Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or anything from the series. I just like to write for fun - please do not sue me.
Chapter 28
Harry and his friends weren't the only ones to have returned back to the normal part of Hogwarts. Down the hall a bit, coming out of another door was Li, Lauren, Dennis, Mia, and Draco. Professor Dumbledore, Professor Snape, and Professor McGonagall escorted all of the missing students into the Great Hall.
As soon as they were all seated, the headmaster began to talk. "It appears that you all have discovered one of the many secrets of Hogwarts. The labyrinth of serendipity … the room of bestowment … or as I've come to call it, the hidden haven."
"That wasn't just a room, though," Ron stated, earning a stern look from the head of his house.
Professor Dumbledore gave a light chuckle. "Indeed it is not. It is capable of being whatever is needed. It is not a place that is easily found … nor so easily escaped from, apparently. I would like to know, who of you discovered the entrance first?"
All of the students looked around until they were either looking at Ginny, Lauren, or Li. "I found it first, sir," Li stated in a low tone. The old professor made an "ahhing" sound as he nodded. Li continued to speak. "My grandfather told me…" He paused as if unsure if he should go on. Finally, he said, "I was looking for something that my grandfather mentioned was here. However, I was not able to find it."
"I see," Professor Dumbledore said as he gazed at the boy with a thoughtful expression on his face. "So, Mr. Chang, you only stumbled upon the entrance?" When Li nodded as he looked downward. "I see," Professor Dumbledore said again, then asked a bit louder, "And who would have been next?"
Ginny and Lauren looked at each other before the older girl said, "That would be me and Ginny. We saw Li go in through the door and, um, followed."
Again, Harry wondered why Ginny had been following Li. He thought that Professor Dumbledore would ask that very question. But, he did not.
Instead, Professor Dumbledore asked, "And did anyone else follow Mr. Chang or perhaps follow Miss Abbott and Miss Weasley?"
Mia's hand slowly raised. In one of the softest voices that Harry had ever heard, the young girl said, "I did, sir. I saw Li go down towards the dungeons. Then the two girls followed. It seemed odd, so I kept watch over them. I had just been down that same corridor only five minutes earlier and the door was not there then. So, when I saw them go through it later, I followed."
Ginny spoke up then. "We never knew that she was behind us. At one point, I got separated from Li and Lauren." She paused, but Professor Dumbledore motioned for her to continue. "I later fell down through this shaft in the floor and lost my wand. Harry found it and then found me." She looked over at Harry and smiled softly. Unable to help himself, Harry returned her smile with a warm one of his own.
"And how exactly did you find Ginny, Harry?" Professor Dumbledore asked as he looked over at Harry closely. Suddenly the old man's eyes shifted over to peer at Ginny before swinging back towards Harry again. Something must have clicked in his mind, for the headmaster once again let out a quiet, "Ahhh, yes."
Harry explained that he and Malfoy had been searching for Ginny and Mia. They had stumbled upon the entrance to the lost corridors, then parted ways in their search. "I fell down the same trap door that Ginny had. We had to wait for a bit until we could look for an exit because both of our wands stopped working at one point."
"So did ours," Ron said, perking up a tad. "Hermione and I were together, then all of a sudden … Poof … no magic. That's when we ran into Neville … literally." Neville nodded his head. Ron went on, "Later, though, we lost Neville … and suddenly we had our magic back."
"That was when I found Harry and Ginny. They were sleeping," Neville noted. Both Harry and Ginny blushed as they glanced at each other. "That wasn't all that long ago, really. Then this wall came up …"
Professor Dumbledore interrupted the boy. "I believe I have a fair idea of what happened. I would like each of you to write down what happened from your own point of view and then give that information to me. But first, I believe that you all should get some proper rest and food. The house elves will bring you all some trays and then off to bed with you."
Everyone began to get up and head out of the Great Hall. Harry followed, glad that Ginny seemed to be sticking near him.
"Harry?" a voice rang out behind him. He turned to find Professor Dumbledore smiling at him. "May I have a word with you … and Miss Weasley?" Both Ron and Hermione stopped as well, but the professor said, "Just these two. They will join you shortly." With looks of dismay and curiosity, Ron and Hermione turned and left the hall.
As soon as the three were alone, Professor Dumbledore motioned for Harry and Ginny to follow him. "Did you both know that I went to school here as a lad?" he asked, though in a way that seemed to not be seeking an answer. "I, too, was in Gryffindor. So many amazing and wonderful memories I have about my youth here at Hogwarts. One such memory was of this one day when my headmaster asked me to wait in the anti chamber to discuss a project I'd been working on."
Harry and Ginny looked at each other, both holding their breath slightly as they listened to their headmaster's tale.
"I was just about your age, Mr. Potter, when I saw the most curious thing. A mirror that hangs in the anti chamber did something odd. It clouded over, then, instead of my reflection or that of the room, I saw two faces."
They'd reached the platform where the teachers ate and Professor Dumbledore lead them up onto it. "One face was that of a boy with dark, unruly hair. He wore glasses and looked a bit shocked himself. The other face belonged to a young girl … with red hair. I remember that she waved to me." He looked back at Harry and Ginny and chuckled.
"So, that was you," Harry said slowly. "The young boy … I thought you looked familiar. We saw you right after we saw two men and two women in the room. The mirror kept clouding, then clearing to show different people." He paused for a moment, then added, "I even saw my mum and dad. He was proposing to her."
Professor Dumbledore smiled. "Ah, yes … I remember that day, too. I had always thought that your parents, Harry, were the two faces that I saw in the mirror. At least, until today. Today, when I looked at the two of you, I realized that it was actually you that I'd seen. You do look so very much like your father, Harry. And Miss Weasley, you could easily be mistaken for Miss Evans."
They'd reached a door that stood off to the side of the teacher's platform. Professor Dumbledore laid his hand upon the knob as he looked gravely at Harry and Ginny. "As I recall, you both asked for help. Just as you asked before, never be afraid to ask again. I vowed that day so long ago to do whatever was necessary to assist you. And I plan to still do so even today." Giving a slight push on the door, the older man opened the door. With a small nod, he left the two students to enter on their own.
Harry looked at Ginny, who just shrugged a bit. "We might as well go in, Harry. I think that's what Professor Dumbledore wanted." Harry nodded. The two walked into the room together. Looking around, they could see that it was just as they'd seen through the mirror. "It's the same room, isn't it Harry?"
"Yeah," Harry answered somewhat awed. "It sure looks like it." They moved further into the room. Suddenly, Harry stopped and stared down at the floor in front of him. Ginny came over and stood just before him, eyeing him with both concern and curiosity. "This is where they stood. My mum and dad … when he asked her to marry him."
"Oh Harry," Ginny said reaching out a hand to comfort him. Harry took hold of it and grasped it tightly. What appeared to be a movement to his right caught his eye and he looked over. Ginny must have followed suit, for he felt her move a step closer to him.
There, hanging on the wall opposite of them, was a duplicate copy of the mirror that they'd seen in the hidden haven. Only, at present, the mirror was not showing any reflection, but was showing Harry and Ginny. It was them from hours earlier. Harry took a step towards the mirror. Ginny moved along beside him as well. His past self appeared to be speaking.
Ginny suddenly clutched Harry's arm with her free hand. Excitedly, she whispered, "You just asked me if I thought we were seeing the future, which would mean that we'd got out. Don't you see … we can let ourselves know that it'll all be okay soon."
Harry smiled down at her, then looked over at the mirror. He nodded his head quickly, noticing that the image was misting over. Soon enough, it was gone completely and replaced with the normal reflection of the room. Sighing, Harry stated, "Well, that was an experience." He glanced down at Ginny to find that they were still firmly holding hands.
She looked as if she were going to say something when the sound of the room's door opening interrupted. Both looked over to see Cho come racing into the room. Immediately, Ginny pulled her hand from Harry's. The Ravenclaw girl rushed over and threw her arms around Harry's neck. "Harry! … You're okay! When I'd heard that you'd disappeared too, I was just frantic. My parents wouldn't let me come back until they heard that you all were back safe."
Harry pulled back from the dark haired girl. He felt somewhat uncomfortable with this sort of display of affection … especially in front of Ginny. For the briefest of moments, he wondered why that was. Glancing apologetically at the youngest Weasley, Harry found her not even looking at him. Instead, Ginny appeared to be looking at Cho with an odd expression of confusion and suspicion.
Cho suddenly pulled at Harry to drag him out of the room. He glanced back again towards Ginny, finally catching her eye. With a regretful smile, he mouthed, 'Let's talk later.' Ginny smiled softly as she nodded. Then Harry lost sight of her as he and Cho left the small room.
Unfortunately, Harry never did get the chance to talk to Ginny after that, though. School got back into session and he was busier than ever with his O.W.L.S. Cho took up whatever time was left, it seemed. But despite spending more time together, Harry found that he wasn't as happy as he once thought he was.
The Slytherin game against Hufflepuff finally came and it was a contest to remember. Everyone knew that if Slytherin won this game and Hufflepuff went on to beat Gryffindor in the last game, then there would be a three way tie for the Quidditch cup. However, Slytherin lost 20 to 200. Hufflepuff now had a real chance at winning the Quidditch cup. All they had to do was beat Gryffindor.
Another week and a half had gone by and the fifth years were in the midst of their O.W.L.S. testing when Professor Dumbledore made an announcement.
"Students! It has come to my attention that we've gone far too long without having a Hogsmeade visit. Therefore, I am happy to inform you that this upcoming weekend, we will be allowing third years and up to go into town during the day."
This was met with much applause and cheers. Cho, whom Harry was presently sitting next to, looked almost too excited. "Harry!" she exclaimed as she grabbed his arm. "This will be perfect! We can go into town and shop a bit, then have a nice private picnic on the hillside …"
"I don't think Professor Dumbledore will allow that," Harry said, earning himself a frown from the pretty Ravenclaw girl. He went on just the same to say, "Besides, I'd like us to spend this trip with my friends." He felt an urge to laugh when he saw Cho's mouth drop open, but he didn't. Instead, he got up from the table and began to walk towards the Gryffindor table. Spotting his best friends, he headed in their direction.
Just as he made it over to them, though, Cho's voice sounded from behind. "No hold on!" Harry turned to face her. "I want to spend time alone … not surrounded by all of your followers." Harry was a bit surprised by the tone of disgust in the girl's voice. She gave him a stern look as she said, "I think you need to decide which is more important to you … me or your friends." With that said, Cho whirled around and left the Great Hall.
Harry sat down next to Ron, ignoring the snide comments and catcalls that were flying across the room at him. Ron raised an eyebrow at him as he asked, "What's got her knickers in a knot?"
Not really sure, Harry just shrugged. All he knew was that things had changed between him and Cho. He didn't know how to explain it. It was almost as if he'd woken up in some way and was able to see things more clearly. "I'm thinking of telling her that … well … that it's not working out," he told Ron. He noticed that Hermione, who was across the table, perked up at this information. "I just don't know how to tell her. I really don't want to hurt her."
Ron gave his friend a long look. Harry got the feeling that the boy was debating with himself on something. Finally, Ron said, "I think you should just tell her what you said to us." He paused, then asked, "Is it really not working out?"
Harry nodded without hesitation. "It just doesn't … feel right. I mean, we've been supposedly 'together' since last fall, but I don't feel at all close to her. When we talk, it's all so superficial. I want something more than that. I want to be with someone who I can tell anything to and who will do the same with me." Immediately, an image of Ginny jumped into his head. From the suspicious look on Ron's face, Harry wondered if the boy knew what he was thinking.
"Well," Hermione said, giving Harry reason to believe that she, too, was aware of Harry's new thoughts. "I think Ron is right. Just be honest with her. Some girls prefer to be honestly spoken to." Harry nodded. Glancing at Ron again, he was surprised to see the boy smiling. Apparently, so was Hermione, for she asked, "What are you grinning at, Ronald?"
His grin widened. "You." Harry noted that Hermione's face went bright red. Ron went on to say, "Did you hear that, Harry? Hermione Granger said that I was right. I never thought that I'd live to see the day."
Harry chuckled softly as Hermione, with a loud huff, got up from the table and left. Ron's face turned to a more serious expression then as he said, "I am surprised that it didn't work out for you and Cho."
Shrugging again, Harry said, "It just wasn't meant to be." He paused, glancing around to make sure that no one else was listening. Then in a hushed tone, he told Ron, "I mean, it's been months that we've been dating and we haven't even kissed yet."
"What?!" Ron exclaimed, earning a number of stares or glares from those still in the Great Hall. He lowered his voice as he asked, "Do you mean to tell me that all those times you two were alone, you never … not even once?" Harry shook his head. Ron whispered, "Bloody hell. And I thought I was pathetic." Harry frowned at his best friend. "Well, at least I have an excuse. I don't have a girlfriend. But you … didn't you ever make a move?"
"Once," Harry answered. "Then the garden was full of dementors and the moment was ruined. Since then, there just never seemed to be an opportunity. It's … well … it's almost as if Cho doesn't want to. So, I've never pushed her."
Ron looked at him sympathetically. Harry stood up, feeling worse than he had before joining his friends. "I think that I need to think this through," he said, then slowly walked out of the Great Hall.
TBC
