Chapter One: The Beginning
Disclaimer: Do you think I'd be writing this if I owned anything!
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Sixteen year old Ginny Weasley was hurrying down Diagon Alley, her arms full of packages. Her family was in Egypt on vacation, and she had stayed behind to go to her Uncle's family reunion that they had recently received an invitation to. She had gone shopping to get gifts for everyone, but now was in a hurry to get home before dark.
As she rushed by the entrance to Knock-Turn Alley, she heard a scuffle going on. She stopped to hide. There was a circle of Death Eaters beating someone up a little ways down the alley.
"That'll teach you to ever double-cross us again, scum," said a large wizard that looked like a boulder. He aimed a hard kick at the person they were surrounding and she heard a whimper. She tried to see who they were beating up, but there were too many of them.
"Now, now Crabbe," said a voice that she recognized as Lucius Malfoy's. She gasped. "We don't want to resort to filthy Muggle tactics," he said icily. He aimed his wand, and uttered one word. "CRUCIO!" he screamed.
Ginny had to clap a hand to her mouth to keep herself from screaming, so awful were the sounds coming from the boy in the middle of the circle. He was screaming in pain and she could hear him thrashing around on the ground.
"Stupid traitor! Someone must have heard us," said another man. "We'd better get out of here."
Lucius released the curse and with one last look, they all disapparated. Ginny waited a moment to be sure that none of them were coming back. After a few minutes, she ran over to the boy who was still whimpering on the ground. He was so beat up and bloody that she couldn't tell who he was. She had to get him out of here, and fast.
She picked him up with some difficulty. How was she going to get back? She was too young to apparate, but Ron and Harry had been teaching her how in secret, just for emergency. She threw caution to the winds, and apparated back to the empty Burrow, having trouble keeping hold of all her packages and the boy at the same time.
She carried him slowly up to Ron's room and laid him on the bed. The boy had passed out by now. She went to the kitchen and got a wet cloth and hurried back up the stairs to wipe his wounds.
She was having trouble making him better with just a wet towel, so she bandaged his head tightly and left him to sleep. She would have to talk to him when he woke up later.