Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.
AN; written for a contest of ThirdFloorCorridor: write a Romance Fic (check my profile for the link to the site). I'm not really happy with how it has come out, but anyway, have fun! (About the titel; if you read the story, you'll know why I gave it this titel)
Evol
"Oh, COME ON, Professor!" Harry yelled, frustrated. "I know you're not sleeping, so don't pretend that you are!"
It didn't have any effect. The man in the portrait before Harry kept "sleeping".
"You know what, forget it! I won't stay here and yell for nothing, even if that means that I won't find the Horcruxes and that I'll never be able to defeat Voldemort!" Harry glared at Dumbledore, hoping that he would change his mind and that he would suddenly "wake up". After a minute of glaring, Harry was about to truly give up and turn around when there was suddenly movement in Dumbledore.
Dumbledore stood up, eyes still closed and suddenly screamed "BEHIND ME!!!"
Harry jumped up in shock, and almost screamed in fright. He was able to hold back though, and a death glare was sent into Dumbledore's direction. He sighed, this wasn't what he had in mind when he was talking about "searching the Horcruxes". He sat down in the chair behind the desk, and closed his eyes.
Flashes of the last months flashed for him, and he once again felt the grief of the loss of Dumbledore, of the breakup with Ginny and the panic with the thought on the huge task in front of him. He opened his eyes and laid his head down on the desk.
"BEHIND ME!!!"
Once again, Harry jumped up, but this time he did scream, and not because of the shock.
"DAMN IT, what is it?! What's behind you?!" He stalked to the painting of Dumbledore, and ripped it off from the wall. He stared at the empty wall and held the painting in front of it.
'See?! There is nothing behind you!" He shook the painting, and hung it up again. He heard giggles coming from the painting, and when he looked up, he looked straight in the eyes of his former Headmaster. He stopped giggling when he saw that Harry was looking at him, but a smile still graced his face.
Harry decided to ignore Dumbledore, so he knew how it felt, and looked out of the window.
"BELOW ME!!!"
This time, Harry didn't jump and nor did he scream. He just turned around and looked at the ground below the painting. A little piece of folded parchment was lying there innocently.
Harry stalked to the piece, grabbed it and ran out of the office, all the while trying to ignore the loud giggles that were coming from Dumbledore.
Quartet,
Long ago, it was made
The person wanted to be smart
Destruction, it caused, and pain
Where is our heart?
Find it there, but be careful
One can lose one
If done with care, and done with love
Wisdom has finally won
Don't look at yourself, but at someone other
If you succeed, you have found
"This was really the only piece, Harry?"
"Yes, Hermione."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, Hermione."
"Are you really-"
"YES!"
"Alright, alright, I just wanted to be sure. I mean, how can we know what he is trying to say? It's obvious that we should be able to figure it out, but how?"
The trio was lying in the Room of Requirement, all with a headache because of the trying to discover what the poem, no, riddle meant.
"Ok, let's go over this once more," Hermione said. "Long ago, it was made, that clearly refers to one of the Horcruxes, right?" A couple of confirmations in the form of "hmm" were heard. "Alright, so… the person wanted to be smart, we all agree that that person is Voldemort?" Again, the same sounds were heard. "Destruction, it caused, and pain, that one's obvious, the reign of Voldemort, but where is our heart? Could he mean "where is our alliance"? It's a bit useless…"
"Maybe he couldn't think up of something that rhymed?" was Ron's contribution.
"You know, that could be possible…" said Harry.
"Come on, guys, it's Dumbledore we're talking about."
A double "Exactly!" was the reply.
"Oh, alright, anyway, let's continue. Find it, but be careful – obvious, one can lose one…hm… one can mean anything! Let's skip that one for a moment, if done with care and done with love, I think that this has to do with find it, so we must be careful and do it with… love."
"That's just a typical Dumbledore-thing," said Ron.
"Alright… wisdom has finally won. I have no idea what he means with that."
"Me neither," said Ron while stretching.
"I know, Ron," was Hermione's reply.
"Hey!"
Harry closed his eyes, letting the riddle go through his mind. Don't look at yourself, but at another… if you succeed, you have found. 'How the hell should we find a Horcrux with that?' No answer came.
A couple of days later, Harry and Ron were sitting in their dorm, Harry making his Potions homework and Ron reading the riddle.
"Wait, Harry, do we already know what he means with "Quartet"?"
Harry looked up. "Err…no?"
"Ok," Ron made a quarter of a circle, so he was now facing Harry. "We plus Hermione are three people, but who is the fourth?"
"Ron, how could I possibly know?"
"I don't know, maybe it came to you in a dream, or something like that…"
"Yeah, the fourth one is Voldemort. Somehow I don't think Dumbledore meant that."
A silence followed.
"Maybe he means Neville?" Harry said.
"Yeah, that's a good one! Should we show him the riddle? Maybe he can figure it out a bit, although…"
"GUYS, I have an idea!" Hermione marched into the boys' dormitory. "Let's go talk to Dumbledore and ask for a clue on the riddle!"
The trio stood in front of the portrait, all grinding their teeth because of the "sleeping" Dumbledore.
"This has absolutely no use."
"Nope."
"Let's go."
"Yep."
"No, wait, maybe he really is asleep!" said Hermione.
"Trust me, I've been in this situation a couple of times, he is not asleep," said Harry.
"When are we going to ask Neville? He's not feeling well right now, so I don't think that it would be nice if we went now… I still can't believe that I missed the "Quartet"-riddle!" said Hermione, pacing through the empty DADA classroom.
Harry rolled his eyes, ignoring her for a moment. He looked out of the window, and thought of the past couple of weeks. They had been thinking about the riddle for weeks now, and they still didn't know what it meant. He sighed his millionth sigh, and rubbed his hands.
Suddenly, the door flew open and Ginny came through the door. She froze when she saw them, but didn't hesitate when she closed the door again.
"Hey, I didn't know that you were here," she said.
"We haven't been here long," sighed Hermione.
"No, only about three hours," Ron muttered.
"What was that?" Ginny asked. "Nothing!" he replied.
Ginny looked at him suspiciously, but apparently decided to ignore him, as she turned to Harry and Hermione.
"So… what are you guys doing that I don't know of?"
"We're trying to figure out a riddle that someone gave us," said Hermione, her eyes flashing for a moment to Harry, who had the paper in his hand, which was immediately replaced to his pocket without Ginny noticing it.
"Oh, I don't like riddles, they're… yeah. Look, I'm searching for someone who can help me with Potions, Hermione, could you help me?"
"Yeah, of course."
"Thanks," Ginny sighed and they walked out of the classroom, leaving Harry and Ron.
Ron looked at Harry, and then looked to the door.
"What?" asked Harry.
"Just… she didn't know that anyone was here, she was searching for someone to help her with Potions, and still she came here?"
Harry stared at Ron for a moment, needing to let that information sink through. "Yeah," he said slowly. "You're right… what could be the reason?" They stared at each other for a moment, and then simultaneously stood up and started looking through the classroom.
"Ron, do you know where she sits in this class?"
"Um… yeah, I think somewhere over there," he waved his hand to somewhere in front of the class, "she once said that she always wanted to be in the front of the class with DADA."
Harry moved to that direction, and started searching on the ground. Next to one of the front seats, he found a piece of paper underneath a chair. "Ron, I found a piece of paper!"
"Does it say anything?"
Harry opened it, and saw that there was a beautiful decorated 'H'.
"A decorated 'H', is this Ginny's handwriting?" Harry walked to Ron and gave him the paper.
"No, definitely not, see this?" Ron showed him the ends of the H, "this person curled them around, and Ginny always makes them straight. Nope, not Ginny."
Harry sighed. For a moment, his hopes had come back again, but now it felt like someone had ripped the feelings in his stomach out of him.
Over the next few weeks, Harry felt that the long lost feelings towards Ginny were coming back again, although he tried to ignore them and tried to like another girl, but none of them had red hair, or freckles, or…
Harry shook his head, trying to clear the thoughts. He was in the library, working on a Transfiguration assignment, but his attention kept flying away. He stood up abruptly, and started walking between the rows of books. He bumped into Hermione, who was standing with one of the books in her hand.
"Harry, please learn to watch out."
"I'm sorry, I didn't see you."
"That much was clear," Hermione snapped, but immediately apologized. "I'm sorry, the riddle is starting to work on my nerves. Harry," she turned around to fully face him, "I think we need the fourth person to figure it out. It's probably that only four people can figure it out, as it started with "Quartet"…"
"Have we already asked Neville?"
"No, you're right, let's go ask him right away!" She put the book in her bag, grabbed Harry and walked away. "Wait, Hermione, my stuff is still lying on a table!"
"For heaven's sake, why did you leave it there anyway?!" Hermione said, irritated.
"I was searching a book!"
"Then go and search!" Hermione yelled and stamped away, leaving Harry dumbfounded, irritated and alone.
He rolled his eyes, and walked back to his table. When he sat down again, he heard someone cough behind him. He turned around, and Neville was standing there, apparently looking for a book.
"Neville! I just needed you, come, sit down!"
Neville turned around.
"Hi, Harry," he said, smiling.
"Hi! Come, sit down, I have a question for you."
Neville obeyed, and Harry quickly wrote down the riddle that he had memorized. "Here, read this," he shoved the paper to Neville and watched as Neville read it slowly.
"And?" he asked. "Do you know what it means?"
Neville stared at him, looked down to the paper, read it again, looked up and then shrugged. "I have no idea, I'm sorry."
"It doesn't matter," Harry said, his hopes on finding the Horcrux the riddle meant, smashed. He laid his head down, and didn't even notice when Neville stood up and walked away.
"Oh, Harry… Harry… HARRY!"
The concerned person woke up with a start. He looked up, and saw that the person who had just woken him up was no other than Ginny. He smiled at her, ignoring the butterflies.
"Honestly, you're starting to look like Hermione," Ginny said, sitting down in the chair next to Harry.
Harry stuck out his tongue, and looked at his Transfiguration book. He sighed dramatically, and looked at Ginny, who was looking back, amused.
"What?"
"Nothing!"
Harry didn't believe her, and decided to ignore her, which was quite difficult.
"Did you know that there is another Hogsmeade weekend next week?"
Harry looked at her again, forgetting his decision. "Really? Nice."
Ginny rolled her eyes. "Yes, nice. That's exactly the word I was searching for a Hogsmeade weekend, I mean, the word that should be said above all Hogsmeade weekends-notices, the word…"
Harry laughed and punched her shoulder. "Alright, alright, I get it."
Ginny snorted. "Finally!" She looked around, and lent forward. "Let's prank some nice Slytherin," she whispered, and pulled a laughing Harry up, who quickly put all his stuff in his bag and followed her.
"AAAAAAAAARGH!!!" Hermione screamed in frustration. "OK! Let's start all over again with this riddle! I don't care about how long it's going to take, we WILL solve this riddle!"
Screaming, she almost ripped the piece of paper, but Harry was smart enough to quickly grab it out of her hand.
"Breathe, Hermione, breathe…" said Ron, grinning.
"Ok, breathe." Hermione took a deep breath, and stole the paper again from Harry. "Let's start all over again. Harry, repeat everything you can remember that Dumbledore had told you about the Horcruxes."
"Err… there are seven, and they're not random objects, they're objects that Voldemort thought worthy enough."
"Yes, objects that are worthy enough. These objects are objects from the Founders, right?"
"Yep."
Hermione started pacing. "We know the Hufflepuff and the Slytherin Horcrux, and there is still a Gryffindor or a Ravenclaw. I'm missing here something… I'm…"
Suddenly, Hermione froze. She stared at Harry and Ron for a moment, looked at the paper, and slapped herself on her head.
"How could I have been so stupid?! Quartet! The Founders are a quartet! We," Hermione waved her hand around the trio, "are three of the quartet! We need one more person, and I think…" She stopped for a moment, and nodded, apparently agreeing with something, "yes, each of the Founders has an obvious trait. The fourth person that we are searching will have one of the traits that we don't have!"
She looked at Harry and Ron expectantly. "So? What do you think?!"
Harry nodded, but Ron stared at her, blank. "So… you're saying that we are representing the Founders, and that we can only solve the riddle if we are with four, and that the fourth person… yes, I understand."
"So, who are we?" asked Hermione. "I if I may say so, I think I'm Ravenclaw, Harry, you're…"
"Gryffindor," finished Ron her sentence, "and I think I'm Hufflepuff then. We only need Slytherin still."
"I'm not working with a Slytherin!" Harry said.
"I don't think you'll have to, we are all Gryffindors and have different traits, so the Slytherin will probably also be a Gryffindor," said Hermione.
"So… who could it be?" asked Harry.
Silence fell for a moment.
"I think we can scratch Neville, and the other Gryffindors of our year. Although, perhaps… no, Lavender is definitely not a Slytherin. Ok, one year below us?"
"Ginny?" Ron suggested.
A deafening silence followed.
"Ron… I think you could be right… yes, Ginny!!" Hermione ran to Ron and hugged him. "You're brilliant!"
"Err… well, yeah, you know, I…" Ron started stammering.
"Shall we go to her right away?" Hermione asked, already halfway out of the empty classroom.
"No, wait! Let's not over haste this and ruin everything. What are the reasons that Ginny is the Slytherin of us four?" said Harry.
"Well," Hermione started, "she's cunning and sneaky, her brothers never knew that she was practicing with one of the brooms all the while before she went to Hogwarts, and she likes to prank…"
"The Marauders too," said Harry.
"Well, yeah, you're right."
"Voldemort got her in her first year, remember? I think that has to do something with it too," said Ron.
"Ok, you guys are right. Let's go."
"WHAT? You say that I'm the SLYTHERIN one of the quartet?!" yelled Ginny.
"Shhht, not so loud," shushed Hermione, "and yes, we think you're the Slytherin one."
"I can't believe it! How dare you think that I'm sneaky!"
The trio grinned simultaneously.
"Oh, alright, I'm a bit sneaky," admitted Ginny. "But… oh, whatever. Ok, I'll help you."
"Thank you," Harry said, and to everyone's surprise, he hugged her.
Harry and Ginny were lying on the floor in the Room of Requirement, both a bit sleepy due to the warmth of the fire in the fireplace.
"Are you going to Hogsmeade?" Ginny suddenly asked.
"I think I'm going, yeah. What about you?" Harry replied.
"I want to go, but my friends aren't going."
"Why not?"
Ginny sighed. "I don't know."
"Liar."
Ginny laughed. "Alright, they all have boyfriends, and they're… forgetting me a bit. I'm probably making a big deal out of it."
"No, you're not," Harry said, putting his head in his hands so he was looking straight at Ginny, "you're probably true, but you mustn't blame them. They're in love, they don't see anything else."
Ginny looked at Harry for a moment, and then suddenly jumped up and laid next to him. "So… you like someone?"
Harry smiled at the abrupt change of subject, but went with it. "There is one girl…" he said slowly, grinning evilly.
"Who?" Ginny asked immediately.
"Oh, just a girl. You?"
"Actually…"
"Who?" Harry asked quickly, not able to stop himself.
"Just a boy," Ginny grinned, the roles turned around.
Harry advanced on her and started tickling her, making Ginny scream in laughter.
Harry, Ron and Hermione were walking out of Hogwarts, when Ron saw Ginny standing in the doorway. "Hey, are you going too?" he asked.
"No, I think I'll pass this one."
Harry looked at her, and suddenly understood what he should do. "Come with us?" he suggested.
Ginny looked surprised, and there was something in her eyes that he hadn't seen for a long while. "I'd love to," she said, and the Quartet walked to Hogsmeade.
"No, Ron, absolutely not! I am NOT eating that, no, I am not - AAAAH!!" Hermione screamed, running away from Ron who had a candy doll that represented a House Elf in his hands.
"Yes, you are, come here!" Ron yelled, running after her.
Harry leaned towards Ginny and whispered in her ear; "I think I'll have the same problem with my friends too."
Ginny didn't get it first, but when she did, she leaned towards Harry and whispered; "Then we should get one too."
They laughed at each other, and Harry suggested to walk to the Shrieking Shack, which Ginny agreed to.
"What do you think Lupin is doing right now?" Ginny asked suddenly, while they were standing near the Shack.
"Reading?" It was the first thing that came up in his mind.
Ginny rolled her eyes. "Yeah, probably."
Harry looked at her. "Why the sudden question?"
"This place just reminded me of him, and the war."
"And the riddle?"
"No, actually. Harry?"
"Yes?"
"I'm scared."
"Why?"
"What if we aren't able to solve the riddle? What if we are too late to solve the riddle? What if Voldemort takes over the world? What if – "
"You would stop "what if-ing"? Then we would be standing here, and talking about how blind Ron and Hermione are."
Ginny smiled, and leaned against Harry. "Thanks."
"Anytime."
Harry put his arm around Ginny, pulling her close.
"I got it, thanks," said Ginny when Harry gave her a cup of tea.
"What do you think are taking them so long?" Harry asked, referring to Ron and Hermione who were five minutes late for the meeting they had arranged to talk about the riddle.
Ginny shrugged. "You know what's taking them so long."
Harry sighed, looking in his cup of tea. "How's it going with your friends?" he asked.
This time it was Ginny's turn to sigh. "Still in love."
They both sighed together.
When Harry looked up again, he saw Ginny staring at him. "What?"
"Nothing."
"Liar."
"So?"
Harry grinned nervously, the feelings towards Ginny becoming stronger by the minute.
Five minutes later, Ginny was pacing through the room. "This is ridiculous!"
Harry shrugged. "Pacing won't help."
"I know!" Ginny said, and she sat down next to Harry.
There was a moment of silence, before Harry started tickling her, making her scream.
"No, no, stop!" Ginny said laughing.
"Magic word?" Harry asked.
"PLEASE!" Ginny gasped between her laughs.
Harry stopped immediately, just when they were lying in an intimate position, Harry on top of Ginny.
He smiled at her, becoming red. He saw that she was red already, and suddenly, he forgot everything.
Harry leaned forwards, gently touching Ginny's lips. They both closed their eyes, and lost themselves in their kiss.
"Finally!"
Harry froze and opened his eyes, seeing himself in the reflection of Ginny's eyes. They sat up, and saw Ron and Hermione standing in the doorway, both a bit flushed too.
Harry stood up and pulled Ginny with him too. "Not a word," he said to them.
"Not a word," they said back.
They all smiled, and the uncomfortable moment over, they all sat down in a circle. The only difference was that Harry held Ginny in his arms, and Ron Hermione.
"I hate to break this moment, but shall we start?" Hermione asked.
"Go ahead," Harry replied.
"Alright, so, we have the quartet, with us four we should be able to figure this out. Anyone suddenly has an idea?"
"I'm not feeling like sitting here?" Ron said.
"Honestly, Ron, a bit of concentration here?"
"Well, if I may suggest, I think that we did something already," Ginny said, immediately capturing all the attention.
"If done with care, and done with love. Am I right when I say that we have the "love" part?"
Hermione nodded slowly. "Yes… yes, you're right! Brilliant! I knew that we should be with a quartet!"
Harry kissed the top of Ginny's head, and Ron gave her the thumbs. After that, they all went silent.
After a while, Ron said softly: "Walk through the castle?"
They all stood up together.
"I love this map," Ginny whispered, while they were sneaking through the castle. "No, Hermione, not that way, that hallway leads to Filch!"
They quickly walked away from the hallway.
Ginny snorted. "Look, Snape's walking around the Gryffindor tower." They all snorted, as he wouldn't catch them this night.
Harry suddenly stood still. "What's wrong?" Ginny asked concerned.
"Have you guys ever seen that door?" he asked, pointing to the door that was at the other side of the hallway. They all looked, and froze too.
"No…"
"It's not on the Map either."
Harry looked at his friends. "Go check?"
"Of course," Hermione said.
They walked to the door, and Harry opened it, surprised to find that it wasn't locked. He pushed the door open, and saw… an empty room.
Cursing, he walked in the room, hearing the other three following him. He looked around, and saw a door that lead to another room. "Over here," he said, opening the other door. He once again froze, making Ginny, Ron and Hermione bump into him.
"What? What's in there?"
With memories flashing in front of his eyes, Harry walked to the mirror of Erised.
"The mirror of Erised…" Ron whispered. He looked concerned at Harry. "All right there?" Harry didn't hear him.
"What? What's this mirror?" Ginny asked, confused. "Guys? Hello?" she said, when she didn't receive an answer.
"It's the mirror of Erised," Hermione whispered. She suddenly inhaled sharply. "Guys, I think we found the Horcrux."
"What?" Ginny asked. "This is the Horcrux?!"
"Yes…" Hermione whispered, looking in the distance.
Ginny shrugged, more concerned about Harry right now, who was standing in front of the mirror. She walked to Harry, calling for him.
Harry turned around when he heard his name, and saw Ginny walking to him. He turned back to the mirror, and saw Ginny already standing in front of him, and suddenly he understood.
"You're right, Hermione, this is the Horcrux."
"But why?" Ginny asked, still confused. She stood next to Harry and looked in the mirror too. "Hey, in the reflection you're behind me!"
"Yes, this mirror shows your heart's desire," Harry explained. "Think of the riddle." He turned around to Ron and Hermione, and saw that Ron was still confused.
"We were wrong about one thing," Harry continued his explanation to Ron and Ginny. "The smart one isn't Voldemort, it's Rowena Ravenclaw. This is her Horcrux." He smiled when he saw the understanding on Ron and Ginny's face.
"Don't look at yourself, but at someone other, if you succeed, you have found. If you see someone else in the mirror, you look at that person and if you see someone else, you have found love, what we did. We found the Horcrux because of that. I have the feeling that if we hadn't found love, we wouldn't have found this room," said Hermione.
They all grinned at each other.
"Congratulations!" Dumbledore said, smiling.
"Thank you," Hermione said. "It was difficult, but we succeeded."
"Indeed," Dumbledore answered, "well done, Rowena."
Hermione blushed.
"And Godric, Helga and Salazar, of course," he quickly added when he saw Ginny and Ron starting to get red in their faces.
Harry laughed. "I don't care, we did it. You know you took a big risk, though?"
"Yes, but love rises above everything. I trusted, still trust, you all."
"You still trust us? Are you saying that there is another riddle?!" Harry said, starting to panic.
"Why would there be one? He can also simply trust us," was Hermione's smart reply.
"I don't think he means that… Professor?" Harry turned to the portrait again.
Dumbledore was "sleeping".
"PROFESSOR!!!"
A loud "snoring" was his only answer.
The End
AN; that was fun/snorts/ Anyway, maybe some of you will say: "but the "H" wasn't in Ginny's handwriting!" My reply to that is that Ron, her brother, said it, that her handwriting could have changed, and that the H was decorated, which changes my handwriting to curly too.