The Adventure Continued
Chapter 20: What Happened?
A/N: My apologies to GiGiFic who hated the last two chapters. I just don't believe that people can be strong and happy all the time, so I stand by my chapters. Everyone has a breakdown once in a while; it's a part of humanity. Anyways, this chapter is first of a few that will lead to the end of this story. Ok, I lied about it being long, but that's because I have to go to work soon. However, you can be glad that I updated sooner than three weeks! Anyways, I hope you enjoy this! Don't feel bad if you are confused. Everything will reveal itself soon.
January came and went like a freezer on full blast. As the icy winds of January died away into the icy winds of February, any love for winter that students had disappeared very quickly. Even the classrooms seemed much darker and chillier than usual and both students and teachers were excited about a weather change. Only, that didn't happen.
"Why is it so cold?" Ginny shivered, pulling her cloak around her and looking around Harry's large classroom. The two were bundled up in their cloaks and sitting in front of the fireplace to keep warm. "It must be below 30 degrees in here! The castle has never been like this before!"
"I don't know," Harry wondered for the first time, glancing at Ginny. "Aren't house elves supposed to keep the maintenance on the castle?"
"Yeah," Ginny answered. "Maybe Dobby finally convinced them all to go on strike. I can just imagine it now: the house-elves all standing in front of the castle wearing socks, holding detailed banners, and saying in high, squeaky voices 'We want to be paid!' Do you think the impossible finally happened?"
A piercing scream echoed across the castle accompanied with loud bangs before Ginny finished her sentence and both Harry and Ginny jumped up and ran out of the classroom. Down three staircases, and four corridors, Harry and Ginny met up with Luna who was as pale as the snow outside.
"What happened?" Harry demanded, searching Luna's expression for an answer.
"It's the Ministry," Luna gasped, "and them. They're here."
"Where?" Ginny questioned hastily.
Luna only pointed towards the direction of the Entrance Hall and Harry and Ginny bolted off with Luna trailing behind them. When they finally reached the bottom of the last staircase, Harry saw Ministry officials scattered across the Hall and jets of light bouncing off the walls. Groups of students were racing in every direction, all trying to get out of the confusion, some getting knocked out onto the ground.
Harry instinctively pulled out his wand and shot a gold beam of light that collided with another green light. The two lights exploded upon impact and heads turned towards the bottom of the staircase where Harry and Ginny stood before them.
"Harry!" Hannah exclaimed, making her way towards him. Before she took five steps, she was hit by a spell that knocked her unconscious on the ground.
Another ministry official that Harry didn't recognize passed him, and yelled, "Stay out of the way, Potter! We have everything covered!"
However, Harry never took direct orders seriously and went head-first into the battle before him. Harry stopped in the middle of the chaos and realized something: he did not know who the Ministry was fighting. It almost seemed like the Ministry was fighting some invisible force that Harry didn't understand. Harry spotted Ernie Macmillan in the middle of the chaos shooting rapid spells and made his way over to him.
"What's going on?" Harry questioned.
Ernie almost smiled at the sight of him. "Harry!" he exclaimed. "We got a lead! Just like you said, Harry!"
"What did I say?" Harry asked confused, ducking a spell aimed for his head.
"You were right! The Lestranges were in London and they had a reason for not setting off our sensors, Harry!" Ernie cried. "Harry, they're-" But a spell from behind Ernie caught him off guard and sent him across the room.
A high pitch laugh rang across the room: one that Harry recognized very well. "Silly boy! Do you really think that you can outsmart me? I am greater and better than my master! You will see, Harry Potter!" The room exploded in fire and without thinking or hesitating, Harry cast a Flame Freezing Charm with all his strength. However, Harry's charm wasn't enough to protect other Ministry wizards. People were falling to the ground, crying out in pain from the burns.
Harry felt himself hit the ground from the force of the curse. For an instant, his body froze and his mind was blank. She was going to kill him; she was going to kill them all. She was going to finish the last person standing in her way from success.
"Bandire!"
The voice rang out strong and threatening and in only a few minutes, the room was instantly silenced. Harry looked around him and saw a tall figure at the front doors. The figure was blinded by the light coming from the sun. Wait a minute…how could the sun be out? The figure turned around and left, and impulsively, Harry followed him. However, by the time Harry was close to reaching the person, they had disapparated at the end of the grounds.
"Harry!" Harry turned around to see Ginny running towards him. "What's going on? Who was that?"
Harry ignored Ginny's questions as he looked at her face. Her left eye was swollen from a black burn and the side of her right cheek bled from a huge gash. "Ginny!" Harry gasped. "You've been burned!"
Ginny looked at him confused. "How could I not have been burned? It came out of nowhere! I'm alright, Harry, really," she excused, looking back at him. "What's going on? Did you hear the voice? Do you know who it was? What's going on?"
Harry shook his head, at lost for answers as he was for words. "I don't know, Gin, but I'm going to find out."
"Harry! Ginny! Are you alright?" Hermione burst into the Hospital Wing only hours after the strange attack. "Oh Merlin, what happened to your face?" She pointed at Ginny, who was sitting on a bed next to Harry.
Ginny's face was covered in blue goo, but it still didn't cover up all her burns or the huge gash on her cheek. "What does it look like?" Ginny snapped, irritated partly from the sizzling feeling on her face.
"How did you get burned?" Hermione looked from Ginny to Harry, waiting for an answer, but both shook their heads.
"It was a curse," Harry spoke up quietly, the first words he had spoken to her since Christmas. "I was right. There was something going on and everyone thought that I was just wasting my time! He was right, Hermione! Neville was right!" The last words were whispered, but Hermione still stood shocked to the ground.
"I still don't understand what's going on," she commented.
Ginny glanced at Harry. "I don't understand it, either."
Harry caught the glance, but shook his head. "I don't know half of it myself: they were invisible somehow, like ghosts. Then someone got rid of them."
"What?" Hermione gaped. "How can someone just get rid of invisible forces? Didn't you learn anything from-"
"Hogwarts, A History?" Harry interrupted irritably. "Did you forget that Hogwarts was destroyed? This castle is only a shadow of what the real Hogwarts was?"
"I wasn't going to say that, Harry," Hermione backed down. "I was going to say, didn't you learn anything from Charms class? You can't just 'get rid' of someone! They have to reappear somewhere!"
Harry stood up in front of Hermione. "I know that. What I don't know is how they did that. First thing we have to do now, is find that person who cast that spell, and I have a good idea where they are."
"Where are you going, Harry?" Hermione demanded, watching Harry stride towards the door.
"I need to go now," Harry looked back. "If I don't, I might miss him and we need to find him!"
"And what are you going to do, Harry?" Ginny stood up, some of the blue goo falling onto her robes. "Go without me?"
Harry grinned and came back towards her. "Of course not," he said, using his wand to get rid of some of the blue goo on her face.
"Thanks," she smiled, following Harry out of the room with Hermione at her side. "I want to look my best for Neville."