Disclaimer: I do not own anything other than the story line . All rights belong to J.K. Rowling

Chapter Ten: Conflict of Interests

They came out of nowhere. It seemed like twenty or thirty of them, vampires all. He caught the first one with a sunburst spell in the face, burned down the second with a quick "Incendio!" and tripped up a third with a quick leg-locker curse, before something piled on his back and his legs buckled. He looked around and saw his friends likewise busy. Neville was surrounded by a bunch of piled up bodies, his voice shrill with fear and loathing as he blew another vampire's head off.

"Look out!" Harry screamed at him, but it was too late. He watched in horror as a vampire struck from behind, literally tearing Neville's spine from his body. He lurched over, dead before he hit the ground. "Nooooooooo!!!!" Harry sobbed. He tried to spin around, but he was being held by at least three of the beasts. Suddenly Luna was in front of him, her hair flying as she splashed Harry and his assailants with holy water. Their grip was released, and he quickly stood, bringing his wand to bare on one of the vamps. A spike of pure force leapt forth and skewered it before it could move. That was when he heard the scream. Whipping around he looked to see Hermione standing over Luna, the latter's throat ripped out.

It was then that he felt His presence, He was here. Voldemort. Harry set off towards the presence at a dead run, only to be gang tackled by no less than six vampires. As he was going down he felt a slicing pain in his back, and then the wind was knocked out of him. Where were his friends? He screamed for them to get out of here, just to go, leave him. Then, there he was.

Looking straight at Hermione, he let out a small chuckle and pointed his wand. "Incendio." Hermione burst into flames, a startled look upon her face as she crumpled to the ground. There was a cry from behind him, half scream and half sob as Ron came bounding past Harry, murder in his eyes. Voldemort yawned and examined his nails. With a flick of his wand and a bored "Avada Kedavra" he struck Ron down.

Harry tried to move, but the pain in his back and the weight of the vampires prohibited it. He coughed and spat up blood. "Probably a knife between the ribs," he thought detachedly. Voldemort motioned for someone Harry couldn't see.

"What have we here, Potter's whore? Bring her to me." Harry watched as Ginny was dragged kicking and struggling to a point in front of him. "I don't think I'll kill her, Potter. I think that as you die, you can watch her suffer till she looses her sanity. Crucio!" Ginny screamed and twitched and jerked with every movement of his wand. Soon little flecks of spittle had formed at the sides of her mouth, and her eyes had rolled up in the back of her head.

"NO!!!!" Harry screamed as he sat bolt upright in his bed. He whipped his head around looking frantically for his friends. His heart threatened to burst from his chest. He was drenched in a cold sweat. He couldn't stop trembling. "Its just a dream, just a dream," he muttered to himself. He hoped that his friends hadn't been woken by his cry. He wiped the tears from his streaked face. There was no way that he could sleep now. He looked at his clock. 1:11. As he got out of bed he gathered his invisibility cloak and slipped out the door, heading for the outdoors. He didn't notice Ginny tip-toe over to his door and look inside. He didn't hear her softly call his name.

The safe house was in an uproar. No-one could find Harry. He wasn't anywhere that they find. Ron had discovered that his invisibility cloak was missing, but how do you find an invisible boy? Ginny had tried her mirror repeatedly, to no avail. Members of the Order were scouring the premises in search of him.

Harry sat there and watched all this with a detached silence. He was sitting in the middle of a small bush just off the back porch. He had long since cried himself dry. He couldn't believe that he was that stupid. What was he thinking, letting himself feel? Letting himself fall for Ginny. All it would get is her premature death. Being his girlfriend made her target numero uno. The problem was that he couldn't help himself. She was everything he had ever dreamt about wrapped up in an adorable package. What was he to do.

"HARRY JAMES POTTER! I know you're out here! Please Harry, I need you, I don't know what to do." This last was almost a whimper.

"Ginny."

"Where are you Harry, why won't you come out?"

"I'm over here under the bush Ginny, come here." Ginny crawled under the bush. Quickly Harry enveloped her with his cloak. "You don't know the danger you're in. That you all are in. Being with me is a bad idea, Ginny. You become the top target to get to me by Voldemort. I don't know if I can protect you."

"Harry, you don't need to protect me, or any of us. We're here because we want to be. Can't you see that?"

"I'm tired Ginny," said Harry, changing tracks, "you have no idea how tired I am of fighting this fight. How tired I am of having those I care about die around me. I can't take it anymore. The burden is too great." The tears were streaming down his face. "Maybe I can go to him, make a deal to spare you, if I give myself to him…maybe…"

"Harry, please don't think that. If you give up, then we are dead anyway. Think about it. He doesn't care what deals are made. We stood up to him, and he kills any that do. He can't afford to leave us untouched. It would make him look weak. He can't have that. He controls through fear."

"But there must be some other way. I can't watch all of you die, not again." This was almost a wail.

"Harry, whatever it is, I love you, and I won't let you go through this alone. What happened?"

Harry, struggling to get his words out, explained the dream, along with all the anguish that he had gone through. His impotent rage, not being able to do anything about the needless deaths. Having to watch her being tortured into insanity while he lay there slowly dieing. When it was over he collapsed in her arms, his sobs gently transforming into a steady deep breathing. Sitting there with him, she let him rest, knowing that this was to be something that would plague him for a long time after this war was over.

*0*0*

Hermione came over to her friends table from the dance floor. She felt a bit flushed from dancing with Victor.

"It's hot, isn't it?" she said, fanning herself with her hand. "Victor's just gone to get some drinks."

Ron gave her a withering look. "Victor? Hasn't he asked you to call him Vicky yet."

Trying not to let the hurt show in her voice she asked "What's up with you?" She stared at him, then at Harry who shrugged. Why couldn't he be more like Harry? Harry was just so much more considerate than he, usually.

"He's from Durmstrang!" spat Ron. "He's competing against Harry! Against Hogwarts! You—you're—fraternizing with the enemy, that's what you're doing!"

Hermione's mouth fell open. Why was he saying this to her; and why did it hurt so much?

"Don't be so stupid! The enemy! Honestly – who was the one who was all excited when they saw him arrive? Who was the one who wanted his autograph? Who's got a model of him up in their dormitory?"

"I s'pose he asked you to come with him while you were both in the library?"

"Yes, he did, so what?"

"What happened – trying to get him to join spew, were you?"

Honestly, he could be so difficult. Harry would never hurt me like this. "No it wasn't! If you really want to know, he – he said he'd been coming up to the library every day to try and talk to me, but he hadn't been able pluck up the courage." That aught to twist the knife.

"Yeah, well – that's his story."

"And what's that supposed to mean?"

"Obvious, isn't it? He's Karkaroff's student, isn't he? He knows who you hang around with… He's just trying to get closer to Harry – get inside information on him – or get near enough to jinx him—"

"For your information, he hasn't asked me one single thing about Harry, not one…"

"Then he's hoping you'll help him find out what his egg means. I suppose you've been putting your heads together during those cozy little library sessions…"

"I'd never help him work out that egg! Never. How could you say something like that? I want Harry to win the tournament. Harry knows that, don't you Harry?"

"You've got a funny way of showing it," sneered Ron.

"This whole tournament's supposed to be about getting to know foreign wizards and making friends with them!" Ooo, that man!

"No, it isn't! It's about winning!"

"Ron," Harry said quietly, "I haven't got a problem with Hermione coming with Krum –"

"Why don't you go and find Vicky, he'll be wondering where you are!"

"Don't call him Vicky!"

Hermione stormed off across the dance floor. She kept going past Victor and straight out the door. Victor hadn't noticed her pass in the crowd. She was so mad. That idiot Ron had her all bothered. But why? What was it about him that upset her so much. Why couldn't he be more like Harry? Now he wouldn't do that to her. He cared too much about her feelings. Wait a minute, Ron cared too. It just seemed that the two of them always fought over the stupidest things. It was almost as if Ron were jealous of Victor. He showed all the signs of it.

It was as if a light bulb went off in her head. Ron was jealous. It felt really good. No-one had ever been jealous over her before. It meant a lot that it was Ron, after all, next to Harry, he was her best friend. But what about Harry? He never got jealous of her. Would it have hurt as much if it had been Harry instead of Ron? Did she feel that way about him? How did she feel about the two of them? She never had to ask herself that before. She loved Harry, that much she knew. But what kind of love? Harry was more of a brother, a confident, a best friend. Someone that would always be there for her, and she for him. She would do anything for him, but she didn't like him that way. It was more the kind of love that abides in deep hugs and ruffled hair. The kind of love that only wished happiness and well being to the other.

But with Ron, somehow it was different. If she were to be truthful with herself, it had been different for a while now. She would have to carefully analyze these feelings, making sure of what was there.

She let out a little giggle and headed for Gryffindor tower. Maybe she could really twist the knife some more. It would serve him right, the big prat.

Harry and Hermione toppled over, into the outstretched arms of Ginny and Ron. Tears were dripping down Hermione's face, and she looked very shaky. Harry was trying rather unsuccessfully to get to his feet.

"Wow, these sessions are quite intense."

"It's a good thing that we only do them once a week."

"Harry?"

"Yes, Hermione?"

"I'm glad you came back."

"I am too, but you better thank Ginny. She keeps bringing me back."

*0*0*

"Ginny?"

"Harry."

"Can I tell you something without your laughing at me?"

"Of course, Harry."

"I don't know, I don't have much frame of reference, as Hermione would say, but I think I might be falling in love."

"Really, Harry. Who's the lucky woman?"

"You are, and you know it."

"Don't toy with me Harry."

"I… I'm a little scared, I guess."

"You, the Boy Who Lived, the one who has dueled with Voldemort, are scared of falling in love with me?"

"Terrified, petrified, thrilled."

"You say the grandest things. Well, I'll just have to stick around to help you with your terror. Good night Harry."

"Good night Gin."

Author's Note: Thanks once again to all of you who are faithfully reading this, posting comments and adding it to your favorites. You have no idea how much I appreciate it. My reccomendation for the chapter is "Centrifugal Force" by Melindaleo. This is a cute little H/G fic that I quite like. Enjoy.