Story Author: Molly
Disclaimer: No, I do not own Harry Potter or any characters and names related to it. Sadly.
AN: Ohmigod. You guys have all the right to throw bubotuber pus at me. I'm so sorry for the long delay! I don't know what's gotten into me. I also want to say a huge thank you to the author Jimmy D, who left me tons of reviews and got me started writing again. So thanks! And obviously my name has changed. I am no longer Faye, the Freak. I'm now Molly, but still a Freak, and that pseudonym is way better anyway. (No offense to the Fayes out there.) So, even though I have been totally evil, please, please remember to review. They are always appreciated!
16. The End is Near
"You had no right to do that to me!"
Harry let out a sarcastic laugh. He turned to face Ginny, who was standing rigidly in his kitchen, her cheeks flushed with anger. "Do what, exactly? If I remember correctly, you are the one who just slapped me in front of your family. I've done nothing wrong to you; I didn't deserve it!"
"What gave you the right to trick me into transforming you?" Ginny shouted.
"I did not trick you," Harry shouted back. "I knew you'd refuse to bite me, as long as you had another reason to delay it!"
Harry looked around in agitation, searching for something to vent his anger on. He was furious, and his vampiric senses were getting the better of him. He could smell Ginny, so sweet…. But how could she be so… not herself? He was getting angry at Ginny for getting angry with him, but he knew she was acting just like he would. He had always wanted to keep people he loved away from danger, and that usually meant anywhere in his near proximity. Ginny had always been bold, never caring that Voldemort was trying to do him in. "What if I don't care?" Ginny had retorted when he's told her he was a danger to her. He had told her he would care, but now it was the other way around. Of course, Harry still feared for her safety, but Voldemort had already gotten his hands on her. It was a miracle he hadn't murdered her. But she was alive, and now she figured she was more of a threat to Harry, being what she was. No. Harry wasn't going to take it. They were both vampires now, and he wouldn't rest until she was happy! But at the moment…
"I didn't want to turn you into a monster as well!"
"Dammit, Ginny!" Harry snapped. "We've been through this before. Before you found out about the age thing, you had started to warm up to the idea of both of us living our lives together – as vampires. The age factor doesn't change a thing! You just want another excuse to take pity on yourself – "
Ginny made fists at her side, like she'd done before. She walked up to Harry and brought her hand up, but he grasped it before she could strike. "No," Harry said, his eyes smoldering.
"You have no right to speak to me that way," she said.
Harry held on to her wrist and pulled her closer. Their faces were inches away from each other.
"Ginny – "
Before he could finish, they heard a knock on the door. Harry's fiery, emerald eyes stayed focused on Ginny's. There was another knock, louder this time, more urgent.
Harry released Ginny's wrist and went to the door. It was Bill.
"We've got a problem," he said.
Rita Skeeter lay in St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries, Ground Floor. Her Mediwizard had cleaned her up pretty well, although she was still unable to move her dominant hand enough to write. Unfortunately, the Healers attending to her had read her articles before, and they refused to give her a new Quick Quotes Quill.
As she lay in bed, she feebly lifted her better arm and pulled the box of mail her Healers had left toward her. There was no doubt about it that they were fan mail. Her readers must have must have heard what happened… Oh! They were so kind! She picked out one of the envelopes and eagerly read the letter.
Rita Skeeter,
I hope you are suffering.
Hmm… She must have read that wrong.
You are a disgusting woman. I hope your feet turn disgustingly sweaty and you get an ingrown toenail.
It was signed a "Joe," and there was a P.S.:
I'd like to point out that I did not fire a pair of bubotubers at the Minister this past month, as you wrote in your scandalous article. The next time you come to my house looking for an interview, I will sick my chickens on you.
Rita nearly laughed out loud. Oh, the boy just had a grudge. But she had needed an article last month, and Harry Potter had been so secretive, she wasn't able to get any dirt on him. But there was plenty now, she needn't make up stories. Not that it wasn't fun…
She threw away the letter without another glance and picked up a rolled up parchment. This one looked much prettier. But after she unrolled it, it turned a sickly green color and something that looked and smelled suspiciously like vomit started to run out of it. She quickly disposed of it before she got a chance to read the words (I was going to say it would be nice if a Manticore mauled you, but the poor creature would probably die of your poison and evilness.)
She picked out another envelope, this time inspecting it before she opened it.
Leave Harry Potter alone, you wicked wanker. The boy has enough on his shoulders already, trying to save the world, and he doesn't need you there ever step of the way to make things worse. You-Know-Who may as well be paying you, because you seem to be bringing Harry Potter down more than he ever will. You are a wretched woman and I must admit I was quite disappointed to find out you hadn't been killed. It would have served you right. I bet you were sneaking up on people, trying to find things out, and then you got what was coming to you.
This one was left unsigned.
Rita stared at the paper in shock. How dare they. Didn't they understand how important she was to the survival of Wizarding society? Well, she knew they wouldn't be complaining when they found out what she had on Potter. No, they'd be praising her then…
Her thoughts were interrupted as a young, cheerful Healer walked in the room.
"I see you've opened your letters!" she said. "There's more, when you're done."
"More?" Rita said weakly.
The Healer nodded. "Howlers," she explained. "We thought it would be best to freeze them, because I'm sure some of the weaker patients would rather not have their ears blow apart by hundreds of loud, exploding letters, so you can pick them up when you leave – which, to tell you the truth, I don't know when will be!"
Rita stared at her blankly.
After an awkward pause, the Healer smiled and cried, "Oh, you've got a visitor!"
"Oh?"
"Yes! Most surprising. I mean, come on! How many times does a bloke like that walk through our doors? Well, a lot, since it's him – but usually it's on a stretcher."
Rita wasn't following the girl. But then the Healer moved out of her line of sight and Rita's heart nearly stopped.
Harry Potter stood outside of Rita Skeeter's room, contemplating whether he should go in. What was he going to say to her, anyway? Nothing he could say would ever stop her from writing that article. The only reason he had rushed to the hospital – although he certainly was in no rush to see Skeeter – was because he couldn't take another minute of arguing with Ginny. They rarely argued and when they did, it usually ended quickly. They understood each other, but this particular argument (which was really very stupid, because he was a vampire now and there was nothing anyone could do about it) didn't seem to want to stop.
They'd also just gotten into another argument – Harry was absolutely not going to allow Ginny to accompany him to St. Mungo's (he had told her because the press would have a field day, but really because he wanted some quiet to think.) Ginny had been furious, shouting that she was the biggest part of the problem ("I turned you into a vampire!") and so naturally, she deserved to be a part of the solution.
Harry would have none of it.
He had argued back (very cleverly so) that if she had never met him, she wouldn't be in this mess because there was no doubt that Voldemort had targeted her in hopes of murdering Harry, and if Voldemort wanted to murder Harry he could try, but he wasn't going to take Ginny along as well. With that, Harry had stomped upstairs into his bedroom, where he'd changed into Muggle clothes (his regular slacks and dress shirt, along with a calf-length trench coat) for the trip to the hospital.
That is how he came to be in St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries, Ground Floor, outside of Rita Skeeter's room.
He nodded acknowledgment to Rita Skeeter's Healer as she left the small room, her face twisted into an admiring smile. When he turned back, Rita was staring at him in surprise. And then seeming to have collected herself, she smiled cunningly and waved him in.
"Harry, what a nice surprise!" she spit out, sarcasm clear in her voice.
She wanted him to beg for her silence, Harry understood. Well, he wasn't a beggar.
"It seems our positions are switched," Harry noted with a smile. "Usually I am the one who is in injured, and you are the one who comes to visit. Looking for a story, of course."
"But I believe you and I both know that I don't have to look very far this time," Rita said, a bigger smile appearing on her face.
Harry scowled and Rita said, "Harry, Harry, Harry! I never figured you for being blunt, so you couldn't possibly be here to try to convince me to not write an article about… your current condition."
"No," Harry replied firmly. "I know that you could never be that considerate." He smirked, and then continued, "I'm just here to make sure you get your facts straight."
"Ah," Rita said, as if she'd known all along. "I see. Hmm. This has never happened before – that is, no one has ever volunteered me information."
"I wonder why," Harry muttered sarcastically.
It was as Rita Skeeter was considering his proposition that his vampiric senses smelled something unnaturally sweet, and he knew Ginny had arrived. With a loud groan that extracted some curiosity from Rita, he dashed out of the room and met the red-haired, red-faced girl; obviously, she was still angry.
"What are you doing here?" he hissed, loud enough so that only she could hear; there were some visitors in the hallway who were looking at him suspiciously, their eyes focused on his forehead.
"I've come to set things right," Ginny exclaimed. She stuck her chin out stubbornly, prepared for the battle ahead.
"You," Harry stressed, rolling his eyes, "have nothing to set right. Leave it to me."
"No." Ginny went inside Rita's room, leaving Harry to stare at where she had previously been, aghast.
He dashed in after her.
"Oh, Ginevra, darling," Rita started in a falsely loving voice. "I never thought I'd see you here!"
Ginny, impervious to Rita antics, simply bared her fangs. Rita flinched in surprise and then recomposed herself.
"Ginny—"
"Shut, Harry," Ginny interrupted. "Listen, Skeeter," she continued, "I don't care what you say about me—"
"I do."
"Harry, can't you see I'm settling this?"
Harry smirked. "Sorry. Go on."
Ginny turned back to Rita Skeeter, who was sitting up quietly, and let her fangs drop down in a threatening manner again.
"As I was saying, before Harry interrupted me in a rudely-but-with-good-intentions manner, I don't care what you write in your articles about me, but if you write anything—absolutely anything—about Harry, mark my words: I will hunt you down and personally see to it that you are treated to every horrid thing that Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes has to offer. And that is worse than death."
When Harry and Ginny Apparated back to his house, they were met by Ron and Hermione, who were waiting in Harry's living room.
"Er, hello," Harry said when they walked in the door. He still wasn't sure how Ron was reacting to the news of his transformation.
"What's wrong?" Ginny asked Hermione, who was the closest to the door.
Neither seemed to want to talk, but Ron pushed Hermione forward. She shot him a deadly look before turning back to Harry and Ginny.
"Well, it's…um…the Evening Prophet…"
Ginny's heart sank before she even saw the newspaper. She knew what had happened: Rita skeeter had already relinquished Harry's secret to the newspaper. With incredible speed, she ripped the paper from Hermione's reluctant grasp and scanned the article, aware that Harry was reading it over her shoulder.
Earlier this evening, the article read, the Daily Prophet's own Rita Skeeter learned a dark secret pertaining mainly to the Wizarding world's "Chosen One" and his vampire, Ginevra "Ginny" Weasley. Upon discovery of said secret, Skeeter was attacked by Weasley family members who were eager to keep Potter's secret just that: a secret. But the Wizarding world has a right to know dangerous facts about important people in their lives. Potter, being the new Head of the Auror Department, certainly plays a major part in the protection of Wizarding families—especially with the war against He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. But is it right to trust dark creatures with the care and protection of entire countries? Would you trust a Nundu with the care of your child? Or a werewolf? How about a vampire? The world knows of Ginny Weasley's recent transformation—what they don't know is of the Boy Who Lived's own transformation: from a powerful ally to a dangerous vampire, one that not many people can trust. He may have survived the Avada Kadavra at age one, but at twenty-two, wizards all over Britain are calling for his immediate removal from the Auror Office. An unnamed Wizengamot official who was present at Ginny Weasley's trial explains that "Potter is arrogant and powerful, but with the entire Ministry backing us up (with the help of Ministries from the United States and France and Australia), we will most definitely—or, possibly—be able to remove him from the Ministry of Magic altogether."
After finishing the article, Harry and Ginny looked up to receive pitying looks from the Ron and Hermione, both of whom didn't want to speak.
"You better run for it, mate," Ron finally volunteered.
Hermione slapped his arm. "Harry doesn't need to run, Ronald," she scolded. "I'm sure he can take all of the Ministries of the world several times over and still come out unscathed."
"That's not what I meant," Ron replied. "Harry can battle anyone, but I'm not sure he can survive so well against the press."
"Thank you, Ron," Harry said sarcastically. "Now, if you will—"
Harry's words were cut short as he let out a cry of extreme pain and fell to the ground, clutching his hands to his forehead.
"Harry!" Ginny dropped down next to him and tried to pry his hands away from his burning scar. "Harry, listen to me—"
"It is time to strike," he said in an angry tone. "Finally...Potter will…die."
Ron and Hermione had also dropped to the floor. "It's Voldemort," Hermione said. "Harry's having another of his visions."
They waited in silence for Harry's agonizing screams to end; there was nothing they could do. Finally, he began breathing normally again and sat up on the ground. He looked around at all their concerned faces, slowly coming back to reality.
Ginny laid a hand on his arm gently and he stared at it for a while before saying, "I need to go to the Ministry. I have to put together an Auror Force immediately."
Ginny was back in St. Mungo's. As soon as she stepped inside the magical hospital, two Hit Wizards appeared by her side, wands drawn.
"Ms. Weasley," the first Hit Wizard, a man so large he could be Crabbe's father, began, "We wish you no harm, but if you've come to visit Rita Skeeter, then I'm afraid we're going to have to detain you."
Detain her? Ginny thought. As if.
"Look—"
Before she could finish, the second member of the Magical Law Enforcement Squad, a Hit Witch, interrupted. "Ms. Weasley," she said in a friendly tone, "I agree with you and Mr. Harry Potter completely on everything you're doing, but it is our job to follow orders from the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, and I'm sure you understand that. So, please, leave Rita Skeeter alone for the time being. There's bound to be plenty of opportunities in the near future for you to… get your revenge."
Ginny almost laughed. "All right," she said. "But make sure Skeeter knows I haven't given up, will you?"
"Absolutely," the Hit Witch said. "That woman is revolting. Every once in a while I feel like it'd be worth losing my job to send a good curse her way."
This time Ginny did laugh, and the Hit Wizard stared at his partner in shock. Obviously he'd never been the subject of one of Rita Skeeter's articles.
"Tell her," Ginny finished before exiting the hospital, "tell her that the only reason she's not stuck in a vanishing cabinet in the middle of the Caribbean is that I'm too busy helping Harry Potter save the world."
At that exact moment, Harry Potter himself was barreling through the Auror Office, his black cloak billowing behind him. His inferiors stared at him in awe and fear as he barked orders.
"I want a full Auror Force ready within the next two hours," he shouted. The calm environment shifted to one of excitement and rush. Aurors could be seen running from one cubicle to another, owls were being sent at rapid paces to other departments of the Ministry asking for supplies and aid, and many Aurors-in-training were just standing at the door of their cubicle, gaping at the scene that was unfolding in front of them.
"Go on!" Harry continued to shout. "Voldemort is ready to strike, and no doubt he and his Death Eaters will attack the most wizard-populated places such as Diagon Alley, Hogwarts and Hogsmeade, or the Ministry itself."
At this, many of the Aurors-in-training gasped. Harry turned to them and said, "You realize that you will not be participating in any of the fighting, but right now you can join the rest of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and issue warnings to all of these locations."
The Aurors-in-training snapped out of their reveries and immediately took to the stairs. As they were leaving, Harry noticed a flash of red, and then Ginny appeared from within the crowd. Harry stopped speaking in mid-instructions and ran to her.
"What do you think you're doing?" he shouted over the noise.
"Fighting," was Ginny's stubborn answered.
"No."
Ginny rolled her eyes. "First of all, maybe you've forgotten that I am now stronger than anyone in this room, except for you."
"You can still get hurt!" Harry argued.
"So can all these other people," Ginny shouted back, gesturing towards the hundreds of Aurors who were in full-swing Auror mode. "Do you care less for their safety than for mine?"
"O course I care about their safety! I just care about you more."
"Too bad," Ginny said, "because I'm staying. And there's nothing you can do about it!" she added for good measure.
"You're not part of the Auror Force any longer," Harry shouted with a smirk. "So you still can't go!"
"That's complete rubbish," shouted another familiar voice behind Harry. He turned around to find Ron and Hermione standing defiantly, their hands clasped together. "Is that supposed to mean that we can't fight as well?"
"Yes!"
"We've told you before that we're with you till the end, mate," Ron said. "We're not backing out now!"
Before Harry could continue arguing, some Aurors called for his input on certain subjects, and they were soon discussing strategies. Harry placed a significant amount of Aurors at each major Wizarding location. Hogwarts was alerted to the danger, and Harry had decided that since it was the place Tom Riddle had been most familiar with, it was the most likely place Voldemort would attack. For that reason, he decided to post himself there along with the hundred other Aurors under his orders, and Ron, Hermione and Ginny followed him, to his extreme dismay.
Before they Apparated to Hogsmeade, Harry pulled Ginny aside.
"I wanted you to know, Ginny—I've said this before but—"
"I know, Harry," Ginny interrupted, placing a silencing finger on his lips. "I love you, too."
Lord Voldemort stood facing his Death Eaters, an unmistakable scowl on his face.
"You've all heard," he said sharply, "of Harry Potter's transformation."
A murmur of anxious agreement flowed through the crowd.
"He's more powerful than before, sharper than before, and faster than before." Voldemort waited a few seconds before continuing. "To most of you imbeciles out there, I know you doubt me. That's a very dangerous mistake to make. Potter may be more powerful, but he is still weak in one place: his constant strive to protect his friends. That's why I've picked the school as the most convenient place to attack. Lots of little children can be used to bargain with, you see…"
The nervous laughter of the Death Eaters rang through the air. They immediately quieted once Voldemort began speaking again:
"And if all else fails, we'll find a certain Ms. Ginny Weasley. She we know Potter will never see die before his eyes. But we'll ease his pain: we'll kill him first. This war is going to end tonight. Fight with me, or die."
AN: All right, so things are finally moving again. Please review and let me know what you think, even though I've left you guys hanging for months. But at least this was a pretty long chapter, so hopefully that will make up partly for my pretty long absence.
Molly: Several readers have pointed out that they are unable to review this chapter. That will only occur if you have already reviewed the last chapter because I deleted Chapter 6 - which was really just me telling you guys the name of the seventh book - so now FanFiction thinks that this chapter is last chapter, and so yeah. But I'd still appreciate it if you'd PM me if you can't review. Thanks!