Chapter 29 It's in the Blood
Ginny wiped the trickle of blood from her nose onto her scorched and torn pants. Specks of blood and ash covered her formerly white blouse.
Small fires still burned around her; twin flames reflected in her eyes. Her sweaty face was preternaturally pale, considering her recent exertions. Her mouth stretched into a grim smile of satisfaction. Delphini would pay for what she had done, and she would return Harry to his normal self, or else.
Ginny kicked the lifeless body at her feet, but Delphini didn't respond. Ginny witnessed the shallow rise and fall of her chest, so she knew Delphini was alive, just barely. But alive enough to undo what she had done and face punishment. Delphini was a clever one, though, so Ginny wasn't about to leave her any chance of escaping.
"Incarcerous!" Ginny hissed as she whipped her wand from Delphini's head to her toes. Black ropes materialized and wrapped around Delphini's arms, binding them tightly to her body and around her calves and ankles. Delphini was going to undo her spell on Harry and then she was going to rot in Azkaban.
Ginny kicked around the litter on the floor until she found Delphini's wand and stuffed it into the remaining pocket of her pants. She ran her hands around Delphini's neck until she patted the hard stone. She reached under the collar of her robe and pulled on a brown leather strap. Delphini hadn't bothered to remove the resurrection stone from Teddy's leather pouch. Ginny yanked it off and hung it around her neck, tucking it under her dirty blouse for safekeeping.
"Bloody hell, Ginny," came an incredulous voice from the shattered doorway.
Ginny spun with a wand at the ready but relaxed when she realized it was Ron.
He threw up his hands in a gesture of surrender. "Are you alright?" Ron asked, taking in the fires and destruction. His eyes widened at the body on the floor.
"I am now," Ginny said as she nudged the still-unconscious Delphini with her foot. "You're going to make sure Delphini goes to Azkaban for kidnapping and attempted murder. She can only lighten her sentence IF she fixes Harry. Immediately."
"Are you sure you want to continue working as a journalist? Your skills as a witch are being woefully under-used." Ron delivered with his usual aplomb.
"The question is, why didn't you come here and arrest her? What were you waiting for? She might have gone into hiding or gotten away. Harry was up in that hospital bed and he was dying! And you did nothing!"
Ginny pointed her wand at Ron, who threw his hands up in surrender again.
"I'm sorry Ginny. You're right. I should've come for her, but I wanted to help Harry get sorted out first. I don't trust her," he pointed to the bound Delphini, "to do anything. Given the opportunity, she might make him worse, or even kill him."
Ginny hadn't considered Delphini might try to kill Harry, but what could she gain from it? Could Ginny trust Delphini to even hold a wand again? Ginny levitated Delphini, spinning her body so she faced the floor.
Ron continued, "I came to find you. Teddy and Hermione are working with the specialist."
Ginny let Delphini drop like a stone. Her head made a sickening crunch when she hit the floor. She lifted her again slowly, looking at Ron over her floating figure.
"So? They've worked with him before and nothing happened. Why do they think they have the answer this time?" Ginny raised an eyebrow and released Delphini, who once again fell to the floor.
Ron waved his wand and levitated Delphini, "Because they consulted Dumbledore's portrait."
Ginny sighed, afraid to hope. Her eyes beseeched his, and it reminded Ron of his little sister in her younger days when she begged to play quidditch with him and his brothers.
"Can we keep her close? In case it doesn't work?"
Ron hesitated before he spoke. He hated the despair on Ginny's face. "We can't trust her."
"Ronald Weasley! If they can't fix him, then she will!" Ginny pointed her wand at the levitating body, floating her upside down toward the ceiling. Delphini's feet were scraping the ceiling and her white hair flowed down toward the ground.
"Ginny, go to the bloody hospital. Now! I'll take her to the Ministry and put her in detention. Just go." Ron pulled Delphini down from the ceiling. "If Harry isn't cured… Well, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it."
Ginny gritted her teeth, then began to pick her way through the debris to leave Malfoy Manor. She paused and turned to Ron, but he didn't give her a chance to respond.
"I'll see you at St Mungo's."
Ginny nodded and then was gone.
Ron grabbed Delphini by the arm and floated her towards the gaping doorway. He felt a chill slide down his spine. Why had he made the bloody comment about the bridge? It reminded him of the story about Death coming to the three brothers. He shook his head. He was going nutters.