The first week back at Hogwarts went by as normally as possible with Lord Voldemort's constant threat looming over their heads. Their classes were as good as always, except Professor Binns' History of Magic class, which surprisingly had managed to achieve a new level of boredom. Professor McGonagall was as strict as ever, Professor Snape was even nastier than the previous year (although Harry thought he looked considerably paler), and they had a new Defense against the Dark Arts teacher.
Well, at least she was new to the other students; she was Harry's old neighbor Mrs. Arabella Figg. Harry had suspected she was a witch after Dumbledore had mentioned her name after the ordeal Harry went through during the Third Task, and his suspicions were confirmed when they entered the Defense against the Dark Arts class to have their first lesson.
The moment Harry stepped into the room he was greeted by the old woman with a smile. She asked him about his relatives and apologized for never telling Harry the truth about their magical powers. But Dumbledore had told her that Harry was not supposed to know anything about the magical world until the day the Hogwarts letter arrived telling him he had been accepted at the school.
He brushed the comment aside, knowing deep down inside him that he would have never believed the old neighbor who sometimes was his babysitter (and spent the whole time he was at her house showing him cat's pictures) that he was a wizard. He had to grin at the thought that nevertheless he would have believed that she was a witch, but not in a good way, and definitely not in a magical way.
It was a week after the start of term that their worst fears came to life. Harry had felt his scar hurt during the whole day, and had been really worried. His scar only hurt when Lord Voldemort was feeling particularly murderous.
They were having dinner at the Great Hall, when a familiar figure entered the Hall and directed himself towards the teacher's table, followed closely by a huge black dog. Remus Lupin and Sirius Black.
Last year Dumbledore had requested Sirius Black to contact Remus, as well as Mrs. Figg and Mundungus Fletcher, who Harry now noted had also entered the Hall with Professor Lupin. Mundungus Fletcher was a wizard whom Harry had met twice in his life, and who always seemed really pleased to be able to see and talk to him. But he definitely didn't seem pleased right now.
They directed themselves, followed closely by Sirius, towards Professor Dumbledore, who was already on his feet when they finally reached the table. They whispered for a second or two in hushed tones and directed themselves to a room at the back of the teacher's table, followed soon afterwards by Professor McGonagall and Snape.
After about half an hour, during the desserts, they came back from that room, all looking more serious than they had before leaving the Great Hall. Professor Dumbledore raised his wand in the air and shot some sparks to gather the students' attention.
When they were all quiet, Dumbledore spoke in a very grim voice. "My dear students, I have very bad news to you. Apparently the Dementors are approaching our school with the intent of attacking us." At that, a lot of the students gasped, but Harry had the distinct feeling that not one gasp came from the Slytherin table, where he could see Draco Malfoy, another fifth year student, with a very smug face. Harry suspected that since Draco's father, Lucius Malfoy, was a Death Eater, he already knew about Voldemort's plans. Dumbledore was speaking again. "Therefore I'd like you to remain calm and follow the Prefects and the Head Boy and Girl straight to your common rooms, where your Head of House will give you further instructions."
The reason why Professor Dumbledore had summoned Professor Lupin and Mundungus Fletcher was very clear at that moment. They had been monitoring Voldemort's moves for Dumbledore.
Ron and Hermione quickly got up along with the other students when Dumbledore stopped talking, but Harry didn't. When they asked him what was going on, he never answered, a thoughtful expression on his face. And although Hermione had a very bad feeling about this, as a Prefect, she needed to get the younger students into the common room, and they were so nervous that she asked Ron to help her. Unwilling to leave his friend alone when he looked so preoccupied with something, Ron reluctantly started helping Hermione and soon they had left the Great Hall with the younger students.
What they didn't know was that a very important decision was beginning to take shape inside Harry's head, and when he finally got up he directed himself towards Professor Dumbledore, who was talking quietly at the teachers' table with Lupin and the others.
"Professor, I want to help defend Hogwarts from the Dementors." Harry said, a determined tone attached to his voice and to his face. Sirius barked loudly at Harry, a worried look in his dog's eyes.
Dumbledore looked at Harry, a twinkle of surprise or maybe admiration on his eyes. Before he could answer, however, Snape spoke. "Don't be absurd, Potter. This is something that has to be dealt by fully grown and trained wizards."
"I think Harry could help, though." Professor Lupin spoke, looking deeply into Harry's eyes, seeing there the same kind of determination he often had seen in James' eyes. "Hi, Harry. How have you been?"
"Fine." Harry said automatically, like he always did on this kind of situation when he was everything but fine. Then he rushed into talk, before any of them could stop him. "Professor Lupin, I want to help. I know how to conjure up a Patronus, and you said yourself that it's harder to conjure one when there are lots of Dementors around. So I figured that it would be better if you could get as many help as possible to conjure up as many Patronus as you could against them."
"Harry is right. We could use his help. After all there are hundreds of Dementors out there and just me and Remus to conjure up Patronus." Dumbledore finally spoke.
Harry was confused, and momentarily forgot his respect towards the teachers as a student. "I don't understand. Only you two will conjure up Patronus?"
"Yes, Harry. You see, conjuring up a Patronus is a very hard and advanced magic spell that only a handful of wizards can do. If it wasn't so, the Dementors wouldn't be so great as prison guards." Dumbledore explained.
"I want to help too." A new and yet familiar voice spoke from Harry's back. He turned around to see Ginny stand right behind him. She took a few steps and positioned herself to Harry's left. "I can also conjure up a Patronus."
At that statement Harry could definitely see a surprised look on Dumbledore's face, as well as on the other faces around them. Except, of course, on Professor Lupin's face. Professor Snape was the first to speak. "Virginia Weasley conjuring up a Patronus? I don't think so." He sneered.
"Actually, she can conjure up a very powerful Patronus. In fact, one of the most powerful Patronus I've ever seen." At that last sentence, Professor Lupin's eyes fell on Harry, who wondered if he was referring to his own Patronus but quickly disregarded the thought. He was surely imagining things.
Dumbledore thought for a few minutes. During that time, Harry wondered about the risks that Ginny would be facing if Dumbledore actually allowed her to go with them. Sure, they were the same risks he would be facing, but Harry didn't mind risking his own life. Ginny risking her life, however, was a whole other matter, and Harry felt a strange feeling of protectiveness towards her. And looking at his feelings a little deeper, he realized he wasn't feeling just protectiveness towards her and blushed.
However Lupin's hand on his right shoulder jerked him away from his revealing and rather troubling thoughts. Harry looked up at him and saw a little smile tugging on his lips. Harry wondered why, but before he could reach an answer, Dumbledore spoke. "Miss Weasley, if you are sure about it, you can come and help us."
Before McGonagall could argue it, something Harry was sure she was going to do by the look on her face, Dumbledore began telling her and the other Heads of the Hogwarts houses that they were supposed to go to and talk to their students.
At that moment, Harry noticed that Professor Lupin had squatted down next to Sirius, and was whispering to him in a very low voice, that the others couldn't hear. "You can go to the Gryffindor common room and stay with Hermione and Ron. I don't think that the Dementors alliance with Voldemort have made them forget that you were the only one to escape Azkaban, and I'm sure they would want to reward you with a Dementors' Kiss for that. The last time you met the Dementors, they somehow recognized you in your Animagus form, and I don't think I want to learn exactly how they did that if it means putting you in danger."
Sirius gave Lupin a sad look an after a moment's hesitation left, soon afterwards McGonagall, Snape and the others had left. Dumbledore turned to Professor Lupin, Harry and Ginny. "Let's go then. We can't waste too much time."
When they reached the Hogwarts grounds, they stopped near the foot of the staircase that leads to the castle. From left to right stood Professor Dumbledore, Ginny, Harry and Professor Lupin, all of them with their wands ready for action. Harry glanced at Ginny for a moment, expecting to find her fidgeting and nervous but, surprisingly, she stood firm as a statue, her stare fixed on the gates. He smiled at that and felt himself blushing once more despite the seriousness of the situation. After all, they were soon to be attacked by Lord Voldemort's servants.
They didn't have to wait for too long. Pretty soon, they could see the Dementors approaching the Hogwarts' gates. Fortunately they couldn't see any Death Eater or the Dark Lord himself nearby. Harry started to feel coldness spreading through his body, and he gripped his wand harder.
Soon the Dementors had managed to tear down the gates, though Harry didn't know how. Dumbledore raised his wand, telling the others to wait for his command, and the others mimicked his gesture.
When a good portion of the Dementors where already past the gate, in a closer range to their spells, Dumbledore yelled, "Now!"
"Expecto Patronum!" Harry had the impression that the four of them could be heard through the entire ground and perhaps even a good portion of the castle.
Harry looked at his right and saw a silvery thing shooting from Professor Lupin's wand. He had never really knew what exactly was Lupin's Patronus, since the only time he used it Harry had been unconscious. But looking at it at that moment Harry had the impression that it looked like moonlighting, and whenever a Dementor got close to it, they seemed to be suffocated by it.
Harry's own Patronus was a personification of his father's Animagus form, a stag called Prongs. When Harry looked at it, he smiled sadly. The Patronus flickered for a brief moment, but when Harry remembered the bliss he felt the first time he had ever conjured up a proper Patronus and had thought it had actually been his father who had done so, the Patronus gained new strengh. True, in reality it had been a future version of himself that had traveled in time using a Time-Turner and conjured the Patronus up, but that didn't diminsh the joy Harry had felt at that time.
Still looking at his Patronus, Harry noticed it was moving to his left, towards a young boy with unruly black hair, green eyes behind round glasses, and a lightning bolt shaped scar on his forehead.
Harry was puzzled for a moment, and wondered if it could possible be another future version of himself when if finally dawned on him.
It was Ginny's Patronus.
He glanced at her, and their eyes met briefly before she looked away, blushing a deep shade of red. Harry marveled at how cute she looked when she was embarrassed, before he shook his head to clear it of such thoughts. That was definitely not the time for those.
He looked at their Patronus, who were by then near each other. He watched as Ginny's Patronus climbed on his own Patronus back, and rode towards Professor Dumbledore.
Following their Patronus with their eyes, Ginny and Harry noticed for the first time what Professor Dumbledore had conjured up as a Patronus. It was a sword that Harry recognized as Godric Gryffindor's. The same sword Harry had used to kill the Basilisk back in his second year at Hogwarts.
As soon as Prongs had reached the sword, Ginny's Patronus caught it and held it over his and Prongs' heads. Then Prongs turned into the direction of the Dementors and rode as fast as he could towards them. Harry and Ginny watched in disbelief as their Patronus rode through the crowd of Dementors, sweeping and slashing the sword at them.
With that, the Dementors advance towards the Hogwarts castle slowed down considerably. But they still continued to advance towards it and didn't turn away. There were too many of them to keep under control.
Harrry started to dread the outcome of this battle, and coldness once again started sweeping through his body. A quick glance at Ginny and he could see his own fear mirrored on her eyes. He took her right hand with his left one and squeezed it, trying to relay to her some of the confidence he didn't really feel.
Then, they suddenly heard what sounded like hundreds of yells coming from the Forbidden Forest. For a moment, Harry was afraid of who or what could be responsible for that.
In the next moment, however, he was relieved. From the Forbidden Forest appeared hundreds of Giants, commanded by Hagrid, the Hogwarts half-Giant groundskeeper. Harry knew Professor Dumbledore had sent Hagrid on a secret mission after last term. At that moment it seemed to Harry that this had been in fact a diplomatic mission sent to the Giants, which had culminated on an alliance against Lord Voldemort.
The Dementors, who were being held-off by the four Patronus, soon found themselves being attacked from behind by the Giants. Pretty soon they couldn't advance anymore because they needed to focus their attention towards the Giants, who outnumbered them.
After a little longer, they finally realized they were fighting a losing battle, and started to flee. And then, only after an hour of battle the last ones were either killed or driven away into the Forbidden Forest and its many dangers by the Giants and the Patronus.
When it was all over, Harry ran towards Hagrid, without realizing he was dragging Ginny along with him. "Hagrid!"
"'Arry!" Hagrid yelled, and pulled both Harry and Ginny into a bear hug. They told Hagrid he had been great fighting with the Dementors, making him blush a bit. Hagrid, in turn, asked what they were doing there conjuring up Patronus. After all, he and Dumbledore had already made a plan for a possible attack from Voldemort, and the Giants had hid themselves in the Forbidden Forest for a surprise counter-attack. So he told them they shouldn't have done it, because it had been too dangerous. But he had to admit that he was impressed by their courage. It was only after they had assured him over and over again that they were alright, though, that he allowed them to go back to the castle.
After checking with Professor Dumbledore that their help was no longer needed, they got up the staircase to the castle, mentally and even physically exhausted after having conjured up the Patronus for so long. On their way inside the castle, they passed through many teachers that were going to the grounds in order to help clean the mess after the battle.
Once they had climbed a number of staircases and passed through secret passages, they reached the entrance to the Gryffindor common room, which was closed by the picture of a Fat Lady in a pink dress. Before they entered it, though, Harry pulled Ginny's hand, which he still was holding, and they stood facing each other.
And, without warning and without any coherent thought, Harry leaned down and pressed his lips gently onto Ginny's. She was surprised for a second, but then returned the kiss. When they pulled apart, Harry whispered, "That was for the courage you showed tonight."
Ginny smiled and squeezed Harry's hand. They faced the Fat Lady and before telling her the password and entering the room they wondered about all the questions they would face once they had entered it.
But that didn't matter to either of them. They had each other to look for support.
***
A/N: When I first wrote this fic, a few months ago, it was supposed to end here, at chapter 4. But after so many re-writings, and ideas given by many friends and beta-readers (combined with some of my own restless plot-bunnies), I decided that it just can't end here. So, since I'm planning on writing quite a BIG fic (and I don't want to write in a hurry and ruin it) I will probably put it on hold for a while. But don't worry, I have some plot-bunnies that are not related to this fic, and I will write and post all of them in the meantime. I just hope you guys liked this fic enough to wait for what's coming next! In the meantime, why don't you review what I've written so far? :)
TheRealMaraJade