The Punch Line ~George Weasley~

T W E N T Y - T W O

A sigh of relief escapes my lips: Ginny; Ron and Luna emerging from behind the door.

"What happened ?" Harry asks, Ginny lightly limping into the room.

"I think my ankle's broken, and somebody hit Ron with a weird spell..." Ginny quirks, using Ron to keep her up.

Ron lets out a strange giggle, Harry and I share a look.

"Hiya, Harry," Ron giggles, since when did Ron giggle? "You look funny..." He laughs again, putting his hand over to muffle it.

Ginny's leg buckles from Ron's giggles, both of them falling onto the floor. Harry rushes to Ginny's side, concern lacing across his face. Ginny's breath becoming deeper, each gasp getting hitched in her throat.

"They hit her with something too" Luna sighs, in her usual dreamy tone, her Irish accent making everything that seemed to be happening around us seem like an ordianry trivial matter. Harry's body seemed to stifen as she spoke, Luna joins him by Ginny's side.

"We need to get out of here. Luna can you help Ginny?" Harry asks rising, glancing over at Hermione her body hanging onto Neville's.

Silence.

The echoing creak of a door radiates through the room, five Death Eaters emerge, wands in hand ready to strike.

"There they are!" Bellatrix exclaims in excitement, raising her wand like a serpent ready to attack at her prey.

Spells erupt into the room, the sounds mixing into a cocophony of shattering glass and hurried footsteps trying to escape the deathly barrage of spells. Luna is blasted on her back, causing both Ginny and herself to tumble to the floor. Turning back, Harry stops me, grabbing my wrist pulling me forward.

"We can't just leave them!" I exclaim, pulling my wrist from his grasp.

"I know but we have to keep going" He retorts, only glancing back once, quickly scanning for Ginny and Luna.

Another spell is sent spiralling towards us, just skimming past my face and hitting Neville with Hermione on his back. Sending them to collapse onto the ground, Hermione's unconscious body rolling away from Neville.

Harry, Ron and myself are left staggering into the Room of the Veil. Reaching the threshold Ron is hit with a stunning spell, falling. Harry and I are sent flying backwards by the force of Ron's impact, hitting the bottom of the chamber.

That's definitly going to hurt in the morning, that's if I get to see another one pass. Lifting myself up onto my elbows, looking at Harry as he rests at the dias of the Veil, within arms length from where I landed.

Doors exploding all around us, brining up my arms to cover my head. My mind thinks of my parents, oh God I don't want to die here please.

Please someone help.

Harry's body begins to stir, raising my head I see that he lifts himself up to stand on the dias, his wand held weakly in his hand.

Please Harry, don't die.

Mustering the strength that my body could manage, standing by his side I raise my wand, each bone in my body screaming for me to stop.

Warmth trickles from the corner of the mouth and down my chin, well this isn't going to be easily explain if I get back in one piece. Harry and I take in our surroundings, our eyes landing onto the same form.

Malfoy advancing towards us.

"Your race is run, Potter. Hand it over," Lucius spits, opening the palm of his hand.

"Let my friends go and I will" Harry speaks, defiance laced his voice.

"Harry don't, please" I plead, Harry glances at me. Sighing I breaking our gaze, trying to frantcially search around the room for something, anything.

Bellatrix enters, Death Eaters traipsing in her wake. Their hands roughly gripping onto the collars of our friends, holding them in front of us, taunting us, their faces plastered with pleasurable sneers.

"You are not in a position to negotiaite" Lucius taunts, holding his wand tightly in his hand. Neville struggling against the Death Eater holding a fistful of his collar.

"Don't do it, Harry! Don't" Nevilles calls to him, his body squirming at the Death Eaters rough grasp.

"Stop, Neville!" Harry replies.

"Neville? Neville Longbottom?" Bellatrix chimes, slowly turning her head and maliciously smiling at him. Her yellowing teeth, like pieces of chewed taffy exposed to him "My dear boy, I paid your parents a vist a long time ago. We had such a time!" She sings, lifting his chin with her wand.

"You put them in St. Mungos!" Neville cries, tears waiting to burst from the corners of his eyes.

"So Potter. Give us the Prophesy or I'll see how long it take to crack Longbottom like his parents" She sighs, holding his face in her hand and smiling at us.

"Don't you dare hurt him" I threaten, griping my wand with a new found strength.

"Oh look Longbottom you've got a girlfriend, how sweet" She patronised, as if speaking to a child.

Desperation floods Harry's face, I look to him not wanting to take my eyes off Neville.

I swear if that bitch does anything to that poor boy, hasn't he been through enough ?

"Don't give it to them!" Neville says, trying to twist his face away from Bellatrix's grasp.

"Crucio!" Bellatrix speaks, pleasure twisting her sharp features into an evil smirk.

Neville howls in pain, curling up into a ball, the Death Eater letting him go to watch him squirm in agony.

The doors at the top of the chamber exploding off their hinges. Lupin, Siruis, Moody, Tonks and Kingsley appear blasting the around us Death Eaters off their feet.