Chapter III

The next morning, Harry opened his eyes just in time to see Ginny slip out of his room silently into the hallway. Ron wasn't snoring but Harry could see an arm flopped over the side of his bed, twitching occasionally. Thoughts started coming back to him, fears about what that letter could possibly mean. He pushed them away, trying instead to think about more pleasant thoughts. Mr. Weasley said not to worry and that he'd handle it. Harry lied awake for a few hours until he could hear voices floating up the stairs from down in the kitchen. He knew that today everybody (well, everybody except George of course) was going into Diagon Alley to get Ginny supplies for her upcoming school year. Harry stood up and walked over to Ron's bed.

"No, Harry, I can't play Quidditch," Ron mumbled as Harry tried shaking him awake. "I have to save Hogwarts from the giant spiders."

Harry rolled his eyes. Ron always talked nonsense in the mornings. It took a few more tries to finally get Ron awake enough to come downstairs and join the others for breakfast. Everybody was awake and showered and already eating.

"There you boys are," Mrs. Weasley said, looking happier than usual. " I was just about to send Hermione up to get you."

Ron and Harry sat down as Mrs. Weasley offered them stacks of pancakes. Ginny winked at Harry when no one was looking and he felt a blush creep up on his cheeks. After breakfast, he caught her alone upstairs gathering a few things for their day.

"No nightmares?" She said when she saw him standing in her doorway watching her.

"None," he said. "Ginny, I love sleeping in your arms and having you there when I wake up at night, but we need to be more careful. If your dad caught us sleeping in the same bed he'd kill me, even though we haven't done anything inappropriate."

"Relax, Harry. Nobody in this house even pays attention to things anymore. Besides, we're both adults."

"Still, I don't think Ron would find it very amusing if he knew. Or your father. Or your mother. Or any of your other brothers who are significantly taller and stronger than me," he winced at the thought of one of them discovering his and Ginny's sleeping arrangement.

Ginny crossed the room to stand close to him. When she looked into his eyes all he wanted to do was kiss her. "How about this? If we're caught, I'll take the blame. And if you're that worried about it, we can stop. I just wanted to help you sleep. It helps me, too."

He forgot that he wasn't the only one who had nightmares. He hugged her, glad nothing was in the way of them being in a relationship anymore. Something about Ginny kept him pulling back to her, like they were magnets that were too strong to be forced apart. Sometimes he would even let himself think about them being married one day, silly as that seemed since they had only been dating a short time.

Mrs. Weasley called them back downstairs to get ready to leave. Ginny grabbed her list and they walked hand and hand downstairs, Harry feeling better than he had in awhile.

Since Harry had not been to Diagon Alley since Voldemort's death, he was shocked to see his own face smiling and waving at passerbys from posters that covered almost every shop window and lamp post.

"This is ridiculous," he grumbled to Ron, tearing down the posters as they walked along the shops.

"People are just celebrating, Harry," Ron said as Hermione, Ginny, and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley headed into Wiseacre's Wizarding Equipment. "It will blow over soon enough-"

They both had to stop dead in their tracks to avoid running into two young-looking wizards who had leaped in front of them and were thrusting a piece of parchment and quill in their faces.

"Hi, Mr. Potter," one of the boys said in a squeaky voice, staring up at Harry in apparent awe. "Could I get your autograph?"

Harry threw Ron a look, hesitantly taking the quill from the boy and signing his name awkwardly. The other boy suddenly gasped at Ron.

"Are you…Ron Weasley? Could we get your autograph, too?"

Ron happily obliged as other kids, some close to Harry's age and some younger, began to gather around them, digging their own parchment and quills from their bags and requesting for more autographs. One kid, a tiny blond-headed girl, even had a poster of Harry riding his broomstick and reaching his hand out towards a golden snitch.

"Where do they even get these pictures?" He asked Ron, feeling slightly irritated, but Ron was too busy giving autographs to answer. After twenty or so minutes, Harry spied the others coming out of the shop.

"Er, sorry guys, but Ron and I have to go," he said, tugging Ron's sleeve and ignoring the chorus of disappointed cries. Ron himself started to complain that they didn't have to go just yet but he followed Harry willingly after catching the expression on his face. They tore away from the crowd, Ron still looking back and waving with a grin.

"Stop that!" Harry smacked Ron's hand out of the air. "You're only encouraging them."

Ron was looking at him questioningly as Hermione and Ginny met up with them and asked if they wanted to go to the Three Broomsticks for butterbeers.

"I'm actually not feeling well," Harry lied, ignoring Ron who he knew was looking at him. "You lot can go though, if you want."

"We won't go without you, Harry," Hermione promised. "If you're not feeling well, we can just go back to the Burrow. We got Ginny everything she needs already."

They all started back down the path the way they came, eventually joining Mr. and Mrs. Weasley again. Wherever they went, eyes followed them, especially Harry. All of the witches and wizards glanced at Harry's scar as they passed, sometimes even stopping on the streets to stare. Harry's own eyes also stared at him from the posters from all angles as they walked which was a little unnerving to Harry. Even harder to ignore was the scrutinizing eyes from Ron, who Harry knew was trying to understand his angry behavior earlier and the lie he told Hermione and Ginny.

He was able to avoid Ron's questions until they were back at the Burrow. Ginny was upstairs sorting her new supplies she bought and Hermione had volunteered to help her organize her study schedule with the new planner Hermione had gotten her, to Ginny's displeasure. Ron cornered Harry in the kitchen before he had time to sneak away anywhere.

"Alright, spill," Ron demanded. "Why did those kids wanting your autograph bother you so much?"

Harry sighed, not wanting to explain himself but Ron crossed his arms and waited and Harry knew he wouldn't leave him alone until he did.

"Fine," he muttered at last. "I hate being treated like…like a hero. I didn't defeat Voldemort by myself. Besides, even if I did, I don't want to be reminded of it every time I'm out in public. I feel even more famous than I was before."

"You are! I understand, mate, but you can't stay out of the public's eye forever."

Harry knew he was right but he didn't want to go out ever again if he had to relive that experience.

The next morning, however, his wishes were denied when he opened yet another letter addressed to him, this time from Professor McGonagall.

"Headmistress McGonagall," Hermione corrected him when he told them who it was from. "I always knew she'd be perfect for the job."

"It's an invitation," Harry said as he scanned the letter. "For a party."

"We got one, too," Ron said. "Only students from our year and Ginny's year are invited. It's suppose to be an opportunity for us all to celebrate the grand reopening of Hogwarts before the new students come in to be sorted.."

Harry didn't pay him any attention though, because he had just read the last paragraph of McGonagall's letter.

"She wants me to prepare a speech?!" He nearly shouted. "To give to the whole school?"

"Not the whole school," Hermione said. "Just our year and Ginny's year. Oh, and the teachers I suppose."

"I can't give a speech! How does she expect me to write it? What does she even want me to write about?" Harry's heart was beating very fast.

"Don't worry, we'll help you write it. The party is three weeks away."

The fear of having to make a speech in front of his former peers and professors seemed to overshadow the mounting suspicion in his mind that something bad was going to happen. He also felt relieved that he had his friends to help him write this, especially Hermione, who was brilliant when it came to this kind of stuff. Another emotion, this one more powerful than the others, was the sadness he felt when he realized that he only had three weeks left with Ginny until she had to resume her studies at Hogwarts.