Happy Holidays! The lost are found! My reviews are back and I'm working on answering them all. Sorry for the delay and thank you all for the feedback and encouragement - I appreciate every one of them!
Judging by the looks students were giving him, Bill knew he must look a sight. His hair was flying behind him; his shirt was sticking to the perspiration gathering between his shoulder blades; his heart was beating out a rhythm to, ‘she’s missing; she’s missing.’ He had no idea what he was going to say to Nathan.
From Gringotts, Bill had sent Fred to alert the Order. He and Fred had agreed Nathan needed to be told in person, partly because there was no need to alert anyone who didn’t need to know, but mostly because a Floo call just seemed so cold. Bill knew deep in his heart if he ever had to receive this kind of news about Fleur, he’d want a warm, breathing human being there - if only so he could pour some his rage and fear into him.
Bill tried to remain calm as he wove in and out of the streams of students flowing from the classrooms on either side of the corridor. He knew he wasn’t doing a very good job of it when a first year Hufflepuff squeaked as she jumped out of his way.
“Sorry,” he mumbled, flashing the girl an apologetic smile.
“Bill?”
Bill turned around. Harry and Ron were walking out of the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom.
“What are you doing here?” Ron asked.
“Is Nathan in there?” Bill barked, not stopping.
“Yeah,” Ron answered, stepping back to keep from getting run over. “Why?”
“What’s happened?” Harry asked, turning back around and following Bill.
“I need to see Nathan,” Bill replied, entering the classroom.
“He’s probably in his office,” Ron offered, observing the now empty room.
Bill walked purposefully down the middle isle and started up the steps to Nathan’s office. He paused half way up and looked back over his shoulder at Harry and Ron who stood on the steps below him.
“I’m not sure “ oh, never mind. You’d be the next two I’d tell anyway. Come on,” Bill motioned. He knocked on the open office door.
“Bill!” Nathan smiled from behind his desk. “What brings you here? Hello, Harry, Ron. Did you two have a question?”
Harry and Ron shook their heads and looked expectantly at Bill. Bill stepped toward Nathan’s desk, taking a deep breath of air and praying inspiration would come with the right words any time now. Nathan took in Bill’s concerned stance and felt a cold, hard pain solidify in his middle.
“What’s happened to Anna?”
“She’s missing, Nathan,” Bill answered evenly. “Narcissa Malfoy escaped from St. Mungos this morning. No one has seen Anna since lunch. She isn’t here, is she?” he finished, his words more of a hopeful statement than a question.
Nathan’s face lost all color. He stared at Bill, his eyes darkening with anger and fear. In a burst of movement, he flew around his desk and out his office door, through his classroom and into the hallway. Bill turned and ran after him. Harry and Ron traded stunned looks before following Bill.
Blood pounding in his ears, Nathan didn’t hear or see anything as he ran through the corridors to the North Tower. Anna has to be there. She just had come home after lunch. She didn’t want to bother him in the middle of classes. She was simply napping or “ or she’d be in the kitchen, making a cup of tea. Hot water on the stove. Not from her wand. Making tea.
Nathan charged at the door to their flat, his wand at the ready, performing the unlocking charm. He slammed into the worn wood, sending the door flying back. It caught him on the shoulder on its rebound. Nathan didn’t notice.
“ANNA! Anna, are you here?” he shouted, running from room to room. “ANNA!” he bellowed, flying into their bedroom “ their empty bedroom. His knees hit the side of the bed and he stopped. His breath hitched, as he turned to see Bill, Harry and Ron standing helplessly in the sitting room. “She has to be at work, Bill. Did you check the vaults? Maybe she was just down below, even though Madam Pomfrey has told her she shouldn’t be doing such strenuous things right now. But you know Anna, she wouldn’t listen. She feels fine. Did you check? Are you sure ““
“Nathan, I’m sorry, we checked.” Bill stepped up and placed his hands on Nathan’s upper arms. “I’m sorry. We are going to find her.”
Nathan’s eyes darted around their flat. His chest heaved as he gulped air, the words sinking in and beginning to make sense. His shoulders shook as his chin fell to his chest. “Bloody hell,” he whispered raggedly. Throwing his head back, Nathan raged at the ceiling. “DAMN YOU!”
Bill released his grip on Nathan’s arms and Nathan fell back, slumping into one of the high backed reading chairs. He ran his hands through his hair then pressed the palm of his right hand to his forehead where an intense throbbing had begun.
“When do we leave?”
“Leave? Oh, leave,” Bill repeated. Sitting down in the chair opposite Nathan, Bill motioned for Harry and Ron to have a seat on the sofa. “Nathan, we can’t just go find her ““
“Why not?” Nathan argued loudly. “We know who has her. How many places could she be?”
“We don’t know for sure who has her,” Bill said carefully. “We’re pretty sure, though. If it is Narcissa - and we think it is,” Bill reiterated as Nathan opened his mouth to argue, “the places where she could take Anna are numerous. The Malfoys and Blacks have connections. Anna could be anywhere.”
Nathan’s eyes were hollow as they stared into Bill’s. His face a splotchy mix of pale and red, Nathan drew a ragged breath and nodded before letting his head droop.
“Professor Borgin?” Harry asked, scooting forward on the sofa. “Over the holidays, you were working with Ginny on communicating through our bond.”
“Yes,” Nathan said, his eyes focused on his shoes.
“A marriage is like a bond, right?”
Nathan raised his head and looked at Harry with dull eyes.
“Well, you and Anna were separated for almost twenty years and yet, you still stayed married to each other,” Harry plunged on hopefully. “I’d say that probably is a good sign that your marriage is a true love match.” Harry swallowed, his cheeks flushing slightly as he realized he was critiquing a professor’s love life. “Would some of the same things in a blood bond based in love hold true for a marriage based in love as well?”
The sitting room was silent as Harry’s words hung in the air, filtering through the emotion swirling among them. Bill jumped as Nathan’s voice, gravelly but strong, broke through.
“We’ll need Ginny.”
“Why?” Ron asked.
“She and Harry are connected to Anna and me through the circlet. Through their bond, they can sense Anna,” Nathan replied hastily.
“I’ll get Ginny,” Harry said, standing up.
“I’ll get the spell book,” Nathan said, heading to their library.
++++
Nathan placed his wedding band in Ginny’s outstretched palm. Ginny folded her fingers over it, soaking up the warmth held in the gold. She glanced up at Nathan who was looking at her with his heart in his eyes. She had the intense desire to blow her cheeks out and exhale loudly, saying something to the effect of, “Are you sure we can do this?” Instead, she straightened her shoulders and nodded curtly, hoping her posture alluded to confidence she wasn’t feeling. Instinctively, she reached her free hand out for Harry, touching his arm. She closed her eyes just for a moment, letting Harry’s warmth fill her with calmness.
“Here,” Bill said, turning a book on the desk of Nathan and Anna’s office around so Ginny could see it.
“So, why a wedding band?” Ron asked, leaning over Ginny’s shoulder to look at the book. Ginny shot Ron an annoyed look for encroaching on her space and he stepped back. “Sorry.”
“Anna and my wedding bands are made from the same gold bar. When I had them made, I requested a charm be placed on them, linking them together, much as our wedding ceremony linked us.”
“Really?” Hermione asked wide-eyed. “How did you do that?”
“It’s Ancient ““
“Magic,” Harry and Ginny finished for him.
The corners of Nathan’s mouth turned up slightly. “Yes,” he nodded. “It’s one of those. Our rings are tied together through our love.”
“They’re bonded?” Hermione asked.
“In a sense. Anna added a ribbon to Harry and Ginny’s bond during the circlet ceremony tying herself to them. They in turn wove it into their bond. If Ginny and Harry focus on the ring, through their connection with Anna, they should be able to use it to follow the ties to her.” Nathan turned to face Harry and Ginny. “You may not be able to sense exactly where Anna is, but you’ll be able to get a general idea.”
Ginny unfolded her hand and held Nathan’s ring up so she could look at it at eye level. “Everything has ribbons,” she commented softly.
“If you know where and how to look,” Nathan nodded, tapping his fingers on the desk.
“How long does it take?” Hermione asked.
“Depends,” Nathan replied, pulling out his handkerchief, looking at it for a moment confused as to why he was holding it, and shoving it back in his pocket. “Depends on where Anna is. Depends on what kind of wards are surrounding her. Depends if she,” Nathan swallowed hard dragging his handkerchief out of his pocket again, “if she is still wearing it. The tracing charms only work if the ring is on the finger of the person who is supposed to wear it,” he finished quietly.
Ginny placed a comforting hand on Nathan’s arm. “We’ll find her, Professor Borgin.”
Nathan met Ginny’s eyes. He could read the nervousness in their depths, but he also saw a determination that spoke volumes. He nodded.
Ginny stepped back and cleared her throat. “If I understand this correctly, we need to perform the mediation exercises. Then, we wait. The tracking charm has a bit of a boomerang effect which can take a little time. During that time, I keep your wedding band,” she looked at Nathan, “with me since that is the starting point of the tracking charm.”
Ginny glanced around the room at the expectant, anxious expressions. She sighed. “You know, I found last summer that these types of meditations take time and space.”
“It’s alright, Ginny,” Hermione assured her. “We don’t mind.”
Ginny looked pleadingly at Hermione.
“Oh!” Hermione exclaimed, blushing. “Sorry. Let’s go, Ron."
“Go? Oh, yeah, sorry,” Ron said.
“I’ll be just outside,” Nathan said reluctantly, “if you need anything.” Bill pulled the office door open and held it for Nathan. Nathan slipped through then paused. Looking over his shoulder, he met Ginny’s eyes. “If Anna is “ if she is “ “
“She isn’t,” Ginny said firmly. “She’s alive.”
“We don’t know that,” Nathan argued coarsely.
“Professor Borgin, if she was dead, your ring would be cold.”
Nathan blinked. “Cold?”
“Cold,” Ginny replied. “Your mum told me that when true love is alive, it keeps things warm.” Ginny held up her palm with Nathan’s ring on it. “Feel it. It’s still warm.”
Nathan hesitantly reached out, his fingers brushing the gold on Ginny’s hand. “It’s warm,” he breathed.
“She’s alive,” Ginny smiled encouragingly.
“Thank you,” Nathan said quietly and closed the door behind him.
Ginny and Harry settled themselves in the chairs opposite the desk. Harry grinned slightly.
“What?” Ginny asked.
“It’s just this has to be the most comfortable I’ve ever been when we’ve tried this,” Harry shrugged.
“Harry!” Ginny admonished, trying not to smile.
“Sorry,” he said, sobering, holding up his hand.
Ginny held up her palm and then drew it back slightly, hesitating.
“What is it?” Harry asked concerned.
“Harry, according to the spell book, we can track Anna through her ribbons in our bond. But, her bond with Nathan is much stronger than her bond with us. If I weave one of our ribbons into the bond between Anna and Nathan’s rings, we can use their bond to track her. It ““
“Makes sense,” Harry finished for her.
“Harry, you know what that means?” Ginny asked worriedly.
“Ginny,” Harry said leaning forward and placing his hands on either side of her face, “this is worth it. If this was you, there isn’t anything I wouldn’t do to get you back. Without Nathan, we wouldn’t have a bond. This is the right thing to do.” Closing the distance between them, he placed a soft, reassuring kiss on her lips.
Ginny smiled at Harry as he pulled back. “Alright, then,” she said quietly, “let’s do this. Here, you need to cover the ring with your hand, too.”
Harry reached forward and placed his hand over Ginny’s, the wedding band sandwiched between their palms. He then held up his other palm to Ginny’s, and wove his fingers with hers. He closed his eyes.
Ginny took a deep breath and shut her own eyes. She began to concentrate on the ring. She had done this so many times that finding the ribbons was just a matter of looking. But nothing could have prepared her for the intensity of the ribbons flowing from Nathan’s wedding band. Suddenly, Ginny understood with the utmost clarity what her and Harry’s true love bond would become.
The first ribbons Ginny had ever seen were the ones now binding her and Harry. Ginny knew from observing Joanna and Neville’s ribbons, her and Harry’s had most likely started out not necessarily pale, but light, pastel almost. When she had first observed her ribbons, they were already darker than Joanna’s. Her and Harry’s relationship had been much more established, their emotions more concrete. Over the past months, their ribbons had become even more vibrant as their bond became stronger. Day by day, Ginny watched as they darkened, expanded and thickened.
And now before her, she saw her future. She was awed by the bond between Nathan and Anna which was just as magical as hers and Harry’s, but instead of being strengthened by blood, this was based solely in love. The ribbons that tied Nathan and Anna were simply amazing. Ginny so wished she could show Nathan. They were there, firm and strong. Twenty plus years of loving someone would do that, she thought. Looking deeper, she detected new ribbons, weaving in and out. She smiled. That was their baby. She briefly wondered if her parents had done a charm such as Nathan had, what their bond would look like with seven sets of ribbons woven in. As she stepped back in her mind, she saw the bond was taught, stretched over the miles that separated the rings. Ginny’s heart ached for the pain it was causing both Nathan and Anna.
Ginny took a deep breath and closed her mind to Nathan and Anna’s bond. Quickly and carefully, she focused on her and Harry’s bond. Silently, she apologized to Harry and braced herself.
The pain was sudden, deep and all encompassing. Harry sucked in his breath and fought to stay upright in his chair. His hand jerked away from the top of the wedding band, driven by an intense desire to claw at his heart in an attempt to make the burning agony stop. He felt Ginny’s fingers curl around his wrist in a vice like grip keeping his hand in place. Tears stung his eyelids as he struggled to not cry out against the pain. Someone was reaching into his chest cavity and ripping his heart out. He just knew it. He hunched his shoulders forward, caving in on himself. He could hear his breathing - shallow pants - as he tried to regain control. He swallowed hard, and felt the pain begin to subside, a deep, muscular ache taking its place. He saw the ribbon, red as Ginny’s hair, frayed and separated from him, gently unweaving itself from their bond.
Ginny saw the ribbon, too, its frayed edges causing her to feel sick to her stomach. She knew that had hurt - and despite whatever Harry said, she felt responsible. She would have to deal with the guilt later. Pushing it aside, Ginny steadied herself. Without wasting a thought, she seared the ribbon from their bond right up the middle. She fought to keep the gasp in; she had never felt anything equal to the agony shooting through her heart. She felt tears leak out of the corners of her eyes as she exhaled.
Harry’s chest ached as he breathed, watching as Ginny split the ribbon in two, leaving streamers in the darkness. He could feel her breath on his face and he realized he must have leaned closer to her. He wanted to soothe her pain, but knew he couldn’t. Now wasn’t the time. He held himself back and took a deep breath. He felt the ache begin to fade as one streamer wove its way back into his heart, expanding to fill the emptiness created by its absence. He saw the flood of color before he felt the soothing healing warmth. Harry drew a ragged breath as the pain subsided. He tried to sense if Ginny, too, felt the relief.
Ginny wove the free end of the auburn colored ribbon into Nathan and Anna’s bond. It was lighter than the ribbons so easier to follow, but Ginny knew, given time, her and Harry’s ribbon would grow as rich and deep as the others in this array it was becoming one with.
As the ribbon wove its way in, Ginny silently spoke the tracking charm, urging the ribbon to travel the bond and find the end. She watched, behind her eyelids, as the ribbon went, growing, reaching, stretching off into the distance. She had done all she could. Slowly, Ginny opened her eyes which grew damp as she took in Harry’s pale, clammy complexion.
“Harry?” she asked softly. “Are you alright?”
Harry blinked, his eyes focusing on Ginny. He nodded slowly. “Don’t ever leave me,” he said, in a ragged voice, as he unwove his fingers with hers and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her from her chair, over the space separating them and against his chest. Harry buried his face in her shoulder and inhaled her fresh scent, his trembling hand stoking her hair. “Don’t ever leave me,” he repeated.
+++++
Nathan turned from the kitchen sink as the door to the office opened and Harry and Ginny emerged. Ginny smiled encouragingly at him. Nathan tried to return the smile but failed. He glanced at Harry. His heart constricted from guilt at the sight of Harry’s pale and shaken expression. Nathan opened his mouth to apologize, but his mind went blank as his eyes flicked down to the ring Ginny held in her hand. He rubbed the empty place on his finger where it should be with his thumb. Ginny watched the movement and instinctively reached for Harry’s hand.
“I’m sorry, Professor Borgin,” Ginny said quietly. “I have to keep this with me.”
“I know, Ginny,” Nathan smiled sadly.
“I’ll take good care of it,” she assured him.
“I need to go see Professor Dumbledore,” Nathan said, running his hand through his hair, “and I am sure you two have some revising to do. I won’t keep you any longer.”
“I will tell you as soon as I know anything,” Ginny said, stepping into the corridor.
“My door will be open,” Nathan said, closing the door to the flat behind them.
“I know,” Ginny replied softly, as she and Harry fell into step beside him.
+++++
Ginny rubbed her forearms, trying to chase away the chill deep in her bones. Her senses were filled with the smell of damp earth that held the secrets of generations past. She blinked but couldn’t see. It was dark. It must be night. She put her hand out and felt cold dirt “ in front of her, behind her, below her. Her teeth began to chatter. She pushed off the ground she seemed to be sitting on and hit her head on the ceiling. Dislodged crumbles of dirt and pebble rained down upon her. Tightness crept across her chest. She sensed another being, a small spark, move as the claustrophobia sunk in.
Ginny took a steadying breath, her fingers grasping for the warm gold band on the chain around her neck, her mind wandering through a semi-conscious state. She reached out to grab hold of what her dreams were telling her. She sensed a meaning just out of grasp, a sense of wonder and worshipfulness. She saw the sun and the moon and felt the yearnings for answers larger than herself. She wanted to follow, to go to where the ribbons beckoned. She tried to move but all she felt was cold, hard, damp dirt. She lashed out; frustrated that she couldn’t see more. Someone cried out in pain.
“Ginny, wake up! Ow! Ginny, wake up!”
Ginny sat straight up in bed, her pajamas sticking to her sweaty skin. Anxiously she looked around, trying to get her bearings, her hand tightly closed around the warm, gold band she wore on the chain around her neck.
“Ginny! Are you alright?”
Ginny turned her head. Joanna was standing by the side of her bed, her hand pressed to the side of her face.
“Yeah,” Ginny replied dazed. “I’m alright. Anna is…”
“You dreamt of Anna? Do you know where she is?” Joanna asked eagerly, sitting on the edge of Ginny’s bed.
“Not really,” Ginny answered confused, massaging her forehead with her fingers. “It was dark. Cold and dark. And there was a lot of dirt.”
Joanna dropped her hand from the side of her face to the bedspread. “Cold, dark and dirty. Sounds underground.”
Ginny leaned forward. “Did I do that?” she asked, pointing at the scratches which were beginning to bead with blood on Joanna’s face.
“You’d make a fine cat,” Joanna commented, pressing the back of her hand to her cheek.
“Oh, Joanna, I’m so sorry,” Ginny apologized.
“Don’t worry about me,” Joanna said standing up. “You need to go tell Professor Borgin.”
“Right!” Ginny folded back her blankets and swung her legs over the side of her bed.
“Here,” Joanna tossed Ginny a pair of house shoes. “Do you want me to come with you?”
“No,” Ginny shook her head, slipping on the house shoes, “I’m going to go get Harry.”
“Good luck,” Joanna wished as she climbed back into her bed.
Ginny threw her dressing gown around her shoulders and tied the belt as she hurried out of her room. The soles of her shoes thwacked the stone as she jogged down the steps to the girls’ dormitories. She smiled as she felt a familiar pull from beyond the last step. Looking down, she saw Harry looking expectantly up.
“Did you see something?” he asked.
“She’s alive,” Ginny confirmed, her hand encompassing Nathan’s wedding band. “She’s somewhere underground, I think.”
“Let’s go tell Nathan,” Harry said, grabbing Ginny’s hand and heading toward the portrait hole.
“Wait, Harry,” Ginny pulled back. “Do we need the Invisibility Cloak?”
“Not tonight,” Harry answered determinedly. “I’m Head Boy. You’re a Prefect. Snape is gone. We have information that will help find Anna. No one will stop us tonight.”
“All good points,” Ginny agreed.
Minutes later, Harry and Ginny stood in front of Nathan and Anna’s flat. Harry raised his hand to knock but before he could, the door flew open. Still dressed in his teaching robes, Nathan glared at them, his hair mussed, his reddened eyes rimmed with purple smudges.
“You know something?” he barked hoarsely.
Involuntarily, Ginny stepped closer to Harry. The movement cut through Nathan’s frantic fog. He deflated slightly and stepped backward into his flat. Yawning and looking as if he had just awoken, Bill stepped up to the door Nathan had left open.
“Hey, Ginny, Harry,” Bill greeted sleepily.
“Why are you still here?” Ginny asked as she stepped inside.
“I thought Nathan might like the company.” Bill stretched. “Come on in,” he motioned.
As he followed Ginny into the sitting room, Harry had the feeling he had walked into Dumbledore’s office. The tables, shelves and fireplace mantle were crammed with every different whizzing, whirring contraption imaginable. Harry recognized several of them as having been on Anna’s desk. What space wasn’t covered by the dark detectors, was covered with half filled tea cups and tea pots.
“I’m sorry,” Nathan apologized quietly behind them. “I know this must look like I’ve gone completely off the deep end,” he waved lamely at the instruments. “Somehow the activity made me feel as if something was happening, like I was doing something. But then, you haven’t come to check on my mental state,” Nathan finished.
“I had a dream,” Ginny said. “Anna is someplace dark. It’s cold and there’s dirt all around her. She and the baby “ they both seem fine.”
Nathan swallowed and nodded. “She’s underground.”
Ginny nodded. “It felt like a tunnel.
Nathan leaned back on his heels and looked at the ceiling, blinking rapidly.
“And, this is odd, but I got the sense that she’s someplace where something else happens,” Ginny continued.
“What do you mean?” Bill asked.
“Well, it was if the air was filled with ideas or beliefs,” Ginny tried to explain.
“That can happen in tombs,” Bill nodded and looked quickly at Nathan. “Not that Anna is in a tomb, and if she was, she certainly would be able to take care of herself.”
“You’re rambling, Bill,” Nathan commented, flashing him a small, tired grateful smile. “What kind of beliefs, Ginny?”
“I don’t know,” Ginny shook her head. “They seemed positive “ does that make sense?”
“Yes, it does,” Nathan said. “It means she’s probably someplace associated with good things as opposed to…”
“Not,” Bill finished for him. “Any idea where this place was?”
Ginny shook her head dejectedly.
“It has to be somewhat close,” Nathan mused. “Tracking charms can take days, and this came back in a matter of hours.”
“I just wish I knew more,” Ginny sighed.
“You will, Ginny,” Nathan said, patting her on the shoulder. “Tracking charms often come in bursts.”
“Should we tell Dumbledore?” Harry asked.
Nathan sighed, his eyes following the patterns above his head. “He knows, but we really don’t have much to go on. There’s no concrete proof Anna was kidnapped by Narcissa Malfoy. Order members are working on it…” Nathan’s voice trailed off.
“Well, we know Anna was kidnapped by her,” Ginny argued.
“And if Narcissa Malfoy has her,” Harry continued thoughtfully, “where would she take her?”
“You know,” Bill offered, “I’ve never been under the impression that Narcissa Malfoy was the driving force in the Malfoy family.”
“Meaning?” Nathan asked.
“Well, I mean, I don’t see her as doing a lot of her own thinking,” Bill explained. “Not to mention, she is wanted by the Ministry.”
“Which would mean she would go with what she knows is easy and safe for her,” Nathan said catching on.
“And who else knows what she knows?” Harry asked rhetorically.
“We can’t exactly interrogate a student based on rumor,” Nathan observed.
“No, you can’t, can you,” Ginny replied, a sly smile spreading across her face as she turned to meet Bill’s gaze.
Bill sat still for a moment as the cobwebs left his mind. A matching Weasley grin began to spread across his face as he started to nod. He stood up tucking his shirt in his pants and reaching for his robes. “I’ll be back,” he said, heading toward the door.
“Wait “ Bill!” Nathan reached out to try to grab his robes.
“No, Nathan, better you don’t know,” Bill said over his shoulder.
Nathan whirled back to face Harry and Ginny who sat there, hand in hand, trying to look as innocent as possible. “I really don’t want to know, do I?” he asked.
Harry shook his head. “It’s better that way, really,” he grinned, standing up.
Ginny let Harry pull her up beside him. She smiled encouragingly at Nathan. “Don’t worry, Professor Borgin.”
“You know, Ginny,” Nathan said, opening the door for her and Harry, “it’s probably time you start calling me Nathan. Especially if you’re about to break several school rules on my behalf.”
Ginny giggled, a reaction springing from the truth of that statement and the fact they were making progress. “I’ll work on that,” she promised.
“Good night, you two,” Nathan waved before shutting his door. Leaning against it, he closed his eyes and concentrated on the clicks and whirs coming from the family room. Even with the noise the flat seemed quiet “ and empty. Nathan wandered into the bedroom and fell onto the bed. He curled up into a ball, blindly reaching for Anna’s pillow to press to his face. As he inhaled the familiar scent that still made his stomach jump, Nathan succumbed to slumber.
+++++
“Yo! Fred! George! Wake up, you lazy gits!”
Bill heard the grumbles of disrupted sleep as he strode purposefully through the flat the twins shared above their shop.
“Come on! Time to rise and shine,” Bill crowed cheerfully. With a wave of his wand, the flat lit up bright as mid day.
“Oy! Fred! Turn that off!”
“Wasn’t me! You turn it off!”
“It was me and I need you two up. Now!” Bill ordered. A summoning charm brought two sets of blankets to Bill followed by a stream of words that would have probably shocked him if he hadn’t taught most of them to his brothers in the first place. A wizard learned a lot of interesting things when he spent the majority of his life underground.
“Here, throw these on,” Bill said, directing various sets of clothing toward the twins.
“Bill, it’s midnight ““
“No, Fred, it’s past midnight.”
“Right, George.” Fred poked his head out of his room, wobbling as he tried to shove a leg into a pair of jeans. “What in Merlin’s sake are you doing here?”
“Is this about Anna?” George asked from across the hall, pulling a jumper over his vertical hair.
“Yes “ in a way,” Bill nodded.
“What do you need?” Fred asked, alert and ready to help.
“Something to make a Ferret talk,” Bill replied.
“Ferret?” George repeated, stepping up next to Fred. The twins grinned at each other. “Just talk?”
++++++
Hermione folded up her copy of the The Daily Prophet and tucked it under the rim of her plate. Picking up her fork, she stabbed a bit of sausage and studied it. Somewhere between the pages of the paper, she had lost her appetite. It was growing increasingly difficult to go about daily life here in the castle when just outside there was a war going on. Setting her fork down and folding her hands in her lap, Hermione let her eyes wander up and down the tables in the Great Hall. Hardly a day went by when she was not stopped by another set of parents anxiously asking where they could find their student’s head of house. She tried to reassure them their children were safe here, but it was hard to do when the mothers and fathers looked at her as if she, too, were a mere child. And she couldn’t find it in herself to blame them.
Hermione ignored the twinge of guilt she felt as she thought about her own parents. She had exploited their trust in her responsible nature. She knew her mum and dad would have been here long ago had she been more honest with them about the situation. Her place was here, though, helping the professors, supporting Harry and Ginny, and being with Ron who was sitting next to her.
“You alright?” Ron asked quietly.
Hermione nodded and flashed him a small smile. “Just the paper.”
“You could stop reading that, you know,” he said, reaching out to squeeze her hand.
“No, I can’t,” Hermione replied, her back bone stiffening. “It’s what is going on. We must stay informed!”
“Hermione, you know The Daily Prophet spins everything to fit the way they want it to,” Ron said, spearing a sausage.
“Not so much since Joanna’s dad took over as acting Minister of Magic,” Hermione argued, glancing up as Harry settled onto the bench across the table from them. “Hi, Harry.”
“What’s Joanna’s dad done?” Harry asked, pulling the eggs closer.
“He’s cleaned up the paper,” Ron said, reaching for the pumpkin juice.
“He has?”
“He just hasn’t been doing so many things that need spinning,” Hermione explained. “It makes for better reporting.”
“I love pumpkin juice, don’t you?” Ron commented pointedly, pouring himself his second goblet full.
“Nothing better,” Harry agreed, grinning at Hermione’s disgruntled expression at the change of the subject.
“He did it, then?” Ron asked.
Harry grinned and nodded.
Hermione leaned over the table. “Harry, I just hope you have shown Dobby how much you appreciate all he has done for you this year,” she whispered, glancing over at Ron. “Don’t roll your eyes at me, Ronald. Dobby has stuck his neck out for Harry several times ““
“And he loves to do it,” Ron argued. “There isn’t anything he’d like to do more than help Harry Potter, especially if it means pulling one over on Malfoy.”
“Shh,” Hermione cautioned, looking around. “You don’t need to get him in trouble!”
“Hermione, Dobby wants to help,” Harry started.
“Yes, I know he wants to help,” Hermione shot back. “But you can’t keep asking him to do your dirty work and not give him something in return!”
“Hermione, he loves doing Harry’s dirty work!” Ron exclaimed.
“Nice move, Ron,” Ginny said approvingly as she sat down next to Harry.
Hermione cast Ginny a suspicious glance. “What do you mean, ‘nice move’?”
“You haven’t seen Dobby?” Ginny asked, leaning over to give Harry a kiss.
“No,” Hermione replied slowly.
“He’s wearing one of Ron’s old maroon Christmas jumpers. How’d you change the R to a D, though? I thought Mum had charmed the yarn so you couldn’t change it after what Fred and George spelled on Charlie’s jumper that one year.”
“It was one Mum made the year before that,” Ron explained.
“What did Charlie’s jumper say?” Harry asked intrigued.
“You gave Dobby a jumper?” Hermione echoed.
“Yeah,” Ron answered distractedly. “The jumper changed colors with Charlie’s moods and would shout out appro ““
Ron’s sentence was cut off by a very solid kiss from his girlfriend.
“I hate it when they do that,” Ginny sighed from across the table.
Harry chuckled. “I know what you mean.”
“Hey, look,” Ginny said, tapping her finger on the table in the direction of the Slytherins.
Harry looked up. Draco was setting his goblet of pumpkin juice on the table.
“Damn,” Ginny swore under her breath as her eyes followed Pansy Parkinson’s hand.
Together, Harry and Ginny watched Pansy lean into Malfoy’s shoulder, reach out, grasp Malfoy’s goblet and lift it to her lips, her eyes never leaving Malfoy’s.
“I think I’m going to be sick,” Ginny complained, pushing her plate away.
“It’s no worse than what we have to put up with you and Harry,” Ron argued indignantly as he straightened his robes.
“Not you,” Ginny hissed. “Them.”
“Oh, dear,” Hermione said, as Pansy took another sip. “I suppose you’ll just have to do it to both of them.”
“Right,” Harry said, swinging his legs over the bench. “Come on, Gin. I want to make sure we’re waiting for him “ them “ out there.”
Ginny nodded, grabbed some toast and stood up. She slung her bag over her shoulder.
“Let’s go, Ron,” Hermione said, standing up, too. “I don’t think we want to miss this.”
“No, I don’t think we do,” Ron agreed, grabbing one last sausage on his way out of the hall.
+++++
As Harry stood in the doorway of the empty classroom, he almost burst out laughing at the sight unfolding before him. If the purpose of this entire prank was not weighing heavily on his mind, he would have. He squashed the small twinge of guilt over doing something like this to Malfoy so soon after loosing his father. But then again, Draco had worn his mourning as if it were a badge of honor. Like everything else about Malfoy, Harry had found the attitude disgusting. So now, as he watched Malfoy and Pansy try to determine exactly what had happened to them, Harry settled on a satisfied smirk. It seemed fitting.
Five minutes previously, Pansy had emerged from the Great Hall, walking backwards, leading Draco with her flirtatious banter into the middle of the entrance hall. She had tilted her head to the side, glanced over her shoulder and held out her hand. Harry’s stomach had turned as he watched Malfoy smile in return, take her hand and allow her to pull him into an empty classroom.
Ginny touched his elbow. Harry glanced down at her and nodded. In step, they followed, silently pushing the door open. Pansy was tugging Draco toward the back of the room. Harry leveled his wand. Pansy stopped “ or was stopped - as her back hit something solid yet invisible. Her head flung back as she tried to regain her balance. She cried out and dropped her books. Pansy lifted her hands to the back of her skull to rub at the quickly forming bump. Pansy’s elbow caught Draco in his right eye as he walked forward, not paying attention to the fact she had stopped moving. He yelped in pain as he stumbled back over Pansy’s books, his arms flailing to catch himself. His hands slapped something solid behind him before his body did. Draco’s heel caught the edge of Pansy’s Charms book and slipped out from under him. With a hard thud, he fell to the ground.
Harry raised his eyebrows at Ginny. “Ready?”
“Oh, very,” Ginny said determinedly as she stepped forward.
Harry and Ginny stopped in front of the invisible barrier.
“Potter!” Malfoy hissed, pressing the palm of his hand to his eye. “You did this.”
“Did what?” Harry asked, as Ron and Hermione stepped up to join them.
Malfoy took a step toward him. His face hit the invisible wall with a ‘thwack’. Ron cringed in disgust as Malfoy stepped back, leaving a smear of blood from his nose hanging in what appeared to be mid-air.
“What have you done to us?” Pansy sneered, reaching out to grab onto Ginny but only managing to claw at solid nothingness.
“Sorry, Pansy,” Ginny answered, “we didn’t want you. We wanted Malfoy.”
“Where is she?” Harry growled.
“I don’t know,” Draco replied, wiping the blood on the sleeve of his robe.
“He’s telling the truth,” Ron commented.
“Shut up, Weasel,” Pansy spat. “Draco doesn’t need a Mudblood lover helping him out.”
Ron stepped forward, ready to retort when he felt Hermione’s hand on his arm. His words died on his lips as he watched Pansy’s eyes widen in horror. Her hands began to grab at her robes as the clasps came undone.
“What’s happening?” Pansy shrieked as her robes fell to the floor.
“We didn’t do that,” Ginny replied honestly. “You did that on your own.”
“She did not!” Malfoy barked.
A high pitched peep emitted from Pansy as her hand flew to her mouth. Her eyes wide, she watched as Draco, too, lost his robe.
“POTTER! You are going to be expelled this time,” Draco shouted, ducking as his tie took on a life of its own. Draco gagged as it pulled tight for a second. He grabbed wildly for it as the knot came undone and it joined his robe on the floor.
“Sorry, Malfoy,” Ron grinned widely. “It doesn’t seem like you’re going to get that wish.”
“Get us out of here,” Pansy ordered.
“Can’t,” Ginny shrugged.
“Yes, you can,” Pansy argued. Her tie joined her robe at her feet. “What is happening, Draco?” she cried.
“Shut it, Pansy,” Malfoy spat.
“Where is she?” Harry repeated.
“I don’t know who you are talking about,” Draco growled. Buttons flew as his shirt ripped open. He made an attempt to grab it but it floated out of his reach.
“Oh, yes, you do,” Hermione said, stepping forward and pining Pansy with a disgusted look.
Harry’s hands fisted as he held Malfoy’s gaze. He reigned in his anger and frustration. He knew that was exactly what Malfoy wanted. He wasn’t going to give it to him.
“Where is she?” Harry repeated coldly.
“She?” Draco drawled, glancing down at his trousers. Harry almost grinned as he saw Draco relax slightly at the sight of them still on his legs. “Oh, you mean that excuse for a Defense Against the Dark Arts professor’s wife?”
“Yes, that’s who we mean,” Ginny replied evenly.
“I do-“
“Think carefully, Malfoy,” Hermione cautioned, her eyes traveling to Draco’s belt.
“I don’t know exactly,” Draco replied, his hands flying to his buckle. Nothing happened.
“Then tell us where she could be,” Harry ordered.
“She’s in the Astronomy Tower!” Pansy shrieked as the buttons on her blouse ricocheted off the walls of their prison. She frantically grabbed for her blouse but it evaded her, flying up to the invisible ceiling and sticking there next to Malfoy’s shirt, just out of reach. “Draco! Do something!”
“Here!” Malfoy barked, jumping up to get his shirt. But, as if magnetized, his shirt joined Pansy’s on the ceiling.
Pansy crossed her arms across her chest. Her eyes turned wild as she looked around the classroom. It was empty. She opened her mouth to scream for help.
“Don’t bother,” Ginny shook her head. “No one can help you. They don’t know how.”
“What do you mean?” Pansy spat.
“It’s a form of an Entrapment Charm,” Ginny smiled sweetly. “They aren’t taught here.”
Pansy’s nostrils flared and her eyes flashed fire. “What is happening to our clothes?” she ground out.
“Well, that is all your own doing,” Ginny explained. “It seems that Draco’s pumpkin juice might have had a little added extra something in it this morning.”
“You drugged me!” Pansy screeched at Draco. The clasp of her skirt came undone.
“I did not!” Draco argued. “See!” His trousers were still firmly in place.
“I don’t care,” Pansy hissed in Draco’s face, one hand covering her bra, the other attempting to keep her skirt around her middle. “Just tell them what they want to know before we end up starkers in here!”
“You have no hold on me!” Draco shouted in Pansy’s face. His hands flung forward as the belt of his trousers unbuckled itself. Draco pitched forward in an attempt to grab his pants before they fell to his ankles. He was too late. He tried to pull them up, but they seemed cemented to his shoes.
“Huh,” Hermione commented, cocking her head to the side.
“Sod off, Mudblood!” Draco bellowed, straightening up.
“Draco!” Pansy whined.
“Fine!” Malfoy shouted. “She’s probably somewhere in Wiltshire!” Draco covered himself, afraid he would lose either his t-shirt or briefs.
“Where in Wiltshire?” Harry growled.
“Malfoy Manor is in Wiltshire,” Ron stated.
“She’s not at home,” Malfoy spat. “We’re in mourning and my mother is being hunted by that excuse of a government we call a Ministry.”
“Where then?”
“I don’t know!”
“Yes, you do!” Harry barked.
“Wait, Harry,” Hermione broke in, pulling Harry a step away from Malfoy and Pansy. Ginny and Ron joined them. “What else is in Wiltshire?”
“How would I know?” Harry retorted, glancing over his shoulder to glare at Draco.
“Harry, Stonehenge is in Wiltshire,” Hermione explained quietly.
“So?”
“Ginny, you said you sensed Anna was in a tunnel someplace tied to strong beliefs, right?” Ginny nodded and Hermione continued. “Stonehenge was built to worship the sun and moon. Ginny saw the sun and the moon. The ancients believed it to be a sacred place of rebirth, where the earth met both the sun and the moon. There was no greater place to be buried than at this meeting place, where it was believed their souls would be reborn with each daybreak. I think Anna is in the catacombs underneath Stonehenge.”
“There are catacombs underneath Stonehenge?” Harry repeated disbelievingly.
Hermione nodded. “They’re called the Solstice Tombs. They’re not well known in the Muggle world and it’s heavily guarded by the Ministry because they are underneath such a dramatic Muggle artifact.”
Harry looked at Ginny who looked back, her eyes wide. She nodded.
“We need to tell Nathan,” Harry said, grabbing Ginny’s hand.
“You can’t leave us here!” Pansy screeched.
“Yes, we can,” Ginny grinned cheekily.
“Potter! Let us out of here!” Malfoy yelled.
“Can’t,” Harry shrugged, backing away. “I haven’t learned the counter charm yet.”
“Draco,” Pansy said, tugging on his t-shirt. “Draco, quick! Class is starting soon! They’ll see us!”
“No, they won’t,” Draco spat. Suddenly, his right foot flew out in front of him as his shoe was flung to the ceiling next to his shirt.
“Oh, we’re sorry,” Ron apologized, “is it the Slytherin Muggle Studies class now? It must be if the two of you are in here.”
“Just think - your housemates here,” Hermione observed mildly, “and you “ like that.”
“How do we get our clothes back?” Pansy yelled in frustration.
“Tell the truth,” Ginny shrugged as she followed Harry out of the room.
“Tell the truth? Tell the truth!” Pansy stomped her foot in frustration.
“Yeah, Pansy,” Ron taunted, as he stepped back to let Theodore Nott and Millicent Bulstrode enter. “For example, is Draco the best kisser in Slytherin?”
Ron whirled around and stumbled into Blaise Zabini who had become as still as one of the school statues.
“Zabini,” Ron nodded, swerving around Crabbe and Goyle who had formed a solid wall of thickness behind their housemate.
Malfoy stood lopsided, his hands on his hips, tapping his left shoe on the stone floor. Pansy visibly swallowed, her eyes darting to her shirt.
“Oh, for Merlin’s sake, no!” she cried, “you are by far not the best kisser in Slytherin!” A flurry of white and Pansy found her arms forced not into her shirt, but Draco’s. “What?” she exclaimed, as she tried to close the front over her bra. “This isn’t mine! This doesn’t fit!”
“I’m not?” Draco growled, his eyes flashing jealous anger. “Who’s better?”
“I don’t kno “ ah!” Pansy’s left foot flew up as her shoe was sucked to the ceiling.
“Yes, you do,” Draco accused.
“Oh, fine, Blaise is a much better kisser than you ever will be!” Pansy yelped as she was flung backward, her right leg lifting to fit into Draco’s trousers, then her left. Gasps followed her as she bounced around the cell, the charmed pants trying to fit over her hips.
Blaise paled visibly and tried to hide behind Crabbe.
“That’s not true!” Draco’s left shoe landed next to his right above his head.
“How would you know?” Pansy retorted, struggling to hold Draco’s trousers up and his shirt closed.
“Because I’ve had plenty of girls tell me I kiss just fine,” Draco sneered.
“Like who?” Pansy asked disbelievingly.
“Daphne Greengrass!” Draco shouted just before he found himself flipped upside down in mid air and Pansy’s skirt sliding up his legs. Landing on his feet, Draco made a move to grab the skirt which was falling to the floor.
Daphne hid behind Goyle.
“You know, I kind of hate to miss that,” Ron commented, a shriek and the grumblings of larger disputes following him as Hermione pulled him toward the Grand Staircase.
“Don’t worry,” Harry grinned at him over his shoulder. “They’ll still be there when we get back.”
“Long live Weasley’s Wizarding Wheezes,” Ron toasted his brothers with an imaginary goblet as he ran down the corridor.
++++
“Where is she, Severus?” Voldemort hissed.
“I do not know, my lord,” Snape answered, as he pressed his left hand to his chest. It really wasn’t a hand anymore. More like a claw, shriveled and folded in on itself. A useless tool for a Potions professor. Now, a constant reminder from his master of his failings. As if he wasn’t constantly reminded of such things. At least he had been loyal, which was more than he could say for some.
“You sent word to Wormtail?”
“Yes, my Lord, I ““
“You told him to bring her to me? That when he was done with her, he was to bring her to me?”
“Yes, my Lord. Perhaps they have had problems getting here undetected. Or Pettigrew had…issues.”
“You sound angry, Severus,” Voldemort observed.
“I am not angry, my lord. I am merely concerned as you are. Too much time has passed.”
Thudding footsteps sounded in the hall and the door flung open. Red faced and sweating, Peter Pettigrew stumbled into the study. Swiping his sleeve across his face, Wormtail doubled over, his hands resting on his knees to keep himself upright, a trail of dried blood running down his cheek from a deep, oozing cut on his skull.
“Where is she?” Voldemort hissed.
“She overpowered me. I took her to the cottage. I guarded her. She got away. I don’t know how long ago. When I woke up, I was in the cottage alone,” Wormtail panted.
“She did not have a wand!” Snape growled.
“Where did she go, Wormtail?” Voldemort asked, his voice oozing misleading patience.
“She left by the path in the back,” Pettigrew huffed.
“She is an idiot not to come here,” Snape said into Voldemort’s ear. “Perhaps the rumors are true. She has Borgin’s wife. She is seeking revenge.”
Snape watched his master standing still in the silence of the study. The Dark Lord’s eyes burned crimson. Snape’s eyes flicked down to the movement at Voledmort’s side. He was clenching and unclenching his fists. Snape glanced back up at Voldemort’s face. His breath caught in his throat. His master’s face cracked. He was…smiling. Snape exhaled, his senses flaring, adrenaline beginning to flow.
“She is a fool,” Snape sneered quietly, “much like her husband.”
“Where did do you say her trail went, Wormtail?” Voldemort breathed.
“I followed her trail into the tunnels, my Lord.”
“I do not tolerate disobedient fools.”
++++
Harry, Ginny, Ron and Hermione stared at Nathan. Nathan stared at them right back. “The tunnels,” he repeated. “Alright,” he said, stepping back from his desk and running his hand through his hair. “We need a map.”
“I don’t suppose they sell them at the souvenir shop, do they?” Ron asked hopefully.
“No,” Nathan answered slowly thinking, “the Ministry has one.”
“The Ministry has mapped the tunnels under Stonehenge?” Hermione repeated.
“Well, no, not technically. They hired someone to do it,” Nathan explained distractedly, his mind racing.
“Who? Why isn’t it written up anywhere? I mean ““
“The right people “ and some of the wrong people “ know the rumored locations of the entrances. However, they are guarded by Muggle repelling charms and special wards. If everyone knew the tunnels existed, Hermione,” Nathan explained patiently, “everyone and their uncle would be down there. It was all done very hush-hush about twenty five years ago and I doubt much has changed down there since then.”
“How do you know this?” Hermione asked.
“The tunnels were mapped by Jonathon and Martha Patterson,” Nathan replied. “Anna’s fourth year here at Hogwarts. Her parents were excavating a pile of rubble in Wiltshire. The Ministry found out and asked them to map the tunnels while they were at it.”
“Really?” Hermione said skeptically, her eyes narrowed.
“Oh, Hermione! Lay off the poor man!” Ron admonished.
Hermione flushed as she realized she’d been interrogating Nathan. “I’m sorry, Profess ““
“Don’t worry about it,” Nathan waved, walking around his desk. “Dumbledore isn’t in the castle. McGonagall needs to stay here. We need to go.“ Nathan reached down into the bottom desk draw for a piece of parchment. He scribbled a few lines and folded it over, tucking it under his tea mug.
“Ron?” Nathan asked standing up.
“Yeah?” Ron said, standing a little straighter.
“How much do you trust Percy?”
Ron stilled as he thought about that question. He blinked. He wrinkled his nose. He licked his lips. He nodded. “I trust him with my life.”
“Good,” Nathan said, holding out his wand, “because I’m trusting him with my wife’s.”
“He won’t let you down,” Ron replied.
“No, I doubt any Weasley ever would,” Nathan said solemnly.
++++
A/N “ Ah…well, I have good news and bad news. The good news is I have finished the big final battle which spans the following two chapters. The bad news? It is still with my beta Anya whose wonderful mom is still letting her read the chapters on her computer. Go Mom!
And on the note of my betas…my many thanks to Anya (and her mom) for catching my missing words, my added words and my words that aren’t words.
To wvchemteach, too, who has suggested Malfoy lose his pants on more than one occasion “ hopefully this fit the bill.
To Bogus7 - Good luck on those finals!!!
This chapter and the next couple are tough chapters. They took absolutely forever to write and I almost chucked the whole thing over them. They just didn’t flow and that always makes me worried they are total clunkers. And I know the minute I post it, I’ll think of someway to make it better…isn’t that how it always works?
Happy holidays, everyone! Hopefully, the final battle will be up soon!
Take care -