War and Passion

Chapter 6
Blood, Sweat and Tears


The screams of panic grew louder. Harry felt his heart jump in fear at the thought of leaving Ginny alone in this nightmare. It was apparent that this was a large scale attack, even Dumbledore hadn’t expected something of this magnitude.

Harry let go of Ginny’s arm, ignoring the part of him that begged to take her and run for safety. There would be no hope for anyone if he didn’t do what he was trained for.

Charlie walked up to his only sister looking every bit as tortured as Harry felt.

“Stay away from the train. Find the most solid barrier and stay put!” He grabbed her shoulders, when she didn’t respond. “Ginny, are you hearing me?!”

“Yes!” she said desperately as she turned to look at the rapidly approaching Death Eaters.

Ron was scanning behind them, his eyes taking in they layout of the building. He walked forward and pulled Ginny roughly away from Charlie, “There, that barrier in the back, by the wall.” Ron said, pointing behind him.

Ginny tried to pull away from Ron as he pushed her in the direction of the barrier. “Wait, I want to say that I lo--”

“We know. . We all know, NOW GO!!!” Ron finished with a final push. Ginny started towards the barrier, then stopped to look back. All the love and fear she felt for them was written plainly on her face.

“NOW, GINNY!” Charlie hollered over the screaming crowd.

With a look of anguish she turned once more and resumed her flight to safety.

Harry watched as she fled towards the back of the building, dodging people as she ran. Her hair swung behind her in a blaze of glory making her visible until she sunk behind the barrier.

They all four turned back to the escalating crisis, the task at hand looming before them.

“Let’s do this,” Ron said as he stretched his arms in front of him to loosen his muscles.

As they started to walk purposely towards the conflict, people parted away from them with gasps of shock. They took no notice of the awe inspiring sight they created. Four War Mages, walking fearlessly towards the attackers. Looking every bit the Warriors they were. Their fit and muscular bodies once hidden beneath robes were now plainly visible under the tight clothing they wore. The weapons that hung from their belts and peeked from the pockets of their dragon hide vests, proved how dangerous they could be.

When they neared the center of the conflict, Harry saw that the Death Eater’s had come prepared. Many wore robes that opened to give them access to the weapons they wore. Like the War Mages, they had discovered that sometimes it was quicker and more efficient to use blunt force, rather than magic.

Signs of the attack were apparent. The bodies of innocent witches and wizards lay scattered across the scene. If Harry hadn’t already been cured of any hesitation towards killing a Death Eater, the sight before him would have accomplished the feat.

A few wizards stood bravely dueling with the Death Eaters. Harry’s sharp eyes noticed that one middle aged wizard stood, staring in horror at the Death Eater before him. He faced certain doom as the Death Eater raised his arm to perform the Killing Curse. Harry’s knife flew out of his hand before his brain could process the action. On impulse, Harry ran forward and yanked his knife out of the fallen Death Eater. As he stood the wizard’s eyes widened. The once deafening noise, quieted, as everyone including the Death Eaters, stopped to stare. Harry turned to see Ron, Hermione and Charlie behind him.

“Do you surrender?” Charlie asked the Death Eaters calmly.

The effect was instantaneous. At once, the Death Eaters were upon them, their previous duels forgotten. The four of them spread out in a common tactical maneuver. Ron could be seen closest to the train, fighting off two of the biggest Death Eaters. Like Ron, they seemed to prefer weapons over magic. They had obviously surmised, due to Ron’s size, that he would make a challenging opponent. Charlie stood close to the barrier that lead to King’s Cross Station. He alternated between armed combat with the Death Eater currently in front of him and stunning spells shot from the wand, which he had trained himself to use left handed. Hermione was closest to Harry, also using her wand left handed, leaving her right hand free to throw a knife, if needed. She moved gracefully as she danced away from the curses and threw her own stunning spells at the same time. Harry was in the biggest predicament. His face was easily recognizable, and killing Harry Potter was a hard trophy for any Death Eater to resist. Not for the first time, Harry thanked the Gods above for his ability to do wandless magic. He would have easily been over his head without it. He was able to throw barriers to hold off the stream of attackers, as he dealt with the one on two in front of him. His barriers took a certain amount of concentration, so at this level of fighting he was only able to hold one at a time. That left him with the complication of having to lift one barrier to throw another. In the name of survival and quick conquest, Harry dropped all pretense of capturing his opponents alive. He was using his left hand for barriers, while his right threw knifes with deadly intent. At any small interval he had, he would summon his knives back, for fear of running out.

After about ten minutes, there still seemed to be a constant stream of Death Eaters coming at Harry. He was more than relived when Ron showed up next to him, having bested the Death Eaters he had fought near the train. Harry was unsure how much longer he could have held up under such an onslaught. Having Ron fighting by his side gave him a renewed since of energy. Ron already showed the sighs of battle, the sweat that poured off of him ran pink across his arms as it mixed with the blood from various small wounds he had received.

Another five minutes later, Harry was beginning to wonder if the idiots at the Ministry were even breathing. They were suppose to be on alert. Reinforcements should have should been there long before now. They were all starting to tire. A part of Harry’s mind was concerned for Hermione, she had left his eye shot a while ago. Ron was also looking around when he had a brief reprieve from fighting. It was at this moment, Ron’s eyes scanning the crowd in search of Hermione’s sleek form, that Harry spotted a Death Eater sneaking up behind Ron, wand raised. Harry was so distracted with the two cloaked figures in front of him, his reaction time would have never been quick enough.

“RON!” Harry yelled in warning.

A gun shot echoed through the platform.

Ron spun to see the dead Death Eater crumpled behind him. As he glanced up, his eyes widened.

They’re stood Hermione, gun drawn and smoking. She too, had several cuts across her arms and a small laceration on her forehead. She had apparently taken to hiding and coming up from behind. At Harry’s next glance, Hermione had disappeared and Ron was once again battling, his swords blazing. The implications of the event just minutes before, forgotten in the need for survival.

As the pops of the Apparating Aurors indicated that relief was soon at hand, Harry heard a heart stopping scream. It called to him over the crowd, a voice he’d recognize anywhere. He turned to see Ginny struggling against, not one, but two Death Eaters. Her red hair flying around her as she kicked and punched at them. As they struggled to keep a hold of her Harry saw the flash of sliver peek out from a black sleeve, his heart dropped. Wormtail had Ginny.

Without a second thought, he turned from the battle in front of him.

“RON COVER ME!” Harry hollered as he left his back exposed to run towards Ginny.

Ginny had stayed behind the barrier as promised. She tried to see what was going on, but the chaos made it impossible. The crowd did thin out eventually, most people had either gone into hiding like Ginny, or managed to get through the barrier to King’s Cross Station. She attempted to strain her eyes, but all she could catch was a flash of red hair from her brothers. Once, she spotted Hermione hiding behind a barrier close to the conflict, she jumped out, then disappeared into the crowd. Ginny was becoming terrified, she hadn’t seen hide or hair of Harry. She had spotted a large group of Death Eaters crowded together, and Ginny seriously hoped Harry wasn’t in the middle of that group. Since some of them seemed to bounce off invisible barriers, she suspected that he was. When she spotted Ron running full speed towards the group, her fears were confirmed.

Ginny was no longer alone behind the barrier. She had a group of first years crowded with her. Ginny took to comforting the five young girls with her, and it seemed to relive some of the tension she felt. She tried to talk with them and keep their mind off the danger. Ginny was not totally distracted, she still wanted some sort of reassurance that her loved ones were okay. She would stand up every few minutes to hang her head around the barrier and look for them. She was doing just that, her eyes squinting to get a better view, when she heard one of the girls yell to her Mother. She swung around to see a worried witch grab her chest as she spotted her daughter with Ginny. Before Ginny knew what happened, the little girl took off from the safety of the barrier to run towards her Mum. Ginny ran out after her. She had spotted several Death Eaters lurking around. Running out of the cover could have put the girl in danger. Ginny caught her arm to pull her back to safety, when she suddenly felt someone tug on the screaming girls other arm. She looked up and almost dropped the girl in fright. The towering Death Eater stood before her, faceless and terrifying. His dark cloak making him appear even more menacing. Ginny began to tug harder on the girl, but the the Death Eater was much stronger than her. The Death Eater paused and looked back at the conflict for a moment then turned faceless, towards her again. He dropped the first years arm and the girl ran towards her Mum. Ginny instantly knew why he had let go, he wanted her instead. Ginny took off running. She let out a scream when a second pair of hands wrapped around her waist. She started to kick and punch at the assailant. The other Death Eater caught up to them and was attempting to aid in subduing Ginny. The men were grunting through their masks and Ginny heard the occasional swear word when she landed a punch or kick. Finally, the smaller of the two wrapped a strong arm around her waist, rendering her immobile.

“I think a few red haired War Mages, would be very interested to know we have their baby sister,” she heard a squeaky voice say in her ear. She tried to struggle but he a had to firm hold on her. She looked down at the arm that held her.

“Wormtail,” she whispered, more to herself than anyone else.

“You’ve heard of me,” he squeaked a little nervously.

Yes, Ginny had heard all about Wormtail. Harry had described to her in detail how he got that magical hand that now held her. She struggled harder against him.

“Stop fighting, I’d hate to have to kill you before your brothers even know we have you.”

The second Death Eater walked up and grabbed her face. She could hear heavy breathing coming out of his mask.

“We could have some fun with this one,” he said as he caressed her cheek.

Ginny turned her head quickly and sunk her white teeth into his hand.

“BITCH!” He yelled.

He raised his hand and smacked her so hard, she saw stars behind her eyelids. The pain in her face making her slightly dizzy.

She opened her eyes when she heard the faceless man make a startled gasp. Ginny screams pierced the air when she saw the point of a bloody knife sticking out of his chest. It suddenly disappeared and the man pitched forward. Wormtail pulled her backwards to prevent being toppled on by the dead man. Ginny’s screaming stopped when she saw what the falling form revealed.

There stood Harry, the bloody knife still in his hand. He looked more furious than she had ever seen him. His brilliant green eyes flashing in anger as he took in the scene in front of him. He was unrecognizable to the Harry on the train. He had blood spattered across his face and arms. His skin glistened with sweat. His already large size seemed even more imposing when mixed with the sheer fury that radiated from him. He flicked the knife once and Ginny saw that it was now clean. He shoved it back into his belt and walked towards them.

“Let her go,” his furious voice demanded.

Ginny could hear Wormtail's breathing increase and she felt his hand wrap around her throat.

“I’ll kill her, Harry,” he wheezed.

Harry was so quick, Ginny didn’t even see his hand move.

Harry’s gun was now pressed against Wormtail's mask,“You do and you’re dead,” he hissed.

“Harry, you wouldn’t kill me,” Wormtail’s shaky voice tried to reason.

“I assure you, I would.” Harry pressed the gun deeper into the mask. Ginny heard it thump lightly against Wormtail’s forehead.

Harry avoided looking at Ginny. He had his eyes trained on the mask in front of him. He was praying that Wormtail didn’t make him pull the trigger. He had no qualms about killing the man, he’d just rather it not be inches from Ginny’s face.

“Harry. . .” Wormtail started again.

“Last chance. . .” Harry whispered as his finger started to apply pressure to the trigger.

To Harry’s huge relief, Wormtail’s hands moved slowly away from Ginny. He was surprised that Wormtail had enough frame of mind to move slowly. If he would have quickly released Ginny, Harry could have easily pulled trigger by accident.

Once Ginny was a safe distance, Harry stunned Wormtail and set magically bindings on him. Every ounce of his being wanted to kill the filthy rat, but he refrained. Having Wormtail alive, would make it that much easier to prove Sirius’ innocence. Plus, having Ginny watch him kill a man, practically in cold blood, was too painful to think about. She’d already seen him kill one Death Eater in her defense, that was more than enough.

“Are you okay?” He tried to speak calmly, but the anger and fear was still pumping through him.

Ginny stood staring at him with large eyes. Her face was pale. She just looked at him, her mouth slightly open in shock.

“Are you?” She countered when she finally spoke. Her gaze traveled down the length of him. Harry looked down as well, he realized just how gruesome he must look.

“I’ve seen better days,” he said as he glanced back towards where Ron, Charlie and Hermione were still fighting.

“Are you hurt?” Her voice still rang with shock.

“Probably,” he didn’t really feel hurt, but the adrenaline rush could easily cover that up. “I've got to go, Ginny.”

He knew that the Aurors had arrived. The threat to this side of the platform was minimum. She would be fine for a few more minutes.

She jumped forward as he started to walk off. “Wait, is everyone okay?”

“Last I checked, they seemed fine. They may look a sight, but I don’t think it’s anything serious.”

“Oh. . .okay,” She said looking at the ground. Harry could tell she had something else to say. “Harry?” she questioned softly.

“Hmm,” he said as he moved closer.

“Would you have really killed him. . . you know like. . .” She paused to look at his gun, that now hung back on his hip, “like that?”

“Yes Ginny, I would have. . . The choice between you or Wormtail isn’t a hard one for me to make,” he said in a soft but certain voice.

Ginny must have heard about the destructive force of muggle guns. Harry could see in her eyes that she understood what a violent death Wormtail would have suffered, had he made a different choice.

Ginny was about to say something else when Harry saw her eyes grow wide as she looked past his shoulder. Harry spun quickly to see what she was looking at.

Three retreating Death Eaters all stood close to the train, their wands pointed at the back compartment.

“GET DOWN, GINNY!”

Harry yelled as his knife flew out of his hand towards the nearest Death Eater. He sprinted and threw a barrier at the second as he ran. He tackled the third as the curse was muttered. It was too late, the platform rocked from the explosion. It was not as powerful as it would have been if all three of them had cast the curse, but it was enough.

It seemed too take forever for the dust to settle. Ginny was screaming for Harry. If the platform was chaotic before, it was nothing compared to now. Once she was able to see, she spotted Harry’s form laying near the Death Eater he tackled. She let out an ear piercing scream as she ran. She fell on her knees next to him. He was lying face down. The amount of blood around him made it impossible for her to turn him over. He was dead, she just knew it. She couldn’t face it.

“GINNY!” Ron yelled as he ran towards them. He stopped when he saw who she was kneeling over.

“RON! DO SOMETHING!” She yelled at her horrified brother.

He ran forward and shoved Ginny out of the way. With shaking hands he turned Harry over.

“Oh, God,” Ron whispered.

Harry’s face was white as death. He was a mess, he seemed to be bleeding from everywhere. Ginny saw so many deep wounds she couldn’t begin to count them. The dragon hide appeared to have protected the parts of his body that it covered, but that was it. He was just lying there, unmoving. His eyes closed, a trickle of blood running down his face from a wound beneath his raven hair.

Ron had his fingers on Harry’s neck feeling for a pulse.

“He’s alive,” he said springing to his feet, “HERMIONE!. . . HERMIONE!!!!”

Ron’s voice echoed across the platform. Even over the roaring crowd, he was easy to hear in his panic. Ginny looked up from her spot of the floor, to see Hermione running towards them. She broke through the crowd that was now gathered around them. She came to a grinding halt when she saw Harry.

Ron ran forward and grabbed her arm, pulling her towards Harry. She was like dead weight, her feet were almost dragging across the ground. Her eyes were wide in shock. Ron turned around when he realized Hermione wasn’t cooperating.

“HERMIONE, HARRY IS GOING TO DIE, IF YOU DON'T DO SOMETHING!!!!” He screamed as he shook her.

It worked. Ginny could see Hermione instantly snap out of her horror struck state. She ran up to Harry and immediately started checking him over, wand in hand. Like Ron, she seemed unaware of the various cuts and bruises that covered her body.

“What’s she doing?” Ginny asked, her voice shaking as she spoke.

“She’s the only one of us, who could get a handle on the Medi-Charms Madam Pomfrey tried to teach us,” Ron said as he watched Hermione work. “She’s trying to stop the bleeding.”

“Is he going to die?” Ginny could barley choke out the words.

Ron looked at her. For the first time in years she saw tears threatening to spill out of his eyes.

“It’s pretty bad, Ginny” he said softy.

She felt her heart constrict at Ron’s words. The reality of a world without Harry, hitting her. Needing comfort himself, Ron moved closer to her, Ginny fell into his open arms, sobbing brokenly into his shoulder. Her tears once again flowing for a boy named Harry Potter.