Chapter Four: Decisions

I still woke up every dawn, but I was thankful for every day now. For four wonderful years I had peace. The demon that haunted every moment of my life had been gone for four years. He was still there, hiding somewhere far away from me, but I no longer had him whispering in my ear almost every moment of the day. But best of all, or sometimes worst of all, was what it had inadvertently done for me. When Yellow Eyes attacked Ginny that night so long ago, it had forged a connection. Not some mythical bond that transcended time and space, made our souls into one, or anything silly like that. But we could reach out, and talk to each other. We shared dreams. Ginny had been the one to figure it out, bless her heart. She had spent almost every waking moment doing one thing or another to help me. She was my best mate.

And that was where the dilemma was. It was our OWLs year, and I had a decision to make. The most important decision of my life. And my dorm mates simply couldn't let me make the decision in peace. Oh no. They had to be taunting me about it.

"Really? Could you see him, all up in front of a congregation?"
"Do you think they'll give him the wizard communion wine?"

I gave a frustrated growl. "Really Colin?"
"Oh come off it Harry. You, a priest?"

"Well I was raised in an orphanage run by the church. The man I consider my father was a priest. It's what I always figured I would do with my life… well not the pries part, when I was younger I thought I would be a monk."
Another round of laughter. "You! A monk?! Could you imagine John?"

John was doubled over on his bed and could barely say anything, "No… Friar Mathews!"

I threw my pillow at him. "This is serious! I need to decide if I'm going to stop after my OWLs and move on to the seminary! It's something that will effect the rest of my life!"

Colin calmed down a bit. "Ok, ok Mathews. But let me ask you something." I gave him my full attention. "Do you think that they'll let you pull rabbits out of the communion goblet?" And then they were off again, and I wasn't having any of it. I stormed out and down to the common room.

I found Ginny sitting in our corner, working on an essay. I slumped down beside her and let my head land on the table. "You really shouldn't do that. You're going to hurt the table." I looked up at her and glared.

"Really funny."
"Hey, you love my witty comments."
"Normally, yes. But I'm trying to actually think about something but Colin and John wont let me hear the end of it."
"Is this about your joining the priesthood?"
"Yes!"

She gave me a look. "Don't get snippy with me Mathews. I thought you had decided that you were going to join up. You've always wanted to, and while I don't always agree with what you, I do think that it's what you want to do."

I grumbled. "I though I did, but I realized something this last summer, and now all my careful planning is out the window."
"Then just stay for a couple more years. Take your NEWTs, and decide then. Simple as that." I glared up at her. "It's not that simple Gin, and you know it."
"Why?"
"Because…" I cut myself off. Why was I telling my problem why I was having a problem. How do you tell a girl that your thinking of giving up what you saw as a lifelong calling for her.
"See? You don't have a reason, which makes it that simple. Besides, I can't let me best mate run off before we finish school together, now can I?" adding a cockney accent at the end. I just put my head back on the table and grumbled.

"Hey…really, what's wrong? You're never like this Harry. It's really worrying me."

"Gin…it's…" I couldn't even finish the thought.

"Harry… talk to me. You've never had a problem talking to me before, so why is it so hard now?" I stifled every thought in my head. I couldn't risk letting anything slip through.

"Harry… don't you clam up on me now."

"I'm not talking about this with you."

"Oh! Now we're getting somewhere! I think I saw something too…"

"I mean it Gin! Stay out!"

"Not happening! A lady is always right, so tell me or I'll start strolling through and find it myself." I couldn't help it, I bolted. It really wasn't my finest hour. She bolted after me.

"Mathews! You get back here!"
"Not happening!" I tossed back over my shoulder. But no matter where or how I ran, she was always only a couple seconds behind. Years of this exact thing, though all those times it was for fun. I couldn't help but thing about how the Lord worked in mysterious ways. My train of thought was completely interrupted as I cut around a corner and clipped Ginny's brother Ron. While I managed to keep my feet, Ron was sent to the floor with a bellowed Oi. However, before I could fully regain my footing, Ginny was around the corner and leaping over her brother to tackle me to the ground.

We ended up face to face, her nose only centimeters away from mine, staring into each other's eyes. "Now talk."

"Not happening."

She cocked an eyebrow and that beautiful grin split her face making her eyes sparkle. "Well, then I'll just have to do something drastic." And she got even closer, and I was very aware of how we looked right now. Sure, people were used to how we acted, but this was extreme even for the two of us. She growled into my ear and it sent a shiver down my spine… then she bit me. And for a minute I couldn't even think. When I regained my senses I realized that Ginny wasn't there anymore, and I almost let out a whine.

"What are you thinking?"

"It's none of your business Ronald!"

"The hell it isn't Ginevra! I'm a bloody prefect! You two just come tearing down the hall, and then… that!"

"Back off or I'll make sure that Hermione thinks you've been looking at Lavender again!"

"You wouldn't dare!"

I just stared up at the ceiling, until Ginny appeared and drug me to my feet. Spotting Ron I gave him a sympathetic look as Ginny drug me away. "Remember what I said Ronald!" We walked in silence for a full ten minutes as she drug me to our tree. Once there she pushed me down into the well worn crevice in the roots, and then she climbed into my lap. And I was right where I was back in the hall, just now with more fresh air. We were close enough that I could smell her scent, even without my abnormally strong senses.

"Harry… what's wrong."

And now I was stuck between a rock and a hard place. I could lie, I hated lying, but if I told her then it would ruin our friendship, and I couldn't risk that. Despite everything, even after all these years, Ginny was my lifeline. I couldn't risk it… and my mind went blank as she nuzzled up under my chin. This time I couldn't hold in the whine. I could tell she was grinning.

"Harry, tell me."

"Gin… I can't…"

She just continued what she was doing. "I'll make you tell me. You know that."

My heart was breaking. I was damned if I did and damned if I didn't. I knew she was right. It didn't matter how long I tried to resist, she would wear me down. "Gin… I can't… please don't make me." She shifted, turning to face me. Our eyes met and then they dropped.

"Your mad at me."

"Gin…"
"It's the only reason you wouldn't tell me."
"Gin it's not…"

"Then tell me!" She shouted into my face. She wasn't looking away now. Her eyes were fierce, and now that blend of brown and gold that was uniquely Ginny's. I couldn't find the words, pinned to the spot by her gaze. When I tried to look away, she slapped me… hard. I knew I would likely sport a bruise. "Don't look away when I'm talking to you! Now, are you going to tell me, or am I going to have to beat it out of you?" I pushed her off of me, and she didn't resist. But when I tried to walk away she tackled me to the ground. Only this time, she wasn't human. The low menacing growl that she let loose made me nervous.

"Gin…" I knew right then that she was pissed. She nipped me hard, almost hard enough to break the skin. When I tried to crawl away, she lashed out with a limb and hit me in the face. When she came in again, I reacted on instinct, and changed. Then I darted out of the way, and too off across the grounds. She was right on my heels, and when I tried to make a sharp turn, she anticipated and tackled me to the ground.

Tell!
NO!

This time she did draw blood, and I knew that she was livid with me. Ginny had never gotten like this before. In all the years I had known her, she had never even come close to drawing blood in any of our little scuffles.

TELL!
NO!

She came in again, but I anticipated and darted away. We danced around each other, her trying to do me bodily harm, me trying to avoid being bodily harmed. I tried to figure out what had gotten into her, but nothing was clicking. She wasn't acting like herself, then again, neither was I. After she charged in for another pass, I quickly dodged and darted off through the undergrowth of the Forbidden Forest. Ginny's response was a howl that made me stop in my tracks. It was high pitched and sounded more like something caught in a trap then anything else. I snuck back towards the clearing, and peeked through the underbrush. Ginny was laying in the clearing, unmoving and silent, save for the occasional whimper. When I approached, very cautiously I might add, an ear flicked my way, but otherwise she didn't move.

Hate me. Go away.
Not hate you.
HATE ME! Not talk. Not listen. Not pay attention.
Not hate you. Friend. Yours.
Not mine. Not want me.

Now I was completely lost. How was I not paying attention? Or listening? And we talked all the time! I just couldn't talk to her about this one thing. So I came over and slumped down next to her, resting my neck across hers. She reached up to swipe at me but I didn't move as she swatted my nose.

Yours. Always yours.
Not mine. Not want me. Go away.

This wasn't going anywhere, so I reached out to talk to her through the bond.

"Ginny, talk to me. I don't understand what you mean."
"You wont talk to me. So get used to it."

"Gin please…"

"No! If you wont talk to me, then I'm not talking to you!" I sighed.

"If you tell me what's wrong, I'll tell you the same." Her voice was tentative.

"You promise?"
"Yes Gin, I promise."

She turned to look me in the eyes. "Why don't you want me Harry?"

I was incredibly confused. "Gin, I don't understand what you mean."

She glared at me. "Why don't you like me Harry? I've been trying to get your attention since we got back to Hogwarts. But you just keep ignoring me."

"Gin, I haven't been ignoring you! Kind of hard to ignore someone who can talk to you in your head."

"And yet you do an amazing job of it."

My mind was spinning, and then suddenly it clicked. "Gin… have you been flirting with me?"

"Obviously!"
"But…I thought you liked someone. You said so last year!"

"That would be you, you prat!" She swiped my nose again.
"But…then why didn't you just tell me?"

"Because Harry… I couldn't make you give up your dream." She looked away, and I could tell she was hurting just as much as I was, if not more. "You've always wanted to…it's your dream. I can't take that away."

"Then why were you flirting with me?"

She wined, low and piteous. "I just… I thought maybe…I know we're young but…I can't loose you. You're the only one who understands me, who treats me like I'm special, I want you to be happy, but I want to be happy too. I thought that…" She trailed off. "You thought…?" I supplied.

"I thought that maybe you… and me…" Then she turned and glared, "No. It's your turn! I've told you, now you tell me. What's wrong with you."

I gave her a flat look. "You're not done yet."

"Oh yes I am! I told you, I've been flirting with you, and you've been ignoring me. Now spill!"
"But you haven't told me why."
"That doesn't matter! Spill!"

"Gin! It does matter!"
"Then tell me what's wrong, and I'll tell you why I did what I did." We glared at each other, each one daring the other to be the one to back down. In the end it was me. It was always me. Without Ginny to prop me up, I fell faster drunken troll. I looked away, I couldn't let her see the shame in my eyes.

"I'm thinking about not joining the priesthood."

"I figured that much, now why?"

"Because… I figured out that there's someone I might want to spend the rest of my life with."

"Oh…" She trailed off, and I could hear the disappointment in her voice. I voiced my thoughts. "Why are you disappointed? I thought you would be happy." Now she looked away. "I hope the two of you are happy." She tried to get up, but I took her legs out from under her. "The hell you prat?!"

"Why are you walking away?!"

"You should go talk to your little girl friend. Best fess up before she's taken!"
"I am talking to her! But she keeps insisting on shouting at me and trying to do me bodily harm!" That got her attention. Her eyes widened and she looked like the proverbial deer caught in the headlights. I was beyond the point of caring thou. I had been agonizing over this since the end of the last year. I had spent all summer stewing and trying to figure out what I was feeling. I had finally figured out what I was feeling, and then it was time to make a decision. But now I had spent two months agonizing over that decision. I was done being timid. I was done being the Harry I was when I first came to Hogwarts. The little boy who cried himself to sleep almost every night, who had emotional outbursts once a week in class, and was made fun of by almost everyone.

I had done a lot of growing up over the past few years, a lot of healing both physically and emotionally. And now I was tired of being timid. A Gryffindor is bold and brave. And now was the time to be both. So I made my decision. And damn the consequences. I leaned in, nuzzling her neck, and then nipped at her neck the same way she had been doing since we got back. Her reaction was immediate. She leaned into me and made a contented sound that sent my heart soaring. But when I went to pull away, she pushed forward, refusing to break our physical contact.

"Please… don't stop."
"Gin…"
"Please… for me. I need to know that this isn't just a dream."

I concentrated, the tingle of raw magic washing over me, and was human again. She followed my lead, and before long she was in my arms. After a few moments she looked up into my eyes, and I tried to feel as confident as I had before as I brought her closer. Our lips met for the first time. It was the first time I had ever really kissed anyone. I know it was probably bad, but I don't think she cared all that much. I don't know how she felt, but I felt like I was home. I had never really felt like I had belonged anywhere in my life. When I lived with my Aunt and Uncle I felt like I was a burden. When I lived in the orphanage, I felt like an outcast and a freak. When I first came to Hogwarts, I was just as much of an outcast and twice the freak. But here, in her arms, I felt whole for the first time in my life. I felt like the world finally made sense, and I knew that I was going to spend the rest of my life trying to make this woman feel like she was special. Because she was special. I felt guilty, I was giving up God for her. But would God really hate me for being happy and for spending my life making her happy?

We stayed that way for hours. Nothing else mattered. But eventually we had to part. When we did I realized that it was about the middle of the afternoon. People would probably be looking for us. "Gin. We need to go back."
She buried her head in my chest and shook it. "I don't want to."

"I don't either. I personally want to stay right here, or better yet chase you some more. But we have to. We've been gone for hours. Neville was supposed to help us with Herbology, but I think we missed that. People might come and find us."
That just seemed to make her bury herself even deeper into me. "Don't care."

I slipped my hand under her chin, and made her look at me. "Gin… just because we walk away from here, doesn't mean I'm going anywhere. How about this, we go back, get some work done, attend the feast tonight, and when we get back we snog in our corner. We can even make sure that Ron sees." While a blush did creep up her cheeks, she grinned, her whole face lighting up.

"Really?"

"Really."

"You promise?"
"I promise."

- Bloodlines: Echoes -

The Great Hall was absolutely bustling. Since the announcement at the welcoming feast, and the arrival of the guest students from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang, everyone was now on edge. Tonight was the night that the Goblet of Fire would choose the champions for each of the schools, but to be honest it was the furthest thing from my mind. We had, as I had thought, missed our time with Neville, and two classes. Fortunately Neville had offered to reschedule for the Sunday at the same time, plus Snape and Slughorn had both simply hand waved the infraction away stating that as we are the two top students in the class we deserved an occasional break, but to not let it become a habit.

And now it was almost time. Dinner was just about over, with students and professors finishing up desert. Eventually the plates were cleared, and the din of the hall died down as Dumbledore rose to his feet. Flanked by Madame Maxime and Professor Karkaroff the three stopped just before the goblet. "Out dinner is now at an end, and I believe that the goblet is almost ready to make its decision. I would ask that when the champions' names are called, that they would come proceed into the chamber beyond the staff table," gesturing to the door – "Where they will receive their first instructions."

Dumbledore made a grand sweeping motion with his wand, and all but the candles within the carved pumpkins were extinguished, plunging the Hall in to a state of semidarkness. The blue white flames of the goblet were now the brightest light source in the whole Hall, and almost painful to look at. Then the flames flickered and became suddenly red. Sparks danced and flew outward, and then a tongue of shot into the air only to disperse, leaving a charred piece of parchment to flutter down.

Dumbledore caught it, and holding it at arms length, he read it by the light of the, now blue white flames of the goblet. "The Champion for Durmstrank will be Rikard Eklund." Applause swept the room, and I saw movement out of the corner of my eye as the man I assumed was Eklund rose and quickly made his way out of the Hall. As the applause died down, we all turned our focus back to the goblet, which seconds later repeated the earlier spectacle to leave another piece of parchment. "The champion for Beauxbatons is Angela LaFortier!" When Angela LaFortier had disappeared as well, it all went silent again. Everyone knew who was next, and the vast majority of the Hall was holding their breath. A shower of sparks, a plume of red fire, and the third piece of parchment fell into Dumbledore's waiting hands. "The Hogwarts champion," his voice booming and merry, "is Zacharias Smith!" The Hall was filled with a roar of applause, as every Hufflepuff jumped to their feet, screaming and stamping, and making my ears ring. Zacharias strode down the isle, turning to bow at his house mates before making his way into the chamber beyond.

"Excellent! Well, we now have our three champions. I am sure I can count upon all of you, including the remaining students from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang, to give your champions every ounce of support you can summon…" Dumbledore's voice trailed off, and I quickly realized why. The goblet's flames had again turned red, then a wave of sparks and another plume of flame shot suddenly into the air, a scrap of parchment drifting towards the ground. The Headmaster's hand seized it, almost automatically it seemed. And he held it out, staring at the name written. There was a long silence, as Dumbledore continued to study the parchment, and everyone's eyes were fixed on him. When he spoke is voice was barely a whisper, but it carried through the silent Hall, and when I heard him, my mind went blank. "Ginevra Weasley."

AN: Before I forget, I would like to thank the following: Alas De Fuego, Lord Jawblinneron, Rauguste, mikey1048, BizzyBee9696, LadyB3lla, Loyal untill the end, Nycel, Tronishere, Twite2, brianna123bc, and zorica. Thank you all for the reviews, and favorites. I would also like to thank the others who have added me to their follows list, though as that's not something anyone can dig up on this site, I will keep their names private. Again, thank you.

Better late then never. I ended up passing out yesterday while watching LCS, and as a result got almost no work done. But since I woke up extremely early as a result, I took the liberty of finishing out the chapter. I haven't done any work on chapter nine for warrior, but i do have the outline complete, its just setting pen to paper (so to speak).

Disclaimer: Any similarities to original properties here in are likely the properties of their original owners, I am only borrowing them.