Chapter 10
Harry could see the look of astonished panic on Ginny's face, but it was too late. A mixture of anguish and anger shot through him as she disappeared. Harry's wand was out and he wanted nothing more than to curse anyone that might be responsible. Hermione and Ron both had jumped when he yelled and had seen Ginny disappear as well. They had drawn their wands, and then they saw three men rushing toward them with wands out in front. Harry, Ron and Hermione all ducked behind the table. Looking around the edge, Harry was just about to stun the nearest one, when he recognized the face, it was Vincent the Auror.
"Hold up, we're Aurors," Vincent cried out, but Ron had already shot a stunner, fortunately the last Auror was able to block it. "Potter, do you recognize me? I was there at the last attack."
Harry wasn't coming out from cover just yet, "Who did I request you call last week?"
"Arthur Weasley." Vincent said. And Harry nodded to Ron and Hermione and they stood up. Vincent continued "We are going to cast an anti-apparation field around the area." Vincent did a quick jerk of his head at the other two Aurors who took up positions on opposing sides of the café and started a series of incantations.
"You better let Arthur know to come again." Harry said softly as emotions drained from him. "His daughter was just taken."
"I'll take care of that." Hermione said grimly, and with a wave of her wand and an "Expectro Pantronum" a silver otter appears, she gave it instructions and it disappeared in a flash of silver light.
"What did you tell it to tell him?" Harry asked.
"Just to come to Diagon Alley, another attack happened."
"OK." Harry said, and turning to Vincent "You three responded pretty quickly, were you patrolling nearby?" Harry asked.
"No, we have been um, following your group."
Harry didn't even have the fire to get angry at being followed so he just asked "Why?"
"Molly Weasley contacted Arthur to let him know you were coming back to Diagon Alley and one thing, led to another and we were assigned to follow you. Arthur let us know about your cloak and that you might use it. We saw you disappear under it in the Leaky Cauldron, so we guessed you were in that empty chair, especially when one of the ice creams disappeared off the table. So can you tell us what happened?" Vincent asked.
Before Harry could start speaking, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley had come running up, "What's going on Harry," Mrs. Weasley asked, and then looking around her voice took in a note of panic, "Where's Ginny?"
Harry told the Weasley's and the Aurors everything that had happened. How the waiter had come up and asked for the autograph, and then how from under the cloak he had seen the wand come up, how he started to react, but couldn't do anything in time. When he finished he was blinking back tears, Ginny was in danger and he hadn't protected her.
The other two Aurors started asking questions of all the other patrons, and then of the café owner, a few minutes later, a figure stumbled out of the bathroom holding his head. It was the waiter.
Harry was one of the first to look around when he saw the waiter; it took him less than a second to be in front of him, his wand pointed directly at him. "WHERE'S GINNY?"
"What? What happened?" The waiter asked.
By then Vincent had made it there and pulled Harry back, then he turned back to the waiter. "You were seen apparating away, forcefully taking an underaged witch, where did you take her?"
"I, I don't know what you're talking about, I–", the Waiter stated rubbing his head, "I just woke up and found myself on the bathroom floor."
Vincent looked the waiter, then noticing a patch of hair missing "Damn, polyjuice potion, see the hair missing?" He said to the other Aurors, "Still we will take him for questioning." Turning back to the waiter, "We will need your wand please." The waiter pulled his wand out and handed it over to the Auror.
Harry saw the wand, "That's not the wand he had when–,"
"No, the wand is usually the tip off when it comes to polyjuice potion." Vincent said "One of the things you learn to look for at Auror Training. Polyjuice potion, of course can alter the body, but the person still has the same wand. Get use to what you friend's wands look like and you can almost always tell if it's them."
Harry had never thought of that, he remembered using polyjuice potion in his second year, and if he had had to pull out his wand, would it have given him away? Would Draco have recognized it not being Goyle's wand?
After making sure all the questions were answered, the Weasley's, Harry and Hermione flooed back to the Burrow. Harry couldn't make eye contact with either Mr. or Mrs. Weasley. Ginny was gone and it was his fault. He ran up the steps and fell on the bed, thinking about Ginny, her eyes, the smell of her hair, her laugh and tears started to fall. He had to get her back, she was his life.
He laid there replaying what he could remember over and over, was there something he could have done differently to protect her? He could see it becoming sharper in his mind, her blushing as she looked at the photo and started to sign it, the wand in the waiter's hand as it was com–, the wand!
He ran down the steps, and came to an abrupt stop at the bottom; Kingsley Shacklebolt, Arthur and several other men and women were swarming around the Burrow. They were examining every parcel and letter that had come the previous morning.
"Mr. Weasley, Minister," Harry began and the whole room suddenly went quiet as everyone turned to look at him. Harry looked at Mr. Weasley and said "I'm sorry sir, it's my fault. If she wasn't my…" and tears started forming in his eyes.
"Harry, don't do this to yourself. It wasn't your fault." Mr. Weasley started, his own eyes holding back tears.
"Harry, we think that since the kidnapper was using the prophet with yours and her photo he might be a fan. Maybe a Wizard who thinks taking your girlfriend will make him you, or a witch who fancies you and wants Ginny out of the way. So we are examining everything that was delivered yesterday and maybe we will get lucky." Kingsley said.
"Why are you here Kingsley? Don't you have other matters to take care of at the Ministry?" Harry asked. "Not to say I'm not grateful but–"
"Harry, let's say I've taken a personal interest in this case." Kingsley replied.
"Sir, I was upstairs, thinking everything over," Harry started "and then I remembered what Vincent said about the wand being the giveaway in polyjuice potions. I was thinking, what if I show my memory of the wand to Mr. Ollivander? He says he can remember every wand he ever made."
"Mr. Ollivander has previously been unhelpful about wand identifications in the past." Kingsley said, "He always says he needs to keep himself from thinking about what his wands might have done."
"Please, can you send an Auror or someone to ask him?" Harry asked "Tell him it's for me and for, for Dobby."
"Sure Harry," Kingsley replied, "I'll send someone immediately." He walked over to one of the people sorting through the mail and quickly spoke to him, the Auror, got up and went to the fireplace and was gone in a rush of green flames. Fifteen minutes later he re-emerged, and spoke to Kingsley.
"He'll do it Harry. Ollivander will meet us at the Ministry in one hour."
A few minutes later, Harry, Kingsley and Arthur flooed to the Ministry where they went to the Department of Law Enforcement. Kingsley had a Memory extraction specialist called in, and had a Pensieve brought out. Once the witch who would be extracting the memory got there, she took Harry into a private room and began the process.
"Hello Harry, my name is Emma," She said in a soothing voice, "Have you ever had a memory extracted?"
"Uh, no, but I've seen one extracted from someone else." Harry replied.
"Good, then you know what we are trying to do."
"Yeah, the memory is going to come out in some kind of silvery stuff." Harry responded.
"Very good, Harry. Here's what I need you to do, you need to clearly focus on the memory we are going to extract. When I put my wand to your temple, I want you to visualize that memory going into the wand. Understand?" Emma asked.
"I guess"
"Ok, focus on the memory. Can you see it clearly?" and when Harry nodded affirmative, "I'm putting my wand up now, ok Harry can you push the memory toward the wand? Visualize it leaving you mind and going toward the wand."
Harry could feel a coolness in his mind that seem to correspond to the memory sliding across his mind toward the wand."
"Excellent Harry," Emma continued quietly as the first silver mass started coming out onto the wand. "Keep it coming; let me know when you feel the memory is all the way out." And a second later, Harry replied, "I think you have it all."
Emma took the tip of her wand and put it in a small bottle and the silvery liquid like substance rolled off the end of the wand into the bottom of the bottle. She looked at it carefully, "Excellent Harry, exceptional quality. You have a good memory."
"Uh, thanks." Harry replied.
"Is there any other memories I need to collect?" Emma asked.
"No I think that is the only one."
Harry and Emma rejoined the Mr. Weasley and Kingsley, by then Mr. Ollivander had joined them as well. Harry could see that Mr. Ollivander looked very distressed. They went over to the Pensieve and poured the memory into it and gave a little stir.
"Harry, you, Mr. Ollivander and I will go together." Kingsley suggested "Arthur, you might want to stay here." And the three of them entered the Pensieve and the world dissolved and Harry was back at the café, the waiter was right there in front of him. Harry wanted to grab him and protect Ginny. Harry noticed Kingsley and Mr. Ollivander beside him, looking at the waiter and at the wand, and suddenly they were back in the evidence room, in front of the Pensieve. Harry looked around and Mr. Ollivander had tears coming down his cheeks, and Kingsley had a furious look upon his face.
"Mr. Ollivander," Kingsley started in his deep voice "I would like your opinion but I am positive I know that wand already since I have had it pointed at me on more than one occasion."
With tears coming down quite steady now, Mr. Ollivander said shakily "Birch, ten and a half inches, dragon heartstring, flexible…it belongs to Yaxley."
"YAXLEY?" Arthur yelled, "WHY did he take Ginny?"
"Obviously, he thinks he can bring pressure on Harry, and through Harry to me." Kingsley said and the knot in Harry's stomach tripled in size.
Harry saw Mr. Ollivander sit down and continue to silently cry. "Sir," Harry said quietly, "Thank you for doing this. I know Kingsley said you do not like to. May I ask why?"
Mr. Ollivander looked up and murmured, "I remember every wand I make and sell Mr. Potter. They are all like my own children. To be told that one of my wands has done evil, hurts, but to actually see it, to feel it having been used for such atrocities, it causes me grief to no end."
"I'm sorry Mr. Ollivander, I truly am." Harry said.
Kingsley was talking to Arthur when Harry joined then, "The good thing is, he won't hurt her anytime soon, since he will use her to get to us. Of course the bad news is we don't know what he is going to want, and we have been trying to find him for a month with no success. Damn if it weren't for those Dementors, I could put more Aurors on this case."
"What about the Dementors?" Harry asked "Aren't they back at Azkaban?"
"Yes they are, Harry." Kingsley replied.
"Are they still leaving it then, even with the prisoners there?"
"There are no prisoners there, Harry, or I should say the Dementors are the prisoners at Azkaban."
"WHAT?" Harry exclaimed.
Kingsley went on to explain that he wasn't about to bring the Dementors back into the service of the Ministry after they had worked for Voldemort. Kingsley felt as strongly as Dumbledore did that Dementors were to evil.
"But since magical confinement doesn't work on Dementors," Kinglsey continued " I have to keep at least twenty Aurors surrounding Azkaban to prevent them from escaping. As they grow hungrier I might have to increase that number to sustain control. I just wished there was a way to destroy them."
"What about the prisoners, where are they?" Harry asked.
"We converted a Muggle prison outside of London into a wizard prison. Put up magical shields and such. Muggles think it is a new prison that never got completed.
Harry thought of the Malfoy's, and wondered "Are they there in that muggle prison, or still at Malfoy Manor waiting for their trial?" The image of Lucius Malfoy sneering at him when Harry had been lured here to the Ministry of Magic came sharply to mind. Tears formed in his eyes as again he saw his godfather Sirius tumbling back through the Veil and just disappear. Thinking of Sirius brought back other memories, when Sirius had asked him to come live with him at Grimmauld place, of him lying on the ground being attacked by Dementors….."
"Sir, what would happen if a Dementor was forced through the Veil. The one Siri–, the one in the Department of Mysteries?" Harry asked.
Kingsley, who had still been talking with Mr. Weasley, took a second to reconstruct what Harry had asked. "Well it would, it should…. I don't know." Kingsley turned to a wizard who had joined them, "Go to the Department of Mysteries, and find the Head Unspeakable and whoever their expert is for the Death veil. I want them in my office in 10 minutes."
"Yes sir." and the wizard was running from the room.
Turning back to Harry and Mr. Weasley, "OK, let's go to my office. I will bring in every off duty Auror and put them on Ginny's case. I have people tracking any possibility of her trace activating. But for now there isn't much more we can do for Ginny except wait to see what Yaxley wants and hope he makes a mistake."
Five minutes later they were in Kingsley's office. No one was speaking and Harry was still having a hard time looking Mr. Weasley in the eye. "He trusted me with his daughter and she is gone because of me.." He kept thinking.
A little later another man was shown in, Kingsley looked at him. "You wanted to see me Minister?"
"Yes Tiberius, I did. How are things down in the Department of Mysteries?" Kingsley queried.
"Fine Minister, security has been increased in every department. Permanent Anti-Apparation fields have been included to shield the entire department and we are almost complete with our internal review with only minor irregularities." Tiberius replied.
"Who is your best witch or wizard when it comes to the Veil in the Death Chamber?" Kinsley asked.
"That is my specialty, sir." Tiberius said "I've been working on it for 18 years. Mostly fruitless, still do not know what the purpose of it is."
"Mr. Potter here, was wondering what would happen if a Dementor was forced into the Veil?" Kingsley stated.
A look of surprise, then puzzlement, then an expression of thoughtfulness spread over Tiberius's face "Well, the veil separates the body from the soul, destroying the body and passing the soul into the beyond." Tiberius explained "A Dementor has no soul, and a body no known magic can destroy. It might just bounce off the veil, but I really can't say."
"Get your people studying it. If there is even the slightest chance that thing can destroy Dementors, I need to know." Kingsley ordered.
"Yes sir. Is there anything else?" Tiberius asked.
"Anything new down there that could help find an unplottable location or trace an apparation?" Kingsley asked.
"No sir."
"Had to ask." Kingsley responded. "Thank you Tiberius, please get on the Dementor issue immediately and keep me informed."
"I will do that Minister."
Mr. Weasley and Harry left the Minister's office and flooed back to the Burrow. Mr. Weasley went to tell his wife what was learned. A little later Harry could hear Mrs. Weasley crying as she sat with her husband in the sitting room. Harry went up to Ron's and his bedroom and found Ron and Hermione sitting there talking. Harry couldn't look Ron in the eye either. He just laid down and looked at the ceiling.
"Harry," Hermione started, "It's not your fault", Harry just turned away and looked at the wall. A little later Ron and Hermione left the room. Bill, who had come when he heard the news, and George both tried to discuss it with Harry but he ignored both of them.
George came back a little later and tried again, "Harry, someone recently convinced me that dwelling on memories isn't a good thing. Do you think my sister would want this? You, moping in your room. I would bet she is out there expecting you to show up any second and rescue her. Now it's my opinion that you are going to have a hard time doing that laying in that bed."
"What can I do, the whole Ministry has been searching for Yaxley, and they haven't found him yet?" Harry asked.
"If I'm not mistaken, all of Hogwarts looked for the Chamber of Secrets for a thousand years, but you were able to find it." George said "Harry, you might not be able to do anything, but if something does happen to Ginny, do you want to remember that you tried your best to find her or that you laid here and let it happen without trying."
At those words, it seemed like the darkness was lifted from Harry's mind. The image of Ginny that had been overwhelming his senses receded, and an image of Yaxley appeared and inner rage started boiling up in Harry. The tears receded and a determination grew.
"Thanks." Harry said, "Been an idiot haven't I?"
"What are brothers far Harry? Now get up and find my sister." George replied.
It wasn't until the next morning that anything could be done. Harry suffered a long night where he tossed and turned until finally exhaustion dragged him into a deep slumber where he dreamed he was back in the Chamber of Secrets and there was Ginny laying on the floor, but it wasn't an eleven year old Ginny laying there. It was the almost seventeen year old Ginny. The one he had just kissed yesterday morning, the one he had spent hours with just enjoying her company. It wasn't Ron's sister lying there, it was Harry's love. He awoke with a start, and found wetness on his cheeks. Not daring to go back to sleep, Harry trudged down the steps only to find Mr. and Mrs. Weasley already at the kitchen table. Neither of whom, looked like they had got any sleep.
"Good morning Harry dear," Mrs. Weasley said with a hint of sadness in her voice. "Breakfast?"
"I'm not hungry." Harry answered.
"At least have some toast, it will help settle your stomach."
Harry sat there looking at the toast, nibbling every once in a while. Finally Mr. Weasley spoke "Harry, son, Molly and I want you to know that we love you and know this isn't your fault. No matter what might happen, you are part of this family."
Harry swallowed hard, and nodded, but could not speak.
It was a little later when a whoosh came from the sitting room, and Kingsley walked into the kitchen.
"We got an unregistered Owl this morning at the ministry," Kingsley said "we are trying to trace it but it's not likely it will do any good. But we know what Yaxley wants now. He says he will trade Ginny for Harry and the Elder Wand."
"WHAT?" Arthur said,
"NO" Mrs. Weasley said.
"Kingsley, what do I need to do?" Harry asked quietly.
"What Harry?" He replied.
"What do I need to do to trade myself for Ginny?" Harry asked again.
"We can't let you do that Harry–" Mr. Weasley started.
"It's my decision, and not even that hard of one, what do I need to do." Harry asked Kingsley again.
"Yaxley didn't give specific instructions; he said they would come later in the day. Harry if you do this, it's possible that he will kill you both." Kingsley said.
"Yes, but if he thinks I won't do anything for Ginny, he will most definitely kill her. So I have no choice."
As the word spread to the rest of the Weasley family, everyone was coming up to Harry trying to get him to talk about it. They were all torn between the prospect of losing Ginny and of losing both Ginny and Harry.
Finally around lunchtime when Bill was making for Harry a third time in the last hour, Harry felt a burst of frustration. "Can't they understand I have to do this." he thought. "I would prefer to die, giving Ginny a chance to live or die with her than to live without her." He felt a need to get away.
"I'll go to Grimmauld place, at least there I can deny them entry and no one else can even see the place, with all the protections Dumbledore had put on it," he thought. Harry remembered Hermione telling him about the Fidelius Charm and how it was unplottable, then he remembered how He, Ron and Hermione had stayed there last year during the horcrux hunt before…DAMN!
Just as Bill got to Harry, Harry took off for the Burrow, when he entered the kitchen, seeing Mrs. Weasley, "Mum, where's Dad, I think I know where Yaxley is!"
Hermione and Ron were sitting at the table and Hermione asked "Where?" Just as Arthur and Kingsley came into the kitchen to find out what Harry's commotion was about.
"My house, I mean, 12 Grimmauld place. Remember Yaxley knows about it and he got inside the Fidelius Charm when we apparated there with him." Harry started. "Think about it, he's been there waiting for me to show up on the doorstep since it's my house. Harry Potter gift wrapped and delivered."
"Well if he is there, then he would be alone." Arthur said. "He wasn't a secret keeper so even if the location was disclosed to him, he could not get anyone else in there except those who already know about it like Ginny.
"Don't be so sure of that sir." Harry said.
"Why?"
"Sir, last summer you told us that the Order moved out of Grimmauld place because once Dumbledore died all people who he had confided the location to became secret keepers right?" Harry asked.
"Yes Harry that is how the Fidelius Charm works," Mr. Weasley replied, "But Yaxley only got inside the Fidelius Charm after Dumbledore's death."
"But at least three people who became secret keepers have died since Yaxley got in." Harry said thinking of Lupin, Tonks and Fred who all had died during the Battle of Hogwarts. "Wouldn't that pass along the secret keeper status to him?"
As that information sunk in, Mr. Weasley and Kingsley exchanged very nervous glances.
A/N I'm still banned, this is contraband updating!! SO i expect reviews!
It doesn't help that i nearly failed my last math test :(
About the secret keepers,
In Deathly Hallows, Ghoul in Pajamas, it has Mr. Weasley explaining why the Order stopped using Grimmauld place as headquarters. Quoted from Deathly Hallows by JK Rowling So I extended that to mean if one of those secret keepers died, then anyone else who had the location confided to them, in this case Yaxley, would themselves become secret keeper. Seems to be a huge hole in this complex protective charm, but I will take what I can to stay with canon and move my plot along.