Shadows of Destiny (Harry Potter)

"Madame Pomfrey! We need your help!" The hysterically shrill voice of Hannah Abbott shouted as the doors to the infirmary opened. She had run ahead while her sister floated Ginny behind her.

"What is it?"

"It's Ginny Weasley. She's uh, she's having some kind of seizure. Chelsea will be here in a second. We've had to stun her twice. She keeps coming around and is thrashing!"

Madame Pomfrey brushed by the hysterical girl and walked briskly into the passageway. The younger Abbott was having difficulties with the thrashing and floating girl. Bits of wild magic were scorching the corridor walls. It looked all too familiar.

" Immobulus! " She waved her wand and Molly's youngest ceased her flailing. Poppy's restraining spells were exceeded in strength only by Filius and Albus. It was one of the few things that Minerva was actually jealous about. She conjured a stretcher and had the girl float Ginny Weasley onto it before securing her to the stretcher. A conjured stretcher can be floated much faster than a person's body. Poppy didn't expect the Hufflepuff girl to know this. She idly wondered how many people would be in her basic first aid class this year with the war heating up. The seventh year elective was usually only attended by those attempting to be healers or similar fields. Last year's class had only six students willing to forgo the extra study time for their NEWT exams.

"House Elf!" she said in a firm commanding voice. One appeared instantly. "Go to Molly Weasley and inform her that her daughter is in the infirmary."

"Yes, Miss Nurse." The house elf disappeared as quickly as it arrived.

"Madame Pomfrey, I need to go clean myself up." Chelsea Abbott said gesturing to her robes damaged by the wild magic emissions coming from Ginny Weasley.

"Very well, come back as soon as you can." Poppy had a good idea what was going on as she watched the girl scamper off. If the Abbott girl came back with her parents as well, it would only confirm it. She would get her parents and try to give them 'her side of the story'. In twenty-two years, she had seen students do some very horrible things to each other. Magic was a very dangerous thing to hand a child. There was a reason that the early years did not get taught certain spells. Too many stunners could stop a weak person's heart! If they had listened to her recommendation that awful Bellatrix Black girl would have been thrown out for her use of the slug vomiting hex. The dehydration caused by it almost killed two students that had been bound and exposed to it for an hour before Professor Slughorn had stumbled on to it, but no they allowed that little evil girl to continue her studies and evolve into the monster she became.

She set the stretcher down on the bed Remus Lupin had vacated this morning. She then vanished the restraints and the stretcher.

"What is it Poppy?" The still raspy voice of Albus Dumbledore queried from his bed as he stood still wrapped in bandages.

"Too soon to say, but my early diagnosis is she broke a magical oath. The corridor outside has all the telltale signs."

"Miss Abbott? Would you care to enlighten us?" The headmaster asked solemnly.

"We just found her like this! I don't know what happened." Hannah was a pathetic liar. She knew it. Her parents knew it. Hell, every member of Hufflepuff and most Ravenclaws knew it.

Dumbledore sighed. She would deny it at least two or three more times before cracking. Such is always the way with teenagers. Perhaps he could speed this along a bit. "How is her condition Poppy? Miss Weasley is a powerful witch for her age. The damage from her oath violation may be quite severe."

"I am still checking. There's a good deal of damage being done. She's stunned for now, but I don't think she should be stunned any more. In her condition, her heart might give out." It wasn't quite wholly the truth - at least not yet, but Poppy knew exactly what Dumbledore was doing. It wasn't the first time they had used this tactic.

"As you can see, it is imperative that we know all the details immediately. Any delay in her treatment could cause lasting damage. You must tell me now." His bandages and still healing scars served only to make him look even more intimidating.

Pomfrey picked up right on her cue. "Headmaster, please! I know you want to get to the bottom of this, but browbeating her serves no purpose. The most important thing is Miss Weasley's welfare. Miss Abbott, we are trying to help. You can tell us. Anything you can tell us will be greatly appreciated."

It had the expected result as the duo played the young Hufflepuff like a violin. "We didn't mean it! We made her tell us what she and Harry have been doing in the Room of Requirement. She swore an oath to Harry that she wouldn't tell." Another layer of the proverbial onion had been removed. They were one step closer to the truth.

Dumbledore's brow furrowed. "And what exactly was she doing with Mr. Potter in the Room of Requirement?"

Hannah realized she was in trouble now. She didn't actually know what they were doing. Chelsea hadn't told her yet. She had only felt the shock of horror coming from her sister before the waves of agony started rolling off Ginny Weasley. "I don't know, sir. She told Chelsea."

"I see. Where is your sister at the moment?"

"Albus, I sent her to clean herself up. Her garments were damaged by Miss Weasley's magical discharges."

Dumbledore paused for a minute, watching Poppy perform more diagnostics as he sought the correct way to ask the next question. "How is it your sister managed to convince her into breaking a magical oath?"

"I don't know sir." Hannah protested weakly looking at the floor.

"Did either you or your sister employ legilmency on her?"

"No! No. It's not what you think." Ironic because that was exactly what Dumbledore was certain had happened.

"Albus, you need to stop with this line of questioning. Miss Abbott, we're only looking for the truth here."

Hannah was spared from answering as Molly Weasley burst into the infirmary like a woman on a mission. "What is going on? Where is my daughter?"

"She's showing signs of violating a magical oath."

"She swore and oath! Who did she swear it to? Get them here to release her right now!"

Albus interjected so that Poppy could return to trying to stabilize her patient. "According to Miss Abbott, your daughter swore an oath to Harry Potter. Miss Abbott, where is Mr. Potter?"

"I think he is in the Room of Requirement. He's usually there."

"Why is he there? What is he doing? Why did he make poor Ginny swear an oath? Tell me this instant!" Molly Weasley advanced on Hannah in full interrogation mode. The young witch sank down onto a neighboring bed and began to sob uncontrollably making it nearly impossible to make out her denials in between her tears. Molly was frustrated torn between wanting to force feed truth serum to the girl and wanting to hug her.

"Step away from my daughter, Molly. You know about her condition. If anything it is Mr. Potter that we need to speak to right now." Peter Abbott's voice boomed from the entrance. He entered the ward with his youngest in tow. "Chelsea just told me that Mr. Potter has been practicing Dark Magic on your daughter."

"What!" Every other adult in the room shouted at once, even Poppy was floored by the accusation. She did note how quickly the girl returned with her parent though.

"That is outrageous. He would never…"

"What's going on here? Albus, you shouldn't be out of bed!" McGonagall said entering the room.

"Go ahead Chelsea, tell them."

"He was using her to learn how to possess someone. He wanted to possess someone named Pettigrew and try and kill You-Know-Who!"

The room erupted into chaos for a second time. Several other adults had arrived, including Peter Abbott's wife in a hastily donned robe, there were even a few curious teenagers lurking at the doorway. Minerva took charge and ushered everyone out of the room that did not belong. Remus Lupin was dispatched to retrieve Harry Potter from the Room of Requirement. It still took a minute to restore order.

"Possession is a very difficult magic, Miss Abbott. It is not easily mastered. Are you certain of your information." Dumbledore said.

"He told her that if someone owed you a debt it was very easy."

Dumbledore's eyes opened wide. He was by no means an expert on that branch of magic, but there was speculation that a debt could facilitate possession. It was not something that the youngest Abbott would know. "And Miss Weasley admitted this to you?"

"She was upset and told us!"

"Your sister said that you found her like this. I do not believe your story. You used legilmency on her did you not?" The room went into an uproar for the second time. Mr. Abbott began stammering about Hannah's condition as Hannah fumbled with her mind shield with hands that were already shaking.

"We were practicing. She wanted to learn occulmency, so I was trying to show her the basics. It came up while I was giving her a probe. I think Potter wanted her to learn it to protect his dirty secret." Chelsea realized that she was in a deep hole right now, but she opted to keep pushing this towards Potter's use of Dark Magic while trying to weave her cover story. She might still get a shot at obliviating Leech, or whatever was happening to her might serve to traumatize her enough that she won't recall the circumstances. 'We should have obliviated her in the hallway before coming down here,' she thought to herself. She often called her sister 'Hysterical Hannah' and it looked like once again it fell to her to perform damage control for the both of them. Some things never change. Her loyalty to her older sister had been the only thing that kept her out of Slytherin.

"I was unaware of Miss Weasley's participation in that particular study group. Molly did you approve of this?"

"I most certainly did not give Ginny permission to learn that! How could Harry do this?"

"I believe we will have the answer when Remus returns with Mr. Potter. We should head to my office and allow Poppy to attend to her patient. Perhaps young Hannah should remain here to recover her composure."

Poppy nodded realizing that the good cop and bad cop routine was now being adjusted to divide and conquer. "Yes all of you out. Molly, please go into the waiting area. Until Mr. Potter is brought here, nothing can be done but make her comfortable and your anxiety isn't doing Miss Abbott any good. There dear sit back and relax for a few minutes. I'll get you a nice calming draught."

" Tonare!" Harry screamed using Peter's voice. The silver hand holding the wand jerked slightly to the right and the spell was off by a meter, blasting a hole through the bookshelf and into the wall damaging some tomes and outright disintegrating others. He could still feel that Peter was locked away and that he was still in control. "Tonare!" Harry tried again at the diving form of Voldemort, who had dodged down and to his left while drawing his wand. This time the hand jerked up and the curse flew into the wall above the intended target's head. Harry tried to switch the wand into his left hand, but the silver appendage would not release the wand.

"So, Peter executing a corporate takeover are you? Too bad you didn't realize that I would never give you something that could hurt me. Your remarkable limb can't curse me. Now, it is time to die. Avada Kedarva!"

Both men standing in the room were shocked when there was no green light coming from the yew wand. Harry moved back a couple of paces. He was about to start decoupling himself from Peter, when Riddle tried again. Still no light! Harry returned fire with another blasting curse directed at the floor in front of his enemy. The arm let him fire that one. Pieces of stone from the floor blew from the floor. Some of them hit Voldemort, but didn't cause any real damage.

" Telum Glacis!" Voldemort tried the ice spear a hint of desperation in his voice. The spell refused to form. The answer hit him like a lorry - he actually owed Peter a life debt for saving him from Hagrid. It was the only explanation. He was unable to cast any lethal spells. It was going to be a remarkably strange duel between the two as he began to wrack his brain for non-lethal spells. Something smashed into his backside driving him to the ground.

" Accio Bookshelf!" Harry realized that the charm on the hand prevented direct spells. He would have to use his cunning. For some reason Riddle's spells were failing as well. Pointing the wand at the books and the shattered bookshelf, he incanted "Incendio! Invito Vinum!" The first sent a jet of fire onto the pile of wood and paper that Riddle was struggling under. The second spell, Harry actually had Ollivander to thank. It was the same spell the wand crafter used to shoot a jet of wine during the Weighing of the Wands. The conjured alcohol wouldn't need to last as it caused the fire to burn more intensely.

Harry began weighing his options. No one would be coming, except by accident. They had learned from Penny that the Central Chamber had permanent silencing charms on it. A thought occurred to him, 'Fire Always Makes It Better' and he continued shooting jets of fire at anything that would burn. With enough smoke, maybe that would get both him and Peter. He could decouple while as Peter struggled to remain awake.

"Enough!" Voldemort rose from the rubble. He was clutching his side with his non-wand arm. The wounds from the half-giant had been aggravated. Smoke rolled off his clothing in lazy curls as the fire retardant charms on the clothing strained against the heat. He staggered away from the bonfire and banished the entire fiery mass at the traitorous rat. A wide hole opened in the fireball as a large chunk was vanished. That worried Voldemort. Peter wasn't that strong or creative. Wormtail was also pathetic when it came to vanishing things, yet there he stood magically cleaving an opening through what should have been certain death.

Some of the mass landed at the base of the potions locker. Both men knew what that meant, Voldemort rolled behind the mass of the central table and lost sight of Peter. He chanted a solid concussion shield as the locker exploded.

Harry had seconds to act. He ran towards the wall and concentrated on everything Sturgis Podmore had been telling him about how he triggers his transformation. He had seen Peter's form for years. It was easy to picture in his mind. The change was fast and he scurried towards the hole in the wall making it inside as the explosive blast hit the wall. Some of the fur on his backside was singed from the blast as the wall shook. Harry doubted that the silencing charms could handle that. Riddle would have reinforcements soon, but maybe the blast did some damage. He could still feel Peter clawing away. Maintaining control was becoming like holding a ripped bag of sand together. The transformation further weakened his possession. He couldn't stay in this form for long or Peter would kick him out. The air had a toxic stench, as if a dozen Neville Longbottoms had been on a tear through Snape's lab. The only amusing thing Harry could think of at the moment was that at least the traitorous potion's master would have something to do for a while restocking what was just destroyed. Through his rodent eyes, Harry looked desperately for Pettigrew's wand. It was nowhere to be seen in the rubble that congested the area around the door. He darted out of the mouse hole and returned to human shape savoring the feeling of alteration. If Dumbledore was right about his learning ability, he might be able to use this experience to jumpstart his own animagus transformation. The only weapon he could find was a burning jagged stick of wood. It would have to do. If the bastard was stunned, he'd drive it through his fucking heart like a cheesy vampire movie. A burst of light flashed by him.

Voldemort weathered the explosive shockwave. His barrier wasn't really tested. His strength was again more than equal to the challenge set before him. The next dilemma he face while using a charm to clear the air was how to incapacitate Wormtail. He knew a few basic incapacitation spells, but typically he would use Crucio and then tell one of his minions to bind and bring the victim. This wasn't an option at the moment.

"Stupefy!" The spell came out weakly and off target. Peter was running towards him and brandishing a flaming piece of wood like a knife. He rolled to his right and used a wandless banishing spell to send Peter careening towards the opposite wall back by the wreckage. There was something coming through the wreckage, Nagini!

"Kill the rat, my pet!" He screamed in Parseltongue.

Still on his hands and knees and shaking off the affects of being tossed into a wall, Harry saw the serpent coming towards him. The silver hand seemed to have no qualms about fighting against the giant snake. Harry could feel Peter's abject terror beneath his control.

It slithered towards him "Kill rat for Master! Nagini feast tonight!" Harry could still understand Parsel. Could he still speak it? The monster raised itself up to strike.

"Stop! I command you!" Harry hissed at the monster as it came up to him. The snake paused uncertainly. Harry acted. He leapt at the snake and grabbed its neck. He got his human arm around the creature's head. It wouldn't hold for long, but Harry had witnessed Wormtail's silver hand crush a rock. He struck at the top of the head. The snake screamed in rage and managed to gash his human arm with its deadly fangs. It had the same burning sensation Harry remembered from his encounter with the Basilisk. 'Tough luck there, Peter!' He dug his hand in further, gouging the eyes and digging at the head. The pressure continued to build as the thrashing of the snake became uncontrollable. Harry heard a crack and the skull shattered. He ripped flesh and bone away as the snake went suddenly limp.

He dropped the dead snake and looked up at Voldemort's angry visage. He continued in Parseltongue. "You transform like Peter and you have his hand, but you speak Parseltongue. Who are you?"

"It was your idea to begin with, Tom. You tried it on me in the Ministry. I figured turnabout is fair play."

"Potter! Dabbling in possession are we? Your great leader won't be pleased." Voldemort was clearly shocked at this development.

"His approval isn't high on my list right now. Hasn't been for a while. I was more concerned with the end result of killing you."

"Master! Are you in there? Begin removing the debris fools!" Harry recognized Snape's voice.

"Well looks like my time here is up, Riddle. I should leave before your lackeys get here. Sorry about the mess here and elsewhere." Harry said cryptically.

"Severus! Everything is fine. I will clear the wreckage momentarily. There is something more important at the moment. Go check on the prisoners. Take everyone with you." The sounds on the other side of the debris pile disappeared.

"Why did you do that?"

"I'm curious about you, Harry. Any other time, we are trying to kill each other. I can't kill you. You can't kill me. We find ourselves in a most unusual situation and since we are fated to be deadly foes I figured we could talk. You seem quite resourceful. You've destroyed some of Lucius's valuable books and much of Severus's work."

"Snape needs something to do and Malfoy, well let's just say he isn't going to lose his head over a few books."

"Interesting choice of words Mr. Potter, I take it I have one less Death Eater."

"Perhaps more than that, my informant said tonight was a good night to strike." Harry lied, but sowing the seeds of suspicion was about all he could do. 'It can't hurt, well it might hurt a few of his followers if he goes on a rampage.'

Voldemort hadn't lowered the wand. "We have a few minutes take a seat."

Harry sat down at the table. He could see Snape and the six other Death Eaters headed into the cell block. The table was impressive, much more impressive than the map. Harry could actually feel Peter swell in pride looking at the magical table. Having nothing better to do, he rifled around in Wormtail's memories for anything useful. One thing immediately struck him as important.

The Headquarters of the Dark Lord's forces is located at #7 Coventry Lane Great Hangleton.

The irony made Harry laugh. Peter was Voldemort's secret keeper! It wasn't as if Peter had a superb track record in that capacity. In fact he was oh for one. Who was it that said 'Those who do not learn from History are doomed to repeat it?' Harry wondered if Peter realized he had acquired this kernel of information.

"Something amusing, Harry?" Voldemort said noting the look on Peter's face. He tried a probe of legilmency, it produced an unusual effect similar to looking at book in the distance and not quite being able to make out the words.

"This whole scene strikes me as ludicrous. I was wondering if you would offer me a spot of tea or something." Harry lied again and searched for anything else that might be useful. He concentrated on the locations of three 'safehouses' that weren't under the fidelius charm. Those could be given to Scrimgeour. At least this wasn't a complete failure after all.

"I agree. There is a certain irony in that isn't it? So what exactly prompted this rash action on your part?"

"Does the name Luna Lovegood mean anything to you? How about Katie Bell, Lee Jordan and George Weasley? I could go back further, but why bother."

"Indeed, wrath of the righteous. Your willingness to delve into the darkness makes me wonder if you aren't just set on eliminating me as the competition. The others I make no apologies for, those who draw their wands on me take their lives into their own hands. Perhaps I should say hand? Miss Lovegood's situation was the result of Lucius's actions. He was disciplined, but you hinted at a more permanent solution." Voldemort remarked casually gesturing to the arm mounted over the fireplace. Harry recognized the wand in the hand mounted like a trophy. "How is the girl anyway?"

"Long term spell damage ward - they don't know if and when she'll recover."

"Pity. I'll be certain to make sure she is cared for once I have taken over. How is your future wife doing? I heard her foot was mangled"

"Like you care? She's fine. Are we done with the small talk Tom? I think it's time to go." Harry said with a hint of rancor in his voice. The poison continued to work through his system. With some luck, Wormtail would die as well. Harry decided to continue acting like the brat Severus had always portrayed him to be and let himself be baited. "How are you doing, by the way? All this activity can't be good for your recent injuries. Shocking, that you could be so brutally beaten by Hagrid and a few nights later this happens. Your followers might wake up and realize that the Great and Powerful Oz is just a man behind a curtain?"

"You've developed a clever wit, Harry, since we last spoke. I am impressed. Were you hoping to cash in on this whole idiotic leap year thing?"

"That's rich coming from a thing like you with a fixation with the number seven. According to the ghost of Percy, you have an unhealthy numbers obsession. I'm not sold on this prophecy thing, but Dumbledore is. I am more interested in killing you and taking a long vacation. If this 'year of four thing' is going to help me bring you down, then so be it. If not, I can wait until the end of my seventh year." Harry figured he should reinforce the phony prophecy as there was nothing else to be gained at the moment.

"Tough talk, Harry. You sound confident, but you'll never get this close again." Harry continued staring at the map trying to memorize details to compare against the crude map he already had.

"The only reason you're still alive is I put the wand in the wrong hand. Think about that when you try and sleep. You need to watch your back. I have no problem sticking something in it. Are you sure, Severus is really your man? Dumbledore thought so too?"

"Severus is loyal enough."

"Of course he is. He could fool Dumbledore couldn't he? There's no way he could fool you?"

"Impressive double speak and innuendo, Mr. Potter. You might actually have a future in politics, if you had a future that is. Harry, face the fact that you are the Wizarding equivalent of a cockroach. The universe has not allowed me to squash you yet, but your time is coming. Dumbledore and his prophecies won't save you. I've forgotten more in my life than you will ever have a chance to learn. You can train with aurors for decades and still you will fail."

Harry responded by smashing his enchanted fist into the table. He was correct about the magic of the map, as the enchanted map faded in spots. What he still sensed of Peter coiled in anger at the vandalism. He staggered to his feet and leered at Voldemort.

"Do you miss the taste of unicorn blood? You used to rely on it to sustain your feeble spirit. Remember that? What deal with darkness will spare your life this time Tom? The great and mighty Voldemort again reduced to possessing animals to stay alive and you have the gall to call me a cockroach! What old magic are you going to overlook this time? What arrogant mistake will you blame your failures on next time?" Harry started coughing and sprayed some spittle as he felt his energy draining. "Oh dear, I forgot to mention that your dead pet managed to poison the rat. Shame that potion locker was destroyed. So long Tom, I'll see you again soon." Harry said releasing his hold on the dying animagus allowing the body to slump onto the table.

Voldemort saw a flash of magic and knew that whatever debt Peter owed to the boy had been dissolved. He fished in his robes for the ampoule of anti-venom he always carried with him and forced Peter's frothing mouth open. Turning the servant over he poured the liquid down Peter's throat. "Swallow if you want to live Peter! You need to live, if you are going to have your revenge against the boy."

He watched Peter spasm for several minutes before stopping. There was a faint rising and falling of the man's chest. Pettigrew would live and what debt Voldemort owed him had been repaid. He was once again beholden to no one - a free man. His wand vanished the mound of debris blocking the entranceway. A second wave conjured supports to prevent the ceiling's collapse.

"Milord, the prisoners are gone. Lucius and the guard are dead." Severus said looking with his usual disdain at the scorch marks and rubble where a fully stocked potions locker had once stood.

"Yes I suspected that much. Have one of the others take Peter to the infirmary. What do you think of Miss Beaucourt's plan?"

"It can work."

"Then set it into motion, Severus. The boy needs to die."

"I do not believe there is any call to punish Hannah or Chelsea in this matter. I will deal with this on a family level." Peter Abbott said forcefully.

Professor McGonagall spoke up, "Does it not strike you as odd that Miss Weasley would suddenly request a private lesson with a young witch, who had been heard calling her and I quote 'A dirty stinking whore' not two days ago? I witnessed the exchange myself and cautioned her. Further, she requests it on the evening of the funeral for one of her brothers."

"My daughter's actions are not in question here. What are we to do about Potter?"

"Not in question? She used legilmency on another person and forced her to break her magical oath!"

"And Potter made her swear that oath. What else might he have been doing with a young girl he could control behind closed doors?"

Dumbledore was glad that both Arthur and Molly were not present at the moment, as it probably would be the genesis of a Weasley-Abbott blood feud. Minerva looked on the verge of declaring one on their behalf.

"That will be enough!" Dumbeldore said causing everyone to stop. "When I helped you locate a suitable instructor for your daughter's Occulmency and Legilmency tuition, I requested a promise that this not be used here at school. I do not believe that Miss Weasley requested such a lesson. Perhaps if your daughter would be willing to place her memory of Miss Weasley's request into my pensieve, it would go a long way towards ending this discussion."

"Chelsea?" Peter looked at his daughter and much to his embarrassment - she shook her head no.

"I see. Perhaps we should discuss a suitable punishment?"

Peter Abbott was a stubbornly loyal man. He joined the Order to protect his family after Amelia's death. "I will attend to my daughter's discipline."

"Under the circumstances, I am not sure that is possible Peter. Depending on Miss Weasley's condition and whether or not Arthur or Molly press charges, this could actually result in criminal proceedings."

Peter's expression hardened momentarily. His wife gasped and Chelsea looked shocked. "I don't think it needs to go that far Headmaster. Full disclosure of the circumstances that brought all this into being would shine unfavorably on my family, Miss Weasley - for her use of a love potion and most of all Mr. Potter - for his use of highly illegal dark magic. His current status with the Minister can probably weather it, but it would be damaging nonetheless. Beyond that, it would force me to withdraw my support for you and return to a neutral status. I think it is best that we keep this whole series of unfortunate events within these walls. Together we can agree on a suitable punishment for the girls for their inappropriate behavior."

Albus pondered for a moment, "You play a dangerous game Peter. Going public would almost certainly guarantee a prison sentence for Chelsea and possibly Hannah as well. You are quite fortunate Miss Abbott, the greater good at this juncture is to keep this out of the public eye. You will be allowed to continue your education here and I will convince Arthur and Molly to not press charges. I am partly to blame for this by not requiring an oath on your part to not use your skills on those who had not given their permission. I will require a magically binding oath, if you wish to continue here at Hogwart's. You will also not be allowed to participate in any extracurricular activities without my express approval. Hannah will forfeit her Prefect's badge and be subjected to a similar restriction on her extracurricular activities."

There was a bit of shocked silence after the exchange. Chelsea was subdued. Minerva was a picture of barely controlled rage. It was broken by a small tawny owl flying into the window and landing on Dumbledore's desk. Dumbledore read the note as the owl flew off. "Fawkes, my friend. Go to the Three Broomsticks and bring Mr. Krum and the three people with him here immediately. It appears for better or worse, Mr. Potter is already proceeding with his plan."

Harry opened his eyes and sat up from the pillows he had been laying on. He had failed in his objective of killing Riddle. Hopefully the rest of it still made it worth the effort.

"Harry! You're back. You need to unseal the door. Mr. Lupin has been out there for fifteen minutes trying to get in! Ginny is in the infirmary. You need to release her from her oath!"

Harry staggered to his feet and released the locking charm on the door. Lupin entered and looked at Harry. "Were you successful?"

"No, not completely. I'll tell you on the way."

"I understand. I'm shocked that it has come to this, but I know you did what you thought needed to be done. Come, we need to get to Ginny Weasley."

"What happened?"

"She broke her oath to the youngest Abbott girl. She's with Poppy right now, but she has already been injured by the backlash."

Harry could only shoot Susan a look of exasperation, which she returned. "I told them to back off Harry. I warned them."

Harry and Remus went ahead, as Susan was still walking with the assistance of a cane. As soon as they walked into the ward Harry said in a loud voice. "I, Harry James Potter do hereby release Ginevra Molly Weasley of her magical oath that she swore to me!" There was a slight flash of magic surrounding Ginny's bed and her thrashing ceased as she fell back into a restful state. Madame Pomfrey moved from the chair next to Hannah Abbott over to start checking the sleeping Weasley daughter. Lupin asked where Dumbledore was and left to go get him.

Molly Weasley came rushing in from the waiting room. "Harry Potter! You will explain yourself to me at once!"

"How did she break her oath?"

"The say one of those girls used legilmency on her. What on Earth made you decide to involve my daughter in your schemes?"

Harry turned away from the anger of Molly Weasley and focused on Hannah Abbott. "I warned you to leave it alone, Hannah. Susan warned you to leave it alone, but you had to keep digging didn't you? I'm trying to fight a war and stop a madman and I have to put up with this shit! What do you have to say for yourself, Abbott?"

"Mr. Potter! Calm yourself this instant! Miss Abbott is recovering from a traumatic emotional episode! I will not have you disturbing her further."

Harry ignored both women as he stalked towards Hannah's bed. "Harry, we didn't realize… we thought… I'm sorry…" Hannah tried to plead with him in a whiny voice.

"So you like to rummage around in other people's minds do you? Ginny didn't have any defenses. Let's see how you like it. Legilmens!"

Harry tore at her outer tripwires not bothering to slow at the memories she attempted to bombard him with. Her core shield had only started to take shape, when he impacted on it crushing it like a bull in a proverbial china shop. He forced her to relive humiliation and fear. He witnessed Chelsea and her ambushing Ginny. Harry began whipping her most embarrassing and humiliating memories into a vortex around her mind. He wasn't even bothering with looking at the memories as he fed the cyclone of shame and pain.

" Tenbrarum!" Harry heard Susan's voice and suddenly he was blinded breaking the eye contact and the legilmency connection. "Harry! What in the hell were you doing? She doesn't have her wand and she's in a hospital bed! You need to calm down!"

"I was teaching her a lesson not to break into someone's mind for something this stupid. Finite Incantatem. " Harry canceled out the blinding curse. Madam Pomfrey had her wand leveled at him and Molly Weasley stared at him in horror. Susan was red faced with anger. Others were coming into the room as his vision slowly came back into focus.

The infirmary door opened and a group of people came running into the room. They saw Harry Potter standing over the whimpering form of Hannah Abbott wand in hand. Peter Abbott's wand came up instantly. "Get away from my daughter, you little bastard! Pello Hostis!" The banisher caught Harry and blew him out the window shattering the glass behind him and cutting into his skin. With roughly four stories to fall, he did the only thing he could think of.

The screams in the room had started instantly. Susan raced towards the window shouting, "Accio Harry! Accio Harry! No! No! Accio Harry!"

Lupin grabbed Peter Abbott's wand out of the shocked wizard's hand and punched him full across the face. The blow sent him sprawling to the ground. Dumbledore and the rest came into the turmoil.

"Where is Mr. Potter?"

"He was blown out the window by him!" Remus held the Abbott's own wand to his temple. "If he is dead, I will kill you."

"Peter!"

"I can't see him. It's too dark." Susan cried lighting her wand and scanning into the darkness below. There was a tense silence for over a minute. Mrs. Abbott ran to her husband's side as he looked up at the werewolf looming over him.

"That little bastard was attacking Hannah. I wasn't thinking clearly. It just happened. It was an accident." Peter said defiantly.

In the roar of yelling and confusion, it had been easy to overlook the floo activating. An angry Harry Potter stumbled out of it, cut and bleeding on his arm and forehead. His emergency Portkey clutched in his hand, having taken a quick trip back to his house and heading straight back through the floo. "Blowing a person out of a window does not 'accidentally' happen, Mr. Abbott. Give him his wand back, Remus. He had his shot at me, now it's my turn. Get on your feet, Abbott and face me like a man."