Trinity

Chapter 30

When Harry woke again, Ron, Hermione and Ginny were sitting next to his bed, talking quietly. He snuck a hand out from under the blankets and scrubbed his face before reaching for his glasses. His friends started at the movement and looked at him with relieved delight.

"Harry! How are you feeling?" Hermione asked as Ginny moved to sit on the edge of the bed.

"I'm fine," Harry said as he put his glasses on. "What time is it?"

"Just after nine in the morning," Ginny replied.

"You missed breakfast, mate," Ron added with a grin as the girls rolled their eyes.

"Did it all go well?" Hermione asked urgently.

Harry nodded. "Yeah. It was just tiring."

There were sighs of relief from the others.

"So what now?" Ron asked.

"We wait," Harry said as he pushed himself into a sitting position and flicking a quick glance at Ginny. "There's not much more we can do. We let the Order do its job and find out about the remaining Horcruxes."

Ron also glanced at his sister and he nodded as he remembered that Ginny did not know of the situation with Dumbledore and Snape. "Good point."

The sound of their talking had alerted Madam Pomfrey and she bustled out into the Hospital Wing.

"Good morning, Mr Potter," she said briskly. "How are you feeling this morning?"

"Fine," Harry said firmly. "I was just tired."

Madam Pomfrey made an unconvinced harumphing sound and she pulled out her wand, waving it at Harry as she muttered a few words under her breath. Finally she nodded.

"Well, you seem to be just fine," she said. "So I suppose you can go. But I want you to come back immediately if you feel lightheaded or ill. I believe Mr Weasley brought you some clothes."

Harry pushed the blankets back with alacrity and the two girls headed around the other side of the screens. Ron pulled the clothes he'd brought from the bottom of the bedside table and Harry quickly got changed. The four students then head out of the Hospital Wing and towards the kitchens.

Dobby made a beeline for them when they arrived and soon they were sitting at one of the tables with generous plates of food. As Harry dug into his breakfast, something occurred to him.

"Ron? Did you write to Percy?" he asked after swallowing his mouthful of eggs.

Ron looked slightly uncomfortable. "Uh, yeah, I did. I haven't had an answer though."

"I can't believe you wrote to that prat in the first place," Ginny said tartly.

"I told you what the Minister said," Ron said impatiently.

"Give him time," Hermione said soothingly. "He was probably surprised to get the letter. He's probably still trying to write a response." She looked over at Ginny. "Give Percy a chance. Sometimes when people make bad decisions they don't quite know how to make up for them. Sometimes the other party has to make the first move."

Ginny looked unconvinced though Ron gave his girlfriend a grateful look. The arrival of an owl derailed all conversation and they watched as the bird homed in on Ron.

"Bloody hell," he breathed as the owl got closer. "It's Hermes!"

"Our timing's good," Harry said to Hermione with a grin.

The owl landed in front of Ron and held out its leg. Ron quickly removed the letter and handed Hermes the rest of his toast. The owl accepted the offering with a short bow then took off and flew out of the kitchen. Ron looked down at the letter for a long moment then opened it and began to read. When he finished his face was blank and unreadable and he handed the letter to Harry.

Dear Ron,

I was surprised but very pleased to receive your letter. Minister Scrimgeour informed me he had spoken to you and at first I was angry that he had interfered in such a way. But after I had thought about it and I received your letter, I have to admit I'm glad he did.

I owe you and the rest of the family an enormous apology. And I owe Harry an even bigger one. I am sorry for the way I behaved but I just didn't want to believe that You-Know-Who was back. Minister Fudge seemed so sure but I have come to realise that he was deluding himself and I did the same. I don't know what else to say other than I'm sorry and I can only hope that you and the rest of the family will find it within yourselves to forgive me. I intend to speak to Dad at work this week to try and make amends and hopefully will go home to see Mum on the weekend.

I have an even greater motivation for trying to make amends to you all as Penelope has accepted my proposal of marriage and she agreed that family is more important than anything else in the world. We haven't set a date for the wedding as yet. Penelope wants to wait until after we have spoken to Mum and Dad but next summer seems most likely. If Penny agrees then we will probably have it at the Burrow though I will defer to her for that decision.

I would also like you to pass along my heartfelt apologies to Harry. I treated him shamefully and I deeply regret my actions and words. I think I always knew he was telling the truth but I just didn't want to believe him. I just didn't want to believe You-Know-Who was back. That he was still alive. I actually do remember the last war. I was only four when Harry defeated You-Know-Who but I do remember what it was like before then. Mostly I just remember Mum being so worried and scared and Dad being tired all the time. I remember what the house was like whenever Dad was even five minutes late coming home from work. How frightened Mum would get and how worried Bill and even Charlie would get. And our family is so prominent a supporter of the Light and Dumbledore. I didn't want things to be like that again. I realise now that sticking my head in the sand won't stop that from happening. Penny's reaction when I have been late home from work is proof positive of that.

Please let Harry know that I am sorry for the way I treated him and that he has my full, if somewhat belated, support. And if ever he or you need my help, I will be there for you.

Your brother,

Percy

"I guess both the Minister and Hermione were right," Harry said quietly as he handed the letter back to Ron.

It was intercepted by Ginny and Hermione quickly rose to read the letter over her shoulder.

"Would it seem strange if I said I was really proud of Percy?" Ron asked, looking rather uncomfortable.

Harry smiled. "No, I don't think so. Hanging me around with me, especially last year and over the summer meant you grew up very quickly. We couldn't afford to be kids anymore. Now Percy's done the same thing."

"That bit about the last war," Ginny said softly.

"Yeah," Ron replied heavily. "That kind of got to me too. I forgot that he would old enough to know what was going on."

"Well, sort of," Hermione said. "He was four so he probably didn't really know what was going on. From what he says in the letter, he kind of picked up on everyone's emotions which makes sense, I suppose."

"And they weren't very good emotions," Ginny finished with a sigh. "I guess he's not such a prat after all."

"I'm going to copy that letter and send it to Fred and George as well as Bill and Charlie," Ron said firmly. "You know how angry they all were when Percy was being an idiot. They may not accept him back unless they see he really did have some reasons behind what he was doing. They weren't good reasons but they do kind of make sense."

"I'll help," Ginny said, leaping to her feet.

Ron joined her and the siblings rushed out of the kitchen.

"Shall we join them?" Harry said to Hermione.

"Why not?" she replied and they ambled after their friends.

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The next few weeks passed with an almost eerie quietness. Voldemort made no moves at all and a sense of trepidation settled onto not only the school but also the wizarding community in general. Harry, Ron and Hermione threw themselves into their classes and their continued training with Moody. They also added Animagus classes with Professor McGonagall after she determined that all three had the ability to be able to make the change. They helped with the DA when they could and were impressed with the progress Neville, Luna and Ginny had made.

Snape had reported that while he still held his place at Voldemort's right hand, he had been kept out of the Dark Lord's current planning. Voldemort wanted Snape to concentrate on curing Nagini and that was apparently his only current task. He reported that Voldemort was closeted with Draco, Bellatrix and Lucius and that Draco was swanning around the manor as though he owned the place. He warned them to be wary; that what little he'd been able to glean pointed to something happening on or around Halloween. Harry wasn't surprised to hear this. It was an anniversary that Voldemort liked to commemorate.

The Headmistress had organised for the usual feast on Halloween and in spite of the tense atmosphere the students were looking forward to the feast with great anticipation. Harry, Ron and Hermione had an animagus lesson scheduled with the Headmistress in the spare period they had at the end of the day. They were deep in the middle of a discussion on the theory behind the transformation when someone started pounding on the door of the classroom they were using. Professor McGonagall looked surprised then walked over and opened the door to reveal a terrified Colin Creevey.

"Giant wolves!" he yelled as soon as the door opened. "They took her. Just charged out of the Forest and took her!"

Minerva grabbed Colin by the shoulders. "Calm down, Mr Creevey," she said severely. "Who took whom?"

Colin took a deep shuddering breath. "There were giant wolves. Lots of them. They just burst out of the Forest and ran straight at Ginny. We were in Care of Magical Creatures. They grabbed her and dragged her into the Forest. Hagrid told me to get you and he went into the Forest."

"Greyback!" Harry yelled, his anger bubbling to the surface.

Hermione grabbed at his arm. "Harry! Remember what Moody said!" she said urgently.

Harry grimaced and ducked his head then, with a strangled cry, he shoved his anger down. When he looked up again, his face was calm though his eyes sparked with anger and determination.

"I'm going down with Mr Creevey," Minerva said briskly. "Do what you must do, Mr Potter, and good luck."

"We'll need to speak to Hagrid," Harry said firmly. "We're going to get changed then we'll be down."

"Very well," the Headmistress said then she took Colin by the arm and hurried out of the room.

The trio took off for the Tower at a run.

"We'll speak to Hagrid then go down to Hogsmeade," he barked as they ran. "His greasiness is the only one who can give us any idea where they might take her."

"What if he's not there?" Ron yelled, his own anger plain in his face.

"Then we get him there," Harry growled.

"I'll send a message to the Headmaster when we get to the Tower," Hermione said.

"Good," Harry said shortly as they pounded up the corridor towards the Fat Lady. "Canary Creams!"

The Fat Lady swung open as quickly as she could, looking slightly alarmed at the expressions on their faces. They ran up to their respective dorms and got changed into their Trinity robes as quickly as they could. Ron and Harry got back down to the common room just before Hermione.

"I sent the message," she reported as she came down the stairs, pulling her hair into a messy bun.

"Good. Let's go," Harry snapped.

They crawled out of the entrance hole and ran down towards the entrance of the castle, their robes billowing out behind them. They burst out of the doors to see the Headmistress ushering the rest of Ginny's class towards the castle.

"Hagrid is waiting for you," she yelled to them as they ran past. "I'll alert the Order and the Ministry."

Hagrid was pacing outside his hut when they arrived and he started speaking the moment they got to him.

"They were on ta us before we knew what was 'appening," he said with obvious distress. "The big one grabbed Ginny's arm with 'is jaws and dragged 'er into the Forest. The others kept anyone from followin'. Some o' the kids tried spells but the wolves either dodged 'em or they didn't effect 'em. I tracked the wolves but they jus' seemed ter disappear after abou' twenty minutes of trackin'."

"They used a portkey the last time, at Bill and Fleur's wedding," Ron said tersely.

"Probably did this time," Harry replied. "Where were you when the tracks disappeared? Were you outside the wards?"

Hagrid frowned as he thought back to where he had been. "I'm not sure but it's possible. It's hard ta tell that far into the Forest and I was never the best o' wizards."

"Thanks, Hagrid," Harry said and the trio headed for the gates and Hogsmeade.

They ran down the path towards Hogsmeade then veered off before they reached the village proper and worked they way through the back streets. They crept into the back yard of the Hog's Head then, when they were sure they weren't being watched, they slid inside and down to the Headmaster's rooms. When they got down the stairs they found Dumbledore pacing in front of the fireplace.

"Severus was unable to come," he said when he saw them. "Voldemort is keeping him close. But he did say that there had been a lot of activity in the last few hours."

"At the manor?" Ron asked.

"No, he said that Voldemort shifted everyone this morning," Dumbledore replied. "To Malfoy Manor. Now what has happened?"

"Greyback and his pack grabbed Ginny," Harry said flatly.

Dumbledore closed his eyes momentarily. When he opened them Harry once again saw the reason why Voldemort was afraid of Albus Dumbledore. The glint in the Headmaster's eyes was dangerous and intimidating.

"I shall create a portkey that will take you directly to Malfoy Manor," Dumbledore said sharply. "Make sure you let Minerva know where you're going. She can let the Order know. Be careful when you enter. Voldemort no doubt intends to use Miss Weasley as a bargaining chip and thus may not expect you to attack him. You will have a very brief window before he recovers. Concentrate on getting to Miss Weasley. The portkey will be two way. It will return you to the school gates. The activation word for both ways will be Mischief Managed."

The trio gave the barest hint of a smile at the familiar words and watched as the Headmaster picked up a quill from the desk. He tapped it with his wand then handed it to Harry. Hermione pulled out her wand and concentrated. She then said "Expecto Patronum" and a silver otter scrambled out of her wand and disappeared through one of the walls.

"Take care and remember your training," Dumbledore said soberly. "The three of you together are formidable and powerful. Never forget that. Good luck."

"Thank you, sir," Harry said as Ron and Hermione each placed a finger on the quill. "Mischief managed."

The familiar portkey effect dragged them along and then they were staggering into each other just to the side of a set of elaborate gates. Harry tucked the quill into his robes and the trio crouched down beside the gates, peering in at the immense manor.

"No sign of anyone outside," Ron said, his eyes narrowed as he examined the grounds.

"They're probably not expecting anyone to attack them here and certainly not this quickly," Hermione replied. "Besides they wouldn't want anyone to get suspicious. If there were people patrolling the grounds it might be noticed."

"How are we going to find our way around in there?" Ron asked with frustration. "We could easily get lost."

"I've been thinking about that the whole time and I know the answer," Harry said with a ruthless grin. "Dobby!"

There was a small crack and the diminutive house elf appeared next to them.

"Harry Potter sir!" Dobby said, his eyes widening as he recognised where they were. "What is you doing here?"

"The Death Eaters have kidnapped Ginny Weasley," Harry said quietly. "They've brought her here. Dobby, do you think you could sneak inside and find out where she is? Without getting caught."

Dobby looked excited. "Yes, Harry Potter sir. Dobby could do this easily. No one notices house elves, sir. And the other house elves won't give Dobby away. Dobby knows the house very well."

The little house elf disappeared with a crack and the trio waited for his return.

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Ginny huddled in the corner of the room she'd been left in and clenched her hands into fists, digging her fingernails into her palms in an effort not to cry. When the wolves had come bounding out of the Forest she'd been quick to realise who they were. The descriptions the wedding guests had given of Greyback and his pack had been rather vivid after all. At first she'd thought it was another random attack like the one in Hogsmeade and she'd prepared herself to defend herself and the other students but then she realised that the largest of the wolves, who she assumed to be Greyback himself, was heading straight for her.

She rubbed her arm where Greyback had grabbed her with his jaws. He hadn't broken the skin, in fact he'd been oddly careful not to harm her too much, but he had left large bruises in the shape of teeth marks. He'd dragged her through the Forest until they'd reached a small clearing where Draco Malfoy had been waiting. He hadn't said a word to her, just gave her a narrow eyed look then tossed what looked like a cloak onto the ground. Greyback had dragged her onto the cloak and they had then been joined by the other wolves and Draco. She hadn't realised the cloak was a portkey until then and she'd stepped up her struggles to get away.

Draco had looked over at her again at that point. "Don't bother, Weasley," he'd said with his normal sneer. "Greyback will bite your arm off before he lets you go. You're too valuable to us. Malfoy Manor."

At Draco's final words the portkey activated. They had arrived in the main foyer of what Ginny assumed must be Malfoy Manor and it had taken all of her strength to remain standing. Waiting for them had been Lucius Malfoy and Severus Snape and the Potions Master had weaved his way through the wolves and grabbed her free arm as Lucius congratulated his son. Greyback had then let go of her and Snape had dragged her out of the foyer and up the stairs to this room. He'd thrust her inside roughly and she'd fallen to the floor while he pulled out his wand.

"Your wand, Miss Weasley," he'd said harshly.

Ginny had scrambled to her feet and started to back away from her former teacher.

"Do not make me find it for myself," Snape said, his anger starting to show. "You would find that humiliating and unpleasant."

Ginny had blanched at that threat, believing it from this man, and slowly pulled her wand out of her robes. Snape had then stepped forward and snatched it out of her hands.

"Thank you, Miss Weasley," he said as he backed out of the room and started to close the door. He paused for a moment then gave her a look of what she could only describe as rough sympathy. "I suggest you leave your mindless displays of Gryffindor idiocy for other times, Miss Weasley. If you behave yourself you may just come out of this alive. You are a pureblood witch. The Dark Lord will not kill you unless you force him to. His only interest is in Potter."

With that Snape had closed the door and she'd heard the distinct sounds of spells being used on the door. She'd backed the rest of the way across the room until she reached the corner she was still in then she'd sunk down to the floor and wrapped her arms around her legs and tried to will herself not to cry.

She took a deep breath and unclenched her fists, rubbing them on her robes then pushing herself to her feet. She set her shoulder determinedly and looked around the room. She'd been left in a fairly lavishly decorated bedroom. There was a large extremely comfortable-looking four poster bed against one wall and a desk, chair and wardrobe against the opposite wall. A door near the cupboard lead to a well-appointed bathroom when she investigated it and the only other door was the one to the corridor and when she tested that she found it very firmly locked. The windows were also locked shut and when she tried to smash one with a vase that was on the desk she found they'd also been spelled unbreakable as had the vase.

She slumped down into the chair, burying her face into her hands and trying not to cry. Snape's comments had made her situation clear. She was going to be used as bait to lure Harry into a trap and there was nothing she could do about it. A sudden crack had her looking up and what she saw astonished her.

"Dobby!" she yelped.

"Miss Wheezy!" Dobby said happily, dancing a little jig where he was standing. "Dobby has found you. Harry Potter sir sent Dobby to find out where you is and Dobby has done that."

"Harry's here?" she said incredulously.

"Oh yes," Dobby replied eagerly. "Harry Potter sir is here with his Wheezy and Miss Hermy. Dobby was asked to find you because Dobby used to work here."

"Dobby, you have to tell him to leave!" Ginny insisted. "It's a trap! They kidnapped me to use me as bait in a trap. Harry's in danger!"

Dobby paused and gave Ginny a solemn look. "Dobby thinks Harry Potter sir already knows that, Miss Wheezy. They is dressed in work robes."

Dobby then bowed to Ginny and disappeared with a small cracking sound. Ginny stared at where the little house elf had been standing and hoped though for what she wasn't entirely sure.