PARALYZED

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DISCLAIMER: Characters and background belong to J.K. Rowling.

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A/N: This is a rather dark one-shot told by Colin Creevey, although it mainly involves Harry, Ginny, and Draco. Not recommended to extreme shippers of Harry/Ginny, nor to Ginny fans.

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"Mr. Creevey, I insist that you tell me everything you know to its fullest extent; I don't wish to feed Veritaserum to one of my own students... but if it comes down to that, nothing is beyond reason." Dumbledore stared down at Colin solemnly, lines of fatigue creasing his aged face.

"I would gladly tell you Headmaster, for I did volunteer myself as a witness, didn't I, sir? But the problem is... would you believe me? Wouldn't Veritaserum be a much easier and more sensible solution to this problem?" Colin spoke calmly, surprising the wizened old wizard. For a twisted look crossed the face of the young boy; an almost menacing sort of look it was.

Dumbledore folded his hands in front of him, and looked straight into the boy's eyes. Colin looked away, unable to meet his intense gaze. "I choose to trust my students first, Mr. Creevey. Everyone is entitled to being trusted until proven unworthy, don't you agree?"

Colin slowly and reluctantly nodded his head. "I suppose so..."

"I hope you won't prove yourself unworthy of my trust, then. Now, please don't leave out a single detail; anything could be of help in locating Harry Potter."

"I won't, Headmaster. However, I can by no means guarantee accuracy, for I was simply an observer during the incident; I was not in any way directly involved, you see." Dumbledore nodded, and Colin continued once again. "I suppose it started in about March or April of my fifth year...

"After surviving another fierce battle with You-Know-Who, Harry was once again enjoying the praise and popularity he met wherever he went. Quite the hero, he was. I in fact, still have quite a few photographs I took of him at the time." Colin rummaged through his book bag, producing three moving photographs of Harry. The figure in the photographs looked rather annoyed, but Colin held them out proudly all the same. "He was born for fame, Headmaster. Very photogenic, if I may say so myself."

By this time, Dumbledore could only ponder as to when Colin would get to the point, but being wise and patient, not to mention over a hundred years old, he didn't speak a word of it.

"Anyway, even while basking in all his well-deserved fame and glory, there was a special someone whom he apparently wanted to impress the most. Ironically enough, almost everyone in Gryffindor was aware of it, except for she herself."

"And who was that girl?" Dumbledore asked quietly.

"Why, you haven't figured it out yet, Headmaster? Ginny Weasley, of course! It's a very well-known fact that Harry has been in love with her since his sixth year!" Colin exclaimed, and dipped his hand into his book bag once more. This time, he handed a single photograph of Harry and Ginny to the Headmaster. In the photograph, a weeping Ginny was leaning against Harry, who had turned red in the face, and was fidgeting nervously.

"Not the best match I could have come up with for Harry, but then again, he never listens to me anyway. He should have though... An awful whore, she is, that Ginny Weasley. Who could have guessed she'd betray Harry like that? I always knew there was something rotten about those redheads..." Colin's face became a mask of contempt, and the Headmaster's face darkened at the boy's harsh words.

"Please get to the point, Mr. Creevey..." Dumbledore sighed. " The Ministry has practically turned the wizarding world upside down searching for Harry; it is certainly not the time to be stalling and delaying important information."

"Yes, of course, Headmaster. I suppose I just became too carried away in my own emotions..." Colin chuckled nervously. "Well, Harry was continuously trying to confess his feelings to Ginny, but of course, he was rather occupied with all the Death Eaters' attacks and such. And you can only imagine how devastated he was when one of You-Know-Who's servants killed Ron Weasley."

Dumbledore lowered his head solemnly, pain etched into the depths of his eyes. He had lived for over a century, witnessing numerous deaths and shedding endless tears, but losing one of his students was still unbearably torturous for him.

"Well, Harry and that Hermione Granger cried for days after the incident. So did Ginny, of course." Colin spoke almost nonchalantly; his voice held no sign of sadness or grief. "Harry was especially miserable, seeing as he considered it his own fault that Ron had died. Everyone in Gryffindor was especially careful not to mention Ron nor You-Know-Who around him after his best friend's death." Colin suddenly retrieved two more photographs from his book bag and handed them to the Headmaster.

The first photograph showed Hermione and Harry standing in the Gryffindor common room. Hermione's face was stricken with terror, and tears poured down her face. Next to her, stood Harry whose eyes were shut tightly, and clenched fists trembling.

In the second photograph, Harry was sitting alone in the Quidditch stands, staring into the distance woefully. He continuously ran his fingers through his unruly hair, closing his eyes and finally shedding a single tear. Dumbledore studied the photograph carefully. His face was void of any emotion, but Colin noticed the old wizard's hands tremble slightly.

"Luckily for the wizarding world," Colin started once again. "Harry decided to stop grieving and continue fighting against the Dark Lord. He obviously wished to avenge his friend. However, Ginny was still unable to forget her pain, and began to spend almost all of her time in the Infirmary. Seeing the love of his life suffering like that was indeed heartbreaking for Harry. But there wasn't really anything he was able to do. So he just let her be... He probably assumed that giving her space would be the only solution."

Dumbledore nodded slowly as Colin paused, but his eyes were still glued to the photograph of Harry.

"So, as summer break came to an end, and Harry started his seventh year, he didn't speak a word of his true feelings to Ginny. Most say she was totally oblivious to his affection for her, but it all seemed rather suspicious if you ask me..." Colin said in distaste, but the Headmaster just sighed. "Well, it just so happens that Ginny Weasley never did give Harry the time of day, and instead began to get real close with the Head Boy, Draco Malfoy.

"A great shock it was for everyone, that's for sure! A Weasley and a Malfoy; who could have ever guessed? Not that I'm very fond of either though... Anyway, their scandalous relationship went on for several months, until the rumour of Ginny's pregnancy began spreading throughout the school. Oh! Hold on a minute; I've got something to show to you, Headmaster." Another photograph came out of Colin's book bag.

In the photograph were Ginny and Draco together in the dark dungeons. They were backed up against the wall, and kissing each other hungrily.

"Have you been following these two students around, Mr. Creevey?" Dumbledore asked sharply, and Colin faltered.

"Oh, no... Of course not, Headmaster... I'm just... rather observant on my part, that's all," he said with a strange sort of smile.

Dumbledore stared at him for a few moments, and Colin squirmed nervously. The Headmaster seemed to be gazing right into the depths of his mind, reading his every thought and secret.

"Please... continue," Dumbledore said, breaking the silence.

"Oh, yes... of course," the young Gryffindor started hesitantly. "Well, the rumor certainly took the whole school by storm; for it isn't every day that a Gryffindor-Slytherin couple is made. But of course any notions of peace and romance were dashed at once, for teenage pregnancy is obviously a disgraceful thing. Not to mention the horrible stain made on Ginny's clean reputation. The wretched girl probably shamed her whole family. Then again, she got what she deserved; horrible slut she is...

"Harry of course, would have nothing to do with people who insulted Ginny. He insisted to everyone that Malfoy must have seduced her or something of the sort. He just absolutely refused to believe that his love would willingly sleep with his worst enemy. Quite a shock it must have been..."

"And so he killed Malfoy?" Dumbledore said mostly to himself.

"Yes... horrible fright it was up in Gryffindor Tower. Can't say that all too many Gryffindors were crushed by the news of Malfoy's death, but all the same, everyone suspected Harry, and it's rather shocking to discover that your hero has killed another student.

"But he was gone. Already long gone, and so no longer able to confirm the rumors. However... I know the truth, Headmaster..." Colin took out yet another photograph, and the Headmaster froze the moment he saw it.

In the photograph were the small figures of Harry and Draco. The background was dark, and resembled the Forbidden Forest. The distant-looking figure of Draco stood tied to a thick tree trunk, and Harry stood before him, his wand raised in the air fiercely.

Dumbledore sighed deeply, rubbing his temples. "So it was Harry, then..."

"It was a great shock for all of us, sir," Colin added.

"Then... do you know the whereabouts of Mr. Potter?"

"I do indeed, Professor..." The boy spoke almost eerily as he handed the Headmaster yet another photograph.

In it, Harry sat in what resembled a dark forest clearing alone. His face was full of agony as he reached for something next to him. As Dumbledore observed the photograph, his face suddenly became a mask of shock and tragedy. For the small black-and-white Harry slowly took a knife to his wrist and slit it. As black blood poured down his arm, he slowly lay down onto the dry grass and sighed. Dumbledore quickly looked away, not to have to see the scene repeated once more.

"And so now you know the truth, Headmaster..." Colin whispered, a smile dancing on his lips.

Dumbledore felt anger welling up inside him as he watched the boy. "Creevey... you observed this going on, and yet you did nothing to stop it?! You did nothing to stop Harry from killing himself, and now you find fun in it? I have never been so disgusted in my life..."

Colin only stared at the Headmaster blankly. He slowly held his hand out, and scooped the photographs back into his bag preciously. Dumbledore watched all this, almost trembling in rage.

"So, in the end all our efforts in finding Harry have been for nothing... For he has killed himself... And you did nothing to stop it..." Dumbledore struggled to remain calm as he spoke.

"Stop him? Why stop him, Headmaster? No one can really stop one who has already decided to do rid of himself... Besides tragic heroes are all the more beautiful, don't you agree?" An insane sort of grin spread across Colin's face, and the Headmaster looked at him in disbelief.

Colin's last word before leaving the office; "I think I'll be making a special little album out of these photographs..."

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FIN

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