Chapter Three: A Second Chance


A boy with messy black hair opened his emerald eyes slowly as he blinked away the sun. His head was throbbing and nearly every inch of him felt numb. He opened his mouth to take a deep breath only to find a fist-full of hair suddenly clogging it. He tried to sit up, but something was weighing him down. He looked down the bridge of his nose blearily (his glasses seemed to have either fallen off or broken) and saw fiery locks of red hair in his face. He blinked a few times trying to register what was going on.

They were outside lying in a field. If Harry squinted, he could make out a few houses a long way off. He reached around and felt his hand grope some glass and picked them up. They were his glasses—bent and broken. He rolled over onto his side and Ginny who was lying on top of him rolled off of him. Her face was so pale, and though he knew that she was naturally pale, she looked extraordinarily pale. He felt her forehead, cheeks, and neck with the back of his hand and then compared them with his own. She was burning up.

He brushed her hair out of her face and looked at her. As if hoping she would answer, he said, "Wake up, will you?" He paused and looked down at his hands. "Where are we?" His eyes widened slightly.

Harry swallowed nervously and stood shakily. He squinted in the direction of the houses. "I suppose we could head that way," he said to himself.

Looking back down at Ginny, Harry rubbed his hands together and wrapped his arms around her waist. He took a deep breath and heaved her off the ground and onto his shoulder. He stood there for a moment to check that she was secure before setting off.

He walked slowly and steadily through the field still feeling very much confused. His legs were starting to ache as he walked onto the road that led into town. He walked through the streets, looking for someone to help him or at least tell him where he could get help, but everywhere he looked it seemed deserted. He felt worry settle into his heart. What if everyone had abandoned this town recently because some horribly aggressive ghosts or ghouls were about? The thought made him shiver.

Harry stopped in the middle of a four-way street and looked before him and beside him on each side. None of the roads looked promising. He thought that perhaps he should just choose a house to rest in until the morning, but the thought of entering a house that might not be as abandoned as it looked made him nervous. He chose his left and walked onward.

There was absolutely nobody around here either. He was starting to get impatient with worry. What was he supposed to do? If Ginny's temperature told him anything then it stated that she was seriously ill and needed a potion or even a Muggle antidote as quick as possible. He thought about what would happen if she didn't receive one. His heart hammered.

No, he thought to himself, do not think about that! She's going to be okay… she's going to be just fine! She's strong and way too stubborn to leave me anyway.

He smiled at the thought. He suddenly felt her moving on his shoulder and paused to her down on the walkway in front of one of the empty houses. It wasn't like he thought; she wasn't waking up. Instead she was shivering uncontrollably. His eyes widened. He patted her cheek and leaned down close to her.

"Ginny, wake up," he said. "Ginny, you have to wake up. C'mon, Ginny, you're stronger than this. Wake up! Please!"

Ginny continued to shiver, but she didn't wake up.

"Ginny, oh please—"

"Excuse me," said a female voice from behind him.

Harry started and spun around just in time to see a tall Asian woman materialize in front of him. She had straight black hair that fell just slightly past her shoulders and had olive skin. She was wearing a grey robe over her Muggle slacks and blouse.

"Do you need some help?" she asked.

She had her wand in her hand, though it didn't look like she was going to use it. Even so, just seeing it made him nervous. He looked back at Ginny and resolved to push that nervousness away. He had always been a risk taker before this war started; it was time to start trusting people again. If it wasn't for himself, then, at least, he needed to do it for Ginny.

"Yes, please," he said hesitantly. "I-I think she's sick… I don't know I'm not a Healer."

"Neither am I," admitted the witch, but she didn't come any closer. "I know a bit about medicine, however. Do you go to Hogwarts?"

Harry looked down and noticed that he was wearing his Hogwarts robes still. He stared at the Gryffindor emblem for a moment before looking back up at the witch and realized that she was waiting for a moment. He nodded.

"Yes, I go to Hogwarts—or I did. I don't know," he said slowly.

He truly didn't know as he wasn't even sure if Hogwarts was fit to help students learn the art of witchcraft and wizardry anymore or not. He remembered the Astronomy Tower left in ruins after the Death Eaters blew it apart with the Weasley Twins inside of it. He remembered the Great Hall's ceiling in shambles after the first attack on the castle. He remembered the number of floors that had collapsed and the number of walls that had been blown out. The castle's walls still stood, but the interior was more or less just debris.

"You don't know much of anything do you?" said the witch.

"Does that really matter?" asked Harry desperately. "Please, you have to help her, or at least tell me how I can."

"I'm just making sure that I can trust you," said the witch slowly as she took another step toward them. "Your appearance is kind of surprising as you look exactly like a friend of mine."

Harry looked up at the woman. Though, in all truth, she was the same race as Cho Chang, she looked nothing like her. Other than her, he had no idea who this woman could be, especially as she looked to be twice his age at the most. He shook his head not knowing what else to say. When she didn't say anything after a while, he turned his attention back to Ginny who was still shivering. He reached his hand up and pushed her hair out of her face.

"I don't know what to tell you, ma'am," he said slowly as he took one of Ginny's pale hands into his own, "but I'm no threat to you. All I ask for is your help. I do not know where I am and I have no clue where to go. You are, so far, my only hope. I'm afraid for her health; that is all. If I was afraid for my own safety I would be suspicious of you too, but I can't risk that. Not when I've already lost so many people dear to me—I do not wish to lose her too. Don't you understand? I love her, and even though it may be as simple as a fever, I do not want her to die or even get ill. I just want her to be safe and sound—do you understand, ma'am? I need your help, please."

When he looked back up at the witch, he was surprised to see her eyes watering. She looked behind her as if expecting somebody to come out of the house behind before. When she turned back toward him, she was smiling.

"I'm not sure how you did it," she said with an emotional sniff, "but you've managed to convince truly and fully. My sweetheart says, however, that if you are lying that you will regret it."

Harry looked around confusedly. He gave the witch an odd look and worried for her sanity as it was clear that there was nobody around except for the three of them. He suddenly wondered if her 'sweetheart' was under an invisibility cloak. His regular paranoia began to settle in as the witch kneeled beside Ginny and felt her forehead. Her eyes widened.

"She's burning up!"

"I know," Harry moaned, "that's why I think she needs a Healer or some sort of Fever-Reducer Salve, but I was never good in this area."

The witch looked over her shoulder again as if listening to somebody. She nodded and turned back to Harry, "A Muggle friend of mine is a retired Muggle doctor. She says she'll be able to help once we get this girl inside."

Harry was really starting to worry for the witch's sanity when he saw a piece of parchment appear out of then air. He saw the witch smile and take the parchment with a swift 'Thanks'. She read the parchment and nodded before holding out the parchment to him.

"Memorize that address," said the witch, "and think about it."

On the piece of parchment was a Floo and Muggle address written in sloppy handwriting so that he had to squint to see what it said.

The Black Estate, family, and all those who reside within its walls may be found at
Number Thirty-Six, Jurinia Morris Avenue, Cornwall


Harry blinked as he realized where he had seen something close to his before. He was about to say something when another thing on the parchment made his eyes widen. Black. He knew that the name Black was common, but still, was it coincidence that he would show up in front of a house with the family of Black?

"Black?" he breathed. "As in Siri—"

"Shh!" the witch hissed, though she looked slightly surprised. "Don't say that out hear. Just think about what it says so we can go inside."

The witch pulled out her wand and caught the parchment on fire, but Harry hardly noticed. His mind was moving so quickly that he could hardly process what was going on. He swallowed and then thought about what the paper had said. As he got to Cornwell, a house and several people standing in front of the house came into focus. He stared.

"Impossible!" he gasped.

The witch looked up at him. "I'm sorry, did you say something?"

Harry couldn't answer, however, as his eyes suddenly rolled back in his head and he promptly passed out.