Chapter 13

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters, original plot or anything else that I don't own.

Nico: Wow, how descriptive

Me: Shut it, Dead boy

Nico: And what was with the month and a half long break between updates? The readers are waiting!

Me: *blushes* That wasn't my fault! Well, it kind of was, but I have literally seven and a half hours of homework every night! And I have writer's block!

Nico: *sticks out tongue* That's no excuse.

Aphrodite: Aw… you are so cute together!

Me and Nico: Eeew!

Me: Go away Ahprodite! Boys are disgusting! (No offense loyal readers of that gender) And he's like 80! Or 10! However you want to look at it!

Nico: She's criminally insane!

Me: You finally noticed… Now, on with the story *maniacal laughter*

Harry PoV:

We slipped under the invisibility cloak and followed Ginny out of the dorms, towards the staircases leading down to the second floor. I expected her to go into the room she stopped at, but instead, Ginny paused.

"What's she doing?" whispered Ron, craning his neck to see. Hermione shushed him, and we continued to watch her.

Ginny peeked into the room, and paused in alarm, before running up several flights of stairs to the stone gargoyle that led to Dumbledore's office. It was hard to be quiet and still move quickly, so by the time we got to it, she had somehow managed to get in and the stone figure was sliding back into place.

"Do you know the password?" Hermione whispered, looking at me. I nodded, and we crept forward, pulling off the cloak.

After waiting a few moments to make sure that the coast was clear, I whispered, "Acid Pops" to the statue.

The staircase slid upwards and carried us up to the office door. The voices coming through were muffled, and after a few seconds they got louder until the higher voice, who I assumed was Ginny, was shouting.

Ron pulled out a pair of extendable ears, and we slid it up to the door, trying to make out the words being spoken

"…do our best, but in the meantime, why don't you go keep her company?" the calming voice of Professor Dumbledore came through softly.

Ginny grumbled something inaudible, and then said, "Fine. But if there is anything else that you can do to help, do it! This is your fault!"

Hermione looked scandalized that Ginny would talk that way to the headmaster, and Ron was staring in shock at the end of the extendable ear.

"Harry, the cloak!" Hermione hissed, drawing the flesh colored wire towards her. I nodded and the next second we were invisible, pressed up against the wall, waiting for the fifth year to exit the office.

Ginny PoV:

When I got down to the room, it was empty. Annabeth was gone, and all of the furniture was in ruins, not to mention the slight burning smell lingering in the air.

"Merlin's beard…" I whispered, before turning towards the stairs and running to the only person I could think of to help.

"Let me in!" I told the gargoyle desperately. He refused to let me in. "But it's really important!"

Once it saw that how serious I was, and partly because it was so exasperated, it silently began to slide, revealing the spiral staircase that led to Dumbledore's office, a place I had seldom entered.

"Ah, Ms. Weasley, please come in."

I was unnerved by his calm manner and the way he seemed to have been expecting me, and I cautiously entered the office. Fawkes the phoenix gave me long stare before returning to preening himself.

"Would you care for a lemon drop?" Dumbledore asked kindly, gesturing to the small crystal bowl on his desk. When I refused politely, I despised muggle candy, he settled back into his chair.

"How may I help you?"

I took a deep breath and steeled my nerved, or at least attempted to. No matter how much I was scared for my friend, facing the headmaster with something I shouldn't know about was far more frightening.

"Where is Annabeth and what happened?" I tensed, waiting for the headmaster to… well I didn't have much interest in finding out what he would do, and then Dumbledore sighed and told me to sit down.

"As you no doubt know, these are very difficult times, and there is only so much that we can do to prevent catastrophes. The incident that occurred a few weeks ago was unfortunate, but unavoidable."

He paused, and I seized the opportunity to speak. "But what does that have to do with Annabeth? When is she going to get to go home?"

The silence that followed my questions was all the response I needed. I stood, slamming my hands on the desk. "You can't just leave her here or wherever else until the end of the war, if there even is one! She has family, friends, a boyfriend at the hands of You-Know-Who! And she's a muggle! Imagine how terrified she probably is!"

My chest heaved in and out in anger as I glared at the old man with a crooked nose. The gentle twinkle that was constantly in his eyes was gone. When I appeared to have calmed down a bit, he continued.

"As I was saying, these are not simple circumstances. There is no sure way of retrieving the poor boy without suffering massive losses, as sources say that he is being held in the death eater stronghold."

He took off his glasses and stared me directly in the eye. "If we were to wipe her memories and let her return home, it could cause major problems if she were to be asked what happened during the break and where her companion disappeared to. Unfortunately, there is no better solution than to wait."

I stared at him in shock. Here was the one man who You-Know-Who was scared of and the trusted, wise headmaster of Hogwarts, willing to blow off the responsibility for a disaster and let them both rot, claiming that there was no better way.

"There is always a better way." I said this coldly, my anger and disbelief clouding my judgment. "And now, because of your refusal to do anything, Annabeth is hurt!"

The argument went on for several minutes before I finally ran out of things to say and was reduced to straight out yelling.

"Ginny," I was taken aback by his use of my name, "I must ask you to be patient. The Order will do our best, but in the meantime, why don't you go keep her company?"

I could tell that the unsuccessful discussion was over, and defeated, I mumbled, "I'll do more than sit and wait." Then I straightened and replied grumpily, "Fine. But if there is anything else that you can do to help, do it! This is your fault!"

As I exited the office, heading towards the infirmary, I thought I heard a sound behind me, like someone scuffing their shoe on the floor.

Alarmed, I paused, before shaking my head to clear my thoughts and continued slowly the rest of the way.

Madame Pomfrey was not keen on allowing me to see the "mystery patient" behind the curtains, but when I told her Dumbledore had given me permission, she let me in.

"Annabeth?" I whispered carefully, then stepped through the curtains, my mouth falling open in shock. The blonde girl sat up in the bed, wearing a tank top that left her arms bare and allowed me to get a good look at them.

The exposed skin was littered with small burns and bruises, but I noticed several painful looking scars , as if they had healed and then been cut open again, leaving small streaks of blood. Her head was in her hands, so I couldn't see her face, but I expected her eyes to be bloodshot and desperate, the strain of this experience rendering her scared and defenseless.

I could practically see that on her face, and when she looked up, I stumbled back in shock. Though her face was cut up as badly as her arms, she did not show any pain.

Her grey eyes were cold and calculating, and her other features were set into a look of pure determination. Even her disheveled hair, complete with a gray streak I hadn't noticed in the dark room, somehow added to her calm yet outright dangerous composure.

Annabeth relaxed a little when she saw it was me, but I could still sense that if anyone tried to attack her, they would be in for a huge surprise.

"Percy's in danger," she said, using the name of her boyfriend, " I have to help him." I rushed forward when she tried to pull herself out of the bed, and managed to catch her when her arms gave out.

"Annabeth! What are you doing!" I waited for a response, but she didn't give one. Instead, Annabeth looked at her jacket lying on the table next to the bed and closed her eyes for a minute, moving her lips silently.

Then, she smiled a pulled out a square of cake from the jacket, promptly stuffing it in her mouth.

My lips flew open while I watched, dumbfounded, as her skin knit back together, the bleeding stopped and she looked reenergized.

"I'm saving my boyfriend. You coming?" Determined to help in any way possible, I nodded. She smiled and pulled out of baseball cap and placed it on her head. Her body seemed to ripple, and she vanished.

"Wha…" I stared at the spot she had just been in and jumped when she tapped my back. "Come on!"

"You know, I'm starting to think you aren't a muggle," I told her when she pulled off her magic hat in the hallway outside of the hospital wing. Annabeth gave a small laugh and winked at me.

"Okay…" I paused, "So what else can you do?" She stopped abruptly and I nearly had a heart attack when she turned around, armed with a gleaming bronze dagger.

"This." I closed my eyes in fright, but I opened them a second later when I saw her twist around slightly and throw the weapon, which embedded itself in the wall, pulling off Harry's invisibility cloak and revealing the Golden Trio.

Annabeth and I stared at the three of them and they stared back, until the silence was broken when Ron said, "Bloody Hell."