The Time of Destiny

Chapter 8 - Pleasure and Peril

Ginny's sixteenth birthday party was in full swing, with lots of laughter, plenty of good food and a pile of wonderful presents she was currently working her way through.

"Oh, Ron! It's brilliant!" Ginny cried as she opened a box revealing a broom servicing kit like Ron's and Harry's. "Thanks!"

"Now maybe you'll stop borrowing mine," her brother teased.

She'd saved Harry's present for last. It was very small, very thin, and she couldn't imagine what would be in there, but she knew it would be great - Harry's presents always were. She tore off the wrappings and opened. . .an empty box. She looked up at her boyfriend in surprise. "Did you forget something here?" she said with her eyebrow quirked up quizzically.

"Nope. Keep looking," he said, his eyes sparkling with mischief.

She moved the layers of tissue paper around and found a tiny note at the bottom of the box that said, "Keep looking."

"'Keep looking?'" she said, giving Harry a puzzled glance. "Where?"

He just grinned and shrugged his shoulders, then finally touched the wand in his pocket when she seemed to be at a complete loss for what to do next.

She cottoned on and pulled out her wand. "Now what?"

"It's possible something there has been transfigured," he suggested.

"Oh! Okay." She pulled out her wand and tapped the box three times. Nothing happened. She tapped the note three times and it turned into an envelope. She grinned at her success and opened the envelope to find. . .another note.

"Look in Harry's pocket," this one said.

"You're making me work for this, aren't you?" she laughed as she studied his pockets before deciding which one to check. The only "safe" one to check was the one on his shirt. Reaching into the others in front of her family was a certain route to embarrassment, and, while he might happily tease her all day long, she knew he'd never deliberately embarrass her. She reached confidently into his shirt pocket and pulled out two small cards. "Is this my present?" she asked, waving them under his nose.

"Yes," he said, smiling at her expectantly. "I hope you like that kind of card. They were the best present I could find for you."

She gave him a cheeky grin then looked at the small cards in her hand for the first time. She gasped and started jumping up and down, waving her hands in front of her face incoherently. Then she launched herself at Harry, squealing as she grabbed his neck in a bone-crunching hug, her feet waving excitedly in mid-air. "THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!"

Harry, like everyone else in the room, was laughing hard now. "I suppose they fit properly, then?"

She lifted her ticket-filled hand from his back and gazed over his shoulder at them appreciatively. "Perfectly!"

"What is it, Gin?" Ron asked impatiently.

"Harry got tickets for us to see the Weird Sisters in concert!" Ginny cried ecstatically, letting Harry go long enough to wave the tickets in front of her family. She squealed in delight and jumped up to hug him tightly around the neck again, bouncing in excitement to the point of making Harry go "Oof!" and hold her still before she injured him further.

"Wicked!" Ron said.

"Cool," George and Fred agreed. "Well done, Harry!"

* * * * *

The night of the Weird Sisters' concert, Harry arrived at The Burrow on Sirius's motorcycle.

"Whoa! Where did you get that?" Ron asked enviously.

"It was Sirius's," Harry replied with a grin. "I found it in the basement behind a pile of rubbish. Remus and I worked on it to get it going again. He taught me how to ride it, too. I was keeping it a secret so I could use it tonight and surprise Ginny."

"Cool!" Ron breathed. "Can I have a ride sometime?"

"Yeah! It's brilliant!" Harry sat quietly enjoying the rich thrumming of the powerful motor, his eyes gliding over the sleek, beautiful lines of the bike. He'd never dreamed he'd have anything like this, and the fact that it had belonged to Sirius made it even more special to him. He glanced back up at Ron. "It flies, too. I hope your dad won't give me trouble about it being a misuse of a Muggle artefact. It was enchanted when I got it, and Sirius is gone now, so maybe nobody will get punished for it, eh?" he said hopefully. Ron just grinned in reply.

"Harry! Good to see you," Arthur said, coming out of the house. "What's that you have there?"

"It's Sirius's motorcycle. We're going to use it to go to the concert," Harry said, hoping his plans wouldn't be quashed by his girlfriend's parents.

"Sirius's motorcycle," Arthur breathed, walking around the big, heavy machine and admiring it openly. "It looks wonderful! Wherever did you find it?"

"In the basement. It had a Shrinking Charm on it and was sitting on a shelf. I thought it was a model, but Remus recognized it and told me all about it," Harry replied.

"Is that the one Hagrid rode to take you to Privet Drive when you were a baby?" Arthur asked.

"The very one," Harry replied with a grin. "Remus thought I should enjoy it. It still flies - it's wicked fast." He looked seriously at Arthur for a moment. "I won't get in trouble for this, will I? I mean, Sirius is the one who enchanted it. I just inherited it."

"I won't say a thing," Arthur said amiably. "I'd love a ride on it sometime."

"I'll be happy to give all of you rides," Harry replied, his eyes lighting up as Ginny came out of the house, "but I have to take Ginny to this concert first."

"Hi, sweetheart!" she said excitedly. "Do I look all right?" She twirled around, her long hair flying like a silk scarf as she moved. She was wearing white jeans and a cute little green t-shirt that said "Weird Sisters Rock!" She carried a light jacket over her arm.

"You look great!" Harry said, putting down the kickstand on the bike so he could dismount and give her a quick hug.

"Surely you're not going like that," George teased.

"Why not?" Ginny asked in surprise.

"You both look too 'normal' - you need to look more like Tonks to fit in with that crowd," he assured them.

"Like Tonks? You mean with pink hair?" Harry asked, laughing in disbelief.

"Well, purple or green or blue or red - not Weasley red, mind you - would do just as well," George replied with a shrug.

"I know how to do a Glamour Spell," Harry said. "I do them on Merlin all the time. How's this?" With that, he waved his wand and his hair turned a beautiful bright sky blue, making the Weasleys all laugh and Ginny clap in appreciation.

"Now me!" Ginny cried, bouncing on her toes in excitement.

"Wait until I see if I can reverse this," Harry cautioned. "I'd hate to lose the sight of that pretty red hair forever." He waved his wand again and his hair returned to its normal glossy black. "How's this?"

"You look like your old self again," Ron said with a chuckle.

Harry turned to his girlfriend and asked, "Do you want us to match, or would you prefer to be purple or something?"

"Oh, let's match!" she said happily.

"Right, then! Here we go," Harry said dramatically, then put the blue Glamour on both his and Ginny's hair.

"Oh, sorry I couldn't come out sooner, but I was in the middle of. . ." Molly began, wiping her hands on a dish towel as she came out of the house. She stopped and stared open-mouthed at Ginny and Harry. "What on earth?"

"We're fitting in!" Ginny said proudly. She glanced at her boyfriend, then added, "Oh, Harry, you should probably do your beard too, don't you think?"

"Uh, yeah," he said, and then complied, making the entire Weasley family laugh heartily to see him with his hair and beard bright blue. "Eyebrows too?" he asked cheekily.

"Why not?" Ginny said with a grin, and soon both of them were blue hair, eyebrows and eyelashes, as well as Harry's sky-blue beard.

Ginny giggled as she ran her fingers down the paler blue stripes that marked the grey streaks in his beard. "You still have your stripes."

"I could make them match, I suppose," he mused.

"No, leave them. They give you a rakish air," she said with a cheeky grin.

"Rakish? Is that a good thing or not?" he asked, tilting his head and narrowing his eyes at her teasingly.

"On you, it's brilliant!" she insisted.

"Well, all right then, as long as it's brilliant," he said agreeably.

Fred pulled a cap off of his head and put it on Harry. "Try this, mate," he said, putting the cap on back-to-front. "Now you're stylin'!"

"And your scar is hidden," Ginny said in sudden realization. "You're actually in disguise, Mr. Potter, sir!"

"Cool! Thanks, Fred!" Harry took two small things out of his pocket and enlarged them. He handed one of the now-life-sized helmets to Ginny. "Here you go, m'lady, for safety's sake. We'll be flying, so you might want to plait your hair."

"Flying?" Molly gulped uneasily. "On that?"

"It's perfectly safe, Mrs. Weasley," Harry assured her. "Remus says I'm as good on it as Sirius was. I'll take good care of Ginny, don't worry." He pulled Fred's cap off and stowed it safely in a pocket of his jacket, then put the helmet on.

"I know you will," she replied, determinedly forcing her nerves into submission. She looked at the two happy young people in front of her and smiled, then waved her wand over her daughter's back and Ginny's hair was instantly in a plait.

"Thanks, Mum!" Ginny said as she pulled on her helmet and buckled the chin strap. She swung her leg confidently over the motorcycle's saddle, looking up at Harry expectantly. "Let's go!"

Harry got on and pulled her arms around his waist. "Hold on, sweetheart!" He popped the bike off its kickstand, revved the engine and drove down the Weasleys' lane at a sedate pace, then picked up speed and took off flying, Disillusioning the bike, himself and Ginny just before they lifted off.

The engine of the big motorcycle throbbed noisily as they flew, making it nearly impossible to converse. Harry did a quick Silencing Charm on it so Muggles wouldn't hear them passing overhead. He swooped down low a few times just for fun, he and Ginny both laughing out loud with the joy of flight and the fun of being on the motorcycle.

"Sirius was a genius wasn't he?" Ginny called over Harry's shoulder at one point in the ride.

"For enchanting this?" he asked, and then felt her nod against his back. "Yeah, I think so. It's brilliant, isn't it?"

They flew on, over meadows, orchards, rocky outcroppings, then more villages and larger towns until they were nearing the suburb of London where the concert would take place. Harry got a wicked gleam in his eye, then called, "Hang on!" over his shoulder as he started a steep, spiralling dive. "WHOOOO-HOOOOOOO!" he cried in delight. Ginny matched him with a high-pitched squeal that ended just as they levelled off near the open meadow where a stage and stands full of seats had been set up for the concert. When they landed, Harry turned off the bike and sat there with a huge grin on his face. Ginny dismounted and pulled off her helmet, handing it to him.

"That was absolutely the most amazing thing I've done in I don't know how long!" she said excitedly. "Thanks for thinking of it!"

"I was hoping to have it ready in time for this," he said with a grin. "Knowing how much you love to fly, I thought you'd enjoy it." Harry took off his helmet and ran his hands through his hair, then remembered the cap Fred had lent him. He pulled it out of his pocket and put it on, back to front, as Fred had suggested. He watched Ginny as she turned to look at the activity near the stage while undoing her plait and using a small brush on her waist-length hair. The brilliant sky blue hair sparkled, catching red and gold glimmers from the setting sun. When she finished brushing it out, she shook her head, her hair rippled sensuously down her back, making Harry catch his breath. I would never have believed I'd think sky blue hair was sexy, he thought in amazement, but on Ginny. . . . He chuckled, amused by his thoughts.

"Let's go!" Ginny urged him.

"I have to wait for the bike to cool a bit. If I put the Shrinking Charm on it now and put it in my pocket, it'll burn me!" he said, acting wounded that she had no concern for his personal safety. "And Remus said a Cooling Charm isn't good for older metal like this."

Ginny laughed at his act, then said, "You can't just park it?"

"Turns out it's a valuable antique bike, according to Remus, anyway, and it's enchanted as well. I don't really want anyone to steal it. It'll be cool enough soon," he assured her. "Look at those tents over there! They're selling stuff, aren't they?"

"Yeah! Can we go and look once the bike cools?" she asked. "We still have time before the concert."

"Whatever you want, baby," he said with a tender smile. "Everything tonight is part of your birthday present."

Before long, Harry not only had his wand and an enchanted motorcycle with a Shrinking Spell on it in his pockets, but also several bags with newly purchased Weird Sisters t-shirts and other souvenirs. He was grateful he knew the Shrinking Spell, or he would have been burdened with loads of packages. Ginny was having a marvellous time shopping, but it was nearly time for the concert to begin and they needed to get to their seats.

"Oooo, these seats are great!" Ginny enthused as they settled into their places in a box above the side of the stage. Seats had been arranged in boxes on both sides of the concert stage, with the ground in front of the stage left open for those who wanted to dance, to sit on the ground or to bring their own chairs.

Harry pulled his miniaturized Omnioculars out of his pocket, enlarged them and handed them to Ginny. "I don't know if you'll need a play-by-play replay function for a concert, but at least you'll be able to see them more closely with these."

"Oh, Harry, you thought of everything!" she said. She was bouncing in her seat, she was so excited to see the band perform in concert. Yes, they'd played at the Yule Ball at Hogwarts in the past, but that couldn't possibly be like a full-blown open-air concert, could it?

Suddenly, the announcer's voice boomed over the area. "And now, ladies and gentlemen, witches and wizards, music fans of all ages! Raise your wands and give a cheer! The one and only Weird Sisters are HERE!"

The entire area erupted in a massive wall of sound made up of the cheers of the crowd, and the colossal booming thunder of the bass guitar playing a riff introducing the first song. The drummer joined in and soon the entire band was rocking their world with sound. Fireworks exploded above the stage nearly constantly, casting glittering sparkles of light over the crowd. People stood in their seats and screamed, stamped their feet, swayed or danced to the music, while shooting sparks from their wands in tribute. Harry and Ginny joined their voices in the cheers and waved their lit wands in salute to their favourite band. Before long, Harry and Ginny were standing and dancing in front of their seats like those around them, and then actually dancing on their seats, having a fabulous time.

"Let's go down by the stage so we can hear them better!" Ginny yelled in Harry's ear.

"What?" he said, completely deafened by the noise of the crowd and the highly amplified music blaring around them.

Ginny tried to explain again, but finally resorted to hand motions. He finally understood, laughing that she thought they could hear better anywhere else, and followed her down to the ground level, working their way through the happy, milling crowd until they were right in front of the stage. This close to the speakers, the sound from the amps made Harry's bones vibrate. It was a pretty weird feeling, but kind of fun, too. They danced wildly, completely caught up in the music and the excitement of the crowd. Once in a while, they'd see a friend from Hogwarts and would wave to them, but very few people recognized them, which they found to be quite fun once they understood what was going on.

The band played song after song, rarely taking any breaks, the fireworks increased in complexity and intensity, and the crowd just got rowdier with each song. During a rare quiet moment between songs, Harry began to worry when he heard some voices raised in anger. Glancing around, he noticed a gang of young men moving among the crowd, harassing unescorted girls, all of whom ignored them or turned their advances down abruptly. The gang moved from one cluster of girls to the next, being rejected repeatedly, then stalking off to the next group in a growing rage.

As the evening wore on, Harry could see the bullies were drinking out of bottles held in brown bags. He knew that wasn't a good sign. The young yobbos became more unruly as the evening progressed, and started getting more aggressive with the girls they encountered. Wildly drunk by this time, and having been snubbed by all the girls who were alone or with other girls, they began terrorizing couples, threatening the girls' boyfriends and trying to Vanish the girls' tops before their escorts could block the spells. The dancing crowd was so packed and so active, the security wizards couldn't keep up with everything that was going on, so this gang, which stayed as close to the centre of the dancing throng as possible, managed to get away unscathed for quite a while.

As the gang worked their way through the crowd and got closer to their position, Harry grabbed Ginny's hand and told her, "I'm sorry, but we'd better go. It's getting rough here."

Ginny looked where he was indicating with a nod of his head and blanched. Serious fights were breaking out between the yobs and the boyfriends of the girls whose tops had been Vanished. "Why do we need to leave? We can handle them!" she said defiantly.

"Getting involved in that fight doesn't seem like a good idea to me right now," he said, watching the bullies warily. The situation was fraught with so many dangers. Ginny couldn't Apparate yet, so he'd have a hard time getting her out of there instantly if things got nasty too close to them. Better to be too cautious and leave early than to take a chance.

Ginny looked back at the rowdy boys, her eyes absolutely furious for a moment, then sighed resignedly and followed Harry out of the concert area.

Once they were a distance away, Harry took out the motorcycle and enlarged it, and they roared down the road and then flew away. "Where to? The evening's still young," he called over his shoulder.

"Wherever you want to go, sweetie," she replied, tightening her arms around his waist and leaning against his broad shoulders. "This bike is such fun! Let's fly around a while."

"OK," he agreed. He Disillusioned himself, Ginny and the motorcycle and put a Silencing Charm on the bike's heavily throbbing engine. The wind whistled through their hair and the bike vibrated powerfully between their legs as they skimmed over rooftops and trees in the darkness. People on the streets below occasionally saw a faint shadow cross the moon, but couldn't make out what it might be.

"Are you getting hungry?" Harry called over his shoulder after they'd been flying for an hour or so. "I'd planned to buy us some food at the concert. Fred said they usually have good stuff there. I'm sorry we had to leave so soon."

"I could eat," she agreed. "I think you were right. We did the right thing, leaving when we did. I don't mind, Harry."

"Well, I did promise your parents I'd look after you. Leaving was the best plan I could come up with at the time," he said with a shrug. "Where do you want to go? Anywhere special?"

"Your house," she said, giving his slim waist a hug.

"Works for me!" he said with a grin, and pointed the motorcycle toward London. A short time later, they arrived at 12 Grimmauld Place.

"Remus and Tonks are out for the evening, so it's just us and the house elves," Harry said as they walked in the front door, the now-shrunk motorcycle still ticking a bit as it finished cooling in his hand.

"So we have the place to ourselves?" she said with a lascivious grin.

"Yeah, we do," he said, grinning back at her. "Alone at last!" He put the motorcycle on a shelf by the door, hung Fred's cap on the hook there, and wrapped his arms around Ginny, kissing her until they were both dizzy. When they broke apart, they laughed and raced each other upstairs.

"Harry Potter, sir!" Dobby called from the bottom of the stairs. "Is you and Miss Wheezy wanting something to eat?"

"Later, Dobby, thanks! And if anyone asks, we aren't here!" Harry called over his shoulder.

"Yes, Harry Potter, sir," Dobby agreed with a twinkle in his huge green eyes. "Dobby understands."

Harry and Ginny raced into his room and slammed the door, then fell laughing on the bed, trying to kiss without banging their teeth together. Their laughter soon gave way to sighs of pleasure as their kisses deepened and their hands began to wander. Harry was just working his way down Ginny's neck, nibbling, licking and nuzzling the soft skin below her ear, the delicate curve of her throat, and the sweet depression between her collarbones when he heard shouting and wailing downstairs. He sat up abruptly, listening hard.

"What the bloody hell is that?" he said, frowning in concentration as he tried to make out what the voices were saying, and who they belonged to.

"I don't know," Ginny said nervously.

Harry got up and straightened his clothes, then helped Ginny with hers. "Here's the plan. You sneak upstairs and come down in a minute. We were in Buckbeak's old room talking about curtains. What colour do you think?"

"For Beaky's room? Yellow," she replied, still looking a bit confused.

"OK. Yellow it is. I'll go to the bathroom and flush the toilet so they think I was in there, and you come down when you hear it flush. Tuck your blouse in at the back, it's rumpled," he added as he quietly opened the door and peeped out. "Coast is clear," he whispered. "Go!" Ginny ran lightly up the stairs to Beaky's room and stayed there, glancing back at Harry worriedly as she quietly closed the door.

Harry crossed silently to the bathroom and flushed the toilet, then went clomping noisily down the stairs, Ron-style. "What's going on down here?" he called when he could see the group gathered in the entryway.

Mad-Eye Moody pulled his wand and pointed it at Harry. "Who the hell are you and how did you get into this house?" he demanded.

Harry put his hands up in surrender. "It's me, Mad-Eye. Harry." What was wrong with the man? He glanced around and saw several other wands pointed his way. "It really is me," he assured them. "What are you lot on about?"

"You don't look like Harry," Kingsley Shacklebolt said warily.

Ginny came lightly down the stairs at that moment. "What's going on here?"

"They don't think I'm me," Harry said in confusion. He was even more confused when Ginny laughed. "Why are you laughing?"

"You forgot the Glamour," she said, tugging at his hair.

"Glamour?" Mad-Eye growled, then squinted more seriously at Harry. "Glamour, is it?"

"Yes, I did a Glamour on our hair so we'd fit in at the concert," Harry replied. "Will you let me change it so you can recognize us? I'm reaching for my wand now," he said cautiously, keeping his eye on the wands still pointed at his heart.

"Go ahead," Moody replied warily, his wand pointed with unnerving steadiness at Harry's heart.

With a wave of his wand, Harry removed the Glamour and he stood there with his own black hair, Ginny with her long red hair.

Moody grunted, then said, "Let's see your scar, boy."

Harry sighed, then obediently pushed up his fringe so his double zigzag curse scar was visible. "Would someone please tell me what's going on? I thought Ginny and I were going to have a quiet dinner here after the concert, and here you lot are, storming in as if there's. . .wait a second. You wouldn't be here unless there was some emergency. What happened?"

The older wizards had all lowered their wands. Mundungus Fletcher belched loudly and said, "Dinner sounds good. What do you have?" as he scratched his belly and looked longingly toward the kitchen.

The front door opened again and Albus Dumbledore came in. "Ah, Harry. I thought I'd find you here," he said serenely.

"Professor, what's. . .?" Harry began, but was cut off by a wail coming from the kitchen.

"Is that my mum?" Ginny said in horror. "What's wrong with her?"

"She thinks something terrible has happened to the two of you," Dumbledore said quietly. "Let's all go into the kitchen, shall we?"

Ginny ran ahead of the group and found her mother with her face buried in her arms, crying louder and louder, howling as if her heart was breaking. Arthur was crying too, but still doing his best to comfort his wife.

"Mum? Dad? What's wrong?" Ginny said as she ran to them.

"Mrs. Weasley? Mr. Weasley?" Harry said at the same time.

Arthur lifted his eyes, his face twisted in horrible grief. When their voices registered in his brain, he rubbed his eyes and began to laugh with relief. He gripped his wife's shoulders and cried, "They're here! They're safe! Molly, darling, they're safe!"

Molly raised her head and stared at him a long moment, not really comprehending what he was saying, then turned her head to see what he was looking at. "G-g-g-ginny?" she said in a quavering voice. "H-h-harry? You're alive?" She got shakily to her feet, holding her arms open to embrace her daughter.

"Yes, of course!" Ginny said, holding her mother close while her father rubbed her back. Arthur turned to Harry and pulled him into a hug. Molly couldn't seem to let go of Ginny, but finally lifted her eyes and reached out to touch Harry's shoulder with one trembling hand.

"You're all right? Both of you?" Molly said finally.

"Yes!" Ginny said, pushing back from her mother and gazing into her eyes. "What did you think happened to us?"

Arthur held up the small radio/CD player Harry had given him for Christmas. "We heard on the wireless that H-h-harry P-potter and his g-g-girlfriend had been k-k-k-killed at the concert," he stammered, tearing his eyes from his daughter's dear face to gaze at Harry. "I contacted Remus and Albus and they told us to meet them here."

"Where's Remus?" Harry asked in sudden fear, looking around. "And Tonks? And Ron and the twins? Are they all right?"

"Let's all sit down, shall we?" Dumbledore said with maddening calmness as he sat at the head of the long table. "We have a lot of catching up to do, I believe. Harry, is Dobby awake? I believe we could all do with some refreshment."

Harry no sooner thought of calling Dobby than the house-elf was standing beside him. "What would you like to eat and drink, ma'ams and sirs?" the elf asked, bowing a little.

Harry grinned in spite of the gravity of the feelings in the room. "Dobby, what did I tell you about bowing?" he said, teasing the elf.

"Dobby's head is remembering, but sometimes Dobby's back is forgetting," the elf said with a smile, knowing Harry wasn't cross with him. As soon as the group told him what they wanted, he joined Winky, who had just come into the kitchen, and began putting together food and drinks for the gathered wizards.

When everyone was settled, Dumbledore began answering all the questions that had been thrown around in the last few minutes. "To answer the last question first, Harry, Remus went to identify your body. Tonks is with him. Ron and the twins are searching the concert grounds for your motorcycle. I suppose that was Sirius's motorcycle?" He smiled at Harry's nod. "I thought so. I contacted everyone and asked them to come here while you were speaking with Dobby. They should be here any minute."

At that moment, the front door opened and they could hear several people running hard down the hallway, reaching the kitchen almost before the front door could slam shut behind them.

"Where are they?" "Where were they?" "What the bloody hell happened?" "How could this happen?" "Are they all right?" Questions poured from the five people who suddenly filled the kitchen with nervous vitality.

"They're here!" Molly told her sons. "They're fine!"

"It was all a misunderstanding," Arthur said.

Harry had risen from his seat when he heard the door. Remus ran to him and pulled him into a tight embrace.

"I thought I'd lost you," the man murmured in a broken voice as he held his godson closely.

"Would somebody please tell me what the bloody hell happened?" Ron demanded. "Ginny, are you all right? Harry?"

"We're fine, Ron," Ginny assured him. "We've been here for a while. We came here to have dinner, and were upstairs talking about the colours for Buckbeak's old room when we heard everyone come in."

"I heard a toilet flush," Mad-Eye growled suspiciously.

"That was me," Harry said impatiently. "I'd like to know what's going on, too. Somebody, please explain?"

Remus, Tonks, Ron, Fred and George all found seats around the table and looked expectantly at Dumbledore.

"I was fairly certain Harry was alive, since I monitor him on various instruments in my office," the old wizard began, "but no surveillance system is foolproof, so I wanted to be certain that these two were all right. Since Arthur heard the news on the Wizarding Wireless Network, I knew something had happened, and that we would need to check into it. I also knew we needed to find you, Harry. From what I could tell, you seemed to be wandering aimlessly around for quite some time. Is this true?"

"Yes," Harry replied with a shrug. "We just flew around for a while. You know we both enjoy flying."

"Yes, I do know that," the old man said with a fond smile. "All right, then. What we know is this: a young man who resembles you was killed at tonight's concert. His girlfriend was injured quite seriously and has not regained consciousness. They lost whatever identification they might have had, but the young lady has long red hair and is petite like Miss Weasley, here. The young man has dark hair and round glasses like Harry's. We think the physical resemblance is what led to the erroneous identification. They had no identification on their persons for some reason. Perhaps it was stolen."

Harry and Ginny stared at each other in horror. "Someone. . .died. . .there?" Ginny gasped.

"Yes. Apparently the crowd got rather boisterous and. . .well. . . . Let's start at the beginning. Why don't you tell us about the concert and why we found you here, and we'll tell you what we know. By the time we're all done, things may make some kind of sense," Dumbledore replied reasonably, nodding at Harry to begin.

"OK. Well, we got to the concert a bit early, so we looked at the stalls there. . ." Harry began.

"We got the cutest t-shirts, Mum," Ginny whispered in her mother's ear, earning a tremulous smile from her mum. Molly was still sniffling after crying so hard for such a long time.

Harry smiled at his sweetheart and went on. "When we finished shopping, we went to our seats and watched the first several songs from there. The seats were great ones, but we wanted to dance, so we moved down to the area in front of the stage where everyone was dancing. It was a lot of fun. The band played for a long time, with only short breaks here and there when someone would talk a bit while they changed instruments or costumes or something. During one of these breaks, I was looking around at the crowd. We'd seen some friends and waved to them earlier, and I was looking to see who else we knew. I saw a gang of blokes walking around. They seemed to be drunk or something - they were drinking out of bottles in brown paper bags, weaving as they walked, and talking a lot more loudly than necessary when the music wasn't playing. They started bothering people, and were getting, um, a bit rough in their behaviour."

"What Harry's trying to avoid telling you is that they started Vanishing the tops off girls," Ginny growled suddenly. "We were having such a good time, and then those great yobs had to go and spoil it."

Molly put her arm around her daughter and leaned her head against Ginny's, her hair and Ginny's intermingling in varying shades of ginger and auburn. "I'm sorry they spoiled it for you, dear," she murmured as she kissed Ginny's temple and rubbed her back comfortingly.

Harry sighed. "Yeah, they were causing trouble. From what I could see, apparently the first girls they bothered were just by themselves or with girlfriends, but then they started going after girls who were with guys. The blokes tried to fight the bullies, but they were outnumbered badly. These gits were all of Crabbe and Goyle's mould, far too big to be allowed," he grumbled, throwing a glance at Ron, who gave him an understanding look in return. "I decided it would be best if we left, so we did. When we took off, it was just before the intermission. As we flew away, we heard them announce it. We were enjoying flying, so we just flew for a while, and then we came here to get something to eat, and that's more or less it."

"Thank you, Harry," Arthur said with heartfelt emotion. "I knew we could trust you to take good care of her."

"I honestly do my best," the young man assured him. "I don't want her to get hurt."

"I could've taken those great ugly gits," Ginny vowed.

"And I would've enjoyed watching you do it, and even helped you - but I promised to take care of you, and staying around for a fight didn't seem to fit with what your parents would expect," Harry said reasonably.

"I know," she said, giving him a cheeky grin, "but wouldn't it have been fun?"

"In this case, probably not," Dumbledore interjected. "These boys were young Death Eaters looking for ways to earn their way to higher standing in the group."

"Death Eaters?" Molly replied, aghast. "At the concert?"

"They're everywhere, Molly," Albus said sadly. "We have to learn how to get through life in spite of them. We can't allow them to keep us from doing what we want to do, or they've won another victory over us. Harry and Ginny were right to go to the concert, and they were right to leave when they did. Well done, both of you," he finished, nodding to the couple.

"So who was this bloke who was supposed to be Harry?" Ron asked, looking confused.

"I interviewed his friends about him," Tonks said, pulling out her Auror's notebook and referring to things she'd written there. "He's an American who came over here to do some research before taking a teaching position in an American wizarding school next month. He was with a group of friends, but they'd gotten widely separated during the dancing. That's why they didn't say anything to correct people when they first heard that Harry had been killed - they didn't know it was their friend. This couple's friends told me the young man had always thought it was fun that he resembled Harry Potter - apparently, he was quite a fan of yours, Harry - so he even got round glasses to look more like you. His hair looked like yours does when it's shorter, the way you used to wear it. He didn't have the scar, and his hair was dark brown, not black. I don't believe his eyes were green, either, but the spells they used on him made his eyes look funny, so it was hard to tell. He wasn't as tall or as broad-shouldered as you are now. At first glance, when we were still at a distance, both of us thought it was you - he had that much of a superficial resemblance to you." She stopped and gripped Remus's hand. He'd gasped when she mentioned their first sight of the boy's body. "He really did look a good bit like you. But when we looked at him closely, we knew it was someone else. The girl had long red hair and was petite, but other than that, she didn't resemble Ginny at all."

"So how did you all find out about this? When did it happen?" Harry asked, still bewildered by it all.

"I was listening to this marvellous wireless you gave me while I was reading the paper this evening," Arthur told him, obviously still unnerved by the evening's events. "They interrupted the programming to announce that you'd been k-k-killed at the Weird Sisters concert, and. . .and your g-girlfriend was f-f-feared to be d-dead as well." He cleared his throat harshly, then went on. "I sent a message to Albus and Remus right away, and Albus said to meet him here. Fred had heard it on the wireless as well, and let us know that he, George and Ron were going to the concert grounds to find out what they could. We tried to stop them. . . ."

"Somebody needed to find out what was going on," George said reasonably. "We were much closer to the concert grounds than you were, Dad. And you had to look after Mum, after all."

"When we got there, we stayed on our brooms and saw the. . .the b-bodies on the ground," Ron said in a hollow voice. "I told Fred and George I didn't believe it. It couldn't be you. We didn't even think about the Glamour Charms you put on your hair. If we'd thought of that, we wouldn't have been so worried. It was a madhouse down there. We saw Remus and Tonks arrive, so we thought it would be more helpful for us to look for your motorcycle. I thought if it was you, the motorcycle would be there somewhere, but we never found it, so we thought. . .we hoped. . .it wasn't you and Ginny down there. And then Dad contacted us and told us to come here."

"I put a Shrinking Charm on the bike and had it in my pocket. You wouldn't have seen it even if it had been me who was hurt," Harry mused. "But thanks for trying," he added, seeing the crestfallen look on his best mate's face.

"So what happened to those gits, anyway?" George demanded. "I hope they toss them straight into Azkaban."

"Azkaban is too good for the likes of them," Fred snarled.

Harry looked from one twin to the other in shock. He'd never heard them sounding so vicious. They'd always found a way to laugh off even the worst of situations. Thinking their baby sister had been murdered must have really torn them apart.

"So now what?" Harry asked. "I didn't recognize any of those bullies we saw. Did they catch them all?"

"The Security wizards got to them quickly," Dumbledore replied. "They were, as you surmised, drunk, as well as trying to earn their Dark Marks. They've been taken into Ministry custody."

"Meanwhile," Arthur said, "they're still reporting on the wireless that Harry is dead." He indicated the headphones hanging loose around his neck. "I just heard them do an update on the story. They've added Ginny's name to it now. That poor girl must have died."

"Oh, no. Our friends will be devastated!" Molly said, wringing her hands. "How do we stop this?"

"I have an idea," Albus said. "Excuse me a moment." He got up and went to the fireplace, tossed some floo powder in and stuck his head in the fire. A few moments later, he straightened up and said, "Harry, would you come with me please?"

"Where are we going?" Harry asked as he came around the table.

"To see the person who can set this right. Minister Bones." He glanced back at the group around the table. "Save us some pudding. We'll be back soon." With that, he stepped into the fire and disappeared.

"Harry!" Ginny called just as he was about to follow Dumbledore into the fire. "Your beard! They'll recognize you faster without it."

"Right," he said, and as he stepped into the fire, his beard was already disappearing.

Dumbledore and Harry appeared moments later in the drawing room fire of Minister of Magic Amelia Bones.

"Good evening, Minister," Dumbledore said graciously. "We seem to have a situation on our hands."

"Mr. Potter!" she said in relief when she saw Harry. "I was so worried when I heard the news! Are you quite all right?"

"I'm fine. So's Ginny," he assured her.

Dumbledore hurried to explain the situation, with Harry filling in details as needed. Minister Bones called an assistant and soon had a press conference set up, which was held in her front parlour.

"Thank you so much for coming," she told the reporters who were just quieting after getting their equipment set up. "There has been a terrible mistake made in your reporting this evening, and we want the situation rectified immediately. Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley are alive and well."

Her announcement was met with a barrage of shouted questions.

"Please! Ladies and gentlemen, if you'll be patient, Mr. Potter and I will do our best to answer your questions." She glanced behind her and Harry came through the door into the parlour, standing beside her and trying to see despite the onslaught of dozens of flashes from camera lights. Once the group stilled again, Minister Bones told the story of what actually happened, and how the mistake in identifying the victims had occurred. "And now we have Mr. Potter here with us. He has agreed to answer a few questions - mind you, I said 'a few,'" she reminded the over-eager crowd. "Harry, call on whomever you wish," she said graciously, then moved to a nearby chair and sat down, leaving Harry to face the reporters alone.

"Erm. . ." he began intelligently. He cleared his throat and soldiered on. "Before we begin, I'd just like to say how sorry I am that this couple died. I was told that the man's name was Malcolm O'Donnell, and his girlfriend was Marilyn Chadwell. You should be writing about them. They're the story tonight, not me."

The room was silent for a moment, save for the sound of quills scratching on parchment. The reporters, sensing Harry had said all he had planned to, began raising their hands to ask questions.

"OK, you there, in the blue robes, yes, you," Harry said, calling on a small man to his left.

"Mr. Potter, why were you at the concert?" the man asked.

"Why does anyone go to concerts? My girlfriend and I like the Weird Sisters' music," he said with a shrug.

"Why were you not recognized?" asked the next person Harry called on.

Harry smiled briefly at the memory. "We had Glamour Charms on our hair so we'd fit in with the crowd."

"What kind of Glamour?" the same man asked.

"I made our hair blue," Harry replied reluctantly. So much for what could have been a great disguise, he thought as he watched the reporters write down his every word.

"Can you show us?" someone in the back called out.

An internal dialog flashed through Harry's mind at the speed of light. Damn. I don't want to do this, but if I don't, some stupid git at one of these rags will probably change a photo to make our hair blue anyway. He sighed in resignation, then almost smiled. At least they don't know I can change my hair and beard at will. I guess I'll still have some disguises left after all. He glanced at Madam Bones, and then at his headmaster. Receiving a nod from each of them, he said, "I suppose," then waved his wand briefly, turning his hair a bright sky blue, just as it had been for the concert. The reporters laughed at the change in Harry's appearance and took loads of pictures.

"That's a good one!" someone shouted.

Harry smiled as he removed the spell. "We thought it was fun."

"What do you think about this man trying to look like you?" asked the next reporter Harry indicated.

"I think it's a very bad idea to try to look like me. My life isn't the calmest, safest one you could ask for," Harry said bluntly. "I mean, I'm a target! Why would anyone WANT to look like me? That sounds disrespectful to Malcolm O'Donnell, and I don't mean it that way at all, but if anyone else has this idea, I certainly hope they don't do it." He pointed at another reporter.

"How's your girlfriend taking all this?" the woman asked with a simpering smile.

"She enjoyed the concert quite well until those blokes started pushing people around. When things started to get rowdy, we left. She's sorry this couple died. Both of us wish none of this had happened. Our families and friends all heard about this long before we did and were terribly worried about us. That's why I agreed to meet you this evening. We want the rumours stopped before anyone else who loves us gets the wrong idea. We're both fine, well, happy, and all that stuff. That's the message we want to get out. We do appreciate your help in stopping the rumours and spreading the truth." With that, Harry decided he'd had enough publicity for one night. "I think that's all, then. Thank you for helping us set the story straight. Good night."

"Harry! Harry!" a young woman cried out. "Please, one more question!"

He sighed and turned back to face her. "Yes?"

"Penelope Clearwater, Teen Witch Weekly. What do you want to be when you grow up?"

"Oh, hi, Penelope! I didn't see you there." Harry knew Penelope had been Percy Weasley's girlfriend when they were both at Hogwarts. "Um, well, I'm still working on that, you know?"

"But it's your last year at Hogwarts, Harry. What are your plans? Are you and Ginny serious? Are you going on for more schooling, or playing professional Quidditch or what?" she persisted.

Yeah, she was a Ravenclaw, all right, Harry mused as he thought about how to answer her without getting too far into his personal life. They do love their research. "That's more than one question, and I already answered that one," he said with a smile, hoping that would satisfy her. Seeing her look of disappointment, he relented. None of the other reporters ever looked disappointed when he didn't answer questions, and he did actually know Penelope a bit from school. "Um, the answer to the question about Ginny is none of your business, thank you," he finally said with a blush. "As for my plans after Hogwarts - if a professional Quidditch team recruited me, that would be brilliant, but I plan to be an Auror, so I suppose I have three more years of study ahead of me." He smiled at the young woman, wondering if she and Percy were still seeing each other, but not willing to ask her in front of the rest of the press corps. "It was nice to see you again, Penelope. Thank you all for coming. Good night."

* * * * *

Early Monday morning, Harry was working in the shop when a large package arrived for him.

"What's that?" Ron asked as Harry untied the package from legs of the two huge grey owls carrying it.

"Dunno," Harry said, as mystified as Ron. "There's no return address. It's heavy." He gave the owls each a treat and started tearing open the wrapping on the package. "Whoa!" he cried in delight as a handsome dragonhide jacket rolled out of the wrapping.

"Wow! Who sent you that?" Ron asked, his eyes wide in amazement.

"Dunno - there must be a note in here somewhere," Harry said, holding the jacket to one side and pawing through the wrappings. "Nope, nothing. Oh, wait, there's a piece of parchment sticking out of this pocket." He pulled out the note and read, "To Harry Potter, one of our favourite fans. We're sorry you didn't get to hear the entire concert, and that we didn't get to meet you. Next time we're in town, you'll have four complimentary tickets waiting for you, so you and your girl can bring friends along for protection! We hope you'll all stay and have dinner with us after the show. We're fans of yours, as well, and we're looking forward to meeting you. All the best, The Weird Sisters. P.S. - We're sorry about what happened at the concert. We're tightening security measures at future concerts as a result. We were very happy to hear you and your girlfriend weren't injured. - W.S." Each member of the band had signed his name below the P.S.

"Wicked!" Ron said, reading over Harry's shoulder. "Can I come next time?"

"Of course!" Harry said, laughing. He looked from the note to the jacket and back again, not sure which item he thought was more extraordinary. "This is so cool!"

"Go on, then, try it on!" Ron urged.

Harry held the jacket at arm's length and looked it over. It was a beautiful emerald green with "The Weird Sisters" embossed on the back, the raised letters on the dragonhide enhanced with a spell that made the lettering change colours constantly. He took off his work robes and tried on the jacket, which fitted him very well. "This must belong to the bass player," Harry said as he put his hands in the pockets and moved around inside the jacket, getting it set just right on his shoulders.

"Why do you say that?" Ron asked in surprise.

Harry grinned and pulled his hand out of the pocket. It was full of guitar picks. "These, and the fact that he's the biggest guy in the band. The jackets the others guys wore wouldn't come anywhere near fitting me."

"Can I try it?" Ron said wistfully.

"Yeah, have a go," Harry said cheerfully, pulling the jacket off and handing it to his friend. "Then I can see how it looks!"

Ron put the jacket on and ran his hands over the wonderfully soft but tough leather. "Wow. This feels great," he said admiringly.

"Looks good, too. I can't wait to call Ginny and tell her about the tickets!" Harry said, a huge grin on his face. As he finished speaking, he heard Ginny calling on his ring. "I was just talking about you," he said as he answered her call.

"Guess what I got?" she said excitedly, ignoring what he'd said.

"What?" he said in amusement, having an idea what might be coming.

"A Weird Sisters jacket! It's green dragonhide and has sparkly letters on the back!" she squealed, jumping up and down in delight.

"That's wonderful, baby," he said sincerely.

"I can't wait to show it to you! It's so beautiful! It's the same colour as your eyes," she said, so excited that her words were running together.

"I can't wait to see it on you. That green with your hair - spectacular!"

"You're so sweet! Did they send you something?"

"Yeah, I got a jacket, too," he told her with a huge grin. "And they promised me tickets to the next concert, and dinner with them after the show!"

Ginny squealed, totally incapable of speaking for a moment. When she caught her breath, she told him, "They sent me an autographed photo. Isn't that wonderful? And a handwritten note, and they all signed it!"

"That's great, sweetheart! Does your jacket fit?"

"It's a bit big. Mum knows a tailoring charm that should fix it," she said. "Does yours fit?"

"Yeah. Ron's got it on now. He's being my mirror so I can see how it looks." Harry grinned at Ron, who was doing his best to look at the jacket without taking it off. His twisting gyrations while trying to see over his own shoulder were quite amusing. "We'll have to wear our jackets the next time we go out," he told Ginny. "We'll match again, without having to resort to blue hair."

Ginny was still too elated to speak sensibly. Finally she blurted out, "Weird Sisters ROCK!"

"Yes, they do," Harry agreed.

* * * * *

A few days later, the furore over Harry's presumed death and the murders at the concert had finally started to die down. Harry and Remus had finished their dinner and were reading in the library when Tonks showed up.

"What a day!" she griped as she flounced into the room and dropped into an armchair near Remus's.

"Are you hungry?" Remus asked, smiling at her.

"No, I had something earlier. But I do have some news." She looked at Harry to make sure she had his attention too. "Those blokes who killed that couple at the concert? They knew you were going to be there! Someone at the ticket office told them."

"How would they know Harry was going to be there?" Remus asked, confused.

"I gave my name when I ordered the tickets, so they could send them to me," Harry replied slowly. "I never thought about that putting us in danger." A cold chill ran up his spine as he realized he'd inadvertently put Ginny in danger and caused the death of the couple who'd resembled them. His emotions ran clearly across his face.

"Harry, stop that," Remus said sharply.

"Stop what?" the young man replied, surprised out of his reverie.

"Stop blaming yourself. I can see it in your eyes, you're thinking that couple died because your name was on those tickets."

"Well, it's true, isn't it?"

"You cannot take the blame for this, Harry," Remus said, leaning forward to squeeze the boy's shoulder comfortingly. "Albus was spot on when he said you and Ginny had every right to go to the concert. We can't let the Death Eaters keep us from living our lives."

"But. . ."

"But, nothing," Remus insisted. "You did nothing wrong."

Harry sighed and thought about what his godfather was saying. After a few minutes, he looked up at Remus and Tonks and said, "I've learned something from this, anyway."

"What's that?" Remus asked quietly.

"I won't order things in my own name anymore. I don't want to put anyone else in danger."

"That's probably a good idea," Tonks said. "What name will you use?"

"I don't know. I'll come up with something, I suppose," he said with a shrug. "Did they find out who told them I had ordered tickets?"

"The person who did it has disappeared. We'll find him," Tonks assured him.

* * * * *

With only ten days to go before they left for Hogwarts, Harry and Ron had their heads together over a table, working hard to complete a new weapon they and the twins were developing for the Ministry of Magic. While they were deeply absorbed in their task, an eagle owl arrived, dropping a letter in front of Harry.

"Watch it!" Harry grumbled at the owl. "You almost got it in the Explosive Boils Potion!" He picked up the letter carefully, and made sure it was clean before he opened it. He didn't want to be covered in the exploding pustules this potion would cause.

"Who's it from?" Ron asked as he measured more ingredients.

"Dunno." Harry cleaned his hands and then opened the envelope. His breathing sped up and his eyes widened just before he gasped, "No!"

"What's up?" Ron asked, staring at his friend. Harry's face was white, and Ron could feel the atmospheric change that preceded an explosive display of his infamous temper. "Calm down or you'll blow up the shop! What's wrong?"

"I've got to go," Harry muttered in a choked voice as he headed for the lab door.

"What? Where? What's in that letter, anyway?" Ron said, aghast. He could tell something was horribly wrong, but he had no idea what. He quickly took off his work robes, tossing them on his stool as he marked his place in his ingredient list. If he didn't, whoever tried to continue what he was doing would be in for a nasty shock. Adding any ingredient out of order in this fiddly potion spelled disaster in many unthinkable forms. "Harry, wait up!"

"I need to leave," Harry was telling Fred. "Ginny's in trouble."

"What do you mean, 'in trouble?'" Fred said, bristling a bit.

"Draco Malfoy and his thugs have kidnapped her. They sent me a ransom note." Harry's face was grim.

"I thought those buggers were in Azkaban!" Fred said in confusion.

"Dumbledore told me a few days ago that they'd escaped. The Ministry's kept it quiet. There's something going on about Malfoy's father's money, too - it's tied up in some legal situation. His mum is busy fighting with the Ministry over it. I suppose Malfoy thought this was a way to get money and get back at me as well," Harry said tersely.

"But to kidnap Ginny. . .?" Ron couldn't get his mind around the situation at all. "Ginny was at home with Mum when I left this morning," he said slowly, but then his face suddenly drained of colour. "Mum! They'd have to kill her to take Ginny away!"

"I'm an idiot," Harry muttered suddenly, shaking his head in disgust as he pressed on the ruby in his ring. "Ginny Weasley," he said firmly. He got no response. "GINNY WEASLEY!" he cried. "Damn! She's not answering."

"Maybe they took her ring?" Ron suggested hopefully.

"Or she's unconscious and can't answer," Harry replied grimly. He ran to the fireplace and tossed in some floo powder. "The Burrow," he ground out as he knelt on the hearth. "Mrs. Weasley, are you there?" he called in as calm a voice as possible when his head arrived in her kitchen fireplace.

"Hello, Harry, dear! How nice to see you!" Molly said as she dried her hands on a dish towel.

"Hello," he said, relieved beyond belief that she was all right. He did his best to be polite and not panic her. "Is Ginny there? I'd like to speak to her."

"She's out picking blackberries, dear. Why don't you call her on your ring?"

"I tried that. She's not answering."

He debated whether to tell her about the note, but then he heard George saying, "You'd better tell her, mate. And we'll need to tell Dad, too."

Harry looked at his friends' mum. She was beginning to look a bit worried. "Um. . .I have some rather bad news, I'm afraid. I was hoping to find out it was a hoax."

"Bad news? Are the boys all right?" Molly said, a frown of worry crossing her face.

"It's Ginny. I just got a ransom note for her. It says she's been kidnapped by Draco Malfoy and his gang. I wouldn't put it past him to send something like this as a hoax. That's why I contacted you when Ginny didn't respond to my call on her ring."

Molly sat down hard, all the breath gone from her body, her face white as a sheet. "Kidnapped? Ransom?"

"Yes. I'll take care of this, Mrs. Weasley," Harry assured her. "They're after me, not her. I'll get her back safely for you." Molly just nodded. "Hang on one sec," he said, and pulled his head out of the fire.

Harry, Ron, Fred and George all Apparated into the house, the sudden appearance of their four large bodies crowding Molly's kitchen. Ron wrapped his arms around his mother, who had started sobbing. George started to toss some floo powder in the fire.

"What are you doing?" Ron asked.

"Contacting Dad," George replied.

"Good idea," Harry said as he headed for the door.

"Where are you going?" Fred asked.

"To look for Ginny," Harry tossed over his shoulder. "Where does she go to pick blackberries?"

"Just in the edge of the woods over the hill," Molly choked out between sobs. "That's where she said she was going."

Harry took off at a run, wand at the ready, Ron and Fred close behind him. They spread out a bit as they ran up the hill, scanning the fields and the edge of the woods as they went, looking for enemies who might be waiting in ambush. George stayed behind to look after Molly and wait for their dad to arrive.

Arthur Apparated in front of the house as the boys ran up the hill toward the woods. He looked at them, and then saw George standing in the doorway watching their progress. "Where's your mother?" Arthur asked as he ran into the house.

"Kitchen," George replied tersely. "I'm going to pop back to the shop and get Fred's and my brooms. Harry has his in his pocket. I'll grab Ron's Firebolt when I get back. We'll need them to look for her, I expect." With that, he Disapparated.

"Molly, dear, what happened? George only told me Ginny was kidnapped and for me to come home right away. What's going on?" Molly told him what little she knew and they clung to each other for a long moment, then both Apparated to the edge of the woods, following the sounds of the boys' voices as they ran calling for Ginny.

"Here!" Fred called. "I've found something!"

Everyone soon joined him. He'd found Ginny's overturned bucket still half-filled with blackberries, with more berries spilled across the ground. Many of the berries had been trampled by large feet. Recent rains made it easy to see the footprints of her captors.

"Nobody but Crabbe and Goyle have feet that big and wide," Harry snarled. "And these smaller prints must be Malfoy's. There are a few other sets as well. And these are Ginny's," he added, his voice catching as he studied the tracks. Near her footprints was the impression of a body on the ground, just her size. A few long red hairs were caught in a tree root, glittering brightly as they moved in the slight breeze. "This is where she fell." His voice broke as he finished speaking. He touched the hairs with one gentle finger, then tugged them free and put them in his pocket.

"Malfoy couldn't have got close to her without Stunning her," Ron commented, staring at the impression of his sister's body in the soft ground. He looked at Harry, his eyes bereft. "What do we do now?"

"I suppose I have to do what the ransom note says," he said uneasily. "I'll go to Gringotts and get the money. They said to bring the ransom at sunset, that they'd send another owl telling me where to deliver it, and they'd give me Ginny in exchange. They said I had to come alone."

"No!" Arthur said, putting his hand on Harry's arm. "That's what they want you to do. We need to find her and rescue her. There's no reason for them to keep her alive. They'll have the money, and you as well, if you show up when they expect you."

"Dad's right, Harry. We need to think this through, and act as fast as we can," Ron said resolutely. "I have an idea how to deal with it, if you can just find her." He looked at Harry significantly.

Harry gazed back at Ron, his brain whirling incoherently, a high whine of fear in his ears. Ginny was in danger. He didn't know where she was. What was Ron trying to tell him with the raised eyebrows and stares he was giving him?

"You could. . .you know. . . look for her, Harry," Ron said, squeezing his friend's arm, hoping to get him to understand without having to say any more.

"Look. . .OH! Yeah!" Harry said, understanding filling his face as he remembered the power of his glasses to locate people. He'd been too upset to remember. "Good thing you suggested that, mate," he said quietly. He raised his voice enough for the others to hear. "Let's spread out and see if we can find which direction they went," he suggested, then headed off away from the others, Ron on his heels. When they got a short distance away, Harry said the incantation that would turn on the search function of his glasses, along with Ginny's name. "I see her!" he said breathlessly. "I see her!"

"Where is she?" Ron urged.

"She's tied to a tree in the forest. It can't be far from here - I can see the steeple of that little church in Ottery St. Catchpole in the distance between the trees. The trees are much bigger than those in your woods, absolutely huge ones. Where would that be?"

"There's a forest on the other side of Ottery St. Catchpole that has a lot of big trees," Ron suggested.

Harry was quiet for a moment as he concentrated on his glasses again. "She's not moving. She alive," he said quickly to reassure his friend. "She must be either Stunned or unconscious, I think." His face was both relieved and even grimmer than before.

Ron noticed the change in Harry's expression. "Is she hurt?" he asked hesitantly.

"There's blood and bruising on her face, and her clothes are badly torn," he replied, rage vibrating through his body.

"Harry, temper. You're going to blow something up!" Ron warned.

"I'm doing the best I can," he snapped. "Sorry." He reached into his pocket and pulled out his Shrinking Charmed Firebolt, then enlarged it. "I'm going after her."

"Wait a minute, mate," Ron urged. "We'll come along. We want to capture those sods. You don't need to do this alone."

"Fred? Ron? Dad? Where are you? I've brought our brooms," George called. "Have you found anything yet?"

"Here, George," Ron called. "Harry's worked out where she is. We need to get moving."

The Weasleys converged on Harry's and Ron's location. "How did you. . .?" Molly asked.

"She's in the forest on the other side of Ottery St. Catchpole, I believe," Harry replied, not answering her question.

"Here's what I think we should do," Ron said, the strategist in him taking over.

A short time later, the Weasleys were doing their best to keep up with Harry on his Firebolt. Arthur had Summoned a broom from their broom shed for Molly so she could go with them. Harry was going to rescue Ginny however he could - Ron had suggested several ideas that he could use, depending on the circumstances, and Harry had some ideas of his own. The others were going to hunt down her captors. At least, that was the initial plan. All of them had a Disillusionment Charm on them so they could fly stealthily, and Molly had put a Silencio on herself so she wouldn't cry out and give their location away. She was so distraught, she didn't trust herself to stay quiet.

The Weasleys could see Harry in the distance ahead of them, circling over the forest, looking for Ginny. A silvery Adfero shot from his hand toward them as he hovered over a small gap in the trees.

"He says he's found her. She's alone, so we need to spread out and look for them," Ron said tersely.

"Did he say how she was?" Arthur said in a shaky voice.

"No. But he sounded very angry," Ron replied. "That Adfero was dangerously strong. He's nearly out of control." He shook his head in worry for his friend as well as his sister. "Follow the plan, so Harry knows what to expect from us." The others nodded, and they spread out in a search pattern, wands at the ready.

What Harry saw when he found Ginny horrified him. Through a gap in the huge trees, he could see he could see the girl he loved dangling in agony from her bound wrists, which were tied to a branch above her, her feet bound to the tree's trunk, just as he'd envisioned her via his glasses. She was moving now, tugging at her bonds and rocking her head violently back and forth as she fought. He couldn't detect any sounds coming from her, but maybe it was the distance - or perhaps she had a Silencing Charm on her. In his vision when he'd searched for her, she'd had her jeans and a t-shirt on, ripped and torn but still mostly intact. Now her beautiful body gleamed like ivory in the dappled light of the forest, with only her long, vivid hair left as covering. She was bruised and cut everywhere Harry could see. They'd taken pleasure in beating her, or worse.

That's not how I saw her, he muttered in horror as he circled above her, trying to find the best position to ensure his plan would work without injuring her further. She wasn't naked. They've been at her! His blood roared in his ears. He'd tear them limb from limb when he found them. There wouldn't be enough pieces of them left to bury.

His face contorted with both fury and fear, Harry pulled out his new wand. He hadn't used it that much yet, but at this distance, he'd need all the power available to do what he had in mind. "Relashio," he muttered, releasing her bonds. Before her body hit the ground, he said "Accio Ginny," putting as much power behind it as he thought he could without hurting her. Yes, he'd summoned the Firebolt from a longer distance with his old wand for the Tri-Wizard Tournament, but the Firebolt could fly on its own and didn't weigh very much. Moving a human body would take a great deal more effort. Now Ginny hurtled up from the ground, flying at breakneck speed toward him. He sent her an Adfero as she lifted from the ground, "Ginny, it's Harry. Don't be afraid, I've got you." He could see her wide, frightened eyes looking everywhere for him, but she couldn't see him because of the Disillusionment Charm. When she was ten feet from him, he said "Aresto Momentum," then did a Cushioning Charm to give her a soft landing as he flew to meet her and swept her up into his arms. He wrapped her in his cloak as he sent a quick Adfero to Molly, saying, "I've got her - join me at The Burrow," then wheeled the Firebolt around and zoomed off at top speed, heading for her home, where he'd leave her with her mother, then return to the hunt for her captors with the Weasley men.

"What did they do to you, baby?" Harry asked as they flew. Ginny was trembling so hard, it was difficult to hold her on the broom. "Tell me, I need to know."

She shook her head continuously, her hands scrabbling frantically at his chest as she did so.

"What is it? What are you trying to do?" he said, slowing down enough so it was safe to look down at her. He turned her face up to his. Her mouth was moving, but no sounds came out. "Oh, sorry," he muttered, and removed the Silencing Charm. "Better? Talk to me, baby. Why are you scratching my chest?"

Ginny sobbed, but her fingers kept digging at him wildly.

"What are you trying to do? That hurts, by the way," he said, worried about counteracting her frenzied motions while they were flying. She was making it hard to keep the broom balanced.

Finally, words burst forth between the sobs. "Don't hurt me! Help! HARRY!" she keened, hitting him when she wasn't scratching him madly with her fingernails.

Finally past the village below, he slowed the broom and removed the Disillusionment Charm, revealing himself. "It's me, baby, it's Harry! I've got you! You're safe now," he said, turning her face up to his again. "Look at me, Ginny! It's me!"

Her frantic eyes finally focused on his and she gasped, "Harry!" and wrapped her arms tightly around his chest.

"I'm sorry, sweetheart," he said as he started flying toward the Burrow again. "I didn't mean to scare you. I forgot about the Disillusionment Charm - and removing it over the forest would have been a bad idea anyway. With you covered in my cloak, we were invisible, except for that gorgeous hair of yours. At this distance, it probably looked like a red bird or something if someone on the ground saw it," he said, doing his best to calm her. "Didn't you hear my Adfero? I tried to tell you what I was doing."

She shook her head. "I thought. . .I thought it was a trick," she muttered, pressing her face against his chest, breathing in his scent. If she hadn't been so frightened, she would have recognized him despite his being Disillusioned. He smelled so wonderfully of sunshine, fun, warmth, courage, and most of all, love - all the things that made him Harry. She held him tightly, never wanting to let him go, her body racked with sobs of relief now, rather than terror.

"You're safe now," he assured her, squeezing her gently with the arm that supported her back. "Tell me how you are. Did they. . .I can see they touched you. Did they. . .did they. . .rape you?" His rage was building again.

Ginny trembled more violently in his arms when he asked, shaking her head.

"Tell me, baby. Did they?"

"No!" she shrieked.

Harry didn't know if she meant they didn't rape her or if she didn't want to tell him or what. Very confused and fighting hard to control his absolutely murderous rage, he flew on.

The Burrow was in sight when a silvery Adfero reached him. Ron was asking how Ginny was. Harry tried to respond calmly, so his Adfero wouldn't hurt his friend, but it was all he could manage to tone it down to a safe level.

"She can't answer me sensibly, she's crying too hard," was the message he sent back to Ron. He was afraid to tell his friend that he'd found her naked, or about what he thought might have happened to her.

When they got to The Burrow, Harry carried Ginny to her room and tried to lay her gently in her own little bed, but she wouldn't let go of him. She wrapped her arms around him and clung to him tightly in her terror. He held her closely as she sobbed.

"It was Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle, right?" he asked, tilting her head up so he could look in her eyes. She nodded, her face white. "Tell me what happened." She just gazed at him with frightened eyes. "Never mind, you can tell me later," he said, pulling her into a warm embrace again.

Molly landed outside the house, calling as she ran in the door. "Ginny! Ginny! Harry, is she all right? Where are you?"

"Up here, in her room," Harry answered.

In moments, Molly was in Ginny's room, throwing herself on the bed and wrapping her arms around both Harry and Ginny, sobbing in relief. She kissed the back of Ginny's head over and over, and kissed Harry as well.

"Thank you, Harry, thank you, thank you," Molly cried, running her hands over her daughter's back, which was still covered in Harry's cloak. Ginny kept her face buried in Harry's shoulder, trembling terribly.

"Ginny? Sweetheart?" Harry said, lifting her chin to look into her eyes, his face grim. "I need to go help your dad and brothers look for Malfoy and his gang. Your mum's here. She can look after you. All right?"

Ginny clung to him tightly again, not wanting to let him go, burrowing her face into his chest as if it would take getting inside his skin for her to feel safe. Sobs shook her body. Molly rubbed her back, stroked her hair, crooning comfortingly to her as Harry held her in his arms.

After a few moments, Harry said, "Sweetheart, I need to go and help them. We can't let those . . .we can't let them get away." He couldn't think of a word bad enough to call his former classmates.

"Don't leave me, please don't leave me," she moaned.

Harry looked at Molly, his heart torn in two. He didn't want to leave Ginny, but he was a fighter and should be out there fighting alongside the Weasleys.

Molly understood and nodded at him. "Ginny, dear, your dad and brothers are out there searching for those nasty boys. Harry wants to help find them. I'll take care of you. Please let him go."

Ginny raised her head enough to look at Harry. "You want to leave me?"

"No, I don't. But I do want to be sure those gits are captured, and the more of us who are searching for them, the better. And I don't want your dad and brothers to wind up in Azkaban. The mood they're in, they may rip them limb from limb. I want to protect your family, sweetheart. Please let me go."

With a tiny nod, she released him. "Be careful. Come back to me."

"Always," he promised, and rose to leave.

A commotion downstairs made Harry and Molly both pull out their wands. Harry strode to the door while Molly stood protectively in front of her daughter. Soon they both relaxed, recognizing the voices of the Weasley men. Harry bounded down the stairs.

"Did you catch them, then?" he asked eagerly.

"Yeah!" Ron said brightly. "Malfoy screams like a girl even when he's not Polyjuiced into a woman's body, did you know that?" he chortled, referring to the time Malfoy had Polyjuiced himself into the appearance of Professor Sinistra in order to attack Harry on the Astronomy Tower after their last exam the previous term.

"That's what I would expect of him," Harry replied grimly. "What did you do to make him scream?"

"Oh, a little of this and a little of that," Ron said gleefully. "Fred turned him into a ferret and George and I inflated Crabbe and Goyle. We gave them exploding boils and a few other choice things, then bounced all three of them all the way here while Dad brought the others." The twins were hooting with laughter, and even Arthur had a grin on his face, which became an anxious frown when he saw Harry.

"How is she?" he asked.

"Scared. I don't know what injuries she may have. We didn't examine her - we were just trying to calm her down enough to let me join you in the hunt," Harry replied grimly. "Where are they? What did you do with them?"

"They're trussed up like the veritable sacrificial lambs," Fred said, a triumphant gleam in his eye, "hanging from the rafters of the henhouse."

"Hanging. . . .?" Harry was astonished. "You hanged them? Are they dead?"

"No, more's the pity," George replied with distinct disappointment. "Dad wouldn't let us go that far. They're nicely tied up and gift wrapped, ready for the Aurors to take them back to Azkaban. But we did have a bit more fun with them, and plan to have a bit more while they're still in our custody."

"What kind of fun?" Harry asked with great interest. The twins at their worst were the most creative jinx and hex-casters he'd ever seen. He hoped they'd done something awful to those boys that could never be reversed.

"Let's just say their own mothers wouldn't recognize them," Fred chortled.

"Good!" Harry snarled, his anger apparent.

The Weasleys looked at him warily, their high spirits over capturing Ginny's captors evaporating instantly. "Harry? What's wrong with Ginny?" Arthur asked carefully.

Harry sighed, looking from face to face, then sat down suddenly on the stairs, pushing his glasses up and rubbing his eyes wearily. "I didn't want to tell you while you were hunting. If any of us gets accused of murder, it should be me. I might be able to get away with it, especially in this case."

"Murder?" Fred said, uncharacteristically serious.

"If you'd seen . . .," Harry began, his shoulders locked in tension, his face stony. He finally took a deep breath and rolled his shoulders, trying to force himself to relax before he blew something up by accident.

"Seen what?" Ron asked, sitting next to Harry on the steps. "What happened to her? Is she OK?"

"She's. . .she's been hurt. She has bruises and cuts on her. I think they beat her with their fists," Harry replied in disgust, his fists clenched so tightly, the nails were cutting his palms. He forced his hands open, willing each muscle in his body to relax before he hurt one of his friends by accident. He heard the collective gasp from the Weasley men as he answered them, then heard Molly wailing upstairs. Apparently she'd just removed Harry's cloak and seen her daughter's nude body, jumping to the same conclusion Harry had.

"Molly?" Arthur called up the stairs. "What's wrong?" He pushed Harry and Ron aside and raced up the stairs two at a time.

The twins and Ron started to follow him, but then turned to Harry. "Tell us, mate," Ron said grimly.

"She was tied to a tree, her arms above her head," he replied, his voice soft but ringing with rage, "but she's naked. I wrapped her in my cloak. I guess your mum just uncovered her." He looked at the three stunned brothers with serious eyes. "I've asked her if they raped her, but she just screams 'no' at me. I don't know if she means they didn't, or if she just doesn't want to tell me."

"Let's go," Fred said, turning toward the door.

"Yeah. We're going to kill some Slytherins today," George vowed.

"No, guys, wait. If anyone's going to be blamed for killing someone, let it be me," Harry said. "Everyone knows Malfoy's been after me for ages. I can make it look like self-defence."

"You're talking about cold-blooded murder," Ron said, looking at Harry oddly.

"I'm talking about keeping you lot out of Azkaban," he replied seriously. "It's me they were after. I'm the one who needs to deal with them. And there's nothing cold about my blood, believe me."

For once, Ron was being the reasonable one. "They're tied up, they're Petrified, so they aren't going anywhere. Let's see how Ginny is before we go off half-cocked, all right?"

There was a very long moment of silence in the room. "Right," the twins agreed reluctantly, then started up the stairs toward their sister's room.

"Harry?" Ron said, gently prodding his friend, who had turned his pitiless face toward the door to go outside as the twins headed upstairs.

"What?" Harry snarled, his mind already working on ways to kill those boys and make it look like self-defence.

"Coming? Ginny needs you more than Malfoy does right now," Ron said gently, hoping his words would get through to his friend. He had to wait for several long, tension-filled moments to get a reply.

Harry thought seriously about ways to kill Malfoy and his cohorts, and the many excellent reasons for doing so. They kept getting out of Azkaban since the Dementors had joined Voldemort and told him all of the prison's secrets so he could release his followers whenever he wanted. Killing these boys would remove the threat they presented. It would prevent other people being injured while trying to capture them, since they were already trussed up. Killing them would be satisfying to Harry on so many levels, and they certainly had earned it. But, the mature part of his mind said, if he did that, he'd be sinking to their level. If he was going to have a career as an Auror, an elite law enforcement official, he should obey the law, right? He struggled quietly with these ideas for several long minutes.

Harry's temper and his conscience were still fighting when Ron's quiet "Ginny needs you" finally registered in his mind. He sighed heavily, finally giving up the idea of revenge. He was determined to do the right thing, the kind of thing Dumbledore would do. "All right," he finally replied, his shoulders sagging. He turned and started up the stairs, Ron right on his heels.

When Harry and Ron reached Ginny's room, Molly was tucking her into bed, Arthur just turning back from having closed the curtains, the twins standing by the wall gazing at their sister uncomfortably. Finally, Arthur sat on the edge of Ginny's bed and his sons joined him, all of them talking at once, each brother trying to top the other as they tried to cheer up their baby sister. Harry stood back and smiled at the scene, his anger momentarily forgotten in the face of the palpable love in the room.

Molly allowed the visit to go on for a few moments, then shooed her sons out of the room, saying, "She's tired. Leave her be, she needs to rest. I'll be down in a few minutes." As Harry started to follow the boys, she added, "Not you, Harry. I'd like you to stay here a bit." The Weasley boys looked at her and then at Harry in confusion, but went downstairs obediently enough.

"Harry, dear, close the door, would you? There's a good lad," Molly said distractedly.

"What's up?" he asked cautiously, looking from Molly to Arthur to Ginny, then back to Molly.

"She's injured," Molly said, wringing her hands. "Terribly injured. I was wondering if you could try your healing skills on her?"

"Yes, of course." He sat on the edge of her bed across from Arthur, taking Ginny's hand in his, kissing it and already rubbing at the rope burns there, doing what he could to heal her. "Did I hurt you? I was trying to be so careful, but the spell had to be powerful to lift you so far and fast enough to get you away before they noticed. . ."

"You didn't do anything wrong, dear," Molly assured him. Her composure shattered as she went on. "Those nasty little heathens put their hands on her!" She did her best to stifle a sob. "She's a mass of bruises. They. . .they. . ." She lifted devastated eyes to Harry. "Well. . .you saw."

Arthur rose and put his arms around his grieving wife, gazing brokenheartedly at his daughter.

"Yes, I saw," Harry replied. He swallowed hard and asked the question he'd been trying to get answered ever since he'd found Ginny. "Did they rape her?"

"They were planning to. . . r-r-rape her, but they didn't have the chance, thank God. They were going to rape her and then k-kill her. They didn't care if she was alive when you delivered the money or not." Molly fought for control, then ploughed on. "The only reason they hadn't done it yet was because they were fighting over who would be first. That's why they weren't with her - the fight had taken them further into the woods. But they put their hands all over her, those bastards, and they injured her. She's a mass of bruises and cuts. They were horrible to her!" Molly pulled out of Arthur's embrace and stood gazing at her daughter, wringing her hands anxiously, tears sliding down her cheeks. "She doesn't want to go to St. Mungo's to be checked. I don't know how you do what you do, Harry, but I know you're good at healing some things. Would you please look at her?"

Ginny had turned her face into her pillow as her mother spoke, curling her body up protectively and crying quietly. Harry reached out and rubbed her shoulder gently. "Gin? Baby? I'm so sorry! What do I need to do? What's the worst injury?"

She pulled away from his hand, sobbing harder.

"Did I hurt you, baby? Tell me what you need," he said anxiously, afraid to touch her now. "Tell me how you feel. Where does it hurt?"

"I feel. . .," she snarled furiously between sobs, "I feel filthy! I don't think I'll ever feel clean again."

"Why, baby? We'll get you washed in no time." He glanced up at Molly, thoroughly confused. She shook her head and shrugged, not having any more understanding of how to handle the situation than he did.

"They. . .they touched me. They hurt me! I feel so dirty," Ginny sobbed, flinching away whenever Harry tried to touch her.

"Do you not want me here?" he said quietly. "Am I scaring you?"

"NO! No, please, don't go away," she sobbed. "I need you, Harry."

"You're flinching when I touch you. Am I hitting sore places?"

"No. I'm just . . .so ashamed. . . ."

"Of what?" he said, dumbfounded.

"They . . . they abused me. They said awful things. They . . . ." She broke off, sobbing incoherently. "I'm filthy now. You won't . . .you won't. . . ."

"I won't what?"

"Want me anymore. I'm dirty," she sobbed.

He was astonished and saddened by her words. "Ah, baby, you could be covered in owl dung and I'd still think you were the most beautiful girl in the world," he said, his voice filled with love. He lay down next to her, putting his head on her pillow, nose to nose with her. "Nothing they could do would make me love you any less," he assured her quite seriously. He reached out one gentle finger and wiped the tears away from her eyes, then started gently rubbing the bruises and cuts on her face. She stiffened at his touch, then finally began to relax under his ministrations, going from racking sobs to quiet crying after a few moments.

"Better?" he asked as she quieted. She nodded mutely. "Can you tell me what I need to work on? What did they do to you?"

Her eyes filled with tears again. "They. . .they threw me from one to the other like a Quaffle while they had a Petrificus Totalus on me. They kicked me in the ribs and chest. They pulled up my shirt and played with my breasts, squeezing them until I was screaming inside, but they had me Petrified so I couldn't cry out. They pinched my bum and squeezed it and slapped it. Malfoy hit me the most, saying it was what I deserved for being a Blood Traitor and a friend to Muggles and Mudbloods. And they laughed about it. Said they were damaging me so you wouldn't want me anymore."

Harry fought his rage and forced himself to concentrate on her needs. What she needed most right now was reassurance of his love. "And you believed them?"

"No, not what they said. But they made me feel so . . . and then I thought you probably wouldn't want me anymore. I'm all damaged. I'm ugly." She sobbed again, and he pulled her into his arms.

"My sweet girl, you could look like Mad-eye Moody and I'd still love you. You don't seem to mind my scars or my weird hair. Why would I mind if you're not perfect? It's what's inside you that I love - your fiery spirit, your generous heart, your sense of fun, so many things, not just your beauty." He felt her sigh as she settled her head on his shoulder.

"Your scars don't bother me, and I actually love your hair, so stop calling it weird," she chided him gently after a moment.

He chuckled. "That's my girl. Stand up for Harry's weird hair."

"It's not weird, it's cute," she insisted, nestling closer to him.

"If you say so," he said agreeably. He let her rest there a few minutes, then kissed her forehead and moved out from under her, sitting up to gaze down at her. "I know you're in pain. I may be able to help get you well more quickly than you might do on your own. Tell me where to start. What hurts the most?"

She blushed magnificently. "My breasts and my ribs." She looked uneasily at her parents, as did Harry.

"Erm," he began uncomfortably, glancing from Arthur to Molly. "To heal her, I have to touch her. And I should see her bare skin. Are you all right with that?"

Arthur glanced at Molly, then nodded. Molly took a deep breath and nodded as well.

"All right, then, baby, let's see what's going on here," he said, pulling the covers down and unbuttoning the pyjama top Molly had put on her. He took a deep breath, bracing himself as he lifted the two sides of the pyjama top and moved them aside. Ginny's beautiful white breasts were covered in livid red handprints, deep purple bruises, even some cuts. It was even worse than he remembered from the glimpses he'd had before he'd wrapped his cloak around her. Bloody hell, Harry thought in a panic, please don't let me be sick. There was barely any unmarked skin on her breasts or ribcage. A fist-shaped bruise flamed reddish-purple on her side. Other similar marks abounded.

"I will kill them," Harry murmured, stifling his rage again the best he could.

"Not if I get to them first," Arthur said, rising to leave the room, horrified by the sight of his daughter's abused body.

"Arthur, no!" Molly cried. "They're bound up now. If you kill them, that's murder, not killing in combat."

"So I'll untie them after I kill them," Arthur said, his face hard and angry.

Ginny was crying again. "Please, please, Daddy, don't do it! I don't want you in trouble."

"Better me than your brothers or Harry," Arthur said. "When your brothers hear about this. . ."

"You go downstairs and tell them, and then make sure none of you leave the kitchen," Molly ordered. "There will be no cold-blooded murders here."

"I could kill them with my bare hands and have no guilty conscience at all," Arthur snarled. "Look what they did to my baby." His voice broke as he said this.

"Erm. . ." Harry began uncomfortably, "maybe you'd better make sure the boys are still in the house."

"Why?" Molly said, wringing her hands.

"They asked me what happened and I told them," he replied. "I also told them I can probably get away with murdering those gits but they can't, so they should leave them to me." He looked up at Arthur. "The same goes for you. Everyone knows Malfoy's been after me for a long time. Maybe my being famous will finally be useful and keep me out of trouble. I don't want any of you going to Azkaban."

"Nor do we want you going there, lad," Arthur said, suddenly sobered. He was angry enough to kill those boys, but apparently Harry had already thought out a plan to not only kill them, but protect his friends as well. That fact alone chilled Arthur enough to cool his temper somewhat. "We don't want you to take such a chance either."

"Please, Harry, please," Ginny begged him, "please don't get into any trouble. I couldn't bear it."

"Some things just need to be done," he argued, his rage doing its best to bubble to the surface again.

"Not right now," Molly said, rubbing Harry's back, trying to calm him. "Ginny needs you. Those boys don't."

Harry touched Ginny's face lightly, soothing away a bruise there as he thought. He looked at Molly and Arthur. "You're right. There shouldn't be any murders here. Then whichever of us did it will get into trouble, and Malfoy will have won a victory over us. We can't have that. He won't get any victory out of this, not at all."

Arthur studied Harry's face for a long moment, then looked at his sobbing daughter. "I'll do whatever you want, dear girl."

"Go and talk to the boys, then, please? Leave Malfoy to the Aurors," she begged.

"That's a good idea," Molly said. "We should call the Aurors."

"I'm surprised they aren't here already," Harry commented. "I'd heard they were supposed to be keeping a close eye on me after that couple was killed at the concert."

"Maybe they think you're safe here at The Burrow," Molly said, tearing up again. "That's a mistake no one will make again. It's not safe here anymore." She began to cry and Arthur put his arms around her, holding her closely for a moment before heading downstairs to talk to his sons.

Harry looked at Ginny. "Ready? I'll be as gentle as I can," he said. She nodded. He cupped both hands lightly around one of her breasts, sensing for internal damage as he started massaging away the external bruises.

Molly watched him for a while, not having seen him heal anyone before. She was amazed at how soft his touches were, and yet the bruising lightened with each touch.

"How are you doing, sweetheart?" he asked. "Does it feel better yet?"

"A bit," she said nervously. "Am I all right?"

"Getting there," he assured her. He moved his hands to the other breast, anxious to see what internal damage there might be. He worked on that breast much longer than the first one, then moved his hands to her rib cage and abdomen, sensing for injuries as he worked. He moved his hands back to the second breast he'd worked on and turned to her mother. "You should call a healer. She has internal damage that I don't know how to heal."

"Can you tell what it is?" Molly asked anxiously.

"There are blood clots in her breast, I think, and I'm afraid to work on them. It's. . .complicated in there. Some of her organs seem to be bruised. I'm working on those now. There's some internal bleeding, but I think I've stopped that. And she has some broken ribs as well. There could be things I've missed - I don't have any healer training, you know. This is all just done by instinct."

Molly was appalled. She swallowed hard a few times before she was able to speak again.

"Should we take her to St. Mungo's?"

"I honestly don't know," he replied. "If you can, get Healer Pomfrey. He knows about my ability and will understand what I've done here." Molly hurried from the room.

"I have blood clots in my breast?" Ginny said with a renewed burst of tears. "How will I ever nurse a baby?"

"You have plenty of time to heal between now and then," he assured her. "I'm trying to sort them out, and I'm sure the healer will know what to do. Try to rest while I do this, all right?" After he'd worked a while longer, he felt Ginny finally relaxing under his hands. "Feeling better?"

"Your hands are so nice and warm," she murmured. "Feels good. My breasts aren't aching as much as they were."

"You have the most beautiful breasts," he whispered, leaning down to kiss her since they still had some privacy. "They're going to be fine. They already look loads better." He moved his lips from hers to the tip of each breast, kissing each one tenderly. "Better now?" Ginny chuckled in response. "Ah, that's my girl. I love your laugh."

"You're such a good healer, Harry. I love your bedside manner," she teased.

"Getting your spirit back, I see," he teased in return. He cocked an ear toward the open doorway, then gave her a wicked grin just before he leaned down and gave each breast some very gentle but delicious undivided attention.

Ginny arched her back and made happy murmurs in the back of her throat, while tears streamed from her eyes.

"Why are you crying?" he said when he noticed. "Did that hurt?"

"No! It didn't hurt. It felt fantastic! It's just that . . . I thought. . .I thought you'd never want to do that again," she said with a shaky laugh.

"Ah-ha. Medical expert that I am, that's exactly why I did it," he teased her, "plus, that's my fee for house calls." He grinned at her cheekily, enjoying her laughter, then stilled. "Oops, back to work, someone's coming." He covered her breasts with her pyjama top and was working on the bruising on her abdomen when her parents reappeared.

"How is she?" Molly asked anxiously. "Oh, Ginny! You must feel better. I see a smile there."

"I do feel better. Harry's wonderful." She looked at her boyfriend, her love shining in her eyes.

Harry chuckled at her, then glanced up at her parents, blushing when he saw Arthur's knowing smile. He glanced back down quickly, working hard on the fist marks he'd found on her ribcage.

"The Aurors were downstairs when we got there - the twins called them. As soon as she heard how you were, Tonks left to get Healer Pomfrey," Arthur said. "Kingsley wants to talk to you, Ginny. He needs a statement before they take those boys away."

Ginny's eyes lost their smile as she looked at her dad. She hesitated, then said, "OK," in a small voice.

A few moments later, Ginny's small room was filled with too many bodies. Kingsley Shacklebolt, three other Aurors and her family as well as Harry were packed into the small space.

"Just tell us what happened in your own words, Miss Weasley," Shacklebolt said formally.

"Erm. . .I went to pick blackberries in the woods just over the hill," she said, pointing in the direction she'd taken. "I must have wandered off our land, following the berry bushes. I know there are wards on our part of the woods, but I didn't realize I'd gone past them until I thought I felt something. . .as if someone was watching me or something. I pulled my wand out and turned around, but Malfoy Stunned me before I could hex him. I fell over and he, Crabbe and Goyle fought over who was going to carry me. There were some other blokes there as well, but I didn't recognize them. They. . .they put their hands all over me," she said with a disgusted shudder. "Malfoy put me on his broom with him - the other boys are so big, there was no room for me on their brooms with them. We flew a short distance and landed in a clearing in the woods. Malfoy called an eagle owl to him and attached a letter to its leg, sending it off to Harry. Then he said, 'Let's have some fun while we're waiting.' They put a Petrificus Totalus on me when the Stunning spell wore off, then tore my clothes, touched me where they shouldn't, poked me, threw me around, lifted me by my hair, hit me, beat me. I think I have some loose teeth, actually," she mused sadly. Her family and Harry reacted with a variety of gasps and moans. She went on with her story. "They got tired of how hard I was, being Petrified, so they took off that spell and put a Silencio Charm on me. They tied me to a tree with my hands over my head. I tried to kick them to defend myself, so they tied my feet to the trunk. They hit me some more, then shredded or Vanished the rest of my clothes." Her face burned with humiliation. Stifling a sob, she forced herself to go on. "They decided they liked playing with my breasts the best. I guess they haven't seen any before, they were so fascinated, the great wankers," she finished with a snarl in her voice.

"Language, Ginny," her mother said automatically.

"I'm not sorry, Mum. If I knew worse words for them, I'd use them," Ginny said stoutly. "The blokes I didn't know started fighting with Malfoy over who got me first, and then they all got into it. Their fight took them into the woods and I was left alone."

"Who got you first?" Ron said slowly, horrified at what he was hearing.

"Who got to. . . rape. . . me first," she murmured with a shudder. It took her a moment to calm down enough to continue with her story. "I was fighting my bonds when suddenly they let go. I couldn't believe I'd got them loose that easily - I was tied quite tightly. It hurt my wrists and ankles where the ropes were, and my shoulders because I was hanging by my hands. When the ropes let go, I started to fall to the ground, but then I flew up in the air very fast and I was scared to death!" She hesitated, her eyes straying to Harry. "I couldn't see what was drawing me up. Harry had a Disillusionment Charm on himself and his broom. I was so scared. I didn't know who it was, or how he was drawing me to him, but he pulled me onto his broom and brought me home."

"Is that everything?" Shacklebolt said. She nodded. He turned to Harry. "Mr. Potter? What's your statement?"

Harry told them about receiving the letter from the eagle owl and all that had happened after that.

"It was a Summoning Charm? How high were you?"

"About two hundred feet, I think. The trees are very tall there, about 150 feet, and I wanted to be high enough above them that Malfoy and his gang might not notice me."

"You never cease to amaze me, Mr. Potter," Shacklebolt said in admiration. "All right, I think we have enough to be going on with. We took statements from your parents and brothers downstairs, Miss Weasley. I know there's a healer on the way and that you're tired, so we'll go now and let you get some rest."

"Thanks," she murmured, glad to see them leave. Everyone but Harry followed them downstairs to complete their statements.

"Loose teeth, huh?" Harry said, sitting on the edge of her bed again. "You didn't mention those before, nor your aching joints."

"They weren't the most painful thing. You asked what hurt the most," she reminded him.

"Oh yeah. Well, let's get these other things fixed as much as possible then, shall we?" he said, already running his fingers down her jaws, searching for the sites of injury. He did what he could to fix her teeth and healed the rest of the bruises on her face, then worked on her shoulders, wrists and ankles a little. "I'm not sure what do to for your shoulders. I think I'll leave them for the healer, all right?"

She nodded.

"Where else? Show me."

She rolled over and pointed at her bum. Harry took a deep breath, hoping her parents wouldn't come in and be upset with what he was doing, then pulled her pyjama bottoms down, exposing her buttocks. Like her breasts, they were covered in purpling bruises shaped like hands, fingers or fists. He went to work and had about half of them done when Molly and Arthur returned.

"Oh dear. I didn't know it was that bad," Molly cried.

"It was worse," Harry growled. "I'm about halfway finished healing this area now."

"How do you do that, Harry?" Arthur asked, moving closer to watch him work.

"I don't know how to explain it. I kind of concentrate the magic between my hands, when I'm using both hands. That's how I sense for internal injuries. Rubbing away bruises - I honestly have no idea how that works. When I did it the first time, it just felt like the thing to do, and that's still how it is. I feel a little, erm, vibration, I guess you could say, in my fingers while the bruises are disappearing. I have no real explanation for it." He rubbed his thumbs gently over the remaining marks on her bum and then pulled her pyjamas up over her again. "I think that's all I can do for now," he said, straightening up and stretching out his back, rolling his neck and shoulders. He looked up at Arthur. "I'd love to hear how you lot captured them, and what all you did to them. I know how creative Fred and George can be."

"We'll tell you about it later, lad," Arthur replied quietly, his eyes on his daughter. "Your patient still needs a bit of attention."

Ginny was crying again. "What's wrong now, baby?" he asked quietly.

"I don't know, I just can't stop crying," she wailed as she turned on her side and curled up into a tight ball of misery.

"Where does it hurt?" her mother asked, tenderly smoothing the hair away from her face.

"It's not. . .I'm not. . .I don't know," she moaned. Molly and Arthur exchanged a distraught look, frightened by their normally courageous daughter's distress. Molly gathered her child into her arms and rocked her. Harry held her hand and Arthur rubbed her back gently.

"How about a Cheering Charm?" Harry asked suddenly. "Would that help?" Ginny nodded. He performed the charm and was pleased to see a small smile appear. "That's a bit better, then, right?" he said encouragingly.

"A bit," she replied, releasing her mother and sliding back under the covers.

"Help's here!" a cheery voice called from downstairs. Tonks followed Ron into the room, Healer Pomfrey in tow.

"Here's your personal physician," Ron said dramatically, trying valiantly to be funny.

"Thanks for bringing him, Tonks," Harry replied. "Thanks for coming, Healer Pomfrey."

"My password's 'scar on my sister's elbow,' Harry. Come and tell me what you've done so far, and then I'll examine my patient," Marcus Pomfrey said.

Harry joined Pomfrey in the hallway while Tonks sat on the edge of Ginny's bed, talking cheerfully about nothing in particular, changing the shape of her nose and eyebrows to be silly, doing her best to make Ginny smile. Ron sat on the arm of his mother's chair next to the bed and just gazed at his sister with sad eyes, his arm comfortingly around his mum. The twins had gone out to the henhouse with the Aurors. Arthur stood by the window staring out at the henhouse, his face grim. Pomfrey and Harry soon returned, and the healer took Tonks' place at Ginny's side.

"I hear you've had a rough day, young lady," Pomfrey said kindly, "but knowing Harry's skills, there probably isn't much left for me to do. Let's see what we have here." He glanced around at all the people in the room and added, "Could we have some privacy please?"

Ron, Harry, Tonks and Arthur moved toward the door. Molly didn't budge.

"Harry!" Ginny cried suddenly, her eyes wide with fear.

Harry looked from her to the healer, who nodded, and came back to sit by Molly. "It's OK, I'm not going anywhere," he said comfortingly.

She relaxed visibly when he sat down and took her hand. Before long, Healer Pomfrey had finished his examination.

"Harry, you've done an excellent job. I really wish you'd consider training as a healer. You're a natural."

"I don't want that kind of responsibility, thanks," he said nervously. "I don't like having people's lives literally in my hands like that, but I do like to help them when I can."

"Just think about it. You'd be brilliant," Pomfrey said with a smile. He looked from Ginny to Molly, then back at Ginny. "You've suffered a tremendous amount of trauma, but you already know that. You have broken ribs and loose teeth, both of which I can fix in a few moments. Harry's already stabilized them somewhat. You have a bruised spleen and bruised kidneys. Harry did some repair work there that stopped the bleeding and started the healing, so that's already much better. I have to say, I've never seen such trauma to breasts. Harry was right, you do have some blood clots in the left one, but we can have that fixed in no time. You'll be in bed for three days. Your broken ribs and loose teeth will be healed in a few moments. The soft tissue injuries will take a little while longer, but it won't be bad. You'll be uncomfortable as you heal, but not in real pain." He reached into his carryall. "All right. The potion in this blue bottle is to heal your injuries." He looked at Molly. "One teaspoonful every six hours, all right? She'll need this for three days. The potion in the green bottle is a restorative to help you get your strength back. Three drops twice a day. And the one in the purple bottle is Dreamless Sleep potion. Use that as needed, but no more than three doses a day. It should make you sleep for eight hours at a time with no dreams at all. However, given the experiences you've just had, some nightmares might break through. It's rare, but it does happen." He looked at Molly again. "Someone should sit with her tonight. By tomorrow, she should be a lot better."

"We'll take good care of her," Molly assured him warmly. "What can she eat?"

"Liquids only for two days, then soft foods the third day, then a normal diet after that," he replied. "Make sure she drinks plenty of water, juices, and so on. Give her as many fluids as she's willing to take. That will help her heal more quickly."

"All right," Molly replied.

"Harry, were you injured? Do I need to look at you?" he asked.

"No, Ginny was the only one hurt this time," Harry assured him. "I managed to catch her without any bump at all, so my back isn't sore or anything."

"Well done." Marcus gathered his things and prepared to leave. "Let me know if she has any problems," he said as he opened the door.

"We will," Molly assured him.

Harry followed Pomfrey out into the corridor, leaving the door open for Ron, Tonks and Arthur to go in and see Ginny. "Healer Pomfrey?"

"Yes?"

"Thank you for coming all this way. I know healers don't normally make house calls anymore."

"Where you're concerned, I make house calls. I don't normally, but I seem to be your personal physician now. I rather like that actually," Pomfrey said with a grin. "You're an interesting young man, Harry. It's a pleasure to know you. I cannot tell you how impressed I am with how you diagnosed and healed Miss Weasley. Well done."

Harry blushed. "Thanks."

"Take good care of yourself, Harry," Pomfrey said, turning to go down the stairs.

"I will. Goodbye, Healer Pomfrey."

The healer turned back and grinned at Harry. "Marcus."

"Sorry?"

"Why don't you call me 'Marcus'? We see so much of each other, we may as well be friends," he said with a grin.

"I'd like that - as long as every visit doesn't involve me or someone I care about being hurt or sick!" Harry replied with a chuckle. "And you owe me a Quidditch game."

"Yes, I do, don't I? We've had to reschedule every time we've set one up."

"This Saturday, you should come out here and we'll play. There are enough Weasleys around here to field two small teams. It'll be great," Harry said, grinning.

"You're on! I'm actually free this Saturday. See you then!"