Drifting

Chapter 12: Capture...

"Last night you gave me a kiss,

You didn't know it, but I was awake when you did,

You were quiet, you were gonna let me sleep,

So I just laid there pretending to be,

You said some things you didn't,

Know I could hear,

And the words 'I love you' never,

Sounded so sincere,

It's gonna make it hard to tell you that I'm leaving,

Now that I know just how much you care-" Rascal Flatts, My Worst Fear

~*~

Ginny shifted her position slightly in Harry's lap. He was leaning back against propped up pillows. His left arm was draped around her side, his right hand extended outwards. He'd been practicing wandless magic for a few hours now.

"Harry, remember Dumbledore's warning. You can't do too much at a time, you'll lose your strength," she cautioned.

Harry blew out a long stream of air.

"I'm fine," he countered.

As he was about to perform another spell, Ginny noticed his hand trembling. Harry didn't see it. His eyes were focusing on the object he was about to cast the spell on. Before he could though, Ginny grabbed his wrist.

"You are not fine. Your hand is shaking."

"I'm just afraid to mess it up. Practice makes perfect," said Harry, already sounding defeated.

Ginny looked up at him. "Please stop, Harry. Your face is all pale and you're losing a lot of your magical power. You need your strength for tomorrow."

Harry looked back down at her and sighed.

"All right, you win. No more wandless magic until tomorrow."

Ginny smiled and kissed him quickly. Some of the color came flooding back into Harry's face as he blushed. Ginny kissed him again, watching his face turn almost as red as her hair. She loved having that sort of effect on him.

"You're very cute when you blush."

Harry burst out laughing.

"I suppose this is when I should say something sappy too?"

Ginny frowned and Harry took that as a yes.

"Okay then, I really like it when you laugh."

Ginny looked at him in bewilderment. She knew he was clueless but she didn't think he was that dense when it came to complimenting a girl. It was all too late though, that she realized what he really meant.

In a flash, she was pinned under him. He began to tickle her mercilessly. Ginny bit her tongue to stop herself from laughing but finally she gave in.

"Harry! Stop!" she gasped in between her laughter.

Harry smiled but complied.

"There's only one thing better I'd like to do right now."

"And what would that be?"

Harry hesitated for a moment.

"This."

He leaned down and kissed her. She kissed him back with eagerness, rolling him over so she was on top of him. His tongue ran over her lips and she opened her mouth to let him in.

Ginny pulled back soon after. Harry moaned softly at her retreat.

"Go to sleep, Harry. I don't want to be the cause of your being weak and tired tomorrow."

Harry looked disappointed but he went along with the request.

"G'night, Gin," he whispered, kissing her cheek.

~*~

When Ginny woke up the next morning, Harry was still fast asleep. He, for once, looked calm in his sleep, as if there wasn't a single nightmare or memory haunting him.

Ginny yawned and pulled Harry's arm across her waist. She felt amazingly comfortable around him. When she was with Michael she had always been nervous about being a fool around him. With Harry she could just be herself, knowing full well that Harry would love her no matter what she did.

She thought back to the last time she had been in bed with a boy. It had been when she was six, curled up in Bill's arms after she had had a terrible nightmare. Since Bill's room was right next door to hers, that was her first stop. He'd welcomed her with open arms and cradled her against him until she had fallen asleep again.

An overwhelming urge came over her to be in Bill's arms again. He had always been her favorite brother. He seemed to know exactly what she wanted and he was always fun to be around. Sometimes, at night, he used to read her stories. Ginny liked him the most because he gave her the most attention and would play with her while Charlie, Percy, and the twins would find other things to do.

That led to the fact that Ron was her other favorite brother. When they had been little kids, Ginny and Ron would often be found playing with each other while Bill was off at school. After Ron had gone off to school for his first year, though, they had grown apart and never really gotten back together. Ginny had partially blamed Harry for that, since Ron was his loyal friend. Ever since she had found out about his childhood the blame had vanished completely. Now she felt horrible for blaming him in the first place. In a sense, she was honored that her brother was Harry's first true friend.

Just as her thoughts took a turn to Harry, the boy stirred beside her. Ginny twisted around to face him as his eyes fluttered open.

"Morning, sleepyhead," she said.

"Why? What time is it?" Harry asked groggily.

Ginny glanced at the clock on his night table. "8:30."

Harry grunted softly. "Three hours. Not bad."

"You only got three hours of sleep? But you fell asleep before me!"

"No, I just give that impression when I'm thinking about something. I have a lot of trouble getting to sleep."

Ginny sighed. "Sorry."

Harry shrugged it off. He rose from the bed swiftly and left the room. Ginny sat up and waited for him to return from his shower.

When he came into the room again, Ginny was barely able to contain a loud gasp. He had only a towel tied around his waist and one draped over his shoulders. It fell a little onto his chest and stopped, revealing the rest of a very muscular torso. She continued to stare at him almost greedily as he looked through his closet for the shirt he wanted.

After he had gone back to the bathroom, Ginny let out the breath she didn't know she'd been holding. She nearly squealed at the thought of finally seeing Harry's body.

He is soooo hot! Ginny thought, almost dreamily. That scar on his back though, must have been from those nasty relatives.

She shuddered suddenly at the thought of what they had done to him and at the realization of what was going to happen today. Immediately, all thoughts of Harry's body were gone, except for the thought of him lying dead.

Ginny shook her head, trying to clear the morbid thoughts from it.

Harry will not die today, she thought sternly. Harry will come out fine and so will his cousin.

Still, as Harry came back into the room (fully dressed), Ginny was not very reassured. Harry glanced at her quickly before setting his towel on the back of the chair and coming to sit next to her. His arm draped over her shoulder, his hand ran up and down her arm in long, swift movements.

"Nothing bad will happen to anyone today," he said, as if sensing her thoughts.

Ginny relaxed a little. Harry's hand movements on her arm and his soft, low voice, full of determination, were serenading her. She felt a little more confident about the day's plan. Harry had that way of making people see the best in situations. Right now Ginny was glad he was helping her to see the best possible way this could turn out instead of the worst.

"Petunia, dear!" Vernon yelled from the bottom of the stairs. "We need to be out of here in fifteen minutes!"

Ginny and Harry heard each word clearly. Ginny felt Harry go rigid beside her. The weight of what was going to happen and his role in it were finally starting to sink in.

"You should go warn Dudley. I'll go to Grimmauld Place."

Harry nodded and gave her a small hug. Then he stood and left to find Dudley. Ginny followed him downstairs. Just as she was starting a fire, she realized exactly what was happening. This was the beginning of her vision.

No use trying to change anything now, she thought.

She dropped Floo powder into the fire and yelled for Grimmauld Place. Snape stood near the fire and saw Ginny's face. He came over to her and stuck a hand in the fire. Ginny grasped it firmly and he pulled her through.

"How long do we have?" Snape asked, letting go of Ginny's hand.

"Fifteen minutes until his Aunt and Uncle leave."

"I'll get everyone and warn them."

Ginny nodded. Snape turned and strode from the room, his robes billowing around him. Ginny stuck her head back in the fire and she could see Harry and Dudley.

"Dudley, er, I need you to come with me," Harry started.

Dudley frowned. "Why would I come with you?"

Harry already looked worried. Ginny already knew what would happen, so she stayed calm.

"Because...Because..."

Can I actually tell him what's going to happen? Harry thought desperately.

Dudley cocked and eyebrow at him, clearly enjoying Harry's distress.

"Do you remember from last summer that I said there was a Dark Lord out to kill me?"

Dudley instantly paled, remembering all too well the events of last summer.

"Yeah, so?"

Harry sighed. "Well, he's going to attack today. If you don't come with me, you'll die."

Dudley looked ready to burst out laughing.

"You expect me to come with you to save my life? If I go with you I'll probably die sooner!"

Harry didn't say anything.

"I'm not going and that's final!" Dudley yelled, stamping his foot down.

"It's your own life at stake. Don't you want to live?" Harry cried desperately.

"I don't know what goes on in that freaky mind of yours, but I'm in no danger. Why don't you just go and leave me alone?" Dudley answered angrily.

"You're going to die, damn it. You're going to die and you don't fucking care. Just like you Dudley."

Harry spun on his heel and stormed towards the fireplace, where Ginny pulled him through. As soon as she had sat him down at the table, he began to cry brokenly.

"I can't believe those were the last words I'm ever going to say to him," he choked.

"They aren't the last. The plan will work, I'm sure of it."

Harry shook his head sadly. Ginny stared at him. Harry was always the one who never had a doubt in plans and always carried them through.

"I'm not strong enough," he said finally.

"Oh, Harry," Ginny said, throwing her arms around him. "You'll do just fine!"

Harry leaned down and kissed her softly. "I hope I will."

Just then, Snape reentered the room.

"You have five minutes, Potter."

Harry nodded.

~*~

Draco slammed his father's journal shut. It had become unbearably boring to read. All it talked about was the small missions or killing sprees his father had participated in. It sickened Draco to read about his father killing others.

"Mum, I'm going out!"

He mimicked her answer as she said it.

"Be back by dark!"

Draco rolled his eyes and left, knowing that he'd probably be back and bored in ten minutes if Harry wasn't home.

____________

When he arrived on Harry's street, he saw that most of the people were outside. Three seven-year-olds were running from another who was chasing them. A couple of adults were washing their cars, their children splashing themselves with the soapy water. Draco snorted. It was the perfect picture of everything good in the world.

A woman rounded the corner at the other end of the street. She was dressed completely in black. Draco thought she looked familiar but he couldn't make out her face.

A car whizzed by him and Draco had just enough time to see Dudley standing in the doorway of his house, waving at the car. Draco assumed it had been his parents.

Suddenly, the woman in black cupped her hands around her mouth and started shouting.

"Attack!" she screamed. "There's been an attack! World war three is about to begin! Look at the news! Hide in your houses. No one is safe! Run!"

Chaos erupted on the street. Children began to scream. Parents ran around, rushing the children into the houses. The men who had been washing their cars dropped their hoses without bothering to turn them off and ran into their houses. Water began to stream down the street.

The woman smirked as the street became deserted. She shot the Dark Mark into the air and a man Apparated next to her. He was covered from head to foot in midnight black robes. His face was completely covered.

As the woman and the man proceeded down the empty street, Draco could see they were headed for Harry's house. He realized with a jolt that the woman was Bellatrix Lestrange. Still, he couldn't tell who the man was.

Bellatrix stopped at the edge of the sidewalk in front of Number 4. The man raised his hands and the robes fell away. They were chalk white, almost transparent.

Voldemort, Draco thought, scared.

The air around the house began to glow blue and then the color disappeared. Bellatrix smiled triumphantly and walked to the front door. She rang the doorbell and Dudley came to answer it, holding the sports section of the newspaper tightly in his fat fist.

"What do you want?" he spat.

Bellatrix continued to smile. "Are you Potter's cousin?"

"Yes."

"I have a man who would like to talk to you. He's waiting for you out in the street. Why don't you get your shoes and I'll take you to him?"

Dudley looked hesitant at first. Draco wanted to scream don't go, but he knew what would happen if he did. Both he and Dudley would most likely be killed and Draco wasn't ready for that.

Dudley had his shoes on and was now following Bellatrix down the walk. She stopped him right as he reached Voldemort.

Draco was shaking slightly now.

What are they going to do to him? Where's Harry?

"Take my hand," Voldemort hissed.

Even Dudley looked scared now. He paused, unsure of what to do.

Don't do it, Draco willed. Whatever you do, don't take his hand.

"Take it!" Voldemort yelled.

Draco and Dudley winced at the same time. Draco saw a small beam of light come out of Voldemort's hand and hit Dudley. He recognized it instantly as the Imperius Curse. Then Dudley took his hand.

In a flash, he had disappeared with Voldemort and Bellatrix had vanished with them.

~*~

Suddenly Harry screamed. He fell onto the ground clutching his scar painfully. Ginny stood above him, looking on in shock, not knowing what to do.

The pain was blinding him and he couldn't stop screaming. Voldemort was happy about something. Very happy.

"Dudley... has... been... taken..." Harry gasped.

Voldemort seemed ready to burst with happiness at one of his plans finally succeeding. Harry couldn't take it anymore. His scar burst open, beginning to bleed.

Ginny shrieked. She wanted to get help but her feet seemed to be nailed to the floor. Finally someone heard the commotion and came into the room.

"Mum!" Bill shouted when he saw Harry. "Professor Dumbledore!"

Two more sets of footfalls were heard. Molly ran into the room, closely followed by Dumbledore.

"What's going on?" Molly asked.

Dumbledore spotted Harry on the floor. Blood was trickling down his face. He was still screaming, his arms and legs flailing. His eyes were closed tightly in pain.

Then, as suddenly as it had started, it stopped. Harry lay on his back, shivering slightly. Dumbledore crouched down next to him and waved his hand. A wet washcloth flew into it and he began to move it over Harry's face, wiping away the blood.

"Up you get, Harry," he said when he was done, banishing the washcloth with another flick of his wrist.

Harry opened his eyes slowly and pushed himself up. His teeth began to chatter.

"Bill, could you kindly get Harry a glass of water?" Dumbledore asked, seeming to know exactly what Harry wanted.

Bill nodded and left.

Ginny's mouth was hanging open slightly. She hadn't moved from her spot since Harry had fallen from his chair. The most she could do was stare at Harry as he tried to stop his hand from shaking long enough to drink the water Bill had set down next to him.

With his shaking finally under control, Harry drank the water. When he was done, he opened his mouth to speak, already knowing what everyone was about to ask.

"Voldemort has Dudley. We have to go."

With quickness that surprised them all, Harry stood up and walked out the door into the front hallway.

"Does he do that often? Recover so quickly I mean?" Bill asked, shaking his head slightly.

"Y-yeah," Ginny said, finding her voice. "Harry, wait!"

She ran out the door to find him. Dumbledore chuckled merrily.

"Young love."

He followed them out the door.

"Harry and Ginny? Dating?" Bill said incredulously.

Molly shrugged. "Most people knew about it when Ginny came back from Harry's the first time."

~*~

Tonks, Mad-Eye Moody, Kingsley Shacklebolt, Emmeline Vance, Lupin, and Elphias Doge were assembled at the doorway; all waiting to touch the Portkey that would take them to Voldemort's hideout. Dumbledore and Harry would leave first, then the backup fighters. Snape would not be included in this mission since if the Death Eaters caught him, he'd be killed for betraying Voldemort and Dumbledore felt they couldn't risk it.

Tonks spun around when she heard Ginny yell for Harry to wait. She could see the boy walking down the hall and he paused, turning to face Ginny, who skidded to a stop in front of him.

Ginny said something, a terrified look on her face. Harry immediately stepped forward and hugged her tightly to him. Harry whispered something back to her, which made her look up and kiss him suddenly. Harry returned the kiss gently.

At this point half of the backup fighters were staring at the two. Lupin came up behind Tonks and tapped her on the shoulder.

"Just like Lily and James," he said, becoming nostalgic.

Tonks smiled. "I wondered when they were going to get together."

Dumbledore passed by the couple and moved to the front of the group. He took a quick headcount and coughed loudly. Harry and Ginny broke apart. He squeezed her hand lightly before coming to join the group. Lupin saw the faint blush on his face and nearly burst out laughing as Harry tried to cover it up with a determined look. No one else noticed.

"Ready?" Dumbledore asked, his eyes twinkling.

Harry blushed furiously. "Yes," he said quickly.

"Everyone take hold of the cauldron," Dumbledore ordered.

There was a slight pause as everyone touched the Portkey.

"Three...two...one..."

Harry felt that familiar jerk before the surroundings of Number 12 Grimmauld Place disappeared.

~~**~~