Just Plain Harry

Chapter 33 On the Edge of the Light

Harry tried very hard not to stumble when he landed, with the Portkey still in his hand, but he didn't quite manage it, and that one off-balance moment was enough. He heard a voice cry out, "Potter!" and another right on top of the first, shout something else that he couldn't quite hear. He felt like he should know the first voice, though he couldn't place it, but he definitely knew the second. Wormtail.

Before Harry could do anything, ropes shot from Wormtail's wand, wrapping themselves around Harry and dragging him into a sitting position on the ground. He could feel someone else's back against his, and when a gust of wind blew a strand of coppery hair into his face, he realized it was Ginny. That let him breathe again. Wormtail wouldn't have tied her up if they'd killed her. They were both helpless, and Harry didn't know why they'd taken Ginny, but at least she was alive. He twisted his head around as far as he could, and found himself looking into her eyes. She looked absolutely terrified, which surprised him, but before he could try to reassure her, Wormtail spoke.

"Are you sure this is a diary?" he said to the other man. "It's completely blank."

"Of course I'm sure," the other man said, and Harry could hear the complete disdain he felt for Wormtail in his voice. "It's blank, because it's enchanted. You don't think a Weasley would use a Muggle diary, do you? Even this Weasley? All we need is the password."

Harry wished that he could see the man properly, but he was standing directly in front of Ginny, so all he could see was that he wore the robes, hood, and mask of a Death Eater. Wormtail, on the other hand, was dressed in normal-looking robes, and wore no hood or mask.

"Why do we need the password?" Wormtail whined. "Who cares what some teenage girl writes in her diary?"

"Are you completely stupid, Wormtail, or just feeling a little off today? This is Ginny Weasley. Look who's tied to her, and remember why. All the secrets of Hogwarts could be in this diary."

Even in this situation, that statement almost made Harry laugh. Whoever this man was, he obviously didn't know Dumbledore that well, if he truly thought the headmaster would tell all the secrets of Hogwarts to a fourth-year girl. Even if he knew them all, which Harry doubted. Wormtail must have been thinking the same thing.

"I just don't see how we'll learn anything more than we already know from it," he said. "Why don't we just take them both to Lord Voldemort? Then, if he wants to read the diary, he can do so."

Harry could almost hear the other man grinding his teeth. Suddenly, he grabbed Wormtail's arm, and pulled him away from Harry and Ginny. The two Death Eaters began an argument in hushed tones, but Harry couldn't quite hear their words, so he tried to block them out.

"Are you all right?" he asked Ginny, at the exact same time as she asked the exact same question. That made them both chuckle, and Harry watched her relax a little.

"Why are they so intent on your diary, and how did they get it?" Harry asked her, after they'd both said that they were as well as they could be, under the circumstances.

"I had it in my hand when I was transported here," Ginny said. "I'd been pulling it out as I ran, and after I'd reached the bench, I dropped my bag and pulled off my robes, and then picked the diary up again to start to write to Joanna. That's when I noticed the roses, and...I don't know what I was thinking, Harry. It was a truly stupid thing to do, picking one of them up."

"Then I'm truly stupid, too," he said, wishing he could see her face. Even turning his head as far around as he could, all he could really see was her ear and part of her cheek. "I knew you'd disappeared, and I still picked up one of those roses."

"What are we going to do?" Ginny said. She kept her voice low, but it still came out as a wail. "They're going to take us to Voldemort, and then...and then..."

"They haven't yet," Harry said quickly. He squinted at what he could see of the two Death Eaters. They were still arguing, but Wormtail seemed to be losing. Harry thought that was a good thing. "We need to stall them, keep them from taking us away from here. Someone will come to rescue us, you know that, we just need to stay in one place long enough for them to do it." Stay in one place away from Voldemort, he thought but didn't say out loud. "So, why is that man so intent on your diary?"

"I don't know," Ginny said. "He can't really think Dumbledore has told me anything of value, can he?"

"Who knows what he thinks," Harry said. "But we need to encourage him to think that, or anything else that keeps him interested enough so that he'll read it, and not move us. Ginny...I think you're going to have to give him the password."

"I know that, Harry, I'm not stupid," Ginny said, then sighed. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have snapped. It's just...oh, Harry, there's things in there that I really don't want...but that's stupid, obviously our lives are more important than my pride."
"I know, but Ginny, it's worth it. Remember, Joanna always knows where she is! So, we just need to get one of them to write in her, and then close her again, so she can tell the other diaries, and Hermione's diary can tell her, and then they'll know where to find us."

"That's a lot of ifs, Harry," Ginny said. "I wouldn't count on that. If Hermione knows we're missing, why would she be writing in her diary?"

"Because that's what Hermione does," Harry said, but he wasn't really listening to what his mouth was saying, because it looked like the two Death Eaters were finishing their argument. "Listen, it's the best chance we have."

"All right, Harry," Ginny said. "I said I'll do it. Besides, so much of myself has been exposed today, what's the rest of it? You already know I love you, you're not going to hear anything different from Joanna."

"Ginny," Harry began, but before he got anything else out, the two Death Eaters came back. They both planted themselves in front of Ginny, so Harry couldn't see them.

"I'm going to collect the rest of the Portkeys," Wormtail said. "In the meantime, girl, you're going to tell my friend here the password to your diary and answer any questions he has."

"And if I don't?" Ginny asked, surprising Harry. She had agreed to give them the password, why was she balking now?

"If you don't, Weasley, you'll learn what it means to be beyond the safety of Hogwarts," the other man said. Sod it, Harry thought. Why can't I place his voice?

Wormtail laughed. "Perhaps we should tell you what the plan had been before Harry dropped so providently into our laps," he said.

"Stop stalling, Wormtail," the other man said. "You call yourself a Gryffindor, yet you're too afraid to return to Hogwarts? I suspect these two, true Gryffindors that they are, are ashamed to own up to you."

Wormtail glared at him, but didn't say anything else before raising his wand and Disapparating.

"Not that it's a bad idea," the other man said, "even though it came from an idiot." Harry heard movement, and then the man's voice came from much lower down, as though he had knelt on the ground in front of Ginny. "The plan was to bring you here," he said to her, "put you under the Imperious Curse, and then send you back to Hogwarts. I'm certain that even a Muggle-loving Gryffindor can imagine what you'd do there."

Harry felt Ginny trying to shrink back against him, and he couldn't blame her. He couldn't imagine a more cruel plan, especially for Ginny. She must be reliving her first year, Harry thought. And where is the person who saved her then - the person who became her Patronus? Tied up, caught in the trap with her.

"I'm tempted to do it still," the Death Eater said. "Even though we have Potter, there's still Dumbledore to be considered, and there would be other...benefits."

Ginny flinched, her head banging into Harry's, and he heard her almost panting with fear. He could only imagine what the man was doing to her, and didn't like what he was imagining. He tried to struggle against the ropes holding him, but of course they held, and he wasn't surprised that the man completely ignored him.

"In the meantime," the man said after a moment, "I'm simply fascinated by your diary. What secrets do you have in here?"

"I don't think you're going to like what you read," Ginny said, her voice shaking slightly. For a moment, Harry thought it was with anger, but he decided that he must be mistaken, of course it was with fear.

"Don't you?" the man said. "You might be surprised. Now," he added, and Harry could hear pages rustling, "what's the password?"

Ginny gave a little whimper, and Harry couldn't take it anymore.

"Just give it to him, Ginny!" he burst out. "Whatever is in there isn't worth you being hurt!" He thought he knew what she was doing - trying to make it seem like she didn't want to give up the password - but this man was a Death Eater. He obviously wouldn't hesitate to use the Cruciatus Curse on her, since he was thinking of using the Imperius, and Harry knew he couldn't sit there and listen to Ginny be hit by the Cruciatus. He just couldn't.

"Isn't that sweet? Potter doesn't want you hurt," the man said, and Harry suddenly realized that, whatever Wormtail might want, this man wanted only one thing. Ginny. He strained futilely against the ropes once more, and heard the Death Eater chuckle.

"I wouldn't bother, Potter; Wormtail's pretty useless at most things, but that charm, he's mastered. Must come from being the perpetual lackey, always in charge of tying people up. Weasley, the password."

Harry heard a rustling, and by straining his neck around as far as it could go, was able to see that the man had drawn his wand on Ginny. He willed Ginny to give in; she'd convinced him, she didn't need to suffer pain to do it.

"G-w-i-h-o-w," Ginny finally said, and Harry sagged in relief.

"Interesting," the man drawled, his quill scratching as he wrote. "What does that mean, might I inquire?"

"You'll find out, if you read," Ginny said, her voice quiet and dull.

The man laughed. "Then I'll find out," he said. He walked over to a tree that was off to the side of the clearing, sat down, and started to read. Harry thought that he was far enough away to risk whispering.

"Ginny, you really had me scared there," he said.

"I had to make it convincing, Harry," she whispered back. She leaned her head against his. "Besides, I really don't want him to read it; I wasn't completely acting."

"I know, and I think it's wonderful that you did it," Harry said. "By the way, what does 'g-w-i-h-o-w' stand for? Ginny Weasley something something, I assume?"

"Ginny Weasley, in her own words," she said with a sigh. "I wonder if I'll be able to change it, now that people know about it."

"Well, you don't have to worry about me," Harry said. "I give you my word that I won't read it."

"Oh, Harry," she said. "Thank you. It's...not exactly you I'm worried about."

"Well, you won't have to worry about that creep, either," Harry said, glaring over to where the Death Eater sat reading. "After this, he won't be in any condition to be reading diaries."

"Does that mean you have a plan?" Ginny asked. "Or are we just going to wait around to be rescued?"

"Much as it pains me to admit it, I think we'll have to wait around to be rescued," Harry said. He tried to keep his voice light, but inwardly he was screaming. Ginny should not be put in this position, all because of him. "Unless you have any ideas..."

"Well..." Ginny said, but she didn't finish her thought for some time. Harry didn't press her; he really had no idea what to do, and if she did, he didn't want to drive it out of her mind. He turned his head so he could see the Death Eater, where he sat against the tree. He was chuckling as he read, and Harry had to turn away again, because the sight of this man laughing over Ginny's private thoughts was just too painful. He could only imagine how it must feel for her, but when he twisted his head around as far as he could, he thought he saw that her eyes were closed. Instead, Harry tried to think of what they could do. He really wasn't good with planning; that was more Ron or Hermione's job. He did much better acting on the plans. But there was nothing he could do here. His wand was still in a pocket of his robes, but it was of no use - apparently the Death Eaters weren't worried about him reaching it, and rightly so, since the ropes that held them prevented all movement of his hands or arms. He supposed that he and Ginny, working together, could manage to stand up, since their legs were unbound, but he couldn't see how that would help them.

After a period of time that Harry felt was quite long, Wormtail reappeared. The other Death Eater didn't even look up.

"Well, that took awhile," he said, still reading the diary.

Wormtail almost snarled. "You know you can't Apparate onto Hogwarts' grounds," he said. "I had to run from the gate to the bench and back in my Animagus form, and, yes, that took awhile. Someone had been there," he added, and the other man finally raised his eyes from the diary.

"How do you know?" he asked.

"The girl's things were gone," Wormtail said. "So, unless they sprouted legs and walked away, I think we can assume that someone knows they're missing."

The other man stood in one fluid movement, slamming Ginny's diary shut at the same time. Harry felt Ginny twitch behind him, but it was all he could do to keep the grin off of his face. Now, Joanna could tell Hermione's diary where they were. Suddenly, he felt movement behind his head, and then he heard Ginny whispering in the ear that was away from where the Death Eaters were arguing again.

"I hope his handwriting isn't too like mine," she said. "Otherwise, Joanna won't know that it wasn't me writing."

Harry sagged against her. He hadn't thought of that. Then, he sat up straight again.

"She'll know," he said, trying to imbue his voice with a confidence he just wasn't feeling.

"She'll know what, Potter?" the Death Eater said. He came over to stand in front of Harry, still holding the diary. Harry didn't even give him the satisfaction of looking up at him, let alone answering him. The Death Eater apparently didn't like that - not that Harry had meant him to - because he kicked Harry's hip, hard, which did make Harry look up at him. Hello, he couldn't help thinking, you're a wizard. Why are you resorting to physical violence? The man's eyes glittered down at him through the eye holes in his mask.

"Cat got your tongue, Potter?" he asked, and kicked Harry again. Harry grunted, but he still didn't answer him. The Death Eater lifted his foot for another kick, but then stopped.

"Here," he said, tossing Ginny's diary to Wormtail. "See if you can find anything interesting. That's assuming you can read." He gave the password, then turned back to Harry.

"What are you going to do?" Wormtail asked.

"I've remembered something else," the other man said, not taking his eyes off of Harry. He removed his wand from a pocket of his robes, and Harry heard Ginny whimper behind him. He braced himself for the Cruciatus Curse.

"Accio Potter's pocket-watch," he heard, instead, and suddenly, Harry knew who this Death Eater was. It really should have been obvious from the moment he saw the Portkeys made from Ginny's favorite roses, and he couldn't believe he'd been so daft. Even with the robes, mask, and hood, and his voice disguised, everything he'd said, everything he'd done, screamed Draco Malfoy. And the thought of Malfoy putting Ginny under the Imperius Curse made Harry almost vomit. He swallowed convulsively and stared up at Malfoy, who was examining the watch closely. He wondered if Ginny realized who their captor was, and then remembered her telling him that he wouldn't like what he read in her diary, and how angry she'd sounded. Yes, she definitely knew.

"Merlin's beard!" Wormtail said, jumping up from where he'd been sitting while reading the diary. He shut it with a snap, and rushed over to Malfoy. "This girl says that Snape's a spy!"

Once again, Harry felt Ginny's head knock against his.

"I forgot about that," she whispered, her voice rasping with unshed tears.

Malfoy, though, just waved a hand at Wormtail.

"Tell me something I don't know," he said, then turned his head to stare at him. "You mean you didn't? Wormtail, explain to me again just how you finished school?"

Wormtail didn't answer him; he just stood there, his mouth opening and closing soundlessly. Malfoy laughed, then began examining Harry's watch again, evidently dismissing Wormtail from his mind. Harry watched as Wormtail turned around once, looking completely lost, then walked back over to the tree, sat down, and opened up the diary again.

Harry's mind swam. So, Malfoy knew that Snape was a spy, but Wormtail hadn't. Did that mean that Voldemort did, or that he didn't? He could see several possibilities, and which was correct would make a great deal of difference to Snape. Malfoy could be bluffing, just saying that he'd known, when in reality he didn't. That would be in character, certainly. On the other hand, he could have heard it from his father, and if Lucius Malfoy knew, then Voldemort most likely did as well, unless the Malfoys were playing a deeper game than Harry really thought they were. And there was always the possibility that Draco knew, but hadn't told his father. Harry almost snorted, but stopped himself in time. Yeah, that last one's a real possibility, he thought.

"All right, Potter," Malfoy said, after a few more minutes of trying to figure out the pocket-watch. "Tell me how this works, or I'll Cruciatus your girlfriend there."

Harry gazed up at him, trying to read his eyes through the slits in the mask. He really didn't think Malfoy would cast the Cruciatus on Ginny. The Imperius, yes - he was just that twisted - but not the Cruciatus. And then there was the general principal of not giving anything up to Malfoy. On the other hand, he certainly didn't want to put that opinion to the test, didn't want to do anything to put Ginny at risk. Besides, what could the watch tell Malfoy that he didn't already know?

"I have to be holding it," he said. He tried very hard not to let Malfoy know that he knew who he was. Since he knew, he had some idea of how Malfoy would react to things, but if Malfoy knew he knew, he might deliberately change his plans.

"Oh, do you?" Malfoy said. "I should have known. Only a Gryffindor would have a personalized pocket-watch."
Harry frowned. That statement alone would have given Malfoy away, because having a personalized pocket-watch was much more of a Slytherin trait, much as it hurt him to think that way about his father's watch. Malfoy just didn't know when to quit.

"Does it have to be held in your hand, Potter, or can any part of you be touching it?"

"I don't know," Harry answered. "I haven't tried it any other way."

He could see Malfoy's eyes narrow through the slits in the mask, but he was telling the truth, and he didn't care if Malfoy believed him or not, anyway. Apparently, he did, because he reached out and touched the pocket-watch to Harry's head.

"Aine. Ginny. Communico," Malfoy said. "What does that mean, Potter? Gods, even your pocket-watch is worthless."

"I don't know," Harry repeated, but this time, he wasn't telling the truth, and he could barely keep his glee from his voice. "I don't understand what it means a lot of the time."

He must have sounded convincing to Malfoy, because the other boy just snarled and threw the watch down at Harry's feet, then stomped off to take Ginny's diary away from Wormtail.

Harry felt Ginny sag against his back, but he didn't say anything, because he was trying to figure out those words. They were obviously a message from Toby, and was Harry ever glad that he'd never let it be commonly known that his pocket-watch could receive messages. The only person named Aine that he knew of was Brenna's sister, and the only way he knew of her was because of the botched Communication Charm. That must be what the 'Communico' means, he thought. That must be the charm. But the last time Brenna had tried the charm, with him, he hadn't been able to receive anything intelligible. Hopefully, she'd made a breakthrough.

"Harry," Ginny whispered, and he could feel her twisting her head around to try to look at him, "do you know what those words mean?"

"It's Brenna's Communication Charm," he said, still staring in front of himself. There was still something he was missing; if Brenna had perfected the charm, why didn't she simply use it?

"Then why did it mention my name?" Ginny asked.

"Of course!" Harry said. "Ginny, the last time Brenna tried the charm, I practically passed out on the floor, bowled over by her memories. Maybe she needs to speak to you, instead."

"Then why doesn't she?" Ginny asked. "I haven't heard a thing - oh!"

"What?"

"Maybe she needs me to use the charm, too - maybe both people have to be using it at the same time. And that's why she sent the charm itself, so I'd know how to cast it."

Harry knew she was right, and it was brilliant. There was just one problem.

"You can't get to your wand, Ginny," he said, dropping his chin almost onto his chest. "This thinking is all well and good, but we can't actually cast the charm..."

"Maybe we can," Ginny said, her voice dropping even lower. "Harry, Theo has been teaching me wandless magic."

Harry's head came up at that, and he twisted it around, able to meet one of her eyes, at least, since her head was similarly turned. Even under the circumstances, he felt like he could drown in her gaze, though he could see that she was still terrified. That impressed him - he certainly wouldn't have been able to tell from her voice.

"That's wonderful, Ginny," he said, "but if you can do wandless magic, why haven't you done any to get us out of here?"

Even out of the corner of his eye, he could see her blush.

"I haven't gotten very far," she said. "I haven't even mastered Accio yet. Theo said it's taken him years to be as good as he is, and that I'm progressing really well, but I'm still not very good. I didn't want to try something, and have it blow up in my face, until we're really desperate, and there's no other hope."

Harry could see her point. All the same...

"I think now is a good time to risk it," he said. He looked over at the two Death Eaters. Malfoy was still reading Ginny's diary - he didn't look especially happy with what he was reading right then - and Wormtail was actually sulking. Harry had to be glad; if he and Ginny had had to be kidnapped by Death Eaters, he supposed it was good that they were completely incompetent. "We really need a way to communicate with Dumbledore."

"I know," Ginny said. "Give me a moment."

Harry did, though he felt himself fidgeting, and tried to stop it. He didn't want to give Wormtail, whose eyes were fixed on them, any hints that they were actually trying something. After a few more moments, he felt Ginny go very still, and then heard her whisper, "Communico." It took real force of will not to turn his head and look at her. He realized he was counting seconds, and made himself stop before he went insane. He deliberately let out his breath, which he'd been holding, and if the exhale had actually been more of a huff, well, that was understandable.

Finally, Ginny touched the back of her head to his.

"I have Brenna," she whispered.

Harry almost let out a whoop of delight before stifling it.

"Where are they? When are they coming?" he whispered back, trying to gaze off into midair, as though nothing was happening. Wormtail was still watching them.

"They're in our classroom, and they're coming as fast as they can. Oh, Harry, Joanna did know it wasn't me - she told them where we are. It was worth it. So, all we have to do is wait."

"I hate waiting."

"I know, Harry," Ginny said. Harry thought he could hear smile in her voice, but since she was whispering, it was hard to tell.

"Do they have a plan?" Harry asked, but Ginny didn't answer. After a few moments of silence, he decided that he didn't care what Wormtail thought, and twisted his head around to look at her. She was staring straight ahead of herself and moving her lips slightly. Harry realized that she was talking to Brenna, and he just had to wait until she was done. He turned his head back around and slumped against her back.

A few minutes after he began to be seriously annoyed, Ginny finally spoke.

"I'm sorry, Harry," she said. "What did you say?"

Harry opened his mouth to answer, but then he realized that he'd been stewing for so long that he didn't even remember.

"What are they doing?" he asked, instead.

"They're getting their brooms," Ginny said. "They're going to fly here, because the students can't Apparate, of course."

"Of course," Harry said. He repressed his sudden need to look up. "So, where are we, anyway?"

Ginny snorted softly.

"We're on the outskirts of the Forbidden Forest, on the opposite side from Hogwarts," she said. After a silent moment, during which Harry reflected on that irony, she added, "Remus is bringing you your Firebolt."

That made Harry smile. Remus wasn't as flamboyant about it as Sirius was, but Harry knew he cared about him just as much. He could just as easily have brought one of the school brooms, but that wouldn't have been Remus. Before he could say anything, though, Malfoy slammed Ginny's diary shut, making both of them jump. Harry turned his head in time to see Malfoy surge to his feet and stalk over to stand in front of him.

"You bastard," he hissed, his eyes glittering through the mask. "You utter, undeserving, lucky bastard."

Harry just stared up at him, thoroughly confused. He had no idea what Malfoy meant. It must have been something Ginny wrote in her diary, but the only thing the two of them had done so far was kiss, and Malfoy knew they were together - what did he think they were doing? He wished he could ask Ginny what she thought, but not with Malfoy standing right there.

"Well?" Malfoy said. "Not going to explain, Potter? Cat got your tongue?"

"Explain what?" Harry asked, his need to understand outweighing his dislike of asking Malfoy anything.

"As if you don't know," Malfoy said. "Always get everything, don't you, Potter?"

Harry still had absolutely no idea what Malfoy meant, and his befuddled expression must have pushed the other boy past his breaking point. He let out a strangled yell, pulled out his wand, and cast the Furious Curse at Harry.

Back when they'd studied the Furious in class, Harry had finally managed to shake it off, but that was before he'd learned just how much his magic was tied to his anger. And before he'd been kidnapped by Draco Malfoy, of all people. Now, when he tried to force his mind into the pattern necessary to shake the curse, he just couldn't. Instead, he felt his anger rising and rising, and the look on Malfoy's face didn't help. He stood there, smirking down at Harry, as Harry desperately tried to break the ropes binding him. He heard Ginny whimper behind him, and the part of his mind not affected by the curse realized that his thrashings were probably hurting her, but he couldn't seem to stop himself. All he could think about was his fingers around Malfoy's throat.

Out of the corner of his eye, Harry saw Wormtail stand up and start over towards them, but his attention remained focused on Malfoy's laughing face. He could feel the ropes biting into his wrists, and suddenly, he could feel something else - an ocean of power that he could almost taste. He reached out, felt the ropes snap, heard Ginny shriek, "Harry!", and somehow found himself on top of Malfoy, trying to pummel him into the ground.

He was only able to enjoy that for a few short seconds, before he heard Wormtail yell, "Stupefy!" Right on top of that, he heard Ginny yell, "Expelliarmus!, which explained why he could still move, because the spell hadn't actually hit him. Unfortunately, all of that had distracted him, allowing Malfoy to fight back. The other boy surged up, rolling Harry over onto his back, but Harry's anger, along with Theo's help, fought back, and the two boys thrashed about on the ground, getting in punches whenever they could. Harry felt like he was getting the better of Malfoy, but before he could tell for sure, he heard a different voice shout, "Stupefy!", and his next punch hurt, because Malfoy was frozen in place. He looked around to see who had interfered, and practically threw himself at Remus, who stood at the edge of the clearing. Before Harry could reach Remus' face with his fists, Remus caught his wrists and held them easily.

"It's the Furious Curse," Remus said over his shoulder, then turned back to Harry. "Come on, Harry, you can fight this," he said in a calm, low voice. "I know you can. You've done it before. Let go of your anger. Let go of Theo. Break through the curse." He kept speaking, saying basically the same things, and Harry slowly began to come out of the curse.

The first thing he realized was that Hermione stood behind and to the side of Remus, her wand pointed at them. She didn't look happy about having her wand trained on Harry, but she did it, and Harry knew that she'd have stupefied him in a moment, if she thought he might hurt Remus. Toby stood beside her, looking even more determined. The next thing he realized was that everyone else was here, too - Ron, Sirius, Fred, George, Theo, Brenna, and Professor Moody. But the rest of them weren't looking at him and Remus. Instead, they were watching Ginny and Wormtail, who stood in the middle of the clearing, their wands pointed at each other. Ginny looked furious, and Harry didn't think she'd been hit with the curse; she was probably just angry that she hadn't managed to get Wormtail's wand away from him.

Ron, Fred, and George also had their wands out and pointed at Wormtail, but as Harry turned towards them, Professor Moody signaled the three of them not to do anything. He started to walk towards Wormtail slowly. He had his wand out, but looked like he was trying to seem non-threatening. It was hard to tell, because it was Mad-Eye Moody, after all.

"All right, Pettigrew," he said as he walked, his voice as calming as it ever got, "you're surrounded. We're all here, we all know you're alive, you might as well give yourself up. You know you can't go back to Voldemort with yet another failure. You had Harry Potter, you fool, and you let him get away."

Harry watched him, fascinated. Was this how he caught all those Death Eaters - talked them into giving themselves up? Or was it something he was doing just for Wormtail? It seemed to be working; Wormtail's eyes flicked back and forth between Ginny and Moody, and his wand wavered, dipping slightly. Ginny seemed to relax a bit, though she kept her wand pointed at him.

Moody was only five steps or so from him, when he suddenly lifted his wand, and several things happened at once. Ginny yelled, "Expelliarmus!" again, as did George, while Ron, Fred, and Theo yelled, "Stupefy!" None of them were in time, as Wormtail had already transformed before any of the spells hit him, and he scampered off into the forest.

"Black!" Moody said over his shoulder, but Sirius, as Padfoot, had already given chase.

Ginny sank to the ground, dropping her wand, and Ron, Fred, George, and Harry all ran to her. It was Harry she turned to, clutching his shoulders almost roughly.

"I'm sorry, Harry, I tried, I tried to get him," she said, burying her head in his shoulder so her voice was a bit muffled. "If he gets away, it's all my fault."

"It is not," Harry said, gripping her shoulders himself, and pulling her face away from his shoulder so he could look into her eyes. "You kept him from stupefying me, you held him until Moody got here. Don't do this, Ginny."

"Listen to him, Miss Weasley," Moody said. He was standing near them, but his eyes were fixed on the spot where Wormtail and Padfoot had disappeared into the forest. Harry wondered how far his magical eye could see into the trees. Suddenly, Moody removed his gaze from the forest to pin Harry and Ginny where they knelt on the floor of the clearing. "You both did well."

This was such a compliment, coming from Moody, that both of them just gaped up at him. He nodded once, gave them one of his rare, rather unnerving smiles, and then stalked over to where Remus, Toby, and Hermione held their wands on Malfoy. Hermione had a shocked look on her face, which made Harry suspect she knew who she was holding with her wand, but Malfoy had somehow managed to keep his hood and mask on while Harry had been pummeling him. Harry couldn't tell from their expressions if Moody, Remus, or Toby had seen Malfoy's face, but the Weasleys evidently hadn't.

"Who is that, Harry?" Ron asked, and both Fred and George looked at Harry for his answer.

"It's -" Harry began, but Ginny interrupted him.

"Does it matter?" she asked, pulling herself away from Harry and standing up.

Harry stood up, too, and stared at her.

"Of course it matters, Ginny," he said, but before he could say anything else, he felt Ron stiffen beside him. He looked across the clearing to see Malfoy still sprawled on the ground, but someone had removed his hood and mask, and his white-blond hair shone in the sun. Someone must have woken him up, too, because Harry could see his sneer, even from here.

"Malfoy," Fred said.

"Malfoy," Ron echoed, then growled, "Malfoy was going to put the Imperious on Ginny?"

He started across the clearing, but Fred and George grabbed his arms.

"Let Moody handle him," George said, but Ron kept trying to shake them off until Ginny said, "Please, Ron."

All four of them turned to look at her, but she just shook her head, her eyes fixed on the scene across the clearing. Ron and Harry exchanged looks, then they both shrugged, and listened to what was happening.

"You can't prove it," Malfoy was saying. It was amazing how poised he looked while sprawled on the ground with four wands pointed at him.

"You're wearing the hood and mask, Malfoy," Hermione said.

Malfoy didn't even look at her; he kept his eyes fixed on Moody.

"But not the Mark," he said.

Hermione let out a shriek of frustration, but Moody waved at her to calm down.

"We may not be able to prove you're a Death Eater," he said, "but we can certainly prove that you helped to kidnap two students -"

"I was just wandering through the forest, and here they were," Malfoy interrupted, but Moody continued as though he hadn't even heard.

"- with the intention of delivering them to Voldemort," he finished.

"Now, that you can't prove, because I never intended to do it," Malfoy said.

"What?" Harry said, practically running across the clearing.

"Which word did you not understand, Potter?"

"You said that the plan was to put the Imperious Curse on Ginny to get to me. How can you deny that?" Harry stopped quite close to Malfoy and pointed his wand at him, which felt quite good, after the day he'd had.

"That was Wormtail's plan, not mine," Malfoy said.

"Then what was your plan, Malfoy?" Moody asked as Harry spluttered. Malfoy had said...he'd said...well, Harry couldn't remember exactly what he'd said, but he was sure it had been horrible.

"I didn't really have a plan," Malfoy said, smiling cheekily up at Moody.

"Then what did you want?" Harry asked through gritted teeth.

"Ginny," Malfoy said, and Harry heard four Weasleys' gasps behind him.

"You went through all of this to get Ginny?" he said, staring down at the other boy. "What were you going to do with her once you had her?"

"Do I really need to explain it, Potter?" Malfoy said, hardly even bothering to sneer. "Have you really been wasting all this time?"

Harry felt himself turning red, but that was nothing to how Ginny reacted.

"I would never do anything with you, Malfoy," she said, stalking across the clearing, her wand pointed at him. "How many times do I have to say no?"

"Too many, apparently," Fred said. He and George appeared on either side of Ginny, and Ron's head and shoulders could easily be seen above Ginny's head.

Malfoy didn't seem at all fazed by this display of Weasley solidarity.

"You wouldn't have had the choice, Weasley," he said, and there wasn't any doubt as to which Weasley he was speaking.

Ginny opened her mouth to retort, but Moody stopped her.

"Enough," he said. "We'll take him back to Dumbledore; he's the one to decide what to do with him." As he drew his wand, the expression on his face said quite clearly what he would do if it were his decision, but all he said was, "Stupefy!"

Malfoy's head slumped to the ground, and Harry hoped that he would have a big lump on it the next day.

"Now that's out of the way," Moody said, "where's that sluggard Black?"

No one really paid attention to him. Hermione practically dropped her wand in her hurry to throw herself at Harry, and Harry was busy catching her. She sobbed into his shoulder, and he could tell that she was saying something, but the only words he could make out were 'worried', 'roses', and 'Malfoy.' Ron came over behind her and put one hand on her back and the other on Harry's shoulder. He didn't say anything. He didn't have to. Harry closed his eyes and slowly let the tension and adrenaline drain out of him. He was safe; he wasn't going to have to face Voldemort today.

He opened his eyes to find Ron looking at him, a question written on his face. Harry nodded and smiled at him, then looked around for Ginny. Toby had her arms around her, though Ginny stood stiffly in them. She wasn't crying; she still looked furious. Fred and George did, too; Fred had sidled up to the inert form of Malfoy, and had even raised his foot to give it a kick, but Moody barked at him, and he put it back down. Brenna stood near Ginny, talking to her; Harry couldn't hear what she was saying over Hermione's sobs, but she was obviously trying to calm her down. He certainly couldn't blame Ginny for being so furious, but he suspected that at least part of her anger was to cover up how frightened she'd been. He couldn't blame her for that, either.

After a moment of wondering what to say to her, he realized that he knew of the perfect way to cheer her up. He patted Hermione on the back, and then detached her arms from around his neck and passed her off to Ron, who immediately drew her into an embrace. Then, he walked towards Ginny, and as he drew near, he heard what Brenna was saying. Her voice was quiet, but determined.

"Ginny, this is not your fault. You did not lead him on. You did everything you could to discourage him, in fact. If he wasn't deterred by the Pepper Spray Charm, nothing would have stopped him. He's obviously insane, Ginny."

Ginny had been trying to interrupt her, but Toby had put her hand over her mouth and forced her to listen. Harry watched some of the stiffness drain from her shoulders as Brenna talked, but he suspected that had as much to do with Toby as with what Brenna was saying.

"I agree with all of that, except for one thing," he said, coming to stand in front of Ginny. "Malfoy's not insane - if I couldn't have you, I'd be tempted to do something desperate, too."

He saw Toby, over Ginny's shoulder, wrinkle up her nose as though she wanted to laugh, but Brenna sighed.

"Oh, Harry," she said. "That is not fair."

At that, Toby did laugh, and she and Brenna moved away from Ginny, leaving the two of them relatively alone. Ginny smiled at him, and he knew he couldn't tell her that he'd gotten that line from one of Aunt Petunia's soap operas. Besides, he'd meant every word.

"Listen, Ginny," he said, before he could lose himself in her eyes, "is there anything this reminds you of?"

She looked around, frowning slightly.

"This? This what?"

Harry waved a hand around the clearing.

"All of this," he said. "A clearing in a forest. Sirius and Remus. Wormtail." He took a deep breath and steeled himself to do this right there in front of everybody. "There's only one thing missing," he said, and put his arms around her.

Ginny sighed, and reached up to clasp her hands behind his neck. Her eyes glistened as she looked up at him.

"Now I remember," she said. Then, she smiled. "I also remember Ron telling me that I shouldn't ever think of dancing with you in a forest."

"That's funny," Harry said, hardly able to contain his grin, "he said much the same thing to me."

"He doesn't look too upset right now," Ginny said, and Harry turned his head to see Ron holding Hermione, his eyes closed. He turned back to Ginny and grinned. She smiled back.

"Who would have thought, back when I had that vision, that it would happen like this," she said. She fixed her eyes on Harry's chest and muttered, "I'm so lucky, Harry."

Harry tightened his arms around her and lowered his head a little.

"I'm the lucky one," he said into her hair. Then, to stop his eyes from burning, he added, "You know, there is one more thing that has to happen to make your vision come true."

"That's right," Ginny said, lifting her head from his shoulder and turning towards the place where Wormtail and Padfoot had disappeared. "Shouldn't they be back by now?"

Before Harry could say anything, Padfoot dashed out of the forest, Wormtail clutched in his mouth. Moody practically threw himself at them, grabbing the rat with one hand and pointing his wand at him with the other. Harry just had time to realize that Moody had his hand directly around Wormtail's throat, before Moody was suddenly holding Peter Pettigrew, still by the throat. Sirius transformed, too, and he and Remus stood shoulder to shoulder, wands held on Pettigrew. Toby stood off to one side, her wand out, her face hard and frozen. Pettigrew still held his own wand, but he didn't look like he was even thinking about using it. He wouldn't meet anyone's eyes.

Moody barked, "Black!" again, but this time Sirius just raised his eyebrows at him. Moody growled and rolled his magical eye to point at Theo. Theo grinned and raised his hand, and a moment later, Wormtail's wand flew into it. Wormtail sagged in Moody's grasp.

"Now," Moody said to him, "is there anything you'd like to say?"

Wormtail raised his eyes, first to Harry, then to Toby, and lastly to Remus and Sirius. What he saw in all of them must have been awful - Harry knew that what he must have seen in his own eyes was - because he just shook his head and studied the ground in front of him. Talking had worked two years ago, but Harry was older now, and, though he didn't like to think of it, a little harder. If Sirius and Remus wanted to kill Wormtail right now, Harry wouldn't stop them. It wouldn't be murder; it would be justice. Wormtail had been one of the Death Eaters who had tortured Dean's parents; he'd attempted to murder the Grangers; he had murdered the Creeveys. Not to mention making it possible for Voldemort to regain his body. Whatever small part had been left of the Wormtail who had helped to create the Marauder's Map, the Wormtail who had shared a dormitory with Harry's dad, Sirius, and Remus, the Wormtail who had been one of his dad's groomsmen...well, that part was gone, as far as Harry was concerned. This man standing before him now was someone completely different. Someone who deserved to die for the crimes he'd committed.

After several moments of studying Wormtail studying the ground, Moody turned to the rest of them.

"What about you?" he asked, his magical eye seeking each of theirs in turn. "Anything you'd like to say?"

Harry just stared at the two of them - the old Auror and the defeated Death Eater - and shook his head in amazement. There was absolutely nothing he wanted to say to Wormtail. The man knew his crimes, knew the depth of his treason. Nothing Harry could say could change or add to any of that. It would just be for his own satisfaction, berating the man who had committed the ultimate betrayal, and what good would it do, really? He reached out and took Ginny's hand, feeling her give him an encouraging squeeze immediately. He squeezed back, then met Moody's eye, shaking his head again and receiving another one of Moody's unnerving smiles in return.

Moody then turned back to Sirius and Remus, who both had stunned looks on their faces. Harry supposed they were both realizing what it all meant - since Wormtail had been captured, Sirius was a free man, and could take his rightful place in society. Moody's smile widened as he looked at him, then disappeared when he turned to Toby. Harry followed his gaze to see Toby open her mouth, her eyes blazing.

"Stuart!" Moody barked, before she could say anything. She met his eyes, then followed them as they flicked to Sirius, Remus, and Harry himself. Harry could almost see his mind working. Do you really want to dig everything up? he seemed to be saying to her. They're satisfied, why can't you let it lie? And Toby drooped, letting her wand dip slightly. She shared a long gaze with Remus, and then she, too, shook her head at Moody.

He gave a grunt of satisfaction, then without another word stupefied Wormtail. Everybody sagged a bit, and Harry heard several ragged breaths being taken.

Everybody except Hermione, that is. She gave a small shriek, and then tore loose from Ron and dashed over to Ginny. She grabbed Ginny's shoulders and turned her so that she had to meet her eyes. Ginny looked back and forth between her and Harry, but all Harry could do was shake his head at her.

"Ginny, you have to do it now," Hermione said, her words tumbling out on top of each other. "What if this happens again? What if it's someone intelligent next time? How will you be able to live with yourself?"

"Hermione, what are you talking about?" Ginny asked. She let go of Harry's hand so she could reach up and try to pry Hermione's hands from her shoulders. It didn't work.

"Your Protection Charm, you ninny," Hermione said, gripping her even more tightly. "If you'd cast it before, we wouldn't have had to worry nearly as much."

"Hermione," Ginny said, but Hermione wouldn't let her get anything out.

"It will work, Ginny, I know it will. And you owe it to all of us to try. I truly believe that. Besides," she added, and Harry got the feeling that she very deliberately didn't look at him," what would it hurt if it didn't work. He doesn't know, Ginny."

"Hermione!" Ginny said. She looked so distressed that Harry had to look away. He thought he could tell who understand what Hermione was talking about by the looks on their faces. Brenna, Toby, Theo, Moody, and Remus definitely knew. Ron, Fred, and George definitely didn't. He wasn't certain about Sirius, because he was still focused on Wormtail, now laid out on the ground by Moody's feet.

"Hermione," he said, turning back to the two girls, "if she doesn't want to do it, whatever it is, why should she?"

"Because, Harry," Hermione said with the type of calm that really meant she was about the explode, "it's a Protection Charm for you. And Ginny's just being...being missish!"

Everyone stared at her for a moment, and then Ginny giggled and Ron guffawed.

"Missish!" he crowed, practically doubled over from laughing so hard.

"I think you've been reading too much Jane Austen, Hermione," Brenna said, and Toby had her hand over her stomach as though it hurt to laugh so hard.

Hermione stamped her foot.

"Fine, laugh," she said, "but you know I'm right, Ginny, and -"

"Fine!" Ginny said. "Fine." She shook off Hermione's hands and turned to Harry. No one seemed to pay attention, because they were still laughing at Hermione, so only Harry and Hermione watched as Ginny raised her wand and whispered a charm so quietly that Harry couldn't hear her words. Then, she gazed at Harry with such blazing intensity that he thought he would have caught on fire if he hadn't been distracted by what was happening to him.

Little sparks shot out of Ginny's wand to float in the air around him; at least, he thought they did. He could see them out of the corner of his eye, but when he turned to look directly at them, they seemed to disappear. Then, the ones that he could see suddenly started rushing towards him to settle on his skin and in his hair. They should have burnt, and they did, but somehow the burning felt good - it felt as though his skin had been designed to receive these sparks, and it just kept feeling better and better. After a minute or so, Harry looked down at his hands to see them glowing, and he realized that light was pouring from his body - a warm, coppery-red light. He could feel everyone's eyes on him, but when he looked up at Ginny, his gaze was caught and held by hers; he didn't think he could break it if he tried. Her wand was still pointed at him, but he could tell that she had finished casting her charm; her mouth gaped open slightly, and he didn't think her eyes could possibly widen any more.

Slowly, the glow faded from Harry's skin. Everyone just stood and watched as it did, and the silence began to press in on him. He didn't really know what had just happened. When his skin returned to normal, he blinked for what felt like the first time in hours.

"Ginny, I think it worked," he said, because no one else seemed likely to comment.

"It...did," Ginny said. She still hadn't stopped staring at Harry, and he wasn't sure she'd breathed. "It did. It worked. It worked."

Hermione shrieked and threw her arms around Ginny, spinning her around so that bushy brown and bright red hair spread out behind them as the twirled. Harry watched them for a moment, then turned to Ron, but Ron only shook his head and shrugged.

"All right, that's enough," Moody said, his voice gruff, but his expression as soft as it ever got. "We need to head back to Hogwarts."

"Right," Ginny said, stopping suddenly and then clutching at Hermione to stay upright. "Back to Hogwarts, where you will soon have O.W.L.s." She grinned at Hermione as she spoke, and her grin only widened when Hermione gasped. "So, where's my broom?" She looked around the clearing, then spun quickly in a circle and hugged herself.

"Right here," Remus said, his quiet tone belying the mischief sparkling in his eyes. He held up Harry's Firebolt.

"But...but that's Harry's," Ginny said.

"That's all right, Ginny," Harry said, throwing a grin over his shoulder at Remus, "I don't mind taking you with me."

"I should hope not," Hermione said. Everyone else had already summoned their brooms from where they'd stashed them, but Hermione was eyeing hers as though she thought it would bite her.

Harry laughed. He couldn't help it. Hermione was worried about things like the O.W.L.s and having to ride a broom - things had returned to normal.

"You ready, Ginny?" he asked. He took the Firebolt from Remus and mounted it, then held out his hand to her. He still wanted to ask her about that Protection Charm, and he figured that while they were on the same broomstick would be an ideal time. Ginny hesitated and eyed him for a moment, but then she tossed her head and practically skipped over to him, climbing onto the Firebolt in front of him. Harry put one arm around her waist, well aware of the looks he was getting from her brothers, but not caring a bit. They'd just been kidnapped and very fortunately rescued, and he wasn't going to let an opportunity like this pass.

Once he and Ginny were ready, the whole party rose in the air and headed back to Hogwarts, trailing after them the unconscious forms of Draco Malfoy and Peter Pettigrew. Harry couldn't help but think back two years, to the last time he'd thought he would be able to live with Sirius. This time, it would happen. This time, they'd done it right. As the setting sun turned the Forbidden Forest Weasley red, Harry felt his heart sing.