"Death, you bring death and destruction to all that you touch."

—Muse, Take a Bow

Prisoner

Ginny Weasley sat gloomily at the kitchen table of Grimmauld Place, stroking her pet pigmy puff, Arnold, anxiety evident on her freckled face.

"When do you suppose they'll be back?" Ginny asked no one in particular, seemingly for the millionth time.

Her mother, who was sitting at the head of the table knitting Charlie's Christmas sweater, startled and missed a stitch.

Instead of answering Ginny, Mrs. Weasley muttered, "They'll come back, all of them. They will…"

Mrs. Weasley had been reassuring herself of this for hours; Mr. Weasley, Bill, Charlie, Tonks, Remus, Sirius, the Potters, and Mad-Eye were on an Order assignment, and from the short updates Charlie had been able to report every hour or so, they could tell that things were not going well. Ginny, who would rather have been fighting with her brothers—though Ron, who was in a sour mood, had not been allowed to go either—than sitting at Grimmauld Place doing nothing, could just imagine the chaos that was ensuing. Apparently, hundreds of Death Eaters had raided Hogsmeade that morning, killing or injuring a large number of Hogswarts students. The Aurors had been the first to respond, but later a large part of the Order had joined them. The gesture hardly made a difference; three hours ago Charlie had told them that the Death Eaters had been joined by the so-called Prince of Darkness, or, as some people called him, the Prince of Death. At this revelation, Mrs. Weasley and Fleur, who was crushed with worry over Bill, had gasped in horror.

Ginny too had hardly been able to contain her shock. Two years earlier, when she had been in her sixth year at Hogwarts, Snape had gone running to Dumbledore proclaiming that Lord Voldemort had named his heir. The Ministry got wind of it not long after, and a series of murders came to follow, which Snape later confirmed to the Order had been the doings of the "Dark Prince" himself. The Wizarding world had been in a state of even greater frenzy ever since. Judging from the murders and raids the Prince was associated with, and rumors that he had power to nearly match that of Voldemort's, Ginny couldn't help but be worried to death about her family and friends.

"This is so unfair," Ron cried from across the table, earning a warning glare from Hermione, who was seated next to him. He ignored her and continued, "I should be there fighting, too. Why do Bill and Charlie get to go and I can't?"

"I should be there," said Neville Longbottom, who was sitting across from him. "They're calling me the 'Chosen One' so I think it would be reasonable for me to actually be doing something to stop Voldemort."

Fleur flinched at the name.

"I suppose you two want to be killed too, do you?" Mrs. Weasley shrieked, her cheeks red with anger. "It's not good enough that all the rest of my family dies, you have to, too, is that it?"

"Thanks, Mum," Ginny said. "What am I then, a Potter?"

"They aren't going to die, Mum, honestly—"

"How do you know?" Mrs. Weasley cried. "How do you know they haven't all already died? Charlie was supposed to have come back hours ago… How do you know they aren't all dead?"

"Because—"

Neville kicked him under the table and he finally shut up.

Mrs. Weasley, however, continued to mutter, "What if they're all dead? If none of them return…"

It was at that moment that they heard a faint pop of Apparition. Mrs. Weasley let out a small scream as she hurried out of the kitchen and into the entrance of Grimmauld Place. Ginny followed her, Neville, Hermione, Ron, and Fleur at her heels.

"Mum, it's me," Charlie's said from behind the door. Ginny was quite impressed when Mrs. Weasley, even in her present state of mind, managed to ask Charlie for his password.

"If you hadn't gone chasing dragons all over the world, what would you be doing now?"

"Playing Seeker for Puddlemere United," came Charlie's muffled reply.

"Now let him in!" Ron cried impatiently. "I want to know what's been going on!"

"No, you still need to test me, dear," Mrs. Weasley told Charlie.

Ron groaned in frustration, and Hermione shot him another look of warning.

"All right," Charlie said, understanding his mother's need to follow protocol. "Why were you angry with Bill and me for months during my second year at Hogwarts?"

"Because you two snuck out of school to go watch the Quidditch World Cup, and you were nearly trampled to death," Mrs. Weasley answered, opening the door. When she took in Charlie's appearance, she let out another gasp. He was covered from head to toe with blood, and he had several cuts on his face and arms. His robes were tattered.

"Charlie!" Ginny cried, horrified. "What happened? How are you still—"

"Relax," Charlie said. "Most of this"—he motioned the blood on his clothes—"isn't mine. I'm not completely incompetent; I managed to bring down a fair share of Death Eaters."

Ginny sighed in relief, but the others still were not satisfied.

"Where is Bill?" Fleur demanded. "Why is 'e not with you?"

"He's fine," Charlie consoled. "They are all fine," he added for his mother's benefit. "Just a few scratches here and there… But that's not important right now. You all need to leave now."

"Why?" Hermione asked.

"I'm not to say anything," Charlie told them. "I was just sent ahead to get all of you out of the house."

"No," Ginny said. "I won't leave until you give me a good reason."

Neville and Ron nodded in agreement.

"It's not your choice to make—"

"Well, you can't make it for me," Ginny retorted, silently daring him to try.

Charlie looked at his mother in desperation, hoping she'd demand that they all leave. Mrs. Weasley, however, was barely paying attention, her mind still on her family and friends.

Charlie sighed. "All right. I'll tell you, but you have to promise to leave when I do."

"I'll leave," Ginny said. "If I feel like you make a good enough point."

Charlie sighed again, but then continued. "This is for your ears only," he told them. "No one is to know."

"Obviously."

Charlie ignored her sarcasm. "As you know, the Death Eaters were joined by the Dark Prince earlier today—"

"Did you see him?"

"If you'll let me tell the whole story, Ginny, then maybe you'll find out."

Ginny scowled, but quieted and waited for the rest.

"Anyway," Charlie continued, "the Prince came. He was just…terrorizing. He Stunned a dozen Aurors and a few Order members in the space of just a few seconds. Thank Merlin he wasn't using the killing curse. Probably a large number of people would be dead by now, but I guess it takes longer to cast the Avada Kadavra than a simple Stupefy, so we got lucky there."

"But what did he look like?" Ginny asked, unable to keep her vow of silence.

"Couldn't tell," Charlie said. "He was hooded, and when I looked at his face all I saw were shadows. A lot of us thought he had to be ancient, to have so much power, but at one point he yelled something to the Death Eaters and his voice sounded young. He probably hasn't even reached thirty yet… But anyway, half an hour ago Dementors joined the battle—"

Everyone shuddered.

"—and started to wreak their own havoc. Several Aurors collapsed after a few minutes. The Prince turned around and headed towards Hogwarts, a swarm of Dementors following him. At least two dozen of us went after them, and finally someone's spell managed to pass through the Prince's wards, and he collapsed—"

"You captured him?" Neville asked excitedly.

"Yes. After we shot our Patronuses at the Dementors, Dumbledore came and Obliviated the Aurors—"

"He did what?"

"Obviously they can't know the Order's got the Dark Prince, Ron," Hermione said logically. "You know the Ministry is corrupted—"

"But the Potters are Aurors—"

"Just because they are on our side doesn't mean everyone else is too."

Charlie nodded in agreement. "Thank you, Hermione. Sometimes I wonder where my little brother would be right now without you and Neville…"

Ginny snickered, earning an evil glare from Ron. "Well, go on with your story," she told Charlie. "Where's the Prince now? Is the battle over?"

"That's why I was sent ahead," Charlie said. "You're all supposed to leave—"

"What?" Neville cried. "They're bringing him here?"

"Yes, so—"

"I'm not leaving," Ginny said, but she wasn't the only one. Ron and Neville had determined looks on their faces, and Hermione, though she looked slightly uneasy about breaking the rules, refused to leave either.

Charlie scowled. "Fine," he said, accepting his sister's stubbornness. "But you need to go to the kitchen when they bring him in."

"No."

"Charlie's right, Ginny," Mrs. Weasley finally interjected. "We don't know what this man is capable of."

"But the Order must have his wand—"

"In the kitchen—now."

Scowling, Ginny stomped down to the kitchen, not caring that Mrs. Black started screaming at the top of her lungs at the noise. She was almost eighteen, for Merlin's sake! She was a reserve Chaser for the Harpies, and in sixth months, when Katherine Hicks would retire as Chaser, Gwenog Jones had promised Ginny the position. She even lived in her own flat, and here she was, still being told what to do by her mother. She had, against her mother's wishes, officially joined the Order after she left Hogwarts, hopeful that her mum wouldn't be able to stop her from fighting the war then, but so far she hadn't been allowed to do anything. No matter how hard she tried, no one thought she'd be able to handle the fight. Even Neville, Ron, and Hermione got to fight sometimes, but no one thought she was ready. They all thought she was helpless.

She slumped in her chair, and after a few minutes—Ginny reckoned they had been shutting the curtains on Mrs. Black—the others joined her.

Mrs. Weasley took in her grouchy demeanor and said, "Don't be foolish, Ginny. Why would you even want to see that monster?"

"Maybe if you lot didn't try to protect me from everything all the time I wouldn't be so curious," she retorted.

"You'd be dead by now by your curiosity if we didn't protect you," Ron said.

"I'm not helpless. I can watch out for myself."

"Yeah, like you were watching out for yourself during that Death Eater attack at Hogsmeade last year—"

"I would have been just fine if you three hadn't jumped in," Ginny retorted angrily. "I could have Stunned those two Death Eaters behind me without your help."

"In theory," Ron said haughtily. Neville was tried to hush him at the sight of Ginny drawing her wand. "You can't claim to be all-powerful without having actually done some—argh!"

Ginny watched in satisfaction as Ron tried to keep the bat bogies away from his face. Her mother, however, had a completely different reaction.

"Ginevra Molly Weasley!" she cried. "Remove that hex from your brother immediately!"

Ginny ignored her and let up a 'humph' of satisfaction before marching out of the kitchen.

"Where do you think you're going?" she heard Charlie call.

"What, I can't even go to the loo now?" she retorted.

"Well, hurry back!"

"I'll come back when I care to, thanks—"

Her words were cut off by the distinct pops of Apparition. Ginny screamed as several cloaked wizards materialized in front of her. They were followed by more people, totaling at least a dozen by the time they stopped Apparating. Her family rushed in behind her at her scream, but by then Ginny had regained her calm; the wizards were all Order members she recognized, all looking in the same state of chaos as Charlie. They were focusing their attention on a struggling figure that had been forced to the ground, his arms bound behind him and several Order members trying to hold him in place.

Lily Potter rushed to Ginny's side and yelled over the noise of Mrs. Black's renewed screams, "Charlie, you were supposed to get them out!"

"They refused… You know Ginny."

"No matter, no matter…" Lily said frantically. "Dumbledore should be here in a minute… He can get him under control…"

Ginny was still staring at the hooded man, the Prince of Darkness. He had glanced up for a second—probably at the sound of her scream—and though, like Charlie had said, there were nothing but shadows where his facial features should have been, she had felt like he had been staring straight into her eyes.

Fleur, noticing that Bill was among one of the Order trying to keep the Prince in control, started to rush to his side, but he shouted, "Stay back!"

There was a flash of red light, and the Prince slumped to ground, frozen.

"How were you able to Apparate in here?" Neville asked. The Headquarters of the Order, like Hogwarts, was enchanted to keep people from Apparating or flying into its premises.

"Dumbledore lifted the wards for fifteen seconds," said Mr. Weasley, coming up behind Lily. "He wanted to make sure we got him in here safely."

Mrs. Weasley pulled her husband into a tight embrace, tears of relief flowing down her face. "It's all right, Molly," Mr. Weasley consoled. "No one is seriously hurt—"

"Moody!" Sirius suddenly shouted. "He's breaking loose again!"

"What's happening?" Hermione questioned Lily.

"Our Stunners, he seems to be immune to them," Lily explained. "He breaks free of them in seconds! We can't risk all Stunning him at once; he'd die from the shock, and Dumbledore has made it clear we need him alive."

"Molly, do you have a room we can place him in for the moment?" James yelled, his wand pointed at the prisoner.

"Yes, yes…" Mrs. Weasley said. "Upstairs…let me just change the sheets and dust off the wardrobe…"

"Why don't you put in a nice vase of flowers while you're at it?" Ron said. "Make sure the Prince of Darkness has a nicely-scented cell."

"There's no need for that," James said, ignoring Ron's sarcasm. "We just need a room to keep him secure."

There was a shout of pain, and two Order members were on the ground before everyone realized the Prince had broken free of the Stunner and the bindings on his hands again. Sirius and Moody reached for his arms, and James jumped in to help. He placed a hand on the man's shoulder. The prince immediately shoved it away and shouted, "Get your hands off of me!"

His voice startled Ginny. Like Charlie had said, he sounded young, though his voice was deep with anger. And there was also something else in it Ginny couldn't quite figure out.

There was another flash of red light, and the Prince was knocked unconscious again. James and Moody kept their wands trained on his limp form as the others bound his arms again and followed Mrs. Weasley upstairs. One of the Order had levitated the Prince's body and was carrying it up, making sure to bump him into everything possible.

Ginny wanted to follow them, but her father gave her a knowing look and said, "No one is to go anywhere near his room, understood?"

Ginny sighed in defeat. "Fine."

Suddenly Mrs. Black's screams subsided—someone must have shut her curtains—and Bill appeared at the top of the stairs. Fleur ran to him and Ginny quickly turned away, determined not to witness their passionate reunion.

"Where's Dumbledore?" Neville asked.

"He just came in," Bill said, coming downstairs with his hand intertwined with Fleur's. "They're about to interrogate the Prince."

"I want to see him," Neville said.

"I don't think Dumbledore should be bothered at the moment," Lily told him kindly.

Ginny had never heard the prophecy that had people calling Neville "The Chosen One," but Neville had heard it from Dumbledore and had subsequently revealed its contents to Ron and Hermione. From the bits Ginny had overheard them discussing (Fred and George's Extendable Ears may or may not have played a role), she knew that either Neville or Lily's and James's son was to kill Voldemort. When Voldemort had killed Harry Potter, his parents had taken it upon themselves to love and protect Neville who, with Harry dead, was clearly the one the prophecy named. Neville's own parents had been driven mad by a Death Eater's Cruciatus Curse, but Lily and James were like a mother and father to him.

"All right," Neville said, though he looked exasperated. As they returned to the kitchen, Ginny overheard him whispering to Lily, "How is he supposed to mark me if I don't even give him the chance?"

"I have no intention of giving him a chance to do anything to you," Lily responded, whispering as well. "Besides, you know he wasn't there today. It's always the Prince who leads the raids, isn't it?" As she saw Ginny approaching, she smiled and said, "Let's move on to a brighter subject, shall we? Merlin knows I've had enough death and darkness to last me a lifetime."

Her voice held a hint of sadness, and Ginny knew she was thinking of her infant son, and suddenly Ginny's thoughts wandered to him as well. If he were still alive, he'd be around her age—just a year older. Maybe they would have been friends. Maybe he would have stayed with her while Neville, Ron and Hermione whispered to themselves…

'He'd probably just hang out with them, too,' Ginny thought. 'He'd be fighting the Death Eaters while I'd still be here, doing nothing.' She forced herself to think of other things, and immediately her mind jumped to the prisoner upstairs. He was a bigger mystery than Harry Potter, and, at the moment, much more interesting. When he had glanced at Ginny for that brief second and Ginny had stared into the shadowy depths that should have been his face, she had felt like there was something…wrong about him. And now that her curiosity had gotten the better of her, no matter what she had promised her father Ginny was going to find out everything possible about this mysterious Prince of Death.

This has been a long time coming, to say the least. I wanted to make it twice as long as this, to tell Harry's story, but I figured you guys had waited enough. I'll probably switch off point of views from Ginny to Harry, but it'll mostly be from Harry's point of view. Anywho, don't forget to leave a review!

--Molly