Adam
February 15th 1997
As the evening dragged on, the guests drifted away one by one, and Slughorn became more and more rambunctious in his gestures.
Meanwhile, Ginny had been acting oddly since dinner; she seemed far more excitable than normal and about half an hour ago she had snuggled up against him and promptly fallen sleep. Adam didn't mind, in fact it felt rather nice, but now he was on his own and he didn't have the heart to wake her up.
Once Adrian, the annoying photographer, had left, it was only Adam, a sleeping Ginny, and Slughorn left.
"Well, Harry, my boy," Slughorn said, suddenly raising his glass, and spilling drink over himself. "I am glad you came and I hope you enjoyed yourself," he took a large swig from his drink and continued. "Young Jenny there certainly seemed to."
Adam forced a chuckle. "Yeah, she did."
Slughorn suddenly clambered to his feet, began rummaging in the pockets of his dress robes and withdrew a small vial. He handed the vial to Adam and flopped back down the sofa.
"Give that to her in the morning," he said with a wink.
"What is it?" Adam questioned.
Slughorn took another swig of his drink. "Jenny will have a headache in the morning," Slughorn announced, making a sweeping gesture with his arms.
"Why?" Adam asked, still not quite sure what Slughorn was on about.
"She's drunk!"
"Oh..." Adam said weakly. Add that to the list of things Mrs Weasley must never find out about, he thought with a silent chuckle.
Adam and Slughorn sat for several minutes neither of them saying anything. As time went on, Adam noticed Slughorn receding into the chair as his head lolled from side to side more and more frequently.
"You know, you look a lot like your father, but with your mother's eyes," Slughorn blurted, suddenly breaking the silence.
"Yeah," Adam replied, uncomfortably. "You told me."
"I did, didn't I?" Slughorn replied, seeming a little taken aback. "Taught them both I did. Your Mother was one of my all time favourites!" Slughorn took another swig from his drink. "So sad what happened to them. So very sad!"
"Well... yeah," Adam replied, suddenly having an idea of how he could turn the conversation towards getting the memory.
"Oh, how insensitive of me, Harry," Slughorn replied. "You were there, of course."
"Mum saved my life," Adam added, feeling dirty that he was doing this, but hopeful that he could guilt Slughorn into revealing the memory. "She sacrificed herself for me."
Adam saw Slughorn nod numbly.
"He's coming back, you know," Adam added on a whim. "Voldemort."
Slughorn jumped so violently that he spilled nearly all of his drink down his front.
"Oh my!" he exclaimed, dabbing ineffectually at the wet spot. "Please don't use that name!"
"It's true!" Adam exclaimed. "He is coming back!"
"How do you..." Slughorn replied faintly. He seemed to be trembling.
Adam shuddered as the little he could recall of Voldemort's return assaulted his brain. "I've seen him," said faintly. "I need your help, Horace."
Now trembling even more, Slughorn stood up and, walking over the drinks table, he poured himself another glass.
"I need your help," Adam repeated again. Then he stood up and, being careful to ensure that Ginny was in a comfortable position on the sofa, he moved to stand behind Slughorn. "Please... for me, for my mum... you taught him, didn't you?"
Slughorn turned and nodded faintly.
"He asked you a question once," Adam stated, looking Slughorn right in the eye. "One that you perhaps think you shouldn't have given him the answer to."
"How... how do you know that?" Slughorn stuttered.
Adam ignored Slughorn's question. "He won't find out you helped me. Professor Dumbledore and I will make sure of it."
"I... I can't."
"Horace, please, be brave, like my mother..."
"I am not proud," he whispered, holding his trembling hand near his face. "I'm ashamed of what that memory shows..."
"Please..." Adam pleaded softly, trying to hide the exasperation he was feeling.
Then, very slowly, Slughorn put his hand in his pocket and pulled out his wand. He put his other hand inside his robes and took out a small, empty bottle.
Looking into Adam's eyes, Slughorn touched the tip of his wand to his temple and drew it back, so that a long, silver thread of memory came away, clinging to the wand tip. Slughorn lowered it into the bottle where it coiled, then spread, swirling like gas. He corked the bottle with a trembling hand and then walked over to Adam and placed it into his hand.
"Thank you, Horace," Adam replied, feeling a surge of triumph. He'd done it!
All he needed to do now was wake Ginny up and get back to Hogwarts.
February 16th 1997
The next morning, Adam was, as usual, waiting for Ginny in the common room. As he waited, he checked that the vial of potion that Slughorn had given him was still in his pocket. By all accounts Ginny would need it.
Adam waited much longer than he normally did, until finally, Ginny emerged from the girls' staircase. As she stepped into the room, Adam stared, feeling a tremendous surge of affection for her. She was obviously struggling, her hair was hopelessly tangled and her school uniform was ruffled, but even so, when their eyes met he saw a tired smile form on her face.
Adam immediately got up from where he was sitting and crossed the room towards her.
"Morning," he said.
Ginny mumbled something in reply and lent against him.
Deciding that he needed to give Ginny the potion immediately, he led her over to one of the chairs and sat down, with Ginny cuddling up against him.
"I feel awful," Ginny moaned. "My head hurts... I tried to do my hair, but it took me so long to get out of bed and dressed I realised I was going to miss breakfast."
"I know..." Adam said softly, offering her the vial. "This might help."
Ginny sat up, drank the potion and the rested her head against Adam once more.
After a few minutes of sitting there cuddling Ginny, Adam was beginning to suspect that she might have actually gone back to sleep, but, suddenly she sat up.
"You know," she said, sounding much brighter now. "I do feel better. What was that potion?"
"It's a hangover potion that Slughorn gave me," Adam replied.
"Hang..." Ginny stammered. "Hangover?"
Adam couldn't help but laugh at his girlfriend's surprise and he lowered his voice to reply. "Yeah, you were drunk."
Adam could see Ginny pale slightly. "Mum's going to kill me."
"Only if she finds out," Adam said with a wink, causing Ginny to giggle.
"I.." Ginny replied, looking deep in thought. "That thing I was drinking was alcoholic?"
Adam nodded in response. "Yeah...you nearly fell over."
Ginny giggled. "I remember that, but..." she paused, looking slightly confused. "Last thing I remember was going to sleep on the sofa at Slughorn's."
"Yeah, once we left I woke you up, but you were really giggly and excitable." Adam laughed. "You should have seen Dumbledore's face when we returned to his office."
"Oh no!" Ginny cried, burying her face into Adam's shoulder.
Adam laughed at her mortified expression.
"Oi!" Ginny exclaimed, poking him in the chest. "Wasn't my fault."
"You were the one that was drunk," Adam whispered playfully into her ear.
Ginny huffed and sat back up.
"So," she continued after a pause. "Did you get the memory?"
"Yeah we did," Adam replied. "I gave it to Dumbledore when we got back. He said he'll send for me once he's looked through it and decided what to do."
"Oh," Ginny said. "I would have thought he'd let you watch it with him.
"Yeah..." Adam said, trying to keep the disappointment from his voice. "But from the way he was talking when I gave it to him... Ginny, I think this is big, really big."
"Really?"
"Yeah," Adam replied. "I've never seen Dumbledore looking so pleased."
"Wow..."
"Yeah, I'll give him a chance to look first as long as he tells me what's going on afterwards... and then I'll tell you of course."
Ginny beamed at him, then suddenly her stomach growled.
"Brilliant," Ginny replied, looking annoyed with herself.
"I think that's our cue to head down to breakfast," Adam replied with a grin, helping Ginny to her feet. "I don't know about you, but I'm starved."
February 17th 1997
With a dizzying whirl Adam emerged from Professor Dumbledore's Pensieve, having just watched the memory that he had acquired from Horace Slughorn two nights ago.
Once Adam had his bearings again after his trip into the Pensieve, he sat down on the chair in front of Professor Dumbledore's desk.
"As you may have guessed I have watched the memory myself, and it is everything I could ever have hoped for. It has confirmed my suspicions of which of the possible methods Voldemort used to survive after you defeated him."
"It was Horcruxes," Adam said in a quiet voice. They sounded like the vilest thing ever. Voldemort had split his soul, using the deaths of innocent people to fuel his quest for an everlasting life. "Did he really make one? Or more?" he asked.
"Yes," Professor Dumbledore said bluntly. "He did." He sighed. "And to my shame I had the evidence in front of me for years, and only in the last year or so did I begin to suspect that he had split his soul."
"What evidence?" Adam asked.
"Four years ago, you, or rather Miss Weasley, gave me a book."
"The diary!" Adam exclaimed, suddenly feeling sick. If the diary had been a Horcrux then Ginny had actually been possessed by...
Oh, Ginny!
"I see from the expression on your face you have come to the same conclusion as I have, horrible though it may be," Professor Dumbledore sighed. "And I must confess that I missed the significance of the diary somewhat. I recognised immediately it was a powerful magical artefact made by Tom Riddle, but I did not appreciate just how powerful."
"Why did you miss it?" Adam asked accusingly.
"I was meaning to examine it once I had settled the events regarding the Chamber and, er, determined your guilt or innocence in that matter. Before I could do that however, I received the result of your blood test which understandably provided a new mystery to solve, one that, at the time, seemed far more important. It was only when, just before your capture by Tom, I became convinced his return was imminent, that I turned back to the diary and realised exactly what it was."
Adam nodded numbly, not particularly happy about the reminders of the past few years.
"So as you can see, the diary proves that Tom made Horcruxes," Professor Dumbledore surmised, obviously not wanting to dwell on his failings.
"But then we've destroyed it!" Adam exclaimed. "That he came back means ... he must have made more than one!"
"Indeed," Professor Dumbledore replied. "And with this memory we are now closer to unravelling the secrets of Lord Voldemort. Did you not hear him suggest that seven is the most powerful magical number?"
"He made seven!" Adam nearly shouted. "We've got to find and destroy seven? How will we find them!"
"I am glad you appreciate the magnitude of the problem," said Professor Dumbledore dryly. "But he didn't actually make seven; he split his soul into seven. So one piece still resides in his body."
"That still leaves six," Adam said in a sullen tone.
"Five, actually," Professor Dumbledore replied. "You destroyed one in your first year." Professor Dumbledore sighed again. "If I had known sooner that Horcruxes were the method he had used to survive, I may have been able to locate more by now."
"Do you have any idea where the others may be?" Adam asked.
"That is not the only question we must ask, Adam. We must also ask ourselves what they are."
"What do you mean?"
"Adam, they could be anything, tin cans, books, valuable treasures."
"We're screwed," Adam replied.
"Actually, no," Professor Dumbledore added. "I said they could be anything, but Lord Voldemort would not use tin cans or old potion bottles to guard his most precious soul. Remember the Orphanage?"
Adam nodded.
"Lord Voldemort liked to collect trophies, a habit that now begins to make sense, and he would have preferred objects with a powerful magical history. Using this information we can make certain assumptions about what he made into Horcruxes."
"So you know what they are?" Adam asked excitedly.
"I can only guess," said Professor Dumbledore. "And now we must search through Lord Voldemort's history for objects that might have attracted him to use them as a Horcrux."
Adam nodded again, feeling incredibly overwhelmed by all this.
"Which is exactly what I started doing as soon as you returned with the memory. I have spent the last two days and nights searching back through the memories I have in my collection and examining them for any clues as to what the Horcruxes may be." he paused. "I have come up with several options."
"You know what some of them are?" Adam said again, feeling a surge of excitement once again.
"My first clue, comes from the interview with Morfin Gaunt,"
"Voldemort's uncle?" Adam clarified.
"Exactly. The one thing he was most upset about over the whole incident was not, surprisingly, being framed for murder, but the fact that Tom had stolen Marvolo's ring, the Gaunt family ring."
"The ring is one!" Adam exclaimed.
"Yes, or should I say, I believe it is," Professor Dumbledore replied.
"What about the others?" Adam asked eagerly, now confident that Professor Dumbledore was on top of things.
Professor Dumbledore didn't reply, but walked over the container where he kept his vials of memories, he held one up to show Adam.
"I will spare you the details, but this memory shows a visit by Lord Voldemort to a woman by the name of Hephzibah Smith. A few days after Tom's visit she turned up dead, with her house-elf as the only suspect."
Adam gave a dry chuckle. "How convenient."
"Indeed," Professor Dumbledore agreed. "What is far more interesting, was the reason for Voldemort's visit to Hephzibah Smith in the first place. He was inquiring on behalf of his employer, Borgin and Burkes, about the purchase of two Smith Family heirlooms."
"Borgin and Burkes?" Adam asked, with a confused look on his face.
"I'm getting ahead of myself," Professor Dumbledore replied. "Once he left school, Tom, much to everyone's surprise, went to work for a shop in Knockturn Alley specialising into the sale of... shall we say undesirable objects."
"So let me guess," Adam responded, "did these heirlooms go missing?"
"Exactly. And I believe these items have also been made into Horcruxes."
"What were they?" Adam inquired.
"They were a locket whose history can be traced back to Salazar Slytherin and a cup that once belonged to Helga Hufflepuff."
"So you believe the locket and cup are Horcruxes, too?"
"Yes, although as with all these things we are now operating in the realms of guesswork."
Adam nodded. "So what about the others?"
Professor Dumbledore once more went into his rack of memories and pulled out yet another vial. "This is one of the last memories of Lord Voldemort before the start of the first Wizarding war. It was his interview with me for the post of Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor."
"You didn't give him the job did you?" Adam exclaimed.
"Of course not. However, the fact he applied for the job not once but twice shows, I believe, a connection to the school. I've always known that Tom felt a strong connection to Hogwarts, and this connections tells us something important."
"He chose objects with connections to the school?"
"Not the school, I think, but the Founders."
"Hufflepuff's cup, Slytherin's locket!" Adam exclaimed, suddenly understanding what Dumbledore was getting at.
"Exactly, Adam. Then the remaining Horcruxes must be..."
"Something of Gryffindor's and Ravenclaw's!" Adam exclaimed, interrupting him.
"Yes," Professor Dumbledore responded, then he sighed. "Except, that I don't think it is as simple as that. Something I saw in the graveyard on the night that Voldemort returned also attracted my notice."
"What's that?" Adam asked curiously. His memories of that night were very hazy.
"His snake," Professor Dumbledore replied.
Professor Dumbledore walked over to the Pensieve. He placed his wand to his temple and extracted a great, thick, silvery snake of memory into the bowl.
"I will spare you the entire memory of the night that Voldemort returned, but I do need your help. My Parseltongue is a little rusty."
Professor Dumbledore waved his wand and suddenly the silvery liquid in the Pensieve began to shift and glow. Then, rising out the bowl, a figure of a man took shape. He was small, too small for Adam make out any features, other than he was wearing all black.
"Dumbledore!" The silvery man shouted. His cold voice, one that Adam knew only too well, made him shudder.
Then there were several small flashes from the Pensieve.
"Spell fire," Professor Dumbledore commented.
"Nagini, to me," the memory Voldemort hissed.
"Nagini, to me," Adam repeated for Professor Dumbledore.
A few more flashes from the Pensieve.
"Nagini, stay with me, do not let Dumbledore near you," Voldemort said again to the snake.
Adam translated for Dumbledore again.
Professor Dumbledore waved his wand over the Pensieve again and the memory of Voldemort vanished back into the pool of silvery liquid.
"He was awfully protective of it when we fought, always ensuring its safety. Do you not think?" he enquired.
"You think the snake is a Horcrux?"
"Possibly," Professor Dumbledore said, stroking his beard. "But at this time nothing is certain. I have only the evidence of the graveyard to go on in relation to the snake and I have no idea what possible relics of Gryffindor or Ravenclaw Voldemort may have acquired. In fact, I know of no relics of these founders that have been seen since their deaths."
"But how can the snake be a Horcrux? I thought he made them," Adam swallowed. "Er... before he killed my parents?"
"He did make most of them, and I believe that he saved making his last Horcrux for the most significant death."
"Mine?" Adam asked softly.
"Precisely, so as soon as he returned, it was only natural that he sought out the first opportunity to make another, or so I believe."
"So, we need to find the Gaunt Ring, Slytherin's Locket, Hufflepuff's Cup, and the last two could be something of Ravenclaw, Gryffindor or even his snake."
"That is correct, Adam," Professor Dumbledore said. "And that must be our great task. While the Order of Phoenix works against his followers, I will pursue this most secret mission."
"Secret?" Adam asked.
"Yes. Imagine what Voldemort would do if he realised we were looking for his Horcruxes?"
"Move them, so we will never find them..." Adam shuddered. "Could he make more?"
"I don't know, Adam," Professor Dumbledore replied. "I hope not, but I fear it is possible. I know of no documentation for such a thing."
"Will he know when we destroy one?" Adam asked. It would all be useless if Voldemort felt it as soon as they destroyed the first one.
"Once more, this is only a guess, but I believe he will not be able to feel it. There is evidence to support this. I know that he was not aware that the Diary had been destroyed until Lucius Malfoy told him."
Adam was only too familiar with the effect the Diary had on both him and Ginny.
"So once all the Horcruxes are gone Voldemort can be killed!" Adam exclaimed. "Have you found any?" he asked, anxious to know how close they were to finding one.
"I believe I am close to finding one and have an idea of the location for a second."
"Can I help you, Professor?" Adam replied, feeling excited. At last they had a plan to bring down Voldemort. "When we find one can I come with you to destroy it?"
"Adam," Professor Dumbledore began. "Destroying a Horcrux is dangerous. I do not think..."
"Then why did you tell me all this, sir?" Adam interrupted hotly.
"So that you know, Adam. You will have a role, the most important role, to play in the end."
"The Prophecy says I have to kill him. Surely that's destroying the Horcruxes! Or are you going to just hide me away and then pull me out at the last minute to finish him off?"
Professor Dumbledore sighed.
"I want to do this!" Adam said, jumping to his feet and shouting. "I need to do this! He killed Sirius! He killed Remus! He killed my parents!"
"I will see what I can do Adam. If I can, then I will take you."
"Thank you," Adam said, feeling his anger suddenly draining away. He hadn't expected Professor Dumbledore to let him go with so little argument.
"You are right, Adam," Professor Dumbledore continued. "You have earned the right as long as it is safe, but you must be clear on this and this is important!" Professor Dumbledore said intensely. "You are only in the position because of Lord Voldemort. Think about it, would you be in the position you are now if he hadn't killed your parents?"
"No, sir," Adam said hesitantly.
"It is because Lord Voldemort believed in the Prophecy that he attacked you and your parents. That he is still targeting you means that you must respond."
"Isn't it the same though?" Adam asked.
"No!" Professor Dumbledore stated emphatically. "The effect is the same. Lord Voldemort will never rest until you are destroyed, which means you can never rest until he is destroyed. Be honest with me Adam, could you ignore the threat that Lord Voldemort poses to the Wizarding World, knowing that he killed your parents?"
"No, I couldn't," Adam said softly. He wanted Voldemort dead.
"Exactly. The Prophecy is only significant because Lord Voldemort believes in it."
Adam nodded. "So in the end?"
"It may well come down to the two of you, but through your own choice, and not because of any Prophecy."
Adam nodded numbly.
"I know this has been a lot for you to take in, Adam, but there is one final thing I want to..." He paused. "...Just warn you about."
Professor Dumbledore pulled out a piece of parchment and passed it to Adam.
Adam glanced at the writing on the paper, it seemed to be a newspaper story. His mouth dropped open as he saw a large picture of himself and Ginny, with brown hair, dominating the sheet.
Love for Potter?
"Oh, no!" Adam breathed weakly, still staring at the parchment. "How?"
"I don't know," Professor Dumbledore replied. "I tried to stop the Daily Prophet from publishing this, but all I was able to do was delay it. They will print it in tomorrow's paper, probably on the front page." His beard twitched as he added, "Luckily, for us they have not identified your partner."
Adam breathed a sigh of relief. At least Ginny wouldn't be in the paper. That would have been very awkward for her and caused her no end of trouble with her parents.
"I don't think we have a big problem here. The risk we took having you and Miss Weasley attend that party was well worth it for the results. I just wanted to warn you, and it would be wise for you in turn to warn Miss Weasley."
Adam nodded and passed the parchment back towards Professor Dumbledore. "Is that all, sir?" he asked.
"Yes, we have been here far too long as it is, and by my estimate it is nearly curfew, so you had better be off. We wouldn't want Dolores asking too many questions."
"Okay, good-bye then, sir, and er... thanks,"
"No problem, Harry," Professor Dumbledore replied. "I will contact you regarding our next meeting. There are still things we need to cover in our lessons."
Adam nodded, made his way out of the Headmasters office and dashed back up to the Gryffindor common room. He had a lot he needed to tell Ginny.
Ginny
February 18th 1997
The next morning, Ginny and Adam arrived for breakfast slightly later than usual, both feeling apprehensive about the article that was supposed to be appearing in the paper.
When they sat down at their usual place at the Gryffindor, they noticed that there was quite a buzz about the room, especially from the DA members.
"Look at this," Ron exclaimed, wafting the Daily Prophet in her face.
Ginny snatched the paper from him and looked at the cover. Just as Adam had expected there was a picture of the two of them, but it wasn't quite as bad as Adam had made out, she had half expected a massive close up of their faces where, in fact, the picture was taken far enough away that their facial features were not easily recognisable.
"Well..." Ginny began, searching for what to say. "Good on him."
"Yeah," Ron replied. "She's good looking too. I wonder if he'll bring her to the DA," then he laughed. "And I thought he fancied you."
"Ronald!" Hermione said, raising her voice. "Don't be so rude!"
"What?" Ron questioned, looking genuinely puzzled. "Oh," he said. Then, he turned to Adam and continued. "Don't worry, mate, I told him Ginny was already taken."
Ginny shook her head in amazement, not quite sure whether to be angry or incredibly amused at the ludicrous situation. If only Ron knew that the person he had just called good looking was in fact her!
Suddenly unable to hold in the giggles, Ginny got to her feet.
"I'll be back in a sec," she choked out, trying hard not to laugh.
As she turned to leave, she saw Adam look up at her, obviously wondering if he needed to come with her, but she shook her head. She just need to go and collect herself and then she could come back.
Once she left the Great Hall, Ginny darted across the Entrance Hall and doubled over, allowing herself to giggle freely.
"Ginny?" She heard a voice from behind her and felt someone put their arm around her. "Are you okay?"
Ginny spun around, and came face to face with Hermione.
"I..." she said, trying to stop the laughter. "I'm fine, it's just... it's just so funny."
"What?" Hermione asked, holding out the paper. "Are you okay with this?"
"What?" Ginny asked. "Of course..." then seeing the puzzled look on Hermione's face she continued. "Oh, Hermione, that's me in the photo."
"What!" Hermione exclaimed, suddenly looking at the photo more closely. "You can't really see your face."
"I know," Ginny said with a grin. "A lucky escape, I guess."
"So," Hermione continued, a smile suddenly forming on her face. "When Ron said she was good looking, he was actually talking about you."
"I know!" Ginny exclaimed. "That's why I had to get out of there! I thought I was going to burst!"
Hermione too burst into laughter. "Oh, Ginny."
The two girls stood there for a couple of minutes giggling away.
"I think," Ginny said, hoping that she now had the laughter out of her system. "We should get back to breakfast."
Adam
February 25th 1997
"So this spell Hermione told you about," Ginny questioned, once they were safely sealed inside the Room of Requirement. "What does it actually do?"
"Explosions," Adam said with a smirk.
"Cool," Ginny replied. "What's the incantation?"
"Expulso," Adam replied.
"Expulso," Ginny called loudly, pointing her wand at the wall.
Nothing happened.
"There's a special wand movement that goes with it," Adam added, grabbing a book from his bag and opening to a page marked with a bookmark.
"Expluso," Adam cried, imitating the wand movement from the book.
A ball of light left his wand, flew across the room and struck the wall. As the light struck the wall, the stonework cracked and billowed out in a small explosion.
"Seems kinda similar to Confringo," Ginny commented.
"Hmm," Adam said. "Hermione wouldn't have mentioned it if it was the same as one we already knew."
"Let me try," Ginny continued. "Expulso," She cast, achieving the exact same results as Adam had previously.
"It's useless then," Ginny exclaimed, in frustration.
Adam felt frustration building inside him. Why would Hermione waste their time with this?
"Expulso!" He cried, deciding to give it one more go.
This time the explosion was noticeably larger.
"Wait!" Ginny exclaimed, staring at the spot the spell had hit. "What did you do different?"
"I don't know, I was just really frustrated."
Ginny paused for a second before trying to spell yet again. "Expulso!" Ginny cried.
The explosion that her spell made was smaller again and her shoulders slumped in disappointment.
"What's going on?" Ginny asked, sounding exasperated.
Adam turned to stare a Ginny for a second, shuddering as he thought back to Christmas Eve.
"Adam?" Ginny asked gently.
"I think it might be like Bellatrix Lestrange said to me, you have to mean it, for it to work."
"Adam..." Ginny replied softly. "Is this a Dark spell?"
Adam hesitated. "I... I...don't know. Does it not depend on how you use it?"
Ginny shrugged. "Your guess is as good as mine."
"I'm not sure, but I imagine as long as we only use it in self-defence we are okay..." Adam replied, uneasily.
"Okay," Ginny replied. "Shall we give it a go, then?"
Adam watched as Ginny screwed up her face and shouted. "Expulso!"
A large explosion shattered a chunk of the wall and Adam burst out in applause.
"Well done!" He praised. "Well done!"
Ginny grinned back at him. "This could be really useful!"
"Yeah," Adam replied. "Might be a little dangerous to teach the DA."
"It's not as difficult as the Patronus Charm, though," Ginny replied, sighing. "So they would probably pick it up reasonably quickly."
Adam hesitated.
"What do you want to do?" Ginny asked.
"I don't think we should teach it to them. We know the damage that even Confringo can do and we haven't done that yet," at the indirect mention of the Death Eater that she had killed at Christmas, Adam immediately saw Ginny pale. He crossed quickly to her and clasped her hand in his.
"Thanks," Ginny said softly. "So we're not going to teach this to the DA?"
"No," Adam answered, putting his arm around her. "It's just too dangerous. Maybe we can show some who we know aren't going to misuse it." Adam shuddered. "Can you imagine if one of them used it on a Slytherin, or something?"
Adam felt Ginny shudder at the thought of that. "Yeah..." she continued weakly. "If I'd thought about it at Christmas and used a Stunner..."
Adam immediately turned around and put his hands on her shoulders. "Ginny, if you'd stopped to think, then he'd probably have gotten me," he paused, brushing her hair away from her eyes. "You saved my life."
Suddenly, and quite inexplicably, Ginny laughed. "Well, if you're counting, I think that makes us even doesn't it?"
Adam couldn't help but laugh in response. "I guess it does."
