The Refiner's Fire

Chapter 26 - Rescue

"How's Beaky?" Ron asked when Harry came back to the cave he'd found to shelter Ron. Beaky wouldn't fit in the cave, but there was a nice little copse of trees just outside the cave entrance that made good shelter for the hippogriff.

Harry had just finished bringing water to both Ron and Buckbeak. He'd tended Beaky's wounds as best he could, and had amazed Ron with the splint and sling he'd made to support Ron's broken arm. Harry performed a Cushioning Charm on the floor of the cave, and a warming spell, as well, so Ron was as comfortable as Harry could make him. Beaky, too had a comfortable bed of pine needles that Harry had made for him.

"He's fine. He's busy catching bats right now. Apparently they fly through that little grove of trees a lot," Harry replied, trying to find a comfortable place to sit.

Ron snorted. "Yeah, they do fly through those trees, because they seem to live in here!" He pointed at the massive mound of bat guano in the back of the cave. "Did you know they pee when they fly? Gross!"

"Yeah, I noticed that, but there wasn't any other good shelter around," Harry said with a shrug. "Sorry the accommodation isn't as advertised."

"Huh?"

"Oh. That's a line from an old TV programme - can't think what." Harry yawned hugely, his jaw cracking, making him laugh. "How are your spell burns? I didn't mean to neglect them."

Ron put on a brave face. "Not too bad."

"Let's have a look," Harry said, helping Ron lift the tattered remains of his sweater and shirt to see the more serious spell damage on his side. "I don't know, mate. That one looks like more than I can manage. I can heal bruises, but I'm afraid to try that one. You might have internal damage of some kind."

"Have a go, Harry, please?" Ron said, his face twisted in pain as he tried to maintain a position where Harry could see the entire injury.

"OK." Harry breathed deeply several times and shook his hands, trying to relax and become more alert at the same time. He put his hands on Ron's injury as lightly as possible. Ron flinched away from the contact. "Sorry if my hands are cold," Harry apologized, pulling them away from Ron's skin and tucking them in his own armpits to warm them.

"'S'OK," Ron groaned. "Hurts like hell."

"I can see that," Harry said mildly. "Hang on, I'm trying again." He watched as Ron braced himself, and then put his hands on either side of the injury. "Better?" He smiled when Ron nodded briefly. Ron's fair skin was so badly burned, Harry was afraid to rub his thumbs over it as he'd done with previous injuries he'd healed. He concentrated on sensing the injury, trying to feel any "wrongness" in his friend's body. Magic flowed through his hands, healing a lot of the damage. The burn itself appeared to be lighter, and Ron breathed a sigh of relief.

"I think that's all I'd better do," Harry said as he pulled his hands away. "There are things in there I don't understand. I'm afraid I'll do more harm than good if I mess around with them."

"It's better, really. Thanks!" Ron said with half a smile. He groaned as Harry pulled his shirt and sweater back in place and rolled him onto his back.

"Sorry, mate," Harry said, wishing he knew spells that would block pain.

"No problem. I'll live."

"Let's hope so! OK, next we need to pull your jeans down so I can see your other injury," Harry said, looking at the hole in the thigh of Ron's jeans. "You've got a burn on your leg, just there, that doesn't look too bad. I might be able to fix that one."

Ron nodded and unbuckled his belt with his one good hand. With some difficulty due to his broken arm, a few yelps of pain due to his injured side, and some awkward help from Harry that made both of them laugh, Ron got his jeans down below the injury.

"It's not too bad," Harry commented. "I'll have a go." He put his hands on his friend's thigh, both of them giggling about how silly they felt, and then started rubbing his thumbs gently over and around the wound. Within a few moments, the burn had completely disappeared. "Cool," Harry said with satisfaction. "I haven't done any burns before. How does it feel?"

"No pain at all! Thanks, mate," Ron said, starting to struggle back into his jeans. Harry helped him pull his jeans back up, fasten them and buckle his belt. Ron was soaked in pain-induced sweat by the time they were done.

"Here, this may help," Harry said, dampening the last remnant of his own sweater with water he poured out of a jug he'd conjured on top of the hill. He wiped the sweat from Ron's face, then rubbed his friend's face dry with his hands. "Better?"

Ron nodded. His face was pale and tight with pain, but there wasn't anything else Harry could do for him.

Harry yawned, his jaw cracking again, then shook his head trying to wake up more. He wiped the damp sweater remnant over his own face to make him more alert. "One of us should keep watch. Since you're the one who's hurt, I guess that's my job, eh?" He yawned again and stretched, then stood up. "D'you need anything else before you go to sleep? I'll be just outside the opening."

"No, I don't need anything. Thanks. Ginny would be proud of what a good healer you're being," Ron said with a wan smile. He was in so much pain, even his freckles were pale.

"I wish I had some kind of potion to give you. I know it must hurt. How's your side?"

"It'll keep. Don't worry about it. I doubt if anyone but a real healer could've done any better than you did. I'm sure Dumbledore will send us help soon."

"Yeah. G'nite. Let me know if you need anything, OK?"

"Yeah. Thanks," Ron said, pulling Harry's cloak up around his neck.

Harry shivered in the night air. They had worn layers of clothing because they knew it would be cold when they were flying, but he was worried Ron might go into shock, so he'd insisted Ron keep his cloak. He'd also torn his shirt into strips to make a sling for Ron's arm, so he was missing a couple of layers now. He was down to just his undershirt, and it was a cold night in early Spring. He did a Warming Spell and settled down for a long night's watch.

Hours later, in the cold light of pre-dawn, his scar woke him up. Some guard I am - couldn't even stay awake a few extra hours, he berated himself. He moaned and pressed his hand against his scar, then opened his eyes and looked around. He couldn't see anyone approaching, but of course, with Invisibility Cloaks and Invisibility Spells a reality in his world, not seeing anything didn't mean there wasn't anything there. He invoked the powers of his glasses, checking to see if there was someone invisible nearby. Nothing. He listened hard, straining his ears to catch the smallest unusual sound. Nothing. The hair on the back of his neck wasn't standing up, so he probably wasn't in immediate danger. So why did his scar hurt, only for a moment? That was odd. He had just stood up to go and check on Buckbeak and Ron when his scar hurt again. This time the pain knocked him to his knees, and he groaned in agony, then fell over on his side, his legs pulled up to his chest, a tight ball of excruciating pain.

"Harry?" Ron called softly from inside the cave. He'd heard Harry's cry of pain, and heard him fall, and then all he could hear was his best mate groaning. Ron's stomach clenched. Was Harry under attack? He got painfully to his feet and hobbled to the cave opening, his wand out, ready to fight whoever had attacked his friend. Harry lay twisting on the ground in torment, biting his lips trying to stay quiet and not reveal their location. Ron looked around but saw no enemies, and no signs that Harry had been attacked. He fell to his knees beside his friend, putting his good hand on Harry's shoulder and trying to hold the writhing boy still so he could see what was wrong with him.

"Is it your scar?" Ron asked quietly.

Harry managed to nod once - that's all he could do. Finally, the pain passed and he lay exhausted on the ground, gasping for breath.

"Did you see something?" Ron asked.

"He's furious. One of his plans didn't work again." Harry lay there panting, trying to catch his breath. After a moment, he went on. "He was screaming at a group of people, throwing curses everywhere. He said he's getting pissed off at his so-called best Death Eaters screwing up the simplest tasks. He said he was going to handle it himself, and then he left."

"Handle what himself?" Ron said, aghast. "Not us?"

"I have no idea," Harry said honestly. "It's possible he's after us. I don't know how they would've found out about us flying Beaky here, but after what happened last night, I have the feeling somebody found out and told Voldemort about it."

"Kreacher. I'm going to kill him when I get home," Ron growled.

"And I'll help. And then we're taking all those awful heads off the wall of that house. I'm going to do a serious clean up, like Sirius and your mum had started. No more snake door knobs. No more screaming portrait in the hall, if I have to burn the house down to get rid of her," Harry muttered, his voice hard and angry. He sat up, rubbed his eyes with the heels of his hands, pushed his glasses back up his nose, pressed on his scar again with a small moan, then stood up shakily. "I'll go and get us some water," he said, stumbling up the hill toward the spring he'd found the night before. "You stay here and rest," he told Ron.

"Right," Ron said, disgusted with himself for needing someone to look after him. "Just now, I think I'm probably in better shape than you are, mate," he muttered at Harry's retreating back.

* * * * *

"We're close enough. Release Ron's owl," Moody said.

"Come on out, ickle Piggy," Tonks encouraged the little owl as she got him out of her pocket. "Go and find Ron for us." Pig jumped off her fingers and flew toward a range of mountains which were fronted by tumbled boulders and patches of forest. Pig made straight for a rocky wall behind a small grove of trees and disappeared.

"Good spot Potter picked," Moody growled as they followed the owl's flight path, then circled to scout the area. "Ah, there's the hippogriff hidden in the trees. Well done. That boy has the makings of a fine Auror."

"Where are the boys?" Arthur asked as they flew nearer to the rocky face of the mountain.

"There's an opening in the rock just there, beyond the trees," Tonks said. "Let's look in there."

Wands at the ready, the Order members landed and quietly approached the entrance to the cave. When they glanced inside, they were greeted by the sight of a patch of Ron's bright hair peeking out from behind a cleft in the rock wall.

"Ron? Ron, it's Dad. Come out," Arthur said, more relieved than he could say to see that glimpse of brilliant red in the gloom of the cave. "Are you all right?"

Ron stayed hidden, his wand still pointed at the group. "Somebody give me a password, quick, or I'll. . ."

"I took care of your mum when she got cut after Harry's tantrum. Good enough?" Tonks said cheekily. Then, when Ron peered out from his refuge, she changed her nose into three different shapes in quick succession. Ron laughed, a nervous sound that echoed eerily off the cave walls. "And who else would bring that silly little owl to find you?"

"OK, so it's you. Thanks for finding us," he said, coming out and slumping in relief against the cave wall. "Hi, Dad. Did Mum go spare when she heard?"

"She and Ginny both," Arthur assured him, moving over to stand next to him. "Let's have a look at you. That's a splint, eh? Remus told me about those. How clever! Good for Harry, knowing how to do it!"

"Where is Harry?" Remus asked, staying by the entrance and glancing around outside.

"He said he was going to bring us some water from the spring," Ron answered. "It's somewhere over the top of this hill. He spotted it when we were flying in. He's been quite a while, actually."

"I'll go and look for him," Remus said, turning toward the cave's opening.

"I'll go with you," Tonks offered, following him.

"Thanks," Remus replied, smiling at her. They walked outside and looked for a path to the top of the hill. "Here we go," Remus said when he spotted the sheep trail Harry had followed. They started climbing.

"My goodness, it's quite a climb up here, isn't it?" Tonks said, gasping for breath.

"The footing's loose here, be careful," Remus said, holding out his hand to help her up the steep slope.

"He couldn't have found a stream that's down the hill, I suppose," Tonks grumbled cheerfully. "He must be exhausted, and then with this climb to get water, and having to carry enough down for Buckbeak and Ron - I bet Harry will sleep for a week when this is over!"

"I imagine he'd enjoy that," Remus agreed with a fond smile, picturing Harry's face if he got an actual week's holiday to do whatever he wanted, no homework, no revision, no. . . . He stopped suddenly, listening intently. "What's that?" he whispered.

"It doesn't sound good," Tonks whispered in reply, gripping her wand more tightly and stooping down to make the best possible use of the surrounding brush as cover. Remus followed her example. From somewhere high above them, they could hear faint shouts, voices bellowing spells and curses, and, when they moved out from under the trees, they could see the occasional flash of red, purple, orange, blue or green light as spells flashed by overhead. Remus sent an Adfero to Mad-Eye and Arthur and followed Tonks silently up the hill.

* * * * *

When Harry left Ron, he stopped in the little copse of trees to see how Buckbeak was doing, then trudged up the hill to a spring he'd spotted when they'd flown in at dusk the night before. He grumbled a bit as he walked. "Could've flown up here, but no, I have to stay hidden, and besides, after my stupid scar acting up, I'm too sore to even think about flying. Blast the flaming scar anyway." He sighed and kept walking, slipping every so often on the loose gravel that littered the slope.

Just over the crest of the ridge was a pretty little clearing surrounded by trees, ending in a cliff with a spectacular view of the lake and valley below. A spring bubbled up in the clearing, the ground around it soft and marshy. The stream created by this spring spilled ribbon-like down a sheer cliff. About one hundred and fifty feet below was a deep, dark lake shadowed by the surrounding mountains, which gave on to a river that flowed down through the valley beyond. It would've been a beautiful sight if it hadn't required such a difficult trek to get up there. And after all that walking, Harry would have to conjure jugs and carefully levitate them down so he could bring water to Beaky and Ron - and Beaky drank a lot of water, usually twelve to fifteen gallons a day. Since he'd been injured, he was drinking even more than usual. Harry was glad he could levitate the jugs instead of carrying them, but he was exhausted, hungry, cold, and was hard-pressed to keep enough water in the small trough he'd conjured for Beaky to drink from. At least Buckbeak had enough energy to catch his own meals. If Harry had needed to find food for Beaky as well as water, he probably would've just offered the hippogriff his own arm or leg to gnaw on. He was that tired.

He trudged up the hill, aching and weary, but still doing his best to be alert. When he neared the top of the hill, he stopped. The hair on the back of his neck was standing up. His scar was prickling intensely. He pulled his wand and moved carefully from one shrub to another, trying to stay under cover while scouting the area. He couldn't see anyone. He invoked the powers of his glasses, and saw, behind a pile of boulders on the other side of the spring, a gathering of Death Eaters. He silently blessed Dumbledore for thinking to add so many powers to his glasses.

He was just backing down the hill when a broom appeared in the sky, with. . .oh, no, it couldn't be! Ginny was about to fly over the clearing. What's she doing here? Where are the Order members? Harry thought. He hadn't seen them arrive because he'd been sticking tight to cover on his way up the hill, and they'd been Disillusioned and careful in their flight. Ginny's angle of approach didn't allow her to see the gathered Death Eaters. Before he could send her an Adfero or react in any other way, one of the Death Eaters had shot her out of the sky, then stood there laughing about it.

"Like shooting ducks on a pond," said the one who had shot the spell at her.

His companion laughed nervously. "You don't want to be doing stuff like that, just playing around like that. The Dark Lord. . . ."

"Oh, stuff the Dark Lord. That's a pretty little girl, probably out for a lark. I'm going to see if she's as pretty as she looked from a distance. She's mine, I caught her," he chortled, and started toward the banks of the stream where Ginny had landed with a "thump." Her broom lay just a few feet from her. She lay there dazed for a moment, then pulled her wand and looked around carefully as she started to get up.

Harry knew he and Ginny were seriously outnumbered. Ginny was a good fighter, given a chance, but she wasn't going to be given a chance, from the looks of things. And Voldemort might be on the way - these wizards certainly seemed to be waiting for something. How had they found him? He didn't have time to think. He was about to step out and fight for Ginny when Voldemort Apparated just next to her.

"Ah, what have we here?" Voldemort said. "I remember you. You're that silly little girl who wrote in my diary, aren't you? Ginny Weasley?"

Ginny's face had blanched at the sight of him. She'd never seen him before. His red eyes, and pale snake-like face were horribly frightening, but the worst thing was, she remembered him as handsome young Tom Riddle. She was nauseated at what he'd done to himself.

"Answer me, girl!" Voldemort snarled. "You're Ginny Weasley, all grown up now, aren't you?"

"And you took a handsome young man and turned him into something hideous," she spat, her back arched like that of a cat ready to spring.

Voldemort laughed, a high, cold sound. "Oh, she does have spirit! I like that in a victim, don't you?" he asked his Death Eaters, who were gathering around him and Ginny.

Harry stood frozen, his mind racing but no coherent thoughts appearing in it. "Think, Potter, think!" he berated himself. He took a deep breath and blew it out, steeling himself for whatever was coming next. Before he could move, Voldemort had grabbed Ginny's arm and pulled her to him, twisting her arm cruelly behind her. He was nose to nose with her, if the slits in his face could be called a nose.

"What are you doing here, my dear?" he asked smoothly. "Come to meet your lover? Harry Potter, yes? I've heard you two are quite the item."

"Bloody hell, don't you ever brush your teeth? Your breath smells like owl shit!" she snapped, her eyes flashing as she defied the Dark Lord right to his face.

"Ah, the famous Weasley humour. Too bad no one here appreciates it," he said with a chuckle. "What shall we do with you?" He looked at the gathered Death Eaters. "What say you? Shall I throw her to you for your pleasure?"

A round of affirmative grunts and replies answered him. As they started to move closer to Ginny, Voldemort loosened his grip on her, and Harry stepped out from behind his boulder. "Accio Ginny!" he cried. Ginny's body flew from Voldemort's hand to Harry's arms. He caught her with his left arm and pushed her behind him quickly. "Run down the hill," he told her. "Go and hide there."

"No. I'll guard your back," she said, standing behind him.

"No!" Harry began, but spells had already started flashing around them. Harry pulled her behind his boulder and pushed her to the ground. She pushed him away so she could sit up and shoot some spells around the rock. The boulder was crumbling under the force of the Death Eaters' spells. Harry and Ginny were both shooting spells as fast as they could, while dodging shrapnel from the boulder at the same time. They were rapidly running out of shelter.

"Harry, Harry, Harry. We meet again at last," Voldemort said calmly. He sounded as unconcerned as he might if they were all about to sit down to afternoon tea. With a casual wave of his wand, Voldemort made the boulder vanish completely, exposing Harry and Ginny.

Harry pushed Ginny behind him again, but she simply would not stay hidden, leaning around him to send hexes and jinxes so fast her wand was a blur. Harry had to admire her courage despite his being fully occupied with shielding, dodging and parrying Voldemort's curses. He finally pulled her behind another boulder. She guarded one side while he guarded the other. She was determined to protect him and be part of the fight, no matter what he said. His "warrior princess" indeed. Harry's heart swelled with love for her, and fear for her safety. How were they going to get out of this? He finally hit on a strategy - it might not work, but it was worth a try.

"This is between you and me," Harry snarled. "Call them off, let her leave safely, and you and I can have it out right here."

"Oh, you think you can set the terms of our engagement? Think again!" Voldemort laughed, the high, cold sound sending shivers down Harry's and Ginny's backs. "I would like some questions answered before I kill you, though, Harry."

"What questions?"

"There have been repeated attempts on your life since last we met, yet you keep surviving them. Why is that?" Voldemort sounded genuinely curious.

"Just lucky, I suppose," Harry snapped, his eyes roving, his mind racing, searching for an advantage somewhere.

"Oh, really?" Voldemort seemed amused. "I think your luck has just run out." He threw a spell that should have blasted the boulder to pieces, but Harry had put a shield around it just in time. Voldemort's spell bounced back at him. He barely managed to parry it in time. "Ah, learned some new tricks, have you?"

"A few."

"I wish you'd join me, Harry. We would be such an excellent team." His voice dripped with charm. Harry thought it was similar to a snake charming its victim; only Harry was not going to sit still long enough to become a victim.

"I've made my choice, and it isn't you. Sorry."

"A choice you would live to regret, if you were going to live very long. But you're not!" Voldemort shouted, moving around the small clearing, raining spells on Harry and Ginny as fast as lightning.

Harry ducked and rolled, coming up on his feet and shooting back before rolling behind another boulder. He was hoping to draw Voldemort's attention away from Ginny. Harry shot spells at the Death Eaters who were sneaking up on Ginny, then heard a familiar scream as one of his spells hit home. Bellatrix. It had to be. His attention was now divided between Voldemort and Bellatrix, which wasn't the best situation, but he was going to kill Bellatrix. He was certain today would be the last day of her life.

Sudden spell fire from below the ridge caught Harry's attention and he nearly laughed out loud as Remus and Tonks came roaring up the hill, taking out Death Eaters with nearly every spell. Voldemort stood with his arms folded, watching. When Harry came after him, Voldemort Disapparated and didn't reappear. Harry whirled around, searching for him, then found himself dodging spells from Bellatrix. He returned her fire and they duelled across the clearing, spells flying, the colours overlapping until they looked like walls of multicoloured light.

"Why don't you die?" Bellatrix screamed.

"It's not my turn," Harry replied calmly. "I'll bet you were pretty frustrated this term when none of your plans worked. I'll bet he was pretty angry with you, eh?" He shot an Impedimenta curse that she barely managed to dodge.

"Why don't you die?" she screamed again. "What magic is this that you won't die?" She shot the Killing Curse at him over and over, but she couldn't catch him, he was too fast, ducking, rolling, and dodging as if this were merely another Quidditch game. Sometimes he threw up a Repelling Charm as well as the Extra-Strong Shield Charm he'd learned from his Dark Arts books just before she sent her Killing Curse, and then he laughed mockingly at her as she dived for cover from her own rebounding curse.

"Just good, clean living and a kind heart," Harry teased, deliberately enraging her further. Just as he'd hoped, her rage made her careless. He threw a strong Expelliarmus at her that she was unable to block or dodge. She was thrown back fifteen feet, hitting the rock wall behind the spring with a resounding crack. She lay still. Harry walked over to her, ignoring the battle still going on around him, and snarled, "That was for Sirius." He was about to hex her again to repay her for making Ron sick with the sparkly potion, for Polyjuicing Parvati to make her impersonate Ginny, for Millicent attacking Madam Pomfrey and impersonating her to poison him, for possessing Hermione, for making him sick so many times, for everything she'd done to people he cared about. But there were no hexes necessary. When she hit the rock, her skull had split open. Brain matter smeared the rock and matted her long black hair. Her blood was fouling the pretty little spring. Harry wanted to retch, but steeled himself.

"You deserved to die," he snapped grimly. He kicked her body away from the water, then turned away from her to rejoin the battle.

He glanced around. Ginny was holding her own, Remus and Tonks were fighting back to back, Moody and Arthur Weasley had joined the battle and were injured but still fighting. Harry leaped back into combat with a will, running to Ginny and fighting beside her as long as he could. The battle eventually separated them again.

As Harry moved across the clearing, Voldemort reappeared and captured Ginny before she could fight back. He pulled her wand from her and said, "Naughty, naughty. Nice children don't go around trying to hurt people."

"Apparently that's a lesson you never learned," she snarled, kicking and biting for all she was worth. Arthur Weasley tried to run across the clearing to her, his face anguished at the sight of his baby girl in the Dark Lord's arms, but was attacked by several Death Eaters and went down. Ginny didn't see her father fall - her attention was all on Harry. She watched him for a signal, a sign of what to do, all the time fighting Voldemort with every bit of strength she possessed.

"Let her go!" Harry demanded, standing only a few feet in front of Voldemort. "This is between you and me. She's not involved."

"She is if I want her to be," Voldemort said with a sickening smile. "Let's see now, how shall I play with my little doll first? Ah, I know. Crucio!" Ginny writhed in agony, still held tightly by Voldmort's arm around her waist. Her plait came loose and her hair rippled down her back and over Voldemort's arm, shimmering in the light as she suffered wave after wave of pain.

Harry realized with horror that Voldemort was at the edge of the cliff. Oh, no, he thought. It's my dream.

"I think I've found a way to hurt you, Harry," he said smoothly. "Let's see if I'm right." With that, he threw the still-writhing Ginny over the cliff. Arthur Weasley had just regained his feet. He gasped when he saw his daughter fall, but he was busy holding off three Death Eaters and unable to run to help her.

Ginny screamed as she fell, her hair a red sail above her, just as Harry had dreamed. He sent an Expelliarmus at Voldemort, hoping to knock him over the cliff, but Voldemort dodged the curse. Harry was too far from the cliff to jump after her, and Voldemort and several Death Eaters were in the way, in any case. He saw Ginny's broom lying nearby and sent it flying to her with a neatly aimed Banishing spell. He reached down and picked up her wand, which Voldemort had dropped when he threw her off the cliff. Ginny's screaming stopped suddenly. There was no splash - would he hear a splash this far up? Or had she hit the rocks? His insides felt frozen with fear. Please, please, please let her be all right! he prayed as he sent spells in two directions in quick succession from the wands in each hand. Suddenly, there she was, flying overhead on her broom. Harry breathed a heartfelt sigh of relief, threw another curse at Voldemort to keep him busy, cried "Ginny!" and tossed her wand to her. She caught it deftly and went back to work raining down spells on the enemy.

There were only a few Death Eaters still fighting. Voldemort was livid, sending spells at Harry with the speed of light. Harry was shooting back just as quickly. Voldemort shot at Ginny, but she dodged in time to avoid being hit. However, the spell destroyed her broom and again she fell toward the lake far below.

Harry looked around quickly. Nobody but him was near Voldemort. He released his rage into a ball of power that ran from his fingertips to Voldemort. The rocks around the Dark Lord actually melted, such was the heat of Harry's fury. Molten rock washed over Voldemort's feet and he screamed.

At last! Harry thought, I've finally hurt him!

With a roar of pain and rage, Voldemort Disapparated.

Without a backward glance, Harry leaped off the cliff, ignoring the cries of the Order members who saw him go. As he fell, time seemed to stand still. He had time to notice an eagle soaring on thermals far away. Wildflowers dotted the valley below, creating wide swaths of reds and golds. He saw the beautiful sparkle of sunlight on the ripples in the lake. Below those lovely ripples, Ginny's bright hair was a shimmering red stain far below the lake's surface. He prayed she wasn't too injured or too scared to be able to do the Bubble-Head Charm - if she could remember to do it in the midst of falling off a one hundred and fifty foot cliff. He threw a shield above him to protect him from the spells and shards of rocks that were falling toward him, did an Aresto Momentum spell to keep him from hitting the water hard enough to get injured, then did a partial transfiguration, growing gills and webbed hands and feet as he hit the water.

Harry swam down as fast as he could, looking for the gleam of bright hair somewhere in the dark water surrounding him. Far below him, he saw it, just a glimpse. She was still sinking, her arms and legs splayed out weirdly around her. She must be unconscious or she'd be trying to swim. At least she wasn't bound, as she'd been in his dream. He pointed at her and did a Summoning Charm, which began bringing her toward him, and swam down to meet her.

When he finally caught her, he held her close and kicked hard for the surface. She'd managed a partial Bubble-Head Charm, but not enough of one. It only covered her eyes and nose, like a mask. She was unconscious. As he swam, he took in a deep breath, removed his gills and blew air into her lungs, the memory of this same scene in his dream making his heart shrink in fear. She'll be fine. She's alive. She'll be fine. Thinking positively should help, right? He continued his unusual version of mouth-to-mouth as he brought her to the surface and pulled her to the shore. Harry picked her up and carried her to shelter under an overhanging rock in case the Death Eaters aimed more spells at them. She still wasn't breathing. She was so pale, even her freckles were translucent. He removed the Bubble-Head Charm and kept breathing into her mouth.

"Ginny? Ginny! Wake up! I will not let you die!" he cried as he turned her on her side and pounded on her back so she could cough out the water she'd inhaled. "Wake up! I need you, Ginny! Wake up! Come back to me!" Tears began to flow unheeded down his cheeks, mixing with the water streaming from his hair as he worked over her. He hadn't been able to save Casey. He damned well would save Ginny! "Please! Sweetheart, please! Wake up!"

Sobbing, he continued to breathe into her mouth, to pound on her back, whatever he could think of to get her breathing again. Finally, she coughed and retched, a small torrent of water coming out of her mouth, leaving her gasping, but breathing on her own at last.

"Wake up! C'mon, you can do it!" he encouraged her. Her eyelids fluttered open, then closed again, the motion gentle as the beat of a butterfly's wings. "Ginny, come back to me," Harry encouraged. "Open your eyes." Her eyes opened again, once, twice, then closed, and she sighed and her body went limp. She couldn't die, she just couldn't!

"No! Wake up! Ginny!" he cried, frantically.

She took a deep, shuddering breath and opened her eyes again. She looked at him without really seeing him, then glanced away, her eyes still unfocused.

"Good girl, that's it, you can do it. C'mon, Ginny," he encouraged, his heart in his mouth. "Please, sweet girl, be all right."

Ginny's eyes roved around, as if searching for something, still with that unfocused look. They landed on his face again and finally she appeared to be really seeing what she was looking at. Her hand moved a bit. Harry reached for it and held it tightly.

"I'm here, sweetheart," he said, kissing her hand repeatedly. "You're going to be fine." He prayed he was right.

"Hhhhaaa. . ." she whispered. "Hhhhaarry."

"Yes, baby, it's me," he said, sobbing in relief. "I'm here."

"Wha'?" she murmured, looking at their surroundings. "Where?"

"Voldemort threw you off the cliff into the lake. I came after you," he said simply.

"Like. . . your dream?" she said, a little colour coming back into her face.

"Yes, a lot like my dream," he said.

She laughed softly, which made her cough. When she caught her breath again, she said, "Professor Trelawney. . ."

"Yeah, I know. Ron thinks I should take over her job," Harry said, smiling through his tears. Leave it to a Weasley to come out of a life-threatening situation with a joke on their lips.

"She'll. . . be jealous," Ginny said, smiling. She lifted her hand to touch his face. "You're hurt."

"I'm fine," he said dismissively.

"When you. . . say you're 'fine,'. . . you're usually . . . in bad shape," she scolded, a trace of a twinkle in her eyes.

"OK, if you want a full report, I'll do it later. I don't have any major injuries. Is that good enough for now?"

"Yeah." She gazed at him fondly, a slight smile curling her mouth. "I seem to remember being kissed underwater."

"That was me breathing into your mouth," he explained, his eyebrows raised in surprise. "I'm amazed you remember it. I thought you were unconscious."

"I don't know what state I was in - conscious or not - but I remember distinctly being kissed underwater - a lot. And I remember thinking that I liked it." She smiled at him, her eyes with that familiar teasing twinkle making his heart turn over.

"We can re-enact it any time you want," he promised, leaning over and gathering her in his arms. "But please be conscious for it the next time, OK?"

"OK," she replied, wrapping her arms around him and gladly accepting the kiss he offered.

Harry kissed her softly at first, and then gently kissed her forehead, eyes and the tip of her nose. "I was so scared," he murmured, kissing her lips once more. His body flooded with joy when she tickled his lips with her tongue. Their kiss deepened and didn't end until she started coughing.

"Oh, sorry," she said when she could get her breath again.

Harry laughed. "I don't know that serious snogging just after nearly drowning is an acceptable medical treatment."

"Works for me," she said throatily, and pulled him down for more. He returned her kisses eagerly, but then noises from above cut through his concentration on her.

"I have unfinished business to take care of," he said apologetically. "I'll take you to Ron so you can rest."

"No, I want to fight!"

"You lost your wand in the lake, sweetheart. And you just came back from nearly drowning. You should rest."

"I will not rest until the battle's won," she declared fearlessly, struggling to get up. "And can't you Accio my wand?"

"I'll give it a try," he said reluctantly. "Just sit still and rest a bit, all right?" When he saw she was going to cooperate at least for the moment, he leaned over and did a Summoning Charm with his hands in the water. He waited for several minutes, but no wand appeared. "I think it's gone for good. It must have washed down the river, or gotten snagged somewhere."

"No wand?" she said in a small voice. "Oh no."

"Come on, then, you need to rest," he encouraged, helping her to her feet.

She stamped her foot furiously. "The battle isn't over yet! I want to fight!"

Harry sighed. If he took her to the cave, she'd just climb the hill to rejoin the battle, even if she had to throw rocks to hurt the enemy. "All right. Do you want to ride the thestral up there, or do you want to hold on to the phoenix's tail?"

"Thestral," she said immediately.

"Here, take my wand," he said, holding it out to her. "Try not to lose it. I'm rather fond of it."

"I can't take your wand," she protested.

"Then what are you going to fight with?" he said reasonably. Her face fell, but then became resolute as she held her hand out for his wand. She coughed a bit more, but her colour was good now and she seemed to have most of her energy back. "Keep your hand on my shoulder so you can find me," he said as he changed.

"Oh, Harry! I can see you!" she said, amazed. She realized then that she'd seen people die on top of the cliff. That's why she could see him now. She shook off that thought and admired the handsome animal next to her. "You're gorgeous! For a thestral, I mean," she said as she put her foot on his wing joint and climbed onto his back.

With a leap, the thestral was airborne. He flew around the top of the cliff at a distance, observing how the battle was going.

"Look! Ron's there too!" Ginny said in surprise. "I thought he was injured. Oh, I see his arm's in a sling. From the way he's moving, he's hurt! We have to get down there, Harry."

The thestral shook his head as if arguing with her, then finally straightened his flight path and landed a short distance away from the fighting. Ginny dismounted and the thestral flew away. Moments later, Harry emerged from the trees, surveying the battlefield before him. Bodies were lying everywhere. Mad-Eye and Arthur were injured but continued to fight, falling repeatedly under barrages of spells, then struggling to their feet again and fighting on. Remus and Tonks had been separated, each of them fighting several Death Eaters at once. Apparently more Death Eaters had arrived while Harry and Ginny had been at the bottom of the cliff. His friends were about to be overwhelmed.

Harry felt a roaring in his ears as he watched the scene, his blood raging through his veins, his muscles hard and ready. His spell of choice in such heavy combat would normally be Expelliarmus or the Bone-Removal Curse, but he'd seen a Death Eater still manage to cast spells after being so injured. Tonks and Remus were both in mortal peril. The fastest way to remove that danger was to kill those enemies outright, and the Killing Curse was his only choice for that. All these thoughts raced through his mind in an instant, the choice having been made before he had time to consider. But once he did have time to think about it, he saw no other options.

He took a deep breath and began striding forward, his face stony, his eyes furious. Green light flew from his fingers as he threw Killing Curses in quick succession at several Death Eaters who had Tonks cornered, several who were surrounding Remus and two who were sneaking up on Ron. He started casting the purple curse that had so injured Hermione in the Department of Mysteries at the enemies who weren't as close a threat as the first ones he'd attacked, and Death Eaters fell left and right.

Ginny and Ron were battling with determination, Ron stumbling from time to time, favouring his injured side, but still fighting like a champion. A Death Eater sent a Killing Curse at Ron, and Harry deflected it with a curse of his own, and then killed that man as well.

Remus was still fighting, then went down under a hail of curses from the few Death Eaters who remained. A Death Eater bent over Remus. A silvery hand emerged from his sleeve and was nearing Remus's chest.

"You will not take any more family from me!" Harry roared in a rage as he killed Wormtail with an Avada Kedavra. He blew away the other Death Eaters who were coming toward Remus with the same explosive curse he'd used on the three men who had attacked him and Ron on Buckbeak. A crater appeared, and the men were no more. He glared around, searching for more enemies. Not a single Death Eater was upright or conscious. Many were dead. An eerie silence fell over the clearing for a moment, and then Harry ran to Remus's side.

"Remus!" he cried in a broken voice as he slid to a stop on his knees beside his godfather. "Please be all right. Remus?"

Remus's head rocked side to side and his eyes opened slightly. He took a deep breath, then coughed. He squinted around him, his eyes falling on Harry. "Harry!" he said, his voice a raspy whisper. "I was afraid. . .when you went off that cliff. . ."

"I'm fine. Ginny's fine too. Where are you hurt?" Harry asked, his face filled with concern.

"Don't worry about me. I'm a werewolf, remember? I'll be all right in a little while," Remus said with a wry grin as he sat up. "You'll have to tell me about your rescue of Ginny. It must have been amazing."

"Yeah, I suppose," Harry said with a shrug. He sat back on his heels and surveyed the devastation around him. The trees around the little spring had been reduced to splinters by the spells that had hit them when they missed their marks. Harry's molten rock had solidified into an oddly shaped mass, something like a melted pudding with a pair of footprints in the centre that held blackened masses that must have been shoes at one time. There were bodies everywhere. Mad-Eye Moody was limping around, whacking each prone fighter with his wooden leg to see which Death Eaters were dead and which were not, stunning and tying up the ones who were still alive.

"Remus?" Harry said, his voice sounding odd. "I killed three people yesterday, those men who attacked us? I killed them, all three of them, with one spell." For a moment, he shuddered, looking like a lost little boy. Then his face hardened. "I killed Bellatrix Lestrange a little while ago. That was an accident - I wanted to hex her some more, but she died after an Expelliarmus threw her against a rock. I just killed Wormtail. He was going to do something to you with his silver hand. And I think I killed at least seven or eight of these Death Eaters - maybe more. I stopped counting after a while. I used Unforgivable Curses and the curses we learned from that Dark Arts books after Voldemort threw Ginny over the cliff. I don't regret it, not any of it. They deserved to die."

He looked at his godfather, his face the image of a battle-weary soldier in his forties, not a sixteen year old boy. But behind those hard eyes was the kind heart of Harry Potter. "I killed people, Remus. He's making me be like him." Harry looked at his hands as if they belonged to someone else. "I'm turning into a monster," he whispered. "Why?"

Remus took the boy in his arms and held him, comforting him the only way he knew how. "You are certainly no monster, Harry. You're a wonderful person with a good heart who's been pressed beyond all endurance. I can't tell you why these things happened. All I can say is, we're at war. We need fighters, and you're the best fighter I've ever seen. Sirius used to hold that title, but you surpassed even him today. I'm proud of you, lad."

Harry held tightly to his godfather, too frightened and heartsick to cry. "Will they send me to Azkaban for . . ." he asked in a weary, sad voice.

"NO!" Remus cried, pushing Harry away and looking him in the eye. "Absolutely not. You were fighting for your life, and for the lives of your friends. Self-defence is allowed by our laws, you know that."

"But the Unforgivable Curses and the Dark Magic I did. . .and we're in a foreign country. . ."

"Don't worry about those things. If Dumbledore didn't want you to learn how to use them, he would have taken those books away. And Dumbledore has power here too. You're safe." He squeezed Harry's shoulders encouragingly. "You were amazing today - and yesterday, too, for that matter. I'm so sorry what should have been an enjoyable holiday for you boys turned into such a nightmare."

"Yeah, me too," Harry said, and then glanced around at the others. "Mr. Weasley got hurt. I saw him fall. I think I saw Tonks get hit too. We should go and see how they're doing."

"Yes, we should. And we need to check you over, as well, young man. You were the target of most of the spells flying out there today."

"I'm fine," Harry said as he stood up, making Remus laugh. "And yes, I know I always say I'm fine. But you can see I'm walking and talking - that's close enough to fine, right?"

"For now, I suppose," Remus said, accepting the boy's offer of a hand to help him get to his feet. They walked across the clearing to where the Weasleys were having a tearful family reunion.

"How's your dad?" Harry asked Ron as the redhead backed a step away while his father embraced Ginny. "And for that matter, how are you?"

"I'm fine, and he's loads better since he saw Ginny's OK." Ron looked at his best friend gravely. "I've never really understood how you do what you do, Harry, but I can't tell you how glad I am that you're on our side."

Harry looked at Ron in confusion. "Huh?"

"Look around us. Most of these blokes we got? You did that, not the rest of us. And going over that cliff after Ginny - stories will be written about that rescue for years to come, I guarantee it." Ron looked quite serious. "You're like a storybook hero come to life. Unbelievable - but everything anyone's ever said about you, your powers, all that? It's all true. None of us have ever seen you fight You-Know - oh, bloody hell, Voldemort - before. Incredible. A film of what happened here today would make those adventure films we saw over the holidays look like picnics in the park."

Harry was silent for a moment. He didn't know how to take this. "You're kidding, right?" he said, hoping Ron wasn't going all weird and fan-like towards him.

Harry's just been through hell and looks like it, too. It's time to remind him how to laugh, Ron thought, then hit on a strategy. "Nope. I can see it - 'Harry Potter, The Musical.' It will be a film starring some little boy from Surrey or London, to try to get the accent right. He'll have to have loads of messy dark hair. They may have trouble matching your eyes. D'you mind if they cast someone with blue eyes, maybe?" Ron's eyes were twinkling merrily. "There will be dancing hippogriffs in the background. . . ."

"What are you on about?" Harry said, shaking his head in disbelief.

"Just teasing you," Ron said with a grin. "This was an enormous battle, and you were absolutely brilliant. I'm glad it's over! Hey, Binns will have to add it to the History of Magic curriculum! I might actually pay attention in class for that one!" He smiled brightly at the thought. "Hermione will be proud of me if I can manage that!" He looked at Harry intently. "I don't know about you, but I'm exhausted - and starved!"

Harry laughed, amazed he was still able to do so. "When are you ever not starved?"

"Harry?" Mr. Weasley said, finally releasing Ginny from his arms. "I can't thank you enough for saving my little girl."

"Thanks for coming to our rescue - we really needed the help!" Harry said bracingly. "How are you feeling?"

"I'll be fine. Some spell burns, this and that, enough to keep Molly busy fussing over me for a while," he said with a smile. "And thanks for taking such good care of Ron. That splint is brilliant!"

"I'm just glad Remus showed me that spell," Harry said modestly.

"Potter!" Moody called as he approached. "You will make a fine Auror." He stumped up close to them and pulled his magical eye out, rubbing it on his shirt then dipping it in the spring to wash and rewet it before popping it back in. "Seven of us fought fifty-four Death Eaters and You-Know-Who himself, and we won! And three of the seven are students! That's extraordinary. All down to you, Potter," Moody said generously.

Harry blushed under the praise of the old Auror.

"Where's Tonks?" Remus asked, coming back from a quick look around. "Has anyone seen her?" He began turning bodies over, looking for her in the mass of prone figures.

"I saw her by the edge of the woods, over that way," Harry offered, walking toward the place where he last saw her. Remus joined him. Over the crest of the hill there, they found three Death Eaters, all three of them dead. Farther down the hill lay Tonks, her blue hair making an odd contrast with the rusty pine needles that formed her bed. She was too still.

"Oh no," Remus said, tears in his voice as he rushed to her side. "Tonks? Tonks?" He lifted her in his arms and held her close. "Oh no. Not you, Tonks."

"Is she. . .?" Harry asked hesitantly.

"She's in bad shape," Remus said, his voice breaking as tears slid unheeded down his face.

"Let's have a look," Harry said, kneeling beside his godfather. Remus put her gently back on the pine needles. Harry shouted, "Ginny! I could do with some help here!" Ginny came over the rise. "Did you lot bring medicine with you?" Harry asked Remus.

"Yes, Tonks had it," Remus replied. "It should be lying by our brooms in the cave."

"I have some medical potions with me," Ginny offered. "They're in my bag." She pulled off her small backpack, which had been on her back through battle, torture, being tossed over a cliff twice, a one hundred and fifty foot fall into a lake, near drowning and more battle. Miraculously, the potion bottles inside were all intact.

"See what you can do for her with what you brought," Harry said. "I'll go down and bring up her kit." He ran partway down the hill, out of sight of the others, then changed into the phoenix and flashed into the cave. In the cave, he changed back into himself, located the stack of brooms and found Tonks's medical kit in a sling on her broom. Jumping on her broom, he flew back up to the top of the cliff, landing by his godfather.

"How's she doing?" he asked as he knelt by Remus's side.

"She's alive. I don't know any more than that. She's the one with medical training. I don't know how we're going to manage," came Remus's tense reply.

"Harry?" Ginny said, "Can you Adfero Madam Pomfrey for me? I can't do that and examine Tonks at the same time. I'm just not that good with the Adfero Charm yet. I don't think I can cast it over such a long distance, anyway."

"Yeah," Harry said eagerly. At least there was something he could do to help, and Ginny seemed to be confident in what she was doing. Maybe they could pull Tonks through this yet.

"I can do it," Remus offered.

"I need you to help me with her," Ginny said calmly. "I can tell Harry what needs to be sent to Madam Pomfrey while you're helping me. All right?"

"OK. Whatever you need me to do," Remus replied.

Ginny had already opened Tonks's clothes looking for wounds. She had some injuries which were bleeding freely that Ginny and Remus had been busy bandaging and applying pressure to when Harry returned from the cave. Now she was bandaged but still unconscious, still very pale.

"I've got Madam Pomfrey's attention," Harry said suddenly. "She can't do Adferos herself. She has McGonagall helping her on that end. She wants to know what the injuries are." Ginny went down a list of the injuries she'd been able to find, and Harry relayed them to Madam Pomfrey.

"Now she wants to know what potions we have here." Ginny told Harry and he relayed that information.

"OK," Harry said, "she says to give Tonks a dose of Pepper-Up Potion, and three drops of a potion Madam Pomfrey said would be in Tonks's kit, in a purple vial. It's standard issue in First Aid Kits."

Ginny found the purple vial and the Pepper-Up Potion and gave them to Tonks. A few moments later, Tonks opened her eyes and looked around, her expression dazed until it fell on Remus.

"Oh. What happened?" she murmured. "My head feels like it's been trampled by a herd of hippogriffs."

"You had a pretty bad knock on your head," Remus told her gently, "and a few other injuries, but Ginny has taken good care of you."

"With Madam Pomfrey's help," Ginny added modestly. "I treated the injuries I could find. Do you have any pain somewhere I might have missed?"

Tonks moved around a little. "I think it's mostly my head," she said with a small smile. "I've one bugger of a headache." She struggled to sit up. Remus put his arm around her back and helped her get upright, while Harry conjured a cushion to support her back.

"Better?" Remus asked kindly, relief plain in his face.

"Yeah. Thanks," Tonks replied smiling up at him.

Harry and Ginny exchanged a look and smiled at each other. Remus and Tonks? How nice for both of them! They wondered if Remus and Tonks were aware of how attracted they were to each other.

"Potter!" Moody called. "Can you give us a hand here?"

Harry looked at Ginny, then at Remus. "Do you still need me here?"

"Just tell Madam Pomfrey I said 'thanks' and that the patient seems to be doing well," Ginny said with a smile as she started packing up her and Tonks's medical kits.

"Right," Harry said. "Tonks, I'm glad you're OK," he added as he turned to leave.

"Thanks," she replied, lifting her hand to give him a little wave.

"What is it?" he asked Moody when he reached the old Auror's side.

"We need to ship this lot off to Azkaban. I could use some help hauling them all to one spot, and making note of their names and where they're from. Then we'll make a Portkey to Azkaban for 'em," he growled, leering at the prisoners nearby. "Azkaban's too good for 'em if you ask me," he added.

"OK. Where do you want me to start?"

"Just bring any of them that aren't dead over here. Make sure they're tied up good and proper. And the ones you think are dead? Give 'em a good swift kick in the kidneys. That way, you'll be able to find out which ones are faking."

"Got it." Harry went off to do as he was told. He forced himself to be dispassionate, to look at the dead bodies as so much baggage. It was hard the first few times he had to kick a body, but kick them he did, and with a will. He discovered two who were nearly unhurt, just pretending to be dead, so he bound them and levitated them over to Moody's gathering of prisoners. Soon they had all the live ones collected and sitting close together, bound into one large bunch of irate humanity.

"Stop yer whingin'" Moody snarled as the murmuring in the crowd of Death Eaters escalated.

"I have an idea," Harry said. "Silencio." The murmuring ceased instantly.

"Ah, well done, Potter. I should've thought of that myself. Busy with this damned paperwork. Never did like paperwork. It's the bane of an Auror's life. Arrest someone and you're the one who gets punished by having to fill out so many forms, and in triplicate, mind you!" He continued grumbling this way for a while.

Harry, in the meantime, was going from person to person, removing the Silencing Charm long enough to get a name and where they were from. When he finished, he handed the list to Moody.

"We captured Lucius Malfoy - again. He should be on the other list - the list of dead ones. You don't suppose anyone would mind if my wand just . . . slipped. . .now, do you, boy?" he asked Harry with a leering grin as he leaned over Malfoy's tightly trussed body.

"I certainly wouldn't miss him," Harry agreed. He glared down at the man lying at his feet, thinking how easy it would be to kill him. A small voice in the back of his mind said, No. That's not your way. Harry sighed. "I suppose we need to let the court decide what to do with them."

Moody looked up at him, startled. "After all he and his young whelp have done to you and your friends?"

"Yeah."

Moody paused, then took a step back and looked at Harry seriously with both eyes. "You're a better man than I am, Potter." He finished his notes and rolled up the scroll of parchment with the list of names Harry had made rolled inside. He sealed the roll, then tied it to the handle of Ginny's demolished broom, which was going to be the Portkey. "This is a one-way ticket to Azkaban, boys and girls," Moody said. "I'm tying it to the ropes that bind you. You'll all go together. I'll go along for the ride to make sure you're delivered good and proper."

"Do you need me to go with you?" Harry asked, suddenly concerned about the old Auror going by himself to Azkaban with so many prisoners.

"No, I've already asked more of you than I should ask of a student, or even a young Auror like Tonks, there," Moody declared. "Now, you just get Remus to help you turn the bodies into a single bone each and bury them, and you'll be all tidied up here. Oh, make a list of the names of the bodies, all right? Give the list to Dumbledore, and if you get a chance, send a copy to me."

"OK," Harry agreed.

"I'll come back as soon as I have this lot delivered safely. You all need to rest for at least a night. You'll need to find another place. Once you find it, send me an Adfero so I'll know how to find you. We'll help you deliver that hippogriff, Potter, and then you can enjoy the rest of your holiday." Moody turned a leering eye on his band of prisoners, grabbed the rope that tied them and pressed the damaged broom handle against the rope as well, then counted down, "Three, two, one. . ." and with that, they were gone.