A/N: Howdy all!! Well here's chapter two, hope you like it, and it isn't as
boring as the last one, at least I hope not. This chapter starts off from
Harry's POV at the ice rink, then changes to Ginny's after a bit, you'll
know when it does.
Disclaimer: I OWN NOTHING BUT THE THINGS THAT DON'T LOOK FAMILIAR!!!( LIKE MERCEDES, LILLA, LANA, ABBY, SAM, ROANE, WHITTNAUER ALLEY AND SUCH) EVERYTHING ELSE BELONGS TO THE WONDERFUL JK ROWLING NOT ME! And I made up most of the purposes for the gems, and the thing about Eleanor Roosevelt came from "The Princess Diaries", don't you just love Anne Hathaway?
Chapter 2- The Party, The Fight, and The Pep Talk
Harry walked out of the ice rink and was met with a blast of warm summer air. He looked over at Ginny and saw that she was happier that he had ever seen her. She'd only been on the Hogwarts team for three years, and yet she was as good as it got and she love what she did. He remembered back to the beginning of his fifth year when professor Dumbledore had announced that the new building on the grounds was an ice rink and that they would be starting a school team to compete against other schools. Ginny's face had lit up like a Christmas tree and she immediately announced that she was trying out for the team. But Harry always thought she hadn't, guess he was wrong. She had tried out and had been made captain too, she was that good.
Something flip flopped in Harry's stomach as Ginny turned and looked at him flashing a bright smile his way. She was beautiful, he noticed. He had always thought of her as Ron's little sister and nothing else, but now he thought different. Was it that her blue eyes were bluer, her red hair darker and longer? Or was it the new wave of confidence that seemed to radiate from her ever since she had started skating. Harry liked seeing her happy. She wasn't ever happy enough, always shadowed by her older brothers or smothered by her mother. But now she was beginning to stand up for herself, he could see that from the way she skated against Lilla and the way she talked to her too. Yep Ginny was a whole new person.
"Let's go. Last one to the Burrow is a rotten egg!" she shouted as she hopped on her broom and took off. Harry and Mercedes hopped on their own brooms, and took off after her. It looked like Ron and Hermione were going to be the rotten eggs. Harry smiled to himself, it had taken them long enough. As he thought about this he shot past Ginny and he heard her shout, "You'll pay for that Harry!!"
"Whatcha gonna do about it huh?" He asked as she pulled up beside him, he red hair training behind her like a banner.
"I'm gonna beat you home." She said and took off, her hair rippling behind her.
She landed and Harry landed right behind her. She whipped around and said "Ha! I beat you!!" She poked him hard in the chest.
"Gin, can we just get cleaned up? I feel dirty." Mercedes said landing next to Harry.
"Sure, come on up, then we can have Hermione help us with our makeup. See you later Harry." She smiled again, flipped her hair over her shoulder and went inside with Mercedes leaving Harry staring after her.
Crazy thoughts ran through his mind as they went inside and disappeared up the stairs, Ginny sure wasn't just Ron's little sister anymore, she had grown up, and was beautiful. But the only question that remained was, did Harry have feelings for her?
Ginny ran up the stairs to her remodeled room with Mercedes and shut the door behind them. Everything purple greeted them as they stepped in. "Did you at least bring your clothes for tonight with you?" She asked Mercedes dropping her things on the floor in the corner, and rummaging through her closet and dresser drawers, looking for her shirt and skirt.
"Yeah, I'm not that daft you know." Mercedes said faking hurt.
"Oh I'm sorry 'Cedes, didn't mean to be mean. Now go and take a shower before I get there first." Ginny said. Mercedes scampered out the room with a "Yes ma'am," and Ginny dropped to the floor in her closet looking for the boots her mother had gotten her for her birthday.
"Where are they?" She muttered, standing up.
"Check under your bed, hon." Her mirror said. Ginny gave the mirror a questioning glance before dropping to her knees once again and looking under her bed. They were there, right next to a few dust bunnies.
"How'd they get there? I could have sworn I left them in the closet." Ginny shook her head figuring it had to be Fred and George. Just then Mercedes came back into the room wearing nice jeans and a pink halter-top. Her long curly brunette hair hung down her back, dripping water all over Ginny's deep purple carpet.
"Now that's better. I actually feel clean. Did you know that Max made me and Marc do our routine six times??? I swear he was trying to make me pass out." Mercedes shuddered.
"Six? Wow." Ginny said walking out the door to the bathroom. "I'll be back she called over her shoulder. She shut and locked the door to the bathroom, put her wand on the counter, and then took a nice long shower washing her hair good. She got out dried off and got dressed then looked at herself in the mirror. Usually she was a pale color, but now she was a warm peach with an unfaltering smile. Her blue eyes glittered and her dark red hair shined in the light from the window in the bathroom. 'Hey, I could actually be pretty.' She thought. She smiled wider and put the tip of her wand to her head. "Curlio" She muttered. And her hair curled into lasting ringlets that framed her face and tumbled down her back. Other that her skating abilities, her hair was her pride and joy. She bent down, picked up her dirty uniform and dumped it in the hamper for her mother to wash. She slid her wand into her pocket and walked out the bathroom and into her room.
"Hermione! You finally got back, where were you?" Ginny said sitting down at the purple vanity knowing exactly where her friend had been.
"With Ron." She said simply. "Now what is this about you wanting me to help you with your makeup?" Hermione said changing the subject.
"Well we were wondering if you could give us some pointers." Mercedes said sitting on the floor and leaning against the bed.
"Well I only have one tip to give you, less is more. So only wear the minimums like a little eye liner, a little bit of eye shadow, a little bit of blush, and a light lip gloss. Nothing too fancy."
Ginny turned to the vanity mirror and did what Hermione said before turning back and saying, "How's this?"
"Perfect, now switch with 'Cedes and let her do her thing." They did what they were told grabbed their jackets and ran downstairs. By then it was five thirty and the sun was beginning to set. They walked into the kitchen and saw Mrs. Weasley cooking dinner.
"Hello girls!" She said brightly. "Why don't you take the utensils and set the table outside."
"Sure thing mum." Ginny said brightly grabbing eleven cups and plates and heading out the door. Hermione took the spoons and forks, and Mercedes picked up the napkins and knives and followed Ginny out side where Ron and Harry were sitting on the grass next to the table trying to fix a broken leg on the table.
"Hey Harry, Ron." Ginny said brightly.
Harry looked up and went slack jawed, Ginny was beautiful. Her hair was tightly curled, her makeup was done, and she was wearing a green sleeveless turtleneck shirt combined with a bleached tie-dyed jean mini skirt and white knee high boots and a bleached tie-dyed jean jacket that matched with her skirt. "H-h-hi G-G-Ginny." He said staring.
"She giggled lightly. "Hello Harry. Having a bit of a problem with the table I see."
"Yeah. " He said blushing. 'Why are blushing stupid?! She is Ron's little sister you can not fall in love with her!!' He yelled to himself.
"Here let me help." She said walking over. She pulled her wand out of her pocket, pointed it at the table and said, "Repario. It helps to be good in charms." The table leg began to mend itself and Harry and Ron turned it over and helped the girls set it up. As Harry took the plates from Ginny an electric shock went through them both and they jumped simultaneously. Ginny smiled nervously and stammered, "Uh, um, I-I-I'm going to go to Hermione. O- Over there. Um bye." Then she almost ran to where Hermione was setting down the forks at the other end of the table. She was blushing so furiously, that she was beginning to blend in with her hair.
Soon they were done setting up the table, Law was there, and the food was on the table. "Hello all." Law said brightly as he walked into the back yard.
"Well hello Lawson." Percy said from the spot next to Mr. Weasley, "How are your parents and sisters?"
"Hello Percy, Mum and Dad are wonderful and so is Armen, but Lilla's pride is sorely bashed after what Ginny did to her today."
"Ginny what did you do?" Her father asked turning to her with a reproachful stare.
"Nothing Dad, I just gave her what she asked for." Ginny said innocently, "Because she did ask for it, huh Law?"
"She did indeed Mr. W, she did indeed." Law said, his face serious, but his eyes were glittering with laughter. He sat on Harry's right
"Ginny, tell me what you did." Mr. Weasley said again.
"Come on dad, I did nothing wrong! Lilla asked, practically begged me for a skate off, so I gave her one. Let's just say she wasn't expecting me to accept her proposal, let alone do it the way I did it."
"Ginny kicked Lilla's butt!" Ron cheered.
"Ron! We do not talk about butts at the table." His mother said coming out of the house.
"Yeah mum." He said.
"I'm just glad someone finally put her in her place." Mercedes said sitting down next to Law. "Thanks Gin, now hopefully she'll leave us and everyone else alone."
"No thanks needed, I just gave her what she had coming. But next time, if there is one, I don't think I'll be so friendly about it. I almost put a hole in my toung trying to keep from slapping her today." Ginny said looking for a place to sit. There was only one spot left, right next to Harry. She blushed slightly as she sat down.
"So Gin," Harry said, "you were really good this morning, how do you stay in shape? I could use some pointers to help me get the team ready for the first game of the season."
"Well, we have five am practices every morning, we eat from a strict diet, and we stick to what we do." Ginny said filling her plate with salad and then plucking one role from the breadbasket. Harry looked at Mercedes and Law and saw that they were doing the same thing, but Law also had a good- sized piece of fish too.
"Wow you guys are committed to what you love huh?"
"Yep and on the days that we don't have practices, like tomorrow, we run about eight miles, then lift weights till our muscles burn and we feel as if we can't go any farther."
"So you're going to run tomorrow morning?" Harry asked surprised. Usually people slept in after parties like the one they were all going to that night.
"Yep, would you like to come with us?" Ginny held her breath hoping against hope that he'd say yes. "Why do you want him to say yes?" She asked herself. 'He is only a friend, and you got over him a long time ago!'
Harry thought for a second, would he be able to be up that early? He finally decided, "Sure." He said smiling.
"Cool, meet 'Cedes and me in the kitchen at five tomorrow morning. You might want to wear shorts, cause you'll get hot."
"Sure thing." Harry said just as a car horn honked outside in the front.
"It's Roane let's go everyone." Ginny said standing up. She snatched her jacket off the back of her chair, ran to kiss her parents goodbye, and walked to the front of the house to see her last best friend Roane Hughes.
"Ro!" She called, "We might have more riders that expected." Ginny pointed at her brother and his friends.
"That's okay, we have lots of room." Roane climbed out of the limo in the front of the Burrow. She was tall and had mousy brown hair that ran halfway down her body and was almost always braided in one single braid that hung down her back. She was somewhat of a hippie and you can say she had a knack for Divination. "It sometimes pays to have a rich father." She smiled and greeted everyone. Roane, who was American, had lived in England most of her life because her parents suffered a divorce when she was three years old, and she was sent to live with her father, the ambassador to the UN, when she was nine. On her eleventh birthday she received a Hogwarts letter in the middle of a press conference. Her father's staff had a time trying to conceal her little secret from the press. "All aboard!! The Hughes express leaves within the next thirty seconds." Roane said lightly ushering everyone inside.
Somehow Ginny once again ended up next to Harry, but Ron didn't look too happy about this. He was the last one to jump in the limo so he shut the door after he was seated. "All right Frank go ahead." Roane called to the front seat.
The ride to the party was as uneventful as it got, except for the fact that Harry and Ginny kept shooting nervous glances at each other while the other wasn't looking. On the way there they picked up Seamus and Dean from Dean's grandmother's house. As the limo approached the large manor where the Chesterson family lived, all of the occupants of the car could feel the ground vibrating with music. "This is gonna be fun." Ginny said drawing surprised looks from everyone. She usually didn't even want to go to parties, let alone have fun at them.
"Boy, you sure have changed." Harry said in wonder. Ginny just laughed and nodded.
They stopped at the front door and piled out of the limo. Roane told the driver to park on the street and that they would be out around eleven, because it was just then nine. He drove away as Roane turned to all of her friends. Roane was into stones and their mystic abilities. When they had first met Roane they had thought her beliefs in the stones and their powers were a bunch of poppycock (though Ron had used much stronger language to describe what he thought about it). But after a personal incident in their third year that had much to do with a certain amber stone, which resided on Roane's slim ring finger, they too believed wholly in the powers of certain stones.
"At ten fifty your rings are charmed to turn bright red warning you that you have ten minutes to get out here and meet up with everyone else. Got it?"
"Yes mum." Joked Seamus as he slung one arm around her shoulders hugging her close. They had been together for almost two years now.
"Well good. Let's party!!" They all walked inside, handed their coats to the doorman and continued to the "ball room" where the actual party was being held.
Dean, who was Sam's boyfriend spotted her in an instant, walked up behind her and gave her a big hug accompanied with a whispered "Happy Birthday" in her ear. She turned in his arms and then hugged him back.
"Thanks." She said brightly. Then she saw Ginny, Roane, and Mercedes behind him. "You came! I seriously didn't think you would, but I'm really glad you did. Well have fun." With that she turned around and went off someplace with Dean.
"Let's go dance." Ginny said eyeing the pack of dancers on the dance floor.
"Well if it isn't Miss I'm-the-Queen-of-the-World-Just-Because-I-Can-Skate, I didn't think you would be here." Said Lilla from the door.
"Stuff it Lilla, I don't want to have to hit you, but if you ever say one more word to me or about me that is even slightly offending, I swear I will break that perfect little nose of yours and it will never be perfect again." Ginny said turning slowly to face the bitch.
"No, I don't think I will. What you did today was-" But no one ever found out what Lilla thought about what Ginny did, because as soon as the first word had left Lilla's mouth Ginny knew it would be mean. So she drew back her fist and punched Lilla hard on the nose with so much force it broke in an instant and Lilla was thrown to the ground.
"Now I warned you Lilla. I've had it. One more word, nice or not and I will break every other bone in your selfish evil body with out a second thought. You've tortured me and everyone else in this room for too long now and gotten away with it. Now it's your turn. Your reign as 'queen' is over. You don't rule anyone now and you never did." Ginny was standing over Lilla who was holding her nose, which was bleeding freely. Ginny's eyes were flashing dangerously and it looked like she was going to blow up with anger. The room was silent. The music had stopped and everyone had stopped dancing to watch Lilliana Newton get a beat-down from the most unlikely person- Ginny Weasley. Harry and Ron were staring at Ginny, dumbfounded. She had finally blown. They knew it would happen sooner or later.
Lilla finally stood up and looked Ginny in the eye. "You little bitch! You'll pay for this!" With that she leaned over and pulled Ginny's curly hair hard. Ginny snatched Lilla's hand and squeezed it so hard that she let go of Ginny's hair. With her other hand Ginny gathered all her strength and punched Lilla again right on her already broken nose. Lilla's eyes watered and she dropped into a heap at Ginny's feet sobbing with pain. Her pride was killed, she'd been embarrassed by the same girl twice in the same day.
Ginny looked down on her with absolute disgust and muttered one single word that said it all, "Leave."
Lana and Abby rushed over to Lilla, picked her up and almost carried her out of the hall. When they left, everyone else looked at Ginny, who just scowled at the door through which the girls had just gone through, then turned and went through the glass double doors that led to the large garden and disappeared.
Once she was gone Harry followed her. Ron made a move to follow him, but Hermione grabbed his arm and pulled him back. "Let him go Ron, let them talk." Ron frowned at her, then at Harry's retreating back.
The entire room exploded into cheers as they realized what had just happened. Fanny and Nara, two Ravenclaw sixth years were skipping around singing, "Ding dog, the witch is dead, the witch is dead, we're free!"
IN THE GARDEN:
Ginny burst through the double glass doors and into the garden. She needed air fast, before she blew up. As she walked into the elaborate maze in the garden she heard the hall explode into cheers and the music start again. But she didn't care. She had finally hit Lilla, and she was glad. She didn't know what had come over her. One minute she was seeing clearly, the next, everything was red, and she was socking Lilla. Then she said something to her, what was it? Oh who cared anyway. Lilla was finally in her place. Ginny saw a stone bench up a head, and when she reached it she sat down resting her head on the backrest. Her hands began to fiddle with her black onyx ring, and she thought about what Dumbledore had meant when he said that it was very powerful, and that only she could harness it's powers. She remembered back to where, when, and why she and her friends had first received the rings in the first place.
FLASHBACK:
Dumbledore walked up to the stone table in the center of the dimly lit circular tower room. On the table rested a worn and old book that held the secrets of life, next to the book was a dusty velvet bag, and next to the bag burned a torch, the one and only light in the room. He motioned for everyone to stand in a circle around the table.
Harry, Ron, Dean, Seamus, Law, Hermione, Ginny, Mercedes, Roane and Samantha, all the best of friends did as they were told. They all wearing white robes and soft white moccasins. The girls all had their hair down and the boys had all tamed their hair, with the exception of Harry whose hair could never be tamed completely. They stared at Dumbledore and wondered what all this was for. He had sent them messages via owl to meet him here at eleven thirty New Year's Eve, for an important ceremony which they were to be a part of. They had not been allowed to go home for the holidays and they wanted to know why.
Dumbledore chanted something in Latin for a grand total of five minutes, then he said, "You are in the presence of ancient spirits older than I or anyone else in this room will ever be, so I ask that you be very respectful in this place. A small gift for each of you, left by the greatest wizard of all time, Merlin himself. Now, each of you will choose one, but whichever one you pick, you keep. The stone chooses the wearer so no trading no matter what color you get, for the stone's powers will work only for it's true bearer. The bands will all be a simple gold, but the stones will be different."
"Seamus you first. And no peeking!" Dumbledore opened the sack just wide enough for Seamus's hand too easily go in and come out. He pulled out a ring with a dark green gem. "That is an amethyst stone, it has healing powers." Seamus nodded and stepped back.
"Dean, now you." Dean stepped up, stuck his hand in and pulled out a shiny white one, "That's an opal it has strong warning powers. Whenever someone who is an enemy or can not be trusted it will turn black. Ron, come."
Dean stepped back and Ron came forward and stuck his hand in the bag and pulled out a dark blue one. Dumbledore stared long and hard at Ron, but he didn't flinch, he just stared right back. Dumbledore smiled, nodded and said, "That is a moss agate, it is a warrior stone. You will be strong during battles." Ron nodded and stepped back letting Hermione step up.
She tentatively put her hand in the bag and pulled out a light green one. "That is a jade. It will keep you calm in times of worry or distress." Hermione stepped back and Roane stepped up.
She placed her hand gracefully into the gag pulling out a dark red stone. "That Ms. Hughes, is the answer to all of your questions. It will guide you down the right path." Roane looked at Dumbledore in disbelief for a moment, then a wide grin came across her face, and she stepped back down.
Samantha stepped up to Dumbledore, her raven hair contrasting nicely with her white robes, and stuck her hand in the velvet bag, and pulled out a ring with a light pink stone. "Ah, the rosequartz, believed by Merlin to radiate love, somewhat like you do Ms. Chesterson." Sam beamed brightly at this, then backed into her spot.
Law stepped up and stuck his hand into the sack. His hand came out clutching a smoky white one. "That is the white topaz there are precious few left in the world, most were destroyed by an evil king during the 1200's, it symbolizes peace and gives the wearer the power to enforce it."
Law stepped down and Mercedes stepped up and slowly put her hand in the bag, pulling out a yellow one with black streaks through it. "This is a jasper. It is a confidence booster, and it gives the wearer the compassion to boost others' confidence levels."
Mercedes blinked once and stepped down, letting Harry step up. Harry stared at the bag for a moment, then stuck his hand in and pulled out a black stone with one yellow streak, almost like a cat's eye. "The tiger eye, it gives off good energy and fights off bad, just like you Harry." Harry looked at Professor Dumbledor, then stepped back.
Now only Ginny was left, she took a deep breath and stepped up to the bag. She put her hand in and grabbed the last ring inside and she pulled it out. It was completely black and was warm in her hands. "The black onyx, one of the only two left in the world and more powerful than all of the rings combined. It possesses powers beyond your imagination that only you can harness, and if placed in the wrong hands, there could be a dangerous out come, so keep it secret, keep it safe."
Ginny stepped back and Dumbledore said to every one. "These are the ten ancient Rings of Merlin, and they have been entrusted to you by the Order of the Phoenix and supervised by Merlin himself and the Ancient Ones. The abilities of the rings reflect and/or magnify qualities you may have or ones that you need desperately in order to save the world from a terror yet to come. Alone they are powerful, but together, they can do wonders. You have been chosen by the Ancient Ones to be the Ring Bearers, and you have a mission to complete, the fate of the world as we know it depends on you. But, you must find this mission yourselves, with only the help from each other and a little help from the Ancient Ones. To contact them, this room will always be open to you and you only. There is no choice, you have been chosen and can not decline. I wish you all the luck."
They just stared at him for a moment not registering what had happened. Then the questions started coming. "What just happened?" "Where are we?" "How did we get here?" "Why are we here?" "Why us, and what for?" "What type of mission?" "Will it be safe?" "Will we die?" "How can Merlin supervise us if he is dead?" "Who are the Ancient Ones?" "Why does Roane look so funny with her hair down?" (Ron got a good kick in the shin for that one.) And more often than not- "I don't get it!"
Dumbledore let all of the questions fall out, then held up his hand when they started to get ridiculous. "All of the answers to your questions are here in this book, and with the help of Ms. Granger and Ms. Hughes, I trust you will find them well enough." With that Dumbledore waved his wand and all ten teenagers fell into a deep sleep. The next morning they all woke at the exact same second and looked around bewildered. They were in the hospital wing, their rings were on their right ring fingers, and their white robes were folded neatly at the end of their beds.
Seamus looked at Dean, who looked at Ron, who looked at Hermione, who looked at Roane, who looked at Sam, who looked at Law, who looked at Mercedes, who looked at Harry, who looked at Ginny, who voiced what they were all thinking somewhere in the middle of their confused states. "Well I guess we've got a lot of reading to do, 'cause that ancient book thingy was huge." She sighed and looked out the window at the dawn sky. Her favorite time of the day, and she was still in bed trying to clear her head and get at least one decent thought. Maybe if she slept some more.
END FLASHBACK!!!
Harry turned into the maze and followed the twisting paths at a slow walk, he didn't want to scare Ginny when he walked in on her. He looked up ahead as he turned a corner and saw her sitting on a bench a few yards away, and she was resting her head on the back of the bench. He cleared his throat loudly to get her attention.
Ginny's head snapped up and she looked around finally seeing Harry walking slowly toward her. "Hello Harry." She said quietly.
"Ginny, are you okay?" He said sitting down next to her.
"I am now." Ginny said then she sighed, "I just hope Lilla leaves us alone now. You know, Mercedes and I have been nothing but nice to her ever since "Little Tots", but all she has ever done is tease us and hurt us. And I say it stops now." She put her head in her hands and sighed again. "But if it keeps up, I just won't know what to do. I swore when we got our rings that I would use it only for good and not for evil, but that is getting harder and harder to do."
"Ginny look at me," Harry said, he had to make her happy again. Ginny looked up at him with dry eyes. " 'The stone chooses the wearer'. " He said imitating Dumbledore's voice. Ginny smiled lightly. "You are brave, and powerful, and you can handle this. You've got to take charge of the situation, and you have the power to, you just have to access it. Why else would the black onyx choose you? You own the same qualities it radiates with out letting them get out of hand. You are one strong girl." Harry said looking at her.
She smiled at him and gave him a quick hug. "Thanks Harry, I needed that little pep talk. I can always count on you." She hugged him again, then stood up and pulled him with her. "Come on, everyone is probably wondering where we've gone."
"Yeah, your right. " Harry said putting his arm around Ginny's shoulders and hugging her close. "And always remember, 'no one can make you feel inferior without your consent.' "
Ginny looked up at him and gave him a smiled that melted his heart, "Eleanor Roosevelt said that." Harry nodded and they walked in silence the rest of the way to the party, happier than ever just being in each other's company, but lost in their own thoughts, which went something like this:
Ginny: 'Oh my Merlin!!! I told myself not to do it, and yet I'm doing it anyway!!!! I'm falling in love with Harry!! No, I'm not falling in love with Harry, I've already fallen!!'
Harry: 'I'm a dead man, 'cause once Ron finds out I've fallen in love with his beloved sister, he'll kill me.'
Both: 'But how do I tell him?' (But of course for Harry it's 'her' not him.)
BACK AT THE PARTY:
Ron looked towards the glass double doors for the eighth time in the last five minutes. "Ron!" Hermione said grabbing his face and turning it to face her "They are fine!! Harry is with Ginny, so nothing can harm her! Now stop worrying!!" She leaned in and kissed him hard on the mouth, making him forget everything else for the moment.
"Ginny!" Someone yelled from behind Ron. He broke away from Hermione, and whipped around.
"And just where have you been young lady??" He demanded.
"Oh shush Ron, you sound like Percy." Ginny said with a laugh.
Ron looked hurt, but brightened at the sight of his sister feeling better. She had been about to blow when she stormed out earlier. "Well, besides that, I'm glad to see you're feeling better. You looked ready to burst when you left earlier."
"Yeah, Harry talked to me and then I felt better, much better." She said hugging Harry closer. She still had not let go of him.
"Why? What did he say too you? What did you do Potter? Are you trying to seduce my sister?" Ron asked getting suspicious.
"Ron?" Harry said.
"What?"
"Shut up."
Hermione looked at her hands in her lap so she wouldn't crack up at Ron's facial expression. She saw that her usual green ring was glowing red. "You guys it's time to go, they'll be waiting."
Hermione, Ron, Harry, Ginny, Law, and Mercedes got up to find Sam and thank her for a great time at her party. "You gave me the best present ever, you got rid of that slut Lilliana, I didn't want to invite her but my mum said that if I invited Law, I had to invite his twin. I tried to explain to her that along with you all, Law is one of my best friends, that even he hates his sister, but she wouldn't have it. So I had to invite her. I'll see you guys tomorrow at Wittnauer Alley! Drive safely!" She said to them as she walked them to the front door.
"Bye Sam!" They said and walked over to where Roane, Dean, and Seamus were standing waiting for them.
"Same seating kiddies!" Roane said happily as the all got into the limo. Again Ron closed the door, and again, he wasn't too happy about the fact that his best friend and his sister were sitting right next to each other.
Ginny was tired, the events of the night had drained her and she had to get up early the next morning. She yawned quietly, while everyone else discussed the damage Ginny had caused to Lilla's nose. No one but Harry noticed her yawn. "You can use my shoulder as a pillow if you want." He whispered in her ear.
"Thank you." She whispered back. She snuggled up close to him and was soon fast asleep on his shoulder.
When they reached the Burrow, Ron looked over at Ginny, and saw that she was a sleep on Harry's shoulder, and that Harry wasn't making a funny face or moving her. As a matter of fact, he was just looking at the top of her curly red hair. JUST LOOKING!!!! Ron scowled and gave himself a mental note to talk to Harry in the morning. He moved to tap her on her shoulder to wake her up, but Harry stopped him.
"That's okay I can carry her, she'll be light." Harry said looking at Ron as if daring him to wake Ginny.
Ron just looked at him, then said, "Okay." And climbed out of the limo.
Harry removed Ginny's head from his shoulder and gently laid it on the back of her seat. Then he slid out and bent down to get Ginny. He placed his right arm under her shoulder blades and his left under her knees, and lifted her out of the car. 'Boy! She's light!' He thought. "Bye." He whispered to Roane who was watching in intrest. "I'll see you tomorrow at Wittnauer Alley."
"Sure thing Harry, bye." She said coming to close the door.
Harry followed everyone else to the house and carried Ginny through the kitchen, where her mother and father were still up debating the latest issues at the ministry, and up the stairs to her room. He laid her gently on her bed on her bed, then turned to find Mrs. Wealsey right behind him. He had grown a lot in the past few years and now she only reached at his shoulders.
"Good night Harry dear, I'll take it from here." Mrs. Wealsey said hopping up to give him a kiss on his cheek.
"G'night Mrs. Weasley, and I'll be going with Ginny and Mercedes on their morning run." Harry said as he left the room.
"That's good dear." She said.
Harry checked his watch, it was midnight, and he would have to be up in five hours. He trudged up the rest of the stairs to Ron's room and saw that he and Law were already asleep. He changed into his pajamas quickly and was asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow, dreaming of a pretty red-haired someone.
A/N: It was long I know, but I had to get a lot of stuff in this chapter and I had fun writing it, I spent all day procrastinating from doing my research project for English, and did this instead. So do me justice and review my story!!!!!!!!!! Well, it is 3 in the morning and I have to be at church in six hours, but I might write the beginning of chapter three.
Disclaimer: I OWN NOTHING BUT THE THINGS THAT DON'T LOOK FAMILIAR!!!( LIKE MERCEDES, LILLA, LANA, ABBY, SAM, ROANE, WHITTNAUER ALLEY AND SUCH) EVERYTHING ELSE BELONGS TO THE WONDERFUL JK ROWLING NOT ME! And I made up most of the purposes for the gems, and the thing about Eleanor Roosevelt came from "The Princess Diaries", don't you just love Anne Hathaway?
Chapter 2- The Party, The Fight, and The Pep Talk
Harry walked out of the ice rink and was met with a blast of warm summer air. He looked over at Ginny and saw that she was happier that he had ever seen her. She'd only been on the Hogwarts team for three years, and yet she was as good as it got and she love what she did. He remembered back to the beginning of his fifth year when professor Dumbledore had announced that the new building on the grounds was an ice rink and that they would be starting a school team to compete against other schools. Ginny's face had lit up like a Christmas tree and she immediately announced that she was trying out for the team. But Harry always thought she hadn't, guess he was wrong. She had tried out and had been made captain too, she was that good.
Something flip flopped in Harry's stomach as Ginny turned and looked at him flashing a bright smile his way. She was beautiful, he noticed. He had always thought of her as Ron's little sister and nothing else, but now he thought different. Was it that her blue eyes were bluer, her red hair darker and longer? Or was it the new wave of confidence that seemed to radiate from her ever since she had started skating. Harry liked seeing her happy. She wasn't ever happy enough, always shadowed by her older brothers or smothered by her mother. But now she was beginning to stand up for herself, he could see that from the way she skated against Lilla and the way she talked to her too. Yep Ginny was a whole new person.
"Let's go. Last one to the Burrow is a rotten egg!" she shouted as she hopped on her broom and took off. Harry and Mercedes hopped on their own brooms, and took off after her. It looked like Ron and Hermione were going to be the rotten eggs. Harry smiled to himself, it had taken them long enough. As he thought about this he shot past Ginny and he heard her shout, "You'll pay for that Harry!!"
"Whatcha gonna do about it huh?" He asked as she pulled up beside him, he red hair training behind her like a banner.
"I'm gonna beat you home." She said and took off, her hair rippling behind her.
She landed and Harry landed right behind her. She whipped around and said "Ha! I beat you!!" She poked him hard in the chest.
"Gin, can we just get cleaned up? I feel dirty." Mercedes said landing next to Harry.
"Sure, come on up, then we can have Hermione help us with our makeup. See you later Harry." She smiled again, flipped her hair over her shoulder and went inside with Mercedes leaving Harry staring after her.
Crazy thoughts ran through his mind as they went inside and disappeared up the stairs, Ginny sure wasn't just Ron's little sister anymore, she had grown up, and was beautiful. But the only question that remained was, did Harry have feelings for her?
Ginny ran up the stairs to her remodeled room with Mercedes and shut the door behind them. Everything purple greeted them as they stepped in. "Did you at least bring your clothes for tonight with you?" She asked Mercedes dropping her things on the floor in the corner, and rummaging through her closet and dresser drawers, looking for her shirt and skirt.
"Yeah, I'm not that daft you know." Mercedes said faking hurt.
"Oh I'm sorry 'Cedes, didn't mean to be mean. Now go and take a shower before I get there first." Ginny said. Mercedes scampered out the room with a "Yes ma'am," and Ginny dropped to the floor in her closet looking for the boots her mother had gotten her for her birthday.
"Where are they?" She muttered, standing up.
"Check under your bed, hon." Her mirror said. Ginny gave the mirror a questioning glance before dropping to her knees once again and looking under her bed. They were there, right next to a few dust bunnies.
"How'd they get there? I could have sworn I left them in the closet." Ginny shook her head figuring it had to be Fred and George. Just then Mercedes came back into the room wearing nice jeans and a pink halter-top. Her long curly brunette hair hung down her back, dripping water all over Ginny's deep purple carpet.
"Now that's better. I actually feel clean. Did you know that Max made me and Marc do our routine six times??? I swear he was trying to make me pass out." Mercedes shuddered.
"Six? Wow." Ginny said walking out the door to the bathroom. "I'll be back she called over her shoulder. She shut and locked the door to the bathroom, put her wand on the counter, and then took a nice long shower washing her hair good. She got out dried off and got dressed then looked at herself in the mirror. Usually she was a pale color, but now she was a warm peach with an unfaltering smile. Her blue eyes glittered and her dark red hair shined in the light from the window in the bathroom. 'Hey, I could actually be pretty.' She thought. She smiled wider and put the tip of her wand to her head. "Curlio" She muttered. And her hair curled into lasting ringlets that framed her face and tumbled down her back. Other that her skating abilities, her hair was her pride and joy. She bent down, picked up her dirty uniform and dumped it in the hamper for her mother to wash. She slid her wand into her pocket and walked out the bathroom and into her room.
"Hermione! You finally got back, where were you?" Ginny said sitting down at the purple vanity knowing exactly where her friend had been.
"With Ron." She said simply. "Now what is this about you wanting me to help you with your makeup?" Hermione said changing the subject.
"Well we were wondering if you could give us some pointers." Mercedes said sitting on the floor and leaning against the bed.
"Well I only have one tip to give you, less is more. So only wear the minimums like a little eye liner, a little bit of eye shadow, a little bit of blush, and a light lip gloss. Nothing too fancy."
Ginny turned to the vanity mirror and did what Hermione said before turning back and saying, "How's this?"
"Perfect, now switch with 'Cedes and let her do her thing." They did what they were told grabbed their jackets and ran downstairs. By then it was five thirty and the sun was beginning to set. They walked into the kitchen and saw Mrs. Weasley cooking dinner.
"Hello girls!" She said brightly. "Why don't you take the utensils and set the table outside."
"Sure thing mum." Ginny said brightly grabbing eleven cups and plates and heading out the door. Hermione took the spoons and forks, and Mercedes picked up the napkins and knives and followed Ginny out side where Ron and Harry were sitting on the grass next to the table trying to fix a broken leg on the table.
"Hey Harry, Ron." Ginny said brightly.
Harry looked up and went slack jawed, Ginny was beautiful. Her hair was tightly curled, her makeup was done, and she was wearing a green sleeveless turtleneck shirt combined with a bleached tie-dyed jean mini skirt and white knee high boots and a bleached tie-dyed jean jacket that matched with her skirt. "H-h-hi G-G-Ginny." He said staring.
"She giggled lightly. "Hello Harry. Having a bit of a problem with the table I see."
"Yeah. " He said blushing. 'Why are blushing stupid?! She is Ron's little sister you can not fall in love with her!!' He yelled to himself.
"Here let me help." She said walking over. She pulled her wand out of her pocket, pointed it at the table and said, "Repario. It helps to be good in charms." The table leg began to mend itself and Harry and Ron turned it over and helped the girls set it up. As Harry took the plates from Ginny an electric shock went through them both and they jumped simultaneously. Ginny smiled nervously and stammered, "Uh, um, I-I-I'm going to go to Hermione. O- Over there. Um bye." Then she almost ran to where Hermione was setting down the forks at the other end of the table. She was blushing so furiously, that she was beginning to blend in with her hair.
Soon they were done setting up the table, Law was there, and the food was on the table. "Hello all." Law said brightly as he walked into the back yard.
"Well hello Lawson." Percy said from the spot next to Mr. Weasley, "How are your parents and sisters?"
"Hello Percy, Mum and Dad are wonderful and so is Armen, but Lilla's pride is sorely bashed after what Ginny did to her today."
"Ginny what did you do?" Her father asked turning to her with a reproachful stare.
"Nothing Dad, I just gave her what she asked for." Ginny said innocently, "Because she did ask for it, huh Law?"
"She did indeed Mr. W, she did indeed." Law said, his face serious, but his eyes were glittering with laughter. He sat on Harry's right
"Ginny, tell me what you did." Mr. Weasley said again.
"Come on dad, I did nothing wrong! Lilla asked, practically begged me for a skate off, so I gave her one. Let's just say she wasn't expecting me to accept her proposal, let alone do it the way I did it."
"Ginny kicked Lilla's butt!" Ron cheered.
"Ron! We do not talk about butts at the table." His mother said coming out of the house.
"Yeah mum." He said.
"I'm just glad someone finally put her in her place." Mercedes said sitting down next to Law. "Thanks Gin, now hopefully she'll leave us and everyone else alone."
"No thanks needed, I just gave her what she had coming. But next time, if there is one, I don't think I'll be so friendly about it. I almost put a hole in my toung trying to keep from slapping her today." Ginny said looking for a place to sit. There was only one spot left, right next to Harry. She blushed slightly as she sat down.
"So Gin," Harry said, "you were really good this morning, how do you stay in shape? I could use some pointers to help me get the team ready for the first game of the season."
"Well, we have five am practices every morning, we eat from a strict diet, and we stick to what we do." Ginny said filling her plate with salad and then plucking one role from the breadbasket. Harry looked at Mercedes and Law and saw that they were doing the same thing, but Law also had a good- sized piece of fish too.
"Wow you guys are committed to what you love huh?"
"Yep and on the days that we don't have practices, like tomorrow, we run about eight miles, then lift weights till our muscles burn and we feel as if we can't go any farther."
"So you're going to run tomorrow morning?" Harry asked surprised. Usually people slept in after parties like the one they were all going to that night.
"Yep, would you like to come with us?" Ginny held her breath hoping against hope that he'd say yes. "Why do you want him to say yes?" She asked herself. 'He is only a friend, and you got over him a long time ago!'
Harry thought for a second, would he be able to be up that early? He finally decided, "Sure." He said smiling.
"Cool, meet 'Cedes and me in the kitchen at five tomorrow morning. You might want to wear shorts, cause you'll get hot."
"Sure thing." Harry said just as a car horn honked outside in the front.
"It's Roane let's go everyone." Ginny said standing up. She snatched her jacket off the back of her chair, ran to kiss her parents goodbye, and walked to the front of the house to see her last best friend Roane Hughes.
"Ro!" She called, "We might have more riders that expected." Ginny pointed at her brother and his friends.
"That's okay, we have lots of room." Roane climbed out of the limo in the front of the Burrow. She was tall and had mousy brown hair that ran halfway down her body and was almost always braided in one single braid that hung down her back. She was somewhat of a hippie and you can say she had a knack for Divination. "It sometimes pays to have a rich father." She smiled and greeted everyone. Roane, who was American, had lived in England most of her life because her parents suffered a divorce when she was three years old, and she was sent to live with her father, the ambassador to the UN, when she was nine. On her eleventh birthday she received a Hogwarts letter in the middle of a press conference. Her father's staff had a time trying to conceal her little secret from the press. "All aboard!! The Hughes express leaves within the next thirty seconds." Roane said lightly ushering everyone inside.
Somehow Ginny once again ended up next to Harry, but Ron didn't look too happy about this. He was the last one to jump in the limo so he shut the door after he was seated. "All right Frank go ahead." Roane called to the front seat.
The ride to the party was as uneventful as it got, except for the fact that Harry and Ginny kept shooting nervous glances at each other while the other wasn't looking. On the way there they picked up Seamus and Dean from Dean's grandmother's house. As the limo approached the large manor where the Chesterson family lived, all of the occupants of the car could feel the ground vibrating with music. "This is gonna be fun." Ginny said drawing surprised looks from everyone. She usually didn't even want to go to parties, let alone have fun at them.
"Boy, you sure have changed." Harry said in wonder. Ginny just laughed and nodded.
They stopped at the front door and piled out of the limo. Roane told the driver to park on the street and that they would be out around eleven, because it was just then nine. He drove away as Roane turned to all of her friends. Roane was into stones and their mystic abilities. When they had first met Roane they had thought her beliefs in the stones and their powers were a bunch of poppycock (though Ron had used much stronger language to describe what he thought about it). But after a personal incident in their third year that had much to do with a certain amber stone, which resided on Roane's slim ring finger, they too believed wholly in the powers of certain stones.
"At ten fifty your rings are charmed to turn bright red warning you that you have ten minutes to get out here and meet up with everyone else. Got it?"
"Yes mum." Joked Seamus as he slung one arm around her shoulders hugging her close. They had been together for almost two years now.
"Well good. Let's party!!" They all walked inside, handed their coats to the doorman and continued to the "ball room" where the actual party was being held.
Dean, who was Sam's boyfriend spotted her in an instant, walked up behind her and gave her a big hug accompanied with a whispered "Happy Birthday" in her ear. She turned in his arms and then hugged him back.
"Thanks." She said brightly. Then she saw Ginny, Roane, and Mercedes behind him. "You came! I seriously didn't think you would, but I'm really glad you did. Well have fun." With that she turned around and went off someplace with Dean.
"Let's go dance." Ginny said eyeing the pack of dancers on the dance floor.
"Well if it isn't Miss I'm-the-Queen-of-the-World-Just-Because-I-Can-Skate, I didn't think you would be here." Said Lilla from the door.
"Stuff it Lilla, I don't want to have to hit you, but if you ever say one more word to me or about me that is even slightly offending, I swear I will break that perfect little nose of yours and it will never be perfect again." Ginny said turning slowly to face the bitch.
"No, I don't think I will. What you did today was-" But no one ever found out what Lilla thought about what Ginny did, because as soon as the first word had left Lilla's mouth Ginny knew it would be mean. So she drew back her fist and punched Lilla hard on the nose with so much force it broke in an instant and Lilla was thrown to the ground.
"Now I warned you Lilla. I've had it. One more word, nice or not and I will break every other bone in your selfish evil body with out a second thought. You've tortured me and everyone else in this room for too long now and gotten away with it. Now it's your turn. Your reign as 'queen' is over. You don't rule anyone now and you never did." Ginny was standing over Lilla who was holding her nose, which was bleeding freely. Ginny's eyes were flashing dangerously and it looked like she was going to blow up with anger. The room was silent. The music had stopped and everyone had stopped dancing to watch Lilliana Newton get a beat-down from the most unlikely person- Ginny Weasley. Harry and Ron were staring at Ginny, dumbfounded. She had finally blown. They knew it would happen sooner or later.
Lilla finally stood up and looked Ginny in the eye. "You little bitch! You'll pay for this!" With that she leaned over and pulled Ginny's curly hair hard. Ginny snatched Lilla's hand and squeezed it so hard that she let go of Ginny's hair. With her other hand Ginny gathered all her strength and punched Lilla again right on her already broken nose. Lilla's eyes watered and she dropped into a heap at Ginny's feet sobbing with pain. Her pride was killed, she'd been embarrassed by the same girl twice in the same day.
Ginny looked down on her with absolute disgust and muttered one single word that said it all, "Leave."
Lana and Abby rushed over to Lilla, picked her up and almost carried her out of the hall. When they left, everyone else looked at Ginny, who just scowled at the door through which the girls had just gone through, then turned and went through the glass double doors that led to the large garden and disappeared.
Once she was gone Harry followed her. Ron made a move to follow him, but Hermione grabbed his arm and pulled him back. "Let him go Ron, let them talk." Ron frowned at her, then at Harry's retreating back.
The entire room exploded into cheers as they realized what had just happened. Fanny and Nara, two Ravenclaw sixth years were skipping around singing, "Ding dog, the witch is dead, the witch is dead, we're free!"
IN THE GARDEN:
Ginny burst through the double glass doors and into the garden. She needed air fast, before she blew up. As she walked into the elaborate maze in the garden she heard the hall explode into cheers and the music start again. But she didn't care. She had finally hit Lilla, and she was glad. She didn't know what had come over her. One minute she was seeing clearly, the next, everything was red, and she was socking Lilla. Then she said something to her, what was it? Oh who cared anyway. Lilla was finally in her place. Ginny saw a stone bench up a head, and when she reached it she sat down resting her head on the backrest. Her hands began to fiddle with her black onyx ring, and she thought about what Dumbledore had meant when he said that it was very powerful, and that only she could harness it's powers. She remembered back to where, when, and why she and her friends had first received the rings in the first place.
FLASHBACK:
Dumbledore walked up to the stone table in the center of the dimly lit circular tower room. On the table rested a worn and old book that held the secrets of life, next to the book was a dusty velvet bag, and next to the bag burned a torch, the one and only light in the room. He motioned for everyone to stand in a circle around the table.
Harry, Ron, Dean, Seamus, Law, Hermione, Ginny, Mercedes, Roane and Samantha, all the best of friends did as they were told. They all wearing white robes and soft white moccasins. The girls all had their hair down and the boys had all tamed their hair, with the exception of Harry whose hair could never be tamed completely. They stared at Dumbledore and wondered what all this was for. He had sent them messages via owl to meet him here at eleven thirty New Year's Eve, for an important ceremony which they were to be a part of. They had not been allowed to go home for the holidays and they wanted to know why.
Dumbledore chanted something in Latin for a grand total of five minutes, then he said, "You are in the presence of ancient spirits older than I or anyone else in this room will ever be, so I ask that you be very respectful in this place. A small gift for each of you, left by the greatest wizard of all time, Merlin himself. Now, each of you will choose one, but whichever one you pick, you keep. The stone chooses the wearer so no trading no matter what color you get, for the stone's powers will work only for it's true bearer. The bands will all be a simple gold, but the stones will be different."
"Seamus you first. And no peeking!" Dumbledore opened the sack just wide enough for Seamus's hand too easily go in and come out. He pulled out a ring with a dark green gem. "That is an amethyst stone, it has healing powers." Seamus nodded and stepped back.
"Dean, now you." Dean stepped up, stuck his hand in and pulled out a shiny white one, "That's an opal it has strong warning powers. Whenever someone who is an enemy or can not be trusted it will turn black. Ron, come."
Dean stepped back and Ron came forward and stuck his hand in the bag and pulled out a dark blue one. Dumbledore stared long and hard at Ron, but he didn't flinch, he just stared right back. Dumbledore smiled, nodded and said, "That is a moss agate, it is a warrior stone. You will be strong during battles." Ron nodded and stepped back letting Hermione step up.
She tentatively put her hand in the bag and pulled out a light green one. "That is a jade. It will keep you calm in times of worry or distress." Hermione stepped back and Roane stepped up.
She placed her hand gracefully into the gag pulling out a dark red stone. "That Ms. Hughes, is the answer to all of your questions. It will guide you down the right path." Roane looked at Dumbledore in disbelief for a moment, then a wide grin came across her face, and she stepped back down.
Samantha stepped up to Dumbledore, her raven hair contrasting nicely with her white robes, and stuck her hand in the velvet bag, and pulled out a ring with a light pink stone. "Ah, the rosequartz, believed by Merlin to radiate love, somewhat like you do Ms. Chesterson." Sam beamed brightly at this, then backed into her spot.
Law stepped up and stuck his hand into the sack. His hand came out clutching a smoky white one. "That is the white topaz there are precious few left in the world, most were destroyed by an evil king during the 1200's, it symbolizes peace and gives the wearer the power to enforce it."
Law stepped down and Mercedes stepped up and slowly put her hand in the bag, pulling out a yellow one with black streaks through it. "This is a jasper. It is a confidence booster, and it gives the wearer the compassion to boost others' confidence levels."
Mercedes blinked once and stepped down, letting Harry step up. Harry stared at the bag for a moment, then stuck his hand in and pulled out a black stone with one yellow streak, almost like a cat's eye. "The tiger eye, it gives off good energy and fights off bad, just like you Harry." Harry looked at Professor Dumbledor, then stepped back.
Now only Ginny was left, she took a deep breath and stepped up to the bag. She put her hand in and grabbed the last ring inside and she pulled it out. It was completely black and was warm in her hands. "The black onyx, one of the only two left in the world and more powerful than all of the rings combined. It possesses powers beyond your imagination that only you can harness, and if placed in the wrong hands, there could be a dangerous out come, so keep it secret, keep it safe."
Ginny stepped back and Dumbledore said to every one. "These are the ten ancient Rings of Merlin, and they have been entrusted to you by the Order of the Phoenix and supervised by Merlin himself and the Ancient Ones. The abilities of the rings reflect and/or magnify qualities you may have or ones that you need desperately in order to save the world from a terror yet to come. Alone they are powerful, but together, they can do wonders. You have been chosen by the Ancient Ones to be the Ring Bearers, and you have a mission to complete, the fate of the world as we know it depends on you. But, you must find this mission yourselves, with only the help from each other and a little help from the Ancient Ones. To contact them, this room will always be open to you and you only. There is no choice, you have been chosen and can not decline. I wish you all the luck."
They just stared at him for a moment not registering what had happened. Then the questions started coming. "What just happened?" "Where are we?" "How did we get here?" "Why are we here?" "Why us, and what for?" "What type of mission?" "Will it be safe?" "Will we die?" "How can Merlin supervise us if he is dead?" "Who are the Ancient Ones?" "Why does Roane look so funny with her hair down?" (Ron got a good kick in the shin for that one.) And more often than not- "I don't get it!"
Dumbledore let all of the questions fall out, then held up his hand when they started to get ridiculous. "All of the answers to your questions are here in this book, and with the help of Ms. Granger and Ms. Hughes, I trust you will find them well enough." With that Dumbledore waved his wand and all ten teenagers fell into a deep sleep. The next morning they all woke at the exact same second and looked around bewildered. They were in the hospital wing, their rings were on their right ring fingers, and their white robes were folded neatly at the end of their beds.
Seamus looked at Dean, who looked at Ron, who looked at Hermione, who looked at Roane, who looked at Sam, who looked at Law, who looked at Mercedes, who looked at Harry, who looked at Ginny, who voiced what they were all thinking somewhere in the middle of their confused states. "Well I guess we've got a lot of reading to do, 'cause that ancient book thingy was huge." She sighed and looked out the window at the dawn sky. Her favorite time of the day, and she was still in bed trying to clear her head and get at least one decent thought. Maybe if she slept some more.
END FLASHBACK!!!
Harry turned into the maze and followed the twisting paths at a slow walk, he didn't want to scare Ginny when he walked in on her. He looked up ahead as he turned a corner and saw her sitting on a bench a few yards away, and she was resting her head on the back of the bench. He cleared his throat loudly to get her attention.
Ginny's head snapped up and she looked around finally seeing Harry walking slowly toward her. "Hello Harry." She said quietly.
"Ginny, are you okay?" He said sitting down next to her.
"I am now." Ginny said then she sighed, "I just hope Lilla leaves us alone now. You know, Mercedes and I have been nothing but nice to her ever since "Little Tots", but all she has ever done is tease us and hurt us. And I say it stops now." She put her head in her hands and sighed again. "But if it keeps up, I just won't know what to do. I swore when we got our rings that I would use it only for good and not for evil, but that is getting harder and harder to do."
"Ginny look at me," Harry said, he had to make her happy again. Ginny looked up at him with dry eyes. " 'The stone chooses the wearer'. " He said imitating Dumbledore's voice. Ginny smiled lightly. "You are brave, and powerful, and you can handle this. You've got to take charge of the situation, and you have the power to, you just have to access it. Why else would the black onyx choose you? You own the same qualities it radiates with out letting them get out of hand. You are one strong girl." Harry said looking at her.
She smiled at him and gave him a quick hug. "Thanks Harry, I needed that little pep talk. I can always count on you." She hugged him again, then stood up and pulled him with her. "Come on, everyone is probably wondering where we've gone."
"Yeah, your right. " Harry said putting his arm around Ginny's shoulders and hugging her close. "And always remember, 'no one can make you feel inferior without your consent.' "
Ginny looked up at him and gave him a smiled that melted his heart, "Eleanor Roosevelt said that." Harry nodded and they walked in silence the rest of the way to the party, happier than ever just being in each other's company, but lost in their own thoughts, which went something like this:
Ginny: 'Oh my Merlin!!! I told myself not to do it, and yet I'm doing it anyway!!!! I'm falling in love with Harry!! No, I'm not falling in love with Harry, I've already fallen!!'
Harry: 'I'm a dead man, 'cause once Ron finds out I've fallen in love with his beloved sister, he'll kill me.'
Both: 'But how do I tell him?' (But of course for Harry it's 'her' not him.)
BACK AT THE PARTY:
Ron looked towards the glass double doors for the eighth time in the last five minutes. "Ron!" Hermione said grabbing his face and turning it to face her "They are fine!! Harry is with Ginny, so nothing can harm her! Now stop worrying!!" She leaned in and kissed him hard on the mouth, making him forget everything else for the moment.
"Ginny!" Someone yelled from behind Ron. He broke away from Hermione, and whipped around.
"And just where have you been young lady??" He demanded.
"Oh shush Ron, you sound like Percy." Ginny said with a laugh.
Ron looked hurt, but brightened at the sight of his sister feeling better. She had been about to blow when she stormed out earlier. "Well, besides that, I'm glad to see you're feeling better. You looked ready to burst when you left earlier."
"Yeah, Harry talked to me and then I felt better, much better." She said hugging Harry closer. She still had not let go of him.
"Why? What did he say too you? What did you do Potter? Are you trying to seduce my sister?" Ron asked getting suspicious.
"Ron?" Harry said.
"What?"
"Shut up."
Hermione looked at her hands in her lap so she wouldn't crack up at Ron's facial expression. She saw that her usual green ring was glowing red. "You guys it's time to go, they'll be waiting."
Hermione, Ron, Harry, Ginny, Law, and Mercedes got up to find Sam and thank her for a great time at her party. "You gave me the best present ever, you got rid of that slut Lilliana, I didn't want to invite her but my mum said that if I invited Law, I had to invite his twin. I tried to explain to her that along with you all, Law is one of my best friends, that even he hates his sister, but she wouldn't have it. So I had to invite her. I'll see you guys tomorrow at Wittnauer Alley! Drive safely!" She said to them as she walked them to the front door.
"Bye Sam!" They said and walked over to where Roane, Dean, and Seamus were standing waiting for them.
"Same seating kiddies!" Roane said happily as the all got into the limo. Again Ron closed the door, and again, he wasn't too happy about the fact that his best friend and his sister were sitting right next to each other.
Ginny was tired, the events of the night had drained her and she had to get up early the next morning. She yawned quietly, while everyone else discussed the damage Ginny had caused to Lilla's nose. No one but Harry noticed her yawn. "You can use my shoulder as a pillow if you want." He whispered in her ear.
"Thank you." She whispered back. She snuggled up close to him and was soon fast asleep on his shoulder.
When they reached the Burrow, Ron looked over at Ginny, and saw that she was a sleep on Harry's shoulder, and that Harry wasn't making a funny face or moving her. As a matter of fact, he was just looking at the top of her curly red hair. JUST LOOKING!!!! Ron scowled and gave himself a mental note to talk to Harry in the morning. He moved to tap her on her shoulder to wake her up, but Harry stopped him.
"That's okay I can carry her, she'll be light." Harry said looking at Ron as if daring him to wake Ginny.
Ron just looked at him, then said, "Okay." And climbed out of the limo.
Harry removed Ginny's head from his shoulder and gently laid it on the back of her seat. Then he slid out and bent down to get Ginny. He placed his right arm under her shoulder blades and his left under her knees, and lifted her out of the car. 'Boy! She's light!' He thought. "Bye." He whispered to Roane who was watching in intrest. "I'll see you tomorrow at Wittnauer Alley."
"Sure thing Harry, bye." She said coming to close the door.
Harry followed everyone else to the house and carried Ginny through the kitchen, where her mother and father were still up debating the latest issues at the ministry, and up the stairs to her room. He laid her gently on her bed on her bed, then turned to find Mrs. Wealsey right behind him. He had grown a lot in the past few years and now she only reached at his shoulders.
"Good night Harry dear, I'll take it from here." Mrs. Wealsey said hopping up to give him a kiss on his cheek.
"G'night Mrs. Weasley, and I'll be going with Ginny and Mercedes on their morning run." Harry said as he left the room.
"That's good dear." She said.
Harry checked his watch, it was midnight, and he would have to be up in five hours. He trudged up the rest of the stairs to Ron's room and saw that he and Law were already asleep. He changed into his pajamas quickly and was asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow, dreaming of a pretty red-haired someone.
A/N: It was long I know, but I had to get a lot of stuff in this chapter and I had fun writing it, I spent all day procrastinating from doing my research project for English, and did this instead. So do me justice and review my story!!!!!!!!!! Well, it is 3 in the morning and I have to be at church in six hours, but I might write the beginning of chapter three.