As Harry walked up to the Burrow the smell of Mrs Weasley's excellent cooking met him. Even though he had had a great lunch, courtesy of the Hogwarts elves, the aroma drifting out of the kitchen made his mouth water and his stomach rumble.
Entering the kitchen, he was surprised by the sight of Ron listening attentively as his mother explained what she was doing. He smiled at the sight. He had never really considered Ron to be someone who would be interested in cooking. But it made sense. A love for food was an important part of the Weasley way of life, Ron being a prime example of it. Being able to cook it yourself would be an important skill for them.
Ron and Mrs Weasley looked up as he entered.
"Oh, hello Harry, dear. How have you been? You're just in time for dinner!" Mrs Weasley greeted him.
"Hey mate," Ron said, "the Muggles treat you okay? Did you see Dumbledore today?"
"Hello, Mrs Weasley, hi Ron," Harry greeted back. "The Muggles were the same as always. Let me just drop my bag off."
He made his way upstairs but stopped on the stairs to observe Ginny, who had just come out of her room. Dumbledore had said that Ginny knew a thing or two about dealing with trauma. He had never really stopped to consider how traumatic her first year must have been. He silently chastised himself. How could he have considered it, if he had forgotten that it happened at all? He cringed at the memory of how Ginny had looked at him that day in Grimmauld Place. "Lucky for you," she'd said. But even after that conversation, he hadn't really thought about how she had dealt with it.
Of course, the Weasleys had gone to Egypt that summer but had that been beneficial or detrimental to Ginny's recovery? Before he could think any more on the subject, Mrs Weasley called for everybody to come downstairs for dinner. He greeted Ginny on this way up and hastened to Ron and his room.
During dinner, Harry told the Weasleys about Scrimgeour's visit. His responses to the Minister resulted in chuckles from everyone, though he wasn't sure whether everyone agreed with all his arguments. It was a shame that Remus was away for a short mission for the Order, as Harry had wanted to speak with him about Potter House. He told the Weasleys about the House, the Fidelius Charm, and the House Elves.
Half an hour later, a sated Harry looked at the faces of those attending dinner. Ginny was joking around with the twins, with her body angled in such a way she had part of her back turned to Fleur. Bill was speaking with Mr Weasley, with his fiancée listening attentively. Mrs Weasley was looking fondly at the table, while Ron was also silent, having eaten himself into a stupor.
Remembering his friend's advice from two weeks ago, he spoke up. "Hey, Bill, can I ask you something? Does Gringotts have an inventory of each vault?"
"They don't have it at hand but they can do it for you, for a fee. Why are you asking?" Bill said
"Well," Harry said, a bit embarrassed that he hadn't waited to ask this until after dinner, "It's just that I have no clue about the contents of my vaults. It probably would be a good idea to have at least some idea how much I own."
Bill laughed, "Yeah, that does sound like a good idea. Gringotts records how many Galleons, Sickles, and Knut are stored and any fluctuation in it, but any other valuables don't have to be logged. You can ask your account manager to make an inventory for you. Do you want me to put in a request?"
"Yes, please, thank you!" Harry said. He had no clue who his account manager was but, at least now he could get some grip on his financial situation. Before coming to Hogwarts he hadn't had any pocket money and he still didn't spend a lot of money even after he was told about his vault. The only time he could recall spending money unnecessarily was when he had bought the three Omnioculars for the Quidditch World Cup Finals. He was also very curious about what else was in the vaults. He hoped that there would be some immaterial valuables in there, stuff from his parents.
He looked over to the other side of the table, where Ginny was sitting, now talking with Ron. He remembered what Ron had said about her when he first came to the Burrow. He'd called her "mental" but also said that normally she wasn't shy at all, and could be a pain. It was just him that she had been weird around.
His second year he had almost no contact with her, until the end that is, apart from that singing valentine card she had send him. What did it say again? Something about him being divine and conquering the Dark Lord. He chuckled softly. Even if he was embarrassed by it, he assumed that it had nothing on how she felt thinking back on it.
It was kind of incredible to see how she behaved around him now. No trace of awkwardness was left. Then again, she had overcome much harder things than an awkward crush. That was something they had in common, Harry realized. Both had experienced events that others might describe as traumatic. At least Dumbledore had described them as such. They both had also not hesitated to throw themselves into danger a second time or in Harry's case a third and a fourth time.
While he didn't think he needed to talk to Ginny about this, like Dumbledore had suggested, Harry did think it was weird how little he really knew about Ginny, apart from the superficial. And what about Luna, or to a lesser extent, Neville? All three of them had come with him to the Ministry and even though the whole incident was primarily overshadowed by his guilt, he had to acknowledge their bravery and friendship. While he wasn't sure whether Luna understood the danger they might be in, he thought he could at least guess what Ginny and Neville must have been thinking.
Dinner came to an end, and after playing some games of chess with Ron, losing spectacularly every time, they called it a day and when to their room. When they were lying in their respective beds, Harry decided to just ask Ron about Ginny.
"Hey, Ron?" Harry called softly, turning over to look at his friend.
"Hm?" a sleepy answer came from the other side of the room.
"Can I ask you something personal about Ginny?"
"Ginny? What about her?"
"After… after the Chamber, how did she, you know, recover from that? Dumbledore said something to me that made me think it was more than just a hug and a cup of chocolate."
Ron remained silent for a while, his breathing the only clue he had not fallen asleep.
"I can't tell you that Harry. We all had to promise her to never tell anyone," his voice came through the dark.
While Harry could respect that, it also meant he would have to ask Ginny directly if he did want to know, which he still wasn't sure he needed to anyway. It was a private matter of course. But then again, he really did not want to have a repeat performance of that conversation that had been running through his head the whole evening. "Lucky for you." Ugh, Harry groaned felt incredibly embarrassed about it, he hadn't even apologized to her!
He assumed she probably hated him for it afterwards. First, he had never talked to her about the Chamber, which to be fair to himself, he hadn't talked with her at all that much, but secondly, he had then gone on and told her he had forgotten. 'Maybe it's as a good idea to change that', he thought, realizing that that first point had already begun to change this summer. They had been around each other much more than usual, after all.
-In Her Memory-
The next day Harry approached his old Defence Against the Dark Arts professor, who had joined them for breakfast. Remus had been in and out of the Burrow, doing small tasks for the Order.
Harry had talked about Hermione with Remus, but he had not yet talked to anyone about Sirius. Remus had given him the chance to do so a couple of times but Harry had always hesitated. But he had given himself three tasks to do this week: speak with Remus about Sirius, speak with Ginny about the Chamber, and talk to Ron about the prophecy. And the former was more important to both Harry and Remus. Harry was afraid talking with Ginny would only serve to summon old demons for her, so he wanted to feel her out first. If she'd made it clear that the subject was off-limits he wouldn't pursue the topic further.
Remus was sitting against a tree, reading a novel that Harry didn't know. Deciding that was as good a conversation starter as any, he asked him what he was reading.
"It's a fantasy epos called the 'Lord of the Rings', by Tolkien. It's a muggle book. I have always been fascinated with Muggle mythology and folklore, so I like reading fantasy. Especially, if the story involves some form of werewolf", he added with a wink.
Harry smiled at that, but it also made him think about Remus' furry little problem.
"I've heard of that series, but I haven't read it. It's supposed to be good." He waited for a moment, trying not to overthink the coming conversation.
"I was wondering. You know, without Sirius here…" another moment of silence, as Remus looked at him encouragingly, "what will you do during the full moons?" he finally asked.
Remus sighed. "The same thing I did when Sirius was in Azkaban," he said sadly.
"Which is?" Harry enquired
Remus looked uneasy for a moment but seemingly decided to answer anyway. "Lock myself in the cellar under my house. Or spend the transformation with a werewolf pack."
Harry gasped, horrified. "No!"
Remus continued. "I don't have a choice, you know, I can't buy the Wolfsbane potion, and the cellar was designed specifically by my father for my transformations. There are cushioning charms and noise-blocking charms all over the place."
"I can buy the potion for you, I have the money," Harry offered.
Remus smiled. "I know you have the money, Harry. Money isn't the problem. The lack of safe buying locations is. Most Apothecaries in Wizarding Shopping centra like Diagon Alley don't sell Wolfsbane and shops in places like Knockturn Alley aren't trustworthy enough. They'd be just as likely to make it poisonous as a way to rid the world of werewolves."
Harry was horrified, but not surprised. His general view of the Magical World had been steadily growing more negative.
"Let me guess," he said scathingly, "they don't sell the Wolfsbane because that would be bad for business?"
"Right in one," Remus replied.
Harry sighed deeply and they remained silent for a moment or two. Harry contemplated the best ways to help him.
"Well," he said, drawing Remus' attention from his book, "I guess there's only one thing to do then."
Remus looked at him quizzically. Harry smirked.
"I'll just become an Animagus so I can keep you company!" Harry said with genuine excitement.
A mix of emotions made its way over Remus's face. Sadness was mixed with joy and proudness mixed with disbelief before a sad smile came out on top.
"You really are both James' son and Sirius' god-son, aren't you?"
Harry merely grinned at him.
"With that in mind," Remus continued, "I know it's completely useless for me to say this but I will anyway. Please don't feel like you have to do this for me. Though, I realize you won't be doing it just for me, right?"
"I have been thinking about it for years, to be honest" Harry admitted. "Context aside, it is one of the coolest pieces of magic I've ever seen. And I think it'd be a good trick to have up my sleeve, especially if I never register myself."
Remus laughed at that. "I can see you've given it some thought. Do you have any idea where to start?"
"Not really."
Remus remained silent for several long moments, stroking his chin. Harry let him think.
"Okay," Remus finally said, "here's what I would do. First, ask Kreacher to bring you all books on Animagi transfigurations that can be found in Grimmauld Place. To be safe I'd also ask him to search for similar books in Potter Manor. Read up on the process and when you're back at Hogwarts, ask Professor McGonagall for help."
He continued in a somewhat more stern voice, reminding Harry that the man had indeed been a professor. "However, you will have to improve your transfiguration a lot before even bothering to start with the process. If I remember correctly, conjuration and human transfiguration are subjects covered in your upcoming year, so the timing is quite good. They are vital to completely understand, both in theory as in casting."
"You seem to know quite a lot about the process," Harry remarked. He wondered why conjuration would be an important skill but figured he would read about it in a book at some point.
"Well, I did end up helping James and Sirius figure a lot of it out. James might have been a transfiguration prodigy but even for him as a second and third year, understanding the process was a task too difficult to figure out alone. We didn't ask McGonagall for help, naturally. I also had to help with brewing the potion, as I was better than them at potions."
"Which kind of potion do you need?" Harry questioned.
"It's a potion that forces the drinker into a meditative sleep and enables them to connect to an animal. You're supposed to have a vision of some sort that tells you your Animagus form," Remus explained.
"You didn't drink the potion? Why not?"
"What would be the point? I'd just see the wolf."
Harry pondered this statement for a moment. He did not know enough about werewolves and Animagi yet to make an educated argument, but this idea had popped into his head. Remus was one of the only werewolves out there that had had formal magical training, so it wasn't like there were werewolves out there who could even try to become an Animagus. How awesome would it be if that was the key to living with Lycanthropy? Giving in to it? Accepting the wolf as part of you, even willingly transforming when it was not a full moon at all? He didn't want to ask Remus these questions, however, so he remained silent.
Remus had been watching him. "What were you thinking about?" he asked, as Harry looked up again.
"Oh, nothing really," he lied.
Remus didn't buy it, but let it go. Harry thought he probably didn't want to talk about his lycanthropy anyway. So he decided to just plunge ahead with a talk he knew he should have.
"I miss him," he blurted out. "Especially because I know there's so much we didn't talk about, like the Animagi process. Sometimes it feels like I didn't even really know him, you know?" He felt his throat tightening and his eyes were starting to water.
"Do you want me to tell you some stories?" Remus proposed kindly.
"Yes, please," Harry said softly.
They spent an hour talking about Sirius. Tears were shed, but as was seemingly par for the course when telling Marauder stories, not all of them were sad ones.
-In Her Memory-
Having had one difficult conversation, with at least two still to go, Harry decided to just go on ahead with the other two. Aside from the conversation with Ginny he wanted to have, he also still had to inform Ron about the contents of the prophecy. He didn't know which conversation he was dreading more.
After dinner, the choice was made for him. Ron began a chess match with Bill, which meant he'd be busy for at least two hours. With Fleur providing a very helpful distraction for Bill, they would probably be evenly matched, meaning the game would probably take some time to finish. Ginny went up to her room, which was perfect for Harry. This was a conversation to be held in private after all.
So, he made his way up the stairs. He stopped in front of the door he knew was Ginny's, but he hesitated a bit. He had never been in Ginny's room before. Well, to be fair, he had never been in a girl's room before, so he wondered what it would look like inside. He snickered a bit when he considered that it probably wouldn't be as orange as Ron's room was.
Taking a deep breath and steeling his nerves, he knocked three times.
There was no immediate answer, but instead, he could hear some stumbling going on in the room, then footsteps coming toward the door. Ginny opened the door, seemingly unsurprised to find Harry standing there. She leaned against the doorframe, looked at him, and said: "Hello, sir, how may I help you?"
Harry chuckled softly. Ginny was very funny, which was something he had only really noticed this summer. "Hi, I wondered if I could have a word with you in private?"
Ginny looked intrigued and beckoned him in. With a soft "thanks", Harry made his way inside and looked around the room with interest. It wasn't spacious by any means, but it was comfy and cozy. Three posters adorned her walls, one of the Weird Sisters, one of Gwenog Jones and the Holyhead Harpies, and a simple poster, possibly made by Ginny herself, saying "It's okay not to be okay". There were also multiple sayings and lyrics written on a Muggle chalkboard. The open window provided a view of the Quidditch Pitch.
"Like what you see, Potter?" Ginny asked.
"Oh," Harry said embarrassedly. He had clearly been quite obvious in his interest in the room. "yeah, sorry, it looks nice."
"The first girl's bedroom you've been in?" Ginny guessed, with a teasing tone.
Harry looked away shyly.
Ginny took pity on him. "So, what's up?"
Harry sat down in a chair, while Ginny took place on her bed. This allowed Harry to look out the window. He glanced over at Ginny, who was waiting patiently and decided to just get it on with.
Still staring out the window, he started her off with a warning.
"I wanted to talk to you about something, but I need you to understand that it's okay if you don't want to talk about it," he began.
"Oh Merlin," Ginny said under her breath, "I hope this is not what I think this is about."
Harry shot a quick look at her, but she seemed composed so he carried on. "It's just that Dumbledore said something the other day that made me think about what you've gone through and how you dealt with it."
Ginny sighed deeply. "Go on," she encouraged nevertheless.
"Dumbledore suggested that I talk with you… and I realized that I have no idea about what happened after."
"Yeah?"
"So I wanted to know what did happen? How did you, you know, cope?"
"With what specifically?" Ginny asked. Harry wasn't sure whether she was playing dumb or not.
"You know…," Harry trailed off. He was already regretting starting this conversation.
"Just spit it out, Harry"
"I was talking about the Chamber," Harry said cautiously.
"Ah," Ginny turned to look out the window herself. "Why do you want to talk about that?"
"Because I realized that even after what I told you last Christmas, I still kind of act like the Chamber didn't happen," Harry confessed. "And I feel bad about it because I realized that maybe I could've helped you, but then I also realized I have no idea what happened to you after your first year. I imagine that you didn't just bounce back after a cup of hot cocoa and a good night's sleep, you know? I was just wondering whether you'd been bothered by it afterwards." As soon as the words left his mouth, he cringed. What a stupid thing to say! Of course, it would have had a major impact. Ginny's incredulous look only drove that point home. Luckily for Harry, she let his stupidity slide. For now, at least.
"You didn't ask Ron?" Ginny asked.
"I did," Harry confessed softly, embarrassedly, while looking out the window again, "but he said he promised you to not tell anyone."
"Really?" Ginny said, sounding surprised. "I didn't expect him to hold himself to that promise…" she trailed off.
They both remained silent for a couple of moments.
"If you don't want to talk about it, that's okay," Harry repeated.
"It's not that I don't want to talk about it, although I could easily go through life without talking about it for even a single time more. I don't think anyone has the right to hear the story, but if someone would have, it'd be you. Considering you nearly died, the Chamber was quite traumatic for you as well." She said it as if it was a fact.
That statement bothered Harry. Was he traumatized? He didn't think so. He hadn't developed a fear of snakes or something like that.
"Might do you some good to talk about it as well," she continued, not aware of Harry being distracted by what she said. "I just have to come to terms with the fact that I am going to tell you." She thought a moment before a smile quickly came and went. "I'll trade you."
Harry narrowed his eyes suspiciously. Where could she go with this?
"I tell you something about the aftermath of the Chamber, and you tell me something about living with the Dursleys."
Harry could feel the colour drain from his face. "What… what are you getting at?" he demanded, his voice wobbly, but not from anger.
"My dear brother Ron might not notice or realize, but I know that my mother and I do." She answered in a carefully controlled and calm voice.
Harry felt his palms beginning to sweat just a bit and he squirmed in his discomfort.
Ginny noticed his physical reaction and snapped her fingers to get his attention. "I know you don't want to talk about that," She reached out to grab his hand but he had subconsciously begun retying his shoelaces over and over, not looking at her. "Which is exactly why you can't say that it has been 'fine' like you probably want to," she continued nevertheless, "but I rather not talk about my experiences so it's only fair, I guess?" she questioned herself.
Harry shrugged dejectedly.
Both remained silent for a bit, Harry switching between looking out the window or at his hands.
"Okay", Ginny said, clapping her hands. "Here's what I suggest. If you still want to talk about the Chamber, I expect you to talk to me about the Dursleys before we go back to Hogwarts, okay? That will give you some time to think about it. And please believe me when I say that I only want to know because I think it'd be good for you to talk about it."
"How can you know that, though?" Harry questioned, just a tad bit bitterly.
"Personal experience," she replied succinctly.
Harry thought it over for a couple of moments. He didn't want to talk about living with the Dursleys. Then again, he hadn't wanted to talk about Hermione and Sirius, but in both times it had become a bit easier to deal with after he had, hadn't it? Maybe there was truth to what Ginny was saying.
"Okay", he mumbled.
"Okay," she repeated. "You know, I have only really talked about it all with one person before."
"Your mum?" Harry guessed, being shaken out of his contemplation.
"Oh Merlin, no" Ginny said with a smile that didn't reach her eyes. "Not for lack of trying on her part though, she was really pushing me to talk actually. She only stopped because we went to Egypt that summer. That trip was actually what helped me the most in the long term. I only recently realized that there was more to visiting Bill than just visiting Bill."
Harry just remained silent, preferring to just let Ginny tell her story. He wasn't about to question anything she said.
"You know how Bill is a Cruse-Breaker, right?" Harry nodded. "It's honestly baffling how I didn't see it sooner, Mum and Dad took me to someone they know and trust that has personal experience with dark artefacts."
"Makes sense", Harry said catching on to what she was saying. "So Bill is the one who helped you?"
"Yes and no. First of all, the only person who can actually 'help' you," she said with air quotes, "is yourself. In the end, you have to do it yourself." She paused a moment. "But Bill certainly kickstarted the process. While in Egypt he taught me some spells, he wrote Dumbledore asking who the new Defence professor would be and then wrote to Professor Lupin, Remus I mean. He also recommended I see a Mind Healer."
"Remus? Wait, a mind healer?" Harry was surprised, and did not know what to focus on first.
"Which surprises you?" Ginny asked.
"er… actually, when I think about it, neither." It did make sense to inform the Defence Against the Dark Arts professor about students that had suffered from experience with dark magic. A mind healer, Harry assumed was just the magical equivalent of a muggle psychologist. That still didn't tell him much as he wasn't quite sure what they did, but he assumed that they helped people cope with traumatic experiences.
"Gringotts employs mind healers of their own, you know. It is expected for curse breakers to at least once see or experience something that may traumatize them. Those Old Egyptian wizards didn't play around with their curses, you should hear some of Bill's stories," Ginny continued.
"I thought Goblins didn't care about humans?" Harry questioned.
"Oh, they don't," Ginny said flippantly, "it's just more profitable to employ a mind healer to squeeze out some more years from the curse breakers than it is to constantly train new ones."
"So, I guess that Bill has experience with a mind healer and that is why he suggested you see one?"
"Yep." She waited for a beat and narrowed her eyes ever so slightly. "Last year, he suggested that you see one."
Harry huffed and then scowled. "Bill should mind his own business," he thought. "I didn't need to see a mind healer, I'm not crazy!... Oh!...". He realized he had probably walked right into Ginny's trap and his thought process had clearly shown on his face. Even with the Occlumency lessons with Snape, he still had no control over his emotions.
"Prim said that one of the classic mistakes people make is that they hold themselves to higher standards than they do others," she said, with a knowing look on her face, "they expect more from themselves than they do from others. But that is just unhealthy because it means you either think of yourself as "better" or you think of others as "lesser" in some way. "
"I know you don't think either", she said before Harry could protest, "but do you see what I mean?"
Harry thought about it for a moment. He did see what she meant. He could understand why Ginny had needed Mind Healing but he would probably never think he needed it himself. He could already imagine Uncle Vernon yelling at him that he was a freak who 'should be put into a mental facility.'
"Well, anyway, " Ginny continued, as it was clear that Harry wasn't going to verbally respond, "so, Bill advised my parent that I see a Mind Healer. But after being possessed for most of ten months," she looked away, out of the window, "and not having control, I absolutely hated being told what to do. Still do, actually." She shook her head slightly. "It was hard for Mum. She couldn't force me to do it or kidnap me or something because that was what Tom had done. So she had to make me see I needed to go. Regardless, I was mad at her for weeks after." She shook her head but smiled at that statement, which puzzled Harry. "I didn't even say anything to Prim that first meeting, I don't think."
"Prim was your Mind Healer?"
"Oh I'm sorry, yeah, Primrose Jorkins, née Barlow, married to Bertha Jorkins' younger brother, do you remember her?"
"She was the Ministry employee that Wormtail captured, right?" Harry answered. "I thought that was all covered up by Fudge?"
"It was but Dumbledore informed the family personally."
Harry thought for a moment. "So you still had Mind Healing sessions in your third year?" he asked Ginny.
"Yes. Up until a couple of weeks into my fourth year actually, but not as intensive as it was that second year." She hesitated a moment. "It started with the fallout of the diary and the chamber, of course, and the immediate trauma, but in the end, we also talked about other stuff. We exchange letters about once a month now, but the actual sessions are done. She's kind of like an older sister to me know," Ginny said with a smile.
"Did she come to Hogwarts during the term?" Harry inquired.
"She did, yes."
Here Harry encountered a problem. Mind Healing was probably quite expensive and Ginny had had sessions for over two years. The Weasley's lack of money had always been left unspoken, at least in Gryffindor, but everyone knew either way. So how did they manage to pay for Ginny's Mind Healer, and, a more pressing problem, could Harry ask about this? And if so, how? He decided on an indirect approach.
"Wasn't that expensive?" Oh well, kind of indirect. Harry mentally slapped himself across the head.
Ginny laughed out loud. "I can understand why you'd wonder about that." She frowned. "It was mostly paid for by the selling of Basilisk parts, as I understand it. Dumbledore offered it."
Harry also frowned. "They sold parts of the Basilisk? Dumbledore never told me."
"He didn't?" Ginny asked surprised. "Maybe he thought you had money enough or something? I think he offered everything to my parents, but they declined and he decided to pay for my Mind Healing and invest what was left in Hogwarts. My parents couldn't really decline that."
She looked at Harry. "Maybe you should ask Dumbledore why he didn't talk to you about it," she suggested.
Harry exhaled slowly. "Yeah… maybe I should …" he trailed off.
"You should probably head down soon," Ginny said, "before Mum and Dad are going to start thinking things." She said with a waggle of her eyebrows.
Harry gaped at her in amazement. The shy little girl she was when they first met was gone completely. Had it taken her 3 years to again be who she once was? Harry had no idea whether that was quick or not.
"Yeah, you're probably right," he answered, deciding to tease her back a little, "a thought you'd have wholeheartedly been okay with four years ago!"
Ginny didn't quite turn red from embarrassment but Harry could see he had cracked her composure a bit.
"Well, yes, we're all allowed our childhood fantasies, right? How could I know you'd be such a surly, miserable git in real life?" she shot back.
"Ouch", Harry remarked sarcastically. While Ginny's crush on him was something he had gladly ignored, he found it nice to be able to joke about it with her.
"So … er… you're dating Dean now, right? How are you two dealing with being away from each other during the summer?"
"Oh, you know, exchanging some letters, trying to coordinate something of date in Diagon Alley when we go buy our books."
"He's treating you good, then?"
Ginny actually laughed at this. "What are you, my seventh brother? Please, I get enough of that already."
"Fair enough," Harry said. "I don't really see you as sister, so it'd be unfair to act like a brother, I guess."
Ginny smiled brightly.
"And before Dean, you were dating Michael Corner right?" Harry continued
"Yes?" Ginny said, drawing the word out, both questioning and cautious.
Harry, sensing that he was kind of walking a tightrope here, was quick to placate her "I don't mean anything by it, I was just… you know, hoping we could be better friends than we have been? And don't friends talk about this kind of stuff together?"
Ginny blanched at that. "You want to be friends?" she managed to get out.
Harry wasn't sure why that had affected her so much. "Yes, why wouldn't we be friends? Haven't we been?" he questioned.
Ginny took a deep breath. "It's just, being friends with you… that was actually the last task Prim set me during our mind healing session. The only task I hadn't completed yet, not to my own satisfaction at least. So, to have you come out and just say it… it really means a lot."
Harry gulped a bit at the sight of Ginny tearing up slightly. Having to comfort Ron had been awkward enough, and his experience with Cho did not provide him with the idea that he'd be any good at comforting Ginny.
"What kind of tasks did Prim set for you?" he asked, hoping to distract her.
"Just things I had to do, which would help me. Like talking to strangers, that took me a long time to be comfortable with. Like, Prim set me the task to go talk with Luna. We were friends before Hogwarts but I don't think we really talked that first year. So, reconnecting with old friends was one of the first steps. Then I had to talk to my classmates, first only the Gryffindors, in the end even the Slytherins. Don't get me wrong that took me most of the year to work up to, but I can honestly say that I did it. I have friends in all houses, even one or two Slytherins. Even though they'd probably deny that," she added while laughing.
"So that's why you said that the only one who could truly help is yourself?"
"Yes, Prim just setting me the tasks wouldn't have helped me at all, I actually had to go out and complete them," Ginny said, "although I guess you could argue that she knew what tasks to set, meaning she did help me."
"That seems like a smart way to go about it," Harry said thoughtfully, "tackling your issues head-on. Like a true Gryffindor," he added with a smile. Ginny returned his smile.
"Well," Harry said, standing up, "better head downstairs, as you said."
"Yeah," Ginny said, "don't forget your promise though!" she added as Harry walked out of the room.
He turned around and looked back at Ginny. He had never had such a conversation before, and soon the roles would be reversed. Harry would talk about his experiences with the Dursleys and Ginny would listen and ask questions.
Not something he looked forward to.
-In Her Memory-
That night, while lying in bed, Harry revisited his conversation with Ginny. She had told him about Prim and the tasks she had set for Ginny. Considering the tasks given, she had clearly suffered from some form of social anxiety and probably some trust issues as well. What Harry still did not know, was what had exactly happened between Ginny and the diary.
Of course, he knew that the Diary had enticed Ginny into pouring her soul into it, both figuratively and sadly also quite literally. Tom Riddle had mentioned Ginny telling him all her secrets. He must have manipulated her into isolating herself, but how had he done that? What manner of vile lies had he told her? Ginny hadn't gone into detail about her contact with the diary. Which was fair enough, Harry thought, considering he had only asked her about how the aftermath had been. How did the Diary even work, Harry wondered. What magic was involved with it? He decided he would ask Dumbledore about it.
Thinking about Dumbledore, also brought him unto the subject of the prophecy. He decided to just rip the plaster off and tell Ron tomorrow. He wondered how Ron was going to react. Previously, he probably would not have reacted at all and would have just let Hermione take the lead. But… Harry didn't want to think about that too much though. So he decided to try to think about nothing and go to sleep.
AN:
"More than just a cup of chocolate" is a reference to the one-shot by the same name and the novel-length version "Hidden Chamber and Unseen Monsters", both by keeptheotherone. If you're interested in reading a fic about the Weasley's in Egypt after CoS, I highly recommend these fics!
Also: a lot of what Harry does in his conversation with Ginny are things I do, have done or have said. (Especially, the bit about asking whether someone had suffered after a traumatic experience, that shit still haunts me lol). I wanted to accurately portray Harry's uncomfortableness with emotional topics, so I just based it on me ;)