Chapter 2: Harpies and Heartache
Harry woke up the next morning. He rolled onto his right side to glance at his nightstand clock; 6 am it read. With a sigh, Harry rolled over and reached for Ginny. To his surprise, she was not in the bed. He sat up and looked around the dimly lit room. Soon he recognized the sound of water running from their shared bathroom next to their bedroom. Harry, feeling relieved, got out of bed and grabbed his wand.
"Lumos" He said with a groggy, tired voice. The temperature of the room felt cold against his bare chest. He walked over to his and Ginny's shared closet and grabbed an old white T-shirt and green and white flannel. He then went over to his dresser and retrieved a pair of jeans that were much too large on him.
Since the war had ended, Harry had lost a significant amount of weight. The original cause in the change in his appearance was the grief he faced immediately after the war. He helped organize and pay for the funerals for those who were lost in the battle. During this process, Harry had also spoken to the Ministry of Magic exclusively. After collaborating, the ministry had decided to award those who died with the Order of Merlin: First Class and they were buried with gold medals with green ribbons representing their acts of outstanding bravery or distinction in magic.
Once the dead were buried, Harry went to each family of the deceased and offered them his most sincere condolences. The feedback was completely positive and though the families and friends of those who died would always grieve, they knew that their loved one died for an honorable cause. Harry's heart was filled with sadness from the losses that he had endured, but he was still able to move forward.
Construction on Hogwarts ended as soon as it began. Within no time at all, the castle was back in its original state and ready to be used for the purpose of education once again. Harry, Ron, and Hermione were all invited to attend as if they were in their 7th year by Professor McGonagall. Hermione felt she would benefit from finishing her education and agreed to go back. Ron wanted to follow Hermione and go back to school, but he knew that the past year of his life taught him more than he would ever need to know about magic. He declined and decided to work alongside George at Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes. Harry also declined the invitation and had decided to begin a career as an auror, which caused Harry to lose weight much more quickly.
The process of becoming an auror was rigorous and stressful. The yearlong training tested the limits of witches and wizards in the following 4 strengths: physical, magical, mental, and emotional. Throughout the training, students would perform intricate tasks designed by their instructors to test these strengths. Some were a true test of physical fitness or magical skill that ranged in difficulty, while others were combinations of two strengths.
These tasks took place in the basement of the Ministry. Each instructor would mentally create a course that their students would have to go through and they would then cast a charm on a single broom closet, which would replicate what they were thinking. The instructor would step inside with the students one by one and follow them through the course to ensure that they finished every obstacle to their standards and met the goal at the end of the course.
Harry's training was nearly over and his instructor, Amos Warbeck began putting his final task together. Harry was receiving outstanding scores in his physical, magical, and mental performances; however, his emotional was lacking significantly and Warbeck was quite aware of that.
"Quit being so empathetic, Potter!" Harry could hear Warbeck say. Harry was pulled off of his second to last task by his instructor. "You can't save everyone. Just try to save the majority." In this task, Harry was fighting in a generic battle scene. He didn't recognize anyone around him or the building he was in. All he knew was that he had to defend and fight for a group of muggles against an evil sorcerer. In the process of doing this, Harry witnessed the deaths of many muggles. Even though Harry knew that these people were only fragments of the charm that was casted on the room, he still couldn't resist anger from brewing inside of him. Soon, Harry was dueling the male sorcerer; he was no match for Harry and was soon defeated. The sorcerer hadn't even hit the ground before the charm had been retracted from the room. Harry looked in front of him and saw Warbeck looking at him with a grim look.
"Potter, the objective was to defeat the sorcerer and save as many as you can. There was no reasoning with him and it would've saved more lives." There was a small silence. Warbeck enjoyed having Harry as a student and he knew that Harry's magical skill was astonishing, which is why he hated it when Harry tried to reason with the villains in these tasks. He could very easily end these tasks much more quickly if he didn't. "You should've just done away with him in the fastest way possible." Harry looked at Warbeck and hoped that he misinterpreted his words. Warbeck spoke again. "Just use the Killing Curse. It's quick and easy." Harry felt nauseous.
Simply knowing that he had one more task worried Harry incredibly. Often called "The Graduation Task", students are given a task that tests all 4 strengths and must be completed within a day's time; however, the strength in which the student lacks in the most will be the largest part of it.
Harry's heart began to race as he thought his future task. If he didn't pass, he would have to begin his auror training all over again. To an extent, he wanted to just get it over with, because he knew that the task that was going to be designed for him and could destroy him. His mind was now flooding with ideas of what his task could consist of. Harry was so distracted by his thoughts that he didn't hear Ginny open the bedroom door.
"Harry?" She said in a voice that was both tired and concerned. Harry quickly turned around. She was already dressed in a pair of black leggings and a Gryffindor long sleeve shirt.
"Morning, Love." Harry said in the most normal voice as possible. He then proceeded to walk over to Ginny and pecked her lips.
"Why aren't you dressed yet? We need to go soon." Ginny questioned as she pulled her wet hair into a tight braid.
"Gin, we have plenty of time, it's only 6." He said calmly.
"Harry, it's 6:45. I have to be there in 15 minutes." She said quickly as she grabbed a green argyle suitcase that she had packed the night before and headed downstairs. As soon as she left the room, Harry immediately went over to his nightstand and checked his clock. She was right, they did have to leave soon. He quickly dressed himself, all the while wondering how he managed to distract himself for the better part of an hour. After he finished, he grabbed his wand from underneath his pillow and left the bedroom.
Grimmauld Place for the longest time had been dimly lit and eerie looking; however, after he and Ginny had moved in, they changed this. The entire house was now brightly lit. The ceiling above the staircase now held a glass chandler. The wall paper in the entire house was also changed from its gloomy light and dark grey stipes to a very clean looking light blue. The railing was dusted and polished and the oak wood looked as if it were installed days before. The musty navy blue carpet was pulled out so only the oak stairs showed.
Harry reached the ground floor and walked to the kitchen. Ginny was pacing back and forth slowly while eating an untoasted bagel. She was so overly consumed with her thoughts that she didn't see that Harry walked in. He wanted to go up to her and hug her from behind, but he knew that if he did, her fight or flight instinct would take over. Ginny's paranoia from the war made her constantly over evaluate her surroundings and immediately attack anyone or anything that startled her.
"Gin, you ready?" Harry asked calmly. Ginny broke out of her trance and made eye contact with Harry.
"What?" She said with a mouth full of bagel and a clueless look on her face. Harry chuckled and a small smile grew on his face.
"We should get going. Check-in ends at 7, right?" He said.
"Oh! Right, sorry. Yes, we need to go." Ginny said in a discombobulated manner. With the bagel in hand, she walked from the Black Family china shelf over to Harry. When she reached him, she wrapped her arms around his chest and signed.
"Are you okay, Ginny?" Harry asked. Prior to this morning, Ginny had been elated to go to Wales and tryout.
"Yeah, I'm fine." She replied. "I just have a lot on my mind."
"What's wrong?" Harry asked concerned. There was a moment of silence.
"I'm going to be gone for 2 weeks. What if it's all for nothing and I don't make it? Better yet, what if I get there and there and the other girls trying out think I'm only there because I'm dating Harry Potter?" She said sadly. Harry wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly in silence for a few moments before answering her.
"First of all, you are going to kick everyone's arse." Harry said with a small chuckle. "You grew up with 6 brothers. You're as tough as they come. Secondly, when you were first asked to go to these tryouts, our relationship wasn't public. Your skills alone opened up this opportunity to you; I played no part in it." Harry said confidently. Ginny squeezed him tightly for a second and separated herself from him. She looked at him in the eyes with an expression that was still indifferent.
"What if I'm accidentally startled? Harry, what if I hurt someone?" Tears started to well in her eyes and Harry's heart began to ache for her.
"Gin." Harry said calmly. "That hasn't happened in over a year and it was right after the war. All of us were on edge." Ginny took in a quick breath.
"I can't get over that, Harry. I could've killed you." A chill flew up Harry's spine as he remembered back to the days immediately following the Battle of Hogwarts. Harry, in the mist of making arrangements for those who were lost, began to feel extremely overwhelmed. After finishing a long discussion with the Ministry, he apperated to the top of the Astronomy Tower and pulled out the Marauder's Map. In part, he did this to reassure himself that all of Voldemort's followers had either died or fled the premises. It was an extremely quiet morning. The Black Lake was completely still and the sunrise reflected off of it as if it were a mirror. The Forbidden Forest was blooming and bursting with beautiful colors. Most would have probably seen this as peaceful; however, Harry viewed it as melancholy.
While looking at the map, Harry noticed Ginny pacing back and forth in front of the Room of Requirement. His need to confide in her overruled this odd behavior and he walked down from the tower. Upon reaching the 7th floor, Harry noticed that the beautifully crafted gothic cathedral walls were no more than rubble on the floor stained with dried blood. The large gaps in the walls allowed the cool morning breeze to enter the building. There was not a window intact; glass covered the cold floor.
Eventually, Harry saw Ginny at the end of a long hallway leading towards the Room of Requirement. Her back was to him and her eyes were fixated on the partially formed doorway, which seemed to be unable to completely appear. Harry knew that this was because he, Hermione, and Ron threw the destroyed diadem of Rowena Ravenclaw into the room while it was being consumed by a charmed fire.
Harry heard a quick intake of air come Ginny. He decided to take this opportunity to walk up behind her and hug her; however, that did not go as planned. Harry had walked half way down the corridor when Ginny began to hear his footsteps. Without Harry noticing, she drew her wand from her pant pocket. She allowed the footsteps to become slightly louder before she turned around far too quickly to realize who was behind her.
"AVADA KEDAVRA" Ginny screamed without a second thought. Harry was not prepared for an Unforgiveable Curse to be casted at him. In any other instance, he would've grabbed his wand from his pocket and dueled, but he knew that this was Ginny; his Ginny. Harry sprinted to the left wall of the hallway, missing the curse by inches.
"WHO THE HELL IS THERE?" Ginny yelled with rage. Harry had never heard her sound as she did before. Her voice was fearless, yet broken; brave, yet nervous. He was so taken aback by the sound of her voice that he could barely answer her.
"Ginny, it's me. It's Harry." He said finally with a weak voice.
"COME OUT TO WHERE I CAN SEE YOU!" Harry complied. The instant that she and he made eye contact, they truly saw each other. They knew that the other was just as damaged as they were. Ginny threw her wand to her side and dropped to her knees and began to sob. Immediately, Harry's went over to her and fell to his knees as well.
"Gin" He began. "Gin, what's going on?" He finished. Ginny looked up at him with tears streaming down her face. Harry had always admired how Ginny was never weepy, but seeing her cry at this moment made Harry feel even closer to her.
"We used The Room of Requirement for Dumbledore's Army because we really needed it." Said Ginny in a weak voice. She then took in a sharp intake of air. "It was a safe place for us to go when we had nowhere else to go and it provided us with what we need the most." She looked away from Harry. "I need my brother, Harry." She finished and fell into Harry's arms.
"I would never intentionally hurt you, Harry." Said Ginny, which brought Harry out of his flashback. "I hope you know that. I don't know what I would do without you." She finished sincerely. Harry looked at her with a loving look. He put his arms around her waist and brought her in for a tight hug.
"We all have demons, Gin." Said Harry. "And now that we both have a full understanding of each other's, we can move forward." Ginny wrapped her arms around Harry's shoulders. "I love you with my whole heart. There is nothing you could do to make me stop loving you. And I'm confident that you're going to be just fine in Wales." He finished.
"I love you too, Harry." Ginny said relieved.
"Come on now. We really need to get going. It's already 6:55." Harry said with a chuckle.
"Bloody Hell! You're right!" Ginny said as she ran over the dining table, stuffed the last bit of bagel into her mouth, grabbed her luggage, and ran back over to Harry. "I'm ready." She said as she grabbed his hand and they apperated.
When they arrived, they were standing in a large hallway that was crafted beautifully from white marble. There were multiple large chandlers made out of crystals hanging from the ceiling in the hall. Gargoyles sitting on tall pillars decorated the walls. In front of Harry and Ginny, there was a large green banner with mustard yellow writing that read "Harpies check-in this way". Harry and Ginny walked moved forward. Eventually, they entered a lobby-like room that was filled with people standing in front of long wooden tables filling out paperwork.
"I can help you over here!" Harry and Ginny heard a voice yell. They turned their heads to see a girl sitting behind one of the wooden tables. They walked over to her.
"Hi! I need your name and where you went to school." The olive skinned, brunette girl asked Ginny.
"I'm Ginny Weasley and I went to Hogwarts" Said Ginny. At first, the girl began to sort through the mountain of paperwork she had in front of her, but she soon stopped and looked at Ginny with her mouth slightly open.
"Are you serious?" She asked suddenly. "You're the Ginny Weasley that fought in the Battle of Hogwarts! And, oh my gosh! You're Harry Potter!" She yelled. Ginny let out a deep sigh. Harry just looked at her and put his hand on the middle of her back.
"Yes, that's who we are." Ginny said in an almost embarrassed way.
"Oh no!" The girl said as she stood up. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you. I've just heard so much about both of you. I'm just so honored to meet you both. My name is Gwenog Jones; I graduated from Hogwarts a while back." Her voice began to sound nervous.
"Oh my gosh! Really?" Ginny asked immediately. "I've heard so much about you! You're like an idol for Hufflepuff House." A smile soon grew on both of their faces. Harry just stood there and admired their conversation; this was the first time he had seen Ginny smile a real smile in days. The two chatted about their experiences with quidditch at Hogwarts and how they wished that they were able to live those years over again. Gwenog then handed Ginny a pile of paperwork she needed to fill out.
"Whenever you're finished, feel free to come back up and hand everything to me!" Gwenog said happily.
"Thanks, Ms. Jones!" Ginny said politely as she and Harry started walking away.
"Call me Gwen!" She said loudly. Ginny smiled. She and Harry found seating near the entrance of the room. On either side of the entrance, there were 5 rows with 10 black leather seats in each. Harry and Ginny chose the first open seats they saw that were further than ear-shot distance away from the others filling out paperwork.
"You seem to be in better spirits." Harry said with a chuckle.
"Yeah, I mean, I just never thought I'd meet Gwenog Jones! She's a legend!" Ginny said excitedly as she started filling out her papers. Harry just leaned back and watched Ginny. He found himself doing this quite a lot these days. He wasn't sure if it was because he knew how hard it would be to be away from each other for 2 weeks, or if he was just incredibly proud of her. Whatever the reason was, he knew that he was completely infatuated with her. Ginny looked up at Harry.
"Why are you staring at me? You're being weird." She said with a laugh.
"Oh, sorry. I just zoned out." Harry defended.
"Okay then," said Ginny with an unimpressed look on her face "I need to go hand these in." She said as she held up her pile of papers.
"You finished that already?" Harry questioned.
"Harry, we've been sitting here for nearly a half hour." Ginny paused. "Are you feeling alright, Love?" Harry was in disbelief. How did he manage to distract himself for the second time today?
"Yeah, Gin! I'm fine!" He lied. "I'm just still tired. I didn't sleep well after my nightmare last night." After finishing this statement, Harry internally wished that he was so gifted at not telling the truth.
"I know, Harry. The dreams will get better with time." Ginny froze for a moment. "Everything will get better with time." She said lovingly as she grabbed Harry's hand. They looked at each other.
"I'm really going to miss you, Gin." Harry said in a sad tone. A frown creeped onto Ginny's face and Harry immediately felt guilty. "No! I didn't mean to upset you! I want you to go and have fun and kick arse." Ginny laughed.
"I'm really going to miss you too, Harry. I'll write to you as soon as I'm set up in my room. I promise." She said with strength. Harry had always found Ginny's bravery and determination extremely attractive. He wanted to do nothing but kiss her right there, but he knew that she didn't like when others flaunted their relationships in public. They eventually stood up and walked back over to Gwenog and handed her Ginny's papers.
"Fantastic! Welcome to tryouts, Ginny!" Gwen said as she walked around the wooden table to the side that Ginny and Harry were standing on. "I'll take your bags. If you follow me, I'll take you to your room!" Gwen grabbed Ginny's bags from Harry and began walking forward.
"Give me one sec, Gwen." Ginny said. Gwen turned around and nodded, then set the luggage down. Ginny turned to look at Harry. The two were so in-tune with each other that they already knew what the other was going to do. They wrapped each other in their arms in a tight hug.
"I love you so much, Ginny." Harry said sweetly. "You're going to do great and you're going to get picked for the season. I can feel it!" They both giggled.
"I love you too, Harry. I'm going to miss you so much." Said Ginny. The grip on their hug lessened and soon their faces were inches from each other's. They felt the stares of everyone in the room. "I really don't want to kiss in front of all of these people, Harry." Ginny stated sadly.
"I know. We don't have to." Harry said as he and Ginny let go of each other.
"I'll see you in 2 weeks." Ginny stated.
"I'll be looking forward to it." Harry said with a grin. Ginny reciprocated with a smile as she turned away from him. She walked over to Gwen who was still waiting patiently with Ginny luggage. The two walked away down another long marble hallway and Harry watched them until they were no more than two small dots in his vision. He turned around and began to walk the way he came.
He checked his watched. 7:45 am it read. He wondered if Ron or Hermione were awake at this point; however, being that it was a Saturday morning, the odds were not in his favor. He decided to go to the Burrow. No matter what day or time was, Mrs. Weasley was always awake and willing to make a plate of food for anyone.
"Two weeks" Harry sighed. "I can do this." He apperated out of the building.