Chapter 19
For the next three weeks, Harry remained in Sirius' rooms, occupying his time by reading nearly every book his godfather owned and reliving the same nightmares night after night with ever increasing clarity but he always woke up when he heard the cold voice of Voldemort.
The only people who saw him were Ginny, Sirius, and Remus and he liked it that way. As far as he was concerned, he could stay within these three small rooms until the end of term and never set eyes on Ron and Hermione again or the rest of the student body for that fact.
He knew he was acting childish toward his two best friends, but he didn't care. If they wanted his friendship back, they would seek it out because it was them who had jumped to the immediate conclusion that he had attacked Ron intentionally and they hadn't even tried to get an explanation from him
Ginny had come to see him after she had finished classes every single day and had refused to leave his side until curfew and Sirius forced her to go late at night.
The other students had been distant toward her since that morning, but they hadn't completely ignored her existence like they now did with Harry and would try to make small talk to her in classes, but she didn't care about how she was treated as long as she still had him. Ron had not said a word to her since he had asked one morning where she was going every night. Refusing to hide from the truth, she had told him she was with Harry and he had exploded telling her that he was dangerous and that he forbid her from being with Harry. She had flat out refused to listen to him and he had in turn told her that he would have nothing to do with her until she came to her senses and he had practically forced Hermione to go along with him.
None of the students had asked her any questions about her boyfriend, instead acting as though he had never returned after the battle. The two of them had taken most of their meals in Sirius' chambers instead of going to the great hall to eat, but the two older men were forced to eat with the rest of the students and professors, so the couple was left alone more often than not. Harry helped Ginny with her homework every night and when they were finished, she would curl up in his arms and they would just sit together and talk quietly.
They spent the hours talking about everything they could think of, but, much to Ginny's disappointment, Harry never spoke of his experiences again, to her or his godfather and he also refused to speak about any other students including Ron and Hermione and every time she brought the subject up his answer was the same.
"Ginny, why should I defend myself to them? Is it not enough that I have fought for six years to protect them? I know what I did was wrong, but they didn't even give me a chance to apologize, they just all assumed that I did it on purpose and nothing I say will change their minds about that so just forget about it. Once term is over the manor will be finished and Sirius and I can leave this place" these words broke her heart because she knew deep down that he didn't mean any of them. He cared a great deal for his friends and she knew that he would still give his life to protect them if they were in danger regardless of how they had been treating him lately but he still refused to confront them and tell them that he was sorry.
In fact, he still refused to hold a conversation with anybody but her and she saw how much that hurt Sirius and Remus, but try as she might to convince him otherwise, he still refused to open up to anyone else. He would answer their questions using the fewest number of words possible, not elaborating on his cryptic statements in the least.
One night though, she and Harry were sitting together on the couch in front of the fire when Dumbledore came through the door.
"Good evening Harry, Ginny. Are Sirius and Remus here by any chance, I need to speak to them" he asked kindly. He had known that Harry had been staying with Sirius, but he had never come down to check on the boy or visit him at all in the past three weeks, for which Harry was eternally grateful, the only people he wanted to see were here.
"Yes sir, they're in Sirius' room doing lesson plans for next week since it's the full moon" said Ginny sweetly, smiling at the old wizard.
"Thank you Ginny" he replied back as he knocked on the door to the right of them and when he was told to come in, he joined the two younger men and pulled the door closed behind himself.
"Wonder what that's all about" Harry muttered to his girlfriend. She was still amazed that even though they had been back together for so long that he still never raised his voice above a faint whisper.
"I have no idea, but I bet we find out pretty soon" she answered as she burrowed further into his arms. The past weeks had helped him to almost completely heal; the bruises that had once marred his face were now gone as were the cuts. His arm was no longer held tight to his chest, but it was still nearly useless when it came to doing anything difficult or strenuous, like lifting books, but it worked fine for what he was doing now, pulling Ginny closer to him and refusing to let her go.
He was still forced to wear the annoying brace on his leg, but he walked normally with it and only a very faint limp could be noticed. His ribs were back to normal as well and he was able to breathe pain free for the first time in months.
After about ten minutes, the door to Sirius' room reopened and the three men all exited. Dumbledore looked the same as he did when he entered, but Remus and Sirius looked downright furious about something.
Ginny and Harry looked at them curiously for a moment before the headmaster spoke up.
"Harry, I know you don't want to, but I must insist you return to your classes tomorrow. Since this is your final year here and you will be taking your NEWTS at the end of the term, we can't have you falling behind in your lessons. You will be excused for what you have missed so far this term as well as the end of last term, but from here on out, you will be required to participate just like all the other students. You will also be required to stay in your dormitory during the week, but you can return here on Friday and Saturday nights if you wish to do so. Sirius has your time table and I expect to see you at breakfast in the morning, but you may remain here tonight. I am sorry, but there is no other choice in the matter, the school board and the ministry have made it quite clear that they will not allow you to graduate if you don't start attending classes immediately, I am sorry" he said heavily, showing that he meant what he said, and that he really didn't want to be doing this. Bidding them all goodnight, he left the room looking every bit his great age.
Once he had gone, Sirius turned to face a stunned Harry and angry Ginny.
"Harry, I am so sorry, we tried to talk him out of this but the ministry has made it's opinion loud and clear, you have to do what he says" he had his face in his hands and was massaging his temples trying to alleviate the headache that was threatening.
Harry only continued to stare at the now closed door in silence.
"I'm sorry Harry, but we have no choice in the matter" said Remus, looking just as haggard as his best friend.
"Why don't you go to sleep Harry, you have a long day ahead of you tomorrow" said Sirius finally when it became obvious that the boy was not going to say anything to either of them.
"He's right Harry, I'll come by early tomorrow to get you, maybe if we're lucky we'll get to breakfast before everyone else does so you won't have to face them" she climbed off of his lap as he nodded his head in acknowledgement and she bent down to give him a quick kiss on the cheek before telling the two professors good night and heading back to Gryffindor tower lost in her own thoughts.
When she gave the password to the fat lady and entered the common room, she was mildly surprised to see that there were still students sitting around before she realized that she was back nearly two hours earlier than she usually returned. She decided that instead of remaining in the crowded room that she would just go to bed as well, but as she reached the foot of the stairs leading to the girls' dorms, she heard a voice behind her call her name. Shocked that someone other than Harry was willing to talk to her when not in class, she spun around to see Hermione looking at her worriedly.
"Ginny, is everything alright?" she asked quietly as she approached the younger girl hesitantly, aware of all the eyes on her back and Ron's furious glare.
"What do you mean?" she was curious about Hermione's sudden concern, but she was still angry with her about her attitude toward Harry.
"You have never been back this early when you've been in Sirius' rooms, is everything ok?" she sounded genuinely concerned.
"No Hermione, everything is not alright, Dumbledore just told Harry that the ministry is insisting that he return to the tower and classes immediately, even though it is plainly clear that he is not welcome and doesn't want to go, but if he doesn't start going to class then he can't graduate. It's not enough that he's been through more already than anyone should have to go through, now he has to be surrounded by those he almost died to protect but that were willing to label him as a traitor at the drop of a hat without even pausing to hear him out. So you see everything is not fine!" she couldn't believe that after all this time, Harry's supposed best friend was just now asking about him, she was furious with them.
She hadn't realized that that their entire conversation had been overheard by all the students in the common room until it was too late, but she didn't regret her words at all and it was about time that they knew just how she felt. She turned quickly and tried to hide her tears as she fled to the dormitory and threw herself onto her bed, leaving the room full of shocked students behind her.
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Hermione was stunned by Ginny's harsh words, but deep down she knew they were true and she decided right then to make Ron see that he was wrong. Striding back across the still silent common room, she grabbed the sleeve of his robes and led him out the portrait hole, letting it close behind her before she spoke up.
"Ron, she's right" she said bluntly, anticipating his angry reaction and looking to the floor.
"I know"
She was shocked, this was defiantly not the reaction she had been expecting from her normally hot headed and stubborn boyfriend.
"What?" it was the only word that she could say.
"I know she's right, but I just didn't want to admit it" he said quietly before continuing in a normal voice as his courage grew "I was angry and scared that morning when he attacked me. I never thought he would ever hurt me or you but he almost did and that scared me to death. Now that I think about it though, he's been through a lot and I probably scared him to death by waking him up so suddenly" he smiled sheepishly at his statement and she returned his grin.
"He was probably even more frightened than you and Dumbledore told us that he had gotten more powerful and was capable of doing magic without a wand, it was our own fault for underestimating just what he was capable of, and Sirius even warned us not to try to touch him but we ignored him didn't we?" she asked
"Yeah we did, but I'm curious about how many times Sirius has been on the receiving end of that power, he seemed pretty sure of himself when he gave us that warning didn't he?" asked Ron, his eyes alight with curiosity and humor.
"I don't know, but we should ask him later, it probably took a lot to convince him not to interfere, he's more stubborn than Harry most of the time" answered Hermione, the same humor shining in her eyes.
"This is going to take a lot to fix isn't it?" he asked as he met her eyes and they both sobered up immediately
"Yes it is, I just can't believe we were so dumb to actually think our best friend would ever intentionally hurt us when all he's ever done is try to protect us"
"We had no idea what happened to him while he was gone and he just changed so much, not to mention that Dumbledore said he was unpredictable and that it wasn't safe for us to see him until term started, and now I see why"
"True, but it's getting late, we should better get to sleep. Let's go to breakfast early and try to apologize to Harry and Ginny before everyone else shows up, ok?"
"Sounds good to me, it's worth a shot anyways" said Ron as he wrapped his arms around Hermione and pulled her close to give her a long and solid kiss goodnight, happy that the tension that had been building up between them these past weeks had dissipated some but dreading the next mornings confrontation.
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For the next three weeks, Harry remained in Sirius' rooms, occupying his time by reading nearly every book his godfather owned and reliving the same nightmares night after night with ever increasing clarity but he always woke up when he heard the cold voice of Voldemort.
The only people who saw him were Ginny, Sirius, and Remus and he liked it that way. As far as he was concerned, he could stay within these three small rooms until the end of term and never set eyes on Ron and Hermione again or the rest of the student body for that fact.
He knew he was acting childish toward his two best friends, but he didn't care. If they wanted his friendship back, they would seek it out because it was them who had jumped to the immediate conclusion that he had attacked Ron intentionally and they hadn't even tried to get an explanation from him
Ginny had come to see him after she had finished classes every single day and had refused to leave his side until curfew and Sirius forced her to go late at night.
The other students had been distant toward her since that morning, but they hadn't completely ignored her existence like they now did with Harry and would try to make small talk to her in classes, but she didn't care about how she was treated as long as she still had him. Ron had not said a word to her since he had asked one morning where she was going every night. Refusing to hide from the truth, she had told him she was with Harry and he had exploded telling her that he was dangerous and that he forbid her from being with Harry. She had flat out refused to listen to him and he had in turn told her that he would have nothing to do with her until she came to her senses and he had practically forced Hermione to go along with him.
None of the students had asked her any questions about her boyfriend, instead acting as though he had never returned after the battle. The two of them had taken most of their meals in Sirius' chambers instead of going to the great hall to eat, but the two older men were forced to eat with the rest of the students and professors, so the couple was left alone more often than not. Harry helped Ginny with her homework every night and when they were finished, she would curl up in his arms and they would just sit together and talk quietly.
They spent the hours talking about everything they could think of, but, much to Ginny's disappointment, Harry never spoke of his experiences again, to her or his godfather and he also refused to speak about any other students including Ron and Hermione and every time she brought the subject up his answer was the same.
"Ginny, why should I defend myself to them? Is it not enough that I have fought for six years to protect them? I know what I did was wrong, but they didn't even give me a chance to apologize, they just all assumed that I did it on purpose and nothing I say will change their minds about that so just forget about it. Once term is over the manor will be finished and Sirius and I can leave this place" these words broke her heart because she knew deep down that he didn't mean any of them. He cared a great deal for his friends and she knew that he would still give his life to protect them if they were in danger regardless of how they had been treating him lately but he still refused to confront them and tell them that he was sorry.
In fact, he still refused to hold a conversation with anybody but her and she saw how much that hurt Sirius and Remus, but try as she might to convince him otherwise, he still refused to open up to anyone else. He would answer their questions using the fewest number of words possible, not elaborating on his cryptic statements in the least.
One night though, she and Harry were sitting together on the couch in front of the fire when Dumbledore came through the door.
"Good evening Harry, Ginny. Are Sirius and Remus here by any chance, I need to speak to them" he asked kindly. He had known that Harry had been staying with Sirius, but he had never come down to check on the boy or visit him at all in the past three weeks, for which Harry was eternally grateful, the only people he wanted to see were here.
"Yes sir, they're in Sirius' room doing lesson plans for next week since it's the full moon" said Ginny sweetly, smiling at the old wizard.
"Thank you Ginny" he replied back as he knocked on the door to the right of them and when he was told to come in, he joined the two younger men and pulled the door closed behind himself.
"Wonder what that's all about" Harry muttered to his girlfriend. She was still amazed that even though they had been back together for so long that he still never raised his voice above a faint whisper.
"I have no idea, but I bet we find out pretty soon" she answered as she burrowed further into his arms. The past weeks had helped him to almost completely heal; the bruises that had once marred his face were now gone as were the cuts. His arm was no longer held tight to his chest, but it was still nearly useless when it came to doing anything difficult or strenuous, like lifting books, but it worked fine for what he was doing now, pulling Ginny closer to him and refusing to let her go.
He was still forced to wear the annoying brace on his leg, but he walked normally with it and only a very faint limp could be noticed. His ribs were back to normal as well and he was able to breathe pain free for the first time in months.
After about ten minutes, the door to Sirius' room reopened and the three men all exited. Dumbledore looked the same as he did when he entered, but Remus and Sirius looked downright furious about something.
Ginny and Harry looked at them curiously for a moment before the headmaster spoke up.
"Harry, I know you don't want to, but I must insist you return to your classes tomorrow. Since this is your final year here and you will be taking your NEWTS at the end of the term, we can't have you falling behind in your lessons. You will be excused for what you have missed so far this term as well as the end of last term, but from here on out, you will be required to participate just like all the other students. You will also be required to stay in your dormitory during the week, but you can return here on Friday and Saturday nights if you wish to do so. Sirius has your time table and I expect to see you at breakfast in the morning, but you may remain here tonight. I am sorry, but there is no other choice in the matter, the school board and the ministry have made it quite clear that they will not allow you to graduate if you don't start attending classes immediately, I am sorry" he said heavily, showing that he meant what he said, and that he really didn't want to be doing this. Bidding them all goodnight, he left the room looking every bit his great age.
Once he had gone, Sirius turned to face a stunned Harry and angry Ginny.
"Harry, I am so sorry, we tried to talk him out of this but the ministry has made it's opinion loud and clear, you have to do what he says" he had his face in his hands and was massaging his temples trying to alleviate the headache that was threatening.
Harry only continued to stare at the now closed door in silence.
"I'm sorry Harry, but we have no choice in the matter" said Remus, looking just as haggard as his best friend.
"Why don't you go to sleep Harry, you have a long day ahead of you tomorrow" said Sirius finally when it became obvious that the boy was not going to say anything to either of them.
"He's right Harry, I'll come by early tomorrow to get you, maybe if we're lucky we'll get to breakfast before everyone else does so you won't have to face them" she climbed off of his lap as he nodded his head in acknowledgement and she bent down to give him a quick kiss on the cheek before telling the two professors good night and heading back to Gryffindor tower lost in her own thoughts.
When she gave the password to the fat lady and entered the common room, she was mildly surprised to see that there were still students sitting around before she realized that she was back nearly two hours earlier than she usually returned. She decided that instead of remaining in the crowded room that she would just go to bed as well, but as she reached the foot of the stairs leading to the girls' dorms, she heard a voice behind her call her name. Shocked that someone other than Harry was willing to talk to her when not in class, she spun around to see Hermione looking at her worriedly.
"Ginny, is everything alright?" she asked quietly as she approached the younger girl hesitantly, aware of all the eyes on her back and Ron's furious glare.
"What do you mean?" she was curious about Hermione's sudden concern, but she was still angry with her about her attitude toward Harry.
"You have never been back this early when you've been in Sirius' rooms, is everything ok?" she sounded genuinely concerned.
"No Hermione, everything is not alright, Dumbledore just told Harry that the ministry is insisting that he return to the tower and classes immediately, even though it is plainly clear that he is not welcome and doesn't want to go, but if he doesn't start going to class then he can't graduate. It's not enough that he's been through more already than anyone should have to go through, now he has to be surrounded by those he almost died to protect but that were willing to label him as a traitor at the drop of a hat without even pausing to hear him out. So you see everything is not fine!" she couldn't believe that after all this time, Harry's supposed best friend was just now asking about him, she was furious with them.
She hadn't realized that that their entire conversation had been overheard by all the students in the common room until it was too late, but she didn't regret her words at all and it was about time that they knew just how she felt. She turned quickly and tried to hide her tears as she fled to the dormitory and threw herself onto her bed, leaving the room full of shocked students behind her.
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Hermione was stunned by Ginny's harsh words, but deep down she knew they were true and she decided right then to make Ron see that he was wrong. Striding back across the still silent common room, she grabbed the sleeve of his robes and led him out the portrait hole, letting it close behind her before she spoke up.
"Ron, she's right" she said bluntly, anticipating his angry reaction and looking to the floor.
"I know"
She was shocked, this was defiantly not the reaction she had been expecting from her normally hot headed and stubborn boyfriend.
"What?" it was the only word that she could say.
"I know she's right, but I just didn't want to admit it" he said quietly before continuing in a normal voice as his courage grew "I was angry and scared that morning when he attacked me. I never thought he would ever hurt me or you but he almost did and that scared me to death. Now that I think about it though, he's been through a lot and I probably scared him to death by waking him up so suddenly" he smiled sheepishly at his statement and she returned his grin.
"He was probably even more frightened than you and Dumbledore told us that he had gotten more powerful and was capable of doing magic without a wand, it was our own fault for underestimating just what he was capable of, and Sirius even warned us not to try to touch him but we ignored him didn't we?" she asked
"Yeah we did, but I'm curious about how many times Sirius has been on the receiving end of that power, he seemed pretty sure of himself when he gave us that warning didn't he?" asked Ron, his eyes alight with curiosity and humor.
"I don't know, but we should ask him later, it probably took a lot to convince him not to interfere, he's more stubborn than Harry most of the time" answered Hermione, the same humor shining in her eyes.
"This is going to take a lot to fix isn't it?" he asked as he met her eyes and they both sobered up immediately
"Yes it is, I just can't believe we were so dumb to actually think our best friend would ever intentionally hurt us when all he's ever done is try to protect us"
"We had no idea what happened to him while he was gone and he just changed so much, not to mention that Dumbledore said he was unpredictable and that it wasn't safe for us to see him until term started, and now I see why"
"True, but it's getting late, we should better get to sleep. Let's go to breakfast early and try to apologize to Harry and Ginny before everyone else shows up, ok?"
"Sounds good to me, it's worth a shot anyways" said Ron as he wrapped his arms around Hermione and pulled her close to give her a long and solid kiss goodnight, happy that the tension that had been building up between them these past weeks had dissipated some but dreading the next mornings confrontation.
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