QUEST FOR FREEDOM
By Fire
Chapter 3 Midnight Meetings
"Ay me! for aught that I ever could read,
Could ever hear by tale or history,
The course of true love never did run smooth."
William Shakespeare
After several long moments – or it might have been half an hour – or possibly several sunlit days – they broke apart. Harry and Ginny, both breathless, gazed at each other in silence.
"Ever since my friend Susan died, I've tried to avoid getting close to people," said Harry. "For fear of more loss and pain. How can it be that I've only known you for a few hours, yet I feel that I want to be with you forever?"
"I don't know, Harry," she said.
"I don't care," Harry said.
Ginny grinned. Harry leaned in and kissed her again, more slowly this time. It didn't take long for the two of them to end up in Harry's bedroom…
Maybe an hour or so later, Harry held Ginny in his arms, with the sheets from his bed wrapped around them.
"Do you believe in fate?" Harry asked.
"I don't know. I haven't really thought about it. I suppose I do. I mean, everything happens for a reason right, otherwise what's the point in having life at all?"
"I believe we each have a destiny, already mapped out for us, and there's not a damn thing we can do to change that," said Harry. "And most people are lucky enough not to know what their destiny is."
"What do you mean, most people?"
"Very few people know what I'm about tell you," said Harry. "But I think you deserve to know. Shortly before my birth a seer called Sybill Trelawney made a prophecy. This prophecy stated that a boy would be born at the end of July to parents would had thrice defied Voldemort. This boy would have a power that Voldemort doesn't know and that the boy would have the power to vanquish the Dark Lord. But the strangest bit is the part that said and the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal."
"The prophecy meant you?" Ginny asked.
"Yes and no," said Harry. "In fact, the prophecy could have been referring to two boys. Myself and Neville Longbottom. And so, once we were old enough, Dumbledore has trained both myself and Neville to be able to duel with and defeat Voldemort. A few weeks ago, Neville and I came across Voldemort on a mission and had to face him, much earlier than Dumbledore had prepared us for. Neville was killed and I received this scar."
He touched the lighting bolt-shaped scar on the left side of his forehead.
"I was marked," Harry said.
"So you're the only on who can defeat Voldemort?" said Ginny. "We always just assumed it would be Dumbledore."
"Most people do," said Harry. "The thing is the night the prophecy was made, one of Voldemort's Death Eaters, a man called Severus Snape was at the Hog's Head, the place where Dumbledore met with Trelawney, and he overheard the prophecy. But between him going down the stairs from the private room where the prophecy was made, to leaving the Hog's Head, someone obliviated him, and to this day, nobody has been able to identify who. Whatever the case, Voldemort came very close to hearing the prophecy, and then, our story may have been very very different."
"What I don't understand is why Dumbledore has chosen now for us to work together? We've been separate forces for eighteen years. Why now?"
"Dumbledore believes the end of the war is near," said Harry. "For reasons that are not my place to tell you. And we need to have the full army fighting as one in order to win. And you have a great task at hand. It will be your job to lead the army in the battle. It will be your task to keep the Death Eaters occupied whilst I slip through the crowds to find Voldemort, who will be no doubt lurking not far away."
"Why can't I come with you?"
"I can't afford any distractions. And you Ginny, albeit a nice one, you are a distraction. Also, Voldemort will not hesitate to kill any spares that venture his way."
"You shouldn't have to face him alone."
"Believe me, it's the best way."
Ginny snuggled closer to Harry.
"Do you think Hermione will be ok?" Ginny asked.
"I hope so," said Harry. "I'm going to send my mum to talk to her in the morning. She's a muggleborn, so if anyone can relate to Hermione right now, it's my mum."
Ginny yawned.
"You tired?" Harry asked.
"A bit," said Ginny. "It's been a busy day."
"We should try and get some sleep."
He raised his wand lazily and all the candles blew out magically. He let his head fall back onto the pillow, and the two of them were asleep within moments.
Harry and Ginny awoke the next morning to a loud knocking on the door. Harry rolled over and groaned.
"Harry!" shouted his dad. "Get up, now!"
"Coming!" Harry shouted.
He got out of bed, and threw on a t-shirt and some muggle jeans. Ginny quickly dressed in her clothes from the day before.
"I'll change in my room," she said.
"Ok," said Harry. "Ready?"
Ginny nodded. The two of them left the bedroom and crossed the living room. Harry opened the door to find his dad and another man waiting outside.
"Mornin' Dad. Mornin' Uncle Sirius," Harry said jovially. "This is Ginny. She's the leader of the southern rebels."
"Nice to meet you," she said, before crossing the corridor to her own room.
"You work fast, Potter," said Sirius with an approving grin on his face. "You only met her yesterday."
"Just don't let your mother find out," said James.
"What did you two want anyway?" asked Harry.
"Lily sent us to find you," said Sirius. "When you didn't turn up for training this morning."
Harry glanced at his watch.
"Oh shit!" he said. "I'm in trouble aren't I."
"'Fraid so, son," said James.
"Dammit! I need a favour of mum, the last thing I need is her mad at me," said Harry. "I need her to go and have a chat with Hermione, the muggle-born we rescued yesterday. I got the feeling that she's a little overwhelmed."
"A little?" asked Sirius, sceptically.
"Ok, a lot," said Harry. "But I figured mum could probably relate to her a bit better than most of us."
"You're right there, Harry," said James. "I'll send her up when I go back to the field. You'd best stay out of her way for a while. I'll cover for you and tell her you were having some important discussions with the leader of the southern rebels, which isn't exactly a lie now, is it."
James ruffled Harry's hair. Sirius was still grinning proudly.
"You go and find your girl," Sirius said.
"I think in this case," said James. "It's a case of like god-father, like god-son."
Sirius chuckled.
"I think we've let him spent too much time with you," continued James, as the two set off walking back to the old quidditch pitch. "You've obviously rubbed off on him."
Harry shook his had watching the two old friends banter with each other. He knocked lightly on the door to Ginny's room.
"Come in," she said.
"Hi," said Harry, entering the room.
"You in trouble?" she asked.
"Not really," said Harry. "I missed training and my mum's none to pleased. Dad says he'll cover for me, and Uncle Sirius, well, let's just say he's proud that some of his personality has rubbed off on me."
Ginny laughed.
"Did you sleep ok?" Harry asked her.
"Yes, I did," she said. "So, you ready to go and see how Hermione's doing this morning?"
She set off towards the door.
"I'm right behind you," Harry said.
They walked down the corridor to the next door and knocked on it, just as Ron arrived from his room, opposite.
"Morning," he said.
"Morning," said Harry.
Hermione came to the door and let the three of them.
"Did you sleep alright, Hermione?" Ron asked.
"Oh, you know, I've slept better," she said with a smile.
"I'm not surprised," said Ginny.
"Hermione," said Harry. "I've asked my mum to come and have a chat with you today. She's a muggle-born like you, so she's been through whatever it is you're going through at the moment, so she should be able to help you."
"Thank you," said Hermione.
There was a knock at the door.
"That'll be her now," Harry said, and crossed the room to let his mother in.
The expression on Lily's face was not one that Harry was pleased to see.
"Where were you this morning?" she hissed. "And don't think your father's excuse is going to get you through. Don't you think that after more than twenty years I can tell when he's lying?"
Harry gulped.
"Sorry, mum," he said. "Mum, this is Ginny."
The two redheaded women shook hands.
"She's the leader of the southern rebellion," Harry continued. "That's her brother Ron."
Ron and Lily shook hands.
"And this is Hermione."
"It's nice to meet you, Hermione," said Lily. "How're you doing?"
"Oh, you know, struggling to understand everything," Hermione said.
Lily smiled.
"Don't worry, dear," she said. "It'll take you a while to get used to everything."
"I think we should leave you two alone," said Harry.
He, Ron and Ginny left the room, and followed the corridor back to the portrait where they had entered the night before.
"Fancy a tour?" Harry asked.
"Sounds good," said Ron.
Later in the afternoon, Harry, Ron and Ginny were out on the quidditch pitch. Ginny was admiring the training ground that had been set up there when one of Harry's men sprinted over to them.
"Potter!" he said breathlessly once he was near enough. "We've received word of an attack on the southern barracks. One of them sent the distress signal."
Ginny and Ron both paled.
"Ok," said Harry, calmly. "We'll send some help immediately. Wood, will you go and alert the early response team, and my father."
"Yes, sir," Wood sent, turning and sprinting away.
"How many are there in your barracks who are able to fight?" Harry asked Ginny.
"Less than half," she said. "We've lost a lot over the years. Mostly we have children or the families of our soldiers."
"Ok," said Harry, a plan starting to formulate in his mind.
He looked up and saw a group starting to mass at the front gates.
"Come with me," he told Ron and Ginny.
He ran across the field to where his army was grouping, with the two redheads at heels.
"Listen up, guys," he said. "It is imperative that we save every person that we can. They are our allies and we can't afford to lose them. We need to apparate straight there, and bring people back by side-along-apparition only. Portkeys are too easy to track. Do not speak to anyone of where you are taking them. We cannot risk Death Eaters getting to the rendezvous point. Fight only to defend yourself. Capturing Death Eaters is not our concern today. Ginny, I want you to wait outside the Three Broomsticks, the old pub. It is where we will bring those we rescue."
"Why can't I help?" Ginny asked.
"Because I want you here to give us an indication of how many we have left to save each time we return," Harry explained. "Also, children will be frightened and will need to see a familiar face. Finally, you need to give an order to all those capable of fighting to return to your barracks, once they have seen the rendezvous point, and help us with the rescue."
"Ok," said Ginny, nodding. "I'll do that."
"Has everybody got their broomsticks?" Harry asked.
Harry's troops nodded, but Ron and Ginny looked bewildered.
"Flying is the quickest way to get to the Three Broomsticks," said Harry.
He looked around.
"Ginny," he said. "You can ride on mine with me, and Wood, will you take Ron?"
"Yes, no problem," said Wood.
"Let's go then," said Harry.
They all climbed onto their broomsticks and sped away down the drive. Harry opened the gates with a quick flick of his wand, and the group appeared as a black blur as they flew through the village. Moments later, so it seemed, they arrived at the Three Broomsticks. Quickly dismounting, they all Disapparated leaving Ginny to await the arrival of her army.
The sight that awaited the Northern rebels when they arrived at the Southern barracks was one of complete carnage. The small wooden huts that Harry had seen and admired just one day before were all burning. Men, women and children all ran around in various directions, many terrified and screaming. Some were doing their best to fight back and protect the others but there were too many Death Eaters swarming around.
"Split up!" yelled Harry. "You all know what to do!"
Harry ran forward and grabbed the first two children he saw. Quickly, turning he Disapparated and moments later was standing outside the Three Broomsticks. He put the children gently back on the floor, and saw Ginny already comforting a little blonde girl. She looked up at him, her eyes full of concern.
"It's carnage," said Harry simply, before Disapparating once more.
Back on the battlefield he found a woman clutching a baby, crouched behind a man who was firing spells at the Death Eaters. Harry saw one of them approaching and shot a quick stunner in that direction. He heard the thud as the Death Eater hit the floor. He ran to the woman.
"Keep tight hold of the child!" he shouted over the noise of the fires and the screams. "Take my arm!"
The woman took hold of Harry's right arm with her left hand. Turning quickly, again he Disapparated. Once back he Hogsmeade, he glanced around at the group of people who had already been brought to safety.
"My husband!" the woman told him letting go of his arm.
"I'll find him," said Harry.
He Disapparated once more, and returned to where he found the woman. The man was still there, and Harry ran to him, hexing another Death Eater along the way. The man had red hair, and his horn-rimmed glasses were sliding down his nose.
"Your wife is safe!" Harry yelled to him. "Come with me!"
The man took Harry's arm and the two of them Disapparated. When they arrived in Hogsmeade, the woman was waiting.
"Percy!" she said, throwing herself into her husband's arms.
Harry noticed Ginny with the baby and he shouted to her,
"How many have gone back?"
"Twenty!" she shouted back. "But there must be at least fifty that haven't arrived yet."
"Ok," Harry said. "We'll find them."
Slowly revolving, he Disapparated again. Returning to the battlefield, he found himself being set upon by three Death Eaters. Quickly stunning one of them, he dropped to the floor to dodge a stinging hex cast by another.
"Impedimenta!" he yelled, and another of the Death Eaters was immediately immobilised.
The other Death Eater aimed a Cruciatus at Harry who managed to roll out of the way.
"Stupefy!" he shouted, and the Death Eater slumped to the floor.
Harry climbed to his feet and breathed a sigh of relief. Looking around him, he could see no one, so he set off running between two of the burning huts to where he could hear more screaming. When he made it through the smoke, he saw two of his men Disapparate with one passenger each, and saw another red-haired man left near the doorway of a burning hut. He was duelling with a Death Eater, and seemed to have an injured arm. As Harry approached the man, the Death Eater spotted him, but it was too late.
"Stupefy!" Harry shouted.
The Death Eater hit the ground.
"Come with me," Harry said to the man. "Take my arm."
Stowing his wand inside his robes, the man took the arm Harry offered. He Disapparated and arrived seconds later in Hogsmeade where the group of refugees was ever growing.
"Fred!" a woman cried, running to hug Harry's passenger.
She was quite short and could have been described as 'dumpy'. She had curly red hair and her voice was shrill and panicky.
"Oh, Fred! I was so worried," she cried, squeezing the man tightly.
"Mum!" said Fred, wincing. "My arm!"
"Oh, I'm sorry, dear," she said, and immediately began to fuss over her son's injury.
Ginny, meanwhile, was standing almost in the doorway of the old pub, speaking hurriedly to yet another red-haired man. She turned round and saw Harry standing amidst the crowd.
"Harry!" she shouted. "Almost everyone is here! The others have gone back to do a sweep of the buildings."
"Thanks, Ginny!" Harry called back to her before Disapparating again.
At the battlefield, Harry found the Death Eaters gone.
"They fled a couple of minutes ago," Ron told him, as they met outside one of the huts trying to put of the fire. "When they realised no one was left."
"Have you found anyone else?" Harry asked.
Ron's ash covered face fell.
"No one alive," he said. "We've found five bodies so far."
"We should count ourselves lucky that we got here when we did," Harry said, solemnly. "It could have been far worse."
"I know," said Ron. "Thank you, Harry."
"Don't thank me," said Harry, feeling his cheeks burn and hoping the soot on his face was thick enough to disguise it. "You'd have done the same for us if it had been the other way round."
With the fire finally extinguished, and the hut found to contain nobody, dead or alive, Harry and Ron headed for the centre of the barracks.
"Men!" Harry shouted. "Come to the centre!"
Within moments it seemed, the group who Harry had brought, along with many of the southern rebels, gathered in a semicircle around Harry and Ron.
"Well done," Harry said. "We've rescued everybody we could, and have suffered no losses to the rescue group. Only five have been killed, which, whilst very sad, is in fact a miracle. Losses on a day like today should have been far higher, so you should all be very proud of yourselves. You've done a great job. Also, thank you to those of you from the southern army who returned to help, without your bravery at the start of the battle and later on, losses would have been greater. We need to return to Hogsmeade. I suggest we apparate to the Hog's Head and walk through the village so as not to alarm anyone."
That evening Harry had the house-elves provide food for the southern rebels in the Great Hall, before he conjured sleeping bags for each of them, as there had not been time to prepare sleeping quarters for the new influx of people. As they all sat in the huge room, Harry couldn't help but admire Ginny as she moved among them talking to each of them. He stood, so none could see him, near to the door of a small room off the Great Hall near the Head table. He found that as he watched her, he couldn't tear his eyes away.
"She's a beauty alright," said a voice behind him.
"Hi, mum," Harry said, still watching Ginny.
He was mesmerised by her bright smile, and the way she spun around to speak to whoever it was who spoke to her.
"How's Hermione?"
"A little better," Lily said. "She's with Ron at the moment. She's seems to have warmed to him more than anyone else. But it wasn't Hermione I was talking about."
"I know," said Harry.
"I'm not a fool, you know," said Lily. "A mother can always figure out what's going on with her son. I know what happened last night."
Harry blushed.
"I didn't plan it," said Harry. "It just happened."
"Well, personally," said Lily. "I'm glad you've taken up an interest in girls again. Ever since your girlfriend died, you've run away from every girl who's ever spoken to you."
"Susan wasn't my girlfriend," said Harry, sounding slightly cross. "We just slept together occasionally, usually when she was annoyed at Neville for something or other, something you disapproved of, if I remember rightly."
"I did," said Lily. "But when Susan was alive was when you were happiest. When the three of you were together. Since she died, you've always been afraid to get close to anyone else. You said it was to protect yourself from loss. What is it about Ginny that's changed your mind? After all, she's the leader of the southern rebels which puts her in more danger than most."
"I don't know," said Harry. "All I know is that even though I only met her yesterday, it feels as though I've known her my whole life. And when we were together, last night, it felt like the most natural thing in the world, as though everything in my life had been leading up to that moment. It was like nothing I've ever felt before."
"Love at first sight, do you think?" Lily asked.
"More like fate," Harry said.
