CHAPTER 22

Back to the Burrow


For Ginny, the pain from crushing pressure of Apparation had spiraled to new heights. She forced herself to concentrate on nothing other than the flat at Gringott's. Every instant since the Ministry had disappeared felt like an hour of agony. She couldn't breathe. Every inch of her skin felt hot, but not nearly hot enough to compete with the slicing pain shooting through her ribs and up her spine from the spot where Lupescu's curse had struck her.

In a flash, the pressure disappeared and she felt her feet on a stone floor. Her whole body felt numb. She blinked her eyes and tried to find Harry and the others. She could hear them, but her vision had gone hazy again. Unlike earlier when everything was blindingly bright, the world about her was now dark and hazy. She reached up to rub her eyes and was struck by a wave of nausea. The world lurched to one side, then turned back toward the other.

She stumbled forward, reaching out for the shadow of something large and hopefully sturdy. She felt a growing heat spreading from the small of her back. She knew something was wrong, but it took every bit of concentration to keep herself on her feet. After a single unsteady step forward, she felt her hands strike the back of a wooden chair.

The room swung around, paused for a second and then spun back in the opposite direction. Ginny clutched at the chair, but it detached itself from the floor immediately. She felt weightless, and then the world flopped onto its side.

The ear-splitting crash of the chair against stone was the only warning she got. Only a fraction of a second later, she felt the cool floor slam into her. The world darkened as a bolt of pain stabbed into her back.

A bright spot brought her mind back to the present. It grew until she felt that she could almost make out her surroundings. She could hear the voices shouting, but they were nothing more than shadows flitting between the brightly colored spots in her vision. She heard someone say the words "to the couch" but she couldn't identify the voice.

A pair of strong arms picked her up by the shoulders. The world tilted around her and she suddenly felt herself standing up. Her legs moved instinctually. She didn't know just why they were walking; she only hoped that they were taking her away from the pain. Then, as quickly as it had righted itself, the room spun and she felt herself falling again.

The cushions on the couch were made of fine silks stuffed with the best goose down in Europe, but to Ginny they felt more like jagged spears stabbing into her back. The pain was immense and inescapable. The world around her snapped into sharp focus. She could feel every muscle in her body tense as her back arched and her arms flailed in a useless attempt to escape the pain.

There were more shouts, but they were all blending together into a shrill ringing in her ears. Her muscles twitched and then gave out. As she fell back to the cushions a second wave of pain struck her and the world swirled away into blackness


"I don't know what's wrong!" Harry shouted.

"Maybe you would if you had been paying any attention to her," Ron shouted back. "Why did you toss her on the couch?"

"Because she fainted. What was I supposed to do? Leave her on the floor?"

"At least she wasn't screaming there."

"Shut up, both of you!" Hermione yelled. "She screamed when you laid her on her back. Did anything happen to her back while you were fighting?"

"Razvan hit her with some curse in the back, but her Cloak stopped it," Harry replied. "She got right back up, I swear."

"A wizard had his wand pointed at your head, Harry," Hermione reminded him sharply. "She would have gotten back up even if someone had cut off her left leg." Hermione dropped to Ginny's side and pressed a hand against her neck. "She's overheating. Shield Cloaks don't stop everything, Harry. You know that. Quick, someone help me turn her over."

Ron and Harry jumped forward and helped Hermione roll Ginny onto her stomach so that her head was hanging just off the edge of the couch. Her cheeks were a sickly pale and sporadically spotted with darker red patches. Harry waited for her breathing to become more relaxed, then strode off toward the door.

"Where are you going?" Ron called out.

"The curse hit her Shield Cloak. I saw it," he told them. "Even if it hadn't, they would never risk seriously injuring her. Whatever happened, it can't be much more than burns and bruises."

"This doesn't look like the result of a deflected spell, Harry. Ginny's been hit by plenty of spells in these cloaks and she's never fainted from the pain," challenged Hermione.

"Well, it must have been a lucky shot, or an injury from all the debris." He turned away and opened the door. "You two can stay here and hope that the pain goes away. I'm going to get some potions to actually stop it."

Harry walked off and let the door close behind him. The goblins had to have something that would help Ginny. Even a bottle of Pollywinkles Pain Purge should be enough. Of course, if Hermione was right and the spell got through the cloak, it could be almost anything. Maybe the Shield Cloak was defective? He allowed himself to entertain the idea despite the fact that he'd never actually seen any of Fred and George's cloaks fail to work.

He replayed the scene in his head again. It was possible that she had broken a rib or even cut herself on some of the stone debris. The spell had hit her rather hard, but it couldn't have done much damage, could it? If they used any spell that could break through the Shield Cloak they would be risking Ginny's life.

A sudden, horrible thought hit him. The Brotherhood would never risk her life. Grigore didn't want that and neither did Josef and Dragomir. The Brotherhood didn't want her dead, but they might have wanted her disabled. They would want to make sure that she lived, but didn't escape. That way, Grigore could take her and use her as bait for Harry even if he had found a way to escape without her.

And all of the best Brotherhood wizards knew how to disable a wizard wearing a Shield Cloak. A properly cast Cremation Curse was strong enough to break through Shield Charms and any of the Shield gear that Fred and George made. Used correctly it was useful for dealing with the poisonous corpses of some of the nastier creatures. Used against the living, it was fairly dark magic. When partially blocked as it would be by the weaker shield provided by Ginny's cloak, it would leave a smoldering wound that would continue burning until the victim was healed or died. The pain was intense enough that it would incapacitate a shielded wizard in a few minutes.

And Harry was certain that Razvan knew how to cast that curse. He knew it because he himself had taught Razvan and the others just how to do it.

He knew he was right. They had meant for Ginny to be the bait in the trap yet again. This time, however, he had managed to escape with the bait. Now that he knew what the problem was, he was certain he could fix it. Any of a small number of potions would work, and a few magical items could help with the pain. He just had to find them.

Ten minutes later, Harry returned to the flat, feeling both horribly guilty and terribly frustrated. The goblins had nothing to help her. They offered some incantations and a Well-Being Amulet, but he needed something that worked much faster. The sad truth was that there was nothing that worked faster —not in Gringott's at least.

"About time," Ron commented as Harry walked back into the room. Ginny hadn't moved at all while he was gone. She still looked pale but all the tension had left her face. If he hadn't known any better, he might have guessed she was simply sleeping. Perhaps she was. Between the injuries and the stress of the last week, it was easy to see why she might be exhausted. He wished he didn't have to do what he was about to do.

He walked over to her quickly. In one hand he carried pair of vials: one normal-sized one containing a deep red liquid and one that was much smaller and filled with a pale blue liquid. In the other hand he held a silver flask with a golden cap. He popped the top off both of the vials and carefully pushed her hair back from her face.

"Hold on," Ron remarked as he strode over to Harry's side. "What are those?" he asked, pointing to the vials.

Harry rolled his eyes. "This is something close to a Pepperup Potion," he answered while holding up the red vial, then pointed to the blue one, "and this is Numbing Spirits, or something pretty close."

"Harry, she's already had Pepperup Potion," warned Hermione. "You can't give her two doses in under an hour. It's dangerous."

"The last dose was diluted," he argued. "Her ears weren't smoking for more than a minute or so. This is no stronger. I just need her to be alert for twenty minutes or so."

"What she needs is a Sleeping Potion and a day or two of rest," Hermione scolded. "I should be able to make something while she sleeps and whatever you need to talk to her about can wait while she recovers."

"I'm afraid we don't have that much time," Harry replied. "The goblins don't have any healing potions that will work on burns like this, and even if they had the ingredients, the only potions that would help take hours to make."

"It's a burn? Just how do you know that?" questioned Hermione.

"Trust me."

Hermione frowned. "Well, if you're right, you can't wake her up," Hermione argued. "She'll be in just as much pain as when she passed out. That's torture, Harry."

"That's why I have this," he answered, holding up the tiny blue vial. "Once she's awake, she can take a few drops of this. It should make the pain manageable for a while."

Ron gave him a skeptical look. "The goblins had Numbing Spirits, but they didn't have any potions or salves that would heal a burn?"

Harry sighed in frustration. "This isn't a normal burn, Ron. They didn't have much of anything here. All of their curse-breakers are down in Egypt at the moment, so they keep most of their potions there and we don't have time to wait for them. The Numbing Spirits are my own. Now will you please help me?"

Ron still looked concerned. "You do know Numbing Spirits are illegal here, don't you? Constantino Alleri died last year after getting sloppy while measuring out the correct dosage. Now, I know you've improved a bit, but Harry, you've never been spectacular at Potion-making."

"I didn't make this," Harry shot back.

"Who did?" asked Hermione.

Harry sighed again and rubbed at his eyes with the back of his hand. "I bought it off an old man in Norway named Torvi the Mixer. I haven't had any problems with any of the other potions."

"You bought it from some street vendor?" Ron cried out. "And his name was Torvi the Mixer? Is that supposed to make me feel better?"

"Yes, but that's not the important part," Harry continued. "We just robbed the Ministry. Hermione attacked one of the most influential members of the Brotherhood. The moment anyone comes to check on her office, they'll know that we've escaped. They know where I was hiding. They'll come here," Harry stressed. "The goblins already closed the bank. Apparation is the only way out, and that's just what we need to do. I need to wake Ginny up so that we can take her someplace where we can find a potion to heal her. If we don't, then we're going to be stuck in an even larger battle right here."

Ron eyed him warily for a moment, then frowned and walked over to his side. He grabbed Ginny's shoulder and carefully turner her body so Harry could pour the Pepperup Potion into her mouth. A few seconds later, Ginny's eyelids fluttered open and steam began curling out of her ears.

Almost immediately, her eyes found Harry. "What— What happened, I—" she stammered, then paused as her jaw clenched shut. "It hurts, Harry," she said through her teeth. "The hex, it got through the Cloak."

"I know. I can't tell you how sorry I am," he whispered, "but I'm going to give you something to help with the pain. Just a few drops, though. That should be plenty."

Ginny nodded her head, closed her eyes tightly and opened her mouth. Harry pulled the stopper on the smaller vial and very slowly let three drops of the pale blue liquid drop onto Ginny's tongue. She swallowed them quickly and sat completely still as though waiting for them to begin working.

"I think it's getting better," she announced softly. "It still hurts though. How long will it take to work?"

"Er, it works almost immediately," he explained, "but it's just for the pain. You'll need something else to actually heal the wound." Harry twisted the cap off the flask and handed it to her. "Here, you'll need as much of this as you can handle," he said.

"I thought you said they didn't have any healing potions," Ron remarked.

"They don't," Harry replied over his shoulder. "This is... er... a Courage Potion of sorts," he told Ginny, "but it will also dull the pain, and it's less dangerous than the Numbing Spirits. Drink as much as you can. We can't stay here much longer."

Hermione was looking at the flask suspiciously. "Exactly what sort of Courage Potion is that?" she asked.

Harry ignored the question and watched as Ginny tilted back the flask and took a few quick gulps. After the third gulp, her eyes opened wide and her whole body convulsed. She coughed, spraying the liquid across the floor. Harry quickly grabbed the flask before it dropped from her hands. Ginny's body hung limp over the side of the couch as she coughed a few more times.

"What in the world did you give her?" Ron asked.

"Firewhiskey," Ginny said with another cough. "It's Firewhiskey."

"Harry! Firewhiskey is not a Courage Potion!" scolded Hermione.

"It is in large enough volumes," Harry responded. He gently pressed the flask back into Ginny's hand. "I know it's unpleasant, but it's better than the pain from the burn, trust me."

"I think I'd rather pass out," croaked Ginny.

"You can, after you do one more thing for me."

Ginny glared at the flask, then back at Harry. "And I need to drink this to do it? What is it?"

"I need you to Apparate to your brothers' shop."

Ginny's face fell. Without a word, she closed her eyes, put the flask to her lips and began drinking.


Harry knew it was coming. He had done it twenty times or more over the last year, and yet he still felt an unavoidable trepidation at the thought of what he was about to do.

The world snapped into existence around him. As expected, he felt himself falling. He tried to brace himself as much as possible in the moment before he would land on the street. His back struck first, and he quickly slid to a stop. A few passing wizards gave him curious looks but walked off after shaking their heads and mumbling to themselves.

It always amazed Harry just how little it took to disguise himself. People so rarely examined the faces around them. All you had to do was change one major feature and most people wouldn't give you a second glance. Of course, he needed to hide from more than just most people. Today he had changed his hair to a pale blonde, darkened his eyeglasses, and given himself a slightly longer nose. His scar was gone as well, hidden behind a powerful Concealment Charm. He tried not to think about the fact that he had been forced to constantly seek out increasingly powerful charms to keep his scar hidden.

Before he left, he had made it very clear that his identity should remain a secret. Even Fred and George couldn't be told. The more people who knew, the greater the danger would be to all of them. He hoped he would be able to reveal himself to the Order soon. Until then, Harry would have to remain disguised. With a little luck, he'd be able to buy their trust with gold. He wasn't sure just what he'd do if that failed.

At the moment, he had other things he needed to be thinking about. He stood up and dusted himself off. Ron would be Apparating any time now. Ginny would follow after him, exactly thirty seconds after Ron arrived. If she failed to Apparate, Hermione would do it for her twenty seconds after that. Harry drew his wand and aimed it at the ground where he had landed.

"Spongify!"

There was no noticeable change in the dirt-covered street, but the wizards all around him avoided it nonetheless. A few seconds later, a sharp crack sounded off to his right. Ron flew backward, landing within a few feet of the point Harry hand hit the ground. Unlike Harry, Ron bounced lightly, as though the street was a springy mattress instead of ancient stone.

From the instant Ron hit the street, Harry began counting off the thirty seconds until Ginny's arrival. As soon as Ron was on his feet, Harry cast the charm again, hoping he'd picked the right location. It wasn't clear in his mind whether Ginny would fly shorter or farther than he or Ron. It would have been easier if Hermione had been the second to show up. She and Ginny were about the same size. Of course, that would have left Ginny with Ron, and he'd never practiced Side-Along Apparation. Twenty more seconds, he reminded himself.

"Ginny's not happy," Ron warned him. "The Firewhiskey wasn't your most brilliant idea."

"I didn't really have a choice, Ron," Harry replied. "We didn't have time to brew anything, and we can't really walk into St. Mungo's, can we?"

"If you say so," Ron replied. "Still, as your friend it's my duty to warn you that her current attitude toward you is not what anyone would call caring."

Harry frowned and scanned the crowd walking along the street. "I'll live. She can be as hacked off at me as she wants once she's been healed."

"You haven't spent as much time around her as I have. I'm not worried about what she'll do once she's healed. It's what she'll do between now and then that you've got to worry about."

Harry didn't respond. Five more seconds. Ron had stepped to the side and already had his wand out. "Don't say I didn't warn you."

"I won't."

With an echoing crack Ginny Apparated into the air in front of Harry. She flew backward just like Ron. Harry's earlier question was answered a moment later as she hit the ground a few feet beyond the point where Ron had landed. She bounced off the ground and tumbled across the street for a few more feet.

Harry and Ron ran to her side. She was lying on her side with a grimace on her face and her back arched in pain. "Are you alright?" Ron asked.

Ginny's eyes blinked open and narrowed at her brother. "Spiffing," she growled. She rolled onto her hands and knees, and took a few slow deep breaths.

A passing witch had stopped to look at the three of them. When neither Harry nor Ron rushed to help Ginny up, the woman strode forward with her lips pressed tightly together. She dropped down next to Ginny and glared at Harry.

"Do you have no manners?" she snapped. "Help the poor girl up!" The woman grabbed one of Ginny's shoulders and placed her other hand on Ginny's back.

The moment her hand made contact, Ginny let out a panicked shriek. With surprising speed and agility, she twisted on the ground and batted away the arm of the helpful witch. She scrambled away and glared at the woman as if she had tried to stab her.

That was the moment that Hermione chose to Apparate onto the street. The moment Harry heard the soft clap, he found his wand out and pointed at the street. The charm struck the ground a fraction of a second before Hermione did. The effect, however, was not quite as reliable as it had been for the others. Instead of bouncing gently onto the firmer ground, Hermione bounced much higher, tumbling in the air. She landed some distance away and rolled into the legs of the witch who had tried to help Ginny.

The witch glared at Hermione, then the others. With a huff, she turned and walked off, shaking her head.

Ron walked over to Hermione and helped her back to her feet. Harry knelt down next to Ginny and offered her his hand. "I'm sorry," he apologized. "I'll help you up. Will you be alright?"

"No, I won't be alright," she snapped. "That bloody hurt!"

Harry grabbed her hand and gently pulled her to her feet. "Well, at least you're still conscious to feel it."

The moment he said it, he knew it had been a mistake. Ginny's eyes flashed with a sudden fury that was frightening. "I'm still conscious to feel it?" she repeated scornfully. "In what way could that possibly be a good thing?"

"That's not what I meant," Harry tried to explain. "I mean that—"

Before he could finish his weak excuse, Ginny took a quick step toward him and swung her leg, delivering a vicious kick to his shin. The response was immediate and impressive. Harry's leg buckled under agonizing pain, and he struggled to keep his balance.

Ginny was still standing in front of him, but he could barely see her through the tears in his eyes. The few details he could see didn't make him feel any better.

"At least you're still conscious to feel it," she sneered.

Harry blinked his eyes clear just in time to see her lunging for him. A pair of hands struck his chest with surprising force. He felt another brief moment of weightlessness before he crashed onto the street for the second time. Harry didn't have any chance to see the second kick coming.

Pain exploded in his shin again, and he gasped as he reached for it instinctively. When his eyes finally opened again, he could hear Ron laughing in the background. Ginny was standing over him with a scowl on her face.

"Are you alright?" Ginny asked mockingly. "Here, have some Firewhiskey," she added as something hard and silver bounced off his chest. "It should dull the pain a bit." Ginny turned and walked off, mumbling, "Bloody Moron."

Harry slowly sat up and found Ron still laughing, though only silently now. Hermione seemed to be refusing to look at him at all, though at least she was trying to hide the smirk on her mouth.

Shakily, Harry rose to his feet. His shin was throbbing. He pulled the leg of his jeans up and found a trail of blood flowing from a nasty gash in his shin. He could walk on it, but not very well. It wouldn't matter. They had come there for healing potions, and Ginny knew that. He nodded to Ron and Hermione and limped off after Ginny.

She was waiting at the door of the shop and still glaring at him. As he approached, her eyes narrowed and the corners of her mouth curled into a mocking smile. "Nice hair, Draco," she jeered. "You should keep it that way. It reminds me of all the nights I spent at Hogwarts, dreaming about him and me snogging furiously in the back corner of the library." Before Harry could close his mouth, she yanked open the door and disappeared inside the shop. Harry blinked his eyes, trying not to think about what she'd just said.

"That's just disgusting," commented Ron. "That's not even something to joke about." He stepped toward Harry and clapped him on the shoulder. "Don't think about it too much, mate. She's just working off a little steam. I'm sure she never really had any dreams about Draco. Not good ones, anyway." With a shrug and a sympathetic smile, Ron opened the door and walked into the shop.

Hermione gave him a similar smile as she followed behind Ron. "Ginny's had a really rough month," she said apologetically. "She wasn't serious."

Harry frowned and took one last look down Diagon Alley. He knew Ron and Hermione were right. Still, they had caused more of a scene than he'd hoped. It was hardly Ginny's fault, however. She'd drank an entire flask of Firewhiskey. He wouldn't have guessed that she would still have the coordination required to successfully kick him, but she had proved him wrong.

A few wizards were still watching him, but no one who looked at all suspicious. Harry knew the Brotherhood would come looking for them, but he felt confident they wouldn't come to Fred and George's shop. They would never think he would go there. It would be too risky. Revealing himself to Ginny's family would be no different than showing himself to the entire Order. Doing that would start a war that neither Harry nor Grigore wanted to fight. However, that was perhaps the only thing that Grigore was afraid of, and Harry hoped he'd be able to use that. He turned and walked into the twins' shop.

He began slowly working his way through the crowd gathered inside the small main room. Ron and Hermione were some way ahead of him, but they had full use of both of their legs. They all seemed to be heading toward a young witch at the other end of the shop. It had been some time since Harry had been in the shop while it was open, but he recognized her as Verity, the witch the twins' had employed to help them do boring things around the shop. Her hair was longer than it had been the last time he'd seen her and she looked more confident, but it was her.

Harry caught up to Ginny, Hermione and Ron just as they finally managed to get her attention. Verity's eyes opened a little wider upon seeing the three of them standing in the shop. She didn't even look twice at Harry.

"We need to speak with Fred and George," Ginny announced flatly.

"They're in the back with Mr. Jordan," she answered slowly. "They said they shouldn't be interrupted."

"Interrupt them," Ginny ordered.

Verity gave a quick nod and slipped through the crowd toward the back room. Out of habit, Harry began scanning the faces of the other customers in the shop. As his eyes passed Ginny, he found her doing the same thing. He paused, hoping to think of something to say that might sound good as an apology. Before he could think of anything, she turned away, whipping her hair around behind her.

With the squeak of a door, a pair of red-haired wizards appeared and began walking toward them. Harry stepped closer to Ginny and slipped a bag of coins into her hand. "Have them close the shop for the day," he whispered. He looked up, hoping to see some sort of response from Ginny, but her expression was stony and she gave him no sign that she'd even noticed him.

Fred and George regarded Ron and Hermione warily. "Nice cloaks. Looks like spectacular workmanship," George commented, then turned to look at Ginny and Harry. "Four of them including the poncy bloke behind you. That's interesting considering we only gave Ginny three of them."

"Close the shop," Ginny said in a low voice.

"Are you mental?" Fred asked. "Do you know how much money we make in an afternoon?" Ginny tossed the bag of coins at him and he caught it nimbly in his left hand. The twins shared a look as Fred hefted the bag in his hand, as though he could guess the value of the coins within it by weight. He tossed it to George.

George held the bag for a moment, then frowned. "We can't take your gold, Ginny."

"It's not my gold."

"Shop's closing!" Fred shouted. "Verity! Get Lee and help escort these fine people out. We've got some urgent business which needs to be attended to."

Verity ran off to the back room and reappeared a second later with Lee Jordan following her. Together, they swept through the store nudging wizards away from the pyramid of pranks and witches away from the corner devoted to the Wonderwitch products. They all begrudgingly made their way to the door, throwing the occasional annoyed glance at the small clump of people standing around Fred and George.

The twins walked toward the door which lead to the back room, but stopped before opening it. Fred turned and glared at Harry. "You too, Limpy," he said with a nod toward the shop door. "Shove off. This is a private party."

"Lay off him, Fred," Ginny snapped. "He's the one who brought us here."

"Oh, did he? Don't tell me he carried you? He can barely walk. I'd feel sorry for him if he wasn't wearing a Cloak he never paid for."

Ginny glared at Fred. "George, open the door. We'll explain as much as we can."

George reluctantly opened the door and ushered the four of them in. Once everyone was inside, George closed the door firmly. Fred gestured for them all to remain quiet while he checked the back door and searched for any stragglers. When he had confirmed that the room was otherwise empty, he turned back to Ginny. "I get the feeling that you're the reason behind this visit, so why don't you tell me why you're here."

Harry studied Ginny's face as she answered. "We need potions. Something for burns. Maybe something else for cuts and bruises. And something for pain." She was speaking more slowly than usual, and Harry could see the muscles in her jaw clenching when she wasn't speaking. She was still in a decent amount of pain.

"That's all?" George asked.

"You just want potions?" Fred added. "No messages or supplies?"

"Just the potions," Ginny repeated. "Oh, and something for a broken leg."

"It's really not that bad," Harry tried to explain. "I don't think it's broken, it's—"

Ginny spun around and kicked him in the shin a third time, hitting the very same spot she had cut open earlier. Harry's leg gave out, and he was forced to grab onto a nearby shelf to keep himself standing. "I'll take whatever they've got," Harry said through clenched teeth.

Fred and George were frozen by their own surprise. "Bloody hell, Ginny, are you alright?"

"No, I'm not alright," she snapped. "I'm drunk and I'm tired of being used and tricked and lied to and not being told why I'm doing all the bloody things I've been forced to do. I'm tired of being attacked by everyone when they all claim they are trying to keep me safe. And right now, I'm in enough pain to last me the next four years."

"Pain?" asked George.

Harry looked over toward Ginny and realized that her face was pale again and she was beginning to look a little shaky. The Numbing Spirits must have been wearing off. There wasn't time to explain the situation to Fred and George. While Ginny tried to describe what had happened —leaving out any mention of Harry or Voldemort's wand— Harry limped across the room and crouched down in front of an old, beaten up cabinet.

"You think a curse made it through the Shield Cloak?" Fred asked skeptically. "You're certain it didn't slip under the cloak while you were running or crawling or something? We've done extensive testing on the Shield line, and we've never been able to do anything more than knock each other to the ground."

"It would take seriously powerful magic to go through one of those cloaks," George added. "The Aurors would never use a curse like that. No one would. It's just not worth the time. Unless you're fighting a troll or a giant or something huge and nasty, there's no point in using anything more powerful than a good Stunner."

"What if you're fighting someone who's wearing a Shield Cloak and you needed to disable them but not kill them?" Harry asked as he rummaged through jars of potions, searching for a particular shade of blue.

"Well, yeah, maybe then," admitted George, "but it's a bit of a gamble, isn't it? If you're wrong and it's just your run of the mill cloak, then instead of disabling them, you end up killing them—"

"—much like we'll do to you if you don't keep your hands out of our personal potion supply," added Fred.

"I don't have much of a choice," Harry replied. "You two don't sell the potion I need. Well, it's not a potion so much as an ointment, but I know it's here somewhere."

"If we don't sell it, how do you know we have it? The only people who could have seen the inside of that cabinet are either employees or thieves. Since I don't remember ever paying you—"

"No one has ever stolen anything from this cabinet," said Harry.

"Alright, who are you, and how could you possibly know that?"

Harry turned around long enough to flash a quick smile. "Evans," he said. "You can call me Evans."

"I don't know any wizards named Evans," George said suspiciously. "I'd know if you went to Hogwarts, and you don't look like the sort to go to Beauxbatons. So, how do you know no one has ever stolen anything from that cabinet? You'd better explain yourself while you still have a mouth to speak with."

Harry turned around to face the twins after setting aside a jar of pink, milky liquid. It was Bone Broth with some cherry flavoring to take away the bitterness. "You're going to hex me?" he asked, "For not stealing something?"

Ginny let out a sharp laugh. "You didn't take anything from that cabinet. But where were the Eggsplosions?" She paused in mock thought. "Oh, right. They were over in that cabinet," she said, pointing across the room.

"Hold on!" Fred shouted. "You mean that he—"

A tense silence filled the room. Harry knew Fred and George must be staring at him. There weren't many more jars in the cabinet. One of them had to be the right position.

"Hey, you! Quit that!" one of the twins shouted. "Do you have any idea how much gold you've cost us?"

"I think I've got a rough understanding," Harry replied as he struggled to reach a pair of jars in the back corner of the cabinet.

"We work hard to create everything we sell! And you think you can just prance in whenever you like and nick it?"

"You two don't look like you're doing too badly," Harry called back. He frowned at the jar in his hands. It was a Blisterwort Antidote, and it was mostly congealed.

"And how much better would we be doing if you didn't vandalize us every other week?"

"Not as well as you'd think," Harry replied. His fingers closed around another jar. Its surface felt cold and slightly wet —exactly what he was hoping for. He pulled it out and stood up.

Fred glared at him. "Oh no. You're mental if you think we're letting you take that. That costs forty Galleons a jar!"

"Mr. Weasley and Mr. Weasley?" interrupted a weak voice from the door. Everyone turned to find Verity's head poking into the room. "Er... I don't mean to interrupt, but is there something I should be doing?"

"No," George answered. "You should probably take the rest of the day off. We don't pay you enough for you to get involved in murder. You can send Lee in though. We might need help with the body."

Verity's eyes widened and she glanced over at Harry for a moment before looking at Ron and Hermione. When no one started laughing, her eyes opened a little wider. With a swish of blonde hair, her head disappeared and the door shut behind it.

"Alright, Evans," George said as he stalked toward Harry. "It's time someone started explaining why you lot are here. Be quick or you might find out whether we were joking or not."

"And while you're at it, you might want to try and explain why we shouldn't turn you into a stoat and post you to the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. They've been bored ever since Voldemort was—"

Something had caught Harry's attention, and it seemed to have caught Fred and George's as well. They all turned in time to see Ginny collapsing once again. As her body struck the struck the floor, she let out a shriek of pain.

"You two can kill him later," Hermione reprimanded as she crouched next to Ginny. "Right now, he might be the only one who knows what happened to her. Let him do whatever it is that he brought us here to do."

Fred and George looked at each other, then Harry. "You heard her," George said. "Go on. We can wait."

Harry strode forward to help Hermione pick Ginny up. "I need some more Firewhiskey," he said, "and I need you to cast whatever charm it is you use on the windows every night."

Fred and George glared at him but did as he told them. George left to work on the windows while Fred fetched a fresh bottle of Firewhiskey from another cabinet.

"Help her take off her cloak," Harry ordered.

While Hermione and Ron helped Ginny slowly untie and remove the cloak, Harry took out his wand and carefully levitated everything on the large table in the center of the room and set it down gently in one of the far corners.

"What do we need the table for?" Ginny asked weakly.

Harry considered telling her, but a throbbing ache in his shin made him think twice. "Here, drink more of this," he said, handing her the bottle of Firewhiskey.

"More Firewhiskey?" she asked with an uncertain expression. "Shouldn't I drink that first?" she asked, pointing to the jar in Harry's hand.

"I'm afraid not," he answered. "Drink up. This is going to hurt a bit more before it gets better."

Ginny took a big gulp from the bottle and squinted at Harry. "Why?"

"Because this isn't a potion, it's an ointment. I need to rub it into your back."

"You need to do what?" she shouted with sudden vigor.

"You need to take off your robes," Harry told her. Fred chose that moment to walk back into the room. Lee Jordan was following him with a shocked expression. Fred's expression was closer to one of rage.

"Oh, I see," Ginny said, her voice slurred by Firewhiskey. "This is the part where you strip me down to my underwear, tie me to the table and criticize my choice of knickers again, is it?"

"Again?" Fred and George asked in unison. "That's it," Fred said as glared at Harry, "George, get my killing wand. I don't want the Ministry to track the curse back to my usual wand."

"Oh, don't bother. He's watched me undress loads of times," Ginny explained. "At least this time he told me before he did it."

"Here, use mine," George said flatly, offering his wand to Fred.

"Enough, all of you," Hermione spoke up. "Just trust him. He's trying to help."

"Fine," Ginny agreed as she carefully unbuttoned the robes she always wore to work. She scowled at Harry. "Just do what you need to do. We can fight over who gets to kill you later."

Fred and George fumed as they watched. Lee seemed confused by the whole situation. Only Ron and Hermione seemed to be at all comfortable with what was happening.

Under her robes, Ginny wore a simple white blouse along with a pair of jeans. Harry quickly inspected the back of her robes. There weren't any noticeable marks other than a few small tears. The dark color of the robes made it impossible to tell if they'd been burnt at all. Ginny finally finished with the last button and gingerly pulled her arms out of the robes. As they dropped to the floor, Hermione let out a short gasp. Most of the lower back of Ginny's blouse was either blackened or dyed red with blood.

Harry told her to get on the table and lay on her stomach. She gave him an insulted look. "Oh, on my stomach? How nice of you. Thanks for the hint," she commented sourly. "I nearly forgot about the excruciating pain in my back." Nonetheless, she hopped up onto the table and laid across it, letting her feet hang over the edge.

Harry pulled out his wand, and slowly waved it across her back. The blouse she was wearing ripped cleanly down her spine, and he gently peeled it away from her skin. It was worse than he had expected. He had only had it happen to him once, but he had been hit in the chest and he had treated it within minutes. Ginny had been walking around for quite a bit longer than that.

It was easy to tell the spot where the curse had struck her. It was blackened and ringed with a number of nasty looking cuts. The skin farther from the center was red and crossed with ugly purple streaks. Without even touching it, Harry could feel the heat radiating from the injury.

Harry reached out to Ginny's bare shoulders. As soon as his fingers made contact her skin, she gasped and flinched from his touch. From the corner of his eye, he saw Hermione and Ron twitch as well. Slowly, he put his other hand on her other shoulder and began gently massaging her back and shoulders.

"Are you a Healer?" Fred asked stiffly.

"No," Harry replied distractedly.

"Then take your hands off my sister before I remove them from your arms."

"I'm trying to get her to relax," Harry said over his shoulder. "Would you rather do it?"

"I'll pass, thanks," Fred replied. "Maybe Hermione should do it." Hermione however seemed even less eager to do it than Fred and George.

"Er... I'll do it," offered Lee. "I mean, if—"

Fred and George both turned to throw a pair of withering glares at him. "You'd better keep away from her as well," George told him. "Just because this tosser thinks he can grope her doesn't mean we won't hex your hair off if you ever try anything."

Fred took a step toward Harry. "You came here to heal her not take her on a date, so stop wasting time," he said with a threatening tone. "The quicker you're done, the more likely we are to let you walk out of here."

Ginny turned her head enough to look at Harry and nod. He frowned and accepted the gesture as her permission to begin. He quickly opened the jar and scooped out a small amount of the frigid bluish paste with his fingers. "This is going to hurt at first," he whispered to Ginny. She nodded and closed her eyes.

As gently as he could, Harry began spreading the thick salve just along the edge of the reddened skin. Ginny's jaw clenched but she didn't tell him to stop, so he continued working the paste into the burnt skin. In theory, it was supposed to stop the pain as it healed the burn. The burn on her back was much worse than any he'd dealt with before. He couldn't tell if it was working, but he could feel Ginny's body shivering.

"Are you cold?" he asked. "We could get you a blanket or a—"

"Not cold," Ginny said through her teeth. "Pain. It's bad."

Harry reached into the jar again and pulled out more of the paste. It was obvious that a more aggressive approach was needed. "I'm really sorry, Ginny," he whispered as he prepared to spread it across the very center of the injury.

The moment his fingers made contact, Ginny cried out. Harry forced himself to ignore her screams. Once he put the ointment on, it would get better. It had to. He worked as quickly as he could, dabbing on more and more of the cold paste. As it touched her skin, it released a grey vapor that hung in the air, almost as though it were being boiled away. Perhaps that was indeed what was happening. The skin over and around the wound was blistering hot, and he realized that the chilling nature of the paste was the only thing keeping his own hands from being scalded.

Eventually, Ginny's cries became shallow gasps and Harry began to notice a distinct decrease in the temperature of Ginny's skin. He kept putting on more and more of the thick ointment until there was nothing left in the jar. After spreading the last of it across Ginny's back, he wiped his hands on his cloak and collapsed into a chair next to the table.

For some time they all just sat and waited in tense silence. Slowly the amount of vapor rising of Ginny's back decreased. Ginny moved her arms so they were lying close against her sides. Eventually her breathing slowed to a constant, relaxed rhythm. The treatment had worked.

Harry limped back over to the table and scraped the last of the salve from the jar. He opened Ginny's right hand and spread it across her palm and fingers where she had held her wand. Ginny didn't respond to his touch, and he didn't know whether to take that as a good sign or a bad one. When he was done, he returned to his seat.

As he waited for Ginny to wake up, Harry forced himself to drink some of the Bone Broth and chased it down with a few gulps of Firewhiskey. It was far from his favorite drink, but not nearly as far as Bone Broth. After a minute, he began to feel a familiar tingling as his shin slowly repaired itself.

"I'm cold," Ginny croaked as she finally lifted her head. Her voice was shaky and weak. "It doesn't hurt anymore. It's just really cold."

"That's a good sign," he told her. "You're going to have to keep it on for some time, but we should be able to do something about the cold. Can you sit up?" Harry asked as he stood up and grabbed the small bag he usually carried around with him.

"Yeah, I guess so," she reluctantly agreed. She carefully slid her legs over to the edge of the table, then pushed herself up and let her legs hang off the edge. She gathered up the remnants of her blouse, and held it across her chest while she waited for Harry to retrieve his wand.

"I'll need you to raise your arms," he asked. Ginny let out a small sigh and did as he asked.

"I didn't need to see that," Ron commented as he quickly turned away from her.

Hermione hit him across the back of the head. "Oh, shut up, Ronald," she replied with disgust. "It's not like she's naked. It's no different than a swimming suit and you didn't have any problems when we all went to the beach last summer."

"Actually, I did," Ron mumbled. "I was just distracted."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Well, I'm going to pretend that you're doing this out of respect and courtesy and not because you're a stupid, immature boy." With that, Hermione crossed her arms and turned away from Ginny as well.

"Oh, so we're all supposed to look away while he gets to ogle her in her underwear?" asked Fred. Hermione's head twisted around to glare at him. "Fine! But if they start snogging, I'm holding you responsible." Fred turned around, mumbling inaudibly. George turned to do the same, but stopped to stare at Lee Jordan.

"What do you think you're doing?"

"I was, er— you know..." stammered Lee. "I was going to make sure he didn't... try anything funny."

"'Course you were," replied George. With a single motion, he picked some object off the shelf and tossed it directly at Lee's face. There was a small explosion and puff of pink dust. A second later, Lee Jordan collapsed onto the floor. Satisfied, George turned around. "Get on with it!" he ordered.

Harry turned his attention back to Ginny. She was still sitting on the table with her hands clasped behind her neck and looking as embarrassed as ever. He felt guilty as he paused before raising his wand. He could understand why Lee had been slow to turn around. Harry had taken a brief moment to stare at her as well. She was beautiful. He loved her and he knew —despite her earlier behavior— that she cared for him. They hadn't been able to spend more than a day together, and yet she was risking her life to be at his side.

Perhaps that was why he loved her. He had spent a year fighting to keep her safe, but he'd failed, and now she had to fight with him. She shouldn't have to do it, he told himself. He looked into her eyes, and realized the truth: She shouldn't have to, but she would never forgive you if you refused to let her.

With a quick swirl of his wand a bandage popped into existence and began growing and tightly wrapping itself around Ginny's stomach and lower back. When it had formed a neatly wrapped band around her waist, it paused and then wove itself into the other layers.

Ginny smiled and ran her hand across the bandages. "That was pretty good," she said. "Does it have to be so tight?"

"You won't even notice once you put this on," Harry replied, pulling a small folded bundle from his bag.

Ginny took it from him, unfolded it and eyed it suspiciously. "What is this? Where in the world did you get it?"

"Grigore had some name for it, but I honestly didn't care. All the wizards in the Brotherhood have them. It's a vest of sorts, I guess. They're made out of dragon hide and double stitched with dragon heartstrings and unicorn hair. It's just like this one—" he said, briefly opening his robes to reveal a shell of the same dark hide "—except yours has... well, a couple differences."

"It looks like armor," Ginny commented as she put her arms through the two holes in the sides of the vest.

Harry nodded slightly. "Yes, I expect that's the idea." He stepped forward and helped Ginny adjust the stiff leather. There were no sleeves at all, but the vest covered all of her shoulders and wrapped snuggly around the bottom of her neck. From there, the two halves crisscrossed her chest and formed two wide flaps of leather that Harry was helping her with. One had a soft lining and he wrapped that one across her bandaged stomach first. The flap from the other side was wrapped over the first one and laced in place along her left side.

Harry made a few more adjustments and then firmly tugged the covering about to try and get it to fit correctly. They didn't feel terribly comfortable when you first wore them, but so long as you put it on correctly the first time, it would become pretty comfortable rather quickly. Even then, they were far from attractive. No witch or wizard would ever willingly choose to be seen in such a thing in public.

Adding to the appearance were numerous lacings which needed be adjusted to fit. Harry went about adjusting as many as he could, pressing the dragon hide smooth, then tightening the lacings to match. He kept well away from her chest, however, fearing that Fred or George might have some way of seeing what he was doing.

"Wouldn't it be faster with a wand?" Ginny asked as he tightened the last lacing up her back.

"It would be, if any useful charms worked on it," he answered.

"Are you two done?" Fred called out.

"Yeah," Ginny replied flatly. "I guess so."

Everyone turned around and stared at Ginny. "What the hell is that?" Ron asked.

"It's armor, I guess," Ginny replied as she ran her hands across the tight dragonskin. She tossed Harry a sidelong glance and added, "Too bad no one thought of giving it to me earlier."

"It wouldn't have mattered," Harry said as he tied and tucked the last set of laces. "It's disappointing, but the dragon hide won't even stop Stunners or disarming spells. But it will protect you from the more minor things: fire spells, Levitation Charms, Binding Hexes, and if you're wearing it right, Silencing Charms."

"Did you... make this?" Ginny asked as she examined the vest.

Harry looked over to Hermione, then back at Ginny. "No. I found it."

"You found it?" Fred asked. "The same way you found over forty of our Shield Cloaks and loads of experimental merchandise?"

"Yes," Harry said with a light nod, "exactly the same way —except the owner of this never got compensated for it."

"We never got compensated—"

"Of course you did," Ginny interrupted, then turned back to Harry. "Where did you find it?"

"I found it in a storage closet in the new Quidditch Pitch Grigore built. I didn't change it a bit. To be honest, I was hoping it wouldn't fit you quite that well."

Ginny looked down at the vest again, but this time her expression was filled with loathing instead of curiosity. "The Quidditch Pitch? He was going to give it to me, wasn't he? I was supposed to join him, wasn't I? I was supposed to become one of them."

Fred, George and Lee were watching in silent confusion and waiting for someone to try and explain what was going on. Much to their annoyance, no one seemed at all interested in doing that.

"We should go," Harry said. "It won't take them long to start looking for us. They're moving faster now. We can't go back to Grimmauld Place and we can't go back to Gringott's."

"So where are we supposed to go?" Ron asked.

Harry tossed an apologetic look at Fred and George. "I shouldn't say. I don't want to get them involved. I need to find someplace to think. We still have new allies. I need to see if there is a way to contact them. I think I know someplace where we can go."

"Who are you two talking about?" asked George. "The wizards who attacked Gringott's?"

"Come on," Harry told Ron and Hermione, "we need to go, now." Ginny wrapped her Shield Cloak around her shoulders and pulled up the hood. Hermione and Ron both stood up and began following Harry toward the door. The moment he opened the door, the handle gave him a jolt and then shut itself firmly.

"Now hold on a minute," George said threateningly. "We've been amazingly patient about all of this. We let you heal Ginny because she trusted you, but you're not leaving this shop with her until we trust you. And considering you admitted to stealing from us, not to mention using an entire jar of Cryopaste in front of us, I think you've got a lot of explaining to do."

Harry was afraid that something like this would happen. He didn't want to answer their questions. Every minute he talked with them increased the chance that they would recognize him. If that happened, he didn't know how to keep them safe.

"This should cover the cost of the Cryopaste, as well as the Bone Broth and Firewhiskey," Harry said as he tossed another bag of coins at George. "I'm sorry about the rest. Believe me when I say that I'll see that you're repaid for all of it."

George caught the bag but kept glaring at Harry. "We're supposed to trust you, now? Your name isn't Evans," he declared. "I've never met anyone named Evans, but I've met you. Your voice. Your expressions. I recognize them from somewhere. But, if I don't recognize your face, it's probably because we don't like you."

"How did you know that would heal her?" Fred asked in a dull voice. "How did you know that you could find it here?"

Harry sighed in frustration. "I knew you had some of it because I've paid wizards to keep track of all the supplies you buy," he explained. "And I knew it would heal her because... because this isn't the first time I've seen an injury like this."

George turned toward Ron and Hermione. "How much does he know?" he asked. "He knows about Grimmauld Place. Does he know about the Order?"

Ron and Hermione shared an odd look, then Ron answered: "I'd say he knows quite a bit, and yeah, he does know about the Order."

"Why does Ginny trust him?"

Now Ron looked even more uncomfortable. "He, er... I can't really say."

"You can't say?" George repeated. "Why do you trust him? Why did you let him take her here instead of St. Mungo's. They could've healed her quicker than he did."

"We can't go to St. Mungo's," announced Harry. "There are a lot of wizards searching for us. Bad wizards. We don't have time to wait for a bunch of Healers to agree that she's ready to leave."

"There are a bunch of wizards searching for you, you mean," Fred corrected. "You were the one burglarizing our shop. I'll bet you were the one who pulled her into this whole mess. So who are you and why should we trust you?"

Harry took a deep breath and looked at the twins. "I promise I'll tell you soon. We need to gather the Order of the Phoenix. I'll need their help. But we need to do it very quietly and we need to find someplace safe to meet."

"How about the Burrow?" George offered.

"No, the Burrow's a horrible choice," Harry replied. "They've been watching it for months. If everyone would show up there, they'd attack it immediately."

Fred and George looked at each other. "You're certain of that?"

Harry felt a chill run through his body. There was something wrong about the look on the twins' faces. "What is it? What have you done?"

For once, Fred looked genuinely frightened. "When Mum and Dad heard about Ginny, they went a bit mental. They called everyone. Everyone who had ever helped the Order. They told them to..."

Harry didn't even wait for him to finish. He already knew what they'd done. They'd organized the Order days before he'd wanted them to, and they'd called everyone to the very last place they should have.

"Ginny, do you feel up to Disapparating?"

"Don't worry about me," she shot back.

Harry turned back toward the twins. "Can we Disapparate from here?"

"No," George answered as he tugged a pair of Shield Cloaks from the wall and tossed one to his brother. "The wards extend to the front door."

"Wake him up," Harry ordered, pointing to Lee's unconscious form. "You can't leave him here." He yanked open the door and ran through the shop toward the front door. Ginny was on his heels, with Ron and Hermione close behind her. Fred and George struggled to keep up while dragging a groggy Lee Jordan between them.


Ginny felt the world decompress around her. She was on the hill overlooking the Burrow, but she had missed the normal Apparation point, and was standing in a bunch of trees on the far side of the hill. Harry was right. The vest had helped quite a bit. She had only failed because of her own fear.

She could hear Harry shouting for her. She stepped over a fallen sapling and began running toward the crest of the hill. As she broke out of the trees, she saw something that made her blood freeze.

A tall column of black smoke was rising into the sky from the direction of the Burrow. Harry was standing at the top of the hill with Hermione at his side. There was no sign of Ron or the twins. Hermione spotted her and tapped Harry on the shoulder. When he turned, the expression on her face confirmed her fears.

Ginny sprinted to the crest, and stared across the field to where the Burrow stood burning in the afternoon sun. Four cloaked shapes were running toward it. It took her only a moment to realize that they were Fred, George, Lee and Ron. Ron was ahead of the others. As he neared the precarious structure, he pulled out his wand and aimed a fountain of water onto the flaming roof. Seconds later, Fred, George and Lee joined him.

"We need to help them!" Ginny cried out. She fumbled for her wand as she leaped forward.

Harry's arm shot out and caught her by the shoulder, stopping her abruptly. "Stay here," he ordered.

"That's my home!" Ginny shouted. "The Order is down there. My family is down there, Harry. They're your family, too. They loved you like a son, and you're just going to stand here?"

"They've already escaped."

"You can't know that! Are you willing to risk their lives on that guess?"

"I'm not willing to risk yours on the chance that they didn't," he replied sharply.

"I'm tired of being protected," Ginny said, as she tried to push past Harry. Suddenly she felt herself being spun about and she found Harry staring into her eyes.

"You're not the one I'm trying to protect."

Ginny felt her jaw clench and eyes narrow. "I'm tired of your stupid riddles, Harry," she growled. "Now either let me go or I'll hex you into tomorrow."

To her surprise, she found herself free of Harry's grip and standing in a light breeze which smelled of charred wood.

"Please don't leave, Ginny," he said softly. "I need you. If you go—"

Ginny stepped forward and jabbed a finger into Harry's chest. "You did just fine without me for a whole year. I'm sure you can handle a few minutes." She backed away, fuming. "You might be able to turn your back on everyone you love, but I can't and I don't want to learn how."

"Ginny!" Hermione called out. "Please! Listen to him. Don't leave this hill."

Ginny turned to return some nasty comment, but when she looked back at Hermione, she found that the older witch wasn't even looking at her. She was staring off into the trees, as if she were searching for something. It was only then when she realized that Harry had been doing the same, only less conspicuously.

The contrast of Harry's moods struck her suddenly. A minute ago, he had been racing out of the twins' shop in an attempt to get to the Burrow. He had been heedless of the crowds on Diagon Alley or the thought of being seen once he got to the Burrow, yet the moment he Apparated onto the hill, he had frozen. That alone might have been explainable, but Hermione had done the very same thing and seemingly without any communication with Harry.

Something was wrong. Ginny turned back to the Burrow in time to see Fred, George and Lee showering the front door with water while Ron ripped it from its hinges with a spell. When she looked back at Harry, he was watching her silently.

"What's happening, Harry?" she asked. "Why did you let them go, but not me?"

"Because until two days ago, Grigore didn't care about them. He doesn't see them as a threat. They will only be in danger when we're out of reach. So long as we're on this hill, the Brotherhood cares about them about as much as they care about your garden gnomes."

"Until now?" Ginny asked. "What has changed?"

"Everything," he replied solemnly. "For ten months, Grigore and I have fought a silent war. Grigore has always had the advantage, but it's been eroding a little bit every day." Harry's eyes dropped to stare at his hands. "I should have seen it coming. The closer I got to you, the more desperate he's become." His eyes looked up at her again and she could see the regret swimming in them. "I've made a mistake."

That simple statement left her drowning in doubt. After everything that had happened, everything she'd done and endured, something had happened to ruin all of it. She tried to swallow or breathe, but she couldn't. "What did you do?" she croaked.

"I moved too quickly," he said apologetically. "After a year of hiding and running, I finally got what I had been fighting for: you. We escaped. We were safe. We could have hidden, but I didn't want to wait. I saw a chance to gain the advantage, and I took it. And for that foolish act, I was rewarded with more than I ever expected. I stumbled across the answer I'd been looking for all this time, but I didn't take the time to understand what it meant or plan how to best use it. Instead of slipping away with my treasure, I stayed and tried to get it all in one day. Grigore always said that impatience was my greatest weakness."

Harry rubbed his forehead and looked down at the ground. "I should've walked away. The wand wasn't worth it. It was only a way of buying time —time we wouldn't need if we didn't take the wand and won't have now that we did. I've botched it all up. They've been watching the Burrow for months!" he exclaimed with a wild gesture toward the rising smoke. "Now everyone in the Order is in danger, and they're not even helping me."

"We can find them," Ginny said. "Tonks and Lupin are at Hogwarts. We can—"

"No!" barked Harry. "We can't go there. Don't you see, Ginny? The war has started. It will follow us. If we go there, the battle..." Harry shook his head and got a far off look in his eyes. "No. We can't go there."

Ginny walked closer to him, putting her hands on her hips. "So what are we supposed to do?" she asked.

Harry didn't answer her. Instead he looked across the distance between them and the Burrow. Ginny watched as Ron and the twins' emerged from the Burrow. Lee had remained outside to put out the last of the flames. No one was following them. Ron extended his arms out to either side and shrugged theatrically.

"They're all gone," Harry said in a low voice. "They escaped."

While the four wizards walked back toward the hill, Harry, Ginny and Hermione stood in a mournful silence. Ginny didn't know just what she was mourning. While no one might have died in the Burrow, she couldn't help but feel that some dreadful fate hung over all of them. Out of the corner of her eye, Ginny saw Hermione move.

She was wiping a tear from one of her cheeks. "Can I— Can I say goodbye to him?" she asked softly.

"Of course," answered Harry.

There was an unexplained tightness in Ginny's throat as she watched Ron and the others walk up the hill. She didn't want to think of the reason for Hermione's farewell.

"Thanks for the help!" Ron called out as he neared the top of the hill. "We could've done that a lot quicker with three more wands."

"I'm not so certain," Harry replied.

"Well that's bloody great!" Ron shouted. "Did you know this had happened? Or did you just know that it would happen and you forgot to tell us?"

"I'm sorry," Harry apologized again. "I never meant for the Order to meet so soon, and I never wanted them to meet here."

George scowled at him and strode forward. His face was blackened by soot, making his red hair stand out even more. "Who the bloody hell do you think you are to tell the Order —of which you are not a member— when or where they should meet?"

"Not now, Fred," Ron said. He was walking toward Hermione, whose eyes were still red and watery. "What's wrong Hermione?"

"A long time ago, I— I did something I shouldn't have," she said quietly. "I thought I was doing the right thing, but..." She sniffed and wiped her eyes again. "I have to go, Ron. I helped create a problem and I need to help fix it."

"Then I'll help as well."

"You don't understand," she said. "Where we're going, you wouldn't... fit in. I have a chance. But not you."

"I don't care," Ron replied simply. "You didn't have any problem when I wanted to help you rob the Department of Mysteries. If you think no one spotted me during all that, then you're too daft to go wherever it is you're going now. I don't care if you let me or not, I'm coming with you. I've seen what they do. If you lot leave, they'll come for me."

Ginny knew that Ron was right, and from the look on Harry's face, he agreed. He nodded stiffly. Hermione seemed trapped between despair and jubilation. "We need to go, Harry," she said with a hoarse voice.

Harry nodded again and stepped closer to Ginny. "Hermione's right. We've lost enough time already. They're probably already hunting for the Order. I— I can't tell you to come with us. It's not something you should have to do. It's not fair."

"It wasn't fair that you left me a year ago."

"I had to," Harry replied, "just like I have to do this."

"Where are you going?"

Slowly, Harry reached into his robe pocket to retrieve a small object. For a moment, she didn't want to know what it was. It was some omen of doom that was best left hidden. As Harry's hand opened, she looked down and felt her stomach tighten.

Laying peacefully in the center of his hand was a simple golden ring passing through three silver spheres. She recognized the chain threaded through it. It was the chain which she'd taken from the dead wizard in Giza. It was the one she'd taken from the wizard she'd killed.

Harry's message was clear. Where they were going was going to be dangerous. There would be fighting. People were probably going to die. The war had begun and Harry was going to try and stop it the only way he knew how. It was stupid. It was nearly suicidal, and yet, there might be a way.

"I can't tell you to come with us," Harry said again, "but you know why I have to ask."

Ginny felt numb. She could feel her blood pulsing through her arms and throbbing in the tender skin on her back. Slowly, she reached out and wrapped her hand around the talisman. She carefully slipped the chain around her neck and tucked the ring under her robes.

She looked up at Harry. "Yes, I know why you have to ask. And I know why I have to go with you."

"Then you bloody well better tell us!" Fred shouted. "Who the hell is he that you're willing to follow him without even knowing where you're going?"

Ginny looked over at Harry, but he flashed a frown and shook his head slightly.

"What the bloody hell was that?" George asked, pointing at Harry. "Ginny, we're serious. I've got a bad feeling about all this. Something deeply strange is happening. Mum and Dad are already worried out of their minds. If you really want to help this thieving sod, then help us find the Order. Let him take Tonks and Moody with him."

She already knew that wouldn't work. If it were possible, Harry would have suggested it. He needed her, even though he hated the idea of putting her in danger again. And she thought she finally understood why.

Ginny turned and stared at Fred and George. Lee Jordan had decided to watch from a distance, though she could tell that he was just as concerned about her as her brothers. She stared at all of them and stood up straight.

"No," she announced firmly. "Not this time. I know what I'm doing. I'm not letting him go without me."

George groaned and covered his face with his hands. "Merlin's beard, Fred. She fancies him. We should have known."

Fred didn't seem to care. He strode right up to Ginny with an annoyed expression on his face. "Ginny, I know you don't want to hear this, but it's for your own good. This bloke here, he's not Harry," he said pointing toward Harry. "Running off with him won't change what happened to Harry. Nothing can change that. You can't spend the rest of your life trying to fix something that's already happened."

"I'm not trying to fix it," Ginny replied. "But I can't sit around and watch it happen again."

"Is that the game, then?" George asked. "You're doing this because Harry didn't let you go with him? And if he would have, you'd be no better off than him right now. Do you think that's what Harry would want?"

"I think that if he was here, he would want me to go."

"And that's why you keep putting yourself in danger, isn't it?" Fred asked. "Sooner or later, you'll succeed, and then you'll get to be together with Harry again. And where will that leave us? What about Mum and Dad. If Hermione wants to risk her life, we can't stop her. If she goes, it won't be possible to stop Ron. Mum and Dad will worry enough with one of their children gone. You don't have to make it two."

"You don't understand," Ginny argued. "It's different this time."

"We know it is," said George. "This isn't Harry against Voldemort. This is four inexperienced wizards against an army of well-trained wizards. You don't have a chance, Ginny. This isn't a battle you need to fight. Stay here. We'll gather the Order. We can fight this, just not like this."

Fred added: "This is a mistake, Ginny."

"No. No, it's not," Ginny replied in a tranquil voice. "I can keep him safe. I can keep them all safe. No one else can do this. If I don't go, they won't have a chance."

"Ginny—"

"I'm sorry," Ginny interrupted, "we really need to go." She turned and found Harry watching her with a strange expression on his face. He looked proud. "We'll need to find a fireplace, right?" she asked him. He nodded. Ginny thought for a moment. "How about the Wayward Fox in Dover?" She knew the fireplace in that pub was connected to the French Floo Network, and with a little work, they should be able to find their way to Paris and then across Europe.

Harry looked to Ron and Hermione, and they nodded in agreement. Ron pulled out his wand. "We'll go first. Give us a little time to check the place out."

With a pair of pops, Ron and Hermione vanished, leaving them alone with Fred, George and a very uncomfortable Lee Jordan.

"Goodbye, Fred. Goodbye, George," Ginny said with a slight nod. She held up her free hand to wave at Lee. "I'll see you all later."

Harry pulled out his wand, but hesitated a moment. "I wonder if you might do something for me," he asked them.

"Oh, you've got to be joking," Fred replied acidly.

Harry ignored him. "Send word to the Order. Tell them not to gather for at least three days. Until then, if you value Ginny's life, don't tell anyone about what you saw or heard today. If everything goes well, we'll send a message to you before then. If it doesn't—"

"—If it doesn't, you'd better be dead, because you don't want to think of what we'll do to you if you let anything happen to her."

Harry frowned and waited for him to finish. "If it doesn't go well, you probably won't hear anything at all. If we haven't contacted you in three days, gather the Order. Have them contact Ferdinand Harrington at the Ministry. And tell Molly and Arthur... Tell them that I'm sorry. Tell them that I... that I loved my family— my true family."

Harry nodded to Ginny, and they Disapparated.


Author's Notes:

In case no one's noticed, I'm moving a bit slower now. We're nearing the end and I've got lots of things to think about. I swear that I'm not far from finishing 23 and 24 is all outlined out. Then it's a short 25 and we're done!