Disclaimer: See previous chapters
Thanks SO much to gundamhardcore, yemming, Kevin, eTRINITYs11, cutebabystar 217, Pink Witch, Sirius the Ladies' man, and Jenna James for reviewing the last chapter!!
Chapter 20
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Harry stopped outside of the charms classroom and leaned against the wall next to the door to catch his breathe. He hoped the class wouldn't last too much longer. But after a few minutes he began to think about what Ginny's reaction would be when he told her that he'd passed. He knew she would be happy for him, but she had also always made it clear that she was not happy with the idea of Harry being an Auror. But before Harry had time to consider what would be the best way to tell her what had happened, the door opened and a mob of seventh years began to push their way out.
Harry backed up a few steps to get out of the way of the rush of students. He glimpsed a flash of red hair mixed in with all the brown and black. "Ginny!" He yelled after her. She turned around and as soon as she saw him a huge smile spread acroos her face. She ran to him and threw her arms around his neck. "I didn't think you would come until supper! How did it go?" She asked as she pulled away and picked up her book bag from where she had dropped it on the floor.
"Let's go for a walk or something." Harry said as he looked around at the crowds of students brushing past them on their way to their next classes. "Ok," She said, sounding concerned. They were soon out on the grounds walking by the lake, Harry holding Ginny's slender hand tightly as he tried to think of the best way to go about telling his girlfriend what he knew she wouldn't like to hear.
"Well?" She asked suspiciously, a worried look spreading across her face. Harry stopped walking and looked down into her questioning eyes. "I passed." He said nervously, watching as her closely as she tried to force a smile. "That's great, Harry! So you only have to go for one year now?" She asked hopefully. Harry bit his lip as he shook his head. Ginny's face immediatly turned deathly pale. "Oh," She whispered, breaking her gaze from Harry and looking down at the ground as she tried to gather her composure. When she looked up again she had a smile on her face, not quite a genuine smile, but a smile all the same.
"I'm happy for you, Harry, I really am. It's just...just be careful, ok?" She whispered as tears began sliding down her cheeks. Harry released her hand and wrapped his arms around her tightly. "I will." He whispered into her hair. "So when do you start?" She asked after a few minutes of silence. "Tomorrow." Harry answered. He looked down at her in time to see her wince at his answer.
He opened his mouth to try and say something to comfort her even though he had no idea what to say, but she cut him off by jumping out of his arms abruptly. "Oh shoot, I'm late for potions!" She mumbled as she grabbed her bag from the ground. "Come to supper, ok?" She said hurridly as she stood on the tip of her feet to kiss Harry lightly on the cheek. Harry watched her run all the way to the castle then he plopped down on the ground and rested his head in his hands with a sigh. She seemed to take it well, but he knew she was much more worried and upset than she let show.
Harry spent the rest of the afternoon telling his two best friends about his new occupation. They were both very happy for him and the three friends talked for over and hour even though Ron and Hermione were supposed to be working. Harry apparated back to Hogsmeade and once again walked to Hogwarts. It began pouring rain when he was about half way across the Hogwart's grounds. He used a water repelling spell on himself just in time as the rain began pounding down on him.
As soon as he opened the huge double doors that led to the entrance hall the familiar sound of hundreds of students talking and laughing filled his ears. He walked into the Great Hall and cringed as everyone turned to look at him then began whispering rapidly to eachother. He ignored this as much as he could and walked over to the Gryffindor table where he sat down by Ginny, who had a spot saved for him. "Hey." He muttered as he leaned forward to kiss her quickly. "Hey yourself." She replied with a smile.
"So tell me everything about your test. Was it hard?" She asked, obviously straining to sound casual and cheerful. Harry smiled at her attempt before answering. He told her about Walker and a few of the tasks he had to complete, but he was careful not to talk about it too long because he could tell she didn't really want to think about it at all and had only asked because she knew Harry would have been suspicious if she didn't.
The couple talked all through supper. As soon as the subject of Auror's was dropped Ginny began acting like her normal self and they both spent the time enjoyably, both of them almost forgetting about the new development completely. They talked long after they had finished eating and when Harry looked up he was surprised to see the great hall completely empty of students. All that remained was a few teachers at the staff table talking quietly to eachother.
"Wow I didn't realize it was this late. I'd better get home, Gin, I have to..." He stopped himself as he was about to say he had to go over some papers before tomorrow. He didn't want to end their evening together by bringing that up again. He left the sentance unfinished and leaned forward to kiss his girlfriend softly before he stood up and began walking toward the doors. "Good luck tomorrow." He heard her soft voice float back to him. He turned around to see her still sitting at the table, staring vacantly at her plate, her face drawn with worry.
Harry walked back to her and placed his hand gently on her shoulder. She looked up at him, meeting his emerald eyes with her blue ones. "Ginny," He started but couldn't finish because he wasn't at all sure what to say. "I know this is what you want, Harry. And I think it's very noble and brave of you, and when I think about it I know I would rather have it this way than for you to be a coward afraid to defend yourself and those you care about, but I just can't help thinking about where it got your father. I try so hard not to worry about it Harry, I really do, but I couldn't live if something like that happened to you." Her voice choked with emotion and she had to struggle to get the last words out as tears began to flow freely down her face.
Harry sat back down next to her and lifted her chin gently until her till- filled eyes were looking desperatly into his own. "I'm scared too, Gin. But you can't let fear live your life for you. I think there is a chance that I might be able to defeat Voldemort, and this is the only way that I can do it. What other hope do we have? Perhaps I could just go into hiding but then he would have gotten what he wanted, me out of the way. And besides if he is ever going to be destroyed I am going to have to fight him. And I can do it, Ginny. I can. You just have to trust me." Harry whispered in a pleading voice.
Ginny smiled sadly at him through her tears. "I do trust you." She said softly. Harry smiled back at her. "Thank you." He whispered. "That's all I need."
~*~*~*~*~
Harry stayed up till 3:00 in the morning reading the papers in the envelope that Walker had given him earlier. In it was all the basic rules of being an Auror, such as what spells were legal to cast at all times and which ones could only be used on extreme occasions. Harry found it all very interesting and could have stayed up all night reading it but thought it would be a good idea to get some sleep. He set his alarm clock magically, being sure to set it for 7:30, half an hour before he was supposed to report in.
He lay in bed unable to sleep, his thoughts drifting randomly. He wondered if his father had felt like this the day he'd become an Auror, excited and nervous. But the main thing that Harry felt was contentment. Something inside him knew that he was doing what he'd been born to do, and now that Ginny was ok with that too, Harry didn't see how things could be any better. Well, maybe if his parents were there...he tried to force that thought out of his mind, but no matter how hard he tried he kept seeing images of his parent's faces when he told them he'd become an Auror. His mother was crying happily and his father was just smiling as if he'd never been so proud of anything in his whole life.
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A/N: Short, I know but at least I got it up quicky, unlike the last one!
~Katydid
Thanks SO much to gundamhardcore, yemming, Kevin, eTRINITYs11, cutebabystar 217, Pink Witch, Sirius the Ladies' man, and Jenna James for reviewing the last chapter!!
Chapter 20
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Harry stopped outside of the charms classroom and leaned against the wall next to the door to catch his breathe. He hoped the class wouldn't last too much longer. But after a few minutes he began to think about what Ginny's reaction would be when he told her that he'd passed. He knew she would be happy for him, but she had also always made it clear that she was not happy with the idea of Harry being an Auror. But before Harry had time to consider what would be the best way to tell her what had happened, the door opened and a mob of seventh years began to push their way out.
Harry backed up a few steps to get out of the way of the rush of students. He glimpsed a flash of red hair mixed in with all the brown and black. "Ginny!" He yelled after her. She turned around and as soon as she saw him a huge smile spread acroos her face. She ran to him and threw her arms around his neck. "I didn't think you would come until supper! How did it go?" She asked as she pulled away and picked up her book bag from where she had dropped it on the floor.
"Let's go for a walk or something." Harry said as he looked around at the crowds of students brushing past them on their way to their next classes. "Ok," She said, sounding concerned. They were soon out on the grounds walking by the lake, Harry holding Ginny's slender hand tightly as he tried to think of the best way to go about telling his girlfriend what he knew she wouldn't like to hear.
"Well?" She asked suspiciously, a worried look spreading across her face. Harry stopped walking and looked down into her questioning eyes. "I passed." He said nervously, watching as her closely as she tried to force a smile. "That's great, Harry! So you only have to go for one year now?" She asked hopefully. Harry bit his lip as he shook his head. Ginny's face immediatly turned deathly pale. "Oh," She whispered, breaking her gaze from Harry and looking down at the ground as she tried to gather her composure. When she looked up again she had a smile on her face, not quite a genuine smile, but a smile all the same.
"I'm happy for you, Harry, I really am. It's just...just be careful, ok?" She whispered as tears began sliding down her cheeks. Harry released her hand and wrapped his arms around her tightly. "I will." He whispered into her hair. "So when do you start?" She asked after a few minutes of silence. "Tomorrow." Harry answered. He looked down at her in time to see her wince at his answer.
He opened his mouth to try and say something to comfort her even though he had no idea what to say, but she cut him off by jumping out of his arms abruptly. "Oh shoot, I'm late for potions!" She mumbled as she grabbed her bag from the ground. "Come to supper, ok?" She said hurridly as she stood on the tip of her feet to kiss Harry lightly on the cheek. Harry watched her run all the way to the castle then he plopped down on the ground and rested his head in his hands with a sigh. She seemed to take it well, but he knew she was much more worried and upset than she let show.
Harry spent the rest of the afternoon telling his two best friends about his new occupation. They were both very happy for him and the three friends talked for over and hour even though Ron and Hermione were supposed to be working. Harry apparated back to Hogsmeade and once again walked to Hogwarts. It began pouring rain when he was about half way across the Hogwart's grounds. He used a water repelling spell on himself just in time as the rain began pounding down on him.
As soon as he opened the huge double doors that led to the entrance hall the familiar sound of hundreds of students talking and laughing filled his ears. He walked into the Great Hall and cringed as everyone turned to look at him then began whispering rapidly to eachother. He ignored this as much as he could and walked over to the Gryffindor table where he sat down by Ginny, who had a spot saved for him. "Hey." He muttered as he leaned forward to kiss her quickly. "Hey yourself." She replied with a smile.
"So tell me everything about your test. Was it hard?" She asked, obviously straining to sound casual and cheerful. Harry smiled at her attempt before answering. He told her about Walker and a few of the tasks he had to complete, but he was careful not to talk about it too long because he could tell she didn't really want to think about it at all and had only asked because she knew Harry would have been suspicious if she didn't.
The couple talked all through supper. As soon as the subject of Auror's was dropped Ginny began acting like her normal self and they both spent the time enjoyably, both of them almost forgetting about the new development completely. They talked long after they had finished eating and when Harry looked up he was surprised to see the great hall completely empty of students. All that remained was a few teachers at the staff table talking quietly to eachother.
"Wow I didn't realize it was this late. I'd better get home, Gin, I have to..." He stopped himself as he was about to say he had to go over some papers before tomorrow. He didn't want to end their evening together by bringing that up again. He left the sentance unfinished and leaned forward to kiss his girlfriend softly before he stood up and began walking toward the doors. "Good luck tomorrow." He heard her soft voice float back to him. He turned around to see her still sitting at the table, staring vacantly at her plate, her face drawn with worry.
Harry walked back to her and placed his hand gently on her shoulder. She looked up at him, meeting his emerald eyes with her blue ones. "Ginny," He started but couldn't finish because he wasn't at all sure what to say. "I know this is what you want, Harry. And I think it's very noble and brave of you, and when I think about it I know I would rather have it this way than for you to be a coward afraid to defend yourself and those you care about, but I just can't help thinking about where it got your father. I try so hard not to worry about it Harry, I really do, but I couldn't live if something like that happened to you." Her voice choked with emotion and she had to struggle to get the last words out as tears began to flow freely down her face.
Harry sat back down next to her and lifted her chin gently until her till- filled eyes were looking desperatly into his own. "I'm scared too, Gin. But you can't let fear live your life for you. I think there is a chance that I might be able to defeat Voldemort, and this is the only way that I can do it. What other hope do we have? Perhaps I could just go into hiding but then he would have gotten what he wanted, me out of the way. And besides if he is ever going to be destroyed I am going to have to fight him. And I can do it, Ginny. I can. You just have to trust me." Harry whispered in a pleading voice.
Ginny smiled sadly at him through her tears. "I do trust you." She said softly. Harry smiled back at her. "Thank you." He whispered. "That's all I need."
~*~*~*~*~
Harry stayed up till 3:00 in the morning reading the papers in the envelope that Walker had given him earlier. In it was all the basic rules of being an Auror, such as what spells were legal to cast at all times and which ones could only be used on extreme occasions. Harry found it all very interesting and could have stayed up all night reading it but thought it would be a good idea to get some sleep. He set his alarm clock magically, being sure to set it for 7:30, half an hour before he was supposed to report in.
He lay in bed unable to sleep, his thoughts drifting randomly. He wondered if his father had felt like this the day he'd become an Auror, excited and nervous. But the main thing that Harry felt was contentment. Something inside him knew that he was doing what he'd been born to do, and now that Ginny was ok with that too, Harry didn't see how things could be any better. Well, maybe if his parents were there...he tried to force that thought out of his mind, but no matter how hard he tried he kept seeing images of his parent's faces when he told them he'd become an Auror. His mother was crying happily and his father was just smiling as if he'd never been so proud of anything in his whole life.
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A/N: Short, I know but at least I got it up quicky, unlike the last one!
~Katydid