DISCLAIMER: I don't own them. And even if I was making money off of this, I
doubt it would be much.
Chapter 13: Plan for Rescue
"Harry, this is insane!" Hermione exclaimed as she paced the boys' dormitory. Ron sat on his bed, looking at Harry anxiously. Harry, however, seemed completely unconcerned of his friends' worried faces.
Hermione sighed, then took a deep breath. She sat down next to Harry on his bed. "The Order will rescue her. If you really think you know where Ginny is, then tell Dumbledore. He'll send trained Aurors and Order members to save her."
"Hermione, you don't understand," Harry shook his head. "You haven't seen Ginny. You haven't seen where they are keeping her. It's not fit for a rat to live in. She can't stay there another day. It's been two weeks."
"So tell Dumbledore. Ginny is immortal; she can wait one more day for the Order."
"Just because she's immortal doesn't mean that she doesn't feel pain," Harry said angrily. "They're torturing her! I have to go get her. I can't leave her there alone. Besides, it's my fault she's there in the first place."
Hermione was frustrated at this point. She didn't want to hear this anymore. "Here we go again. 'Let's blame Harry for everything. Harry is responsible for all of us. If something happens, it's all Harry's fault.'"
"Hermione, stop," Ron said in a warning tone.
"Ron, please say something to him! Stop him from doing something this ridiculous!" she begged.
Ron looked between his two best friends. "Harry, you think I can go with you?" he asked.
"Oh, for God's sake!" Hermione yelled, while Harry nodded grimly.
"She's my sister! I can't let him go all by himself to face Death Eaters and rescue her!" Ron turned back to Harry. "So how are we going to do this?"
"We go out to the lake," he answered. "You hold on to me and I'll transport us to a pond that's walking distance from Haggleton. Then we walk to the mansion, go down to the dungeons, get Ginny, then air transport back here before Dumbledore realizes we're gone. It's easy."
"Easy?!?" Hermione exclaimed. "Easy? Do you know how many things can go wrong with your plan? What if one of us get hurts and can't make it back? What then?"
"Us?" He raised an eyebrow. "Does that mean that you're going with us?"
"Of course I'm going with you! You might need me there. You two don't honestly think that you can get through Voldemort and his Death Eaters by yourselves, do you?"
The two boys shared a confused glance as Hermione started to list all the spells that they might need for combat. Harry shook his head and opened his trunk, looking for his Invisibility Cloak and the Maurederer's Map. He also pulled out a cloak, figuring Ginny might need it. Remus had found her wand, and Harry had kept it in his trunk; he took it, but he knew that Ginny was in no condition to use magic. He stuffed everything in his book bag then led the other two donwstairs to wait for the time when they could leave.
Ginny sighed, letting her head fall back. Three weeks of torture at Snape's and Voldemort's hands. She didn't think she would have lasted this long. If anything, she thought that after that organ liquefying potion she would have given in. But nothing that Voldemort and Snape were doing was quite as painful as that.
She wondered what had happened after the Hogsmeade attack. She thought about her family, probably worrying themselves to death, that is, if they didn't think that she was dead. She knew Harry, Ron and Hermione would know that she was alive, but they were unable of doing anything. They were at Hogwarts, unless something had happened to them during the attack. The Order would be looking for her at Dumbledore's instruction, she knew. But she guessed the place was unplottable and had wards all over. Even if they had decided to fly out to get her, they would never know where she was.
What bothered Ginny, what tormented her more than anything, was Snape. The slimy bastard was working for Voldemort after all! A spy posing as a spy. She had trusted the man, even respected him. She had defended him from Ron's attack that he was still a Death Eater. 'Turns out he was right,' she thought bitterly. She couldn't believe that she had had faith in him. And all the while, Snape had been telling Voldemort of her immortality, of her magics, of her personal life, even. It was an outrage! She swore that if she ever got him in a room alone, she would be the only one walking out of it alive.
The door opened at that moment, and her old potions professor walked in. Ginny stood up on her shaky legs, still in pain from the Hanle curse. Snape looked at her up and down. "I don't know why you insist on being so stubborn. Potter's never going to find you here, the Order is looking for you in Wales thanks a report I sent them. You're pretty stuck here."
Ginny glared at the man with a look of pure hatred. Her silent defiance seemed to infuriate him more than her forceful replies.
"Partas!" Snape yelled, pointing her wand at her and succesfully casting the Partasis curse. Ginny fell to her knees in pain; her nose, ears, and eyes were bleeding profusely, and she started to cough up blood again. It suddenly stopped. Snape gave her a minute to recover before starting over again.
Harry ran towards the lake with Ron and Hermione, hidden carefully in his cloak. When they reached it, he checked the map once more, then threw the cloak off. He put it back into his backpack and threw it over his shoulder.
"You know, two years ago you were terrified of going into this lake," Hermione pointed out.
"I wasn't terrified, I was concerned because I couldn't breathe underwater," Harry defended.
"And you know now?"
"I don't have to. Now grab my hand, the both of you," he instructed his friends. "On three, we'll jump into the lake. Leave the rest to me." Hermione and Ron nodded. They each held his hands and took a deep breath. "Okay," Harry said. "One, two, three, go!"
They jumped into the water. As soon as they broke the surface, Harry blew into the water. It parted gently for them, and they became a part of the water in a flash of green. Harry led them through the water underground. They must have traveled blindly for an hour before Harry found a salmon. He carefully approached, having never tried his powers in a fish. He felt Hermione raised her eyebrows, and Ron trying to stiffle his laughter.
'We need to find Haggleton,' Harry said addressing the salmon. 'Could you lead us there?'
'A Paxturus!' the salmon replied. 'What an honor. I've never met one of your kind. I'll gladly lead you to Haggleton, only if you promise to get the girl being held prisoner in the Riddle's mansion.'
'What girl?' Harry asked, knowing fully well the slamon refered to Ginny.
'I know not her name, but the magic being used on her, and the one she releases to protect herself, are so horrible, almost none of the water life wants to go near there. Shame really, there's always good food near there. It's becoming crowded in the lakes and ponds near it.'
'I promise to get her out of there as soon as possible.' Harry followed the Salmon as it swam quickly away, clearly reassured by his promise.
They reached the pond outside Haggleton in two hours, which the salmon was proud to inform was a record. From where they were, it would have taken twice the time to get there. Harry thanked it kindly, reassuring the salmon that soon Ginny would be out of the Riddle mansion and all the water life could return. He then led Ron and Hermione to shore. They resumed their natural forms in a green light.
"You can talk to fish?" asked Ron, still trying to contain his laughter. Hermione had covered her mouth with her hand to keep from giggling.
"I can talk to just about any animal on the face of the earth," answered Harry. "It's really not that funny. If I hadn't asked that salmon to help us, we might have gotten lost."
"All right, all right." Ron shrugged. "Where do we go now?"
Harry looked around for a minute. He had given Hedwig instructions to wait for them by the lake, as Hedwig knew the exact location of Little Haggleton, where they were headed. He was sure they could find his way from there. He remembered what the Riddle house looked like from his fourth year, at the graveyard.
Hedwig swooped down gracefully from a nearby tree. She perched herself proudly on Hermione's shoulder. "Good girl," whispered Harry. "Take us to Haggleton."
The snowy owl took up flight and flew west. Harry, Ron, and Hermione ran after her through the woods and into a main road. They walked straight down it until they reached a small town square. Harry could make out the imposing mansion on top of a hill. He immediately felt the protective Dark magic surrounding it, and knew that they would never be able to break through those wards, unless they transported through the earth.
Sighing, Harry turned to his friends. "We'll have to travel through the ground. The wards protecting that house are impossible to break."
"Travel through the ground?" asked Ron. "You want to clarify that?"
"It's pretty much the same thing as water travel, except it's for the earth."
"You want us to become dirt?" Hermione sounded horrified.
"Only for a minute or two," Harry shrugged, grabbing their hands. This time, the change took place immediately as their particles disappeared in a beam of green light. Harry called for the wind to blow. It took a while to make it to the gates, but Harry didn't want to alert anyone of their arrival, so he didn't dare call a stronger wind.
As soon as they were inside the grounds and in their human form, the trio ran through the garden to the back doors. Hermione magicked the door open, and the two boys followed her silently into the house.
A/N: Well, this was a fast update, thankfully. I've been uber busy and it started to take a toll on me; I wasn't sleeping well or anything. So my doctor recommended bed rest, and I entertained myself by writing this. I expect the next update to be as quick as this, as I don't go back to work till Friday.
Love, Amalia
Chapter 13: Plan for Rescue
"Harry, this is insane!" Hermione exclaimed as she paced the boys' dormitory. Ron sat on his bed, looking at Harry anxiously. Harry, however, seemed completely unconcerned of his friends' worried faces.
Hermione sighed, then took a deep breath. She sat down next to Harry on his bed. "The Order will rescue her. If you really think you know where Ginny is, then tell Dumbledore. He'll send trained Aurors and Order members to save her."
"Hermione, you don't understand," Harry shook his head. "You haven't seen Ginny. You haven't seen where they are keeping her. It's not fit for a rat to live in. She can't stay there another day. It's been two weeks."
"So tell Dumbledore. Ginny is immortal; she can wait one more day for the Order."
"Just because she's immortal doesn't mean that she doesn't feel pain," Harry said angrily. "They're torturing her! I have to go get her. I can't leave her there alone. Besides, it's my fault she's there in the first place."
Hermione was frustrated at this point. She didn't want to hear this anymore. "Here we go again. 'Let's blame Harry for everything. Harry is responsible for all of us. If something happens, it's all Harry's fault.'"
"Hermione, stop," Ron said in a warning tone.
"Ron, please say something to him! Stop him from doing something this ridiculous!" she begged.
Ron looked between his two best friends. "Harry, you think I can go with you?" he asked.
"Oh, for God's sake!" Hermione yelled, while Harry nodded grimly.
"She's my sister! I can't let him go all by himself to face Death Eaters and rescue her!" Ron turned back to Harry. "So how are we going to do this?"
"We go out to the lake," he answered. "You hold on to me and I'll transport us to a pond that's walking distance from Haggleton. Then we walk to the mansion, go down to the dungeons, get Ginny, then air transport back here before Dumbledore realizes we're gone. It's easy."
"Easy?!?" Hermione exclaimed. "Easy? Do you know how many things can go wrong with your plan? What if one of us get hurts and can't make it back? What then?"
"Us?" He raised an eyebrow. "Does that mean that you're going with us?"
"Of course I'm going with you! You might need me there. You two don't honestly think that you can get through Voldemort and his Death Eaters by yourselves, do you?"
The two boys shared a confused glance as Hermione started to list all the spells that they might need for combat. Harry shook his head and opened his trunk, looking for his Invisibility Cloak and the Maurederer's Map. He also pulled out a cloak, figuring Ginny might need it. Remus had found her wand, and Harry had kept it in his trunk; he took it, but he knew that Ginny was in no condition to use magic. He stuffed everything in his book bag then led the other two donwstairs to wait for the time when they could leave.
Ginny sighed, letting her head fall back. Three weeks of torture at Snape's and Voldemort's hands. She didn't think she would have lasted this long. If anything, she thought that after that organ liquefying potion she would have given in. But nothing that Voldemort and Snape were doing was quite as painful as that.
She wondered what had happened after the Hogsmeade attack. She thought about her family, probably worrying themselves to death, that is, if they didn't think that she was dead. She knew Harry, Ron and Hermione would know that she was alive, but they were unable of doing anything. They were at Hogwarts, unless something had happened to them during the attack. The Order would be looking for her at Dumbledore's instruction, she knew. But she guessed the place was unplottable and had wards all over. Even if they had decided to fly out to get her, they would never know where she was.
What bothered Ginny, what tormented her more than anything, was Snape. The slimy bastard was working for Voldemort after all! A spy posing as a spy. She had trusted the man, even respected him. She had defended him from Ron's attack that he was still a Death Eater. 'Turns out he was right,' she thought bitterly. She couldn't believe that she had had faith in him. And all the while, Snape had been telling Voldemort of her immortality, of her magics, of her personal life, even. It was an outrage! She swore that if she ever got him in a room alone, she would be the only one walking out of it alive.
The door opened at that moment, and her old potions professor walked in. Ginny stood up on her shaky legs, still in pain from the Hanle curse. Snape looked at her up and down. "I don't know why you insist on being so stubborn. Potter's never going to find you here, the Order is looking for you in Wales thanks a report I sent them. You're pretty stuck here."
Ginny glared at the man with a look of pure hatred. Her silent defiance seemed to infuriate him more than her forceful replies.
"Partas!" Snape yelled, pointing her wand at her and succesfully casting the Partasis curse. Ginny fell to her knees in pain; her nose, ears, and eyes were bleeding profusely, and she started to cough up blood again. It suddenly stopped. Snape gave her a minute to recover before starting over again.
Harry ran towards the lake with Ron and Hermione, hidden carefully in his cloak. When they reached it, he checked the map once more, then threw the cloak off. He put it back into his backpack and threw it over his shoulder.
"You know, two years ago you were terrified of going into this lake," Hermione pointed out.
"I wasn't terrified, I was concerned because I couldn't breathe underwater," Harry defended.
"And you know now?"
"I don't have to. Now grab my hand, the both of you," he instructed his friends. "On three, we'll jump into the lake. Leave the rest to me." Hermione and Ron nodded. They each held his hands and took a deep breath. "Okay," Harry said. "One, two, three, go!"
They jumped into the water. As soon as they broke the surface, Harry blew into the water. It parted gently for them, and they became a part of the water in a flash of green. Harry led them through the water underground. They must have traveled blindly for an hour before Harry found a salmon. He carefully approached, having never tried his powers in a fish. He felt Hermione raised her eyebrows, and Ron trying to stiffle his laughter.
'We need to find Haggleton,' Harry said addressing the salmon. 'Could you lead us there?'
'A Paxturus!' the salmon replied. 'What an honor. I've never met one of your kind. I'll gladly lead you to Haggleton, only if you promise to get the girl being held prisoner in the Riddle's mansion.'
'What girl?' Harry asked, knowing fully well the slamon refered to Ginny.
'I know not her name, but the magic being used on her, and the one she releases to protect herself, are so horrible, almost none of the water life wants to go near there. Shame really, there's always good food near there. It's becoming crowded in the lakes and ponds near it.'
'I promise to get her out of there as soon as possible.' Harry followed the Salmon as it swam quickly away, clearly reassured by his promise.
They reached the pond outside Haggleton in two hours, which the salmon was proud to inform was a record. From where they were, it would have taken twice the time to get there. Harry thanked it kindly, reassuring the salmon that soon Ginny would be out of the Riddle mansion and all the water life could return. He then led Ron and Hermione to shore. They resumed their natural forms in a green light.
"You can talk to fish?" asked Ron, still trying to contain his laughter. Hermione had covered her mouth with her hand to keep from giggling.
"I can talk to just about any animal on the face of the earth," answered Harry. "It's really not that funny. If I hadn't asked that salmon to help us, we might have gotten lost."
"All right, all right." Ron shrugged. "Where do we go now?"
Harry looked around for a minute. He had given Hedwig instructions to wait for them by the lake, as Hedwig knew the exact location of Little Haggleton, where they were headed. He was sure they could find his way from there. He remembered what the Riddle house looked like from his fourth year, at the graveyard.
Hedwig swooped down gracefully from a nearby tree. She perched herself proudly on Hermione's shoulder. "Good girl," whispered Harry. "Take us to Haggleton."
The snowy owl took up flight and flew west. Harry, Ron, and Hermione ran after her through the woods and into a main road. They walked straight down it until they reached a small town square. Harry could make out the imposing mansion on top of a hill. He immediately felt the protective Dark magic surrounding it, and knew that they would never be able to break through those wards, unless they transported through the earth.
Sighing, Harry turned to his friends. "We'll have to travel through the ground. The wards protecting that house are impossible to break."
"Travel through the ground?" asked Ron. "You want to clarify that?"
"It's pretty much the same thing as water travel, except it's for the earth."
"You want us to become dirt?" Hermione sounded horrified.
"Only for a minute or two," Harry shrugged, grabbing their hands. This time, the change took place immediately as their particles disappeared in a beam of green light. Harry called for the wind to blow. It took a while to make it to the gates, but Harry didn't want to alert anyone of their arrival, so he didn't dare call a stronger wind.
As soon as they were inside the grounds and in their human form, the trio ran through the garden to the back doors. Hermione magicked the door open, and the two boys followed her silently into the house.
A/N: Well, this was a fast update, thankfully. I've been uber busy and it started to take a toll on me; I wasn't sleeping well or anything. So my doctor recommended bed rest, and I entertained myself by writing this. I expect the next update to be as quick as this, as I don't go back to work till Friday.
Love, Amalia