Harry tried not to grin too much when he and Ron met Hermione for running the next morning. He had wished Ron a happy birthday when he woke him up, and asked him if he wanted the
day off from running. Ron said he didn’t, so it started off like any other day. Classes were full of
O.W.L. review, as was the usual lately, but after Moody’s class at the end of the day, they
would get to go to a party down at Hagrid’s. Everyone knew that Ron knew (he hated
surprises) and they were all set to walk out the front door of the castle and go down to Hagrid’s
when Ron noticed that Ginny wasn’t with them.
“Oh,” Angelina said, “She had Potions last period. Must still be down there.”
“Tell you what,” Ron said to them all. “Harry and I will go and get her, and you all can get there
first, and when I arrive I’ll pretend to be surprised.” He smiled merrily; it was his birthday, and
he seemed happier than Harry had seen him in a while. Parvati reached up and kissed him
quickly, then went off with the others, looking over her shoulder at him and smiling. Hermione
walked near her, an inscrutable look on her face.
Harry and Ron turned and went down the steps to the dungeons; Ron was practically skipping.
Harry had given Hermione his present for Ron to take down to Hagrid’s; he knew that once
Ron saw its shape, he’d have a pretty good idea what it was.
But when they were in the dungeon corridor, they heard a horrible sound. A girl, it had to be a
girl. She was trying to cry out, but something was preventing her. Ron had a dreadful look on
his face, and quickly outpaced Harry with his long legs, racing toward the Potions classroom.
Harry froze with shock upon entering the room; Malfoy and Ginny were there. Ginny’s wrists
were lashed to the wall above her head with magical ropes, no visible attachments, while Malfoy
had ripped her robes and her clothes; she still wore her bra and underpants and skirt, which had
been pushed up around her waist. Her thighs seemed very thin and pale and freckled; Malfoy
was sucking on her neck, his hands wandering over her while she struggled ineffectually, a cloth
in her mouth preventing her from speaking or crying out more than they had heard.
Malfoy turned when he heard them enter; he had his wand out already, Harry realized. Ron
pulled his out too and he immediately tried to disarm Malfoy, but he dodged it nimbly, while
Ginny pulled at her bonds and struggled to speak against the gag. Ron threw his wand to the
floor and lunged at Malfoy, who was not expecting this and fell backwards, his wand flying out
of his hand, as Ron began to rain blows down upon his face with his fists. Harry ran to Ginny,
breaking the spell that held her wrists to the wall. He helped her get the gag out, then picked up
her robes from the floor, wrapping them gently around her, covering her up again. She leaned
on him, crying freely.
“Why did I ever trust him?” she sobbed into his shoulder. “What did I ever see in him...” he
rubbed her back and they sat on the floor, leaning against a wall, while Malfoy tried to fight
back against Ron now, getting in a few blows of his own. They were rolling around on the
dungeon floor, banging into the tables, blood flowing from various wounds on each of their
faces. Malfoy’s nose was positively gushing red.
Harry didn’t care at this point if they killed each other; Ginny was what was important. Damn
you, Malfoy. You couldn’t wait for her to want to? He held her and rocked her; this would
scar her for a long time, he knew. Girls didn’t just get over this sort of thing. He ached inside
that she should ever experience something like this. That Ginny, of all people, should have to
remember this...
She clung to him, her head on his chest, his robes wrapped around her, as well as his arms,
protecting her. Then he realized that he was actually one of the people she needed to be
protected from. This was partly his fault. He had trusted Malfoy too. He had let her down, he
should never have let this go on, he should have told her brothers...
Malfoy and Ron were getting tired, landing rather half-hearted punches now. Harry wasn’t even
sure where their wands were. Then he realized he heard footsteps in the corridor; a second
later, Snape entered. The moment that he spotted Malfoy and Ron, he strode over to them,
separating them and holding one of them with each hand. It wasn’t difficult for him to do; they
were both exhausted from their fight, gasping for breath and covered in blood and bruises.
Snape looked at Harry holding the sobbing Ginny. He felt he should explain what had
happened.
“Malfoy was--attacking Ginny--” was all he could choke out, however, before he felt Ginny
shivering uncontrollably in his arms, crying anew. Snape nodded.
“I can see what has happened. Take her to Madam Pomfrey. I will deal with these two.”
Harry helped Ginny to stand and they left the room. They heard Snape haul Ron and Malfoy out
of the classroom and into the corridor, walking in the opposite direction from the stairs.
Suddenly, Ginny straightened up and called, “Professor Snape!” in a quavering voice.
He turned in surprise. “Yes?”
“My brother was--just trying to--to--”
Snape nodded. “I understand.”
He turned, his hands still firmly clenching Ron’s and Malfoy’s upper arms, and marched them
down the corridor. Harry turned to Ginny, buttoning his robes around her more securely;
suddenly she collapsed against him. He propped her under her arms.
“Ginny?” he whispered to her gently. “Do you want me to carry you?” She nodded slowly, and
he scooped her up, while she put her arm around his shoulder and her head on his chest. He
cradled her light frame against him, sorry when they reached the infirmary and he had no excuse
to go on holding her. Madam Pomfrey tucked her into a bed and drew a curtain around her,
eyeing Harry pointedly. He was being asked to leave.
With a heavy heart, he went down to Hagrid’s hut, to what should have been a merry sixteenth
birthday party for Ron. Instead...
When Fred and George heard, they were livid. “Malfoy!” Fred said turning redder than his hair.
“He’s dead!”
“What about Ron?” Hermione wanted to know. Parvati looked anxious about this too.
“I don’t know. We should all go back up to the castle.” Hagrid looked sadly at the festive table
in his garden, the birthday cake and the pile of presents for Ron.
“Poor little Ginny...” he sniffled, pulling out a large handkerchief, then growling fiercely. “I’d like
a go at Malfoy meself...” Harry shivered; Malfoy wouldn’t stand a chance against Hagrid. I’d
like to see that, Harry thought.
When they reached the entrance hall, McGonagall was coming up from the dungeons. All of
them starting talking at her at once, wanting to know what was going to happen. Harry
remembered that Dumbledore was still in London, at the trial, as was Moody. McGonagall was
deputy headmistress, and acting headmistress in Dumbledore’s absence.
“Settle down, everyone, settle down!”
They all gradually quieted. She cleared her throat; her eyes looked red. Harry thought it was
possible she had been crying. Ginny was an excellent student, and students like her were dear to
McGonagall’s heart. Harry remembered her sniffling over Hermione when she’d been petrified
by the basilisk.
“Draco Malfoy and Ron Weasley will both be suspended for two weeks. They are in separate
cells in the dungeons right now, waiting for their parents to come get them. After his two week
suspension, Mr. Weasley will return to school. After his suspension, Mr. Malfoy will undergo a
disciplinary review before the board of governors to determine whether he will continue the rest
of his education at Hogwarts.”
Malfoy was going to be expelled! Harry thought happily. The disciplinary review sounded like
a mere formality before kicking him out. Then his happiness fled. How were they going to get
his dad if he was suspended? Percy was supposed to report on Saturday! Stupid Malfoy, why
couldn’t keep his hands off Ginny? That’s if he ever intended to get his dad at all, which Harry
was starting to doubt very much now...
Parvati was crying on Lavender’s shoulder; Lavender shushed her and led her up the marble
stairs. Fred and George looked very much like they wanted to hit something--or someone.
McGonagall decided to give them something constructive to do.
“Fred--can you wait here for your parents and bring them up to my office when they arrive?
They’ve probably just Apparated into the village. It shouldn’t take them long to walk up here.”
“Yes ma’am.” Fred went to stand sentry near the door.
“George--help Alicia keep order upstairs in Gryffindor Tower. I don’t want to hear of any wild
reactions to this. We all need to keep our wits about us.” George nodded, and he and Alicia led
the rest of the Gryffindors up the stairs. McGonagall started to follow, but she noticed that
Harry and Hermione were still standing in the hall, as though shell-shocked.
“Harry? Hermione? Are you coming?”
Hermione looked up at her with glistening eyes. “Professor? Today is Ron’s sixteenth birthday.
He and Harry were just supposed to be getting Ginny to bring her to a party down in Hagrid’s
garden. Could we--could we just go down to talk to him? Through the cell door?”
McGonagall looked at the two of them kindly. “Of course you may go talk to him. He’ll need
his friends right now.”
She turned and continued going up the steps. Harry and Hermione went down to the dungeons.
When they passed the open door to the potions classroom, Hermione looked in. She gasped
when she saw Ginny’s ripped blouse that had been left behind. The tables were pushed out of
alignment, and there was blood on the floor from either Malfoy or Ron or perhaps both of them.
Then something caught Harry’s eye; he crossed the room, realizing as he drew nearer what it
was.
He stooped down and picked up Ron’s wand. He looked around for Malfoy’s. He couldn’t
find it.
“Harry? What are you doing with Ron’s wand?”
“He left it here. But I saw Malfoy drop his wand too; only it’s not here now.”
Hermione looked around for another wand; it wasn’t to be found. She looked up at Harry.
“We should go talk to him, let him know his parents are coming.”
He nodded to her and they left the room. Harry tucked Ron’s wand into his robes. They
walked down the corridor in the direction Harry had seen Snape take Ron and Malfoy. They
turned several corners, then saw a series of heavy wooden doors with barred windows in the
upper portion, heavy ironwork on the exteriors of the doors. Harry looked in the first one,
having to stand on his toes to see in. The cell was empty. He tried the next one; also empty.
Hermione was too short to see in the barred windows at all. After they’d been peeking into cells
for fifteen minutes, she huffed impatiently.
“Ron!” she finally called. “It’s Harry and Hermione! Where are you?”
There was no answer. But Harry noticed that the light further down the corridor looked odd, as
though two of the cell doors were open and torchlight from inside the cells was shining into the
passageway. He raced in the direction of the strange light, Hermione keeping pace with him.
The two open, empty cells were identical, except that in one of them there was a piece of
parchment in the middle of the floor. Harry picked it up.
“For the eyes of Harry Potter,” the first line read. He looked up at Hermione.
“Why are you messing around with a blank piece of parchment?” she said impatiently, looking
around the cell. He swallowed.
“It’s not blank. It’s just been charmed so only I can read it.”
She was at his side instantly. “What’s it say?”
He read the rest of it aloud. “Bring Granger and come to the forest. Do not tell anyone
where you are going. Do not come alone, either one of you. Weasley will die if you do not
follow these instructions.”
She looked at him anxiously. “That’s it? That’s all it says?”
He nodded. Then he looked at her, knowing she would object--
“Listen, Hermione, I know you hated it last time...”
“I have to ride on you again, don’t I?” she said shakily.
He nodded. “It will be the fastest way to find him, to look from the air.”
She looked resigned. “Let’s go then,” she said, almost too softly for him to hear.
They walked up the stairs to the entrance hall holding hands, no longer caring who might see
them. When they reached the front doors, Fred was no longer there; Mr. and Mrs. Weasley
must be meeting with Professor McGonagall already. They went outside, ducking into the
topiaries at the side of the door.
“Ready?” Harry asked her. She nodded; he could see, however, that she was shaking from
head to foot. He closed his eyes, concentrating on the transfiguration, trying not to be distracted
by worrying about her, or Ron, or Ginny. He focused wholly on himself, on becoming the
golden griffin...His paws landed softly on the ground. He spread his wings and looked up at her.
He felt her swing her leg over his back and lean over him, her fingers laced tightly into his mane,
her knees and thighs gripping him painfully.
The sun was low, turning the western sky orange and apricot. He took a few running steps and
then leapt into the air, building height as he moved the strong gossamer wings, flying straight
toward the Forbidden Forest.
* * * * *
