Disclaimer: Yo quiero Harry Potter, pero yo no tengo Harry Potter.

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The Final Quest

Chapter Seven: Disruption in Diagon Alley

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Ron and Hermione gasped beside him. Harry automatically whipped out his wand and pointed it at the lone dark figure. He couldn't help but notice that whoever was hiding under that cloak was several inches shorter than him.

"Who are you?" Harry demanded.

A voice spoke, but it wasn't the one he wanted to hear. It was Hermione.

"Harry, Ron…please don't be mad," she said so quietly that he could barely hear her.

Harry rounded on her, keeping one eye on the cloaked figure. "What's going on!"

Hermione looked down at her feet. "Well, you see, er…" she stammered.

Ron looked at Harry, confused. He turned to Hermione as well. "What do you know that we don't?"

"Just promise me you won't overreact!" Hermione pleaded.

Ron stared at her. The color drained from his face. "No, Hermione. Please don't tell me you knew, and didn't tell us…"

Hermione stared back, her eyes slowly filling with tears. She nodded.

Harry looked from Ron, to Hermione, and back again.

"Hermione-" he began.

"I'm sorry," she said, and buried her face in her hands.

Ron strode over to the figure, and pulled off its hood.

It was Ginny.

A solitary tear was running down her cheek, and her wavy red hair was slightly disheveled. "Don't be angry with Hermione. I made her swear that she wouldn't tell either of you."

Harry was speechless. His arm fell limp by his side. He could distantly hear Ron yelling at Ginny and Hermione. At the same time, thousand different thoughts raced through Harry's mind. I just held my wand up to Ginny…to someone I care about…Ginny's been following us…she could have gotten hurt…she's in danger…

Ron's yells ceased and he was breathing heavily.

Ginny sighed and spoke again. "Harry, Ron, I'm sorry."

Harry looked at her. "Why are you doing this?"

Ginny smiled sadly. "I want to be with you. I want to fight with you."

"I can't let you do that…"

"I don't care. Why can't you both see that? I don't care if you think I'm in danger by going with you. I'm going to be in danger, no matter where I am! Everyone is. We've all got the same enemy."

Ron walked forward, leaving his belongings behind, and began tapping his wand on the bricks of the wall opposite the four of them.

Hermione ran to him and placed a hand on his arm, trying to lower it. "Ron, don't!"

He shook her off and glared in her direction. "We're taking her to Fred and George."

Harry, torn from his stupor by what Ron had said, nodded. "C'mon." Harry took her hand and dragged her to the entrance of Diagon Alley just as Ron tapped the last block. The bricks shifted, revealing the doorway to what once was a winding road of shops, filled with smiling people. Now, not a singe soul could be found, and the street was in shambles. Everything seemed to be dark and dreary.

Harry was a few paces from the entrance when he felt it. A sudden sadness came upon him. The air around Harry became colder than ice, and a distinct chill ran up his spine.

Ginny gasped, feeling the change in atmosphere. "Oh no..."

Ron and Hermione both took their wands out defensively and surveyed the stores around them.

"Why are they here?" Hermione asked, shivering.

"To wreak havoc, that's why. Hermione, take Ginny back to the Leaky Cauldron," Harry said.

Ginny turned to stand in front of him. "No."

Ron's breath was coming out in puffs of steam. "Ginny, you're underage-"

"I'm not leaving, either," Hermione whispered.

Harry sighed. "Keep close together. Let's find Fred and George," he compromised, hoping that the twins were safe.

They all lit the tips of their wands, peering into every broken-down shop, every nook and cranny. The Dementors were nowhere to be seen, but Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny could all sense their presence.

Just then, shouts were heard from around the bend.

"The twins…" Ginny breathed. She took off running, wand at the ready.

"Ginny, wait!" Harry called, and he, Ron, and Hermione went after her.

As they turned the corner, a terrible sight met their eyes. Fred and George's shop was almost destroyed; only one of the far corners remained standing. Pieces of wood and trick candies littered the ground. The U-NO-POO sign that previously hung in the bright store window was cracked in half, still flashing yellow near their feet. What appeared to be Shield Hats, Cloaks, and Gloves were in flames. One of Fred and George's staff members, Verity, lay amongst the rubble, a trickle of blood streaking her short blond hair. In the very middle of it all, Fred and George were back-to-back, surrounded by Dementors.

"Expecto Patronum!" they were shouting in unison. Their voices sounded tired and weak. Feeble Patronuses were emitted from their wands, but the dementors either stumbled over them or simply brushed them out of the way, closing in on the Weasley twins.

Ginny had stopped a few feet ahead of Harry, in shock. He went up to her and tried to make her move, but she wouldn't budge. Her face was pale, her eyes fixed on the attack taking place in front of her.

Ron and Hermione ran forward, yelling the Patronus charm at the top of their lungs, trying their best to help Fred and George.

Harry turned Ginny towards him. Her eyes looked distant and out of focus. She raised her wand, pointing it directly at Harry's chest.

"Crucio."

Harry only had time to gasp before dropping his wand and falling backwards, writhing in pain. The Cruciatus Curse made him feel as though a thousand knives were piercing his body simultaneously.

"Ginny…" said Harry, with all of the strength he could muster. "What are you doing…stop…"

For a second, he thought she had. The pain stopped, and Ginny's vision cleared. She opened her mouth and whispered, "Harry…I…Imperius Curse…"

Then, Harry heard a high-pitched voice come from behind Ginny. "No! Imperio!"

Someone was hiding in the shadows.

Ginny's eyes became stoic again. Harry quickly groped around on the ground for his wand, trying to find it before Ginny could curse him a second time. "Cru-"

"Expelliarmus!" Harry bellowed, finding his wand at last, and pointing it behind Ginny. Another wand flew out of the darkness and into his outstretched hand.

Once Ginny became herself again, she ran to Harry and knelt down beside him. "Harry, I'm so sorry-"

A scream came from behind them. Ginny looked up, and her eyes widened. Harry craned his neck to see what was going on.

A dementor had Ron trapped on the ground, and Hermione, Fred, and George had at least six other dementors to get through before they could help him.

Harry put his hand on Ginny's shoulder. "Go help him, I'll be fine!" he exclaimed.

Ginny nodded defiantly and hurried off to save her brother.

Harry turned back to the shadows and stood up. "Lumos," he said, raising his wand to see who was hiding from him.

"Bellatrix LeStrange," Harry breathed.

"We meet again, Harry Potter. Please, call me Bella," the dark-haired, gaunt-faced witch said with an evil laugh. Harry noticed that the Death Eater was leaning on a broomstick.

"You're welcome to leave now, you know," he remarked.

"Ah, you jest, Potter! Why would I leave without my wand?" Bellatrix reached out her arm, revealing the Dark Mark that was branded upon it. "Give it here, Potter!"

Harry smirked. He pointed both wands at her and said, "Engorgio."

Much to her surprise, Bellatrix's arm began to swell. She raised it with great difficulty, and glared at Harry. "DAMN YOU, POTTER!" she shrieked, and made wild attemps to grasp her wand.

"Impedimenta!" Harry shouted in retaliation. Bellatrix's movements slowed immediately, and her face contorted in fury. "Now, thankfully for you, my friends are in trouble. If they weren't…well, trust me, Bella, you'll get what's coming to you. Get on your broom, and leave."

Bellatrix had no choice but to comply. Without a wand, she was unable to defend herself, and unable to shrink her enormous arm (it was about the size of a medium-sized Muggle television by now) back to its normal size. She got onto her broom, her arm dangling limply by her side.

"No, Potter," she said, her sunken eyes glittering with malice in the light of the fire behind him. "You'll get what's coming to you." With that, she flew away.

Harry turned around. Many of the Dementors had already left, most likely driven off by the strong Patronuses of his friends. However, Fred and George were unconscious on the ground, close to Verity, Hermione watching over them. Ron and Ginny were left to battle the few Dementors that were left, and they looked exhausted.

Harry pocketed Bellatrix's wand and pointed his own at the remaining group of Dementors. "Expecto Patronum!"

A large silvery stag erupted from his wand and charged at the soul-sucking, cloaked beings. The power of Harry's stag, combined with Ron's Jack Russell terrier and Ginny's doe, forced the lot of Dementors to glide away into the darkness.

Harry hurried over to the other three. "Are you all okay?" he asked concernedly.

Ron and Ginny nodded.

"I'm fine," said Hermione. "But Fred, George, and Verity need to go to St. Mungo's."

Ron walked over to Harry. "I'll go back to the Leaky Cauldron and use floo powder to talk to the hospital."

"Okay," Harry said. "Take Hermione with you, though."

Hermione glanced worriedly at the three figures laying over the debris. Ginny knelt down beside her. "I'll take care of them," she said, and patted Hermione's back reassuringly. "Go with him."

Hermione finally stood up and joined Harry and Ron. Ron reached over and took her hand. "Let's go," he coaxed.

Hermione made a noise that evidently meant 'yes,' because a second later she had lit her wand, leading the way back to the inn.

Harry walked over to Ginny and sat down beside her. She had long since put out the fire, and attempted in vain to clear some of the rubble with her wand. Harry looked about at the vacant shops for what seemed like hours, until he noticed that another had been boarded up.

"Madam Malkin, she's gone missing, too," said Ginny, who had seen what Harry was looking at. "George told me before he passed out. I can't believe it…"

Harry sighed. "Unfortunately, I can. And Ginny, you've got to, too. It's only going to get worse before it gets better. This is the kind of thing you've got to be prepared to deal with if…" Harry paused, and and turned so he could see her. "…If you're going to go with us."

Ginny stared right back at him. "I know," she said. "I can do this."

Harry tried to grin. "Well, now all you have to do is convince Ron."

"Oh, I think he's pretty convinced. I just saved his life, you know."

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A/N: I really enjoyed writing this chapter. It has meaning. What happens in this chapter prepares the four of them…yes, four…for what's to come.

Rosie5: Thanks! I hoped that people found the last chapter funny. I try my best with humor, but I don't always succeed! And yes, now you know who the cloaked figure is! She's tricky, that Ginny Weasley. Can't wait for your next chapter!

ShdwSephiroth: Thank you! But actually, we're both wrong! I just read it in Chamber of Secrets last night. Ginny's eyes are brown! Props to Rosie5 for telling me first. I can't believe I didn't remember that. I just assumed that since Ron's eyes were blue, Ginny's eyes would be, too. Oh well! I'll get around to changing it, I promise!

FadedRose: Thank you so much! I'll be updating this week with the next chapter.

griffindor-girl12: Hehe, nope. No death for Harry that soon!

AmandaKay8856789: Right on target! Good job. I submit chapters right when I finish them, which lately, has been once a week. I'll try to write faster, but I don't want to diminish the quality of my writing. I also have school, a job, and other things to deal with. But I'll try! Thanks for the review.

Mei fa-chan: Thanks!

Jeefus: Not Remus, but that was an interesting guess! He'll appear later on in the story, I assure you. You'll see everyone! Thanks so much for reviewing every chapter, I really appreciate it!

xxxHinaxxx: Thank you!

Thanks for reading! Please review!

By: SammyLynn