Chapter 31
"Ah Harry, there is still much you don't understand about your powers" he said heavily "Yes, I may be powerful, but have you ever seen me able to accomplish wandless magic?" he asked
"Yes!" Harry exclaimed "At meals, you just say a few words and the tables fill with food" he said triumphantly
"I'm afraid you are misinformed Harry. You see, the food is sent to the great hall by the house elves, not myself. My words are also heard in the kitchens and when I say so they send the food up. Any other times you can think of?"
"How do you know everything that is going on in the entire castle then? You always seem to know what is going on at all times, even though you don't stop it you never seem surprised" he said, trying his last line of defense against what he was trying to avoid.
"That is a headmasters' secret Harry, but I will tell you that the walls have eyes and ears" he said with a wide smile breaking his face in two.
Harry smiled as well, it had been worth a shot even if he knew he wouldn't receive a straight answer to his question.
"Ok, so how do you know that we're just not equal in power?" he asked now
"Because I have already told you that I can't control magic without a wand, and you can, and I can only transform into one animal and I don't doubt that you can change into anything that you wish" he explained
"What are you talking about? I'm not an animagus" said Harry, now certain that he was right
"How do you know?"
"Because I've never transformed into an animal of any type, that's how!" said Harry forcefully
"Have you ever tried?"
This caught Harry completely off guard. Of course he hadn't tried to transform into an animal, they didn't cover that until after Christmas and he had no need to learn earlier like his father and godfather had.
"Well, no" he answered truthfully
"I have reason to believe that you are capable of achieving more than one animagus form, if you work hard to harness your power and focus it on your training. That is something you will be working on with Sirius during the next months" said the headmaster.
"Ok, if you say so" said Harry, though he still didn't believe the mans words, "but there is no way I am more powerful than Merlin" he said with certainty
"I assure you that you are" said the headmaster with the same amount of certainty in his own voice "Merlin was also unable to perform wandless magic and had only one animal form. True his powers were extraordinary, but with training I have no doubt that your power levels will surpass even his" his concluded
"Ok, say that I believe you for now, which I still don't, but what does all of this have to do with you giving me these?" he questioned as he motioned to the sword and dagger beside him on the couch.
"Ah yes" began the headmaster as a small smile was shown on his face "the sword I believe you recall receiving from the sorting hat during your time in the Chamber of Secrets?" Harry nodded "Well, the original intention was for that particular weapon to be passed down through the generations to the oldest son, and seeing as you are the last of the original Gryffindor line, the sword goes to you" he explained as though that would answer all of Harry's questions, which of course it didn't.
"Are you saying that I am the last descendant of Gryffindor?" asked Harry
"The last direct descendant yes, but not the last descendant" he said, as usual speaking in a circular riddle
"I don't understand, what do you mean, what's the difference between the two" asked Harry as he rubbed his temples. The combination of being held under the curse for so long, learning his heritage, and trying to figure out the riddles of Albus Dumbledore were beginning to give him a terrible headache to say the least.
"Well, a direct descendant is able to trace their heritage back to the one in question, in your case, Gryffindor. When you look at that book you have there, you will notice that if you follow from your father, to his father, and so on, you will arrive at the name Godric Gryffindor. Only the first born son of a direct descendant is considered a true heir, and he inherits all of his ancestors power. In wizards, heritage and blood relatives are traced through the fathers line and when a witch marries, she immediately assumes the name and heritage of her husband, though not by blood when they assume their married name, therefore, if the first born is a daughter, she will defiantly be more powerful than most normal witches and wizards, but not as powerful as her brother. Those who are not direct descendants are related through either more distant blood lines or marriage. For instance, they could be children of a direct descendants sister, cousins of direct descendants or another type of distant relation"
"Ok, now I understand what you mean. My father was an only child, as am I, but my great grandfather had two sisters" said Harry as he studied the most recent pages of the book in his hands.
"Yes, and your grandfather had one sister. It is quite rare for a descendant of Gryffindor to produce more than one son" said Dumbledore "Now if you would look on the next page, you will see who those three women married" he said with a twinkle in his eye as he watched the boy.
Slowly, Harry flipped the page and saw what the older man was talking about. Alana Potter, his great grandfathers sister, had married a man with the last name of Carter, and her twin, Abigail, had married.Christopher Dumbledore. Harry looked up in shock when he read those words. "Does this mean that we're related" he choked out, looking at the man before him with wide eyes.
"Yes it does, I'm a very distant uncle of yours if you will" said Dumbledore with a smile on his face at Harry's reaction "I am sorry I didn't tell you sooner, but I just discovered the truth myself within the last couple of years, that is why I didn't bring you here when your parents were killed" he said with a sad expression on his face
Harry was ecstatic, he actually had family! And not just any family, but the man who had always protected and defended him since he had first come to Hogwarts.
"That's not all Harry, look at the name of the man your grandfathers sister married" said Dumbledore, the twinkle in his eye getting even brighter. Sure that things could not possible get any better, he turned the page and saw that Mary Potter had married Jacob Black. Shocked once again beyond words, he looked back to the headmaster for confirmation.
"Yes, Sirius is also related to your family. He was your fathers second cousin, making him another distant uncle to you" he said with a smile "he has always known the truth, but I asked him not to mention it to you just yet, if Voldemort found out that he was more to you than your godfather, he wouldn't have hesitated to use him to get to you" said Dumbledore. Harry nodded showing that he understood the mans' reasoning.
"So that means that both you and Sirius are indirect descendants of Gryffindor?" he asked and Dumbledore nodded "Any other surprises in here?" he asked finally once he had digested what he had just found out.
"Nothing we haven't just discussed" said Dumbledore
"So what about the dagger?" asked Harry now
"Well, that is an interesting tale" said Dumbledore "In the old days, when a wizard defeated another wizard, he was given the other mans weapons that were used in the duel, all but his wand. During the recent past though, we have stopped using all weapons except for wands, so the practice of receiving the weapons has been forgotten" he explained "When you defeated Shaw, you earned his weapons, in this case that dagger, but that is not an ordinary dagger. That serpent on the hilt was a trademark shared by all of the weapons that belonged to Salazar Slytherin. It took Severus several days to discover that this particular dagger was indeed one of Slytherins from the time before the school was founded. Just how Shaw got a hold of it I don't know, but now it is yours. Don't worry, Severus removed the poisons from the blade" he said when he saw the hesitant expression on Harry's face
"Isn't it more than a little strange that I now own Gryfindor's sword and Slytherin's dagger?" he asked the headmaster with a smirk
"Only you Harry would be able to pull off such a feat" said the headmaster in a light hearted tone "I think it is time you went back to your room. Are you ok to walk back alone?" asked the headmaster in concern
"I think so" answered Harry as he got to his feet and once the room stopped spinning, he gathered up his new belongings "Thank you sir for explaining all of this to me" said Harry as he approached the door.
"You deserved the truth Harry, and don't worry, we will find a way to destroy what is left of Voldemort, just hold out a little bit longer" he said as way of reassurance.
"I know you will, good night sir" said Harry as he left and went on his way to the fourth floor
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The rest of the holidays were spent doing one of two things for Harry and Ginny, either sitting in the library, defense room, or Sirius' room with him and Remus and Snape researching any and all ancient spells that might be used to defeat Voldemort, or sitting in the common room talking with Ron, Hermione, and Draco.
Since Christmas dinner, the four of them had begun to form a solid friendship with the Slytherin who had changed drastically since that final battle with Voldemort and the disappearance of his father Lucius. With Dumbledore and McGonagalls' permission, they had invited him to join tem in Gryffindor tower during the days and evenings so that they could stop meeting with him in the great hall to talk. It turned out that they had quite a but in common with each other, especially among the boys, including but not limited to their interest in quidditch. Ginny and Harry would have preferred to continue to search with the professors, but had decided that it was best to keep things as normal as possible with their friends to avoid arousing suspicions, so they spent at least half of every day either chatting, doing homework, or playing games with the other three and the other half researching.
Before they knew it though, they were sitting in the great hall with the rest of the school on the first day of the second half of their last year at Hogwarts, or next to last year for Ginny, and things were back to normal with Draco sitting at the Slytherin table and Harry moved back into Gryffindor tower. The other students had arrived by the Hogwarts Express and come straight to the great hall for the welcome back feast and as usual, Harry was the center of attention. After the duel, he had been in the hospital wing until the day after all the students had left, and the only ones who had seen him since that day had been the handful of those who had remained at the castle during the break. The last thing they had seen of the seventh year was him fighting a pair of fully trained aurors, being held under the cruciatus curse, defeating the auror who had turned out to be a death eater, and then collapsing into a bloody and pain filled heap on the floor. The truth about the poisoned blade had spread through the school instantly, and no one thought he would have survived the night, but that was all that they had heard and to have him sitting in the great hall two weeks later as though nothing had happened amazed them all, but in truth, Harry Potter was constantly doing something to amaze the wizarding world. Currently, he was sitting at the head of Gryffindor table with his long black hair, which was almost down several inches below his shoulders, pulled into a low ponytail, dressed in his customary black slacks and shirt with his black school robes over them, but what caught their attention the most was the brilliant scarlet cloak he was wearing over the black outfit. Sure, all of the students had their own cloaks and wore them regularly, but the vast majority of them were black or other dark blues or greens, nothing came close to being as spectacular as the scarlet and gold cloak Harry was wearing. What confused them the most though was the fact that he was wearing a cloak at all, the great hall was very warm and comforting with the dozens of fire places around the perimeter roaring with bright flames and successfully removing all chills from the air, so they couldn't figure out why he was wearing such a thick and heavy article of clothing at all.
As Harry sat nest to Ginny and across from Ron and Hermione, he was well aware of the looks of astonishment and awe he was receiving, but he chose to ignore them and instead continued his conversation with his friends.
"Honestly you two, I can't believe that you haven't even begun to study for your NEWTS yet!" exclaimed Hermione as though she were surprised about this
"Calm down Hermione, there is still plenty of time to study" said Ron as he put his arm around her shoulder and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek
"He's right Hermione, we still have six months before we take those tests" agreed Harry as he readjusted the snake who had taken up almost permanent residence around his left forearm, between the layers of his shirt and robe sleeves. Once Sherlock was more comfortable, he pulled the edges of his cloak more tightly around his shivering body unconsciously. After the duel, he had constantly had a chill, but he was warmed if he wrapped himself in enough layers of clothing or blankets. Ever since the incident in the hallway outside the headmasters office though, the cold was constantly permeating into his bones and no amount of clothing or warming spells could cause his body to stop shivering, even if he was sitting mere feet in front of a blazing fire. He had taken to wearing his new cloak everywhere he went for the small amount of warmth its thick fabric provided him. Just then, the headmaster summoned the food to the tables and the feast began.
Since his conversation with the headmaster, Harry had been thinking about a lot of things that he had discovered that night. He was still doubtful that all the headmaster had said was true about his powers, but he had come to accept it a little at a time. When he had told Sirius that he knew the truth, the older man was ecstatic and if possible, the two had become even closer to each other. The only other person that Harry showed the book containing the Potter family line to had been Ginny who was almost in as much shock as Harry had been when she discovered that he was related to Sirius and Dumbledore, no matter how distantly. She had been even more shocked though when she found out that he was descended from Gryffindor himself. Harry smiled now as he remembered the look of pure astonishment on her face when he had told her. Together, Harry and Sirius had informed Hermione, Ron, and Draco about their relationship and the three had been just as excited as them. No one except for Dumbledore and Snape though had found out about Voldemort cursing Harry again, not wanting to worry the others or add any more stress to the already taxed group. Harry had had to continue taking post cruciatus potions for several days following to alleviate the stiffness and soreness in his muscles, but he had managed to keep the truth from everyone, including the headmaster, about just how much pain the curse caused him. They knew that it was painful, but they had no idea just how much pain the curse caused him and he intended to keep it that way.
When dinner ended, the group made their way up to Gryffindor tower and settled themselves around the fire, Ron, Ginny, and Harry concluding their Divination homework and Hermione reprimanding them for not doing it sooner.
"I can't believe that old bat assigned us three essays to write over the break" groaned Harry as concluded his final essay
"Well, it would have been only one, but I think she was upset when she found out her prediction didn't come true again" said Ron
"What prediction?" asked Ginny as she rolled up her last roll of parchment, finally finished
"The normal" answered Ron and at Ginny's still confused expression, he elaborated "she was so certain that Harry had died and when I told her that he was indeed very alive and in the hospital wing with Sirius she immediately assigned us two more essays" he said with a smile
"You'd think she would realize by now that nothing could kill you" said Hermione as she looked at Harry with a smile on her face
Harry looked worriedly at Ginny for an instant before he returned the smile and said "You had the right idea when you dropped the class Hermione, she's nothing but an old fraud"
At this, both of his best friends laughed as Ron and Harry put their own completed essays away.
"Well, I don't know about you guys, but I'm exhausted" said Ron as he shot Hermione a meaningful look and blushing, she stood as well.
"Night guys, I'll see you two in the morning" she said to the couple as she went to Ron and the pair went into one of the dark corners that was far away from the other students to 'say goodnight' to each other.
Giving Ginny a small smile, Harry put his arms around her waist and pulled her from her seat on the couch and onto the rug before the fire to sit next to him.
"What's wrong Harry?" she asked quietly as she snuggled into his arms
"Nothing" he said back, just as quietly
"I don't believe you, something is bothering you, why won't you tell me?" she said, but not in a demanding tone, but a gentle and comforting one as she turned and looked him in the eye, using her left hand to push a stray lock of ebony hair from his eyes. As she did that, Harry caught sight of the glint of gold as her ring reflected off the fire and that caused him to sigh heavily.
"I don't want to burden you with my problems Gin, you've already done so much for me during these past several months" he answered as he leaned lightly into her hand that was still on his cheek
"I love you Harry, nothing you tell me burdens me. I want to be here for you no matter what, just like you are for me" she said honestly
"Are you sure?" he asked, again not believing he was lucky enough to be with such a terrific person
"Positive" she said with a small but reassuring smile on her face
Hesitantly he looked over his shoulder to make sure no one was close enough to over hear them before he began speaking quietly "What if we can't find a way to destroy Voldemort?" he asked
"We will Harry, don't worry" said Ginny with conviction
"But what if we don't Gin, what if there is no way to destroy him? We've been searching non stop for over a week already and we are no closed to finding anything to help" he said in desperation as he bowed his head and closed his eyes
"I know Harry, but this will take time, we just have to be patient" said Ginny as she squeezed his hand in reassurance
"That's what I'm afraid of" he said, barley audible
"What do you mean?" asked Ginny, dreading his answer
"He's getting stronger Gin, every day he is a little bit stronger" he began "Any time I have a nightmare, or doubt myself, he gains a little more strength and I don't know how much longer I will be able to control him" he said as he brought his head back up and looked into her eyes.
As she gazed into the familiar pools of green, Ginny saw several things she never thought those eyes would contain, desperation, fear, and doubt being the most predominant. Not knowing what else to do, she pulled him closer to her and just held him in her arms, trying to provide some sort of silent support to the one she loved. She knew nothing she could say would alleviate his fears, the same fears she herself had had for the past week so she just held him for a long time.
Several hours later, Harry woke up and realized that he was lying on the rug in front of the common room fire held in Ginny's arms. Embarrassed by what he admitted for a moment his entire body tensed up, but then he thought about her words and relaxed once again. As quietly as possible, trying not to wake Ginny who was lying next to him, she stood and glanced around the common room to find it completely deserted. He looked at the clock in the corner of the room and realized with a groan that it was three in the morning, they would have to be in classes in just five hours. Turning back to look at Ginny, a small smile came across his face as he saw her sleeping on the scarlet rug. Her long auburn hair was fanned out behind her creating a look like fire as it reflected the light of the flames, turning every shade of red imaginable. Her face was relaxed and held an expression of peace that was absent all too much during her waking hours. Her beautiful face was pale but had a slight sprinkling of freckles across her nose and cheeks, freckles she hated but Harry found irresistible. Drawing himself away from those thoughts, he knelt by her side and gathered her sleeping form into his arms, being careful not to put her weight on Sherlock who still had yet to move from his wrist. Getting to his feet, Harry shifted her weight slightly and elicited a small sigh of contentment from her still sleeping form. He silently made his way up the steps to the girls dormitory and stopped for several moments to listen at the door to make sure he wouldn't walk in to someone changing, before he waved his hand from beneath Ginny and the door opened without a sound to reveal three other sleeping girls. He made his way to the furthest bed from the door and with another motion from his hand the blankets covering the bed were folded back and he carefully placed Ginny onto the soft bed. He waved his hand again and her shoes were instantly sitting on the floor next to the bed. He pulled the blankets over her and tucked them securely around her thin frame to make sure she stayed warm before he bent over and barley brushed his lips on her forehead in a gentle kiss.
"Goodnight Ginny, I love you more than you could ever imagine" he muttered under his breath before he turned and left the dormitory, closing the door without a noise behind him before he retired to his own dormitory for some much needed sleep of his own.
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A/N: ok guys, I promise, there is more action to come, just a few chapters away, but how do you like this one? Please be honest, I know some of it is kind of cliché, but it is important for the rest of the story. Ok, now I'm going to answer some questions you asked, first off, someone complained about the name Sherlock, well, I know it isn't a traditional snake name, but geeze, cut me some slack, I didn't want to use all the names everyone else used, like Sebastian, so I chose Sherlock, by the way, that is my cats name and I love my cat, he was a birthday gift from my boss and she and the other people I work with named him for me and I happen to think it is cute. As far as his size and the fact that small snakes don't carry venom, I regret to inform you that where I am from, we have three kinds of snakes that are deadly at any size, so in my story, a little snake is poisonous. Also, I was told that it seemed like I was rushing through my story and not thinking it out, does anyone else feel this way? Cause if you do, I could spend months plotting out every single detail and still be posting chapters in a year if that is what you want. Ok, enough of my ranting now, that review just kind of depressed me a little bit, sorry. Thanks everyone who reviewed my story and I hope you still like it after this chapter, let me know!
"Ah Harry, there is still much you don't understand about your powers" he said heavily "Yes, I may be powerful, but have you ever seen me able to accomplish wandless magic?" he asked
"Yes!" Harry exclaimed "At meals, you just say a few words and the tables fill with food" he said triumphantly
"I'm afraid you are misinformed Harry. You see, the food is sent to the great hall by the house elves, not myself. My words are also heard in the kitchens and when I say so they send the food up. Any other times you can think of?"
"How do you know everything that is going on in the entire castle then? You always seem to know what is going on at all times, even though you don't stop it you never seem surprised" he said, trying his last line of defense against what he was trying to avoid.
"That is a headmasters' secret Harry, but I will tell you that the walls have eyes and ears" he said with a wide smile breaking his face in two.
Harry smiled as well, it had been worth a shot even if he knew he wouldn't receive a straight answer to his question.
"Ok, so how do you know that we're just not equal in power?" he asked now
"Because I have already told you that I can't control magic without a wand, and you can, and I can only transform into one animal and I don't doubt that you can change into anything that you wish" he explained
"What are you talking about? I'm not an animagus" said Harry, now certain that he was right
"How do you know?"
"Because I've never transformed into an animal of any type, that's how!" said Harry forcefully
"Have you ever tried?"
This caught Harry completely off guard. Of course he hadn't tried to transform into an animal, they didn't cover that until after Christmas and he had no need to learn earlier like his father and godfather had.
"Well, no" he answered truthfully
"I have reason to believe that you are capable of achieving more than one animagus form, if you work hard to harness your power and focus it on your training. That is something you will be working on with Sirius during the next months" said the headmaster.
"Ok, if you say so" said Harry, though he still didn't believe the mans words, "but there is no way I am more powerful than Merlin" he said with certainty
"I assure you that you are" said the headmaster with the same amount of certainty in his own voice "Merlin was also unable to perform wandless magic and had only one animal form. True his powers were extraordinary, but with training I have no doubt that your power levels will surpass even his" his concluded
"Ok, say that I believe you for now, which I still don't, but what does all of this have to do with you giving me these?" he questioned as he motioned to the sword and dagger beside him on the couch.
"Ah yes" began the headmaster as a small smile was shown on his face "the sword I believe you recall receiving from the sorting hat during your time in the Chamber of Secrets?" Harry nodded "Well, the original intention was for that particular weapon to be passed down through the generations to the oldest son, and seeing as you are the last of the original Gryffindor line, the sword goes to you" he explained as though that would answer all of Harry's questions, which of course it didn't.
"Are you saying that I am the last descendant of Gryffindor?" asked Harry
"The last direct descendant yes, but not the last descendant" he said, as usual speaking in a circular riddle
"I don't understand, what do you mean, what's the difference between the two" asked Harry as he rubbed his temples. The combination of being held under the curse for so long, learning his heritage, and trying to figure out the riddles of Albus Dumbledore were beginning to give him a terrible headache to say the least.
"Well, a direct descendant is able to trace their heritage back to the one in question, in your case, Gryffindor. When you look at that book you have there, you will notice that if you follow from your father, to his father, and so on, you will arrive at the name Godric Gryffindor. Only the first born son of a direct descendant is considered a true heir, and he inherits all of his ancestors power. In wizards, heritage and blood relatives are traced through the fathers line and when a witch marries, she immediately assumes the name and heritage of her husband, though not by blood when they assume their married name, therefore, if the first born is a daughter, she will defiantly be more powerful than most normal witches and wizards, but not as powerful as her brother. Those who are not direct descendants are related through either more distant blood lines or marriage. For instance, they could be children of a direct descendants sister, cousins of direct descendants or another type of distant relation"
"Ok, now I understand what you mean. My father was an only child, as am I, but my great grandfather had two sisters" said Harry as he studied the most recent pages of the book in his hands.
"Yes, and your grandfather had one sister. It is quite rare for a descendant of Gryffindor to produce more than one son" said Dumbledore "Now if you would look on the next page, you will see who those three women married" he said with a twinkle in his eye as he watched the boy.
Slowly, Harry flipped the page and saw what the older man was talking about. Alana Potter, his great grandfathers sister, had married a man with the last name of Carter, and her twin, Abigail, had married.Christopher Dumbledore. Harry looked up in shock when he read those words. "Does this mean that we're related" he choked out, looking at the man before him with wide eyes.
"Yes it does, I'm a very distant uncle of yours if you will" said Dumbledore with a smile on his face at Harry's reaction "I am sorry I didn't tell you sooner, but I just discovered the truth myself within the last couple of years, that is why I didn't bring you here when your parents were killed" he said with a sad expression on his face
Harry was ecstatic, he actually had family! And not just any family, but the man who had always protected and defended him since he had first come to Hogwarts.
"That's not all Harry, look at the name of the man your grandfathers sister married" said Dumbledore, the twinkle in his eye getting even brighter. Sure that things could not possible get any better, he turned the page and saw that Mary Potter had married Jacob Black. Shocked once again beyond words, he looked back to the headmaster for confirmation.
"Yes, Sirius is also related to your family. He was your fathers second cousin, making him another distant uncle to you" he said with a smile "he has always known the truth, but I asked him not to mention it to you just yet, if Voldemort found out that he was more to you than your godfather, he wouldn't have hesitated to use him to get to you" said Dumbledore. Harry nodded showing that he understood the mans' reasoning.
"So that means that both you and Sirius are indirect descendants of Gryffindor?" he asked and Dumbledore nodded "Any other surprises in here?" he asked finally once he had digested what he had just found out.
"Nothing we haven't just discussed" said Dumbledore
"So what about the dagger?" asked Harry now
"Well, that is an interesting tale" said Dumbledore "In the old days, when a wizard defeated another wizard, he was given the other mans weapons that were used in the duel, all but his wand. During the recent past though, we have stopped using all weapons except for wands, so the practice of receiving the weapons has been forgotten" he explained "When you defeated Shaw, you earned his weapons, in this case that dagger, but that is not an ordinary dagger. That serpent on the hilt was a trademark shared by all of the weapons that belonged to Salazar Slytherin. It took Severus several days to discover that this particular dagger was indeed one of Slytherins from the time before the school was founded. Just how Shaw got a hold of it I don't know, but now it is yours. Don't worry, Severus removed the poisons from the blade" he said when he saw the hesitant expression on Harry's face
"Isn't it more than a little strange that I now own Gryfindor's sword and Slytherin's dagger?" he asked the headmaster with a smirk
"Only you Harry would be able to pull off such a feat" said the headmaster in a light hearted tone "I think it is time you went back to your room. Are you ok to walk back alone?" asked the headmaster in concern
"I think so" answered Harry as he got to his feet and once the room stopped spinning, he gathered up his new belongings "Thank you sir for explaining all of this to me" said Harry as he approached the door.
"You deserved the truth Harry, and don't worry, we will find a way to destroy what is left of Voldemort, just hold out a little bit longer" he said as way of reassurance.
"I know you will, good night sir" said Harry as he left and went on his way to the fourth floor
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The rest of the holidays were spent doing one of two things for Harry and Ginny, either sitting in the library, defense room, or Sirius' room with him and Remus and Snape researching any and all ancient spells that might be used to defeat Voldemort, or sitting in the common room talking with Ron, Hermione, and Draco.
Since Christmas dinner, the four of them had begun to form a solid friendship with the Slytherin who had changed drastically since that final battle with Voldemort and the disappearance of his father Lucius. With Dumbledore and McGonagalls' permission, they had invited him to join tem in Gryffindor tower during the days and evenings so that they could stop meeting with him in the great hall to talk. It turned out that they had quite a but in common with each other, especially among the boys, including but not limited to their interest in quidditch. Ginny and Harry would have preferred to continue to search with the professors, but had decided that it was best to keep things as normal as possible with their friends to avoid arousing suspicions, so they spent at least half of every day either chatting, doing homework, or playing games with the other three and the other half researching.
Before they knew it though, they were sitting in the great hall with the rest of the school on the first day of the second half of their last year at Hogwarts, or next to last year for Ginny, and things were back to normal with Draco sitting at the Slytherin table and Harry moved back into Gryffindor tower. The other students had arrived by the Hogwarts Express and come straight to the great hall for the welcome back feast and as usual, Harry was the center of attention. After the duel, he had been in the hospital wing until the day after all the students had left, and the only ones who had seen him since that day had been the handful of those who had remained at the castle during the break. The last thing they had seen of the seventh year was him fighting a pair of fully trained aurors, being held under the cruciatus curse, defeating the auror who had turned out to be a death eater, and then collapsing into a bloody and pain filled heap on the floor. The truth about the poisoned blade had spread through the school instantly, and no one thought he would have survived the night, but that was all that they had heard and to have him sitting in the great hall two weeks later as though nothing had happened amazed them all, but in truth, Harry Potter was constantly doing something to amaze the wizarding world. Currently, he was sitting at the head of Gryffindor table with his long black hair, which was almost down several inches below his shoulders, pulled into a low ponytail, dressed in his customary black slacks and shirt with his black school robes over them, but what caught their attention the most was the brilliant scarlet cloak he was wearing over the black outfit. Sure, all of the students had their own cloaks and wore them regularly, but the vast majority of them were black or other dark blues or greens, nothing came close to being as spectacular as the scarlet and gold cloak Harry was wearing. What confused them the most though was the fact that he was wearing a cloak at all, the great hall was very warm and comforting with the dozens of fire places around the perimeter roaring with bright flames and successfully removing all chills from the air, so they couldn't figure out why he was wearing such a thick and heavy article of clothing at all.
As Harry sat nest to Ginny and across from Ron and Hermione, he was well aware of the looks of astonishment and awe he was receiving, but he chose to ignore them and instead continued his conversation with his friends.
"Honestly you two, I can't believe that you haven't even begun to study for your NEWTS yet!" exclaimed Hermione as though she were surprised about this
"Calm down Hermione, there is still plenty of time to study" said Ron as he put his arm around her shoulder and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek
"He's right Hermione, we still have six months before we take those tests" agreed Harry as he readjusted the snake who had taken up almost permanent residence around his left forearm, between the layers of his shirt and robe sleeves. Once Sherlock was more comfortable, he pulled the edges of his cloak more tightly around his shivering body unconsciously. After the duel, he had constantly had a chill, but he was warmed if he wrapped himself in enough layers of clothing or blankets. Ever since the incident in the hallway outside the headmasters office though, the cold was constantly permeating into his bones and no amount of clothing or warming spells could cause his body to stop shivering, even if he was sitting mere feet in front of a blazing fire. He had taken to wearing his new cloak everywhere he went for the small amount of warmth its thick fabric provided him. Just then, the headmaster summoned the food to the tables and the feast began.
Since his conversation with the headmaster, Harry had been thinking about a lot of things that he had discovered that night. He was still doubtful that all the headmaster had said was true about his powers, but he had come to accept it a little at a time. When he had told Sirius that he knew the truth, the older man was ecstatic and if possible, the two had become even closer to each other. The only other person that Harry showed the book containing the Potter family line to had been Ginny who was almost in as much shock as Harry had been when she discovered that he was related to Sirius and Dumbledore, no matter how distantly. She had been even more shocked though when she found out that he was descended from Gryffindor himself. Harry smiled now as he remembered the look of pure astonishment on her face when he had told her. Together, Harry and Sirius had informed Hermione, Ron, and Draco about their relationship and the three had been just as excited as them. No one except for Dumbledore and Snape though had found out about Voldemort cursing Harry again, not wanting to worry the others or add any more stress to the already taxed group. Harry had had to continue taking post cruciatus potions for several days following to alleviate the stiffness and soreness in his muscles, but he had managed to keep the truth from everyone, including the headmaster, about just how much pain the curse caused him. They knew that it was painful, but they had no idea just how much pain the curse caused him and he intended to keep it that way.
When dinner ended, the group made their way up to Gryffindor tower and settled themselves around the fire, Ron, Ginny, and Harry concluding their Divination homework and Hermione reprimanding them for not doing it sooner.
"I can't believe that old bat assigned us three essays to write over the break" groaned Harry as concluded his final essay
"Well, it would have been only one, but I think she was upset when she found out her prediction didn't come true again" said Ron
"What prediction?" asked Ginny as she rolled up her last roll of parchment, finally finished
"The normal" answered Ron and at Ginny's still confused expression, he elaborated "she was so certain that Harry had died and when I told her that he was indeed very alive and in the hospital wing with Sirius she immediately assigned us two more essays" he said with a smile
"You'd think she would realize by now that nothing could kill you" said Hermione as she looked at Harry with a smile on her face
Harry looked worriedly at Ginny for an instant before he returned the smile and said "You had the right idea when you dropped the class Hermione, she's nothing but an old fraud"
At this, both of his best friends laughed as Ron and Harry put their own completed essays away.
"Well, I don't know about you guys, but I'm exhausted" said Ron as he shot Hermione a meaningful look and blushing, she stood as well.
"Night guys, I'll see you two in the morning" she said to the couple as she went to Ron and the pair went into one of the dark corners that was far away from the other students to 'say goodnight' to each other.
Giving Ginny a small smile, Harry put his arms around her waist and pulled her from her seat on the couch and onto the rug before the fire to sit next to him.
"What's wrong Harry?" she asked quietly as she snuggled into his arms
"Nothing" he said back, just as quietly
"I don't believe you, something is bothering you, why won't you tell me?" she said, but not in a demanding tone, but a gentle and comforting one as she turned and looked him in the eye, using her left hand to push a stray lock of ebony hair from his eyes. As she did that, Harry caught sight of the glint of gold as her ring reflected off the fire and that caused him to sigh heavily.
"I don't want to burden you with my problems Gin, you've already done so much for me during these past several months" he answered as he leaned lightly into her hand that was still on his cheek
"I love you Harry, nothing you tell me burdens me. I want to be here for you no matter what, just like you are for me" she said honestly
"Are you sure?" he asked, again not believing he was lucky enough to be with such a terrific person
"Positive" she said with a small but reassuring smile on her face
Hesitantly he looked over his shoulder to make sure no one was close enough to over hear them before he began speaking quietly "What if we can't find a way to destroy Voldemort?" he asked
"We will Harry, don't worry" said Ginny with conviction
"But what if we don't Gin, what if there is no way to destroy him? We've been searching non stop for over a week already and we are no closed to finding anything to help" he said in desperation as he bowed his head and closed his eyes
"I know Harry, but this will take time, we just have to be patient" said Ginny as she squeezed his hand in reassurance
"That's what I'm afraid of" he said, barley audible
"What do you mean?" asked Ginny, dreading his answer
"He's getting stronger Gin, every day he is a little bit stronger" he began "Any time I have a nightmare, or doubt myself, he gains a little more strength and I don't know how much longer I will be able to control him" he said as he brought his head back up and looked into her eyes.
As she gazed into the familiar pools of green, Ginny saw several things she never thought those eyes would contain, desperation, fear, and doubt being the most predominant. Not knowing what else to do, she pulled him closer to her and just held him in her arms, trying to provide some sort of silent support to the one she loved. She knew nothing she could say would alleviate his fears, the same fears she herself had had for the past week so she just held him for a long time.
Several hours later, Harry woke up and realized that he was lying on the rug in front of the common room fire held in Ginny's arms. Embarrassed by what he admitted for a moment his entire body tensed up, but then he thought about her words and relaxed once again. As quietly as possible, trying not to wake Ginny who was lying next to him, she stood and glanced around the common room to find it completely deserted. He looked at the clock in the corner of the room and realized with a groan that it was three in the morning, they would have to be in classes in just five hours. Turning back to look at Ginny, a small smile came across his face as he saw her sleeping on the scarlet rug. Her long auburn hair was fanned out behind her creating a look like fire as it reflected the light of the flames, turning every shade of red imaginable. Her face was relaxed and held an expression of peace that was absent all too much during her waking hours. Her beautiful face was pale but had a slight sprinkling of freckles across her nose and cheeks, freckles she hated but Harry found irresistible. Drawing himself away from those thoughts, he knelt by her side and gathered her sleeping form into his arms, being careful not to put her weight on Sherlock who still had yet to move from his wrist. Getting to his feet, Harry shifted her weight slightly and elicited a small sigh of contentment from her still sleeping form. He silently made his way up the steps to the girls dormitory and stopped for several moments to listen at the door to make sure he wouldn't walk in to someone changing, before he waved his hand from beneath Ginny and the door opened without a sound to reveal three other sleeping girls. He made his way to the furthest bed from the door and with another motion from his hand the blankets covering the bed were folded back and he carefully placed Ginny onto the soft bed. He waved his hand again and her shoes were instantly sitting on the floor next to the bed. He pulled the blankets over her and tucked them securely around her thin frame to make sure she stayed warm before he bent over and barley brushed his lips on her forehead in a gentle kiss.
"Goodnight Ginny, I love you more than you could ever imagine" he muttered under his breath before he turned and left the dormitory, closing the door without a noise behind him before he retired to his own dormitory for some much needed sleep of his own.
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A/N: ok guys, I promise, there is more action to come, just a few chapters away, but how do you like this one? Please be honest, I know some of it is kind of cliché, but it is important for the rest of the story. Ok, now I'm going to answer some questions you asked, first off, someone complained about the name Sherlock, well, I know it isn't a traditional snake name, but geeze, cut me some slack, I didn't want to use all the names everyone else used, like Sebastian, so I chose Sherlock, by the way, that is my cats name and I love my cat, he was a birthday gift from my boss and she and the other people I work with named him for me and I happen to think it is cute. As far as his size and the fact that small snakes don't carry venom, I regret to inform you that where I am from, we have three kinds of snakes that are deadly at any size, so in my story, a little snake is poisonous. Also, I was told that it seemed like I was rushing through my story and not thinking it out, does anyone else feel this way? Cause if you do, I could spend months plotting out every single detail and still be posting chapters in a year if that is what you want. Ok, enough of my ranting now, that review just kind of depressed me a little bit, sorry. Thanks everyone who reviewed my story and I hope you still like it after this chapter, let me know!