*Ginny*

Professor Lupin had an interesting activity during the last day before Valentine's Day weekend. In this class, it was us with the Hufflepuffs. Lupin started by saying, "So in this wardrobe, I have a boggart. No one knows what they truly look like. Why is that?"

I let Hermione answer. "Professor, it's because a bogart changes their shape to whatever you are afraid of."

"Correct, Miss Granger." He explained to us the charm for dealing with them… thinking of a way to make your worst fear funny. It was all a matter of mental strength, controlling your emotions instead of being controlled by them. Easier said than done.

Neville went first, and the Boggart turned into a good representation if Snape. He then was given Neville's grandmother's hat and blouse.

Ron had a giant spider that quickly was tripping with skates. Hermione's was a Howler that said she had failed all her NEWTs and was expelled. She made the letter turn into a paper aeroplane.

Harry and I ended up being last. Before it was our turn, Lupin stepped in front and a silver orb appeared. It spurted away like a deflating balloon, which made sense for a werewolf. Sirius had told Harry after Christmas the story of his dad and his friends, who were the marauders of my map. After that, he dismissed the class. We were both puzzled so we stayed behind. Ron wasn't curious enough to delay lunch so he and Hermione went ahead.

"Professor," Harry said, "why didn't you let us try? I'm sure we could have done it."

He looked at us with a bit of sadness. "Harry, you and Ginny have unfairly, much worse things in your head than spiders or a moody potions professor. I was concerned that your boggarts would be something that your classmates would not be prepared to see or would be private. If you want, we can try that now."

"I do," I volunteered. "I need to try." Harry nodded in agreement. I added, "I'll go first."

I had so many images flash in front of my eyes, I wasn't sure what was going to appear. I stepped up to the front and Lupin opened the door.

It was Tom Riddle, just as I had last seen him. He smiled at me and I could see it in his eyes… You're all alone. I'm the only one that understands. The only one with the power so you won't be afraid.

I looked at Harry and the professor and knew that he was lying. I said the charm and suddenly he had the red nose of a clown and was juggling. I finally allowed myself to breathe.

Harry took my place and I saw an image of myself on the ground, as white as a corpse and my left arm curled around the diary. He was really shaken… if that's how I had looked in the Chamber, I couldn't imagine him wanting to see me afterwards. Finally, Harry was able to perform the spell and my double got up and did a little jig.

Lupin stepped in and said, "I think that's enough for today." Neither of us disagreed.

The experience was in my head for most the day, but it really wasn't something I wanted to talk about. Practice didn't run too long since we didn't have a match until March and we had a good lead on points. After changing, I was surprised to see just Harry. Usually us and the twins all walked back together. "Fred and George had to get ready for Hogsmeade tomorrow."

I scowled at the reminder about the village. My mother meant well but it was getting annoying. "Well, thanks for waiting."

We started walking. Harry stopped walking and looked like he wanted to talk, but then stopped and kept moving. Half a minute later, he did it again. After the third time, I was getting frustrated. "Out with it already!"

He stopped and let out a breath. "Sorry. Gin, I. You're my best friend. At least as close to me as Ron and Hermione."

"And you are mine too, Harry. Did I do something wrong?" Opening like that wasn't a good way to start a conversation usually.

"No… nothing like that. I just… I really fancy you."

I had to make sure I heard that. "You… fancy me?"

He nodded. "If you don't feel the same way, it's ok, we can just forget it. And I'm only thirteen and a half but you are really pretty and fun and kind to me and… I wanted to say something, before someone else did."

I doubted anyone else had ever thought of me that way. I was shocked he did, of all people. I had been satisfied just being his friend and not being a complete idiot in front of him anymore.

I didn't say anything for a long time, thinking, until I saw he was worrying at my silence. "Harry, I had a silly crush on you when all you were to me was a celebrity. Over this last year, that's gone away with seeing you almost every day, seeing that you are a real boy." I paused. "And I don't want to do anything that risks us being friends. But I can't help but fancy you. A lot."

He smiled and I hugged him a little tighter than I ever had. "You make me feel safe and secure. But you have helped me be free. And I… I think you're really cute," I whispered as I felt my face rise several degrees. I slowly loosened my grip until we were just holding hands.

Harry was at a loss for words, so I decided to help him. "But I really am not sure what I want right now. I don't want to make any mistakes and hurt you. How about… we keep on how we have been for now. And when we are both ready to be more serious, we talk?"

Harry smiled and nodded. "Ok. I just don't want someone else coming in first."

I shook my head. "I promise that won't happen without talking to you first."

"Can we do something for Valentine's? Most of our classmates have coupled up at least just for the day."

I grinned. "I'd love to be your Valentine, Harry."

He smiled and I smiled back. "Is this ok?" he asked, gesturing to my right hand in his left."

"Definitely. We may get a look or two, but it's worth it to me."

"Me too."

We finally made it back to the tower, making plans for the next day along the way. My heart was still racing. I let go of his hand and said, "See you tomorrow."

He smiled and tucked a piece of stray hair behind my left ear. Then Harry kissed my cheek on the jawline, grazing the front of my ear in the process. "I'll be waiting."

Then he went up the stairs, leaving me standing there smoldering.

I woke up earlier than usual the next morning. Harry hadn't said what he wanted to do the next day but I didn't want to just sit in the library. Spring seemed to be coming early this year and I wanted to make our first… date? memorable. After putting on my underclothes (I had ended up upgrading to real bras at Christmas), I put on a blue capris that went just past my knees. I then slipped on my Christmas jumper. I also dared to put on a smattering of eyeshadow and blush from my birthday gift. Finally, I slipped an old piece of parchment into my purse.

By the time I was ready, Harry was in the Common Room waiting expectantly. I gave him a good morning hug and asked, "Do you have your cloak?"

He nodded. "The map?"

"Of course. There's secret passages to Hogsmeade…" He nodded. We ate breakfast as fast as we could and then I guided him to a hallway that was near the entrance.

Harry unfurled his cloak and I stepped close enough so we both were under it. Suddenly, Filch walked by and went right passed us. I almost gave us away with a giggle. "Let's go," he whispered.

Seeing Hogsmeade while invisible was interesting. The advantage was I could be… had to be very close to Harry the entire time. However, we couldn't talk. Even when there wasn't a teacher nearby, I had four brothers and a Hermione that were being protective of me. We slipped into a candy store named Honeydukes. It was crowded and didn't see any red hair, so we slipped off the cloak.

"So, are you more of a chocolate or candy girl?"

"Uh, chocolate except for during the summer when it melts. But you don't have to…" He grabbed one of the large sampler boxes.

"But I want to," he grinned at me. We waited in the queue to pay. After that, he said, "I asked Fred and George to sneak us some sandwiches from the kitchen when they went for their after practice snack yesterday."

We put the cloak back on and Harry led me towards a quiet corner on the edge of town. I saw a black dog out of the corner of my eye that looked to be following us, but didn't really pay him mind.

Harry spread his cloak out and we sat down.

Between bites of my sandwich, I said "Thanks. This is pretty nice."

"You're welcome. You don't mind? This isn't very flashy."

"Naw. I like simple most of the time." I popped one of the chocolates in my mouth. I pretended to toss one to Harry. He opened his mouth and I threw one in and laughed.

"Thanks, Gin. Tastes better than a Snitch."

"Hmm?"

He proceeded to tell me about his first Quidditch match. By the end I was cackling. "Hermione set Snape on fire?!"

I had another and threw a second one to Harry. "You know, if this fighting Tom doesn't pay well, you could get a job as a seal."

He quickly stuck his tongue out at me and then smiled. We were both having a lot more fun than we were this time last year.

Then I felt a chill in the air and fresh ice started forming on the tips of the grass. At first I thought it was just February, but I felt sick inside and horribly depressed. Me and Harry… this wasn't going to last. Dumbledore was going to change his mind and chuck me out of school. Mum and Dad would be so disappointed in me. Despite what we had said, Harry would find a much prettier girl than me… one who was in his station and had a quieter personality. I heard Tom reminding me of the ugly, poor girl I was.

Harry!

I looked over and he was on the ground, lurching uncontrollably, almost in a fit. Just then, I saw a dark form appear over us…. I barely recognized the creature from a textbook… a dementor. He was going to destroy Harry and then he might as well take me for afters. It wouldn't matter… But not Harry.

I stood up and trying to remember what Professor Lupin taught us, cast my strongest shield. It was up for a few seconds but the dementor slipped right passed it. I couldn't concentrate on anything with the ocean of depression I was drowning in. The shield fell, not that it was helping.

Suddenly, there was a shout and a tall, gangly, silver dog appeared over the ridge and bounded towards us. It chased away the dementor. I looked over and saw Sirius Black.

He rushed over and steadied me before I fell over. "Ginny, are you ok?"

I nodded, unable to speak. He grabbed a couple pieces of chocolate from my box. "Eat this, it'll help."

Harry took a few minutes to awake, but Sirius eventually got him up and eating some chocolate too. "Sirius…" he sputtered.

"Hey, kid. Good thing I caught a whiff of you outside Honeydukes… hard to smell much with all those sweets. I thought the two of you might try sneaking out. James would have done the same. Took longer for him to wear down Lils." He flashed his roguish smile.

"What was that thing?" I asked.

He shook his head. "Dementors. Normally they serve as the Azkaban guards, but Lucius Malfoy insisted on them being here to find Pettigrew. Though now I'm thinking he had this in mind. Or your feelings were so positive and strong, they couldn't help themselves." He sighed a minute and involuntarily shivered. "I've already had enough of them to last."

"You were able to send them away," I noticed.

"Ah, the Patronus charm. It can be difficult to master. But asking Moony to try to teach you would be smart, especially with them causing you to pass out, Harry."

Harry looked at me. "You didn't."

"I almost did," I admitted. "It was like… Tom and all my worst feelings at once."

Harry looked down for a moment and then said, "I heard a woman screaming for me and then a flash…. I think it was my mum, right before…." He couldn't help but shed a few tears. I hugged him closely, comforting my friend. Eventually, he said, "I need to learn how to fight them."

"I will too. I don't want those things in my head again."

"I should probably walk you back. Dumbledore will want to know you were attacked by dementors."

"Mum and Dad will find out we snuck out…"

"Sorry, I would normally cover for you, but we can't let this happen to others."

I nodded but didn't look forward to the upcoming lecture. I looked at Harry and decided that even so, it had definitely been worth it.

*Arthur*

I was in my shed working on some plugs for the motorbike, trying to get them to work reliably with the influence of my magic. Molly burst in, nearly knocking over a shelf. "Arthur!"

"Yes, dear?"

"I just got a floo call from Minerva." Never the start of a pleasant conversation. "Ginny and Harry snuck out to Hogsmeade. A dementor almost kissed both of them."

"Godric…."

"Sirius was keeping an eye on out and saved them."

"Thank Merlin for that at least. They are ok?"

Molly called down a bit. "Yes, both fine. Sirius said they were just having a picnic outside of the village…" She shook her head. "Those two are getting to be worse than Fred and George."

She turned around and went back to the house and I followed. Molly was equal parts relieved they were safe and upset at them for disobeying our wishes, especially since they would have been never been in danger if they had in the first place.

Harry and Ginny were getting a couple nights of detention for sneaking out. We also asked Remus to quietly confiscate the map and Harry's invisibility cloak, hoping to teach them some to be a bit more responsible.

Even so, the next morning after breakfast, my bride whipped out a quill and then performed the charm to record a Howler. "I'm happy they are safe, but both of them need to learn to be more careful. We aren't making rules for our own health," she muttered while sending it.

Work that next Monday was hectic to say the least. Dumbledore had burst into my office as soon as it as regular hours. "I'd like you to come with me to see the minister."

I reluctantly agreed. I wasn't too eager to become that well known by Fudge, at least while Dumbledore was expressing disapproval with his decisions.

Fudge had other meetings scheduled, but was forced to clear them when Dumbledore arrived. We walked in and skipped the pleasantries. "Fudge, I want those horrid creatures away from my school. Immediately. Arthur's daughter and Harry Potter were almost kissed on Saturday."

"My word. I am terribly sorry, I have no idea why they were confused like that. We can't have that sort of bad press right now. I was going to reassign them anyway, obviously Pettigrew isn't at Hogwarts. They'd have found him if he was."

"Thank you."

The minister looked towards me and said, "And thanks for keeping an eye on Harry, Arthur. The last thing we'd want would be those muggles abusing him. The Prophet would have made hay with that."

"Of course, minister, we've been happy to help."

"As long as you are here, Dumbledore, have you made a final decision about the Tri-Wizard competition? I think it's more than time to host it again, put some of the darkness behind us."

Dumbledore looked like a man out of excuses. "I still think it is too dangerous. However, I will remove my objections if we keep the underaged from participating. I also want a thorough review of the tasks and proper safety measures."

"I can agree to that, as long as Durmstrang and Beauxbatons do. I'll also make sure Crouch and Bagman will be at your disposal. It will be just the thing we need. I will also make sure the press covers everything as well, once the Quidditch World Cup is over."

"Thank you."

"And Arthur, I'll need help from your department before the Cup. A lot more foreign wizards coming in. A lot of them may have… contraband. It'll be a lot of late nights, but I'll try to get you some tickets to the final."

"Thank you, sir."

"Now if both of you don't mind, I have quite a few other appointments."

Dumbledore nodded and simple said with a smile. "Of course. Thanks for your time."

I saw Dumbledore out and then headed back to my never-ending mound paperwork. Before I made it to my level, I was interrupted by Mrs. Thomas, who worked in the Goblin Relations office. "Arthur, our new chief liaison for Gringotts just got in and is making the rounds. He's in your office at the present time," she said with a smile.

Odd. I finally opened the door to my little corner of the ministry and saw my oldest son, who I hadn't seen in over a year. "Bill?"

"Hey, Dad."

He stood up and I gave him a handshake that turned into a hug. "What are you doing here?"

He smiled as we sat down. "I liked Egypt but I was getting a bit homesick for England. And after what happened with Ginny, I felt it was a sign that I should be here. I took the first opening I could. They surprised me with a transfer order and told me to pack on Friday."

"Wow… well, all right then." That was really fast.

"I may need my own room back for a tad, until I can find a flat."

"Sure… well, you can have Ginny's old room." I explained, "After the run-in with Percy's old rat, her room was missing a wall for a while. It's fixed now, but Harry's in your old room and Ginny's in Charlie's." A memory popped in my head. "He'll be here late summer for the cup."

"Right, well, that'll be fine. So, how is everything with Ginny?"

"Well, so far, it's been fine, though no one's been home since Christmas." I chatted with him about some of the details I hadn't shared in the occasional letter ls I wrote. As the oldest, I had a special relationship with Bill. Especially as he got older and would help with his younger siblings, I valued his opinions and treated him like an adult at a younger age than the others. I was glad for him to be home.

*Ginny*

Most of the rest of the school year, to use a term I had heard from a muggleborn, completely sucked. Sirius had told Dumbledore and Professor Lupin everything that had happened. Afterwards, Lupin took my map and Harry's cloak. Our two detentions ended up being with him. He was teaching us the Patronus charm, which meant we actually would be doing something useful, which rarely happened with Filch.

The professor explained on our first night, "The incantation is important, but the power behind the spell is happy feelings and memories. Which is very difficult when a Dementor is nearby, trying to suck you dry of those feelings. Without them, all you'll be able to produce is a few wisps that won't stop anything…. With them…"

Lupin closed his eyes and concentrated for several seconds. He opened them and a silvery wolf appeared, sauntered around the room, and then evaporated into a mist. "Wow…." said Harry. He hadn't seen his godfather's.

"Professor, yours was a wolf and Sirius' was a dog…" I noticed.

"Yes, usually a corporeal patronus takes the form of an animal that represents your feelings or someone you have feelings for. All the Marauders' patronuses were their animal forms. Except Peter could never produce one. We thought it was just because of his lack of skill, but I now I believe it was because of his conflicted nature. You have to be at peace with yourself or it will never work."

Harry and I spent an hour practicing. By the end of the time, we were exhausted but we both had produced a few wisps. Harry looked disappointed.

Lupin kept encouraging us. "I think that's remarkable for the first day of practice. This is NEWT-level magic, you aren't going to pick it up the first couple goes." He paused in thought. "What were you thinking about?"

Harry responded, "When I first became Seeker for Gryffindor."

I said, "First day of Hogwarts."

He shook his head, "Those aren't nearly powerful enough. Homework for tomorrow night… focus on a powerful memory or thought. Your most powerful ones probably have a mixture of positive and negative feelings. The task will be to control your feelings and not be controlled by them. Now, both of you, head directly for the tower." He tapped a piece of confiscated parchment on his desk. "I'll be watching both of you."

I spent several hours that night before falling asleep wrestling with my task. I knew what my memory had to be. The day Harry became my best friend. But it also was the day I woke up in the Chamber and he almost died and it would have been my fault.

I found it came down to whose face I focused on. Harry's or Tom's. I made sure the last thought I had before giving in to my exhaustion was Harry's warm green eyes looking into my very being, desperate for my survival. The next day I made more progress but still very limited. Professor Lupin said we could practice more in the following weeks.

The last class of the day was Divination. It was difficult to stay awake normally, as I did my best to not pay attention to Trelawney's predicting Harry's death every other week. The boys thought it was a lark and usually had one or the other being viciously murdered during each scrap of homework, but for me it was hard to find funny. I had seen too many plans for people's deaths in Tom's head. Harry's especially.

So, between not paying attention and not sleeping a lot the night before, I wasn't surprised when I found myself waking up alone in class as Hermione was poking me. "Class is over, Ginny," she whispered.

I silently swore to myself. Trelawney said, "Miss Weasley, please stay after."

More detentions coming, I feared. But instead, she said to me, "Dear, I think you may have been in a trance… do you remember any words from your Inner Eye?"

I shook my head, "Sorry, Professor."

"Try, really hard. It may be deathly important…"

Suddenly, her eyes rolled to the back of her head and she began speaking in an unearthly tone.

"The Dark Lord returns

Seven anchors there shall be

Five made by his choosing

One made unawares

And one yet to come

A three-strand cord of the strongest type will overcome

Sealing the dark lord's final demise"

Trelawney returned to her normal, for her at least, self, and said, "I'm sorry, I must have… the weather up here is getting rather warm. You can hurry along to supper now."

I excused myself but before supper, I went to my room to find some privacy. I wrote down what she had said and then reread the… prophecy several times as I realized it was about Tom. I made a copy for my own keeping but knew I needed to not keep this to myself.

I had to rush through supper with Hermione, Ron, and Harry. It was too busy a place to bring up what I had heard. After supper, Harry and I again reported to Professor Lupin for our second night of detention, and I thought he'd be the best person to show. So, before we began, I interrupted.

"Professor… after Divination, Professor Trelawney started acting rather odd. She started speaking strangely and I wrote it down. I think it might be an actual prophecy."

He looked more than a bit concerned. I handed him a paper I had written it down on and he read it out loud. "Thanks, Ginny. Yes, this may be important. Can I have the memory as well?" I agreed and obliged. "I'll make sure the headmaster sees this."

He looked torn on what to do next. "But, I believe he's not here at the moment so we should continue with your training for tonight."

After a few minutes, Harry looked at me and smiled. Suddenly, the shimmering light that appeared from his wand suddenly came into shape and we all saw a young stag, four points. He was so surprised that it quickly vanished. Lupin cheered him in excitement.

"That's it, Harry! You got it!"

"Great job, Harry," I responded too, maybe a tiny bit jealous he had been first.

He looked at me and Lupin. "My dad… that was his form."

"Yes it was. Although, his was a bit more mature of a stag. Then again, he didn't manage the patronus or the transformation until he was a few years older than you are. Now, the most important thing is try to duplicate what you just did and hold it longer."

We began again. It was physically tiring as well as mentally, concentrating like that, trying to get the spell to work. But it was most draining emotionally.

I tried something different. I stopped thinking about the memory. Instead, I tried to think of myself five or ten years into the future. Maybe a little taller. With the boy who was standing next to me. It was probably just a dream but it was something that warmed me inside. I felt the emotions come out of me, gather in my wand and then explode.

A small silvery doe appeared in front of me. I tried hard to not break the connection and it made a circuit around the room, stood before me, and then dissolved. Before I knew it, Harry was hugging me as tightly as he had on our picnic. I had the energy to produce another one and Harry's stag reappeared. They walked towards each other. "Looks like they're friends," I said.

Remus smiled at both of us. "That's really great, you two. But performing in front of a dementor is another thing. You'll need to keep practicing until you can bring out your emotions at a moment's notice." He looked at the clock. "And, I think you can leave early. The moon's rising in ten minutes so… well, I'll be occupied. Please try to stay out of trouble," he said as he dismissed us.

I was so excited that night in the common room and we told Hermione and Ron what had happened. "That's quite amazing!" She said. "I'm so jealous. I'll have to work on that with you. Especially if the ministry is not always in control of the dementors."

"That will probably get worse. Dad's said Dumbledore thinks they will turn if… when Tom…" I stopped.

"What is it?" Ron asked.

I lowered my voice. "He's coming back. After Divination, Trelawney went a little more odd than normal and actually gave a real prophecy, I think. It said he was coming back soon and he had anchors that would have to be destroyed."

That ruined the mood for the evening. Ron said, "We'll stick together. I'm sure Dumbledore will know what to do."

Harry tried agreeing but he was doing a rubbish job of hiding his worry. But we all managed for most of the spring. Hermione said prophecies sometimes never came true and it could mean something that happened years into the future, so we had an unspoken agreement to stop talking about it. No sense worrying.

The second to last week before school ended, Harry and I were trying to enjoy our usual banter. Meanwhile, Hermione was trying to get us all schedules set up for our revising. Harry seemed to have enough and after a few minutes he excused himself. "I'm going to turn in. One last practice, early tomorrow morning, before the Hufflepuff match." It would be the deciding factor in the cup. Slytherin had finished the season but led us by less than one Snitch and so Wood would not be taking it easy.

Hermione, Parvati, and I worked on homework in our room as the common room was taken up by OWL and NEWT study groups. I actually did take some of Hermione's notes to heart, but I wasn't re-reading all my textbooks. The twins were nowhere to be found. They had actually shown the courtesy to not mess with people's study habits, at least those that cared about their grades. Lavender and Seamus hadn't been seen all night.

The next morning, breakfast was a mess. Chaser practice had been last of the day so I had a small lie-in. By the time I was dressed and at the table, Harry, Hermione, and Ron were talking. They stopped as soon as I sat down.

Harry looked as if he hadn't an ounce of sleep. "Nervous about the match tomorrow?" I asked between bites.

"No. It's just…" He stopped.

"What?"

Harry glared at Ron and Hermione for a moment and then suddenly got up. "I have some stuff."

Ron said, "So, Hermione, are you going to be able to come over this summer, then?" Blatant change of topic.

"Yeah, my parents will be traveling for a training conference in Canada, training in some new techniques. It's two weeks starting at the end of July, so I'll be over then and they said I could stay for the cup and then until school comes."

"Wicked."

"It'll be nice to have another girl around," I said.

"Now would either one of you tell me what's going on with Harry?"

Ron said, "Not sure," between bites.

"You're a rubbish liar."

Hermione said, "Ginny, I think he needs some time to sort a few things out. He made us promise to not tell you. When he gets like this, best to give him some space.

I should have known that was not the advice to follow, but I was too shaken to object. "Fine. You three do whatever you want then." I got up and found Luna, probably the only person from my first year that I talked to.

"Hey, Ginny. You look rather infested with nargles today. Or worse."

I tried to smile but failed. "Yes, I'll work on that."

"By the way, I was wondering if you wanted to visit after school is over. My father's planning an extra large publication run on a special summer periodical and could use an extra hand. We could spend time together, like we did before we started school." Luna used to live with a few miles of us but her family moved away when her mother passed.

When I didn't answer, she added, "If you would be homesick or miss Harry, I understand."

I shook my head. "Probably not a problem. I'll let you know, ok?"

"Sure. Now I had better get to Charms. Professor Flitwick would not be happy to deduct points from his own house this late in the year."

I watched as she drifted away.

The rest of my friends started drifting away as well. Harry wouldn't even talk to me the rest of the day and Ron and Hermione were doing their best to be absent and not caught in the middle.

Time dragged on but soon it was the final Quidditch match. I should have been happy but seeing Harry right next to me, treating me like a stranger…

I had to stop looking at him before I lost control.

I tried concentrating on Wood's instructions, but it didn't work.

Ten minutes into the match and I had already dropped the Quaffle twice, both leading to scores. As I flew passed our goal, Wood yelled at me. "Weasley, get your head in the game or I'm putting a reserve in!"

That helped snap me out of it. I wasn't going to let some stupid boy ruin my play.

It took a while before Angelina sent the ball my way again, but this time I was ready. I dodge the Hufflepuff beaters and then Fred cleared a path with one of the Bludgers. Soon, my first score of the day.

Unfortunately, it was my last. Angelina made up for it though and we had made the necessary points.

Then Jordan yelled from the announcer's box, "And there's the Snitch!" Harry was having an off day as well. He had been mindlessly circling high above the stands. Cedric Diggory, the Hufflepuff Seeker, easily had the better angle and came up with the score.

Game over. We still won the cup, barely, but it was a bit of a hollow victory.

We landed, disappointed. Harry could barely show his face. "I'm sorry, guys." But he wouldn't look at me.

Long after Angelina and Katie were done changing, I was alone in the locker room. Stupidly crying. Over the game. Over someone I thought had been my best friend. Over a life that I thought I had that was slipping away.

But that was enough of wallowing for me and I was tired of if. I stood myself up, wiped my face off, and marched straight for the tower.

I scanned the common room and saw Ron and the rest of his bunkmates except Harry. Most likely hiding himself away too. I waited a few minutes until I was able to slip upstairs unnoticed.

The door wasn't locked so I cracked it open. "Harry, I want to talk."

"Please…"

"Nope, not good enough." I swing the door open. "I'm not going anywhere until you decide to talk. Even if you hate me, I deserve to not be ignored."

"Gin, I could never…"

"Then what?" I sat next to him and calmed my voice. He was trying to hide it but he was shaking.

Harry whispered, "Tom's alive. Right now."

"No…"

He nodded. "I… I've been having dreams of him. Not exactly nightmares. Images of him talking to Peter. He has a pet snake that he talks to, he's had it kill some muggles for sport. There's also some big plan coming up at school." He stopped and then finished up. "I think the dreams are real. Sirius does too."

The news was frightening but part of me already knew he was coming. "I'm so sorry. I can't imagine."

"Yes, you can. You more than anyone. You shouldn't have to again."

The last few days were becoming clearer. "That's not your choice."

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you more." He withdrew again but at least I knew something.

After the final Defense class, Lupin called the three best friends and me aside. He said, "I'll miss the four of you. I'm not sure what's been going on the last few days, but please fix it. You are going to need each other with the coming storm."

He gave Harry the map and the cloak. Harry turned to give me the map, but I waved him off. I didn't want to think about it for now. "Since I'm no longer your teacher, I don't have any reason to hold onto these," he explained.

"You mean, for now, right?" asked Harry.

"No, Harry, I'm not going to come back next year. The headmaster has asked Sirius and I to go after a former friend. Between the message Ginny heard and some other signs, he's deeply distressed. We may be gone for several months."

"Ok. I'll miss both of you, but it must be important." Remus nodded and then indicated he needed to finish packing so we left.

Harry looked at Ron and said, "I guess we'll have to break in a new professor again."

"That seems like a challenge, Potter," I said. "Do you think they'll be closer to Lupin or Lockhart?"

"With my luck? As long as they are a better teacher than Snape."

"No one's that unlucky," Ron said.

He looked at me and said, "I'm luckier than most" before quickly glancing away. "More than I deserve."

Harry was at least being decent to me again, but there was still a wall. It was terribly frustrating and confusing. I hoped it would come down soon.