I think the reviews must have spurred me on; I was expecting this chapter to take ages to write. There's a bad cliff hanger again (sorry!) but I promise it'll be the last one. 2 more chapters and an epilogue still to come. Thanks to Firebolt909 for the second opinion on the ending! JKR's characters and world.
PLEASE review - I love to know what you think and it really does help to keep me writing quickly!
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"Love all, trust a few,
Do wrong to none; be able for thine enemy
Rather in power than use, and keep thy friend
Under thy life's own key."
-Shakespeare
To Die For
Harry fell from thin air, slamming heavily into the stone floor of the underground room he had been transported to, hands outstretched to break his fall.
"Great start," he muttered to himself, checking that the place was deserted, then sitting up and flicking pieces of gravel out of the tiny cuts in his palms. He grimaced slightly, but from past experience, he knew there would be far worse to come than the bruises currently forming on the heels of his hands. He scrambled quickly to his feet, and checked his wand, which at least didn't seem to have suffered any damage by his violent entry into this place.
Harry looked around him. He was in a room, which he wouldn't have been at all surprised to find at Hogwarts. It was a circular place, crafted out of large slabs of sandstone, with a vaulted ceiling, decorated with buttresses, ornate carving across each curve and plinth. The only item which was in the room appeared to be a statue; a twin of the grey dwarf with the twisted beard who had transported him thus far, and Harry knew that this was his only route home. The domed ceiling made his footsteps echo quietly as he crept forwards to a Gothic archway portraying a sculpted serpent crushing its deadly coils around the image of a vanquished lion. He briefly touched the sandstone wall, feeling its coolness against the moistness of his still trembling hands. Where would they have taken Ginny?
Steadily he edged forward, and in the dimly lit area framed by the arch, he could see a narrow spiral staircase twisting upwards, the treads heavily worn on the wider part of each step, giving them a very uneven appearance. He grasped the rope banister to go up the stairs and swiftly recoiled as the rope writhed under his fingers. His heart thudded against his ribs. It wasn't a rope; it was a living hissing snake. Harry's brain worked quickly, and he bent down to stare at the serpent, steadily gazing into the unblinking tearless eyes to apologise.
A hissing, spitting sound escaped from his own mouth, bringing back memories of three years ago, but he dismissed them. It wasn't the time to be thinking about that now. He needed to find Ginny, and this snake would have seen her, he was certain of that.
"Who came here just before me?" Harry asked the snake quickly, keeping his voice as low as possible.
"A black hooded figure and a girl with hair like fire," the snake hissed in reply.
"Are you sure?" Harry felt quite desperate. The snake writhed again and affirmed it. "Where have they taken her?"
"Where they took the last one," the snake responded, its forked tongue flickering in the candle light. "There is a room directly opposite these stairs, just one floor above where we are now. They'll be there questioning her."
"I need to get her out of there," Harry explained, beginning to panic again about what they might be doing to her as part of their questioning. "Has anyone ever escaped before?" The snake swayed it's head hypnotically from side to side.
"Not from the Death Eaters," it hissed. "One man has been taking corpses out this way." Harry nodded. Hermione had almost certainly been right about Snape.
"Thanks," he said to the snake, and was about to get to his feet when the snake surveyed him closely through black beady eyes.
"Are you the Potter boy?" it asked, fixing its gaze on Harry's scar. Harry nodded again. "Be careful," it continued. "I've heard them talking about you. They will harm you. They are planning your death for a very precise moment in time, to complete a spell for the Dark Lord's total victory over the wizarding world."
Harry crept stealthily up the stairs, shrinking back into shadow on the landing above. The snake was right. The heavy oak door immediately opposite had a light shining out in the gap between the bottom of the door and the floor. Harry wished fervently that he had the invisibility cloak with him, but it was safely stowed in his trunk back in the fifth year boys' dormitory in Gryffindor Tower. He flattened himself against the darkest part of the wall, holding his breath, as the door opposite swung open, the dancing flickering light of the fire within permeated some of the varying shades of shadow in the hallway, but could not reach its fingers as far as to betray Harry's presence. Two men were silhouetted against the light of the room.
"That'll hold her until the Dark Lord is ready," the taller man on the right said in a gruff voice. "No need for us to be there now."
"Just as well," muttered the other quite bitterly. Their shadows diminished as they got further down the corridor, and Harry could just make out the second man bemoaning the pain in his bitten hand. He grinned slightly at this and it gave him the courage he needed. Wand or no wand, Ginny was fighting back, and there was no way she was going to give in without a mammoth struggle. Listening carefully for any movement, he crossed the corridor, and pressed his ear against the door. No sound came from within but the crackling of flames.
"Alohomora," he whispered, and the door clicked obligingly open, allowing him to slide through.
The new room was a large one, not much different in size to the Great Hall, but it was nowhere near as welcoming. A huge stone fireplace was further along the wall opposite the door, its massive chimney breast carved with further serpent motifs dominated the place. Firelight glimmered through the darkness of the rest of the room, casting eerie shadows over what little furniture there was, highlighting a small isolated figure with cascades of vibrantly red hair. She was struggling ferociously with something, but he couldn't see what. Harry's heart leapt.
"Ginny!" Relief flooded through him as he ran across the empty room to her, grateful to see she was still alive. She whirled around on the spot to face him, her emotions bubbling rapidly to the surface.
"Harry!" she gasped, sounding incredibly thankful to see him. Then her expression changed to one of real anxiety. "What are you doing here? You shouldn't have come. If they find you, they'll kill you, and I couldn't bear that."
"Never mind that now," Harry said quickly, realising that there was a problem as he tried to put his arm around her and found his way blocked by some magical force. "What is this?" His hands ran up some sort of invisible cylinder that was clearly confining Ginny where she stood. She leaned against it, pushing with all her might; her hands whitened with the pressure, but to no avail.
"It's the tendicula spell," she said bleakly. "I read about it once in one of Dad's books. It's no good Harry. Only the person who cast the spell on me can remove it, and there's no other way through. I'm trapped."
"OK," he said, thinking rapidly. He placed his hand against hers, the magic barrier separated them, but it was close enough. "It's not looking good, Gin," he added honestly, his own fear reflected in the depths of her eyes. "I don't know what he's planning, but I want you to promise me something. Something important." Her brown eyes melted into his, tugging at his heart. "You'll be fine with the Imperius Curse, but there's no way they're just going to stop at that. Ginny, I want… I need…you to promise me that whatever they do to you, you'll use our charm bond and deflect as much of the magic on to me as you can. Please Ginny," he begged, his voice cracking in desperation. "I'll do anything to get you out of here."
"On one condition," she said, looking at him intently. "Harry, I want you to use the charm the same way." He opened his mouth to protest, but she shook her head and continued before he had a chance. "I know you don't want to, but it's the only way. He won't be expecting it. If we trust each other completely and work together, we might actually stand a chance of getting out of here."
"I'll do it," he said firmly, looking steadily into her eyes and gaining strength. "We'll do it. Together."
"Harry," she said urgently, "There's something I need to tell you about that bond…"
Harry jumped nervously. Someone was coming. Ginny stopped speaking and frantically waved him away, and with a last longing glance back at her, he scuttled behind the heavy crimson drapes just a few feet from her prison. Through a chink in the curtain he could see her. The coldness of the condensation on the glass against his back brought with it a sudden chill of reality. This was no nightmarish vision; Ginny could die. Heart thumping uneasily, he fingered his wand anxiously and waited.
Ginny began pushing furiously against her invisible boundaries, yelling to be let out, and Harry sensed the presence of someone else in the room. He shifted his position slightly, and felt his stomach lurch when he saw the small balding wizard who had been responsible for the deaths of his parents. Wormtail.
"Not just yet," the wheezing voice said with a trace of amusement. "We are just waiting for our uninvited guest to arrive, but I'm sure it won't be too long before Harry gets here, and then we can get down to the real business of the evening."
"And what makes you think Harry will come?" Ginny said defiantly. "He's not stupid, you know. He's got a good idea of what you're up to."
"Oh, Harry will come to save you; or he'll try to," Wormtail said confidently, strolling in a circle around Ginny and regarding her carefully from head to toe. "That's what he did in the Chamber of Secrets, wasn't it?"
"How do you know that?" Ginny whispered curiously.
"It's amazing what you can learn as a Weasley family rat," he responded, sounding rather smug about the whole thing.
"You?" she gasped in horror, turning rather pale.
"Yes, me." Wormtail sounded very satisfied with himself. "I arrived just after you were born, and saw you grow up, but even I never imagined just how useful you would turn out to be."
"Useful?" she echoed, as Harry's stomach churned with dread.
"Oh yes, Ginny. You are going to be extremely useful to us today."
"I'd rather let you kill me than get anywhere near Harry," she spat, eyes blazing in true anger, as she struggled against the boundaries of her prison to get at him. The door creaked open, and Harry felt an ache throbbing distantly in his scar. Even without looking he knew who it was.
"That might easily be arranged," a cold, high-pitched voice cut across the room. Ginny gasped in horror, and Harry suddenly realised that she had never seen Voldemort before; not after he had been magically transformed from the handsome boy known as Tom Riddle. "Release her!" he commanded imperiously. A muttered spell was cast, and Ginny staggered when the boundary disappeared, falling face first onto the floor in a rush of russet hair.
Harry watched breathlessly, feeling completely paralysed as the tall, thin shape of the most evil wizard the world could remember, approached the person he loved with all his heart. He had never known fear like this. His head was spinning wildly and he felt panic rising steadily up towards his throat like bile. Ginny looked up at Voldemort, her chin set in determination. She stared unflinchingly into the merciless red eyes, mere slits in the white taut skin of the snake-like man. His nostrils flared slightly as he regarded her.
"What do you want?" Harry heard her say, in a voice most unlike her own.
"All will be revealed in good time," he said in an expressionless tone. "Learn patience Ginny. Or perhaps I need to teach you?" He ran a long, pointed finger across the gash on her cheek, across the softness of her skin. Harry saw her wince, and his fists clenched themselves tightly at his side. "I see someone already has," he said silkily. "Perhaps your obedience will be better than your patience. We shall see."
Harry's mind was working in a frenzy. How was he going to get her out of there? He needed Ron for a tactical manoeuvre such as this, and for a second wished he hadn't sent him for Dumbledore. There were three fully grown wizards in the room, and they were quite some distance from the door. He had Ginny's wand, and perhaps if he could somehow get it to her, they would stand a chance. Suddenly that cold hard voice cut through his thoughts.
"Come and join us, Harry. Face me like the man your father tried to be."
A peal of mirthless laughter followed, and Harry could make out the penetrating eyes of Voldemort staring unblinkingly at his hiding place. Harry's throat constricted and went dry. He swallowed awkwardly, knowing that he had no choice. His every movement would be observed now, and the chances of either of them escaping seemed to evaporate.
Pushing his way from behind the drapes, he moved further into the chamber, towards Ginny. Unprotected and alone, he felt rather like the first pawn in the game of wizard chess; completely vulnerable to the charge of impending battle with the enemy. Harry frowned briefly. He did feel just like a pawn. He glanced curiously at Voldemort, his panic and fear bizarrely fading a little. Was Voldemort simply playing a game with him? A battle of wills? Were they merely playing pieces in his overall plan? Instinctively he moved towards Ginny, a deeply rooted need to protect her surfacing in him. Every wand was trained on him to prevent it, so he stood still, gazing into her eyes. This was it, and they both knew it.
"To business," Voldemort's high-pitched voice hissed briefly on the latter syllable. "The knife, Wormtail." His servant whimpered slightly, and hurried forward, bowing deeply to his master, laying an unsheathed blade on the small oak table before them. The steel glinted in the flickering light of the room, ominously hinting at what was to come. Harry saw Ginny's eyes dart over to him, their dark depths showing how frightened she really was, then back to the dagger once more. Harry breathed deeply, his entire body taut with tension, ready to spring to action at any second.
"Now, let me see," a sinister smile played almost imperceptibly across Voldemort's ghostly lipless mouth, the redness of his eyes glowing like embers, ready to burn. "True love? I think not." His wand pointed directly at Ginny. "The knife is there. Hurt him," he commanded. "Imperio!"
Ginny's jaw was clenched firmly, and Harry saw she was utterly focused on what she had to do. A dull pain echoed around his head, and flooded him with relief. She'd done it. He felt a incredible sense of pride in her as she stared directly up at Voldemort, her eyes almost black as they shone with hatred.
"I won't," she said forcefully. "I do love him."
"Interesting," Voldemort mused out loud, as he paced around her. "How very…touching." He raised his wand slowly to Ginny again.
"Stop it!" Harry yelled suddenly, unable to bear it any longer. He was trembling from head to foot in a peculiar mixture of anger and terror. "If you want to kill me, then that's fine, but let her go."
"Oh, we do want you, Harry," the cold voice said smoothly. "Your death is essential for my plans…but not just yet. Not today. You will be called upon soon enough, and after we are done here, you will be begging me to let you die."
Harry's mind was reeling. This was all very unexpected. If they weren't after him right now, then what were they doing? Slowly a nagging thought began to penetrate his brain. They were using Ginny to get to him. They'd tried getting her to physically hurt him, but she could resist the Imperius Curse, so they'd… the concept was too horrible, but Harry forced himself to think it… they'd tear him apart emotionally, just like he'd read in the newspaper with the McCallums. They were going to torture her, and force him to watch. Suddenly he knew it was true. He had to stop it.
"Let her go," he growled through gritted teeth.
"I have no intention of doing that. You need to learn and understand what power is; real power. You need to learn that you will never be able to defeat me. Lord Voldemort is too great. You need to discover how to sink to your knees and beg for my mercy."
"Never!" Harry shouted, raising his wand, but Voldemort was too quick for him.
"Crucio!"
Harry saw it happen as if in slow motion. Ginny screamed in agony; a high-pitched noise, which pierced through his very soul. She crumpled and writhed around clutching her stomach, her entire face distorted by the white hot burning pain erupting inside her. Her shrieks continued, wild and uncontrolled, as they reverberated around the chamber. Voldemort jerked his wand, his eyes glimmering with pleasure as the torture intensified.
"Come on, Ginny," Harry urged her silently, focusing his mind on her. "Use the charm. Use the charm. Come on."
Slowly and steadily he could feel a tide of aching pain washing through his bones, gradually absorbing itself through every inch of his body. Ignoring the wands, and the ever increasing flow of torment, he hurried to her and held her in his arms. He glanced around the room wildly; somehow he had to get her out of here before things got any worse. Then as the pain began to subside he saw her looking steadily up at him, her beautiful eyes lined with the traces of suffering, but he could see that the bond between them was still strong. They had to hang on to that.
He grasped her hand firmly in his, squeezing her fingers gently, and turned to face Voldemort, blocking her entirely from his sight.
"Move out of the way," Voldemort instructed in a calm but deadly voice.
"No!" Harry asserted with all his might, and braced himself for what he knew was coming.
"You should have learnt to obey me by now, Harry," he laughed coldly. "Perhaps you need another lesson. Crucio!"
Harry managed to glance apologetically at her for a split second before the curse hit him. He bit back hard on the pain and thought of Ginny. She loved him. Somehow, that was enough, and he stood steadily on his feet, upright and certain, and faced Voldemort, who was still casting the spell upon him. A flicker of confusion fled over the older wizard's face, as Harry glared at him, rather than screaming in anguish. He was dimly aware of Ginny's fingernails digging into the soft flesh of his hand as she took the brunt of the curse in silence.
"I will never leave her," Harry shouted angrily, as Voldemort removed his wand. Harry knew that this was their only chance. Voldemort was disconcerted by the lack of effect of the Cruciatus Curse on him, and if they were going to make a break for it, it had to be now.
"Stupefy!" he yelled, waving his wand in Voldemort's direction, and pulling Ginny towards the door. They were within inches of the threshold of this great room, when they head a voice cry,
"Deicio."
Harry felt his hand wrenched apart from Ginny's as his body was propelled through the air, across the room, and his back impacted heavily and painfully against the ridged wooden paneling, which lined the place. He slid to the floor, but instantly scrambled to his feet, frantic to reach her again.
"Expelliarmus," he shouted. A wand flew out of the hand of the nearest Death Eater, but Voldemort turned on him, the narrow cat-like slits, pupils in those hideous scarlet eyes, penetrated deeply into him, staring unblinkingly with venom, as he was pitched hard into the wall once more.
The white mouth stretched into a taut smile, which contained no pity. He moved towards Ginny, holding her gaze. Her eyes widened with unspoken fear.
"You love him, you say. Enough to die for?"
The peal of merciless laughter which followed was hard to bear, as Harry suddenly understood, and flung himself towards Ginny with all his might, trying desperately to put himself between her and the curse he knew was coming.
"Avada Kedavra."
A blast of green light shot through the dimness of the room.