Harry Potter and the Headsman's Hostage

What if Harry's fifth year at Hogwarts had begun not with a dementor attack and a trumped-up charge but with a birthday party and a ransom note? In this AU, the Order's decision to pull Harry out of Privet Drive on July 31 leads to far-reaching changes in the story -- as does one Death Eater's plot to use Harry's adolescent crush to bait a lethal trap....

Harry’s boring birthday in Little Whinging is most pleasantly interrupted by a few of his closest friends….

Harry’s birthday party is most unpleasantly interrupted by a raven with a ransom note….

Arriving in Argyllshire, Harry and his friends learn that M’s note was no bluff – and plan what they’re going to do about it….

Harry, Sirius, and Lupin launch their well-planned rescue raid on the Death Eaters’ lair. They have speed, skill, and the element of surprise on their side – but no battle plan ever survives contact with the enemy….

Dumbledore arrives, Cho awakens, a tale of terror is told… and a tenuous bond is formed between two young people struggling to come to terms with the evil that has marred their lives….

Dumbledore has some explaining to do, and Snape’s arrival leads to an unpleasant surprise. Harry’s not sure just how he feels about Cho, but he knows exactly what he’s going to do to the next person who tries to harm her….

Harry dreams of death, Sirius sings in the shower, Cho gets a backrub, and the bond grows stronger as secrets are shared over breakfast in bed….

Dumbledore returns with Bill Weasley and Cho’s older sister Liu, and a carefully edited account of Cho’s rescue is prepared for Ministry consumption. Fudge jumps to false conclusions and tempers flare. Back at the Harrington arms, plans are laid, chess is played, and a kiss delayed is shared at last….

Harry’s not the only one with nightmares, but Cho’s darkest dreams only serve to bring them closer. Liu’s inconvenient intrusion and Sirius’s searching questions bring their growing feelings for one another fully into the open….

Harry discusses the problems of inter-House romance with Sirius, the Chang sisters provide a little after-dinner entertainment, and Cho and Harry continue to develop their relationship in ways both spiritual and physical….

Harry and Cho aren’t the only ones getting to know each other. Young lovers dance, more secrets are revealed, and lines are crossed without regret….

Harry and Cho must part for a time, but their lives have changed immeasurably, and their love will burn like a beacon fire in the dark days ahead….