Chapter Two
The Quest Request

The red haired stranger walked down the passageway for a few minutes more, until she came to a wooden door. Luckily, she was small enough to go through without having to duck. Through the door and up some stairs, the stranger thought to herself, Well, he said he would meet me here, so I guess he's ready for the truth now.' Without taking any notice to the footprints in the dust, the girl walked on still.

After making sure the mirror was in her pocket, she walked until she came to yet another door: the door leading into the room where she realized who she really was, and what her life's purpose was. Not prepared to walk any farther yet, she sat down on a particularly creaky step, needing to think about it all again...

It was the last day of term at Hogwarts, and a Miss Ginevra Weasley (Ginny to her friends) had finished her exams and was sitting beneath a shady tree by the lake. The wind blew a pleasant breeze through her long, crimson hair. She was thinking once again about how unfair it was that all of her friends and family would be leaving her at Hogwarts next year, alone. They would be joining the Order, fighting against the Dark side, apparating from one place to another freely, starting their careers and their lives, and she would be at Hogwarts; watching the world pass by in front of her. Though she had seen and experienced enough of the "real world" to be graduating with Harry, Hermione, and Ron, (her two best friends and her older brother) she was only a sixth year, and wasn't even of age.

Yet she couldn't help notice that those last few days, Harry didn't seem himself. He seemed as if he was trapped inside his own body. Every time she, Hermione, or Ron approached him, he would say he was thinking and needed to be left alone. Ginny guessed it could have something to do with the fact that he alone had the power to vanquish the Dark Lord Voldemort, but since he had come so close to that a few times before, maybe it was something else.

In Harry's fifth year, his godfather had died in a Battle at the Department of Mysteries between Voldemort and his Death Eaters and The Order of the Phoenix, and even a few D.A. members. Everyone could tell Harry still blamed himself for this. The following summer, after the revelation of the Half Blood Prince and the death of Ginny and Ron's older brother Percy, Harry spent a lot of time in the Department of Mysteries. (Voldemort himself had killed Percy because he had found out whom the Half Blood Prince was, and was prepared to tell Harry.)

Ginny almost fell asleep, sitting there by the lake, but someone tapped her on the shoulder.

"Ginny, hey! How are you?" asked Hermione.

"Oh! I'm fine. You just startled me. Did you just finish your N.E.W.T.S.?" Ginny replied.

"Yeah. They were really challenging, but I think I did well. Harry and Ron haven't finished yet."

Ginny nodded and opened her mouth, as if to reply, but suddenly stopped. Without warning or reason, her body turned icy cold and she felt as if all the happiness had been drained from her.

"Ginny, are you all right? You look like you're about to pass out!" Hermione exclaimed. And that was the last thing Ginny remembered before she found herself lying on the floor of the Shrieking Shack...

"She's awake! Oh, goodness, she's awake!" Hermione shrieked to someone else in the room Ginny could not see.

"Ginny! Hermione told me what happened. Are you okay? I was so worried..." Ron said lovingly.

"I, I, dunno...dementors...they swooped down on me. But why are we in the Shrieking Shack? Why couldn't you just take me to the Hospital Wing?" Ginny asked, bewildered.

"Oh, that, um, Ginny...all these dementors came and swooped down on you, and I couldn't produce a strong enough Patronus, but then, Harry came out and saw you and he made them go away and he carried you in here. Now he's off getting Dumbledore. He should be back soon," Hermione explained quietly.

Ginny just sat up in amazement for a few minutes. Harry had saved her again. He always seemed to be saving her! She suddenly realized, that for the second time in her life, she was in love with Harry Potter. She felt an urgent need to tell him how grateful she was for his bravery towards her, and she had to tell him how worried she was about him recently, and how she wished to be more than his friend. After all, if Ron and Hermione, the Head Boy and Head Girl, were dating, who was to stop she and Harry from dating?

A half hour passed, then an hour, and still Harry hadn't returned. They were starting to get worried when all of a sudden Dumbledore and Lupin appeared at the top of the stairs. Ginny, Hermione, and Ron all stood up immediately.

"Calm down, calm down. Professor Dumbledore informed me about Ginny and the dementors, and I knew that something like this would happen, especially after I heard about the other prophecy. The dementors on Voldemort's side again! All his Death Eaters escaped... And the Half Blood Prince! I always knew he was a sneaky, slimy, good-for-nothing... I tried to contact Harry, with the mirror you know, but all he said was that he had to do this now, that it was now or never-" he was cut off by Dumbledore.

"Remus! Be patient. They do not yet know. They have been waiting for Harry's return for over an hour. I will inform them now about Harry's decision." Dumbledore turned to Ron, Hermione, and Ginny.

"For the past few years, Harry has been having dreams and visions of Voldemort's feelings, and emotions, and sometimes even his plans. This has troubled him greatly, because even though he has mastered Occlumency, Voldemort has mastered a supreme Legilimency that can overpower Harry's mind. Voldemort and his Death Eaters have also, as you know, attacked many people, magical, and non-magical. He knows that Harry wants nothing more than a reason to come after him, and begin the Final Duel. I trust Harry has told you about it, the prophecy concerning he and Voldemort?"

They all nodded and Dumbledore continued.

"Harry has spoken to me many times about leaving school and tracking Voldemort down. He wants no one else to have to suffer as his parents did, and Neville Longbottom's parents did. He also wants no more families to be torn apart as his was, and also as Molly Prewett Weasley's was. But I advised against it, and Harry has remained obedient. But this afternoon, he apparently could take it no longer. After the dementors attacked Ms. Weasley here, Harry came up to my office, handed me a mirror, and told me he was leaving. Before I could stop him, he took a pinch of Floo Powder and left for the Ministry of Magic. I followed him quickly, and grabbed him before he could do anything else. If you never knew this, than you will know now, and perhaps understand what I am about to tell you more fully. Almost eighteen years ago, the Potters needed to hide because Voldemort was after their son. I recommended Godric's Hollow: specifically, Godric Gryffindor's own house. As Lily Evans was an heir to Gryffindor, the Hollow was an ideal hiding spot for her, her husband, and of course, her baby. Of course, they needed protection from that of the Fidelius Charm, but as you know, Peter Pettigrew gave them away to Voldemort. That leads me to the information I provided Harry with last week, that I specifically asked him not to tell anyone. Last week, Harry discovered that he is the last remaining heir to Godric Gryffindor, and as Voldemort is the last reaming heir to Salazar Slytherin, the two founders have chosen to finish their battle with these two. They decided this many years before, of course. It was written that when a descendent of Gryffindor attempts to kill an heir of Slytherin, they must complete the battle between the two founders that started long ago. The battle must end in the death of either duelist, which would also fulfill the prophecy, incongruously. The terms for this battle state that the battle must be finished before both the heirs' eighteenth birthdays pass, otherwise the wizarding world and the Muggle world will be joined once more. This would mean that everything we've worked so hard for would be torn apart. Of course Voldemort is well past the age of eighteen, so it has to happen before Harry's eighteenth birthday. I could not let Harry know about this until he became of age, and not before I felt he was ready. You may think that I haven't left him with much time, but I feel Harry will succeed in any amount of time he is given. This is the first time in history, since Gryffindor and Slytherin themselves of course, that a descendent of Gryffindor, that would be Harry, attempted to kill an heir of Slytherin, Voldemort. Actually, as you know, Voldemort used the Killing Curse on Harry, but when the curse rebounded on Voldemort, it was almost as if Harry shot the Killing Curse at Voldemort. But there is no doubt that the battle will have to end between Harry and Voldemort before July 31 at midnight. In spite of his limited time, Harry still remained as confident as ever that he would win the battle. When I caught him at the Ministry, I asked him if he knew what he was doing, and he replied, Yes.' I asked him if he understood the consequences, that he may very well die in trying to both end the eternal battle of good and evil while fulfilling the prophecy at the same time, and he still replied Yes.' I asked him if he would like the Order to keep the Death Eaters away as long as possible, and he told me, that the D.A. would be helpful also. He wants everyone to know that you aren't children anymore. Anyone and everyone can help. His point was: if Draco Malfoy, who was 16 at the time, became a Death Eater, then the D.A. could at least help the Order. Then he gave me a summary of his plan: With the Half Blood Prince Snape on Voldemort's side again, he has gained even more power than before. But Harry plans to use an ancient magic as his offense and defense, and he trusts that the magic will destroy Lord Voldemort."

Lupin, Ginny, Hermione and Ron stared, wide-eyed at Dumbledore, but the old man merely took a deep breath and began again.

"Then he left, before I could say another word, which I absolutely meant to. I immediately spoke to Minister Krum, and now we will respect Harry's wishes. Do you, as the D.A., accept this quest: to search for the Death Eaters so Harry can successfully search for Voldemort? To help Harry in any way you can, to overcome this period of destruction in the world right now?" Dumbledore asked, gazing sternly into the three teens' faces.