Chapter 15

The Founding of the Dream Team

"Where were you?"

"No where."

"What were you doing?"

"Nothing." Hermione gave him a look that read "You Are Up to Something And I Am Going to Figure It Out."

"So Beary," Ginny said changing the subject with a grin. "I hear you turned down a study date."

Harry groaned. "Don't go there."

Sally slithered across the room, making a number of the girls scream, and wrapped around Harry's neck.

"Speaking of Beary, we were going to get real nicknames, remember? I hate Mione, and Herm is getting old."

Harry looked pointedly at the book in her lap. "What was it Sirius kept calling Heather?"

"Books." Ginny answered.

"Maybe," Harry said with a grin, "we can reuse that. I don't think she'd mind."

"Booky!" Run exclaimed, then giggled rather girlishly.

Hermione turned red. "Then Harry keeps Beary."

Harry paled. "No, no no no."

"Just Bear?" Ginny offered. Ron giggled again, and Harry looked at him.

"Just what is your problem?"

"Hermione thought he was being "such a complete guy" so she put a feminine spell on him." Ron giggled. Harry rose an eyebrow.

"Ronda," he muttered.

"We could make that his nickname!" Ginny exclaimed.

Harry shook his head. "Then all my friends would be girls, and well, that's just not my style." Ron giggled. Harry rolled his eyes. "Fine, I'll keep Bear. What are we naming Ronda?"

Ron giggled, pulled a comb out of his pocket, and started to try and comb Harry's hair. Ginny and Hermione burst out laughing. "Hermione take that spell off of him!"

Though her laughter, Hermione pointed her wand at him.

Ron blinked, and jumped away from him, landing in his seat while glaring at Hermione.

"I don't want a nick name now," he muttered.

"Well, his name means mighty power, and he loves chess." Ginny looked thoughtful. "I got it, what's the most important piece in chess that nobody every really thinks is important, until they're gone?"

"The knights?" Ron asked. She shook her head.

"The pawns," Harry answered with a grin. She nodded.

"Pawn."

"I like it," Hermione answered.

Ron shrugged. "If Booky likes it." Then he blushed slightly at how that sounded.

"You're left Gin."

"Anything but that. I'm not an alcohol!"

"What does your name mean?"

"Well," she looked thoughtful. " 'Ginny' is not really a name. It stems off of Virginia, which if I remember correctly means... maidenly."

"Have you memorized that book?" Hermione asked.

Ginny blushed. "Not all of it."

"What's mine mean?"

"Hermione is Greek for of the world or earth."

"And mine?"

"Harry is Old English for army man."

Ron laughed. "Well that certainly fits, don't it?"

"Doesn't it, Ron," Hermione corrected.

Ron rolled his eyes and started to do an impression of her scolding him.

"So, maidenly. What does that make you think of?"

"Flowers," Ron answered

They looked at him and he shrugged. "Maybe it's the side effect of Booky's spell."

"Well, you could use Flower."

"No." Ginny said rather forcefully. "I won't do that. It was Lily's name, and she may keep it."

Harry was slightly touched, and hoped it didn't show. "Well then, do you have a favorite flower?"

"Harry every girl has a favorite flower!" Hermione grinned. "Personally, I love Daffodils."

"Roses," Ginny said, her eyes brightening. "White Roses." She sighed. "In other words, Wedding Roses."

"Rose it is."

"Well that's all said and done."

"No way!" Ron exclaimed. "We need a group name. Like the Marauders. Something for all of us."

"Good idea."

They looked thoughtful. Suddenly, Harry remembered something. "Remember when Snape called us the "Dream Team"? What if we used that, if only to spite him."

Ron's face brightened. "I love it."

"Oh, how can you three do these things to that poor heart broken man?"

"How? Because if he could, do you know what he'd do to me?"

"What?"

"This!" Harry jumped at her, pulling back slightly to give her time to run.

Ginny shrieked, jumping off the back of the chair, laughing as Harry chased her. "Run Rose. The Bear is after you!" Hermione called. This only made Ginny laugh harder. She ran, not really watching were she was going, and tripped. She screamed as she headed right for the fireplace.

Harry didn't have time to think. Ginny tripped, and was heading right for the fire. He leaped, and by some miracle, got is arms around her, and pull her down. She landed in his lap, hardly a half a foot away from the flames.

"Are you okay?" He asked quickly.

"I- I think ssso." She trembled, and looked over at the flames, which only made her shake more. She leaned away from them, which in turn made her lean into Harry.

"You scared me," he whispered. Ginny looked up at him, surprised by the caring in his words. That was when the common room seemed to come out of it's shock, and everybody rushed to make sure Ginny was actually alright.

In the confusion, nobody noticed a tabby cat go through the portrait hole.

Professor McGonagall ran through the halls on all four legs. She pounced up the stairs to Dumbledore's office, and he looked up (or rather down) at her expectantly. She transformed, and sat down in the chair, not bothering to hide the wince as her bones complained.

"It's started."

He nodded. "I thought so. She is closer to all of them now."

"Albus, what are we going to do?"

"The only thing we can, encourage it."

"But-"

"If we tried to stop it, it would only make it much worse, and then they would know what was going on. Besides, with everything that is about to start, there will be little time for it, and we will have until next year to deal with it. So tell me all about their evening."

"Harry went off somewhere. Ginny too. She came back first, and with Harry's broom. She told Ron and Hermione that he let her borrow it. Ron and Hermione started fighting about something, I really couldn't figure out what it was, and she claimed that he's opinion was male based, and put a feminine spell on him."

Dumbledore chuckled. "Those two make quite a pair."

Professor McGonagall nodded. "She makes him study, that makes me happy. Anyway, then Harry came in, but he was under the cloak. I could smell him. He went up to the dorm, and then came back down. He wouldn't tell them where he had been."

"Not surprising. He was in the forest."

"The forest! What on earth was he doing in there!"

"He was only on the edge, Minnie, it wasn't dangerous. He was learning how to use his sword. I guess he thinks if he has, he might as well be able to do something with it."

Professor McGonagall's lips thinned. "Well, they gave each other nicknames."

"I see, and what were they."

"Hermione is reusing Heather's old name. She's going by 'Booky'."

Dumbledore chuckled again. "Quite appropriate."

"Well then for Harry they used the name that hero-worshipping girl Elizabeth called him. Bear."

"How did they get him to agree to that?"

She shrugged. "Ginny suggested it. Ron tried to comb Harry's hair, and Harry made Hermione take the spell off of him. Then they gave Ron the name 'Pawn'. Ginny refused to use the name 'Flower'. I think Harry appreciated that more then he let on. So she used her favorite flower, the White Rose, and they're calling her Rose.

"So they are calling the group the Dream Team to make Severus angry. Ginny said, and I quote, "Oh, how can you three do these things to that poor heart broken man?" She seems to understand him better."

"Looks like Heather and Sirius couldn't keep the story to themselves."

Professor McGonagall nodded. "Anyway, Harry claimed they could do it because if Severus could, he do 'this'. Then he chased her around the room. She tripped, and was falling head first for the fire. I don't know how he did it, but he managed to jump and grab her. It was very close. And for a few moments, they just sat there, him with her in his lap." She shook her head. "I calmed my raising heart just in time to hear him whisper that she had scared him. Nobody but her and I heard him. Sometimes a cat's hearing is an advantage."

Dumbledore smiled slightly, and looked down at his desk, where numerous papers were scattered. "It has indeed started. I do believe I'll go have a talk with them."

Finally, Ginny had managed to convince the common room that she was in fact, fine. The one person who really wasn't convinced was Harry himself. Not that she really minded the way he sat protectively beside her.

Sally wrapped around her neck, and hissed in her ear, which used to tickle, but Ginny had gotten used to it. "He doesssn't even realissse how much you mean to him." She blushed. 'I wish I meant to him as much as he does to me. I'd walk through fire, of a cliff, and down to the depths of hell for him. Why me? Why him? The one person I know I have no chance with.'

Her thoughts were interrupted when the portrait opened and the whole room went silent. Dumbledore chuckled, his eyes twinkling. "Don't mind me, go back to your fun. It is a Saturday night. I'm only in need of one of you."

Ginny wasn't the least bit surprised that he walked over and sat in the seat that would have been Harry's if he hadn't been sitting with her.

"Good evening Dream Team."

"Word travels fast. Is nothing here sacred?" Ron asked.

Dumbledore smiled. "The grapevine of Hogwarts is a long one, and I am at the base of it." His eyes twinkled again. Ginny was jealous of the way he could do that. 'Not that my eyes are worth twinkling. Ugly mud brown. Now Harry's eyes-'

"Harry, you are fourteen." Harry nodded, clearly wondering just where this was going. "Somehow, it seems the older you get, the older I get too. Someday, I will have to figure out why that works. Anyway, over the past few years, you may have noticed that I have, er, allowed you to find out the things you needed to know."

Harry nodded again. "Well, you're older now, and if there's something you need to know, I'm just going to tell you. I'm much too old for mind games anymore."

"Well Professor, something tells me for being much to old for them, you are still very good at them."

"Well, there's something you need to know, and I'm just going to let all of you in on it, as he'll tell you anyway. There have been, disappearances."

Ginny noticed Harry's eyes narrow. 'He is so cute when he's concerned-'

"What kind, Professor?"

"Well it began with Muggleborns. You know, every Muggleborn child has their name written down by a magical pen as soon as their born. Suddenly, that pen just started to cross out names. It happens once in a while, children do die, as much as we hate the fact. But it was happening often, once every five days or so. They would just disappear, and a few days later, their name would be crossed off."

Dumbledore paused, any hint of a twinkle gone. "It's sad Harry. They are young, they still don't know what they are, and they have either had all their power stolen, or been murdered. We have not found any."

Harry shut his eyes. "Voldemort, must you stoop so low as to use children." He said nothing for quite a while, and neither did anybody else. Ginny was quite aware of the whole room listening in on the conversation.

"If there is a few days," Harry said suddenly "between when they go missing and when their names are crossed off, this is my opinion on what is happening. He is restoring his power. He captures a child. He's using Muggleborns in hopes to not attract attention of us. That means he is weak yet. Not ready for a confrontation. He captures them, and starts to steal their power. He continues to drain it until he has taken it all. After that, my guess is that he kills them. He's shown in me he doesn't mind killing babies, and he's not the kind to leave somebody around who could be searched for information.

"Even putting protections on the kids probably won't help. He won't be the one out there getting them, that's not his style. It's a follower, and I'm willing to bet on which one it is."

Dumbledore nodded. "That's not all. Yesterday, a half blood went missing."

Harry nodded. "That could mean a number of things. Think about what the rat was like. Voldemort probably just tells him to get him the kids, and leaves him to do the rest. It would be hard tracking down Muggleborns, it would be just like him to bring halfbloods in their place, that's easier."

"Harry, I had not thought of that. You have too much insight on this for your age."

Harry shook his head. "I'd like to see my graduation, insight is necessary. What I worry about, is when does halfbloods become too hard? When does he just start coming here? All these students, all together? The all can't be watched at once."

Dumbledore hung his head. "That had not occurred to me either. Harry, I will leave you now. Thank you for your insight, and" he paused at looked at him. Did Ginny imagine it, or did his eyes flicker to her? "I am so very sorry."

Harry nodded, not needing to ask what it was he was sorry about.

Dumbledore left, and nobody in the common room moved. Harry stared straight ahead for quite sometime, and still nobody moved. Then he stood slowly, and walked to the brick beside the fire. He pressed his forehead against it, for a moment. Suddenly he made a fist and hit the brick, hard. "Dammit!"

Most of the room cringed. He hit the wall again, and a third time. Ginny saw blood trickle down from his fist. He saw it too, as he turned and pressed his back against the beaten brick. He stared at his hand, letting the blood run down his arm.

Ron and Hermione didn't know what to do, but Ginny did. She walked to him, and took his arm in her hand. With a finger, she wiped some of the blood off of his arm until it made her finger red. She held it up in front of him. "What is this Harry."

"It's blood Ginny."

She shook her head. "No Harry, what else is it?"

He didn't answer, but locked eyes with her. "This is your protection. This is why Voldemort can't get to you. This is what holds the love your parents had for you. And now," she held her other hand up to Sally, who seemed to read her mind. Sally bit her finger until it bled. Ginny didn't flinch. She quickly pressed it against Harry's hand. He stared at it, completely shocked.

'Do it before you lose your nerve.' She pulled back her finger, and kissed his hand where the brick had cut it. "Now it holds my love too. We are with you all the way, Harry. Right behind you. Just because you can't always see us, doesn't mean you can't lean back. We'll catch you, I promise."

"I-" He looked at his hand again, then back at her eyes, which blazed with a passion he could see. "I- didn't know." He shook his head. "I did know, but I didn't want. I still don't want. T-to put you in this. If I lost you three." His head shook again. Hermione and Ron came up behind her. "You guys are my family. I can't put you in this. If you're too close, he'll get to you. Gods, Ginny, it already happened to you. I can't let that happen again. I can't. I won't. I can't-"

"You can't do this on your own, Harry." Ron said, his eyes were bright with unshed tears. "That bastard is after you, and you can't protect the world and yourself at the same time, Harry. We know what we're getting into. We don't care. We'll do it for you."

"He's right. Problems shared are problems halved, or in this case, quartered."

Harry looked at them, a tear sliding down his cheek. He looked at Ginny, who smiled slightly. She opened her arms. Without hesitation, he fell into the hug. Hermione and Ron joined in too, and the common room cheered.

Dumbledore, quite invisible, stood unnoticed next to a tabby cat in the corner of the room. He gave a small smile. "Now, the Dream Team has really been founded." With that, he turned and left, the cat walking silently behind him, looking back only once.

'Please children,' she thought. 'Please let all of you make it through the next ten years. It is going to be harder then you know.'