Four - Victoria Kidnapped

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an original fanfiction by olivia

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Four

Victoria Kidnapped

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"Goodbye! Goodbye, feel better!" Healer Bransworth chirped as Patrick, leaning on Victoria, limped down the hospital corridor to home. He was still weak, although his headache had diminished. His lover smiled encouragingly at him as they exited the hospital's main front doors and lowered themselves down the steps carefully. For this occasion, Elphan had managed to secure a Muggle car from his father. The old, battered white vehicle was actually a comfort to Patrick: he was too tired to Apparate. He'd been sleeping all day, but still he felt the urge to curl up and rest.

His head drooped onto Victoria's warm shoulder in the backseat of the car on the way home. She whispered into his ear as they were pulling into the parking lot of her apartment complex that he would stay with her for as long as he needed, be it days or weeks. Patrick frankly didn't really care where he stayed at the moment: he was exhausted, worn out, and his headache was making a subtle return.

He dropped onto the bed he and Victoria had shared just twenty-four hours ago and fell asleep before his head hit the pillow. The last thing he saw before he was completely out was Victoria, smiling kindly, standing over him. Then, he slept.

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It is the same street, the same dream... Patrick chases the shadow-cloaked man again. He runs faster and again forms the one question he truly needs answered: "Who are you?"

Darkness.

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Patrick awoke suddenly with a start, all headachey and tired feelings gone. The light outside Victoria's bedroom window hadn't changed much; he must have only been asleep for an hour or so.

VICTORIA!

Where was she!? Patrick sprung out of bed, thankful that he was fully dressed. He dashed to the bedroom door and called out fervishly, "Victoria? Love? Where are you? Are you here!?"

But his words fell upon deaf ears. There was no reply.

Oh, dear God! Victoria!

Suddenly, a flash of memory came into his mind as sharp and clear as if he were standing right at the scene: his lightning-shaped birthmark tingled, and he closed his eyes. He saw the same scene from the dream. There was the dilipidated shack, standing on unsteady beams, and a feminine figure crumpled in the corner, trembling. There, hovering above her, was the shadow-cloaked man, laughing maniacally.

Patrick's eyes shot open. That BASTARD! he thought, trying desperately to think of where that strange shadow-cloaked man could have taken Victoria. For there was no doubt in his mind that that was what had happened: Victoria had been kidnapped by the shadow-cloaked man.

Then, another flash of memory revealed where he had to go. That's it! The Shrieking Shack! he thought triumphantly, and without a moment's hesitation he turned and Disapparated on the spot.

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Hogsmeade Village was growing darker in the evening's setting sun. Patrick ran along the dirt pathway, down to the cul-de-sac at the end. He leaped over the gates surrounding the terrible Shack and then ran inside without a second thought. Victoria filled all his mind, his senses... at that moment, there wasn't one thing he wouldn't do to protect her, to save her.

He dashed up the stairs and found the room in which he had entered in the dream along with the shadow-cloaked man. He took a deep breath, then pointed his wand carefully and blasted the door open in one swift, fluid motion.

There was a muffled, masculine yelp from the other side; Patrick rushed in. Victoria, as he had guessed, was lying curled up in a corner, trembling from head to toe in fear. When she saw Patrick, her eyes widened. "P... Patrick...." She mouthed the word, her lips forming around the syllables, but she did not actually say them. Patrick ran over and helped her up, brushing off her clothing. He smiled at her reassuringly, then went for the shadow-cloaked man, lying beneath the heavy door.

He pointed his wand straight at his heart as the blackhaired man finally pushed away the door and stood, shaking out his robes. The hood of his cloak fell away, revealing a face with yellowish, sallow skin and deep set, penetrating eyes. Somehow, the face was terribly familiar, and yet Patrick had never seen the man before in his life.

The man, slightly taller than Patrick himself, just stared. "Harry Potter," he said slowly and softly. "So you've returned. Fear not. I am on your side."

What? Who was Harry Potter? What side? Did he think there was a war going on or something?

But the man continued. "I apologize about your... ah, girlfriend, but I had to bring you here. To explain. And also to keep my cover."

Explain? Explain what? And cover? What 'cover'?

Patrick scowled. "Okay, I don't know who the hell you are, but you've got three seconds to either start explaining or either get the hell away from me and Victoria."

His face softened, and he almost smiled. "Oh, how naïve." He chuckled. "Victoria. Her name is Ginny. Ginny Weasley."

"What?" Patrick's grip tightened on his wand, still pointed directly at the man's heart.

"You, boy, are not Patrick Mayfield. Everything you have experienced for the past two years has been a lie. But now—now is the time to lift the spell. Let me explain."

And with that, he began talking.

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A/n: This is distinctly reminding me of another cliffie I had, where a certain Grace Shields was about to start explaining things... haha. Anyway, I'm going to start Chapter 5 really soon, if you'll just hang in there. :] Reviews, too, are very welcome! They truly motivate me to write. They really make my day. :]

xxOlivia