-- CHAPTER NINE --

Diagon Alley

When Harry walked into the dining room, he couldn't help but notice that Ginny was sitting at the far end of the table. She was sitting between her Mum and Hermione, a sign which told him that she didn't want another awkward moment like earlier in the day. He was more than happy to enjoy his dinner from the other side of the table.

He couldn't help but think that his mind was playing tricks on him. Surely, the table had shrunk since the night before. Even though he had picked a spot as far away from Ginny as he could, she still seemed to be within arm's reach of him.

"Where is everyone?" Hermione asked.

"Lupin and Tonks are helping Arthur finish up some work for the Ministry. They have been swamped with reports of Muggles witnessing dark magic. Everyone else is out patrolling for the Order tonight."

Changing the subject to something a little lighter, Mrs. Wealsey continued, "Classes will be starting soon and I don't feel comfortable having the four of you milling around Diagon Alley alone this year. I am flooing there tomorrow to pick up your school supplies. If you need something not on your book lists, I will need to know tonight."

Harry took a deep breath trying to muster up all the courage that he could. "I won't need anything from Diagon Alley. I'm not going back to Hogwarts."

Silence overcame the group and Harry didn't have the courage to repeat himself. He knew the Order would want him to return to Hogwarts, but he couldn't hide within the walls of the castle while Voldemort continued to terrorize the wizarding world. To make matters worse, his dream was still troubling him. In fact, he couldn't take his mind off of it. If he returned to Hogwarts, Voldemort's Death Eaters would surely follow him. He knew the only way to keep Ron and Hermione safe was to go after Voldemort alone.

"You are going back, Harry. Dumbledore would have wanted it this way. Though you may not believe it, Hogwarts is the safest place to be right now." Mrs. Weasley said, her voice beginning to tremble.

"Please don't buy anything for me." He felt guilty putting Mrs. Weasley into this position. The last thing that he wanted was make her upset. Still, with Voldemort gaining strength he couldn't go back to Hogwarts now.

"You are going back to school." Mrs Weasley said, as she started to lose her composure. She got out of her chair and left Harry and his friends at the table, her dinner barely touched.

It was the first time that Harry had seen leave the family in the middle of a meal. From the expression on his friends' faces, they hadn't seen her this upset either.

"Well, if Harry's not returning to Hogwarts, there's no way that I'm going back. You heard her. She and Dad are going to move onto the grounds this year. I will never be able to live it down."

"Stop being such a git, Ron." Ginny said, glaring at her brother. Before Ron could say another word, she jumped out of her chair and stormed from the table as well.

* * * * *

"Can someone help me with these?" Hermione asked as she walked into the bedroom that Harry and Ron were sharing. She could hardly be seen over the stack of books that she was carrying.

"Please don't tell me that you are taking extra courses again,ཀ" Ron said with a look of exasperation.

"You idiot, these aren't all for me. What do you think that I would do with three Herbology books?ཀ She bought everything you two are going to need this year." Hermione dropped the books onto Harry's bed.

"She bought books for me too?" Harry riffled through the pile with a sense of dread. "Now I'm going to feel guilty when I have to return it all."

"I think that was her intention. She also bought you new robes and quills. She says that the robes have been altered so they are non-refundable." Hermione shifted a little hoping that Harry wouldn't catch the grin that had started to show on her face.

"Well I know that I won't feel the least bit guilty about returning The Pinnacle of Potions," Ron said as he quickly skimmed through his new textbook and tossed it back onto the pile. "It will give Harry and I some spending money while we're gone."

"Don't tell me that you are still serious about joining Harry? Your mother will never let you," Hermione stated.

"Oh please don't start that," Ron replied. "Ginny is moody enough for everyone these days. I just wish that she would get over it. Harry and I are not going back to school. She is just so over dramatic sometimes."

"Will you quit acting like a spoiled brat!" Hermione got up and grabbed her books from the pile. Looking at Harry she continued, "You are just as bad. Talk to Ginny and get it over with. Ignoring each other isn't going to help anyone here, the most of all me. Did you know that Ginny is hiding in our room right now and won't let me in? When you two grow up you can find me downstairs reading through our new textbooks." Hermione spun on her heals to leave, slamming their bedroom door on her way out.

"Join her in pre-term class work? Count me out.ཀ" Ron said.

"Yeah, and its not like there is anything that I can do," Harry retorted. "Your sister won't even get within ten feet of me inside this house."

"I need to see you Harry." Lupin had poked his head into their room.

"Give me a couple of minutes to clean things up here?" His answer seemed to satisfy Lupin, who nodded and closed their door behind him.

"Well, I wonder what that was all about," Ron asked.

"I think I may have an idea." Harry said glumly.

Harry dreaded being in the same room with Lupin again. He knew that he had been out of line when they arrived at the Ministry of Magic. As much as he hated that the Order was working with the Ministry, he really shouldn't have yelled at Lupin. He should be grateful that he had showed up at the Dursley's when he had. If it wasn't for him, Dudley and the rest of his family would probably be dead. Approaching the stairs to the main floor, Harry was caught off guard when a door swung open and an arm pulled him inside.

Harry was so unprepared this attack that he almost screamed as Ginny dragged him into the bathroom. Standing there bewildered, he watched as she locked the door and cast a silencing charm around them.

"I need to talk to you, Harry. This is really important." Ginny said incredibly fast.

"Sure. What's up?" He knew how stupid he sounded as soon as the words left his lips, but he didn't know what else to say. He had spent so much time thinking of ways to avoid her that he had never thought what he would say if she actually wanted to talk with him.

"What's up! Thats all that you can say to me?" Ginny wasn't acting like herself. "Don't you even see that I still like you? No matter what I do I can't get over you." Tears started to roll down her cheeks.

She took his hand. He could feel her trembling. He wanted to hug her as tightly as he could and tell her that he loved her. He couldn't stand to see her cry in front of him. She was standing so close that he could smell the shampoo that she used to wash her hair. He had missed the way that she smelled.

She kissed him before he had time to react. It was quick and rushed, but he could taste the tears on her lips and for a minute he didn't want to think about anything else. Not Voldemort, not school, and surely not his future.

"Don't you see that I can't live like this? I can't live in the same house with you and not want to be with you. I'm not scared of Voldemort." Ginny pleaded. "We can make this work."

"You don't understand." Harry had finally found his voice. "I can only protect you if I let Voldemort believe that I don't care about you. Don't you see? I can't be with you."

"But Harry," Ginny pleaded. "The Ministry of Magic and the Order of the Phoenix will protect us while we are living here. Voldemort will never know." Ginny paused and looked at him. "If we don't enjoy the time that we have together, we may not have it in the future."

"I'm sorry Ginny. I can't." He squeezed past her and made his way downstairs to the dining room without looking back.