It was the third Sunday in September, and Harry was quite pleased with the progress of the Legion. They had been working hard, and already he could see vast improvement. Many already had passable Occlumency shields, and he had started to show them some of the spells he had learned this summer. Harry had also introduced physical training. Ron had grumbled when Harry suggested they start waking up early to go on a run and work out, but once Hermione mentioned how it might even help his Quidditch game Ron was all for it. (It had helped that several of the girls had giggled madly at the thought of the extra training and the benefits that would come from it.) Today they had been working on an advanced shielding charm, and about half of the Legion had already got some results with the spell. Harry smiled as he watched his troops work on the spell.
Harry glanced down at his watch, and then called a halt. "Okay, everyone. That spell is looking pretty good for today. Try and keep working on it, and I'll see you guys next week."
Several members called goodbye to him as they left the room. He smiled as he watched then leave. He was quite pleased to see members from different houses talking as they walked. Even the Slytherin members were included. Susan Bones was talking with Blaise Zabini, and Terry Boot was talking to Daphne Greengrass and her sister.
A small pair of hands wrapped around his waist. "They're coming together."
He looked down at her. "Yes. I only hope it will be enough."
"It will be. You'll see."
He pressed a kiss on the top of her head, then his smile turned to a smirk. "Care for a duel?"
She grinned. "Swords?"
Harry stepped away from her and held out his hand. Seconds later Godric's sword materialized there. Ginny closed her eyes and concentrated and a minute later the room developed a wall of armor and weaponry. She strolled over and carefully selected a sword to use. After testing to make sure the balance was right she turned around and faced him.
The sound of metallic clashing filled the room as the two came together repeatedly. Neither of them noticed when the door opened and a pretty Asian girl walked it. She stopped short at the sight of the two teens in front of her as they danced around each other and fought.
"Harry?" She called tentatively.
Hearing his name caused Harry to lose focus for a few precious seconds, and Ginny took full advantage. She swung her sword in until the tip rested against his heart. Harry froze, his chest heaving.
"Good one, Gin." He smiled at his wife, and she lowered her sword with a small flourish. Then the couple turned to the intruder.
"Did you need something, Cho?" Harry's voice was clipped.
"Um… I wanted to talk to you about joining the DA."
With a resigned sigh, Harry vanished his sword. He turned to Ginny and whispered for her only, "I think we need to take care of this once and for all. Stay with me?"
Ginny nodded. She went to put her sword away, then turned back around, her arms crossed in front of her.
"I don't think it would be wise for you to join the Legion, Cho?" Harry began.
"But, Harry!"
"No." He said fiercely. "I want you to listen to me. The only reason you want to join is because of me. And that is not its purpose. I want people who are willing to fight. I want people who understand that we are at war and that there are more important things than school work and crushes. And that isn't you, Cho." She made to interrupt again, but Harry held up a hand to stop her. "Look, I know that we went out last year, but I want to explain something to you. I am never going to be with you again. It's time you realized that and moved on with your life."
Cho looked to be on the verge of tears. "But why? We were so good together."
"Are you insane? Do you remember how horrible it was? We went on one date and it was a bloody disaster. You spent most of the time crying and I spent most of the time trying to think of something we might have in common." Harry paused to take a calming breath. "I'm with Ginny, and I will be for the rest of my life. I love her, and nothing you say can ever change that."
Cho could no longer hold back her tears. Feeling some compassion for the girl, despite what she had tried to do, Ginny stepped forward and put a hand on her shoulder. "Cho, was there a reason you kept on trying to get back together with Harry?"
Cho nodded. "He told me… after Cedric died, he told me that Cedric's death was pointing me towards who I was meant to be with. That it had prepared me to be with you. He told me that you needed me in your life to teach you how to love, because no one had loved you before. He told me…"
At this point Cho completely broke down. Ginny wrapped her arms around the older girl and pulled her into a hug. "It's okay, Cho. We understand." Ginny looked up at Harry who was standing there, his arms hanging limply by his side and a defeated look on his face. She knew how much it hurt him every time they discovered another example of the Headmaster's treachery. "Cho, I think you need to understand what is going on. Harry, tell her the truth."
"Are you sure, Gin?" He looked desperate to avoid this discussion, knowing how much it would hurt the older girl.
"Yes. She needs to know so that she can move on." Harry could feel the determination coming off of her, and he was not one to deny her.
Harry nodded. With a wave of his wand a large couch appeared. He and Ginny led Cho over and helped her sit down in between them. "I'm assuming you were talking about the Headmaster?" Cho nodded. "For reasons which I'm not going to get into, he has spent the last several years trying to keep me away from Ginny. He knew I would fall in love with her, and he wanted to prevent that."
"Why?"
Harry sighed. "I'm sorry, Cho, but I can't tell you. It would put you in too much danger to know this. Suffice it to say that he was desperate, and in his desperation he decided to redirect my attention." The Ravenclaw's eyes grew big. "He fed me a mild love potion from the beginning of my third year that aimed any romantic intentions I may have had at you."
Cho gasped. "Then, you never really did like me, did you?"
"No, I don't think so. Unfortunately, I didn't really realize something was wrong until this summer. With Hermione's help we were able to discover what he had done, and prevent it from ever working again." Harry looked down at the pretty girl beside him. "I'm sorry, Cho. You were pulled into something that hurt you and for that I am sorry. He should never have done that to you."
Cho looked at him closely for several long minutes. Then Harry watched as her face changed. No longer was she the insecure girl she had been. "Do you mean to tell me that he kept me from healing, that he manipulated me, all for some idiotic reason of his own?" There was steel in her voice.
"Yes." It was Ginny who answered this time. "He thought he knew best, that it was better for Harry and me not to fall in love. But he failed to realize that he was actually harming the cause he thought he was fighting for."
Cho angrily wiped away her tears. Then she fixed Harry with a hard gaze. "I want to join the Legion."
Harry grinned. "We'd be delighted to have you."
"Mr. Potter," came Professor McGonagall's voice, "the Headmaster needs to see you in his office after dinner."
Harry looked up at the stern professor. He had been happily eating dinner and quietly conversing with Ginny, and had no clue what he had done to warrant a trip to the Headmaster's office. "Just me, Professor?"
"Yes, just you. The password is Butterfinger."
As Professor McGonagall walked away, Harry turned to meet Ginny's concerned gaze. They couldn't talk freely in the Great Hall, but it was obvious they were both thinking the same thing. Dumbledore was going to try and separate them again.
"It will be alright, Gin." He cupped her cheek and she turned into his hand. "We have a back-up plan."
"I know, love." She reached up a hand and tapped gently against his head. "Are you ready?"
He nodded. His Occlumency shields were even stronger than the last time the Headmaster had tried to breach them. "Wait for me in the Room of Requirements?"
Ginny nodded. She understood the implication. If things went badly he wanted her protected until he could get back to her.
Abandoning their dinners, they held hands for the remaining dinner time. The physical connection brought into sharp relief the other's emotions, something that had been happening more and more since their return to school. When Harry saw Dumbledore leave his seat, he rose to follow. "I'll be fine, Gin. I love you." He brought her left hand up and kissed her hidden ring as a silent reminder. She smiled at him and watched as he walked out of the room, his head held high.
As he rode the stairs up to the Headmaster's office, he checked his shields once more. He also took out Godric's wand and cast a new charm that Hermione had found. It would nullify any attempt to place a tracking charm on him for the next hour. He only hoped it was enough. Taking one last deep breath he knocked on the door.
"Come in, Harry."
Harry entered the office and was grateful to see that there was no one else there. The meant the Headmaster wasn't yet taking any drastic actions. Before he acknowledged the man behind the large desk Harry walked up and greeted Fawkes. When he had spent several moments petting the brilliant bird he turned. "Good evening, Headmaster. Professor McGonagall said you wished to see me?"
"Yes, Harry. Why don't you have a seat?"
"I prefer to stand, thank you."
Dumbledore acknowledged this with a nod. "I wish to speak to you about your training."
Harry looked at him in shock. Was this meeting really not about Ginny, or was he simply trying to distract him? "As I have informed you, I have taken care of my training myself."
"Yes. I'm aware of the fact that you have been working with Remus Lupin. I would like to offer you more resources."
"I have no wish to train with you, sir."
"I imagined as much. No, I have requested that Tonks, Kinsley, and Mad-Eye all offer their services to you. It is imperative that you learn from more than one teacher, as everyone has a unique fighting style." Harry's eyes widened at this. He knew that this was another way for Dumbledore to keep an eye on him, but he could work around it. He really would be grateful for the extra training. "In addition, I have several books that I would like for you to read. I think you will find many useful spells in them."
Dumbledore waved a hand to a stack of books on his desk. Harry stepped forward and examined them. Of the ten or so books there he had already read three of them. These he placed in a separate pile. The rest looked fairly interesting. He drew his wand, holly, and shrunk them before placing them in his pocket. "The books are much appreciated."
"Do you not wish to take these?" Dumbledore gestured towards the ones he had left behind.
"I've already read them, sir."
Dumbledore wasn't able to hide his shock. "Where did you find a copy of these books? They are all on the Ministry's restricted list."
Harry looked at him blandly. "I've never set much store by Ministry restrictions."
Dumbledore smiled at this.
"Was there anything else, sir?"
"No, Harry. I really do just want to help you."
Harry schooled his features not to react to this. He may not understand what the man was trying to accomplish today, but he was not fooled into thinking that Dumbledore had changed his ways. "I thank you for the books. I will return them when I have read them. Good day, sir."
Draco Malfoy strutted into the Slytherin common room, his left hand clutched around a letter from his father. The elder Malfoy had been quite pleased when his son had told him of the new relationship between Potter and the Weasley girl. He had given his son explicit instructions to try and seduce the girl away from Potter. Not only would this hurt Potter, but they might gain useful information from her. Draco was quite confident in his plan. After all, who could resist a Malfoy? He had always gotten any girl he wanted, and he saw no reason why that shouldn't be true in this case. At least she was a pureblood. And beautiful. He would not mind bedding her. Now he just needed to get her alone so that he could work his charm.
His mind skipped ahead in the plan to when he would be able to enjoy her. He envisioned it in his head, and felt his body reacting to the image. With that thought in mind, he prepared for bed, looking forward to the dreams he was sure to have about her.
It did not take him long to fall asleep, and as expected a scantily clad Ginny Weasley walked into his dream. Dream Draco pulled her into his arms and lowered his head to kiss her. The kiss was intensely pleasurable, as the girl was more skilled with her tongue than Pansy. He opened his eyes in eager anticipation of undressing her.
Instead of seeing the alluring form of Ginny Weasley, he was wrapped in the arms of Eddie Carmichael, a Ravenclaw student a year above him.
Draco's mind tried to pull away in disgust, but his dream body would not allow it. He tried every technique he knew to wake himself up, and it wouldn't work. He watched, horrified, as Carmichael pulled him in and kissed him again.
Twenty minutes later Draco Malfoy woke up panting and confused. He reached quickly for his wand and cast a cleaning charm. He had not had such a dream in years; not since he had found that there were plenty of willing girls to help him release his sexual energy. And yet here he was having such a dream about a boy. And it was impossible to deny that his body had enjoyed it. Disgusted with himself, Draco lay back down and tried to fall back asleep, desperately hoping that he wouldn't have the same dream again. He was supposed to be seducing the Weasley girl. He wanted to dream about her.
Draco woke up twice more throughout the night, each time after having the same vivid dream, and with the same result. The next day, he passed Carmichael in the hall. When the boy smiled at him, Draco's face went white and he fled in the opposite direction.
"Harry?" Ron asked hesitantly one night as they were getting ready for bed.
"Yeah?"
"I need some advice."
Harry stopped what he was doing and turned towards his friend. "About what?"
Ron took a deep breath, sat down on his bed and let his head fall into his hands. "Girls."
Harry sat down on his own bed and gave his full attention to Ron. "What about them? And why do you assume I have any clue?"
"Well, you were able to do pretty well with Ginny."
"I guess. It took me long enough." Harry chose not to point out that he had an unfair advantage when it came to Ginny. After all, they had been married by a magical artifact and given an empathic connection into her thoughts and feelings. A connection he was only now starting to understand.
"Yeah." Ron sighed.
"So you finally came to your senses about her, have you?" There was no need to ask exactly who Ron was talking about.
Ron looked up, startled. "How did you know?"
"Ron, you've been in love with Hermione for years. Everyone knows this but the two of you."
"Oh."
"So, you've finally realized that you like her?"
"Yeah. But I have no clue what to do about it. I mean, what if she doesn't feel the same way?"
Harry rolled his eyes. "Ron, I'd bet the entire contents of my vault that she feels the exact same way. Why do you think you two argue so much?"
Ron looked up, wide-eyed, as if he couldn't fathom that Harry was telling the truth. Then a slow smile spread across his face. "Really?" Harry simply nodded. "Wow." He stared off for several minutes processing that, a rather dreamy expression on his face. "But what do I do about it?"
"Well, I suggest that you start by letting her know how you feel."
"Harry! I can't just tell her I fancy her!" Ron looked scandalized at the mere suggestion.
"Why not?"
"That would be too embarrassing!"
"Fine. Then do little things to let her know you are interested. And try to stop arguing with her all the time. It's probably giving her the wrong idea." Harry didn't add that the entire tower would be grateful for the reprieve.
Ron considered this. "You mean like the stuff you did with Ginny before you asked her out?"
"Exactly. I paid attention to her. I complimented her. I was overly affectionate."
"I could do that."
"Course you can. Nothing wrong with a little flirting."
Ron smiled widely. "Nothing wrong at all."
Hermione sat down in her seat for breakfast with a slightly bemused expression on her face. It had been an interesting couple of days. Ronald had been paying her an inordinate amount of attention recently. He wasn't fighting with her. He went out of his way to compliment her. He even seemed to be finding excuses to touch her. Maybe he was finally coming to his senses about her and growing up. She hoped it meant that he would ask her out soon.
She looked up as Ron sat down beside her. "Hello, Hermione. You look good today."
She raised an eyebrow at him. "Thank you, Ronald. That's very sweet of you."
He turned and beamed at her.
Across from them, Harry watched with amusement. Ron seemed to be doing pretty well. And by the expression on Hermione's face, she understood his intentions. Now if his mate could only work up the courage to actually ask her out. Watching Ron stutter through an attempt to compliment her on her Transfiguration essay, Harry decided that it might be awhile until that happened.
Before he knew it, it was the middle of November. The Legion had been making great progress, and Harry was proud of their ability to work together. He had them running mock drills in various surroundings provided by the Room of Requirements, and they had been doing surprisingly well. His own training had also progressed nicely. Remus came twice a week to work with him on his spell work. Then on Saturday morning he worked with whomever else Remus could talk into coming to help. Tonks came regularly and was teaching him martial arts. Kingsley was working with him on his sword training. The Auror had been intrigued when he asked about learning to fight with one, though Harry never fought with his own sword against the man. The Order thought the mysterious fighter from Diagon Alley had claimed Gryffindor's sword, and he didn't want to reveal his hand too early. Harry had the most fun in his training sessions when Moody came. The grizzled ex-Auror was the only one of his trainers who was capable of winning a duel with Harry anymore, and Harry relished the chance to work with him.
One Thursday afternoon, Remus showed up with a surprise visitor.
"Bill!" Harry exclaimed in surprise. "What are you doing here?"
"Remus seems to think I could help with your training." The eldest Weasley boy sent a smirk at Remus. "Although seeing as how you trounced my arse months ago I don't know why he thinks that."
Remus laughed. "I don't want you to duel him. Harry has others who have been helping him with that. However, you have skills that I think would be of value to him." Bill raised an eyebrow in question as Harry looked on curiously. "I have no doubt that there will come a time when Harry will have to break into a heavily warded area. I want you to teach him how."
Bill's grin was almost feral. "You want me to teach him how to break wards? Excellent!" Bill paused in thought for several minutes. "I'm going to have to set up some things for us to practice on."
"Um, the room should be able to do that for you." Harry spoke up.
Bill looked at him curiously. "What do you mean?"
"This is a highly magical room," Remus answered. "If you simply think of what you need it should provide it for us."
Bill looked highly skeptical, but he closed his eyes in concentration. Harry watched in fascination as several doors appeared along one wall. As he watched, each door was covered briefly in a faint shimmering, each one a different color.
"Okay, Harry. I'm going to start by teaching you the basic detection spells that will allow you to find out which types of wards are put up around an area. Each ward has a distinctive magical signature. You will need to learn to recognize these, as well as the ways they can be layered together."
Harry was an avid student for the next several hours. Bill was a good teacher, and the techniques he was explaining were fascinating. By the end of the night, Harry had been handed a large stack of books to read, and Bill had produced a list for him of common wards and instructed Harry to learn the way to counter them.
It was shortly after night fell that things got interesting. Anxious to be on good terms with Ginny's brother, Harry had asked Bill to stay for a cup of tea. They had been sitting and talking agreeably for several minutes when a silver fox exploded into the room. It spoke in a woman's voice that Harry's didn't recognize to Bill.
"Attack in Abernethy. Requesting all assistance."
The fox dissipated, and Bill jumped from his seat.
"Bloody hell! It is going to take me a good fifteen minutes to get outside of the school. Harry, I've got to go!"
Harry put a restraining hand on his shoulder. "I can get us there faster."
Bill froze and turned to stare at him. "I'm not letting you go with me, Harry."
"You don't really have a choice. And this wouldn't be the first time."
Harry stood his ground as Bill scrutinized him, then Bill's shoulders slouched. "I doubt I could stop you. Just don't get hurt or I'll have hell to play with Ginny and my mom."
Harry grinned. "I don't plan on it. And your mom will never know I was there." He waved his wand a few times and Bill watched as Harry became unrecognizable. "Dobby!"
"Master?" the elf asked as he popped into the room.
"I need you to take Bill and myself to Abernethy. Then come back and tell Ginny where we've gone."
"Yes, Master. Mistress will be most displeased in being left behind again."
Harry grinned. "I know."
The elf held out two hands, and then disapparated with a large crack. They reappeared behind a large building. In the distance, Harry could hear the distinctive sound of spell fire. He turned to Bill. "Be careful." Bill nodded his acknowledgement. Harry watched as he stalked off carefully towards the fight. Once Bill was out of sight Harry held out his hand and called for his sword. He tied the sheath carefully around his waist, threw his cloak over his shoulders, then drew his wand and walked calmly forward. It was time to go hunting.
He quickly found a group of six Death Eaters who were making their way down a side street, setting fire to houses as they passed. Harry followed them quietly, putting out the fires. When he caught up to them he fired off a round of stunners that managed to catch two of them. The others turned around quickly, searching for their invisible adversary. Harry made his way around them and fired from behind, knocking out two more. It was then that one of the remaining Eaters got off a lucky shot that found his invisible form, cutting across his leg.
Biting back a scream of pain, Harry followed up with an anger-filled set of stunners. He pulled back the cloak so he could get a good look at his leg, and was grateful that Ginny had insisted he learn several healing spells. The cut was quickly healed, and the Death Eaters bound under a disapparation jinx. Harry summoned their wands and portkeys, and left them for the Order to find later.
Moving swiftly towards the center of town, Harry came upon the main fight. Spells were flying across the town square and things didn't look good. From what he could see, the Order members were outnumbered nearly two to one. Harry paused to consider his options. He would have preferred to take out the Eaters quickly, but they were too spread out and the Order was too close for that to work. He also was worried about the Order trying to fire on him. He needed to act like someone they knew was on their side, so he drew his cloak off, passed his wand to his left hand, and drew his sword. He was confident that Moody had informed the order of the rogue young man who had fought with Gryffindor's sword. Hopefully they would recognize it and realize he was on their side.
With a deep calming breath, Harry jumped into the fight.
The Death Eaters were not expecting his physical attack, and few of them knew how to fight him. He kept a shield up at all times, blocking most of their spells. The Unforgivables were cut in half with a swipe of the sword. This usually seemed to shock the caster enough to give Harry time to attack. He went mainly for wand arms, knowing that the Eaters would be incapacitated without being able to use their only weapon. Within ten minutes he had made his way around half the square, and the Eaters were starting to rally against him, recognizing that he was their main opponent.
Harry was hiding behind a crumbled wall trying to catch his breath near several Order members when a pop announced a new arrival.
Harry looked up curiously as he heard the spell fire come to an abrupt halt. The Eaters halted their attack. They focused on shields and circled around the central figure. Harry's stomach turned to stone as he recognized the man that had appeared, a gleaming sword in his hand.
"I offer a challenge to our mysterious swords man--a proper duel." The oily voice of Lucius Malfoy rang out through the square.
A hand descended on Harry's shoulder and he looked up into the sweaty face of Bill Weasley. "Get out of here now. That pretty girlfriend of yours would have my hide if I let you fight him."
Harry's face hardened. "On the contrary. Lucius and I have some unfinished business to attend to."
Harry stood up and walked confidently out into the square. "You called?"
Malfoy laughed. "A mere boy? You think you can challenge me? Run on home to your mother, boy. Leave the fighting to the grownups."
Harry glared at the man who had nearly cost Ginny her life. "Not a chance, Malfoy. I've been looking forward to this for years. We have some unfinished business to finish."
The blond sneered. "What are you talking about, boy? Did I hurt Mummy or Daddy?"
"No. You nearly killed my wife."
Harry ignored the outraged cry from Bill behind him as he attacked; he would deal with Bill later. Malfoy was an expert swordsman, and Harry's skill was immediately put to the test. Malfoy drew first blood, as he sliced across Harry's left arm, but Harry's sword was there to prevent further damage. He retreated two steps to regroup, wishing that he wasn't already tired before the duel even started. Harry pulled up the image of Ginny lying near death in the Chamber and his resolve hardened. This man was responsible for putting her there, and he would pay. Malfoy only allowed him a quick breath before attaching again, but the image of Ginny spurred him on. They fought back and forth for long minutes, trading the upper hand. Then Harry saw an opening, and a large gash appeared across Malfoy's abdomen. The man withdrew immediately, panting with effort.
"You are better than I expected, boy, but you are fighting on the wrong side. My Lord could have great use for you."
Harry scoffed. "I will never join Voldemort, no matter how many times he asks me to."
"Who are you?"
"What, don't you recognize me?"
"We have met before?"
Harry smirked. "Ah, Lucius, that hurts. We have so many fond memories together." Harry stalked forward. When he was two feet away from Malfoy he hissed so quietly that no one else could hear, "It was only five months ago that I thwarted you once again."
Malfoy's eyes widened in recognition and Harry used the man's shock to attack. He used a complicated flick of the wrist that Kinsley had only taught him last week to send Malfoy's sword flying. In an instant, Harry's wand was in his left hand and both wand and sword were resting against the man's heart. Harry leaned in and looked the man in the eye. "Don't worry, Malfoy. I'll send your master on to join you as soon as I can."
Harry gave a final push and the sword went clear through the man's heart. He whispered one parting comment. "This is for Ginny. May you rot in hell for what you did to her." Harry withdrew his sword and watched as the man who had caused Ginny so much pain collapsed and drew a ragged last breath.
It was only his instinctual reflexes that saved him from the retaliatory spells that immediately came his way.
The Order used the shock of Malfoy's death and the moment of the Eaters' attack on Harry to decimate most of the remaining forces. Only a handful of Eaters managed to apparated away. It was only seconds after the last crack that Remus made it to where Harry was kneeling next to Malfoy's body. Bill and Moody where only steps behind.
"Are you okay?" Remus asked as his arms came up to support an exhausted Harry.
Harry looked wearily up at his mentor. "Yeah. I'll be fine." He glanced briefly into Bill's confused face, and was grateful that his brother-in-law was keeping his questions to himself for the time being.
"That was some pretty fancy sword work there, boy." Moody growled.
"Thanks. I've learned from the best."
"Why don't you come with us so we can get you healed up?" Moody extended a hand to help him up.
"Thanks, but the wife should be able to handle it." Harry grinned. "That's assuming she stops yelling at me long enough to notice I'm bleeding."
Remus chuckled. "You did marry a fiery one. I'm sure she'll forgive you as soon as she learns what you did tonight."
Harry looked down at the body beside him. "Yes. He deserved a much more painful death than I gave him, that's for sure." Harry reached down and picked up his sword. "Help me over to the alley, Remus?"
Remus nodded. He helped Harry slowly stand and wrapped an arm around his waist. They walked slowly over to the alley until they were out of sight, and then Harry disappeared with Dobby.
Remus sighed before turning back to the square. He was met by the questioning gaze of Bill and Moody.
"You never mentioned you know that boy, Remus." Moody growled at him suspiciously.
Remus shrugged. "He's an old friend."
"Mind telling us who he is?"
"No, I don't think I will. He'll tell you when he's ready."
Moody stomped off in aggravation.
"Remus?" Bill asked tentatively. "Isn't he a little young to be married?" Bill's eyes burned into the werewolf's in question.
Remus winked at Bill. "He had to throw them off his identity somehow."
Bill eyed him carefully for a moment before nodding his agreement. Harry was probably just lying to disguise his age. There was no way that Ginny could be married. She was only fifteen.
"Harry James Potter!" Harry winced as Dobby brought them back into the Room of Requirements where Ginny was waiting. "Why didn't you take me with you? You could have been killed!"
"Sorry, love. You know they can still trace your wand." Ginny glared at him. "And besides, I was with Bill. You know he wouldn't have let you go off to fight."
"That is no excuse! You know perfectly well I've trained enough to be able to fight."
She stalked forward with her wand emitting sparks. Harry backed up, his eyes wide with fear as they watched her wand. Unfortunately, his unsteady legs gave out underneath him and he collapsed on the floor. Ginny's anger evaporated instantly.
"What happened? What's wrong?" Her wand was running along his frame as she spoke, finding the numerous cuts and bruises. She gasped as she found a particularly nasty cut on his left shoulder.
"Most of the Eaters were fighting the Order in the middle of the town square of Abernethy. It was too dangerous to try and take many out at once, as the Order members were in the way. So I made my way through the square with the sword."
Ginny harrumphed. "That explains all your cuts."
"Actually, most of them came later. They must have realized they needed to call someone with sword training, because Malfoy showed up with sword in hand." Ginny drew in a sharp breath but continued with her healing. "We fought for awhile."
Her hand clenched around her wand. "Did you get him?"
"Yes. He's gone."
Ginny's wand clattered to the floor and she threw her arms around his neck. She buried her head against his chest and whispered, "Thank you."
Harry wrapped his arms tightly around her. "No one will ever get away with hurting you."
Harry brought a hand up and gently pulled her chin up so he could see her face. Then he lowered his mouth to hers. His kiss was not deeply passionate, but the raw emotion in it set Ginny's heart racing. Their breath was ragged when he pulled away.
"I love you, Ginny Potter."
Ginny angrily wiped away her tears. "You better. Otherwise there is no way I would be able to put up with you." She reached down blindly for her wand. "Now stop making me cry. I need to heal the rest of you." She grinned cheekily at him. "You need to take off your shirt so I can fix that shoulder of yours."
Harry smirked at her. "You just want an excuse to see my bare chest."
She giggled. "Maybe. Now off with the shirt."
The next morning, Harry and Ginny were eating breakfast in the Great Hall when Dumbledore entered and instead of walking up to his seat at the Staff table he approached Harry.
"Mr. Potter. I need you to come with me, please."
Harry looked up, startled. Usually he was at least allowed to finish his meal. One look at Dumbledore's face, which was looking exceedingly grave, convinced him that the old man knew he had gone to fight last night.
"Certainly, sir." Harry turned to Ginny and planted a kiss on her cheek, "I'll see you later, love."
Her only response was to squeeze his hand gently in silent encouragement, conveying a surge of love and worry with that one gesture. Harry followed behind the Headmaster as they made their way to his office. Waiting for them inside were Moody, Snape, and Remus. Harry shot a look at Remus, but the Marauder simply shrugged. Once the door was shut behind him, Harry turned towards Dumbledore and waited.
"Harry, where were you yesterday evening?"
"I had training with Bill for most of the night. Remus was there for most of it."
"And where did you go after Mr. Weasley left?"
"I spent some time with Ginny." This was not a lie. He had spent a considerable amount of time with her. After the fight. Much of this time was spent with his shirt off and her hands on his bare chest. Harry smiled at the memory.
"You did not visit a village by the name of Abernethy?"
Harry plastered a puzzled expression on his face. "Where is Abernethy?"
Behind him, Harry heard Snape scoff. "It's obvious that he is dodging the question, Headmaster."
Harry turned towards the man. "Then why don't you ask me the question that you really want the answer to."
Snape sneered. "Have you been fighting Death Eaters recently?"
"I have been fighting Death Eaters and Voldemort my whole life, and I have no intention of stopping until they are all dealt with." Snape's eyes blazed at the implied message.
"Typical Potter. Think you can do everything on your own."
"I never said I would win this fight on my own. I simply said I will always be a part of it."
"And what makes you think you have the right to fight?"
"Severus! That's enough!" Harry turned his attention back towards Dumbledore. "Harry, you cannot leave the safety of the castle to participate in battles. It is imperative that you become fully trained first."
Harry's expression remained neutral. "You have no idea how trained I am, Headmaster."
Dumbledore's jaw clenched. "I have offered to help with your training."
"No, thank you. I'm doing just fine on my own."
"I'm sorry, Harry, but you cannot leave to fight. I am going to have to put you in detention with me."
"With all due respect, sir, you can't do that."
"Why not, Harry?"
"Because you have no proof whatsoever that I ever left the castle. I claim I spent the entire evening with Bill and then Ginny. Unless you can produce proof that I was at this fight, you have no grounds for assigning me detention."
Dumbledore eyed him carefully. "We have several eye witness accounts, Harry."
"They saw me, did they? And who are these witnesses?"
"Remus and Alastor were both there."
Harry hid his smirk and turned to Remus. "Did you see me last night, Remus?"
The Marauder smiled. "No, Harry. There was a young man who bears a slight resemblance to you, but I do not think it was you."
"And you, Moody, did you see me?"
"I saw you there."
"You saw me, a kid with black hair and green eyes and glasses."
Moody shifted uncomfortably. "No. You had glamours on."
"So you saw a kid about the same age as me, but that didn't really look like me and you all assume it was me? Seems a little farfetched." Harry turned his attention back to Dumbledore, who was looking decidedly unhinged at the direction this conversation was taking. "So until you can produce real evidence that I left the school you have no grounds for punishment, Headmaster."
"Harry…" Dumbledore began, but he was interrupted by a voice from one of the shelves.
"He's right, Headmaster." The occupants of the office turned in surprise to find the Sorting Hat speaking to them. "Punishment without proof can be appealed to the Board of Governors, as you well know."
Dumbledore sighed in resignation, and Harry fought to hide his smirk. "Fine. Harry, please do not leave the castle without permission. You can go now."
"Not quite yet," the Sorting Hat called. "Mr. Potter and I have business to take care of."
Harry and Dumbledore both turned curious gazes towards the Hat. "We do?"
"Quite. Surely you see the need for us to have a little chat about… certain things?"
The wand. The Hat knew that he had the wand, and suddenly Harry wondered if it could help him access the knowledge contained in it. "Of course." He looked around warily. He really didn't want this conversation witnessed.
"Perhaps you could put me on, Mr. Potter?"
"Is that really necessary?" Dumbledore asked.
"Oh, yes. I'm afraid I have to insist."
"Very well. Harry, why don't you put the Hat on and see what he wants."
Harry walked forward and lifted the Hat off its shelf. He lowered it on his head.
Good day, Mr. Potter.
Hello. Thank you for keeping this private.
Albus may be a powerful force for good, but that does not mean he always knows what is best. Now, I understand you found my wand?
Godric?
Not quite. I am an imprint of him, and retain much of his knowledge and personality. Much like a magical portrait.
The wand is something similar, isn't it?
Yes. That wand contains much of my knowledge, and even a bit of my power. And I see that you have already put some of this to good use.
Yes, it has been most helpful. But I get the feeling that I should be able to directly access the knowledge it contains somehow. Only I can't figure out how.
Correct. The wand is different from me in one very special way. My knowledge is outside and I can interact with those around me to a certain degree, the wand cannot truly do this. I will teach you how to transfer the imprint of myself that was left in the wand.
So I can make a portrait or something?
Not quite. You will transfer the imprint directly into yourself.
Oh.
Now listen carefully, Mr. Potter.
The other occupants of the office watched curiously as Harry put the Sorting Hat on his head and then seemed to be having an internal discussion with it. This discussion went on for some time.
"Whatever can the Hat be telling the boy?" Snape asked after several long minutes.
"I have no idea, Severus. And the fact that it insisted on a private conversation concerns me. With Harry's mental shields we will never learn what they are discussing."
Moody looked shocked. "You would try to dig in the boy's mind for information?"
"Yes, Alastor. It is imperative that I know what is going on with Harry, for his own good."
"And what gives you the right to determine what is best for Harry, Albus?" The ex-Auror asked angrily. Remus remained quiet.
"There are things going on that you are not aware of, Alastor."
"And what makes you think you are aware of everything? Seems like Potter knows a whole heck of a lot more than he is letting on. And clearly that Hat is telling him something important. Maybe it's time you stop trying to run his life and let him alone. He seems to be doing a fairly good job of it."
"That is not possible."
"I don't think you'll find it as easy to control him as you think, Albus. He damn near beat me last time we dueled, and it will only be a short time before he is capable of beating you."
With that parting comment Moody stomped out of the office. Remus watched him go, thinking that Harry would be very interested to learn about this conversation.
Harry was currently sitting cross-legged on the floor of the Room of Requirements, which had provided him with a large fireplace and bearskin rug. He held his upturned hands in front of him, and resting on them was Godric's wand. The sword was resting across his knees. The Hat had drilled him on this ritual until he could recite it backwards in his sleep, as there was no going back if he made a mistake. It was an unusual ritual; Harry was used to spells being based in Latin but that was not the case. Godric had used his native Welsh. This made it difficult for Harry to learn the long spell, as he was not used to the pronunciation of Welsh words, but he had practiced until the Hat deemed his accent acceptable. With one last check to make sure everything was in order, Harry took a deep breath and began.
"Gwella fy meddwl y wybodaeth ar ôl i mi."
He felt a rush of knowledge into his mind, and suddenly he understood what he had said. Enhance my mind with the knowledge left for me.
"Cyfuno fy meddwl â'r un yma."
His head split open in pain, and he struggled to remain in his position. There was a burning sensation along his scar, and it felt as if half of him was being harshly torn out. But it was over quickly, and then came blessed relief. In place of the ever-present ache in his scar, he now felt something entirely different; there was a presence there that was comforting and at the same time exhilarating. Combine my mind with the one here.
"Gadewch i ni bellach yn ddwy, ond yn un."
He felt, rather than saw, a brilliant flash of light explode around him, and it filled him with bravery and a near reckless desire to do good. Let us no longer be two, but be one.
With the completion of the ritual, Harry's strength gave out and he collapsed to the floor, one hand clenched around the wand and the other wrapped tightly around the pommel of the sword.
He awoke some time later to find his head placed in Ginny's lap and her fingers lightly brushing through his hair. He blinked open his eyes and looked up to see her peering down at him with her fiery hair surrounding her face.
Harry was awestruck, and words came pouring out of his mouth without conscious thought. "Thou art fairer in face, in thy flesh and thy skin, thy proportions, thy complexion, and thy port than all others. Thou loveliest lady here on me glance with eyes of brown; that I wot ever one more fair in sooth hath never been found."
Ginny stared down at him in awe for several minutes, shocked to hear the words coming out of his mouth. "Harry? What happened? You missed all of your classes today and when I came in a few minutes ago, you were passed out on the floor. And now you're spouting Old English love poetry at me."
Harry shook his head to clear it. This would take a lot of getting used to.
"I found out how to connect with the wand."
"I thought as much," she said softly. "It looks different now."
Harry sat up in shock and examined the wand in his hand. It looked the same at first glance. It still had the carvings around the handle, and the wood looked the same. It still had the small ruby embedded in the tip. But as he looked closely he found something new. Each individual lion and griffon had small emerald eyes now. Eyes the color of his own.
"That must have happened because of the ritual." He murmured quietly.
"Can you explain what you are talking about, please?"
"Oh, sorry Gin. When I was in Dumbledore's Office the Sorting Hat asked for a chat. It talked me through a ritual that would implant the imprint of Godric Gryffindor that was in the wand into my mind." Ginny's eyes widened in surprise. "I came back here to perform the ritual."
"So you have a portion of Godric Gryffindor in your head?"
"Yes, so it would seem. And during the ritual, something else happened, something was torn out of my head."
"The wand wasn't the only thing that changed, Harry."
"What do you mean?"
"Your scar," she said quietly as her hand caressed his forehead. "It's not a lightning bolt anymore. It's a flame."
Harry stared at her in shock. Then he thought about the searing pain in his head. He brought his hand up and pressed it against his head. There had always been a small amount of residual pain in his scar, but it was gone now.
"It's gone," he said softly. "I think my connection with Voldemort is gone." A smile broke out on his face. "Somehow my connection with Godric replaced my connection with Voldemort."
"That's wonderful, Harry!"
Ginny placed her small hands on either side of his face and pulled it down to her so she could place a tender kiss on his head. He brought his hand up and pulled her chin down so he could claim her mouth. It was several minutes before he pulled away.
"So does this mean you have all of Gryffindor's knowledge in your head right now?"
Harry frowned in concentration. "No, it doesn't seem like it. There are some things there, like how I can now understand Welsh…"
"And whatever it was that you said to me." She grinned at him.
"Yes," he smiled at her, "like that. It's like I have certain things tied to the characteristics that Godric prized." He paused in thought. "You know how in the Sorting Hat's song it always talks about the characteristics of the houses?" She nodded her head. "It always talks about bravery, daring, nerve, and chivalry for Gryffindor. I can feel more of that in me. I feel brave and strong. And the chivalry…" he looked up at her sheepishly, "that might explain some of the things running through my head when I look at you."
Ginny blushed slightly. He picked up her hand in his and played with her delicate fingers. "Those all sound like good things to me, Harry."
He smiled. "Yeah." He concentrated. "And there's something else there… like I know certain things but I just haven't accessed them yet."
"Maybe you have to learn it in pieces, or it will only come when you need it."
"Maybe. But either way, I don't think anything bad can come of this."
"Agreed." She squeezed his hand tightly. "Though we're going to have to cast a glamour to hide that new scar of yours."
A/N: I used an online translator for the Welsh, so if it is wrong I claim no responsibility. Also, the lines Harry quotes to Ginny are a modification of part of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight as translated by JRR Tolkien. (Love him!)
I am a little unsure how to handle the Weasley parents in regards to the marriage when they eventually find out. Any ideas would be appreciated.
