|
||||||||
|
||||||||
Author: Dellaran Story: The Man Who Wasn't There Rating: Young Teens Setting: Pre-OotP Status: Completed Reviews: 0 Words: 11,675
Chapter Four: Night Flight The night air around Ginny was warm and sweet with summer as she sped towards the forest clearing where Hermione had told her she would find Harry and his captors. On any other night, she would have been soaring delightedly next to Harry on his broomstick, playing amid the shifting wind currents and watching small animals scurry around on the forest floor. Tonight she had different prey on her mind. According to Hermione's information, there were three men in the clearing holding Harry. As she approached the hole in the treetops, she saw the glow of the cylinder of wards that protected the site, and heard voices within - low mutters, an angry shout, and a gasp of pain that made her heart beat faster. Silently, she glided through the wards, relieved to find that Hermione had been right - the wards were set only to repel humans. No one took any notice of her as she came to rest in a tree at the edge of the clearing. Harry was there, below her, tied to one of the trees that dotted the small open space. His robes had been ripped to tatters, and great red welts stood out livid on his chest. Lucius Malfoy stood directly in front of him, his wand in one hand and a short whip in the other. Malfoy's eyes were wild and red-rimmed, and he kept poking Harry in the chest with his wand. "Don't tell me you don't know! How did you do it? How did you defeat our Master?" Harry stared back at Malfoy, not entirely conscious, but clearly still fighting. "I told you, I don't know what you mean! He hasn't been defeated. Why are you asking me?" Malfoy snarled and raised the whip to strike at Harry again. Ginny let out a loud warning hoot and flew to one of the middle branches of Harry's tree. "What was that?" One of the other men in the clearing, who had been peering out through the trees standing watch, looked around and upwards. "Just a ruddy owl. Damn forest is full of ‘em." His companion peered into Harry's tree briefly, but did not see Ginny perched deep within the branches. Malfoy had also stopped at the sound of Ginny's hoot, looking wildly around the clearing with eyes that were clearly not entirely sane. "Potter! I will bring our Master back. I must know how you broke his protection spell before. Tell me!" Harry began to mumble a reply, but his voice suddenly became much less distinct to Ginny. As soon as she was sure she was not being watched within the cover of the tree, she moved back along the branch to the trunk, closed her eyes to concentrate, and transformed back into human form. The sharper sight and hearing of the owl were tremendously useful, to say nothing of the ability to fly, but for the next stage of the operation, hands were more useful than wings. Ginny reached into the small pouch at her waist and pulled out three small spheres about the size of walnuts. Hermione had given them to her earlier in the evening; Napdragons were one of Fred and George's more useful wartime inventions, being essentially a Dungbomb filled with sleeping powder. She would have liked to bring several more, but maintaining her owl form was difficult enough even without additional encumbrances. Three would have to suffice. Taking a deep breath, she leaned down and lobbed a Napdragon at the nearer of the two watchers. Her aim was true; the sphere hit him in the shoulder and burst open with a barely audible "pff!" releasing a cloud of silver-gray dust. The man turned, as if to see what had tapped him on the shoulder, and with one breath of the sparkling dust he collapsed bonelessly to the ground. She quickly turned to the other watcher, but he was too far out of range to risk one of her two remaining Napdragons. Quickly, before Malfoy or his other guard saw their sleeping companion, she edged out on her branch until Malfoy was directly below her, and dropped a Napdragon straight down on his head. He staggered and fell to the ground in front of Harry, who gasped in surprise. The unexpected sound was enough to draw the attention of the other watcher, who shouted "Master!" and came running toward the tree, wand drawn. Ginny aimed her last Napdragon carefully, but it ticked off a tree branch and burst harmlessly in the air. She smothered a curse, but the man looked up into the tree. "Who's there? Oi, you come down from th- " Ginny, her own wand already drawn, hissed "Petrificus totalis!" and the man froze and toppled over midsentence. Malfoy, you need to hire better goons, she thought, this was almost too easy. As quickly as she could manage without falling, Ginny clambered down the tree to Harry. "Harry, it's me," she whispered urgently. "I'm getting you out of here." "Ginny?" Harry mumbled. Up close, the whip-marks on his chest were horrific, and Ginny could see that his face and hands were bruised as well. "Wha-… how…" "It's all right, Harry. Do you still have your belt?" Suppressing a blush, she tugged aside the remains of Harry's robes. His trousers and belt were still in place. He was so young, she thought, marveling at how he had matured and filled out in the years after Voldemort's defeat. He was still her Harry, though, and seeing him again as he had been at the beginning of their relationship only made him more attractive in her eyes. "Harry, listen to me, we don't have much time before those Napdragons wear off." She moved around behind him as she spoke, and released him from the ropes with a flick of her wand. "Do you remember how your belt buckle works? It's a Portkey, remember?" Harry nodded slowly, struggling to understand her. "Squeeze buckle… back to Hogwarts…" He started to reach for it, but Ginny came back around and grabbed his hands. "No, wait, Harry, I have to do something first. Just remember your Portkey. I know you'll be fine." "But wha' ‘bout you?" "Don't worry about me. I have another way home, all right?" Ginny saw questions rising in Harry's eyes, and she knew she didn't have time to explain the situation, if indeed she even should. His memories of the rescue had never been clear anyway, so she thought it would be safer to leave him confused than to tell him something he should not have known. To forestall his questions, and because she couldn't help herself, she leaned forward and kissed him lingeringly. Harry looked even more stunned as she pulled back, and she winced. I shouldn't have done that. Well, nothing to be done for it now. "You'll feel disoriented for a minute, Harry, but as soon as it stops, activate your Portkey and you'll be safe back at Hogwarts." Harry managed a weak nod and stood as Ginny raised her wand. "Temporis reparo!" A cloud of golden sparkles, like tiny fireflies, surrounded Harry, and he faded and vanished. Ginny heaved a huge sigh of relief, staring at the empty spot where he had stood, knowing he would make it back safely. She closed her eyes, concentrated, and shifted back into owl form, beating her wings hard to get back out of the trees and over the wards to safety. Just as she reached treetop level, however, she heard a hissed "Revertere!" from the ground below, and, horrified, felt herself slip back into human form. Before she could reach her wand to try to save herself, she hit the ground with a sickening crunch. Her leg snapped and she cried out in pain. Malfoy leered down at her, somewhat unsteadily, still fighting off the effects of the Napdragon. "You, girl? Saved your precious Potter, but you couldn't save yourself, could you? Doesn't matter, no. Our Master touched you once, yes he did. I'm sure your blood will suffice to bring him back. How fitting." He drew a long silver dagger out of a sheath at his belt and held it up over her. Just as the blade started to descend, however, Ginny's vision suddenly went gray, then black.
|