The Carrows' Calling
Disclaimer: We do not, unfortunately, own Harry Potter and its characters. It all belongs to J.K. Rowling, the creater of these amazing characters.
Chapter Eleven
Ginny woke the next day with a strong determination. She checked her schedule—nothing with the Carrows before lunch. Ginny couldn't help but feel relieved. She walked to her classes with a spring in her steps, feeling somehow lighter, with a sense of happiness. But before she knew it, it was lunchtime.
Ginny chatted aimlessly with Neville. But after a while, a sound made her stop the conversation: quiet, familiar crying. Elizabeth. Ginny quickly excused herself and rushed towards the noise. As she expected, there was Elizabeth Abagot, trying to silence her sobs. No one else seemed to notice; Ginny wondered why she had, from the other side of the room. Perhaps the sound was burned into her mind; it was the time Professor McGonagall was hit by the Cruciatus Curse. She shook herself from the thought; this was not the time for regret, and looked at Elizabeth. Ginny gasped at the sight of her hand. It was cut, still bleeding. Nothing like Ginny's arm, which still throbbed with pain now and then, but…
"Ginny?" Elizabeth mumbled, wiping her tears away. "Why are you here?"
"Why is your hand cut?" Ginny asked, not bothering to answer her question. Elizabeth shivered.
"It was the C-Carrows. I got talked back to her-er and she yelled at me to shut up… " Fresh tears ran down her face. Ginny patiently waited for Elizabeth to calm down. "Professor Carrow wanted us to talk about killing muggles! My best friend is a muggle-born!" Bloody idiots. Ginny thought darkly. "I was supposed to read this book, all about muggles and killing them! But I couldn't, it was horrifying and they gave me detention and cut my hand and now…" Elizabeth buried her face in her hands as Ginny patted her back, and tried to calm her down. She whispered Accio bandages, and taking one, she wrapped Elizabeth's hand up.
"It's going to be OK, Elizabeth, it will be alright," Ginny said, pulling her in for a hug, anger burning at the Carrows. She could almost feel the fire in her chest and the flames sparkling in her eyes. Elizabeth wrapped her arms around Ginny's neck and sniffed.
"I think I feel better now," she spoke softly, after a moment.
"When is your detention?" Ginny asked.
"Next week, 6:30," she said timidly, as if she was afraid to admit that she had gotten into trouble. Ginny was surprised that Elizabeth wasn't afraid of the detention itself, considering what was happening at the school. And with the Carrows here too. Ginny nodded, and stood up.
"Do you want to walk to the Gryffindor common room with me?" Elizabeth nodded with a small smile on her face, wiping the last of her tears away. She clasped her hand into Ginny's and they began to walk out of the Great Hall.
"Did you grow up in a muggle place?" Ginny asked politely.
"Yes, my mum's a witch and my dad's a muggle. He found out when I was born. Mum told him. Huge shock for him. She told me he fainted!" Elizabeth giggled. OK, thank Merlin she's not a muggle-born.
"Is this the first time you're doing magic?"
"No, I've had little slips before, Mum said that it was OK." Suddenly, they bumped into Professor McGonagall, nearly knocking her off her feet.
"Ladies! Watch where you're going! Please!" She said sharply, startled. Ginny recovered first.
"So sorry, Professor, we were just heading to the common room."
She was about to just let it slide, and continue walking, but then Ginny looked carefully at Professor McGonagall, and inwardly gasped. There were bags under her eyes, as if she hadn't slept in days, weeks even. Strands of hair were loose from her normally tight, upright bun, and if Ginny looked closely, there was a faint, but huge, gash across her cheek. It was barely there; it seemed to be hastily covered up with a Disillusion Charm or makeup. She also seemed to have lost weight; her robes hung off her already thin frame.
Elizabeth asked Ginny's unanswered question.
"Are you alright, Professor?"
The professor's head snapped up, and for a split second her eyes shone with panic. "Yes, I am quite fine, thank you for asking," Professor McGonagall said in her firm, no nonsense voice (although Ginny didn't quite believe her).
Ginny noticed her hand move up, and touch her concealed cut discreetly. But as she did this, Ginny saw another huge gash on the back of her hand, leading up all the way up her sleeve, which had rolled down her arm. Professor McGonagall seemed to have noticed that Ginny saw, because she quickly pulled her sleeve down, dropping her hand.
Ginny was worried now, and studied Professor McGonagall carefully. She then noticed a purple, greenish bruise coming from out of the neck of her robes. Professor McGonagall looked up suddenly, noticed Ginny's scrutinization, and something flashed in her eyes. It was anger.
Ginny was confused as in why Professor McGonagall would be angry now, but then she saw her eyes lingering on Ginny's right arm. She must know. Ginny's eyes widened.
"Miss. Abagot, you may return to the common room. I need to have a word or two with Miss. Weasley here," Professor McGonagall said firmly, and Elizabeth left, running in the direction of the common room with a sideways glance at Ginny, who sent a look that said 'don't worry. Everything's fine. Although she wasn't sure if that was true.
Professor McGonagall beckoned her and turned around. Ginny rushed to follow, and before she knew it, they faced the tall, spruce, lion-headed handle door of Professor McGonagall's office. Professor McGonagall whispered the password, and for a moment, Ginny thought she heard 'Potter'.
The door swung open and Professor McGonagall immediately pointed her wand at the cold, empty fireplace. A warm, crackling fire began to blaze, heating the office almost at once. Professor McGonagall stepped in and Ginny followed her. The door closed with a click. Professor McGonagall sat down at one of the armchairs by the fire, and used a hand gesture that implied that Ginny do the same. She sat down gingerly in the chair, wondering what Professor McGonagall was going to talk to her about. I think I already know, though.
"I think you already know what you're here for." McGonagall voiced Ginny's thoughts. She nodded. "Well then, I won't waste any time dilly-dallying." Ginny braced herself. "What have you been doing for your detentions?"
At the word detention, Ginny flinched as restrained memories surged back. And that, it seemed, answered McGonagall's question. She looked shocked, then angry, then defeated. She collapsed even more into her chair. She put her head in her hands. "Just as I thought." Ginny rushed to correct Professor McGonagall. This was exactly what she feared would happen.
"No, Professor, it's okay. I'm fine now, and as far as I know, no one else has been tortured…" Ginny felt guilty as the lie escaped her mouth, but she was convinced it was for McGonagall's own good.
"Don't lie to me, Miss. Weasley." Still feeling guilty, Ginny looked down. There was a pause; it seemed as if McGonagall was waiting for Ginny's reply.
"Um, okay. That girl I was walking with—Elizabeth Abagot—got cut by the Carrows during detention, but only once, and, um, Luna's, Neville's, and my classes were taught the Cruciatus Curse," Ginny admitted quietly, not wanting to worry Professor McGonagall any further, but not wanting to lie, either. "But none of us could cast it very well; we weren't hurt seriously!" she quickly and hastily added, seeing Professor McGonagall's jolt of angry surprise.
"They taught you…? How could they do that, and…" she trailed off, for once not bothering to mask her exhaustion and shock. It didn't help Ginny's growing anxiety and worry either.
She kept quiet as Professor McGonagall slowly regained her composure. "I don't have words to describe how shocked I am, Miss. Weasley. I'm sorry I didn't realise this sooner. If there's anything I can do to help, please tell me now, and I will do my absolute best to fulfill them."
Ginny was surprised at her words. She could ask for Professor McGonagall's help! But then, she slowed down and thought it out. Do I really want to make Professor McGonagall even more stressed? She's looking worse than ever these days. I don't want to worry her more.
After a pause, Ginny made her decision, and looked Professor McGonagall in the eye.
"It's fine. I'm fine." Ginny smiled gently.
"Are you sure you don't want me to do anything? Although you are doing mighty fine without my help." McGonagall said with a trace of humour. After a moment, Ginny understood and laughed.
"Yes, we appear to be. And it's alright, you really don't have to get involved with this."
"Well, listen to you, sounding more like a professor than me!" they laughed quietly, and Ginny felt warmer as she felt a spark of motherly affection from the professor across from her.
"Well, Professor I really must get going to my next class," Ginny said, disappointed that their little chat had to end so soon, but really not wanting to be late.
"Of course. Please tell Professor Slughorn that I was the one that kept you," Professor McGonagall said. Ginny was surprised that Professor McGonagall knew about her schedule. But then again, she's the one who made it. Ginny nodded and began to leave. Then Professor McGonagall grabbed her wrist with surprising force.
"Miss. Weasley. If anything like that happens again, please alert me at once," Professor McGonagall said, the firmness in her voice returning. She stared Ginny in the eye, who nodded.
"You may go, please close the door behind you." Ginny nodded and left, not intending to tell Professor McGonagall anything more about her detentions. Well, I ought to get one soon, since I can't keep my mouth shut. I can't worry that woman any more than she already is. She looks like she's been to hell and back.
Ginny ran down to the common room and grabbed her things. She rushed to her first class, Potions. Slughorn didn't say anything to her about being late, and asked her to sit down for class. She curiously didn't get any more jeers, although she got some weird looks from the Slytherins, as if they knew that she was the one who vandalised the school.
Potions rushed by without anything very important, and before she knew it, she was at Transfiguration. Luna was already there, and waved at Ginny.
"How was your first class?" Luna asked as Ginny sat down in the seat beside her.
"Good, I had Potions. You?"
"Great, actually. I had Charms." Ginny knew that Charms was Luna favourite subject. Then, the door of the classroom opened and Professor McGonagall walked in. She didn't even glance at Ginny, as if the conversation in the morning never happened. Ginny felt kind of hurt from this; McGonagall had always, in some ways, been a second mother to her. She was the one who had been there after the Riddle incident. She was the one that Ginny would go to if she had a problem. Remember, Ginny, there's a reason why you're not telling her anything.
The lesson swept by, Professor McGonagall not making eye contact with Ginny at all. And soon, it was lunch time, and Ginny ran down to the Great Hall, wondering if the words were still there. And there they were, painted in bright, eye-catching red on the back wall of the Great Hall. The Carrow Professors didn't seem to have any luck removing them, because they were sitting at their seats, sulking. Ginny walked down the hall to her seat, taking in the words in their full glory. Dumbledore's Army did really well, didn't they?
Ginny sat down by Neville. "Looks good, doesn't it?"
"Yeah, nice job on the words," Neville complimented, and Ginny blushed faintly, remembering the kiss in the Headmaster's office.
"Thanks." Ginny grabbed her lunch and ate quickly, wanting to leave the Great Hall so she wouldn't be late again. Once she had finished eating, Ginny headed for the common room, mentally preparing herself for the Dark Arts. Stupid idiots. The school clock struck one o'clock and Ginny grabbed her things. She rushed down to the classroom and sat in her normal seat, in the back. She kept her things on her lap and waited patiently for Professor Carrow to come. Now Ginny, you mustn't show any kind of action that will make Professor Carrow suspicious. If he has the brains to think about that, anyway.
Professor Carrow came sweeping in a few moments later, his robes billowing, although Ginny thought that he just looked like a not-as-good replica of Snape. He stopped at the front of the classroom, his wand drawn.
"Today, you dunderheads, l will be looking for the git who vandalized the Great Hall." What? How? Professor Carrow's face was twisted into a menacing smile. What are you doing today, you bloody git? Torturing more students?
"Today," he repeated." I will be joined here with dear Professor McGonagall." And with those words, Professor McGonagall walked into the classroom, her hands tied behind her back. Ginny gasped, automatically knowing what Professor Carrow was going to do.
"Our dear Professor here is going to demonstrate what will happen to the little idiots that vandalized the Great Hall." Ginny eyes widened, and Professor Carrow seemed notice, because his smile grew wider. He then pointed his wand at Professor McGonagall and yelled "Crucio!" Ginny watched with horror and admiration. Professor McGonagall was lifted into the air, her back arched, and her hands stilled tied behind her back. But Ginny noticed that as much as Professor Carrow tried, not a sound came from her professor's mouth. Her teeth were gritted together, trying her best not to scream. But from the expression on her face, Ginny didn't see pain. She saw regret.
Ginny stood there, watching her professor being tortured, doing nothing. She didn't know what to do; she couldn't admit that she was the one who did the vandalising, but she couldn't let Professor McGonagall be tortured, either.
She watched as Professor Carrow raised his wand once more, seeing as nothing was happening, and shouted even louder,
"Crucio!" And for the second time, a jet of blood red hit Professor McGonagall in the chest.
Ginny was just about to run up to her, she couldn't stand it anymore, but she saw the look in her professor's eyes. No, don't save me. Leave me be. I'm fine. But she wasn't fine, was she?
Professor Carrow looked disappointed when Ginny didn't react, and continued shooting more and more curses at the professor, each one growing in strength. He was on his fifth Cruciatus Curse now, and Professor McGonagall was weakening. The ropes restraining her hands seemed to have fallen away.
On the ninth Cruciatus Curse, Professor McGonagall let out a single scream of pain, not able to hold it back any more. Without thinking, Ginny found herself running towards the sound.
"STOP! STOP! I'LL REPLACE HER! Please, just stop this!" Ginny paused in front of Professor Carrow, staring him dead in the eye with rage. She saw Professor McGonagall collapse to the floor, but she stretched her arm to Ginny and said in a steady voice, despite her body quivering with pain,
"Miss. Weasley! You will not replace me! I forbid it!" Professor McGonagall got up shakily, her wand drawn.
"Look at this! Professor McGonagall playing favorites? I thought I would never see the day!" Professor Carrow sneered. Professor McGonagall glared at him. "Well, if you know who the culprit, or culprits, are, you would tell me, wouldn't you, Miss. Weasley?" Ginny nodded. "Well, then, who is the culprit?"
"I'm not sure." Professor Carrow raised an eyebrow. Ginny met his gaze with a steady eye, anger making it easy to lie...
"Of course." Professor Carrow rolled his eyes. "What about you, Minerva?"
"I know of nothing that would be of use to you, Amycus." Her hands were clenched into fists.
"Very well, then. If you choose that way." As Professor Carrow said this, he pointed his wand at Professor McGonagall and whispered in a deadly voice, "Crucio."
This time, Ginny heard no scream, saw no expression on her Professor's face, nothing. The ray of red light came again and again.
She went limp at the final, eleventh curse, and as Ginny watched the red stream of pain shoot towards McGonagall, she couldn't take it anymore.
Ginny, without another moment's hesitation, jumped in front of the spell.
The memories and pain hit her like a bomb. Everywhere hurt like hell. Ice-cold fire was burning through her bones, and it felt like a knife was sliced through her body.
And it was different this time. Now, it felt as if several tiny, lethal knives were sinking into her skin. How did Professor Carrow cast a spell like this? Maybe he's had practise, said the tiny part of Ginny that wasn't blank with pain. She couldn't help a scream coming out of her mouth. She heard the curse be fired multiple times, but she lost count. This was so much worse than her detentions. How did McGonagall survive this? She felt tears sting her eyes, not caused by her own pain, but by the pain McGonagall went through to protect her.
Then, suddenly, the pain stopped. All Ginny saw was darkness, and Professor McGonagall's worried expression haunting her for the rest of her life.
Ginny woke. Groggily, her eyelids fluttered open, as she looked around. She seemed to be in what looked like a bed, with blank walls surrounding her. The hospital wing. Hospital wing! What happened?
She closed her eyes again, rewinding her memories. Her eyes shot open as she remembered—the Cruciatus Curse. Professor McGonagall. Ginny looked around. She saw Neville slumped in a chair beside her, fast asleep and lightly snoring. Ginny tried to sit up, but every part of her immediately protested in pain. She gasped. Neville's eyes slowly opened. He rushed over to the side of Ginny's bed as he noticed Ginny's awakening.
"Are you alright, Ginny?" Neville asked nervously.
"I'm fine." Ginny waved away his concern. "Who brought me here?" she asked, remembering a worried face above her, right before she blacked out.
"I'm not sure. I came here after Luna told me about you," Neville replied.
Then, in a sudden burst of recognition, Ginny remembered Professor McGonagall.
"What about Professor McGonagall? Is she OK?" Neville looked at her, confused.
"Professor McGonagall? What happened? Is she hurt?" Ginny bit her lip.
"Well," she said, twisting her fingers together anxiously. "Professor Carrow was determined to figure out who was the culprit. He brought in Professor McGonagall, and well, he said that the culprits would get what he did to her." Neville looked shocked.
"What did he do this time?" he asked, his voice fading to a whisper with each word, although he probably knew already.
"He… he used the Cruciatus Curse on her." Neville leaned back in his chair, closing his eyes… Considering what the Carrows have done before, he shouldn't be that surprised.
"Eleven times in total," Ginny whispered, not really wanting to tell Neville, but deciding that he should know. She knew that his parents had been tortured to insanity, and now stayed in St. Mungo's.
"Eleven times?" Ginny nodded.
"What did you do?" Neville sighed, knowing Ginny too well to think she had just watched. Ginny paused again, not sure if she should tell Neville.
"Well, on the ninth curse, I couldn't take it anymore! Neville, wait, before you say anything," Ginny said, seeing his face, preventing Neville from interrupting. "You should've seen her. She didn't scream or anything, but you could see on her face that she was in absolute pain. You would've done what I did, too.
"I said that I wanted to take her place, and Professor Carrow considered it. But Professor McGonagall insisted that she take it all, and so she did. Well, until I jumped in front of the curse." Neville groaned and glared at her.
"You shouldn't have done that. Professor McGonagall did it all for your safety. You just wasted it, and now you're in the hospital, and both of you are hurt!"
Ginny suddenly felt a rush of guilt from Neville's logic. She really shouldn't have tried to replace Professor McGonagall. She was trying to protect her. Now Ginny had threw it all in the trash.
"Dear Merlin. I guess I really did screw up," Ginny sighed. "Did you see Professor McGonagall today?" she asked, more worried about her than herself.
Neville nodded. "I had her for Transfiguration. She looked fine to me." Suddenly, right at that moment, Ginny realised that she didn't even know what day it was. But if Neville hadn't brought it up…
"Neville, how long was I out?" she asked, partially not wanting to know. Neville looked down at his shoes, not meeting Ginny's eyes.
"We also stopped the vandalising. We wanted to hear your opinion first."
"Neville, how long was I out?" Ginny repeated, a little more forcefully, ignoring Neville's statement.
"One day," he muttered, not meeting her eyes.
Twenty-four hours. Ginny was out for one entire day.
"What did I miss?"
"Nothing much, Professor Carrows kept on being jerks though," he said, brightening up a little.
"That's normal. You should expect it by now," Ginny said, waving a hand. Neville laughed. Ginny couldn't help but join in. A feeling of happiness bubbled up inside her. At the very moment, Ginny temporary forgot her troubles.
Author's Note:
We hope you've enjoyed this chapter! A reader has told us that the first chapter of this fanfiction is very simliar to another with the name of A Call To Arms by My Dear Professor McGonagall. (You should check it out, it's probably much better than ours!) We did not intend in any way to copy this fanfiction and we hope that we did not offend the amazing author of A Call To Arms. Neither of us have read this fanfiction and in no way did we decide to copy it. The idea of this fanfiction came to us from a tumblr post and if you would like, we could send it to you. Just PM us. We are very sorry that The Carrows' Calling is simliar to A Call To Arms.
-Zigostia