Chapter 6

"A prophecy?" Ginny wrinkled her nose in confusion. "About you?"

Harry shrugged. He was sitting on the bed in his room, or at least the room he was using. The door was open this time.

"I don't know. I guess so. Snape was kind of dodgy about the whole thing, actually," Harry said, picking at a non-existent piece of lint on the blanket."

"Aren't you curious? I mean, it's the whole reason Voldemort went after you and your family, isn't it?" Ginny said slowly.

"Of course, I'm curious! I'm dying to know it, all of it," Harry groused. "Do you really think he'd tell me?"

"You didn't ask?"

"No," Harry shook his head. "I was in a kind of shock, I guess."

"But he didn't tell you what it said, the prophecy, I mean?" she asked.

"No," Harry shrugged. "He just said he didn't believe in prophecies, to begin with, that he thought she was a fraud, and he didn't hear it all."

"Well, come on, Harry, we all think she's a fraud," Ginny said with a bit of giggle.

"Yeah," Harry agreed a little sadly. "She's not, though, I guess. I mean, she's done it one other time. In my third year."

"She has?" Ginny asked in shock.

"Yeah," Harry said quietly. "She predicted that Pettigrew would go back to join with Voldemort."

The two became silent. Ginny seemed stunned by this revelation. Harry, for his part, didn't want to think about that awful year or what Snape had told him.

"Doesn't mean she's not still mostly a fraud," Ginny finally said.

Harry laughed, and she threw a pillow at him. He threw it back and her, and the pillow fight ensued. It felt good to have fun and forget about prophecy, death, and reality.

"Hey, what's going on?" Ron asked from the door.

Harry was startled at the interruption so that the pillow Ginny threw hit him full in the face. She burst out laughing. He smirked back at her and turned to give Ron what he hoped was a neutral look, remembering Snape's suggestion to make up with him. It was harder seeing the look on Ron's face.

"Why are you sitting alone in a room with my sister?" Ron demanded.

"What are you talking about?" Ginny glared at her brother. "We're just talking."

"Just talking in a bedroom alone!" Ron insisted.

"Harry jumped up. "This happens to be my room," he told his former best friend. "I can invite whoever I want here, and you are not welcome." He stood up and walked to the doorway, inches from Ron. Although Ron was taller than Harry and heavier, Harry hardly cared. He didn't like Ron's attitude.

"What are you playing at?" Ron asked in disbelief.

"I could ask you the same question," Harry said coolly. "I have done nothing. You are the one barging in here making accusations."

Ron seemed taken aback. He was used to Harry not standing up for himself, or maybe didn't expect him to. He might not have forgiven Harry for yelling at him the night before. Whatever his reason, he was staring at Harry now as if he didn't recognize him. Neither one moved. Ginny just glared at Ron and didn't intervene.

"Ron?"

Harry heard Hermione's voice from the hallway, even though he couldn't see her. He honestly wasn't sure whether her presence was going to help or hurt things. Ron's posturing might only get worse with an audience. Harry had lived with years of Dudley's bullying. He knew that things could escalate fast if Ron felt cornered.

When no one spoke, Hermione inched her way closer so that she could see into the room. "Ron, Harry, what's going on?"

Ginny and Hermione exchanged glances. Harry wondered if there was some kind of girl code where they were also exchanging information. He looked to Hermione and raised an eyebrow. If she knew him at all, she would know he wasn't going to back down from Ron. He had fought Voldemort. Ron didn't scare him.

"Come on," Hermione grabbed Ron's sweatshirt sleeve with a gentle tug. "I think I heard the twins making a racket. Let's go see what it is."

No one moved for a minute. Harry squared his shoulders. Ron let down his guard subtly. Harry could see it in his posture. Ron turned to follow Hermione, who immediately relaxed as she started down the hall.

"Fine," he said to Hermione. "You leave my sister alone."

Harry was trying to decide how to react. His eyes slid to Ginny, whose own eyes were snapping in anger. It was a challenge, and Harry was unable to let it go.

"No," he said coolly.

"What did you say?"

"You're a prat, Ron," Harry said in the same dull tone. "Your sister and I were not doing anything. Ginny can keep any company she wants. You have no right to tell her, or me, to do anything."

Ron spun back around, and Harry stepped into the hall, so they were toe to toe. Ron pushed at him, but Harry didn't budge, ready for the move. Hermione had disappeared, probably to get the twins. Harry ignored it. He focused on Ron. He was pretty sure he would back down.

"Go ahead, Ron," Harry said. "Try it. Just remember the last person I fought."

"I think you last fought dementors and had to be dragged back here half alive," Ron spat.

"Maybe so," Harry agreed. "Want to know how many there were? How many Muggles I was defending? How many dementors can you fight off, Ron? How long would you last before they took your soul?"

Ron paled. Harry had him there, and he knew it. Ron couldn't produce a corporeal Patronus or any Patronus. He wouldn't last against a single determined dementor.

"So," Harry said casually. "Shall we do this with wands then, if you are so determined? You seem to want to fight like a Muggle. That's fine with me. I have plenty of practice with that too."

"Harry," Ginny hissed.

She was still in the bedroom, just inside the doorway. He couldn't see her face completely, but he knew she was taking him seriously. He didn't want to duel for her honor any more than she did. This whole thing was ridiculous. Ron was being an idiot, and Harry was determined to show him.

"Muggle way's fine with me," Ron said mulishly.

"Right then," Harry agreed.

They stood there. Neither one moved. Ginny didn't move either, though Harry could see her out of the corner of his eye. Down at the end of the hall, Hermione returned with Fred and George.

"Whoa, Ronniekins," one twin, Harry wasn't sure which, stepped behind Ron, "whatcha got going here?"

"Stay out of this, Fred!" Ron growled.

"Oh, right," Fred said. "Well, I'd hate to rob you of your moment. After all, if you kill him, you'll be the Boy Who Killed the Boy Who Lived!"

Harry glared at him and then looked back at Ron, who was ignoring his brother. George was leaning against the wall casually with his arms folded. "I'll give you good odds," he said to Hermione. "Which one do you like?"

"Stop it!" Hermione glared at him. "I asked you to come to talk sense into them, not to take bets."

"Oh well," George shrugged. "Your loss. I'm betting on Harry. He's scrawny, but he's always been a scrapper."

Hermione shook her head, silently fuming. "You too stop this right now, before I go get Molly and Snape!"

Again, she was ignored. Ron and Harry glared at each other. Harry was getting impatient.

"What are you waiting for?" Harry asked Ron. "This was your idea."

"I don't want to hit you!" Ron insisted.

"Oh really? Then why did you start a fight?" Harry cried in exasperation. "You some kind of coward?"

"I am not," Ron snorted. "I'm a Gryffindor. I went in the Chamber of Secrets with you. I went into the Forbidden Forest with the spiders. And what about the Shrieking Shack?"

"Yeah," Harry admitted. "It's too bad you turned your back on me last year."

Ron looked down, and his face was turning red. "I apologized for that."

"Yeah, after I started winning, "Harry said hotly. "You only want to be my friend when it suits you. When I'm famous and people like me."

"That's not true!" Ron insisted.

"Please, you are always jealous of me, even though there is nothing to be jealous of!" Harry shouted.

"Nothing!" Ron cried. "You're already rich, and now you're going to be adopted and made the Prince family heir and going to get richer."

"I CAN NOT believe you!" Harry stared open-mouthed. "That is what you got out of everything that happened?"

"You have everything," Ron muttered.

"I have NOTHING!" Harry shouted and then hauled off and swung at Ron, making contact with his face at a much closer range and much greater speed than he intended. Blood came gushing out of Ron's face.

He was aware of shouting all around him. Hermione threw herself at Ron, and Ginny threw herself at Harry. At the same time, he saw Snape come running down the hall from behind him.

"Step back, Mr. Potter, for Merlin's sake," Snape snapped.

Numbly, Harry stepped back. Snape grabbed Ron by the arm, somewhat gently, and pushed him to the wall. Harry was pulled to the other wall by Ginny, but he was able to somewhat match Snape's ministrations as he muttered a few spells. Soon Snape had Ron's broken nose and cleaned him up. He also produced a potion from somewhere and made Ron drink it. Then he dismissed all of the children from the hallway except for Harry.

Harry watched all of that in half a fog. Snape guided him with a hand on the back of his neck into his room, and Harry sat on his bed. By the time the door was closed, Harry was back to reality, and what he had done had fallen on him like a load of bricks.

"Is he okay?" Harry croaked.

"He will be fine," Snape said evenly, sitting on the bed opposite. "I have set a silencing charm. No one can hear us talking. I would like you to tell me what just happened."

Harry just nodded. He wished he knew that himself. It didn't seem possible that he had gone from talking with Ginny to breaking Ron's nose.

"Um," Harry said.

"I am afraid that won't cut it, Mr. Potter," Snape told him.

"Harry," Harry said softly.

"Yes," Snape said with a sigh. "I am afraid that is a habit, particularly when I am trying to keep my temper in check. I am assuming that you lost yours?"

"Yes, Sir," Harry said.

"If you do not want to tell me, I can make my own conclusions, punish you, and leave," Snape told him.

Harry's head shot up. He didn't want Snape to punish him at all, of course. He swallowed heavily.

"I was talking with Ginny," he started. "I just needed to clear my head. She's one of the only ones here that doesn't get on my nerves right now." He looked up at Snape. "It was just talking. The door was open!"

"Harry, I do not quite know why you are raising your voice, but you can stop that now," Snape told him. "You were accused of something by Mr. Weasley?"

"Yes, Sir," Harry nodded. "I don't know exactly what. He came in here and said that Ginny had to leave and started saying that she shouldn't be in a room with me, and I got mad." Harry backed up a bit, not wanting Snape to get the right idea. "I didn't yell or anything; I just told him we didn't do anything but talk and that Ginny had the right to do whatever she wanted."

"I see," Snape said. "How did that escalate?"

"I don't really know," Harry said. He was trying to remember how things had gotten so bad. "Hermione came, and Ron started to leave, and then I think he said something insulting to me, and I just … I guess I've been taking things from people my whole life, and that's when I lost my temper. I told him if he wanted to fight me, we could fight. I didn't think he'd do it!"

Harry," Snape chided. "Mr. Weasley is a Gryffindor."

"Meaning he won't back down?"

"Meaning his pride is important to him. I would wager to guess that in his case, being one of the youngest males in a large family, pride is significantly important to him," Snape explained.

"Yeah," Harry admitted. "I guess I do know that. I guess I goaded him. He kept saying that I had everything, and then when he said that I was inheriting money from you, I lost it and hit him."

"Excuse me?" Snape seemed genuinely confused. He leaned forward. "Did you just say that is when you hit him?

"Yes, Sir," Harry said miserably.

Snape ran his head over his face in a gesture Harry could honestly say he had never seen before. If he didn't know better, he would say that Snape didn't know what to do. He watched the man carefully, waiting to see how he would react. He was dreading what Snape would say next.

"What would you have done differently," Snape finally asked.

"Well," Harry said slowly. "I would not have talked to Ron. He wasn't ready to be reasoned with. I don't know, Sir. I know you probably will get mad at me for saying this, but I think it was going to happen one way or another. He just wanted to fight me. What am I supposed to do?"

Snape nodded. "There are times when fights cannot be avoided. I am not necessarily going to agree with you that this is one of those times. You need more training before you can learn how to diffuse situations. You already admitted to me that you escalated this one. At times, causing a fight when you know it will happen is wise because you can choose the time and place. I disagree with you here."

Harry nodded, waiting for the ax.

"You are not leaving this room until you have written me an essay analyzing the confrontation, including at least two possible methods of de-escalation. If you are not finished by lunch, you may go to lunch and return to your room after lunch."

Harry gaped at him. As punishments went, it wasn't terrible. It certainly wasn't what he had been expecting. He nodded his understanding.

"Do I apologize?" he asked.

"Will apologizing escalate or de-escalate the situation?" Snape asked.

"I have no idea," Harry admitted.

He realized he wasn't even sure he was going to be able to get this essay done. Snape had just condemned him to a life sentence in this room. Harry closed his eyes and looked up to the ceiling.

"Calm down," Snape said gently. "I am not expecting you to be a master of tactics. Do your best. You have a reputation for creativity and ingenuity, as well as thinking on your feet. There will be times when I will offer you resources for things like this. I am intentionally not giving you any this time. It will shorten the length of the product, you will see."

Harry nodded, though he doubted it. He was relieved that Snape wasn't forcing him to apologize. He didn't think any of it was his fault, but he did feel bad about breaking Ron's nose. He decided to write it and see.

"When you are finished, you know where to find me," Snape said. He waved his hand, and a parchment and quill appeared. These he handed to Harry.

"Yes, Sir," Harry replied.

While it was true that Harry hated being confined to a room, he also was glad that he didn't have to face anyone. He couldn't imagine what Molly Weasley must think of him. The thought made his face burn in shame. With a sigh, Harry began working on the essay. It was easier than he thought, and within an hour and a half, he was walking down the hallway with the finished product. It had taken longer because he took the time to write neatly and proofread, remember Snape's sarcastic comments about his handwriting and grammar.

He didn't even need to knock on the door before he heard Snape's voice calling him to come in. That was eerie, but he was learning to ignore Snape's quirks. Harry opened the door and saw that Snape had commandeered a corner room that had an attached bath and seemed larger than the others. Other than one bed, most of the furnishings were similar to his room—nondescript and functional. It had a cauldron bubbling in the corner. Harry stayed far away from there.

"I'm finished, Sir," Harry said.

Snape was sitting in an armchair under an open window. On the sill was …

"Hedwig!"

"I was wondering when you were going to ask about her," Snape said with a small smile.

"Has she been here, Sir?" Harry asked, petting his familiar soothingly. He had been so caught up in his own drama he had forgotten about hers.

"She has," Snape confirmed. "She needed some light doctoring, but she is fine now."

Harry sniffed and nodded. He didn't want to think about what Dudley and his friends had done to his beloved pet in his last few days on Privet Drive. He had been sure she wouldn't survive. It was a miracle to see her here, alive and pecking gently at his fingers.

"Thank you, Sir," Harry said hoarsely through glistening tears.

"You did not ask because you did not want to know?" Snape said knowingly.

Harry nodded, unable to say anything. He stroked Hedwig and went to sit over on the bed, his legs no longer able to hold him. Hedwig nuzzled herself into his shoulder.

"It's alright, Harry," Snape said soothingly. "I didn't tell you because I wanted to know for sure either way first."

Harry nodded, although he felt a burst of anger hurt his heart. If Hedwig was here, he would have wanted to spend her last minutes with her. He tried not to look at Snape and betray this thought.

"I would have come to get you before she died," Snape said quietly.

"Thank you, Sir," Harry suddenly felt ungrateful. After all, Snape had saved Hedwig's life.

"Yes, well," Snape said nothing more and instead read Harry's essay.

Harry paid him no attention. He stroked Hedwig gently and talked to her softly, barely registering what he was saying. It was like having a piece of his very soul returned to him.

"This will do," Snape said finally. With a wave of his hand, he vanished the paper. "We won't discuss that particular incident anymore right now. You are under an undue amount of stress, which contributed, no doubt. However, we will be in this house for several more hours today. We will also be here, off and on, throughout the summer for a few hours at a time. You will also see Weasley, and the others, at Hogwarts and on other occasions. And then there is life in general. You are going to have to learn to control your temper."

It was a rather roundabout way of reminding him of that, Harry thought. Something reasonably obvious to say and not as easy to do. Harry nodded quickly, in case Snape didn't think he was listening.

"We will be working together on several techniques that will assist with this," Snape was saying. "I think you have already realized that you got off lightly today. I do not want to see you lose your temper again today."

"Yes, Sir," Harry said. He hardly thought he'd gotten off lightly. He hated being confined, and he hated writing essays. He didn't argue.

Snape nodded, apparently satisfied. "You still need to choose your witnesses. Have you told them yet?"

"No, Sir."

"Alright. Lunch is in an hour. Go ahead and find them and tell, and then I will be at lunch."

"Yes, Sir," Harry said. He wondered if Snape was telling him that to remind him that he would be watching.

"Will she stay here for now?" Harry asked, gently letting Hedwig down to a perch in the corner by the window.

"She will. I want to keep an eye on her. You may visit her any time you like," Snape assured him.

"Okay," Harry said, trying to hide his disappointment. Still, he was glad Hedwig was getting good care. He knew he should be grateful for that, at least.

Harry didn't want to go find Ginny after the disaster with Ron. He decided that he needed to apologize to Mrs. Weasley even if Snape didn't think apologizing to Ron was a good idea. He wasn't sure where to find her.

"Sir? Where do you think Mrs. Weasley is right now?" Harry asked.

"She has been cleaning out some of the rooms on the first floor," Snape told him.

"Oh, okay," Harry said. "I will go ask her now. Maybe I will help."

"That sounds like a good idea," Snape agreed. "Keep yourself out of trouble."

"Yes, Sir."

Harry walked down to the drawing-room, but no one was there. He kept going until he heard voices. He hoped Ron's wasn't one of them. Peeking his head into the room, he saw what seemed to be an old dining room. Fred, George, and Mrs. Weasley were inside battling with a large set of velvet curtains.

"Not that way, George!" Mrs. Weasley was saying. "Wait until I pull it out, and then spray.

They all had cloths tied around their faces and cans of something in their hands. Harry stayed back in case it was poisonous. He waited until they saw him.

"Hello, Harry!" Fred said. "I won twenty sickles on you!"

"Fred!" Mrs. Weasley scolded.

Harry wished he hadn't brought it up. He looked down, blushing. There was no getting past it.

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Weasley," Harry said contritely.

"Oh, it's alright, Dear," Mrs. Weasley said with a sigh, "Honestly! Boys!"

"Uh, right," Harry said. "Still, Snape fixed Ron's nose and everything."

"Yeah, I bet he fixed you too, huh, Harry?" George teased, coming out from the other side of the curtain.

"George!" Mrs. Weasley tutted. "Whatever happened between them is their business and none of yours."

"It's okay, Harry," Fred said, coming up on the other side of him. "We already put a pillow on your chair!"

Harry was about ready to die from embarrassment and considering just leaving the room when Mrs. Weasley put one of her hands, the one not holding the spray bottle, on her hip. Harry could tell by the look on her face that she was getting serious, and he hoped she wasn't about to start shouting.

"That is enough! She said, "I mean it, both of you!" Then she turned to Harry and said in a gentler tone, "Harry, what did you need?"

"Oh, I wondered if I could ask you something?" Harry said. "Well, and I really did come to apologize to you."

"You should apologize to Ron for the broken nose," Fred snickered.

Mrs. Weasley glared at him but said nothing and turned to Harry. "Of course, Dear. What is it?"

"I need two witnesses for the ritual tonight—an adult and a friend. I wondered if …" Harry paused, suddenly feeling shy about his request.

"You want me to do it?" Mrs. Weasley's eyes suddenly glistened with tears. She put the spray bottle down and took the cloth off. "Of course, Harry! I am honored to be asked!"

"Thank you, Mrs. Weasley," Harry said genuinely, relieved to get it over with.

"Who else are you asking?" George asked, for once not joking.

"Ginny," Fred answered.

"If it's okay," Harry said.

"Of course," Mrs. Weasley said warmly.

"I was worried that you might not want me to, after what happened before," Harry bit his lower lip. "Mrs. Weasley, I am so, so sorry. I can't apologize to Ron; Snape won't let me."

"Won't let you?" Mrs. Weasley asked with a furrowed brow.

"Well, it's not exactly that," Harry admitted, trying to explain. "What he said is, if it might escalate the conflict, I shouldn't. I couldn't guarantee it wouldn't escalate the conflict, so he said not to."

Mrs. Weasley was nodding. "I spoke to Ron as well. When his father gets here, he will take care of any punishment. The boys were teasing, but did Severus punish you?"

Harry could feel the pink in his cheeks, "Yes, Ma'am."

"Then, as far as I am concerned, that's the end of it. You can talk to Ginny or Ron, all you like. If Severus has forbidden you from talking to Ron, then you shouldn't. Has he said you can't talk to Ginny?" Mrs. Weasley looked concerned.

"Oh, no," Harry shook his head quickly. "No, he knows I am planning to ask her to be my witness."

"Mrs. Weasley smiled. "Very good, Harry. I think that is wonderful. I know that you two are friends. Ron is just being a big brother and going about it the wrong way. It was inappropriate for him to talk to you like that."

Harry nodded. "Thank you, Mrs. Weasley. Do you know where Ginny is?"

"She's in the library with Hermione, I believe," Mrs. Weasley answered, "Ron should be in his room."

"Thanks," Harry said. "Do you want help here?"

"Oh, no, Dear, this is really a bit dangerous," she waved him off. "Maybe another time."

"Okay," Harry said. "Thanks, Mrs. Weasley."

Since Harry knew where the library was, he headed straight there. He was relieved to not have run into anyone else on the way. It was a big house, but it was crowded with Order members and inhabitants. Harry wasn't really sure why half the people were there. He never really had gotten the story as to why the Weasleys and Hermione seemed to be living there, as well as Remus. It seemed like Remus was helping Sirius, but the Weasleys' presence was disturbing. Harry was worried that they were there because the Burrow wasn't safe since Voldemort's return. He should have asked Ginny. Some friend he was.

He found Ginny and Hermione in the library, but unfortunately, Ron was there as well. He was playing chess with Remus. Harry paused in the doorway, unsure how to proceed. He decided to continue since Ron was not likely to stary anything with an adult there.

"Hi," Harry said quietly, sitting on an armchair next to the sofa Ginny and Hermione were sharing. They both had books, but neither one was currently reading. They had stopped talking when they saw him in the doorway.

"Hi, Harry," Hermione said tentatively. "Are you okay?"

It seemed strange to him that she would ask him that, so he just shrugged. "Sure," he told her.

"Did you get in too much trouble," Ginny asked, wrinkling her nose.

"Not too bad," Harry said.

Ginny nodded and blew out a breath, "That's good. Ron can be an idiot sometimes." She looked around the corner into the alcove where her brother was sitting. He could clearly hear her.

"Well," Harry said slowly. "I shouldn't have punched him. "I didn't mean to hit him that hard either."

"Yeah, that was pretty obvious by the look on your face," Ginny said with a small smile. "I'm not mad, Harry if you're worried about that.

He had been, whether he realized it or not. He looked at Hermione, who was frowning slightly. Harry shrugged.

"Snape says I need to learn when to escalate a situation and when to de-escalate it," he said.

At that statement, Hermione's eyebrows went up, "I suppose he has a point," she said quietly.

"Ron was the one escalating," Ginny scoffed.

"Yeah, but I bumped it up," Harry admitted. "He made me write an essay."

"You had to write an essay?" Hermione smiled. "I'll bet you hated that!"

"Definitely a terrible punishment," Harry agreed. "I guess that's what you get when you have a teacher for a parent."

The joke produced a small wave of easy laughter from the three teens that reduced the tension. Harry leaned back a little in his chair. He was starting to feel better.

"Snape's not so bad," he admitted. "He's healing Hedwig too."

"What happened to Hedwig?" Hermione asked in concern.

Harry looked down. He shouldn't have brought it up since he didn't want to talk about it.

"Day before yesterday, Dudley and his friends attacked her," Harry said in a choked voice. "My uncle took her away and wouldn't let me do anything for her. I just thought she was dead."

"Oh, Harry," Hermione cried, clapping her hand over her mouth in horror. Tears were streaming down her face.

Ginny was crying too, quietly. She shook her head slowly as if she couldn't believe it. Harry couldn't look at either of them.

"She'll be fine," he said hoarsely, "Snape said he fixed her up, and she'll be fine, but she's still in his room because he wants to keep an eye on her."

"I'm so glad you got out of there, Harry," Hermione whispered.

Ginny just nodded. She leaned forward and clasped his hand in a firm grip, and then let it go and leaned back onto the sofa as if afraid to touch him further. Harry nodded to her.

"Um, I came here to ask you something, Ginny," Harry said to break the awkward moment. "I need a witness for the ceremony. Two actually. I asked your mum, and she said yes already. I wanted to know if you'd be the other."

He turned to Hermione. He hadn't expected her to be here when he asked Ginny, and it seemed strange and rude now, her being here. He shrugged at her, not sure what to say.

"I understand, Harry," Hermione said quietly. "Things aren't right between us right now. But they will be again, I know."

Harry could only nod self-consciously again in response to that and turn his attention to Ginny. She was no longer crying. Instead, her expression was all warmth now.

"Of course, Harry!" Ginny cried. She jumped up and gave him a quick hug. "I am so happy for you."

"What's going on over here?" Ron cried.

Harry had been hoping he wouldn't come over, but he knew better. Ron could never stand not being in the thick of things. Remus was right behind him.

"Harry has just asked me to be his witness in the Heir Ritual," Ginny said hotly.

"And you said 'no,' right?" Ron shot back.

"Of course not!" Ginny glared at her brother. There was only a year between them, but he was a head taller. "Why would I do that?"

"Because you shouldn't have anything to do with him, that's why?" Ron insisted. "Especially after what he did?"

"What did he do, Ron?" Ginny asked, almost sweetly.

She was baiting him. Harry wanted to stop her but decided to stay out of it. He looked desperately to Remus, who seemed to have decided to take a wait-and-see approach as well.

"He punched me!" Ron reminded her, puffed up in outrage. "He broke my nose."

"And he apologized," Ginny said flatly. "Anyway, he only punched you after you pushed him."

"Not to me!" Ron cried, ignoring the last part of what Ginny had said. "He didn't apologize to me!"

"I am sorry, Ron," Harry put in, even though what Snape had said about escalation was in the front of his mind. This was the absolute worst time. "I did apologize to your sister. I haven't apologized to you yet because I was giving you time to cool off."

"You're sorry," Ron pushed past the chair across from the one Harry had been sitting in so that he was almost in front of Harry. "Bollocks! You're a real git, Harry. You're only apologizing because you're trying to get with my sister!"

"Whoa!" Harry said, at the same time Ginny, Hermione, and Remus all began shouting, in the girls' case or reprimanding, in Remus's case.

Harry wanted desperately to walk away. He had in fact, written two separate scenarios apart from fighting Ron in a perfectly good essay. At the moment, he couldn't remember either of them.

"Stay AWAY from my sister!" Ron shouted, lunging at Harry.

Before Harry knew it, the two of them were rolling on the floor exchanging punches. It was something like that. More accurately, Ron was punching Harry, and Harry was trying to pin Ron's arms to his sides, while Hermione and Ginny shouted at them to stop.

"Petrificus Totalus!"

Harry barely heard the curse or where it came from, but soon he could not move.

"Very well," he heard Remus say with a sternly Harry had only heard him use once, in third year when he'd caught Harry with the Marauder's Map. "I'm sorry I had to do that. It was either that or cold water, and quite frankly, I spent a bit of time on this rug and floor. Neither of you was listening, so this is what you got. I will release you, and you had damned well better get up, step away from each other, and walk to opposite walls. If you move for each other again, you will not like the next spell that comes at you. Understood?

Harry wasn't sure how he was supposed to respond since he couldn't move. Remus seemed to realize that, too, because a moment later, he released the spell. Harry and Ron quickly untangled themselves, and Harry practically ran to the wall. He was panting when he stood there. Ron was on the opposite wall, staring at the floor.

"Very good," Remus said, still stern. "Miss Granger, if you will, please go find Severus and Molly and tell them there has been an incident."

Harry felt his heart sink at those words. He realized that any goodwill he had acquired with his new guardian had just been dissolved. He glared across the room at Ron. Things had been going so well.