I don't own anything. JKR is the sole owner of Harry's world.
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“Harry, what just happened?” Ron, his eyes wide with shock, sounded panicked.
They had landed with a thud in the middle of a thick, grey, misty fog”a poor replacement for the bright summer day they had left behind. Although it was late July, the wind blew as though a January blizzard was coming.
Ron continued looking around in a vain effort to figure out where they had landed. Harry, however, knew exactly where they were; he had seen the grotesque headstone marking Tom Riddle Sr.’s grave the minute he landed. He could feel the evil presence of Dementors all around; however, the sound of his mother’s screams was faint, so he knew that the Dementors were still a little ways off.
“We’re in the graveyard,” Harry whispered through clenched teeth. “The one that Cedric died in. There are Dementors around, but they are not too close yet. I think Percy--he must have turned the licenses into Portkeys to send us here. Get your wand out and be ready for anything.” Harry was trying desperately to figure out how to get out of this. The last time he’d been in this graveyard someone had died, and he dearly hoped it would not be the same this time.
“You think we can just Apparate back?”
Harry didn’t hear the question, because just as Ron started speaking, his scar began to twitch painfully. He immediately put up the walls in his mind and concentrated on the protection they could provide. He was surprised to notice that with his walls firmly in place, the Dementors’ effect on him was lessened. The cold that had seemed to permeate his body was growing warmer and his mother’s screams had stopped all together. Through the fog and mist, he could see a line of light about a hundred yards to the left.
It was a violet, almost black, wall of light that flickered and pulsed as if it were alive. The wall stretched up over the graveyard, over the spot where they stood and on into the distance beyond the little church that stood several hundred yards to the right.
“I don’t think we can Apparate, Ron,” Harry declared, unknowingly answering Ron’s question. “You see the barrier that is stretching above us and goes all the way to the ground over there on the left? We are in some dome of energy or something. I doubt we can Apparate through that. We need to get to the other side of it.”
“Harry, what are you talking about? All I see is this bloody fog and some tombstones,” Ron replied, looking from Harry to the direction that Harry was pointing.
“You can’t see that energy--no black barrier or anything?” Harry was confused, since the barrier was clear to him, even through the fog. He did not receive an answer, however, as another voice became apparent in the cemetery.
“I likess Weasssley blood-sss.”
“Ron, did you hear that?” Harry whispered, instinctively crouching behind the nearest gravestone and looking in the direction of the voice.
Ron had ducked behind another gravestone a couple of feet away. “Yeah, sounded like hissing. You--you reckon Voldemort has a basilisk out here or something?”
Harry grinned despite himself when Ron used Voldemort’s name. He had always been so disturbed by it. “No, I think it’s Nagini, the snake that attacked your dad.” Harry shuddered at the memory of the attack. “But I can’t believe it’s here. Voldemort would be stupid to use it in an attack. Professor Dumbledore thought it was a Horcrux. I wonder what Voldemort is playing at?”
“Harry, if that thing is a Horcrux, this could be our chance to destroy it. One down, right?” Ron suggested.
Harry was about to respond when movement to his right caught his attention. He looked over, and a pair of glowing yellow eyes locked onto his. The snake was fully extended and unable to strike effectively from the ten feet away that it was. It started to coil its body, readying to attack its newfound prey.
Harry held its gaze. He noticed that the snake had a blood-red aura surrounding it. He could sense rather than hear Ron moving, slowly trying to get behind the snake. Harry could also feel the Dementors getting closer. The trap was tightening around them.
Nagini slithered forward, closing the distance between it and Harry. The beast was flicking its tongue up and down, tasting the air. Abruptly it stopped, turning and looking in the direction that Harry thought Ron had moved. It began tasting the air again.
“I’m over here,” Harry hissed in Parseltongue. “Come this way!”
The snake again looked towards Harry. It wavered, briefly tasting the air, and then continued its progress in Harry’s direction.
Harry held his ground until the last possible second. The snake raised its head to strike.
“Impedimenta,” Harry growled, not wanting to draw the approaching Dementors towards them by shouting the spell. The snake started to strike and stopped in mid-air.
“Flagrantia!” Ron shouted from the opposite side of the snake. Flames began crisscrossing the great snake as Ron literally drew lines of fire upon its body.
Nagini broke free from the Impediment Jinx and began to writhe on the ground, the fire burning in lines across its back. Striking randomly, it crashed into several tombstones, sending stone and marble in all directions.
Harry leapt out of the way of a piece of falling stone before sending a Bludgeoning Curse towards the burning snake. The curse caught it on the snout. Its head flew backward, exposing the scales of its underside.
Ron then fired a Slashing Hex at the exposed stomach, slicing it neatly for the length of several feet. Blood started to spill out of the wound. The snake was quickly losing energy.
“Wingardium Leviosa!” Ron yelled, levitating the snake in the air. It writhed, unable to control its body.
Harry launched a Severing Charm into the midsection of the snake, slicing it cleanly in two. The two separate pieces fell apart and a great red light shone from each end. There was an explosion of magical energy that consumed the body of the lifeless snake before dwindling again, leaving the charred remains of Voldemort’s pet, which landed on the ground with a thud.
Harry saw Ron running towards him just as the screaming in his head erupted again. The Dementors were closing in. He could still see the black line of energy in the distance. Fighting Nagini had moved them several more yards away from the barrier. Moving ever closer was a line of six Dementors.
“Harry, those Dementors--what are we going to do?”
Whipping around to look at Ron, who was bleeding from a gash on his left cheek, Harry asked, “Can you conjure a Patronus?”
“I haven’t yet.”
“Well, this would be a good time to start. I don’t think I can take all of them out. Think of something that makes you really happy!” Harry exclaimed, getting ready to face the oncoming Dementors. Three more had joined them. “We have to get through that barrier before we can Apparate out of here.”
“This way, they must have arrived in the graveyard! I am going to kill that Weasley idiot for fouling all this up!” The familiar voice of Severus Snape came from somewhere behind Harry and Ron.
“Oh, this just gets better. Now we have Death Eaters behind us and Dementors in front of us,” Ron complained.
Harry began to think about him and Ginny on the dance floor at the wedding. “Expecto Patronum!” he shouted with a slight smile on his face. The great silver stag came bounding out of the tip of his wand and raced towards the Dementors. Two were charged down immediately and fled. The others scattered. “Come on, we have to go now through the opening,” Harry shouted as he started to run. The great stag was charging to his right now. The opening, however, was getting smaller as the Dementors on the left began to close the line.
Ron was attempting to fire his Patronus, but nothing would work. “I can’t do it, Harry,” he said, slowing his pace, the effect of the Dementors clearly taking its toll.
“Just think of something!” Harry shouted, trying to steady his friend. Prongs was still clearing the path for them, but the Dementors were closing the gap in the line quickly. “Think of winning the Quidditch Cup, think of eating all you can eat at the start-of-term feast, think of snogging Hermione senseless…just do it now.”
Ron turned slightly pink as a new thought entered his head. He perked up and shouted the incantation. A small silver dog leapt out of the tip of his wand and headed straight towards the Dementors on the left. The scene was too incongruous to believe, as a little yelping dog charged down Dementor after Dementor. If the situation weren’t so dangerous, Harry thought it may actually be funny.
“Nice Patronus!” Harry yelled with a slight smile. Ron colored a bit more but did not respond. They both began running full speed again, and were mere feet from the barrier. They burst through just as Ron was hit in the leg with a curse fired by Death Eaters who were pursuing them. His right leg gave a sickening “crack” as the bone was snapped in two. He landed with a scream of pain, rolling on the ground, holding his leg above the knee. The lower part of his leg was bent at an odd angle.
Harry was quickly at his side. Grasping him, hard, by the arm, he lifted him to a sitting position. “Can you hold on to me so I can Apparate us back to headquarters?”
“I can do it myself,” Ron growled through clenched teeth. “I am not missing a chance to Apparate on the first day I can do it legally. Besides, what would Fred and George think?”
Harry continued to hold his arm. “All right, but let me hold your arm, and I’ll guide you, just in case.” Ron smiled weakly and with a pop they were gone.
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They arrived on the lawn of Grimmauld Place with a loud crack. Harry quickly jumped to his feet. “Ron, I’ll be right back; I have to go get Ginny and your Mum.”
The door to Grimmauld Place opened just as he was about to grasp the knob. Ginny and Mrs. Weasley came rushing out to meet them. Mrs. Weasley let out a quick scream and fell to her knees before her son. “Ginny, go Floo Madam Pomfrey. She will need to set his leg.” She then turned and levitated Ron, who was now groaning in pain, gently into the house. Ginny was already inside, running to the kitchen to contact Madam Pomfrey. Harry, feeling exhausted, followed her into the room.
Madam Pomfrey arrived several minutes later and quickly made her way up to the bedroom that Ron and Harry shared. She and Mrs. Weasley remained upstairs for over an hour, working on setting Ron’s leg and taking care of the gash on his face.
Ginny made Harry a cup of tea, and they sat at the kitchen table waiting for news of Ron.
“Harry, what happened?” Ginny asked, clearly confused.
Just as Harry was about to answer, his scar exploded in pain. He fell onto the floor, his hand clutching at his forehead. Ginny quickly knelt beside him. He forced the walls up in his mind, and almost immediately the pain began to subside. He began to relax and regain his composure.
“He is not happy about the day’s events,” Harry whispered. He was sure now that Nagini had indeed been a Horcrux, and whoever was responsible for the mistake in the trap was going to pay, probably with their life. He thought of Percy but refused to consider the consequences for him. Percy made his choice, he thought.
“Harry, are you all right?” Ginny inquired. He could hear the panic in her voice and looked up at her as she helped him into his chair.
“I’m all right,” he declared breathlessly. “Voldemort is just really angry.”
“Voldemort? What does he have to do with this? What happened out there?” Ginny repeated, taking a seat next to him. She still had her hand on his shoulder.
“We got sent to the graveyard in Little Hangleton. The one Voldemort…” Harry trailed off as the memory again swept over him. He shook his head, clearing the memory, and continued, “It was a trap, but I don’t think it went the way it was supposed to. Either we got there too soon or we were transported into the wrong place. Voldemort’s pet snake was there and we killed it.” A smile crossed his face but didn’t reach his eyes. “That’s one down,” he whispered to himself.
“One what?” Ginny asked, still looking at him with a confused expression on her face. “What is one down?”
“Oh, nothing, just thinking out loud,” Harry stammered. He was not ready to tell Ginny about the Horcruxes just then, although he knew he would eventually since she was bound and determined to fight with him. “Ginny, how did you know we were out there? We had only just arrived. Did you see us through the window or something?”
Ginny blushed slightly as she looked at Harry. “I don’t really know. A couple of minutes before you and Ron appeared, I got this sense that something was wrong. We weren’t expecting you for another hour or two, so we didn’t realize anything had happened. I walked around the house with this feeling that something had happened to you…to you both, and then I just knew that you were outside on the lawn.”
Harry contemplated this new bit of information but said nothing. The flames in the fireplace burst green, and a very harried-looking Hermione stepped out. “Where is Ron? Is he all right? Harry, what happened, are you okay?” she breathed, looking wildly around the room.
“Ron’s fine; he has a broken leg, but Madam Pomfrey is up with him,” Ginny said getting up and walking over to Hermione. She placed a comforting hand on the older girl’s arm and led her to the table. “Hermione, have some tea.”
“What happened? Minerva--I mean Professor McGonagall--said that Ron had been hurt at the Ministry. Harry, what happened? It wasn’t the test, was it? Oh, I told him to practice more,” Hermione said in agitation.
“No, Hermione, we sort of got sent away from the Ministry,” Harry replied. He could see Hermione was not really thinking clearly at the moment since broken legs were a rare occurrence in failed Apparition tests. Missing legs were frequent but not broken ones. He went on to explain the events leading up to and through the battle in the graveyard. He left out the part about Percy being the one who had given them the Portkeys and what he said right before they activated.
“He conjured a Patronus!” Hermione squealed with delight. “What was it? Did he tell you what he was thinking about? Oh, I’m so proud of him. He has been trying for weeks.” Hermione was bouncing in her chair with excitement.
Harry smiled at Hermione’s obvious joy over her boyfriend’s latest accomplishment. He was struck by just how excited she had become. He wondered if it was a little overboard, but just chalked it up to having been a very long day. “The Patronus was a small dog, smaller than Prongs but just as powerful. As for what he was thinking about, he didn’t tell me, but I have an idea.” He was smirking at her.
“What, what do you--Oh!” Hermione’s eyes got wide in recognition. She then blushed and started examining the dregs of her tea cup. Ginny was trying not to giggle but failed miserably.
“I need to go up and see him,” Hermione declared, getting up from the table. “Do you think Madam Pomfrey is finished yet?”
The door to the kitchen swung open and Mrs. Weasley stepped inside. She looked as white as Nearly Headless Nick as she walked in carrying a piece of parchment. She barely acknowledged the teens sitting at the table as she walked over to the teapot to pour herself a cup of tea.
“Mum, what’s wrong? Is Ron all right? What happened?” Ginny asked, fear crossing her face at the sight of her mother.
Mrs. Weasley stared at the table as if she didn’t know they were in the room. “Oh dear, I didn’t see--I don’t--Percy’s missing,” she finally said, breaking down into sobs and collapsing into a chair, spilling her tea onto the table. Ginny’s mouth dropped open in surprise. Harry’s face pinched up, his brow furrowed as if trying to work something out in his mind. He looked at Hermione, who was glancing from Mrs. Weasley to him. She was giving him one of those perceptive stares that always meant she knew that he knew more than he was telling. He quickly grabbed the parchment that apparently had been delivered earlier.
Dear Mrs. Weasley,
I was wondering if you could put me in touch with your son Percy. He left his office today around ten and has not returned. We fear that he has been involved with You-Know-Who in some way and would like to ask him some questions. If you have any information, please contact me immediately.
Sincerely,
Dolores Umbridge
Senior Undersecretary to the Minister of Magic
Harry slammed the parchment down on the table, angered that Umbridge would make such a revelation in such an insensitive way. Hermione took the parchment, read it, then also slammed in down on the table. Mrs. Weasley was being consoled by Ginny, who still only knew that Percy was missing and didn’t really know how best to help her mother.
“Mrs. Weasley,” Harry began, “we can contact the rest of the Order, if you would like us to.” This was the only thing he could think to do. Mrs. Weasley raised her head and looked at Harry. She smiled weakly at him and attempted to pull herself together. “No, no dear. Arthur will be home in a couple of minutes and we can do that. You all go upstairs and check on Ron,” she said bravely. Harry had always believed that Ginny had a strength of spirit about her that was by far one of her most attractive qualities. Now he knew where she got it from. Mrs. Weasley got up, dried her tears, and although she continued to get choked up and had to dab at the tears in her eyes often, she began contacting Order members for a meeting to take place that evening.
Harry looked to Ginny, who was up and walking as if in a daze towards the door. Hermione was already out of the kitchen door. She was in a rush to see Ron and make sure he was all right. Harry gently wrapped his arm around Ginny’s shoulders and walked her upstairs. They would spend some time with Ron as he recovered from his injuries, or simply attempt to stay out of the way, before dealing with the meeting that night. Harry’s birthday had been completely forgotten.
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Ron slept most of the afternoon. There was a flurry of activity as Order members arrived and then quickly left again to check on possibilities for Percy’s whereabouts. Harry and Ginny spent much of the day in the study. Ginny attempted to review for her upcoming week of O.W.L.s, and Harry tried to put some perspective on the day’s events. Hermione would spend short periods of time with them in the study and then wander back upstairs to check on Ron and see if he needed anything. Madam Pomfrey explained that his leg was mended and that he would be sore for a couple of days, but there was no permanent damage. The sight of Ron lying in the bed, however, had been too much for Hermione. She’d burst into tears upon seeing him and seemed strangely dazed the rest of the afternoon.
Just before the meeting, Remus stuck his head into the study. “Harry, Ginny, the meeting is going to start in about an hour. Ron and Hermione are coming down.”
“Thanks, Remus…um, could you, Ron, and Hermione come in here for a minute?” Harry asked. Remus nodded and went to get Ron. He came back in less than a minute. Ron, Hermione and Remus sat in chairs in front of the fireplace along with Ginny, who was placing a book on Herbology in a small stack next to her chair. Ron shifted in his chair, trying to find a more comfortable position for his completely healed and yet still sore leg. Harry paced the floor.
“Remus, I need your advice on something. Ron and I have some…information that we may need to share with the group, but I am not sure what it means,” Harry said. He glanced at Ginny, unsure if he really wanted to tell her about Percy’s apparent betrayal.
Stop trying to protect me! He heard the words in his head again. This was information that she was going to hear one way or another, so he may as well tell her now. It was better for her to hear it from him than from some stupid Ministry official or via owl.
“Why don’t you tell me and we can figure out what the next step will be,” Remus said.
“Okay, when we went to the Ministry today--we saw Percy,” Harry stated. He noticed Ron shift again. He hadn’t had a chance to talk with Ron about Percy since they got back. Ron looked very pale and had a sad look of disappointment on his face. He looked at the other faces in the room: Ginny looked surprised, Hermione nodded as if she already knew what had happened, and Remus looked at Harry stoically and simply said, “And?”
“He, that is, Percy, handed us our licenses and… they were the Portkeys that sent us to Riddle’s graveyard.”
Remus didn’t look surprised; rather, he looked somewhat angry as he contemplated this new information. During the day, the story of Harry and Ron being sent to the graveyard had filtered through the Order so most knew some of what happened.
“Should I tell Mr. and Mrs. Weasley? I mean, I don’t want them to find out with everyone there or anything,” Harry questioned.
Remus rose from his chair and patted Harry on the shoulder. “You are a pretty sensitive young man, Harry. Don’t worry. I will go and tell them before the meeting starts. I doubt Molly will be at the meeting when she learns this, but it is better for her to hear it in private.” Remus then left the room in search of Arthur and Molly.
Harry turned back to the group still sitting in front of the fireplace. Hermione was now sitting on the floor next to Ron’s chair. Ron was running his fingers through her hair and seemed to take some comfort in her presence. Ginny sat with her legs pulled up into her chest, arms wrapped around her knees. Her face was a mask of anger.
“Ginny, I’m sorry,” he said quietly, walking over to her and crouching down in front of her. She looked at him, the anger fading into sadness as tears built in her eyes.
“What do you have to be sorry for?” she asked as a tear rolled down her cheek. “Are you sorry that my brother betrayed us, that he is the biggest git in the world?” She broke off as more tears began to stream down her face.
“I’m sorry I can’t fix this. I’m sorry I have come between you and your brother--your family and your brother. I’m sorry I don’t know what to do to help you,” Harry sighed. He was at a loss as to how to comfort Ginny and feeling guilty because he was sure that if he had not entered their lives, Percy would still be part of the family.
Ron barked out a harsh laugh. “DON’T GIVE US THAT ‘IT’S ALL MY FAULT’ GARBAGE, HARRY!” he shouted. “This is not your fault and you know it. You didn’t make him do it. You didn’t drive him to betray us. Who knows why Percy ever did anything he did. Harry, you haven’t come between anything. We all make choices, and Percy has made his choice: Power before family or anything else.” Ron then got to his feet and limped towards the door. “We have a meeting to get to.”
Ron and Hermione walked out of study. Harry felt deeply moved by the show of support from his best friend. He again turned to Ginny, who was dabbing at the tears on her face.
“He’s right, you know. You didn’t do this and you can’t fix it. All you can do is keep fighting for what is right and the things and people you love,” she explained.
Harry stood up and grasped her hand, pulling her out of the chair. And the people, he thought as he followed her out of the room. I am going to finish this for the person that I love.
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A/N First, I really hope you liked this chapter and that it was worth the evil cliffhanger from last chapter. If you liked it review, if you didn’t like it review. If it made you fall asleep, WAKE UP, and review. I hope my point is clear here.
Second, Ron’s Patronus is a small dog. I found this out through my brilliant beta.
Finally, thanks to all who have reviewed so far. I love the comments and it makes me more excited to keep writing when I know that people are readying, and enjoying the story. Also I have to thank my pre-betas Cableguysmom and Kerrbear for all their help and input. Big thanks as always to my beta JenC for making my third grader writing style sound like an adult. Thanks ladies.