8. Kreacher's Mischief and Ministry Woes

It was a most peculiar sight.

Kreacher and Dobby were standing back to back and did not seem able to put any distance between each other, rather like they had been glued together.

'Harry Potter! Dobby is most pleased to see you.' Dobby squeaked enthusiastically and immediately went into a low bow. Kreacher, on the other hand, was somewhat less than awed at the site of Harry and looked extremely disgruntled as he resigned himself to being dragged off his feet onto Dobby's back with his legs dangling in the air in front of him.

'What happened?' Hermione seemed more than a little distressed at their predicament. 'How long have you been like this?'
'The mudblood speaks to Kreacher!' Wide-eyed and faking shock, Kreacher placed his long bony fingers in his ears. 'The Mistress will see, oh yes, she will see her Kreacher does not listen to it.' his crooked legs still splayed in the air.

'How did you two get stuck together then?' Ron asked as if he were talking to a couple of misbehaving children.

'Dobby, what's going on?' Harry said getting a little frustrated.
'Dobby is trying to protect Harry Potter' Dobby straightened defiantly, letting Kreacher's feet touch the floor once more. 'Dobby is seeing Kreacher sneaking, so Dobby is binding us to make Dobby go where Kreacher goes.'

'Stupid elf with funny hats knows not what he is doing!' Kreacher said loudly to himself 'Kreacher will find a way to break stupid elf's bond.'

'What do you mean, sneaking?' Harry frowned, eyeing Kreacher.

'Dobby knows Kreacher is up to mischief!' Dobby turned his head awkwardly to look at Kreacher through narrowed eyes 'Kreacher is going to betray his master, Dobby knows HE IS A BAD ELF!' his voice getting angrier with every word.

'What are you talking about?'
'Master knows Kreacher cannot disobey him.' Kreacher interrupted slyly, still facing in the opposite direction. 'Kreacher is doing as Masterordered.'

'Dobby, you can't stay stuck together like this!' Hermione sounded exasperated. 'You'll have to undo the spell!' she said as she crossed her arms.

Harry was trying to walk around Dobby to get to Kreacher but the little elf kept shuffling around enthusiastically so he remained facing Harry, eventually Harry grabbed his bony little arm to make him stay put and crouched down in front of Kreacher. Harry looked into his bloodshot grey eyes.

'What have you been up to?' he said suspiciously.
Kreacher seemed rather pleased with Harry's reaction. 'Kreacher is only following his Masters orders.' His continual emphasis on the word Master glowed with contempt.
Harry narrowed his eyes 'What did I tell you to do?' he asked slowly.
'Master cannot remember his own orders? Kreacher is indeed unfortunate to serve under such a lowly wizard!'

Harry clenched his jaw as Ron and Hermione looked on in anxious silence. 'What-did-I-tell-you-to-do, Kreacher?'
Kreacher bowed dramatically, leaving Dobby flailing as his legs left the floor. 'You had Kreacher follow the brave and daring Master Malfoy.' he said treacherously.

There was a sudden knock at the door and Harry, Ron and Hermione looked up sharply. 'Just a minute' Harry threw at the door urgently as he stood up. Socks scattered and jumped onto the bed. 'You're both going to have to leave,' Harry said quietly, but before he could finish the door flung open and Fred and George stepped into the room.

'Told you!' Fred said triumphantly, pointing at the two elves now struggling with each other to get the best view of the doorway. 'Knew he wouldn't disappoint us.'

'What are you doing?' Harry was angry at having been caught.

'Didn't honestly expect us to believe that tripe you told Lupin, did you?' George raised his eyebrows 'Not ready to join The Order! Pull the other one!'
'This, coming from the kid who swiped an egg from a brooding Horntail.' Fred chimed in.
'And destroyed a Basilisk to rescue our little sister.'
'Not to mention the Death Eaters-'

'Alright!' Harry said impatiently 'so you caught me. Suppose now you're bound tell the rest of them.'

'Don't be daft!'
'What ever you've got going on, if it's important enough to stop you from joining The Order, then we're not going to tell them.' George said.
'Right! However we do want in on it.' Fred said unabashedly.
'Absolutely. Anyway they made it quite clear in the meeting that we were not going to be allowed out in the field as Order members…'
'So basically we now hold the unofficial title of Order mascots.'
'Which is not what we signed up for, is it?' George swept into the room and crouched in front of the elves, studying them curiously. 'What happened to these two?'

'They're stuck together' said Ron flatly.

'Leave it to you to state the bleedin obvious' Fred walked over to Kreacher and pointed his wand at the elf. There was a flash of white light and a whooshing sound, and then Dobby and Kreacher broke apart scowling at one another.

'Well that's that! So what's going on then?' George said as he stood and faced Harry.

The trio exchanged looks before Harry slowly spoke 'Kreacher has been following Malfoy.'
'What?' Fred looked flummoxed as he looked back at Kreacher.
'Well … where is the little toe rag?' asked George.
'I don't know, I was just about to ask before you came in.'
'Don't let us stop you.' Fred ushered Kreacher over to Harry. Harry felt it was a reasonable trade-off involving Fred and George in the news about Malfoy rather than giving them the real reason he had called Kreacher.

'Well Kreacher?' Harry said expectantly 'Where is he?'
'Kreacher cannot say.' the wrinkly little elf bowed extravagantly once more. 'Kreacher has been unable to follow the noble and handsome Draco all the way to his location.'

'The what?' George said dubiously.
'Never mind,' said Harry with a sigh, and then turning back to Kreacher he asked 'why?'
Kreacher lifted his head smugly 'because the stupid elf with clothes will not let me.'

Fred caught Dobby's arm as he tried to throw himself at Kreacher. 'Dobby is not stupid!' he squawked angrily, arms flailing madly. 'Kreacher cannot be trusted! Kreacher is a bad house elf!'

'Hang on, so have been following him or not?' Ron was looking extremely confused.
'Kreacher humbly follows in Draco's aristocratic wake when he is at Hogwarts.'

'Hogwarts?' Fred, George and Ron said in unison.

'Are you telling me that Draco is wandering around the school undetected … whenever he feels like it?' Harry said doubtfully
'Kreacher did not say that.' he smiled slyly.
'Then tell me what he is doing there!' Harry said losing his patience with Kreacher. 'And I want you to be specific! How often … and which rooms he goes to!'

'Master is cunning.' Kreacher's smug expression dissolved as he realized his game of verbal cat and mouse was over. 'Kreacher has been privileged to watch the dashing young Malfoy twice as he has made his way into the Headmasters office'

'He's been inside Dumbledore's office?' Hermione said as she stepped forward. Kreacher covered his ears to block her out but before he could say anything insulting Hermione leant down and yanked his arms away from the side of his head in frustration, her enormous patience with Kreacher had finally worn thin. 'What was he doing in there?' she demanded.

'The mudblood touched Kreacher-'
'What was he doing in there?' Hermiones eyes blazed. Kreacher still did not acknowledge her.
'ANSWER HER!' Harry commanded furiously.

'He spoke with one of the portraits.' Kreacher bit back defeated and then with a CRACK he was gone.

'Dobby! Will you keep an eye on him for me? Don't try to stop him but watch him okay?'
'Dobby would be proud to do as you ask, Harry Potter!' Dobby answered, lifting his head to its full height, and with a CRACK he was gone too.

'What's all that noise up there?' Mrs. Weasleys voice echoed through the door.
'Just showing Harry one of our new Lung Buster Bubblegums!' Fred opened it a crack and yelled back as Socks darted through and down the stairs, apparently scared off by all the noise.
'For goodness sake! I've told you about chewing those in the house!' she yelled back 'All of you can come on down anyway. I'm serving up an early dinner now everyone's gone.'

They didn't get a chance to discuss any further the bombshell that Draco had been back to Hogwarts over the holidays. Lupin had left and Mr. Weasley was leaving on an assignment for the ministry the next morning and Mrs. Weasley insisted they spend the remaining time together as a family. She ignored the twin's obvious annoyance, mistakenly putting it down to their disappointment at not being asked to play an active roll in The Order.

Harry was distracted by the fact that he hadn't gotten around to asking Kreacher about the locket, and spent most of the evening in deep thought, offering a grunt in answer here and there when it was expected of him. Ron and Hermione valiantly tried several times to excuse themselves early in the hopes they could congregate in private somewhere else in the house, but Mrs. Weasley was having none of it. She was unusually determined to keep them all together.

When it was finally late enough to get away with it, Ginny announced her intentions to retire and brushed past Harry on her way up to bed. It seemed to him she had come unnecessarily close and it jolted him out of his state of self-imposed isolation, awakening in him that familiar need that only she could arouse, and only she could fill.

Yet instead of finding it a pleasant sensation Harry found it frustrating; he could not seek the fulfilment he so desperately craved and so when he finally retired to his own room he lay awake for what seemed like hours, his body tense and his mind a mess of images and emotions. Eventually he was wound up so tightly, he gave up on sleep and threw on his jeans. He sat on the bed and leaned himself on the window ledge, looking out at the frosted bluish light illuminating the street.

Harry was gently roused by the smooth touch of warm hands on his bare shoulders.

The cool evening breeze drifted through the open space in the window as he lifted his head slowly from the crook of his arm on the windowsill. He closed his eyes again as he felt Ginny's soft lips on his neck. He wanted to lose himself in her, he wanted to bury his frustration and unleash the passion that ebbed through him. She let her hands find their way to his and he clasped them tightly, holding onto the feel of her body as she pressed it against his back.

'Don't turn me away again.' she whispered in his ear. An incredible ache racked through his body at her words, awakening a desire he could not control. He turned as he pulled her to him. Their lips met in a flare of passion, her breathing as ragged as his, her desire as complete. He eased her back on the bed as she bit at his bottom lip playfully, her hushed throaty laugh clearing his mind of everything except her.

Every nerve in him felt alive with her touch, and as he brought his body down on hers, she shuddered slightly, wrapping her hands around the back of his neck and kissing him longingly. Their lips were locked together as Harry swam in her caresses but a thought was growing in the back of his mind. He tried to shut it out, increasing the pressure of his lips on hers, pressing his eyes tightly shut, but it refused to be denied.

Harry let out a low rumble in the back of his throat as he pulled his head up. He could see Ginny's glistening eyes in the moonlight as she tilted her head and frowned slightly, but Harry knew she was expecting him to pull away. He looked painfully into her eyes, wondering if she could understand. He could not voice the thought that had brought him to a grinding halt. He could not speak the words that lingered in his mind. But he would act on them because they could not be ignored.

Slowly Ginny sat up as Harry moved his body off her and made way for her to leave him, as he knew she would. She looked down at the bed covers unable to meet his gaze.

'I want to stay with you anyway,' her voice broke as the tears spilled down her cheeks. 'I don't care anymore' Harry lifted her chin gently 'I don't want to leave you.'

Harry wrapped his protective arms around her and held her to him as she wept silently, and finally when she was ready to return to her own bed, he kissed her tenderly, memorizing every curve of her lips.

Their letters arrived a few days later and Harry felt some relief that Hogwarts would be reopening again this year. Now he knew Malfoy had been back to the castle he felt the overwhelming need to return there as well.

In the final weeks before school Ginny did not appear in Harry's room in the middle of the night. It was not as if there was no longer anything between them, but finally she seemed to accept Harry's choice to let her go, though he had to remind himself nightly why he had chosen to do so. Instead, Socks had kept him company most nights. She seemed to have adopted him, and Harry was becoming very attached to her, in fact some nights he found himself waiting to feel her familiar spring onto the bed and warm body curled against his before he would drift into a peaceful sleep. She was rarely about during the day though, and when he asked, Ginny had waved it off saying Socks was usually to be found in some nook of the house sleeping. Harry wondered vaguely at how much a cat could sleep.

Crookshanks appeared to pay no mind to Socks one way or the other, seemingly thoroughly uninterested when she padded into the room. On occasion Harry would discover her skulking around when he was alone with Ron and Hermione, and he would pick her up and play with her while thinking on what they would do next. Though for some reason Hermione seemed to be growing increasingly uncomfortable as she studied Harry toying with his playmate, eventually taking to searching the room and upon finding Socks, she would unceremoniously dump her outside the door before they were allowed to discuss anything, much to Harry's, and Socks's annoyance.

During their talks they had agreed that it was too risky to summon Kreacher back to Grimmauld Place. The disturbance that inevitably followed when he and Dobby were in a room together was much harder to explain away now that Fred and George had gone, so it was decided that Harry would wait until he was at Hogwarts to question him about the locket.

The day finally came for the trip to Diagon Alley for the years school supplies. With the growing threat from Voldemort's minions, and the fact that many students were not expected to return to school after the summer, McGonagall had arranged a day for the students and family's to visit Diagon Alley in relative safety to pick up their supplies while under the protection of the ministry aurors.

Mr. Weasley mused that the ministry was very keen to catch up with Harry after he had slipped through their grasp at The Burrow, returning to Grimmauld Place. Apparently Scrimgeour had launched into a red-faced rant when he had found out they had lost Harry, with Mr. Weasley himself coming under fire being accused of aiding and abetting Harry's "escape", but Mr. Weasley was able to confidently state that he was in no way able to tell the ministry where Harry was. This was of course absolutely true as he was not the Orders secretkeeper.

For the first time, they were going to apparate into Diagon Alley as it seemed the quickest and safest way to travel now that they all had their licenses, except of course Ginny, who was extremely put out that she was going to be left behind.

'You don't need new robes Ginny, you've barely grown in size over the past year!' was all Mrs. Weasley would offer in way of comfort. Harry had immediately asked who was staying behind to guard her and Lupin had looked at him curiously, clear he hadn't thought it necessary. But the last thing Harry wanted was for Snape to pay a little visit while they were gone and find Ginny alone. Without voicing his real reasons why, Harry managed to convince Lupin that just because he wasn't there, didn't mean she wasn't in any danger, and under the helpful growingly indignant gaze of Mrs. Weasley, Lupin assigned Hestia to stay behind.

Sturgis and Tonks were gathered in the kitchen having already been enlisted for added protection, but they were not travelling with the Weasleys, rather they would go ahead first with Lupin, one at a time and position themselves so they could watch from a distance. Lupin seemed to think that an obvious presence of so many Order members gathered around the Weasleys would be akin to holding up a rather large neon sign saying HARRY POTTER IS HERE with a giant finger pointed at him. So it was that Lupin and the others left the kitchen with a series of loud cracks, followed a while later by Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Ron, Harry and Hermione.

Harry was disappointed to note that Diagon Alley had become decidedly unfriendly over the past year. More shops than ever were closed and boarded up, and the little stalls that had sprung up were increasingly poorly erected and manned.

'Alright, we'll get you three fitted out for new uniforms, you don't need to buy robes; the ones you have should last you.' Mrs. Weasley said as her eyes darted around her 'Harry, where are you dear?' she added quietly.

'Here' he said as he moved to stand near her elbow. Lupin had taken Harry aside before they left and insisted he wear his invisibility cloak the whole time they were out, also advising him not to make contact with any friends he might come across in case someone was watching. Harry thought it strange but it seemed he was almost as worried about the aurors discovering Harry's presence as he was of Voldemorts cronies.

'Good. Stay right by us … don't go wandering off or we'll lose you!'

As they moved along the street, the occasional huddle of people emerged from one of the few open stores. Harry noted that few of the students would have been below fourth year and he guessed that most of the young ones were being kept at home. Scowling at the enormity of impact Voldemort had on the wizarding community Harry had embraced so enthusiastically when he had been introduced to it, he made his way down the cobbled Alley.

What was once a warm and welcoming place had been reduced to a foreboding ghost town where the once happy and lively throng of people had become a trickle of frightened witches and wizards who constantly glanced over their shoulders. Harry couldn't stop the anger in him as it rose with every passing step. One maniac had been responsible for all of this. A madman who had become less than human in his effort to avoid death was bringing the world that Harry loved to it's knees.

They shuffled in the door of Madame Malkin's and were loaded up with new jumpers and shirts in no time. Once Mrs. Weasley had parted with several Galleons they headed to Flourish and Blotts, which must have closed since their previous visit but appeared to have been opened specially for the occasion. The windows were still boarded up making the interior very dank indeed, and dust that had been kicked up by billowing cloaks drifted in the suns rays that had pierced the cracks between the planks of wood.

Harry stood near the stairwell trying to avoid bumping into anyone, and as he scrambled back to make way for two of the youngest students he had yet seen, he brushed a stack of disused books and dust swirled up under the confines of his cloak and attacked his mouth and nose.

He sneezed loudly three times in rapid succession and as he looked up, eyes watering madly, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, Hermione and Ron all stood gawping at the space where Harry was standing, and they were not the only ones. Nearby witches and wizards had stopped in mid act of rifling through books, automatically grabbing their children and staring wide-eyed at the non-apparent source of noise.

'Hehe… well now …' Mr. Weasley recovered first. 'Ron, I told you not to bring your rat in here,' Mr. Weasley was a terrible liar. Nervously he turned to the increasing hub of people watching 'gets terribly allergic … very old you see … Mmm…' he added lamely.

'Right' said Ron unconvincingly, then gaining confidence in the excuse he looked over his shoulder 'Sorry …' and bent down in mock search 'I'll just get him.' and proceeded to lift up books and peer round shelves as people started looking away again.

'That was too close!' Harry said under his breath as Ron reached him, though he noted that one or two wizards looked thoroughly unconvinced.
'Yeah, I think you might be better to wait outside.' Ron said as he continued to half-heartedly look for his non-existent rat.
'I think you're right' and Harry headed past him, making his way to the door. He dodged around it before it closed shut and stood in the street waiting for the others.

He watched as people approached and hurried on down the street, wondering why he hadn't spotted any aurors yet. Maybe they were all hidden under cloaks like he was, but he doubted it as he was pretty sure they didn't have that many invisibility cloaks at their disposal. He started searching more earnestly for some sign of them, looking in the tiny darkened alleys between shops and even scanning the rooftops as he walked slowly around in a circle. Suddenly he was knocked off his feet and he hit the ground with a thud, his cloak underneath him and something lying on top of him.

'Neville!' he croaked as he tried to heave his friend off him.

Neville looked startled as he scrambled to pick himself up, eyeing Harry apologetically 'Sorry Harry! Didn't see you there…'
'Yes, well that was the whole point' said Harry exasperated, pulling himself off the ground looking at Neville's anguished face.
'I'm really sorry, Harry!'

'It wasn't your fault, I wasn't watching where I was going' he added, swinging his cloak over his head. But before he could cover himself with it, it was ripped from his hands and he was being thrust face first to the ground. 'GET OFF!' he yelled as he struggled to get his hands free. He could hear Neville's urgently high voice.

'Let Go!'

Harry, his heart pounding, squirmed under the body that was pressing down on him. He managed to twist onto his back and finally pulled his hands free. Automatically his left fist made contact with his assailants face and his right had found his wand. 'Levicorpus!' With lightening speed he had raised the man off him and dangled him in the air by his ankle.

'Give me that…' An angry voice said and Harry spun onto his knees.

'Stupefy!' he shot at a wizard who was struggling with Neville's wand hand, trying to disarm him. The flash of light hit the man's chest and his eyes curled backwards into his head as he was thrown off his feet by the force of the curse.

Then several things happened all at once.

A woman who was coming out of Flourish and Blotts started screaming, battling her way back against people who pushed forward out the doors to see what was happening; the man who dangled in the air was spluttering threateningly at Harry as blood dripped from his nose; and many loud CRACKS resounded in the street around Harry and Neville signifying the arrival of a number of apparators.

Harry, who was spinning around on his feet, wand directed straight out in front of him looking for someone to target, suddenly threw himself at Neville, and pushed him to the ground as several jets of red light soared past them. He aimed a curse at one of the wizards that now surrounded him as he scrambled to his feet, but he felt a white hot jolt in his back that threw him forward. His body skidded along the ground but he still had his wand arm free. Impedimenta!

Without speaking as he struggled to catch his breath after being winded, he sent a curse that caught the man approaching him off guard, his body stiffening. Harry groggily picked himself up, his eyes watering from the pain, trying desperately to locate Neville and see if he was all right, but before he could straighten his body two blasts pelted excruciatingly into his side, hurling him off his feet, his head hitting the cobbled stones with a sickening crunch.

Harry heard Lupins voice roaring furiously ... he felt the breath leave his lungs and then everything went black…

Harry's body felt stiff and sore when he finally opened his eyes. His head swam as he tried to sit up, everything blurred and the pain shot through his skull so he let his head drop back down onto the thin pillow. He kept his eyes closed as nausea threatened to overcome him. What happened?

He tried but he couldn't remember what had brought him to this point. As he clutched his head he felt a lumpy wet patch above his left eye, he pulled his hand away and squinted at it, the blurry image of his fingers was smeared with blood. That explained why his head was spinning at least. But why wasn't it bandaged? Why hadn't someone fixed it already?

A sense of urgency grew in him. Something was terribly wrong. With his eyes only half open and his head feeling like it was splitting in two, Harry slowly eased himself off the bed onto his feet. Nausea swept through him again as the blood left his head, and the darkness that had barely retreated closed in on him. He staggered briefly, unable to focus on the anything to stop the spinning, his head feeling like it would explode, but even as he fought the urge to throw up, he dropped to the floor and sank into oblivion.

Something was lifting him up; strong hands were dragging him as he tried to open his eyes but his head pounded so much that he felt sick. He could hear voices but they seemed very distant and he could not make out what they were saying. He was hoisted into a sitting position on a soft platform; his head feeling like his skull was crushing in on him as someone tapped his face.

'Harry! Harry wakeup! Wakeup Harry!' it echoed in his head painfully and suddenly he convulsed, throwing his chest forward he lost the contents of his stomach. There were angry voices as Harry's body went limp again; being held up only by arms clutching at his shoulders. He felt so incredibly tired and the pain in his head was so severe that he wished these people would just let him sleep.

There was an argument raging somewhere in the room as Harry hung his head and waited to blackout again. 'Harry! Wakeup!' that annoying voice said again as he felt a hand tapping his cheek 'Harry! Don't fall asleep!' but even as the voice spoke, Harry willed the approaching darkness to take him away.

Then someone put a hand under his chin and held his head up, something was thrust against his lips and hot liquid dripped out of the sides of his mouth and down the back of his throat as he spluttered and choked on it..

The drowsiness that had lurked comfortably near was ebbing away rapidly and the pounding in his head grew more and more real until he felt like he could bear it no longer. He swiped out at the cup and heard it crash to the ground.

'It's alright Harry … it will help you to stay awake'
'I don't want to stay awake' he croaked still unable to open his eyes for the pain.
'I know,' the voice softened 'Someone's coming to fix you Harry … but you need to stay awake until they get here' Harry groaned in protest. 'It wont be long … I promise…'

Harry realized who was talking to him 'Lupin?' he still could not open his eyes or hold his head up to see.
'Yes'
Harry wanted to talk to him, he wanted to ask what had happened and how he came to be here, but the pounding in his head was becoming all consuming. 'I need to lay down'

'It should be alright, he's had the potion so he wont lose consciousness.' Tonks's voice sounded strained. He felt himself being lowered and once his head was on the pillow some of the thunderous pain eased. Harry tried to open his eyes but immediately felt sick again as the light swirled above him, so he closed them and lay there listening.

'They should have Scrimgeour's head on a stick for this!' Tonks sounded extremely angry. 'I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it for myself.'
'He shouldn't have attacked us' a male voice Harry vaguely recognized replied
'What did you expect?' Tonks's said so loudly that Harry closed his arms over his face to try to quell the noise 'I mean honestly … what did you think he would do … creeping up behind him and wrestling him to the ground … your lucky all he did was hang you upside down!'

'Tonks!' Lupin butted in. Harry's memory of the incident was starting to come back to him.
'Neville' he groaned 'Is he-'
'fine, he's just fine' Lupin said soothingly.

A short time later a woman arrived and after a brisk greeting Harry felt her slender hands on his face. 'Why wasn't this seen to straight away?' she said gravely.
'These idiots wouldn't let us in to see him!' Tonks said 'He was lying on the floor when we came in.' she said darkly
'Totally unacceptable! I will be lodging a formal complaint with the Ministry the minute I get back to St Mungos!' the woman said business like as she took her hands from Harry. He felt a gentle warmth on his forehead that gradually grew into an uncomfortable prickly heat, but the pounding in his head was slowly receding until it was no more than a dull ache.

Eventually the sensation stopped and the woman told Harry to open his eyes. He opened them cautiously and was pleasantly surprised to note that everything had finally stopped spinning, though he still couldn't focus on anything.

'How's that … better?' she asked him. He lifted himself onto his elbow and turned to look at her as something was thrust into his hand. That's why he still couldn't focus, he thought as he slid his glasses over his nose. The room and the people in it swayed gently, but it was not enough to make him feel sick.
'Yeah, much better. Thanks.' She nodded at him satisfied and instructed him to stay in bed until morning.

Lupin followed her and spoke to her quietly outside the room as she left, before coming back and sitting down on the edge of Harry's bed. The man Harry now recognized as the one he had punched on the nose and hung upside down in Diagon Alley, was standing just inside the doorway, studying the three of them nervously. Over his shoulder hovered a small black orb. Harry looked away in disgust. Scrimgeour had sent the Stalker to keep an eye on them, was he so afraid of what they might do? The cold room was bare except for the bed he now sat on and a small table that was propped against a pale green wall.

'You're in one of the ministry's holding cells' Lupin said watching him.
Harry gave Lupin a stony look 'Are they going to let me out?'

'They can't keep you here, Harry.' Lupin said 'If people find out the ministry's holding the "Chosen One" in their jail cells there will be a massive outcry, Scrimgeour can be sure of that.' He said as he looked over at the Stalker 'But as you are not well enough to be moved, you'll stay here for the night anyway-'

'No' Harry cut him off 'I feel fine and I want out of here!'
Lupin looked down at the floor gravely 'Harry, I don't think you realize how close you came to-'
'I'm fine now.' Harry abruptly.

'I can understand why he doesn't want to stay' Tonks said with a raised eyebrow. Lupin gave him an appraising look.

'You'd have to walk all the way to the Atrium before we can leave Harry.'
'Not a problem.' Harry felt weak but his need to leave here was greater.
'We're in the furthest part of the ministry' Lupin added.
'Doesn't matter.'

'Molly will be relieved to see him' Tonks added.

'You'd have to go straight to your own bed when we got back' Lupin said.
'Happily.' Harry sounded anything but happy.

'See, we just need to decide how are we going to take him' Tonks said confidently.

'I suppose we could go via the floo, I don't think you're up to
apparating.'
'Fine' said Harry.
'All right' Lupin said resignedly, standing up 'I'll go and speak to Scrimgeour. I'll be back soon.' and he turned and left, Tonks smiling after him.

'I'll head back to let them know you're coming, Harry' she said and followed him out the door.

Harry had found the walk to the Atrium much more tiresome than he had expected. By the time he stepped into the kitchen at Grimmauld place after the whirling trip through the floo network, his head was hurting so much he was wincing with the pain again. But he was glad to be back.

Hermione and Mrs. Weasley were looking at him in shock but they both gave him overly tight hugs before Mrs. Weasley sent him straight upstairs with watery eyes. Ron looked extraordinarily pale as he accompanied Harry up to his room. Harry sat on the bed with his head in his hands. It was feeling like it might burst at any minute so Ron closed the curtains and then left, closing the door behind him.

'You've got an interesting relationship with the ministry, haven't you?'
Harry looked up in surprise. Ginny was walking towards him with a crooked smile on her face.

'Where'd you come from?'
'I was waiting for you' she said as she sat beside him and lifted her hand to his forehead to inspect the damage. Harry hadn't seen her when he came in. He was about to mention the fact when Ginny spoke again.

'It doesn't look too bad now,' she dropped her eyes to his 'though from what Hermione said, you were in pretty bad shape for a while.'
'How would she know?'
'Tonks told her they found you on the floor, lying unconscious in a pool of blood.' Ginny was frowning slightly as she stood up looking at his shirt. For the first time Harry noticed the dark patch of dried blood on the shoulder. So that explained why Mrs. Weasley and Hermione had looked so shocked and the blood had drained from Ron's face.

'Here' Ginny handed Harry the basin which normally sat below the mirror. He rested it on his knees as she dipped the small towel in and wiped the dried blood from his face and neck. As he sat there enjoying the sensation of Ginny's touch he thought how he could have used the Tergeo charm to remove the blood, but he found this way much more pleasant so he allowed Ginny to clean him up and strip him of his old shirt, replacing it with a black t-shirt she had once told him suited him very much. Then she told him to lye down and promptly left him before Mrs. Weasley brought in a tray of dinner.

She showed some surprise at Harry's cleaned up appearance but said nothing before telling him she would bring him up a light sleeping draught later. Even though Harry's head still ached, he was rather hungry so he finished off the steak and kidney pie before placing the tray on the floor, and then leaned back on his stack of pillows feeling very thankful he wasn't in the cell at the ministry.

It may have been paranoia about Death Eaters that had triggered off the events that led him to the ministry cells, but what other reaction did they expect? You don't grab someone from behind and throw them on the ground unless you're expecting a fight! What were they playing at? There was a knock at the door and Lupin entered.

'You're looking better.'
'What happened? Why did they jump me in the first place?' was out of Harry's mouth before he had even sat up properly.
'Because they're idiots.' said Tonks as she appeared from behind Lupin.
Lupin couldn't help but smile 'Yes, well … that does certainly seem to play a part in all this.' then he pulled up a chair as Tonks plonked herself down on Harry's bed.
'Starring role if you ask me.' she looked sideways at Harry.

'They were under orders to detain you if they found you, Kingsley warned me yesterday.' Lupin sighed.
'What? Why?' Harry said, feeling his temper rise.
'Since the ministry lost contact with you they have been under a barrage of public pressure to … produce you.' Harry looked at Lupin in angry bewilderment 'It didn't take long for the rumours to start that you were not missing … but dead.'
'Stupid gits almost killed you trying to prove you were alive!' Tonks rolled her eyes.

'So they watched for you at Diagon Alley and when Neville knocked you over and your cloak came off, the two closest aurors moved in. They tried to stop you from putting your cloak back on, and the scuffle that ensued brought the rest of them down on top of you.' Lupin said gravely.

'So they thought that the best thing to do would be to leave me to rot in one of their cells?' Harry said through his teeth.
'Prats!' said Tonks.
'They're afraid of you Harry,' Lupin said quietly. Harry scoffed as Lupin went on to explain 'they never expected you to be so … hard to detain. They had no idea how skilled you are, so when they realized they had nearly killed you trying to defend themselves, they panicked. They got you back to the ministry and in the holding cell before I could see how much damage they had done.'

'Arrrgh! I am so sick of it!' Harry didn't try to hide his fury 'If Scrimgeour gets in my way one more time I'm gonna-'
'I don't think that will be a problem anymore.' Lupin interrupted.
'Why should he stop now? He doesn't strike me as the type to give up that easily.' Harry said resentfully.
'Because you have him over a barrel, Harry. If you were to tell people what happened he wouldn't last ten more minutes in his office.' Lupin stood up 'Imagine the Minister of Magic almost doing Voldemort's job for him.' a sad smile played across his lips.

After they left Harry thought about what was said. He hoped Lupin had been right and that it would be the end of the Ministries interference. He would be heading back to Hogwarts the day after tomorrow and he had no idea what was in store for him after that. The last thing he needed was the Ministry trying to track him down wherever he went.

His head still ached and there was a dull ringing in his ears from the pain when Mrs. Weasley came in briefly to give Harry a sleeping draft, not leaving until he had drank it all down. He really didn't mind having some help to shut out the pain, and it wasn't long before he was feeling very light headed indeed.

Eventually the draft seeped through him and he could feel no pain at all, so he closed his eyes and enjoyed drifting lightly between states of consciousness. He felt something hop on his bed and he immediately grinned, thinking that Socks had come to keep him company yet again. But when he opened his eyes Ginny was sat on the side of his bed looking down at him, smiling.

'What are you grinning at?' she laughed playfully.
'You' he said with an even broader smile.
'Really!' her eyes sparkled.
'I'd take you over Socks any day.' he felt blissfully intoxicated as he reached his hand up and brushed her hair back off her face.
'Is that so?' she chuckled.
'Yeah, but don't tell her I said that.' he said softly.
'Oh, somehow I don't think she'd mind.'

Harry gazed up at the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. 'I'm going to marry you one day, Ginny Weasley.'
'You fool,' she laughed softly 'it's the potion mum gave you, your completely out of your head.'
'And what a wonderful place it is,' he said dreamily.

Ginny's smile saddened slightly as she looked down at his mouth 'It'll be over one day Harry,' her finger brushed across his lips as he opened them to kiss it gently 'one day you'll be free.'
He leant up on his elbow and kissed her softly on the lips 'I'll never be free' he whispered, then he bent his head and grazed his lips on her neck 'not from you.'
'I wish you would say that to me some other time.' she barely spoke but Harry was close enough to hear it.

He breathed her in, feeling even more intoxicated by her scent. He kissed Ginny's neck lightly again before looking at her drowsily through heavy eyelids, expecting to meet the same desire in her eyes, but she was looking at him with a smile on her face, highly amused at something.

'C'mon lover boy, I think it's time you went to sleep!' and she pushed him back down on the pillow, curling into his body beside him. Harry hung his arm over her and nuzzled into her slender neck. She chuckled lightly to herself as he brushed his lips over her skin, thoroughly enjoying himself, though he had no idea what she found so amusing. Before long he had trouble keeping his head off the pillow, so he relaxed back and as Ginny turned in the crook of his arm to face him, he opened his eyes for just long enough to see a tear drop to the gentle smile on her lips. Before he had time to register it, he was gone.