|
It Happened One Night | ||||||
|
Category: Post-OotP, Buried Gems Characters:Harry/Ginny Genres: Angst, Drama, Fluff, General Warnings: Death, Sexual Situations, Violence Story is Complete Rating: PG-13 Reviews: 1042 Summary: Harry and Ginny make a decision that changes their lives.... Hitcount: Story Total: 254442; Chapter Total: 9672 |
Previous Next |
|
||||
|
A/N: Sorry it's taken so long to update. School is now in full swing and you wouldn't believe the amount of work I have for four classes. It's insane! This chapter was hard to write. I hope that it all makes sense to you. I've worked really hard to make sure that everything fits together. You'll finally find out who the spy is and what exactly is Malfoy's problem. I believe that there will be about three more chapters after this. It's getting close to the end now. And here is your long awaited chapter. Please leave a review!! DISCLAIMER: Not mine, never will be no matter how many times I wish on a star. Chapter Twenty Seven Ginny was numb with shock. She wanted to scream, shout, cry. But she stayed on her knees staring at the spot in front of her unable to speak or move. Just a few hours ago everything was fine and now everything was horribly wrong. She felt empty and lost inside. Her son, her baby was taken right before her eyes and there was nothing she could have done to stop it. She didn’t know what to do, so she stayed there, staring in front of her and in shock. Harry got to his knees and looked around. Remaining students were looking at him while teachers were trying to usher them out of the Great Hall. He turned and saw Ginny. Her face was pale and her lower lip was trembling. Her hands were over her stomach and she was staring at a point just beyond him. He scrambled to his feet and went to her. “Ginny,” he called quietly. Slowly, she looked at him and he saw the terror and fear in her eyes. “James,” she whispered hoarsely. She threw her arms around Harry and cried. “They took him,” she sobbed into his robes. “They took my baby!” Harry held her tightly against him, squeezing his eyes shut when he felt the tears forming in them. He couldn’t cry. Not now when his wife needed him to be strong. “We’ll get him back,” Harry whispered to her in a strained voice. The pain was too strong and he knew he would break down at any moment. Neither was sure how, but someone had got them to their feet and they found themselves in the Gryffindor common room. It was packed with students all talking in whispers and asking questions. The news that James had been kidnapped had reached every last one of them and when they saw Harry and Ginny, silence fell. Neither noticed however; they were too numb with shock and pain to take in anything around them. Harry simply led Ginny to their room. Once inside, she collapsed against him as sobs wracked her body. Harry held her once more and carefully led her to their bed. Her hands fisted onto his robes as she cried even harder and Harry couldn’t take it much longer. His tears mixed with hers and it was a long time before their tears subsided. Neither was capable of speech now. They held each other trying to find some sort of comfort from the pain. No one came to see them, which they were both grateful for. Neither one of them wanted any visitors. Finally Ginny was able to dry her tears long enough to talk. “It’s all my fault,” she whispered. “I failed. I failed him again.” Harry looked at her through his blurred glasses and shook his head. “No, it’s not your fault. You didn’t fail,” he said. “I did! I did, just like I did last summer when the Death Eaters and the dementors came. I promised I wouldn’t let any harm come to him,” she said and new tears threatened to fall. “Just like I failed with Bryce. I’m supposed to protect them and I . . . I didn’t. I failed them both.” Harry pulled her closer. “You didn’t fail them Ginny. There was nothing you could do about it,” Harry said softly. She pulled away and sat up. “Yes I could have! We shouldn’t have left him with Ron and Hermione. I should have stayed and protected him! If I did, he wouldn’t . . . he wouldn’t . . . oh Harry!” She flung herself on him again as a new wave of tears hit her. “I want him back,” she said in a teary voice. “I want my baby.” Once again they lapsed into silence. Ginny continued to cry and Harry held her, stroking her hair. Anger began to set inside him. Fury boiled his blood and all he wanted to do was to hurt every single Death Eater. He wanted to cause them pain for taking his son. He wanted to torture them and make them scream for making his wife cry. There was no doubt in his mind that Voldemort was behind it all. He was going to kill Voldemort for this. He was going to make them all pay. There was a knock on the door and it slowly opened. Ron peeked inside and looked around the room. When he spotted them, Harry saw that he looked just as scared as Ginny. His face was pale and it seemed like he was shaking slightly. He licked his lips and slowly entered the room. “McGonagall wants everyone out in the common room,” he said in a strained voice. Harry nodded and helped Ginny to her feet. They moved towards the door, but as they past the crib, Ginny stopped. She went towards it and placed both hands on the wooden frames. James’ blue bunny was lying inside on top of his blankets. She stared at it and slowly reached in to pick up the floppy stuffed animal. She held it against her, her eyes closed as she breathed in the scent of her son from it. She looked up at Ron and Harry and took a shaky breath before she left the room with them. All of Gryffindor Tower was packed into the common room. It was silent and all eyes were fixed on either Professor McGonagall or Harry and Ginny. Harry noticed that Professor McGonagall looked just as scared and shaken up as the rest of them. Her eyes fell on Harry and Ginny and she gave them a sympathetic look. “Is everyone accounted for?” she asked the assembled crowd. There was a small amount of nods from students and Harry bit back the urge to yell out no. The absence of a child was rather obvious and everyone knew already. Once it was confirmed that all the students were present she cleared her throat. “No student is permitted to leave this tower. All classes, meetings, and detentions are cancelled while the teachers search the school. Prefects will be expected to help the teachers and keep order in the common rooms. In the case of another attack, fifth year and above are asked to help defend the school, but it is not mandatory. The rest will remain here in a lock down. I want all sixth and seventh year students to make sure Defense Shields are placed around this tower and make doubly sure that the dormitories cannot be penetrated. Is that clear?” There was a murmur of understanding from the students. Professor McGonagall looked them all over before heading towards Harry and Ginny. “You two are not permitted to leave unless the Headmaster gives his approval. We are working on trying to locate your son. Please, remain calm,” she addressed them quietly. “Calm?” Ginny repeated, her voice wavering with emotion. She clutched the bunny tightly in her hands until her knuckles began to turn white. “Calm? How are we supposed to be calm?” Her voice was rising in volume and it shook. Her breathing became shallow and her eyes shone with unshed tears once more. “Death Eaters took my son and you want me to be calm!” she nearly screamed. Everyone was staring at her now and no one dared to move or say a single word. “Mrs. Potter!” Professor McGonagall began to scold her, but Ginny was not willing to listen. “My son is with Voldemort! How do you expect me to be calm about it? I carried him for nine months! I was in labor with him for ten hours! I’m his mother and you want me to be calm!” she screamed. She was in tears again and her knees gave out. Before she hit the floor, Harry rushed forward. He caught her and held her tightly against him. She cried into his robes again, great sobs wracking her body. “My baby!” she wailed against him. Harry carefully sat down on the floor, holding her in his arms and rocking her back and forth. He tried to soothe her but found it difficult as his throat tightened with threatening sobs of his own. He glanced up and saw Professor McGonagall talking quietly to Ron and Hermione. Ron nodded at something and glanced in their direction then looked back at Professor McGonagall. After a few moments, Hermione left the common room with Professor McGonagall and Ron went over to Harry and Ginny. “Come on Gin,” he said soothingly and placed a hand on her shoulder. She jerked away from his touch and looked up at him. Her face was stained with tears and her eyes were red and puffy. She swiped at her eyes with the back of her hand and sniffled. Ron closed his eyes briefly and when he opened them, Harry saw he was just in as much pain as they were. “He’ll be okay. He’s strong and you know that,” he said. Ginny didn’t say anything. Slowly, she nodded her head and swiped at her eyes again. “Come on,” Ron said and held his hand out to her. “Let’s get you away from prying eyes.” Ron helped her to her feet and Harry followed. Before they were able to get to their room, Ginny’s friends stopped them. They each said comforting words to Ginny and hugged her. Melanie even squeezed Harry’s shoulder sympathetically before she left with Ginny’s friends. When they entered the room, Ginny went to the bed and curled up on it. She held the bunny close to her and tears hit her again. Harry went to her and lay next to her. He gathered her in his arms and let her cry once more. Hermione had come in later on and Harry noticed that she was holding a goblet in her hands. She looked on as Ginny cried in Harry’s arms and Harry battled to keep his tears at bay. “Here Ginny,” she said and went towards them. She sat on the side of the bed and offered Ginny the goblet. Ginny pulled herself away from Harry to look at Hermione. “What is it?” she asked cautiously. Hermione smiled softly. “Just some water,” she said. Ginny took the goblet and looked inside. She peered at the clear liquid and deciding it was indeed water, took a sip. But after a few sips her eyelids fluttered closed and her head lolled forward. She lost the grip on the goblet and it was clear that she was asleep. Hermione took the goblet from her hand before it fell onto the bed. She sighed and looked relieved. Harry, however, looked at her sharply. “What did you give her?” he demanded. “Relax, Harry,” Hermione said and stood up. She set the goblet on a table and looked at him. “McGonagall was really worried about her and asked me to give her a Light Dreamless Sleep Potion. It’s not very lasting, but at least she’ll calm down and won’t have any bad dreams tonight.” Harry didn’t reply. He gently rested Ginny on the bed comfortably. He remained sitting next to her, stroking her hair as she slept. He wasn’t sure how but Harry had fallen asleep at some point. When he woke in the middle of the night he saw that the room was dark and Ron and Hermione were sleeping on the small sofa. He found that his arms were around Ginny and she was curled up next to him, her breathing even against his chest and the blue bunny still clutched in her hand. He glanced around the darken room and his eyes fell upon the empty crib. A sudden rush of anger hit him. James was out there, somewhere with Death Eaters and Voldemort. Every minute that passed meant more danger for his son. And what was he doing? He was sleeping in his room, locked away in the Gryffindor Tower and forbidden to leave. What kind of father was he? He should be out there, looking for James and doing something. He sat up quickly and swung his legs over the edge of the bed. He went to his trunk and opened it. Ginny was startled from her sleep and woke up. She stretched her arms over her head and actually felt well rested. She felt calm and at ease and felt like everything was right in the world. She rolled over and looked at the empty crib, the bunny in her hand. That’s when reality hit her and she sat up. She looked around and noticed Ron and Hermione sleeping on the sofa and saw Harry rummaging through his trunk. “What are you doing?” she whispered and crawled to the end of the bed, leaving the bunny behind her. “Getting my Invisibility Cloak,” he replied and pulled out the silvery material. “Why?” she asked and climbed out of the bed. He stood up and shut his trunk. “I’m going to find James,” he said. “I can’t sit here and do nothing.” Ginny looked at him for a few moments. “I’m going with you,” she said. Harry shook his head. “No, you stay here. It’s too dangerous,” he said. She narrowed her eyes, a defiant look in her eyes. She stood up and left the bunny on the bed, then crossed her arms. “I’m going with you,” she insisted, glaring at him and daring him to say otherwise. Harry sighed and knew there was no point in arguing with her. He shook the cloak out and she stepped in front of him. “Where are you two going?” They turned and saw that both Ron and Hermione had woken up and were watching them carefully. “To get our son,” Harry said and covered himself and Ginny with the cloak. Slowly, they made their way to the door and left the room. But halfway through the common room, they noticed that they weren’t alone. Harry stopped and turned to see Ron and Hermione following them. “What?” he hissed at them as he pulled the cloak off. “We’re going too,” Hermione said. She looked determined and her arms were crossed. Ron’s jaw was set and he was clutching his wand tightly in his hand. Harry sighed. “The four of us can’t fit under here,” Harry reasoned. “We’re prefects, remember? We don’t need an excuse to be out in the corridors at night and besides, we’re supposed to be out patrolling and checking out the castle like the others, but McGonagall wanted us to stay with you two,” Ron said. Harry sighed and looked down at Ginny. She looked back at him and then at their friends. “Come on then,” she said and took her place in front of Harry. He threw the cloak over them, and together the four of them left the common room. There was an eerie silence that lingered in the castle. Very little moonlight filtered through the windows and in the distant was rumbling thunder. There was flash of lightening that bathed them in momentary light and quickly left. They walked on to Professor Dumbledore’s office in silence. The only sound was their feet hitting the stone floors and it was soon joined by the sound of the rain hitting the windows. Finally, they reached Professor Dumbledore’s office. Harry gave the password and they stepped inside. Harry pulled the cloak off and didn’t even bother knocking on the door. He wrenched it open and stomped inside. He had never seen the Headmaster’s office so full before. It appeared that every member of the Order of the Phoenix was there. The previous chatter had vanished when the four of them had entered. All eyes were on the four Gryffindors. Harry saw a wave of red hair and before he knew it Molly was heading towards them. She flung her arms around Ginny and pulled her close. Harry watched, momentarily forgetting why he was there, as his mother-in-law hugged his wife. Ginny’s eyes were closed and she was holding onto Molly tightly. He had no doubt that she was trying to keep herself from crying anymore. “He’ll be all right,” Molly said when she left go of Ginny. She turned to Harry and took his hands in hers and squeezed them reassuringly. He could see a motherly love in her eyes. “He’s a strong boy. He’ll be fine.” Harry forced himself not to cry. He nodded curtly, unable to trust himself to speak, and she let go of his hands. “Harry?” Professor Dumbledore’s voice startled him slightly. Harry turned to look at the Headmaster and felt Ginny slip her hand into his. He squeezed it gently and felt her step closer to him. She placed her free hand on his shoulder and Harry closed his eyes briefly, letting himself enjoy her presence momentarily. He felt calmer with her near. “Where’s our son?” he asked in a forced calm tone and opened his eyes. Professor Dumbledore sighed heavily. He folded his hands together and peered over his glasses at the two anxious parents. “I’m afraid that at this moment we do not know,” he said. Harry felt himself shake with anger. They didn’t know? All this time and they still didn’t know. “What do you mean you don’t know,” Harry demanded, his voice rising slightly and still shaking. Professor Dumbledore watched him carefully, a calm look in his eyes. “We are waiting to hear from Professor Snape first, Harry. Until then, there is nothing we can do but wait,” he said and sat back in his chair. The anger was strong now. The calmness was gone and Harry was beyond the breaking point as a fire blazed in his eyes. He jerked his hand out of Ginny’s and slammed his hands on the Headmaster’s desk. Everyone in the room was shocked at this, except for Professor Dumbledore. He seemed to be expecting this to happen and calmly looked at Harry. “You mean to tell me that for over twelve hours you’ve done nothing but sit here while my son is Merlin knows where with Voldemort!” he snarled. “There is nothing we can do. We must wait for Professor Snape to return,” the Headmaster replied. “Why are you waiting for Snape?” he demanded. “It’s Professor Snape, Harry,” Professor Dumbledore corrected. “He is currently with Voldemort and he has no choice but to be there. As soon as he can leave, he will come directly here and we will be able to get your son.” “He’s with Voldemort?” Harry asked, his eyes widening at the news. He felt another rush of anger and glared at the Headmaster. “He’s known where Voldemort was this whole time and no one bothered to go in and stop him! Everyone let my son get kidnapped! I thought the Order was supposed to protect anyone with the last name Potter!” Professor Dumbledore simply stared at him over his half moon glasses. “It is indeed one of the jobs that the Order has,” he said. “Well they aren’t doing a good job at it!” “Believe me Harry, we are doing our best,” Professor Dumbledore said calmly. “Now as for Professor Snape, he was not able to tell us the location of Voldemort. Not every Death Eater has the privilege of knowing the precise location. Professor Snape was not one of them. He would have to go to a different location and only those Death Eaters that Voldemort trusted the most would come and take the others there. Professor Snape did, however, have an idea of where it was. Just recently has he had discovered the exact location. But, since he is masquerading as a Death Eater, he cannot leave until it is safe. That is why we must wait for Professor Snape, Harry,” Professor Dumbledore explained. Harry continued to glare at the Headmaster. He didn’t like this one bit. He felt Ginny squeeze his shoulder gently and felt himself calm down just a bit. He swallowed hard and tried to find out more. “How did they get in here? I thought you couldn’t Apparate on the grounds,” Harry said in a more poised, yet angry voice. “That, unfortunately, is my fault. Somehow, they were able to break the wards around the school and were able to Apparate on the grounds. I was not able to catch it in time. We do have a team of Aurors working on restoring the wards and making them stronger so that if Voldemort decides to break in again, it will be more difficult,” Professor Dumbledore said. “And you couldn’t do that earlier? You couldn’t do that after I got that message!” He slammed his fist on the desk, jerking away from Ginny’s touch. “You could have stopped them from taking James!” Harry was breathing hard now, his nerves tightly wound up. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. They could have prevented this from happening, yet they did nothing. The Headmaster watched Harry carefully and picked up his wand. He conjured up a tea service, large enough for everyone in the room, and put his wand down. “In the mean time why don’t you and Ginny have a seat and have a cup of tea while we wait. It’s very soothing for nerves.” That was the final straw. Harry slammed his fists on the desk, satisfied to hear it crack under his hands. “My son has been kidnapped and you want to have a bloody tea party!” Harry snapped. He glared at the Headmaster, feeling nothing but hate and fury. “My son is gone! He is with Voldemort and you’re doing nothing about it!” He pushed himself away from the desk and turned around. He saw the shocked looks on everyone’s face and felt even angrier. Not a single one of them were doing anything to find James and he didn’t understand why. He wanted answers and he wanted them now. “Why are you all standing here?” he demanded. “No one is making an effort to find him!” “Why aren’t you doing anything to find him?” Ginny’s voice spoke from behind him, filled with fear and tears once more. She stepped up to Harry’s side and looked at her family, who he noticed all wore guilty looks. “You’re his family,” she said softly, hurt laced in her voice. “I thought you loved him.” It was silent. All eyes were on the young mother. She let out a half strangled laugh and swiped at her eyes. “I guess I was wrong wasn’t I? I just assumed that you loved him. I thought you cared about him and . . . me. But you felt sorry for him didn’t you? Poor little baby with a teenage mother and father. Let’s pretend to love him. I’m such an idiot,” Ginny said. “None of you care. None of you care about what happens to him. You probably all think it’ll teach me a lesson, don’t you?” “Ginny, that’s not true at all,” Molly said and went towards her. She placed her hands on Ginny’s shoulders and looked her in the eye. “You know we love James and you and Harry. And angel, if we could do something we would. But right now, we can’t. I know it’s hard and I know that this is very difficult for you both, but you must be patient. The moment we get word we will do anything and everything to get him back, believe me.” Ginny was silent. She looked away from Molly and at her brothers. She saw mixtures of anxious and determined looks on their faces, but more importantly they were laced with love. She knew they all loved James, but in her current state of mind, she wasn’t thinking clearly. She looked back at her mother. She knew her mother was trying to calm her down and soothe her, but Ginny didn’t want that. She wanted her to understand that she couldn’t be patient. She couldn’t just sit around and wait. It was too unbearable to do. “Mum, if it was me or Bill or Percy or Ron or any of us — if one of your children was taken from you like that, what would you do?” she asked after a few moments of silence. Mother and daughter looked at each other without a word. Molly frowned slightly and her eyes widened in realization. She raised a hand to her mouth and there was a mixture of emotions in her eyes. “Ginny,” she began and shook her head. “I have to,” Ginny said. “We’ve lost one son, we won’t lose another.” Molly looked at Ginny, a sad yet proud look in her eyes. She embraced her daughter and let her go. “I wish I could stop you, but I can’t. A mother will do anything for her child. I can’t stop you from doing that.” “Stop her from what?” Ginny looked behind Molly and saw her brothers looking back. “Going to get James,” she said. There were loud shouts of protests from her brothers. “She will go.” Silence feel and everyone turned to look at Professor Dumbledore. “Harry and Ginny will go. I believe that this is what we have been waiting for. It is time for the prophecy to take shape,” he said. “But I believe that you should all know the prophecy first.” He stood up and went to the black cabinet where he kept his Pensieve. He returned to his desk and placed the basin on it. He touched his wand to his forehead and brought a long thin silvery string down to the basin. After a few moments, he touched his wand to his memories and the figure of Professor Trelawney rose and revolved around and around. The room watched as the memory spoke, all of them transfixed on the figure. Once the words were spoken, the figure sank back into the Pensieve and vanished. Harry could feel everyone looking in his direction, their eyes burning into him. He closed his eyes and felt Ginny take his hand again. He felt calmer again and he could feel her love for him. “Fine, Harry has to go, but I don’t see what this has to do with Ginny,” Fred said. “Ginny has everything to do with it,” Professor Dumbledore said. He sat back down and looked around the room. “Ginny is behind Harry’s power.” “I’m what?!” Ginny exclaimed. She stood still, shocked at what she heard. How was she behind Harry’s power? She looked over at Harry and he seemed just as stumped as she was. “Along with Ron and Hermione,” the headmaster said. Harry heard spluttering behind him from Ron and a small intake of breath from Hermione, but he ignored them and kept his attention on Professor Dumbledore. “I believe that Harry has told you all about the prophecy and his extra lessons with me?” he asked Ginny. “What extra lessons?” Ron interrupted. “Don’t worry about it Ron,” Harry replied. “What lessons? Why haven’t you told me about extra lessons?” Ron demanded. “Ron! This isn’t the time for it,” Hermione hissed at him. “But we’re his best friends! He should have told us!” Ron argued. “I see that you have yet to tell anyone else, Harry,” Professor Dumbledore said, looking at Harry over his glasses and stopping Ron and Hermione’s quarrel. “I haven’t gotten around to it,” Harry replied angrily. “It wasn’t anyone’s business to begin with.” “But you did tell Ginny?” the Headmaster questioned, raising his eyebrows at him. Harry glared, hating how calm he was being and how the seriousness of what was going on didn’t seem to affect him at all. “Yes I did, now what does this have to do with Ginny?” Harry quickly switched back to the matter at hand. Professor Dumbledore simply watched him for a few moments before looking at Ginny again. “Mrs. Potter, you were aware of those things before now?” he asked again. Ginny nodded and she heard Ron muttering to himself behind her. “I believe that he also told you that we believe that his power is the ability to love others?” “Yes, he has,” Ginny confirmed. “But I don’t understand what this has to do with me.” Professor Dumbledore folded his hands together and sighed heavily, then looked at Harry. “Harry, what comes to your mind when you think about love?” Harry hesitated for a moment. Ginny squeezed his hands and he looked at her. “Ginny,” he said. She smiled softly. Harry returned it and looked back at the Headmaster. “And James. Both of them. And my friends.” “And you use memories of them during our lessons, do you not?” he asked. Harry nodded, blushing slightly as he thought of some particular memories involving Ginny. Of course Professor Dumbledore knew that. He was, after all, looking into Harry’s mind during their lessons together. “Let me ask you Harry,” Professor Dumbledore continued, “did you know what loving another person, like the way you love Ginny, was like before her?” Harry thought for a moment. He didn’t love Cho. He had feelings, yes, but they were nothing compared to what he felt for Ginny. He never really understood love until he was with Ginny. He looked at Professor Dumbledore and shook his head. “No, I didn’t,” he said. Professor Dumbledore smiled slightly. “It seems to me that your ability to love a person, to truly love a person, came from being with Ginny. And it also seems to come from becoming a father. Wouldn’t you say so, Harry?” Harry nodded. Yes, he did agree with that. “I think that when it comes to love, there are three different types of love,” the Headmaster continued. “Love of a friendship, of a family, and of the heart. You, Harry, have known what love was from friends for some time now. However, love of a family and of a heart was missing. And, from what I have witnessed over the past year and half, you have gained those two other loves. And I think that this combined love is what gives you your power. Individually, each of theses loves are strong, but together it creates an unbreakable bond. It is a great power. It has been known that emotions play a large role in magic and it is believed that the stronger the emotions, the stronger the magic. Love is the strongest of all emotions and when love drives our magic, it is a powerful and terrifying thing all at once. “But, love does not only drive magic. It drives our actions. Harry has shown that he is willing to do anything to for his friends over the years. He has placed himself in so many dangerous situations and continues to do it without a second thought. He has shown his love for family in numerous ways as well; going after Sirius to save him, begging for permission to see his wife, caring for his wife and son and protecting them from harm. Even if his idea of protection was pushing them away, it still showed that he cared and loved them. But the most noticeable one of all is his love for Ginny. It was very clear during their wedding ceremony how much in love they were with their Bonding Ceremony. I’m sure that they two of you did not really notice it at all, and that is a sign of true and deep love.” “What do you mean our Bonding Ceremony? I didn’t notice anything unusual,” Ginny interrupted. She glanced up at Harry with a frown on her face. Harry shrugged. He didn’t know anything really about wizarding weddings, but he did remember hearing that they had a strong bond. “No, you did not notice anything.” Professor Dumbledore pulled out his wand. “Let me show you just how strong your bond is.” He placed his wand once more to his forehead and pulled a long silver string from it. He placed it in the Pensieve and watched it again. After a few moments, he put his wand inside and a small amount of figures rose from it. Harry and Ginny were standing together, facing one another. Their hands were clasped together and they seemed completely oblivious to everything around them. Ron and Hermione were standing on either side of them and Ron has his hand raised and opened. Behind them were the other members of the Weasley family and Professor McGonagall and before them was Professor Dumbledore. As the figures rotated, they watched as Professor Dumbledore raised his wand and muttered different incantations. A soft glow came from Harry and Ginny and slowly intensified. It began to swirl around them, faster and faster it went, glowing even more brightly. It was so bright, that they people in office watching the memory had to shield their eyes from it. The light continued to swirl around them, faster and faster and faster, until it rose up and shot towards Ron’s opened hand. A golden light shone brightly in his hand, and the small figure of Ron was staring into his palm in awe as well as the other figures. The figures sank back into the Pensieve and vanished. “During a Bonding Ceremony, if the glow around the couple is bright it means that the bond between them is very deep and that their love is the truest of them all. That bond is contained inside your wedding rings, which are a circular symbol of endless love, so that you will carry your loved ones affection with you at all times. Wearing your rings shows your love and your bond, which is why I encouraged you both to do so earlier in the first term. It shows that you are capable to love and it makes that love stronger. “Now, as to why Ginny, Ron, and Hermione must go with Harry once we have word on Voldemort’s whereabouts should make much more sense. As I said before, love is in three parts. If Harry has all three parts with him, friendship, family, and romantic, his power will be even more powerful against Voldemort. With that said, they will all go. The more love Harry has around him and in his mind, the better off he will be when he faces Voldemort.” Harry thought this over. He did know what love in a friendship was; Ron and Hermione had been his best friends for seven years. Slowly, he learned what love in a family was with Remus and Sirius and the Weasleys, but once James was born, that familial love was something that he felt deep in his soul and was amazed that he could love someone he barely knew. And finally, he learned what romantic love was with Ginny. With her, he felt like he could float with the clouds and fly with the birds. He could be happy and enjoy life and feel as if everything was right in the world. Only she could spark something deep inside and feel the immense joy of just being next to her and holding her hand. He glanced at Ginny. He didn’t want her to get hurt. He would never forgive himself if something did happen to her. But he knew he couldn’t stop her from going, and he couldn’t stop Ron and Hermione either. “Sir, please, when you get word, let us know,” Ginny’s voice pleaded softly. Professor Dumbledore nodded gently at her, his blue eyes twinkling with sympathy. “Miss Granger, Mr. Weasley, please escort the Potters back to their dormitory. We will notify them as soon as we can,” he said. Harry stared at his wife. He wasn’t going to leave. He wanted more answers; he wanted to know exactly what was going on and what they were going to. It wasn’t enough. He just couldn’t leave now. But Ginny had other thoughts. She took a hold of Harry’s arm and dragged him out of the office, ignoring his protests and sputtering, with Ron and Hermione in tow. Once they were back in the corridor, Harry wrenched his arm out of Ginny’s grasp. He glared at her. “Why in the bloody hell did you drag me out of there?” he shouted. Ginny glared back at him, crossing her arms, and fixing him with a stern expression. “Because it’s getting us no where. They can’t get to James, they don’t even know where he is,” she said as calmly as possible. “They aren’t trying to! They’re all sitting there and doing nothing!” he shouted at her. “What can they do, Harry? They have nothing to go by right now!” she shouted back and she felt herself grow angry with her husband. Ron and Hermione stood by, watching them cautiously. “They could have done something! They . . .” Harry began to loose himself and give in to the pain. He was looking hysterical and there was a lost and frightened look in his eyes. “They could have stopped this. He could have been safe.” His voice had lost the bitter and angry tone. He ran a shaky hand through his hair and looked at her. Ginny stepped forward and wrapped her arms around him. “Getting angry and hysterical about this isn’t going to get him back. It won’t help anything. We just have to wait,” she whispered to him. “I hate that we can’t do anything, but really there isn’t much we can do.” Harry pulled away from her. “Yes there is,” he said. “We can go find him.” She frowned at him. “Harry, they don’t know where Voldemort is, how can we find him?” she asked. Harry shook his head, grasping tightly to her hands. “I don’t care. We are going to find him and get him back. I refuse to wait like this,” he said. As much as Ginny wanted to search for her son, she knew it was impossible. If the Order didn’t know and if Professor Snape was a spy and didn’t know himself, how were they supposed to know where to look for him? “Harry, listen to me,” she said clearly. “They don’t know where he is. I don’t know where to find him, do you?” She watched his face as he tried to form words to convince her to search for James. “I do.” But it wasn’t Harry’s voice she heard. It wasn’t Ron or Hermione’s, but it was someone familiar. Harry’s eyes were fixed on something behind her and she slowly turned around. Her eyes widened and she frowned. “Neville?” Neville Longbottom stood not to far from the quartet. He looked pale and scared and took a tentative step closer to them. “Well I . . . I sort of know,” he said softly, not daring to meet any of them in the eyes. “Neville? You know where Voldemort is?” Hermione asked. He flinched at the name and slowly nodded his head. He sighed and looked up at Harry and Ginny. “It’s me. I’m the spy,” he admitted quietly. Shock filled them both. All this time, and it was Neville who was spying on them. Someone from their own house was selling them out. In three quick strides, Harry was in front of Neville and had grabbed him by the collar. “You,” he said in a low and furious voice, “you’ve been my friend. You’ve shared a dormitory with me. You came to the Department of Mysteries.” He paused and took a breath, shaking Neville slightly. “I trusted you and this is what I get. You’ve been spying on my family! You’re the reason my son is missing!” Harry slammed him against the wall, tightening his hold on his collar. Neville winced in pain and looked up at Harry. “Hurt me,” he whispered. “Do anything you want. I deserve it.” Harry felt himself shaking with anger. How could a friend betray him like this? How could Neville of all people do this? He wanted to hurt him. He wanted him to pay. “How could you?” Harry whispered angrily. “How could you!” he shouted, shaking Neville even more. “I — I’m sorry,” Neville whispered. “Hurt me.” He squeezed his eyes shut and looked as if he was waiting for Harry to punch him. Harry had no hesitation with heading his request. He raised his fist, ready to smash it into his so called friend’s face. “Harry, stop!” Ginny commanded. His fist stopped short of connecting with Neville’s jaw and he turned his head to look at his wife. “Ginny, he’s the reason James was kidnapped and I’m going to make this traitor pay,” he snarled. “Let him explain himself,” she said, glaring at Harry. He gaped at her. “Explain himself? What’s to explain? He betrayed us!” Harry said. “Do you honestly think Neville would do something like that out of his own free will? Let him go, Harry, and let him explain,” she ordered and crossed her arms. Harry glared at her for a few moments before letting Neville go and taking a step back. “You have exactly one minute to explain to me why you are helping Voldemort before I pound you into oblivion,” he hissed and enjoyed the look of fear in Neville’s eyes. Neville gulped and looked at each of them. He sighed and hung his head in defeat. “I was taking a walk around the grounds one day. I was thinking of how I was going to talk to Luna and ask her out. Well, I guess I was in too deep of thought because the next thing I knew, someone grabbed me and we were leaving Hogwarts. I didn’t even notice what had happened or that someone was behind me. But then I found myself on this really small island with an old shack and the person grabbed me. I tried to run, but he was too strong and then everything went black. I woke up in a stone room with a bunch of people in black robes and wearing masks.” Neville paused and took a shaky breath. He gulped and continued. “Then I saw the worst thing I’ve ever seen. It was . . . it was . . . You-Know-Who,” he finished off his sentence in a fearful whisper. His skin was going paler and paler by the second and he looked even more scared than before. “He said he needed me to spy on you, Harry. I didn’t want to do it, I refused to. But then he . . . he used the Cruciatus on me. It was horrible. I felt like I was on fire and all my bones were breaking. “He used it on me for a while and then he stopped and asked me to do it again. I still refused and he used it again. The next time he threatened my family. He said he would kill them all if I didn’t do it. I didn’t have a choice then.” He sighed heavily and looked up at them. “He used someone to control me with the Imperious Curse to make me do things. Someone here at Hogwarts, but I don’t know who. They would come into our room at night and before I could do anything or shout, we were leaving Hogwarts and ended up in that stone room. Sometimes the person would come with me and sometimes they wouldn’t. Most of the time they didn’t up until around Christmas time. Whoever it was came with me every time after the holidays. I was forced to give information on you, most of it being unhelpful to You-Know-Who and I would be tortured. All the information was tortured out of me for the most part. “I was forced to break into Dumbledore’s office back in November. I don’t really remember what happened. I just remember trying to throw off the curse and trashing Dumbledore’s office. I must have done something because You-Know-Who was very happy about it. But that wasn’t the only thing I was forced to do.” At this point he looked at Ginny, his eyes filled with intense fear and pain. “They found out you were pregnant and You-Know-You had a potion made. It was supposed to be injected into your blood stream and look like someone had just run into you by accident.” He took a deep breath. “Ginny, I’m the reason you lost your baby. When I ran into you in the hallway, I was under the Imperious Curse and injected the potion into your arm.” Ginny was in disbelief. She couldn’t believe any of it, especially this. Her hand instantly traveled downwards to rest on her stomach where she once held her child. She stared at him in utter shock. He was the reason she had to bury a child? “I’m so, so sorry Ginny. I couldn’t help it. They made me do it and I couldn’t throw off that Curse,” he quickly apologized and took a step towards her. Harry stepped in front of her and pushed her behind him, his emerald eyes filled with blazing rage. Ginny however, stepped back in front of him and looked at Neville, pain and hurt lacing her features. “Neville,” she whispered shakily. “How could . . . how . . .” A choked sob escaped her lips and Harry quickly took her in his arms. He glared at Neville, the same fire in his eyes blazing on. “How could you do this to us?” he demanded. “How could you take our child?” “I didn’t have a choice!” Neville yelled. His fists were clenched tightly together and he glared at Harry. “I didn’t want to, but they made me! They tortured me! And even still I refused! And you know what they did after I refused again and again? They came to my house and killed my Gran right in front of my eyes!” He turned around and slammed his fist into the wall behind him. He let out a sob and slid down to the floor. He sat up on his knees and stared at the wall in front of him. “They wanted to do so much to you, Harry,” he began again, his voice hard with emotion as he ploughed on with his story. “You-Know-Who planted dreams in your head and made you think you had to leave Ginny and James. He was pleased when you did, you know. He was going to take them both from you right under your nose. But that didn’t happen. He was so angry that you got back together, tortured me really bad for that too. He had to change his plans, but whatever it was, I don’t know. I was unconscious that time and when I came too, I was back in my bed. That was not too long ago. I don’t know what’s going on, but he’s sticking to some of the plan if he has James now.” He slammed his fist into the wall again and Harry could see a small trickle of blood oozing down his wrist now. “I should have gone to someone! I should have done something!” he shouted. No one knew what so say or do. Neville sat on the floor, staring at the wall while the other four did nothing. Finally Harry had enough of the silence and let go of Ginny. He grabbed Neville by the collar and hoisted him to his feet. He spun him around and looked him in the eyes. “You are going to see Dumbledore right now,” he hissed. He turned and yanked Neville by the collar behind him. But before they went very far, they heard two sets of voices floating up the stairs. “You are not going!” “I am too!” “No, you’re not. They’ll kill you.” “Let them! I won’t let them do this anymore, Draco.” “Pansy, you don’t know what you’re dealing with. I’m going and you’re staying.” “I can’t do that Draco. I’m going with you to get Abigail.” The footsteps got closer and closer and Draco Malfoy and Pansy Parkinson appeared at the top. Malfoy had stopped and turned to face Pansy, a large book clutched in his hands. “You will not go!” he hissed. “I will get her and bring her back here. You stay.” Pansy glared at him. “I have to go.” Malfoy growled at her. “No! I have to get Longbottom and bring him back and only him. If they see you they are sure to kill her!” “Why do you need Neville?” Ron demanded. Malfoy froze. Slowly, he turned and stared at the small crowd of Gryffindors in the corridor. “What are you doing out here? Prefects are the only ones allowed outside the common rooms right now,” he snapped and attempted to look haughty and superior. “I am a prefect, Ferret. What do you want with Neville?” Ron demanded. Malfoy marched up to Ron. He stood just inches from his face and glared at him. “That is none of your business, Weasel,” he hissed. “We’re making it our business,” Harry said. He let go of Neville and spun Malfoy around so that they were face to face. Malfoy scoffed at him, but Harry saw a flicker of fear in his eyes and noticed that he was paler than normal. “I’m not afraid of you Potter,” he said quietly and coolly. “And I don’t have to tell you anything.” Harry grabbed him by the collar and threw him up against a nearby wall, just like he had done with Neville earlier. “You don’t want to mess with me, Malfoy. Right now I’m very capable of killing you with my bare hands. If you have information that is either directly or indirectly related to the kidnapping of my son and you don’t tell me, I’ll make sure you die a very slow and very painful death,” Harry threatened. Harry was satisfied with the intense fear that filled his grey eyes. “What do you want with Neville?” Malfoy sighed and looked down at the ground. “I suppose that Longbottom told you he’s been spying on you,” he began quietly. “And that someone is controlling him.” Malfoy looked up and looked Harry in the eye. “I’m controlling him.” “You’re the one controlling Neville?” Hermione suddenly asked. Malfoy looked at her and looked away. He didn’t move or speak and Harry swore he saw regret flow across his features. “You’re a Death Eater, aren’t you Malfoy?” Harry asked, letting him go and taking a step back. “I always knew you had something to do with this.” “Potter’s finally gotten a clue,” Malfoy replied, his usual smugness returning. He pushed himself off of the wall and pushed past Harry. He began walking down the hallway, ignoring Pansy’s hushed and panicked voice and leaving the others behind him. Harry was not going to let him get away. He wanted to know what exactly Malfoy had to do with everything. He made to run after Malfoy but Ginny had grabbed him and held him back. He glared at her and quickly looked up at Malfoy’s retreating back. He wasn’t getting away with this. “Following in Daddy’s footsteps, are you?” Harry called after him. Malfoy froze and he turned to look at Harry. He made his way back and it was clear that this statement struck something in Malfoy. “I am not like my Father. I never will be,” he snapped. “I wouldn’t do the things he does.” Harry let out a loud harsh laugh at that. He crossed his arms and glared at Malfoy. “Like father, like son. A Death Eater is a Death Eater,” he said. “I see no difference.” “There is a difference, Potter. While my father chose to join, I didn’t,” he said. “And why should I believe you? You just admitted that you’re controlling Neville to be a spy and you don’t seem to regret it in the slightest. To me it seems you had every choice to be a Death Eater,” Harry replied as calmly as he could. “I did not choose!” Malfoy shouted, growing red in the face and his fists clenched tightly and dropping the book he was carrying. He glared at Harry, a fire erupting in his eyes, and he began to breathe heavily. “I didn’t have a choice. I did what any other father would do,” he hissed. This took Harry by surprise. What any other father would do? “What do you mean by that?” Harry asked and his anger was slightly pacified. “Did you think you were the only father here, Potter?” Malfoy said. Harry just stared at him in shock. Malfoy scoffed and shook his head. “Of course your arrogant self would think that.” Harry shook his head in confusion. He couldn’t be hearing right. “Wait a minute, you’re a father?” Ginny’s voice had asked. She appeared next to Harry and placed a hand on his shoulder. “Yes,” Malfoy confirmed. “I have a daughter.” “We have a daughter,” Pansy added, stepping up behind Malfoy. “Her name is Abigail.” The five Gryffindors were in shock. Harry and Ginny weren’t the only teenage parents at Hogwarts, but now they all wondered why they never knew about the Slytherin couple. “We weren’t lucky enough to have all the protection you have,” Malfoy spat bitterly at Harry and Ginny. “We don’t even get to have our daughter with us. She gets to stay with Voldemort.” He laughed bitterly and shook his head. “Why?” Ginny asked. Malfoy looked at her and sighed. “My father wanted me to continue in the tradition of being a Death Eater over summer. Naturally I agreed. But not too long after I found out that Pansy was pregnant, I decided that I didn’t want to be a Death Eater and I wanted out. My father was outraged when he found out. He was furious that I “soiled the family blood” even though Pansy is a pure blood. He was really angry when I told him I wanted out of the Death Eaters. Once school came around, we decided it was better for her and me to return to school. It was much safer for her here . . . and for me. The Dark Lord wasn’t happy with Father and threatened him. He told him to make sure I stayed in the Death Eater ranks. Of course, since Father is a loyal servant, he obliged and did whatever it took. I wanted Pansy to be safe so I did what Father asked. He wanted me to find someone the Dark Lord could use as a spy. He wanted someone close to you and someone easy to control and Longbottom came to mind. I attacked him and brought him to the Dark Lord. All I had to do was make sure he was watching you two and doing what the Dark Lord needed, like breaking into Dumbledore’s office and making a copy of the security wards and giving Weaslette that labor inducing potion. “Father wasn’t happy with me. I didn’t go with Longbottom every week like I was supposed to. I stayed here with Pansy most of the time to make sure she was okay. He got a hold of this potion from Knockturn Alley that speeds up pregnancies. It was used a long time ago to keep pregnancies quiet when married wizards had affairs, but it was too dangerous. Many witches fell ill from it and had too many complications and ending up dying, so it was banned. He got in it a powder and sent it with an owl from home. Pansy inhaled it and she got sick from it. The pregnancy was sped up and it was like she had a bad case of morning sickness. She ended up going into labor over winter holiday. “Mother felt sorry for me so she helped Pansy and she kept the birth of Abigail a secret from Father. She did everything she could think of to help us. But that didn’t work. Father found out and he was livid. He killed Mother in front of us and took Abigail from us. He was going to kill her to, but decided against it. He thought that he would be able to get me to do what he and the Dark Lord wanted if he threatened to torture her and kill her. I didn’t have a choice. I had to keep Abigail safe somehow, so I did what they wanted and Father kept Abigail at the Dark Lord’s hideout.” He took a deep shaky breath and Harry and Ginny noticed that Pansy was squeezing his shoulder. “Every thing was going fine until the two of you got back together. The Dark Lord was furious with me and Longbottom and after he sent you that message he tortured us. Longbottom lost consciousness during it, but I didn’t. He tortured Father as well for it. Father was furious with me and tortured Abigail in front of me.” His voice was straining with emotion and Harry was sure Malfoy was going to break down right then and there. He took another shaky breath and continued. “Father said that if I didn’t ensure that everything went smoothly, he would kill Abigail. The plan was to disrupt the Quidditch match and kidnap your son. If I didn’t make sure it happened, then he would kill Abigail. When the match got cancelled, I knew that the Dark Lord and father would be furious. It had to take place or else my daughter would die. I couldn’t let her die . . . I just couldn’t. “So now, they decided to ambush the castle and since they already had a copy of every security ward around Hogwarts, they did and took your son earlier than planned. Now, I have to take Longbottom back and get my daughter out of there.” There was a silence around them and once again, everyone was at a loss for words. Finally, Harry looked at Malfoy and spoke. “Do you use a Portkey?” he asked quickly. Malfoy nodded and picked up the fallen book. “Good. We’re coming with you.” Malfoy stared at him. “You can’t come with me Potter,” Malfoy said, all traces of his pain gone in a moment. “Look, our son is in danger and your daughter is in danger and you have a direct Portkey to wherever Voldemort is. We are going to get him and we are going with you whether you like it or not. Hold out the book, Malfoy,” Harry said. Malfoy glared at him and Harry whipped his wand out and pointed it at his chest. “Hold out the book.” Malfoy watched him carefully before slowly holding the book out. Everyone placed a hand on it and waited. “Activate it,” Harry ordered, his wand still trained on Malfoy. He pulled out his wand and activated it. Moments later, they felt themselves spiraling in air and found themselves on a small cold island. |
| Reviews 1042 |
Previous Next
|
