The beast's jaws were wide open, about to clamp upon her throat. A rushing of air followed by a streak of silver. It missed her by inches. It did however catch the werewolf in its open mouth, sending it careening into a tree at the edge of the clearing. She saw that the streak of silver was actually a metal spike, which at present had ripped right through the wolf's skull and affixed it at an awkward angle to the trunk of the tree. Blood was pooling in the bottom of its open mouth.
"Please don't be Bill. Not Bill." She pleaded.
A second werewolf had appeared in the clearing. It closed half of the distance between them in seconds. This time she got off a stunner. It missed. Ginny fired off another one, however the beast leapt over it effortlessly and without slowing it's pace.
"Stup…"
A hand grasped her waist. She was lifted off her feet as if she weighed nothing. Three steps were all that it took to reach the end of the clearing. Her savior leapt into the air catching his boot on a tree and leaping higher up and landed on a broom in one swift motion, inches above the wolf's snapping jaws. The broom lurched forward impossibly fast and with her dangling from one arm, dodging branches and entire trees.
Ginny was shifted from the side to across the broom in both of his arms allowing her weight to rest against his chest and make the broom more balanced as it wove it's way between the many trees as easily as if it were moving at a snail's pace. She couldn't see his face because the hood of his cloak blocked it from view. He brushed her hair out of her face gently and placed a hand upon her cheek. She smiled, and blushed slightly. She wasn't frightened anymore, how could she be? She was in the arms of Harry Potter. Her smiled faded. The dawning realization that they were flying incredibly fast on Harry's Firebolt in the middle of a thick wood during the middle of the night, while it was covered in an unnaturally thick mist, preventing them from even seeing the ground was bad enough. The part that seemed to unnerve Ginny was that Harry was steering the Firebolt with only his legs. Although Ginny knew Harry was more gifted on a broom than any Wizard or Witch alive, leagues beyond even the skill of Viktor Krum. Not even Harry could keep this up forever. Harry seemed to decide that this feat was impossible as well. No sooner had His grip on Ginny tightened, the Firebolt turned vertically, shooting straight towards the sky. Ginny Weasley had never in her lifetime felt nausea whilst on a Broom, but after that particular move (Going from Horizontal to vertical at the top speed of a Firebolt, followed quickly by seven top speed barrel rolls) that was no longer the case.
They broke through the canopy without even grazing a single leaf, leveled out and Harry pushed the firebolt even Harder, heading towards the Burrow. It was less than a minute later when they saw the wood end and the burrow came into view. Harry circled once as if he were searching fro something. As they reached the edge of the Wesley's Garden, the broom rolled over sending them to the ground from over twenty feet up. Harry shifted his weight as they fell and landed softly with Ginny still in his arms. He had barely bent the blades of grass underneath his boots. Harry gently lowered Ginny back on her own two feet.
"Gin, I need you to run home and get help. I'll hold them off as long as I can." Said Harry, drawing his wand from an inside pocket of his cloak.
"Are you mad Harry? Either you come with me or I stay. I'm not leaving you alone." Said Ginny with fierce determination in her eyes.
"Ginny Go!" screamed Harry just as two werewolves came shooting out of the wood.
The first charged straight at Harry, the second was circling to the right before breaking towards Ginny. Harry caught the first in the leg with a stunning spell, causing it to stumble and fall. The other werewolf had gained a lot of ground already.
"Stupefy!" Cast Harry, sending a jet of red light towards the oncoming wolf. He missed.
"Impedimenta!" This time he caught it full on in the chest, knocking the werewolf off its feet. The one he stunned, Harry noticed out of the corner of his eye was already stirring. He turned to check to see that Ginny had made it safely by now, when to his horror he spotted her not five paces behind him.
"What are you doing? I told you to run!" Harry screamed at her.
"And I already told you that if you stay so do I." said Ginny evenly her wand raised.
"We need your brothers GO NOW!" Harry bellowed.
A jet of red light shot from her wand heading towards him, he stopped it with a spell of his own. Catching her frightened gaze at what he had just done, He realized that obviously the stunning spell wasn't meant for him. He dove out of the way just as the werewolf swiped at him, its' paw had shredded a gash in his cloak. As he rolled he pointed his wand at the ground and flicked it upwards causing the earth to rise twice as high as he was, and with a twist of his wand as he started to rise, enveloped the beast like a tidal wave creating a dome around it. He could hear it clawing at the inside. The one he had stunned was charging at them once more. Figuring the same trick might work twice Harry caused the earth to rise in the form of a ten-foot wall. Just as he was about to encase the beast, it leapt over the wall and just kept coming. Harry let it come. If Ginny won't get them to come to us, I can still make them notice.
"Accio Mrs. Weasley's knives!" bellowed Harry lifting his wand.
The windowpane of the back door to the Burrow shattered as dozens of knives came soaring towards Harry, while the werewolf leapt into the air its jaws wide in anticipation of sinking them into Harry's flesh. Throwing himself to the ground at the last second Harry banished the knives, blade first at the attacking werewolf. Streaks of silver hit the huge, gray body of the wolf, Causing splatters of scarlet, which landed upon the Weasley's lawn and Harry. The Beast howled and writhed on the ground in pain. Everything from butcher to butter had embedded itself into the wolf's flesh. It looked like a large gray pincushion. Harry on some level felt bad knowing that this was a human in there somewhere. He tentatively stepped forward a few paces, he could see every blade had hit its mark. The wolf's left front leg had been almost completely severed by the butcher knife. Blood pooled beneath it, bone and sinew was clearly visible. A butter knife had pierced the right eye, at which the werewolf had clawed at it only worsening the wound. There were too many and they were too deep. It would soon bleed out, as it was it's breathing had already become ragged. It's wimpering much like that of a dog easily pierced the now silent night. Harry felt that the humane thing to do would be to put it out of its' misery. Pocketing his wand and drawing out the blade of Gryffindor from its dragon hide loop attached to the belt beneath his robes. Harry gripped it with both hands and in one motion he deftly separated the head from the body as if he was wielding an executioner's axe.
Harry turned his attention back towards Ginny, over her shoulder Harry noticed several silhouetted figures emerging to the burrow and one was rushing towards them pointing in their general direction and shouting something he couldn't make out. Ginny too had her attention on the Burrow and as the figure got nearer to them she heard the screams of her father. She turned back to Harry just as another werewolf landed on his back sinking its' claws in his back and swiping several times as it were attempting to bury a bone in Harry's back. He never screamed because his forehead smashed into the ground as the werewolf had landed upon him, effectively knocking him unconscious. The beast's head snapped back and as it prepared to sink its' teeth into Harry, Ginny caught it in the face with a bat-bogey hex. Several dark green and yellow bats were tearing themselves from each nostril of the werewolf's snout, clawing and biting its face. One actually ripped the upper-eyelid form its left eye. The werewolf howled and pawed at its' own face until the bats disappeared. A jet of purple light came from a distance behind her and missed the animal by more than a foot. She fired of another stunning spell that also missed it as the wolf lunged. Harry is unconscious and my dad is still too far to reach me. I really am going to die tonight. Nobody can save me now. Just as that thought crossed her mind, with a faint pop a man apparated right in front of her and caught the werewolf by the throat slamming onto its' back. Now I know I must be dreaming. The beast kicked out at the man with its' hind legs sending crashing onto the ground. She could hear her father's footsteps now. The man leapt to his feet and silently summoned Harry's sword to his hand and plunged the blade right the werewolf's open mouth as it tried to bite him. Ginny watched in what looked like slow motion as the blade pierced through the roof of its' mouth like a hot knife though butter. The man dislodged the blade from its skull with a violent jerk and preceded to wipe it off on his robes. He bent over Harry's limp form and quickly examined him. He looked up and whispered something to her but she didn't hear a word of it. His hood had fallen revealing a man with dark hair and a pale face half-hidden by the darkness, his eyes shone brightly and paralyzed Ginny momentarily with fear. She had seen that reddish gleam before.
"Get away from him Tom!" screeched Ginny.
"Tom?" asked the man perplexed.
"Stupefy!" yelled Ginny sending a stunning spell at the man, unfortunately he quickly produced a shield which reflected the spell back at her, she collapsed just as her father reached her and he caught her just before she hit the ground.
"Who are you and what did you do to my daughter?" Asked Arthur his eyes narrowing behind his horn-rimmed glasses.
"Calm down Arthur, Ginny's stunner bounced off my shield and hit her. She'll be fine but we need to get Harry inside and quickly." Said the man as he bent down and lifted Harry onto his Shoulder.
"Do I know you?" asked Arthur as he lifted Ginny gently in his arms.
"I should hope so. I mean it's been awhile but I Haven't changed that much since I was last here."
"Cyric?" Asked Arthur as they strode towards his family and home.
"It's good to see you too Mr. Weasley." Said Cyric with a smile.
Cyric placed Harry on the kitchen table and was examining the wounds on Harry's back. The Burrow was as noisy as ever as the various Weasley's were crowded around Harry asking questions at the same time making answering them impossible.
"Charlie take Ginny into the drawing room and set her down on the sofa. She is only stunned. Make sure Ron and Hermione don't come in here. I don't want them seeing Harry like this." Said Molly.
"If you can't pacify them tell them we'll be out shortly to talk to them about what has happened." Said Arthur handing Ginny over to Charlie.
"Alright." Said Charlie as he left the kitchen with Ginny in his arms.
He placed her on the sofa in the drawing room, drew his wand "Enervate." Her eyes fluttered open, she rubbed her head and shot straight up.
"Harry!" screamed Ginny. "I've got to help him." She said to nobody in particular.
"Ginny calm down, Harry's fine. He's with mom and dad right now in the kitchen." Said Charlie.
"B-But the werewolves…Bill oh Merlin Charlie where's Bill?" Said Ginny frantically trying to escape the sofa.
"Bill? He's up in his room with Fleur and the twins why?" asked Charlie, truly puzzled at his sister's erratic behavior.
"A-Are you sure? How do you know he didn't transform and escape?" Asked Ginny, her voice cracking due to panic.
"Ginny I swear to you I was just with them like five minutes ago, I stepped out to get some tea when I heard the commotion. Honestly you would think someone might have noticed a red headed werewolf with a fang earring streak out of the house. We're not that thick." Said Charlie trying to both placate Ginny as well as lighten the mood a bit.
"TOM!" shrieked Ginny at the top of her lungs. "Voldemort, He's here! Charlie we need to get out of here Tom's here!" Ginny screamed trying as hard as she could to get past her brother.
Charlie heard the clatter of a dozen feet, half-running, half-falling down the stairs overhead as he wrestled his sister back onto the sofa.
"Ginny, if you don't calm down I'll Stun you again." Said Charlie just as the others appeared in the hallway. "All of you in here now!" he shouted getting the attention of his family.
"Hey who are you to boss us around?" said Ron with the full insolence of a small child.
"We heard screaming, what's going on?" asked Bill.
"Is You-Know-Who really here?" asked Fred.
"Where's mom and dad?" asked George.
"For Merlin's sake all of you shut up and sit down and shut up for a minute, before I make you." Said Charlie his patience wearing thin.
"You make us? Ha. In case you can't count it's six of us and only one of you." Snapped Ron. As he said this both Fleur and Hermione took seats on the sofa opposite the one Ginny was pinned on. "Still it's four on one." Said Ron with slightly less Bravado.
"Oh hush Ron. Silencio." Said Hermione jabbing her wand in Ron's direction. He opened his mouth but no sound came out, he glared reproachfully at the bushy-haired brunette.
"That's why Fred and I don't date, girlfriends are traitors…" Began George.
"At least until you get married, eh Bill." Finished Fred.
"Yea Ron if you don't want her to hex you anymore just marry Hermione. That's why I'm doing it." Said Bill laughing at the cuff on the head he earned from his soon to be wife. Both Ron and Hermione blushed furiously and fell completely silent, although Ron had little choice.
"Okay now that you're all quiet and sitting, Harry saved our dear sister here from werewolves just now, don't worry nobody was bit." Said Charlie quickly trying not to be interrupted, and still struggling to restrain Ginny. I tame dragons for a living; you would think holding down a girl would be a piece of cake. He thought to himself as he paused for a breath. "Mom and Dad are in the kitchen now with him, but we all need to stay in here until they come out. Although he wasn't bit Harry's a bit of a mess and trust me none of you want to see him like this, so just stay put. Dad said they'll be out shortly to explain everything okay? I'm sure mom must've Flooed a healer by now." Finished Charlie.
"Get off me Charlie, Voldemort's here we have to warn them." Said Ginny trying to throw her brother off of her to no avail.
"No Ginny whomever that man is, I don't know, but he is way too young to be You-Know-Who." Said Charlie, completely exasperated.
"Wait, you left them with a complete stranger that very well could be a Death Eater?" asked Bill, rising to his feet and drawing his wand.
"Dad seemed to know him but I didn't catch a name." Said Charlie.
A bright red light illuminated the room as Charlie was shot across it. Faster than anyone could react, Ginny was on her feet and heading towards the kitchen door. She reached the door just as it was thrown open and smacked her in the face knocking her to the floor.
"Oh dear, Ginny are you alright? I didn't see you there" Said Arthur as he bent down to help his daughter up off the floor; where she was cradling her bloody nose with both hands. "Episky." He said quickly healing Ginny's nose and wiping the blood from her face off on his robes.
"How's Harry is he all right?" Asked Hermione as she noticed His robes were caked in dried blood.
"I won't lie to you. It's not looking good. His back is torn quite badly. However Molly and Cyric seemed to have stopped the bleeding. And as it's Harry I'm sure he'll be fine as soon as Madame Pomfrey gets here." Said Arthur taking a seat next to Bill. "Let's wait for Molly and Cyric and then Ginny if you can, please tell us what happened." Said Arthur kindly.
The others joined them; and after a short explanation From Molly that Harry was fine and that Madame Pomfrey would be here any minute, Arthur prompted Ginny to begin to recount the attack in detail.
Harry awoke with a start. He was flat on his stomach and his eyes would not focus despite his glasses still being on. Am I dead? I can't feel anything. I must be dead. I failed them. All of them. I'm sorry. I'll never see them again. All my friends. Ron, Hermione, Ginny. Harry rolled off the table onto his feet ignoring the pain that shot through his back. No. I won't leave her. I Can't. The wolf. Did it get her? Please, please let her be alright. Very slowly Harry mad his way across the blurred room. He noticed his shirt was missing, and his right arm wouldn't move. No matter. Using his left arm to open the door in front of him and bracing himself with his back on the wall, Harry pushed forward. He could hear voices. Am I really dead? Am I behind the veil? As he drew nearer to the voices, he mustered all the strength he had left and called out.
"Sirius…Sirius please I need to get out of here. I need to find Ginny." A red blur came Shooting towards him. "Harry." The Dizziness hit him and he felt like he was going to be sick. "Mom?" he called out to the figure and passed out into nothingness. Harry slumped down the wall leaving a streak of blood behind him as he fell.
