Disclaimer- J.K. Rowling/Warner Bros. own all things Potter. This story is in no way intended as an infringement of that copyright.
A/N- My apologies for any errors or issues with this chapter. I was only able to do some rudimentary editing before I decided to just post it. The next chapter will be a little more cleanly edited when posted. Thanks.
Chapter 9
Ginny knew that something didn't feel quite right the moment her eyes opened. She also had a funny feeling that whatever it was that was wrong, would have something to do with Harry. Where that feeling came from, she didn't know. But she would have bet her wand on it.
Her sleep last night had been fitful and sporadic at best. She tossed and turned all night but the images of her brothers and how they died kept popping up in her mind every time she closed her eyes. Now her eyes were open again and this time she knew that there would be no trying to go back to sleep. The fact that she was now starting to worry about Harry wasn't helping anything.
Getting out of bed, she thought she heard a noise coming from downstairs. It only took a moment to throw on some clothes and then leave the room. Years of experience living with her family had taught her how to move around quietly and not disturb anyone. She was thankful for this now as she left Hermione sleeping in the bed next to hers. Except she forgot the board that squeaked in the hall just a few short steps outside the room. Ginny froze in place when she stepped on it.
As she paused she stopped to listen. Someone was still moving around downstairs. They were in the kitchen and after the feeling she had when she woke up, she would bet it was Harry. Curious to know what it was that he was doing up so early, Ginny started moving slowly down the hall. As she did, she heard the front door open and shut again. Harry, or whoever it was down there, had left.
Why would Harry leave? That didn't seem right. Suddenly Ginny was unsure of the inkling she'd had when she woke up. Maybe it was her dad, or even Remus. Either one of them leaving the house early in the morning wouldn't be too surprising. Her Dad might need to talk to Bill and Fleur or someone from the Ministry. Remus had to be missing Tonks. It was probably one of them.
Giving up on trying to be silent, Ginny just went downstairs. Maybe she could start a pot of tea heating or something. Or breakfast. Her Mom would probably enjoy not having to cook for everyone again, especially with recent events.
Suddenly the pain over the loss of her brothers was overwhelming. Knowing that Harry would understand, Ginny went to find him in the room he shared with Ron. Only he wasn't there.
Suddenly curious to know if it really was Harry who had left after all, Ginny quickly searched the house from attic to basement leaving alone the rooms she knew to be occupied by Ron, Hermione, her parents, and Remus. They were empty. The last room searched, the kitchen, was where she at last had it confirmed that not only had Harry left; he had done so with a purpose.
Picking up the Marauder's Map from off the table she took out her wand and touched it to the map. She was about to give the incantation when she stopped suddenly. The Trace! How could she have forgotten? That stupid, blasted, bloody Trace! Damn it! Ginny thought.
Even though it was early, Ginny took the map and ran as fast as she could up the stairs and into the room she shared with Hermione. Throwing open the door she dove onto Hermione's bed and was immediately shaking her awake.
"Ginny! What is it? What's wrong?" Hermione asked sitting up and reaching for her wand.
Tears were running down Ginny's cheeks but she didn't care. What she cared about was that Harry had run off and left them all behind. How could he do this now? After everything that had happened; what was he thinking?
"Hermione! It's Harry!"
"Harry? Ginny, slow down. What happened?"
"He's gone!"
"Gone? What do you mean, 'gone?' Where has he gone?" Hermione asked with a look of growing worry. This was not Ginny's usual behavior.
Tossing the Marauder's Map in Hermione's lap, Ginny said; "I think he went to Hogwarts. I found this on the table downstairs!"
"You did? Are you sure he's gone? Maybe he's upstairs or something..."
Ginny was shaking her head before Hermione could even finish her statement.
"He's not, I checked. He's nowhere in the house. Besides, when I woke up I heard someone downstairs in the kitchen. They left soon after that and I heard them use the front door. It had to be him! Hermione, we have to find him and stop him!"
"Let's go get Ron," Hermione said getting up. Ginny waited impatiently while she got dressed and together the ran into the room Ron and Harry shared.
"Ron! Wake up!" Hermione said as soon as the door was shut.
"Huh? Whazzhappinin?" Ron groaned tiredly.
Thinking quickly, Hermione turned towards the door of the room with her wand pointing at it, "Muffliato!" She whispered. Ginny nodded in agreement when she realized what it was that Hermione was doing.
Upon seeing this, Ron's eyes opened wider and he suddenly became much more awake. "What's going on?" Ron whispered harshly.
"It's Harry," Hermione began. Ron's eyes looked towards his bed while Ginny launched into her tale of what she'd heard and suspected.
"And he's not in the house?" Ron confirmed.
"No! I checked, he's nowhere to be found!"
"Could he have gotten to Hogwarts by now?" Ginny asked.
"One way to find out," Hermione was now pointing her wand at the map and gave the incantation; "I solemnly swear that I'm up to no good,"
Immediately the map started forming on the old parchment. Details of the castle started filling in. Ron and Ginny helped Hermione spread out the map on Ron's bed. Together they all stared at it; desperately looking for the footprints that would belong to Harry. They saw the footprints of Mr. Filch and Hagrid which they expected. Then they saw some footprints they did not expect.
"Bloody Hell!" Ron exclaimed loudly, "That's Snape! In the Headmaster's Office! What the hell is he doing there?"
"Look there, who are the Carrows?" Ginny wanted to know. Two sets of footprints were visible moving towards the dungeons of the school. They said Alecto and Amycus Carrow.
"Death Eaters," Hermione said knowledgeably, "They were in that fight last year. The one where...well...you remember,"
Then another named formed on the map. This one was one that caused first Hermione, then Ginny and Ron's eyes to widen in absolute horror. Little foot prints belonging to Tom Riddle appeared and were accompanied by others titled: Lucius Malfoy, Bellatrix Lestrange, and Antonin Dolohov.
A cold feeling of dread and mind numbing fear filled Ginny's chest. If Harry was indeed going to Hogwarts, now, alone, he was walking into some of the most feared Death Eaters that Voldemort employed and with them was Voldemort himself!
Ginny's eyes started watering and she couldn't stop them. She had just lost her brothers. They hadn't even been buried yet and now it looked like she might lose Harry too.
Moving now to Harry's bed, Ginny sat there frozen. Her eyes were locked on the map. There was no solace in seeing that the faces of both Ron and Hermione's reflected what she was feeling.
"We have to wake up Remus," Hermione whispered faintly.
"What? No! We promised Harry!" Ginny cried.
"Ginny, you do know who that is don't you?" Ron pointed at the map, "That's bloody You-Know-Who there!"
"I know that!" Ginny argued,
Hermione tried to placate her, "Ginny, we don't have to tell him everything, but this is..."
"...More than we can deal with alone," Ron finished with a deep sigh, "What in blazes was he thinking anyway?"
"That's just it, he wasn't thinking. He probably had a lot on his mind. Maybe he feels guilty over what happened to Charlie and Percy..."
"What? Why would he do that? He had nothing to do with it!"
"Ginny, haven't you noticed? Harry seems to feel as if most of what has happened since You-Know-Who came back is his fault. I doubt he would feel any differently about this," Hermione explained. Her features were gaunt and forlorn. She looked like she felt as helpless as Ginny did.
"Fine then, wake Remus..." Ginny said in defeat. She felt like she was betraying Harry. It angered her that he would do something to cause her to have to do this.
"First, lets decide what we're telling him. He's going to want to know why Harry would just suddenly go to Hogwarts in the middle of the night. It's dangerous out there and more so for Harry than anyone else. Remus will know that Harry must have had a reason for going,"
"So, what do we say to him then?" Ron asked Hermione.
"That's just it Ron, I don't know. Do we just tell him everything?"
"Can we? Can we do that to Harry?" Ginny asked.
"What would you tell him then?" Hermione asked Ginny. She was clearly frustrated. They all were. And the situation was only becoming more tense the longer Harry was gone.
"Let's just go and wake Remus. We'll tell him what we know and what we suspect. We can see what questions he asks us and decide then what we can tell him. We don't have to volunteer anything. But Harry's going to need help! We have to help him!" Ginny cried.
"Fine, lets go wake Remus," Hermione agreed. She was near tears and her eyes kept glancing worriedly back at the map. Neither Ron nor Ginny looked any happier than she did.
They opened the door to Harry and Ron's room and there was confronted with a sight that brought them up short in surprise. Standing there in his rumpled and shabby clothes was none other than Remus Lupin, the very man that they were on their way to see.
"Forgive me for startling you. When I didn't hear any sounds coming from this room after all the stomping around, I got a little worried..." Remus started until he saw the looks on their three faces; "What's wrong? Where's Harry?"
Almost as one all three of them launched into the discussion as to where they thought Harry was. Through it all Remus listened to them as he steered the young people through the corridor, down the stairs, and into the kitchen. As he did this, his face grew more and more concerned.
"Calm down, I can't understand everything if you're all speaking at once. Now, what's going on? Hermione?" Remus turned and looked at her.
"It's Harry, he's gone!" Hermione whispered in terror.
"Gone? What do you mean, gone?" Remus asked, his eyes looking at the three of them, "I think you had better tell me what's going on, one at a time."
Hermione turned around and looked at Ginny, "Why don't you start first?"
Ginny nodded and sat down in one of the chairs at the kitchen table. She began to tell what she knew and what she suspected. She managed to tell Remus everything about how she woke up, heard someone downstairs, went down to investigate and found the Marauder's Map. She went on to explain how she searched the entire house before waking Hermione and together they went to wake Ron.
"So..." Ron said picking up the story from here with help from Hermione and his sister, "...we opened up the map and got it working. That's when we saw this!"
Ron was pointing to the Headmaster's office. Now the little footprints of Severus Snape were accompanied by those of Tom Riddle, Lucius Malfoy, Dolohov, and Bellatrix Lestrange. Soon they saw the prints of the Carrows heading towards the Headmaster's Office as well.
Remus paled as he looked at the map. He let out a heavy sigh. "So it's true, they're putting in Snape as Headmaster of Hogwarts. There were rumors that it was going to happen,"
Ron, Ginny, and Hermione looked at each other fearfully before turning their eyes on Lupin. Hermione was the first to speak.
"S-snape? As Headmaster?" She squeaked.
"I find it just as distasteful as you do, Hermione. Especially after the events of this last spring. Hogwarts in the hands of the Death Eaters? This is bad. Very bad. But it still doesn't prove that Harry went to Hogwarts, does it?"
"But Professor," Hermione started to argue, "Why else would he sneak out in the night and take his map with him?"
"We need to try and find him!" Ginny and Ron said almost as one.
"Did he take his Invisibility Cloak?" Remus asked.
Everyone looked silently at each other for a minute, then Hermione ducked out of the room. Remus continued speaking,
"If he took that, then maybe Voldemort and those Death Eaters won't know Harry's there. The unfortunate side of that is if he has James' cloak, then no one else will be able to find him either. And right now it would be very dangerous to send someone to look for him with Voldemort himself right there in the castle,"
"Will he show up on the map if he's wearing the cloak?" Ginny asked.
"Yes, he will. The map isn't fooled by things like Invisibility Cloaks, Polyjuice Potions, or even Animagi...Ron, do you remember?" Remus asked him. Hermione re-entered the kitchen at this point, looking more concerned than ever.
Ron was rubbing his leg where it had broken when he answered quietly, "Yeah, I remember,"
"Harry's cloak is gone. It's not in his room, the Cloak Room, or anywhere else in the house,"
"Well, there's that question answered anyway," Remus said his voice sounding melancholy. Then he looked at Ron and the two girls inquisitively, "We need to think this through. Why would Harry want to go to Hogwarts in the middle of the night?"
The three of them traded looks before Ron answered, "He was looking for something,"
"Oddly enough, Ron, I'd deduced that much for myself. What is it he's looking for that he feels he needs to find at Hogwarts? Is he visiting Professor Dumbledore's grave?"
It was Ginny who answered him, "No, we don't think so..."
"This has something to do with that task that Dumbledore asked him to do, doesn't it?" Lupin asked shrewdly.
They nodded their heads quietly, their eyes on the floor.
"I wondered what they were up to when I Dumbledore mentioned that he was giving Harry private lessons last year...Yes, he advised some of us in the Order about that," Lupin said in answer to the questioning eyes of Ron and Hermione. "Though he wouldn't tell anyone, not even Severus or Minerva, why he was doing it. He only said that it was essential at this point that he take a more personal hand in Harry's education,"
"What do we do, Professor?" Hermione asked, tears forming now in her eyes. It was clear that she was deeply worried.
"For now, there's not much we can do. Harry has chosen to go off by himself and until he shows up here," Lupin said putting his hand on the Map, "Then we have no idea where he is. Still..."
"Still what, Professor?" Ginny asked, she felt close to panicking. Harry was gone. They had told Professor Lupin about it and he seemed reluctant to do anything. She was beginning to think that Trace or no Trace that maybe she should go and try and find Harry if no one else was going to. Except...after what just happened to Fred and George, she couldn't just leave her parents like that. Not just yet, anyway.
Ron and Hermione were beginning to look mutinous. Seeming to understand this, Lupin said, "There are a few still left in and around Hogwarts who can be trusted. I can send them a warning to be on the look-out for Harry. Right now, I think that's the best we can do," Remus took out his wand, mumbled something short and direct and flicked it towards the door. A silvery ball shot out of it and disappeared through the hall and into thin air. It was easy now to recognize that Remus had just sent a talking Patronus to someone in or near Hogwarts.
"What about Harry? We need to help him!" Ginny cried, she was on her feet and looked ready to bolt.
"Ginny, your parents are sleeping upstairs right now. How do you think they would react if they woke up and found that we were all gone with only a note left behind? They're going to be upset enough as it is when they learn of this and what Harry's done,"
"But Professor!"
"But nothing, Ginny. Look, did it ever cross your minds," Remus said patiently to Ginny but his eyes taking in all of them, "That maybe Harry feels the loss of your brothers too? Maybe this is his way of trying to do something about that,"
"Bloody damn foolish way to go about it then," Ron exclaimed.
"I would not be one to argue with you about that," Remus agreed, "But that still doesn't change the fact he did it, for what ever reasons he must have. I trust Harry. Therefore I also trust that he must have a very good reason for doing this, as foolhardy as it seems..."
"As foolhardy as what seems?" A gaunt looking Arthur Weasley asked as he came into the kitchen. He was a man who looked like he had seen better days. His hair was limp, he had bags under his red-rimmed eyes, and he looked very much like he needed more sleep than he must have had.
The kitchen went quiet as he came in, "Is there any tea?" He asked looking towards the stove. Immediately Hermione jumped up and began the process of brewing some.
"Arthur," Remus said consolingly, "How did you sleep? How is Molly?"
"She's up and getting dressed. I don't think either of us slept very well though. I know I didn't. What was all that shouting and tromping about that was going on?" Mr. Weasley said tiredly. His eyes looked around the room and finally fell upon the Map still laying open on the table. His color paled as he turned to his son and asked, "Where's Harry?"
"Harry is not here just at the moment," Remus answered for Ron.
"Where is he? Is that what all the fuss is about? How long has he been gone?"
"We don't know where he is, Dad," Ginny said as tears formed in her eyes, "But we think he's gone to Hogwarts,"
"He's what?" What little color that was in Mr. Weasley's face drained away, "He can't do that! Right now Harry is the single most wanted wizard in all of Great Britain! If they put Severus Snape in as Headmaster like the rumors are suggesting..."
"It's more than just rumor, Arthur. Look here," Remus interrupted quietly as he pointed at the Map.
"What's this?"
"Dad, this is the Marauder's Map. It belongs to Harry. It shows the entire school, the grounds, secret passages, everything..." Ron explained,
"And right now, if Harry has indeed gone to Hogwarts, he is in exceedingly great danger. Voldemort himself is there, along with Severus Snape, Lucius Malfoy, and a few other Death Eaters," Remus finished dejectedly.
"Merlin's beard, Harry, what have you done?" Mr. Weasley asked no one in particular, he put his face in his hands for a minute before pulling it away and wiping at his eyes. Upon seeing her father doing this, Ginny's own tears along with those from Hermione spilled over. Even Ron looked like he needed something to hold on to if he was going to remain standing for much longer.
Standing up, Mr. Weasley wiped his eyes again before leaving the kitchen, "I better go warn Molly. She's not going to like this. Harry is just another son to her, well to us both really...this is not good,"
The kitchen door swung shut and no one spoke a word. Only a few minutes later a shrill noise could be heard coming from upstairs. Remus closed his eyes as fresh tears fell.
"I guess Dad just told Mum..." Ron whispered. His eyes were locked on the map but he wasn't studying it very closely.
Staring at the map just like Ron was, Ginny's mind was elsewhere. She could hear her mother's horrified and frantic vocalizations coming from upstairs. Less easily she could hear her father trying to calm her. But even these sounds didn't penetrate to where Ginny's mind was. Her mind was with Harry.
What had he been thinking? What had he been trying to do? What was he doing now? Was he okay? Why wasn't anyone doing any more to try and help him? We should all be trying to find him! Ginny thought rebelliously. To Hell with this standing around here doing nothing, he's going to need help.
Ginny's heart started racing as fast as her mind. She was loathe to just continue sitting there in the kitchen. Then something finally happened that caught Ginny's attention and had it riveted on the map like nothing else could. Harry's name and two little footprints had just appeared on the map.
"That's Harry there, look!" Ginny exclaimed. For the moment all thoughts of running out to try and find him were abandoned. Her eyes were glued to Harry's name and his footprints.
"What? Where?" Hermione whirled around to see where Ginny's eyes were looking. Remus and Ron too had found and were following Harry on the map.
"Why did he come over the lake? Why not through the tunnel in Honeydukes?" Ron wondered.
"Something must be happening in Hogsmeade that he couldn't get into Honeydukes," Hermione answered him.
Sure enough, over at the boathouse were Harry's footprints as they climbed out of the boat and began to slowly but steadily make their way up to the castle proper.
Only seconds later a wild looking Molly Weasley entered the kitchen, closely followed by a harried looking Mr. Weasley.
"What happened?" Mrs. Weasley asked them all.
"We don't know, Mom," Ron answered her looking downcast.
"Do we know where he is yet?" Mr. Weasley asked Lupin.
By way of answering, Lupin only pointed at the map. Again all eyes in the room turned to see where Harry was at within the castle. They followed him closely as he walked slowly up the stairs and into the castle proper. There was a tense moment when Harry was narrowly missed by the poltergeist, Peeves, just near the dungeons where the stairs from the boathouse led.
"I can't take this!" Mrs. Weasley started crying, "Arthur, I can't lose another son!"
Mr. Weasley held his wife against his shoulder while he watched with the rest of them Harry's actions on the map. "Where is he going?" Mr. Weasley asked when it was clear that Harry was headed up the main staircase.
"The Chamber of Secrets," Hermione whispered as Harry approached the second floor girls bathroom and went inside. The ghost of Moaning Myrtle was clearly visible in her toilet stall, and she seemed to be ignoring Harry.
Eventually the footprints belonging to Harry and his tiny little label disappeared.
"He's inside," Ron whispered.
"The Chamber of Secrets?" Mr. Weasley asked the three of them, his eyes going wide, "Again? What's in there that's so important that Harry would risk his life to get it?"
No one said anything for a long moment.
"Ron? Hermione? I think we need to know what's going on here," Mr. Weasley said sternly. Ginny looked at the floor. This kind of directive was unusual for her father.
"Arthur, there are some things that Dumbledore asked them to do. I get the sense that this task was for them alone..."
No one got a chance to argue against Remus' point. The front door slammed in the next moment, and the sounds of "SEVERUS SNAPE!" was heard only slightly muffled by the kitchen door.
"We didn't kill you Professor," came the sound of Bill's voice.
Ginny was one of the first out the door, when she was nearly strangled by someone grabbing the collar of her shirt from behind. "WAIT!" It was her father.
Arthur Weasley and Remus Lupin came forward then with their wands raised and held steady. They were pointed to a trio of tall red headed men who bore a striking resemblance to each other.
"Identify yourselves, please,"
Before anyone could answer Remus' order, the curtains in front of Mrs. Black flew open as she started bellowing out insults against everyone in the room.
There was a movement beside Ginny that made her flinch back when she realized that it was her mother whipping out her wand angrily. There was a manic gleam in her eyes.
"CONFRINGO!" Mrs. Weasley cried blasting the portrait of Walburga Black off the wall. The portrait shattered and a loud resounding scream was heard as Mrs. Black uttered her last curses at them.
"Wow, Mum, that old house elf of Harry's is going to be upset!" Ron observed.
"Shush," Arthur said as he turned back to the men who looked like his sons.
"Dad, it's us," Fred tried to explain. However it was Bill who held him back.
"My name is William Weasley, up until recently I was a curse breaker for Gringott's bank. The last time you saw me, you asked me to give Ginny, Ron, Harry, and Hermione your love,"
"That's not enough, anyone could guess that." Arthur told him.
"We just received not long ago a Patronus from Remus here asking us to come quickly because Harry was in trouble. When we were here last, there was discussion about learning how to use that spell among others. This was two nights ago,"
"That will do," Remus said lifting his wand.
"Clean up that mess!" Mrs. Weasley ordered Fred and George as she turned back towards the kitchen.
The group followed her, including Fred and George just moments later. Hermione poured the tea that she had made earlier while it was explained again what it was that was happening.
"Harry went to Hogwarts? By himself? Is he mental?" Fred asked.
"No mate, I'm sure he just thought he'd go for a little stroll by the lake," George answered his brother, "Lovely evening for it, the moon is almost full too."
"George, this is no time for jokes," Bill chided him.
"No, it's not. How could he do this?" Mrs. Weasley asked. No one seemed to have any answers.
Everyone was at the table now staring at the map. Ron had pointed out to them where the Chamber of Secrets was and now there wasn't a person in the room whose eyes weren't on the map. Ginny thought it was odd that even her mother, who liked to keep busy when things were tense, sat at the table with everyone else watching the map for some sign of Harry.
As the minutes passed, everyone waited on tenterhooks. Still there was no sign of Harry. The Carrows had met up with Snape, Voldemort, and the other Death Eaters in the Headmaster's office. As long as they stayed where they were and as long as Harry didn't try visiting that office while he was at Hogwarts, then there was reason to hope that he could get into and out of the castle safely.
Things started becoming more tense when the Death Eater's meeting broke up and they left the Headmaster's office. As they left the office in the Headmaster's Tower, the group descended the revolving staircase to exit by the Gargoyle that hid the entry to the office on the third floor. This was just as Harry's footprints and label once again became visible on the map in the girls lavatory.
It all played out in front of they eyes of those watching the map on the table. The only sound that could be heard was that of people breathing. Even this sound stopped when the label depicting Moaning Myrtle left her stall, probably to investigate the noise of Harry leaving, and she must have screamed.
Suddenly Harry's footsteps began moving much faster and those of Voldemort, Snape, and the other Death Eaters stopped in the corridor outside the entry to the Headmaster's office as they started moving in the direction of clearly had to be Moaning Myrtle's screams.
Harry was moving quickly away from the second floor girls bathroom towards the stairs. The Death Eaters were coming down the stairs from the third floor right above him. From below in the dungeons the figure of Argus Filch appeared to be awake and moving. If he kept going the same direction he was, he would intercept Harry as he came up the stairs in that direction.
Even the castle ghosts seemed to know that something was going on. Peeves was only the first to appear. The Fat Friar, Bloody Baron, Gray Lady, and even the Gryffindor House ghost, Nearly Headless Nick all seemed to be converging on the third floor.
Harry seemed to be at a loss. He was frozen halfway down the staircase from the second floor to the first. Ginny held her breath as she watched him turn around and start going back up the staircase, stop at the second floor and move down the corridor towards the classrooms.
It was the Bloody Baron this time that Harry missed as he ducked down a hidden passageway and into another corridor.
By now it must have been clear to the Death Eaters and the ghosts that someone was in the castle who didn't belong. They split up and started searching the castle in smaller groups of two, except for Professor Snape and Voldemort who each searched on their own.
On and on the game of cat and mouse went. Several times Harry must have been within sight of those that were chasing him. Ginny was very thankful at this point that he had his Invisibility Cloak. There was one time where Voldemort himself stood at one end of a long corridor and Harry at the other.
They must have been trying to locate each other or were talking to each other because they were stationary for a minute. The other Death Eaters could be seen roaming the castle, but Harry and Voldemort were still.
Then Harry moved on again very quickly this time. His steps seemed to weave back and forth, almost like he was stumbling. Eventually Harry ended up by the Headmaster's office entry. He remained there for a long period of time.
He must not have seen or heard Snape alone moving up behind him. Ginny was shocked beyond words or even thought when the Gargoyle must have moved aside. Harry was suddenly moving again. This time it was towards the office of the Headmaster. There was only two ways that he could have gained access. Either he guessed the correct password, which seemed very unlikely, or Snape had let Harry in.
"What is Snape getting at?" George asked angrily.
"Snape? What about Harry? Why the hell is he trying to get into Dumbledore's office?"
"The sword of Gryffindor?" Hermione asked.
"What was that?" Mrs. Weasley asked her, her voice stern but not unkind.
"When Harry rescued me from the Chamber of Secrets, he used the Sword of Gryffindor to kill the Basilisk," Ginny explained.
"Yes Ginny, I'm aware of that. Why would Harry need to collect it? He needs to get out of the castle!"
Everyone watched now as Harry entered the office of the Headmaster.
Snape stood outside in the corridor where the Gargoyle was. Then, very soon after Harry began going up the stairs, Voldemort and several of the Death Eaters began moving towards the staircase again.
"NO!" Ron shouted,
"He'll be trapped!" Hermione cried.
"We have to do something!" Fred said looking at Remus and his parents.
"Arthur?" Remus asked.
"Call Kingsley and anyone else that you can think of," Mr. Weasley answered him.
Lupin was bringing his wand up when Ginny, whose stomach felt like it was filled with frozen lead and clinched into a knot shouted, "Look!"
Harry was standing in the middle of the office and he remained still. He was there for what seemed like a very long time. As Harry was still, so was everyone in the room.
"We'll never get there in time," Bill hissed.
The Death Eaters and their leader were now in staircase riding it up to the office. The door opened and only then did Harry move.
It was like some kind of odd dance watching Harry moving around the office, running back and forth. Suddenly his up on a raised portion of the office floor, Harry's figure stopped.
Ginny wanted nothing more than to turn her head and hide her eyes as these events unfolded. She wished now more than ever that she'd woke up sooner, maybe even snuck in to see Harry during the night. Something, anything, that could have prevented this.
When Harry's footprints blinked on the map and disappeared suddenly, she felt her mouth open but no sound came out. The next thing she knew, her mind was reeling and she was collapsed on her knees. Her head was resting on the kitchen floor.
"NO! No! No! No! No! NO!" was the only word that came out of her mouth. She screamed it so loudly and so many times she lost her voice. She could only hear the anguished cries and muffled sobs of everyone else in the room. Next to hers, her mother's cries were the loudest of all. She could even hear her father crying with her.
The one thing that Ginny had dreaded since she fell in love had happened. Harry Potter was no more. He was gone.
Harry only had moments to think. When he arrived at Hogsmeade, just like before when he had with Ron, he'd apparated about half a mile outside of the village and had just started walking in. That had been a bad idea.
As soon as Harry got within the boundaries of the little village, a caterwauling noise could be heard the village over. Harry was suddenly grateful he was wearing the Invisibility Cloak. People poured out of the Hog's Head and the Three Broomsticks and into the street.
There were a few tense moments while Harry tried to hide and wait for the noise to pass and the people, it looked like mostly just men in dark cloaks but not really any Death Eaters, decide that Harry couldn't be found and then go back to bed or whatever it was that they had been doing.
Only that wasn't the way that it worked out. One of the men, a chap who seemed to be a little older and maybe a little wiser than the rest, saw Harry's footprints. It was he that led a rather large tracking party and they had very nearly caught up to him.
Several times he tried ducking back into the lane and over to Honeydukes Sweet shop. Except that here there was a Death Eater parked right out in front of it. He was holding his wand ready and his masked head was scanning back and forth looking for the source of the alarm.
Someone Harry had never been able to see had bumped into him on their way by, something in their pocket caught on the cloak and Harry had had to think fast to free the cloak and not get stunned by the Death Eater who had now seen him.
He had been chased through the town and only by the thinnest margins of luck ended up on a track that seemed familiar. Then he realized why. The track was where Hagrid had taken him and all the other first years that day they had gotten off the train, boarded the boats, and ridden in them to Hogwarts.
Rushing down the deserted track, Harry came to a series of docks and a few of them had boats tied to them. Harry took out his wand and untied a boat. Remembering what Hagrid had done way back when he had come to rescue Harry from the Dursley's, Harry tapped his wand on the back of the boat and felt a flood of relief wash over him as the boat started moving away from the dock. It only took a moment to point it towards Hogwarts. This gave Harry a moment to stop and think.
Riding the boat up to the docks by the boat house, Harry had jumped out and then set off at a run to get up into the castle. Ever since he'd left Grimmauld Place and the Marauder's Map on the kitchen table, Harry had not had a good feeling about what it was he had set out to do. Now it was just a matter of getting into the school and getting it done.
He didn't even stop to think right now about how angry and upset the others would be with him for doing this. He didn't care that he had no explanation as to why he went to Hogwarts to retrieve a couple Basilisk fangs from the Chamber of Secrets. He would contend with that later. Right now his only goal was to get into the school and back out again alive.
Harry had to admit that it felt good to be out here doing something. The deaths of Charlie and Percy were by all accounts difficult to bear. Ginny and Ron didn't need to be a part of this. This little chore was something Harry figured he could do himself. Then it would be done and they could take a proper break to grieve for the two Weasley brothers.
It only took a minute or so to be able to sneak into the castle. The entry from the boathouse was close to the dungeons and the door was a little rusty. Harry had a bit of a challenge to get inside quietly. Peeves the poltergeist had come investigating the noise of the door Harry had opened.
Crouching down and ducking low, Harry let Peeves pass on by. He thought it odd that the poltergeist wasn't saying anything. Maybe he wasn't investigating the noise after all.
Once the coast was clear, Harry moved through the corridor to the main staircase. He methodically made his way up the flight of stairs. The entire time he was moving his eyes kept scanning around, looking for any sign of trouble. The castle appeared to be deserted.
Upon reaching the second floor corridor, Harry cautiously navigated his way to the girls bathroom. Quietly as he could, Harry opened the door and stepped inside. He could hear Moaning Myrtle sniffling and blubbering in her stall. Now if only he could open the Chamber and get inside without alerting her that he was there.
Checking back over his shoulder again to make sure Myrtle wasn't moving, Harry whispered the command to open the Chamber. Nothing happened. Closing his eyes he imagined that he was speaking to a small snake that was wrapped around a key he couldn't reach. Again he commanded the snake to open the passageway to the Chamber. This time it worked.
As soon as he could get himself into the chute, Harry climbed inside and began the descent down into the Chamber. The ride this time was quieter, more subdued. But then it would be, Harry thought, this time he was alone and he wasn't running off to face something unknown. He knew exactly what it was that he was after. He knew where it was at. He only had to get it.
When he landed at the bone filled bottom of the Chamber entrance, Harry stood up, brushed himself off, and then set out to find what was left of the Basilisk. Removing the Invisibility Cloak as he walked, Harry folded it up and tucked it into a pocket of his robes. He wouldn't need it down here.
The way to the lair of the Basilisk was much as Harry remembered it. The pile of rocks that Ron had started clearing, was a bit of a sticking point. It took a few minutes to move enough of them that he could squeeze through the hole. Once through, the way was clear.
Harry kept a wary eye out as he moved through the dark and gloomy tunnels. The ground was dry in some places, wet in others. He could hear rats and who knew what else moving around in the darkness; creatures disturbed by his presence. At least this is what he hoped.
It was a little foreboding to be walking through these tunnels alone again. No one waiting for him when he got out. No Dumbledore to rescue him if he couldn't complete his task alone. That was the biggest change. The most difficult to deal with. Hogwarts was different with the Headmaster gone. Harry was suddenly glad that he would not be returning to school for the coming school year.
Feeling nostalgic, Harry reached into the little moleskin bag he carried and removed from it the golden snitch that Dumbledore had given to him in his will. That hadn't been the only gift Harry had been bequeathed. The sword of Gryffindor was also supposed to be his, but the Ministry had forbidden him that.
Even now, the Sword was probably still upstairs in Dumbledore's office...unless the Ministry was keeping it in their possession. That too would not be surprising given that Scrimgeour had the Snitch, the Deluminator, and the book in his possession when he'd brought the bequeathed items to them on Harry's birthday. Maybe if there was time...
"Finally," Harry whispered to himself when he came to the large door that marked the entrance into the Chamber proper. Repeating his exorcise to gain entrance from the girl's bathroom, Harry again ordered the door to open. It did so this time without hesitation.
Once inside the chamber, it wasn't a very long walk to where the skeleton of the Basilisk lie. Not far beyond that was where Harry had confronted Tom Riddle. He had nearly died there. So had Ginny, Harry thought as he went over and stood on the spot, all those years ago, where Fawkes the Phoenix had used his tears to save Harry from the venom of the Basilisk's fangs.
Now, Ginny was safe in Grimmauld Place with Ron, Hermione, Remus, and her Mum and Dad. She would be furious with him for doing this, Harry knew. But it saved them a trip later. It saved her from having to be reminded of this place. It allowed her to spend some time with her parents grieving the loss of her brothers, and it allowed Harry to get out an feel like he was actually doing something about the task Dumbledore had set him before he died.
Dumbledore, Harry thought as he turned back towards the Basilisk skeleton, I wonder how much of what Ron's aunt said was true? Until now, Harry really hadn't allowed himself much time to think about all those horrible things that were said by Rita Skeeter and supported by Ron's wretched Auntie Muriel.
Reaching out Harry began, with great care, prying loose first one, then another Basilisk Fang. While he worked he thought some more about what he'd heard about Professor Dumbledore. Did he have a sister? Why hadn't anything been mentioned to Harry about them both being from Godric's Hollow? Maybe Professor Dumbledore could have told him a little bit about what his parents were like, did it ever cross his mind that as their child, he would want to know?
When the fangs were finally free of the skull of the Basilisk, Harry placed them carefully into the Moleskin bag that Hagrid had given him. It was stretched now to it's limit, but it held.
His mind clouded with thoughts, Harry moved back through the tunnels of the Chamber of secrets and back to the entrance. He absent mindedly took out the Invisibility Cloak and through it over his shoulders. Not really thinking it through as far as what it was he was doing, Harry raised his wand towards the ceiling and said clearly, "Ascendio!"
Immediately Harry's feet left the floor as he was lifted quickly and suddenly up through the tunnel and from there out of the entrance straight into the girls bathroom. Once there he landed heavily on his feet and cried out involuntarily. The sounds of Moaning Myrtle's blubbering stopped suddenly.
"Whose there?" she asked fearfully. She came out of her stall just in time to come face to face with Harry, whose head and one arm were not inside the cloak.
Quickly Harry pulled the cloak back over himself but the damage was done. Moaning Myrtle's screams were loud and piercing. Harry plugged his ears as he ducked out of the bathroom and into the corridor. Cold fear gripped his chest as he heard and recognized the voice of Snape saying,
"Someone is in the castle, get them!"
This was followed almost immediately by Voldemort himself as he ordered, "And when you find them, bring them before me! They will pay dearly for this trespass."
Running full out towards the staircase, Harry made it there and was running down them at full speed. About halfway down the staircase between the second and first floors, Harry stopped. There was the sound of footsteps coming up from the lower levels of the castle!
Thinking quickly now, Harry ran back up the stairs and turned immediately down the corridor towards the classrooms. He was nearly caught almost immediately by the ghost of the Bloody Baron. Ducking down a hidden side corridor quickly, Harry ran for it.
He managed to avoid encounters with both ghosts and Death Eaters as he ran and they chased him down halls, through corridors, up one staircase and down another. He knew that his pursuers could hear his footsteps, but they had no clue where he was. He ducked low as he ran but the stunning spells that were fired in his direction went wide. One suit of armor exploded several feet to Harry's right as he ducked left into yet another hidden passageway.
"Where are they?" called one Death Eater.
"Do you see them?" replied another.
Harry rounded a corner and was several steps down a particularly gloomy hallway when a dark figure disembodied itself from the shadows. Skidding to a stop, Harry froze. He could see the red snake like eyes seemingly glowing in the tiny bit of light that permeated the hall.
"So Harry Potter, we meet again." Hissed Lord Voldemort.
With a flick of his wand, Voldemort yanked Harry's cloak off of him. It was only by the quickest of reflexes that Harry was able to snatch at the cloak, keeping it from flying into Voldemort's hands.
"What are you doing here, Harry? Are you looking for something?" He hissed quietly.
Harry remained silent. His mouth frozen for the moment in fear. Then Harry felt something that he was dreading since he'd learned such a thing was possible. Cold tendrils entered into Harry's mind. Immediately Harry tried to block him, using those Occlumency techniques that he was supposed to have learned with Professor Snape.
A cold, humorless chuckle could be heard from down the hall. "Trying to block me Harry?"
Harry stood there, frozen in fear as the probing tendrils entered Harry's mind again, effortlessly brushing aside Harry's feeble attempts to stop them.
"Ah, yes...the Chamber of Secrets. Basilisk Fangs? Now why would you need Basilisk fangs Harry?"
Before Voldemort could get anymore from Harry's mind, Harry's fingers closed on something that brought hope surging into his heart. Ripping the Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder from out of his pocket, he flung it down between him and Voldemort.
Instantly the entire corridor was filled with a chokingly thick black smoke. In that same moment the cold, probing tendrils were removed and Harry backed up the way he had come. An explosion came from next to him shattering the corner wall.
Chunks of stone and mortar whizzed dangerously through the air several of which hit Harry. He felt as much as heard the crunching sound of his arm breaking, his ribs cracking and his skin tearing open. A sudden sharp pain in his head and ringing in his ears told Harry that a chunk of stone had hit him in the head.
Blinded by pain and his vision blurry from his glasses being knocked askew, Harry stumbled and tried not to fall as he drunkenly and desperately tried to make his way to somewhere, anywhere, where he could make his escape.
In a quiet corridor on the third floor, Harry stopped to fix his glasses only to find that they were broken. One of the lenses was shattered and the arm on that same side was gone. He leaned for a moment on the wall to catch his breath and try to assess his injuries. Looking around him to make sure the coast was clear, Harry's eyes landed on a very familiar stone gargoyle. Harry knew where he was. He was in front of the Headmaster's office.
Trying every password he knew, Harry tried to get the gargoyle to move so he could get up and inside the office to safety. Nothing worked. Tiredly and stupidly, with tears of frustration, pain, and rage falling down his cheeks, still nothing worked. Swearing under his breath, he was almost ready to admit defeat. Then the Gargoyle moved aside.
He lost no time in taking advantage of his lucky accident. Harry moved up the revolving stone steps until he got to the office door. Letting himself inside, Harry was greeted by a cacophony of loud vocalizations. But it was a quiet one, a voice that Harry recognized as soon as it said his name, that caught Harry's attention.
"Harry," said the portrait of Professor Dumbledore.
A mixture of relief, anger, love, and frustration went through Harry before he could answer, "Professor, please, I need your help,"
"Indeed I think you do, from the looks of you. Quickly now,"
"Professor, wait!" Harry cried from where he was standing. He couldn't help it. He had so many questions to ask, so many things that he wanted to say. His mind raced to come up with just one of them, he was going to ask about Godric's Hollow when something else came to his mind.
"Harry, now is not the time. We may not have very long. We need to get you out of here, and quickly!"
"Yes Professor, but first, please, I need your help on one other matter. It's important!"
"What could be so important that it would keep you from trying to escape from the very man who has been hunting you every day of the last three years?" Dumbledore asked sadly.
"Professor, we're trying to do what you asked. We have made some progress but there is a complication," Harry started as he glanced around at the other portraits. They were all feigning sleep, but Harry knew from long experience that they were listening.
"A complication? Of what kind?"
"We need to break the Trace on one of us, and it's important that we do so!"
"Harry, you're seventeen now. There can no longer be any Trace on you. Even the Death Eaters cannot break that law,"
"It's not me Professor, there's someone new who has joined us and..."
"Ahh, I see. Harry, listen then,"
There was a sound coming from down below, someone was on the revolving stairs.
Quickly Dumbledore explained to Harry exactly how to break the trace on Ginny. He had just finished when the sounds of people could be heard just outside the office door now. The knob was turning and then the room was filled with Voldemort, Snape, and several Death Eaters.
"Harry, Quickly now!"
Harry started ducking and running around the office as those who had just entered it started shooting various kinds of spells at him. Jets of light brushed by his face, singed his hair, and blinded his eyes.
Harry ended up on the raised dais that overlooked the office and led to the Headmaster's private bedchamber. Harry froze,
"NO! Don't kill him! He's mine!" Voldemort said, his eyes blazing in anger.
"A Portkey Harry!" Dumbledore called from over the desk.
Realizing what Dumbledore was saying Harry looked around for something that he could use. As he did this he remembered inn fifth year, it was a Portkey that Dumbledore had used to get him, Ron, Ginny, and the twins out of the castle to be with their father when the snake attacked him. Dumbledore was reminding him of that. That must mean that, for getting out of the castle at least, a Portkey would work.
Harry pointed his wand at a golden cup that was on a tray in front of him next to a pitcher of water.
"Portus" Harry said weakly. He hoped this would work. He needed to get out of Hogwarts and out of there fast if he was going to live and continue the fight. Reaching out and touching the cup, he felt a sudden sharp, hammering pain in his chest that took his breath away just as the Portkey did it's job. Harry was whisked away from the office and Hogwarts.
In the castle, nothing moved. Voldemort's rage was so terrible to behold that nothing wanted to draw his attention and his wrath with it.
A/N- Already working on the next chapter. It ain't over yet. ;0)