At the Burrow
"How long has he been in there?" asked Hermione, who had just arrived back from Hogwarts.
"Three hours now," responded Ron. He was seated on a chair next to a large mirror in the Burrow.
"So that would be nearly a year's time there right?" she said.
"I think so. He told me that an hour here is about 4 months there. I've done a year's worth of guard duty in 3 hours?" he said jokingly.
"It's not healthy for him to be alone in there for that long," she said, frowning.
"Well, he seemed fine the last time he came back out, although he looked rather frustrated. I think he hasn't made much progress since he started yesterday. I've never seen him this determined though," responded Ron.
"It's very noble of him, but I still think it's a waste of his efforts. I've consulted with some of the foremost witches and wizards that each have expert knowledge of the dark arts, and none of them have seen anything like this. I fear it's…", but she was broken off by the sudden appearance of Harry through the mirror. He stepped into the room, looking frustrated and angry.
"How'd it go mate?" asked Ron, but he already knew the answer.
"Terrible. I've searched in every single book dealing with dark arts and magical creatures that I could get my hands on, and there's not a single mention of Ginny's condition, except for a few snippets on basilisks."
"What if it is a basilisk mate?" asked Ron.
"It couldn't be," responded Hermione.
"Why not?" Ron asked, looking somewhat irritated that she had dismissed his idea so quickly, but still curious to find out her thoughts.
"All of the accounts of basilisks I've read about say that they can only petrify their victims, not transform them into stone. Also, the basilisk that was in the Chamber of Secrets at Hogwarts did not transform any of it's victims into stone. Not to mention also that.."
"Ok, ok I get it!" said Ron.
Ignoring him, Hermione turned to Harry and said, "Are you planning on going back in there?"
"Ofcourse," he responded, as if she was mad to think otherwise. "I just need to try harder."
"You've tried as hard as you can Harry. This is not a simple matter. Voldemort had more knowledge of magic than even Dumbledore, so you can't possibly expect to.."
"What? So you think that it's impossible to undue her condition just because Voldemort was the one to cast the spell or curse or whatever?" he said in an irritated voice.
"No, that's not what I meant. I just think that it might be easier to get answers from the source…"
"Oh right, like Harry can just prance up to Voldemort and asked him what spell he used on Ginny?" said Ron with a chuckle.
Hermione gave Ron a vicious look, and he immediately quieted. "He won't just give you the answers you want, ofcourse. You'll have to force it out of him."
"Hermione, you couldn't possibly be suggesting?"
"The cruciatus curse! Ofcourse!" said Harry, with a look of pure joy on his face.
"But that's forbidden," responded Ron.
"Come on Ron! I don't think a jury in the world would convinct me for using it on Voldemort. Besides, he deserves it for all of the pain he's put other people through. And, if it'll get me the answers that I need, then it's a sacrifice that I have to make." Said Harry.
"I still don't like the idea. I don't think Ginny would want you to stoop down to his level for her. She wouldn't approve," said Ron.
"Don't you want Ginny back? She was..err..is your sister Ron. You can't let her stay like that. We have to bring her back, no matter what the price," Harry responded.
"Even if you wanted to, it's not likely that you could defeat him alone," said Ron.
"He'll have help ofcourse!" said Hermione.
"No, I wont. I don't want anyone else getting hurt because of me," said Harry.
"Oh come off it! You and I both know that Ginny was fully aware of the dangers in going with you to find that Horcrux Harry. Don't belittle her sacrifice by wallowing in self pity. She sacrificed her life to save yours, and it was a worthy sacrifice. If she hadn't been there, then you would have died and then we wouldn't have stood a chance against Voldemort. Don't forget that it's you who has to defeat him, not any of us," she said.
"So, if it's me that has to defeat him then I should do it alone," Harry responded, with a defiant look on his face.
"No one can accomplish such a task on their own Harry. Even Dumbledore could not defeat Voldemort by himself and he was perhaps the greatest wizard of our era. You need our help, even if you don't want it. In fact, you need more help then even we can offer," she said.
"What are you getting at?" said Harry.
"I've been thinking, that maybe we should start our own order of sorts. A group of wizards and witches dedicated to the destruction of Voldemort," she said.
"We've tried that already remember? The Order of the Phoenix got us nowhere," Harry responded.
"That's because it was poorly planned. Dumbledore brought in too many people, so there were issues with trust and secrecy, not to mention also that he was gone most of the time. I think we could accomplish more with a small group of people we trust. Also, we can use your mirror so that we can gain an extra amount of time to increase our skills in offensive and defensive magic," said Hermione.
"That's a brilliant idea Hermione!" said Ron, looking at Harry for support.
"How many people do you think would be enough," said Harry, who also thought it was an ingenious idea but did not let it show.
"I think seven is a good number. There are seven Horcruxes, so an elite group of seven wizards would be symbolically meaningful, and easier to manage. And, I've already come up with a list of names of people we know who could do it," she said, looking positively pleased with herself.
"Who?" said Harry and Ron together.
"Well, I think that we should select people from our year, because we know them well and can trust them. All of the people I have selected have the necessary qualities required of this task, such as courage and loyalty. They all also happen to have been members of the DA: Dean Thomas, Seamus Finnigan, Neville Longbottom, Luna Lovegood, and the three of us would make seven.
"I understand the others, but Luna and Neville?" said Ron in a shocked voice.
"Don't be so surprised. They both showed incredible improvement in a short amount of time during our DA meetings. Besides, Neville could have been the boy who lived, and Luna knows more than you think," she responded.
"Even so, Luna and Neville? Ron said, with a smirk on his face.
"Oh shutup Ron! Besides, it doesn't matter what you think, it's Harry's decision. So, what do you say Harry?" she said. She and Ron both watched him quietly as he thought it over.
"I'm in," he said and Hermione gave a cry of joy and leaped into his arms to give him a hug.
"Err..right so what shall we call it?" Harry asked, and they all paused to think.
"How about the Order of the Stag, since your Patroneous is a stag Harry?" said Ron.
"That's it Ron!" shouted Hermione, and they all laughed.