Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and
owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to
Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros.,
Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is
intended.
Fancyeyes- Thanks for the review and to answer your question, yes there will be more H/G.
Nicoletta- Yea, I will probably throw in the occasional cliffy (some more evil than others). Keep up the good work on your story and thanks for reviewing.
Chapter 3
Strategic Planning
"I won't let you go, without me." Came a softly spoken voice from the corner of the room. Harry literally did a double take upon seeing that the voice came from Ginny. He had expected Ron and Hermione to volunteer themselves to be at his side but he didn't expect it from Ginny. Harry starred at Ginny strictly and saw a look of ferocity in her eyes that rivaled his own. No one in the room knew quite what to say. Harry did not want to put any of his friends in danger but he knew that if he was going to get Neville back, then he was going to need their help.
Harry glanced over at Ron and noticed that he had his mouth open as if tying to object to his sister's statement but instead he turned to Harry and said "If your going mate then we'll be there with you." Hermione nodded in turn but Harry could tell that she was not at all content with his decision and it was her voice that spoke up next.
"Before we make any decisions Harry, we should wait and see what the Order has to say." Hermione said very authoritatively. "They may be planning a rescue mission for Neville right now."
"Then we'll wait." Harry said "but if they are not planning to go tonight then I am. I don't expect you to put your lives on the line for me again, but I'll welcome your help. I thought a lot about it this summer, and I'm not going to sit back and let Voldemort harm another person that I care about. I hope you understand"
With that Harry left the room and continued down the dark hallway. He hadn't meant to act so coldly towards his friends, but he couldn't ignore the screams of Neville that were continuously echoing through his mind. Harry approached the stairs, but instead of going down them he just sat there and began to think. If death eaters were guarding Neville, how would he get him back alive without getting himself or one of his friends injured or even killed. But, before he could come up with anything he felt a presence emerging from behind him. It was Ginny.
"Hi," she said as she sat down next to him on the stairs. He had wanted to be alone so he could think clearly about what could be done but for some reason he didn't mind her being there. Something about having her next to him was soothing.
Harry turned to her and said the thing that was most on his mind, "why did you agree to come with me so quickly?"
"Because I believe you Harry, and I believe in you." Ginny replied with a very comforting tone. "I also don't want anything bad to happen to you" she added with a brief blush taking over her cheeks. "You saved my life in the Chamber of Secrets and I always thought that if there was a chance for me to return the favor than I would take it."
Harry stared at Ginny for a long moment and tried to appreciate all that she had said. It was a great feeling to hear someone say that they were willing to put themselves in danger for your benefit. He respected her words and just by looking at her, he could tell that she truly meant it. Ginny was well on her way to becoming a very good witch and Harry knew that she would be a big help to him. Before he really even knew what he was doing, Harry leaned towards Ginny and whispered "Thank You" in her ear as he embraced her in a hug. But before Harry could even realize what he was doing, the world around him went black. All he could see around him was trees. He was walking along a familiar path until he came to a tiny clearing. There he saw Neville, shackled to a tree and surrounded by three death eaters. His eyes were barely open and Harry could see visible cuts and bruises all over his face and arms. Harry tried to call out to him, but realized that he couldn't use his voice. He approached the death eaters whose faces were covered by masks and began to speak to them in a voice that wasn't his.
"Has there been any activity yet?" the man said.
"No master, nothing," replied the dark wizard to the right of Neville. "Is it possible that Potter does not know about the abduction?"
"He knows, he has seen everything. I can feel his eyes on us as I speak to you now" Volemort hissed. Harry had by now realized that he was seeing all that was going on through the eyes of Voldemort but could not do anything about it.
"What should we do now?" Another Death Eater asked.
"Administer, the Crustaceous curse every hour." Voldemort replied in a satisfying tone. "His friend will not be able to hold on to his sanity much longer."
"Crucio" two of the death eaters yelled. As the stream of their wands connected with Neville, Harry could feel the familiar burning sensation rip through his body. His eyes flew open in a flash and he saw Ginny staring at him with tears in her eyes.
"There going to kill him" Ginny said, her voice trembling. "I could see everything"
The fact that Ginny had to see that killed Harry, but he didn't have time to comfort her. He realized that he now knew where Neville was being held and they could not afford to waste much more time. "Get Ron and Hermione, I'm going into the meeting to speak to the Order." Harry ran down the stairs and gravitated towards a door on the left side of the room where he heard voices. He attempted to open the door but realized it was locked, his frustration began to boil up inside him and before he could even reach into his pocket to grab his wand the door flew open so strongly that it nearly came flying off its hinges.
Harry looked around the room and saw many people that he knew including Tonks, Moody, Remus Lupin, and Bill and Charlie Weasley. He also noticed that Professors McGonagall and Snape were situated on a sort of makeshift stage in the back of the room clearly presiding over the events of the meeting.
"What is the meaning of this Potter?" Professor Snape said in his usual antagonizing tone. Harry almost completely disregarded the potions professors' inquiry and made his way through the crowd to the stage where he could address the crowd.
"Voldemort has Neville Longbottom," Harry began. "He is being tortured to the point of insanity." "I know that many of you served in the Order with Neville's parents and I ask that you don't let him suffer the same fate."
"Potter" Professor McGonagall spoke up. "I know you feel like you need to rescue your friend, believe me I would never wish any of my students to go through that kind of pain. But we don't even know if Neville is missing. He went on holiday with his grandmother to America for the summer. We have people looking into it, but for all we know Neville could be fine. And on top of that, Dumbledore must be consulted before any action is taken.
"Well where is he?" Harry was raising his voice now and was becoming visibly angry at the situation. Everyone was looking around at each other and not saying anything until Mrs. Weasley spoke up.
"We don't know Harry dear." She said. "He would not tell us for our own safety. We have sent him an owl explaining to him that we need to speak to him urgently but have not heard back. Until we hear from him, it is not safe to act."
Harry was about to argue his point but realized quickly that it would be futile. After the situation at the Department of Mysteries last year, no one would trust that what he was seeing was real, probably not even Dumbledore. He knew that he was going to have to accomplish this seemingly impossible task without the help of the Order. He had to go into the Forbidden Forest and rescue Neville right out from under a group of Death Eaters and worst of all, Voldemort knew he was coming.
"Let me know as soon as you hear word from Dumbledore." Harry said angrily as he fled from the room. He heard his name being called from behind him as he hit the hallway but decided to ignore it. He couldn't waste time trying to convince people that he was right. He needed to focus on how they were going to get back Neville. He headed up the stairs to find his friends hoping that they would have some ideas.
"I'm sure they'll have him guarded at all angles." Ron said. Harry had found Ron, Hermione and Ginny already discussing what could be done to save Neville. Ginny had apparently recounted the events of the vision that they had shared to Ron and Hermione and after Harry had told them that the Order said that they could not act yet, they had agreed that something had to be done. Ron was a master strategist when it came to chess and Hermione was the most brilliant person that Harry had ever met (with the exception of Dumbledore), so he was very certain that they would be able to help him come up with a suitable plan.
"I think the best course of action would be for the four of us to make a sort of box around Neville. We can use the trees as cover and we can each fire disarming charms from different locations, that way they won't know which way we are coming from" Ron said trying to rally the others behind his idea.
"It's a good plan Ron." Harry said. "But even in all the confusion there will most likely be too many of them to contend with. If we make it known that we are there, they will make sure that they keep him close. We need to surprise them and get ahold of Neville before they even know we are there."
"I've got it!" Hermione said. "The invisibility cloak." A smile immediately broke over the faces of Harry, Ron and Ginny as soon as the words came out of Hermione's mouth.
"You're brilliant Hermione." Ron said with a look of pride on his face. Hermione exchanged a quick glance and a smile with Ron as her face began to flush.
"Of course." Harry said agreeing with Ron's assessment. "You three will spread out and fire spells from three different locations around Neville and I will sneak up and grab Neville under the invisibility cloak. I don't think Voldemort knows that I have it so that gives us the advantage."
Everyone agreed on the plan and the next order of business was how they were going to get to the Forbidden Forest. "Well, we are going to have to fly because the fireplaces here are not hooked up to the Floo Network for security reasons." Ron explained.
"Oh but Ron you know that I hate to fly," said Hermione with desperation "and I don't even have a broom."
"Ron's right Hermione, it's the only way." Added Harry. "We will have to find you a broom. I'm sure there is an extra lying around here somewhere."
"Uh tha, that's ok," mumbled Ron. "Hermione can ride with me." Ron looked at Hermione and gave her a comforting glance that apparently put her at ease.
"Alright." She said confidently.
"Then it's settled." Harry said as he glanced around the room at his three friends. "We'll set off at midnight." Everyone nodded in agreement and they decided that it would look better if they all went to their respective rooms until midnight when they would meet in the hallway. Hermione and Ginny were sharing the room that they were currently in while Harry and Ron would be bunking together across the hall. Harry and Ron left the two girls and walked into their room not saying a word to each other. Harry lay down on his bed and saw Ron do the same as he drifted off to thought about what they were about to do. What if Voldemort was just manipulating his mind again? What if Neville was fine and he was leading his friends into danger for no reason. But Harry quickly realized that he had to put those thoughts out of his mind. Voldemort had him, and they were going to get him back.
Around ten minutes to midnight, Harry looked over at Ron to make sure that he was awake and found that his best mate's eyes were locked on him. They exchanged a brief nod and began to get ready in complete silence. They were both dressed all in black, with black robes. Harry grabbed his wand and put it in his pocket and he saw Ron do the same as they began to walk towards the door. Lastly, Harry grabbed his invisibility cloak from his trunk and opened the door to the hallway. There he saw Hermione and Ginny similarly dressed in black. They approached the usually creaky stairs and were stopped by Hermione before they could proceed.
"Hold on." Hermione whispered as she reached into her pocket and pulled out her wand. "Silencio" she said casting on silencing charm on the stairs. Harry was very grateful to have Hermione with him, as she always seemed to have a charm for any occasion. They maneuvered their way down the stairs and approached the long hallway that led to the front door.
"Alright everyone." Harry said quietly. "Let's go." But before they could, the front door opened right in front of them revealing the intimidating presence of the most powerful wizard in the world.
Dumbledore was back.
Authors Note: Well that's chapter 3 I hope you like it. Thanks for the reviews, I appreciate them. Chapter 4 should be up tomorrow. One minor note, I realized that I never really explained how Harry's trunk got back with them so I added something to chapter 2. In the next chapter, Harry and Dumbledore have a talk and the fate of Neville is finally revealed.
Fancyeyes- Thanks for the review and to answer your question, yes there will be more H/G.
Nicoletta- Yea, I will probably throw in the occasional cliffy (some more evil than others). Keep up the good work on your story and thanks for reviewing.
Chapter 3
Strategic Planning
"I won't let you go, without me." Came a softly spoken voice from the corner of the room. Harry literally did a double take upon seeing that the voice came from Ginny. He had expected Ron and Hermione to volunteer themselves to be at his side but he didn't expect it from Ginny. Harry starred at Ginny strictly and saw a look of ferocity in her eyes that rivaled his own. No one in the room knew quite what to say. Harry did not want to put any of his friends in danger but he knew that if he was going to get Neville back, then he was going to need their help.
Harry glanced over at Ron and noticed that he had his mouth open as if tying to object to his sister's statement but instead he turned to Harry and said "If your going mate then we'll be there with you." Hermione nodded in turn but Harry could tell that she was not at all content with his decision and it was her voice that spoke up next.
"Before we make any decisions Harry, we should wait and see what the Order has to say." Hermione said very authoritatively. "They may be planning a rescue mission for Neville right now."
"Then we'll wait." Harry said "but if they are not planning to go tonight then I am. I don't expect you to put your lives on the line for me again, but I'll welcome your help. I thought a lot about it this summer, and I'm not going to sit back and let Voldemort harm another person that I care about. I hope you understand"
With that Harry left the room and continued down the dark hallway. He hadn't meant to act so coldly towards his friends, but he couldn't ignore the screams of Neville that were continuously echoing through his mind. Harry approached the stairs, but instead of going down them he just sat there and began to think. If death eaters were guarding Neville, how would he get him back alive without getting himself or one of his friends injured or even killed. But, before he could come up with anything he felt a presence emerging from behind him. It was Ginny.
"Hi," she said as she sat down next to him on the stairs. He had wanted to be alone so he could think clearly about what could be done but for some reason he didn't mind her being there. Something about having her next to him was soothing.
Harry turned to her and said the thing that was most on his mind, "why did you agree to come with me so quickly?"
"Because I believe you Harry, and I believe in you." Ginny replied with a very comforting tone. "I also don't want anything bad to happen to you" she added with a brief blush taking over her cheeks. "You saved my life in the Chamber of Secrets and I always thought that if there was a chance for me to return the favor than I would take it."
Harry stared at Ginny for a long moment and tried to appreciate all that she had said. It was a great feeling to hear someone say that they were willing to put themselves in danger for your benefit. He respected her words and just by looking at her, he could tell that she truly meant it. Ginny was well on her way to becoming a very good witch and Harry knew that she would be a big help to him. Before he really even knew what he was doing, Harry leaned towards Ginny and whispered "Thank You" in her ear as he embraced her in a hug. But before Harry could even realize what he was doing, the world around him went black. All he could see around him was trees. He was walking along a familiar path until he came to a tiny clearing. There he saw Neville, shackled to a tree and surrounded by three death eaters. His eyes were barely open and Harry could see visible cuts and bruises all over his face and arms. Harry tried to call out to him, but realized that he couldn't use his voice. He approached the death eaters whose faces were covered by masks and began to speak to them in a voice that wasn't his.
"Has there been any activity yet?" the man said.
"No master, nothing," replied the dark wizard to the right of Neville. "Is it possible that Potter does not know about the abduction?"
"He knows, he has seen everything. I can feel his eyes on us as I speak to you now" Volemort hissed. Harry had by now realized that he was seeing all that was going on through the eyes of Voldemort but could not do anything about it.
"What should we do now?" Another Death Eater asked.
"Administer, the Crustaceous curse every hour." Voldemort replied in a satisfying tone. "His friend will not be able to hold on to his sanity much longer."
"Crucio" two of the death eaters yelled. As the stream of their wands connected with Neville, Harry could feel the familiar burning sensation rip through his body. His eyes flew open in a flash and he saw Ginny staring at him with tears in her eyes.
"There going to kill him" Ginny said, her voice trembling. "I could see everything"
The fact that Ginny had to see that killed Harry, but he didn't have time to comfort her. He realized that he now knew where Neville was being held and they could not afford to waste much more time. "Get Ron and Hermione, I'm going into the meeting to speak to the Order." Harry ran down the stairs and gravitated towards a door on the left side of the room where he heard voices. He attempted to open the door but realized it was locked, his frustration began to boil up inside him and before he could even reach into his pocket to grab his wand the door flew open so strongly that it nearly came flying off its hinges.
Harry looked around the room and saw many people that he knew including Tonks, Moody, Remus Lupin, and Bill and Charlie Weasley. He also noticed that Professors McGonagall and Snape were situated on a sort of makeshift stage in the back of the room clearly presiding over the events of the meeting.
"What is the meaning of this Potter?" Professor Snape said in his usual antagonizing tone. Harry almost completely disregarded the potions professors' inquiry and made his way through the crowd to the stage where he could address the crowd.
"Voldemort has Neville Longbottom," Harry began. "He is being tortured to the point of insanity." "I know that many of you served in the Order with Neville's parents and I ask that you don't let him suffer the same fate."
"Potter" Professor McGonagall spoke up. "I know you feel like you need to rescue your friend, believe me I would never wish any of my students to go through that kind of pain. But we don't even know if Neville is missing. He went on holiday with his grandmother to America for the summer. We have people looking into it, but for all we know Neville could be fine. And on top of that, Dumbledore must be consulted before any action is taken.
"Well where is he?" Harry was raising his voice now and was becoming visibly angry at the situation. Everyone was looking around at each other and not saying anything until Mrs. Weasley spoke up.
"We don't know Harry dear." She said. "He would not tell us for our own safety. We have sent him an owl explaining to him that we need to speak to him urgently but have not heard back. Until we hear from him, it is not safe to act."
Harry was about to argue his point but realized quickly that it would be futile. After the situation at the Department of Mysteries last year, no one would trust that what he was seeing was real, probably not even Dumbledore. He knew that he was going to have to accomplish this seemingly impossible task without the help of the Order. He had to go into the Forbidden Forest and rescue Neville right out from under a group of Death Eaters and worst of all, Voldemort knew he was coming.
"Let me know as soon as you hear word from Dumbledore." Harry said angrily as he fled from the room. He heard his name being called from behind him as he hit the hallway but decided to ignore it. He couldn't waste time trying to convince people that he was right. He needed to focus on how they were going to get back Neville. He headed up the stairs to find his friends hoping that they would have some ideas.
"I'm sure they'll have him guarded at all angles." Ron said. Harry had found Ron, Hermione and Ginny already discussing what could be done to save Neville. Ginny had apparently recounted the events of the vision that they had shared to Ron and Hermione and after Harry had told them that the Order said that they could not act yet, they had agreed that something had to be done. Ron was a master strategist when it came to chess and Hermione was the most brilliant person that Harry had ever met (with the exception of Dumbledore), so he was very certain that they would be able to help him come up with a suitable plan.
"I think the best course of action would be for the four of us to make a sort of box around Neville. We can use the trees as cover and we can each fire disarming charms from different locations, that way they won't know which way we are coming from" Ron said trying to rally the others behind his idea.
"It's a good plan Ron." Harry said. "But even in all the confusion there will most likely be too many of them to contend with. If we make it known that we are there, they will make sure that they keep him close. We need to surprise them and get ahold of Neville before they even know we are there."
"I've got it!" Hermione said. "The invisibility cloak." A smile immediately broke over the faces of Harry, Ron and Ginny as soon as the words came out of Hermione's mouth.
"You're brilliant Hermione." Ron said with a look of pride on his face. Hermione exchanged a quick glance and a smile with Ron as her face began to flush.
"Of course." Harry said agreeing with Ron's assessment. "You three will spread out and fire spells from three different locations around Neville and I will sneak up and grab Neville under the invisibility cloak. I don't think Voldemort knows that I have it so that gives us the advantage."
Everyone agreed on the plan and the next order of business was how they were going to get to the Forbidden Forest. "Well, we are going to have to fly because the fireplaces here are not hooked up to the Floo Network for security reasons." Ron explained.
"Oh but Ron you know that I hate to fly," said Hermione with desperation "and I don't even have a broom."
"Ron's right Hermione, it's the only way." Added Harry. "We will have to find you a broom. I'm sure there is an extra lying around here somewhere."
"Uh tha, that's ok," mumbled Ron. "Hermione can ride with me." Ron looked at Hermione and gave her a comforting glance that apparently put her at ease.
"Alright." She said confidently.
"Then it's settled." Harry said as he glanced around the room at his three friends. "We'll set off at midnight." Everyone nodded in agreement and they decided that it would look better if they all went to their respective rooms until midnight when they would meet in the hallway. Hermione and Ginny were sharing the room that they were currently in while Harry and Ron would be bunking together across the hall. Harry and Ron left the two girls and walked into their room not saying a word to each other. Harry lay down on his bed and saw Ron do the same as he drifted off to thought about what they were about to do. What if Voldemort was just manipulating his mind again? What if Neville was fine and he was leading his friends into danger for no reason. But Harry quickly realized that he had to put those thoughts out of his mind. Voldemort had him, and they were going to get him back.
Around ten minutes to midnight, Harry looked over at Ron to make sure that he was awake and found that his best mate's eyes were locked on him. They exchanged a brief nod and began to get ready in complete silence. They were both dressed all in black, with black robes. Harry grabbed his wand and put it in his pocket and he saw Ron do the same as they began to walk towards the door. Lastly, Harry grabbed his invisibility cloak from his trunk and opened the door to the hallway. There he saw Hermione and Ginny similarly dressed in black. They approached the usually creaky stairs and were stopped by Hermione before they could proceed.
"Hold on." Hermione whispered as she reached into her pocket and pulled out her wand. "Silencio" she said casting on silencing charm on the stairs. Harry was very grateful to have Hermione with him, as she always seemed to have a charm for any occasion. They maneuvered their way down the stairs and approached the long hallway that led to the front door.
"Alright everyone." Harry said quietly. "Let's go." But before they could, the front door opened right in front of them revealing the intimidating presence of the most powerful wizard in the world.
Dumbledore was back.
Authors Note: Well that's chapter 3 I hope you like it. Thanks for the reviews, I appreciate them. Chapter 4 should be up tomorrow. One minor note, I realized that I never really explained how Harry's trunk got back with them so I added something to chapter 2. In the next chapter, Harry and Dumbledore have a talk and the fate of Neville is finally revealed.