Who Knows?
After Ron's quick awakening that morning to save Harry from Professor McGonagall's spite at staying awake for so late, Ginny wouldn't leave his mind. He thought he saw her in the halls and tried desperately to try and find her as she left her classes but to no avail. She was simply moving too fast for him that day, half way through Snape's potions class Malfoy made a rather stinging comment about Cedric Diggory and waited for Harry's reaction, but none came. He had barely heard his comment as Parvati walked past in a huff of perfume talking about Ginny Weasley being out all night and not coming back to her dorm till sunrise. A warmth spread its self throughout his body so that not even the chill in the dungeons could affect his mood…she stayed. All night, she stayed, right next to him!
He powdered dragon scales shed by a red-gold Volumniouso Dragon, 'a type that lives in volcanoes and lava pools south of the equator. Has relatives which live in sulfuric springs created by the volcanoes heating water underneath the ground.' Lunch, then Transfiguration, Divination, History of Magic and finally time to get ready for dinner.
He kept trying to find her but she was totally avoiding him, there was no denying it. And they were even in the same house! How could she do this? Harry racked his brains for most of the day, trying to figure out where she had gone off to that he couldn't find. He'd checked the library, the classrooms, he'd even had Hermione go up and check the girl's dorms under the pretense that Ron needed to talk to her, but she simply wasn't there.
She even skipped dinner, or did she? He scanned the crowd for any red heads who were not either arguing with Hermione or trying to figure out the next best way to blow something up. It didn't work. She wasn't there! Which was impossible, technically…he sighed and went back to poking at the pudding on his plate, he'd lost his appetite a long time ago. Tiredly he stood and left, muttering excuses to Ron and Hermione, ignoring their worried looks and trekking back to Gryffindor house.
He told the fat lady the password (galloping unicorns) and crawled into the dorm. He barely made it into his dorm before he collapsed onto his bed. He rested for a while, watching the ceiling and when that became boring, got ready for bed. Sometime later he heard people coming up stairs for their homework or to sleep, whichever they chose to do at the time. His eyes were getting heavy but something wasn't right with the ways his pillow was. Harry shoved his hand beneath it and found the photo album. He carefully moved it to the end of the bed so that it wouldn't get knocked over or slept on wrong, which would damage the pictures. But one fell out before the book could make its rest at his feet.
It was the picture of Ginny, hands out, skirts twirling, hair flying in the wind. He sighed and fell back into the pillows, calling every memory he had of the hill. The way the sun shone and warmed you all over while lying face up, staring at the clouds. The way the wind hit you in the face, blowing your hair back, and the fresh smell of grass, without the damp clods of dirt sticking to you. The little ants that insisted on trying to climb the mountains of your feet while you wore no shoes, tickling like mad…he yawned.
Everything was so peaceful, so calm, and so wonderfully warm. He'd have to get back to the Burrow son, he swore the smell of fresh bread was on the wind…it was great visiting. Something moved to the left of him, a flash of fiery red caught his eyes before a little girl came stumbling and giggling up the hill, pursued by a boy of the same age with hair messier and blacker than Harry's could ever have been at any age. He smiled in his dream; someone was calling him, someone near by…Ginny?
He sat up in bed, staring out the window at the moonlight, wondering what woke him. He was still holding the picture of Ginny in his hand, he'd been so calm, so realized and warm…why did he have to wake up? The thought struck him suddenly that this was the first time in five months that he had ever wanted to wake up from a dream.
Grumbling viciously he crawled out of bed and wished that he knew where Ginny was. The photo in his hand was maddening, he needed to talk to her. No, not talk, he needed to hug her, to hold her, to kiss her. He slapped the thought viciously away and shoved the image of her wearing her green robes for him, back into a corner of his mind where he couldn't want it, no matter how wonderful it seemed.
She'd be in danger if he cared for her in any way other than as a brother, and even then she was in horrible danger. She'd be killed just like his mother was. He pushed the frozen, muggle photo into the album and opened his trunk ready to just toss it inside with everything else when he noticed something. Tacked to the inside of his trunk lid was a blank, ragged, ripped, piece of parchment. He kept staring at it, not knowing if it could be true…Barty Crouch Jr. had possessed it last, no, Harry thought, there was no way that he could have it in his trunk now. No way…
His hand shot out and after a moments hesitation, carefully untacked the paper from the trunk lid and opened it. Inside the parchment was a small piece of separate paper, on it was written: "To Harry, from your thieving Godfather." He kept staring, not daring to believe, till suddenly his wand was in his hand and he was whispering quickly, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." Lines began to bloom across the paper, tracing a web that could only be defined as the inside of Hogwarts.
Classrooms and hallways, offices, kitchens, the grounds, passages in, out, around the school and the location of every teacher in the building. The Marauder's Map was truly a treasure amongst students. He stared for a while longer before a thought popped into mind, he leaned down, hoping none of his dorm mates were awake, and judging from Dean's tired mumbling, and Neville's soft snores they really were asleep.
"Where is Ginny Weasley?" he whispered to the map. Dots sprang up, one right next to him marked Ronald Weasley; two were in the kitchens marked as Fred Weasley and George Weasley. He looked around frantically and found that a tiny dot marked Virginia Weasley was down near the lake talking to a second dot marked Cellona of Virgini. Before Harry knew what exactly had happened he had grabbed up his invisibility cloak, hidden in the bottom of his trunk, and (quietly) raced out of the dorm room.
He glanced at the map a few times, making sure that he wasn't going to get caught leaving the castle through the doors out onto the Quidditch pitch. Snape came awfully close to rushing into him, and for a moment it looked as if Professor Dumbledore would be coming down a hallway, but the Headmaster turned back towards his office, as if he forgot something. Harry took the opportunity to jump out a low window overlooking the lake.
He fell with a thump and rolled across the ground picking up grass and dirt so when he stood everything seemed to float in midair. He slapped his arms and back vigorously for a few minutes, he wanted to see who Cellona of Virgini was, and yes, the two were still talking.
Harry drew in his breath and took off jogging down to where the flat, reflective surface of the lake shone black and silver. He followed the map to a path where it was easier, quicker and quieter, there was no way that Ginny was going to run, he couldn't stand this anymore.
When you can no longer look at a person without feeling an intense pain in your heart and having to mentally restrain yourself from kissing the girl, you knew you had to talk to her. There was no way to get around it. Of course when he came around the small bend and saw a flash of incredibly bright red hair being off set by a snow white horse with a lovely silver horn sticking out of it's forehead, it killed your urge to throw yourself at her feet. Now you just wanted to stare for eternity at the definition of beauty.
She was in the green dress, standing before a unicorn, murmuring softly to it, looking almost serene, like she did in his dreams. Harry's attention riveted it's self onto her image. He would have stayed all night had the unicorn, who could only have been Cellona of Virgini, stepped away carefully, nuzzling Ginny one last time before galloping back into the woods.
Ginny sighed and Harry stared dumbfounded as she began to walk back to the school. He hated to draw her away from the calm she seemed to be floating in but it had to be done, didn't it? Was he honestly so sure of his feelings? What would he say to her? Why didn't he think of these questions sooner?! The impatient part of his mind answered for him, 'yes it has to be done. You'd better be damn sure you know how you feel because for the last two weeks before any of this you've been staring at her and you bloody well slept next to her all night long WITHOUT doing anything so yes, I think it is something substantial. You're going to tell her that she's the one who keeps the nightmares away, that she lets butterflies loose in your stomach. And you didn't think of these questions sooner, because you are an intelligent young man who recognizes the merits of denial and just let her go inside! Idiot!
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I know this part was shorter than the others, but thank you for all the wonderful reviews! Part three will be up by the end of the week... please R/R?