Title: Harry Potter and the Keeper of the Phoenix
Author: Elizabeth Kelly
Rating: PG -13 (T)
Disclaimer: Harry Potter, its plot and characters, belong to J.K. Rowling.
Summary: HPGW, RWHG, RLNT & JPLE The one thing he needs, is the one thing he could never have… until now. (Post HBP – Contains Spoilers) WIP
Chapter Ten
The wind picked up by late afternoon, and Harry found himself wishing he had put more layers on, as the chill when straight through his school robes. He sat on a rock overlooking the lake, replaying his defence class over and over in his head. If only he hadn't looked over at his father none of that would have happened. The moment class had finished, Harry had raced off, telling Sirius that he had promised to meet Ginny. "Why?" he asked out loud. "Why was I so stupid?"
"Talking to yourself again?" a voice interrupted his thoughts. Turning on the rock, he came face to face with a smiling Ginny. When she saw the serious look in his eyes, the smile immediately left her face. "What's wrong?"
"In defence we were studying dementors, and the patronus charm, and…" he trailed off staring out at the lake.
"What happened Harry?" Ginny asked, sitting down on the rock next to him.
"Professor Dearborn made everyone get up in front of the entire class and perform the charm. I had everything worked out, I was going to think of the Dursely's and Voldemort and everything else that has gone wrong in my life. If I didn't think of any happy thoughts then the charm shouldn't have worked properly, right?" Ginny shook her head. "I was standing up there thinking about Dumbledore's death and then I glance over at my father and I remembered everything that happened this morning and then suddenly there was this bright light and then there in the middle of the classroom stood my stag."
"Oh Merlin Harry, did they say anything?"
"I told them I had to meet you and ran out of there before they could ask anything. Sirius is clueless and wants me to teach him how to do it. Dad looked shocked, Wormtail looked confused and Remus looked suspicious."
"I figured if anyone was going to find out first, it would be Remus," Ginny sighed.
"Yeah, but we are here for a year, and it's only the first day."
"It's alright, Harry, together we will think of something to tell them."
Harry rubbed his forehead.
"Is it still bothering you?" she asked. Harry nodded.
"On and off all day."
"We need to talk to Dumbledore," she said standing up.
"What now?"
"Yeah now, Harry if the pain in your scar is the Voldemort from this time, then he needs to know that something is going to happen so that he can alert the order."
"But what if it's not the Voldemort of this time?"
"Are you willing to take the risk?"
"No."
"Come on, let's go."
"Maybe, it has nothing to do with anything."
"Moony, you said it yourself, it looked exactly like me when I transform."
"What are you both talking about?" Sirius asked, trailing along behind Remus, James and Peter, as they headed towards the Gryffindor common room after class.
"Harry's patronus, didn't you recognize it?" Remus asked turning around to face him.
"I wasn't paying that close attention," Sirius admitted.
"It looked exactly like Prongs," Peter said, looking a little scared.
"It's probably just a coincidence. Professor Dearborn said that a person's patronus is usually an animal," Sirius said, proud that he had paid attention during class.
"The world is coming to an end, Sirius listened in class!" Peter exclaimed, ducking just in time to miss Sirius' swinging arm.
"Look James, why don't we just ask him? I am sure there is a reasonable explanation as to why his patronus is a stag." Sirius reasoned, as they climbed a set of stairs.
"He's right Moony, I'm sure he knows nothing about us, I mean how can he, he hasn't even been here 24 hours," James said, sounding significantly calmer than he did before.
"Then why did he rush off after the end of class, if he doesn't know, then why was he in a hurry to get away from us," Remus asked, jumping over the trick step.
"That, Moony, has a simply explanation," Sirius said, putting his arm around Remus' shoulder.
"And that is?"
"He had to meet Ginny," Sirius said smirking. "Oh to be young and in love."
"How do you know they are in love?" Peter asked.
"Because of the way he looks at her, it reminds me of the way Prongs looks at Lily."
"They're not going out, are they?" James asked.
"I don't think so, not yet, but I say give them a few months." Remus began to laugh.
"Since when did Sirius Black become an expert in love?"
"Since I met my future wife," he proclaimed.
"Oh yeah, who might that be this week? Melinda Warner?" Remus guessed. Sirius shook his head.
"Georgiana Bolstead?" Peter asked.
"Are you kidding me?"
"Fraya Puddlestern?" James tried.
"Nope, Tallulah Jacobs."
"That Ravenclaw sixth year?" Peter asked.
"Yep, that's the one."
"She will never go out with you," James said, giving the password to the Fat Lady, and entering the common room.
"Want a bet?" Sirius asked.
"Five galleons say she won't go out with you," James challenged, holding out his hand.
"You're on," Sirius said taking James' hand, before racing James up to their dorm room.
As they walked across the grounds towards the castle and up towards Dumbledore's office, Harry listened as Ginny talked about her first day. She, like Harry, had found herself slightly more advanced than the other students, but felt that it was good revision. He listened as she talked about the other students in her classes. As he listened, he thought about what he would say, if the maurauders asked him about his patronus. By the time they reached the corridor that led to the gargoyle that hid the entrance to Dumbledore's office, he still hadn't thought of anything to say. Nevertheless it soon became apparent that that was the least of his problems. With every step Harry began to grow more and more nervous. What if he said something that would change his entire future?
"How much are we going to tell him?" Harry asked, trying his best to keep the panic out of his voice.
"I hadn't figured that part out yet," Ginny mumbled, as she came to a standstill in front of the statue.
"Got any idea of the password?" Harry asked.
"Nope, I just figured that we would try every sweet available until one worked."
"Ok, sounds like a plan," Harry said. "You first."
"Ok, ummm Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans?" Ginny tried, but the statue remained still.
"Fizzing Whizbees?" Harry guessed, still no movement.
"Chocolate Frogs?"
"Acid Pops?"
"Licorice Snaps?"
"Gummy Bears?" The statue began to move revealing the hidden staircase.
"Gummy Bears?" Ginny asked, turning to Harry. He shrugged his shoulders,
"Muggle sweet," Harry explained, as they began to climb the stairs.
"Come in!" a voice called out in response to Ginny's knock. Harry and Ginny entered Dumbledore's office, to see Professor McGonagall and several official looking wizards.
"Mr James, Miss Granger, how may I help you?"
"We're sorry to intrude, we can come back another time," Harry said pulling Ginny towards the door.
"Nonsense Mr James, we were just finished. Thank you gentlemen, I trust everything said in this room is to be kept in complete confidence," Dumbledore said looking at each of the room's occupants in turn. They nodded their assent and turned and left the room, each looking at Harry and Ginny as they passed. Soon it was just Professor McGonagall and Dumbledore remaining.
"What can I do for the both of you?" Dumbledore asked smiling at them.
"We were wondering if we could speak to you privately," Ginny said glancing quickly at Professor McGonagall.
"Of course, Minerva could you please excuse us?"
"Certainly," she replied giving Ginny and Harry a quizzical look as she left the office.
"I see that you have managed to guess the password to enter my quarters. I must have trusted you a lot in the future," Dumbledore said as he sat down in the chair behind his desk, gesturing for Harry and Ginny to take a seat.
"I don't know about that sir, but we've made regular trips to your office, especially in the last couple of years," Harry said taking the offered sherbet lemon.
Dumbledore leaned back in his chair observing the two students in front of him. From the silence Ginny guessed that he wasn't going to start the conversation; he was going to wait for them.
"Professor, there are some things that have been happening that normally in our time, we would bother you with, but it requires you to have all of the background knowledge, and we are unsure of what to do," Ginny started.
"Can you not take care of it yourselves?"
"We don't know," Harry said.
"You don't know?" Dumbledore asked, raising his eyebrow.
"You see, sir, we don't know if it is relevant to your time or ours," Ginny explained.
"And you don't know if you should tell me or not because it might affect the course of history?" Dumbledore guessed.
"Yes, sir," Harry replied.
"Is it serious? Can you tell me what it is about?" Harry looked over at Ginny, who nodded at him.
"Voldemort."
Whatever he had been expecting, Voldemort had not been it. Sitting up straighter, Dumbledore, looked over the top of his half-moon glasses at the two students before him.
"What does Voldemort have to do with you?" he asked carefully.
"Everything," Harry replied.
"Am I to trust that Voldemort is still alive in your time?"
"Yes," Harry replied, as Ginny sat back and listened. If their story was going to be told, it was Harry who was going to tell it.
"Well that is unfortunate news, I know of the power he holds now, I cannot imagine what it would be like in your time," Dumbledore paused, a genuine sadness filled his eyes. "What things have been happening that you are unsure of whether it applies to your time or mine?"
"I've been having nightmares," Harry started.
"Are you a seer, Mr Potter?"
"No," Harry replied. Dumbledore stood up and began to pace.
"The scar on your forehead. That is no ordinary scar is it?" he asked.
"No, sir," Harry replied, his hand automatically going up to pull his hair down over his fringe. Dumbledore, stopped pacing, and turned to face Harry and Ginny.
"I feel that perhaps, given the nature, it is best if you tell me, with as little detail as possible, the events of the future," he said as he returned to his seat.
Harry looked over at Ginny, who nodded her head encouragingly at him.
"Voldemort had gradually been gaining more and more followers, killing some of the best wizarding families, creating fear everywhere. Then one night, he came to our house. I was only a baby, he killed my father and then my mother, and then he turned his wand on me. Something stopped him though, and instead of killing me, the curse rebounded and hit him, not quite killing him, instead turning him into a mere shadow of his former self, and so he disappeared, most people thought he was dead. I was left with nothing but a vague memory of green light, and this scar on my forehead.
After I entered Hogwarts I started to find out all of these things about myself and Voldemort; like that some of his powers were transferred to me, my scar would hurt when he was nearby or angry or even happy. It was only in the last couple of years, that I found out that he was able to communicate to me through my scar, being skilled at occlumens and legilimens meant that he could enter my head and see what I was seeing and visa versa, he could pull me into his head, and show me what he could see. He could send me visions and nightmares, whether they were real or not. That is why I had to learn occulomency, to help keep him out."
"And is your scar hurting now?" Dumbledore, asked looking serious.
"Not as much as it did last night," Harry said.
"Did you have a nightmare last night?"
"Yes, but I don't really remember what it was about," Harry admitted.
"You dreamt about the graveyard, and the Department of Mysteries," Ginny spoke up from her place beside Harry. Dumbledore looked over at Ginny, his eyebrow raised. "I woke you up before you revealed anything. I don't know what you were dreaming about before I got there. The boys didn't mention anything else. You were also mumbling something, but I couldn't make any sense of it."
"Miss Weasley, I am going to overlook the fact that you were in the boys dormitory in the middle of the night, and ask how you came to know that Mr Potter here was having a nightmare." Ginny glanced up at the headmaster.
"I honestly don't know, one minute I was asleep and the next minute I was awake and had the strongest feeling that Harry needed me."
"Most unusual," Dumbledore said quietly to himself. Harry looked at Ginny who just shrugged her shoulders. "What time was this?"
"About 2 am, I think," Ginny replied.
"I ask because those gentlemen that you just saw in my office had come to inform me that at a quarter past two this morning, Voldemort attack a small wizarding village down near Kent. It lasted for two hours and three whole families were wiped out, and several others are in St. Mungo's."
"Oh, Merlin," Harry whispered, hanging his head. Ginny placed an arm around his shoulders.
"There was nothing you could have done, dear boy," Dumbledore said comfortingly.
"Yes, there was. I could have… I could have come and warned you and you could have alerted the Order, and maybe more families could have been saved."
"What's the Order?" Dumbledore asked. Harry and Ginny both looked up at him suddenly, then turned to each other.
"The Order of the Phoenix," Ginny said, turning back to face Dumbledore.
"I've never heard of such an order, why would I alert them?" Harry looked over at Ginny, as panic began to set in.
"It's a group of resistance fighters you started to help fight Voldemort and the Death Eaters," Harry said.
"I haven't started any group, though I must say the thought does have merit," he said pensively.
"Harry, maybe we're here to start up the Order," Ginny whispered.
"Possibly," Harry agreed.
"I must say I have been struggling to come up with a way of fighting Voldemort, there is only so much I can do as headmaster of a school, maybe this order is the idea I have been looking for," Dumbledore said excitedly, the twinkle in his eye, that had disappeared during Harry's story of the future, had returned.
"I am going to take this thought into consideration, and make a few enquiries. I must stress that nothing said in this room will be mentioned outside of this room including discussing it with each other."
"Yes, sir," they replied.
"Mr Potter, if you have anymore nightmares, or your scar begins to hurt, let me know immediately."
"I will," Harry replied, and he and Ginny stood up.
"If anyone asks where you were, tell them you have to see me about a few timetabling matters." Harry and Ginny nodded, and left the room, feeling slightly better than when they entered.
"At least we know that we can talk to him now," Ginny said, as they descended the stairs.
"Yeah, I just wish there was something I could have done to save those families, you know?" Harry said.
"I know, Harry, but you can't take responsibility for everything that goes wrong. It's not always your fault."
"I know, it's just sometimes it's hard not to feel responsible."
"It must be tough to have the weight of the world on your shoulders, I couldn't imagine doing what you do," Ginny said in slight awe.
"I would do everything in my power to make sure that you never have to deal with any of this stuff," Harry said with such fierceness and emotion that it shocked Ginny to the core, and they remained silent for rest of the walk back to the common room.
"Quidditch trials on Thursday!" Sirius announced to the common room in general, as James pinned up the sign he had just finished making. A loud cheer filled the common room, as everyone began to murmur excitedly. Quidditch trials in the Gryffindor house were always exciting times, as everyone would speculate who would get the available positions.
Harry and Ginny had entered the common room to find a scene of complete and utter chaos. In the spirit of the moment, Sirius had decided to let off a bunch of filibuster fireworks in the common room. Everyone had tried to find pieces of furniture to hide underneath as the fireworks filled the room with smoke and loud bangs. Everyone was screaming and Harry managed to pull Ginny down just in time to avoid being hit by a stray firework.
"What's with the fireworks?" Ginny yelled over the noise to Lily, who was taking shelter under one of the work tables.
"Quidditch trials have been announced and Sirius felt that it was an appropriate moment for a celebration."
After a few moments have passed, the fireworks stopped and everyone crawled out of their hiding places.
"BLACK!" Lily yelled, holding up her homework that had large scorch marks all over it.
"Oh, Merlin," Sirius muttered, as he took off out of the common room, running away from a red faced Lily.
"Hey, Harry, you disappeared after class," James said coming over.
"Yeah, sorry, I had to go meet Ginny. Dumbledore wanted to see us," Harry explained somewhat nervously, as Remus and Peter joined them.
"That patronus was awesome!" James exclaimed, clapping Harry on the back.
"Yeah, was it a stag?" Peter asked, faking curiosity. Harry quickly glanced at Ginny. It was obvious that this conversation was rehearsed.
"Yeah, that's what people tell me."
"Brilliant, why a stag though?" Remus asked.
"I'm not sure, my guardian told me that the patronus is supposed to represent the animal best suited to who you are, but I don't understand what that is supposed to mean," he said with a nervous chuckle. The three marauders seemed to accept this explanation and Harry let out a sigh of relief.
"Nice work Harry," Ginny whispered, patting him on the arm, as she headed over to talk to one of the girls in her year.
"So are you going to try out for seeker?" James asked leading Harry over to one of the couches by the fire.
"I'd like to," Harry replied.
"Well tryouts are on Friday, 4 o'clock. Tell Ginny to come along too, I want to see how she plays as chaser."
"Sure, thanks!" Harry said.
The portrait hole opened with a bang, and Sirius crept into the common room.
"Is she here?" he asked.
"No, Sirius, you're safe," Remus said with a laugh, as Sirius collapsed onto the couch next to him.
"That was wicked!" Sirius exclaimed, ignorant of all the dirty looks he was receiving from the others in the common room.
"Somehow I don't think everyone else will agree with you," Remus chuckled looking around the room.
"Who's up for a game of exploding snap?" Peter asked, pulling a deck of cards out from a pocket in his robes. For the rest of the afternoon the boys played games, and although Harry was enjoying himself, he couldn't help but think of Voldemort's attack on the village. Tonight he would have to remember to put up his occulomency shields.
"Lily take Harry and go! It's him! Go! Run! I'll hold him off-"
James woke hearing mumbling coming from the bed beside his.
"Dad… Mum…" Throwing the covers off of him, he got out of bed and peered around the curtain of Harry's bed. He was turning and thrashing in his bed, sweat beaded on his forehead. James gently reached forward and shook his shoulder.
"No, no," he whimpered.
The door opened to the dormitory and Ginny hurried over to Harry's bed.
"How long has he been like this?" she whispered to James, quietly so as to not wake the others in the room.
"I don't know, I only just woke up," James replied, looking concerned. Ginny sat down on the edge of Harry's bed and push his fringe back off of his sweaty forehead.
"Silencio," she muttered pointing her wand at the four poster bed, so that any sound made by them, would not wake the others. "Come on Harry, wake up," Ginny said gently. Harry seemed to relax, and then suddenly without warning he tensed up and began shaking. Then he let out a blood curling scream and began convulsing on the bed. "Harry, wake up!" Ginny said a little louder. "Come on Harry, I need you to wake up!" Still Harry hadn't stopped.
"Harry!" James called, glancing over at Ginny who was looking panic stricken. "Harry!" James called again, and suddenly the screaming stopped and Harry sat up, tears mixed in with the sweat running down his face. Harry latched onto Ginny, not letting her go.
"Another village, near Manchester, I think, one family gone already," Harry whispered, his voice hoarse.
"James, I need you to go and fetch Dumbledore," Ginny began, as the door to the dormitory opened once more and Dumbledore appeared around the curtains.
"Do not worry Miss Granger, I am already here," Dumbledore interrupted, looking down at Harry, who had pulled away from Ginny.
"What did you see?"
"One family, muggles I think. He used the Cruciatus curse on the young girl. She's worse than death."
"Where?"
"Outside Manchester, I'm not sure where exactly."
"Fawkes!" Dumbledore called, and with a flash of fire, the bird appeared. He grabbed a spare piece of parchment and a quill that had been resting on Harry's bedside table and began to write a note.
"I need to send a message to Elphias Doge, the Head of Magical Law Enforcement, there are death eaters attacking a village outside Manchester. He needs to send aurors out immediately," Dumbledore said to the phoenix.
'How many death eaters?' came the reply. Dumbledore turned to Harry, to ask him the question, when to his complete surprise, Harry answered back.
"At least twenty." Dumbledore stared at Harry in amazement then quickly finished writing his letter and gave it to Fawkes, who disappeared in a flash of fire.
"What's going on?" James asked, startling Harry. He had been so caught up on the nightmare that he hadn't realised that his father was sitting on the other side of his bed.
"Never mind that now Mr Potter, Harry do you need to go to the hospital wing?"
"No, professor," Harry replied, his voice still raspy from the screaming.
"How about your scar?" Wincing Harry put his arm up to feel his scar.
"It's burning," he replied.
"I think you need to need to go to the hospital wing," Ginny said quietly.
"I'm fine," Harry replied.
"Harry James! I just watched you being held under the Cruciatus curse, I know that you are not fine, I can see it every time you move."
"That was the Cruciatus curse?" James asked, looking from Harry to Dumbledore and back again.
"You can feel the curses?" Dumbledore asked quietly, ignoring James' question.
"Sometimes, when he is feeling particularly vindictive," Harry said, then seeing their worried faces, he continued, wearily. "Don't worry, it's less painful in my mind than it is in real life."
"You've been placed under the curse in real life?" James questioned again, frustrated that he wasn't being given any answers.
"Several times," Harry replied quietly.
"I feel that it is perhaps best if we continue this in my office, I can tell none of you will probably be getting much sleep. Miss Granger, I trust that you can take Mr James to the hospital wing."
"No," Harry replied. "I want to be there." Dumbledore looked at him skeptically. "Trust me sir, I look at lot worse than I am."
"Fine, let us all go back to my office, I feel there are some other people who need to be told certain things. Tinker?" Dumbledore called and with a soft pop a house elf appeared.
"Could you be so kind as to wake Professor McGonagall and send her to my office please."
"Certainly, sir," the house elf replied, disappearing to complete his duty.
"If you would all follow me please." Dumbledore said.
Ginny helped Harry out of the bed, and he stood on shaky legs. James took hold of one of Harry's arms, to help hold him upright.
"It will wear off after a minute or so," Harry said quietly as Ginny and James helped him from the room.
When they reached Dumbledore's office, McGonagall was already there dressed in her tartan dressing gown and her hair up in a hair net.
"What is so urgent at 3 o'clock in the morning Albus?" McGonagall questioned, then catching a glance at the three students behind him, she sighed and asked. "What have they done?" Dumbledore chuckled.
"Nothing Minerva. Voldemort attacked another village tonight."
"Oh my," McGonagall replied, sinking down into one of the chair in front of Dumbledore's desk, while Ginny insisted that Harry take the other one. "What was the damage?"
"I have no idea," Dumbledore replied. "I expect a report from Mr Doge within the next couple of hours. But it will be far less than what it would have been without Mr James here."
"How do you mean?"
"It seems that Mr James here has a connection to Voldemort, through the scar on his forehead. He can feel when Voldemort is happy or angry and sometimes he can see what is going on through Voldemort's mind and he can occasionally feel any curses that Voldemort casts."
"How?" James asked, looking at Harry warily.
"I am not yet sure how, Mr Potter, but I feel that however it occurred Harry is no more dark than yourself."
"How can you assume such a thing, sir? I mean, we don't even know him and you say he shares a mind with You-Know-Who,"
"James, my mother and my father were killed by Voldemort, my god-father, my mentor and a friend of mine were killed by death eaters. Many of my friends have nearly lost their lives thanks to the death eaters, and I myself have been faced with Voldemort's wand on at least four occasions. Trust me, I would rather cover myself in Bulbotuber pus and be fed to a dragon than ever join Voldemort and his band of masked idiots," Harry spat, anger in his eyes. Ginny placed a hand over Harry's and he immediately calmed down. James looked taken aback, and then hung his head. He should have known better, it had only been yesterday that Ginny had told him some of Harry's story.
"Mr Potter, I believe what Harry is saying is true, and even if I didn't, the simple fact that he is able to understand my phoenix leads me to believe that he is on the side of light. For phoenixs are noble birds of the light. Though that gift does intrigue me."
"What gift, sir?" Harry asked.
"You see Harry, I should be the only one that Fawkes is able to communicate with, but back upstairs you heard him ask me a question and answered. How did you do it?"
"I don't know sir?"
"Most intriguing," Dumbledore muttered looking thoughtful.
"What is going on?" Professor McGonagall asked.
"Perhaps we should start from the beginning," Dumbledore suggested, looking at James.
"Well, I was asleep, but murmuring woke me up, and it was coming from Harry's bed. So I got up to see if he was alright. I knew he often had nightmares, Ginny told us last night. I tried to wake him up, and then Ginny came in," he said looking at Ginny.
"I woke up with the feeling that Harry was in trouble and I ran to his room, and sure enough he was having another nightmare. I tried to wake up, but he wouldn't wake up and then he started to scream and thrash about."
"I never heard a scream," Professor McGonagall said.
"That's because I cast a silencing charm, so that he wouldn't wake the others," Ginny said. "Then he woke up talking about an attack on a village and I asked James to go fetch, you, Professor Dumbledore, when you appeared."
"After our conversation, yesterday, I felt it was best if I had Fawkes watch over Harry and to notify me if something was wrong. He came to me and told me that you, Harry, were having a nightmare. By the time I got to you it was already over," Professor Dumbledore said, leaning back in his chair. "Harry, would you mind telling us about your dream?"
"It started off like all of my nightmares. A green light, mum screaming, dad yelling, then it changed and I was standing outside of this ordinary house. Except that there were death eaters all around it and the house was on fire. There was a family of muggles, a mum and dad, a boy and a little girl. They killed the father first, then the mother. The boy put up a fight, but he couldn't do anything. They tortured him and his sister. The girl was only young about 4 or 5. She suffered the most," Harry said fighting back tears.
Professor McGonagall's faced softened as she listened to Harry. She wasn't quite sure why, but she started to have maternal feelings for the young man that was seated in front of her. She saw the fear in his eyes and heard the pain in his voice and she wanted nothing more than to give him a big hug, and make him a plate of her famous 'McGonagall Muggle Eggs', and tell him that everything will be alright.
A flash in the corner of the room, drew her attention away from Harry and towards Fawkes who had just appeared. Dumbledore and Harry appeared to be listening intently to what ever the bird was saying, as she could only hear mournful crooning. From their reactions she assumed that it hadn't been very good news.
"Two muggle families are dead, one more injured. The magical families escaped without incident. Two aurors died and five death eaters. Five more death eaters were captured, the rest got away. Voldemort was no where to be found," Dumbledore reported, and then addressed Harry, who had placed his head in his hands. "Thank you Harry. Without your help, who knows what would have happened."
"But two aurors died," Harry said, looking up at the professor.
"Yes, but many families were saved. Aurors go into their jobs know that they could be killed in the line of duty, it is just part of their job. Those two men would have died the way they wanted, protecting others. You did a good thing today."
"Yes, sir," Harry mumbled.
"I think it is best for all of you to go back to your dormitories and try and get so sleep. I know it will be hard, but you all should get some rest." The three students nodded, and Harry stood up, somewhat gingerly.
"Mr Potter, I trust that you will not mention any of what you have heard tonight, even to your friends. Information like this, if leaked, would be valuable to the other side."
"Yes, sir," James replied, and together the three of them left the room.
They headed back to Gryffindor tower in silence, each contemplating the events of that night. As they entered the common room, there was a silent agreement, that none of them were going to go back to bed, and they sat down in the chairs by the dying fire.
"Listen, Harry, I'm sorry about before, I didn't mean to accuse you without all of the facts, it was wrong of me," James began feeling incredibly guilty.
"Forget about it, I probably would have done the same thing to tell you the truth."
"Well still, I want you accept my apology."
"Apology accepted," Harry said, holding out his hand for James to shake, which he did.
"I want you to know that if you ever need to talk about anything, you can come and talk to me, I know I seem like a bit of a git sometimes but I can keep a secret, so can Remus and even Sirius, if it is serious. But never tell Sirius if you like someone because guaranteed they will know within a couple of hours. Trust me, I made the mistake of telling him that I liked Lily back in first year. He told her and ever since she hasn't been able to look me in the face, unless she is yelling at me."
"What about Peter?" Harry asked curiously, wanting to know his father's opinion of his traitor, suddenly seemed appealing.
"Well Pete has always been a bit of a mystery. He follows Sirius and I around everywhere and tries to copy the things we do, sometimes it drives you crazy. He's alright though, not bad at pranking. Quite a sneaky thing he is," James said almost thoughtfully. They lapsed into a comfortable silence for awhile, before James was overcome with curiosity.
"So what is the story between you two?" he asked. Harry looked like a deer that had been caught in headlights, but Ginny had a blank look on her face.
"Whatever are you talking about?" she asked, innocently.
"I'm talking about Ginny's ability to know when you are having a nightmare."
"Well the nightmare thing I have been able to do since I was 11," Ginny said.
"Really?" Harry asked, shocked. She had never mentioned this before. "I didn't know that. Why didn't you ever tell me?"
"Well it never seemed the right time, and until recently I never had the guts to do anything about it. Besides Ron was always there for you, so I didn't think you needed me butting in too. I know you hate all that attention and I never wanted to make you feel uncomfortable."
"Why 11?" James asked.
"I don't know, I was thinking about that and the only reason I can think of is because that is when Harry saved my life."
"The chamber?" Harry asked, and Ginny nodded.
"I owe you a life debt Harry," Ginny said sincerely.
"No you don't Gin, I was just in the right place at the right time, that's all."
"It doesn't work that way Harry, not in the magical world."
"She's right Harry. If you save a person's life intentionally or not, they owe you a life debt. It's a form of old magic, and it cannot be broken."
"But does everyone who owes a life debt to a someone have a nightmare radar for that person?"
"Radar?" James and Ginny asked at the same time.
"It's a muggle device that is used to help locate things."
"No, I don't think so. I did a bit of research, with the help of Hermione, on life debts and I haven't found any reference to it."
"Maybe it is a rare side effect?" James suggested.
"Maybe," Ginny echoed. They fell into another comfortable silence.
"Well I think I might be going back to bed and get a bit more sleep," James said with a big yawn.
"Night," Harry and Ginny said, and soon they were alone in the common room.
Both were silent for a long period of time listening to the crackle of the dying fire.
"I don't want you to feel like you owe me your life Gin," Harry said quietly.
"I don't," Ginny replied. "Harry, the whole life bond thing is hard to understand when you don't owe your life to someone like I owe you. But while it may be an obligation, I don't feel like it is. I know that you broke up with me because you were trying to protect me, but I am the one who has to protect you, not only to fulfill my part of the life bond, but also because I need to know that you are alright."
"I don't want you to, you might be killed," Harry whispered.
"I know, Harry. But I'm not going anywhere without a fight, I promise you that." She stood up, and walked over to him, placing a gentle kiss on his cheek.
"You really are a sweet boy, Harry," she murmured, just loud enough for Harry to hear. Heading up the stairs towards the girls dormitory, she left Harry alone in the common room, with only his thoughts to occupy him.
A/N: Sorry about the delay, but I was in exams and then I was away skiing for a week. Thank you so much for the reviews, they are always appreciated. I hope you all enjoyed this super long chapter. Until next time, happy reading. - Lizzie