A/N: Er. I realized I should probably warn you this has some H/G echoes. Sorry. (C'mon, people, it's canon, I have to address it at some point.) Also, bloody Merlin's balls, I must have re-written this conversation a dozen times, they both have a LOT to say, and none of it makes a lick of sense to anyone else. Here's hoping that that this time's the charm!

Per request, here is a summary of the highlights and happenings so far: Beaconian Code=bad, Draco recovering, Harry's nightmare, bad tempers, broken Weasleys, and Trio power!

Chapter Fourteen

As the Weasleys trickled in and filled in the seats at the table, Harry grew more and more nervous, trying hard not to look at the vacant chair beside him.

He was startled by how empty and silent the room felt. Ron and Hermione were talking quietly together, and Percy had strode in dragging a pale-looking George behind him. He had plopped George down on Harry's right, sitting down on the other side of George with a stubborn look on his face. Harry felt the absences of Mr. Weasley and Fred more strongly than the presences of everyone else combined.

Finally, Ginny appeared, her mother following shortly behind. She paused for a brief moment in the doorway, and Harry cowardly refused to meet her gaze. After a moment she walked around the table and sat down next to Hermione, beginning a loud conversation with her.

Harry felt guilty over the instant relief that washed over him, but ignored it. He was getting much better at ignoring his guilt these days.

Breakfast was a tense and awkward affair. Harry tried to engage George in a conversation only once, but after meeting George's pale, vacant gaze for a few moments, he gave up with an inward shudder. Thankfully, Percy seemed to have taken over caring for George, forcing him to eat small bites of the eggs, sausages, and black pudding Mrs. Weasley had lain out.

Halfway through the meal, Harry gathered what little courage he had and raised his eyes to look at Ginny, hoping to catch her eye and silently convey… Well, something. Anything was better than this horrible avoidance and distance. However, she resolutely refused to meet his gaze, forcing Hermione into a long conversation about the Holyhead Harpies that had Hermione looking lost and slightly desperate.

Giving up with a sigh, Harry returned dejectedly to his plate, pushing the food around absently. Glancing back up, he noticed Ron looking at him sympathetically, mouthing "Sorry, mate." Harry shrugged back at him hopelessly.

The silence was broken by Mrs. Weasley as she suddenly looked up from her plate and scanned the table. "George?" she queried suddenly. "Where is your brother? You boys know better than to get into mischief at breakfast, it's far too early for that nonsense."

George stiffened suddenly beside Harry, one hand clenching on his fork and the other grasping desperately at the tablecloth. Harry glanced at him nervously, feeling the bottom drop out of his stomach. The table had gone deathly quiet as everyone collectively held their breaths, waiting to see who would break down first.

Nobody was looking at Harry. He used this to his advantage as he quickly grabbed the edge of his plate and threw it down onto the ground, where it shattered violently.

"Oh, shit," he cursed, pushing back from the table loudly. "Oh, sorry, Mrs. Weasley," he said desperately, looking up at her guiltily. "I didn't realize it was so close to the edge…" He dropped to his knees and began to pick up the pieces of the plate.

"Oh no, Harry!" Mrs. Weasley exclaimed. "Oh, don't worry about it dear, accidents happen, here stand up, you'll get glass all over yourself…"

With a wave of her wand, Mrs. Weasley repaired the broken plate and Vanished the mess. Harry apologized profusely and offered to help clean up, which Mrs. Weasley refused.

"No dear, it isn't any bother; I'll just make you another plate-"

"Thanks Mrs. Weasley," he said quickly, "But that's not necessary, I ate plenty. Are you sure you sure you wouldn't like some help…?"

"No," she said firmly, shooing him out. "Go on outside, it's a beautiful day, and you've been too cooped up as it is."

"If you're sure…" Harry trailed off, heading to the door. He shot a pointed look at Ron and Hermione, who hastened to stand to follow, with Ginny hesitating for only a few moments before she too stood and beckoned wordlessly for Percy to bring George.

In under a minute, the entire kitchen had been emptied into the garden, all blinking quickly under the bright sunlight with the cheerful humming of Mrs. Weasley ringing behind them.

"Well," Percy began primly, looking around at the small gathered group. "Is anyone up for a game of Quidditch, then?"

Everyone stared. "Quidditch, Perce?" Ron said in disbelief.

Percy drew himself up. "Well, why not?" he huffed. "It's excellent exercise, and a wonderful day for it. I'm sure we'll all enjoy a friendly, relaxed game." Harry didn't miss the way his eyes darted toward George for a moment, and suddenly understood his intention.

"Sounds good to me," Harry piped up. "I'll go grab the brooms from the shed." He quickly turned and headed off before anyone else could object.

The sounds of sibling squabbling over teams began and he smiled slightly to himself. Reaching the broom shed, he peered in and wrinkled his nose. The shed smelled exactly as it the last time he had been in here, and the number of spiders seemed to have multiplied. Ignoring them, he squeezed in and grabbed the nearest broom.

"That was sneaky," a voice behind him said softly. Harry jumped a mile and nearly gave himself a concussion on the low ceiling. "Fred would have laughed."

His heart in his throat, Harry turned and faced Ginny, who was standing even closer than he had realized.

"Er, yeah," he fumbled, taking a small step back and bumping into the wall. "I just, you know, didn't know how else to distract everyone…"

She smiled at him slightly. Distractedly, Harry noticed how smooth and shiny her hair was, and how it gleamed under the sunlight streaming in.

She reached for him suddenly. Unable to help himself, Harry flinched away.

Ginny stopped and stared. She reached for him again and this time, Harry forced himself to stay still.

"Your hand," she said, lifting it up into the light. "It's bleeding."

Harry blinked down. "Oh," he said. He hadn't even felt any pain, but assumed he had cut himself on the broken pottery earlier.

"Here," Ginny said evenly, drawing her wand and announcing, "Episkey."

The cut vanished, as did the lingering ache Harry had finally noticed. "Wait," he said suddenly, looking up and frowning. "You just did magic!"

Ginny's face grew cold. "Yes, well, I'm allowed," she said icily. "I did just have my birthday two weeks ago, after all."

Harry's stomach dropped. "Oh, God," he said in horror. "I completely… Er… I mean… Ginny…"

"You forgot," she finished for him. "I assumed as much, since you didn't show up to the party, or answer Hermione's letter, or even send me a measly card."

Harry cringed at the venom in her voice. Her anger was wholly justified, and he felt like a complete ass. "I'm sorry, Ginny," he said weakly. "I was just so caught up in – well, everything – and I wasn't thinking. I swear, I didn't mean to ignore your birthday. I should have been here."

He wasn't sure, but he thought maybe her expression thawed slightly. Sighing gustily, she folded her arms and said, "I know, Harry. I know. You've been through a lot. And I want to be patient about it, and I want to understand. Merlin, I just wanted to talk to you about it all, but you wouldn't give me the chance. After everything, after it was all over, I thought you'd want to talk about things- talk about us. But I can count on one hand the number of conversations we've had since the Battle."

"Things happened to me, Ginny," he said, miserable and angry all at once. "This year changed me. I'm still coming to grips with everything; I didn't feel like sharing just yet."

She pinned with that hard, blazing look, the one that felt like it could strip layers off of him and read every thought in his head. "You think it didn't change me too?" she whispered, eyes glinting dangerously. "You weren't the only person in this war, Harry. We all suffered. And yet you never once asked me what I went through this past year, what I needed now. Well, I needed you to be here for me, and you were just gone."

Harry felt trapped, suffocated. The broom shed suddenly seemed much smaller than it had been before. "I didn't mean to ignore you. I didn't want things to be like this," he began awkwardly, feeling incredibly uncomfortable. "I thought the same as you. That after it was over, we could just… pick up where we left off, or something. But I'm not the same as I was before this all happened. I don't know what I want anymore. Things are different, and I don't know…" he looked at her helplessly, before forcing out. "I don't know if I can be what you need right now. I'm not ready to move on, Gin. I don't even know if I can."

For a moment, Ginny remained motionless. In the dark it was difficult to read her face, but Harry thought she was fighting for control of her emotions. Or maybe just fighting the urge to hex him, he didn't really know- those impulses often went hand in hand with Ginny. He just hoped she wouldn't cry, he couldn't handle it he made her cry.

"Maybe you're right," Ginny said abruptly. Harry was thrown; he had expected more resistance from her end. "Maybe we should take some time to- to figure out what we want. I'll be at Hogwarts anyway, and you'll be here with Malfoy, and we'll be too busy to focus on much else. We can work on ourselves for a while, and just… see where we end up. "

Harry's throat was tight. "I didn't want it to be like this, Ginny," he said in a low tone.

She gazed at him indecipherably, before looking away and blinking rapidly for a moment. "I didn't either," she replied, her voice rough.

"Friends?" Harry said softly, feeling ridiculous for voicing the sentiment but faintly desperate.

"Always." She smiled at him slightly, and if it looked a bit forced Harry could understand that. "Goodbye, Harry." Without another look back she walked out of the broom shed, the wooden door clunking shut behind her loudly.

Left alone in the dark and dusty room with Ginny's perfume lingering in the air, Harry replied, "Goodbye, Gin."

Harry gave himself a few minutes to pull himself together before taking a deep breath, coughing on the dust, and then grabbing the brooms to head back outside.

Approaching the small group, Harry was unsurprised to see Ginny was absent. Ron and Percy seemed to be deeply involved in some sort of argument about boundary lines, while Hermione anxiously watched George, who was staring off into space and absently twitching his wand in his hand.

"There you are, Harry," Percy broke off. "Thought you'd run off on us. Where's Ginny? I thought she went to find you."

"I think she went back inside," he answered, deliberately ignoring Hermione's quick probing look. "She didn't seem to be in the mood for Quidditch."

Percy huffed in annoyance. "Well then how are we supposed to play three on three?" he said irritably.

"I don't think anybody's in the mood for Quidditch, Perce," Ron huffed out, looking frustrated.

Percy puffed up. "Well, if anyone has a better idea, I'd be happy to hear it," he said snidely. "But frankly, I believe we've all spent too much time indoors, and it simply isn't healthy."

"I won't argue that we're all going a bit stir-crazy," Ron retorted, "But sending everyone up on brooms might not be the best solution!"

Percy sucked in a deep breathe, and then stopped short, as if the thought had just occurred to him. "Yes," he said, almost nervously. "Perhaps you're right, Ron. I suppose that might be a bit too dangerous." Harry assumed he was talking about George, and expected him to look over at his absent brother. So he was completely bewildered when he noticed that Percy was glancing at him uneasily out of the corner of his eye. He frowned, about to speak up, but was cut off by Hermione.

"Since we're all agreed, then," she said, giving Percy a very sharp look, "Why don't we help Molly by de-gnoming the garden? Since she made us a wonderful breakfast and cleaned up."

Ron's drawn-out groan turned into a coughing fit as Hermione elbowed him sharply in the gut. To avoid further punishment, he led the way to the garden, with only minimal grumbling under his breath.

Harry tried to walk next to Hermione to ask her what Percy was on about, but she quickly went over to George, leading him gently by the arm and following Ron. Left with nothing better to do, Harry and Percy followed behind.

Twenty minutes later, Harry was sweating and mumbling to himself, swearing violently as he sucked on his thumb. The gnomes had become even more vicious of late with everyone too busy to tend to them, and a particularly fat one had managed to bite him before he swung it away, tearing off a piece of skin. He examined his abused digit critically, wondering if he should ask Hermione to fix it as he wasn't particularly good at Healing spells.

A twig snapped behind him and Harry immediately tensed. In the split second before he physically forced himself to relax, Harry wondered how long it would take before the slightest sudden noise didn't send him into a minor panic.

A throat cleared quietly. "Harry," he heard Percy whisper, "Might I have a word with you?"

Harry turned and raised an eyebrow. "Sure," he said, cocking his head. "But why are we whispering?"

Percy glanced over his shoulder to where Hermione was struggling to remove a gnome that was clinging to her blouse and screaming. "There are some who would not wish for me to inform you of certain things," he muttered, turning back to Harry, "But I feel it is in your best interest, and in ours, that you do not remain in the dark."

Harry's eyebrows crept higher, but he nodded. He followed Percy, who clearly felt he was being quite sneaky, as he led them behind one of the overgrown Flutterby bushes, partially concealing them from the others.

After fiddling with his glasses for a moment, Percy began, "You should know, Harry, that you haven't been told any of this for your peace of mind. But to be frank, I'm becoming concerned, and feel it doesn't do you any good to remain unaware."

"Percy," Harry said impatiently. "Just spit it out."

Percy bristled, then nodded. "You are aware that we have been receiving your mail?"

Brow furrowed in confusion, Harry nodded slowly.

Percy looked uncomfortable. "Well, obviously, you've been getting quite a bit of it, and since no one has wanted to bother you with such things – and even if we did, you've been fairly unavailable – we've been sorting it ourselves. A good deal of it is the same, praise and thanks and gifts and such, but some of it -"

"Wait a minute," Harry interrupted. "You all have been reading my mail? All of it?"

"Well, we have to determine if any of it is important," Percy said patiently. "Those from sources we recognize we put aside and don't read, of course, but most of it isn't from anyone we know. And we can't just throw it all out, not since that letter that whistled until someone opened it. I'm sorry if you feel as though your privacy has been violated, but really-"

"No, it's not that," Harry said, shaking his head. "I don't care, have a laugh if you'd like. I meant, you shouldn't have to do that, that's loads of work!"

Percy shrugged slightly. "We take shifts," he explained. "And honestly, it isn't that bad, it's been quite boring around here."

Harry looked at him stubbornly. "It's still not fair," he insisted. "I'll ask Hermione if there's another way I can sort it, and at least have it sent to Grimmauld Place."

"It's up to you," Percy said. "Usually, in situations like this, the Ministry has a filtering system in place, spells you can be authorized to use and such, but with things in jambles at the moment, I suspect your extraordinary amount of fan mail has fallen in the list of priorities, and a lot of it is still coming through."

"Wonderful," Harry sighed. "Is that what you wanted to tell me about? That you lot have been going through my mail?"

"Well, yes and no," Percy said awkwardly. "You see, there's been a certain category of mail that has become something of an issue, and it's begun to increase, to the point where I simply no longer feel-"

"Percy," Harry began warningly.

"You're getting hate mail," Percy said bluntly. "And threats, nasty ones. There are some that are obviously from your average run-of-the-mill nutters, but more than a few have been extremely violent. Those have only increased since you took on Malfoy. And a few letters have been cursed themselves. I think the Ministry has been stopping most of those, and our wards do prevent the worst from coming through, but one or two slipped by. While we're also the necessary precautions, it is becoming a concern."

Harry grew cold. "You've been getting my cursed mail?"

"As I said, we're being careful," Percy said impatiently. "But the threats are becoming more unsettling."

"Who's being threatened?"

Percy shifted. "The nature of the threats is not really as important-"

"Percy. Who."

He sighed. "Well, you of course. And now Mr. Malfoy is getting his fair share. And… there have been a few directed at us."

Harry stiffened.

"I only tell you this so that you know to be on alert," Percy said hurriedly. "I know you don't leave Grimmauld Place often, and that's probably for the best, but I thought you'd appreciate it if you knew. It does no one any good to be left in the dark these days."

Harry nodded distantly. "I'll have to strengthen the Burrow's protections," he said, mostly to himself. "And remove my own mail wards, so that it will stop coming here. And maybe ask Kingsley to set up a guard on the Burrow, and see if any of the letters can be traced-"

"Harry," Percy said sternly. "I told you, this isn't something we can't handle. I am not trying to make you feel responsible for any of this. I simply thought you'd appreciate to be informed. The others were adamant that you not be worried, but I disagreed."

"Thanks, Percy," Harry said seriously. "But I can't put this on all of you. I'll have to find a way to-"

"I'll be returning to work in a few days," Percy said suddenly. "What if I tried to speak to the Minister about putting a bit more effort into screening your potentially dangerous mail?"

"I like the idea of the Ministry sorting through my mail even less than I do you lot," Harry muttered darkly.

Percy shook his head. "They could arrange it so that any mail from a list of people you approve of could be sent to you unread," he explained. "The rest of it would be scanned for magic and skimmed for intent. Harmless, really. And the Minister would put good people on it."

Harry hesitated. "Would he do that?" he said finally. "Like you said, it seemed to me that he has other priorities at the moment."

Percy gave him a look that was almost pitied. "Harry," he said plainly, "You could ask the Ministry for anything at this point and they would go through hoops to get it for you. As shaky as everything is right now, your opinion and support could do wonders for the Ministry's reputation and stability- or it could destroy it. They'll do this for you, trust me."

Finally, Harry agreed. "If you could do that, it would be great," he said. "But I'll still feel better if there's extra protection."

"Speaking of which," Percy frowned, "What did you mean, you'd have to strengthen the Burrow's protections? They were put down by the Ministry, and by Dumbledore himself. There's not much you could do on your own."

Harry was at a loss. He didn't want to explain to Percy about how his magic had grown out of control since the Battle, especially since he hadn't said anything to Ron or Hermione yet. He still wasn't sure what exactly was going on yet, and he didn't want to worry them if he didn't have to.

As he struggled to find some excuse, a series of loud and strange-sounding explosions erupted violently behind them. Ears ringing, both dove from behind the bush toward the sound as Hermione screamed.

Harry stopped short at the sight that greeted them. Kneeling by the edge of the pond in a circle of blackened weeds was George, covered in soot and burns and looking barely conscious. His wand was still in his hand as he trembled and stared at his reflection in the water.

Percy and Ron approached him, both hesitating to touch him lest he begin blasting things again. "George?" Ron said tentatively, crouching down next to him. "You don't look so good, I think you managed to hit yourself. What did the gnomes ever do to you, eh?"

George looked up slowly, still trembling. When he met Ron's gaze, he said hoarsely, "He only has one ear. Why does he only have one ear?" With that, his eyes rolled up into his head and he collapsed forward bonelessly into Ron's supportive arms.

Looking down at George's motionless body, Harry felt a fear he hadn't known since his long walk through the Forbidden Forest rise up. He was paralyzed by it, utterly frozen and useless.

"George?" Ron said frantically, shaking his brother. "George!" He looked up and his eyes were desperate and frightened.

George did not respond.

A/N: Wow, I'm mean. Lovely cliffhanger, wasn't that? I honestly didn't mean to leave it here, but this was the best place to break, considering what happens next. (Don't worry, Draco's coming back. I can FEEL your impatience.)

As always, thanks to Jest MEEK, Death'sAngel18, Don'tClimbOnThat, AchillesTheGeek, DauntlessShadowhunter13, lovergirl101, Silver-Stars-22, ASH.l.e.11, MadAndInBloom, Rufescent, lookingthroughthemirror, and LoveNewFantasy for your beautiful reviews! I swear, every time I get a new one, I squeal. No matter where I am. It's made for some awkward explanations, let me tell you. =D

Keep 'em coming, and I pinky swear the story will keep coming! :)