A/N: Thanks to all who reviewed. You know that I appreciate it greatly. I
was watching my reviews and I was like, 'please let me reach a hundred.'
Guess what. I received 99 delightful reviews on my last 13 chapters. I find
this a checkpoint in my story, and I would like to thank everyone who ever
reviewed. I hope you all continue to read my story and find it at least
semi-enjoyable. Please, fear not to tell me what you really think. Thanks
to all.
Chapter 14: ~ The Right Notes to Play ~
It was indeed quite hectic after the amazing win by Gryffindor. Peers were rushing around the common room at a rapid pace, moving as if the Heir of Slytherin himself was after them. For the most part, the actual team lazed on the couches and chairs, restoring strength for the coming party ahead. The only missing members were Fred and George, and by Harry's account, they were probably on their way back from Honeydukes at any moment.
Harry, in particular, was sprawled across a comfortable, yet stuffed, armchair. This, on any other day, would be normal. The fact that made this, such a blunt statement, was the redhead currently plopped down upon his lap. The two in discussion were oblivious to the looks they were receiving for their obvious displays of affection.
Harry was smiling up at Ginny as she sat on his legs, facing him with her legs crossed. They seemed to be talking through movements, not words. Harry's most obvious concern was what Ron might say, or do, if he found both Harry and his baby sister in such a friendly position.
But it seemed luck was in Harry's favour as he looked about the common room. Ron was nowhere in sight, and, on closer inspection, neither was his other best friend. Not wanting to know what sort of shenanigans the two could, and probably would, get into, he turned his attention back to the lovely creature currently resting on his abdomen.
She was happily involved in a conversation with Angelina, as her hand remained tightly grasped with Harry's. Her eyes were unusually bright, sparkling with mischief, a trait passed down from her brothers. Although there was no official announcement on the subject, it seemed fitting to say that she was indeed Harry's girlfriend and Harry had no objection to that statement whatsoever.
A sudden burst of noise came from the common room door, and in walked both Fred and George, both carrying bags upon bags with the emblem of Honeydukes plastered on the front. They were welcomed with cheers as they placed the bags upon the nearest table, and started to unwrap the goodies from inside them. Nether of them gave any more resistance to the position of their sister but a smirk, and look of knowing.
When all the sweets had been strategically placed around the room so that nobody was more then a mere five feet away from some sort of sugar contraption, did the party truly begin. Everyone seemed to join in on the festivities, laughing along, praising the team for their efforts.
Both Harry and Ginny did not notice when the two missing people from earlier returned. Ron had suddenly appeared at Harry's side, with Hermione closely following. Harry nodded in greeting, trying his best to not look at Hermione's slightly messy hair, or the undying blush that flushed Ron's ear's making his eyes seem extra bright. It was plainly obvious that something was going on between the two of his friends. And despite the fact that all along he knew something of the sort would happen, he couldn't help feeling just a bit strange among them at the moment. But, if Ron wasn't going to ask questions about him and Ginny, he wasn't going to ask about Ron and Hermione either.
"How's it going?" He asked, trying to break the silence that filled the air.
"Umm, not too bad, had to go run a few errands, but were back now." Ron said, blushing a bit more, the red flush leading towards his nose.
Harry smirked to himself, errands, yes, and he was the son of Voldemort. He snorted quietly to himself, nodding at Ron in agreement.
"What happened up there Harry?" Hermione asked, referring to the incident while playing the previous Quidditch game.
"Cho just lost her balance, nothing major. She bumped into me, I think I bruised my arm, but she'll be fine."
"It looked like she was going to fall from where we were." Hermione stated.
"Well, she probably would have, she got hit by a Bludger, but the just lost her balance. She should be okay now."
"Yes, but-" Whatever Hermione had to say was indeed cut off by a arm coming around both Harry and Ginny, Fred's head poked through the opening just between their shoulders.
"The star of the game! Harry, my dear old friend, won't you try a Banana Burst?" He smiled innocently, offering a plate to everyone.
"Fred, I would, but it's the burst part that scares me." He patted Fred's arm in a reassuring way, smiling innocently back.
"You have no reason to fear the food I offer. Neville seems to enjoy them immensely." Fred nodded in Neville's direction.
Neville was hunched over on the armchair that Harry and Ginny had previously sat in; he was moaning and had a look of pain on his face.
"You see, they are called 'burst' because as you chew and swallow them, they begin to crackle as you eat them. It only creates a pleasant tickling sensation as you swallow." He grinned wickedly, showing his teeth. "Really, they won't hurt yo-" His sentence was interrupted with a loud groan from Neville as he moved off the chair and made his way up to the dormitories. "- u much."
"Much." Ron assessed. "What is much?"
"Exactly," Fred agreed, offering the tray again, "Okay, it's your loss."
"Actually the word I believe your searching for is 'gain'." Ginny smiled sweetly at her elder brother. "Toodles."
"Sheesh, I can tell when I'm not wanted." Fred grinned. "Maybe Angelina might want me now." he let that sentence hang there as he left their group, making it over to the person of his discussion.
"Poor Neville, he never seems to learn does he?" Ron said waving a bottle of Butterbeer around to show is point. "He always excepts whatever Fred and George may come up with, without even thinking."
"He'll learn eventually." Hermione stated, reaching for a Chocolate Frog, "Until then, he can keep Madame Pomfrey company in the Hospital wing."
"True," Ron said, "So true."
***
Professor Dumbledore sipped his tea with a thoughtful look on his face. Sirius and Ivan sat in front of him in silence toying idly with their newly empty mugs. It seemed that despite the win by Gryffindor, none of the people present were in such a mood to celebrate. Sirius stared off into the distance, his hands twirling the teacups around, his mind completely involved with the current situation.
Voldemort was back, but unusually so, he was being quite quiet about his presence. No multiple killings, no mysterious curses, for all that Sirius knew, he could have been learning how to speak fluent pig-Latin. But, on more thought and more twirling of his teacup, he knew that Voldemort was never the one to sit quietly for long, especially when Sirius's godson was still alive and kicking.
Dumbledore cleared his throat, breaking the unbearable silence. "I believe Voldemort is currently residing in Southern Wessex. Reports of disappearances have been coming from that area quite rapidly."
"Yes, but if that is true, shouldn't we send someone there to make sure this is not another trick, because if you remember what happened over the summer." Ivan said, trailing off.
"Well, Harry and Ms. Weasley are safe, there is no need to send them into a panic. They have enough trouble as it is."
"Albus, I still can't see how Ms. Weasley fits in to all this, yes, she is Harry's friend and Mr. Weasley's sister, but she has no importance to Voldemort." Ivan stated.
"Ginny Weasley does not have importance to Voldemort yet, but she has a role to play in what is to come. I do not know how, but it is known to me."
***
Harry leaned against the back of his chair clutching his stomach. The smell of eggs and toast didn't help the knowing feeling inside of him, as well as the drowsiness of last night's late night.. It rolled in waves, making his head ache horribly. He moaned softly, trying to calm his insides, concentrating on making the pain disappear.
Breathe. in and out. calmness. tranquility. breathe. in and out.
Harry's stomach stilled, relaxing. All throbbing pain in his head faded away. The beginning of a bruise on his arm where Cho had banged into him faded, the soreness disappearing into nothing. In fact, all sore and stiff muscles became loosened up, he felt as if he had been miraculously refreshed.
Uh-oh. this is becoming stranger then before. Not that he didn't mind the new feeling of healthiness, it was just uncomfortable knowing that his medallion was more magical then he thought. When was he going to find out about the healing powers? Was this a new development? Or did he have it all along; he just didn't know how to use them? This was too confusing and obliviously, he voiced his opinion.
"What's too confusing?" Hermione asked. "Really, if you just concentrate, the transportation charm is really easy. Just concentrate really hard on where your sending things to. Watch." Hermione took out her wand, placing a ripe apple in front of her; looking at it steadily she flicked her wand. "Transtaius"
Harry smiled. "Thanks for the tip Hermione, but I thinking about something else."
"Oh? Like what?" She asked, as if he knew anything more intriguing then getting a new charm perfectly right.
"Like how I'm going to make Malfoy regret he ever met me." Harry said this jokingly, smiling mischievously.
"Oh, Harry, you can't go and get into more trouble, especially with the- the-" she stuttered, trying to think of another word for the obviously magical device that hung around Harry's neck. "thing."
"Yes, the thing." Ron echoed, smirking at his girlfriend. He raised his fifth piece of toast to his mouth, grinning.
Ginny just sat in her seat, occupied by some thought, it seemed as if her mind was elsewhere, some other plain of reality. Harry grinned; she was probably memorizing the way to use a telephone for Muggle Studies. He remembered the time that Ron had attempted to call him on the 'fellytone'; maybe Ginny could hand over some advice to her brother.
Harry listened to the conversation on his left with some enthusiasm, but he couldn't help thinking about the new power he had just learned. To have something that could heal and replenish his energy supply would most defiantly come in use in a fight against Malfoy, Voldemort, or even against Ciaran if worse came to worse. To have to the ability to heal himself in a moment could certainly put him at the top level of any battle, or duel.
This thought was on Harry's mind for the rest of the day, throughout classes, Quidditch practice and dinner. He decided to test this new skill after everyone else had gone to bed. He went down to the prefect's bathroom, for at the moment of stress, it seemed like a perfectly logical place for him not be disturbed.
He sat Indian style on the floor, concentrating. He knew that to test his healing power, he'd have to hurt himself first. He wasn't looking forward to this part of the experiment. He turned on the tap in the bathtub on hot. Very hot, it steamed, making it hot and very humid in the bathroom. The mirrors fogged up, and the tap continued to run. Finally, he placed his hand under the gushing water. He bit his lip to keep himself from yelping out from the instant burning on his hand. It felt like ice and fire all at once. After a few torturous moments, he moved his hand from the steady flow. Wincing at the red, rawness of his skin, he blew softly on it to relieve the pain momentarily. He had been burned by water before, but he had been always quick enough to remove it before he seriously damaged himself. This time he noticed the red skin began to blister already, forming it's own protective defense of it's own, it swelled, pink and rare.
While the pain was still fresh in his hand he closed his eyes and began to concentrate on his breathing. In and out, pain disappearing. Softness, caress.coolness, icy water softening the sharp pain. A gentle breeze flowing across his hand. Breathe. In. And. Out. Breathe.
Harry felt the pain slide away, the hand feeling as if someone had dribbled cool comforting water across it. The red and puffiness was gone. He stared mystified. He could heal himself. He flexed his hand experimentally it seemed normal.
"Ginny," He breathed aloud to no on in particular "Where exactly did you find this thing?"
TBC.
Zaz: I plan to do so, sorry about the lengthy intervals between updates. I'm writing more. don't worry.
Ian: Here is chapter 14. hope you like it.
Shdurrani: This chapter is not as happy-go-lucky as the last one. but hope you like it just the same.
Cyqnus Crux: Hey, I was nice. this wasn't a big cliffie. just as tiny one. Voldemort does affect him, but sometimes it's not the physical pain that hurts the most. Keep that in mind.
Tigerlily: Here's the next chapter. a little fun, a little suspense, and a lot more things happening. What do you think of it?
Angelis: Here's the next chapter, hope you like it.
takari4ever7: I find that Ron and Hermione go together better then Harry and Hermione, but I'm willing to read stories with that coupling as well.
Blue eyes: I'm glad you love this story so much. believe me it's inspirational, more Ginny and Harry coverage to come.
Chapter 14: ~ The Right Notes to Play ~
It was indeed quite hectic after the amazing win by Gryffindor. Peers were rushing around the common room at a rapid pace, moving as if the Heir of Slytherin himself was after them. For the most part, the actual team lazed on the couches and chairs, restoring strength for the coming party ahead. The only missing members were Fred and George, and by Harry's account, they were probably on their way back from Honeydukes at any moment.
Harry, in particular, was sprawled across a comfortable, yet stuffed, armchair. This, on any other day, would be normal. The fact that made this, such a blunt statement, was the redhead currently plopped down upon his lap. The two in discussion were oblivious to the looks they were receiving for their obvious displays of affection.
Harry was smiling up at Ginny as she sat on his legs, facing him with her legs crossed. They seemed to be talking through movements, not words. Harry's most obvious concern was what Ron might say, or do, if he found both Harry and his baby sister in such a friendly position.
But it seemed luck was in Harry's favour as he looked about the common room. Ron was nowhere in sight, and, on closer inspection, neither was his other best friend. Not wanting to know what sort of shenanigans the two could, and probably would, get into, he turned his attention back to the lovely creature currently resting on his abdomen.
She was happily involved in a conversation with Angelina, as her hand remained tightly grasped with Harry's. Her eyes were unusually bright, sparkling with mischief, a trait passed down from her brothers. Although there was no official announcement on the subject, it seemed fitting to say that she was indeed Harry's girlfriend and Harry had no objection to that statement whatsoever.
A sudden burst of noise came from the common room door, and in walked both Fred and George, both carrying bags upon bags with the emblem of Honeydukes plastered on the front. They were welcomed with cheers as they placed the bags upon the nearest table, and started to unwrap the goodies from inside them. Nether of them gave any more resistance to the position of their sister but a smirk, and look of knowing.
When all the sweets had been strategically placed around the room so that nobody was more then a mere five feet away from some sort of sugar contraption, did the party truly begin. Everyone seemed to join in on the festivities, laughing along, praising the team for their efforts.
Both Harry and Ginny did not notice when the two missing people from earlier returned. Ron had suddenly appeared at Harry's side, with Hermione closely following. Harry nodded in greeting, trying his best to not look at Hermione's slightly messy hair, or the undying blush that flushed Ron's ear's making his eyes seem extra bright. It was plainly obvious that something was going on between the two of his friends. And despite the fact that all along he knew something of the sort would happen, he couldn't help feeling just a bit strange among them at the moment. But, if Ron wasn't going to ask questions about him and Ginny, he wasn't going to ask about Ron and Hermione either.
"How's it going?" He asked, trying to break the silence that filled the air.
"Umm, not too bad, had to go run a few errands, but were back now." Ron said, blushing a bit more, the red flush leading towards his nose.
Harry smirked to himself, errands, yes, and he was the son of Voldemort. He snorted quietly to himself, nodding at Ron in agreement.
"What happened up there Harry?" Hermione asked, referring to the incident while playing the previous Quidditch game.
"Cho just lost her balance, nothing major. She bumped into me, I think I bruised my arm, but she'll be fine."
"It looked like she was going to fall from where we were." Hermione stated.
"Well, she probably would have, she got hit by a Bludger, but the just lost her balance. She should be okay now."
"Yes, but-" Whatever Hermione had to say was indeed cut off by a arm coming around both Harry and Ginny, Fred's head poked through the opening just between their shoulders.
"The star of the game! Harry, my dear old friend, won't you try a Banana Burst?" He smiled innocently, offering a plate to everyone.
"Fred, I would, but it's the burst part that scares me." He patted Fred's arm in a reassuring way, smiling innocently back.
"You have no reason to fear the food I offer. Neville seems to enjoy them immensely." Fred nodded in Neville's direction.
Neville was hunched over on the armchair that Harry and Ginny had previously sat in; he was moaning and had a look of pain on his face.
"You see, they are called 'burst' because as you chew and swallow them, they begin to crackle as you eat them. It only creates a pleasant tickling sensation as you swallow." He grinned wickedly, showing his teeth. "Really, they won't hurt yo-" His sentence was interrupted with a loud groan from Neville as he moved off the chair and made his way up to the dormitories. "- u much."
"Much." Ron assessed. "What is much?"
"Exactly," Fred agreed, offering the tray again, "Okay, it's your loss."
"Actually the word I believe your searching for is 'gain'." Ginny smiled sweetly at her elder brother. "Toodles."
"Sheesh, I can tell when I'm not wanted." Fred grinned. "Maybe Angelina might want me now." he let that sentence hang there as he left their group, making it over to the person of his discussion.
"Poor Neville, he never seems to learn does he?" Ron said waving a bottle of Butterbeer around to show is point. "He always excepts whatever Fred and George may come up with, without even thinking."
"He'll learn eventually." Hermione stated, reaching for a Chocolate Frog, "Until then, he can keep Madame Pomfrey company in the Hospital wing."
"True," Ron said, "So true."
***
Professor Dumbledore sipped his tea with a thoughtful look on his face. Sirius and Ivan sat in front of him in silence toying idly with their newly empty mugs. It seemed that despite the win by Gryffindor, none of the people present were in such a mood to celebrate. Sirius stared off into the distance, his hands twirling the teacups around, his mind completely involved with the current situation.
Voldemort was back, but unusually so, he was being quite quiet about his presence. No multiple killings, no mysterious curses, for all that Sirius knew, he could have been learning how to speak fluent pig-Latin. But, on more thought and more twirling of his teacup, he knew that Voldemort was never the one to sit quietly for long, especially when Sirius's godson was still alive and kicking.
Dumbledore cleared his throat, breaking the unbearable silence. "I believe Voldemort is currently residing in Southern Wessex. Reports of disappearances have been coming from that area quite rapidly."
"Yes, but if that is true, shouldn't we send someone there to make sure this is not another trick, because if you remember what happened over the summer." Ivan said, trailing off.
"Well, Harry and Ms. Weasley are safe, there is no need to send them into a panic. They have enough trouble as it is."
"Albus, I still can't see how Ms. Weasley fits in to all this, yes, she is Harry's friend and Mr. Weasley's sister, but she has no importance to Voldemort." Ivan stated.
"Ginny Weasley does not have importance to Voldemort yet, but she has a role to play in what is to come. I do not know how, but it is known to me."
***
Harry leaned against the back of his chair clutching his stomach. The smell of eggs and toast didn't help the knowing feeling inside of him, as well as the drowsiness of last night's late night.. It rolled in waves, making his head ache horribly. He moaned softly, trying to calm his insides, concentrating on making the pain disappear.
Breathe. in and out. calmness. tranquility. breathe. in and out.
Harry's stomach stilled, relaxing. All throbbing pain in his head faded away. The beginning of a bruise on his arm where Cho had banged into him faded, the soreness disappearing into nothing. In fact, all sore and stiff muscles became loosened up, he felt as if he had been miraculously refreshed.
Uh-oh. this is becoming stranger then before. Not that he didn't mind the new feeling of healthiness, it was just uncomfortable knowing that his medallion was more magical then he thought. When was he going to find out about the healing powers? Was this a new development? Or did he have it all along; he just didn't know how to use them? This was too confusing and obliviously, he voiced his opinion.
"What's too confusing?" Hermione asked. "Really, if you just concentrate, the transportation charm is really easy. Just concentrate really hard on where your sending things to. Watch." Hermione took out her wand, placing a ripe apple in front of her; looking at it steadily she flicked her wand. "Transtaius"
Harry smiled. "Thanks for the tip Hermione, but I thinking about something else."
"Oh? Like what?" She asked, as if he knew anything more intriguing then getting a new charm perfectly right.
"Like how I'm going to make Malfoy regret he ever met me." Harry said this jokingly, smiling mischievously.
"Oh, Harry, you can't go and get into more trouble, especially with the- the-" she stuttered, trying to think of another word for the obviously magical device that hung around Harry's neck. "thing."
"Yes, the thing." Ron echoed, smirking at his girlfriend. He raised his fifth piece of toast to his mouth, grinning.
Ginny just sat in her seat, occupied by some thought, it seemed as if her mind was elsewhere, some other plain of reality. Harry grinned; she was probably memorizing the way to use a telephone for Muggle Studies. He remembered the time that Ron had attempted to call him on the 'fellytone'; maybe Ginny could hand over some advice to her brother.
Harry listened to the conversation on his left with some enthusiasm, but he couldn't help thinking about the new power he had just learned. To have something that could heal and replenish his energy supply would most defiantly come in use in a fight against Malfoy, Voldemort, or even against Ciaran if worse came to worse. To have to the ability to heal himself in a moment could certainly put him at the top level of any battle, or duel.
This thought was on Harry's mind for the rest of the day, throughout classes, Quidditch practice and dinner. He decided to test this new skill after everyone else had gone to bed. He went down to the prefect's bathroom, for at the moment of stress, it seemed like a perfectly logical place for him not be disturbed.
He sat Indian style on the floor, concentrating. He knew that to test his healing power, he'd have to hurt himself first. He wasn't looking forward to this part of the experiment. He turned on the tap in the bathtub on hot. Very hot, it steamed, making it hot and very humid in the bathroom. The mirrors fogged up, and the tap continued to run. Finally, he placed his hand under the gushing water. He bit his lip to keep himself from yelping out from the instant burning on his hand. It felt like ice and fire all at once. After a few torturous moments, he moved his hand from the steady flow. Wincing at the red, rawness of his skin, he blew softly on it to relieve the pain momentarily. He had been burned by water before, but he had been always quick enough to remove it before he seriously damaged himself. This time he noticed the red skin began to blister already, forming it's own protective defense of it's own, it swelled, pink and rare.
While the pain was still fresh in his hand he closed his eyes and began to concentrate on his breathing. In and out, pain disappearing. Softness, caress.coolness, icy water softening the sharp pain. A gentle breeze flowing across his hand. Breathe. In. And. Out. Breathe.
Harry felt the pain slide away, the hand feeling as if someone had dribbled cool comforting water across it. The red and puffiness was gone. He stared mystified. He could heal himself. He flexed his hand experimentally it seemed normal.
"Ginny," He breathed aloud to no on in particular "Where exactly did you find this thing?"
TBC.
Zaz: I plan to do so, sorry about the lengthy intervals between updates. I'm writing more. don't worry.
Ian: Here is chapter 14. hope you like it.
Shdurrani: This chapter is not as happy-go-lucky as the last one. but hope you like it just the same.
Cyqnus Crux: Hey, I was nice. this wasn't a big cliffie. just as tiny one. Voldemort does affect him, but sometimes it's not the physical pain that hurts the most. Keep that in mind.
Tigerlily: Here's the next chapter. a little fun, a little suspense, and a lot more things happening. What do you think of it?
Angelis: Here's the next chapter, hope you like it.
takari4ever7: I find that Ron and Hermione go together better then Harry and Hermione, but I'm willing to read stories with that coupling as well.
Blue eyes: I'm glad you love this story so much. believe me it's inspirational, more Ginny and Harry coverage to come.