Harry Potter and the Silent Siege

Chapter 3

The Chase

Harry walked over to Sirius who had a piece of parchment laid open in front of him. The parchment now showed the area where Sirius and Harry were camped. As Sirius moved his wand over his surface, the map revealed a pathway through the mountains to the Forbidden Forest and beyond to Hogwarts.

"I shouldn't like to spend much time in there again," said Harry shuddering.

Sirius turned to look at him. "I'm afraid we don't have much choice. We hike all day tomorrow to Raven Hollow." He pointed to an area slightly to the left of the center of the forest. "The Centaurs can protect us there for a time. Then, the next day, we'll proceed through the Gargoyle ravine, around to Dippet ridge and then up through into Hogwarts. Our wands should point us if we get lost."

Harry looked at the map more closely and felt even more uncomfortable. There were several sections marked HAZARD! in glittery silver. One, Harry noted, was right in the middle of the nest of spiders where he and Ron had wandered during their second year while trying to find if Hagrid's former pet, Aragog, was in fact the monster inside the Chamber of Secrets. Several others seemed to indicate large waterfalls and one a circle of flames. Another section marked out what liked like a group of trees with large mouths ringed with deadly fangs.

"Does Dumbledore know we're here now?" Harry suddenly thought to ask.

Sirius shook his head. "I doubt it. Dumbledore knows about this place but he didn't know about the Polyjuice Potion."

So, thought Harry, it was Sirius' idea after all.

"He probably thinks you're dead," said Sirius. "Even if he suspected you might be alive, he knows it would be too dangerous to check." Sirius looked at Harry more seriously. "We can't be sure what Voldemort's powers are now, Harry, especially as he succeeded in breaking the old magic."

Harry frowned. "That means that my friends will think I'm dead also. Can't we send an owl from the forest?"

"No, it's just too dangerous, Harry. Besides, we don't have an owl. Or a fireplace. You cannot safely apparate; no one can apparate inside Hogwarts, and I cannot very well apparate anywhere else since I'm a wanted criminal."

Harry nodded. Hedwig still hadn't returned. Maybe she had been fooled also. Or worse.

"I just know how hard it will be on my friends. I just wish it didn't have to be that way."

Sirius smiled. "I know, Harry, but I'm afraid you're either dead for two days or dead forever. I think you know which your friends would prefer."

Harry nodded, but he found it proved too difficult to return his godfather's smile.

"Now, please get some rest, Harry. We won't do well in the forest if you're not in a fit state."

***

At that very same moment, a mere several miles away from where Harry was now preparing for an early rest, the Hogwarts Express was nearing its destination.

Ron, Hermione, and Ginny shared a compartment. Ron and Hermione sat on the inside and Ginny next to Hermione on her side. None of them were talking for the moment, which was very unusual considering that the Weasleys and Hermione had not seen each other this summer. Hermione had tried to talk off and on about her holiday in France and Ron had talked a little bit about his owl Pigwidgeon's new habit of squawking loudly in his ear to tell him he had mail before pulling back and flying around the room with the letter still attached to his beak. Most of these conversational topics had fallen almost instantly flat, however, and it was clear that they were mostly thinking about what might have happened to Harry. A few visitors had been in to see them: Ron and Hermione's fellow Gryffindor sixth-years Seamus Finnigan, Neville Longbottom, and Parvati Patil; fifth Colin Creevey and his third-year brother Dennis; and Ravenclaw seventh-year Cho Chang. Most of the visitors had asked about Harry and had tried with varying degrees of success to cover up their concern when they learned that he was apparently not on board. Even Draco Malfoy, who normally came in menace them at least once each trip, had not yet put in an appearance. Ginny had spent most of the day absorbed in a Muggle book her father had given her and had uttered only three words the entire day: "No, thanks" when asked if she wanted anything from the snack trolley and just "no" when Cho had asked if they had seen Harry.

Hermione looked out the window and saw the mountain scenery disappear from view as the train plunged through the heart of the Forbidden Forest. She knew it wouldn't be very long until they reached Hogwarts and she decided that she should at least try to bring up the subject of Harry.

"What do you think's happened, then?"

Ron did not try to pretend that he did not know what Hermione was talking about. He shrugged and sighed. "Perhaps You-Know-Who was planning to seize the train. It is a little obvious if you think about it."

Hermione frowned. "I suppose so. But would You-Know-Who really attack so directly now, before the wizarding world has fully realized that he's returned?"

"He could cover it up to look like something else, couldn't he?"

"I suppose." Hermione frowned again.

"You don't think - " Ron started suddenly, his eyes suddenly coming to life.

"What?" asked Hermione.

"I mean, well, that you-know-who might have something to do with this?"

Hermione stared at Ron as though he had taken temporary leave of his senses. "You know, Ron, there just might be that odd chance."

Ron stared back at her quizzically before his face cleared. "Oh, no, I don't mean You-Know-Who, I mean, You-Know-Who, of course, but I really mean, er, you-know-who."

"I'm afraid you've lost me."

Ron nudged his head slightly in Ginny's direction.

Ginny looked up from her book. "You want me to leave, don't you?"

"If you wouldn't mind," replied Ron.

"I'm really sorry, Ginny," said Hermione, "just for a moment, OK?"

"It's OK," replied Ginny. Hermione searched her face for some trace of indignation but could find none. Ginny simply took her book in her hand and quietly left the compartment.

Ron waited until Ginny was out of the door. "Sirius."

"Oh," said Hermione.

"He was guarding Harry all summer. Maybe he's tried something."

Hermione sighed. "Or maybe he's been caught."

Ron frowned.

***

Ginny walked down the corridor of the train, peaking through the doors and greeting several students whom she knew. She thought to try and find her two roommates and best friends Amanda and Catherine whom she had missed in the rush to board the train at King's Cross. As she was walking along the corridor, however, she passed the rarest of things on the Hogwarts Express - an empty compartment. From the sound of nearby voices, Ginny could tell that the occupants, Neville and Dean Thomas, were in the adjacent compartment talking to their Hufflepuff friends, Justin Finch-Fetchley and Ernie Macmillan about the recent European Quidditch Cup. Ginny moved into the compartment and sat down. She didn't mind so much if they returned. Ginny liked Neville, even if she did still have a scar from where he had stepped on her foot at the Yule Ball two years ago.

Ginny turned her head around and looked out of the window. Dusk had fallen outside and she could see her reflection through the light of the compartment. It was nice to see to look at a mirror that wasn't enchanted for once. It was so much easier to talk to your reflection when it wasn't going to talk back at you. Being a witch meant it was sometimes very hard to be alone; having six brothers meant that it was doubly difficult. There were times when Ginny craved these opportunities.

And so she did what she had told herself she would the whole summer. She stared at her reflection and said almost inaudibly so that no one in the other compartment would hear:

"I am in love with Harry Potter. I am not a silly child. It is not a silly schoolgirl crush. I am not going to forget about it."

Ginny smiled and felt much better. She could she her cheeks flush in her reflection but she did not turn away. She did not need to feel embarrassed in front of her own reflection. She imagined she could see Harry, flying on his Firebolt, alongside the train. She smiled as she remembered looking out of the window with her new found friends in her first year - before she had written to Tom Riddle, before she had opened the Chamber of Secrets - when everything was new and exciting and interesting and gasping in astonishment when she saw her father's enchanted Ford Anglia flying above the train with Harry and Ron inside.

When Ginny was a young child, her mother would read her bedtime stories of all the famous wizards and witches in history: Godric Gryffindor, Henrietta Handsdowne, Albus Dumbledore.... But the one Ginny always told her mother to tell her over and over again was the story of the Boy Who Lived, Harry Potter. Ginny was fascinated that a little boy hardly older than herself had defeated the Dark Lord, the most evil wizard ever to have lived, the sorcerer her parents still did not dare to name. She begged her mother to make up stories about how Ginny traveled along with Harry Potter, saving the world from dark wizards and witches everywhere. When she had first met the lonely boy with the glasses on the platform at King's Cross Station Harry's first year, Ginny did not imagine that he could be the great Harry Potter. The real Harry seemed shy, polite, and, well, vulnerable in comparison to the Harry that Ginny had imagined. But Ginny had not felt disappointed; if anything, she was interested further. Ginny's imagination became consumed with the idea of making friends and sharing excitement with the real Harry at Hogwarts. And then it wasn't long before she found herself imagining their relationship to be much more than friendship.

And so it was on one unusually clear summer morning before her first year at Hogwarts, when Ginny's romantic fantasies had gotten very far ahead of her, that she had sat at the kitchen table, the very table where Ginny had sat and dreamed about her adventures with Harry all through her childhood, and seen the very last thing she had expected to see: the Boy Who Lived was coming down the stairs to join them for breakfast. Ginny had dreamed about saying and doing many different things on their first real meeting but knocking over a bowl of porridge had not been one of them.

And then she had shared a real life adventure with Harry Potter in the Chamber of Secrets. And it had not been fun and exciting. It had been frightening, disturbing, and humiliating. And Ginny did not dream about sharing adventures with Harry any more.

But she still dreamed about being together with him. Harry Potter was every bit as noble, true, but also as vulnerable and human as she had imagined. She was fascinated that anyone could share all of these contradictory qualities together in such abundance, and that fascination fueled her attraction to and, as she grew older, her desire for him.

During a game of Wizard truth her second year, she had told her feelings to her roommates Catherine and Amanda. Neither of them had seemed very surprised. As Amanda put it, Ginny was not blessed with the dullest complexion. Everyone in Gryffindor tower knew that Ginny was like a warning beacon: they only had to see her glowing red to know that Harry must be somewhere nearby. Both of her friends had tried to convince her that her crush wasn't healthy: they had many reasons. It's not true love, they had said. You have a crush on him because you think he's a hero, because he saved your life, because he's handsome and plays Quidditch, and so on. At first, Ginny had managed to persuade herself that they were right. And then Ron had tried to talk to her the summer after her third year. He knows you like him, he had said. If you want to be his friend, stop lighting up like a Christmas tree whenever you see him. As if it were that easy.

But Harry was no longer a stranger to Ginny. He was her brother's best friend and he spent several summers at the Burrow before the return of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. Ginny had studied with Harry, sat on the train with him, and even teased him when he had been turned down by Cho Chang whom he had invited to the Yule Ball his fourth year. But her feelings hadn't vanished with the reality of Harry's presence in her life; if anything, they had gotten stronger. Ginny told everyone who talked to her that she was over Harry. She wasn't really sure they believed her but at least they had stopped bothering her about it (all except for Fred and George, of course).

And then there were the nightmares.

Ginny had dreamed about being in the Chamber for years now. Sometimes the dreams were like shadows dancing through her mind, always on the edge of her perception. At other times, they were real and she would have to live with them the morning after. Over the years, the nightmares had become fewer, but just recently, they had returned. Ever since she had come back to the Burrow over the summer, the nightmares had come fast and frequent. Somehow they seemed different from before. She was baffled as to what they were telling her. It was always the same: she was lying in the Chamber and Harry and Tom were preparing to fight. Harry wanted her to save him but she could never quite bring herself to do it. The details would sometimes change, though: sometimes Tom was Tom and sometimes he was Voldemort. At the same time, Ginny's feelings for Harry seemed to grow stronger but she wasn't sure if it was her feelings that were causing the dream or the dream that was causing the feelings.

Ginny was certain about one thing, though: her friends and her brother were wrong. Her crush was not going to go away. Finally, this summer, during a quiet moment by herself in the garden of the Burrow, Ginny had told herself that her love was real. Even if no one understood her or respected her, she would be true to herself. Now as she looked at her reflection in the window, Ginny made another resolution: this year she would become Harry's friend, not just his best friend's little sister, but his own real friend. After that, Ginny didn't know, but she felt sure her feelings for Harry weren't going to change and she could be very patient. The more Ginny thought about this idea, the more she liked it until finally she smiled at her reflection.

But then her smile faded. She remembered that no one knew where Harry was at that moment. Ginny felt a horrible fear form inside of her gut: Harry wasn't coming back.

Ginny continued to look at her reflection, the outside forest black as pitch around her. She felt a sudden lurch. The Hogwarts Express was reaching its destination.

***

At that moment, Harry was having a dream of his own. He dreamed that he was playing Quidditch for Gryffindor. The pitch of the crowd's roar rose and fell and Harry swooped through the air. Finally, he spotted the golden Snitch, which it was his duty as Seeker to chase. He suddenly became aware that Draco Malfoy was chasing the snitch with him, his green Slytherin uniform trailing behind him. Malfoy was gaining on the Snitch but he was not as fast as Harry.

"You can't stop me now, Malfoy," Harry yelled back.

"Oh, no," Malfoy replied. "Just watch!"

Malfoy then reached behind his back and produced a large ball wrapped in a Slytherin uniform. Malfoy hurled the ball at Harry and it unrolled and took the shape of Dudley Dursley. Dudley was coming hard at Harry and there was nothing Harry could do to get out of the way. Dudley had an evil grin all over his face and he stretched out his arms. Harry winced with pain as he felt Dudley's fingers bore into his skull....

And then he woke up. At first, Harry was relieved. Dudley didn't attend Hogwarts, and certainly didn't play Quidditch for Slytherin.

But then he remembered that much more to the point, Dudley was no longer alive, and Harry felt much less relieved.

And then he realized why he had woken up and why he had dreamed of Dudley attacking his head. His scar was throbbing with pain. He immediately sat bolt upright and walked over to his godfather. "Sirius, my scar." Harry winced as the pain in his head tightened.

Sirius stood up, alarmed, from where he had been studying his map. "And it woke you up?"

"I think so."

Sirius' eyes darted around like a bat.

"Perhaps Voldemort found out. Perhaps he'll start looking for me."

Sirius did not reply. He stood up and began pacing around the camp. He stared in all four directions at the rambling countryside around them. It was almost as if he was looking for something he had lost. Then he glanced up into the heavens and took a step backward.

"Or perhaps he's already started." Sirius squinted at something far off in the distance. Was it his imagination, or had a shadow just past over the moon?

"What is it?" asked Harry. He squinted also, and then realized that the images of the moon and stars in the night sky were becoming blurry. He reached into his pocket and took out his glasses, but rather than making things clear, the sky just turned to a different shade of blur. He was caught in between Dudley, who did not wear glasses and his own near-sightedness with the result that he could not see particularly well either way. Still, as Harry struggled with his vision, he could just make out what looked like a series of dark spots against the night sky. They looked far away for a moment but an instant later, they were much, much closer.

"Are those some kind of giant birds, or bats?" Harry asked Sirius.

But Sirius didn't answer. He took a step backward. Then another step. "Harry," he said uneasily.

Harry looked back up at the sky. Even without good vision, he could see the dark shapes coming nearer and nearer. One of the shapes turned at an angle and something gold reflected from the side.

An insignia. An insignia like the one on the end of a -

"Harry," said Sirius more urgently. "Get your broomstick fast!"

Harry swallowed and looked around on the ground for his Firebolt. He did not have to look up at the sky now. He could hear them coming, men on broomsticks, cutting through the night air. He could hear the distant sounds of their raised voices. What they were after he didn't know, but he was not in the mood to stay and find out and neither was Sirius.

Then Harry heard a sound like a flare being launched. He felt his face flush in fright. He had only had that sound once in his life before, that he could remember. Harry forced himself to look up and saw a green light flash into the sky, then another, and another.

The Dark Mark was forming in the sky.

"HARRY!" yelled Sirius. "GO! GO!"

***

The returning students to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry rode in stagecoaches up to the front entrance.

"God, I'm starving," declared Ron who, without Harry around to help him, had eaten only a covered chicken sandwich complete with a single strand of sorry lettuce all day. "I can just smell that feast from here."

Hermione didn't answer. She kept looking around nervously. "I still can't see Harry," she said.

Ginny, who was now reunited with Ron and Hermione, kept darting her eyes back and forth, and rubbing her arm as if she was cold despite the unusual warmth of the evening.

Finally, the students made it to the large Entrance Hall. For Ron, Hermione, and Ginny, the routine was now familiar and Ron took the lead in making their way across to the Great Hall where the new first years would soon be sorted and, more importantly, the feast would begin.

Ron was so intent on his journey that he nearly walked straight into Professor McGonagall, who was standing at the front entrance to the hall, blocking their advance.

"Oh, excuse me, Professor, I - " Ron broke off as he looked at the expression on McGonagall's face. She seemed to have aged thirty years in the short span of the summer. Her eyelids were heavy and her complexion blotchy as though she had been crying. She looked almost vacantly down at Ron before finally saying very quietly:

"You'd better stay where you are, Mr. Weasley."

Ron nodded but did not say anything. He began to feel very uneasy.

The crowd of students that was now forming behind Ron was forced to stop, most of them still outside the door to the Entrance Hall. There were hushed murmurings of confusion among the students.

McGonagall took out her wand. She was about to place it to her face when a loud booming sound resonated just above the students.

"Chaos! Confusion! Misery! Despair!"

Peeves the Poltergeist was jumping up and down in obvious delight with a wicked grin on his face.

McGonagall suddenly found her voice. "PEEVES!" she shrieked.

"Understood, madam," replied Peeves, bowing his hat. "Peeves is not wanted." Peeves began to move away but continued to rub his hands with glee. "Oh, just wait until you all find out what happened! Oh! Oh! Oh!" And with a final glare from McGonagall he was gone.

Ron suddenly felt sick.

McGonagall placed her wand to her mouth once again.

"Sonorus. If I could have everyone's attention." McGonagall broke off as she cleared her throat which was still hoarse from shouting at Peeves. "Tonight's feast has been cancelled."

There were murmurs of confusion and dismay from the students.

"If I can have quiet, please," said McGonagall. "Some very disturbing events have taken place today in the wizarding world and the faculty must meet together to discuss them. First years, when they arrive, will be taken to the main hall where they will be temporarily accommodated until a proper sorting ceremony can take place. Older students will proceed to their dormitories. Food and drink will be provided in your common rooms."

There was a relative silence, broken only by the shuffling of feet and disentanglement of bodies as the students moved in the directions of their respective houses.

Ron turned around to walk with the other students to Gryffindor Tower.

"Except," and here McGonagall seemed to croak on her words. "Mr. Weasley and Miss Granger. If you would follow me, please."

Ron nodded and looked around to Hermione who was standing just behind him, her face the color of birch.

McGonagall waited for Ron and Hermione to reach the spot where she was standing only to see that Ginny was trailing behind them.

"Not you, Miss Weasley," McGonagall said softly. "Please return to your dormitory."

Ginny did not reply. She stood her ground for one moment longer. In that brief moment, she fixed McGonagall with a stare that was as penetrating as it was unreadable. McGonagall felt herself shudder involuntarily.

Then, Ginny slowly nodded and turned around in the direction of Gryffindor Tower.

***

Harry pushed up with his feet from the ground and in an instant his broomstick had risen high into the air. He saw Sirius behind him unfastening a protesting Buckbeak and riding the graceful animal into the sky alongside Harry. Harry immediately had to cut his pace to allow Sirius to catch up with him and even when he had, Harry could not maneuver his broomstick at full speed.

It did not take long for the Death Eaters to catch up to them. There were eight of them, riding broomsticks that Harry did not yet recognize, as fast or perhaps even faster than his Firebolt. In an instant, the Death Eaters were riding close enough that Harry could see their black cloaks trailing behind them in the wind. Each of them wore masks that covered their faces.

Harry had barely registered this when he saw one of the Death Eaters take out a wand and aim it at his position:

"Avada Kedavra!" he heard the Death Eater cry.

Harry darted quickly to his right as the green beam from the Death Eater's wand narrowly missed his hip. He could feel the wind in his ears and his heart pounding in his head.

The Death Eaters were aiming to kill.

Suddenly, Harry was surrounded on all sides. Beams of wand light flashed all around him. Relying on his Quidditch instincts, Harry darted back and forth, avoiding the beams. The earth and the sky seemed to melt into one darkened mass as Harry twisted and twirled to try and break the Death Eaters' formations. Fighting off dizziness, his head still cloudy from having just woken up, Harry became aware of the oscillating spray of hot animal breath from somewhere just above him. Suddenly, the underside of Buckbeak's belly emerged right on top of him.

Harry moved his broomstick so that he was flying just ahead of Buckbeak. He could hear the animal panting and flapping its wings as fast as it could but it was no match for the Death Eaters who continued to circle Harry and Sirius.

"Harry!" Sirius cried. "You have to go on - to Hogwarts. It's your only chance!"

"I'm not leaving you!"

"Harry, listen to me. We don't have a choice. I can't keep up with them; you can go faster. Now, go!"

Harry opened his mouth to protest again just as he felt another flash of wand fire pass just below his left ear. Most of the Death Eaters had now circled either above or just below Sirius. He leaned on his broomstick so that he was moving away from Buckbeak and gaining ground. As he did so, he saw that one Death Eater was still flying right in front of his present position, looking around. Harry took out his wand, but it was too late. The Death Eater had spotted him. Harry tried to pull up but his momentum carried him to within several yards of the Death Eater's position.

"Avada Keda-"

"Stupefy!"

A flash of red light from just behind Harry cut off the Death Eater's curse. Sirius stood on top of Buckbeak, his wand outstretched. Harry watched as the beam struck the Death Eater straight on. He tumbled over his broomstick and down into the black night's sky.

Without stopping to think whether the Death Eater had survived his fall, Harry gripped his broomstick with both hands and moved off into the space that was now opening ahead of him. He felt the wind rush faster through his ears as his broomstick gained speed. Suddenly, he heard a loud sickening cry behind him. Harry turned his head around to see Buckbeak cutting and weaving dangerously through a cluster of Death Eaters. There was sudden flash of talons and one of the Death Eaters tumbled to the ground clutching his right arm. Sirius shifted Buckbeak and collided with another Death Eater head on. The Death Eater tumbled over the top of Buckbeak grabbing the underside of his broomstick. Sirius stood up and performed the Expelliarmus curse, sending the Death Eater to the ground.

But Buckbeak had suffered the blow of the Death Eater's broomstick tumbling into his body at close range. He gave out a loud hoarse cry and Harry could see that there was a large gash opening up under his right wing. Buckbeak flapped noisily but his right wing hung limply. Sirius held onto Buckbeak's neck tightly as the Hippogriff pitched at an alarmingly angle and fell dangerously fast out of the night's sky toward the darkened ground below.

"SIRIUS!" cried Harry.

His screams alerted the remaining Death Eaters who had been milling around Buckbeak in confusion. They broke off and headed toward Harry.

Harry flattened himself to his broomstick and felt it pick up even more speed at his command. He took out his wand.

"Point me!" Harry cried.

Harry's wand spun around toward the direction of Hogwarts. Harry swept sideways in a graceful arc and sped off over the first trees of the Forbidden Forest, the Death Eaters in pursuit.

***

McGonagall finished telling Ron and Hermione everything that had happened that day and the night before: the Dursley's burned down house, the Ministry's arrival that morning and Dumbledore's discussion with the Weasleys (and apparently the Grangers via Muggle phone). She managed to get through the entire account unbroken but then began to sob and took out a slightly fading blue spotted handkerchief to dab her eyes.

She didn't know what she had expected Ron and Hermione to say but she had not expected them to sit there as silently as they did. Both of them had gone horribly pale but neither had shown any reaction to anything she had said. They simply stared forward, not quite looking at her, large plates of food and a pitcher of pumpkin juice untouched between them.

Finally Ron said: "And they don't know anything else? They don't have any idea who's behind it, what else happened?"

McGonagall shook her head. "Believe me, that is what the Ministry is making every effort to discover as we speak. And I will inform the both of you along with your parents when there are any new findings. Now, if you'll excuse me, I will let the Headmaster know that you are here." McGonagall turned away and left not quite managing to look Ron and Hermione in the eye.

The door to Dumbledore's office shut and Ron and Hermione heard McGonagall's footsteps slowly disappearing down the spiral staircase. They continued to stare straight ahead, neither of them acknowledging that she had left.

There was a sudden flutter of movement. Fawkes the Phoenix, his brilliant red tail flowing elegantly behind him, came to perch delicately on the side of a tray of chocolate fudge cakes. He bowed ever so slightly to Ron. A single tear welled in the side of his eye and fell onto the tabletop.

"Hello, Fawkes," said Ron quietly, his voice suddenly breaking. "I don't think even your tears can heal us this time."

Hermione suddenly started to sob. She began quietly but soon her sobbing became more intense until finally she started to wail loudly, as loud as she could, louder than she had even the day when at the age of six, her small brown puppy had unexpectedly died, just days after she had received for her birthday.

Ron had seen Hermione cry before but never like this; her wailing seemed to echo off the walls of Dumbledore's office like the unearthly cries of a banshee.

"Hermione. Hermione," he said urgently.

Hermione reached over the table and grabbed Ron into an embrace. He suddenly felt Hermione's tear-stained cheek next to his and her bushy brown hair filled his vision. She continued to wail right next to his ear and he could feel her tears falling down onto his robes.

Hermione had always been a very tactile person but Ron had never been quite comfortable hugging his best friend. He always seemed to feel his heart quicken and his head fill with thoughts about someone coming around the corner and seeing their embrace or, in this case, Dumbledore walking into his office. Of course, it was perfectly natural for them to hug after they had just heard that their other best friend had been killed but somehow Ron still could not shake the discomfort. And Hermione always seemed to hold on so tightly like Ron was a giant stuffed teddy bear. It just felt claustrophobic.

But this time he supposed Hermione needed very badly to be hugged. Ron kept her in the embrace for what seemed like an eternity. He finally released her and moved backwards. Her release was more reluctant but she did not try to continue to press him against her. A few strands of Hermione's hair lingered a moment on Ron's shoulder before falling back down toward her.

"Why aren't you crying?" Hermione suddenly demanded.

"I - I don't know," replied Ron, the reality of Harry's death suddenly returning to the forefront of his attention. "I - I don't feel I can; I'm just shocked, I suppose, or - or - angry," Ron decided, feeling his face flush red.

Hermione grabbed her own handkerchief and blew her nose noisily, looking at Ron through bloodshot eyes. "Look, Ron," she suddenly said, as if coming to a decision. "It's just the two of us now." Hermione sniffed. "W - We need to be honest with each other."

Ron nodded, not quite sure what was coming next.

"T - There's something I need to tell you. I've been thinking about this all summer." Hermione started to speak quickly and look down at her knees. "I just - I just - " Hermione stopped, then suddenly balled her fists in frustration. "Oh, why is this so difficult?" she asked the arm of the chair. "We're friends, after all."

"Yeah," Ron replied weakly, suddenly feeling very foolish.

Hermione paused for a long moment and Ron felt a flood of unfamiliar emotions run through his head - anger at Harry's death, emptiness at the loss of his friend, pity for Hermione, and a sudden nagging curiosity to understand exactly what it was she was trying to tell him.

"I can't," said Hermione suddenly, releasing her grip and looking back in Ron's eyes. "Not now. There - there's just too much - too much has happened. I'm - I'm - I'm sorry."

"OK," replied Ron dumbly.

Hermione sighed, then looked at Ron anxiously. "Please," she said, in a very quiet and scared voice. "Please, Ron." She moved toward him with her arms out. "I - I know you don't feel that comfortable h - h - holding me."

What was that she just said, Ron suddenly asked himself. Holding?

"I don't feel uncomfortable at all," Ron lied, suddenly aware that his voice was coming out as a high-pitched squeak.

"But I." Hermione looked down again. "I - I just feel really alone right now."

Hermione's plea was so pitiful it frightened Ron. He pulled her into another embrace and told himself that he would not let go until she was ready.

***

Harry held onto his Firebolt and willed it to go ever faster. His ears felt numb from the suddenly cold wind that was rushing through him as he sped over the treetops of the Forbidden Forest. How far had Sirius said that it was to Hogwarts? Thirty miles? How fast was he going? Harry felt certain he had never traveled this fast on his Firebolt before. He had always been limited by the area of the Quidditch field. Fifty? Sixty miles an hour? Could he make it to Hogwarts tonight? Surely the Death Eaters wouldn't follow him there, would they?

Harry swallowed. The Death Eaters had made to Privet Drive. Perhaps they had found a way to conquer Hogwarts as well. For all he knew, the school might have already been ambushed. Voldemort might be there himself, waiting to taunt him again before this time successfully killing Harry, just as he had killed his parents, his aunt and uncle, his cousin -

And his godfather?

Harry forced his doubts and fears to the back of his mind. He had found his nerve before and if he had any chance to survive this time, he knew he would have to again. He wouldn't give up, not as long as he still had a hope.

Harry looked behind him. There were now five Death Eaters left in pursuit, two just behind him and three a little further back. He also saw that they were gaining on him quickly. Whatever it was they were flying, it was faster and newer than his Firebolt. Harry knew that could not outrun them all the way to Hogwarts. He would have to rely on his Quidditch skills.

***

Ginny walked with the other Gryffindors into the common room and sat herself down on the first available chair. She had run into Amanda on the way up and spotted Catherine in the crowd just behind her. The three friends sat down together. None felt like talking too much; everyone was too nervous and afraid about what might have happened to cancel the feast. After seeing McGonagall take Ron and Hermione away with her, they were very much concerned that it had something to do with Harry.

Ginny saw Amanda and Catherine exchange nervous glances as they sat down. They seemed to be treating her like an inflammable substance.

"I bought new dress robes this summer," said Amanda, forcing herself to sound cheery for Ginny's sake. "We're having another ball this year, you know? D'ya wanna see them?"

"Sure," replied Ginny flatly. She tried to move her mouth into a smile but it somehow didn't really make it.

Ginny saw Amanda open her trunk in the middle of the common room and take out her dress, something Ginny knew Amanda wouldn't have done unless she were thinking desperately of a way to take her friend's mind off things, but Ginny's own mind was elsewhere.

What right did McGonagall have to take Ron and Hermione along with her and leave Ginny to walk back to the common room by herself? Had they signed their names in blood that they alone were Harry's best friends? Didn't anyone understand how much Harry meant to her, how much it would kill her to lose him right now? Was Ron and Hermione's grief worth so much more than hers?

Ginny tried to force her anger down. McGonagall couldn't very well have taken the whole of Gryffindor Tower up to Dumbledore's office with her. And Harry had lots of friends, she reflected ruefully.

Ginny vaguely became aware that Amanda had now opened a dark maroon dress with a white frill collar and gold twinkling crescent moons woven all down the side.

"Oh, it's lovely!" exclaimed Catherine.

"The patterns are enchanted to change color whenever I move," Amanda went on. "It's so - "

She stopped abruptly. Silent tears were streaming down Ginny's cheeks.

"I'm sorry." Ginny suddenly stood up. "I - I know you were trying to take my mind off things but I really need to be alone right now." She got up out of her chair, not sure for the moment where she was heading. She finally made her way over toward the window.

"Gin." Amanda stood up.

"Let her go," said Catherine quietly.

Ginny walked over to the window. Most of her fellow Gryffindors passed out of her way when they saw her tears as if she was carrying some kind of plague. The air was still unusually warm for September in Scotland and the windows to the Tower were wide open. She stared out of the window across the school grounds to the Forbidden Forest. Growing up in the Burrow, Ginny had always felt something powerful about nature. It seemed so much broader and greater than any of her small problems. Looking out to the forest, she felt that she had already left behind the low murmurs of conversation in the common room. She felt the wind caress her cheek, blowing the tears away from her eyes and sending curls of hair blowing around her face.

Ginny didn't know how long she planned to stand there. She had spent most of her life thinking about the future, her mind only rarely forced to live in the here and now, but now that future seemed too painful to bear, so she simply tried to lose her herself in the moment.

***

Harry felt a bolt of wand fire glance just past his left shoulder. He dived to his right and then back to his left again as another bolt from his right shot past him. Harry saw a small gap open up in the trees ahead. He abruptly swung his Firebolt around and plummeted hard straight down into the crevice. He looked briefly behind him as the canopy of trees overhead closed. With still-blurred vision, Harry could see the Death Eaters were in disarray: two of them had overreached their target. A third tried to dive into the opening and met the open space at precisely the same moment that one of the lead riders tried to backtrack from the opposite angle. The third rider tried desperately to swerve but it was too late: there was a satisfying crack of handle on handle and the third rider spun out of control and thudded hard against a large tree. The lead rider managed to regain his balance but not before his wand fell from his grasp and landed in the undergrowth somewhere behind Harry.

The ground loomed ahead fast. Just as he was about to crash into the bottom, Harry pulled up, the bristles of his broomstick kissing the top of the fern-strewn ground. He moved his broomstick forward just centimeters above the earth. A whooshing sound behind him told him that the wandless Death Eater was in pursuit but Harry had gained back some ground. He didn't dare look again to see if any more were following him. At that moment, the clearing came to an end and Harry plunged broomstick first into the thick dark forest. He weaved his Firebolt dangerously fast between thick trunks of trees, smaller branches and vines stinging his face like the sharp cracks of a whiplash. He could hear the insistent cries from a myriad of strange creatures. Now and again, Harry became aware of movement to his left and right as small - and sometimes not so small - animals scurried out of the way. He kept hoping to hear the crash of a pursuing broomstick against a tree but the silence told him that his pursuers must be still on his tail.

Just then, Harry heard the whooshing sound of wand fire to his left. A wild beast from somewhere in front of him roared in fear and an enormous tree fell down across Harry's path. He rolled over sideways to avoid it, seeing as he did so a second chaser traveling parallel to his own position, wand at the ready. The chaser was starting to pull ahead of Harry and he realized the two Death Eaters were planning an ambush. Harry pulled up sharply, riding the large trunk of a tree up into the open sky.

As he pulled out into the open, he saw the two other Death Eaters still flying through the sky to his right. He tore forward and heard one of them shout in the distance. He knew they would both move to pursue him. Harry took out his wand again.

"Point Me!"

He shifted twenty degrees to his left to remain on a course for Hogwarts. Suddenly, on an impulse, Harry took his Firebolt high into the sky, higher than he had ever done in any Quidditch game, so high he could feel the wind resistance start to jolt the tail of his broomstick. But he had to see it. He had to know.

And then he did.

Far in the distance, straight ahead of him, were the unmistakable lights and turrets of Hogwarts, their reflection glistening in the lake by the side of the school. If only he could just hold on.

Wand fire crackled from underneath him as one of the Death Eaters moved up to his position. Harry took out his own wand.

"Impedimenta!"

Harry's own shot flew harmlessly into the empty sky. He maneuvered his broomstick once again toward the top of the thick foliage below, skimming the tops of the tall trees. He heard the cries of the Death Eaters and dodged a flurry of wand fire before diving down directly in through the top branches of a large leafy oak. Harry felt the leaves and branches bite into his face as he rode down and down, praying that the Death Eaters wouldn't follow his suicidal plunge. He veered dangerously close to the tree's main trunk and then into the thick forest again, passing inches over a small bog before cutting another winding path through the thick forest. He heard the cracks of branches behind and knew that at least one of the Death Eaters was in close pursuit. He wound through thicker and thicker foliage. The light of the moon was distant indeed from the dark forest ground. Harry was not sure he could keep this up much longer. He gasped as a large thick trunk emerged directly in front of his face, swerving just in time to avoid a surely fatal collision.

Then Harry heard an unearthly cry just behind him. At first he thought it was the moans of another strange beast, but then he chanced a brief look back and saw to his horror that a giant eight-legged spider had leaped onto the stomach of the on-rushing Death Eater, unseating him from his broomstick which had now crashed and splintered into the trunk of a nearby tree. He heard the Death Eater shouting a curse at the spider, but the curses were soon replaced with chilling screams. Harry looked back ahead of him. As he dodged more and more trees, he suddenly realized that the ground just beneath him was alive with movement. Suddenly, something grasped his own leg and was forcing him down into the forest. He looked back to see the beady eyes of an enormously large arachnid that had grabbed onto his leg. Pain suddenly seared into Harry's calf as the spider dug into his flesh with its pincers. Forcing his eyes to return to the dangerous path ahead, Harry grabbed his wand from his pocket, pointed to the dipping end of his broomstick and cried:

"Expelliarmus! "

Harry shouted the curse three times before he finally heard a snapping sound and felt the spider drop off the end of his broomstick. Harry righted his Firebolt and continued his journey deeper and deeper into the forest, hoping to see some kind of clearing ahead of him, but the darkness went on.

From the sound of snapping twigs behind him, Harry knew there was at least one Death Eater still on his tail. He suddenly saw a flash of movement to his right and noticed the Death Eater running just beside him. He heard the Death Eater curse and saw the flashes of light coming between the trees before bouncing harmlessly off the wood. Harry dodged and weaved, trying to put as much space between them as he could, but the Death Eater seemed to twist with him, matching Harry's every turn. In a tiny part of his mind not concentrated on survival, Harry sensed something familiar about this rider, as if they dancing a dance they had choreographed years ago. He accelerated his Firebolt. Flying perilously fast, Harry swooped in between two trees, but the Death Eater hung close. Finally, swallowing his nerves, Harry made a sudden swerve to the right and criss-crossed hard into a collision course with the Death Eater. He ducked as the Death Eater cried "stupefy," then flew inches above his head and ducked in between the two main trunks of a large oak. The Death Eater recovered almost immediately, swerved and ducked to copy Harry's move but he was a split-second too late. Harry heard the crack of the Death Eater's broomstick as its end rammed against one of the tree's large branches. He glanced back to see the Death Eater spin around on his half broomstick and crash harmlessly into a bed of ferns. Harry continued to dodge and weave through another two trees as he heard the Death Eater's wand fire crash against a tree just behind him.

Once he was satisfied that the Death Eater was far behind him with no means to fire or pursue, Harry aimed his Firebolt back up into the sky.

***

Ginny drank the fresh night air like an intoxicating wine. The wind started to swirl and blow harder into her face. She knew that it was a sign. The last of the summer nights was fading, as if on cue, with the start of the new school year. Tomorrow, it would be autumn. As a child, Ginny had developed a strong gift for sensing the changing of the seasons and feeling this change again seemed to soothe her turbulent nerves. She glanced up to see a small cloud moving slowly toward the moon, and then for an instant, something else. A black blur seemed to rise out of the forest near the horizon; it passed over the moon and turned direction. Then another followed and then another just above the first. Ginny squinted as a gust of wind sprang up and stung her eyes. Like Harry earlier that evening, Ginny thought at first that they must be large birds, but they didn't seem to move like birds. Rather, they moved just like...

Ginny suddenly felt her heart flutter.

No, it couldn't be.

***

Harry didn't need his wand to show him the way this time. As his Firebolt flew above the treetops, Harry could see the lights from the Hogwarts castle glowing above the horizon just to his right. One lone Death Eater flew just behind and to his left. Harry goaded his Firebolt on. If he could just keep going a little bit longer, he would make it over the grounds and provided all was well, there was a good chance the Death Eater wouldn't follow him. He could see from his peripheral vision that the Death Eater was gaining on him and it wasn't long before he was dodging the crack of wand fire again. As the Death Eater moved closer, Harry could see long blondish-white hair trailing behind him.

Lucius Malfoy, Harry realized at once. He should have known.

In between dodging Malfoy's curses, Harry thought quickly to himself. He was sure that five Death Eaters had survived Sirius' diversion and chased after him: One had collided into his fellow rider when Harry had dived into the forest the first time; one had been attacked by the spider (Harry still shuddered at the thought), and one had just spun out into the undergrowth. That left two Death Eaters. Where was the other one? Harry realized that it must be the wandless rider who was missing. Perhaps he had disapparated to get another wand. Perhaps -

Harry realized only too late what had happened. The wandless rider landed on top of him with a bone-jarring crash. Rough hands grabbed Harry's shoulders and tried to force him off his broom. Harry hung on desperately to the undercarriage of the Firebolt, and fought back pressing his strength against the Death Eater. He finally landed a blow to the side of the Death Eater's head and swung down hard with his hands to send the Death Eater's broomstick crashing down into the trees below. Now the two of them hung perilously onto Harry's Firebolt. Harry felt the shaft of his broomstick crushing against his stomach as he and the Death Eater sandwiched it between them. The Firebolt now twisted and turned circles in the air, dangerously close to the top of the trees. Harry's stomach felt like it had flown into his throat as sky and earth spun around and around. He vaguely became aware of the towers of Hogwarts starting to loom ahead of them but the Firebolt was no longer traveling in a straight direction.

***

Ginny stared at the impossible scene that had emerged before her eyes. It seemed there were three riders now, two of them hanging onto the same broomstick while the other flew nearby with his wand outstretched. She didn't dare hope what she was seeing was real. She didn't dare hope that one of the riders could be Harry. She reached into her pocket and drew out her wand pointing at the spot of sky above the forest where the riders were now twirling figure eights in the sky.

"Lumos Solarum!" she cried.

A bright beam of light flew out from Ginny's wand across the Hogwarts grounds and out toward the three riders. It was still too far away to shine on the riders, but Ginny's cries attracted the attention of her fellow Gryffindors. Seamus suddenly appeared in the window to her right.

"Bloody hell!" he cried.

Ginny's heart pounded faster. It was not just her imagination then.

Within moments, the windows were full of Gryffindors. There were several cries of "lumos solarum" and wand lights shot out from the tower to blanket the night sky.

***

Harry continued to wrestle with the Death Eater. The two of them clung onto each other and the broomstick tightly so that it was impossible for either to free his fist for a blow. Harry finally managed to release his left hand and punch the Death Eater in the chin but he still clung onto the broomstick. Harry reached up again to strike but the Death Eater ducked his face to avoid the blow and Harry made contact only with the Death Eater's mask which came off and fell down into the forest below.

Harry gasped as he saw the crooked-toothed face of former Slytherin Quidditch captain Marcus Flint snarling back at him.

The distraction was all that Flint needed. He grabbed his hands around Harry's throat and began to shake him vigorously.

"No - decent - jobs - for - boorish - goons - left?" Harry managed to croak.

"Flint," he heard Malfoy's silky voice call from somewhere nearby. "Hold him still so I can get a clear shot. Then we can end this!"

Harry tried to wriggle out of Flint's chokehold but it was no use. His eyes began to water as Flint tightened his grip. Suddenly, out of the corner of his vision, Harry saw something large and white fly into view and dive right at Flint's face.

Flint screamed and tried to swat the invader away. In the distraction, Harry wrestled himself out of Flint's grip and, without stopping to think, planted a hard kick into Flint's stomach.

The Death Eater screamed as he lost his balance and felt off the Firebolt and down into the branches of a tall tree below.

Harry swung himself back on top of the Firebolt just in time to feel the light from Lucius Malfoy's death curse scream past his ear. There was a squawk beside him and Harry turned around properly to see what it was that had saved him.

"Hedwig!" he exclaimed.

Harry caught his bearings for a moment. The struggle with Flint had taken him further away from the school grounds but he could still see the castle lights not far ahead of him. Malfoy was still right on top of him, his mask now fallen off, dirt and blood lining his normally well-groomed complexion.

"Avada Kedavra!" Malfoy cried.

Harry pulled the Firebolt hard straight up into the sky to avoid Malfoy's curse. He kept flying higher and higher and felt the swirling wind start to take hold of the broomstick.

Malfoy lost direction for a moment once again but was soon in pursuit.

Harry finally straightened his broomstick and found himself very high in the sky. He realized he must be somewhere around three or four hundred meters above the tops of the trees. The school grounds lay sprawled out just ahead of him and he suddenly saw the tips of a dozen wand lights coming from the top of Gryffindor Tower. They must have seen him. Perhaps that also meant that Voldemort had not managed to take over the school. Harry felt his heart swell with hope. If only he could hang on just a little longer.

Malfoy finished his ascent and straightened his broomstick to fall just behind Harry. Suddenly, both riders were hit with jolts of turbulence as high heavy winds tossed them like feathers. Harry tightened his grip on the Firebolt. Malfoy tried to fire but he kept missing wildly and finally had to use both hands to just to keep control of his buffeting broomstick. It was just as Harry had planned.

"I told you, Potter," Lucius Malfoy cried into the night air. "I told you you'd meet the same end as your parents one day! Think about it, Potter: in the end, no one in your family could escape the Dark Lord. Your parents were finally defeated, your aunt, uncle, and nephew finished off and now, finally, you will go to join them!"

Harry did not gratify Malfoy with a response. He knew that the Dark Wizard was trying to eat away at his nerve because he could no longer reach him with his wand. Harry concentrated his anger at Malfoy through his broomstick and egged it down toward the Hogwarts castle. In a few moments, he would pass over the threshold of the Forbidden Forest and over the perimeter onto the grounds. He swung his head around and saw Malfoy beginning to pull back. It was working. He couldn't or wouldn't follow him to Hogwarts. Harry had escaped. He had made it.

Harry was so consumed in his reverie, however, that he did not notice Malfoy flying down out of the wind to release his wand hand yet again. He was too far away to see the shrewd smile that curled up the sides of Malfoy's face and he was out of earshot when Malfoy took out his wand and cried into the night:

"Accio Firebolt!"

Harry suddenly felt a hard jerk on his hands. His broomstick was slipping away from his grasp underneath him. He struggled to hold on but it was no use. He swung backwards and felt his grip slide away from the handle. Harry made a final desperate grasp at the bristles at the end of his beloved broomstick but finally came away with only these in his hand. He caught a brief glimpse of his Firebolt flying through the air into Malfoy's waiting hand. Malfoy took it in his hand and then spun away in the opposite direction.

Harry tumbled backwards and felt his momentum carry him over the school grounds. He let out an ironic laugh he did not know he had been holding. In the end, he had finally made it home.

But Harry also knew that he would never be able to survive a fall from this height. He watched the earth below him loom closer and closer. Lucius Malfoy had been right: Harry had resisted the Dark Lord for longer than anyone could have dreamed possible but now he, too, was going to die.