A/N - Sorry it took so long to get this chapter out, I have just been away camping for two weeks and so was unable to do any writing or editing. The next one will most likely be another long wait, as I am yet to finish writing it, and I am away again on holiday next week - Yes, I have reached the point where the story is not completely pre-written! Anyway, here is the next chapter, please leave a review, as it makes the writing worth it! (Disclaimer in Chapter 1)
Chapter 12 - Lessons Begin at the Castle
In the carriage up to Hogwarts, Harry asked the twins, "Can you keep what happened on the train a secret please? I don't want to be seen as fragile."
"Sure."
"We can understand..."
"...Why you don't want people to know..."
"...Namely Malfoy?"
"Him, and some other Slytherins." Harry confirmed - after the train journey he was getting used to the twins' double speech and had worked out not to follow who was speaking - it would just hurt his head.
"Your secret is safe with us."
They got out of the carriage, and had just entered the entrance hall, when Professor McGonagall asked Harry to head to her office immediately.
Pulling Ginny with him, he headed towards his Head-of-House's office.
"She didn't ask to see me Harry, I should get to the Great Hall." Ginny commented.
Harry leaned down to whisper in her ear, his breath blowing a few strands of her hair lightly. "No Ginny, remember Dumbledore doesn't think our bond has completed yet, so we want to keep him ignorant a while longer. To do that we need to stay in contact."
"That makes sense, I'd completely forgotten! But you're going to explain to Professor McGonagall."
"Of course love." Harry commented with a soft chuckle.
After waiting for a few minutes, the Transfiguration teacher arrived with Hermione in tow. 'So much for avoiding Ron and Hermione completely' Harry thought. Hermione just gave them a confused look as Professor McGonagall ushered them into her office, closing the door behind them then taking her seat.
"Miss Weasley, I don't remember inviting you to this meeting."
"That's OK Professor, I asked her to join me." Harry spoke up.
"Oh, what made you think you could do such a thing Mr Potter?" Professor McGonagall asked sternly.
"There's a very good reason Professor, and Professor Dumbledore knows of it, but we'll tell you another time. It's a long story." This only served to intrigue Hermione even more.
"Fair enough, but it better be a good explanation, although as I'm only talking about you for now its your own look out. Anyway Mr Potter, Professor Lupin owled ahead to say you were taken ill on the train."
"I'm fine, and I would appreciate it if that was kept a secret."
"Understood - I can see where you particularly might not appreciate having something like that getting around. Only those in this room, those who were present, Professor Dumbledore and Madam Pomfrey will know." At this moment, the resident matron herself bustled in, and started breaking up a chunk of chocolate, all the while muttering about how unsafe it was to have dementors near the school.
"Um, Madam Pomfrey?" Harry spoke up, hesitantly. It was well known that the matron didn't like being interrupted when working on a patient. "I'm fine. Professor Lupin gave me some chocolate on the train."
"Finally a Defence teacher who knows Defence." She exclaimed in relief. "Alright, you're cleared to go now. Goodness knows its not worth my while trying to get you up to the Hospital Wing for the night."
"Okay, Mr Potter, Miss Weasley, you may head to the feast. I need to speak to Miss Granger about her timetable." Professor McGonagall said.
Harry and Ginny arrived at the feast just as Professor Flitwick removed the Sorting Hat from the hall. Clearly he had carried out the sorting where the Deputy Headmistress was unable to. Hermione strangely arrived moments later, despite the fact that as they closed the door to the office when leaving it looked to be that a long conversation would be starting. Finding Fred and George, they took two spare seats next to the twin pranksters and settled in to eat. Fred and George had clearly saved them two spaces, and together they had filled the space around them with friends from fifth year, and some of Ginny's from second year to prevent Ron and Hermione sitting near them, understanding that Harry didn't want to deal with them just yet. Unfortunately, this included Colin Creevey, who wanted to talk to Harry a lot. This made Ginny slightly annoyed, however unfairly, that her second-year friends were sitting around them, as she could see the discomfort on Harry's face at the conversations throughout the feast, and she had wanted to talk to her husband herself anyway.
After the feast, Dumbledore stood and raised his hands calmly. The hall quickly quietened as every face turned towards him and he started his traditional announcements.
"Welcome to another year at Hogwarts! I have a few things to say to you all, and as one is very serious, I think it best to get it out of the way before you become too tired."
Uncharacteristically seriously for the start of term announcements, and with the usual twinkle absent from his blue eyes, the Headmaster started his first announcement. "As you will all be aware after their search of the Hogwarts Express, our school is presently playing host to some of the Dementors of Azkaban, who are here on Ministry of Magic business. They are stationed at every entrance to the grounds, and while they are with us, I must make it plain that nobody is to leave school without permission. Dementors are not to be fooled by tricks or disguises - or even invisibility cloaks." He added blandly, pointedly looking at Harry.
"It is not in the nature of a Dementor to understand pleading or excuses. I therefore warn each and every one of you to give them no reason to harm you. I look to Prefects, and our new Head Boy and Girl, to make sure that no student runs foul of the Dementors. To this extent, I am happy to announce our Head Boy and Girl this year, Mr Percy Weasley from Gryffindor and Miss Penelope Clearwater from Ravenclaw. I ask our younger students to ask them for help if necessary, or to find a prefect, of which there are six in each house." At this, Percy puffed out his chest.
"On a happier note, I am pleased to welcome two new teachers to our ranks this year. Firstly, Professor Lupin, who has kindly consented to fill the post of Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher." There was some scattered applause, only Fred, George, Ginny and Harry were clapping enthusiastically. Most people looked uncertainly at the Professor in his ragged clothes, not sure whether the Headmaster was joking or not.
"Look at Snape!" Ginny hissed urgently at Harry. Snape was looking particularly annoyed at Professor Lupin, and it seemed to be for something more than him taking the DADA post from him again. The greasy-haired professor was positively glaring at Professor Lupin.
Dumbledore continued, "As to our second new appointment, well, I am sorry to tell you that Professor Kettleburn, our Care of Magical Creatures teacher, retired at the end of last year in order to enjoy more time with his remaining limbs. However, I am delighted to say that his place will be filled by none other than Rubeus Hagrid, who has agreed to take on this position in addition to his gamekeeping duties." Once again, this announcement was met by a scattering of applause, again heavy from Harry, Ginny, Fred and George, and slightly more could be heard from some of the other Gryffindors, Ron and Hermione included, but they seemed to not want to stand out so much. Almost no applause came from the Slytherin table, who were looking exceedingly confused, and staring at Dumbledore as if he'd grown a second head.
"Well, I think that's everything of importance, now off to bed."
Harry and Ginny stood up and headed straight for Hagrid, against the crowd heading for the doors. In the background the fifth year prefects could be heard calling for first years to follow them to the dormitories.
"Congratulations Hagrid. Now I understand the book assignment!" Harry said, when they had reached the half-giant.
"Thank you. it's all I ever wan'ed, you know, fancy me, a teacher, eh?" Turning, he dabbed his eyes with an oversized handkerchief, and started towards the door. Harry and Ginny followed just behind him.
He left the hall ahead of them, just as Dumbledore caught up. "Mr Potter, Ms Weasley, please head to my office. I will be there shortly. I am rather partial to Lemon Drops." With that, he followed Hagrid to the grand doors leading out to the grounds.
"Why would we need to know that he is partial to Lemon Drops?" Ginny asked. "He can't be expecting us to bring him any, he shouldn't even be asking to speak to us in person."
"I think the Lemon Drops comment must have been a hint to the password, he seems to like using sweets. But I agree - he shouldn't have any need to speak to us, it should go to Professor McGonagall first.
Confused, they headed up the grand staircase and along the corridor to the gargoyle. It took some time, because none of the staircases were on the side of the castle they wanted, so they had to wait for some to move before continuing to the sixth floor, where the entrance to Dumbledore's office was.
"Lemon Drops." Harry calmly stated. The gargoyle slowly and steadily bowed his head, then moved back and started twisting clockwise. Harry and Ginny stepped onto the staircase, and waited for it to carry them to the top. Once there, they entered the office and settled into an obviously out-of-place comfy couch in front of his desk to wait.
The Great Albus Dumbledore was worried. The silver device monitoring Harry and Ginny's bond had not gone off all summer, which in his mind was good, as it was yet to mess up his plans for Harry's future, but that and the fact that they had remained in contact for the whole feast made it difficult for living arrangements. He could of course hope that his device hadn't worked, and that no-one knew the bond had completed. It was time for a short trip to the Ministry.
He strode purposefully down a lesser used corridor on the lowest floor of the Ministry of Magic to the Department of Mysteries. Any normal witch or wizard would never have been allowed to enter, but Dumbledore was far from normal. Not least was it generally regarded that he was the greatest wizard alive, but also he happened to be on rather good and friendly terms with the head witch of the Department, who was happy to allow him access to the Hall of Records with the requirement that he wasn't to leave the room without her. In no time he had found the book he needed.
1992
Harry James Potter and Ginevra Molly Weasley
Soul Bond
Started: 27th June 1992
Completed: 1st July 1992
He couldn't comprehend why his device didn't activate, but at least they could go back to separate beds. He had no need to mess around with living arrangements or extra secrets. And it would make Arthur and Molly happier as well, knowing their daughter no longer required contact with another boy in order to live. Of course, this did make it much harder to keep them apart. The bond, while removing the need for contact after a few minutes, did create an urge for it in the pair. It would not be necessary, but craved after a few hours apart. They would want to stay together as much as possible. But Dumbledore couldn't allow for that to happen - Harry needed to focus on his destiny, without the distraction of a romantic entanglement. A love potion would be in order the next morning to distract the boy from his bond-mate.
Returning to his office, he found Harry sitting on the sofa he had created earlier in front of his desk, with Ginny curled up in his lap rather than using the second half of the sofa, and his arms wrapped around her waist.
"Good evening, Mr Potter, Miss Weasley." He started, as he exited the floo. "I have just visited the Ministry and found information pertaining to the fact that your bond was completed at the start of July. Unfortunately, I have no idea why I was not informed and didn't find out about this. I take it you were unaware of this development."
"We had no idea it had completed." Harry replied. "We had to stay in contact all summer." It was a lie, but Dumbledore didn't know that, and he wasn't too trusting of the Headmaster nowadays. He plastered a look of surprise on his face, as did Ginny.
"Okay. I can see it is just as much of a surprise to you as it is too me. Well now it is complete the need for contact should have dissolved somewhat. I presume you wouldn't know as you have been staying in contact as much as possible anyway. As it is complete, you will return to your dorms. You should be able to survive the night now without contact. Miss Weasley, due to your advancing a year you will now be in the third year dorms with your new year-mates. Speaking of which, are your parents aware of you moving up a year?"
"Not yet." Ginny responded, somewhat embarrassed. "I didn't want them to prevent me moving up a year, after what happened last year."
"Understandable. However, they cannot do anything about it now, but must still be informed. I will journey to the Burrow and tell them myself in the morning. It will be nice to sample some of Molly Weasley's excellent cooking once again. I wish you luck in your studies and hope you succeed in moving up a year. Goodnight."
Recognising the dismissal for what it was, Harry and Ginny stood as one and left the office, hand in hand. They soon reached the common room, as it was only one floor up and the stairs were behaving this time. Harry stopped by the stairs to the dorms, and giving Ginny a kiss, said, "Goodnight Love, see you in the morning."
They went upstairs to their respective dormitories, luckily everyone was asleep so they were not questioned about where they had been for the hour since the feast. No one even seemed to realise they had been missing.
Later that night found Harry tossing in his bed, once more suffering nightmares about Voldemort. Having not experienced them for the whole summer, he had thought he was free at last, but this appeared to not be the case. So it was that on his first day back in Hogwarts, his 'real' home, he wasn't getting any sleep. Clearly holding Ginny in his arms was the reason he had not experienced the nightmares that summer - while it was what they had told Fred and George on the train the previous day, he hadn't been sure until now.
Meanwhile, across the tower, Ginny was having the same experience. She had started having nightmares relieving the Chamber, and what Tom had forced her to do. This resulted in her too not wanting to sleep, for fear of having more nightmares that she had been free of for the entire summer. She was also reaching the conclusion that Harry's arms had had more effect than she realised.
By 2am, she had had enough. If she couldn't sleep properly the least she could do was start on her schoolwork. Even though they hadn't had any lessons yet, she could still make use of her time by reading her textbooks, to get a head start and prove she was meant to be in third year. She grabbed the Standard Book of Spells, Grade 3, put on her dressing gown and made her way downstairs to the common room. Once there, she placed another log on the fire to keep it burning a while longer and curled up in the armchair closest to it, wrapping her dressing gown tightly around herself, trying to keep as warm as possible.
It wasn't long before she heard footsteps on the stairs from the boys dormitories. Turning her head, Harry came into view trudging slowly down the stairs and into the common room, also in his dressing gown and also holding the Standard Book of Spells, Grade 3. His eyes noticeably lit up at the sight of her, but to Ginny he still looked as bad as she felt. She had long since learnt how to read his emotions from his face, as he wasn't very good at telling others how he was feeling. He had obviously been experiencing the same as her. He quickly made his way over to her and pulled her up from the armchair before sitting where she had been moments earlier. He then pulled her back into his lap and wrapped his arms round her waist, nestling his face in her sweet smelling hair. She reciprocated in kind by wrapping her arms around his neck, and they sat in silence for a few minutes before Harry spoke up.
"Couldn't sleep?" He asked, lifting his head from the hair around her neck.
"Not without nightmares from the chamber. You?" She replied quietly.
"Same, but nightmares about Voldemort in general. Why are we having them now? I didn't have any for the whole summer."
"Me neither. Do you reckon it might be because of our bond, so sleeping in the same bed, in each others arms, prevents them from coming?"
"I wouldn't be surprised, but how do we share a bed at Hogwarts? Dumbledore would never allow it. You saw how pleased he was that our bond was complete, so he didn't have to sort out sleeping arrangements." Harry commented.
"Who knows. How about we just stay here tonight, and see if that portrait of Godric has any ideas tomorrow when we visit him."
"I like that idea. We just have to wake up and return to our dorms before anyone finds us, in case we have to do it again in the future. It would be best if no one knows about it. Also, I would appreciate it if we didn't give Ron even more reasons to kill me. He was glowering enough already at the feast."
"Don't worry. I won't let him hurt you." Ginny said, patting his arm lovingly, but slightly patronisingly. "But I do see the need for secrecy. If we wake up by six, no one should be down by then. The feast last night will have tired everyone out, they won't get up before they need to."
"Okay."
Ginny curled back up in Harry's lap, placing her head on his chest, and his chin rested on top of her head. He wrapped his arms around her waist, and pulled her in as tight as possible without hurting her, then enveloped her in his dressing gown with him. They soon both dropped off to sleep.
It was half five when Harry slowly regained consciousness. He sat there, still, for half an hour just watching the wonderful girl in his arms sleep peacefully. She looked so calm curled up, with nothing bothering her. This led Harry to contemplation of how they were going to share a bed at school. He had slept much better once he was holding Ginny than before, and it seemed it was better for her in his arms. He couldn't think of an obvious way for them to sleep in the same bed without anyone knowing, but knew they must if they were to get any sort of sleep for the next year.
Slowly, she also came to, yawning and curling into Harry more. He chuckled, and placed a gentle kiss on the top of her head, before speaking softly.
"Good morning, beautiful. Its just gone six, we need to get back to the dorms."
"No we don't." Ginny replied groggily.
"Yes, we do. We decided it wouldn't be best to be caught down here, remember?"
"I know. But its comfy here, and warm - I want to stay here curled up with you."
"While I like that idea too, I'm afraid we can't. Shall we meet back here at 7.00 for breakfast?"
"Okay." Ginny replied. "I'll just have to accept it. See you soon. I doubt I'll be getting any more sleep."
"Neither will I, but as is our situation. We'll have to think of ideas for how to share a bed today."
"Yes we will."
They stood up, headed over to the staircase, and Harry gave her a peck on the cheek before they headed up to their separate dorms, both knowing they were destined for no more sleep.
Harry lay awake on his bed, until the breathing pattern from behind the curtains of the next bed changed. Knowing this meant that Ron would be getting up soon, he quickly got dressed and headed down to the common room. Ron seemed to have an internal clock which would allow him to get up with just enough time to get ready before Breakfast started, as crazy as he was about food, and Harry really did not want to encounter his friend - actually he didn't really know if Ron was his friend anymore - just yet.
Soon, Ginny also arrived in the common room, yawning, trying to avoid her new roommates - especially as one of them was Hermione, who was known not to let a mystery go easily. It must have been obvious to them that someone new was sleeping in their dorm, but she wanted to keep it quiet so that they had no idea who it was for now. It would be a surprise come lessons.
After greeting her with a quick kiss, they headed down to breakfast a little early. While they were eating, McGonagall came round with their timetables. They stuffed them away, intending to look after their meal. As luck would have it, they managed to leave the Great Hall before Ron or Hermione made it down. It was entirely possible that they were waiting for them in the common room, even through Ron's focus on food, but clearly the need to eat had finally won them over.
The pair headed outside, and made their way a little way around the lake, until they reached a large oak tree. Harry sat with his back against the tree, facing out to the lake, and Ginny sat between his legs, leaning her back against his chest, as he hugged her round the waist. Only then did they look at their timetables. As expected, they were identical.
Monday
Breakfast: 7.00 - 8.30
Period 1: 9.00 - 10.05 - Ancient Runes
Period 2: 10.10 - 11.15 - Transfiguration
Period 3: 11.20 - 12.25 - Transfiguration
Lunch: 12.30 - 13.30
Period 4: 14.00 - 15.05 - Potions
Period 5: 15.10 - 16.15 - Potions
Period 6: 16.20 - 17.25 - Arithmancy
Dinner: 18.00 - 19.00
Curfew: 21.00
Tuesday
Breakfast: 7.00 - 8.30
Period 1: 9.00 - 10.05 - Herbology
Period 2: 10.10 - 11.15 - History of Magic
Period 3: 11.20 - 12.25 - Astronomy
Lunch: 12.30 - 13.30
Period 4: 14.00 - 15.05 - Charms
Period 5: 15.10 - 16.15 - Charms
Period 6: 16.20 - 17.25
Dinner: 18.00 - 19.00
Curfew: 21.00
Wednesday
Breakfast: 7.00 - 8.30
Period 1: 9.00 - 10.05
Period 2: 10.10 - 11.15 - History of Magic
Period 3: 11.20 - 12.25 - Transfiguration
Lunch: 12.30 - 13.30
Period 4: 14.00 - 15.05 - Ancient Runes
Period 5: 15.10 - 16.15 - Defence Against the Dark Arts
Period 6: 16.20 - 17.25 - Care of Magical Creatures
Dinner: 18.00 - 19.00
Curfew: 21.00
Astronomy Practical: 23.30 - 01.00
Thursday
Breakfast: 7.00 - 8.30
Period 1: 9.00 - 10.05 - Arithmancy
Period 2: 10.10 - 11.15
Period 3: 11.20 - 12.25 - History of Magic
Lunch: 12.30 - 13.30
Period 4: 14.00 - 15.05 - Charms
Period 5: 15.10 - 16.15 - Herbology
Period 6: 16.20 - 17.25 - Potions
Dinner: 18.00 - 19.00
Curfew: 21.00
Friday
Breakfast: 7.00 - 8.30
Period 1: 9.00 - 10.05
Period 2: 10.10 - 11.15 - Defence Against the Dark Arts
Period 3: 11.20 - 12.25 - Defence Against the Dark Arts
Lunch: 12.30 - 13.30
Period 4: 14.00 - 15.05 - Care of Magical Creatures
Period 5: 15.10 - 16.15 - Herbology
Period 6: 16.20 - 17.25
Dinner: 18.00 - 19.00
Curfew: 21.00
Saturday and Sunday
Breakfast: 7.00 - 10.00
Lunch: 12.00 - 14.00
Dinner: 18.00 - 19.00
Curfew: 21.00
As it was Friday, they only had four lessons.
"Cool, double DADA first, then a new subject, and Herbology. Nice way to end the week. Then on Monday we have the other two new subjects." Harry commented.
"Yes, and we're in all of them together." Ginny added. "It couldn't have worked out better. Now we'll spend next to no time apart."
"Perfect." Harry replied.
They soon lapsed into silence after a short discussion on the timetables, content to sit there in the early morning sun together until ten o'clock, when they headed inside and upstairs to the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom.
They were the first to arrive, and chose a pair of seats in the front row. Like every class at Hogwarts, you worked in pairs, one or two pairs to a table, dependant on where in the room you sat. They chose a table so it was just the two of them. Slowly, the class began filling up behind them, a few people shooting odd looks at Ginny. Ron and Hermione were the last two to arrive, and had to take the only remaining seats, at the back of the room.
"Not like Hermione to be late. Reckon they were waiting for me again?" Harry whispered in Ginny's ear.
"Probably. Not much you can do about it though. If you don't want to talk to them then there's nothing they can do about it." She muttered back. Harry just nodded in agreement.
Just then, Professor Lupin entered. "Wands out, books away." He started. This caused a great deal of muttering. Fun, practical lessons had been thin on the ice the previous year. After Lockhart's first 'lesson' on Cornish Pixies there hadn't been much more practical work in the subject, as Lockhart had wanted to keep his reputation fairly intact. This was already proving to be an interesting lesson. When movement had ceased, Professor Lupin started back towards the door. "Follow me please."
While heading down a corridor, Professor Lupin suddenly stopped, causing the class to all pull up short behind him. Strange sounds could be heard from through the door that the Professor was standing next to.
"Right then. Watch closely class - seems you'll be getting an impromptu lesson on dealing with frustrating poltergeists." Everyone grinned at this statement, except Hermione, who had a slight frown on her face.
Soon, without warning, Peeves the Poltergeist flew through the door. Without noticing Professor Lupin or the class behind him, he started trying to stick chewing gum in the lock. Suddenly he looked up, wiggled his curly-toed feet and broke into song upon seeing the Professor.
"Loony, loopy Lupin," Peeves sang. "Loony, loopy Lupin, loony, loopy, Lupin - "
Rude and unmanageable though he was, Peeves usually showed some respect towards the teachers. Everyone looked quickly at Professor Lupin to see how he would take this; to their surprise, he was still smiling.
"I'd take that gum out of the keyhole, if I were you, Peeves," he said pleasantly. "Mr Filch won't be able to get in to his brooms."
The class winced, Filch would not take kindly to being denied access to his brooms, and was already waging a constant war against not just students, but mainly the annoying poltergeist. However, Peeves paid no attention to Professor Lupin's words, except to blow a loud wet raspberry. Professor Lupin gave a small sigh and took out his wand.
"This is a useful little spell, so please pay attention." He told the class over his shoulder. He raised the wand to shoulder height and pointed it at Peeves.
"Waddiwasi!" He said.
With the force of a bullet, the chewing gum Peeves had been pushing into the keyhole flew out and up the Poltergeist's left nostril; he whirled around and zoomed away down the corridor, cursing.
"Cool, sir!" said Dean Thomas in amazement.
"Thank you, Dean." said Professor Lupin in reply, as he put his wand away. "Shall we proceed?" He asked calmly and rhetorically as he walked off down the corridor.
They soon arrived at the staffroom door. As Professor Lupin opened it, It could be seen that Professor Snape was there alone. Naturally, he chose to make a scathing comment. "Watch it Lupin. Longbottom's in this class. I'm surprised he can tell one end of his wand from the other."
"I'm sure Neville will perform admirably. In fact, I was planning on requesting his assistance in my first demonstration." Clearly not wanting to hang around to see who would be correct, or whether the staff room would even survive, the greasy haired Potions Professor hurriedly left, closing the door behind him.
"Welcome to Defence Against the Dark Arts. While teaching for this subject has been less than perfect, I'll attempt to bring you up to speed for your year. This means covering lots of dark creatures. Also, a warm welcome to Miss Weasley, who has moved up a year to join us in our class. I'm sure you'll get caught up to speed quickly." The class were dumbfounded. Not all of them had noticed Ginny on the way in. She started blushing at the attention, but Harry grabbed her hand comfortingly, and she relaxed. Ron looked increasingly bothered by this action. Hermione had an undisguised look of jealousy on her face. She hadn't noticed Ginny when she had entered the classroom, not wanting to be too obvious in her late arrival. Why would Ginny get to move up a year when she couldn't?
"Right, down to business. Who can tell me what creature it is that is hiding in this room?" As usual, Hermione's hand was the first up, closely followed by Harry's and Ginny's. They hadn't spent all that time over the summer reading their textbooks for nothing. "Harry, what do you think?" Professor Lupin asked politely.
"A boggart sir. It's in the cupboard."
"Excellent, 5 points for Gryffindor. Does anyone know what a boggart does?"
The same three hands went up. Neville's tentatively poked its way into the air, but then went straight back down, as he blushed in embarrassment and looked rather scared. Professor Lupin kindly chose not to notice or comment on any of this.
"Ginny, what do you think it can do?"
"They can show you your worst fear. Essentially they are shape-shifters, changing to what will frighten us most."
"Correct, so take another 5 points." The class were slightly shocked; it was rare for a teacher to award so many points so quickly at the start of the first lesson. He continued as if nothing was the matter. "This one hasn't yet assumed a form. As there are so many of us, we have a huge advantage over it. What is that? Hermione?" He asked, deciding to choose the third hand that had been up for every question so far. Once again Harry and Ginny had their hands up, but no one else did, despite the Slytherins starting to look sour at the amount of points he was giving to Gryffindor.
"It won't know what form to assume first. We should confuse it enough to force it back into the cupboard."
"Yes. Take 5 more points. Now there is a simple charm for dealing with boggarts - Riddikulus. Repeat after me, Riddikulus."
The class chorused "Riddikulus."
"Excellent. Now, the wand movement. It is simply a short, sharp jab towards the boggart. Don't practice it now. Sadly, the charm alone is not enough, it must be combined with anything which makes the form it has taken seem funny. So Neville, would you come over here please." He asked his already chosen helper.
Once Neville had taken his place next to the professor, gulping, he continued. "Neville, what frightens you most?"
"Pro-Professor S-Snape." He stammered.
At a laugh from all the Gryffindors, but a frown from the Slytherins (they really didn't appreciate the insults heaped upon their head of house), Lupin gave a wry smile. "Yes, he can be pretty intimidating can't he? I certainly understand that. Now what does your grandmother usually wear?"
Taken aback by the apparent sudden change of subject, Neville took a moment to answer. "Well, my grandma has this stuffed vulture hat she always wears. Then there's this long green dress, red handbag and fox-fur scarf." He looked confused as to why this should matter.
"Right. Keep concentrating on first Professor Snape, then your grandmother's clothes. The rest of the class, I want you to also think about what frightens you most and how you can make it funny. Ready?" He asked after a moment and received nods from around the room. Harry was worried, he didn't know what he'd find most frightening at all. Then he thought of the Dementor, hidden under its mysterious black cloak. Professor Lupin continued, "Ok. In a second I am going to release the boggart. Upon seeing you Neville, it will assume the shape of Professor Snape. I want you to imagine him in those clothes you just mentioned, and then use the charm. Got it? Good. Alohomora."
The door to the closet opened, and out stumbled Professor Snape. He straightened up and sneered at Neville. "Longbottom..."
"R-Riddikulus!" Neville stuttered. Suddenly, the boggart was forced into those same clothes that Neville had just described.
"Next!" Professor Lupin shouted, and the class all lined up to take on the Boggart, with Harry and Ginny at the back, while he put some music on.
As each student moved in front of the boggart, it took the shape of what frightened them most, before being forced to become something funny. Ron got a spider, which then lost its legs to make it funny.
Next, It faced Parvati and changed into a bandaged, bloodstained mummy, which tripped over its bandages before coming to face Seamus, turning into a Banshee. He cast the spell to make the Boggart-Banshee lose its voice. For Hermione it became Professor McGonagall telling her she failed all her exams, and she changed it into the same teacher giving her an award. (Most people didn't seem to understand quite how this was funny, as opposed to the opposite of the original form, but it seemed to work).
Next was Dean, for whom it became a disembodied, living hand. As he shouted Riddikulus and jabbed his wand toward it it got caught in a mousetrap. As the trap closed on the fingers, the hand was thrown in the air, and it came to land directly in front of Harry and started to change.
However, just before Harry or Ginny got their go or even to see what it would become for them, Professor Lupin jumped in front. The boggart assumed the shape of a white orb hanging in the air. When he performed the charm, it became a balloon with all the air rushing out, before he forced it back into the wardrobe with a banishing charm.
"That's enough for today. Let's see, Five points to everyone who took on the boggart. That should give both houses quite a few extra points. See you next week." He said, sounding slightly out of breath before regaining his composure.
The class all left for lunch discussing the lesson in vivid detail, but with obvious uncertainty at seeing their greatest fears displayed like that. Except for Harry and Ginny. They still didn't know what a Boggart would become for them, and they didn't know why the Professor had prevented them from taking it on.
After a successful lunch of avoiding Ron and Hermione, the latter of which was probably in the library, already researching despite them not having been given any homework yet, Harry and Ginny headed down to Care of Magical Creatures early, holding hands and taking a meandering course to Hagrid's hut. They wanted some time alone together before talking to Hagrid a bit until the lesson started.
As they approached, Hagrid called to them. "Hey there you two! This is me firs' lesson! Been up since five gettin it ready."
"I'm sure you'll do great!"
Hagrid didn't seem to be concerned that Harry was now spending all his waking hours with Ginny, as opposed to Ron and Hermione, in fact he looked rather happy that the youngest Weasley was being included a bit more.
Soon, the remainder of the class turned up. As it was a supplement course, and not everyone did it, all houses were mixed together. When everyone seemed to be there, Hagrid stepped up to the front and started speaking.
"Good mornin' class! If you'll folla me, I gotta real treat for ya today!"
He led them to a small paddock on the outskirts of the forest. Some students looked uncertainly, nervously, at the forest around them, while others grinned at the chance to see what was inside, even if it was close to the edge. "If you'll open yer books to page 47, I'll be goin and gettin' him for you to 'ave a look at." Hermione looked askance at having to start a textbook almost half a term worth in, rather than at the beginning. However, never one to argue with teachers, she immediately turned to her spell-o-taped book, subtly trying to figure how to open it.
"And just how do we open our books?" Malfoy asked to his retreating back, holding up his textbook being kept shut by a belt. Hagrid started to turn, but Harry was quicker.
"Stroke the spine of course!" Harry replied, as if it was obvious. The other Gryffindors, despite only finding this out now, all nodded, quickly doing so, and making it look like it was obvious so that the Slytherins believed they had missed being told something when they had bought the books, knowing that would really annoy them. Even the Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws joined in with the Gryffindors, wanting some sort of small victory over the Slytherins who had been rude and horrible to them the past three years. Hagrid smiled at Harry in thanks, and continued his journey through the trees.
Soon Hagrid returned with a strange creature in tow. It had the head, front legs and wings of an eagle, but the body, hind legs and tail of a horse.
"Hagrid, what is that?" Ron, blurting all his thoughts out as usual, asked the question on everyone's minds.
"This, is Buckbeak the Hippogriff. The firs' thing ya gotta know about Hippogriffs is they're very proud, very easily offended. Never insult one, as i' may be the last thing you do. Yer always wait fer the Hippogriff to make the first move. To approach them, you bow, then let them bow back before you get any closer. Then they migh' let ya touch 'em. If they don't, well, we'll cross that bridge when it comes to it. Who wants a go?"
The rest of the class stepped back, worriedly. Not wanting Hagrid's first lesson to be ruined immediately, Harry and Ginny bravely stepped forward, despite knowing of Hagrid's penchant for dangerous creatures. When Hagrid turned back around from throwing Buckbeak some food, he saw them standing further forward than everyone else, and decided, "Right, 'Arry first!"
Harry took a cautious step towards Buckbeak, before bowing slowly, uncertain about completely taking his eyes off of the large, magnificent creature, but knowing it was necessary. He straightened out of his bow.
He waited.
Nothing happened.
"Alrigh', back away now 'Arry, back away..." Hagrid started urging him quietly, but with a touch of worry in his voice for his student. Harry took a slow step back, but amazingly, as he did so, Buckbeak slowly lent forward into a bow.
"Well done 'Arry - yeh can go pet 'im now!" Hagrid said, with a few claps.
Harry shot a glance at Ginny, then he closed the remaining distance between himself and the hippogriff, before patting him on the back, just behind the neck. Buckbeak lowed softly, and gently licked his face. Buckbeak then bucked his head up gently, pushing his neck in to Harry's hand.
"Excellent 'Arry - I think he'll let ya ride 'im now!"
"Wait, what?" This was more than Harry had bargained for. He was expecting to have to pet he creature, but ride it? He shot a look at Ginny, to see a worried look on her face too. It seemed she too wasn't quite sure what to think about this creature.
"Up ya go." Hagrid said, the half-giant effortlessly lifting the small thirteen year-old onto Buckbeak's back. "Now make sure you don't pull out any feathers - 'e won' thank ya fer that!" This statement confused Harry more, as everywhere in front of him was covered in the grey silver feathers. "Off ya go!" Hagrid exclaimed, slapping Buckbeak on the back.
After rearing up, the Hippogriff galloped forward to the other end of the clearing before jumping into the air, effortlessly clearing the trees. Quickly, Harry realised just how much more enjoyable this was than flying on a broomstick.
Shouting with joy, he let Buckbeak fly him around above the forest. They took a relatively low pass over the clearing in which the class and Hagrid were watching them from, then back up to fly above the tallest trees - higher than he'd ever been on his broomstick. Buckbeak then dived down, dropping down to the Black Lake, where the Hippogriff trailed his claws through the water, and Harry also reached down with his left hand to let the water run over it. He'd given up worrying about where to hold on - Buckbeak was flying very well so as to prevent him falling off, so he just held on with his legs either side of the Hippogriff's horse-like body.
Soon, Hagrid gave a loud whistle, and upon hearing it, Buckbeak swooped back in towards the clearing, suddenly slowing down into a gentle landing back where he started. Sliding off the Hippogriff, Harry didn't think he'd be able to stop smiling. It had been a lot of fun, and he couldn't wait to try again. He gave Buckbeak a quick stroke, and got a low in return. Then he quickly headed back over to Ginny, and leaning down to whisper in her ear said excitedly, "You have got to try that!"
As Ginny had also volunteered, Hagrid let her go through the same process with Buckbeak; bowing, petting and flying, which she enjoyed immensely, before Hagrid collected a few more of the creatures and the class split up with different Hippogriffs.
As Harry and Ginny had already worked with Buckbeak, they were now talking to Hagrid and looking at their textbooks. Their help in the demonstration meant that they had already completed the practical lesson, so they were concentrating on the theory. However, Harry's attention was elsewhere. He carefully eyed Malfoy. The blond Slytherin had been whispering to Crabbe and Goyle the entire time that Hagrid had been talking, and Harry felt sure that he was plotting a way to remove the half-giant from his new post. Edging closer to Hagrid, he muttered, "Hagrid, I think Malfoy's up to something."
Just as Hagrid turned to look, Malfoy started insulting the Buckbeak, the Hippogriff he had been working with, precisely what he would have known not to do had he been listening.
Hagrid started moving. "Malfoy, no! Ya don' wanna insult 'em!"
But he was too late. Buckbeak reared back and then hit Malfoy in the arm with his front legs. Naturally, being a drama queen, Malfoy collapsed and moaned "It's killed me, I'm dying, Somebody help!" Crabbe and Goyle stared at him stupidly, while Harry and Ginny looked worried, but for Hagrid and not Malfoy. Who knew what this could do for his career?
Hagrid rushed in to placate the angry Hippogriff, holding his arms in front of him carefully, guiding Buckbeak away, before returning and picking Malfoy up. "Righ', I'll take 'im to the Hospital Wing. Class dismissed!"
Returning to the castle Harry and Ginny were muttering how it was just like Malfoy to do something like that, while the other Slytherins played up his injury, seemingly getting into it.
Unfortunately, the pair of young Gryffindors had by this point been mostly left behind. Most the rest of the class had moved on to the castle faster to get a break before Herbology, so it was just Harry, Ginny, Ron and Hermione left. Not realising this, Harry and Ginny were walking rather close together, with their hands clasped. Although no-one knew about their relationship yet, they weren't going out of their way to keep it secret. They didn't want to hide their relationship, and were actually surprised that the Hogwarts Rumour Mill didn't appear to have picked up on it yet. It was bad luck that Ron and Hermione happened to be behind them and so the first to notice.
"Oi, Potter! What do you think you're doing with my sister?" Ron called. Slowly, they turned around.
"What do you mean?" Harry asked curiously, trying to project a false sense of calm into his voice.
"What's going on with you? First she disappears to stay with you all summer, then you both ignore us when school starts! I want to know what's going on!" Ron continued.
Hermione, who up until that point had been trying fruitlessly to get Ron to calm down before he said something he regretted, was momentarily shocked into silence when she heard exactly where Ginny had spent her summer. Looking to Harry and Ginny for an explanation, she was just in time to hear Ginny mutter to Harry "Overprotective git" in his ear, before quickly raising her wand at Ron and whispering "Bates Mocios". She flinched for him. Ginny must have been really angry - she hadn't even seen the younger girl draw her wand, and the hex looked even more painful than it normally was, which was saying something.
Ron's head quickly became host to a dozen winged bogeys, all flapping around him as he fell to the floor. Ginny stepped towards him, eyes glinting in anger, hands on hips. To Harry this just made her look even more beautiful, and he fought to hide his grin. He didn't much feel like drawing Ginny's anger towards him - he was rather fearful of her hexing ability. "Now Ronald," Ginny started quietly, using his full name for emphasis, "what Harry and I do is none of your business. I would have thought you would have worked out, even with your pea-sized brain, just why we have been avoiding you. Your letter on my birthday wasn't the most pleasant, nor was the one you wrote Harry. They could have both been worded a lot nicer, and if you'd have been calmer we might have considered talking to you.
"Now if I had been able, I would have hexed you then. Luckily for you, I couldn't, but we decided that if you couldn't accept the idea of us being in the same house for the summer, then it wasn't worth trying to be friendly with you." Suddenly, Hermione found the girl's gaze on her. "The same extends to you if you side with him on this." She stated icily.
"So Ronald, I want you to know that whether anything did or didn't happen over the summer while I was with Harry, I did not need your protection. I am perfectly capable of protecting myself. You know I can't stand it when you, or any of our brothers for that matter, try to control my life. You completely lost any chance of that at the end of last year. You know who helped me get past..." She petered off, leaving Harry to step up behind her and pull her into his arms.
Muttering quietly to her for a second, he looked back up. The bats had left Ron's face, Ginny had clearly wanted the curse to cause pain, but make him still able to listen to what she had to say, so it wasn't too long lasting, and the youngest male Weasley looked on in horror as Harry quickly placed a kiss on his sister's forehead, before addressing him in a cold, indifferent tone.
"You know I could probably forgive you, and most likely would if it was just me, for how you've made me feel, but for what you did to Ginny, both over the summer and ignoring her last year, even after the chamber, I can't. You should know we are dating." At this, Ron let out a strangled cry. "But I'm not pressuring her at all. Now don't even think about talking to us again until you've thought about your actions and realised how you've treated us."
Looking at Hermione, he saw that although she was bursting for answers from the two of them, she managed to hold back, looking after Ron instead of following the retreating forms of Harry and Ginny to the greenhouses for their Herbology lesson. However, it appeared that they had given the bushy-haired girl a lot to think about, and knew that that would not be the end of it.
After dinner that evening, by which time Ginny had cheered up considerably by helping Harry in Herbology, they spent a nice hour relaxing together under a tree by the lake, then headed back to the common room. Harry quickly retrieved his invisibility cloak from his dormitory, before they left back through the portrait hole and slipped under it.
They soon had found the portrait of the opera singing cows on the fourth floor, and Harry turned to find a blank wall. However, just as he was thinking that Godric's study should be just there, and he couldn't see it, he saw a door appear. Approaching it, a small bowl and knife appeared just to the right of the sealed door. A sign above them read - Prove you are a true heir by placing a drop of blood in the bowl.
Taking the knife, he cut the end of his finger, and let some blood drip into the bowl. He heard the door unlock with a click. The bowl cleaned itself and the sign changed. If you wish anyone else to be able to enter please be in contact with them while they drop some blood in. Pulling Ginny forward, he let her gently cut one finger and drip some blood while holding her hand, as he had just done. Then, they entered the door while the bowl cleaned itself again. As they did so, their fingers magically healed, saving them the worry of waiting until it happened naturally. Behind them, the door closed, and although they couldn't see it, it disappeared along with the bowl, knife and message to leave the corridor precisely how they'd found it.
The study was furnished with red and gold - Gryffindor colours. There was one wall with multiple doors leading off of it, another with a huge window overlooking the quidditch pitch, and then the final one with a giant marble fireplace, with Godric's portrait hanging above it. He appeared asleep. The window was opposite the door they entered through, with the other doors on their left and the fireplace on their right. They decided to explore the other rooms first.
The first door on the left opened into a massive library. "Hermione doesn't know what she's missing out on." Harry joked, and Ginny grinned. She knew they'd never read anyway near all the books in that room, but Harry was right - Hermione would be in heaven in there. The next was the perfect room for planning pranks in, containing all the hardest to come by pranking items. They immediately knew Fred and George would love it, however were confused as to why it was there. The third oddly opened into the side of a hallway, with a painting of Barnabus the Barmy slightly further down. They knew it to be a corridor in the castle, on the seventh floor, as they had both used it at some point since they started at Hogwarts. Finally they opened the fourth door onto a large master suite - a bedroom with a bathroom off it. The bedroom contained another window looking out onto the quidditch pitch along the right hand wall, and a king-sized bed with scarlet hangings on the left.
Making their way back out into the main room, they noticed not only had a desk appeared under the window, which was now on their left due to their being turned around, but also a few sofas had appeared in front of the fire, making it seem like the Gryffindor common room. There was also a loveseat. The room seemed to have responded to what it thought it's new users would need.
Sitting in the loveseat, Harry pulled Ginny onto his lap, letting her curl into him as he put her arms around her, before attempting to wake up the portrait. "Godric?"
The painting's eyes flew open. "Oh my! It has been so long since I've had a visitor. You must be a true heir to get in here, but who are you, and who is this lovely young lady?"
"Um, I'm Harry Potter, this is Ginny..." He tailed off, not sure how to introduce his wife. Did they want to keep their bond secret from Godric? The choice was taken out of his hands.
"Potter" Ginny supplied. Godric did a double-take.
"And how old are you?"
"I'm twelve, Harry's thirteen."
"You can't be siblings..." Godric mused. "Their haven't been two siblings in the Potter family for decades, let alone two so close in age. So how have you got the same last name?"
"Marriage." Ginny deadpanned. Harry decided the best course of action was to let her handle it. She seemed to know what she was doing. Seeing the portrait raise its eyebrows, she answered the approaching question of how, "Soul-bond."
After getting over his initial shock, Godric started speaking. "Really? Amazing! There hasn't been a soul-bond in centuries, especially not so young. The requirements for one generally don't exist at your ages. But yours still seems rather recent. Perhaps the last few months? It doesn't seem you are experiencing the full effects yet..."
"Do you know much about them?" Harry asked eagerly.
"Not really. My son had one, but he never told me about it. So, what family are you from?" He addressed Ginny.
"The Weasleys."
"Ah, at last! Potters and Weasleys united by law. I have been waiting a long time for that. So, I guess you are here because of the letter I left in my vault. Correct?" Receiving nods in the affirmative, he continued. "As my true heir, you do, as you already know, have access to my vault, and also this room. I believe you will find it very useful, as it can add more to adapt to your needs. Also, you are the only two who can access it. The access addition system you saw only works with your true mate. It doesn't tell you that because I only found out after I died, unfortunately through my first visitor trying to bring more people in. The results were, shall we say, gruesome."
"That's disappointing, we were hoping to bring two of Ginny's brothers here so that we could talk in private." Harry commented.
"I will have a think about a way you might be able to let them in here, but chances are it will make the room less secure."
"Thank you. We had a look around. What do you mean it can adapt to our needs?" Harry asked, curious.
"It will add rooms as you need them, completely equipped with what you want at the time. I guess you saw the pranking room. Pranking is a huge part of our ancestry!" Godric replied with a chuckle.
"We were a bit confused about the door onto the seventh floor hallway. Why is that there?" Harry continued.
"Ah. If you spotted the tapestry farther down the hall?" He received a pair of nods. "If you walk past it three times thinking of the room you need, a door will appear opposite. It is called the Room of Requirement. It isn't quite as advanced as in here, but you can take whoever you want there. This does add the disadvantage of meaning you can be discovered easier, whereas not even the Headmaster knows about this room. Actually, you could use that room to meet your brothers," he addressed Ginny, "if I can't think of a way to get them in here."
"Okay Godric. I think we'll head to bed now as we are quite tired. W'll talk in the morning."
Harry lifted Ginny out of his lap, and they headed towards the door to the seventh floor. Due to it's proximity with the Gryffindor tower, it was the best to use in this situation. However, at the last minute, Ginny remembered something. Dragging Harry to the door to the right, they entered the master bedroom.
"After last night, I'm not exactly looking forward to sleeping alone again. Can we stay here, please?" She turned her large chocolate brown eyes on him, opened wide. Harry chuckled. He knew enough from the summer to know that he could never resist that face.
"Okay Gin." He summoned their pyjamas and they settled into sleep, presuming everyone was asleep and no-one would see them flying through the common room, silently agreeing that it was best if they left the majority of their belongings in their dormitories for show.