Trinity

Chapter 31

As Harry, Ron and Hermione waited for Dobby to return, the first of the Order members apparated in. Moody and Remus were the first to arrive, closely followed by Tonks and Kingsley Shacklebolt. They quickly ducked down and joined the three students.

"The rest of the Order is gathering at Hogwarts," Moody growled. "Don't know how many are going to be able to get here on such short notice but we'll have to take what we can get."

"We're the only ones the Ministry would send for now," Tonks said as soon as Moody stopped talking. "But they've got a team ready for when we've finished."

"Why wouldn't they send more?" Ron demanded. "They kidnapped my sister!"

"Because there's no definitive proof of who did it," Kingsley said in his calm, deep voice. "You say she's here but how do you know?"

Harry hesitated. "I can't tell you. But she is here. I've sent Dobby in to find her."

"Can Dobby bring her out?" Remus asked.

"House elves can't do that in a house that's not their own," Tonks said flatly. "If Dobby still worked for the Malfoy's then maybe he could but not now."

"But he can find her," Harry said firmly.

The rest of what he was going to say was interrupted by the cracking sound of Dobby reappearing. The house elf's eyes widened at the sight of the new arrivals but he bounced on the spot excitedly nonetheless.

"Harry Potter sir, Dobby has found Miss Wheezy!"

"Is she alright?" Ron demanded urgently.

"She is unhurt," Dobby replied sobering suddenly. "But she is frightened. She said for Dobby to tell Harry Potter that this is a trap and she is to be used as bait."

"Yeah, we figured that," Harry said grimly. "Where exactly is she?"

"She is upstairs in one of the guest rooms," Dobby replied, starting to look excited again. He quickly, if rather idiosyncratically, described the layout of the house and where the room was in relation to everything else.

"Do you know where the Death Eaters are?" Harry asked.

"Dobby did not go and look for himself but the other house elves were very helpful," Dobby replied. "There is wolves in the foyer and the Death Eaters is in the parlour and the dining hall on the ground floor."

"And Voldemort?" Harry asked.

Dobby trembled and looked frightened. "He is in the parlour with Dobby's former master, Master Draco, Mistress Bellatrix and Professor Snape."

"And everyone else is in the dining hall?" Moody asked.

"Yes, Professor Moody," Dobby replied.

"Okay, that makes things easy," Moody growled then he looked at Harry expectantly.

Harry took a deep breath then stared down at the diagram they'd drawn in the dirt. The sound of more people apparating in had him looking up and he saw that the rest of the Order members had arrived. Though as it turned out it was more of a family affair. Minerva McGonagall had brought with her Arthur, Bill, Charlie, Fred, George and Percy Weasley as well as Fleur and Penelope Clearwater. The Weasleys were all looking angry and determined as were the two women. They joined Harry and the others and Fred and George immediately started pulling things out of their pockets.

"We've brought a lot of our stuff along," Fred said grimly.

"Some jokes, some stuff for the Order and some...prototypes," George continued, a nasty glint in his eyes.

"Ginny's up in this room here," Harry said, pointing to the dirt diagram then looking everyone in the eye in turn. "And she's the only objective here. We're not here to get into a fight with Voldemort, the Malfoys, Snape or anyone else. Ron, Hermione and I will go after her." He paused then looked over at Moody. "Professor Moody, is there anyway of determining whether or not we can use a portkey inside the manor?"

"Malfoy Manor does not have anti-Portkey wards," Arthur said promptly. "Those are strictly regulated by the Ministry and are only permitted on certain key Ministry buildings as well as Gringotts. We'd know immediately if they tried to put them up illegally."

"Good," Harry said firmly. "I...have a portkey. Don't ask me where I got it from. It'll take us straight back to the gates of Hogwarts. So we'll go after Ginny and portkey straight out from that room. You lot need to make sure we can get there. Don't try for any heroics and don't bother trying to capture anyone unless they fall into your lap. Hermione will use Sonorus to let you know when we've got Ginny. As soon as you hear that, get out! Voldemort is in there and none of us are ready for a confrontation with him. Now, Greyback and his pack are in the foyer and will be our immediate concern."

"Let Fred and I handle that," George said firmly. All traces of the twin's normal impishness were gone.

Fred held up a couple of small packets with an unpleasant grin. "Muggle sneezing powder. We've been experimenting with it lately."

"Accidentally got some on ourselves," George added.

"Spent hours sneezing and with tears in our eyes."

"Can't imagine a wolf would react any better."

"They'll react more," Remus said grimly.

Fred and George nodded. "That's what we thought," Fred said as he put the packets away and pulled a small canvas bag out of his robes.

"So this is our new and improved wizarding sneezing powder," George said, copying his twin's action..

"It can be targeted on just one person or a whole group."

"Lasts for an hour."

"Better effects."

"More sneezing."

"More coughing."

"Good," Harry said firmly. "The bulk of the Death Eaters are here in the dining hall but Voldemort's in the parlour with the Malfoys, Bellatrix Lestrange and Snape. I don't know how likely they are to get involved in a fight so be careful."

"What does Harry Potter want Dobby to do?" Dobby said firmly, looking determined yet oddly comical in his mismatched clothes.

Harry was about to tell him to return to Hogwarts when he changed his mind. "Go back to Ginny and stay with her until we get there," he said. "Protect her as best as you can but don't let yourself get hurt or killed."

Dobby nodded and disappeared with a crack. Harry brushed out the dirt diagram then looked at the others.

"Is everyone clear on what they're to do?"

The others nodded and pulled out their wands.

"Let Arthur and I take down the wards around the Manor," Moody growled. "We probably know more about how they were put up than any of you."

Harry nodded and got ready to run. Ron and Hermione took their places to either side of him while the Weasleys and other Order members spread out behind them, Fred and George standing just beside Ron with their bags of magical sneezing powder in their hands. Moody and Arthur Weasley stepped forward and pointed their wands at the gates then nodded to each other.

"Finite incantatem," they bellowed in unison and the gates shuddered then with an almighty grinding noise they burst open and the air between them shimmered, flared then went clear.

"Go!" Moody yelled and the trio leapt forward, the Weasleys and the Order on their heels.

They pounded up to the elaborate front doors and the trio pointed their wands and yelled, "Alohamora" as they ran. The doors shuddered then, under the force of the three strong spells, burst open. Fred and George put on a burst of speed as they leapt up the stairs and they dug their hands into the bags they held and tossed their magical sneezing powder at the wolves who were leaping towards them. The powder swirled for a moment then at a flick on the twins' wands it zeroed in on the wolves' faces. The wolves' charge faltered as the powder hit their faces then Greyback was the first to react. He sneezed and shook his great shaggy head, looking confused then alarmed. A second sneeze shook his body followed by a third and his pack began to echo him, all interest in attacking suddenly lost as they were racked by sneezes.

Harry, Ron and Hermione ignored this and headed straight for the staircase Dobby had described. They could hear the others yelling spells to take care of the wolves and the sound of doors banging open below them. They did not look back and continued running down the corridor towards the room where Ginny was being held. When they got there, Harry glanced at his friends.

"No time for subtlety," he said and the three of them pointed their wands at the door.

"REDUCTO!" they yelled in unison and the door simply crumbled under the force of the combined spell.

They burst into the room to find the strangest standoff in progress. Dobby was standing in front of an angry Ginny, his hand out, palm facing an expressionless Snape who was standing on the opposite side of the room, his wand pointing at Dobby.

There was a moment of absolute silence then Harry barked, "Dobby! Go back to Hogwarts!"

Dobby looked momentarily outraged and shocked then, with what could only be called an offended crack, he disappeared.

"Harry!" Ginny said, alarmed then her jaw dropped when Snape lowered his wand.

"You arrived sooner than I expected, Mr Potter," he said archly. "Though I did expect the utterly ridiculous frontal assault. I gather the Order is making that racket downstairs."

"Harry?" Ginny said almost fearfully as she stared between Harry and Snape.

Ron and Hermione rushed over and grabbed her when it looked like she might collapse and Harry joined them, cupping her face in his hands.

"I'll explain later," he said gently, giving her a quick kiss. "But the most important thing right now is that you can't tell anyone about this. We'll make something up. It shouldn't be too difficult."

Ginny stared at him then at Ron and Hermione. When they both nodded reassuringly she looked over Harry's shoulder at Snape.

"He's on our side?" she whispered. "But what about Professor Dumbledore?"

"I'll tell you later," Harry repeated firmly. "But right now, we have to get out of here."

Harry turned and pointed his wand at Snape. "I'm sorry, Severus, but I'm sure you understand."

Snape smirked. "Of course, Mr Potter. I wish to keep my head exactly where it is. Miss Weasley, your wand."

He pulled Ginny's wand out of his robes and tossed it in her direction. It hit the floor and rolled to a stop near her feet. Ron quickly bent down and picked it up when it became plain that Ginny was still too shocked to do anything.

Harry gave the Potions Master a nod then said calmly, "Stupefy."

The spell thumped into Snape and threw him back against the wall, where he slumped to the ground unconscious.

Harry turned and pulled the quill Dumbledore had given him out of his robes, wincing at the sudden explosion that came from downstairs.

"Let's hope that came from Gred and Forge," he muttered before looked at Hermione expectantly.

Hermione nodded and pulled away from Ginny, pointing her wand at her throat and saying, "Sonorous."

"We've got her! Go!" Her magically amplified voice rang out through the house then she said, "Quietus."

Harry held the quill out and Ron and Hermione immediately place a finger on it. Ginny did the same after a moment's hesitation and a last glance at Snape. Harry was just about to speak the triggering words when pain suddenly ripped through his scar. He screamed and grabbed at his forehead, the quill dropping from his hand. He followed it, collapsing to the floor before his friends could catch him. Through the pain he dimly heard them speak.

"Get the quill," Ron said harshly. "Put his hand on it."

Harry felt someone grab his hand and place it on the quill then Ron barked, "Mischief managed!"

The familiar portkey effect took hold and they were dragged along in its wake, Harry still wracked with pain. They were slammed into the ground when it came to halt and Harry heard Ron speak again.

"Help me drag him inside the gates," he ordered and Harry felt himself being dragged along the ground.

The next thing he heard was the sound of running footsteps and alarmed voices then he felt something press against his lips. It took a moment to realise he was being kissed and he dimly remembered what Ginny had done in a similar situation on his birthday. He smiled and returned the kiss as best as he could, letting the feelings of contentment, happiness and love it engendered flow through him. He heard a dim snarl come from somewhere in his mind then the pain abruptly disappeared. He snaked a hand up into Ginny's hair and pulled her closer, deepening the kiss.

"Come on, Potter. You can snog your girlfriend later."

Moody's amused growl had them breaking apart and looking rather flustered and embarrassed. Ginny was kneeling next to him, blushing bright red and looking both stunned and relieved. Ron and Hermione were kneeling on the other side of him, grinning broadly. The Weasleys were standing around them doing the same while the Order members were looking amused. Harry slowly pushed himself into a sitting position with the help of his friends and he looked around the group.

"Is everyone okay?" he asked urgently.

Minerva nodded; she looked calm though her hair was mussed, wisps drifting out of the normal neat bun it was kept in.

"It appears the Death Eaters were not expecting us and were rather disorganised as a result," she said with grim satisfaction. "And Voldemort and the others did not emerge from the parlour."

"I heard the sounds of people apparating out towards the end," Remus said. "It was probably them. Are you alright?"

Harry nodded and rubbed at his scar. "Voldemort was angry and he wanted to make sure I knew." He looked over at his girlfriend. "Thanks, Ginny," he said softly.

She smiled back but he could see the thousand questions she had lurking in her eyes.

"I take it you didn't have any problems?" Moody growled.

"Snape was there but we caught him by surprise," Hermione said, lying smoothly. "Harry stunned him but we left him there."

"Why?" Moody growled and there was a gleam in his good eye that the trio found inwardly amusing. "We could have had him."

"Harry's scar started hurting," Ron replied harshly. "That made it more important to get out of there than to try and drag Snape's carcass over to where we were."

Moody grumbled at that but subsided.

"What was Snape doing there?" Arthur asked suspiciously.

"Uh, he'd...been told to bring me down to...to Voldemort," Ginny said, shuddering at the memory. "Then Dobby suddenly appeared and they got into that standoff you walked in on. Dobby looked ready to attack him but Snape held off."

"That's odd," Minerva said with a frown.

Harry snorted. "Not really. Dobby's actually pretty powerful. He sent Lucius Malfoy flying when I was in Second Year. I'd want to be careful if I was him."

"Hmm, good point," Moody said. "A free house elf has full control of its magic. It's different from ours but it can be formidable."

"I think we should get you and Miss Weasley up to the Hospital Wing, Mr Potter," Minerva said firmly.

Harry groaned as Ron pulled him to his feet and Hermione did the same for Ginny. "I'm really fine, Professor."

"So am I," Ginny added quickly.

"Greyback didn't hurt you?" Arthur asked, finally sweeping his daughter into his arms.

Ginny hugged her father back fiercely. "My arm's just a little bruised," she said, her voice a little muffled by her father's robes. "I've had worse playing Quidditch."

The moment her father let her go, her brothers and sister-in-law swamped her followed by Percy and Penelope.

"Percy!" she said with surprise. "What are you doing here?"

Percy hugged her tightly again until Penelope laid a hand on his arm. He let her go but left his hands on her shoulders.

"Penny and I were at the Burrow with Mum and Bill and Fleur when the message came from Professor McGonagall," he said as though that answered everything and in light of the letters that had been doing the rounds lately, Ginny supposed that it did.

She stepped away from her brother and straight into Harry's arms. He hugged her tightly and buried his face in her hair, whispering, "I'm sorry, Ginny."

"What?" she yelped, pulling away far enough to look him in the face. "Harry! This was not your fault."

"Gin-Gin's right," Fred said with a flash of a grin at his suddenly annoyed sister.

"As usual," George continued, mollifying Ginny slightly.

"And this is exactly how Voldemort wants you to react."

"Didn't think you usually did what he wanted."

That brought Harry to a halt and he gave the twins a sharp glance. He, like many others, often forgot how smart those two were. They hid it well underneath the jokes and pranks but you couldn't create what they did and not be intelligent.

He closed his eyes for a moment then opened them and looked down at Ginny.

"They've got a good point," she said before breaking into an impish smile.

Harry was silent for a moment longer then he nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, I guess they do."

"Course we do," George said exuberantly.

"Don't we always," Fred added.

"I think we should take this back up to the school," Minerva said, glancing briefly down through the gates.

There were nods all round and the group slowly made their way back to the castle and then to the Headmistress' office. Once there Minerva ordered tea for everyone and they sat down in various chairs, many drawing up their own. Harry sat down on the couch with his arms around Ginny. She didn't seem too upset with this and snuggled in comfortably.

"Are you going to tell us where you got the portkey, Harry?" Charlie asked, perching on the arm of the couch next to his sister.

"No," Harry replied firmly.

"You're starting to get as mysterious as Dumbledore," Bill said with a grin. "Just not quite as vague in the way you talk."

"Yeah, that 'no' was very blunt," Charlie said with a grin that matched his brother's.

"Mysterious must be a requirement for the leader of the Order," Remus added with a small smile, the look in his eyes telling Harry that he knew exactly where they had gotten the portkey.

"What happened downstairs?" Harry asked, trying to change the subject.

"Once the wolves were neutralised it was pretty anticlimactic," Moody growled. "Don't think Voldemort was expecting us to figure out where he was. He obviously wasn't ready for a fight."

"Yeah, the Death Eaters in the dining hall just came piling out without much in the way of thought. They didn't even have masks on," Bill said dryly. "But absolutely no one emerged from the parlour."

"That's a bit...odd," Ron said with a frown. "If nothing else Bellatrix usually likes to have a go at Harry."

"They kidnapped Ginny for a reason," Arthur said as he looked over at Ginny, almost seeming to confirm that she was still there. "They obviously wanted to use her to lure Harry into some kind of trap."

"Like with the vision of Sirius at the Ministry," Hermione said with an apologetic look at Harry.

"Indeed," Arthur said uncomfortably. "Obviously we weren't meant to figure out where they were holding her nor were we meant to come and stage a rescue attempt so quickly." Arthur paused and gave Harry a curious look. "How did you work out where she was?"

Harry froze for a moment. "Uh, it...seemed sort of logical. I didn't think they'd be at the Riddle Manor. Voldemort knows that we know about his links to that place. It would be the first place we'd look. Both Draco and Lucius Malfoy are Death Eaters and are one of the few Death Eaters with a place secure enough." He paused. "And there was a way of checking Malfoy Manor. That's why I picked it as the best option."

"Using that house elf was a good plan," Moody said with an approving nod. "Never thought of asking a house elf to scout things out before. Still I suppose most house elves aren't free and able to do whatever they like."

"So what now?" Bill asked. "Is he going to make another attempt at kidnapping Ginny?"

"We will not allow him that possibility," Minerva said firmly. "I shall attempt to speak to the centaurs. Perhaps they will be willing to consider aiding us. I shall also speak to Hagrid about his brother. He told me earlier this year that...Grawp likes the Forest."

"If Hagrid could get Grawp to stay near the castle during Care of Magical Creatures classes that would probably deter Greyback's pack," Hermione suggested.

"I shall suggest it to him," Minerva said. She then fixed Harry and Ginny with a stern look. "Now, Mr Potter, Miss Weasley, I want you two to go straight to the Hospital Wing and let Madam Pomfrey have a look at you. No complaints! Go."

"I think it's a good idea," Arthur said firmly. "For both of you."

Bill looked around his brothers. "No disagreements here. In fact, I think Percy and Penny can make sure you get there without any problems. Give you an opportunity to catch up with them."

A small smile crept onto Percy's face as he stood and walked over to the couch. Penelope laughed and joined them.

"I think you should just give in with good grace," she said in a conspiratorial manner. "After all, we'd hate to have to stun you and drag you down there."

Harry and Ginny exchanged long-suffering look then slowly got to their feet and left, flanked on either side by Percy and Penelope and with the laughter of the others trailing behind them.