…Excitement, they were all raving over the fact that the Quidditch trials would begin next week.
"Harry are you going to get to play again?"
"Are you going to be captain Harry?"
"Weasley is our king," was shouted by the Creevy brothers.
The trio made their way into the common room, Harry looking for Ginny as he went. He didn't see her any where and figured she went up her room already. The trio make the rounds around the common meeting the new first years and then decided to make their way to their rooms. They bid good night to each other and Harry finally flopped down on his bed. He drew the curtains around himself and drifted off to sleep.
Something changed between Harry and Ginny after Harry had found Ginny in the chamber, they couldn't bring themselves to realize that until this summer when Harry was at the Weasley's.
Ron had gotten into trouble and had to do some things for his mother without anyone else around. That gave Harry freedom around the Burrow and that is when he had come across Ginny. She was sitting under a tree gazing out at the horizon, he sat next to her and they talked and talked, the sun started to set and they talked some more. They talked about her growing up the only girl, and his life with the Dursley's.
The next morning Harry and Ron had gone down to the common room to fine Hermione coming down the girls stairs to their rooms.
"Morning,"
Hermione said to Ron who was looking at her short skirt that had a slit up the side.
Hermione noticed this and pulled her cloak closed to cover her bare leg.
"Oh good morning Hermione,"
Ron said with a sigh as he watched the cloak close.
"Harry I think Ginny went down to breakfast already, I knocked on her door to get her and the others said she had already gone," Hermione said as she had noticed Harry looking past her up the stairs.
"Ok then lets go and eat, I'm starving," Ron said as his stomach growled.
Hermione and Harry smiled and the group made their way down to the common room. They had just made it to the top of the last set of stairs down when they met up with Draco.
"Potter, Weasley, Granger," he said with a drawl and a sneer. "The headmaster wishes to see you all in his office, yesterday."
The trio headed to the headmaster's office, when they got to the stone gargoyle they all paused, none of them knew the password. Draco rolled his eyes and stepped forward.
"Quibbler," Draco said with a sneer.
The gargoyle moved away from the wall and before them was the spiraling staircase. The foursome stepped on the staircase and found themselves a few seconds later in the presence of Albus Dumbledore.
As they all walked in and closed the door behind them, they found other occupants in the room as well. Severus Snape stood against the wall near the door, Minerva McGonagall sat in a chair next to a sobbing Molly Weasley, Arthur Weasley sat next to his wife holding her and trying to comfort her as she sobbed uncontrollably.
"Mum, what's wrong?"
"All of you please have a seat," Dumbledore said as calmly as he could.
The four students sat in the chairs that appeared, they all looked at Dumbledore to wait for his next words, and an explanation as to why Molly was crying.
Dumbledore gave a nod to Snape who picked up a robe and cloak from the floor next to him and brought them over to the four new comers, then laid them on the floor in front of them.
"That's Ginny's!"
Ron and Harry said together. As this was said, Molly let out a horrible wail and continued to sob even harder.
Dumbledore looked at the boys and nodded.
"They were found out on the grounds this morning, they were covered in blood. There was so much blood I do not believe she is still alive. This port key,"
He pointed to a golden serpent with emerald green eyes that was sitting on his desk.
"Was found with the robe and cloak."
Harry was lost in a whirlwind of emotion, here was Ginny, hurt, possibly dead, in the hands of his worst enemy. The more he thought about it the madder he became.
"Harry you should know," Dumbledore said as he placed his elbows on the table and rested his chin on his finger tips. "He is out to fulfill the prophecy."
"If this is what he wants then that is what he is going to get. I will give him what he wants, and I will meet him on his terms. In the end the prophecy will come to pass. Only one of us will be left."
Harry reached out and grabbed the serpent, the golden port key on Dumbledore's desk. Just as he reached out and grabbed the port key, so did three other hands.
The storm was rolling in, the clouds over head were dark and menacing. The clouds were so dark, the moon was as if it didn't exist. The wind was howling and had a bite to its touch the longer the night went on the worse the chill became. This was not a night to be out in, nights like this tended to turn ugly for the occupants out in it.
The boat came upon the bank's edge and the occupants made their way on to the bank on which they landed. There were no words spoken just yet, everyone was lost in their own thoughts. The four made their way up to the castle that sat atop the rocky cliff.
You would think they were reading each others thoughts as they made the climb up the cliff, they were all in sync with one another. At last the castle loomed before them and they came to a stop. The silence was finally broken.
"You know that you all can turn back right now and I can do this on my own."
"Potter we are all in this together, so suck it up and get used to us being here,"
Draco said with a sneer on his face.
"If we didn't want to come with you we would have just let you come by yourself."
"Look Mate, we are all in this together. You aren't alone here, she is my sister," Ron said as he looked at his best friend.
Harry looked at Hermione who for once in her life had nothing to say. She looked at Harry and tried to smile and let him know she was there for him as well. With a deep breath Harry turned toward the castle and started to climb the stairs to the front door.
The castle loomed above them like a monster frozen in stone. It was the tallest castle any of them had ever seen. There must have been fifty steps to get to the front door. The foursome were climbing the stairs when the lightening struck a gargoyle statue that sat at the top of the stairs on the railing above. The gargoyle was struck in such a way it toppled down the stairs and the foursome had to scramble out of the way to avoid the falling piece of marble.
They started up the stairs one more time and with luck made it to the top with out any more incidents. They reached the oak doors and Harry reached up to push them open. Hermione grabbed his arm and he turned to face her.
"What ever happens in here you know that Ginny wouldn't want you risking your life for her death. You do know this don't you?"
"Hermione…."
"Harry, it's just that I know that Ginny wouldn't want you or any of us to put our lives in jeopardy because she was killed."
"I'm not turning back Hermione, I'm not going to do that," Harry said with anger in his eyes. "If you want to chicken out then you just go, I don't need you babysitting me."
"Potter, get a grip."
Draco said as he put his hand on Harry's shoulder and turned him around to face him.
"We're all in this together, Granger here was just trying to make sure that revenge is what you want."
Harry looked at the three people who were with him in this road that was chosen for him to travel. He thought about Ginny, how she had already endured the pain that Tom Riddle bestows on his victims. Yes this is what he wanted, revenge for her death.
They all pushed the tall castle doors open together and found themselves in a large hall. The torches on the walls were lit, as if expecting company. The four looked around and then proceeded down the hall.
"This way," Harry said with a nod of his head as the lightening danced in his eyes.
They found a stair well that descended down to what they guessed to be the start of the dungeons. As if expecting the foursome the torches that were lit suddenly went out, putting them all in the dark. They walked for what seemed like hours in the dark, however Harry knew it to be only a few minutes. When Harry with his hand out in front of him felt a wooden door.
Hermione was following Harry with her hand on his back and felt him come to a stop thus she stopped as well. Ron not seeing what was before him due to the dark, bumped into Hermione.
"Will you watch where you're going," she said through gritted teeth.
" I would if I could," Ron said back. "What do you thing that my sight is just, oh, so much better then yours right now?"
"Just be quite Ron, lower your voice."
"Hermione if it was any lower you wouldn't be able to hear me."
"Well, that was the idea."
The door opened in front of them before anyone could say anymore, Harry walked forward slowly. The others following closely behind. They walked into the room and before them stood Peter Pettigrew.
The Death Eater who followed Voldemort in the room was now walking to the fire, they pulled out a new rod, this one just as hot as the others. Harry knew this was for him he knew he was next.
The closer the Death Eater got, the worse the pain in his head got and his scar was burning worse then ever. The Death Eater stopped in front of Harry and laid
down the rod.
They then proceeded to take off the hood of their robe, there standing before him was Ginny Weasley, alive, blood streaming down the right side of her face from a lightening bolt shaped cut over her right eye.
There was pain in her face, she was being forced to do this, if only he could reach her, if only he could get her to turn on Voldemort. There was a menacing laugh that filled the room as Ginny picked up the rod she had laid down and was now about to place it on Harry. Harry felt his arms being pulled taught by the chains, he felt the sleeves slide down his arms, Ginny was getting closer, Voldemort and all his minions were laughing as Ginny advanced on Harry.
She raised the rod and Harry waited for the pain in his arm, when he realized she was not putting it on his arm, she was going to put it on his head, over his scar.
The closer she got, the more his scar burned. His head hurt so bad, but he couldn't let this happen……
"Ginny, please come out of it…. Ginny, remember you beat him before, Ginny!"
The red hot emblem was pressed over Harry's scar, the pain was unbearable, Harry screamed one last time.
"Ginny! Ginny! Ginny……… Come on now, wake up Ginny."
Ginny Weasley felt someone shaking her. She was sweating and felt as if she was out of breath. She sat up and she felt dizzy, there was something wet running down the right side of her face. She reached up to touch it and looked at her hand, it was blood. What happened, was she dreaming? But the blood, where did it come from?
"Ginny, what are you doing out here in the hallway?" Dennis Creevy asked as he was looking at her.
"Ginny why are you bleeding?" he asked as he moved her hair to reveal a cut above her right eye.
Ginny looked up and saw Harry, Ron, and Hermione coming down the stairs in front of her.
"Well I was…"
By Ellenroh
