Seni Seniyorum
When Harry went down to the Gryffindor Common Room the next morning, he was surprised to find Ron, pacing the room and looking nervous.
“Er, Ron?” he asked tentatively. Ron looked up at Harry.
“What am I going to do?” he whined.
“About…”
“Hermione!” Ron shouted. “I’m meant to be going to Hogsmeade with her today!”
“Then… shouldn’t you be downstairs?”
Ron stopped pacing and seemed to have come to some sort of conclusion.
“Yeah, I’ll see you later,” he said, and he disappeared through the portrait hole. Harry, still thoroughly confused, sat down in an armchair and started to wonder how on earth Ron and Hermione would cope on a date together.
“Morning.” Ginny had just got to the bottom of the girls’ staircase, and was coming over to Harry. She was still in her pyjamas, and Harry thought she looked rather adorable. She sat on his lap with her arms over the leg of the chair, and he gave her a kiss.
“Any plans for today?” he asked her.
“Not really. Do you want to go to Hogsmeade?”
“I do, but I can’t stay with you the whole time,” Harry told her, thinking of what he’d been planning on doing in the village.
“Why ever not?” she joked. “Don’t you want to spend time with me?”
“Ha ha, very funny,” he said. “No, I’ve just got some other stuff to do.”
“Ooo, I see! That’s rather secretive of you,” she said.
“You’ll thank me for it soon enough, Ginny Weasley. Now go and get dressed or we’ll never get there.” So she got up and left him alone in the armchair.
Half an hour later, Harry was fully breakfasted and he and Ginny were lining up to sign out in the Entrance Hall. They gave their names to Filch, then strode out, down the steps, into the chilly February air. They chatted about this and that as they walked, holding hands and feeling very relaxed. Harry thought he couldn’t have been happier; he was going to Hogsmeade with Ginny and the day was bright and frosty, just like it should be at this time of year.
When they got into the village, they decided to go to Honeydukes. The shop was warm and inviting, the thousands of brightly-coloured sweets just calling out to be eaten. Harry was enticed by a stand of huge shining red lollipops the size of side plates, and he went over to see what they were. ‘Red Hot Lollipops “ warm your insides like a bottle of Butterbeer!’ read the label on the stand.
“Hey, Ginny! Do you want a lolly?” Harry called across the shop.
“Yes please!” she replied, standing on tiptoe so as to see over the boy in front of her.
Harry paid for the lollipops and they left the shop. He handed one to Ginny, and they both sucked them as best as they could considering their size.
“Mmm, yum!” she exclaimed, and Harry knew what she meant. They really did warm you right through like Butterbeer, only they tasty fruity and smooth in your mouth, and they dissolved as you sucked them. Harry and Ginny ambled down the lane, until Harry remembered what he had to do.
“Oh, we need to split up for a bit, remember?” he told Ginny.
“Oh yeah,” she said, looking slightly disappointed.
“Hey, I’ll be really quick, I promise. It’s just that I need to do this today.”
“Yeah yeah, I know,” she said. “Do you want to meet up in the Three Broomsticks?”
“Ok, give me half an hour,” said Harry, and he gave her a quick kiss on the forehead before heading off by himself. What he wanted to do was to find the perfect Valentine’s Day present for Ginny. He didn’t really know what he should get her, or where to find it, so he wandered down a side street that he had never been down before, hoping to get some inspiration.
The shop windows were full of dangly things and glittery objects. Harry imagined that Professor Trelawney would have felt right at home. He went up to a shop called “Avariella’s Amazing Apothecary”, and saw that there were thousands upon thousands of tiny bottles on the shelves around the shop, but he didn’t go in because the lady behind the counter, who he supposed was Avariella, looked slightly creepy.
He carried on down the street, and stopped outside a small shop called “Gifts for Girls”. Harry was surprised to find such an appropriate shop in such an unlikely part of town, and went in with full confidence that he would find something for Ginny in here. He quickly checked his watch, but had forgotten that it didn’t tell the time, only where Ginny was. Right now, she was “Outside”, which wasn’t really surprising, considering where they were.
Harry concentrated himself on the task at hand, glancing around for something special and not too tacky. He found a quill that lit up when you wrote, but this was a little boring. He found a pot of Sleekeazy’s Hair Potion, but Ginny’s hair was already so perfect that she didn’t need anything like that.
Then, something caught his eye. On a little stand by the counter was a gold-framed mirror, just the size to fit into the palm of your hand. The caption read “Pocket-sized Foe Glass “ know when your enemies are near.” Now that Harry looked more closely, he could see some shadowy figures in the mirror, and he thought of Ginny and how much he wanted to keep her safe. It wasn’t a very romantic gift for Valentine’s Day, but it might be able to prevent her from getting into danger, which was the most important thing at the moment. So Harry bought it and left the shop, planning to go straight to the Three Broomsticks to meet Ginny.
As he walked fairly quickly down the street (he suspected that he was a little late) he checked his watch out of habit. What he saw made him freeze with terror. “In danger”, the watch read. In danger? But, she couldn’t be; he’d been with her only minutes beforehand. Harry stood there in the middle of the street, unable to move a limb. His mind was racing with possibilities; what had happened to her? Where had she gone? He started to run - where to, he didn’t know - all he knew was that he had to find her, save her…
When Harry made it to the bottom of the street he stopped, panting, and looked around, wondering where to go. Then, he saw a flash of red hair and his heart leapt; but it wasn’t Ginny, it was Ron, and Hermione had spotted Harry and was pulling Ron towards him by the hand.
“Hi, Harry,” she said as she and Ron reached him. “Hey, are you ok? You look a bit pale.”
There wasn’t time to explain properly.
“Ginny, she’s in trouble,” he gabbled. “I don’t know where, but she’s in danger; look!” And he thrust the watch at her. When Hermione looked at it, her face drained of all its colour, as did Ron’s.
“But... maybe it’s wrong…” she stuttered, seemingly trying to make herself believe that it was.
“It’s been right all the rest of the time!” Harry yelled at her.
“We’ve got to find her,” said Ron, and Harry had never heard him sound so determined. “Where did you see her last?”
Harry explained how they had split up so that he could buy her present, and that he had only looked at the watch once before, and it had said “Outside”.
“We could split up to look for her,” said Ron when Harry had finished.
“No! We need to stay together, or we’ll lose each other as well,” said Hermione. She had her plan face on “ she always wore this expression when she was deciding what they should do. Both boys watched her apprehensively, waiting for her to tell them the plan.
“Well,” she continued, after a minute of thinking, during which the possibilities of Ginny’s whereabouts flashed painfully through Harry’s mind, “we should go to all the places where there is likely to be danger. Harry, what does the watch say now?”
“Still “In danger”,” he told her with a pang of worry.
“Right, let’s go then. Come on, Ron,” and she grabbed both of their hands and started to march them down the street towards the more deserted and of the village. Ron seemed to have gone into a kind of daze; he dragged his feet along behind him, letting Hermione pull him in the right direction. Harry’s mind was still in overdrive, madly churning through the possibilities, not letting him think straight. Then all of a sudden, his mind was blank, as if he had never thought anything in his whole life, and just as suddenly, was filled with the most awful screaming he had ever heard. He realised that it was Ginny’s voice and it was as though he was sharing the pain with her. Harry couldn’t feel anything except an immense longing to be with her, to hold her, and to tell her that it was all going to be alright. The screaming stopped just as suddenly as it had started, and Harry felt his knees hit the cold, hard ground.
“Harry!” he heard Hermione call from far away. “Harry!”
Someone was shaking him by the shoulders, and he wrenched his eyes open to see Hermione kneeling by him with tears in her eyes.
“Ginny…” he whispered.
“Where is she?” asked Ron, who was trying to comfort Hermione with a hand on her shoulder.
“I… I don’t know,” Harry stuttered. “She’s… she’s…” he couldn’t bring himself to say it out loud. “She’s being… tortured,” he finished, the pain of saying it hitting him hard. Ron’s face dropped and his legs became unsteady, causing him to fall to the ground next to his two best friends. Hermione’s face was stricken, but she put her arms around both of the boys in an attempt to comfort them.
“We need to find her,” said Harry, with the same determination as Ron had. He got up and the other two did the same. “Where should we go first?”
“I guess we keep going down here until we get to the more shifty part of town,” said Hermione. Harry and Ron agreed and followed her down a dark alleyway. The gloom surrounded them, shocking their eyes after the bright sunlight of the main street. Harry’s consciousness seemed to be ebbing away from him again, and the feeling in his legs gradually diminished until he couldn’t feel a thing in his entire body. His vision became blank, white and empty, then his ears were full of the same screaming, except this time, he could make out words:
“HARRY! Help me! No, please, please stop…”
Then, he saw her. She was right there in front of him, bound by thick, black ropes to what looked like a wooden post. She was paler than he had ever seen her, and her long, red hair was tousled and distressed. Harry noticed a boarded window to one side and immediately knew where she was.
“Ginny!” he yelled. “I’m coming! GINNY!” But he knew that she couldn’t hear him. Someone was shaking him again, and the image of Ginny gradually turned into Ron, crouched down in front of him. Hermione was at his side, crying, looking at Harry with an expression of utter horror on her face. Harry’s knees were stinging from having fallen onto them twice that day, but it was nothing compared to the pain that he had felt only moments beforehand, watching Ginny like that; struggling, pleading…
“Do you know where she is?” Ron asked, obviously accustomed to Harry’s way of somehow knowing more than was normally possible when someone was in danger.
“The… the Shrieking Shack,” he gasped, still struggling to speak.
“Right,” said Ron, getting up and offering Harry a hand. He took it and Ron pulled him back onto his feet. Harry saw him take Hermione’s hand and wished that Ginny were here to do the same to him. After what felt like no time at all, they were at the top of the hill, standing outside the Shrieking Shack. Harry hadn’t even realised he’d been walking his mind was so preoccupied, but now they were here, and he had to face whatever was inside.
“Do you have any idea what we’re up against here, Harry?” Hermione asked, her voice shaky.
“No; I only saw Ginny…” he answered, not really wanting to think about that image. The, he had an idea. He reached into the bag that was surprisingly still clutched in his fist, and took out the Foe-Glass. He explained it to Ron and Hermione before looking at it - for some reason, he was afraid of what he might see - but then realised that he was wasting precious time. He turned the Foe-Glass over in his hand, and looked into its misty pane. For a moment, he couldn’t see anything, then he saw a pair of cutting, grey eyes staring back at him; the eyes of Lucius Malfoy. Hermione gasped and Ron went even paler. There was a Death Eater waiting inside this very door, and the only way to save Ginny would be to face him. Harry gulped. He wished he had got some help while they were still in the village, but there was no time for that now, he should have thought of that earlier.
“Well,” said Hermione quietly, noticing Harry hesitating, “Ginny’s in trouble and she needs our help.”
“And we are in our sixth year,” said Ron, sounding as if he was trying to convince himself that this was a good idea.
“Yes, we are,” said Hermione. “And anyway, it’s not like we haven’t done this before,” she added with a touch of amusement. Harry was so surprised at this remark, and even more surprised at who had said it, that he hesitated no longer.
“Ok,” he said, stepping up to the door. “Wands out, then.”
He gave his two best friends one last look with as much courage as he could muster, and pushed open the door.
As they crossed the threshold, an icy chill ran down Harry’s spine. He presumed that the others had felt it as well, because he heard them shiver as they followed him through the doorway. Hermione stood in between the two boys, and Harry held her wrist, for his comfort as much as hers, as they moved a little closer to each other in the un easing silence. The lack of screaming was worrying. Had she just tired herself out, or could she be…? Harry shuddered and tightened his grip on Hermione, holding his wand out in front of him.
“Harry?” Ron whispered. “Where are they?”
“I’m not sure,” Harry replied, keeping his voice low. “But she was… she was screaming before.”
“Maybe they’re upstairs,” said Hermione. She looked round at Harry and he noticed the fear in her eyes.
“Yeah, ok,” he said, trying to sound brave for her sake. They crept forwards and Harry let go of Hermione so that he could start up the stairs in front of her. Every step creaked under their weight, making it seem as is the whole staircase was about to collapse beneath them.
When they reached the landing it was so dark that Harry couldn’t even see his own wand. They edged forwards, until “
“Shh!” hissed Hermione from behind him. Harry stopped and listened hard, and then, he heard it. From somewhere up ahead of them came the soft sound of someone weeping.
“Ginny…” whispered Ron. The room which the sound was coming from was the very one which they had visited three years previously, when Harry had first come face-to-face with his godfather.
“Come on, then,” he said quietly, and he proceeded towards the door. His scar started to throb painfully as the door grew nearer; the tension on that landing could have been cut with a knife. Harry extended his left arm, feeling for the handle, then looked back at Ron and Hermione. They both nodded solemnly, just as Hermione had done three years ago, and he pushed the door open…
There was the same dust-covered floor, there was the extravagant four-poster bed, and there, bound just as Harry had seen her earlier, was Ginny, tied so tightly to one of the bedposts that she could hardly breathe.
“Ginny!” Harry cried, rushing to her side.
“Harry…” she whispered, her voice hardly audible. Her face was extremely pale, and the ropes that were restraining her were digging into her body, suffocating her.
Harry felt Ron and Hermione at his side, but did not take his eyes off Ginny.
“Diffindo,” muttered Hermione, pointing her wand at the ropes. They broke, and Ginny fell like a rag-doll. Harry caught her just in time, kneeling on the grimy floor, with Ginny cradled in his arms. Her eyes were closed now, her breathing shallow.
“What happened, Gin?” Harry whispered. She was obviously feeling too weak to speak now, because she did not answer, only opened her eyes and looked at him. But for Harry, this was enough; those eyes told him more than words ever could “ the pain she was feeling, the fear, and, like a true Gryffindor, her immeasurable bravery.
Ron was standing by Harry with his arms around Hermione, looking on in dismay at his little sister clutched in his best friend’s arms. Hermione had tears running down her face, but her wand was still clenched in her hand, as was Ron’s.
As Harry looked at Ginny, he felt sure that she was trying to tell him something. She opened her mouth very slightly, and Harry lowered his face to hers so that he could hear her speak.
“Not… safe…” she whispered. Harry drew back to look at her, and saw that her eyes seemed to say the same thing.
“Let’s get out of here,” he said. Ron and Hermione nodded, and Harry stood up, still holding Ginny in his arms. She was limp and her head lolled backwards before Harry supported it with his wand arm. They moved towards the door, which had swung closed after them, and opened it once more.
“And just where do you think you’re going?” said Lucius Malfoy. They froze. He was blocking their way out, the only exit. “Expelliarmus”. Their three wands flew into the air and he caught them effortlessly. “Wouldn’t want you leaving quite yet, would we?”
He pointed his wand at Ginny.
“Well well,” Malfoy leered, “it’s Potter, and he’s brought the whole motley crew, just as we expected. Don’t leave home without them, do you, Potter?”
“We’re here because you took my sister!” yelled Ron.
“Harry didn’t have to ask,” said Hermione, very coolly for someone addressing a Death Eater. Malfoy ignored them.
“Well, Master Potter, once again you have performed just as we expected. Obviously you still feel the need to prove yourself as some kind of a hero.”
Harry felt Ginny recoil in his arms. Her eyes were closed, but it seemed that she was still listening intently.
“And what better way to find you than to torture you’re little girlfriend here?” he smirked, nodding his head towards Ginny.
“She’s not just my girlfriend,” Harry yelled. “I love her!”
These words shocked Harry as much as they did everyone else, and they rang around the room in the silence that followed. Ginny’s eyes had snapped open and she was now looking at Harry in astonishment. Ron and Hermione were staring at him too, but Harry was avoiding all eyes, even Malfoy’s.
“How quaint,” sneered Malfoy, breaking the moment. “Wee Potter thinks he’s in love.”
“It’s true,” yelled Harry, realising that it was. “I love her and I won’t let you destroy it!”
“We’ll soon find out,” replied Malfoy, taking a step in Harry’s direction, his wand still aimed at Ginny’s chest. “Crucio!”
Ginny let out a terrible, agonising scream. She writhed in Harry’s arms, and he watched helplessly as she flailed about, her eyes suddenly unfocused. Ron launched himself at Malfoy, causing the curse to be lifted off Ginny, and she lay, gasping for breath, with Harry clutching her so close that she couldn’t possibly have moved if she had wanted to.
“How… how dare you…” Harry muttered, fighting for words after the shock of what he had just seen. He did not know how to explain what he was feeling right now; he only knew that for someone to attack Ginny was for someone to attack him.
“Ready to surrender, Harry?” said Malfoy calmly, as if it were a common business meeting. Harry did not reply. “No? Well then, let’s try again. CRUCIO!”
But this time, Harry was ready. He turned immediately so that his back was facing Malfoy, and took the full power of the curse himself. He wasn’t going to let Ginny get any weaker than she already was. The pain was almost unbearable, but it was a small price to pay to keep Ginny alive. After what seemed like a lifetime, Harry opened his eyes to find that he had fallen to his knees for the third time that day, and that Ginny was still grasped tightly in his arms.
“That was a brave thing to do, Potter,” he heard Malfoy say from behind him. Ron and Hermione had dropped to their knees beside Harry. Ron had taken Ginny’s hand and Hermione had put her arm around Harry’s shoulder. He had led them to the danger again, and now Ginny was part of it too. He gazed into her eyes, and she spoke, but still no louder than a whisper.
“My wand,” she croaked, only loud enough for Harry to hear. Of course; she must still have it with her, thought Harry. He reached inside her robes to find it, letting Malfoy think that he was pulling her into a hug, and drew it out. One glance at Ron and Hermione told them to get out of the way.
“It looks like this is the end of the road for you and your friends, Potter,” Harry heard Malfoy say. “Now, shall we go quietly, or am I going to have to help you along?” Harry didn’t move. “Imp-“
“STUPEFY!” yelled Harry, whipping round and pointing Ginny’s wand at Malfoy, just in time.
The Death Eater froze, his wand still raised, and fell backwards onto the wooden floor with a clunk.
They all breathed a sigh of relief and Harry, Ron and Hermione collected their wands. Harry gave Ginny hers back, then bent down to pick her up, but, to his surprise, she stopped him.
“No, I can do it myself,” she said, with a bit more of her usual assertion.
“You sure?” said Harry. She still looked very pallid and lifeless to him, but she sat up nonetheless and tried to push herself up. Harry gave her his hand to help her, and she took it, pulling herself onto her feet, but when she was upright, she swayed dangerously.
“Come on, Gin, just let me carry you,” said Harry, who had darted forwards to keep her from collapsing. She shrugged and he scooped her up like before. “Let’s go,” he said to the others.
They slowly made their way down the rickety staircase, Ron and Hermione taking the lead, Harry and Ginny bringing up the rear.
“Shall we take the passage to the school?” asked Hermione when they reached the gloomy hallway.
“Yeah, good idea,” said Harry.
“What passage?” asked Ginny. Harry had forgotten that she didn’t know the exact events of the night that they had first met Sirius in the Shrieking Shack, but it was going to take a while to explain.
“We’ll tell you on the way,” said Ron, reading Harry’s thoughts.
So they descended the narrow tunnel and started to walk back to Hogwarts, telling Ginny the story on the way. Harry decided not to ask how she had got in the way that they had found her quite yet; it was too soon and she was still very shaken.
After a while, the tunnel sloped upwards and they saw daylight at the other end.
“I’ll nip ahead and press the knot,” said Hermione, and she sped up towards the exit. They emerged a few minutes later beside the Whomping Willow, but there was no one outside, and they walked up to the castle in silence.
“Well,” said Hermione, once they were inside the castle doors, “I suppose we ought to go to Professor Dumbledore’s office.”
“Hold on, he might still be in the hall from lunch,” said Ron, and he walked over to the huge open doors of the Great Hall and peered inside. “He’s still in there,” he said, coming back over to them.
“Well, go and get him then!” said Harry.
“Oh, right,” said Ron, and he disappeared inside the hall. Harry, Hermione and Ginny waited anxiously, and Harry put Ginny down, holding her around the waist to keep her balanced. A few moments later, Ron appeared in the Entrance Hall, the Headmaster at his side.
“Right, Miss Weasley,” said Professor Dumbledore, striding over to where they were standing. “Your brother has told me what has happened as best as he could, and I would like you and Harry to accompany me to my office.” Ginny and Harry nodded together.
“Mr Weasley, you are to owl your family at once to tell them the situation, and Miss Granger, please alert Professor McGonagall and Madame Pomfrey.”
“Yes, sir,” said Ron and Hermione, and they both ascended the marble staircase.
“Come on, then,” said Professor Dumbledore, leading Harry and Ginny towards the staircase. Ginny staggered and Harry caught her again just before she fell.
“Er, Professor?” he asked the Headmaster. “Ginny’s not feeling too good, could you, er-“
“No, I’m fine, Harry. Really I am” said Ginny, sounding completely exhausted.
“No, you’re not fine,” said Harry sternly, “and you’re not going to make it up those stairs.”
“Miss Weasley, I do agree with Harry on this one. You’ve been through a terrible ordeal and maybe it would be best if I helped you.”
“Fine,” shrugged Ginny, and Dumbledore conjured up a stretcher for her to lie on. With Ginny hovering in front, the three of them proceeded up the marble staircase, towards the Headmaster’s Office.
A/N: Please review with any comments so far!