Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter

This passing long weekend, I took a nice five-day trip to Quebec City and Montreal! It's really gorgeous there. And French is so my favourite language. And then I spent four days of last week in Ottawa. Needless to say, I've spent far too much money this past month.

I ended up rewriting this entire chapter. Just a few things I needed to incorporate that I couldn't put off any longer. Hope this is what all you people saying "WHAT ABOUT THAT POLYJUICE THING?" have been waiting for!

Chapter Thirty-Six: The Department, Revisited
……………………………………………………………

Molly Weasley was not easily controlled.

Ron knew this. Of course he did. He had nearly eighteen years of experience being her son.

Keeping her away from the room Ginny pretended to shut herself away in was, admittedly, harder than Ron had expected. He and Hermione struggled to keep his mum busy all night. In hindsight, some of the things they'd come up with to occupy her time seemed a bit silly, but the pair had been desperate. Ron's mum tried to go up to Ginny's room fifteen times if she tried once.

'Ginny hasn't come down at all,' Mrs Weasley speculated.

'Yeah,' Ron said. 'Well …'

'She's still a little upset,' Hermione supplied.

'I should go up and speak with her.'

'No!' Ron cried. 'I mean, you know how Ginny is. She'll get over it.'

Actually, it was probably nothing short of a miracle that stopped Mrs Weasley from realizing what was happening right under her nose. Really, the Weasley family went to extensive measures to keep themselves safe, but Ginny had slipped away completely undetected.

When everyone returned home, it was as though an enormous weight was lifted off of Ron's shoulders. He was relieved that he no longer had to keep careful watch of his mum – for if it had been discovered that Ginny was gone, there was no doubt in Ron's mind that it would soon be realized that he and Hermione had been a part of the cover-up. But even more than that, he was so relieved that everyone was safe and sound.

Having to sit around Headquarters while Harry was out on a mission gave Ron a new appreciation for Ginny. His sister was always forced to stay behind, and he had never truly realized how frustrating and nerve-wracking it could be until then. The entire night, in the back of his mind, he was wondering what Harry and Ginny were doing at that moment. He wondered if they had any trouble getting into the Ministry. He wondered if Ginny had been discovered. He wondered if they had met any unexpected trouble along the way, and if anyone was injured – after all, they did not have the best track record when it came to the Department of Mysteries.

While Harry and Ginny were upstairs listening to the prophecy, Ron's curiosity nearly got the best of him. He squirmed in his chair, knowing that Harry and Ginny deserved to hear it first – alone – but also dying to know what it said. It was no secret that this prophecy, much like the last one, would greatly influence the rest of the war.

What if Ginny was in danger because of this?

If Voldemort got wind of this prophecy – actually, Ron would be surprised if Voldemort hadn't heard at least a whispering of the news by now – would he come after Ginny?

But no – he had already come after Ginny. Twice.

Who was to say it wouldn't happen a third time?

Ron was suddenly enveloped by the strongest sense of protectiveness he'd ever felt toward Ginny. Falling victim to a diary when she was eleven was an awful thing, but if Tom Riddle somehow found a way to hurt her now – Ron would die before he let it happen.

Hermione's hand touched his and he flinched. It was only then that he realized he'd been clutching onto the arm of his chair so tightly that his knuckles had turned white.

'How long is this prophecy?' Ron muttered.

He suddenly heard the sound of footsteps on the stairs, and his sister appeared around the corner, followed closely by Harry. Right away, Ron could tell that something was … off.

Hermione must've sensed it, too. They exchanged looks and stood quickly.

'Is everything all right?' Hermione asked.

Ginny nodded. 'Yeah – yeah, fine.'

'Can we all listen to it now?' Ron asked.

He didn't miss the look that passed between his best friend and his little sister.

'What?' he asked.

Harry just smiled. And Ron had been around him enough to know that it was forced.

'Sure,' he said. 'Ginny and I wrote it down. I'll read it.'

He began, but McGonagall cut him off.

'Not so fast,' she said. 'We need to go to Hogwarts and alert Albus of this before anyone else hears what the prophecy has to say.'

Ron frowned but said nothing. He followed everyone through the fireplace to Hogwarts, and then up to Dumbledore's office, where the rest of the portraits began grumbling about being woken up.

'Before we begin,' Dumbledore said. 'I am afraid that I will need to speak with Harry and Miss Weasley alone. As I do not have the luxury of moving about as I once did, would you all be so kind as to step out for a moment?'

……………………………………………………………

Albus motioned to the two seats at his desk and Harry and Ginny took them. Once everyone else had gone, he spoke. 'Harry,' he began. 'Do you recall a conversation we had, not very long ago, in which you asked me about my other portraits?'

Harry furrowed his brow. 'Er – yes,' he said. 'You said that there was one in a place called Spinner's End, and another one –'

'In Grimmauld Place, yes,' the portrait said. 'I am willing to bet that neither of you have ever been in the room you used tonight to listen to the prophecy. You see, there was a reason that Minerva brought you to that particular room.'

He heard Harry curse softly under his breath, and knew that the boy understood.

'So – you heard, then,' Harry said finally. Ginny's mouth dropped open. 'You heard everything, didn't you?'

'I did, indeed.'

'You know that the prophecy we plan on reading to everyone isn't the real one?'

Albus nodded. 'I am truly sorry,' he said, 'but I cannot allow you to share your fabricated prophecy with the others. You will need to tell the truth.'

'And if we don't want to?' Harry said.

'I also heard what the prophecy said,' Albus said. 'And if you do not wish to share the contents, I will simply have to do it for you.'

'Professor,' Ginny said. 'Please, can't you reconsider? Put yourself in our shoes.'

'I cannot lie to the Order, Miss Weasley,' said Albus. 'To be quite honest, I am rather displeased to find that either of you would.'

'We're sorry – very sorry. We just … We don't agree with what the prophecy says.'

'You said it yourself,' Harry piped up. 'A prophecy is only true if we make it true.'

'To an extent,' said Albus. 'Harry, surely you must realize how dangerous withholding the truth from me could have been.'

Harry looked down. 'I did what I had to,' he said. 'You told me over and over that love is what I need to beat Voldemort. I have that now. And now this stupid prophecy is saying – what? – that I can't love Ginny because she's going to become a – a traitor? That's ridiculous. How do we even know that this prophecy wasn't just made up by someone on Voldemort's side?'

Albus clasped his hands together. Though he did not agree with Harry's decision to lie, he could not deny that he understood the boy's need to protect Ginny Weasley. Harry Potter had been through so much – and there would be so much more to come, of course – that Albus often forgot the boy's experiences in the magical world spanned a mere six years.

Ginny Weasley had asked Albus to put himself in their shoes, but the truth of the matter was that Albus had once been in Harry Potter's place. He remembered quite well the burden that was an uncertain destiny. Tom Riddle was not the first of his kind. Before there was Lord Voldemort, there had been Grindelwald. And before there was Harry Potter, Boy Who Lived, there was Albus Dumbledore, and it had been up to him to eliminate the evil that threatened their world.

'In a moment, I am going to ask you to go and tell Minerva that everyone is allowed back into this office,' Albus said, ignoring Harry's question. 'Once this happens, one of us will recite the prophecy – the true prophecy. It is up to you to decide whether it is you or I who will disclose this information.'

Harry's jaw clenched; as though with great difficulty, he ripped the piece of paper in half.

The knowledge and insight Albus Dumbledore could offer Harry was, quite clearly, of no interest to the boy. And, in truth, Albus was not certain he wanted offer Harry his assistance in this sense. For Albus had learned that one needed to learn some things on their own.

……………………………………………………………

Ginny didn't think she'd ever been this nervous in her life.

Having to make up a prophecy and lie to everyone was one thing. Having to tell the truth – and, really, there was no way to gauge how everyone would take that truth – was a whole other thing entirely.

Would her mother cry?

Would Hermione try, somewhat pointlessly, to make perfect sense of everything?

She wondered what could be worse – a bad reaction, or no reaction at all.

It was no secret that many of her brothers did not like her relationship with Harry. Few of them seemed to realize that if anyone was going to be able to protect her, it was him.

Bill was mostly involved in his own life at the moment – he had a new wife, after all, and he was still somewhat recovering from what had happened to him at Hogwarts.

But, despite her efforts to remain blissfully unaware, she was certain that Charlie disapproved of her being with Harry. She had been picking up on the looks he'd been giving her for weeks now. She didn't know if it was because Harry Potter had become just another synonym for danger, and she was now tied to that danger, or because Charlie was her big brother and didn't want to think that she was with any boy, Ginny couldn't tell.

Being that Percy had only just come back to the family, he was not in any position to lecture Ginny or anyone else in any way, and he knew it. Still, Ginny was sure that he had his opinions. If there was one thing she had learned about Percy while growing up, that was it. He always had opinions. On everything. Even when nobody was asking him.

The twins made a lot of jokes, but Ginny knew that they were actually quite protective of her, underneath everything. She had heard them discussing her once before, when they hadn't realized that she was there. They spoke of her in a way that, had it been anyone else, would have infuriated her. But because it was them, she had just smiled and then walked away.

And Ron, well, there was no wondering on this one. He made it awfully clear how he felt about his baby sister and his best friend. As long as they didn't kiss or touch or do any of that fun stuff, Ron was happy that they were together.

'You ready?' Harry asked her, as everyone came back into the office.

She could only manage a feeble nod. Reaching into her bra, she pulled out another small piece of paper – on this one, they had written the correct prophecy, so they could look at it later and scrutinize it away from prying eyes.

Ginny hated that she would not even have enough time to make sense of these words before her family got to hear them as well.

Still, she cleared her throat and read the words that she had hastily jotted down not thirty minutes before. When she was finished, she avoided looking up by keeping her eyes on the paper, until finally the words began to blur together.

'Let's do this one line at a time,' Lupin suggested, and Ginny thought that was a smashing idea. He motioned for her to re-read the first line.

'The one with the power is unforeseen and unsuspecting,' Ginny read.

'The power?' Fred said.

'That must be referencing the first prophecy,' Harry said. He looked at McGonagall. 'Right?'

McGonagall nodded. 'Yes,' she said. 'Indeed, it does sound that way.'

'She is the beginning and the end, for only together can the truth power be harnessed,' Ginny read.

'This "one" must be you, Ginny,' Percy said. 'It says she, and you're the only female whose name is on the prophecy. And – unforeseen and unsuspecting. It certainly sounds correct.'

Ginny agreed with this, too. For who in their right might would suspect that little Ginny Weasley could be holding the fate of the wizarding world in the palm of her hand?

'But,' Ginny began, and then swallowed thickly, 'the Dark Light is forever lurking inside, and she is the one who shall be led astray once more, and only too late will it be discovered.'

Mr Weasley frowned. 'The Dark Light,' he said. 'Could that mean Tom Riddle? He was the one who … led her astray … before.'

'Probably,' Harry said.

'Wait,' Mrs Weasley said dubiously. 'Am I to believe that my daughter has a part of Lord Voldemort inside of her? And that he's going to turn her into a traitor? That's ridiculous.'

Was it?

Ginny could not deny that the voice inside of her head was sometimes not her own.

'May we have the next line, please?' McGonagall requested. Clearly, for the time being, not one of them was prepared or willing to address the issue of Ginny turning to the Dark side.

'But either must die at the hand of the other, and redemption must be found in the purest of sacrifices, for only then can goodness prevail.'

'The first part, again, goes back to the original prophecy,' Harry said. 'It's nearly word for word.'

Nobody disputed this. Instead, Charlie spoke up: 'What is this sacrifice? And who is going to be making it?'

He threw a rather nasty glance at Harry, and Ginny felt suddenly, inexplicably compelled to draw her wand and Bat-Bogey Hex her brother until he wiped that awful look off of his face.

'A pure sacrifice …' Hermione said. 'There are only a few things that it can be.'

'What are they?'

'Well,' said Hermione, and Ginny felt certain that this information was to be quoted directly from a book her friend had read in the Library. 'For a sacrifice to be pure, it must be something that is difficult for the doer to complete, but something that nobody would ever ask him or her to do.'

'How is that any different from a regular old sacrifice?'

'A pure sacrifice,' she continued, 'has to involve pure emotions. What purer emotion is there than love? This isn't like being cold because you took off your jacket to give to a shivering girl, or cutting back on luxury items because money is tight. It isn't about doing something because you feel a sense of duty. It's about doing something because you want to. Think about the things that you would gladly do for a loved one that you wouldn't do for someone you merely liked – or hardly knew, for that matter.'

'Dying,' Ron said.

Hermione nodded. 'When you attempted to save Ginny,' she said, 'that was a pure sacrifice. See the difference? You wouldn't die for the person behind you in line at the Ministry, but you would die for the person across from you at the dinner table.'

'What about when Harry almost died to save that girl?' George asked.

Hermione smiled at Harry. 'Well, there are extraordinary circumstances that cancel this out. But dying for a stranger is incredibly rare.'

'Nobody is dying for anybody,' Mrs Weasley said sternly.

'Least of all Ginny,' Bill added.

Several people in the room nodded at this, and Ginny wondered if any of them realized that if it came down to living without Harry or dying so Harry could live, she would choose the second option in a heartbeat.

……………………………………………………………

Harry fell back against his bed and sighed. He was so exhausted that he could barely stand. He had been awake for well over twenty-four hours. His body needed sleep, but his mind was screaming for him to stay up and examine this prophecy more thoroughly. He felt that there was something more to it than he was seeing, and if he could just find a new way to approach the subject, he'd be able to figure out what it all meant. Or maybe this was just wishful thinking, and he should ask Hermione in the morning.

He wondered if he and Ginny should tell Hermione about their newfound connection. Having all the facts would certainly make it easier for Hermione to help them.

He spent longer on his Occlumency tonight than he normally did, but then again, he had more pressing on his mind than he normally did.

At last, he closed his eyes and felt himself drifting off to sleep.

There was a soft pop somewhere to his right. Whoever was Apparating into Charlie's old bedroom to disturb him was certainly not welcome at this moment in time. Groaning, and refusing to open his eyes, he grumbled out, 'What?'

'Get up,' Hermione said quickly. 'We have to get to Headquarters now.'

Harry sat up. 'Why? What happened?'

There was another pop, and Ron appeared beside Hermione.

'There's an attack at the Ministry,' Hermione said.

'McGonagall thinks Voldemort might be there,' Ron added.

Reaching down deep and finding the energy he needed to get out of bed, Harry jumped up and began pulling on the closest pair of trousers he could find.

There was something else, something that Hermione and Ron weren't telling him. He could feel it. One didn't grow up with two people without being able to tell when they weren't being completely honest.

'What else?' he asked.

Hermione hesitated. Then, she said: 'They went to Level Nine. The Department of Mysteries.'

……………………………………………………………

Hermione remembered, with impeccable detail, the last time she was at the Department of Mysteries.

She remembered how the air had been charged that night, how everything had seemed to move in slow motion, how her senses had been so acute that she could sense every breath Ron took beside her.

She remembered the fight and the injury and the overwhelming danger of the situation. She remembered how they had broken countless rules by sneaking out of school, as well as by breaking into the Ministry. She remembered how all six of them had nearly died that night.

She remembered that she had never felt that alive, not before and probably not even since.

She had argued with Ron nearly every single day, but she had never been in a true fight, with wands, before the end of her fifth year. In fact, up until then, she (and Ron) had mostly sat on the sidelines while Harry fought it out.

She knew that she was a valuable member of their trio, and that she contributed things that nobody else could – knowledge and rationality and sober thought.

But despite this, it was Harry getting the Stone at the end of first year, and it was Harry saving Ginny at the end of their second. Third year hadn't been a fight so much as it had been a long, giant misunderstanding between everyone. It was Harry in fourth year, pulled through a Portkey while Ron and Hermione sat in the stands and wondered why nobody had come out of the maze yet.

But fifth year, they had taken a more active, aggressive role. True, both she and Ron hadn't lasted very long in the battle, but that was beside the point. Really, if it hadn't been for the Order and Dumbledore, even Harry wouldn't have lasted past that night.

'Ready?'

At Ron's words, Hermione was brought back to the present. They were standing in a spot they'd stood in just over one year ago, after their Thestral ride but before they had encountered the veil.

'Yeah,' she said. She clutched her wand.

……………………………………………………………

The words Kill the spare echoed in Harry's mind, and he wondered why the hell Ginny was with them right now.

They'd all scrambled out of the house and rushed out to the Ministry as quickly as they could, and amidst all the excitement, nobody had thought to ask why Ginny wasn't staying at Headquarters.

This was so bad. Harry couldn't even believe that this was happening. It was no coincidence that Voldemort and his Death Eaters had come to the Department of Mysteries mere hours after Harry, Ginny and the Order had.

They had gotten wind of the prophecy. They must have. But how? Who?

Was there a snitch within the Order?

Harry knew the answer before he'd even asked the question. Of course there wasn't.

In truth, Harry had been somewhat suspicious of Percy when he suddenly decided to "return to the family". But Percy seemed generally remorseful about the way he'd treated his parents, and the way he'd turned his back on everyone. Harry had never really held Percy in high regard, but he knew better than to think that even he was capable of being a spy for Voldemort.

So, ruling out the Order, how could Voldemort have known?

Did he send someone to spy, like he had when the first prophecy was made, and the person had overheard again? If that was the case, Harry wondered how much of this second prophecy had been passed to Voldemort. Had he heard it all? Or had he only heard a portion of it, like last time?

What would happen when it was discovered that the prophecy had already been taken from the Department of Mysteries and listened to?

Or was it possible that Voldemort didn't have any clue there was a prophecy with Harry and Ginny's name on it?

Could he be looking for something else?

……………………………………………………………

There was a rule at Hogwarts that teachers and students were not allowed to be romantically involved in any way. Hermione believed that this rule was a necessity. Granted, most of the teachers at Hogwarts were old or dull or unattractive, or any combination of those three.

But every now and again, a teacher came along who had beautiful hair and straight, white teeth, and a smile that could turn a student into a puddle of goo on the floor.

Lockhart, for example.

This rule was in place for several reasons. Primarily, it was because teachers could not be biased, and any student who was, er, getting private lessons from a teacher was likely to receive marks higher than what they deserved.

Favouritism, it was called.

And favouritism applied to several things, not just in class.

While patrolling, she and Ron had often caught Harry or Ginny or Seamus outside of Gryffindor Tower after hours, but instead of deducting house points or giving them a detention, Ron would send them off without a warning. And Hermione rarely said anything about it.

In the workplace, office romances were discouraged. Dating a co-worker could get in the way of your work, especially if you had a messy break up. Being involved with an employee meant that you might give them the more popular jobs, or the promotions that others deserved.

But in war, when the person you loved was facing death, you were far more likely to favour them.

Hermione experienced this firsthand when battle broke out, and instead of going to help Moody, who was struggling to fight four Death Eaters at once, she went to Ron, who was easily handling two.

It would not be until much later, when Hermione would discover Moody's fate, that she would wonder if she should have gone to him instead.

By the time she got across the room to Ron, she was out of breath and had nearly been Stunned twice.

But it was a good thing that Hermione did go to Ron, because just as both Death Eaters went down, a third came up behind him, giving him no time to react.

'Avada –'

It felt as if everything was happening at once, but it was all moving in slow motion, and Hermione could see two and three moves ahead of herself.

She saw herself raising her wand and crying out, and then she was doing it, touching on something she'd never even known was inside of her –

'Crucio!'

The person screamed, and there was a voice in her head telling her to stop, but she didn't. She didn't want to. Nobody was taking Ron away. Nobody was even going to attempt it. Not if she had anything to say about it.

For a split-second, she wondered if she had just lowered herself to the Death Eaters' level. Still, she did not let up.

'Hermione.'

Ron grabbed her and pulled the wand out of her hand.

She felt as though she had just been slammed back into her own body, as though she had been someone else just now. Suddenly the energy was draining from her, the overwhelming feelings flowing out of her, and she was left looking at Ron with wide eyes.

'I … just …' she said.

There was a loud scream, and Hermione would have paid it no attention, except that she knew who it was.

'Ginny,' Ron said, looking around desperately.

Finally, they spotted her; she was fighting against the Death Eater that was restraining her, and then, before anyone could react, she was dragged out of the room and down a corridor.

Then they saw Harry taking off after her.

……………………………………………………………

Something was wrong with this. Harry could feel it. But what was he supposed to do? Not go after Ginny because of a weird feeling?

'Harry!'

It was Ron.

'Where'd she go?'

He didn't know. But it was too much effort to speak – all of his energy was going toward finding Ginny – so he communicated his confusion by looking around wildly.

Could he use wandless magic to find her? Honestly, he didn't even know how he would go about that, so he figured it probably wasn't smart to waste time trying.

'Harry! Help!'

It was Ginny. He felt the same sense of terror grip his heart, but he also got the same strange feeling that he was walking into yet another trap.

'This way,' Ron said, and they took off in the direction from where Ginny's voice was coming.

The second Harry turned the corner and spotted her, standing by herself in the middle of the darkened room, he knew what the problem was.

If Ginny needed him, and needed him to find her, why wouldn't she use their connection to tell him where she was? And why wouldn't she –

Ginny?

Yeah?

Where are you?

With Tonks. She's hurt and I'm guarding her.

So you're fine? You're not with Ron and me right now?

I don't even know where you and Ron are – why? What's wrong?

It's nothing. I'll explain later. Just – please be careful.

'Ron,' Harry whispered. 'That's – that's not Ginny.'

'What?' Ron cried. 'What d'you mean? Of course it is!'

'No,' insisted Harry. 'It's not. It's a Polyjuice.'

'Harry –'

'Don't go near her.'

Ron stepped forward, toward who he thought was his sister, and Harry reached out to pull him back again.

'It's a trap,' he hissed. Harry would run to Ginny and then Voldemort would appear and kill Ron, and then make Harry duel him. Or perhaps he had learned from previous mistakes, and would simply do away with Harry the moment he got his chance. 'Ginny's not in trouble. This isn't her.'

Ron spun around and stared at Harry as if he had three heads. 'How do you know that?'

The person pretending to be Ginny reached into her robes and pulled out a wand. Pointing it at Ron's back, she said: 'Cruc—'

'Stupefy!' Harry cried out, shooting the spell over Ron's shoulder at the stranger. Ron looked bewildered.

'How could you – how could you tell?'

Harry did not want to explain that, especially not here. 'C'mon,' he said instead. 'Let's get back.'

They both looked over each other's shoulders as they ran back to the fight, but along the way, Harry caught sight of something that was far more pressing that any battle in the Department of Mysteries.

'I'll catch up to you,' he said.

'What?'

'Go back to the fight,' said Harry. 'I'll be right there.'

'Where're you going?'

'I said I'll catch up to you.'

Ron stared at him, long and hard, before leaving.

Once he was gone, Harry rushed off after Draco.

……………………………………………………………