Title: Losing Faith
Summary: It's the summer after Ginny's sixth year, and Voldemort is dead. But still, things are not how they should be. How will everyone cope now that the worst threat is over? HG RHr
Genre: Angst/Drama
Rating: T
Disclaimer: It's all JK Rowling's. 'Nuff said.
A/N: Well, I'm back at university now, and the Internet in my flat is being temperamental which has given me less time to procrastinate at fanfiction sites and more time to actually update! So without further ado, the eleventh chapter, Revenge! Thank you all for the reviews – you rock 3
V I V I V
REVENGE
Alan Gregory cursed explicitly as he stumbled out of the fireplace, almost crashing into Vanessa in the process, and found himself at the mercy of no less than eight masked Death Eaters. Yelping in surprise as he appeared next to her, Ness completely forgot about the fact they were entirely surrounded as she spun to face him, her eyes blazing.
"What the hell are you doing?"
"Not leaving you to fight these bastards alone, that's what!" He snarled in response, ducking and only narrowly avoiding a Stunning spell. "Stupefy!"
"Impedimenta!"
"Immobulus!"
"Incarcerous!"
"Avada kedavra!"
There was no time to think as hexes and curses shot in all directions, and Gregory only just managed to keep back the bile as the Killing Curse struck the wall mere inches above his head, sending plaster raining down. Beside him, Ness was struggling to hold on, her forehead damp with perspiration and concentration as she twisted and spun away from many of the curses headed her way. Impressed at how agile and quick the woman was, he didn't hear the Cruciatus curse strike until she fell against him, sending them both tumbling to the ground where her body jolted and jerked, her screams tearing at his ear drums.
"Avada kedavra!" He found himself roaring, furious beyond belief, and there was the thud of a Death Eater's body hitting the ground. He had never spoken the words before, never thought that he could, but when it came down to their lives or Vanessa's, there was no question. Shakily, he helped her to her feet, trying desperately to ignore the shocked look on her face.
"We'll spare you." One of the few remaining Death Eaters said suddenly, his voice muffled by the mask. Ness snorted in amusement as Gregory raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Tell us where the Potter boy is and we'll leave you. We just want the Potter boy."
"We don't know where he is." Alan said with more courage than he felt.
"Crucio!"
He braced himself for the curse, for the immense pain, and then felt his guts twist painfully as he realised the screams echoing through the living room were in fact not his, but Vanessa's. They trailed off as the man lifted the curse, and Alan struggled to raise his wand, send the Death Eater to hell, but he seemed frozen in place.
"Ready to tell me yet, girl?"
Vanessa glared up at the surrounding black-robed men, her eyes sparking. "I'll never tell you scum anything." She snarled out.
"Very well." Another spoke, not sounding in the least put out. "Crucio!"
She jerked about at Alan's feet again, and he felt as if he were going to throw up as he saw a trickle of blood drip from the corner of his mouth. What kind of monster was he, to just stand and watch her being tortured? He had to stop them, before they killed her or worse, tortured her to insanity.
"Wait!"
"Alan – no!" The young woman gasped out as she struggled back to her feet. "Don't!"
"He'll kill you, Vanessa." The healer croaked out.
"I don't care! I'd die before I let anything happen to Harry!"
"Getting bored…" Another Death Eater piped up, and Ness spun almost haltingly, shooting a Stunning spell at him and smirking with satisfaction as he sprawled across the floor.
"The Potter boy went back to England." Gregory lied smoothly. "I don't know whereabouts there, though." He was aware of Vanessa shifting in surprise, and prayed that she would play along. To his relief, she seemed to know exactly what she was doing as she threw herself at him, wailing in a dramatic manner. He tightened his hands around her small wrists, looking down at her, and though her eyes were filled with fatigue and pain, she smiled at him, and his heart lifted.
There was a chorus of snickers and sneers as the Death Eaters that weren't incapacitated rose to their feet, looking over the two Healers with disdain.
"You really thought that we'd just let you – go free?" One of them demanded, his voice harsh, loud and amused, and Alan's eyes widened as at least six wands aimed their way again. Before he could even reach for his own wand, there was a brilliant flash of bright light, and he felt himself connect solidly with the wall, ribs cracking and muscles screaming out in agony. And the last thing he saw before he succumbed to blissful, pain-free darkness was Vanessa, lying spread-eagled in front of him, too still and too silent.
V I V I V
"Merlin, this place is bloody beautiful." Ginny gasped out, spinning in circles and giggling wildly at the glorious feel of soft, warm sand beneath her bare feet. Harry strolled along beside her, holding both their shoes and smiling at his girlfriend's reaction to the beach.
"You live right down near the deepest darkest part of England." He teased her. "You can't tell me you never went to the beach."
"Oh, we did. But they're all pebbly and freezing cold and it's not like there's any sun." She retorted, practically dancing down to the water's edge and dipping her toes in with a girly squeal. "It's a shame that I burn, not tan." She mock glared at him, poking her fingernail into his chest. "I bet you've spent most of your time indoors, yet you've got the best tan I've ever seen."
Harry grinned sheepishly, lifting his shoulders into a shrug. "I don't understand why you want to get a tan, anyway." He murmured, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and pulling her close to him. "You're beautiful just as you are."
"Oh." Ginny smiled, placing her hand against his cheek, then slapped him gently, letting out a small laugh. "Flattery will get you nowhere."
He grinned back at her cheekily, a mischievous glint in his eye. "Well, it got me a little somewhere, didn't it?"
"Just a little." Ginny acknowledged reluctantly, and then snatched her sandals out of his grasp, sitting down on the sand to slide them back on. "And you know what will get you further? If you go on some of those theme park rides with me." The first thing she had spotted when they had got down to the beach was the small festival at the very far end of the beach. With blaring music and bright, garish colours, the sound of children and adults shrieking with laughter, was exactly Ginny's sort of thing.
"Oh, damn." Harry muttered, sighing. "You're not going to take no for an answer, are you?"
"Nope." She put her small hand in his, tugging him towards the festival. "Come on! It'll be fun! You need to relax, Mister Potter!" She rolled her eyes at him as he protested against the rides. "Come on!" She repeated. "You played on the Quidditch team for seven years, and got who knows how many injuries on it, so you can't tell me you're scared of a little roller coaster ride!"
"Not scared!" Harry protested indignantly. "I just don't like the thought of leaving my stomach somewhere up in the air when I'm down near the ground."
"Yet that never happens when you do Wronski Feints." Ginny mocked, laughing again, and nudged her shoulder against his. "Ha-arry!"
He threw his hands up into the air in a gesture of defeat. "Fine, fine." He said, his exasperated tone not quite matching up with the wide grin on his face. "But you'll be the one to blame if I chuck up all over you."
Ginny's mature response was to stick her tongue out, roll her eyes again and head towards the longest line of the largest roller coaster. Harry groaned, muttering under his breath.
"I'm really going to regret this."
V I V I V
The sick feeling that had started up in Ginny's stomach and not left was, she realised, was not her body adjusting to foreign food or the roller coaster rides she and Harry had ridden on. Stopping midway up the path to the villa, she thought her heart had fallen to the very soles of her feet and her stomach was getting ready to reject all that she had eaten that day. Pressing a hand to her mouth to stop herself throwing up, she glanced sideways at Harry, and very nearly burst into tears just at his expression.
His hand tightened around hers, and they made their way slowly up the path, wands out and ready for any Death Eaters that were likely to jump out at them. Ginny couldn't tear her gaze away from the front door wrenched off its hinges, the shards of glass from the paneled windows littering the grass, the smoking hole in the roof, the flicker of dying flames… the Dark Mark floating lazily above the once beautiful villa.
"Stay here," Harry whispered to her, and though she wouldn't dream of doing as he commanded, she said nothing, simply let her hand slide of his grasp; there wasn't time to get into an argument over it. He stepped over the threshold, his trainers crunching against the glass, and after several moments she followed, her wand slippery with sweat in her hold.
She almost gagged at the smell of blood and death that enveloped the thick, moist air, even though it wasn't half as bad as the stench that had overtaken Hogsmeade, and realised she would never get used to it. Several paces ahead of her, Harry turned in circles, his eyes passing over her and not looking in the slightest bit surprised that she had disobeyed him.
The living room was utterly destroyed; the coffee table now splinters of wood, the sofa and chairs not much more than torn leather and stuffing. The bookcase that had once been crammed with games and books and treasures that Ginny had looked forward to exploring was blackened, burnt practically beyond recognition. Chancing another glance at her boyfriend, Ginny saw that he kept his face composed, but there was fear in his eyes, fear for the person that had helped him when he was at his lowest.
Ginny's heart beat fast in her chest as she watched Harry move towards the kitchen; her mind was throwing all sorts of horrific images at her that she tried in vain to blank out. She grasped the door handle for support as she followed him, and retched violent as her hand came away slippery with someone else's blood.
"Harry." She struggled out, hating how young and vulnerable she sounded. He spun around, saw the blood on her hand, and looked on the verge of throwing up as well. In two paces he was beside her as she struggled to scrub the blood off onto her robes. "It won't come off. It won't come off!"
"It's off, Ginny, it's gone." Harry said soothingly, but she could still feel it under her fingernails and etched into the lines in her hand. She fought back a sob; they needed to find Ness, and get out of there, to someplace safe. Harry's hand found hers again, offering only a mild comfort, and she realised with another surge of self-hatred that she should be comforting him, and yet here he was being the strong one again. Taking her hand away, she stuffed it deep into her robes and moved quickly towards the back door, sucking in the fresh air with a sigh of relief.
A murmur from her boyfriend made her turn towards him; he was staring out the kitchen window, his eyes wide with horror, clutching onto the back of one of the unbroken kitchen chairs for support. Following his gaze, Ginny couldn't stop an array of obscenities from leaving her mouth; flames were slowly but surely engulfing the house next door, and even as they watched, it started to crumble in on itself, the roaring sound of bricks exploding deafening Ginny temporarily.
"We have to get out of here!" She yelled above the noise as the flames grew steadily higher, licking at the walls of Vanessa's home.
"Ginny – that's – that's Carlotta and Rosa's house!"
She swallowed the lump in her throat, reaching for his trembling hands, knowing what he was desperately wanting to do. "You can't go in there, Harry." She told him softly. "You can't."
"What if they're in there?"
"You'll just get killed!" She shouted, gripping his hands tightly. "We just have to wait for – for the proper authorities to deal with it. They're equipped for this sort of thing, Harry; you can't go barging into a burning house!"
For once, he didn't argue further, instead backing out into the living room, his face a stark white in contrast to the tan that he had developed from spending several months in such a hot country. The room was steadily growing hotter, and Ginny knew it was only a matter of time before the fire spread to the other houses.
"We have to go." She reminded him softly, and let out a cry of surprise as he abruptly drew her close to his chest. "Harry?"
He said nothing, tightening his arm around her waist, and she realised too late that he was Apparating them away. Appearing on the pavement of a street she didn't recognise, she hastily shoved him away as she retched once more, unused to the body-squeezing, organ-twisting experience of Apparation.
"You could have warned me." She told him crossly, wiping a hand across her sweaty face as she straightened up and looked around. "Where are we?"
Her question was answered by the sound of a front door being slammed open and a flurry of Italian voices. Before Ginny knew what was happening, she and Harry were both being swept up into a warm, thick embrace by a large, cuddly woman that reminded Ginny sorely of her mother. Hot on the woman's heels were three of the four Italian girls, making Ginny's heart leap in relief. She wasn't sure how Harry would have coped if his young Italian friends had been killed, but he certainly had enough to deal with.
"Oh, you poor dears!" The woman was babbling, and Ginny felt a massive pang of homesickness, wondering irrelevantly what her parents and brothers were doing at that point. "Carlotta was in such state, she was so worried about you all!" She smiled warmly at Ginny as she hustled the lot of them into the house. "And you, you are the English girl that I have heard much about from my youngest niece – you are attending the same school that Carlotta will be in September, no?"
"That's right." Ginny nodded stiffly as she and Harry were bundled into kitchen chairs and steaming cups of sweet tea were pressed into their hands. She glanced around, seeing only the eldest three cousins. "Where is Carlotta?"
"She was so upset; I had to give her – sleep." Gina and Anna's mother said in her disjointed English. She motioned vaguely up the stairs. "She is resting now in the guest room, she is fine. Now, what happened? You and Glyn are not injured? Where is young Vanessa?"
Harry, who, up until that moment, had been silently, jerked his head up at the mention of his mentor's name. "Ness?" He asked hoarsely. "I hoped you would know!"
"Carlotta told me that Vanessa was still in the house when she left to tell us about the – what you call Death Eaters?" Rosa interjected, white and shaking, obviously still in shock over the news that her home had been destroyed. Ginny tried to imagine the Burrow burned to the ground, and shuddered.
"I have to find her." Harry said stubbornly, shoving his chair back and getting to his feet, swaying dangerously. Almost all of them let out cries of protest – only Ginny remained silent, knowing that nothing would change Harry's mind once it was made up. Feeling his eyes fall upon the back of her head, she smiled slightly, knowing he had been expecting her to make the most protest.
"I'm coming with you." She said, turning to face him, and his face regained a little colour as he gave what could almost pass for a smile.
"But it is far too dangerous, and you have had such a shock!" Gina and Anna's mother exclaimed, twisting her hands together anxiously. Ginny reached for Harry's hand, smiling apologetically.
"No one here in Venice knows about our relationship with Ness – if something has happened to her, who knows when we'd find out." Harry flinched slightly at the thought, and she squeezed his hand reassuringly.
"Thank you for the tea, signora Rossi." Harry said, flashing a charming smile that didn't reach his eyes. "But we must find Ness, and find out why this happened." He turned his smile onto the three girls, and it became a lot more genuine. "I'm so glad you are all okay." He murmured, and suddenly Rosa flung herself on him, weeping openly. Gina and Anna weren't far behind, only slightly less weepy, patting their cousin on the back comfortingly and giving Harry apologetic, if a bit tearful, looks.
Despite the dire situation, Ginny couldn't help but feel that somehow her boyfriend managed to attract far more crying girls than dry-eyed ones.
V I V I V
With a warning this time, Harry Apparated himself and Ginny away, and she only just managed to keep the bile low in her throat as they appeared at the end of the street they had been staying on. It was thick with ash and smoke, only silhouettes of figures visible through the darkness, and they both had to keep their lips clenched together to stop themselves from breathing in the hot grit.
"Hullo!" A surprised voice came from somewhere to their left, Ginny found herself squinting to look and, with an impatient sigh, Harry cleared some of the air in front of them with a hasty 'evanesco!' A familiar figure stood, looking rather battered and bruised, peering at them curiously.
"Healer Gregory!" Ginny exclaimed, recognising the man that had sent her to Venice in the first place.
"Miss Weasley, Mr. Potter – sorry, Charlton." He acknowledged at Harry's scowl and hasty glance around seeing who was within earshot, and forced a smile. "I must say I'm relieved to see that you're both all right."
"What are you doing here?" Ginny asked, noticing that his eyes were rather red-rimmed and he looked as if he were having quite a bit of trouble staying on his feet.
"Vanessa contacted me to tell me that Death Eaters were attacking." Gregory explained. "And she wouldn't do the sensible thing and wait for back up, so I had to come through after her."
"Ness?" Harry blurted out once more, his scowl replaced by a look of intense worry. "Is she all right?"
The healer stuffed his hands into his torn, dirtied robes pockets and gazed at a spot above Ginny's head. "She's been taken to St. Mungo's." He said finally, his voice cracking. "It's one of the best wizarding hospitals in the world, and the Italian Ministry decided she would get better care there."
Harry's grip on Ginny's hand started to hurt as he tried to clench his fist in concern. "She's okay, though, right?"
"It – it doesn't look good, Harry." Gregory said hoarsely, looking between the pair of them with pained eyes. "I'm on my way there now, if you two want to join me…"
Ginny nodded slowly, unable to say anything as she felt numbness set in, and regretted chancing a look at her boyfriend. Harry's gaze was firmly set on the churned up earth, his jaw set and he was obviously struggling to hide all his emotions, but it was impossible to hide the glitter of tears in his eyes.