How Do You Choose Between What is Right and What is Easy?

Chapter 17

Ginny opened her eyes and looked around. Everything was white, all the way from the tiles on the ceiling to the tiles on the floor. She was still in the hospital wing. The curtains around her bed were still closed. This time, however, she was alone.

From the other side of the curtain, she could hear two people talking. It was hard to tell who it was, as they were talking in really low voices. After a few moments, however she was able to discern that it was the Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, and Gryffindor's Head of House, Minerva McGonagall. While still lying flat in her bed and listening intently, she was able to make out what they were saying to each other.

"Where have you decided to keep Potter for the time being?" McGonagall asked, an angry and morose tone to her voice.

"He is being held in Professor Flitwick's office," Dumbledore replied. "Both Severus and Filius are keeping watch over him."

Both McGonagall and Dumbledore were silent for a moment. Then, McGonagall broke the silence by whispering, "I just can't believe that Harry would do something like this." Ginny sat up in bed as quietly as she could, so she could better hear what they were saying.

"We finally received a full confession from Harry today. Severus provided us with some of his strongest Veritaserum. He resisted at first, but after Severus... felt the need to use force... we got some more Veritaserum in him. After that, Harry could no longer resist. He spouted the entire story. Filius had bewitched a quill to write the confession down, word-for-word, as Harry told it to us. Then, with the use of even more Veritaserum - courteousy, of course, of Severus - we got him to sign it."

From her place in the bed, Ginny could hear McGonagall sigh. "What's going to happen to him, Albus?" she asked morosely.

Dumbledore sighed. "That has been very difficult for me to dwell on. There really was no point in telling the Minister about this until we got a full confession, so I really have not had time to decide. At the very least, he shall have to be expelled. At this point, I cannot think of anything else to do, besides bring them in front of the Wizengamot and have them decide."

"They'll send him to Azkaban... won't they... Albus?"

"Most likely, that is what will transpire."

"What exactly happened, Albus? In the common room... what happened?" McGonagall asked, her voice full of curiosity.

"You know everything up to the rape, of course?" Dumbledore asked her.

"Yes. Professor Flitwick filled me in up to that point. However, when I asked him what else had happened, he couldn't compose himself enough to go on."

"Filius has always had a kind and tender heart. No doubt something like this happening to some of his favorite students would have a harsh effect on him." He paused for a moment. "Anyway, after Ms. Weasley passed out, it would seem that Harry went on a sort of...rampage. He beat Ms. Weasley almost black-and-blue - as the Muggle saying goes - using the same piece of wood he used to knock out Mr. Malfoy. I believe he even managed to break a few bones.

"After finishing with Ms. Weasley, he turned his sights back to Mr. Malfoy. Harry beat him very badly as well, though he was beaten even more so than Ms. Weasley when they were all brought in.

"Mr. Crabbe and Mr. Goyle, who were waiting on the outside of the portrait hole had heard the commotion and went running to find Severus. Thankfully, he arrived in time to prevent any more harm to come to Mr. Zabini and Mr. Fling. He subdued Harry by using his wand, place the injured students on stretchers, placed a blanket over Ms. Weasley, then called me through the fireplace.

"After I arrived on the scene, he told me what had happened and I summoned Filius. After he arrived, we filled him in on the situation. Severus escorted Harry up to Filius' office, while Filius and I got into position. I was ready to transport Ms. Weasley and Mr. Malfoy, while Filius was ready to transport Mr. Zabini and Mr. Flint. Right as we were about to leave for the hospital wing, we heard movement and noise from upstairs in the girls' dormitory. Knowing full well that no one else should have been in the dormitories, due to the Hogsmeade trip and the festivities going on for the younger students, Filius put a Freezing Charm on the stairway and went upstairs. He found them in the fifth-year dormitory."

"Who did he find?" McGonagall asked, sounding like she was hanging on his every word.

"Six Slytherin girls. They were mostly seventh-years, though one was a sixth-year. They were tied up on the floor, and their wands had been gathered together and left on one of the beds. Most of them were unconscious, but Ms. Parkinson seemed to have woken up just moments before and was trying to be heard. No one has any idea who did that to those girls. Whoever it was left no clued as to who they are. We are almost certain, however, that it was a female, given the fact that it is impossible for a male to get up there unless they know the enchantment. They were also wearing an Invisibility Cloak at the time, because the girls told us that none of them had seen them. They were just overtaken.

"All the girls have been checked over by Madam Pomfrey, and all are fine. None of them came to any harm. As for Mr. Zabini and Mr. Flint, they are fine as well. Madam Pomfrey, however, kept them here for a couple of days more to make sure their hearts are working correctly after the curse Harry used on them. Mr. Malfoy, however, is still passed out. He has not woken up yet, and while Madam Pomfrey was able to fix his many broken bones and the wound on his head, she is afraid to do anything about the cuts on his face until he wakes up, as she's not entirely sure if they were made by wand or knife."

"What about Ginny?" McGonagall asked. "How is she after all that happened?"

Dumbledore sighed deeply. When he next spoke, it was with great sadness in his voice. "She was unconscious for three days. When she awoke, her brother Ronald was there. When he asked her what had happened, she went into hysterics and would not tell him anything that had happened."

"Do you blame her?" she exclaimed quietly. "After everything she went through...."

"I do not blame her, no. As it was, however, Madam Pomfrey gave her a mixture of Strengthening Solution, Healing Potion, and some pretty powerful Sleeping Solution. She has been sleeping for the last few days."

At that moment, a third voice joined the two already present. "Professor Dumbledore, I must speak with you immediately." It was Madam Pomfrey, and she didn't sound in the least happy.

"What is it, Poppy?" Dumbledore asked curiously.

"I have a result from the blood sample I took from Ms. Weasley." Madam Pomfrey's voice sounded very worried.

"Blood sample?" McGonagall asked, bewildered. "What did you need a blood sample for?"

"I had Professor Snape make a potion for me. Moreso for Ms. Weasley, I guess I should say. Since she has been... raped... I thought it would be best to check for signs of pregnancy as soon as possible."

"But, surely," McGonagall said, "it would take longer than six days to get results like that."

"The younger the patient is, the easier it is to get quicker readings. It also helps that she is a full-blooded witch. The test works about fifty percent better on pure-blood witches."

"How does this... this test work?" McGonagall asked.

"I have no idea how the potion is made, but what you do is take just a couple of drops of blood from the patient and drop them into the potion. If it turns pink, it's positive. If it turns blue, it's negative. It will also tell you how many there are if it's positive. The potion will be divided by lines in the potion. However many sections the potion has been divided into, that's how many children the patient is pregnant with."

"What are the results, Poppy?" Dumbledore asked, rather sharply.

"The results are positive. And there are two."

"Two!" McGonagall exclaimed, sounding shocked.

"There's... there's something else as well," Madam Pomfrey said.

"What is it?" McGonagall asked worriedly.

"The pinks in each section of the potion were different tones."

"What... what does that mean?" McGonagall asked.

"It means..." Madam Pomfrey said, sounding as though she would rather not say. "It means they have different genes. They're from different fathers."