Harry tried very hard to concentrate on the route through the dark of
the sewer tunnels, but he was finding it very difficult. His attention
kept wandering to the small hand he had clasped tightly in his own. It was
stupid, really, but he couldn't help but notice how small Ginny's hands
were and how soft and warm. Feeling a flush rise on his face, Harry was
glad that the dark was hiding them both effectively. Why was holding
Ginny's hand like this bothering him so much? He'd held Hermione's hand
once or twice, but it had never elicited any reaction like this before. In
fact, it was starting to make his stomach twinge slightly, kind of like it
had whenever he used to look at Cho.
Harry shut that line of thought down immediately, and with a viciousness that almost surprised him. He didn't like to think about Cho anymore. He kept seeing her tearstreaked face from the farewell feast at the end of the previous school year. Her eyes still haunted him with their blank stare of blame. Why was it that Harry had to be the one to survive? Why couldn't he have saved Cedric?
Harry shook his head to drive the damning thoughts back into the dark recesses of his mind. They'd be back to haunt him, he knew that, but right now he had to get Ginny to safety. At the very least, he could make sure that Ginny was safe. He'd always worried about her. She was so quiet and reserved that she seemed to fade into the background. Ron had always said that she was talkative and as fiery as the other Weasleys, but Harry had never seen that in her. Not since her first year and the Chamber of Secrets. Harry felt a shiver run down his spine as he thought about what had happened in the Chamber. He'd never really talked about what had happened in there, never really told anyone everything.
When he'd seen Tom Riddle there in the flesh, so to speak, he'd been struck by the resemblance he bore to the young man who would become one of the most evil wizards the wizarding world had ever known. Both had been orphans, both had been despised by their families, there had even been a great deal of physical similarity. Enough of a similarity to wonder. Then he'd seen Ginny laying on the floor. That sight still haunted his dreams occasionally, vying with his other nightmares for dream time. She'd been so pale, so small lying there on the ground her life and magic bleeding into the diary to feed Riddle. He'd thought she was going to die.
He'd managed to pull it off in time, though, destroying the basilisk and the memory of Riddle. He had been perfectly willing to die so that she would survive. He'd watched as she woke, surprised to find him there with her, as his vision dimmed with the effects of the basilisk's poison. He'd thought, with no small amount of guilty relief, that it was all over; that he'd reached the end of his line. He'd been kind of happy that his death would have had some meaning, that Ginny would live. He'd been surprised by the wetness that had spread warmth through his body. He'd never really known about the healing properties of the phoenix's tears. Oh, Dumbledore had mentioned something about it, but Harry hadn't really being paying much attention.
Harry had been almost angry as his strength started to come back. He was so tired of the expectations, of the blame that everyone put on him, but his eyes opened, reluctantly. The sight of Ginny bending over him in concern, her red hair blazing like a halo from the torchlight came back to him and made his breath catch in his chest.
No, Harry told himself. Stop thinking about that. Just get her somewhere safe. Then she can contact her family and get out of your life. That's what I want, right? To get them all out of my life? Harry's thoughts whirled about in a confused jumble as he carefully picked his way towards the offshoot tunnel he'd found last week. It was dry and he'd managed to stash some of his supplies there as an emergency bolthole. Just in case the Death Eaters thought to look for him down here.
Harry wasn't sure why this side tunnel had been built, but he suspected that he wasn't the first person to ever use it as a hiding place. It didn't have a door, but there were several large pieces of wood, probably from some sort of packing crates, that he used to block the entrance to the chamber. Harry spotted the turn-off and squeezed Ginny's hand gently before stopping.
"I have to move this, Ginny," Harry said softly, "so don't cry out, all right? Sound really travels down here and it could alert the Death Eaters."
"Okay, Harry," Ginny whispered back.
Harry looked towards the doorway, barely able to make it out in the near-darkness and gathered in his will. He'd discovered a few handy tricks since he'd left the Dursleys and now he had a chance to show one of them off. Pointing his hand at the wood, he closed his eyes and muttered, "Wingardium Leviosa," and pictured the plank floating off to the side.
Harry could feel the magic surging out of him through his hand and his brow furrowed in concentration as he choked back on it, but the plank floated to the side, albeit somewhat jerkily. It always seemed to work like that. Every time he cast a wandless spell, the magic seemed to flood out in a rush, causing an extremely spectacular result. It had taken Harry almost a month to figure out how to choke back the magic to where levitating the board didn't send it shooting across the room like a rocket. He heard Ginny gasp as the board moved out of the way and he turned, flashing her a weak smile before pulling her into the room.
The chamber at the end of the side tunnel was unusual, to say the least. It had a very high domed ceiling, which was unusual in the sewers. Most of the sewers were fairly low and cramped, only big enough to allow someone to move through. Also, up at the apex of the dome was a large piece of stained glass, at least Harry thought it was glass. He wasn't sure since he'd never been able to get up there and look at it closely; although he suspected that if it had been glass, it would have broken years ago. The glass was split into a red, a yellow and a green piece and sunlight filtered through them glass, lighting the room in color.
Ginny gasped in wonder as the color played across the room. The other singular feature about the room was that it still had some furniture in workable condition. Some of it was actually quite elegant, and Harry suspected that some sort of preservation spells had been worked to keep them intact. There were a couple of plush chairs, a couch and even a table scattered about the room, as well as remnants of other things and the garbage that remained from a previous occupant. Ginny let go of Harry's hand as she moved into the lit room, an expression of wonder on her face as she tiled it into the sunlight peeking into the room. Harry stared at her, a sharp pang running through him when she released his hand, enthralled. The light played in her hair, making it catch fire in a way he'd never seen before. It took his breath away.
"So is this where you've been staying, Harry," Ginny asked timidly, turning back to face him.
"Harry quickly regained his composure, silently berating himself for such a loss of control as he replied, "Yeah, my trunk is over in that alcove. I managed to scrounge up enough rags and clothes to make a mattress of sorts. It may not be the nicest place in the world, but it's better than being at the Dursley's."
Ginny started walking around the room, stopping in front of the broad table that Harry had moved into the middle. A great deal of food had been laid out, although not much of it was very fresh. Harry came up behind her and said, "I go up into the alley late at night and glean the leftovers from some of the taverns and restaurants. It's not as good as the food at Hogwarts, but it's edible. Why don't you have a seat, I'm sure you're exhausted." Harry guided Ginny over to the couch and sat her down next to him. Ginny turned into him and laid her head on his chest.
"What are we going to do now," she asked quietly. "I can't go back up there. The Death Eaters are looking for me and I don't know why. I don't even know if Fred, George or Ron were able to get Mum out of there. What if they're dead? Oh Harry, what am I going to do?"
Ginny started crying softly again and Harry instinctively enfolded her in his arms once more. He thought for a moment before replying, "You're going to stay right here with me, Ginny. I don't know why Voldemort wants you either, but right now the safest place you can be is here with me. I'll protect you if any Death Eaters even think about coming down here."
"But what about my family? What about school," Ginny asked as she sniffled back her tears.
"I'm sure your family's going to be fine. Fred and George are masters of charms and curses. If anyone could get Ron and your mum away from the Death Eaters it would be them, I'd stake money on it," Harry replied. "As for school, well, that's a different story. I'm not going back this year. You could join me here if you want, since I don't think I could get you to King's Cross safely."
"What do you mean by that, Harry," Ginny asked sharply, her head snapping up and turning to look him in the eye. "Why aren't you going back to Hogwarts? I thought you'd want to go back. That's where all your friends are, that's your real home, isn't it?"
Harry's face flushed as the rage rose up in him again. He struggled to contain it and the magic that it summoned up as he answered her, "Friends? I don't have all that many friends there, Ginny. Most of the people I know at Hogwarts would have been happier if I'd been the one to die instead of Cedric. After all, they were always willing to believe all those awful stories about me that Malfoy and the Skeeter woman spread about me, even though they should have known better. No the only people there that would want me back are Ron and Hermione and I'm not too sure about them anymore." By now, the rage was flowing through him, coursing through his blood as he abruptly stood up and put some distance between himself and Ginny.
"What are you talking about Harry," Ginny asked angrily, standing up to face him. "How can you doubt that Ron and Hermione are your friends?"
"Oh yeah, great friends," Harry spat back, glaring down at Ginny. "Almost half of last year, Ron was being a jealous prat and treating me like a piece of dirt, then he doesn't even try to write me all summer, even when I send letters to him, they come back unopened. I know Hedwig tried to deliver them, but obviously he didn't want to talk to me."
"But Ron said that you never wrote him," Ginny sputtered, unwilling to believe her brother was that much of a prat. "And any letters we tried to send to you came back as well."
"And then there's Hermione," Harry continued on, not even hearing Ginny, "Not a word from her for weeks, then I try calling her on the telephone. She gave me her number last year, just in case I needed to get hold of her. And when I do call, her father tells me that she doesn't want to have anything to do with me."
"Harry," Ginny said insistently, breaking through his rant, "Hermione couldn't have said that."
"What are you talking about, Ginny," Harry asked irritably.
"Hermione and her parents went to Bulgaria a week after we came home from Hogwarts for the summer," Ginny said. "It couldn't have been her father who answered."
"Oh," Harry said, feeling strangely deflated. His head was spinning and the rage was starting to disappear. He slumped and shuffled over to couch, flopping down on it. "If Hermione was gone and so were her parents, that means there was somebody else was there. Someone had to answer the telephone and say that to me."
Ginny moved back to the couch and sat next to Harry again, reaching out and taking one of his hands in both of hers and squeezing. "It was probably another Death Eater trick, Harry. You know they want to separate you from your friends. Your friends make you stronger and that's the last thing they want."
Harry was silent while he let that idea bounce around in his head. It made sense, but Harry didn't want things to make sense. It was much simpler just to be angry at the world. Harry shook his head. He had to be honest with himself and accept that he'd been wrong. It was understandable, since he'd been deceived, but now that he knew about it he had to deal with the fact that he'd been in the wrong, at least about his friends.
"You're right, Ginny," Harry said with a sigh. "I don't want you to be, but you're right and I'm wrong. Someone must have done that to try and break me off from my friends. I'd be willing to bet that someone was intercepting the letters as well, just like Dobby did in my second year. God, I've been an idiot. I thought I'd looked at all of the facts, but I didn't, did I?"
"It's okay, Harry," Ginny said soothingly. "Anyone would have been fooled like that, especially if they'd gone through what you did last year."
Harry didn't answer. He just leaned his head back and closed his eyes with a sigh. Ginny stared at him and bit her lip before asking, "Harry, about earlier. I've never seen you fly off the handle like that before. It just doesn't seem like you."
"I don't know why I reacted like that, Ginny," Harry replied. "Ever since I got back from school this summer I've been angry with everything. I'd fly into a rage at the slightest provocation. Scared the hell out of my aunt and uncle too, especially when the magic leaked out and things started flying around the room. Made me wonder too, because after that, I'd expected an owl from the Improper Use of Magic office, but they didn't send me anything. Then I just got fed up with everything after calling Hermione's house and the magic just broke loose and I apparated here. Into this room, actually."
"That doesn't seem right," Ginny said, her brow furrowing in thought. "It's like this anger isn't yours, but you're feeling it anyway. I've never heard of anything like that happening before."
"Neither have I, Ginny, neither have I," Harry replied.
"Then you'll have to come back to Hogwarts," Ginny said suddenly. "I'm willing to bet Dumbledore knows something about this. He always seems to know something."
"I don't know, Ginny," Harry said hesitantly. "I really don't know if I could go back there, now. I mean, you saw how everyone looked at me during the Farewell Feast. They all blamed me for Cedric's death. Just imagine what they'll think now. Half the wizarding world is convinced that I've taken Voldemort's place and the other half believes that he's possessed me somehow."
"That's not true, Harry," Ginny replied sharply. "You have a lot of people out there who believe in you, who need you in their lives. Like me." Ginny stopped abruptly, her face flushing at that comment. She hadn't meant to tell him that.
It seemed that Ginny's slip had gone unnoticed as Harry replied, "I don't know if I can, Ginny, but I promise I'll think about it. Okay?"
"I'm going to do my best to convince you, Harry," she replied with a smile.
"I'll look forward to it," Harry said, the corners of his mouth quirking up slightly.
Author's note:
Well, this is moving along better than I expected. I'd like to thank everyone who's reviewed so far and say that all your questions will be answered in time. There is a reason for these things that have happened, but they take time to come out.
Harry shut that line of thought down immediately, and with a viciousness that almost surprised him. He didn't like to think about Cho anymore. He kept seeing her tearstreaked face from the farewell feast at the end of the previous school year. Her eyes still haunted him with their blank stare of blame. Why was it that Harry had to be the one to survive? Why couldn't he have saved Cedric?
Harry shook his head to drive the damning thoughts back into the dark recesses of his mind. They'd be back to haunt him, he knew that, but right now he had to get Ginny to safety. At the very least, he could make sure that Ginny was safe. He'd always worried about her. She was so quiet and reserved that she seemed to fade into the background. Ron had always said that she was talkative and as fiery as the other Weasleys, but Harry had never seen that in her. Not since her first year and the Chamber of Secrets. Harry felt a shiver run down his spine as he thought about what had happened in the Chamber. He'd never really talked about what had happened in there, never really told anyone everything.
When he'd seen Tom Riddle there in the flesh, so to speak, he'd been struck by the resemblance he bore to the young man who would become one of the most evil wizards the wizarding world had ever known. Both had been orphans, both had been despised by their families, there had even been a great deal of physical similarity. Enough of a similarity to wonder. Then he'd seen Ginny laying on the floor. That sight still haunted his dreams occasionally, vying with his other nightmares for dream time. She'd been so pale, so small lying there on the ground her life and magic bleeding into the diary to feed Riddle. He'd thought she was going to die.
He'd managed to pull it off in time, though, destroying the basilisk and the memory of Riddle. He had been perfectly willing to die so that she would survive. He'd watched as she woke, surprised to find him there with her, as his vision dimmed with the effects of the basilisk's poison. He'd thought, with no small amount of guilty relief, that it was all over; that he'd reached the end of his line. He'd been kind of happy that his death would have had some meaning, that Ginny would live. He'd been surprised by the wetness that had spread warmth through his body. He'd never really known about the healing properties of the phoenix's tears. Oh, Dumbledore had mentioned something about it, but Harry hadn't really being paying much attention.
Harry had been almost angry as his strength started to come back. He was so tired of the expectations, of the blame that everyone put on him, but his eyes opened, reluctantly. The sight of Ginny bending over him in concern, her red hair blazing like a halo from the torchlight came back to him and made his breath catch in his chest.
No, Harry told himself. Stop thinking about that. Just get her somewhere safe. Then she can contact her family and get out of your life. That's what I want, right? To get them all out of my life? Harry's thoughts whirled about in a confused jumble as he carefully picked his way towards the offshoot tunnel he'd found last week. It was dry and he'd managed to stash some of his supplies there as an emergency bolthole. Just in case the Death Eaters thought to look for him down here.
Harry wasn't sure why this side tunnel had been built, but he suspected that he wasn't the first person to ever use it as a hiding place. It didn't have a door, but there were several large pieces of wood, probably from some sort of packing crates, that he used to block the entrance to the chamber. Harry spotted the turn-off and squeezed Ginny's hand gently before stopping.
"I have to move this, Ginny," Harry said softly, "so don't cry out, all right? Sound really travels down here and it could alert the Death Eaters."
"Okay, Harry," Ginny whispered back.
Harry looked towards the doorway, barely able to make it out in the near-darkness and gathered in his will. He'd discovered a few handy tricks since he'd left the Dursleys and now he had a chance to show one of them off. Pointing his hand at the wood, he closed his eyes and muttered, "Wingardium Leviosa," and pictured the plank floating off to the side.
Harry could feel the magic surging out of him through his hand and his brow furrowed in concentration as he choked back on it, but the plank floated to the side, albeit somewhat jerkily. It always seemed to work like that. Every time he cast a wandless spell, the magic seemed to flood out in a rush, causing an extremely spectacular result. It had taken Harry almost a month to figure out how to choke back the magic to where levitating the board didn't send it shooting across the room like a rocket. He heard Ginny gasp as the board moved out of the way and he turned, flashing her a weak smile before pulling her into the room.
The chamber at the end of the side tunnel was unusual, to say the least. It had a very high domed ceiling, which was unusual in the sewers. Most of the sewers were fairly low and cramped, only big enough to allow someone to move through. Also, up at the apex of the dome was a large piece of stained glass, at least Harry thought it was glass. He wasn't sure since he'd never been able to get up there and look at it closely; although he suspected that if it had been glass, it would have broken years ago. The glass was split into a red, a yellow and a green piece and sunlight filtered through them glass, lighting the room in color.
Ginny gasped in wonder as the color played across the room. The other singular feature about the room was that it still had some furniture in workable condition. Some of it was actually quite elegant, and Harry suspected that some sort of preservation spells had been worked to keep them intact. There were a couple of plush chairs, a couch and even a table scattered about the room, as well as remnants of other things and the garbage that remained from a previous occupant. Ginny let go of Harry's hand as she moved into the lit room, an expression of wonder on her face as she tiled it into the sunlight peeking into the room. Harry stared at her, a sharp pang running through him when she released his hand, enthralled. The light played in her hair, making it catch fire in a way he'd never seen before. It took his breath away.
"So is this where you've been staying, Harry," Ginny asked timidly, turning back to face him.
"Harry quickly regained his composure, silently berating himself for such a loss of control as he replied, "Yeah, my trunk is over in that alcove. I managed to scrounge up enough rags and clothes to make a mattress of sorts. It may not be the nicest place in the world, but it's better than being at the Dursley's."
Ginny started walking around the room, stopping in front of the broad table that Harry had moved into the middle. A great deal of food had been laid out, although not much of it was very fresh. Harry came up behind her and said, "I go up into the alley late at night and glean the leftovers from some of the taverns and restaurants. It's not as good as the food at Hogwarts, but it's edible. Why don't you have a seat, I'm sure you're exhausted." Harry guided Ginny over to the couch and sat her down next to him. Ginny turned into him and laid her head on his chest.
"What are we going to do now," she asked quietly. "I can't go back up there. The Death Eaters are looking for me and I don't know why. I don't even know if Fred, George or Ron were able to get Mum out of there. What if they're dead? Oh Harry, what am I going to do?"
Ginny started crying softly again and Harry instinctively enfolded her in his arms once more. He thought for a moment before replying, "You're going to stay right here with me, Ginny. I don't know why Voldemort wants you either, but right now the safest place you can be is here with me. I'll protect you if any Death Eaters even think about coming down here."
"But what about my family? What about school," Ginny asked as she sniffled back her tears.
"I'm sure your family's going to be fine. Fred and George are masters of charms and curses. If anyone could get Ron and your mum away from the Death Eaters it would be them, I'd stake money on it," Harry replied. "As for school, well, that's a different story. I'm not going back this year. You could join me here if you want, since I don't think I could get you to King's Cross safely."
"What do you mean by that, Harry," Ginny asked sharply, her head snapping up and turning to look him in the eye. "Why aren't you going back to Hogwarts? I thought you'd want to go back. That's where all your friends are, that's your real home, isn't it?"
Harry's face flushed as the rage rose up in him again. He struggled to contain it and the magic that it summoned up as he answered her, "Friends? I don't have all that many friends there, Ginny. Most of the people I know at Hogwarts would have been happier if I'd been the one to die instead of Cedric. After all, they were always willing to believe all those awful stories about me that Malfoy and the Skeeter woman spread about me, even though they should have known better. No the only people there that would want me back are Ron and Hermione and I'm not too sure about them anymore." By now, the rage was flowing through him, coursing through his blood as he abruptly stood up and put some distance between himself and Ginny.
"What are you talking about Harry," Ginny asked angrily, standing up to face him. "How can you doubt that Ron and Hermione are your friends?"
"Oh yeah, great friends," Harry spat back, glaring down at Ginny. "Almost half of last year, Ron was being a jealous prat and treating me like a piece of dirt, then he doesn't even try to write me all summer, even when I send letters to him, they come back unopened. I know Hedwig tried to deliver them, but obviously he didn't want to talk to me."
"But Ron said that you never wrote him," Ginny sputtered, unwilling to believe her brother was that much of a prat. "And any letters we tried to send to you came back as well."
"And then there's Hermione," Harry continued on, not even hearing Ginny, "Not a word from her for weeks, then I try calling her on the telephone. She gave me her number last year, just in case I needed to get hold of her. And when I do call, her father tells me that she doesn't want to have anything to do with me."
"Harry," Ginny said insistently, breaking through his rant, "Hermione couldn't have said that."
"What are you talking about, Ginny," Harry asked irritably.
"Hermione and her parents went to Bulgaria a week after we came home from Hogwarts for the summer," Ginny said. "It couldn't have been her father who answered."
"Oh," Harry said, feeling strangely deflated. His head was spinning and the rage was starting to disappear. He slumped and shuffled over to couch, flopping down on it. "If Hermione was gone and so were her parents, that means there was somebody else was there. Someone had to answer the telephone and say that to me."
Ginny moved back to the couch and sat next to Harry again, reaching out and taking one of his hands in both of hers and squeezing. "It was probably another Death Eater trick, Harry. You know they want to separate you from your friends. Your friends make you stronger and that's the last thing they want."
Harry was silent while he let that idea bounce around in his head. It made sense, but Harry didn't want things to make sense. It was much simpler just to be angry at the world. Harry shook his head. He had to be honest with himself and accept that he'd been wrong. It was understandable, since he'd been deceived, but now that he knew about it he had to deal with the fact that he'd been in the wrong, at least about his friends.
"You're right, Ginny," Harry said with a sigh. "I don't want you to be, but you're right and I'm wrong. Someone must have done that to try and break me off from my friends. I'd be willing to bet that someone was intercepting the letters as well, just like Dobby did in my second year. God, I've been an idiot. I thought I'd looked at all of the facts, but I didn't, did I?"
"It's okay, Harry," Ginny said soothingly. "Anyone would have been fooled like that, especially if they'd gone through what you did last year."
Harry didn't answer. He just leaned his head back and closed his eyes with a sigh. Ginny stared at him and bit her lip before asking, "Harry, about earlier. I've never seen you fly off the handle like that before. It just doesn't seem like you."
"I don't know why I reacted like that, Ginny," Harry replied. "Ever since I got back from school this summer I've been angry with everything. I'd fly into a rage at the slightest provocation. Scared the hell out of my aunt and uncle too, especially when the magic leaked out and things started flying around the room. Made me wonder too, because after that, I'd expected an owl from the Improper Use of Magic office, but they didn't send me anything. Then I just got fed up with everything after calling Hermione's house and the magic just broke loose and I apparated here. Into this room, actually."
"That doesn't seem right," Ginny said, her brow furrowing in thought. "It's like this anger isn't yours, but you're feeling it anyway. I've never heard of anything like that happening before."
"Neither have I, Ginny, neither have I," Harry replied.
"Then you'll have to come back to Hogwarts," Ginny said suddenly. "I'm willing to bet Dumbledore knows something about this. He always seems to know something."
"I don't know, Ginny," Harry said hesitantly. "I really don't know if I could go back there, now. I mean, you saw how everyone looked at me during the Farewell Feast. They all blamed me for Cedric's death. Just imagine what they'll think now. Half the wizarding world is convinced that I've taken Voldemort's place and the other half believes that he's possessed me somehow."
"That's not true, Harry," Ginny replied sharply. "You have a lot of people out there who believe in you, who need you in their lives. Like me." Ginny stopped abruptly, her face flushing at that comment. She hadn't meant to tell him that.
It seemed that Ginny's slip had gone unnoticed as Harry replied, "I don't know if I can, Ginny, but I promise I'll think about it. Okay?"
"I'm going to do my best to convince you, Harry," she replied with a smile.
"I'll look forward to it," Harry said, the corners of his mouth quirking up slightly.
Author's note:
Well, this is moving along better than I expected. I'd like to thank everyone who's reviewed so far and say that all your questions will be answered in time. There is a reason for these things that have happened, but they take time to come out.