One of A Kind

Chapter 13: Without A Voice

            Harry stood in the hallway, pacing and raking a hand through his hair, which was standing on end. He felt as though there was a wrench inside of him, twisting tighter and tighter until he could no longer breathe.

“No, no, no,” he mumbled.

 If he said it enough, maybe it wouldn’t be true. But it IS true, you idiot. Now what are you going to do about it? What can I do? I don’t know where she is. This is all my fault! Stop whining. The longer you stay here, the less chance you have of finding her. Finally, after several minutes, he made his way back to his own dorm. He jerked back the curtains to Ron’s bed and shook his friend awake.

“What?” Ron asked irritably, wiping the sleep from his eyes.

He took in a deep, ragged breath and whispered, “Ginny.”

Ron shot upright and gripped Harry’s collar. His brown eyes were blazing. “What?! What happened to her? What did you do to her?”

He pried Ron’s hands off of him. “Sh–She’s . . .” He trailed off, his voice breaking with unshed tears. “She’s gone.”

Ron shook his head. “NO. No . . . Tell me you’re joking, Harry. Tell me this is all a joke.” Harry’s silence said it all. He ran a hand over his face. “We have to get her back.”

 “I don’t know how. There are no clues,” Harry said, trying to fight back tears.

“What about the spell we did? Just ask her where she is.”

“The necklace is gone, but I can’t hear her.”

“What does that mean?” Ron asked shakily.

“I don’t know, I just don’t know.”

~*~

            She hit the cold stone floor hard, her hands stinging from the impact. Immediately she felt someone roughly pull her to her feet, their iron grip locked on her shoulder. Her captor wore a black cloak that hid most of their face, but she thought they looked eerily familiar. Before she could place them, however, she was pushed forward, a sign for her to walk. She was led into a large, dimly lit room. Torches lined the walls. There was a crowd of black cloaked figures, all kneeling before a dais. They rose as she walked past them, and she could feel their piercing eyes on her. She came to a halt when directed and angrily attempted to shake off her captor’s hands. Cold laughter rang in her ears. She glanced up hesitantly and what she saw made her stomach turn.

            Voldemort was seated in what could only be called a throne, and he was directly in front of her. Harry’s description of him had done nothing to prepare her for this. She supposed he was smiling, but she had never seen anything more horrible. His narrow, red eyes swept over her, hungrily taking in her appearance. She felt the urge to retch and bit her lip. He beckoned her forward. She tried to stay still, but felt her feet moving toward him. His icy hand gripped her wrist, pulling her closer. She swallowed the scream rising in her throat.

“So, Virginia, we meet again,” he hissed. She could feel his breath on her face. He looked out at the sea of Death Eaters. “What shall we do with her?”

Somehow, she regained her ability to speak. . “He will come for you, you know.” Her voice was dangerously low.

He laughed bitterly. “I am counting on it.”

He let go of her wrist and pushed her away. As if on cue, her captor stepped forward, dropping to one knee.

“What did you find?” Voldemort demanded.

The figure said nothing, but pulled out an object that Ginny recognized at once. It was her necklace, the one that she had promised to put on. Guilt washed over her. If she had listened to Harry, this wouldn’t be happening.

“Very well. Give it back to the prisoner.”

The figure stood and turned to Ginny, placing the necklace in the palm of her hand. Why is he letting me have this back? She hesitated before sliding the chain over her head. As soon as it touched her skin, the crystal began to glow.

Voldemort drew his wand at pointed it at her captor’s back. She saw his mouth form the words, and then the blinding flash of green light. The only thing she could hear was a distant, familiar voice calling to her. As the figure dropped to the floor, the hood falling back from their face, Ginny felt her head spin. The last thing she saw was a pair of empty blue eyes staring at her through a tangled mass of dark curls.