Chapter 48
The morning of September the first arrived in a mass of rain clouds. Ginny had arrived at the platform of the Hogwarts Express with only minutes to spare, and was currently using her wand to try and dry her long hair and soaked clothes. She had been on the train for only twenty minutes when the door to her compartment opened and a smiling Colin walked in.
"Hullo Ginny, how was your summer?" he asked as he took the seat opposite hers
"Long, yours?" she asked politely
"Great! Dennis and I got tickets and went and watched the World Cup" he said with a broad smile on his face, but it was replaced by a frown when she didn't share his enthusiasm "What's wrong, Ginny?" he asked
"Nothing" she said quickly, not wanting to get into a discussion about Harry with Colin
"Ok, but if you want to talk, I'll listen" he said before changing the subject "So, is it true that your brother, Draco Malfoy, and Hermione will be at the castle again this year?" he asked
"Yeah, Hermione is already there, she's going to be helping in Charms lessons, but Ron and Draco won't be coming until next week, Sirius is going to help them start their Auror training so they can apply to the academy in a year" she said, a smile coming to her face as she thought the three of them being at the castle with her again.
"Great, when will Professor Black be getting back?" he asked
"The headmaster said he would be here by the time the feast starts" said Ginny, and her chest tightened slightly at the thought of seeing Harry again in just a few more hours as well.
"Well, I had better get going, I need to find all of the prefects and have a meeting with them" said Colin several minutes later as he got to his feet
"All right, bye Colin, and congratulations on being made head boy" said Ginny as he left and she again turned her attention to the passing countryside, which was getting steadily darker as the storm raged on.
Several hours later, Ginny was jolted awake by the sound of the brakes on the train grinding to a halt, and she was startled when she looked outside and saw the familiar sight of the Hogesmede station coming into view. She jumped to her feet and pulled her school robes over her head before hastily tying her hair back in a ponytail and following the rest of the students form the train and into the carriages. The rain had finally let up, but the trail was muddy and more than one student ended up slipping and falling on the way to the carriages. Ginny jumped into one with a trio of first year girls and settled down for the journey to the castle. Due to the increase in security, the traditional boat ride for the first year students did not take place, instead, they were kept near the older and more experienced students who could help to protect them if the need arose.
"Hi, I'm Sara and this is my sister Taren, and this is our friend Christine" said one of the girls, a pretty brunette with blue eyes as she pointed to a girl who looked exactly like her and one with black hair and light brown eyes.
"Nice to meet you all, I'm Ginny Weasley" she said as she shook all of their hands politely
"Are you really!?" exclaimed Taren in amazement, and Ginny was terribly confused by her outburst
"Yes, why do you ask?" she asked hesitantly
"Well, aren't you Harry Potters girlfriend?" asked Christine
"Oh, yes I am" said Ginny with a shy smile, she was used to people acting like this toward Harry, but the attention had never been turned on her before and it was kind of nice.
"Wow, I can't believe we actually got to meet you" said Sara in awe "Our brother, Josh, is a sixth year in Ravenclaw and he told us all about the battle at the school a couple of years ago" she explained
"Oh" said Ginny as a flood of bad memories began to surface about the battle and the many months following it "So what house do you all want to be in?" she asked, trying to change the subject
"Gryffindor or Ravenclaw" chimed the three girls in unison, and they spent the rest of the journey describing just why they wanted to be in either of those houses and before they knew it, they had arrived at the castle.
Ginny said goodbye to the three girls as she entered the entrance hall and they went in the direction that Professor McGonagall was directing them and she made her way toward the great hall. When she walked through the great wooden doors, her eyes immediately darted around the entire room, searching for a familiar head of black hair, but she was disappointed not to see one, and she felt a hand rest lightly on her shoulder. She spun around, hoping it was Harry, but her eyes instead fell onto Colin and Dennis who were standing behind her, and it was Colin who was gripping her shoulder.
"Don't worry, Ginny, he'll be here" he said in a reassuring voice as he led her to the Gryffindor table where they both took their seats at the end closest to the head table.
The sorting began soon after they had taken their seats, and to Ginny's pleasure, the three girls she had been speaking to in the carriage all ended up in Gryffindor, but by the end of the ceremony, Harry and Sirius still had not shown up, even though there were two empty seats for them at the head table between Remus and Hermione.
"Where is he?" asked Ginny under her breath as Dumbledore stood and began making his traditional start of term speech before the food appeared on the table and the great hall filled with excited chatter.
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When Harry and Sirius finally put the time turner around their necks, after Harry modified the headmasters' memory the same way he had done the marauders, they were transported to the edge of the village, and Harry promptly slipped and fell face first in the thick mud, and Terres flew from his shoulder to seek safety from the flying filth and Sherlock hissed indignantly. Sirius burst out laughing at him before Harry sent him a death glare and he shut up immediately before helping Harry back to his feet, but as soon as he was standing, Sirius burst out laughing once again.
"I don't think that this is very funny, Sirius" Harry growled as they began to walk through the deserted village and he tried in vain to wipe the mud from his robes, thankful that he was wearing his black cloak instead of the one Ginny had given him.
"You have no idea just how funny it is" said Sirius "He who is the most powerful wizard in the world, defeater of Voldemort, not once, but twice, falls face first in the mud" he said around barley repressed laughter
"Oh, shut up" said Harry as he began to walk ahead of his still laughing godfather
Sirius jogged to catch up with him before looking around the quiet village "Where is everybody? This place is usually bustling with people and it's only seven o'clock" mused Sirius
"I don't know, but it is awfully quiet" said Harry "come on, let's get up to the castle, the feast has probably already started" he said as he noticed the train sitting on the tracks with elves unloading the trunks and other luggage
They walked quickly up to the castle, and sure enough, when they entered the entrance hall they could hear the sorting hat singing its song. Harry started to walk toward the feast, but Sirius grabbed a hold of his robes to stop him "Harry, I think you had better go get cleaned up before you go eat dinner" he said and Harry looked down to see mud beginning to cake as it dried on his black robes
"Good idea" he said, but his attention was on the red headed girl he knew was only a few meters away from him. He grudgingly followed Sirius up the stairs and to their room where they were greeted heartedly by the painting before he allowed them to enter. Harry walked immediately to his room, pulled his trunk from his pocket and enlarged it before kneeling down before it and pulling out clean robes and his scarlet cloak. He then used his staff to cast cleaning charms on his hair and body to rid it of mud before changing into his clean clothing and stepping to the mirror to pull his hair back into a ponytail. When he had finished and was about to walk out of the room, his eyes fell onto a pile of letters sitting on his dust covered desk. Curious, he walked over to it. What he saw made his heart swell with happiness, there on his desk were literally tons of letters, some in Hermione's neat hand, some in Ron's messy, and even some from Draco, but the vast majority of them were from Ginny. There were even several packages sitting amongst the pile, undoubtedly from his birthday, which he had nearly ignored in his impatience to return home, even though Sirius had given him a cake and several gifts, including new robes and quidditch gear. He was just about to sit down and open the letters when he heard a knock at his door and Sirius walked it.
"Harry, are you ready yet?" he asked
"Yeah" said Harry as he joined the older man and they both left the room and began to walk down the long hallway "Sirius, what am I going to tell Ginny?" Harry finally asked
"About what?" asked Sirius
"About where I have been and why I didn't answer her letters" he said heavily "Can I tell her the truth, that we were in the past looking for Voldemort's now dead daughter?" he asked hesitantly
"I'm afraid not Harry, at least not until this is all behind us, if anyone knew that he had a daughter, not only her, but you would be in danger, as well as anyone else who knows where we have been or what we were doing, I'm sorry" he said with a frown
"I guess you're right" said Harry, returning the frown, and by that time, they had reached the doors leading into the great hall and they could hear the headmaster giving the welcoming speech coming from beyond them "Well, here goes nothing" said Harry as he pushed the doors opened.
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When he opened the doors to the Great Hall, all the hushed conversations within stopped as well as the headmasters' speech and all eyes turned to look at him and Sirius and a pleased smile broke across Dumbledore's face.
"Welcome back, Mr. Potter, Professor Black" he said kindly "Students, for those of you who don't know them, I would like to introduce you to Mr. Harry Potter who will be helping with Defense Against the Dark Arts and heading up the new Dueling club" he began, and Harry looked to him in shock when he heard his new responsibilities "And Professor Sirius Black who will be teaching the upper level Defense classes and helping Harry out. Both have been away for the castle for quite some time on a mission for me, and I would like you all to welcome them home" he finished and a polite applause rang throughout the hall as Harry and Sirius both quickly made their way to the head table.
The entire time he was walking, though, Harry was looking for one particular person, and as they reached the end of the Gryffindor table he saw her, and Ginny was looking right back at him. It took every ounce of will power he possessed not to run up to her right then and take her in his arms, but he knew that the headmaster would not approve of such a display, especially since Harry was no longer a student, but he couldn't resist sending her a wide smile which she returned hesitantly. Harry followed Sirius to the head table and took a seat between him and Hermione who gave him a quick hug in greeting.
"Oh, Harry, I'm so glad you're back" she said happily "You have no idea how worried we have all been about you, especially Ginny, what, with all the death eater attacks and everything" she said, and Harry looked to her in horror, as did Sirius
"What? Death eater attacks?" he asked finally
"You didn't know? Where have you been, a cave?" asked Hermione in shock
"No, but we've kind of been cut off from the news" said Harry "Now what are you talking about, what death eater attacks?" he asked again
"Yeah, since you left, all the death eaters who were not captured have joined together to search for you-know-who. The attacks are almost constant and everyone is really scared, it's worse than it was after fourth year, especially since no one knows who they are and they never leave any clues behind" she said quietly
"You say that they are looking for their master?" asked Harry hesitantly "Do they have any idea about the truth?" he whispered
"I don't think so, but they do know that he is still alive, they felt the mark burn right before you left, and they know the summons was coming from Hogwarts" she answered back, just as quietly "There are also rumors going around that they are after you for revenge" she said with her head bowed
"Great, just when I thought things couldn't get any worse, they do" muttered Harry under his breath "Well, we'll talk about this later, how has everything else been going?" he asked
"Well, Ron and Draco will be here next week, if Sirius is still willing to help them, and I am going to be helping with charms lessons for the younger years" she said with a smile
"Great! Congratulations, Hermione" said Harry as he gave her another hug
"And, Ginny has been really anxious about seeing you" she whispered into his ear and his face broke into another smile as he looked down on his girlfriend
"Me too, I can't wait until dinner is over" he said as he watched her talk to her friends, occasionally shooting him a worried glance
Dinner seemed to stretch on for longer that Harry could ever remember, but finally, it was over and the headmaster dismissed all the students to their common rooms and Harry bolted from the head table just as Ginny did the same from her seat and they met in the middle of the hall where they just stood and looked at each other with barley a meter in between them before she ran into his arms and threw her own around his neck.
"Oh, Harry, I'm so sorry!" she sobbed into his chest "Really, nothing happened, we just fell asleep, I was depressed and Colin was the only one there to talk to and we just fell asleep" she cried without taking a breath
"Shh, I know Ginny, I know, I should be the one apologizing for acting like such a bloody idiot" said Harry into her hair as he rubbed her back and at his words, her teary eyes looked into his
"You forgive me?" she asked hesitantly
"Of course, but you did nothing wrong" he said with a small smile, and instantly, they were aware that they had an audience as the entire great hall broke into applause, and both of them flushed in embarrassment "Why don't you come up to our rooms and we can talk without the entire school listening" suggested Harry into her ear
"Sounds like a good idea to me" she whispered back and with that, they took each others hand and walked quickly from to great hall, but before they had taken a half a dozen steps, Harry was stopped by a hand on his shoulder.
"Harry, I know you want some time alone with Ginny, so I will find out what I can from Sirius tonight, but could you please come to my office after breakfast tomorrow so I can hear your side of things?" asked the headmaster with a twinkle in his eyes
"Yes, sir, but maybe I can help clear up some things here" said Harry with a shy smile as he directed his staff to the old man and an instant later, a look of understanding crossed his face "Sorry, sir, but we had to cast a memory charm before we left" he said sheepishly
"Quite all right, Harry, but this will make things much easier to understand, perhaps I don't need to meet with you after all, and hopefully that spell will be put into effect soon" he said with a wink as he left Harry and Ginny in the direction of his office
"What were you talking about, before you left from where? And what spell was he talking about?" asked Ginny in confusion with her brow furrowed
"It's a long story, come on and I'll tell you everything" said Harry as he gently pulled her toward the exit.
When they reached Harry and Sirius' rooms, they both sat down on the couch and Harry began his tale "Well, the first thing you need to know, is that the first time I left, I was taken to the Dursley's house. While I was there, Sirius and Snape came to help me with some of my lessons, Sirius with my animagus training and Snape with my hand to hand combat using my sword and dagger. When I had learned all I could about those, the headmaster came and was going to help me with my wandless magic, but in order to do so, I had to start with using my wand, but as soon as I touched it, I was pulled into a vision, and then it turned into this" he said as he held up his staff "Dumbledore said that getting the staff meant that my powers were complete, and sure enough, I could do anything, so we came back to the castle. You know what happened when I got here, but after our argument, I went to Dumbledore's office and he sent Sirius and I out on a mission to try and find a way to destroy Voldemort's spirit once and for all" he said before he paused to take a breath, but Ginny spoke up before he could continue.
"So, why didn't you answer any of my letters then? I know you were getting them because Hedwig always came back without them" asked Ginny in a hurt tone
"Well, that's kind of complicated, you see, where Dumbledore sent us, owls couldn't get to us, so I guess she just left them where she knew I would find them when I got back, they are all sitting on my desk, I found them right before the feast" he answered with a shy smile "I was going to read them tonight" he added
"Well, I guess that's better than you ignoring them or something" said Ginny as she too smiled "So, where did the headmaster send you two that not even owls could find you?" she asked eagerly, but her happy expression disappeared when she saw his face fall
"I'm sorry, Gin, but I can't tell you right now, but I promise I will as soon as it's safe for you to know" he said as he bowed his head, fearing her anger
"What do you mean you can't tell me, don't you trust me?" she demanded, her voice getting higher with each syllable spoken
"No Gin, it's not that I don't trust you" he reassured quickly "But it's not safe for you if you knew the truth, especially since the death eaters are at it again, if they found out that you knew anything, they would kill you and I can't bear to see that happen, not to you" he said quietly as he grasped both of her small hands in his own "Please tell me you understand" he pleaded
She just looked at him for several silent moments, fury blazing in her brown eyes, but slowly, the fury diminished to be replaced with acceptance "All right, I understand, but can you at least tell me if you found anything or not?" she asked finally and Harry gave her a lop sided grin
"Thanks Gin" he said honestly "And yes, we did find something, but we are waiting for the other person needed in order to make it work, she should be here within the next couple of weeks, and then we can hopefully put all of this behind us" he told her as he gently squeezed her hands
"Who is this witch you are waiting for?" she asked
"I'm not quite sure, but we will know her when she arrives" said Harry
"If you say so" said Ginny hesitantly, not quite believing him "So, tell me more about this staff" she said
"Well, I don't know much about it myself, but I do know that it was given to me by a phoenix named Terres"
"You mean a phoenix gave you a staff?" asked Ginny incredulously and Harry chuckled lightly before he answered her
"Yes, she told me that she was my guardian and has been the reason I have managed to stay alive through everything and why the killing curse didn't kill my when I was a baby" he explained
"Well, at least some of your questions have finally been answered" said Ginny "So, do you care to explain to me just how a phoenix 'told' you that she was your guardian?"
"Well, it seems that I can talk to phoenixes" he said with a shrug of his shoulders and a smile when he saw her wide eyed expression
"You can TALK to phoenixes!? How?" she demanded
"I have no idea" admitted Harry "Maybe I should ask Terres next time I see her" he thought out loud
"You mean she comes to see you?" asked Ginny
"Yeah, she said she would stay nearby to protect me until all of this is over, she is probably out hunting though now, or I would introduce you to her" he said with a smile
"Wow, you really are full of surprises, aren't you?" said Ginny with a coy smile
"It would seem so, I keep finding more out about myself every day" said Harry with a chuckle
"What do you mean? What else has changed about you since you left?" she asked hesitantly
"Well, a few other things, I can now change into magical creatures" he said and her eyes grew wide in amazement
"I thought that was impossible" she exclaimed
"So did I until I became a griffin" said Harry "It's late, we need to get to bed" he said after several minutes
"Yeah, I better get back to the tower before they start to wonder where I am" said Ginny, but neither made any effort to move off the couch "I'm glad you're finally home" said Ginny
Instead of answering though, Harry pulled her closer "God, Gin, I've missed you so much" he said into her hair
"I've missed you too, Harry" she whispered back before she pulled him in for a long desired kiss.
Two hours later, Sirius returned to find them locked in each others arms, sound asleep, and he couldn't help but feel relieved that Harry was back to normal again, and happy. He quietly walked to his room and silently shut the door, deciding to let the two remain in the living room together that night, after all, they both deserved some peace.
When Harry woke up the next morning, he was aware of something warm curled up in his arms, and he sleepily opened his eyes and was met with bright red, which made him smile in contentment.
'Why are you so happy, boy, you are just risking her life by being with her' said the voice in his head and Harry frowned
'I will never let anything happen to her' he responded confidently
'You may think that now, but what is going to happen once you are no longer in control of yourself? Who will protect her then?'
'IF that happens, which it won't since we will have your daughter soon enough, then Sirius will keep you from harming her'
'You actually believe that you will get my daughter to help you?'
'Yes, because if she is anything like the rest of the world, she will probably hate you' responded Harry
'You may like to believe that, but would you be able to play a part in the death of your parents?'
'We don't even need to think about that, especially since you already killed them'
'Yes, but if they were still alive, could you kill them?'
'No, because they were good people, unlike you' thought Harry
'Yes, but I guarantee that if you do find my daughter, it will be difficult to convince her to help you, she is the type who believes that there is good in everybody'
'I will convince her' thought Harry with conviction
'Very well, but if I do manage to take control of you again, do you really think that your godfather will kill you?' he asked, trying a different approach
'Yes, he promised that he would' said Harry with certainty
'But will he be able to keep that promise? Would you do the same if your positions were reversed?' asked Voldemort smugly, and Harry refused to answer, but second thoughts began to steadily run through his mind for nearly an hour until Ginny began to stir as she slowly woke up.
"Morning beautiful" said Harry quietly as he gently kissed her cheek, causing her to smile sleepily
"Good morning" she muttered as she opened her eyes "What time is it?" she asked and Harry looked over his shoulder toward the large clock standing on the other side of the room.
"Seven fifteen, time for us to get to breakfast" said Harry as he began to sit up, but stopped when he saw the confused expression on Ginny's face "What's wrong?" he asked in concern
"Where are your glasses? How did you see the clock without them?" she asked and Harry smiled
"Oh, I can fix my vision with my staff, it's only temporary, but it's worth it not to have to wear glasses anymore" he said
"I like it too, you can see your eyes better now" said Ginny with a smile as well as she sat up and stretched her arms.
As they were both getting to their feet, the door to Sirius' room opened and the older man walked out "Harry, I'm glad you're awake, could you do me a favor and change my hair and eyes back to normal? I forgot that they were still different" said Sirius as he smiled at the two teenagers.
"Sure, I forgot too, but I guess that's why you were getting such strange looks last night at dinner" said Harry and he held out his hand to summon his staff, and when he had it he pointed it at Sirius and an instant later, his hair was black and his eyes blue.
"Thanks Harry, but you two had better get changed, breakfast is about to start and you don't need to be late" said Sirius as he left the room.
"Why did Sirius have to change his appearance?" asked Ginny once he had left
"We didn't want anyone to recognize either of us, so we both change a bit" answered Harry
"Oh, well I guess I'll see you at breakfast then" said Ginny as she stretched up and gave Harry a long goodbye kiss which ended only when they were both out of breath
"God I missed that Gin" said Harry truthfully once his breathing returned to normal
"You're not the only one" said Ginny with a smile as she left the room in the direction of the Gryffindor tower so she could get changed for classes and Harry turned toward his own bedroom to get a shower.
When he arrived to the great hall, it was already full of students chattering happily about the first day of classes. He greeted several of his old house mates on his way to the head table, and was surprised to find that Ginny had not yet arrived, but there were several students still missing, so he wasn't worried. By the time that he finally reached his seat, he wanted nothing more than to sit and eat a large meal in peace.
Nearly twenty minutes into breakfast, Ginny finally arrived and immediately shot Harry a wide grin which he was more than happy to return. Breakfast passed quickly and as soon as it was over, Harry followed Sirius and Remus to the defense corridor to assist Remus with his class of first years while Sirius planned for his first class of the day, which was right after lunch.
When the first year Gryffindor and Ravenclaw students entered the room, they all starred at Harry in awe, completely ignoring Remus who was attempting to take the roll, much to the amusement of Sirius who was sitting in the corner attempting to write something that at least resembled a lesson plan.
"Good morning students, I am Remus Lupin, your Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, and for those of you who don't know, this is Harry Potter, who will be assisting me" he said with a kind smile to the thirty eleven year olds who were mow paying rapt attention to him "Now, we will begin by learning about the various dark creatures and how to defend yourselves from them, who of you can tell me about vampires?" he asked and spent the rest of the lesson lecturing from the book about the differences between fact and myth concerning vampires. The next class of the morning consisted of the remaining two first year houses, and the lesson was repeated again, leaving Harry time to simply observe Remus and his teaching methods since he would probably be teaching the classes during the time following a full moon.
Immediately following a quick lunch, Harry proceeded back to the Defense classroom to aid Sirius in his fifth year class which he had decided would cover dark curses and potions to begin the year, and Harry was surprised to find that his godfather was indeed a good teacher who lectured in a way that the students could not only understand, but also paid attention. After dinner that night, Harry decided to go up to Gryffindor tower and surprise Ginny who was planning on coming to their rooms once she had finished all of her homework.
He walked slowly up the familiar path to the place he had lived for seven years, happily thinking about less complicated times in which his main concern was writing a potions essay. He was so wrapped up in his own thoughts that he ran face first into someone else and was knocked off of his feet and into a heap on the ground with a loud 'oomph'.
"Oh, Harry, I'm so sorry!" exclaimed a familiar voice from somewhere up above him and once he had pushed his hair out of his eyes he was met with the familiar sight of Hermione holding a book.
"Hey, Hermione" he said as he pulled himself back to his feet "Good book?" he asked with a grin
"Oh yes, Professor Flitwick loaned it to me, it's about advanced charms" she explained happily "How was your first day back at the castle?" she asked as she began to walk with him
"Not too bad, you?" he asked
"Wonderful, I can't wait until I get to teach a class on my own" she said wistfully "Are you on your way to see Ginny?" she asked when she recognized the direction he was traveling in
"Yes, I thought I would surprise her" he said "When did you say Ron and Draco were going to arrive?" he asked
"Next Wednesday, I can't wait to see Ron again" she said "And I know he is anxious to see you as well" she added as she looked to Harry with a smile "I don't guess you can tell us where you have been all this time, can you?" she asked hopefully
"I'm afraid not, but like I told Ginny, I will tell you all as soon as it is safe to do so" he said "I'm sorry" he added once he saw her disappointed face
"I understand, it would probably be dangerous if anyone else knew" she said, but Harry wasn't convinced that this would be the end of that particular conversation. At the portrait of the fat lady, Hermione bid Harry goodbye and went off in the direction of her own room for the night.
"Harry Potter!" exclaimed the fat lady once she saw him "I was wondering when you would be coming up here again, go on in, professors don't need a password" she said and Harry thanked her before crawling through and entering the common room which went silent when it's occupants saw who it was.
"Good evening" he said shyly, berating himself for coming at a time when all of Gryffindor was present and vowing to himself that next time he would come in as an animal that would not gain so much attention. He quickly made his way across the room to a very amused looking Ginny who was sitting in the corner and took a seat beside her.
"Well, Mr. Potter, what a pleasant surprise" she said with a smile before she gave him a kiss in greeting "I thought we were meeting in your rooms later tonight?" she asked
"Well, I thought I would surprise you, but I had no idea I would be getting so much attention by coming up here" he said quietly, aware of the several pairs of eyes on him
"Well, I was the only one who saw you after that day in defense, no one else saw you until the feast the other night" she explained
"Do you think that is why they are all starring at me?" he asked
"Well, that and the fact that you are wearing a very noticeable cloak when it is nearly sweltering in here, and you are carrying a gold staff, all of which catch everyone else's attention" she said "Why are you wearing a cloak?" she asked with her brow furrowed
"I'm cold" he said simply
"How can you be cold when it is so hot?" she asked as she fanned her face to prove her point
"I don't know, I always seem to be cold now days, ever since that day I dueled with that auror" he said with a shrug of his shoulders
"Really?" asked Ginny in concern
"Yeah, why?" asked Harry
"Well, have you told anyone about this, Madame Pomfrey or Sirius or the headmaster?" she asked
"No, I didn't think it was important, do you?" asked Harry
"Maybe not, but has it gotten any worse since then?"
"Sometimes, yes, but others it is barley noticeable" explained Harry "Why are you so worried?" he asked her
"Well, do you think that it has anything to do with you-know-who?" she whispered and his face immediately paled as he began to make connections
"Yes, I think it does" he finally said and before she could ask anymore questions he elaborated "Any time I feel happy or content, I am warm, but the second I begin to doubt myself and listen to what he is saying, I get cold" he explained
"Harry, I think you need to tell Dumbledore about this" said Ginny seriously
"I think I will, but first I need to talk to Sirius" he said "Maybe we can get together tomorrow night instead" he suggested and she nodded in agreement as she gave him another quick kiss before he left.
As Harry walked toward his own rooms, he thought about what he had just found out, and the small truth that he had failed to mention to Ginny, that in the past weeks, he had constantly been cold and nothing could warm him up, even her presence. He knew that Voldemort was getting increasingly stronger, and he was hesitant to tell anyone this, because he didn't want to admit it himself. They needed to get his daughter, and quick, or Sirius would be forced to keep up his promise he had made to Harry, whether he wanted to or not.
Despite what Harry had told Ginny, he never told anyone else about what he had discovered, even though he told her that he had. This was due mostly to Voldemort, and Harry still vividly remembered his frightening words from that night when he had been intending to tell Sirius.
'Do you actually think they will let you continue to have free rein over the entire school when they find out that you are weakening to my power?'
'What do you mean?' he had asked hesitantly
'As soon as they discover that you are breaking down, they will lock you up and never allow you to see anyone again. You will be kept as far away from Ginny and the rest of those you care about because they will think it is for the best' Voldemort had said in a self assured tone of voice
'They would never take me away from everyone like that' Harry had replied with certainty
'Won't they? Didn't they do just that when I got control of you last time? They sent you away to a place where you wouldn't endanger the rest of the school'
'You're wrong, they sent me away so that the death eaters couldn't find me'
'That's what they told you, but at the time, the death eaters hadn't even begun to attack yet, or don't you remember? The attacks began AFTER you went to the past' replied Voldemort 'They sent you away to keep everyone else safe, not to protect you, and they will do the same thing again, only this time, they will not allow you to return'
'You're lying, Tom, Dumbledore would never send me away'
'No, boy, you are the one who is wrong here, and you know it, he would send you away, he already has once and he wouldn't hesitate to do it again' said Voldemort as his voice faded away and left Harry to his own thoughts, and it was then that he admitted to himself that Voldemort was right, and he wouldn't risk being taken away from Ginny again so he would keep this little bit of information to himself, as well as anything else that might come along.
Three weeks had passed now since the start of term and still there was no sign of Voldemort's daughter and Harry was starting to get worried. Voldemort was steadily gaining strength and beginning to influence his every day life and behaviors. His head was constantly aching along his scar, and his left arm, where the dark mark was, felt as though it were burning more often than not and he had caught himself rubbing the sensitive skin almost constantly in an effort to alleviate the pain. Voldemort had also now gained enough strength to control Harry's dreams as well and his nights were filled with images and sounds of the death eaters attacks through their link with their master and it was rare that he actually got more than an hour of peaceful sleep a night and because of this his eyes were ringed in dark circles and his skin was losing its healthy color, but he kept both hidden by concealment charms on his face that not even the headmaster could see through and nobody knew that he was having anything less than a perfect rest every night. He had also started to snap at his friends for the smallest things, causing Ron to get angry with him on more than one occasion, but he was always forgiven because of the influences of Hermione, Ginny, and Draco who would remind him that it wasn't Harry talking, but Voldemort.
The classes he had been helping Sirius and Remus with were going smoothly so far, as was the dueling club that had started the second week of school and he enjoyed both activities greatly, but the thought of what was to come was constantly nagging at his mind. The only somewhat bright spot in the day for him was the nights he spent with Ginny, either in front of the fire in their rooms, or in Gryffindor tower, which were spent in quiet and peaceful conversations about anything and everything, except Voldemort and the death eaters for which Harry was eternally grateful since that is what he would have to see all night and listen to all day. He was ready for everything to finally be over, and at this point, he didn't care how it ended.
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A/N: All right, longer than the last one by almost 10 pages, and Harry and Ginny are together again, but not all is well yet. Some things from many chapters ago are finally answered and Harry is starting to get pretty run down, so the next chapter will not be all happy and mushy, but it does have its moments. Ok, enough of my rambling, this is what 12 hours at work after only 3 hours of sleep can do to you. Hope you enjoyed both this one and the last one, next one is almost done, but I don't know when I will be able to post it, tomorrow is my brothers birthday and we are taking him out to celebrate (he's nineteen) so I won't be able to tomorrow, and Saturday I leave for orientation, so maybe Tuesday or Wednesday? Please review and let me know what you think! I couldn't get this to work out exactly how I wanted it to, but I tried!
The morning of September the first arrived in a mass of rain clouds. Ginny had arrived at the platform of the Hogwarts Express with only minutes to spare, and was currently using her wand to try and dry her long hair and soaked clothes. She had been on the train for only twenty minutes when the door to her compartment opened and a smiling Colin walked in.
"Hullo Ginny, how was your summer?" he asked as he took the seat opposite hers
"Long, yours?" she asked politely
"Great! Dennis and I got tickets and went and watched the World Cup" he said with a broad smile on his face, but it was replaced by a frown when she didn't share his enthusiasm "What's wrong, Ginny?" he asked
"Nothing" she said quickly, not wanting to get into a discussion about Harry with Colin
"Ok, but if you want to talk, I'll listen" he said before changing the subject "So, is it true that your brother, Draco Malfoy, and Hermione will be at the castle again this year?" he asked
"Yeah, Hermione is already there, she's going to be helping in Charms lessons, but Ron and Draco won't be coming until next week, Sirius is going to help them start their Auror training so they can apply to the academy in a year" she said, a smile coming to her face as she thought the three of them being at the castle with her again.
"Great, when will Professor Black be getting back?" he asked
"The headmaster said he would be here by the time the feast starts" said Ginny, and her chest tightened slightly at the thought of seeing Harry again in just a few more hours as well.
"Well, I had better get going, I need to find all of the prefects and have a meeting with them" said Colin several minutes later as he got to his feet
"All right, bye Colin, and congratulations on being made head boy" said Ginny as he left and she again turned her attention to the passing countryside, which was getting steadily darker as the storm raged on.
Several hours later, Ginny was jolted awake by the sound of the brakes on the train grinding to a halt, and she was startled when she looked outside and saw the familiar sight of the Hogesmede station coming into view. She jumped to her feet and pulled her school robes over her head before hastily tying her hair back in a ponytail and following the rest of the students form the train and into the carriages. The rain had finally let up, but the trail was muddy and more than one student ended up slipping and falling on the way to the carriages. Ginny jumped into one with a trio of first year girls and settled down for the journey to the castle. Due to the increase in security, the traditional boat ride for the first year students did not take place, instead, they were kept near the older and more experienced students who could help to protect them if the need arose.
"Hi, I'm Sara and this is my sister Taren, and this is our friend Christine" said one of the girls, a pretty brunette with blue eyes as she pointed to a girl who looked exactly like her and one with black hair and light brown eyes.
"Nice to meet you all, I'm Ginny Weasley" she said as she shook all of their hands politely
"Are you really!?" exclaimed Taren in amazement, and Ginny was terribly confused by her outburst
"Yes, why do you ask?" she asked hesitantly
"Well, aren't you Harry Potters girlfriend?" asked Christine
"Oh, yes I am" said Ginny with a shy smile, she was used to people acting like this toward Harry, but the attention had never been turned on her before and it was kind of nice.
"Wow, I can't believe we actually got to meet you" said Sara in awe "Our brother, Josh, is a sixth year in Ravenclaw and he told us all about the battle at the school a couple of years ago" she explained
"Oh" said Ginny as a flood of bad memories began to surface about the battle and the many months following it "So what house do you all want to be in?" she asked, trying to change the subject
"Gryffindor or Ravenclaw" chimed the three girls in unison, and they spent the rest of the journey describing just why they wanted to be in either of those houses and before they knew it, they had arrived at the castle.
Ginny said goodbye to the three girls as she entered the entrance hall and they went in the direction that Professor McGonagall was directing them and she made her way toward the great hall. When she walked through the great wooden doors, her eyes immediately darted around the entire room, searching for a familiar head of black hair, but she was disappointed not to see one, and she felt a hand rest lightly on her shoulder. She spun around, hoping it was Harry, but her eyes instead fell onto Colin and Dennis who were standing behind her, and it was Colin who was gripping her shoulder.
"Don't worry, Ginny, he'll be here" he said in a reassuring voice as he led her to the Gryffindor table where they both took their seats at the end closest to the head table.
The sorting began soon after they had taken their seats, and to Ginny's pleasure, the three girls she had been speaking to in the carriage all ended up in Gryffindor, but by the end of the ceremony, Harry and Sirius still had not shown up, even though there were two empty seats for them at the head table between Remus and Hermione.
"Where is he?" asked Ginny under her breath as Dumbledore stood and began making his traditional start of term speech before the food appeared on the table and the great hall filled with excited chatter.
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When Harry and Sirius finally put the time turner around their necks, after Harry modified the headmasters' memory the same way he had done the marauders, they were transported to the edge of the village, and Harry promptly slipped and fell face first in the thick mud, and Terres flew from his shoulder to seek safety from the flying filth and Sherlock hissed indignantly. Sirius burst out laughing at him before Harry sent him a death glare and he shut up immediately before helping Harry back to his feet, but as soon as he was standing, Sirius burst out laughing once again.
"I don't think that this is very funny, Sirius" Harry growled as they began to walk through the deserted village and he tried in vain to wipe the mud from his robes, thankful that he was wearing his black cloak instead of the one Ginny had given him.
"You have no idea just how funny it is" said Sirius "He who is the most powerful wizard in the world, defeater of Voldemort, not once, but twice, falls face first in the mud" he said around barley repressed laughter
"Oh, shut up" said Harry as he began to walk ahead of his still laughing godfather
Sirius jogged to catch up with him before looking around the quiet village "Where is everybody? This place is usually bustling with people and it's only seven o'clock" mused Sirius
"I don't know, but it is awfully quiet" said Harry "come on, let's get up to the castle, the feast has probably already started" he said as he noticed the train sitting on the tracks with elves unloading the trunks and other luggage
They walked quickly up to the castle, and sure enough, when they entered the entrance hall they could hear the sorting hat singing its song. Harry started to walk toward the feast, but Sirius grabbed a hold of his robes to stop him "Harry, I think you had better go get cleaned up before you go eat dinner" he said and Harry looked down to see mud beginning to cake as it dried on his black robes
"Good idea" he said, but his attention was on the red headed girl he knew was only a few meters away from him. He grudgingly followed Sirius up the stairs and to their room where they were greeted heartedly by the painting before he allowed them to enter. Harry walked immediately to his room, pulled his trunk from his pocket and enlarged it before kneeling down before it and pulling out clean robes and his scarlet cloak. He then used his staff to cast cleaning charms on his hair and body to rid it of mud before changing into his clean clothing and stepping to the mirror to pull his hair back into a ponytail. When he had finished and was about to walk out of the room, his eyes fell onto a pile of letters sitting on his dust covered desk. Curious, he walked over to it. What he saw made his heart swell with happiness, there on his desk were literally tons of letters, some in Hermione's neat hand, some in Ron's messy, and even some from Draco, but the vast majority of them were from Ginny. There were even several packages sitting amongst the pile, undoubtedly from his birthday, which he had nearly ignored in his impatience to return home, even though Sirius had given him a cake and several gifts, including new robes and quidditch gear. He was just about to sit down and open the letters when he heard a knock at his door and Sirius walked it.
"Harry, are you ready yet?" he asked
"Yeah" said Harry as he joined the older man and they both left the room and began to walk down the long hallway "Sirius, what am I going to tell Ginny?" Harry finally asked
"About what?" asked Sirius
"About where I have been and why I didn't answer her letters" he said heavily "Can I tell her the truth, that we were in the past looking for Voldemort's now dead daughter?" he asked hesitantly
"I'm afraid not Harry, at least not until this is all behind us, if anyone knew that he had a daughter, not only her, but you would be in danger, as well as anyone else who knows where we have been or what we were doing, I'm sorry" he said with a frown
"I guess you're right" said Harry, returning the frown, and by that time, they had reached the doors leading into the great hall and they could hear the headmaster giving the welcoming speech coming from beyond them "Well, here goes nothing" said Harry as he pushed the doors opened.
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When he opened the doors to the Great Hall, all the hushed conversations within stopped as well as the headmasters' speech and all eyes turned to look at him and Sirius and a pleased smile broke across Dumbledore's face.
"Welcome back, Mr. Potter, Professor Black" he said kindly "Students, for those of you who don't know them, I would like to introduce you to Mr. Harry Potter who will be helping with Defense Against the Dark Arts and heading up the new Dueling club" he began, and Harry looked to him in shock when he heard his new responsibilities "And Professor Sirius Black who will be teaching the upper level Defense classes and helping Harry out. Both have been away for the castle for quite some time on a mission for me, and I would like you all to welcome them home" he finished and a polite applause rang throughout the hall as Harry and Sirius both quickly made their way to the head table.
The entire time he was walking, though, Harry was looking for one particular person, and as they reached the end of the Gryffindor table he saw her, and Ginny was looking right back at him. It took every ounce of will power he possessed not to run up to her right then and take her in his arms, but he knew that the headmaster would not approve of such a display, especially since Harry was no longer a student, but he couldn't resist sending her a wide smile which she returned hesitantly. Harry followed Sirius to the head table and took a seat between him and Hermione who gave him a quick hug in greeting.
"Oh, Harry, I'm so glad you're back" she said happily "You have no idea how worried we have all been about you, especially Ginny, what, with all the death eater attacks and everything" she said, and Harry looked to her in horror, as did Sirius
"What? Death eater attacks?" he asked finally
"You didn't know? Where have you been, a cave?" asked Hermione in shock
"No, but we've kind of been cut off from the news" said Harry "Now what are you talking about, what death eater attacks?" he asked again
"Yeah, since you left, all the death eaters who were not captured have joined together to search for you-know-who. The attacks are almost constant and everyone is really scared, it's worse than it was after fourth year, especially since no one knows who they are and they never leave any clues behind" she said quietly
"You say that they are looking for their master?" asked Harry hesitantly "Do they have any idea about the truth?" he whispered
"I don't think so, but they do know that he is still alive, they felt the mark burn right before you left, and they know the summons was coming from Hogwarts" she answered back, just as quietly "There are also rumors going around that they are after you for revenge" she said with her head bowed
"Great, just when I thought things couldn't get any worse, they do" muttered Harry under his breath "Well, we'll talk about this later, how has everything else been going?" he asked
"Well, Ron and Draco will be here next week, if Sirius is still willing to help them, and I am going to be helping with charms lessons for the younger years" she said with a smile
"Great! Congratulations, Hermione" said Harry as he gave her another hug
"And, Ginny has been really anxious about seeing you" she whispered into his ear and his face broke into another smile as he looked down on his girlfriend
"Me too, I can't wait until dinner is over" he said as he watched her talk to her friends, occasionally shooting him a worried glance
Dinner seemed to stretch on for longer that Harry could ever remember, but finally, it was over and the headmaster dismissed all the students to their common rooms and Harry bolted from the head table just as Ginny did the same from her seat and they met in the middle of the hall where they just stood and looked at each other with barley a meter in between them before she ran into his arms and threw her own around his neck.
"Oh, Harry, I'm so sorry!" she sobbed into his chest "Really, nothing happened, we just fell asleep, I was depressed and Colin was the only one there to talk to and we just fell asleep" she cried without taking a breath
"Shh, I know Ginny, I know, I should be the one apologizing for acting like such a bloody idiot" said Harry into her hair as he rubbed her back and at his words, her teary eyes looked into his
"You forgive me?" she asked hesitantly
"Of course, but you did nothing wrong" he said with a small smile, and instantly, they were aware that they had an audience as the entire great hall broke into applause, and both of them flushed in embarrassment "Why don't you come up to our rooms and we can talk without the entire school listening" suggested Harry into her ear
"Sounds like a good idea to me" she whispered back and with that, they took each others hand and walked quickly from to great hall, but before they had taken a half a dozen steps, Harry was stopped by a hand on his shoulder.
"Harry, I know you want some time alone with Ginny, so I will find out what I can from Sirius tonight, but could you please come to my office after breakfast tomorrow so I can hear your side of things?" asked the headmaster with a twinkle in his eyes
"Yes, sir, but maybe I can help clear up some things here" said Harry with a shy smile as he directed his staff to the old man and an instant later, a look of understanding crossed his face "Sorry, sir, but we had to cast a memory charm before we left" he said sheepishly
"Quite all right, Harry, but this will make things much easier to understand, perhaps I don't need to meet with you after all, and hopefully that spell will be put into effect soon" he said with a wink as he left Harry and Ginny in the direction of his office
"What were you talking about, before you left from where? And what spell was he talking about?" asked Ginny in confusion with her brow furrowed
"It's a long story, come on and I'll tell you everything" said Harry as he gently pulled her toward the exit.
When they reached Harry and Sirius' rooms, they both sat down on the couch and Harry began his tale "Well, the first thing you need to know, is that the first time I left, I was taken to the Dursley's house. While I was there, Sirius and Snape came to help me with some of my lessons, Sirius with my animagus training and Snape with my hand to hand combat using my sword and dagger. When I had learned all I could about those, the headmaster came and was going to help me with my wandless magic, but in order to do so, I had to start with using my wand, but as soon as I touched it, I was pulled into a vision, and then it turned into this" he said as he held up his staff "Dumbledore said that getting the staff meant that my powers were complete, and sure enough, I could do anything, so we came back to the castle. You know what happened when I got here, but after our argument, I went to Dumbledore's office and he sent Sirius and I out on a mission to try and find a way to destroy Voldemort's spirit once and for all" he said before he paused to take a breath, but Ginny spoke up before he could continue.
"So, why didn't you answer any of my letters then? I know you were getting them because Hedwig always came back without them" asked Ginny in a hurt tone
"Well, that's kind of complicated, you see, where Dumbledore sent us, owls couldn't get to us, so I guess she just left them where she knew I would find them when I got back, they are all sitting on my desk, I found them right before the feast" he answered with a shy smile "I was going to read them tonight" he added
"Well, I guess that's better than you ignoring them or something" said Ginny as she too smiled "So, where did the headmaster send you two that not even owls could find you?" she asked eagerly, but her happy expression disappeared when she saw his face fall
"I'm sorry, Gin, but I can't tell you right now, but I promise I will as soon as it's safe for you to know" he said as he bowed his head, fearing her anger
"What do you mean you can't tell me, don't you trust me?" she demanded, her voice getting higher with each syllable spoken
"No Gin, it's not that I don't trust you" he reassured quickly "But it's not safe for you if you knew the truth, especially since the death eaters are at it again, if they found out that you knew anything, they would kill you and I can't bear to see that happen, not to you" he said quietly as he grasped both of her small hands in his own "Please tell me you understand" he pleaded
She just looked at him for several silent moments, fury blazing in her brown eyes, but slowly, the fury diminished to be replaced with acceptance "All right, I understand, but can you at least tell me if you found anything or not?" she asked finally and Harry gave her a lop sided grin
"Thanks Gin" he said honestly "And yes, we did find something, but we are waiting for the other person needed in order to make it work, she should be here within the next couple of weeks, and then we can hopefully put all of this behind us" he told her as he gently squeezed her hands
"Who is this witch you are waiting for?" she asked
"I'm not quite sure, but we will know her when she arrives" said Harry
"If you say so" said Ginny hesitantly, not quite believing him "So, tell me more about this staff" she said
"Well, I don't know much about it myself, but I do know that it was given to me by a phoenix named Terres"
"You mean a phoenix gave you a staff?" asked Ginny incredulously and Harry chuckled lightly before he answered her
"Yes, she told me that she was my guardian and has been the reason I have managed to stay alive through everything and why the killing curse didn't kill my when I was a baby" he explained
"Well, at least some of your questions have finally been answered" said Ginny "So, do you care to explain to me just how a phoenix 'told' you that she was your guardian?"
"Well, it seems that I can talk to phoenixes" he said with a shrug of his shoulders and a smile when he saw her wide eyed expression
"You can TALK to phoenixes!? How?" she demanded
"I have no idea" admitted Harry "Maybe I should ask Terres next time I see her" he thought out loud
"You mean she comes to see you?" asked Ginny
"Yeah, she said she would stay nearby to protect me until all of this is over, she is probably out hunting though now, or I would introduce you to her" he said with a smile
"Wow, you really are full of surprises, aren't you?" said Ginny with a coy smile
"It would seem so, I keep finding more out about myself every day" said Harry with a chuckle
"What do you mean? What else has changed about you since you left?" she asked hesitantly
"Well, a few other things, I can now change into magical creatures" he said and her eyes grew wide in amazement
"I thought that was impossible" she exclaimed
"So did I until I became a griffin" said Harry "It's late, we need to get to bed" he said after several minutes
"Yeah, I better get back to the tower before they start to wonder where I am" said Ginny, but neither made any effort to move off the couch "I'm glad you're finally home" said Ginny
Instead of answering though, Harry pulled her closer "God, Gin, I've missed you so much" he said into her hair
"I've missed you too, Harry" she whispered back before she pulled him in for a long desired kiss.
Two hours later, Sirius returned to find them locked in each others arms, sound asleep, and he couldn't help but feel relieved that Harry was back to normal again, and happy. He quietly walked to his room and silently shut the door, deciding to let the two remain in the living room together that night, after all, they both deserved some peace.
When Harry woke up the next morning, he was aware of something warm curled up in his arms, and he sleepily opened his eyes and was met with bright red, which made him smile in contentment.
'Why are you so happy, boy, you are just risking her life by being with her' said the voice in his head and Harry frowned
'I will never let anything happen to her' he responded confidently
'You may think that now, but what is going to happen once you are no longer in control of yourself? Who will protect her then?'
'IF that happens, which it won't since we will have your daughter soon enough, then Sirius will keep you from harming her'
'You actually believe that you will get my daughter to help you?'
'Yes, because if she is anything like the rest of the world, she will probably hate you' responded Harry
'You may like to believe that, but would you be able to play a part in the death of your parents?'
'We don't even need to think about that, especially since you already killed them'
'Yes, but if they were still alive, could you kill them?'
'No, because they were good people, unlike you' thought Harry
'Yes, but I guarantee that if you do find my daughter, it will be difficult to convince her to help you, she is the type who believes that there is good in everybody'
'I will convince her' thought Harry with conviction
'Very well, but if I do manage to take control of you again, do you really think that your godfather will kill you?' he asked, trying a different approach
'Yes, he promised that he would' said Harry with certainty
'But will he be able to keep that promise? Would you do the same if your positions were reversed?' asked Voldemort smugly, and Harry refused to answer, but second thoughts began to steadily run through his mind for nearly an hour until Ginny began to stir as she slowly woke up.
"Morning beautiful" said Harry quietly as he gently kissed her cheek, causing her to smile sleepily
"Good morning" she muttered as she opened her eyes "What time is it?" she asked and Harry looked over his shoulder toward the large clock standing on the other side of the room.
"Seven fifteen, time for us to get to breakfast" said Harry as he began to sit up, but stopped when he saw the confused expression on Ginny's face "What's wrong?" he asked in concern
"Where are your glasses? How did you see the clock without them?" she asked and Harry smiled
"Oh, I can fix my vision with my staff, it's only temporary, but it's worth it not to have to wear glasses anymore" he said
"I like it too, you can see your eyes better now" said Ginny with a smile as well as she sat up and stretched her arms.
As they were both getting to their feet, the door to Sirius' room opened and the older man walked out "Harry, I'm glad you're awake, could you do me a favor and change my hair and eyes back to normal? I forgot that they were still different" said Sirius as he smiled at the two teenagers.
"Sure, I forgot too, but I guess that's why you were getting such strange looks last night at dinner" said Harry and he held out his hand to summon his staff, and when he had it he pointed it at Sirius and an instant later, his hair was black and his eyes blue.
"Thanks Harry, but you two had better get changed, breakfast is about to start and you don't need to be late" said Sirius as he left the room.
"Why did Sirius have to change his appearance?" asked Ginny once he had left
"We didn't want anyone to recognize either of us, so we both change a bit" answered Harry
"Oh, well I guess I'll see you at breakfast then" said Ginny as she stretched up and gave Harry a long goodbye kiss which ended only when they were both out of breath
"God I missed that Gin" said Harry truthfully once his breathing returned to normal
"You're not the only one" said Ginny with a smile as she left the room in the direction of the Gryffindor tower so she could get changed for classes and Harry turned toward his own bedroom to get a shower.
When he arrived to the great hall, it was already full of students chattering happily about the first day of classes. He greeted several of his old house mates on his way to the head table, and was surprised to find that Ginny had not yet arrived, but there were several students still missing, so he wasn't worried. By the time that he finally reached his seat, he wanted nothing more than to sit and eat a large meal in peace.
Nearly twenty minutes into breakfast, Ginny finally arrived and immediately shot Harry a wide grin which he was more than happy to return. Breakfast passed quickly and as soon as it was over, Harry followed Sirius and Remus to the defense corridor to assist Remus with his class of first years while Sirius planned for his first class of the day, which was right after lunch.
When the first year Gryffindor and Ravenclaw students entered the room, they all starred at Harry in awe, completely ignoring Remus who was attempting to take the roll, much to the amusement of Sirius who was sitting in the corner attempting to write something that at least resembled a lesson plan.
"Good morning students, I am Remus Lupin, your Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, and for those of you who don't know, this is Harry Potter, who will be assisting me" he said with a kind smile to the thirty eleven year olds who were mow paying rapt attention to him "Now, we will begin by learning about the various dark creatures and how to defend yourselves from them, who of you can tell me about vampires?" he asked and spent the rest of the lesson lecturing from the book about the differences between fact and myth concerning vampires. The next class of the morning consisted of the remaining two first year houses, and the lesson was repeated again, leaving Harry time to simply observe Remus and his teaching methods since he would probably be teaching the classes during the time following a full moon.
Immediately following a quick lunch, Harry proceeded back to the Defense classroom to aid Sirius in his fifth year class which he had decided would cover dark curses and potions to begin the year, and Harry was surprised to find that his godfather was indeed a good teacher who lectured in a way that the students could not only understand, but also paid attention. After dinner that night, Harry decided to go up to Gryffindor tower and surprise Ginny who was planning on coming to their rooms once she had finished all of her homework.
He walked slowly up the familiar path to the place he had lived for seven years, happily thinking about less complicated times in which his main concern was writing a potions essay. He was so wrapped up in his own thoughts that he ran face first into someone else and was knocked off of his feet and into a heap on the ground with a loud 'oomph'.
"Oh, Harry, I'm so sorry!" exclaimed a familiar voice from somewhere up above him and once he had pushed his hair out of his eyes he was met with the familiar sight of Hermione holding a book.
"Hey, Hermione" he said as he pulled himself back to his feet "Good book?" he asked with a grin
"Oh yes, Professor Flitwick loaned it to me, it's about advanced charms" she explained happily "How was your first day back at the castle?" she asked as she began to walk with him
"Not too bad, you?" he asked
"Wonderful, I can't wait until I get to teach a class on my own" she said wistfully "Are you on your way to see Ginny?" she asked when she recognized the direction he was traveling in
"Yes, I thought I would surprise her" he said "When did you say Ron and Draco were going to arrive?" he asked
"Next Wednesday, I can't wait to see Ron again" she said "And I know he is anxious to see you as well" she added as she looked to Harry with a smile "I don't guess you can tell us where you have been all this time, can you?" she asked hopefully
"I'm afraid not, but like I told Ginny, I will tell you all as soon as it is safe to do so" he said "I'm sorry" he added once he saw her disappointed face
"I understand, it would probably be dangerous if anyone else knew" she said, but Harry wasn't convinced that this would be the end of that particular conversation. At the portrait of the fat lady, Hermione bid Harry goodbye and went off in the direction of her own room for the night.
"Harry Potter!" exclaimed the fat lady once she saw him "I was wondering when you would be coming up here again, go on in, professors don't need a password" she said and Harry thanked her before crawling through and entering the common room which went silent when it's occupants saw who it was.
"Good evening" he said shyly, berating himself for coming at a time when all of Gryffindor was present and vowing to himself that next time he would come in as an animal that would not gain so much attention. He quickly made his way across the room to a very amused looking Ginny who was sitting in the corner and took a seat beside her.
"Well, Mr. Potter, what a pleasant surprise" she said with a smile before she gave him a kiss in greeting "I thought we were meeting in your rooms later tonight?" she asked
"Well, I thought I would surprise you, but I had no idea I would be getting so much attention by coming up here" he said quietly, aware of the several pairs of eyes on him
"Well, I was the only one who saw you after that day in defense, no one else saw you until the feast the other night" she explained
"Do you think that is why they are all starring at me?" he asked
"Well, that and the fact that you are wearing a very noticeable cloak when it is nearly sweltering in here, and you are carrying a gold staff, all of which catch everyone else's attention" she said "Why are you wearing a cloak?" she asked with her brow furrowed
"I'm cold" he said simply
"How can you be cold when it is so hot?" she asked as she fanned her face to prove her point
"I don't know, I always seem to be cold now days, ever since that day I dueled with that auror" he said with a shrug of his shoulders
"Really?" asked Ginny in concern
"Yeah, why?" asked Harry
"Well, have you told anyone about this, Madame Pomfrey or Sirius or the headmaster?" she asked
"No, I didn't think it was important, do you?" asked Harry
"Maybe not, but has it gotten any worse since then?"
"Sometimes, yes, but others it is barley noticeable" explained Harry "Why are you so worried?" he asked her
"Well, do you think that it has anything to do with you-know-who?" she whispered and his face immediately paled as he began to make connections
"Yes, I think it does" he finally said and before she could ask anymore questions he elaborated "Any time I feel happy or content, I am warm, but the second I begin to doubt myself and listen to what he is saying, I get cold" he explained
"Harry, I think you need to tell Dumbledore about this" said Ginny seriously
"I think I will, but first I need to talk to Sirius" he said "Maybe we can get together tomorrow night instead" he suggested and she nodded in agreement as she gave him another quick kiss before he left.
As Harry walked toward his own rooms, he thought about what he had just found out, and the small truth that he had failed to mention to Ginny, that in the past weeks, he had constantly been cold and nothing could warm him up, even her presence. He knew that Voldemort was getting increasingly stronger, and he was hesitant to tell anyone this, because he didn't want to admit it himself. They needed to get his daughter, and quick, or Sirius would be forced to keep up his promise he had made to Harry, whether he wanted to or not.
Despite what Harry had told Ginny, he never told anyone else about what he had discovered, even though he told her that he had. This was due mostly to Voldemort, and Harry still vividly remembered his frightening words from that night when he had been intending to tell Sirius.
'Do you actually think they will let you continue to have free rein over the entire school when they find out that you are weakening to my power?'
'What do you mean?' he had asked hesitantly
'As soon as they discover that you are breaking down, they will lock you up and never allow you to see anyone again. You will be kept as far away from Ginny and the rest of those you care about because they will think it is for the best' Voldemort had said in a self assured tone of voice
'They would never take me away from everyone like that' Harry had replied with certainty
'Won't they? Didn't they do just that when I got control of you last time? They sent you away to a place where you wouldn't endanger the rest of the school'
'You're wrong, they sent me away so that the death eaters couldn't find me'
'That's what they told you, but at the time, the death eaters hadn't even begun to attack yet, or don't you remember? The attacks began AFTER you went to the past' replied Voldemort 'They sent you away to keep everyone else safe, not to protect you, and they will do the same thing again, only this time, they will not allow you to return'
'You're lying, Tom, Dumbledore would never send me away'
'No, boy, you are the one who is wrong here, and you know it, he would send you away, he already has once and he wouldn't hesitate to do it again' said Voldemort as his voice faded away and left Harry to his own thoughts, and it was then that he admitted to himself that Voldemort was right, and he wouldn't risk being taken away from Ginny again so he would keep this little bit of information to himself, as well as anything else that might come along.
Three weeks had passed now since the start of term and still there was no sign of Voldemort's daughter and Harry was starting to get worried. Voldemort was steadily gaining strength and beginning to influence his every day life and behaviors. His head was constantly aching along his scar, and his left arm, where the dark mark was, felt as though it were burning more often than not and he had caught himself rubbing the sensitive skin almost constantly in an effort to alleviate the pain. Voldemort had also now gained enough strength to control Harry's dreams as well and his nights were filled with images and sounds of the death eaters attacks through their link with their master and it was rare that he actually got more than an hour of peaceful sleep a night and because of this his eyes were ringed in dark circles and his skin was losing its healthy color, but he kept both hidden by concealment charms on his face that not even the headmaster could see through and nobody knew that he was having anything less than a perfect rest every night. He had also started to snap at his friends for the smallest things, causing Ron to get angry with him on more than one occasion, but he was always forgiven because of the influences of Hermione, Ginny, and Draco who would remind him that it wasn't Harry talking, but Voldemort.
The classes he had been helping Sirius and Remus with were going smoothly so far, as was the dueling club that had started the second week of school and he enjoyed both activities greatly, but the thought of what was to come was constantly nagging at his mind. The only somewhat bright spot in the day for him was the nights he spent with Ginny, either in front of the fire in their rooms, or in Gryffindor tower, which were spent in quiet and peaceful conversations about anything and everything, except Voldemort and the death eaters for which Harry was eternally grateful since that is what he would have to see all night and listen to all day. He was ready for everything to finally be over, and at this point, he didn't care how it ended.
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A/N: All right, longer than the last one by almost 10 pages, and Harry and Ginny are together again, but not all is well yet. Some things from many chapters ago are finally answered and Harry is starting to get pretty run down, so the next chapter will not be all happy and mushy, but it does have its moments. Ok, enough of my rambling, this is what 12 hours at work after only 3 hours of sleep can do to you. Hope you enjoyed both this one and the last one, next one is almost done, but I don't know when I will be able to post it, tomorrow is my brothers birthday and we are taking him out to celebrate (he's nineteen) so I won't be able to tomorrow, and Saturday I leave for orientation, so maybe Tuesday or Wednesday? Please review and let me know what you think! I couldn't get this to work out exactly how I wanted it to, but I tried!