CHAPTER 18

Night

"Alright, how do you do it?" Harry asked the Death Eater, who merely grinned back with an air of familiarity.

"Oh Potter, Potter, if they only knew what you were like when you were in Vereor Nex…" Harry half expected Ginny to once again attack the man, but nothing came. He looked up at her; she was staring off at where Jack and her had their fight.

"Gin," Harry said, trying to get her attention.

"What? Oh sorry," she muttered, clearing her throat, "I was just distracted."

"Yeah well we have slightly more pressing matters at hand than the fight you and your boyfriend had, focus," He said, unable to help the anger behind his voice, Ginny frowned in response. Several of the Aurors were surrounded them, still waiting for the Death Eater's response.

"I'm waiting," Harry said to the Death Eater.

"What you have to do," he said, addressing the group and leaning smugly against the tree. "Is kill Harry, that'll do the trick I believe," he chuckled. This time is was Dylan who attacked; he pointed his wand at the Death Eater,

"Sorry, I think I misheard you, what was that?" He asked, Harry smirked in appreciation,

"I think Veritaserum is in order," muttered Harry, a few Aurors nodded in agreement. "Ginny, can you go get us some?" He asked, she nodded vaguely and reached into the pocket of her robes – pulling out a small vial.

"I always keep some on me, just incase," she explained, passing it to Harry. Harry took it and thanked her, then threw it to Dylan who caught it with ease. Dylan uncorked the vial and grabbed the Death Eater's face, forcing Bainsley's tight lips open to force a few drops down his throat. He spluttered,

"Easy there boy," he grumbled.

"I don't go easy on Death Eaters," Dylan spat back, "we're going to ask you again, how do we remove the trace?"

"If I don't tell you, then you'll keep me alive. How do I know you're not going to kill me as soon as I tell you?"

"We'll kill you if you don't tell us, we'll figure it out somehow… this way is just faster." The Death Eater looked under his eyelids at Harry and Ginny, before he hacked and spat on the ground,

"I wasn't lying about killing Harry," began the Death Eater with a grumble, "that will work…" but then he caught a glimpse of Dylan's expression, "alrigh' I'll tell you!" He fidgeted uncomfortably in the ropes. "When those three were brought to us, the first thing we did was make them unconscious. After that, we placed a tracing spell on them … 'insequor' know of it?" He raised his eyebrows and a couple Aurors nodded. "Well then you'd know that it's very rarely done,"

"The spell was banned, that's why," announced one of the female Aurors.

"Yeah but so are unforgivables and you still hear those being shouted left, right and centre don't ya?" He laughed,

"'Insequor' is ancient, barely anyone knows of it… the only reason some of us do is because in training it was probably mentioned," Dylan explained.

"So you know what it is and can't get rid of it?" Asked the Death Eater, a laugh erupting at the base of his throat, "great Auror training that is!" Harry came over to the Death Eater's side and stared him down with his piercing green eyes. Bainsley sighed, "Persuasive bunch aren't you? ... Someone just has to say, 'dimitto,' then cut the person who carries it… then a person who doesn't have the trace and kinda… mix blood." A few Aurors stared at him skeptically, "what?" He asked, "I'm telling the truth! I have to be."

"And after that the trace will be gone? The Death Eaters won't be able to find me?" Harry asked, keeping the concern out of his voice. Bainsley nodded,

"But they can find me."

"What?"

"We all have the trace too – just so they know where we are… we're not as big as we used to be, we have to know who is in Azkaban… and who is working against us. We've caught a lot of bad Death Eaters that way let me assure you," he snickered again.

"That's why we've never been able to find many Death Eaters…" Ginny said, it was the first words she had uttered in a while – a few people looked up at her and the Death Eater nodded, still smiling.

"Why are you smiling?" Asked Dylan with annoyance in his voice.

"You think these spells you've used are stronger than the trace?" He laughed, "they will have been watching… they'll know he's here," he said, nodding to Harry, "and they'll know I'm here. They would have guessed that you have been trying to take information out of me, and they'll be quite desperate to cover up their secrets. It will take them a while to find you, but they will… in fact," he continued, leaning in, "there might be one already among us!" He started laughing again, revealing his cracked teeth as he tilted his head back.

Dylan looked up at Harry with concern in his eyes,

"Withdraw the traces," Harry said urgently. "Now!" He pulled out his sword and without a second thought, sliced the throat of Bainsley. His laughter stopped immediately as his lips went slack and his head fell back. No one questioned Harry's actions and Ginny and Dylan quickly raced over to him, Ginny was facing him, she had taken her wand out of her pocket,

"Dimitto!" She muttered very quickly, she then took her sword out of its hilt and sliced her hand, then grabbed Harry's and did the same – he did not even wince at the sting. They clasped hands, Harry could feel her blood on his palm, her pulse against his, they stared at each other for a moment before letting go.

"Do you think it would have been soon enough?" Asked Dylan, Harry shook his head,

"No."

"They know where we are," came the voice of George, "but it's not safe to move."

"It's not exactly safe to stay either…"

"So what do we do?" Asked Ginny,

"Hold the border… they won't be able to see us or hear us, we'll have the advantage," said Harry.

"We can't exactly see them either in this darkness…" Ginny said, "but we should stay, everyone will just have to keep quiet so we can hear." The Auror's appeared to have heard her because they all fell dead silent, their backs facing the camp, wands at their sides. The silence was incredibly unnerving as Harry joined the perimeter; although there were people all around him he felt incredibly alone – just waiting for something to attack.

"Disillusion charms," Harry heard a male Auror mutter to his neighbour, "they might have used them, just like that other Death Eater did…" Harry shut his eyes to the night, willing his other senses to improve to make up for his blindness. He could feel the light and familiar wood of his wand in his palm, the blood that acutely ran from the wound on his hand. He could hear the gentle creaking of the trees, and a sudden crack as if a twig was being stood on. The sound screamed at Harry and he was quick to shot a Stunning Spell into the darkness. Harry opened up his eyes to find the Aurors staring at where the spell was cast,

"It came from over there!" Came a female voice. Suddenly a wave of several curses were sent their way – most managed to duck in time but some fell heavily to the ground, their wands flying into the air. The Death Eaters were firing blindly, and the Aurors responded with a stronger wave in return. Some had stepped over the threshold of the camp to duel the Death Eaters with more severity – others saw the barrier as an advantage so stayed behind it.

Harry dodged a killing curse and sent a stunning spell in return, it hit and the Death Eater fell to the ground. To his left and right Aurors were dueling Death Eaters, all appearing to be going for the kill rather than the capture. It seemed that the number of Aurors almost doubled the number of Death Eaters but it didn't stop the fact that there were now a couple still bodies on the ground.

Harry saw a spell erupt quite close in front of him – he removed his sword and stabbed the air – feeling it make contact with a figure. He withdrew it, his sword gleaming crimson as the Death Eater collapsed to the ground, a hand pressed against the wound now on his heart. Harry turned and saw Ginny dueling two Death Eaters at once, she didn't appear to be struggling but he still called out to her,

"Need help?" Ginny withdrew her wand and stabbed the Death Eater behind her, then the one in front of her so quickly that they appeared to fall at the same time.

"I'm fine," she said, walking away from the bodies to assist in fighting the others.

Harry felt a hand clasp his neck with crippling force, he was shoved against a tree,

"I've got 'im!" The large Death Eater yelled with triumph in his voice. Harry struggled against the hands that held him, punching the Death Eater in the throat with his free hand. The Death Eater removed his hands and clasped his own neck, choking and spluttering. Harry stunned him quickly with a strained voice – it was as if he could still feel the hands around his neck.

The battle raged on for several more minutes before the Death Eaters admitted defeat and ran. Two Aurors chased after them but soon returned in a panting mess, stating that they had vanished. Several bodies littered the floor, a few of them Aurors – although Harry did not know them personally, he felt their loss like a severe blow. Although all the Aurors knew that the death was a part of the job it seemed to take a huge toll on the group. Harry could feel their spirits towards the mission drop severely; he even heard a few talking in hush whispers about leaving before the mortality rate rose any more. Harry pretended not to hear them, or to feel their eyes burning holes in the back of his neck. He had to keep moving, and he knew he would – with or without them.

The dead Auror's bodies were respectfully buried by a large tree near the camp. Each Auror marked the tree with their wand, stating sad farewells and staring at the displaced earth. The Death Eaters were also buried, but in a different area – Harry had recognised a few of the faces as he pushed them into the graves. He could never get used to the idea of killing another human, no matter what they had done to him… and he was met by a familiar feeling of guilt.

Just as Harry finished with the graves a fearful voice came from behind him, "Harry, have you seen Jack?"

"I'm sorry?"

"Jack!" George said, Charlie was next to him, eyes grazing over their surroundings. "Ginny said she can't find him, no one has seen him since he stormed off." Harry looked around at the dark,

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, he wasn't even around when we fought the Death Eaters…" Harry could see that George and Charlie were fearing the worst. He could have been killed by the Death Eaters or taken to Vereor Nex.

"He was an idiot for leaving the camp," Harry muttered. Ginny was walking towards the edge of the camp with a sense of determination. Harry ran towards her, a slight limp in his step – he grabbed her arm just as she went to step outside the boundary.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm going to find him," her voice was annoyingly resolute.

"No you're not."

"Uh, yes I am. Let go of me." Ginny said, staring at his hand. He removed it,

"Jack is a grown man, he'll come back. If he has been captured by the Death Eaters then we'll find him when we go to Vereor Nex, there's nothing we can do."

"And what if he is lost?" She asked. Harry sighed,

"Then we'll find him in the morning – you go out there you'll be lost too."

"Harry you can't stop m –," she stopped, looking out into the dark. "What's that?" Harry had seen it too, a shadowy movement in the distance. Harry instinctively reached for his sword but stopped when he saw Jack's glum face approaching the camp. Ginny and Harry waited till he passed the boundary before Ginny hugged him. Jack placed his arms unenthusiastically around her – all the while his eyes were on Harry.

"You idiot! Where have you been?" Ginny asked. Her voice perfectly mimicked Mrs. Weasley's when Harry came to the Burrow for the first time in a flying car.

"I needed to clear my head," he grumbled. Ginny let go of him and frowned,

"But… you've been gone for hours,"

"I wasn't missed," he challenged. Ginny clenched her jaw, George and Charlie ran over at the sight of Jack,

"Where've you been?" Charlie asked

"Out."

"Wow… descriptive, I can picture it now." Muttered George

"We were attacked," Ginny stated. "We were attacked and you weren't here – three Aurors died, three, and you weren't here."

"What?" Asked Jack, eyes widening, "who? When?"

"The trace that was on Harry," Jack twitched at the sound of his name but only Harry seemed to notice it. "It lead them here, we were attacked – Moriarty, Keanton and Moore are dead."

"Oh my god," he said, his voice horrified.

"Next time think about what you're doing instead of just doing it," Ginny said.

"I'm sorry," he said, "I'm really – I didn't know. I was just angry…"

"I know you were but next time just don't storm off okay?" Jack shot a passing glance at Harry,

"Okay… but are you hurt?" He asked. Ginny shook her head,

"We were lucky – they gave up pretty quickly." It seemed to Harry that Jack had given up being angry with Ginny in light of the circumstances. "But it would have helped if you were here…"

"I know, I won't do it again… I promise."

Soon after Jack returned the Auror's decided to go into the tents and sleep. Two individuals would keep watch throughout the night, changing whenever they felt the need or couldn't keep their eyes open any longer. Harry offered to take the first shift but was told very sternly that he needed his rest if he was going to navigate well the next day.

Each tent held five single beds, all of a military character. The walls of the tent were a navy blue, as were the sheets on the beds and the counters in the small kitchen. The whole tent carried a new-car smell, Harry found himself missing the tent he, Ron and Hermione lived in whilst searching for the Horcruxes – it was smaller, and smelt, but it more like home than this museum-like habitat. Harry, Jack, George, Ginny and Charlie shared the tent together – seeing it as a practical idea. Harry could see a protest behind Jack's eyes when George had suggested it, but he kept quiet. Harry took the bed closest to the entrance of the tent, his mind was wide awake – the day ran through his head at top speed. He could feel that he was tired, his body told him so with weak limbs and pained muscles… but his mind refused to settle. He shut his eyes as he heard the others enter the tent.

"Man I need rest," Charlie said, yawning.

"I know, feels like I've ran a marathon… twice… carrying a boulder," replied George.

"We need our sleep," agreed Ginny. Harry heard the sound of lips smacking and he opened one eye slightly just in time to see Ginny remove her lips from Jacks.

"Goodnight, love you," she said – two words that hit Harry like a tonne of bricks.

"Yeah, you too," he replied, again, shooting a glance at Harry – he quickly shut his eyes again. He heard all four of them settle into their beds and he shut his eyes, praying for sleep to come.

"Harry!" Ginny screamed as her broom took a shuddering dive again. She pulled up on the front of it, trying to pull it out of the sure crash that was going to happen. All of a sudden, as if reading her mind the broom stopped, completely throwing her off balance and pushing her over the front, she hung on for dear life, her fingers meeting around the smooth wood as she swung in the violent wind.

The rain beat harder, thunder ripping the sky open in a startling cry. Ginny's hair stuck to her neck and the constant rain blurred her vision, she couldn't see anyone or anything around her, she was going to die, hanging to a broom in a stupid act of stupidity. She wasn't sure if she was crying as her muscled refused to raise her back onto the now-steady broom; the rain was too thick it was impossible to distinguish between tears and raindrops.

She heard a noise coming from behind her and she turned quickly which was apparently not a good idea. She fell back down from any progress she had made, her hands slipping to hold on.

"Help!" She yelled, pushing her hands up to get a better grip… and then she saw it, a figure approaching her on a broom, head bent against the storm. She swore she heard her name being said, but another clap of thunder stopped her from hearing. Her broom began to shudder again and her fingers slipped from any grip she had managed to get.

Ginny went to yell out for help again but her voice prevented her from speaking; it was so wound up in fear. Within seconds Harry was at her side, absolutely soaked and shivering, he didn't even have his glasses on, his eyes shone out from the storm. He quickly clasped Ginny around the ribs and lowered her onto his Firebolt but refused to let go of the strong grip he had on her. Ginny watched as her broom began to shudder and fall, twisting as the wind ripped at it.

Harry's breath heated on her cheek as he lowered the broom down from the height she was at – a ridiculous height she had never dared to climb to before, even when she was playing Quidditch. She exhaled in relief as her feet touched the ground, it felt as if the entire time she was up there she was holding her breath.

Harry looked at her; with an expression she couldn't read… They stood in silence for a minute, just staring and letting the rain almost push them into the ground. Ginny was ashamed, why the hell did she do that? Was it because Fred and George had dared her? Was it because she wanted to show them she was fearless? Or was she trying to show herself? Harry sighed and nodded, as if reading her thoughts. He dropped his Firebolt into the grass and put his hands onto her arms, which felt like they were going to fall off from cold.

"You scared the hell out of me," he said, his eyes stealing her gaze. Ginny tried to apologise, to thank him, but the words refused to form on her lips.

Harry took a deep breathe and pulled her into an embrace, completely warming her over. She placed her arms around him, her fingers clasped around his shoulder blades.

He pulled away slowly and Ginny looked up, unable to see her broom anymore amongst the murky grey of the sky and the bright flashes of yellow and white. Harry picked up his Firebolt from the ground, he mounted it without another word and pushed hard against the ground soaring almost vertically upwards to search for her broom.

Ginny awoke with a start and took a minute to realise where she was, the unfamiliarity of her surroundings almost scared her. The tent was dark, and outside she could hear a storm, with harsh winds whirling cold rain over everything. She shut her eyes for a moment, the distant memory she had almost forgotten about now emblazed in her mind. She swung her legs over the side of the bed, wondering who was on watch that night, and if she should offer to help.

"Couldn't sleep either?" Came a quiet voice to her right, she turned quickly to see a soft silhouette of Harry leaning against the wall by his bed, much like she was now.

"No," she answered, feeling her pulse move back to a normal rate. "I mean, yes, but I don't think I'll be able to again…"

"Why not?" Ginny shrugged even though she was quite sure Harry couldn't see her in the darkness. They sat in silence for a moment,

"I had a dream about you," Ginny said quietly, "just then."

"Oh really?" Harry laughed,

"Nothing suspicious I promise," she said, smiling slightly in the dark. "Just a memory… remember that time you saved me on my broom in that storm?" There was a moment's pause,

"Yeah I do," he said, almost as if he was picturing it in his minds eye. "You scared the hell out of me,"

"I scared the hell out of myself…"

"I swear you thought you were invincible," he muttered.

"I didn't think that…" she replied, but didn't continue any further. The next words came so quietly that Ginny wondered if Harry had spoken them at all.

"I would've done anything for you," he said, "anything…" he shifted slightly, crunching the covers, "I still would." The words ran seemed to run straight down Ginny's chest, making her throat ache, she opened and shut her mouth. "I'm sorry about the fight you had with Jack," he continued, "I didn't want that to happen… even if I really don't like the guy," Ginny smiled, finding that last fact quite amusing. She stood as quietly as she could from her bed and walked over to Harry's, settling herself next to him.

"Sorry," he said, Ginny could see now that he was smirking, "guess you didn't need to know that last part." Ginny shook her head, noticing that his hand was settled in between them she clasped it, enlacing his fingers with hers. She could feel the absence of one of his fingers and the rough texture of his palm.

"What are you doing?" He whispered, although he didn't remove his hand. Ginny placed her other hand on his arm, running it up and down over his bicep and forearm – feeling the bumps and scars that were unknown to her.

"Remembering," she whispered almost inaudibly. Her hand went to move onto his chest but he stopped her with the hand that was not clasping hers.

"Jack won't like that," he replied, staring at her with a serious and yet pained expression, she withdrew her hand.

"Sorry," she muttered. Harry clenched his jaw and frowned, withdrawing his hand from hers.

"I forget sometimes," he said.

"Forget what?"

"That things are different," he clasped his hand together in his lap. "You should get some rest… or at least try to, we've got a big day tomorrow." Ginny stood,

"I'm sorry," she whispered, "I didn't mean…"

"I know," he said, "I know… I just – I can't." Ginny bit the inside of her lip and turned towards her bed, wondering if what she had just done was exactly what Jack had predicted she would do.

"Night Harry," she whispered.

Hey everyone! It has been a while, I know… but a lot has been going on in my life at the moment. I just turned eighteen for example! Yay! But yeah I've been a busy little beaver. :)

Sorry to down the mood a little but can people please stop complaining about chapter lengths? Everyone has different preferences to how long they want them – and I understand both sides of the argument. I wish I could please you all but I can't! So I'll upload whenever I can, with whatever length I can manage, whether that be a long or a short chapter… I hope you understand. I'm trying! Last chapter was short, this chapter is long. I haven't had a chance to read over it, I just wanted to submit it – so I'm sorry if there are some errors.

That having been said, another huge thankyou for all the reviews and personal emails I've been getting. They've all been really great to read, I appreciate them like you wouldn't believe! (Sorry for the essay of an Authors note! Haha!)

Pheonixxsong