Author: Atlantis Potter
E-mail: atlantispotter@yahoo.com
Category: Romance, Mystery
Keywords: Year 5, Harry, Hermione, Ginny, and Petunia
Rating: R
Spoilers: All Four Books Summary: Harry begins having strange dreams, telling him about future events. He finds help in a very surprising person and fights in his heart between Ginny and Hermione. A Prophecy, intensive training and whether or not a flock of owls is all that scary.
Disclaimer: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by JK Rowling, various publishers including but not limited to Bloomsbury Books, Scholastic Books and Raincoast Books, and Warner Bros., Inc. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
A/N: Please R/R! If you like it, let me know. If you hate it, let me know! Thank yous are at the bottom of each chapter.
Harry Potter and the Veneficus Quies
Chapter Eight: Dreams and Diamond Dust
The scream awakened the entire IMS house. Within moments, everyone had made his or her way to Harry and
Hermione's room. Hermione was standing by the couch where Harry lay, staring at him wide eyed with her hand
clasped to her mouth. Harry was screaming and shaking in his sleep. Hermione reached down to wake him, but
Arabella stopped her.
"Just wait Hermione."
After another blood curdling scream, Harry shot up and looked around bewildered. He saw Hermione first.
"I didn't do it! It wasn't me! She was already dead!"
Arabella reached a hand down and stopped the boy's terrifying shivers. "Harry, take a deep breath. What happened?"
Slowly and shakily, Harry shared his dream with the class. Through the stunned silence, a few of the girls shed tears at the horrific scene that was being played out in their own minds. Hermione and Arabella had bother sunk to the couches as Harry told his story.
"Has anyone here ever had a dream like this?"
Nine heads shook from side to side.
"Eight of you grew up in the wizarding world hearing Harry's name for as long as you can remember. Since the time when you were very small, you have heard tales of the defeat of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and the scar on the forehead of the young boy. Does anyone know about a curse scar?"
"Curse scars only occur when a very powerful, very Dark magic has been performed. Harry's scar is a link to Voldemort and it hurts him when Voldemort is feeling especially vicious or when Voldemort wants Harry to see something," Hermione muttered quietly, avoiding Harry's looks.
The group was stunned. Arabella went further to explain about the dreams that Harry had had in the past. She went to great depths to explain what happened the Halloween night.
"Dreams are the purest form of Divination. It is very rare that you have a person that can see the future in their dreams. Harry, we believe, can do this. We also know that dreams are a great form of communication. They allow us to see things we wouldn't normally be exposed to," Arabella explained Harry's dream about the killing of the Muggle gardener at the Riddle House in Little Hangleton.
Harry sighed as he settled into his bed. The impromptu three o'clock in the morning lesson had served the purpose of completely wearing him out. Arabella had talked for half an hour about dreams, ending her lecture with, of course, more research assignments. Harry was beginning to get very comfortable with the Hogwarts library.
The following morning, Harry, Hermione and Ginny were in the library at eight o'clock. Harry had not been able to get to bed the previous night and had spent a good four and a half hours translating Hermione's book. He hadn't even begun to read the overly large text but caught occasional references to four keys to something. Harry noticed that this phrase was not used often; he felt that if the words had been spoken, they would have been whispered and feared. Something was very odd about the book that Harry couldn't quite place.
"Apparently, dreams are related to a form of mind control. The fact that Voldemort can control Harry's dreams shows that Voldemort does exercise some element of control over Harry. There's mention of dreams being a key, but the book doesn't explain that any further," Hermione said, after she had placed a book into the 'studied' stack to her left, which was slowly but surely growing.
"Ooh, this sounds interesting. There's an incantation that allows the castor to actually enter someone's dreams. Not them, but enter them," Ginny pointed to a paragraph in the volume she was perusing. Hermione leaned across the table to get a better look.
"This might be good to learn. Maybe then if Harry has another one of these dreams, we could go into his head and see it."
"I'd really prefer it if you guys didn't do that. My dreams are pretty scary."
"Harry, that reminds me, did you write the dream down?"
"Of course."
"May I see what you have, both for this dream and the one you had over the summer?" Hermione asked.
"I guess so," Harry responded as he pulled out a journal from his rucksack. Handing it to Hermione, his hand brushed hers and she jerked away slightly at his touch. It went unnoticed by Ginny, who was using a highlighting spell to copy important facts from the book.
Harry took just a few moments to read his descriptions before she went about writing something on a piece of parchment. Suddenly, she jumped up and ran to a deeper section of the library.
When she returned moments later, she was carrying another book. She slammed it onto the table, which emitted a groan under the fifteen or so heavy books already stacked there.
"Harry, listen to this. I came across this for the Ancient Prophecies reading I did at the beginning of the block. It's rather unrelated but it was mentioned in a prophecy, so I did a little background research."
She flipped the book opened and pointed to a paragraph.
Magical studies of the mind have revealed many curious points. Perhaps one of the most interesting facts
that magiscientists have found is that all magical beings share a common mindset. It has been taught to the most
powerful witches and wizards of our world that they must secure a place within their own minds that they can
retreat to if necessary. From birth, the place exists in every magical mind; one only must know where to look to
find it. It has often been theorized that there exist other places within the mind.
We know of the land of joy, which is different for every witch and wizard. However, there are other lands, lands that are common to every being. These are the lands of sorrow, of love, and of magic. Both the lands of love and magic can be accessed by certain, key means.
Terre de L'amour is accessible by two minds joined as one and is from the heart. No description is possible of this place for it has been seen only by few and those few do not wish to share this experience with just anyone.
Terre de la Magie is accessible only by one whose powers are truly in tune with the Natural Powers and come from deep within the soul. Theoretically, it is only a magus that has the ability to find this place. Since only a few magi have ever existed, it is not known what the Land of Magic is like.
Terre de la Douleur resides solely in the mind. It has been described as a dreadful place, a warped view of our own world. In order to reach this world, the mind must be sent there. This can be done either in one's own head or by another person controlling a mind.
"Hermione, I would never send my self to Terre de la Douleur."
"I know. That's what caught me off guard about your dream. Terre de la Douleur is a very dark place. It is where those who have endured the Cruciatus or Imperious curses often reside. Harry, if you didn't will yourself there, then how did you get there?"
Ginny, Hermione and Harry sat in stunned silence at this latest revelation. They would have contemplated until someone formulated a plausible answer had Hermione not noticed the time.
"We're going to be late!" All three pulled the books into their bags and apparated back to IMS.
Arabella was seated in the common room, looking rather anxious. "Everyone, take your seats, we have something very important to discuss today."
The other students sat in the comfortable chairs and couches of the common room, content that they would be having class here instead of in the classroom.
"Before you were old enough to remember, our world was cloaked in evil. Terror, massacres, purges, and very strange disappearances were not rare. I'm sure a few of you know the horror of these acts. However, as part of our program, I want you to see where they took place. The Defense Against the Darks Arts professor, Viridian Ellsworth and I will be taking you on three field trips this year. The first will be the day before Halloween. The second will be on Valentine's Day and we have a surprise for you over Easter. The day before Halloween, we will be apparating to Wales for a visit to Godric's Hollow."
Slowly, nine heads turned to look at Harry, who faced them all with a very noncommittal look on his face, "That should be interesting," he said, causing more than one mouth to drop open in surprise.
Arabella continued their discussion on dreams from the previous night. Once Hermione had shared the information about Terre de la Douleur, the entire class jumped to life.
"Is there some sort of charm that can force that sort of mental movement?" asked Akilah.
"Not that I know. It would have to be very powerful, dark, ancient magic. Anything like that would be so controlled and possibly illegal. I smell some more research. However, this time, I'd like you to go to the library in Diagon Alley. There's more extensive information on Old Magic there. Which reminds me, I have something for you," with a flick of her wand, slips of parchments appeared in everyone's hands. "Those are your passes to the Restricted Section. Use them wisely."
Work then began on the interpretation of dreams. Harry's dreams were studied at length, but nothing could be found of interest. There seemed to be no symbolic meaning to anything in them. Not even Terre de la Douleur had meaning, it was simply a place.
So the day went and when classes ended, Harry cornered Ginny, "I miss you, you know. How about dinner in Hogsmeade just the two of us?"
Ginny looked more than a little relieved as she accepted. It had been quite awhile since they had spent any time alone together.
Harry explained to Hermione, who looked happy to have some time to herself and met Ginny in the Entrance Hall. After a few steps outside the doors, they both apparated to a nice, quiet pub in Hogsmeade.
Ginny had selected the restaurant. It was off the main street and didn't draw the school crowds of the Three Broomsticks. When they walked in, Harry was immediately warmed after the walk through the brisk October air. It was a quiet, dark room that smelled of something delicious.
"Good evening. How many will be dining tonight?" said a distinguished gentleman, who was standing just to the left of the door.
"Just two," answered Ginny.
They were lead to a table in the corner of the small room. After being given menus, Harry and Ginny were left alone.
"Have you talked to Ron?" asked Ginny.
"No, I haven't seen him since last night. Have you talked to him?"
"Of course, he's completely torn up. I went to the Gryffindor common room during lunch. I guess he didn't go to classes today, just sat in the common room in his pyjamas, being very moody."
"Did he say anything about Hermione?"
"Oh yes, he moaned and groaned about how he really did love her and it just wasn't fair that it didn't work out and how he really had hoped that it would. It was pitiful actually. I told him that he needs to stand up, take a shower, put on some robes and do something with himself. So he did just that and we took a flight around the pitch."
"I'm glad you got him out and about. I was going to see if he wanted to play chess tomorrow after class, maybe talk to him a bit, see if he won't open up."
"Just be very careful. He's very quick to anger right now."
Harry nodded as the waiter came to take their orders. Harry was rather surprised by the waiter, as it was a rarity in the wizarding world. Usually the orders were placed directly into the plate and the food appeared when it was ready. Ginny found the gesture rather quaint and was positively giggly by the end of the meal.
"We better head back, we have a Quidditch practice tonight."
"Actually, Angelina cancelled it. It's going to be tomorrow night."
"Why'd she cancel it?"
"More than likely so that she could snog George all night," Ginny answered without batting an eye.
Harry nearly choked on his pumpkin juice, "Really?"
"Oh, of course. Really, Harry, do you have any idea what's going on in Gryffindor? You are a prefect after all."
"Oh, but it's just gossip. Nothing serious to worry about it."
"You should still know what's going on."
"Yes, well..."
They finished their dinner in relative silence, occasionally commenting on the weather or the Quidditch season. When the cheque came, Harry left a few galleons on the table to cover it and they headed back to Hogwarts.
Hermione was waiting for Harry in their dorm room. She looked up at him as he came in, her tears still evident.
"Ron sent me a letter."
"Did you read it?"
"No. I tore it up and sent it back."
"Why?"
"Oh, Harry. I couldn't bear to read it. Then I might go back to him and that's the last thing I want to do."
"Hermione, why would you do that?"
"Well, I'm sure that's what the letter was about. I don't want to be with him anymore, Harry. It's just not worth it."
"What if he's just trying to be friends?"
"Oh, I need time. We can't just pretend as if nothing ever happened. You know it doesn't work that way."
Harry had no idea how it worked, but just nodded. He took the break in the conversation to look over Hermione. She was wearing some sort of sweatpants and a hooded sweatshirt. Harry had never seen these clothes before and was surprised that Hermione was wearing them. She was usually quite particular about her outfits. The blanket wrapped around her was an old one. It had tattered and frayed edges and looked very well, Harry drew a blank before stumbling on the right word, loved. Judging by its state, Harry guessed the blanket was from her childhood and a wave of sadness washed over him. Harry had no stuffed animals or blankets from his childhood. His uncle had fought him tooth and nail to keep such niceties away from him.
Hermione shivered, "Harry?"
"Hmm?"
"Can I have a hug?"
He gathered her up into a tight hug. She tightened her grip on him as the tears began to flow once more.
"Hermione, why are you crying?"
"I just feel so...alone."
"You'll never be alone. I'll always be here, Hermione." To pick of the pieces when your world falls apart and to hold your hand when your heart is broken. Always. Harry thought to himself as she shuddered against him.
He led her into her room and tucked her into the bed before wishing her goodnight. Once back in the living room, Harry picked up the book that he had spent the week translating and began to leaf through it. As he skimmed his highlighted points, he began noticing a very strange pattern. The phrase 'four keys' seemed to be repeated quite often, but whenever it was mentioned, a completely unrelated topic followed it. It was as if something was preventing the author from saying too much about the keys, whatever they were. Promising himself that he'd show Hermione in the morning, Harry chanced a glance at the clock and found that it was much later than he thought.
Suddenly realizing that he was very tired, Harry set aside the book and headed into his dorm room.
"Order! Please quiet down! I mean it! Everyone! SHUT UP!" shouted Katie Bell, Hogwarts Head Girl. The twenty-two Prefects in the room looked startled at her outburst and immediately sat a little straighter in their chairs. Even Roger Davies, Head Boy, flinched at her shouts.
"The first meeting of the Hogwarts Prefects is now in session. For the new prefects, I would like to explain the system a bit to you. We will have a Prefects Meeting every six weeks. These meetings will begin at eight thirty sharp and will finish when I'm bloody well done with you. We will discuss any announcements or business during these meetings, as well as vote on any decisions that affect the school. The teachers must make the final decision, but the process starts here. All right, now that's out of the way, I'd like to talk a little about the charms we've been using lately. There are what, seven of us, that are in IMS and we were all given mirror charms so that we may check out the common rooms at all times. How does everyone feel this is working out?"
All twenty-two prefects were far too terrified to answer. Finally Cho spoke up, "They're wonderful, they really are. I can keep an eye on things and speak with Roger if I need too. It's very easy to use."
"Very well, Cho, I agree. However, more specifically, how do the rest of you feel?"
"Oh, fine."
"Works great."
"Never better."
"Swell."
The positive responses echoed in the room as Katie narrowed her eyes and turned from face to face. Apparently satisfied, she ploughed ahead. "Alright, this is our largest order of business tonight and it requires a vote. As you know, the wizarding world has experienced some rather Dark occurrences lately. As a result, Professor McGonagall, Madam Hooch, Roger and myself have discussed the possibility of temporarily suspending all Quidditch activity. The teachers feel that it may be too dangerous to have so many children out and about at one time. McGonagall asked if I would take a vote. All in favour of suspending Quidditch activities until further notice, please hold up a blue wand, all against hold up a red."
Harry held up his wand, realizing it was already turning red. Hermione's was blue, as were several others around the table. It was a marginal vote, but until further notice, Quidditch was cancelled and Harry Potter, for one, was livid.
It was apparent that a few others were as well, and Harry strongly suspected that once the rest of the students found out, it was not going to be a pretty picture.
As Harry and Ginny entered the Great Hall the following morning, a small mob had developed just outside. Nearly the entire student body was crowded around a notice tacked to the wall.
UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE, ALL QUIDDITCH GAMES AND PRACTICES ARE CANCELLED. THE QUIDDITCH SEASON WILL RESUME WHEN IT IS DEEMED SAFE TO CONTINUE.
Harry had seriously underestimated the students. They were angry all right; in fact they were nearly rebellious. A group of fourth year Slytherins was discussing a petition while a different group consisting of seven years from all four houses were planning a staged protest. It was Hermione who put an end to all the discussion. With a few swift flicks of her wand, she was floating in the centre of the hall, head and shoulders above the tallest people in the room.
"I want everyone to stop the bickering and protesting right now! The Prefects and Hogwarts Staff have excellent reasons for postponing the season and it is a little uncouth of you to be protesting this. There are escaped convicts on the loose, a Dark wizard is planning to kill one of your classmates and you have pretty heavy course loads, can't you think of anything besides Quidditch?"
If Hermione had been expecting unparalleled support, she must have certainly been surprised by the waves of laughter that descended on the group. Everyone shook their heads, tutting and laughing as they made their way into the Great Hall.
Harry watched as Hermione brought herself back down to the ground. Slightly apprehensive to her reaction, Harry was not a little surprised to see her laughing, "Well, at least they shut up," she chortled, turning to head into breakfast.
Harry just shook his head, wondering what exactly was happening to the world.
Arabella portkeyed them to the library in Diagon Alley. Hermione looked around anxiously at the rows and rows of dusty books, floor after floor filled with the neat, filled shelves. The entire group moved to the Divination section, where they immediately began work on the parchments laid out on all the tables. All one had to do was write the subject they were looking for and they were directed immediately to the shelf where those books were located. Harry thought this was rather like the Muggle computer systems, but when he mentioned this, Hermione was the only one who had a clue. Quickly, they set to work, Hermione and Harry retrieving stack after stack of books on Dream Spells.
"Oi! Listen to this. This spell, it's called, err.. Hermione, how do you say this?" Ginny pointed to a word in the text.
"Tessitore di sogno."
"Right. Ok, apparently, this spell puts whomever its cast onto into an unending sleep. Only once the spell is broken does the person wake up."
"That's a good one. Put that down," The list of sleeping and dream spells was steadily growing. By three o'clock, they have nearly four feet of parchment filled with dream spells that the entire class had done research on. A little timer went off, signifying that their portkeys were active so that they could return to Hogwarts.
Arabella was waiting. "The next hour will be a practical lesson. Hermione, give me the scroll."
For the next hour, Harry was put in and out of sleep by different spells. Hermione was, of course, an excellent castor and Harry finished the lesson feeling surprisingly refreshed.
"Oh, a reminder. We will be leaving for Godric's Hollow tomorrow night at eighty-thirty sharp."
Eight-thirty came much faster than Harry would have preferred. At about eight-twenty five, the ten students of IMS were standing in the common room, dressed head to toe in black, as they had been directed.
Without a word, Arabella lead them all out to the Entrance Hall. Once they had walked outside, Harry noticed all of their brooms lined up against a wall. They mounted them and followed Arabella off of the school grounds.
About forty-five minutes later, they started their descent.
Harry nearly fell off of his broom. The area around Godric's Hollow was exactly as he'd pictured it in his dream. The aerial view showed a small village that looked like something out of a colonial American history textbook. The landed at the edge of the village, which felt quiet and deserted. As Harry looked around, his mind pulled in the detail. The village was nearly in ruins.
All of the glass windows had been blown out and the doors on all of the quaint little houses and stores had been torn from their frames. There were smoke stains on much of the exterior walls and a chill had descended upon the town. As the last ray of sun dipped behind the hills in the distance, Harry immediately felt a sense of foreboding come over him as the temperature of the surrounding area lessened many degrees.
A blast sounded and a scene played out in front of the group that none of them would ever forget.
The smell of burning flesh wafted through the area as ghost like flames burst through the windows in each of the colonial buildings. Screams rang through the air, chilling to the bone. Then Harry turned at the approaching footsteps.
A young woman ran out of the nearest building, silvery blood dripping from her slit throat. She ran and fell a few feet in front of the group. The ghost of a wizard cloaked in dark robes and wearing a strange mask followed her, issuing spells with his wand. The ghosts of the spells floated in the air.
Another scream further down as an entire family was herded out onto the street. A group of what Harry now guessed were the ghosts of Death Eaters surrounded the family, leveraging curse after curse. Slowly, the family died until the youngest child, a girl who once would have had blond hair and sparkling blue eyes, remained. She huddled on the street, clutching a tattered teddy bear. A small wizard separated himself from the group and put the Killing Curse on the young witch, who fell without a sound.
Hermione and Ginny huddled close to Harry, watching the terror unfold. Suddenly an alarm went off and a group of ministry aurors descended upon the villages, sending curses and countercurses at the Death Eaters running every which way. Out of the mists of screaming villagers, running death eaters and aurors, came a sole voice, ringing clearly in the night air.
"La morte รจ la peste che distrugg questo villaggio del terrore."
A beam of light blacker than the blackest night emerged into the sky and ghostly flames surrounded the village perimeter. As quickly as the village had erupted in terror, it became enveloped in silence. Every Death Eater that had been running fell where they stood and every villager as well. Even the one who had cast the spell, collapsed.
The ghostly images disappeared with the flames. Silence fell upon the quiet grove.
Ginny and Hermione huddled together, weeping. Every one, save Draco and Harry were standing together, holding onto one another and crying from sheer terror. Even Arabella was crying silently.
Her cool voice broke the silence, "What you have seen are the terrors of Halloween night, or more specifically after one AM on November First. After Voldemort disappeared, the Death Eaters stormed the village of Godric's Hollow. It is unknown who cast that spell, the Darkest spell ever created, but the magic was powerful enough to cause the ghostly replay of this scene for one week around Halloween every year. You have seen the Darkest terror imaginable. This is the epitome of the Death Eater creed. There was no excuse, no reason and no purpose was served. It was evil, purely. You will never read about this event in your school textbooks or hear it talked about in the street, for it is unmentionable. There is no memorial for these people, as this entire area is cursed. One cannot be built. It is only through the memories of these people that they are remembered. This is what we are fighting against, the Darkness around us and the Darkness inside ourselves, for never will our world be truly free from evil until we can prevent something like this from ever happening again."
Arabella mounted her broom and the others did the same. Silence pervaded on the way home.
The fright and silence in IMS was tangible. No one made a sound without causing someone else to jump and look over his or her shoulder. In a daze, everyone made his or her way to bed, but no one slept.
Harry sat up in bed the next morning when the first rays of sun shone in through his window. He dressed quietly and found his broom.
Hermione was sitting in the living room as if she was waiting for him. She too had her broom and together they made their way outside for a morning flight, which would eventually become a tradition for them. They were silent as they flew around the grounds, looped over the Forbidden Forest and down to Hogsmeade where they met a large group of Gryffindors at nine o'clock.
It was the traditional Halloween trip to Hogsmeade. Ginny and the rest of the Gryffindors who had been to Godric's Hollow were mostly silent at first, but as the unusually warm October sun began to shine brightly and warm everything it touched, their moods lifted. By the afternoon, everyone was laughing and carrying on, as they should be.
"Ooh, Hermione, look at the time, we really must be off," Ginny said, lifting Harry's arm to check the watch that he had purchased that day.
"Right, lots of getting ready to do for tonight."
Ginny winked at Harry and he noticed Hermione nodding to Neville. During their morning flight, the only thing said had been when Hermione had told him she was going with Neville, but just as friends.
Harry nodded to the girls who avoided Ron's glare as they left the Three Broomsticks. The other girls in the group followed, leaving Dean, Seamus, Ron, Harry, and Neville to themselves.
"So, who is everyone going with tonight?" Harry asked lightly.
"Dean is going with Parvati, I'm going with Lavender and Seamus is going with Dagny."
"Is that the witch you were with in Hogsmeade the other day?"
"Yes, she's in Gryffindor, our year."
"I know. I just couldn't quite place her name," Harry said, noticing that Neville was shifting uncomfortably under the hard, cruel gaze of Ron. Harry changed subjects to the upcoming Quidditch championships, which automatically brought a much lighter tone to the group.
Harry straightened his robes one more time, fiddling with the clasp at his neck once more. He was wearing the same robes that he had to the Yule Ball last year and they had been a little short. He opted for a lengthening charm, as he wanted to save the new dark silver robes for the Christmas ball.
Leaving his room, he found Hermione frantically rushing through the living room towards the bathroom. She had done something to her hair, making it fall in very long ringlets. She noticed him and with a wave of her hand, darkness appeared in front of Harry's eyes.
"Sorry Harry, but you're not allowed to see me yet!" She tossed at him as she entered the bathroom.
"Err.. Hermione, is this going to wear off at any point?"
"Give it five minutes or so."
Harry slumped on what he hoped was the couch, thinking that the temporary loss of his sight was a little harsh, couldn't she have just told him not to look?
"Alright, I'm ready. Finite Incantatem," she said, lifting the spell off of Harry.
He blinked several time and turned behind him. Hermione was standing in the doorway of the bathroom in a set of deep purple dress robes. Her skin and robes and hair glistened with what could only be described as diamond dust. The curly ringlets were pulled up on top of her head and cascaded down to frame her face. She was grinning broadly at Harry's stunned statement.
"So, do I look ok?"
He let out a choked laugh as he walked to her, "You look amazing. All the other guys will be infuriatingly jealous of Neville, I promise."
"Even you?"
He avoided her question, "I have to go meet Ginny. I'll see you at the ball," and he swished from the room, his robes billowing behind him.
He knocked on the door to Ginny's room and Cadence answered, dressed in her pyjamas, "What? Couldn't settle on a lucky fellow to escort you, so you decided to stay in?"
"Oh, Harry, how you do go on. Let me get Ginny for you," she responded, giggling the entire way to Ginny's room.
Before Cadence had the chance to knock, Ginny opened the door and stepped from her room. Her dress robes were simple and elegant, the lavender colour bringing out her skin tones. She smiled at him and Harry moved to hug her. She allowed him to embrace her and pulled back to look at his robes. He absentmindedly fingered her soft auburn curls as she kissed him on the lips, at the same time straightening out his robes and adjusting the clasp.
"There, now you're perfect."
"You look amazing Gin."
"Thank you."
He offered her his arm and they walked slowly to the Great Hall.
As was the usual fair, pumpkins were hanging in the air of the Great Hall. A great storm was brewing on the ceiling and candles eerily floated just above the tables. The only light came from the thousands of candles and the occasional flash of lightening on the ceiling.
Harry spotted Hermione and Neville seated at a far table and he and Ginny slowly made their way over to the table. A few minutes after they were seated, Harry noticed Ron, who was making his way over with Lavender attached to his arm.
"Hey Harry, Ginny, Neville. Good evening Hermione, you look nice."
"So do you Ron, Lavender, I like your robes," Hermione answered coolly, tightening her grip on the napkin she was holding.
"Your hair looks wonderful, how did you get it to that?" Lavender asked, keeping her gaze down.
The small talk continued, Harry growing more uncomfortable as each second passed. When he thought he was about to die, Professor Dumbledore rose from his spot at the teacher's table and cleared his throat.
"Let the feast begin," he said cheerfully.
The food appeared on the small round tables, just as it did during normal feasts. The conversation turned to other topics and Harry was thankful that there was no more small talk.
After several courses, the plates returned to their original sparkling cleanliness and the lights that had brightened during dinner dimmed somewhat.
A few chords of a song rang out in the darkened hallway and the voice of popular songstress Celestina Warbeck rang out in the Great Hall. Chairs scraped as couples began to hurry to the dance floor, anxious to enjoy the music. Ginny pulled Harry from his chair.
"But I don't dance, Ginny."
"It'll be fine, I'll teach you," and with that she made one final tug on his arms and whisked him onto the dance floor.
He immediately crunched all five toes on her left foot.
She cringed and laughed and continued the lessons. Hermione and Neville soon joined them, dancing just a few feet away and keeping ample distance between themselves.
As the slow songs started, Neville asked Ginny for a dance and she obliged, leaving Harry and Hermione to themselves.
"Are you having fun Mione?"
"As much fun as a girl can have who's with a guy she doesn't like all that much."
"Neville's an ok bloke."
"Don't get me wrong, Neville is a great guy, but honestly, he's a tad boring. Are you having fun?"
"Of course, Ginny is a great dancer."
"Harry, you're not so bad yourself, you really aren't."
She pillowed her head on his shoulder and he pulled her closer, watching Ginny and Neville out of the corner of his eye. Was she flirting with him? Ginny certainly appeared to be, she was giggling at everything he was whispering in her ear and they were standing awfully close. Harry shrugged it off and turned his view to Ron and Lavender who looked like they were trying to stand as close together as they could without looking like they were standing too close together. Ron was whispering in her ear and she would occasionally kiss him on the cheek or brush her fingers on the side of his face. Harry did his best to keep Hermione so that her back faced them.
"They're all over each other aren't they Harry?"
"Who?"
"Oh, don't play stupid. It's only a matter of time before they end up together you know."
"Hermione, stop worrying about Ron. It's not doing you any good. Concentrate on something else, anything else."
"Oh, I just can't. Harry, more than anything, my pride hurts."
"I know. I know," he said quietly as he pulled her into a hug. The glances from both Ginny and Ron caused him to pull away and resume his previous position.
Harry, Hermione and Ginny stumbled back to the IMS common room at two o'clock in the morning, attempting, but most likely failing miserably to keep themselves covered by the Invisibility Cloak. The feast had ended at eleven o'clock and they'd gone back to Gryffindor Tower for the after party.
Many of the younger students had already gone to bed, so the mulled mead, red currant rum or Ogden's Firewhiskey did not surprise Harry. At around one thirty, the girls of Gryffindor has astounded every male in the room by having a drinking contest, which Ginny was very proud to be the winner of. Harry, having only taken a few shots of Firewhiskey got the exciting job of taking the stumbling, giggling, drunken Ginny and Hermione home. Hermione had only taken a few drinks of the rum and had nearly passed out. Ginny, however, was doing lovely after having a nice visit to the bathroom.
The IMS common room was completely deserted and Harry left Hermione at the door to their room first. He walked Ginny to her room and made sure she was safely in the hands of Cadence, who was still awake, before heading back to his own room.
Not surprisingly, Hermione was tucked into his bed. Oh, sod what anyone thinks, he thought to himself as he climbed into the bed, pushing Hermione over.
I will be out of town for the next week, so this will be the last chapter for awhile. Thanks to everyone who reviewed chapters six and seven. Also, thanks to my Beta Reader Elliott. For updates, art, and ficlets visit The Power of Three! at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/powerthree .
