Chapter 13
"So he'll do it?"
Ginny looked over her coffee cup to Percy, who sat across the table. They'd met over breakfast at the Burrow to discuss Order business. Not everyone was present, but Percy, Bill, Ginny, and her parents. Ron had been on shift too early this morning to participate. He'd left the Burrow grumbling about being left out.
"Yes," she said hesitantly and pushed one last bit of fried egg around her plate. "More or less."
"Well, which is it?" Bill asked. "More or less?"
"He'll cooperate," Ginny said, "but on his terms."
Bill and Percy exchanged a look and then both nodded. "It's about what we expected," said Bill. "Anything is better than nothing at this point."
"What do you expect this...person to do?" Mr. Weasley asked.
"He has a sort of uncanny knack for knowing things," Bill said.
"My Auror friend in France says that he has connections all over the globe. If there's something that we need to know about, some advantage that will help us defeat You-Know-Who, then this is the person who can find it for us."
Ginny listened as her mind traced back over the conversation with BH. She still had no idea what to call him, and hadn't remembered to ask at the end of their puzzling communication. The weight of the galleon in her pocket was felt. She hadn't told anyone about it, didn't feel that it was necessary to share that she now had a direct link to someone who was reputed to be highly dangerous. She didn't want to see their faces and try to explain.
This was different than the diary, though. BH was...well, they'd all had dealings with him, and even if his methods were a bit morally questionable, she couldn't argue with his results.
"...it's not as if he can…" Her father trailed off, swallowing thickly, and shook his head. The words "kill Vol-Voldemort" hung in the air, unsaid.
"What if he can?" Ginny asked quietly. "We don't know what he can do, honestly. Or what any of us may have to do."
Silence answered her back and Ginny realized that, just like her, nobody knew what they might be called upon to do for the war effort.
"Enough," their mother scolded. "No more talk of this today. You'd best hurry up or you'll all be late for work."
"Not me," Bill said as he sat back, grinning. "I'm off today."
"Then you can help around here."
Ginny smirked at her brother as his smile fell off, but did nod at his mother. She quickly finished up her breakfast, levitated her dishes to the sink, and began gathering her things.
"Heard you're seeing someone new."
Ginny glared at Bill and peeked a glance at her parents, who were quietly discussing something with Percy. They hadn't heard, thankfully. Her mother would demand that she bring Harry 'round for dinner, and her father would want details that she just didn't have right now. Harry Kilduff was...still a mystery, if she was honest.
"Shhh. Keep your mouth quiet."
He grinned and ran his hand through his long hair. "Why's it a secret?"
"It's not," she hedged. "Just...new."
"Ron said you told him it was serious."
"I told him nothing of the sort," she said as she secured her flight goggles onto her forehead. "I told Harry Potter that it was serious."
"Still on about that, is he?"
SHe snorted and shook her head. "Bloke just can't take a hint. So I stopped giving them. I told him plainly that I"m seeing someone. When he asked if it was serious, I said yes. I'm not sure yet if it is, but…"
"I get it."
"He must have told Ron."
"Well, you'll figure it out. ANd Harry will get over it. What's the new guy like?"
"He's…" She shook her head, trying to decide how to describe Harry. "He's one of the best flyers I've ever seen. Instinctual, even. And he's funny, and kind. He didn't even raise his voice when the broomsmiths mucked up a charm sequence and had the broom bucking around all over the pitch. I would have been screaming at them until their ears fell off. But he just calmly listed the issues and walked away-er, limped away, I guess."
Bill winced and shook his head. "Well, when you do figure it out, bring him 'round."
"So you can all torture him? Not likely. Let me get at least a few weeks with this one before you run him off, yeah?"
"Fair enough." He ruffled her hair and Ginny pinched him in the side before pulling her flight cloak off the peg and opening the door. "Post!" she called out and ducked as the owl delivering the Daily Prophet sailed in.
She apparated to work, secretly thrilled that she and Harry would be spending all day together testing out some top of the line brooms. The day promised to be very enjoyable. And maybe she could get Harry to kiss her again.
Watching Harry fly was almost intoxicating, she decided a while later after they'd gotten off the ground. And he was in a good mood, which helped. Whatever had been holding him back recently seemed to be forgotten, or at least pushed to the back of his mind. Ginny felt sure that he'd be asking her out after work today.
The idea of catching a snitch was intriguing and something she'd toyed with asking him to do with her. They could really go head to head and she could see more of his flying skill.
Just as her fingers closed around the ball, the wings fluttering and tickling, Ginny looked back over her shoulder to see Harry falling toward the ground.
"Harry!"
She let go of the ball and raced toward him. Thankfully, his safety harness caught and he hovered just above the ground, his arms dangling down to brush the tips of the grass.
"Harry, what happened?" She skidded to a stop and rushed toward him, lifting his face. His glasses had fallen off somewhere, and his face was covered with blood. She could hear footsteps pounding toward her as the crew raced to help them, but pulled her wand and squared off against them.
"Don't come any closer! Which one of you hexed him?"
Mr. Morgan finally caught up, breathing hard. He held his hands out toward her. "Now, Ginny. Nobody-"
"Well, something happened," she roared. "He's bleeding."
"Let us just get closer and we can-"
"I'm taking him to St. Mungo's," she said. "Phyll, release us both."
Phyllis lifted her wand and Ginny felt her harness release, the straps cut cleanly in the back. Harry dropped a foot closer to the ground, but Ginny levitated him, rolling him in her arms to keep the blood out of his face. She brushed the hair off his forehead and gasped at the cut there. It was in the shape of a lightning bolt, and right exactly where Harry Potter's scar was.
"What-"
He groaned against her and Ginny tightened her grip. "Hang on, Harry. I'm taking you to St. Mungo's."
"No!" His eyes snapped open, and then closed once more as he winced. His hand found the back of her neck and pulled her close. "Blackheart lives at 12 Grimmauld Place, London. There, Ginny. Take me there."
Her breath caught in her throat and she forced herself not to think what this would mean. She needed to get him out of here, before someone else saw his face.
"Let me help-"
"I've got him." Without a look back, Ginny closed her eyes, wrapped her arms tightly around Harry's chest, and apparated away.
They arrived in a dingy entryway, onto a chipped and faded tile floor that had seen better days. Ginny removed her flight robes and pressed the wadded up fabric to Harry's forehead to try and staunch the bleeding. Her hands shook as she tugged at his own cloak, loosening it from his neck and chest, and removed his gloves.
"Can you hear me?"
"Yeah."
She wanted to scream at him, to rage and demand answers, but the way he held his head and pressed himself against her leg convinced her to let him have a moment.
"Back already?"
Someone called out and Ginny spun on her knees, her wand at the ready. Her hands were covered in Harry's blood, and they shook, but she was capable of defending them both, if needed.
"Did you forget-"
Ginny recognized him immediately from his wanted posters that had been plastered all up and down Diagon Alley and Hogsmeade for years. Rather than wait for him to attack them, Ginny blasted Sirius Black through the wall.
Adrenaline was pumping through her, heart pounding and body shaking, Ginny pulled Harry back behind the half-wall and barricaded them into the small entryway with the decorative table after pushing an old lamp and other various things off the surface. She could protect them best from there, and cover the door, also.
"Ginny?"
Harry groped for her hand and she clutched his fingers. "Did you...did you kill him?"
She could only see one eye from behind the cloak he had pressed to his head, but gasped at the bright green there.
"No."
He lay his head back against the tile and squeezed her hand. "Okay. He's going to be pretty pissed when he wakes up."
"That's…that's Sirius Black," she mumbled.
Harry managed to laugh somehow, but it sounded forced. "Yeah. I know."
"How… Why? I don't understand, Harry." Her mind was swirling, images of Harry falling, her own bloody hands, Black flying through the air… They all mixed and nothing made sense. Above it all, she could see that livid shape on his forehead, and the name Blackheart.
"He's my godfather."
"He's a murderer."
"No. He's not. Ministry propaganda."
She shook her head and peered over the edge of the table. She could see Black's foot there, but he wasn't moving.
"And you're…"
Harry sat up slowly, lowering her ruined cloak and sighing. She got a good look at him now, face smeared with blood. He looked...different, but not, at the same time. There were features there she recognized, but didn't understand how they belonged on this man in front of her, when he looked so much like…
"Blackheart?" she finished.
"Yes." He said it simply and then probed at the open wound on his head. "We've met before."
"And...Harry…"
"Potter. Yes."
"But I don't…" She scooted further from him, trying to tie all the pieces together in her brain. How could he be…?
"I know." He held out his hands toward her, piercing green eyes pleading with her. "I'll try to explain, but...we need to get-"
"Why the hell did you do that!"
The groan from the hallway made them both turn that direction. Harry swore and stood on shaky legs.
"Alright, Sirius?"
"No. I wasn't ready for that. Why…?"
"We have company."
There was silence and then a barked laugh. "Hell of an introduction. Hello, Miss Weasley."