A/N: I started writing this story before HBP came out, so there are going to be a lot of little things that probably shouldn't be in here, but I still want them and I'm not willing to do a total overhaul on the story. You can't make me do it! I hope you enjoy anyway and as always R&R! Thanx
I do not own Harry Potter or anything remotely associated with him. It all belongs to JK Rowling, except some characters and the plot. Those are mine so - Hands Off!
Chapter 1 – Field Meeting
The Gryffindor common room had never been so crowded on a warm spring day. Today was a day unlike any other, however. Every chair and couch was filled; even some of the study tables had been transfigured into comfortable benches and drawn up around the large area rug. On the rug, in a place of honor, a small black box was the focus of ever person's attention.
"Come on, Seamus," cried Ron. "Can't you get that thing working any faster? It's going to be starting soon!"
Seamus looked up from the box that he was hunched over, his wand in one hand and a screwdriver in the other. "I'm working as fast as I can. It t'isn't easy trying to bootleg a wireless, you know?"
"Besides Ron," Ginny interrupted from her favorite chair by the fireplace. "The Harpies are just going to wipe the pitch with your beloved Canons - " Nearly every girl in the room and quite a few of the boys broke into cheers. "So, why put yourself through such agony, hmm?"
Ron jumped up from his seat on the sofa, daggers looking to shoot from his eyes. At the moment, one would have thought that Ginny and Ron were the greatest of enemies, not brother and sister.
In his bright orange t-shirt with two black Cs and a shooting cannonball on the front and a matching cap, Ron's unwavering devotion for the Chudley Canons was unmistakable. Ginny, on the other side, was in with the Holyhead Harpies – the only all-women team in the world. With her dark green jersey and golden talon necklace the colors, and the battle lines, were drawn.
"Oh. If that's so true, then why are we getting ready to start day four of the match? Answer me that."
She shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly. "Have to give the crowd their money's worth, don't they? It'll be what? Another century before the Canons make it back to the championship."
"Why you - " Ron lunged forward for his younger sister, but was stopped by Hermione.
"I've had enough of this! Honestly, Seamus," Hermione pointed her wand at the speaker box. It glowed for a second and soon the announcer's voice was filling the room.
"Hello, I'm John Pepper and welcome back to Queerditch Marsh on this beautiful day of May. A light breeze is coming in from the south which makes it absolutely perfect weather for flying. Wouldn't you agree, Jake?"
"Indeed I would John. And soon both of our teams will be making their appearance on the pitch after their two hour time-out. I'm sure we can all agree they really earned it after those last twelve hours."
"Oh, who cares about all that? Just get back to the game," whined Ron. The feeling was echoed by a few others.
"Here come the Harpies. They have had an impeccable year. Undefeated in the regular season and now we're in the final match for the British League Championship. Besides the obvious athletic prowess that these ladies exude, they are all gorgeous. I don't think I've ever seen a lovelier group of witches."
"Right you are Jake, but don't let their beauty fool you. They all come with bite. Rumor has it that chaser Leila Buchanan has recently become engaged to a dragon tamer working in Romania."
"Well, we all knew it would take a real daredevil to get her to settle down. Which is the exact opposite of our crowd. They're all on their feet cheering on our Cinderella-team followed by the referee."
"Cinderella?" asked the other commentator.
"Yes, John. It's from a Muggle children's story. But back to the game. The captains are shaking hands. Our ref, Graham Llewellyn – grandson to the late "Dangerous" Dai Llewellyn – has just opened the ball case once again. . . There's the whistle and we're off!"
"Su Ling with the quaffle, passes to Anora Sinclair - Oh, just missed by a bludger hit by Canon's beater Ian Carter as she does a reverse pass to Buchanan. She's now speeding towards the goal. And. . . Yes! It's good! That brings the score to six hundred seventy to five hundred forty Harpies and our seekers, Colleen Sinclair and Scott Habers still are giving no sign that they've sighted-"
"Wait! Sinclair has just gone into a dive and is being pursued by Habers. Nearly to the ground! Will they-"
The broadcast was interrupted by a loud blast of static. "NO!" cried Ron as he fell to his knees by the speaker.
The intro music to a news program was drowned out by the anguished and indignant cries of the teenage crowd.
"Hush, Ron," said Hermione, who had just turned the volume up.
"We interrupt this regularly scheduled program to bring you a breaking news update. Here's our reporter, Galan Martin, live outside the Ministry of Magic."
The room soon quieted and all were once again listening intently to the small speaker.
"I am standing outside of the press rooms, waiting for Minister of Magic Scrimegeour to arrive and begin the meeting. So far all we have been told is that a major conflict, which took place outside the village of Hogsmeade, has just ended. One of the Dark Lord's supporters, the Half-Blood Prince – as authorities are calling him at this point – has just escaped from a battle involving none other than the Boy-Who-Lived, Harry Potter."
"Harry? But he's right over - " Ginny pointed to one of the window seats and saw that it was empty except for an abandoned roll of parchment.
"He was supposed to be keeping the bets. He better not cheat us later," said Dean Thomas.
"Oh, shut up, you worthless prat!" Ginny and Ron said together.
"Shh!" the others hushed collectively.
"Ah, here comes the minister. Wait, it seems to be press secretary, Gretchen Retseiko." The clicking of cameras, shuffling papers and bodies, and muffled talk all rose and fell in the background.
"Good afternoon," a woman's voice came across the wireless speaker. "Today we have had a display of the true power which the Dark Lord's supporters are capable of. Up until this point, we had no idea of what we were truly up against. The small, isolated attacks that we have endured this past year pale in comparison to the devastation wrecked in this single instance. The time has come for us to stop reacting and go on the offensive. We will take this war into our own hands and make our world a safe place for us to live in once more."
Cheering broke out through the assembled group and it was almost a full minute before the minister was able to continue.
"We shall be forming a new ministerial position, Minister of Defense. With this new department all of our efforts will be focused in the singular task to end the reign of terror of He-who-mustn't-be-named. We shall bring about the justice that so many are demanding and ensure the lives and welfare of all peoples. I would like to add that we will be searching, not only for the Dark Lord and his close supporters, but all those who aid and help to abate these traitors will find themselves being held to the same level of punishment in our criminal courts.
"Also it has been decided that in an effort to protect our nation's youth, Hogwarts School will be ending its academic year early. All of the students, with the exception of the fifth and seventh years, will be released later this week to return to their families. The other students will leave once they have completed their O.W.L and N.E.W.T examinations." Both groans and quiet sighs of relief could be heard, and felt, in the common room.
"That is all the information we can disclose at this time. A special evening edition of The Daily Prophet will be sent out with greater details as they become available. Until then, I am highly urging that all citizens remain in their homes or businesses and maintain a state of constant vigilance. Thank you."
"Wait, Minister," one of the reporters called from the crowd. "Don't you have a statement from Mr. Potter?"
A laugh was heard through the reporters vying for attention. "Yes, as a matter of fact he did. He said that Ron Weasley owed Ginny a dozen chocolate frogs, and then was taken to be examined by the mediwitches."
The box glowed for a second and then with a definitive click the speaker turned off. Everyone sat in the silence while the tension and unease seemed to grow and consume the room.
"What do you do now?" asked a small first-year girl with tears glistening on her eyelashes.
"For now, we wait," Ginny said quietly as she stood up and sat next to her brother. "And don't forget to pay your debt, brother," she added mischievously. Ron wrapped an arm around her shoulders affectionately.
"Dumbledore will say something about this at dinner," said Hermione. "After that we'll all know what we'll have to do. So, until then we have to act as though nothing has happened. I don't want to get in trouble for not closing down the betting pool and confiscating the wireless."
Ron laughed out loud. "'Mione, you really do know how to kill a mood sometimes."
The clouds drifted slowly in the night sky to reveal the moon in its final quarter. A chill began to fill the late June air as a wind came in from the north, and yet all was quiet . . . too quiet.
A quickening could be felt, as though the forest and everything within it was anticipating something. There was a silent gathering upon the edges of the forest. Hooded figures began to emerge out of the darkness to fill the clearing. Twenty. Thirty. Soon there were nearly fifty members gathered before a raised dais which had appeared in the field.
At the hour of midnight what the group had been anxiously waiting for happened. Their leader, Lord Voldemort - easily the most evil wizard in over a century - apparated into his place of honor. All eyes were focused with reverence and excitement at what was yet to come.
He stood on the platform his face hidden beneath his dark robes. In his stance the power that he held over his followers was evident; he was a man who knew he would never be challenged and would always be blindly obeyed. His red eyes glowed with malice and a dark purpose as a menacing smirk crossed his lips.
"Yes, my loyal ones," he began in barely more than a whisper. "Our long awaited ascendance back to power is fast approaching. Soon people everywhere will tremble and shudder in fear at the slightest mention of our cause." Voldemort's voice increased and his red eyes began to glow with a wicked gleam. "We shall rid our world of all those who dare to sully the sacred bloods of magic!" Applause erupted through the captivated audience.
"Now go, you know your tasks and what needs to be done. Bring me the joy of their defeat!"
Most of the assembled group left until there were but a handful left. They gathered close to Voldemort, awaiting further details to his diabolical plans. Among the small dais stood Bellatrix Lestrange, Narcissa and Draco Malfoy, Severus Snape, McNair, and Voldemort's ever present shadow, Peter Pettigrew – now better known as Wormtail.
Voldemort now sat on a highly polished throne that had serpents carved in great detail and adornment winding back and forth up the armrests. "As you know, the attack upon the Ministry, while announcing our presence over a year ago, was a disaster! My best Death Eaters defeated by a handful of teenagers; and just a month ago one of our easiest chances to gain our rightful place was foiled by Potter alone. I do not intend for this to happen again. That is where the rest of you come into play. . ."
Harry shot up from the bed covered in a cold sweat. The lightning bolt-shaped scar on his forehead was throbbing out its warning. To anyone else this would have been cause for great alarm, but it was a familiar occurrence to Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived. Through a personal attack from Voldemort as a baby he had gained his scar and along with it a personal connection to his greatest enemy. This was the only visions that Harry had had since the attack upon the Department of Mysteries. 'Dark plans abound in the dark of night' thought Harry.
He rolled over to see the bedside clock glowing 1:25. Voldemort had an hour's head start.
He was careful to get out of his small bed without any sounds. 'Wouldn't Uncle Vernon just love to have a real reason to yell at me for once?' Harry mused wryly as he sat down at his desk and pulled out a quill and ink and some sheets of parchment. He began to write out three separate letters: one to Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts' School and leader of the Order of the Phoenix, one to Remus – Harry's former teacher and closest link to his parents, and a final letter to Ginny Weasley, his best friend Ron's younger sister.
In each he recounted the detailed events of the vision and the feelings he had received from Voldemort through his scar's link. Ginny's letter, however, contained an extra paragraph.
Ginny, I know some of this (well, most of it actually) is scary and confusing, but I promise I can explain. I've been told that I need to spend at least a month with the Dursleys' and then I am moving into Grimmauld Place. I would rest a lot easier if you would come to stay with me for the remainder of the holidays at that time. I should have a plan for Voldemort's defeat by that time.
Love, Harry
Harry stared at the letter for a moment. He hadn't mean to write all that (especially the "love" part) but then he realize it was the truth.
WHOOSH! All of the air left his body only to be replaced by a twinge in his chest that hurt more than when he had fallen fifty feet off his broomstick during his third year. Who would have thought that the realization that he loved that fiery-haired girl would reduce a six foot one man to a mute, slack-jawed fool?
Yet, that was exactly what Harry feared he had become. Even though they had dated near the end of his sixth year, shortly after the attack in Hogsmeade he had broken off their burgeoning relationship in the hopes of keeping her safe. During their time together they had never told each other in words exactly how they felt; it was better that way, Harry had thought.
He thought about throwing away Ginny's letter and just forgetting all about this particular epiphany, but couldn't bring himself to do it. So much of his life had been filled with lies and deceit, loss and emptiness, and loneliness now was an opportunity to make that a thing of the past and change his future.
"If I can't even be honest with Ginny, what's the point?"
Hedwig stirred in her cage, as much at Harry's statement as the sight of the letters. Being cooped up day after day in a cage didn't sit well with her. Harry opened the cage door, tied the letters to her leg, and walked with her towards the window.
"Be sure and visit Dumbledore and Remus first. I'm certain Ginny will be glad to keep you for a week, until I can move out." Gently he stroked her neck and looked into her bright yellow eyes. "Keep an eye out for her, won't you?"
Hedwig nipped affectionately at his ear and flew off into the night sky.
Harry looked back to the illuminated clock. 2:30. "Only another three hours before Hell begins again,' Harry thought bitterly as he climbed back into bed and wished, unsuccessfully for sleep to claim him.