Harry Potter and the Loss of Innocence

Chapter Forty-One: Click... Sh-keeeeer...

But you're missing when

I shut out the light.

You're missing when

I close my eyes.

You're missing when

I see the sun rise.

You're missing.

~Bruce Springsteen: You're missing

Hermione watched her best girlfriend leave the Great Hall. Ginny didn't look too good without Harry there to help her through her grief. The younger girl had been so disappointed when the Quidditch game had been cancelled. Though several people questioned Ginny's sincerity since then, Hermione hadn't. She, herself, had thrown herself into books, reading texts on the First War. She hoped to find some reference to Voldemort's hide-out, but her hopes weren't high. She used the reading as a distraction. If she wasn't reading, she spent her time worrying and feeling guilty and, often, the grief for Mr. Weasley overwhelmed her.

Hermione glanced over at her boyfriend, who was sitting next to her. Ron wasn't doing so well either. Better than Ginny, but not by much. Harry meant so much to those two, and they had lost their dad on top of that. Life could be so cruel at times.

"Ron, why don't you follow her?" Hermione suggested with a whisper in his ear. Ron looked at her startled. He had a far away expression on his face. "She's going to need you now that Harry's not there to help her."

Ron nodded, but looked completely lost. "Where would she be?" he asked quietly.

"Where would I go if you were captured and my dad died?" Hermione asked softly. Ron thought for a few seconds, still confused. He can be so thick at times, Hermione thought fondly.

"You'd go to the top of the Quidditch stands, far left of the Gryffindor section," Ron answered doubtfully.

Hermione nodded. "And why would I go there?"

"Because that's our spot," Ron answered. Hermione smiled as she watched the light bulb turn on in his head. "So Ginny would go to the Room of Requirement. See you." Hermione laughed as she watched him hurry out of the Great Hall. He's exactly what Ginny needs at the moment, and Ginny's exactly what he needs.

Hermione stood slowly and made her way to the common room, planning to spend the time until those two showed up by reading. She gave the Fat Lady the password (Down with Death Eaters!) and entered the room. She shook her head. The common room was so subdued since last Saturday. Gryffindor had taken quite a hit. Two students kissed, one student missing, two students still in the hospital wing, several students had lost family members, and Harry was captured.

Hermione had never noticed before how important Harry had become to this house. The younger students looked up to him, because he was the Boy Who Lived. Students above the fourth year respected him because of everything they had watched him do over the years. Everyone respected him because he respected them. Harry's mischievous streak got him and others in trouble at times, but mostly, it only ended in laughter. This laughter was missing now. It had been missing several times since the ministry fiasco. But every time it would return with more vengeance than before.

When Harry returned, and he would, the house would come back to life. It would be yet another time the Boy Who Lived had showed the Dark Lord up. It would give the students more enthusiasm. Maybe the first password next year could be "Down with Voldemort."

Hermione laughed. That would never happen. She opened the book she had retrieved from her bookshelf and smiled, remembering the prank Harry had come up with to get her notes. That boy had grown up way too fast. If he hadn't become so mature, he'd be a force to rival the Weasley twins. Harry had always been much more mature than his age dictated, ever since she had first met him on the Hogwarts Express. She guessed that was the Dursley's fault, but she had no proof.

She sat comfortably on the window seat in her dorm room. Lavender and Parvati hadn't come back from breakfast yet, so it should be a peaceful room to read in. The book was a straightforward Transfiguration text, but Hermione liked it because of its simplicity. It delved into uncomplicated theories of Transfiguration. There was a certain peace that reading this book gave her.

A few hours passed, but Hermione wasn't worried that Ginny and Ron weren't back yet. Those two had lots to catch up on. Hermione turned the last page and read it. At the end was a note she had never seen before. She recognized the hand writing instantly.

Hermione--

I can't believe you let us steal your notes! I figured you'd have some sort of protection spell on the shelf or something like that. Oh well. Because I'll never admit to this crime in person, I figured I should apologize somehow. So: I'm sorry for stealing your notes and wiping your books clean. But if you bring this note to me, I'll deny it all! Well, got to go before Ron get's too suspicious of my absence.

Harry

That complete git! He had apologized all along, she had just not read it. She couldn't help but wonder how they had gotten around the charms on the staircase.

"Hey, Hermione," Ginny's tired voice came from the door. "Do you want to help set up for the D.A. meeting?" Hermione nodded, putting the book away. Hermione couldn't wait to see Harry again. The young man was the backbone of their friendships.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ginny looked at the D.A. members who were sitting on various stumps and rocks on the top of the cliff. She and Ron had stayed here, except for the short time they had left to get Hermione and supplies for the meeting and. She had had a long talk with Ron, something the two of them hadn't done for a while now. Of course, they steered clear of talking about Harry or their dad, but there was loads of other things to talk about.

"Earlier I was asked if having a meeting was a bit pretentious on my part," Ginny started. "Harry had wanted to throw you all a party for your hard work and to celebrate the end of the school year. I know he'd feel awful if you didn't get your party."

"We're going to have a party?" Cho asked, not believing what she heard.

"Of a sort," Ginny replied. "I figured if the girl who just lost her dad and whose boyfriend is captured can find something to celebrate, then so can you guys. Just trust me, we need to have a party."

"The first thing we're going to do," Ron said taking over, "is to write down one thing worth celebrating on one of these colored bits of parchment." Ron pointed to the pile of colorful and torn parchment. "Then, take one of the white parchment and write one thing you're thankful for."

"Why?" Blaise asked loudly. Ginny could tell he wasn't thrilled by this idea.

"Look at this school and the student body. They've forgotten all the wonderful things to fight for and to celebrate," Ginny answered. "You once said that Harry and Professor Dumbledore were the backbone of the student body's will to fight. We want to change that. Every person needs a personal reason to fight. It's okay to draw strength from those two, but our entire will to live and fight shouldn't come from them." Blaise nodded in agreement, but Ginny could tell he wasn't completely convinced.

"Once we're all done," Ginny continued, "Hermione, Ron, and I are going to make a collage of all the pieces of parchment and hang it up in the Entrance Hall as a reminder for the student body. Any other questions?"

"Can I draw instead of write it down?" Dean asked.

"Do whatever you want," Hermione answered him.

"Do we have to put our names on it?" Hannah asked. Ginny looked at the shy girl and shook her head.

"You don't have to, but I'd recommend it," Ginny said. "We should be proud of the things we celebrate and are thankful for. Any other questions?" There was silence. "Alright, here is the parchment, quills, and ink for you to get started."

Ginny grabbed two sheets of parchment, a quill, and emerald green ink. She had thought long and hard about what she was going to write. Though she wasn't positive on what she was going to write for her celebrate parchment, she knew what she was thankful for.

I am thankful for still having my mom and all my brothers: Bill, Charlie, Percy, Fred, George, and Ron. I don't know what I'd do without them.

Ginny stared at the light blue parchment she had taken for her celebration. Did she dare write what she wanted? There was the obvious, 'I want to celebrate life,' or 'I want to celebrate because school is out,' but Ginny wasn't too thrilled about them either. If she wrote what she wanted to write, others might misunderstand her.

"Can we do more than one each?" Neville asked, interrupting Ginny's train of thought. Ginny nodded, so Neville took two more pieces of parchment. "What do we do with these when we're done?"

"Put them in a pile right here," Hermione answered, placing her own on the table where the supplies were. Ginny smiled at Hermione and then turned her thoughts back to her dilemma.

Who cares what others think, Ginny thought to herself. I'm writing it.

She dipped her quill in the green ink and started to write her thought down. I want to celebrate, because Harry is still alive, even if he got himself captured, the git.

Ginny smiled fondly with thoughts of her git. She knew he was alive. There were two reasons for her believing so: one, she would know if Harry died and two, Voldemort would want the world to know that he had finally killed the Boy Who Lived. He would brag about it and Harry's death would puncture England's will to resist.

After everyone had finished, they gathered around a small fire that was blazing cheerfully. "We thought story time would be appropriate," Hermione told the group. Marshmallows, graham crackers, and chocolate bars appeared with a thought of the mind. People started roasting the marshmallows and making sandwiches with pieces of chocolate and graham crackers.

"What kind of stories?" Sephra asked, intrigued.

"Whatever you want to tell," Ron answered. "Made up, real life, ghost stories, romances," Ron pulled a face as he said that and everyone laughed, "action stories, mysteries... You name it and you can tell it. Anyone want to go first?" There was an embarrassed silence around the circle. "Fine, I'll go first." Ron thought for a moment, and Ginny waited to see what story he told.

"There once was a family. This family had a mother, a father, twin sons, and a daughter." Ginny smiled. This had to be based on their family. "Now these twin boys were known for their mischief. They were born pranksters. One time they charmed their sister's teddy bear into a spider while she was holding it. To this day, the poor girl is terrified of the filthy insects."

"Actually, Ron," Ginny broke in. "They aren't insects. Spiders are arachnids, not insects. Eight legs, not six and two body parts not three. And if I remember, it was you who they..."

"My dear sister," Ron said, interrupting her. The D.A. members were laughing at the two siblings. Ginny sighed on the inside. It was good to hear laughter. "This story is completely fabricated, and is not based on fact at all. So, sister mine, please be quiet and let me tell my tale." Ginny clamped a hand on her mouth and waited for Ron to continue.

"As I was saying, these twins were pranksters. Changing people into birds with truffles, enlarging people's tongues with toffees, and things of that nature. This poor girl ended up as the butt of many of their jokes, and so she suffered through them. The years went by, and the twins headed off to Hogwarts where they caused all sorts of trouble. The sister stayed behind, too young to go. But her time was not wasted. She would have her revenge.

"It was finally time for her to go to Hogwarts as well. She said goodbye to her mum and kissed her father's cheek and then bounded off for the train. She spent the year making friends and learning all sorts of magic. But still, the opportunity had not presented itself for her to enact her plans. The year ended and the girl returned home.

"One hot and muggy afternoon, her older twin brothers fell asleep in the living room and the girl found that the time had finally come. She snuck into her mother's room and stole some make-up. Then she crept into her own room and took down a potion that she had researched and brewed. Finally, she tiptoed into the room and started to slowly apply make-up to their faces." Ginny grinned widely. This was a major reason the twins left her alone and picked on Ron. Everyone in the circle was laughing as Ron described what Ginny did to the twins.

"Then she uncorked her potion and wetted a rag with it. She was careful not to get any on her skin. Then, softly, so not to wake them, she applied it to their faces. The twins didn't wake and she left the room in triumph. Now, that evening, the family had over many friends to celebrate her birthday. She made them all promise not to say anything to her brothers as a special gift for her birthday.

"This was harder said then done though. The twins awoke and entered the kitchen where their mother was cooking supper. Several guests were talking with her, and they had a hard time keeping a straight face. All through dinner, everyone fought the urge to laugh at the ridiculous faces the girl had drawn. Finally, the brothers caught on and ran into the bathroom. They clasped their hands to their faces in horror. Then, they tried to remove them, but they wouldn't come loose.

"They ran into the dining room and faced their smug looking sister. 'Give us the reverse potion, Ginny, or we'll..." Ron faltered as his audience burst out laughing and drowned him out.

"I thought this wasn't based on fact," a Hufflepuff accused him.

"Nice job, Ginny," Hermione said giving her friend a high-five.

"So I messed up," Ron said, trying to get the attention back to finish his story. After a few more failed attempts, he threw his hands in the air and gave up. "Who's next?" he asked instead. The D.A. members exchanged looks, but before anyone could say anything, Thia raised her hand.

"Can I tell one?" she asked politely. Ginny nodded, and Thia cleared her throat. "This story happened at the end of my sixth year. To protect identities, I'm changing the names. But this really did happen and to some of my good friends." There was silence as Thia thought her story through.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Harry woke up groggy, several hours after his meeting with Voldemort. He found himself in a large dark room with only one window near the ceiling. Harry groaned. The room was from his nightmares. Voldemort had placed him in a room very much like the one in his worst nightmare. The monster had a sick and twisted sense of humor. Harry rolled over and threw up.

"It can't be good to throw up so much blood," he commented out loud, looking at the bloody contents of his stomach. "They aren't healing me enough," Harry added as an after thought. Harry rolled onto his side and looked up at the window. At least he could see the sky now.

He shifted places, trying to get a jagged corner of the floor out of his ribs. However, it didn't help, but instead pushed the object further into his side. Harry sat up and looked at the floor. It was polished smooth. "So what poked me?" he asked rhetorically.

Moving his hands to the bruised side, he felt in each of his pockets, until he found what he was looking for: a solid object. Harry pulled it out and stared at it in disbelief. The snitch Ginny had bought him back on Saturday. He had completely forgotten that he had placed it in his pocket before heading out to see to the dementors.

The snitch stretched its wings and took a short flight. Harry grabbed at it without even thinking. He felt the snitch fight his grasp, trying to free itself from the prison that was his fingers. Harry released it again and watched it dart around in front of him. Before it could become brave and fly away, Harry caught it again. This was how he passed the next few hours, ignoring his surroundings and only concentrating on the Golden Snitch before him.

A loud clank of metal on metal brought Harry back to the present and he tucked the snitch back into his pocket. He didn't want to lose the one thing that had brought him joy in this dark time. Turning to the door, Harry steeled himself for what would enter. Just as he feared, Bill entered, limping, and missing a foot.

Harry was sure that he was awake, and he was sure that this wasn't Bill. He didn't know how, nor did he care to know, but this wasn't the real Bill. Harry watched as his nightmare came to life. Whatever magic they were using, it had Harry fooled. Only his gut instinct told him that these people weren't the real ones. All of his other senses were fooled.

The nightmare continued, Harry even begged for forgiveness as he did in the nightmare. Then, something new happened. The door opened once more and He entered. Voldemort himself, entered the room and walked toward Harry. Those circling Harry shied from Voldemort and Harry felt his stomach heave once more.

An icy probe forced its way through the weak shields Harry had managed to build since their last visit. Within seconds, Voldemort was once more in his head. Instead of focusing on one memory, Voldemort shifted through several of them quickly. Harry knew the monster was looking for any memory with the Prophecy in it, but those were hidden very deep and Harry wasn't even sure he'd be able to find them, once he was free.

"Very well then, Potter. Crucio!" Harry fell to the ground screaming. When the pain subsided, he was alone in his new cell. Those from his nightmares and Voldemort were gone and he was blissfully alone.

You're not alone yet, Potter, Voldemort's sneer came to him. Harry clapped a hand to his scar and bit back a scream. The voice had come from his head. Harry searched his mind, looking for that alien presence, but he couldn't find it.

"Maybe I just imagined it," Harry said aloud, trying to convince himself of the fact. "I just need sleep." So Harry laid down and closed his eyes. Within seconds his wounded and battered body fell into a deep slumber.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"My best friends at Hogwarts were named Daisy and Tam," Thia started after a few moments. "Remember, all names are changed, but mine and well, my brother's 'cause you'd guess it's him. Tam had a secret boyfriend and she wouldn't tell either me or Daisy who he was, though we were free to guess. That spring break she married this boyfriend, because his father was threatening to marry him to a..." Thia stopped saying whatever she was about to and said instead, "a rather mean lady. Daisy and his friend, Can, stood as witnesses. Now a friend of my brother named, White had a crush on Tam. A few weeks later, White asked Tam out on a date to Hogsmeade. Tam, of course declined.

"However, White was persistent and Tam had to tell him that she was going out with Snipe, her husband and White's rival. White and Snipe were what Harry and Draco are for your generation, only a lot nastier. Snipe was more than a little curious about where my brother went every month, and he wanted nothing better than to get White, my brother, Clay who was White's best friend, and Worm expelled."

"Snipe doesn't sound very nice," Hannah Abbot remarked.

"Oh, he was a very nice gentleman," Thia replied. "My brother and his friends brought the worst out of Snipe, and Snipe brought the worst out of them. Right before the full moon, Madame Pomfrey would escort my brother through a hidden tunnel and off school grounds so that he could transform. White told Snipe how to open the secret tunnel, and during the next full moon, Snipe followed. Now, Clay found out about White's information leak. Clay was furious at White and went after Snipe.

"Right before Snipe opened the final door to my brother's sanctuary, Clay called to him. Snipe, not believing Clay, opened the door and saw a fully transformed werewolf staring at him. Clay stunned Snipe and transformed into an animal. Clay, White, and Worm were animagi, so Clay charged forward and fought off the wolf. Clay was able to re-seal the door and transported Snipe back to Hogwarts grounds.

"From then on, Snipe knew that my brother was a werewolf, and this stunt only intensified the hate between White and Snipe. Snipe ended up becoming a Death Eater, and I've always wondered if this was the reason or not." She became silent and the group looked at her guardedly, not sure what to make of this story. Ginny was just as confused. Snape must be Snipe which means that Snape was married. That didn't fit at all. Thia had called him a gentleman. That wasn't right either.

Then again, Snape had stopped saying 'I see' when she had asked. He had been polite to Harry, and he stopped picking on Gryffindors. How much did they know about their professor? Not much at all by her estimation. Was Thia right? Was this the reason Snape had become a Death Eater? He had a wife, and Ginny guessed that this Tam wouldn't have been very pleased with a Death Eater as a husband.

"I want to tell a story," Sephra said, breaking Ginny's train of thought. Everyone nodded in approval. "It's a ghost story, so be ready."

"There was a boy named Jimmy who was a pathological liar," Sephra started out. "Jimmy didn't mean to lie, but he couldn't help it. One summer day he was listening to the wireless when a news bulletin came on. The voice of a news man came on and Jimmy listened to him with growing fear.

"'Two hours ago,'" Sephra said in a boring monotone, "'a mass-murderer escaped from hit-wizards that were guarding him as he was moved from Azkaban to a French prison to serve his time there. He was last seen near Hogsmeade. The public is to keep a watch out for him and is cautioned not to approach the man as he is dangerous.'

"Jimmy looked out his bedroom window at the distant village of Hogsmeade. A mass-murder loose in Hogsmeade. How cool was that! Nothing exciting ever happened in this boring little village, and it was about time that something did. Some time passed and Jimmy started his Potions essay. Evening descended on the small village.

"'Jimmy,' Jimmy's mum called to him," Sephra had changed her voice to sound like a mum. "'I want you to go to the apothecary and buy me a few scoops of newt's eyes.'

"'But, mum,'" Sephra said in a whining deep voice, "'there's a mass murderer loose in Hogsmeade.'

"'Jimmy, I know you're lying and I need those eyes. Go get them, and don't lie to me anymore.' Jimmy shook his head.

"'I'm not lying this time,' Jimmy pleaded with his mum. 'It was on the wireless and everything.'

"Jimmy's mum put a weary hand to her temple. 'Jimmy, just go.' She handed him a few galleons and Jimmy left for the apothecary. He walked quickly to the store, and arrived just before they closed. Scooping up some newt's eyes, he watched out the shop's window. After paying for them, Jimmy hurried out of the shop and into the dark night."

Sephra paused and suddenly the Room of Requirement became pitch black, except for the fire before them. "Jimmy started the long way home, moving as quickly as he could in the darkness. About half way home, he heard something." Sephra clicked her fingers on an empty cardboard box that the room had provided. Then she made a "sh-keeeeer" sound deep in her throat, like nails on a chalk board. "It was very faint. But he didn't hear it a second time, so Jimmy continued.

"Click... Sh-keeeeer...

"Jimmy started to walk even faster than before.

"Click... Sh-keeeeer... Click... Sh-keeeeer... Click... Sh-keeeeer..." Each time she did a set, she made it louder and louder, as if whatever it was was getting closer.

"Jimmy started to run.

"Click... Sh-keeeeer... Click... Sh-keeeeer... Click... Sh-keeeeer"

"Jimmy dropped the eyes and pelted toward home, leaving the clicking monster behind. His mother was surprised when he threw open the front door, panting and out of breath. She was even more surprised when he didn't have the newt's eyes and angry when he didn't have any of the galleons she had given him.

"'And I suppose you met your mass-murderer on your way home and lost all the change and the eyes,' she yelled at him sarcastically. Jimmy nodded his head earnestly.

"'That's exactly what happened,' he told her quickly. 'It made a Click--'

"'Please, don't lie to me, Jimmy,' his mother told him slowly and tiredly. 'I can't deal with it tonight. You're sleeping in the yard without a candle or lamp tonight because you lied to me and stole the money I gave to you.'

"'But, Mum...'

"'No "buts," Jimmy. Please, just go to sleep.' Jimmy nodded, grabbed a sleeping bag and headed outside. He looked up at the star filled sky, wishing that there was a full moon. At least it wouldn't rain on him. He snuggled deep in the bag and pulled the bag above his head, blocking out the sounds of the night. But not all the sounds.

"Click... Sh-keeeeer... Click... Sh-keeeeer... Click... Sh-keeeeer"

"The next morning, Jimmy's mum paid the owl for the paper, before she had even left her bed. Looking at the front page, written in huge letters, 'Mass-Murderer escapes Hit-Wizards Near Hogsmeade.' Reading the article, it continued on, saying that the murderer had grown his nails long and they made a strange clicking sound as he set them down and then an even stranger sound as he dragged them along behind him. Jimmy's mum felt horrible. She hurried down the stairs, through the house, and out the back door. There she fell, dead, from a heart attack.

"Jimmy hung from the tree with nail marks around his neck and face." There was a stunned silence as everyone processed the story.

"That was a good one," someone said to Sephra.

"Thanks. My dad taught it to me," she said, sitting down and taking a drink of water.

"It's not the same without Harry," Cho said sadly.

"It isn't," Blaise agreed.

"I hope he's okay," Zacharias Smith said to the group.

"He is," Ginny replied confidently. "I know he is."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Harry looked in horror as members of his club, Dumbledore's Army surrounded him. They were angry with him. But why? What had he done to them? Hadn't they enjoyed their time with him? Harry glanced at each of the wands pointed at him.

Obviously something was the matter. They were angry for a reason. There was a disturbance at the back of the room and three people pushed their way through the ring surrounding him. Harry was relieved to see Ginny, Ron, and Hermione well and in one piece before him. Yet, something wasn't quite right. Something was amiss.

"Can we kill him yet?" Hermione asked Ginny impatiently.

"No, not yet," Ginny snapped back at her, backhanding the girl across the face. "Our master hasn't given the command yet."

"You're not really going to kill me, are you, Gin?" Harry asked her completely hurt and confused. What was the matter here?

"Don't call me that!" she screamed at him, pointing her wand at him. "Crucio!" Harry wasn't sure what hurt more, the spell or the sense of betrayal.

"I want a turn!" Ron begged his sister, as she released Harry from the spell. "It's not fair that you get all the fun!"

"What's the matter, guys?" Harry asked shakily.

"What's the matter?" Hermione repeated. Harry couldn't shake the comparison between Bellatrix and Hermione from his mind at the moment. Something in the way she had said that seemed so Bella-ish. "What's the matter? I hope you understand exactly 'what's the matter' by the time we're through with you! Crucio!"

"It was my turn next, Hermione," Ron argued. "Don't cut!"

"I'll do whatever I want, Ron," Hermione replied, keeping the Cruciatus going. Finally, Hermione removed the curse. Harry rolled over and puked. "Poor, wittle 'arry, can't stomach a Crucio?" She laughed manically, and Harry resisted the urge to throw up again because of it.

"Crucio!" The spell was finally removed and Harry just stared at them, completely bewildered. This time, Harry was sure what hurt more, Ron placing the curse on him. What had happened to them?

"What's gotten into you three?" Harry tried once more. "Why are you so cruel all of the sudden?"

"Do you hear him?" Ginny asked Ron and Hermione unbelievingly, turning her back on him. "Do you hear him? What's gotten into us? Let's talk about how he left us. Deserted us. Turned his back on us and left with the Dark Lord. Let's talk about that."

"I did that to save you!" Harry yelled at her back. "I didn't want to leave, I had to leave."

"You could have lied," Ron stated calmly. "Gotten us back and then headed to Hogwarts with us. But no, you had to act the hero and keep your word. You had to leave with the Dark Lord."

"You didn't have to put up with the whispers, the articles, the stares," Hermione continued. "You didn't have to deal with everyone doubting your loyalty or ours. The disappointed looks from professors and the calculating looks from Malfoy and his cronies."

"I had to leave," Harry argued lamely. "But that doesn't explain your behavior. What's the matter?"

Ginny turned around once again and glared at Harry. She took three quick steps forward, pushing up her sleeve. Harry stared at the left forearm she had shoved in front of his face. It couldn't be. It couldn't.

"The... Mark..." Harry stammered, the information slowly filtering through his mind. "His Mark. The Dark Mark. But why?"

"Because you left me!" Ginny screeched at him! "Because I was sick of dealing with the second guessers and waiting for you to return. Because the Order fell apart after you went missing. It's been a year, Potter. A whole year since you left. The world is a different place. A better place."

"Do we get to kill him yet?" Hermione asked, fingering her wand delicately.

"Not yet," Ginny replied. "Our master has not given us the go ahead. We must wait."

Just then another figure pushed their way through the crowd. Malfoy made his appearance known and bowed to Ginny. "Our master sends you a message. You may follow through with the plan."

"As you may have noticed," Ron said, almost conversationally, "you are surrounded by members of the D.A. I hope you still like them when they are through with you."

"I wish we got to do it ourselves," Hermione complained as the four retreated out of the circle. Once they were beyond the D.A. members, they turned around.

"Face me," Ginny commanded the circle. Every member turned to face her automatically. "Kill him," she said dismissively and then turned away from him. As the first hexes and curses hit Harry's body, he felt his mouth move without ever telling it to.

"I'm sorry, Gin! Please forgive me!"