Crash And Burn
Author's Note: Hey everyone! I'm so happy I can finally update. I really do appreciate all my reviewers! *hugs reviewers* Anyway, on with the story! And I'm sorry it took this long to update, but I had major writers block.
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Madame Pomfrey had come in and passed out as soon as she'd seen the condition of Harry and heard the story of how they had gotten that way. Ginny had made do with her Pain Reliever Cloths and everyone had pitched in, Dumbledore and Sirius alike, putting the cloths where he had scratches and bruises. Madame Pomfrey, however, was the only one who could cure what the Cruciatus Curse had done to him inside, if she could even do anything.
Ginny had left them to take care of Harry while she tended to Stardust, Colin, and Draco. The other two had only gotten scratches and bruises. Colin had been hit with a few curses and had some ill effects, but nothing a bit of pain reliever and a few of Draco's countercurses couldn't cure. Soon the three of them were sitting around Stardust, keeping Pain Reliever cloths on his scratches until Hagrid could get there to help. Ron and Hermione had made sure Harry was being taken care of and soon joined the three of them around Stardust. He was breathing a bit heavy and had some scratches and bruises around him that looked to be deeper than she could tell. She would have to wait until Hagrid got there before anything else could be done.
They all sat in silence, quietly mulling over the roles each had played in Harry's rescue. Dumbledore and Sirius watched the five, watched as they quietly went about helping Stardust, a silent agreement not to talk about what happened coming between all of them. The two looked to each other and smiled before tending back to Harry as Madame Pomfrey came to.
"What on earth happened here? And why is that animal in here," asked Madame Pomfrey, becoming her usually no nonsense self.
"Stardust helped us get back from the Riddle home and fought off more Death Eaters than we had originally imagined. He's been hit with curses I can figure out and we need to get him healed. He helped out more than we initially knew. If Hagrid can't help we need to find a wizard vet to take care of him and I for one do not know where in the hell I can find one," said Ginny, a panic beginning to rise in her throat.
Hermione went over to her, putting a hand on her back. "Ginny, you need to calm down. Jumping out of your skin isn't going to do you any good. I'll go to the library and see what I can find about healing animals. Professor Dumbledore," she now turned to him, "do you know any wizard vets to care for the animal?"
"As a matter of fact yes. I'll owl him and ask him to come immediately. Poppy, if you could start a fire in the fireplace, I'm sure we can get him here all the more quick." Dumbledore went off to his office to write the note.
Groaning could be heard and soon Harry slowly opened one of his eyes. His eye moved wildly around as he tried to speak but found he couldn't.
"Ginny, Harry's--" Sirius tried to get out, but didn't have the chance to for as soon as he started to say something she was there, holding his hand and kissing his forehead.
"Harry, you're okay! My gods you're okay! Are you in pain? We can get you some more pain reliever potion? Do you need anything else? Are you comfortable? Do you need an extra pillow," Ginny ranted on, her overwhelming concern for him bubbling over.
Harry got out a small chuckle, took her hand, and grabbed her for a quick kiss. He pulled back and looked at her.
Ginny laughed. "Alright, I get it. I'll take care of Stardust and leave you to Sirius and Madame Pomfrey."
Harry nodded and closed his eye again, falling back into what he believed to be a peaceful slumber.
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Voldemort growled, swiping his arm across the mantle on the fireplace and knocking everything to the floor, precious antiques shattering into pieces at the will of this man's rage. He continued again, breaking, burning, damaging, and destroying everything in the room until all that was left was shambles and shadows of their former selves, the room looking like a picture from the depths of hell. And all that stood when the fury was reharnessed was Voldemort and his heir, Cho Chang.
"WHAT HAPPENED," Voldemort bellowed.
"Your lordship, the girl…….she has the power of the ancients on her side. She is unstoppable. She will destroy anyone who tries to kill those around her," said Chang, growling herself. "There's got to be some way to block her power. Some sort of spell or potion. I shall find this immediately my Lord."
Voldemort waved his hand at her dismissively. "Very well. And make sure that reinforcements are put up around the outside of the castle. Who knows if they'll try to get brave. I think a move on Hogwarts is being called for."
Cho looked surprised. "A move on Hogwarts? My Lord, Dumbledore and Harry are there, not to forget that Weasley bitch. To make another move would be sure to incite another tragedy."
"My dear Cho, that's exactly what we want. You see, that Weasley will have to use her power again. True, some of our forces will die, but she will have to do this in front of the whole school. She'll be shunned. She'll run away and break away from all her friends, even that precious Potter of hers. She'll come running out of the school and we'll capture her. I don't know why I didn't think of it sooner," he said.
Cho nodded her head. "As you wish my lord." Cho left to go carry out her task and choose the men and women that would have to die in order for the Dark Lord's new plan to go through.
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The wizard vet showed up soon and healed the wounds on Stardust that the rest of them weren't able to without him. He left her with a formula for a potion she would have to brew and mix in with his feed every day for two weeks, but it would take care of the left over effects that they couldn't see. She thanked him then transformed into her winged horse form and flew with Stardust down to the pasture, just in case he needed help on the way. He went back to grazing and Ginny went back to her duty at Harry's side.
The rest of them had long been kicked out, Sirius back to his room, Ron, Hermione, Draco, and Colin back to the Gryffindor common room. Ginny was allowed to be in the hospital wing only because she was engaged to him, and even this point was trivial. Truth is, Madame Pomfrey couldn't get her out and didn't really feel like arguing about it, for once.
Ginny lay down next to Harry, resting her head on his chest. Harry put his arm around her and the two sat there in silence. Ginny, though, was first to break the silence.
"Harry, are you really okay," she asked.
Harry lazily stroked her hair. "Yes Gin. I'm getting better. I'll be fine. I'm just worried about what Voldemort is going to try next. You're his biggest target now Gin. You're the only one who can beat his Death Eater in masses and that makes him mad. He might even get foolish enough to try an attack on Hogwarts, though I doubt he's that idiotic. Although, given his past choices, he's not above it."
Ginny nodded. "Yeah. I just hope he doesn't try it at all. Maybe he'll lay low for a while."
Harry looked down at her and smirked. "Right. And maybe tomorrow we'll be declared king and queen of England."
Ginny laughed. "Well your majesty, I do believe you need some rest. You need anything just let me know."
Harry yawned and put his arms around her. "I will. Goodnight hun."
Ginny snuggled in closer to Harry. "Goodnight."
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Voldemort paced back and forth in front of the fireplace at the Riddle home where he first killed the caretaker he had grown up with. He walked back and forth, his body heaving with the heavy breathing of anger that was coursing through him. He couldn't figure out how to beat that Weasley girl. He knew that the prophecy would come true if he couldn't separate the two or kill one of them. His only option would be the idea he had run through with Cho. The girl seemed to be willing and able to take care of this. He was hoping she wouldn't botch this one up.
"All of you have been chosen for our most dangerous mission yet. We will march on Hogwarts." Murmurs of worry echoed through the crowd, yet he continued. "Yes, I know this is a dangerous mission, and some of you may very well die, but in order for us to separate the two and keep our movement alive risks must be taken. If you can grab the girl, grab her and run. Once you are in the tunnels you can disapparate. Leave Potter to the girl and me. We shall take care of him once and for all. Now men and women alike, you have two days until the march on Hogwarts. I suggest you spend time with your families." With that he dismissed them, going to sit in one of the high backed chairs, Cho in the other, Nagini curled up at their feet. The two sat in silence, knowing very well that they would be the only ones to survive in all likelihood unless someone could get the girl and run. Who knew what the next few days leading up to it might mean?
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Harry stayed in the hospital that day, still recuperating from the overwhelming effects of the Cruciatus Curse. Ginny attended classes, Draco becoming her partner in Potions for the time being. She approached Snape about brewing the potion for Stardust in class in lieu of their normal assignment. Snape, knowing full well that both her and Draco were years ahead of the class, gave them full permission to do so. So for the time being, Ginny and Draco worked together on the Equine Pain Reliever/Curse Remover potion that the vet had given. As she was brewing it, she began talking with Draco.
"So Draco, honestly, how long have you been working undercover with Snape," she asked, throwing the fire seeds underneath the cauldron. It was another one of those difficult to brew ones, similar to a Dreamless Sleep Potion, odd as it seemed.
"I've never been as bad as I seemed. I had to keep up that appearance. You should have seen me at home. The staff at the manor has been so good to me about everything. They kept me protected and my guards up, letting me know why my father used to be in a foul mood and after me for something. I really didn't want to be in the position I was in, but alas, I had no choice. When I got to school, I was so full of hatred my first year that I truly believed in everything my father was training me for. Then the incident with my kashya turned me. The first day back next year, I met with Snape, hoping he would be able to help me. Thankfully he knew how to remove the Dark Mark, but also knew what my father expected. I got a muggle tattoo to look exactly like it and charmed it to do exactly what the other tattoo did," he said, stirring as she added the ingredients.
"So what do you think you'll do after you graduate, now that you know what's gonna happen? I mean, you seem really good with animals and all, especially Stardust."
"I was thinking of going into something at the Ministry, but honestly, I don't have a clue."
"It's understandable though. It's not as though you've had much of a choice in the past as to what you were going to be." She looked at the potion and noticed it was the color the vet had said it should be. "Well, I think the potion's done."
Draco looked at the potion and noticed the same thing. "You know, you should go into potions or something along that line. You're almost better than Snape at this."
Ginny raised an eyebrow. "Almost," she said. The two started laughing, as did Hermione and Ron who had been listening to their conversation. The Slytherins glared over and stared at Draco in disgust. Their former leader was joking with the famous four of Hogwarts. Draco glared back with equal disdain. Ginny winked at them and blew a kiss, inciting a more glares and more laughter from her side of the room.
"What's going on here," Snape asked, putting on his most severe face.
"Well sir," said Draco, "Ginny and I were merely trying to do our work when the Slytherins began bothering us. We felt the need to laugh at their pitiful attempt at making us frightened."
Snape turned his back to the Slytherins for a moment and allowed himself a rare smile and chuckle. "I noticed what you did Miss Weasley. I was waiting for one of the Gryffindors to show a bit of backbone other than Harry."
Ginny did her best not to start giggling. "Thank you sir. If you don't mind terribly may Draco and I go feed Stardust the potion? He sorely needs it."
Snape nodded his approval, wiping the smile off his face for the rest of the class. Ginny and Draco took their potion and their things, going down to the pasture to give it to him. They split up after that, Draco going to Arithmancy and Ginny to Divination. They both waved to each other as Draco caught up with Hermione. He didn't typically go anywhere alone. Granted, he could easily defend himself, but still, he felt better not doing so.
Ginny and Ron got to the smoke filled tower and nearly gagged at the scent of the incense she had burning today. The rest of the class did the same. Ginny, in her infinite wisdom, used a spell and collected all the smoke, opened the small window in there, and sent it out. It got a sigh of relief from most of the class and a surprised look from Trelawny when she finally emerged from whatever depth of the tower she was in.
"Today class," she said in her mistiest voice, "we will be divinging using meditation. I want you to all get comfortable on a pillow and practice the deep breathing techniques we've been using before we fully go into the trance. I want you all to try to have a vision if possible."
Ginny put on her headband she received from Epona and settled in on a pillow. The headband would help her block the visions, only allowing trivial ones, such as someone breaking a cup or what someone's going to say. She settled on the pillow and began her deep breathing techniques that Trelawny had taught. Soon, though, instead of practice, she was swept up in a vision.
Ginny found herself once again on her blue eyed white dragon, flying high in the air. The dragon was carrying her somewhere, as though it knew where they were going. As she gazed down where the dragon appeared to be hovering, she noticed a slight movement along the wall of what appeared to be an old castle. She flew in for a closer look, noticing that the people appeared to be wearing black cloaks and protecting someone who appeared to be in the middle of this. She concentrated on this person and soon found herself looking into a face she didn't want to be seeing: Tom Riddle.
She turned her dragon away and flew to the safety that the inside of the castle walls offered. She went to a larger area, noticing a lot of light coming from what appeared to be a hall. As she got closer, she pulled up next to a window, gazing in. She noticed four long tables filled with food, people around them chatting away happily. She screamed at the windows, trying to warn them to run, but she knew nobody could hear her. She had to watch while whatever was going to happen happened.
Suddenly the candles flickered in a mysterious wind and the doors blew open. Standing there was an army of Death Eaters, Voldemort at the head.
"I have returned for revenge dear ones."
A red headed girl used her power and put up a protective shield around everyone but the five of them who were fighting. Nothing would harm them. Not on her watch.
"Leave here Voldemort. You know the consequences. You may not die, but the rest will."
"Ah, Miss Weasley, how brave of you. But what will your classmates think, knowing that a murderer is among them."
"I'm no murderer Voldemort. I'm protecting those around me. If your Death Eaters would leave your side they too would be spared. I have no choice. I'd rather be shunned by those I know than let any of them be hurt."
"Enough of this idle chit chat. ATTACK," screamed Voldemort.
Draco, Harry, Ron, and Hermione formed a wall in front of Ginny while she began her spell. Draco, knowing their curses, fired counter curses constantly, acting as a sort of healer for those who got hit. Harry was doing the best, firing spells and curses at them at a rate unknown, using both wand and wandless magic. Hermione, being the clever one, had half of the Death Eaters in full body binds with ropes tying them up. Ron was effectively dodging whatever they threw at him, firing his own round of spells, most of which left those at the receiving end with hideous looking marks on them. Those that receieved Ron's curses were howling in pain. Soon though, they heard Ginny stop speaking. They ducked down near her as the portal opened. Voldemort and the one to his right, who she could only assume was Cho, ran. The rest of the Death Eaters, however, fell prey to what they knew was coming. The screaming could be heard by everyone around except those behind the screen. Hermione was shaking, as was Ron. Draco and Harry had witnessed this before, so they ignored this.
Soon the portal closed and the bodies lay strewn on the floor. The effort of keeping up the shield and opening the portal exhausted her and she went limp in Harry's arms as the professors rushed forward. The students all looked terrified about what had happened, but many of the Gryffindors and soon the rest of the houses ran forward to see how their savior was. She was groggy, as was to be expected, but still offered a smile for those around her.
"You will all sleep here tonight. When you finish your meal you may go back to your dorm rooms only for your homework if you so choose. Professors, if you would please help me with this," he said, motioning towards the pile of bodies strewn on the floor at the doorway.
Harry called the Map to him. He spoke the words and watched the map come into view. "Professor, there are more bodies around the school at different points. Here," he said, handing the map over to him. "You'll be able to find them this way. I'm going to take Ginny to the hospital wing to get checked, along with the rest of us."
The vision began to fade as the five of them left the Great Hall.
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Ginny woke up, shaking and startled. She looked wildly around to find everyone in a trance except Ron, who was watching her closely.
"Ginny, are you alright," he asked.
She shook her head. "Ron, we have to get to Dumbledore. I've had another vision."
Ron raised an eyebrow. "Another vision? When'd you have the first one?"
Ginny realized that Ron didn't know about her visions. In fact, he didn't know about much that was going on with her and Harry besides they were engaged and she had some sort of death wish when it came to him.
"Ron, I've got a lot of explaining to do to you and Hermione tonight. Right now though, it's vital that I get to Dumbledore. Come on," she said, grabbing her things. Ron, not knowing what was going on, idly followed behind her, the two flying out of the classroom at record speed. They stopped at the Arithmancy classroom to get Draco and Hermione and to the hospital wing to pick up Harry. Madame Pomfrey protested, but she agreed on the condition he come back once they were done by Dumbledore.
Ginny shouted the password to his office and the gargoyles moved. The five ran up the stairs, Ginny at the head of the pack, and burst through the door to find Dumbledore in conference with Sirius.
"Professor………Dumbledore……..," Ginny breathed. "I've had another vision. Voldemort is going to march on Hogwarts."