Harry ran.
At first, it had felt a bit like what Uncle Vernon described as heartburn “ a dull ache in his middle, right below his ribcage. The ache had grown stronger the farther he had walked on his rounds until suddenly, a piercing pain speared him. His fist slammed into his chest, pounding at his heart where the pain centered. Harry closed his eyes against it. As the pain dulled, his vision cleared in the darkness behind his closed eyelids.
Ginny’s ribbons had gone black. He ran.
He raced toward the pull, his heart hammering in his chest, his mind centered on the force drawing him down the staircase to the kitchen. His fingers scraped the green pear. It shrieked, the handle popping out immediately against his hand. Harry flung the portrait open and barreled into the kitchen.
“Harry Potter, sir! What is the matter?” Dobby asked from the sink, his saucer like eyes the size of dinner plates.
“Fireplace!” Harry bellowed, charging straight at the fireplace.
A blue flash of light flew past Harry’s ear. A hiss and crackle later, a thin layer of ice began to melt in the fireplace.
Harry stumbled, doubling over as searing hot pain shot from his bonding scar up through his arm, infecting his body.
“Harry Potter, sir!” Dobby shouted, rushing to his side along with several other house elves.
Panting, Harry steadied himself against one of the long wooden tables and pushed himself back up. “Get Borgin,” he hissed and started forward again. Dobby pointed a finger at the small iron pot sitting in the alcove. With a crack, it turned automatically. Another crack and the door in the fireplace opened.
“Thanks,” Harry croaked before hurtling himself into the passageway.
++++
A pale glow from the cottage filtered through the floating dirt and dust curtaining the open passageway to Anna’s old office. Harry stopped below the opening, his chest heaving painfully “ from running full out or from the pull of the bond, he wasn’t sure. He didn’t care. He needed to find Ginny.
Extinguishing his wand but keeping it at the ready, the damp, dirt covered stairs muffled Harry’s footfalls as he stealthily climbed up into Anna’s cottage. Moonlight had painted the office with an eerie silver glow. The room appeared deserted except for the empty bookshelves shoved against the far wall waiting for a new home.
Crouching low, Harry plastered himself against a set of shelves. Winter cold wrapped around him and his breath clouded the stagnant air. His eyes stung as sweat blurred his vision behind his glasses. He blinked rapidly, listening, straining to hear anything. At first, the cottage was uncomfortably quiet, Harry’s shallow, edgy breathing the only noise breaking through the stillness. Harry knew who had lured Ginny away. They weren’t this smart. Harry held his breath. His patience was rewarded. A muffled scrape from upstairs reached his ears. The creak of a floorboard protesting someone’s weight. He thought he heard a moan but couldn’t tell who it might be.
Harry released his breath slowly. His heart raced, thumping wildly against his ribcage as he slid against the wall toward the door. He knew Ginny was here. The intense throbbing in his left hand told him so as he rubbed it over the almost unbearable pull of his heart. His mind began to grow foggy and dim as he listened to the darkness. He was loosing his ability to focus. Harry knew he would be useless if he didn’t do something to clear his mind. Reigning in his anxiousness, Harry stared intently around the room, searching the dark recesses desperately. Sensing he was alone in the room, he scooted back into the blackness and closed his eyes.
Harry’s pulse throbbed behind his eyelids. He felt agitated and jumpy. He leaned against the wall, the hard coldness sticking his jumper to the perspiration covering his back. He was loosing feeling in his fingertips. Forcefully, Harry slammed his mind closed on his physical distress. With every bit of will power he possessed, Harry shut down his thoughts of Ginny and directed his energies to his pulse, forcing it to slow. As it became steady and strong, he felt the blood pounding through his veins beginning to ease its pace, becoming unhurried.
He opened his mind to the bond, focusing his energy on it. It started slowly at first, the edges lightening, the grayness bleeding into the black, forming veins of light in the midst of the pain. The gray morphed into the pink of freshly healed scar tissue, knitting together to become strong again. Harry drew in a deep breath. He felt his knees buckle from the draw on his stamina. He was caught off guard by how much effort it took this time to manipulate the ribbons binding him and Ginny. He desperately wanted to pour every ounce of energy he possessed into this bond, but all of a sudden, instead of a pull, he felt a push. The bond snapped in front of his eyes as if to say, Enough! Get on with it now!. Harry grinned briefly. A sense of determined calm flooded his body. She was going to be alright.
Harry opened his eyes. He breathed deep, the cold air burning his nostrils and flushing his mind clear. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw it - the reflection of moonlight on the toe of a shoe just outside the office door. Someone had come to find out what was taking him so long. Harry’s pulse quickened. But this time, he used the adrenalin to sharpen his senses instead of feed his apprehension.
Blaise Zabini rounded the corner stealthily, his eyes roving over the darkness. Harry watched as he ducked back out to the hallway and silently shrugged his shoulders to someone. Blaise nodded and turned back. Harry’s stunning spell hit him square in the chest. He fell to the floor with a thud. Straightening his knees, Harry crept up to Blaise’s crumpled form. He pointed his wand down and performed a binding hex, ensuring the stunned Slytherin would stay put. Flat with the wall, Harry slid along it into the hall, his eyes peeled for motion, his ears open for sound.
“You didn’t really think you’d get away with it, did you Potter?”
Harry felt his stomach lurch with anticipation. He held his wand securely in his hands, tapping the wood with his fingertips. He narrowed his eyes and exhaled through his nose. He raised his wand and stepped into the doorway of the sitting room. His mind was clear. He was ready.
Gone was the festive atmosphere of the holidays, replaced with the emptiness of a home in transition. The remaining furniture was shoved to the sides of the room, leaving the middle area bare. Draco Malfoy stood there, a moonbeam, fractured by the window panes, illuminating his triumphant sneer.
“Get away with what, Malfoy?” Harry asked, his eyes holding steady with Malfoy’s, resisting the temptation to dart over the furniture and inspect the shadowed corners of the room.
“She’s not here,” Draco drawled, the fingers of his hand playing with a flash of color.
Harry had expected the manipulation and welcomed the ice in his veins. He recognized what Malfoy toyed with. It was Ginny’s red hair ribbon. Being numb made the sight and the implications hurt less.
“Where is she?” Harry asked evenly.
“Upstairs…waiting for me,” Draco answered, throwing the red silk on the floor as a gauntlet for Harry to cross. “You might want to keep that, Potter. A trinket to remind you of her ultimate betrayal.”
“You know nothing, Malfoy,” Harry growled. “She will never betray me.”
“She already has, Potter,” Malfoy responded almost gleefully. “She came to me. And she brought you with her.”
“Malfoy, you are pathetic,” Harry sneered, aiming his wand at Malfoy’s chest. A violent rumble under Harry’s feet threw him off balance.
“No, Potter, you are,” Malfoy retorted, his wand held steady and straight. “That would be the tunnel collapsing underneath you. No one is coming to save your miserable hide this time. Stupefy!”
“Protego!” Harry countered, the shield charm easily deflecting the stunning spell. “Come on, Malfoy “ that’s the best you can do?” he taunted, the adrenalin floodgates opening wide as Harry circled his nemesis. “A first year could do that!”
“I just wanted to give you a chance to warm up, Potter,” Malfoy sneered, his face opaque in the moonlight. “So when your body is found, The Daily Prophet will at least report that it was a fair fight.”
“It’s not a fair fight,” Harry replied, his breathing controlled, his mind focused. A small satisfied smile began to play at the corner of his mouth. “You are not even close to being my equal. Abico Converto!”
The flash of bright yellow sparks ricocheted off Malfoy’s shield, casting nighttime sun over the floorboards. Harry blinked, his eyes blinded for just a moment by the flash. There was a scuffle of feet behind him.
“Callum Consectio!”
Harry cried out as the flesh cutting spell bit into his side from behind, slashing his skin open. Harry stumbled back behind the wall, hiding himself from Malfoy’s view. Responding on instinct, Harry flung his wand up and sneered back.
“Aculeatus Vena!”
Harry’s attacker fell to his knees, the sensation of thousands of fire ants crawling through his blood, stinging him from the inside out. Harry gritted his teeth, willing his hand to stop shaking as he touched his wand to his side, muttering a clotting charm. Harry glanced down at the slumped figure on the floor. Theodore Nott twitched in a state of unconsciousness, the smell of damp earth emanating from his cloak. Harry’s mouth curved into a smirk as a sense of perverse satisfaction began to course through his veins. Two down, he tallied.
“Just how many of your friends did you think it would take, Malfoy?” Harry taunted righting himself, the movement aggravating the tears in his abdomen. He winced as he pressed his palm to the throb in his side and scanned the dark hallway. Where were Crabbe and Goyle? The shadows did not shift, but he felt the back of his neck begin to tingle. Harry turned slightly and peered around the corner into the sitting room. The force of a sledgehammer slammed into his neck and pummeled him into the floor. Blackness swirled at the edges of Harry’s consciousness as painful numbness spread from the bridge of his nose outward. Harry swallowed the nausea rising in his stomach and scrambled awkwardly to his feet, his wand aimed at the stairs.
Harry squinted at the shades of blackness on the landing. His eyes roved up and down the steps. Once again, he held his breath and listened, silence shivering up his spine. A creak, only loud enough to be made by the transfer of weight from heel to toe came from behind the railing. Harry aimed.
“Reducto!”
The twisted banister shattered. Harry shielded his head as railing spokes splintered, spearing wall, floor, ceiling and flesh. Harry aimed at the scream behind the explosion.
“Attonare!”
The scream halted. A large thump and a sickening crack were heard as solid mass tumbled down to the landing. Three.
“Crabbe!” Malfoy barked from the sitting room. Harry could hear the beginning strains of nervousness in Malfoy’s shout. He nodded satisfied.
“He’s indisposed,” Harry coughed, swiping his jumper sleeve across his sawdust covered glasses. Pushing them back up, Harry winced at the tenderness of his swelling nose. He could feel a warm trickle of blood on his upper lip. Ignoring it, he stepped into the doorway.
“Stupid git,” Malfoy sneered, pointing his wand at Harry.
Harry dropped and rolled as Malfoy shot a blasting spell at the spot where he had been. Harry hissed as he felt the newly clotted wound tear apart, salt mixing with blood sending stinging sensations up through his side. Harry set his jaw against the pain and sent a series of rapid fire jinxes in Malfoy’s direction. Malfoy shielded himself, returning fire.
“You know the beauty of this whole situation, don’t you Potter?” Malfoy’s panting voice cut through the fog. “You have to share with all of us.”
“All of you?” Harry shouted from behind the wall, his insides twisting with disgust at Malfoy’s words. “There aren’t any of you left,” Harry spat, throwing a bludgeoning hex into the sitting room.
Harry heard a grunt from the stairs and looked up. A pummeling spell went off its mark as another large, bumbling figure stumbled over Crabbe’s immovable form. Harry realized Malfoy must have had Crabbe and Goyle upstairs guarding Ginny. Had the timing been different, the irony of Malfoy putting his two largest goons in charge of Ginny would have made him smile. That just wasn’t a fair fight for them. Instead, Harry set his jaw and hissed.
“Conico!”
Goyle’s oversized darkened mass flew backward as the hurling hex hit him in his chest. Plaster rained down from the light fixtures as the walls of the cottage shook from the impact. Harry stumbled to keep his footing. He dodged a cutting hex from Malfoy, diving into the sitting room and taking cover behind a chair shoved up against the wall. Harry heard heavy erratic footfalls on the stairs and scuffling from the hallway. Goyle and Nott, both looking a little worse for wear, stood in the doorway. A little too late, Harry realized he had worked himself into a corner and the only way out was to start firing. Harry pointed his wand at the doorway.
“EXTUNDO!”
The red light highlighted the surprised expressions on Goyle and Nott’s faces as they hurtled into the hall. Harry stumbled backward into the wall as his body absorbed the kickback from the spell. Malfoy rounded on him, sparks flying from the end of his wand. The little sitting room of the cottage lit up as if a case of Filibuster Fireworks had been set off indoors. Splinters of wood and burning drywall flew, clouding visibility as the particles clogged the air. Harry’s feet slipped on shattered glass from the front window where a blasting spell had struck. The smell of burning fabric filled Harry’s nostrils as he dueled, first with Malfoy then with Goyle and Nott who had crawled back and were shooting spells from the hallway.
Harry ducked as a flash of sparks overshot him, from a different direction striking the wall behind him. Glancing over his shoulder, his heart dropped as he saw Zabini, who must have been freed from the binding hex, kneeling by the battered looking Crabbe. As they rejoined the fight, Harry could feel his energy levels dipping. He gulped air, his mouth filling with dust and smoke. Outside, the winter clouds shielded the moonlight from view, leaving the room in pitch blackness. Harry couldn’t see the movement, but he sensed it. Throwing out his wand, he fired.
“Exanimo!
Harry caught Malfoy’s panicked gasp as the strangulation spell took hold, robbing him of air. Harry took a step toward the wheezing but was blasted back by a force that hit him square in the chest. Harry slammed into the wall of the corridor, feeling the plaster give way as his back broke through, his wand flying from his hand and clattering to the floor. Harry’s vision began to blur; his head grew dizzy; his stomach rolled. Harry pushed against the exposed stud in the wall and fell to his knees in the hallway.
“Potter, prepare to die.”
“Not today, Malfoy.”
Harry heard Malfoy’s gasp at Ginny’s voice before he felt a warm hand find his and the vibrations of shared magic flow up his arm.
“Reducto!” Malfoy spewed into the darkness.
Harry yanked Ginny to the ground, his fingers woven with hers. Fire blazed from within, a force of reds and golds building as Harry, acting purely on instinct, held out his hand and bellowed.
“AESTUO SANIES.”
The sound of burning agony came at them from all directions as the unfocused spell radiated throughout the room. Nott and Goyle fell forward, writhing on the floor, their eyes shut, their mouths open wide. Crabbe and Zabini let out strangled wails as they rolled in agony. Malfoy’s piercing scream filled the cottage as he fell backward, his blood boiling beneath his skin, his fingers clawing at his veins. His nails raked down his face, drawing lines of blood bubbling to the top. The smell of scorched skin filled the air. Shrieks became painful whimpers as Harry closed his fist.
Harry slumped back against the wall behind him, his shoulders sagging, his chest caving from exhaustion. His insides felt hollow and hot. His hand, still cemented with Ginny’s burned. Harry swallowed hard as he surveyed the damage.
“Four and five,” he whispered.
He felt Ginny shift her weight and lift her wand. Harry reached toward his. His voice hoarse, he whispered, “Accio wand.” As his wand flew to his hand, Harry’s palm closed around it. Ginny pointed her wand at Malfoy and performed a binding hex. Malfoy fainted from pain as the bind bit into his skin. Harry did the same on Goyle and Nott. They then turned and bound Crabbe and Zabini as well.
Lowering her wand, Ginny flung herself at Harry, wrapping her arms around his waist and squeezing tight. Harry sucked in his breath as her arms tightened over his wounded side.
“Harry, you’re hurt!” Ginny exclaimed, her eyes scanning Harry’s body and face, her fingers finding the slashes in Harry’s jumper. “You’re bleeding. Here,” she said, pushing the bottom of Harry’s jumper up his stomach.
“Ginny! You can’t do that here!“
“Shut it, Harry! You’re hurt,” Ginny said wearily, her brow furrowed. She pressed her fingers at the open wounds on Harry’s side. Harry flinched. “Sorry,” she muttered.
“Nope, it’s alright,” Harry swallowed. “Kind of tickles.”
Ginny sighed heavily. “Close your eyes,” she ordered, tense with ache and exhaustion. “I’m not strong enough to fix it, but this will be enough for us to get back to the castle.”
“I can go now,” Harry insisted, struggling to get up. Ginny shoved him back.
“Close your eyes,” she repeated, closing her own.
Warmth flooded Harry and numbness followed. Subconsciously, he sucked his stomach in as a slight chill blew over his skin. He realized Ginny had removed her fingers. He opened his eyes and looked down. The bleeding had stopped and a slight pinkness surrounded the wounds. Harry reached out for Ginny’s hand and stopped. In the moonlight, Harry could see she wore bruises like bracelets around her wrists. Harry looked up at Ginny’s face and lit his wand. A handprint was clearly outlined on the side of Ginny’s face. Even in the darkness, Harry could see the darkening bruise highlighting her left cheekbone and a smear of dried blood below her swollen bottom lip. “What did they do to you?” he growled, his eyes blazing with anger, his thumb lightly touching her cheek.
“Nothing,” Ginny answered, brushing aside Harry’s hand. “Not really. Can we just leave? I’ll tell you when we get back to the castle. I promise.”
The front door of the cottage blasted open in a shower of sparks and splinters. His heart in his throat, Harry scrambled to his feet, his wand pointed at the intruders, Ginny by his side.
“HARRY! GINNY!” Nathan bellowed as he charged into the cottage, his hair wild, his eyes searching.
“Professor Borgin?” Ginny called.
“Thank Merlin!” Nathan exclaimed relieved, hopping over the bodies littering the floor. His eyes frantically searched Harry and Ginny from head to toe, searching for anything wrong. “Are you alright? It took five minutes for me to understand what Dobby said. Then the tunnel collapsed ““ Nathan paused, his eyes traveling over the forms on the floor. “How many Slytherins did you two take care of tonight?”
“One, two three four, five,” Anna commented from the hallway. “Nice blood boiler, there. And this one has a nasty looking broken arm. I didn’t see anyone outside. You two alright?” she asked, stepping over Goyle and Nott. Stopping before Ginny, Anna shook her head at the sight of Ginny’s injuries. “They deserve what they got,” she muttered before enveloping Ginny in fierce hug. Before Harry knew what was happening, Anna had wrapped her arms around him, too, giving him a quick, reassuring hug.
“Anna, why don’t you see Harry and Ginny back to the castle? Dumbledore wants to see you two. I’ll take care of these…” Nathan’s voice trailed off as he searched for an appropriate professor type word to use for the Slytherins.
“Ingrates?” Anna offered.
“Wasn’t what I was thinking, but that won’t get me suspended,” Nathan said grimly. “I’ll take care of these ingrates.”
Harry and Ginny nodded and followed Anna out of the cottage.
++++
“Headmaster, they left school grounds!”
“Yes, Severus, they did, as did five members of your own house,” Dumbledore pointed out.
“School rules expressly state ““
“Enough, Severus!” Dumbledore cautioned, holding up his hand to silence the Potions Master. “I am well aware of the school rules “ as I am of the Ministry’s laws,” Dumbledore said, nodding at Jeremiah Lachley, assistant to the head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.
Word had reached the Ministry of a spell battle occurring in Hogsmeade well past midnight. Fudge had flooed Ameila Bones in a tizzy. What if Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley were involved. What if it was another Death Eater attack on them? It would just look disgraceful! This needed to be investigated! Ameila Bones assured Fudge she would take care of it and immediately contacted Albus Dumbledore who had just finished speaking with Nathan from the fireplace in the cottage. Dumbledore in turn reassured Ameila it was not a Death Eater attack but instead the affair had all the appearances of a prank gone awry.
Ameila relayed this message back to Fudge, who had been under growing pressure by the press and public to become more involved with peace keeping since the Knocturn Alley attack. Fudge in turn insisted the Ministry have some type of presence at Hogwarts within the hour to make sure the whole thing was taken care of satisfactorily. Ameila had held her tongue until the Minister’s head had disappeared from her fireplace and then promptly let out a frustrated scream.
Her nephew Stewart, who was still a bit jumpy after suffering considerable spell damage in the attack on Diagon Alley this past summer, had waddled into the kitchen, eyes wide with fright, wand at the ready, webbed feet and hands quivering. Ameila picked up a few stray feathers, the last of the molting process, as she told him she would be going up to Hogwarts to inspect a small incident. Stewart quacked once and asked if it was really nothing, didn’t she have someone else she could send, a direct report perhaps? Amelia paused, smiled, told Stewart she was glad his beak had finally fallen off and had flooed Jeremiah Lachley, her assistant.
At the sound of his name coming from the fireplace, Jeremiah, who was in the middle of a midnight snack induced dream, had flown up from his couch where he had fallen asleep, the bowl of crisps balanced on his stomach flying forward, showering his boss with salt and crumbs. Swiping fried potato bits out her hair, Ameila promptly told Jeremiah to get to Hogwarts. So, now he stood here, picking crisps out of his shirt pocket, willing his fuzzy mind to remember what his role was, and wishing desperately that he was back at home, curled up next to his sleeping wife.
“Nathan, how is everyone?” Dumbledore asked, as Nathan stepped into his office.
“They’ll be alright,” Nathan answered wearily, eyeing Lachley with curiosity and coldly ignoring Snape. “All of them are under Poppy’s care now. Anna is keeping an eye on them.”
“Headmaster, this should be dealt with promptly,” Snape pushed.
“And it will be,” Dumbledore replied. “Do you have an explanation?”
“A bit of one,” Nathan said. “Harry and Ginny are in pretty bad shape ““
“Headmaster ““
“As are five members of your house, Severus,” Nathan cut back in, his eyes challenging Snape to say something more.
Snape clamped his mouth shut.
“Who is he?” Nathan asked, motioning at Lachley with his head.
“Uh, Jeremiah Lachley,” Jeremiah introduced himself, holding out a hand to Nathan. “Assistant to the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement.”
Nathan raised his eyebrows to Dumbledore as he shook Jeremiah’s hand. “What’s the Ministry doing here?”
“Fudge,” Jeremiah replied unenthusiastically.
Nathan looked back at Lachley. He liked him. “Ah.”
“As both Severus and Jeremiah have pointed out, rules were broken, property was damaged ““
“And fixed,” Nathan commented, holding up his hand.
“And fixed,” Dumbledore continued, “and some form of action must be taken. And while Expulsion,” he said, looking directly at Snape, “is the rule, it seems harsh in light of the fact it would involve a significant portion of your seventh year students, Severus,” Dumbledore said. “I will be taking twenty points per student from each house,” Dumbledore raised his hand to silence Snape’s outburst before it began. “And detentions will be served. Severus, please coordinate with Hagrid and Mr. Filch as to who will be needed where for the following week. Nathan, I believe you have uses for Mr. Potter and Miss Weasley?”
“Yes, sir,” Nathan nodded.
“But sir, I don’t believe that is appropriate,” Snape argued.
“And I don’t believe luring a fellow student out of the castle in the middle of the night in these dangerous times is at all appropriate either,” Dumbledore said shortly. “If you would care for me to revisit the realm of expulsion for your students, I will do so.”
Snape stiffened his spine and nodded curtly.
“So be it. Mr. Lachely, will this suffice for your purposes?” Dumbledore asked.
“I believe so,” Jeremiah answered. “I will assure the Minister there was no Death Eater activity. I can’t guarantee, however, it will stay out of the paper.”
“Ah well,” Dumbledore sighed. “That is to be expected.”
“Good night, then,” Jeremiah said, and exited.
“Is that all, sir?”
“Yes Severus, it is,” Dumbledore said as the Potions Master made his way to the steps and left, Nathan following. Dumbledore stood up behind his desk. “Nathan, will you keep me informed?”
Nathan stopped and turned back, his eyes calculating as they gazed at the Headmaster. He paused before giving a curt nod.
“Thank you,” Dumbledore replied sincerely as Nathan turned and left.
++++
Harry and Ginny sat at rectangular shaped wooden table located in the middle of the Room of Requirement. A fire crackled merrily in the hearth at one end of the room lending its color and warmth to the atmosphere. The walls of the room were lined with bookshelves crammed full of spell books. Two chairs had been situated at the table which had been supplied with ink, quills, rolls of parchment and lots of room to spread out their research.
This was the third night of detention. Harry and Ginny had been in here each evening, poring over pages of text until their eyes crossed. With a frustrated groan, Harry slammed the book shut in front of him and scooted it to the middle of the table.
“Nothing!” he grumbled, running his hands through his hair. “Do you get the feeling we might be going down the wrong path?” he asked, looking up at Ginny who was staring at the ceiling in the center of the room. He winced at the yellow smudges on her cheek. Harry swiveled in his chair to see what she was looking at. Looked like a ceiling to him. He turned back. “Ginny?” he prodded, nudging her foot under the table with the toe of his shoe.
“Wha “ oh, sorry, Harry, did you say something?” Ginny asked, returning to the present.
“Do you get the feeling we might be going down the wrong path?” Harry repeated.
Ginny sighed heavily. “Yeah “ no “ maybe. Oh, I don’t know,” she admitted, her hands propping up her chin. “It seems right. It makes sense, as much as it can. Maybe we just need fresh eyes.”
“Yeah, I’m getting pretty tired,” Harry said, leaning back and stretching.
“No, that’s not what I meant,” Ginny said. “I meant, perhaps we need a new perspective. Perhaps we need help.”
“Help? Like Nathan?”
“Or like Ron and Hermione,” Ginny said. “We’ve always done our best thinking together. Maybe it’s time we think together again.”
“What about Neville?” Harry asked. “And Joanna? Might be a good opportunity for them to learn more about bonding,” Harry suggested.
“Yeah,” Ginny contemplated. “And we might want Luna, too. I have a feeling what we are going to come up with might require some creative thinking that is a little other worldly.”
Harry nodded and grinned. “I like it.”
“Me, too. Let’s go!” Ginny said, pushing her chair back.
Half an hour later, Harry and Ginny were back in the Room of Requirement. While they had been gone, the room had reconfigured itself to hold three additional tables, along with supplies and chairs for everyone. Harry had found Nathan in his office and he in turn had fetched Anna. Now assembled, all eyes were directed at the fireplace where Nathan, Harry and Ginny stood, talking in hushed whispers. Nathan scratched the back of his neck and nodded. He then stepped back and waved his wand. A blackboard appeared to the side of the hearth.
“Oh, wait a minute,” Ron said. “You didn’t say anything about a lecture!”
“Ronald!” Hermione admonished. “Harry and Ginny need our help and we’re going to give it to them.”
“You know, mate, I’d do anything for you,” Ron said, acknowledging Harry, “but I’m not taking notes.”
Hermione rolled her eyes. “You may borrow mine,” she said, pulling a piece of parchment toward her.
“Actually, Hermione,” Ginny said, stepping forward, “I think you might want to listen before you take notes. There will be plenty of note taking soon enough.”
Hermione blinked incredulously at Ginny as if she had spoken a foreign language. Her brow furrowed and her mouth opened and closed like a fish. With a gleeful grin on his face, Ron reached over and plucked the quill and parchment from Hermione’s hands and dropped them to the floor.
“Alright,” Ginny began, “as you know, Harry and I are serving detention this week due to an unfortunate incident last week ““
“Still think we should have just shoved the git starkers in the lake smothered in fish guts and let the squid at him,” Ron muttered.
“I’ll pass your suggestion onto Hagrid,” Nathan whispered.
“And,” Ginny continued, raising her voice over her brother’s, “that incident made us realize we might be running out of time to find a solution to our problem.”
“What problem?” Neville asked interested.
Nathan cleared his throat and stepped forward. “The Dark Lord has been given a potion that contains Ginny and Harry’s bonded blood. What this means ““
“I’m not sure I understand,” Joanna said, looking around the room.
“This isn’t promising, is it?” Luna commented mildly.
“What does that mean?” Neville asked, squeezing Joanna’s hand until she inhaled sharply and he let go.
Nathan continued. “The potion he was given was not an immortality potion. However, because it did contain Ginny’s bonded blood, she is now technically bonded to Lord Voldemort.”
The expected winces and gasps at the Dark Lord’s name never came. The shock in the room was visible and vibrating, just hovering above the tables begging to be touched and twanged. Joanna was first to break the silence.
“Eeuw.”
There was a brief pause before Harry snorted. Ginny giggled. Hermione rolled her eyes.
Grinning wryly, Nathan continued. “That’s probably the most honest response I’ve heard to that statement yet. Thank you, Joanna.”
“Uh, you’re welcome, sir,” Joanna said, her cheeks glowing red.
“What we have been working on,” Ginny continued, “is a spell that will break the bond.”
“Wait a minute,” Ron said, his brain kicking into gear. “The only way to break a bond is through death. You aren’t dying. Either one of you. You are NOT DYING!”
“Ron, I don’t think that is where they are going,” Anna said.
“Die a little bit,” Hermione said in a whisper.
“I’ve heard of creatures who do that,” Luna said thoughtfully.
“No!” Ron said, turning to Hermione. “Not a little bit. Not at all!”
“No, Ron,” Harry said, “Hermione is just repeating something Ginny and I were talking about earlier. Here, before we get into specifics “ we asked you here to ask for your help.”
Ginny nodded. “We have an idea of what needs to be done. We just aren’t sure anyone has ever done it before. We need help. We need help in figuring out how to do what needs to be done.”
“We’d like your help,” Harry said, looking at his friends earnestly. He felt Ginny slip her hand into his and give it a reassuring squeeze. He squeezed back.
“The Long Neck Lunkbuglers die a little bit every time they blow,” Luna said nodding satisfactorily as she reached forward to take a piece of parchment and a quill from the middle of the table. “I’ll write my father to find out what he knows about it.”
“Th-thank you, Luna,” Ginny said, smiling at her.
“What do you know so far?” Joanna asked. Joanna got the distinct impression from the disgruntled look Hermione shot her, she had just stolen Hermione’s question.
“Go ahead, Ginny,” Nathan said, taking a seat next to Anna at the table.
Harry stepped back and smiled encouragingly at Ginny. Ginny swallowed, nodded resolutely and motioned for Hermione to take her place at the blackboard. As Ginny spoke, Hermione created a bullet point list.
What we know “
1 “ Catarina manipulated Tom’s blood to bond him to his physical form.
2 “ In order to manipulate Tom’s blood, an enormous amount of Magic would need to be used.
3 “ Ginny’s blood in Tom is bonded to Harry’s blood in Tom, giving Tom Ginny’s blood protection. (Ron snorted at this. “Mum will be thrilled,” he noted dryly.)
4 “ A bond can only be broken through death.
What we think needs to happen “
1 “ Ginny needs to break her bond with Tom. (“Without dying!” Ron argued.)
If this happens, then “
1 “ Can Tom’s physical form be separated form his essence? (Joanna started giggling at this, earning another reproachful glance from Hermione. “I’m sorry,” she gasped, wiping at the tears seeping out of the corner of her eyes. “You said essence, I thought perfume. Eau de Evil, you know.”)
2 “ Can his essence be captured?
“So, what have you determined so far?” Anna asked, studying the list.
“That no one has tried this before,” Harry replied.
“Then we’ll just have to come up with something on our own,” Hermione replied. “I’d say we should split up into teams, working on specific parts of this and see what we get. I will make up revised study schedules for us all so we can make sure we have enough time to study and do this.”
“And I’ll see about getting us something to eat,” Anna said, standing up with her hand on her stomach. “I need food.”
“I like you,” Ron said, nodding in agreement.
Anna grinned at him. “Thanks. Back in a sec.”
Groups and tasks were organized, and soon the room was filled with the sounds of pages flipping, quills scratching and discoveries and disappointments. Anna returned, followed by Dobby and Winky who were laden down with trays of pumpkin juice and biscuits.
“Professor Borgin?” Ron called, spewing crumbs across the table. “My next detention, can I serve it with you?”
“You have a detention coming up?” Nathan asked.
“Nothing on the schedule as of yet,” Ron said. “I just want to get my request in when it happens.”
“Ronald!” Hermione sighed, as she got up to retrieve another book from the shelves.
Ginny looked up from the shelf she was sorting through as Hermione approached.
“Ginny,” Hermione said in hushed tones, “why is Joanna here? I mean, I understand Neville and even Luna since we’ve been through a lot with them, and I know Joanna’s your roommate, but do you really think it’s wise to share this with more people?”
Ginny straightened up and pursed her lips. She hadn’t thought about anyone, let alone Hermione being a little put out by the addition to the group. And she wasn’t about to explain to Hermione what Joanna’s relationship to Neville was. It wasn’t her place to do so. Ginny pondered the predicament as Luna approached.
“Hello,” Luna greeted airily as she floated to the shelves. “Neville and his soul mate are rather sweet, aren’t they?”
“Soul mate?” Ginny asked surprised.
“Yes, you just have to look at them to realize they are soul mates. Like strawberries and clotted cream. Meant to be together forever.”
“Right,” Ginny said nodding slowly as Luna passed on. Turning to Hermione, Ginny grinned wryly. “Hermione, I might be more concerned about Luna than I would be about Joanna.”
“Hmm,” Hermione commented, watching the Ravenclaw select a book. “But still ““
“Look, Hermione,” Ginny said firmly, “Joanna is a friend and my dorm mate and a very bright girl who might be able to really help us. She wants to be a healer and spends loads of her free time trailing after Madam Pomfrey. Between her and Neville, they probably know most of the things that can be done with magical plants without even looking them up. She’ll be really useful to have on our side. Trust me.”
Hermione’s expression told Ginny she wasn’t pleased, but in the end, Hermione shrugged her shoulders and said, “We’ll see,” before heading back to her seat.
“You two alright?” Harry asked, coming up and setting his hand on her shoulder.
“Yeah,” Ginny said, her eyes traveling between Joanna and Neville and Hermione. “Did you know Neville and Joanna are like Strawberries and clotted cream?” she asked.
“Luna?” Harry surmised.
“Luna,” Ginny confirmed.
“I like Luna,” Harry said mildly.
Ginny giggled. “Me, too.”
++++
A week later, Joanna opened the door to the Room of Requirement to find Ginny asleep, several open volumes in front of her pillowed her head, her quill, lightly held between her fingers, resting in a small pool of drying ink. Carefully setting her book bag down on the floor, Joanna gave Ginny’s shoulder a nudge.
“Ginny?” she said softly. “Ginny?”
“Moway,” Ginny mumbled, turning her head to the other side, as if switching ears would make the annoying voice disappear.
“Ginny, you’re asleep in the Room of Requirement,” Joanna said a little louder.
“Mmf.”
“Ginny, Harry is waiting over by the fire to snog you senseless. If you don’t wake up, he’ll leave,” Joanna said, elbowing Ginny in the side.
Ginny snorted into the book. “I’m awake,” she said drowsily, arching her back and stretching. Yawning, she looked hopefully toward the fireplace. “No fire. No Harry. Exactly why did you wake me up?”
“You were drooling,” Joanna said, pointing at darkened circle on the book where Ginny’s mouth had been.
“Oh,” Ginny said, wiping her mouth with the sleeve of her jumper.
“So, where are we today?” Joanna asked, looking over Ginny’s shoulder.
“Here,” Ginny said, pushing it over. “Go at it. I have no idea why all books on blood bonds have to be so dry. They’re awful.”
“Well, see, there is our calling, then,” Joanna said, studying the page. “We have to write the first real page turner on blood bonds.”
Ginny opened her mouth and clamped it shut. It’s not my business, she told herself adamantly. But then she saw Joanna’s cheeks turn pink. Controlling the squeal that threatened to escape, Ginny gently placed her hand on Joanna’s arm and leaned forward.
“We’ve been talking about it,” Joanna said, not meeting Ginny’s gaze. “Haven’t said yes or no, but we’re talking about it.”
Ginny bit her bottom lip and nodded, her eyes bright with excitement.
“That’s all I’m saying,” Joanna said firmly.
Ginny nodded emphatically again.
“You might want to let that breath out you’re holding before you explode, though,” Joanna said, flipping a page.
Ginny grinned and exhaled. “Thanks.”
“No problem,” Joanna said, placing a finger on a sentence in the book she was reading. “Ginny,” Joanna said slowly, “you can see your bond right? It’s the ribbons, right?”
“Right,” Ginny said nodding. “They weave together, kind of like this,” she said, weaving her fingers together and pulling them, so they interlocked. “You can probably see them free floating from inside you. When you bond, they find their anchor in, well, Neville.”
“How?” Joanna asked, smiling at Luna who had just entered.
“Well, when you have the bonding ceremony,” Ginny glanced at Luna who had sat down across from them, “the combined magic that is you and your bond, encircles you and binds you together outside. The Mediator then takes that magic and forces it into the bond to bind you on the inside.”
“So, both sides of the bond are anchored. Then, when a Mediator performs an Obliteration Charm,” Joanna mused, “she does the reverse?”
“From what I’ve read, yes,” Ginny said, holding her fists together in front of her “Imagine grabbing two ends of a scarf and pulling it in two,” she said, jerking her fists apart. “It takes an incredible amount of power to do it, so much that what ends up killing the Mediator is the combined sheer force it takes to do the charm and the intense pain caused by such a violent act.”
“Well, I can see why Harry isn’t really thrilled with it, then,” Joanna observed.
“Yeah,” Ginny sighed. “He doesn’t want to hurt me.”
“So, we need to determine how to break the bond so it’s not so ‘violent’ and how to get you enough power to do it,” Joanna said.
“Low Neck Lunkbuglers have soul mates,” Luna said.
Joanna raised her eyebrows at Luna.
“As soul mates, they are inseparable, even in death,” Luna continued. “My father wrote back. When the female dies, the male stands over her blowing then will feed off her stomach contents until he, too, starves to death, unable to leave her side. Thus, they die a little bit with each meal.”
Joanna bit the inside of her cheek to keep from laughing and nodded, her eyes bright with mirth.
“So, it’s rather simple for Ginny and Harry, don’t you see?” Luna said, turning to her parchment.
“Harry’s supposed to feed off my stomach contents to stay alive?” Ginny said, wrinkling her nose.
“Better hope he likes what you had for lunch,” Joanna observed.
Ginny shook her head to clear it of thoughts regarding digested food and smile at Hermione who had just entered the room. “Harry and I already determined that we’d probably have to be connected in some manner to have enough power to do the spell.”
“That makes sense,” Hermione said, settling herself at the table. “I’ve been thinking, though, even if you have enough power to perform an Obliteration Charm, you’re going to have to get to the blood in order to do it, right?”
“That’s a good point,” Ginny said, absently rubbing the scar on her palm with her thumb. “Blood is bonded through physical contact,” Ginny said slowly. “In order to manipulate it, I have to be in contact with him, close contact.” Ginny swallowed distastefully at the notion.
“In contact and powerful enough which would mean having Harry there,” Hermione said. Hermione leaned down and whipped out a thick volume from her book bag and flipped through the pages. “Ginny, Harry can connect with Voldemort. He’s done it before. At the end of the Triwizard Tournament.”
“Priori Incantatem?” Ginny said.
“Exaclty,” Hermione said. “Here. This author “ Spence Stuckley ““
“Nice man,” Luna commented airly.
“-says he believes bonds reside in the heart “ ’In the case of a true love bond, the anchor is the heart.’ If that’s the case, you don’t need to break your bond with Harry. You need to remove the anchor in Tom. If there is no anchor, there is no bond.”
“Does he have a heart?” Joanna asked.
“No,” Ginny shook her head adamantly. “It’s why Catarina didn’t heal him totally. There was no heart.”
“So the anchor to your bond in Tom is his blood,” Hermione nodded. “It’s Harry’s blood in Tom.”
“So we still have to destroy Tom’s blood which has the bonded blood in it which means I’m obliterating my bond in Tom,” Ginny said dryly. “So the question remains, is my bond with Harry gone then? And if not, would my bond with Harry be enough to keep me alive?”
“You stay connected with your soul mate and your soul mate saves you,” Luna interjected.
“Luna has something there,” Joanna commented. “If the wands were connected, and you and Harry are connected, Harry might be able to pull you through if we can figure out how. And you in turn could give him any extra magic you might have left to finish the job.”
“Finish the job?” Hermione asked.
“Uh, finish off He-Who “ oh,” Joanna grimaced, “Vol-de-mort. You have to, because if he isn’t taken are of, and he got a hold of Ginny, they could really bond. Again. In an actual ceremony. Does this make sense?”
“Oddly, yes,” Hermione said, nodding her head and looking at Joanna with a look of respect.
“Spence Stuckley once wrote an article for The Quibbler on how not to have your heart destroyed in a duel.”
Hermione, Joanna and Ginny all turned to look at Luna who blinked calmly back. “It was quite good, actually. One of our best selling editions,” she stated. “He wrote a book about it in the end.”
Hermione flipped the book she’d consulted over to read the spine. “Anchors Away “ How to Not Get Tied Up in Magical Knots?”
“Yes. A best seller in port towns, as I recall.”
“Ah,” Hermione said, flipping back to the index. “Here we go. A list of suggestions on how to avoid having your heart/anchor destroyed.”
“I should probably read that,” Ginny said biting her bottom lip and nodding her head.
“Beats half digested fish,” Joanna said, reaching for a piece of parchment.
“Pardon?” Hermione said, her face a little green.
“Never mind,” Ginny waved at Hermione.
++++
A/N “ Many, many thanks to wvchemteach for his undying patience with my battle scenes. You know the spell.
And my thanks to Anya for being my second set of eyes.
Thumbs up to bogus7, too, my awesome mod! Thanks!