A/N Hi guys, thanks for the reviews, please keep them coming!
I would like to say a big thank you to Fairqueen2 who has very kindly offered to be my beta.
She's started with this chapter and will be reviewing the previous chapters as well.
Once they have been checked I will update them.
I hope this makes reading the story a bit easier for those who was having trouble reading it with my punctuation errors.
Please bear with me; I've never written a story before this and my other story, "Animals and bonds", are my first attempt. Plus I'm still learning how to punctuate and use correct grammar.
Anyway here's chapter 10. I hope you enjoy it. Let me know what you think.
CHAPTER TEN
Harry had been sitting in the hospital wing for about twenty minutes when the hospital doors opened. Turning in his seat, Harry saw Blaise Zabini, the boy who had found Ginny standing there.
"Do you mind if I come in?" Blaise asked.
"No, please come in. I want to thank you for helping her." Harry said.
"I couldn't just leave her there. Despite what people say, not everyone in Slytherin is a monster." the boy replied. "How is she doing?"
"Madam Pomfrey says she'll be okay. She had some broken ribs, her arm was broken, there was bruising all over her body, a lump on her head, and a possible concussion. She thinks she should wake up soon but she'll be uncomfortable as she had to give her Skele-gro." Harry said.
Blaise nodded and took a seat next to Harry. "Has someone contacted her family?"
"Her dad is with the headmaster, they are going to interview those involved with the attack and those who have any information about it." Harry replied.
"She said it was Malfoy that had attacked her and she said something about the Weasley kid kicking her as he walked past. I can't believe her own brother would leave her there in that state without helping her, let alone kicking her as he walked past." Blaise said.
"He doesn't think of her as his sister. She was disowned by her family because of him." replied Harry.
"Wasn't it Lord Black that adopted her?" Blaise asked.
"Yeah, he's also my godfather." Harry answered.
"Do you know what will happen to Malfoy?" Blaise asked.
"I know what I'd like to do to him, but I think Sirius is working on having him expelled and charged with assault. The headmaster's not being helpful, but when Sirius puts his mind to something, he normally gets his way. He won't rest until Malfoy is suitably punished for what he's done."
"He deserves worse; I can't get the image of her covered in blood and lying on the floor out of my head." said Blaise.
"I won't disagree with you there." Harry paused and ran his hands through his hair. "You'll give a statement, won't you? You can ask to have your name left out of it, but you'll tell the headmaster what you know, right?"
"Yeah, I'll tell them what I know." Blaise looked over at Harry. "Please don't think less of me but I will ask them to keep my name out of it. I want to help her; it's just that if anyone found out it was me..."
Harry cut him off. "It's fine, I understand really. Just your statement will help."
Blaise nodded. Both boys fell into a comfortable silence as they watched the unmoving form of Ginny.
It was forty minutes later that Ginny started to stir. Harry was out of his seat and sitting on the edge of her bed in the blink of an eye. He gently brushed the hair out of her eyes.
"Ginny? Can you hear me? Open your eyes for me, Gin." he said.
Very slowly Ginny's eyes fluttered and opened, she blinked a couple of times before her gaze settled on Harry's face. Instantly her eyes began to fill with tears and leak down her cheeks.
"Harry..." She croaked.
"Shh, you're okay; everything's going to be okay." Harry said leaning over to kiss her forehead.
"I'm so sorry, you were right. Malfoy..." Ginny tried to say through her tears.
"Shh, Gin. Don't worry about it at the moment. Sirius is here, he's with the headmaster at the moment. They should be back soon. We can talk about what happened then, but for now just rest. I'll be here, get some rest, Ginny." Harry said gently placing another kiss on her forehead.
Ginny nodded and closed her eyes again. Her breathing evened out and in the matter of minutes she was asleep.
"You really care about her, don't you?" Blaise asked.
Harry jumped slightly. He had forgotten the other boy was there.
"I do." he replied.
"Are the two of you together?"
"No," Harry said shaking his head, "but I hope someday we will be."
"How come you haven't asked her out already?"
"It's complicated. Let's just say it's not the right time yet." said Harry.
Blaise nodded. They fell back into silence, both of them lost in their thoughts.
Just under an hour later the hospital doors opened again, but this time admitting the headmaster, Sirius, and Professor Snape. "Ah Mr. Zabini, there you are. We would like to ask if you would give a statement about what you know of the attack on Miss Black. We'll also need one from you, Mr. Potter." said the headmaster.
"Of course, Headmaster, although I should tell you that I would like my name kept out of it. I have spoken to Harry about this and he understands my reasons for it." Blaise said.
"I understand." Dumbledore said.
"Can we do it here or do we need to go somewhere?" Blaise asked.
"We'll be able to use Poppy's office." Dumbledore said.
Blaise nodded and stood up following the headmaster and his head of house into the nurse's office.
"Has she woken yet?" Sirius asked as the office door closed and he made his way to Ginny's bedside.
"She woke for a couple of minutes about an hour ago. She was upset, I told her to go back to sleep and that we'd talk about what happened when you got here." said Harry. "What happened in Dumbledore's office?"
"Malfoy said he had no idea what we were talking about. Said he'd been in the Common Room since after dinner and of course all his friends confirmed his story. The Weasley kid said he hadn't seen Ginny today and that she was probably trying to get him into trouble." Sirius said. He was clearly unhappy with how the interviews had gone.
"What are you going to do if the headmaster refuses to involve Amelia? He said earlier that unless they had proof it was Malfoy who attacked Ginny he wouldn't contact her." Harry asked.
"Oh I'll still contact her. My daughter has been attacked and I want the person responsible to be punished for it. If Ginny says it was Malfoy that attacked her when she gives her statement I will contact Amelia. If Dumbledore gives us any problems about it you will get Pura to get her here. I'll ask Ginny to supply a memory of the attack that Amelia can use as evidence." Sirius said.
Harry nodded. "Don't let Dumbledore cover up for Malfoy, Sirius. I mean it. If he helps him get away with this I'll go after Malfoy myself; he's gotten away with too much as it is."
"I promise you, pup, he won't get away with this." Sirius assured him.
Ginny began to stir then and both Sirius and Harry were by her side on opposite sides of the bed in an instant. Ginny opened her eyes seeing Harry first before turning her head and seeing Sirius. "Daddy?"
"I'm here, pup." Sirius said. "How are you feeling?"
"I hurt." Ginny replied.
"I know you do, let me see if I can get you a pain potion." Sirius said as he went to find Madam Pomfrey.
Ginny turned back to Harry. "I'm so sorry."
"Shh, it's OK." said Harry.
"I should have listened to you." Ginny said.
"It doesn't matter, all that matters is that you get better." Harry replied.
Just then Madam Pomfrey came over and handed Ginny a pain potion. Ginny swallowed the potion in one gulp making a face as she did so. The nurse helped Ginny prop herself up on some extra pillows before stepping back and waving her wand over her to check on Ginny's injuries.
"Well, you're healing quite well. Your ribs are almost fixed but your arm is going to take another couple of hours." the nurse said.
"Thank you, Madam Pomfrey." Ginny replied.
Sirius made his way back to Ginny's bedside as the nurse nodded and headed back to her office. As she approached, the door opened and out stepped the headmaster, Professor Snape, and Blaise.
"Ah Miss Black, you're awake, how are you feeling?" asked the headmaster.
"Like I've gone a couple of rounds with a hippogriff." Ginny answered.
"Yes, I should think you would. Are you up to giving a statement, we could come back later if you don't feel up to it at the moment?" Dumbledore asked.
"I can give it now." Ginny answered.
"I should be getting back, I'm glad you're awake, Ginny." Blaise said as he turned to Harry. "Let me know if you need anything."
"Thanks, I will." Harry replied at the same time Ginny said "Thank you."
With a final nod Blaise left the hospital wing. Dumbledore and Snape took seats at the foot of Ginny's bed.
"Now Miss Black, can you tell us what happened?" Dumbledore asked, setting up a dictation quill and a piece of parchment.
Ginny took a deep breath. "I had just been to the library. I needed a book to finish one of my essays. I was heading back to my room when I was hit in the back by a body binding spell..."
Over the next hour, Ginny told the gathered group about how Malfoy had used a full body bind curse on her; how once he had caught up to her he'd pinned her against the wall, and then released the spell. She told them how she had kneed him in the groin and tried to run when he had grabbed her breasts. She told them how he had then pulled her by her hair and thrown her into a wall where she hit her head and fell to the floor. She told them how he had kicked and punched her until she couldn't move; all the while calling her names. She told them that he spit on her calling her a whore before walking away.
When she was asked about Ron, she explained that while she had been lying on the floor trying to get up Ron, who had just walked up the stairs, had walked up to her goading her and calling her names before he gave her a kick in the ribs and continued on his way.
When she had finished, she looked to Harry who was visibly shaking with anger. She then turned towards Sirius who had lost all colour in his face. "I'm sorry." she said.
"You have nothing to be sorry for, pup." Sirius said. "Albus, I want Amelia here now. You have Ginny's statement and I want the boy expelled and charged!"
"Sirius, we only have Ginevra's word that this is what happened to her. Mr. Malfoy denies being anywhere near the third floor at the time of the attack and has witnesses to his whereabouts. Mr. Weasley also denies seeing Miss Black this evening. I cannot involve Amelia until we know for certain what happened." Albus replied.
Sirius looked like he was going to explode but it was Harry that spoke. "You will get Amelia here, Headmaster, or I will." he said as Pura, who had been resting on the headboard of Ginny's bed, landed on his shoulder.
"Mr. Potter, you will do no such thing. As I have said until we have enough evidence..." Albus began.
"Get Amelia Bones please, Pura." Harry said.
The headmaster stood up looking lividly at Harry for ignoring him. "Mr. Potter..."
"Headmaster, Ginny has been attacked. She has given a statement and because it was an attack the DMLE needs to be involved. It doesn't matter what evidence we have, Amelia's team will look at each statement and investigate the attack. That's what they're there for. That is their job. Your job is to run this school and keep your students safe, and you're doing a piss poor job at both! You are not an auror, Sir, you are a headmaster. You have no authority to stop us contacting the DMLE. We asked you and you refused, to me that is perverting the course of justice. That Headmaster, is a serious offence." Harry said as he glared at the headmaster.
"I do not care for your attitude, Mr. Potter." said Dumbledore.
Harry just shrugged and turned to look out the window as he waited for Amelia to arrive.
"Sirius, I must ask that we don't bring in Amelia until we have all the facts." Dumbledore said.
"My daughter gave her statement, Albus. I trust Ginny and I don't believe she would lie. So in my eyes we have the facts and I want the boy punished for his actions." Sirius replied. He may have been the guardian in the room, but he surely wasn't stupid enough to override anything Harry had said or done on this matter.
"Sirius, I must insist..." Dumbledore began.
"Insist all you want, Albus, but my godson, daughter, and myself won't say anything else until Amelia gets here." Sirius interrupted.
They didn't have to wait long before Pura flamed in with Amelia. The first person she saw was Harry.
"Harry, as much as I love seeing you, you better have a damn good reason for your phoenix hoisting me away from my dinner!" Amelia said.
"You know that I wouldn't have used Pura to get you unless it was important, Aunt Amelia." Dumbledore's jaw dropped at the way Harry had addressed the head of the DMLE.
"Then tell me why I am here." Amelia demanded as she looked around for the first time and seeing the group that was gathered. "What is going on?"
"Ginny was attacked this afternoon." said Sirius.
"You're Ginny?" Amelia asked as she looked at the young woman.
Sirius nodded as Amelia made her way over to Ginny's bed. "Of course you must be Ginny; Sirius doesn't shut up about you. I never thought being a father would suit him but I've never met someone who brags about their daughter as much as he does. I swear I know more about you and Harry than I do about my niece!"
Ginny looked to Sirius who was blushing slightly but had a grin on his face. She turned back to Amelia. "It's nice to meet you, ma'am."
"Come now, as Sirius' daughter you can call me Aunt Amelia."
"Thank you, Aunt Amelia" Ginny said with a blush.
"Now, who attacked you dear?" Amelia asked.
"Draco Malfoy." Ginny stated.
Snapping out of his shock the headmaster stepped forward. "Amelia, it's good to see you. I'm sorry that you were brought here unnecessarily; I tried to explain to Mr. Potter that we didn't have the evidence needed for your involvement."
"Nonsense, Albus, Harry wouldn't have brought me here unless he felt I needed to be here." Amelia replied.
"The thing is Amelia, we only have Miss Black's statement to say that Mr. Malfoy was involved. Mr. Malfoy denies being in the area where the attack took place and he has witnesses saying he was in his common room at the time." Albus said.
"Well, that can easily be sorted. I take it you have the statements from everyone involved?" Amelia asked.
"Of course, we have everyone's but Harry's." Albus replied.
"I'll submit a memory." Harry said from his place near the window.
Amelia nodded. "Could you submit a memory of the attack, Ginny?"
"I am willing to, but I don't know how." Ginny replied.
"That's okay, dear; if you just think about the event I will draw the memory out." Amelia soothed.
Amelia walked over to Harry and conjured a vial for him to put his memory in and handed it to him. "You know what to do." she said. She then walked over to Ginny.
"Now, if you could just concentrate on the attack, dear, I'll remove a copy of the memory." Amelia instructed as she conjured another vial.
Ginny did as she was asked and Amelia put the tip of her wand against Ginny's temple, withdrawing a silvery wisp and placing it in the vial.
"Was anybody else involved in the attack?" Amelia asked.
"Malfoy was the one who attacked me. Ron Weasley, who used to be my brother, found me lying on the floor. He goaded me and kicked me in the ribs, then he walked away and left me there. Blaise Zabini found me and helped me get to Harry." Ginny answered.
"You have statements from all three students, Albus?" Amelia asked.
"Yes, I also have a statement from Severus; He was with Mr. Potter when Mr. Zabini brought Miss Black to his office." Albus replied.
"Very good, could I see them please so I can make copies?" asked Amelia holding her hand out.
"Of course." the headmaster said as he handed over all the statements.
"Does somebody have a copy of the injuries inflicted?" Amelia asked.
"I have them here." Sirius said handing her the copy Poppy had given him.
"I just have one more question: why did you have Pura come collect me instead of contacting me via floo?" asked Amelia.
"Because the headmaster refused to allow us to contact you." Harry stated, turning to look at Amelia while ignoring the glare the headmaster was giving him.
"Why would you refuse to let them contact me, Albus?" Amelia asked looking confused.
"Because my dear, we didn't have sufficient evidence to get you involved. We have one student's word against another's. Of course I would have contacted you once we had more to go on." Albus replied.
"It is not your place to decide if there is enough evidence to involve me, Albus! This is not a little corridor fight that can be sorted with a detention! This girl has been attacked! Have you even seenthe list of injuries on this parchment? Even if you had no idea who the attacker was I should have still been contacted!" Amelia exclaimed clearly agitated with Dumbledore.
"I was just trying to avoid wasting your time, my dear." Albus replied simply.
"Is there a fireplace I can use to contact my aurors?" Amelia asked ignoring the headmaster's last comment.
"Of course, you can use the one in Poppy's office." said Albus.
Amelia nodded. "When I come back we will need to go to your office, Albus, so that I can use your pensive to view these memories."
"Of course." replied the headmaster.
Once Amelia had closed the door to the nurse's office, Dumbledore turned to Harry. "You will have detention Mr. Potter for ignoring my instructions. I am the headmaster of this school and when I tell you to do or not to do something you will listen."
"How dare you, Albus, Harry will not be serving detention! If you push this I will inform Amelia that you have punished Harry for contacting her about an attack at the school; an attack that youhad no intention of informing the DMLE about!" Sirius exclaimed angrily.
"It's okay, Sirius. Is Monday evening okay for you, Professor Snape?" Harry asked.
"Monday evening will be fine, Mr. Potter." Snape replied.
"Harry, you shouldn't have to serve detention for contacting Amelia." Sirius said. He couldn't understand why Harry had accepted the detention so easily. He was not one to take punishments if he felt they were unjust.
"It's fine, Sirius, really." Harry said hoping that Sirius would understand his tone of voice to mean drop it and he would explain later.
Just then Amelia came out of the office with Dora and another auror Harry didn't recognize. "This is Auror Tonks and Auror Williamson. Auror Tonks will stay with Ginny while Auror Williamson and I will view those memories in your office, Albus."
"Very well." Dumbledore replied.
"Do you think the Malfoy boy will submit his memory of the afternoon to prove his whereabouts?" asked Amelia.
"I doubt that he will but I can ask him." Professor Snape said.
"Thank you, Severus that would be helpful." Amelia said.
Once the headmaster, Professor Snape, Amelia, and Williamson had left the hospital wing Dora went to join Sirius at Ginny's bedside. Leaning over she gently gave the girl a hug and a kiss on the cheek. "How are you feeling, girly?"
"Not too bad at the moment, the pain portion is still working. I feel a bit tired but not enough to try to sleep at the moment." said Ginny.
"Well you just lay there and take it easy." said Dora.
"If Malfoy is arrested and charged, will I have to go to court?" Ginny asked.
"No, pup, because you are underage they can use the statements that have been provided and the memories at the hearing. You wouldn't have to be there." Sirius said.
Ginny nodded. "Harry, are you OK?" she had noticed that he hadn't said anything since the headmaster had given him detention. He'd just been looking out of the window he was standing in front of, though she wasn't sure if he was actually seeing anything on the other side of it or not.
"Yeah, I'm fine." he replied without turning to look at her.
Ginny looked to Sirius who was looking at Harry, then turned to Tonks who shrugged her shoulders in a gesture that meant she had no idea what was wrong. Ginny knew something was wrong; Harry always made eye contact when speaking.
"Well, I'm going to head down to the kitchens and see if I can get those lovely elves to make me some hot chocolate." said Sirius turning back to Ginny. "Do you want anything while I'm there?"
"No, I'm fine thank you." Ginny replied.
Sirius nodded and gave a pointed look at Dora. "I think I'm going to step outside. I'll just be on the other side of the doors if you need me." she said turning to leave with Sirius.
Once the doors had closed behind them Ginny turned her attention back to Harry. "Harry?"
"You are never walking around this castle on your own again." Harry said without turning to face her. "Even if Malfoy gets expelled, if I can't be with you, you will take Rama with you. And if you ever need to go anywhere while Regale is getting over a burning day, I'll be with you. If I'm not available you will wait for me." he spoke quietly but there was a tone to his voice that said this was not up for discussion.
Ginny would have argued if she didn't agree with him. She wasn't entirely happy that it had come across as an order, but she believed he was feeling guilty and this was his way of dealing with it. She would play along for now. She didn't want him to feel guilty though, this was her fault. She should have listened to him. She should have taken Rama with her when he had asked her to. But she had been tired of feeling like a scared little girl and wanted to prove to herself more than anything that she could be at school without having to have a minder. How wrong she had been.
"Okay." she said quietly.
At this Harry did turn round; he had expected some sort of argument.
"I'm not joking" he said.
"I know." Ginny replied.
"You scared the life out of me, Gin. When I saw Blaise standing there with you in his arms, covered in blood and bruises…" Harry let out a breath through his mouth and shook his head. "I can't lose you, Ginny." he finished in almost a whisper.
"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, Harry. I should have listened to you." Ginny said as tears started to run down her cheeks again.
Harry left his spot by the window and made his way to Ginny, sitting on the edge of the bed. He reached up and gently wiped the tears on her cheek away with the pad of his thumb. "Don't cry, what's done is done. We won't make the same mistakes again."
As his hand fell away from her face Ginny caught it in her own small hand and held it tight. "Will you tell me about what being an aura reader means? I just want to talk about something other than the attack." she asked.
"Okay, well, every witch or wizard has a magical aura. There are very few people who can see them, these people are aura readers. Most magical people can feel an aura from a powerful witch or wizard, like you said you can feel Dumbledore's aura. Our magic is closely linked to our emotions and this shows in our magical auras. So by being a reader, I can tell if someone is happy, sad, angry, and so on. I can also tell if someone is lying. We can't influence our auras on purpose so anything I can read in their aura is the truth. If the person is lying when they speak their aura flickers yellow. So even though a person might be able to keep their emotions hidden from their face and voice, they can't influence the emotions shown in their aura. I can also tell if someone is dark because they have evil emotions, and every magical being's aura has different shades of colours in them; the darker the person the darker their aura." Harry finished explaining, "Does any of that make any sense?"
"I think so," replied Ginny, "what colours are in my aura?"
Harry smiled. "Your aura is mainly gold, meaning you are pure of heart. There is some dark blue, meaning you have had bad experiences that you are still suffering from, and that are still causing you emotional hurt. Then there is bright red in there, meaning you feel love whether it is given or received, and lastly there is light green which shows you can be cunning."
"Cunning?" asked Ginny.
"How do you think you were sorted into Slytherin?" Harry asked with a chuckle. "You don't have to be evil to be in the house of snakes, Gin; you should know that from talking to Uncle Salazar. Being sorted into Slytherin means you are cunning, resourceful, and ambitious."
"I suppose you're right." Ginny agreed.
"Do you want to know about the prophecy as well?" he asked.
At Ginny's nod, Harry began, "Before I was born, a prophecy was made and this is what it said: 'The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches ... born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies ... and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not ... and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives ... the one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord will be born as the seventh month dies ...'
"At the time it was given it could have referred to one of two boys; I was one of them. Someone overheard the first part of the prophecy and told it to Voldemort. He decided that it applied to me, but because he didn't know what the rest of the prophecy said, he didn't know that by trying to kill me he had actually fulfilled part of it. He marked me as his equal." Harry lifted his hair to revile his scare to prove his point. "So, still want to be my best friend knowing that someday I'm going to be a murderer? I'm not planning on dying." he said it as a joke, but Ginny knew he was far from joking.
"I will always be your best friend, Harry. No prophecy is going to change that, and I don't think you would be a murderer because Voldemort was a monster. It would be like putting down a rabid dog." Ginny replied.
"Thank you." Harry simply said.
Just then the hospital doors opened and Amelia, Sirius, Auror Williamson, the headmaster, Dora, and Professor Snape entered.
"Well?" Harry asked.