Rating:: PG
House:: The Dark Arts
Characters:: Harry Potter Hermione Granger Lord Voldemort
Genres:: Action Romance
Era:: Multiple Eras
Spoilers:: Philosopher's Stone Chamber of Secrets Prizoner of Azkaban Goblet of Fire Quidditch Through the Ages Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
Stats:: Published: 04/21/2003

Updated: 04/21/2003

Words: 3,591

Chapters: 1

Hits: 599

Ginny's revenge

Hhr_shipper

Story Summary:: The dream team are in their Fifth year and closer than ever. A jealous Ginny lays a trap for Hermione that involves the Giant Squid. But what does Voldemort have to do with it? Slight H/Hr

Posted:: 04/21/2003

Hits:: 599

Author's Note:: First fic - please review, everyone!

Ginny looked across the table and her eyes narrowed. In their usual corner were the "dream team" of her brother Ron; the Boy Who Lived, Harry; and their best friend Hermione Granger, huddled together as she had seen them sit for as long as she had been at Hogwarts, the school for wizards that they all attended. But today she felt that something was different. There was something going on that she couldn't quite put her finger on, and she had a feeling she wasn't going to like it.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Ginny looked up at Colin Creevey, who gave her a big grin. "Watching Harry, Ginny?" he asked. It was common knowledge in school that Ginny had had a crush on Harry from the day she met him. And Colin, who was in the same year as Ginny, was the founding member of the Harry Potter fan club, which today boasted a grand total of two members, Colin and his brother Dennis. Colin liked Ginny, but he could not help teasing her a little when he got the chance, just to see the red colour flame into her face and merge into her red hair. Colin and Ginny were both in Gryffindor House, and close friends.

"Do you see anything different about them, Colin? Why do I feel there is something new there that I can't put my finger on?" Ginny asked.

Colin looked sly. "Hermione is a very pretty girl, in case you didn't notice."

And then the penny dropped. Till last year, though the three had been pretty much inseparable for most of the time, there was very little touching between them. Now there was a lot. As she watched, Ron reached forward to push a strand of Hermione's hair back from her forehead. Hermione absentmindedly pulled all her hair back and tied it back into the severe knot that was her style this year, and pushed a quill into it. Harry said something and they all collapsed into laughter, Harry's arm going around her for support as he rocked with mirth.

Ginny's blue eyes darkened with rage. That mudblood, she thought angrily, then started in alarm. Where had that thought come from? She was a Weasley, and Weasleys had never believed that wizarding blood was any different from Muggle blood. And yet that thought had arisen in her, unbidden, unwanted, bringing a flood of such anger in its wake that she felt shaken.

Colin gave Ginny a curious look. "You like him, don't you?"

"What do you know about it?" Ginny replied wearily.

"Ginny, Hermione is Harry's friend, not his girlfriend. If you ask me, I think Ron would like to ask her out."

"Probably. But she will date Harry, I know that." Across the table, Hermione brought her hand up to her shoulder to clasp Harry's hand, and Ginny felt the wave of rage rise in her again. She gave herself a shake. What was wrong with her? She had seen the three of them together for ages. She had always known that Harry looked on her as a sister, nothing more. She had gotten over it. But where did this rage come from?

"Excuse me, Colin." She rose and quickly left the hall. The patter of her shoes filled the corridor as she almost ran towards the side door that led into one of her favourite spots, a beautiful garden that overlooked the lake.

Outside, she put her head up to feel the cool tang of the breeze, scented with the aromas of spring. In the distance she could see couples walking by the lake. She tried to identify them in the dying light. Was that Fred and Angelina? And George and... she couldn't see who the girl was, but it was probably the Ravenclaw girl he had been dating for a few weeks now. What was her name again? Fred and George ran through more girls in a year than lesser mortals did in a whole lifetime. They weren't handsome, stylish or rich, but they were undeniably hot, with their Quidditch skills, sense of fun, and popularity. Ginny had even heard the girls in her own year discussing them.

But the boy they discussed the most was Harry, her Harry, the Harry whom she had just seen with his arm around another girl - a mudblood, for heavens' sake! Blind rage surged in her again. She looked down to see a small snail making its way along the path in front of her. She lifted her toe and swung it, lifting the little thing aloft to crash against the trunk of a tree. She heard the sound of its shell breaking with a wild satisfaction. She would crush Hermione like that snail - and Harry would be hers again!

Hermione put her books away carefully into the loaded shelves beside her bed. She had a smile on her face. So far the year had been a good one. She, Harry and Ron were closer than they had ever been, and the time she spent with them, especially with Harry, was the happiest she had had in a very long time.

Her studies were going well, too. But after the fiasco of the third year, when she tried taking two or three classes at the same time by using a time-turner that allowed her to go back in time, she had relaxed a lot and was happier for it, for her thirst for knowledge was a hobby in itself, and since she had given up her obsession with grades, studying was more fun now than before.

And so far this year, Voldemort had not emerged yet. Voldemort, the scourge of the magical race, had nearly been destroyed when he tried to destroy Harry as a baby, and had only regained his body last year. There was war in the air. Professor Dumbledore, the headmaster of Hogwarts, had a constant stream of strange visitors, including giants, vampires and werewolves. She, Harry and Ron had been told to prepare for every eventuality. And they had been doing it, focusing their studies on defence. Professor Moody, the Defence of the Dark Arts teacher, was pleased with them. Last year, an imposter had impersonated Professor Moody and taken their classes, but this year the real Moody was back.

Dumbledore had told them that Voldemort was probably massing his troops in some faraway land, and would not show his hand till his preparations were over. Voldemort was likely to try and kill Harry before the big war. Harry's death would give him the psychological advantage he would need to take over the magical world.

But so far, nothing had happened. With the vitality of youth, the three friends had pushed their fears to the side and decided to enjoy life.

"Hermione!" She turned.

Ginny stood there, smiling a little. The room was empty otherwise, as Hermione's roommates hadn't returned from their dinner. Probably snogging with their boyfriends, Hermione thought. She, Harry and Ron were far too busy to join the dating circuit, all their free time being taken up with extra classes in defence skills.

"Hey, Ginny. What's up?"

"I need some expert advice," Ginny replied, and Hermione noticed a slightly vague look in her eyes, as if she was distracted.

"Sure, Ginny. Sit down. How can I help you?" She smiled. "If it's to do with boys, you've come to the wrong place. I've only ever dated one boy, and that was a long time ago," she said, referring to the previous year, when the famous Bulgarian Quidditch player Viktor Krum had been smitten by her. She had even visited him in Bulgaria, but they had parted amicably soon after.

"Oh no," Ginny exclaimed, "Nothing like that! It's actually a Muggle artefact." She finished in a bit of a rush.

"A what??!!"

"A clock. My Dad and I were having this stupid conversation and I bet him that I could make any Muggle artefact run, if I bothered enough. And he handed me this clock, but I don't know how it works. It has a pendulum, but no key."

"Okay. Give it over and let's take a look."

Ginny reached down into her bag and pulled out a box. The two girls settled down on the bed and opened the box. Inside was a shiny new clock with sleek platinum finish. Ginny lifted the clock and stood it upright.

Hermione laughed, "Sorry, Ginny. This needs batteries, and they don't work inside Hogwarts."

"But I don't understand. If the pendulum swings, it should go, right? We have been using clocks like this for generations. Look at it - left to right, right to left..."

Hermione looked at the pendulum. Ginny was right. It was definitely swinging, slowly from side to side. She began to feel sleepy.

Ginny's voice droned on, slowly, and Hermione began to feel sleepier and sleepier. She slowly sank down on the bed. Ginny began to speak, slowly, compellingly, while Hermione lay still. Ginny removed the clock from the bed, lifted Hermione's feet up onto it and covered her with the coverlet. Then she left the room, a sly smile on her face.

Harry was having one of his nightmares again. His scar stood out, a white line against a pale face in the darkness. In the distance, a faint cry rose, to die out as suddenly as it was heard. Ron got up.

"Harry!" Harry was still tossing and turning on the bed.

Ron reached out and took his wand from the side table. "Lumos!" he said and the room was lit up. He strained his ears, his forehead wrinkling beneath his hair that glowed like red fire in the light.

The faint cry was heard again.

He threw the covers off and ran over to Harry, shaking him by the shoulder.

"Harry! Wake up!"

Harry gave a start and got up. His hands reached for his glasses smoothly and put them on. In a fluid, practiced motion, he threw the coverlet off and leaped out, his wand in his hand.

"Ron! What's the matter?"

"Listen!"

Harry strained to hear. In the distance the faint cry was heard again.

"That's Hermione - I know her voice anywhere." Harry's heart was in his throat.

"It's coming from the lake," said Ron.

"Accio Firebolt!" said Harry and his faithful broom leapt into his outstretched hand. "Use the fireplace. Call Dumbledore. I'm going to the lake."

"I'll come with you!"

"No. We don't have the time. And I'll get there faster if I go alone." As he said this, Harry had already mounted his broom and was hovering outside the window. Then he turned and zoomed off, vanishing into the darkness.

Ron reached into the drawer in his side table and pulled out a small can of powder. He went to the fireplace and threw and handful of powder in, saying "Headmaster!"

Harry flew into the night toward the lake. In the distance he heard the cry again.

He bent his shoulders and pushed the Firebolt into more speed. He was nearing the lake now. The cry was more distinct and now he could also hear splashing sounds.

"Lumos!" he cried and a wide beam of light from his wand toward the lake. In the lake he saw the giant squid rising from the waters, its tentacles flailing. With a sinking heart he saw that one of the tentacles held a girl, who was screaming. His heart began beating wildly as he realized that was Hermione and that her screams were of pain, not terror.

But then the familiar coolness descended over him that he always felt when danger was near. Fear, instead of sending him into a panic, seemed to heighten his senses and focus his thoughts. The first thing to do was to get Hermione to safety. Even if he managed to defeat the squid, it could easily dive back into the waters, taking Hermione with it.

Harry lifted his left hand and said. "Accio!" and a second later, the hilt of a sword was in his hand. The sword of Gryffindor.

He lifted up his wand in his right hand. Now he was clasping the broom with only his legs, but long hours of Quidditch practice had ensured that he could stay on the broom without using his hands for as long as he liked.

"Impedimenta!" He cried, and aimed the wand at the squid's eyes. The squid gave a roar of pain and two of its tentacles rose into the air. Harry dived under the tentacle that was wound around Hermione and lunged at it with his sword. The tentacle bent away quickly, almost sending him off his broom, but he managed to hang on, zooming past it and then returning for another try. He missed again, as the squid swung its tentacles faster than he could follow. He needed something... what?

Harry leaned into the wind, zoomed away from the squid and hovered at a safe distance, his brain working furiously. He looked up and saw that Hermione had stopped struggling and was lying inert in the tentacle's grasp. She had obviously fainted, but whether from pain or shock, he could not say.

Then he had an idea. Giant squid normally live in the depths and their eyes are constructed to trap even the faintest light. He was reasonably sure that bright light would hurt its eyes, perhaps enough to freeze it for the split second that he would need to rescue Hermione. Timing was everything.

Harry took a deep breath and readied himself, toes digging into the wood of the broom, one hand tight on the Sword of Gryffindor and the other on his wand. Swish. Flick. "Lumos Omni Acutus!"

The whole area around the lake was lit up with light so bright it hurt Harry's eyes. But it did the trick. The squid was transfixed. It had never known such horrendous pain in its eyes before, not even with Harry's Impedimenta curse a moment ago. Harry dived straight for the tentacle holding Hermione and swung the sword. This time it worked. The tentacle was neatly cut in two. The portion of the tentacle holding Hermione, no longer under the squid's control, opened, and Hermione's still body started to plummet towards the waters. But Harry quickly swung under it and gathered her into his arms.

He quickly flew toward the castle.

The squid fell back, roaring with pain, into the water, which was now dyed an inky black from its ink. The light faded slowly, as the squid slowly sunk into the depths of the lake, to find a hiding place where it could grow its lost tentacle back. Near the surface, hundreds of small fish leapt at the severed tentacle. They would feast on squid flesh tonight.

The castle door was open and a small group was running out of it toward the lake. Harry dived down to meet them, yelling.

They looked up and waited as Harry dived down to the ground and gently laid Hermione down on the ground in front of Dumbledore, Ron, Snape, McGonagall and Moody.

Dumbledore muttered a few words and the area lit up. They could see Hermione now, and the sight made their hearts sink. Hermione's face was bloodless and pale and she had evidently lost a lot of blood. All over her body, they could see two-inch wide welts where the suction pads on the squid's tentacle had torn the flesh away. Moody stepped forward and quickly said "Caldus". A blanket of warmth descended on the entire group.

"She must be suffering from shock as well as blood loss. Let's get her into the hospital, quickly," said McGonagall.

"I'll take her," said Ron, bending to lift the girl's slight body in his arms. His new Nimbus 2000 broom was faster than the other method of using the Mobilicorpus spell to take her up to the hospital. He had never been gladder of the new broom his brothers had bought him. But as he lifted her, Ron's heart sank at how light her body felt.

Harry almost lifted an arm to protest, but his body now succumbed to fatigue and he sank back on the ground.

Dumbledore said, "Wands out. Someone's coming." He muttered, "Obscurus". The light around them went out and they were in the darkness, except for faint moonlight.

Snape moved forward and lifted Harry easily. The group sank back into the shadows beside the path where the moonlight could not shine on them.

A figure emerged along the path, walking slowly towards the lake. The group followed silently, moving through the shadows to keep out of sight. Harry was on his feet again, alert, his wand out. Suddenly a pain shot through the scar on his forehead and he stumbled. Snape caught his arm to steady him. "What is it?" he hissed.

"My scar hurts," Harry whispered back. "Voldemort is here!"

Dumbledore heard and he moved his staff from his left to his right hand. Harry noticed and wondered vaguely where the staff had come from. He had never seen Dumbledore carrying a staff, just a wand. A staff was very advanced magic, beyond even Voldemort. He had never even heard of any wizard carrying a staff. Hermione would know, he thought and at that thought his eyes filled with tears. But as soon as the emotion came, Harry put it aside. There would be time for tears and comfort, but not now.

The lake stretched before them like a black gleaming mirror, shining in the moonlight. There wasn't even a ripple to show that a massive struggle had just taken place here. In front of the lake stood two figures. One tall figure, clad in black, and a slight small figure before it, with red hair and black school robes. Ginny. Harry's heart sunk. What was Ginny doing here?

The group edged forward so as not to lose the element of surprise. The two voices carried clearly across in the quiet night.

"You've failed me, Virginia," said a voice that froze Harry's blood.

There was silence. Ginny was evidently not herself. She had been walking slowly, like a zombie and now she just stood there, quietly, saying nothing. They were too far away to see her face.

"The mudblood has been killed by the squid, and Harry is not here. But was he here?" Voldemort raised his head and seemed to be sniffing the air. "He was here. The question is, how long ago?"

Voldemort turned his attention back to the girl. "You are quite useless now."

At that, Harry quickly stepped forward, "No! Don't hurt her!"

Last year, a schoolmate of Harry's had been killed by Voldemort, as casually as if he was swatting a fly. Harry knew that it wouldn't take much for Voldemort to kill Ginny.

Voldemort turned. Harry felt the familiar chill again, but this time, for some reason, he felt safer.

Dumbledore stepped forward, his staff in his hand. Beside him, Moody, Snape and McGonagall took position, their wands. Voldemort gave a low growl of rage and disapparated.

Professor McGonagall ran forward to catch Ginny before she fell to the ground.

Ron was sitting by Hermione's bed, holding her hand, as if to lend her his strength. Hermione's wounds had been dressed with a quick healing balm, and Pomfrey had poured three different potions, all vile-smelling, down her throat.

When the door opened, he looked up. Harry came into the room, looking weary. "Ron, something terrible has happened."

Ron looked up, fear in his face. What could be worse than Hermione coming within an inch of death? Had someone died?

Harry sat down next to Hermione, took her hand in his and gently stroked it, without seeming to know what he was doing. "Ron, we found out who had done this, though we are not sure how." He paused. "Ron, it was Ginny."

Ron leapt up. "Ginny? How? What did Ginny have to do with this?"

"We don't know, Ron. But Voldemort was there. Ginny met him by the lake. We think she is under a spell. She was the one who sent Hermione to her death. Voldemort was about to kill her, but we stopped him. He didn't want to face Dumbledore at this point, it seems, because he disapparated."

"How is she?"

"She is in the next room. Pomfrey is looking after her."

Ron left the room to look for Ginny.

Harry continued to sit there, stroking Hermione's hand. Presently her eyes opened. "Harry," she said faintly.

"I'm here. It's all right, Herms. You are going to be all right."

"What happened?"

"We still don't know. But Ginny had something to do with it."

Hermione was silent for a while. "Yes. The clock she showed me - she hypnotized me. She must have made a post-hypnotic suggestion so that I'd walk to the lake at night and say a spell to bring to squid out. Was she acting under Imperius?"

"We think so. But for now you are safe. You and Ginny both."

"She likes you, you know." Hermione said sleepily.

"Yes, yes. I know."

"I like you too," Hermione said drowsily, with a little smile, and fell asleep again. Harry's face broke into a smile. He lifted Hermione's hand and kissed it, then placed her hand carefully back on the bed and got up.

Harry walked to the window and looked out at the lake. It shimmered softly in the growing light as the sun slowly rose in the distance.

THE END