Harry Potter and the Hand of Gryffindor by Alice I

[Alice I]

Chapter Thirteen - Part 3
The Boy Who Loved

The warmth and love that Harry and Ginny were feeling for each other came through very clearly to Voldemort and this literally made Voldemort feel ill. The feeling intensified dramatically and Voldemort found himself writhing in a sickly sort of pain that made his inside squirm. This couldn’t be happening he thought and knew that he was connected to Harry so he lashed out in anger screaming at Potter. Wormtail saw his master writhing and screaming at the air and felt fear deeper than any he had ever felt. Voldemort could not understand how such an immensely powerful surge of emotion could come from Potter and decided that he needed some intelligence and summoned Lucius Malfoy to him.

When Lucius arrived at his master’s beckon; Voldemort was feeling weak and ill due to the sheer force of the emotional surge that poured through the connection with Harry but Malfoy was completely unaware of this. “Lucius my old friend, how are the lessons coming along with young Draco?” Malfoy looked very calm on the outside but he was anything but; for Lucius had not strictly followed his master’s orders. He had taught Draco the killing curse to be sure, but he also taught him the Imperious Curse and Lucius was very careful to clear his mind so that this fact remained hidden from his master. “Draco has proved to be as diligent and skilled a student as I could have hoped.”

Voldemort seemed to barely acknowledge this reply to his question. He seemed to be satisfying some arcane sense of formality before he continued on to the real reason he had summoned Lucius to him. “Something has changed my old friend. Something is different with Harry Potter; I can feel it and I must know what it is. Contact Draco; find out what is making Potter so disgustingly happy. I want an answer by morning. Now leave me!” Lucius bowed and left the chamber with fear and curiosity burning in his heart.

Lucius Malfoy went immediately to his rooms and pulled a small mirror out of a hidden drawer in his trunk. Looking into this mirror he called “Draco!” after a few minutes the image of his son swam into view in the mirror that he was holding. “Tioalgeinos” he said into the mirror and Draco looked quickly over his shoulder to see that he was indeed alone when he replied “Poieoterma.” After a moment when both were satisfied that they were indeed speaking to each other Draco said “Father, what has happened?” Lucius, looking stern replied “That is precisely what I was going to ask you. Something has changed with Potter. The Dark Lord must know why he is so happy.” Draco frowned deeper and said “He has been working with a lousy team maybe he has gotten them to play better.” Lucius waved an impatient hand at his son’s reflection “Don’t be foolish boy, what ever has changed with Potter is very big, look into it and contact me in the morning.” Lucius put the mirror back in the hidden drawer in his trunk and closed it. Draco looked around again to be sure no one heard him and put his mirror away as well. He couldn’t imagine what his father was so concerned about but he better come up with some sort of answer by morning. He left his common room to see if he could find Potter or any of his friends to see what the Dark Lord was so upset about.

At the same time that Malfoy was skulking through the quiet corridors of the school looking for a sign of Potter or any of his friends Severus Snape was locking up his private stores in his office when he noticed a red glow coming from the cracks around one of his desk drawers. It was the drawer that Snape always kept locked even when he was the only person in the office. Snape stepped over to the desk and opened the drawer and saw the silver snuff box glowing bright red. As soon as he touched it, the glow faded from the edges of the box but the serpents eyes still blazed like hot coals. He opened the box to find a tightly rolled parchment which read:

[font=Geneva]Something has changed with Potter
He has a new power
I must know what it is
I await your report[/font]

With a look of confusion, Snape folded the parchment carefully and pocketed it then locked the snuff box back in his desk and silently left the office.

Harry and Ginny followed Professor McGonagall up to the stone gargoyle guarding the entrance to the headmaster’s office where she called out “Ton Tongue Toffee” much to Ginny’s surprise. The gargoyle jumped aside and they all stepped up onto the spiraling staircase leading up to the headmaster’s office. Ginny still looked pale but she did finally seem to be recovering from her experience with the stone. When they entered the office Professor Dumbledore took one look at Ginny’s pale face and asked “What has happened?” Harry sat down with Ginny and Professor McGonagall and Moody stood by listening. Harry looked up at the Headmaster. “It’s Voldemort. He is angry about something.” Professor Dumbledore came around his desk facing Harry and Ginny. “Your scar hurt?” he asked.

Harry nodded his head but Dumbledore was looking at Ginny. She was remembering the feeling of Harry’s pain and what little color had returned to her face drained away. “Harry has a saxulmens and we were using it sir.” She said in a shaky voice. She looked up at her headmaster and said “When Harry’s scar hurt him we were still holding the stone between us and I felt what he felt.” She shuddered again and continued “It was horrible sir; it felt like my body was on fire burning me from the inside out. I also felt a terrible anger, a rage, but there was something else; I felt sick too. How can Harry feel so much pain and not go mad. He said that his scar has hurt worse than that before.”

Harry was staring at Ginny feeling genuine fear for her. “Sir, my scar did hurt a lot and I felt the same anger that Ginny just described but I did not feel that kind of pain.” Harry turned to Ginny and looked at her “Ginny the pain you described is like the Cruciatus Curse. That isn’t what I felt. My scar hurt, it burned but the only time I felt like I was being burned from the inside out was when Voldemort used the Cruciatus Curse on me in the graveyard the night he came back. It felt like my bones were on fire, I’ll never forget that feeling.” Moody shifted restlessly on his feet his magical eye rotating in every direction. Professor McGonagall was standing stark still with a look of horror on her face. Harry and Ginny looked up at the headmaster who was watching their exchange closely. He looked up at Professor McGonagall and said “Minerva if you wouldn’t mind, please bring Mr. Weasley and Miss Granger up to this office.” Then he turned to Moody “I would like to know the exact where-abouts of three Slytherin students.” Both Moody and Professor McGonagall turned and left the office while Professor Dumbledore looked at Harry and Ginny and said “I understand that the moment that you were sharing was private but I will now ask you to allow me to see that memory.”

Dumbledore was looking at both Harry and Ginny. Harry nodded and looked over at Ginny. “Don’t be afraid, just relax and think about what happened in the courtyard.” Ginny still looked pale and frightened but she agreed. Professor Dumbledore took out his wand and said “Harry I will start with you.” Ginny watched as Professor Dumbledore pointed his wand at Harry and said “Ligilimens” The office swam in front of his eyes and faded away as the memory of the courtyard filled Harry’s mind. He saw himself kissing Ginny and felt a flush of feeling. He didn’t want to share this with his headmaster but there was no other choice. After they parted Harry felt a searing pain in his forehead along with a feeling of intense hatred and a slightly sick feeling. He heard the voice of Voldemort screaming "Crucio!" He had not heard that out in the courtyard. As suddenly as the pain had started it left him but his scar was still prickling. Dumbledore lifted the spell and Harry saw the office come back into focus. Harry looked over to Ginny then up at Dumbledore.

“No Professor, she’ll feel it again. We know what happened now don’t we?” Professor Dumbledore looked at Harry and said “Harry I am so sorry but I need to see what she saw, to know what she felt so that we can understand what actually happened here tonight.” Ginny was looking very frightened but she sat up straighter and with a steely resolve in her eyes said “Do what you have to do Professor.” Dumbledore turned his wand on Ginny who had taken Harry’s hand for support. Ginny perception of the courtyard was slightly different than Harry’s. When Harry’s scar hurt she felt ill; nauseous and blinding rage. Then she felt the pain unlike anything she had ever experienced. It came rushing up her arm and spread like a hot fluid poison through her whole body. The pain came from the stone held between them.

Ginny had tears running down her face. Harry wanted to yell at Dumbledore to stop it but held his tongue. After a moment though it was too much for Harry and he stood up and moved in front of Ginny blocking eye contact with Dumbledore. Ginny was shaking badly and Harry knelt down and wrapped his arms around her and shot an angry look at Professor Dumbledore. “Was that necessary sir?” Professor Dumbledore looked at Harry and said “I am afraid it was.” He got up and poured a glass of water for Ginny and brought it over to her. He sat quietly thinking while Ginny drank the water and calmed herself down. “Please don’t do that again.” she said in a small voice.

Harry tightened his embrace and looked at Professor Dumbledore waiting for an answer. “Harry you know when Voldemort is feeling a very strong emotion such as anger or happiness.” Harry nodded for he knew this. “The connection between you works both ways and the feelings that you and Ginny were experiencing while joined by the saxulmens hurt him. Voldemort has no defense against the power of love and your strong feelings made the connection to Voldemort very strong and it caused him considerable distress. He knew that this was coming from you Harry and became furious. He wanted you to stop and using the forged connection to you, he fought back. You heard his voice, you heard him use the Cruciatus Curse. But you only felt a small portion of that curse. Ginny got the full blast of it. I do not know why she picked up on Voldemort’s pain and illness more acutely than you did or why the curse affected her more strongly but I am fairly certain that Voldemort does not understand what happened either, however it will not take him long to figure out that you have strong feelings for someone.”

That statement shot through Harry like a javelin and he had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. The door to Professor Dumbledore’s office opened and Ron and Hermione came in followed by Professor McGonagall. Ron crossed immediately over to Ginny when he saw her. “What happened? Ginny are you alright?” As Ron approached Harry stood up and stepped back from Ginny. She reached for his hand and Ron shot a look at Harry then back to Ginny. “What’s going on here Harry? What happened to my sister?” Ron had a slight edge to his voice. He didn’t like seeing Ginny looking so pale and upset. Harry had started to get a little angry and said “Don’t look at me like that Ron; you know I would never hurt Ginny!” Hermione stepped up beside Ron and slipped her hand into his which had the effect of calming him down somewhat and he said “Look I’m sorry mate; but what did happen?”

Professor Dumbledore said “Perhaps we should all sit down. He conjured more chairs and once everyone had sat down; Harry sitting next to Ginny and holding her hand; Harry began to speak. “Ron; Ginny and I are dating now.” Ron’s eyes went wide with surprise but Hermione just smiled. “I have a saxulmens, a feeling stone, and Ginny and I were both holding it which let us feel each others feelings.” Harry paused for a moment gathering his thoughts then continued. “I can feel when Voldemort is really happy or really angry and apparently he can do the same with me. He picked up on what we were feeling and it made him sick which made him angry so he attacked me with the Cruciatus Curse they same way he was using a memory charm to make me forget my dreams.” Ron sat back stunned by this news and said “But why was Ginny hurt?” Harry sighed and said “Because Ginny was holding the saxulmens with me she could feel what I was feeling. She actually felt the curse much more strongly than I did.” Ron turned a pale face to his sister and leaned forward to embrace her protectively. “Ron this is not the way I wanted to tell you about Ginny and me.”

Ron was looking from Harry to Ginny and back. He was horrified that Ginny had been put under the Cruciatus Curse and he felt left out that he didn’t know about them going out together. “How long have you been seeing each other?” Ginny looked down and actually blushed as most of the color had finally returned to her face. She held up the necklace that Harry had given her and said “Harry asked me to be his girlfriend tonight. That is how this all happened. Our feelings were very strong and he…V…Voldemort felt that.” Hermione looked Ginny over and asked “How do you feel now Ginny?” Ginny looked drained but not so pale any longer and said “I’m ok; I’m just very tired.” Professor Dumbledore looked up at Professor McGonagall and said “I think it is time that Miss Weasley goes to bed along with everyone else except for you Harry, I want to talk with you first.” Ron stood up and said “I want to stay Professor.”

Professor Dumbledore looked at Ron and saw an extremely determined set to his face and nodded then looked up at Professor McGonagall. “Would you kindly escort the ladies back to their dormitory Professor?” Professor McGonagall nodded and the girls got up to leave. Ron gave Hermione’s hand a squeeze and Harry leaned close to Ginny and spoke quietly to her. “Are you going to be alright?” Ginny smiled at him and said “I’ll be fine Harry, I promise.” She stood on her toes and gave him a kiss then headed toward the door with Hermione and Professor McGonagall. Once the door had closed Ron turned to Harry and said “Harry, you are my best friend, you know that...” Harry looked Ron in the eye and said “But?” in a deadly tone. Ron’s ears turned red and he said “But, Ginny is my sister and maybe going out with you isn’t the safest thing for her to do just now.”

Harry was stunned and very hurt by what Ron had said and it showed in his eyes which made Ron regret it immediately. “I wasn’t asking for your permission mate!” Harry shot back at him. Professor Dumbledore cleared his throat loudly as the boys seemed to have forgotten that he was there. “Ron; Harry can no more deny his feelings for your sister than you can deny your feelings for Miss Granger.” Ron’s face turned red and he looked down. Then Dumbledore continued “Harry; Ginny is Ron’s sister and he has a legitimate reason to feel concern as is evidenced by the events of this evening. When Voldemort realizes that you have these feelings for her he might try to use that against you.” Harry sat down heavily as the implications of that statement sank in. Dumbledore was right, Ron was right. He couldn’t date Ginny, look at what had happened to all of the people who were too close to him; his parents, Sirius, Cedric. Voldemort would hurt or even kill Ginny just to get at Harry and he knew it.

“This is the reason that ‘neither can live while the other survives’.” Harry muttered under his breath. Ron looked startled “What’s that you’re saying Harry?” Harry looked up at Ron. “It’s part of the prophecy about Voldemort and me. ‘either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives’” Harry hung his head feeling the weight of crushed hope weighing down upon him. He had to forget about Ginny though how he was going to do that was completely beyond him. After a moment he stood up and paced to the window. He suddenly felt a hot flush of anger and pounded his fist into his hand. “darn it, I’ll get you if it’s the last thing I do!” Harry yelled out the window and the anger he was feeling was very evident on his face. Then his scar burst into pain again and he threw his hands up to his head rubbing his forehead hard. “Harry; clear your mind!” Dumbledore said sharply. Harry tried to picture his snowflake but found it very difficult to do while he was so angry. The pain in his scar got worse and Harry dropped to his knees with both hands pressed to his forehead.

Ron looked upset but clearly didn’t really know what to do. Dumbledore knelt beside Harry and spoke calmly into his ear. “Picture in your mind its small circular center like a coil with spokes radiating outward. Then picture those spokes branching off into countless other tributaries of crystal finer still until you can clearly see its intricate pattern.” Harry started to picture a snowflake and slowly the pain in his scar subsided. He looked up at Professor Dumbledore and got to his feet. “I haven’t been practicing as much as I should, but all the practicing in the world won’t stop this if he is angry enough.”

Dumbledore looked at Harry and asked him “Do you want a sleeping draught tonight?” His scar was still prickling but he said resolutely “No sir, I don’t. I will clear my mind before I go to sleep. Can I go now?” Harry was still feeling very angry and Ron’s words echoed in his mind making him feel even worse. Professor Dumbledore looked at him critically and said “I would not recommend using the saxulmens again for awhile.” Harry nodded and turned to leave. He walked right past Ron with out speaking to him and left the office. Ron looked stricken and Professor Dumbledore said “Give him some time. This was supposed to be a special evening for him and for Ginny. He will blame himself because Ginny was made to suffer.” Ron nodded and left as well.

Hiding in the shadows outside Dumbledore's office was Draco Malfoy. He had seen Professor McGonagall lead Ginny and Hermione out of the corridor toward Gryffindor Tower and hoped that Harry might soon follow as they were always together, and sure enough several minutes later Harry emerged from the spiraling staircase. He was about to follow him when Ron Weasley also descended from the headmaster’s office calling after him “Harry wait!” but to Malfoy’s surprise Harry just kept on walking. Just as Ron went around the corner at the far end of the hall Malfoy crept from his hiding place and followed. He was just checking around the corner when a harsh voice called out “What do you think you are doing Mr. Malfoy?” Malfoy turned so abruptly that he fell into the suit of armor he was peering around and it fell to the floor with a loud clatter. Harry and Ron now at the far end of the corridor turned at the sound and saw Malfoy in a heap with the legs of the suite of armor clanging noisily trying to get up. Moody silenced the armor with a flick of his wand and an evil grin twisting his lopsided mouth.

Harry’s heart pounded in his chest with anger as he turned and started walking toward Malfoy. Neither of the boys could see Moody yet and Ron, slightly alarmed by the pure hatred shining in Harry’s eyes held out a hand to restrain him, just as Mad Eye came into view from around the corner. Malfoy looked terrified and trapped especially with the look on Harry’s face. Harry wrenched his arm away from Ron and shot at him in an angry voice “Get off!” then started toward Malfoy again when Moody said “Shouldn’t you be getting back to your dormitory Mr. Potter?” Harry stopped advancing on Malfoy although he had pure murder in his hard glare and Malfoy actually looked afraid, but Harry turned on his heel and resumed walking to the tower with Ron in tow. Once they were completely out of earshot of Malfoy, Ron said “Harry, PLEASE stop and talk to me!”

Harry turned savagely on Ron “Why should I talk to you? Aren’t you afraid something might happen to you being so close to me? You’d better push off before you get caught in the crossfire!” Ron winced at Harry’s words but held his ground “I don’t care about that Harry and you know it!” he said hotly “What did you expect when I saw Ginny? She’s my sister… and you’re my best friend!” Ron was breathing hard with a mixture of anger, frustration and trepidation all at the same time. He looked at Harry and more calmly said “Look the last person in the world I want to hurt is you. If I had to choose someone for my baby sister I wouldn’t pick anyone but you. Harry I am sorry for what I said back there but I saw her crying and shaking and white as a sheet and just reacted.”

Harry felt all of the anger in him deflate like a punctured balloon and felt a great wave of guilt as he looked down at his feet. “I shouldn’t have blamed you mate. I’m sorry.” Ron said. Harry’s head snapped up and he said “Who else should you blame? She was hurt, and it is my fault. You’re right Ron, I shouldn’t even think about dating her or anyone else. I don’t have a very good track record with the people I care about;… I’m not a very good bet as a friend for that matter.” Harry turned and started walking away but Ron walked by his side and punched his arm lightly and said “Don’t say that Harry, you’re the best friend I have ever had. I’m glad that you and Ginny hooked up......don’t take what I said seriously, I just overreacted. And I wouldn’t trade your friendship for anything;… except maybe a Firebolt.” He winked at Harry to show he was joking. Harry knew that Ron really wished he could take back his words but there was enough truth in them that they hung there between them like an invisible wall.

Harry spoke first in the uncomfortable silence that had descended between them. “Ron, what happened tonight between Ginny and me came naturally, but it can never happen again. I know how badly Ginny was hurt tonight because I have been under the cruciatus curse and I can never let that happen to her again.” Suddenly the image of Ginny and the thestral filled his mind and Harry’s eyes filled with a look of terror that scared Ron to his bone. “He’ll kill her Ron!” Harry said in a harsh and throaty voice. “He’ll do it to get at me. No one can know about tonight, no one can know how I feel about her.”

Harry had a nearly pleading sound to his voice now. Ron touched his shoulder tentatively and said “Harry, you do realize that Ginny will not go along with this? You know what she’s like Harry, how are we supposed to keep her quiet about it. You have already given her the necklace, you can’t just take it back, and if this stone thingy works they way you say it does then you can’t even tell her that it was all a big mistake. She knows how you feel doesn’t she?” Harry shook his head and said “Let’s get back to the common room; we need to talk to the girls if they’re still up.”

Moody had picked up Malfoy by the collar of his robes and ushered him up to Professor Dumbledore’s office. When they entered Professor Dumbledore was sitting at his desk with his pensieve sitting before him. He was using his wand to draw a shimmering silvery-white substance from his temple and deposit it in the shallow stone basin before him. “I found this sneaking around the corridor following Potter and Weasley after they left here.” Moody pushed Malfoy down roughly into one of the chairs Dumbledore had conjured earlier. Dumbledore looked at Malfoy with cold eyes. “Why were you following Harry Potter?” Malfoy was clearly nervous but he held his chin up and said “I wasn’t following him. I heard Weasley yelling and looked to see what they could be arguing about, or is that a crime now?”

Dumbledore was looking hard at Malfoy and raised his wand and pointed it at him and Malfoy’s face lost some of its cockiness. Dumbledore said “Ligilimens” and the office began to swim in front of Malfoy’s eyes but his father had taught him very young how to block out magical intrusions. Malfoy emptied his mind but couldn’t stop an image of a wand being pointed at a black cat then a bright green light shooting from the wand before the office came back into focus. Dumbledore lowered his wand and looking at Malfoy with mild surprise said “You are skilled in occlumency I see, but then of course you would be. I will tell you once more Mr. Malfoy; be very careful. I do not want to hear of you following Harry Potter or trying to torment him in any way. Professor Moody will escort you back to your dormitory where you will remain for the rest of the evening.” Malfoy got up and was grateful that his robes hid his shaking legs. Dumbledore’s attempt to see into his memories was very powerful and Malfoy realized that Dumbledore had gotten a glimpse of their plans. The effort to stop that full memory or any others from surfacing was very draining and Malfoy now had more reason to fear Dumbledore. He had not realized the amount of power that the headmaster possessed until that moment. He would need to be very careful indeed and decided that it was time to implement a few precautionary measures.

The walk down to the Slytherin common room was short and when they arrived Moody grabbed Malfoy by the collar and spun him around so that he was face to face with the scarred ex-auror. “I heard about my imposter turning you into a ferret two years ago” Malfoy’s pale face turned positively white and Moody continued “There is no one who can protect you from me if I get angry and I am very close to angry with you boy.” He pushed Malfoy away from him roughly as though he were some filthy object and waited for Malfoy to enter his common room before leaving for Professor Dumbledore’s office.

When Ron and Harry entered the common room Ginny was no where to be seen and Hermione was sitting on the far side of the hearth near the window. Ron and Harry came over and joined her “How is Ginny? Is she alright?” Harry asked his voice full of concern. “She’s fine Harry, just a little tired. She went up to bed. How are you?” Harry looked over at the girls staircase then said “I’m alright Hermione but we have a problem.” Harry looked at her feeling anxious and lowered his voice, “Look; the bottom line is no one can know how Ginny and I feel about each other. If Voldemort finds out about her then she will become a target. Can you help me to make Ginny understand that?”

Hermione sat back in her chair and thought about it for a moment. “How are you going to hide how you feel when you are asleep Harry. Can’t You Know Who see your dreams? Isn’t that what has been happening? I don’t think you can keep this a secret.” Harry hung his head miserably “I’ll practice every day, all day if I have to; to keep this from Voldemort. That’s all I can do, but it won’t help if Malfoy goes running off to tell his father about us. We saw him tonight. He was hanging around outside Dumbledore’s office. He was following me and Ron but Moody caught him.” Hermione looked shocked and alarmed. “Did he hear anything you were saying?” Harry’s face turned red and said “Er well no he wouldn’t have heard anything important. I was not talking to Ron at the moment.”

Hermione shot a look at Ron whose ears had turned bright red and he said “We were having a row ok?” Hermione didn’t press as they seemed to have resolved what ever they were arguing about and Hermione had a pretty good idea what it was. “Harry you will have to talk to Ginny in the morning, but don’t get upset if she resists keeping this a secret.” Hermione leaned close to Harry and Ron and whispered “She cares so much about you Harry, I have seen it for a long time now, but she kept it to herself because she didn’t think you felt the same. Unrequited love is painful Harry, and it was very hard for her to feel that way and not say anything. Now that you have told her that you feel the same way the relief that she didn’t have to hide her feelings any more was like a wonderful release. I don’t think she will want to go back to hiding her feelings, but talk to her, maybe she will agree with you but I don’t think so.”

Harry looked defeated but he said “Hermione would you ask her to meet me in greenhouse one tomorrow before breakfast? No one will bother us there and it’s always unlocked.” Hermione said she would then Harry got wearily to his feet and headed for the stairs to the boy’s dormitories. Ron said he would be up shortly and watched Harry go feeling a mixture of concern and regret. He turned back to Hermione and said “I was out of line with Harry. I said that it wasn’t safe for Ginny to be seeing him.” Hermione looked shocked and gasped “Oh Ron, why did you say that?” “I was reacting to how Ginny looked when we came in to Professor Dumbledore’s office. She was put under the Cruciatus Curse; Hermione that’s really bad. I feel terrible about saying it. I know that it really hurt Harry and that is what the row was about.”

Ron got up and started pacing the floor in front of the fire. After a moment he turned to look at Hermione and said “Even though Malfoy was following us all he would have seen is Harry stalking away from me very angry. When Moody caught him, he tripped over a suit of armor and fell in the corridor and that’s how we knew he was there.” Ron came back over and sat down in front of Hermione and lowered his voice somewhat “Hermione Harry went after Malfoy. I had to hold him back; he had murder in his eyes. Hermione I think he might have…” Ron looked back over his shoulder to make sure no one was near or listening. The only other people in the common room were a group of second years playing gobstones in the far corner of the room. “I think that he might just have really hurt Malfoy but Moody told him to go back to the common room and he left. I’ve never seen Harry look like that before, it scared me a little. If Moody wasn’t there I don’t know what he would have done.” Hermione glanced over to the boys staircase and said “Go talk to him Ron, I’ll go tell Ginny to meet him at the greenhouses tomorrow.” She got up and gave him a kiss then headed for the girls dormitory.

Harry was still awake and sitting by the window when Ron entered the dorm. Ron changed into his pajamas then came over and sat on Harry’s bed near the window. After a few minutes of silence between them Ron said “What were you going to do to Malfoy before Moody turned up and told you to leave?” Harry stared out at the night sky and said “Probably nothing since Moody was there, but if he hadn’t been there I’m not sure; only that it would not have been pleasant for Malfoy.” Harry said this last bit with a savage tone in his voice. “I’ll kill anyone who tries to hurt her Ron! I mean it.” Harry turned and looked at him and Ron felt a chill run down his spine for Harry had that same look when he had approached Malfoy earlier. Ron wondered if Harry was capable of murder for a moment then he shook his head and said “You won’t have to worry about that mate, no one will hurt Ginny. We will both see to that.” Dean, Seamus and Neville walked into the dormitory just then and they all had the feeling that they had interrupted something when Harry and Ron looked over at them. By the time the others had changed and climbed into bed Harry and Ron had also retired. Harry spent a long time clearing his mind of thought before finally falling into a fitful sleep.

Ginny was up early and met with Harry at the greenhouse at seven o’clock. Harry had not slept well and knew that he had had disturbing dreams but could not remember any of them which only increased his feeling of anxiety. Ginny was wearing the necklace that Harry had given her which made Harry feel happy and tense at the same time. He took her hand and walked her over to a bench at the far end of the greenhouse. “Ginny you know how I feel, but what happened last night can never happen again.” Ginny looked into Harry’s eyes and said “I think I know why I felt the curse more strongly than you did Harry.”

Harry sat back startled. This was the last thing he expected to hear from her. “When this first happened you said that HE was angry and scared or something else, remember? Well the something else was feeling sick. I felt that very strongly, he became very ill when he felt our feelings. I think that when he struck back with the Cruciatus Curse he was reacting to feeling sick and that is why I felt the curse more than you did. So we won’t use the saxulmens again, but that doesn’t change the way I feel about you Harry, and before you even say it, I will not hide my feelings. I have been doing that for too long now. I do not care if there is risk, life is full of risks and I won’t hide just because you are tied to Voldemort.”

Harry was staring at Ginny with his mouth open. She had just shot down every argument he had come up with to convince her that they should not see each other and she said Voldemort’s name with conviction. “Ginny, if Malfoy finds out about us he will tell his father who will tell Voldemort who will use my feelings for you as a weapon. He will try to hurt you just to get at me.” Harry sounded desperate and Ginny squeezed his hand firmly. “Harry he already knows.” Harry stopped and looked stunned. “Harry, what happened last night proves that. Voldemort knows that you are in love, our feelings for each other came through your connection with him and it caused him pain. He already knows so I have no intention of hiding anything from anyone.” She had a fire in her eyes that told Harry to give it up. Ginny wasn’t going to back down and her argument made sense. Voldemort must know and pretending to not care about Ginny would have been impossible for him in any case.

Harry looked at Ginny for a moment before saying “Ginny, I won’t ask you to hide your feelings, but let’s not go making any announcements. Being my girlfriend really isn’t the safest thing in the world to be; so keeping Malfoy in the dark would make me more comfortable.” Ginny was considering his words and realized that his feelings were as important as her own and said “Alright Harry; we will keep it between us and Ron & Hermione.” Harry felt the tightness in his chest ease up somewhat and he stood up. Ginny took hold of his hand as she stood and pulled him close to her. “Harry; I do not regret using the saxulmens with you. If I had to do it all over again I would not change a thing, even the pain I felt. Before that moment I could only imagine what you go through every time your scar hurts. I know it’s not like that every time but I know now what it feels like to have his hatred running through my mind, to feel his emotions totally unconnected with my own feelings. I don’t know how you do it Harry, I think I would go mad. – Harry as horrible as that was for me I have a better understanding of you now and I do not regret that.”

They held hands on the way back to the castle but split apart as they climbed the stone steps to the entrance hall. When Harry and Ginny joined Ron and Hermione at the Gryffindor table their attention was taken by the weeping of a first year girl named Sally Dingle. “Has Stewart been causing trouble again?” asked Ginny concerned and remembering the filibuster fireworks that Stewart had inadvertently gotten stuck in her robes a few months ago. Hermione had gotten up to go and speak to Sally and find out what the problem was. When she returned she leaned in and said to the others “Her cat has died. Mr. Filtch found him and was taking the animal to Professor Dumbledore’s office when Sally ran into him. She was absolutely beside herself when she saw Mr. Filtch with her cat. Hanna Abbott was also in the corridor at the time and she said that Mr. Filtch actually comforted Sally!” Harry, Ron, Ginny and Neville who had joined them all looked stunned by this news. “How did her cat die?” Ron asked but Hermione just shook her head. “No idea. Hanna said that outside of being dead Merlin looked perfectly healthy. It is a bit odd, Merlin was only two years old and he was in perfect health. Poor Sally, I don’t know what I’d do if Crookshanks just dropped dead like that.”
Harry and Ron exchanged looks.

Ron no longer hated Hermione’s cat but neither of the boys were particularly fond of him either. Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle came into the Great Hall and Malfoy was looking daggers at Harry. Harry stared back at him defiantly and Ron actually put a hand on Harry’s arm just in case he decided to do anything rash. Malfoy turned to Pansy Parkinson and her gang of Slytherin girls and began speaking in low tones. Hermione noticed this and said to Ginny “Be careful around them Ginny. They will want to know what is going on with Harry.” Ginny sighed and took the necklace that Harry had given her and tucked it inside of her robes.

The next week and a half were exciting and frustrating for Harry and Ginny. They saw each other every night at practice but they kept as much distance between them as they could while still practicing. They would find each other across the Great Hall and lock eyes for a few moments but were careful to always have at least four people between them. As the match with Slytherin approached the weather became wetter but the temperature seemed to forget to drop. The team practices had been shortened to only one hour to accommodate everyone’s homework schedules as well as DA classes for all of them. The whole team was not always at practice and two nights before the match with Slytherin Harry called an early halt to practice so that he and the other sixth years could get to their DA class. After everyone had gone to the locker rooms Harry took the ball crate back to the captain’s office. When he turned to leave Ginny was standing quietly in the corner. “They’ve all gone back up to the castle.” she said with a smile on her face. “It’s just us right now.” Harry smiled and stepped over to her.

Harry quietly entered the DA class ten minutes late hoping that Bill wasn’t going to be upset with him. “Where have you been?” asked Ron in a whisper when Harry sat down next to him. Harry smiled but didn’t answer.

[Amon Rê]

Well I haven't read 13 yet (too much school work ) But I don't know if you're trying to make it seem like this or not, but it seems every time we turn around Harry is apologizing to someone. It's kinda getting redundent. It's like in the 5th one, everytime you turned the page Harry was having a temper tantrum over something...you don't want to overplay that type of thing...

EXCELLENT!!!! Can't wait till Harry and Ginny finally get together

[Alice I]

I don't know if you're trying to make it seem like this or not, but it seems every time we turn around Harry is apologizing to someone. It's kinda getting redundent. It's like in the 5th one, everytime you turned the page Harry was having a temper tantrum over something...you don't want to overplay that type of thing...

Thanks for the comment Amon my love
Actually I have been starting to think that myself a little and Quicksilver pointed it out as well.
I'll have to go back through and look at all of Harry's conversations where he is going off on people.

Poor Harry; I have really put the kid through the mill. My dad asked me about that. He thought I was being too hard on him. I told my dad wait till you read Chapter Fourteen - Avada Kedavra when Voldie really turns up the heat.

[Nobby]

what a forboding chapter title! can't wait!

[Ferrus]

I can´t wait either!!

[Alice I]

Chapter Fourteen - Part 1
Avada Kedavra

Saturday dawned warm and clear; most unusual weather for mid November but no one was complaining. The conditions were perfect for flying and the game between Slytherin and Gryffindor was so charged that gale force winds and rain would not have kept a single soul from today’s quidditch match. Indeed this particular match was to be very well attended as every occupant of the school whether student or staff would be there as well as Professor Lupin who was very happy to have been able to get to this game for he had seen Harry fly before and enjoyed watching him as he flew very much like his father. Professor Moody had stayed at the school after Tonks returned and was also looking forward to today’s game. Most notably however was the Minister of Magic himself who had turned up early that morning.

He had decided to attend the match in prelude to discussions with Professor Dumbledore about his recent decision to incorporate two new courses at Hogwarts. The first being the Defensive Arts course which was based on an illegal formation of a group calling themselves “Dumbledore’s Army” from the previous year, and then he had been informed that Dumbledore had hired a muggle to teach at the school. The Minister of Magic was in a very difficult position; in that he had obviously and irrefutably been proven wrong by Albus Dumbledore to the whole wizarding world which was extremely embarrassing, and now Dumbledore seemed to be making outrageous decisions concerning the laws of the wizarding community. Professor Dumbledore had approached the sensei who had taught Alex Kimm Karate and asked him about teaching at Hogwarts much to the dismay of Cornelius Fudge.

Master Qui Kimm was Alex’s great grandfather and nearly one hundred ten years old, yet he still actively taught the ancient art of Karate Do. Master Kimm was a muggle as were his sons and grandsons. Alex was the first in their line to show any magical abilities, although much of the family, through their religious discipline, show nearly super human traits of intuition and/or physical prowess and agility. Qui Kimm’s father lived to the age of one hundred and thirty three before he died and maintained most of his physical and all of his mental abilities until the end of his life. Professor Dumbledore was perfectly within his rights to hire Qui Kimm as a teacher for Master Kimm already had full knowledge of the wizarding world due to his relationship with Alex, but the fact that a muggle would be teaching at the oldest wizarding school in northern Europe simply stuck in the Minister’s craw.

Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle went out of their way to past the Gryffindor table where Malfoy sneered meanly at Ron. “Watch yourself today Weasley, you wouldn’t want to get knocked off your broom.” Malfoy’s voice held a distinct threat and Hermione said “Ignore him Ron; he knows that Gryffindor is going to beat him today. It’s just sour grapes.” Harry was watching Malfoy and something seemed different today, he was too cocky. Crabbe and Goyle were with him and though Goyle sniggered at Malfoy’s comment Crabbe seemed to have missed the jeer at Ron and stared off toward the front of the hall with and oddly slack expression on his face. For some reason the encounter with Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle had made Harry very uneasy, and though he didn’t know what it was, he would definitely be keeping his eye on them during the match.

Down in the locker room Harry was pacing nervously. He needed to give his team a pep talk but was distracted by Malfoy’s comment earlier. Once his team had changed and were seated he looked at all of them. “You all know that Slytherin plays dirty so watch yourselves out there today. Gem you have come along fabulously with sneak punching so Ryan be ready to catch the quaffle every time she punches it from the opponent. Play a clean game and count on each others strengths. Let’s go show Slytherin and everyone else how hard we have worked.” Harry nodded to his team and picked up his Firebolt. As everyone was leaving the locker room Harry pulled Ron aside and whispered “Malfoy is up to something so watch yourself today. I didn’t like his warning to you at breakfast. It’s just a feeling but all the same keep your eyes open alright?” Ron frowned slightly but said “Ok mate. I will” He had never seen Harry look so nervous and he knew it wasn’t about the match or flying. Malfoy’s comment at breakfast had Harry spooked and Ginny noticed it too. When the team left the locker room to enter the field she took his hand and held back for a moment until everyone else had left. Harry looked down at her. “What is it?” She looked worried but she stood on her toes and kissed him lightly on the cheek. “Be careful today. I think you’re right; Malfoy’s up to something, just don’t let him egg you into doing anything stupid.” Harry smiled down at Ginny then bent down and kissed her “I’ll be careful.”
Malfoy indeed had a satisfied grin plastered on his face and looked at Harry with a nasty smile.

On Madam Hooch’s whistle they all kicked off into the air. The match turned ugly immediately as the Slytherin chasers converged on Ginny who had possession of the quaffle nearly knocking her off her broom. Madam Hooch blew the whistle and called a foul “Skinning! Gryffindor takes a penalty shot” Ginny was quick and gave Gryffindor their first score of the game. Nott had possession of the quaffle and Gem flew up behind him like a bullet and punched the quaffle out of his arms and wheeled off just as he swung his arm out to hit her. The quaffle began to drop but Ryan was right there and snatched it away before Prichard who was flying all out could recover it. Ryan looked up to the Slytherin goal and saw the three Slytherin chasers pelting at him in the Hawkshead Attacking formation with the intention of ramming him and he passed the quaffle to Gem. She threw the quaffle high and Ginny swooped down and caught it. Ginny dodged both bludgers as they were ruthlessly sent at her and took Gryffindor’s second score. Harry was looking around for the snitch but also tried to keep an eye on Malfoy. Slytherin had taken possession of the quaffle but Ron had practiced hard over the summer and in October and deflected two attempts to score. Gem and Ryan were working very well together and got the quaffle to Ginny who took two more scores for Gryffindor. The Gryffindor backers were screaming madly as Gryffindor was now up forty points to zero and they started a chorus of “Weasley is our King!” they had added a new verse to include Ginny and sang out
Weasley is our Queen!
She always gets the quaffle in!
every other verse.

Harry still had seen no sign of the snitch and the uneasy feeling he had about Malfoy was growing. There were three more personal fouls as the match got dirtier and Harry noticed that Malfoy kept looking at Ron. Harry knew that he was going to try something but he didn’t know what. Malfoy was never near Ron during the match, it almost seemed like he wanted to keep a good distance between himself and the Gryffindor goal. Then Harry saw something gold glinting in the sun high and close to the Slytherin goal. He took off after it expecting Malfoy to be right behind him. Malfoy did not, however give chase; instead he was looking intently at Ron who was concentrating on all three Slytherin chasers who were coming at him at top speed with the quaffle. They were going to try stooging him. That is when two chasers ram the keeper so that the third can score. This was the opportunity that Malfoy had been waiting for and he slipped his wand out and pointed it at Crabbe. “Do it now!”

Harry looked back quickly to see how close Malfoy was and pulled up hard. Malfoy had not gone after the snitch he was looking in the other direction. Harry forgot about the snitch and soared back toward Malfoy. He was above him and could see Malfoy pointing his wand at someone. Harry looked and saw Crabbe stop in mid air and fumble in his robes. Harry couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Malfoy was not targeting Ron he was pointing his wand at Crabbe. Harry flew closer and heard Malfoy muttering “Now, do it now; Avada Kedavra!” Harry’s heart froze as the realization of what was happening hit him. Malfoy was using the Imperius Curse on Crabbe who was now pointing his wand at Ron.

“RON!” Harry screamed as loud as he could. Ginny, who was closer to Harry than her brother, heard Harry’s scream and saw Crabbe pointing his wand at Ron. She didn’t even think about what she was doing, she just flew as fast as she could toward her brother who still had not seen what was going on. Andrew and Dean had seen what the chasers were trying to do and hit both bludgers at the group of chasers as hard as they could actually knocking Nott from his broom, though he held on with one hand. The group scattered and Crabbe who now had a clear shot was aiming directly at Ron and said “Arvada Kedavara.” and green light shot out of his wand headed directly for Ron. Harry couldn’t get the Firebolt to fly any faster as he headed straight for Ron who had just looked up and seen Crabbe pointing his wand at him just as Ginny flew between them taking the curse full in the chest. She went rigid and fell from her broom.

Harry’s heart stopped beating as he somehow put on a new burst of speed although everything seemed to be moving in slow motion. He had to catch her, he knew that she was already dead but he couldn’t let her fall. That was the only blinding thought in Harry’s mind 'Catch her!' It seemed to Harry like an eternity to cover the distance between Ginny and himself. The only sound that he could hear was the pounding of his own heart in his ears. He was able to catch her around the waist ten feet before she hit the ground.

Harry landed holding Ginny to him and time suddenly resumed its normal speed. He looked down at her open unseeing eyes and knew that she was gone. Harry dropped to his knees still clutching her too him and screamed “NOOOOO!” the anguish in his voice and heart were more intense than anything he had ever experienced. Harry clutched Ginny to him and sat back on his knees sobbing “You promised that you wouldn’t leave me. No Ginny Noooo!” Ron landed next to Harry and jumped off his broom “Ginny!” Ron came over to Harry and knelt down. Harry’s face confirmed Ron’s fear. “Ginny you can’t be dead! Ginny!” The torment and sheer terror in Ron’s voice cut through the pain in Harry’s heart and he laid Ginny down gently, almost mechanically as Ron watched horrified.

Harry was staring at Ginny’s face and felt all of the pain and sorrow began swirling around in his head. Anger fired his stomach and blossomed into a blinding rage that coursed through his body making him shake violently and he fell forward on his knees. Every emotion from the anguish of Ginny’s death to the white hot fury that had seized him congealed in his mind forming a black void. Hatred, murder, pitilessness, and a pure evil filled the space in Harry’s mind. He stopped shaking and his fingers that were clutching the grass let go. Hermione and most of the rest of the Gryffindors had come out onto the field preceded by Albus Dumbledore, the Minister of Magic and the rest of the teachers. Hermione ran straight to Ginny and collapsed on the ground next to her. Mad Eye had immediately magically bound Crabbe and began removing everyone’s wands. All of the players had landed and were standing around in a dazed state. No one could believe that Ginny had been murdered. Bill, Ron and Hermione were all staring at Ginny in shock none of them believing their eyes and Harry was still on his hands and knees next to her. He sat up and Ron nearly jumped back from him. Set in the tortured features of Harry’s face were the red eyes of Lord Voldemort.

He looked at Ron as though in a daze with those cold red eyes staring out totally unconnected with the rest of Harry’s features. He got up and walked in the opposite direction toward Malfoy and as Harry past Professor Dumbledore and Mad Eye he took no notice of them standing there. He was walking as though in a trance. Mad Eye made a move to stop him but Dumbledore said “No Alastor.” and pulled out his own wand and trained it on Harry; but made no attempt to hinder him. As Harry drew near Malfoy he took out his wand. “What are you doing Potter? I didn’t do anything! Professor you took my wand, he’s going to kill me!” Malfoy had seen the shade of Voldemort’s eyes staring out at him from Harry’s face and sheer panic flooded through him.

Harry could not hear Malfoy; the voice of Voldemort was whispering in his ear. “He killed her, she’s dead. He must pay!” Harry suddenly realized that he knew how to perform the killing curse. It was like a disconnected memory coming to the surface of his mind. He could not say how or when he had learned it, he just knew. The field had become very still as every person’s attention was focused on the unbelievable scene unfolding before them. Malfoy standing in sheer terror while Harry had his wand trained on Malfoy’s heart, and Albus Dumbledore with his wand trained on Harry. The most frightening thing was the fact that Voldemort had clearly possessed Harry. He was staring straight into Malfoy’s eyes but Professor Dumbledore had the distinct impression that if Malfoy walked away Harry would not notice. His focus was turned inward and he began to shake slightly, although his right hand remained very steady.

“He took her from you. Kill him! Kill him!” the whispering was becoming louder. A different voice in Harry’s mind said 'NO! I will not KILL!' His face was starting to get very red as he was clearly struggling with the Dark Lord’s possession. Moody made a move to intercept but Dumbledore raised a hand and said “No he must fight this on his own.” Voldemort’s voice became shrill as he laughed in Harry’s mind. “You pathetic fool; you can not even avenge the death of the woman you love! You are a coward Potter. Malfoy will be honored above all my other Death Eaters. I will give him all of your closest and dearest to torture and kill. You will die as the coward that you are!” Harry’s scar was burning and he grabbed his head with his free hand, never taking his wand off Malfoy who had actually wet himself when he realized that no one was being allowed to stop Harry from killing him. ‘NO!’ Harry thought through the mist of pain in his head. He still had his eyes fixed on Malfoy but he was barely aware of him. All of Harry’s concentration was turned inward. ‘I am no coward!’ Harry thought savagely. The scar on Harry’s forehead split open and began to bleed. Every eye was transfixed on Harry’s face now. He still had Malfoy covered with his right hand his left was balled into a fist that he was pressing against his left temple and horrific pain was etched in every line and feature of his face with the exception of his eyes.
The red eyes of Voldemort looked gleeful, triumphant and being set in Harry’s tormented face it looked ridiculously comical.

Voldemort’s voice echoed in Harry’s mind “Kill him, you want to do it. KILL HIM!” Harry felt a fear more deep and cold than anything he had ever felt in his life because he realized that he did want to kill Malfoy, all he had to do was say the incantation, the mind set was in place, it would be so easy to do. The voice of Voldemort rang triumphant in Harry's mind "Yes, he deserves to die do it now!" Suddenly Harry felt something surge up inside of him, a force of willpower with incredible strength that fortified him even more than Phoenix song could ‘I WILL NOT KILL!’ Harry’s thoughts lashed like a whip. Harry actually screamed “GET OUT!” startling Malfoy who was unsure if Harry was speaking to him, and every person present saw Voldemort’s red eyes look shocked, then fearful before they faded and Harry’s own green eyes emerged blazing with a surging raw power.

The black void in Harry’s mind containing Voldemort’s will, shattered and disappeared. “NOOO!” Voldemort screamed in pain and fear hundreds of miles away. Harry’s eyes were his own and an energy that was every bit as powerful as possessed by Dumbledore himself was radiating from him. Harry raised his left hand into the air and his Firebolt soared into his outstretched grasp with out wand or incantation. Indeed Harry’s wand was still pointed directly at Malfoy’s heart. Harry turned his head and Professor Dumbledore saw shock in Harry’s stare yet the shock was dulled by the surging raw power running through him at the moment. The scar on his forehead stopped bleeding and healed itself as though Madam Pomfrey was standing there with her wand until it looked as it always had.

Ron and Hermione were staring at Harry spellbound and somewhat frightened by what they were seeing. Harry’s gaze fell on Ron then Hermione and finally to Ginny lying still next to Hermione. The sense of raw power faded from his eyes and they became hollow and lifeless. Harry swung his leg over his Firebolt and Ron rushed forward “Harry don’t… Please Harry!” but Harry had kicked off from the ground and turned his face toward Ron who felt a cold fear at the dead look in Harry's eyes even as tears rolled down his cheeks unseen and unfelt. Only when he was rising into the air did Harry remove his wand from Malfoy’s chest and instead pointed it at the school and shouted “Accio Cloak!” Then he turned and sped off toward the forbidden forest. Every eye followed Harry’s flight to the forest except Professor Dumbledore who was peering intently at the castle.

Harry was now out of sight and Moody and a few others noticed Dumbledore’s stare. Then Professor Dumbledore raised his hand just as Harry had done and Malfoy’s Nimbus 2001 wrenched out of his slack grip and soared directly to him. Dumbledore was staring intently at something coming from the castle that Moody saw first. “Potter’s Invisibility Cloak!” Dumbledore had swung his leg over the broom and took off after the cloak as it soared over head, much to the overwhelming shock of all present. Bill who was still crouched over his sister’s lifeless body looked down at her and felt his heart leap. Ginny’s eyes were closed. “Ginny?” he bent low and smiled as tears of joy rolled down his face “She’s alive! She’s breathing!”

[Alice I]

Chapter Fourteen - Part 2
Avada Kedavra


Harry was flying blindly through the trees. His mind was numb, ‘She’s dead and nothing can ever change that. This isn’t just a dream, she’s dead, just like Sirius, just like my parents, just like Mundungus, and Cedric, and… and ….’ Wham! Harry was knocked off his broom as he flew between branches. An angry bowtruckle that wasn’t too pleased with the way Harry was flying through the forest held back a branch and let sway as he flew by. Harry was thrown backward off his broom and bounced off several branches painfully on the way down to the ground. His shattered glasses landed some ten feet from where he crashed to the forest floor and his Firebolt drifted to the ground fifty meters further on. The branch that had hit Harry in the face left a ragged gash across the bridge of his nose that traveled down to his left cheek where it split into three less jagged cuts. The effect was that of a large red crow’s foot on his face. The bowtruckle was twittering angrily down at him from the upper branches of the tree but Harry didn’t hear it.

He was disoriented and lay on the ground staring blankly up into the canopy of branches only semi conscious. Some small part of Harry’s mind recognized the fact that he was in the middle of the forbidden forest in a state of shock and totally vulnerable. He could no more recognize danger approaching than defend himself and a small voice in the back of his mind said 'Get the cloak!' Without even being aware of his actions Harry raised his wand hand, which amazingly still held his wand in a tight grip, into the air and only seconds later his invisibility cloak soared over to where he lay. Harry’s hand dropped to the ground and he lost consciousness as the cloak drifted to the ground partially covering him.

Dumbledore had followed the cloak as far into the forest as he could but the cloak had much less difficulty navigating the trees and underbrush than Professor Dumbledore did. He could still see the cloak ahead of him when it suddenly gained enormous speed and disappeared into the thickening trees. Dumbledore turned and flew back to the quidditch pitch. The entire school had either gone back to their dormitories or were milling around the entrance hall and Great Hall discussing the extraordinary events of the morning.

Dumbledore was certain that Moody had confined Malfoy and Crabbe for questioning which he would conduct himself but first he needed to find Harry. He headed straight for the first floor room that Firenze used for his home and classroom. Firenze was waiting for him. “My friend, I need your help; Harry Potter has flown into the forbidden forest, he is distraught for he saw a friend murdered today. He is very vulnerable right now and must be found immediately. Will you help me to find him?” Firenze simply bowed his head. “It was foretold that this would happen, but you must know that no murder has happened this day.” Professor Dumbledore stopped and looked directly at Firenze. “Why do you say that my friend?” Dumbledore asked with a slight frown. “I say only that which I know to be true.” A light fired in Dumbledore’s eyes and he said “Would you please wait here for me? I will return shortly.” Firenze nodded and Dumbledore left immediately for the hospital wing.

When he entered the ward there was a crowd milling restlessly near the door at the opposite end of the ward. Ginny was lying in a bed near Madam Pomfrey’s office and she was obviously not dead. Relief washed over Dumbledore and he bent to her bed to see her more closely. Ron and Hermione had spotted Professor Dumbledore and rushed down the ward to him, followed closely by the whole Gryffindor team. “Where is Harry?” Hermione asked anxiously. “I will be leaving shortly to go and find him Miss Granger.”

Just as Dumbledore said this; Madam Pomfrey stepped out of her office with Professors McGonagall, Weasley and Moody who immediately spoke when he saw Professor Dumbledore “I have the Malfoy boy locked in my office and Crabbe has been confined in one of the dungeons. I used the Prior Incantato charm on Mr. Malfoy’s wand. The last spell he used was the Imperious Curse. It seems he tried to force Mr. Crabbe to kill Mr. Weasley, only Mr. Crabbe obviously performed the spell incorrectly as Miss Weasley here is still among the living. I heard you say that you were just leaving to find Potter. If he has that cloak with him you are going to need me. Fudge wanted to interrogate Malfoy immediately but I explained to him that that was not going to happen until you were present. He has left the grounds; presumably to get some kind of authority in the matter.” Mad Eye said this last bit with a wicked smirk on his face. Professor Dumbledore looked at Professor McGonagall “Minerva…”

“I have already contacted the Weasleys.” Then he turned his gaze on Madam Pomfrey “Poppy?” She looked at him “I can find absolutely nothing wrong with Miss Weasley apart from the fact that she is unconscious. I haven’t got the first idea as to when she will wake up. I have never seen the killing curse go wrong before, no one has.” Professor Dumbledore said very quietly “Harry has.” Madam Pomfrey’s face turned scarlet and she turned her attention back to Ginny.

Dumbledore turned and left the infirmary with Moody following behind. Bill had sat down next to Ginny’s bed holding her hand while the others looked around feeling utterly helpless. “He beat him Hermione, did you see him?” Ron was staring out the window across the grounds toward the forbidden forest. “We have to find him Ron” Hermione hissed quietly. She did not want the others to overhear her. Ron looked down at her and stepped over to the window away from Ginny and the crowd around her. “I did see him Ron; I saw how he died inside when he looked at Ginny. He doesn’t know that she isn’t dead. He thinks she gone and I don’t know what he will do.” Hermione had tears rolling down her face but she seemed totally unaware of them. She was terrified of what she had seen in Harry’s eyes before he flew away.

Ron knew exactly what she meant because he had seen the same thing. It looked like Harry had nothing left to live for. His eyes became hollow and empty and that frightened Ron as much as it did Hermione. While everyone else’s concentration was on Ginny they slipped out the door at the other end of the ward. With no real plan in mind Ron and Hermione ran headlong down the corridor toward the entrance hall. There were quite a few students milling about all discussing what had happened out on the field today. The story of how Harry had been possessed by the Dark Lord had spread through the school with lightning speed although only the teachers and the students closest to Harry had actually seen Voldemort’s red eyes looking out of his face. Ron actually overheard someone say that Harry had brought Ginny back from the dead.

Ron and Hermione completely ignored the attempts to stop them to ask about Harry and Ginny. They made straight for Hagrid’s cabin and knocked furiously but Hagrid didn’t answer. “Maybe he’s off looking for Harry too.” Ron said. Hermione looked at the forest behind Hagrid’s hut with a hopeless expression on her face. “How are we supposed to find him in there?” she said with a slight edge of panic to her voice. Ron looked at her then at the forest himself. He remembered all too well his previous forays into that forest and would not willing go back in there; except to save his best friend. “I don’t know Hermione, but we have to find him.” He looked into her eyes “Your right; Harry is in trouble; we have to find him and tell him that Ginny is ok.” There was nothing else for them to do but pull out their wands and enter the forest on foot. Ron turned and faced the quidditch stadium and looked back at the forest. He was clearly trying to guess which way Harry had flown and after a moment they set off loosely headed for the center of the forest.

Dumbledore, Mad Eye and Firenze had entered the forest and followed Professor Dumbledore for nearly twenty minutes when he stopped and turned to the centaur. “The cloak that I was following disappeared through that rather dense thicket ahead. I was unable to continue following it as it had suddenly gathered great momentum and flew out of sight. Dumbledore and Moody exchanged dark looks, for if the cloak had suddenly picked up speed then Harry must have had an urgent need for it.

As the group came to the place where Dumbledore lost the cloak the sound of hoof beats echoed from ahead and behind them. Moody pulled out his wand and pointed it at the centaur facing him leveling a crossbow at his chest. Bane, a black bodied and bearded centaur appeared behind the group and approached with deepest disgust on his face. “You should not have come back Firenze. You must now pay for your crimes.” Firenze stared back nonplussed. “I have entered the forest to find a lost young one. My return was foretold Bane, you must only accept the signs.” Bane pawed the ground angrily. “I need accept nothing as foreseen by you Firenze!”

“You do not choose to accept what I have seen, but you need to accept that a young boy has flown into the forest in a state of shock. His mind is addled with grief, for he believes that he has lost his friend. This is the boy the red star shines on as seen by all. You are honor bound to help us find him before more harm comes to him. This is our law.” Bane reared up on his hind legs and kicked at the air. “You do not tell me our laws Firenze. You are a traitor and centaur laws do not pertain to you.” Firenze looked back at Bane “Our laws pertain to me and to the lost boy. He is still underage and is vulnerable to further attack. You must help to find him.” Bane looked angry but he put his bow back over his shoulder and conceded to Firenze. At least five more centaurs had emerged from the trees during the conversation between Firenze and Bane and the centaurs silently headed off in different directions to look for Harry.

When Harry regained consciousness he just stared up into the trees in a kind of dazed stupor. He rolled over and got to his knees. His head was pounding from being hit by the tree branch and he looked down and saw his cloak lying next to him and he picked it up and wrapped it around and over himself. The image of Ginny lying on the ground eyes wide open and dead flashed before him and all of the warmth drained out of him, he felt dead himself. He wrapped his arms around his waist and rocked back on his feet, and as all of the grief surged up inside of him he screamed a primal cry at the universe that kept taking everyone who he loved away from him.

Ron and Hermione stopped and listened to that cry full of anguish feeling scared for their friend. “It sounded like it came from that way” Ron said pointing and they quickened their pace. Dumbledore and Moody with Firenze and two other Centaurs also heard Harry’s scream and Mad Eye said “That direction” and pointed off to the left and they also moved on with more haste.

As Harry cried for Ginny an all consuming despair washed over him which was precisely what Voldemort, hundreds of miles away, had been waiting for. He was able to feel Harry’s pain and make a strong connection to him. Voldemort was furious that Harry had been able to defy him and even cause him considerable pain. Once the connection was made; Voldemort’s counter attack was ruthless and he screamed “Crucio!” willing his loathing and pure malice to stream through their connection. Wormtail stepped into his master’s chamber and saw Voldemort’s face contorted in rage his red eyes blazing as he focused on causing concentrated pain to flow into his enemy and it was pain beyond anything Harry had ever felt. He had heard Voldemort’s high pitch voice cry ‘Crucio’ but this pain was far worse than what Harry had felt the last time Voldemort had used the Cruciatus Curse on him two years ago. This pain came from his connection to Voldemort and that seemed to amplify it somehow as if he were connected to Voldemort with the saxulmens. The next scream that came from Harry was heard throughout the forest almost as if it were magically magnified like the voice of a howler. The pain evident in that scream would have chilled the bones of any listener and indeed it did. With a blinding flash Harry’s scar burst open again and he fell forward still wrapped in the invisibility cloak and lay on the forest floor bleeding from his scar and the cuts on his face unconscious.

Hermione and Ron stopped dead in their tracks when they heard this second scream. Hermione started crying “Oh God; No Harry; come on Ron!” and she started running in the direction of the scream. Ron was right behind her as terrified as she at what they might find. He had heard Harry scream before but never like that. That scream also chilled Dumbledore to his core and he set off in the direction of it at a run. He was remarkably agile for a man of his age and Moody was having some difficulty keeping up with his old friend. Dumbledore heard hoof beats and looked to his left and right. Several centaurs were cantering along; Firenze and Bane among them. All of them seemed intent on the screams they had heard and there seemed, at the moment, to be a truce between Firenze and his people. The centaurs arrived at the clearing that Harry lay in first for they were much more suited to running through the forest and closed the distance quickly.

The sound of Harry’s scream had frightened all of the centaurs visibly who looked very pale and were peering through the trees to see if they were alone in the clearing. A small centaur, who looked to be almost what his people would call a foal, picked something up from the ground in the clearing. Magorian walked over to this young centaur and asked “What have you found Cittel?” The young centaur held out the broken glasses to his elder. Just then Ronan called “The boy is nearby.” He stepped into the clearing holding Harry’s broomstick. Professor Dumbledore and Mad Eye had just entered the clearing and saw Ronan holding Harry’s broom and Mad Eye looked around quickly. He grabbed Dumbledore’s arm and pointed to Bane and said “He’s under that centaur’s feet!” Bane looked startled and glanced down at the ground but saw nothing. He reached down and felt, much to his surprise, something invisible there beneath his feet. He took hold of the invisibility cloak and pulled it off Harry and tossed it aside.

Bane very carefully stepped aside so that Professor Dumbledore could kneel beside Harry and turn him over. Bane looked shocked when he saw Harry and looked up at Magorian “He bears the sign.” The centaurs moved closer and peered down at the unconscious boy seeing the crows foot shaped cut on his face and the lighting bolt scar that was still bleeding. The fact that Harry’s scar had split open seemed of particular interest to many of the centaurs. A moment later all of the centaurs had drawn their bows and were loading arrows from their quivers when Mad Eye hollered “Hold your fire. It’s Miss Granger and Mr. Weasley!” When the centaurs did not lower there weapons Firenze spoke “They are young ones from the school.” The other centaurs seemed to respect this and lowered their weapons.

Dumbledore stood and peered in the direction all of the centaurs were looking in. There was the sound of running coming closer and closer until finally Hermione and Ron came crashing out into the clearing and stopped abruptly seeing all of the centaurs. Hermione screamed and nearly fainted. Ron held her from behind looking around frantically then he saw Professor Dumbledore and Professor Moody. They both saw Harry lying on the forest floor at the same time. “Harry!” they cried together and ran to him. Hermione had completely forgotten her fear of being caught in a pack of centaurs again. “What in Blazes are YOU TWO DOING HERE!?” shouted Moody. Hermione looked up at him defiantly and shouted right back “He is our best friend! Where in blazes did you EXPECT us to be?” Ron looked down at Hermione in complete awe and Mad Eye Moody regarded her with something between a smirk and a frown. She looked down at Harry and saw that his scar was bleeding again. “What happened is he… Did… did You Know Who… Is that why he screamed like that?” Hermione asked in a very small and terrified voice. She had tears running down her face for she had thought that Harry had died.

Bane stepped over to where Hermione was kneeling next to Harry’s limp form and lowered himself to look directly at her. She looked up into his deep brown eyes and he said in a gentle voice “Your friend had been touched by the Red Star.” then stood up as though that explained everything. There was a very loud crashing sound from another area of the forest and a loud rumbling voice that sounded a little like it was saying “HAGER!” Hermione froze and stared open mouthed in the direction of the sounds. They began to die away and Bane looked up at Dumbledore and at Firenze standing close by. “You have safe passage through the forest. Take this boy back to the school so that he can heal.” Then Bane turned and faced Firenze directly and said “You should not have entered into the service of this human, we can not forgive that. You have declared the signs; and events seem to agree with you. We will meditate on this.” Then he turned to Professor Dumbledore “May we send a representative to Firenze at the school with our decision?” Professor Dumbledore looked directly into the eyes of this centaur and said “All who come to my school with peace in their hearts are welcome.” Bane nodded to him and led the rest of the centaurs out of the clearing.

Dumbledore conjured a stretcher and levitated Harry onto it. It took them nearly thirty minutes to leave the forest with Harry’s stretcher. It was now close to four o’clock in the afternoon and the school was absolutely buzzing. Several students saw Professor Dumbledore emerge from the forest with the stretcher followed by Mad Eye, Firenze, Ron and Hermione. They did not approach when they caught sight of the look on Dumbledore’s face. Dumbledore carried Harry straight up to the hospital wing and levitated him onto the bed next to Ginny. Madam Pomfrey came rushing out of her office when they had entered the ward. She used her wand to heal Harry’s scar and the gashes on his face and as soon as she finished he started to come around.

When Harry opened his eyes he saw that he was in the hospital wing. He reached up and rubbed his forehead, for his scar was still prickling furiously. Then the memory of what had happened flooded into him. He sat up abruptly looking around wildly. Ron and Hermione stepped over to his bed “Harry, it’s ok.” Hermione said just as Ron said “It’s over now Harry.” Ron and Hermione were looking almost fearfully at them but Harry ignored them as his gaze had come to rest on Ginny who was lying in the bed next to his. She was as pale as when he laid her lifeless body on the ground out on the quidditch pitch but now something was different. Her eyes were closed and … Harry shook his head and looked back at her. Disbelief washed over him as he watched her chest rise and fall with each breath. He slowly got to his feet unable to breath he staggered over to her, tears silently running down his face. He must be dreaming; how could she be alive? But there she was; breathing. Harry’s legs collapsed and he fell to his knees at her bedside. Finally tearing his eyes from her he looked up at Professor Dumbledore who was standing quietly looking directly at him. Harry stared into those blue eyes behind half moon spectacles and whispered “How?” His throat was constricted with emotion and he could not say anything else.

“It would appear that Mr. Crabbe was not a particularly good student preformed the spell incorrectly.” Harry held Ginny’s hand tightly and lowered his head, the shock of her death and now to find out that she wasn’t dead after all was more than he could bear and his shoulder shook slightly with the sobs of relief that he couldn’t quite contain. Ron took hold of Hermione’s hand and led her from the ward knowing that Harry needed privacy but Moody and Madam Pomfrey remained.

After a few minutes Harry looked up again at Professor Dumbledore “I need to speak with you sir. It can’t wait.” Dumbledore nodded and asked Moody and Madam Pomfrey to leave the ward as he helped Harry back to his bed. Madam Pomfrey wanted to examine him but Dumbledore was adamant that they be given a few minutes alone. Harry was trying to piece together everything that had happened on the field today. It was like watching a surreal nightmare in slow motion. He knew that Voldemort had actually possessed him on the quidditch field, something that Professor Dumbledore had been trying to protect Harry from. Voldemort had entered Harry’s mind and tried to make him kill. Harry had fought Voldemort but what caused an icy cold fear deep in the pit of his stomach was the undeniable fact that in the end he, Harry, wasn’t fighting Voldemort to keep from killing Malfoy; he was fighting himself and his own desire to do just exactly that. Draco Malfoy will never know how very close to dieing he came and that thought tortured Harry’s weakened mind.

“It was Voldemort.” Harry said almost desperately. “He possessed me through our connection and I could hear him in my mind. I…” Harry shuddered involuntarily as though a cold and damp draft had suddenly come up. “I could feel him inside of me. He has been the cause of everything that has happened since last June. He wanted me to kill in cold blood, for revenge.” Harry looked up at the ceiling and sighed. He thought back over the summer and all of the terrible dreams he had been having. Dumbledore had been right, Voldemort was behind them. He didn’t want to admit it but Voldemort had been controlling him. “He has been using my strongest emotions to control me. Fear and pain worked well, he somehow made me afraid to fly, he has been tormenting me all along!” Harry was starting to feel anger but stopped and pictured his snowflake. He was not going to give Voldemort any more ammunition. After a moment he continued “This time he wanted me to feel rage, enough to kill.” Harry looked over at Ginny for a moment then returned his gaze to Professor Dumbledore. “I know how to perform the killing curse. ‘Avada Kedavra’. He put it in my head and tried to make me use it. I don’t want to know how to do that! I said no and forced Voldemort out of my mind but then...” Harry trailed off looking back at his memory of this afternoon. “I hurt him; Voldemort… I could feel his pain and I felt fear from him…. I can attack him now, maybe I always could, but I haven’t any idea how I did it.”

“You hurt Voldemort?” Dumbledore’s eyes blazed for a moment and they looked for the briefest moment to hold that hint of triumph as they had done after the Triwizard Tournament. “Yes sir. When I forced him out of my mind he felt pain and fear. I remember a kind of wind or something, it was coming from me and it hurt him somehow.” Dumbledore looked thoughtfully at Harry for a moment then said “Harry you displayed a power today that even I would never have guessed that you possessed; I who know more of your capabilities and potential than even you do. It had been an exhausting day for you and you really need to rest now.” Harry only half heard Dumbledore as he looked over a Ginny again “She’s not dead.” Harry said almost to himself. “He knows about Ginny. I’m not safe anymore; I don’t think I ever was.” Harry had an almost panicked look in his eyes and Dumbledore said “Harry, Hogwarts is the safest place for you; you know that.”

Harry bowed his head and took a deep breath then he looked up at Professor Dumbledore. “You don’t understand me Sir. I’m not the one who’s not safe. It’s all of you, it’s her” Harry was pointing at Ginny. “I almost killed Malfoy today; not Voldemort.” Harry looked directly into Dumbledore’s eyes. “I almost killed him sir. In the end I wasn’t fighting Voldemort for control, I was fighting ME!” Dumbledore looked at Harry and said quietly “You have had your very soul tested Harry and you passed.”

Suddenly anger flared up in Harry and his scar started to prickle furiously. “You don’t get it! I did something I never told you about. Back in June when Bellitrix ran from that room with the veil, ran from you after she murdered Sirius, I followed her.” Harry paused for only a moment then said in a firm and resolute voice “I used the Cruciatus Curse on her… or at least tried to. I wanted her to suffer; I wanted her to feel the pain I was feeling. It didn’t work but what about now? If I can use Avada Kedavra then I can do all of them.” Harry looked defeated and scared and Dumbledore touched his hand “What you did in June was understandable Harry. You can spend a lifetime pondering the ‘what ifs’ and what will it get you?” Dumbledore looked thoughtfully at him then said “You displayed raw power today and you did indeed force the possession of Lord Voldemort from you. Harry; no wizard, living or dead, has ever done that.”

Harry walked over to Ginny’s bed and sat down on the edge of it staring down at her. She looked quite peaceful and Harry asked “When will she wake up?” Professor Dumbledore sighed and said “Alas we do not know. I do not know yet what Mr. Crabbe did wrong when he preformed the spell. That is one of the things that I will ascertain when I speak with him. There is nothing else you can do for her now but know this Harry; you did save her.” Harry looked up at Professor Dumbledore a little confused. “You caught her Harry and that fall would have killed her.” Harry knew instantly that Dumbledore was right because he remembered the feeling that he must catch her. Did some part of him know that she was not dead? It didn’t feel that way at all and Harry shook his head. He caught sight of his reflection on Madam Pomfrey’s office window that was darkened by a deep purple drape hanging on the inside. “I am going to go get cleaned up but I’m coming back here. I want to be here when she wakes up.” Professor Dumbledore nodded and stood up to leave the ward.

Harry bent down and gave Ginny a kiss then sat and watched her for a moment before rising. He had a fleeting wild hope that when he kissed her she would wake up just like in the fairy tale but she slept on. Harry and Dumbledore left the ward together and parted when they reached the end of the corridor that led to the headmaster’s office. “Harry, this is not over yet. Send Winky to tell me when she wakes up.” Harry felt numb and just nodded then turned to climb the steps leading to the next floor and the long walk to Gryffindor tower. Harry was barely aware of where he was; his thoughts turned inward. As he turned down a corridor he was pulled from his thoughts abruptly by a shrill scream. It came from a classroom down on the right side near the end of the corridor.


(Part 3 coming in about an hour)[/i]

[Alice I]

Chapter Fourteen - Part 3
Avada Kedavra

Harry heard a loud growl and the scream as he ran headlong down the corridor and entered the room. It took a moment for the scene inside to register. Fluffy, an enormous three headed dog that had once belonged to Hagrid, was standing over a cowering Mr. Filch. Harry didn’t even stop to consider how this monster had come to be in the castle again as he darted over to grab Mr. Filch and drag him to safety when Professor Lupin, who had also heard the screams came running in. “Harry wait!” he cried as Harry ran under one of Fluffy’s enormous heads and grabbed Mr. Filch around the wrist.

There was a loud crack and Fluffy was gone. Harry spun around and a bucketful of ice dropped into his stomach as he gazed into the eyes of Lord Voldemort staring out of his own face as he stood facing himself. The sensation he felt earlier of having pure odium flooding through his veins threatened to engulf him as he stared at the merciless red eyes of his worst fear. The boggart Harry raised his wand and said “Avada…”

“Riddikulus!” Lupin shouted and there was a loud crack and the boggart Harry turned into a slivery white orb hanging in mid air in front of Professor Lupin “Riddikulus.” Lupin cried again in a strained voice before the orb disappeared in a puff of smoke. Harry was still standing frozen to the spot while Mr. Filch had regained his feet and was looking at Harry with a terrified expression. He slipped sideways past both of them never taking his eyes off Harry, then disappeared through the door. “Harry, are you alright?” Lupin asked him in a slightly shaky voice. Harry looked up at Lupin and nodded. He didn’t say anything but left the classroom and headed for the tower. Lupin watched Harry walk down the corridor and up the stairs at the end feeling very concerned. He turned the other way and headed for Dumbledore’s office.

Cornelius Fudge had returned to the castle and had insisted on being present when Professor Dumbledore interrogated Malfoy. Fudge wanted to use veritaserum but it was against Ministry guidelines so Dumbledore attempted to see the truth through use of legilimency. Malfoy, while well trained in the art of Occlumency was not a match for Dumbledore’s powerful penetration allowing Dumbledore to see enough to satisfy Fudge, who then ordered Malfoy’s arrest.

He had been confined in the north tower until Ministry wizards could be back to collect him, for the trip to Azkaban. The examination of Vincent Crabbe was much easier to conduct however. Professor Dumbledore released Crabbe from the Imperious Curse and found that Crabbe was quite cooperative and gave a detailed account of how Voldemort had ordered him to learn the killing curse to use it on Ron Weasley. “I didn’t want to do it sir but Malfoy made me!” he cried in a tearful voice that seemed to convince the Minister.

Dumbledore looked right through him and asked “Draco Malfoy put the Imperious Curse on you right before the match?” Crabbe nodded and told Dumbledore and Fudge how Malfoy had worked with him to teach him Avada Kedavra; the killing curse. Crabbe had been a marginally adequate student and had managed to successfully perform the curse on several mice, a large toad they found by the lake and a cat that belonged to a Gryffindor first year. Even with these limited successes Crabbe did not want to use the curse in front of the whole school. “When Mr. Malfoy put the Imperious Curse on you this morning, was that the first time you had been put under that curse?” Crabbe seemed puzzled by this question and answered “Yes sir, except when Professor Moody put the curse on us two years ago in class.” Fudge shot a startled look at Professor Dumbledore who ignored it and kept looking at Crabbe. “So you have felt the effects of the Imperious Curse twice now Mr. Crabbe?”

Crabbe thought he knew where this was going and started talking very fast. “Yes sir, or else I would have told you about it. Draco is a stronger wizard than me. It’s not my fault that he was able to put that curse on me!” Dumbledore sat back and looked at Crabbe. “That must mean that when you killed Sally Dingle’s cat you did that of your own free will. You were practicing the killing curse while possessed of your own will and that, Mr. Crabbe is unacceptable. Your mother has been notified as well as the board of Governors. You will be expelled from Hogwarts and your wand will be snapped in half.” Crabbe’s face went white as Dumbledore continued. “You will be joining Mr. Malfoy in his trip to Azkaban. The only time you used Avada Kedavra against another human being you were under the Imperious Curse; that however does not negate the fact that you knew that murder was planned and were an active participant in its execution. You will be held in Azkaban until charges have been filed and a hearing can be arranged.” Moody was just leaving Dumbledore’s office with a very frightened and pale looking Crabbe in tow when Professor Lupin knocked and entered the office.

He stepped aside and exchanged a significant look with Moody as he and his charge passed. Fudge turned to Dumbledore and said “This has been a nasty business Dumbledore, very nasty. The Board of Governors are going to be up in arms. What else has been going on here? I need to talk to you about some appointments you have made Dumbledore…” but before he could continue Lupin cleared his throat loudly. Fudge started and looking rather derisively at Lupin said “Can this wait… er sir? I need to speak to the headmaster now.”

Dumbledore’s eyes flashed “Professor Lupin, please take a seat I will be with you momentarily.” then Professor Dumbledore turned to Cornelius Fudge and said “Minister you may discuss any appointments I have made with me and the Board of Governors this evening after dinner. We will meet here in my office. I will be pleased to hear your ideas as will the Board. Until then please excuse me, I have quite a lot to do.” Fudge stared at Dumbledore for a moment at a loss for words. He did not like being dismissed like a schoolboy but what else could he do. Fudge threw another contemptuous look at Lupin and left the office without saying a word closing the door with a snap. Lupin seemed completely unconcerned by the obvious dislike shown to him by the Minister of Magic and turned to Dumbledore.
“Harry just came face to face with a boggart and it did not turn into a dementor. It turned into the Harry that we all saw today on the pitch… he froze sir. If I hadn’t been there it would have killed him.” Dumbledore looked very worried but nodded and said “That fits with what he said to me in the hospital ward. He will be staying with Miss Weasley probably through the night. I will go and see him tomorrow morning. Thank you Remus.”

When Harry reached the portrait of the Fat Lady, Ron and Hermione were just coming out. “Harry!” they said together. “We were just coming to see you and Ginny.” Hermione said
“Is she awake?”

“How are you?” they both asked at the same time. Harry attempted a smile that was at the very least unconvincing and said in a rather flat voice “I’m ok, and no, Ginny is not awake. I need to change and get cleaned up but then I’m going back.” Harry looked at them not knowing what to say to either of them. He couldn’t imagine what they must be thinking. They had seen him possessed by Voldemort and that terrified him; what must they be thinking? “So shall I just hang open all evening then?” said the Fat Lady irritably making the three jump.
Harry went straight up to the dormitory and Ron and Hermione took seats by the fire. “Hermione he wants to be alone, I can tell. We’ll go down with him but we gotta let him have some time alone with her. It’s weird I thought I had lost my baby sister today but if it had been you…” Hermione looked at him and frowned “What if it had been me?” Ron was looking toward the boy’s staircase and said “I don’t know Hermione, I just know that if it had been you I would want everyone to go away and leave me alone with you until you woke up.” Ron looked down at her and she had tears in her eyes. Ron hated this about girls. “Is that good or bad?” he said wiping one from her eyelashes. Hermione laughed and gave him a kiss. “Come on lets go. We can see Ginny for a few minutes while Harry is cleaning up.”

When Harry arrived back in the hospital wing it was only then that he remembered that Ron and Hermione had been waiting for him. “Sorry I took so long.” Harry said. The ragged cut on his face looked odd and Hermione had a fleeting thought that the last thing Harry needed was another scar connected to Voldemort and she hoped it healed completely with no sign of it left. “You didn’t take long, actually I figured you’d be another few minutes.” Hermione said. Harry came over and sat down in the chair next to Ginny’s bed. Ron was sitting on the edge on the left side and Hermione was sitting on the right. “Harry we were so worried about you when you flew off into the forest. When we saw you in the clearing… Oh Harry I thought you were dead.” Hermione cried. Harry looked at her “You went into the forest looking for me?”

“Not only us, mate. Dumbledore flew in there after you. He was following your invisibility cloak. It was amazing! He came back out after the cloak got away from him and got Mad Eye and Firenze to go in after you with him. Hermione and I went in to find you but not with them. We heard you.” Ron stopped and seemed to be carefully choosing his words. “Harry, you didn’t know that Ginny wasn’t dead and the look on your face when you left the field really scared us. We came to the clearing that you were in and there were centaurs all over the place. Professor Dumbledore and Moody were standing over you and you had blood on your face because your scar was bleeding again and I thought… well we thought that you had died.”

“Hang on what do you mean my scar was bleeding? Again?” Harry was now confused. He had no recollection of anything after waking up and reacting to Ginny’s death. Then there was horrific pain in his head and the next thing he remembered was waking up in the hospital wing. Ron and Hermione told him what they had seen when he was possessed and seeing Voldemort’s eyes in his face. They told him about his scar splitting open and bleeding and then healing itself when he pushed Voldemort out of his mind. Harry sat there dumbfounded by their account. He knew that Voldemort had possessed him but he figured that only he knew it. He assumed that like Professor Quirrell his possession was not a visible thing but according to Ron and Hermione everyone on that field, everyone in the entire school knew it. Harry suddenly remembered the dream he had had the first night in the castle about killing Ron and Hermione. His face turned white as the pieces started falling into place. “Harry what is it?” Ron asked.

Quite apart from knowing that everyone in the castle would now be looking at him like some kind of plagued freak he really truly understood now that the dreams he had been having all summer really weren’t coming from him. He was actually being controlled by Voldemort and that thought sent shivers through him and made the small hairs on the back of his neck stand up.

All the color drained from his face and he said “Voldemort planned all of this, everything that has happened since June. When I dreamed about killing you it was out on the quidditch pitch. He used a memory charm to make me forget it but it was still there ready to be drawn out.” Harry looked at both of them and said “I know how to perform Avada Kedavra.” Ron said “What!?” and Hermione gasped. “He put it into my head the same way he put those dreams in there. He made me think that they were coming from me but they weren’t. He wanted me to kill. That’s what all of this has been about.”

Ron said “But you didn’t Harry, you beat him. We saw you do it Harry. It’s hard to describe what it was like; but you had real power just pouring out of you. It was kinda’ eerie, then you looked at Ginny and you just sort of deflated and all that power that was there just fizzled out and you looked dead yourself, or like you wanted to be dead. Harry; that is why we were so scared, we didn’t know what you were gonna’ do feelin’ that way.”

Hermione stood up and came over to Harry. “That’s why we went into the forest looking for you Harry.” She sat down in a chair next to his and held his hand for a moment. “Are you ok Harry?” Harry looked into her worried eyes and then to Ron. “Thanks for coming to look for me.” Then he looked back at Hermione “I’ll be fine Hermione, its Ginny I’m worried about.” Harry turned his gaze to Ginny and Hermione stood up again. “Harry, Madam Pomfrey thinks that Ginny will be fine. She said that there is nothing wrong with her except for being asleep.” Ron got up as well and said “We’re gonna get going mate.” Harry just nodded at him and pulled his chair closer to Ginny’s bed and took her hand. He didn’t know how long he sat there staring at her trying to clear his mind of thought before he laid his head down on her bed, but he was awakened by Mrs. Weasley’s hysterical voice coming from Madam Pomfrey’s office.

“She nearly died! First Harry now Ginny it could have been Ron! How many of our children are we nearly going to loose?” Madam Pomfrey handed a cup of tea to Mrs. Weasley. “Drink this Molly. Ginny is fine and in very good physical health. The curse failed and she should wake up in due time.” Molly was afraid that Ginny would remain in a lasting sleep the way Harry had. She and Arthur had gone quietly into the hospital ward to see Ginny and found her lying peacefully sleeping holding Harry’s hand who had fallen asleep at her side. Molly bent down and kissed both of them before going back into Madam Pomfrey’s office. Too many things had happened this year at school and it was only November. She made up her mind to demand quarters in the castle. She would see her children safely through the rest of term.

The tea that Madam Pomfrey had given Molly was calming her down for it contained a mild sedative. “Ginny is very lucky that Mr. Potter caught her. She would have been seriously hurt from a fall like that.” Arthur suspected that she would most likely have died if Harry had not caught her. She must have been at least fifty feet up if she was protecting Ron who was level with the goal posts at the time. The door to Madam Pomfrey’s office opened and Bill stepped in. “How is Ginny Madam Pomfrey?” With a calming look at Molly she said “I will try to wake her again in the morning Professor. I am sure that this is temporary.” Bill looked drained from worry and said “But you don’t know.” Madam Pomfrey sighed “There are never absolutes in life and I simply do not know what will happen when the killing curse is preformed incorrectly.”

Mrs. Weasley had stopped shouting and they were talking quietly. Harry looked at Ginny and all of the grief, pain, sorrow and relief that hey had felt over the past few hours engulfed him. He buried his head in her covers and wept silently. After a few minutes Harry heard “Shhh” and his head snapped up quickly. He looked down at Ginny and his heart leapt for her eyes were open and she was looking at him. He still had tears on his cheeks and she reached up and touched his face with her finger tips. “I said I wouldn’t leave you and I meant it.” she whispered. Harry kissed her gently “I thought I’d lost you.” Ginny smiled weakly “I thought you had too.” Then she closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep again.

Harry watched her sleep for a long time thinking hard. If Crabbe hadn’t preformed the spell wrong Ginny would be dead. Harry could remember the feeling of having Voldemort in his mind, whispering in his ear. He had pushed Voldemort out but could he do it again? He didn’t even know how he had driven Voldemort from his mind in the first place. As far as Harry could see whether he viewed today as a victory or a defeat Ginny had almost died. No matter how he looked at the situation he kept coming to the same conclusion; he must leave Hogwarts. Ginny was breathing evenly in deep sleep and Harry bent down and kissed her gently “I will come back; I promise you.” He got up silently and left the hospital ward for Gryffindor Tower.

Harry opened the door to his dormitory very quietly. The curtains were drawn on all of the other four posters and he could hear the deep breathing of sleep coming from all of the beds. Harry checked his watch; it was nearly two o’clock in the morning. He emptied his school bag and quietly opened his trunk. The moon was nearly full on a cloudless night so there was plenty of light for him to work by. Harry packed a spare set of clothes, his mittens and scarf in the bottom of his school bag. Then he took every coin he had and stuffed them into the bag making sure he had his vault key. Next he grabbed all of his potions ingredients and his potions book and stuffed them into his cauldron. He also packed parchment, ink and a couple of quills into the cauldron. Then he put that in his school bag on top of the clothes. He grabbed his compass from his broomstick servicing kit and the book Hermione had given him on his birthday. He had room for some food and little else. He closed up his bag, packed any loose items in his trunk and took his Firebolt and his invisibility cloak and left the room silently. Once he got through the portrait hole he threw the invisibility cloak over his head and started for the third floor corridor. When he got to the statue of the one eyed witch he pulled out his wand and whispered “Dissendium” and the stone hump moved aside. Harry stashed his Firebolt and school bag inside then headed for the kitchens.
When he entered the kitchen it was dark except for the light of the large fireplace at the end of the hall. Two small figures were sitting on short stools in front of the fire talking and laughing. “Er… excuse me?” The figures jumped and stood up. They were house elves and had been drinking butterbeer. The taller of the two swayed a little. “How may we help young master?” they asked in unison. “Er, could I speak to Dobby?”

The two elves exchanged a look and the taller of the two scampered off through the dark kitchen. “Is there anything that I can do for young Master while he waits for Dobby?” Harry smiled and said “Actually there is. I am leaving on a long trip, could you pack up some traveling food for me?” The elf bowed low “Right away young master.” and he too scampered off into the dark kitchen. Harry sat down on the child sized stool and waited. He glanced at his watch; it was two thirty. He figured he had until three or three thirty before Madam Pomfrey would notice his absence and start a search for him. He wished that Dobby would hurry up; it was getting late. After nearly ten minutes the smaller elf returned with the food. He handed Harry a sack filled with cauldron cakes, sweet breads, cookies, dried meat and fruits and a bladder of pumpkin juice. “This is great. What’s your name?” Harry asked the little elf. The elf bowed very low “Warbol at your service young sir.” Harry smiled at him “Thanks Warbol this is perfect.” The elf was delighted by Harry’s reaction “Warbol is always happy to be of service to young master.” Harry nearly jumped out of his skin when a high pitched voice squealed “Harry Potter sir! Dobby has been looking for you.” Dobby called with some relief as he rushed forward and came over to Harry. “Dobby has been so worried about Harry Potter sir and Miss Ginny too.” Harry looked around quickly then said “She will be fine now Dobby. Listen I need to speak with you alone.” Dobby nodded and said “Please follow me Harry Potter sir.” and he headed off for the door leading to the corridor. Harry turned to Warbol “Thanks again Warbol” then Harry quickly followed Dobby out of the kitchen.

Dobby led Harry to an empty classroom along the dungeon corridor and closed the door quietly after they had entered then lit a torch on the wall and came over and sat down in front of Harry listening attentively. “Dobby I’m going to leave Hogwarts and I need a hiding place where Professor Dumbledore can’t find me.” Dobby’s large brown eyes opened wide in horror. “You must not leave Harry Potter! Why do you run from Professor Dumbledore sir. He is Harry Potter’s friend, he will not want Harry Potter to leave!” Dobby was getting hysterical and his voice raised an octave as he spoke making his already high pitched voice sound squeaky. Harry held Dobby by his upper arms “Look Dobby, I need your help. If things had gone differently today Ginny wouldn’t be sleeping in the hospital wing, she’d be dead! Don’t you see I have to leave, this has to end. No one else can die Dobby, I can’t loose anyone else.”

Dobby was twisting his hands and looking frantic. “Dobby where would Lucius Malfoy go after he escaped from Azkaban? If I find him; I find Voldemort; if I find Voldemort I can fulfill my destiny and be done with it! It is my destiny to kill him or be killed so it’s time to get on with it.” Dobby got up and started pacing back and forth. “Harry Potter can not do this. Harry Potter is not ready to face the Dark Lord! I do not know where to find who you seek Harry Potter sir. Please do not leave Hogwarts. Only a Death Eater can find the Dark Lord. How will you find a Death Eater who will tell you what you need to know? Please Harry Potter; go back to bed, do not leave Hogwarts. Here; Harry Potter is safe.”

“But no one else is!” Harry shouted. This was getting him nowhere and time was getting short. He took a calming breath and said “If I can’t find Malfoy then I’ll go to Azkaban. How do I get there Dobby? I know you know!” Dobby squeaked in fear “Harry Potter must not go to Azkaban Prison!” Harry was getting really frustrated and slightly panicky about the time. He simply did not have time to argue with Dobby who was extremely stubborn so he tried a new tactic. “Listen to me Dobby, I am going whether you help me or not but I stand a better chance if you tell me what I need to know.” This did the trick and Dobby hung his head and shoulders. He seemed to deflate as he looked up with solemn eyes and said “Dobby will lead Harry Potter to Azkaban.” Harry sat back and said “No Dobby; you can’t go with me, just tell me how to get there.”

Dobby turned to face Harry and had a look of determination in his saucer sized eyes. “If Harry Potter must go to Azkaban then Dobby will not tell Harry Potter; but will lead the way.” And he stood resolute facing Harry. Harry had no choice, he needed to get to Azkaban and Dobby would take him. “We can’t leave yet. I need something from Snape’s office, but I can’t get past his intrusion charms with out getting caught.” Dobby’s ears perked up “What does Harry Potter need? Dobby will get it.” Harry looked surprised. Dobby may just be able to use his elf magic to get into Snape’s office but Harry was surprised that Dobby was so willing to steal from a teacher. Dobby seemed to see this in Harry’s eyes and continued “Harry Potter must not get caught; Dobby will get what you need.” With a slight frown Harry nodded and said “Alright Dobby, I need veritaserum. It is a truth serum…” Dobby shivered a little and interrupted “Dobby knows it.” It suddenly occurred to Harry that Dobby had lived with the Malfoy’s all his life until Harry had freed him. He had probably seen it used, and there is no telling what other secret information Dobby possessed. Maybe it wasn’t such a bad idea to have Dobby along and then for a moment Harry reconsidered his decision to leave but the vision of Ginny lying motionless on the quidditch field staring with unseeing eyes floated to the surface of his mind. ‘It has to stop!’ he told himself firmly. “Ok Dobby, you get the veritaserum and meet me by the statue of the one eyed witch on the third floor corridor in twenty minutes.” Harry checked the marauder’s map before he and Dobby left the classroom and headed off in different directions. He threw the invisibility cloak over himself and went to the owlery. When he entered the large circular room he threw off the cloak and took some parchment, ink and a beat-up old quill from inside his robe pockets and hastily scrawled two notes.

Dear Madam Tosh,
Ginny nearly died today. Voldemort tried to have Ron murdered
and she got in the way. He wanted me to kill for revenge and possessed
me through the connection we share.
I almost killed Malfoy today. I don’t trust myself,
I’m not safe to be around and I’m leaving school.
This has to end and I don’t know any other way to make that happen.
I’ll be careful.
Thanks Harry Potter

Dear Ron,
Too many people have died or been hurt because of their connection with me.
Both my parents and Sirius died trying to save me, Cedric died just because he was with me, Voldemort tried to have you killed and nearly killed Ginny.
It is supposed to be my destiny to defeat Voldemort and it is time to fulfill that destiny.
No one else is going to die. This has to stop!
Please do not look for me or try to follow.
Take care of Hermione and Ginny. I promised her that I would come back and I will.
I can’t loose her again Ron.
Harry

Hedwig had seen Harry enter and write the notes. She flew down and stood waiting in front of Harry. He stroked her feathers and said “Hedwig, I have two messages for you to deliver. The first one needs to go to Madam Tosh. Go tonight then after that, bring this one to Ron. I am leaving for awhile Hedwig, you’ll have to trust me ok?” She hooted and held out her leg for Harry to tie the messages on. She looked up at him with her amber eyes. “Go to Madam Tosh first.” Hedwig hooted softly and spread her wings. She took off and flew out one of the openings around the side of the room. He watched her go feeling a nervousness growing in the pit of his stomach then checked his watch before hurrying out of the owlery.

[Ferrus]

... can´t find the words to describe this chapter...


On the constructive critisism (sp?) that you wanted: I would have made Voldemorts plan secret and have Crabbe to reveal it after the quidditch incident. It would make the tension and confusion of the quidditch match much greater.

[Alice I]

:o ... can´t find the words to describe this chapter...

Is that good or bad?

On the constructive critisism (sp?) that you wanted: I would have made Voldemorts plan secret and have Crabbe to reveal it after the quidditch incident. It would make the tension and confusion of the quidditch match much greater.

You know that is a good point.
I'm not sure how to change it though. In a previous chapter Voldemort told Lucius about the plan so I'm not sure how much of a suprise it would be. I'll look at it and see what the possibilities are for that kind of change.
Thanks for the imput.

[Amon Rê]

That was great...I took a break from studying just to read it but I finished my paper...I think it would be a wicked twist if we didn't find out that Crabbe was going to do it until the actual chapter. Even though Lucious and Voldemort talk about Malfoy killing Ron I would not have thought twice about Malfoy having someone else do it...

AND THE PLOT THICKENS...

[Nobby]

the plot thickens indeed

keep up he good work alice

[Alice I]

Well here is the next chapter but here's the thing.
I have re-written this stupid chapter at least three different times.
There are several things happening at once and to try and keep things moving in chronologic order I ended up writing it more like you would do putting different movie scenes in a sequence.

If this chapter is too confusing let me know. Now with the edit option I can always make changes to it that help the reader to stay on track.

PS: I am slowly going back and editing the old chapters to reflect changes I have made and also taken from some of you from your posts.


Chapter Fifteen - Part 1
Flight From Hogwarts

It was close to midnight before the Board of Governors and Cornelius Fudge left Dumbledore's study. Bill as well as Mad Eye and Lupin had attended this meeting. The Minister was most unhappy when he left as his objections to Dumbledore's recent appointments to the school were all but ignored by the Board. Several of the Board members were also members of the Wizengamot and felt that this was just one more example of the Ministry trying to interfere at Hogwarts. Fudge's objections to Lupin were harder for the Board members to ignore however because of the fact that Lupin had run through the grounds three years ago as an unsafe werewolf. Lupin himself agreed with the unease expressed by the Board but these objections stood mute in the face of Professor Dumbledore's will in this matter.

"Remus Lupin is one of the best Defense Against the Dark Arts teachers that this school has ever seen. As to the events of three years ago, there were mitigating circumstances that have already been addressed to my satisfaction. Remus Lupin is a member of the Order of the Phoenix, and a member of the staff here at this school and he will be addressed with the respect that he deserves." Dumbledore had a deadly look in his eyes and any further objection that Fudge may have had died away under that stare.

Bill Weasley had come to the defense of the appointment of Master Kimm rather vehemently. Master Kimm was now holding Karate classes on the weekends open to the whole school. The classes were also held in the room of requirement three times a day on both Saturdays and Sundays. Master Kimm had divided up the classes as Bill had done with the DA; only he had used different criteria and split the classes based on other skills rather than age or magical abilities.

Alex was spending a healthy portion of his weekends helping his great grandfather with the larger classes of beginners which held a good number of the academic clubs. The quidditch players almost all ended up in Master Kimm's more advanced classes because of their physical skills and trained reflexes. Bill pointed out to the Board that the type of training that Master Kimm offered was a huge asset to any future Auror. It trained the mind as well as the body and many of the Board had requested to come to one of Master Kimm's sessions to see what he was teaching.

The argument that took the meeting into the very late hours of the evening Fudge was unwilling to back down on; and that was the disposition of Draco Malfoy. As a sixteen year old boy many of the Board were uncomfortable with keeping him in Azkaban and Fudge found that Dumbledore was torn in his stand on this issue. "I agree with the Minister that Draco Malfoy is dangerous and should be imprisoned for his actions on the quidditch field today but I also believe that we need to keep our options open. If Lucius Malfoy knows that his son has been imprisoned then we loose our advantage. The mirrors could be used but not if Lucius knows that Draco is being coerced. As much as I agree that young Mr. Malfoy should be imprisoned for his actions, I also implore you to realize that we MUST not loose site of the ultimate goal of ending Lord Voldemort's rise to power."

Most of those in the room flinched visibly at the name of the Dark Lord being spoken aloud. Fudge replied angrily "No one is denying that we must work to stop You Know Who from gaining more power but we are talking about a sixteen year old who can not truly possess vital information and he has openly violated wizard law. He used an unforgivable curse on a fellow student to make him use another unforgivable curse! He must remain in prison IT IS THE LAW!" The argument waged on until Fudge stormed out in frustration refusing to comment further on the subject; followed shortly by a weary and disturbed Board of Governors.

Bill, Lupin and Moody stayed behind as all of the board members left. "Bill, Professor McGonagall will have escorted your parents to the hospital ward by now. Go down to them and I will join you shortly." Dumbledore said and Bill left the office. He was still very concerned about Ginny even though Madam Pomfrey had assured him that there wasn't anything really wrong with her.

When he entered Madam Pomfrey's office he could see that his mother had been crying and his father looked ashen. After inquiring about Ginny, Bill told his parents what Professor Dumbledore had learned from Harry and all about the meeting with the Board of Governors. Mrs. Weasley who had looked out of the window of Madam Pomfrey’s office and seen Harry still sitting with Ginny stepped away from the window to listen closely to Bill’s account of the meeting just as Harry got up and left the ward.

"Dad; Draco Malfoy and Vincent Crabbe have been taken to Azkaban." Everyone in the office gasped. "On Harry's word alone?" asked Arthur. "No, but that would have been enough for me. Moody took everyone's wand out on the field. He hadn't gotten to Harry yet when Harry approached Malfoy and that's why Harry still had his. Using the Priori Incantato Charm they found that Harry was telling the truth. Malfoy had used the Imperious Curse on Crabbe to try and force him to kill Ron. Fudge was here to witness all of this and took Malfoy and Crabbe with him when he left this afternoon. Professor Dumbledore said that he will come down shortly to speak with you." Mrs. Weasley stepped over to the office door leading to the corridor and opened it, then turned to her son and said "I want to go see Albus now!"

Bill knew better than to argue with his mother, especially when she had such a fierce look in her eye, so led his parents up to Dumbledore's office. When the Weasley's entered, Professor Dumbledore's was untying a note from the leg of one of the school's barn owls. She hooted softly and took off out the open window. Dumbledore read the note then turned to his desk and put it in the top drawer. He came down to the Weasley's "I am sorry I was delayed, how is Ginny?" he asked them. "She is still sleeping." Bill said quietly. Molly looked at Albus Dumbledore austerely. "Harry was attacked and in hospital for a month, now Ginny is in hospital for who knows how long, it could have been Ron. If that boy had not gotten the spell wrong my baby would be dead!” Molly’s voice had risen with each statement and she was turning very red in the face as she continued “I am staying right here Albus, until I know that my children are safe! I trust you, but the world is too dangerous." She was sounding slightly hysterical now but looked directly at the headmaster and said in a determined and stubborn voice "Voldemort is getting too strong! He ordered this and it happened, maybe not the way he wanted it to, but it still happened."

Professor Dumbledore looked at her determined eyes with mild surprise at her voicing the Dark Lord's name and knew that she would not back down. "I will have an apartment set up for you Molly. I feel as you do. Voldemort has influence in this school but it has been greatly lessened now that the younger Malfoy has been removed.” He stopped for a moment to let his words penetrate Molly’s rushing emotions before he continued.

“I now know how Draco was able to communicate with his father without being caught. We found a mirror in Mr. Malfoy's trunk. I recognized it for what it was for Sirius and James had a set when they went to school here. He would only need to call his father's name into the mirror and his father would be able to answer. The mirror has been confiscated and I have been trying to convince Cornelius not to release the fact that Draco has been imprisoned to the Daily Prophet so that we can use the mirror to find Lucius."

Arthur stepped forward "What is the problem? Why would Fudge not want to use the mirror?" Professor Dumbledore sighed and shook his head slightly "Cornelius does not believe that trading a lesser sentence for young Draco's cooperation in this is appropriate. It also doesn't help that word of what happened today has leaked out. Cornelius wants to show the wizarding community that he is putting away dangerous dark wizards." Arthur was frowning as he thought about all of the implications of an information leak to the public of an attack of this nature at the school, as well as the fact that they now possessed a means to finally catch Lucius Malfoy. "Yes but wouldn't he rather catch Lucius Malfoy and be able to report that to the Prophet?" he said.

"That is precisely the point I made to Cornelius and he has at least agreed to keep Malfoy's arrest quiet for now, but to the Minister's point Narcissa Malfoy will not be quiet about this. She is not in Brittan at the moment so she does not know about the arrest however as soon as she is available, I am obliged to inform her." Arthur began pacing now thinking hard, "How can you use the mirror to get to Lucius? It will only work if Draco uses it." Arthur asked. "That is a bit of a sticky point. We must get Draco to arrange to meet with his father. The only way he would willingly do that is if he were pardoned or given a lesser sentence and Cornelius will not allow that. If he is put under a spell Lucius will know instantly and they will undoubtedly have a code that they use to identify each other in case an imposter were to get a hold of the mirror." Molly now began to pace the office. "Cornelius Fudge will listen to reason or he will deal with me! I do not want to see that filthy boy released from prison but I want Lucius Malfoy caught. Our children are not safe while he is out of prison! Today proves that."

Dumbledore sat down at his desk and indicated to the others that they should sit down as well. "There is more to the events of this afternoon than you know. Harry was briefly possessed by Lord Voldemort." he said without preamble. Arthur and Molly Weasley looked shocked and stared at Dumbledore. "When he thought that Ginny was dead Harry felt such strong grief that Voldemort was able to feel Harry's anguish and forge a powerful connection to him. He was able to possess or at least partially possess Harry. Voldemort wanted him to kill Draco Malfoy."

"What!?" said Molly and Arthur together. "Why would the Dark Lord want Draco Malfoy dead?" Molly asked. "I do not believe that Voldemort wanted Malfoy dead so much as he wanted Harry to kill him. Voldemort wanted to make Harry act against his morals, his values; he wanted Harry to kill for revenge. There is something else; Harry knows how to perform Avada Kedavra. Voldemort planted that information in Harry's mind so that he would have everything he needed to kill Malfoy, but in the end Harry had to make the choice whether or not to act on that knowledge. He chose not to; and drove Voldemort out of his mind."

Arthur stood up "Hold on a moment; are you saying that Harry was able to drive the most powerful dark wizard of the age out of his mind just like that?" Dumbledore smiled "Well you see it wasn't just like that. Harry very nearly did try to kill Mr. Malfoy. He would not have succeeded for I would have stunned him before he could have finish the incantation, but I had to let him try, I had to see if his will was stronger than Voldemort's and it was; but just. I can assure you that the battle that Harry fought out on the quidditch field today was as fierce a struggle as anything that has happened to him yet."

Molly was white faced but her eyes were stony "You had to let him try; you had to find out if his will was stronger? You were studying him, testing him. How different is that from what Voldemort has been doing!” Her voice was high and shrill as she raged at Dumbledore. “Everybody is trying to make that boy do what they want! I wish all of you would just leave him alone!" she shrieked and stormed out of the office. "Molly!" Arthur turned to Professor Dumbledore "She is distraught, I'm sorry."
“Distraught!?” Molly’s voice came from behind the door as she opened it again. “I am not distraught Arthur Weasley, I have however, had enough of everyone trying to get the poor boy to fight this battle based on a prophesy given by the worlds worst divinator!!”
The door slammed, and both Dumbledore and Arthur winced at the sound of something breaking.

“Sorry again, Albus.” said Arthur meekly. "Go after her Arthur. This has been a very stressful night for her." Arthur was already headed for the door. "Mum's always been a bit emotional but this has been very hard on all of us." said Bill standing up. "I quite understand Bill. Molly sees her children in danger and she will do what ever she feels is necessary to protect them. Bill, what Harry managed to accomplish today is truly remarkable for a sixteen year old wizard or for that matter any wizard. He has always risen to the challenges set before him but even I was surprised to see him triumph in this instance. Voldemort is an accomplished legilimens and Harry was able to push him out. I am truly pleased to see that he has been practicing."

Bill looked thoughtful then said "I wonder if the karate training has been helping. I am very impressed with what Alex Kimm can do and it takes a lot of mind control. Harry has been practicing that as well as all of his DA and Defense Against the Dark Arts lessons. He and Alex have been working together late after all the other classes have finished." Dumbledore looked interested and said "I was not aware that Harry had been meeting privately with Alex." Bill said "I know that he has only met with him a couple of times because of all of the quidditch training and that he asked Alex to keep their meetings quiet. He does not want to admit his fears but the demonstration that Alex and Stewart gave that first evening shook Harry up a lot. I think maybe it reminded him of his birthday." Dumbledore nodded and remembered Harry reaction to the last unexpected demonstration that evening and agreed with Bill that Harry was probably still feeling repercussions from the night of July 31st.

Molly had gotten to the corridor and stopped half way down looking out the windows at the dark starry sky. The wind was blowing the treetops about and she shivered although there was only a little draft in the corridor. Arthur came up behind her and rested his hands on her shoulders. She reached up and touched his hand and he wrapped his arm around her. "I'm sorry, I know that Albus is only trying to do what is best for Harry." she said in a tight voice. "I'm just so worried for all of them Arthur, not just Harry but Ron and Ginny and even Bill." Molly turned around and faced her husband. "My God we almost lost her Arthur!" she said in a tight voice on the verge of tears. He hugged her and said "But we didn't Molly. Ginny will be fine, Harry is fine and Malfoy is in prison. Times are scary again Molly, but we will make it through them. You must believe that. Our children need you to believe that, because we can not change the life that fate has given us. These challenges are ours to deal with and to triumph over."

Molly was looking deep into Arthur's eyes and she reached up and kissed him. "That is why I love you dear, you always know what to say when I need you to." Arthur kissed her forehead and they turned hand in hand back toward the stone gargoyle at the end of the corridor. When they got a few feet from it; it sprang up and leapt to the side. Bill emerged from the staircase and said "Let's go back to the hospital wing. Professor Dumbledore needs to take care of a couple of things then he will be down to join us."

Clutching the sack of food Harry made his way down to the third floor corridor. When he got to the statue he looked around. Pulling the map out of his pocket he checked to see if anyone was around. The map showed only him in the third floor corridor. Mrs. Norris was in the trophy room and Filch was in his office. "Harry Potter sir?" came a small voice at Harry's knees. He jumped. "Dobby, you're not on the map!" Harry said pulling the cloak off of his head. "Map Harry Potter?" Dobby asked perplexed. "The Marauder's Map, it shows where everyone in the castle is but you are not on it. Now that I think about it; none of the hundred or so house elves in the castle have ever showed on the map. I must only read humans." Harry was still looking at the map "But Mrs. Norris shows up." Harry didn't have time to wonder about the map's seemingly selective report.

"Did you get the veritaserum?" Harry asked anxiously. “Yes sir and a few other things you may need." said Dobby holding out a small sack with several bulges in it. Harry wondered briefly what else Dobby had stolen from Snape's office. He took out his wand and tapped the witches hump saying "Dissendium" The hump slid aside and Harry squeezed through followed by Dobby. Once he and Dobby and Harry's broom and school bag were at the bottom of the stone ramp Harry whispered "lumos" and his wand lit so that he could see to pack the food and potions supplies into his bag. "So how do we get to Azkaban?" Harry asked.

"The fortress is on an island Harry Potter. Like Hogwarts a wizard can not apparate onto or off of the island. We must get to it by boat or…" and Dobby gulped "…or fly." he finished in a small voice. Clearly the idea of flying did not sit too well with Dobby. Harry looked at Dobby and it occurred to him that he was wearing a Hogwarts tea towel with the crest removed leaving it in clean and good condition but he had nothing of his clothes on. "Dobby where are your clothes?" Harry asked looking shocked. "This is what a house elf would wear. Harry Potter sir, you must not fail and it is better that I appear as your house elf in the magical world. You are well recognized and a house elf would make all of the arrangements for your rooms and you would not have to have direct contact with anyone if you do not choose to. You need Dobby to be your house elf when we are not alone, but Dobby knows that Harry Potter is his friend."

Harry sat down on the floor in front of Dobby and hung his head then he looked up at the little elf and said "Dobby, you are amazing and I'm glad I can call you my friend. You’re right about one thing, I could use your help but I don't want anything to happen to you. If we find Voldemort you must promise me right now that you will leave. Dobby I can't loose you or anyone else ever again." Dobby had great big tears rolling down his face and he looked balefully at Harry "Dobby can not promise that sir."

"Dobby you have to." Harry insisted. Dobby got a very stubborn look on his face and sat down in front of Harry with his arms crossed in front of his chest. "Harry Potter sir, you just told Dobby that he is Harry Potter's friend. Dobby has never left a friend in need. Dobby only has two friends and Winky does not need Dobby right now Harry Potter" Now Dobby stood "IF we find He Who Must Not Be Named… Dobby will stand with Harry Potter. Harry Potter defends his friends and his world. Dobby will defend house elves and our world. I told you four years ago; you do not know what it was like for my kind. All house elves were treated horribly except maybe for here and a few good wizard homes. I will stand with Harry Potter whether Harry Potter wants Dobby to or not!" Harry stood up and looked at Dobby. He knew that the little elf would not back down and didn’t know what to say in response. “You will freeze if we have to fly or even walk around outside.” He said instead “We need money and heavier clothes for both of us.”
Dobby interrupted "Dobby can not wear clothes; I just explained this to you sir." Harry looked shocked "Dobby you can't tell me house elves go out in the winter with nothing but a tea towel on."

"If we has to be outside for a long time we can put a blanket around ourselves. Mostly house elves use magic to go from place to place so we don't have to go out side." Harry shook his head and said "Well this school bag isn't going to work for flying, I'll need a backpack. Dobby where is this island?"

"The island is off the coast in the north sea near the Pentland Skerries. The island is unplottable so muggles can't find it. We must first go to Duncansby Head, there is a lighthouse with a gate, like in Kings Cross." Harry frowned slightly "It sounds cold. Dobby; the first thing we need to do is go to Diagon Alley. We will have to take the Knight Bus to get there, but we can’t take it again, it will be too easy to track our movements. We’ll need to get there from London using muggle transportation. Hiding you may prove to be a bit of a problem though. You won't pass for human so I guess we are going to have to disguise you."

Dobby's ears perked up he couldn't imagine how Harry planned on disguising him but he had made up his mind that he would see this thing through with Harry so he bowed his head and picked up Harry's school bag. Harry said "Dobby you aren't my servant when we are alone. I can carry that." Dobby stepped back slightly from Harry and looked at him with wide eyes. "You need to practice being a Master." Harry grinned and led the way holding his wand high to light the way for Dobby who was unfamiliar with the tunnel and the uneven floor but Dobby actually stepped along quickly and silently. Harry and Dobby made their way down the long tunnel and into the basement of Honeydukes where Dobby unlocked the doors and they stepped silently out into the night. Harry turned and made for the end of the High Street out of town far from inhabited buildings. He remembered his first trip on the night bus in the middle of the night. The bus was quite loud and he did not want to attract any attention.

When the Weasley's arrived in the hospital ward Ginny was laying asleep but the chair next to her bed was empty. Molly went immediately to Ginny's bed and sat down. "I wonder where Harry went." Bill looked around "Maybe he went to the bathroom. I'm sure he'll be back soon mum, he hasn’t left Ginny's side since he woke up himself." Molly looked up startled "What do you mean woke up himself?" Bill came over to his mother and said "When Harry pushed Voldemort out of his mind he looked over and saw Ginny." Bill paused for a moment before continuing "Mum, he thought that she was dead, we all did. He died inside, you could see it in his eyes, something inside of him flickered and went out, then he flew off into the forbidden forest. Professor Dumbledore took Malfoy's broom and followed him. I am not sure what happened in the forest but Professor Dumbledore brought Harry back to the school on a stretcher. He woke up here and when he realized that Ginny was alive he hasn’t left her side except to change his clothes."

Madam Pomfrey came into the ward from her office having heard their voices. Mrs. Weasley was still looking at Bill when she heard a small voice say "Mum?" Molly turned and looked at her youngest child and her heart soared. "Ginny dear, it's alright now, your father and I are here." Tears welled up unbidden in her eyes as she gently stroked her daughter’s red hair, her heart nearly bursting with joy. This was the second time she had thought she had lost her daughter, and the second time Harry had saved her. Ginny looked around "Where's Harry? What time is it?" Madam Pomfrey stepped over to Ginny "Miss Weasley you will have all of your questions answered after I examine you.”

Mrs. Weasley got up and stepped back while Bill got a screen to put up around Ginny's bed. Molly began pacing “Where has that boy gotten to? Bill would you check the boys bathroom?"
"Sure mum, I'll be back in a few minutes." Bill left the ward and headed for the boys bathroom down the corridor. Harry was not there so he headed for Gryffindor tower thinking he may have gone there. When Bill entered the common room it occurred to him that he didn't know which dormitory was Harry's. He went up the stairs to the boys dormitories checking each floor until he realized that they must be at the top of the tower.

When he finally entered Harry and Ron's dormitory Harry's bed was empty so he pushed Ron's drape back and shook him "Ron" he whispered. Ron rolled over and said "Wha" groggily "Ron, shhh. I wanted to let you know that Ginny is awake." Ron sat up immediately "Is she alright? When did she wake up? What time is it?" Bill smiled at him "I'm sure she will be fine, Madam Pomfrey was examining her when I left to find Harry." "Find Harry? Bill Harry should be in the hospital wing. He wouldn't leave unless she woke up." Bill started to look a little concerned. Ron got up and started to dress quietly. As soon as he had pulled on some pants and a shirt and jammed his feet into his slippers they left for the hospital wing.

Once Bill and Ron had passed out of the portrait hole and were headed for the fourth floor corridor Bill said "Well, Draco Malfoy is no longer a problem for any of you." Ron looked at him puzzled "How do you figure?"
"Malfoy used the Imperious Curse on Crabbe so that he would curse you Ron. That is how Ginny got hurt. The Minister of Magic had him taken to Azkaban this evening along with Crabbe.

Ron stopped dead in his tracks. "You’re not serious! What did Harry say?"
"Harry doesn't know yet, don’t worry we’ll tell him as soon as he turns up." Ron and Bill turned into the hospital wing and entered the ward. The screen had been taken down and Ginny was talking with her parents. Ron came right over to her bed "Ginny! I have never… Oh Ginny I'm so glad you’re ok" Ron hugged her tightly then he sat back and said "Don't you ever do something like that again. My heart stopped when you got hit with that curse! Ginny you could have died! If Crabbe wasn't such an idiot you would have!" Ginny was smiling at her brother. "Well big brother someone needs to look out for you." she said with a big smile "So where is Harry?"

Ron bit his lip and looked around. "I'm not sure, he was here with you, and I can't believe that he left before you woke up."
"He didn't Ron, he was here when I woke up." Ginny said with a smile. Everyone looked at her. "I woke up earlier and he was here with me. I don't know when that was."

Ginny could see how troubled Ron looked and started feeling a little worried herself. Ron got up and Mr. Weasley asked him where he was going. "Back to the tower, I need to check something. I'll be back in a few minutes." and he left the ward. Ron headed straight for Gryffindor tower a knot of fear growing in the pit of his stomach. He glanced down at his watch it was nearly three thirty in the morning. He started to run and when he rounded a corner onto the fourth floor corridor he ran right into Filch. "What are you doing out of bed?" snarled Filch grabbing Ron's arm. Ron was not a small person anymore and easily pushed the old caretaker back. "Get off! I am looking for a student from my house, Professor Weasley is in the hospital wing with my parents and I have permission to be up right now."

Filch stood staring at Ron with an evil look on his face but Ron was a school prefect and if he was on school business he could not interfere, but Filch was upset by how easily Ron was able to push him away. Being a squib, he had always hated the students out of jealousy and after seeing what had happened to the Potter boy he was not keen to get into a physical confrontation with anyone, let alone a nearly six foot tall angry teenager. "Mind you don't run in the halls. You could have knocked me down the stairs." Filch growled. Ron didn't bother to point out to that there were no stairs around and continued up to Gryffindor tower.

[Alice I]

Chapter Fifteen - Part 2
Flight From Hogwarts


The Fat Lady was most irritated when Ron approached calling "Bubotuber!" and replied in an extremely affronted tone "For havens sakes, I shouldn't bother sleeping at all with the traffic in and out at all hours!" Ron had a sudden inspiration "Oi, erm, miss? Did you see Harry Potter tonight?" The Fat Lady scowled down at Ron who had his prefect badge on and said "Mr. Potter passed into the tower at 1:45 and left again by 2 o'clock." Ron looked at his watch again "That was an hour and a half ago.” The fat lady rolled her eyes and said “I have been able to tell time since long before you were born young man!” Ron looked up at the portrait with a looked that was a cross between surprise and impatience and said “I… erm I’m sure you have.” as she swung her portrait back to let Ron in.

When he got to the dormitory he went straight to Harry's bed and looked around. The Firebolt was gone. Ron opened Harry's trunk and looked through the contents and felt a chill run down his spine. "Blimey mate; where have you gone?" Ron got up and headed straight back to the hospital ward where he came bursting in several minutes later, gasping for breath. “Harry’s gone!”

There was an instant commotion as all the Weasleys began talking at once. Professor Dumbledore, who had arrived in Ron’s absence, stepped over to him quickly, holding up his hand for silence. “Mr. Weasley, please explain. Where has Harry gone?” Ron was holding a stitch in his side and was gulping great mouthfuls of air but said “I don’t know where he is but he took clothes, all his money, his cauldron, potion book and supplies and his Firebolt. Professor, I think he’s left Hogwarts.” Ginny suddenly paled, and Molly gaped. She began to wring her hands, and looked at the Headmaster pleadingly. “But....why would he leave… in the middle of the night?”

Professor Dumbledore came over to Ginny’s bed and said “You had said that Harry was with you when you first awoke.” Ginny nodded mutely. “What did you say to each other.” Dumbledore noted how Ginny blushed and added “I am not trying to pry but you are the last person to speak with him and it is vitally important that we find him quickly.”

Ginny looked at Professor Dumbledore with a startled expression and said "I woke up earlier and he was here. We talked for only a moment. I was pretty tired and fell asleep again. He… he was crying. He thought that he had lost me and I told him…” she looked down at her hands and said “I told him that I said I wouldn’t leave and I meant it. I fell asleep after that.” Dumbledore was looking closely at Ginny and his eyes held a deep sorrow when she talked about what they had said to each other. Molly was wringing her hands almost exactly the way Dobby would and said "Why would he leave though? Do you think he has been attacked again? Maybe we should search the castle!" Molly was starting to sound frantic.

"Mum it's not like that; he's left; I asked the Fat Lady and she said that he went into the tower and a few minutes later he left. That was around two o'clock." Professor Dumbledore looked at Ron then checked his watch. "Mr. Weasley you said that he took his broom and some clothes. Did he take his invisibility cloak?" Ron thought about what he saw in Harry's trunk and said "Yes, I am sure of it, sir." Ron was looking very worried and asked "Where do you reckon he's gone?" Professor Dumbledore sighed "I fear he has left to try and protect those he cares for from danger yet by doing so he has put himself in danger. Voldemort must not discover that Harry has left the castle."

Professor Dumbledore looked at his pocket watch once again then looked up at Molly and Arthur. They both had gone pale at the news of Harry running away. Ginny started to get out of bed and Molly turned to her “Just where do you think you are going young lady?” Ginny looked up at her mother and said “I am going back to the tower and get Hermione. Mum she is Harry friend too and should be told about this and she’s my friend and I need her right now!” Molly put her foot down and said “You get back in bed Ginny, I will go to the tower and fetch Hermione!” Mrs. Weasley said this in a tone that left no room for argument so

Ginny climbed back into bed and as her mother left the ward Ginny hung her head and began to weep so silently that neither, Arthur or Ron, noticed at first. Bill saw the tears falling to her sheets from her bowed head and stepped over to her and gently raised her chin so that she was looking at him. “Don’t worry Ginny, I will contact a friend of mine who specializes in finding people and we will have him back in no time. I promise you.”

Dobby was shivering but refused to take Harry's cloak so Harry held up his wand and waited. A moment or two later there was a loud bang and the Knight Bus; a violently purple triple-decker bus, screeched to a halt in front of them. Dobby picked up Harry's bag and broom and stowed them on the bus while Harry paid the conductor whom he did not recognize. Stan Shunpike was the conductor the last time Harry had taken the Knight Bus but he seemed to have been replaced; however Ernie Prang was still the driver. Harry tried not to catch his eye when he got on board and Ernie realized that Harry did not want to be seen and said nothing to him although he recognized him instantly.

The Knight Bus was filled with single beds with lamps over each bunk. There was a narrow staircase at the back of the bus on the driver side leading to the upper deck. Harry told the conductor that he would prefer to take the empty bed in the rear of the bus when he had indicated the bunk behind the driver. The conductor looked a lot like Percy with closely cropped hair and large horned rimmed glasses but he did not act at all like Percy. He shrugged his shoulders and sat down while Harry and Dobby made their way to the back of the bus.

Just as they sat down on the bed the bus lurched forward with a loud bang and Dobby flew off the bed landing in a heap in the aisle. Harry helped him up quickly "Dobby, are you alright?" Dobby scrambled back up onto the bed and whispered "Do not be so kind and valiant sir; Dobby is your servant; you must remember that...”
“…but Dobby is fine sir." he added rubbing his elbow. Harry shook his head "Dobby I'm just not cut out for this 'Master' stuff. I can't just think of you as a servant, because I care if you get hurt." Dobby looked around nervously "Master; sir you must appear to have had a house elf all your life. You will be noticed if you do not sir." Dobby was wringing his hands and continued in an even lower whisper "You must learn to act as a dark wizard would act. You must pretend to become what you most hate Harry Potter."

A deep tingling in the pit of Harry's stomach grew stronger. He knew that Voldemort wanted to make him kill or commit some other evil. Having to pretend to be a dark wizard may put him in a mind set that would make him more vulnerable to Voldemort's mental intrusions. If Dobby was going to be traveling with him, Harry had no choice but to tell him the truth.

In low whispers Harry told Dobby everything that had happened since June and how he had realized that Voldemort had been manipulating his actions by controlling his emotions. "Dobby; I almost did kill Malfoy. It is not safe to be around me. Voldemort can attack me through my scar when I am sleeping or experiencing a strong emotion. That is why I left Hogwarts, Dobby. I almost lost Ginny,...
God Dobby I thought I had." Harry stopped as his throat constricted with emotion. His scar started to prickle and he took a deep breath and continued "She almost died just so Voldemort could try to make me kill Malfoy and I almost did!" Harry laid back on the pillow looking up at the slatted paneling that made up the ceiling of the lower deck. Dobby watched Harry for a few minutes then said "Dobby will watch when Harry Potter sleeps and wake you if bad dreams come." Harry held himself up on one elbow and said "Dobby how can you do that? When will you sleep?" Dobby smiled slightly and said "You need not worry for Dobby sir. House elves need very little sleep."

The Knight Bus came to another lurching halt and an old witch came down the stairs from the upper deck. The sky had lightened considerably and Harry looked down at his wrist watch. It was five thirty and by this time his absence had probably been noticed. The conductor came back to Harry's bed and said "We have two more stops before you; where in London do you want to go?"
"Diagon Alley." Harry said in a low gruff tone. He was not particularly good at disguising his voice to make it sound older but he had better start practicing.
"Right then" said the conductor then turned and headed for the front of the bus. "Dobby we will need to stay hidden until Gringotts opens on Monday but I don't know where to stay. They know me at the Leaky Cauldron."

"Not to worry Master. Dobby will lead you to an inn on Knockturn Alley." Harry looked a little nervous. He had been to there once before at the beginning of his second year at Hogwarts. It was the first time Harry had ever traveled by floo powder and had wound up in Knockturn Alley; a dodgy place where dark wizards and generally undesirable people could be found. He sighed and shrugged his shoulders. He had to accept the fact that he would find himself doing things that he would not normally do in order to track down Voldemort then started to worry about what kinds of things he might have to do to accomplish this goal. 'This is stupid!' he told himself. 'I will do what ever I have to do to find Voldemort and put an end to this!'

Dumbledore left the ward and went to speak with Professor Snape. He headed down to the dungeons and Snape's office and when Dumbledore explained what they believe Harry had done, Snape frowned and said "Let me check something headmaster." and he went into his private store cupboard and looked around. When Snape came back he had a deadly look on his face. "Potter has broken into my private stores and taken Veritaserum, Slowfax solution, Powdered Bicorn horn, Boomslang skin and a sleeping draught. It seems that your suspicions are confirmed headmaster. He has all the ingredients to make a Polyjuice potion, a truth drug, a strong short term sedative and a sleeping draught for protection when he sleeps. Where do you believe he has gone headmaster?"
"Of that I am uncertain yet but the missing items from your stores do not bode well for Harry’s safety and the sanity of his plans. It may be possible that he is trying to locate Voldemort on his own. Severus you may need to be ready quickly, do you understand?" Snape looked a little pale but nodded.

Molly entered Hermione’s dormitory and gently woke her up. “Hermione dear, Ginny is awake.” Hermione’s eyes shot open and she sat up with a start. “Mrs. Weasley? Is she alright, when did she wake up, hang on I’ll just grab my housecoat.” Hermione was speaking very quickly and seemed somewhat flustered. By the time the two had reached the hospital ward Mrs. Weasley had filled Hermione in about Malfoy being arrested, Ginny waking up and Harry leaving the castle.

Professor Dumbledore left Snape's office and went to Gryffindor tower. He entered Harry's dormitory quietly and examined the contents of his trunk and shelves. At the bottom of Harry's trunk was a wrapped package holding something broken. He unwrapped the parcel to find a small broken mirror. He recognized it at once and he sighed heavily before carefully rewrapping the mirror and putting it back in the bottom of the trunk. Professor Dumbledore looked at the sleeping bunks of the other boys and quietly left the dormitory.

After he had stepped out through the portrait hole Professor Dumbledore stopped and addressed the Fat Lady. "This has been a very restless night for you." The Fat Lady opened her eyes wide. "Yes sir it has. May I ask what has been happening? I do know that Miss Weasley is in hospital, but I have only heard partial conversations." Professor Dumbledore smiled and said "Ginny Weasley was hit with the Avada Kedavra curse on the quidditch field yesterday. She did not die because the incantation was spoken incorrectly and Harry Potter has left the castle. We believe that you were the last person to see Mr. Potter. That was at two o'clock in the morning was it not?"
"Yes headmaster. Mr. Potter passed through my portrait at about quarter to two and came back out fifteen minutes later. His school bag was full; he had his broomstick and was wearing a heavy cloak. Once he was outside the common room he put an invisibility cloak on and that is the last time I saw him."
"Thank you." Dumbledore turned to leave and stopped when the Fat Lady asked "Headmaster; is Miss Weasley going to be alright?" Dumbledore smiled broadly "Miss Weasley is perfectly fine and will be returning to the tower today." The Fat Lady smiled; she did have favorites just like anyone else who had been charged with thousands of students over the course of her years at Hogwarts and she rather liked Ginny.

Hermione came straight over to Ginny and gave her a hug. “Oh Ginny, I am so glad that you are ok. How do you feel?” Ginny had stopped crying and looked at Hermione “I feel alright except for what Harry has done. He’s left Hogwarts, Professor Dumbledore thinks it is to try and protect us; It’s my fault he’s gone!” Hermione shook her head “No it isn’t Ginny. He may have left to protect you or the rest of us but you can’t feel responsible for that. Harry can be very stubborn.”
“But where would he go? Hermione if he wanted to protect us or me where would he go?” Hermione shook her head again “I don’t know Ginny, maybe he went back to Privet Dr. or is hiding in the hills where Sirius hid outside of Hogsmead. He may have even gone to 12 Grimmauld Place. We need more information first to figure out where he has gone.”

Professor Dumbledore was walking into the hospital ward and said “It seems that Mr. Potter has a plan in mind. We are not sure where Harry has gone, but as Mr. Weasley pointed out he took clothes, his potions book and all of the ingredients he had as well as a few things he borrowed from Professor Snape's private stores. His Firebolt is gone and all of the money he had in his trunk." Hermione's eyes were wide and her face drained of all color. "Professor what did he take from Professor Snape's stores?" she asked in a slightly shaky voice. Professor Dumbledore smiled and had a twinkle in his blue eyes. Hermione was one of the sharpest young witches he had ever come across and was interested in seeing what she would make of Harry’s selections from the Potion Master’s private stores.

"Veritaserum, Slowfax solution, Powdered Bicorn horn, Boomslang skin and a sleeping draught" Hermione drew in a sharp breath and said "Dear God, he's gone after him, he's gone after… Voldemort!" Molly looked as though she was going to faint and Ginny started shaking “Why would he do that? How could he go after him?” Hermione looked at Ginny then at everyone gathered around. “Think about it, he almost lost Ginny, he knows that he has to face and defeat the Dark Lord to end all of this so I think he has gone to do just that.” Hermione stood up and started pacing and thinking hard “If I were Harry I would go to Azkaban to get information from one of the captured Death Eaters. He has everything he needs to make a Polyjuice potion but that will take a month to brew, he will want answers faster than that. He has the truth serum and the ingredients to make a knock out drug. With his invisibility cloak he would probably try to get into the prison, find one of the Death Eaters and use the Veritaserum to find out how to get to the Dark Lord!”

She stopped pacing and looked directly at Professor Dumbledore “We need to send someone to Azkaban, Professor." Professor Dumbledore was impressed with how quickly Hermione's mind worked. She immediately started working out how to find Harry instead of allowing her emotions to get the better of her judgment. Dumbledore could clearly see the fear for Harry in her eyes but she wasn't letting that interfere with finding him. Arthur was looking very pale but he said “Hermione he doesn’t even know where Azkaban is though.” Hermione began to pace again and said “That’s true but he has several options open to him.” Professor Moody had been listening to this conversation from the door and stepped forward "And what would those options be young lady?" he asked as he came down the ward his wooden leg clunking on the floor as he walked.

Hermione looked slightly startled for a moment then said "Well last year we all flew to the Ministry of Magic on the backs of thestrals. Harry can see them and knows how to call them. They will take you where you ask them to so they could get him right to the prison.” Moody looked on waiting for more so she swallowed hard and continued “He could go to Hogsmead and take the knight bus to the prison if it would go there or he could have used floo powder to get to London.” Ron and his parents were looking at her with shock and skepticism on their faces. “Think about it he has been to the Ministry of Magic and knows how to get inside. He may have gone there to find out where Azkaban is located if he didn't use some way to get to the prison directly." Every one in the room was looking at Hermione now with a mixture of surprise and respect.

Moody eyed her then said "Miss Granger you have a very good mind and a logical way of reasoning. Gryffindor can take ten points. I agree with Miss Granger's assessment. If Potter has gone looking for the Dark Lord he would need to start either at the Ministry of Magic or Azkaban Prison" Dumbledore nodded "I will find out if Harry took the Knight Bus anywhere and have the Ministry searched." Ginny was looking very upset and said "We must find him. If he has gone after him… Harry will die, he isn't ready to face him yet."

Professor Dumbledore looked kindly at Ginny. "Miss Weasley there is nothing that can be done right now until we have ascertained where Harry has gone. It is now four thirty in the morning and there is little anyone can do until sunrise.” He looked up at the frightened faces of Mr. and Mrs. Weasley and said “Molly why don't you stay with Ginny for now. Arthur I need you to go to headquarters and organize a search for Harry. Bill you will need to stay here and keep the DA going. I know that you want to search for Harry too but we still have a school to run." Bill nodded but added "I have a contact from the American guild I went to see. I believe he is still here in the country. I'll send him word to come and see me." Then Mr. Weasley and Bill left the ward. Ron was not remotely tired and stayed in the hospital wing with his sister and mother. Professor Dumbledore left the ward and headed for the front door of the school. He went down to Hagrid's hut and knocked loudly.

Fang started barking and a moment later Hagrid, blurry eyed, opened the door. "Professor Dumbledore sir, is ever' thin alright?" He stepped back to allow the headmaster to come in. "Hagrid I need you to find all the thestrals and make sure none are missing. Harry has left the castle and we are trying to ascertain how he has left. He may have decided to ride a thestral to where ever he has gone." Hagrid looked stunned "Harry's run away? I can't believe it."

"Hagrid we suspect that Harry may have gone to find Voldemort." Hagrid drew in a sharp breath "Because of Ginny in all?" Dumbledore looked sadly at Hagrid and said "Unfortunately it is beginning to look that way." Hagrid pulled on his moleskin coat and stepped out into the early morning air. It was cold and windy, certainly not a fit night to be riding bareback on a thestral. "I'll come up ter yer office sir after I have counted the herd."

“Thank you Hagrid.” he said then walked back to the castle as the first pale fingers of dawn stretched across the sky. As Professor Dumbledore passed through the entrance hall he looked up at the grandfather clock above the doors to the Great Hall. It was now past five in the morning and Harry was last seen in the castle at two o'clock. Dumbledore wondered how far he had gotten in the last three hours as he headed up to his office.

Hermione had been pacing the floor in the hospital ward while Ginny and her mother spoke quietly. Ron was watching her nervously. He could see that she was deep in thought and trying to work out where Harry had gone and how he had gotten there and he did not want to disturb her concentration. Hermione was the smartest person he knew and if anyone could figure out what Harry was up to it would be her. Suddenly she stopped and stared out the window then looked at the door to the ward then back at Ron. “I need to check something, I’ll be back in a bit.” She started walking quickly for the ward door when Ron caught up to her “What is it? Where are you going?” Hermione turned to Ron and saw the concern in his eyes. “It’s just a thought, look you stay here, I’ll be back in a little while I just need to check something ok?” Ron turned reluctantly toward his family as Hermione hurried out of the ward and down past the entrance hall to the corridor that led to the kitchens.

When she tickled the pear in a painting of fruit on the wall the hidden door to the kitchens opened and she slipped through quietly. The kitchen was working full steam. Breakfast was only two hours away and there was a lot of work that needed to be done to prepare the Great Hall for Sunday breakfast. Hermione just stood quietly against the wall watching the flow of activity all around. There were at least ten elves to each house table setting up silverware and place settings cups, juice jugs and all sorts of the little things that even she had to admit she took for granted. There were elves popping in and out near the large fire at the end of the hall. The smells coming from the stoves that were just out of her line of vision were wonderful. Elves were running along in every direction but they never seemed to collide with each other. It was fascinating to watch.

One elf carrying a large stack of plates came quite literally running along, the stack swaying precariously like they were about to fall but never did. Another elf looking down at the four pecks of apples he was running along with was on a direct collision course with the elf carrying the plates but at the last second each veered around the other. Neither elf looked up or gave any indication that they had just nearly collided with each other. Hermione stood watching them for awhile not moving at all so as not to draw attention to herself.

There were at least fifty busy elves in her line of sight and every single one of them was smiling. They were speaking to each other in light tones and laughing; although quietly. All of these house elves were happy. For the first time Hermione began to see them a little differently than she had. She had always looked at house elves with her set of values and social beliefs. For the first time she thought that she might need to learn more about these creatures and their lives, find out what their values were and their social beliefs. Perhaps she had been foolish setting so many of them free against their will. As she pondered this new moral dilemma her attention was drawn by a small voice at her side that said "Good morning young mistress. Can I get you something from the kitchen miss?"

Hermione looked down startled. "Good morning. I would like to speak to Dobby please." The little elf who had been smiling brightly stopped smiling and looked worried. He started wringing his hands "What's wrong?" Hermione asked "Miss, Dobby is not here. We is not knowing where he goes. He left in the night miss with a boy from school." Hermione said "Oh dear; well thank you very much." The little elf perked up his ears. "Is there anything else?" Hermione smiled down at the elf "No thank you, but I would like to say that the food that you all prepare is just wonderful. I don't know if you ever hear that but it is quite true.” The little elf was beaming now. "Thank you young miss." Hermione turned and left the kitchens and went straight to Professor Dumbledore's office. She had been in the headmaster's office so often this year that she knew the pass word and when she knocked on the door she got an immediate reply to come in.

Professor Dumbledore was rolling up a parchment and tying it to the leg of a barn owl when she came in. As the owl took off she stepped forward and said "Harry isn't the only one who left the castle last night; Dobby is gone too." Professor Dumbledore got up and came around the desk. "I just came from the kitchens. Dobby left in the night with Harry. They were seen leaving together." Dumbledore nodded and said "That is how Harry got past Professor Snape's locks on his personal stores. Dobby is the one who took the supplies for Harry." Hermione frowned and said "Then they must have gone straight to Azkaban, I'm sure Dobby would know how to get there, he lived with the Malfoy's all his life. That's why I went to the kitchen in the first place. It occurred to me that Harry may have gone to ask Dobby where Azkaban was and how to get there. If Dobby went with Harry I wonder if it was to stop him or to help him."

Professor Dumbledore smiled slightly. "Dobby is an unusual house elf and it makes me feel better knowing that he is with Harry.” Hermione remembered the last time Dobby had tried to help Harry and what a disaster it was. She looked utterly perplexed by this statement from Professor Dumbledore. “Dobby's magic is quite strong and very useful. Having lived for so long with the Malfoy's, Dobby would be a wealth of information for Harry and I believe that Dobby will protect him with his magic if danger is near. This information changes things quite a bit. That was very good thinking on your part Miss Granger, I had not thought of looking for Dobby although it is a logical thing for Harry to do." Hermione couldn’t help but agree with her headmaster when he put it like that and the knot of fear that had been growing steadily worse in her stomach eased up a bit. "I am going back to the hospital ward now." she said and as soon as Hermione left; Professor Dumbledore turned to Fawkes and said "My dear Fawkes I am afraid that you are in for a busy day." Then Dumbledore went to his desk and pulled quill and parchment out.

When Hermione arrived the hospital ward Ginny had gotten up and put her clothes on though her mother kept insisting that she stay in bed. Ron stepped over to her and said “Well?” Hermione sat down on the edge of Ginny’s bed and said “Harry isn't alone, Dobby went with him." Ron and Ginny exclaimed "What?, How do you know?" at the same time then there was a loud crash as Winky who was collecting used bed linens fell over a chair. "Everyone turned and Hermione went over to the little elf. “Winky, are you all right?” She was wringing her hands and muttering “Oh no, oh no. Dobby is not going, he can't oh no.” Madam Pomfrey came out of her office at the sound of the crash and asked what was going on. “Winky just found out that Dobby left with Harry last night.” Hermione said, “Are you sure Miss Granger?” asked Madam Pomfrey. Hermione told them about her trip to the kitchen while Winky became more and more distressed. Madam Pomfrey patted Winky's shoulder “There, there now Winky dear, I'm sure that they will both be just fine. Come into my office and I’ll fix you a nice spot of tea.” and she led Winky off to her office.

After the door had closed Hermione continued to tell Ron and Ginny what Professor Dumbledore said to her about being pleased that Dobby was with Harry because of his strong magic and his determination to protect Harry. “Yeah but Dobby has a funny way of trying to protect Harry Hermione. Remember the bludger from second year, and closing the gate at Kings Cross? What if Dobby thinks that the best way to protect Harry is to knock him out so he can’t go running off after You Know Who!” Ron looked pale and frightened but that was nothing to the desperate look in Ginny's eyes. Mrs. Weasley said “We do not KNOW that that is what Harry has done.” but just as she said this both Hedwig and Madam Tosh flew into the hospital ward through the open door at the end. Hedwig went straight to Ron who took the note from her. As he read the note his face went completely white and Madam Tosh transformed from a great horned owl into herself. "We KNOW now mum, look." Ron said as he handed the note to her. Ginny got out of bed and grabbed her clothes. She pulled out the screen and stepped behind it to get dressed while her mother read and re-read Harry’s note to Ron. When Ginny emerged a moment later she took the note from her mother’s slack hands and read it herself. Madam Tosh asked Ginny if she was feeling alright and Ginny looked up at the tall healer and said “I am fine, lets go see Professor Dumbledore.” Madam Tosh raised a eyebrow at the forceful tone in Ginny’s voice then turned and left immediately for Professor Dumbledore's office with the note that Harry had written to her clutched tightly in her hand and Hermione, Ron, Ginny and Mrs. Weasley all following behind her.

[Amon Rê]

I can't think of anything to say, but in the last two paragraphs you have Ginny getting dressed twice Just thought I'd let ya know...