"This way," said Ron Weasley as he led his Head of House, Minerva McGonagall, to the place where his sister Ginny was last seen. "Colin and Demelza are waiting for us there," Ron explained, pointing to the two students standing across an alcove with worried faces.
"Creevey. Robbins," McGonagall nodded to her two protégés. "Tell me what exactly happened."
"We were on our way to dinner when Ginny suddenly stopped and took something out of her pocket," Demelza said. "She motioned us to go ahead, and that we did."
"But she didn't come for dinner," said Colin. "We waited for her, but when she never came, we went back to Gryffindor Tower without her. When we passed this place, we found this." Colin pointed to a wand and broken mirror in the alcove, half-hidden behind some armour.
"That's Ginny's wand," said Demelza. "I'm not sure about the mirror, but it probably belongs to Ginny too."
McGonagall looked at Ron with a raised eyebrow.
"Yeah," said Ron. "That's her wand."
"Maybe she went back to the common room because she forgot something?" asked McGonagall.
"Not without her wand," Ron put in, shaking his head vehemently.
"I've already checked it," said Colin. "Ginny wasn't there. Not in the common room and not in her room. I asked one of her roommates to look for her."
"We need to let Mum and Dad know," said Ron, nodding his thanks to Colin as the boy handed him Ginny's wand and the mirror.
McGonagall gave him a pensive look. "It won't be that easy. The Floo network broke down earlier. But we hope it will work again soon."
"But ..." began Ron.
"I will inform the headmaster. He'll take care of the matter," said McGonagall with a look that made it clear to Ron that the conversation was over for now.
Upon their arrival, Ginny immediately realized that something was wrong. She had to support Harry, who was slumped in her arms and slowly let him slide to the ground.
"Did we make it?" Harry groaned, his face contorted with pain.
"Yeah," replied Ginny and asked, worried, "What happened?"
"My back hurts," Harry replied, moaning softly, squeezing his eyes shut tightly.
Ginny leaned down to Harry but couldn't see much in the dark. A sigh of relief escaped her as she found Harry's wand, which he had dropped on landing.
"Lumos," she muttered, gasping for air when she saw the blood on her hand. Holding the wand closer over Harry, she hissed, "Merlin," when she spotted a large stain of blood on his back.
"Harry, you're hurt," Ginny said, horrified, moving her wand over his face when he didn't answer. His eyes were closed, and his breathing was ragged. Obviously, he'd passed out. Carefully, Ginny took the backpack off his shoulders and let Harry float in front of her towards the cottage. Thankfully, the back door was ajar, and Ginny kicked it open.
Cautiously, Ginny lowered Harry on the sofa in the living room and pushed the table away to make room for her. She hesitated briefly but then cut open his winter jacket, which was ripped apart and bloody anyway, and took it off. His T-shirt immediately followed. As Ginny lifted Harry a bit to turn him on his side, stabbing pain shot through her knee and made her groan out.
Cursing softly to herself, Ginny waited for the pain to subside, then leaned over Harry to examine his injury. Her eyes widened in horror when she saw the almost one foot long cut under Harry's right shoulder. She swallowed and took a few deep breaths to calm herself down enough to keep her hands from shaking.
Not knowing what spell had caused the injury, Ginny took Harry's wand anyway and mumbled several times Episkey while moving the wand alongside the cut. It was the only healing spell she knew. Ginny let out a relieved breath as the wound closed somewhat and reached for Harry's T-shirt to dab the blood off his back. Finally, she bent down to pick up the remains of Harry's jacket to cover him with it.
Hurrying into the kitchen, Ginny searched the cupboards for the potions supply. When she couldn't find anything, she took a chair to examine the upper compartments, where she finally discovered a stand full of several vials. Reading the somewhat wobbly written labels, she took a vial of pepper-up and a pain-relieving potion and headed back to the living room.
By administering Harry the potion in sips, she made sure he swallowed it properly. When the vials were empty, she took another look at the cut on Harry's back. It was halfway closed and wasn't bleeding anymore. Since Ginny was afraid it might develop an infection, she searched the kitchen for gauze and plaster and bandaged the wound carefully.
Leaning back in an armchair, Ginny watched Harry thoughtfully, hesitating whether to take him up to his room or leave him here. Eventually, Ginny decided to get his bedsheets and pyjamas and let him sleep on the sofa. That way, she wouldn't have to leave him alone.
Levitating Harry over the sofa, she pulled his pyjama top on and buttoned it. After a brief moment of hesitation, she also removed his jeans and socks, hoping it wouldn't be too embarrassing for him that she'd seen him in his boxers.
As she took off his socks, Ginny discovered Harry's swollen ankle and remembered he'd mentioned it earlier. Picking up his wand again, she eyed it hesitantly but finally shrugged. It was too late anyway. It was Harry's wand, and the house was heavily protected. Nobody would find out that she'd done magic here. She put a cooling charm on Harry's ankle and made a mental note to renew it later.
After covering Harry with his sheets and making sure he was comfortable, Ginny went back to the kitchen to get a pain reliever potion for herself as well. She swallowed the whole bottle at once and collapsed into the armchair next to Harry. Ginny was just about to fall asleep when her gaze fell on the fireplace. Scolding herself for her forgetfulness, she jumped up and reached for the Floo powder. Throwing a pinch of powder into the fireplace, Ginny was perplexed when nothing happened. Damn it, she thought and tried again. When again nothing happened, she gave up and sank back into the armchair, where she fell asleep a little later.
When Ginny was startled out of her sleep, her muscles were stiff and sore. Groaning, she stretched, relieved that the backache was caused by sleeping in this unfamiliar position and not by the Cruciatus curse the day before. She had to thank Malfoy for holding her only briefly under the curse, she thought sarcastically.
Slowly she got up and bent over Harry, who still lay on the sofa in the same position as before. It seemed he hadn't moved at all. Ginny was relieved that he was breathing evenly. A look at her watch showed it was just after 7 a.m. If she remembered correctly, they'd arrived after midnight. Harry would surely wake up soon too.
Maybe, she should put the coffee on and prepare a bite for breakfast. Fortunately, she'd visited Harry during the summer break and knew her way around the kitchen, at least well enough to prepare breakfast.
When Ginny passed the fireplace, she noticed it was still off and shook her head, wondering what was wrong with the Floo connection.
In the kitchen, Ginny turned the water on and decided on make a simple breakfast. She still felt a bit weak and not in the mood for something bigger. Quickly, she fixed a couple of sandwiches and put everything on a tray when the coffee was ready.
"Hi," Harry greeted her with a weak smile as she stepped into the living room.
"Lie down!" Ginny said as Harry tried to sit up. "Breakfast is ready, and when we have eaten, I'll have a look at your injury. And when it looks good, you can get up."
"Hey, you're not my mother," Harry grumbled.
"And that's your luck," Ginny replied with a sweet smile. "I have sandwiches and coffee. Is that okay with you?"
"That's perfect," said Harry, in a slightly better mood.
"The Floo network is still not working," said Ginny. "Do you often face such problems?"
"Nope. Not that I know of," Harry replied, taking a sip of coffee. "It already didn't work last night when I wanted to call for help. That's why I Apparated directly to Malfoy Manor to get you out of there."
"That reminds me. How did you know where to find me?" Ginny asked, astonished.
"The mirror," Harry answered. "It was still switched on when Malfoy instructed his cronies to bring you there."
"You're so cute when you're so protective," Ginny mumbled with a slight blush. "Usually, I can take care of myself. But this time, your help was very welcome. I can't thank you enough."
Looking sheepishly at his coffee mug, Harry muttered with a crooked smile, "I couldn't leave you there alone, could I? Besides, you almost escaped alone. I just had to Apparate us out."
"No, it wasn't me. There was this house-elf..."
"Dobby?" asked Harry.
"Yes, Dobby. He helped me escape," said Ginny.
Harry nodded. "I've seen how Dobby turned off the lantern and opened the window."
"I hope Malfoy doesn't find out that Dobby had helped me. He'd kill him," Ginny muttered pensively.
"I wonder why Dobby helped us in the first place," said Harry.
"Me too," Ginny confirmed, nodding. Suddenly not that hungry anymore, she glanced over at Harry. "We need to find someone who can check on your injury." She frowned. "But how are we supposed to do that. There is no way you can Apparate in your condition. Maybe in a day or two."
"And what about you?" Harry asked with a concerned look. "What did they do to you? I can't imagine Malfoy only asked for the diary."
Ginny met Harry's eyes and decided to stick with the truth. "Malfoy briefly used the Cruciatus Curse ..."
"He did what?" shouted Harry, sitting up.
"Lie down!" Ginny grumbled, glaring at Harry, "It was only for a short moment, and your injury is a lot worse."
"But someone has to check on you," Harry insisted.
"Yes, of course," Ginny agreed. "Which brings us back to the question of how we can call for help."
"I could try a Patronus," Harry said thoughtfully.
"You can conjure a Patronus?" Ginny asked, genuinely amazed.
"Yeah, but so far, I've never managed to produce a speaking Patronus," Harry admitted. "But I can try if you give me my wand." Harry pointed to the sideboard where his wand was lying. "But I have to stand up to concentrate."
Ginny watched as Harry closed his eyes and held his wand in the air. Taking a few breaths, he straightened and opened his eyes again. "Expecto Patronum."
A silver stag jumped from the tip of his wand and looked at Harry expectantly.
"Go to Ginny's parents and tell them she is safe. We can't leave my place because our Floo connection is down."
The stag stared at Harry and then began to pace up and down the living room before it slowly disappeared.
"Damn it," Harry cursed angrily. "I should have practised it more often."
"It's okay," Ginny hurried to say. "We'll find a way. But let's have a look at your injury first. Take off your pyjama top."
Apparently, it was only now that Harry realized he was standing in front of Ginny in his boxer shorts. Looking down at himself, he blushed slightly and glanced up at Ginny. "Did you..."
"Who else," Ginny shrugged apologetically. "There was no one else around."
"Err, yes. That's right," Harry nodded, who seemingly just accepted it.
"And since we kissed, I thought I have the right to see you in your panties," Ginny added with a mischievous grin.
Harry's eyes shot up at Ginny in surprise and suddenly began to smile. "Yes, I remember. It was nice, and we wanted to continue here."
"Yeah, but then someone decided to save my life and got hurt, and we had other priorities," Ginny said. "But we'll get our chance. Don't think I'll forget it. Now take off your clothes and lie down." When Harry looked at her in horror, Ginny rolled her eyes. "Of course, you can leave your knickers on."
"Ah, yes. Of course," Harry muttered and lay down on the sofa, bare-chested. "You can tell me what happened at Malfoy Manor while you're ogling me."
"But first, I need the glass with Dittany I've seen in the kitchen cupboard," Ginny replied after a quick glance at the injury and hurried to the kitchen.
When she returned, Harry had already shifted to his side so Ginny could better reach his injury.
"I suppose you've seen how Malfoy caught me?" asked Ginny.
"Yeah, that's why I knew you were at Malfoy Manor," Harry muttered into the pillow. "Fortunately, they didn't know about our mirrors."
"Yeah, fortunately," Ginny agreed, leaning over Harry to dab the wound with Dittany. "And you were right, Malfoy wanted the diary," Ginny explained as she tended Harry. "I don't even know where the diary is. I suppose Dumbledore is keeping it."
"Yeah. But I also don't know where Dumbledore took it," Harry said, pushing the pillow away so he could speak better. "That brings me to another matter I wanted to talk to you about."
"What is it?" Ginny asked, her curiosity growing. She reached for Harry's pyjama top. "Do you want to wear this again, or should I look for something else?"
"No thanks. This is okay," Harry replied, accepting Ginny's help with getting dressed.
While Harry made himself comfortable on the sofa, Ginny sat in the armchair and asked, "Why don't you turn on the wireless? Maybe there's something on the news. And then I'll be all ears for what you want to tell me."
"Good idea," Harry muttered, reaching for his wand. When a report about a second division Quidditch team came over the speakers, Harry turned the volume down a bit. Scratching his chin, he shot Ginny a thoughtful look.
"Dumbledore always insisted that nobody but Sirius and me should know," Harry began. "But I've told him several times that you deserve to know, too."
Ginny frowned. "Now, you've made me curious."
"Ginny," said Harry, looking into her eyes. "Have you ever heard the term Horcrux?"
Amazed, Ginny cocked her head and shook it. "Not that I know of."
A strange foreboding crept over Ginny as Harry told her what he knew about Horcruxes. The whole concept struck her as sick.
"And," Ginny began when Harry had finished. "You are telling me that the diary was a Horcrux? Or is it still even one?"
"Yes," said Harry. "And I always thought you should know that the diary wasn't just a Dark Object. It was a piece of Voldemort's soul you fought against. And yes, as far as I know, the diary still exists. Dumbledore told me that he still couldn't figure out how to destroy the Horcruxes."
A chill ran down Ginny's spine. She had to fold her hands to keep them from shaking.
Leaning over to her, Harry put his hand on her arm. "He'll never harm you again. I'll make sure of that."
Ginny held her breath. Giving Harry a scrutinising look, she knew he was dead serious. With a prophecy looming over his future, he'd probably given his situation with Voldemort a lot of thought. She nodded. "I'll help you as best I can."
Harry froze for a moment but then nodded hesitantly. "Yes. I doubt I can stop you."
"No way," Ginny snorted, shaking her head when she suddenly heard... "Wait!" She raised her hand. "It's the news on the wireless."
But it was just the usual eulogies for the new government under Lucius Malfoy and the danger Muggle-borns posed to the wizarding society. Ginny was about to ask Harry where Sirius was when things got interesting.
From the loudspeakers, it sounded, "To fight the crimes in the wizarding world, the Minister of Magic, Lucius Malfoy, has ordered that the Floo network be shut down. After verifying their identity, every owner of a Floo access can personally request to reconnect their fireplace in the department of Transportation in the Ministry of Magic. In this way, the use of the Floo network should be limited to trustworthy witches and wizards."
"Damn it," Harry cursed. "That means we won't get our Floo access back as long as Malfoy is the minister. If only Sirius was here. He always finds a way."
"It'll be the same at the Burrow and Grimmauld Place," Ginny agreed. "Do you know where Sirius is?"
"He's doing something secretive for the Order but should've returned a few days ago. I have no idea where he's now, "Harry said.
"We'll be alone here for a while, then," Ginny said thoughtfully.
With a big smile, Harry replied, "I'm glad you're here."
"Me too," said Ginny and knelt in front of the sofa. Resting her head on Harry's chest, she took his hand in hers and smiled at Harry.
"I should have asked you out earlier," said Harry.
Ginny raised her eyebrows. "What kept you from doing it? And just for the record, I'm still waiting."
Harry sighed. "It's ... It's a bit complicated, and I ... I didn't know for sure, and..." Harry sighed again.
Ginny grinned. "I know someone who used to say it's pretty easy. You just say that you like someone, and everything is fine."
Harry laughed. "At that time, I was still young and inexperienced."
"And what are you now?"
"Still young and inexperienced. But today, I know how much I miss you when you're not around," Harry admitted with a crooked grin. "I almost died when I had to watch them dragging you away."
Ginny met Harry's eyes, and she somehow couldn't deny the feeling those emerald green oceans were magically drawing her in. "Since we're just about to confess everything to each other," she said with a shy smile. "In secret, I was hoping you'd ask me out one day ever since we first met. Before I even knew you were Harry Potter."
Harry ran his hand through her hair, and Ginny closed her eyes, moaning softly.
"It seems to me, you know a lot more about love matters than I am," said Harry.
"No. Certainly not," Ginny replied. "Do you know why I was on the balcony when we first met?"
"You said you wanted to think about something," Harry replied. "And I remember being amazed when you said you'd found your answer."
Ginny giggled. "I really did. There was this boy who'd been watching me for quite a while. He always smiled at me whenever we met. And then he'd asked me if I would go to Hogsmeade with him."
Harry raised his eyebrows. "And? Did you go to Hogsmeade together?"
"No," replied Ginny. "Since the diary, I've always had problems trusting someone, and I've been wondering for a long time whether I should go to Hogsmeade with Dean. He's a roommate of Ron's and actually a nice guy. I didn't want to disappoint him, but I didn't mean to give him false hopes either. I didn't know what to do. And then you showed up. "
"I?" asked Harry.
"Yes, you. Silly," said Ginny. "Everything was so easy with you, and I realized that I didn't want to go out with Dean. When you said you'd be around every Saturday, I was looking forward to our occasional meetings, which I certainly couldn't come to if I had a boyfriend. So I turned Dean down, hoping that one day you would... "
"And I still haven't asked you," said Harry. "But..."
Ginny straightened up and looked at Harry.
Harry gave her an embarrassed smile. "Ginny Weasley, do you want to be my girlfriend?"
Ginny was grinning all over her face. She really liked Harry, probably even more, and all she wanted was to throw herself on him and kiss his brains out - but he was hurt. Stroking his hair, she said, "Oh, I'd love that." Leaning over, she kissed Harry and moaned in satisfaction as he put his arms around her to pull her closer.
Remembering Harry's injury, Ginny tried to pull away from Harry. "You're hurt," she murmured softly.
"I don't care," Harry muttered, lifting his head to not lose contact with her lips. When Harry pulled her closer again, Ginny gave in. Kissing him back, she was instantly lost, impressed that Harry had never kissed before. A shiver ran down her back as he gently sucked in her upper lip, asking her to open her mouth. With a blissful moan, she stopped breathing and lost track of time as their tongues began to dance around each other.
As Ginny tried to straighten up a bit to get a better hold of Harry, a pain shot through her back, making her whimper briefly.
"Ginny, did I hurt you?" Harry called startled and pulled away from her.
"No, it's all right," Ginny replied, laughing. The pain was gone as fast as it came. "I think my muscles are still a bit sore, that's all."
"You're sure?" Asked Harry, giving her a worried look.
"Yeah, I am," Ginny replied with a chuckle. "We're a strange couple, aren't we? Kissing each other brains out, but we can hardly move."
"Yeah," Harry agreed without letting go of her. "I can't wait to get up again. I already feel much better."
"Then let's take a walk on the Quidditch pitch later," suggested Ginny. "A bit of fresh air won't hurt, and if you feel better, you can Apparate again in the morning. Somebody really should be looking at our injury." She gave Harry a thoughtful look. "Maybe you should try the Patronus again while I'm fixing something edible in the kitchen."
"Yes, I'll give it another try," Harry agreed.
In the kitchen, Ginny took a few vials of potions out of the cupboard, one pepper-up for each of them and one pain reliever for Harry. She could do without it herself, she thought.
Since she'd only made a few quick sandwiches in the morning, she decided on something heartier for lunch. Pondering her options, she finally took some ham and eggs from the freezer and put a pot of potatoes on the stove.
She brought the basket of fruit she'd found on the sideboard into the living room and watched Harry briefly, who was working intensely with his wand.
"I think I'm almost there," Harry said hopefully.
"I'll be right back with the meal," Ginny replied with an encouraging smile. "Would you like to drink water or tea?"
"Water should do it," Harry replied.
Ginny sliced the boiled potatoes while the ham sizzled in a pan with chopped onion.
When she brought a carafe of water and two glasses into the living room, she froze. Where did Harry go?
"Harry!" she called, and when she got no answer again louder, "Haaarry!"
"Yes, what's up?" came his voice from the hallway.
When Harry strode into the room, Ginny took a deep breath. "You scared me. I thought you disappeared."
"Every now and then, a boy has to go to the loo," Harry said with a shrug. Before Ginny could say anything, he added with a grin, "As my girlfriend, you can see me in my boxer shorts, but I insist on going to the bathroom by myself."
"Sorry, I shouldn't be so controlling," Ginny said, raising her hands apologetically. Giggling, she shook her head at herself and went back to the kitchen, where she gave the potatoes in the pan with the ham and onions and fried the eggs.
Ginny was just stepping into the living room with two full plates when Harry called out, "Expecto Patronum!"
The silver stag jumped out of his wand, turned to Harry and nodded at him encouragingly.
"Go to Ginny's parents and tell them she is safe. She will be home as soon as possible."
The stag nodded to Harry, galloped off, and disappeared.
"Harry, you did it," beamed Ginny.
"Yeah," Harry beamed back. "Finally, it worked."
"Come on, let's have something to eat. I hope you're fine with fried potatoes and eggs," Ginny said. "We eat this a lot because it's easy and quick to prepare."
"It looks delicious," said Harry. "The sight of it alone makes me really hungry."
When they were done eating, Ginny carried the dishes into the kitchen and got the potions. As she came back, Harry had already magically extended the sofa. Pointing at it, he muttered. "I'm so full. I think we better take a nap."
"Okay, but first, you have to take your potions," Ginny replied.
Harry rolled his eyes but drank his two vials without arguing. He made himself comfortable on the sofa and patted his hand on the mattress.
"I'll be right there," Ginny said, chuckling. She drained her vial of pepper-up potion and snuggled up against Harry. Hoping that Harry's Patronus would find her parents, she closed her eyes and fell asleep.