Harry Potter and the Sacred Twenty-Eight

"Arthur! Mrs. Weasley called up the staircase. "Arthur! Urgent message from the Ministry!" Harry entered the kitchen just ahead of a flustered looking Mr. Weasley and started at the image of Amos Diggory's head floating in the flames of the fireplace, his face noticeably white even through the Floo-green pallor of the fire. Mr. Weasley scrambled to find something to write with as Mr. Diggory had started shouting as soon as Mr. Weasley had come into the room,

"Mad-Eye's been arrested, Arthur! For murder! The Ministry's in an uproar, and I just saw Skeeter disapparate from the Atrium. We need everybody here, now, or else who know how bad this will get!"

Mrs. Weasley gasped and began cramming as much toast as would fit into her husband's hands as he stepped into the fire, shouting, "Ministry of Magic, Atrium!"

By now, the entire Weasley clan plus Hermione had worked their way into the kitchen. Harry wasted no time in catching the rest up with the shocking news.

"Mad-Eye's an old friend of Dumbledore's," explained Bill, his face uncharacteristically grim. "He was the toughest, meanest old Auror there ever was. Took down more Death Eaters than the rest of the Ministry forces combined in the last war. Unfortunately, in his old age, he's started to come unhinged a little bit. Used to be small things, like charming his waste bins to chuck trash at intruders, but over the years the incidents have gotten nastier. Last year he just barely avoided Azkaban after he stunned a Muggle postman and three bystanders in broad daylight for walking too close to his stoop. If he's snapped and killed somebody…..this doesn't look good."

A loud sniff punctuated Bill's melancholy explanation. Mrs. Weasley was dabbing her eyes, staring at the family clock, which now showed Mr. Weasley 'at work.' "Percy, Bill, Charlie, I expect your father would appreciate your help. The rest of you, eat up and get moving. We've got cars waiting to take us to Kings Cross, no matter what may be happening elsewhere."

The next half hour was as subdued as Harry had ever seen the Weasley household. The three eldest Weasley children had immediately disapparated, while the rest finished throwing things into trunks. Uncharacteristically, they were packed and ready with nearly two minutes to spare. Once they were all settled into the magically altered cars, conversation erupted almost immediately.

"Why is Mad-Eye's arrest such a big deal?" asked Ron. "I mean, I know he's a legend and all that, but why did Mr. Diggory need Dad? Doesn't he usually work with Muggles?"

Mrs. Weasley sighed, and when she turned from the front seat, Harry was struck by how much older she looked in that moment. Gone was the kind, plump-ish face Harry had grown to be quite fond of in the last two years, replaced by aged, deep lines, etched deeply into her forehead and under her eyes. The kind, warm eyes were now haunted by something Harry couldn't quite describe. When she spoke, Harry almost didn't recognize her voice. Instead of the loving, maternal tone she used with Harry, or even the commanding tone she used with Fred and George, she now spoke with a tremor, barely audible over the hum of the motor.

"Your father and Mad-Eye fought together during the war, Ron. He saved your father's life more times than I care to remember. Your father owes him a great debt of gratitude. It likely would have been a Life Debt if Mad-Eye were a less honorable man. But he refused when your father brought it up, saying he would have done it for anybody fighting against You-Know-Who. If Mad-Eye is in trouble, there's very few people who would work harder to help him than your father."

A stunned silence fell once again. Harry felt his neck warm from embarrassment, as if he had intruded on a private family moment. He noticed Ron's mouth agape in shock and Hermione's eyes wide with wonder. He wondered what the others' reaction would be when they heard this. Fred and George would likely brush it off with a joke of some kind. That's how they dealt with stress. Ginny wouldn't have joked, though, Harry thought. She would've teared up a bit, probably thinking of her own near miss with Tom Riddle. Harry shuddered, remembering his own encounters with the Dark Lord. Both times he had gotten incredibly lucky he knew. He'd have likely lost his life had anything gone differently. And now that Pettigrew was loose, looking for Voldemort, Harry knew his time was limited before he would once again have to face his parents' killer.

Harry's introspection was broken by the sound of Mrs. Weasley's voice speaking again, her voice a little stronger this time.

"We'll all just have to hope your father can help Mad-Eye. In the mean time, you don't worry about it. You keep focused on your classes and keeping your marks up. You'll know soon enough what the outcome of all this is, either through the Prophet or….otherwise."

As usual, Ron couldn't restrain himself, "What do you mean otherwise, Mum?"

Mrs. Weasley smiled, a bit of her usual self returning, "Hopefully you'll find out. It'll mean Mad-Eye's gotten off." She refused to say any more on the matter for the remainder of the ride to the train station.

When they arrived at Kings Cross, Harry, Hermione and the Weasley children all said goodbye to Mrs. Weasley, accepting tearful hugs and wet kisses in the cases of Ron, Fred, George, and Ginny. As they had unexpectedly left the Burrow on time, they were one of the first on the platform. The Hogwarts Express billowed steam that clung to the scarlet locomotive, making it difficult to see further than a few feet at a time. Unlike in years past, when Harry had arrived with only minutes to spare, the platform was quite calm. Instead of the last minute hustle and bustle of students running onto the train and mothers and fathers calling out last minute bits of advice, there were instead emptiness, and, more eerily, near silence. Harry checked his watch. They were nearly a half hour early.

The group entered the train, sitting together. Ron shared Mrs. Weasley's story with Fred, George, and Ginny. To Harry's amazement, Fred and George had no joke, only stony looks of seriousness. Ginny's reaction was closer what Harry expected. Her eyes did indeed well up, though instead of the introspection Harry had expected, she looked at him and blushed deeply. Looking away from Ginny, slightly embarrassed, something occurred to Harry. "What is a Life Debt?" he asked. To his surprise, it was Ginny who answered.

"It's a type of magical bond, Harry. When a witch or wizard saves the life of another, it creates a bond between the two. The person who was saved becomes indebted to the person who saved them. The savior then has a choice. They can either reject the bond, or accept it. If they reject it, then it's over. The bond breaks, and all goes back to as it was before. This is what Mad-Eye did for Dad."

Harry listened to Ginny's explanation, nodding absentmindedly as she spoke. "What happens if you accept the bond?" he asked.

Ginny blushed a brilliant scarlet, but continued speaking, "If the savior accepts the bond, then she or he may demand something from the person they saved. They could ask for money, or…"she broke off, blushing so deeply Harry couldn't tell where her hair ended and face began.

Harry looked around for an explanation. Ron looked as clueless as he felt. Fred and George still looked solemn, identical looks of thought etched onto their faces. Hermione was a bit pink in the face, although nowhere as red as Ginny still was. She took a breath and finished the explanation, "The savior could ask for a favor, Harry. Any kind of favor."

Harry felt his neck warm again as he looked away again in embarrassment, the implication fully understood. Fred and George's flashed matching grins for a brief moment at Harry's discomfort. Fred opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted by Ginny rushing out of the compartment, tears starting to stream down her still beat-red face. The matching grins disappeared, replaced by identical looks of concern.

"We'll go track her down and make sure she's okay," said George. "See you guys at the feast."

Without another word, he and George swept out of the compartment after Ginny. Harry opened his mouth to say something, but was cut off by Hermione, suddenly terse. "You rejected your life debt from her, right Harry? You didn't accept it, did you?"

Harry started, closing his mouth. "I—what? I've never even thought about it. It was more than a year ago Hermione. I was twelve! I didn't even know about Life Debts. So no, we didn't talk about it at all, not really."

Hermione's eyes narrowed, her voice raising an octave. "What do you mean, not really?"

Harry started feeling the first twinges of anger, "When we left Dumbledore's office, she said thank you and I said you're welcome. That's it! We haven't talked about the Chamber since! Will you lay off now?"

Hermione deflated slightly, looking mollified. "I'm sorry, Harry. I knew you wouldn't have done something like that….Ginny's reaction got me worried is all."

Ron, who had started turning as red as his sister, though from anger rather than embarrassment, when Harry and Hermione's conversation first started, was starting to calm down some. "Still though," he said, "she seemed really upset about something to do with Life Debts. And you're the only one who would've had a chance to form one with her, Harry."

Harry shuffled uncomfortably. This whole Life Debt conversation was making him anxious, and he wasn't sure why. There was something tickling at the back of his mind that he just couldn't figure out. "Look Ron, I dunno. Maybe it's just her crush acting up again. All I know is we never talked about it."

Hermione's face shifted to one of deep thought. "I'll look into it when we get to Hogwarts. There might be something about it in the library. In the mean time, it couldn't hurt to talk to her about it, Harry. It might make her feel better."

Harry sighed. That niggling feeling in the back of his mind was getting worse. "Okay, Hermione. I'll talk to her. May as well do it now, before everybody else gets here."

Hermione smiled at him. "Just be understanding, Harry. Imagine what you'd be like if it were Cho coming to talk with you."

Harry's face flushed a brilliant shade of red as he ducked out of the compartment, away from Ron's guffaws and Hermione's sly grin. He turned the way Ginny had fled, and willed his face to turn back into a normal color. Maybe he could go find Cho after talking with Ginny…

He broke off, flushing again. The train was still largely empty, though he passed by a few filled compartments on his way down the train. Most students would be arriving in the next ten minutes or so, so he would have to be quick about this talk with Ginny if he wanted it to be kept private.

He found her, Fred and George in a compartment near the end of the train. Thankfully there was nobody else in this part of the train yet. Harry fervently hoped it would remain that way long enough to make sure no rumors got started about him or Ginny. Or him and Ginny.

He pulled the compartment door open, seeing Fred, George, and Ginny in the middle of a game of Exploding Snap. Ginny looked to have calmed down significantly, and was carefully laying her card atop the growing structure in the middle of the floor between her and her brothers. Unfortunately for her, the card she had just laid down triggered the explosive end to the game, singing all three sets of eyebrows and sending Fred and George into uproarious laughter and Ginny into a good-natured pout, arms folded across her chest. Harry smiled slightly, and cleared his throat. All three sets of eyes swiveled to meet his. Fred and George smiled at him and greeted him cheerfully. Ginny blushed, hard, but remained silent. Harry took a steadying breath.

"Fred, George, do you mind if I talk with Ginny? Alone?" Ginny turned, if possible, an even deeper shade of red. Fred and George each gave Harry a long, measured look, followed by a considering look down at Ginny and each other. They seemed to be communicating with each other silently in a way that only twins could. After a brief, silent conversation, Fred knelt down beside Ginny and George turned to Harry and jerked his head out to the hallway. Harry took the signal, and he and George stepped out into the hallway. Harry took a breath to speak, but George beat him to the punch,

"Listen, Harry. You're the brother we never had. Or, rather, you're the brother we wish Percy was. We know you'd never hurt Ginny on purpose. And I know you've gone out of your way to help her before. Just…..be careful here, that's all we ask. She's all twisted up about something, and her feelings for you aren't helping. Not that we blame you any for that, just laying it all out for you. Be careful in there."

Harry had opened his mouth to retort, but closed it, swallowed, and considered George's words. Rarely had he ever seen the twins act this seriously. He nodded solemnly. "I just want to see if there's anything I can do for her." George smiled and clapped him on the shoulder. "Thanks, Harry. Fred should be done in there, so go on and let him know we're ready."

Harry opened Fred and Ginny's compartment door. Fred had Ginny in his arms and was patting the back of her head kindly. He and Harry exchanged looks over Ginny's head and gave each other brief nods. Fred stood up and extricated himself from Ginny. Ginny sniffled a bit and turned around to face Harry, with red-rimmed eyes.

Harry took a shuddering breath, looked at Ginny and said, "Ginny, I,—" but was cut off.

"Harry, I think we're bound by a Life Debt."