There was enough light here for her to see where she was stepping. She stayed near the wall and approached as quietly as possible. Then, she heard the taunting figure say, “Crucio” and another gasp left her involuntarily. Harry’s screams covered the sound. Horrified, trembling, hand covering her mouth, Ginny continued to approach the group of figures. When the lead figure spoke again, she recognized the voice. Draco! She couldn’t make out what he was saying, but she guessed that it wasn’t very friendly.
If she left to get help, they might discover she was missing and kill Harry. She had to stop them — but, it was one against four. Even if she got Harry’s wand to him, it seemed unlikely that he would be able to help. There was no telling how long the torture had been going on, but she saw blood dripping from his scalp and a large, swollen lump near the top of his head. She had to act! Her invisibility would have to be her defense.
Summoning up all her courage, Ginny extended her wand toward Draco and said quietly, “Petrificus Totalus!” She saw him stand to attention, pointed her wand at the next figure and said, “Stupefy!” He moved at just the wrong time: the red beam of light passed by his shoulder and almost hit Harry. The three remaining figures spun, crouching, wands in hand. They were searching the darkness for her. She tried again, aiming at the figure farthest from Harry: “Stupefy!” It struck, and she followed immediately by Apparating to the other side of the room. As she reappeared with a Crack!, she saw the two remaining figures spinning in her direction. “Incarcerous!” Ropes flew from her wand and bound one of the figures’ wand arm to his body. She began to Apparate again, but the final figure’s Tarantallegra spell struck first. She began dancing uncontrollably, unable to spin and Apparate. She tried another Petrify spell, but the dancing caused her shot to go wild. A red beam of light struck her, and everything went dark.
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