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Category: Alternate Universe Characters:Harry/Ginny Genres: Action/Adventure Warnings: Disturbing Imagery Story is Complete Rating: PG Reviews: 160 Summary: Dumbledore is dead. Harry ran away from the Dursley's before getting his Hogwarts letter. Who will save the magical world now? Hitcount: Story Total: 85544; Chapter Total: 5100 Awards: View Trophy Room |
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Before getting another lesson from Slytherin, Ginny and Dobby met by the lake one Sunday morning and walked to the east end, which was out of sight of the castle, where they found a merman and a mermaid sitting on a rock with their tails in the water. "Ginny Weasey, this is Grouper and Tilapia, the prince and princess of the tribe of merpeople who live in the Hogwarts lake," said Dobby. Ginny curtseyed as low as she could. "I am honored to meet you, your highnesses," she said. "Dobby the elf says that you are the heir of Slytherin," said Tilapia. "Do you have proof of this claim?" Ginny pulled out Slytherin's sword and presented it, point down. "This is the sword of Slytherin." Then she raised Slytherin's staff. "This is the staff of Slytherin. It is also his Morcrux." She touched her wand to the staff and whispered, "Homelum Restorem," and Slytherin's spectre grew out of the staff. "And here is Salazar Slytherin himself." The merpeople looked impressed and immediately said a few words in their own language. When they paused, Slytherin replied in their language. Then he turned to her, hissing, "I told them that you are, indeed, my heir, and that they should treat you as they would treat me." "Thank you, Lord Slytherin," Ginny replied. Turning to the merpeople, she said, "Wizards have not been very friendly to other magical beings. I aim to change this. I want to start by freeing house elves. Then I want to help other sentient beings as well. Will you help me?" Grouper stared into her eyes for a moment, then said, "The people of the waters do not normally get involved in the affairs of the people of the land, nor do we normally engage in war. Hogwarts has been good to us, but you are correct that wizards and witches elsewhere have mistreated some of our cousins. If we or any of our cousins can help you in any way, please come and find us here." Tilapia handed Ginny what appeared to be the bone of a fish that had been carved into a whistle or flute. "Play this instrument and we will hear and come speak with you." "Thank you, your highnesses," Ginny said with another curtsy. * * * * * "Did you hear the news?" Astoria asked as Ginny sat down to breakfast the morning after Hallowe'en. "Sirius Black broke into the castle last night. He tried to get into the Gryffindor common room." Ginny looked over at the Gryffindor table, where Ron and his friends were calmly eating. "It doesn't look like anyone got hurt," she commented. "No, the only casualty I heard about was the painting that protects the entrance to their common room." "Who do you suppose Black was after?" "The rumor I heard is that he was looking for Neville Longbottom. Longbottom's parents worked closely with Harry Potter's parents in the last war. Maybe, after betraying Potter's family to the Dark Lord, Black wants to go after the Longbottoms." "Maybe," said Ginny. "With the war having ended twelve years ago, though, it doesn't explain why Black is choosing to restart it now." "Maybe it just took him this long to figure out how to escape from Azkaban." * * * * * Manticores were quite the intellects, Harry had learned. The goblins he had lived with loved their mead, their forges, and their war stories. The centaurs talked endlessly about the stars and what they meant for the future. But the Manticores focused on philosophy, geneology, and ecology. Mountbatten and Ernestine discussed these things in detail, partly for Harry's benefit, partly because they enjoyed it, and partly because their lives depended on it. Whilst the goblins and centaurs were omnivores, the Manticores were obligate carnivores, so maintaining and improving the productivity of the deerherds was high on their list of priorities. Lacking hands, they were not, however, tool users. The main way they could control the deer herds was by hunting or not hunting. If a territory's herds declined, they might leave it. When the populations recovered, they would give the territory to a new king and queen. Lack of tools also meant no shelter for cold winter nights. Where the goblins had bunkhouses, and the centaurs had shelters with at least three sides, the Manticores slept out in the open, warmed only by the earth. Harry's thin blanket wasn't much help. Fortunately, Princess Sophia was happy to curl up with him at night, protecting him from the wind and keeping him warm with her fur. Sophia was still small for a Manticore, but massive compared with Harry. During the day, Harry enjoyed hunting with Sophia as he had previously hunted with Nephele. Though he always carried his bow, and regularly practiced his archery skills, and he still refrained from killing anything without his Druid's prayer, he happily roamed over King Mountbatten's territory. As the deer herds thinned and scattered in the winter, he and Sophia sometimes went almost as many miles in a day as they had gone to the Somerset meet. Unless one was sick or injured, each Manticore ate what it killed and killed what it ate. Sophia was always awed when she watched Harry call in a rabbit or deer and offer his Druid's prayer. But she didn't think much of the greens he ate whenever he could find some and didn't try his hot sauces. One day, Harry and Sophia were hunting when Sophia accidentally cut herself deeply on some scrap metal that some Muggle had carelessly left in the forest. Harry was able to partly heal the wound, but it was so deep that he feared it would become infected. His potion kit had run out of the ingredients to prevent this infection. "Let's visit the centaurs," he suggested. "Torino should have the potion we need to keep you healthy." Sophia would normally have lived with the risk of an infection, but to please Harry she agreed to try the centaurs' potion. The entry of even a small Manticore into the centaurs' territory was a cause for alarm, especially as the centaurs had never met Sophia before. But Harry's presence alleviated concern, and they were welcomed by Castor and the other centaurs. Torino was happy to provide the needed potion, which Harry paid for by giving Torino some newly made canisters for storing potion ingredients. "So, Harry, you have a new girlfriend," said Nephele with a hint of playful jealousy in her voice. Harry just laughed. "Sophia, this is my sister Nephele. Nephele, meet my sister-in-law, Princess Sophia." While Harry spent some time with Torino discussing the availability of various potions ingredients in the winter, Nephele and Sophia went off together to talk about things they had in common. While both loved to hunt, Harry had the uncomfortable feeling that one of the things they were talking about was him. * * * * * "I call this meeting of the Governors of Hogwarts School to order this fourth day of December, 1993," said Griselda Marchbanks. "Is there any new business?" "Yes, Madam Chairman." "Very well, Lucius, what do you have for us." "Madam Chairman, members of the board, I ask that an investigation be conducted regarding a dangerous Hippogriff that injured one of the students in September." "Are you talking about Buckbeak and Vincent Crabbe?" asked Lady Longbottom. "Yes, I am. That animal permanently scarred young Mr. Crabbe and could easily have killed him." "I read the post-incident report," said Longbottom, "and the teacher and headmaster were both satisfied that the problem was the student's own fault; he disobeyed the teacher's instructions." "Yes, but the accident might never have happened if Professor Grubbly-Plank had begun her lessons with a more docile animal. It was her fault that she chose this particular animal, who seems to have a proclivity for attacking people." "I did not know that Lord Malfoy was an expert on the relative docility of Hippogriffs," said Lady Longbottom, barely making an effort to conceal the sarcasm in her voice. "I may not be an expert, but I only ask that this case be turned over to outside experts for a thorough and objective investigation." "Well, you can't argue with that, can you Lady Longbottom?" simpered the chair. "If there is no objection, I rule that the board approves Governor Malfoy's proposal." * * * * * "What is freedom?" Mountbatten asked during one of the evening philosophical discussions. "When do you feel free?" "I feel free when I'm running through the forest," said Prince Alfred. "Yes, but with his stubby legs and small lungs, Harry here can't run as fast as you. Is he less free than you?" "I feel free when I am creating something, such as knives and other utensils, with a forge," said Harry. "Yes, and we Manticores have no hands, so we can't use those sorts of technologies. Does that make us less free than you?" "I feel free when I am hunting," said Princess Sophia. "Yes, but some creatures do not hunt. Are they less free?" "So what you are saying," suggested Sophia, "is that freedom is not being able to do whatever we want, but having the opportunity to achieve to the best of our abilities. I may want to fly, but just because I don't have the ability doesn't mean I am not free. But I can hunt, and if someone denies me the right to hunt, then I am not free." "I think that is right," said Mountbatten. "But even if no one denies you the right to hunt, is there any limit to your freedom to hunt?" Every Manticore knew the answer to that question as the ecology of predetors and prey had been drummed in to them since they first learned to hunt. "If we hunt every deer in our territory," recited Alfred, "we may feel free at the moment, but our families will starve when there are no more deer." "So freedom includes the responsibility to use that freedom wisely," offered Sophia. "I think that is right," agreed Mountbatten again. "What other responsibilities come with our freedom?" "We have to respect our neighbors' territories," said Ernestine. "If we invade their territories and poach their deer, they may retaliate by killing all of our deer and again we will starve." "We have to respect the rights of other beings," added Alfred. "If we don't respect the centaurs, where will we be if the wizards try to take our freedom?" "I agree," said Mountbatten. "And young Harry has taught me something else: cooperation and trade with other beings can have unexpected benefits. Who among the Manticores knew, for example, that the centaurs have so many potions that can heal our injuries and diseases?" * * * * * "My Gram sent me word today that the Hogwarts Board of Governors voted at yesterday's February 5 meeting to have Buckbeak executed," Neville announced at dinner. "I thought a panel of objective experts was supposed to review the case," said Hermione. "It was," said Neville with a scowl. "But one of the 'experts' was Walden McNair, whose main expertise is severing heads. Now he'll get paid by the Ministry to cut off Buckbeak's head." "That sounds like a conflict of interest to me," said Dean. "A what?" said Ron. "When you ask someone to make an objective decision, but they personally benefit from making the decision one way but not the other, their interest conflicts with the decision," said Hermione. "How did the Board of Governors get talked into agreeing to the execution?" asked Dean. "Gram says that Lucius Malfoy made a bunch of deals with board members" said Neville. "Apparently, the going rate for ordering the execution of a Hippogriff is nothing more than an invitation to one of the Malfoy's glittering balls." "That's disgusting," fretted Hermione. "Is there anything we can do?" "Gram says there's an appeal process, but she doesn't think it will do much more than delay the inevitable." "Let's go talk to Professor Grubbly-Plank tomorrow and see if she needs help with the appeal," suggested Hermione. * * * * * With the coming of spring and promise of summer, Harry once again felt restless. "I've learned a lot from your family," he told the Manticores, "just as I previously learned from the goblins and centaurs. But I really need to find the wizards, both to learn from them and to see what I can do to improve wizarding society." "We have learned from you, too, Harry Athailt," said Mountbatten. "But where will you go?" "I'm thinking I made a mistake looking for a wizard in Devon," he said. "I saw a few wizarding families, but they looked pretty isolated. The only wizard I actually met told me of a magical school called Hogwarts. He didn't say where it is, but there must be lots of wizards in London, and maybe the school is there. So I am going to go back to London." "You will be welcome to stay with any Manticore families along your route," said Mountbatten, and he gave Harry directions to the homes of Manticore kings in Wiltshire, Hampshire, and other territories between Devon and London. "But how will you find magical people in London? I understand many people live there and most of them will not be magical." "The goblins taught me how to detect magical screens," said Harry. "I figure if I come near a magical community, I'll sense their screens." "I'll miss you, Harry," said Sophia. "I'll miss you, too. But I suspect Prince Alfred will be glad to keep you company." She looked toward Alfred shyly. "Yes, we will both be coming of age soon. It may be that we will be betrothed." Harry set out the next day. The nearly fourteen-year-old boy who was heading for London was vastly more experienced, better equipped, and in better shape than the eleven-year-old who set out from Surrey in 1991. He figured that, even at a slow pace, he could reach London in less than ten days. For at least the first few days, the dried meat in his pack would save him the effort of butchering and cooking food every night. He shrank his sword and kept it in his pack so he wouldn't look too out of place when he wanted to be seen. * * * * * "The Ministry rejected Professor Grubbly-Plank's appeal of Buckbeak's execution," Neville told his friends. "They plan to cut off his head at sunset on June 9." "June 9! That's tomorrow," worried Hermione. "I feel terrible that I didn't do enough to help Professor Grubbly-Plank." "Hermione, you did everything you could," Neville reassured her. "The Ministry rejection was inevitable. They don't like Muggleborns any more than they like Hippogriffs." "We'll have to go see Professor Grubbly-Plank tomorrow before sunset and see if there is anything left for us to do." The next afternoon, Ron, Neville, and Hermione headed to the pen behind the Whomping Willow where Buckbeak was chained. "Why do you carry that rat everywhere you go?" asked Neville. "Because I'm afraid Hermione's cat is trying to kill him," said Ron, with a scowl. "Ron, I keep close watch on Crookshanks. She wouldn't try to kill your rat," said Hermione. "She never bothers Trevor, does she Neville?" "No, I've never seen her give a second glance to my toad." "Well, I wouldn't want to eat toad either," said Ron. "Does that mean you want to eat a rat?" asked Hermione. They were saved from Ron's inevitable explosion by the appearance of Professor Grubbly-Plank, who was walking to the pen carrying treats for Buckbeak. "I want to give him some happiness before he has to go," she said to the trio. She gave them each a dead ferret to toss to Buckbeak's beak. "Professor, isn't there anything else we can do?" "I'm afraid not," said the witch. "You better go up to the castle soon. You don't want to be around when this happens." After tossing a few more treats to the Hippogriff, the downhearted trio started back to the castle, giving the Whomping Willow a wide berth. As Professor Grubbly-Plank and Buckbeak disappeared behind the tree and they came within sight of the castle, a large black dog jumped out of the forest and grabbed Ron by his leg, pulling him toward the dangerous Willow. "Gerroff me, gerroff!" shouted Ron. Neville grabbed Ron by his arm, but the dog was too strong for him and Ron slipped away. Somehow the dog managed to get under the tree without it attacking him, and the dog dragged Ron into a hole in the ground. Up at the castle, Ginny was sitting by a window when she saw her brother and his friends walking back from the forest. She jumped up when the dog attacked her brother, and when the dog and her brother disappeared, she called to her friend Astoria, "Get Professor Snape! Someone has kidnapped my brother by the Whomping Willow." Then she ran outside. By the time she got to the tree, no one was around except an orange cat that she thought belonged to one of Ron's friends. But she followed skid marks leading to a hole under the willow. The tree began to shake threateningly, but she dodged it and jumped into the hole, which turned out to be a tunnel. Lighting her way with a Lumos command, she was forced to duck low as she followed the tunnel until it reached a room where she could hear shouting. Peering inside, she could see a tall man holding a wand over Ron, whilst Neville and Hermione were huddled to one side. She could tell by the man's profile that it was Sirius Black, the notorious escapee from Azkaban. She aimed her wand at the man and yelled, "Expelliarmas!" The man's wand flew into her hand--she realized that it was really Ron's wand--and he was thrown backwards as Ginny climbed out of the tunnel. "Why are you trying to kill my brother?" He laughed at her. "You are Peter Pettigrew's sister?" "No, I'm Ron Weasley's sister. Who is Peter Pettigrew?" "Peter Pettigrew is right over there," said the man, pointing at Ron. "Can't you see him?" "All I see is a deranged man who is threatening my brother, Ron Weasley." "I don't mean the boy, I mean the rat. That rat is Peter Pettigrew, who betrayed the Potters to the Dark Lord." Ginny was ready to stun the man and turn him over to the Ministry, but the mention of the Potters caused her to pause. "I thought you betrayed the Potters." "Me? Never. James Potter was my best friend. We thought Peter Pettigrew was our friend as well, so the Potters gave Pettigrew the secret of where they were hiding from You-Know-Who. When I found out he betrayed them, I went after him and he managed to frame me for his murder. He and I are both unregistered animaguses, and his form is a rat. So he cut off his finger, changed to his rat form, and triggered an explosion. The Ministry put me in Azkaban without a trial, so no one ever knew he was an animagus." "If that's true, then I should be able to turn the rat into this Peter Pettigrove, or whatever his name is." "Yes, but that's a seventh-year charm, and you don't look like you're much beyond your first year," smirked Sirius. Ginny just picked up Neville's and Hermione's wands and handed them to them. "Watch Black whilst I see about Ron's rat," she said. She then turned to Ron and, giving him his wand, said, "Hold on to Scabbers, but be ready to let him go if he really is an animagus." She pointed her wand at the rat and said, "Animagum Revello." Ron dropped the rat and hastily slid backwards as the rat grew into a fat little man with crooked teeth and unkempt hair. "Padfoot, my old friend," said the man. "Don't Padfoot me, Pettigrew, you rat. I'll kill you," said Black, but was restrained by Neville's and Hermione's threatening wands. "I'm sorry Sirius," said the cowering fat man. "I didn't want to betray James and Lily, but You-Know-Who was too strong for me. I had to do what he wanted, or he would torture and kill me." "Then you should have let him kill you," yelled Sirius. "I would have died for you." "If what you say is true," said Neville, "you don't want to kill him. We should turn him over to the Aurors and, when he confesses under Veritiserum, you'll be set free." "You're probably right," said Black. "But he killed my best friend and his family, and left me to rot in prison for a dozen years. I can't help but want revenge." Suddenly, all eyes turned to another figure emerging from the tunnel. "Black, we've caught you at last," said Severus Snape. "I'll see you get the Dementor's kiss." "You have it all wrong, professor," said Ginny. "Black is innocent." "Innocent? Bah, hardly. That man has been guilty ever since he entered Hogwarts." Snape punctuated his statement by stunning Black. Ginny automatically responded by firing an Expelliarmus spell at Snape, but the professor shielded the spell and fired right back at Ginny, taking her wand. In the altercation, Pettigrew changed back into a rat and ran away. Ignoring the pleas of the students, Snape ordered Ginny to follow him as he levitated Black and headed back to the castle. On her way out the door, Ginny saw a wand that Pettigrew had dropped and picked it up, hiding it in her robes. The little group arrived at the castle steps at the same time as Minister Fudge, Walden Macnair, Professor Grubbly-Plank, and a couple of Aurors were meeting Headmaster Flitwick. "Minister Fudge, I've captured Sirius Black," said Snape. "But minister, headmaster, Black is innocent," shouted Neville. "Silence!" yelled Snape, casting a silencing charm on the three students. "Black has been guilty for as long as I've known him, but he somehow bewitched the minds of these poor students." "Congratulations, professor," said Fudge. "I'll see if I can get you an Order of Merlin for this. Aurors, take this piece of scum. We'll have him kissed as soon as we take care of the Hippogriff." Turning to Flitwick, the minister continued. "Headmaster, as I was saying, Professor Grubbly-Plank has shown us the, er, prisoner, and we will proceed with the execution as soon as we can get your signature allowing us to do it on the grounds of Hogwarts. It will be executed either way, but we would rather not have to move such a dangerous beast whilst it is still alive." Professor Gubbly-Plank quietly "harrumphed" at the claim that Buckbeak was "such a dangerous beast," but the minister ignored her. "Headmaster," said Snape, "I would also like to charge Miss Weasley with attacking a member of your faculty." Flitwick looked at Ginny in surprise. "All right, minister, professor, let's go up to my office." On the way up, Flitwich recalled what he knew about Ginny Weasley. She came from a good family, but everyone was surprised when she was sorted into Slytherin. She had been accused of plagierism and implicated with the petrification of several students in her first year, but no one could prove anything. If she had really attacked a professor, then perhaps she was just too great a liability to keep her at Hogwarts. In the office, Flitwick sat in his special chair behind the headmaster's desk. "Please give me the forms and I'll sign them, Minister Fudge." He did so and the minister and Macnair left the office. "Miss Weasley, do you have your wand?" Flitwick asked. "I have it, headmaster," said Snape, handing the wand to the little wizard. Flitwick did a Priori Incantato on it. "Miss Weasley, your wand was most recently used to make an aggressive attack on someone," he observed. "Did you attack a professor?" "Yes, but . . ." "There are no buts," interrupted Flitwick. "There can be no legitimate reason for attacking a professor of this school. You are expelled," he said, breaking the wand over the corner of the desk. Ginny looked down and noticed that her tie and the other Slytherin decorations on her uniform and robes disappeared. "Wait here, and I will Floo your parents to pick you up." "Don't bother," said Ginny. "I don't need to be here anymore, and I am not going back to Muggletown." She turned to leave. "I did not give you leave to depart," said Flitwick, locking the door. Ginny turned back, her eyes red. "I'm expelled. You have no authority over me." She waved her hand and the door opened and she ran downstairs. Snape was stunned. Ginny Weasley was the best student in his house. He expected Flitwick to give her detention, not expel her. He would have handled her discipline himself, but as the aggrieved party he had felt it would be best to defer to the headmaster. He was shocked that Flitwick, who was usually inordinately fair to every student, would expel Ginny without getting the details of the situation. Instead of following her, he turned to Flitwick to find out why the man had taken such an extreme measure. Downstairs, Ginny met Neville and Hermione. "Did they give you detention?" asked Neville. "Never mind me. Where are Minister Fudge and the Aurors?" "The Aurors are holding Black near the gate to the school. The minister and executioner are down at Buckbeak's pen. "If I hurry, I might be able to save more than one innocent life today," said Ginny, running down the hall. She got to Buckbeak's pen just as Macnair was raising his axe. Using her new wand, she quickly stunned the unsuspecting Macnair, minister, and Professor Grubbly-Plank. "Sorry, professor," she muttered as she collected their wands, "but I can't let anyone interfere." She then carefully bowed to Buckbeak, who bowed back and let her climb on his back. Using the wand to detach the animal from its chains, she said, "Fly Buckbeak! Fly to the school gate." At the gate, Sirius Black was awake and trembling on the ground, whilst the Aurors looked around uncomfortably as the Dementors crowded at the gate, eager to give Black the kiss. None of them were looking up as Buckbeak zoomed down and Ginny quickly stunned the Aurors and expelled her horse Patonus to push back the Dementors. "Quick, Mr. Black!" she shouted as the Hippogriff landed. "Climb up on Buckbeak's back so we can get out of here." Black was smart enough to bow quickly to the Hippogriff, who squawked as if to say, "Never mind that, get on board." As Black climbed on, Ginny Accioed the Aurors' wands, and the 'griff quickly took off. "Thank you for helping me," said Black. "I can find a place to hide, but shouldn't you stay at Hogwarts?" "I'm no longer welcome at Hogwarts," said Ginny, "or many other places now that I've helped you. Where are we going to go and hide?" The wind in their ears made conversation difficult, but Sirius managed to convey their destination to Buckbeak. Hours later, under cover of darkness, the three of them landed outside of a narrow terrace house in Muggle London. "This was the house I grew up in until my sweet mother cast me out for being sorted into Gryffindor," said Black. "But my parents are both dead now, so the house should let me in." Sure enough, the door opened when he put his hand on the door. "We'll put the bird in the attic," said Black, ignoring Ginny's protest that a Hippogriff was not a bird. Ginny avoided touching the walls, which were dingy and, even at their best, did not look very attractive. But the "bird" brushed against a painting, waking up its occupant. "You filthy blood traitor," shouted the woman. "I told you never to come back to this house." Sirius quickly conjured a curtain, muffling the woman's cries, and she quieted down. "Now you've met my mother," he said with a grim smile. "James Potter became my best friend when his family took me in when she cast me out." Suddenly, a house elf popped in front of them. "The blood traitor returns and disturbs my mistress," said the elf. "And who did you bring with you? Is this your spawn or some floozy you found?" Ginny was amused at being called a floozy. "Kreacher, I should have killed you and mounted your head on the wall when I had a chance," said Black. "Oh well, no time like the present," he added. "Ginny, may I borrow your wand?" "No, Mr. Black!" shouted Ginny. "If you are Kreacher's master, I want you to free him." "Why should I free this vile beast? He'll probably just go and work for one of You-Know-Who's followers." Ginny turned to the elf, who had a look of grim determination on his face. She pulled Slytherin's sword out of its invisible sheath and said, "Kreacher, do you know what this is?" Kreacher took a close look at the sword and fell on his knees. "That is the sword of Salazar Slytherin, the greatest of the Hogwarts Four," he said reverently. "Yes, and do you know why I have it?" He looked up into her eyes pitifully. "You . . . you are the heir of Slytherin," he said, lowering his eyes. "You do the family a great honor to come into this house." "You are correct. And, as the heir of Slytherin, I have a mission: to free all of the house elves." The elf looked up in puzzlement. "You wish to free us, Lady Slytherin? Why do you care about ones so low?" "Stand up, Kreacher," Ginny said. "You are not low. You are a proud elf who has been oppressed by generations of wizards misled by self-serving myths and legends. I can tell you that Salazar Slytherin would not have oppressed elves. If Master Black frees you, we will be one elf closer to freeing all elves." "What will I do if I am freed? I have no place to go." "You can still work in the Black household, but you will work for pay, not out of a magical obligation that was forced upon your ancestors centuries ago." The elf looked down in thought, then looked again into her eyes. "If Master Black wishes it," he declared, "then I will be a free elf." Ginny turned to Sirius, who stood with his mouth hanging open. "Free him, then we will pay him for as long as he wishes to serve the Black household." "But . . . but as an escaped criminal, I can't get access to the Black vaults in Gringotts. How will I pay him?" "I'll pay him for now," said Ginny. "Now free him, as I freed you from the Aurors." Black gulped and realized he owed her a debt. He turned to Kreacher and said, "I give you your freedom, Kreacher. But you are welcome to work here for . . . Ginny, how much should we pay him?" In response, Ginny called, "Dobby!" "Miss Weasey calls Dobby!" He looked around. "What is Miss Weasey doing in this dark house?" "Dobby, let me introduce you to Kreacher. Mr. Black here has just freed Kreacher, so we are one more elf closer to elf freedom. In the meantime, we wish to pay Kreacher to continue to work in the Black household. And you can work here too as long as I am here. We will pay Kreacher the same as we pay you, a Galleon a week. Is that satisfactory, Kreacher?" The old elf nervously nodded his head. "Dobby, will you help Kreacher adjust to life as a free elf?" "Dobby is glad to work with the noble Kreacher, elf of the Black household," said Dobby. He took Kreacher by the hand and as they walked off, Ginny heard Dobby say with relish, "There is much work to be done around here." "We can't stay here for long, however," Sirius said as they walked through the house. "The Ministry knows I once lived here, and this will be one of the first places they look for me." "That's all right," said Ginny, looking around at the dingy walls and archaic furniture. "I'll do a Fidelius charm. You can be the secret keeper." "You can do a Fidelius charm?" asked Black skeptically. "I've had some advance tutoring," Ginny said absently. Sirius turned to Ginny, getting his first good look at his rescuer since they met in the room at the end of the tunnel under the Whomping Willow. "Who are you, anyway?" he asked. "You look a little like Molly Prewitt, who was a few years ahead of me at Hogwarts. Didn't she marry Arthur Weasley? But how would a member of the Weasley family become the heir of Slytherin?" "You're right, Mr. Black. I'm Ginny Weasley, and how I got to be heir of Slytherin is a long story. Right now, I need to clean up and get some sleep." "I'm sorry this place is such a mess. My parents had strange tastes, and no one has lived in it since they died several years ago. Kreacher should have kept it clean, but obviously he didn't." "Maybe now that he is being paid, he'll have more of an incentive to do so," said Ginny. "Anyway," said Black, "there should be some relatively clean bedrooms and bathrooms upstairs." They climbed the stairs, and Sirius showed her a room with a connecting bath that appeared acceptable. Then he headed on up to what he said used to be his room. Ginny cleaned the room as well as she could in a few minutes, then called Dobby, who popped in by himself. "Dobby, can you please find some clean bed linens and towels? I'd like to take a shower and go to bed." Dobby enthusiastically agreed and popped out, then popped in and gave her a towel. He promised to fix the bed up whilst she was showering. "When you are done," Ginny asked, "could you go back to Hogwarts and get my trunk? Make sure it has Slytherin's staff, and bring it here." Dobby said he would. When she got out of the shower, the bed looked fresh and clean, and her trunk was placed at the foot of the bed with the staff lying on top. Ginny thanked the elf and told him to find a comfortable place to spend the night, then collapsed into bed. After Dobby was gone, after Sirius stopped making noises upstairs, but before falling asleep, she reflected on her day. Having lived through almost all of Tom's experiences at Hogwarts, she sometimes thought of herself as an eighteen-year-old mind in a twelve-year-old body. But the stress of getting expelled, of feeling she would be a disappointment to her parents, and of narrowly saving Buckbeak and Black from executions was, for the moment, too much and she quietly cried herself to sleep. * * * * * Used to living with a handful of Manticores or a few dozen centaurs or goblins, Harry found even the outskirts of London, with its teeming millions of people, to be bewildering. Whilst he was able to find parks to sleep in at night, walking through the area on streets that were often designed more for autos than pedestrians and on routes that were not always direct was confusing. Unfortunately, he didn't have any maps, and the Muggle money that Deerslayer had given him long ago had long since been spent. When he finally found some wizards, he didn't expect to be welcomed with open arms. But he was shocked to find that they were accompanied by some of the most nightmarish creatures he had ever seen. While Manticores may have looked scary, these things felt scary down to his very core. The entire world seemed to go black, and he heard screaming. "Lily, he's here! Take Harry, and I'll try to hold him off," someone shouted. Then a red-haired woman yelled, "You can't have Harry. Kill me instead." Then he passed out. When he woke up, he heard two wizards talking. He knew they were wizards, because they were talking about Muggles. "Should we obliviate the boy?" one of them said. "Naw, he's a Muggle," said the other. "He didn't see anything; he'll think he just fainted." Harry didn't know what obliviate was, but it didn't sound good. If he was going to meet wizards, he wanted to approach them on his terms, not theirs, so he pretended to still be unconscious until they left. Then he got up and continued his search for magical screens that would indicate the presence of wizards who might not be accompanied by living nightmares. * * * * * The morning after Ginny and Sirius arrived at Grimmauld Place, Ginny woke up hungry; she realized she hadn't had any dinner the night before. The face looking at her in the bathroom mirror appeared sleepless and tear-streaked. But years of living with six brothers had taught her never to show weakness in public. She took a shower, dressed in clean clothes she found in her trunk, and headed downstairs to find Black, Kreacher, and Dobby working in the kitchen. "Good morning, everyone," she said cheerfully. "Dobby, are the accommodations here to your liking?" "Yes, Miss Weasey. Kreacher and I is cleaned a room and put in beds for each of us. Before, he was living in a cupboard in the kitchen. I is told him that a cupboard is not an appropriate bedroom for a free elf." "That's excellent, Dobby. When you get a chance, can you please go to Diagon Alley and get the Daily Prophet? We're going to need to keep up with the Ministry's propaganda." "Sure, Miss Weasey," said Dobby, who popped out, then popped back with the paper. "Hmm," said Ginny as she read the front page. "It seems the frightening murderer, Sirius Black, managed to escape the law again. It doesn't say anything about him having any accomplices. That means that, even if I'm no longer a Hogwarts student, at least I can show my face around town without fear of being arrested." They sat down to eat the breakfast that Dobby and Kreacher had prepared. Kreacher was hesitant to sit at the kitchen table, but Dobby said, "Free elves sit with their friends," so he nervously joined them. "Miss Weasley," Sirius said, "Kreacher and your elf are working very hard to fix this place up. I've apologized to Kreacher for mistreating and misunderstanding him in the past. It will take a lot of work to make this place beautiful, but it won't take long to at least make it livable." "Please, Mr. Black, call me Ginny. I'm happy that Kreacher is working closely with you and Dobby, who is not my elf but my good friend." "Well, Ginny," said Black, "call me Sirius. But I'm not sure what to do with you. I'm not sure it is even appropriate for a first-year witch to live with an adult wizard who she is not related to." "Please, I'm in my second year, but I've been taking third-year courses," said Ginny. "I'm actually well beyond that; I had some private tutors who have taught me a lot of magic that I suspect you didn't know when you graduated from Hogwarts. As for what's appropriate, leave it to me to decide what is appropriate. I could care less what others think, but believe me, if you tried to do anything that I didn't want, you would find yourself in trouble pretty fast." "What about your family? I've met your parents and even some of your brothers. Aren't the Weasley's all about family togetherness?" "Having grown up in a house with six older brothers, I've had it up to here with family togetherness," Ginny said with furrowed brow. "Last night was the first time in my life that I've been able to take a shower without worrying that a brother or housemate would barge in on me. I don't want to take undue advantage of your hospitality, but it seems to me that we can work together. You're a wanted criminal and can't be seen leaving the house, at least not in magical areas. I may have been expelled from Hogwarts, but no one knows I helped you escape from those Aurors, so I can go to Gringotts, Diagon Alley, and other places without fear of being detained by the authorities." "Where are you getting the money to pay these two noble house elves, much less for food and other things we are going to need to live in this dingy place?" Kreacher bristled a bit at that but kept quiet. "The heir of Slytherin has her own vault at Gringotts that should keep us in tea and crumpets for some time. Since I'm financing this little venture, I'd also like your help in accomplishing my goal of freeing house elves." "Tell me about this little crusade of yours. I always thought that free elves went insane." Ginny frowned. "That's just a myth, and I'm tired of hearing it. The truth is that wizards enslaved elves about six centuries ago. But there is a loophole: if ever 500 elves are freed, the enslavement spell ends and all elves will go free." Dobby nodded his head in support. "Is that true, Kreacher?" asked Sirius. "House elves is always known this," said Kreacher. "But no more than a dozen elves is free at any one time, so we is had little hope of freedom." "So how are you going to free another 490 or so elves?" "I suspect most of the elves are owned by the big landowning families, and many of them are Slytherin. As the heir of Slytherin, I hope I can persuade many of them to follow my example." "Well, if you will pardon me for saying so, you may have been taking third-year courses, but you still look like a first year. What makes you think that powerful Slytherin barons and earls will listen to you?" As an answer, Ginny asked innocently, "Do you have a room in this house where we could practice our dueling?" They were finished with breakfast, so they left the cleanup to the elves and went upstairs to an empty room. "My brother, Regulus, and I often practiced our spells in here. But do you really want to duel me? I was an active participant in the war. James and I personally faced You-Know-Who three times." "We'll just practice," Ginny said with a smile. "Minor spells only; nothing too fatal. All right?" "Wait a minute," said Sirius. "I don't have a wand." Ginny pulled the wands she had collected the night before from her pocket. "See which one of these works best for you." Sirius tried them all, and two worked pretty well but one felt almost as good as the wand he lost when he was thrown in Azkaban. "Where did you get this wand?" "I am not sure. It might be Minister Fudge's wand, or possibly one of the Aurors' wands. It definitely isn't Macnair's which is this one," she said, holding a twisted wand of hawthorne, "or Professor Grubbly-Plank's wand, which is this one," she said, holding a slim wand of ash. "I hope it is an Auror wand," said Sirius, "and not the wand belonging to that slimeball Fudge. He was always taunting me when he visited Azkaban." After Sirius adjusted to his new wand, they took positions near the opposite ends of the room. Sirius was glad to see that behind them the walls were still covered with soft material to absorb the impact from flying bodies, so he didn't have to worry too much about hurting this little redheaded girl. It never occurred to him that he might have to worry about getting hurt himself. They bowed slightly, and Sirius started casting a series of jinxes and stinging hexes. Out of necessity, he had learned in the war to cast quickly and not give his opponents a chance to relax. Ginny immediately threw up a shield, but Sirius knew from long experience that no wizard or witch could keep a shield up forever. It was just a matter of her tiring out before he did. Even though he was recently in prison, his long trek from Azkaban to Hogwarts had left him fit and he would sure he could outlast this little girl. Ginny had immediately cast a Protego, preceding it, as was her habit, by a Geminus spell. She was surprised to see her shield take on a golden sheen. Sirius' spells just bounced off. This wand she had picked up from Pettigrew seemed much more attuned to her magic than her grandmother's wand. It seemed familiar, somehow, as if it had always belonged to her. Whilst she puzzled over her wand, Sirius was creeping a little closer with each spell he cast. None of the spells were getting by her shield, but when he got close enough, she tossed her wand into her left hand and whipped out Slytherin's sword and swung it in his direction. He quickly danced back, but she found she could swing the sword outside the shield and hit Sirius' spells, giving her more control over where they went. The girl hadn't cast a single offensive spell, yet Sirius started getting hit by his own spells that caromed off of her sword. She had hardly taken a step, yet he was already sweating and getting out of breath. He was tempted to cast stronger spells, but he didn't want the spells to bounce back and hit him. Ginny was getting a little bored of watching Sirius bounce around like a bunny rabbit. So, without ending the shield spell, she whispered, "Geminus Expelliarmus." Sirius saw the spell coming and cast his own shield, but the spell came crashing through his shield and threw him violently against the wall. "Sirius, Sirius! Are you all right?" Ginny went running over. "I didn't mean to cast that spell so hard." Maybe, she thought to herself, she should get out of the habit of using the Geminus spell unless she really meant to do some damage. Sirius looked up to see Ginny with a wand in each hand. Behind her, the sword of Slytherin was lying on the floor. "Godric Gryffindor, that was one powerful Expelliarmus," he said. "Where did you get that wand, anyway? I thought they broke the wands of students when they expelled them." "They broke my grandmother's wand, which I've used the last couple of years but never really fit me," said Ginny. "Your former friend Peter dropped this wand, and it feels warm and friendly like it has always been my wand." "That's funny. Peter's wand was much shorter. He must have acquired a new one whilst I was in prison." "So, do you think some of the Slytherin families will respect me now?" "Maybe so. But some of them, such as Lucius Malfoy, are fierce duelers who take no prisoners." "Dobby!" said Ginny. The little elf popped in. "Tell Sirius about our last encounter with your former master." "Miss Ginny pointed the sword of Slytherin at Mr. Malfoy and told him she would declare a blood feud on the House of Malfoy if he did not free me and his other elves. He agreed to free us, and now he pays the other elves a Galleon a week. I, however, work for Miss Ginny." "Thank you, Dobby." Dobby popped away. "That is amazing!" said a wide-eyed Sirius. "The only person I ever saw who could intimidate Malfoy was You-Know-Who himself." "Why do you always call him You-Know-Who?" Ginny asked. "In the war, he cast a spell over the entire country so that, if anyone used his name, Death Eaters could immediately apparate to them and attack. So people on our side started calling him You-Know-Who. What do people call him today?" "I've heard many older people use that term, or the Dark Lord, or He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. But many younger people call him Voldemort. I just call him Tom." "Tom? Where did you get that?" "That's his real name: Tom Marvolo Riddle. That's an anagram for 'I am Lord Voldemort.' He adopted the name Voldemort because of the anagram and because it sounded scary." "How do you know so much about him?" "Last year, he was my best friend." "WHAT! I thought he was dead." "Let me show you," she said. She went to her room and dug the diary out of her trunk and brought it and the staff back to the dueling room. She showed Sirius the engraved name on the diary and told him to write in it. He conjured up a quill and wrote, "Hello." Sirius jumped as the diary wrote back, "I am not talking with you, Ginny." "Have you ever heard of a Horcrux?" Ginny asked. "No, what is it?" "Murdering someone is such a foul act that it splits your soul. If you cast the right spell, part of your soul will attach itself to an object that then becomes a Horcrux. Tom made several Horcruxes to try to be immortal: if his body died, the pieces of soul in his Horcruxes would try to recreate and inhabit a new body." "Only someone as evil as You-Know . . . er, Voldemort would do something like that." "That's right. He gave one of his Horcruxes to Lucius Malfoy. I don't think he told Malfoy what it was, but Malfoy knew there was dark magic in it. He slipped it into my books when we were at Diagon Alley in my first year. I think he was trying to expose me as a dark witch to discredit my father, who has worked against Malfoy since the end of the war." "That sounds about right. Malfoy was always pretty devious." "I started writing in the diary, and Tom tried to trick me into giving up my soul and body so he could live again. Instead, I tricked him into teaching me everything he learned at Hogwarts, at least up until he created this Horcrux in his seventh year. He was the Head Boy and top student in his class, which is why I really don't need to finish my schooling there. Since he realized I tricked him, he has refused to write back to me." "So how did you get to be the heir of Slytherin?" "One of the things Tom taught me was to speak Parseltongue so I could open the Chamber of Secrets." "The what?" "When Hogwarts was built, Salazar Slytherin hid a large chamber under the castle where he placed a Basalisk and some of his other possessions. I think he meant to use it as a redoubt if ever Hogwarts was attacked by Muggles." "More likely, as a place to escape to when he fought Godric Gryffindor." "That's another myth. Anyway, I went into the chamber, and the Basalisk told me that, as a test, I had to pull this sword from a stone. When I succeeded in doing so, she declared I was the heir of Slytherin." "Just because a big snake says so doesn't make it so." "No, but if Salazar Slytherin says so, it is probably so. Last summer, my family and I went to Egypt, where my brother Bill works for the goblins as a curse breaker. With his help, I opened the tomb of Salazar Slytherin and found this: Slytherin's staff. The goblins accepted my claim as the heir of Slytherin and let me keep the staff and paid me 60,000 Galleons for the other items in the tomb." "60,000 Galleons! No wonder you are able to pay Dobby and Kreacher one Galleon a week!" Sirius said with a smile. "It's a fair wage, for an elf. At least, Dobby and the other elves think so." "So now we have a big snake and the goblins agreeing that you are the heir of Slytherin, but where does Salazar Slytherin come in?" In reply, Ginny touched her wand to the staff and Slytherin's spectre appeared. "Greetings Lady Slytherin," the ghost hissed. "Hello, Lord Slytherin, allow me to introduce you to my friend, Lord Black. Sirius, this is Salazar Slytherin." "Sum freawine Cwen Slytherin sy sum freawine Cynehlaford Slytherin," said the spectre, bowing graciously. Sirius bowed back with a puzzled look on his face, then whispered to Ginny, "So, Slytherin must have murdered someone to make this staff a Horcrux." "Down boy," she said with a laugh. "No, this is a Morcrux, a soul container that is created when a wizard dies who does not wish to have their soul leave the earth. It is similar to becoming a ghost, but the soul stays in the Morcrux unless released by someone else." "But I bet Slytherin was pretty evil in some way." "No, like you, his reputation was just the victim of bad publicity. He had nothing against Muggleborns or even Muggles. His difference with Gryffindor was mainly because Salazar was the first wizard to propose what became the Statute of Secrecy. Gryffindor didn't want magicals to separate from the non-magical world, and they debated that, but the debate never turned violent. Somehow, over the centuries, the pureblood myth has grown that Slytherin hated Muggles, but that is probably just a way that they justify their prejudices." "Lord Slytherin, you have taught me well. Lord Black is a highly experienced dueler, but with the combat lessons you taught me, I easily defeated him. He will be a loyal ally in the future." "Congratulations Lady Slytherin on forming this alliance. The House of Black should be a valuable addition to your crusade." "If you wish, I'll return you to your Morcrux and call on you later for more lessons," said Ginny. The white-bearded ghost bowed and disappeared as Ginny touched her wand to the staff. "Why do you speak with him in hisses?" asked Sirius. "His English is so different from ours that we can barely understand each other. For some reason, snake talk hasn't changed much over the centuries." "What did you tell him before he went back into the staff?" "I told him that, having defeated you in single combat, you were now my faithful vassal and would be loyal to our cause," she said with a laugh. Sirius joined her in laughter, then wondered if maybe it was true. "Come," she said. "We better do that Fidelius charm. Salazar was the one who taught me how to do it. Then we should look at modifying the roof so there is an easy way to get Buckbeak in and out of the attic. I suspect we will often need him for transportation." |
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