Chapter 13: Ginny's Patronus, Draco's Assignment

"Here with me" by Dido.

"After she found out about Hermione's cover, Hermione just told her everything," Harry explained to Snape and Dumbledore. The two had Apparated over as soon as they received letters from Harry and Ron, telling them of Hermione's second contact. "She promised she wouldn't tell anyone else. She talked with me and Ron for an hour or so, then she and Hermione had to go back to their dorm."

"She did confirm that you were showing unusual interest in Hermione," Ron told Snape. "She said you're always watching her at meals and in classes."

"For all she knows, I'm thinking of how to kill her," Snape said indifferently.

"I doubt it, Severus," Dumbledore said, smiling. "You were never the type to give very much attention to projects you weren't really invested in. You wouldn't focus so intently on someone you cared so little about as to kill." Snape's look of disdain was broken in seconds, when he abruptly clutched his left forearm. "Go, Severus," Dumbledore said, and with a sweep of his cloak, Snape Disapparated.

"You summoned me, my Lord?" Snape spoke as soon as he Apparated by Voldemort's side.

"You're going to Grimmauld Place with Bellatrix, Draco, and Lucius," Voldemort answered. "Now that the Order has abandoned the place, and Kreacher dismissed, you should be able to break in. Potter owns that house now, so you're going there to search for any clue as to what he, Weasley, and Granger are doing, particularly Granger. I want to know why the inseparable trio separated, and what it was that Granger was doing while the two boys burned the hideout. So far, Bellatrix has found nothing by herself."

"Yes, my Lord," Snape answered. "We'll see what we can find."

"What is it we're looking for, again, Remus?" Ginny asked. She and Remus were inside Grimmauld Place, searching through some of Sirius' old things.

"A hand mirror," Remus replied. "It's one of two two-way mirrors. I know Harry has the other one. Sirius gave it to him. Since we've lost touch with them through the mail, the other one could help us reach him." Remus and Ginny were searching for just another minute when a thundering boom made them both jump a foot in the air.

"What was that?!" Ginny gasped and she walked out the door of the master bedroom with Remus, wands drawn and held steady. They walked downstairs and through the dining hall, seeing nothing out of the ordinary. A room away, they could see the front door was broken off its hinges. They were proceeding toward it when a startled voice cried out behind them.

"Lupin and Ginny Weasley are here!" Draco called and Lucius, Bellatrix, and Snape ran in through a door under the stairs to flank him.

"Stupefy!" Bellatrix and the two Malfoys cried out simultaneously.

"Expecto Patronum!" Remus shouted and a luminous phoenix darted out of his wand and swept into all three stunners, deflecting them and temporarily blocking Remus and Ginny from the Death Eaters' view. "GINNY, RUN!" Remus shouted and he started to follow Ginny, dashing out of the dining hall, but he stumbled when the moonlight steaming in through the front door fell on him. Remus fell to the ground and, to his and Ginny's horror, he began transforming on the spot. The Death Eaters emerged from the faded shield of Remus' Patronus and aimed their wands at him.

"NO!" Ginny screamed, "EXPECTO PATRONUM!" A massive lion erupted from her wand with a booming roar and landed between Remus and the Death Eaters. While the lion ran a distraction, Remus forced himself up, even as his body contracted and continued to transform. He grabbed Ginny's arm, pulling her out the door and across the street, into the trees. He threw her from him and waved his wand through the air just before his body seized up entirely. He rolled into the brush, his transformation complete, just as the Knight Bus dove down to the street. Ginny leapt on the bus.

"Just go!" She screamed and the bus sped off.

"A phoenix and a lion?" Voldemort asked Snape, Bellatrix, and the two Malfoys, referring to their reports of the two Patronuses conjured in the fight at Grimmauld Place.

"Yes, my Lord," the Death Eaters murmured as one.

"The phoenix will represent Dumbledore," Voldemort thought aloud, "and the lion?"

"Potter," Draco blurted, surprising even himself. Voldemort raised an eyebrow. "Ginny Weasley and Potter were dating last term, at school," Draco continued nervously. "I heard Potter ended it at Dumbledore's funeral."

"To protect her," Voldemort said with a wicked smile, "because he knew she would be targeted. "Bellatrix, you and Lucius continue looking for traces of Granger," he ordered. "Draco, since you clearly know the most about Harry and the young Ms. Weasley's relationship, you can be the one to try to redeem yourself and devise a plan for her capture. I found plenty of uses for the girl five years ago, and I have a few more uses for her yet."

"Remus!" Ginny cried, running into Remus' arms when he showed up at the Burrow. "You're okay! I was so worried!"

"Yes, I'm okay, Ginny," Remus said, returning her hug. "I'm glad to see you are too. You saved me with your Patronus."

"You saved both of us with yours," Ginny said, smiling up at him gratefully. She was still holding onto Remus and only stepped away when her mother came rushing in from a nearby room to hug him herself.

"Thank you, Remus!" Mrs. Weasley sobbed, "Thank you! You saved her!"

"That's why I came here, Molly," Remus said worriedly. "She may not be as safe as you think."

"What?" Mrs. Weasley said anxiously, "What do you mean?"

"It's her Patronus," Remus said. "If those Death Eaters make the connection—"

"Connection?" Mrs. Weasley asked, confused. Remus frowned at Ginny.

"She doesn't know?" He asked her.

"Know what?" Mrs. Weasley asked impatiently.

"I told you most of what happened," Ginny told her mother reluctantly, "but I didn't mention that my Patronus changed…"

"Changed?" Mrs. Weasley prodded anxiously. "Ginny, what is it? What's wrong? Ginny, please tell me!"

"It's Harry, Mum," Ginny said softly. "My Patronus used to be a horse, but now it's a big lion. It's Harry."

"I wouldn't be surprised if Snape and Draco knew Harry and Ginny were together, last term," Remus said, laying a comforting hand on Ginny's shoulder. "Now, if they made the connection with her Patronus, they might pass the word to Voldemort that he could use her to get to Harry." Mrs. Weasley looked sick. She swayed slightly on her feet and Remus leapt forward to steady her and guide her to a chair.

"He might come after Ginny," Mrs. Weasley whispered, her eyes quickly overflowing with tears. She started to speak again, but no words came out. The tense knot in her stomach couldn't be put into words.

"We need to hide her, Molly," Remus said softly. "Maybe we should hide all of you. We need to go talk to Minerva." Mrs. Weasley nodded, still speechless. Ginny sniffed, behind Remus.

"I'm sorry, Mum," she said, staring down at her feet. "I'm sorry I put all of us in even more danger. I just…"

"Can't help who you love?" Mrs. Weasley said, regaining her ability to speak. "You don't need to tell either of us that, Ginny. We both know what that's like, as do your father and many others in the Order." Ginny looked up at her mother with teary eyes. Mrs. Weasley stood up again and moved around Remus to hug her daughter close. "It's not your fault, Ginny."

"I know," Ginny said. "But if Harry gives up whatever he's doing with Ron and Hermione to help me, that will be." Mrs. Weasley pulled away from Ginny and stared at her with watery, inquiring eyes. Remus seemed equally surprised by Ginny's statement. "Voldemort already used me against Harry, before," Ginny continued, surprised by their surprise. "In my first year, when the Chamber of Secrets was reopened? When I opened it, while Riddle possessed me? At first, he just made me attack muggleborns, but when I wrote about Harry in the diary, he took me down into the Chamber as bait for Harry. Harry was almost killed, trying to save me."

"You and everyone else!" Remus said. "Ginny, if you had died down in the Chamber, a teenage Voldemort would've been fully restored while an older Voldemort was still alive! If Harry hadn't come after you, we'd be dealing with two Voldemorts now. Of course, both Harry and Ron wanted to save you, just for the sake of saving you, but they really saved a number of people we can scarcely imagine. You can't blame yourself for any of what happened that year, Ginny. That's only borrowing trouble you don't need." Ginny didn't seem entirely convinced, but she nodded.

"So where are we gonna go," Charlie Weasley asked the group around him. He, Bill, Fleur, Fred, George, Ginny, all stood with their parents inside Remus' house, along with McGonagall, Remus, and Tonks.

"The Shrieking Shack," McGonagall said. "Alastor, Kingsley, and Hagrid are already over there preparing the interior for your use. The exterior, of course, will be left as is, as weathered as it is, to remain inconspicuous. Most of the locals in the area still believe the house is truly haunted, and we know the house has a helpful escape route. Should you be found, and should a sudden evacuation become necessary, you can all escape through the tunnel to the Whomping Willow, onto Hogwarts' grounds. Even though we've closed the school, the various wards on the school still remain—no one can Apparate or Disapparate on the grounds. In the event of an attack, if you flee to the school, anyone who attempts to pursue you can only come from under the Willow or by broom. Either way, you'd be left with the advantage."

"What?!" Ron said, jumping to his feet. Dumbledore and Snape were with him and Harry at the Grangers'. They hadn't been able to contact Snape for days, but he'd just come to tell them what happened at Grimmauld Place. "They're planning to come after Ginny?! What about the rest of my family?!"

"I saw Alastor, Kingsley, and Hagrid working around the Shrieking Shack," Dumbledore answered. "I expect the Order is going to hide your family there. The location is a good choice. Most are afraid to go near the house and, if any attackers did, your family could escape through the Marauders' route between there and Hogwarts. Harry?" Harry jumped. He'd been staring down at his feet with his fists clenched tightly, barely restraining himself from throwing something. He looked up at Dumbledore wearily.

"At what we thought was your funeral, I broke up with Ginny to protect her," Harry said. "I was trying to prevent her from being targeted, but it happened anyway."

"This isn't your fault, Harry," Dumbledore said firmly. "Nor is it a Ginny's. No one consciously chooses who they fall in love with any more than they consciously choose the form of their Patronus. Both the feeling and the spell can only really come from the heart. They are among the few things the mind has no control over, whatsoever. Nothing you or Ginny could've said to each other could've convinced your hearts of the lie." Harry said nothing. He looked at Ron. Ron stared back at him for a moment before speaking.

"It's alright, Harry," he said with a shrug. "Like you said, you tried to protect her. There was nothing else you could've done. It's the same with me and Hermione now. We finally got together, but now we're not even in the same decade."

"There is, at least, more we can do for those in this present time," Dumbledore said thoughtfully. Harry, Ron, and Snape all looked at him inquiringly. "Harry, send an owl to Minerva. Tell her you, Ron, and Hermione want to meet with her and the rest of the Order at Remus' house, in two days. Severus and I will come with you, but don't tell her that. Don't give away anything in writing. Our explanations must be given in person, and I do mean all of our explanations. You aren't the only one who has suffered from the delusion of being able to protect everyone by leaving them in the dark, Harry. I too have come to find many flaws in that plan. It's time we told our friends the whole truth."