A/N: Thank you for the reviews. Much appreciated. Now that Harry and Ginny have reached the point where they're moving on, things will be able to happen a little more quickly between them. Enjoy!
Note: Ok, I've had a fair few questions about the Marauder's Map and Sirius. Yes, the map would show Sirius's name, but Harry only ever looks at the map when he has a reason to. Before he found out about Sirius, he never had a need to look at the map and that's why he didn't find out about Sirius through it.
Things happened quickly after all of the envelopes were open. One minute Hermione was sitting at the Gryffindor table and having a having a hard time coming to terms with the information in the letter she was holding, and the next, Professor McGonagall was standing beside her, urging her to stand up. Though her legs didn't seem to want to work quick right, she managed to get to her feet. Belatedly, she realized that Neville was on her other side, his hand gently but firmly grasping her elbow and helping her to stand. She shot him a grateful smile - or at least, she tried, but judging by the look on his face it emerged as more of a grimace than anything else - and allowed him to guide her out of the Great Hall.
She and the other students were ushered up to Professor Dumbledore's office by their Heads of Houses, where Professor McGonagall conjured chairs for everyone to sit in. She and Professor Sprout remained with them while Professor Snape and Professor Flitwick left the room. Cho Chang was staring numbly down at the letter in her hands while one of her friends tried in vain to get her attention. Astoria Greengrass was sitting beside Hestia and Flora; there was a grave expression on her face that made Hermione want to give into the urge to cry. She swallowed the urge just in time and looked away hastily to see Susan Bones pulling a hysterical Calandra Clearwater into a firm embrace. Behind them, the portraits of the past headmasters and headmistresses murmured in low voices.
After a few long, agonizing minutes during which no one spoke, the door swung open again and Snape, Flitwick, Dumbledore, and two people from the Ministry filed into the room. Hermione recognized Kingsley Shacklebolt instantly, though she didn't know the other worker. It was a woman, petite and all curves, with long curly blonde hair and big brown eyes. At first she thought that maybe it was Tonks even though the woman wasn't wearing Auror robes, but the woman looked at her blankly, without recognition, and she knew it wasn't. She wished that it was, though. If something had happened to her parents, she didn't want to find out about it in a room full of strangers and people that she didn't know if she could trust.
"I'm assuming that you have all received your Ministry letters," said the woman, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. Amazingly, she sounded rather bored with the whole situation. "Yes, we regret to inform you that some of your family members were involved in random raids last night and have been wounded or worse."
Hermione's stomach lurched at the sound of the 'or worse' and for a split second, she really thought that she might be sick. Neville's hand slipped into hers at that point and she held on so tightly that it had to have hurt, but he didn't make a sound. "When you said raids, you mean they were the targets for Death Eaters," she said. Her voice came out so high-pitched and quivery that she didn't even recognize it at as her own. She tightened her grip on Neville even more and leaned against his solid, reassuring warmth.
The woman said flatly, "The Ministry is looking into the situation, young lady. At this point in time, we can't be completely certain who is behind these attacks and the Ministry would appreciate it if you didn't spread rumours. You can rest assured that the perpetrators will be caught and prosecuted to the full extent of the law."
"Which basically means you'll do nothing," Astoria said coldly. The woman glared at her as she held up a piece of parchment and squinted down at it.
"Chang, Cho?" she called out after a moment, peering over the roll. Cho looked up for the first time since they'd entered the office. Her face was completely blank, and either she was the world's best actress or her mind had completely shut down. "You have my deepest and sincerest apologies, my dear. I'm afraid that your parents were killed in an attack."
A heavy silence descended over the room and Cho's mouth twitched. Hermione half-expected her to cry - or yell, scream, do something other than just sit there like a statue - but Cho didn't move. Her face remained an eerily blank mask, her dark brown eyes staring distantly at the far wall like she wasn't even registering what she'd been told. Her friend cast an anxious look at Professor Flitwick before she leaned over and tentatively touched Cho's arm. That gentle touch seemed to be enough to snap the spell. Cho blinked and suddenly, her face crumpled. Before she could fall apart, though, she jumped to her feet and, pushing past Snape and McGonagall, ran out of the room, leaving her friend and Flitwick to chase after her.
"Well," the woman sighed into the tense silence, running her fingers along the edge of the parchment. Professor McGonagall was glaring at her, but she didn't seem to care. "Such an unpleasant task, but I'm afraid that we must keep going. Now, Clearwater, Calandra... I assume that's you?" She glanced at the terrified third year and wasted no time delivering the bad news. "Your sister, Penelope Clearwater, was one of the many witches and wizards injured during a raid on Diagon Alley and she is currently in St. Mungos. She should make a full recovery but your parents have requested that I escort you to their side."
Hermione's mind raced, absorbing the news about the attack on Diagon Alley, as Calandra took a deep breath and nodded, her pretty face streaked with tears. She was clearly too relieved that no one had died to say anything. Susan patted her head and said, "Thank you."
"You're welcome. Carrow, Hestia and Carrow, Flora?" Now the woman turned to face the three Slytherins. Her jaw noticeably tightened when she looked at Astoria, but she said nothing, instead directing her attention towards Flora and Hestia. Snape narrowed his eyes slightly and tensed, causing the woman to look a little nervous. She spoke to them more gently. "I regret to inform you that your father was killed during that raid. Your grandmother has given me instructions that you are to be taken home immediately."
Flora tensed at the news. "No, thank you, I believe that we'll remain here at Hogwarts," she said stiffly. Hestia was biting her lip and Hermione couldn't help remembering her research about the Carrow family, and how Uther Carrow had spoken out against his darker siblings. No doubt Amycus and Alecto had come back to give their brother his dues. The Carrow twins were probably safer at Hogwarts than they would be anywhere else.
"Your grandmother said – " the woman began.
"I believe that you'll find Professor Snape has become the temporary magical guardian for the children, not their grandmother," Dumbledore broke in smoothly. His arms were folded and his blue eyes were stern. "You will not be able to remove either Flora or Hestia from the school unless he gives his permission."
"And you may be assured that I certainly do not," Snape added, his dark eyes daring the woman to argue with him. She took one look at his stern expression and quailed.
"Very well," she said with a noticeable gulp, rolling her parchment up. "That leaves Granger, Hermione. Your parents were attacked directly at their home early this morning. The residence was set on fire but both of them managed to escape. Fortunately, a wizard that lived up the street was able to contact the Ministry before things go out of hand. Because your parents are muggles, there was some debate as to where they should be taken, but since you are a witch they were transported to St. Mungos since their injuries are of a magical nature." She was noticeably flustered, as she nearly dropped her roll of parchment when she tried to tuck it into her robes. "I suppose if you'd like to see them, you may come along with Calandra and me."
"If?" Hermione raised an eyebrow, wondering who this woman thought she was. Honestly, it was like seeing a flakier, more easily intimidated reincarnation of Dolores Umbridge standing in front of her. The sheer lack of tact made her bristle and she wasn't the only one; McGonagall looked like she wanted to throttle the woman. "Of course I want to come."
"Very well. We'll leave now." The woman finally gave up and stuffed her parchment into Kingsley's hands. Until that point, he had remained silent, though visibly disapproving. Now, he frowned at her.
"I will be accompanying you as well, Martha," he said.
Martha frowned and lifted her chin, displeased. "I was told to escort the children to St. Mungos by the Minister himself," she retorted. "I'm not sure why they even bothered to send an Auror along." Kingsley just looked at her and after a moment she turned away with a huff and stormed over to the large fireplace. "Come along, then. Let's go. I can't waste my whole day waiting around."
Hermione twisted a little so that she was close enough to Neville for her to speak without anyone else overhearing. "Neville, please tell Harry and Ginny what happened when you see them," she whispered, not really wanting to leave without speaking to them herself. But Merlin only knew where the two of them had ended up, and there wasn't enough time to run back to the dorm and fetch the Marauder's Map to find them. Martha hadn't given her any details as to how badly her parents had been hurt, but if it was bad enough to warrant taking muggles to St. Mungos that pretty much said it all. Her stomach churned with nerves and Neville must have seen the look on her face, because he stepped forward and slipped his other arm around her shoulders, pulling her into an awkward hug that kept their hands connected.
"Good luck, Hermione. I'll tell them," he said softly into her ear.
The fact that he didn't try to comfort her with useless platitudes like "it will be alright" or "I'm sure they're fine" meant more than she could say, and she clung to him for a few seconds longer than she should have. Out of everyone, she knew that Neville alone could best understand that St. Mungos, while filled with talented and powerful healers and mediwizards, could not perform miracles even with the help of magic. She thought of his parents and what she, Harry and Ron had seen the year before and felt her eyes burn with the beginning of tears as she forced herself to let go.
Susan was watching them with sympathy in her big blue eyes, but not a trace of jealousy. She handed Calandra over without protest and a silent understanding passed between the girls when she looked at Hermione. Forcing a smile in response, Hermione took Calandra's small hand and walked over to the Floo where Martha and Kingsley were waiting. Her eye caught Professor Dumbledore's as they passed, but the man made no move to speak to her and for that, she was glad. Martha held a canister of Floo powder out to her and silently, Hermione took some. Calandra pressed herself firmly against Hermione's side and the two of them stepped through the fireplace together. Moments later, Martha followed, leaving Kingsley holding the small pot. He turned to look at Dumbledore before going through.
"I apologize for her behaviour," he said, mouth twisted. "I didn't want her to be the one to deliver the news, but the Minister insisted. It was only due to some fortunate timing that I was cleared to come along at all."
"It's not your fault, Kingsley," Dumbledore replied wearily. "I can't expect a man like Cornelius to understand what it's like to lose someone, or to have the news be expressed in such a manner. You've done what you could. Thank you for accompanying Miss Granger and Miss Clearwater to St. Mungos. I trust you'll see them back to Hogwarts safely before the night is through?"
"I will," Kingsley said with a nod, taking a handful of the powder. He disappeared into the roaring green flames, leaving Professor Sprout, McGonagall, Snape, Dumbledore, Neville, Susan, Astoria, and the Carrow twins behind in the room. Susan had moved over to stand next to the twins and was lightly stroking Hestia's hair. Flora was sitting with her shoulders hunched, an expression on her face that said she was daring anyone to try touching her without permission. Neville stepped over next to Astoria, and, though he made no move to touch her, she relaxed minutely.
"Professor Snape, I'll ask you to escort Hestia, Flora and Astoria back to Slytherin," said Dumbledore, giving the younger man a significant look. Snape nodded as the headmaster added, "Mr Longbottom, Miss Bones, I trust you can find your own way back to your dorms?"
"Yes sir," Neville mumbled, shoulders tense.
Professor Snape beckoned to his three Slytherins with one hand. Though Hestia and Flora walked over to him, Astoria didn't move and instead folded her arms. "I have things to do before curfew," she said, her voice cold. "I'll go back on my own when I'm ready."
"Very well," Dumbledore said before Snape could speak. He gestured for the irate professor to leave and reluctantly, the man did with the twins close behind. Dumbledore obligingly stepped aside as Susan, Neville and Astoria left in a group with Sprout following. As he moved over to sit behind his desk with a heavy sigh, McGonagall closed the door and leaned against it, her face lined with disgust.
"That woman was absolutely horrible, Albus!" she spat. "How could you allow her to speak to the children like that? No one should ever have to hear about the death or injury of a family member in such a fashion. At the very least, we should have been told first so that we could more easily break the news to them. I don't know that Miss Chang will ever recover. She was clearly devastated."
Dumbledore rested his hands together, distractedly noticing that Fawkes was suspiciously absent. "We had no forewarning, Minerva. I knew that the Ministry had begun sending out the notices about victims involved in raids again, but I was unaware that was the procedure he had in mind for Hogwarts. Had I known I would have requested that all notices be sent to me instead of directly to the children. Rest assured that I will be having a chat with Cornelius concerning both the letters and Ms. Turner's lack of respect." His blue eyes flashed distantly with anger.
"You'd better," McGonagall growled. She was sorely tempted to visit the Ministry herself. Cornelius Fudge had been her student once upon a time and she had no qualms about putting the fear back into him if that's what it took to make the man show a little bit of sense, Minister of Magic or no. It was disgraceful that he would allow innocent children to get caught up in a fight that should have existed solely between him and the headmaster, but Dumbledore's greatest weakness had always been the school he strove so hard to protect and everyone knew it. "Are you sure it was wise to let Miss Granger and Miss Clearwater go with that woman?"
"Martha Turner is devoted to the Ministry and Cornelius but she would not harm an underage wizard or witch," the man answered with a confidence he didn't really feel. Truthfully, if Kingsley hadn't been there he would have insisted that one of the professors accompany the students.
"You say that now," she muttered, folding her arms across her chest and eyeing him. A heavy silence descended before, a few minutes later, she spoke again. "What's going on, Albus?"
"I'm afraid I don't know what you mean, my dear," he answered, pulling open one of his desk drawers. One look at the tightening of her lips and he knew he'd need a lemon drop to get through this.
"Don't play coy with me. You know very well what I'm talking about. Miss Granger used to think that you held the sun up in the sky, but when she left here… If I didn't know better, I'd say that she was either very angry or very afraid of you." McGonagall frowned deeply, not liking the route her thoughts were taking. "Possibly both."
"You are very astute, as always." He sucked hard on a lemon drop but for once the sharp tartness didn't make him feel any better. Clearly Harry's mistrust in him was being to spread if the way Hermione, Neville, Susan and even Astoria had acted towards him was any indication. Dumbledore wasn't sure how to handle that. It definitely hadn't been a part of his original plan to isolate the boy. If anything, Harry seemed to gathering a crowd of supporters around him. How… interesting. And unexpected.
McGonagall just stared at him. "Albus…"
"No need to worry. I have everything under control," he said reassuringly.
It didn't work. "If I find out that you've been playing with those kids," she warned him. There was no need for her to finish that sentence; he could easily imagine the thousand different ways that she'd repay for him for his manipulations all too well. His hand shook ever so slightly as he reached for another lemon drop, though the movement was so imperceptible that she didn't even notice, and he remained silent until eventually she changed the subject to something else, a trivial matter that did nothing to disperse the cloud that was now hanging over them.
NIR
It took her a solid thirty seconds to recover from the shock of being kissed and realize that her - friend? Boyfriend? Husband? All of the above? - had jumped off the ledge while she was other occupied. Ginny snapped out of her stunned daze and ran to the edge of the railing, peering over worriedly and half-expecting to see Harry sprawled on the ground below. When she finally spotted him, she breathed a sigh of relief at seeing that he was actually flying. His wings were spread wide and flapping every so often to give him enough lift to remain in the air as he flew back up. The joy flooding down their bond was almost dizzying, especially because she couldn't tell whether it came from the kiss or the flying or some strange combination. She leaned against the railing and shook her head slowly in wonderment as she brushed a trembling finger over her lips. Had that really just happened or had she hallucinated for a minute?
"Ginny!" Harry called out, distracting her from her thoughts. She blinked, looked up and felt her heart skip a beat. He was hovering about ten feet away, framed against the twinkling stars of the night sky like a fiery angel descending from the heavens. His emerald eyes were soft and his black hair hung in damp curls around his face. He was smiling and one of his hands was extended in her direction like an invitation from heaven itself. Seeing that he'd gotten her attention, he grinned playfully. "Come on. This was your idea, remember? I'm not going to just leave you here. Let's fly."
In other words, hurry up and jump. Ginny took a deep breath and held onto the railing tightly as she hoisted herself up and slung a shaking leg over the railing. Her feet were bare, which helped with keeping her balance, but the long dress was making it difficult to manoeuvre and she felt her stomach twist when her grip became perilous a couple of times. Of course, not that it would really matter if she fell considering that was the whole point, but still. She looked down for a few seconds, realizing that the ground was actually a hell of a lot further away than she'd first thought. And now she had to let go. Well, that was much easier said than done now that she was the one on the edge of the stands. Yet she couldn't turn away, not after Harry had done it.
"Merlin, I'm starting to think Tori was right about Gryffindors," she muttered, closing her eyes. She flapped her wings one last time just to prove that they were still working and then used every last bit of strength to force her hands to let go of the railing. There was the disorienting feeling of falling, and she forced her eyes open to see that the ground was approaching her much faster than she would have liked. Harry yelled something in the distance and she felt a surge of fear and panic down their bond that jolted her awake. Almost instinctively, her wings stretched out and began to move. Her fall began to slow and then gradually stopped entirely, until she wasn't falling but rising, flying up to hover beside Harry, who looked like he'd just lost ten years of his life.
"Bloody hell, don't do that to me," he gasped, grabbing her hand and yanking her close, heedless of the fact that it put an uncomfortable pressure on both their wings. "You frightened me that much closer to death when I saw you fall. It looked like you weren't going to fly and I thought you might hit the ground."
"Spirits don't get hurt, remember?" she said into his neck.
"That's not the fucking point, Gin," he retorted hotly. "Just - hell. Bloody hell." A shudder ran through his frame and he clutched her tightly, pressing his face into her hair.
"Sorry. Really, I'm sorry," she said finally, pulling back just enough to be able to look up into his face. "I wasn't thinking."
"It's fine." Roughly, he shook his head and released her wrist to rub a hand down his face. "I can't wait until this whole nightmare is over with. I don't know what Fawkes wanted us to learn, but it can't be this important." With a reluctance that surprised both of them, he twitched his wings and backed away just enough to put a reasonable amount of space between them. Ginny looked at him for a long moment - his mind was suspiciously blank and wasn't that just convenient? - before she gathered her courage and reached out for his hand. It was warm and firm and he squeezed her hand tightly in return before lacing their fingers together without saying a word. That was a start and she felt herself relax slightly.
"Let's get going before someone sees us," she urged, looking past him to the Forbidden Forest. If it had appeared threatening during the day, that was nothing compared to how it looked at night. The trees grew so closely together that the whole forest looked like a monster of some kind, enormous and ready to consume anyone that didn't belong. She shivered and inched closer to Harry, wondering whether Fawkes had been right about the safety of their bodies or whether she would wake up to find something gnawing on her flesh.
Harry grimaced. "Do you mind?" he muttered, though there was no heat in his voice. He just sounded tired and it was evident that he was no more anticipating their trip than she was from the way he was eyeing the forest. There was no other choice, though, and reluctantly the two of them began flying towards the edge of the Forbidden Forest. Something began to howl as they approached, and the hungry sound only grew louder the further inward that they went. Ginny cast a brief glance down at the trees and spotted golden eyes staring intently up at them – and if she wasn't mistaken, she was pretty sure that whatever owned those eyes was actually following them. Clearly some creatures could see into the spiritual plane with no problem and had decided that she and Harry looked like very tasty meals.
"I'm going to kill Fawkes," she announced blandly, not knowing whether it was actually possible to kill a phoenix but at the moment, not really caring. Harry snorted and nodded his agreement, trying to ignore the glowing eyes below them in favour of scanning the forest for the clearing where their bodies had been left. It took some work to locate it, as neither of them had really been paying all that much attention to the direction that Fawkes had originally been leading them in, but eventually they found it by flying nearly due south from the castle.
Surprisingly, their bodies were still in one piece, and indeed, the scene looked much the same as it had when they'd first flown away, with no additional bite or claw marks. For the first time, Ginny noticed that Harry's Firebolt had also hit the ground with them. The wooden part of the broom had cracked and was in danger of breaking apart completely. Harry's face turned white when he saw the damage but he said nothing, though his grip on her hand did tighten to the point where her fingers went numb. Ginny wished she had something comforting to say to him, but it felt like all of her ability to think had fled her mind when she saw their bodies. She couldn't think about anything except for the fact that they looked dead.
"It's creepy..." she said at last, breaking the heavy silence and folding her wings against her back. She hung back, not quite daring to approach, but unable to look away out of sheer morbid curiosity. "Do you think we'll be stuck this way forever?"
"No!" Harry said instantly, so forcefully that she looked at him in surprise. He was breathing shallowly and the color hadn't fully returned to his face yet. Neither of them wanted to even entertain the idea of being left this way, but Ginny knew it was something they had to think about. If they weren't back by morning, someone would raise the alarm, whether it was Hermione or Sirius or Remus or Astoria, and when they still didn't come back after another few hours, a search party would be sent out. Eventually, someone would find their bodies in the clearing and it would be assumed that they'd been the victims of a Death Eater attack. Granted, their bodies were still breathing, but when no one would be able to wake them up it would cause a panic. Perhaps eventually, after enough time had gone by, their bodies would stop breathing and they'd be trapped like this forever...
A sob lodged in her throat before she could stop it. Ginny swallowed hard in an effort to keep from getting hysterical and forcefully pushed those thoughts from her mind, telling herself that she didn't need to worry about it because she and Harry would be back long before dawn broke. Fawkes wanted them to learn something - fine. All they had to do was figure out what the annoying phoenix had in mind, learn it, and make it back to the castle. That couldn't be any more difficult than anything else that they had faced. With renewed determination, she released Harry's hand and approached their bodies before she could stop herself, deciding that a good look would probably be a logical first step.
Obviously something had slowed their fall, because neither body was in the kind of shape that they would if they had plummeted a hundred feet. Ginny tried to distance herself, tried to forget that this was her body, and observed them with a critical eye. Now that she had gotten closer, she could see the smaller details that she'd missed before. Harry's right wrist was bent at an odd angle, either broken or badly strained from the looks of it, and her left ankle and foot was swollen to about twice the size that it was supposed to be. Bruises and scrapes littered every inch of their skin and blood had soaked the sleeve of Harry's t-shirt up near his left shoulder. But on the whole, the two of them appeared to be in one piece.
She edged a bit nearer and narrowed her eyes, suddenly realizing that it looked like their bodies were glowing. No - there was fire dancing around them, pale and so ethereal she had to blink a few times to make sure it was really there. The fire was so faint that in the light of the day, it would have been lost to the sun's rays, but in the darkness, it was just barely visible. Her stomach tightened and she tried to remember everything Fawkes had said about the so-called connection he'd woven between the three of them.
"What is it?" Harry glanced up at her.
"I think Fawkes might have done more than just forge our bond," she said slowly. "He… there's fire around us, Harry."
"What do you…" Harry stood up and came a little closer. His green eyes widened when he saw what she had spotted. But before he could say or think anything, the world twisted. Ginny gasped and closed her eyes, feeling sickeningly disoriented as the ground was jerked out from underneath her. There was a bewildering sensation of pure darkness that wouldn't stop moving, and then…
… she was slammed into a hard surface with such force that all of the breath left her lungs. Her left ankle began to throb with such an intense pain that it left her reeling. Pain danced along the bond to Harry and back again, creating a feedback loop that hurt all the more. "Bloody hell," she croaked out, opening her eyes to stare up at the sky. Her vision was dim ad blurry and failed to clear even after she blinked. Head throbbing, she forced her hands flat against the grass and sat up. The world spun dizzily but she could see enough to know that - somehow - they were back.
"I'm starting to miss being a spirit," Harry groaned next to her, rolling over and easing his arm out from under the dead weight of his body. He looked as dazed as she felt. "What the hell was that? Did we learn something that I wasn't a part of?"
Ginny thought back to her so-called revelation - that the connection between them and Fawkes had changed far more than she'd originally anticipated - and had to fight back the urge to throw up. "Merlin, I hope not," she whispered shakily. Harry looked up at her, no doubt sensing her anxiety, and tried to smile.
"Hey, don't worry. Whatever it is, we'll handle it together, alright?" he said.
"Never thought I'd heard you say that," she said. It had been meant as a light-hearted comment but it came out bitterer than she'd intended and Harry winced. His expression grew troubled.
"Yeah, I never thought I would, either," he replied, and there was so much awe rolling down their bond that she flushed. They looked at each other for a long time, faces suddenly, somehow breathlessly close. Harry's eyes dropped to her lips and Ginny breathed in sharply, not needing their bond to know that he was thinking about kissing her, that he wanted to kiss her. Tentatively, she shifted closer and tilted her head, keeping her mind purposely blank but knowing he'd take it for the invitation that it was. It seemed to be all the incentive he needed; he leaned up and gently pressed their mouths together.
It was a chaste kiss at first, no more than a simple brushing of their lips. Harry pulled back a little and she watched him smile before she leaned forward again, this time initiating a kiss that lasted a little longer and only stopped when the pain radiating from her ankle became too much to ignore. She winced and they separated at the same time. Though it hurt, Ginny found herself unable to keep from smiling as she reached up and gently pressed her fingers to his cheek.
"Let's go back," she said before the words she really wanted to say slipped out. It was difficult to keep from even thinking them.
Harry nodded and took her hand, giving it a brief squeeze before letting go. "Alright."
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