Harry Potter and the Loss of Innocence

Ioci

Story Summary:
Harry is stuck at Privet Drive and has much to think about. A crazed wizard out to kill him. The death of his godfather and friend. The Prophesy looming in front of him. And not even one note from his friends. That's been Harry's summer holiday thus far, so can you blame him for wanting it to end? But should Harry really be looking forward to a year filled with surprises of all kinds and not all of them good? *HP sixth year fic following OotP and not incorporating HBP*

Chapter 43

Chapter Summary:
Draco has good news and bad news for Harry? Which does he find out first? Harry finds out both, but only one makes sense. Read the chapter to find out how Wormtail fulfills his debt... or does he?
Posted:
08/15/2005
Hits:
4,053
Author's Note:
Thanks to Pixie and F.Pixie!! Another thanks to Chris and Cassie!


Chapter Forty-Three: A Debt Repaid?

When you are with me
I'm free... I'm careless...
I believe...
Above all others we'll fly
This brings tears to my eyes.
My sacrifice...
I just want to say hello again.

~Creed: My Sacrifice

Harry decided that he hated the command, "Take him to his cell," only seconds after Voldemort gave it. There were more than enough Death Eaters willing to do that. More than enough. Scarface was the one who got the chance to take him down the stairwells and through the corridors. Harry was sure Scarface enjoyed the pitiful groans that managed to escape through his lips each time he hit a wall or stair.

After a long torture period, Harry was left alone with only his thoughts to occupy him. Harry knew that his thoughts weren't safe for him anymore; that his mind was no longer his sanctuary. Voldemort was more than capable of interfering in there. More than capable of influencing it. Not to mention that Harry's own mind had a very active imagination and it wasn't against creating his own worst nightmares.

"Well, Potter," the Death Eater Harry called Healer said quietly. "Got yourself into a bit a trouble, did you?" Healer laughed as he took care of Harry's injuries, enjoying every bit of pain he caused Harry. The man left, and Harry was thankful for that small gift. Making sure a second Death Eater wasn't heading into the cell to continue were Scarface had finished, Harry took out the snitch Ginny had given him.

Harry played the mind numbing game with the snitch. He'd let it glide near him and then he caught it. After a few seconds of trapping the snitch in his fingers, Harry would then let it free. He would let it get farther and farther away before he would catch it once again. It might not be as exciting as Quidditch, but it passed the time and numbed his mind. Harry was grateful for both side effects.

Which of the visions he had seen were real and which were false? The nightmares where many months or years had passed could not be true, for Voldemort had confirmed the fact that only a week had passed. The dreams with Ron and Ginny captured could not be true, because Voldemort had just ordered their capture. Something told Harry that the Funeral vision had been a true one.

But, what of the rest? Surely Ginny, Ron, and Hermione didn't hate him. That couldn't be. Yet those dreams had felt so real. Maybe they did. Maybe they hated him. Or maybe they didn't believe his loyalties still lay with the side of light. They wouldn't think that, they just couldn't. Of all people, Ginny, Hermione, and Ron, knew exactly whom he fought for. They would never believe that he had switched sides. Or would they? He didn't know. He couldn't pick one way or the other. He was too confused to choose.

So he didn't. He let the snitch occupy his mind. Release, watch, catch. Release, watch, catch. That didn't require any thinking beyond the most basic. He could forget about everything else.

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"Wake up, Potter," the snide voice of Malfoy said. "It's time to play."

"Go away, Malfoy," Harry snapped back at the teenager. "I was sleeping."

"Don't be rude," Malfoy sneered. "I'm in charge here, and you will listen to me."

"Am I the only lucky person, or have you finally captured Ginny?" Harry asked with an amount of cheek that he didn't really feel he had. Malfoy laughed.

"The Dark Lord will inform you when that brat visits," he responded. "Don't worry yourself over her, yet. She's not at the Mudblood's house. But the moment she arrives there..." Malfoy made a motion as if clasping something quickly. "We'll have her." Malfoy laughed hard as Harry spent the next hour being tortured. He was, despite himself, impressed with Draco's more creative style of torture. Instead of relying on the common dark art spells, Draco twisted the uses for normal spells into unusual and painful tortures.

"Twicodio!" Draco cast the spell that Neville had used months before to make Malfoy the amazing ferret's ears twitch. Instead of innocent twitching, Harry's ears twisted in a circle, causing them to tear and bleed painfully.

"Finite Incantatem!" Harry's ears stopped trying to rip themselves off, though the bleeding continued. "Ardent!" Harry panicked as he felt his limbs start to burn. He could smell the burning flesh. He tried to put the flames out, but couldn't.

"Why do you hate me so much?" Harry cried out as he felt his flesh char and burn away. Malfoy only laughed.

"Hate you, Potter? I don't hate you," he answered. "I despise you. I detest you. I want your girl. I want the loyalty of your friends. I don't hate you. Never think that word describes what I feel for you exactly. It can't begin to encompass those feelings." The burning flames faded away and Harry realized that it had only been a trick on his mind. There were no burns, only the belief that he was burning.

"But why?" Harry asked again.

"Because," Malfoy answered vaguely. "Wingardium Leviosa!" Harry felt his body rise into the air. Quickly, he found himself about twenty feet in the air and a fair distance from the stone floor. With a short flick of his wand, Draco let Harry fall to the ground with a sickening crunch. Harry let out a scream that shook the room very slightly.

"Potter," Draco started contemptibly. "Perfect, famous, proud Potter brought down by a simple Wingardium Leviosa. Pathetic really."

"Give me a wand, and we'll see about that," Harry managed to get out. Draco appeared to think of it for a few moments.

"If the Dark Lord would allow it, I'd give you your wand," Malfoy answered. "But he won't and he'd kill me if I gave it to you. Too bad, because this would be so much more enjoyable if it was a fairer fight." Malfoy pointed the wand at Harry once more and whispered a spell. However, there was enough hate behind it to power the dark magic.

Harry felt each of his joints slowly start to pull apart. It was as if giants had a hold of each of his limbs and were walking away from him in different directions. His screams of agony echoed in the room. Two things happened in quick succession. He felt his sanity slip, just barely, and heard someone enter the room. Someone he knew. Someone he knew wasn't a Death Eater.

"What are you doing, Draco?" the angry voice of Sephra called out. "Release that spell immediately." Malfoy dropped the spell and turned to his cousin.

"Leave right now, Sephra, before I have to do something I'd rather not," Malfoy commanded her quietly. Sephra stood her ground, her feet slightly spread with her hands on hips, one touching the end of her wand.
"Please, before others realize that you're down here."

"What does it matter?" Sephra asked. "They'll lock me back up in my room anyway." Draco shook his head.

"No, they won't," he answered. "They'll lock you in a cell. If Dumbledore wasn't looking out for you, they would have already."

"Let Harry go," she said calmly, ignoring the threat. Harry shook his head, trying to clear it, because he couldn't understand what was going on.

"Leave," Malfoy all but pleaded.

"No," Sephra said defiantly.

"Very well," Malfoy mumbled. "Crucio!" Sephra fell to the ground, twitching and screaming. Harry felt his sanity slip a little more as he listened to her screams. After what seemed like eternities, but could only have been minutes, Malfoy removed the curse. "Stupefy!" Sephra fell to the ground. "She's too stubborn for her own good," Malfoy mumbled as he walked over to her. He levitated her body and locked it into the cell across from Harry's.

"Now I can't have you remembering this," Malfoy told Harry. With a quick memory charm, Harry had a smile on his face and couldn't remember the odd exchange between the cousins.

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

Harry awoke, particularly groggy the next day. What was the day? It was Sunday. Voldemort had celebrated Harry's two week visit with an extremely painful torture session yesterday after Malfoy had finished with him. It had been the longest two weeks in his entire life. He stretched his stiff muscles, hoping that they would allow him to crawl to the plate of moldy food. With enough coaxing, his muscles loosened for the short trip.

After forcing the food into his stomach, Harry crawled to the far wall. Leaning against it, he took out his snitch. Time passed slowly as the game allowed Harry to forget about everything. Release, watch, snatch. Release, watch, snatch. That's all he did for hours.

He grew bored of the game, so Harry put the snitch away and searched his pockets for anything else in them that might serve as a distraction.

"Maybe I have a spare portkey in one of these pockets," he told himself. In one pocket, he found a crunched up bit of parchment. He pulled it open and smiled as he saw a short note Ginny had written him back at the end of October.

"Hey, Harry,

Just thought I'd write you a quick note, 'cause history is boring today, but what's new about that? It's nice going out with you! About time, if you ask me. The date last Saturday was great, the cliffs were beautiful. I'm sorry the night was ruined by your vision. I'm going to miss the Joneses.

Well, the bell just rung, so I need to leave, I'll give this to you in the hallway,

Ginny"

Harry wasn't sure why he had kept that note. They had written tons of notes since that October. Though most were in the Journal, there were many floating around. But he had kept this one in his pocket since Ginny wrote it. Digging through his pockets once more, Harry found his dad's ring. He had never got around to asking Ginny about it. Well, he might as well put it on now.

Harry slipped it on his right thumb and nearly jumped when a charm swept over him. "What the hell was that?" Harry asked aloud to the empty room. As was expected, Harry received no answer from the room. A harsh and loud sound came from the lock and Harry prepared himself for whoever entered. It was Bellatrix.

Here we go again, Harry thought pessimistically as Bellatrix started her torture.

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

It seemed that Grimmauld Place got smaller every time Ginny visited the old, depressing house. It had never felt smaller than this summer, and it was stifling. The house seemed to thrive off of the sorrow and grief that radiated from those living there.

Ginny had retreated into her room soon after breakfast. She couldn't stand being with others for extended periods of time. She was sitting on her bed at the moment, staring at the sulking feather ball that was Hedwig. Ginny stood and went to pet the bird.

"Where'd he get to, girl?" she asked softly. Hedwig hooted softly, the sound full of remorse; both ladies were missing their man greatly. Ginny turned and looked at her packed trunk. She was putting off unpacking, hoping that Tonks would be allowed to have Ginny move in with her. One long and seemingly unending week had passed, but Ginny was still in the old Black house.

"I need to unpack, don't I?" she asked the owl, giving Hedwig's wing one last stroke. Ginny moved and started unpacking her trunk. She put her clothes into the dresser, books on the bookshelves, and pictures on her desk. At the bottom of her trunk she found the Journal. Deciding to write Harry a letter, Ginny opened the beaten up book to the last few pages. Just enough for one last letter, she thought sadly. Reaching those few pages, Ginny was surprised to find that there was writing on a few of them already. When had Harry sent this back to her?

Hey Gin!

I bet you're wondering when I sent this back! Well, Hedwig delivered it while we were in Hogsmeade and she was supposed to hide it in your trunk, which I'm sure she did. I hope you find this long after school is out, while I'm stuck at the Dursleys. Can you believe that Dumbledore is actually letting me come home on the 26th? It's so unlike him, but maybe he's looking at me as an adult now, which is a nice change. I hope you survive in Grimmauld before I arrive to distract you... Actually, I hope your brothers don't hover over you when I get there, and we can find time to be alone. Please note that I am smiling wickedly.

I'm wondering if you remembered that Thursday was our eight month anniversary. Seems like an eternity, as if we've been dating our whole lives, but that isn't true. It's only been eight wonderful months. I can't wait until we celebrate our one year and the years after that!

I can't wait for today! I have so much planned for our date. We'll visit the twins, the Quidditch shop, and all sorts of other places. Just wait until after though. I'm going to treat you to a delicious meal prepared, not by me, but by Dobby, just for our anniversary! We'll have so much fun, and it'll be a double date with Ron and Hermione. But by the time you read this, today will be long gone. So I guess it's a bit pointless in telling you this. You will have already lived it firsthand. Oh well, I'm excited for it!

I'm glad this year is finally over! It was a long one, and a year I'm more then willing to put behind me. The best part of it was finally asking you out. But the rest... I'm ready to forget about a lot of it.

I don't think I ever got around to apologizing for my hospitalization. So here it is: I'm sorry! If it would have been up to me, I wouldn't have been hit four times by a bludger or once by your quaffle. I did enjoy the time I spent with you up there.

Just between you and me, how long do you think it will take Ron to ask Hermione to marry him? I say about a hundred years. What about you? I hope he doesn't wait too long, 'cause Hermione might give up on him. And we wouldn't want that.

Ron and the others just started to wake up, so I need to wrap this up. I hope today goes as well as I hope it will and I really hope that you get this after you get home.

Yours forever,

Harry

Ginny hadn't made it through the first paragraph without shedding a few tears, but by the end she was sobbing. Harry had been looking forward to that Saturday with so much optimism that it hurt reading this letter, knowing what had actually happened.

He must have woken up early to write the letter. Hopefully, it wasn't because of nightmares. It probably was because of some nightmare though. Ginny wasn't that naïve to think that Harry would have told her otherwise. He was too excited about their date to be worried about bad dreams.

She missed him. Merlin, she missed him. It was bad enough sending him to those horrible Muggles every summer, but this was a billion times worse. Ginny pulled Prongs tight to her side and cried into her pillow.

Sometime later, Ginny heard the door open. "What's the matter, Ginny?" Hermione's anxious voice asked from the doorway. Within seconds, Hermione was at her side and brushing her hair from her face. "What's the matter?"

"Nothing," Ginny got out. Ginny felt Hermione pull the Journal out of her grasp. "Give that back!" She tried to get the Journal back, but was exhausted from her long cry and sleepless nights. "Hermione, please," she nearly begged. Hermione didn't return the Journal, but instead was reading Harry's letter. Ginny buried her head into her pillow once more, letting the sobs control her once more.

"Come here, Ginny," Hermione told the younger girl. She had sat next to Ginny, so it was easy for Ginny to move into Hermione's comforting embrace. Ginny sat there, crying her heart out. All of her worries were overwhelming her. Top on the list was how she would live without her dad, but a close second was what she would do if Harry didn't come back.

The tears finally passed, and Ginny moved away from Hermione. Ginny smiled at her thankfully and watched as Hermione crossed the room to sit on her own bed. Ginny quickly realized that Hermione still had the Journal. "Thanks," Ginny whispered gratefully. "But can I have that back?" Hermione looked at it thoughtfully and then handed it back to her. Ginny turned her back and cleared the book. Finishing with that, Ginny tossed it aside carelessly.

"What is that?" Hermione asked. Ginny knew that Hermione's natural curiosity would not let her stop asking. Resigning herself to that fact, Ginny thought about what she should and shouldn't tell Hermione.

"Harry and I write notes in it," Ginny finally told the older girl. "It was my gift to him for Christmas, but he came up with the idea."

"Really?" Hermione asked surprised. "He came up with that!" Ginny nodded. "What about people finding it?"

"Harry put a charm on it," Ginny replied. "It's kind of like the charm on the Marauder's Map."

"So, when do you think Ron's going to ask me to marry him?" Hermione asked with a smile. "And why is Harry asking that sort of question?"

"No reason that I know of," Ginny said, answering the second question first. "As for when, well, patience is a virtue." Hermione laughed at the joke. "Ron's bad at being assertive. But he will ask when he's ready. Trust me."

"Did you read the line where Harry said he wants to celebrate anniversaries in the coming years?" Hermione asked, bringing Ginny back to the present. "How serious are you guys?"

"No idea," Ginny answered sadly. "It all depends on Harry. I'm not going to push this. He'd react worse than Ron. So I'll just wait until he figures out what he feels for me." And it's killing me! she finished to herself. "Why?"

"No reason," Hermione replied, obviously distracted by her thoughts. "I think he likes you."

"Of course he likes me, Hermione," Ginny said reproachfully. "He wouldn't be going out with me if he didn't!"

Hermione rolled her eyes at Ginny and then looked at Hedwig. "She's looking really lonely without Harry," she observed out loud.

"She misses him," Ginny said, not sure if she was talking in third person about herself or not. They both missed Harry. "She'll be better when Harry... What the hell was that?" Ginny had felt some charm wash over her.

"What was what?" Hermione asked confused, curious, and cautious.

"Some charm," Ginny answered, but distractedly. "I can sense him," she whispered, not actually believing what she was saying. She knew what he was feeling, though not the full extent and what she did feel made her sick. She could tell that he wasn't in London, but, instead, somewhere to the west.

"You can't really feel him," Hermione argued logically. "That's impossible."

"I tell you I can!" Ginny argued back. She sprinted down the stairs and into the library, looking for an adult that would listen to her. Remus, Tonks, or Thia would be good choices, because they wouldn't call her insane or stupid. Lucky for her, all three were talking in the library. Unlucky for her, her older brothers, her mother, and a few Order members she only knew by sight where also in the room.

Everyone looked up at her, surprised by her hasty entrance and red eyes from crying. Ginny blushed but stood her ground. "Can I talk with you, Thia, Remus, and Tonks?"

"What took you so long to get down here?" Ron asked, as Hermione entered the room. "We sent Hermione up for you almost an hour ago."

"Be quiet, Ron," Hermione told him sternly. "Something happened while we were up there," Hermione said, before trailing off and looking at Ginny. She felt a wave of nausea start to pass over her.

"I want to talk to Remus, Thia, and Tonks alone," Ginny restated. The group of adults exchanged looks, but where soon distracted as Ginny started to dry-heave.

"Ginny, are you alright?" Mrs. Weasley asked, hurrying to her youngest child's side. "What's the matter?" Ginny shook her mum off, and made her way to a sofa. Wherever Harry was, he was in a huge amount of pain. Whatever was causing him that pain was making her feel horrible as well.

"Did you get around to telling her the good news?" Tonks asked Hermione, who immediately shook her head. "Dumbledore says that you, Ron, and Hermione are allowed to come to my house for a bit. He just wanted to put several precautions on the place first." Ginny tried to smile in spite of the pain, but was only capable of a grimace.

"What's the matter, dear?" Mrs. Weasley asked once again. When Ginny didn't answer, Molly turned to Hermione. Ginny was thankful that Hermione kept her mouth shut. "What happened upstairs?" she asked the two suspiciously. Ginny fought the nausea until she was able to answer her mother's question.

"I had been crying when Hermione entered," Ginny started, looking at her shoes. "She started talking when I was finished, to get my mind off of it. We were talking about Hedwig, when this odd sensation settled over me. It felt like some type of charm."

"What we're you doing exactly?" Bill asked worriedly. Ginny could tell he was thinking of every evil charm he knew.

"We weren't doing anything wrong," Ginny said.

"What were the effects of this charm?" Remus asked thoughtfully. Thia and Tonks both caught onto the tone of voice, and they waited for him to elaborate.

Ginny looked at the room's occupants. She felt like a fool. None of these people would understand. They would only mock her, particularly her brothers. Too late now, she thought.

"I can sense Harry," she finally answered. Remus nodded understanding her completely, but her brothers all snickered as if on cue.

"About time," Remus said, more to himself than to the group of people.

"About time what, brother mine?" Thia asked patiently.

"That he put his dad's ring on," Remus answered her. "Lily put a charm on them, once they started dating. It sends basic whereabouts and feelings to one another. Can you sense what direction he's in?"

"Yeah, west," Ginny answered, grateful that Remus knew what was going on. "And that's why I dry-heaved. He isn't doing very well," she finished in a whisper. This quieted the room and everyone exchanged dark looks.

"How long until we rescue him?" Ron asked nervously. Ginny watched the adults traded yet another look, but Remus answered without thought.

"We have a spy looking for him," Remus started. Mrs. Weasley hissed, but Ginny was relieved when Remus ignored her and continued. "They deserve to know, Molly. Harry is their friend after all. As soon as the spy gets back with information, we're going to plan a rescue mission."

"So you have no clue when?" Hermione asked making sure she had understood the man.

"Exactly," Remus replied. "But at least we're trying and you know that we are doing something." Ginny nodded. There were times when she thought that the Order wasn't doing anything.

"Is there anything we can do to help?" Ginny asked hopefully. Remus shook his head.

"Just stay safe so that you're here when Harry needs you," Thia answered. Ginny nodded, but she was soon heaving again. "Should she be reacting to Harry's pain like that, Remy?" Thia asked worried.

"Normally, no," Remus replied, equally worried. "But if the pain is intense enough, then yes. He's got to be in a really bad spot if she's dry heaving."

"Ginevra, take that ring off this instant!" her mother commanded. Ginny shook her head. There was no way she'd take off that ring. Even if he was in pain, she now knew that Harry was alive. He should be able to sense her if it was a two way connection.

"I don't think she should, Molly," Thia finally recommended. "Harry will be able to sense that Ginny is safe, if a little grief worn, and it might help keep his will to live strong." After an intense stare down, Molly finally agreed.

"So when do we leave?" Ginny asked after she recovered.

"As soon as you're packed," Tonks said cheerfully. Ginny groaned. "What's the matter with that?"

"I just unpacked this morning," Ginny explained, and left the library with laughter following her.

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

Harry woke the next morning feeling horrible. Bellatrix had done a good job torturing him the day before, and he had spent almost 24 hours after that unconscious. Harry glanced over at the tray of food. There was no way he'd make it all the way to the door to eat that slop. Resting his head back against the far wall, Harry turned his attention to his dad's ring.

What had that charm been? He didn't feel any different. He was still human, not something else. Harry searched through his mind, looking for any difference there. Nothing. It was still wide open to Voldemort though. There wasn't any difference.

Or was there? Very faintly, Harry felt a different presence in his mind. Checking to make sure Voldemort wasn't currently in his head, Harry explored that new presence. It felt like Ginny, but was it? It could be another mind game Voldemort was playing on him. Harry explored it a bit more and realized that he could sense her feelings. She was happy at the moment, but underlying that was a depression so uncanny in Ginny.

I have to get back to her! Harry said once again. He wasn't sure how often he'd thought that in the past few weeks, but he had never meant it more than at that moment. I just want to see her, touch her, tell her 'I love you!' That's it. I want her to know how important she is to me.

He could tell that she was somewhere north of where he was. Malfoy Manor was near Wiltshire, wasn't it? That was somewhere west of London, which means Ginny wasn't at Grimmauld anymore.

She's gone to Tonks' place! Harry thought. He felt the panic start to settle in his stomach. Tonks had better keep her safe there. Dumbledore must have put wards up to protect them. He wouldn't let Ginny go somewhere without protection. He would have her protected, wouldn't he? She wouldn't be captured. How could they let her? They had let him get captured. What could they do to protect her if they couldn't keep him safe?

Harry took a deep breath and thought it through. The Death Eaters wouldn't be able to capture her. Dumbledore would have made sure that Ginny was safe at Tonks'. There would be guards there and Dumbledore might have used the Fidelius Charm to protect it even more. Ginny was safe. Safer than he was, wasn't she? How safe could she be if Voldemort had Malfoy, Bellatrix, and Wormtail after her?

Not very safe. She was not safe at all.

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

"Go away, Malfoy," Harry told the boy wearily later that same week. "I don't have the energy to put up with you." Malfoy sneered and sent a curse at Harry. He smiled vengefully as it hit the undefended boy.

"My recommendation to you, Potter," Malfoy told him icily, "is not to anger me. I may have orders to hurt you as little as possible, but I just might forget."

"What do you mean?" Harry asked, interested by that thought.

"It means," Malfoy replied angrily, "that you be good and I'll deliver the message that I'm supposed to give you."

"Who is it from?" Harry asked before he could stop himself. Harry knew that he had crossed some line. Malfoy was livid, and he was going to take it out on him.

"Later." With that, Malfoy started the torture session. It was horrible, if the circumstances were normal. However, circumstances were anything but normal. Harry had been tortured day in and day out for two and a half weeks and he felt like an expert at comparing different Death Eaters' style, effectiveness, and form. This particular session was pathetic compared to others. The torturing stopped sooner than Harry expected.

"Now, I didn't join to help you, is that clear?" Malfoy informed Harry forcefully. "I joined because it seemed like the best deal for me. But I'm ordered to tell you a few things, so I must."

"Like what?" Harry interrupted.

"Don't do that," Malfoy said testily. "First, the Death Eaters tried to attack the residence of Nymphadora Tonks, but were unable due to the Fidelius Charm. That means the youngest Weasel is still safe." Harry sighed. He hadn't felt Ginny move, but he wasn't exactly sure if the connection was to be trusted or not.

"Second, the Order now knows of your location and is devising a plan to rescue you," Malfoy continued in a monotone. Harry couldn't help but sigh out loud.

Freedom! Finally!

"Third, be ready on Thursday for anything. And don't forget Sephra. And finally, don't think anything has changed between us, Potter. I still hate you and would rather keep you as a guest in my home," he said with a wicked and evil smile. "However, I am forced to help you. But nothing changes." Malfoy started to leave the room.

"What day is it?" Harry asked quickly. Malfoy waved a hand at Harry, and opened the door. "What day is it, Malfoy?" Harry screamed at the boy, but all Malfoy did was smile at Harry and shut the door behind him.

Nothing has changed to be sure, Harry thought angrily. It wasn't his fault he had lost track of the days this week. Bella had been in several times, as was Scarface. He had spent many hours unconscious and other hours were lost in time spent tortured. All he knew was that it was morning, because the sun was shinning in through his small window.

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Harry felt lucid thought slowly return to his mind after Voldemort's curse. Whatever that spell had been, it had hurt like hell. Not quite as severe as the Cruciatus, but it got the job done splendidly. The past few days had past in a blur since Malfoy had visited. Harry had hidden that conversation as well as he had hidden the Prophecy. All he could remember was to expect something Thursday and not to forget Sephra. That was it. Remembering that he didn't know the exact day, but knowing that he needed to know, Harry asked.

"Today is Thursday," Voldemort replied sadistically. "You have been here 21 days, and your precious friends have done nothing to save you." The Death Eaters joined in with their master's laughter.

"Is Ginny here yet?" Harry asked, wondering if Ginny was safe. Though he hadn't felt the presence in his mind move closer, he wasn't sure if it could be trusted. If it was a fake, then Voldemort might be using it as a decoy. "I was hoping to see her." This silenced their laughter.

"No," Voldemort answered shortly. The three charged to retrieve her tried to slink to the back of the crowd. "Don't go anywhere, you three," Voldemort called to them. "Why don't you tell them why she's not here?" The three exchanged looks and then looked at the ground. "Well?"

"Because we accidentally killed her," Malfoy finally answered, and if Harry had been thinking, he would have noticed the question mark added to the end of the sentence. Unfortunately, he wasn't thinking. His mind was processing the thought that Ginny was dead. She couldn't be! He could feel her. She was alive.

"Exactly," Voldemort finally said. "And what were your orders?" The three exchanged looks once again and then threw themselves at their master's feet. "What were your orders?" Voldemort asked again. Harry barely comprehended what he saw, for his mind was elsewhere.

Ginny was dead. She was dead! The only person he loved with his whole being was dead. Dead because she had loved him. Dead because he hadn't told Voldemort the Prophecy. Dead because... well, because he loved her.

Harry didn't notice when the three Death Eaters started screaming. He didn't notice when Healer stepped forward to take care of Harry's more recent injuries. He didn't even notice when a stray hex from Voldemort hit him. All he knew was that he good as killed Ginny. First her dad, and now her! I'm a plague to the Weasleys!

He was. If it wasn't for him, Voldemort wouldn't have attacked them back in September. If they weren't his adopted family they would still have the Burrow, and the twins wouldn't have spent weeks at St. Mungo's. If he hadn't been at Hogsmeade, Voldemort wouldn't have attacked. If Voldemort hadn't attacked, Mr. Weasley would be alive. And if Ginny hadn't been dating him, Ginny would still be alive. He was a plague.

All he wanted was to see her once. All he wanted was to touch her once more. But now... now, he would be lucky to make to the funeral. Ginny was gone. His Ginny was dead and wasn't coming back. Why Ginny? Harry cried to the heavens. Why does it always have to be me and my family?

"I have a surprise for you, Potter," Voldemort said, interrupting Harry's thoughts and pulling him into the present. "Turn around." Harry closed his eyes and turned. He didn't want to see this surprise. It had to be Ginny's body. It couldn't be anything else.

He opened his eyes and saw Lucius Malfoy standing in front of him. Harry looked around; looking for the body he had been so positive he'd see. He couldn't find it anywhere. "Lucius has been waiting for the chance to meet with you face to face since you humiliated him at the Department of Mysteries a year ago," Voldemort informed him. "I don't think you'll find his company boring." Lucius smiled evilly. Harry now knew that Draco had inherited his smile from his father.

"We're going to have some alone time, Potter," Lucius spat at Harry. "I owe you for the time I spent in Azkaban." Harry heard a few ribs crack as he hit the wall on the way down the corridor. Down a flight of stairs, Harry hitting every single stair on the way down. They walked along another hallway, Lucius sending Harry into the walls and doors the whole time. They then walked down a huge staircase that led into a huge entrance hall. There Lucius stopped, but Harry couldn't turn his head to see why.

"What are you doing in my house, traitor?" Lucius asked, furious beyond all doubt.

"Visiting an old friend," Harry heard the voice of his Potions Master say. "I see that you are not as hospitable since your multiple escapes from Azkaban."

Lucius growled at the man and then started firing curses at Snape. Harry painfully turned his body to watch the duel. Snape was extremely good at dueling. Ducking a purple curse, Snape fired a blue one at Lucius. The spell hit, and Lucius screamed in agony. Snape took that time to pass Harry a vial of some potion. Harry looked Snape in the face for one second and then drank it. It was a strengthening brew and Harry felt his limbs grow stronger.

Lucius bared his teeth like a feral animal and circled Snape like prey. As for Snape, the man kept his cool and turned slowly, keeping himself between Harry and Lucius. "There once was a time when you'd have rather killed the boy as look at him," Lucius shouted at Snape. "Now, Dumbledore has you protecting him."

"It could be worse," Snape answered with a shrug. He deflected the Cruciatus Curse that came his way. The wayward spell hit the chandelier, and crystal fell to the ground in a beautiful glittering cascade. However, it cut into all three men's skin. "I could, for example, be on my hands and knees kissing the robe of an un-human monster." Lucius roared in anger and charged at Snape. This was what Snape had wanted, and quickly shot the killing curse at the unsuspecting man.

Lucius hit the ground hard, dead as a doornail. Harry looked at the body, completely stunned. The doors burst open and Order members flooded in, just as Death Eaters started streaming down the stairs. A battle ensued, and Harry was very close to being trampled several times. Trying to drag his body to the side of the hall, Harry felt strong arms grab him around the middle.

"Stop thrashing, you brat!" Wormtail hissed in his ears. "I've already killed that werewolf with this hand and I'll kill you as well, if you don't stop." Harry went limp. Remus was dead as well! Who else?

Harry tried to scream, but Wormtail clamped a hand over his mouth. Not that screaming would have helped; there was too much noise as it was. As they disappeared down yet another stairway, Harry saw Ron fighting with Malfoy and Hermione fighting with Nose Picker. No Ginny, anywhere. Wormtail struggled with the lock on the door and finally set Harry down. Harry, being Harry, tried to escape, but Wormtail froze him with a quick freezing charm.

Opening the door, Wormtail then turned to Harry. "Take this," the scumbag said, handing Harry his wand. "My debt is paid, as far as I'm concerned. I saved you from being trampled and I'm giving you this back." Wormtail pushed Harry into the cell roughly and then locked the door once again.

Harry felt the spell dissipate and, not caring how that happened, he welcomed the heat. Turning his head to look out the tiny window, Harry caught sight of the last person he thought he'd never see alive ever again.

"Ginny," he breathed softly. "It can't be you."


Author notes: There ya go, chapter 43! I'm already working on chapter 4 of the next fic and am on schedule... let's just hope I stay that way!

Thanks to Melinda and PheonixRun! And to any reader that thought about reviewing but didn't!

I let it slip that I was thinking of making an e-mail list, and certain readers haven't let me forget... So, click here:E-Mail list and leave your e-mail and I'll let you know when I start posting the sequel. If you don't want to leave your e-mail address, just leave a post asking for a PM and I'll PM you!

Well, got to go!

~Ioci