*Arthur*

We were all a little more emotional dropping off the children King's Cross at the end of break. Though when being completely honest, it was getting harder to think of them as kids anymore, even in my own thoughts.

Being prefects, Ron and Hermione insisted on hurrying onto the train to keep an eye on the other students. Plus the twins were already on and Hermione had made it her mission to keep them in line.

I gave my daughter an especially long hug while Harry waited patiently by. "Take care," I told her.

She nodded and smiled. "You too." I glanced at Harry while she let go of me and took his hand. He nodded in understanding.

I also was medically released to resume my full normal duties at the Ministry as well. I had been away from work for so long, it was hard to go back. My bed in the guest room at Harry's was rather comfortable, even if it wasn't the Burrow. I missed our house. It was almost an eleventh member of the family.

Finally arriving, I took the first lift available. I wanted to stay as far away from the sublevels as possible. I could even think of those halls without being anxious.

I settled down to my desk and got comfortable. The stack of parchment in my inbox was daunting, so I dove in. I had made a noticeable dent by lunch, but not nearly as much as I had hoped. I heard back from the knock at the door and Sirius poked in his head.

"Have a minute?"

"Well, I need the break whether I do or not. Take a seat."

He smiled and plopped down, taking an enormous bite of an apple. "Sorry, I'm famished. Had to skip brunch."

"It's fine."

"Well, someone did break into the Burrow over the hols. A few dressers were turned out, a few glasses broken that I repaired. They must have figured you had left because it didn't seem there was a lot of urgency."

"Well, that's a small bit of luck. I'll be looking forward to going back when it's safe," I said. Unfortunately, that was an indefinite wait now.

"The clock wasn't touched so Bill moved it and set it up in the main dining room at Potter Manor. He figured Molly would appreciate it. It's got her marked at home and everyone else where they should be so it seems to be working fine."

He quickly glanced about, making sure the door was closed and lowered his voice. "I talked to one of the Unspeakables. There were thirty-one prophecies missing after the attack. But they only found enough broken glass for twenty-nine."

I breathed out. "That's a big coincidence."

"Yes, too big. Old Voldy probably popped in during the confusion afterwards and grabbed the two about him and Harry."

"So he knows."

"Unfortunately, stupidity is not his weakness. He knows he's lost two anchors already. He won't be aiming to kill Harry now, he'll want to keep him alive… barely... as insurance."

"Dumbledore knows?"

"I'm telling him next. He will redouble security, but not much else he can do without giving too much away. Do we tell the kids?"

I thought about it. "I'm not sure it'll do anything but cause them to be more anxious. Let's let it be, at least for now." I warmed my tea and then took a sip. "Any other pleasant bits of news?"

"The Unspeakables are missing a book about deep magic in this building. You don't remember…"

"Yes, now that you mention it. Bellatrix grabbed a book."

"Their ultimate objective has always been control of the Ministry. They're going to realize occupying it will give them some strategic advantages. The ability to make Taboos, control the Trace, some other items. The book explained some of it, but much of the knowledge is locked to the actual building and the soul of the current minister. Two halves of a key."

"So Minister Bones is all the more important."

"Yes, as could her husband be if she were married and completely bonded. The knowledge could be forcibly removed on death if done correctly, but thankfully the rat and Lucius were more concerned with getting the resurrection correct when they killed Fudge. Small blessing."

He shrugged and got up. "Harry said feel free to put up a shed in the back if you want."

I chuckled. "Probably too busy to work on the bike for a while. Plus I'm pretty knackered end of the day still."

"All right, old man," he joked. "See you later."

Bill and Fleur made it to Potter Manor right as we start sitting for supper. Molly had spent all day working on a roast to greet them after their trip to France. She had fretted about his eating while in France, that he wouldn't get anything hearty. Or he would be nervous around his future in-laws. So my wife vowed to stuff our oldest to the gills.

"Sorry, lots to make up, our portkey yesterday was delayed until this morning."

"Yes, that's what they told me last night before I left work. We were glad there wasn't anything more serious going on." Fleur was still staying with us but Bill felt confident in his ability to ward his flat. I imagined he would be here spending most of his waking time with his fiancee, of course.

Bill asked, "Has Percy…" and then saw Molly's reaction, so he lowered his voice, "he's still not said anything..."

I shook my head. "No, he hasn't. I avoided the mailroom today and he didn't find his way to my office." I had heard of his outburst regarding Ginny from Molly and the twins. No one had talked about it since.

"The stuck-up prig. I'm sorry Mum, but he is. He was the one making everyone feel embarrassed and if he really felt trying to keep her and Harry apart was best for her, saying that would have had the exact opposite effect anyways."

Fleur cut in. "I hope he will apologize. Ginny was hurt and the family needs to be strong with everything…" she trailed off. "I am sorry, it's not my place."

I disagreed. "Fleur, you're part of this family now so it very much is your place. You are right, but I don't see a path right now. He'll have to find his own way for some time I'm afraid."

My bride interrupted. "Let's talk about something else. How was your family?"

"It was all good, by the end. Mamae and Gabrielle, Bill charmed them very quickly."

"Her dad took a little longer," Bill half-joked. "I think it must be a thing that you promise to do when you become the father of a girl, have to put the boyfriend through the ringer."

I played along. "Yes, it's part of the pledge we say at all the Old Dad's Club meetings. You'll feel the same way someday, Bill. Especially if you have a girl that's anywhere near as smart and pretty as her mother."

My little girl had found one of the few loopholes. I found it hard-pressed to ask Harry to prove himself after personally saving her life and mine.

Fleur smiled and said, "You are too kind, Arthur."

"In the end, they gave us their blessing. I think they were a bit sad that she will be living in Britain permanently, but it's not too difficult to visit."

"Just not around the corner like Mamae would like. A bit of distance is not always bad for newlyweds though, no?"

Bill grinned and blushed a little. Probably best at that moment neither Molly nor I were legilimens.

*Ginny*

I was poking at my eggs, not really feeling very hungry. Five terms of school left. It seemed so short but it also felt like an eternity. Half of me was so impatient to be an adult and the other half wanted to have a few years' of being a normal teenager. But, I had traded that already for the young man that kept stealing glances.

"Everything all right, Gin?"

"Yeah. Just a little melancholy."

A little second-year girl politely coughed. A Hufflepuff, didn't know his name. Harry looked at her and smiled. It was a good time there were no butter dishes around. "Um… Professor Sprout asked me to give this to you."

"Thanks," he said. She grinned and ran off back to her own table. He read the note. "Hagrid is at his hut but not feeling up to teaching." That explained Professor Grubbly-Plank being at breakfast. We hadn't bad our Magical Creatures class yet, that was last period today.

Harry continued. "I'm going to stop by after class, he's probably lonely. Do you want to come?"

"Of course." I didn't have the special relationship with him that Harry did, but he has been so forgiving of me, I could help but be friendly.

Ron and Hermione had agreed to as well, so we all found our way to his hut after class. I had put on a stocking cap Mum had knitted me a few years ago since the wind was fiercely whipping around. It wasn't snowing but I could see a number of flakes in the air, picked up off the ground.

Harry knocked on the door. There was no answer but it wasn't locked so he slowly peeked in. "Hagrid?" he asked softly and then motioned for the rest of us to come in.

Our teacher was in a almost scary state. He was seated in his chair with his right leg propped up on a stool. There was a bandage wrapped around his left face and on his right arm. "Harry!" he said. "Glad to see you and yer friends."

He was so casual it was distracting. "Uh, good to see you too, Hagrid. You look like you should visit Madam Pomfrey."

"She didn't send you lot down being did she? I told her I'd be alright."

Harry sat next to him. "No, nothing like that."

Hermione added, "But you should see someone." Harry glared back and she quieted.

He then asked, "We just missed you and were told you were here. Can you tell is where you were last term?"

"I'm not quite sure if I should, but seein' how it was a total failure, I suppose it wouldn't hurt." He looked around. "Dumbledore was worried tha' You-Know-Who is trying to make contact with diff'rent creatures - Remus has been tryin' to talk to some of the werewolves. He sent me to try to make contact with the giants."

Hermione looked him over. "You're a half-giant, aren't you? I always thought it was some childhood accident with skele-gro, but…"

Ron interrupted her. "Hermione, that's really rude, Hagrid couldn't… they're…"

Giants had almost an even worse reputation than werewolves.

Hagrid shook his head. "It's true, lass. Me mum was a giantess." He looked more than a little shy.

Hermione insisted, "You know we don't care about that."

I said, "You're still the same person. You've done nothing to be ashamed of."

He sighed. "Thanks, I knew you lot would feel that way. Others don't." He paused and then told us what happened.

"You-Know-Who used giants last time to destroy muggle buildings and bridges. Most of the time the poor folk thought it was a hurricane or somethin'. I visited me mum's tribe to sort of test the waters.

"I took my time getting there. Did not want to be tracked and they are in a better mood for talking in the winter.

"It's long work. If ya go too fast, the Gurg, their chief, will kill you, soon as look at you. I'd bring them a gift every few days, building trust. After a month, they seemed ready ta listen."

I heard a tea kettle whistle. "Hagrid, want me to get that?"

He nodded. "And help yerself if you want a cuppa." No one else volunteered so I poured a small one for myself so he wasn't drinking alone.

After he was finished, he said, "A Death Eater showed soon afters. Not sure which one, but they promised all the mayhem they could stand and a free hand here in the Forbidden Forest. I couldnae compete with that.

An enormous tear went down his cheek. "I tried talkin' to me mum and her son. My brother. Hope they would at least help. But we musta been seen…" He stopped and bowed his head, openly weeping.

Harry tried putting his hand on his shoulder. Hagrid grasped it, a little too tightly and my boyfriend grimaced but didn't speak. Hagrid finally did.

"They were both killed. By their own tribe. The Death Eater put em up to it. After that, they started on me but I had an emergency portkey from Dumbledore so I got out. I had to leave them behind."

We all stood there, quietly wondering what to say. Harry finally broke the silence. "We're really sorry, Hagrid. If you need anything from us…"

He nodded, but then drew himself up. "Thanks. Now you four better get inside the castle before you miss supper. It's also getting dark and you four especially need to be careful."

We said our goodbyes and then went inside. It was a quiet evening spent studying and thinking.

Two weeks later, a small village outside Glasgow had several houses destroyed, all inhabitants died. It was reported as a freak storm with no warning.

Harry started Defense Association meetings for the term first week in February. He wanted to start sooner, but Ron convinced him people wouldn't show right away, needing some time to get used to being in school after the long holiday break.

He seemed determined to make up for the lost time. "Dean!" he yelled during target practice. "Aim is important but you need speed too! Seamus! Same thing in reverse!"

I had taken Ron with me to help drill the second and third years. Some of the older kids saw me and my height and petite frame and didn't think I needed to be listened to. I proved them wrong in one-on-ones, but I didn't feel like arguing today. Plus, Ron and Hermione were having an off day.

"Now, you probably won't have the magical strength to fight an adult yet. Nothing personal, but your body's not just ready. So best thing to do is put up a shield and run as soon as you can."

Ron added, "It's not how loud you yell, it's your concentration that's key. Hard to do in a fight, so we are going to keep practicing."

We gave then a second to get their shields up before starting to push through it. I started with tickling charms at first, but a smart-arsed boy had a grin on his face and wasn't paying attention. I got his focus back with a stinging hex that immediately broke through.

After I saw a few red marks on his face, I cancelled the spell. He stopped grinning after that. I could have broken through again, but his shield was stronger and I didn't want to crush his spirit.

Hermione was the designated clockwatcher and she called the lesson at six sharp.

Harry gathered everyone around. "Good work, all. If you noticed, we will be getting more serious. We will try to be available three times a week."

"What about OWLs?" Cho from Ravenclaw asked.

Harry looked at her. "If you skip to study, that's your choice. I'll be here. I'll retake my OWLs after Voldemort is dead if need be."

The next morning, Harry looked a little peaky. "Everything all right, luv?" I asked while taking his hand as we all walked down to breakfast.

"I'm fine… I s'pose a little tired." He was learning. "Nightmares."

"Oh… I'm sorry."

Hermione asked, "Anything to worry about?"

He shrugged. "Probably, but I didn't get anything specific. I talked to Sirius about it and a few other things. I missed something. I'm getting practice but not learning anything new myself."

"He have any ideas?" I asked.

"Yeah, Sirius wants me to start extra training. You three too, if you want. It'll mean being up and about by five thirty."

"So probably need to get to cut out a few things in the evening," I said.

Ron smiled, "I have some suggestions about that…"

"Don't want to hear it, Ron. I'll put snogging on my timetable if needed. But I'm going to be in the thick of things whether I like or not." Harry squeezed my hand.

Hermione didn't appreciate the banter. "I'll have to see." She looked at me for an argument, which I didn't give her.

Harry said, "We all have our own parts. We know you'll do what you need to."

All four of us ended up showing the next morning at the Room of Requirement. We waited a minute and around the corner came Professor Lupin.

Ron was the first to talk. "Wasn't Sirius supposed to be here?"

"We will be taking turns, actually. He was busy and…"

I whipped my wand out and was glad that Harry did the same. "What's my patronus?" I demanded.

"A doe. That seemed rather friendly with Harry's stag as I recall."

We stowed our wands. Hermione asked a little sadly, "That was a test wasn't it?"

He nodded. "Certainly. You always need to be on your guard. Even in Hogwarts." Ron looked disappointed in himself, but then Remus added, "That was just one of many lessons. You're all going to fail a few of them."

Harry muttered, "Thanks for the show of confidence."

Remus laughed and then looked at the blank wall. "Now, this room. Something that the Marauders had stumbled on accidentally once or twice, but we never mastered. Would one of you do the honors?"

Harry volunteered while he was walking about to activate the door, Hermione spoke up. "We learned about it from the house elves. People don't give them enough credit or respect."

Ron said, "We're not getting into that right now are we?"

That earned a glare. Harry looked at her as he came back and he opened the newly visible door. "First things first. Once the war is over Hermione, I promise I'll do what I can to help the ones that need it."

She nodded. "I understand. Things will be bad all around until then. But I'm holding you to that Harry."

The room looked like Harry's setup for his DA class. Remus closed his eyes and there were suddenly a few changes. The bunnies looked a bit more fierce and there was less space. And then a track formed around the perimeter. "A lap is an eighth mile," he said. "Give me six laps to warm up."

"Running?!" Ron exclaimed.

"Your body needs to be ready for long fights and the stress of fighting when hurt. I'll have you up to two miles before end of the year. Now… go!"

We all took off. Ron quickly pulled ahead, having the longest stride. But that also meant he tired sooner. Harry caught up to him after one lap and passed him by the second.

I wasn't going to give Harry any reason to think I wasn't prepared next time there was a fight. I'd win the argument, but I didn't want to have it. And I wanted to be ready. Plus, the view from immediately behind him wasn't bad either.

Finally, I came out of the last curve. I saw the flash of a stunner and rolled to the ground. I didn't return fire quick enough and I was frozen on the ground.

Lupin unfroze me after Hermione finished the jog to the same treatment. Harry helped me up while Lupin said, "I don't want you to become paranoid, but you need to be ready at any time. I'm going to be showing you some more advanced spells, but surprise and creativity is key."

And they were determined to make sure we would be ready or die trying some days. Over the next few weeks, Remus actually spent most of his time with the advanced spells and physical exercise while the sheer practice mixed with unexpected situations was up to Sirius.

It all went well for about a month, until a Tuesday in mid-February. I woke up at my now-normal time and put a silencing charm as I got dressed. Hermione wasn't there. I quickly put my hair into a ponytail and went to the common room.

Hermione was madly scribbling. "My Arithmancy essay is due today! I forgot all about it!"

I wasn't sure what to say. We all had been slacking somewhat regarding homework. Between the extra training he was receiving and giving, Harry's grades were falling close to what they were his first couple years, when he was still with his horrid relatives. My extra memories were helping, but I was going to not going to get as many O's this year either. Ron was a bit more conflicted.

I sat next to her. "It'll work out."

She shook her head. "Ginny, I think I'm done. Between training, schoolwork, revising for OWLs, special research... I'm glad for the extra practice, but… we're being taught how to become killers. I know, I know, it's necessary but I'm not sure that I'll be able to. And then I'll just be in the way." Hermione rarely ever cried but she was letting a few tears go.

"It'll work out. If you can get that damned thing out of Harry's head… that's saving his life. More than enough for me."

The boys were there a moment later. Ron saw Hermione's face and asked, "You ok?"

"I have a lot of other work to do. You three go on without me."

Ron took my place next to her. "You look like you could use some company. And I have some catching up to do."

Harry looked at them and me. "All right then. Gin?"

"Let's go, luv."

I was surprised to see a new addition to the tutors - Madam Pomfrey was standing next to Sirius. A tad confusing. I shrugged it off while we started our two mile warm-up.

After that was over and I had caught my breath, Sirius asked, "Where's Ron and Hermione?"

Harry answerer, "They're busy with school work, so not coming today."

I didn't tell him I didn't think they'd be coming back ever. Instead, I asked, "Are you expecting injuries in today's training?"

The school healer said, "To the contrary, we will be learning some emergency medical charms."

Sirius explained. "No matter how good you are, something could happen. A bystander distracting you. A lucky shot. You'll need to be able to patch each other up and get them back into the fight or at least survive until you can get them to safety. You can bleed out in less than a minute if it's the wrong artery."

Pomfrey didn't look happy for the conversation to be turning that way, but she didn't argue the fact. "For that, there is a cauterizing spell. It's painful and will leave a scar, but it's better than the alternative. For situations not quite so drastic, we have spells to clean and conjure temporary dressings." She took out her wand and said, "Let's get started."

We worked over the next hour, first just practicing the incantation, and then on hog carcasses the room provided. Sirius seemed pleased, although the charms were slower than he wanted. "Just need to keep practicing. And I know we've been working all of you hard this last month. Take tomorrow morning off. And I'll trust you to stick to the routine and practice the rest of the week."

Harry said, "You and Remus won't be here rest of the week?"

"He has some stuff to deal with and he'll be too knackered next week, with the full moon. I have some other things to handle, and you need more practice now than anything. You've shown you can do it right. Now you need to work until you can't do it wrong."

Between classes, eating, and catching up on homework, the rest of the day went by quickly. After supper, I was sitting in a secluded corner reading my Transfiguration text with Harry's head in my lap. He was suppose to be revising for Charms, but he had drifted off. I guessed nightmares were waking him more than he told me, but I had stopped pressing him about them.

Then the light on my book went dim. I looked up and saw Ron standing in front of the lantern. I lightly bopped Harry on the nose to wake him. He looked up and smiled.

My brother said, "Ginny, can I talk to you, alone?"

"Uh, sure."

Harry sat up, a bit too quickly. "Whoa… room's spinning."

I kisses him on the cheek. "You should just get to bed."

"Probably. Another early day tomorrow."

I let my eyes gaze at him as he went up the staircase and Ron saw down next to me. "I need your help. I can't talk to Harry because any advice he gives is going to be based on you and I don't really want any more details. Seamus and Dean are just going to brag and the twins would just start giving me the mickey."

"Back up a bit, Ron?*

"Right, sorry… tomorrow's Valentine's and I'm going to talk to Hermione if I don't lose my nerve."

I grinned. "When did you decide this?"

"I've been meaning to for a while. Was thinking about Christmas, but then with Dad… Should I? I don't want to cock anything up… stop grinning, this is hard enough talking to me baby sister."

I sighed. "First, if you want my help, stop calling me that. And you haven't had it any harder than I have. I'm about to get a club for the next girl that I catch staring at Harry's bum."

"Didn't really want to think about that."

"Well, I am… Now about Hermione. She likes you. That's why she gets so pissing mad when you're being a git. If she didn't care, she wouldn't. She's got a wicked memory though so be prepared to do some apologizing. You decide if it's worth it."

He had a frown in his face for a second. "You're right. I'll talk to her during free period after lunch."

"Great! And Ron, Harry's probably going to have a large box of chocolate in his trunk. Tell him I said you could have it, being for a good cause."

"Thanks. I think."

The next morning, Harry and I walked to the Room of Requirement ourselves. He was smiling more than usual. "What is it?" I finally asked.

"Well, I had to rearrange my plans for the day. Ron wanted to spend some time with Hermione alone in here."

"That's great. Just took him a year."

"Yeah, too bad there's just the one room, especially with no Hogsmeade trips."

"There will be plenty more Valentine's, luv."

He kissed me softly on the lips. "I hope so. In the meantime, I thought we could at least have breakfast by ourselves," he said as we stepped inside.

"That sounds nice." I paused for a moment. "We should get some physical exercise in first though."

"You want to still run?" He stopped and looked at the luxurious bed I had imagined up. "Oh."

"Breakfast can wait ten minutes," I said. "I haven't had a proper snog in far too long."

I wrapped my arms around his head and then pulled him down next to me. I cast an alarm spell before I closed my eyes and let him lead.

My alarm went off too quickly and also too slowly in some respects. I gave Harry one more kiss and then we slowly sat up, adjusting clothes and rebuttoning as needed. He looked nervous.

I took his hand. "You didn't do anything I didn't want. I'm glad the alarm went off when it did though."

He seemed at loss for words with a smile. Finally he said, "Agreed. Probably should be a bit more careful next time. You're so… I love you, Gin."

"I love you too. Now, breakfast?"

"Right," he said with a grin. He called Dobby who had two plates of a traditional English breakfast prepared. I was famished. It was too shortly over and as much as I want to stay with him there, we had the day to start.

The day was really awkward for many students. I saw no fewer than three arguments between couples where one of them had decided to blow off the day given the lack of options and the other one hadn't.

Harry made it a point to try to steal little moments of affection, the slight kiss here and there as it just reminded me of the morning and made me want him more.

Ron and Hermione disappeared as expected after supper and the two prefects actually broke curfew. I was impressed. Hermione snuck into our room far after the other girls were asleep.

Once she was in her nightgown, I hopped on her bed and performed a charm to keep our conversation quiet. "How did it go?"

She smiled. "It was… nice. Ronald and I talked a lot. We've both down a good job of sabotaging ourselves in the past and I wanted a few things in the open. He gave me some chocolates, which was sweet. They were your favourite, so I'm guessing he had some help. But it was still sweet."

"I'm glad he's finally coming around."

"Yeah, painfully slowly. And we're going to take things slow. It's different for us than you."

I asked, "I guess that's expected, but what do you mean, exactly?"

"Ronald and I are very different. It's like… where a river meets the sea. There's mixing and we push on each other but they are still separate."

"Also a lot of storms?" I mused.

"Perhaps. You and Harry… it's like brass or bronze."

"Or mud?" I smirked. Would that make me the dirt or the water though?

"Or mud. And to be honest, I'm happy with how we are and hopefully where this is going. And I know you're happy.

Yes, I was.