5

Ginny's Flight

Ginny Weasley sat sleepily by her bedroom window at the Burrow. She held Harry's wand, clutched tight to her chest, and she had wrapped herself in one of his jumpers, enjoying the baggy warmth it provided. It still smelled like Harry too. Since his disappearance, she had been at a complete loss. She had tried to search for him, tried to think where he could have disappeared to, but none of her searches had provided any results. Grimmauld Place remained empty, and there was no trace of him in Godric's Hollow, or Privet Drive. Hogwarts had been thoroughly searched by Professor Flitwick, and Hermione had apparated around with Ginny to some of the places they had stayed during their hunt for Horcruxes, but they were no more help than the rest. Ginny knew that she would soon run out of ideas. Worse still was the popular theory amongst the public that the WULF hadn't attacked Harry at all, and that it had been Ginny herself that had caused his disappearance. In Rita Skeeter's book, The Life and Lies of Harry Potter, the final chapter asked the question, what really happened on the night of Harry's disappearance?

Rita Skeeter, in her infinite wisdom, had concluded that Ginny herself had killed Harry, possibly after a row, and created an elaborate ruse to avoid being sent to Azkaban. Anyone who knew Ginny rubbished these claims straight away, but Ginny could hear the whispers that carried through the air as she walked through Diagon Alley, and about a week ago her father had returned from the Ministry and informed the family that Gawain Robards, Head of the Auror Department, had opened an investigation on her. Apparently the Auror Department thought that Rita Skeeter's theory had more credibility than Ginny's version of events, and were re-examining the evidence. Ginny was snapped out of her thoughts as a sharp crack sounded outside the Burrow. By the time she had made it to the top of the landing, the Minister for Magic was standing inside the Weasley's living room with a grim look plastered across his face as he was being greeted by her father. Ginny slunk back into the shadows, watching quietly from the dark. "They want me to bring her in Arthur," she heard Kingsley's deep voice rumble through the house.

"How ridiculous!" her father snapped back, "she won't be going anywhere!"

"My hands are tied Arthur, there isn't much I can do. There are people calling for me to be sacked as it is, I cannot stand against the entire department of Aurors. Times are far more dangerous than you think. The WULF are getting bolder with each passing day, people are scared stiff."

"Well then why don't you do something to stop the WULF instead of making baseless accusations against my daughter!"

Ginny listened as the two friends continued arguing, their voices growing louder, and more ragged. Her mother had entered the fray now, and could be heard shrieking at Kingsley, demanding that he leave at once. As silently as she could, Ginny crept back up the stairs to her bedroom, and began setting her plan into motion. She wasn't sure why, but she'd had a gut feeling that it might come to this, to Kingsley's hand being forced, to her being dragged away to Azkaban. But she wasn't going to find Harry in Azkaban, and therefore, had no intention of going to Azkaban.

In a way, she understood why the Ministry wanted to arrest her. After all, the most famous wizard alive had suddenly gone missing in mysterious circumstances, and only Ginny had witnessed it happen. It did look suspicious, and the Ministry needed to look strong, to give people confidence that the Aurors were doing their jobs properly, and to show that Harry's disappearance wouldn't go unpunished. But Ginny couldn't sit idly by, couldn't suffer the punishment for a crime that she would never, ever commit. So, over the last week, Ginny had prepared a grab bag. It was similar to the one Hermione had carried during her hunt for Horcruxes with Harry and Ron; very small and non-descript, easy to carry over her shoulder, and containing an undetectable extension charm that would enable her to carry as much supplies as necessary. So far, she'd packed most of her school textbooks for Defence Against the Dark Arts and Charms, as well as her cauldron, Potions textbook, and a few essential ingredients, along with some clothes, and a tent that she'd bought in Carkitt Market. She stowed Harry's Invisibility Cloak, and the Marauders Map into the bag, and then slid Harry's wand securely into a pouch on the front, deciding that she would give it to him after she'd found him, and dove underneath her bed to pull out her Cleansweep Twelve. For a moment, she'd considered apparating to Vinehill Cottage, her would-be home with Harry, and escaping on her much faster Firebolt Hurricane, but the Ministry would be able to trace her the second she disapparated, and there was a good chance the Aurors had already placed an anti-disapparation charm over the Burrow already, so flying was her best method of escape. She had just pulled a warm cloak over her shoulders, and rushed to open her large bedroom window when she heard a series of thunderous footsteps ascending the stairs

"Ginny!" her mother shrieked, "Ginny wake up!" Her mother was clearly dragging back Kingsley at the very least, as Ginny could hear a lot of scuffling, followed by more cries from her mother, "You will not take my daughter anywhere!" Ginny threw open the window and mounted her broom just as the door to her bedroom was knocked flying off its hinges. A large, bearded man with a barrel chest strode into the room, his wand drawn in front of him.

"Stop right there miss!" He said in a thick Welsh accent, "On the behalf of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, I, Gawain Robards, Head of the Aurors, am arresting you, Ginevra Molly Weasley, for the suspected murder of one Harry James Potter. You do not have say anything, but anything you do say will be taken as evidence and may be used against you in a court of law. Do you understand?"

"I understand," Ginny sighed, letting her broom slip from her hand and out of the window, "but I don't understand why you're trying to arrest me, you should be after the WULF."

"But the WULF weren't there that night, were they miss?" the Head Auror pointed his wand towards Ginny's chest, "I don't think you meant to hurt him, not really, you seem like a nice girl. But you killed Harry, didn't you?"

"No!" Ginny screamed back at him, "I love Harry, I wouldn't hurt him, ever!"

"Ginny please," Kingsley spoke softly, "come down from the window. Come with us quietly to the Ministry and we'll be able to sort everything out there. Don't try to outrun the Aurors Ginny."

"I can't believe you!" Ginny shrieked, "You used to be a great man Kingsley, one that Harry respected, one that we all did! Now you're siding with him! With no power over your own Ministry!"

"It's not his fault girl," Robards spoke again, "he really did try to pull all the strings he could for you, but the evidence is overwhelming. Nobody, not one witness reported seeing anyone in a mask, or anyone on a broom, or a cloud of black smoke. In fact, aside from a burnt patch of grass, there's no evidence to suggest a struggle took place at all. It was almost perfect." As the Head Auror continued his monologue, Ginny reached slowly into the pocket of her cloak, feeling around for a small, black stone. She gripped it lightly, afraid of crushing it in her fingers. "I wonder," he continued, growing in confidence, letting his guard slip, "what brought you to do it? What horrible thing was awakened inside of you that caused you to murder Harry Potter?"

"I wonder something about you." Ginny whispered, clearly catching Robards off guard.

"What's that girl?" He retorted.

"Do you have a Hand of Glory?"

"A hand of glory? What in the devil is a hand of glory?"

"The only thing that will help you see through this!" Ginny shouted triumphantly, pulling the Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder from her pocket and smashing it at the Aurors feet. In an instant, the entire room was engulfed in a thick, black smoke. Ginny leapt from her bedroom window, and landed roughly on her Cleansweep Twelve, which had been hovering a few feet below. As she pressed forward, urging the broom to reach its maximum speed as quickly as possible, she could hear Gawain Robards howl with fury. Curses fired in rapid succession from within the cloud of black smoke, which was now billowing out of the house. Ginny turned hard to avoid being hit, and glanced down to see an entire team of Aurors arriving at the Burrow, some firing curses into the air, others charging at her house. Ginny felt a pang of regret at the trouble she'd just brought to her parents' door, but she hadn't enough time to dwell on it, as the Aurors were becoming more accurate. Solemnly, Ginny flicked a switch on her broom handle that would activate her Broom Broom Kit to give her even more speed, and dashed away into the night, unsure of where she was going, but nevertheless determined that she wouldn't be caught.

Back inside the Burrow, Gawain Robards was seething with rage, and had no trouble taking it out on Ginny's bedroom furniture, much to the displeasure of Mrs Weasley. "Kingsley!" He bellowed, "do you realise what she has done? What this will do to your standing as Minister?"

"I am sure," Kingsley replied coolly, "that the public will be less critical of my performance as Minister for Magic, when the news reaches them that the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and a team of his Aurors were thwarted by a single teenage girl."

Several Hours Later…

The members of the Wizards United Liberation Front bristled with nerves as their leader addressed them from a platform at the head of a grand ballroom deep within the basement of Malfoy Manor. Lucius Malfoy sat off to the side, clearly revelling in once again holding a position of some false nobility, catering to the higher-ups, and troop leaders of the WULF. Many wondered if the rest of his family knew that he was partaking in such gatherings. Of course, his wife resided at Hogwarts, and the pair kept minimal contact, and his son, Draco, hadn't been seen since the war. The masked figure on stage spread their hands out wide, and finally spoke to the room, in a cold, high voice that sounded like it was coming from the very walls of the room, and not from the speaker.

"Friends, comrades," the masked figure began, "welcome to a very important meeting of the Wizards United Liberation Front. You have all been invited here, with thanks to our most gracious host, Mr. Malfoy, for a small demonstration of just how far our organisation has come in the short year we have been in operation." As if on cue, the doors at the back of the ballroom opened, and four members of the WULF dragged in a large, bearded man who was bound tightly in chains. "This man," the figure on stage continued, "is Gawain Robards, the Head Auror at the Ministry of Magic. Gawain, albeit under the influence of the Imperius Curse, has been working with us for some months now. Today, I sent Gawain to arrest Ginny Weasley, whom, after being convicted of Harry Potter's murder, was going to die rather tragically in Azkaban prison.

Most unfortunately, Mr. Robards here has been attempting to resist the Imperius Curse, and today failed in his task. Now that just won't do." The figure on stage raised a wand towards the Head Auror, and sent a bolt of red shooting into his chest. The large man convulsed within his chains, and screamed through a cloth gag as the Cruciatus Curse caused him unimaginable pain. The torture went on for a solid three minutes before the masked figure on stage finally released the curse, and strode over to the Auror, who now lay on the floor panting, and covered in sweat. The figure knelt beside him on the ground, its golden mask gleaming in the light of the torches that illuminated the room, the hollow, pink eyes eliminating any form of expression, increasing the fear factor tenfold. The figure waved its wand, and released the Auror from his chains.

"Now," the cold, high voice spoke in a terrifying whisper, leaning so close to Robards so that only a few people could hear clearly, "are you ready to be more compliant?"

Authors Notes

Hi everyone,

I'm sorry I've taken so long to publish this chapter. I've recently started college, and it is taking up a lot of my free time, I'm hopeful that you understand. I also find Ginny to be the most difficult character to write in the series, and I've re-written this chapter about a dozen times, so any feedback you guys can provide me with is much appreciated.

I have been a little disappointed that so few people have reviewed the story so far. I know it's not good form to ask for reviews, but aside from wanting feedback and suggestions, it would be nice to see that people are reading and enjoying the story. I know writing a review can be just as nerve-wracking as publishing a chapter, but even a simple message like "Nice chapter!" really makes my day. So if you are enjoying the story, please let me know! Alternatively, if you have any tips to help me improve, then by all means, drop them below as well!

I only have one question for you guys this time around: Do you think Ginny will be able to outrun the Auror Department and the Wizards United Liberation Front?

Thanks for reading, and I'll see you at the next chapter,

IronManRidingaNimbus.