Chapter Eight
Hellfire
For the most beautifully indulgent moment, Ginny felt as though the rest of the world had disappeared. She had never been kissed with such fire before.
Harry's hand cradled her face but he let it drop as he stepped back and opened his eyes. Ginny nearly toppled over fighting the urge to kiss him again.
"I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me," he whispered. "Too much champagne."
Fear gripped Ginny's heart. Had that been nothing more than a semi-intoxicated act?
"I don't think you had champagne tonight at dinner, Harry." Ginny said, noticing how clear and bright his eyes were.
He took her hand and they resumed dancing. "I didn't."
~*~
"What the bloody hell is that?" swore Ron wheeling Hermione around to see Harry in Ginny directly embraced in a kiss.
Hermione's jaw dropped. "Oh my goodness!"
"Molly! Look at Ginny and Harry!" Mr. Weasley froze and stared.
Percy took off his glasses and cleaned them quickly before putting them back on. "I don't believe it!" he exclaimed, blinking in surprise.
"That ISN'T Ginny and Harry is it?"
Remus slowly put down his drink as he stared along with Sirius. "Well, I certainly didn't expect to see that this evening...."
Fred nearly knocked over the candy dish he was lacing with canary crèmes and ton-tongue toffees. "Would you take a look at that, George!"
George's jaw dropped. "Is that our baby sister? And... Harry?"
The entire ballroom was whispering and poking each other. The famous Harry Potter, the most eligible bachelor in the wizarding world, and the widowed Ginny Longbottom?
~*~
Harry pretended not to hear all the noise around them. He was embarrassed that he had acted so rashly, but then again he didn't regret doing it. Ginny was holding herself together splendidly; she looked more composed than he could ever pretend to look.
Ginny wanted to stand in the middle of the room and scream at the top of her lungs to try and remind herself that she had at least some control. This was all happening so quickly. She was supposed to turn back now? She was supposed to pretend that she had never had feelings for Harry?
Harry was doing some serious pondering...trying to sort at least on of the million thoughts running through his head into something that made sense. Where was this going? Who had seen it? Oh Lord, why did he have to be such a half-wit? What would Ginny think of him now?
He cleared his throat nervously immediately catching Ginny's attention. "I...," mumbled Harry trying to form a sentence and failing miserably.
"It's quite all right, you don't have to say anything," she whispered, graciously understanding his lack of words.
"I can't just stand here!"
"You're not, you're dancing," she pointed out.
"Oh, that's right," he said.
~*~
The Weasley's were huddled together talking quickly and tossing glances in Harry and Ginny's direction.
"Oh, it's positively wonderful," said Mrs. Weasley dabbing away tears.
"I agree! We've all been so worried about Ginny without Neville, Harry is the perfect person to bring back our old Ginny!" exclaimed Mr. Weasley joyfully.
"We can't expect them to just run off and tie the knot," sad Percy pointedly.
"Who said anything about them tying the knot?" said Ron indignantly.
"I don't know, that was quite a kiss...," said George nudging Ron playfully.
"Yeah, Ron, you better keep your best friend in line," said Fred roguishly.
Ron glared at them. This was going to take some getting used to.
~*~
Finally, around one in the morning, Harry bothered to look up. "Ginny?"
"Yes, Harry?"
"We're almost the last people in here," he said stopping for a moment, but not letting go of her.
Ginny lifted her head, dazed. "Yes, I suppose we are."
"Your parents are gone and I think all your brothers are too."
"Are they really?" she said now really paying attention.
"Yes."
"I suppose I should go get some sleep."
"Unless you'd like another dance," Harry offered.
Ginny's feet said no, but her heart spoke first. "One more dance," she smiled.
"Anything," he said starting to waltz again.
Harry was wondering when he would wake up. This had to be some sort of cruel dream he was having, he was certain he would wake up any second. The past few weeks had been wonderful...he was having a happy life. This wasn't the norm at all....
The song ended and Ginny hugged him tightly. Harry was reluctant to let go.
"Thank you, I had a wonderful evening."
Ginny took a shaky breath; the words didn't do justice to the truth of her feelings. She was in love again.
Harry lightly kissed the top of her hand. "Pleasant dreams," he said before he Apparated out of the room.
Ginny knew she looked silly smiling at the spot where Harry had been standing, but she couldn't help it. Still smiling, she took out her wand and Apparated home.
~*~
It was complete stillness, everything shrouded in the inky black night. His cheeks burned painfully at the sudden slap of cold but Harry didn't care. He needed to clear his head.
Harry looked around. It was completely deserted ashe knew it would be. His boots crunched in the snow as he tramped to the edge of Hogwarts Lake. The castle loomed to his right, not a single light glowing in the hundreds of windows.
The lake was so still that the lake almost seemed like glass, reflecting the black sky perfectly. Harry had seen it like this many times before, as he had often come here to think ...no matter the time or the weather.
Harry closed his eyes and let his thoughts slowly come to order. That was why he had come here. To think through this bit by bit, literally let the cool face of logic cuff him in the back of the head and start him thinking about his actions again.
First and foremost he would consider Chloe. He was the only constant she had ever had in her life. His choices didn't just affect him anymore and he wasn't even sure he could explain his situation with Ginny to even himself quite yet. She was only five, how much could he expect her to take?
The worry lines on Harry's face deepened as he continued thinking. There were far more important things to factor into this.... No matter how much people in their world did not want to admit it, things still weren't back to normal. Dark wizards, and Muggle-haters were still bloodthirsty. That wasn't even including the revenge starved Death-Eaters. Darkness and hatred was still apparent. Very apparent.
Harry knew they wanted him. His life was the ultimate trophy. But now it was a completely new game now that Chloe had been added to their bounty. That was enough worry to last Harry a lifetime. He had to do everything in his power to protect her.... He didn't doubt for a moment that they would kill her. They would kill an innocent child without the least bit hesitation.
So why was he bringing Ginny into this? What if he and Ginny were to continue with this? If he were to die, he'd put her right back at where she was when Neville died. How could he knowingly do that to her?
There were so many things pulling him away from this...but so many things pulling him towards it.... Harry clenched his fists and gave a strangled cry.
The lake erupted into a hellfire as ice blue flames swept over the mirrored surface and blazed to towering heights. Ice chunks split and hissed into steam. The flames reflected in Harry's eyes and the heat wafted towards him.
Harry's knees buckled and he fell wearily into the snow, his breathing labored. As snow seeped into his robes and he felt began to feel better. Sopping wet from snow and sweat, Harry remembered something that Dumbledore had said to him many years back.
The magnitude of your powers can become a very frightening thing if you let your emotions get the better of you. You are not an ordinary wizard, and you must learn to control yourself and your powers...for your own sake. However, as you know...one cannot always control particularly strong emotions and sometimes a release of powers is the best course of action, in a safe manner of course....
Harry smiled, still panting. He imagined himself strolling up to the castle and reminding Dumbledore of this conversation. Hello, Professor, just wanted to tell you that I toasted your lake. Feel much better now, thanks.
And yet...he actually did feel better. His head felt surprisingly clear, considering the time, and one fact stood out in bold. Despite all of this, he still wanted to love her.
And why couldn't he? Why couldn't he try?
~*~
Harry had tried to go to bed, but thoughts of Ginny invaded any hopes for sleep. He honestly didn't care about losing the sleep since he was still trying to remind himself that this was all very real. He shuffled down to his study and opened a favorite picture album, pictures from his years at Hogwarts.
He searched through the book full of photos of Hermione, Ron, Hagrid, and the Weasley's at Christmas, holidays and birthdays...but there was something missing.
There was not a single photograph of Ginny and himself. It was always the group photos of the Weasley children she was in. It was like she was added in as an afterthought.
This bothered Harry immensely. He knew he had considered Ginny as good as friend as any. She wasn't his best friend as Ron and Hermione were, but still, he had more pictures of Fred and George than her! How could of this had happened?
He got up and pulled another leather-bound book from the case. This book wasn't quite as full, but then again, he hadn't had the time to take pictures in this part of his life. These were photos after Hogwarts and they were still most of the same people with the addition of Sirius' flames and Percy's children.
Harry actually enjoyed these pictures a bit more, since they were the Muggle type. Sometimes he liked the people in his pictures to just hold still and smile. He especially enjoyed black and white photos when they were tastefully done. There was a favorite picture of Percy's children all standing on the staircase each to their own step and looking over the banister at the camera. He flipped through the pages once more and glanced at the clock on the mantle above the study fireplace. 4:00 am. He'd been up all night.
Fortunately, tomorrow would be Saturday. Harry replaced the photo book and wandered into the next room. He pulled his cameras out, examined them and blew the dust off. He set them aside to use, as he had no pictures of Chloe yet.
Chloe. He should go get Chloe from Percy's. It was nearly morning anyway. Besides, that threat that Draco had made last night was haunting him. He probably wouldn't be able to fall asleep unless she was home.
~*~
Disclaim: Chapter title is from Disney's The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Harry Potter characters belong to J.K. Rowling.
Note from Cait: Everyone is welcome to join my new Yahoo!Group which can be found at:
[1]http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ChloesBookshelf/
Come join us for friendly discussion, lovely artwork, and all around good time! See you there!
References
1. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ChloesBookshelf/
Hellfire
For the most beautifully indulgent moment, Ginny felt as though the rest of the world had disappeared. She had never been kissed with such fire before.
Harry's hand cradled her face but he let it drop as he stepped back and opened his eyes. Ginny nearly toppled over fighting the urge to kiss him again.
"I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me," he whispered. "Too much champagne."
Fear gripped Ginny's heart. Had that been nothing more than a semi-intoxicated act?
"I don't think you had champagne tonight at dinner, Harry." Ginny said, noticing how clear and bright his eyes were.
He took her hand and they resumed dancing. "I didn't."
~*~
"What the bloody hell is that?" swore Ron wheeling Hermione around to see Harry in Ginny directly embraced in a kiss.
Hermione's jaw dropped. "Oh my goodness!"
"Molly! Look at Ginny and Harry!" Mr. Weasley froze and stared.
Percy took off his glasses and cleaned them quickly before putting them back on. "I don't believe it!" he exclaimed, blinking in surprise.
"That ISN'T Ginny and Harry is it?"
Remus slowly put down his drink as he stared along with Sirius. "Well, I certainly didn't expect to see that this evening...."
Fred nearly knocked over the candy dish he was lacing with canary crèmes and ton-tongue toffees. "Would you take a look at that, George!"
George's jaw dropped. "Is that our baby sister? And... Harry?"
The entire ballroom was whispering and poking each other. The famous Harry Potter, the most eligible bachelor in the wizarding world, and the widowed Ginny Longbottom?
~*~
Harry pretended not to hear all the noise around them. He was embarrassed that he had acted so rashly, but then again he didn't regret doing it. Ginny was holding herself together splendidly; she looked more composed than he could ever pretend to look.
Ginny wanted to stand in the middle of the room and scream at the top of her lungs to try and remind herself that she had at least some control. This was all happening so quickly. She was supposed to turn back now? She was supposed to pretend that she had never had feelings for Harry?
Harry was doing some serious pondering...trying to sort at least on of the million thoughts running through his head into something that made sense. Where was this going? Who had seen it? Oh Lord, why did he have to be such a half-wit? What would Ginny think of him now?
He cleared his throat nervously immediately catching Ginny's attention. "I...," mumbled Harry trying to form a sentence and failing miserably.
"It's quite all right, you don't have to say anything," she whispered, graciously understanding his lack of words.
"I can't just stand here!"
"You're not, you're dancing," she pointed out.
"Oh, that's right," he said.
~*~
The Weasley's were huddled together talking quickly and tossing glances in Harry and Ginny's direction.
"Oh, it's positively wonderful," said Mrs. Weasley dabbing away tears.
"I agree! We've all been so worried about Ginny without Neville, Harry is the perfect person to bring back our old Ginny!" exclaimed Mr. Weasley joyfully.
"We can't expect them to just run off and tie the knot," sad Percy pointedly.
"Who said anything about them tying the knot?" said Ron indignantly.
"I don't know, that was quite a kiss...," said George nudging Ron playfully.
"Yeah, Ron, you better keep your best friend in line," said Fred roguishly.
Ron glared at them. This was going to take some getting used to.
~*~
Finally, around one in the morning, Harry bothered to look up. "Ginny?"
"Yes, Harry?"
"We're almost the last people in here," he said stopping for a moment, but not letting go of her.
Ginny lifted her head, dazed. "Yes, I suppose we are."
"Your parents are gone and I think all your brothers are too."
"Are they really?" she said now really paying attention.
"Yes."
"I suppose I should go get some sleep."
"Unless you'd like another dance," Harry offered.
Ginny's feet said no, but her heart spoke first. "One more dance," she smiled.
"Anything," he said starting to waltz again.
Harry was wondering when he would wake up. This had to be some sort of cruel dream he was having, he was certain he would wake up any second. The past few weeks had been wonderful...he was having a happy life. This wasn't the norm at all....
The song ended and Ginny hugged him tightly. Harry was reluctant to let go.
"Thank you, I had a wonderful evening."
Ginny took a shaky breath; the words didn't do justice to the truth of her feelings. She was in love again.
Harry lightly kissed the top of her hand. "Pleasant dreams," he said before he Apparated out of the room.
Ginny knew she looked silly smiling at the spot where Harry had been standing, but she couldn't help it. Still smiling, she took out her wand and Apparated home.
~*~
It was complete stillness, everything shrouded in the inky black night. His cheeks burned painfully at the sudden slap of cold but Harry didn't care. He needed to clear his head.
Harry looked around. It was completely deserted ashe knew it would be. His boots crunched in the snow as he tramped to the edge of Hogwarts Lake. The castle loomed to his right, not a single light glowing in the hundreds of windows.
The lake was so still that the lake almost seemed like glass, reflecting the black sky perfectly. Harry had seen it like this many times before, as he had often come here to think ...no matter the time or the weather.
Harry closed his eyes and let his thoughts slowly come to order. That was why he had come here. To think through this bit by bit, literally let the cool face of logic cuff him in the back of the head and start him thinking about his actions again.
First and foremost he would consider Chloe. He was the only constant she had ever had in her life. His choices didn't just affect him anymore and he wasn't even sure he could explain his situation with Ginny to even himself quite yet. She was only five, how much could he expect her to take?
The worry lines on Harry's face deepened as he continued thinking. There were far more important things to factor into this.... No matter how much people in their world did not want to admit it, things still weren't back to normal. Dark wizards, and Muggle-haters were still bloodthirsty. That wasn't even including the revenge starved Death-Eaters. Darkness and hatred was still apparent. Very apparent.
Harry knew they wanted him. His life was the ultimate trophy. But now it was a completely new game now that Chloe had been added to their bounty. That was enough worry to last Harry a lifetime. He had to do everything in his power to protect her.... He didn't doubt for a moment that they would kill her. They would kill an innocent child without the least bit hesitation.
So why was he bringing Ginny into this? What if he and Ginny were to continue with this? If he were to die, he'd put her right back at where she was when Neville died. How could he knowingly do that to her?
There were so many things pulling him away from this...but so many things pulling him towards it.... Harry clenched his fists and gave a strangled cry.
The lake erupted into a hellfire as ice blue flames swept over the mirrored surface and blazed to towering heights. Ice chunks split and hissed into steam. The flames reflected in Harry's eyes and the heat wafted towards him.
Harry's knees buckled and he fell wearily into the snow, his breathing labored. As snow seeped into his robes and he felt began to feel better. Sopping wet from snow and sweat, Harry remembered something that Dumbledore had said to him many years back.
The magnitude of your powers can become a very frightening thing if you let your emotions get the better of you. You are not an ordinary wizard, and you must learn to control yourself and your powers...for your own sake. However, as you know...one cannot always control particularly strong emotions and sometimes a release of powers is the best course of action, in a safe manner of course....
Harry smiled, still panting. He imagined himself strolling up to the castle and reminding Dumbledore of this conversation. Hello, Professor, just wanted to tell you that I toasted your lake. Feel much better now, thanks.
And yet...he actually did feel better. His head felt surprisingly clear, considering the time, and one fact stood out in bold. Despite all of this, he still wanted to love her.
And why couldn't he? Why couldn't he try?
~*~
Harry had tried to go to bed, but thoughts of Ginny invaded any hopes for sleep. He honestly didn't care about losing the sleep since he was still trying to remind himself that this was all very real. He shuffled down to his study and opened a favorite picture album, pictures from his years at Hogwarts.
He searched through the book full of photos of Hermione, Ron, Hagrid, and the Weasley's at Christmas, holidays and birthdays...but there was something missing.
There was not a single photograph of Ginny and himself. It was always the group photos of the Weasley children she was in. It was like she was added in as an afterthought.
This bothered Harry immensely. He knew he had considered Ginny as good as friend as any. She wasn't his best friend as Ron and Hermione were, but still, he had more pictures of Fred and George than her! How could of this had happened?
He got up and pulled another leather-bound book from the case. This book wasn't quite as full, but then again, he hadn't had the time to take pictures in this part of his life. These were photos after Hogwarts and they were still most of the same people with the addition of Sirius' flames and Percy's children.
Harry actually enjoyed these pictures a bit more, since they were the Muggle type. Sometimes he liked the people in his pictures to just hold still and smile. He especially enjoyed black and white photos when they were tastefully done. There was a favorite picture of Percy's children all standing on the staircase each to their own step and looking over the banister at the camera. He flipped through the pages once more and glanced at the clock on the mantle above the study fireplace. 4:00 am. He'd been up all night.
Fortunately, tomorrow would be Saturday. Harry replaced the photo book and wandered into the next room. He pulled his cameras out, examined them and blew the dust off. He set them aside to use, as he had no pictures of Chloe yet.
Chloe. He should go get Chloe from Percy's. It was nearly morning anyway. Besides, that threat that Draco had made last night was haunting him. He probably wouldn't be able to fall asleep unless she was home.
~*~
Disclaim: Chapter title is from Disney's The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Harry Potter characters belong to J.K. Rowling.
Note from Cait: Everyone is welcome to join my new Yahoo!Group which can be found at:
[1]http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ChloesBookshelf/
Come join us for friendly discussion, lovely artwork, and all around good time! See you there!
References
1. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ChloesBookshelf/