Well, now that Book Six has come out, we will all go back to our world of make believe. For several weeks, I'd been thinking of how the Book would influence my fic. Would I change anything? What if JKR went a different direction than I did, or even the same direction? Ultimately, I realized that I spent a long time planning my chapters and writing them and I didn't want to let it all go. All the major plot points have been planned for months and I'm not going to change a thing. My fic has entered the realm of Alternate Universe and is not based at all on Book Six, excepting the characters and settings. Any similarities to events from Half-Blood Prince are entirely coincidental. With that being said, on with the show!
"What happened?" Harry cried, rushing forward. "How did you get here, Tonks?"
"I must see Dumbledore," she said with great effort. "Where is he?"
"Up at the school," Harry answered.
"No one must see me," Tonks said urgently.
"Can't you change your appearance?" Ron asked, his face pale.
"Too--weak."
"We can get the Invisibility Cloak!" Harry said. "But it's up in my dormitory right now."
"I'll get it," Ron offered, sprinting off. Tonks began to shake.
Ginny nudged Hermione. "Warming charm?" she whispered. Hermione whipped out her wand and whispered the incantation. A rosey flush came over Tonks cheeks and her shaking died down.
"How did you get here?" Harry asked quietly.
Tonks shook her head. "Must...tell Dumbledore. Important...Order." Suddenly, as if the effort to speak was too great, she closed her eyes and fainted. Harry, standing watch at the entry, saw Ron running towards them, the silvery folds of the Cloak flapping carelessly in the wind.
"Ron's coming," he said. "How do we get her up there?"
"Hermione and I can carry her," Ginny suggested.
"Are you sure?" asked Ron. "It's a bit of a walk."
Ginny and Hermione obstinately stood and lifted the weakened woman up. Harry shrugged and threw the cloak on them.
"Ron, walk behind them. Make sure the cloak doesn't come off them. I'll go in front so they don't bump into anybody."
Slowly the group exited the village of Hogsmeade, making their way up towards the school.
"Are you girls okay?" Ron whispered as they entered the school grounds. "How's your ankle, Ginny?"
"We're fine," Hermione whispered. "Tonks is still out cold."
"Is anyone coming?" Ginny asked.
"I don't see...oh no." Harry stopped in his tracks.
"What?" Hermione said anxiously.
"Malfoy," said Harry and Ron in unison.
"Well, well, well," Malfoy drawled. "Coming back from Hogsmeade alone? Your girlfriends," he spat the word, "couldn't take it anymore?"
"Shove off, Malfoy," Harry hissed, his hand in his pocket, clenching his wand.
"Seem to have hit a soft spot, eh? The gimp and the Mudblood finally had enough, then?"
Ginny bristled under the cloak.
"Easy," Hermione whispered nervously.
"Clear out, Malfoy!" Ron shouted.
"I'm not surprised," he continued with a smirk. "After she's had a good look at your house Weasley. Of course, that doesn't explain your problem, famous Harry Potter. Unless that's all she cared about in the first place."
Before he knew it, Harry had jumped for Malfoy. Pinning him to the ground, he raised his wand to curse him.
"Stop!"
Harry looked up to see Snape gliding calmly forward. He quickly stood as Malfoy slowly got up, brushing his robes off in disdain.
"Professor," he whined, but Snape held up a hand to cut him off.
"What is the meaning of this, Potter?" he asked in his quiet, deadly voice.
Harry debated before answering. They were in a big hurry and Tonks could be losing precious time. Ron rustled nervously next to him and he knew that the girls were awaiting his action. Knowing what he must do, he pointed his wand.
"Stupefy!"
Malfoy fell to the ground. Snape's eyes were livid.
"Potter! What-"
"It's Tonks!" Harry cried, interrupting Snape's roar. "She turned up in Hogsmeade!"
Snape smirked. "And where, pray tell, might she be now?"
Hermione and Ginny nervously stepped out from under the Cloak and laid Tonks on the ground. Snape's eyes widened when he saw the frail woman.
"She wanted to see Dumbledore," Harry explained. "We couldn't just leave her. She fainted and the only option was to carry her under the Cloak. We-"
Snape silenced him. "We must be quick," he said. "No one can see." He glanced down at the Stunned Malfoy. "We'll send someone back to modify his memory." To the surprise of all, he bent down and gently lifted Tonks in his arms. She opened her eyes.
"Dumbledore," she whispered.
"That's where we're going," Snape said. "Potter, throw the ridiculous Cloak over us and make sure that nobody can see."
As they entered the school, Harry thought back to what had just happened. He had cursed Malfoy and gotten away with it. Snape was actually helping and, almost, being nice about it.
What is going on these days? he thought.
When they arrived at the stone gargoyle, they heard Snape mutter the password and the door opened. As they stepped onto the stairs, the door shut and Snape threw off the Cloak and tossed it to Harry. He caught it, opened his mouth to say something but was interrupted.
"Severus, hurry and bring her in." Dumbledore stood in the doorway, beckoning him forward. As Harry stepped towards the door, Dumbledore held up a hand.
"Not now, Harry. I must speak with her alone. I will alert all of you to her condition as soon as may be, but for now, I bid you to keep this silent!" With that, he gently shut the door in their faces.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"What a day," Ginny said, falling onto the couch. Ron and Hermione had gone out to patrol and everyone else was still in Hogsmeade. Harry sat down next to her, feeling the velvet bag that contained her gift through his robes. Nervously, he pulled it from his pocket.
"I-er-got you something for Valentine's Day," he said, handing her the bag.
"What is it?" she asked.
"Open it," he encouraged. Ginny pulled the lid of the box and gasped. Nestled inside was a heart shaped crystal pendant, hanging from a silver chain.
"It's beautiful," she breathed.
"But not as pretty as you."
She looked up with a smile. "Could you put it on for me?"
Harry took the necklace and with some difficulty, hooked it around her neck. It shimmered, dangling in the small of her throat.
"It's actually a type of mood device," Harry explained.
"Where'd you get it?" asked Ginny.
Harry smiled mischievously. "Actually, Cho suggested it to me." This not being the answer she expected, Gnny raised her eyebrows. "Ron once said that Hermione should write a book, translating mad things that girls do."
"And?"
"I'm the only one who can see your mood. That way, I know how to react to things that you say."
Harry sat there, looking proud of himself. Ginny smiled and bent forward as if to kiss him. Just before their lips met, Harry saw stars.
Literally. Ginny had picked up a pillow and thumped him over the head with it. With a squeal, she ran giggling to her dorm as Harry ran after.
"Come back here, Ginevra Molly Weasley!" he called. "Come back or I'll-" but the minute he was halfway up the stairs, he heard a wail and the stairs became a large ramp. He slid down and when he hit the bottom, a cheeky voice called above him.
"So, now the Boy Who Lived becomes the Boy Who Couldn't Climb Stairs!"
He looked up, redfaced, and she slid down to join him.
"Oh well," she said, giving him a hand up. "I wouldn't have it any other way."
Grabbing her before she could run again, Harry kissed her. He pulled back and smiled, then his smile fell.
"What's wrong?" she asked.
"I miss him," he replied.
"Remus?"
He nodded. "And Sirius. They were both so close to my parents, their best friends. Now, the only one that's left is Wormtail. How could something so great as the friendship of the Marauders dwindle to the filth that's left?"
"Wormtail was once good, too," Ginny said, but Harry shook his head.
"No, he was weak, which is almost worse than being evil. He couldn't make his own choices. If he had any strength, he would be dead by now. He would have died for my parents. I despise him. I should have let Sirius and Remus kill him. He doesn't deserve to live, while my parents and their friends are dead."
Ginny nodded. "You're right. It's not fair."
She pulled him close as he started to cry and she cried with him.
Thanks for the wait guys! A lot of you have left reviews that haven't been replied to yet. I promise that I will get to them but with the cursed log in problems and the ancientness of my computer they don't mix well. Enjoy this chapter! Here's the spoiler!
"No!" she cried. "I will not leave you! I won't!"
"Do it!" he growled. "Run...to safety!"
Chew on that for a bit. And just be glad that I finally told you who they found in Hogsmeade!
Okay, for anyone rereading, it says that I updated my fic on the seventeenth, however, when I finally got in, nowhere does it list that chapter 32 is up, soooo, I will be doing that again.
Also, I have a humor fic, now in queue entitled DUI (Dating Under the Influence). Please watch for it and I will advertise for it again in chapter 32.