CHAPTER SEVEN
The next morning Hermione and Ginny waited for Harry and Ron to come down the stairs before heading to breakfast. Ron was the first one down. He seemed to be in a chipper mood, a smile pasted onto his face.
"You look happy," Ginny said.
Ron shrugged. "Just in a good mood. Did you see the notice board? Harry posted a notice about Quidditch tryouts. I don't suppose we have to tryout but it says that we have to go. It's on Sunday after breakfast."
"Well, he probably wants to make sure his best Chaser is still up to the task."
"What about his best Keeper?"
Ginny shrugged. "I don't know, I'm not so sure we've found him yet."
Ron frowned at her.
"I'm kidding!"
Seamus came down the stairs two at a time carrying his school robes. He was whistling.
"Is Harry up?" Hermione asked.
Seamus shrugged. "I think he's in the loo." He looked at Hermione's neck and then at Ginny's. "Damn! Is the same guy eating on both of your necks?"
Ron made a face. "That's really, sick, Seamus."
"I didn't mean you."
Ginny gave Seamus a warning look. He didn't say anything else. He turned to the girls' staircase as Lavender walked down.
"Mornin'," she said. She saw Seamus. "Did you give Ginny her robes back?"
"Oh, right." Seamus handed Ginny her black Hogwarts robes. He put his own on over his shoulders.
Ginny blushed and took her robes. "Um, thanks, Seamus."
"Whose robes are those?" Ron asked, pointing to the third pair of robes Seamus had.
"Those are Harry's," Lavender answered. "Can we go to breakfast now?" she asked Seamus.
"Why do you have Ginny and Harry's robes?"
"They left them in the Room of Requirement last night," Lavender answered. She took the robes from Seamus' hands and thrust them at Ron. "Give those to Harry, won't you? I'm starved." She pushed Seamus towards the portrait hole.
Harry heard the explosion from the common room all the way upstairs. He heard Ron's voice and only assumed the worst. He took his time tucking in his shirt and tying his tie. He looked around for his school robes but couldn't find them. He picked up his bag and stuffed his Divination and Defense books inside of it and walked out of the dormitory and down the stairs. He entered the common room slowly and smiled at Ron.
"Morning," he said.
Ron whirled around. From the look on Ron's face Harry knew Ron had found out about Ginny. The look on Ginny's face confirmed it.
"I've already got one black eye, please don't give me another," Harry asked.
Ron didn't say anything. He threw Harry's robes at him hard and walked out of the portrait hole. Hermione couldn't decide whether or not to follow Ron. She looked at Harry apologetically.
"Sorry, Harry," she said as she jogged after Ron.
Harry looked at Ginny. "I'm sorry, too."
She shrugged. "It wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be."
"Right. I thought he was going to slug me. Now he's just not going to talk to me ever again."
Harry began to sit with Neville in all his classes. Ron opted to sit with Hermione, or if they had different classes he sat with Dean – as Dean hated Harry, too. Hermione stated she hadn't taken sides, but it didn't take Harry long to notice she never left Ron sitting alone in the common room.
Ron not speaking to Harry was making Quidditch difficult. Harry had called practices for every Wednesday and Saturday. Ron seemed to be doing excellent as Keeper. He also seemed to be channeling his angry during his keeping. It was already October and Ron still hadn't spoken a word to Harry.
Harry suggested to Ginny that they not sneak off together; he didn't want to spark Ron's anger any more. But, Ginny refused, saying Ron was old enough to accept that people would want to date her and they shouldn't let his temper control their lives.
A cold front swept through Hogwarts the second week of October. Harry hated having to traipse off to Herbology or Care of Magical Creatures with the cold winds. He never left Gryffindor Tower without his cloak and jumper. In the common room Ron and Hermione were never seen. Harry knew they were up in Ron's room and knowing Hermione she was probably making him study. When he and Ginny knew Ron was safely upstairs they sit together on the couch under a blanket and study or talk. Sometimes they'd wait until everyone had gone upstairs and have a long snog before heading to bed themselves.
In the second week of October, the cold front showed no signs of moving. Up in Ron's room, Hermione was trying to teach him how to conjure up furniture.
"Furniture is a tall order," Ron said.
"I know. It's really not all that hard. You need to get the wand movement down first."
Ron sighed. He tried it again with no luck. He flopped back on his bed and closed his eyes. "I give up. Don't make me try it again."
"I won't." Hermione sighed. She took her Arithmancy book and sat near the head of Ron's bed. She opened it up and began to read from it. Ron was in no mood to study. He felt like he needed a long nap. Conjuring and transfiguring always took energy from him, as he never seemed to be able to do it right. He crawled over to Hermione and laid his head in her lap. He had never done this before but she seemed like she would be a very decent pillow indeed.
Ron closed his eyes. Hermione laced her fingers through his long hair as she continued to study. Ron fell asleep curled up in his girlfriend's lap. Hermione looked at him, snoring softly, and rolled her eyes gently. He was so adorable to her.
Down in the common room Harry and Ginny were looking through several books she had checked out from the library. Madam Pince didn't ask why Ginny was up to, but she did raise her eyebrows as she looked at the titles of the books. They were, of course, all books about Old Magic.
Harry was beginning to grow weary. They had been searching through books in the library for more than a month without any luck. It was growing closer and closer to the Christmas holidays and Harry had a sinking feeling in his stomach that the holidays would mark Voldemort's final return. Something about seeing Voldemort in that vision during the first week of school made Harry think that was part of the end – that he was seeing what was going to happen in the final battle with Voldemort.
"Hey, Harry," Ginny said, "this book has something interesting in it." She looked over at him, the light from the fireplace dancing across his skin. She couldn't help but smile a little bit. "It talks about sacrifice. Listen, Voldemort couldn't touch you because your mother gave herself up for you. That was a love sacrifice. The end result was that you were protected by a shield of love, if you will."
"Yeah, I know."
"Well, this passage elaborates on that a little bit. If someone tries to defeat a Dark wizard that otherwise has not been able to be beaten, then a love sacrifice is the way to do it. If you sacrifice yourself to Voldemort then when he tries to kill you it backfires because the love you have is too powerful for him and will ultimately destroy him."
"The love I have?"
Ginny nodded. "If Voldemort tried to kill someone you loved and you sacrificed yourself instead of them, then Voldemort's spell would backfire and kill him."
"Then, why didn't my mother survive when she sacrificed herself for me?"
"Because she wasn't destined to be Voldemort's equal."
Harry was quiet. "So… maybe my vision was true, then."
Ginny's heart quickened.
"Maybe we're meant to go to the Burrow this Christmas. Maybe Voldemort's meant to take you and maybe I'm meant to sacrifice myself. I keep thinking that this vision is a part of the final battle between Voldemort and me. I think we should show this book to Dumbledore, though. It almost seems too simple." Harry swallowed. "Hey, Gin… does the book say if I sacrifice myself whether or not I'll survive?"
Ginny shook her head. "No, but it has to be a real love sacrifice."
"I know."
Ginny shook her head again. "No, Harry. There has to be undying love – unconditional love. Like a mother has for her child or a husband has for his wife. The love has to be pure otherwise it's not strong enough to defeat a Dark wizard." She cleared her throat. "It says, 'Love that is pure in heart and love that has been proven.' I don't know what that means but—"
"We'll talk to Dumbledore," Harry said. "See what he has to say. But, I understand what the book is saying. If what it's saying is true and that's the way to defeat Voldemort, then I don't know if I want you involved."
"What?" Ginny cried out, her anger rising.
"I don't want you to get hurt. I care too much about you to risk you getting hurt."
"Harry…"
"I'm serious."
"Look, Harry, that's very sweet, but I don't know as if I could be the one you sacrifice yourself for anyway. It has to be pure love, proven love. You're not in love with me."
"No… But, by Christmas I might be. I like you a lot, Gin. And not just for the snogging and the… other stuff. You make me laugh. Ron and Hermione are good fun, but you just let me be. You don't try to make me talk about stuff whereas sometimes they do. You don't force anything from me. I like that."
"It doesn't mean love, Harry."
"But why couldn't it? If given enough time?"
Ginny's heart quickened. She felt scared. She wasn't ready for this much honesty so soon. Dean never told her whether or not he loved her. Michael Connor had never said such things either. And here, after scarcely more than a month, Harry was ready to tell her he would be falling in love with her one day. She couldn't handle hearing this. She had been with Dean for well over a year. It wasn't commitment she was afraid of. It was of her own heart. Of falling too deep for someone. She could drown in her feelings for Harry if she gave into them. She wasn't ready for that.
"I thought we were just having fun."
Harry's face dropped. It wasn't the reaction he had been expecting. "Fun?"
"Yeah. Fun. A little snog here and there."
"No, Gin, you don't mean it like that." He studied her face, but for once he couldn't read it. "I know you fancied me. You said you did!"
"Fancied sure. I'm attracted to you. It was still fun."
Harry reached for her, but Ginny pulled away. She stood up. She didn't know what she was doing. She had never seen this side of Harry before. He had always kept his emotions carefully tucked away inside of him. He never laid his cards down on the table like this, all face up for her to see. She wasn't prepared to see them. She needed more time.
"I'm sorry, Harry," she whispered. "I can't do this."
"Can't do this? Can't do this right now or can't do this for good?"
Ginny looked at his eyes. They were pleading her to say the first choice.
"I don't know," she said. "But, I definitely can't do this." She turned and fled up the stairs to the girls' dormitories.
Harry leaned his elbows on his knees and buried his face in his hands. He felt like Ginny had just ripped his heart right out of his chest and stomped on it a few times for good measure. He knew she was lying. He knew how she really felt. He could see it in her eyes when he kissed her. She needed him as badly as he needed her. Why was she so eager to end things so abruptly?
Harry heard Ron and Hermione come down the stairs. He had forgotten that it was about the time for them to leave for their nightly patrols. He turned and looked at them as they entered the common room. He didn't wipe away the single tear that had fallen from one of his eyes.
"Oh, Harry," Hermione said, her voice filled with worry. "What happened?" Even Ron looked concerned. The stupid git.
Harry didn't look at Hermione; his eyes focused on Ron. "Well, you should be happy. I think your sister just broke my fucking heart." Harry stood up from the couch and walked towards the portrait hole, brushing Ron hardly as he left. He stopped and looked at Hermione. "I'm going to save you the trouble of looking for me later when I'm out past curfew. I won't be back for a while."
And with that, the portrait hole closed.
Harry went straight to Dumbledore's office, the book in his hand. He said the password, "Canary Creme," and the gargoyle moved to reveal the staircase. Before Harry even had time to knock on Dumbledore's office door, the door opened and the old wizard appeared before Harry, an amused look on his face.
"Come in."
Harry walked into the office. He said a quick hello to Fawkes and sat down in the chair in front of the Headmaster's desk. Dumbledore sat down and folded his hands in front of him on the desk.
"What's that you have in your hand?"
Harry looked at the book. "Ginny found this… well, this passage in this book that might explain how I can defeat Voldemort." Harry quickly flipped through the pages until he found the right one. He handed the book to Dumbledore. "It seems too simple, but it seems to make sense. And I had this vision…" Harry told Dumbledore all about his vision, his doubts about it and his faith in it. He told the old wizard that if the book states truth then, given Ginny's cooperation, he'd be able to defeat Voldemort.
"You would have to have pure love for her, though." There was a twinkle in Dumbledore's eye as he said it.
"I know." Harry blushed. "I think I… will. Or could." Harry swallowed. "If she'd give me the chance, that is. But, what I really want to know is that if that book is right or not."
Dumbledore studied the book for a second time. He nodded. "I think so. This book is hundreds of years old. Even I know not of what is in each of the books in the library. My memory cannot possibly stretch back that far. This is Old Magic. Magic forgotten once wizards and witches learned how to do more… convenient spells. Things such as 'love sacrifices' were no longer needed once one could just throw the Killing Curse at someone." Dumbledore handed the book back to Harry. "But, I think Miss Weasley has found the answer to your problem. As long as you can get her to cooperate." Dumbledore winked.
"But, in the book, it has that the love has to be proven. What does that mean?"
The headmaster took in a deep breath. "Love can be proven in many ways. Your mother proved her love for you when she sacrificed herself. She also proved her love by giving birth to you and loving you unconditionally. Your father proved his love for your mother when he…" Dumbledore seemed to be searching for the right words. "They proved their love for one another when they were wed."
"I can sacrifice myself for… well, for Ginny," Harry said, "but I thought the book meant that the love has to be proven before the sacrifice for the sacrifice to work."
Dumbledore nodded.
"How do I do that? I can't just get married."
"I know."
"Is there another way?"
"You will figure it out when the time comes, Harry."
Harry sat, confused. "How will I know I've figured it out?"
"You'll just know." Dumbledore smiled. "Love has a way of working things out. I wouldn't worry too much about Miss Weasley. Now, I think you should probably head back to Gryffindor Tower before it gets too late."
"Thanks, Professor." Harry gave Dumbledore a smile before leaving the headmaster's office.
The next morning Ginny didn't show up at breakfast. Harry sat by himself, feeling miserable. It was times like these that his mind swarmed with thoughts of his parents and Sirius. He could barely down his toast.
Hermione sat down across from Harry, dragging Ron behind her.
"Hi, Harry," she said. She gave Ron a look. Ron sighed loudly.
"Listen, Harry," Ron said. Harry's eyes looked up when he heard Ron address him for the first time in a month. "I know I was angry before about you and my sister but I didn't really want you to get hurt. And if she was going to be with anyone, she's probably better with you since you're my best mate… or were my best mate."
"We're still best mates," Harry said, relieved.
"Oh, good, then." Ron took some bacon from the platter in the middle of the table.
Harry had a feeling Hermione had forced Ron to say those things to him, but it didn't matter. They were said and Harry felt better.
"So, what happened anyway? With Ginny, I mean."
"Oh. I don't rightly know. She got just upset."
"Well, you're not going to stay broken up are you?" Ron asked.
"Ron, do you always have to talk with your mouth full?" Hermione asked. Ron scowled at her.
"I don't know," Harry answered, choosing to ignore Hermione's constant chastising of Ron. "I think that's up to her. I'll give her a bit of time and then I'll talk to her. I don't want her to stay mad at me."
"She's always been a little hot headed." Ron swallowed his bacon. "Have you seen Hagrid's pumpkin patch this year? It's loads bigger than it was last year and there's still two weeks until Halloween."
"Hagrid's classes haven't been as interesting as they have been in the past," Hermione said. "He seems preoccupied with something else. His heart hasn't been into teaching like it has been the past few years."
"Well, that's certainly true," Harry said. "He's probably doing stuff for the Order. Or for Grawp. Speaking of which, Grawp came back from the mountains didn't he?"
Ron shrugged. "I don't know. I haven't been into the forest all year to find out. I wonder if he did anything useful. I mean, giants aren't very nice, are they? They might've hurt Grawp since he left and tried to come back."
"Well, he's not really trying to get back in with them. He's just a spy for the Order," Hermione said, her voice low. "Hagrid's never in his hut anymore when I go down to visit. Maybe he is with Grawp in the forest. I don't know."
"We could always ask," Harry suggested.
Hermione nodded. They finished their breakfast and gathered their books as they went towards the dungeons for Potions.
That night Hermione excused herself from the common room. She had a book to find in the library. She left Ron and Harry alone at one of the common room tables. They were both working on another one of Snape's essays.
"So, how are things with Hermione, then?" Harry asked.
"Fine. Still biting my head off every day like normal."
"Is that all?"
Ron looked up at his friend. "Well… nothing that I can really tell you about, seeing as how you told me not to."
"Ah." Harry looked back down at his parchment. He couldn't think of anything else to say about Lambsglove. It was useless to even try. "Well, you can tell me, if you want. I don't mind."
Ron looked relieved. "Well, ever since Seamus and Lavender decided to get back together it's been getting under my skin that Hermione is so… reserved."
"She can't be too reserved, can she? I mean, I've seen you kiss her before."
Ron shrugged. "Sure, we do that. But, she doesn't let me unbutton anything. She's finally let me touch her chest under her shirt whenever I want to, but blimey, she won't touch me at all. It's getting to be rather annoying."
"So, why don't you tell her?"
"Tell her that I have to wank off every night because she won't do it for me? No, thank you."
"Every night? That is bad."
"Fuck you." Ron sighed. "I don't want to make her mad and I don't want to be with anyone else"—Ron began to blush—"but I also want to move things forward. It's been over two months. You'd think I could've gotten farther than this. Especially when Lavender and Seamus were together last year two weeks before they started going at it."
"Do you really want Hermione to be like Lavender?"
Ron shook his head. "Oh, of course not. It's not like I make it sound. I mean, she's lovely, really. And I… I like her a lot. She drives me mad, really. I want to be with her so much and she won't let me. She won't even let me kiss her in front of anyone else. And if anyone accidentally sees, she pulls away and distances herself. As if it's embarrassing or a crime."
"You know how Hermione is about rules and there's not suppose to be any fraternizing amongst students."
Ron rolled his eyes. "All the professors know that's a load of bullocks. And she breaks the rules all the time by coming into my room."
"She's just scared. Talk to her."
"I guess."
"Besides, at some point I figure you guys'll get together and procreate like mad – just like your parents."
Ron sniggered. "Yeah, right."
Harry shrugged.
"It's not like I want to have sex with her."
"Bullocks."
"No, listen, I do, but not yet. My parents – hell, your parents, too – were never with anyone else other than each other since they met in Gryffindor. Bill and Charlie had never been with anyone except the girls they married. Percy, too, for that matter, even though he's not married yet – I mean, he has plans to marry Penelope, though. The twins are the only exception. But they're always the exception."
"Bill hadn't been with anyone until Fleur?"
Ron shook his head. "He told me this summer when Mum told him about me and Hermione. I think he was trying to give me the whole 'sex talk' for Mum. I believe him, too. He's never lied to me before. Charlie married someone from Gryffindor, too. Fleur was never in Hogwarts, though, but still that's besides the point."
Harry swallowed. "Well… that's very interesting."
Ron shrugged. "I think it's old fashioned. I don't really want to be old fashioned, but I can't help it."
"My parents were like that, too," Harry said, a bit sadly. "I guess it's a nice thought in theory."
Ron nodded. "Yeah. But, it makes me sound like a girl."
"Oh, I dunno. Actually, I think it makes you sound mature, which is a weird thought. Anyway, I personally had never thought one way or another about being with one person and no one else for the rest of my life."
"You didn't with Cho…?"
Harry shook his head. "Oh, and not with your sister either! And that's the truth. I'm sure you've all figured out I didn't just give Cho a quick snog underneath the mistletoe fifth year, but I didn't sleep with her either. I was clumsy enough as it was without adding more humiliation to that night."
A sly grin crossed Ron's face. "So, when you said the kiss with Cho was wet, you didn't really mean because she was crying, did you?"
Harry gave Ron a sly look back and shook his head. "No, I sure as hell didn't."
They both laughed. Harry turned his head towards the portrait hole as Ginny climbed through. Harry felt his heart completely stop. Ron noticed the look on Harry's face and he turned around to see his sister as well.
"I'm glad you two are talking again," Ginny said, walking up to the table. She looked at Harry. "Can we talk?"
Ron made to leave, but Ginny stopped him.
"I think this talk would be better if we went somewhere we could be alone. I have a lot of things I need to say."
Harry nodded. "All right." He followed Ginny out of the portrait hole, leaving Ron alone at the table with his Potions essay.
To Be Continued…A/N: I am exhausted! I've had two full days in a row off of work and I haven't stopped writing since Wednesday. Unfortunately, I have to work tomorrow (Friday the 30th) so I won't be able to update again until Saturday or (gasp) Sunday at the latest.
Leave me reviews – they might inspire me to update sooner! A lot of people added me to their author alert list, which inspires me as well because then I know you are actually enjoying the story!
Happy reading and I will be back with another update soon!
