The Legend of Harry Potter: Order of the Phoenix

by Warlord1096

Reloaded under The Legend of Harry Potter: Phoenix Burning.

4. Nightmares and Kisses

Chapter 4:Nightmares and Kisses

He was flying, free and unencumbered, flying through the dark night sky. The world was nothing but a spiderweb of lights beneath him – the cars crawling along the road like tiny little ants. He felt the familiar swooping sensation in his stomach as he dived gracefully – dives had always been his specialty, hadn't they? – zooming downwards towards the black waters.

He gasped in shock as he caught sight of himself reflected in the river; the skull – like face and the haunting red eyes...

The dream changed – he was coming to, covered in mud and grime – and blood, the blood of his mortal enemy, now residing within him. Fear, fear as he'd never known before, coursed through him – could it be? Could the boy really be his downfall? For the first time in years he felt tired out, yearning for some rest...

He sat up, knowing pain as he hadn't known it for years and reached out for his chosen wand, only to find it lying splintered by his side.

Once more the fear rose in him like a tidal wave- he would need to return and start planning at once...

The darkness took him again.

Time passed, the sands of time still flowing along the same path as they had for thousands of years – except for the little eddies here and there – paradoxes. One such paradox lay in Grimmauld Place, not knowing about the uncertain future that awaited him...

He was dreaming again – locked inside a cupboard this time. He was crying softly, wishing for somebody to come and take him away from Privet Drive – Privet Drive? Didn't he live at the orphanage? – And cursing his cousin who'd made his life so terrible for him – cousin? It had been Billy Stubbs, he'd shown him!

He placed a long, bony hand on the cupboard door, and it opened with the softest of clicks. Instead of the warm light of the Dursley's hallway, however, only the faintest of blue lights entered, mingling with the darkness. He had to go out, out into the corridor which he knew existed there- but he was so afraid – at least no one ever visited in the cupboard, and as much as he hated it, it gave him a curious sense of security...

But wasn't he brave enough? Wasn't he a Gryffindor? "I stand by my word, Mr. Potter...Slytherin would have led you to greatness..."

"Not Slytherin, not Slytherin, not Slytherin –"

"Not Slytherin, eh? Better be –"

GRYFFINDOR? The house of reckless fools and Muggle – lovers? How dare the Sorting Hat want to put him there? "Gryffindor would suit a child such as you so much better, Mr. Riddle..."

But no, he'd read all about the house of snakes, and as a Parseltongue, wasn't it his destiny to belong to that most noble house of Salazar Slytherin?

And as he stood before the entrance of the Chamber of Secrets, only the Sorting Hat's bitter laugh came back to him, "Destiny, eh? Fine, then, better be –"

"Slytherin! Speak to me, greatest of the Hogwarts Four!"

He was running, even as he felt the body of the giant snake hit the floor...and then once more, he'd vanquished the shade of Lord Voldemort...

But Ginny was dead..."No, Ginny, don't be dead! Wake up, Ginny, please don't be dead!"

Ginny was dead...and he'd been powerless to save her...

The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches...

He tried to hold on to that thought desperately, but even as it appeared, it faded away into the maelstrom that was his mind...he knew it was of utmost important, and he had to hold on to it...

"Hold on, Harry," spoke the ghost of Cedric Diggory...was it a ghost? It looked so solid...

NO! Cedric couldn't be dead, but there he was, his grey eyes looking into nothingness- he felt like getting up and running away, as far as he could...

"Run, Harry," she said, her red hair flowing like fire, green eyes boring into his own emerald ones. "As soon as the connection breaks, you must run!"

"We are so proud of you, son," said the dark haired man next to her," So proud..." spoke the ghost of James Potter

Mum...dad...

"So brave, Harry..." hissed the man with two faces, "Just like your parents...they would have been proud!"

Proud? His parents? Of him?

He'd spent so many nights before the mirror, wondering if his parents would be proud of him...staring hungrily at the family he'd never know. The family with the same green eyes as his, the same knobbly knees...

Charlus Potter, grinning down at his godson, reached into his pocket and pulled out a Chocolate Frog, beckoning him forward.

He started, his hand reaching out, but the treat changed into something entirely different...

So tiny and round, with blue mists circling inside the sphere...this, this was his destiny...

"Not yet, Harry," spoke the voice, the voice of the lady with the fiery hair. "Wake now, my son, wake up!"

"Mum..." groaned Harry Potter as he finally opened his eyes, taking in the same fiery red hair that he had a few seconds ago...

"Oh you dear boy!" came the tearful voice, and he found himself looking into a pair of watery brown eyes.

Brown? Weren't his mother's eyes green? To be honest, though, he didn't mind that particular shade of brown...

An overwhelming wave of nausea hit him, driving all coherent thought from his brain – he felt that he'd just been hit over and over in the stomach with a bludger –

It started coming back to him slowly – the attack by Voldemort, his wand exploding, Voldemort being driven back by crimson flames, and then dreams – dreams that were slipping from his memory like sand through a sieve, dreams that he knew he had to remember. Yet all his efforts were futile, as every attempt to remember brought on some more blinding pain in his head.

"Drink this," came another voice, and he blindly swallowed the potion that was thrust into his hands. Almost immediately, his headache cleared, and he was able to function a bit better – his muscles felt weak and uncooperative, though. He blinked, adjusting the modified contact lenses on the eye – with special runes on them to keep them on his eye and moisturised at all times – and the room came into focus.

Mrs. Weasley was standing next to him, holding the empty vial of potions, looking teary. His eyes swept over the room, taking in Sirius, who looked like he hadn't slept in some time, the twins and Ginny, who looked much the same, Tonks, with a bandage around her middle, Bill, who winked, looking as cool and unfettered as ever...

Wait, Tonks?

"What happened to you?" he asked her, concern lacing his tone.

"Death Eater got me with a cutting curse in my stomach," she said nonchalantly, "Barely managed to keep him off and return to HQ with Remus, he was getting bad fast..."

"Remus!" gasped Harry, "Is he alright?"

"He is fine, Harry, only recovering in his room now. I expect he will be awake and fully functional in a few hours." said another voice, and Dumbledore swept into the room, his midnight blue robes not to different from the room around him.

The room? He turned his head a bit, taking in the dark blue walls, and the large bookshelf off in one side, taking up an entire wall.

"Yes, welcome to your room, Harry," said Sirius, though there was no emotion in his tone. "I did, however, think that you would be conscious when you were first brought into it." There was something wrong with his tone –

"What's up with you?" asked Harry, raising his eyebrows.

"What's up with me? What's up with ME?" asked Sirius, his tone rising sharply. "What is up with YOU, young man! It was the order's job to protect you and bring you safely here – it was your job to simply sit your arse on a broomstick and fly your way over here! Nowhere in your instructions were you told to fight with the Death Eaters and then Lord freaking Voldemort himself!"

"Sirius," said Harry, grinning now, while at the same time fighting down his weakness, "are you trying to scold me?"

"STOP LAUGHING!" yelled Sirius, and Harry was shocked into silence. "You have no idea what it was like, being stuck in this goddamned house while you were out there duelling Voldemort! You have no idea what it's been like, being stuck by your bedside for three days, listening to you relive your worst dreams!"

"Three days?" croaked Harry. "I've been out for three days?" And then another thought struck him, making his insides clench. "What do you mean, listening to me relive my worst dreams?"

"Exactly what you think it means!" said Sirius, his voice still higher than usual. "Why didn't you tell me? You still dream about the Chamber, about Cedric dying! Would it be so hard to trust me for once and let me know?"

"I didn't want to trouble you..." even to his own ears, his excuse sounded weak. He and Sirius had been over this issue many times in the past, until Harry had accepted that he was not a burden, and all the lies that the Dursleys had fed him were just that – lies.

"Don't even bring that up again!" yelled Sirius, his grey eyes unusually stormy, "We've been through that, you and I! I'm sorry I left you for 12 years, Harry, but is this your way of punishment, not trusting me with your problems? Is this retribution for my crimes, then?"

"No, Sirius, you don't understand –"

"No, I don't, and I don't think I ever will!" shot back his godfather in a venomous tone, before he threw one last dirty look at Harry and walked out of the room, slamming the door shut behind him.

"Well, that went bloody well!" muttered Harry, feeling extremely irritated. Mrs. Weasley tutted next to him.

There was an uncomfortable silence for a few seconds; even Dumbledore seemed content to remain silent, before Harry broke it.

"Will you be all right?" he asked Tonks, trying to be pleasant instead of giving way to his irritation.

"Don't worry about me," she said, grinning a bit. "My old mate Charlie made me his top priority as soon as he saw I was wounded – bloke would probably break off one of his Dragon's Scales for me if I told him it'd help with the pain..." Behind her, Bill rolled his eyes, throwing his hands up in the air. "It's you and Remus that had us running scared," she said.

"But he will recover, right?"

"He most certainly will, Potter," said another gruff voice, and he turned to see Mad – Eye walk into the room. "That was some damn good fighting you did out there Potter – kept your head cool and fought your way out of a scrape!"

"He shouldn't have had to fight at all!" protested Mrs. Weasley shrilly. Harry felt his irritation rise, along with his sense of rebelliousness – he was no child that he couldn't fight!

"You wouldn't say that if you'd been there," interjected Bill, grinning. "You should've seen him go at it – took out an entire group of Death Eaters and then Voldemort to boot. I don't know how you did that, Potter, but I'm damn thrilled that you're on our side of the war –"

"I didn't do it," said Harry automatically. Everyone in the room raised their eyebrows, even the youngsters, who looked suitably awed on hearing about his prowess – he groaned inwardly, the last thing he needed was some more legends about him!

"Well, unless someone Polyjuiced and replaced you that night, you definitely did it all, kid!" chuckled Bill. Several other Order Members tittered, and Dedalus Diggle looked at him with awe.

"No, I didn't!" protested Harry again. Dammit, was the world out to anger him tonight? "My wand acted of its own accord – it targeted Voldemort, all I did was utter the Disarming hex!"

There was silence in the room, but it seemed that no one was inclined to believe him.

"Well," spoke Dumbledore finally. Harry was disgusted to see how everyone – some other adults had also joined them in the room, he could see McGonagall and Mr. Weasley amongst them – immediately swung their heads towards him to hang on to every word he uttered like the sheep they were. "That is an entirely acceptable statement, Mr. Potter, especially due to the relationship between your and Tom's wand –"

Most of the Order Members looked lost at the name Tom, but decided not to ask Dumbledore about it. On the other hand, Ginny turned pale and shot him the most unreadable look he'd ever seen on her face.

What interested him the most, however, was Dumbledore – the man seemed determined not to look him in the eye. Harry had no idea what that was all about, but he had a feeling that it wasn't because Dumbledore was guilty about all he'd put Harry through.

"Never mind that then –"said Tonks cheerfully, "that was still some seriously good work against the Death Eaters, though!"

Harry shut up at that statement, feeling it would be churlish to disagree. He was lucky, though, that he hadn't really faced the worst of Voldemort's forces – the Order had engaged them first.

"You should have seen him," said Tonks proudly, "flew like crazy, he did – and took out two Death Eaters with a Banishing hex!" she concluded, grinning.

"It was nothing," said Harry, feeling his face heat up.

"Nothing!" exclaimed Tonks incredulously, "you hit a moving target from a broom, and from what I hear, you threw a bloody wand and managed to hit it with a Blasting Curse!"

Before Harry could protest again, Dumbledore spoke up. "You used a Blasting Curse?" he asked mildly.

Harry rolled his eyes, even as some of the Order members looked apprehensive. Blasting curses were technically in the grey area of combat spells, though for the life of him, Harry couldn't see why.

"Yes, sir," he answered stiffly, already feeling a headache coming on. "The Maxima version, twice."

Dumbledore frowned. "And what drove you to do that?"

"Indeed, cub?" spoke up another voice, and he was hit with a wave of relief as he saw Remus standing at the doorway, grinning at him. "What drove you to do that?"

Next to him, arms crossed, looking resolutely down at the floor, was Sirius.

"Oh, I found this one moping in the kitchen," he explained, pointing at Sirius, "seemed mighty upset about something – "

"Oh I'm mighty upset alright!" said Sirius mutinously, still avoiding Harry's gaze studiously. He might have found it curious when it was Dumbledore, but his Godfather avoiding his eyes was ridiculous, he thought, mildly exasperated.

"Remus!" he exclaimed, ignoring the silence that was threatening to descend again, "you're healed already!"

"Side effect of being a werewolf, cub – you heal faster," said his ex – Professor with another grin.

Harry was disgusted to see some of the Order members shifting slightly at the mention of Remus' lycanthropy, but it came as no surprise when Snape's (who was lurking in one corner of the room) lip curled upwards in contempt.

At that moment, Charlie Weasley burst into the room, looking quite harried. The Weasleys snickered, as he wheezed, out of breath, "Mr. Lupin! You're supposed to be in full bedrest, I've been searching all over for you!"

"It's Remus, Charlie, and I feel completely fine, thank you," said Lupin, his eyes twinkling. "Frankly, the rest did me some good – I feel better than ever!"

"Rest?" asked Tonks incredulously, "Good Lord man, you were choking up blood and dying when I carried you in, you call recuperation from that rest?"

"And you!" said Charlie, rounding on Tonks, "You were supposed to take your pain relief Potion half an hour ago! Your stomach's never going to heal if you keep missing your doses – you skipped the one last night too!"

"Oh lighten up, Charles!" said Tonks, "I'm fine, I really am!"

"No you're bloody well not!" exclaimed Charlie, his ears slowly turning the trademark Weasley red. "You were spilling your guts out on the floor, and now you're fine? And don't call me Charles, Dora! You're coming with me now to take your Potions!"

"Don't call me Dora, git!" said Tonks, even as she followed Charlie out the door. "And I don't need the bleeding medicine!"

"I work with dragons, woman, your words don't scare me!" retaliated Charlie, "and admit it, your stomach hurts!"

Their bantering soon faded from their ears, as attention turned back to Harry again.

"What?" he asked, feeling defensive. "What are you staring at?"

There was another distraction at that moment – all the heads in the room turned as a young woman sashayed into the room, here silvery blonde hair flowing down her back, her skin almost glowing in the dimmed lighting. She seemed to emit an aura of serenity, which calmed Harry down immensely – he felt a bit guilty, knowing that all of this anger was simply stemming from his teenage hormones.

"'Arry," she said, "it is good to zee you awake!" She reached his bed and swooped down, kissing him on each cheek. "We were all worried – leetle Gabrielle, she was so frightened to 'ear that you were 'urt again – but she was in awe when she heard of your defeat of Voldemort!"

Harry had a distinct memory of Fleur's little sister - he flashed Ginny, who had been not unlike her a few years back - a grin, who poked her tongue out at him for lack of a better reply. Bill frowned.

"So," he asked, "is she here too, then?"

"Oh no, you silly boy!" she said, with a tinkering laugh, sending shivers down everyone's spine. "Maman and Papa were here to pledge their support to Dumbly-dorr, and she came along for the day – I think she left you a leetle card as well!"

Now that he noticed, there was a large amount of candy and cards next to his bed – Fleur reached out and pulled out one from underneath a box of Ice Mice.

Immediately, a haunting voice filled the room, singing possibly the most beautiful tune Harry had heard, next to phoenix song. It was in a language he didn't recognize – French, most obviously, but all the same, it had a touching quality to it.

It died down after a few seconds, leaving the room emptier than he had before, letting Harry read the words written in them.

"That was a beautiful card, Fleur," he said, "it seems your sister's voice is as beautiful as she is – be sure to pass on my thanks!"

"You leetle charmer," giggled Fleur, making several of the men in the room go cross – eyed. "I weel expect you to write a letter to 'er in zanks yourself, non? She will be thrilled," she added breathlessly, "she 'as not stopped talking about you ever zince the Second Task!"

"Remind you of anybody?" asked Fred innocently, and the next second he was hopping on his left foot, clutching the other one.

"Ginny!" reprimanded Mrs. Weasley, "there was no reason to stamp on your brothers foot!"

Fleur merely wrinkled her nose at Ginny's behaviour, who flared up on noticing this.

Harry intervened first, though. "And how have you been since the Tournament, Fleur?"

"Eet 'as been 'ard," said Fleur, her face turning grave. "I still miss Cedric," Harry turned solemn as well. "He became a good friend in a short time, in fact, it was his Papa who recommended me for ze job at Gringotts –"

"So you're working there now?" asked Harry in interest.

"Indeed,"she said with a gracious smile, "I weel tell you all about it later, 'Arry! He needs to rest now, does he not?" she asked, suddenly looking around at the others. "Per'aps he would be best left alone, now? 'As he not been through enough already?"

Harry felt gratefulness well up in him. Even Mrs. Weasley, who'd seemed rather frosty till now, seemed to warm up towards Fleur at once.

"She's correct! All of you, out, now! The boy needs to rest!"

Fleur and Mrs. Weasley looked haughtily at the others as they shuffled out of the room, until only the Weasleys and Sirius and Remus remained. Dumbledore seemed to want to stay for a bit, but he relented under the gazes of the two women.

"Thanks Mrs. Weasley, Fleur," he said, only now realising how tired he was feeling. Not tired, per se – strangely enough, his body seemed to be worn out, but his magic seemed to be recharging, growing steadily back to its full potential. It seemed that using too much of magic had drained him physically – which was something which he could not replenish easily. He made a mental note to read up on it -

"You're a good boy, Harry," said Mrs. Weasley softly, "you saved my two eldest sons lives!"

Harry was about to protest, but Bill cut him to it. "Like it or not, you did, Harry – we'd have been toast if you weren't there to protect us from Voldemort."

"And you saved my seester, 'Arry," said Fleur, her voice suddenly a bit thick, "I weel forever be in your debt for that!"

Swooping down, she kissed his cheeks again before straightening and leaving with a promise to talk to him again, later. Harry noticed Bill's eyes following her all the way out, but he chose not to comment on it.

"Right, you," said Mrs. Weasley, back in commander mode. "Drink your potions, and off to bed!"

"Wait, Molly," said Sirius, "I need to talk to him for a bit before he sleeps."

"It's late, Sirius," replied Mrs. Weasley. "Harry's tired himself out, and he needs to rest –"

"He can stay awake for ten more minutes, Molly," replied Sirius coldly.

Mrs. Weasley opened her mouth to argue, but Arthur grasped her shoulder, calming her down, and leading her out of the room. She complied, albeit reluctantly, but not before telling the others to clear out and reminding Harry to drink his potions. Bill followed his parents out of the room, but turned at the doorway, waiting for his other three siblings.

"Like hell we're leaving," said Fred.

"We've been sitting next to him for three days as well –"said George.

"And we'll be damned if we don't find out why he never told his supposed best friends about his nightmares!"

"Nightmares?" queried Remus, sounding confused.

"Oh, yes, nightmares," agreed Sirius. "Not wake up in cold sweat ones – full thrash around in bed, screaming in fear nightmares!"

"And he told nobody," asked Remus, raising his eyebrows.

"Nope, and I want to find out why, and exactly how often he has these nightmares!" replied his Godfather.

Harry mentally made a note to put up silencing charms around his room, he had no wish to let people know exactly how frequent his nightmares were becoming after the Third Task. His irritation, however irrational it was, though, came back in full force.

"And don't even think about putting up silencing charms around your room, Potter," threatened Ginny.

"W -What? How?" spluttered Harry, momentarily forgetting himself. How had she known?

Ginny smirked, but then her face turned solemn. "I asked Bill to do that for me after my first year," she explained. "Mum found out and went ballistic – and I promise we'll do the same."

Everyone in the room nodded.

"It's just nightmares!" protested Harry, they were making a mountain out of a molehill. "I've been having them forever! It's not a big deal, for Merlin's sake!"

Sirius froze. "What do you mean, had them forever?"

Harry smacked his head inwardly. He thought that he'd curbed his foot-in-mouth syndrome...apparently, he was still prone to attacks –

"Ever since I was little," he said, and the others winced, "I've had dreams of Voldemort killing mum..."

Sirius completely exploded. "AND YOU NEVER TOLD ME? YOU'VE BEEN SEEING YOUR MOTHER DIE SINCE MERLIN KNOWS WHEN, AND YOU NEVER THOUGHT FIT TO TELL ME?"

"WELL FORGIVE ME! THEY'RE JUST DREAMS, SIRIUS – I'VE LEARNT NOT TO DWELL ON THEM! SO WHAT, IF I GET NIGHTMARES? I'VE DEALT WITH WORSE!"

"But you shouldn't have had to," said Remus, the sorrow evident in his voice, giving even Harry a pause.

"It's just...it's not right, Harry, for a fifteen year old to think that nightmares like these are fine, Harry," said Sirius in a pained voice, "it speaks a lot about what you've really had to suffer through in life, something that no teenager should suffer through..."

"Well, I can deal with it!" snapped Harry, feeling extremely tired and drained now.

"No, you can't!" snapped Ginny in return, "you have to speak about it to someone!"

"Oh, and I suppose you would know all about it, coddled and loved all your life!" he knew he was being mean and irrational, but he couldn't help it – the words were out before he could compute them.

"You bastard!" hissed Ginny, pulling out her wand, "You have a blasted Dark Lord in your head for a year, and then you ask me about knowing about nightmares again!"

Harry shut up completely. He knew that he'd just completely made a jackass of himself – but the teenage part of him refused to back down.

"I'm going to sleep," he announced after a split second of fuming, reaching out fluidly and taking the Potions on his nightstand. He swallowed them, and then said, "Feel free to hex me if you want, and I'll make sure to come crying to your room if I have a nightmare! Oh, I forgot, last time I did that, I was given a week in my cupboard for being a freak nancy boy!"

That shut everyone up in the room as he quietly muttered the phrase to deactivate his lenses and rolled over on his side, ignoring the other people in the room, hoping they'd go away. He knew he was being childish, but he was entitled to childish behaviour once in a while.

But it was not to be.

Small hands grasped his shoulders and jerked him violently – he sat up again, simmering, to find himself looking into Ginny's blazing eyes.

"You idiot!" she hissed at him, "I don't care if you're the bloody boy-who-lived or freakin' Merlin himself, but you just can't brush us off like that! The Dursleys are your past, Harry, and everyone here cares about you! So suck it up instead of being an angsty cry baby – nobody here can, or will lock you inside a bloody cupboard if you own up to having nightmares!"

"That's bloody brilliant, that is!" retaliated Harry, "now that we've established that, can I go to sleep? Or would you like to know more about my brilliant nightmares? Would you like to psychoanalyze them to find out why I have them and what they mean for me?"

"And here I was, thinking you were dumb, Potter," smirked Ginny, "yes, we want to talk about your nightmares!"

Harry cast a look around at the others in the room, but the males just raised their hands and looked innocent.

"No," he said shortly.

"No?" queried Ginny, raising her wand.

Harry raised his eyebrow. "Going to curse me while I'm defenceless and on my sickbed, Weasley?"

"I wouldn't be averse to it, Potter," she replied, but he knew that she wouldn't go through with it.

"For god's sakes, Harry, how hard can it be to talk about them?" asked Remus.

"It's not some sort of weakness to talk about them, Harry!" said Fred, and his twin nodded.

The more they pushed, however, the more Harry dug in his heels. Sirius recognized that look – Lily's eyes would go absolutely flinty when she was being stubborn, just like Harry right then, while James would just cross his arms and keep an expressionless face.

Just like Harry right then.

"No, I won't," he said, he was telling no one about his nightmares...and how much they scared him. Ginny dying, Sirius being kissed, Cedric dying, his parents coming back to life and renouncing him...no one would know about them, "and you can't make me!"

"Fine!" said Ginny abruptly, shocking the others into silence.

"Fine?" queried Sirius a bit uncertainly, after all, Ginny'd been calling the shots till then.

"Yes, fine!" huffed Ginny. "Leave him alone! He goes on and on about how he's just Harry, but he really enjoys being the Boy-Who-Lived, saviour of women, lone warrior, don't you, Harry?"

Harry found himself too dumbstruck to answer – where did that come out of, and how did she get that idea?

"Isn't it, Harry? Save little Ginny Weasley, your best friend's little sister...leetle Gabrielle Delacour," she added a little more venom than was necessary here, "Get past dragons and acromantulae – all alone and friendless and forsaken – the ultimate hero! Admit it, you don't want any of us to care about you, you're so caught up in being the fearsome, but lone Boy-Who-Lived! Heroes don't depend on others, do they, Harry Potter!?" She put unneeded emphasis on his name, and he knew she was referring to Harry Potter – the boy-who-lived – instead of just Harry Potter.

"Well, that's fine by us," she concluded, stuffing her wand back in her pocket and walking towards the door, "come on guys!" The others, a bit taken aback by her outburst and sudden change in tack, followed her without complaint, leaving a sputtering, dumbfounded Harry Potter behind.

Outside the door, Ginny turned and smirked, "He'll be coming to us by tomorrow morning, ready to speak," she said smugly.

"I don't know about the adults, Freddie –"

"But you're seriously impressed by the way our Gin-Gin subtly manipulated little Harry?"

"Indeed, brother, and I know you are too –"

"Indeed I am, brother mine –"

"Brilliant work, Ginny!"

"Wait a second," asked Sirius, confused. "What?"

Remus tutted, then spoke gently, as if explaining something to a child, "She manipulated Harry, by hitting him where he hurts the most, Sirius. He hates being the Boy-Who-Lived, and she just turned it around on him and made it look like he didn't – and he was not telling us about the nightmares because he wanted to remain the heroic Boy-Who-Lived," he turned to the Weasleys, "don't mind him, he's always been a bit slow."

There was a look of dawning awe on Sirius' face as he turned to Ginny, "Remind me never to get on your bad side," he said nerviously.

Ginny just laughed, her face the picture of innocence.

"You know, Padfoot," said Lupin, reverting back to their Marauder nicknames now that they were alone, "if those two," he indicated Harry's door and then the direction Ginny had gone after bidding them good night and grinning fondly, "don't end up married by the time they're twenty, I'll bite off my own bits when I transform into a werewolf."

Sirius just nodded fervently.

TLOHP:OOTPTLOHP:OOTPTLOHP:OOTPTLOHP:OOTPTLOHP:OOTPTLOHP:OOTPTLOHP:OOTPTLOHP:OOTPTLOHP:OOTPTLOHP:OOTPTLOHP:OOTP

Harry Potter was not having a good night. For one, he wasn't being able to sleep – it appeared that his recharging magic seemed hellbent on keeping him awake.

Not that he was complaining, though – it seemed that the worst part of his recovery was over, now he was feeling like he was soaked in a warm bath, as the magic rejuvenated itself, and made its way all over his body. He could literally feel his headache dissipating, but at the same time, the excess energy running through him made him feel wide awake.

What was really bothering him, though, was a girl.

Not in the classical teenage lovestruck sense, though.

Not a girl, he snorted mentally, a red haired devil spawn!

He turned over for the umpteenth amount of time, burying his face in the pillow and lying flat on his stomach.

After ten minutes of furious thinking, he rolled over again, and looked up at his ceiling, not really noticing the glowing stars and planets that were painted onto it.

After ten more minutes, he huffed, threw off his covers, and stood up. He steadied himself for a second - standing up after lying down for three days was certainly disorienting. He picked up his wand from where it was lying on the dresser, dimly registering the warmth that it sent up his arm.

He decided that he needed to talk to Ollivander about his wand the next time he visited Diagon Alley, but decided not to think about it for now.

He made his way out into the hallway, which looked quite eerie in the moonlight that was bathing it. Portraits of previous Blacks (non-magical ones, thankfully) looked down their noses at him disdainfully.

Only then did he realise that he didn't know where his destination was. Well, it wasn't in this floor, only Sirius and he slept here.

He descended the steps quietly, and came to another corridor of rooms. He quietly muttered the Homenum Revelio spell, something that he had taken a long time to master last year, thanks to the pure finesse it required. The first few rooms were empty, but the other rooms showed at least all the other rooms were occupied by one person. He'd expected some people to be sharing, but apparently that wasn't necessary.

He decided to start from the end of the hallway, and his efforts were rewarded immediately.

He cleared his throat angrily, but she slept on, unaware.

He strode forward, and paused for a second as he took in her sleeping form. In the dim light, she looked like a sleeping angel, with her hair splayed out over the pillow, and her mouth slightly open, the sound of her breathing deep and even.

How betraying looks cam be, he thought and snorted.

He reached out, savouring his revenge for a second, before grasping her shoulders and shaking her roughly.

"Wha -?" she said as she awoke, blinking the grogginess out of her eyes. He watched as her eyes focused, and then landed on him, "Harry?"

"I do not like being the boy-who-lived!" he protested hotly, without any explanation.

She looked confused for a second, before smiling smugly. "Oh really?" she spoke in a drawl worthy of Malfoy, "do tell..."

"You have no idea what it's like, Ginny!" he said, wishing nothing more than to wipe that grin off her face. "You don't know what it's like, dreaming about the Chamber again and again, only that I'm too late to save you! Dreaming about Sirius getting kissed, seeing Cedric die over and over again because of my stupidity...thinking my parents..." His voice petered off, it was painful to think of that – that his parents would say that he was "no son of theirs" after all the hardships he'd gone through life. But, a tiny part of him admitted, even saying those few sentences had made him feel a bit better...

Ginny was no longer smiling, "Your parents what, Harry?" she opened her mouth again to speak, but then closed it again, looking like she'd come to a decision. "Wait here a second, I'll get some hot chocolate, and then we'll see where you stand..."

Harry sighed as she got up and slipped on her slippers, before walking out of the room. What had he just go himself into?

TLOHP:OOTPTLOHP:OOTPTLOHP:OOTPTLOHP:OOTPTLOHP:OOTPTLOHP:OOTPTLOHP:OOTPTLOHP:OOTPTLOHP:OOTPTLOHP:OOTPTLOHP:OOTP

Harry stirred in the morning, shifting a bit groggily. A pleasant flowery smell crept up his nose, and he pulled his pullow closer, burying his face in it...

Sometime later, Ginny woke up, stretching languorously and yawning through a haze of sleep. She felt extremely well rested; this was easily one of the best stretches of sleep she'd experienced, though she didn't understand why. Her sleep had been fitful and uneasy at best in this dark, dusty house...

She smiled for a bit, before she registered the arm draped around her. Her eyes shot open in alarm. Wide awake, she registered the arm around her, the body she was resting on, and the face which was buried in her hair.

She turned around, very, very slowly...

And found her face buried in the crook of a neck.

It was a nice feeling, she decided, having her head resting there. And then, slowly, as last night came back to her, she realised that her head was resting on the crook of Harry's neck.

Harry. Harry Potter. Whom she had got over, due to which she was not currently experiencing a churning vortex in her stomach.

Shit. Shit. Shit. They must have fallen asleep talking last night – she'd been talking to him about the Chamber last night, and he'd taken her into his lap and hugged her, and she hadn't moved from their after that.

And now she was currently lying in his arms on the floor.

11 year old Ginny would have promptly melted into a puddle of glee and then exploded in exhilaration, but currently Ginny didn't feel anything other than a rising sense of panic – her mother would kill them if she found them in such a compromising position.

Of course, she did feel gleeful, but she dismissed those feelings forcefully.

"Harry!" she hissed, trying to jerk him awake.

He mumbled something incoherent, and then pulled her closer, burying his face further into her hair, her body crushing into her.

Gathering her courage, she reached up a bit uncomfortably, wiggling free one of her hands, and slapped Harry smartly across the cheek.

Harry's eyes shot open, and before she could even think of anything to say, she found Harry straddling her, his hands wrapped around his neck.

Harry started in shock, "Ginny?"

"Yes, you idiot," she choked out.

He let go of her and climbed off, his face cycling through different expressions before settling on understanding, "We fell asleep, didn't we?" He blushed a bit, realising the compromising position they'd been in, and then his face showed only horror, "D – did anyone see us?"

"No, you prat, or else we'd be dead!" replied Ginny, disgruntled. "And there was no need to choke me! How did you react that fast anyway?"

"I think it's my magic," said Harry, "it's completely up and ready to go...I feel great!" he said, grinning and stretching.

Ginny shook her head instead of thinking about how her head missed the warm support of Harry's chest or his neck, and then said, "Nobody knows of this, Potter – the twins would never let me live this down, and my brothers would all kill you!"

Harry nodded fervently, before his face grew serious. "Weasley?" he asked, but his tone was light.

"Yes, Potter?"

"Thanks."

She understood. They'd talked a lot last night, and she'd soothed several of his fears, while he assuaged some of her own. They shared a bond together, now, that they did with no one else, and looking at him, she felt a glow inside of her.

"You too, Potter. Now leave, because I need to take a bath –"

"Just don't sing in the shower, Red...I hate to tell you, but your singing card had nothing on Gabrielle's –"

He was out of the door, laughing, before she went for her wand – both because of the jab about her singing and that annoying nickname he'd been using at random intervals last night, despite her protests.

"Git!" she muttered to herself, but she found herself smiling as she walked into the shower.

TLOHP:OOTPTLOHP:OOTPTLOHP:OOTPTLOHP:OOTPTLOHP:OOTPTLOHP:OOTPTLOHP:OOTPTLOHP:OOTPTLOHP:OOTPTLOHP:OOTPTLOHP:OOTPTLOHP:OOTP

"Well?" asked Sirius as she walked into breakfast, "may I ask you why I found my godson curled up next to you early today morning?"

She blushed, "It wasn't what it looked like," she protested.

"Oh please," said Sirius, "the two of you curled up together, chocolate stains on the floor – been there, done that!" he said, grinning.

"What's that?" asked Fred, who'd just come down to breakfast with his twin. "Stains on the floor? Wasn't me!"

"Or me," said George.

"Oh no," said Sirius nonchalantly, "just interrogating your sister about her amorous activities with members of the opposite sex?"

"Oh, please," said George, "she's never even been kissed in her life, Fred and I nicked her diary and read it while we were coming back home from Hogwarts last year –"

"She does pine a lot over Ha-"

"YOU READ MY DIARY?"

"Yes," said Fred calmly, in fact, his lack of fear was unnerving.

Ginny let out an indistinguishable scream and picked up her wand, and roared, "Mucus ad Chiroptera!"

Giving a dramatic squeak, her wand turned into a haddock.

"WHERE IS MY WAND, ALFRED?"

Harry walked into the kitchen, freshly showered, to find Sirius rolling with laughter in his chair. Before he could react, though, a hand plunged into his pocket and he suddenly found Ginny Weasley in front of him, holding his wand and looking like she could breathe fire – despite himself, he cowered.

Ginny grinned vindictively as she felt warmth shoot up her arm, and raising Harry's wand, she shouted, "Mucus ad Chiroptera Gigantes!"

The effect of her modified Bat – Bogey hex was alarming - Fred was rocketed back against the wall by the force of the spell. Everyone came bursting into the room as Fred screamed terribly, as huge five feet bogies crawled out of his nose and flapped and scratched at his face.

"GINNY!" screamed Mrs. Weasley, recognizing the curse, "WHAT DID YOU DO?"

Fred's nose was bleeding terribly as well, the blood pouring out, as George knelt next to him, trying to staunch the flow.

"HE READ MY DIARY!" screamed back Ginny, but she seemed unnerved by the effect of her spell as well.

"Finite Incantatem," said Bill, who had just come into the room. The bats vanished, leaving behind a traumatised Fred, his eyes wide, his mouth open in a silent scream.

Mrs. Weasley immediately jumped at him, while berating Ginny at the top of her voice, promising extreme punishment.

"FIRST HARRY GETS AN UNFAIR TRIAL, AND THEN HE NEARLY GETS KILLED, AND NOW THIS! YOU WAIT, GINEVRA MOLLY WEASLEY, I'LL HAVE YOU GROUNDED TILL THE END OF TIME!"

Her voice thankfully died down as she slammed the door shut behind her.

"Ginevra?" asked Harry, amused, but he shut up sharply when she turned on him, his wand in her hand.

"Don't call-" she began and Harry winced.

Thankfully, Charlie came to his rescue. "Phew, Ginny," he said, "that was some hex you used – when did your spells get so powerful?"

"I don't know," said Ginny, suddenly mystified, even as her father walked over, looking bemused.

"That was a very wrong thing you did, Pumpkin," he chastised her, and Harry grinned, filing away that information for later embarrassment.

"But Daddy," protested Ginny, immediately reverting to her watery-eyed, trembling lip form, "they were reading my diary!"

The effect was immediate, Arthur's face grew stern, and he said grimly, "Is that so? I'll be having a talk with them, don't you worry, Princess!" and he immediately headed over to the room where Molly was treating the twins.

Harry chuckled at the nickname which was completely unlike GInny, but shut up immediately when she rounded on him again.

"So how did you get that powerful, Ginny?" he asked quickly to divert her attention.

It worked, her brow creased as she thought, "I don't know," she said, "I mean, I was always good with that spell," Sirius snorted at the understatement, "but it was never that good with Grandma Anne's wand."

"Wait, what?" asked Harry. "You use another person's wand?"

Ginny blushed, and he understood – her wand was a hand me down like most things her family possessed. He plowed on regardless –

"Ginny!" he protested, "you can't just use another person's wand, that's terrible! The wand choses the wizard – witch," he amended hastily, "for all you know, that wand might have been holding you back all these years!"

"Come off it," she scoffed, "Mum and Dad couldn't afford to buy me a new wand for my first year, and they overlooked it later because my wand worked fine – there's nothing wrong with it! I've known that I'd be using that wand ever since I found it in the attic when I was six and hexed Percy with it!"

"You wouldn't know the difference till now, would you, then?" countered Harry, still adamant.

Her face displayed doubt for the first time. "Does it really work like that?" she asked, "my wand could be holding me back?"

"It can," agreed Harry, "I had to use Ron's wand once in first year when Fred and George nicked mine as a prank – charmed a ribbon stuck to it – and I could barely light it up, even though I had been able to do the Lumos spell for months!"

"That can happen," said Bill, who's come over some seconds back, "we had to study a bit of wand lore for Curse Breaking, and it specifically states that one wizard's wand would never work as well for another unless it was one in combat – Blimey, I'd completely forgotten that you and Ron used hand–me–down wands!"

Ginny blushed, but Ron, who'd just come down in his nightclothes and started piling his plate with food, piped up defensively, "What about my wand?"

"I just remembered you're using Charlie's old wand," answered the eldest Weasley brother.

"No I'm not," said Ron, his ears turning red, "I got a new one after my second year!"

"And I was left with a ramshackle one," grumbled Ginny.

"And I'll be taking mine back now," said Harry, leaning forward smartly and plucking it out of her hand.

"Dammit, your wand felt good," mumbled Ginny, and then turned beet red when she realised what she'd said.

"Thanks, but I've been told that before," said Harry with a grin, as Sirius and Bill roared with laughter.

Ginny seized the opportunity to snipe at him and get the spotlight off herself, "By whom? The last imaginary girlfriend you snogged in a broom closet?"

"Ooh, that had to hurt!" said Sirius.

Harry's eyes narrowed. Catching Ginny's eye, he raised his eyebrow, and slowly, very deliberately, reached over at the table, and pushed the butter dish away from where she was standing, staring her down all the time.

"That's not an apt reply," said Bill, who hadn't been present at the Burrow during the Butter Dish Incident –

"Oh it is," said Harry, "you'll notice that Red over there now resembles a squashed tomato –"

Ginny immediately fought down her blush, noticing Bill and Sirius' gaze on her. "Whatever, Potter, I know about your worst nightmares now –"

"Like I don't know yours, Weasley –"

But Sirius interrupted, "What? You talked to her about your nightmares?"

"Yes, just as I predicted," said Ginny.

"What do you mean, just as you predicted?" asked Harry, stung.

"What do you mean, yes? He's my godson, and he went to you instead of me!" asked Sirius.

"Because she made me look like some complete prat!" replied Harry.

"Oh, she doesn't need to make you look like one! I'm your bloody godfather, and you ditch me for the redhead!"

"I didn't ditch you for her, Sirius, it's not like we're dating, for Merlin's sake, because that would be wrong!"

"You know perfectly well what I mean, Harry!"

"Look, you wanted me to talk about my nightmares and I did it! Ginny helped, but I am not going through it again!"

"Well, at least you did that," muttered his Godfather in defeat, "but next time, come to me, all right?"

"Oh Godric's Golden Griffin, you make it sound like a competition – but fine, I will – as long as you make better hot chocolate than Ginny, though!"

"Oi!" said Ginny, stung, "I resent that! I make perfectly good hot chocolate!"

"I think I'll disagree," said Mrs. Weasley, as she came over, her lips pursed. "You can't cook to save your life – don't give me that look, young woman, I am not in a charitable mood this morning! I have a good mind to ground you on your birthday, Ginevra! Your brother's nose is still wrapped up in a bandage!"

"Good!" shot back Ginny, "maybe he'll keep it out of where it doesn't belong, then!"

"You will not talk back to me, young –"

Molly's rant was thankfully cut off when Dumbledore walked into the room, his face grave. The room fell silent at once.

"I come with bad news, I am afraid," he said, "it seems the time and venue of your Trial has been changed, Harry – you will be tried in Courtroom 10 before the entire Wizengamot, Harry at 9am on the Twelfth."

There were instant cries of outrage and protest, and Harry felt his stomach churn. He had tried not to think too much about the trial, even though he'd read up on proper protocol for Wizarding Court and similar cases to his – but being tried before the governing body was another matter altogether.

"Unfortunately," spoke Dumbledore, and everyone promptly fell silent again, "this means that you will be detained at the Ministry for 24 hours before the Trial begins, Harry."

"What?" asked Harry, shocked, an emotion that was mirrored on everyone's faces, "I read up on Wizarding Laws, that's mentioned nowhere in the book!"

"I admire the research you have done about your problem, Harry, but this law was passed recently, one of the additions Cornelius made to the laws of our country –"

"How recently?" asked Harry, gritting his teeth together.

"Three weeks ago," replied Dumbledore apologetically.

"Does anybody else get the idea, that this entire incident, from Harry being attacked by Dementors, to this new law which'll keep Harry wandless and defenceless in the Ministry, is a bit too convenient?" asked Lupin mildly, his voice low but dangerous.

There were murmurs of assent around the room, but Dumbledore raised his hand, silencing everyone again.

Out of the corner of his eye, Harry noticed Ginny roll her eyes, and felt a rush of kinship with her at that instant.

"Yes, I admit it looks bleak for Harry, and it is most likely a trap," the old wizard said, "but we must do our best to protect him, due to which we must convene and make suitable plans at once!"

Harry snorted, but Dumbledore seemed not to notice. Paying the headmaster no attention as well, he instead turned subtly towards Sirius and Remus, and glared intensely at them for a second, before blinking and then raising his eyebrows and looking upwards.

The message was clear – meet him upstairs. The Weasley siblings, who had, however, grown up using these signals amongst themselves, saw it as well.

The room was starting to fill up with incoming wizards and witches of the Order, when Harry excused himself.

"I quite understand, Harry," nodded Dumbledore sagely, "perhaps it would be best for some of your friends to keep you company as well for some time? I assure you, child, I'll find a way to make it safe for you!"

Some of the people in the room smiled encouragingly at Harry at Dumbledore's words, but he rolled his eyes, "Safe, Sir? You told me Hogwarts was safe, Sir, but that was before I was attacked by a Death Eater with Voldemort on the back of his head, Voldemort and his pet Basilisk, a hundred Dementors, a Dragon, a bunch of ten feet tall spider, a murderous tree, a –"

"I understand you are upset," said Dumbledore, all trace of geniality vanishing from his voice. "But that does not warrant this behaviour, Harry!" The ancient wizard was frustrated – he'd hoped that he had some of his old bond left with Harry when the youngster readily agreed to return the Dursleys at his word, but he was mistaken, it seemed. "We are going to do our best to protect you, and I assure you, we are some of the most competent wizards in the country!"

Who let me be attacked by a couple of Dementors and then duel Voldemort unaided, thought Harry, but he bit down another comment, and stalked out of the door instead.

Dumbledore sighed, "He is a good child, but he is going through a tough phase –" he said by way of explanation.

"Perhaps it would be best if I talked to him for a bit, Headmaster," asked Sirius, unusually meekly, but Dumbledore didn't notice – he was used to people being meek before him.

"That would be best, Sirius, I'm afraid you wouldn't be of much help today in any case, and the best way you could help would be to soothe Harry's fear instead –"

"I think I'll help, Albus," said Remus, "he's tough with his Godfather sometimes, but he generally talks to me –"

"I'm going as well," volunteered Bill, "that's my little brother up there who's stewing, and it's not like I can help you anyway – I haven't been in the Ministry of Magic since I left for Egypt, I think..."

"You are such a zentle brother, Beel," said Fleur, smiling up at her English tutor, "'Arry is lucky indeed!"

Charlie rolled his eyes at the usually suave Bill's light blush, and then piped up, "I'm going up to talk to him as well!"

"Oh, my delightful children!" said Molly, tearfully, "such considerate boys!"

Ron and Ginny scowled, but Dumbledore nodded his head in agreement. "Very well, gentlemen." It was quite heartening to see the number of people who cared for Harry – when the time came for the Final Battle, and Harry's sacrifice, they would help Harry along his true path, he was confident!

So he didn't protest as the eldest Weasley brothers and the littlest Weasley left along with Sirius and Remus.

Of course, he didn't know that Harry needed no support from them right then, other than their brainpower, perhaps.

TLOHP:OOTPTLOHP:OOTPTLOHP:OOTPTLOHP:OOTPTLOHP:OOTPTLOHP:OOTPTLOHP:OOTPTLOHP:OOTPTLOHP:OOTPTLOHP:OOTPTLOHP:OOTPTLOHP:OOTP

Ginny followed the others into the room to find her twin brothers already there with Harry. She scowled, even as Fred cowered, but Bill interjected firmly, "Let it go for now, Bug – Harry's need is greater than yours to hex your brothers."

Ginny nodded, and Fred silently handed her back her wand, which he fished out from his pocket.

"Sorry for the nose," she mumbled, "but you deserved it."

"I did," said Fred.

"I will still hex you two later," she threatened, gripping her wand. Maybe Harry was correct, she felt no warmth from her wand when she touched it...

She turned towards Harry, but was surprised to see him holding up a large piece of paper silently.

Written on it in large letters were, "SILENCING CHARMS. DUMBLEDORE CHARMED THE ROOM." She swelled up in anger, how dare the senile coot do that?

Bill complied at once, putting up the strongest spells he knew, and making them discreet as well, so Dumbledore couldn't register them. Harry lowered the paper after he'd finished, smiling in a satisfied manner.

Bill, however, had a question, "Considering Dumbledore is eavesdropping on you, how will you explain the fact that the instruments picked up no speech at all?"

Harry had a reply ready. "Simple, really," he said, "we were gathered in the Twins' room instead, because Fred had a bad reaction to Ginny's spell and couldn't come up to my room, so we kept him company downstairs."

Charlie whistled, "You're sneaky, Potter – I'd heard about your little tete-a-tete with Dumbledore, and all your little revelations, but I believe it now –"

Harry, however, went straight to the point. "Can I trust you guys?" he asked concisely.

"I think you can," said Bill, and Charlie agreed. "Firstly, I was quite pissed with Dumbledore after Ginny's first year, secondly, you saved her instead of him that year, thirdly, your reasoning makes sense, fourthly, you saved our arses as well," he said, pointing to his younger brother. "So you can count me in with whatever the hell you're doing –"

"Brilliant," said Harry, grinning.

Sirius shivered a bit.

"What's wrong?" asked George, concerned.

"I recognize that smile," said Sirius, "James smiled the same way before he planned the greatest knicker raid in Hogwarts history – we nearly had our bollocks castrated after that –"

"Well, that's good," said Harry, still smiling, "because I think I have a plan..."

This time, Remus groaned.

"What now?" asked Charlie.

"The last time Harry really had a plan, he ended up having to outfly a Hungarian Horntail!"

Charlie sniggered, but Harry grinned.

"Wrong," he said, "the last time I had a plan, I ended up duelling Lord Voldemort in midair and then passing out for three days –"

"What do you mean?" asked Ginny, raising his eyebrows.

"Come on, Red," he said, ignoring her huff at the nickname, "didn't you find yourself wondering, after that brilliant show, why I agreed to return to the Dursleys' so easily, just as dear old Dumbledore told me?"

Ginny was intrigued, but Sirius said, "That, and why you never used Dobby to simply get yourself out of the battle instead of going crazy with your wand! That was out contingency plan!"

"Well, that part's easy – firstly, it's not really smart to antagonize the entire Order by rejecting their plan altogether," said Harry calmly, "especially Mad – Eye Moody, who's firstly reporting directly to Dumbledore, secondly, a valuable ally, and thirdly, frankly freaks me out!"

There was a smattering of laughter, and then Harry said, "And it's quite obvious why I never summoned Dobby – we were in midair when we were ambushed, and calling Dobby would effectively kill him. He'd apparate into midair, and no matter how many times he apparates after that, he'll be falling downwards, which isn't really good. The law of Gravity is one of the most important laws of Apparation – do not apparate in midair! Moreover, we were flying over a highway, and then over water – there was no place or time to land and summon him."

"Believe me," he said, "it can sound stupid now, but it was different out there, in real battle," and Bill and Charlie nodded.

"But forget that," he said, grinning. "The reason I went back so happily, anyone?"

When no answer was forthcoming, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small object.

Bill's mouth fell open in shock.

TLOHP:OOTPTLOHP:OOTPTLOHP:OOTPTLOHP:OOTPTLOHP:OOTPTLOHP:OOTPTLOHP:OOTPTLOHP:OOTPTLOHP:OOTPTLOHP:OOTPTLOHP:OOTPTLOHP:OOTP

It was dusk by the time the Order meeting ended, and Mr. Weasley came up to tell them that Molly had some snacks ready.

"I'll be taking you to the Ministry tomorrow," he said, "don't be afraid, Harry," he added kindly, "it'll all be ok..."

"You don't have to, Mr. Weasley," protested Harry, "it's Ginny's birthday, someone else will take me!"

"Honestly, Harry," said Ginny rolling his eyes, "it's not like he's running away with you, he will be coming back," she said, chuckling.

'She's right, you know," said Mr. Weasley, chuckling. 'We leave at seven. Come along now, Molly's cooking!"

Finally, it was only Sirius and Harry in the room.

"You'll be ok, right, Harry?" asked Sirius a bit nervously.

"Course I will," said Harry, deliberately cupping the item now resting against his chest. "Though, if I am incarcerated, bring my wand out unscathed and give it to Ginny, alright – she's literally a blast with it!"

Sirius grinned in agreement, "That she is, Harry, that she is."

"What was all of that about, anyway?"

Interestingly, after Sirius had finished retelling the tale, Harry was an interesting shade of red.

"What?" asked Sirius, immediately knowing that something was off.

Ginny was coming up the stairs when to call Harry and Sirius, when she heard Harry's voice drift through the open door, "Well, it's not like she's never been kissed, technically..."

"Well, it's not like she's never been kissed, technically..." said Harry, uneasily. "Er, I was Ginny's first kiss, but she doesn't know that –"

Ginny froze.

"What do you mean?" asked Sirius, perplexed.

"Well, it was in the Chamber, you see..." explained Harry haltingly. "Er, I was pouring my magic into her to try and awake her, but it wasn't working..."

"So you kissed her?" asked Sirius incredulously, his face threatening to split into two pieces, he was grinning so widely.

"I was twelve, all right? I'd read all those fairy tales when I was younger about Sleeping Beauty and her prince, and I completely lost my head down in the Chamber – everything seemed like a good idea!"

Sirius was roaring with laughter.

"Don't laugh," said Harry, "it was terrible, like kissing a corpse! She was completely cold and lifeless – like dead fish!"

"Oh boy!" wheezed Sirius, "you definitely shouldn't tell her then!"

"Are you crazy? Fred and George would take the mickey out of me!"

"No, no," explained Sirius, "for God's sakes, Harry, first kisses and stuff matter to girls, you can't tell her she doesn't even remember it!"

"Oh come off it!" scoffed Harry, "Ginny? She's not like that – it's Ginny, y'know, she's like – she's like one of the blokes! She wouldn't care!"

"Oh, I wouldn't?" the icy voice seemed to freeze Harry where he stood.

He turned slowly, and found himself facing a very angry Ginny Weasley. "Gin?" he asked weakly.

"Mum says you should come down before the food gets cold," she said, and her ice was absolutely emotionless, "But from one of the blokes, Potter, I think you wouldn't like it – it's quite disgusting, like dead fish, I'd say – Nice to know I was like that for you, Potter, makes me feel so bloody special, doesn't it?"

"Gin –" he began again, too stunned to speak.

"SAVE IT!" she yelled, and he was shocked to hear her voice crack at the end. She spun on her heels, and then stalked out of the room, slamming the door so hard behind her that the window panes rattled.

"You're screwed," said Sirius concisely.

TLOHP:OOTPTLOHP:OOTPTLOHP:OOTPTLOHP:OOTPTLOHP:OOTPTLOHP:OOTPTLOHP:OOTPTLOHP:OOTPTLOHP:OOTPTLOHP:OOTPTLOHP:OOTPTLOHP:OOTP

Harry tossed in bed, fully awake, for the second time in a row.

He felt disgusted with himself – he reckoned Ginny had heard the entire conversation, and he could only imagine how she was feeling now. He'd tried to talk with her, too, but she'd avoided him the entire day, reducing him to a state of depression as well, which Mrs. Weasley had put down to nerves.

"You'll be alright, Harry," she said tearfully, tipping more and more food onto his plate.

But no, he realised, he wouldn't be alright. In a surprisingly short span of time, he'd built up a dynamic with Ginny that he couldn't hope to accomplish with anyone else, and the prospect of hear ignoring him for a long time ahead seemed extremely undesirable.

Of course, Sirius, self proclaimed love guru, had come up with a perfect solution for it – something that would apparently guarantee forgiveness from her.

To be honest, the Marauder side of him, which he'd nicknamed Prongslet, was willing to carry it out. Harry Potter, on the other hand, was terrified of it.

After a half an hour more of tossing and turning...

To hell with it, thought Harry, might as well grow a pair! Screw Sirius' plan, he'd apologize his own way!

Ten minutes later, he was standing outside Ginny's door with a mug of hot chocolate. Surprisingly, she hadn't charmed the door shut, but she was awake this time.

"I'm not interested, Harry," she said, the moment he stepped into the room.

"I have hot chocolate," he said.

Silence.

"With marshmallows."

Silence.

And then, "Fine."

He set it down on the table where she was sitting, her back turned to him, ramrod straight.

And suddenly he found himself unable to speak at all, his planned words all going out of the window.

Ten minutes of silence, and the hot chocolate was finished (he was sure she'd finished it faster just to get rid of him faster as well!). Nothing.

Suddenly Sirius' plan was all he had.

He pulled out his wand, his heart beating a tattoo in his throat, where it seemed to have lodged.

Just as Ginny stood up to face him, he muttered "Obscuro!" making a blindfold appear before her eyes.

She swore vehemently, but Harry said, "Wait for a second, Ginny, trust me –"

"Oh, that's fine, Potter. Snogged any more dead fishes or corpses lately? Nice to know I was so good for you!"

"Ginny, you were dying! I was desperate to save you! Why are you so mad, anyway, it's not like you remember it!"

"Well, maybe that's exactly it! Your first kiss was with one of your blokes, Potter, and I don't even bloody well remember it, as pathetic as I am! It was better when you were ignoring me, at least I wasn't reduced to being a bloody male in your eyes!"

He bit his tongue, recognizing his gaffe.

Instead, he muttered, "Orchideous," making flowers pop up around the room.

Ginny must have smelt it, because she said, "Flower Power is not going to help you, Potter! I can't believe you so smoothly left that out of the story when you were telling it later!"

"I was trying not to hurt your feelings!" he said. Oh, he was about to hit her with a lot more than just Flower Power...

"Oh, and look how that ended up!" she said, her hands on her hips right now.

He ignored her, praying fervently to God, and also simultaneously casting a breath freshening charm on his mouth.

He stepped forward, trying not to pass out. Funny, how this was harder than facing Lord Voldemort...

He took both of her hands in his own, and leaned forward to whisper in her ear, trying not to pass out, or to betray his panic.

Ginny stiffened as Harry's breath tickled her ear. 'I'm sorry, Red..." he said, his voice sounding the slightest bit husky, "I was way out of line," he said, before reaching out and tapping her blindfold with his wand, making it a bit looser.

"You were," she said, defiantly.

"It must suck, not remembering your first kiss," he continued, now whispering in her other ear. "I'm sorry, I should've known you'd want to know about it..."

"Well," Ginny joked, inexplicably nervous all of the sudden, "I'd bet ten galleons with Bill that Harry Potter would be my first kiss...but he'll probably say that getting kissed while I was unconscious in a desperate attempt to bring me back to life won't count..." she rambled, trying not to shiver as his breath caressed her ear, making her shiver slightly.

"Well," said Harry, suddenly going on autopilot Prongslet mode, "we're best friends, right, Gin?"

The nickname sounded so different when he said it like that. "Yes," she said, a bit hestitatingly.

Harry smiled at the sheer lunacy of what he was about to do. "Well, I know an apology won't be enough," he admitted, and Ginny nodded, wishing he'd take the blindfold off alread and stop acting so strangely. "So the least I can do is make you a proper memory for your first kiss...make it count for Bill, right?"

Before she could fully compute what he was saying, he had pocketed his wand, and instead reached out with his hand to remove the blindfold. She opened her eyes, and they fluttered shut almost immediately when she suddenly felt a pair of lips on hers.

Harry's lips.

It was gentle, and everything she could ask for in a first kiss, he seemed almost hestitant, like she was fragile and would break in his arms – when had she ended up in his arms?

She peeked for the tiniest second and found that the entire room was decked in flowers, which in turn were bathed beautifully in moonlight – the bastard sure knew how to apologise.

Suddenly, it clicked in her mind that this was a one–off, he'd still want to consider her his best friend after this, since this was his way of apologising, giving her a real memory of a first kiss.

Well, what was she doing, getting kissed like she was a china doll?

Harry felt his pulse skyrocket, as Ginny placed her hands on his shoulder and deepened the kiss, angling her head to offer him better access. His head spun as their tongues met, and he tasted the chocolate she'd drunk only minutes ago inside his own mouth.

After several long moments – or it might have been half an hour – or possibly several sunlit days – they broke apart.She kept her head on his shoulder, and he let her, as she almost melted into his frame.

"I know it wasn't my place, Ginny, but I'm sorry, and I hope you'll forgive me –" said Harry quietly, speaking at length.

"You're right, it wasn't your place," and Harry's stomach dropped out in defeat.

"But you're forgiven, Harry."

He breathed a sigh of relief. "So we're friends, then?" He'd be worshipping Sirius tomorrow...

"No..." she felt an inexplicable pang in her heart, only she knew very well why her heart was panging in the first place, "we're best friends."

She could feel him smile into his hair, and she smiled bitterly, thinking of the mixed emotions that brought on.

"Ginny?"

"Hmmm, Harry?" she asked, not looking up, still content to be in his arms, where she'd woken up only that morning.

"Happy Birthday."

Silence for five seconds, and then, "You sure know all about proper gifts, Potter."

"I try."

"Git."

"I'm sorry, did you just say Harry-Potter-you're-a-fantastic-kisser-and-you-made-me-weak-at-the-knees so I can reassure you that you were so much better than a dead fish as well?"

"Git."

"No, really! No dead fishiness at all – it was quite chocolaty, actually...Ow, Ginny, you just kneed me!"

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

A/N: Honestly, I'm too tired to write a lengthy author's note – I only uploaded this faster because I was ecstatic that Chelsea's won the UEFA Champions league...GO BLUES! :D Think of it as a celebration from my end! And to any Bayern fans who're reading this, your team played brilliantly as well, it just wasn't their night, though...:[

Before you start protesting that one does not simply kiss like that and remain friends, please, people, I've seen friends or best friends kiss for weirder reasons, enjoy it, and yet remain best friends. Life is weird like that. But fear not, one day, they shall end up together...mostly when Harry ejects his cranium for his arse.

A bit of Ginny power, for all the Ginny lovers like me, right? :D Cheers! :D

The next chapter, as you can see, needs some planning, and will take some time.

Until then,

Formerly IamDRCaPottermaniac,

Now...just read my name, for heaven's sake. Scroll up, Hahahaha, exercise your pudgy fingers, getting fat while surfing the net!

Oh, and the Dobby thing, I admit it was a bit cobbled together, because I really only had a good explanation for returning to the Dursleys, oh yeah xD Thanks to Bobmin for some good advice regarding that, though!

Oh, and the law about Apparating is 100% true.

Now, REVIEW!

Hey, that rhymes! :D

I need to sleep.

Goodnight.

No, that doesn't rhyme.