Disclaimer: I own no part of Harry Potter or its associated canon nor, any other already copyrighted material.

(A/N):

Chapter 28

Mistakes

Though Harry had never thought of himself as particularly superstitious, he would be happy when this Friday the thirteenth was over. A large part of that though was the fact Valentine's Day was tomorrow. Without trips to Hogsmeade, much of the school was relying on mail order for the requisite presents they needed. He and Ginny had come to an agreement earlier not to exchange presents. Though their first Valentine's together, they had both agreed that a couple hours alone at Grimmauld would be better than any present they could buy.

Harry was pulled from his daydream about what those hours might entail when he rounded a corner and nearly ran over Professor Slughorn. The man was moving at the hurried waddle he had adopted recently, his eyes rapidly moving back and forth. He actually looked to have lost some weight and had grown pale over the last several months. Though he generally wore a hunted expression, he always seemed to brighten upon seeing Harry. This afternoon was no exception as his face lit up at finding one of his favorite students.

"Harry m'boy! Good afternoon!"

"Afternoon Professor." Harry glanced around trying to find some reason to leave the man's presence as quickly as possible. Unfortunately the hallway was empty except for them and he couldn't even think up a fake meeting he needed to get to at one on a Friday afternoon. "What can I do for you?"

"Oh, nothing much Harry. I just wanted to mention a book I have you might be interested in." His attempts to gain Harry's favor had all but disappeared, but he still made overtures occasionally, probably out of habit more than anything.

"A…book?"

"Quite. One of my good friends wrote it some time ago. He never found enough interest to have it published, but he sent it to me a while ago to peruse. Pity he died before I could return it…" Harry's eyebrows rose a little at the offhand way the man mentioned his 'friend' had died.

"What's it called?"

"Oh…he never got around to giving it a title. Probably one of the reason's he could never get it published. It's just leather binding to protect the pages. It's a bit dry to, no real interest as a story, but plenty of interesting tidbits. Stop by tomorrow and pick it up?"

"Uh…okay…"

"Good chap! See you then!" Leaving Harry stunned he waddled along down the hallway to wherever he was headed. Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Harry continued on to Ron and Hermione's room. Ginny was heading a DA meeting this afternoon so they could skip tomorrow while Ron and Hermione were busy with Head of school duties. He should take these couple hours to write the charms essay he needed to get done or look up that potion required for next week's class.

Instead he passed through the portrait hole, tossed his robes onto a chair, kicked off his shoes and flopped back onto the couch. Making a small pile on the nearby table, he set his glasses, the Marauder's map, cloak, coin and feather aside and closed his eyes. It felt almost like a sin to get even an hour's rest during the day. If it was a sin however, he would gladly suffer whatever consequences it brought for even the smallest chance at rest. Pulling one last sharp piece of paper, in the form of a letter from the twins, from his pocket, he added it to the pile and committed himself to sleep.

As his eyes slid open a few hours later he instantly knew he wasn't himself. Failing when he tried to move his eyes and perfect clarity despite a lack of glasses ruled out both a dream and the possibility he had been kidnapped. That left only one thing.

He was inside Tom's head. Again.

Focusing his mind so as not to betray his presence he tried to figure out where he was. He didn't try to scream this time. He needed whatever information he could gain and this might be his only opportunity. The chamber was large, empty and mostly pitch black. Only a single candle directly in front of him gave any light. He was apparently sitting or kneeling on a small mat woven in intricate green and silver before the candle, staring at nothing. Somewhere off to the side he could hear the hissing of what he knew to be Nagini.

After a moment of watching the flickering flame, a crack of light appeared a good distance away, directly ahead. A shadow in the form of a person appeared as the bar of light widened into a doorway. Harry was unable to make out details of the form as the figure bowed low. "My lord?"

"Speak." The voice was a forceful hiss, removing any lingering doubt that this might just be an overly bizarre dream.

"He has arrived."

"Excellent." With a wave the candle died and Tom rose to his feet. His quick stride carried him across the room as his eyes rapidly adjusted to the light. Reaching the door Harry could make out Crabbe the elder as the messenger from Tom's dismissive glance. He had reached a very long and dim hallway, rough hewn from stone with a few torches providing light. With a backhanded gesture, the Death Eater also disappeared through a door, leaving his master alone with the new arrival. The other man bowed low.

"My lord."

"Fenrir my old friend, rise." Fenrir Greyback stood not quite straight, his head marginally bowed, a slightly maniacal gleam in his eyes. "Are you quite yourself?"

"Yes my lord. I have a few hours yet."

"Good." A moment after speaking, Crabbe returned and ushered in another man, whom Harry recognized as Rabastan Lestrange. He too made a deep bow to his master.

"My lord."

"Rabastan…welcome. Come, walk with us." As Tom began to slowly pace down the hall, Harry could just see Fenrir fall into his right while Rabastan fell into his left, both a little behind their lord. They strode on for a moment in silence, both waiting for Tom to speak. "Tell me Fenrir, how is your pack?"

"They are once again ready my lord. There will no longer be a problem with that traitor." Harry knew that meant Lupin. The man had tried for months to convince the others not to follow this madman, to no avail.

"Excellent. They are prepared for what is coming?"

"Yes. Many wish to know if you wish to take advantage of our…abilities when the time comes."

"Patience Fenrir. Timing is of the essence."

"Yes my lord." They walked on for a few more moments.

"Rabastan…have the giants arrived?"

"Yes my lord. They await only your orders. They were most impressed with our gifts and grow restless to repay your overtures. Fights have begun on several occasions." Harry knew Tom had a thin smile on his lips.

"Finally, some more willing fighters. Have you been able to scare the Dementors into returning?" He glanced to the side and Harry could see Lestrange swallowing hard before answering.

"No sir. The few who remain refuse to go near the school again. They are terrified of the Defense teacher's blade." A hissed grunt came from Tom and Lestrange flinched.

"A terrified Dementor? Next time, tell them they will go, or I'll destroy them myself."

"Yes my lord." Again they fell silent as they passed through the wide double doors at the far end of the hall that opened with a wave of Tom's hand. He spoke again as they moved through a number of stark and smaller rooms.

"And the Inferi? They will once again prove themselves useful."

"A site has been chosen and we will collect them shortly." He hesitated for a moment and Harry could tell the man was afraid to continue. "Even with them, we need more able fighters. After losing so many at the Ministry…"

"Mudbloods and traitors. They deserved their death." The hate and distain in his voice made even his closest followers flinch. "However…we do need more fighters. Shall we see how the school is progressing?" Pushing through another set of double doors they emerged onto a small balcony overlooking a large room. Chandeliers hung at intervals from the ceiling down its length, the lowest still higher than the balcony. As Tom's eyes tilted down, Harry could see a floor, sunken slightly save for a ledge extending two feet from each wall.

The sounds of battle hit his ears a moment later and he found a number of black clad fighters dueling at a furious pace in pairs across the floor below them. The first thing he picked out was Severus Snape walking the raised perimeter and correcting errors, usually at the point of a wand. Harry was amazed how at home he looked teaching these witches and wizards for Voldemort. The second thing he found was Draco in the far left corner, facing someone he couldn't immediately recognize. In the following seconds he picked out many of the students absent from Hogwarts since the beginning of the year.

Horrible realization came over him at what he saw. Snape was training them to fight in the attack on Hogwarts. Again his sight flashed to Draco, this time really looking at him. The young Malfoy was dueling skillfully though he was physically even more drawn than before. His eyes looked nearly dead and his face was gaunt and pale. His movements though were almost…snake like. Clearly Snape was driving them hard.

After a moment their 'Professor' noticed the arrivals on the balcony. With a snap of his fingers, magically magnified into a booming crash, every student stopped and turned to their master, each falling to a knee. Snape knelt as well, wand carefully held off to the side. The serpentine eyes swept over all the young duelists like a king inspecting his new servants. Harry couldn't help but feel revulsion at the way the man used people. He spoke in the same soft hiss, but it somehow projected to each of them, sounding right in there ears.

"How goes the training…Severus?" The pale face surrounded by slicked back hair slowly rose to meet his eyes.

"Very well my master. They will be ready at your command." Tom waited a moment and Harry could tell he was searching Snape's mind for confirmation. He seemed to get it.

"Very good Severus. Perhaps a demonstration is in order?" Snape nodded and snapped his finger again. Every student rose and rushed to form a line on one side of the room. With a flick of his wand, several dozen man sized dummies appeared on the other. Taken over by another swish, they began to move erratically around each other, dodging this way and that. Snape's voice range out clearly over the group.

"Avada Kedavra. Now!" As one the students raised their wands and a torrent of green light rushed across the room, making Harry want to wince away, not just for its brightness, but for what it represented. A second volley quickly followed the first and in seconds the dummies were reduced to smoldering ashes. "Hold!" At the command every wand fell to its owner's side. Harry became aware of a slow clapping coming from Tom.

"Excellent. Send them out." Only a further snap was necessary for the class to head for the doors at the far end of the hall. Tom's hand shot out a second later. "Malfoy! You stay." The platinum blond bowed his head in acquiescence and stepped aside to wait near the door. After what the remained of the duelists filed past him and the doors closed, he moved to the center of the room to meekly await his fate. Snape also stepped forward and stood a little behind him. Making a small motion to the side sent one of the Death Eaters that had been observing the practice from another balcony back through the door behind him.

"As you know Draco…I was disappointed at your failure last spring. So far you have shown your dedication well in attempting to pay penance for actions. Now I offer you the chance to gain absolution." Draco looked up at him, his face strangely passive, not betraying any emotion. Tom's hand extended to the side indicating another set of doors as a pair of Death Eaters pulled them open and stepped in. Harry's eyes opened wide as he saw what they carried between them.

Narcissa Malfoy was incredibly changed from the last time he had seen her in Diagon Alley. Her once immaculate blond hair was ragged and dirty; her blue eyes stripped of pride and filled with abject terror. Judging by the condition of her robes, she had been kept prisoner for weeks. They carried, or rather drug, her by her upper arms, pulling painfully against the wrists bound together behind her back. Managing to drag her head up and see her son, she tried desperately to scream through the gag tied tightly in her mouth. Nearing Draco, who was still managing an impassive face, they threw her to the ground where she lay, weeping softly.

"She was caught attempting to sneak in here, apparently to see you. She always was a little too emotional." Harry had a horrible feeling he knew what was coming as his eyes flicked back and forth between the Malfoys until Tom spoke again. "Now…all you must do to be forgiven…is kill this traitor." Harry's heart froze as he felt, perhaps for the first time ever, sympathy for Draco. Draco, on the other hand, somehow still maintained the passiveness on his face. Narcissa was staring at him, even more afraid, tears falling freely from her eyes.

Draco raised his wand and set his aim directly at his mother. The whole room seemed to hold its breath waiting to see if he would follow through. Narcissa was shaking her head slightly, trying to find her son in his eyes and stop what was coming. Moments passed that slowly turned into a minute. Growing impatient, Tom again signaled the Death Eater. Seconds later the door opened and Lucius Malfoy appeared, as always carrying his cane. Seeing him, Draco's wand fell slowly to his side. His father stopped his approach and drew his wand from the cane.

"Draco…you disappoint me again. When are you going to learn that allegiance to your master must be absolute?" Where there had been fear for Draco, hate now burned in Narcissa's eyes at seeing her husband. "When Lord Voldemort tells you to do something, you do it, or die trying. That is the meaning of following him."

"Lucius…show your son what loyalty means. Destroy her."

"Yes my Lord. Avada Kedavra!" The curse hit his wife, who slumped the little bit further to the floor, her eyes going dark. A second later Draco's wand was pointed at his father and, for the first time, raw emotion shone in his eyes. Lucius's wand turned and pointed at his son. After a moment, nothing had happened. "You still can't do it?! You're pathetic. Avada-"

"Avada Kedavra!" Lucius barely had time to turn his head before the curse broadsided him and threw his already dead body to the ground near his wife. From nowhere a half dozen Death Eaters appeared from the walls, each pointing their wand at the man who had cast the spell, Severus Snape. Tom turned on the spot and reappeared directly in front of the 'professor', his wand drawn as well. Even Draco had raised his wand to surround Snape.

"Severus…you try my patience. The fact you killed Dumbledore has spared your life…for the moment. I assume you either have a very good reason for killing Lucius…or you have a death wish. Which is it?" Snape managed the same detached calm he demonstrated on so many occasions and left his wand hang loose at his side, making no move to defend himself.

"Forgive me my lord. But Lucius presumed to know your intent when he attempted to kill his son. He is dead because of his arrogance." Tom's wand fell a little.

"A dangerous assumption on your part. What if I wished the boy dead?"

"You can easily kill both of us now." Tom hesitated for a moment and Harry was sure he was going to do exactly what Snape had mentioned. Instead his wand fell to his side, as did those of the Death Eaters surrounding them.

"Quite right. As it is…your guess was correct. I wish the boy alive and Lucius has outlived his usefulness. Do not test me again." Snape bowed low and Tom turned on the spot, reappearing back on the balcony. Snape pointed and followed Draco from the room that contained both of his fallen parents as Tom and his lackeys headed back the way they came. They headed through a different set of rooms, walking in silence for several minutes. Passing a clock, Tom glanced at it. "Have you heard from your sister-in-law?" Rabastan jumped a little at the sudden change in subject.

"No sir. She only left with her nine just two hours ago. They should have arrived by now."

"Excellent. Once their mission is accomplished, nothing can stop me." After a hesitant moment, Rabastan spoke in a careful whisper.

"My lord…is it worth the risk? What can one old potions teacher do anyway? And as to the other…"

"Are you questioning me Rabastan?" The man's hands flew up defensively while his head shook furiously back and forth. "Good. The reason for his death is no concern of yours. It is enough to know Horace Slughorn will never see the dawn." The shock Harry felt at what that meant nearly made him miss the second part. "And once his little blood traitor girlfriend is ours, the boy will be unable to fight, making him easy to destroy. Love is the weakest emotion and it will destroy him long before I do."

"But…my lord…if she dies…could he not become driven by revenge?"

"Which is why we will not kill her. She will simply suffer beyond the darkest depth of his nightmares." The cold laugh he let out perfectly matched Harry's frozen heart. His breathing had stopped and fear was taking over. He needed to get back into his own head and he needed to do it now.

In a surge of panic he managed to rip himself away from the vision and experienced a sickening plunge out of Tom's head though and empty blackness, only to crash forcefully back into his own body. Gasping awake he spasmed hard and fell from the couch to the floor below. It took him a heartbeat to realize the blurred vision had nothing to do with his fall and desperately grabbed for his glasses. Sliding them up his wand seemed to appear from nowhere. Dashing to the portrait, he slid to a halt and whipped around.

"I solemnly swear I am up to no good!" As The Marauder's Map responded to his tap and unfolded across the table, pushing other things aside, he forced his shoes onto his feet. As if following a snitch, his eyes darted all over the parchment at lightning speed. There! Ginny was in hallway near the Potion's classroom…and she wasn't alone. Around her were a number of other people, the one he noticed first being Bellatrix Lestrange.

He held only his wand as he raced out the portrait hole, nearly tearing the picture as he slammed it open. "Hey! Watch it!" He ignored the painted girl's outrage as he flew down the stairs, barely touching them at all. Oddly, he met no one as he blasted down the corridors into the dungeon, desperately trying to reach Ginny. He could feel her, feel the danger she was in and feel his heart dying if he didn't make it.

His heart was pounding, his blood ran cold and his head was numb. Fear fought with panic and desperation to be the driving force behind his long strides. He could feel tears leaking out the corners of his eyes and being whipped away by his speed as his mind involuntarily created ideas of what might happen to her if she reached Voldemort's lair.

Turning a final corner he found a face he would never forget on a man passing the corridor's end a few yards away. Instead of raising his wand, Harry lowered his shoulder and rammed into the elder Goyle at top speed, smashing him into the wall behind. The sickening crack of his head against the stone, followed by his slump to the floor, told Harry he was most likely dead. Or it would have told Harry had he not already spun away and launched toward the next opponent.

Still in shock, they raised their wands but managed nothing as two rapid fire spells smashed them to the ground unconscious. Harry finally got a clear look at the rest of them. They were broken into two more groups. Four stood close to him, wands coming up in slow motion. Beyond them was the figure of Bellatrix standing a little closer than the last two. Between them and behind her, Harry could just see a mane of red hair. Ginny! His heart leapt and he felt power thundering through him. The group was heading for a small side door and he knew that whatever happened, they could not be allowed to reach it.

He effortlessly blocked the spells raining at him and danced aside to avoid the Killing Curses from Bellatrix. With a wide slash, the silent Sectumsempra sent all four to the ground in a shower of agony and blood. Nothing was going to stop him now. Dashing past them, a flailing arm made him spin and nearly fall before righting himself.

"Crucio!" He slammed to his knees in pain, having had no time to dodge the spell from the sadistic witch before him. The gleam in her eye told him she thought he was finished. His gaze fell and found Ginny's unconscious form. Even at this distance he could see the slight rise and fall of her chest. She was still alive! With all his might he pushed back and stumbled to his feet, much to the shock of Bellatrix. "Crucio!" She recast the spell and he felt it again, but refused to go down. Instead he stood, hunched and panting with great effort, but this close to Ginny, nothing would stop him. He tried desperately to focus enough to cast something, anything.

Something hit the back of his leg and his knee gave out. Another took out his other leg. Turning he found the meager spells coming from the Death Eaters behind him. They could barely cast, but on top of the Crucio curse, it was cutting him down. Something hit his side and he could feel blood slowly seeping from his body. No pain came from the wound through his already overloaded nervous system as one hand reached the ground, pushing desperately against it to keep him upright.

The pair at the door finally began fighting at well. A shot from the woman stuck his hand to the floor as the man added a second Crucio curse. Taking all his effort to keep from crashing to the ground, he again started to rise under the multiple Curses, his hand shattering the spell holding it in place, much to the woman's surprise. He could barely lift his arm and raising a shield was beyond him. Again unable to dodge out of the way, a weak expelliarmus was enough to send his wand flying and him to the ground.

This had been stupid. Assaulting ten Death Eaters was a suicide mission for fully trained Aurors. And now he was going to pay for it. He was going to die like a dog on his hands and knees and Ginny would suffer for his foolishness. Even another minute would have let him get help, but no…he had to be the hero. Bellatrix stood over him, triumph in her eyes.

"The great Harry Potter. Not so great now, are you? I've been longing to do this since we met in the Ministry. Die. Avada-"

"Avada Kedavra!" Multiple flashes of light at the edge of his vision were washed out by a green jet that tore over his head and struck the stunned Bellatrix square in the chest. Two more spells hit the others, knocking them back to the door and letting Ginny slide to the ground. A moment later he felt a strong hand pulling him to his feet by his upper arm.

Turning and expecting Keystone or Moody, he instead found Neville at his side, handing him back his wand. Barely waiting until Harry regained his footing, Neville pushed him toward the red head. "Go." He had turned back to make sure the others were really down for good. Harry pushed the questions to the side and stumbled forward to Ginny, seeing her slowly restoring his strength. Her last two abductors were trying to shake themselves to some sort of sense.

Rage, protectiveness and love tore through him, an unchecked torrent of power firming every step. One of them raised his wand in a desperate attempt to stop Harry. Without thinking he heard two of the blocks that composed the walls pull free and smash together, crushing the man's head between them. He was doing accidental magic; his emotions were in overdrive and radiating off him in palpable waves. With a glance the blocks hit the other in the chest and caused her to collapse, gasping desperately for air. The blocks crashed to the ground as he dropped beside Ginny.

Carefully leaning over her, he slid an arm behind her shoulder and propped her up. Setting his wand to the side he stroked a shaking hand against her cheek. Slowly…ever so slowly…her eyes opened a little and found him. He let out a thankful breath as she did so. "Harry?" He nodded slowly, and her eyes filled with fear. "Harry! The Aurors! They're not Aurors, they're Death-" He silenced her with a finger to her lips.

"Shh…I know. It's all right. They're gone. We're safe."

"I…I tried…but there were so many…" A tear leaked out of her eye and he quickly brushed it away.

"You did great. Don't worry about it. Rest now. We'll talk later." He had no idea what she had done, but he could wait to find out. She nodded slowly, her eyes closing as she drifted off. Harry let out a deep breath, still pushing away the pain in his body. He couldn't stop yet.

With all the strength he could muster he placed his other arm behind her knees and lifted her slowly across his chest. Turning, he found more people, Aurors and students, arriving in the corridor. None approached him though as he began quickly striding back through the chaos. After mumbling some words to someone, Neville fell in next to him. Between the residual pain of the curse and burning from tearing through the castle and smashing into walls, his body screamed to be relieved of its burden, but his heart wouldn't hear it. He needed to get to the medical ward. If he could do that, everything would be okay.

The looks Neville shot off kept anyone from getting in his way as he walked. Finally reaching Madam Pomfrey's ward he ignored her stunned looks and laid Ginny carefully down on a bed. Pulling the next bed close, he to laid back, reaching across the small distance to hold her hand.

"Mr. Potter!? What's going on?!" He focused with all his might on Pomfrey.

"Help her." Noticing the blood on his shirt, she headed for him first. "No! Help Ginny!" Shocked by the force of his outburst, she none the less complied. Harry felt his body starting to give out from the assault it had been under. The extra strength he had gained to save her had been stolen from now, leaving him barely able to move. He caught Neville's eye.

"I'll keep an eye out." His tightly focused eyes glanced at each of them before he headed to the door. Somehow Harry felt strangely comforted that Neville was keeping an eye on them.

(A/N): If you feel it is warranted feel free to review. I welcome any and all opinions.