Part 26

hey y'all 😃 remember me?

That afternoon, Harry went straight to Dumbledore's office, the vile with the memory in hand. He needed to do something- distract himself.

Dumbledore stood up when Harry entered. "Do you have it?" Harry nodded curtly, staring at the floor determinedly.

"There isn't much time." Dumbledore said, gesturing to the pensieve. Harry could only nod again. "Harry, look at me." Harry didn't want to, but he looked up anyway. "This is important. I need you to concentrate."

Dumbledore knew about Ginny, of course he did. And he was right. Ginny was important to Harry, but the fate of the wizarding world was in his hands. He mustn't get distracted. "Yes sir."

-

Toss. Dive. Catch. Toss. Dive. Catch. Harry. No. Toss. Dive. Catch. Tom. Shut up. Toss. Dive. Catch.

Toss the quaffle, dive for it. Catch. Every time you think about Harry take two laps. Every time you think about Tom, take four. But most importantly, toss the quaffle, dive for it, catch.

After the tears had stopped and Ginny's hiccups had subsided, she sat for a moment embarrassed by the amount she'd cried. Feeling numb, she wiped her face, sniffed a bit, and left the common room. Her legs took her to the quidditch pitch and she'd immediately hopped on the broom, her body instinctively doing the only thing that required no thinking. For Ginny, at least.

Toss the quaffle, dive for it, catch. Ginny didn't notice it getting dark. Soon the gentle glow of the stars and florescent moonlight illuminated the quidditch pitch.

Toss the quaffle, dive for it, catch. Ginny didn't notice how one by one the stars fell, disappearing over the horizon and out of view. She didn't notice the moon follow as the milky blackness of night melted into an elegant lavender, then to pink as the sun rose higher in the sky.

Toss the quaffle, dive for it, catch. A chatter to Ginny's left. She turned abruptly, expecting a bludger, but nobody had signaled, it was only a bird. There was no team, nor bludger, nor beater, on the pitch. The bird continued and slowly others joined in its limpid melody, crooning sweet nothings into Ginny's tired head.

Toss the quaffle, dive for it, catch. The sun was rising higher now. A bright and firey ball, millions of miles away Ginny cursed, and somehow close enough that I can't bloody see. She extended a hand to shade her eyes. Squinting into the distance she could almost swear it was getting bigger... closer... brighter.

BOOM.

Ginny woke with a start, her eyes flying open at the sound. She clutched her ear tightly with her left hand. All she could hear was ringing. A deafening ringing. She blinked hard, desperately trying to get the cloudiness out of her eyes.

It was still pitch black outside, and the "sun" that had risen in her dream roared in the form of the blazing fire that was quickly engulfing the stands of the quidditch pitch.

"Oh my-" Ginny scrambled to her feet, grabbed her broom, and mounted it. Her heart was racing as she passed the slowly burning stands. The flames licked at her heels. Butterflies of anxiety awoke and took flight in her stomach sporadically, like fireworks. She felt every single one of them send a shiver down her spine.

Discarding her broom at the door, she entered the castle. The corridors were completely deserted. She turned a corner to enter the great hall, but stopped in her tracks.

Quickly she ducked back behind the pillar and doubled over, one hand over her agape mouth. She wanted to gag. Bellatrix Lestrange had been prancing atop a table, while Draco Malfoy trailed nervously behind her surrounded by a few other men. Ginny recognized Fenrir Greyback.

She turned and walked as quickly as she could from the entrance, ignoring the pang in her chest that told her to help Draco. Stun the deatheaters, grab him and run. She slowed her pace. Maybe she could sneak up behind Bellatrix... No. She shook her head, and broke into a sprint away from the great hall.

She was heaving now as she roamed the castle desperately searching for any sign of someone that could tell her what was going on. Her thoughts were racing. Death eaters in Hogwarts? How did they get in? What do they want- Harry.

Ginny gasped quietly, the crushing weight on her lungs lifting slightly pure adrenaline dripped into her weariness. She ran faster.

Hearing noise in the next hallway along, she took a deep breath, drew her wand and backed up against the wall. There were two pairs of footsteps running her way.

Hermione turned the corner, cheeks pinked and breathing hard with Ron behind her, looking equally as worried. "Ginny!" She cried. Ginny met them with relief. Upon looking closer she noticed tear tracks down Hermione's face. "Ron, Mione, what's going-"

Hermione shook her head violently, heaving in and out. Ron was constantly blinking back and forth between the entrances to the corridor, hand tight around his wand.

"Shut up. Just shut up." Hermione bit out. Ginny blinked at her tone. "Here." She rummaged around for something in her pocket. "Take this. Drink it." Her voice was raspy and she let out dry sobs in between her words. "Hermione what is-"

"JUST DRINK IT!" She shrieked, sobbing again. Ginny took the small vile of thick golden liquid from Hermione and downed it. Hermione sighed once she had finished. "What the bloody hell is going on here?" Ginny finally said.

Ron nudged Hermione, nodding to the doorway out of the corridor. She nodded back. "Come on, walk." The three and them started down the hallway.

"Deatheaters got into the castle. We don't know how. One of them cast the dark mark above the astronomy tower, everyone's out there, fighting."

"They're here for Harry-" Ginny tried.

"Harry and Dumbledore left on some secret mission, hours ago." Ron continued. "Before he left he gave us the Liquid Luck and told us to divide it along ourselves. We don't know what they're doing."

Before Ginny had a chance to process, a curse flew past her cheek, bright green. She turned to look at the perpetrator, and her wand was pointed at his chest and the stupefy escaped her lips before her eyes had even touched him.

"I guess we're here." She breathed. Hermione and Ron had both stopped, eyes wide open in horror at the scene in front of them. People fighting, crying, terrified but continuing nonetheless. The deatheaters with their nasty grins and no remorse. Ginny took a deep breath, noticing their hesitation.

"We split up." She directed them. "Curses won't touch us with the Felix so help as many people as you can." Hermione and Ron both blinked out of their daze and nodded quickly at Ginny.

She put a hand on Hermione's shoulder and gave them both a kiss on the cheek. "Stay lucky." And she bolted away.

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