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Author: Velvethope Story: From Answers to Questions Rating: Teens Setting: Pre-HBP Status: Completed Reviews: 8 Words: 201,438
“I just don’t remember, I’m sorry,” Winifred said for the third time, and Harry had a hard time restraining himself. He could feel Remus’s eyes on him and turned to look at the other man. “Fine, you try,” he whispered to his friend and moved away from the girl’s bed. Harry knew Winifred was getting upset, almost hysterical, from the questions he’d been asking, but he didn’t have time to be nice. He needed something to go on. But it was Tonks that went to Winifred’s bed. She sat down and took the girl’s hand into her own. Harry heard her whispering softly to her. Remus put a hand on him, to stop him from getting too close. “Winifred doesn’t appear to be too trusting of men, right now, Harry. Let Tonks try,” Remus said quietly, his voice even. Harry nodded and then turned away, sitting down in one of the chairs against the wall. Harry tried to calm his nerves by taking deep breaths. He didn’t want to think about Ginny going through what Winifred had obviously gone through. He didn’t want to think of anyone touching her or harming her.... Almost against his will, the images of Ginny being hurt flitted through his mind and Harry punched his injured hand into his leg, wincing with pain. Reminding himself of his earlier tantrum was the only thing that kept him from breaking into another one now. Harry closed his eyes and tried to concentrate on something that was far removed from what was happening. When he opened his eyes again he found Remus nodding at him. “Good, Harry. You’re getting your emotions in check. That’s a good sign.” Harry scowled but it quickly turned into a frown. “I’m sorry for losing my temper earlier. I know you were just trying to....” “Be a voice of calm in a sea of madness? Yes, that’s always been my cross to bear. Don’t let your frustration get to you so easily, Harry. Ginny doesn’t need that; she needs you to be calm and collected. It’s the only thing that’s going to help us find her.” Harry nodded. He knew his friend was right, but he couldn’t help it. The anxiety that had started when he’d left the flat earlier had only grown and intensified inside him. It was unlike anything Harry had ever known before. To say that he felt as though he were missing a part of himself sounded clichéd and trite, but it was true. The fact that he couldn’t control what was happening to that missing part of him made him angry and frustrated. He’d not given the soul mate idea any serious thought - he was glad it had allowed Ginny and he to remain alive after the incident at the prison, but other than that, Harry didn’t think he’d have any use for it. But now he saw that without Ginny, he was less than what he had been before, and Harry didn’t like the growing sense of emptiness inside of him. It scared him in a way that he didn’t understand. He could face Voldemort, he could face Draco Malfoy and anyone else that represented evil, but the thought of facing life without Ginny...it left Harry deathly cold inside. As though she were the thing that caused his very heart to beat. Remus put an arm lightly on his shoulder, and Harry blinked up at him, startled. He’d been so lost in his own thoughts he’d forgotten where he was. His eyes strayed over to Tonks who seemed to be making headway with Winifred. Harry suddenly couldn’t be in the room any longer. “I have to get out of here for a while; I‘ll go find Ron and Hermione,” he whispered to Remus and broke away before the other man could stop him. Harry practically ran out of the room, letting the door swing shut behind him. He took deep breaths again and willed his heart to stop beating so frantically. Keep your head about you; Remus is right. It’s not going to help things at all if you start to lose it. Harry didn’t like feeling powerless. It reminded him too much of when he was growing up, lost inside prophecies and fated destinies - lost inside a game he’d never wanted to play. He’d barely survived that by the skin of his teeth and here he was years later, a grown man, driven to distraction because of some empty feeling inside. He wouldn’t stand for it. He would not fall to pieces because of some ancient idea of being less than complete because Ginny wasn’t with him. It was codswallop. He was Harry Potter, and he was definitely better than this. Losing himself in his own thoughts again, he jumped when Dex called his name. “Harry? How’s it going? Has Winifred told you anything worthwhile yet?” *** Ginny felt numb. She stared at the ceiling above her, unblinking. The only thing that kept her awake was the ring on her left hand. It warmed her skin where it touched her, and she was thankful for it because it reminded her of Harry. She didn’t want to think of anything else right now. But she forced her mind to focus and tried to loosen the ropes around her arms again. She was not going to wait for that... that maniac to come back and do anything to her. There was something about him that seemed oddly familiar to Ginny, but she didn’t feel like studying him to understand what it meant. If she relaxed her arms enough, she noticed the rope would slacken, so she tried to make herself as relaxed as possible, except of course, she couldn’t move once she had her body that still. As soon as she started to try to twist her arm out, the rope would coil and go tight against her skin; it was useless. The man had seemed surprised that she was awake so quickly, so she reckoned the ropes must have a sort of poison or potion they wrapped around their victim as they moved across them. It would explain the rope burns they’d found on Winifred. Why Ginny wasn’t susceptible to the poison herself, she didn’t know, but she was thankful because it made trying to escape that much easier. Except of course, it appeared that she was completely at the mercy of the ropes he’d left tied to her body. Ginny tried to come up with a way to get loose; she was not going to let that fiend touch her again. Just the thought of his hands on her...Ginny felt the same revulsion she had felt when she had seen her name carved into Mandy’s back. It sickened her and made her stomach twist into knots. No, stay calm. You can do this. You can get free and kick his arse while you’re at it too. Ginny stared up at the ceiling again and thought of all the reasons she had to fight. *** Harry wanted to lose Dex, but the man would not leave him alone, so the two of them headed downstairs to find Hermione and Ron. Harry knew if Winifred came up with anything new, that Tonks would let him know. He found Hermione and Ron in the hospital’s tea shop, talking quietly. They searched his face for any news as he reached them, and Harry merely shook his head. Ron’s fist flexed beside his cup and Hermione rubbed his arm, absentmindedly. “Join us then, Harry, Dex. We’ll wait for Remus and Tonks to get done talking to her,” Hermione said as she pointed to the two other chairs at the table. Harry just stared at them and almost turned around again, but Dex moved behind him, blocking him. Harry sat down and glared as the other man did the same. He shook his head as Hermione offered him a cup of tea. “You have to keep your strength up - ” “I don’t want any tea, Hermione. Nor any biscuits. I don’t have the stomach for it,” he interrupted, his voice breaking. He watched as Dex took the offered cup of tea and added milk and sugar to it. Harry’s stomach did feel queasy, as though he was about to be very sick. He knew it was just nerves. “I thought they put a charm on your cheek, Dex, to make the bruising go away?” Hermione was saying as Harry rubbed his hands together under the table. He glanced at Dex and saw that the bruising from before was indeed still visible. He wondered if it had been the result of the person who had jumped him or Harry’s bedroom floor making contact with his face that had been the creator of those wounds. For some inexplicable reason, Harry hoped it had been the floor. Dex look flustered for a moment and then his hand went up to his cheek. “Oh, well, guess the charm wore off. The medi-witch said that might happen. I’ll have to get some Healing Potion for it, no doubt.” Hermione opened her mouth to say something else when Ron pushed away from the table in frustration. “Bloody hell. I can’t stand just sitting here, waiting. Shouldn’t we be out there somewhere looking for her?” Harry nodded in agreement. But Hermione shook her head. “No, what if some news comes in or Winifred remembers something and no one can reach you? Let the Patrol Wizards handle it, they specialize in this sort of thing. You don’t even know where to look.” “We knew where to look for Malfoy.” “That’s different Ron; they'd had a sighting of him.” “Well, maybe someone has seen someone with Ginny, you don’t know - ” Hermione and Ron continued bickering, and Harry put his head in his hands. Useless. It was all...useless. He had all this magical ability at his fingertips and nothing could help him find Ginny. Harry felt someone’s eyes on him and he looked over at Dex. The other man continued staring for a moment, a strange expression on his face. Before it could register on Harry, the other man blinked and then looked away. He nodded at Harry. “Ginny’s a fighter, Harry. She won’t be hurt without a fight, you can probably trust in that. You’ll find her before too long.” Harry nodded his head numbly. He wasn’t even listening. He felt old, suddenly; old and very tired. Why was it exactly he could never have a nice, normal, boring life? Why couldn’t he be curled up in bed with Ginny right now, doing the Daily Prophet cross-word puzzle or some other mundane thing? Because you’re lousy at cross-words and you’re the man that defeated Voldemort. Boring isn’t in your vocabulary and you like it like that. Hermione and Ron were interrupted in their arguing by a loud snap! And Harry looked up to see Fred and George glaring at them. The twins marched in and folded their arms as they looked at all of them. “Fine sight you lot are.” “Ginny’s been nabbed and you’re all sitting down for a cup of tea and an episode of the Ron and Hermione hour. Brilliant. Harry, we thought you cared more about Ginny that this,” George said angrily. Harry just blinked up at him. “I’m waiting for Tonks and Remus to get done questioning Winifred.” “Yeah and then what? You’ll pop home for a lounge on the bed before you get out there looking for our sister?” “Hey, look you two, we’re all trying to remain calm and collected. Harry’s doing the best he can - ” Fred interrupted Ron with a snort. “Figures you’d say that Ronnie, you’re sitting about with him.” George pointed to his own chest and then at Fred‘s. “We’re going out - ” “And we’re going to ask as many questions - ” “As we can so that when Ginny asks what we did to find her we’ll at least be able to say we didn’t sit on our arses drinking tea!” The twins glared at them again and then left the tea shop. Ron called after them in anger and started to follow them. Hermione looked at Harry. “Don’t listen to them, Harry. You’re doing the right thing; attempting to find clues first, before going off half-crazed. I’m proud of you,” Hermione said consolingly. Harry shook his head. He was about to tell Hermione that she could stuff her pride, he was with Fred and George; they should be out there looking. Ron came back into the tea shop then, followed by Remus and Tonks. “Good news, Harry! I think we have our first real clue,” Tonks said. “What? What did she say?” Harry stood up fast from the table. “Well, Winifred seems to remember a few things about the house she was kept in and I think it’s important. I got her permission to put her under a Remembering Spell, but I think someone must have done a Memory Charm already, because she was really blank on a lot of things. But she remembers the air being stale, as though it had been closed up for awhile. And she remembered that once she heard a loud bell or horn, like it was from a ship. I think she was being kept in a house along the docks! That’s where we picked up Draco, wasn’t it?” Everyone started talking excitedly then and Harry felt his first surge of hope. Of course, Draco had been sighted along the docks, after having seemingly disappeared out of the city. It made sense that he would have been kept somewhere. Maybe the person who took Ginny had been responsible for Draco getting out of jail! Not caring to wonder why at that point, Harry nodded as Remus suggested they all go to the area they had been at earlier in the day so that they could focus and start their search there. No one noticed Dex slipping out of the tea shop and hurrying down the stairs.... *** Professor Laura Miracroix sat waiting for her transport to take her to the house she’d be staying at in the city. She’d been waylaid in Port Royale for days and she felt that she was quite done with the desert in its entirety. She fanned herself with a small twirl of her wand and sighed. She glanced down at the over-sized package she carried on her lap, which was destined for England. She only hoped that she would get to mail it soon. It weighed a ton, for one, and she had a strange feeling that the contents of the box were needed now more than ever. With a smile, the carriage master helped her out of the cab and took the box from her. Speaking in French, she told him that the box needed to go out as soon as possible. He nodded at her and then called to one of the servants. A small boy ran out to meet him and graciously accepted the package. As Miracroix went into the house, the boy carried the box to the local wizard post and paid the extra fee for fast delivery. He glanced at the name before the clerk took it out of his hands and gasped as he recognized the name. Just wait until his friends heard that he'd help mail a package to Harry Potter! *** Harry, along with Ron, the twins, Remus, Tonks, everyone he knew practically, searched all night along the docks, asking questions, trying to appear nonchalant when they tried to ascertain whether or not anyone lived in the houses they came upon. By the morning’s first ray of light, they had covered a good deal of area and were still none the wiser. No one had seen a thing, which Harry reckoned wasn’t that odd considering Ginny had been taken by a wizard and not a Muggle. He’d probably Apparated straight to wherever it was he was keeping her. He looked over at the determined, yet tired expression on Ron’s face and knew it matched his own. It had been a long twenty-four hours for all of them. Add to that the fact that there hadn’t been even a word or a sign of anything that could remotely help them, it seemed as though it had been even longer. Harry just wanted Ginny to be safe. He thought about where they had found Winifred and then Draco and it made sense that the house they’d stayed at had to be around this area somewhere. Even Mandy, who had been returned to her own flat, lived in the same area. So there was something here, he just knew it. Trouble was he didn’t know what good it did him to just keep going over the same area again and again. Harry also couldn’t understand why someone had freed Draco Malfoy if the real object of their desire had been Ginny all along. He’d heard about Mandy’s hair, and about Ginny’s name being carved in her back. He knew Winifred had said the man had used that name for her. It left a bad taste in his mouth to think that someone was obsessed with Ginny and that they would go to all this trouble.... Ron’s voice interrupted his thoughts. “Harry, Remus wants us to fall back and get some breakfast. He says the second Wizard Patrol will take over for us while we rest up. I have to admit, I could use a bit of refreshment.” Harry shook his head. “Fine, you can go and eat up; I’m staying out here. I’ll help them with the areas we’ve only been through once.” Ron frowned at him. “Remus said you’d say that. He said to remind you that we all need to touch base and we may as well do it while drinking tea and grabbing a bit to eat to keep our strength up.” Harry groaned and reluctantly agreed to head back in with Ron. He knew Remus would just keep sending people out to pester him, so he’d drink a spot of tea and chew on a biscuit and hop out again. Maybe they’d have more luck in the light of day.... He followed Ron as they ducked in between two shops. They both tried to look causal as they Apparated to the Leaky Cauldron, to avoid any Muggles seeing them disappear. Hermione was already there waiting for them and she poured a quick cup for Ron and him. The twins came in soon after, grumbling about being pulled away from the search but looking slightly mollified when their mother stuffed two chocolate tarts into their opened mouths. Everyone ate and drank in silence, and Harry had to admit that perhaps it had been a good idea to come back in. The tea did feel good on his throat and he’d never admit this to Ron, but his stomach was empty. Harry watched Neville Longbottom and Charlie Weasley as they came in and sat down at the far end of the table. Neville looked a wreck, and Harry wondered if he had the same haunted expression on his own face. He buried his head in his arms then, closing his eyes for a moment. Now since he was sitting down, he realized how tired he was. He felt a hand on his back and looked up to see Arthur Weasley gazing down at him. “All right there, Harry?” Harry nodded and sat up. The older man sat down next to him and offered him a chocolate tart. When Harry started to refuse, Arthur stuck it in his hand anyway. Harry smiled slightly and took a bite to make the elder Weasley happy. Arthur looked as tired as the rest of them, and for the first time Harry saw how old his future father-in-law looked. The war with Voldemort had been long and of course, it had taken its toll, but Harry had thought the years in between had to have been good ones, surely. But then, maybe it only took something like your youngest child being taken by someone to bring every harsh thing you’d ever lived through back to you in one fell swoop. “I’m going to find her, Arthur,” Harry said softly, and the other man glanced at him and nodded. “I know you are, Harry. I have every faith in you. So does Molly. We know you love her very much.” Harry glanced at Molly who was talking quietly to Tonks and Hermione and nodded. “I asked Ginny to marry me yesterday and she agreed, we just didn’t get a chance to tell you. We didn’t want to take any of the happiness away from Ron and Hermione, I guess. Seems silly now,” Harry said, not understanding why he felt compelled to explain. Arthur looked at him as though surprised, but then he smiled and patted Harry on the back again. “Thank you for telling me that, Harry. It...well, it makes me happy to know my daughter had that joy before all of this happened. Maybe it’ll keep her strong enough to survive it all.” Harry didn’t say anything or try to argue with him. He knew Arthur was right. There was no telling what was happening to Ginny now and if knowing of his love for her made her be stronger then Harry was glad. He knew she would fight anything and anyone who tried to control her. She’d always been strong; it was one of the things he loved her for. Arthur patted him on the back one last time and then stood up, letting Bill (who had just come in), sit down in his place. Harry watched Arthur comfort Neville and felt the love he had for the Weasleys course through him. With renewed vigour and determination, Harry got up and walked over to Remus and Tonks, ready to discuss their next strategy. *** The real Dexter Eoghan woke up in his flat feeling as though he’d chased a litre of Ogden’s Firewhiskey with a fifth of Glen Livet. Moaning, he rubbed his head and was surprised to feel a soft spot there. Had he bumped his head last night? Dex searched his mind and was surprised when he came up fairly blank with what had happened to him. The last thing he remembered had been talking to Ginny, taking her to see Mandy Brocklehurst.... Almost as though on cue, the unknown memory Fagan had left for him bloomed in his mind, and Dex felt his first surge of panic. What have I done? He forced himself off his sofa and stumbled into his bedroom, afraid of what he would find.... Susan Bones was knocked out cold and tied to his bed. Damn it, not again, Dex thought, his heart racing. *** Hermione came back early because despite her desire to help find Ginny in any way possible, she was still weak from her stay in hospital and knew she had to get some rest. She’d been up almost twenty-four hours straight, and she knew her Healer would not be happy with her if she knew she’d been mistreating herself. So after explaining to Ron and Harry that she would rest and then try researching some stronger version of the Location Spell to help them in trying to pinpoint where Ginny was being held, she made her way back to her flat and collapsed on the sofa. She felt miserable. Not just because of her health, but because the idea of Ginny being alone with some madman was enough to drive her to tears. And Susan too! Hermione's mind flashed on the image of Neville as he'd sat drinking his tea at breakfast; the poor man was a wreck and he wore the same troubled expression that Harry did.... Hermione shook her head sadly as she thought of Harry. He was internalising everything and taking all the blame onto himself, which wouldn’t help find Ginny. Hermione sighed and pushed herself off the sofa. Maybe she would just give one of the books in the study a quick run through and then curl up for a quick nap. As Hermione entered the study, she paused and glanced at her desk, seeing the papers they’d been reviewing for the Fagan case; it felt so long ago. She picked a few of them up and started to organize them into the folder. She supposed she’d have to return these to the proper department. Now since Donald Fagan had got his wish, it hardly seemed worth it to keep them.... Hermione’s eye fell on a slip of paper that held the descriptions and names for the Muggle girls that had been abused. Two things jumped out at her and she frowned as she pulled it out to read more. With a strange feeling in her stomach, all thoughts of taking a nap left her. Hermione went back out to sitting room clutching the paper with her. She grabbed her robe and headed back out. Louis Fagan had been accused of tormenting girls; this was a fact most people knew. What they didn’t know and what Hermione had overlooked, was that every girl he’d been accused of harassing had one feature in common. They all had red hair. *** Ginny must have dozed off at one point during the night because the next thing she knew, she was being lifted out of the bed and moved around. She tried to open her eyes, but found that she couldn’t. She felt weak from the lack of movement. She also hadn’t had anything to eat or drink in the whole time she’d been tied up. She must have made a sound because someone whispered soothingly in her ear. She drifted in and out of consciousness, and even though she knew that she should try to get away, she found that she couldn’t. The next time she came to she realized that she was sitting up in a chair. A plate of food had been placed in front of her and despite the knowledge that she knew he was obviously trying to poison her or give her something to make her weak, she ate what he had left for her. Her body welcomed the nourishment. After she was done, Ginny looked around the strange room and was shocked to realize that it looked entirely too familiar. It was an almost exact replica of the Head Girl’s room she’d kept at Hogwarts, minus her bed of course. Even the bookcases looked the same. It gave her a strange feeling to know someone had gone to all this trouble. She realized with a start that she wasn’t tied to the chair and got up and moved around. It felt good to have circulation back into her limbs. Ginny immediately went to the door and tried to open it, but of course it was locked. Ginny then tried to Apparate but was met with a resounding nothing as her mind seemed to hit a blank wall. It was obvious he’d made it so she couldn’t go anywhere. Well, can’t blame a prisoner for trying, she thought glumly and decided to check out the rest of the room. Whoever had put the room together had obviously seen her room at Hogwarts. The books were correct, the order of the desk, even the family photographs. Well, not exactly. He had transfigured the frames correctly, but inside he had left them empty. Ginny stared at the frame that she knew in reality held a family portrait of her and her brothers and suddenly longed to see a friendly face. She came across the wardrobe and her hand lingered on its door. She was only slightly surprised when she opened it to find it full of Hogwarts robes. Ginny had a funny feeling there were all her size too. There was a noise at the door suddenly, and Ginny looked around frantically, trying to see if there was anything she could use to knock the person out. She grabbed the chair at the desk and hurried over to the door, to stand behind it. She nearly dropped it when she heard the voice behind her. “Oh, please, don’t break that chair; it was particularly hard to transfigure that one correctly.” Ginny whirled around and saw him then, still wearing the mask like before. She scowled at him and threw the chair, which he deflected with his wand. The chair fell and broke. He tutted at her. “Well, I reckon I should have known you’d do it anyway, Ginny.” “Who are you? Why have you brought me here?” Ginny demanded of him, keeping her distance from him. She moved against the door and felt the doorknob in the small of her back. She was glad she had eaten, it had given her strength. “You don’t recognize me?” he asked her, his voice soft and menacing. Ginny narrowed her eyes. “You have a mask on, as if you didn’t know, you bloody git, so no, I don’t.” He chuckled and twirled his wand in his fingers. “Always so feisty. I’ve always enjoyed that about you, you know.” He moved abruptly, and Ginny reacted too late. He was suddenly pressing close to her, pushing her further into the door. The doorknob jabbed into her and she winced with the pain. She tried to inch her way around it, but he held in place with his body. She could hear his shallow breathing behind his mask and she knew he was excited at the prospect of her being hurt. Ginny didn’t want to follow the logical end of that thought and what it meant to her safety. She tried to calm herself and look demurely back at him. “You’re scaring me,” she whispered, making her eyes go wide. “Am I?” She nodded. Maybe if she could get him to move away from her she could grab one of the heavier books.... He pushed her closer to the door suddenly, and Ginny felt her head hit the wood and her back protested in pain at the sharpness of the doorknob being shoved into her too harshly. She blinked at him and heard him laughing. “Don’t try it,” he said softly. “Try what?” “Whatever it was you just thought you’d try. I know you, Ginny. Wide eyes and soft whispers won’t fool me. Now...as much as I enjoy this position, I have to admit there’s another one I’d much like to try first. Maybe it will jog your memory....” He muttered a spell under his breath, and Ginny felt herself go weak and slipped down to the floor. She couldn’t control her body; it was almost as though he had hit her with a body bind, except in the other direction, loose instead of rigid. She looked up at him and watched as he removed the dark robe he’d been wearing. He began undressing her and Ginny tried to move, to make her body react, but it wouldn’t. It was as though she were wet clay in his hands. He could do anything he wanted to her like this and she wouldn’t be able to stop him. Her mind screamed in protest and she used the only thing she could, her voice. “I have people who love me, you know, they’re going to be looking for me. They’re not going to let you do this. They’ll kill you for this. And if they don’t, then I will,” she added defiantly. He stopped what he was doing and laughed again. It was unnerving to hear laughter coming out of that strange, featureless mask. “Oh, they’re looking for you my sweet, but I’ve already thought of that. By the time they get through with the person they think did this, I will have already done what I wanted with you many times over, don’t worry. Now...shall we begin?” Ginny closed her eyes when he touched her and told herself that nothing was happening. She bit her lip in pain and tried to block out the feelings of his hands on her. She went into that place she had inside herself, that place that was only for her and she thought of the one thing, the one person she had to hold onto.... Please hurry, Harry. Please. Find me soon. As soon as Ginny thought of Harry, the warmth of the ring flared against her skin again, and she almost gasped out loud when she realized she was beginning to feel some sort of control return to her body. Not wanting to waste a second, she tried to move her leg. It worked! With determination, Ginny brought her knee up and forced it up into the stomach of the man that was holding her down. He exhaled and fell back in surprise, and Ginny used her lower body to push herself away from him. He's going to have to kill me to touch me again, Ginny thought wildly to herself, inching her way backwards from him. The man cursed and reached out for her, forgetting the wand he’d laid down beside her. Ginny kicked outward again with her foot, feeling it hit something solid. She hoped it was his face. She still felt as though her arms were useless limbs, but the warmth of the ring was travelling through her. She twisted herself around and tried to move herself forward with just her legs. Come on... just a little bit more, she thought, feeling her heart beating fast. “Oh no you don’t, you little whore,” the man yelled at her, and Ginny dared a glance back at him. He was aiming his wand at her; about to hit her with another spell when suddenly a loud chiming noise went off somewhere. The man immediately stopped and looked at the door. She heard him curse again and watched as he Apparated. She couldn’t believe he had just left her alone. It was a mistake she was going to use to her best advantage. She closed her eyes and tried to focus all of her energy on her arms, to try to get them to work for her again. Think of Harry, think of Harry...she repeated to herself over and over again. Ginny felt the warmth of the ring flow into her and almost cried when she realized she could move the fingers on her right hand. She was going to get out of this room. *** It was really a bother to Hermione that she couldn’t Apparate. If she ever did find out it was Louis Fagan who had poisoned her, she wanted to be able to talk with him alone in an empty room with just her wand. Of course, Hermione reasoned with a frown, if her suspicions were correct, she’d have to wade through Harry and the entire Weasley family to get her chance. But Hermione realized that was fine with her. She caught up with the search party about an hour later, and shushing Ron’s protests when he started telling that her she needed to rest, she thrust the folder into Harry’s hands. “Hermione, what is this?” Harry asked as he started thumbing through the papers. “It’s the...Fagan...file,” Hermione said panting; she’d been running the last bit, to catch up with them before they’d changed directions. “Why do you have a file on Donald Fagan?” Harry asked, not understanding. Ron looked at her, his lips pursed. He dragged them over to a bench and made her sit down. She smiled at him and nodded to the folder, wanting him to explain while she caught her breath. “It’s not for Donald; it’s for Louis, his son. Hermione and I were working on something before she had her...incident. A few years ago while you were in America, Louis was charged with attacking Muggle girls and doing things to them. He wasn’t put away because of who his father is but he was given a ban on magic. Donald was working on getting the ban removed, and Hermione and I were trying to stop him.” Harry looked up at Ron, a look of dismay on his face. They both then looked at Hermione. “So...why are you showing this to me now?” “Read the descriptions of the girls to him, Ron.” Ron took the folder from Harry’s hands and frowned. “Er...right, Victoria Johnson, Muggle, blue eyes, red hair. Lauren Jacobs, Muggle, green eyes, red hair...er...Emma Benson, Muggle, blue eyes, red hair...and....” Ron paused, looking up quickly at Hermione in understanding, “Joanna Monaghan, Muggle, brown eyes, red...hair. She was the one he hurt the most, according this report.” “Don’t you see? Louis has a thing with girls who have red hair and apparently brown eyes, I think that’s why he hurt the last one the worst. She probably looks a great deal like Ginny. Like Winifred...and it explains why Mandy’s hair was dyed red. And given Ginny and Louis’s history....” Harry’s head snapped up from the folder he'd taken from Ron and he looked at her, startled. “What do you mean Louis and Ginny’s history?” Ron and Hermione shared a glance. Hermione then realized that Ginny had never told Harry the truth about what had happened to her during her seventh year. Harry wasn’t really going to like hearing what she had to tell him. *** Bloody hell, Louis thought as he adjusted his robe back over himself. It had to be Dex that had triggered the alarm. Trying to get back in with Susan, no doubt. The fool. Louis moved down the stairs into the foyer of the house and cursed. There stood Dex, a slumped Susan in his arms, looking worriedly around him. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Louis asked him, his voice harsh. Dex blinked up at him. “The alarms? You set them? But why? I...look, I found her in my bed...I don’t know how she got there. You’ve got to help me.” “I don’t really have to do anything, Dexter. She’s your problem. I told you not to grab her but you didn’t listen, did you? I’m not taking the fall for you again. Not this time. Get out.” Louis stepped in front of the other man, disgust showing on his face. Dex had turned pale at his words and almost dropped the woman in his arms. “I took her? Are you certain? I...why did I take Susan? This doesn’t make any sense....” “Psychosis hardly ever does, you git,” Louis waved his wand dismissively, and the alarms he had set went quiet. “Now if you don’t mind, I’ve got my own things to attend to....” “Louis! I don’t remember taking her...I mean, I do, but...something’s not right....” Dex hoisted Susan up higher into his arms and cast a pleading look in his direction. Louis sighed. He should have planted a better memory in the idiot’s head. “Look, Dex, I don’t care if you toss her off the pier. Just get her and yourself out of here. I refuse to be the fall guy for your twisted games....” Louis shoved at Dex, as though to prove a point, and the other man nodded absentmindedly. “Right, right....” Dex was saying, his voice high-pitched. “I’ll just...I’ll take her to the alley...right....” A sudden breaking noise came from somewhere deep in the house, and Louis turned his head towards the sound. Damn, he’d left Ginny alone and far too alert up there. Louis turned to Dex and saw him staring up the stairway. Louis needed to get him out of here. With a final push of his hand, Louis was shoving Dex out of the house. He didn’t care if anyone saw it happen, as he closed the door tightly behind him. He took the stairs two at a time, to get back to Ginny. She’d better not have wrecked the room he’d so painstakingly recreated. He’d have to teach her a lesson about manners. *** Hermione took a deep breath and gave Harry a weary look. “What?” Harry asked, anger in his voice. “Tell me Hermione, why would Ginny and Louis Fagan have a past?” “Er, well, remember Harry, when you left Hogwarts - ” “When you ran away from Hogwarts and my sister,” Ron corrected, and Hermione put a hand on his arm. It wouldn’t help them for Ron to get over-brotherly for this discussion. “When you left Hogwarts, well, Ginny she...there’s no polite way to put this really....” “Why don’t you just spit it out then?” Harry asked crossly. “Well, Ginny fell ill? You remember? Well, that was a result of something that had happened between her and Louis. I never understood it for the longest time, until just recently, really. But Ginny confided to us the other day that she slept with Louis when she found out about you and Cho. He was horrible to her about it; he talked about her to everyone. I didn’t stop to think that Louis might have done something to her, something that made her black out. Ginny claims it was consensual but....” Hermione paused and glanced at Ron. “I don’t buy that,” he nodded at her. “I think the git took advantage of her and she let him because - ” “Because she was upset about me, obviously, right?” Harry interjected his voice low. “Ginny knows she made a mistake; let’s not dwell on the who or the why,” Hermione said, trying to be diplomatic. “She was feeling upset and she tried to take comfort from someone else. What matters now is...well, does Louis have an obsession with her because of it? Has he been behind this all along?” The three of them stared at each other for a moment and then Harry shook his head. “Come on, Ron,” he said curtly, thrusting the folder back into Hermione’s hands. “We’re going to find that git and have a little talk with him. They should have an address for him at the Ministry, right?” “Now listen you two, I don’t want you popping off and beating him to a pulp based on circumstantial evidence. We should tell Mr. Weasley about this, and Remus. Perhaps Amelia can have Donald bring his son in.” “Hermione!” Ron said, exasperated, “Do you really think we’re going to do this the mature, rational way? Come on, he may be the reason you got sick!” Harry stopped and turned around. He looked at them. “What do you mean he’s the reason Hermione got sick?” Ron nodded. “Neville, he purchased the Siliwhatever from the Fagan’s shop. I think he did it to get her out of the way for the hearing they were having about his magical ban.” “I said it before, but you know we can’t prove that Ron,” Hermione said, but even to her, her voice sounded strangely non-emphatic. “How long have you two known about this?” Harry asked suddenly. “Er, well - ” Ron started, and Hermione interrupted him. “Since before the incident at the prison. The day I came home from St. Mungo’s Ginny found the folder in my things and she naturally jumped to the same conclusion as Ron.” “Ginny never mentioned it to me,” Harry said, thoughtfully. “But she had a strange reaction when I was talking to Tonks about Donald Fagan.” “She didn’t know you worked for him in America, did she?” Hermione asked. “No, she didn’t. But then the thing with Draco happened.” Hermione suddenly had a strange, yet interesting thought about Draco’s escape but was stopped from following it through by hearing Neville calling for Harry and Ron. The other man came running up to them, his skin flushed and his eyes wide. “Neville! What is it? Have they found something about Ginny?” Ron asked. Neville shook his head and took a deep breath. “No, not Ginny, but...Susan. They found her! And...they caught the man who took her. You guys will never believe it, it was Dex! He was trying to put her in that alley where Ginny found Winifred and Fred and George caught him. They have him in custody right now!” The three of them just looked at each other, in disbelief. Hermione shook her head to clear it. Dex? He was the one responsible? It just couldn’t be! ***
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