Unofficial Portkey Archive

Ron and the other quidditch players were back up on their brooms. With the immense light pouring from all of the wands, they were able to fly as long as they stayed in the general vicinity of the students on the ground. Under the circumstances, the progress they were making was excellent. The house-elves simply had an uncanny ability to find someone when they set their mind to it. They informed Ron, that they were convinced that Hermione was only about an hour in front of them. It was hard to stay calm.

He swooped in and out of the nearby trees, sort of making a game of it. It kept him distracted from the task at hand. Which was to figure out how to stop Hermione without hurting her. She was most likely going to fight tooth and nail; Ron hoped that was not going to turn out literally. There were a lot of students here and a lot of mistakes can be made when there are so many pieces on the board. When they got closer he would have instructions sent around to hold any spells from firing, until he gave the order. The sun appeared to be approximately overhead; not that it made any difference.

Draco had flew up to Ron and asked if he had heard anything from Ginny. He was a bit taken aback that he would even care. Apparently, Malfoy was beginning to think past his own circle of influence. It was not much, but maybe, just maybe someday down the road, Draco would stop being such a complete ass. Ron was not going to hold his breath, though.

McGonagall had just received word from the elves that they found a large tree that Hermione had apparently been in for quite sometime. She had since moved on, but whatever happened it kept her there for awhile. Ron assumed that it was the darkness that had caused her to worry. If it was him, he would have done the same thing. When you have no cover, then a good lookout is the next best thing.

Ron decided to fly down to where the elves were congregating and see if he could get any more details. He set down just few meters away. Luna was already standing there. She was smart enough to know when Ron would think it important enough to check on things. She had a worried look on her face as he approached. Ron noted that Dobby looked very unhappy as well.

"What do we know?" Ron asked.

Luna gave Ron the condensed version. "Hermione was definitely here, but there's more. We see another set of tracks nearby that headed off to the north. All of the house-elves agree that they are Harry's tracks. Hermione's tracks area definitely following after Harry's. It seems that she has either found him, or is very close to finding him. There's no way we can get there before her."

"Then, we'll need to hurry. They both need us and it's only a matter of time before Voldemort finds them both. All we can do is hope that we get there before Hermione kills Harry, or Voldemort kills both of them. Let's keep moving people!"

With that order the army set out again at a very fast pace. Time was of the essence.

--- ---

Ginny was desperately trying to locate Ron and the rest. She had to warn them. From her estimation the giants would be arriving in the area that Myrtle had flown off towards at about the same time that the Hogwart's students would. If they were caught off guard then there was no telling what the outcome would be. The only problem was that it was so incredibly dark. She could not see where she was going or where she had been. Ginny strained her eyes to make out what was in front of her. She had her wand out earlier, but the little amount of light it was giving off only made it harder to see over distances. Her night-vision was just too compromised by it to be helpful.

Then just as she was starting to feel things were getting hopeless, she saw it. There was a beacon of light that had erupted far south from her. She figured it could only be one thing, so she aimed her broom in that direction and sped there as fast as she could go. Her eyes began to water from the wind whipping in her face. She could not let that bog her down, so she wiped them the best she could and pressed on. She only hoped that when she got there, that Ron would be able to think of what to do. Giants have been fighting the magical community for a long time. It was obvious that they posed a serious threat as many witches and wizards had died in the battles they had fought against one another. They would need a plan; a way to catch the giants off guard.

Suddenly, a sharp pain went through Ginny's head and chest. Then a sensation of falling followed by a crunching thud sounding in her ears. Shortly after, she could feel awful pain coming from her left arm and left leg. She realized that she was no longer flying. Instead, she was looking straight up into the night sky from the cold, hard ground. She felt around with her right hand and discovered the partial remains of her broom. Looking around her, it was obvious that she was at the base of a very large tree. She must have hit the top of it when she started bringing her altitude down to keep her broom in line with the light. She tried to pull herself up, but her leg was not responding. She tried to feel it with her left hand, but it would not move either. Then, she gently probed her left side with her right hand. Her arm was definitely broken and her left leg was lying at a very strange angle. The pain was shooting through her whole body and made her feel dizzy and a little nauseous.

Ginny could not find the strength to even roll herself over. In a panic she reached into her robes and let out a little cry of anguish. Her wand had fallen out of its pocket. There was nothing she could do. She thought about yelling out, but knew that would likely bring unwanted attention. She was still a long way off from the light of Ron and Luna. All she could do was just lie here and wait, for whatever was going to happen. Her imagination started running wild and it was getting hard to keep the panic from overwhelming her.

There was the sound of a breaking stick in the distance. Then another followed shortly after, this time closer. Something had found her. After a moment, Ginny realized that it was not one thing, but many. She could hear heavy thudding sounds coming from all directions. She tried to turn her head, but pain shot up her back and her neck stopped responding. She was going to die and would not even know what killed her. A whimper escaped her lips and tears of fright began to roll down her cheeks. Ginny Weasley was a brave young woman, but of all the things she was ready for, dying was not one of them.

A harsh voice came from one of them, "It's wounded. What should we do with it?"

"Pick it up. We'll take it with us," came a second voice, even raspier than the first.

"It's a girl-child from the school," a third voice spoke.

The first voice replied, "Look, a wand. It must belong to this one. We'll take it with us as well."

The second voice responded, "I'll take the child."

The pain was so excruciating now that Ginny could no longer see anything. She felt a pair of arms pick her up. Then with one last cry of pain, everything turned black.

--- ---

Harry was very fast. Hermione had a difficult time not losing him in the forest. As fortune would have it, he was doing nothing to hide his tracks. It was easy to follow him. She assumed he was heading back to his cave. It was a stroke of luck that he never found her. Now, she would take the fight back to his cave. She would let him go in and feel safe and then crawl inside, in silence. He would never know what hit him. She could not risk a face to face confrontation. Harry was deadly with his wand and she was not about to attempt a dual of magic. This was to be a dual of wits, and she had no doubt that she would win that fight.

Then it hit her like a ton of bricks. How was she going to kill him? A spell? Which one? Or would she simply snake in and kill him with a weapon of some sort, or perhaps with her bare hands? The thought of taking his life with her own hands made her shudder. That was too personal. She would never be able to go through with it. It would have to be by magic. Perhaps a curse. It really would not matter if she used an illegal spell. As long as she could stop Harry's insanity; then whatever the consequences, it would be worth it. Not to mention, how likely was it that the ministry would risk coming into the forest to arrest a girl who had stopped a madman?

She liked being able to smell him. It was sort of calming in a strange way. Almost as if he was with her again, like it was before. She hoped that if she were to ever meet him in the next life then he would understand that she was doing this out of love. If her love was not enough to keep him with her and sane, than it was at least enough to stop him from doing anything further to hurt himself or others. Hermione stopped and noticed a strange bush that had appeared to be growing out of a split rock. It was one of the final landmarks that Myrtle had told her about. She was less than a quidditch pitch away from the cave. Harry's scent was very strong now. He would be inside, no doubt.

She followed his trail up to a large hill. There on the face of it, was a crooked little cave entrance. If she had stumbled through here a month ago, she would never have even seen it. But now, she could not miss it. It was obvious that something was living inside as there were numerous tracks leading in and out, many of them quite fresh. There was even a small circle of stones hidden from sight. That would be where he would most likely light fires on the coldest nights. The thought of him being cold made her sad. The idea of Harry suffering made her deeply unhappy. That was part of the reason she was here now. To take his suffering away.

There was a voice coming from inside the cave. It was not Harry though; it sounded like a female voice. She was too far away to be able to make out what was being said. A strange surge of jealousy swept through her. What woman was out here in the forest with Harry? Why was she talking to him? What were they doing together? That thought made her angry and afraid. It broke her concentration and brought out the wild in her. She was not going to share her mate with another female. She would kill her if she had to; anything to keep Harry to herself.

Hermione shook her head violently. What was she saying? Her mate? Harry was not her life-mate. They were merely hunting partners. No, that was not right. Not hunting partners. Not hunters… friends… that was the word she was trying to think of… everything seemed so confusing. He was her friend… she had come here to kill her friend. Why was she going to kill him again? She tried to remember. Yes, he was no longer able to separate good from bad. He had killed innocents… he was insane… or was it that she was insane… it was hard to keep things straight. She had to hurry and do this, before she forgot again. Time was short. She was not feeling like herself… whoever that was, or is. Why was it so hard to think clearly?

She began to run the short distance to the cave entrance. There was a flickering light coming from inside. She pulled out her wand and ran in to face Harry and this other woman. Bursting into the flame lit cave she spied Harry. He was sitting on a flat rock and facing a small fire. He looked entranced by the flames. There was a figure near him. It was someone she remembered. She tried hard to think. It was Myrtle. Yes, it had to be her, she was a ghost. That made her feel better. Ghosts cannot mate, so Harry would not have settled down with another female. Not… that it mattered… she reminded herself. She was here to kill him. Myrtle looked up and saw Hermione. She said nothing, but Hermione could tell she had been crying. Why was Myrtle here? Why was Harry not looking at her? He must know she was here.

"Harry… I've come for you."

Hermione had her wand out, but she could not remember a single spell. Not one. She knew that she should remember some, but none of the words came to mind. She threw it down in disgust and started to circle Harry's position with her hands extended out like claws. She would do whatever it took. She loved him that much. As she came around, ready to pounce, he looked up at her. She could see his green eyes looking back; it made her pause. There was something significant in his eyes. But, what was it? Then she saw it. What she had been expecting to see was not there. His eyes were clear. She saw no trace of insanity there. That was not right. Why did he not have claws? His mouth opened as if to say something, but then he closed it again. His teeth, looked almost normal, a bit rough, but not jagged at all. Was he not supposed to look like that? Or was that just her dreams?

Why was he not saying anything? Why was Myrtle silent?

"Myrtle? Tell me what is going on here."

She opened her mouth, but then closed it as well. They were staying silent on purpose, Hermione noted. Why was Harry not preparing to defend himself?

She leapt forward and lunged at Harry's face. Her nails sliced across his cheek and drew blood. He lifted his hand and touched it. Something was wrong. He was going to let her kill him. Myrtle seemed so upset that she turned and floated out of the cave, leaving Harry and Hermione alone in this place.

Harry stood up with his arms at his sides. He looked so much like he did, before he left. There were subtle differences though. His eyes were not bright anymore. The green had turned as dark as the ocean on a cloudy day. He had scars all over his arms and neck. There was no trace of happiness in his face at all. Only pain and loneliness could be found there.

"You left me," Hermione said in a quiet, accusing tone.

He did not answer.

"Why did you go?"

He just stared at her.

"Why was my love not enough for you? You should have stayed with me. I needed you Harry. Didn't you need me?"

She wanted to cry, or to be angry, but instead all she could do was feel swallowed up by her hurt. She looked up and Harry had closed the gap between them. He was standing so close to her, that she could hear his heartbeat. His face was next to hers. She could see how lean his body was. He had not been eating well. Again, pain washed over her. He needed her to take care of him, but she had not been there. She reached her hand up towards the cut in his face. For a moment, she was not sure if she was going to attack him or touch him.

He leaned in and kissed her. The feeling went straight down to her toes. His arms wrapped around her body. She took both of her hands and put them around his back and clasped them together. She began to cry and her sobs were silenced in his throat with their lingering kiss. She could feel tears on his cheeks. He grabbed her clothes and began to roughly strip them off of her. She let it happen. There was no one else in the world she would let see her this way. She began to tear his clothes off of him as well. His whole body was covered in bruises and gashes. Some of the wounds had healed and some had not. What had he gone through out here?

His hands were touching her all over. Each place he brushed against made her feel painfully alive. Her hands searched his frame. She felt every inch of him and it was exactly as she knew it would be. His mouth lowered to her breasts and she held his head there in her arms. There was no doubt now of what was going to happen. They were going to be with each other, right here. He was claiming her as his mate and she wanted nothing more than exactly that. It all felt so right to her. This was what she really needed from him. His total and complete acceptance of her, the way she had always accepted him.

He lowered her body to the ground and she arched her back with her hands behind his neck. She spread her legs and felt his naked body against her. He was ready to take her and her body screamed for it. She had deemed him worthy to be her only one. She was the kind of animal who chose a mate and kept him for life. She would accept nothing less and somehow she knew he would give nothing less. Hermione felt him inside of her and for some reason the world became a little less confusing. She had come to conquer him, but without a word she let him conquer her instead. She closed her eyes and lost herself in the feeling. It hurt a little, but there was a primal pleasure to it all.

Nearby, Myrtle floated into the cave. She was surprised by what she was watching. She had assumed that one of them would be dead by now, but not this… If she were alive her face would have turned bright red. However, she was quite dead, so instead she just sat there and watched.