously hurt the one who opened it, or killed everyone in the room at the time.”

“Fair enough, but I still want to open it.”

“Why?” said Ginny.

“Once we know how to open it, and what’s inside it, we’ll know it’s been destroyed, and we’ll be one step closer to our ultimate goal.”

“So you think Dung has it then?” said Ron.

“Almost certainly, I’ve no idea where he is though, and we’ll need help to find him.”

“Which is why you called Lupin isn’t it?” said Hermione, looking slightly worried, and Harry saw through her thoughts.

“Don’t worry, he’s probably too busy” said Harry, very much hoping that was the case.

“Why did you call him though?” said Ginny, why not anyone else, Mum or Dad for instance?”

“I don’t want everyone knowing we’re here, and your parents would just worry about everything and have the whole Order show up to take us back, Lunette will find us.”

“What makes you think Lupin won’t just do that anyway?” said Hermione.

“I trust him not too, I don’t believe he will. Besides, I’m almost certain I’m not the first member of my family to ask him for help and to keep something quiet.” Which drew a smile from them all.

“Your dad would’ve done the same for him?” said Hermione.

“He would’ve, and I know Lupin will do the same here. I know he will.”

“I hope you’re right Harry.” Said Hermione.

Harry suddenly turned stiff and bent his ears to listen out, almost like a cat stalking its prey.

“Shhh” he said suddenly and quietly.

“What?” said Hermione.

“I heard something from downstairs” said Harry, just as quietly.

“Do you think it’s Lupin?” said Ron.

“I don’t know, and keep quiet” whispered Harry commandingly, and they all obliged.

He crept along the hallway towards and stood at the corner next to the turning. He felt the others close in behind him, all in a line, he didn’t need to look around, he knew they were there and backing him up. Harry drew his wand as he crept along, and as he reached the corner he stopped and focused his mind. Everything around him was in clear focus despite the gloom. He held out his wand, straightening his arm, and holding his breath, he swung round the corner and pointed his arm down the stairs, looking for a target.

Nothing.

He felt movement behind him, and glanced right to see Ron move past him and stand level with him at the top of the stairs.

“Nothing here” he said so only Harry could hear him.

“I’ll take a closer look, cover me from here.” He said.

“Be careful” Ron said, by way of a reply. Harry stepped forward knowing the others had moved to cover him from behind the wall. Harry crept down each stair, one at a time and moving very slowly. He was in complete darkness, yet he could see into the Hallway. The last remnants of the evening light was coming through the windows and lighting up the Hall.

When he reached halfway down the stairs, Harry stopped dead, having been sure he’d heard something move to his left, out of sight, and moving slowly along the Hallway. He motioned to the others to cover that area, knowing they would without a second glance. Harry himself looked back towards the area next to him; as a shadow loomed across the floor, making the figure painted by the shadows appear three times the size of a man. Suddenly a figure broke out of the darkness, a man moved through the Hallway; he was fully cloaked and was wearing his hood drawn over his head. He was moving slowly but defiantly, appearing to know where he was going. Swallowing his hear and extending his wand arm, Harry called out.

“Freeze”

The figure stopped, but didn’t jump up, almost as if he was expecting to be ambushed. The man moved his left hand towards his hood and swept it back over his head. He turned suddenly, and Harry lowered his wand, recognising the figure at once.

“Is that how you treat all your guests Harry?” said the slightly tired voice of Remus Lupin.

Harry smiled and walked down the stairs, sheathing his wand as he went. He stepped forward to Lupin and expended his hand. As he walked, he heard the others coming down the stairs. He stepped forward to Lupin and shook his hand.

“Professor Lupin thanks for coming.”

“Harry will you please stop calling me Professor, I haven’t been that to you for a very long time.”

“Very well, all the same, thank-you for coming.”

“I knew it would have to be serious, what are you doing here? What are you all doing here?” He said as he looked behind Harry and saw the others walk up next to him.

“Hi Professor Lupin” said Ron.

“Not you too” said Lupin smiling.

“Shall we go sit down sir, and we can explain everything” said Harry.

“Very well Harry, any chance of a drink, I’m feeling parched”

“Let me go see what we have, I’m afraid I haven’t had the chance to stock the cupboards since we arrived though” said Harry jokingly.

“There’s some pumpkin juice in the living room” said Ron.

“Perfect” said Lupin “Provided you brought it with you, rather than it being here since the last time this place was occupied.” Lupin’s words brought laughter from them all, and warmth spread through themselves and the House, despite the coming gloom.

They all sat down in the living room, and after Lupin had lit some candles, and fetched the pumpkin juice from the sideboard it had been left on. He sat down, deliberately across from Harry.

“Over to you” he said, taking a long draught from the flask.

“It’s a job to know where to start” said Harry.

“How about the beginning, that’s usually a good place” said Lupin smiling.

“Well, last Friday I went to see the Portrait of Dumbledore hanging in his office”, he looked at Remus as he spoke, and he looked shocked.

“You’re a braver man than I Harry, I still haven’t seen it, I don’t really know how to go about it.”

“Well he asked to see me, he asked me to do something, but he set me up.”

“Slow down Harry, you’re losing me. What did he ask you to do?”

“He asked me to come here, in the middle of the night to look for clues, and while I was here I was ambushed by…” Harry stopped, unable to say the name that he despised above all others.

“By who Harry?” said Lupin looking worried.

“Snape” he spat bitterly, looking into Lupin’s eyes as he spoke.

“No” he said reeling in shock. “Harry, are you ok?”

“Not really, but it’s not to do with that, it’s the other things.”

“What other things Harry?” said Lupin, carefully taking in everything, every scrap of information.

“Well, you see it’s the new Defence against the Dark Arts teacher; Professor Audiutry. She’s working with Snape too. We were doing Occlumency earlier today, and I saw into her mind, I saw here talking to Snape and arranging to set me up.”

Lupin nodded but said nothing.

“When I left as soon as I found out about it, she attacked me; she tried to stun me so I wouldn’t speak the truth. I got the others out as soon as I could and here we all are.”

“It’s quite a predicament, but you’ve missed out a vital detail,”

“What’s that?”

“Why did Dumbledore ask you to come here?”

Harry thought about this long and hard. He asked Lupin to come here, but the thought of someone else knowing what he was doing didn’t appeal to him, the idea of telling him about the reason behind his every action is not something that appealed to him at all.

“I can’t tell you that.” Said Harry, finally.

“Can’t or Wont?” said Lupin.

“Both” he replied “it’s a…”

“Secret” Lupin cut him off.

“I can’t tell more people than already know, but I need your help Remus, you’re the only one I can trust to help me now, I’m begging you please help me.”

“Harry, you already know I’ll help you, but I don’t like the idea of not knowing what it is that’s governing what’s happening at the moment.”

“But you’ll help” said Harry, hopefully.

“You know I will Harry” said Lupin smiling

“Thank-you and you haven’t told anyone we’re here?”

“No, and I’m less than comfortable with that too”

“If anyone knows where we are it’ll get back to Lunette”

“Ok I won’t say a word” said Lupin; although it was obvious he wasn’t happy with the situation.

“What’s she like?” said Lupin.

“Who Lunette?” said Harry.

Lupin nodded but did not speak.

“She’s quite young, but she’s very powerful. Her wand is a very powerful weapon, and she’s an expert duellist. I thought we could trust her.”

“What’s so special about her wand?” said Lupin.

“I don’t know, all I know is she’s not someone I’d choose to be against us.”

“Ok, I’ll see what I can dig up on her, is there anything I can do for you?”

“Actually yes there is, I need to see Mundungus Fletcher”

“Mundungus, why?” said Lupin, although he lent backwards on the sofa and held the type of expression on his face that he knew he wouldn’t get the answer he wanted.

“I can’t tell you sir”

“Let me guess, something to do with Dumbledore?” said Lupin with a half smile on his face.

“Yes, do you know where he is?” said Harry.

“I do actually; after you confronted him last Christmas…”

“Does everyone know about that?” said Harry exasperated.

“Just about, anyway Harry after that he went dark, he was off the radar. No-one knew where he was. It was quite worrying actually. Everyone was theorising whether he’d been killed or whether he’d defected. Obviously a member of the Order of the Phoenix in the ranks of the Death Eaters would be priceless for them, and catastrophic for us.”
”I imagine that to be the case” said Harry roughly, thinking about Snape, and in his opinion his quite expected betrayal.

“So without being too obvious we spent months looking for him, and we finally did.”

“Where was he?”

“He was in Godric’s Hollow.”

“What?” said Harry, dumbstruck.

“I was as surprised as you are Harry, but there he was.”

“So he made a fortune on the Black Heirlooms and got himself a nice house there did he?” Harry couldn’t hide the spite and loathing tone in his voice and didn’t try very hard to either.

“That was our assumption too.”

“Where is he?” said Harry bitterly, not wanting to lose control of the criminal he was hunting.

“He lives at 155 Primus Avenue, not too far from where your…” Lupin stopped mid sentence, but knew what he was about to say.

“My Parents house?” said Harry.

“Yes” said Lupin, who felt some degree of the sadness Harry, was feeling at the thought.

“What is the address?”

“Of your parents?”

“Yes”

“They lived at 47 Godric Park” said Lupin finally.

“Thank-you” said Harry, with an air of finality to it.

“Was that all you wanted Harry?” said Lupin, who clearly was troubled by their conversation.

“In terms of me yes, are you alright Sir?” he said.

“Im fine Harry, fine.”

“What are you doing at the moment?”

“Well my disguise is pretty much useless now, seeing as how Greyback knows who I am, and to be honest I wasn’t getting much information out of them anyway. So I’m just trying to make myself useful where I can.”

“What about Tonks, is she ok?”

“She’s ok, I think.” Said Lupin, not looking entirely convinced.

“Really?” said Harry, pushing his luck. “You think?”

“We’re doing well. It’s just sometimes I just get the feeling she deserves someone younger.”

“Well she fell in love with you, and it doesn’t make any difference how much older you are.”

“You can’t help who you fall in love with” said Ginny suddenly, causing everyone to look around at her, and Harry to smile at her.

“Wise word” said Lupin. “A little like yourself Ginny.” He smiled as he spoke, and she blushed slightly.

“Well it’s not Harry’s fault he’s the chosen one is it?” said Ginny which caused everyone to laugh, and cut the tension in the room instantly.

“Ok, I’d better be off” said Lupin, rising to his feet. “Harry, I don’t know what this is all about, and I don’t like not knowing at all. It makes me very uneasy, but I’ll trust you to take care of each other.”

“We Will” said Harry standing up.

“Will you stay here for a time?”

“For a little while, till we can figure out what our next step will be”

“Ok” said Lupin, “I’ll come back soon to check up on you, maybe in a day or two.”

“Ok, and Remus, please don’t tell anyone we’re here.”

“I wont Harry, I promise.”

“Be Careful when you go after Mundungus, I can’t guarantee he’s still there, but it’s the best lead I have.”

“Thank-you, I will” said Harry, taking Lupin’s hand and shaking it.

“Ok, take care all of you” he said clasping Harry’s shoulder

“I’ll see you all soon”

“Goodbye Remus” said Harry smiling. Lupin acknowledged the use of his first name and quickly and quietly left the room, sweeping his cloak around his shoulders as he walked.

Ron was the first to Speak as they watched him leave, and they all looked at each other.

“When are we going then?”

“Soon” said Harry “I want to track him down as soon as possible.

“Harry, do you know where this place is?” Said Hermione.

“I know where my parents house is, and from there we can look around till we find Primus avenue.”

“Ok, shall we go now?” said Ginny.

“Might as well, shall we take some food with us?” said Ron.

“Is food all you ever thing about Ronald?” said Hermione, looking exasperate, which drew laughs from Harry and Ginny.

“Ok, we’ll just eat when we come back here then” he said sounding embarrassed.

“Ok Ginny, grab on”

“You know, I really should learn how to do this myself” she said.

“Don’t you like holding my arm?” said Harry in tones of mock hurt.

“No it’s not that, I just want to do it for myself.”

“Fair enough, Shall we?” he said pompously, offering her his arm.

“Let’s go” she replied, laying her hand firmly onto his forearm.

They all closed their eyes and focused on the park they had apparated to earlier that summer, when they had been to visit Harry’s parent’s graves. They felt the magic flow around them, and with three sharp pops the house was empty again.



Or was it?....

Chapter 16:



Godric’s Hollow is a peaceful and quiet place. A haven for wizards and muggles alike. In the still air of an October evening, the streets were fairly empty, only a few people were walking around at this time of night, and in one particular park there was virtually no sound. No people were walking through the serene areas, and only a few animals moved around, looking for food. So no-one noticed when a series of sharp pops repeated through the night air like someone knocking at a door, and four people appeared out of mid air.

Harry landed on the soft grass and looked around him. It was a dark evening but the light of the sun still shone over the top of a waterfall straight ahead of him. The rays of light shone down, and danced around on the surface of the river, shining like the stars which would appear in the night sky.

“It’s more beautiful than I remember it to be” said Ginny, who still had hold of his left arm.

“I know, it’s amazing isn’t it?” said Harry, not quite able to accurately describe what they had displayed in front of them. Not far from where Harry and Ginny were standing, Ron and Hermione were just as awestruck by the beauty and tranquillity of the place around them. Harry took Ginny’s hand and led her towards their friends. Ron and Hermione both tilted them as they walked, and smiled. Nothing more needed to be said.

“Shall we go?” said Harry, although a part of him was held fast by the beauty of the place, he felt the need to get moving as quickly as possible.

“Ok fair enough” said Ron, looking around at them all.

“We can come back here and relax later if you like? But let’s do what we came here for.”

“Ok Harry” said Hermione, smiling. “You’re the boss” she said mockingly.

“Very funny” he replied, and keeping hold of Ginny’s hand, he led them all towards the exit of the park.

As they walked, Harry thought back to the last time they had come here, and what they had seen. He remembered seeing his parent’s graves for the first time, and how it had affected him so much. It wasn’t that surprising that it had affected him like this, but he still found himself thinking back to that moment, and think before that, 16 years earlier, when his parents had been murdered by Voldemort. Ever since that day he had been a marked man. Not just by the scar which spread across his forehead, but he knew he was marked for death. He was the only one who could kill Voldemort in the end, he knew it, he had always known it, but he had never fully accustomed to it. He knew what he had to do now; he had to spend a long time fighting for what he knew would happen in the end, yet he had never got used to it, and he suspected he never would. He looked around at the others, all of which didn’t have the problems he had, although they were with him in almost everything he did, they didn’t have the same level of responsibility. He kept his thoughts to himself though, they all looked so happy walking through the park, and he wasn’t going to end their happiness with his feelings. They reached the exit, and smiling down at Ginny, he walked through the gates and into Godric’s Hollow. They walked through a small series of side streets before they were greeted by the sight of the High Street; the one street through the centre of the town, which seemed to stretch out for miles. Harry remembered from the last time they were here, that most of the houses in Godric’s Hollow were spread over the right hand side of the main High Street. He looked to his right, and saw his memory was correct. Stretching up towards the high hilltop which stood over the town, and all along its sides, were hundreds of houses.

“Let’s find a side street to connect with all those houses; chances are he’s up there.” Said Harry, It was the first time anyone had spoken for a while.

“There” said Hermione, pointing towards a street a hundred metres or so ahead of them on the right hand side of the road. It was between a muggle greengrocer on the right hand ride, which was boarded up, and a Joke shop on the left, which upon closer inspection, appeared to be a Wizard joke shop. Turning right, into the road, they walked between high blocks of flats on either side of the road. These stretched for all the way along this street, going towards the hill which overshadowed the whole town. It was fairly late, and there was hardly anyone around. Occasionally one or two people would walk down the road towards the town, but for the most part, they walked up the road, uninterrupted. They reached the top of the road, and were greeted by a quite stunning view. In front of them they all saw the road that they had been walking along, drop suddenly, and stretch away to the right. To the left of this, lay an enormous number of houses and streets, spreading over the countryside like an enormous spider web, with the houses seeming to be the flies caught in the snare.

“How do you want to do this?” said Ron suddenly.

“We should stick together, look around the place for what we’re looking for.” Said Harry.

“I think we should split up” said Ron

“I agree” said Hermione” “It’ll take so much longer to look around if we stick together.”

“But what if something happens?”

“Like what?” said Ginny.

“Someone might be waiting for us, someone might attack us, and how are we going to stay in touch with each other?”

“Wand sparks? Or a Patronus?” said Hermione quickly.

“Harry, it’ll be ok, no-one’s going to be here.” Said Ginny “let’s just go and do this quickly.”

Accepting he was going to be outvoted, Harry thought about how best to look around.

“Ok we’ll split up, if you find either of the streets we need; Primus Avenue or Godric Park, send up red sparks, and we’ll all rendezvous there. If you see anything sinister, anything at all, hide and try and send a Patronus to the rest of us, only if you’re safe though.”

“Harry, it’ll be fine mate.” Said Ron.

“Ok” said Harry, still not entirely convinced it would all be fine.

“Let’s split up then, looking at the area, it’s probably best we split into areas, divide it into the rectangles marked here. Ron, you take the first one, Then Hermione, then Ginny, and I’ll take the last one.”

“Ok, let’s go” said Ron.

“Be careful, all of you” said Harry.

“Harry, don’t worry, it’ll all be ok” said Hermione.

Without saying another word, Harry Hermione and Ginny proceeded to walk along the road which ran down the edge of the area they were searching. Ron on the other hand split from the group and walked straight ahead, looking along the area he had been designated. The remaining group didn’t speak, they, or Harry at least, were too focused on what they had to do, and what might be out there.

“Hermione” said Harry, as they reached her cut off point.

“See you soon guys” said Hermione as she peeled away from the two of them, leaving Harry alone with Ginny.

“Harry are you ok?” said Ginny, taking his hand and walking along next to him.

Harry didn’t respond immediately, he wasn’t entirely sure if he knew the answer to that question. He felt fine inside, yet he was feeling very uneasy about being here, he didn’t know how to put his feelings into words, but he gave it his best shot.

“Im ok I think, I just feel a bit weird about being here again.”

“I know, I can only imagine how you must feel, considering.” She stopped, half smiling.

“Ginny this is your stop” said Harry as they reached her location. “Be careful out there.”

“Harry, are you sure you’re ok?” said Ginny.

“I’m sure, just be careful ok?” said Harry, kissing her on the cheek and smiling at her.

“Ok, you too, I’ll see you soon.” She said, and she turned and walked away, leaving him alone to walk along the road. He knew she didn’t fully believe him, he thought as he walked along. But that was a point for another time. He was heading into the housing district of Godric’s Hollow, and he knew he had to be careful, and had to concentrate. He walked through the streets around him, looking around all the time. Streets passed him on his left and right, yet none of them where what he was looking for. The growing darkness all around him didn’t help at all, and he had to cover more ground to check the names of the places around him. Several times Harry jerked his head backwards, thinking he’d heard a noise, expecting, no hoping to see wand sparks fly into the increasingly darkening sky. But there was nothing to be found here, he couldn’t see anything. It must have been an owl he thought, as he looked around and saw nothing for the 5th time, maybe off hunting. He pushed the thought from his mind, and turned right at the end of his section, and began walking up an increasingly higher gradient in the road. The road he was on was climbing towards the great hill which overlooked the town, and ahead of him the gradient flattened out again, and he saw larger and more expensive looking houses. Harry reached the end of the climb and looked all around him. The houses he saw as he climbed were spread all around, less often than the houses he had just walked through, but still plenty of them. Ahead of him lay a small park, a small area of finely cut grass with a small fountain in the centre; this was the only source of noise he could hear, besides the sound of his feet scuffing the ground. He walked through the park, searching through his mind desperately looking for a memory to guide him, but he had nothing. Suddenly Harry spun round again, and drew his wand; he had been positive he had heard something, but was greeted only by the night sky, there was nothing there. He turned back, but kept his wand in his hand, he was feeling more and more uneasy with every step he took. Harry reached the edge of the park and breathing out heavily, he stopped and looked around. He felt ready to give up, he just couldn’t find anything, and then his eyes fell upon something which made him more sick than he’d ever felt before. He felt numb, he just froze there, and stood still, unable to move. He didn’t know how long he was there for, his body was caught in an emotional rollercoaster and he wasn’t able to get off, he was stuck to the floor, unable to move because he was looking upon his first home, the home of his parents.

Harry felt it was as if it had just happened, as if Voldemort had just attacked his home, murdered his parents and tried to kill him. The house was a pile of wreckage, and had been left there, just left there for 16 years. No Muggle or Wizard had gone near it since that night, it had just been abandoned. The weight of what he was seeing, and what had happened to him fell upon his shoulders all at once. He sank to his knees, not caring that he had grazed them, and blood now trickled down his legs, and through the holes in his trousers, he didn’t care, all he cared about was what was in front of him. Harry welled up inside, he fought back the urge to just let go, and his eyes and throat burned at the sight before him, the weight held him fast.

Harry didn’t know how long he was there for, he just knew what he had to do now, as if someone had placed the thought into his head, and that was all he knew now. He stepped forward, slowly raising from the crouched position he was in, and sped up so he was striding forward with every step he took, he felt more and more heavy with what he was walking towards, yet he kept walking until he stood right in front of the wreckage of his former home. It was a complete wreck. Bricks and mortar were spread all over the ground, and splinters from the wooden door and the beams all over the house were spread like sawdust all around him. He wanted to do this alone, but realised he should call for the others to come, and at least he would have a few moments to look around by himself. Harry drew his wand from his inside pocket, and pointed his arm straight into the sky, sending five sparks straight upwards, feeling sure at least one of the others would notice. After that, he didn’t give them another thought, he was only thinking about what was in front of him, and what he had to do now. He stepped forwards, stepping over the loose bricks and through the splinters. One beam had remained whole, and was blocking the door, which itself had been blown backwards into the house. Harry crouched down and bent underneath the beam, which had left just enough room for him to get through, and into the living room. He looked all around, and saw the place was a mess, and almost felt he couldn’t move through fear and shock. He looked over the walls to see the wallpaper was charred and fraying in a hundred different places. The furniture was rotting and falling to pieces, and the sofas and chairs were frayed and had huge chunks of stuffing falling out of several giant tears in the material. Looking at the floor, Harry thought of what must have happened here; This is where his Father had died, this was where he had fallen, defending his Wife and Son. Harry could barely walk, and could barely keep back the flow of tears in his eyes now. He tried to focus, and look around for some semblance of what had happened here, but all he could see was wreckage. He walked through the hallway, and ignoring the kitchen, he walked towards the bottom of the staircase, and prepared to climb. This house was where he should have grown up, he thought as he stepped higher and higher on the creaky stairs, yet they held strong, and allowed him to climb on. He should have been here, he thought, he should have been a normal boy, well besides being a Wizard, yet he had more than ten years of abuse. He reached the top of the stairs and looked around. There were five doors, or at least there were five door frames, the doors themselves had simply been blown away. Fragments of the panels remained on the floor, but most of it had just gone. He gazed through each of the rooms, looking for something, and although he had no real idea what he was looking for, something drew him, and led him on. Then it hit him, out of nowhere, and he knew where he was meant to go. He walked forwards towards the door on his far left, and he realised where he was; he stood in his bedroom. Harry looked around and saw the room was completely black; everything in here was charred to a crisp. This is where my mother fell, he though, unable to hold back the tears which flowed down either side of his face. This is where she sacrificed herself to save Harry. He looked around the room, just completely shocked by what was in front of him. Directly ahead of him was a wooded cot, which now was black and rotting away. The walls and ceiling was black, everything was just black. Harry stepped through the room, feeling the floorboards creek underneath him, and feeling as if they could collapse at any moment, but he just didn’t care, he was where his mum had fallen and he himself had survived the Killing curse, because of that sacrifice. Suddenly, Harry clutched his forehead with his right hand. His scar, which had lain dormant for so long now, was burning red hot, and Harry let out an involuntary gasp of pain. He fell to his knees as he held his head in his hands, “why!” he said out loud, what was causing this?

Fighting through the pain, and looking around, he saw something which differed from the total blackness of the room around him. On the floor by the window lay a silver sparkling object which stood out against the black background all around him. He stumbled towards it, and bent down towards it. “What is this?” he said quietly, voicing his thoughts to anyone who was listening. He reached out, and brushed a thin layer of dust from the surface, he was looking at some kind of jewel. It was a broach or a belt buckle, and was a coiled snake wrapped around an enormous brilliant green emerald.

“Surely not” he said “Surely this cannot be another one…” Harry slowly picked it up, and held it in his hand, he moved it towards his pocket, and as he made to put it away he felt a surge of magic flow through the item and into his fingers. Fear spread through him as the item started to vibrate and buzz loudly, but then, just as suddenly as it had started, the vibration stopped. Rather than risk it again, he looked around for something to wrap it in. He found a blanket in the cot which had once been his bed, and wrapped it around the jewel. Putting it inside his robes he stood up, wondering what he had found. Suddenly he heard voice from outside.

“Are you sure this is it?” said Ron

“The sparks came from here, im telling you.” Said Ginny.

“Look” said Hermione, gasping with horror.

Harry quickly left the room, having no desire to stay there for any longer. He walked down the creaky staircase, and through the living room, just wanting to get out of there. As he walked through the living room, he heard voices from outside again.

“You don’t think he went in there do you?”

Keeping the room behind him, he bent underneath the beam and crawled outside.

“Harry” said Hermione suddenly. Ginny said nothing, she just ran towards Harry, and threw her arms around him.

“Are you ok?” she said into his neck.

“What happened here?” said Ron, looking around nervously.

“This was my parent’s house” he said into Ginny’s shoulder.

“It’s still like this after all this time, it’s not been, nothings happened to it since.” Said Hermione.”

“You went in there?” said Ron, with a mix of awe and admiration to his time.

“Yes” Harry said finally “I found something too, but not now” pushing away from Ginny. “We have to find Dung and get out of here soon.”

“It must be close to here, Lupin said it was nearby” said Ron.

“Ok, let’s go now.”

“Harry, what did you find?” said Ginny.

“We’ll discuss it later” said Harry, “let’s find him.”

“Ok, we’ll go together, let’s go this way. “Said Ron, pointing ahead of him.

“Harry needed no extra incentive to move away, he didn’t want to be there anymore, he just wanted to get away from this place. He walked away in the direction Ron had pointed, and the others followed him, Ginny ran next to him so she could walk next to him, but he didn’t say anything else, he had to get out of there.”

“Harry are you ok?” said Ginny.

“I’m fine” he said, which was of course a downright lie, he wasn’t fine and he knew it, but he didn’t want to talk about it now, he wanted to get away from that house, and never see it again.

A few hundred metres from the house, and having passed several street signs on either side of the road. Ron pointed out where they were looking for; Primus Avenue, on the left hand side of the road. Harry and the others suddenly sped up, and reached the end of the road. Looking either side, they noticed this was the end of the road, the numbers on each side being in the low two hundreds.

Harry, who was like and obsessed professor, who had just discovered a new theory, and was grateful for something to occupy his mind, ran down the road, moving quickly towards number 155. The others all ran to keep up with him, and stopped quickly as Harry skidded to a sudden stop outside the house. Harry marched towards the door, drawing his wand as he moved. The others all did the same, and as they stood at the door, they all pointed their wands on or around the door frame.

“All light your wands, and when I open the door, see what’s inside.” Harry whispered, no-one responded, but no-one needed to, he knew they would do it.

He pointed his wand at the door handle.

“Alohamora” he said quietly, and the lock didn’t move.

“Bombarda!” he said loudly, and the handle explodes, sending the door flying backwards. All around him three wands lit up, and pointed into the dark house. Harry lit his own wand, and searched for a threat.

“We have to move quickly, stun him if you see him, let’s go”

Taking the lead, he ran into the dark hallway, searching for anything. He motioned for Ginny to follow him upstairs, and for the others to search the downstairs floor. Harry walked quickly, knowing Dung could easily have heard them come in, and be making his escape as they searched for him. He reached the top of the stairs and found himself on an open landing, yet it was so dark now he couldn’t see a thing.

“Search the rooms” he said to Ginny, and she obliged, each of them opened a door at a time and lit up the room inside, yet found no trace of their target. There was one door remaining, and they both stood outside it. Taking a deep breath Harry shoved open the door with his left shoulder and charged into the room, quickly lighting up the dark space around them. At last, his wand light fell upon the target of their search; Mundungus Fletcher. Yet Harry knew there was something wrong, he was lying on the ground, and he knew what was wrong, Harry felt the fear rise inside him as he walked towards him slowly. He wasn’t just lying there, he was still and cold and spread eagled across the floor. His eyes were wide open, and they stared at the ceiling; he was dead. Ginny held her hand to her mouth and shrieked. Harry bent down towards the man on the floor, shocked, yet remaining rational. This was the man who had stolen so much, and was a criminal, and yet he had known him, and he felt a strong sense of loss at the fact he was dead, he wouldn’t have wished this upon him.

“Ron, Hermione” said Ginny suddenly “up here”

“Are you ok?” said Harry.

“We knew him, I know what he did, but he didn’t deserve this.”

“I know, I don’t mean to sound cold, but we need to find it the locket is here.”

“Right of course, the locket” said Ginny, giving Harry the distinct impression she wasn’t fine.”

“Just quickly ok? But we have to Gin, I don’t like it at all, but if it’s here, we have to find it.”

“Ok” she said quietly.

The shriek of shock that broke through the air told its own story, Ron and Hermione had arrived.

“Dung” said Ron, his voice was heavy, and spoke volumes of the level of hurt he was feeling. Ignoring the pain he himself felt, Harry spoke again.

“We have to find out if the locket Is here, I’ll search this room, can you guys search the rest?”

“Ok, what about the body?” said Ron

“I don’t know, I don’t like the thought of taking it with us, or leaving it here really.”

“Ok, but we’ll report it to Lupin once we get there right?” said Ron.

“We will”

“Ok” said Ron, who looked visibly shocked, Hermione hadn’t said a word, and just looked on the verge of tears, Ron put his arm around her, and that seemed to help a little.

“Let’s go everyone, we have to do this, and the sooner the better, then we can get the hell out of here.”

“Ok”, said Hermione, and she, Ron and Ginny left the room.

Harry looked around the room, feeling both shock and fear to be stood in the same room as the body of the man he was looking for, who he had known. He looked down upon him, uncertain as to how he should feel. Harry bent down next to him, and laid his hand on his shoulder.

“What happened to you Dung?” he said, feeling sick with himself he lowered his hands, and began looking through his pockets, hoping he would have it on him somewhere. He found nothing there, and said “where’s the locket Dung?” knowing he wouldn’t answer. He got up, and looked around the room, looking through the wardrobe, the desk, and the footlocker at the end of his bed, and there was nothing there, he just couldn’t find it. Harry left the room and almost ran into Ron outside.

“Anything?” said Harry, hopefully.

“Nothing up here, do you think it’s here?”

“Either it’s still here, and very well hidden, or the Death Eaters took it when they murdered him, or he’s sold it on.”

“If he sold it, where could it be?”

“Borgrin and Burke’s would have the money for something like that.”

“It seems the most obvious doesn’t it?” said Ron.

“Let’s go see if the other’s have found anything.” Leaving the body prone on the bedroom floor, he and Ron walked down the stairs and met Hermione and Ginny, who had just walked out of the living room, looking severely shocked.

“Any luck?” said Harry quickly.

“Nothing, I don’t think its here” said Hermione.

“I think it’s in one of two places” said Harry. “I don’t think it’s here, which means its in the hands of the Death Eaters, or he’s sold it, probably to somewhere like Borgrin and Burke’s. We’ll have to check that out.”

“Ok, shall we go” said Ginny anxiously.

“Yes let’s get out of here “said Hermione.

“What are we going to do with the body?” said Ron, whose eyes looked heavy.

“We’ll leave it here; I don’t really want to take a body back to the house.”

“Ok, but we’ll report it to Lupin when we get home, right?” said Ron.

“Yes, shall we go now?” said Harry.

“Yes!” said everyone in unions, all of them, including Harry, were eager to leave as soon as possible.

Ginny walked next to Harry without provocation, and held onto his arm, concentrating on the house with three sharp pops, they left Godric’s Hollow behind.

Once they arrived, they were all feeling tired and emotionally drained by what they had seen, especially Harry, having walked through his parents house, reliving the moment which changed his life 16 years ago. He and the others wanted nothing more than to just get inside a safe place and relax. They walked inside the door, and quietly shut the door behind them. Harry stopped dead as soon as he stepped into the hallway, and motioned for the others to stay quiet. He had heard voices inside the house. The others had heard it too; they were coming from inside the kitchen. Harry drew his wand, all feelings of fatigue dropping away as he focused on the task ahead of him. The others all did the same behind him, and they creeped along the hallways towards the kitchen. He could hear the voices getting louder, but his tired mind just couldn’t make out who they belonged to. Harry got closer and closer to the door, and the voices became clearer. Harry stood outside, not even breathing for fear of giving their position away. He knew who it was now, he knew who the voices belonged to, he knew what was happening here, and he knew what he had to do. Suddenly he spun round the corner, and with his right hand leading the way he ran into the room.

“WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING IN MY HOUSE?!”

Chapter 17:



Harry had seen some bizarre scenes in his time, but this one, the one in front of him now was the most shocking he had seen in quite a while. He stood in the door frame of the kitchen, holding his wand at the one he was hiding from; Lunette Audiutry. She was standing in his kitchen, and she wasn’t alone, she had tried to conceal the one she was with, but she couldn’t hide him completely. The silvery mop of bright blonde hair which spread over the boy’s head was forever burned into his memory as belonging to Draco Malfoy.

“MALFOY!” he spat, as several things happened at once. Ron, Hermione and Ginny burst into the room behind him, and as soon as they recognised Lunette, their arms extended either side of Harry so they all stood in a line. At the same time, a blonde boy of their age stepped out from behind Lunette. Harry flicked his attention from the woman to the boy. He was a young boy, but looked tired, there were rings around his dark grey eyes, and his skin had a dull pallor to it, as if he’d been stuck inside for a very long time. Harry realised where he had been hiding away, he had been here, Sirius’ hiding place, that thought alone made his blood boil, and heightened his wish to hurt him, which was already as strong as it could’ve been, given Malfoy’s part in the death of Dumbledore. He may have shied away from actually casting Avada Kedavra, but he had held him there and prevented an escape. Dumbledore’s blood was on Draco’s hands just as much as Snape’s in Harry’s opinion.

“Are you going to answer me then?” said Harry bitterly.

“Harry, please just listen” said Lunette.

“What are you doing in my house?” said Harry again, cutting her off.

“Your house?” sneered Draco, and the blood inside Harry’s head exploded, he pointed his wand straight at His face.

“Shut up you! It’s my house, and im not talking to you so shut up!” The hatred and bitterness was so eminent in his voice it was almost unrecognizable as being him.

“Ooo, am I supposed to be afraid of you?”

“Shut up! Or I’ll” Harry was shaking violently as he spoke, and was barely able to get the words out.

“You’ll do what? Do you think I can’t see you shaking at the other end of your wand? You wouldn’t know what to do.”

“You know that for certain do you?”

“Why don’t you put your cronies down and face me like a man?”

“I would, but I wouldn’t be facing a man.” Said Harry, his voice full of spite, the compassion he could show was nowhere to be seen.

“You!” Spat Draco, reaching for his wand.

“Not even for one second” said Harry, his voice was closer to a growl now, and he extended his wand, wanting nothing more than to hurt him.

“You just hide behind the blood traitors and …”

“Don’t you dare say it” said Ron suddenly, he too was pointing his wand at Draco, and his cheeks were a deep shade of maroon.

“It speaks! The weasel speaks, who’d have thought it?”

“Malfoy I’m warning you.”

“Say what? Mudblood” said Draco bitterly “that’s what she is”

Suddenly a jet of green light exploded from a wand to Harry’s left, Lunette tried to block it, but the beam connected with Malfoy’s face and threw him backwards across the kitchen floor. As Lunette ran towards Malfoy, Harry looked to his left and saw Ginny; she was the one who had fired the curse. Her eyes were wide open and focused, and she had an angry glint in her eyes, and Harry knew no-one would want to be on the wrong side of when she was in this mood. Lunette and Draco rose from the floor, the latter of which was covered in pustules, all of which had sprouted a pair of leathery wings.

Bat Bogey hex, thought Harry, smiling to himself.

“That’s enough” said Lunette.

“I’ll make you pay for that you dirty blood traitor” said Malfoy, reeling from the impact.

“Just you try it” said Harry, stepping in front of Ginny, “you will never get anywhere near her.”

“Are you threatening me Potter? You don’t have the stomach to do it yourself; you have to get your little girlfriend to do it for you.”

“Malfoy SHUT UP!” shouted Harry.

“Everybody SHUT UP!” shouted Lunette suddenly, she had been a bystander in the conversation so far, but had obviously reached the end of her tether, thought Harry.

“I didn’t come here to spend the evening wasting my time listening to your petty arguments.” Said Lunette.

“So what are you doing here? You still haven’t answered my question.” Said Harry.

“I’m here because I need to talk to you, I need you to listen to me, and I need you to not run off.”

“Is that why you tried to stun me then?” said Harry, not lowering his wand. “You tried to stun me so you could talk to me rationally? Am I supposed to believe that?”

“I don’t really care what you believe Harry, but im here for your benefit too”

“I fail to see how attacking me counts as helping me.”

“Harry” said Hermione suddenly from his right hand side, let’s just see what she has to say.”

Harry knew he should, he knew it was the right thing to do, yet here was the woman who had attacked him, and who was working with Snape, and was standing in his house with the boy who signed Dumbledore’s death warrant. There was no harm in hearing what she had to say though.

“You should listen to the Mudblood Potter” said Malfoy sarcastically.

“SHUT IT YOU!” screamed Ron, whose skin was a deeper shade of scarlet than Harry had ever seen before.

“Do you want more pairs of flying wings all over you?” said Ginny defiantly.

“Shut up” said Lunette again, clearly agitated with them all.

“Then why don’t you explain everything?” said Harry.

“I would if you lot would stop yelling at each other for five seconds.”

“We’re not yelling now.” Said Harry.

“It’s about time” said Draco.

“SHUT UP!” shouted Lunette and Harry at the same time, Lunette looked at him and smiled, and Draco shrugged to himself, turning away and shaking his head in disgust.

“Let’s hear what you have to say then” said Harry.

“Draco, no more interruptions, I want this done, and quickly.”

“Fine” he said theatrically, and sat down on one of the worktops.

“Keep your eyes on him Hermione” whispered Harry, and she nodded to confirm she knew and understood.

“Let’s talk” said Harry.

“Everything is done for a reason Harry” said Lunette.

“I can believe that” said Harry.

“You’ll want to know those reasons no doubt.”

“Of course”

“Well Harry I too have an enemy, and we share that enemy.”

“Why do you have Voldemort for an enemy?” Harry barely noticed Draco shudder at the mention of his name.

“He’s not the only one, and besides anyone who is not with him is against him.”

“True, but that doesn’t explain everything, you still attacked me, and you still haven’t explained why you are fighting him.”

“Harry, he’s the enemy of everyone who wants to live free, and I want to live free. As far as attacking you foes, well I know what you saw, I know how you would have reacted and I just wanted to keep you there so you would engage in a rational discussion.”

“So you attacked me?”

“I understand how that must have looked Harry, but my intention has never been to harm you, never.”

“You see how it must have looked to me, you attacked me, and you expect me to accept that? What am I supposed to think?”

“I’d probably have thought the same thing if it had been me Harry, but that’s not the case here, you have to believe me.”

“You’re wasting your time Lunette, he’s a stubborn sort, aren’t you Potter?” said Draco suddenly. No-one spoke, but Lunette spun round and glared at him, no words were said, but the meaning couldn’t have been clearer. Harry couldn’t suppress a large grin, there were very few people who could have that affect on him, and here was one of them.

“There’s one thing you haven’t covered” said Harry, drawing Lunette’s attention back to him.

“What is that?” said Lunette

“I saw you talking to Snape, I know you’re working with him.”

“Harry”

“He killed Dumbledore, and he” he said, pointing at Draco “held him there.”

“How do you know that?” said Draco.

“Because I watched you, you cowardly scum, you disarmed him, and you let them all in, his blood is on your hands as much as it is on his.”

“Where the hell where you?”

“Under my invisibility cloak, Dumbledore froze me and I chased you all down after he killed him.”

“It was your broom.” Said Draco, dawning comprehension spreading all over his face.

“Got there at last have you, any way that doesn’t matter, the fact is, you’re working with him, and you’d better have a good story.” This time, Harry pointed his wand at her chest, not moving through fear she would attack them. The others all switched between Draco and Lunette.

“Severus is not an evil man Harry”

“Really? Well I guess that’s settled then isn’t it?” said Harry sarcastically.

“Please listen to me Harry.” She said, pleadingly.

“Oh I’m sure there’s a very reasonable explanation, so tell me if he is not an evil man then why did he kill Dumbledore?”

“You’ll have to ask him that yourself.” Said Lunette.

“The only words I’ll be speaking to him are the ones I’ll kill him with.”

“Now who’s the evil man?” said Lunette, stopping him in his tracks.

“Don’t you try and make me feel bad about this” he said, behind him the others all looked shocked, but he didn’t notice them, he only had eyes for those in front of him, those at the end of his wand. Rather than shying away from him, Lunette looked pleased with his words.

“You’ve come a long way Harry, to think about killing someone is something you will have to do in the end, I’m impressed.

“This isn’t a school project Professor” he said scathingly.

“I’m well aware of that Harry, but you have learned much.”

“This is not because of you, or anyone else, it’s because he told Voldemort to come after my parents, he’s the reason they’re dead more than anyone else, and I will never be able to face him without ending his life.”

“I understand your need to have revenge Harry, I have my own revenge to think about so I know what its like, but you need help.”

“I don’t want your help” Said Harry, raising his wand higher, Lunette seemed unconcerned.

“You don’t want to kill me Harry.”

“No I’m not going to kill you; you’re going to lead me to that shadow of a man.”

“Not likely Harry.”

“Im the one with the wand pointed at your head now take me to him.”

“But you won’t kill me Harry, as I have something you want.”

“And what might that be?” said Harry, not believing she could have anything of interest to him.

“This” she said, reaching inside her robes.

“Do you think im stupid?” said Harry, Draco suddenly sniggered, but kept quiet.

“It’s not like im reaching for my wand Harry.”

“Slowly pull your hand out, slowly!” said Harry, convinced she was holding her wand.

“Ok, I’ll take my hand out”

“Slowly!” he repeated, and she obliged. She pulled her hand out, and for a split second it looked like she was carrying her wand handle, it was something much more shocking than that however, as her hand left the robes around it, it was clutching not a wand handle, but a shining silver chain. Lunette continued to pull and within another second, a large silver locket appeared on the end of it.

Harry stepped backwards and lowered his wand. The shock threatened to knock him off his feet, and it was clearly visible over his face, and how he held his posture. He just couldn’t understand how, how could she have this?

“How? What? How?” he spluttered.

“That Harry is a story for another time, all that matters now is its location, here.”

Lunette stepped forward, ignoring Harry’s raised again wand, she stepped forward until she was directly in front of him. She didn’t move immediately, instead she looked upon him, appearing to feel pride, but Harry couldn’t tell. Ever so slowly, Lunette extended her hand, the hand which held the locket, till it was next to Harry’s chest. She lowered it, and still holding his wand, he opened his left hand and allowed the locket to fall into it, and the chain to wrap around it after she released it. She stepped backwards, smiling at him. Harry looked down into his left palm, still thoroughly shocked at this development. His gaze was fixed upon the locket. He turned it over, looking at the surface, and he noticed there was something different about it. It was no longer the shiny and smooth surface he had seen in the pensieve. It was rough, and had one long crack which spread around one side of the locket. Harry turned it over to reveal the coiled snake in the shape of an S. But it was not the smooth, almost proud snake that once rested there, there were gashes all along the metal, and the snake’s head had been severed. He ran one finger along the edge of the locket, and it fell open in his hand, clearly devoid of the magical energy it once contained, and yet still holding a fixation over Harry.

“It’s been destroyed.” He said finally.

“What?” said Hermione

“How?” said Ron

“By whom?” said Ginny.

“Which order would you like your answers” said Lunette, looking as perfectly relaxed as if she hadn’t spent the last ten minutes at wand point.

“Chronologically will do fine” said Harry, completely bemused by her attitude.

“Ok, well yes it’s been destroyed, but I have no idea how it’s been done, you’ll have to ask the one who destroyed it.”

“Who?” said Ginny, but Harry knew the answer already, there was only one person it could have been.

“Snape” he said bitterly.

Lunette smiled before she spoke, and behind Harry an unknown voice stifled a shocked grasp.

“Yes he destroyed this item, he was the only one who knew how to.”

Harry suddenly threw it from his grasp; it flew through the air and landed on the hard kitchen floor with a loud smack, causing the metal to ring around the room for a few seconds before falling silent again.

“I don’t need his help, and I will never accept any form of help from him.”

“Harry please.”

“No Lunette, I will never accept help from that man, I cannot even call him a man, and he is beneath that to me.”

“He is the only one who can do this Harry, surely you must realise that.”

“I’ll figure it out myself, but I won’t be going to him for help.”

“Harry you can’t, with all due respect you can’t do this by yourself; only someone with Snape’s knowledge was able to destroy this.”
”I don’t care, I’ll find out how, and I’m not asking him for anything.”

“It’s about time you let go of your past and do what has to be done, no matter what that means.”

This hit Harry like a hammer blow, and for a second he didn’t know how to respond.

“Do you know what he did to me?!” he said finally. “He told Voldemort to go after my parents, he told them to kill them, he killed Dumbledore and I will rot in the cold fires of hell before I accept his help.” Harry was barely breathing as he spoke, he was shaking violently, and nothing was going to change his mind.

“Your stubbornness knows no bounds Harry; you would actually threaten everything everyone has worked on fighting Voldemort, just because of this grudge.”

“This is no normal grudge, surely you can see that he has taken everything from me, and you will never understand. Nor will you convince me that I can trust him.”

“I have never said anything about trust, but you need him more than you think.”

“I don’t need him”

“This is getting us nowhere, said Lunette”, gathering herself. “Just think about what I’ve said.”

“Very well” said Harry, though it was clearly obvious from the look on his face that he wasn’t going to give it a second of consideration.

“There’s one more thing” said Lunette.

“What would that be?” said Harry.

“You should return to Hogwarts, everyone has noticed your absence, and you should return now you know I’m not going to hunt you down.

“Fine, was there anything else?”

“Harry, I know how hard this must be for you, but I would like you to trust me again, and for us to continue our lessons together”

“I’ll think about it” said Harry simply, not wanting to get dragged into a decision too soon.

“That’s all I ask” said Lunette. “I must be going, Draco you’d better come with me, and we’ll find you another hiding place.”

Without saying another word, only giving a pleading gaze to them all around her to consider what she was saying, They apparated, leaving the four of them alone.

Harry didn’t speak for several minutes after they left, he wasn’t sure how to act, or what exactly to say to them all. He bent down and picked up the locket, which by now had a new scratch along the edge where it had connected with the floor. He turned around and looked at the others, all of whom looked nervous and as if they themselves didn’t know what to say. Slowly Harry turned around and looked at them all, Ron looked anxious, Ginny looked calm, and Hermione looked plain frightened.

“Shall we go back to school?” said Harry.

“We should talk about all this first Harry” said Ginny.

“Let’s go sit down mate” said Ron.

“Ok let’s go and sit down in the living room” said Harry, although he didn’t see the point in talking about it. As the others were nearer to the door, they led the way out, and through the dark Hallway into the living room. Everyone took separate seats once they were inside the living room, their actions reflecting their thoughts, as if they all just wanted time and space to think about what had happened. No-one spoke for a while, until Harry, angered by the silence, spoke to the others.

“What did you want to talk about?” said Harry.

“Harry, I think Lunette’s right” said Hermione.

“What do you mean?” said Harry.

“Snape wouldn’t have done this if he was on Voldemort’s side.”

“What?! How can you say that? You know what he did.”

“Calm down mate.” Said Ron suddenly stopping Harry in his tracks, “let her finish.” The tension in the room increased tenfold, and Harry just lost his train of thought. He wasn’t expecting this, he would never have expected them to side with her and with Snape, he nodded to Hermione to continue without saying a word.

“Everything fits now Harry, you heard Snape yourself saying he did as Dumbledore asked, and you heard what Lunette said, we need his help.”

Harry didn’t know what to say, he couldn’t, he just couldn’t accept what was being said, and couldn’t forgive him for what he had done. Yet some part of what Hermione was saying made perfect sense to him. He shut the feelings out, he tried to blank out everything except his undying hatred for Snape, and yet it kept coming, it kept assaulting him like some never-ending tide of emotion.

“Harry are you still with us?” said Hermione.

“I can’t” he mumbled by way of a response.

“Can’t what?”

“I can’t let him help, I can’t do it. Not after what he’s done to me”

“I’m sorry Harry, but this is bigger than you, and you need his help, just like you need to talk to Dumbledore when we get back to school.”

“You make it sound so easy”

“It’s not Harry, I know that, but this is what we have to do if we’re going to survive.”

Harry still didn’t know how to react, part of him wasn’t even considering what Hermione was saying, the thought was too horrific to even consider, and yet another part of him could only think she was right, that she really was right and Harry knew he had to accept his help.

“Fine I’ll speak to Dumbledore when we get back again ok?”

“That’s all I ask Harry” said Hermione, smiling at him.

“Can we go back now?” said Ginny, voicing aloud what they were all thinking.

“Yeah let’s get back” said Ron.

“What are we going to tell everyone?” said Hermione.

“About what?” said Harry.

“About why we’ve not been in school for the last half a day, people are bound to have noticed.

“If people have noticed, and they may not have, just say we’ve been away, don’t go into specifics, just say we’ve been taking a break or something.” Harry knew it was foolish to think about it, he knew his absence would be noticed, he knew it would be noticed as much as Harry had noticed Dumbledore’s absence throughout the last year, until he found out what he was doing of course.

“I doubt people will fall for that Harry.”

“Me too, but we have to think of something, no-one must know where we’ve been.”

“We have all night to think about it” said Ron cheerfully.

While you do that I won’t be thinking about that”

“Why Harry” said Ginny.

“Because I’ll be talking to Dumbledore, and getting to the bottom of this.”

They all smiled at him, and he felt slightly better at the prospect of talking to the old man again, they all knew what it was taking for him to do this.

“One more thing before we go.” Said Harry

“What now?” said Ron impatiently.

“I’m going to tell Lupin about Mundungus, do you want to wait up?”

“Sure” said Ron, smiling weakly, he was clearly still affected by his death.

Turning away from them all, Harry drew his wand and said “Expecto Patronum” out loud, Prongs erupted from the end of his wand and stood in front of him, stamping the air in front of him.

“Professor Lupin, It’s Harry, we found Mundungus, he’s been murdered, and we left the body in the house. We’re returning to Hogwarts, you can contact me there, and sorry.” With that, Ginny appeared by his left hand side, gently held hold of his arm and prepared to leave. She smiled up at him, and he smiled back down. He felt slightly warmer than he had before, and she clung on tight, making him feel a little better. With three sudden pops, they departed the House of Black.

* * * * * *

Hogsmeade was completely desolate. It was late in the evening, and it was dark all around. They arrived in one of the alleyways between the shops, and quickly looked around to check no-one had seen them arrive. When all looked clear, they walked up towards the school, no-one was speaking, they all had more than enough to think about without making conversation, and this only increased when they reached the castle doors.

“They’ve been locked up already” said Harry as they walked closer. Not wanting to draw further attention to themselves, Harry knew the best course of action.

“What are we going to do?” said Hermione.

“Let’s go see if there are rooms free in the Hogs head or the Three Broomsticks.” He said.

“Good idea, let’s go to the three Broomsticks first though.” Said Ron

“Why? What’s wrong with the Hog’s Head?” said Harry sarcastically as they walked towards Rosmerta’s inn.

“Putting it politely, it’s a dump!” said Ron, and they all laughed; something they hadn’t had much reason to do that day. They all reached the Inn, and Harry pushed the door open slowly. Inside, rather than an assortment of bizarre witches and wizards, it was empty, save for the Barmaid; Madam Rosmerta who was standing behind the bar polishing a glass.

“Well if it isn’t Harry Potter.” She said upon recognising Harry and the others.

“Hi Rosmerta” said Harry, “do you have a couple of Rooms available for the night? We’ve been away and we can’t get back inside the Castle, it’s locked up tight.”

“Would you like me to call up to the castle?” she offered, smiling.

“No that’s ok” said Harry, thinking privately the worst thing for them to do was to draw that much attention to themselves by returning in the middle of the night. “We’ll head back in the morning, do you have a couple going, we don’t really want to go to the Hog’s Head” he said, which caused a hearty chuckle to leave Rosmerta’s lips.

“Actually I do, down to my last two rooms, now Harry, I’d love to let you have them, but I’m running a business here, and customers have been a little scarce lately, but seeing as it’s you I’ll let you have them for half price.

“That would be great, so how much?”

“That’ll be thirty galleons in all please Harry.”

Harry baulked initially, but then remembered he paid nine galleons for his wand all those years ago. He reached into his pockets and drew his purse out, he found he was a little short, but between them all they were able to meet the price. Rosmerta gave them the room keys, and allowed them to walk up themselves, as she stifled a massive yawn and walked over towards the front door to lock up. Rosmerta had given them two rooms opposite each other at the top of the stairs, and muttering a swift goodnight, Ron and Hermione walked into the room on the left, and Harry and Ginny, pushed open the door on the right. Harry closed the door behind him, and suddenly got a nervous feeling in his stomach. He didn’t know what it was, or what was causing it, but he suddenly felt very uneasy.

“Are you alright Harry?” said Ginny, facing him.

“I’m ok, it’s just been a long day” he said, forcing a grin. “You?”

“The same, a little shaken up, but I’m ok.”

“I didn’t think to pack any nightclothes in case we stayed in an Inn” said Harry, grinning.

“Me either” said Ginny laughing “it’ll have to be underwear then”

“Sure” said Harry awkwardly, turning slightly pink at the cheeks at the thought.

“Are you nervous Harry?”

“Nervous of what?” he said awkwardly.

“You tell me” she said smiling sweetly.

“I’ve never slept in a bed with you before.” He said, blushing, and causing her to blush fiercely.

“That’s true, but where better than a lovely hotel room?” she said, smiling, and making him feel slightly less nervous.

“At least it beats the Hog’s head” he said.

With that, Ginny turned away from him, and started removing her robes, Harry quickly turned his back on her and began to do the same. Why was he feeling like this, he thought as he unbuttoned his shirt. Feeling as comfortable as he was likely to, he turned round and walked towards the double bed at the opposite side of the room. He smiled at Ginny, who was looking just as nervous and pink at the cheeks as he was. They both climbed in, and crawled underneath the covers, wrapping themselves like a bird would build a nest. Slowly, awkwardly they moved towards each other, and in the darkness of the room Harry kissed her slowly, even in the dark of the room, Harry could tell she was smiling, he didn’t want the moment to end, and yet felt the need for sleep. She broke away and rolled around, and moulded her body to his. Harry held her hand in his right hand, and wrapped his left hand around her waist. Muttering a swift goodnight to each other, slumber overtook them, and Harry was away from the thoughts of Dumbledore, Snape and everyone else who had made his life so difficult, he was with Ginny, and for that moment, there was nobody else in the world.

Just a quick note, if anyone's reading this and not commenting in the fic feedback link in my sig, please do, i'd love to hear what you think, good or bad

Chapter 18

Harry didn’t know how long he had been asleep for, he just remembered waking up. He felt disoriented for a few seconds, and looked around the room, feeling confused and lost. He took a look around the room, and then realised why he felt this way, and why he was in this room. He glanced to his left, and saw Ginny Weasley lying next to him. She was still asleep lying next to him, her chest slowly rising and falling. She rolled over and lay on her right arm, and Harry found himself smiling, all feelings of nervousness were forgotten, and the only feeling he had was joy at the fact he was next to her. He was so happy to be next to her, to be at peace and not to worry about anything else for while they were together there, he wanted to prolong the moment forever. Ginny rolled back, and this time rolled away from Harry, rolling onto her left arm. Harry smiled to himself as he watched her roll around in the bed, from her left to her right and onto her back, but not showing any signs of wanting to wake up. When she next rolled onto her left arm, Harry moved in behind her, so he was flat to her back. Harry buried his face in her neck and breathed in, filling every sensory device on his body with her scent and presence. He smiled and came to rest behind her. He felt her try and move around, but then found herself to be stuck, and Harry couldn’t hold in a laugh. Suddenly he felt something change about her, her eyes were open and she was finally awake.

“Good morning Miss Weasley.” Said Harry, kissing the back of her neck through her fiery red hair.

“Good morning” she said through a loud yawn. “How long have you been awake?”

“Not long, I just like watching you.”
”You were watching me?” said Ginny, she sounded embarrassed, and Harry could tell she was turning slightly pink.

“Yes, we should sleep in the same bed more often” he said, and she laughed.

“Sure, we should stay in the Three Broomsticks all the time, or better yet, we should stay in your bed at School, do you think the others would mind?”

Harry laughed “I think, they’d be alright with it, well I guess your Brother might complain a bit, but im sure we can reason with him.

It was Ginny’s turn to laugh, and Harry joined in.

“If you want to do that again, we should find a new venue, or just ask Rosmerta to loan us the room permanently.”

“Im sure she would, we can negotiate something I’m sure.”

“It’s either that or stay as we are.” Said Ginny

“That’s true, but I liked it last night, you make me feel safe.” Said Harry

“You do too” said Ginny softly, and she spun round so she was facing him. Harry leaned in to kiss her, and she leaned back. Harry held onto her waist, and felt her hands move up his chest and around the back of his neck. He didn’t want the moment to end, so he broke away from her soft lips and pulled her into a tight embrace. She purred like a contented kitten and Harry knew he could stay there, like this forever. He loathed saying it, but he knew that sooner or later he would have to get up. Not just yet though, as right at that moment, there was nothing but Ginny. Suddenly there were three sharp knocks on the door; Harry broke away from Ginny and sat bolt upright, expecting someone to come through the door.

“Harry, Ginny” said Ron’s voice from the other side of the door.

“Yeah” said Harry, fearing they would have to leave.

“It’s eight o’clock mate, we should make a move towards the castle.”

Harry cast a resigned look at Ginny, and she did the same. They didn’t want to leave, but couldn’t put off the inevitable any longer.

“Be out in five minutes mate.” Said Harry, his voice full of false cheerfulness, but he did feel slightly brighter at the thought which suddenly burst into his mind.

“I’ve had a thought; later on today do you want to do something? After lessons?”

“Like what?” said Ginny.

“You’ll see, it’s a surprise” said Harry smiling.

“I want to know now!” said Ginny.

“You’ll see later ok?”

With that, and refusing to be drawn into a conversation, which would lead to him giving the game away. Harry slid out of bed and wandered towards the pile of clothes on the floor. Ginny did the same, periodically saying “What is it?” Harry laughed every time and said nothing, which infuriated her even more. Once they looked semi presentable, they walked towards the door, trying to rearrange their hair into reasonable condition as they walked.

“Morning” said cheerfully as he saw Ron and Hermione standing outside.

“Morning” said Ron and Hermione simultaneously, both of whom looked rather pleased about something.

“Morning” said Ginny’s voice from behind them, as she grabbed Harry around the waist and poked her head around his shoulder.

“Shall we go then, we might not be noticed” said Ron jokingly; he took Hermione’s hand and as they led the way down the stairs Harry spun around and took Ginny’s hand too, leading her down towards their friends.

“Will you tell me then?” said Ginny, clinging to his arm playfully.

“Nope, you’ll have to wait.”

“But I don’t want to wait”

“Well you’ll have to wait”

“But I don’t want to!”

“Tough!” said Harry and they both laughed uncontrollably as they walked down the stair drawing some bizarre looks from Ron and Hermione, and causing more laughter at their bemused reactions. They dropped the keys to the two rooms on the bar, and muttering a swift goodbye to Rosmerta, they walked out of the Inn, and up towards Hogwarts. They all reached the gates fairly quickly, and looked around to see if anyone was watching, before walking through the gates and joining the masses moving in one heaving group towards the great hall for breakfast. Rather than following the mass, Harry and the others split off from them, and walked towards the common room, having every intention of taking a shower, or at least changing clothes before their first lesson. Ginny just had time to change before she left for her first lesson: defence against the dark arts. Harry was less than happy with this, as it meant Ginny would be in the same room as Lunette. But he kept his thoughts to himself. Hermione departed, without breakfast to Arithmancy, and as Ron and Harry both had a free lesson, as they were on the same timetable, they sat in the common room, trying to figure out what they would do with their time. Harry sat in silence knowing what he should do. He knew he should go to Professor McGonagall’s office and see Dumbledore and straighten everything out. But that was easier said than done. He had set him up, he had set him up for several days of hell before they found out what was going on, and even the joy at finding the locket had been destroyed was tempered by the fact that it was destroyed by Severus Snape, and the fact that Malfoy had been inside his house, hiding away just like Sirius had done before; The thought repulsed him. He and Draco Malfoy had always been rivals, it was only natural for Gryffindor and Slytherin students to have an extra fierce rivalry, but this went so much further. So much had happened between them over the years that it was so much more than a schoolboy rivalry, this was life and death, and had Lunette not been there, they would have almost certainly come to blows. As he sat in the common room, leaning back in his high-backed chair, he thought about everything that had happened, right from the beginning of his time at Hogwarts. There were so many incidents, too many to name, there were so many constant views to remember, he had a job thinking of them all. Malfoy’s attitude over the years was always the same; that of any other species, and even witches or wizards who were not pure blood were hated by Malfoy, and seen as scum. Over the years they had come to violence more than once because of His and Ron’s friendship with Hermione. Now what was he doing? How was he involved with Lunette and Snape? Harry thought, he hated the idea, but he might well have to accept their help, the thought ate at him, and he shuffled in his chair awkwardly. The idea that he might one day need their help ate at his very core. He had started to trust Lunette, he could accept her help before, and needed it, but now he knew she was working with Snape and Malfoy, he couldn’t face the thought of trusting her again, not knowing those two were in the background all the time. Dumbledore however, was a different kettle of fish, he knew he had to face him, he knew he had to talk to him, and there was no time like the present. Harry had a lot of questions he wanted answers to, and he couldn’t shut the old man out. Despite everything, he was the same man who had always helped and protected him, even making the ultimate sacrifice to protect him. He couldn’t shut him out, no matter what he had done, he couldn’t forget what Dumbledore had done for him, and he would never forget it.

“What are you thinking?” said Ron, jerking Harry suddenly from his thoughts.

“Sorry?” Harry mumbled.

“What’s on your mind?” said Ron, looking concerned.

“You know, just thinking about Dumbledore setting me up, and Lunette working with Draco and Snape.”

“Oh right, that.”

“You?” said Harry, smiling at his friend’s reaction.

“I was wondering what excuse we could use for being out of school for half a day.”

“Good idea.” Said Harry, rising to his feet.

“Where are you off to?” said Ron.

“To see an old friend, I need to see Dumbledore before I can concentrate on anything else.

“Good idea, I’ll have something figured out by the time you get back” he said, smiling. Harry smiled back, he felt somewhat less nervous about the coming conversation, not much mind you, but it was something to cling onto.

“I’ll be off now”

“Good luck mate.”

“Cheers, I’ll need it” said Harry, attempting a brave face, but he expected it looked more like a grimace, and without another word, he left the sanctity of the Common Room, and made his way towards Professor McGonagall’s office.

The journey to her office was thoroughly uneventful. The corridors were mercifully empty, as everyone, bar a few students with free lessons were in classes. Harry tried to focus his mind, to think about what was happening, but found he couldn’t. His mind was full of the sound of angry buzzing bees, and his stomach was feeling more and more like a bundle of nerves with every step he took. Yet Harry remained strong, and knew he had to face him, and that he had no choice. Before he realised what was happening, he was standing in front of the gargoyle, leading into the office, and where he knew he would be. He spoke the password quietly, and when the stairs reached him, he began to climb upwards. Harry felt more and more trepidation with every step he took, yet he did not shirk from his task, despite the temptation. He reached the final stair and without knocking first, pushed the door open, and feeling as if a cloud of hot steam would explode from every orifice in his body, he peered around the corner.

“Potter” said the unmistakeable voice of Professor McGonagall. Harry let the steam escape him as he met her eyes, and breathed in slowly and nervously.

“Are you alright?” she said, stern and hard tones evident in her voice, but Harry also detected a degree of care.

“I’m ok Professor.”

“Where have you been? I didn’t notice you in the great hall at dinner last night, and after that for that matter.”

Harry took a few seconds to think of an excuse.

“I had to leave; I had something I had to take care of.”

“May I ask what that might be?”

“I cannot tell you Professor”

Harry knew she wouldn’t buy it, the words sounded stupid even as they came out of his mouth, and her expression told a thousand words, she wouldn’t back down until she had satisfactory answers.”

“Very well Potter” she said suddenly, Harry semi-reeled in shock, of all the responses she could have come out with, this was the one he would never have expected.

“Professor, I was wondering if I could speak with Professor Dumbledore” he said, not wanting to push his luck.

“Certainly, don’t mind me Potter” she said, and made to sit down again.

“Actually, I meant could I have a word in private please?” he said sheepishly. Her mouth slimmed, and Harry braced himself to be denied.

“I suppose I should keep to my word shouldn’t I?”

“What do you mean Professor?” said Harry.

When I said you would always be free to talk to Dumbledore, besides” she said, checking her pocket watch she held around her neck on a long chain. “I have a class to teach shortly.”
”Thank-you Professor” said Harry, breathing in nervously.

“Is everything alright Harry?” she said, already knowing the answer to her question.

“Fine, I just always feel a little nervous when I talk to him.”

“I know what you mean, although I suspect his spirit will never truly leave this castle, it is strange to not see him walking around, and talking to him in this manner.

Harry smiled, and the understanding grew between them by a touch, nothing more needed to be said.

“I’ll leave you alone then” said Professor McGonagall, gathering a few books and her large tartan bag and walking swiftly from the room without another word. Harry stood still for a few long moments, not really sure how long had passed before he moved again. Slowly, each step taking an age, he stepped in front of the portrait of his former mentor, who was awake, and sat in the high backed chair looking straight at him. Harry got the feeling he had been watching him ever since he’d entered his field of vision, from within the confines of his frame.

“Harry” said his old voice, which suddenly shocked him into a reaction he wasn’t nearly ready for.

“Harry” the voice repeated “please just listen to me”

“Just explain one thing to me” he said in a cold, indifferent voice he barely recognised.

“Anything”

“Explain how you justify setting me up to be captured and threatened by the man who killed you” Harry was seething, and visibly shaking at the words leaving his mouth, he knew it made no sense, but the instinct he felt in his heart made him want to rebel against the situation in front of him. He was facing the man who had told Harry to go alone to Grimmauld place, to allow Snape to ambush him, and retrieve the mirror.

“Harry, what I did was entirely necessary.”
”Necessary?” Harry spluttered, “you think this was necessary?!”

“Harry please just listen to me.”

“He killed you! And I watched him do it!” Harry was barely able to stand now, the conversation seemed absurd he know if he wasn’t in this situation, and had seen it first hand he’d certainly find it absurd.

“Harry you have asked me to explain everything to you, please let me do so” he said sternly, his voice was not raised, yet it contained a steel Harry had rarely seen.

“Fine”

“I contacted Severus after you first told me about the mirror Horcrux, and how you had recovered the mirror. I had to communicate with him via Professor Audiutry, who I believe you have spoken with about this.”

How did he know that? Thought Harry, yet he said nothing.

“Anyway, I spoke with him, and decided this would be for the best. If you had taken your friends with you It couldn’t have gone as it did, and I couldn’t run the risk of leaving it here, it would have aroused suspicion.

“But him?”

“He is the one person who could do this Harry.”

“But he killed you!”

“I know Harry, I was there.”

Harry was a little taken aback by this reaction, and lost his train of thought for a second.

“Sorry”

“Quite alright, I don’t really like the whole situation either Harry, but it’s what has to be done, it’s necessary for this to happen, for the greater good.”

“Greater good?” said Harry suddenly, “he killed my parents! He killed you! Were they for the greater good too?”

“Harry.”

“I can do this by myself.”

“No Harry, I’m afraid this is one thing you cannot do alone, you need someone of his expertise to walk you through this.”

Harry had expected him to react like this, even if he couldn’t understand why he was being so blind to what was happening. Nor could he so easily accept the help of the man who had caused him so much pain. .

“What have you been doing?” said Dumbledore.

“What?”

“Harry your absence has been noticed by almost everyone, where have you been?”

“Well, after my last lesson with Professor Audiutry I saw her talking to Snape in her mind, I tried to leave, and she tried to stun me, she attacked me, so we quickly left the school and went to Grimmauld place, where we stayed for a few hours before we went in search of the locket. We all looked through the house, but it wasn’t there, so we followed my idea that Mundungus Fletcher had it.” Harry faltered at the mention of his name, remembering vividly how they had found him.

“How did you know where he would be?”

“I contacted a member of the order and….”

“Remus Lupin?” said Dumbledore sharply.

“What?” said Harry, how did he know? He wouldn’t tell him, he promised he wouldn’t tell anyone.

“He didn’t betray whatever trust you placed in him; it was simply an educated guess Harry.

“Yes, he told us where he was.” Said Harry, who just for a moment, felt slightly warmer towards the old man.

“Where?”

“Godric’s Hollow” Said Harry, breathing heavily.

“Really?” said Dumbledore

“He had a place near to…” Harry couldn’t finish the sentence.

“Your parent’s house?” said Dumbledore. “I see, and what happened then?”

“We went to Godric’s Hollow and found not only his house, but well his body too, he’d been murdered.”

“No” groaned Dumbledore “does anyone know?”

“Only Lupin, we told him when we returned to Grimmauld Place.”

“Ok, anything else?”

“That was all after I’d gone into my Parent’s house.”

“You went in?” said Dumbledore, looking shocked.

“I did.”

“What did you find?”

“It’s the same as after Voldemort attacked, it’s a complete mess in there, and has just been left like that.”

“Did you find anything there?”

“Nothing, it was full of black soot and rotting wood and furniture.” Said Harry, choosing not to tell Dumbledore about the jewel in his pocket.

“Then what? Did you return here?”

“No we went back to Grimmauld Place and found”

“What did you find?”

“Lunette and…” Harry began to say it, but chocked, the thought still shocked him to the core.

“Who?” said Dumbledore.

“Malfoy!” spat Harry bitterly, and he began to shake again.

“I see” said Dumbledore looking unconcerned.

“You knew” said Harry, suddenly finding his voice again.

“What exactly did I know?”

“You knew he was hiding there, you knew and you didn’t say a word!”

“I knew no such thing, nor did I condone it.”

“Then how did he get in, you’re the secret keeper.”

“That magic ended at the time of my death, and I do not know how he found out, perhaps it was Severus or Lunette that taught him?”

“Great, just great.”

“Harry, Draco is not your enemy.”
”He has been my enemy ever since I met him, and need I remind you that he was the one who held you at wand point, and who was going to kill you?”

“He wasn’t Harry, he couldn’t do it.”

“No, of course he could! He held you there, while his reinforcements turned up, who did kill you!”

“Harry I know this is hard to accept, but this is the only course of action we have.”

“How can you say that?”

“Because this war will end one of two ways Harry, either Voldemort will triumph and every free member of the Wizarding world will die, or live in servitude, or you will win, but you can only win this war if certain sacrifices are made.”

“Like accepting the help of the man who killed you, and his accomplice.”

“Yes Harry, please see reason here, this has to be done.”

“I can do this myself” Harry said defiantly.

“No you cannot”

“Watch me” said Harry, turning away from him and walking towards the door.

“Harry listen to me” said Dumbledore, but he carried on.

“Harry please” and he continued.

“HARRY!” he shouted as he reached the door, and he stopped for a moment, almost as if he was considering turning around. But without looking back, Harry opened the door, and barely hearing another shout of “HARRY!” from behind him, he walked out of the room, slamming the door on the faces of every previous head of the school.

Harry walked through the corridors breathing roughly, and not knowing what to think. The only constant he knew was how he seethed with what he hid been told. His intentions didn’t matter, the fact was that Dumbledore had set him up, and had openly talked to the man who had ended his life. That may well be the best thing for Dumbledore, he thought as he walked along. But it certainly wasn’t the best thing for him, and he was prepared to do what he had to by himself. Before he realised where he was, Harry was at the portrait of the Fat Lady. The thought of Dumbledore and what had been said carried him to the common room without even noticing. He quickly said the password and walked in to see Ron in exactly the same position as he had left him. He looked up as Harry walked towards him and was the first to speak.

“How did it go?” he said.

“Terribly”

“How come?”

“He just expects me to accept his help, he might be able to talk to the man who killed him but I won’t” he said, collapsing into the chair next to him.

“That sounds so bizarre, talking to the man who killed him” said Ron looking bemused.

“I know mate, but that’s just how it is.”

“At least you know what’s going on now.”

“Not Everything” Said Harry, who stopped as a pair of students, walked past behind them. “I still don’t know where the mirror is, it could be anywhere and I need it back.”

Ron didn’t reply immediately, he seemed to be considering everything before speaking.

“What if Snape’s trying to figure out how to destroy it?”

“You’ve been talking to Hermione haven’t you?” said Harry.

“No, I’ve been thinking about this myself, if Snape destroyed the Locket, why wouldn’t he destroy the mirror too?”

“Maybe he’s got his own agenda?” said Harry.

“Maybe, but I don’t think you’ll ever find anything out unless you talk to him yourself.”

“True, and that’s not a conversation I’ll want to have anytime soon.”

“I know mate, but it’s one I’m afraid you might have to have sooner or later”

Harry grimaced at the thought, he knew he would face him sooner or later, but he didn’t trust him with the mirror, and thought he should find him as soon as possible, even if that meant accepting Lunette’s help.

“What are you going to do?” said Ron.

“I’ll figure that out, I don’t know yet.”

Ron smiled; he knew how hard this was for Harry, and that smile made Harry feel a little brighter.

“Are you any closer to an idea?” said Harry.

“What do you mean?” said Ron.

“About where we’ve been.”
”Oh, that, no nothing really.”

“I told Professor McGonagall we had something to take care of and she accepted it.”

“Really? I wouldn’t have thought she’d have bought that!”

“Me too, but if people ask we should just use that one.”

“Good idea” said Ron, turning back to the book in front of him and leafing through the pages. Harry slumped back in his chair, thinking about all that had happened. He should talk to Lunette, and enlist her help in finding Snape and the mirror, and decided that tomorrow, after their lesson, he would speak with her. Everything Dumbledore had said still resonated in his mind, it had shocked him to the core, and he felt like his world had changed, that he had changed because of it. Just at that moment, Ginny walked through the portrait door, and made a bee line straight towards them, and suddenly, Harry felt his mind clear. Here was the one person who could clear his mind and relax him, and he remembered he’d promised her a surprise, and the trio of Dumbledore Snape and Lunette didn’t receive another thought.

“Hey” she said brightly as she stood next to him and kissed him on the cheek.

“Hey” said Harry, instantly cheering up and inviting her to sit next to him.

“How was defence?”

“Weird.” She said simply.

“Wow, I feel like I was there!” he said mockingly, taking her hand in his.

“Very funny, it was just really weird seeing her again after everything that happened last night. Oh and everyone noticed we where gone yesterday, so I had to make something up.”

“What did you say?”

“Just that we need to take some time out and take care of something.”

“That sounds like our excuse too; McGonagall bought it so we’d better keep the story straight.”

“Ok” she said, smiling.

“What?” said Harry, grinning.

“Will I still get my surprise later?” she said, playing with his hand.

“Of course, meet me at the Prefect’s bathroom after last lesson.”

“Your surprise is me taking a bath?!”

“You’ll see, you just have to be patient”

“Please tell me!” she said, running her fingers up and down his arm, playfully.

“Oh would you look at that” said Harry in tones of mock shock, and checking his watch, “I have to get to class”

“Please”

“See you after lessons.”

“Oh” she said, rolling her bottom lip in a mock sulk. Harry smiled as she finally admitted defeat. Harry leant in and kissed her. Ron, who had been looking their way as they were talking, suddenly looked away pointedly. Finally, after so many long moments, each of which he never wanted to end, Harry broke away and walked towards the portrait door, feeling an ever increasing pang of absence with every step he took.

The rest of the day dragged on for Harry, like time was walking with lead weights on its heels. The lessons were uninteresting, and the people he was with were always asking where he had been the day before, but Harry only cared about that afternoon, and what would happen after their final lesson. During lunch, he sat with Ginny, Ron and Hermione, and spent the entire time feeling a poking in his left arm, and being asked what it would be. Harry didn’t give the game away, which only served to annoy Ginny even more. Finally, at the end of a charms lesson which dragged on for as long as Harry could remember time dragging before. Every minute was like a day in Harry’s mind, and it never seemed to end. He had barely paid any attention to what had been said, and his thoughts were only on Ginny. At the sound of the end of the class, he leapt up and semi-ran to the door. Once he got outside, he sprinted up staircases, and along corridors to get to the bathroom on the Fourth floor before Ginny did. Harry opened the door, and locked it behind him, which he set everything up. Harry conjured a series of candles, each one burning brightly with gold flames, and settled them at the edge of each side of the pool. He drew a deep pool of warm water, and just as he was making the finishing touches, he heard a knock at the door. Harry drew his wand and drew the curtains, turning the room into a paradise. He then walked over to the door, sheathing his wand as he went. He stood by the door, and spoke quietly.

“Who is it?” he said, mockingly.

“It’s me” came Ginny’s voice.

“Close your eyes”

“What?” she said.

“Just close your eyes.”

“Ok, they’re closed now.”

Suspecting she would be lying, Harry opened the door, and peered through a slit in the door. She was indeed standing there with her eyes shut. Harry took her hand, and let her into the room, locking the door behind him.

“Can I look now?” she said.

“Go right ahead” said Harry smiling, and Ginny opened her eyes, only to see something she never would have expected. She breathed in slowly, and looked around the room, in shock and awe. Her eyes fell upon Harry, and she threw her arms around him.

“Thank-you” she said into his shoulder, and he held her to him tightly.

“Care for a swim?”

“Absolutely” she replied, and began to remove her robes, right down to a white one piece costume she was wearing underneath her uniform. She stood on the edge of the pool and jumped in, forming a perfect Swan dive. Harry watched her, he couldn’t do anything but watch her, as she surfaced and swam around in the warm, frothy water. Harry quickly removed his own robes, down to the pair of black shorts he had put on that morning. He leapt in after her, trying to dive in as well as she had, but misjudged it, and caused a huge splash and wave to explode from where he landed, putting out half the candles as he went under. When he surfaced, coughing and spluttering the water from out of his throat, the only sound he could hear was the beautiful sound of Ginny’s voice laughing, which echoed off the walls and the high ceiling like beautiful mersong. Harry swum towards her and came to a stop in front of her when she stopped laughing.

“Do I have to teach you how to dive?” she said mockingly.

“Very funny” said Harry sarcastically “no thanks, I don’t want to put out the other candles.”

“Have you done this before?” said Ginny.

“Just once, well swimming at least, I wasn’t surrounded by candles, and I didn’t have the most beautiful girl in the world standing in front of me.”

Ginny, visibly melted at Harry’s words, and she moved closer to him.

“This is my relaxation after a major adventure, I came here after we went to the Chamber, and I thought you’d like to.”

“Well you were right it’s perfect”, she said, moving still closer to him.

Up close, the remaining candlelight made Ginny’s skin glow and she looked simply divine, and seemed to read his mind.

“What are you thinking about Harry?” she said softly.

“Just how beautiful you are, and how much I love you”

It wasn’t obvious because of the low light, but by the change in her posture that she was blushing profusely. Harry leant into her, putting his arms around her waist, and feeling her arms move slowly up his chest and fall around his neck. He pushed closer until there was no space between them at all. Blowing her wet hair away from her face Harry kissed her suddenly, fully and completely. His hands drew up her soft back and into her hair, and he felt a soft moan escape from her mouth as they stood still in the water, completely absorbed in each other. So absorbed in fact that they didn’t hear the door unlocking, and being pushed open.

“HEY!” came a sharp, angry voice from the now open doorway, and they suddenly broke apart to face the intruder.


******************************************************


Hey guys

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Chapter 19:



The calm reverie which had been in place ever since they had been inside the bathroom, had suddenly been shattered. Whereas before the only sound to be heard was the water slowly rippling away from its occupants, Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley. That tranquillity had now gone, and all that remained was a voice echoing off the walls and high ceilings. Harry broke away from Ginny, and while remaining close to one another, they turned to face the one who had destroyed their calm.

“Is there a problem Ron?” said Harry, not spitefully, not sarcastically, just saying what they both thought.

“Is there a problem?!” He spluttered, “what are you doing?”

“What does it look like Ron?!” said Ginny, who certainly did sound scathing.

“You’re, you’re!”

“What? Having a swim?” said Ginny sarcastically.

“No, look at you, you’re… you’re” although he couldn’t seem to actually say what they were doing.

“You mean this?” said Ginny pointing between her and Harry, from where she stood at the edge of the pool by the surviving candles. “This Ronald, Is called kissing, perhaps you should try it sometime.”

Harry had to fight harder than he’d ever done before at that moment, not to laugh, he just braced himself for the coming explosion.

“Our relationship is just fine thank-you” said Ron, his cheeks turning a healthy scarlet colour.

“Then why are you following us around?”

“Excuse me?”

“Why are you here if you’re not following us around?”

“I came to use the bathroom funnily enough mate, I didn’t want to find you and my sister like this.”

“Like what?” said Harry calmly, laying one hand on Ginny’s shoulder as she looked ready to explode.

“Like this, all over each other in the bathroom.”

“Ron I know you never really accepted the fact that we’re together, and I’m sorry for that, but I really don’t care. Didn’t you once say you’d rather her be with me than anyone else?” said Harry calmly.

“Well but…” said Ron awkwardly.

“Ron I love her, and that’s never going to change, so the sooner you accept we’re going to be together, and be doing this with your blessing or not then we can move on.”

“It’s not that easy Harry” said Ron quietly.

“What’s not that easy?”

“If you had a sister dating someone, then you’d understand”

“Maybe if things had been different I would have had a sister to look out for.2

“Oh” muttered Ron sheepishly.

“But that’s not the point Ron, I’m not asking for your permission, and like it or not this is going to happen.”

“You don’t get it do you?” said Ron, suddenly regaining his voice.

“I would if you’d just explain it to me.” Said Harry, starting to get angry.

“It’s just as I said Harry, I don’t want to find you like this again.” He said, making his way towards the door.

“Ron I don’t want to do this behind your back, but I will if I have to, I hope you can look past this, I really do.”

“You don’t get it” he said, and he walked out of the door, slamming it behind him, leaving an echo of sound bouncing off every wall around them, and leaving a stunned Harry and Ginny in his wake.

“Knows how to ruin an atmosphere doesn’t he?” said Harry

“He’s unbelievable, you know he probably eavesdropped on us talking about this earlier and came here deliberately.”

“Probably, what are we going to do with him?”

“I can think of a few things I’d like to do with him.”

“How about something that doesn’t involve bat wings and bogeys.”

“Such as?”

“Hermione.”

“What’s she going to do?”

“Gin if there’s one person on this earth that can talk some sense into anyone, its Hermione. Hell she can do that with me, so she’ll talk some sense into him. I’ll talk to her later.”

“It’s not fair; we were having such a great time”

“I know, now the moment’s gone and the moods just shattered into little pieces.” Said Harry.

Ginny didn’t speak right away, so Harry seized the initiative and walked towards her, causing the water to ripple out from him, he put his arms around her and pulled her into a tight hug.

“Sorry for my idiotic overprotective older brother” said Ginny

“Sorry for my idiotic best friend.” Said Harry.

“Cant you think of anything else?” said Ginny mockingly.

“I don’t need to, he’s just idiotic” said Harry, breaking away from her, looking deep into her eyes as he did.

“Do you think we’ll ever find anywhere?” she said.

“What do you mean?”

“Anywhere we can be alone without Ron interrupting us.”

Harry laughed as he thought of them all in his head.

“I mean there was in the corridors, here of course, and he did it when Dean and I were together.”

“I know, I was there”

“Sorry” she said sheepishly.

“We’ll here’s probably out now, the common room and our dorms are obviously out.”

“What about the shrieking shack?” said Ginny suddenly.

Harry spluttered “are you insane?” he said.

“Why not? No-one would ever consider that and its not like Ron could follow us is it?”

“Is there something you want to confess? Like how you became an animagus?” said Harry,

“No why?”

“Well how are you going to get to the tree and touch the knot that freezes it and get inside?”

“Alright smarty pants, what do you think we should do?”

“We could always go into Hogsmeade, or maybe, even better!” he said suddenly, causing Ginny to jump backwards.

“What?” she said.

“The Room of requirement!” said Harry proudly.

Her look of confusion turned into deep joy.

“We could just go there and say I need a place to hide from Ron!” said Ginny, and Harry laughed heartily.

“Or a bedroom, or a swimming pool, wherever we like, of course if we ask for a hiding place we’ll go to…” Harry suddenly stopped dead in his tracks, not speaking just relieving the horror.

“What is it? Harry what’s wrong?” said Ginny, her playful voice had disappeared, and had been replaced by fear and concern.

“It’s still in there.”

“What’s still in there? What do you mean?”

“I can’t believe I didn’t think of this sooner” he said, moving towards the edge of the pool.

“What? Harry stop!” Said Ginny, grabbing him by the shoulder and pulling his gaze onto her. “What is it?”

“The Cabinet is still in there”

“What Cabinet?”

“When the Death Eaters cane into Hogwarts, they used a pair of vanishing cabinets, one in Borgrin and Burke’s, one in the room of requirement. I saw it in there when I cast Sectumsempra on Malfoy and had to hide Snape’s old book.” He said weakly.

“Harry” Ginny said sympathetically “what are you going to do?”

“I’m going to go there, and I’m going to destroy it, otherwise the Death Eaters would be able to come through again, I can’t let that happen.”

“Ok, I’m coming with you.”

Harry didn’t like it, but from the look in Ginny’s eyes he knew it was pointless to argue the point and attempt to deny her request.

“Ok, let’s go” he said simply.

They dressed in silence, having quickly dried themselves using the soft white towels that were hanging on a rail on the wall nearest the window. The romantic atmosphere had totally evaporated when Ron had entered the room, but now it was completely gone, the candles had been vanished away and the curtains drawn, throwing the room into late afternoon sunlight. Harry turned from the windows and looked at Ginny meekly. She smiled at him, in an effort to cheer him up, which failed miserably, only drawing a small smile from him. She knew what he was thinking, and she walked towards him, pulling him into a tight embrace. Harry just fell into her as every memory of that night came back, everything that happened, and that could have happened made him hold onto her and never want to let go. He steeled himself, and prepared to face what had brought the Death Eaters to Hogwarts.

“Let’s go” he said, not wanting to delay the moment any longer. They left the bathroom having drained the water from the pool and walked in silence to the fifth floor corridor, where Harry knew they would find the room. As they walked along, Harry felt like he had on the night Dumbledore was killed. Although Ginny was next to him, holding his hand tightly, he felt alone. Harry appreciated her being there, but didn’t really want her to be, and wouldn’t be the same towards her until the cabinet was destroyed. They reached the corridor, and set about getting the door to appear, Ginny was keeping watch for anyone coming along the corridor, while Harry looked at the space in the wall, where he knew the door would appear after the proper stimulation. He walked along in front of it, saying.

“I need a place to hide from Ron, I need a place to hide from Ron, I need a place to hide from Ron.”

Nothing happened.

Harry returned to his starting point, thinking of a new tack.

“I need a place to hide my book; I need a place to hide my book,

I need a place to hide my book.” He said, remembering what he had said to the space when he had been discovered by Snape as the one to possess his old Potions book, another thought that sickened Harry to the core.

Nothing happened again, and Harry could feel anger brewing inside him.

“I need a place to hide, I need a place to hide, I need a place to hide” he said angrily. When all hope seemed lost, Harry noticed the wall was changing; it began to shift and finally turn into a door. From anger came relief, and without wanting to waste anymore time, Harry opened the door, holding it open for Ginny. Once she was inside, he closed the door, and drew his wand, motioning for her to do the sane. He doubted very much that there would be anyone inside the room, but he didn’t want to take that chance and be caught out. He walked through the aisles of stuff which had been hidden here, and remembered it looked exactly the same as it had the last time he’d come here. Harry recognised the same items which jumped out at him last time, the axe, the bookshelves, and then, finally the vanishing cabinet. He pointed his wand at the cabinet, almost as if he expected someone to walk through at any moment.

“Incendio!” he suddenly shouted, and Ginny gazed on as a circle of fire danced in from of him, extending from his wand tip, and reaching out so it touched the wooden frame of the cabinet, which surrounded the dark, mysterious centre, which appeared as nothing more elaborate than a pair of black curtains. Harry moved his wand around the entire frame, and caused it all to glow with red flame. Ginny stood next to him and did the same thing. “Incendio!” and similar flames danced from her wand in a deep golden colour. Between them both they covered the cabinet in fire, their different colour flames lighting up the room and creating a dazzling light show. The flames appeared to scorch the room, and felt as if they would fry whatever magic was held within it. The both stopped in unison, after about a minute, and the flames lingered on. Suddenly, the flames vanished, as if by an invisible wave. Hope turned to dismay, and they both racked their brains for something which would work on this magic.

“Reducto” he suddenly shouted, hoping more than expecting the spell to have some effect. Ginny joined in, and they both shouted the spell again and again. Causing magical energy to explode on the surface of the wood, yet the cabinet seemed to be protected from this magic, and seemed to be something he just couldn’t get around. While looking through his mind for something to use, he stumbled on something thoroughly non-magical; the double headed axe in one of the rows he had walked through. Suddenly his path was clear; there was only one thing for Harry to do. He left Ginny there, shouting curse after curse, each of which had no discernable effect. Harry walked along the rows like a man possessed, the only memory, the only fact he was working towards was that this thing had to be destroyed; otherwise goodness only knows what they would plan. Maybe the wheels were already in motion, and they would come through soon, he couldn’t let that happen, he wouldn’t let that happen. He closed his hand around the axe, and lifted it up, holding it in both hands, and feeling as if the axe belonged there, as if it was meant to be held in his hands. Harry ran towards the sound of Ginny’s voice, she stopped casting spells the second Harry ran around the corner, and shrieked as she saw Harry running towards her with a giant axe in his hands.

“Harry” said Ginny, her voice of shock and awe.

“Stand back” he said as he hefted the axe above his head. She stepped away from the cabinet and out of reach, looking scared of him as he stood there like some violent warrior from an ancient time. He swung down with the axe and using all his strength, he crashed the heavy axe into the centre of the wooden frame. Whatever magic protected the cabinet from spells couldn’t protect it from the blade of an axe and the mind of someone who wanted it destroyed. The blade cut into the wooden frame, creating a small cut at the point of impact, and causing small splinters of wood to fly off in all directions. He twisted the axe from side to side, and lifted it out, hefting it again and sending it crashing down to the same point. The cut grew a little larger and yet more splinters flew away/

“Ginny” he said as he pulled the axe out again, panting heavily.

“Harry, are you?”

“I’m fine; can you look through those cabinets for a book, a copy of advanced potion making?”

“Sure, this one here?” she said, pointing at the one nearest to her

“That one” he said, pointing at the cupboard he’d hidden the book in so many months ago. Harry didn’t say another word; he lifted the axe high above his head again and sent it into the cabinet with all the strength he could muster. After the fifth or sixth time of attacking, a large crack appeared in centre of the wood from where the axe bit into the wood. Breathing heavily, he brought the axe down again, and again, until suddenly, with a great crash, the axe bit through the frame and into the soft centre, bringing it all the way through, bisecting the material until it buried itself in the base of the frame. Harry let go of the axe and walked round the side of it, taking hold of one of the broken sides. As he prepared to break it down even further, the memory of all that’d happened hit him as if by a train. It was as if the night the Death Eaters came had happened again. The memory of Snape standing over Dumbledore and killing him right in front of him was foremost in his mind, and of the Death Eaters attacking the order and the students. Twisting his face into an almost feral gin, he held the left hand side, and using his right foot, kicked out at the right hand side of the frame. He kicked it again and again, not caring about his seizing muscles, nor the pain. Harry wanted this thing to be destroyed now, and wouldn’t stop until it had been. The more his foot crashed into the wood, the more splinters came flying out of the cracks, which grew wider and wider the more he kicked out. Until, with an almighty scream as he kicked, the frame snapped away and the black space between just vanished away. He threw the broken piece of frame onto the floor with the rest, and seized the now free axe from the floor. Screaming aloud, he crashed the axe down into the broken wood, and as it smashed into the wooded frame, the blade bit through and buried itself into the floorboards. All protection had gone, and the axe buried itself deep into the floor, the smashed frame was in many pieces all around it, and the floor was covered in splinters and dust.

Harry’s chest felt tight, and his breath came very roughly, he fell down to his knees and stared at the pile of wooden mess in front of him. He heard footsteps from behind him, but could only look at the floor below. Harry felt a sudden change in his surroundings, when from behind him, Ginny stood next to him and rested her palms on his shoulders. She wrapped her arms around him and held onto him tightly, resting her head on his right shoulder. Neither of them spoke for what seemed like hours, they were merely content to let the time pass as the weight of what had happened fell upon them both.

“I found the book” said Ginny, suddenly breaking the silence and reminding Harry of another reason he had come here. He slowly rose to his feet, as did Ginny, and he finally spoke.

“Where is it?” he said.

“Over here, it was hidden pretty well.”

“I remember it well” said Harry, smiling in spite of himself. He walked over to where Ginny had left it on the floor. He bent down onto one knee, and looked at the worn, dusty cover. Breathing in, he puffed out quickly, causing dust to fly off all over the place, and him to choke as it flew into his mouth. Spluttering hard, he fought his way through the cloud towards the book and began to read. Harry didn’t know what he was looking for, he just hoped something would be there. If there was something about Horcruxes in here, however remotely it was possible, he would find it.

“Harry I think we should get out of here” said Ginny.

“Not yet, I have to do this first” he said, not moving his eyes.

“You can do that some other time Harry, we should leave now”

“No” he said firmly. He was like a man possessed, and held in the grasp of what he had to do. Ginny crouched down next to him.

“Harry please, you’re scaring me, let’s get out of here ok?”

The words hit him hard, he bowed his head and closed his eyes as if in deep thought. He had to leave, he couldn’t do this to her. Finally he opened his eyes and looked down to the book. He flipped the pages back to the front cover and closed it tight before looking up at Ginny.

“Ok, lets get out of here.”

“Thank-you” she said simply.

“I’m sorry Gin” he said, leaving the book alone for a moment and pulling her into a tight hug.

“Let’s jut get out ok, and you need another shower.”

Harry smiled as he sniffed his left underarm, recoiling sharply as if burnt. He’d put a lot of energy into what he had just done, and would have a shower on his return to Gryffindor tower.

“Thanks Gin, and I’m sorry you had to see that.” He said as they walked through the room towards the exit, the book in his left hand, and Ginny in his right.

“I’m worried about you Harry, you seem so tense and I wont lie about it, I was scared to see you with that axe.

“I know, I had to do it though.”

“I know, It just didn’t look like you at all, that’s all im saying.

Harry didn’t speak for a moment, trying to think of how to phrase his point the best.

“I didn’t feel like myself to be honest with you, I felt like I was someone else, and all I could think about was what happened, and what I had to do, which was destroy that thing. At least no-one will come through there anymore.”

She held onto his hand and moved closer to him, and they walked the rest of the journey to the common room in almost silence.

“Where have you been?” was the first thing they heard as they opened the portrait door and walked through.

“Not now Ron” said Harry walking towards the stairs.

“Hey, don’t you walk away from me, answer the question, where have you been?”

“Do you really want to know?” said Harry, not at all surprised by his reaction, but annoyed by it nonetheless.

“Yes where?” people were starting to stare at them now, looking at Ron as if he was likely to explode at any moment.

“Let’s talk somewhere else Ron, people are staring at us.”

“No tell me now, where have you been with my Sister?”

“Ron shut up!” said Ginny, catching them both off guard.

“Don’t tell me to shut up”

“Ron, listen to me” said Harry sharply, then dropping his voice to a whisper. His eyes bore into Ron’s, and he knew he had his attention. “I have just spent the last hour or so in the room or requirement, using a double handed axe and my bare hands to tear the vanishing cabinet into lots of little pieces so no-one else could infiltrate Hogwarts from there”

“Oh” said Ron, “What’s that in your hand then?” said Ron, desperately clinging to his argument.

“It’s my old potions book.”

“Why do you have that?”

“Use your brain for a change Ron, I’m looking for information, now if you’ll excuse me I need to take a shower, we both are, now drop the over protective older brother act, we’ve got bigger fish to fry.”

“Without saying another word, Harry walked away from Ron, who looked as deflated as a popped balloon. Ginny walked away from Harry towards the Girls staircase.

Harry understood why he was being like this, any brother would do the same, but he’d never had a serious problem with him being with Ginny before, and didn’t understand why he chose now to change his mind. He resolved to find Hermione after he’d had a shower, and try and get her to talk some sense into him, as only she could. Harry left the book on his bed and set about finding a clean set of robes and a towel and walked along the corridor to the bathroom at the end of the hallway. He ran himself a hot shower, allowing the water to flow for a minute to heat up. He felt his worries fall off him like the sweat which washed away underneath his feet. Having dried himself and changed, he returned to his dorm, and stowed the book inside his footlocker for safe keeping. He then walked downstairs to the main common room. As soon as he walked into the room almost everyone stopped what they were doing and starred at him. Harry was very used to this, but their sights stayed on him for longer than normal, the argument with Ron obviously fresh in their minds. He brushed it off though, not really caring what they thought, and looked around the room for a friendly face. As he couldn’t find one, he smiled to himself thinking Ginny must still be in the shower, Ron had gone for a walk somewhere, not that he counted as a friendly face right at that moment, and Hermione was nowhere to be seen, he turned away from the staring masses, who by now where turning back to whatever they had been doing before he had arrived. He walked out of the common room, and was pleased to discover he didn’t have to go very far to find Hermione, as she was standing at the bottom of the staircase, about to come and find him, he suspected.

“Hi” he said, walking down towards her.

“Hey” she replied.

“Want to go for a walk?”

“Good idea, we need to talk” said Hermione.

“What do you need to talk about?” said Harry, knowing the answer already.

“The same thing as you do, Ron”

“You heard about our little spat then?”

“News travels fast Harry, I heard that before he told be about it.”

“What did he say?”

“Just that he feels a bit awkward with you dating Ginny”

“He’s never accepted it, I’ve no idea why, I don’t know what im supposed to have done.”

“It’s nothing you’ve done, it’s just that he feels like, well she’s his sister, and I think when he saw you in the pool, well it was only natural for him to feel protective Harry.”

“He seems to be following us around.”

“Actually he just went to use the bathroom, it was a bit of a shock to him”

“I suppose it would be, but I’m not going to stop being with her because he doesn’t feel right about it.”

“I know”

“Does he?”

“Probably, but I’m not going to be your owl Harry, you need to sort this out with him, not with me”

“I suppose I ought to, he can be so stubborn sometimes”

“All the time” she corrected him, “ are you ok? You seem a little weird.”

“Thanks very much” said Harry sarcastically.

“Seriously Harry, what’s on your mind?”

“I was just in the room of Requirement. I was talking with Ginny about the room and I remembered the Vanishing Cabinet.”

“Is it still working?” said Hermione. “Was there anything there?”

“No, so I destroyed it”

“How?”

“Using a giant axe we found in there.”
Hermione breathed in sharply.

“Are you alright?” she said nervously.

“I’m fine, I just had to destroy it, no-one will use that again, that’s for sure.”

“Good”

“it just brought back every single memory of that night, the night they came.”

“I know, I still think about it from time to time.”

Neither of them spoke for a minute as they walked in silence through the corridors, obviously contemplating what had happened.

“So what did you find?”

“Where, in the room of requirement?”

“No, in your parents’ house.”

“I told you, just wreckage.”

“You also said you’d found something in there, I didn’t press it at the time, what was it?”

Harry smiled, he’d almost forgotten about the jewel.

“Let’s go in here” he said, indicating an unused classroom on their left. He quickly checked it was empty, and shut him and Hermione in. Harry reached inside his robes to find the jewel and the blackened blanket he’d wrapped it in. He lay it out on his hand, opening the flaps of material and holding up the jewel in front of her. She breathed in sharply, not believing what she saw.

“What is it?”

“I don’t know”

“You don’t think it’s another Horcrux do you?”

“Either way I’m not taking any chances with it, I’m going to figure out how to destroy it.

“Will you go to Dumbledore?”

“I don’t need to, I have Snape’s potions book, and I’m sure he’ll have something in there about them.”

“I doubt he’d put something that sensitive in that book”

“Either way I’ll figure it out.”

“Ron did tell me you talked to Dumbledore.”

“I can’t forgive Hermione; surely you understand that, I can’t forget what he’s done.” He said, knowing what she was thinking.

“I know, but at the same time I know you’ll have to do things we don’t like doing to survive and win this war.”

Harry listened to Hermione and everything she said made sense, everything had happened for a reason, and he may yet have to ask for help. That would be a last resort he told himself.

“I know” he said smiling, and folding the jewel away.

“What will you do now?” said Hermione “You should find Ron and straighten things out” she said as an afterthought.

“Not just yet, I’ve something much more important than that to do.”

“More important than your best friend?” said Hermione sceptically.

“Yes I’m going to see Lunette”

“Good I knew you would do the right thing Harry.” She said, smiling, and pulling him into a brief hug. I’ve got to find Ron though, I’ll see you later ok?” said Hermione.

“Ok”

Once they left the room, Hermione walked left, along the way they’d come, and Harry walked just along the passage-way to where the Defence against the dark arts classroom was. Was it a Horcrux? He thought as he walked along, maybe it was, maybe it wasn’t. Maybe Voldemort had managed to create a Horcrux when he was murdering his family. But what he did know was that he wasn’t going to take any chances. Harry stood outside the door, and breathed deeply, letting his chest rise and fall fully, he tried to focus and ignore the fear he felt in his heart. Without knocking, he finally turned the handle, and walked through the door, closing it behind him as he walked through. He stepped forward, wondering where Lunette was, whether she was hiding, or just not here. Harry walked through the room towards the stairs at the rear of the room, which led to her private office. As he climbed the stairs he felt great trepidation, which increased ten fold with every step he took. He hadn’t faced her alone since she attacked him, and he didn’t feel right about talking to her again. As he climbed, he remembered Hermione’s words, and they rang through his head. “You’ll have to do things we don’t like to survive Harry” said her bossy, but kind voice inside him, and buoyed by the words, he climbed faster, and opened the door without knocking, or feeling a single trace of fear.

“Harry” said Lunette suddenly as he opened the door, and closed it behind him. She was obviously surprised to see him.

“Lunette, I need help”

“With what Harry? What’s wrong?”

“Where is he?”

“Who Harry?”

“Snape.”

Hey, here's the new chapter. Have fun!

Chapter 20:



“I’m sorry?” said Lunette, who appeared completely thrown by this new development.

“I need to find him” said Harry blankly.

“This is a little surprising Harry, I was under the impression you didn’t require any help” said Lunette, not spitefully or sarcastically.

“I don’t want help”

“Then what is it you want? If it is revenge you want for whatever he’s done then I won’t tell you where he is.”

“You won’t tell me” said Harry, feeling anger boil up inside himself. “This is the man who has held me at wand point on so many occasions, he always comes out on top, I wouldn’t stand to gain anything by trying to exact revenge”

“Then what is it you’re looking for? Why should I reveal his hiding place?”

“Because I want the mirror back.”

“Mirror, what mirror?” said Lunette blankly

“Don’t play stupid Professor, you’re not. He held me at wand point a few weeks ago, in Grimmauld place and took the mirror from me. I know he has it and I want it back.”

“Ok Harry, I can see you’re not an idiot, obviously, but I cannot do what you are asking me to do.”

“Can’t or won’t?” said Harry, feeling the anger get even higher inside him.

“Both. Harry I know Severus, and I know you, if I reveal his hiding place it will end in violence, I know it. Besides, he is attempting to destroy the mirror as we speak.”

“I wish I could believe that, but in my eyes he will always be the one who killed my parents, and murdered Dumbledore.”

“You’re hardly making a case for you not resorting to violence Harry.”

Harry grimaced, hating himself for giving her ammunition.

“I’m not going to attempt to harm him, I just want that mirror back.”

“It will be returned to you as soon as Severus discovers how to destroy it.”

“I don’t want to wait that long, I want it back now, I will be the one to destroy it.”

“No Harry, and if you’ll excuse me I have work to do. I will find you when I hear from him again, I promise.”

“I don’t want your promises, I’ll do this alone, if you wont tell me where he is, then I will find him.” Without saying another word, he walked towards the door, opening it and stepping through the gap. He didn’t notice Lunette smile to herself, and shake her head.

“You are not alone Harry” said Lunette as she sat down. As Harry walked out of the room, closing the door loudly behind him, he had never felt more alone, for the first time in a long time, he was by himself. He stood outside her door for a few moments, completely at a loss for what to do next. The mirror was out of his reach, he couldn’t touch it there, but there were others he could pursue, and if Snape really was attempting to destroy it then it would work in his favour. The locket was gone, he thought as he walked out of the room and towards the common room. The mirror was in Snape’s hands, which left three more with the Book and the Ring having been accounted for as well. He knew the seventh piece of the puzzle would be located inside Voldemort himself, but where would the others be? Could one of these objects really be contained in his pocket? Could he really have one on him? It was certainly possible, he thought. Or of course, it could be it was an empty shell, and that he had intended to create a Horcrux with killing Harry? It had a certain symmetry to it, that he would kill who would become his arch enemy, and make himself invulnerable in the process. But he dismissed that, there was a magical power within this item, he had felt it inside his house. Harry was racking his brains as he walked along, trying desperately to think of anything which stood out, anything which could point him in the direction of a Horcrux, but was met with nothingness. The whole issue was a subject of great confusion to him; there could be any number of possible explanations, each one more confusing than the last. The overriding thought in his head was that if it was indeed a Horcrux, then he knew what he had to do; he had to destroy the jewel. His mind was now set, and he moved with the confidence that he knew what he had to do, he knew where he was going and what he would have to do. But how to do it? He thought, desperately trying to think of anything which would work, a spell which would destroy it, or anything which would kill the magical energy contained within the jewel. Suddenly his thoughts dwelled on the book he had learnt so many new spells from; Advanced Potion making. But not just any copy of the book, the one he’d hidden in the Room of requirement, and was now in his trunk. Perhaps there would be something there, but even if there wasn’t, he had to at least try. But what about the others, he thought, he didn’t want them to be a part of this, he had to do this alone. It was one thing letting them come with him to all the dangerous places they had been to, but it was quite another to attempt to destroy a Horcrux with them in the room with him, he wouldn’t put them at risk as well as himself. His path was set before him, he knew what he would do now. He seized the invisibility cloak from inside his robes and ran towards the Fat Lady. Once he arrived, he spoke the password quietly, and swung the cloak around him, before stepping through the now open gap. It was a nice change for Harry as he walked through the common room; normally he would have the eyes of everyone in the room on him, as if he was liable to explode at any moment. He took a minute or so to stare at everyone in the room as they would stare at him if only they could see him. His eyes fell upon his friends, Ron and Hermione were talking, Ron looked animated and Hermione looked just exasperated. He couldn’t see Ginny and wondered where she was. Pushing the thought from his mind, he walked through the common room and up the staircase towards his dorm. Standing outside the door he prayed it would be empty, he opened the door and hid behind the door frame, allowing the door to swing open and stop against the wall before he walked through himself. He didn’t dare breathe until he saw the room was empty, and breathed out heavily. Harry rushed towards his bed, closing the door behind him, and

Threw open his trunk, emptying the contents all over his space until he found the book, buried at the bottom. Having found what he was looking for, he squashed everything back into the trunk, and held the book under his left arm as he walked towards the door. Harry suddenly stopped when he was close to the door, having been sure he’d heard something move outside the room. He held back, and moved to the wall next to the door. Suddenly the door burst open and Ron stormed through. He looked livid, and just strode defiantly towards the bed, throwing himself down in a huff. Harry walked through the still open door, and turned to see Ron walking straight towards him; he seized the handle and slammed the door in Harry’s invisible face. It had a certain symbolism to it, thought Harry, and it spurred him on to leave quickly, and to head to somewhere where he could work in peace. The answer dawned on him as soon as he’d asked himself the question: The Room of Requirement. No-one would think of there, no-one would suspect he would be there, and he could read the book, and work on the Horcrux in peace He walked through the common room, seeing Ginny, who sat alone in a high backed chair on what appeared to be a potions essay. He had to fight the urge to run towards her and throw her arms around her, but he had to do it alone, whatever happened he wouldn’t put her at risk by having her in the room when he did this. He didn’t know what would happen, anything could be caused by this, and he wouldn’t put her at risk by having her in the room at the same time. He wouldn’t risk doing that to the one he loved. Wrenching himself from where he stood, gazing at her, he left the room and walked up towards the Room of Requirement.



“I need some place to work in peace; I need some place to work in peace,

I need some place to work in peace” He said as he walked along, back and forth in front of the blank wall. He waited and waited, and just when he threatened to lose patience, and was ready to try something else, a plain wooded door appeared from nothing, and Harry grinned, whipping off the invisibility cloak and opening the door into the room. Harry could tell from the moment he stepped inside the room that this would be somewhere good for anyone to study in peace, or to do anything in peace. He closed the door behind him, and took a look around. It was now a fairly large room, with tall bookcases covering 2 of the four walls. In the middle, directly in front of him there stood large tables with comfy looking chairs arranged around them, and bright candles in the middle. Harry walked towards the nearest table, and placed the cloak to the left of where he intended to sit down, just within reach, in case someone came in there. He set the book down, sitting so he still had line of sight with the door, and could react accordingly, should his peace be shattered. He sat down in front of the book, having ample light provided for him in the otherwise dark room, and settled himself, turning the cover and reading from page one.



Reading the book took Harry through a rollercoaster of emotions. He thought back to the previous year, feeling a desperate and painful pang in the pit of his stomach as he remembered everything that had happened. As his eyes skimmed over each of the spells he had used; Sectumsempra, Levicorpus, and all the tiny notations around each and every potion, which Harry had used to earn himself the dubious honour of being Slughorn’s latest favourite pupil. But would he, Snape have any notations about the Horcruxes and how to destroy them? He doubted it somewhat, but he had to at least look. There may well have been something in there all along.



Time had no concept in the room, Harry had no idea how long he had been inside the room, just turning page after page searching for what he was looking for, any form of a clue would be better than nothing. Just when he was ready to give up, and felt like throwing the book into the fire. Harry noticed something about a quarter of the way through the book, in the very corner of the page, in writing so miniscule he could barely read it.

Seven is the ultimate

“Seven is the ultimate?” he read aloud, what does that mean? He said inside his mind, hoping his brain would answer. Seven, hadn’t Dumbledore said that it was the strongest number, magically speaking, seven was the strongest number, the most powerful. Feeling slightly buoyed by this discovery, he carried on reading. His hope had been reignited, and he read on, his interest restored. He flipped the pages over and over, looking for another clue. Then, suddenly, out of the blue it hit him, seven was the clue. He hastily leafed back through the book, looking for page number seven, and hoping the trail would continue from there. He scanned the page a lot more intently than he had ever studied anything before, more than any school book or other text, this was what he needed to know, he could feel it. As Snape’s handwriting was so small. So miniscule, Harry really had to squint, especially in the low light of the candles on the desk. He could use a magnifying glass, that would be the most useful thing, he thought, and looked around, onto the shelves, but couldn’t see one. His eyes lit up like the sun at dawn as he finally saw what he thought must be the second clue; Two is better than one.

“What the hell does that mean?” said Harry, dismayed, and sat there for a moment, cursing his luck, and wondering what it could mean. Then his mind moved on, like it suddenly came to him. Seven was the connection to everything, perhaps the clue would be on page 21, or maybe on page 77 was what the riddle meant. He raced through the book, passing 21 because of his over-eagerness, and leafed back quickly to page 21 and studied it intently. Nothing was there, so he went on to page 77. Of course, two are better than one, two sevens instead of one, he said inside his head. He went in search of the next clue, which would hopefully reveal the secret he craved. All he could see were Snape’s notations on the correct brewing of Felix Felicus, and even that wouldn’t be of any use to Harry at that moment. He didn’t have any of the potion left, and it would take something like six months to correctly brew anymore. What he wouldn’t give for some now though, just a drop of it would do. He searched through the pages, searching and searching for an answer, looking for the path to be revealed to him. It wasn’t here though, he looked through it again and again, thinking there must be something missing, something he had overlooked. But there was nothing. Then it appeared, as if by magic, the answer to his search. It lay secreted between two lines about the correct stirring procedure after the fourth month had passed; two words which were completely out of place.

“How to…” he read aloud “how to what?” he said again. This had to mean something; it just didn’t fit with the rest of the text, so it had to mean something. He turned the page and scanned through the black lines. There were hardly any notes on this page, and the one which stood out was in the top left corner, barely legible.

“Create a…” these had to be linked, he thought. “How to create a…” he repeated quietly, unable to hide his excitement which shone through in his voice. He looked over to the page opposite, hoping for the final piece of the clue he was in the middle of. He assumed the pattern would continue, so looked across. Then Harry found it, almost as soon as he set eyes upon the page, he reeled away from the book in shock and awe of what he had read. Slowly he returned, but the shock remained the same.

“Horcrux” he breathed quietly. Snape knew this at sixteen?! What on earth else did he know? He forgot himself for just a moment, and took an appreciative and respectful glance at the man’s ability, to know that at such a young age was just mind boggling. Then he remembered the hatred that brewed in every bone in his body, and the respect vanished as suddenly as it had appeared. He’d not forgotten it; it had just lain dormant for just a few seconds. Harry scanned the page, hoping for something else, but there was nothing. There wasn’t a single note on there, nor the next page, nor the next. He panicked and stopped for a second to catch his breath and gather his thoughts. He looked away from the book for a few seconds to the centre of the table where there stood a few supplies, spare sheets of parchment, quills and ink pots. He took one of each, and began to write down notes of what he had discovered and the pages he had found them on.

“How to create a Horcrux” he said out loud. Even If Harry knew that it wouldn’t be much use to him. He wasn’t about to start creating Horcruxes, but he knew how to destroy them, and perhaps understanding its creation would reveal understanding of how to destroy it. Suddenly a thought burst into his head from nowhere, What if the number seven’s significance continued to the end of the book? He flipped over the pages quickly to the back of the book, but was dismayed to discover there were only just under seven hundred pages long, it didn’t extend to 777. Where to now? He thought. “What am I supposed to do?” shouted Harry into the blank pages of the notes. As his eyes flicked across the pages his eyes lit up, when he saw that the page count suddenly jumped from 697 to 777. There was nothing in between, it just suddenly sprung without warning. And there he saw what he had looked for, for so long, here at last was the answer to all the riddles lay in front of him. Frustration gave way to excitement as he looked down. It was a small section of writing, formed of Snape’s usual illegible scrawl. But what made it doubly difficult was that it was backwards, the writing was miniscule, and he could barely read it, but he reached for the parchment with his notes and wrote down what he read.



H…o…w… t…o… c…r…e…a…t…e… a… H…o…r…c…r…u…x

.

Harry’s nerves tingled with excitement, this was it, this is how it was done, and maybe it would provide some clue to how he could undo the magic. He read on.



W…h…e…n t…h…e k…i…l…l…i…n…g c…u…r…s…e i…s u…s…e…d t…o e…n…d a l…i…f…e y…o…u m…a…y u…s…e t…h…e e…n…e…r…g…y t…o s…h…i…e…l…d y…o…u…r s…o…u…l a…n…d l…i…f…e f…o…r…c…e T…o d…o t…h…i…s o…n… e n…e…e…d…s a…n o…b…j…e…c…t p…r…e…s…e…n…t a…t t…h…e m…o…m…e…n…t o…f d…e…a…t…h a…n…d t…h…e f…o…l…l…o…w…i…n…g i…n…c…a…n…t…a…t…i…o…n: C…r…e…a…o... H…o…r…c…r…u…c...e...m…o I…f t…h…i…s i…s p…e…r…f…o…r…m…e…d a…t t…h…e c…o…r…r…e…c…t t…i…m…e; w…i…t…h…i…n 1…0 s…e…c…o…n…d…s o…f D…e…a…t…h t…h…e s…o…u…l y…o…u l…o…s…t w…i…t…h t…h…e k…i…l…l…i…n…g c…u…r…s…e w…i…l…l b…e s…t…o…r…e…d i…n…s…i…d…e a…n…d s…a…v…e y…o…u i…f n…o…t t…h…e m…o…r…t…a…l f…l…e…s…h w…h…i…c…h c…o…n…t…a…i…n…s i…t.



Harry breathed in deeper with every letter he translated. He was certain he hadn’t breathed the entire time he was reading this passage, so breathed roughly and loudly. Harry read through his translation, looking more shocked than ever with every word. He now knew the answer, he knew how to create the most powerful Dark Object imaginable. He tried to expunge the words and the spell from his mind, but it wouldn’t move. Harry felt sick just by having it inside his head, and he resolved never to use it, to force it to the back of his mind and leave it there. Whatever joy he felt at following the trail to this point was gone, and forgotten. It was remarkable really, that Snape knew all this, and had known it at Harry’s age, but he didn’t know the secret he craved, how to destroy them. Harry closed the book and restored the ink and pen to the centre of the table. He picked up the book and walked towards the bookcases, with every intention of hiding the book there, in case he should need it again. Harry looked through the bookshelves, hoping he would find a more advanced text which wouldn’t be in the library. Nothing stood out, however, and Harry made a space between a book on unicorns and advanced Charms, slotted the potions book inside and returned to the table, where his wand and his cloak still lay. Harry reached over to the parchment which contained his discoveries, and folded it up, placing it deep inside his robes, with every intention of keeping it there wherever he went. His bare fingers brushed against the cloth concealed in another pocket, where he knew the cloth would be. Harry closed his fingers around the cloth, and pulled it out, placing it on the table, like some hideous offering to a false god. Slowly, taking one corner at a time, he pulled the cloth away from the middle, revealing the Jewel. Harry took a moment to appreciate the beauty and perfection of the jewel and the shining silver around it, which created the mouth and body of the serpent.

“What are you?” he said to the object, then laughed to himself as he realised the ridiculous nature of what he was asking. It was an almost perfect form, the many faceted jewel was perfectly smooth and each segment flowed into the next one. Harry then looked at the silver; both the silver part and the emerald were in remarkable condition considering the circumstances. It had been there for almost sixteen years, and yet it looked as perfect as the day it had been formed. There wasn’t a single scratch on the surface of the silver either. But appreciation wasn’t going to help him here, he thought, he needed to know how to destroy this thing. He sat away from it for a moment, trying to clear his mind and think about what it could be, and how on earth he would destroy it. In all his years at Hogwarts, nothing had prepared him for this, and he suspected the staff wouldn’t even know anything about what he was going to attempt. Several times while Harry was sat in his chair, he was threatened to be overcome by hopelessness, and sometimes he could have succumbed to the apparent hopelessness of the situation, but he wouldn’t let him destroy it, he couldn’t let it take control, and he knew he had to destroy it. All of a sudden the gem started to pulsate with an eerie poisonous light. It flashed beneath the surface of and started to hum and vibrate with magical energy, just as it had when he found it on his bedroom floor. Harry felt the same fear ruse inside him as he had then, and he just found himself stuck there, unable or unwilling to move. His eyes stayed transfixed on this glowing object, and he sat there in fear, expecting it to explode at any moment. It appeared as a bomb to Harry, and was sure he would be caught in the blast. Using his reflexes, he seized his wand from the table and backed away from it, screwing up his face in a defiant snarl at being caught like this.



Harry didn’t know what happened next, he didn’t have time to react nor time to think about it, all he knew was he was sprawled out on the floor in horrific pain. The pain that had exploded at that moment was as strong as he had ever felt before. It originated at his scar, and it felt like it had been stabbed over and over by an invisible assailant. The pain extended from there to every nerve in his body, each one feeling as if it had been set on fire. Harry was bent double on the floor, and yet did not shriek nor scream, the pain was too much for him to scream, he couldn’t form the words; all he could do was force himself to stay conscious and not be overcome by this. He closed his eyes and tried to force it out with all the strength he had.

“You will leave!” he said defiantly, forcing the energy out, forcing the pain to leave him in peace. As strongly as he was fighting, the pain hit back with even more strength, and it seemed the harder he pushed, the harder it would counter attack. For a split second he felt like giving up, and accepting the inevitable fate that loomed over him. He could hear laughter inside his mind as he clung onto consciousness, a low manic laughter which chilled him to the bone, which mocked him, and goaded him into action. Well it had been successful; he wouldn’t let it take control.

“You cannot take me!” he shouted out loud, screwing up his face and tensing every muscle in his body to force the intruder out. It seemed to work, or at least it seemed to abate for a few seconds, which gave Harry his chance. Raising his wand he said “Occlumens!” clearing his mind of everything else, and just focusing on driving it out. For the very first time when using it, it had worked, the energy had left him, and he was left with his mind clear of all offensive thoughts. He jumped to his feet and stood facing the table; he opened his eyes dramatically and strode towards it in a gesture of defiance. He pointed his wand at the object and without speaking, without mouthing, or even thinking a spell, a flash of blue lightening exploded from the end of his wand and crashed straight into the centre of the perfect emerald. Harry suddenly found himself laughing, uncontrollably, he laughed so hard because he had figured it out, he had figured out the secret and now, nothing could stand before him, nothing could hope to compete with his skill and power, he kept his wand pointed at the object as he watched the next event unfold.



The Jewel rather than shattering and losing its power as he expected it too, began vibrating harder, and it could have been his imagination, but it seemed to be ever-so slowly raising off the table. He shook his head, thinking it couldn’t move upwards without any visible support. But it was moving, it wasn’t his imagination, and it was slowly, eerily, rising from the table. The object hung in the air in front of him, appearing more menacing with every passing second. Filling his body with fear, Harry watched as the jewel started to pulsate and crack with energy, indeed more energy than he’d ever seen before. Then, somehow, the gem started to spin in a clockwise direction. At first he thought it was his imagination, and tried to push the thought away, it couldn’t be spinning. But it was moving faster and faster, building up more and more momentum, until it just resembled a green blur. The Arrogance and Confidence Harry had felt mere moments before had long since gone, to be replaced by pure fear. He stood perfectly still, held by the fear and too scared to do anything about it. The spinning of the jewel seemed to get even faster, and the form was changing right in front of him. He could see a cloud of green smoke detaching itself from the jewel and spreading straight out from there. Suddenly, a spark of pure energy cracked within the jewel, he could sense the power contained within, and only served to heighten his level of fear. Yellow sparks of electric energy broke from the jewel, stretching out, and then being drawn back into the centre. Harry just didn’t know how to act, his stomach was a jumbled mass of nerves, and the fear rose inside him, all the time getting higher and higher. As it reached its peak, the jewel burst and exploded. Acting purely on instinct, Harry shouted “PROTEGO!” the only spell he could think of. The jewel exploded in a could of yellow smoke, and a spear of green light flew out and flew straight at Harry. He braced himself for the worst, and held his shield steady in front of him. The light slammed into the barrier, and he was immediately shoved backwards by the force, it was almost uncontrollable. Harry poured more and more energy into the spell, fighting the angry force with all his strength. But it wouldn’t abate, he couldn’t control it. The fear he felt was at such a height, he didn’t have the capacity to feel anything else. The only other thought was that of imminent defeat, he expected it to come, he almost knew he was done for, the shield buckled under the force and almost collapsed, forcing his attention back to the here and now. The beam flew away from Harry, as all hope was lost, and the shield faltered and died out. Almost as if the energy sensed it, the beam swung back around in a blinding flash of speed and force, aiming straight at Harry’s chest. He shouted “PROTEGO!” again, but it was too late, the shield hadn’t come up in time, and the beam connected with his chest. He was thrown violently across the room into a bookcase where he felt no more.

Chapter 21:



Harry awoke in a cold, dark, and lonely place. Breathing hard, and trying to adapt himself to his new environment, his first thought was that he was dead. There was no other explanation for his current location; he simply had to be dead. Trying desperately to look past the obvious dread of his situation, his picked his brain, trying desperately to think about what had happened, and what he had done. He remembered, as if in a former life, how he had taken the book and the broach to the room of Requirement to attempt its destruction. The memories were hazy, and he was even sure himself if it had happened, nor what had happened next. Pieces of the story appeared in his mind, and piece by piece, the puzzle was solved. He remembered pain, searing, unbearable pain which cit through his entire body, spreading from his Scar, which he touched in reflex of the memory, to the rest of his body. As he rubbed his fingers over the scarred flesh, he felt a slight tingle, but nothing more. Then it was hazy, and didn’t explain much of what had happened to him, until it hit him, he had to destroy this thing, and thought he had done so, when it had retaliated upon him and had tried to kill him. He recalled the green light which tried to stroke him, and how he had fought it off, but it was too quick, and too strong for him, it had struck him before his guard was raised again, and then all he knew was darkness.

* * * * * * *

So this was death, he thought, looking around, this was what he saw, and this, he assumed would be his lot from now on. He sat on a cold and hard floor, but from where he sat he may well have not been sat on anything at all. The whole space around him was pitch black, and he saw nothing, no hope, no salvation, nothing would help him here. This couldn’t be death thought, how could it be, he said inside his mind. Of all the places he could be, he would never have imagined this. He tried to stand up, and to get a better view of where he was, but he was held by some invisible and all powerful force. If this is it? If I am really dead, thought Harry as he sat there, would he be stuck in this black nothingness for all eternity, was there anything he could do from here? Or would he go to another place, and if that be the case would he find everyone again? Would everyone he had lost be there? Dumbledore, Sirius, his Parents, was he hoping against all hope that they would be there, and at least have them all with him again if he had to accept death. But what of his life? What about everything he had? He had lost a lot, that was certain, but he still had so much to live for, he was not alone. His friends would be there, Ron and Hermione would be by his side forever, and everyone at Hogwarts he counted as a friend. What about his mission, to rid the world of Voldemort? Was it over? Had the Dark Lord won without ever having to face Harry again, and forced Harry to live a life of meaningless death. And Ginny, his heart felt human, unlike the rest of him, and his soul ached at the thought of her. What would she do, and what would he do without her? How could he go on? He hadn’t spoken to her before he had gone, and he didn’t even know if anyone knew what had happened to him. He thought someone would notice, but he didn’t like to dwell on that too much, in case he was wrong. Suddenly the darkness surrounded him, tighter than before, and took over, driving his semi-conscious state into the black, and he thought no more.

* * * * * * *

Time had no meaning in this prison, and the next time Harry woke up, he had no idea how long he had been out for, or what would happen to him. It wasn’t fear that held him in place, that had already been burnt out in the room of requirement. It was sorrow, and the dreaded thought that he would never see anyone ever again, and would be stuck in this black void for evermore. Harry wasn’t sure when he noticed the odd presence in the space around him, he was just suddenly aware of what was there. It appeared to be a very dim light, in the far distance of his vision. The vision that was held in his head, that he was inside a tiny box, was now shattered because of this light’s location, far far away from him. It was that image that had held him in place, but now he knew he was not helpless, and had a purpose. He gazed towards this light, it was a long way from him, and was very feint. But it signalled something inside him, it signalled a hope which until then had been given up on as a dream, a fantasy which slowly disintegrated inside his mind. Very slowly, he stood up from where he had fallen, always keeping his eyes focused on the light, as if he was frightened that it would be extinguished, and would leave him without anything. He reached inside his robes, reaching towards his wand pocket, but was shocked to find it wasn’t there. Despite his fear of moving into the unknown without any protection, he pressed on, and stumbled, as if confounded, towards the dim white light, so far away from him. He felt lost as he moved towards the light, and it didn’t seem to be getting any closer. It was as if it was a million miles away, and no matter how far he walked, it didn’t seem to make any difference, it just stayed there, unreachable, like he was being taunted and staying away from him on purpose. Harry felt the weight of everything fall down on him, pushing his shoulders, then his whole body down, he was powerless to resist and he fell to his knees, and lay still, held him place by the sheer force of the energy around him.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Harry wasn’t sure how long he had been lying there for. He just remembered the weight, and the force which held him there. Slowly, he opened his eyes, for they too had been closed by the force, and he blinking sharply, and looked around him. He was dismayed, but not surprised to find himself in the dark space, and as he looked around him, his eyes refocused on the light, which as far as his blurred vision could tell, was as far away, as it had been when he started moving, and no closer, despite the distance he had walked. He pushed down on the black floor, trying desperately to force himself upwards, but he couldn’t do it. He tried with all his might to push himself upwards, but he couldn’t move. This was it, he thought, and the thought surged through him like poison: He could do no more, and he would be stuck in this prison forever, the thought overpowered him, and forced him further down into the hard back floor.

“No” he said finally, after another seemingly endless passage of time.

“You will not keep me here” he said to whoever was listening.

“YOU WILL NOT TAKE ME!” he shouted in defiance, he pushed up again, the resurgent energy inside hi, carried him straight up and he finally broke free of the wall that had held him in place. He stood up, and breathing quickly, he ran, faster that he had ever run before, he had a focus now, he had to get out of there, he would get out of there, back to those he loved, and those he would destroy. The thoughts were the only ones in his head as he kept running towards the light, which now appeared closer than before, it wasn’t by much, but it was closer, and that pulled Harry along. It was like a rope had been tied around Harry’s waist, and was dragging him along faster than he could ever run. He suddenly felt the weight of the force behind him, and then on top of him as it tried to force it down, but he pushed it off and kept running. Buoyed by his new found strength which spread through his body, he ran towards the light which was now almost close enough to touch. His legs were running on empty, he was tired but forced his body to work, adrenaline carried him through everything, ignoring the pain that shot through his whole body. He was out of breath, but carried on regardless, as he knew that if he stopped, the force would take him, and he would never escape. Harry ran faster and faster and he finally saw what he was running towards. It appeared to be a double door, which spread out to whatever was on the other side. He carried on regardless of not knowing where he was heading, his choice was between staying here and being stuck forever, or to go over to the other side and at least get clear of where he was now. Harry suddenly noticed that the gap was getting smaller. He squinted at the space in front of him, and knew it to be correct, it was indeed getting smaller. Breaking into a sprint, he ran faster and faster, not knowing how far away he was from the door, but knowing he had to make it through it. He got closer and closer to the door, and he could see it getting smaller and smaller, and he could feel the force, pushing behind him in one final effort to trap him there.

“NO!” he shouted as he closed right in on the door, the gap was almost gone, then before he realised, he was next to the gap. He threw himself into a running dive, his body flew through the air and through the gap, and it closed firmly shut as his legs followed him through. Harry landed on his head on the other side, grazing his forearms as he tried to protect himself, but fell onto the hard floor like a rag doll. Darkness surrounded him, and all hope evaporated, he had failed. Harry fell backwards, feeling as if he was indeed stuck here. Exhaustion and breathlessness overpowered him and he lost consciousness again.

The next time Harry woke up, he didn’t know what had happened again. The memory of what had happened to him was gone, as if it had never occurred, and he was lost again, surrounded by darkness and without any hope. He thought he could hear something, off in the distance by dismissed it as unimportant. Harry then remembered the reason for the mood, which was as dark as the space around him. As he looked around he found he was surrounded by darkness, and despite appearing to have escaped, he was stuck here. He shrugged off the growing noise, sure that it was nothing more than whoever held him there, taunting him inside his black prison, and he felt as if he would never get out. Just when his despair reached its highest level, the noise got louder, until it was perfectly clear and rang out like a beacon.

“What happened to him?” said a voice. Harry thought he recognised it, but dismissed it as false hope brought on by mass hysteria.

“I don’t know, I thought something was wrong, and I found him like this” said another female voice.

“Will he be alright?” said another voice, male this time, and sounding as dark as the room he was in.

“Ginny, I need you to tell me exactly what happened.”

Harry couldn’t believe his ears, it had to be a hoax, it just had to be them playing with his mind, there was no way it could be real, it just couldn’t be.

“Well Professor, I was worried, after I last saw Harry a few hours ago, he hadn’t come back down from the bathroom, and he’d been gone for far too long to just be having a shower, so I went looking for him.”

This wasn’t a hoax he said inside his mind, he was listening to a real conversation and to what had happened. He smiled for the first time in hours, just listening to her voce, which at once, filled him with warmth and hope, he listened on.

“Where did you go?”

“I went up to the boys Dorms, hoping he’d just be in his bedroom and have fallen asleep or something.”

“And?” said the voice he now recognised as belonging to Professor McGonagall.

“I found Ron” she replied, Harry couldn’t help but notice a coldness to her voice.

“And did he know where he was?”

“No we had a fight.”

“What about?”

“It doesn’t matter. So I left there, hoping to find Hermione, as she may have seen him.”

“What did you do next?”

“Well I left the common room, and found her almost straight away, just outside the Fat Lady. She told me she had seen Harry, which I thought was a little odd as I hadn’t seen him come down, and that he was going to see Professor Audiutry.”

“So you went to see her I assume?”

“Yes, I went to find her, with Hermione, and we found her in her room. She told us she had seen Harry, and that he was going somewhere, and that he wouldn’t need any help.”

“I see, what did he need help with?”

This was the critical moment, thought Harry. What would she say? Would she reveal everything he had tried so hard to keep secret? He couldn’t breathe through fear, and he just sat there, praying silently she would be discreet.

“She didn’t say” said Hermione’s calm voice, It sounded like music to Harry, that his secret had been kept, wherever his body was, all the people he cared about most dearly for were with him.

“So then we figured Harry would go somewhere quiet, somewhere he could work in peace on whatever the problem was.”

“I see, and where did you look?”

“Everywhere Professor, we looked all over the place, every empty classroom, all over the school, we just couldn’t find him for so long.”

“But you did in the end?”

“By the time we found Harry the damage had already been done, the spell had taken Harry and we found him like this, said Hermione, weeping as she spoke.”

“Then we got him to here as quickly as we could” Said Ginny, sounding just as weepy.

Harry breathed again, his body must be at Hogwarts, but where was his soul? Where was he trapped, and was there a way out? His hope was rekindled now, he had a goal, and a target again. IT had never been forgotten, but now he had to find a way out. He looked around, hoping that somewhere he would see another light, another beacon of hope, and a way out of there. Suddenly he felt the wind knocked out of him, and the room spin around. He fell hard onto the floor, and his already blurry vision made the darkness even more obscure, and the spinning grew faster and faster, until he was dragged into the unconsciousness that pulled him in.

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

Harry slowly opened his eyes when next he could, till they were about half open, and blinked repeatedly, not believing what was happening. There was no longer a black wall around him but was somewhere he was sure he had seen before. He was sure he knew where he was, he knew this place, then it hit him, he was in the Hospital Wing. Somehow they had got him here, they had found him, and had got him to a safe place. Quite how they had done this was beyond Harry’s imagination, he would have to ask them when he found them. He glanced around the room, his eyes remained half closed, and he slowly craned his neck to glance around the room, despite the pain which spread through his entire body at the slightest movement. He felt like screaming, but no sound left his body. His only alternative was to look, and ignore the pain, and keep it within his body. Harry rotated his head very slowly, from left to right, keeping his eyes squinted, but open, despite the pain. Suddenly the pain was gone; there was only warmth and love, which dissolved the pain within seconds. Harry breathed in the scent, and found he could barely smell anything. His senses were weak, and he doubted they were even working, he was able to make out who it was though, he knew who held him now. Before he saw the bright red hair and vivid green eyes, he felt the love through his numbed senses, and the warmth spread from her as she held him while he lay there still.

“Gin…” he tried to say, but his throat was weak, he barely made any sound at all.”

“Shhh” she said, rubbing his arms as if she had been unsure she would ever see him again.

“Try not to move Harry; you’ve been through a lot, just stay still ok?” She brought her arms around him again, he tried desperately to move his arms to hug her, but he only managed to raise his right arm by a few centimetres. He felt desperately weak, but was given new strength by her touch. Harry noticed they were not alone.

“Hermione, tell Madam Pomphrey to come out now.”

“Ok, Harry.” Said Hermione’s kind voice “You’re going to be alright” she too walked up to Harry’s side, and hugged him herself.

“Don’t you ever do that again” she sobbed into his shoulder.

“Hermione” said Ginny, “Madam Pomphrey.”

“Of course, I’m sorry” she said, standing up and wiping her eyes. Harry couldn’t tell, but guessed she’d gone out of his sight to the office to find Madam Pomphrey. A similar shade of red to Ginny appeared in his sight on the left hand side of his limited field of vision. He felt Ginny cling onto him, not wanting to let go, and seemingly shocked he was alive, and at least awake and talking to them. He gazed at Ron blankly, waiting for him to speak, and unsure whether he’d be happy or not to see Harry awake.

“Harry, I need to talk to you, but now’s not the time, I’m glad you’re ok mate, or at least you will be ok “He felt Ron clasp his hand, and quickly let go. Harry tried to speak and smile to him, but he couldn’t do anything, his mouth just wouldn’t respond the way he wanted it to, he had lost all control. Out of his line of sight he heard footsteps, as if miles away, but in reality was right next to him. He felt Ginny be ushered away from him, and he cried out inside his head for him to come back, he groaned out an incomprehensible noise.

“Shhh Harry” said Madam Pomphrey’s voice as she stood over him, and he blinked and slowly turned to look at her.

“Easy Harry” said Ginny, taking his hand and restoring his calm. Madam Pomphrey leaned over him, drawing her wand and shining a light in each of his eyes, causing him to recoil and blink repeatedly, but he still had the image burnt onto his retina. He felt as if he should be feeling something, but didn’t know if he had the capacity to. Madam Pomphrey left his sight, and Harry only had the blank white of the ceiling to occupy his attention, until she returned thirty seconds later.

“Harry I need you to drink this, it will send you to sleep and heal you.”

Harry growled in protest, he tried to speak but couldn’t do it. He didn’t want to go back to sleep, he was scared of what would happen. What if he returned to the darkness? He knew he wouldn’t have the strength to escape it a second time, what if he never came out again?

Harry felt a hand reach out to him mouth, and try to force it open. He tried in vain to resist, he didn’t want to take anything which would return him to the darkness. He sensed a new force; it was now longer the rough hand of Madam Pomphrey, but the soft and gentle hand of Ginny, which cupped around his mouth.

“Harry listen to me, I know you’re scared. But the only way you are going to get better is if you drink this potion, it will heal you, and return you to us, you need to do this Harry, please do it for me.”

Her words, spoken softly into his hear dissolved his fears instantly. He opened his mouth slightly, and felt a bottle move towards his face. He recoiled as the liquid moved over his lips and once it entered his mouth it turned painfully hot. Harry spat it out, acting on reflex to this new stimulus. None of the liquid remained in his mouth as he spat out, covering his blankets in the hot liquid. Harry heard a huff of annoyance and a sigh of pity.

“Harry please” said Ginny, simply. She took the bottle from Madam Pomphrey and moved it towards his lips. She kissed him on the cheek and his nerve endings exploded, he could barely keep his eyes open as she opened his mouth, and slowly tipped the liquid into his mouth. Harry fought the urge to spit it out and swallowed hard, forcing the fiery liquid down his throat. The tiredness he already felt overcame him, and he crashed down onto the blankets again in heavy slumber.

* * * * * *

Harry woke again, not knowing how long he had been out for, nor did he have any definite knowledge of what had happened to him. Everytime he went back into sleep it seemed to blank out of his mind, leaving only fragments of the memory in his mind. The sleep itself was absolute; no dreams could ever penetrate the depth of slumber he had fallen into. He found he could open his eyes, not just till halfway open like before, but to all the way open. He blinked hard, causing small tears to leave each corner of his vivid green eyes, and he slowly grew accustomed to the gloom around him. It was obviously late at night, and all the lights were out around him. He looked around, and outside to see the light of the full moon shine through the windows, and cast a bright spectrum of light across the room, and eerie shadows to appear on the far wall. He then noticed shapes on the wall, brought on as much by his deteriorating mental state than by anything else. He saw what appeared to be a cloaked figure, almost Dementor like in shape, which caused him to recoil sharply, until he realised it was just a figment of his imagination. He looked away from the wall, and saw Ginny was next to him, in the chair by his bed, and was asleep. He hadn’t seen here till then, and felt calm restore itself in his body. The moonlight glowed on her skin, making her appear as some goddess from ancient lore and he immediately felt at peace. He tried to get up and move towards her, but the weight of his pain and what he had done held him in place, he tried to get her attention, but couldn’t make a sound. So unable to do anything else, he settled for watching her sleep. He didn’t know how much time had passed with his head resting on one side, and just gazing into her closed eyes and at her glowing skin. He finally closed his eyes, and found sleep with the serene and beautiful thought of Ginny by his side the whole time, that thought was the only one which prevailed as he fell asleep again.

When Harry next woke up the room looked completely different again. Gone was the bright moonlight which cast the shadows over the entire ward, to be replaced by grey cloud and the sound of heavy rain impacting on the windows and rooftops. He looked around, and saw immediately that he wasn’t alone. Ginny was sat In the chair she had fallen asleep in the night before. Ron and Hermione were sat next to her as well, and they all looked as if they hadn’t had enough sleep. He felt guilt spread through his body for putting them through this, but defended his decision inside his mind; he didn’t want to think about how he would have felt if the spell had had its terrible effect on one of the others rather than him. The thought ate at his mind, and he couldn’t bare the thought of the spell killing one of them, it would have been his fault for allowing them along, and he couldn’t have lived with himself.

“Ginny” he said weakly, he was shocked for being able to speak, and smiled at her. She smiled back at him, and ran towards him. The others did too.

“Harry” said Ginny as she reached his bed and lent over him, holding onto him gently.

“Thank-you” he said, his voice was so quiet, as if he had lost his voice somewhere.

“You can talk again”

“Barely” he said, coughing loudly”

“Easy Harry, we were so scared, I thought you’d never wake up” she said sobbing.

“I’m so sorry I put you through this, I never meant to.”

“Shhh, its ok” she said quietly, rubbing his arms to reassure him. “Ron can you fetch Madam Pomphrey?”

“She’s already coming” he said, turning to leave, and then turning back.

Harry smiled at them all, so relieved to be able to talk, albeit barely, and so happy they were all around him. He twisted his neck to see Madam Pomphrey was standing on his left hand side, and was leaning over his bed. She shined a light in each of his eyes, and then, apparently satisfied, stood back.

“Harry, I need you to try and sit up, can you do that for me?”

He nodded, but didn’t speak, instead trying to focus on what she had asked him to do. He lent forward, something he had done so many times before without any difficulty at all, but now it was a desperate struggle in his present condition.

“Good Harry, very good” said Madam Pomphrey as he made it to the top. Ginny didn’t speak on his right hand side, but kissed him on the cheek and held onto his arm. Madam Pomphrey held onto his other arm and, holding her wand in her right hand, she began to run the wand tip along his arms, along his chest and back, and the full length of each of his legs.

“Ok let’s try the next step Harry, I want you to try and stand up, can you do that for me?”

“I can try” he whispered, and again he concentrated hard on forcing himself to stay where he was, and then to move his legs to one side of the bed. He slowly swung his legs around, and one at a time they moved as if under their own will: he certainly had no control over them. His right leg, then his left now hung over the right hand side of the bed, and his feet stood firm on the hard floor. Squinting his eyes up in obvious pain. He pushed himself upwards and forward, but he had put too much into it, he had too much momentum, and he overloaded himself, and despite trying to balance himself, and the desperate grasps of Ginny and Ron, he fell forward, crashing hard into the cold floor, and felt pain surge through his body, stemming from his forehead and wrists, and spreading through his entire body. Harry heard shrieks from behind him, and then felt multiple pairs of hands on his back.

“Harry” said Ginny, sobbing, she sounded scared. He could tell how she looked even though he was looking at the floor, with stars flying around in front of his eyes. A groan was Harry’s only response.

“Let’s get him back into bed” said Madam Pomphrey, holding him under his left arm. He felt the others crowd around him, and he felt a desperate need to be alone. His body was so full of pain there was no room for anything else, yet somehow the embarrassment of his fall was pushed to the top. He felt like a weak old man who had fallen and seriously injured himself. Nothing appealed to him more at that moment, than just vanishing into thin air and pretend like nothing had happened. Between the, all they managed to lift Harry off the ground. He tried to move his legs but they had just given out beneath him. They all had to really push themselves to carry him to short distance to the bed, and then to rest him down again.

“I’m sorry” he said weakly

“Shhh baby” said Ginny, resting his head on the pillows, and stroking his hair.

“Another potion now” said Madam Pomphrey, bringing a new bottle towards his lips. As the liquid poured over his lips and into his mouth he found he didn’t have the strength to resist the foul taste and feel of this potion, so let the ice cold liquid pass over his tongue, igniting every taste-bud along the way. Once the potion had gone down his throat, his head shook from side to side, before collapsing backwards and into unconscious slumber.

* * * * *

“Ginny you should take a break” was the first thing Harry heard when he woke up.

“I’m not leaving his side Hermione” what if he wakes up and I’m not here?”

“Then we’ll look after him till you get back, Ginny you’re exhausted, and you need something to eat. The toast I smuggle in here for you isn’t going to keep you going.”

“No Hermione, don’t you understand? If he wakes up and sees I’m not there he’ll think I’ve forgotten him or that I don’t care.”

“He couldn’t ever think that Ginny, just go please, have a full meal and a decent night’s sleep, please.

“Ginny” said Harry, his voice was croaky and weak, and she ran over to him as soon as she heard it, ignoring Hermione as if she wasn’t there.

“How do you feel?” she said, clinging onto his arm.

“Gin, I appreciate you staying here, more than you know, but please go and have something to eat.”

“But I need to be here”

“You have been, all the time, but please don’t make yourself sick, go and have something to eat and then come back ok?”

“Ok I will, if you’re sure”

“I’m sure”

“Ok, come and get me if anything happens” she said to Ron, and then, kissing Harry on the cheek, she left. Harry watched her leave and he felt a pang of loss deep in his stomach.

“How do you feel?” said Hermione

“Like I’ve been hit by the Hogwarts Express”

“What happened to you Harry?”

“Now’s not the time to talk about it” said Ron suddenly.

“Why on earth not?” said Hermione.

“Because Lunette is walking straight at us”

Harry turned his head as Hermione spun round on the spot, dropping the subject immediately, and he saw that she was indeed walking straight at them.

“Harry are you aright?” she said as she reached the bed.

“He’s really in no condition to see anyone” said Hermione defensively.

“This cannot wait, you two should go.” She replied.

“We’re not going anywhere; if it’s something that important I want to hear it”

“Very well” she said, looking at Harry as she spoke, and Harry suddenly had a feeling of impending doom spread through him.

“What is it Lunette?” he said weakly.

“It’s a message, from Severus Snape.”

Chapter 22:

“What?!” said Hermione, saying exactly what Harry was thinking, but couldn’t say. What trickery was this? He thought, what he could possibly be warning them about. Harry’s first instinct was to refuse to believe it was real. He didn’t believe Snape’s words as a matter of principle, but what was it about? He had to at least listen to what she had to say, not matter how much he would treat it with the utmost disdain.

“I said I bring a warning”

“Of what?” said Hermione, standing in front of Harry, almost as if she was defending him”

Of what indeed thought Harry inside his mind, was something going to happen? Or was it a cryptic message, and was she talking about the mirror which was currently in his possession, wherever he was hiding.

“What is this warning?” said Harry and Hermione turned around and looked at him, he nodded at her, and she stepped aside so He had eye contact with Lunette.

“The Death Eaters are to strike the Castle; they are going to attempt to destroy it”

Harry’s heart sped up to ten times the normal rate to the point of implosion, and his stomach dropped out of his body.

“Here” he said weakly.

“Yes”

“When will they come?”

“Halloween” she said simply. The words seemed to reverberate around them all, bouncing off all the walls and the ceiling, which served to heighten the effect of what she was saying.

“Halloween” said Ron, dumbstruck by the news.

“Yes, Severus has found out about the attack, they plan on wiping out the School”

“My God” said Hermione quietly, Harry couldn’t see her face, but pictured her shocked visage in her mind.

“Will he be with them?” said Harry, only thinking about one thing.

“No he will not, but he will not fight with us either, he will not be here.”

“Where will he be then?!”

“I do not know Harry, but he cannot be here, as he’ll be compromised.”

“How will they come?”

“I do not know Harry; he mentioned something about a cabinet.”

“That’s been destroyed” said Harry, cutting her off.

“Are you sure?”

“I smashed it into little pieces with a double headed axe, I’m sure” he said dramatically.

“I see, where is this?” said Lunette, who looked slightly shocked but kept a straight face.

“In the room of requirement, it’s how the Death Eaters got in last time.”

“I see, well I’ll check it out just to make sure, they wont give up because of that though, Im sure they will find another way.”

“Does Professor McGonagall know about this?”

“The staff have been informed, they will oversee the defence.”

“What about the Ministry?”

“They haven’t been informed as yet.”

“But they will be”

“I would have thought so”

“They had better be, or we’ll be defending ourselves, and all the students won’t survive”

“They will be Harry”

“Good, its only a fortnight away, I don’t know how I’ll be able to recover in time to fight,”

“Harry, no-one expects you too”

“Lunette, this is my fault, I have to defend the castle too, if anything happens to anyone it will be my fault.”

“Harry please don’t think that, not now, you need to stay positive if you are to recover in time.”

“They’re coming because of me aren’t they?”

“I don’t know the specifics, but im sure that is one of their objectives.”

“Professor, you know the rumours about me don’t you?”

“What, about you being the chosen one?”

“The very same, it’s true, I’m the one who has to kill Voldemort and no-one else will ever be able to.”

“Then you shall be locked down and defended by at least ten Aurors.

“No I’m Lunette but that’s not going to happen, I don’t accept that. I will defend my home with my friends and we will get through it.

“I can’t allow you to come under attack if that is the case Harry.”

“That’s going to happen regardless Professor”

“We’ll talk about this later Ok? I need to discuss a few things with Professor McGonagall”

“Like what to do with me for instance?”

“I’m sure that will come up”

“Professor, please don’t lock me up, you know I can fight, I have to.”

“Harry I wish it were that simple, but in your current condition you will not be of any use at all.”

Her words crushed Harry, he simply had to fight, she turned to leave.

“I will fight, you’ll see, I WILL FIGHT!” he shouted at her as she walked away from him. He tried to sit up, but fell backwards instantly, and was gently pushed down by Hermione.

“Harry, try not to talk ok? Just stay here, we’ll get Ginny and we can talk about this.”

Harry didn’t have the strength to argue the point, despite his need to.”

“Ron, can you go get Ginny please” said Hermione.

“In the Great Hall?” he said

“Yes” she said without looking at him. Harry, even in his current state could tell there was something not quite right.

“What’s wrong Hermione?”

“Well apart from the obvious thing, of you being in a Hospital Bed, barely able to walk and talk, and the fact that the Death Eaters are coming in a fortnight to kill us all, everything’s just peachy apart from that.”

“Looking past the obvious stuff, I mean you and Ron.”

“What about Ron and I?”

“Come off it Hermione, what’s wrong?”

“I don’t know Harry, is the honest answer, he seems really tense, and all this isn’t going to help.”

“I know, but you guys have always fought, it wouldn’t be you if you weren’t fighting” he said, causing a small smile to spread across her face.

“It’s just hard” she said.

“I know, and I’m sorry to say it, but I fear it will get even harder.”

“I don’t know how you do it?” you two make it look so easy.”

“It’s not at all, but that’s half the fun” He said, causing them both to laugh. Even such a simple reflex such as a laugh caused Harry immeasurable pain. Hermione rested her hand on his arm, and he felt slightly better. He rubbed his chest, grimacing as he saw Ron walk back into the room, closely followed by Ginny. She ran towards Harry as soon as she entered the room, followed by a lumbering Ron. Hermione let go of his arm, and stepped away from the bed as Ginny ran to the side of the bed, and placed her hands on him, checking his forehead and holding his hands.

“How do you feel?” she said, then kissing him on the forehead.

“A little better, I still feel really weak though”

She bent over him and hugged him tightly, instantly making him feel better.

“Gin there’s something we need to tell you.” He said.

“What is it?” she replied, looking positively scared.

“The Death Eaters are coming here; they mean to kill us all.” Said Hermione

Harry didn’t know what to expect by way of a reaction, he would have been surprised if she had been unconcerned, or whether she would be scared, she shrieked, and she clearly looked as if she was expecting to hear some dreadful news about Harry’s condition.

“Here? How? Why? When?!” she said in short sharp bursts of breath.

“Yes, they’re coming on Halloween; our best guess is they mean to kill as many of us as possible even take over the school if they are able to.”

“My God” she breathed.

“I know” said Harry roughly.

“How did you find out?”

“Lunette told us, she found out from Snape”

“Is he coming too?” she said with a note of fear in her voice.

“I don’t know what he’ll do, she seemed to think he’d lay low and avoid the fight altogether.” Said Harry, only thinking about his hatred for Snape.

“Surely that means he’s with us though” she said hopefully.

“It doesn’t mean anything, for all we know he could still be serving Voldemort and setting us up for a trap, and to strike somewhere else.

“Do you honestly still believe that?” said Hermione.

“Honestly I don’t know what to believe anymore, I just need rest, and then I can think about how best to defend the School.”

“You’re not seriously thinking about being a part of the defence?” said Ginny sharply.

“Of course I am!” said Harry, rather louder than he’d meant to. “Ginny, they are coming because of me, if anyone dies it will be because of me, I will defend my home, and not let any of them inside.

“Harry you can barely stand up” she said, she didn’t mean to hurt him, but he certainly felt hurt. “Much less fight, and I won’t let you be a part of it, I won’t let you!”

“It’s not your decision” said Harry calmly. “I have two weeks.”

“You can’t expect to recover in two weeks.”

“I expect to, in fact I will recover within that time, and I will fight for my home, and the ones I love.”

“I won’t let you, I won’t lose you Harry.”

“No you won’t, because I, you and everyone else in this room will get through this, I will recover in time, just you wait and see.”

“You can’t do it Harry.”
”Your level of faith in me is not helping”

“I don’t doubt you can do it, it’s just, just.”

“Just what?”

“I can’t lose you” she said sharply, pausing for effect, and letting her words bounce around her, echoing down the hallway.

“And what about you?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean will you be defending the Castle?”

“Of course I will!” she said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“And do you not think that scares me in every way possible?!”

“Well…” she said, suddenly caught off guard, and appeared unsure of herself.

“Gin, we’ll be in this together, but I won’t shy away from my duty, just because it’s me.”

“But if you die, that’s the end of the world.”

“I know that, and if you die I’ll fall apart, but we both have to fight, otherwise we’ll just be allowing other people to fight our battle for us, to risk their lives and probably die in the process. I won’t be able to live with myself if that should happen.”

“But…” she said weakly.

“I’ve made my choice Gin, I’m going to recover, and I’m going to fight”

“Harry” she said weakly, sobbing gently as she spoke.

“Gin, I’m sorry but my decision has been made, and I feel really weak right now, I could use some rest if you don’t mind.”

“You don’t have to ask me Harry, go on, I’ll wait here with you.”

She seemed cold and distant, a far cry from the warm, loving person he was used to being with.

“Gin, please understand, I have to do this.”

“I know, I’ll go get Madam Pomphrey”

“Thank-you, I’m sorry Gin” he said, squeezing her hands

“Me too” she said quietly, and she turned to walk away from him.

“Do you think you can do this Harry? Truthfully.” Said Hermione, dragging his longing thoughts away from Ginny.

“I will do it Hermione; I won’t allow anyone else to fight my war for me.”

“Harry” said Ron awkwardly, clearly looking for the right words to convey his point, Harry had almost forgotten he was there, and shifted his view to him.

“What is it Ron?” he said, gone were the warm and easy conversations they used to enjoy, which had been replaced by awkward fumbling words which occurred everytime they had an argument like this.”

“It’s never been easy for me to see you with Ginny, I’m sure you can understand that.”

Harry nodded but didn’t speak.

“I know I seem overprotective, but she’s my sister.”

“And I’m you’re best friend, I get it Ron.”

“It’s just hard sometimes when you walk into a room and see you two like that.”

“What do you want me to say?”

“I want you to know what I’m feeling.”

“Let’s just make this clear mate, I’m not going to break up with her just because you feel awkward, I understand what you’re saying, but nothing will ever make me leave her.”

“I’m not asking you to leave her; I’m asking you to…”

“To do what?”

“Forget it, you’ll never understand.”

“Try me”

“It’s just…”

“I LOVE HER!” he said suddenly, much louder than he’d intended to.

“I know that, just don’t you ever hurt her.”

“Oh is that what you’re worried about? Well relax Ron, im never going to do that.”

“Umm, Guys?” said Hermione, Harry had almost forgotten she was there.

“What?” said Ron roughly.

“Don’t ever talk to me like that Ronald, and you two might want to stop all this.”

“Not now Ron thinks im going to hurt the one I love.” Said Harry defensively.

“You are, you do! Everytime you’re in danger, everytime something nearly happens to you it gets harder for her, and what happens if something really serious does happen, what If you die?”

The words hit Harry like a cannonball, he expected over protectiveness, he knew he would be like this, but he never imagined it would be like this.

“So you wouldn’t care then?”

“That’s not what I said and you know it.”

“Guys enough!” said Ginny suddenly, silencing them both instantly. Harry had been so wrapped up in fighting with Ron he had forgotten she would return shortly.

“Ron I think its best you leave” said Ginny, Harry looked at her, and almost felt scared of her himself, behind her Madam Pomphrey looked frightened with the situation in front of her.

“We’re just getting started.”

“Well at least now I know what you think, we really do need to talk.”

It hit Harry like a bolt of lightening, the rest of the argument; in fact everything else in the world had suddenly been blocked out by a sudden, ear piercing scream. Harry yelled out in pain, clutching his forehead and rolling around on the bed. It was like someone had driven a white hot knife into his scar and was twisting the metal from side to side violently. Ginny ran towards him and rested her hands on his arm, but it made no difference. The pain blocked out any warm thoughts which may have been in his mind, and all he knew was pain. He didn’t need Madam Pomphrey to put him to sleep, the pain grew so fierce and powerful he passed out into black nothingness. No thoughts of peace, warmth or love were known before he fell unconscious, only pain, cold and hatred prevailed.

When Harry regained consciousness, it was like nothing had happened. He remembered bits and pieces of what he thought must have occurred, but couldn’t remember anything with any certainty. He blinked several times, filling his eyes with water, and he looked around the room, trying to figure out where he was and what had happened. He was lying on his back in a bed, and concluded he must still be in the Hospital wing. This must have been where he had fallen unconscious. He racked his brain, trying desperately to recall previous events. Nothing happened immediately, so he lay back and closed his eyes, trying to draw the information from his subconscious. He remembered raised voices, and searched through his mind for a reason. Everything suddenly clicked into place; Ron. This was the reason he had been fighting, this was with whom he had argued, but he couldn’t remember what had happened next, no matter how hard he looked. Slowly he opened his eyes, and looked around the room. His neck creaked painfully, as he looked around the Hospital wing, and he rubbed his neck to dull the pain for a few seconds. He concluded that he must have been out for several hours, as he looked out of the window and saw the sun, almost completely covered in cloud, descending behind the mountains in the distance, and guessed it must be around 6pm. He looked around the rest of the room again, and realised he was alone, he felt a little hurt at this discovery. No-one was in any of the other beds, and he looked along-side his bed for any sign of them, anyone he could talk to, but found no-one. For a minute Harry lay back on his bed and was threatened to be over come. He felt weak, and although he hated himself for thinking it, he felt as if he’d been abandoned, and had never felt more alone. The thought of being there alone hit him hard, and for a seemingly endless passage of time, he didn’t want to do anything. He couldn’t face doing anything without anyone’s help. Harry suddenly remembered his conversation with Ginny before he had seen Ron, the memory planted itself in his brain as his despair reached its limit. Had she taken those words to mean he didn’t want any help, and was she angry with him? He detested the thought of making her angry, but accepted it could be the case. That wasn’t the only thing they had talked about though, Harry thought, and suddenly felt more awake than before. He had promised Ginny he would recover, not just for her, but in time for the defence of Hogwarts, and for himself too. But how to speed this along? How to achieve this quicker, but without risking anything. He didn’t know, and the overload of information inside his head threatened once more to overcome his mind and body. What was he going to do? What could he do?”

Harry closed his eyes, and allowed images of his thoughts to move across his field of vision. He thought about Ginny, and other others, everyone who would be at risk. He wondered what the staff would do, would they evacuate the Castle? Or would they trust they could be defended here? Hogwarts would certainly be a formidable fortress, and surely they couldn’t allow the Death Eaters to overrun such a stronghold. But how would they be able to defend everyone, he thought. Harry tried not to think about it, forcing it to the back of his mind and concentrate on what he wanted to do, that is what he had to focus on, only then could he help protect everyone and that’s what he swore to himself that he would achieve. As his eyes remained shut he concentrated on what he would do, he focused his mind on moving, just slowly at first, but that was the first step, then, and only then could he fight, only then could he defend the ones he loved. Harry opened his brilliant green eyes slowly, yet dramatically, and keeping those thoughts in his mind, he tried to move from his prone position, and towards the edge of the bed. He found, to his surprise it was not nearly as painful as he thought it would be, having done it only a few hours ago he remembered searing pain at every movement of his muscles, but that wasn’t the case this time, and feeling buoyed by this hope he carried on. He swung one leg around, planting his foot flat on the floor, and then doing the same with his left leg. He sat upright, and then rolled back and forth on his feet, almost as if he was testing his strength and preparing himself for the exertion. He lent forward, and using his forearms, he pushed himself forwards and upwards. Very slowly, almost in slow motion he rose from the bed. He quickly readjusted his position as all of his weight was suddenly placed on his feet. Before he almost fell forwards again, Harry held his body steady and rocked back and forth for a few moments, like he was on a tight rope, with a fatal fall on either side of him, he held himself firm and refused to be denied. He was standing awkwardly, with his knees bent and his armed stretched out to balance himself. His breath came in rough gasps, but he had done it, he had stood up, and despite the almost insignificant nature of the achievement, Harry laughed, and felt like jumping for joy. Harry didn’t want to advance too soon, but at the same time, felt compelled to try and walk. He felt like he needed support to keep himself upright, and looked around to see he had no-one, undeterred, he knew what he had to do. Keeping his arms in the bizarre position they had been in previously, Harry concentrated on moving his right leg forward, he felt as if he was taking a leap of faith in moving so far forward, and all the while, in his eyes he kept the vision of where he wanted to be. He knew what he wanted, now he just had to get there. Then he moved his right leg forward by only a few centimetres, and his foot came to rest on the hard floor. Rather than fall over, his balance held firm and he felt strong, and he wasn’t going to fall this time. Then he moved his left foot forward by the same distance, again coming to a rest without a problem. In this fashion, he stumbled along the main hallway of the hospital wing, always keeping his balance, and moving little steps at a time before resting and moving again. What would normally only take him a matter of seconds was taking closer to ten minutes. In his shambolic state he must have resembled a mythic creature as he stumbled along the path. As he got closer to the door he slowed, and it seemed to take much longer everytime he took a step. Each laborious step was even more so now, and he had to fight for every step he took, and to keep his concentration at the same level was sapping his already reduced energy. The exertion was taking its toll on him, his steps, which were already erratic and weak became even more so, and his breath came in even sharper gasps than before. Several times he felt as if he was going to fall, but he kept upright. At one moment he was stumbling along he felt the pressure build up over him, pushing down on his head and shoulders, and trying to force him down. How could he ever hope to recover in time? That venomous thought ate at his mind from the inside, and he stumbled under the pressure, and fell to his knees. Painful tears fell down each check, and burnt his skin as they fell, he tried to focus, he tried to re-locate the inspiration that had got him this far, but it was lost in the abyss of dark emotion around him. His body collapsed under the ever increasing pressure, and his knees cracked into the floor, not even causing any flicker of emotion on his face, he hadn’t even felt it. The tears came even faster and were even more painful that before, and his breath came in even rougher gasps than before. Barely enough oxygen was passing through his body, hit throat burned, and he swallowed hard, trying to make it pass, but it just caused a lump in his throat. He closed his eyes, not just because of the pain of keeping them open, but because he clung to the one hope that kept him from falling down. He tried to keep the only thing in his mind that would keep him going, he tried to bring it to the forefront of his mind the only thing that would keep him going, he tried to block out the pain and the hatred, and only think about his mission, and those he loved and shared his love for them. Harry tried desperately to keep that in his mind, but it wouldn’t fight through the reckless hatred that filled his mind, nothing else could penetrate the darkness around him. Harry was so pain stricken he didn’t even notice what was going on in front of him. Madam Pomphrey had just walked into the room, and suddenly stopped at the sight of Harry on his knees and racked with pain. She ran towards him on sight, and placed her arms underneath his. Fighting with all her strength, she lifted Harry from the ground, and supporting him on her right shoulder and both arms, she walked him excruciatingly slowly towards the nearest bed. It was horribly painful for Harry, every step felt like stab after stab into his already weakened legs. He fell forwards more than once, and was barely kept upright by the ever struggling Madam Pomphrey. Eventually she rested him down and began checking him with her wand.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, she was struck and fell to the ground without a sound. Harry barely saw the beam of light connect with her head, and she didn’t even have time to respond, and just fell to the floor in a heap. Harry, pain stricken, and in shock turned to look at her, and as his eyes passed the hallway, even in his current state he felt a previously unknown level of horror rise within his body as he watched the figure approach.

Chapter 23:



Harry recoiled in his bed, trying desperately to get away. His eyes were wide and didn’t blink at all, they even started to burn under the strain of being open all the time, but he couldn’t force them shut. He tried to call out to anyone that might be there to come to his rescue, to save him from the one who walked straight at him. He lent back even further than before, trying to disappear into the bed, trying to just vanish and for nothing to happen to him, but he knew it was folly. The man was on top of him before he could move, before he could do anything. Harry was sure he wasn’t even breathing as the figure stood next to his bed and loomed over him, leering all the while.

“You” he said weakly, knowing exactly who it was.

“Quiet Potter.” Said the drawling voice of Severus Snape.

“Get away from me!” said Harry, forcing himself to move, to get away from him.

“Potter, we can do this one of two ways, either you come with me willingly or I take you by force, take your pick.”

Harry didn’t say anything; he just tried desperately to get away from him.

“Suit yourself” said Snape, drawing his wand and pointing it at Harry in one fluid motion. Suddenly a red beam of energy left his wand and connected with Harry, and he struggled no more, falling into black and bleak nothingness.



When Harry regained consciousness, he again found himself in almost total darkness, almost as complete as that he had fallen into. He blinked, and reeled as his eyes rolled around in their sockets. Trying desperately to gain some focus, but that grew more and more difficult as he looked around the almost complete darkness around him. The only source of light, the only suggestion that there was something out there, was the candlelight, which flickered a few metres from where he lay on a cold stone floor. The naked flame flickered erratically and looked as if it would be extinguished. He felt as if he was a moth drawn to a flame, and he stared at the light for a few seconds, although they felt in his mind that they could have been much longer. He rubbed his hands over the floor and felt a rough surface hewn from stone without much care. He felt his fingers catch on the occasional sharp edge, causing small scratches to form on his skin, but didn’t feel blood draw from the point of contact. Then he rubbed his hands over his face, feeling a thin layer of stubble over his cheeks, and he rubbed his aching forehead, but aside from that dull pain, he didn’t feel anything else. Opening his eyes still wider he tried to establish where he was. The only light he had to go on was the flame close to him. Acting on instinct he reached inside his robes for his wand, but was shocked to find it wasn’t there. He groped around inside, checking every pocket, but it wasn’t there. A surge of panic spread through his body as he contemplated the fact he was in an unknown place, with no form of self defence whatsoever. He kept it under control though, and tried to identify where he was. From the little area he could see, it didn’t look like anywhere he’d ever seen before, never in his lifetime had he seen anything like this place, save the cave Sirius used to live in, and that thought made him feel even more nervous. Harry breathed in the night air, trying to detect any intention as to where he was, whether it would be a sea breeze, or any smell which would betray the location of this room. It may have been his damaged senses that hindered him, or the fact that there was nothing to find, but he could detect anything. His focus shifted back to the flame again, it flickered in the gentle breeze which now blew through the room. Harry breathed in again but couldn’t pick up a scent. He had to get out of there, Harry thought as he recalled how he had got there, how Snape had attacked Madam Pomphrey, then stunned him and somehow taken him out of the school, he had no idea how he had done it, but Snape was a wizard of no small skill, his dark teachings doubtless extended beyond the power he himself could use. That wasn’t important now though, what was important was escaping his clutches and returning to Hogwarts. He had no idea where he was and no means of magical transportation without his wand, but that didn’t matter, his base instinct was to run, to escape this place and not look back. Harry checked one last time and saw he was alone; he closed his eyes and focused on his way out, what he would do. He fought his way through the panic and despair he had always felt but ignored, and tried to rise from where he lay. He pushed down with his palms flat on the floor, he put a lot of effort into it, expecting not to be able to move, and was shocked when he pushed himself up easily, he then moved backwards so he was on his knees with his hands at his sides. Harry looked around again, and noticing it appeared to be clear, he tried to stand up. Harry expected it to take a lot of effort, and pushed hard on his knees to force himself up. But rather than a desperate struggle to move, he felt free, and moved upwards so fast he actually left the ground, and almost lost his balance when his feet touched down again. He rocked back and forth, and spread out his arms, holding himself steady and bracing for a fall that never came. He jerked his head around in every direction, searching for anything that could be considered a threat, but saw nothing in the darkness of the room. Again he found himself drawn by the flame which still burned in the centre of the room. Harry rubbed his hands together close to the fire, warming his hands immediately. Then he tried to move, he closed his eyes and looked away from the flame, trying to gain some semblance of night vision, and to try and find a way out. He moved his eyes again, and slowly, always feeling in front of him for whatever could be in his way, he walked forwards.

“OW!” he exclaimed suddenly, puncturing the silence in the air around them. Harry had knocked his knee on a sharp point below him, and he felt a dull ache grow from the point of impact. He bent down and rubbed it, stopping the ache after a minute or so, but he was so busy with this new pain, he didn’t notice the man walk into the room.

“You can walk then.” Said the drawling voice of Snape.

Harry inhaled sharply, turning towards the source of the noise, and breathing roughly he patted down his robes, trying to locate his wand, he was desperate to find it, but he knew it wasn’t there. He was defenceless, and in the grasp of the man who had taken everyone from him.

“What do you want?” he said nervously.

“I want a great many things Potter, but nothing from you.”

“Why am I here then?”

“Because of another, you need to be fixed and I can fix you.”

“Who sent you?”

“Use your head Potter for once in your life.”

“Lunette?” said Harry, knowing who it must have been.

“Of course it was her” he snapped “She is the only reason I am helping you, I have nothing to gain from it.”

“But you did.” Said Harry, still unsure of what would happen to him.

“Potter, you need to understand that this means less than nothing to me, I do this because I must, not because I want to, something you ought to learn fast.”

“Like say for instance trusting the man who murdered my parents and Dumbledore.”

Snape fell silent; for once in his life he didn’t have a snappy retort to Harry’s words. His intent was clearly written on his face, and even in the dark around him, Harry could tell what he thought. The silence grew long and awkward, and Harry seized the initiative.

“If you expect me to feel sorry for you, you’d better have a long think about your hopes sir”

“I do not seek pity, you could never understand.”

“Try me! For once in your life will you try to make me understand?”

“Some gratitude would not go amiss Potter.”

“Gratitude?” exclaimed Harry. “What exactly am I supposed to be thanking you for? Signing my Parent’s death warrants when I was one year old? Standing over Dumbledore and killing him after everything he did for you.”

Enough!” said Snape sharply, his tolerance finally snapping.

“No I’m not nearly finished here” said Harry, who was shaking violently, his voice was erratic and he almost lost his voice in the war of words he was engaged in.

“You are the one responsible for the most terrible things that have ever happened to me.”

“That’s as maybe.”

“No that’s the truth” said Harry cutting him off.

“Let me talk Potter” said Snape, his words rang off of every surface in the hidden room and heightened the threat level Harry was feeling, but he just didn’t care, he was with Snape and he would make him understand what he’d done to him.

“And why should I listen to you?”

“Some bad things may have happened…” he started to say

“Bad things?!” said Harry exasperated. “That doesn’t even begin to cover it.”

“Do you remember your first year? I saved your hide when Quirrel tried to kill you. In your third year I saved you from being killed, the year after that I was there when Barty Crouch tried to kill you. Fifth year I sent reinforcements to save you from certain death at the hands of the Death Eaters. Sixth year…”

“You killed Dumbledore” said Harry, pausing for effect “What else of note did you do for me last year?”

“I had to”

“You had to?! Why pray tell? If you do truly serve the Order then why would you kill its leader, and the only one who has ever backed you up through everything?”

“That Potter is a matter between Dumbledore and myself”

“I don’t accept that!” said Harry, his voice level rising all the time.

“I don’t care!” said Snape, who likewise raised his voice.

“Besides, I thought you would at least show a little thanks for me saving your worthless hide.”

“So you count knocking out Madam Pomphrey, abducting me and threatening me deserves thanks do you? In which case I should thank you for every sick, evil thing you have ever done while I’m at it.”

The incredible restraint displayed by Snape was wavering fast, his face was twisted with anger, and he clearly wanted nothing more than to hurt him.

“That witless witch would never have found out what was wrong, neither would those at St Mungo’s, your only hope lies with me.”

“And that’s what you want isn’t it? Me indebted to you.”

“Hardly Potter, my goals are my own concern, I assure you, your welfare barely registers.”

“That’s all you’ve ever cared about isn’t it? You’re a selfish liar, a coward, a …”

Harry was stopped by the fact that Snape had walked into the light, and pointed his wand right at his face.

“Potter this is your last warning, one more word out of you and I will make you regret it, that’s a promise”

From the weak light of the candle, Harry could see the light dance all over Snape’s face, making him appear even more frightening than he had before.

“So this is what it comes down to is it? You claim to help me, yet here you are with your wand at my face, threatening to hurt me or probably worse When are you ever going to show your true colours?”

“Potter my restraint has long since worn out with you, my allegiance, just as my goals and ideals are my own concern and no others, now I need to check you over and do more work on you, will I do that with you conscious? Or will I do it with you knocked out? It’s utterly meaningless to me so why don’t you decide?

Harry stayed quiet, the thought of Snape working on him turned his stomach, but the thought of it happening while he was still awake was even worse.

“Too long Potter” said Snape, and without speaking he tensed his wand arm, and sent a beam of red energy crashing into Harry’s face. He braced himself before it connected, and felt nothing, falling backwards onto the hard stone floor again.



Harry woke with the same level of confusion as he had had before. Again he was on the hard stone floor, and the room hadn’t changed from the last time he had looked around it. He remembered what had happened vividly, the dark room and the candle, bashing his knee, and then Snape. He wasn’t done with him, not nearly done, and he still had to atone for what he had done, and making him fit enough to fight the Death eaters was hardly going to cover everything he had ever done. No thought Harry, he had to get out of there himself, and return to Hogwarts, there wasn’t anything else he could do. He looked around the room, to take in the environment, and confirm inside his head that it hadn’t changed. The room was still dark, and the candle was slightly faded, but still burnt, providing a weak source of light. Harry checked himself quickly, running his hands over his head body and limbs, and satisfied with his condition, he stood up, much easier than he had previously, and felt good, he felt strong, and had a spring in his step he hadn’t felt for a long time. Suddenly a chilling breeze blew through the room from the right hand side, it rushed through the darkness and chilled him to the bone. Harry resisted, finding his was to a small table where he crouched behind it, and he brought his arms and legs closer to his body in an effort to warm himself up. The wind howled around his ears, and every hair on his body was standing perfectly straight, as he shivered violently. Just as suddenly as it had begun, the wind died out and he breathed in the air around him. He shivered for a few seconds, just as a reflex reaction, but then he stood up and looked around the room. He walked towards the source of the wind, guessing that would be the way out. He was in complete darkness now the candle had been blown out, so he walked quietly, feeling every surface to make sure he didn’t walk into anything, and hoping against hope he wouldn’t be ambushed again. Eventually he came to a different location. He ran his hands over the walls, and stretched out to reach along the walls, and then up to the ceiling, and took a few paces forward, feeling around him all the time. It felt as if he was inside a tunnel, which must have been where the wind had come through, he walked quickly down this corridor, feeling as if this was his chance to escape. The corridor snaked from side to side, and didn’t seem to end, until he finally saw the night sky ahead of him and ran straight towards it. He didn’t care that he couldn’t see anything, he just ran, wanting to escape the man who held him there. He reached the edge of the tunnel and stopped sharply, shocked by what he was looking at.

Harry looked out of the mouth of the tunnel, and instantly had all the breath taken from his lungs at the sight before him. He looked across and saw a quite magnificent scene arrayed before him like a giant picture. The stars in the night sky shone brightly, and the light of the enormous full moon lit up the entire area around him. He looked down, and saw that the cave he was in was dug into the mountainside, and he looked slowly around in a three hundred and sixty degree turn. He saw a huge forest in front of him at the foot of a great slope, and then above him he saw the black outlines of many more mountains than he could even count. They were not the hills which surrounded Hogwarts however, these here huge, snow capped mountains, and the forest around the sloped mountain side looked different somehow. Over to his right he saw the lights of a town shining up into the darkness. Was that Hogsmeade? No it couldn’t be, it was much larger than the small town he knew so well.

“Where the heck am I?” Harry said, knowing no-one would answer. He had to come to a very quick decision, he could either stay here, or he could get out of there, get to this town and try and figure out a way to get to Hogwarts. On one hand it did look very dangerous, the slope alone looked perilous, and the town was a long way from him on a very cold night. The alternative was to stay here in the clutches of Severus Snape and wait for him to do goodness knows what to him. His mind was made up straight away, and he steeled himself for the journey ahead of him. He looked straight down at the ground which sloped away from him, down towards the forest and the town beyond. It was an awful long way to go, and the night was settling in. He looked around, thinking what possible alternative he could have, but he would rather risk being out in the cold night all by himself or risk being attacked by goodness only knows what than be in the hands of Snape from more time than he already had been. Harry set off, walking out of the mouth of the cave, and slowly descending the steep slopes of the mountainside towards the forest. The slope fell away from him, and stretched down for what seemed like miles. Thankfully the light of the moon and the starts provided Harry with excellent vision, and he was able to see all the obstacles in his way on the way down. He eventually found what appeared to be a footpath of sorts, and area where the ground was smoother, and was considerably less rocky that which he had descended already. This path zigzagged all the way down as far as he could see in the night air. Harry was walking as quickly as he could but it was slow going, it was rough and he didn’t have the correct footwear. Several times he felt his ankles jar, and he had to stop and rest for a minute while he rubbed his ankles, and only once the pain had stopped would he continue on. He had no idea what the time was, nor how long he had been walking. Every so often he would look around, and up towards the path to see how far he had come, and to check he wasn’t being followed. He was amazed at how far he had come, and as he looked upwards he saw the huge form of the mountain above him, which took his breath away, it was enormous. He was missing the point though, he had to get moving, so he turned and walked quickly along the path into the forest.

Walking like this was extremely tiring for Harry. Not only was he moving over unfamiliar terrain, but he was walking in the dark, and the strain of keeping his eyes open was taking its toll on him all the time. What he couldn’t believe was that he hadn’t had another attack, and that he was able to walk like this without any problems at all, save the occasional jarring of his ankle.

As he got closer to the forest area, Harry felt the temperature suddenly drop. It may have been dropping steadily anyway, in fact it probably was, but it was really noticeable now. He didn’t have anything to protect him from the sudden drop in temperature, and he shivered and wrapped his robes tightly around his body to provide at least a little protection. The gradient was now easing out, and the walking was much easier, he still felt cold, but found that if he was moving he would keep warm. Eventually, after what must have been an hour, at least of solid walking, he noticed that trees were appearing at the side of the path he was on, and before long, those few trees gave way to a full blown forest which spread from here to the edge of the town, from what he could remember from the vantage point he had surveyed everything from. He just had to follow the direction he had been walking in, straight in front of him. Thankfully the path he had followed continued through the forest, so he guessed it would lead to the town from the mountain, so he followed the path into the trees.

With the cover of the canopy now all over him, the light which had previously covered the whole area was all but out and it slowed his pace right down. He tried his best to follow the path, but it was almost impossible to see, and he wasn’t sure of his direction, regularly having to check the location of the mountain to make sure he was going the right way. The path regularly jumped around in altitude forcing him up and down. But he always ended up lower, and he was always heading down. As he walked through the forest, the wind speed rose, chilling his blood and making him truly fearful of his surroundings. Several times he stopped in the forest, hiding from someone he was sure was out there. He stared into the blackness, staring hard for those who would be around. He was sure there was someone out there, but couldn’t see nor hear anything, so he would continue onwards, ever aware for something which could be out there. His progress was slow, but at long last he reached the edge of the forest, and was able to look out down into the town below him. It was a fairly large area, with sporadic buildings spread all over the place, bit none of them looked familiar to him, only heightening his fears of where he was. Regardless of the doubts he felt, he walked down into the town, looking for somewhere he could stop for the night. As he walked down the path he noticed a tall sign on the right hand side of the path. He walked towards the sign and tried to look at what it was saying. He squinted his eyes, and read the words in the darkness.

“Willkommen im Grindelwald”

“What?” he said out loud, trying to make sure it wasn’t a trick of his tired mind, but he looked again and again and couldn’t detect anything wrong, this was defiantly what it said. He just didn’t know what to think, he couldn’t be in England anymore, not with whatever language this was, but where was he if he wasn’t in England? He said inside his mind. Harry carried on walking straight down the path which continued onto a road with large buildings on either side of him, which looked like houses with wooden struts all along the front and the roofs. The moonlight played over the whole area, bathing it all in white light. He looked around for any sort of clue as to where he was; anything at all, but there were no street names he could understand, and there was no sign of somewhere he could be that would be sage. There were plenty of buildings around, but none which were open. They all looked like homes, all of which were blacked out on the inside, and he thought it must have been late at night. He reached the end of the road he was walking along and he looked out onto the area In front of him, which was a large open space, with buildings along each edge of a large square. On the other side of the area from where he was, he saw what he was looking for, a building with lights on inside. It resembled a small hotel and Harry forgot everything and ran towards it, hoping against hope it could provide some help to his current predicament. He quickly reached the building and looked up to see a sign above the double doors saying “Hotel Grindelwald.” Still unsure of himself, but lacking an alternative he opened the mercifully unlocked door and walked through. He saw a man behind a desk and walked towards him, trying to keep his composure.

“Guten tag mein Herr, Willkommen!”

“Pardon?” said Harry, the man looked at him quizzically, and clearly he hadn’t understood him.

“Do you have a room for the night?” said Harry slowly.

“Entschuldigung, ich spreche kein English.” Said the man very quickly, almost to quickly for Harry to pick up.

“Do you have a room, a bed?” said Harry desperately.

It was like a light was suddenly switched on inside the strangers mind as he suddenly seemed to understand.

“Ah ein Bett, ja ein moment bitte.” He said enthusiastically, turning around on the spot and walking towards the rack of keys behind him. He selected one and returned to Harry.

“Thank-you so much!” said Harry, sensing a change in his fortunes. He looked down at his key, and saw it was ornate in a similar way to the doors, and attached was a large wooden block with the number 21 carved into its surface.

“Guten nacht” said the man, who walked away from the desk into another room. Harry walked towards the stairs at the opposite end of the hallway to the entrance and set about trying to find room 21. He walked upwards, climbing higher and higher until he saw a sign which said 20-30 on the staircase, next to a large door, he pushed the door open and then was greeted by a long corridor with doors either side of him. He walked only a few steps forward before he saw room 21 on the right hand side of the corridor. He placed the key in the lock, and turned it, opening the door into a dark room. Then he quickly shut the door behind him and locked it, then pushed the light switch by the door and lit up the room. As he turned around he immediately felt safe and warm, the cold air had gone, and he wanted to settle down and think about how he’d got into this mess, and how he was going to get out of it. Before he got the chance to though, he was greeted by a voice which chilled his soul and stopped him dead in his tracks.

“Wasn’t my cave good enough for you Potter?”

Chapter 24 :



Shock suddenly filled every part of Harry’s body, how could he be here? He had got away, he had escaped, but now he was right in front of him. He looked at Snape disbelievingly; he just didn’t know what to think.

“I know the Hotel Grindelwald must be a little more comfortable, but I don’t like having to come here, someone might spot me.”

Harry wasn’t really listening; he still sat there in disbelief, unsure of what else he could possibly think.

“Although it was worth it just to see you squirm in front of Hans.”

“Hans?” said Harry, breaking his silence suddenly. “What do you mean?”

“The man at the desk downstairs of course. It was very amusing watching you try and understand what he was saying, it made the trip worthwhile.”

“You followed me the whole way here?”

“Of course I did, the moment you escaped, I followed you, and you were never out of my sight.”

“Harry twisted his face into a gesture of defiance before speaking again.

“So what now?” he said quietly.

“I’m not done with you Potter, but I’m curious about a few things.”

“And what would those be?”

“How exactly were you planning on paying for this room, when I very much doubt you have any Swiss Francs with you.”

Shock spread over his face, Swiss?! He thought inside his mind, surely that couldn’t be right.

“What?” he said, “how?”

“Yes Potter, we are in the Swiss Alps, it gets a bit cold at night, but it makes it a bit easier to hide. As to how, I cannot tell you, maybe in time, but not now.”

Harry’s mind boggled, he just couldn’t believe what was going on, but then it made sense, his surroundings and the street names, and the language he couldn’t hope to understand. Then the mountains that were nothing like he had ever seen, it seemed certain that what Snape had said was real, and that he was in a completely different country.

“How do you know his name then?” said Harry suddenly.

“I can read Potter” replied Snape sarcastically. He must have had a name tag on his chest that Harry hadn’t noticed, and of course Snape would take every opportunity to ridicule Harry for his every mistake. It had always been the same with him, and it didn’t look like changing anytime soon.

“What do you want?”

“To finish what I started Potter.”

“What would that be?”

“I am fixing you Potter. Do you really think you could have walked all that distance in the condition you were in earlier?”

“I doubt it”

“Of course you wouldn’t have been able to! You could barely stand up, much less walk across the room. In that condition you would never have made it to your own bed, so going from a mountain cave to this hotel, walking for about 3 hours straight? You would never have made it. So how do you feel now?”

“Are you concerned about me sir?” said Harry sarcastically.

“Not in the slightest, as I told you Potter, your welfare is meaningless to me, but I have a job to do and I intend to get on with it.”

“What does that mean exactly, are you going to knock me out again?”

“No not this time, I’m starting to tire of you suspecting me of every little thing, so this time you can watch me work and we can see if you’re just being paranoid or not.”

Harry didn’t like the situation one bit. Every instinct in his body rebelled, he just couldn’t do it, he couldn’t let this happen. Yet, in one corner of his brain, one small fragment knew that it was going to happen, no matter what. There was no point in resisting, and he should just lie down and accept what would happen to him.

“Fine, do your worst” Harry finally said.

“There is no need to be like that. It’ll be completely painless I assure you.” Harry thought there was something in his voice that betrayed his true intentions, and which made him sound as if he’d enjoy nothing more than inflicting a great deal of pain to Harry. But it could just as easily have been a trick of his exhausted mind, after everything he’d been through.

“Fine”

“Now now Potter, be nice and it wont hurt.” There was a false nicety to his voice which chilled Harry’s blood right through his body.

“What do you want me to do?” said Harry, too tired to respond properly.

“Just lay down on the bed and try to relax, I’ll need to check you over for a little while.”

“Fine” said Harry, removing his cold wet robes and throwing them aside, before he walked across the room and collapsed down on the simply covered double bed. He lay down on his back and watched Snape walk towards him, wand in his right hand. Harry felt nervous, but chose not to react, he was too tired and couldn’t face arguing with a much stronger foe than he felt at that moment. Snape stood next to the bed and extended his right arm, pointing his wand at Harry. Nothing was visible, but he felt a tingling sensation all over his body, as the wand passed over him, he could feel the magical energy flow around him and somehow transmit his condition to Snape. Harry didn’t have any idea how he was doing it, but here he was, doing it in spite of Harry’s disbelief. There were several times when Harry closed his eyes so as to avoid the sight before him, he could still feel the magic flowing all around him, but tried desperately to pretend it wasn’t real.

“Ok you seem well enough” said Snape, suddenly jerking Harry from his fake slumber. Harry opened his eyes quickly, and looked across the room to see Snape standing at the sideboard.

“What does that mean?” said Harry, sitting upright against the headboard.

“It means you could be better, but I’ve seen you a lot worse.”

“Again, what does that mean?” said Harry.

“When I first took you and worked on you I wasn’t sure what I would be able to do with you. But having given the problem a lot of work over the last few days.”

“DAYS?!” shouted Harry, suddenly cutting him off.

“Yes Potter, days. I doubt anyone could have fixed that amount of damage in less time than I have done.”

“How long have I been here?”

“We have been here for three days, I’m sure everyone at Hogwarts is fine.”

“I have to get back, now.” Said Harry, forcibly.

“Not yet Potter, I have something to say to you first.”

“Listen to me, I have to get back, I have to organise the defence, I have to…”

“You must do none of these things, what you must do is listen to me and do as you are told.”

“But…”

“But nothing, listen to me Potter. With a few days of bed rest you will be fine, and perfectly able to carry on as you were before. Do anything else and you will end up in the state you were in before, and I know you don’t want that again.”

“But I have so much to do.”

“Nothing is more important that this Potter, if you don’t do this you will return to the state you were in, and I might not be able to fix it a second time.”

“Are you threatening me?” said Harry defensively.

“I’ve come to expect such petty misconceptions from you Potter; I am not threatening you, I’m just telling it like it is.”

“It would be just like you to take me out of commission before the Death Eaters attack.”

“Do you intend to fight them?”

“Of course I will be!”

“It is not my concern” he said, reaching inside his robes and pulling out a small opaque bottle and throwing it to Harry, which he caught one handed. “Take this potion three times a day and rest for the next three days and you’ll be back to normal within a week.”

“What is it?” said Harry, holding the bottle to the weak light of the room, and spinning it through his fingers, trying desperately to identify its contents.”

“That doesn’t matter.”

“The hell it doesn’t! I’m the one who’ll be drinking it, what is it?”

“Do you want to fight for the School and for your little friends?”

“Of course I do!”

“Then you will take the potion and be fine with it”

“If it is for the best then what is the harm in telling me?”

“Because this is a test Potter, to see if you are willing to do everything you must, if you are not willing to accept my help you may as well give up now and forget about ever fighting Voldemort.”

That had done it, the force inside Harry’s mind which rebelled against accepting Snape’s assistance was fading fast. He hated it, and he hated himself for allowing the thought into his mind, but once it entered it wouldn’t leave, and slowly but surely it took over the suspicion and doubt. He felt every morale, every fibre of his body which hated Snape for what he did, be swept aside as if it was infected by some unnatural venom, which wiped it out at once. When Harry spoke. It wasn’t his voice, it felt like another’s, and he felt weak and sick for saying it.

“Very well” was all he said, but those two little words carried so much weight he could barely stand up. Snape’s expression was typically hard to read, but he seemed to accept what Harry was saying, and turned away from him.

“If you return to Hogwarts now, will you rest and take the potion as I have instructed you?”

“Yes” said Harry simply.

“I shall know if you do not, If you cannot keep control over yourself them you should remain here.”

“I shall do it, I have to go back now, I have to see everyone.”

“Very well, you may need this though.” Said Snape, pulling something from his robes, before turning and walking towards him. Harry watched him turn, and realised he was holding a wand, his wand. Harry moved towards him quickly, taking his wand from him, and checking it over.

“What do you know about the attack?” said Harry, feeling much stronger for regaining his wand, it was amazing how much difference a tiny piece of wood made to his mental state.

“I know little.”

“What do you know?”

“They will strike on Halloween, I think with every intention of killing as many as they can and taking the castle.

“Are you sure it’s Hogwarts?”

“Positive”

“So what are you going to do?”

“I do not know that, but I will not be with the strike team, nor the defenders.”

“Fine, will they have allies?”

“I do not know, but they are not stupid, they will need a great deal of assistance if they are to take the castle. Who knows what they will call upon?”

“Dementors?” said Harry immediately.

“I think that would be a safe assumption.”

“I need to leave” said Harry, fetching his robes from the desk where Snape stood. As he picked them up he looked across to him, who did the same. Their eyes connected for a split second, before they turned away sharply, and Harry walked to the middle of the room.

“What will you do now?” said Harry.

“That is for me to worry about” said Snape.

“Thank-you” said Harry simply, and strangely, he didn’t feel like a traitor for saying it, he felt sick for accepting his help, but he knew he had to. Snape turned and looked at him, and nodded, before striding from the room.

“What if I need to contact you?”

“Lunette will be able to contact me. But just do as I say and you’ll be fine.”

“Very well” said Harry and he turned away from him awkwardly and settling his mind, concentrating hard on the village of Hogsmeade: that quiet peaceful town which in a few days would be rife with war. He wouldn’t let the town fall, but at the same time he knew he had to rest before he could do anything, and be of any use to anyone. What he needed to do first though was to get back, if only to see Ginny again. The loss he felt her not being with him at that moment was so strong. He looked up to see that Snape had gone, and he couldn’t help but feel odd that he had gone. This was the man who had sold away his parents lives, but had saved him. Why he had done this would be a question for another day however, he extended his wand hand, fixing Hogwarts in his mind, and the village outside it, he vanished from the hotel room.



With a sharp pop, Harry suddenly appeared, puncturing the silence of the peaceful town of Hogsmeade. Harry breathed in the night air, and he immediately felt better, he felt at home, whereas he had just felt worried and homesick where he had been. Everything looked familiar here, and made him feel at home again. As he walked through the street towards Hogwarts, Harry looked carefully on either side of the street, and the only thought in his mind was that in a few days time this could all be gone, everything that made his life what it was could be over and gone, the thought shocked him to the core, but he had to accept it was a very real possibility.

“Freeze!” said a rough voice out of the darkness. Harry didn’t oblige immediately, as the shock of the sudden raised voice made him jump about a foot off the floor. He spun around, wand still in his right hand, and stood perfectly still, looking towards the shadows where the voice came from.

“Harry Potter?” said the voice again.

“Who are you?” said Harry nervously, tensing his hand around his wand.

“I am an Auror assigned to the protection of Hogwarts” said the man, who moved into the fading light of his surroundings. “Where the hell have you been?!”

“It’s a long story” said Harry, relieved beyond words.

“Let’s get you back to the school; everyone’s been worried sick about it all.”

“Let’s go” said Harry, almost cantering up the stairs towards the double gated entrance to the school. He just wanted to see Ginny, and the others again, that was all he cared about, and that thought sent him running up the hill.

“I’ll leave you to find your own way back” said the Auror, who then turned around and walked back down towards Hogsmeade. Harry barely heard him and carried on running, just wanting to get to the common room as fast as he could. The corridors were empty, save for a few students. Everytime Harry ran past they would gasp and point at him, but it was like he was alone. When he reached the Fat Lady at long last she appeared to be preparing herself for bed. She was wearing an enormous frilly nightie, and stifled a huge yawn as Harry approached.”

“Good gracious Harry, where have you been?” Everyone’s been worried sick.”

“I’ve been… It’s a long story”

“Come on in” she said, without even asking for the password, and she swung back, allowing him in. He ran up the remaining steps, and into the common room, ignoring her call of “you’re welcome.”

“Ginny don’t worry, he’ll turn up” he heard Hermione say as he ran up.

“Hermione, I though you gave up on divination” said Ron’s voice.

“Why do you say that?.. HARRY!” she shouted suddenly, and Harry didn’t hear anything else of she said to him. He ran towards where they all sat, and he watched as Ginny, desolate and red faced from tears leapt up and ran towards him. They met in the middle of the room with the force of a tornado, and threw their arms around each other. Harry cried, for the first time in months, he cried, the weight of their separation just fell on him all at once. His head fell onto her left shoulder, and he breathed in. She whimpered softly as he just held onto her tightly, refusing to let her go until she broke away from him.

“Harry what happened to you?” she said.

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry” he said weakly.

“Shut up and tell me what happened, when I came back up to the Hospital Wing 3 days ago I found Madam Pomphrey knocked out on the floor and you gone now what happened?”

“It was Snape”

“WHAT?!” shouted all three of them t once. “How did that happen?”

“I was trying to move, I walked to the office, I mean it took me about 15 minutes, but I got there, and when I did I just collapsed, just as she was walking in to check on me. She took me back to bed, but then he came in, stunned her, then me and took me away.”

“Why?” said Ginny.

“He took me away so he could fix what was wrong” Harry said plainly. “He helped me get better, and made it so I could walk again.”

“He did that? Wow.” Said Ginny.

“Where were you?” said Hermione.

“The Swiss Alps, in this pretty little Village called Grindelwald.”

The three of them had no response to this, they all fell silent and dumbstruck, completely at a loss for what to say.

“Switzerland?” said Hermione visibly shocked.

“I know, I guess he didn’t think anyone would think to look for him there.”

“And he just let you go?”

“Well, he was staying in a cave in the mountainside. I managed to escape and make it to the village, which I would never have done if it wasn’t for him. I made it to a hotel in the middle of the Village and got a room there, which was pretty amusing now I think about it, trying to speak to the man there who had no idea what I was saying. Then Snape found me, gave me a potion, telling me to take it and have three or four days of bed rest and I’d be fine.”

Ginny threw her arms around him again, and didn’t say anything, she didn’t need to.

“I’m not sure about that potion” said Ron “What is it?”

“I don’t know, but he said if I didn’t do this I wouldn’t be able to do anything, I’d have a relapse and maybe be incurable.”

“But how do you know it wont just make you even worse than before” said Ginny.

“Let me have a look at that potion” said Hermione, stepping forward and taking the bottle from him.

“Im so glad you’re ok” said Ginny, putting her head on his shoulder again. Harry smiled, and for the first time in days felt happy.

“I don’t recognise it by sight” said Hermione, taking the top off and smelling inside “Nor by sight, I’ll have to look it up, and I think it’d be for the best that we find out what it is before we start pouring it down your throat.”

“Ok, good idea” said Harry.

“I do agree with his other piece of advice though; you should get a lot of rest.”

“I will” said Harry smiling and Ginny clinging onto his body.

“I’m just so glad you’re ok” said Hermione.

“I’m glad you’re ok too mate” said Ron suddenly. The others all looked at him hesitantly, unsure as to what he would do. He held out his right hand, and offered it to Harry to shake it. Harry hesitated for a moment, then let go of Ginny, and extended his right arm and shook his hand, feeling that a little of the weight he had been carrying had dropped off with that one handshake. He smiled even wider than before and held onto Ginny tightly.

“So what have I missed then?” said Harry, so much stronger for having made up with Ron.

“Well the staff told the school what was going on, with the attack and all. They’re caught in two minds I think, but they’ll probably evacuate, rather than risk everyone being killed.” Said Hermione, sombrely.

“Sounds sensible, that’s probably the best thing to do.” Said Harry, “what are you all going to do?” he continued, looking around at them all.

“I’ll be wherever you are, whether that be here or in hiding.”

“Me too” said Hermione.

He looked at Ginny last.

“You don’t even need to ask me that” she said simply.

Harry smiled broadly, feeling buoyed by their words of comfort and support.

“Then we stay here and we fight for our home.” He said, and the others all nodded, their path now laid out before them.

“I’ll talk to Professor McGonagall tomorrow; see what her intentions are and what I can do to help.

“You should get a lot of rest first, but that’s the best thing to do I think. I don’t know about you, but I’m going to bed, I could use a semi-early night.”

“Me too” said Hermione, she walked towards Ron and leant upwards, kissing him as Harry held onto Ginny tightly, afraid she might disappear into thin air if he didn’t.

“Coming Ginny?” said Hermione, stifling an enormous yawn.

“Not just yet, I just want a few more minutes down here”

“Ok, goodnight all” said Ron

“Night” said Harry, Ginny and Hermione all at once, and Ron walked away in one direction, Hermione in another, leaving them alone in the main room of the common room.

“I was so scared” said Ginny “I thought I’d never see you again.”

Harry hugged her tightly, and felt so strong there, he never wanted to let go of her.

“I didn’t know for most of the time, I didn’t know what was going on, I didn’t even know how long I’d been there until he told me.”

“I’ve barely ate and slept these last three days, I thought you were gone forever, I thought they’d taken you and I’d never be with you again.”

“Shhh, it’s ok Gin, once I knew what was going on I thought the same and got back here as soon as I could.”

At his words she threw her arms around him again and held onto him tightly. Harry moved his head and kissed her, and she fell into him, and they stood there for what seemed like days in that embrace, letting their love flow between them. He didn’t want it to end, and only wanted to stay there forever, without any of the problems which plagued his life. Eventually, she broke away and hugged him again.

“There’s something else Harry.” Said Ginny.

“What is it?” said Harry.

“I’ve started taking private lessons with Lunette too.”

“You have?” said Harry, backing away from her and looking into her eyes. “Why?”

“I’m not ready for this, and the only way I’m going to be able to fight is if I get her help, I need her help to make myself stronger, I need to defend this place, I need to defend you.”

By the time she had finished speaking, Harry was speechless. He pulled her to him again, and held onto her.

“It’s probably for the best” he said after a long pause.

“Are you sure you’re ok with this?” she said.

“I’m sure, it’s good for you.”

“Ok, I’d better get to bed; I’m so tired after the last three days.”

“Sorry for putting you through it” said Harry.

“Don’t say that” said Ginny sweetly.

Harry laughed, and held her tightly.

“Goodnight Harry.” Said Ginny, seemingly reluctant to let him go, and she kissed him again.

“Goodnight Gin” said Harry, feeling the sense of loss rise inside him again. It grew even stronger as he watched her walked towards the Girl’s staircase. His eyes welled up and his stomach flew about inside his body, and he wanted nothing more than to run after and hold her tight. He fought back the urge to do so, and turned back towards his own dorm, climbing the stairs slowly, like someone who had clearly been through a lot, and wanted rest. He reached his dorm, not thinking about a shower, or a bath, or anything other than sleep. Noticing everyone else was asleep, he walked across the room as quietly as possible, and quickly changed into his bedclothes, and lay back into his bed. Almost as soon as his head touched the pillow, his eyes closed and found slumber. Preparing himself, without knowing it, for what he would face in the morning.

Chapter 25:



The air which surrounded Harry on this chilly autumn morning belied the strong sunshine which poured through his window. He woke very suddenly and immediately pulled the duvet covers around him tightly, before moving around, and trying to warm himself up again. He opened his eyes gingerly, and looked around the room for any sign of his friends, and found none. So he was all alone in his bed, with a very real and serious decision to make. He could get up, and he could face the day, and all those who would ask where he had been for three days, and he didn’t have the foggiest idea what he would say to them; that would have to be decided before he left his bed, he thought. But then there was his biggest choice. He could indeed leave his bed, but all the time, in the back of his mind was the niggling thought that he should do as Snape had instructed him. He looked over at his bedside table, where an ornate clock ticked away, and said it was just before midday. That had to be enough rest, he thought. He would have an easy day, and wouldn’t strain himself too much. He ran his hands over his face, and through his fast growing hair, and forced himself up. He reached across to his trunk and grabbed a change of clothes and wash kit, and walked out of the dorm to the bathroom at the end of this corridor. Mercifully he wasn’t interrupted by anyone, and he was able to enjoy his shower in peace. He felt the hot water wash away the dirt and sweat which had built up over the last few days, and he felt renewed, and ready. After he was done, he walked back along the corridor and offloaded his belongings by his bed, before walking out, and down the staircase to the common room.

As he walked along, and then even more so as he walked down the stairs, he was hit by a wave of trepidation. Harry knew what he would face when he got to the bottom of the stairs, yet he didn’t feel nearly prepared for it, not in the slightest, he hadn’t even thought about what he would say to them all. He would make something up, rather than tell everyone what really happened, of course he would. Telling everyone what happened to him would only cause more problems, and more awkward questions he could not answer. No he had to lie about it, and it didn’t really matter to him if they didn’t believe him, he had to keep what he really knew to himself, and those who already knew. He reached the bottom of the staircase, and meant to walk across the room towards the door, but he was held in place by the sudden collective intake of breath and what seemed like a million eyes staring at him, as if it was one body, everyone’s heads turned towards him, and he met their eyes all at the same time. Harry felt scared, isolated, and unsure of himself all at the same time, and he didn’t know what to do. As he looked around the room, he looked at all the students in turn. It was a Saturday afternoon and half of the Gryffindor Students were in the common room, but those that were made it seem like there were hundreds of them. He wasn’t sure whether they were happy to see him back, or whether they were just feeling more worried that he had returned. He doubted most of them would know the full details of his abduction, but was it possible they had their own theories on what had happened? He knew he couldn’t have lifted his arm in the air, much less stun someone and run away. Of course he wouldn’t tell them that, he couldn’t. Then, there was always the possibility that they knew about the impending attack, and that because he was there, they thought he was the reason for them coming, to kill Harry and anyone who would stand in their way. He could understand if they felt less than happy to see him. One of them broke through the crowd, and he was happy to see a friendly face in the crowd of fear and doubt.

“Hi Harry” said Neville, breaking through the crowd and standing in front of him.

“Hi Neville im ok, how are you?”

“Yeah I’m ok” he said rather unconvincingly.

“I haven’t spoken to you for a while, are you alright?” said Harry.

“Yeah well, you know with the attack and all, I’ve been better, but apart from that I’m ok.”

“I’m glad to hear it” Said Harry, smiling at him encouragingly.

“Where have you been?” Said Neville, clearly concerned about him. Harry knew the question was coming, yet he still didn’t know how he would answer, and the added pressure of having his eyes, and everyone else’s on him, made him lose himself for just a few moments. He knew everyone in the room was listening, and he knew he had to sound convincing, yet that pressure made him stumble over his words.

“I had to take care of something.” He finally said, somewhat lamely.

“Oh right, is it anything to do with the attack?”

“Yes it is” said Harry quickly, seizing a way out. “I can’t really talk about it though Neville, I’m sure you understand.”

“Sure, of course, I’m just glad you’re ok Harry. I heard about what happened in the hospital, everyone’s been talking about it, some of them even think you attacked her, but you could have done that, I know you couldn’t.”

“Attacked who? I don’t know what happened?”

“You don’t? She said she was hit from behind by a stunner while she was helping you, then all she could see after that was that you were gone when Ginny came looking for you.”

“Really? Im sorry, I honestly don’t know what happened, I was out cold and I really don’t have any idea what happened.”

“Fair enough” said Neville, but he didn’t look entirely convinced.

“What are you going to do?” said Harry, quickly changing the subject.

“About what?” he replied.

“The attack of course, are you going to stay or go home?”

“I really don’t know yet. It’s one of those things isn’t it? If I stay, I’ll probably die, but I’ll be doing the right thing. Or I could go home and stay alive for who knows how much longer, and I’ll know I’m a coward. I really need to think about it.”

“You’re not a coward Neville, I’m staying, and I am not going to die. We’re not. If you stay with us we will all make it out again.”

Harry could sense an invisible battle waging inside Neville’s mind, he had no idea what Neville would say, and he didn’t think he knew either.

“I don’t know Harry, I need to think about it” he said, finally.

“That’s ok Neville, take your time.”

“If it’s ok by you I really need some time to myself.”

“Of course, I could use some too” he replied, looking around at the eyes still upon him.

“Are you alright Neville?”

“Yeah I’m fine, or at least I will be when this is all over.”

“We’ll be fine “ said Harry, and with that, Harry watched Neville smile weakly, and walk away from him, up the stairs he had just descended. Harry himself turned on the spot and was met by a wall of stares. He fumbled briefly, and then, ignoring them all, walked towards the Fat Lady. He could feel they were watching him every step of the way there. Once he got through the portal, he breathed a huge sigh of relief, just to be out of the pressure, and out of everyone’s piercing gazes. Once Harry gathered himself, he gathered himself, and walked down the staircase away from her portrait. The only thing that was in his mind at that moment was to go and find Professor McGonagall, and talk about their impending attack. With this in mind, he walked quickly towards the one place he assumed she would be, her office. Unfortunately for Harry, the peace and quiet he craved seemed a whole world away from him, a far cry from the near empty corridors he had run through the night before. Everywhere he walked was packed with people and every one of them stopped upon sight of him, and either whispered to those stood next to them, or ran away from him, as if he was dangerous, as if he had really attacked Madam Pomphrey, and could attack them at any moment, and while it didn’t exactly make him feel great about himself, he had endured far worse than this during his time at Hogwarts, like, for example when the majority of the students thought he was the heir of Slytherin, or when the whole School was against him for thinking he had put his name into the Goblet of Fire. Rather than stay exposed to it all, he walked even quicker towards her office, practically breaking into a run on the last straight. He spoke the password quickly to the Gargoyle, and rather than wait for it to wind all the way to the top, he jumped onto the stairs and was carried up, out of sight from the rest of the school. He walked through the door at the top of the stairs, and stepped forward to face Professor McGonagall. The intake of breath that greeted him when he walked into the room was quite a shock to Harry, it seemed louder than the whole of the common room put together. Whether it was due to the confined space, or something else entirely he wasn’t sure about, but he was truly shocked by her reaction.

“Good gracious Harry, where have you been?” she said, remaining seated.

“Professor I…”

“Don’t give me any lies this time Potter, I want the truth, now out with it.”

“Professor, I cannot tell you”

“I don’t accept that, not anymore.”

“What are you going to do?”

“I beg your pardon.” She said, pursing her lips till they were practically invisible.

“I mean, what are you going to do about the fact that Hogwarts is going to be under siege within a week?”

“You are not my advisor Potter I don’t need to run my decisions past you.”

“So what are you going to do?”

“Are you deaf Potter?”

“Professor, there’s no need to talk to me like that, now I know the only assumption you can make is that I attacked Madam Pomphrey and escaped. But if you’d seen me after what happened, you’d have known I could barely stand up, much less get up, attack her and escape. Besides the attack came from behind her, so it couldn’t have been me.”

“Ok, then who was it?”

“I don’t know, I was taken away, I didn’t know how long I was away for, I just remember coming back, fixed and healthy, I don’t know what happened to me.”

“Be that as it may, I don’t like this Harry, you’re at too much risk, and that’s only going to get larger as time goes on.”

“There’s nothing I can do about that, we’re in a war Professor, and im going to be put at risk all the time.”

“Be that as it may, I want to reduce that risk as much as possible.”

“What do you mean?”

“I have no option but to evacuate the school. Transport will be arranged in the next few days to get everyone out of here.”

“What about those who want to stay?”

“Why would anyone want to stay here?”

“To defend our home of course.” Said Harry, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“You don’t mean yourself.”

“Yes of course! I cannot speak for everyone, but im sure people will want to.”

“It’s just out of the question Harry, everyone will be evacuated shortly.”

“You’re not kicking me out of my home Professor, this is the only place I have truly felt at home, no-where else can make me feel this strongly about, and I cannot stand aside and watch it be attacked, I will not.”

“This is not some mindless attack Potter, and it’s not just the Death Eaters that will come, I’m certain of it.”

“You expect others to join the attack?”

“Certainly, dementors will almost certainly join them, and goodness only knows what else.”

“What else could it be?”
“The werewolf’s could be summoned, and who knows, perhaps even the Giants will be involved.”

“Giants” said Harry, in stunned shock.

“It’s not inconceivable Potter, they have been used in this country before, they may well be brought to the fore again, we have to be prepared for everything, but I say again, I will not put any student’s life in jeopardy during this, you, and the other students will go.”

“I will not admit defeat Professor.”

“This is not a battle you can win Potter, not with me, now was there anything else?”

Harry looked around the room, trying to gather his thoughts, to find away around the human shaped wall in his way. One glance back at Professor McGonagall told him it was folly to try again, he shook his head, and said.”

“No nothing else.”

“I’m glad to hear it, now if you’ll excuse me; I have a lot to do.”

“Fine” said Harry, down but not out, he had lost this battle, but was determined he would win the war, that they would all win this war. He turned, and without another word, he left the room. As he descended the steps to the corridor below, and doubtless to the hordes that would be waiting for him to come out, Harry suddenly thought of a solution,

“I wonder” he said out loud, and without another word, he quickly descended the stairs, and walked towards the common room. The corridors were surprisingly empty, and he felt so relieved he was allowed to pass through unhindered, and without accusing eyes following his every step. Of course they would probably be waiting for him in the common room for a mass stare, but he felt ready for that. If only he had his invisibility cloak with him, then he could get by without any problems at all, and would certainly make him feel a lot better about himself. He walked faster and faster, until he was practically running, he had to act as quickly as possible. He had to do what was in his mind before everyone was gone, and the chance would have gone to defend that which he loved. He reached the Fat Lady and was inside within moments. His instincts were right however, and he was greeted by what seemed to be the entire Gryffindor quarter of the school, though it could well have been the entire school for all he knew, for the amount of people staring at him, but he just breezed past them all, he had one objective in his mind. He didn’t even stop to see if there was a friendly face in the crowd, he just ran across the room and took the stairs three at a time till he got to the top and into his room. When he entered, he discovered he was not alone, as he saw that Neville was flat on his back and gazing at the curtains above his head. Harry walked across the room to his bed, and glanced at Neville as he did so, but Neville didn’t seem to notice he was there. It was, frankly unimportant to Harry though, and he knelt down next to his trunk and began emptying it all over the floor. The object he was searching for was only small, but it was critical to his survival, and the only way he could see to get everyone on his side quickly, and to convince Professor McGonagall that he should be allowed to stay. The longer he was stooped low by his bed, the larger the pile of items grew, and then, at long last, he found what he was looking for. He reached inside the trunk, and closed his fingers around the small gold coin he hadn’t touched for a long time. Yet the memory of that time, and what had happened to them a year and a half ago was so clear it could have happened yesterday. He held the coin in his left hand, and reached inside his robes for his wand.

“What are you doing Harry?” said Neville suddenly.”

“Reforming his army” replied Harry, and he looked over the top of his trunk, “Dumbledore’s army.”

“You are?” said Neville, in hushed amazement.

“I am, I hope the spell still works.”

“I hope people still carry their coins.” Said Neville, smiling.

Harry smiled too “do you still carry yours?” and he watched as Neville slid to the edge of his bed, the one closest to Harry, and reached into his top pocket, pulling out his own version of the same coin.”

“When will we meet.” Neville said frankly, his mind made up.

“Tonight, we need to do this as early as possible, so we have time to organise everything.”

“Ok I’ll start spreading the word as much as I can.”

“Good, the Room of Requirement at nine tonight ok?”

“Ok Harry, I’ll get right on it.” said Neville, standing and then walking towards the dorm door.”

“Neville” said Harry, stopping him in his tracks. “Thank-you.” He watched as Neville spun round, and nodded to Harry, before leaving the room. He then switched his attention back to the coin, and finally removed his wand from his inside pocket, and pointed it at the coin, focusing his mind on the date and the time, as he had done so many times before. As he looked down at the coin, he noticed the date was unchanged from that fateful day they had been captured, and Dumbledore had fled the school, and as he thought about it, the numbers melded together and read the date today, and nine o’clock this evening. He breathed in hard as he did so, and he couldn’t help but smile, despite the severity of the situation they were all in. Halloween was just over a week away, and he had a lot to do. He gathered his thoughts and stood up, walking out of the room, leaving behind the jumbled mess of seemingly junk all over the floor, and walking down towards the common room, he knew what he was going to do. He had no idea if any of the pupils in that room would have their coins with them, and if they did would they really care? Would they answer his call or leave? As he walked down the stairs, he heard the voices in the room below get louder and louder, but at no point was he able to identify clearly what they were saying. The mess of sound cleared itself up as soon as he walked into the room, as his presence caused the noise to cease instantly, he lost his cool edge.

“Would one of you like to speak your mind? Or do you just intend to stare at me whenever I walk past?”

Silence was their only response. He looked around them all, and everytime his eyes met any of theirs, they turned away, or looked at their feet.

“Well? Do any of you have anything to say?”

Silence again.

“Then I don’t have time for your frankly wrong and pathetic suspicions of me, if any of you are in the DA, then check your coins.” He said sharply, and with that he left an entire roomful of people behind and returned to his room. He ignored the mess he had left in their earlier and lay back down on his bed, staring at the ceiling, as Neville had been doing, at almost as if the thought was being pushed to the front of his mind, he remembered Snape’s words about how he should rest, and bearing that in mind he closed his eyes and tried to force everything out of his mind except for sleep and rest. No sooner had he forced out the last thought in his tired mind, then he heard a loud crash from in front of him, which was heightened by his tired senses, and he looked ahead to see three familiar figures walking towards him.

“I thought you were supposed to be resting.” Said Ginny immediately

“I am resting” mumbled Harry.

“You know what I mean, we just saw Neville and he said you’re reforming the DA and meeting tonight?”

“I’m just giving everyone the chance to make their own decision about this, as right now they don’t have that luxury.”

“Harry you can’t do that, you just cant, how are you going to get any sleep If you’re running around after the DA?”

“I will rest, just during the gaps between the lessons.”

“I’m not sure Harry.”

“Gin, people deserve the chance to make their own decision, I have to do this.”

“Are you sure you will rest?”

“Gin I will.” He said.

“Ok” she replied, seemingly much happier than before, and stood next to his bed. He shuffled over to her, and he held onto her hands as she sat down. Harry then looked across at Ron and Hermione.

“Did you manage to identify what I’m supposed to be drinking?”

“I haven’t yet Harry, it doesn’t look like anything I’ve ever seen before, and I’m really not sure about you taking this Harry.” Said Hermione.

“He said it was a test, to see if I was willing to do anything that was necessary for me to survive. Then he said if I didn’t do this I wouldn’t be able to fight anyone.”

Hermione rolled her eyes as she replied.

“Did you ever consider that he said that because he wanted you to take it? He may have saved you, he may have healed you, you still aren’t sure about him Harry, and you don’t know his intentions.”

“He healed him though didn’t he? If he wanted to take him to Voldemort, or to just kill him he had the chance to.” Said Ginny, who Harry felt shiver as she spoke.

“I dare say he does, but there’s only one way to find out.”

“You’re going to take it?”

“I’ll think about it.”

“Please Harry; just think about what I’ve said.”

“I will.”

“How many of the DA do you expect to show up tonight Harry?” said Ron.

“I haven’t the foggiest idea, Neville said he would tell as many people as he could, but how many will come I don’t know. Even if it’s half a dozen though, we should still stay here.”

“McGonagall’s not going to be easy to break down.”

“I know, but I have to try, and if that fails I’ll just hide here till they come, then she can’t do anything about it.”

“That’s one way around it I suppose.” Said Ron, grinning.

“You should get some rest Harry” said Ginny, squeezing his hand. “We’ll spread the word and get people along.”

“Ok I could use a few hours rest.”

She didn’t reply, but leant down and kissed him. He felt complete at every touch of her lips, and wanted nothing more than to stay there with her, there he had no problems; there he had everything he’d ever wanted. She broke away, and the look between them spoke a thousand words. She kissed him again, and he stayed where he was, and watched them walk away from him. He lent back down and turned his head to one side, before he thought anymore, he found himself fast asleep.



When Harry woke up, he looked around the room groggily, and ended up focusing on his alarm clock, which he eventually worked out was saying just after eight. Sudden realisation drifted into his mind when he realised just how long he had been there for. Shaking his head from side to side, and rubbing his hands all over his face, Harry stood up, and immediately had only one thought in his mind : The Room of Requirement, and no-where else but that room. He got to his feet, and walked quickly from the room and down the stairs to a practically empty common room, which he walked straight though without even noticing the emptiness. He then walked straight down the stairs and through the school towards the portrait he knew would contain the room. He felt no fear at what was inside this place, nor of what happened to him last time he was here, he only had the thought inside his mind of what he planned to do next.

“I need some place to teach defence, I need some place to teach defence, I need some place to teach defence.” He said to the picture, and then stood still and waited for it to appear, which it did, after a few seconds impatient waiting. He stepped inside, and felt as if he was in a time warp, back to a year and a half ago when the room was in regular us; the feeling was so strong that he almost forgot what had happened to him the last time he was here. The cushions on the floor, the whistle tied around the notice board on the wall, the wall of bookshelves at the other end of the room, everything was just as he remembered it. Breathing heavily, Harry collapsed on the pile of cushions and waited for whoever may come.

Chapter 26:



This was getting stupid, thought Harry. Surely he wasn’t going to be the only one who would fight under the banner of the DA. Would anyone come here? He had to admit to himself that for most of the time he was there he thought he would be alone throughout this fight, and that apart from Ron, Hermione and Ginny he was alone. Harry lifted the left arm of his robes and gazed at the face of his digital watch. He had done it at least once in every minute he had been there, and the only feeling that was conveyed to Harry was annoyance, it just increased everytime he looked at it without making him feel any better at all. It was a quarter to nine, fifteen minutes to go of him just standing there and waiting, so he collapsed onto the pile of cushions again. He couldn’t get into a comfortable position while sitting there however, and he shuffled around every couple of seconds, so he got up again and began pacing back and forth along the full length of the room, willing time to go faster.



The last fifteen minutes went by excruciatingly slowly for Harry, and he constantly checked his watch, almost getting to the point of sheer anger as to why the time wasn’t going fast enough for his liking. And then it finally came, when time broke the nine o’clock barrier and he turned to stare at the door, expecting a whole throng of people to force their walk through and present themselves to him.

But nothing happened.



“Come On!” he shouted at the door, expecting someone to come through or at least for someone to answer him. They were late and he was seriously annoyed, almost to the point of giving up and walk away. He was on the verge of doing just that when the door was thrown open and he turned to see Ginny walk through the door, followed by Ron and Hermione, and then Neville and Luna Lovegood. Harry allowed a small smile and an even smaller smirk to leave his lips when he saw Luna, he had had a funny feeling Neville would have convinced her to come. He looked back at the door hopefully, hoping against hope that this wasn’t everyone who had come. He stood perfectly still, but looking at the door frame, not at those who had arrived. Time stood still as Harry gazed through the door, waiting for someone to come, it was like the seconds on his watch weren’t moving at all, and then all of a sudden it clicked into life again, which was followed by people walking through the door, first there were one or two, but then there was suddenly a whole mass of them. He couldn’t fight back the smile which spread across his face at that moment, and looked across at those who had already come, those he knew would come and just conveyed every emotion he was feeling in that one smile. When he finally heard the click of the door, he looked back in front of him and saw there was around twenty people around him, waiting for him to do something, to say something.

“Why don’t you all take a seat?” he said to the crowd and they all dutifully obliged, walking past him and taking a seat amongst the mass of cushions all around him. He walked ahead of them, like a speaker taking the stage and like an obedient and intrigued audience; they waited for him to speak. Harry looked around them all, he knew them all by sight, and counted them all as his friends, and he had a deeply sickening feeling in his stomach when he thought that if they stayed, they might very well be dead within a week. The thought ate at him from the inside out as he spoke.

“How much do you know about the attack?” he said finally, a bit of a let down by all accounts, considering their reaction, perhaps they were expecting some majestic speech.

“Only what Professor McGonagall has told us all” said Ernie.

“What did she say?” said Harry to him.

“Not nearly enough, I know there’s more to this than she’s letting on.”

“I probably know as much as you all do, I went to see her earlier, and she was tight lipped about it as you’d expect her to be. She plans to evacuate the school in the next few days and Marshall the defence when the attack comes.”

“She’s going to stay?” said Ernie

“Along with goodness knows how many Aurors no doubt” said Justin Finch Fletchley, who Harry was glad to see there too.

“So why have you called us here?” said Ernie, keeping himself tall, despite being squashed into a particularly soft cushion.

Harry had thought long and hard about what he would say to them, when it came down to it, he had to be realistic and honest about the threat they all faced, but he also had to convince them all if he could, that they would be better served defending their home, he had to try. Taking a deep breath, he started to speak.

“I have called you all here because two years ago we all formed together in the name of Dumbledore’s army, and I’m asking you to do the same again now.”

The crowd, who had been almost silent, was completely breathless now, the last remnants of their noise were washed away like a new tide, and it was so silent they could hear a pin drop on a mattress. Only then did Harry give them the speech they craved.

“Two years ago we all formed together to learn how to fight. We waited for a chance to use what we’d learnt, but as part of a rebellion against those who had taken over our school, our home. Well this is that chance, the Death Eaters seek to undo everything that makes our lives what they are, they seek to come here, to take our lives apart and kill us all, I will not let that happen.”

“What are you saying?” said Ernie.

“I mean for us to fight them, to use the DA for what it was intended for, to reform, retrain and to defend this castle, that which has been our home for the last six years.”

“That’s asking a lot Harry.”

“I won’t lie to you” said Harry, undaunted by his interruption. “This will probably be the most dangerous thing you have ever had to face, and I’m also not saying you have to do this, it’s your choice to do it or not. But I will say one thing, it will be dangerous yes, but I am staying, I will defend my home from those who would take it away from us all and I will prevail. I tell you I will live and I will send them back from these walls, who will fight with me?!”

It was only once he had finished speaking that he looked around them all. Until then he’d been looking in their general direction, but now he was looking around at them all. Looking at each of them individually and trying to identify what they were feeling, and whether they would do as he asked, whether they would stay and fight, or leave in the attempt to keep themselves safe. He couldn’t read their minds, and their faces were blank so he didn’t have the first idea what they would all do.

“Harry I appreciate what you’re trying to do but I cannot make a decision on a whim, we must think about this and decide individually.” Said Ernie.

“Of course, I am not pressing for an answer now, but they’re coming in a little over a week, so if you’re staying we need to get to work” he looked over at his little clump of closest friends, Ron, Hermione and Ginny and knew what they would do, but beyond that he had no idea. He looked away from them and around the rest of them again. He had a complete mix of emotions flowing around his body as he did. On one hand he felt proud that they were at least there, and at least considering his suggestion, and would feel even more so if they did actually do what he was asking of them. But this was completely covered over by the thought of how he would feel if anything happened to them, that they could be wounded or even killed because he had asked them to help him, the guilt he would feel at such a thing would be unbearable. He couldn’t face that right now, he couldn’t bring himself to even think about the ramifications, and what would fly around inside his mind if they did stay. He was waiting for one of them to speak, but none of them were, they just sat there and stared off into space, obviously caught in their own mind war.

“As I said before” said Harry, drawing their attention back to him instantly. “They are coming on Halloween, so you have a little time to decide, but not all the time in the world. If you are staying I’d ask you to come back here at 9pm tomorrow, if you don’t come, then that’s fine, but I need to know who is staying and who is not.” As he spoke he looked at them all in turn again, and the feelings that had been brewing inside him broke forth and multiplied, he felt sick at doing this, but at the same time, he knew it was what had to be done.

“Are we going to do anything else tonight or can we go?” said Ernie, looking more than a little nervous.

“No that’s everything, except to say thank-you all for coming here tonight. I’ll wait to see you all tomorrow, whether you come here or not, just by being here means so much to me, thank-you all.”

No-one spoke, a few nodded their approval, but one by one they all rose to their feet and walked towards the door in silence, leaving only Harry, with Ron Hermione and Ginny, all of whom walked towards him. Ginny reached him first, and put her arms around him, nestling into his side. He kissed her on the top of her head and held her close.

“Not a bad speech mate, if there’s anyone who can convince them to stay it’s you” said Ron, who was holding onto Hermione in front of him. “Do you think any of them will stay?”

“I haven’t the foggiest idea what they’ll do; hopefully I’ve managed to convince a few to stay, even that would be better than nothing at all.”

“Then of course we have to convince McGonagall to let us stay, it’s a lot to do.”

“True but this is what we’re into, and this is what we’ll have to do if we’re to see it through.”

“Not forgetting your rest” said Ginny.

“Not forgetting my rest, but I think if I go to bed before midnight I won’t be able to sleep anyway, not with the amount of sleep I’ve had today.”

“Ok but you shouldn’t be running around chasing everything Harry, you should rest and let us do something to help you, you can’t do everything.”

“I won’t, but right now what we have to figure out is that potion.”

“Do you intend on taking it?”

“I do, if I intend on staying here, and I do, then I’ll take it to give me the best chance of survival.”

“I’m really not sure about this Harry, maybe you should get an expert to check it out” said Hermione.

“Like who” said Harry, for a split second sounding more irate than he had meant to. “The one person who I could count as an expert on this is the one who gave me the potion in the first place.”

“There’s always the current potions master?”

He hadn’t thought of that. Horace Slughorn, who Harry had convinced to join the staff the previous year. He was a large, odd shaped man, and had the most bizarre of appearances, yet he was a kind man, who Harry was happy to have on their side.

“Ok fair enough, but what am I supposed to say to him? I have this potion from Snape, he told me I had to drink it and could you tell me what it is?”

“Harry, calm down mate.” Said Ron, as Hermione looked more than a little hurt.

I’m sorry; it’s just a lot to take in. I don’t even know what I would say to him. I mean maybe you’re right, I mean he does have a very good knowledge of potions, but I just wouldn’t know what to say.”

“Or how to cover it up.” Said Ginny
“Exactly, it’s difficult to make a decision about it really, either I talk to Slughorn about it, or just take it and hope I can trust Snape.”

“You really have changed haven’t you?” said Ginny.

“It’s not by choice; I’m just doing what has to be done.”

She didn’t speak again and just held onto him tightly.

“I think I’ll go and see Slughorn again tomorrow. That’ll give me plenty of time to think of a cover story, and at least then it’ll give me something to ease my mind. I hope he can figure out what it is.”

“Of course he’ll help you” said Ron. “You’re the pride of the Slug Club” causing a much needed laugh to spread through the room.

“True, maybe I can swing it with him, I’m sure I can think of something”

“It’s what you do best mate” said Ron laughing “If you can’t think of anything then no-one can.”

Harry smiled, he had to, and the overriding threat that was coming so very soon seemed that little bit further away.

“What shall we do now?” said Hermione.

“Well it’s too late to see Slughorn now, and I’m not going to get to sleep anytime soon, do you fancy a couple of hours of duelling practice?”

“Might as well” said Ron.

“Ok pick a partner” Harry said mockingly, at the fact there was only the four of them. “Ok no holding back, the first one to stun the other wins.”

“Sounds fair” said Ron, moving with Hermione to the other side of the room, next to the bookshelves. Harry stood next to the door, and Ginny took up a position roughly ten metres from him. He reached inside his robes for his wand and pulled it out with a flourish before raising it to his face, and then spinning it down so it was pointing away from his body. Ginny matched his moves, but left out the fancy wand twirling which Harry was only doing to impress her. She on the other hand was perfectly disciplined and had no fair to her moves, clearly focusing hard on the fight ahead. It was something Harry had always noticed about Ginny, how focused she was all the time, especially about duelling someone, and how strong she was when she truly wanted something. Harry got the express feeling this was one of those times. He didn’t have anymore time to think about it though, as he watched her move her lips and he immediately stepped onto the defensive. Without speaking, only mouthing the words, a green flash sparked from the end of her wand and flew straight towards him. Acting on instinct and using his almost feline reflexes born from being one of the best seekers in the history of Gryffindor House, Harry jumped left and watched the beam fly straight past him. From his crouched position he watched her draw back her wand and suddenly thrust forward.

“Stupefy!” she shouted, and the red beam of light flew straight and true. Harry stood up, and focusing all his strength shouted. “Protego!” A wave of blue energy passed over his body, and the beam flew straight back at her. She dived to the right, and rolled over the floor. Seizing his chance he jumped forward, and fired a stunner at her again. “Stupefy!” he shouted, and she had no time to react as the stunner flew straight towards her chest. She couldn’t dive anywhere; she couldn’t react, so she brought her wand up to her chest and with a sweeping motion, blocked the spell just as it was a hairsbreadth from connecting with her. Harry, certain he had won, didn’t react for a second, and she took her advantage. From her prone position, she mouthed a silent spell again, and a blue light flew towards Harry. Snapping himself back to his senses he reacted, shouting out the first spell that came into his head. “Expelliarmus!” The mess of white sparks around the beam of light flew out of his wand, but before it could get anywhere near Ginny it connected with the spell she had cast, and the two exploded in a shower of multi-coloured sparks. Harry squinted his eyes from the glare, and tried desperately to see Ginny on the other side of the mass of colour.

“Protego” he said under his breath, and he walked around the colour fountain, his wand pointed at where she should be. Breathing deeply he jumped up and forward, with his wand pointing towards where she had been before the explosion. As he flew through the air, the only thing that registered was the fact she wasn’t there. He tensed up upon hitting the ground, and was aware of everything around him. Then he finally saw movement out of the corner of his eye. Acting on his adrenaline charged reflexes, he yelled “Protego!” just as the shield wore off, and he saw the beam of red light fly from just next to the fountain of colour, straight at him. He braced himself for the impact, but knew the shield could take it. The beam reflected off of his body and straight towards her again. She parried it desperately, but as the beam flew off of his body he fired a stunner of his own, which she couldn’t react to. It flew straight at her and connected with her just, just before she could react, and as the flurry of sparks died away she fell back to the floor, unconscious.

Harry settled himself, sheathed his wand and breathed in deeply. It had been a seriously hard fight. She was certainly a tough opponent, of that he had no doubt, and he knew she would be. She had already been a tough character before taking lessons with Lunette Audiutry, now she was very hard to take down, much harder. He walked round where the fountain had been and towards where her prone body was laying on her back. She looked a vision of beauty there, and he rushed towards her to bring her back to consciousness. Suddenly, and completely out of the blue she stirred and her arm rose towards Harry. She yelled “Stupefy!” in a decidedly agitated voice, and the beam flew straight at Harry, straight past the vision of shock across Harry’s face at that moment, and he jumped up into the air with shock. The beam connected with his chest in mid air, and he was thrown back through the air by the force of the spell, with the apparently distant sound of Ron and Hermione’s duel the last sounds he heard.



Harry woke up with a sudden start, and appeared to be in exactly the same place, at exactly the same time as he had fallen. He sat up quickly, and felt a rush of blood to his head as he did so. He immediately noticed Ginny, and felt his cheeks flush scarlet as he remembered what had happened. Nothing could accurately describe how stupid he felt for sheathing his wand and not checking she was unconscious before pronouncing his victory, and it was not a mistake he would make again. He didn’t feel sore, nor did he feel as if he was injured in anyway, the only thing that was hurt was his ego being slightly bruised. He looked over and noticed Hermione and Ron were looking over him too.

“Are you ok?” said Ginny, offering him an arm and pulling him up.

“I’m ok, nice move that, how did you do it?”

“Lunette’s methods can be a little unorthodox, I’ve seen her do such crazy stuff to get out of the way of a spell, sometimes it works, and sometimes it doesn’t.”

“What about you two? Who won your duel?”

“Hermione did” said Ron, who didn’t sound particularly surprised.

“What happened?” said Harry.

“I took my eye off her for a split second.” Said Ron.

“He looked over at you when he heard you fall” said Hermione sarcastically, which caused them all to laugh.

“As funny as they both were, there are very serious lessons to be learnt from them both. You never discard your wand until you’re certain the battle is won, and second to that is you never take your eye off your opponent, even if someone has been injured you have to keep your focus.”

“So if you get mortally wounded am I just supposed to forget about it and fight on without a care?”

“I didn’t mean it like that Gin. But we have to be realistic about this. When they attack they aren’t going to just let us grieve, and we have to stay on top.”

“I know” said Ginny, putting her arms around him “it’s just hard.”

“I know” replied Harry.

“Want to go again?” said Ron “Only how about we swap this time? And I’ll duel with Harry?”

“Sounds fine.” Said Harry, squeezing Ginny into his side.”

“Just so you don’t get beaten again” said Hermione mockingly.

“Ha-ha” said Ron as everyone of them laughed. The two Girls split off and headed to the Door, and Harry walked with Ron over towards the bookcases. They continued duelling each other, and swapping partners for a few hours before they realised It was almost midnight and they headed back to the dormitories, chatting away at the top of their voices about everyone’s antics in the Room of Requirement, and how they carried on in spite of everything. Even Ron’s gash along the side of his face, caused by him flying into a bookcase, couldn’t stop him getting the winning blow on Ginny, a fact he was reminding her about constantly. And while they were all in high spirits, Harry couldn’t help but think about the overriding seriousness to the situation they were in, and the fact that the real duels they would be involved in would be far more serious, where there would be no room for error, and anyone of them could well not ever do this again, or anything again for that matter, and it put a gloomy tint on the whole discussion, something the others didn’t seem to have noticed, and the fact that they just carried on regardless, made Harry feel a little low. Which remained with him even as he said goodnight to his friends, and kissed Ginny goodnight, and as he got into bed, thinking about what he would say to Slughorn in the morning, but most of all, thinking about what on earth he would say if something happened to those he cared about most of all in the world.

Mod Edit: Mods, please do not lock or delete this fic. Big D has indicated the need for a short writing hiatus, but he has expressed that he wishes to continue writing after the new year. Thanks!

The hiatus has come to an end, here after quite a long break is the latest chapter in HPATWOTS! I hope you enjoy it, and as allways, i would love to hear what you think about my little story, please visit the link in my sig and tell me what you think, good or bad

enough babbling, here it is!


Chapter 27



Harry woke with a start on a cold autumn morning, and was suddenly full of the thoughts which had plagued his sleep. He sat bolt upright and breathed in sharply, almost to the point of hyperventilation. As he settled back down again he couldn’t help but think about the dream, it was closer to being a nightmare in its content, and he squirmed around in his bed as he thought about what had happened in his mind. The attack had come, stronger than he could ever have predicted. The Giants had come, and crushed the walls of the great fortress, along with those defending them. Then the Dementors and Werewolves had stormed the castle, barely being held back by the brave students who had stood by Harry. Then the Death Eaters hit the castle, and one by one those around him fell. He could see their faces twisted in shock and horror as they fell, and one by one those he loved more than any others fell beneath the relentless assault; Ron, Hermione then finally Ginny fell around him, and he fell to his knees with the pain breaking him down. He screamed in agony as they took him away, and then it was over, and he was awake. All he could envisage as he lay there in a cold sweat was what could really happen, and what would happen to them if they stayed. He tried desperately to kick these venomous thoughts from his mind, but all he could see was Ginny falling, Ginny dying. The thought was like acid to him and he couldn’t face it any longer, he had to do something, he had to get these thoughts out of his mind or he would be consumed by them. He rolled over on his bed and looked at his bedside table. Through his tired eyes he saw the clock read six am. Six in the morning! Harry thought, he’d only been asleep for a few hours and desperately needed more rest. Even though he needed more sleep he was afraid of the bed and the thoughts that stayed inside his mind when he was there. Fighting against his fear, he lay back on the bed again and tried desperately to fill his mind with happy thoughts, with thoughts of Ginny and Harry together, everything they had done, all the happy moments they shared and all the time they wanted to spend together in happiness in the future. All that could be taken away from him within a week if they came and destroyed his world. The sorrow he felt at even dreaming of her loss was slowly leaving his body, and in its place was a determination he hadn’t imagined ten minutes ago. He wanted his life with Ginny, and that was what he was going to get, no matter what he had to do to save their life, he would. He lay back again into his pillows and thought of the only other thing that dominated his thoughts at that time; the potion he had been instructed to take by Severus Snape. On one hand he could take the potion, and if he did what Snape had said; to rest and take the potion he would be fine. If he did that though it would be like trusting Snape, like accepting his help, and as much as he hated the thought of doing do he was prepared to do it if he had to. The alternative was talking to Professor Slughorn, and having him check it over. He would almost certainly do that for Harry, but that would lead to many more awkward questions he could not afford to face. Then there was the fact that even if he could identify it, would he want to know what it was? Continue in ignorance, or have all the facts and not do it anyway. It was all he could think about as he found sleep again.

Harry woke again, and for a moment a residue of his nightmares was at the front of his mind. But it quickly passed, and he sat up again, this time into the light. He looked around and saw he was alone in the room, and the only things left in the room were Harry and his thoughts. So he looked over to his alarm clock once again, and saw it was eleven am, time to get up, he thought. Harry rubbed his eyes with his palms, then stifled a massive yawn with the back of his hand, before getting up, and stumbled out of the dorm, pausing only to pick up a handful of clean robes and a towel, and headed off to have a shower. By the time he was washed, dressed and looking fairly presentable however, he still didn’t know how to proceed with the potion. He thought about nothing else as he washed his tired body and hair, but still couldn’t come to a decision. He thought about asking his friends for advice, but he already knew what Ginny and Hermione thought he should do. He knew they would want him to go to Slughorn; he didn’t want to ask anyone else about it either. Only the four of them knew the whole truth and he wanted to keep it that way. Only they knew what happened in the hospital wing and in the mountains of Switzerland after that and he had no desire to involve anyone else in what was happening. All these problems didn’t lead him any closer to a decision though. He mulled over everything as he walked back along the corridor to his dorm, but drew blanks at every turn. He stepped in, and began tidying the area around his bed, as he moved a few books from the floor to his trunk he noticed the date on the magical calendar on the wall, the 24th of October.

“Seven days to go” he said out loud. Seven days till they come here. Harry didn’t feel nearly ready enough, he felt as if he would be a liability, and this was a time he could ill afford any weaknesses, and certainly no lapses of concentration. He abandoned his task and headed out of the dorm, spurred on by stark realisation of how little time they had left. As he walked down the stairs to the common room he felt a familiar sense of dread spread through his body, which always occurred whenever he faced a crowd of people. They seemed to track his every move, and was certain they’d be waiting for him again now. He waited till he reached the very last step, and breathed in deeply, before walking that extra step out and into the common room. Harry expected to see a swarm of people all staring at him, and was understandably shocked to see the entire room was empty, there was not a single other person in the room. It was a Monday morning, so normally everyone would be in the middle of the day’s lessons, but he couldn’t believe that at that time, with everything that was happening, that lessons would be running normally. Surely they couldn’t just be carrying on as if nothing was happening. Harry walked through the room and out of the portrait door into a similarly empty corridor, and as he walked through the school he saw that every corridor was the same as the last, completely empty. He walked along until he reached the doors of the Great Hall, and wondered if this was the answer to all the silence. He pushed open both doors and was finally greeted by the reception he’d expected. The hall before him contained every member of the school; every pupil, every teacher, every ghost and every house elf.

“Nice of you to join us Potter” said Professor McGonagall, and even though she was at the other end of the Hall it sounded as if she was right next to him.

“Well don’t waste anymore of our time then, take a seat.” As she finished speaking she waved her hands towards the doors and swept them shut with one sweep of her hands. Harry, bright red with the pressure of every single one of their eyes on him, walked along next to the Gryffindor table searching for Ginny. He finally saw her hair roughly two thirds of the way down the table. When he did reach her she squeezed to one side to let him sit between her and Neville.

“As I was saying” began Professor McGonagall again. Harry looked at Ginny and smiled, which she returned somewhat weakly. Harry held onto her hand reassuringly. “You all know of the situation we are in. The Castle which we all call home is the target for an attack by the Death Eaters and their allies a week from now. I have no choice but to evacuate the School, and I intend to have this done within the next few days and tomorrow if it can be arranged. Therefore, I ask you all to prepare yourselves to leave, pack up your possessions and be ready to go. I do not want any time wasting during this period, and I will leave that responsibility to the Head Boy and Girl to ensure everything is organised, and the Prefects to carry this out. We always knew Hogwarts would come under attack again; it was only a matter of time. But the war has escalated too quickly, and it has reached the stage where we can no longer guarantee your safety. We have tried to continue where our predecessor left off. But the time has come to cease teaching until the situation clears up. Hogwarts will be closed until further notice.”

Harry watched her expression become more and more pained as she spoke. This was as painful for her as it was for them all, as it was for him. Harry felt more at home in the Castle than anywhere else and it was obvious she felt the same way. As the effect of her words sunk into everyone’s minds, Professor McGonagall must have realised that her true emotions were written across her face, and instantly regained her normal expression.

“That’s all for now, I’ll call another assembly once I know when transport will be arranged, now if you’d like to eat now, lunch will be on the way shortly, if not, we’ll see you later on.”

As she spoke Harry’s heart sank through his body. Was this it? Was this the end of their fight? Would he not even get the chance to do what he had to do? That coupled with the overriding sense of sorrow that Hogwarts was slipping through his fingertips, that he could be losing his home forever. This was his home, nowhere else, not even the Burrow captivated him in the same way as his true home, and with every second that passed he felt it just slipping away from him.

“Harry are you ok?” said Ginny, which brought him out of his dreamlike state.

“Yeah im ok” lied Harry unconvincingly.

“What’s wrong?”

“It’s just that everytime I think about it; I think that this could be the last few days of Hogwarts life. It’s been here for centuries and it could be over within a week.

“I know” she said, and held onto his hand tightly.

“It’s not fair, why does this have to happen?” Of course he knew why this was happening, it was all happening because of him, and they were coming here because of him, to take him away and to kill everyone he loved.

“Harry?” Ginny said.

“Sorry Gin, lost in my thoughts again.” He said, smiling.

“So what are we going to do?”

“The same thing we’ve done all along. We have to recruit everyone we can to stay, then convince McGonagall to let us.”

“You heard what she said” said Hermione from across the table, where she sat next to Ron. “She is going to be almost impossible to convince, and it’s not just one night, we can’t hide in the kitchens for a week.”

“That doesn’t sound like a bad idea at all.” Looking off into the distance, and causing them all to laugh.

“They let us fight when they came last time.”

“That was different Harry and you know it. They were more concerned with keeping them at bay and needed all the help they could get.”

“It’s the same now, they need our help.”

“But when they came in the summer they couldn’t control our helping them.”

“Yes they could Hermione” said Ginny. “They accepted us being there to guard the Room of Requirement and Snape’s quarters, they were happy with us helping them then and I see no reason why they’d want to deny perfectly good help now.”

“I’ll stay, you know I will, but I just cannot see Professor McGonagall letting it happen.”

“Well everyone that comes tonight should visit her tomorrow, go and see her all at once and not leave until she agrees to it.”

“Ok, that’s as likely to work as anything else. What shall we do now?”

“Lunch” said Ron simply.

“Are you capable of thinking about anything other than food?” said Hermione, with a touch of annoyance to her voice.

“It’s hard not to talk about it when there’s a platter of pork chops under your nose!” said Ron, who proceeded without another word to pile his own plate high with Pork, fries and apple sauce. Hermione turned her nose up in disgust, but then turned her attention to the dish of lasagne in front of her. And so the four of them ate, and for a little while, the troubles that plagues all of their young lives was absent. Once they had enjoyed a second helping, and in Ron’s case a third, they decided to venture up to the Room of Requirement for a bit of practise, but only after walking around the grounds. It was a bit of peace and quiet amid the chaos all around them, and they enjoyed walking hand in hand around the grounds, and looking around to all the places they had enjoyed during happier times. They walked along the edge of the Forbidden Forest, and laughed about all the time they had spent in there when they shouldn’t have been there. They walked past Hagrid’s, and discovered that he was not at home. As they walked past though they talked about the time they had spent inside, having fun with their friend. But they also reflected on the more serious moments that had occurred there, primarily when Harry and Hermione had rescued Buckbeak. Then they walked across to the Quidditch Pitch, and everyone except Hermione recalled their various Quidditch successes throughout their lives at Hogwarts. All the while they walked alongside it they joked amongst the four of them about accidents on the pitch. Harry in particular remembered so many victories against Draco Malfoy, and when they had first won the Quidditch cup with Harry’s original team, who had all now gone onto bigger things. Malfoy, he thought to himself. It all seemed quite trivial now, given everything that was happening in the world. Thinking about their old rivalry it didn’t matter, none of it mattered anymore. As they walked back up towards the Castle Harry felt as if he was welling up under all the pressure. He had to stay here; he just had to convince her to let them stay. Even if the others were forced to leave he would stay, he would have to. Determination filled his whole body and he knew just what was necessary would have to be done.

The rest of the day went fairly quickly, considering what he was waiting for. They spent a few hours relaxing and practising in the calm of the Room of Requirement, and had dinner with the rest of the School afterwards. There was an eerie silence in the air that was difficult to place. It was like the meal was a last supper for them all, and everyone who was there would never again eat in the same room. It felt like that for Harry too, he would never again eat with them all here; all his friends would never again enjoy a meal expertly cooked by the House Elves. Never again would they enjoy each others company in the same way. Never again would life be as simple as it once was for Harry. He smiled uncontrollably as he thought about just that. His life had never, not for one second been easy or simple, not since Voldemort has destroyed his life, not since he had killed his parents at the age of one.

All of these thoughts meant Harry was less than pleasurable company that dinnertime, and spent most of the time in silence, despite Ginny’s attempts to cheer him up. Once he had finished at around 8.30 Harry went upstairs to the Room of Requirement to wait for everyone else there. He was glad that the others chose to stay and eat a little more, as despite the warmth and love they brought to his life; he was desperately in need of some time to himself. He decided to o to the Room of Requirement straight away, as the only other thing he could think about doing was packing his trunk to leave, and that was the last thing he wanted to do. That would be like admitting defeat, and that was not something he could ever do. So he walked alone through the empty corridors, feeling a great sadness that this could be the last time he walked through the corridors of this great Castle at night. It gave him peace and strength when he walked through the darkness, and as he walked all he could think about was losing his home, and how it would affect him. It was all he thought about as he walked, and eventually found the portrait he was looking for.

“I need a place to teach defence, I need a place to teach defence, I need a place to teach defence” was all he said as he walked back and forth in front of the picture, and once he finished he almost walked into the blank wall, but timed it perfectly to pus the door open and walk into the room. It was perfectly lit for the time of day, and perfect for its need. As he walked through the room he rearranged the pile of cushions in the middle of the room. Then went over to the bookshelves on the far wall and shuffled amongst a myriad of books to pass a few more seconds. He then returned to the cushions and collapsed onto the pile, waiting for whoever may come.


“HARRY!” shouted a voice in his ear, and he suddenly sat bolt upright and looked in front of him, where Ginny stood.

“Are you alright?” said the voice again, and his vision focused on who was speaking.

“Yeah, what happened?”

“We came upstairs and found you asleep, are you ok?”

“Yeah I’m fine” he said groggily. It was only then that he looked around her and saw the crowd of people behind her. He stood up sharply, watched carefully by Ginny, and looked at them all. It was everyone; every single person he had asked to come was there. There looked to be a couple of exceptions; Colin and his brother Denis weren’t there, but everyone else was. He breathed in, not quite able to believe the scene in front of him, on his out breath, he spoke.

“Thank-you for coming, just thank-you!” he was almost lost for words. “Are you all sure about this? This will be very dangerous.”

“We know Harry” said Hermione. “But this is what the DA was about, and this is where we should be, defending our home.”

He smiled so broadly at her, at all of them, that she could openly support him in the end, despite her initial misgivings, to show that faith in him meant so much to him, more than he could ever tell her.

“Well that was the easy part” he said, getting a brief laugh from those around him. “Now all we need to do is convince Professor McGonagall to let us stay.”

“That won’t be easy” said Ernie.

“I’m glad you decided to stay Ernie, what changed your mind?”

“Well it’d be a bit of a poor show if the Head Boy wasn’t here with the defenders, I can’t stand by and let this happen on my watch!” he said pompously.

“Good” said Harry, smiling. Despite his pompous manner, he was glad to have Ernie there. “I think the best way to convince her is to hit her all in one go, all of us have to go at the same time and make her let us stay here.”

“I agree” said several people all at once.

“Tomorrow at 10 then?” said Harry.

“The Hogwarts express is due at Hogsmeade at Midday, so we’d better make it earlier, say nine?”

“Nine it is then, we’ll meet in the Great Hall after breakfast and take it from there.”

“Sounds good.” Said Ernie, breathing deeply.

“Ok well we won’t have anymore practice tonight; we should all get an early night and be ready for the morning.”

“Ok” said Ernie, who seemed to be acting as the spokesperson for the whole army, and he led them out of the room, leaving Harry with Ginny, Hermione and Ron.

“I don’t know what to say” said Harry, beaming with delight.

“I know, but like you said, that was the easy part.” said Hermione.

“Are you ok?” said Ginny, hugging him around the waist.

“Yeah I’m great! I can’t believe so many people came, I’ll take my own advice though, and have an early night.”

“Sounds like a plan, I just need some time with Ron, you two go on.” Said Hermione,

“Ok, night then.” Said Harry and Ginny together, and they walked arm in arm out of the room.

“What do you suppose that was about?” said Harry as they walked along the corridors towards their Common Room. Harry had a spring to his step, and felt for once as if something was going right, and would continue to do so.

“I don’t know, maybe she just wanted some alone time?”

“Maybe.” As they walked along they carried on laughing and joking between themselves, and enjoying their own little period of alone time. When they did reach the common room they carried on, both of them sat in the same armchair, holding each other close. Time flew by and before they knew it, it was eleven o’clock. With one last kiss goodnight they walked up their staircases and into their rooms. Harry noticed Ron wasn’t there, and wondered what he was doing at that moment. He set the alarm on his bedside table and then looked at the bottle next to it, where he had left the potion. He suddenly remembered why he’d been so confused earlier that day, and felt it all come back and settle in again. What was he to do? There was only one way to answer all his questions, and feeling slightly reckless in himself, he unscrewed the lid and took a sip of the potion. The liquid was ice cold as it poured over his tongue, but as it reached the back of his throat and began to permeate his body it was like he’d been set on fire. His body went from one extreme to the other in microseconds, then it was gone, Harry breathed in deeply and that was all he knew.

Chapter 28:

Pain was all he knew. Harry tossed and turned through dreamless slumber, and felt nothing but sheer unadulterated pain. He felt as if he wasn’t asleep, and nor was he awake, he was in limbo, in neither one place nor the other. After one push of pain in which his back was arched and which stretched his unconscious endurance to its limits he suddenly felt awake and lay back down in the middle of his bed, breathing sharply and dripping with sweat. He felt as if during this period of limbo he had been taken down to hell itself, he had been pushed to the very limits of his endurance, and the edge of his tolerance to pain, but now there was nothing at all. He had been burnt and frozen but now there was no feeling, no sensation at all. He tried to move one arm across his face to wipe the sweat from his brow and cheeks, and found to his great surprise that he moved freely, he moved quickly, and his reactions seemed so much quicker than normal, so much quicker in fact that he slapped himself on the cheek rather faster than he had meant to. He didn’t know what had happened to him, but whatever it was it was going to take some getting used to. He rolled over the bed and drew the curtains of his four-poster bed aside, and checked the time on his bedside table; six thirty. Harry decided to get up now, rather than risk oversleeping and missing their appointment, or rather, invasion of Professor McGonagall’s office. Given the amount of sweat all over his body though, he was in great need of a shower. So standing up and ignoring the still sleeping forms of Ron, Neville, Seamus and Dean, he picked up his wash bundle and headed out into the cold dark corridor. Only because Harry had been at the school for seven years did he not fall over in the dark. He knew exactly where to go, where any potential hazards could be, and he reached for the bathroom without further incident. Once he’d showered he felt renewed and not only did he feel that much faster and more capable, but he felt clean and strong, ready to face the days troubles. He walked back to the dorm in the still dark corridors and over towards his bed. As he lent down to his trunk his alarm clock suddenly went off. It was at that moment that he’d remembered that he had set it to the highest possible volume and it now sounded around the room. It sounded like a Dementor’s wail was echoing off of each and every wall in the room and everyone suddenly sat bolt upright, looking for a threat which wasn’t there. The only thing they could all see was Harry on the floor in fits of giggles. It was if he suddenly felt at ease with everything that was happening, as if he suddenly felt relaxed and was able to see the funny side of the situation. He’d needed to do this for a long time, and the amount of laughter which escaped his mouth was that much larger than normal. He bought himself under control and looked around at them all.

“Sorry guys” he said laughing again. They joined in too, it was a mark of the seriousness of the situation that they were all able to laugh about it. It lifted their spirits and for once Harry was just able to let go, he felt liberated and happy again.

“Ok guys, let’s get ready.” He said to them all, regaining his composure and serious edge. “We’ve got a hard day ahead of us whatever happens.” After this they all settled down and began getting up and going for showers, Harry stowed a few items into his trunk and walked over to Ron’s bed, who still looked half asleep.

“How are you feeling mate?” said Harry.

“I’ve been worse” replied Ron “but not in a situation nearly this intense, I mean this decides everything. In the next two hours we’ll know where we’ll be fighting for our lives, here or elsewhere.”

“I know what you mean, but this is our lot from now on.”

“I’m in desperate need of a shower, so I’ll see you a bit later” said Ron, who rose up to leave his bed.

“No argument here” said Harry, grinning.

“Harry have you been taking laughing gas? You seem in an unusually good mood, considering.”

“I don’t really know why, it just seemed to happen overnight, maybe I’m having a turnaround, maybe I wont be as serious all the time.”

“And you’ve decided this overnight?”

“It’s either that or be serious all the time, and no-one wants to do that.”

“True, but it just seems very sudden and completely unlike you.”

“I’m capable of being happy, and joking around you know” said Harry dryly.

“I know that!”

“So what happened last night?”

“What do you mean?” said Ron, suddenly sounding very skittish.

“I mean you and Hermione were gone for a long time last night.”

“Oh that” said Ron evasively. “We went for a walk; we hadn’t really had much time to be alone lately, so we did last night.”

“I know what you mean; we spent a little while last night just talking, we haven’t had any time to ourselves lately.”

“You did? But you were asleep when I came back.”

“We called it a night, thought it would be a good idea to get some sleep before today”

“Well I’m going to go and get a shower Harry, see you in a while mate.” Said Ron.

“Have fun” said Harry, as Ron gave him another odd look and walked out of the room. Harry stood alone in the room, and wondered what on earth was happening to him, why was he being like this? Was it a side effect of the potion or was it something else entirely? Ron was right; it was completely unlike him to act like this, especially with the seriousness of the situation. That had to mean it was the potion, didn’t it? Harry had to push that thought from his mind; he had a job to concentrate on, and one that was so much more important than his own new found sense of humour. Harry quickly checked over his clothing, making sure he had everything with him, before marching out of the room, and descending the stairs to the common room. He walked into the room but was greeted by something he did not expect at all. The room was full, but as he walked down into the room no-one looked at him, no-one even noticed he was there. It was like he was wearing his invisibility cloak, like he wasn’t there at all. Everyone was lost in their own worlds, reflecting on one thing or another, and most likely the one thing Harry was thinking about. He trued to push the thought from his mind and he forced his way through the crows and out of the room. Despite the fact that it was already early, long before he had agreed to meet everyone, he walked down through the Castle towards the Great Hall, longing to be the first one who arrived. The corridors were quiet, and he was able to reach the Hall without walking past many staring, accusing eyes, a luxury he had not had for some time. Harry marched through the great doors and looked around the Great room in front of him. There were a few people inside, spread across the four great tables, but they were barely noticeable compared to the sheer size of the Hall. He took a seat at the Gryffindor table and waited for his army, his friends to arrive.

As it happened, Harry didn’t have very long to wait, not five minutes passed before he was approached by Colin Creevey.

“Harry” he said, his voice sounded completely like the Colin he knew, and that scared Harry more than anything else.

“Are you alright Colin?” said Harry.

“I wanted to apologies to you, for not staying here.”

“Colin you have nothing whatsoever to be sorry for” said Harry, staring at him in front of him. “Listen to me, I asked for volunteers, that’s all, and I certainly didn’t want anyone to feel as if they were being forced into doing something they didn’t want to do, or couldn’t do.”

“That aside I wanted to apologise anyway, my father made me swear I would return to London.”

“You’re doing the right thing Colin, besides; you’re the one who has to take care of your family, you and Dennis.

“That’s true” said Colin, his cheerful smile returning to his face once again. “I’ll be leaving on the train today, so I don’t know when I’ll see you again Harry.”

Harry’s heart dropped, but his voice was steady when he spoke.

“Colin you can always write to me whenever you need help, or when you’d just like to chat.”

“Thanks, I’m, I’m sorry I’ve been a bit annoying at times, especially when I was…”

“Colin, its ok” he cut him off, and offered him his hand.

Colin looked as in awe of Harry as the first time he’d met him, and he slowly took his hand, and shook it briefly before releasing.

“I’ve got to go and make sure everything’s packed up and Dennis is ready to go.”

“Ok Colin, see you around” said Harry.

“Bye Harry” said Colin, and he walked away without looking back again. As he walked, Harry felt another pang of sadness fill his whole body and return his feeling to that of seriousness again. Colin was right, he had annoyed him by his near constant hero worship of Harry, but this was not the same boy who had followed Harry around since Harry’s second year at Hogwarts. This was a boy who had physically and mentally changed since the attack was announced, he was much more serious somehow, yet despite the annoyance he had felt, watching Colin walking away from him, probably for the last time just piled more and more emotion onto him. It was like everyone who left just made it so much more obvious what he had to lose, and what he was feeling because of them all leaving. Even though he was staying, the fact that everyone else was leaving just filled his body with sorrow and a sense of loss that couldn’t be put into words, and he felt close to tears. The students of this school were what gave it life, what made it what it was and that was all being taken away because of who he was. No matter how many times people denied it, or avoided the point altogether, he knew why they were coming here, why this whole war was being waged; it was because Voldemort was, and has always been searching for Harry and wanting him dead to complete the circle and for him to become immortal, to be followed by darkness for the entire world forevermore. He had to live, he had to destroy him, rather than be destroyed himself and plunge the world into darkness. The pressure upon his shoulders felt simply unbearable, but what it would never make him do is give up. He couldn’t give up, he just couldn’t let everything he loved be destroyed, it was his duty, his fight and he wouldn’t let the world be destroyed along with everyone he loved. He was shaken from his thoughts by a hand resting on his shoulder; Harry felt it and knew who it was instantly, knowing it could only be one person. He felt the weight shift on the bench next to him and turned to face Ginny.

“Are you ok?” she said

“Yeah” said Harry. “Just thinking about everything.”

“I saw Colin just now; he looked a little shook up.”

“He apologised to me for not staying?”

“Really?”

“Yeah, I told him not to, but he did, I don’t want him to think I see him as letting me down.”

“You don’t, don’t think about it” said Ginny, clutching his arm consolingly.

“I can’t help but think about it, everything is happening because of me and I can’t stand it anymore!”

“Shhh” said Ginny softly, pulling him closer to her and into a tight embrace.

“It’s not your fault Harry; they’re doing this because of the strategic advantage the castle will give them. It’s such a stronghold and it will be that much easier to defend than to attack.”

“You’re just trying to make me feel better”

“Not at all Harry, it’s the truth.”

“I wish I could believe it Gin, but I know what they’re doing.”

“You can believe me Harry, it’s me.” She said, pulling his face towards hers and looked deep into his eyes. Under this pressure he folded within seconds and just collapsed into her arms.

“It’s going to be ok Harry; everything’s going to be fine.”

“So long as I’m with you” said Harry, kissing her again. They drew from each others strength, and Harry always knew that if she was by his side he, and everything would be fine. They ate breakfast together in silence as one by one the army assembled in the Great Hall around him. Before too long everyone was there, ready to fight for him and follow his orders to defend this Castle.

“It is time” said Harry simply to them all; he quickly checked the Staff table to ensure she wasn’t there, and then he took a deep breath, and with Ginny at his side, he led them past the four tables in a narrow, regimented file. Everyone in the Great Hall suddenly looked at them marching across in front of them. They clearly didn’t know what was going to happen, and some of them looked more than slightly alarmed. The file walked through the School, drawing shocked glances from everyone they marched past on their way to the office. They reached it quickly, and Harry spoke the password quickly and quietly to the Gargoyle. For a second it seemed they would not be allowed in, but then the gargoyle rose above their heads and they all prepared themselves mentally for what they would face inside. Harry breathed in, and then led them up, behind him his fellow students, his friends walked up and into the office behind him.

“Potter, what is it?” said Professor McGonagall as Harry walked through the door. He didn’t reply but let the image in front of the Professor’s eyes do the talking, he stood in front of them as they all walked up behind him.

“What is the meaning of this?” said Professor McGonagall, her lips forming an almost invisible line. As the last of the students closed the door behind her the swarm of people stood in four perfect rows, with Harry at their head, standing straight in front of, and only a few metres away from Professor McGonagall.

“Will one of you speak? What is going on here?”

“This is the remnants of something which was formed a year and a half ago” Harry said, gesturing around himself as he spoke “We came together with the intention of having the strength and training to fight against Voldemort and his Death Eaters. We are all that remains of that force and we are here to do just that.”

“You clearly didn’t hear me yesterday Potter, or this morning for that matter every single student in the school will be evacuated, no exceptions.”

“You don’t have a choice here Professor, we’re staying”

“Do not take that tone with me Potter, I am the Headmistress of this school and I am telling you will leave, all of you.”

“You need all the help you can get. They are going to hit us with everything they have; you cannot hope to defeat them all.”

“That is precisely why you will not stay here, you will not be sacrificed.”

“So you intend to just give up?” said Ernie, stepping forward from the ranks and speaking with more courage than Harry had ever heard from him. “You just want to give up without a fight, just surrendering our Castle to them without a fight. I will not stand by and let them take it.”

“I had expected better from you Macmillan, you know what is happening here, you were elected to be Head boy because of your intelligence.”

“Because you hoped I’d just do as I was told!” he snapped.

“No of course not.”

“Professor McGonagall.” Said Hermione.

“I might have known you would have something to say about this Miss Granger.”

“From the way I see it we have two choices, we either give them the castle, one of the most symbolic features of the Wizarding world in this Country, and never have any hope of retaking it, or we fight, we stand firm against them, and use the strength of this castle to force them away from us.”

“You are all under the roof of Hogwarts, and therefore under our protection and responsibility, you are still under our rule and you will do as we say.”

“That won’t work anymore Professor, we’re all adults here, and this is our decision. You cannot stop us.” Said Harry.

“You’re not behaving like adults now, you are still children and therefore still under our teaching, which means you will do as we say and that means leaving on the Hogwarts express this afternoon.”

“Look around you Professor, each one of us is an adult, we are all of age and each one of us has made this decision on their own and will not just be turned away, we will stay, we will fight them all away and you cannot stop us!”

By the end of his speech Harry was short of breath and staring, wide-eyed at Professor McGonagall. She for once didn’t know how to react and didn’t reply instantly.

“You are under our…” she started to say, only much more subdued than before, until she was cut off by Harry.

“No we are not Professor, we are strong, we are not children anymore and no matter what you chose to think, you need us here, you need all the help you can get.”

Professor McGonagall sat back down in her chair, and sighed deeply. Harry sensed they were breaking down her resistance at long last, but he remained silent, allowing her the chance to respond rather than pressing his advantage home.

“You all know my feelings on this; you know what I want you all to do. Yet as you say you are Adults now, and it is a choice you have made individually. I must confess it may well be the energy of youth that makes us prevail in this war, you may stay.” She said, resignation written all over her face. Relief surged through every single bone and fibre in Harry’s body. They were staying; they had a chance to make something of themselves and to make a difference. On a more personal note, Harry was relieved to be staying in his home, he could stay where he belonged, the only place in the world where he felt he did belong.”

“Thank-you Professor” was all Harry said, it was all that needed to be said under the circumstances.

“I’m not nearly happy about this, when we organise the defences you should be at that meeting and we can sort out everything there.”

“Name the time and place and we’ll be there.”

“Now if you’ll excuse me I have a few things to organise before the Hogwarts express departs”

“When does it leave?” said Harry.

“It’s due to leave at midday, so as its now nine thirty I need to get to work.”

“Of course, thank-you Professor” said Harry again.

“Ok Potter” she replied, before turning her attention to the documents on her desk. Harry turned and faced the others and pulled off a small smile, he couldn’t help but smile, they had done it. One by one they began filing out of the room until he was the last one there. He looked back at Professor McGonagall and smiled. She noticed she was being looked upon, and nodded curtly to Harry, upon which he swiftly left the office and descended the staircase to where his friends were waiting for him. He smiled as he walked out into the hallway and they all returned it.

“Ok that was the easy part.” Said Harry smiling through his words.

“I thought you said that was the hard part?” said Ernie.

“It was, but that was nothing compared to what we’ll be up against when they attack us.”

“True, so we have a week to prepare.”

“Yes, I can only suggest we spend all day everyday working on our duelling, and fortifying the corridors of the castle, we have to be ready for absolutely anything.”

“We should be able to get a bigger room as well, now everything will be empty, we don’t need to do anything in secret anymore.”

“Good idea, I’ll ask Professor McGonagall about it later, once the train leaves” said Harry.

“Which is in almost two hours.”

“Let’s not do anything else this morning, let’s let the train leave before we think about anything else.”

“Ok, then let’s go and make sure everyone’s ready to leave.”

“Good idea Ernie, I’ll see you on the platform then.”

“Sure thing”

The tension all around them could not ever be put into words; they all knew how everyone leaving would affect them all. One by one people peeled away from the group, leaving Harry alone with Ginny, Ron and Hermione. He smiled, and that one expression said what a thousand words could not.

“I can’t believe we just did that” said Ron, smirking as much as Harry was.

“I know; I can’t believe she’s letting us stay” replied Harry.

“We’ve got to be ready for anything though.”

“We will be, we’ve got to work on our defences, inside the castle anyway, and just make sure everyone is as prepared and focused as possible.”

“You’re forgetting one thing Harry, you have to rest.” Said Ginny.

“I know, this is more important though, I’ll have to make sure everything’s ready.”

“It’s not more important at all, we can all work at getting everything ready, you have to rest too.”

“Ok fine I’ll rest” he said, smiling “So what shall we do now?” said Harry, pulling Ginny into a hug.

“Let’s just hang out for a while, maybe go and relax in the common room?”

“Good idea, like Ernie said, we should make sure the rest of the students are ready to go.” Said Hermione. So the four of them returned to Gryffindor Tower with the intention of doing just that.

The Atmosphere at Hogsmeade Train station could have been cut with a blunt knife it was so intense. One by one the students got onto the Hogwarts express with the same clumsiness that Harry remembered himself doing on his first year at the school. The platform was crawling with people. Not only were the last of the DA arrayed along the platform, but the platform was covered in Aurors, ensuring the train stayed secure, and they would travel with the train to ensure it reached London safely. Although they were all staying, the only thing he could think about was that the castle would be completely empty, and he couldn’t see how it would ever reopen again so long as the war carried on. Everything in his life was changing so fast, and he wasn’t sure how he would ever cope with it. The last of the students stepped onto the Hogwarts express, and were swiftly followed by at least twenty Aurors onto the train. Time seemed to stand still as Harry and the others waited for the train to depart, but then he was suddenly shaken back to the present by the noise of the train’s engine heating up. It increased quickly in noise, and in the volume of smoke which was billowing out of the funnel on-top of the Engine. The wheels then began to spin and move the train forward. Harry watched the red engine depart, taking with it the very lifeblood of Hogwarts with it. His home would never again feel the same, and Harry was so close to being overcome by grief. He felt Ginny hold onto his hand and he gripped it tightly. Then suddenly the train was out of sight. Harry was as close to tears as he had ever felt as he watched it fade away into the distance, it was gone, Hogwarts as they all knew it, was over.

As always guys i hope you enjoy it, i'd love you to tell me what you think in the feedback link in my sig.

thanks guys
Jim

Here it finally is, enjoy

Chapter 29:



The effect of the Hogwarts Express leaving for the last time was never going to be insignificant, but none of those who remained would’ve guessed how long that effect would last. It was seemingly endless, and for many of them, Harry in particular, the impact would never end. As they walked through any of the corridors, they were all hit most forcefully by the lack of students in the entire castle. It felt like a ghost town and they felt as if they would never get used to it. Harry felt that he could spend another 5 years here and still not grow accustomed to the change. After the initial shock had worn off, and after Harry and the others returned to Hogwarts he just felt low. After the train had left they all walked through Hogsmeade, and this did nothing to improve their mood. Hogsmeade was like a ghost town, and it seemed as if most of its occupants had left on the train to London with the students, leaving their homes behind. A few remained, Madam Rosmerta for one refused to leave her Pub, vowing to defend it to the last. Even once they had returned to Hogwarts they did not feel any better about the situation they were in. What was normally a place of refuge and safety for them all, remained a safe place, but would never be the same to any of them. As Harry had promised, he went to see Professor McGonagall later that day to attempt to procure a larger, more easily accessible for practise, and they were granted the old Defence against the Dark Arts room. It was somewhat fitting that they would prepare their last defence in the room they had learned most about defending themselves from the dark side.

“No no no! That’s not it at all!” said Harry exasperated, and snapping at them all. It had been two days since they had moved their base of operations to the Defence against the dark arts room, and things were not going as well as he’d hoped. The people around him looked visibly shaken for this outburst all sat there staring at him with either worried or slightly angry looks in their eyes.

“I’m sorry” he said to them all, “But we need to be better than this, we need to be faster, and we need to improve.”

“We are improving Harry” said Ernie breathlessly.

“I know, I know we are all stronger and getting much better, but they are not going to give us a chance to make a mistake, we have to get everything right first time, now let’s go again.”

He hated doing this, he hated being so hard with them all, but he simply had to be. He had to put aside the niceties and work them harder and harder to be ready when the attack came. They had moved the tables around inside the room so they were left with a large open space in which to practise, and at the moment, Ernie and Neville were duelling away in front of them all, under close scrutiny from everyone, especially Harry, who was watching over them and passing judgement. The air was suddenly full of the noise of the duel as Neville and Ernie began shouting at each other, trying desperately to incapacitate one another through one means or another. Their wands flashed through the air like the swords of two clashing titans. Ernie seemed to be getting the upper hand, and Neville was quite desperately blocking the attacks of the Hufflepuff. Then suddenly, just as if it seemed that Neville’s guard was going to fold he dived to one side and fired back at Ernie. The Head Boy’s reaction was far too slow and the red beam of light forced its way through and connected with his stomach, sending him reeling backwards into the floor. His head connected with the cold tiles and he lay there still. Harry threw his notes aside and ran to Ernie’s side, reaching him first, ahead of a horde of people who were huddled around him. Harry rolled him over quickly and revealed a large gash on the side of his face, from which blood trickled down over his features. Remembering the spell he had seen people use so many times on cuts and wounds, Harry traced his wand over the gap in his face, to not only stop the flow of blood, but also to knit his flesh and skin back together. The skin showed no sign of having been breached at all, and satisfied with his work, he prepared to wake him up.

“Enervate” he whispered, pointing his wand at the side of his head and Ernie woke up with a start, he was a little dazed and groggy, but he appeared to be ok.

“I’m so sorry” said Neville weakly; he appeared distraught at wounding Ernie.

“Neville he’s ok, you did well there, well done.” Said Harry, trying desperately to calm Neville down and cheer him up. It seemed to work in part as he at least seemed a little brighter about having inadvertently injured him.

“Ernie, how are you feeling?” he said, turning his attention to him.

“It’s ok Neville, it was just an accident” Harry heard Ginny say behind him.

“If you say so, it could have been so much worse.”

“Ernie?” said Harry again.

“I’m ok” said Ernie breathlessly “just a bit of a sore head, I’ll be fine.”

“Are you sure?”

“Positive” he said, trying to sit up, and as he did so he looked more than a little queasy.

“Ok, we should take you down to the hospital wing and have Madam Pomphrey check you over.”

“I’m fine” he said, slipping back and landing hard on the floor again. Harry somehow managed to catch his head before it hit the floor, but it cemented in his mind what he would do now.

“Ron, Hermione, can you take Ernie down to the hospital wing and explain what happened?”

“Sure thing” said Ron, and he and Hermione walked over to where Harry was crouched next to Ernie. They both muttered “Locomotor Corpus” in perfect sync, and then they moved him slowly out of the room. As the door opened, the ghostly shape of a large tabby cat appeared before him.

“Potter, I need to see you in my office immediately.” Said Professor McGonagall’s voice before the cat faded away into nothingness. Harry looked around to Ginny and motioned her over to him.

“I’ve got to go and see Professor McGonagall; can you cover me for a little while?

“Sure, what do you want me to do?”

“I just need you to split them off into pairs and get them to practise against each other, hopefully I wont be long.”

“Ok, no worries.”

“Thanks Gin” he said, kissing her on the cheek and holding onto her for a few precious seconds before he was forced to release her and walk out of the room. Maybe he’d been too hard on them all; and maybe everything that he’d done over the last two days was taking its toll on them all. But he didn’t know how he was supposed to be acting around them; all he knew for certain was how he should focus on getting everyone as physically fit, and as well practised as he possibly could before they came. That was what he had to remain focused on, and nothing else mattered in his eyes. That wasn’t true; he corrected himself inside his mind. He had to make sure his friends didn’t just rebel against him and leave. Harry cared deeply about them all, but couldn’t let that show through; he had to find the right balance between caring about them, and getting them to work harder and harder. Before he knew it, and before he could make any form of decision, Harry found himself standing outside her office, ready to find out what it was that was so urgent she just couldn’t wait. Thirty seconds later he was standing in front of her.

“Harry, thank-you for coming so quickly.” Said Professor McGonagall

“No problem Professor, you said it was urgent.”

“We’re having a defence council Harry; I want the DA to attend.”

“Of course, when will it be?” he replied curtly

“It’s planned for this afternoon at 4pm, in the Great Hall.” Harry checked his watch, three hours from now.”

“Ok We’ll be there, was there anything else?”

“How are you holding up? How’s everyone doing?”

“We’re working as hard as we can Professor, but it’s hard to do. It’s hard to keep everyone focused and be hard on them all, as well as not alienating them all.”

“That’s a problem that there appears to be no solution for Harry. Many people have tried to do this, and it’s no secret how very difficult it is.”

“It’s hard when they’re all your friends.”

“It’s human nature Harry, people cannot help but care about each other, well most people anyway. You are experiencing what every other leader has throughout history, and I’m sorry to say that there is no solution. It’s not easy at all to do what you’re doing, I know that as well as anyone, I’ve been here for thirty five years and I still don’t know how to do it.”

“Well that’s a little reassuring Professor, thank-you, it’s nit to hear I’m not the only one who’s ever had this problem.”

“Trust me Harry; you’re not the only one.”

“I’d better get back to the others Professor, was there anything else you wanted to talk about?”

“Not for now Harry, I’ll let you get back to work” she said, once again transferring her attention instantly to the papers all over her desk. Harry left the room and quickly returned to his friends. At least he wasn’t the only one who’s ever felt like this, was all he thought about as he walked back As Harry approached the Defence against the Dark Arts room, which it would forever be known as to Harry, no matter how it would be used from now on, he could hear the sound of spells being cast, and when he reached the doorway and entered the room, the scene before him was chaotic to say the least. Ginny was walking through the room, and he couldn’t help but smile as he watched her give advice to people, and survey the others attack and defence. He knew that she would be by his side, and knew that he would need her before the end. She noticed he’d come back and the duels suddenly came to a stop. They all looked at him as he walked through the room, and stood there expectantly, waiting for him to make a speech.



“There will be a defence meeting in the Great Hall at four o’clock this afternoon, we’ve all been invited to attend so I think that would be for the best. I also think it would be best if we take a break from now until then, we’ve done a lot of work and I think we should take a breather for a couple of hours, and relax a little bit.”

Murmurs of appreciation rippled around him, and people began sheathing their wands and visibly relaxing before his eyes.

“Hey Gin” he said, walking towards her as people began filing out into the hall, and to the food which would greet them there.”

“Hey” she replied, smiling sweetly at him.

“Nice job there, you looked so professional up there bossing everyone around.”

“I must have got it from somewhere, I can’t imagine who!” she said with an air of false sweetness to her voice which melted Harry’s body to the core.

“Any word on Ernie?”

“I haven’t heard from Ron or Hermione yet, I’m sure he’s ok though.”

“And Neville? Did he come back up?” he said, having noticed he wasn’t in the room.

“No, it’s hard to say really, he looked really shaken up by the whole thing to be honest, he stayed for a little while after they took him down but then he just suddenly said he had to leave. I guess he went down to the Hospital Wing to wait with him.”

“So what do you want to do now?” said Harry pulling her tight to him and into a hug.”

“After all that work I could do with something to eat.”

“Me too, I’ll just tell the others what we’re doing.”

“Go ahead!” said Ron suddenly from behind them both, causing them to jump and Hermione to burst out laughing. Harry suddenly spun round on the spot and laughed at them both.”

“How’s he doing?” Harry said.

“He’s fine, just a concussion, nothing serious.”

“What about Neville?”

“He seemed harder hit that Ernie to be honest mate” said Ron, “he’s really worried he’s permanently damaged him.”

“But he’ll be ok?”

“He’ll be fine Harry, don’t worry about.” Said Ron, reassuringly.

“What did you want to tell us?” said Hermione.

“Just that we’re calling it a day, going to have some lunch now, oh and there’s a defence meeting at four o’clock that we’ll be attending.” Said Harry.

“What sort of meeting?” she replied

“I think she just wants to put together a provisional plan on what we’ll do, what areas people will defend, that sort of thing.”

“Ok, lunch sounds good right now after all that excitement this morning, but then after that we should probably go and check on Ernie and Neville, make sure they’re ok.”

Harry had been thinking the exact same thing.

“Yeah sure but right now I need to eat” said Ron.

“Why am I not surprised?” said Hermione dryly.

In spite of Neville’s despondence and Ernie’s injury Harry felt in buoyant mood and laughed and joked with the others on their way to the Great hall, and all through their meal. After eating they left and casually walked down to the Hospital wing, knowing they had an hour to go before the meeting. In stark contrast to how they had been on the way to the Great Hall, as they walked through the corridors there was a distinct lack of their usual banter about them, and they were all in a fairly sombre mood. They all had the feeling that they would be fine, but they couldn’t help but feel a little low about the injury to one of their own, two if you counted Neville’s psychological trauma. Upon reaching the Hospital wing they were silent, and Ron, who reached the door first, opened it wide before holding it open for Harry, Ginny and Hermione, before following his girlfriend into the room, and closing the door firmly behind himself. Harry led the four of them to the one bed which was occupied, where Madam Pomphrey stood at the end, speaking to the space in front of her. As they walked towards the bed, she turned away from it, and walked towards her office until she was confronted by the four of them.

“What is it?” she said, clearly agitated by another intrusion.”

“We came to see Ernie and Neville, and to see how they’re doing.” Said Harry.

“They’re both just fine, there’s nothing at all wrong with Longbottom, and Macmillan just needs to have a day or so of uninterrupted rest.”

“Good, can we see them?”

“Uninterrupted rest, Potter, didn’t you hear me?”

“There’s no need to snap.”

“I’ll not be having you talk to me like that, go ahead, but ten minutes tops” she said roughly, before storming off to her office, muttering, bloody kids shouldn’t be here anyway.”

Harry shook his head and walked over to where Ernie lay back in his bed, wrapped tightly in duvets, with Neville sat alongside him in a chair. Ginny without prompting, walked over next to Neville, and sat down next to him, Harry followed her and stood behind her chair.

“Hey Neville” said Harry brightly.

“Hello Harry” said Neville weakly.

“How’s he doing?” said Ginny, looking at the sleeping form of Ernie, and then looking back at Neville.

“Madam Pomphrey said he needed to rest, but that he’d be fine in a day or two.”

“That’s good, I knew he’d be ok” she replied brightly, from behind her, Harry couldn’t help but smile at the way she was talking to Neville, calming him down and making him see what his worries were taking away from him.

“Neville, Harry began to say.”

“Harry I’m so sorry for what I did” said Neville.

“Neville mate it wasn’t your fault, it was just an accident, these things happen, and it’s like Madam Pomphrey said, Ernie’s going to be fine. I mean it’s not like you wanted to hurt him.”

“Of course not, it was…”

“Just an accident.” Said Harry, and as he spoke he could see the truth of his words shine through, and that what Harry was saying was right.

“You’re right Harry” said Neville, smiling somewhat weakly in his direction; he looked almost embarrassed at causing these problems.

“I know, now the best thing we can do for Ernie is to leave him alone to rest, Madam Pomphrey will care for him, but you should go and get something to eat.”

“I’m not really hungry” said Neville.

“You have to eat mate” said Ron.

“Straight after the meal and the meeting we’ll come back down and check on him ok?” said Harry.

Neville appeared torn between his stubbornness and duty to stay by Ernie’s side, and listening to what they were all saying.

“Ok let’s go, if you’re sure he’ll be alright.” Said Neville nervously.

“I’m sure Neville, let’s go.” He said, putting one hand onto Neville’s shoulder, and coaxing him up to his feet.

“Ok, to tell the truth I could do with something to eat now you mention it.” he said, pulling a rare and nervous smile as he looked at Harry, who smiled back at him. Then with one final look at Ernie, he followed the others out, leaving Ernie alone.



“Who exactly is coming to this meeting?” said Ron, as they sat at the Gryffindor table of the Great Hall. They and the rest of the members of the DA had been waiting there for what seemed like hours for the rest of the attendee’s to arrive, and the time was rapidly approaching four in the afternoon.

“Everyone who’s defending the Castle, from what Professor McGonagall told me.” Replied Harry.

“And what time are they supposed to be here?”

It was the same question Harry was mulling over himself.

“About now” he said, and at that very moment the doors burst open and the room began to fill.

“Guess we should stop being so impatient” said Ron.

“Yeah” was all Harry managed to say. He had never seen so many Aurors in one place before, and he simply lost count of the number of them walking into the room. Not only that, but a long line of the Hogwarts House Elves walked in after them. Of Course, thought Harry, they would stay here because their magic held them here, and their magical power, both individually and collectively was nothing to be sneered at. Harry remembered fondly how Dobby had saved him from Lucius Malfoy all those years ago, and the magic of fifty House elves would be a force to be reckoned with. Behind them walked the Staff, Professor McGonagall lead them all through the hall and to the top table, before addressing the whole room. It was like she was addressing the whole School again, the House Elves were sat at the Hufflepuff table, and the Aurors were sat at the Ravenclaw table, every pair of eyes in the room was upon her.

“Thank-you all for coming” she said, looking around each table but not at anyone specifically.

“The purpose of this meeting is to discuss the defence of Hogwarts Castle. Now, as the Aurors are professionally trained for this, I have asked them to perform a strategic assessment of the Castle and its grounds. Will Kingsley Shacklebolt please step forward?” she said while looking at the Ravenclaw table. Harry smiled as he watched Shacklebolt step up and walk up towards the staff table. The smile grew even broader as his deep voice resonated around the room.

“Myself and our team of Aurors have reviewed the Castle’s security, and have identified the area’s of strength we have, and also the areas we consider to be a weakness. Beginning with the weaker areas, although Hogsmeade would provide an excellent ambushing point, it’s simply too exposed to be a viable option. Anyone out in the Village when the Death Eaters attack would be overwhelmed too quickly. Therefore I propose that we lay booby traps between, and inside the buildings, and pull the remaining inhabitants of Hogsmeade inside the Castle walls. Now, we cannot discount that their angle of attack will not be from somewhere else altogether, in fact the biggest threat may indeed come from the Forbidden forest instead. Therefore we will do the same there; we will set up traps all along the tree line, and set a defensive perimeter along the edge of the main castle walls. If they come from that point they must be held back for as long as possible before we are forced to fall back to the castle. These, according to our assessment, will be the main points of attack, as every other point is inaccessible. Therefore, I propose that the House Elves take defence of the field, and the Aurors take defence of the Castle walls and cover any aerial threats which may arise.”

Harry listened to Kingsley speak, and his words slowly sunk into him. Whereas before everything seemed unreal, but now, they were trapped in the middle of something he could never hope to escape from. Before they were just practising, but now that they were surrounded by Aurors and elves, everything seemed so much more serious.

“And what of the DA?” said Harry, suddenly speaking his mind and not caring that every pair of eyes in the room was looking at him. Harry watched Kingsley’s eyes move towards Harry’s, and once they connected it was like Harry could read his thoughts.

“It is my suggestion that the DA assist in the construction of the outer defensive wall, and increase the security of the Inner Castle, I want a series of Barricades all along every corridor using whatever means at your disposal.”

“We will do this of course, but what about during the attack?”

“The DA are required to secure the interior of the Castle, and ensure that it remains secure.”

“We can do more on the Walls of the Castle.”

“I can’t allow that, the Castle has already been breached once on the inside, it would be catastrophic if this happened again.”

“The Vanishing Cabinet has been destroyed; they cannot get in that way.”

“Nevertheless, we have to ensure they cannot come in another way”

Harry knew why he was doing this, he was trying to protect them from coming under attack, he would try and argue this point with him, but now was not the time for it.

“Very well” said Harry bleakly.

“Thank-you Harry, I’ll leave that responsibility with you then.”

Harry nodded by way of a response, and Kingsley turned his attention to the middle of the room again.

“We shall all take a part in the defensive organisation, the gates must all be locked down and barricaded, and we also need to create a defensive wall on the insides in case the outside is breached. We are all in this together and we must make these defences as strong as possible, now, does anyone have any questions?” he said hopefully. When no-one answered he spoke again.

“Very well, I think it would be best if we took a break for the rest of the day and began construction tomorrow morning.”

“Thank-you Kingsley” said Professor McGonagall, prompting him to retake his seat without saying those exact words.

“I agree with Mr Shacklebolt, we should take a break now and restart with everything else tomorrow morning; does anyone have any questions or points they would like to raise?”

When no-one spoke, she did again. “Very well, you are all dismissed, and we’ll see you all tomorrow.”

People rushed around Harry, all getting to their feet and leaving, but all he could do was sit there. The thoughts which had been plaguing him ever since he’d heard Kingsley Shacklebolt speak were weighing him down and were brought right to the fore again. This was it, this was the last stretch before the attack, no matter now much Harry tried to force the thought away from his mind, it just stayed there, unyielding and as forceful as it had ever been. Hogwarts was going to turn from a School into a Fortress, and he could never get used to that vision of his home. Soon they would come, and he, and everyone else would have to be ready.

Chapter 30



Four days had passed since the first defence council of Hogwarts. Those days were some of the most exhausting and hardworking days Harry had ever experienced throughout his whole life. With the work they had done they had turned what had once been a peaceful castle and an institute of magical learning into a death trap and a fortress which would take a most determined attack just to break through the outer layers. Hogsmeade, which already looked desolate and empty had now been completely emptied, and preparations had been made to lay a series of booby traps, both in the streets and in the buildings themselves. Rosmerta put up a fight, but was eventually forced to see the folly of her efforts and she came back to live inside the castle. The forbidden forest, meanwhile, was just as unrecognisable. The whole of the plains had been emptied, leaving them no cover to use on their way to the castle, and just as with Hogsmeade, preparations had been made to plant traps all along the edge of the forest. Hagrid put up even more resistance than Rosmerta had, but eventually saw sense and agreed to leave his home. Close to the castle, but still in full view of the forest, stood a hastily constructed fortification, which spread the full width of the outer field. It would take an attack of a strength Harry couldn’t appreciate to take that wall, and on top of that, the Aurors were taking shifts on sentry duty, in case anyone tried to spy on their positions before the attack came.

“Let’s get this done guys” said Harry encouragingly. He was supervising everyone’s efforts in creating a series of barricades throughout the castle as he had been for the last few days. The interior, as well as the exterior of the castle, was completely unrecognisable. The entrance hall from the main doors had been completely transformed, every ornament had been removed, and the many bookcases, benches and chairs had been reorganised to create a wall five feet tall, and seemingly immune to any attack. He had also told people to create spiked pieces of wood to serve as traps, and set them up in the wall itself. The DA were currently doing the work on the top floor of the castle, reinforcing it as they had every floor. Every way out of the Great Staircase, they had built high barricades made from bookcases stacked together, and reinforced from the rear. At the moment there was a gap in the barricades to allow the defenders access to their defensive positions. The problem with the castle was that it was so expansive there was no way to cover everything. They had to block off every access point with enough people to mount a serious defence, it would take a serious level of organisation to provide every level with the necessary strength to repel any attacks. But with the sheer number of Aurors they had inside the castle they would be able to cover everything.

“I think that’s everything Harry” said Hermione breathlessly.

Harry looked around, it certainly looked the part, the main staircase had been completely fortified and they now stood at the entrance to Gryffindor tower, having completely reinforced the interior of the castle.

“You’re right, we have the remaining blockades to slot into place, and it’s as solid as we can make it.” Harry looked around his friends as he spoke. “I think we’re ready”

They all smiled back at him, it wasn’t a strong smile, but it was enough to convey what they were thinking, what they had achieved was quite remarkable, and they were as ready as they could be.

Harry looked at his watch quickly, twelve thirty.

“Who’s hungry?” said Harry, the murmurs of appreciation at this question were all Harry needed to continue.

“Ok, we’ll take a break for lunch now, and then we’ll see Professor McGonagall and figure out what to do next.

“Good idea Harry, let’s go” said Ron. They all walked down to the Great Hall together. No longer would Harry be separated from the rest, and only speak to Ginny, Ron and Hermione. When the others had all gone, they would all do everything as one group.


Having enjoyed a sumptuous lunch, Harry left the others in the Defence against the dark arts, having a quick practise while he went looking for Professor McGonagall and Kingsley Shacklebolt. Neither of them were present at lunch, so he assumed they would be inside the Headmistresses office. Before he could think about it anymore, he was shaken from his thoughts but Ernie appearing in front of him.

“Ernie, how are you?” said Harry brightly.

“I feel fine Harry, thank-you for asking, Madam Pomphrey did a good job with me, I feel as if nothing has happened.

“She always does a good job, you don’t feel any side effects or anything?”

“Nothing, I feel as normal as one could feel at this time.”

“Good , The others are all in the Defence room, I’m just going to find Professor McGonagall to see if there’s anything else they need us for.”

“Excellent, I’ll go find the others, and I’ll see you later.”

“See you Ernie, im glad you’re ok”

“Me too” said Ernie, before walking away from Harry, who carried on through the corridors as he moved quickly towards her office. It was the most obvious place for him to look, and he fully expected her to be there, so much so that he was in the middle of a sentence in the middle of her office when he realised he was talking to a wall. Confused and slightly at a loss for where to look next, Harry walked down and out into the castle again. When he reached the bottom Harry noticed the corridor was empty, and remembering what time it was, and the bottle he kept with him at all times, he reached inside his robes and pulled it out of an inside pocket. He had, albeit reluctantly done exactly as Snape had asked him to, and he was now used to the taste and the reaction of the potion to his body. He checked left and right, just to ensure that he was, in fact, alone. He looked back at the bottle, and swirled the contents around, there was enough inside for this lunchtime and for tonight as well, he pulled out the stopper, checked the corridor one last time and took a swig of the potion. As with everytime he’d taken the potion his mouth felt as if it was full of ice, before filling his whole body with heat and feeling as if his head was separated from his body. But whereas the sensation had knocked him out the first time he’d taken it, he tensed himself as he drank, and he could control the sensation because he was so used to it. He calmly replaced the stopper, and put the potion inside his robes again. Harry clapped his hands together once and started to walk quickly towards the ground floor, hoping to find one of them there. As always just after he’d taken the potion he felt invigorated, and felt a lot faster than normal, it was as if it was a speed potion rather than whatever it was he had been drinking, and he felt an almost dangerous level of self-confidence rise within him. He was so confident, and so quick that he didn’t even notice the small form which crossed his path.

“OW!”

“What was that?” he said looking down.

“Harry Potter sir” said the voice which could only have belonged to Dobby.

“Dobby, Are you alright?” said Harry, shocked out of his bravado and seriously concerned about the elf at his feet.

“I was going to see the Headmistress” said Dobby.

“Dobby im so sorry I didn’t see you”

“It’s quite alright Harry Potter Sir, im used to much worse.”

“Not from me you’re not, and you won’t suffer like you used to, not at Hogwarts, you can’t think like you used to, when Lucius Malfoy was your master.”

“You’re quite right, I mustn’t compare you to that monster” Said Dobby, who began crying furiously and slamming his head into the floor.

“Stop it Dobby” said Harry sharply, throwing his hand underneath Dobby’s head as It dropped, and then lifting his head up so his big round eyes were looking straight into Harry’s.

“It was an accident; I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

It was as if a light bulb had been switched on inside his mind, and it looked as if, behind those bright, wide eyes that he understood what Harry was saying.

“Thank-you Harry Potter” said Dobby, standing up and still not reaching Harry’s height, even though Harry was crouched down on his knees.

“Is everything ready outside?” said Harry, standing up and walking down towards the Great Hall, and to the entrance hall of the school, with Dobby walking next to him.

“Yes Harry Potter Sir, everything is as good as we can make it.”

“I can’t believe it’s come to this”

“Everything will be alright” said Dobby, with a level of sincerity Harry had never heard from the house elf before.

“I’m sorry you’re so involved in this Dobby, all of you.”

“Our duty is to the school, we must do what we can to defend it, that is the will of Professor McGonagall.”

“It’s mine too, I must defend my home” said Harry, all too seriously.

“We will do what is required of us, we will prevail.”

Before Harry could respond, a magical voice spoke, it was quite obviously Professor McGonagall’s voice, but it had been magnified and was as if it was in the air around him

“Could everyone report to the Great Hall immediately” said the voice simply.

Harry looked down at Dobby; this could be the last time he’d see him before the attack.

“We can do this Harry Potter” he said.

“We will do this” Harry replied.


“Thank-you all for reporting here so quickly” said Professor McGonagall. The Hall was full of the Castle’s brave defenders, who had all arrived within ten minutes of her announcement.

“Everything is now prepared, we have done the best that we can do. Everything has been fortified to the best of our ability, and now all that remains is for the traps to be set, which the Aurors have confirmed will be done this afternoon. Therefore, the field and Hogsmeade are now off limits.”

“We’re stuck here” said Harry quietly. Although it was his choice to stay here, he didn’t like being stuck with no way out.

“As of this evening we’ll have a constant watch on. Sentries will be on the roof and outside the wall, everyone else, I advise you to rest whenever you can, and prepare yourselves mentally. This is the last chance you will get to do so, so please take advantage of it.”

She looked around the room with an expression of deep melancholy, but also of pride at those who stood in front of her.

“All that remains to me organised is positioning within the castle. Now it has been agreed that the house elves will defend the plain, and the line nearest the Forbidden Forest. At last count there are fifty Aurors here, twenty members of the DA and eight staff. I want twenty five Aurors to secure, patrol and defend the roof. Everyone else I want inside, defending each floor. If we must retreat then we have no choice, but I do not want us to give anything up without cause to. We’re most likely outnumbered, I know his better than most, we know that they will come at us in force and it will take a monumental effort to keep them at bay, but here’s what we shall do. We shall not give into them, we shall not allow them to take what is ours, we must fight, and we must be strong in the face of our enemies, in the face of those who would take this castle, our home from us. Here the lines have been drawn, there will be no falling back and we will fight!” The sudden noise which burst forth at the end of Professor McGonagall’s rousing speech was deafening. Everyone in the room suddenly stood up and started applauding enthusiastically, punching the air and cheering loudly. Harry felt every hair on his body stand up on end, and felt goose bumps spike up from every follicle of his skin. He stood and applauded, cheering with everyone else. They were inspired, they all know what they had to do, this was their moment of glory and no matter what they had to do, Harry knew they would be up to the task.


After the last defence council of Hogwarts, everyone was given the chance to leave and relax. The Aurors set up all the traps outside, and began their sentry duties, while everyone else moved their belongings into Gryffindor tower. It was easier for them to all be in the same place, so that when they were called upon, they would be able to mobilise more quickly and more efficiently. Between them all, they’d decided that a number of them should be awake at all times, and the rest would try to get some sleep. But with a shadow hanging over them all that would not abate, the threat of what was coming in what could very well be in a few hours, none of them could find any rest. They all knew they should be resting, but found it impossible to. The scene in Gryffindor tower was a strange one. Normally there would be people laughing and joking with each other, but now there was just a few people spread out on the sofas and chairs, and not speaking to one another at all. Ginny was lying across Harry in their favourite armchair next to the fire, the chair they had sat in together during their brief time together when things were happier around them. Minutes and hours passed by, they talked and enjoyed their time, but as it got later and later they started to get more and more tired.

“Meet me in the Room of Requirement in ten minutes Harry” she said suddenly.

“What?” he said.

“Just go there in ten minutes and say you want somewhere to be alone.”

“Are you ok?”

“Yes, just be there.”

“Ok, I’ll be there in ten minutes.”

She leant down and kissed him sweetly on the lips before standing up and walking out. Harry felt a conflict of emotions throughout his body. He wondered what on earth was making Ginny act like this, and wondering if there was really something wrong with her, the other thought, which had been there for the last two weeks, was obviously what would come tomorrow. For the first time since knowing about it felt something close to fear when he thought about what was happening. He felt scared of it all. What would happen if something happened to anyone he had asked to stay here, it would be his fault, and their injury or even death would haunt him for the rest of his life. He didn’t even want to think about what would happen if Ron or Hermione died, he couldn’t face life without them. Then there was Ginny, his heart skipped a beat as he thought about life without her, he couldn’t face it, he just couldn’t, and if anything happened to her it would be his fault entirely. He had to snap out of it and take control; he had to believe that they would do this. Harry brought his left arm up to check the time and felt it brush the bottle as it went. Knowing this was the last of the potion, he brought it out pulled out the stopper and poured it down his throat swallowing quickly. He felt it course through his body and struggled to take control of it. The poison like substance threatened to take over him and knock him clean out, but at the last moment Harry fought it off and was left In serene calm with one thought: Ginny. He suddenly jumped up from his chair and ran out of the room, pushing every bad thought out of his mind as he went. He shoved the Fat Lady roughly aside and ran through the fortified school to the fifth floor, and the portrait he had visited so many times. Harry said the password so fast he wasn’t even sure it would register with the magic of the room, but it did after an agonising wait, and he strode, breathlessly into the room, closing the door behind him. The Room was unlike anything he had ever seen in there before, it was dark, and lit by the flickering light of a dozen or so candles, it was only after a few seconds of being In the room that he noticed the bed in the corner of the room, where Ginny was waiting for him.

“Gin” Harry said quietly.

“Harry, come here” she replied softly.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing at all, just come here, please.”

She stood up as Harry walked up and stood next to her. She placed her arms around his waist and brought his body closer to hers. He placed one hand on her cheek, before kissing her with all the passion he felt for her inside his heart. He ran his fingers through her hair and held her body next to him so there was no gap between them.

“Harry” she said, releasing her lips from his.

“What is it Gin?”

“We could never get another chance; we could both die tomorrow and never have been here.”

“Gin”

“Harry, I want this” she said, and nothing else was said. Harry kissed her again, and lifted her up, walking around the end of the bed and to the side, before placing her down gently and laying himself down right next to her. He kissed her again and stroked the side of her face. All the two of them knew was each other, all that meant anything to either of them was the one they were with, and they were completely immersed in each other. They had become one, and nothing would ever break that apart.


Harry woke up, and immediately felt as if there was something else in his life. He felt good for the first time in a long time, and couldn’t even think about what would happen that day; it was just blocked by happiness. Harry rolled over and saw Ginny lying next to him; she was like some beautiful vision, like a goddess in his eyes. He moved next to her, moulding his body shape to hers and held her close. Harry bent down and slowly kissed her across the back of her neck, he felt her stir and wake up.

“Good morning” he said brightly, holding her tightly.

“Good morning” she replied softly.

“I love you Gin”

“I love you too” she said as she rolled over and kissed him softly on the lips.

“I don’t want to leave here” said Harry.

“I don’t either, can we just stay here?” replied Ginny.

“I wish we could”

“No-one would know” said Ginny mockingly.

“I think they might notice you know”

“But they wouldn’t think to look here would they?”

“I can see why they would think to look here.”

“Then stay with me.”

“Gin I want to, you have to believe me I want to, I don’t ever want to be apart from you.”

“But?”

“But we have to go, we have to go and make sure everything’s ready.”

“I know, I just don’t want to think about what would happen if something happens to you.”

“Nothing will happen to me Gin, nothing will happen to either of us, we’ll get through this together and we’ll both be fine.”

“How do you know that?”

“I believe, I can’t be without you Gin and I won’t be”

“Ok, if you say so” she said, not looking entirely certain about what she was saying. Harry felt like that too, he wanted to believe that everyone would get through this unscathed, but he knew how unlikely that was. He couldn’t promise her anything, and said what he said to make her more confident and feel happier.

“Ok, let’s go.” She said, and they both out of the bed and dressed in the same clothes they had worn yesterday. Then they walked out, hand in hand, towards the Great Hall, where they would eat their final breakfast.


Patrol duty was boring as hell, was all Harry could think about as he walked along the corridors. All the secret passageways had been blocked off, in case any of the Death Eaters had Harry’s extensive knowledge of the castle’s secrets. It was Harry’s turn to patrol in case of intrusion, and relay messages to the defensive positions. Strangely, he didn’t feel nervous at all. Doubtless that would change when it finally happened, but for now, all he could feel was a cold indifference to everything. He always felt this way before a fight, and he couldn’t see any reason why this would be any different. Suddenly a voice broke out through the air that changed his emotions instantly.

“We have a possible contact on the edge of the Forbidden Forest, everyone lock down the barricades and prepare for entry. Harry went from calm to adrenaline rush in the space of a nanosecond. He sprinted back up to his allotted position on the seventh floor, and through the barricades to stand with Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Neville and Luna. Once again, the six of them would stand together.

“Neville, Luna can you cover the windows in case they try to come in that way? The four of us will cover the front.”

Harry looked at them all, his closest friends in the whole castle, he loved them more than he could ever express to them and he just couldn’t bear the thought of being without any of them.

“Well stick together, and we’ll get through this.”

He looked at Ginny, and tried desperately to avoid thinking about what had happened last night.

“I love you Gin”

“I love you too.”

Harry pulled her close to him and kissed her deeply, for what seemed like hours. Finally he released and stepped back from her. As he did so he felt the most blindingly intense pain he had ever felt. It was unlike anything else, where he would double up under this amount of pain, he physically couldn’t double up and the pain just coursed through his body.

“Harry?” said Ginny looking concerned. He wanted to cry out to her, to speak, to say anything. But he couldn’t.

“Harry what’s wrong?” she said looking worried, and trying to grab hold of him, but she couldn’t touch him. Suddenly Harry was thrown up in the air and suspended, his arms and legs stretched out and his head thrown back.

“HARRY!” she screamed, but he barely heard it, and she had no clue what was going on when his head was thrown forward again. His eyes were bloodshot and barely open, but he could see her, amidst the horrific pain all he wanted to do was reach out to her. He felt another convulsion and another shock of pain and then, just as surely as he had been there seconds before, Harry was gone.

Chapter 31:

Pain racked his body over and over again. All Harry could feel was a constant stream of convulsions, it was never ending. Just as one wave of pain died down and abated, another hit him with more force than the last. The effect was constant and he was never able to find peace, nor rest. He tried to look around, to see where he was, and what could be causing this, or who. But everytime his eyes cleared up with enough clarity to see anything, he was just hit by another wall of pain and his eyes clouded up again. The pain was absolute, and Harry could honestly say he had never felt this much pain. He wasn’t sure how his body was coping with it, it was akin to being cut with a sword and then being put together again before the cutting started again. It may have been his hopeful imagination, or it may have been something else entirely, but it did seem to Harry as if the pain was slowing down, as if the convulsions were becoming less frequent, and less painful. But then he was hit again, and that thought was pushed from his mind. He was certain of it now, it wasn’t just his imagination, they were less frequent, he had something to cling onto. It wasn’t much admittedly, but it was something, and at that moment Harry needed whatever he could grasp onto, and to cling onto it for dear life. The pain subsided, and he breathed again, tensing himself for the next onrush. There was a longer wait than normal, and he allowed himself to relax before he was hit again when he was not expecting it. He felt the pain course through him again, felt it digging into his soul, and he felt as if he was fighting for his life, and then suddenly there was nothing. He felt the magic leave the air around him, he felt the pain leave his body all at once, and suddenly, he felt nothing. He slowly breathed in and out, and forced himself to look around. It was a dark place, with barely any light, just the flickering light of a few candles dotted around the room. He couldn’t make out any of the details of the wall or floor, he just felt cold, it was a eerie place and he felt a chill run through his body. He had no idea where he was, yet this place felt somewhat familiar to him. Harry suddenly heard a noise in the distance, a constant tapping, which was getting louder. He quickly realised it was the sound of footsteps in the distance, and that it was getting closer to him. Harry fumbled around inside his robes for his wand, but to his horror, found it was missing. He checked every pocked, but it had been taken from him, most likely by the source of the noise. Harry had to defend himself, he had to improvise. Scratching around in the dark, he found something long and wooded, it felt like a staff, which would suit him fine, and he then stepped into the shadows of the room, to the right of the entrance and waited there. Harry could feel his heart beating faster and faster, it felt as if his heart would pound out of his chest it was beating so hard. The beating got louder with the increase in temp and the volume of the footsteps coming down the tunnel. Suddenly a figure, clad in black robes from head to foot came into view in the practically non existent light of the room. It looked into the room, scanning the area for something that didn’t appear to be there. It dawned on Harry that what the figure must have been looking for was him. Quietly, creeping across the floor behind him, Harry moved in behind him and using all the strength he could muster, swung the staff through the air, smacking it into the back of the head of the figure in front of him. It emitted a low, dull grunt and crumpled to the floor. Not stopping to think, Harry kept hold of the staff and ran out of the room and down the corridor from whence the figure came. The corridor was no better lit than the room itself, and it hindered his progress not knowing where he was going. All he knew was that he had to get out of here, find his wand, and get back to Hogwarts. Harry suddenly stopped running and though about what he was doing, he just needed a wand whoever it may belong to, he had to get back to the castle. He charged back down the corridor to the room, not caring that he lost his balance a couple of times and barely stayed upright. He carried on running, straight over to the prone form of the black figure, and fumbled around over his body, looking for his own wand, just in case he was carrying it. He found a wand in the figure’s right hand, and forced it free, pulling it up and into his hand. Despite the urgency of his situation, Harry felt a burning desire to know who it was, to know how he had gotten here. He rolled the body over so it lay on its back, and threw back the hood of the cloak which covered the face in front of him. The second he did he felt a shock of revulsion flow through his whole body.
“Malfoy!” he spat, looking down at his unconscious form. That thought was quickly replaced by dread. He had to get out of there now, if Malfoy was there, he had to be accompanied by…
“Very astute Potter.” Said the chilling voice that could only belong to Severus Snape.
“Expelliarmus!” he said, faster than Harry could ever react to, he was wandless before he’d even though of a block.
“It was you!” he said.
“Me? Whatever are you talking about?” said Snape, his voice dripping with false innocence.
“You transported me here, you took me out of Hogwarts.”
“How would I do that? Even you must know by now that apparition does not work inside Hogwarts.”
Harry ignored the slight on his intelligence and carried on.
“You must have, why else would I be here?”
“On the contrary, you did that all by yourself Potter.” He sounded almost proud.
“What?” he said disbelievingly, but then it all clicked into place.
“The potion, it was some sort of transformation spell.”
“Oh well done Potter, to tell you the truth im amazed you did as you were told.”
“How did it work?”
“If the entire potion was consumed, within four hours of the last drink, it would transport the drinker to a predetermined location. It was a gamble considering your nature to not do as you’re told, but I knew you would, if you thought it could save your friends.”
“You, you!” he couldn’t articulate the level of his anger anymore.
“I did what I had to do, just as you did.”
“I have to get back, I have to help them, I have to go now, give me my wand.”
“You will do no such thing, Hogwarts is not safe anymore.”
“Which is precisely why I must go, I have to help them.”
“You’re not listening Potter.”
“Every single person I love is in that building, now hand me my wand, I’m going.”
“That’s not going to happen Potter.”
“Then I’ll just have to take it for myself.” He suddenly charged at Snape, he had no wand, but he didn’t care, he was ready to do whatever he had to, to hurt Snape for doing this to him. Snape drew back and raised his wand arm in one smooth movement. “Stupefy!” he cried out at Harry, who had no room to avoid it. The beam connected, there was nothing he could do but collapse down and fall unconscious.
“Harry awoke as suddenly as he’d been knocked out. He looked around quickly, and immediately noticed he was back on the floor, his arms were tied at the wrist, and not one, but two black figures stood before him.
“Try that again Potter and the same thing will happen, you need to calm down and stop trying to attack me.”
“I have to go back.”
“If you go back there’s no hope, if you go back and are captured or killed, it’s over.”
“Meaning what?”
“Can I punch him please?” said the drawling voice of Draco Malfoy.
“Malfoy go and wait in the other room, I need to talk to Potter alone.”
“The hell I will, you dragged me into this, im listening to every word you have to say to him.”
“Draco, go now.”
“No” said Malfoy stubbornly. Snape, who still held his wand in his right hand suddenly stretched out his arm and pointed it at the boy before he’d even thought about reacting.
“Stupefy!” he shouted, and the mess of black robe and white hair hit the floor.
“He’s as stubborn as you are.” Said Snape.
“Do not compare me with him.”
“This is irrelevant, now listen to me or you will be just like him, unconscious and unable to help anyone.”
“What are you talking about?”
“You remember the last time we spoke of course.”
“Vividly” he replied dryly. Harry remembered only to well how Snape had abducted him from Hogwarts and taken him to the Swiss Alps.”
“So which mountain range are we in now then? The Himalayas?”
“No, although that could be where I send you next time.”
“So where are we?”
“All in good time, now listen to me, I have made rather remarkable progress in our problem.”
“Can you do me a favour? Stop talking in riddles!”
“Fine, have it your own way. The mirror has been destroyed.”
“Mirror, what?” Harry started to say, before it dawned upon him what Snape was saying. “The mirror!”
“Yes Potter, the Mirror, I’m glad you’re taking this so seriously.”
“It’s not that, I’ve just had other things on my mind.”
“Less important than what you’re supposed to do?”
“Now you come to mention it, it wasn’t that important, just preparing Hogwarts for invasion.” Said Harry sarcastically.
“Do you understand what this means?”
“In what respect?”
“In the respect that five Horcruxes have been destroyed, there are only two pieces of his soul left and…”
“If Dumbledore was correct, that’s Nagiini and Voldemort.” Harry felt sick speaking the name of his former mentor to the man who killed him, but persisted, he had to.”
“I have no reason to believe that is not true.” Said Snape simply.
“Where is Voldemort now?” said Harry, causing Snape to flinch again at the mention of his name.
“You cannot defeat the Dark Lord.”
“That’s the whole point of my life!”
“Be that as it may you’re not yet ready, you need training, you need preparation.”
“How will I do that? What do I have to do?”
“You have to learn how to kill, you have to learn how to be ruthless.”
“You’d better teach me then” said Harry bitterly remembering how he had watched Snape kill Dumbledore.
“I cannot teach you, this is something you have to figure out for yourself.”
“You just said I needed training, now you’re saying I need to do it alone, make your mind up!”
“Lunette can help you best with this.”
“If she isn’t dead already.”
“There’s no danger of that” said a female voice which could only have belonged to her.
“You’re here!” said Harry, awash with relief. “Has the attached been defeated, what’s happening?” said Harry desperately.
“I do not know, I left before it started.”
Harry sighed loudly, and pain filled his body again. His friends, Ginny, they could all be dead by now, and there was nothing he could do. He had to get out of there.
“Potter” said Snape sharply, “Focus.”
“You don’t know what its like for me to just be held here, knowing where I should be, and only being stopped by you.”
“That doesn’t matter.”
“The hell it doesn’t!”
“This is a sacrifice that must be made.”
“You will not sacrifice them!” screamed Harry, tears running down his face as he thought of them all gone.
“I understand how you feel…”
“How can you?! How can you possibly know what it’s like?”
“Because I know what it’s like to have to sacrifice someone I cared about.”
“You’ve never cared about anyone! How can you possibly expect me to believe that?!”
For once, Snape looked speechless and without an immediate retort.”
“You killed Dumbledore! The one person who trusted you, the one person who believed you, and don’t you think I’ve forgotten what you did to my parents.”
The room was suddenly filled with an eerie and creepy silence as everything finally slotted into place.
“You loved her.”
“What?” Snape retorted.
“You loved my mother.”
“Don’t be ridiculous.”
“I’m not being ridiculous at all, you loved her!”
Snape said nothing, confirming exactly what Harry thought.
“You killed her! You claim to love her and you killed her!”
“Potter that’s enough.”
“You make me sick. Let me out of here, NOW!”
“Harry please just listen.” Said Lunette, trying desperately to calm the situation down.
“Shut up you, you don’t care about anyone else either. Neither of you know what it’s like, now let me back there now!”
“Seeing as you don’t want to talk, you can listen.” Said Snape. “He suddenly thrust out his right arm, and a spell connected with Harry before he could block it. He tried to shout, to scream anything, but even though he was forming the words inside his throat, no sound was leaving his lips. Silencio he thought. He mouthed abuse at Snape and Lunette, but no sound was made.
“If you will not be rational about this then you will remain silent, it’s as simple as that.” Said Snape. “Yes I loved her, but that was a long time ago, it’s done, and we must continue what we’re doing now.” As he spoke Harry squirmed around, and tried to say what was on his mind, that as far as he was concerned he could go to hell and he would go back to Hogwarts.
“Five Horcruxes have been destroyed, meaning that two parts of his soul remain. I must see the Dark Lord; I must try to ascertain whether the snake is the answer. I will go now.”
“Now Severus?” said Lunette.
“Yes Lunette I must” he said, while he reached inside his robes and pulled out a thin strip of wood, it was Harry’s wand. Snape handed it to Lunette, who in turn hid it inside her robes.
“Keep it safe” he said, and without further delay he was gone.
Harry’s heart was a melting pot of every emotion he could imagine. He felt helpless, held by these people until such time as they chose to release him. All the while the battle of Hogwarts was raging and he felt so helpless that he could do nothing about it. That said, he thought, he stood a better chance of ambushing Lunette alone.
“I know how you must be feeling Harry.” Harry couldn’t reply, but jerked his head in disgust.
“I do, I know what it’s like to lose everything you care about, believe it or not.”
“Harry couldn’t believe it, he wouldn’t believe it. But there was something in her voice which made him listen to her, something which made him sit up and pay attention to her. He didn’t know what it was, whether it was magically induced or otherwise, he found himself paying more attention to her than he did to Snape. She slowly stepped towards him, and while she did, Harry groped around the dark area behind him, and he felt his fingers brush against a large rock, which he grasped in his right hand and pulled it behind his back.
“Harry I can’t just stand here and talk to you like this, it’s not fair on you” She descended on him, and lent down right in front of him, trying to catch his eyes, but he wouldn’t let her.
“We’re all trying to do the same thing Harry, we’re all fighting for the greater good, we’re all trying to rid this world of Voldemort.”
Harry felt tears run down his face, he felt sick, and as if he would vomit at any second. He looked at her again, and pointed at his throat.
“Of course” replied Lunette, clearly feeling sorry for Harry, who could feel the adrenaline begin to pump through his veins as he tensed his right arm. Lunette pointed her wand at Harry’s throat, and for a second confidence was replaced by fear for what she would do to him.
“Finite” she said.
Harry felt a burning sensation spread through his mouth and throat.
“I’m sorry Harry” said Lunette simply, before looking to one side awkwardly.
“Thank you” replied Harry. Then suddenly, with cat like reflexes, Harry swung his right arm through the air, rock in hand, straight at Lunette’s head. She turned back to him as he swung, and the shocked look in her eyes did nothing to stop Harry. The rock connected with her left temple before she could move, and she fell back, unconscious, with a thin line of blood from the point where the rock connected with her head.
“Im sorry” said Harry, as he threw the rock aside and ran over to her prone body. He began searching her robes desperately looking for his wand. That was the key to everything, that was the only way he could succeed, he needed it now. He eventually found it, buried inside a pocket at the bottom of her robes, and pulled it out again. More than anything else, this wand made him feel safer, and that he could defend himself. Focus, he thought, on Hogwarts, the grounds and the fields, and Hogsmeade. He had to find somewhere where he could apparate to, and quickly, as he didn’t know where he was and how long he had been there for it made him feel even worse about his predicament, but then his eyes drew across Lunette’s body, he couldn’t leave now.
“MALFOY!” he shouted down the tunnel, and within seconds he heard running footsteps coming towards him, growing faster and faster, and louder than before.
“Three” Harry focused on the train station, the platform where he would be able to hide.
“Two” he had the exact spot in his mind, he was unwavering in his thoughts and concentration.
“One” Malfoy suddenly appeared from around the corner, just as Harry finished his countdown.
“POTTER!” he screamed, reaching for his wand, but by the time he drew it, Harry had gone.

A small pop was the only noise in an eerily silent night. Harry immediately ducked down low and moved quickly to the nearest wall to take cover and look around. He walked stealthily along the wall and to the exit of the train station, wand ready, and in hand. Taking one deep breath he walked around the corner, it was clear and still. Looking ahead of him, it looked quiet, too quiet, was it over already? He asked himself. The path showed no signs of being used heavily, and there was definitely no sign of fighting in the track ahead. Harry stepped forward, keeping himself low and moving along the tree line to the left of the path towards Hogsmeade town, wand extended at all times. He squinted his eyes, but couldn’t see anything at all. He daren’t use Lumos, for fear of giving his position away, instead, he avoided any sources of light and developed night vision in his eyes. Breathing deeply he moved forward. He only moved a few steps at a time, before taking another position and waiting a little longer before moving on again. In this manner, he moved through the town until he had sight of the Castle. He wasn’t prepared for what he would see, he didn’t know what to expect at all. He walked up to a point where he could clearly see Hogwarts, and unsure he was even breathing, he gazed blankly upon the walls. He expected to see fire, to see Hogwarts under siege, but it just wasn’t happening, it was fine, and undamaged, and the air was calm all around him. He looked up to the top of the castle to the Aurors patrolling the roof, and suddenly felt very uneasy about taking anymore steps forward. If he did, and they mistook him for a Death Eater, they would have no hesitation in taking him down. What to do? He said to himself. He had to get inside the Castle, but the ground wasn’t an option, the doors were locked tight and there were the booby traps to consider as well. Harry breathed in a sharp breath as he slowly looked down to the ground. He had forgotten the booby traps when moving through Hogsmeade, and as he looked down, he saw a curse mark no more than 2 metres away from him. Harry had been more than lucky not to set one off, but that didn’t change his current situation. It was like a switch suddenly flipped on inside his mind and he knew what he had to do now. He couldn’t go along the ground, so he would have to go through the air. “Rosmerta, Accio Rosmerta’s broom!” he said loudly, breaking the silence of the village and willing it to come to him, and trying desperately not to think about the last time he’d flown to the top floor of the castle. Within ten seconds he heard a loud crack, and the door of the pub thrust open, quickly followed by a broomstick, which flew through the air towards him and stopped right next to his right hand. Harry grasped the broom in one hand, pulling it between his legs, and then looking up at his destination, the top of the castle, hoping that he wouldn’t draw too much attention to himself and wouldn’t be fired upon. He flew straight up in the air, slowly at first, and then pulling up to speed. His hair was plastered back and he felt the skin of his face shake around under the wind pressure. Harry squinted and gazed down at his destination. He tried to breathe under the pressure of the wind and he moved down.
“IT’S ME!” he shouted, hoping that it would keep him safe while he flew threw the air.
“IT’S HARRY POTTER!” he shouted, getting closer and closer. He heard the unmistakable sound of a curse flying through the air, and it flew straight past his head. He pressed on, flying faster and faster, and jinking from side to side, dodging curses as if they were bludgers. He had to get down quickly, he had to move faster, and get there now. Laying down flat on the broom, Harry sped forward like a bullet through the air, flying smooth and fast through the dark night, he was almost over the roof.
“IT’S HARRY...” he started to shout again, but before he could finish his sentence, a beam of light crashed into his chest and he fell into unconsciousness. His Body slumped forward on the broom, pushing it down towards the ground, it barely cleared the lip of the Castle wall and he fell down with a sickening crash onto the roof.

Chapter 32

Harry opened his eyes as suddenly as they had been forced shut. He blinked again quickly and was forced to close them again because of an intense bright white light, which shone into his face from above. He slowly opened his eyes again, and felt hot tears run down his cheeks as his eyes slowly grew accustomed to the light, wherever he was. Harry tried to take in his surrounding, but everytime he opened his eyes a little more he was just blinded again by the light. Squinting his eyes so they were barely open, Harry rotated his head away from the source. He tried to see where he was, but couldn’t make anything out. What had happened to him, he thought as he lay there. He remembered flying through the air, flying towards the castle, but then his memory went blank. He squinted his eyes even tighter together, and even more tears fell down his cheeks, but he could just about make out the details of the room. He was in a soft bed, he could see curtains and more beds, he was in a hospital somewhere, and wherever he was, it surely was on friendly territory. Suddenly the light which caused him so much pain was gone, he breathed sharply as if he’d just run a mile, and then looked around freely. He recognised it now, it was Hogwarts hospital wing. Warm relief surged through his body, Hogwarts was safe, it had to be. He looked around even more, every movement of his head and neck was slow and ponderous, and caused ripples of pain throughout his body, but he did It anyway, he had to look, he had to see If anyone was there. Hogwarts may be safe, but Ginny may have been hurt, or worse. It was all Harry could think about as he looked slowly, agonisingly around to his left. And there it was, there was suddenly a new colour in this dark room. He could see her, she was here and she was ok. Tears of joy flowed down his face like a stream, he reached out to her, moving his left arm was agonisingly painful, but he didn’t care, all he cared about was that she was here, and she was alive.
“Gin” he said, though it sounded like a whisper. His voice was croaky and his mouth dry, saying anything was a real struggle for him.
“Gin” he said louder, he heard her stir, and saw her move around.
“What?” she said, at no-one in particular.
“Gin” he repeated.
“Harry!” she screamed, almost flying towards her she was travelling at such speed. He felt her hand touch his, and was instantly fine again. Warmth spread through his entire body, she was alive.
“Harry!” she said again, touching his face with her hand, it was like she couldn’t believe he was alive, and talking to her.
“What happened to you?” she said, Harry tried to move his body, but to his horror found he couldn’t.”
“What’s wrong with me, why can’t I move?”
“It’s your legs Harry.”
“My legs!” said Harry, horrified. He hadn’t even considered what had happened to him, he was more concerned with what had happened to her. He looked down, and saw both of his legs wrapped up, from the middle of his thigh down to his foot, and his right arm was bandaged and immobile/
“When you flew over the wall the Aurors thought you were a Death Eater and stunned you. From what they said you barely cleared the wall and when you did, you broke both your legs and fractured both bones in your right arm. Madam Pomphrey’s been working constantly for the last two days.”
“Two days?!” said Harry, he couldn’t believe this had happened.
“I didn’t think you’d ever wake up.”
“I love you” said Harry.
“I love you too” replied Ginny, and she gently hugged him, and kissed hi, He couldn’t think about his legs anymore, all he could think about was her, he longed to hold and touch her, but he couldn’t move.
“Does Madam Pomphrey know if this will be permanent? Will I be able to walk again?”
“I don’t know, but Madam Pomphrey is the best in the business, she’ll get you fixed up.”
Harry knew she was just trying to make him feel better, it didn’t really work.
“What happened to you Harry?” why did you go? What did that?”
Here was the moment of truth, he could either cover it up, or he could come clean.
“It was the potion that did it.”
“Potion, what potion”
Harry breathed deeply before he spoke.
“It was the potion Snape gave me to take.”
“You took that potion.”
“Yes, I did as he told me to.”
Ginny looked shocked, and backed away from him.
“Why didn’t you tell anyone, you didn’t tell me!”
“I had to do it.”
“And look where it got you! Do you have any idea how worried I’ve been? Do you have any notion of how worried I was? I thought you were dead!”
“I thought you were all dead! Every one of you.”
“You were only thinking about yourself.”
“Ginny, you know me better than that, I didn’t know what the potion did, and you know that.
“You could have been lying,”
“I wasn’t, I didn’t know what it would do.”
“So you took it upon yourself to take a potion that you had no idea of the side effects.” Said Ginny dryly.
“He told me that If I didn’t take this potion, I wouldn’t be able to fight, and I believed him.”
“I can’t believe how stupid you were.”
“All I’m guilty of is doing what I thought I had to do, in order to protect this place, and you, that’s what I thought I was doing.”
“Be that as it may Harry, you didn’t tell me about the potion, and what you were doing.”
“What would you have said?”
“I would have told you not to do it of course!”
“We weren’t attacked Ginny, nothing happened, we were somehow spared from being attacked.
“Maybe they’re just lying in wait for the Aurors to leave.”
“Maybe, but they can’t just wait outside in the cold all the time, if they were going to attack, they would have by now.”
Ginny didn’t answer, she just shook her head nonchalantly.
“Ginny, you’ve no idea what I’ve been through since the potion took me away, you don’t know.”
“Tell me then.”
“All I could think about was that you were gone, that everyone and the castle was gone. Snape did what he did to take me out of Hogwarts.”
“Why.”
“Because he knows im the one that has to kill Voldemort.”
“And he wanted to keep you safe.”
“Exactly, he’s destroyed the mirror, and he’s gone to see Voldemort, or at least he had two days ago, to try and see if he can confirm the sixth Horcrux is Nagiini.”
“He did that?”
“Yes, he did that, and that’s what I have to focus on.”
“Wow” said Ginny, clearly surprised, but seemingly calmer than before.
“What?”
“You’re actually taking his side, you have changed.”
“I know I have, I don’t want to, but I have to.”
“I can’t believe that you were once so adamant that you’d kill him on sight, and now you’re working with him.”
“I still want to, especially after what I found out.
“What”
“He loved her” said Harry.
“Who?”
“My Mum, Snape loved her.”
“Oh my god.” Said Ginny, taken aback.
“Gin I’m so sorry. Im sorry I didn’t tell you. I did what I thought I had to protect you. That’s all I’ve ever done, that’s all I ever wanted to do.”
“I know Harry, but you should have told me, that’s what I wanted from you, that’s what I expected of you.”
“I know, no more secrets.”
“Promise?”
“I promise” said Harry.
“I’m just so glad you’re alive.” Said Ginny, leaning over him and hugging him again. “I can’t believe you’re here, and I’m just so glad to see you, I thought I’d never see you again” replied Harry.
“It’s ok now” she said, holding him tightly.
“Is everyone else ok?”
“Everyone’s fine, worried about you, but fine.”
“Good”
A voice suddenly interrupted their making up.”
“Will everyone report to the Great Hall immediately, I have some grave news.”
“What’s happened?” said Harry.
“I don’t know.”
“You go on.”
“Are you sure?”
“I’m sure; can you find out what’s happened and come back and tell me?”
“Of course.”
“I’m sorry, but I can’t walk.”
“Don’t be sorry, I’ll come back as soon as it’s over.”
“Ok” he said, and felt a pang of loss as he watched her walk away to the doors.
“Gin” he called out to her as she walked.
“I love you” he said, as she turned around.
“I love you too” she replied, and without another word, walked out of sight.
Harry felt utterly alone. Even though he knew she was alive and ok, he didn’t feel right. It could have been something to do with the argument with Ginny, or any number of reasons. He felt weak, and he felt as if he couldn’t move. That more than anything else was the cause of his low mood. He had things to be glad about though, and that’s what he focused his mind upon. Everyone was ok, Hogwarts was fine and undamaged, and he had made peace with Ginny. There was something about Professor McGonagall’s tone which frightened Harry though. What could this grave news be? Harry could speculate on the matter for hours without knowing what it was, so he just emptied his mind of all thoughts and tried to lay back and relax, he closed his eyes and dozed until he was disturbed.
“Harry” said Ginny softly, he felt her hands shake him gently, and he stirred and woke up.
“Harry” said a different voice, it was Hermione. “Harry you’re ok” she said, before hugging him, he could feel her shaking next to him as he tried to hug her back.
“Apart from most of my body im fine.”
“I can’t believe you’re here, Ginny told us about the potion.”
“I should’ve listened to you” he said, cutting her off.
“It doesn’t matter, you’re here and safe and that’s what counts.” She said. Although Harry knew she was hiding her true feelings.
“I’m glad you’re ok mate” said Ron from his left hand side.
“Me too mate.”
“I’ll go get Madam Pomphrey.” said Hermione.
“Wait, before you do. What was the meeting about?
“Oh that? It was nothing Harry, don’t worry about it” said Hermione nervously.
“McGonagall said it was grave news” he replied. He watched as they looked between themselves awkwardly, confirming Harry’s suspicions.
“What’s going on?”
Ginny took a deep breath. “It wasn’t here they attacked, or were ever planning to attack, it was always going to be…” she stopped mid sentence.
“What is it?” Said Harry, heart full of dread.
“It’s the Ministry” said Ginny eventually. At first Harry didn’t react, he didn’t know how to, or what he was supposed to say.
“The ministry?” he said, mouth wide open.
“It’s now under the control of the Death Eaters. Every Auror inside was killed, every minister has been taken hostage. We’ve lost the Ministry of Magic.” Said Hermione through tearful eyes.
Harry was gob smacked, shell-shocked. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing, this just couldn’t be happening. He tried to open his mouth and speak but nothing came out. All those people dead, the whole building taken; it was too horrible to think about.
“I can’t believe this” said Harry finally.
“I know” said Ginny, equally lost for words.
“It was him”
“Who?”
“Snape, he made the defences here rather than at the Ministry, he’s responsible for everything that happened, and everyone who died that night.
“He couldn’t have.”
“He told Lunette that an attack would come here, he told us that the castle had been targeted for attack, but it hasn’t been, it was the Ministry, it was always going to be the Ministry.”
“What are we going to do now? The Ministry is gone” said Ron.
“We have to regroup, everyone that survived or wasn’t at the Ministry when the attack came should come here. It’s the one stronghold that remains. It’s the only way. I have to see Professor McGonagall” said Harry, trying to get up and forgetting his injury. He couldn’t even roll around in his bed, it was hopeless.
“I’ll get Madam Pomphrey.” Said Ron, running across the hospital wing towards the office.
“Harry, calm down” said Ginny, resting her arms on his shoulders. “Just rest for now ok? McGonagall can handle it”
“I can’t believe all this is happening, it’s all my fault.”
“Shhh, just relax” she said, sitting down on the bed next to him and stroking his face.
“Step aside” said the stern voice of Madam Pomphrey, and Ginny reluctantly stepped back.
“How long has he been awake?” she said to no-one in particular.
“About an hour” said Ginny.
“Why am I only finding out about this now?” said Madam Pomphrey.
“We were slightly preoccupied with the announcement that the Ministry had been taken over by Death Eaters.”
“I still should have been told straight away. Please all step back, I need to work.” She proceeded before they’d even had a chance to move, running her wand the length of Harry’s legs, tapping it in several places. He couldn’t feel anything at all, he only knew she was doing it because he was watching her.
“Ok, I can reset the breaks in your legs, but it will be a long and painful process, I’d recommend you be unconscious while I do.”
Harry nodded, he couldn’t bring himself to speak. It was all too horrible to think about. Madam Pomphrey placed her wand next to Harry’s temple, and with the silent mutterings of a spell, Harry fell into slumber.

The sleep he had fallen into was deeper than anything he had ever experienced before. There was no space, nor energy spare for him to think, nor dream about anything. So to him, it felt as if he was woken up, just after he’d been put to sleep. He looked around and the first thing he noticed was eyes, that was all he could see. A pair of eyes staring into his. He tried to move, but he just couldn’t do it.
“Potter, please don’t move” said the calm, yet slightly frayed voice of Madam Pomphrey.
“What’s happening?” he said quietly, and there was a rush of activity as he felt the air move and heard footsteps come towards him.
“Harry” said Ginny, and he tried to smile at her, but even found that to be a strain, it looked more like a grimace, but she still smiled at him.
“Potter concentrate on me” said Madam Pomphrey, and he reluctantly did so.
“Now, I want you to, very slowly, try and move your feet.”
“It was such a normal reflex, that Harry didn’t expect to have to make so much effort. Normally anyone could do it without even thinking about it. For Harry however it was almost impossible. He was forcing his muscles to move, and when they finally gave way, his foot only moved by a fraction.
“Ok, that’s enough for now. You’re going to need a long period of rest and recuperation.”
“How long will I be here?”
“It’s hard to say for sure. It could be a short period of time, or it could be months.”
“Months!” said Harry, mouth wide open. He expected her to say a weeks perhaps but months? He couldn’t believe it.
“I can’t be here for months.”
“Potter you broke both your legs in that impact, not to mention your arm, it wont just fix overnight, it will take work, determination and a lot of rest. You can barely move your legs now, imagine trying to walk now?”
Harry did, and couldn’t see how he could do it anytime soon.
“This isn’t happening.”
“I’m afraid it is, I’ll leave you all alone now” she said, and without further ado, she strolled away from them. Harry looked around at the rest of them, but didn’t know what to say. They looked equally awkward about this latest development.
“We’ll get you through this Harry, we’ll make you walk again” said Ginny.
“I will walk again” he replied with a sense of dogged determination. He looked at them all in turn, and he knew that with their help he could achieve it. Otherwise, the fate of the Wizarding world may be forever lost.

Chapter 33.


One week had passed since Harry had returned to Hogwarts, and had the unfortunate accident which had rendered him unable to walk. He couldn’t have been more unlucky in what had happened to him. He had escaped from the clutches of Severus Snape, and returned in a hurried panic to Hogwarts, only to discover that the attack had never happened. The Death Eaters had never come to Hogwarts, they had never attacked, and everyone inside the Castle was safe. The bad news outweighed the good several times over though. When Harry had returned to Hogwarts, an Auror who was stood guard on the roof mistook him for a Death Eater and stunned him in midair. In the resulting crash landing, he broke both his legs and fractured the bones in his right arm. He was once again confined to the Hospital Wing, where he spent all of his time now. That wasn’t the worst of it though. The Death Eaters had never planned to attack Hogwarts; their target had always been another location: the Ministry of Magic. Snape’s betrayal had forced Hogwarts to be reinforced with the Aurors that could have saved the Ministry from attack. As it was, every Auror inside the building was killed, and every Ministry official was either dead or being held prisoner by the forces of darkness. It was all Harry could think about as he lay in his bed during the long days where he had nothing else to distract his attention. Yet these thoughts were too horrible to consider all the time and he found himself trying to force them out of his mind whenever he was alone. Admittedly that wasn’t very often. Ginny was keeping a near constant vigil by his side, and he regularly received visits from fellow DA members and staff, all of whom made him feel slightly better for a while. What Harry desired the most; however was to be able to help them, and to do that he had to walk again. Several times a day he was visited and checked over by Madam Pomphrey and within a few days he was able to move his legs. They felt stiff and painful, and were exceptionally hard to move, but at least he had feeling back in them. After four days of testing, by the end of which Harry was growing seriously tired of just lying around, he tried to walk around the room. With the considerable support of Ginny and Ron underneath his arms, they helped him move out of his bed and stand up. It was as strange feeling, having been bed ridden for so long, to finally be able to move, or to at least stand up. Walking was a quite different proposition though. He was scared when he tried to take his first steps though, scared of falling, scared of failure, that fear almost held him fast. As he stood there, he remembered what it was like to be in this position, he had been there before, and that was why he knew he had to try, he had to make the effort and know in his heart what he wanted. He wanted nothing more than to walk forward, to make those steps forward he knew he could do. Supported by Ron and Ginny, who had his arms around each of their shoulders, Harry slowly lifted one foot and moved it forward. It felt surreal; it felt as if he was doing this for the very first time, as a child, and he couldn’t do it alone. His second step was easier, he felt as if it was all coming back to him, and he’d be able to make it. In this fashion, he walked around most of the room, and despite the occasional stumble he did it without major incident. He didn’t think he could do it alone, but with help he could manage it. He did this a couple of times a day, and gradually it became less and less difficult.

During the week that passed between Harry’s accident and now, there were lots of new arrivals at Hogwarts. Every member of the Ministry, every Auror and everyone who wanted to be under the protection of Hogwarts arrived there and were immediately set up with beds in the unused sleeping areas. Security was as watertight as ever, and due to the nature of the situation they were in, it had been stepped up. The Castle simply could not be lost; it was the last stronghold held by the forces of good, with the Ministry gone and Azkaban long having been lost to Voldemort. As Harry lay in his bed and thought about everything that was happening he just couldn’t believe it had come to this. He couldn’t comprehend it. He knew the war would be serious, and that there would be heavy casualties on both sides, but he had no idea the extent of the damage inflicted. It was the mark of his tender years that he didn’t understand; he had never experienced something like this. He had gone through more horrific situations than most adults had in their entire lifetimes, but this was something else entirely. This was war, and he had no idea how to deal with it. He had to be helped by those who had been at war the last time Voldemort rose, and he was confident that they would help him. First things first though, they had to get him walking again before he could go fighting any wars, he hoped he had the time to do so. Harry found himself alone, and it was a very rare thing indeed for him to be by himself. He was so accustomed to having people with him all the time; he didn’t quite know what to do with himself. That said, he appreciated the time he had to be alone, just to relax and think. He’d been thinking about this for about thirty seconds before he heard movement outside and smiled to himself. He couldn’t be alone, not here, and not in his present condition. He looked to his right and saw a most unexpected sight: the Minister of Magic. Harry had mixed feeling about him. Part of him remembered what he had tried to do earlier that year, turning Harry into a mascot for the Ministry; he still despised him for that, and his attitude towards Dumbledore. But on the other hand, this was the man who had seen the Ministry itself be taken under his leadership, and Harry felt sorry for all his colleagues who must be dead now. As he watched the Minister walk towards him, he could see the strain etched upon his face. He could see how hard it was for him, and it was obvious that being in such a precarious position was taking its toll on their leader. He didn’t look the same hard faced man who had taken the office from Cornelius Fudge, the tolls of command at this difficult time were heavy on his brow, he was a changed man.

“Excuse me Harry.” He said politely. This was a first, thought Harry; he was being polite to him.

“Hello sir.” Harry replied. “You’ll forgive me for not standing up.”

“Of course, of course, it’s a terrible thing Harry, and im sorry and embarrassed that this has happened. This certainly wasn’t supposed to happen.”

“Of course not sir, it was an accident, and truth be told I’m glad.”

“Glad?”

“Glad the Aurors were so alert that is. They couldn’t afford to take the chance I was an enemy; they did well to do that.”

“I’m sure your body disagrees with your head.”

“Yes sir” he said, smiling.

“How are you holding up?”

“It’s hard, and it will be a long healing process, I can walk, but only when I’m being supported, I’ve not tried to walk myself.”

“It’s probably best you don’t Harry, you don’t want to make it worse.”

“Yes Sir.”

“We need you Harry, I may not know everything about what’s going on, but one thing’s for sure, we need you.”

“No pressure then” said Harry dryly.

“Harry I realise things between us have never really been… well we’ve never been on very good terms, not compared to my predecessor, or to Dumbledore, but I would like to help you, if I can.”

“What do you have in mind?”

“I realise there were certain things discussed between yourself and Dumbledore, I want to help you Harry, if you tell me what it was all about, I can help you.”

Harry felt a sinking feeling in his stomach, and he knew what everything meant now. He knew why he had come to him, everything was clear now; all he wanted was to get out of him what Harry was doing.

“I’m sorry for what’s happening sir, but I cannot tell you.”

“I am the Minister of Magic Harry; I need to know what’s going on.”

“Its better you don’t know, then you won’t be at risk.”

“So there is something to all of this?”

“Of course there is, but I’m not going to tell you what it is.”

“Harry, look at the situation we’re in, it couldn’t be more precarious than it is now. The Ministry has gone, and this building is all we have left to call our homes, I need to know what’s going on.”

“It’s better than it stays with me, it’s my responsibility.”

“I’m not prepared to let it stay your responsibility Harry.”

“With all due respect you don’t have a choice Sir; I’m not going to tell you.”

The two if them stared into each others eyes. Harry had to remain defiant; he simply couldn’t let him in on what they knew.

“It may not be now Harry, but you are going to tell me what you’re doing.” Said the Minister. There was a very serious tone in his voice that scared Harry a great deal. He wasn’t normally scared of him, but given their situation, and Harry’s disability, it shocked him that he was being threatened in this way. Angry and down, but certainly not out, the Minister strode quickly out of the room, when he reached the door two Aurors flanked him, and together they walked out, leaving Harry alone. He simply couldn’t believe what he was seeing, what happened to the Minister to make him act this way? It was completely unlike him. Assuming he had survived the attack, Harry expected the Minister to make a renewed effort to find out what they were doing with the Horcruxes, but he certainly didn’t expect to be threatened by one in such a position of power. What would he do? To what lengths would the Minister go to, to find out what they knew, and would he threaten Ron, or Hermione, or Ginny? He had to do something about it, and immediately. Suddenly he heard a noise outside, and footsteps coming towards him; it was the Minister again.

“If you won’t tell me willingly, I’ll just have to force it out of you.”

“What?!” was all Harry had time to say.

“Leglimens!” said Scrimgeour, suddenly Harry wasn’t able to think about anything anymore, he had an unfriendly presence in his mind and he had to force it out. He was strong and determined was stood over him, sifting through his mind, looking desperately for the information he needed. Harry closed his mind just as he had been taught. He emptied his mind of all thought, all fear and doubt and kept it blank, empty, without emotion. His foe kept on pressing, kept on searching around his mind but Harry kept on blocking him off. Harry couldn’t see it, as he had closed his eyes in concentration, but his enemy was stood right over him, his wand inches away from Harry’s face. Harry needed him out of his mind, and rapidly. His defence was suddenly reinforced by his new-found determination and inch by inch he forced him out of his mind. He could feel the anger in Scrimgeour’s assault, but Harry somehow stayed calm, and with one final push, forced him out of his mind for good. He opened his eyes, breathing sharply as if he’d just woken from some horrible nightmare. Harry looked down as he saw the force of his defence had put the Minister of Magic on the floor. He looked at him quizzically at first, but then in sheer anger as he realised what he’d done.
“Leave, now.”
“I will find out what you know.” Said Scrimgeour defiantly.
“Get out of here, NOW!” he shouted, and down on the floor, defeated, he glared at Harry, then rose, turned away and strode from the room. Harry watched him go, and carried on watching the space in the door for at least two minutes, in case he should return. He couldn’t believe what was happening, what he had done. Harry knew in his mind that Scrimgeour was a driven man who wouldn’t stop at anything to get what he wanted. He thought of the others, would they be at risk? Surely he wouldn’t go through them to get him to talk? He was panicking and needed to talk to someone, to make sure they were safe, but he was alone. Summoning all his strength and courage, he said to himself, if there was no-one there to help him, then he would have to work out a way to get himself out of there and to his friends. There was nothing for it, he would have to get up and get walking himself. He’d done it with the support of Ginny and Ron, he knew he could do it, he would have to do it without them, he had to move, and move now. Slowly, gingerly, Harry shifted his weight across the bed till he was parallel with the edge on the right hand side. Then slowly, and extremely painfully, he swung his right leg through the air and down, quickly followed by his left leg. He felt weak following that sudden onslaught, but determination filled the young Gryffindor and when he had that coursing through his veins, he could do anything. Slowly, he rocked forwards on his feet, and pushed himself up with his arms, forcing himself to his feet. He stood there for a moment, unsure of what to do next, as if the simple task of walking somewhere was lost on him. He wasn’t about to let that stop him from getting to the others, and stopping something from happening to them. He moved his right foot forward slowly, placing it down again two feet from where it was before. Keeping his strength and balance on his right leg, he moved his left foot forward up to the level of the right foot, and then beyond it. Everything was coming back to him now; he knew what he had to do. It was like he’d forgotten how to walk, but now everything had come back to him, everything was clear, and he knew what he must do, he had to get to them. He stepped forward again with his right foot, and again quickly with his left foot. It was coming back to him, it all felt natural, he was walking and he was fine. He carried on walking at the same pace, step by step to the other side of the room, and as he walked he felt confidence run through his body again, he was doing it! Suddenly he felt a shocking jolt of pain flash through his left leg as he stepped down on it. The pain spread from his foot and flashed right through his whole leg, and he fell down as ungracefully as the broken man he was and clattered into the floor with a sickening crash. He fell down quickly, and his head connected with the floor with a loud smack. He cried out in pain and dizziness filled his mind, taking him into unconsciousness.

Harry woke as suddenly as he’d been knocked out. He was caught in a violent struggle to stay awake, and keep his head. He looked around, and despite the pain, he could make out where he was. Harry remained on the floor where he’d fallen, and goodness only knows how long he’d been there for. There was a small patch of blood by his head, which must have been the cause of the pain. He drew his hand across his forehead, and felt where the blood had dried up. No-one had come to him since he fell, and that only served to make him feel even worse. Something could have happened to tem, and he had to get them now. He tried to force himself up again, to get out of there, but he couldn’t get up. He started crawling along the bloodstained floor; if he couldn’t walk to them, he would crawl. As he started to move along, he heard a sudden shriek and a loud crash. He looked up to see Ginny drop a large tray of food all over the floor. Plates shattered and food spilled everywhere, but she didn’t care.
“Harry!” she screamed, running towards him “What happened?”
She tried to lift him up, but couldn’t find the strength to do so. Drawing her wand, she shouted “Locomotor Corpus” at Harry’s prone form, and using the magic, she lifted him up into the air, and towards his messy bed. Using all the care in the world as if she was tending to a baby she lay him down, and ran to his side. She was first drawn to his face, where blood had dried all over his face, and the point of impact still looked fresh. She didn’t speak, choosing to concentrate on his injuries and fixing them. She traced her wand along the cut, closing the flesh underneath and knitting the skin back together until it looked as if it had never been there. Then she picked up a cloth from the table next to his bed and began to wash the blood from his face.
“Harry what happened?”
“It was Scrimgeour.” He said weakly, speaking was painful and he had to force the words out of his mouth.
“The minister was here?”
“Yes, where are Ron and Hermione?” he said, more worried about his friends than his own injuries.
“They’re with the rest of the DA, why?”
“I have to warn them, I have to tell them what he did.”
“What did he do Harry?”
“He used Leglimency on me, he wanted to find out about the Horcruxes, he wants to know what Dumbledore told me to do.”
“Are you ok?” she said, following a shriek.
“Not really, he said he would find out, not necessarily today, but he would find out. I think he’ll go through Hermione and Ron to get to me.”
“I can’t believe he’d do that, he’s the Minister of Magic.”
“He attacked me; I only just fought him off Gin.”
“Ok, I’ll get a message to them” she said, pointing to the air and summoning her Patronus, a small fox. “Ron, the Minister of Magic attacked Harry, head to the Hospital wing now, and keep out of sight.” With that, the fox departed into thin air, and she turned her attention back to Harry.
“How did you end up on the floor, he didn’t do that to you?”
“I was trying to walk.”
“On your own?” replied Ginny, sharply. “Madam Pomphrey said…”
“I know, but this was an emergency.”
“Well that doesn’t matter now, you’re ok.”
“It was just something he said.”
“What?”
“He said they needed me, and he’s right.”
“You did that after he attacked you.”
“It’s not for him, it’s for everyone, I have to kill Voldemort Ginny” he said, ignoring her flinch at the mention of his name. “Everything depends on me, and I had to get to you before the Minister did, that’s why I did it.”
“Ok Harry, just calm down, it’s going to be ok, you’re going to be ok.” She said, stroking his face and holding his body next to hers. Noise suddenly shot through the room, and he felt Ginny tense next to him as she turned and pointed her wand towards the door. Harry smiled to himself, she may not have believed in him at first, but she was fighting for what he believed. He reached inside his clothes and pulled out his own wand, pointing it at the door. They both breathed in when they saw movement and extended their right arms out, but lowered them again when they recognised Ron and Hermione.
“What’s going on?” said Hermione breathlessly as she ran towards them, Harry remained silent while Ginny told them what had happened.
“My god, are you ok?” exclaimed Hermione.
“I’m fine, but what are we going to do now?” said Harry.
“What exactly did the Minister say?” said Hermione.
“He told me that he may not find out today, but that he would find out what I know somehow. He’s not going to stop until someone tells him what we all know.”
“We have to report this to McGonagall.” Said Hermione.
“Right” said Harry, “there’s only one problem; I can’t walk anywhere.”
“And we can’t leave you here alone.” Said Ron.
“We could just come clean with him, tell him what he wants to know?” said Hermione.
“No!” Harry snapped at her “we can’t do that.”
“Maybe he can help?”
“It’ll put too many other people at risk, and the more people that know about this, the harder it’ll be to keep a secret.”
“It was just a thought.”
“We’re not doing it, especially after what he just did to me.”
“Ok, if two of us go and two more stay here?”
“Ok” said Ginny, instantly stepping next to Harry.
“We’ll be back as soon as we can” said Ron, and with that, they were gone.

It took an eternity in Harry’s mind for them to return, but sure enough, twenty minutes later Ron, Hermione and then Professor McGonagall strode quickly into the room, and over to where Harry and Ginny both sat down, Harry sat up as she approached. She ignored everyone else and looked into Harry’s eyes.
“Potter, tell me everything.”

Chapter 34:

Harry took a deep breath, and started speaking.
“It’s the Minister, Professor McGonagall. He came to see me a little while ago, I was in here alone and he came to speak with me.”
“Ok, go on.”
“Well he started talking about the attack on the Ministry and on the war in general, and then said how he needed me.”
“In what way?”
“Not him per-se, the whole wizarding world, everyone needs me.”
“And this is a cause for concern how exactly?”
“It’s not that, it’s that he used Leglimency on me.”
“He did what? Why?”
“He…” Harry started, if he told Professor McGonagall about this there was no turning back. “He wanted to know what Dumbledore told me.”
“I must confess Harry that I want to know too. I have let you run your own roost for a long time, and I want to know what’s going on.”
“I can’t tell you, the more people who know of our plan, the more people will be at risk. I can’t tell you.”
“Be that as it may Potter. You’ve damaged yourself too many times doing whatever it is you’re doing. You’ve spent more time in the Hospital Wing this year than anywhere else, and I’d be lying if I said I was happy with that.”
“What is going to be done about the minister?”
“What do you mean?
“He attacked me of course! He has threatened to do even worse to me, and the others, what is going to be done about that?”
“He’s the Minister of Magic Harry, there’s nothing I can do.”
“So because he’s the Minister he’s above the law?”
“No of course not, but I cannot act without proof, your word is not enough im afraid.”
“I don’t believe this.”
“You’re changing the subject Potter; I still want to know what’s going on with you four.”
“Out of respect to Dumbledore, I cannot tell you.”
“With respect to Dumbledore he’s gone, and those who remain must do as much as he did for this world.” Harry thought he could see a small tear escape from one of her eyes as she spoke, but it amounted to nothing.
“I’m not telling you Professor.”
“But you’ll tell everyone in this room.”
“There are things they do not know either Professor.” Said Harry, it was for dramatic effect only, as they knew everything he knew about this, but from the looks on their faces they thought there was more to the story than he’d told them.
“What else Harry?” said Ginny plainly, Harry didn’t know if she was acting or being serious.
“Not now Gin.”
“Don’t you tell me not now!” she said angrily.
“Potter I am tired of this, and I have better things to do” she said, preparing to leave.
“What’s going to happen about the minister? What are you going to do about it?”
“Nothing Potter, it’s your word against the Minister’s, there’s nothing I can do” and with that, she walked out, to disbelieving looks on the faces of everyone around him.
“I don’t believe this” said Harry, “what does she think she’s doing?”
“What haven’t you told us?” said Ginny.
“What are you talking about?” replied Harry.
“You just told Professor McGonagall there were things you hadn’t told us, what have you decided to keep to yourself?”
“Don’t get angry with me, I said that to try and make her feel worse, and to try and get her off our backs.”
“Is that the truth?” said Ginny.
“Of course it is, I swear, you all know what I know, I only said that to try and get her off our case.”
“Ok”
“You don’t believe me do you?”
“I do, it’s just a bit weird.”
“What are we going to do now?” said Harry, looking around at them all.
“Scrimgeour won’t give up, the problem is your legs Harry, we can’t leave Hogwarts, and even if we could, where would we go? There’s nowhere safe anymore.” Said Hermione.
“What about the rest of the DA?” said Ron. “We could get them to guard you, and the rest of us.”
“The only problem with that is what they would think is going on?” said Harry.
“That’s true”
“They’re not stupid, and certainly wouldn’t just guard me without good reason.”
“Maybe we can invent one?” said Ginny.
“Ok, what do you have in mind?”
“We could say that you’re lonely, and need the company, so long as one of us is there and knows what’s going on.” Said Ginny.
“Ok, that could work.” Replied Harry.
“Or we could tell Neville and Luna, they’d do it for you Harry.” Said Hermione.
If I’m not going to tell Scrimgeour, with all due respect to them, I can’t tell them either.”
“I don’t mean about the Horcruxes, I mean about him attacking you.”
“I don’t know, then they’d just ask more questions that I can’t answer, and after what just happened with Professor McGonagall I’m a little reluctant to tell anyone else.2
“I don’t know what’s gotten into her.” Said Ron.
“She’s always wanted to know what’s going on; I guess she’s just got to the end of her tether.” Replied Harry.
“It’s just badly timed with what happened with the Minister and everything.”
“What are we going to do then?” said Ginny.
“What about the order? How many members are here?” said Hermione.
“I don’t know, maybe they’d do that too. The problem is that some of the order are Aurors or members of the Ministry, they worked against Fudge, I’m not so sure they’d work against Scrimgeour. Then there’s the teachers, they’re not going to go against Professor McGonagall.” Said Harry.
“Then it’s the DA then, it’s the only solution I can see.” Replied Hermione.
“Ok, but we just tell them something to fob them off.”
“Yes.” She said simply.
“We should get Madam Pomphrey in here to check on your leg Harry, make sure it’s not been damaged any further.” Said Ginny.
“Ok”
“We’ll go and get the others talked through, and work on some sort of roster.”
Harry smiled, in all that was happening, they were there for him, they were supporting him, and he couldn’t survive without them.
“Thank-you, I don’t know what I’d do without you two.”
“It’ll be fine Harry, we’ll get you through this” said Hermione reassuringly. Whether they would or not was another matter, he thought, but they would do all they could, that was all he could ask for.
“I’ll go get Madam Pomphrey” said Ginny, and the three of them turned to leave. Harry suddenly felt panic rise inside his mind and body; He would be alone.
“Ginny” he called out and they all turned around. “Hurry back.”
“I’ll be thirty seconds Harry, its ok” said Ginny, and she smiled at him, taking some of the fear away, but not for long. He watched the three of them leave, and all he could think about was what would happen if somebody came for him while they weren’t there.

The seconds which passed were agonising. Time seemed to stand still as he looked between his watch and the door. A second passed and he looked up again, every minute sound stretched his nerves to breaking point, and he felt as if he was going mad. He reached for his wand, and felt it shake in his hand, like a leaf on the wind. His nerves were shot and he started hyperventilating. Where was she? She said she would be thirty seconds, and as he watched the hand tick over, thirty one, thirty two, thirty three, where was she?! Something’s happened to her, he thought, and his nerves, already stretched to breaking point, shattered into a million pieces. His body began to shake and he fought to stay conscious. He had to find her, he had to save her, he looked down the room to the doorway and began shifting his weight towards the edge of the bed. But then she came, she walked through the doors quickly, followed by an irate looking Madam Pomphrey. His nerves settled again, and his breathing returned to normal.
“Harry, what’s wrong?” said Ginny as she reached him, “you’re sweating” she said, running a palm over his forehead and cheeks.
“I thought something had happened to you. I was worried.”
“It’s ok Harry, I’m ok.”
“What’s wrong with you now then?” said Madam Pomphrey, who appeared to be even more irate in the flesh than from a distance.
“He fell out of bed, can you check him over please?”
“Very well, do try to be more careful” she said with more than a hint of sarcasm to her voice. She pulled back the covers on his bed, and ignoring the wand held in his right hand, began checking him over.
“You say you fell out of bed?” said Madam Pomphrey.
“Yes” said Harry, more than a little perturbed by her attitude.
“You weren’t trying to walk alone were you?”
How did she figure that out?
“No of course not.” He replied.
“You’re not a very good liar. I’m afraid it looks as if your right leg has suffered further muscle damage, which could add a few more weeks onto your recovery, do not try that again.” She said forcefully.
“What?” said Harry, shocked. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. His actions had jeopardised his chances of recovery. Just for doing the right thing, and trying to help his friends he’d done even more damage to himself.
“I’ll be back to check on you later.” She said, storming off.
He didn’t find himself caring very much about her though, he looked over to Ginny, who smiled weakly at him. He tried to return it, but it came out as more of a grimace. Harry just couldn’t believe it, and slumped back onto the bed, a destitute figure, and as low as he could possibly imagine being. He had done this to himself, and didn’t know if he would ever recover. A warm hand rested on his shoulder, and it made him feel slightly better about himself, but he felt as if his world had fallen apart, and that he wouldn’t ever be able to do anything again.
“Harry” said Ginny softly.
“Mmm” he mumbled to her.
“It’ll be ok; we’ll get you through this.”
He wished he could believe that.
“Why does it take so long?” he said, rolling over to face her.
“I don’t know.”
“Weeks or months, that’s what they tell Muggles, she had magic, surely she can heal me faster.”
“I don’t know Harry.”
“Surely it’s worth asking?”
“I don’t think now’s the best time really.”
“Why not?” said Harry, getting more and more agitated.
“She’s annoyed, and I think it would be best to let her cool off before you talk to her again.”
“I want to talk to her now.”
“That’s not a very good idea.”
“Why?!”
“Because you have another visitor” said an exasperated Ginny.
“Who it is this time, Cornelius Fudge?!” he snapped, turning around to see Remus Lupin standing tall over him.”
“Not quite Harry.” Said Lupin calmly, he didn’t reply for a moment, until the truth hit home, and he realised how he sounded. He turned to face Ginny again.
“I’m sorry.”
“I’m going to get something to eat, see you later.” She said. Harry looked for something in her voice which would tell him how she felt, he only had to look at her face to understand how hurt she was.
“I’m sorry!” he called as she walked away, but she never looked back. Keeping the same pained expression on his face, he looked over to Lupin.
“I’m in trouble now” he said dryly.
“I’ll say” said Lupin, grinning, “don’t worry, she’ll come around.”
“It’s good to see you Professor Lupin.” Said Harry.
“How many times to I have to tell you to stop calling me that and to call me Remus?” he replied.
“I don’t know, to me you’ll always be the best Defence against the Dark arts teacher we ever had.”
“That’s not really saying a lot though is it?” he said mockingly.
“No I suppose not” replied Harry, grinning. “Let’s see, we’ve had a spineless whimpering idiot, possessed by the spirit of Lord Voldemort. Someone more concerned with staring at himself in the mirror than teaching us, a Death Eater in disguise, and Umbridge.” He said, screwing up his face as he said her name. He had never forgiven her for what she did to him during his fifth year, and he doubted he ever would.”
“I’m only sorry I couldn’t have carried on, would have saved you from the last two at least.”
“Yeah” said Harry longingly. All he could think about was what Dumbledore had told him, that every single Defence teacher had only lasted a year since Voldemort tried to get the job.
“How are you holding up?” said Lupin, changing the subject.
“I’m ok, well actually I’m not, my body’s a mess and for the life of me I can’t figure out why it’s taking so long to heal.”
“You did break your legs Harry.” Said Lupin gently.
“I know, but Lockhart removed all the bones in my right arm years ago, and it was fine within a couple of days.”
“I’m afraid I don’t have the answers for you Harry, although it seems a bit odd, I’ll say that much.”
“Surely it can be fixed sooner.”
“I know what you’re trying to do Harry, you want to be up and about as soon as possible, you want to help, it’s understandable. You being cooped up in here is bound to get you down, you just have to hang in there and keep fighting.”
Harry knew all this, he knew what he had to do, but hearing it from Lupin mad it make more sense than from anyone else for some reason.
“I know, it’s just hard.”
“I know.
“It doesn’t exactly help when you’re attacked and threatened by the Minister of Magic either.”
“What? Replied Lupin.”
“Didn’t you hear about that?”
“No! What happened?”
“He came in here, firstly being really nice about everything, then demanding I tell him what Dumbledore told me, and then trying to get it out of my head using Leglimency, I fought him off, but he said he’d find out one way or another.”
Lupin’s face grew more and more shocked with every word Harry said.
“Are you ok?”
“I’m fine, but I’m more worried about what he’ll do to everyone else. He might threaten them, or hurt them to get to me.”
“I’d love to know what it is that drives you on so much.” Said Lupin. Harry’s expression said it all, not you too!”
“Relax Harry, I didn’t come here to get that out of you, but something has to be done about this, have you tried talking to Professor McGonagall about this?”
“She said the same thing, that she wouldn’t help me, and that she wanted to know what was going on too.”
“I see.”
“Can you help me?”
“I’ll do what I can Harry.”
“I need the others to be protected, is there anything the order can do?”
“There isn’t many of us left Harry, not that I can count on, but I’ll do what I can.”
“Thank-you, I wouldn’t normally ask, but I don’t know what else to do.”
“I understand Harry, I’ll take care of it, you just concentrate on getting well again.”
“I will.”
“Ok, I think I see Madam Pomphrey coming out, would you like me to do anything?”
“I can’t think of anything, except maybe if you could send Ginny up here, tell her I want to apologise.”
“Consider it done” he replied calmly.
“Remus.” Said Harry as he turned to leave, and he saw Lupin smile broadly. “Thank-you” Lupin nodded curtly and left, his kind face replaced by Madam Pomphrey.
“How do you feel now?”
“Why is it taking so long for me to heal?”
“I beg your pardon.”
“Why is it taking so long?”
“You broke both your legs Potter, what do you expect?”
“And yet when I lost all the bones in my arm it took a couple of days.”
“That was different.”
“You’re a worse liar than I am.” Said Harry. “What do you know?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She replied, shuffling around nervously.
“Who told you to say that?”
“I told you, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Oh yes you do” shouted Harry, drawing his wand and pointing it straight at her heart. “Tell me, NOW!”

Chapter 35:

“What are you doing Potter?” she said, looking at Harry’s wand unnervingly, he had no intention of using it on her, but she wasn’t to know that.
“Who told you to do this? Who told you to lie to me?”
“I’m not lying to you Potter, they will take that long to heal because of the extent of the fractures.”
“I don’t believe you.”
“You’re not qualified to chose to believe me or not.”
“This isn’t open to discussion, you are going to tell me what I want to know, now tell me!” he said, tensing his wand arm.
“There’s nothing I can say Harry.”
“This was all psychological wasn’t it? McGonagall and Scrimgeour did this to keep me here, where they could keep me under control, didn’t they? Where they could get the information I have out of me while I was too weak to resist them?”
“I don’t know anything Harry.”
“You’re a worse liar than I thought.” Said Harry. His suspicions confirmed. She knew, and was complicit in his capture here.
“Fix my legs.”
“What?!”
“You’ve done something to make them stop healing.”
“I most certainly have not.”
“Then explain to me why it takes to heal my legs when a few years ago I drank Skelegrow and re-grew ever bone in my right arm, I was only in here for a few days, I can’t see how I’ll need to be in here for weeks after today because of that.”
“You’re not qualified to tell me things Potter.”
“Actually I am. I know exactly what I’m talking about as you’re hiding something from me, you’re keeping something in, and I think you’re protecting Professor McGonagall, and telling me all this for her benefit.”
Madam Pomphrey remained silent for a moment.
“You’re really not as stupid as you make out are you?”
“Meaning I’m right.”
“It was decided that telling you the truth would only lead to more problems, they wanted to prevent that and keep you here and under control.” She said bitterly, confirming everything he knew.
“Heal them now.”
“Fine” she said, drawing her wand, which for a fraction of a second caused Harry to tense up and appear threatening with his own wand.
“Do you want me to heal you or not?” she said.
“Carry on.” He replied, calming himself down.
“I never wanted to do this Harry, I just wanted to sort your legs out straight away, heal you up and let you leave, they made me do this.” She said, while she traced over his legs with her wand. At first Harry didn’t believe it, he didn’t see why he should, but then he remembered what Madam Pomphrey had done since he had first come to Hogwarts. She had always put the well being of the students before herself, and he couldn’t see why now would be any different, he believed her.
“Ok, try moving your legs Harry.” She said, and he obliged, shuffling around in his bed, and moving towards the right edge. He found moving to be much easier, he felt free again, and as if everything that had held him fast was broken. She must have done something to his legs that he could never hope to understand. Slowly, he swung his legs around and placed them firmly onto the ground.
“Hold there for a second.” She said, checking him again, before signalling the ok to continue setting himself. He thrust his weight forward, and pushed himself up onto his feet. He felt unsteady at first, but then it was like nothing had ever happened. He was standing up, unsupported and he was free.
“Thank-you” he said to her, and he started walking around the warm, slowly at first, but then speeding up. He truly felt as if he had never had the accident, that there had never been any problems at all.
“What’s going on?!” said a startled voice suddenly. Harry looked around to see Ginny standing in the middle of a sea of ginger hair. She stood there, flanked on both sides by Arthur and Molly Weasley, along with Fred, George and Charlie. The surge of joy which had flowed through his body at being able to walk again carried on and shot through the ceiling, he smiled broadly at them all.
“I’ll leave you in peace Harry” said Madam Pomphrey.
“Ok, thank-you” he replied, and she nodded curtly and walked through the crowd in the middle of the room.
“How is this possible?” said Ginny.
“I’ll explain later” he whispered to her.
“Harry, how are you?” said Molly, walking towards him and pulling him into a tight hug.
“I’m fine, fine, what are you all doing here?”
“Well the Burrow wasn’t safe anymore, so we decided to come here” said Arthur, offering his hand to him, which Harry shook; firmly “It’s good to see you Harry.”
“You too”
“Fred, George” he said, as he shook their hands enthusiastically. “How’s business?”
“Dead” said Fred, who even when telling grim news sounded upbeat. “We’ve closed the shop for the time being.”
“Things are just a little bit too hectic at the moment to keep everything going.”
“Understatement of the year!” said Harry grinning. No matter what was going on in the world, talking to the Weasley twins made everything seem easier.
“Hello Harry” said Charlie, who shook his hand, Harry could feel the rough skin on his palms that would probably never go away.
“Hello Charlie.” He replied. “So where’s everyone else?” said Harry, a sense of fear flowed through his body as he spoke.
“Bill and Fleur are on their way here, Percy…” Arthur started to say.
“He wasn’t at the Ministry when they were attacked?” said Harry.
“No no, he’s upstairs getting himself settled in. I still can’t get much conversation out of him.”
“You’d have thought with the war and all he’d let the past go.”
“You would have thought so wouldn’t you; at least he wasn’t there when the Ministry was hit.”
“I’m sorry Mr Weasley; it must be horrible to think about.”
“I just have to try and concentrate on what I can do to help everyone.”
“If there’s anything I can do.”
“Well you seem to have already done the most important thing Harry, I didn’t expect to see you up and about.”
“Madam Pomphrey fixed me up a lot faster than she thought she could.”
“Do you feel ok on your feet?” said Molly.
“It feels a little weird, but I can walk fine.”
“It wouldn’t be you if you weren’t in a hospital bed most of the time.” Said Fred, smiling.
“I think you’ve got the record in the bad for most injuries sustained at Hogwarts.” Added George. Everyone in the room suddenly burst into uncontrolled laughter. Harry couldn’t remember the last time he laughed so heartily, and so easily. It felt so good to be around his closest family. These were the people who had reached out to him, and taken him in as one of their own.
“It’s good to see you all again, I’ve missed being around you all.”
“It’s nice to see you up and about Harry” said Molly.
“Hadn’t we better get ourselves settled in Molly?” said Arthur.
“Good idea, it feels a little weird being back here, but it had to be done.”
“Ok Harry we’ll leave you in peace.” Said Arthur, shaking his hand firmly, and he left the room followed by Molly, Charlie and the twins.
“See you soon” said Harry, and he looked at Ginny and smiled.
“What’s going on? How is this possible?”
“I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
“For snapping at you earlier, I shouldn’t have done that.”
“Don’t apologise Harry, it’s ok, how are you standing up and moving around?”
“I was right, Scrimgeour and McGonagall told Madam Pomphrey to leave my legs damaged, and to tell me it would take months to fix.”
“Why would they do that?”
“She said they wanted to keep me here, under guard, where they can keep an eye on me, finding out what I know.”
“So it was all psychological?”
“Yes, they wanted me to feel weak, and it worked for a time. Lupin made me see it, and when I confronted Madam Pomphrey, she admitted it all.”
“What do you want to do now?”
I have to get out of here, its not safe for me anymore, I know what I have to do.”
“You can’t mean.”
“I do Gin, I know what my destiny is, I know what must be done.”
“But you’ve only just recovered.”
“Everything’s set, the five Horcruxes have been destroyed, all that’s left to do is kill Nagiini, and then I can fight him, then this can all be over.”
“Then I’m coming with you” said Ginny, twisting her face up in defiance.
“I can’t let you Ginny, this is my fight.”
“Oh no it’s not, I have been with you every step of the way, and I’m certainly not backing down now.”
“It’s too dangerous, I can’t put you at anymore risk than you are at now.”
“It’s not your decision to make. I have fought giant snakes with you, come within an inch of my life every step, and do you know why? Because I love you, and I refuse to let you go off on your own on some suicide mission you may never come back from, not without me.”
“I don’t ask you to come with me.”
“I’ll do it by my own free will, I’ve got your back.”
“I don’t know what to say.”
“You don’t have to say anything, I love you and won’t let you do this alone.”
Harry smiled, even though he already knew she wouldn’t go alone, he was glad to have her watching his back. She stepped forward and put her arms around him.
“I love you” he said into her shoulder, and she leant up and kissed him fully. They would stand together against all the oppression in the world, and they would never be apart. Harry heard a slight sound in the background and broke away from her, staring at the door intently, his wand out next to Ginny’s. He was greeted to the sight of Hermione and Ron leading Neville and Luna into the room.
“Harry you can stand!” said Hermione.
“Hi guys” he said sheepishly, putting his wand away.
“What happened?” said Ron, as they closed in on them.
“Well the long and the short of it is that McGonagall and Scrimgeour told Madam Pomphrey to leave my legs partially damaged, and to tell me that It would take weeks to heal, she fixed them in five minutes.”
“I can’t believe that.” Said Ron.
“She told me herself. I confronted her about it, and she admitted everything.”
“No need for this anymore then” said Ron, screwing up a piece of parchment.
“I appreciate the effort anyway guys.”
“I’m glad you’re ok Harry” said Neville.
“Me too” he replied brightly.
“So what’s the plan now boss?” said Ron.
“I have to get out of here, it’s not safe anymore.”
“Where will we go?”
“I don’t know yet, but I can’t stay here. Scrimgeour and McGonagall are after me for what’s inside my head. It’s not safe for me to be inside Hogwarts.”
“But where else can we go?” said Hermione.
“We?”
“You don’t think we’re letting you go alone do you?”
“It’s not even worth arguing is it?” said Harry dryly.
“Not really, you know we’re going to follow you anyway” said Ron.
“You’re all forgetting us too” said Neville, “We want to help you too.”
Harry always knew Neville was a loyal friend, and willing to do anything to help him. But he couldn’t tell him what he knew. He couldn’t risk exposing the plan to two more people, no matter how trustworthy they were.
“Neville, we’ve been working together on something Dumbledore told me last year. I wish I could tell you too, but I can’t put you at risk. If I tell you two what we all know we’ll all be in danger, and I can’t let that happen to either of you.”
“I understand that Harry, but the time for games is over, that’s what you told us. This is serious and we’re not prepared to just sit around anymore pretending nothings going on out there. I won’t do it anymore.”
“Neville I can’t tell you.”
“Harry, you know only too well what he has done to my family. I can go and see my parents, safe in the knowledge that they won’t even recognise me. All because of Voldemort, all because of what he has done, I won’t stand in the shadows anymore, I have to fight, I will fight.”
Harry couldn’t help but be moved by the young man’s words, and he knew exactly where he was coming from. He knew better than Neville thought he knew about what Voldemort had done to him. It seemed as if it was too much for such a young man to take, but he was stood in front of him, prepared to stand up and fight.
“I can’t tell you what our plans are” said Harry.
“But I can help you?” said Neville eagerly.
“Yes you can, you both can.”
“Thank-you Harry” said Neville and Luna simultaneously.
“What are we going to do?” said Hermione.
“I have to get out of here” said Harry.
“You mean we have to” corrected Ginny.
“Exactly, but where?” said Ron.
“What about Grimmauld Place?” said Harry.
“That could be overrun with Death Eaters for all we know” said Hermione.
“Where else is there for us to go?”
“I can’t think of anywhere else” said Ginny.
“It’s too dangerous” said Hermione.
“Will it be though? I mean we don’t know what’s there, it doesn’t belong to them, it belongs to me, and we should be able to scout it out and hide there while we plan our next move.
“Are you sure?” said Hermione.
“I’m sure if it, but I don’t ask any of you to come with me.” The truth was that he didn’t know anything of the sort, and he didn’t want to put them at risk.
“We’re coming with you Harry” said Ginny.
“Ok then, let’s go” he said, standing up and walking towards the door. Every hair on his body stood up on end when he walked along. His legs felt fine, but he felt more and more nervous with every step. Ginny caught up to him and took his hand.
“This could be it” he said simply, they both knew how serious everything was.
“We’re going to be ok Harry, we have each other.”
Harry had to fight the urge to stop walking in the middle of the corridor, not even caring that the others were right behind them and kiss her.
“Yes we are” he replied, smiling, and they carried on walking through the corridors in silence. Everywhere they looked there were people going about their day to day tasks; Students were walking through the corridors, Aurors were patrolling. They walked through them all without stopping, only concerned with getting out of there, which by the looks of things was easier said than done. The main doors were sealed down, and heavily guarded; they would not be able to slip through unnoticed.
“I’ve got another idea.” Said Harry, leading them away through the Great Hall, and towards the School grounds, the main fields.
“We’ll have to fly out; we should be able to get clear of the Aurors in time.” The six of them drew their wands in unison, and the Aurors behind the makeshift wall began to stir, looking in their direction.
“Accio Brooms” they all cried in unison, willing them to fly to them with all speed.
“Come on” said Harry, they needed no further prompting. On the Horizon six brooms began flying towards them in perfect formation, and Harry felt the excitement come to him again at the prospect of flying. They all sheathed their wands and stood in a straight line, waiting for them to arrive. Within thirty agonising seconds they were there, and led by Harry, they climbed on board and made ready to leave.
“Stop” shouted a group of Aurors, striding towards them, wands drawn.
“Time to go” said Harry, kicking off from the ground quickly, closely followed by the rest. Harry looked back as he flew away, and saw that they weren’t being fired upon, or even pursued. Instead they created a Patronus, and sent it flying into the Castle.
“We just need to get into Hogsmeade, or somewhere we can apparate” shouted Harry. He wasn’t sure if anyone heard him, but all he had to do is fly straight. He led them over the Great Lake and towards the mountains, from where they would be able to apparate to London, on the backs of the brooms they reached it in under ten minutes.
“What are we doing here?” shouted Hermione as they landed.
“We only had to get out of the Castles range of protection, now we can apparate to London.”
“Oh” she replied breathlessly, she had never liked to fly.
“Everyone ok, ready to go?”
“Umm Harry” said Neville.
“Yeah?”
“We’ve never been to this place; I don’t know where I’m going.”
“Me either” said Luna, who sounded spaced out when making even the simplest of points.
“Ok, Luna hold onto me, Hermione, can Neville side along with you?”
“Sure come on Neville, let’s go” she said, and he linked his arm to hers, as Luna did the same with Harry’s left arm.
“Let’s go” said Harry, closing his eyes and picturing the house, the road, the only place he could go. Sirius’ home was now his home, and with a flash and six loud pops, they vanished from sight.

It was a chilly autumnal evening in Grimmauld place. Dusk had begun to settle in, and the street was mostly empty. So the series of pops which rang through the night air went unnoticed. Harry quickly and quietly led them to the front door of number eleven, and stepped a little to the right. He drew the memory from his mind, willing the house to appear before them, then out of nothing, the house appeared and squeezed in between numbers eleven and thirteen.
“Woah” said Neville. The awe had long since worn off for Harry.
“Let’s go” said Harry, anxious to get them inside quickly. He held his wand tightly, and stepped up to the front door, feeling the others tense up and point their wands forward too. He slowly unlocked the door, and pushed it open just enough for Harry to make his way in. He quickly stepped into the hallway, followed by the rest of them, the last of which closed the door behind them.
“Lumos” he said quietly, a finger of light pierced the darkness from where he stood. quickly joined by five more. Which slowly traced over the walls, looking for what might be there. There didn’t appear to be anything there, so they started to step forwards, following Harry as he led them through his home. They slowly stepped up the first stair case, and began checking the house was empty. As Harry reached the top and walked along he signalled for them all to stop. He thought he’d seen a flicker of movement ahead of him. The light of his and his friend’s wands searched ahead, but there was nothing there, it was just the darkness playing tricks on his tired mind.
Harry stepped forward into the darkness, keeping the corridor fully illuminated at all times, but there wasn’t anything there. Suddenly there was a loud crash, and the light ahead became less intense. Harry felt the adrenaline surge through his body, and spun around, as he turned he saw that Neville and Luna were sprawled across the floor, their wands lighting up their inanimate features.
“STUPEFY!” he yelled, pointing his wand into the darkness. The force of his emotion made it make contact with someone before he’d had the chance to block anything, and he heard a dull groan and thud as someone hit the floor.
“STUPEFY!” came more shouts from next to him, as Ron, Hermione and Ginny fired into the darkness. Harry spun round to look ahead into the whole corridor was full of dark robes and masked faces. The air was full of red beams of light before he could react, and the four of them fell to the floor. As Harry fell, the only words he could make out were simply spoken, but filled his heart with dread.
“They are here…”

Chapter 36:

What’s happening to me? What am I doing? Were the only things Harry could think about at that moment. He had seen them coming, there were so many of them, and he had walked straight into it. He had led his friends straight into their trap and it wasn’t the first time he had done so. He had to wake up, face the enemy and figure a way out of this mess. Harry opened his right eye by a small fraction, barely squinting so he could see the room he was in. He tried moving his limbs, and was shocked to discover he couldn’t move anything at all. His first reaction was one of sheer panic, Not his legs again! It was natural human instinct for him to be able to move his arms and legs, but he couldn’t. His arms and legs were straight and immobile. Without moving his head he scanned the room, but seemed to be alone. Harry opened both his eyes fully, and moved his head to look all around. He appeared to be in one of the first floor double bedrooms, but rather than tied up on the floor, he was tied to the wall, spread eagled and completely unable to move. He looked down to see the beds had been completely destroyed and broken planks of wood and bits of mattress were strewn all over the floor. Looking at his right arm, Harry saw that thick rope was wrapped around his arm, holding him securely to the wall. No matter how much effort he put into moving his arms, nothing was working, he couldn’t move, everything was pointless. He looked over to his left arm, and was about to try and free himself when he noticed Neville, tied in exactly the same way, next to him on the wall.
“Neville” he whispered. But he was still out cold. If Neville was here and no-one else, where were the others? Could something have happened to them? He wouldn’t be able to live with himself if something had. He had brought them here when he should have come alone, it was all his fault.
“This isn’t getting me anywhere” said Harry aloud, he couldn’t let it drag him down, he had to force his way out, he had to pull himself together. There was only one way out of this, he would have to do something about it himself. Tensing his right arm as much as possible, creating as low a profile as physically possible, he tried to move through the ropes which held him fast. It was wasted effort though, no matter how he tried to force his arm through, and no matter how much he stretched, twisted and forced his arms to move, the bonds were just too tight, and he just couldn’t move. His face twisted up in a gesture of defiance, he had to keep trying and he had to find a way, no matter what damage he would do to himself. He couldn’t allow fear and doubt to take control, he had to keep trying.
“Neville” he said, louder than before, he had to get Neville out of his sleep, but no matter what he did, he wouldn’t wake. Suddenly a noise came from outside the door, a noise which chilled his blood. It was the sound of footsteps, tall heavy footsteps. Every loud step made, sent shivers down Harry’s spine. His nerves were stretched to breaking point, and he felt fear rise inside his body. He had to get out of there, and now. He tried to force his arms again and again; he simply had to get out of there, and now. But no matter how much he twisted and forced his arms around, he could not break free. Then, he heard the catch on the door release, and the door swung in towards him, and a figure stepped into the creaking door frame. This tall dark figure was the root of all evil as far as Harry and the rest of the wizarding world saw it: He was standing face to face with Lord Voldemort. With a wave of his wand he made the door close, but never once did the Dark lord turn from his captive.
“Good evening Harry” said Voldemort, every word he said chilled Harry to the very depths of his soul. “Welcome. I trust you’ll find everything satisfactory, oh how stupid of me, this is your house after all, I should be thanking you for allowing us in.”
“What do you want?”
“What an interesting question” his voice didn’t sound like the Voldemort he had known all his life, the one he’d been fighting since he’d been alive, this was different, he was talking with a false niceness which was far more creepy than being captive itself.
“What do I want? Of course there are many things I desire. Many people are under the impression that I just want to wage war for all eternity, and you’d understand people thinking that way, but that’s not how I wish to be remembered. I only fight people because they have tried to stop what I want to do.”
“That’s because what you’re doing is evil.”
“Evil? I see you have been brainwashed by Dumbledore, What I am doing is not evil. I ask you Harry, is wanting to push the boundaries of magic further, evil? I am capable of doing more with magic than those fools at the Ministry ever could, more than they could ever understand.”
“Is that why you killed them all? How did that advance the boundaries of magic?”
A Necessary measure.”
“How can you Murder thirty people and just call it necessary, it cannot be justified and I cannot see how that advances Magic.”
“That’s because you’re too narrow minded to see. But that isn’t your fault Harry, not at all. You’re a child of this age, the age which believes that everything I touch turns to evil.”
“Then explain to me how you justify everyone you’ve ever murdered then.” Said Harry bitterly.

“Everyone I’ve ever killed has died for a reason”
Harry felt rage rise inside his body.
“Then how did you push Magic into a new age when you killed my Parents, and tried to kill me?” said Harry through gritted teeth, he had to remain strong in the face of his enemy.
“I realise that’s something you may never forgive me for Harry, but just know that they died for a purpose.”
“You can’t expect me to believe that.”
“Of course there is the small matter of our destiny Harry, as you well know, one of us has to die.”
Harry was silent, was this the end?
“Such a shame really Harry, we could have made quite the team.”
“I would never work with you.” He said, twisting his face into a gesture of defiance. If this was to be his end he would face it like a Gryffindor. He watched as Voldemort reached inside his dark for what Harry knew would be his wand. Harry remained still, eyes wide open, not looking scared, but hiding his true feelings inside. Voldemort pulled out his wand and traced its point over Harry’s face. Harry forced himself through the pain barrier as he stared him down, breathing sharply through his nose and refusing to be intimidated. Suddenly he was forced back and rocked back and forth in pain. His scar felt as if someone had stabbed it with a white hot knife. Desperate for the agony to stop, he screamed out, unable to hold it in anymore. He longed to hold his hands to his forehead, but couldn’t move at all. His vision grew hazy, but he forced his eyes to remain focused on the wand in front of him, brother to his own wand, and killer of so many people. At any moment he expected to see a green flash and for everything to be over.
“You’re time is not up Harry, not yet.” Said Voldemort, before stepping back and leaving the room. Harry didn’t breathe until the door closed behind that dark figure, and he was able to relax slightly. Harry felt as if he had been brushed with Death, as if he had looked upon his own death, and all he could do was shake, he felt like a broken man and as if he would never be mended.
“Harry” said a nervous voice from his left.
“Neville” said Harry, gasping. “You’re alive!”
“Only just, what happened?”
“We were ambushed when we got to the top of the stairs. We took a few out, but there were just too many of them.”
“Where are the others?” said Neville, his voice full of fear.
“I don’t know” replied Harry, trying to ignore the growing fear inside his body. What had happened to them? Where were they?
“We have to get out of these bonds se we can help them.”
“They seem so strong” said Neville, trying in vain to force his hands free.
“We have to give every effort Neville, and then we can help the others.”
“Ok, let’s do it” said Neville, new fire and determination was inside the young Gryffindor again, and he tried desperately to force his way through. The two of them struggled against the ropes, feeling the hard material burning the skin around their wrists and causing them to let out occasional sighs of pain, They didn’t stop for anything though, the thought of the others made them stretch and force their hands until finally, Neville managed to free his right arm. Harry felt the adrenaline pump through his body as he watched Neville force his way out, he could see burns on his skin, but Neville carried on regardless. Once his right arm was free, he moved his left around much more freely, and was able to loosen off the ties on his left wrist. He was tied onto the wall, and about a metre above the floor, so he immediately lost balance and fell forward. He tried in vain to force himself back, but ended up in the most ungainly of positions, curled up into a ball with his head between his legs. Neville tried to loosen the tied on his ankles, while Harry looked on, hope filling his body. Suddenly a noise came from outside the door, and it swung open. Harry and Neville both looked up sharply and saw a masked man stood in front of them.
“Well what do we have here?” said a high pitched, yet still evil voice.
“Crucio!” shouted the figure, pointing his wand at the ball like figure next to Harry, who could do nothing but stand there and watch him double up in pain, only for it to stop soon after.
“Crucio!” shouted the unknown Death Eater once again, and Harry watched as Neville curled up , forcing himself not to make a sound at the pain Harry knew would be spreading through his body. Harry could only watch, and think that it was all his fault his friend was being put through this pain. Neville had come with him, it was his fault. The Death Eater broke off again, leering over Neville’s near unconscious form.
“Pathetic” he said, and with one flick from his wand, he forced Neville back up straight, and retied his wrists to the wall.
“Do not try that again.” Said the Anonymous Death Eater, before walking out of the room. Harry didn’t want to look at Neville; he didn’t want to see what had happened to him. Slowly he twisted his neck to the left and looked at Neville’s perfectly still form. He was breathing heavily, but stuck to the wall, unable to care for his pained body.
“Neville I’m so sorry.” Said Harry.
“Don’t be Harry, I can here remember, it’s not your fault.”
“They’ll come for us Neville. Before too long someone will notice we’ve gone, and they’ll know where I’ll go, someone will find us Neville, you have to believe it.”
“Someone will come, someone will find us.”
“Yes they will.”
“Just relax and take it easy, try to calm down and rest up.”
Gladly” said Neville, who quickly closed his eyes, and within thirty seconds he was out cold. Harry looked away from him and fought against the urge to do the same thing. He had to stay awake, he had no idea how long he had been here for, and he wanted to be awake for when rescue came, he knew they would come for him. He just had to keep believing that the order would come, but despite himself, he went out like a candle in the wind, and joined Neville in the land of slumber.

Harry woke as suddenly as he’d fallen into unconsciousness. His eyes felt heavy, and he was forced to squint and blink repeatedly to gain any clarity at all. Even then everything seemed blurry and inconsistent. Through the burry eyes he saw a figure of blackness, even with cloudy eyes he knew who he was.
“Crucio!” said the dark figure, and suddenly everything was clear. His eyes reacquired proper vision the second the curse connected with him, and were forced open by the pain which now surged through his body. He tried to fight it, but it was just too much for him to take, and gasping with raw rough breath he whimpered in the face of this physical punishment. As suddenly and as forcefully as it had started, the pain subsided.
“What have you been doing Potter?” said Voldemort, who no longer had the false nicety of their earlier conversation. Now all he could hear was the most evil voice imaginable.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about” replied Harry breathlessly. No matter the cost, he couldn’t speak of what he knew.
“Over the last few months you have been the subject of many adventures young Mister Potter, all of which have reached my ears, now tell me again, what have you been doing?”
How did he know all of this? How did word of what he was doing get as far as Voldemort?
“I know everything Potter, and in answer to your question, I have eyes everywhere. Now do not make me ask you a third time.”
Harry remained silent, he had to focus his energy on fighting the pain he knew would be shooting through his body within a few seconds.
“So be it” said Voldemort. Harry closed his eyes, ready as he could be for the onslaught.
“CRUCIO!” shouted Voldemort, the volume of the spoken curse forced his body into the wall, and the shock and pain which coursed through Harry’s body felt as if it was a poison taking the life of its victim. Harry’s body rocked back and forth, almost vibrating as he was punished again and again, but just as suddenly as it had started, the pain subsided. The pain was no more, crackles of pain fizzled through his body, but there was nothing else.
“Now Potter, I’m going to ask you one more time, what have you done?”
“I won’t tell you, do what you want to me, I won’t tell you!”
“Do not test me boy, or this will really start to hurt you.”
Harry said nothing, mocking Voldemort like this was a dangerous game, but one he had to play, he had nothing left to lose.
“So be it, Avada Kedavra!” he screamed at the top of his lungs. Harry’s joking and mocking attitude vanished in an instant. Everything slowed down, and time seemed to stand still as he watched Voldemort’s arm shift to the right, and a green beam of Deathly light burst from his wand. Harry could only stand there, totally immobile and watch as the green beam flew through the air and connected with Neville’s still unconscious form. He watched in horror as his body stretched out in shock and his eyes opened wide, before reclining back and hanging there, perfectly still. Harry stood there, open mouthed and watch as his friend’s life left the world. He couldn’t look anywhere else, he was locked in place and beyond shock.
“There’s one more thing I have to do.” Said Voldemort’s voice from in front of Harry, but Harry didn’t speak, he couldn’t. He just looked at Neville. Voldemort stood much closer to him than he had been before, and jerked Harry’s head round to face him, before pulling out a wand. But it wasn’t his own, it was Harry’s wand. Harry stared open eyed in shock at this. Surely he couldn’t bring him any lower. Voldemort held the wand by either end and pushed it closer and closer to Harry’s face until it was close enough to feel the magic flow through the wood.
“I think it’s rather fitting that you not only have watched me kill your friend, but you should also bear witness to me destroying the one hope you have of ever destroying me!”
Harry looked on in horror as Voldemort held onto his wand, at any moment he was surely going to snap it, Harry just hung there limply, all fight had gone out of him.
“My Lord” said another voice from out of the blue. “It’s the Order of the Phoenix, they’ve come.”

Chapter 37:

Harry’s whole body was a maelstrom of emotion. Everything was running through his mind all at once like never before. He looked across and saw the still form of Neville Longbottom, tied to the wall. Words couldn’t not accurately express the sorrow he felt as he looked upon the body of one of his closest friends, and it had all been his fault. He had goaded Voldemort; he had put Neville’s life at risk. Neville had died because of Harry’s refusal to talk, and for that he could never forgive himself. The Very mention of Voldemort’s name made Harry’s blood boil, and he forced his head to face forward. There stood the murderer himself. Harry swore inside his mind that he would make this concoction of pure evil pay for what he did. Anger made way to rage and if he had been armed, or even free from his bonds he would have no doubt he would kill him, by magical means or otherwise. Harry watched as Voldemort put Harry’s wand away, and then look up to face Harry again.
“We’ll just go and deal with your interfering friends before I come back and do to the rest of your friends what I did to him.” Said Voldemort chillingly. Harry didn’t have any room left for fear; anger was the only emotion he could feel. As he watched Voldemort stride towards the open door it was replaced, the anger subsided and new emotions replaced it. The order was here, as he had told Neville, they had come for him, but if they should fail, that was the end, the end of all hope. Harry’s mind was shaking inside his head. The forces of all the emotions he felt, compacted his brain, and he felt queasy, as if he’d be violently sick at any moment. He forced himself to look at Neville, but his fragile mind fell to pieces at the sight of his dead friend. He felt so weak, he couldn’t cope anymore.
“I’m so sorry Neville; I swear to you, on my life you will be avenged, forgive me.” Harry felt the tears flow down his face, he’d lost Neville, and he never come back. Never again would he see his face, never again would he help him, or be annoyed by him, or laugh with him. Hot tears flowed from each eye, if only he could be free of his bonds he would break down and cry, weep for what he had lost, what he had caused. He heard a scream, and a cry of pain from outside the room, and it pushed him over the edge. He screamed aloud, crying out for help, for relief from the pain which he could feel eating him from the inside out. It dragged him down until there was no fight left in him, he fell into unconsciousness, no longer caring what happened in the world, only wanting the pain to stop.

“Harry!” said a voice in front of him. He had been woken suddenly, and did not know what or where he was for a moment.
“Harry, it’s Remus.” Said the voice again, he knew that name, thought Harry, but from where?
“My God Remus, he’s dead.” Said a Male voice Harry didn’t recognise. He heard screams, gasps of horror, and then Harry was awake.
“Remus, what happened?”
“Harry thank heavens you’re alright.” He said, before cutting away the ropes which held Harry to the wall. Harry dropped onto his feet and immediately lost balance. His legs felt heavy and unwieldy, and like they had never had any strength to them at all. Lupin caught him as he swayed and held him upright.
“Harry, what happened here?” said Lupin.
“It was Voldemort” said Harry, ignoring the nervous shivers from everyone in the room. It was only then that he noticed the room was full of Aurors, and in between them all he could see a bright crop of hair slowly growing darker, knowing it must be Tonks. “He was here, torturing us, he killed Neville” he said weakly.
“Everything’s going to be ok again Harry, trust me.”
“What happened?”
“Well we knew you’d left, the Aurors at Hogwarts informed the Minister within seconds, there were only so many places you would go to, so we came looking for you. More would have come but the Minister didn’t allow it, what with the Castle being in such a precarious state.”
“So you came here?”
“It was my first idea, turns out I know you as well as I thought I did.” Said Remus, smiling. Harry tried to return it, but couldn’t force himself to.
“Then we stormed the place and managed to force them out, we never saw him though.”
“He must have gone.”
“We should get you back to Hogwarts.”
“Where are the others?” said Harry anxiously.
“Harry, we found Ron, Hermione, Luna…”
“No don’t tell me.”
“They’re fine, tortured as well by the looks of their wounds but…”
No, Ginny.” He said weakly.
“She’s not here Harry.”
“What?!”
“We’ve turned the place upside down, there’s no-one else here, I’m sorry.”
“He must have taken her with him, knowing I’d come after her, ****!”
“At least she’s still alive.”
“I have to find her” said Harry hurriedly.
“Harry it’s no use.” Said Lupin.
“I have to!” shouted Harry, pushing him aside and forcing his way through the mass of Aurors in front of the door.
“Harry!” shouted Lupin and Tonks together, but it was too late, he had left. He ran around like a headless chicken, desperate to find something, anything which would lead him to her. He ignored the bodies of Fallen Death Eaters , ones who had been injured or ones which had just been knocked out. He did not care who they were or what happened to them, he only cared about Ginny. He ran from room to room, searching everything, desperately looking for her.
“Harry!” shouted a familiar voice, as he ran along, and the sound managed to force its way inside his head. He slowed down and looked in, it was Ron, who was sat on the floor with Hermione and Luna.
“Harry!” screamed Hermione on sight. The search for Ginny would be called off for now, he carried on running straight into the room and fell into Hermione’s rooms. Ron and Luna joined them in a four way hug of emotion.
“She’s gone” said Ron weakly.
“But She is not lost, I am going to find her, and I’m going to get her back.” Said Harry, breaking away from them.
“You don’t even know where to start looking.”
“I have an idea of where she’s gone, and I’m going to follow it.”
“Neville was with you, wasn’t he Harry?” said Luna, there was no trace of her normal voice or attitude, she was serious and he knew it. He didn’t know how to tell her though, how to tell any of them.
“Yes he was.”
“Where is he?”
Harry closed his eyes and felt tears run down his face again.”
“No” they all said in unison. Harry opened his eyes and confirmed to them all what they already suspected. Luna and Hermione held their hands to their mouths and whimpered, Ron just stood there dumbstruck, unable to say anything.
“I am going to find Ginny, and I am going to make him pay for what he’s done.”
“Not without us you’re not” said Ron. “This is our fight too, this is my Sister, my Friend, and I will not stand by and let you face them alone.”
“Nor will I” said Hermione.
“Nor I” said Luna through gritted teeth and crying eyes. The four of them, depleted, but brought closer together by grief exchanged emotionally charged glances, and drew closer together.
“There you are” said Lupin breathlessly. “We have to get you back to Hogwarts; we need to get you checked out.”
“Not now, not while they have Ginny.”
“Harry you’re not at full strength, give yourself a little time to rest up and you’ll have a better chance of helping her.”
“Fine, but for no more than a day and I’ll be gone again.”
“Not without help you won’t.”
“I have help.”
“Then you won’t mind a little more, I made a promise and I intend to keep it.”
“Very well” replied Harry, too tired and weighed down with emotion to argue the point.
“Let’s go then” said Harry. The four of them, along with Lupin and Tonks left the Aurors to their clear-up operation and returned to Hogwarts castle.

The journey back was quick and painless, they arrived in the centre of Hogsmeade, where there was an enormous number of Aurors there to secure them and ensure they got back to the Castle safely. There were more around them than strictly necessary, but Harry was glad to have them there, he’d had too many nasty surprises lately, and had no desire to have them repeated. As he walked through the school everyone was in a sombre mood, and black drapes adorned everything. The news of Neville’s death must have reached them already. Everyone he walked past looked a little sadder, and held their pose a little lower. The Aurors always looked grumpy, but every member of staff and particularly the members of the DA looked shell-shocked. He understood only too well how they felt, but not as if he was one of them. He may be in their year, and may have grown up with them, but he was different and had a destiny that none of them could ever hope to understand. He didn’t want to be like this, but he had no choice, he would be the one to end it. They were led through the school, a sombre procession to the Hospital Wing, where Madam Pomphrey awaited them.

After a couple of Hours, Madam Pomphrey had checked over them all, and passed them as fit to carry on, on the condition that they remain in the Hospital for Twenty Four hours. That time couldn’t pass soon enough for Harry, every second he waited there was another second she was held captive, it was even longer for her to be stuck, and he didn’t even know if she was alive anymore. He felt stuck in a box, unable to move, and as if it would drive him mad. He had to get away, get to her, but he knew in his mind that he didn’t have the strength to do so, he had to rest, and believe that she was alive. Harry heard a slight commotion outside, and thought about looking round to see what was happening, but without Ginny here, he found he didn’t really care about what happened in the world.
“Harry” said Ron from across the room, which drew him out of his cocoon.
“Yeah?” he said gruffly.
“Look” said Ron simply, pointing at the door and not looking at him. Harry turned, to see Rufus Scrimgeour walking through the doors of the Hospital Wing. Harry felt his eyes grow wide inside his head and rage rise through his body. He sprung from his bed and walked quickly towards him. As he walked he reached inside his robes, searching for his wand. It was only then he remembered what had happened. Voldemort had his wand, he was as defenceless as the day he’d made him who he was now.
“Harry, what are you doing?” said Scrimgeour.
“Get the Hell away from me!”
“I didn’t ask you to leave, you can’t put your guilt on me/”
“Wrong, you forced me to leave.”
“I didn’t make that decision for you, you did.”
“Why do you think I left?!” said Harry, shouting down at the Minister he hated now more than ever before. “I left because you threatened me, my friends, you made me leave and for that I will never forgive you.”
“Be that as it may you didn’t have to leave. These are desperate times, and I want to know everything that’s going on. There was nothing I did that made you overreact to the situation and run off into the Wilderness.”
“That’s exactly why I left, Neville’s blood is on your hands, Ginny’s capture is on your hands and I won’t ever forgive you.”
“Think what you want.”
“What do you want from me?” said Harry.
“What I wanted from you before you ran off.”
“You can’t seriously expect me to talk to you after what’s just happened, no way.”
“If you keep defying me, more people you care about will die. You will tell me what I want to know or I will force it out of you.” He said, drawing his wand rapidly in a fluid motion. As fast as he was, there were three people far faster than him.
“Drop your wand now, you will not touch him” said Ron from behind Harry. Harry tiled his head to see Ron, Hermione and Luna standing up, arms outstretched and wands pointed at the Minister of Magic.
“Stand down now, all of you!” said Scrimgeour nervously looking between them all.
“That’s not going to happen” said Ron, tensing his arm and holding his wand perfectly still.
“Leave now” said Hermione. From where Harry stood, he could see the Minister’s dilemma, he could see him consider everything in his mind, but then slowly back down, he sheathed his wan and walked away defeated without another word spoken. He looked dejected, a broken figure.
“Thanks” said Harry weakly.
“What happened?” said Ron, “where’s your wand?”
“Voldemort has it.” said Harry darkly.
“What?!” said Hermione. “But that means.”
“I’m defenceless, and I’ve no clue if I need that wand to kill him or not.”
“Maybe that’s why he took it?” said Luna.
“I’d say so” said Harry, feeling lower than he had for a long time. How can he have forgotten his wand had been taken? What Voldemort had done couldn’t have put him any lower, which, Harry knew was exactly why he did it.

Time passed on during this fateful night. The afternoon winter sun slowly disappeared, and was replaced by darkness as the afternoon dragged on, and the evening, and then night came in. The four of them watched the door eagerly all afternoon, in case the Minister returned for them. But as the hours dragged on, and the weight of the days events caught up with them, one by one they fell asleep, leaving Harry awake, and alone again. He was exhausted but couldn’t sleep, not while she was out there alone. Where are you Ginny? What are they doing to you? He said to the ceiling, never likely to receive an answer. I’m so sorry, he said inside his mind. Harry lay back, trying desperately to get some sleep. However, the more he tried to force the thoughts out, the harder it was for him to sleep. Suddenly a strong yet soft hand appeared out of nowhere, covering his mouth. He tried to make a sound, but nothing came. Out of the darkness a voice spoke in whispers which instantly stopped his struggles.
“Harry, it’s Lunette, I can take you to where Ginny is.”

Chapter 38:

“What?!” said Harry, unable to believe his ears.
“Shhh, don’t wake the others.” She replied quietly.
“Why not? They’re coming too.”
“Not this time Harry, this is something you have to do for yourself.”
“What does that mean? Did something happen to her?”
“Walk with me Harry” said Lunette.
“Very well” said Harry, I don’t have a wand though.”
“That’s ok, I’ll take you there.”
“Where are you?” said Harry.
“Under an invisibility cloak, yours in fact.”
“Mine, how did you?”
“Never mind that now, just get going, we don’t have much time.”
“Ok” said Harry, sliding across the bed and standing up.
“Can I get dressed first or do I need to see the world in my pyjamas?”
“Very well, but be quick and quiet about it.”
Harry changed into his robes as quickly as he could while being quiet, all he could think about was Ginny; he was going to see her.
“Let’s go”
“Under the cloak.” Ordered Lunette.
“With respect, are we going to fit under there? I’ve managed to get 3 people under there before, but we were only eleven years old” said Harry, remembering fondly all their adventures over the years.
“Just do it” said Lunette testily.
“Ok” said Harry, who walked over to the sound of her voice, and stepped between the distorted flaps to find her. On the inside he didn’t have much space at all, and to a close inspection, someone would clearly be able to see their ankles.
“Professor” he said.
“Ok, we have to get to the roof.”
“Did you fly here?”
“Yes”
“Without being seen?”
“Yes” she said with more than a hint of annoyance in her voice. “Now stop talking.”
“Ok” said Harry and he walked through the Castle. Walking wasn’t really the best word to describe it however. They were both hunched down and moving very slowly, bumping into each other all the time. Eventually though, they made it to the top of the castle, and out onto the roof, where there were no Aurors on patrol.
“Why is there nobody here?” said Harry.
“They’re looking at something else.”
“Ok I won’t ask.”
“You’re learning, Accio invisible brooms!” she said to a patch of wall.
“Invisible brooms?” said Harry, before something wooden and hard hit him in the stomach, winding him. “I see.” Coughed Harry.
“Let’s go” said Lunette, stowing his cloak inside her robes and jumping onto the broom. Harry felt his way along the wooden handle and managed to mount it in due course. He kicked away from the ground, feeling a sense of hope. Lunette knew where Ginny was, at the same time he was unarmed, and unable to do anything about any threat they may encounter, he was completely dependant on others again. He flew after Lunette, staying low on his broom and pursuing her through the night sky. He knew he shouldn’t think like it, but he couldn’t help but feel happy again, he was going to se Ginny again, and they would come back here, and be safe, for a time anyway. It was all he clung onto as he flew through the dark sky overhead.

Lunette lead Harry through the air, but not for very long, it was clear that she just wanted to get out of Hogwarts field of protection, and they touched down just at the edge of the great lake.
“Ok you’ll have to hold onto me” said Lunette when Harry landed next to her.
“Ok, what about the brooms?” said Harry.
“Can you hold onto them too? I like these brooms” she said fondly. Harry had never seen her as attached to anything in this way before. Harry took her broom from her, and held it, along with his own broom in his left hand, and then took hold of her left arm with his right. He was going to see her again, was all he thought as he flew through the air, through time and space until he was standing somewhere completely different. Having completely lost his bearings, Harry looked around his new surroundings, still holding the brooms in his left hand.
“Good you got him” said a familiar voice from the shadows in the corner of the room.
The sound of the voice made Harry’s mind clearer, he knew exactly where he was now, and therefore who had spoken to him.
“Snape?” Harry said into the shadows, knowing it was him he was talking to.
“Yes Potter” he replied, stepping out of the darkness.
“What’s going on here?”
“The Dark Lord instructed me to bring the young Weasley girl to a safe place.”
Harry couldn’t believe his luck. He set the brooms down next to the table in front of him, and looked ahead to the Dark figure.
“Thank-you” he said, and didn’t find himself forcing his mouth at all.
“So where is she?” said Harry.
“She’s next door” replied Snape. Harry began to walk towards the corridor.
“Harry wait” said Snape, which drew Harry back to him, he’d never called him Harry before, what was wrong?
“What’s wrong?” said Harry aloud.
“Sit down”
“I’d rather stand, what’s going on?”
“Suit yourself” said Snape breathing deeply. Harry felt a deep sense of trepidation spread through his body.
“The Dark Lord asked me to take her away for a reason. He told me there was something special about her and that she had a special kind of magic inside her, and she had to be kept safe.”
“A special kind of magic, like what?”
“Harry, she’s the sixth Horcrux.”
Harry couldn’t speak; the trepidation he had started to feel when Snape had called him Harry had exploded into every part of his body. Ginny, how? How does that even make sense?
“How? How can she be?” he said, but in a voice he didn’t even know.
“I believe it happened during her first year at Hogwarts. From the accounts of the events inside the Chamber of Secrets it would appear that part of the Dark Lord’s soul transferred itself to Ginny.”
“Does she know?”
Yes, I told her a short while ago.”
“How do we remove it without harming her?”
“Harry there is no way of doing so. If a Horcrux is created inside a living person, the only way of removing it is for the person to die” as Snape spoke, his voice wavered.
“Ginny” whispered Harry, and after that there was no more noise, no more sound penetrated his mind. He looked at Snape, whose lips moved, but he had no idea what he was saying to him. He walked forward, out of the large cave, followed by Snape and Lunette, who spoke words he would never hear into the back of his head. He stumbled down the corridor, and in front of him stood Draco Malfoy. His old rival looked into his eyes, and nodded before stepping aside. Harry broke into a run, screeching to a stop at the first doorway. He ran inside and seemed to run into an invisible wall, he stopped dead in the middle of the room, while looking around this new place, it was a lot smaller than the one he’d previously been kept captive inside. There were very few objects, only a small desk and stool, a bookshelf and a bed, Harry ran towards this, as that was where Ginny lay. Everything else in the entire world was a blur, except for her. He stood over her, looking down upon her radiant form, but this was not the same. She was still, not moving at all, and her eyes were wide open. Harry couldn’t feel a thing, he could only stare blankly into those brilliant green eyes. He touched her face with his hand, brushing her cheek slowly. His skin tingled as he felt the cold of her departed soul, she was gone. Feeling came back to him and he broke down upon her. He wept as loudly and as fully as he ever had before about anything. He put his arms around her, holding her still body to him, desperately searching for what he should do. He didn’t have any idea what to do now, he was lost. As he held her next to him he felt something brush against his skin, and he looked down to her left hand, to find a piece of parchment held between her fingers. In spite of his mind warning him against what it would say, he prised open her cold fingers and removed the parchment, opening it up and falling onto the floor as he read.

To my Dearest Harry,

If you’re reading this then you know what has happened, what I am. In a way I’ve always known. Ever since I was taken by Voldemort I’ve always known there was something else inside me, and after I’ve finished writing this letter it will be gone from me. Snape has told me what must be done, and I will face what has become my destiny. You must carry on Harry, you must take what has been given to you and end this war, or everyone that has dies will have died for nothing. Take my wand, and use the power of my soul to fight them all. You are the most wonderful man, and I know that I was meant to be with you for a long time, maybe even forever. You have given me happiness, and a love that can never be broken. I don’t care where my soul goes now, I will be watching you from wherever I go, and watch you live your life the way you want to. I’ll be waiting for you in the afterlife Harry Potter.

All my love, forever.

Ginny.


Tears splattered and smudged the ink as he read. There were already a lot of marks on the parchment, but now it was barely legible. Harry crushed up the parchment and rolled over to one side, he didn’t want to leave here; he didn’t want to be without her anymore. Even though she would never talk to him again, he couldn’t face being without her. He forced himself to get up, despite the weight of emotion that dragged him down; he forced himself to rise again. Standing over her prone and still form, he closed his hand around her cold fingers. He longed to feel her warm touch again, and he felt the coldness of her hands drive him to insanity. As he opened the fingers of her right hand he removed her wand and held it in his left hand. He then looked at her face, the face which had given him life and happiness. He lent down and pressed his lips onto hers. Never again would he feel the warmth of her soft lips on his, never again would she smile or make him laugh. With one last look at her brilliant green eyes, and seeing nothing there, he placed his palm onto her eyes and closed them for the last time.
“You will be avenged” he said through bitter tears, and dragging himself away from her he walked out of the door. He looked back only once, and the sight of her filled his body with sheer determination to end it all. He stumbled out towards the room where Snape, Lunette and Malfoy were all sat in silence. They stood up as Harry walked into the room.
“Where is he?” said Harry.
“Who?” replied Snape.
“Voldemort, I’m going to finish this!”

Chapter 39:

“You surely cannot expect to fight him like this, not after what’s just happened.” Said Snape.
“That’s exactly why I have to go now. I’ve just closed the eyes of the one I love, and she died because of what he’s done. I will fight him. I will win, and I will kill him.”
“Very well, but not without help.”
“What do you have in mind?”
“I’m not about to let you go in there alone, we need the support of everyone at Hogwarts.”
“Everyone there will go, you do realise that.”
“I do, but. Lunette can I?” started Snape.
“Of course I will” replied Lunette. “Harry, I’m so sorry, I know how you must be feeling, we have to remain focused and finish what we started.”
Harry nodded blankly, he couldn’t say anything.
“What shall we do?” said Malfoy.
“You’re not going anywhere, that’s one thing I’m sure of.”
“The hell I’m not. I’ll not stand idly by while everyone else is risking their neck, I’m just as involved in this as you.”
“Draco, I made a vow to your Mother” said Snape, ignoring the pained reaction on his face, you will be kept safe.”
“Lunette” said Harry “can I have my cloak back, I have an idea.”
“Of course, what is it?”
“They’re in the Ministry aren’t they?” he said, ignoring the raised voices in the background.
“Yes”
“Ok, go to Hogwarts, tell them what’s happening, tell them where I’ve gone and to send reinforcements. I’ll knock out as many people as I can, then when you get there I’ll find Voldemort.”
“Very well” she said, not bothering to argue with Harry. She passed his Fathers cloak to him, and Harry managed a brief smile as he took hold of it; It had been a long time since he’d held it, and used it.
“Thank-you” he said, holding Ginny’s wand in his hand.”
“I’ll see you in the Ministry” said Lunette.
Harry said nothing, only focusing on the phone box, which was the visitor’s entrance to the Ministry, within seconds he was gone.

Harry stood out on a cold London Street, not nearly wearing enough for the temperature he was out in. He breathed out and saw frost flow through the air. He made his way through the parked cars and towards the Phone box in the hiding place Arthur Weasley had shown him two years ago. Harry drew out the invisibility cloak as he walked, and covered himself completely. He gripped Ginny’s wand tightly and stepped inside the phone box. Harry quickly picked up the receiver, and dialled in the number he remembered from last time. He remembered how he’d felt when he thought he’d be banned from using magic ever again. Then there was the second time, when Sirius had left the world forever, the thought of Sirius’ death only made him more determined.
“Welcome to the Ministry of Magic Visitors entrance, please state your name and reason for entering.” Said a plain female voice.
“Harry Potter… Revenge.”
As before, a badge fell into the coin return slot, Harry pushed one hand through the cloak and picked it up. He turned it around in his hand and read out what it said.
“Harry Potter, vengeance mission. That sounds about right” said Harry. He pinned the badge to his chest and felt the box drop down into the world below. Harry felt a surge of adrenaline pumping around his limbs. This was it, this was the moment which would decide everything. He was going to end all the suffering in the world with a single action. The door opened and Harry breathed in the air which rushed into the lift, before stepping out. From behind the veil he saw the whole building had been turned over, it was a mess. Every single desk or bookcase had been turned over or moved to provide cover. Behind the desks and shelves stood countless Death Eaters watching over the area Harry had just walked into. They must have heard the lift descending. He stepped silently away from the lift as he watched them all grow nervous that nothing was appearing in the doorway. He saw one of them motion forwards and then four people stepped clear of the barricades, marching forwards towards the door Harry had just vacated. They motioned to each other, and ran across, hands outstretched and wands drawn and clearing the area quickly. They all looked around nervously, not seeing anything. Harry crouched down and considered his next move as he watched the four Death Eaters return to the line. Several of them backed away from the wall and moved throughout the building. Here was an opportunity. He had to find Voldemort and deal with him alone, but a thought niggled at his mind. The others would come here, and soon to help him, and he had the chance to knock out a few of the guards to give them a better chance. He would have to be silent and swift though, dealing with them before they had a chance to alert their allies to his presence. What to do? He said to himself. He hated the decision he was being forced to make. If he did nothing the attackers may fail to take them all down, but all he could think about was wanting to kill Voldemort. He felt his eyes grow wide inside his head and teeth grind in his mouth he had to fight down the urge to just fight them all now and not care what happened to him in return. All he wanted to do was hurt people. Harry was microseconds from letting the rage take over, when he brought himself under control. He would knock out a few of the guards before finding Voldemort. Harry stepped up and crept forward silently. There were still ten Death Eaters behind the impromptu wall, but the rest had moved off into the side rooms. An attack could falter if they were allowed to join in the fight. Harry couldn’t let that happen. He slowly moved through the gap in the wall and behind their main line of defence. Gazing back at the wall, he had to fight the temptation to attack them all while prone and weak, but he pressed on and moved forward. The door where the Order had come through when they rescued him two years ago had been reinforced too and another defensive wall was in place there. On either side of the main Hall were closed doors. Harry had no idea of their purpose, but would check it out anyway. They could contain the reinforcements Harry suspected. He stepped over to the closest to him and breathed sharply, feeling energy surge through him again.
“Alohamora” said Harry silently, and the door slowly opened inwards. Harry stepped inside and quickly closed the door behind him before stepping over to one side and taking in his new surroundings in a second. This room had been turned into a barracks of sorts. There were beds all along the walls; it looked as if they were prepared for a long siege. There appeared to be roughly twenty beds in all, spreading all the way around the room, and there appeared to be quite a few occupied ones but no-one was awake and moving around the room. Harry walked towards the nearest occupied bed and loomed over the sleeping man there. He quickly looked around the room before slipping his wand through the cloak, and mouthing the word “Stupefy!” A red beam of light flew from his wand and connected with his slumbering victim, whose body tensed and fell to one side on the bed. One less to worry about, thought Harry as he moved around the room. He went from one bed to another, checking each one, and if it was occupied, stunning the unfortunate victim recipient inside. Each one’s body would jerk around, and Harry would breathe in and out before moving on. In this fashion, he moved around the entire room, checking each bed. He had to stop a couple of times and stand perfectly still as he heard a Death Eater move around inside their bed, and only when they were silent again did he move on. Within five minutes ten Death Eaters were unconscious and incapable of moving around much less assisting any defensive efforts. He moved back around to the front door, and opened it, slipping through before closing it just as rapidly. There were another three doorways in this area, he would check them all out before looking for Voldemort. Harry slipped along the wall and opened the door closest to him. He tried the door with his hand and it opened, allowing him to slide through the gap before closing it behind him again. As Harry’s eyes drew across the room he noticed it was full of cauldrons. There were ten in all, each containing a different potion. Harry took a quick walk around, but found the room was otherwise empty. He looked at all the potions but decided not to take any. Not only had they been brewed by the Death Eaters, but he didn’t recognise them anyway. Feeling his hair stand up all over his body, he stepped away towards the door again. He crouched low on the left hand side and opened the door just enough so he could look out, it was only open a sliver, and he felt as if his eyes were on stalks, looking around the corner. What he saw made his heart stop beating and the rest of his body stop its normal process. Voldemort strode through the Ministry Bellatrix Lestrange at his right hand side, and Wormtail cowering at his left. Harry’s eyes grew wide inside his head and he felt his blood boil. Sheer rage flowed throughout Harry’s body, he could end this now, he could kill him, but then he could never hope to get out, he’d never see another day. Ginny’s face suddenly filled his mind, he tried to fight it off, he tried to stay calm and ignore what was going through his mind, but he couldn’t. He’d lost control and rage carried him on. He opened the door a little more, enough to fit his wand through and let the rage take him over, let the feeling of hate and death consume him.
“Avada Kedavra!” he shouted at the very height of his rage, aiming his wand square at the Dark lord’s chest. Harry felt his soul stir around inside him as a green beam of light burst forth from his wand and flew straight towards him, it was going to hit him, this would all be over, and he’d see Ginny again. Voldemort appeared to notice it at the last second. But it was long enough. He’d moved out of the way, by teleporting himself back by a few steps. The Green beam continued its deathly flight, and flew mere centimetres above Peter Pettigrew’s head. It carried on and hit Bellatrix Lestrange square in the neck. Her body stopped its motion and she fell back, still and cold.
“The Potion room! Kill him!” shouted Voldemort
“****” said Harry to himself, he was done for, even though he was invisible there was no way he could fight them all. From the deepest despair he felt, hope rose from the ashes, noise suddenly appeared, and panic ensued.
“They’ve come” said Harry, gazing out of the doorway quickly. From there he could see a large group of Aurors forcing their way through the top doors and rain curses down onto the Death Eaters.
“Deal with these infidels my Children” said Voldemort, before turning and walking quickly away from the room, this was Harry’s chance. Keeping the cloak on, he opened the door and crept behind Voldemort as he fled the battlefield. Harry ignored the screams of pain and cries for help behind him, there was only one thing he wanted now; the death of Voldemort. Harry’s target appeared to be running towards the elevators, where was he going? Harry ran without breathing, he felt no oxygen pass his lips, he was running on pure adrenaline and wouldn’t stop for anything. He watched Voldemort run into the open doors of one of the lifts and shut them quickly behind him. Harry reached it only seconds too late and beat the closed doors in frustration. He looked up at the dial at the top of the lift, and watched it go along until it stopped at the floor which held the Department of Mysteries, what was he doing there? Harry pressed the call button repeatedly and waited impatiently until it finally came. He ran inside as soon as he could, and hammered the button for the Department of Mysteries until the doors closed behind him and took him down into the bowels of the Ministry.

When the doors opened again Harry was instantly ready and alert. He moved up to the corner of the doors, and quickly checked the space around him was clear. Voldemort was somewhere on this floor, he had to find him. He stepped out, and crept through the rooms like a cat stalking its prey through the grass. Harry only had one thing in his mind. That was the way he thought, that was what he did. He looked all around, but could find no sign of him, where had he gone? As he walked through the Department, Harry remembered when his friends had come here, when they had walked through all these places and wondered what everything meant, what did it all mean? All the weird and wonderful things they had discovered and never understood. Then there were those of them who could never understand anything else. Neville, Ginny, who would never do anything ever again, all because of this tyrant, Harry had to find him; this had to be finished now. Harry pressed on quickly, walking forth until he reached the Hall of the prophecies. Could he be here? Could this be where the coward is? Harry crept through the shelves, most of which were empty after their last visit, but a few remained intact. Suddenly Harry felt pain surge through his forehead, white hot pain burst out of his skull, and he had to fight against the urge to cry out in pain, he had to stay silent, he simply had to. Just as suddenly as it started, the pain stopped.
“Where are you Harry Potter?” said Voldemort. Harry stayed silent and invisible, he had to get the drop on him.
“I will find you Potter, do you really think you can hide under that cloak forever?”
Suddenly Harry saw him, standing in the centre of the room. Harry kept low and crept around to one side of him.
“Maybe I’ll have to find you myself” said Voldemort. “Stupefy!” he yelled towards the other side of the room. Harry crawled along the shelves, making sure he remained invisible.
“I knew you would come for me, you always want to be the hero don’t you Potter? After you watched me kill your friend.” He shouted. Voldemort was goading him, thought Harry, and he mustn’t let him get to him, and carried on towards the end of the bookcase.
“Then again, that’s not the only reason you want me dead is it Harry?”
“Keep calm, keep calm” Harry said to himself.
“Crucio!” shouted Voldemort at the space where Harry’s head had been no more than five seconds earlier.
“Everything makes sense now, Severus must have betrayed me, and young Miss Weasley must be dead, that surely must be why you’re here.”
“Don’t lose it now, not now” said Harry inside his mind, he forced himself to keep under control.
“Then of course there are your Parents. Your Father was a coward Potter, he screamed as I killed him, and as for your Mother, you know she begged for mercy don’t you? She was weak, and I can see where you get it from, you’re a coward, just like the!”
“He could listen no longer; he let the rage take him over. The memory of lost friends, parents and the one he loved only fuelled his anger further.
“Show yourself!” shouted Voldemort. In that same second Harry swept himself free of the cloak, not wanting to hide from anyone any longer. He spun round and faced Voldemort, his face full of anger and hatred.
“Crucio!” he shouted at Voldemort, and a beam of energy, wicked cracking energy flew at the Dark Lord. It moved with such force and speed he couldn’t get out of the way in time. The force of the curse pushed him to his knees, and although he never made a sound, Harry knew the pain he felt. Harry stepped closer to him, keeping his wand out and piling more and more pain upon the hunched figure, who just lay low, taking more and more punishment on his ravaged soul. Harry released his wand, feeling darkness creep into his soul. Voldemort suddenly jerked into action. He fought with a strength that caught Harry off guard. He fired curse after curse at the young man, who blocked everything more desperately than the last. It looked as if they were fighting in an epic duel. Their wands flashed back and forward like swords, they appeared as epic figures from ancient legend. Voldemort drew back and aimed his wand at Harry’s face.
“Avada Kedavra!” he screamed. Harry knew it was coming, and with a flick of his wand, he apparated to one side of Voldemort, behind one of the shelves.
“Expelliarmus!” shouted Harry, and his nemesis’ wand flew through the air towards the door. He watched as Voldemort glided across the floor, flying along towards his wand, this was his chance.
“Accio Harry’ wand!” he shouted, with his wand high in the air. Unable to stop it, Voldemort watched as the wand forced its way out of his robes and through the air towards his hand. Harry swapped Ginny’s wand to his left hand and caught his wand in his right. He instantly felt stronger, as if part of him had been returned to him. Voldemort picked up his own wand and aimed it over his back as he fled the room.
“Avada Kedavra” he shouted as he ran, and Harry had to dive down to avoid the flying shards of broken glass. He gripped both wands tightly and ran after him. As he reached the door, he looked left and right instantly, and saw a swish of black cloak fly through a door on the left hand side of the corridor. He pelted after him; he wasn’t going to let him get away, not now. Harry got to the door, but stood over to one side, and kicked the door open. When he checked around the corner, his heart sank. He saw doors; it was a circular room with many doors facing out. He stepped inside, checking every corner of this dark room, lest he be hiding there. Memory filled his mind as he closed the door behind him.
“Flagrate!” he said, forming a cross in the air, which appeared on the way out. The last chink of light disappeared, and while the floor stayed perfectly still, the doors rotated round, growing faster and faster. He felt dizzy at the sight of the burning fire spinning around his head. When it stopped he was ready alert. The X was his way out, he only had to find where he went. From the door marked X onwards, he opened every door, checking the room with a quick glance before moving on to the next one. He didn’t have time to close the doors and have them all rotate again, so he left them all open. After he opened the fifth door, he glanced around the corner, and was forced to get out of the way quickly.
“CRUCIO!” screamed an evil desperate voice. The curse flew through the air and missed Harry’s face by millimetres.
“There you are you coward!” shouted Harry back to him. He pointed his wand around the corner without looking and fired spells at him, waving his wand around, and hoping to connect a spell with him. Suddenly, pain racked his body, he looked around, fighting through the crackles of hurt which moved through every muscle, done and nerve ending in his body, Voldemort had somehow got behind him.
“CRUCIO!” shouted Voldemort again, forcing more and more pain riddled energy to run through Harry’s body, who was struggling to stay upright, it was all he could do to stay conscious.
“You’re mine now Harry Potter” he said wickedly. With overstated motions of his wand he grabbed Harry and flung him into the open door. Harry’s world spun around in every direction, and he felt Ginny’s wand slip out of his hand. Bone and muscle were struck again and again as he fell painfully down the stairs inside this room until he finally came to a stop. He knew where he was, he was in the veiled room, where Sirius had met his end.
“CRUCIO!” shouted Voldemort again, and pain surged through his broken body once more. Through tear soaked eyes Harry saw Voldemort descend the stairs until he was stood over him.
“Now Harry Potter, your life is mine.”
Harry closed his fingers around his wand, he had to find the strength to fight, this couldn’t be over like this.
“Avada Kedavra!” shouted Voldemort.
“Expelliarmus!” shouted Harry at the same time, their spells connected in mid air, and as before, in the graveyard a band of purest gold stretched out between his wand and Voldemort’s. No matter the cost, he had to keep the spell going for long enough, this was his only chance. He forced himself, through sheer adrenaline and force of will to stand up and face his foe. But before he could stand fully another force took hold of him, and swept him up into the air. Harry and Voldemort were both above the ground, and were being spun around the room in circles by the force of Priori Incantatum. Harry watched as one of the gold beads became more prominent, and began forcing its way towards Harry, then towards Voldemort. The two of the pushed with all their might, both knowing the consequences of defeat. Harry’s body was a mess, he’d been put through so much pain, and under so much pressure, he was running on empty, and the force of the Dark lord pushed the bead closer and closer to him. It was so close to his wand he felt fear spread through his body, it was mere centimetres from his wand when Harry fought back. From somewhere inside his body he found the strength to force it out, he stopped and pushed again and again and again until it was as close to Voldemort’s wand as it had been to Harry’s. He didn’t see it in Voldemort’s eyes, but he had the same sense of fear Harry had had. With one more push inside his head, the gold bead surged through his defence and entered Voldemort’s wand. Harry knew what would happen now, he had known ever since Priori Incantatum had started. From out of the Gold, smoke emerged, and the ghostly figure of Neville Longbottom appeared from Voldemort’s wand. He nodded to Harry, knowing what had to be done now. Two people followed Neville, but Harry didn’t recognise them. They were followed by Cedric Diggory, who smiled at Harry, then came his Mother. Harry had to fight against the pain running through his body at the sight of her, then keep it in even more when he saw his Father, mere seconds later. They all looked at him and nodded, he knew what they would do now and he let go of the connection, unable to hold onto it any longer. The ghostly forms of those loves and lost descended on Voldemort and held him in place, unable to move, unable to run, unable to fight. Harry hit the ground hard, and forced himself to rise, despite the endless pain which surged through his body and walk straight towards Voldemort, arm outstretched and wand pointed at his prone form. His face was so twisted with hate that he didn’t even look like himself anymore. Then he saw her face, Ginny. It was a symbol of all he had lost, all this Dark man had taken from him. He stared into the eyes of Tom Marvolo Riddle, and spoke two simple words.

“AVADA KEDAVRA!” There was no space to move, no way out, and the green beam of death struck him in the chest at the same moment the Ghosts let go. Harry looked on in shocked awe as Voldemort fell back, and his face and hands began to melt away. Were he his normal self, he would have felt some semblance of shock at what he’d done, but this was the man who’d taken everything from him. . There was a blinding flash, and Harry was forced to turn away. Once he could see again he looked back and down at the still form of Voldemort. There was no trace of the evil that had changed his body so, he was only an older version of the man Harry had met in the Chamber of Secrets.



He was gone, it was over, the world was safe again. Although he had killed, and his soul was now broken, it was all over. But he’d never be the same again, so many people had gone, so many had gone and would never return. Mother Father, Sirius, Neville, Ginny. He looked down at his wand and nodded to nobody. He raised his hand slowly and pointed his wand at the side of his head, while rubbing his left hand over his sweaty cheeks and forehead. As his fingers brushed over his skin, he felt something different there, there was something missing. The scar had gone, and he forced himself to smile, he was no longer marked, it was over. He put down his wand and took out a piece of parchment from inside his robes, along with a pencil, and wrote down exactly what was inside his mind at that very moment. Tossing the pencil aside he gripped the paper in his left hand, before picking up his wand again.

“Goodbye world, I love you Ginny.” He said, before closing his eyes.

“Avada Kedavra!”





Chapter 40:



When Harry opened his eyes again, all he could see was white light, it was so bright he felt as if he was blinded. He blinked repeatedly, forcing tears to run down his cheeks. Forcing his eyelids open, he tried to take in where he was. All he could see was wide open space, and he felt as if he was floating on clouds. Far away from him stood a group of people, he knew who they were before seeing them up close and moved towards them as fast as he could. He floated through the air, flying, unsupported. As he got closer to them, their features grew more defined, and he for the first time in recent months, felt happy. He stopped in front of them all, and looked at them all, smiling.

“Mum?” he said, his voice sounded ethereal.

“Harry.” Said the immortal voice of Lily Potter.



A Brilliant orange sunset played over the surrounding area. Light made the town of Godric’s Hollow glow with radiant beauty. A slow procession made its way through the town. From high above it must have appeared to be several large beetles. Large forms in the centre, with moving legs on either side. But to a closer view, it was obvious what it was. Three coffins were being carried through the high street towards the church and graveyard at the end of the town. No sounds emanated from the people, the only sound that could be heard was footsteps on the cobbled stones. As the group grew closer a voice broke out, a low voice began to sing.

“And Odo the hero they bore him back home

To the place he’d known as a lad

They laid him down with his hat inside out

And his wand snapped in two, which was sad.”



The procession made its way through the streets, and into the churchyard, lowering the coffins into the freshly dug graves there as one. The Funeral had begun, but there would be no eulogy for these immortal heroes, no-one could find the words to describe the loss the world had suffered. Neville Longbottom, Ginny Weasley and Harry potter would lie here forever. They would always be remembered as people who would never shirk from their responsibilities, and took their destiny no matter what it meant for them. But never again would their warmth and lover be seen in the world, here the heroes would lie forever, never to see what would happen to the world without them, but they would always be remembered here, and throughout the world as the souls who ended the war.