Ok. Everyone knows the drill. Still here goes nothing -
Harry Potter & the other characters of J.K. Rowling are strictly hers (though this plot here is mine :)). I am not the original writer (though I wish I could be) & I do not wish to make money from this. Most Importantly, I DO NOT want to get sued. So if anyone has any problems with anything I write, then just tell me.
There's plenty more...blah blah blah...forget it & let the story begin :).
Note: US English has been used here
HARRY POTTER & THE POWER OF HOGWARTS
Chapter 23 - New Year Eve Surprises
"There you are..." Tonks continued. "...finally having the sense to listen...hey!". Tonks couldn't finish her statement as Harry ran past her in full speed. Even as Harry passed her, she heard Harry say something which sent a chill through her blood.
"Don't worry Ginny, I will save you"
&&&&
"Let me go!" Ginny gave another tug at the hand that was fiercely holding her. "LET ME GO" she shouted again. The death eater just put a hand-locking curse on her and turned her around. Ginny felt the tip of the death eater's wand in the small of her back.
"Nothing will be gained by shouting my dear" the person in the hood replied as he pushed Ginny down a corridor of Hogwarts. "There is a silencing charm around us" a chuckling sound came as he said this.
"Everyone is going to find you" Ginny said as she tried to break the spell in the old fashioned muggle way. "You wo..."
"No one will ever find out what happened here tonight" the man snapped back in a hissing voice.
"Oh yeah...they will" Ginny had a look of confidence on her face. "Dumbledore...Harry...everyone will be here soon"
"No one will be here" the man repeated, albeit in a calmer voice. "No one even knows we are here"
"Dumbledore should know that I am here" Ginny looked pleased even though her hands were hurting.
"No one knows. And even if anyone knew you were here, what difference would it make?" the man questioned in a careless voice. Now that Ginny thought about it, it really seemed that she was in a messed up situation. What could Dumbledore do if he didn't know that a death eater was inside the castle? What could Harry do who had no idea that she herself was at Hogwarts? After all, she had had been kidnapped from The Burrow a few hours ago and she could only pray that Dumbledore had some method of tracking students inside Hogwarts.
"What happened girl?" the death eater asked in an amused voice. "Not feeling so confident now, are you?". On getting no answer from Ginny, he knew that she felt quite helpless at the moment.
"If I had my wand now..." Ginny fumed as the death eater gave her another rough push. The death eater just smiled and felt for Ginny's wand in his cloaks pocket. It was still there and he knew that Ginny was helpless without it.
"Now now dear...let us stop talking and find out what we have come for" the death eater seemed to be in a merry mood but his voice was slightly shaky.
"WE?" Ginny shouted. "It's only you, understand? Why the hell did you kidnap me?"
"Because the dark lord thinks you could be useful" came the reply.
"Useful?" Ginny's voice showed that she was puzzled at this explanation. As she tried to find an explanation, the expression of puzzlement gave way to another one...that of fear. What if she was just a tool to lure out Harry?
"Hmmm...which way now?" the death eater muttered to himself thoughtfully as he came to a cross section of four corridors. Looking at a piece of parchment in his hand, he took the right one. Ginny had no other option but to keep on walking in front of the hooded figure. There was no way she could turn around and fight the guy without a wand.
"What are you looking for?" Ginny thought it was best if she could get some information out of this person.
"Something which needs to be destroyed" the death eater replied gleefully. He had been selected for one of the most dangerous missions of recent times and he was surely going to make an impression this time.
"What needs to be destroyed?" Ginny asked again, her voice filled with curiosity. "You are not going to burn down the castle, are you?"
"The castle doesn't matter without it" came the curt reply.
"Without what?" came the instant question.
"The Power of Hogwarts"
&&&&
After coming to Hogwarts, Harry had taken time out and had visited Sarah's father in October. He had the wizard radar modified so that it didn't detect Professor Snape's dark mark. For a whole month, he had almost developed a 'heart-ache' due to the constant vibration of the radar when Snape was near. He had never known how lucky that would prove for him later on. Tonight was the day he was most pleased with the change.
"How could someone get in again?" Harry thought to himself as he ran out of the portrait hole and vanished round the first corner. The wizard radar had suddenly started to vibrate and he knew that there was someone in the castle other than Snape who had the dark mark. He had taken out his radar and had seen a death eater in the wing of the castle which led to the Slytherin tower. But what shocked him the most was the other name showing just beside the death eater...that of Ginny.
"I can't lose another person in my life" Harry muttered to himself as he reached the staircases. Making a quick calculation as to which staircase will lead to the shortest way to his target, he took the one on the extreme left. But as luck would have it, the staircases started moving when Harry was midway through.
"Damn it" Harry said through gritted teeth as he held on to the railings for balance. As the staircases came to a stop, Harry realized that his luck had not been too bad after all. He just had to cover two extra corridors to reach the corridor leading up to where Ginny was.
Harry sprinted forward at full speed and checked the radar once again. He saw that Ginny and the death eater had turned another corner and were heading towards a place which led to the back of the dungeons. Wondering as to why they were headed towards that place, Harry turned around another corner. His hopes were rising every minute since he knew that another couple of turns and he would catch up with the death eater.
"Hold on Ginny...I am coming for you" were the thoughts which were doing the rounds in Harry's mind.
&&&&
"What was all that about?" Tonks asked in a slightly dazed voice as soon as Harry had disappeared out of the portrait hole. Shaking her head as if to clear it, she started to make her way towards the portrait hole herself when Fleur stopped her.
"What happened?" Fleur asked anxiously. She had not heard what Harry had muttered but the look on Tonks face indicated that something was afoot...something bad. Tonks looked at Fleur for a moment before explaining to her what she had heard.
"But how did Harry know what is happening?" Fleur asked. "He was in his room"
"Harry can know a lot of things" Tonks replied. Seeing the look of disbelief on her face, Tonks just laid a hand on Fleur's shoulders and said "Trust me". Fleur gave an acknowledging nod in return. After all, Harry Potter was known to be the guy with surprises at Hogwarts.
Even as Tonks tried to leave, Fleur caught her by her arm. "Where are you going?" Fleur asked.
"Isn't that obvious?" Tonks raised an eyebrow at Fleur's seemingly stupid question. "I am going after Harry"
"But shouldn't we inform Dumbledore about this?" Fleur's nerves seemed to be on their edge. Tonks was used to situations which required split second actions but that were not Fleur's cup of tea.
"I can't go to inform Dumbledore now. Who knows what may happen in that much time!" Tonks threw up her hands in exasperation. "See...either we can both search for Harry or you can go and inform Dumbledore". Looking at the indecision on Fleur's face, Tonks continued "If you want to inform Dumbledore then please do so IMMEDIATELY". Fleur was taken aback at Tonks's shouting. Only Tonks knew what kind of mental anxiety she was having.
"We cannot lose another moment" Tonks shouted back over her shoulder as she made her way out of the common room. "Ginny and Harry are both in danger. Get moving now". With a final look over her shoulder, Tonks was gone.
Fleur stood still for what seemed like hours. The information she had just received from Tonks was mind boggling for her. Her family, along with Harry and his friends, had already been to hell and back just a few days back and something like this happens now. It seemed like some kind of a curse had befallen them. But then again, Harry's life had been a cursed one even before he was born. With a sigh and a surge of nervous energy, Fleur ran out of the Gryffindor common room. She was still having problems deciding whether to go to Dumbledore first or not but the words of Tonks kept ringing in her head. What if that extra second was the second she would regret all her life? Finally, she decided to search for Harry herself and proceeded in a direction opposite to which Tonks had taken. Hopefully, one of them would find Harry and Ginny before anything disastrous happened.
&&&&
"Let go of me you...you..." Ginny was in a desperate situation but that didn't prevent her from threatening the death eater. After all, he couldn't harm her since his 'dark lord' had mentioned that she might be useful.
"Shut up" the death eater seemed irritated at this continuous flow of statements coming from his captive. "And if you think that I can't harm you, then think again". The death eater seemed to have read Ginny's very thoughts which caused her to tense a bit. "You are useful...either the way you are now or in a handicapped manner"
"You..." Ginny fumed but knew she could do nothing. "You are going to be in deep trouble". At this, the death eater gave a laugh. Here he was, with a captive student, who was saying that he was going to be in deep trouble.
"Think it is funny, eh?" Ginny questioned as they kept on moving. "First, Dumbledore and Harry will come here and teach you a lesson"
"No one's coming to save you girl" the death eater butted in.
"Then..." Ginny continued as if she had heard nothing. "...you will go back to your master and plead for his forgiveness at being unable to finish your mission"
"Shut up girl" the death eater hissed angrily. He never ever wanted to think of what might happen if he failed in this mission. It was the most critical mission in recent times and he had to succeed.
"You don't seem too confident now, do you?" Ginny seemed to be testing the waters as to how far this death eater's temperament could be stretched. It wouldn't be a happy moment if she got hit by a powerful cruciatus but then again, in trying to hurt her, the death eater could just somehow allow her a chance to get away.
"Don't be too sure of yourself" the death eater replied as they turned another corner. He wasn't used to chatting with his prisoners but there seemed to be something about this girl that was getting onto his nerves.
"Why did you take me captive anyway?" Ginny asked. "Is it something to do with Harry?"
No answer.
"It's something about Harry, isn't it?" Ginny's breathing had quickened by now. "Why don't you people leave him in peace?"
"That's what we want to do" the death eater replied. "Leave him in peace...forever"
"You filth" Ginny spat at the man. "You people move around in packs and yet can't capture him. What makes you think that just holding me here will help you? He will easily rescue me and give you what you deserve"
"Your prince charming, is he?" came the question in a mocking tone. "Damn it..." the death eater again started to mutter to himself. "...this girl got my directions messed up". With that, he started fidgeting with the piece of paper in his hand.
"Oh Harry!" Ginny shouted in a relieved voice. The death eater seemed startled for a moment and checked around him. Seeing no one in front of him, he turned his head to check if anyone was behind him or not. The death eater was relieved to see that no one was behind him either but his relief did not last long.
The moment the death eater had turned his head was the moment Ginny was waiting for. She turned around almost soundlessly and kicked the death eater in his groin with full force. Even the greatest of wizards couldn't stop the pain caused due to hitting below the belt and this was just a mere death eater. As the death eater doubled up in pain, Ginny launched a full blooded kick at the death eater's face but she was surprised to see the death eater roll away. Thankfully for Ginny, her wand had clattered down on the floor when the death eater was trying to avoid her kick and she lunged forward for it. Since her hands were locked together by the death eaters spell, she grabbed her wand with both her hands and, after a couple of seconds of fumbling, managed to get a good grip on it. But those couple of seconds proved too long for her. As she turned towards the death eater to cast a spell, she found herself staring at a wand at point blank range.
"Give me your wand" the words came in small gasps. Obviously, the death eater seemed to be in extreme pain but he knew that worse awaited him if he couldn't manage the situation at hand now.
"Do your worst" Ginny said defiantly but did not raise her wand. After all, no one could predict what spell could be coming her way. It was better to be safe than sorry.
"Don't push me girl" the death eater hissed again. "I can do things to you which you can never even imagine in your wildest dreams"
"Not if I have something to do about it" a voice spoke from behind the death eater as a wand tip came in contact with his back. The death eater gulped as he recognized the voice.
Now if you will hand me your wand, then I won't hurt you". Though Harry was calm outside, his insides were in turmoil. "At least not yet...Wormtail"
&&&&
"Where could he have gone?" Tonks thought as she ran down one of the seemingly infinite corridors of Hogwarts. She heard quite a few whispers as she made her way towards a turning. Stopping and looking around, she saw no one nearby. Yet, she was sure that she had heard people whispering. Then it stuck her. The portraits of course.
"Hello there" Tonks said as she approached a portrait of an elderly wizard. The wizard, who had been grunting in displeasure due to the sound created by Tonks running, had a good look at the metamorphmagus.
"What do you want, my fair lady?" the wizard in the portrait asked. If Tonks was not mistaken then his voice had a slightly mischievous tint to it.
"I am looking for a friend of mine" Tonks replied. "Harry Potter"
"Harry Potter?" the wizard asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Yes" Tonks replied hastily. "Could you please tell me where he is in the castle now?"
"I am not an elf" the wizard scowled.
"No...of course not" Tonks knew that she had to come up with something if she wanted to get some information out of this guy. "But you are a gentleman who would help a lady in distress" Tonks said in her sweetest voice. "Am I wrong?"
"Hold on..." the wizard said with a grin. "I will be right back". With that, Tonks saw the wizard move out of his picture and into those of the others. She stood there biting her nails in tension when, after about 15 to 20 seconds, the wizard returned.
"You found him?" Tonks asked with anticipation.
"Maybe" the wizard replied carelessly.
Putting on her sweet act once again, Tonks asked "Could you please tell me where he is?". The wizard seemed to like the word 'please' in Tonks question. After all, not many people had given him too much respect since his portrait had been created. Taking another close look at Tonks, the wizard went on to describe what he had seen.
"The last portrait which your friend passed is on the floor down below and he was heading towards the back of the dungeons"
"That means you didn't look for him beyond that?" Tonks was surprised, angry and nervous at the same time.
"No" the wizard replied. "There are no portraits after that" he explained.
Tonks nodded in understanding and thanked the wizard for his help. She even gave him small peck on his left cheek which greatly pleased the wizard. It had been a long time since anyone had been so generous to him and he watched the running figure of Tonks disappear down the corridor with misty eyes.
Tonks ran as fast as her legs could carry her. Even though she was worried about Harry, she wondered what could be the reason that there were no portraits near the back of the dungeons. Logic said that it must have been kept that way so that someone could have some privacy from prying eyes. But why? Why would someone be...hold on, Tonks thought and slapped herself on her forehead. Maybe that's where the Power is.
This quickened her pulse rate greatly. If something happened to the Power then Harry would be most vulnerable. Harry, who had somehow remained unscathed during the past few months, could get hurt...gravely. Who knew what Harry was going to face? And who was Harry trying to save Ginny from? Death eaters of course!
Tonks came to a complete halt and tried to take stock of the situation. Something had to be done if death eaters were present. She couldn't act hastily but then again, she just couldn't turn back and inform Dumbledore. What if it proved too little too late? She couldn't let Harry get into trouble...never. Harry was something which was far more precious to her than the rest of the world. She didn't dare tell Harry about how she felt but that didn't mean that she couldn't lov...
"NO!" a voice inside Tonks screamed at her. "Don't even think about it"
"But why?" another voice asked...a voice closer to her heart.
"Because things can wait till everything is taken care of" the other voice replied.
"What if I lose him by then?" Tonks's heart seemed to ask.
"What if you have already lost him?" her brain replied. "Just friends...that's what you told the veela"
"What should I have done?" her heart asked.
"Spoken the truth" came the reply. "The truth which you have evaded till now...the truth which you still continue to evade"
"Someday..." her heart began but the other voice cut in.
"Be truthful to yourself first. You just don't have the guts to do it, do you? Anyway, forget this and help Harry now. He needs you"
Tonks closed her eyes and took a deep breath to stabilize herself emotionally. It was weird as to how she could never bring herself to confess the truth to Harry. After all, she thought, Harry would understand. But yet...
Tonks opened her eyes and looked around. Now was not the time or place to get tangled into emotional things...that too about Harry. It was time to help him. With her mind focused on only one thing, she rushed towards her target.
&&&&
"Oh Harry...thank god you are here" Ginny's voice showed her relief as she rushed towards Harry. "Is the headmaster here too?"
"No Ginny. He doesn't know yet". Ginny looked crestfallen at the answer. Yes, Harry Potter had saved the day on loads of occasions but yet everyone would agree that there was a certain aura about Dumbledore. When he was present, the whole world seemed to be a safer place but then again, Harry was quite close to challenging Dumbledore's image. Yes, Ginny felt safe with Harry and there was no denying the fact that she was indeed safe now.
"How are you Wormtail?" Harry asked as he took away the wizard's wand and freed Ginny from her hand-lock.
"H...H...Ha...Haaaa...Harry" Wormtail stammered. "You haa...have gr...grown...soo...much"
"Too much for your own good?" Harry asked in an emotionless voice.
"It's so...so...nice to s...see you again" Wormtail continued.
"Why are you here Wormtail?" Harry asked.
"You...have grr...grown so much" Wormtail repeated while looking around frantically.
"Looking for a hole?" Harry asked. Harry didn't know whether he should pity the man in front of him or whether he should just hate him. He seemed to have gone from bad to worse (if that was possible) and had no sense of self respect.
"Ho...oo...le?" Wormtail seemed to be sweating profusely now.
"You know that we have rat traps all over the place here, don't you?" Harry felt awkward saying this in such a serious tone. Maybe in other times, he would have laughed at such a comment but now, he really felt that rat traps were long overdue for every secret passage at Hogwarts.
"Harry...you misunderstand me" Wormtail fell to his knees as he said this. Since he no longer had his wand, the only way he could get out of this mess was to try to plead for Harry's forgiveness.
"I misunderstand NOTHING" Harry's eyes glowered in the darkness as its cold gaze froze the death eater. "GET UP, YOU FILTHY MAN". Ginny cowered away at Harry's angry form. He really looked frightful.
"POTTER"
Harry looked around to see Snape approaching him. They were standing at a three way juncture and Snape was coming towards them from the left side, his cloak billowing behind him. From what Harry could see and guess, Snape had not seen Wormtail yet since he was hidden from view. All that Snape could possibly see was Harry holding a wand in front of him.
"Showing your talents to a girl alone in the corridor Potter...that too at night?" Snape asked with the deepest loathing as he came nearer and nearer towards the trio out of which only two people were visible to him.
"Professor..." Harry started to speak but was stopped in mid-sentence.
"Shut up Potter" Snape bellowed. "Let's see what the headmaster says on this occasion. And put your wand away"
"I cant" Harry replied with a coldness in his voice which caused Snape to stop just a few meters before Wormtail would have come into his view.
"You can't?" Snape hissed, his eyes narrowing in anger. "You are disobeying me Potter?"
"No sir" Harry replied without taking his eyes off Peter. "But..."
"Put - away - that - wand" Snape repeated again.
"Sir...if you listen..."
"Expelliarmus". Harry's wand flew through the air and Snape caught it neatly. "That will teach you...what the hell!"
Snape had no idea that someone had been hidden from his view. The moment he had taken away Harry's wand, he saw a person appearing out of nowhere and tackling Harry. Before he could even react, the person had reached for something inside Harry's pocket and vanished at the next blink of the eye. Even though the person was fast, Snape recognized him in the split moment's view he had before the person had taken on his animagus form. Wormtail.
"LOOK AT WHAT YOU HAVE DONE" Harry burst out at his professor. "JUST LOOK...". Snape looked lost for words. He had never been spoken to like that by a student before but then again, the situation had never been one like this either. He opened his mouth once as if to say something but closed it once again. As he regained his composure, the look on his face turned to that of sheer anger and loathing.
"Wormtail!" Snape hissed through gritted teeth. Even though Harry was very angry himself, he had never seen Snape this angry before. But, knowing that there was no time to be lost, Harry took few steps forward and snatched his wand from Snape.
"Thank you for safeguarding my wand" Harry gave Snape a murderous look. Snape peered at him with narrowed eyes but didn't say anything. Personal vendetta could wait for later as they had a far worse situation at hand right now.
"Where did that pest go?" Harry muttered mainly to himself but the others heard him too. As he scanned around, he saw a tiny hole at the end of the corridor. Harry closed his eyes for a second to visualize this portion of Hogwarts. After all, he had not gone over the map of Hogwarts and the radar for days on end for nothing. Lots of his meditation sessions had been devoted to knowing each and every nook of Hogwarts but still a lot of information seemed to get messed up. After some precious seconds, he turned towards Ginny.
"Ginny, be ready with your wand" Harry told her as he pointed out the hole to her. "Same goes for you Professor"
"What do you mean Potter?" Snape questioned. "And remember, you don't give orders here"
"I remember Professor" Harry retorted. "It's just that this is a dead end with a small room behind it. There is no way out from that room unless Wormtail blasts a hole in the wall opposite to him"
"And how do you know this?" Snape looked puzzled at getting this piece of information.
"And Wormtail could blow a hole on the other side" Harry continued thoughtfully as if he had heard nothing. "I say we blow away this wall".
"Hold on Harry..." Ginny started to say but Harry was already casting his spell. Seeing that Harry had made up his mind, Ginny cast a spell which was followed by one sent by Snape.
"There you are Wormtail" Harry said as soon as the dust settled down. Wormtail had his back towards Harry and had just cast a spell on the opposite wall. Instead of getting blown apart, only a few cracks had appeared on it. Harry imagined that this rooms wall were stronger than usual due to some additional magic. Also, they had been able to blast apart a wall because three powerful spells had hit it almost simultaneously.
"Ha...Har..."
"What do you have there?" Harry asked in concern as he saw something which was covered in some kind of cloth. "Accio cloth" Harry said and the piece of cloth came flying towards him. Even as he caught the cloth, his eyes widened in fear and puzzlement. Wormtail had the Goblet of Fire in his hand.
"Hand it over Wormtail" Snape said in a commanding voice. "You know better than that" he said as he saw Wormtail trying to target the trio.
"Severus...you wouldn't...you..." Wormtail stammered.
"Oh yes, I would" Snape said as the end of his wand emitted sparks reflective of his mood. Harry saw it was best to let Snape handle the situation. Ginny also took a step backwards at seeing Snape's murderous looks. Obviously, ever since Snape had 'officially' left the death eaters ranks, there had been no love lost between him and the other death eaters.
"Seve..."
"Accio Goblet" for some reason unknown to even himself, Harry summoned the Goblet of Fire to himself. Everyone seemed slightly surprised at this sudden move but was relieved to see Harry making a clean catch despite the Goblet being much bigger and heavier than a snitch.
"When did you become a staff member at Hogwarts Potter?" Snape asked in his usual hatred filled voice. "Now...if you will..." with that, Snape held out his left hand towards Harry while keeping his wand trained on Peter. Ginny was also targeting Wormtail just in case he tried his disappearing act again.
Harry knew how Snape would take the credit as to how he saved the Goblet from getting stolen and how he had caught Peter Pettigrew. With a grudge at having to lose to Snape again, Harry handed over the Goblet of Fire to Snape.
"That was the brightest thing you have done in all the time you spent at Hogwarts" Snape said. "And now..." Snape said as he looked at Wormtail with venom in his eyes. "...lets get rid of you". Harry didn't like the murderous look on Snape's face. For a moment, he wondered whether Snape would really try to 'get rid' of Wormtail forever or whether he would just stun him for the aurors. He had his eyes fixed on Wormtail when, all of a sudden, the look of fear from Wormtail's face vanished, giving way to a smile. Harry looked astonished when...
"Your time's up Potter" Harry closed his eyes for a moment before opening them and he looked to his right. Severus Snape, with a sneer on his face, had his wand pointed directly at Harry at point blank range.
&&&&
"What is holding them up?" Mr. Delacour asked his wife in a concerned tone as they sat in front of a number of students for the New Year's dinner party. Mrs. Delacour gave a shrug of her shoulders and posed the question to Remus who himself looked quite worried.
"I'll just check in on them" Remus told Mrs. Delacour. Whispering something urgently to Dumbledore, who nodded his response, a thoughtful Remus got up and left the table.
Remus had been worried a lot about Harry lately. He just wasn't himself since the events of the Christmas night. No one blamed him for what happened but Harry could be blaming himself for what had happened to Dobby. After all, Harry usually took the blame onto himself whenever some kind of attack, devised to capture him, landed others in trouble. Also, this time the whole thing had ended in the death of Dobby who was one of the closest beings to Harry. Who knew what could be going on his mind?
Remus didn't know how he could reach out to Harry in this state. He had hoped that Tonks would have been able to bring him down to the feast this evening but from the looks of things, it seemed like she was still having a tough time persuading Harry. Even as he proceeded towards the Gryffindor tower, little did he know what was really happening.
&&&&
"What happened Potter?" the sneer on Snape's face seemed to be growing by the minute as he snatched away Harry's wand with one hand and disarmed Ginny with a spell. "You seem like someone died". Harry had pure murder written all over his face. He was looking at Snape with as much hatred as he had for Voldemort.
"You betrayer" Harry finally said calmly, much to Snape's surprise. After all, Snape wanted Harry to be broken in every aspect, physically and mentally. Even though Harry's face betrayed the anger he was feeling, his mind seemed to be in control of things.
"Betrayer?" Snape asked in mock surprise. "Whom did I betray? Dumbledore?"
"YES" Ginny screamed as she grabbed Harry's sleeves tightly. It just made her feel safer but this time around, it was more to keep her temper in control. "You lying greasy slimy..."
"SHUT UP" Snape shouted. "I will not be spoken to like that. Wormtail..." Snape spoke to the wizard who had Ginny targeted. "...finish her off"
"NO!" Harry covered Ginny from everyone's view. "You have got me and the Goblet. Let her go". If Harry had seen Ginny's face at that moment, he would have noticed a strange mix of emotions passing over her features.
"And bring back the old man here?" Snape raised an eyebrow.
"You are afraid of Dumbledore, aren't you?" Harry asked in a taunting voice. "Afraid that..."
"I am afraid of NO ONE" Snape shouted. "No one except the dark lord who needs to be feared"
"Then why all this hide and seek game?" Harry asked as he took a small step backward. Ginny, getting the hint, stepped back slightly too.
"That's what you lack Potter..." Snape said, his sneer still fixed in place. "...Strategy"
"And what strategy forced you to serve Dumbledore for all these years?" Harry asked curiously.
"Can't figure it out with all that intelligence you have, can you?" Snape said with a small laugh. "So much for the mighty Potter"
"You haven't answered my question yet" Harry said as he nudged Ginny further backwards. Ginny, knowing that the turning in the corridor was not far behind, inched back slightly in the shadows so that she could make a run for it.
"Well..." Snape looked quite delighted. "...It was my lord's idea. He had assigned me to kill Dumbledore. No...I didn't plan to beat him in a duel but I could always do stuff with potions. I was assigned to the task the day the dark lord got information about the prophecy. I was to strike on Dumbledore the day you were taken care of. One day…2 victims and the whole world would have been at the feet of my lord". Snape had a fanatical glee in his eyes.
"And I ruined your lord's plans, didn't I?" Harry asked with a smile. After all, he was happy that he had got the better of Voldemort and Snape's plans when he was just a year old.
"Yes Potter" Snape's sneer had vanished. "No one knew how it happened but...well...maybe it was all for the 'greater good'" Snape quoted Dumbledore.
"But a lot of death eaters got captured due to the information you provided" Harry said thoughtfully.
"That was a small price to pay to earn Dumbledore's trust" Snape gave an evil smile. "The dark lord specifically told me who should be turned in. There were quite a few 'weak' members whom we wanted to get rid of". At this, Snape gave Wormtail a look which caused him to gulp down a lump in his throat.
"What about Karkaroff?" Harry asked. "I heard you threatening him. Also, you saved my life in the first year..."
"Enough" Snape's voice showed the contempt he had for these things. "I did whatever I had to do then since the dark lord was still not back. And the dark lord had instructed me that I would in no way ever expose myself until he told me so. That's why I had to do those disgustful things"
"Your lord seems to be more manipulative than powerful"
"POTTER!" Snape bellowed. "Mind your tongue. Anyway, I have had a lot of chit chat with you for the time being. It's time to get rid..."
"Just one more thing" Harry asked in a pleading voice which pleased Snape to a great extent. "Why are you stealing the Goblet of Fire?". By this time, Wormtail was so engrossed in the conversation that he didn't even notice that Ginny was almost completely in the shadows. As for Snape…Harry was blocking his view pretty well.
"Good question Potter" Snape sounded as if he was just about to give some house points to Harry. "You see, this thing has been a pain in the neck for a long time and we want to get rid of this once and for all"
"What do you mean?" Harry seemed confused.
"Since this seems to be your last wish, I will grant it to you" Snape seemed to be enjoying the fact that at last Harry Potter was at his mercy. "In the summer holidays something happened...something which hasn't happened in a long while. We all believe you are somehow connected with it but we don't have any proof"
"What are you talking about?" this seemed to be getting weirder by the minute.
Snape, on the other hand, didn't even seem to hear Harry. "You had somehow pulled out Gryffindor's sword out of the hat in your second year. Maybe that had meant a lot to Dumbledore since he kept the sword safe in his office. Anyway, this summer, a strange occurrence took place. The Goblet of Fire lit up by itself. Mind you..." Snape seemed like he wanted to make his point very clear. "...the Goblet was not supposed to be lit so soon again. But it did. And it all happened after the night you ran away"
Pausing for a moment, Snape continued. "I didn't understand the implications then but Dumbledore did. When I told about this to the dark lord, he immediately understood it for what it was. The Power of Hogwarts had been activated again"
"What?" Harry put on a mask of surprise on his face and even managed to baffle Snape. He was not supposed to know anything about some kind of a power.
"The Power of Hogwarts Potter" Snape repeated. "The Power was first activated by Godric Gryffindor himself. Gryffindor had used it to prevent Slytherin from taking control of what was rightfully Slytherin's"
"Hold on a second..." Harry said. "What IS this power you are talking about?". Harry wanted some answers to the puzzle he had been trying to solve and it seemed like Snape was ready to answer them. Harry wasn't going to let go of this moment so easily.
Snape's gaze seemed to pierce Harry but Harry didn't buckle under the pressure. He also had to prolong the discussion so that Ginny could get away.
"Dumbledore didn't tell his favorite pupil about the Power?" Snape asked mockingly. "See...that's why he can't be as great as the dark lord. He manipulates people he knows and cares about while the dark lord only manipulates people he doesn't know or doesn't care about"
"Anyway..." Snape returned into his professor mode but maintained a steady aim at Harry. "The Power is supposed to be made up of three known and one unknown item. Gryffindor's sword, the sorting hat and the Goblet of Fire are the known items. Gryffindor had something else which was the key to the Power. He used it to activate the Power". Harry thought about this comment and suddenly something struck like lightning in his mind. It was the glove which Gryffindor must have used to activate the Power. Of course, it all made sense now. The Power had been activated after he had tried on the glove for the first time.
"How did this Power help Gryffindor?" Harry asked. It seemed a bit awkward that he seemed to be having a civil conversation with Snape after all. What was even more ironic was that it seemed he wouldn't make it alive out of here. How could he escape both Snape and Wormtail? Well...the only bright spots were that maybe Ginny could escape and he would be able to learn about the Power after all these months.
"It somehow kept Salazar from attacking Hogwarts and others. We don't know how Gryffindor did it and it still remains the greatest piece of magic even though not everyone knows about it. There were stories about a strange power stopping Salazar from attacking innocent people but no one knew the truth. No one knew except a select few. This power did indeed stop Slytherin from attacking both Hogwarts and the people of England. Whenever he tried to do something, he weakened"
"And what does this have to do with the times now?" Harry asked again. "I mean...there is no Slytherin now"
"There is!" Snape snapped back. "The dark lord is the only descendent of the great Salazar Slytherin". Harry cursed himself mentally for forgetting this. "And this Power is again stopping my lord from taking what is rightfully his"
"So all the attacks over the past few months were to destroy these items?"
"Seems like you have some brains after all" Snape sneered. "We didn't want to destroy all of them. Destroying only one is enough to deactivate the Power. But that old man hid the items all over Hogwarts. We couldn't even get close to them"
"Then how did you know this was here?"
"A certain rat checked every corner of the castle during the days you were in France". At this, Wormtail gave smiled which made Harry's blood boil.
"So...hmmm..." Harry tried to come up with another question. Ginny was almost in a position to make a run for it and she was praying to god that Harry would just be able to hold on for a few extra seconds.
"So...destroying the Goblet will destroy the Power?" Harry asked at last.
"The Power is nothing if even one item is destroyed" Snape replied. "The Power won't exist after tonight and the dark lord will be free again"
"So that's why he has never appeared in any action throughout the past few months" Harry thought loudly. "But...but why don't you just blow it apart now? Why are you stealing it?"
"If only you had the brains, you could have been an above average wizard yourself Potter" Snape said in a loathing voice. "Do you think a simple curse will blow apart such a powerful magical object?"
"Then how..." Harry's voice trailed off at this.
"Remember how your godfather died Potter?" Wormtail winced slightly at this question posed to Harry while Harry's face hardened.
"The veil!" Harry exclaimed. "The veil was stolen from the Ministry during the summer holidays"
"Very good Potter" Snape seemed quite surprised that Harry had guessed the link correctly. "Only the veil can destroy objects like the Goblet. That was why it was created". Harry started to think again about what Simon Potter had written about the glove – "According to Godric Gryffindor, only one object can be used to destroy the glove. That object is unknown to me" Now Harry knew the answer to it. The veil could be used to destroy the glove too.
"So..." Harry began but stopped short as he saw Snape's eyes glance over his shoulder.
"GET THE GIRL" Snape bellowed as he caught sight of a slight movement in the shadows.
"RUN GINNY RUN" Harry shouted even as he heard a pair of feet running away rapidly. Both Snape and Wormtail shot off spells towards the red headed girl but missed her. Harry was relieved to hear the sound of running feet dieing at a distance.
"Arghhhhh..." Snape grunted in anger. "Again you have come into my way Potter, again. Now, it is time for me to take revenge for the defeat at Azkaban"
"You were the person I was fighting?" Harry's eyes narrowed in both anger and amusement. Anger because he had being robbed of a victory that day and amusement because it had been Snape on the run that day.
"Yes Potter" Snape said. "And that smile of yours is going to vanish NOW"
"Not if I can help it. Expelliarmus" a voice from behind Snape shouted. Wormtail had not noticed a person moving in the shadows behind Snape and he knew he would have to face Snape's wrath for it, that is, if they made it out of here.
"TONKS!" Harry heaved a sigh of relief at hearing the stern and tense voice of his metamorphmagus friend and saw her catching all the wands cleanly.
"You ok Harry?" Tonks asked without taking her eyes off Snape. She threw Harry back his wand without even looking at him.
"Yeah" Harry replied as he caught the wand.
"You will pay for this Nymphadora" Snape said through gritted teeth.
"Not before you pay first. Harry, take away the Goblet" Tonks said. It was quite obvious who was in command here. Harry did as he was told.
"Now...march towards the great hall" Tonks poked Snape with her wand in the back as she said this. "Harry, you cover Wormtail"
"Not if I can help it" came a commanding voice. Harry felt a wand tip touching his back even as Tonks eyes went wide in fear and astonishment. "Give Snape his wand and the Goblet back". There was something in that voice which sent a chill down Harry's spine. They were facing a very dangerous enemy.
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"Why does everything happen to Harry?" Fleur thought sadly as she scouted the corridors of Hogwarts. Her mind was working furiously trying to guess where Harry could have gone. Also, she was trying various tracking spells to find Harry but all seemed to be reaching a dead end somewhere or the other. Fleur knew she had to somehow help Harry and hoped that at least Tonks would find him out.
Tonks! She was a kind of enigma to Fleur. She had said that she liked Harry just as a friend but Fleur had a very strong suspicion that it was more than that. After all, Fleur may be a quarter veela but it was still enough to let her know about some of the people's emotions...mainly those related to that of attraction.
She had felt a strange sort of emotion emitting from Tonks whenever the topic of Harry was brought up or whenever Harry was near. Also, it seemed quite clear from her eye's that she held Harry in very high esteem. Whether it was just adoration or something deeper, Fleur couldn't tell.
"Fleur" Fleur was brought out of her thoughts by a male voice calling her. Looking around, she saw Remus approaching her from a corridor on her left.
"Where are Tonks and Harry?" Remus asked, somewhat relieved to find at least one of them. He had been quite worried ever since he found the Gryffindor common room empty. Fleur looked at Remus for an instant and then looked away again.
"What happened?" Remus asked again though his voice was now a concerned one. With a deep sigh, Fleur explained how Harry had run out and what Tonks had overheard.
"YOU MEAN..." Remus looked as if some sacrilege had been committed. Fleur just nodded in reply.
"Yes...Ginny is in danger and Harry went off to save her" Fleur said. "And Tonks said that Har...hold on..." Fleur stopped in mid sentence and looked up at Remus, her eyes unable to hide her fear. Remus was also speechless by now. Both of them seemed to have come to the same conclusion. Fleur covered her face with both her hands and started trembling. Remus seemed to have recovered enough to voice the fear which both of them had.
"What is Ginny doing here now?"
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"GINNY!" Tonks looked absolutely shocked when she saw the petite young girl emerging from the shadows, her wand pointed at Harry. Harry was speechless to say the least. His head had dropped and he had even lowered his wand. He felt hopelessly lost.
"Yes Nymphadora" Ginny replied with a smile which was very unlike her. Gone were the innocent smile and the innocent eyes. Instead, an evil smile and two eyes filled with hatred had replaced them respectively.
"Tell me this is some bad dream" Harry whispered to Ginny. "Ginny...you can't...not after..."
"Percy?" Ginny completed the sentence which Harry could not finish. "Why not Harry? And no, this is not a bad dream at all Harry". There was something in the way she pronounced Harry's name which caused Tonks's blood to boil in anger.
"Now..." Ginny's voice was back to the commanding one heard earlier. "Hand over the Goblet and wands back to Snape and Wormtail or else...". Even as Ginny said this, sparks flew from her wands end. Both Harry and Tonks did as they were told. As soon as Snape had got back his wand, he disarmed both Tonks and Harry and threw their wands away in a corner.
"I think my work is finished here" a squeaky voice, which had not been heard for a long time that evening, spoke up. "I should be going". With that, Peter Pettigrew took on his animagus form and disappeared down the corridor. Harry knew that Peter would take one of the multiple secret passages out of Hogwarts and escape. At that moment, Harry pledged that if he lived through the night, he would block each and every entry and exit points of Hogwarts. With a sigh, he thought as to why he hadn't done it earlier.
"So you were not kidnapped?" Harry asked even though he knew the answer. Snape cast a spell which caused both Harry and Tonks to crash into the opposite wall, side by side. Even as Harry tried to get up, he saw Ginny glaring at Snape.
"No Harry" Ginny replied. "I was never kidnapped"
"Then...urgh..." Harry's back hurt from the crash. "Why are you here?"
"Just as backup Harry" Ginny replied even as she moved closer to Harry. "And...to get what is rightfully mine". As Ginny said this, she traced a line from Harry's forehead to his lips. Even though Harry was now very controlled in his actions, he couldn't stop himself this time. Impulsively, he slapped Ginny. At this, Snape raised his wand to curse Harry but Ginny stopped him.
"Remember what the dark lord promised me?" Ginny asked in a threatening voice at which Snape lowered his wand slightly. No one dared to go against Voldemort's wishes and promises.
"What did that filth promise you?" Harry asked in a hissing voice. Ginny turned back to face Harry, her eyes burning brightly in anger.
"DONT YOU DARE TO DISRESPECT THE DARK LORD IN FRONT OF ME HARRY POTTER" Ginny bellowed before her behavior changed back to normal...or as normal as she was now.
"He promised me power Harry" Ginny said with a dreamy look. "And money...and..." Ginny's voice trailed off at this.
"And?" this time it was Tonks who spoke up. Ginny glared at her before turning to look back at Harry with her innocent eyes.
"And you Harry...you" Ginny had a glow on her face which was erstwhile missing. She seemed quite confident of achieving her goals now.
"And what makes you think you will be able to get me Ginny?" Harry asked sarcastically while Tonks seemed to be fuming.
"Harry...think about it. We will have lots of money and power" Ginny seemed to be lost in a world of her own. "People will have to do what we want. It won't be something like this fancy D.A. which is filled with some idiots. We are talking about rich people here. We ca..."
"There is no we Ginny" Harry snapped. "It's only you...all alone. How could you do this Ginny, how could you?" Harry's face reflected the despair he felt. What would the Weasley family do? Already Percy was lost to them and now...
"How could you leave me Harry?" Ginny seemed to be angry with Harry. "You never ever cared for me. You were like some damned hero who saved me once and then went back to your group of mistresses". Harry felt disgusted at hearing this. It wasn't hard to guess which people Ginny was talking about.
"God knows what they did to you" Ginny's voice seemed very sympathetic. "I know it's not your fault". She was now very close to Harry and had his face cupped in her hands. "They spelled you, didn't they Harry? You always wanted me to be at your side, didn't you dear?"
"NO" Harry was quite appalled by Ginny's behavior. "I thought of you as a friend but now I even hate that thought". Ginny's eyes flashed in anger at this but she didn't say anything. "You are disgusting Ginny"
"But why would You-Know-Who want you?" Tonks asked thoughtfully. She had this question in mind for a few minutes now and thought this was the best moment to put it forward so as to divert the topic. Ginny, who had been contemplating something in her mind, seemed to be interested in this question.
"Because..." Ginny looked at Tonks from top to bottom. "...only I could help look for the Goblet all the time when the death eaters couldn't find it. And because the lord knows a jewel when he sees one". Moving nearer to Tonks, Ginny asked in an audible whisper "What have you done to my Harry? Did you offer him everything you had?". This taunting question was answered by Harry. He spat right into Ginny's face. If Snape had not had his wand trained on Tonks, Harry would have probably strangled Ginny.
"Mind your tongue death eater" Harry had a look of hatred in his eyes which Tonks had never seen before. Ginny cast a cleaning charm on herself but didn't seem angry.
"I am not a death eater yet, Harry" Ginny said with a smile as she moved closer to Harry. "But now that I have helped find the Goblet, I will be one of the top members. With the dark lord free again to do anything he likes, I will have power. Come with me Harry" Ginny's eyes had a pleading look in them. "Please Harry...come with me"
"Never" Harry retorted angrily. "Not even if I am dead"
"I love you Harry" Ginny said in the same tone which was unaffected by Harry's rejection. "I have loved you from the very first day I saw you. We are meant to be..."
"We are meant to be NOTHING" Harry shouted in Ginny's face. "NEVER". The look on Ginny's face changed to one of sheer hatred. She turned and walked back a few feet, obviously in deep thought. Coming to a conclusion, a stone faced Ginny turned back towards Harry.
"In that case Potter, you are not going to be anyone else's either". With that, Ginny raised her wand and a black light sped towards Harry. Harry knew moving out of the way was not an option since Ginny had taken him by surprise. He had been too caught up in his emotions for his senses to work correctly. He didn't know what the spell was but it looked a dangerous one to him. Even as the spell was about to hit him, a single outstretched arm came in its way and absorbed it. Harry turned his head to see a smiling Nymphadora Tonks looking at him. The next moment, the smile vanished and Tonks dropped to the ground.
"THERE THEY ARE" a shout was heard by Snape even as Tonks collapsed. Looking around, he saw Lupin, McGonagall and Fleur hurrying towards them followed by Flitwick. Knowing this was too much for them to handle added to the fact that their task had been achieved, Snape quickly grabbed Ginny and took out a piece of parchment from his pocket. The next moment, two humans and a Goblet were portkeyed away to a remote hideout.
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"Hold on Tonks" Harry shouted at the unconscious body of Tonks as Remus leviated it and started to proceed towards the hospital wing. "HURRY UP REMUS!' Harry shouted disregarding everyone else present there. Flitwick had gone to inform Dumbledore about the incident while Fleur and Harry followed Remus. McGonagall was inspecting the site where the Goblet had been previously hidden.
"Yes Harry" Remus replied in a very grave voice and started to move faster. Harry was almost running in forward of them now and keeping a lookout for more surprise attacks. He had had too many surprises for one evening.
"MADAM POMFREY" Harry shouted as he entered the hospital wing.
"What is it Mr. Potter?" Madam Pomfrey asked in an angry tone. Obviously, she hadn't taken too well to someone shouting in the reserved area.
"It's Tonks...she..." Harry had not been even able to complete his sentence when Madam Pomfrey's eyes went wide. One look at Tonks and she jumped into action. She put Tonks in a bed and asked everyone to step outside.
"Headmaster..." Madam Pomfrey's head popped through the fire in Dumbledore's office. Dumbledore looked quite worried. Flitwick was also present in the room.
"Yes Poppy?" came the question in a quite but stress filled voice.
"You should have a look at Nymphadora". Madam Pomfrey looked dead into the eyes of the elderly sorcerer to make her point. Dumbledore nodded and flooed to the hospital wing immediately.
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"What was the spell Harry?" Remus asked. He did not like what he had just seen and wanted to know which spell had hit Tonks. Harry, on the other hand, seemed clueless about the spell.
"Don't know Remus" Harry shrugged, his face tense. "How long do you think it will take Tonks to recover?"
"Depends on the spell" Remus replied and sat down beside Harry in one of the benches near the door of the hospital wing. "I just hope that the side effects are not grave"
"She was smiling" Harry said with a shrug. "Don't know why though". Fleur, who was sitting opposite to Harry, felt an underlying emotion to all of Harry's words and sighed inwardly.
"You know how she is, do..." Remus stopped as the door opened and Dumbledore stepped out. He had a grave expression on his face. All color left Harry's face as he saw the expression on Dumbledore's face. It had to be bad.
"How bad is it sir?" Harry rushed towards Dumbledore as he gave up all hope of good news. Dumbledore looked for a moment at Harry and then turned away, unable to meet the eyes of Harry.
"I am sorry Harry…Nymphadora won't make it"
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A/N:
Thanks to all you guys who have reviewed till now. I now have 300+ reviews :).
I didn't have the time to cross check whether the Christmas vacation lasts till January 1'st in Hogwarts. Well…it does in my fic and hence the students don't come back till New Year. That's why Ginny wasn't supposed to be back on the 31'st. Sorry if I got my facts wrong.
I hope I have been able to clear up lots of points in this fic. There still might be some holes in the plot which I will clear up in the sequel.
More about Tonks in the next chapter.
Koppa – Even though I have not abandoned this fic, I think there will still be a lot of people wanting to hurt me.
Lilith91 – Your review had this line – "Oh My God. She killed Dobby". Well…I am a guy.
TimGold – I appreciate your effort to push up my review count but I guess it will be stuck between the 300 to 350 mark. Well…I am happy with what I have got.
meehanium – I am not giving you my address. I have this image of a person with a baseball bat in hand and…ouch…
To all those people who have reviewed - Thanks. Each and every word you write in your reviews is of great importance to me and I always take your suggestions/comments very seriously.
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