A/N- a few boring this I have to inform you all of before I continue
In case you haven't noticed, I seemed to betaking longer and longer to update. Real life is catching up and I'll be tied down until the end of next month. I will try to keep up, I promise. I might be slow but I will not give up on this. Just keep sending me reviews. I usually pick up when I get one.
I'm looking for a beta for my first fic "Take the Tiger by the Tail". I'm trying to get it up to Hex files standards. I've managed to get post it up to chapter 7 before by beta took a vacations so any help would be accepted with open arms.
I've found out I can't hate Ginny. Title suggestion by Laura. The chapter is betaed by Stray and Laura. I've reloaded the previous chapter once my new beta Dowland went through it as well as this one.
Chapter 9: Many Things Come to Light.
"There you are," said Ginny coming up behind Harry as he sat under the tree, looking at the lake. "What are you…" she started to say then changed her mind at the last moment. "How did the tryouts go?"
"You should know," said Harry without bothering to look up. "You were there."
"I left as soon as the Chasers were selected," Ginny pointed out as she reached the place where he was sitting. "Mind if I join you?"
"Hm," grunted Harry which the redhead took as an indication to proceed. She dropped herself on to the ground and sat cross legged on the grass next to him, close enough for comfort but not close enough to touch. He continued to stare at the lake until, finally he realized that Ginny was not likely to disappear if he ignored her. "How…is your mom?" he asked in the end feeling a little bad that it was only now that he was asking about Molly. The Weasley were allowed a special Floo session with their mother once a week, which was why both Ron and Ginny had left the trials as soon as possible.
"She's alright," she said softly. "Wanted to know…" she gulped then continued bravely. "…why you didn't come."
"I…" Harry stopped, stumped. "…didn't think she'd want to talk to me." After all, why would anyone want to talk to someone who had brought so much sadness into their lives?
"Don't be stupid," said Ginny sharply looking at him directly for the first time. "Of course, she wants you to talk to her. She thinks you're too ashamed of her."
"I'm not," said Harry his eyes fixed in the horizon, refusing to look back as Ginny although she continues to stare at him. "I… just don't …" i feel like facing her yet, /i Harry finished mentally.
"So," said Ginny changing the subject. "How did it go?"
"What?" Harry asked blankly.
"Tryouts," said Ginny with exasperation.
"Oh," said Harry, flushing slightly. "Fine, I guess. Still, no one I really want to train as a fulltime Seeker."
"Why do you…" the Ginny trialed off when she realized that Harry might not be able to play that year should the War force itself on them.
"Plus, I'll be leaving at the end of the year," Harry pointed out, reading Ginny's silent expression correctly. "You're better as a Chaser and…"
"I know," Ginny finished softly. That was why, when they were dating, that Harry had been under the impression that they were the perfect match. Ginny had an uncanny ability to guess what he meant to say and Harry, who was not always the most articulate of people, found it endearing.
"At least Ron made it through as Keeper," Harry said with false cheer.
"That's 'cos he slipped off the broom and grabbed the Quaffle as he fell," Ginny said with a smile.
"I thought he meant to do that," Harry joked and suddenly they were both smiling.
"Thank Merlin, the twins aren't here," she said laughing quietly. "They'll never let him forget that."
"Him hanging off the broom by the end of his robe," Harry said, chuckling at the memory.
"It's good to see you smiling," said Ginny as he looked at her. "It's... unusual, these days…"
"I…"
"Have been distracted," finished his ex-girlfriend and Harry winced at the reprimand. "With Malfoy."
"Yeah," said Harry. It hurt him to admit it but it was true. He had tried his best not to think about the blond git but it was harder than he had imagined. Not that he had seen that white-blond head the entire weekend but still.
"You always do find something to be miserable about don't you?" Ginny muttered.
"What do you mean?" Harry asked as he turned to look at her, irritated. It was not as if he all of a sudden decided to be morose over it. He couldn't help it if he felt bad about the whole thing and the sight of Hermione and Ron, snogging in every corner available was not helping.
"You know exactly what I mean," Ginny snapped back. "You always find something to worry over like a dog with bone and keep on gnawing it."
"If you had been through half the things I've been through…" Harry said angrily. Why was it that his friends, Ginny, Ron and Hermione had been so unsympathetic towards his break up with Draco. He was finally admitting to himself that it was truly, truly over. There was only so much self abuse person could put through for someone they… like but that did not mean he was able to turn off all his feelings. It hurt and he would have been grateful for at least a little sympathy, not reprimands such as, 'have you done your homework' or 'where's the list of new strategies.'
"Tell me," said Ginny, suddenly angrily. "Tell me what you've been through, and I'll top it."
"Ginny…" said Harry surprised. What exactly did she mean?
"Well, fine, then I'll tell you," said the red-head, showing a spark of temper. "Let's start at the beginning. You dress in hand me downs and well, so do I and half the time they are the wrong sex clothes."
Harry paused for a moment wondering if there was a reason as to why Ginny always dressed in boy's clothes. Perhaps it was because they were her brothers' more than because she was a tom-boy.
"You were possessed by the Dark Lord, well so was I."
Point. Harry did not comment on it.
"You lost your family to the Dark Lord. So did I. At least on one of your family members turned out to be a Death Eater who tried to kill you during the summer holidays."
"I think Percy…" Harry stated only to be silence by a wave of her hand.
"You just lost your boyfriend to another boy, well fine, so did I."
Harry wince visibly at that.
"You think you are an orphan and that no one loves you…well, we do. I do, Ron does, and so does Hermione. The twins do, mom and dad do and I think Bill and Charlie all think of you as a long lost brother. You have a family no matter what you believe."
Harry looked down at his lap, at a blade of grass caught in his hands, feeling a lump catch in his throat. "I…" his voice was husky so he tried to clear his throat before speaking again. "I…" it was true. His friends would stand by his side, come hell or high water and he knew that.
"Lupin loves you like a son and I guess by default, so does Snape." There was a mischievous smile on Ginny's lips and Harry looked at her with an answering smile.
"I expect he'll lick my feet when I go for my Occlumency lessons," Harry said, dryly.
"And wipe you dry with his hair," Ginny said, solemnly.
"Thanks," Harry said, quietly, meaning it. "I… don't know why it didn't work out between us but Gin…"
"I was angry with you in the beginning," Ginny said without any hesitation. "But I know, though I've always liked you, it was part hero worship. But this incident with Draco helped. I mean, you were never this confused with Cho, I think she was more of a distraction to you. But with Draco, he really hurt you. And then I realized that he did something even You-Know-Who couldn't do, and I felt sorry for you and realized…you're human. I miss the Harry I knew before all this happened. Can I have him back?"
"I love you too," Harry said, simply. "Not that way you want me to, but I do love you."
"I know," Ginny said with a sad smile. "Want to talk about it?"
"Malfoy?" Harry asked, wryly.
"Hermione won't tell me what went wrong and I thought it best if you told me instead of me poking around." She was at least very direct, Harry thought.
"I really don't know," Harry said, looking over the lake again. The sun was not yet setting but it was already dark and the day was already winding up. Harry could feel the slight dampness of the air and thought that it might rain sometime soon. He felt bad that in his depression that he had ignored his friends for the whole of the weekend.
"You know," Ginny said, hesitantly. "Maybe the thing with Malfoy… it could be a gay thing."
"What ever do you mean?' Harry asked, more intrigued than anything else.
"You know, when Charlie came home from Romania, last time, I over heard him talking to the Twins, They were thinking of starting some sort of night club, not that sort of thing we have here. I think they wanted something a little more Muggle. You know, more loud music and stuff. Wizards are so backward in some ways and the Muggle dance clubs look so much better. The clubs we have remind me of our Yule Ball."
"I know what you mean," said Harry remembering the club he had gone to during summer. It had been so prim and proper. He leaned back against the tree trunk, at the same time Ginny did and their shoulder brushed together. But he did not move and neither did she.
"Well, Charlie was describing this club they had in Romania where they… where all the guys go to and he was telling the twins that they have a special section for the gay…" Ginny paused for a moment then lunged in. "... and he says they all just have sex. I mean, they don't have regular partners or stuff not in our sense. They swap them around and have a slot of wild sex."
"Maybe it's a Romanian thing," Harry said looking at Ginny through the fringe that had fallen over his eyes. He made a mental note to get himself a hair cut.
"You…" started Ginny looking around and then stopped when she realized that Harry was smiling at her. "Oh, you know what I mean." She said angry that he had laughed at her. "Maybe... maybe exclusive relationships don't exist when you're gay. Maybe you shouldn't expect Malfoy and you to have the sort of thing your parents did."
"I guess," said Harry, his lips twitching slightly as he tried hard not to smile again. Who would have thought little Ginny had that much Slytherin cunning in her. And she made a damn good presentation of the fact. But he also knew that some of the things she had said were true and he really couldn't expect Malfoy to remain faithful just because he was.
"Let's go back," he said standing up and then staggering as the dizziness swept over him.
"Harry," Ginny said, worried. "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine," Harry said as he fought to keep his feet steady. "I tripped over a root."
"Sure," Ginny asked persistently.
"Positive," he said with a confident smile. That was the second reason he was looking for a replacement Seeker for the upcoming games.
In the beginning, after he had been hit by the poison dart, he had started to recover thanks to the potions Snape had been feeding him and the dizzy spells had eased of, in both severity and occurrence, but once he had returned to school the incidents had become more frequent. At first, he had chalked it down to stress and work. But he could not ignore the fact. He knew that he ought to tell someone about it, but as usual he was reluctant to share his problems with anybody. That evening, as he had gotten on the broom, he had felt the first stirrings of dizziness and had returned to the ground to carry out the selection from there. No one had noticed that their Captain had remained grounded for the entire selection process but Harry had been annoyed. He had actually been looking forward to flying on his broom.
"You still with me," Ginny said as Harry looked, and tried to focus his eyes on her.
"I…" Harry swallowed back the bile that was rising from his stomach. "I wanted to ask you something Gin. Just don't tell the other two I asked you this."
"What?" Ginny asked her face serious.
"What do you remember about the Chamber of Secrets?" Harry asked slowly.
"Why do you want to know?" Ginny asked. "After all this time, why now?"
"You know about the Horcrux and stuff, don't you?" Harry asked. "Well, I was told by Kingsley that the Hufflepuff Cup was most likely returned to Hogwarts by Tom Riddle. People have been searching for it everywhere and it hasn't turned up yet."
"You think it's down there," Ginny said, her voice flat.
"Oh yes, I think there's a very good chance" Harry said. "I'm sorry, though… I shouldn't have brought that up."
"You are planning on going down," Ginny said. It was a statement not a question.
"I have to," Harry said, reluctantly. "It's not as though I have a choice."
"You always have a choice," Ginny said, sounding older than her sixteen years. "But it's not always the right one. Tell me when you're going and I'll come with you. I remember stuff… not very clearly but if I see it I'll know. And before you say anything…" she said keeping a finger to Harry's lip as he made to speak. "I think it's time I went down there and put my own ghosts to rest."
"Thanks," Harry said, feeling guilty that he was dragging Ginny into it and glad that he was not about to go alone. He knew he should put some sort of fight about her coming with him but he also knew that the moment he had brought up the topic with Ginny, she would be accompanying him. After all she had gone with him to the Ministry of Magic and fought Death Eaters inside the Castle. He could not have asked for a better companion. "You have no idea…" he stepped forward and embraced her trying to express his gratitude silently that she remained his friend despite the fact he had been extremely unfair to her. "I do love you, you know…"
"That's nice, Potter," the voice broke the peaceful setting as effectively as a bucket of cold water thrown over them. "Can you at least hold back your public displays of affection?"
"Dra… Malfoy," said Harry, stepping back guiltily, before realization made him stop. It was not as if he had been doing anything wrong. "What do you want?"
"Right now," the blond spat, his voice filled with disdain. "I'd like to 'scourgify' my eyes. But the reason I'm disturbing this touching scene with your girlfriend," he made it sound as if Harry and Ginny had been having a threesome with the Giant Squid, "is because the two of us have been called to the Headmistress's office."
"Why?" asked Harry. "Is it because of the detention…"
"I haven't been running to mummy with stories about dreadful detentions," Draco said angrily. "So it couldn't be that. Unless you have been…"
"Harry hasn't even told us what happened about it," Ginny said stepping in. "You have no right to…" she trailed off as she realized that Draco wasn't alone. Standing a little behind Draco, her eyes cast down, her hands held behind her, stood a small, blond, pale girl holding on to a scruffy looking broom..
"Oh," said Harry, as he got a close look at the female who seemed to have Draco smitten. "Hello," he added feeling rather stupid.
"Hi," she said, shyly, in a barely audible voice, a blush spreading over her face. Then Harry noticed that Draco was holding a broom in his hand.
"Flying," Harry guessed feeling a little stupid. He was feeling awkward. He was not very good at holding conversations with adults let along kids. But he had apparently said the right thing, since the kid nodded enthusiastically, still not looking at him and said in her shy voice, "Dwaco's going to teach me."
"Well," Ginny said, looking at Draco with a faint smile. "Dwaco, is it? Spending time with a first year Hufflepuff who's smaller than a puffball." Draco snarled silently but did not say anything scathing, mindful of his charge.
And Harry realized that Ginny was correct. He had not been a giant when he had arrived that Hogwarts but Cybele was even smaller. Had he not known she was in first year, he would have thought her age to be eight or nine. Her long blond hair, now that both the blonds were standing close together, was only a shade or two darker than Draco's, was flowing free, hiding her face, making Harry curious to find out what she looked like up close.
He hitched up his trousers underneath his school robes and hunched down so that they were face to face. "I don't think we've been properly introduced," he said, softly. He heard Draco breath deeply and move to a side so that he was standing beside Harry, rather than facing him. "I'm Harry Potter," he said.
"Cybele Dougall," she said equally softly and looked at him. Harry felt as if he had taken a Bludger in the middle.
"God," he said looking at her. "Draco, she looks like…"
"My mother," Draco said, sharply.
"No…" said Harry. "I mean, maybe but I don't know your mom. I was going to say she looks like you."
"What?" said Ginny as she squatted next to Cybele. She stared at the bewildered girl in front of her and then nodded. "Well, not the chin but the mouth I guess," she said reluctantly. "But her eyes…"
Suddenly he was seized by the back of his cloak and deposited rather hard, on his butt. "Seriously, don't you people have anything better to do than gawk at people making rude remarks about their appearance as if they're not…"
"Sorry," said Harry, standing up, brushing the dry leaves that had attached themselves to his robes. Cybele looked at Draco with something akin to hero worship as the blond had just deposited the hero of the Wizarding world on his back.
"Let's go," Draco said briskly. "It's not nice to keep the old lady waiting."
"So, did you two go flying?" Harry asked, intrigued.
"No," said Draco giving the little girl an apologetic look.
"I'll take her," Ginny offered suddenly.
"No," said Draco hurriedly. "There's no need…"
"I'll take her on one of the school training brooms," Ginny continued as if she hadn't heard him. "They don't do anything apart from skim over the ground…"
"Thank you, Wea…Ginny," Draco said as he looked at Cybele and took in the half-pleased, half-worried expression on her face. "Just make sure nothing happens to her."
--------- ---------- ----------- ---------
"So," said Draco casually as the two boys walked towards the castle side by side. "You and Ginny… together again?"
"God, no," said Harry surprised by the question.
"Could've fooled me," Draco said in the same causal voice.
"So," said Harry with equal pseudo-casualness. "You and Zabini…?"
"I have no idea what you are talking about," Draco said with a straight face while Harry continued to scrutinize his face for a clue.
"That's nice," Harry forced through clenched teeth as they rounded the corner and bumped into Zabini who was hurrying in the opposite direction.
"There you are," Zabini said angrily to Draco. "I've been looking for you all over the place. Have you seen my favorite pair of boxers, the green silk one with the…"
Harry had difficulty in breathing, let along walking as the two casually bickered over each others' underwear and the possibility of getting drunk that night. If he had any suspicion that the two Slytherins were lovers they were settled for good. He had hoped against hope, though all the evidence was against Draco, that what he had assumed was, in fact, not true... And yet the small voice that was trying to give him relief was (unsuccessfully) trying to point out, 'They are talking about missing clothes. Don't you and Ron talk about missing clothes in the morning?'
"…right, Potter," said a voice and Harry turned around to realize that Zabini was talking to him.
"Pardon," said Harry, dredging out some manners though all his instincts were shouting for him to pull out the wand and hex the black haired, oil skinned, annoying pureblood all the way to France.
"I said," said Zabini with the patience of someone dealing with a ten year old, "that since you were cozy with Draco here…"
"Not now," growled Draco as they reached the Great Hall's main entrance. "Looks like Pansy is looking for you."
"You told him about us," Harry gasped in anger as they entered the Great Hall.
"Not now, Potter," Draco said his eyes fixed ahead.
"But…"
"Blaise, darling." Harry flinched, Gryffindor bravery out for a stroll, as a pug-faced female barreled down on to them looking like a Thestral that had spotted a pot of raw meat.
"Pansy," said Blaise obviously irritated by the interruption, "I'm a little busy at the moment…"
"With Draco," said Pansy loudly. "You're always busy with Draco."
"Yes, well," said Blaise looking around as students started to enter the Hall from all directions for dinner. Since it was a Monday, everyone wanted to eat before dark and settle down for their homework. It was also the habit of many students to go to their dorms early since most felt it safer to be inside their own houses. "Not now…"
"You can't tell me not now," Pansy screeched as more and more students came in. "I'm not going to be pushed aside like some bit of trash."
Harry started to edge away from the three Slytherins who were standing smack in the middle while he looked like some poor unsuspecting bystander caught in the middle of a three-way bull fight.
Harry looked up as Hermione and Ron walked down towards the Great Hall from the Gryffindor common room. Ron, seeing that Harry was caught in the middle of the Slytherin house fight turned towards him but Harry indicated with a small shake of his head that he would rather deal with it on his own.
Hermione gave her friend a worried glance then nudged Ron so they could both skirt the edges until they reached the place where Harry was standing. As they approached, Hermione mouth in a low voice, "Where's Gin. I thought she was with you?"
"I got called to the Headmistress's office," Harry explained in a muted voice as he tried to ignore Pansy's caterwauling. "She decided to go flying with…"
"… can't even call me your girlfriend," Pansy screeched, so loudly that half the Great Hall, including all the staff members present, looked at her. "A boyfriend should be able to provide certain things for a girl and with you, all I can say is that you are a terrible shag."
"How can you say that," Blaise screamed back. "It's not as if…"
"Exactly," Pansy said in her loud voice. "We've never shagged… which is a lot more than I can say for Draco and me. He at least managed to get his prick up once a week while all you've done is make me sleep on Draco's bed. Not even in your own bed."
Someone sniggered loudly and Pansy looked up, aware that their little fight had escalated into some kind of school entertainment. "What are you all looking at," she screamed back. "It's not as if I'm the only one with a disinterested boyfriend," she looked around as she tried to pin the blame on someone else, "Right, Granger?"
"I have no idea what you are talking about," Hermione replied coolly.
"Sure you do," Pansy said. "Your little Ron-Ron was all over little Psychic-bimbo there," She pointed towards Lavender who was watching the proceedings with interest. "You couldn't turn a corner without coming across the two of them sucking face but when he's with you… all I see is drool marks from falling asleep on your books."
"Really, Parkinson," bit back Hermione. "What I do with my boyfriend has nothing to do with your inability to keep a guy."
"And she's not the one harping over a lost boyfriend," Lavender shouted back angrily. "Especially when one of them is gay."
There was a silence in the Great Hall as everyone shut up instantaneously.
"What's gay?" someone, a first year asked from the person next to him who shushed him hurriedly.
Harry turned around to see who it was and found himself looking at Luna Lovegood, instead sitting in the midst of a group of Hufflepuff.
"I knew it," said Pansy, jumping up and down. "I knew it the moment you made me sleep in the other bed. You're gay aren't you? The shame of all purebloods, you should have been killed in your crib." Harry thought she was overreacting
"Who's gay?" Hermione asked from Lavender as the girl continued to stare at everyone defiantly.
"Why Blaise, of course," the girl said. "I heard he managed to go to the girls rooms last Friday. And we all know, boys can't go up those steps at all, unless they are gay."
"And all purebloods are gay because they were cursed by the Great Morg…" started Luna.
"That's stupid," said Draco, forcefully. "He came up because I went up and I turned off the mechanism in the steps…"
"You went up because you were the Head Boy," Pansy said in malicious glee. "Blaise went up because he was gay. Oh, wait till everyone hears of it."
"That's ridiculous," said Hermione in a loud voice. "The steps are magically enchanted so boys can't go up, it does not filter out…"
"Really," said Pansy coldly. "From what I hear, it reads your inner most thoughts and those who have the wrong intentions towards girls can't go up."
"That's ludicrous," Hermione said loudly, "What you mean is any girl who's a lesbian cannot go up those either. What if a person was…" She turned a bright crimson but continued "…castrated?"
"Well," said Pansy pouting, "Blaise is gay. He's messing around with Draco."
Harry heard the inquisitive first year ask the meaning of 'lesbian' from someone else.
"I really don't need to hear this," Harry said finally. "What the heck is wrong with being gay anyway?"
"What…" said Pansy with a cruel laugh. "You mean that the Zabini heir taking it up the…"
"But…"
"However pleasant," Draco loudly said, "Let's continue this some other time. Potter needs to be escorted to the…"
"Who asked you?" one of the mouthy second year Slytherins shot back. In an instant Draco wiped out his wand and hexed the boy so hard he went flying out of his shoes and fell flat on his back, smoke pouring from his ears.
"Detention with Flitch for the rest of the week and you are banned from all outdoor activities during that time," Draco said levelly. Harry noted that he had not removed house points despite the situation. "Unless there's anything else… ?" he hurriedly swirled his robe around and was out of the Great Hall in an instant. Harry had to run behind him to keep up with him.
"Oh, Merlin," said Draco the moment they were out of sight. "I'm going to be in trouble for hexing that kid infrount of the teachers and
"What?" asked Harry as he noted that the boy was trembling slightly. "Draco," he reached out to touch him, but Draco stepped back rapidly.
"I can't believe you used to date that nut case," he said angrily.
"Who?" asked Harry, puzzled.
"That Loony-loona," Draco said. "Doesn't she know the implications of accusing pureblood of being homosexual in public? I though she meant me for a moment there and…"
"But," said Harry puzzled. "I never dated Loona…"
"At last year's Slughorn's Christmas party... ?"
"I didn't have a date," Harry said patiently.
"Her…" Draco said derisively. "Potter, what were you thinking?"
"What's wrong about being gay," Harry asked. "I mean the Weasleys seem alright with the idea that Charli…"
"Weasleys are almost Muggles and they have so many male children one of them not reproducing shouldn't matter even if he decides not to have kids. And he's the type to be happy being pregnant. And it's not like Weasel is any better at choosing girls. First that slut Lavender and then a Mu…"
"Don't call her…" Harry said before Draco could call Hermione Mudblood.
"You wouldn't understand it anyway," Draco said in a calmer voice. "I wasn't going to insult Granger anyway. I don't …" he broke off as they reached the Gargoyles. "We're here. Let's go in."
------ --------- --------- -------
"I see you finally managed to get here," McGonagall said as the two boys took their seats.
"I'm sorry," Harry said, hurriedly. "We got a little distracted."
"So I hear," she said with a smile which vanished rapidly. "Now, I called you both to discuss with you a matter of importance. Mr. Potter's Defense Against Dark Arts extra tutor."
"I'll leave then," said Draco getting up. "I don't think this concerns me."
"Yes, it does," said McGonagall. "Sit down, Mr. Malfoy."
"What Potter does with his extra teaching has nothing to do with me?" Draco said. "It's not as if he and I share extra lessons. I might as well…"
"This does," the Headmistress said firmly. "Because the person who is going to be tutoring Mr. Potter is your father, Lucius Malfoy."
