QUEST FOR FREEDOM
By Fire
Chapter 2 Rescuing Miss Granger
"Is any man free except the one who can pass his life as he pleases?"
Persius
"Who goes there?" Harry said loudly and clearly.
"Ginevra Molly Weasley," came the response from beyond the bush.
"Password?" Harry asked.
"Fear of a name only increases fear of the thing itself," said the woman.
"I am Harry James Potter," said Harry.
"Password?" asked the woman.
"Nitwit, blubber, oddment, tweak," said Harry, his mouth curling into a smile.
"Ok," said the woman.
Harry stepped between to bushes and into the clearing where two figures stood. The smaller of the two lifted off her hood to reveal bright red hair, brown eyes and a bright smile. She held out her hand to Harry, who took it and shook firmly.
"I'm Ginny," she said. "And this is my brother, Ron."
She pointed to the person standing behind her, who also removed his hood. Harry shook Ron's hand also.
"Pleased to meet you," he said. "I'm Harry. Dumbledore said you know the location of this muggleborn we're supposed to rescue."
"Yes," said Ginny. "I'll tell you soon, but not here. It's not secure enough. Follow me."
The three made their way out of the woods to a field filled with wooden huts and grassy patches which were used as training grounds. Harry thought that the huts were nice, and gave the place a homelike feel, but he felt that he preferred the security of the castle. He also noted that the training facilities were more sophisticated at the castle, but this was to be expected as they been able to use all of the school's old supplies. After a short walk through the barracks Ginny and Ron led him to a hut in the centre of all the others.
"Take a seat," Ginny said.
Harry sat down at a small round table, and the others did the same. Ginny took some parchment out of a drawer beneath the table.
"This is Hermione Granger," said Ginny, pointing to a small muggle photograph fastened to the top right corner. "She's twenty-two years old, and lives in London. She's been known to perform very powerful accidental magic which is most likely why Voldemort wants her dead. If she's as powerful as he thinks, she could be very useful to us, which is why Dumbledore told us to find her, and why we're going to rescue her now. We know the Death Eaters have discovered her location, which means that we need to go as soon as possible."
"You ready?" said Harry standing up.
Ginny and Ron both nodded.
"Then let's go," Harry said.
Harry, Ron and Ginny crept through the back garden of an ordinary, suburban muggle house, following the fence whilst under the disillusionment charm.
"Wait!" said Harry in hushed but urgent whisper.
Several crashes were heard inside, followed by a woman's screams.
"Shit!" cursed Ginny. "Death Eaters."
"We have to move quickly," said Ron.
They sprinted to the back door and with a quick 'Alohomora' they were inside. They followed the sounds of breaking ornaments through the kitchen, down the hall and into the living room through a narrow doorway. Harry and Ginny stood at either side of the entrance whilst Ron stood a few metres away, but at a right angle to the wall, covering the exit. Peering into the room, Harry saw a young woman crouched behind the settee with four Death Eaters advancing on her. Firing off two quick stunners each, Harry and Ginny dashed into the room, with Ron close behind. Pointing his wand at each of the fallen Death Eaters in turn, Harry said 'Obliviate' before turning an item of each of their clothing into a portkey and activating it.
"Where have you sent them?" Ginny asked, half amused.
"Erm," said Harry. "One to Nepal, one to the Sahara desert, one to the South Pole and one to the Australian outback."
Ginny laughed despite herself, and Ron also chuckled.
"Clever," Ginny said.
Harry removed the disillusionment charm from the three of them. The woman, seeing them entering, screamed again, and tried to crawl backwards.
"It's ok," Ginny said, approaching her slowly. "We're here to help you. Are you Hermione Granger?"
The young woman nodded. Her face was pale and the whites of her eyes shone with terror.
"Ok, Hermione," said Ginny. "We need to leave here as quickly as possible."
"No," said Hermione. "I don't even know who you are, how can I trust you?"
Ginny glanced at Harry.
"Go on," he said.
"My name is Ginny," she said. "This is my brother Ron." She pointed to Ron who was stood a few feet to her left.
"I'm Harry," he said.
"We can't really explain everything now," said Ginny. "But what I can tell you is that these men who came for you work for a very evil wizard called Voldemort, and we're fighting him. In fact, our kind have been fighting him for thirty years, and I have to say, it's not looking so good at the moment."
"Did you say wizard?" Hermione asked, looking bewildered.
"Yes," said Ginny. "We'll explain everything later, once you're safe."
There was a loud crash upstairs. Ron ran to the door.
"Ginny," he said. "There's three more coming down the stairs. We have to move."
He moved away from the door and locked it with a spell.
"Ron," Ginny said. "You're the biggest. You'll have to take her by side-along-apparition. It's too dangerous to take a portkey."
"Ok," said Ron, running over and helping Hermione to her feet.
"Hold onto my arm," he told her, offering his left arm.
Hermione clung to it. The Death Eaters in the hall, had begun to try and break their way into the room, and the walls were shaking with the force of their spells.
"Where am I taking her?" Ron asked.
"Hogsmeade," said Harry. "We can get to the castle quickly from there."
Ron nodded. He began to revolve and the two of them disappeared in a loud pop. The inside wall of the living room collapsed.
"Let's go," Harry said to Ginny.
He disapparated with Ginny following a split second later.
Harry arrived in Hogsmeade to see a very green Hermione being supported by Ron. Ginny appeared just in front of Harry moments later.
"How far is it to the castle?" she asked Harry.
"About a five minute walk," said Harry.
"Do you think she's all right?" Ginny asked as Hermione seemed very unsteady on her feet.
"I'll carry her," said Ron.
He lifted the still rather green Hermione into her arms and the quartet set off to the castle. It didn't take long to get there and once Harry had cast the spell to get them inside the gates, Hermione was well enough to walk again.
"Welcome to Hogwarts," Harry said, with a brief smile.
"It's beautiful," said Ginny looking at the castle with awe.
"Dumbledore's had the house-elves prepare rooms for you," said Harry. "I'll show you the way."
He led them through the large front doors and up many flights of stairs until they reached the seventh floor.
"You'll learn your way around fairly quickly," Harry said, chuckling at their confused faces. "The hardest thing to get your head around is the moving staircases but once you've figured those out the rest of place is a doddle."
He carried on walking down a long wide corridor until he reached a painting of an old woman with a pitcher of water. He reached out and tickled the woman's nose, and the portrait swung open to let them through.
"When Hogwarts was still a school," Harry explained. "These were used as the staff quarters. Most of our army stays in the old house dormitories where the students used to live. That's my room on your left."
He pointed to a room which had a wooden plaque on the front which read H. Potter.
"Yours is opposite mine, Ginny," he said, pointing to a door with a plaque that said G. Weasley. "Hermione, your room is next door to Ginny's." This room's plaque read H. Granger. "And finally Ron, yours is next door to mine, opposite Hermione's."
Ron's also had a plaque displaying his name.
"Before you go and settle in," said Harry. "I would like to invite you to my room for something to eat and drink, and I think we have a lot to explain to Miss Granger."
Hermione nodded numbly, as she, Ron and Ginny followed Harry into his room. It appeared to be more than just a room, however, when they entered it. There was a large living area with an ornate fireplace, two large couches, a dining table and a coffee table. The room had two doors leading off from it, one presumably to a bedroom, and one to a bathroom. The room was decorated in scarlet and gold, and the fire was roaring away, giving the room a warm glow.
"Take a seat," Harry said, plonking himself down on one of the couches.
Ginny sat beside him, with Hermione and Ron sitting opposite them, Hermione still clinging to Ron's left arm.
"Right," said Harry. "So, who wants to begin the tale?"
"I'll start," said Ginny. "I'm going to try and keep this simple, though. Hermione, you are a witch."
"A witch?" Hermione looked at Ginny slightly sceptically.
"Yes," said Ginny. "Surely you must have noticed that strange things happen when you're angry or afraid?"
"Well, I…" muttered Hermione. "I thought I was going mad."
Ginny smiled.
"That's not unusual," she continued. "Anyway, you must have performed some powerful magic, because Voldemort detected it and set out to find you and kill you. But before you can understand that, I need to tell you about the last thirty years."
She paused.
"Thirty-one years ago, a wizard calling himself Lord Voldemort emerged and started to gather followers. He was a follower of a branch of magic we call the Dark Arts, a very evil form of magic. It is important to realise that not all wizards are good, some go bad, and Voldemort, well, he went just about as bad as you can go. Anyway, for about thirteen years he was steadily gaining power, and followers, and that was when he took the ministry. The Ministry of Magic was our government. Anyway, ever since then we've been fighting him as rebels."
"There are two main rebellions," Harry continued. "One in the North which was originally led by my father, but now it's led by me, and one in the south which was once led by Kingsley Shacklebolt who used to work for the ministry, but is now led by Ginny. In essence we're both under the command of Albus Dumbledore. He was the last Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, but when Voldemort took over the ministry the school was forced to close, and Dumbledore devoted his life to defeating Voldemort. He let the castle be the base for the northern rebellion, and it has so far never been breached. It has also been said though, that Dumbledore is the only one Voldemort ever feared."
"So," said Ron picking up the story. "For the last eighteen years, we've been fighting a losing battle. None of us ever had the chance to have a proper education here at Hogwarts and we were taught how to defend ourselves as soon as we were old enough to hold a wand. We'll have to get you a wand, actually."
"Don't worry about that," said Harry. "Ollivander lives here, so he should have one that will suit her."
"We're going to teach you magic," said Ron. "And hopefully, you'll be able to use the power you have to help us defeat Voldemort, the man who wanted you dead."
"I know it's a lot to take in," Ginny said.
"Yeah," said Hermione, with a weak smile. "I think I need some time to think this over."
"Come on," said Ron. "I'll take you to your room."
Ron stood, and helped Hermione to her feet and led her across the room. Harry heard the door click shut behind him.
"You and Ron seem close," Harry said to Ginny.
"We are," said Ginny. "Of all my brothers he's the closest to me in age."
"How many brothers do you have?"
"Six," said Ginny. "There's Bill, Charlie who was killed two years ago…"
"I'm sorry," said Harry.
"It's ok," said Ginny. "We never really believed we'd all come out of this war unscathed. Anyway, then there's Percy, the twins Fred and George who are a right pair of pranksters. And finally Ron, and last of all me. I was the first girl born into the Weasley family for a very long time."
"What about your parents?" asked Harry.
"They're both still alive, thankfully. They live at the barracks with us, and my mum mothers everyone. My dad's obsessed with muggles. He collects plugs which have something to do with eckletricity but I'm not sure what," said Ginny, chuckling.
Harry laughed.
"They sound great," he said. "My mum and dad both live here. Their room is four doors down from yours. I don't have any brothers and sisters, but my dad's three best friends are like my uncles. And they taught me all the fun stuff that mum wouldn't let dad teach me. There's Sirius Black, Remus Lupin and Peter Pettigrew. They were a right group of pranksters with my dad back when they were at Hogwarts. Minerva McGonagall nearly had a heart attack when they were all back in this castle together."
Ginny laughed
"I wish I could have come to Hogwarts," said Ginny. "It would have been wonderful."
"Yeah," said Harry. "I would have been in the same year as Hermione, had Hogwarts still been open. What about you?"
"Well," said Ginny. "Ron would have been in your year, but I'd have been the year below."
"So that would make you…?"
"I turned twenty in August," Ginny said.
"I was twenty-one at the end of July," Harry said.
"We seem too young to be leading armies in a war," Ginny said, sadly.
"We had to grow up quickly. We never had the chance to be children."
"We never played Quidditch, we've never had homework, or exams, we couldn't make friends with everybody and anybody, and we never had the need to learn all the daft spells that they teach you in your first year of school. We never even had the chance to fall in love," said Ginny. "Although, I believe my brother has taken a definite shining to Miss Granger."
Harry laughed.
"I guess he's likely to get some ribbing from his older brothers then."
Ginny nodded.
"And his sister too. I give Fred and George a run from their money in that department."
Harry laughed again.
"You certainly seem like a bit of a firecracker," said Harry.
"Was that a red hair joke?" Ginny asked, trying to look stern.
"Well, it wasn't meant to be, but now that you mention it, it works quite well, don't you think?"
Ginny smacked his arm.
"What about you with your big lightning shaped cut on your head?" Ginny asked. "What happened? Did the light bulb in your brain burn too bright after many years of not working?"
"Hey!" exclaimed Harry. "That was below the belt!"
"And what is below Mr Potter's belt," Ginny asked with an evil, yet seductive smile.
She slid her hand slowly down Harry's chest, but just before her hand could slip below his belt, Harry grabbed it and pulled it away.
"Miss Weasley," he said. "I am not that easy."
Ginny laughed. She pulled his face towards her and their lips met in a fierce and passionate kiss.
A/N Thanks to Bill for the beta. Please review.
