Harry was sat in front of the fire in the Gryffindor common room, but didn't feel as if it was providing any warmth. It had been only a few hours since the trio had come across Ginny while she was painting a message on the wall outside the second-floor girls toilet. That Ginny had been the one petrifying students all year had shocked all of them. But when Ron had stepped forward to ask her what she was doing, she had started having some kind of seizure. They took her to the hospital wing where Madam Pomfrey had interrogated them and fussed over Ginny's quickly paling form. They'd had no idea what had happened though. At some point Dumbledore had been called, along with Ginny's parents, and McGonagall as she was her Head of House. The ward had turned into Grand Central station by the time McGonagall had ushered the trio out of the ward and ordered them to go to bed.

None of them had though. They'd entered the common room pale-faced and worried looking. It didn't take long for everyone to realize something was very wrong. Hermione told them the tale is a shaky voice, and in no time the Gryffindor Common Room had gone from its usual rambunctious activity, to anxiety ridden near-silence. Everyone was waiting on news of Ginny Weasley, but things didn't look hopeful. There were anxious mutterings from some, while others sat in a daze. Some were in tears. Percy looked shell shocked and even the twins had nothing to say to cheer anyone up. Hermione was trying to comfort Ron, but ultimately failing. Harry sat next to them in silence, paying no attention to the pair. He was caught up in thoughts over what he'd overheard as they were herded out of the ward.

"I am afraid that her only chance at survival rests in the diary giving up its hold on her. But it will only release her if it is given an offering of blood, and..." Had come Dumbledore's grave voice.

Hermione finally gave up on reassuring Ron, as he didn't appear able to take in a word of what she was saying, and instead turned to Harry to whom she said quietly, "You've not gone deaf have you?"

Harry looked up and shook his head.

"Good. You heard what I heard right? When we were leaving the hospital wing?"

Harry nodded.

Hermione started to wring her hands, "I think I know the diary Professor Dumbledore was talking about. I've seen Ginny writing in it, but I'd no idea it was cursed. But it didn't seem like he had any other ideas on how to save her."

"Why would he? He already knows how to." Harry asked.

"Oh Harry, Dumbledore isn't going to let anyone put their blood on a cursed object, who knows what the repercussions could be."

"But Ginny will die otherwise!" He said, his voice rising in volume.

Hermione shushed him, leaning in closer, "Harry, the diary could already kill Ginny. It's clearly dangerous, there's no way of knowing if it would harm the one whose blood is offered. It could make things worse."

Harry didn't know how to reply to that. He hadn't considered that Dumbledore wasn't going to go ahead with the blood offering he'd mentioned. He could hardly believe it. Whatever the consequences might be, he couldn't let Ginny die.

Apparently this conclusion had shown on his face as Hermione had looked slightly alarmed, "You better not be considering going to the Hospital Wing. Look Harry, I'm sure Dumbledore will find some other way to save Ginny, there's no need to put your life on the line."

Harry nodded and said quite calmly, "Of course Hermione, I wasn't even going to suggest such a thing."

Hermione looked at him suspiciously but leaned back in her seat. "Well, okay. Good then." She turned back around to Ron and attempted once more to comfort him, but she kept casting side-glances at Harry.

Harry tried not to pay her any attention, he had to make it seem like he really had no intentions of doing anything. So he waited a while. Every minute seemed much too long. He didn't even know how long Ginny had. Eventually, he decided he'd waited long enough and excused himself saying that he was going to bed. Hermione watched him as walked to the staircase but she couldn't see him come back down as he'd grabbed his invisibility cloak.

Harry walked to the Hospital Wing in silence. It was dark when he arrived, and empty. The light was on behind Madam Pomfrey's closed office door, and Harry could hear the muffled voices of the adults coming from underneath it. He made it to Ginny's abandoned bed and found the diary Hermione had spoke about on the bedside table. It didn't look like much. Only a plain black book. Harry would've had a hard time comprehending how the diary was killing Ginny if he didn't already know it was cursed.

Harry used a cutting curse to slice open his palm. He hesitated for a moment, Hermione's words ringing in his head, 'there is no way of knowing if it would harm the one whose blood is offered,' Harry shook his head to clear it. There was no way he was going to let Ginny die, no matter the risks. So he held his hand over the diary and let a few drops fall onto the cover. He immediately understood Hermione's worry as it felt as if something had torn him open from the inside. He fell to the floor in agony, completely unaware of anything except pain.

When the pain dulled, the first thing he noticed was a pair of hands holding him up. He was grateful to this, as he didn't think his legs could support his weight anymore. He groaned as he tried to stand up, noticing the slackened grip the person had on him. He opened his eyes to see who was holding him, and gasped. Surrounding him in the now brightly ward were all the adults previously in Madam Pomfrey's office. He took no notice of this though, as at his feet was the naked form of a boy who had definitely not been there before.

"Harry, what have you done?" Came Dumbledore's grave voice. But he was too stunned to reply.


A/N: So that's Chapter 1. This is my first fanfiction, so reviews would be greatly appreciated!