Disclaimer: Anything you recognise belongs to J K Rowling, who I am forever envious of, anything else is mine, all mine!
Authors note: Ok, I am extremely disappointed that I didn't get a lot of reviews sob but I decided to carry on anyhow. This chapter is around a year before the introduction (just to let you know)! Please oh please oh please review, or I mightbe forcedto take drastic measures gasp! I am grateful for anytype of review, just as long asciticisms are constructive criticisms and not plain right horrible.Anyways on with the story…
Chapter 1:
Ginny sat at the kitchen table eating her toast and reading the Daily Prophet. Since she had left Hogwarts a few weeks ago the outside world had been slowly dissolving into a frightened mess of a pig-sty. The ministry was unsuccessfully trying to calm the wizarding world down but the moral of the public was low as every day more devastating news reached the headlines.
Scrimgeour was failing even more spectacularly than Fudge was, and that was saying something. The world was breaking down – and fast too.
Ginny gasped as she read today's front page.
You-Know-Who Snatches Azkaban from Ministers own hands
Yesterday Azkaban Island was taken over by you-know-who himself. The Minister of Magic, Rufus Scrimgeour, was at Azkaban at the time when the attack took place. He was lucky to escape as moments after Death Eaters stormed in He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named turned up and turned the island into a living Hell.
Aurors turned up at the scene and fought the Dark Wizard and his followers but they were out numbered at least by twice the number. Many people are missing and it is thought that You-Know-Who is using the innocent for his own amusement. Kingsley Shacklebolt was among the team of Aurors who showed up and…Continued on Pg. 3, 4&5
Next to the report, taking up most of the space on the page, stood a moving photograph of Azkaban prison with the Dark Mark permanently above it. The large snake writhing around the dark skull as it let out the visual warning of evil. Shivers ran down her spine as she read the article and thought about what Voldemort would be using his hostages for "amusement".
Ginny's thoughts were interrupted by Ron, Hermione and Harry bounding down the stairs and taking a place at the kitchen table.
"Morning! Anything interesting today, Ginny?" Asked Hermione nodding towards the Prophet. Ginny handed the newspaper to her with a mortified look upon her face. Hermione gasped and her face paled as her brown eyes followed the text.
"What is it?" applied Ron, leaning over Harry to grab a piece of toast.
"Azkaban has been taken over!" gulped Ginny, still trying to bring the fact to realisation.
"What?" Harry shouted and snatched the newspaper out of Hermione's hands. Ginny followed his eyes as he scanned the article several times. His brow turned into a worried furrow and his mouth fell open slightly as he handed the report to Ron to read.
The bad news seemed to make everybody in the household agitated as Mr Weasley burst through the front door gasping for air.
"Mr Weasley!" Cried Hermione rushing to his side to help him into a chair. "Is everything all right?"
"Yes, Hermione…I'm just…just a bit out of breath…another death eater attack…I had to run…but…but I'm ok now…" He said in-between gulps of air.
"Dad, have you heard about Azkaban?" Ron asked with a concerned look on his face.
"Of course I have! It's been wreaking havoc down at the Ministry; Scrimgeour's gone off his head!" He exclaimed, now fully recovered. "Its chaos down there now Azkaban is gone, what with the increase in death eater attacks and demands for new laws. I'll tell you that I wouldn't like to be in his shoes at the moment. People are all ready thinking about replacing him, he's worse that fudge! Anyway, I better get back to work; I only came to check up on everybody, bye!" With that Arthur grabbed some toast and paced out the door, leaving the four teenagers alone.
"I better go upstairs, erm…Ron, Hermione care to join me?" Harry said with an unconvincing smile.
They nodded and the trio trudged upstairs, once more leaving Ginny behind to dawdle on her thoughts.
"But why now Harry? Bill and Fleur's wedding was only two days ago, we still have left-overs from the Buffet, cant we stay a few more days?"
"We can't! You've seen how bad it's got; we need to find the Horcruxes and go, before things get too out of control."
"Harry's right Ron, we need to put an end to it, Hogwarts is closed Azkaban's gone next it'll be the Ministry. We can't do nothing!"
The trio were up in Ron's room. Hermione and Ron both knew that Harry had set his mind on finding the remaining Horcruxes and defeating Voldemort but they had been trying to avoid the subject for most of the summer.
They had stayed at the Dursley's for the first few weeks, despite Mrs Weasley's and the Dursley's objections – just until Harry had come of age, then they went and stayed at the Burrow.
Harry had actually rather enjoyed it at the Dursley's for their visit. Watching Uncle Vernon's face as Hermione used her wand to conjure up food never got tiresome, but he was glad that they had left. He had swore to himself that he would never return to Number 4 Privet drive ever again unless by force (in which case he would have to be dragged in kicking and screaming.).
"It's Harry's, no, our responsibility now, and you know we have to do this." Continued Hermione. Ron gave her a pleading look but then looked guiltily away.
"Fine! I s'pose your right…" he hesitated "when do we leave?"
"As soon as we can, possibly tomorrow morning. Just get ready and don't tell anyone, not even your mum." Harry opened the door and went down to Fred and George's old room to pack his trunk, leaving the other two gaping at the air that he had just been standing in.
Ginny awoke early that morning to the sounds of footsteps on the hallway. She could hear whispers and a light banging on the wall as though something was being levitated badly. She lay in bed just listening thinking that it was probably Fred and George coming to get some merchandise from their room until she heard a soft thud on the floor followed by a quiet "Ron! Shhhh!" followed by a "Sorry.".
Something was wrong, Ginny could feel it. She quietly got out of bed and tip-toed over to her wardrobe and changed out of her night-clothes. Silently she opened her door and went down the stairs. As she got to the landing she hard the front door squeakily shut, she ran the rest of the way just in time to see a brown bushy head rush out of the door.
"Hermione!" She shouted running to the door, but she couldn't get it open – they had locked it.
"Alohomora!" she pointed her wand at the door and heard a click, she pulled open the door just in time to see Harry apparate with a wave to her.
He had gone. He had left her, like he didn't care. Hermione, Ron and Harry- the only one she had ever loved had just left without telling anybody, Disappeared forever. And they didn't even leave a note…
