Ginny breathed in deeply as she stood in the kitchen at the Burrow, smelling the cookies her mother was making.
"Would you like to taste to see if the cookies are done dear?" her mother asked beaming at her.
"Yes, Yes, Yes!" Ginny cried, bouncing up and down in her excitement. She loved flying but her brothers would never take her, so she settled for the next best thing: her mum's cookies. Ideally she would love to have both but it's hard to catch a quaffleand eat at the same time. Something to try next time I sneak out, Ginny thought with a giggle.
"Your brothers are out flying aren't they?" her mum asked glancing round the kitchen.
"yeah, how did you know?" she asked. The twins Ron Charlie and Bill had all left a couple of hours ago and she was sure her mum didn't see them leave.
"Ron's hasn't gotten any food or came in since I started these and there haven't been any explosions from Fred and George either," mum smiled at her.
"Oh that's a good way to tell," Ginny said giggling again. "Ron not eating and the twins not making noise."
"Yep," Molly grinned down at her daughter. "The best way to know where a man is, is to know what he does. How do you think I always know when your dad is out tinkering with all that muggle rubbish?"
"That's how? Dad has been wandering that forever," gasped Ginny. All the boys want to know how mum knows where they are all the time, this is great! Maybe they'll let me fly if I tell them.
Smiling she helped with the cookies in her favourite way, tasting one to make sure it was done, then another to make sure and then another just in case those where twins...
What's that? She wandered. A strange tingling had come over her accompanied by an urge, a weird urge to go somewhere out towards the orchard where the boys played quidditch. She often got the urge to join them and fly but this was different, like something was pulling her. She gasped as an ache suddenly appeared in her left arm and she looked around to see where it had come from. There was no-one in the room except her mother and herself.
"What's wrong dear? Where they too hot?" her mum asked concerned. Then she saw her clutching her arm. "what happened?"
"I don't know," Ginny said. "There was just a tingling sensation and it was like something was pulling me toward the orchard and I felt this ache in my arm, like when I broke it last summer but it's a lot less painful"
"A tingling and a strange pull?" Molly asked confused. "Is the pull like something's pulling on you?"
"No it's like something pulling inside me," she replied. What's going on? She thought.
"I've felt something like that before," her mother said surprised. "Sometimes if there is something that you really need to do or somewhere you need to be your magic responds and tries to get you there. I felt it once when Bill was little, he climbed the tree out in the yard and fell out from the top branch. I got there in time to stop him hitting the ground too hard, as it was, he only broke his wrist." She shuddered at the thought of what would have happened if she hadn't felt that pull.
"so I should follow it?" asked Ginny. "What could it be?"
"I don't know," her mum replied worriedly. "But we should follow it we'll both go now."
Molly grabbed her wand and followed Ginny out the house toward the orchard. They moved at a fast walk, not running but not moving slowly either. Ginny felt another ache start up in her right ankle and she had to slow down.
"Whats wrong?" her mum asked concerned.
"I've got another ache in my ankle, its not as bad as the one in my arm and the pull is getting stronger," said Ginny. She tried not to let the pain show in her voice.
"It's moving mum," Ginny said. "The pull is moving, heading that way." She pointed toward the stream that flowed past the Weasley property. They sometimes swam in it and the children had all learnt to swim in the clear waters. They heard the distant voices of the boys as they played in the orchard to their side and as they crested the hill they saw a group of people walking toward the stream. Behind the group about two hundred yards was a fancy, new-looking muggle car. There were four people in the group, two adults and two children. The man was obviously very overweight and blond and next to him walked a thin woman carrying a small item she couldn't see at this distance. There was a large boy who seemed to be a mirror image of the man and the three of them where moving together about ten yards behind the other boy.
This other boy as limping badly as he made his way toward the stream. He was also cradling his arm like it was broken and seemed to be looking around. He was very different from the others, with matted jet black hair, small and very skinny. His clothes too where different, the other three were wearing neat clean well fitted clothes and from what little she knew about muggle clothing they looked new. The clothes the small boy seemed to be wearing were badly fitted, ripped and dirty. His face seemed to be dark.
"Something's wrong mum," said Ginny anxiously. "I don't like this. Look at the boy in front, he's hurt and they're moving away from their car. Shouldn't they be getting help?"
"I know dear lets get closer," her mother replied. She could tell something was wrong as well. She kept her hand in the pocket of her robes, wrapped around the handle of her wand. The boy stopped by the stream and turned to his companions. They heard a voice say something sharply and the boy turned back to the stream.
Getting closer Ginny felt the pull peak.
"Mum it's him," she said. "Pull is to him."
"I wander why," her mum said tensely "What are the others doing?"
There was a hedge between the two weasleys and the other three people in the group blocking everyone but the injured boy. They moved toward the boy and watched as the boy turned to look at them, raising a hand as if to wave.
Suddenly he snapped his head around and a look of shock and fear flitted across his face asthe same emotions raced through Ginny.
"NO!" he screamed. There was a glint of metal as the large man lunged forward and the boy let out a terrible scream. At there was a splash of blood and Ginny felt a stabbing pain in her chest crying out and doubling over.
"NO!" Molly echoed drawing her wand as the man pulled the boy he'd stabbed behind the hedge.
"REDUCTO!" Molly shouted and a jet of red light shot from her wand blowing the hedge apart.
There were more screams from the boy and pleading as the scene was revealed past the recently destroyed hedge. The three other people where stabbing the boy repeatedly, Molly watching in horror as the round boy plunged an eight inch knife into the boys shoulder going down the length of his body into his chest.
"IMPEDIMENTIA!" Molly screamed. The silver jet slammed the large man back, his hand flying out and clothes-lined the woman as he flew backwards into a tree. "IMPEDIMENTIA!" she screamed again and the large boy was blasted backwards and landed in a heap.
"Oh merlin no," Molly breathed as she raced toward the boy. "Incarcerous!" she cried and ropes bound the three muggles while she crouched over the injured boy.
"Please," the boy whispered. He coughed blood. "Please help me."
"I will, its all right," she soothed him. He was so small, with brilliant emerald eyes. "Ginny!" she cried, looking for her daughter. Ginny was staggering forward, doubled up in pain, tears flowing down her cheeks.
"He's hurt mum," she cried. "I can feel it, when they hurt him I felt it!"
That explains the ankle and arm. Ginny thought wildly. Something on the boys forehead caught her eye. A scar shaped like a bolt of lightning.
No way. She thought shocked.
"Mum!" she cried "Look on his forehead!"
"Harry Potter!" Molly gasped.
"Mum!" yelled another four voices. She looked around pulling Harry into her arms as she stood up. Bill Charlie and the twins where racing toward her on their brooms.
"What happened?" asked Bill pulling up looking shocked.
"bill stay here and keep an eye on these three," his mum said franticly. "If they wake up stun them, don't worry about the underage rule. Charlie, fly back to the house as fast as you can and get some aurors to get these three. I'm taking Harry to st Mungos now! GO. GO.!"
"I'm coming too!" said Ginny, still doubled up in pain.
"Grab my hand," her mum said urgently. She turned on the spot and disapparated.