Chapter 11—Imperial Efffects

Ginny went for her wand, but Hermione stopped her. She looked up again and saw that Harry's wand was out, too. How had he managed to draw it while distracted by Cho's spectacle?

"What's happening?" Ron hissed. "I want to see."

"Shh!" Hermione said, "Don't be a pig."

Cho seemed to pause. "Fight it, Cho," Harry said. "I know it's not you. You can fight it."

Her arm came around to aim at Harry, but it was slow and it was trembling. "Stop me!" she managed to blurt, before firing a red jet that Harry sidestepped.

"Sorry, Cho," Harry said, as he hit her dead center with a stunner.

Harry was already moving towards her as she crumpled, and he quickly pulled her robes over her. Hermione whipped the cloak off and she and Ginny started to run in. Ron said, "Wait!" and Hermione went back to cancel the charm on his vision.

Harry was just pondering Cho when Ginny dashed in. She wanted to ask how he could resist her, but didn't know a way to put the question. Harry spoke first. "Are we still all clear on the map?"

Ginny's eyes bugged; she forgot all about the Map.

Hermione had too, apparently, because when she and Ron dashed in, she was a little frantic. "Harry, look!" On the map, dots for Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle were only a few corridors away.

Harry hissed out, "I'm going to stay here; I might be able to break Cho's curse. Think you three can let them slip by you and then drop with your first salvo?"

"In the back?" Ron looked appalled. Ginny and Hermione just nodded.

"Ron, I just want you to stun them, not hex them into oblivion with some cheap shots." Ron didn't look convinced, so Harry said, "They are obviously in on whatever plot this was, and I want them to have no idea about how their plan failed. We want to get information from them not give any away."

Ron nodded, and Harry practically pushed them out of the room and closed the door. That was a good idea; they didn't need to go far, they only had to duck into doorway a little down the hall and stay quiet.

Ginny whispered, "I'll take Malfoy."

Ron looked like he wanted to argue, but Hermione nodded. Malfoy was the smallest target and Ginny's accuracy was most consistent. Hermione whispered, "I'll take whichever brute is on the left. I'll count one and two with my fingers, then pull the cloak over on three, then we'll fire. Say the spell if not sure you've got it silently." Ginny and Ron nodded, and then they stayed still and quiet.

It had looked like the Slytherins were close on the Map, but the wait felt like forever. They had the perfect set-up for an ambush, but Ginny was thinking about how fast some events changed. She was thinking about the sudden appearance of Death Eaters in the Ministry and the rapid, out-of-control events when they visited Diagon Alley. She shifted her wand to the other hand, wiped her damp palm on her robes, and tried to shake out her wand arm without disturbing the cloak. She got a new grip on her wand; she wanted it comfortable, firm, but not too tight, just like Harry showed them all in DA last year. She thought about how Harry seemed to maintain his cool in hairy situations. Harry situations, she almost giggled out loud. She took a deep breath, and waited in a calmer frame of mind.

When the Slytherins entered the corridor, it seemed like they had no concerns for stealth. They plodded down the center of the hall, and they were speaking in low voices, but above a whisper. "I can't wait to see Potter's face. I think I'll kick it in," Malfoy said.

Crabbe and Goyle chuckled, and one of them—who knows which—said, "Can we take Chang, after?"

Malfoy said, "Why not? She'll be Obliviated anyway. Standard practice; maybe we'll use her again."

Ginny fought the urge to curse him right then, which was just as they were passing. She waited for Hermione's signal, which came about six paces later. Ginny watched as Hermione put out one finger, two, saw the film of the cloak pull to the side as she focused her sights again on Malfoy, and said, quietly, "Stupefy."

The same word came twice from her left and three jets of red hit the Slytherins in the back as they crumpled.

Ginny let out a breath and relaxed. She snapped her wand up again as a figure appeared almost right in front of Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle.

"Excellent work," he said.

"Dammit, Harry!" Ginny said, perhaps overloud. "I almost cursed you!"

"Where did you come from mate?" Ron had a big grin. Ginny couldn't tell if he too felt relieved that the stress was over or if he just liked seeing Malfoy cursed.

"I decided Cho wasn't going anywhere, so I slipped out here disillusioned. I was against the same wall as you."

"You just left Cho?" Hermione asked.

"She's out cold. I decided it might kinder for Dumbledore and Flitwick to wake her up and break the curse. I'll talk to her, but not right away."

That made sense. If that had been Ginny, she'd be mortified. Ginny knew something about being forced to do things against friends; she decided to talk to Cho soon, too. It was easier to make that decision knowing Harry had turned her down on the train and resisted the show she just put on.

"So..." Hermione began.

"Yeah," said Harry. "Now we go to Dumbledore."

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A/N: This isn't my planned end to the chappie, but I promised to resolve the cliffie soon, so here it is.