Arisen

I wrote the majority of this at 3 or 4 in the morning so I doubt that it is my best work. Personally, it\'s not my favorite piece of work, though I usually say that about all my writing... READ AND REVIEW PLEASE!!

DISCLAIMER: These characters belong to J.K. Rowling. I did not create them, only the situation.

Professor McGonagall was having a rather enjoyable dream. She was walking alone in a beautiful forest. The sun was bright and it was pleasantly warm. As she walked, she hummed - a very unusual thing for Professor McGonagall to do - but this was a very unusual dream. Soon, she found herself walking faster and lower to the ground. It had become dark but she had no trouble seeing anything. She had transformed.

Her animagus form’s keen eyes soon spotted something strange. A lone rat was making its way along the path heading in the same direction as she was. She slowed to a stalking pace, crouching even lower to the ground. Quietly, she appeared and just as the rat had looked behind, she pounced. Within a second the squirming rat disappeared and in its place appeared a screaming girl. Quickly, Professor McGonagall released her and backed away but the girl continued to thrash around wildly. For instead of having no one attacking her as she should, there was a short, chubby man with a finger missing from a hand, trying to hold the fighting girl.

Ginny Weasley, for she now recognized the girl, for a glowing light had illuminated her, was putting up a hell of a fight but the man was fighting back just as hard. The man was just beginning to gain the upper hand when she awoke.

. . . . .

Professor McGonagall rose out of bed, disgruntled, and walked towards the banging door. “Longbottom!” she snapped at the squat boy who now stood before her, “Do you realize what time it is?”

“Its three in the morning ma’am,” he announced with more courage than was normal. “Sorry to bother you so early but there’s something important I need to tell you.”

McGonagall looked Neville up and down, “I’m sure whatever it is can wait till morning. Goodnight, Longbottom.” She made to close the door but Neville stuck his foot in the gap. “Now really,” McGonagall said angrily, “What is the meaning…”

“Harry’s gone!” Neville interrupted, “He left.”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Ron made his way to Professor Dumbledore’s office quickly, thinking that whatever trouble he was in, he may as well get it out of the way as soon as possible. “Sugar Quill,” he muttered at the gargoyle and he started up the stairs. The door to Dumbledore’s office was open and Ron was surprised to see Hermione and his sister sitting in front of a desk. Ginny was trying to comfort a sobbing Hermione though she was crying herself. Something was wrong. Something was terribly wrong.

A hand rested on his shoulder and Ron turned around. There was Dumbledore, looking very somber. “Mr. Weasley,” he said, “please take a seat.”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Harry ran through the dark, not knowing where he was going. His instincts had told him to go this way and Harry had learned to trust his instincts.

He made little noise as he made his way through the night. Little did he know, he was being watched. Harry continued to run, his bag swinging slightly from his shoulder, into the depths of darkness.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Ron, Hermione and Ginny were sitting in the Common Room later that day, cut off from the rest of their house. Each feeling a remorse as deep as the next. Unknown to eachother, they blamed themselves singularly for Harry’s unexpected disappearance.

While in Professor Dumbledore’s office, they had been told how Neville had woken up in the middle of the night to find Harry busy at his own bed, searching through his belongings and every so often he threw something into his bag nearby on the floor. They were told how Harry had gotten up just to see Neville blocking the doorway.

“Neville,” he had said, “please get out of my way. I need to leave.”

“Are you going to find him?”

“I don’t know. Maybe.” He added as Neville gave Harry a stony glare. “Maybe in the end I’ll find him. But for now I need to get out of here. I can’t stay here.”

“What about Ron? What about Hermione? What about Ginny?”

Harry’s eyes had glazed over at this and he looked down at the floor. When he looked up again, his face was rigid and his jaw was set. “I don’t need them. I don’t need anyone.”

Hermione was the first to break the silence. “He didn’t mean it, did he?” she asked, her voice shaking slightly.

“Must’ve,” replied Ron in a gruff voice, “can’t see why he would’ve said it otherwise.” Hermione sobbed and collapsed into his arms sniffing.

Ginny didn’t say anything. She sat quietly staring out the window, contemplating everything that had happened in the last 24 hours. Her mind raked the shocked and hurt expression on Harry’s face after he had found her and Ron. She imagined the scene between Neville and Harry. Something didn’t add up.

Looking over at Ron and Hermione, she made up her mind. There was no way Harry had meant it. He had used it as a deterrent. Ginny slowly got up and walked to her dormitory.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Hermione stayed in the Common Room with Ron for a long time after Ginny had gone upstairs. In fact, they had fallen asleep in each others’ arms. The sun had just begun to rise when they woke up. Blushing, they both headed off to their dormitories.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

It had been a long time since Harry had last slept. He had been on the move since he had left Hogwarts over 24 hours earlier. He had found, over the last few hours, that he had been gradually slowing down. Harry, by this time, was walking at a grudgingly slow pace. It was comparable to a snail.

He was now approaching a very large tree with thick branches protruding from the trunk quite a ways up. Harry began to climb. It didn’t take him long to reach the lower-most branches but he continued to climb until he was completely sure that he was invisible to any passer-bys on the ground. He positioned himself on the wide branch so he wouldn’t fall off. Then he put his head down on his bag. Within moments, Harry was asleep, still unaware of the eyes watching him.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

“Sneaking through the castle is a lot more difficult than it used to be and wandering the grounds is damn near impossible. How did Harry manage it? The ages had not been unlocked so how did he get past the walls. He hadn’t brought his broom with him, not that that would’ve helped getting past the gate. No, it was something different that Harry had done. But…” the shadowy figure in the library paused, “there must’ve been another way.” Quickly and silently, the shadow moved into the hall, down the grand staircase and out of the doors into the grounds.

The sun was just beginning to rise and the trees on the horizon were highlighted by the light. However, one silhouette kept the shadow’s gaze. Distant noises of violently thrashing branches could be heard.

The shadow stepped out into the light. “The Whomping Willow,” he whispered. He shouldered his bag and ran to the tree, the sun shining beautifully off his blonde hair.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Ginny left her dormitory two hours before dawn with a bag filled with a few change of clothes. She still had to visit the kitchen. Quietly, Ginny crept down the staircase and into the Common Room where she stood shocked for half a minute. There, in the far corner of the Common Room lay Ron and Hermione, fast asleep. Ron was still holding Hermione and Hermione had nuzzled her head against Ron’s chest. Ginny smiled and continued on her way.

It took almost two hours to get all the provisions she needed out of the kitchen. The House Elves were groggy and not very efficient. By the time she had stepped out into the grounds, the sun was beginning to rise. Scowling at her late departure, Ginny set off at a jog.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Next morning at breakfast, Professor Dumbledore looked up from his eggs to find a glum looking Hermione and a shocked Ron before him. It didn’t take them long to get to their point.

“Ginny left to go after Harry…” Ron began and Hermione cut across him.

“She left a note on her bed last night. It said not to worry, that she’ll be fine and she doesn’t want anyone to go after her…”

Dumbledore shook his head, “You wouldn’t be able to either way. I have my reasons,” he added as both Ron and Hermione opened their mouths in protest. “I think it is best if you two go off to class.” He watched as they stalked out of the Great Hall, Ron’s arm around Hermione. Dumbledore sighed, closed his eyes and didn’t open them for a minute. When he did, he saw Professor Snape standing in front of him.

“Good morning Headmaster, sir,” Snape said inclining his head slightly, “I hope I didn’t startle you.”

Dumbledore smiled grimly. “No Severus, you didn’t. How may I help you?”

Professor Snape looked around carefully and then leaned in closer to Dumbledore. “It’s Malfoy,” he whispered, “He’s left the castle.”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Irritable, Harry awoke the next morning. Tiny twigs from above had fell on him all night long, waking him every half hour or so. It was not Harry’s favorite way to sleep. He was just going to begin his descent to the ground when he heard footsteps.

Harry was wide awake now and very alert. He watched as the footsteps became louder. Soon, the owner of the footsteps emerged. “Ginny?” Harry whispered. He waited until Ginny was closer and then he jumped, landing crouched and right in front of her.

Ginny had jumped back and raised her wand before she realized that it was Harry who had scared the living daylights out of her. “What the hell was that for, Harry?” she said angrily, watching Harry right himself. “Actually, she added as an afterthought, “don’t answer that. Tell me why you left first. Tell me why you crushed Ron, why you crushed Hermione, why you crushed me!” Ginny was yelling now and brandishing her wand very dangerously.

Harry didn’t say anything for a minute. Instead, he stood there frowning, as if deep in thought. When he finally did speak, it wasn’t in response to Ginny’s question. “How did you catch up so quickly? I had a full days head start on you if not more.”

“25 hours,” she whispered, “you had a 25 hour head start. You probably slept for at least six hours, that still gives you nineteen but that st…”

“What?” Harry interrupted, “You walked through the night?”

“Yes.”

“Are you insane? Do you know what could’ve happened to you? Remember Voldemort’s back? There are Death Eaters all over the place!”

Ginny scowled. “I’ve faced them once, I can face them again.” She watched as Harry sat down at the base of the large tree and then sat next to him. “ ‘I don’t need them, I don’t need anybody?’ Harry, you couldn’t have been more wrong.”

Harry sniffed and rubbed his eyes. “I was wrong. I need Ron. I need Hermione. I need you.”

There was such an emphasis on his final word that Ginny was speechless. She stood up after two minutes of silence. “Come on, let’s get walking.” She reached down, offered Harry her hand. He took it and side by side continued down the path, still unaware of the eyes that looked on.