Jay Morris

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, just the gremlins in my head.

"Chapter 8: Cold Revenge"

Draco waited by the road as Hermione went up to knock on Ron's door. Despite Hermione's reassurances, he was still a bit edgy about going right to his door. Ron and Hermione met him quickly and like a flash they were all off to the hospital. Inside they found Harry pacing in front of the emergency room.

"She's inside and the nurse told me to go home and rest."

"How did it happen?" Ron asked. He was still trying to get all of Hermione's facts straight.

"I don't know Ron! I was at a meeting with Professor Devine getting Sirius Black back into my life, and the next thing I know Hermione comes running in and yelling that Ginny is at home and it's on fire. Yeah I really know a lot Ron!" Harry's heart was racing faster than a Firebolt at full speed.

"Harry you need to calm down just a little." Draco said.

"What do you know about it?" Harry was on the verge of tears.

"Because I don't have a real mother. Narcissa is my stepmother. My mother died in child birth and my father never spoke of her."

"I didn't know that." Hermione was sad.

"I know you didn't know that, and I know how it feels to be helpless; and like there's nothing you can do."

"I just don't know what to do." Harry sat down and put his head in his hands.

"The best thing right now Harry is to relax." Professor Dumbledore was coming down the hallway with Ginny's parents and Professor Devine. Arthur was trying to keep Molly from crying and Devine looked furious.

"I'm sorry Professor Dumbledore. But it's just so frustrating! She loves me, and I love her too, and someone had the nerve to go and attack her at our home."

"My dear boy will you please calm down. If you don't I will have no alternative but to place you under a heavy sleeping spell, and force you to. Professor Devine is going to begin a search of your home, and all the surrounding areas with all six senses that he possesses. I came here to ask if Mr. Malfoy, and Mr. Ronald Weasley would please go with him and help him look for clues as to who did this."

Ron had his wand out in a second, and Draco nodded his head.

"They've messed with family, and I'm ready to rumble." Ron's face was set, and his eyes fierce.

"Let's go."

Draco gave Hermione a quick hug and followed Devine and Ron's quick paces. Arthur stood over by Hermione, and Molly sat next to Harry. Professor Dumbledore went off to look for some chocolate frogs.

"Do you really love my daughter Harry dear?" Molly asked. Her usually happy face was wrinkled with worry, and her eyes glistened with tears.

"Yes Mrs. Weasley. After she graduated I was going to ask you for her hand in marriage." Mr. Weasley put on his proudest face, and Mrs. Weasley just put her kerchief to her eyes.

"That's wonderful Harry. Now, if you would please eat a frog, and settle your nerves down as best you can I can go in peace."

Harry took three chocolate frogs and began eating them slowly and thoughtfully. Professor Dumbledore said a brief "good-bye, tell me how it goes, and good luck" before heading back to the school. Hermione said she had to go home and get some sleep before work tomorrow, and also said she'd be back to check on them in the morning.

"Harry dear, you really should get some sleep. Shouldn't he Arthur?" Molly looked imploringly at Arthur.

"That's right you should Harry. Molly or I can come get you when she wakes up, but you have the rest of your life to look after. Ginny wouldn't want you to stay here and forget about the rest of your duties." Arthur had hit the right spot. Harry nodded his head and went home.

At Devine's house, Harry couldn't help but think about Ginny. Every room in their now gone house had a memory of them together, and it had gone up in flames. He lay in Devine's spare bedroom with the mirror facing his bed over the dresser and a starry night above his head. "Sirius Black."

"What is it Harry?"

"Why does life suck?"

"What?" Black's face wrinkled in confusion.

"Why does life suck? I get one family member back in my life, and lose another one. I don't get it."

Black took a minute to think. "I don't know Harry. I just know that we are supposed to become stronger from what is given to us. I'm sorry that you might have lost Ginny, but you know there is that hope that she will become stronger too."

"Now I remember why I needed you back. Good night Sirius."

"Good night Harry."

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Draco woke to the smell of bacon and pancakes. After searching with Devine until one in the morning and only finding three clues, this was a welcome relief. He dressed and went down to see Harry sitting at the table, looking as though he were hit by a whomping willow, and Hermione cheerfully cooking in the kitchen.

Hermione noticed him coming down the stairs. "I invited Harry over for breakfast; I didn't think you would mind. I thought we could all go see Ginny before you two had to go to work."

"Allright."

"What did you guys find last night?" Harry was alert, despite him looking tired.

"We found very little to go off of. We found a torn piece of black cloth, a single hair, and the results of the house being bombarded by several different spells all at once."

"What did Devine deduce?"

"Well considering he was the only one still awake enough to put three and five together, he said that he would owl Ron, and join you and me at work to begin a more thorough investigation. This time seriously."

"What is Devine anyway? Sirius wouldn't tell me last night." Harry looked at the plate in front of him and thanked Hermione as she piled three pancakes and six strips of bacon onto it.

Draco looked at Hermione, received a nod, and said, "Vampire. His mother was bit by a vampire, giving her all the power of one, but not fully making her one. He's only a quarter vampire. His full powers didn't kick in until after he graduated from Hogwarts with his wife, Moriah Jones, and his two best friends. His wife was killed by Death Eaters, because she tried to protect him from Voldemort. Voldemort wanted Devine to bite him and give him the vampire powers, but still retain most of his humanity. As if he wasn't already a blood sucker."

"Wow. That explains a lot."

"Yeah it did for us."

"Enough talk about this. We're eating breakfast and going to see Ginny." Hermione sat down and began eating her breakfast.

Draco smirked. "Yes ma'am."

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Draco and Harry arrived to see Devine talking to Cornelius Fudge.

"Ah Harry. So sorry about your accident. I do hope Ginny's okay?" Fudge had on a very concerned look, and was hoping for a good response.

"No change in her condition really. Her symptoms show her being in a spell-induced coma. But, since we don't know what spell hit her, we don't know for sure. The nurse said she'd send an owl to us with any new information. So what's going down besides a Death Eater?"

"So you think it was a Death Eater?" Fudge asked.

"Who else would attack my home? Draco has all the Slytherins too scared to try anything stupid, and none of the Gryffindors dislike me that much. None of the current Hogwarts teachers would do a thing like that, and who else knows we're up here; that would really care?"

"I see your points. But I have some bad news. The bit of hair that you boys found last night turned out to be Professor Devine's. I was just explaining how thin of ice he's skating by staying here when you two showed up." Fudge had on a very stern face, and left no room to doubt that he meant what he said.

"But he was with Professor Dumbledore and me going over Auror training when Ginny was attacked," Harry said. "There's no possible way he could have been at my house to set it on fire."

"That's right. Professor Dumbledore will vouch for that, and you have Harry's witness. And Harry has never lied to stay out of trouble, nor has Dumbledore. So if that doesn't clear me then what does?"

"You'll be clear of Ministry meddling, but not from public, especially the Daily Prophet, meddling. Well, I'll take my leave, and leave you three to getting on this mystery. I'll clear your name myself if I have to James."

"Thank you Fudge." After Fudge had left the room, Devine turned to Draco and asked, "Draco what did you tell your dad when I dueled you for the first time in class?"

"Oh, that fun memory. Um, I think I told him that you had said this was my only chance and that you used Aurora Borealis against me. And that I flew off the platform into the wall."

"Vengeful git."

"Sorry." Draco looked down. He didn't want to get Devine in trouble, especially after all Devine went through to get this far.

"No, not you; your dad. I think when I threw him against the wall I left a hair on his cloak. And since he has no doubt joined the Death Eaters for certain for revenge, and had his wand restored I might add, he and Voldemort are going to try to get me out of here so they can kill the students that won't join them."

"Wow. So you think they used a charm that they know you know, dropped a hair, and a bit of a cloak to try and insinuate that it was you?" Draco asked. This was almost sounding like his dad.

"Yes. And to make sure this doesn't happen again I've asked Fudge to close the borders around our village. No unauthorized witch or wizard will have an easy time passing through. Now, I would like to probe your minds for any information that would be helpful. Do you mind? I could do it without your permission, but with you fighting back I may hurt you. So may I?" Devine was tired. Everything from his eyes, to his posture and tone, said it.

"Yes," they said together.

"Allright I want you to relax, and think of nothing. Don't focus on any thoughts if you can."

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Later that day . . .Arthur took Harry by the neck of the collar and made him look him square in the eye.

"What have you been doing with my daughter?!" Arthur was mad, and Molly could only sit by and weep.

"I don't understand." Harry was scared.

"'I don't understand' won't cut it Harry! She's pregnant, and it's your baby!" Arthur was seething with rage.

"I haven't done that with her, I swear. It must be Devine's doing. He said that a baby would come along for all couples to take care of; this must be it. I don't know Ginny in that way."

"If you had, would you admit it?" Arthur wasn't about to let him off that easy. He needed the truth and he needed it now.

"Yes, I would. I would admit my mistake of being a teenager, and pay for it in any way. Is Ginny awake?" Harry hoped this would allow Arthur to calm down.

"Yes, she wanted to see you Harry; and only you Harry. She asked Molly and I to leave."

Harry walked in to Ginny's room. There were sets of beautiful flowers on the table right next to her, and get well cards littered the end of her bed.

"Hi Harry," she said weakly. "I know you know now why I blew up on you yesterday. Devine gave me a potion to drink that would induce a very rapid pregnancy, and the child would look like both of us. So, in that way, we could have a child without it being 'our' child."

"Yeah your dad nearly throttled me over it. He actually thought we went that far. I told him we didn't."

"I'm glad you got it straight. How's Hermione?"

"Hermione?" Harry was puzzled. Nothing extraordinary had happened to Hermione since the day they all got there, and that was almost two weeks ago.

"Yeah, Hermione. She and I took our potions at the exact same time, so we could help each other along in our pregnancies. Why do you think she had to go home early? She wanted to make everything was okay with her child after that fierce run she did." Ginny had to stop talking because of a fit of coughing.

The nurse came in. "Are you getting my patient worked up?" The nurse was ready to throw him out. He pushed up his sleeves as if ready to become a bouncer at any second.

"No, Nurse Bob. I just had to cough."

"Okay. But he has five minutes left and then he's gone one way or the other." Nurse Bob stepped back into his office, and Harry looked at Ginny with a grin on his face.

"Can you handle have a body builder as a nurse?" Harry's laugh made Bob look up from his desk.

"Yeah. He's actually very gentle and sweet. He actually is a father himself. Of course that's a father of twelve, but you know that's not saying much." Ginny cringed from a bruise reacting to her silent laugh.

"Well, I gotta go before Nurse Muscles over there throws me out. I love you, and I'll get this case figured out as soon as possible. I promise."

"I know Harry." Ginny would have said more, but Bob had come out of his office again, and he was ready to rumble. Harry blew Ginny a kiss and left. She sighed and rolled her head to one side to go back to sleep.

N/A: This chapter is what happens when you get me depressed, and sleep deprived. I don't think I put in everything I wanted to, but it gets you ready for the next chapter. Don't think you'll know who's going down to the hospital next. I'm still debating it in my head. He he he!