Disclaimer: poor soul here owns nothing, so all I can do is play around then put them down.

A/N-screams and dodge watever that is thrown at me- Don't kill me! I'm really sorry for not updating it at the correct time! But things get a bit messy when you have more the one doc. sending back and forth. That's why it's so late. Little mistakes which rolled into a big one! This is not a very interesting chapter, if I have to say so myself...But to get things going and actually linking the story better, it is necessary. I'm sorry to those who aren't so fond of Ginny, but she is a functional character in this story (english literature term...my teacher's been drilling me w/ it...so something actually went in). So without much more talking from the babbling authoress, here comes the next beta-ed chap!

Struggle

The sun set hours ago. Darkness cloaked the world.

Evil was oppressing.

He could feel it. The cruelty, the will to hurt ebbing in his conscious. Crawling. Infiltrating. Harry felt his mind weakening for the first time since many years ago. He could feel the nasty suggestions penetrating his thoughts. Telling him to be rash. Telling him to follow its voice. To be irrational…dangerous. To save Ginny…NOW!

NO!

Coward.

No. He was not a coward.

Then why wasn't he rescuing her?

He couldn't be rash. Not while everything was at stake.

So Ginny wasn't important?

No. She was.

Was the War more important?

…He didn't know.

Stand. Leave. He must go save her at once.

He stood up.

xxXxx

Hermione knocked on Harry's door.

Silence replied.

He had shut the world out. He did not come out now. He did not eat, nor drink. It had been like this since the news arrived. It was worse than Sirius's death. At least he had eaten then.

She knocked again, hoping that he would snap out of this.

Still there was no sign of movement behind the wooden barrier.

Hermione shook her head, finally giving in to the hope that Harry would open the door. She had stood in front of his door for the last fifteen minutes. She prodded the doorknob with her wand, checking if there were any wards that Harry felt necessary to bring up in order to lock himself away. There wasn't. It seemed that he was in too much shock to have created any. She put her hand on the knob and announced her intrusion.

"Harry I'm coming in."

She wasn't sure if he heard her. If he did, he made no attempt to stop her.

Suddenly, a thought ran across in her mind. Was he even in there? Knowing Harry for all those years, she knew that he could be very rash and irrational.

Hermione quickly pushed the door open and was very thankful that she could still see the messy mob of black hair. However, the determined and reckless look on his face set warning bells off in her head. She watched, silently, as he stared into the space before him. He gripped tightly at Ginny's wand. His eyes were dark. It might be the light. She wished it was the light…not morbid subconscious that attacks at his weakest moments.

"Harry?" she asked, trying to draw his attention and bending down to pick up Harry's wand that lay on the floor.

He didn't hear her. But the conflicting emotions showed on his face. Suddenly, Harry stood up and his hand shot out to find his wand that Hermione held. Not finding his wand beside the night desk, his head turned to the other side of the room. That's when he found the object he needed.

"'Mione, give me my wand." He said, his voice monotonous, as he advanced towards his friend. His face was empty now. Showing no emotions at all.

He was going to be rash. His eyes said so even though his face said otherwise. There wasn't even any subtlety to his plan. She knew that look. She knew him. Like the right hand knew the left hand.

"Harry-" Hermione felt like shrinking away from the menacing features on a familiar face. But she stood her ground. She couldn't be weak now. She would not back away. Could not back away.

"Hermione," Harry's face tight with control of his emotions. "I need that."

"She wouldn't want you to do that, Harry. Ginny wouldn't have let you."

Hermione held Harry's wand more tightly in her hand as her wand arm prepared to immobilize her friend if he decided to use any physical means. She watched cautiously, like a trapped alley cat, ready to make a leap. Not to injure. Just to save herself.

"Hermione," Harry gritted out slowly. "You need to give me that."

"No, Harry!" Hermione said firmly. Her voice was steady, contrary to her feelings. "You're not going anywhere."

Harry's eyes narrowed. His hand shot forward to grab for his wand.

"I can bloody well go wherever I wan-"

"Morbilicorpus!"

Harry's body became bound. He writhed violently on the floor, trying to fight off the bindings.

"You're not going anywhere." Hermione said again, steadily while she levitated him into a sitting position on his bed. She moved in front of him and looked into his eyes. Willing him to be reasonable. Willing him to fight off the awful temptation.

"You don't understand!" Harry snapped her. His temper flared. Emotions unleashed.

The glass ornaments in the room burst into sparkling dust. The chair was thrown against the wall with a loud crack.

Mentally, Hermione sighed in relief. Harry was, at the least, reacting to his environment now. She may not like the form of his release, but she'd rather her friend let it out. She braised herself.

"How would you understand? You've always been immersed in your bloody books! You never love anyone! How dare you pretend you know what I am feeling!" He screamed at her. His eyes were bright with fury and unshed tears. "You don't know what I'm feeling!"

That stung.

She bit her lips and looked at the space in front of her. Not knowing how to reply.

In a sense, she truly had no idea what he was experiencing. Ginny was ripped from his arm. Kidnapped. He didn't choose for this to happen. They were so in love. Were Draco and her that in love? She didn't know.

She didn't think so.

She wouldn't have given up on him if she did.

"Harry…" she began carefully. Honestly not knowing what to say and how to comfort her friend.

"Look, Hermione, I'm really sorry about what I said. Please forgive me." Harry interrupted her. His voice was calmer now. It lost its edge.

She looked up and saw guilt and worry. That emotion she understood. She smiled reassuringly at Harry. She wasn't angry. Just a bit stung. "It's okay, Harry. I promise we'll save her. Promise me you'll stay if I release you?"

Harry shifted a bit uncomfortably. As if weighing his options. "Yes." He said finally.

She smiled and took away the bindings and watched Harry slumped onto the bed. "Harry, we are going to save her. But not now. Professor Snape and I are preparing for the raid. You need to remain calm. Everything will work out. She'll be fine. Have faith in her. She's stronger than you think."

Harry smiled softly from his spot on the bed, looking up at the ceiling. He was probably lost in his memories. "That she is." He whispered.

"So you and her will be fine. Don't be rash. Think. For her and the war. We can't lose."

"Yes. We can't lose." He said, his eyes closing. Probably resting for the first time since the news had arrived.

Hermione, seeing that her friend was resting, quietly left the room. He needed rest. The burden on Harry was so heavy that it wasn't fair. But then again, nothing was fair. She wasn't bitter about that. She was simply sorry.

"We'll live through this, Hermione, Right? The three of us and the order. We'll live through this."

She stopped on her track to the door. She turned back. Harry didn't open his eyes. He wasn't asleep. Not yet. He stayed motionless on the bed, waiting. On later days, Hermione would wonder whether he was asleep and was sleep talking or was he scared to face the possible future. The dark morbid road ahead.

"Yes. We will. We won't fail. Not in this war."

With that she left Harry to rest.

A/N: I know, I know, it's kind of boring...but please REVIEW! I live on those lil' things you write me! Don't worry, I'll have some action up...soon! Thank you for reading...and i'll bug you faithful readers again...REVIEW! By the way, about the new POV, I haven't receive much comments about it but I've decided to add another POV already! So sorry to those who don't want that. You're welcome to guess who the new female will be! I might tell you!

REVIEW! (you know, three times the charm)

By the way, allow me to do some shameless advertising, If anyone is wondering where the heck is Neville, i can tell you that he is still alive! And you can find out a little bit about him in my new one-shot/side story"To my Son" -yes, i'm hinting here- He will be in this story soon!

I would also like to mention that my friends and I have started a beta-ing and summerizing aid here. If you wish to have your story beta-ed or need help with the summery or simply need another's opinion, please contact usat anime.