Chapter 10: Ballads, and Kisses, and Skeeter oh my!

Annie and Harry snuck their way out of St. Mungo's Hospital into a dark sidestreet. It always baffled Harry that it mattered so much where he was staying, but never how safe it was getting there. Annie took a sharp intake of breath and doubled over in pain, apparently walking was too much for her yet. Harry put one of her arms on his shoulder and supported her a bit, as they had to continue walking not to be seen, and in order to make it to Grimmauld Place by the designated time given to them. He glanced over at Annie slightly and noticed her face looking pained and her brillant baby blues glassed over.

"Are you okay?" Harry stopped them from walking.

"Yeah I'm... I'm fine lets just keep going." And they continued to limp on, checking every few seconds to make sure they weren't being followed or tracked. They finally reached their apparation point, both huffing and puffing from the walk.

"Come here, you're going to be too weak to side apparate normally."And with that Harry embraced Annie into a sort of hug, and eventually Annie put her arms around him. It could've been considered a romantic hug by passersby, but Harry and Annie weren't about to admit to it.

"Thanks," She mumbled her gratitude.

"Yup," Harry breathed her in, her hair smelt of peppermint.

"I still don't like you." Annie said a smile creeping on her face, she rested her head on Harry's shoulder.

"That's okay, I don't like you either." And with that they spun on the spot, Annie gripping tight to Harry, while he directed her to their destination, the stoop of Number 12 Grimmauld Place. What they didn't realize was the ever present clicking sound of a camera and a beetle on the hood of Harry's cloak, that jumped off as soon as they apparated.

Harry and Annie landed, quite gracefully they might add, on the stoop of Number 12 Grimmauld Place.

"Ugh, why do they have to make apparation so..."

"Pleasant?" Harry chuckled to himself, he had always thought the same thing. He took a deep breath, and tapped his wand on the door, hearing many clicks and a chain chinking as the door unlocked itself. They both cautiously stepped inside and stood on the doormat; that emitted dust as the laid their feet upon it. They didn't dare move any further, Moony told them that Moody had set up a series of jinxes on the house if Snape decided to make a little visit.

"Welcome to the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black," He spoke whispering, not wishing to wake the beast that was Mrs. Black. Harry took it all in, the place was definitely the same

"That's apparently getting blacker by the day..." Annie spoke sarcastically, while Harry just smiled a bit on the inside remembering something Sirius spoke about Grimmauld Place. Annie reminded him alot of Sirius sometimes.

"Does something seem...weird about this place?" Annie glanced up at Harry. Maybe it was just being back here after such a long time, but he felt it too.

"You mean other than the smell." He smiled at her cheekily.

"Well I was going to blame that on you, but if blaming it on the house makes you feel better about yourself..."

"So do you wanna step off the doormat?" He asked gravely. It was true, they were both a bit warry of what they were about to face, jinx wise.

"Do we dare?"

"Just get your wand ready, just in case..."

"If you hadn't noticed, Mr. Potter, I'm not in need of one."

"Meant to ask you about that actually." Every time Harry had seen Annie perform magic it was always without a wand. Something he thought could actually be a really useful skill to have, which made him all the more curious.

"In due time, Harry, In due time." Annie spoke and took a step off the shabby doormat. Harry had heard someone else say that he just couldn't remember who. He also nervously took his first step off the carpeting.

They heard a voice, "Severus Snape?" It was Moody's voice.

Harry and Annie gave nervous glances to eachother... "Uh... no were not Snape." They felt their tongues suddenly roll back, quite uncomfortable really, and then return to normal.

They both whispered at the same time, "Is that it...?" It was about a minute after complete and utter silence that they were hit with the brunt of it all. Harry felt that all too familiar shiver down his spine and the thought that he would never be happy again. He looked out of the corner of his eye at his companion and knew exactly what memory she chose as a smile crept upon her porcelain face.

"Expecto Patronum!" Both of the young adults chanted at the exact same time. Harry's gallant stag erupting out of the tip of his wand, while a graceful yet fierce phoenix seemed to fly out of the palm of Annie's hand, the patroni working together to defeat the 'dementors' which Harry assumed to be well placed boggarts. A little odd they both thought of dementors as their worts fear...

"Bloody Bogarts." Harry whispered.

"You think it's over...?" Annie scanned the room thoroughly before Harry spoke.

"Yea I think so..." He spoke softly back.

"Harry?"

"Yes?"

"Why are we whispering?" They were lucky, Mrs. Black hadn't noticed them yet. The operative word being yet. Annie started making her way through the hall, until she took a page out of Tonks' book and ran smack dab into the troll leg.

"What the...?" Said Annie looking up at the grotesque troll appendedge she just rammed her forehead into, but unfortunately that thought was interupted by the screams of the merciless Mrs. Black. Harry pulled Annie up, all the while trying to shield his ears.

"Halfbloods! You filty bloodtraitor, scum of the earth, you insolent..." It continued on.

"What was that, another trap for Snape," Annie yelled, both Harry and her had covered their ears in hope of muffling the screeching cries.

"No... that," he paused, "is your grandmother." He closed the painting hangings with a flick of his wand and made his way to the sitting room up the stairs, leaving Annie looking around the room confused, with nothing to do but follow the raven haired young man up the creaking, dusty stairs. The rest of the day they spent cleaning, Harry was thankful, using magic this time. The summer of his fifth year was enough to make him never want to clean the muggle way ever again. It was after dinner and Harry found Annie alone on the top floor of the house, a room he had never been in before.

He opened the door, just enough to slip in unnoticed. He watched her gracefully stroke her fingers across the the ivory keys of a very old and battered piano, mountains of dust clouded the air. And then he heard the loudest sneeze he had ever heard in his life, coming from little Annie. He always wondered how such a big noise could come out of someone so tiny. Still not noticing him she sat down on the even dustier piano bench, but didn't bother to wipe it off in fear of another sneezing attack. She gently bent down a bit and pulled an old wooden box out from underneath the bench and pulled it onto her lap. Harry could see from where he was that it was a box of sheet music, with some other junk in it.

Annie looked into the box of stuff and saw just what she expected. Sheet music that looked like it dated back to the late 1880's and went to the mid 1980's. Somebody had updated the library of music, and then abruptly stopped from what she could tell. She flipped through the different books not really finding much. Until she came across a picture of a young man with messy black hair, glasses and hazel eyes with his arms around one of the most beautiful people Annie thought she had ever seen. The young woman had the most amazing long, shiny hair and kind warm eyes. She flipped over the 4 by 6 to find in very tiny writing "The Ballad of James and Lily" composed by Sirius Black, along with an entire song. She gently set the fragile picture that had aged quite a bit since it's hay day, on the sheet music holder and began to play. Harry made another step towards her.

It started out soft a sweet, rather innocent. And then conflicted, you could tell there was a feeling of hatred in one hand and a feeling of love in the other. The hand of hatred began to mellow and the other intesified a bit, making the two equals, they weren't competing anymore. And it ended, tragically, like someone was drowning their sorrows in the keys. And that was the Ballad of James and Lily.

For those fortunate souls who play an instrument, or have the ability to sing, you know that so much can be said with a single note. So much can be said with a song. This was the way Annie had always felt about music, and according to the back of the picture she was staring at, her father felt the same way.

"That was nice..." Harry said. Annie let out a shrill scream, and without looking at the person, petrified them. And then literally kicking herself as she turned around to see Harry there. She ran over to him (the best she could, hello still injured) and unpetrified him at once.

"Harry I'm so, so sorry! You just scared me that's all. I'm sorry..."

"That's quite alright..." Harry rubbed the back of his head as Annie helped him up.

"I guess I'm a bit skiddish after what happened, sorry."

"Don't apologize," Annie still looked like she felt guilty, so Harry added, "Really it's fine. Now what was that you were playing?"

"Oh! Right," She ran over to the piano like a giddy child, "Well I just found it actually, in the lovely rotting box here." She threw a clearly grossed out look at the box. "According to this, it was written by my dad."

"Remus?" Harry looked at her quizically, he didn't know Remus to be a musician.

"No, Sirius, see." She pointed to the composers name. Harry was a bit speechless, sure he didn't know Sirius that long, but he thought he would've known at least this. And then he glanced at the title and his heart sank...

"It's actually quite good..." She started to ramble on about tempo or something and realized Harry looked like someone just ran over his puppy dog, "What's wrong."

"Nothing it's just my mom and dad," It took a second for it to click with Annie.

"So you're parents are Lily and James."

Harry nodded solemnly. She turned the pic over, "You look quite a bit like your father."

"Thanks. Could you do me a favor."

"Anything," She spoke earnestly.

"You wouldn't mind playing it again." She smiled at him and began to play. For some reason this song, made Harry feel closer to his parents. Like he was getting a chance to know them.

"And I guess that's how it ends." She smiled at Harry who looked a little distant.

"Harry...? Harry? Harry!" He looked up at her and then he looked at his shoes, he looked up at her again and looked at his shoes. And then he began the male art that is pacing. What is it about guys and pacing? Annie leaned her head to the side in confusion and watched the pacing continue on and on and on.

"Well apparently he's gone mad. Harry do I need to call the men with the butterfly nets to chase you down the street. Or maybe I could just hit you over the head with my shoe, of course that wouldn't be very effective because I'm not wearing shoes, I guess maybe I could..." But the pacing stopped. He looked torn, like he was fighting a war in his head or something.

"Annie..."

"Yes..."

He began to move closer to her, slowly but steadily. A day ago they weren't even speaking to eachother... and now... He looked like he was going to kiss her but... kissed her on the cheek instead.

"Goodnight," He huried out of the room as quickly as possible. "Oh grow a pair man!" Harry thought to himself as he took off his shirt and put on a pair of grey pajama pants.

"That stupid little spineless git!" Annie murmured in her head as she turned the shower off and wrapped her dripping self in a towel, put on a purple silk nightie and headed into her very dark, almost creepy room. As soon as she got into her bed, someone turned the wall candlelobras on. She shot out of bed, only to be met by a shirtless Harry, kissing her.

She opened her mouth a bit in surprise allowing Harry's tongue to meet hers. He had one hand roaming her back, while the other cupped the back of her head. She ran her hands through his already ruffled hair. What was it about that hair that was so easy to run your fingers through? It wasn't a sweet kiss filled with fluff. It was one filled with passion, almost like a war between the two of them. After what might've been hours he finally broke the kiss and uttered one word, and one word only.

"Goodnight!" and he left the room.

"I still don't like you," She called from her room loud enough so he could hear her in his.

"That's okay, I don't like you either!"

And that would be the true ballad of Harry and Annie.

Little did they know, tomorrow they would wake up to find something very interesting in the prophet the next day.

Author's Note: Yes I took a line from Greys' (Mer and Dylan's from the bomb epi, who else like them as a couple? I thought he could've been like McYummy or McBomby or something) It just fits Annie and Harry so well.

Special Thanks to:

Anyone who had put this story on their favs or alerts

mrspatrickdempsey and my bud Honor for their continued support