Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to Rowling, Scholastic, etc.

Harry Potter and the Sword of Gryffindor

Chapter 14

Two signs appeared on the notice board in the Gryffindor common room that week. The first, Ron told Harry, announced that tryouts would be held next week for the positions of Chaser and Seeker on the Gryffindor quidditch team. Harry felt his stomach clench. He'd known this was coming but having it there for all to read didn't make it any easier.

"You should try out, mate," said Ron.

"Try out for my own position," muttered Harry. "Wood didn't even talk to me about being cut." More than anything, he thought, that stung.

The other notice informed them about the first scheduled visit to the village of Hogsmeade. "All students, third year and above," read Hermione to Harry, "will be allowed to attend the weekend outing with a signed permission from from a parent or guardian."

"Oh brilliant," said Harry sarcastically. "The Dursleys won't sign mine, I know it."

"You could ask Professor McGonagall to sign it," suggested Ron.

Harry applied this suggestion on Saturday morning as the students bound for Hogsmeade lined up with their permission forms. To his dismay, Professor McGonagall refused, stating flatly that the rules did not allow for anyone other than a parent or guardian to sign the form. Angrily, Harry stomped back up to his dorm as Ron and Hermione blithely walked through the late-September frost to the village where any number of delights awaited.

Harry sat glumly in the Gryffindor common room staring at the fire. He was so wrapped up in his thoughts he hardly noticed when someone entered the room and sat down in a chair opposite him.

"Harry?" the voice sounded timid. Harry looked up. A dark blur. Who was it?

"Hi," he said as brightly as he could manage, hoping desperately that whoever had greeted him would give him more clues before he was forced to admit he had no idea who it was.

"Why aren't you at Hogsmeade?" The voice was light, definitely a girl. His mind raced through the list of girls he knew, but he still wasn't sure.

"My relatives didn't sign my permission form," he said grumpily. "How about you?"

"Well, second-years aren't allowed to go," she explained patiently and Harry suddenly knew it was Ginny Weasley.

"Oh, of course," Harry said in a self-deprecating tone. "How stupid of me."

"It must really stink not to be able to go," continued Ginny and Harry wondered why she thought she needed to rub salt in the wound.

"Well, err, yeah it does," said Harry, giving her a puzzled look.

"Maybe you can still get there," she said in a conspiratorial tone.

"What do you mean?" asked Harry, now completely asea.

Ginny pulled something out of her pocket and held it up. "I nicked it from Fred and George last summer," she said with delight.

"What is it?" Harry asked, intrigued.

"The Marauder's Map," said Ginny in a low, confidential tone. "Last summer I spied on Fred and George quite a bit. I mean, growing up with them you learn to watch your back anyway, but I decided to really learn what they were up to. They didn't even suspect their sweet little sister," she explained, a touch of bitterness lacing her voice, as if being the youngest and never being taken seriously had eaten at her. "So," she said briskly and spread the map on the table.

"I solemnly swear I am up to no good," she said, touching the map with her wand.

She and Harry both stared at the parchment. "I'm afraid," he said awkwardly, "I can't see it."

"That's all right," said Ginny without concern, "I can."

Harry frowned and looked at her. "What does it say?"

"It's a map of Hogwarts," she said, peering closely at it. "It's really tiny though."

Harry pulled out his bubble magnifier from his pocket and wordlessly handed it to her.

"Oh, brilliant," she said and set the glass on the map. "It shows where all the people are and, hey!" Her voice rose with excitement.

"What?" asked Harry impatiently.

"Yes, this is what I was looking for," she said with gusto.

"What?" Harry asked again, louder.

"Ssshhh," she cautioned. "The secret passages."

"Secret passages?" Harry whispered, grinning.

"Yeah, one goes right to Hogsmeade."

"Brilliant," breathed Harry, sitting back in his chair.

"Shall we?" asked Ginny brightly, standing to her feet.

"Hold on," Harry said, leaping up and heading to his dorm, taking the now-familiar stairs two at a time. He collected his cane, a few galleons and his Invisibility Cloak, which he hadn't used yet this year, he realized.

"What's that?" asked Ginny when he entered the common room again.

"A white cane?" he said teasingly.

"No, idiot," she responded in kind. "That."

Of course Harry couldn't see her pointing but he had no doubt to what she referred. "Shhh," he said, imitating her. "I'll show you."

Leaning his cane against a nearby chair, he swirled the Cloak around his shoulders, enjoying the gasp of surprise from Ginny as he disappeared.

"Wow, I didn't know those really existed," she said excitedly. Harry grinned to himself as he silently slid around the sofa toward her. She shrieked when he unexpectedly pinched her and she tried to find him to return the favor.

"No fair," she said, "I can't see you."

"Actually, totally fair," responded Harry smugly, grinning as he whirled the Cloak back off. "It finally makes us even."

"Harry," she said a little shyly, "can you see at all?"

By this time, Harry didn't mind questions about his eyesight. He found it was easier to have people around him understand what he could or couldn't see rather than try to pretend everything was normal. He explained in as few words as possible what the world looked like.

"Oh," said Ginny uncertainly. "Oh, that must be awful."

"I'm getting used to it," said Harry airily, pushing down the memories of his recent slump into depression. "I mean it's not exactly a picnic, you know? But it's not the end of the world. It's mostly… just inconvenient."

She chuckled and started for the portrait hole.

She led Harry along a confusing series of passages and corridors until she stood before a stone figure that Harry at first thought was Dumbledore's gargoyle.

"Here it is," she said triumphantly. "The One-eyed Witch." She peered at the map again. "Dissendium," she read, tapping the statue with her wand. Stones ground against one another and a draught of cold air brushed Harry's cheek. He touched the statue, but didn't have time to really examine it with his hands.

"What did it do?" he asked Ginny.

"Her hump-back opens up," said Ginny with smothered laughter. She pocketed the map and led the way into the tunnel. Harry followed a little more cautiously until he had determined that a series of steps led downward. The light from the corridor faded leaving Ginny and Harry in complete darkness.

"Lumos," said Harry but flinched as the light from his wand-tip pierced his eyes with pain, shedding no useful light into the corridor at all. He quickly extinguished it again, grumbling "well that didn't work."

"It worked," said Ginny in confusion.

"No, I mean it doesn't help and it really hurt my eyes," explained Harry.

"Oh," said Ginny out of the darkness. She stood still against the chilly wall of the passageway. "So what do we do?"

"I'm not sure," said Harry. "Try yours."

Ginny lit her wand while Harry looked away. The brilliant light still hurt, but it was farther away and he decided not to say anything, but let Ginny get a ways ahead of him until the light faded down the tunnel before he began making his own way along the passage, using his hands and the tip of his stick more than his eyes to find his way.

He did not realize how far ahead he had allowed her to get until he reached a crossing of ways. Two tunnels joined here and he had no idea which route to follow. He called, "Ginny?" but heard no answer so he decided to simply choose the right-hand one and keep going.

Feeling his way along, it seemed slow going; still, not more than fifteen minutes passed until his stick found a stairway again. Above him, he could see cracks of brilliant daylight showing through a wooden trap door. There was no sign of Ginny.

Something made Harry cautious. He put on his Invisibility Cloak and listened at the trap door rather than opening it. He was glad he did.

"…that puny puppy," said one voice, a low gravelly one.

"We shouldn't count on him for help," said another, a higher, rather whiny voice. He spoke so quietly that Harry had trouble catching all of his words. "…Dumbledore's pet."

"The next full moon is in one week. We'll find out then where his loyalties lie," said the first voice.

"Perhaps a little… persuasion," agreed the second voice. "I've sent another owl to…"

"Maugrim!" said the first voice with a snarl. "That whelp cannot be trusted."

"Still," whined the second voice, "he's quite a … and doesn't … to our cause."

"True," said the first voice thoughtfully. "If he sends an owl, then do it."

"… many moons … take until we can finish … little beggars up at the castle?" asked the second voice quietly.

"Patience," advised the first voice. "Achieving our ultimate goal is ultimately more vital than…"

"Ultimate goal, indeed," interrupted the second voice. "You certainly did not achieve anything when you let Harry Potter slip away like that…"

The first voice responded with something like a growl of derision. "It won't happen a second time," he promised and Harry shivered.

"… three from Bulgaria, seven from … and Romulus and Vrikodare from…" the second voice said as if reciting or reading from a list.

"It will take time to gather them all. But they will come," said the first voice.

The two fell silent for quite a long time, packing items with a series of thuds and thumps. Then without another word, they both headed out of the room. Harry decided not to risk opening the trap door, so he descended the stairs again to go find Ginny. His heart beat quickly as he considered what he'd just heard. One of the voices belonged possibly to Fenrir Greyback, the werewolf who had attacked Harry during the summer, if Harry's "godfather" was correct. He was here, somewhere, very close to Hogwarts and he planned to try again to kill Harry. Not only that, but were other students in danger? And who was the "puppy" they planned to try to turn?

Harry wondered if he could find his "godfather." So far he'd only encountered the voice in the darkness when he'd been lost. Perhaps he could lose himself on purpose and find the corridor again. It might be worth a try. He needed some answers and he needed them soon.

He felt his way back along the tunnel with a steady, deliberate pace. When he got to the crossing of the ways, he stopped, unsure what he should do. Should he find Ginny or go back to the castle right that minute? He stood for a moment, undecided.

"Harry?" Ginny's voice called along the left-hand tunnel.

"Shh! Ginny!" Harry warned in a stage whisper, fearful that the echoes of her voice would carry back along the passage to where the two men waited.

"Where are you?" she asked, her wand-light preceding her from the passageway. Harry realized he still had the Invisibility Cloak on. He shrugged it off and she gave a startled little squeak.

"Come on! This way is Honeydukes. It's brilliant! I guess you just missed the way in the dark." She actually took his hand, pulling him along the left-hand way.

"No, err, actually," he protested, pulling his hand free. "I, err, I'm not feeling so well. I think I'll just go back."

"Oh," she said, crestfallen. "Are you ok?"

"Oh, yeah, yeah," he assured her, then realized she had been counting on him to join in her adventure, which suddenly seemed to him to be completely trivial. "Maybe next time, yes?"

She sighed. "I'll come back with you, I guess."

She followed behind Harry, her wand throwing his looming, swaying shadow out in front of them. His thoughts raced, wondering how he could get away and go find his "godfather" once they reached the castle. He found the stairs and soon the two popped free of the one-eyed witch into an unremarkable third-floor corridor.

A/N: Yes, I made the two secret passages join with each other. And I made Ginny into a sneaky little thief who can best even Fred and George! I know this is a wide deviation from canon, but I needed it to be this way in order for future events to happen. I hope the purists can forgive me.

Please Read and Review! Thanks!