In the following weeks, Harry found time to visit Teddy and Andromeda a handful of times while still managing to balance out his homework and the classes he was teaching. All the while, he fought the urge to drink.
He was surprised to find that teaching was making him get better at Defense, so much so that his homework for Professor Vector was what he did for fun after his other homework. He was actually sad when he was out of chapters to outline for her at the end of November. Hermione was impressed with the scroll of parchment he'd ended up with, which totaled almost a thirty meters long.
"Good," Professor Vector said, when Harry set down the huge scroll of parchment of homework on her desk. She tapped her wand on it. Her wand wrote a large goose egg on a corner of the parchment.
"A zero?" Harry said, surprised. He'd hoped at least for an 'Acceptable'.
"No it's a letter, not a number. It's an Outstanding," she said, smiling and looking down at what her wand wrote. "Excellent, Potter. Now, just don't forget to attend your practical exam at the end of the year. You may have your scroll back so you may study from it if you wish."
"Thank you, Professor," Harry said, surprised that she wasn't at least going to skim over it.
"You're welcome, Professor," she said, inclining her head to him. Harry smiled awkwardly as he picked the scroll of parchment up and left her classroom.
Harry stopped at his classroom to drop the scroll of homework off and then headed down to dinner in the Great Hall. The usual wave of sound reached him on the marble stairs as he made his way down. Ahead of him, he spied Draco Malfoy and Ginny, who since following them under the cover of the Invisibility Cloak, had become inseparable. As he neared them, Ginny looked behind her and her eyes brightened a bit at seeing him.
"Hi, Ginny," Harry said, to be polite.
"Hi," she said. Draco looked over his shoulder and saw Harry. Rather than saying anything, he grabbed Ginny's elbow and guided her over to the Slytherin table. Harry wondered about her again and wondered if she was alright. It had been weeks, months really, since he'd said much more than 'hello' to her.
He thought it was strange how he could have been so intimate with someone-thought he could marry her someday-and how that person could so easily become a stranger in such a short period of time.
Harry sat down across from Hermione and Ron, who had already started eating.
"I'm surprised you're already down here. What did Professor Vector say?" Hermione asked as Harry started serving himself, still deep in thought about Ginny.
"She tapped it with her wand and gave me an 'Outstanding'. Didn't even untie the string to make sure that there was writing on the parchment."
"Is there a spell that you can use to grade things?" Ron said. "I suppose that'd make sense."
"I have no idea," Harry said, "I suppose I should have asked her that. It'd save me some time."
"Or you could just skip assigning homework."
"But if I don't, then they come back to class the next time no better than they were the last. It's frustrating."
"Of course," Hermione said, nodding. Ron rolled his eyes.
"So anyway, I was thinking of working on some trick moves too," Ron said, clearly continuing what he'd been previously talking about. He glanced at Hermione to make sure she was paying attention, "Ginny's been working on the Wronski Feint since Seamus is such a bad Seeker. She's trading him positions and letting him play Chaser while she'll be playing Seeker and-"
"That's too bad, she's a great Chaser," Harry said, mostly to himself.
"Yeah," Ron said. "You know, you'd solve all our problems if you'd come back on the team as Seeker."
"Ginny doesn't want me on the team, I'd venture to guess. Anyway, I know you only beat Ravenclaw by ten points, but you beat them. And that's what matters."
"Yeah, because Ginny's such a great Chaser and got so many goals…" Ron shrugged.
"You're a great keeper, too. Gryffindor would have been flattened if it weren't for you," Harry said to Ron. "You've finally seemed to have gotten over your nerves."
"Well," Ron said, "Once you've killed a horcrux or two, Quidditch doesn't seem like something to be too afraid of anymore."
Harry laughed. "Well, that's probably the only good thing to have come from those bloody things." Hermione and Ron laughed at this too.
It was quiet for a moment. Then Harry said, "Has Ginny mentioned me at all?"
Hermione and Ron both looked up at him, seemingly startled.
"She hasn't said a word to me about you, mate, sorry. But I'm her brother, so…"
"Well, yes," Hermione said, glancing over at Ron. Harry watched as Ron gave Hermione an infinitesimal shake of his head. But Hermione spoke again anyway, "She said she's staying away from you for her… well for her own good, Harry. I'm sorry. She said she just doesn't think she should be around you right now."
"Right," Harry said, unshaken. Hermione looked confused but Harry didn't care. "But did she say anything else about me?"
Hermione and Ron exchanged worried looks. When neither of them said anything to this, Harry was starting to get annoyed.
"Don't you think it's strange that she and Malfoy have been spending so much time together?"
"Harry…"
"Doesn't it bother you, Ron? It's your sister and Draco Malfoy."
"He seems alright now," Ron said unconvincingly.
"I think there's more to it than that…" Harry said, leaning forward. "After Hal-er, a few weeks ago, I was walking around a bit with my cloak on and I followed them."
"Oh, Harry," Hermione said and then bit her lip.
"No, it's fine," Harry said shaking his head. "Malfoy mentioned Necromancy and was looking up things about it in the library, and then after they left the library Malfoy was talking about how strange it is that it'd be her instead of the Slytherins."
"What would be her?" Ron asked.
"I-well, I'm not sure."
"That's strange," Hermione said. "Are you sure he said Necromancy?"
"Yes," Harry said.
"Is that what I think it is?" Ron asked.
"Do you think it's spells that are used to make the dead come back to life?" Hermione asked, looking over at Ron. He raised his eyebrows.
"Knowing Ginny, she was probably just being curious and knew that Malfoy knew about all that dark stuff," Ron said shoving food haphazardly into his mouth.
"She has always been drawn to the Dark Arts," Hermione said and then hastily added, "I hate to admit it."
"Has she?" Harry said, surprised.
"You didn't know that?"
"Clearly not," Ron said, looking a Harry.
"But she's always sort of blamed it on what happened with the diary. It makes sense, really."
"Does it?" Harry asked. "I'm just thinking maybe she's getting in over her head with whatever they were looking up. I'm worried that she's trying to bring some spirit back from the dead."
"That's bullocks. Could you imagine? Ginny magically bringing like, Voldy back and accidentally getting him attached to her own soul somehow. Ha, or better yet, what if she got him back inside your scar? It's recently vacant, after all," Ron said sarcastically.
"You can hardly talk to Ginny without Malfoy being there with her anymore," Hermione said. "I have to admit that it gives me an off feeling when I look at them."
"That's just because it's Malfoy," Ron said, "I'd be worried if you felt anything other than off when you looked at him."
"She wanted to know how to get rid of something. She asked Malfoy about it when they were reading."
"Like a raised spirit maybe?" Hermione said. "They'd mentioned Necromancy after all. It'd follow that that's what they were talking about…" Seeing the boys' faces, she hurriedly added, "But of course, we'd be able to tell if someone was walking around with a spirit in their heads."
"What about Quirrell?" Ron asked. Harry hadn't even thought of him.
"That's not the same," Hermione said, shaking her head. "Voldemort wasn't already dead when Quirrell picked him up. He was tied to life by the Horcruxes. If someone raises a spirit by Necromancy, they are necessarily bringing a spirit back from the other side of the veil."
"The veil?" Harry repeated. "Like in the Department of Mysteries?"
"No," Hermione said immediately. "Oh my God. I can't believe it took me that long to understand that. Yes, Harry, like in the Department of Mysteries."
"I've always wanted to go back to see that thing again," Harry said quietly.
"I haven't," Hermione and Ron said at the same time.
"Malfoy's been coming to all the Quidditch practices, you know," Ron said leaning toward Harry. "You never would have gone for that when you were Captain, but Ginny seems to want him there."
"They practice together too sometimes," said Hermione. "I only know because she told me. He's been teaching her things to help her with becoming Seeker."
This last detail stung Harry more than anything else that they'd said. Maybe Ginny really was moving on from Harry… and moving on to Draco Malfoy, of all people… wouldn't she have at least come to Harry for tips on playing Seeker?
"I could have shown her the Wronski Feint," Harry said quietly.
"Do you want me to talk to her?" Ron asked Harry.
"And tell her what?"
"Tell her off, more like," Ron clarified.
"No." Harry had been so sure that she was only spending time with Draco for some reason that had to do with the fact that she still liked Harry. But of course he'd only been in denial, he realized now. She had been worried that she'd be weak and go back to him again…
"Merlin," Harry said aloud. Hermione looked like she wanted to hug him but the table was in the way.
"Don't let her bother you," Ron said, "You know, she's always been sort of spoiled. She's really not that great."
"Ron," Hermione said.
Harry stared down at his plate. He wasn't hungry anymore. He stood up.
"I'm just going to…" Harry started, looking down at Hermione and Ron. He shrugged and then walked out of the Great Hall.
