Chapter Nine
Outside the Manticore Sting

Ginny Weasley left a few minutes after she told Hermione what had happened to the Minister. Not only did the D.A. and the Order have to find the Death Eaters and keep a lookout for Harry, but they also had to search for Krum. Ginny wondered how and why this could've happened. She hadn't a clue about who could've done this, but she thought that whomever had done this was trying to distract everyone from looking for the Death Eaters and Harry.

Dumbledore told Ginny that she should start close to Hogwarts, though Harry could be anywhere by now. Harry apparated very well, so he could be on a different continent already. Ginny decided she would apparate to Hogsmeade for practice, and start searching there. She questioned everyone she found and no one had seen or heard from Harry since before the end of term. No one knew of the dementor attack either, and Dumbledore advised against telling anyone about the mission. Ginny decided she would tell them that Harry was supposed to meet her here, and she couldn't find him.

When she entered the Hogs Head, Dumbledore's brother, Aberforth, told her that he saw Harry the day before. Then he remembered that it was only a hag…

Next, Ginny went to Diagon Alley, using the same alibi. But no one had seen him there, either. She searched all over wizarding Europe, and no one had seen Harry... until July 20.

It had been an uneventful day, and was proving to be an uneventful evening. After questioning some Bulgarian witches who 'had never seen Harry Potter in their lives', Ginny decided she would take a break and order a butterbeer in the pub down the street. Her tired feet carried her to The Manticore Sting, and she opened the large wooden door. She ordered a butterbeer from the bartender, (after asking him if he had seen Harry; he answered no.) and sat down at a small, round, wooden table next to the only window in the place.

A few moments later, a man wearing a black hooded robe came in and ordered a firewhiskey. The man sat down at the table opposite Ginny. Ginny looked suspiciously over at the man and wondered whether she should question him. Finally deciding that she had to ask him, Ginny gulped down the rest of her butterbeer just as the man rose from his chair and headed for the door. Ginny stood up and hurried to stop him, but he continued out the door.

"Sir, wait! Please, sir, I have to ask you something," Ginny called out to him as the man proceeded down the street. Ginny jogged up after him.

"Sir, I was wondering if you saw my friend. He was supposed to meet me here, but he never showed up. Um, Harry Potter! He was supposed to meet me here. Have you seen him?"

The man stopped and turned to face Ginny. He lowered his hood.

"Minister! Um, Minister what are you doing here? I thought you disappeared: we all did. Where have you been?" Ginny asked, not at all expecting this cloaked man to be Krum.

"Miss Weasley, I don't know what you're talking about. I'm here on holiday. I never 'disappeared'. But, I have seen Harry. He was here earlier, in fact. I tried to talk to him, but he appeared distracted and told me that he wouldn't fall for my trick. I don't know what was wrong with him; I wasn't playing any tricks on him. Then he disapparated. And that was the last I saw of him," Krum replied.

Ginny looked Krum straight in the eye, and tried to reveal the truth behind his eyes. She didn't think he was lying, but wasn't completely sure.

'I should proceed with caution. I don't know why, but he seems suspicious,' she thought to herself.

"Don't you believe me? Or has your Muggle-loving father taught you bad manners? You should never stare at anyone, no matter how big their nose is," bellowed Krum. Ginny didn't know what to do. Why would Krum insult himself and her father who he seemed to like a lot?

Krum withdrew his wand from within his robes and pointed it at Ginny. Just then, Ginny realized that Krum must have been put under the Imperius Curse. By whom, she didn't know, or care, but she knew that he was going to attack her.

Ginny withdrew her own wand and pointed it at Krum. So did someone else.