Just Going With It

by pinkdigi

When the world falls apart, they only have each other. [PostHBP. HG and RHr, with Horcrux hunt and Final Battle]

15. The Crisis

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.

Chapter Fifteen: The Crisis
……………………………………………………………

Ron stood up quickly and looked around. Beside him, Harry did the same thing. His mum had screamed. He wondered what could be the matter. Did something bad happen, or was she merely being overdramatic about losing one of her sons to marriage? But ...why would she scream?

And then he saw them: Death Eaters. There were tons of them. They were in the backyard of The Burrow, where Ron's family was! They were going to –

Hermione. Where was she?

He pulled his wand out of his robes as Fleur screamed.

Oh, this was terrible. This was worse than terrible. What were they going to do? Most of the people at the wedding weren't trained Aurors or anything of the sort. A good amount of them were still underage or too old and feeble to defend themselves. Death Eaters were ruthless. They would capture and torture a baby if they thought it would make even the slightest difference.

Ron turned in a circle and saw that there were Death Eaters in every direction. He could see Tonks fighting one of the biggest Death Eaters Ron had ever seen. Lupin was close by, fighting another one. A few other people around them were throwing hexes and jinxes at the black-robed intruders, but nothing was working. There were more screams by the second, coming from every direction.

Hermione had followed Ginny. She wasn't in the backyard anymore ...she was probably safe. She and Ginny were probably talking somewhere, completely unaware that this chaos was happening.

'Don't get killed,' Harry said in an almost threatening tone. He pulled out his wand and rushed toward one side of the madness. Ron took a deep breath and ran off in the other direction, to where the other Death Eaters were. He knew the drill. It was time to fight.

A Death Eater, having just been Stunned, fell in front of Ron's path. Another one came up and pointed his wand at Ron, but Ron was quicker. 'Stupefy!' he yelled. He didn't wait to watch as the Death Eater fell.

'HELP!' someone was screaming.

He scanned the area and found the source of the terrified shrieks. A Death Eater was pointing their wand at his little cousin, Heather. This was crazy. Heather was only ten! Over the noise, he could hear the Death Eater's sick, booming laughter. What was that bastard going to do to her?

Bloody hell, Ian was there. He wasn't even defending his sister! He was standing a bit behind her with his hands out in front of him and a look of absolute horror on his face. Ron couldn't believe it. If that were Ginny, Ron would be hexing the Death Eater into next week, not standing there like an idiot. The Death Eater muttered, 'Silly girl. Avada –'

'PETRIFICUS TOTALUS!' yelled Ron, hitting the Death Eater in the back. His limbs snapped to his sides and he fell to the ground, stiff as a board. When Ron stepped over him, he couldn't resist giving the man a swift kick in the gut. Two more Death Eaters came at him. 'Expelliarmus!'

It seemed almost as if every Death Eater in the backyard had the ability to split themselves in half. There were so many! There was no way the Order could fight them all. They were everywhere. How could Ron get his family to safety? Heather didn't know magic ...she didn't even have a wand yet! If it wasn't for the fact that Ian was shifting around nervously, Ron would've thought he had been put in a Body-Bind.

'Ian ...' Ron said quickly, 'take Heather and run.'

'I can help,' he said.

'Like you helped save your sister from almost getting killed?' asked Ron starkly.

More Death Eaters came out of nowhere and though most tore off in the direction Harry had gone, several were still making their way toward Ron.

'Impedimenta!'

'Protego,' Ron said quickly. 'Run!' Heather ran away but Ian stood there, frozen in fear, staring at Ron. 'Get to a safe place!' commanded Ron as he deflected a spell.

'Crucio.'

Ron dove to the ground and narrowly avoided the spell. 'DAMN IT,' he yelled at his cousin, 'JUST GO!'

'Tarantallegra,' one said, pointing at Ian, who was trying to run away. His legs began dancing and tapping, involuntarily bringing him closer to the awaiting Death Eaters.

'Stupefy.' Ron watched as the Death Eater fell to the floor. As he turned back to his cousin, he caught sight of Lupin. A Death Eater had snuck up behind him as he battled and was muttering something. 'Rictusempra!' he screamed, a jet of silver light coming from the end of his wand. The Death Eater began laughing a high-pitched, girlish laugh and clutched her side. She sunk to her knees and dropped her wand. Lupin, who had finally managed to Stun his opponent, spun around.

'Thanks!' he yelled.

'Ron,' Ian said, sounding scared, panicked and slightly annoyed. 'Help me out here.'

'Finite,' he said dismissively. Ian's legs stopped moving and he stumbled forward slightly before steadying himself. 'Get going.'

'I'm staying! I want to fight!' Ian yelled stubbornly.

'You're going to get killed and –' he stopped, seeing that someone in black robes was running toward Ian, from behind him. 'Incarcerous!'

The Death Eater stumbled, his legs now bound together by invisible rope, and he fell.

'Diffinido,' a male Death Eater muttered.

The one who had been bound by ropes was released and got to his feet again. He gripped his wand and yelled, 'Stupefy!' Red sparks shot out at Ron.

'Protego!' said Ron, putting up a shield. He couldn't believe that this was happening. He was taking on Death Eaters left and right – without Harry around – and he was actually doing okay! He was vaguely aware of Ian running away to safety as he fired another spell.

'Protego,' one Death Eater said, deflecting the curse.

'Quit wasting your time with him!' another one, passing Ron, yelled. 'Get Potter while they get the girl!'

Immediately, the Death Eaters turned around and ran away. Ron's heart nearly stopped. They were all going to find Harry, so they could all fight him at the same time. Would Harry be okay? Where was his sister? What about Hermione? Was she hurt? Was she "the girl" they were going to "get"?

At this thought, anger bubbled inside of him and he gripped his wand. 'Stupefy! Stupefy!' He chased after them, Stunning several as he passed. It seemed like for every person in that backyard, there were five Death Eaters. 'Incendio.' The robes of a Death Eater caught on fire, and when he stopped running to put the flames out, Ron Stunned him.

He ran over to where Harry was fighting. Through a mess of black-robed Death Eaters, he could see bright red hair. Bill and Charlie were beside Harry, and Mr Weasley was there, too. The twins were hexing every Death Eater they could reach, giving a valiant attempt to join in the fight. Ron heard someone yelling, 'Weasley! Let's get the bloody hell out of here!'

Ron turned and found that the voice belonged to none other than the Minister of Magic. That bastard, thought Ron. What good was a Minister of Magic, someone who was supposed to protect the wizarding world from danger, if he was trying to flee from battle? There were Death Eaters all over the place, attacking, and all Scrimgeour cared about was getting as far away as possible. Ron was sure he wasn't even in a rush to get back so he could alert some Aurors and have them go help – he just wanted to leave so he wouldn't be killed.

Percy was beside Scrimgeour, but something seemed odd. Scrimgeour was gripping his arm, but Percy appeared to be fighting him. 'Let go of me! Sir!'

'Weasley,' Scrimgeour bellowed, 'what're you doing?' Percy wrenched himself away from the Minister and stared at him for a moment. 'If you go, you're out of the Ministry,' he threatened.

Percy squared his jaw and turned, hurrying toward the circle without a second thought. Scrimgeour Disapparated.

……………………………………………………………

Ginny was nowhere to be seen. That was all Harry knew.

He was being attacked by Death Eaters, all of which were shooting hexes and jinxes and Unforgivables at him, and he countered them, he fought them off, he avoided them, but his mind wasn't really there.

Ginny was gone.

'Crucio!'

Harry ducked behind a table, which received the blast and was blown to pieces. He held his wand tightly and looked around. He couldn't find Ginny anywhere. He didn't know if that was a good thing or a very, very bad thing.

'Reducto!' bellowed Harry. A few of the Death Eaters scurried behind the archway, which had been used to the wedding, and it met the same fate as the table. Everything around him seemed to be in ruins. Tables and chairs were in several pieces, as well as the altar. Harry felt certain this was not how Fleur had imagined her wedding day.

'Incen—'

'Stupefy!' someone yelled. The Death Eater, who had been pointing his wand at Harry, collapsed. Bill was standing behind him, panting slightly. He nodded at Harry and fired a series of jinxes at another band of Death Eaters.

Harry heard a noise behind him and spun around just in time to see a person cloaked in black robes point a wand at Harry and say, 'Imperio.'

Any thought that had been running through his mind, any worry or doubt that plagued him, was instantly gone. Harry nearly forgot where he was, and although he could see the turmoil going on around him, he did not care about it.

I should care.

He saw Mrs Weasley. She was struggling to fight off two Death Eaters all by herself.

That isn't right...

Something inside of him stirred, even though there was a voice in his mind coaxing him, telling him he didn't care and didn't need to fight.

I need to fight.

You don't have to fight, the voice was telling him.

But it's what I do.

She screamed for help. Harry could hear her shrieks, over the madness, over the slight ringing that was in his ears. For a brief, terrifying moment, Harry could hear his own mother's cries. He could hear her pleading with Voldemort ...pleading not to kill Harry. He could see that bright flash of green light in his mind. He wouldn't let it happen again.

I have to.

Harry had felt like this before. He felt relieved of all care, but there was an intruder in his mind, and it was extremely disturbing. He wasn't supposed to feel like this. Feeling like this was bad. He didn't know why, but he remembered that much.

It's good, the intruder's voice said. You don't need to worry.

It's not good. I need to...

You don't need to do anything.

...I need to fight. I need to help them.

You don't care about the fight. You don't need to fight.

I need to help Ginny.

The other voice disappeared from his head and Harry snapped out of his trancelike state.

'Conjunctiva,' he said, pointing his wand at the Death Eater. The Death Eater cast several spells, all of which missed Harry by a mile. The Conjunctivitis Curse was working, apparently, because Harry's opponent could no longer see what was happening. 'Stupefy,' Harry bellowed, taking advantage of the moment.

Another Death Eater ran toward him, wand raised. 'Stupe—'

'Protego!'

Harry wished he had tried harder in class last year. Maybe if he'd mastered non-verbal spells, he'd be able to fight and defend himself better.

When Harry looked back at Mrs Weasley, he was relieved to see that Kingsley Shacklebolt was taking care of one of the Death Eaters for her.

'Reducto!' yelled Charlie, who was fighting to Harry's right.

'Stupefy,' Mr Weasley said from Harry's left. 'Incarcerous!'

Suddenly, they were surrounded. The twins were helping, and – Harry was so shocked that he nearly stopped fighting – Percy had joined in, too.

'Locomotor Mortis.'

'Cruc—'

'Stupefy!'

'Ennervate!'

'Silencio!'

Everywhere Harry looked, there was a battle. Ian's dad was dueling with a large Death Eater; Fleur's father was up against two; Mason was standing in front of a frail-looking woman, blocking her from the oncoming spells and throwing out a few of his own.

This was madness ...it wasn't going to end.

Harry felt a somewhat familiar tingling in the pit of his stomach and it spread throughout his body. His fingers itched and his head felt clear and hazy at the same time.

Death Eaters were attacking in the backyard of The Burrow – the place Harry felt the safest, after Hogwarts ...Voldemort was probably going to show up soon. The Dementors were more than likely on their way.

He could feel the pressure building ...building up in his wrists, his palms, his fingertips. He closed his eyes. He could still see. He couldn't see faces, but he could see colours and he knew where everyone was and what was happening. It was almost better, almost easier, this way. It was simplistic and yet almost unfathomable.

People were going to die.

The feeling was getting stronger, the intense heat was growing and growing and he felt like he was going to burst at any moment.

'Oh, Percy!' he heard Mrs Weasley cry. 'Percy! No, Percy!'

This was his fault.

His scar burned and his insides were on fire. It had never felt like this before. It had never been this strong before.

This was because of him.

He needed to scream. He needed to cry. He had to do something to release this ache inside. Something was there, something was about to happen. But he couldn't make it happen. He wasn't strong enough yet. He didn't think he'd ever be strong enough.

Something was going to happen to Ron, to Hermione ...to Ginny.

Something inside of him snapped and he felt every muscle and nerve in his body tense for a moment. Then the tension was slipping away, leaving his body. It was draining out of him. There was a loud ringing in his ears, overpowering the sounds of battle. It took him a moment before he could open his eyes again, and when he did, he felt dizzy and suddenly weak.

'We've given them enough time,' a Death Eater wheezed. Harry looked around and saw quite a few Death Eaters on the ground. Most of them got up and then Apparated away. A few were left, passed out or bound by ropes and other spells.

Percy was lying flat on his back, Mrs Weasley leaning over him.

Ron rushed over to Harry, his eyes wide and his face reflecting the fear Harry felt bubbling inside. 'You did it again! How did –?'

But Harry wasn't listening. He thought about the Death Eaters, about the attacks. Given who enough time?

Something clicked. 'C'mon,' he whispered, taking off. He ran full speed in the direction Ginny and Hermione had gone before everything blew up. He wasn't sure if Ron was behind him, or if he was still standing there in shock. He didn't care.

Harry came to the pond and stopped dead in his tracks. Hermione was on the ground, passed out. What had they done to her?

He heard Ron curse loudly and knew for certain that his friend had followed. They rushed over to her and Ron got to his knees. 'Hermione? Can you hear me?' She didn't respond. He stood up. 'Bloody hell, whoever did this might still be around here somewhere. I'm going to kill them.' He marched into the trees and looked around.

'They're gone, Ron,' Harry said evenly. 'Ennervate,' he muttered. 'Hermione?' Hermione began to stir. 'Where's Ginny?'

Ron rushed out of the woods and Hermione sat up.

'Oh ...' she whispered, looking around, 'they ...oh, Harry, they took her.'

'What?' Ron demanded. 'Who did?'

Hermione sniffed. 'Snape and –'

Harry's insides clenched and he gritted his teeth. Ginny was gone. Snape had taken her. Why? What did they need with Ginny? Wouldn't they have wanted to take Hermione or Ron instead? Why not just go after Harry and get it over with?

This was the final straw. There was no more playing around anymore.

'Wait here.'

'Where are you going?' asked Hermione.

'Wait here!' Harry repeated.

'Harry,' cried Hermione. 'Where are you going?'

'I'm going to find Ginny,' he said simply. 'And then, I'm going to find Snape, so I can murder him.'

……………………………………………………………

'Harry!' yelled Hermione, but it was of no use. Harry was gone.

'Where d'you think he's gone?' asked Ron.

Hermione shook her head. 'I – I don't know.' She got up and Ron rushed to her side. 'I'm fine,' she said. Ron gave her a strange look and shook his head. 'Okay, I'm not fine. But I'm not hurt. Let's get back to your house ...is everyone okay there?'

'Are you sure you're okay?' Ron asked, putting his arm around her and helping her walk.

'Yes,' she said firmly, but didn't refuse his assistance. 'I hope Ginny –'

'She'll be okay,' Ron insisted, sounding only slightly doubtful. 'Harry ...Harry will get her back.'

When they got back to The Burrow, Tonks was levitating Percy into the house and Mrs Weasley was following closely behind, sobbing. Hermione's chest constricted. If she had just kept her wand with her, she could've defended herself and Ginny, and none of this would have happened. Fleur was holding Bill tightly and he was whispering in her ear, trying to calm her.

'Is Percy okay?' Ron asked when he and Hermione ran into the house after them.

'He was hit with a few Stunners,' said a witch Hermione didn't recognize. 'But he's young. If we let him rest, he should be okay by later on tonight.'

'How – how could this have h-happened?' cried Mrs Weasley. 'Why would – Hermione! Oh, dear, are you alright?'

Did she look that rough? 'Yes, I'm okay, Mrs Weasley. But – but ...' she couldn't say it. How could she tell Mrs Weasley that her daughter was taken?

'Ginny's gone,' Ron whispered. 'And Harry went after her.'

Mrs Weasley began sobbing again and Mr Weasley put his arms around her. Bill, Charlie and the twins stiffened.

'I didn't have my wand ...' Hermione told them, shaking her head and leaning against Ron. This was her fault. They were going to hate her for not defending Ginny, for not being able to save her. They were going to ask her to leave and never come back. 'Neither did Ginny. We couldn't fight them. I'm so sorry, really, I ...'

'They didn't hurt you, did they?' Lupin asked. Hermione shook her head.

'What about Ginny? Is she...?' Mr Weasley's voice cracked and he let his question trail off.

'They didn't do anything to her when they attacked,' said Hermione. 'I don't know why they wanted her.'

'We have to go find Ginny!' Fred declared.

'We need to wait until Harry gets back,' Tonks said calmly.

'Harry went off to find her!' cried Hermione. 'Don't you get it? He might not come back!'

'Regardless,' Lupin said seriously, 'we can't go rushing out after him. We don't know where he or Ginny are. We have to stay here.'

No matter how badly they all wanted to ignore them, everyone knew that Lupin and Tonks were right. They couldn't do anything. Not without possibly ending up dead. They couldn't help Ginny if they were dead. And Mrs Weasley would lose it if another one of her kids was out there, in danger.

Ron looked around. 'Where is everyone?'

'They've all Apparated far away from here,' muttered George.

'Is Heather okay?' asked Ron.

'Yeah,' said Fred. 'She wanted to see you but her mum made her go home.'

She wanted to see Ron? Who was she?

'Did you really save her?' Charlie asked.

Ron shrugged. 'I ...I guess.'

'That's so bloody sick,' Tonks said disgustedly. 'Attempting to kill an innocent, defenseless little girl like that ...'

'Heather is Ian's sister,' Ron explained, looking down at Hermione.

'She's only ten,' Bill said, sounding disgusted. 'And a Death Eater would've killed her if Ron hadn't stopped him.'

A Death Eater was prepared to kill a ten year old girl? Ron had saved her? Merlin, what had gone on while Hermione and Ginny were at the pond? The Dark Mark wasn't over The Burrow, Hermione realized thankfully. Nobody had been killed – yet.

Ginny could be a casualty.

'Hermione should be checked out by a Healer,' said Mr Weasley.

Hermione didn't want to leave. She didn't want Ron to let go of her. 'It's okay,' she said quickly. Mr Weasley gave her a strange look. 'Honestly, Mr Weasley, that isn't necessary. Nothing happened to me at all.' She didn't tell him that she had been Stunned. Surprisingly, neither did Ron. He just held her tightly and didn't let go until Harry came back.

……………………………………………………………

Harry looked around. One of the frames in his glasses had been broken, making it blurry and nearly impossible for him to see out of his left eye, but even so, he could tell that he was in Hogsmeade. How he had managed to Apparate there without Splinching himself, he'd never know. But he had more important things to worry about. He weaved in and out of the crowd, making his way toward Hogwarts. He was running full force; his legs were burning and he had a stitch in his side, but he paid his body no attention. He pulled out his wand and magically unlocked the gates, entering the grounds of Hogwarts. He passed Hagrid's Hut and the Quidditch Pitch and – finally – he came to the castle.

He gave himself no time to think back to the night Dumbledore was killed. He did not bother looking up at the sky, so to remember the sight of the Dark Mark hovering above his beloved school. He ran threw the doors and was suddenly very aware that he had no idea where McGonagall would be. Would she be in Dumbledore's office, or perhaps her old one?

He took off down a corridor and up the stairs, prepared to run through the entire bloody castle if need be.

'Professor McGonagall!' he yelled. 'PROFESSOR!'

'Potter?'

Harry spun around and found Professor McGonagall staring at him as if he had two heads.

'P-Professor,' he panted, resting his hands on his knees and trying to catch his breath.

'Why are you here?'

'It – it's Ginny,' he said breathlessly. 'They took her and –'

'Who took her?' McGonagall asked.

'The – the Death Eaters,' he wheezed. 'And I need to go after her! But you have to – you have to help me.' He inhaled huge gulps of air, but nothing was working. He couldn't breathe. But Ginny needed him. He would breathe later.

'Let's go to my office,' she said calmly. 'We can discuss this there.'

'There's no ...time.'

'There is –'

'There isn't any bloody time! Either we get her now, or we never do!'

Professor McGonagall frowned but said nothing. She turned around and began walking in the direction of her old office. Harry stared at her for a moment and felt his blood boil. Ginny could be dying and McGonagall wanted to go up to her office and have a nice little tea party?

'Are you – are you kidding me?' he asked, reluctantly following her and still panting heavily. 'We have to take action!'

'We cannot do anything yet,' McGonagall said over her shoulder, not slowing her strides. 'First, we will need to call an emergency Order meeting and –'

'No!' Harry yelled. 'That will take too long! I'm in charge, you've said it yourself. And I'm going to make the decisions.'

McGonagall shook her head. 'I am aware of your relationship with Miss Weasley, but –'

'That's not what this is about!' exclaimed Harry. It didn't matter that he was involved with her! If it had been Ron or Hermione, he'd be acting in exactly the same way. Someone had been taken by Death Eaters and it didn't matter if it was Ginny or a stranger; they would still need rescuing. They would still needed help, and Harry wasn't about to deny anyone that.

'Precisely,' said McGonagall, turning around to stare at him. 'And that is why your personal feelings should be left out of this.'

Harry glared at her. How could she be acting so calmly? Did he not explain the situation correctly? Did she not understand that Death Eaters had taken Ginny and were doing who-knows-what to her?

'They're going to torture her! If we don't do something soon ...' he trailed off, not wanting to think about the end of that sentence. 'We need to go! We – we need to get her back!'

McGonagall sighed. 'We don't know where she is. We cannot go blindly running into danger. It is not safe.'

'I'm going! It's my fault she's been taken and I'll get her back, even if I have to do it alone,' Harry said defiantly.

'You may have been put in charge of the Horcrux missions,' McGonagall said sternly, 'but that is the extent of your power. I forbid you to make another move without my permission.'

'And if I do?'

'Then you will be kicked out of the Order.' She watched Harry expectantly, challenging him to disobey her direct order.

'Then it's a good thing that I care more about Ginny than I do your bloody Order,' he said bluntly.

'Potter, you may fancy this girl but –'

'I LOVE HER AND I AM NOT GOING TO STAND AROUND WHILE THOSE BASTARDS HURT HER!'

He thought he saw the makings of a smile form on her face before she looked down and coughed. 'I'm sorry, but I have no choice but to remove you from the Order.'

Harry shrugged, not feeling even the slightest pang of remorse. 'That's fine.'

McGonagall cleared her throat. 'You're still going after her, aren't you?' she asked softly.

'I have to,' said Harry.

She nodded. 'Very well,' she said. 'I can understand your concern, but if you are going to try and save Miss Weasley, there can be no room for error.' Harry nodded. What was she going to say next? 'Let's go.'

'Where are we going, Professor?'

'We are going back to The Burrow. I'm quite certain there are more than a few people worried about you over there.'

Harry sighed and shifted anxiously on his feet. He could either go with her, or he could stand around arguing for another ten minutes – ten minutes that Ginny might not have to spare. 'Okay,' he agreed. 'We have to hurry, though.'

'We will.'

……………………………………………………………

The response I got for the last chapter was huge and completely insane. Thanks to all those who read, those who reviewed, and those who didn't come murder me in my sleep (though you wanted to!)