Harry Potter and the Year After

Chapter Fifty-nine: Dead or Alive, Bound and Gagged

Chapter 59: Dead or Alive, Bound and Gagged

"Oh hell," Draco muttered as he ran nearer and saw that it was Harry who was lying unmoving in the snow. His glasses had apparently fallen off during the fall. Blood was trickling out of both of Harry's ears.

"Innervate! Potter, don't you bloody die! Innervate!" he yelled, kneeling at Harry's side. "Help! Someone help!" He called it toward the closed double front doors of the front of the castle.

Ginny was walking toward them as though she were taking a stroll on a fine spring day.

"Ginny! I know you're weak, but please. Go for help, alright?" Draco shouted at her. She was still at least thirty meters away.

She stopped walking and simply tilted her head to the side like a confused dog.

"Mobilicorpus!" Draco said, huffing a breath out as he wondered about Ginny. Harry was hoisted into the air and floated before Draco as he hurried into the castle. Ginny followed toward the front doors with slow, purposeful steps.

***

Afterward, as Hermione and Ron lay together—Ron with a sleepy, relaxed smile, Hermione with a guilt-ridden grimace, she had a sudden, odd jolt of panic. She didn't know where it came from or why she'd had it.

"Ron, something's wrong," she said, sitting up.

"You did the charm," he said sleepily.

"No, it's not that... something's wrong... I might be crazy but I just feel like we need to go patrol or something." She wondered if it was guilt about the summer making her feel this way but she didn't let herself ruminate over it. She was up and dressed by the time Ron sat up.

"Alright, calm down," he said, his eyebrows furrowing as he looked at her. "Is this a joke or something?"

"No, I'm serious. I have a bad feeling like something's wrong. Please, Ron."

He stood and dressed himself. "Fine, but if you can't find anything wrong in the next hour, I'm bringing you back here even if I have to carry you like a firefighter."

"I'd gladly let you," Hermione said, grabbing his hand and leading him from the room. He pulled his second trainer on, hopping on one foot as she pulled him along.

***

"What was tha'?!" Hagrid called to Ginny, hurrying up the hill toward her from his hut. "I heard someone calling for help?"

"That was just Malfoy," Ginny said calmly.

"Did he need help? Is everythin' alrigh'?" Hagrid asked, glancing toward the front doors, one of which was still cracked open.

"I suppose everything is just fine. Now," Ginny said, smiling. "Go back to your hovel, Giant."

"Wha—Ginny, oh, ha, ha, you must have been jokin'. Alrigh' then, you best be gettin' back inside... Girl. Ha," Hagrid said, furrowing his great, fuzzy eyebrows at her before turning and walking back to his hut.

Ginny walked slowly back in through the front double doors, not bothering to close them. It was no matter, because they closed themselves soon after she was inside.

Luna nearly ran into her on the marble stairs.

"Oh! Ginny—" Luna said. She was obviously flustered even though her voice still sounded calm. She grabbed Ginny's shoulders in order to steady herself. "I'm on my prefect patrol—I, I just saw Draco coming by with Harry! Professor McGonagall helped them get to the hospital wing... Oh, sorry, you must want to go see if he's alright!"