Chapter 28

A Giant Mission

A giant note began tying in Harry's stomach as he approached his friends and took the letter out of the beak of Fawkes.

"He was standing at the window when I got up here." Ginny exclaimed.

Harry looked around the common room and noticed Seamus and Dean engaging in a game of exploding snap so he figured the sixth year boys dormitory would be a good place to have some privacy.

"Let's go up to our room." Harry said to the others. He held out his arm to Fawkes extending an invitation for him to join them, but he simply nodded his head to Harry and then vanished into thin air.

Harry and the others filed into the sixth year boy's dorm. Neville was sitting on his bed doing a bit of reading and seemed a little startled when he saw Ginny and Hermione emerge behind Harry.

"It's good you're here Neville." Harry started holding up the letter. "From Dumbledore." Neville sprang up quickly to join the rest of his housemates. Harry took a seat on the end of his bed and ripped open the letter while the rest of them gathered around him. Neville and Ginny took up seats on Harry's trunk which was at the end of his bed, while Hermione showed off her skills by conjuring a small wooden bench for her and Ron to sit on.

Harry glanced over the letter briefly to make sure that there wasn't anything in it that Dumbledore wanted him to keep to himself. Satisfied that he could reveal every detail to his friends he began to read out loud.

Harry,

I should think that by now you are wondering where I am. And with good reason. As you can imagine, when I awoke in the Chamber of Secrets I was more than a bit confused. Using methods that I will reveal to you at a later day, I was able to get back into the castle and assess the situation. I must commend you and my brother for your plan of action. Hiding me in the chamber and having Aberforth impersonate me was brilliant.

I'm sorry I haven't contacted you sooner, but it was apparent to me that I needed to assess the extent of the damages that I have sustained immediately. So, I sought out an old friend for help. It appears that I was poisoned and the dosage was quite enough to kill me. It has made me very weak and at this point it would be dangerous for me to return to Hogwarts as headmaster. If anyone were to discover my vulnerability, it could put Hogwarts in danger and as I'm sure you know there is a traitor among us.

It has also been brought to my attention that I have had a memory charm placed on me. Reversing memory charms is very tricky magic and in the state I am in now, any attempt to retrieve my memories would no doubt kill me. I want to caution you that the traitor, whoever they are, can do very complex magic as it is no small feat to successfully administer a memory charm on me.

Trust that I am in good hands. My condition will improve and I will be back at Hogwarts soon. Also, I want you to know that you can put your faith in and trust Aberforth. Please relay the contents of this message to him. I will keep in contact.

Sincerely

Albus Dumbledore

No one said anything for a few moments while they digested the contents of the message.

"Well it's a good thing." Ron spoke up. "At least he is alive."

"Something's not right though." Hermione replied. "There must be something really wrong with him. Nothing would keep Dumbledore from protecting Hogwarts."

"You heard him Hermione." Harry stepped in. "He's weak from the poison that's all. He doesn't want to give the traitor a chance to see that he's vulnerable." Hermione shrugged in agreement but Harry could tell that she was still troubled.

"We need to take this as a positive." Harry added. "Dumbledore will get better soon; we just need to buy him some time. We have to make sure that until he's back, nobody finds out about Aberforth."

"I agree Harry." Hermione said grimly. "Which means this might not be the best time for a rescue mission to Malfoy Manor." Harry contemplated her thoughts for a minute.

"Or maybe it's the perfect time." Ron snapped in. "We go on the offensive and leave them in a state of disarray. If we break into their headquarters and rescue Hagrid, they'll need time to regroup. They'll need a new secret headquarters. Not to mention the fact that Vold-(Ron stopped for a minute and took a deep breath) Voldemort will be looking for answers from his Death Eaters."

"I agree." Harry asserted. "Plus, we don't know how much more time Hagrid has. They could kill him at any time. We need to strike now. If Ron's right, then hopefully if we are successful it will give Dumbledore the time he needs to get better." Harry looked at Neville who was obviously confused so Harry explained the situation to him.

"I think we need to go too." Neville agreed. "No one should have to endure torture from Death Eaters. I'll be with you Harry." Harry nodded and then looked in Hermione's direction to see if he could get an affirmation.

"Of course." Hermione replied.

"Ginny?" Harry asked.

"I'll be there." She replied.

"Good." Harry said. "We'll go tomorrow night at midnight." Now I'm going to go discuss this letter with Aberforth." With that Harry left the room and headed right for the headmasters office.

"Harry, come in come in." Aberforth said as Harry emerged in the doorway. "I was just about to have a spot of tea; can I interest you in a cup?"

"No thanks." Harry said sitting down across from him. "I got a delivery from Fawkes today." Harry reached into his pocket and pulled out the letter from Dumbledore and passed it across the table. Aberforth read it quickly and then made it disappear with a quick flick of his wand.

"Wouldn't want it falling into the wrong hands." Aberforth assured Harry. "Now then this is certainly interesting news."

"Do you have any idea who this old friend is that he went to?" Harry asked.

"I have my suspicions." Aberforth chuckled to himself. "The important point is that he will need time to get better. We must keep our secret safe until that time. Things must stay as normal as possible around here. Go to class, participate in Quidditch, and keep the DA group going. Nothing out of the ordinary." Aberforth leaned over the table at this last statement and met Harry's eyes. Harry felt a strange ting go through his head but it quickly disappeared.

"There actually is one issue that I think we need to discuss Professor." Harry started. Dumbledore had insisted that Harry could trust Aberforth so he had no other choice than to do just that. He could certainly use Aberforth's help in rescuing Hagrid from Malfoy Manor.

"What is it Harry?" Aberforth said surveying Harry.

"I found out that the secret keeper to Malfoy Manor is Draco." Harry started. "And I got him to tell me where it is." It looked like Aberforth was going to say something immediately; he opened up his mouth wide but then thought better of it and gathered his thoughts for a second.

"That is a job for the Order Harry." Aberforth finally stated. "I'm not even going to ask what measures you went to secure that information but I'm sure that it was of great risk to us all. I don't want you involved any further in this. Let the Order handle it."

"But you read Dumbledore's letter." Harry explained. "There is a traitor in the Order. The second you announce this information to them, the Death Eaters will find out about it and will be ready for us."

"Harry you have to trust me that I will take care of this." Aberforth stated calmly. "Besides, your knowledge is not of much use to us. In order for us to be able to see Malfoy Manor, we would need to hear the location straight from Draco's mouth. Even if you told us where it is, it wouldn't do us any good." At that second Harry knew he had made a mistake. He should have had Malfoy write down the address so that anyone who saw it could enter. In his previous year, Dumbledore had written down the address to Grimmauld Place. Mad Eye Moody had shown the paper to Harry. He had explained to Harry that the information had to come from the Secret Keeper directly. As it stood now, the only people that would be able to enter Malfoy Manor would be himself, Ron and Hermione.

"Harry." Aberforth said loudly snapping Harry out of his deep thought. "I know who I can trust with this information and we'll figure out what to do as quickly as we can. There is nothing more to be done now. Why don't you go back to your common room and get some sleep."

Harry starred blankly at Aberforth and nodded before getting up and making his way back to Gryffindor tower in deep thought. How did Aberforth really know who he could trust? Harry's parents had thought that they could trust Wormtail and it ended up costing them their lives.

When he got back to the Gryffindor common room he saw his friends in the corner studying.

"How did it go?" Ron asked as Harry approached them.

"Not good. We should go to the Room of Requirements to talk." Harry added in a low tone. The other four Gryffindors shook their heads in agreement. Harry pulled out the Marauders Map and led them to the Room. Once inside, Ron, Hermione, Ginny and Neville took a seat on one large L shaped couch that had appeared.

Harry stood in front of them for a second trying to choose his words carefully.

"What is it Harry?" Hermione asked hesitantly.

"No one heard the location for Malfoy Manor except me, you and Ron." Harry replied grimly. Hermione immediately understood the implications and her face fell considerably.

"What does that mean?" Ron asked.

"It means that we are the only ones that will be able to see it." Hermione explained. "We can tell Ginny and Neville and whomever else we want where Malfoy Manor is but they have to hear it from the secret keeper themselves or else they won't be able to see anything."

"Exactly." Harry added.

"Well that's it Harry." Hermione started. "We can't go through with this. I know we have gotten through some tight situations in the past, but the three of us can't just expect to walk into the Death Eaters headquarters alone and expect to get ourselves out alive let alone Hagrid."

"I know how you feel Hermione." Harry asked. "But now it is even more apparent that we go. Aberforth is going to relay this information to some members of the Order. He doesn't realize that the traitor could be anyone. If the traitor finds out then we may never get Hagrid back."

Hermione studied Harry for a long moment. She followed Harry into the Department of Mysteries last year and she had almost died. Harry could not blame her for not wanting to follow him again.

"Look, I understand if you two decide not to go." Harry explained. "But it's something that I have to do. Hagrid rescued me from the Dursleys and I would do anything to get him back." Ginny, who hadn't said a word the whole time, burst into tears and ran out of the room. Neville nodded to Harry and then went out of the room after her. Harry felt the urge to run after her as well, but this was too important a moment to abandon.

"I've been with you every other time." Ron chimed in. "And I'm not about to let you get all the credit yourself." Harry tried to smile at that last statement but the level of emotion that was showing in Hermione's eyes made the situation a bit too tense for humor. She was directing her stare at the floor, but Harry could see the tears running from her eyes and down her cheek.

Finally, she stood up from the couch while grabbing Ron by the hand and stood right in front of Harry. The area around her eyes was now starting to swell.

"If one of us is going then we all are." She finally said convincingly. Her voice cracked a little but Harry could tell that she was trying to fight through it. "But we need to take it more seriously this time. There is no one to rescue us, and there is no one to blame but ourselves. It's not like we're breaking into the Slytherin Common Room. We are walking straight into a house filled with Death Eaters."

"You're right." Harry interrupted. "That is why I think we should train all day tomorrow. Brush up on our skills. All three of us have Charms first tomorrow. So I say we each take a Puking Pastille or some Nosebleed Nougat and get out of class. Then we can meet here for some training." Ron and Hermione agreed and three of them wandered back to Gryffindor tower. Harry had hoped that Ginny would be in the common room when he got back, but she wasn't. When he got up to the boy's dormitory, Neville informed him that she ran all the way back to the common room and up the stairs to her room. He tried to follow her, but instead found out something that Harry and Ron had learned the previous year, boys were not allowed in the girl's dormitories.

Harry knew that he needed to get some sleep. He had a big day ahead of him. But the thoughts of Hagrid kept him tossing and turning. But thankfully his body finally gave in to sleep as the full moon poured its rays on his pillows.

The next morning Harry sprang out of bed as soon as he awoke in the hopes of catching Ginny in the common room before breakfast. Unfortunately she was not there and when he got to the Great Hall she was not at the Gryffindor table either. Although Ron and Hermione were already there.

"Have you two seen Ginny?" Harry asked as he sat down across from his two best friends.

"Sorry Harry." Hermione answered. "I asked a couple of the fifth year girls and they said that she was gone when they woke up this morning." Harry slouched into his chair a little and begrudgingly ate a piece a sausage even though he was no longer very hungry.

"So what'll it be Harry." Ron said pulling out a couple of the twins' scandalous snacks.

"I think I'll take the Nosebleed Nougat." Harry answered as he reached over and grabbed it out of his hand.

"As will I." Hermione added as she grabbed one of her own.

"Well I guess it's a morning of puking for me." Ron said smiling. Hermione rolled her eyes in disgust as it seemed that Ron was actually looking forward to causing a commotion.

And what a commotion he caused. Ron ate his Puking Pastille just seconds before Professor Flitwick called him up to the front of the class to help him demonstrate a spell. Ron ended up loosing his breakfast all over the poor professor's desk and on two Hufflepuff students on his way out the door. Hermione and Harry were much more subtle and conjured towels to cover there noses before any blood began to spill out. The professor was busy attending to Ron's mess and was only too happy to let them out of class without much question.

The three headed straight for the Room of Requirements where Harry thought about needing a room with ample space for dueling. When they entered, the room looked almost the same as it had the previous year when they held DA meetings in it. It was very long and wide with bookcases on the back wall. There was a large mat laid out to duel on, and there were cushions surrounding that mat that would prevent any hard falls.

The three of them practiced every charm, hex, and spell that they had ever learned. After a few hours, Harry wished in his head for some sandwiches and pumpkin juice and was obliged with enough to keep their energy high. After they had exhausted all of their knowledge, Hermione thought that they should work on their apparation skills again.

"Right." Harry agreed. "We have to get faster. When Dumbledore and Voldemort dueled last year, they were apparating out of the way of curses. It can be a really effective tool in a duel." Since Hermione was already the best at apparating, she took turns shooting stunners at Ron and Harry while they tried to apparate out of the way. Harry and Ron took stunners off various parts of their bodies before they were able to effectively get out of the way. After countless hours of practice, they were all popping in and out of thin air firing curses at one another. When Hermione finally caught Ron with a stunner to the shoulder and knocked him out, Harry figured it was as good a time as any to take a break.

"Ennervate." Hermione said and Ron's eyes popped open. They each collapsed into their own large leather chair that had appeared and began snacking on some more sandwiches to regain their strength. Harry thought to himself that it seemed like they had been there for days and realized that there was no clock in the room to tell them exactly how long they had been there. And as fast as that thought crossed his mind, Harry directed Ron and Hermione's attention to a large clock that appeared on the wall and read 11:00.

"Almost time." Ron said before sticking a nearly full sandwich into his mouth.

"Alright, here's the plan." Harry started. "We'll go through the secret passage that leads to Honeydukes. From there, we'll fly. Hermione, you should really use your own broom. I know Neville has one that you can borrow."

"I can fly." Hermione grumbled. "I just don't like it all that much. But don't worry I'll be fine."

"Good." Harry added. "Fred and George gave me directions to Malfoy Manor. It shouldn't be a very long flight."

"We should get going." Ron said. Harry covered himself with his invisibility cloak and followed behind Ron and Hermione as they made their way back to Gryffindor Tower. Being prefects, it made getting around the castle at night a lot easier for Ron and Hermione. When they got inside, the common room was deserted except for one red head who was sitting in front of the fire.

"Come on Hermione; let's go get Neville's broom for you." Ron said leaving Harry alone to talk to Ginny. Harry sat down next to her and noticed that her face was a little red and swollen.

"Ginny, I'm sorry you can't come." Harry stated. "You know that I would want you there if it was possible. You're a brilliant witch."

"So what am I supposed to do?" Ginny asked. "Sit here and watch my brother, best friend, and boyfriend go walking straight into danger."

"I'm sorry." Harry said again. "There's nothing more I can say."

"Well I'm coming anyway." Ginny added as she stood up. Ron and Hermione appeared in the doorway as she made this statement.

"No you're not." Ron replied walking briskly up to his baby sister.

"Are you gonna stop me?" Ginny said harshly as she rose to her feet and pulled out her wand. "I may not be able to go in, but I could wait outside. If you're able to get Hagrid out then you may very well need my help." Harry, Hermione, and Ron starred at her intently as the clock began to strike twelve a clock. Harry glanced at the clock and then back to Ginny.

"Let's go."

Author's Note: I know that I haven't exactly been religious about putting out chapters so I wrote another chapter. Thanks for being so patient. Keep reviewing.