New Beginning
"Run" Snow Patrol
Ginny awoke the next morning to find herself curled up on her side facing the wall. When she tried to stretch, she realized that Harry's arms were still wrapped around her, his face nestled in her neck. Smiling happily, she gently rolled onto her other side to face him, causing him to stir slightly as she moved. Her lips pressed against his softly before moving to his jaw, and to his neck as she snuggled closer to him. He tightened his arms around her as she kissed along his collar bones, her fingers tracing imaginary lines across his chest.
"Morning," she whispered.
"Time is it?" he whispered back, his voice hoarse with sleep.
"No idea," she replied. Her eyes scanned the room, taking in the amount of light coming in from her window. "I'm guessing maybe around seven or seven-thirty."
Harry groaned quietly as she began kissing his neck again. "Too early," he muttered brushing her hair from her face as she moved back to his lips. She grinned as he kissed her back, laughing lightly against his lips.
Ginny pulled away slightly to say something else, but was pleasantly surprised when Harry moved with her to continue the kiss. Harry's arms squeezed her tighter, one hand on her lower back and the other around her shoulders, his fingers twisted in her hair; her lips parted in response to his enthusiasm. She felt the lingering effects of sleep begin to slip away as his hands started to explore her hips, back, and over her shoulders.
She wasn't sure how long they had been kissing when Harry started to move his lips toward her neck. She closed her eyes, but opened them immediately again when his hands moved to tug at the bottom of her shirt. She pulled away from him slightly, allowing his warm hands to travel up her body. She had forgotten that she was naked under her clothing when his hands reached her chest, and his fingers gently traced around her nipples.
Harry did not know what had come over him; maybe it was the overwhelming presence of her scent all around him, or the sensation of her lips against his. But as soon as his hands felt how warm her bare skin was, he slid moved them back down to the bottom of the cotton fabric of her shirt, and gently tugged it upward. She obligingly lifted her arms as he pulled it over her head. Ginny moved to cover herself in a fit of sudden shyness; but before she could wrap her arms around chest, Harry grasped her wrists gently, and pulled her arms around his neck. He then wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her against him tightly; the feel of her bare skin against his causing his whole body to quiver in anticipation.
Ginny sighed as Harry squeezed her tightly, pressing the warm skin of his chest against her now naked torso. She pulled his lips back to hers, expecting him to react aggressively, but was surprised by the decreased urgency of his kissing. Her eyes sought out his and she looked at him curiously. He smiled as he slid his hands up her waist and over the sides of her ribs, his fingers tickling her as he traced lines along her skin.
"Good morning," Ginny whispered to fill the silence and calm her own nerves.
Harry laughed gently. "Morning," he muttered as he stroked his thumbs along the side of her breasts, which caused her to inhale sharply and close her eyes. He gently unwound his arms from her waist and kissed her again, moving his lips down her neck over her collar bones, and continuing lower until he pressed his lips against the gentle curve of her breast before moving to her nipple and taking it into his mouth.
Ginny closed her eyes became completely absorbed in the sensations that ran through her body. Her fingers curled in Harry's hair as she pulled him closer to her. He responded by caressing her skin with his hands and moving his mouth between her breasts, exploring the texture of her nipples with his tongue. She had no idea how long he spent kissing and caressing the curves of her torso, but eventually his hands slid down her waist and over her hips. He continued to kiss and explore the curves of her breasts, but began to play gently with the fabric of her sweat pants, before allowing his fingers to pull the material aside and slide his hand down along her bare hip.
She did not realize how rapid her breath had become until he moved back to kiss her again. When his lips found hers, she was unable to kiss him for any length of time. Her shallow gasps caused him to pause his movements; one arm slid around her waist, while the other hand gently traced at the edge of her underwear with his fingers.
"Are you okay?" he whispered eyeing her curiously. He watched as she opened her eyes and bit her lip shyly. "Do you want me to stop?" he asked, his body freezing against her.
She shook her head slowly, before hiding her face against his shoulder. She didn't want him to stop, but she was slightly scared of the lust running through her veins, and worried he would think her wanton for her exaggerated responses to his touch.
"I've never done this before," he confessed, leaning his head against hers gently.
"Neither have I," she said as she moved to look into his eyes.
Harry stared into her brown eyes, reading a mixture of longing and nervousness in their depths. He slowed the exploration his hands were aching for, wondering if, maybe, he should give into his own insecurities and fears, which would allow her nervousness to fade more, before he attempted to explore the more hidden areas of her body.
Ginny allowed the fingers of one hand to trail down his arm toward the hand that was still tracing the line of her knickers. She twisted the fingers of her other hand into his hair in his hair, and glanced into his eyes, before kissing him gently and whispering, "I don't want you to stop, Harry."
Her words were a stimulant to his already active fantasies. Pressing his lips firmly against hers, he pulled her against him with the arm wrapped around her waist, and allowed his other hand to continue its path of exploration. He pulled aside the fabric he had been fingering, trailing his fingers lower until he reached the smooth skin of her inner thighs, and finally the apex between her legs. He watched Ginny's expression with hungry eyes, enjoying the rapid pace of her breathing against her skin when he caressed the soft folds of her skin. The heat and warmth of her body sent tingles through his core, and stirrings of desire he had only felt when he was with her encouraged him to slide one of his slender fingers inside of her, enjoying the gasp that escaped her lips when he did so.
Ginny gasped and closed her eyes, her head falling back as the sensations of Harry's touch overwhelmed her completely. Just as she requested, he didn't stop; he caressed her gently in places she had only imagined him touching before. She tried to control her breathing and pulled herself closer to him, pressing her forehead to his as he watched her expression. She again lost track of time as he continued to explore her, every so often pausing to kiss her lips gently, or just watch her as she breathed and rocked her hips in rhythm with his movements.
She was suddenly shocked by warmth spreading through her abdomen, and she bit her bottom lip as contractions of pleasure raced through her body. Harry was taken aback by the spasms he felt from within her body; but knew he had done something right as she tensed, and her breathing turned from shallow pants to quiet groans against his skin. When he felt her relax against him, he slid his hand up along her waist and pulled her close to him, burying his face in her shoulder and smiling to himself. Ginny withdrew her hand from around his neck and laid both her palms against his bare chest, snuggling her head against his skin and kissing his collar bones.
They lay quietly for a few minutes, allowing the pace of their breathing to slow. Harry ran his hands up and down her back, keeping her bare skin warm from the chill in the room.
"That was one hell of a wake up," Ginny whispered after a few minutes of silence. Harry stifled his laugher against her skin. "Can I ask what prompted that?"
"You can, but I can't tell you," he replied in a conspiratorial whisper.
She lifted her head to look at him skeptically. He grinned and kissed her nose. "Honestly, I'm not sure. Just something about the way you look in the morning, or the smell of you, or how I haven't been able to properly kiss you in so long just…made me wake up, I guess," he explained.
She smiled and laid her head against his chest again, listening to his breathing as he resumed stroking her hair. They enjoyed a few moments of silence, but then heard gentle footsteps descending the stairs. Ginny kissed Harry and sat up, pulling her shirt over her head quickly in response to the life in the hallway. She laughed at his frown when she lay back down next to him. "I have no idea who is coming, so I thought I'd better be decent," she explained.
"You were decent," he said kissing her again. There was a quiet knock at the door and Harry sighed as he broke the kiss. Ginny climbed over him and walked to her door, opening it just a crack to see Hermione and Ron standing outside it.
"Yes?" she asked.
"Did we wake you?"
"Yes," Ginny lied. "What time is it?"
"It's eight o'clock," Ron replied. "Is Harry asleep?" he asked.
"No, he's awake," she said, opening the door and eyeing them both quizzically. "Is something wrong?"
"Dunno," Ron said, glancing from her to Harry as he stood up and bowed his head sheepishly. "Harry, the strangest Patronus I've ever seen just visited my room looking for you," he explained, sitting down on the camp bed.
"What was it?"
"A Hippo…it was huge," Ron said, as Hermione giggled slightly.
Ginny laughed quietly and Harry smirked. "Did it say anything?" Harry asked, looking at Hermione and Ron quizzically.
"It said, 'Find Kingsley,' and then disappeared," Ron said.
"It's got to be someone from the office," Harry muttered, suddenly becoming concerned. "All it said was 'Find Kingsley?'"
"Yeah, then it just vanished," said Ron.
Harry crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes quizzically. Suddenly the door opened, and Mrs. Weasley peeked her head in. Harry and Ron both jumped, wondering if they were about to be yelled at for being in the girls' room.
"Oh, Harry, good, you are awake," she said in a relieved voice. "I thought I heard your voice. Have you all been up long?"
"No, just got up," Ron filled in glancing at Harry who nodded.
"Kingsley and Tim just arrived looking for you Harry. Kingsley said it was urgent; they sent a Patronus, but no one responded," she explained.
Harry nodded, glancing at Ginny, Ron, and Hermione before moving toward the door and downstairs. It wasn't until he arrived in the kitchen that he remembered he had no shirt.
"Vanish your clothes again, Potter?" Tim asked with a smirk.
Harry grimaced and was about to ask him to wait while he changed, when Ginny appeared at his side carrying a t-shirt, followed by Ron, Hermione and Mrs. Weasley. Tim grinned wider when he observed Ginny still in her pajamas, her face slightly flushed.
"Right. What's going on?" he asked, looking at Tim quizzically.
"Kingsley's talking with Arthur; I'll let him explain fully. But, long story short, there was an attack on a Muggle village near London," Tim explained, his tone becoming uncharacteristically serious.
"An attack?" Mrs. Weasley asked, her voice rising in pitch.
"Yes," Kingsley's voice responded, as he and Arthur walked into the kitchen from outside. "Sorry to disrupt your holiday, all of you. Harry, I know you specifically requested these two weeks off but I'd really like it if you could come with us today. I'm guessing it will only be a few hours," he said apologetically.
"Of course," Harry replied. "What's going on?"
"As Tim said, there's been an attack. We received a message from St. Mungo's early this morning that fifteen Muggles had been referred to them by a few of our contacts at a local Muggle hospital. They arrived with symptoms of poisoning, and were all behaving strangely in addition to the effects of whatever was given to them. The healer's haven't been able to determine exactly what was used, but they're having a hard time figuring out how so many Muggles received the same poison," Kingsley explained. Mrs. Weasley had her hands over her mouth and was shaking her head slowly. Harry nodded, glancing around at the rest of the crowd listening. Ginny's eyes were wide with shock as she looked over at Harry. Ron and Hermione stood motionless, both of them starting at Kingsley waiting to hear more.
"That's all we know at this point, we need to get to Mungo's to talk with the healer's. Lansing, Proudfoot, and Sabrina are in the village looking at how the poison could have been so widely distributed," Kingsley said as he began to pace. "How soon can you be ready, Harry?"
"Um…give me five minutes," Harry responded. He glanced at Ginny and headed up toward where his clothes were. He quickly changed into his jeans, and pulled on a sweater over his t-shirt. He was putting his socks on when Ginny entered the room quietly.
"I won't be gone long, I'll be back," he explained. He looked up expecting her to be upset, but her expression was worried rather than angry. "Ginny, it'll be okay. We just have to check it out, it's not a direct attack or anything like it used to be," he said as he got to his feet and hugged her.
"I know, but it's just odd. There's never been a poisoning of that many people before, it just seems so strange," she said quietly.
"I know, but I'll be back in a few hours, it will be fine," he said reassuringly.
She nodded and smiled. "Just…be careful, okay?" He nodded as they walked down the stairs together. Kingsley was gone, but Tim was waiting, talking with Ron and Hermione about what he knew.
"Ready?" he asked when Harry entered the room.
Harry nodded before kissing Ginny quickly, and waving to everyone standing in the kitchen as he wandered out the door, pulling his cloak and knapsack over his shoulders. They watched as he and Tim approached the end of the lane and Disapparated.
Harry inhaled deeply as he came out of the darkness. He glanced to his left to see Tim laughing loudly at his appearance.
"Something funny?" Harry asked glancing around.
"Why didn't you respond to my Patronus?" Tim asked as they began to walk toward the door to St. Mungo's. He was still chuckling to himself.
"What are you laughing about?" Harry pressed, his face starting to redden.
"Were you busy this morning? Ginny's hair was awfully disheveled," Tim teased with a roguish smile.
Harry blushed, but shook his head. "I was not busy this morning, but even if I was, you're laughing at me? Your Patronus is a hippo. A hippo?"
"Hey! Hippopotamuses are very brave creatures! 'Cause more deaths each year than lions do," Tim retorted, holding his head up proudly.
"I'll take your word for it," Harry said. They had reached the door of St. Mungo's and walked through into the Hallway.
Kingsley was waiting for them when they arrived, his expression somber. They followed as he walked past the main entrance and proceeded to the third floor. Harry was surprised by the sight that awaited him. Dozens of people crowded the main waiting area; healers dressed in white robes moved about so quickly between people it appeared as though they were Apparating. The patients were either lying in beds or racing about the ward. Some were acting like victims of being poisoning, their skin green tinged or grimaces of pain across their faces. But others were exhibiting much stranger symptoms than Harry had imagined.
Several Muggles were laughing hysterically between what appeared to be episodes of extreme pain, which caused their face to drain of color and their bodies to flail uncontrollably. Others were yelling profanities or sobbing uncontrollably. It seemed as though the healer's could do nothing to help them; several kept trying various spells, while others continued to mix ingredients and give the patients drinks from vials. Both attempts to stop the strange behaviors and painful symptoms did not succeed, if anything the symptoms seemed to be exaggerated by the treatment.
Tim and Harry gaped around them, both of them glancing at each other wondering what could possibly have caused this. A tall MediWizard approached where they stood, wiping sweat from his brow before shaking Kingsley's hand.
"No luck with anything, Marcus?" Kingsley asked with a concerned glance around him.
"Nothing! I can't figure it out, everything we seem to do just makes it worse. Have they had any luck figuring out how all of them were poisoned at the same time?" the wizard asked.
"We're working on it," Kingsley assured him. "Did any of them come in with any cups, or tumblers of any kind? Or have you managed to get a blood sample or anything like that?"
"I have a few samples, but none of them came in with anything. Let me get you the samples to take back to your lab, I've got to get back to work," the wizard said moving toward a cart full of medical supplies. "We've got to find something to help, they can't eat or drink anything in this state and they're all dehydrated from being sick," he explained walking back over to Kingsley with two small vials of blood.
"Have you tried a beozar?" Harry asked quietly, watching a female patient pound her fists against the glass and scream with laughter.
"Yes, unfortunately there seems to be too many poisons in their systems for it to work. Please let me know if you find something?"" Marcus asked.
"We will, of course. And let us know if you find anything that works," Kingsley said shaking the wizard's hand again. Just then a group of three patients who had been clinging to each other for support suddenly began to fight. The wizard ran over to help break up what was happening. Kingsley motioned for Harry and Tim to follow him out.
"Holcombe," Kingsley asked, continuing straight ahead but turning over his shoulder to glance at Tim. "Have you ever seen anything like this?"
"I was actually about to say something. A few years ago, we had a similar thing happen; it wasn't aimed at Muggles, though. The victims were all members of an extended family that lived very close to one another. They were poisoned by someone putting a potion in their shared well, but it was not the same symptoms," Tim explained scratching his head.
Kingsley nodded. "I'm going to Apparate to the village to tell Lansing and the others this, Harry you can come with me. Tim, take these samples back to the office and try to analyze what's in the blood. If you find anything and can locate any kind of a remedy, send a message to Marcus, and then come join us," he said handing Tim the vials of blood.
"I will; you'll all be at the village, then?" Tim asked as he pocketed the robes.
"Yes; if, not we'll come back to the ministry first," Kingsley said. With that, Tim nodded before turning on the spot to Aparate to the Ministry.
Harry fell into step beside Kingsley, his mind whirling with questions. "You're quiet, Harry. What's on your mind?"
Harry shrugged. "I'm not sure, this is just so strange. It seemed a lot easier to deal with Death Eater's outright attacking people," he said quietly.
Kingsley smiled. "That was a more direct approach, and also easier to track. This is strange, but I suppose it's part of new world were in. There is always going to be a different way to harm someone, and people will find it," Kingsley said. Harry nodded in agreement.
"The village is just on the other side of London, Calley's Hill. Ironically enough, they do share a local water supply; luckily, I already told Lansing and the others to check that, so maybe we're ahead of the game. I'm just not sure how long those Muggles can hang on; it depends on the strength of whatever was used to poison them. Let's meet up with Lansing to see what they've got, all right?"
Harry nodded and watched as Kingsley stepped and vanished into nothingness. He followed, trying to marshal his rapidly increasing confusion as the pressing darkness surrounded him.
He appeared at the outside of a small village right next to Kingsley. For the time of day, there was a lot of activity on the streets; several cars were headed toward London and the residents of the village were walking about and muttering quietly. Harry followed Kingsley as he approached the left side of the main street and headed behind a tall building that was there. On the other side stood Lansing, Proudfoot, and Neville, who all had cauldrons out and glasses of water next to them.
"Any luck?" Kingsley asked as they approached.
"It's definitely in the water, so we've told the mayor – who thinks were from the Centers for Disease Control – to advise everyone to not drink the tap water for the time being," Lansing explained as he watched the liquid in his cauldron boil.
"Where's Sabrina?" Harry asked, looking around for the other member of his team.
"Couldn't find her," Proudfoot said with a shrug. "Her flat was empty; she did mention she might go visit her family over the holidays, so I've sent her an owl."
Kingsley nodded. "Have you tried using Revelaspell?"
"Yes, we've managed to separate the ingredients. So far, we've determined that it's some kind of venom mixed with white hellebore and nightshade. With the mixture of poisons, it's going to be difficult to treat. But why? You'd think the venom would do the job alone," Lansing asked as he waved his wand over the cauldron causing the liquid inside to separate into different pools which were all a different color.
"To make it untraceable, I'm guessing," Proudfoot said as he did the same.
"Well, at least now that we know a few of the ingredients, we can tell them the treatment for those, hopefully that will at least slow the venom down. I'll send a message to Holcombe, he can research antidotes to those ingredients," Kingsley said raising his wand.
"The nightshade is what is causing the insanity, but when mixed with the hellebore and whatever the venom is, it can become deadly very quickly. Plus, the typical antidote used for nightshade poisoning cannot be mixed with hellebore, it becomes lethal instantaneously. It's a very slippery slope," Neville explained as he prodded at the pools of liquid he had separated.
"Hang on," Harry said suddenly. He dropped to his knees and pulled his knapsack around and began digging inside it. After searching for a few seconds, he pulled out his battered copy of Advanced Potion Making and began to leaf through it until he reached the chapter on antidotes.
"Strange thing to carry with you, Potter," Lansing said with a quizzical look.
"I have a habit of carrying odd things with me," Harry said, thinking of the shard of glass from Sirius' old mirror and the fake Horcrux locket he still carried with him at all times. "You never know when something might come in handy. Here we are!
"'Alternative antidote's for nightshade poisoning: Nightshade can be treated with atropine unless it has been mixed with other herbs, at which point the typical treatment would become risky for the patient. At this point, alternative antidotes need to be used. Another remedy for the herb can be created using extract of jaborandi and mandrake roots. ' That's what it says for the nightshade. And the hellebore…here it is, 'for an overdose of Hellebore, the effects can be counteracted by mixing a calming draught with crushed coffee beans and honey.' Will that help?" Harry asked looking at both Neville and Kingsley.
"The jaborandi root is somewhat rare, but there is an apothecary in London that carries it. And Mungo's will definitely have mandrake root they can use. I think that will work! The coffee beans will cause no other effects when mixed with either plant," Neville said as he moved to peek over Harry's shoulder to look at the books suggestions.
Kingsley glanced at Lansing with a small grin, "Yes, that will help. I'm going to send a message to Marcus and Tim. It's good that you had that with you, Harry." With that he walked toward where they had originally Apparated. He waved his wand and watched the silvery lynx race along the ground toward London.
Harry turned back and put his book in his bag, noticing as he did so that Lansing was clearing up two of his pools of liquid and examining the third. He was also smiling and chuckling to himself. "I think Hermione rubbed off on you, Potter. She'll be pleased you're following her example," he said chuckling again.
Harry was confused, wasn't it good that he was resourceful? Why was everyone laughing at him today? "Should I have not used the textbook?" he asked, sounding a little more aggressive than he meant to.
"Yes, that was good. I was just amused by how much you sounded like Hermione in class. Harry, that was very good that you had that with you, saved us loads of time and you probably helped save those Muggles lives," Lansing explained in a gentle voice.
"We still need to figure out what the venom is though, don't we?" Harry asked looking at the pool of liquid remaining in Lansing's cauldron.
"Yes, and that will be tricky. That will definitely need to be done at the lab, so we should get back," he said. He waved his wand, causing the cauldron to vanish. Harry assumed he had cast an unknown spell to send it to the office as Proudfoot performed the same motion with his wand, causing the same results to his and Neville's cauldron. They walked toward the main street, Lansing turned left and wandered inside the building. Harry paused, waiting a few moments for him to emerge and rejoin their path.
"The mayor said he will have the water supply flushed to get rid of the remaining poison that might be lingering, though I told him it was a parasite in the water that was making them sick. I'm guessing what happened was the concentration of the poison only remained in the water for a period of time before it began to be diluted, that's probably why more people weren't poisoned. The supply seems to be clear now, but I advised him to flush it just in case. Hopefully that works, if not, I'm not sure what they'll do," he said shaking his head. They continued to walk toward the outer edge of town until they reached where Kingsley stood, examining the glass of water he'd taken from Proudfoot which had been separated into three layers, each a different color.
"Ready to be off?" he said as they approached. Everyone nodded and disappeared in a swirl of cloaks.
Harry opened his eyes and found himself standing in front of the Ministry entrance. He and Neville followed Kingsley, Lansing, and Proudfoot inside and up to the Auror office, where another strange sight met his eyes.
Tim was sitting on the floor panting, his eyes wide and his face drained of color. Beside him was Sabrina, curled up into a ball and shaking, her normally pale skin whiter than usual. They all hurried inside, and Harry shut the door behind them, flicking his wand to lock it.
"What happened? Sabrina, when did you arrive?" Kingsley asked in a slightly panicked tone. He knelt down next to them, peering into each of their faces.
Sabrina moved her lips to speak, but no sound came out; it was Tim who finally spoke, his voice weak and quieter than usual. "Dementors," he muttered looking at Kingsley's face.
"Dementors?" Harry asked, his blood feeling like ice running through his veins.
"Outside," he explained, taking a deep breath and swallowing. "I came back, and they were all around the Ministry. I asked what they were doing, I thought maybe they were coming to ask about Azkaban again, but then they attacked. I couldn't do anything; I couldn't cast a Patronus, there were too many of them. Then…Sabrina…"he said looking at her for support.
"The same thing, but I didn't arrive until they already started attacking you," she said to Tim. "I was able to get him inside, but I couldn't do anything else. Aren't they out there now?" she asked looking up at all of them.
"No, they weren't there when we arrived," Lansing said, looking concerned.
Proudfoot emerged from behind him with bars of chocolate for both Tim and Sabrina. Tim took his and began to eat enthusiastically; Sabrina accepted the candy but just glanced at it. "We need to find them, they'll attack again. I'm not sure what they were after, but they just attacked without warning. I think they're starving," she explained trying to get to her feet. Kingsley grabbed her shoulder and sat her back down.
"Just wait a moment, you're not up to standing yet," He said gently but she pushed his hand away.
"They will attack someone else if we don't stop them!" she said, raising her voice slightly.
"We will find them, but you two are not going to be a part of it until you've had time to rest," Kingsley said in a firm voice. Sabrina scowled, but leaned back against the wall and bit into her chocolate. Kingsley sighed heavily and stood up. "Do you have any idea where they could have gone?"
Tim sighed. "None, they didn't say anything, I don't even –"
"A populated area," Sabrina muttered, interrupting him.
"Yes…as I was saying, they didn't say anything before they attacked. I don't even remember coming inside, so … Sabrina, thank you by the way," Tim finished, gently nudging her with his arm.
She smiled gently, "Don't mention it."
"Okay, you two go home, I mean it. Don't go looking for them, we'll deal with it. All right?" Lansing said as he helped Sabrina to her feet. She nodded solemnly and wandered out the door. Tim followed in her steps.
When they were out, Lansing shut the door quietly before turning back toward where the rest of the group was standing. "We can't go after them, not just us five. There are too many of them now."
"I know," Kingsley agreed.
Silence reigned in the room. Harry sat on the edge of his desk, thinking to himself. He remembered, during the battle, how the Dementors had scattered at the presence of three Patronuses before he had managed to conjure his own. "How many are there?" he asked breaking the silence.
"Last time they came to ask about Azkaban, there were over five hundred of them. I know that your Patronus is big Harry, but it's not enough," Proudfoot said.
"What is yours?" He asked.
"Badger, it's too small to be of much help" he replied.
"Neville?
"It's an eagle, but I still have trouble pulling it off, Harry," Neville responded.
"Lansing?" Harry asked as he stood up and began to pace.
"Beaver. Harry what are you thinking?"
"Well, if we can find them, wouldn't we be able to drive them someplace if we had enough people who could cast a Patronus?" he asked looking around.
"The theory is good, but where would we force them to go? And how would we make them stay?" Lansing asked.
Harry shook his head, "I'm not sure. Somewhere off coast, or where they couldn't get to people. If they can't get to a population to feed from, they'll starve right? Isn't that why they're attacking?"
Kingsley rubbed his head. "You have a point; I'm guessing they will starve if left without a food source. But even if there is a way we can get them to a place off coast, how do we keep them there?"
"There is an island about fifteen kilometers away from Azkaban; you can see it from the prison. If we could get them out there, the guards could keep watch to make sure they didn't leave," Proudfoot suggested.
"They won't stay forever, but that would at least get them away from a majority of the population. The ones that are strong enough to survive could be dealt with if they came back. We could try that, but we'd have to wait for Sabrina and Tim to be up to it, and we'd have to get some extra help," Kingsley said thoughtfully. "Harry, would your friends be up to that?"
Harry swallowed. "I can ask, I think they'll help out."
"Well, for now, we don't have any way to find them, so we'll just have to wait. But be on the alert; if there's another attack, we'll have to move quickly to catch them," Kingsley said with a resigned sigh. "I need to get back to Mungo's, to see if they've had any success with the antidotes. Marcus hasn't responded, so I'm guessing no news might be good news. Lansing, have you got any ideas on how we can figure out the type of venom used in the concoction?"
"Revelaspell only told us it's a venom; it can't go any further than that because it only identifies herbs and plants. This is a biological agent. We'll have to start by analyzing it against different venoms from different animals," he explained thoughtfully. He waved his wand and the cauldron he'd vanished earlier appeared on his desk. He conjured a small flask and siphoned the liquid into the vial, shaking it gently. "It seems thicker, so I'm guessing its snake venom of some sort. Fitting if it is the Death Eaters."
"Can you take that up to the Department for Control of Magical Creatures?" Kingsley asked, stepping closer to look at the vial. "That's the only lead were going to have at this point. Harry, would you want to come back to St. Mungo's with me quickly? Then you can go home," he asked turning to look at Harry, who nodded in agreement.
"Proudfoot, you and Longbottom head out to Azkaban and check out that island. Talk to the guards and see what their ideas would be for containing the Dementors. We'll talk more on Monday about the Dementors, and make an official plan. Does that work for you?"
Neville nodded. Proudfoot did the same before explaining his plan. "A few of the guards have some good insight just from working out there when the Dementors still guarded the place. I'll get their thoughts as well."
"Contact me if there is anything new. We'll be off now," Kingsley said, stepping toward the door. Harry followed, waving to Neville, Lansing and Proudfoot as he and Kingsley walked out the door and into the Atrium.
They walked for a ways in silence, Harry still racking his brains for ideas on getting rid of the Dementors for good, in addition to how to catch whoever poisoned the village.
"Harry, how did you learn to cast a Patronus?" Kingsley asked as they walked.
Harry cleared his throat. "Lupin taught me. He never mentioned it?"
Kingsley shook his head. "No, he didn't. Remus was very private about the year he taught at Hogwarts. I think it was probably one of the happiest of his life. It's unfortunate that he chose not to stay on; I'm guessing he was an excellent teacher."
Harry smiled slightly. "He was. I don't think he had much of a choice. After Snape outed him as a werewolf, he said there would be letters and complaints; he was worried about the effect it would have on Dumbledore."
"True," Kingsley agreed. "This is also unfortunate, because Dumbledore wouldn't have cared what effect it had on him. Lupin was a good man, stuck in a bad condition. I'm working on undoing the laws that prohibit werewolves from keeping jobs. There are lots of good men, and women, stuck in that condition, by no choice of their own. They should be able to find work; they shouldn't be forced to live the lives they do," he said thoughtfully.
Harry, again, was comforted by Kingsley's sense of right and wrong, which was in line with his own. "What about the Muggle-Born persecution laws, how are those coming?"
"We've got a majority of them identified, and counter laws ready to be put in place. There is actually a court meeting after the New Year to move for their abolishment. Umbridge's trial is also set for January seventh. Will you be able to come?"
"Yes, I should be. Though, I'm not sure I can offer much," Harry said.
"You were witness to at least one interrogation she was part of, weren't you?"
"Yes, I suppose I was," he admitted, remembering the brief session he saw of Umbridge interrogating Mrs. Catermole.
"Were Hermione or Ron in there longer?" Kingsley asked.
"Hermione was."
"Do you think she would come and testify?"
Harry swallowed. "I think so, but you'd have to ask her."
Kingsley smiled. "Do you mind if I come back to the Burrow with you and do that? I don't want to put her through anything, but it would help our case greatly if we had more witnesses," he explained.
"No I don't mind at all," Harry said.
Kingsley nodded. They had reached St. Mungo's, and walked through the magical barrier into the main entrance.
It was much calmer now than it had been a few hours earlier; the waiting area seemed to have returned to normal. Kingsley headed upstairs to the third floor and smiled at what he saw. The Muggle patients were lying in bed, many of them still sickly looking, but it was no longer the chaos they had witnessed this morning. The Mediwizard they had spoken with earlier came out of the closed ward and approached them.
"Those remedies worked, Minister. They relieved a lot of the insanity symptoms, and helped calm them down, so we can at least try to figure out what else they've got in their systems. They're all so confused, and still very, very sick from whatever else was in the poison," he explained.
"We're working on that. Have you been able to identify anything about the venom part of the poison from your examinations?" Kingsley asked.
"Whatever that venom is, it's strong. We've been having to give them hourly Mandrake draughts and strengthening solutions just to keep them strong enough to drink water. It makes them incredibly weak, and causes a lot of pain. It's definitely a venom that attacks the nervous system, probably snake venom of some sort," Marcus explained, as he examined his notes.
"That's what we guessed as well. Lansing is researching it, hopefully the members of the magical creatures department will have some insight," Kingsley said reassuringly.
"I hope they can find out quick; whatever is left in their system from the poison is slow acting, but it's definitely killing them," Marcus said darkly. "I thought Tim Holcombe was working on it? We did receive a very strange message from him; it cut off halfway through."
"Holcombe, unfortunately, was the victim of a completely different attack. Not to worry, however, he'll be back at it on Monday," Kingsley assured him.
"Right. Well, I'm going to get back to researching what we've got here; if anything changes, I will let you know," Marcus said. Kingsley nodded and shook his hand before turning and motioning Harry to follow him.
"Does he know Tim?" Harry asked.
"Only from meeting him a few times at the office, and when he's visited here," Kingsley explained. "Tim comes very highly recommended from the American Auror office. He's an expert in potion concoction and defensive spells, been with their office since he turned 16. He finished his N.E.W.T's while he worked there, and had just completed his W.O.M.B.A.T.S. when we recruited him just before the end of the war," Kingsley explained.
"He was willing to relocate so easily?"
"He had reason," Kingsley explained, in a somber tone. "His fiancé had traveled to England for study last January. If they'd had any idea of what was really going on over here, she probably wouldn't have come. Unfortunately, they didn't, and she was identified as a Muggle-born on her passport. He never talks about it, I think it's still too hard for him to discuss. But as soon as she registered with the Ministry, she was put on a hit list."
"She was murdered?" Harry asked, a horrified expression crossing his face.
Kingsley nodded. "She was among a group of fifteen Muggle-borns that were murdered by a group of snatchers. We had the unfortunate task of notifying him while I was still technically a Ministry employee. After I was almost captured, I contacted him again and explained the situation. That's when he volunteered to come over and help."
Harry nodded. He suddenly felt a pang of sadness. Out of anyone in that office, Tim was the most lighthearted, the most carefree of them all. He never imagined him having such a tragic past.
"But, as I said, he doesn't talk about it very often, if at all; so, I'm not surprised he hasn't told you," Kingsley said. "You ready to go back to The Burrow?"
Harry nodded; his mind was filled with sorrow. He shook his head before concentrating all his energy on thoughts of The Burrow and twisting into the smothering blackness.
Authors Note: I love your reviews, I sincerely hope you are all enjoying this story as much as I am enjoying write it. There is much more coming, so please continue to leave your feedback, I take it all into consideration!!!! Thank you to my beta, Sierra, for her absolutely wonderful support and feedback.