Disclaimer: Does anyone know if this is required?
Haha, a couple of you don't like cliffhangers, sorry. If you like this story check out another by me, I think it will be just a short story though, its called, "A Deal's a Deal." Highly recommended if I do say so myself, its about Harry and Ginny's role in the House Elf Liberation of Hogwarts, I may update if people like it.
Chapter 13: Questioning
"Harry, is it just me, or has it changed, in color?" Ginny timidly looked at the gelatin-sculpture. It was of something you would never want to see in the flesh, so why would some one paint a gelatin sculpture of it?
"No Ginny, it's just the way the light from the room is reflecting on it. Look, if you turn your head this way its green," then Harry turned his head to the left and squinted his eyes, "Then when you do this its purple."
"It's so, so..." Ginny was at a lose for words.
Harry quickly filled in her space, "Ugly? Strange? Or is it, well, why would he paint this? Ginny would you ever paint a gelatin sculpture of yourself naked?"
"Well," Ginny blushed at the thought, " Probably not, but I just can't help but wonder, if this man would put a picture like this of himself in his entryway, what in the world is in the other portraits?"
"Gin, we've met this man, he's mad, so naturally we can assume that he wasn't thinking all too clearly when he hung it here."
Ginny didn't have time to respond as a shadowy figure appeared in the door way across from them.
The booming old voice of the mad hippie could be heard echoing through the house to the hall which his guest just arrived, "Come on in my dear. I have missed you, Deaky."
Ginny's eyes widened, she mouthed, "Who's Deaky?"
"No idea," Harry mouthed back.
"Where are you old man?" The man called Deaky yelled into the house.
"Come to the sitting room."
Deaky quickly walked down the hall and entered the door which supposedly led to the sitting room.
"Harry, we have to follow him." Ginny looked petrified at the thought.
"Gin, we've got no choice, we've got to follow, we've got to see what they're up too."
So they exited the portrait instantly emerging into the next portrait, which the room was empty, so they continued in such a way until the entered the sitting room. Through some good fortune they managed to except most crude portraits, just bothering people playing cards and what (Oh how they hoped) were apparently wooden carvings of trolls. Harry wondered why the old man had painted statues, something was clearly very disturbed in this man's brain.
"So, you've got the money, naturally" The old man was talking very calmly, and normally.
"Well not exactly sir." The hooded figure seemed to be very scared, and you could visibly see every molecule of his body jump back an inch even though he never took a step as the old man stood up and lifted his wand.
"AFTER ALL THIS TIME. AFTER ALL THE DEATHS, YOU CAN'T EVEN MANAGE A SIMPLE TASK?" The temper had been unexpected, Ginny grabbed Harry's arm and instantly recoiled, as though he were fire. Her face turned the color of fire and she instantly looked back on the old man, who now was spitting mad, literally.
"I EXPECTED MORE OF YOU. TOM ALWAYS SAID YOU COULD PULL ANYTHING OFF." The old man was shaking with rage. The figure seemed to continue shrinking.
"Master said that of me?" The figure seemed gratified, even enthralled by the fact the no deceased Lord Voldemort had talked of him.
"Then again, he said a lot of things, like he would live forever for one." A harsh laugh excaped the old man's lips.
Harry sense that the old man's change of voice to quiet was more dangerous that if he had continued screaming.
The old man continued, "So, you cannot even prove yourself worthy of the air you breathe. That's okay you will simply have to be reminded why failure is not an option."
"No, sir, I beg of you. I will try harder. I will, I swear it." The figure was pleading.
'I know you will." That was the last words uttered until the screaming came from the figure. A strange orange mist drifted out of the old man's wand and instantly the figure came into a sort of fit. His body was shaking, sputtering, and moving like it were possessed.
"Harry," Ginny whispered, "What is that gas?"
"It's demonicguire, it makes the person feel the effects of being possessed, except the user gets total control and access to the tortured mind. It is a horribly effective form of torture."
"I'd say." Ginny shuddered.
The figure continued to twist in agony. The hood came off, it was McNair.
"Harry, isn't he supposed to be dead?" Ginny gasped.
"Or something along those lines."
McNair, nicknamed Deaky stopped withering. He stood up. "I will try again."
"Damn right you will." The old man began laughing again.
"I will never understand why he decided to curse himself into confusion whenever he doesn't wish to talk anymore," Deaky picked up his hooded cloak and began moving for the hall, Ginny and Harry moved pictures so watch him leave, "I suppose he is a bit of a liability factor, this way if he's captured.." The door slammed behind him.
"He can't be interrogated," Harry finished the sentence for Deaky.
For the next two days the old man continued to bounce around eccentrically from room to room and generally behave as you would imagine any normal insane asylum candidate would act.
"Harry there's no point hanging around here." Ginny was bored. They had gone through all the portraits, tried to interrogate or interview each person, but they got no helpful information.
"Moody said three days, didn't he?" Harry feared his mind was slipping, this house had that effect on you."
"He's charmed to be crazy, we've got no chance of him catching on," Ginny's voice was going on in a bored tone, "to us being here."
Harry had stopped listening at "catching on," Something had triggered some memory. When they had accidentally slipped into the portrait of Hermione and Ron's office. It had been something about them catching on. Ginny had pulled out a magazine which she was now laughing at. But Harry's wheels kept clicking in his brain. Who was supposed to catch on, and to what for that matter? Ginny was now laughing hysterically.
"Gin, would you mind quieting down, I'm kind of having a thinking moment right now."
"Sorry Harry, but the things Rita Skeeter wrote in here are a riot. "She had a lovely ceremony." Harry, why would she lie about such things?"
"Wait, Hermione's deal with her!" Harry was remembering something, something he hadn't thought about in a long while.
Ginny looked puzzled, "What deal does 'Mione have with Rita Skeeter?"
"Well in our fourth year Hermione discovered that Rita was an illegal animagus. She was a beetle actually, that's how she got her 'scoop', so Hermione managed to capture her in a jar and made her swear to stop writing lies about people, which is an oath she had faithfully followed, until recently. Unless..." Harry was lost in thought again.
"Really, would you mind finishing your sentences? It would make life a lot more bare-able for me." Ginny was a little spiffed about that fact that her partner was not including her on some brainstorming he was currently having.
Harry took none of this in. About a week ago now he supposed, the scandal broke about him and Ginny, about a week ago Harry supremely pranked Hermione and Ron. And Hermione had sworn her revenge. Then a week later she was fine and all "No hard feelings" about the whole deal. Something about that did not add up.
And the fact that a false scandal broke out with Rita Skeeter leading it all, when she was currently still under blackmail of Hermione, and Hermione still was silent about Rita's illegal activity...
Harry remembered something, from fifth year, when Hermione had used Rita and Luna to help Harry's image with the public. She had encouraged him to use the press. She always used the press.
Hermione was behind it, it all fit. The way the press covered it, the type of scandal, her sudden forgiveness, Rita Skeeter being involved and still remaining out of the renovated Azkaban. Hermione had cooked up the rumor about Harry and Ginny getting married as a revenge on the two of them for the Teddy Bear prank. And they almost deserved it!
"Gin, I need to tell you something. But, it's time to go." Harry noticed with sudden excitement, "Lets get the hell out of here."
"One one condition: You must tell me the instant we get back." Ginny's tone wasn't a questioning one, it was an order.
"Of course," Like Harry would dare answer saying anything else.
The two quickly got out of the portrait and entered the field. They didn't even feel like exploring, the simply found the correct door, entered and found themselves in Moody's office, which was a mess as always. Clearly it was late because nobody was in the office area at all, but it was clear that Moody and the Twins had had a battle at least three days previous because things were still magically fixing themselves.
They arrived at Harry's house and it was late, Ginny was practically wetting herself in attempts to get Harry to disclose his information, which were useless.
They went inside, and directly into Harry's study, which was neat, orderly, yet still eclectic. He sat at his desk and proceeded to tell Ginny exactly what Hermione was up to, and how Ron may have been involved.
"I'm gonna kill them!" Ginny was fuming. Harry reached over and grabbed her arm.
"Ginny, calm down, everything will be all right now. We just have to tell Hermione we know."
"WHAT HARRY?!?!" Ginny clearly had a much better idea of something along those lines, "Harry, we now have the upper hand. They don't know we know. We can use this to our advantage."
"Ginny, don't you think it would be easier if we didn't get all confuddled in this?"
"Confuddled, what are you talking about. This will be a piece of cake, all we have to do is come up with a suitable course of action to get our revenge."
"Gin, I really want to end all of this, I mean, its all gone on long enough."
"Harry James Potter, since when have you been a quitter?"
"I'm not but, come on, realistically what can we do?" Ginny leaned forward and proceeded to tell him exactly what they 'could' do. Within the hour they had formed a fully operational plan, it wasn't elaborate, but it would work for them.
Three days later...
"HERMIONE, I can't take this anymore. They are all over each other, and all over the place."
It was a Monday morning, and Ginny and Harry were now officially more than a third of the way in on their plan to get revenge.
"Ron, she just moved into the spare bedroom. Its not like they are dating, they work together, they're friends, and if they got together it would just prove that our plan worked and your brothers plan succeeded as well. Honestly, thing work out in your favor and your still unhappy. I thought you wanted them to get together!" Hermione said this to him accusingly.
"I did, until I realized they could, I can now see this is a horrible idea, it must be stopped at once. I have got to go see my brothers." Ron turned to go out the fire when Hermione stopped him.
"Ron, no. This is getting unreasonable. Either you want them together, or not. You need to decide you can't keep making plans to get them together or spilt them up, which they are not together, yet anyway. And if they want to get together you can't break their happiness Ron. You have to be a supportive older brother. Even if it kills you!"
"Fine," Ron's vein in his forehead had calmed a bit. But he added, "I still have got to talk to my brothers, at least to calm down."
"Whatever, but be back in time to go out tonight."
"Oh yeah! Its Monday, let's go get trashed!"
Hermione just rolled her eyes and went back to work. Ron twirled his watch dial and went to the Weasly brother clubhouse.
Harry and Ginny's office was a different story...
"Did you see my brother's face when I announced I was moving in." Tears of laughter was streaming down both Harry's and Ginny's eyes.
"Gin, I think it's time we enacted step 2." Harry leaned against the wall with a smirk.
"You think the timings right?"
"Yeah, it is perfect, Ron's gonna have kittens, but does it really matter?
"No, oh by the way, are we still going to go out with them tonight?"
"Yeah, we might as well." Harry laughed and got back to work.
Upcoming: What happens when Ginny meets a guy that could be the man of her dreams?(AND HE'S NOT HARRY!) And how will Harry win her back? And how will Ron's opinion change? and all that other jazz?
Please review, I think I'll hold the next story ransom for at least three reviews. So if you wanna know how this all winds up (which it will in the next few chapters probably) Review!
Thanks a lot for reading. Review!lol!
Haha, a couple of you don't like cliffhangers, sorry. If you like this story check out another by me, I think it will be just a short story though, its called, "A Deal's a Deal." Highly recommended if I do say so myself, its about Harry and Ginny's role in the House Elf Liberation of Hogwarts, I may update if people like it.
Chapter 13: Questioning
"Harry, is it just me, or has it changed, in color?" Ginny timidly looked at the gelatin-sculpture. It was of something you would never want to see in the flesh, so why would some one paint a gelatin sculpture of it?
"No Ginny, it's just the way the light from the room is reflecting on it. Look, if you turn your head this way its green," then Harry turned his head to the left and squinted his eyes, "Then when you do this its purple."
"It's so, so..." Ginny was at a lose for words.
Harry quickly filled in her space, "Ugly? Strange? Or is it, well, why would he paint this? Ginny would you ever paint a gelatin sculpture of yourself naked?"
"Well," Ginny blushed at the thought, " Probably not, but I just can't help but wonder, if this man would put a picture like this of himself in his entryway, what in the world is in the other portraits?"
"Gin, we've met this man, he's mad, so naturally we can assume that he wasn't thinking all too clearly when he hung it here."
Ginny didn't have time to respond as a shadowy figure appeared in the door way across from them.
The booming old voice of the mad hippie could be heard echoing through the house to the hall which his guest just arrived, "Come on in my dear. I have missed you, Deaky."
Ginny's eyes widened, she mouthed, "Who's Deaky?"
"No idea," Harry mouthed back.
"Where are you old man?" The man called Deaky yelled into the house.
"Come to the sitting room."
Deaky quickly walked down the hall and entered the door which supposedly led to the sitting room.
"Harry, we have to follow him." Ginny looked petrified at the thought.
"Gin, we've got no choice, we've got to follow, we've got to see what they're up too."
So they exited the portrait instantly emerging into the next portrait, which the room was empty, so they continued in such a way until the entered the sitting room. Through some good fortune they managed to except most crude portraits, just bothering people playing cards and what (Oh how they hoped) were apparently wooden carvings of trolls. Harry wondered why the old man had painted statues, something was clearly very disturbed in this man's brain.
"So, you've got the money, naturally" The old man was talking very calmly, and normally.
"Well not exactly sir." The hooded figure seemed to be very scared, and you could visibly see every molecule of his body jump back an inch even though he never took a step as the old man stood up and lifted his wand.
"AFTER ALL THIS TIME. AFTER ALL THE DEATHS, YOU CAN'T EVEN MANAGE A SIMPLE TASK?" The temper had been unexpected, Ginny grabbed Harry's arm and instantly recoiled, as though he were fire. Her face turned the color of fire and she instantly looked back on the old man, who now was spitting mad, literally.
"I EXPECTED MORE OF YOU. TOM ALWAYS SAID YOU COULD PULL ANYTHING OFF." The old man was shaking with rage. The figure seemed to continue shrinking.
"Master said that of me?" The figure seemed gratified, even enthralled by the fact the no deceased Lord Voldemort had talked of him.
"Then again, he said a lot of things, like he would live forever for one." A harsh laugh excaped the old man's lips.
Harry sense that the old man's change of voice to quiet was more dangerous that if he had continued screaming.
The old man continued, "So, you cannot even prove yourself worthy of the air you breathe. That's okay you will simply have to be reminded why failure is not an option."
"No, sir, I beg of you. I will try harder. I will, I swear it." The figure was pleading.
'I know you will." That was the last words uttered until the screaming came from the figure. A strange orange mist drifted out of the old man's wand and instantly the figure came into a sort of fit. His body was shaking, sputtering, and moving like it were possessed.
"Harry," Ginny whispered, "What is that gas?"
"It's demonicguire, it makes the person feel the effects of being possessed, except the user gets total control and access to the tortured mind. It is a horribly effective form of torture."
"I'd say." Ginny shuddered.
The figure continued to twist in agony. The hood came off, it was McNair.
"Harry, isn't he supposed to be dead?" Ginny gasped.
"Or something along those lines."
McNair, nicknamed Deaky stopped withering. He stood up. "I will try again."
"Damn right you will." The old man began laughing again.
"I will never understand why he decided to curse himself into confusion whenever he doesn't wish to talk anymore," Deaky picked up his hooded cloak and began moving for the hall, Ginny and Harry moved pictures so watch him leave, "I suppose he is a bit of a liability factor, this way if he's captured.." The door slammed behind him.
"He can't be interrogated," Harry finished the sentence for Deaky.
For the next two days the old man continued to bounce around eccentrically from room to room and generally behave as you would imagine any normal insane asylum candidate would act.
"Harry there's no point hanging around here." Ginny was bored. They had gone through all the portraits, tried to interrogate or interview each person, but they got no helpful information.
"Moody said three days, didn't he?" Harry feared his mind was slipping, this house had that effect on you."
"He's charmed to be crazy, we've got no chance of him catching on," Ginny's voice was going on in a bored tone, "to us being here."
Harry had stopped listening at "catching on," Something had triggered some memory. When they had accidentally slipped into the portrait of Hermione and Ron's office. It had been something about them catching on. Ginny had pulled out a magazine which she was now laughing at. But Harry's wheels kept clicking in his brain. Who was supposed to catch on, and to what for that matter? Ginny was now laughing hysterically.
"Gin, would you mind quieting down, I'm kind of having a thinking moment right now."
"Sorry Harry, but the things Rita Skeeter wrote in here are a riot. "She had a lovely ceremony." Harry, why would she lie about such things?"
"Wait, Hermione's deal with her!" Harry was remembering something, something he hadn't thought about in a long while.
Ginny looked puzzled, "What deal does 'Mione have with Rita Skeeter?"
"Well in our fourth year Hermione discovered that Rita was an illegal animagus. She was a beetle actually, that's how she got her 'scoop', so Hermione managed to capture her in a jar and made her swear to stop writing lies about people, which is an oath she had faithfully followed, until recently. Unless..." Harry was lost in thought again.
"Really, would you mind finishing your sentences? It would make life a lot more bare-able for me." Ginny was a little spiffed about that fact that her partner was not including her on some brainstorming he was currently having.
Harry took none of this in. About a week ago now he supposed, the scandal broke about him and Ginny, about a week ago Harry supremely pranked Hermione and Ron. And Hermione had sworn her revenge. Then a week later she was fine and all "No hard feelings" about the whole deal. Something about that did not add up.
And the fact that a false scandal broke out with Rita Skeeter leading it all, when she was currently still under blackmail of Hermione, and Hermione still was silent about Rita's illegal activity...
Harry remembered something, from fifth year, when Hermione had used Rita and Luna to help Harry's image with the public. She had encouraged him to use the press. She always used the press.
Hermione was behind it, it all fit. The way the press covered it, the type of scandal, her sudden forgiveness, Rita Skeeter being involved and still remaining out of the renovated Azkaban. Hermione had cooked up the rumor about Harry and Ginny getting married as a revenge on the two of them for the Teddy Bear prank. And they almost deserved it!
"Gin, I need to tell you something. But, it's time to go." Harry noticed with sudden excitement, "Lets get the hell out of here."
"One one condition: You must tell me the instant we get back." Ginny's tone wasn't a questioning one, it was an order.
"Of course," Like Harry would dare answer saying anything else.
The two quickly got out of the portrait and entered the field. They didn't even feel like exploring, the simply found the correct door, entered and found themselves in Moody's office, which was a mess as always. Clearly it was late because nobody was in the office area at all, but it was clear that Moody and the Twins had had a battle at least three days previous because things were still magically fixing themselves.
They arrived at Harry's house and it was late, Ginny was practically wetting herself in attempts to get Harry to disclose his information, which were useless.
They went inside, and directly into Harry's study, which was neat, orderly, yet still eclectic. He sat at his desk and proceeded to tell Ginny exactly what Hermione was up to, and how Ron may have been involved.
"I'm gonna kill them!" Ginny was fuming. Harry reached over and grabbed her arm.
"Ginny, calm down, everything will be all right now. We just have to tell Hermione we know."
"WHAT HARRY?!?!" Ginny clearly had a much better idea of something along those lines, "Harry, we now have the upper hand. They don't know we know. We can use this to our advantage."
"Ginny, don't you think it would be easier if we didn't get all confuddled in this?"
"Confuddled, what are you talking about. This will be a piece of cake, all we have to do is come up with a suitable course of action to get our revenge."
"Gin, I really want to end all of this, I mean, its all gone on long enough."
"Harry James Potter, since when have you been a quitter?"
"I'm not but, come on, realistically what can we do?" Ginny leaned forward and proceeded to tell him exactly what they 'could' do. Within the hour they had formed a fully operational plan, it wasn't elaborate, but it would work for them.
Three days later...
"HERMIONE, I can't take this anymore. They are all over each other, and all over the place."
It was a Monday morning, and Ginny and Harry were now officially more than a third of the way in on their plan to get revenge.
"Ron, she just moved into the spare bedroom. Its not like they are dating, they work together, they're friends, and if they got together it would just prove that our plan worked and your brothers plan succeeded as well. Honestly, thing work out in your favor and your still unhappy. I thought you wanted them to get together!" Hermione said this to him accusingly.
"I did, until I realized they could, I can now see this is a horrible idea, it must be stopped at once. I have got to go see my brothers." Ron turned to go out the fire when Hermione stopped him.
"Ron, no. This is getting unreasonable. Either you want them together, or not. You need to decide you can't keep making plans to get them together or spilt them up, which they are not together, yet anyway. And if they want to get together you can't break their happiness Ron. You have to be a supportive older brother. Even if it kills you!"
"Fine," Ron's vein in his forehead had calmed a bit. But he added, "I still have got to talk to my brothers, at least to calm down."
"Whatever, but be back in time to go out tonight."
"Oh yeah! Its Monday, let's go get trashed!"
Hermione just rolled her eyes and went back to work. Ron twirled his watch dial and went to the Weasly brother clubhouse.
Harry and Ginny's office was a different story...
"Did you see my brother's face when I announced I was moving in." Tears of laughter was streaming down both Harry's and Ginny's eyes.
"Gin, I think it's time we enacted step 2." Harry leaned against the wall with a smirk.
"You think the timings right?"
"Yeah, it is perfect, Ron's gonna have kittens, but does it really matter?
"No, oh by the way, are we still going to go out with them tonight?"
"Yeah, we might as well." Harry laughed and got back to work.
Upcoming: What happens when Ginny meets a guy that could be the man of her dreams?(AND HE'S NOT HARRY!) And how will Harry win her back? And how will Ron's opinion change? and all that other jazz?
Please review, I think I'll hold the next story ransom for at least three reviews. So if you wanna know how this all winds up (which it will in the next few chapters probably) Review!
Thanks a lot for reading. Review!lol!